A lawsuit filed against the US company Pfizer alleges that it violated international law by testing an experimental drug on children during a meningitis epidemic in northern Nigeria in 1996, news organisations reported on Thursday.

Commentary on some deliberations of a recent gathering of public health activists- the People's Health Assembly. The assembly represents the inception of a global movement focussed on combating the devastating impact of economic plobalisation on health. The impact of structural adjustments, global markets, third world debts and the policies of the big financial institutions and governments are issues which the assembly try to address.

The HIV positive women can now use the IUD contraceptive.Research into the effects and merits of use of the contraception. Researchers at the Family Health International ran trials on 156 women in Kenya and observed them at specified intervals. The results indicated that there were very little difference in side effects if any between HIV positive and HIV negative women.

Communicable diseases like malaria, AIDS, tuberculosisi, diarrhoe, intestinal helminthanon are the most prevalent diseases in the Pemba and Unguyja islands in Zanzibar, Tanzanai. A number of research instistutes including WHO have collaborated effectively to generate information on communicable disease control in the affected islands.

Secretary Genderal of the Chadian Red Cross, Andreas Koume, reported a new outbreak of cholera in Gitte 112 km of the Capital during the last week of August. 150 cases had been recorded in the Chadian town,the Red Cross had sent out teams to chlorinate wells, and advise the population on personal and public hygiene. The outbreak was firsts recorded in June, but has not been recored as an epidemic in some areas.

Kenya loses 6,750 teachers a year to AIDS. Approximately 14 per cent of youth aged 10 to 24 are infected with HIV. Ther government should focus on the practical needs of children orphaned or left destitute hy HIV/AIDS. Safety nets in the cost of education should be created and high drop out rates could be curtailed by developing long term strategies that will ensure universal education.

The number of malnourished children in sub Saharan Africa will surge dramatically over the next 20 years unless efforts to tackle the roots of the problem get a cash boost, according to a gloomy assessment released by a food policy think tank yesterday.

Multiple troop movements and population displacements in the DRC, and to and from neighbouring countries with high HIV prevalence rates, have left the DRC well set for "an explosion of HIV/AIDS", according to WHO focal point Dr Tshioko Kweteminga, cited in an agency situation report last month.

A collaboration between HEARD and the USAID funded Policy Project In 1998 the University of Natal established HEARD under the Directorship of Professor Alan Whiteside. The mandate of HEARD is to carry out teaching and academic and applied research on the impact and implications of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Southern African region. The Division currently has four academic research posts and a number of Research Associates. HEARD is now seeking a Research Director who will provide leadership within HEARD and support to the School of Economics in the Faculty of Management Studies.

Zambia was expected to experience a huge shortage of maize, the country's staple food, the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) said on Thursday. "A maize shortage is expected this year. ZNFU estimates a shortfall of 120,000 to 150,000 mt," Songowayo Zyambo, ZNFU executive director, was quoted saying in an AFP report.

Under the project supported by The FUTURES Group International/POLICY Project Nigeria and the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA), Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) Nigeria is conducting on the Nigeria-AIDS eForum, a six-month long open discussion of key HIV-related issues among HIV/AIDS activists and advocates as well as governmental, non-governmental, multilateral and community-based organisations in Nigeria.

PICUM, the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants, published a booklet (English only) as a result of the Experts Seminar on access to Health Care that took place on 22 and 23 March 2001. Representatives of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Great Britain exchanged their experiences in working with undocumented migrants. The publication contains besides a description of the situation in the above mentioned countries also a report of the discussions between the experts on themes such as the importance of professional confidentiality, the use of international regulations, the need for education in human rights. Copies of the publication (6.25 Euro) can be ordered at the PICUM secretariat.

HIV/AIDS fact sheets produced by UNAIDS for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (25-27 June 2001) have just been published and they are available for download from the UNAIDS Web site.

Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply 2000.140 pages. ISBN 089608-607-0. WE547. US $14.00 Vandana Shiva

Pfizer argues that the cost of drugs is simply not relevant to the issue of access to most medicines in the developing world, citing as evidence the low utilisation rates of very cheap generic drugs for pneumonia, TB and malaria. Oxfam accepts that the causes of the public health crisis in developing countries are complex. But limited access to life-saving drugs that are widely-available in rich countries is also central to any explanation.

There is growing realization in programs around children affected by AIDS (CABA) that an essential component is missing - psychosocial support. From the 19th ­24th. August 2001, a small group of practitioners and experts are meeting at Masiye Camp (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) to develop a working definition and to plan how to scale up program strategies for a regional response. We are launching this time-limited pre-think tank discussion forum. After the think tank this forum will continue to serve as a platform for specialized discussions around issues on PSS-CABA. To join the forum, please send a message to: [email protected]

The World Health Organisation says it is convinced that a proposed UN treaty curbing the use of tobacco will survive attacks from opponents.

Informania Ltd, the world's largest electronic publisher of biomedical journals from the Third World, announced that it would provide the ExtraMED full-text database to developing country users for free or at very low cost, under the same terms as those announced last week by six leading medical publishers. It would also enable the distribution of this information through a new network of health information resource centres.

UNICEF has announced a $190,000 grant to improve primary health care and education for girls in Kenya's Kwale district according to a report by the Nairobi Daily Nation (23 July). Nicholas Alipui, the agency's country director, appealed to parents to challenge outdated traditions that obstruct girls' rights and asked them to help fight the spread of HIV/AIDS.