Africa

SOUTH AFRICA--In the capital city of Cape Town, the battle for the use of antiretroviral drugs continues. Zackie Achmat directs the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), which provides treatment for people with HIV and attempts to reduce new infections. Anthony Brink, a lawyer, has charged Achmat with genocide. He alleges that Achmat has provided antiretroviral drugs that have poisoned thousands. As head of the Treatment Information Group (TIG), Brink promotes "alternative non-toxic treatment approaches to AIDS." The two organizations have fought since the advent of antiretroviral drugs, each claiming to have better solutions to AIDS in South Africa. A co-founder of TAC, Achmat is currently battling AIDS himself. He has already been involved in several legal embroilments; one occasion, he traveled to Thailand to reclaim a shipment of generic AIDS drugs that was taken from him. Also, he forced nine major pharmaceutical companies to withdraw legal challenges to overturn laws that permit the production and importation of generic drugs. For his efforts, Achmat has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. When asked about the charges, Achmat responded, "We are ignoring it because we're dealing with more important tasks." The International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, will hear the case.

Europe

SPAIN--In the southern city of Málaga, the Ministry of Health has implemented a new program for male prostitutes as part of its National Plan Against AIDS. In coordination with the Ojalá Association, the Ministry has placed ads in local newspapers, visited local bars, nightclubs and apartments to make contacts with prostitutes. Finding 120 male prostitutes, the government has paid them 25 euros each to attend safe-sex workshops, in which the men learn the risks of sexually transmitted diseases and prevention methods. Also, the government has told them where healthcare, legal coverage, and free AIDS testing is available. At local bars where the prostitutes often congregate, the Ojalá Association also distributes free condoms and lubricants. Nearly 80 percent are immigrants from South America, Eastern Europe, or Morocco, who engage in this work in order to send money home to their families. Often, their wives know about their husbands' work, but these families are unable to find alternatives.

Asia

CHINA--A recent study in Southeast Asia found that 53 percent of anti-malarial drugs were fake. A surge in the selling of counterfeit drugs has led to thousands of preventable deaths each year. Counterfeiters have focused on artemisinin, a powerful medication for malaria. Rather than being covert, manufacturers have begun producing such drugs on industrial levels. Often, these fake drugs are sold on the international market to avoid domestic investigations. Some experts claim China to be the source of most of the world's fake drugs. In China, sellers would be more readily prosecuted if their drugs killed Chinese citizens, but the government has not pursued cases that involve international parties. A frightening consequence of the delay of proper medication is the development of drug resistant parasites, which may not respond to treatment with the original drug. Perhaps it is no surprise that mass forgery has arisen when the United States and the World Health Organization have donated billions of dollars to stop malaria in the third world.

Americas

UNITED STATES--For a week, Oregon Governor Theodore Kulongoski limited himself to $21 in grocery money, the average amount spent by residents who are on food stamps. The Oregon Food Bank sponsored the challenge to raise hunger awareness, as well as to lobby to preserve current levels of food stamp benefits. A farm bill currently before Congress could potentially disqualify 50,000 of the 434,000 Oregonians from using food stamps. Governor Kulongoski sent a letter to President Bush to protest the bill. He has won national publicity for his diet, with media crews covering his shopping trip to a local grocery store. His actions inspired many hundreds of Oregonians to attempt a similar diet, and some members of Congress may undertake the challenge in May. For $3 a day, the governor and his wife purchased one small chicken, several cans of produce, pasta, and a few dairy products. The chicken lasted for four meals, first roasted, then in a salad, and finally as a soup. Lunch consisted of mostly peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The governor found that eating less had affected him, making him more tired at the end of the day.

VENEZUELA--President Hugo Chavez recently expropriated Padre Machado Oncology Hospital, a nonprofit organization under the management of Venezuela's Anti-Cancer Association. His decision marks the first step in a plan to expand the national network of state-run hospitals, which could include further nationalizations of private hospitals. In his radio program, "Aló Presidente," Chavez said that "the time has come to take control" of the hospital, which had not run at full capacity for months. Chavez and his officials claim that the hospital has failed to follow through on its duties regarding salary payments and other administrative responsibilities. While the Chavez administration has expropriated other industries, such as electricity and telecommunications, this is his first move of his administration towards national control over the healthcare industry.

UNITED STATES--The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that all pregnant women be screened for Down syndrome. Traditionally, only women above the age of thirty-five are screened for the genetic disorder, the most common chromosomal aberration. Physicians now regard this age as an arbitrary cutoff and encourage frequent screening. While age does increase the risk of having babies with Down syndrome, young women now deliver more babies with the disorder. Young women have many more pregnancies, providing more chances for the aberration to occur. To screen for the disorder, physicians use blood tests and ultrasound to measure thickening of the neck, characteristic of Down syndrome fetuses. Increased testing does present several problems. Screening must occur very early, from eleven to thirteen weeks, before many women learn that they are pregnant. And though the test detects 82 percent of cases, women must still decide to abort the fetus if the syndrome is detected.