This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English DevelopmentReport.
As two-thousand-three ends, several major issues and events haveinfluenced the year in development.
In October, the first treaty to fight organized criminal groupsaround the world became part of international law. Aboutone-hundred-fifty nations signed the agreement. It includes ameasure making work in organized criminal groups illegal.
Also this year, South Korean doctor Jong Wook Lee was named thenew director-general of the World Health Organization. One of hismain goals is to fight health problems in Africa, especially AIDSand the H-I-V virus that causes it. The United Nations estimatesabout forty-million people have the virus.
World AIDS Day on December firstsupported international efforts to fight the disease. The W-H-Oannounced a new plan to provide three-million AIDS patients indeveloping countries with medicine by the end of two-thousand-five.This program also calls for training more than one-hundred-thousandcommunity health workers. They will work at the local level,providing anti-retroviral drugs and supervising patients. However,the three-million AIDS patients is still only half of the number ofpeople considered in immediate need of the drugs.
The W-H-O estimates five-and-one-half-thousand-million dollarswill be needed to carry out its program. The cost would have beenhigher if not for a recent agreement negotiated by the ClintonFoundation to reduce drug prices for poor nations. Former PresidentBill Clinton negotiated the agreement with three drug companies inIndia and one in South Africa. The companies produce low-costversions of drugs protected by legal permits, or patents. They willsell these medicines to Rwanda, Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africaand twelve Caribbean countries.
The Clinton Foundation agreement was made possible by a WorldTrade Organization ruling in September. The W-T-O gave its approvalfor poor countries threatened by killer diseases to import patenteddrugs. Under the agreement, international patent laws will be easedto permit drug companies in countries like India and Brazil to sellcopies of medicines to poor nations. The agreement also calls forspecial measures to prevent copied drugs from being illegallytransported back to wealthy nations.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss. This is Robert Cohen.