Wambi Michael* KAMPALA, Jun 24 2010 (IPS) – Baroness Lynda Chalker, a former British government minister, has been at the forefront of the intellectual property rights crusade to pass laws against counterfeits in east Africa. These laws threaten the use of life-saving generics in countries that depend on such medicines for some 90 percent of … Read more
Irwin Loy PHNOM PENH, Jul 19 2010 (IPS) – On a muggy evening, a handful of men in suits were quickly getting drunk in a beer garden here in the Cambodian capital. One man rested his hand on the thigh of a slender woman sitting uncomfortably in a short skirt. A sign above the table … Read more
Dahr Jamail DAUPHIN ISLAND, Alabama, Aug 12 2010 (IPS) – BP says it is no longer using toxic dispersants to break up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Gulf Coast residents claim otherwise, and say they have the sicknesses to prove it. On Aug. 5, Donny Mastler, a commercial fisherman who also works on boats, … Read more
Thalif Deen STOCKHOLM, Sep 8 2010 (IPS) – A primary topic of discussion at a weeklong international water conference here can best be summed up in two words: dirty water . Little girls tote water in Timor-Leste. Credit: UN Photo/Martine Perret Ironically, the venue for the vibrant debate focusing mostly on pollutants, industrial waste and … Read more
MANILA, Oct 1 2010 (IPS) – Anthony, a 22-year-old call centre agent, goes to work at 6 p.m. and finishes at around 2 a.m. But instead of going home, he heads to a bar to meet another male agent over beer, and if the late night looks promising, they spend more time together until daytime. … Read more
Pavol Stracansky BUCHAREST, Oct 28 2010 (IPS) – Central and Eastern Europe is facing significant challenges in combating a multi-billion euro, and often lethal, trade in fake medicines, security and pharmaceutical groups have warned. The region has been identified as a key smuggling route in an illicit trade which is growing every year. Millions of … Read more
Brian Moonga LUSAKA, Nov 30 2010 (IPS) – A thousand babies are infected with HIV every day in pregnancy, during birth and through breastfeeding. Close to 400,000 African children are infected with HIV every year. The situation points back to the high HIV prevalence amongst women of reproductive age, especially in Southern Africa. Zambia is … Read more
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Jan 14 2011 (IPS) – In an emotionally charged meeting this week sponsored by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, fishermen, Gulf residents and community leaders vented their increasingly grave concerns about the widespread health issues brought on by the three-month-long disaster. Cherri Foytlin, co-founder of Gulf Change, … Read more
Ignatius Banda BULUWAYO, Zimbabwe, Feb 28 2011 (IPS) – Zimbabwe s government recently announced that the country had run out of the critical painkiller morphine. It was just the latest development in a debilitating health care crisis that has seen hospitals turn away patients because of drug shortages. An underfunded health sector has been in … Read more
Amantha Perera COLOMBO, Mar 22 2011 (IPS) – She became famous playing the role of Pabha , a poor young girl in love with a rich man in a long running hit television series here. But these days, Upeksha Suwarnamali is better known for her real-life role: A victim of domestic violence turned champion of … Read more