SCENE 'Bitter pills'

Scan page 11

Help the child to grow with

reviews Dianna Melrose book on Medicines and the Thir World poor ($4.95 from that, instead of the few essential drugs necessary to combat diseases of the poor, third world countries are flooded with useless vitamin and mineral tonics, cough and cold preparations, health "restorers", digestive aids, tranquillisers and antidepressants.

Frequently, drugs are supplied in wasteful or dangerous doses or in irrational mixtures. Lack of control in prescribing antibiotics is leading to the development of bacteria resistant to all available antibiotics.

Tonics

Examples: In Nepal, out of 2,000 drugs on the market in 1980, 733 were "tonics", while out of 160 plus brands of cough suppressant on sale in the Philippines, only about ten were based on codeine (the only drug recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for this purpose).

In India; only 2.7% of drug production is accounted for by drugs for leprosy and tuberculosis, though there are four million and eight million victims of each disease respectively.

Dapsone, the basic and very cheap drug tor treating leprosy is always in short supply.

Starvation

Third world patients are frequently prescribed non-essential as well as essential drugs. If poor, they then have to either choose some items from the list (with the "help" of the drug vendor!) or go into debt (with potentially disastrous effects on the health of their families as starvation follows).

The costs of drugs in the third world are frequently astronomical in relation to incomes. A course of the antibiotic Bactrim in Mexico costs as much as food for a family of four for a fortnight! Also in Mexico, the Vitamin C preparation Redoxon costs about ten times as much as the equivTwo weeks' fre alent in oranges, while a popular tonic contains calcium (to promote healthy bones ang teeth which every Mexican gets more than enough of from tortillas, traditionally treated with limewater (calcium hydroxide). There is a trend in the third world towards the use of generic names when purhe inhidr cs. Tresult isavings of one-third to nine-tenths, is predictably opposed by the drug companies just as it is in Britain at the moment). The companies say that the higher cost of branded products is justified to recoup the costs of research and development - but only 1% of R&D is specifically directed towards third world needs.

Information supplied with drugs is often quite different from that supplied in Western countries either much reduced, exaggerated or actually untrue.

One anti-diarrhoea drug, Lomotil, is "to be used only e samples to with caut children" , children ur in Britain world dose mended fol months!

Solutions include:

intellig of traditit with mode proven vait •Comm projects, ta of ill-hes Health one doctor! ion in young and not at all in ¡der one year.• In the third *ges are recomr babies under 3 discussed gent integration onal medicines in practices of re. unity health cking all aspects ith, including worker in a banglaaesn viage Orabolin GROWTH IN EVERY DROP Organon ORGANON Through advertising such as t conned into buying expensive money for ordinary food poverty.

•Setting up locallycontrolled drug production (as in China, Cuba, India and Bangladesh):

•Education schemes to show the causes of ill-health and to place drug use in a wider context. OLists of essential drugs, safer prescribing practices, and use of generic names to reduce costs.

Such solutions have met and will meet with the ..:11 A child's world is full of fun and laughter, love and care of parents. And that is what oll children need to grow healthy and sturdy.

But it is not always so. Un. bolanced diet, poor appetite and frequent illness often intertere with the nornial growth of children.

Orabolin

Ensures normal growth Stimulates appetite promotes optimal weight STRENGTH IN EVERY TABLET (BANGLADESH) LIMITED ris, Third World families are medicines - leaving them no opposition of the d companies and goverments. Alrea Bangladesh has b threatened by the government for refusing supply rare monkeys drug-testing in the US.

As far as the Bril Labour Party is concern its, Science and Techi ogy Study Group sho digest the contenta of 1 book when osasider priorities for a nationali drug industry! Irug heir ady, een US g to for