In The News

World Bank Falsified Information on Malaria Treatment, The Lancet

Christian Nordqvist April 28, 2006
The World Bank has been accused of wasting funds on useless malaria treatment and falsifying treatment results. The major aid organization that provides loan and resources for ending poverty retorts that the accusation is unfounded. The accusation first appeared in the UK medical journal "Lancet," written by a Canadian physician and UN consultant who argues that the World Bank approach...

Dying Swan Dance

Boris Khukov April 5, 2006
As a threat, bird flu elicits different reactions. When a German cat died from the flu, panic spread throughout Europe until scientists explained that a cat spreading the virus to humans was an unlikely scenario. Russians have also been wary about the flu, despite periodic government reassurances, with some conspiracy theorists describing the virus as a “leak from a bioweapons factory” or a...

A Nation of Guinea Pigs

Jenifer Kahn March 14, 2006
Experimental drugs require large testing populations, which are increasingly hard to secure in the developed world. In 2005, the India government lifted restrictions on such testing by foreign-owned firms. So the pharmaceutical industry is outsourcing more trials. India has many advantages for such trials: English-speaking doctors; vast numbers of patients more willing to take experimental...

How Academic Flap Hurt World Effort on Chinese Bird Flu

Nicholas Zamiska February 27, 2006
A standoff has arisen between Chinese scientists and international health officials over bird flu. The Chinese have expressed reluctance to share avian-flu samples –needed to develop an effective antidote. Last spring, deaths of thousands of wild birds in a secluded region of western China, led officials from the WHO and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization to ask China’s Ministry of...

The World’s Drinking Glass Is More Than Half Full

G. Jeffrey Macdonald February 14, 2006
Throughout the developing world, about 700 million people have acquired household access to drinking water since 1999. According to the WHO and UNICEF, more than half of people around the globe now have drinking water piped into their homes. In rural developing regions, women typically collect household water. Eliminating the trek to and from the nearest water source, sometimes up to ten miles...

India to WTO: Help Us Protect Herbs, Tea, Yoga

Eric Bellman December 19, 2005
India is spearheading a drive among developing nations to ensure that the WTO address “biopiracy” at this year’s meetings in Hong Kong. Along with countries like Brazil and China, India is seeking to prevent the international pharmaceutical industry from exploiting its native plants, animals and traditional remedies. Countries like India perceive biopiracy as a threat, particularly if a...

Penchant For Secrecy Harming China’s Image

Frank Ching December 5, 2005
The Chinese government has a culture of secrecy. In the effort to protect delicate information, officials may lie. A perfect example was the explosion at the Jilin Petrochemical Company, and subsequent pollution of the Songhua River. A concerted effort to obscure the nature and magnitude of the disaster suggests that China has a problem. In the name of social stability, China has been lying...