Good news from ONE.org: World leaders pledge $12 billion to AIDS, TB and malaria

World leaders pledge $12 billion to AIDS, TB and malaria

You’ve been at it for almost a year now: sending postcards, signing petitions, making phone calls, hosting dance parties and more.  All of this in support of The Global Fund’s replenishment—one of the most important moments of the year in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria.
And your hard work paid off. World leaders pledged just over $12 billion over the next three years, a 30 percent increase over the amount raised by The Global Fund at its last replenishment.
In these tough economic times, that’s a huge victory worth celebrating. With these new resources, The Global Fund will be able to scale up its important work, supporting partners to deliver even more ARVs, bed nets, TB treatments and other life-saving programs.
I’m proud to announce that many of the governments we lobbied delivered on their promises. President Obama publicly announced the US will contribute one-third of all resources over the next three years—exactly what US ONE members had asked for.

You can read more by clicking here.

Good news: 13 big pharma companies and others will collaborate to erradicate neglected diseases of the poor.

- 13 big pharma companies will donate medicines and some of them will share resarches that ended up in the lock room.

- affected governmets, NGOs such Bill and Melinda Gates and the DNDi, Drug for Neglected Diseases Inititive will collaborate in erradicating this diseases.

- the WHO is confident and expects that almost 10 neglected diseases will be eliminated or controlled by the end of this decade.

You can reed more at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/jan/30/drug-companies-join-tropical-diseases

One possible bad news about generic medicines.

I could not belive what I have been reading in past weeks.

France, England and Germany are pushing to stop generic medicines from Indian factories.

MSF talks about this in the following link.

I take the chance to remember that around 5 million people´s treatments depend on this Indian production. And as you could guess this 5 million people are mainly Africans that would not be able to afford more expensive treatments.

I just hope that we, the Europeans, can stop this blockage to happen.

Good news about drug patents.

Not long a go a I came across with this news that cheered me up:

The Guardian 30 September 2010:

The National Institutes of Health in the US announced today that it would license an Aids drug to the new Geneva-based medicines patent pool, so cheap copies can be made for poor countries.

I consider this one of those things that could foster the positve trend towards a better life for the people in economic disadvantage.

One toast for this news!

ONE ACTION for reducing global poverty and adressing climate change.

Hi,

Although the financial crisis of the last two years was caused by bankers in rich countries, many people in developing countries were badly affected - over 50 million more people were plunged into poverty as a result. Europe's leaders have a chance to redress the balance when they meet this month, when they will discuss how they might raise money from new financial regulations, to pay for any future bail outs governments might give them.

I just signed a petition asking the President of the European Commission to ensure leaders agree to dedicate a substantial percentage of any money raised from financial regulations to go towards reducing global poverty and addressing climate change.

Please join me by taking action here:

Thanks!

You can read more about it from a recent entry in this blog: For a 2010 with less hunger

Good News!! Fewer maternal and child deaths than we thought!!

Death rates among women in childbirth in developing countries have dropped by a third in the last 28 years.
Read more at the Guardian

Child deaths worldwide seem to have fallen faster than officials thought, as a new study estimates far fewer children are dying every year than previously guessed by the United Nations.
Read more at The Guardian

These two Millennium Development Goals are more achievable.
Read more from the last Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (September 2010)

Access to essential medicines: A very good news!

An Indian court has stopped the international pharmaceutical company Bayer’s latest attempt to introduce new measures to prevent generic competition in India. By ruling against Bayer on 9 February 2010, the Delhi High Court has refused to undermine measures in India’s patent laws that help ensure access to more affordable essential medicines for patients in need.

Read more at MSF web page