[NEWS] Cross Post From China Geeks on Blood Disaster

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The following is a cross post from the great people at China Geeks. The site offers translation and analysis of modern China.

By Meg Davis

China’s annual “two sessions” wrapped up this week, and Chinese lawmakers finally considered proposals to establish a national compensation fund for thousands of victims of the world’s largest HIV blood disaster.

Back in 2002, Elisabeth Rosenthal wrote in the New York Timesthat in Henan, “poverty begat AIDS, but AIDS has begotten previously unimaginable poverty.” For thousands who received tainted blood transfusions while local authorities covered up the epidemic, the compensation fund would be a life-changer.

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[NEWS] Fighting Air Pollution with Transparency in China

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By Mike Frick

 

One of the first thing many visitors to Beijing notice is the smog, which on bad days can obscure buildings, force people to stay indoors or even ground planes at Beijing’s Capital Airport. In a new piece in The Guardian, Zhong Nanshan, President of the China Medical Association, said that air pollution will soon become the biggest health threat in China.

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[APPEAL] You Can Help Chinese AIDS Activists Get to Washington D.C.

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“My boss gave me my money and told me to sign my name. After I signed the receipt, he immediately threw the pen into the trashcan. And that was how I was fired.” We heard this from a Chinese man living with HIV/AIDS, a former drug user, who was fired from his job when his boss found out his status. Around China, people like these are mobilizing to get their voices heard. Some hope to come to Washington D.C. this July for the International AIDS Conference. We need
your support to get them there.

The International AIDS Conference will bring 40,000 people to Washington, including government leaders, UN officials, donors, and pharmaceutical companies. Thousands will march in D.C. to demand access to treatment and demand political action to change policy. Our Chinese colleagues will make new contacts, meet donors, and lobby officials as well as learn from others and find support in the international community.

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[NEWS] Over One Hundred Sign Petition Calling on China to Reject Real-Name HIV Testing

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In early February 2012 the Chinese Ministry of Health announced that it intends to introduce so-called “real-name” HIV
testing. The measure aims to help health officials to follow up with those who test positive. Instead, the new policy would discourage many people from getting tested at all.

Asia Catalyst supports the China Alliance for People Living with HIV/AIDS (CAP+), the China Gay Health Forum and many other Chinese AIDS activists in calling on the Ministry of Health to reject real-name testing and strengthen privacy protections at hospitals and testing sites. China’s leaders should pass–and enforce–stronger laws to ban discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.

See our letter to the Minister of Health, Dr.Chen Zhu here and see our full list of signatories to our online petition after the jump.

 

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[NEWS] India Grants First Compulsory License For Generic Anti-Cancer Drug

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For the first time ever Natco Pharma has won a compulsory license claim to produce sorafenib tosylate – an anti-cancer drug. According to the terms of the ruling Natco will be able to manufacture until 2020, the rest of the patent term but is limited to domestic sale. 
Natco’s generic price proposal will was for 3% of what Bayer is charging at Rs. 8,800 per patient per month. Under the WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, CLs are a legally recognized means to overcome barriers in accessing affordable medicines.

You can read the full decision here and find out more on generics in India here.