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  Health issues: General materials - Jan.-June 2001  

See also other materials on "Health issues"

Jan.-June 2001:

West By Far East: China, one-fifth of humankind, is at a crucial juncture. The economic reforms of the late 1970s have propelled China to the forefront of the global economy. This has come at a steep environmental cost. The country is one of the most polluted in the world. As China strives to expand the economic growth of its eastern coastal belt to its untapped western parts, Changhua Wu, expert on China at the World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, analyses the state of the country’s environment and what it is likely to be. (Changhua Wu, Down to Earth, 30 June 2001)

High levels of PCB in Hudson River linked to health problems: Riverkeeper, a not-for-profit organization committed to cleaning up the Hudson River, announced today that indisputably elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found in Hudson River anglers, causing acute illnesses among anglers and local residents....General Electric has long been one of the largest polluters of the river, and now Riverkeeper and Friends of a Clean Hudson have called on the Bush administration to reaffirm its commitment to good science and support EPA's recommendation that General Electric be required to remove its PCBs from the Hudson. (Dyan M. Neary, Earth Times News Service, 30 June 2001)

Chemicals to be evaluated for risks to children: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman announced today that 36 chemical manufacturers have committed to providing information critical to evaluating the potential health risks to children from 20 commonly used commercial chemicals. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 29 June 2001)

GM food link to humans is ruled out: An analysis of the human genetic code that suggested genes could be passed from bacteria or genetically modified food to people is overturned by a study published last week. (Roger Highfield, Daily Telegraph [UK], 28 June 2001)

Developing countries to receive US $17 million for tobacco control research (World Health Organization, 28 June 2001)

HIV/AIDS: Countries Call For Global Action As Special [United Nations] Session Closes (UN Wire, 28 June 2001)

HIV/AIDS: Epidemic May Lead To 40% GNP Drop In Some States (UN Wire, 28 June 2001)

Virginia company, former official sentenced: On June 20, Rehrig International Inc. pleaded guilty to negligently violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) and was ordered to pay a $200,000 fine and provide $300,000 for pollution prevention and control activities. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 28 June 2001)

US-Islamic alliance hits Aids hopes: Islamic governments, with the connivance of the conservative Bush administration, succeeded in watering down the final declaration of commitment to strategies and targets to beat the global Aids pandemic at the UN yesterday by excluding any reference to gay men. (Sarah Boseley, Guardian [UK], 28 June 2001) 

The impact of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights on human rights: Report of the High Commissioner (report prepared for United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, 27 June 2001)

African Groups Disappointed by UN AIDS Declaration: African civil society groups packed their bags Wednesday to return home distressed that commitments made at this week's UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV- AIDS would amount to mere rhetoric. (Lewis Machipisa, Inter Press Service, 27 June 2001)

{···français} 30.000 Cas de Maladies Respiratoires par An: Plus de 30000 cas de maladies cardio-vasculaires dues à la pollution de l'air sont enregistrés chaque année à Dakar. (Sud quotidien [Senegal], 27 June 2001)

EPA [Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana] Prosecutes Pollutionist: The Kumasi Circuit Tribunal chaired by Mr. Ernesty Obimpeh has dismissed a plea of no case presented to it by the Nnuro Kente, a private manufacturing firm which produces kente yarns.  Nnuro Kente is allegedly discharging its effluents into the river, thus destroying all life forms in and around it. (Accra Mail [Ghana], 27 June 2001)

Air pollutants make transcontinental journey (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 26 June 2001)

United Nations special meeting on HIV/AIDS - another missed opportunity (Christian Aid, 26 June 2001)

Pollution site victims fight for compensation [USA] (Alan Elsner, Reuters, 26 June 2001) 

Sri Lanka to suspend GM food ban at WTO's behest: Sri Lanka announced yesterday it would comply with a World Trade Organisation (WTO) request to suspend one of the world's toughest bans on genetically modified (GM) food, but insisted the restrictions would be reimposed. (Dayan Candappa, Reuters, 26 June 2001)

No Quick Fix: a sustained response to HIV/AIDS and children (Save the Children UK, 25 June 2001)

What Should Africa Expect From UN AIDS Summit? (Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, allAfrica.com, 25 June 2001)

Africans Assail Meagre Response to HIV-AIDS: African leaders used the opening of the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV-AIDS Monday to assail the international community's response to the deadly epidemic for failing to match the speed and seriousness with which the disease is infecting their citizens. (Lewis Machipisa, Inter Press Service, 25 June 2001)

Aid and AIDS: time for serious action: It is double or quits time for the world's richest nations. Either they must dramatically increase the amount of aid to poor countries or they must end the ceaseless rhetoric about their efforts to tackle poverty. (Mark Curtis, Head of Policy, Christian Aid, 25 June 2001) 

Latest victory in battle for cheap drugs as the US withdraws action against Brazil (Oxfam GB, 25 June 2001)

Peru protesters block road over Antamina mine worry (Eduardo Orozco, Reuters, 22 June 2001)

Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work (International Labour Organization, 22 June 2001) {···english···español···français}

TRANSCO - Community involvement [UK] - Transco [gas pipeline operator] has applied fresh thinking to long-standing concerns for health and safety with an initiative that has dramatically reduced accidents in the workplace, saved money and demonstrated the company's social responsibility while raising large sums for Mencap, a charity which helps people with learning disabilities (Ethical Performance magazine, summer 2001)

Toxic Drift: Monsanto and the Drug War in Colombia - The U.S. sprays tons of Monsanto's herbicide, Roundup, in Colombia as part of the drug war. Local residents say it makes them sick and destroys their crops. (Jeremy Bigwood, CorpWatch, 21 June 2001) 

Patents vs Public Health issue won’t go away (Chakravarthi Raghavan, South-North Development Monitor [SUNS], 21 June 2001)

WTO asked to ensure TRIPS doesn’t undermine public health: The forthcoming Doha Ministerial Conference of the WTO should take actions to ensure that the TRIPS Agreement does not in any way undermine the legitimate right of WTO members to formulate their own public health policies and implement them by adopting measures to protect public health, a group of 46 developing countries from - Africa, Asia. Latin America and the Caribbean regions - have demanded in a paper to the Council for TRIPS, at its Special Discussion on TRIPS and Public Health. (Chakravarthi Raghavan, South-North Development Monitor [SUNS], 20 June 2001)

Why We Must Open the Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Boards: The Case of User Fees on Primary Health in Tanzania (Robert Naiman, Attac News, 20 June 2001)

Developing World Demands Clear Rules on Access to Drugs: A large group of developing countries demands that the World Trade Organisation (WTO), at its next ministerial conference, must clear up all the legal uncertainties that stand in the way of countries' rights to protect the health of their populations. (Gustavo Capdevila, Inter Press Service, 20 June 2001) 

Coca-Cola, UNAIDS Form Partnership For Africa (UN Wire, 20 June 2001)

Coke joins AIDS fight in Africa: Marketing giant will help U.N. deliver information, treatment (Don Melvin, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 20 June 2001)

'Patents and Medicines: The WTO Must Act Now!': Joint NGO Statement on Patents and Medicines (19 June 2001)

Asia's environmental abuse has to end - ADB: Environmental degradation in Asia and the Pacific is pervasive, accelerating and unabated and policy-makers have to respond to the problem now, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said yesterday. (Reuters, 19 June 2001) 

Placer Dome's Efforts at Sustainability: Sincere or Greenwash? [Papua New Guinea] (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 19 June 2001)

Asia propelled 'to brink of environmental catastrophe': Rapid population growth coupled with government inaction and weak institutions in Asia are pushing the region to the brink of environmental catastrophe, the Asian Development Bank warned in a report released on Monday. (Rahul Jacob, Financial Times, 18 June 2001) 

Placer Dome Mine Strikes Resentment in Papua New Guinea (Mark Thomsen, SocialFunds.com, 18 June 2001)

UNDP Urges Businesses To Help Fight AIDS (UN Wire, 18 June 2001)

Pollution victims agree to take payout: Plaintiffs in a 12-year court battle over air pollution from factory smoke [including from factories of electric power company, steel companies, chemical companies, gas company] in Nagoya have agreed to a settlement totaling 1.52 billion yen, sources close to the case said Friday (Japan Times, 16 June 2001)

NAFTA agency ripped for not taking action on Tijuana toxic site (Joe Cantlupe, Copley News Service [USA], 16 June 2001)

CLIMATE CHANGE: IPCC Chair Slams Bush Position - Global climate change is real, people are to blame for it and developing countries are its first victims, according to Bob Watson, World Bank chief scientist and chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN Wire, 15 June 2001)

US watchdog group assails genetic field testing: A consumer watchdog group yesterday accused the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) of rubber stamping approval of field tests of genetically engineered crops that could harm people and the environment (Reuters, 15 June 2001) 

Sludge disasters cast shadow over coal revival [USA] (Timothy Gardner, Reuters, 15 June 2001)

Green groups reject US govt report on StarLink bio-corn (Randy Fabi, Reuters, 15 June 2001)

Tobacco, exposed: Campaigns against smoking and tobacco companies have never been fiercer [Egypt] (Amira Howeidy, Al-Ahram Weekly, 14-20 June 2001)

Landmark victory for patient rights over patent protection [Kenya] (Médecins Sans Frontières/Kenya Coalition on Access to Essential Medicines, 14 June 2001)

Finally, WTO to Open Debate on Patents and Low-Cost Drugs: The much-awaited debate on how international patent laws affect developing countries' access to medications begins Wednesday, Jun 20, at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and the countries, corporations and civil society groups involved are putting the final touches on their arguments. (Gustavo Capdevila, Inter Press Service, 14 June 2001) 

GM soy in U.S. needs 10 pct less herbicide - study: Farmers in the United States planting Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) soy reduced their use of herbicides by an average of about 10 percent, Dutch researchers said yesterday (Reuters, 14 June 2001) 

CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control] says StarLink corn did not cause human allergies (Reuters, 14 June 2001) 

Heart attack risk seen in tiny pollution particles [produced by combustion processes in automobile engines, power plants, refineries and smelters] (Will Dunham, Reuters, 13 June 2001) 

HIV/AIDS II: IAVI [International AIDS Vaccine Initiative] Aims To Overcome Drug Makers' Wariness (UN Wire, 12 June 2001)

Can This Man Find an AIDS Vaccine?  A vaccine is our last, best hope of stopping the epidemic. Seth Berkley is trying to deliver the dream. If Seth Berkley finds a vaccine, he hopes to guarantee instant worldwide access to it. (Geoffrey Cowley, Newsweek, 11 June 2001)

Pharmaceuticals rights under threat: DRUG PATENTS: International agreements allowing access to patented medicines have faced their first test (Stephen Ward, Financial Times, 11 June 2001)

GlaxoSmithKline reaffirms commitment to fight diseases of the developing world (GlaxoSmithKline, June 11, 2001)

Glaxo To Cut Prices For AIDS, Malaria Drugs (UN Wire, 11 June 2001)

First Corporate Pledge Made to Global AIDS Fund [by Winterthur, the Swiss-based insurance subsidiary of Credit Suisse] (Karen DeYoung, Washington Post, 8 June 2001)

INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Swiss Company [Winterthur, the Swiss-based insurance subsidiary of Credit Suisse] To Give $1 Million To Fund [to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's global infectious diseases fund] (UN Wire, 8 June 2001)

PESTICIDES: UNEP [UN Environment Program], UNIDO [UN Industrial Development Organization] Launch Site To Cut Ozone Depletion [by methyl bromide, a toxic and ozone-depleting pesticide] (UN Wire, 8 June 2001)

WTO Patent Rules and Access to Medicines: The Pressure Mounts (Oxfam GB, 7 June 2001)

ENVIRONMENT-US: Mining Safeguards Hang in the Balance - Environmentalists and mining executives anxiously await a government decision on whether to suspend mining regulations designed to protect the environment and public health. (Danielle Knight, Inter Press Service, 7 June 2001) 

Hazardous chemicals found in childcare and house products (Greenpeace, 7 June 2001)

Greenpeace applauds the Chinese Government on tightening control over genetically modified organisms (Greenpeace, 7 June 2001)

Pfizer to offer Diflucan antifungal medicine at no charge to HIV/AIDS patients in 50 least developed countries around the world: Program to Expand on South African Partnership Model in Cooperation With United Nations' AIDS Program and World Health Organization (Pfizer, 6 June 2001)

PESTICIDES: Ban possible on 12 toxic farm chemicals [Thailand] (Anchalee Kongrut and Ploenpote Atthakor, Bangkok Post, 6 June 2001)

Pesticides spread their toxic reach: Pesticide use has increased rapidly over the decades and has often had a much deadlier effect than ever was intended. It's time to review our farming methods. [Thailand] (Mahesh Uniyal, Bangkok Post, 6 June 2001)

PESTICIDES: FAO [UN Food and Agriculture Organization] Calls For Action On Old Stocks In Asia-Pacific (UN Wire, 6 June 2001)

Japan's Idemitsu [oil refiner] plans to stop MTBE [gasoline additive; suspected carcinogen] production (Reuters, 6 June 2001) 

AMERICAS: Tobacco Linked To Highest Number Of Preventable Deaths (UN Wire, 5 June 2001)

Justice delayed for a childhood in asbestos: South Africans seek belated compensation [from British company Cape PLC] for their apartheid-era exploitation (Chris McGreal, Guardian [UK], 4 June 2001) 

Africa Prominent At Global Health Awards: Saying that it "doesn’t take a scientist to know that our health, like our freedom, is ultimately indivisible," Melinda French Gates awarded the first annual Gates Award for Global Health to the Centre for Health and Population Research of Bangladesh. (Tamela Hultman, allAfrica.com, 1 June 2001)

How Nestlé uses the 'breast is best' notice to endorse its breastmilk substitutes [alleged violation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes] (Campaign for Ethical Marketing, Baby Milk Action, June/July 2001)

Wyeth - Breaking the Rules 2001 [alleged violation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes] (Campaign for Ethical Marketing, Baby Milk Action, June/July 2001)

Custom Trim Workers Vindicated: But will they be compensated?  On April 6, two weeks before heads of state gathered in Quebec City to discuss the extension of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to the rest of the hemisphere, the US National Administrative Office (NAO) released a report documenting the failure of the NAFTA labour side agreement to ensure enforcement of even existing labour legislation. The NAO report confirms allegations of workers at two formerly Canadian-owned maquila autoparts factories in Matamoros and Valle Hermoso, Mexico of exposure to dangerous chemicals and other workplace hazards. It also documents the failure of Mexican government agencies to enforce their own health and safety regulations. (Maquila Solidarity Network, June 2001)

TRIPS, Patents and Access to Medicines: Proposals for Clarification and Reform (Third World Network, June 2001)

Health and Sustainable Development (briefing paper for World Summit on Sustainable Development, published by IIED [International Institute for Environment and Development] and RING [Regional and International Networking Group], June 2001)

Spoiled Lunch: Polluters Profiting from Federal Lunch Programs - 2001 Sierra Club Report: This report outlines environmental, health, and labor law violations committed by giant slaughterhouses and meat processing plants that supply pork, chicken, and beef to our schools through the federal School Lunch Program. [USA] (Sierra Club, June 2001)

Ministers [UK Chancellor and international development secretary] call for cut in price of third world drugs (Michael White and Larry Elliott, Guardian [UK], 31 May 2001)

Cars fouling Asian air but high-tech offers hope (Amy Tan, Reuters, 31 May 2001) 

Pesticide firms seek Ethiopia toxic dumps audit (David Brough, Reuters, 31 May 2001)

POLLUTION: Villagers want three firms closed: Warnings to knitting factories unheeded [Thailand] (Supamart Kasem, Bangkok Post, 30 May 2001)

HIV/AIDS: UNAIDS Head Looks More To Prevention Than Drugs (UN Wire, 29 May 2001)

Chemical spill injures 90 in southern China (Reuters, 29 May 2001) 

HK activists block Nestle plant in GM food protest (Chee-may Chow, Reuters, 29 May 2001) 

South African hospitals are ill-equipped to deal with crisis [AIDS crisis] (Charlene Smith, Daily Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 29 May 2001)

Japan food recall revives StarLink biotech scare (Jae Hur, Reuters, 28 May 2001) 

Survey links pollution to sexual development (Anne Byrne, Irish Times, 26 May 2001)

New York, Connecticut sue EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] over car pollution rule (Patrick Connole, Reuters, 25 May 2001) 

ICI Group [chemical company]: environmental issues:

New convention to ban toxic chemicals marks turning point for industry (Greenpeace, 23 May 2001)

Nations adopt treaty to ban toxic chemicals: Almost 130 nations formally agreed a U.N. treaty yesterday to ban or minimise use of a "dirty dozen" toxic chemicals blamed for causing cancers and birth defects in people and animals. (Alister Doyle, Reuters, 23 May 2001)

Group [Natural Resources Defense Council] to sue Bush over suspension of arsenic rule (Patrick Connole, Reuters, 23 May 2001)

Access to affordable medicines dominates GlaxoSmithKline AGM [annual general meeting] (Oxfam, 22 May 2001)

Trial date set, as Cape [British asbestos company Cape PLC] hints at settlement (ACTSA [Action for South Africa], 22 May 2001)

A Treaty on Tobacco?...A network of health-conscious organizations in 45 countries is calling for teeth in the tobacco treaty, which is known as the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control..."There's fertile ground for organizing groups that are committed to human rights, environmental protection, and health--groups where one wouldn't expect tobacco to be a paramount issue," says Mulvey [Kathryn Mulvey, executive director of Infact]. "We're hopeful that it will set a precedent for taking on other industries whose products or practices are endangering health and the environment." (Simon Rodberg, The American Prospect, 21 May 2001)

Malign neglect (leader/editorial, Financial Times, 21 May 2001)

A cure for high prices: Jose Serra, Brazil's health minister, this week took his battle against the United States and multinational drug firms over phamaceutical patents to the World Health Organisation's annual assembly in Geneva. (The Economist, 18 May 2001)

Donors urged to support Africa's health systems not exacerbate their collapse (Save the Children UK and Medact, 18 May 2001)

NGOs Criticize UN AIDS Fund (UN Wire, 18 May 2001)

Science defeats baby food industry vested interests at the World Health Assembly: A landmark Resolution recommending that infants be exclusively breastfed for 6 months was passed at the 54th World Health Assembly (WHA) today (IBFAN [International Baby Food Action Network], 18 May 2001)

NGOs zero in on non-transparent WHO [World Health Organization]/Corporate links: Experts for the Health Action International and Oxfam said that the NGOs were not against cooperation with the private sector, but were concerned that this was taking place without transparency and accountability, and raised several issues of conflicts of interest, particularly because of the way the private sector was seconding consultants and experts to work at the secretariat of the WHO....Tiered or differential pricing between rich and poor markets may make a contribution, under certain conditions, for availability of medicines at accessible prices, but should not be seen as an alternative to generic competition or reform of the WTO’s Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement, a representative of Oxfam told an NGO seminar/briefing session here on the occasion of the 54th World Health Assembly. (Chakravarthi Raghavan, Third World Network, 17 May 2001)

Lifting the Veil of Secrecy: New Website Discloses Scientists’ Links to Industry: The nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) today launched an Internet site to provide information about the links between hundreds of scientists — mostly in the fields of nutrition, environment, toxicology, and medicine — and corporations. (Center for Science in the Public Interest, 17 May 2001)

Secretary-general [UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan] advances plans for International AIDS and Health Fund (UNAIDS and World Health Organization joint press release, 17 May 2001)

HIV/AIDS: Impact On Development Outlined At LDC [Least Developed Countries] Conference (UN Wire, 17 May 2001)

Fighting Back in Botswana: Nearly 36 percent of adults in Botswana are believed to have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Elizabeth Farnsworth reports on how Botswana's government is trying to tackle the crisis, in part three of a four-part series. "Diamonds from mines like this are crucial to Botswana's economy, and as more and more workers ended up sick, Debswana decided to act. In early March, it announced that company doctors like Kobus Erasmus would begin to provide the full package of life-saving drugs called anti-retrovirals which have saved millions of lives in developed countries. The mining company would pay 90% of patients' costs."..."A high tech laboratory is under construction in Gabarone, which will have the capacity to analyze how patients on anti-retrovirals are doing. It's funded by the government and Harvard with help from Bristol Myers Squibb." (NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, PBS, 16 May 2001)

Worldwide initiatives against GMOs [genetically modified organisms] (Third World Network, 16 May 2001)

Trust fund to fight disease, importance of health to development among issues at thematic session of Brussels conference (Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, Brussels, 14-20 May 2001, 16 May 2001)

Role Of Health In Poverty Reduction Cited (UN Wire, 16 May 2001)

TOBACCO: EU [European Union] Passes New Rules; WHO [World Health Organization] Wants Tougher Regulation (UN Wire, 16 May 2001)

Multinational baby food companies Nestlé, Milupa, Abbott-Ross, Mead-Johnson and Wyeth are the worst violators of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, says IBFAN (IBFAN [International Baby Food Action Network], 15 May 2001)

'Putting profit before child health': Pressure has been stepped up on firms to stop promoting powdered baby milk to new mums (BBC News, 15 May 2001)

Read the label: China passes regs requiring food products to list genetic alterations (China Online, 15 May 2001)

Victims face uphill battle in court: This last of the three-part series on lead contamination of Klity creek looks at the legal question [Thailand] (Anchalee Kongrut, Bangkok Post, 14 May 2001)

Robert Redford blasts White House green policies (Reuters, 14 May 2001)

Cape [British asbestos company Cape PLC] shamed at AGM [annual general meeting] (ACTSA [Action for South Africa], 10 May 2001)

Global warming triggers public health warning (Margot Higgins, Environmental News Network, 8 May 2001)

HEALTH-INDIA: Group Helps Keep Up Fight Vs Expensive Drugs [India] (T V Padma, Inter Press Service, 7 May 2001)

U.S. Accused of Diluting a Global Pact to Limit Use of Tobacco (Elizabeth Olson, New York Times, 6 May 2001)

World Health Organization and Aventis announce a major initiative to step up efforts against sleeping sickness (World Health Organization, 3 May 2001)

Supply of sleeping sickness drugs confirmed [MSF welcomes agreement between WHO and Aventis securing production of life-saving medicines to treat sleeping sickness] (Médecins Sans Frontières, 3 May 2001)

Costly campaign against AIDS looks past treatment to prevention (Barbara Crossette, New York Times Service, in International Herald Tribune, 2 May 2001)

TOBACCO: Stop Ads To Cut Demand, Say Developing Country Activists (UN Wire, 2 May 2001)

CLIMATE CHANGE: Study Urges Better Systems, Info To Fight Illnesses [study identifies key problems influenced by current weather extremes or potential climate change, including heat-related illness and death, health effects of extreme weather events and air pollution, and diseases carried by water, food or animals; study sponsored by US Environmental Protection Agency, carried out by Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] (UN Wire, 2 May 2001)

Developing country campaigners target Big Tobacco (Associated Press, in abcNEWS.com, 1 May 2001)

Clean Air Month Release: Downward Trend Evident as More Metro Areas [of USA] Flunk Annual American Lung Association Clean Air Test - "State of the Air 2001" Includes New Additions to America's 25 Most Ozone-Polluted Cities & Counties Lists (American Lung Association, 1 May 2001)

Table 3: People at Risk In America's 25 Most Ozone-Polluted Cities (American Lung Association, The State of the Air 2001, 1 May 2001)

Tobacco control treaty assailed from both ends (Frances Williams, Financial Times, 1 May 2001)

Drug Companies vs. Brazil: The Threat to Public Health (Oxfam GB, 1 May 2001)

Breaking the Rules, Stretching the Rules 2001: Evidence of Violations of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent Resolutions [refers to the following baby food companies: Abbott-Ross, Danone, Dumex (INC), Friesland, Gerber, Heinz, Hipp, Humana, Mead Johnson, Meiji, Milupa, Morinaga, Nestlé, Nutricia/Cow & Gate/Lyempf, Snow Brand, Wyeth; also refers to the following bottle and teat companies: Avent, Babelito, Camera, Chicco, Curity, Evenflo, Gerber/NUK, Japlo, Johnson & Johnson/MAM, Mister Baby, Pigeon, Playtex, Remond] (IBFAN [International Baby Food Action Network], May 2001)

Health Sector Assessment of the US National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change (U.S. Global Change Research Program, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, May 2001)

Arsenic and Old Regs [regarding U.S. Environmental Protection Agency withdrawal of a new regulation for arsenic in drinking water, pending a review of scientific and cost issues] (Lynn Thorp, Multinational Monitor, May 2001)

Rollback: A Corporate Feeding Frenzy During Bush’s Honeymoon [USA] (Multinational Monitor, May 2001)

No easy way out for the 'lead people' [Thailand, pollution by a lead extracting plant and its effect on Karen villagers] (Anchalee Kongrut, Bangkok Post, 30 Apr. 2001)

Asbestos bigger killer than roads [in UK] (Jim Pickard, Financial Times, 28 Apr. 2001)

Global health fund [proposed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan] must not just be about drugs (Save the Children and Medact, 26 Apr. 2001)

Chevron and Texaco accused of polluting Cape Town (Inter Press Service, in WOZA Eco [South Africa], Apr. 2001)

GMO products: Consumers in call for compulsory labelling: Nestle criticised for double standard [Thailand] (Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, Bangkok Post, 25 Apr. 2001)

HIV/AIDS: UN Panel Deems Medication Access A Human Right (UN Wire, 24 Apr. 2001)

UN rights body backs Brazil on Aids drugs (news24 [South Africa], 24 Apr. 2001)

CGNU [Norwich Union] AGM [annual general meeting] targeted by asbestos protestors (ACTSA [Action for South Africa], 24 Apr. 2001)

{···português} ONU declara: acesso a remédio é direito humano (Jamil Chade, Estadao.com [Brazil], 23 abril 2001)

Commission on Human Rights adopts six resolutions...[UN Commission on Human Rights adopts resolution recognising that access to medication in the context of pandemics such as HIV/AIDS is a fundamental element for achieving enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health; adopted by vote of 52 in favour, none opposed, one abstention] (United Nations, 23 Apr. 2001)

Drugs: Round One to Africa: Nick Mathiason explains why the pharmas gave way, and why South Africa's joy may be short-lived (Nick Mathiason, Observer [UK], 22 Apr. 2001)

Editorial: A country's right to heal its people (Bangkok Post, 21 Apr. 2001)

How Thailand Took on the Transnational Tobacco Titans: It began as a classic David-and-Goliath story, with a small and relatively poor country — Thailand — butting heads against wealthy multinational tobacco companies and the powerful US trade office that championed their cause. By the time it was over — after a 20-month battle before a GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, now the World Trade Organization) panel and in the court of global public opinion — Goliath's image had been badly battered, anti-tobacco forces in Thailand and internationally had been re-energized, and Thailand had won the right to impose some of the strictest tobacco controls in the world. (Stephen Dale, Reports: Science from the Developing World, International Development Research Centre, 20 Apr. 2001)

Public Report of Review of NAO Submission No. 2000-01 [Custom Trim case, Mexico]: Submission 2000-01 raises concerns about occupational safety and health and compensation in cases of occupational injuries and illnesses at Auto Trim of Mexico in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and at Custom Trim/Breed Mexicana in Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas.  The failure of the Government of Mexico to communicate to the workers about its efforts undertaken in response to the 1998 petition, the lack of records on the 1999 petitions, and the failure to respond to workers’ inquiries about the petitions are inconsistent with the Government of Mexico’s obligations under the NAALC [North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation], which obligate the government to require record keeping; to give due consideration to any request for an investigation of suspected violations of labor law; to ensure that persons have appropriate access to administrative proceedings for the enforcement of labor law; to ensure that proceedings are transparent; to provide for procedural guarantees in those proceedings; and to promote public awareness of labor law. (U.S. National Administrative Office, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, 6 April 2001)

Groundbreaking Blueprint Calls for Widespread Availability of Antiretroviral Treatment to HIV-infected Persons in Poor Countries: Faculty members from Harvard University propose the development of pilot programs designed to test feasibility and effectiveness of HIV drug therapies in low-income countries (Harvard University, 4 Apr. 2001)

Healthy Working: This issue of ALU [Asian Labour Update] looks at OSH [occupational safety and health] in Asia Pacific where we find companies unwilling to protect workers’ wellbeing. (Ed Shepherd, Asian Labour Update, Apr.-June 2001)

Apartheid's Killer Legacy [regarding the conduct of British asbestos company Cape PLC in South Africa] (ACTSA [Action for South Africa], Apr. 2001)

Values in a Global Context: The Novo Group Environmental and Social Report 2000 (Novo Group, 30 Mar. 2001)

Annan Urges Businesses To Do More in Health Sector (UN Wire, 29 Mar. 2001)

Low-Cost Medicine Debate Grips WTO, WHO (Gustavo Capdevila, Inter Press Service, 28 Mar. 2001)

AIDS Data Put South Africa at the Epicenter of Epidemic (Rachel L. Swarns, International Herald Tribune, 21 Mar. 2001)

Assessing Health and Well-Being in Goa's Iron Belt: A research project launched in 1997 with funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is helping India assess the effects of iron mining on human health and well-being in the province of Goa, south of Mumbai. (Keane Shore, Reports: Science from the Developing World, International Development Research Centre, 15 Mar. 2001)

Poisoned By PCBs: Thirty Years Later, Court Documents Reveal Monsanto's Toll on an Alabama Town (Chemical Industry Archives - a project of Environmental Working Group, Mar. 2001)

Global Strategies for People's Health: Fighting medical apartheid (Philippe Demenet, Le Monde diplomatique, Mar. 2001)

{···français} L'exemple bangladeshi [Centre de santé populaire] (Philippe Demenet, Le Monde diplomatique, Mar. 2001)

Industry's Growing Influence at the WHO (Lisa Hayes, Health Action International, 15 Feb. 2001)

Tests Reveal High Levels Of Toxics Inside Diesel School Buses: New Report Finds Children's Exposure Dozens Of Times Higher Than EPA Acceptable Cancer Risk Level (Natural Resources Defense Council and Coalition for Clean Air, 12 Feb. 2001) 

Health Policies in the Global Economy (Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General, World Health Organization, 10 Feb. 2001)

BANGLADESH: Pollution Causes 15,000 Deaths Annually -- Report (UN Wire, 7 Feb. 2001)

TOBACCO: Middle Eastern Youth Targeted By Companies, WHO Says (UN Wire, 6 Feb. 2001)

FAO/WHO: Amount of poor-quality pesticides sold in developing countries alarmingly high (UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 1 Feb. 2001)

A Human Rights Approach to TB [tuberculosis]: Stop TB Guidelines for Social Mobilization (World Health Organization/Stop TB Partnership, 1 Feb. 2001)

Defending the Amazon: This series of On the Record tells the story of the poisoning of Ecuador's Amazon jungle by oil companies. It tells of the contamination of the waters and the resulting sickness in indigenous communities. (On the Record, Advocacy Project, Feb.-Mar. 2001)

Patent Injustice: How World Trade Threatens the Health of Poor People (Oxfam briefing paper, Feb. 2001)

Bangladesh: Make vital medicines available for poor people (Oxfam GB, Feb. 2001)

Dominican Republic: Make vital medicines available for poor people (Oxfam GB, Feb. 2001)

Taking on Toxics II: Health Care Without Harm (Charlie Cray, Multinational Monitor, Jan./Feb. 2001)

Haiti's Thirst for Justice (Charles Arthur, Multinational Monitor, Jan./Feb. 2001)

The Great South African Smokeout (Anna White, Multinational Monitor, Jan./Feb. 2001)

Environmentalists seek urgent solutions to air pollution in Nigeria (Chuka Nnabuife, Guardian [Lagos], 1 Jan. 2001)

Social environment and standards at the work place in the garment industry in Bulgaria - Results from a preliminarily research carried out within a Clean Clothes Campaign international project (Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation, 2001)

Tripping Over Patents: AIDS, Access to Treatment and the Manufacturing of Scarcity [includes extensive material on South Africa] (Jonathan Michael Berger, 2001)

It’s not just, pollution - Robert D. Bullard describes the struggle for environmental justice in the United States and worldwide over the last two decades...The environmental justice movement emerged in response to environmental and social inequities, threats to public health, unequal protection, differential enforcement and disparate treatment received by the poor and people of colour. It redefined environmental protection as a basic right. (Robert D. Bullard, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, in Our Planet, published by U.N. Environment Programme, 2001)

Answering poor health: Gro Harlem Brundtland outlines the links between poverty, health and the environment and recommends practical action (Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization, in Our Planet, published by U.N. Environment Programme, 2001)

Breaking the cycle of poison - Sarojeni V. Rengam reports how excessive pesticide use traps farmers in poverty, and outlines some solutions (Sarojeni V. Rengam, Executive Director of Pesticide Action Network [PAN] Asia and the Pacific, in Our Planet, published by U.N. Environment Programme, 2001)

Everything connects - Thorbjørn Jagland describes the intimate interlinkages between poverty, health and the environment and sets out priorities for action (Thorbjørn Jagland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway, in Our Planet, published by U.N. Environment Programme, 2001)

World Bank Special: Double burden - Ian Johnson and Kseniya Lvovsky show how the health of the poor suffers most from both traditional and modern environmental hazards (Ian Johnson, Vice President of the World Bank, and Kseniya Lvovsky, Lead Environmental Economist in the World Bank’s South Asia Region, in Our Planet, published by U.N. Environment Programme, 2001)

Code of Practice on Safety and Health in the Non-ferrous Metals Industries (International Labour Organization, 2001)