January 23, 2017
By Jessie Hellmann
President Trump on Monday (click here) reignited the war over abortion by signing an executive order blocking foreign aid or federal funding for international nongovernmental organizations that provide or "promote" abortions.
The so-called Mexico City policy, established by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1984, blocks federal funding for international family planning charities that provide abortions or "promote" the procedure by providing patients with information about it, including by offering referrals to abortion providers.
Referred to by critics as the "global gag rule," the policy has been subjected to a game of political football over the years, with Democratic presidents rescinding the policy upon taking office, as President Obama did in 2009, and Republican presidents reinstating it.
The move comes amid a roiling public debate about women’s rights, jump-started Saturday by women’s marches held in major cities around the world....
It has been a long time since USA money assisted other countries to improve their quality of life by curtailing large population growth. Such initiatives provided for longevity for women. The countries served by such funding should have developed their own compounding pharmacies and/or pharmaceutical manufacturing to bring quality birth control to women.
USA funding should never be forever, but, should provide a beginning that sustains until a country can service their own citizen's needs. If I remember correctly, in some areas of Africa they are producing their own HIV/AIDS drugs.
January 11, 2017
By Clare
...Africa is in a transition phase, (click here) on its way to achieving adherence to global standards, such as the WHO pre-qualification for manufacturing. Local production is regarded as a key strategy for sustained access to quality-assured medicines for the long term. The regulatory environment for manufacturing in regions such as East Africa seems to grow rapidly, owing to regional harmonisation. Healthcare coverage is expected to expand to a greater proportion of the population through National Health Insurance (NHI) initiatives, as well as through memberships with private health insurance providers, particularly among the emerging middle class.
South Africa remains as the best established region for pharmaceutical manufacturing in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the local manufacturing markets in East and West Africa are relatively well developed and positioned to grow. A bulk of Africa-based pharmaceutical companies that are developing medicines have simple formulations and mixtures, which are easy to do. Technology transfer is paramount to developing the manufacturing sector in Africa, particularly as the disease burden is changing. There is a paradigm shift coming from the lower end to the higher end of adoption of complex formulations, in line with treatment guidelines, especially in HIV and AIDS and NCDs.
This research service presents findings on 2 fast-growing pharmaceutical markets in sub-Saharan Africa: Kenya and Nigeria....
This is exactly what should be occurring all over the globe. Societies growing in education, expertise and the ability to solve the problems of their own people. There is nothing wrong in offering or asking for help to accomplish manufacturing of pharmaceuticals for Africa, but, don't keep other countries dependent and poor. It is not the American way.
