MERCOSUR Tackles Tobacco Advertising
Saturday, June 20th, 2009At their Ministerial concluded today, the Health Ministers of the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) nations (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, plus Venezuela once Brazil and Paraguay ratify the Protocol of Adhesion regarding its membership) plus MERCOSUR associate member Chile reached an agreement [MERCOSUR/RMS/Acuerdo No. 01/09] committing themselves to cooperating toward the elimination of […]
Cuba to Help Argentina Produce Cancer, Antiretroviral Drugs
Thursday, January 29th, 2009Argentina’s Health Minister Graciela Ocaña has just signed an agreement with Cuba where the latter will aid the former in researching and producing antiretroviral medicines (ARVs), cancer drugs, vaccines and other treatments for diseases prevalent in Argentina. Last year, shortly after assuming her post, Ocaña established the Program for the Public Production of Medicines, Vaccines […]
Improvements in HIV/AIDS Treatment in LAC
Friday, July 4th, 2008This is a few weeks delayed in being posted, but frankly folks, I only have so many hours in my day… Everyone takes away something different from Towards Universal Access: Scaling Up Priority HIV/AIDS Interventions in the Health Sector – Progress Report 2008, the report released last month jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO), […]
Get Tested, Caribbean
Friday, June 27th, 2008If you happen to be in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Maarten or Jamaica tomorrow, Friday 27 June, stop by the local branch of Scotiabank. Why? Because Scotiabank, in cooperation with the local health authorities and members of the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS (CBMP), is […]
Passive Smoking Evidence from Entre Rios, Argentina
Monday, June 23rd, 2008Synopsis in English: You can still find people disputing the health impacts on non-smokers of those smoking around them, but they are a dwindling group. Here is another small study that may give them pause. The Applied Toxicology department of the Bromatology Faculty of the National University of Entre Rios (UNER), tested the urine of […]
The Importance of Being Tested / La importancia de la prueba
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007Did you know that 27 June was HIV Test Awareness Day? I confess that I didn’t. But I had wondered why I am suddenly seeing some many television ads these past two weeks about the importance of getting tested, and why Tyra Banks decided to get tested on her syndicated TV show (no, I don’t […]
Cheaper HIV/AIDS Treatments for LAC Nations
Thursday, June 7th, 2007In May former US President Bill Clinton announced that his foundation had negotiated new agreements to substantially reduce the price of 15 so-called “second-line treatments” for HIV/AIDS, plus a new, “next generation” once-a-day pill, for 66 poor and middle-income countries. The 66 (chosen because they represent about 90% of the world’s AIDS cases) includes many […]
Brazil Develops Faster Hepatitis A Diagnostic
Friday, May 25th, 2007Synopsis in English: If you are not Brazilian or involved in international public health, you may not recognize the name of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz), better known by its nickname Fiocruz. I could write a whole post (or several) just on Fiocruz and its importance, and perhaps someday I will. Suffice it […]
What to Expect from WHO’s New Director-General
Wednesday, November 15th, 2006On Thursday 09 November 2006 the World Health Organization (WHO) elected a new chief executive, and it wasn’t a Latin. Dr. Margaret Chan of Hong Kong (but representing China in the contest) beat out Mexican Health Minister Julio Frenk for the post of Director-General (DG) — first for the WHO Executive Board (EB) endorsement, and […]