Global Prescriptions

Global Prescriptions is a critical yet optimistic analysis of the role of transnational women's groups in setting the agendas for women's health in international and national settings. The book reviews a decade of women's participation in UN conferences, transnational networks, national advocacy efforts and sexual and reproductive health provision, assessing both their strengths and weaknesses. It critiques the Cairo, Beijing and Copenhagen conference documents and World Bank, WHO and health sector reform policies. It also offers case studies of national-level reform and advocacy efforts and appraises the controversy concerning TRIPS, trade, and essential AIDS drugs. The author takes into account the formidable political and ideological forces confronting global justice movements and also offers a sobering reassessment of transnational women's NGOs themselves and such problems as 'NGOization', fragmentation and donor-dependency. Petchesky argues that the power of women's transnational coalitions is only as great as their organic connection with grassroots social movements.

Essays on the emerging new orthodoxy in international law that advocates the "rule of law" and "civil society" across the globe

Thanks to remarkable advances in modern health care attributable to science, engineering, and medicine, it is now possible to cure or manage illnesses that were long deemed untreatable. At the same time, however, the United States is facing the vexing challenge of a seemingly uncontrolled rise in the cost of health care. Total medical expenditures are rapidly approaching 20 percent of the gross domestic product and are crowding out other priorities of national importance. The use of increasingly expensive prescription drugs is a significant part of this problem, making the cost of biopharmaceuticals a serious national concern with broad political implications. Especially with the highly visible and very large price increases for prescription drugs that have occurred in recent years, finding a way to make prescription medicinesâ€"and health care at largeâ€"more affordable for everyone has become a socioeconomic imperative. Affordability is a complex function of factors, including not just the prices of the drugs themselves, but also the details of an individual's insurance coverage and the number of medical conditions that an individual or family confronts. Therefore, any solution to the affordability issue will require considering all of these factors together. The current high and increasing costs of prescription drugsâ€"coupled with the broader trends in overall health care costsâ€"is unsustainable to society as a whole. Making Medicines Affordable examines patient access to affordable and effective therapies, with emphasis on drug pricing, inflation in the cost of drugs, and insurance design. This report explores structural and policy factors influencing drug pricing, drug access programs, the emerging role of comparative effectiveness assessments in payment policies, changing finances of medical practice with regard to drug costs and reimbursement, and measures to prevent drug shortages and foster continued innovation in drug development. It makes recommendations for policy actions that could address drug price trends, improve patient access to affordable and effective treatments, and encourage innovations that address significant needs in health care.

There is a strong argument that people throughout the world have a right to receive the medicines they need in an appropriate, affordable, and timely way. Global Pharmaceutical Policy describes the laws, policies, and customs relating to the development and provision of medicines, identifies their strengths and weakness, and then proposes global solutions for getting things better. Here is a masterpiece written in a clear and elegant style. Together, Dukes and Abbott have experience and insight that are unrivalled. Joe Collier, Emeritus Professor of Medicines Policy, St George s, University of London, UK Pharmaceuticals play a central role in health care throughout the world. The pharmaceutical industry is beset with difficulties as increasing research and development expenditure yields fewer new treatments. Public and private budgets strain under the weight of high prices and limited access. The world s poor see little effort to address diseases prevalent in less affluent societies, while the world s wealthy are overusing prescription drugs, risking their health and wasting resources. As the global economic crisis exacerbates pressure on health care budgets, a new presidential administration in Washington, DC has committed to broad health care reform. These circumstances form the backdrop for this extraordinarily timely examination of the global system for the development, production, distribution and use of medicines. The authors are acknowledged experts in the fields of pharmaceutical law and policy, with many years experience advising governments, multilateral organizations and policy-makers on issues involving innovation, access and use of medicines. Supported by a team of independent scientists, doctors and lawyers, they take an insightful look at the issues surrounding global regulation of the pharmaceutical sector, and offer pragmatic suggestions for reform. This book will be of interest to government policy-makers, members of industry, healthcare professionals, teachers, students and lawyers in the fields of public health, intellectual property and international trade.

Raises key questions about topics in the pharmaceutical industry, including how the risks of side effects are weighed, if privatization of that risk is prudent, and the high prices for drugs.

This report presents the recommendations of the WHO Expert Committee responsible for updating the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. The first part contains a progress report on the new procedures for updating the Model List and the development of the WHO Essential Medicines Library. It continues with a section on changes made in revising the Model List followed by a review of some sections such as hypertensive medicines and fast track procedures for deleting items. Annexes include the 13th version of the Model List and items on the list sorted according to their 5-level Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification codes.

How to strengthen our spiritual bodies to experience a direct connection to the ultimate oneness and thereby illuminate the world.