Drug makers should donate flu vaccines: WHO

[Pathfinder]

Drug makers should donate flu vaccines: WHO
Updated Sat. Aug. 22 2009 9:13 AM ET

The Associated Press

BEIJING -- The World Health Organization's flu chief urged drug makers on Saturday to donate swine flu vaccines to the world's poorest countries, which are more vulnerable in the fight against the pandemic.

Dr. Keiji Fukuda said the agency is working hard to lobby the world's rich nations and flu vaccine makers for donations.

"It is clear that the poorest countries in general are just the most vulnerable to any number of diseases, and so it is a big concern," Fukuda said on the sidelines of a symposium of health officials and experts in Beijing. "We're continually hoping that more of the companies will step up and agree to donate more of the vaccine."

WHO says the swine flu virus -- also known as H1N1 -- has killed almost 1,800 people worldwide as of Aug. 13.

For the moment, swine flu is generally mild and most people recover without needing treatment. But it could have a more devastating impact in countries where populations are also fighting AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases.

Many rich countries like Britain, Canada and France have orders for flu vaccines to cover their entire populations. But most developing countries have no such plans.

Health officials and drug makers are considering how to speed up vaccine production before the northern hemisphere enters its flu season in coming months. Estimates for when a vaccine will be available range from September to December.

Fukuda said WHO chief Margaret Chan has met with drug makers to appeal directly, but so far only two companies, GlaxoSmithKline PLC of Britain and Sanofi-Aventis of France, have pledged to donate 150 million doses to developing countries.

Novartis AG of Switzerland has said it is looking at selling vaccines to those countries at discounted prices.

Fukuda said WHO is also exploring other options such as negotiating for the vaccines to be sold at lower prices to poorer countries and helping them set up their own production facilities.

WHO Western Pacific director Shin Young-soo said Friday he hoped China, where 10 drug makers are conducting clinical trials of flu vaccines expected to be completed by mid-September, could play a part in helping poorer countries.

Once cold weather returns to the northern hemisphere, many countries could see swine flu cases double every three to four days for several months until peak transmission is reached, Shin said.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090822/flu_vaccine_090822/20090822?hub=Health

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Drug makers should donate flu vaccines: WHO

The 10 Poorest Countries Of The World;


The level of economy in countries around the globe is not even. It is somewhere very high and somewhere very low. GDP, literacy rate and employment rate are several parameters of a country to determine the level of its economy. According to a report of the United Nations, hunger causes the death of about 25,000 people everyday. Unfortunately, the number of children is greater than that of adults. Consider several facts of income disparity between rich and poor nations to measure the cleavage between the haves and the haves not. The combined income of the world?s richest individuals leaves far behind that of the poorest 416 million. 982 million out of 4.8 billion people in the developing world live on $1 a day. Another 2.5 billion live on below $2 a day. 40% of the poorest population made up 5% of world income while 20% of the richest population made up 75% of global income in 2005.

A country with a GDP per capita of $765 dollars or less is defined as a low-income or poor country. You may wonder why poor countries remain poor. Some interrelated factors like geography, industrialization, colonialism, education, resources, infrastructure, overpopulation, investment, government and debt make poor countries remain the heavy foot of poverty.

Look into the fragile features of the ten poorest countries of the world.

10. Ethiopia (GDP - per capita: $700)

Ethiopia ranks 170 out of 177 the poorest countries on the Human Development Index (UNDP HDI 2006). Half of its GDP depends on agricultural activity. The agricultural sector suffers lowdown because of poor cultivation techniques and frequent drought. 50% of its population 74.7 million bears the burden of poverty and 80% lives on bread line. 47% of males and 31% of females are literate. Some parts of Ethiopia run a high risk of hepatitis A, hepatitis E, typhoid fever, malaria, rabies, meningococcal meningitis and schistosomiasis.



09. Niger (GDP - per capita: $700)

Niger with a population of 12.5 million is one of the ten poorest countries in the world. Drought is a common natural calamity in Niger. It often undergoes a phase of severe food crisis. 63% of its total population lives on below $1 a day. Adult literacy rate is as low as 15%. Life expectancy spans up to 46 years. A number of people die of hepatitis A, diarrhea, malaria, meningococcal meningitis and typhoid fever.




08. Central African Republic (GDP - per capita: $700)


The Central African Republic ranks 171 as a poor country. Agriculture is the backbone of its unstable economy. Life expectancy of its meager population 4.3 ranges from 43.46 to 43.62 years. 13.5% of its population is at risk of AIDS.



07. Guinea-Bissau (GDP - per capita: $600)


?Africa, Guinea-Bissau, Bijene, January 2005. Mbemba Djal?, 13 years young, earns some extra cash after school, running his little shop at the veranda of an abandoned colonial house. Photography by Ernst Schade? - ernst schade

The rank of Guinea Bissau as a poor country is 172. Farming and fishing are the only pillars of its economy. The level of income is not even in all parts of the country. About 10% of its adult population is at risk of HIV.



06. Union of the Comoros (GDP - per capita: $600)

Population growth and unemployment at a high rate are responsible for the poor economy of Union of the Comoros. Population density at a rate of 1000 per square km in agriculture zones may result in an environmental crisis. Agricultural contribution to its GDP is 40%. The low level of education has raised the level of labor force. Economy mainly depends on foreign grants.



05. Republic of Somalia (GDP - per capita: $600)


Agriculture is the base of the economy of Republic of Somalia in the Horn of Africa. Nomads and semi-nomads comprise a major part of the population. Rearing livestock is the primary source of livelihood for them. The small agricultural industry contributes 10% to its GDP.


?Mogadishu. October 2004. View of Mogadishu north. Mogadishu is the place where effects of the conflict are more striking. There are arround 400.000 internally displaced persons. Access to health structures is quite impossible for the danger to circulate in the streets where combats are on-going and all type infrastructures have disapeared: water, sanitation, schools? The absence of state during more than 13 years has made impossible any investment in public structures. It is estimated that around 72% of Somalia?s population lacks access to basic healthcare services and the healthcare system is in ruins.? - abdisalla



04. The Solomon Islands (GDP - per capita: $600)

The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia. Fishing holds its domestic economy. Above 75% of the labor class, is involved in fishing. Timber was the main product for export until 1998. Palm oil and copra are important cash crops for export. The Solomon Islands are rich in mineral resources like zinc, lead, gold and nickel.



03. Republic of Zimbabwe (GDP - per capita: $500)


?The expression on these guys faces says a million things, weak from hunger and too poor to own shoes or have a shirt to wear. This is all because of the tyrant they call a president.
A beautiful country ruined because of one mans greed. ? - Mr Sean

Republic of Zimbabwe is located between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers in the south of Africa. Its economy suffers a slowdown due to supply shortage, soaring inflation and foreign exchange shortage. Zimbabwe?s involvement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo left its economy fragile. The worst consequence of the knelt-down economy is unemployment that is as high as 80%.



02. Republic of Liberia (GDP - per capita: $500)


?MONROVIA, LIBERIA - NOVEMBER 12, 2006 : Young Liberian boy standing on Randal street in Monrovia looks through a hole in a garbage filled car that has been turned on its side and salvaged fro spare parts. ( Photo by: Christopher Herwig )? - herwigphoto.com

Republic of Liberia on the west coast of Africa is one of the ten poorest economies across the globe. A decline in the export of commodities, the flight of many investors from the country, the unjust exploitation of the country?s diamond resource, looting and war profiteering during the civil war in 1990 brought the economy of the country to its knees. External debt of the country is more than its GDP.



01. Republic of the Congo (GDP - per capita: $300)


?This picture shows what Kinshasa is: full of contradictions. The beauty of the sunlight, nature, happy people contrasts with the filth on the streets, disorganisation, poverty? These two persons seem to stand there, in the middle of all that. Can they push the country forward? Are they part of a generation that will one day live in a modern Democratic Republic of Congo, freed of all suffering and pain?? - fredogaza

Republic of the Congo in Central Africa is the last at the bottom of the economic heaps. Depreciation of Franc Zone currencies, incredibly high levels of inflation in 1994, eruption of the civil war, and continuation of armed conflict and slumping oil price in 1998 broke down the economy of the country.


GDP - per capita (PPP) 2008 Country Ranks

SOURCE: CIA World Factbook 2008


http://www.ethiopianreview.com/news/4334