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A Joint Declaration on the Importance of Collaboration, Open Trade, and Innovation in Tackling COVID-19 

As member states of the World Health Organization gather today in Geneva for the World Health Assembly, a global coalition of 31 think tanks today calls on governments to commit to open trade, collaboration and innovation in the fight against Covid-19.  Read

New Book: Fighting the Diseases of Poverty

UN, governments’ policies cause avoidable disease and suffering Many health policies promoted by intergovernmental bodies and governments in less-developed countries are counterproductive and lead to unnecessary suffering, according to a new book, Fighting the Diseases of Poverty launched here by Alternate Solutions Institute, a partner organization of Campaign for Fighting Diseases.


UN, governments’ policies cause avoidable disease and suffering

Many health policies promoted by intergovernmental bodies and governments in less-developed countries are counterproductive and lead to unnecessary suffering, according to a new book, Fighting the Diseases of Poverty launched here by Alternate Solutions Institute, a partner organization of Campaign for Fighting Diseases. In it, global experts challenge conventional wisdom about the diseases of poverty and set out pragmatic approaches to fighting disease.

The book’s editor, Philip Stevens, says:

“Too often governments and international health bureaucracies promote grandiose and politically-motivated schemes that prove unworkable and lead to increased suffering and death. This is what happened with malaria and HIV/AIDS. Meanwhile, millions of children die every year from simple things like diarrhoea or chest infections. Governments need to prioritize their work better and get back to basics if there is any hope of meeting the Millennium Development Goals.”

The contributors to the book show how:

  • The explosion of counterfeit medicines in less developed countries gravely damages the health of the poor and is encouraged by a lack of enforceable property rights and weak rule of law.
  • Endemic corruption in the health systems of less developed countries imperils the health-related Millennium Development Goals.
  • Government attempts to plan and control universal healthcare systems result in rationing, inequitable access and entrenched corruption.
  • The structure and funding of the World Health Organization leads it to focus resources on the modish health issues of wealthy countries instead of its core business of fighting the diseases of poverty.

Order Fighting the Diseases of Poverty from Amazon.com.

Click here for the full text pdf (1.6 mb)

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