PHA-Exchange> The Lancet: Global strategies need truly global discussions

[claudio at hcmc.netnam.vn]

from Vern Weitzel <vern at coombs.anu.edu.au> -----
   
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673606698140/fulltext

The Lancet 2006; 368:2034

DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69814-0
Editorial (excerpt)

Global strategies need truly global discussions

It should be an unspoken prerequisite for discussions of any global strategy 
that a globally 
representative selection of discussants takes part. Too often rich countries 
strike deals that 
affect, but do not involve, poor countries. The populations of these cash-
strapped nations suffer as 
a result. Global negotiations on intellectual property are a prime example of 
this unjust tradition 
at work. So, if any discussions were to break the mould, it should have been 
WHO's Intergovernmental 
Working Group on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property, which 
took place this week 
(Dec 4–8). Unfortunately, with a delegate list that excludes more than half 
of WHO's member states—a 
third of the missing are classed as Least Developed Countries by the UN—this 
working group seems set 
to perpetuate the very problems it has set out to address.

WHO can offer valuable support to help poor countries develop and enforce 
better policies to protect 
and promote public health while fostering innovation. But a global strategy to 
formalise this 
support will not work if WHO cannot bring the necessary players to the 
discussion table.
The Lancet


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