WHO -capitulating to pharma companies

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Zimbabwe health minister accuses WHO of capitulating

to pharma companies

Last Updated: 2001-06-15 18:10:41 EDT (Reuters

Health)

NEW DELHI (Reuters Health) - " WHO has become WHO

Inc., " charged Zimbabwe's Minister of Health and

Child Welfare, Dr. Stamps, in a blistering

attack on the World Health Organization. " It has now

become a big business. "

Stamps was articulating growing disenchantment of

developing countries with what he called the WHO's

lack-lustre leadership in addressing their critical

health problems, and the agency's perceived domination

by big pharmaceutical companies, he told Reuters

Health in an interview on Friday.

Stamps was participating in a Technical Consultation

in Cochin, southern India, which was organized by

partners in Population and Development and India's

Ministry of Health.

WHO was invited to attend the conference but was

not present.

Partners in Population and Development is an

intergovernmental alliance of 16 developing countries

formed in 1994 to promote south-south cooperation in

reproductive health and diseases associated with

poverty. It includes countries like India, China,

Pakistan, Mexico, Thailand, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

In separate working groups at the meeting, a number

of developing countries and NGO representatives

expressed what they called serious lack of faith on

the art of WHO to address issues such as a lack of

access to essential drugs and urgency in dealing with

communicable diseases.

" Health has become tablets and vaccines and that's

what WHO is about now, " Stamps told Reuters Health.

" It is the failure to address the burden of disease

in our countries which is the moral scandal in WHO. "

" Despite their much talked about Roll Back Malaria

[program], the main initiative there is only talking

to big companies...about developing new drugs and

drug combinations, " he added.

Stamps accused WHO of pursuing discriminatory

personnel policies. " WHO has systematically excluded

undesirable directors who do not come from the right

countries, " Stamps said. " If you happen to come from

Africa or South America or southeast Asia, unless you

are an adherent to the Norwegian faith in the ultimate

victory of markets over any other issue, you are

excluded. "

" You may be employed [by WHO] but you are put into

areas which have no relevance to health, " he added.

Representatives from WHO did not return phone calls

seeking comment on Friday.

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