Global Health Progress

A new publication that lists medicines formulated for children is being made available online by UNICEF and the World Health Organization, to help doctors and organizations obtain some of the 240 essential medicines that can save the lives of children.

The United Nations atomic energy agency and the pharmaceutical firm Roche today launched an initiative to help combat a growing cancer epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa.

The World Bank and Pfizer Inc. today announced they will collaborate to improve the healthcare infrastructure, specifically the supply chain, in developing countries, starting with Africa. The novel public-private collaboration will focus on enhanced use of Information and Communication Technologies’ (ICT) transformative power to improve healthcare delivery. The project demonstrates both Pfizer’s and the World Bank’s commitment to improving healthcare delivery by creating a funding mechanism to expedite the identification of gaps in Africa’s healthcare infrastructure and ultimately aid in the implementation of ICT solutions.

Pfizer Inc. and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) entered into an agreement for the development, access and delivery of a fixed-dose combination treatment consisting of azithromycin dihydrate (AZ) and chloroquine phosphate (CQ) for the Intermittent Preventive Treatment of P. falciparum malaria in pregnancy (IPTp).

Significant progress has been made in combating malaria in Africa, but more remains to be done according to a recent report from Roll Back Malaria (RBM) – the United Nations-led global partnership for coordinated action against malaria.

On April 26, 2010, WIPO celebrates both the 10th anniversary of World Intellectual Property Day and the 40th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention establishing WIPO.