SciDev.Net

Governments and donors must find ways to tackle the rise in non-communicable disease, which can mean reassessing health priorities in developing nations.

Pressure is growing for a major shift in international intellectual property rules that addresses the interests of the poor.

Developing countries need to recognise the long-term benefits of creating the capacity to research and develop flu vaccines.

Increasing access to affordable drugs in developing countries requires better government intervention, not less of it.

Proposals for a global treaty to boost research and development for neglected diseases by sidelining large pharmaceutical companies may appear utopian. But they highlight the urgent need for new ways of producing the medicines needed by the poor.

New research shows that treating HIV/AIDS patients need not be as expensive as feared. But that result must not fuel complacency about the disease; rather it should encourage more grass-roots engagement.

Last week's welcome news that Canada is to alter its patent laws to allow the export of cheap anti-AIDS drugs to developing nations needs to be followed by other countries, and echoed in other fields.

Last week’s agreement on provisions under which developing nations can gain access to cheap medicines should not lead to over-optimism about the outcome of broader trade talks later this month.

Spending on HIV/AIDS has become a litmus test of the depth of international commitment to helping the developing world — and of the spirit of generosity in which is offered.

Opposition from the pharmaceutical industry to new rules on access to cheap drugs by developing nations has cast a cloud over political commitments to meeting the needs of the poor.