Policy Wise

Gujarat government has launched a new tele-medicine scheme to provide healthcare in villages,
“Through video conferencing, doctors at a distant hospital will be able to diagnose the villagers for basic ailments and prescribe medicines online. The printout of the prescription will be available at the community service centres set up by the department,” said Vyas.
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With broadband [...]

Based on the Conditional Cash Transfer model, a new anti-AIDS program in Tanzania will offer people money to practice safe sex,

The $1.8m trial – to be launched this year – will counsel 3,000 men and women aged 15-30 in southern rural Tanzania over three years, paying them on condition that periodic laboratory test results prove [...]

A new company, supported by online giant Ebay, would allow small investors to provide microloans starting from as low as 50$.
The key to microlending, says Turner, is that it fosters self-reliance and, eventually, sustainable economic growth in a way that charity does not. What’s more, lenders stand to receive small financial benefits in the form [...]

As part of its efforts to celebrate the 60th anniversary of India’s independence, DNA requested me to write an article on India and intellectual property. For those interested, it can be found here. I’ve also copied it below.
I’ve advocated in this article that the Novartis patent case be permitted to run its course and the [...]

In the post on patents, we had briefly talked about partnerships between pharmaceutical companies and charitable organizations to develop low costs drugs for the developing world. One such attempt is already successful,
The medicine, called ASAQ, is a pill combining artemisinin, invented in China using sweet wormwood and hailed as a miracle malaria drug, with [...]

In recent years, American companies have been complaining of rising health care premiums. Some have argued that it is putting American companies at a disadvantage and have even advocated national health care. As the nation debates health care reforms, the companies are taking matters in their own hands.
Within the last two years, companies including [...]

One of the biggest problems which developing nations face is the high cost of drugs. The patents are generally held by giant Western pharmaceutical companies who exploit their monopoly status to drive up prices. African nations have faced prohibhitive costs with H.I.V drugs and India will face the same challenges as it completes the change [...]