Bitter Pills:Medicines & The Third World Poor | Page 214

11
12

Tanzania Ministry of Health, Evaluation of the Health Sector 1979, October 1980.
Klouda, op.cit., p.15.

13

Ibid. p.17.

14

Government of People's Republic of Bangladesh, Planning Commission The Second Five Year
Plan (Draft) 1980-5, Chapter XVII, "Health and Population Control".

15

Bangladesh Health Profile 1977, op.cit., p.69.

16

Suzanne Williams, OXFAM Field Director, Manaus, in interview with the author, September
1981.

17

Dr. Halfdan Mahler, "The meaningof 'health for all by the year 2 0 0 0 ' " , World Health Forum,
Vol.2, No.l, 1981, p.15.

18

Dr. K.M.S. Aziz, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Research, Bangladesh, in interview with
the author, 8 October, 1980.
5 year MBBS course consists of 2770 hours teaching, of which 940 hours (anatomy, embriology,
histology); 780 hours (physiology, biochemistry); 10 hours (elementary bacteriology and
pathology); 150 pharmacology (no clinical pharmacology); 40 forensic medicine; 25 clinical
subjects; 180 medicine, including clinical medicine, paediatrics, skin and venereal disease and
therapeutics.

19

Interview with Dr. Nelson Senise, "Os males da medicina", Veja, 23 April, 1980.

20

Bangladesh Health Profile 1977, op.cit.

21

Dianna Melrose, The Great Health Robbery, OXFAM, Oxford, 1981, p.10.

22

Mahler, op.cit, p. 10: "Over three-quarters of the world's migrant doctors can be found in
just five countries - Australia, Canada, W. Germany, the UK and the USA."

23

Bangladesh Health Profile 1977, op.cit., p.73.

24

Professor P.F. D'Arcy, Head of Department of Pharmacy, Queen's University of Belfast,
Pharmacy in the Third World: a Cause for Concern, Pharmacy International, (FIP Sector),
June 1980.

25

Figures givenby WHO are contradictory:

(a)

The WHO Drug Policies and Management Unit Paper on the trend of essential drug
prices in developing countries (1980) (mimeo), "General Principles Section", p.3 gives
the figures as 15-20% of health budgets spent on drugs in developed countries, and 40-60%
in developing countries.

(b)

The WHO Background Document, " National Policies and Practices in Regard to
Medicinal Products; and related international problems " (A31 /Technical Discussion/1),
March 1978, gives expenditure on Pharmaceuticals as 10-20% of health expenditure in
developed countries, and "as high as 50% in developing countries."

(c)

But, drugs expenditure is shown to be under 30% in Burma, India, Indonesia and Sri
Lanka in WHO, Drug Policies Including Traditional Medicines in the context of Primary
Health Care, Report and Background Documentation of the Technical Discussions held
during the 32nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for S.E. Asia, September 1979.
Published WHO, Regional Office for S.E. Asia, November 1979, Table 1, p.28.

26

WHO, Drug Policy and Management in Bangladesh, op cit.

27

Tanzania Ministry of Health, Evaluation of the Health Sector 1979, op.cit.

28

Dr. Ann Hoskins, British Organisation for Community Development, "Discussion Paper from
Basic Health Services Drug Committee on the problems of drugs in the Yemen Arab Republic",
May 1981. (mimeo)

29

Letter from Pharmacist Barry Cohen, Pharmacy Department, Holy Rosary Hospital, Emekuku,
1MO State, Nigeria to Ritchie Cogan, BBC, London, 23 July, 1979.

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