The role of activists in access to HIV and tuberculosis treatment and prevention

Negotiating public-health intellectual property licensing agreements to increase access to health technologies: an insider's story

Public health voluntary licensing of intellectual property has successfully been applied to increase access to medicines in certain disease areas, producing health benefits and economic savings, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. There is however limited understanding of the intricacies of the approach, the modalities by which it works in practice, its levers and the trade-offs made. Such knowledge may be critical in deciding what role licensing should have in pandemic preparedness and equitable access to health technologies more broadly. This paper examines the case for licensing, the considerations for balancing public health needs, the challenges of negotiations, and the processes for validating proposed agreements. No access mechanism is perfect, but evidence suggests that public-health licensing has an important role to play, although it remains underused. Understanding some of the realities, strengths, limitations and complexities of applying the model may help calibrate expectations and develop incentives to expand its applications.

Solidarity, vulnerability and mistrust: how context, information and government affect the lives of women in times of Zika

BACKGROUND

The public health response to Zika outbreak has mostly focused on epidemiological surveillance, vector control, and individual level preventative measures. This qualitative study employs a social-ecological framework to examine how macro (historical, legislative, political, socio-economic factors), meso (sources of information, social support, social mobilization) and micro level factors (individual actions, behavioral changes) interacted to influence the response and behavior of women with respect to Zika in different contexts.

METHODS

A qualitative study was carried out. Women were recruited through the snowball sampling technique from various locations in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the United States. They were of different nationalities and ethnicities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The data transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Women in this study deemed the information provided as insufficient, which led them to actively reach out and access a variety of media sources. Social networks played a vital role in sharing information but also resulted in the spread of hoaxes or rumors. Participants in our research perceived socio-economic inequities but focused on how to remedy their microenvironments. They did not engage in major social activities. Lack of trust in governments placed women in vulnerable situations by preventing them to follow the guidance of health authorities. These impacts were also a result of the response tactics of health and government administrations in their failed attempts to ensure the well-being of their countries' populations.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings call for public health interventions that go beyond individual level behavioral change campaigns, to more comprehensively address the broader meso and macro level factors that influence women' willingness and possibility to protect themselves.