The Real Obstacles to Treating AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis in Developing Countries

Millions in Africa and the rest of the developing world suffer from HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. What is the best way to treat them? Since President George W. Bush's pledge of $15 billion to fight these diseases, controversy has developed over strategies and methods. Last month at a conference in Botswana, delegates wrestled with the issue of fixed-dose combinations of anti-retroviral drugs, which have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration but were "pre-qualified" by the World Health Organization. Are such drugs safe? Or does their use risk the development of new resistant strains of HIV? Activists have accused drug companies, with the support of the Bush administration, of trying to block the use of cheaper generics, but new research indicates that only a small fraction of drugs in the developing world is patented. This conference will focus on ways that policymakers should confront the obstacles to treating pandemic diseases in the developing world.

About the Author

 

Nicholas
Eberstadt
  • Nicholas Eberstadt, a political economist and a demographer by training, is also a senior adviser to the National Board of Asian Research, a member of the visiting committee at the Harvard School of Public Health, and a member of the Global Leadership Council at the World Economic Forum. He researches and writes extensively on economic development, foreign aid, global health, demographics, and poverty. He is the author of numerous monographs and articles on North and South Korea, East Asia, and countries of the former Soviet Union. His books range from The End of North Korea (AEI Press, 1999) to The Poverty of the Poverty Rate (AEI Press, 2008).

     

  • Phone: 202-862-5825
    Email: eberstadt@aei.org
  • Assistant Info

    Name: Kelly Matush
    Phone: 202-862-5835
    Email: kelly.matush@aei.org

 

Roger
Bate
  • Roger Bate is an economist who researches international health policy, with a particular focus on tropical disease and substandard and counterfeit medicines. He also writes on general development policy in Asia and Africa. He writes regularly for AEI's Health Policy Outlook.
  • Phone: 202-828-6029
    Email: rbate@aei.org
  • Assistant Info

    Name: Julissa Milligan
    Phone: 202-862-5905
    Email: julissa.milligan@aei.org

 

Scott
Gottlieb
  • Scott Gottlieb, M.D., a practicing physician, has served in various capacities at the Food and Drug Administration, including senior adviser for medical technology; director of medical policy development; and, most recently, deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs. Dr. Gottlieb has also served as a senior policy adviser at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 

     

  • Phone: 202-862-5885
    Email: scott.gottlieb@aei.org
  • Assistant Info

    Name: Catherine Griffin
    Phone: 2028625920
    Email: catherine.griffin@aei.org
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