British Members Of Parliament Want HIV Drug Patent Changes

A group of members of the parliament on Tuesday will recommend pharmaceutical companies “grant rival manufacturers the right to produce their HIV medicines,” the Financial Times reports. “New efforts by companies as well as government donors will be needed to provide better access to more expensive HIV” antiretroviral treatments required by more patients in the future, says the report by the all-party parliamentary group on AIDS (Jack 7/14).

4 Ethiopian NGOs Awarded USAID Contracts For HIV/AIDS

USAID has awarded contracts to four Ethiopian NGOs to help control the spread of HIV/AIDS, Ethiopian Review reports. The contracts are for a program that aims for “integrated HIV/AIDS prevention care and treatment services,” according to the news service (Mulugeta, 7/14). 

GlobalPost Examines Senegalese Music As Tool In Malaria Fight

The GlobalPost examines efforts to combat malaria using Senegalese music and writes “[m]usic is a powerful educational tool in Africa, where many are illiterate.” According to GlobalPost, Malaria No More aims to use “‘marketing muscle’ from the private sector to end malaria deaths worldwide.” In addition to a collaboration with the Senegalese pop star Youssou N’Dour, the organization has worked with other celebrities (Look, 7/13).

USDA Food Security Assessment Indicates Growing Problems In Urban Areas

IRIN examines the findings of the USDA’s recently released Food Security Assessment 2008-09, which showed “[t]he number of poor and food-insecure people in developing countries is increasing more quickly in urban areas than in rural areas, and could be dropping off the policy radar.” The article examines the challenges of slowing urban migration and recommendations for “infrastructure that would allow the efficient flow of food into cities from the countryside and via imports” (7/13).