The United Nations global health watchdog is dragging its feet in approving cheap, effective medicines for the poor to combat AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, a leading medical charity said on Tuesday.
Millions of patients lack access to affordable treatments because the World Health Organization (WHO) program to inspect drugs is understaffed and hampered by politics, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).
To get assistance from the Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria – one of the biggest providers of health aid – recipients may only purchase drugs approved by the WHO or national health authorities, a process that, critics say, favors big-name drug manufacturers.
Rowan Gillies, head of MSFs international council, said the WHO program was good but small, lacking funding, staff and political support from top WHO leadership.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
