[afro-nets] The New World of Global Health

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

The New World of Global Health
------------------------------
Jon Cohen

Science 13 January 2006: Vol. 311. no. 5758, pp. 162 - 167 -
DOI: 10.1126/science.311.5758.162


Website:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/311/5758/162?maxtosho
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PDF file: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/311/5758/162.pdf

"...An array of well-heeled new players has dramatically re-
shaped how wealthy countries tackle infectious diseases of the
poor. But increasingly, these ambitious efforts are confronting
their own limitations.

A revolution is under way that is fundamentally altering the way
the haves of the world assist the have-nots. Over the past 7
years, a cadre of deep-pocketed, impassioned players has commit-
ted more than $35 billion to fight the diseases of the world's
poor. At the forefront of these efforts is the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, which since 1999 has pledged $6 billion--
roughly the budget of the World Health Organization (WHO) during
the same time -- to battling HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis,
and other long-underfunded diseases.

Close on the foundation's heels are a half-dozen other massive
new efforts, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculo-
sis, and Malaria, which has promised $4.8 billion to 128 coun-
tries, and the President's Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR) from the Bush Administration that has pledged $15 bil-
lion to help selected countries. The Global Alliance for Vac-
cines and Immunization (GAVI), with half of the $3 billion in
its coffers supplied by the Gates Foundation, is helping 72
countries fortify the immune systems of their children. And
thanks in part to a star-studded cast that is championing the
cause--including the rocker Bono, matinee idols Angelina Jolie
and Richard Gere, former U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill
Clinton, U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, and economist-cum-firebrand Jeffrey Sachs--stories
on global health now routinely grace the covers of news maga-
zines.

But amid all the heartfelt praise, the organizations at the
forefront of the global health movement are now undergoing both
increasing outside scrutiny and internal soul-searching about
what they are actually accomplishing..."