PHA-Exchange> WHO chief urges fight against "neglected" diseases

[Claudio]

From: "Vern Weitzel" <vern at coombs.anu.edu.au>
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BKK105239.htm
>
> WHO chief urges fight against "neglected" diseases

> BANGKOK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) 
> called on Thursday for a stepped up fight against "neglected" diseases 
> afflicting 1 billion people, mainly in poor countries.
>
> Margaret Chan, who took over as head of the U.N. agency last month, said 
> "ancient and entrenched" diseases in the developing world caused far 
> greater human suffering than emerging threats such as SARS and bird flu.
>
> "But here is the difference: the neglected tropical diseases do not 
> threaten international health and security," Chan told a health conference 
> in Bangkok.
>
> "They do not flare up in outbreaks with high mortality. They do not grab 
> media headlines. They do not travel abroad or threaten international 
> security," she said.
>
> Chan named six diseases that maim, blind, disfigure and kill millions of 
> the world's poor but are rarely seen in wealthier countries with higher 
> living standards and better health care. They included "snail fever", or 
> schistosomiasis, which is caused by a parasite and leaves people so weak 
> they can't work.
>
> It affects 160 million people in Africa alone, Chan said.
>
> More than 40 million people, mainly in Africa and Asia, are disfigured by 
> lymphatic filariasis, a parasitic disease that causes grotesque swelling 
> of limbs.
>
> These and other diseases are often neglected by drug companies, which had 
> little incentive to develop drugs and vaccines for markets that cannot 
> pay, Chan said.
>
> When cheap and effective drugs do exist, she said, access was hampered by 
> weak or non-existent health systems.
>
> Chan said drug companies and governments have had some success in tackling 
> these problems through public/private partnerships, but more needed to be 
> done.
>
> She called for more resources to expand the delivery of existing medicines 
> and increased research into new treatments for neglected diseases.
>
> Some health advocacy groups say publicly funded research plays a huge role 
> in the development of new drugs and vaccines and governments should ensure 
> more money is spent on fighting diseases that affect poor countries.
>
> In a report issued last April, the Global Forum for Health Research said 
> international experts found only 10 percent of the world's resources for 
> health research was spent on solving health problems in the developing 
> world, where 90 percent of curable diseases are found.
>