[Ip-health] IPN et. al.: UN, governments’ policies ca use avoidable disease and suffering

[robert weissman]

http://www.fightingdiseases.org/main/pr.php?pr_id=22

New book: UN, governments’ policies cause avoidable disease and suffering
March 01, 2007

Many health policies promoted by intergovernmental bodies and
governments in less-developed countries are counterproductive and lead
to unnecessary suffering, according to a new book launched today in
Johannesburg by International Policy Network.
<http://www.policynetwork.net> In it global experts challenge
conventional wisdom about the diseases of poverty and set out pragmatic
approaches to fighting disease.

The contributors to the book show how:

*** The explosion of counterfeit medicines in less developed countries
gravely damages the health of the poor and is encouraged by a lack of
enforceable property rights and weak rule of law.

*** Endemic corruption in the health systems of less developed countries
imperils the health-related Millenium Development Goals.

*** The UN's centrally-planned AIDS and malaria programmes have harmed
patients and wasted resources.

*** Government attempts to plan and control universal healthcare systems
result in rationing, inequitable access and entrenched corruption.

*** The structure and funding of the World Health Organization leads it
to focus resources on the modish health issues of wealthy countries
instead of its core business of fighting the diseases of poverty.

The book's editor, Philip Stevens, said:

"Too often governments and international health bureaucracies promote
grandiose and politically-motivated schemes that prove unworkable and
lead to increased suffering and death. This is what happened with
malaria and HIV/AIDS. Meanwhile, millions of children die every year
from simple things like diarrhoea or chest infections. Governments need
to prioritise their work better and get back to basics if there is any
hope of meeting the Millennium Development Goals".

Click here
<http://www.fightingdiseases.org/main/content.php?content_id=68> to
access the full text of the book.

*Fighting the disease of poverty*
ISBN 1-905041-14-4, Price £12.00
Published 2 March 2007 by International Policy Press

Foreword, executive summary and book chapters available online.
<http://www.fightingdiseases.org/main/bulletins.php?bulletin_id=117283650=
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