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LIFE> Health
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Chronic diseases step out of the shadows
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-01 09:40 One of the Alliance's main goals will be to develop strategies to fight these kinds of diseases on a broad scale. "We know how to treat an individual," Daar says. "But how do you treat hypertension or high blood pressure at a global level? How do you scale up?" The lack of medical infrastructure is a major obstacle in many countries, Pramming says. "Even if we do have effective and cheap medication, how do we get it to the patients?" One solution may be to build on resources that have already been used to fight other diseases. "There is a lot of money going into infrastructure for HIV," Daar says, and that same infrastructure could be used. International collaboration will prevent the member organizations from duplicating work and will allow them to agree on protocols and methods for research, Daar says. The World Health Organization, whose job is to coordinate world research, is joining the Alliance as an observer. Pramming stresses that the new organization is a funding group that will hold the money and set the agenda, not do the research itself. Funds from the contributing agencies are to be financed by taxes, Daar says. "These countries realize that health is an investment, not an expenditure. It will help increase the tax base." |
