NORTH EAST MEP BACKS CAMPAIGN TO END NEGLECTED DISEASES (Fiona Hall MEP)

Fiona Hall MEP <info@fionahall.org.uk>

NORTH EAST MEP BACKS CAMPAIGN TO END NEGLECTED DISEASES

January 13, 2006 12:00 AM

North East Liberal Democrat Euro-MP Fiona Hall has added her backing to a campaign being run by the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi). DNDi are running an appeal urging governments to boost research and development (R&D) to develop new medicines for long-neglected diseases.

They are calling on governments to provide significant and sustained support to bring essential new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics to people suffering and dying from neglected diseases.

Commenting, Ms Hall said:

'Too many people die from a lack of drugs for diseases such as AIDS, malaria, TB, as well as the most neglected diseases like sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and kala azar. They die needlessly.

'Scientific knowledge exists to develop new treatments, but the political will does not. The profit-driven model cannot or will not develop new, improved drugs for neglected dieases, and we cannot just rely on generous philanthropic efforts to support R&D projects.

'These long-neglected diseases affect hundreds of million of people across the world, yet we lack safe, affordable, effective, field-adapted vaccines, diagnostics, and drugs to tackle them. Of 1,393 new medicines approved between 1975 and 1999, only 1% were developed for tropical diseases and tuberculosis.

'There is an urgent need to correct the fatal imbalance of the current drug development model. Governments must take responsibility now for global public health.'