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Broccoli Extract May Help Prevent Skin Cancer By Jessica Berman Washington 23 October 2007

Berman report (mp3) - Download 684k Listen to Berman report (mp3) Researchers say that an extract made from broccoli sprouts may prevent skin cancer when applied directly to the skin. VOA's Jessica Berman reports scientists say broccoli contains a chemical that stimulates the body's natural anti-cancer ability. According to scientists, broccoli contains a chemical called sulphoraphane, which activates cancer-fighting enzymes inside cells. Researchers say the richest source of sulphoraphane is contained in sprouts. In a demonstration of the plant's anti-cancer properties, investigators smeared broccoli sprout extract on the skin of six volunteers for three days, and then exposed them to high doses of ultraviolet radiation, which is the leading cause of skin cancer. They found there was an average 37 percent less redness and sunburn in the patches covered by broccoli extract. Redness and sunburn are an indication of skin damage that could lead to cancer. The results of the study are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Paul Talalay is a Johns Hopkins University molecular pharmacologist and the author of the study. Talalay says sunscreen conferred no protection against the UV rays, but he says that does not mean people should stop using it. "We want to avoid under all circumstances people doing weird things like making broccoli sprout soup and applying to their skin and thinking that they will be protected against the sun," he said. "They will have not have any protection whatsoever, because it's a totally different mechanism and one cannot possibly substitute for the other." Applied as a thick cream, sunscreen protects the skin by deflecting the sun's harmful rays. But it must be constantly reapplied to remain effective. In contrast, Talalay says, a compound made of broccoli sprouts works by penetrating skin cells and stimulating their natural cancer-fighting mechanism. Observers call the research promising, but say more studies are needed because the results varied considerably among participants, ranging from a low of eight percent to a high of 78 percent protection against sunburn. Talalay disagrees. "Everybody knows you go to the beach and you get fried and I go to the beach and nothing happens to me," he added. "And we are in the same place. So, the same experiment if done in a large number of individuals would be much more complex. But I believe that the evidence certainly from animal studies is that we would get absolutely the same result." Talalay believes if it works in the skin, a sulphoraphane extract from broccoli sprouts is very likely to act as a hedge against cancer in other organs. Meanwhile, researchers say there are a number of challenges in making a sun cream from broccoli sprouts, not the least of which is figuring out how to get rid of the green tint.

Investment in Science and New Technology Considered Key Elements to Overcome Poverty in Africa By Paul Ndiho Washington 22 October 2007

Report on needed economic progress in Africa through science and technology, mp3 - download Listen to Report on needed economic progress in Africa through science and technology, mp3 Report on needed economic progress in Africa through science and technology, ra - download Listen to Report on needed economic progress in Africa through science and technology, ra As the world increasingly adapts to the information age, it’s clear that science and technology will be important to every country's growth and prosperity. For Africa, the development of science and technology is needed for a continent where poverty is rampant. African governments are in constant need of scientific and technical advice on issues such as education, energy policy, disease control, and environmental management. Voice of America's Paul Ndiho produced this story narrated by reporter Kimberly Russell. There is growing recognition that Africa can strengthen its economic performance only through considerable investment using new knowledge. Good governance in Africa is considered not possible without a sound scientific basis for decision-making. Africa is faced with a set of specific problems, ranging from agricultural production to health, for which scientific, engineering, agricultural, medical and social skills are urgently needed. David King is the chief scientific advisor for the United Kingdom. He says, “Long-term economic transformation in Africa will need to be guided by effective science and technology advice. Ongoing political reforms in Africa have coincided with the growing realization that economic growth is mainly a result of the transformation of knowledge expressed in the form of education, science and technology and the associated institutions into goods and services.” Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili is the Vice President of the Africa Region for the World Bank. She says, “The degree of technological competency of African economies will play an increasingly decisive role in their success as global competitors. African knowledge institutions should be repositioning themselves to strengthen capacity in fundamental disciplines of science, and technology.” Many of Africa’s individual states are no longer considered viable economic entities; and some say their future lies in creating trading partnerships with neighboring countries. However, some African countries are seen as starting to take economic integration seriously -- an idea first promoted by the late Kwame Nkrumah, who led Ghana to independence in 1957.

Zimbabwe Health Minister Urges Firms To Slash AIDS Drug Prices By Ndimyake Mwakalyelye Washington 23 October 2007

Interview With Matilda Moyo Listen to Interview With Matilda Moyo Zimbabwe Health Minister David Parirenyatwa has called for a reduction in prices for antiretroviral drugs for people living with HIV/AIDS, saying they are too high. The state-controlled Herald newspaper quoted the health minister as saying the market price of Z$10 million (US$10) to Z$20 million for a one-month supply of generic ARVs was excessive. Public sector clinics charge about Z$500,000.

Many who cannot afford the drugs either stop their treatment or take cheaper drugs which are often counterfeit or have passed their expiration date. Dr. Parirenyatwa said the government would work with the private sector to cut prices. Most ARV distributors must import them – Zimbabwe has only one domestic producer, state-controlled Varichem – and mark up prices to break even or turn a profit. An acute shortage of hard currency has reduced Varichem's ability to manufacture enough drugs, contributing to the critical shortage of ARVs. Dr. Parirenyatwa told the Herald that his ministry would work with ARV producers to determine the actual cost of manufacturing the pharmaceuticals so that they could be priced to allow a reasonable margin to firms but be more affordable to patients. "When they finish working on the modalities, we expect them to come back with a feedback on the actual cost of manufacturing ARVs before they are sold to the public," the Herald quoted Dr. Parirenyatwa as saying. Estimates of the number of Zimbabweans who need ARVs ranges from 300,000 to a half million. But only about 90,000 are receiving drugs free of charge from clinics run by the state or charitable organizations, while others must purchase them. Pan-African Treatment Movement steering group member Matilda Moyo told reporter Ndimyake Mwakalyelye of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that most firms were likely to resist price reductions, fearing reduced earnings or outright losses on trade.

Counterfeit Drug Sales in Africa Strong, Threaten Public Health By Phuong Tran Dakar 19 October 2007

Tran report (mp3) - Download 834k Listen to Tran report (mp3) The World Health Organization says up to 30 percent of the medicine sold in Africa is fake. It says such drugs are readily available on street corners and even some pharmacies. Health officials say counterfeit pharmaceuticals are killing thousands and making it harder to treat infections. Phuong Tran has more from VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar. At this market in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, tables are piled high with boxes of medication. The market is effectively an unofficial pharmacy. The vendor says he knows selling drugs in the market is illegal, but is not worried about getting caught. He says he provides a valuable service because many cannot afford to go to the doctor to get prescriptions, or buy from pharmacies. He adds police do not bother him because religious leaders protect his medicine sales. But Antonio Mazzitelli, the head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime for West Africa, says these sales can be deadly. Thousands have died throughout West Africa because of fake vaccines and other medications. The U.N. crime officer says counterfeit smuggling networks take advantage of Africa's poor or non-existent drug regulatory systems to dump fraudulent drugs. "There is a huge market and growing local production in certain countries that is taking more and more space and room in [the] West African economy," said Mazzitelli. "The counterfeit pharmaceutical products are structured like criminal organizations. So this is what really threatens the future of West Africa."

Papa Diop is Senegal's Ministry of Health director who oversees prescription drug imports, as well as drugs produced locally and sold in Senegal's 800 pharmacies. He says patients do not realize street drugs are not regulated and can contain deadly toxins. Diop compares Tetracycline, an antibiotic purchased at the street market with a drug by the same name sold at a pharmacy. The two cost about the same. Diop says the different color and design on the street medication prove it is a copy. He says it could be filled with sand and completely ineffective or, at worst, filled with a deadly ingredient. Health officials say counterfeit medicine can kill off some bacteria. But other ones can surface. The patient can eventually fall ill and infect others with newly discovered, drug-resistant bacteria. For example, Diop points out malaria has grown resistant to some treatments, partly because it has been treated with the wrong medication. West African governments are fighting back. Earlier this week, Mauritanian officials seized and burned 36,000 bottles of counterfeit medicine that officials say mostly came from China, Syria, Nigeria and Hong Kong. In Nigeria, which has an 80-percent rate of counterfeit drugs according to the France-based anti-crime organization Interpol, landlords can be arrested for storing counterfeit drugs. Other West African countries have periodically launched advertisements about the danger of street medication. But sales of illegal prescription drugs still remain strong. An unidentified National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, official looks at samples of seized fake drugs in Lagos, Nigeria (file photo)

Major pharmaceutical companies have been accused of hiding knowledge of counterfeits of their medicines because they fear losing business from a damaged reputation.

Though some companies do share such information, no country legally requires notification. The U.S.-based Center for Medicines in the Public Interest estimates counterfeit drug sales will increase to $75 billion by 2010, a more than 90 per cent increase from 2005.

London's Maternal Conference Ends on Hopeful Note By Tendai Maphosa London 20 October 2007

Maphosa report (mp3) - Download 761k Listen to Maphosa report (mp3) The three-day Women Deliver conference, which focused on maternal and infant mortality, ended Saturday in London. As Tendai Maphosa reports, the organizers and delegates hope it will give new momentum to efforts to reduce pregnancy and birth-related deaths. The London conference was held on the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Safe Motherhood Initiative in Kenya. But since then, more than 500,000 women worldwide have died annually from pregnancy and birth-related complications. As the conference opened, Jill Sheffield of Family Care International, a non-governmental organization, said progress has been slow. At conference end, she was more upbeat, recognizing a political will she said was not there before. "This was a political meeting," she said. "We have governments ready to invest in making that work, we have ministers of finance, planning, local government and health who were here. There is a nucleus from each of 32

countries who came here to work together and go home to work together. And those 32 countries are very high maternal mortality countries." The majority of maternal deaths occur in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Pius Okong is an obstetrician from Uganda. He explained that while the numbers are high in sub-Saharan Africa, maternal mortality is not given the priority it deserves. He said women frequently die in remote parts of the country and their deaths are regarded as due to natural causes.

Women with children wait for care outside a village clinic in Chad

Dr. Okong added that while epidemics such as cholera or ebola provoke an immediate response, maternal mortality does not carry the same weight. Okong said governments and NGOs that are motivated will make the health difference.

"If the leaders from Africa who have come here catch the vision, they are passionate about going back to do something then they will do something," he said. "If the people who have certain types of resources whether its technology whether it is money whether its advocacy to help the people in Africa they will make a difference." The conference took place amid concerns that Millennium Development Goal Five, which aims to improve maternal health, may not be achieved. The United Nations goal is to reduce maternal mortality by 75 percent between 1990 and 2015. Family care International's Sheffield says even if the goal is not met, it is possible to get close if everyone works hard enough. "We might not get quite there, we are starting way far behind, but part of the strength of my feeling about this is the recognition that those other Millennium Development Goals are not going to be as successful if we don't reach number five," she added. "Women are absolutely at the heart of our families and our communities, they are also at the heart of the Millennium Development Goals." Sheffield said the example of Honduras - where the government succeeded in reducing maternal mortality by forty percent - is proof that political will can tip the balance.