The European Union is funding the drafting of Uganda’s controversial Counterfeit Goods Bill, a proposed law that has caused an outcry as it threatens access to life-saving generic medicines in Uganda.

Children are faced with stigma and discrimination and there are no laws or policies to protect them in the region. There are even reports of head teachers rejecting pupils who are HIV-positive.

HIV prevention efforts - and the promise of antiretroviral therapy as prevention - are being undermined by punitive laws targeting those infected with and at risk of HIV, Human Rights Watch said on the eve of World AIDS Day.

The prescription that thousands of participants effectively issued at a just- ended AIDS conference here was clear: It is time to fight social and political inequities so that the medical gains in curbing HIV and AIDS can work with maximum efficacy.

Five different companies have been contracted to produce vaccines worldwide and there is every intention to make smaller vaccine doses go further with a range of new adjuvants, with the blessing of the WHO.

Fears about the spread of disease can lead to calls for restrictions on the rights of individuals infected or believed to be infected. While some limitations can be justified for the sake of public health, they should meet internationally accepted legal standards, including respect of human dignity.

An interesting aspect of the swine flu outbreak is how early the link was made with factory farming. This was largely the result of pressure from local residents in the village of La Gloria in the municipality of Perote, Mexico.

A recent evaluation of the World Bank’s health work is damning in its criticism of the lender’s approach, particularly in Africa. Meanwhile, the Bank is continuing to push privatisation in public services such as health, education and water, despite fierce criticism.

In a landmark case in Namibia, 22 hotel workers are taking their employer and a doctor to court for allegedly testing them for HIV without their informed consent.

The global economic crisis, which has pushed millions more into extreme poverty, is threatening to have a devastating impact on the health of women and children.