1: WHO sponsors child medicine programme

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is sponsoring a global campaign to promote research into child medicine.

Over half of all drugs currently used to treat children around the world are not specifically tested on youngsters, contributing to the roughly six million child deaths in developing nations each year.

Youngsters have different metabolisms to adults as well as weaker immune systems, so the lack of testing on children frequently places clinicians in the awkward position of having to choose between withholding treatment or risking severe side-effects.

Seeking to address the problem, the WHO has drawn up the first international List of Essential Medicines for Children, comprising some 206 products that it says can safely be administered to children.

The organisation is also pursuing testing programmes with a view to developing tailored pediatric therapies for such conditions as HIV/Aids, malaria, tuberculosis and asthma - in addition to producing more generic child-safe drugs like painkillers.

Commenting on the scope of the problem, WHO secretary general Margaret Chan said: "The gap between the availability and the need for child-appropriate medicines touches wealthy as well as poor countries."

While she insisted that children must be one of the "top priorities" for scientists, the fact remains that ethical testing of drugs requires the informed consent of trial participants - something that cannot be obtained from juveniles and so poses a major obstacle to producing child-safe drugs.

Research on the effects of medicines on children has stepped up nonetheless in recent times, with 125 paediatric drugs being studied in the last decade compared to just 11 products between 1990 and 1997.

2: WHO calls for further promotion of traditional medicine

promotion of traditional medicine and its integration into health care systems.

WHO issued a "Beijing Declaration" at the end of its congress on traditional medicine on Saturday, which recognized traditional medicine as "one of the resources of primary health care services to increase availability and affordability."

It noted that "people have the right and duty to participate individually and collectively in the planning and implementation of their health care, which may include access to traditional medicine."

According to the declaration, "traditional medicine" covers a wide variety of therapies and practices varying greatly from region to region. It might also be referred to as "alternative or complementary medicine".

It said governments should formulate regulations and standards to ensure appropriate, safe and effective use of traditional medicine.

"The knowledge of traditional medicine, treatments and practices should be respected, preserved, promoted and communicated widely and appropriately based on the circumstances in each country," said the declaration.

Governments should establish systems for the qualification, accreditation or licensing of traditional medicine practitioners, it added.

Carissa Etienne, assistant director of WHO, told the opening ceremony of the China TCM Exhibition on Thursday that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) had made important contributions to China's domestic health care system.

3: Social value

All research should hold the potential to achieve social value. Different entities may view the social value of traditional medicine research differently. Public-health officials are often eager to define the safety and effectiveness of herbal medicines for conditions such as malaria.³ Conversely, harm can arise with the unscrupulous use of herbs such as Africa potato (various Hypoxis species).⁷ While some claim that such medicines have "stood the test of time", they nonetheless pose serious challenges to investigators and regulators from developed countries, in which standards of proof are closely linked to proven efficacy in RCTs. Accordingly, there has been a serious investment in herbal medicine research by public-health bodies in many countries. China recently launched a safety research programme focusing on herbal medicine injections from traditional Chinese medicine.¹⁰ South Africa recently included the need for investigating traditional medicines within its national drug policy.¹¹

In the USA, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health spent approximately US$ 33 million on herbal medicines in fiscal year 2005; in 2004 the National Cancer Institute committed nearly US$ 89 million to studying a range of traditional therapies.¹² While this scale of investment pales in comparison to the total research and development expenses of the pharmaceutical industry, it nevertheless reflects genuine public, industry and governmental interest in this area.

While public-health entities may be concerned with defining the risks and benefits of herbal medicines already in use, entrepreneurs and corporations hope herbal medicines may yield immediate returns from herbal medicine sales, or yield clues to promising chemical compounds for future pharmaceutical development. They test individual herbs, or their components, analysed in state-of-the-art high-throughput screening systems, hoping to isolate therapeutic phytochemicals or biologically active functional components. In 2006, Novartis reported that it would invest over US$ 100 million to investigate traditional medicine in Shanghai alone.^4,5

Nongovernmental organizations may be primarily interested in preserving indigenous medical knowledge. One such organization, the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Medicine (PROMETRA), based in Dakar, Senegal, is "dedicated to preserving and restoring African traditional medicine and indigenous science".¹³ Governments in developing countries may want to use traditional herbal medicine research to expand the influence of their culture's indigenous herbal practices in the global health-care market. For instance, Nigeria's president recently established a national committee on traditional medicine with the expressed desire to boost Nigeria's market share of traditional medicine.¹⁴ In developed countries, the "need" for this research may be to protect the public.

The perceived need for the research may justifiably differ across countries, but without some basic agreement on the primary source of social value for the research it may be difficult to judge its ultimate impact. In the Africa Flower case above, before agreements to study a herbal medicine are decided, partners must fully discuss potential differences about the perceived "need" for the research through public forums or structured debates. Based on these frank discussions, partners can assess whether the social values of partner countries are sufficiently compatible to warrant a research partnership.

4: ABSTRACT

Governments, international agencies and corporations are increasingly investing in traditional herbal medicine research. Yet little literature addresses ethical challenges in this research. In this paper, we apply concepts in a comprehensive ethical framework for clinical research to international traditional herbal medicine research. We examine in detail three key, underappreciated dimensions of the ethical framework in which particularly difficult questions arise for international herbal medicine research: social value, scientific validity and favourable risk-benefit ratio. Significant challenges exist in determining shared concepts of social value, scientific validity and favourable risk-benefit ratio across international research collaborations. However, we argue that collaborative partnership, including democratic deliberation, offers the context and process by which many of the ethical challenges in international herbal medicine research can, and should be, resolved. By "cross-training" investigators, and investing in safety-monitoring infrastructure, the issues identified by this comprehensive framework can promote ethically sound international herbal medicine research that contributes to global health.

4: The Institute of Palliative Medicine

The Institute of Palliative Medicine (IPM) is the leading training institution for palliative care in Asia. An autonomous institution, it is the policy, training & research wing of the World Health Organization Demonstration Project in Palliative Care for the Developing world. It is also the nodal agency for initiating and implementing community based palliative care programme under National Rural Health Mission (Kerala), a Government of India Project.

Institute of Palliative Medicine works closely with local governments in Kerala. IPM is the technical advisor and implementing agency for Pariraksha, the comprehensive home care program by the Local Self Governments in Malappuram District. IPM is the Indian partner for the WHO Collaborating Centre in Oxford. Allotted space within the Medical College Campus itself by the Government of Kerala, Mr. Bruce Davis, founder of the W. Bruce Davis Trust supported the project & helped build this facility. Inaugurated on January 21st, 2003, admission of patients and training programs began by July 14th, 2003.

The Institute of Palliative Medicine (IPM) was constructed to make palliative care available & accessible to all those in need of it. To complete the total care provided by us to all our patients, here patients are admitted to bring difficult symptoms under control or to provide the carers respite care.

5: Herbal Medicine

Herbal medicine, or Phytotherapy, is natural green medicine. It has been used for over 2000 years to treat illness and restore good health. Today, the World Health Organization estimates that 80% of the world's population depend on plants as their main source of medicine, and, research confirms and updates the effectiveness of many traditional plant remedies. Medical Herbalists are Herbal Practitioners trained in the medical sciences, and take a holistic approach to patients. This form of complementary and alternative medicine is tailored to the needs of each individual.

My Herbal medicines come as tinctures, teas, tablets and creams; none of them contain any animal products. They are usually organic or wildcrafted in an ecologically sensitive manner, and made from the whole plant, producing a naturally balanced medicine that is easy to take.

6: Traditional Chinese Medicine and Endangered Animals

According to the World Health Organization, nearly 80 percent of the world’s population depends for its primary health care needs on medicines derived from plants and animals. This is especially true in countries where traditional medicines are widely used. Increasingly, however, modern medicines and remedies also contain animal and plant derivatives. Given growing populations, increasing wealth, and the spreading popularity of natural remedies around the world, the demand for these medicines and remedies is rising. The rising demand, combined with reduced habitat, has caused an alarming increase in the number of plant and animal species (used for medicinal purposes) at risk. This article highlights some of the threatened and endangered animal species used in traditional Chinese medicine, the most widely practiced traditional system

7: email to someone printer friendly CREATING A WORLD FIT FOR CHILDREN FOCUS OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY HIGH-LEVEL EVENT

As efforts over recent years to improve the lives of children show both considerable progress and the need for further action, the General Assembly today kicked off a special event at United Nations Headquarters focusing on building a world that is truly fit for every child.

Participants have gathered in New York for an Assembly session to review progress towards “A World Fit for Children” – a landmark plan of action agreed by world leaders in 2002 to improve the well-being of children.

Five years ago governments committed to a set of time-bound and specific goals in four priority areas concerning children: promoting healthy lives; providing quality education; protecting against abuse, exploitation and violence; and combating HIV/AIDS.

The Assembly’s two-day high-level meeting, known as “A World Fit for Children+5” will examine advances and setbacks in child well-being, and is expected to conclude with the adoption of a declaration reaffirming global and national commitments to the goals set in 2002.

8: GLOBAL EXPECTATION HIGH FOR CLIMATE CHANGE BREAKTHOUGH-BAN KI-MOON

The world is counting on a breakthrough at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told delegates today at the summit, calling the fight against global warming “the moral challenge of our generation.”

In a speech at the opening of the Conference’s high-level segment, he said that “what the world expects from Bali – from all of you – is an agreement to launch negotiations towards a comprehensive climate change agreement.”

Mr. Ban underscored the importance of creating a road map to tackle climate change and a timeline to produce a new agreement by 2009 so that it can enter into force after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

“Let us turn the climate crisis into a climate compact,” he said, informing the delegates that they have been given a “clear charge” by the world to produce a breakthrough.

“Not only are the eyes of the world upon us – more important, succeeding generations depend on us. We cannot rob our children of their future.”

9: RED CROSS ISSUES CALL FOR RELIEF IN GAZA

Gaza: Agencies (13/12/2007):The International Committee of the Red Cross is calling on Israel to lift restrictions in Gaza and the West Bank that it says are causing "enormous humanitarian cost."

The aid organization, which usually refrains from making political statements, said Palestinians have "effectively become a hostage" to the conflict.

Israel closed most crossing points into Gaza, following fighting between Palestinian factions in June. The region suffers from frequent electrical shortages, crumbling infrastructure, lack of medications and soaring food prices.

Israel has defended the closures and other security measures as necessary to prevent militant rocket attacks on Israeli settlements.

10: UN AGENCY ISSUES ATM CARDS TO ASSIST CASH-STRAPPED IRAQ REFUGEES

UN: 14 December 2007 – In response to recent studies showing that Iraqi refugees living in neighbouring countries are running out of money, the UN refugee agency is set to issue ATM cards to 7,000 of the most needy and vulnerable families living in Syria.

More than 4.5 million Iraqis are currently uprooted – 2.4 million inside Iraq and nearly 2.2 million outside – most of them in Syria and Jordan, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

This Sunday, UNHCR will start providing the ATM cards, providing each family with between $100 and $200 per month.

“The families have been interviewed by community services staff and identified as being in urgent need of financial assistance,” UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told reporters in Geneva. “They include women at risk, families with working children and refugees with chronic illnesses.”