PHA-Exch> Open letter to DG, WHO

Sat Oct 4 02:04:47 PDT 2008

*DRUG ACTION FORUM – KARNATAKA,**
*57, Tejaswinagar, Dharwad 580002, Karnataka, India.
*Fax & telephone +91 (0)836 2461722, **Mobile** +91 (0)9448862270*
Email; - drugactionforumkarnataka at gmail.com, Web; - www.daf-k.cjb.net*
-------------------------------------------*

*Drug Action Forum – Karnataka** is part of Janarogya Andolan Karnataka (a
state unit of People's Health Movement – **India** http://phm-india.org/),
member of AIDAN (All **India** Drug Action Network http://aidanindia.org/)
and HAIAP (Health Action International **Asia** Pacific www.haiap.org).*

*Drug Action Forum – Karnataka is a registered, not for profit and
independent organisation campaigning for Rational use Drugs and Vaccines. *

2nd September 2008

OPEN LETTER TO DG FROM DAF-K

To,

Director-General,
World Health Organization
Avenue Appia 20
1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland,
Fax number +41 22 7913131

Dear Madame,

Drug Action Forum – Karnataka (DAF-K), from India would like to bring to
your notice facts which are really alarming and indicate the strong
influence that profit making vaccine companies have on the esteemed WHO.
These unhealthy nexus between WHO and the vaccine industry, we fear will
have far reaching negative influence on the lives of millions of children
all over the world. With these major concerns we lay down before you facts
which are as follows:

It has come to the notice of DAF-K members that the WHO Bulletin1
dated 1stSeptember 2008 brings out some startling facts. According to
the authors,
the pneumococcal vaccine that is being promoted by WHO globally2 and in
India3 as well does not reduce clinical pneumonia. It reduces a rare type of
pneumonia - so rare that 1,000 children need to be vaccinated to prevent
four cases of the pneumonia! *Still more alarming is the revelation that for
every four children in whom pneumonia is prevented, two children develop
asthma because of the vaccine*. Pneumonia is a mild infection treated with
antibacterial agent (Sulfamethoxazole / Trimethoprim) at less than $1 per
child, according to the WHO protocol. Asthma on the other hand is often
permanent and needs repeated inhaled treatment with bronco-dilators and
steroids. Asthma is a condition much worse than the one-off pneumonia which
is easily treated and cured.

We anticipate that with this revelation, parents of children, from all over
the globe, are going to ask embarrassing questions. So we expect the vaccine
will be voluntarily withdrawn from the market immediately because of this
unacceptable risk.

But DAF-K has more fundamental questions which you as Director-General of
WHO need to answer. The vaccines ineffectiveness, as a public health tool,
has been shown by earlier studies as well. The fact that the vaccine doubles
the risk of asthma was known as early in the year 20034.

Our basic question is; *how and on what basis did WHO take the decision to
promote this vaccine?* *The world expects the WHO to be an honest broker
between the needs of public health and vaccine manufacturers*. Unfortunately
this trust has now been betrayed by the WHO promoting a harmful drug.

*We demand:-*

1.      WHO will identify all those who were responsible for giving this
wrong advice and that they would be exposed and purged from the organisation
in a transparent manner.

2.      Constitute an expert committee, whose members express openly, that
they have no conflicts of interest and links with drug and vaccine
manufactures. This committee should set the guidelines and monitor the proper
and rational use of vaccines as a public health tool. This is essential to
prevent a repetition of this mistake.

*We are compelled to publish this as an open letter because DAF-K's previous
letters, regarding rational use of hepatitis – B vaccine have not been aptly
addressed and replied by the DG.*

Yours truly

 (Dr Gopal Dabade),                              (Mr. Khan A B)
(Dr S L Pawar)
 President, DAF-K                                  Secretary, DAF-K
Joint Secretary, DAF-K
Cell +9 (0)9448862270                     Cell +91(0)9448378593
Cell +91(0)9449354415

References:-

1.  Sona Choudhary & Jacob Puliyel, Incidence of Pneumonia is not reduced by
pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Bulletin of WHO, 1st September 2008, Article
DOI: 10.2471/BLT.08.054692, WHO bulletin with links accessed on
2ndSeptember 2008
at:
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/08-054692.pdf
http://www.who.int/bulletin/publish_ahead_of_print/en/index.html

2.  'WHO position Pneumococcal Vaccines', link accessed on 31st August 2008at
http://www.who.int/vaccines/en/pneumococcus.shtml#position

3.  'Delhi, Bengal top charts in pneumonia deaths', Times of India, 26th
April 2008, link accessed on 29th August 2008 at

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Delhi_Bengal_top_in_pneumonia_deaths/articleshow/2986886.cms
.

4.

4.  Keith P. Klugman and others,  'A Trial of a 9-Valent Pneumococcal
Conjugate Vaccine in Children with and Those without HIV Infection', New
England Journal of Medicine, Volume 349:1341-1348 October 2, 2003, Number
14, link accessed on 31st August 2008 at
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/349/14/1341.

-- 
http://novartisboycott.org/petition

Dr Gopal Dabade,
57, Tejaswinagar,
Dharwad 580 002
Tel 0836-2461722
Cell (0)9448862270
www.jagruti.org
http://aidanindia.wordpress.com/
www.daf-k.cjb.net
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