21/12/2009

Available for over a year

As the year ends it’s good to see that two long running health stories of 2009 end on an encouraging note. The WHO’s latest World Malaria Report shows increased funds and effort have led to a direct fall in incidence of the disease in a third of the most severely affected countries in Africa, and medicines for HIV/AIDS will be more available in developing countries following the decision by UNITAID to approve the pooling of patents to reduce cost and increase distribution. There’s also a report from New York where a hard-hitting campaign against obesity has been mounted. There is also a discussion about the pros and cons of renaming the mental condition schizophrenia.