Global access to treatment: achievements and challenges

As mentioned in the previous issue, this section of the Review addresses issues related to improving access to adequate and affordable care, treatment, and support everywhere. It replaces the section previously called "Patents and Prices." In this issue, we feature a review of achievements and challenges in recent years in opening global access to HIV/AIDS treatments. The article - one of a series commissioned to mark the tenth anniversary of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, discussing past developments and future directions in areas of policy and law related to HIV/AIDS - describes the developments that recast the debate about access to treatment from one focused on patent entitlements to one focused on the right to health and treatment. It analyzes the role of national and international activism, strategically constructed alliances, and principled leadership in achieving this change. And it discusses continuing obstacles to equitable access to HIV/AIDS treatments for the world's population.     

Non-repellency of two insect growth regulators with juvenile hormone activity to Blattella germanica

Blattella germanica (L.) (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae) adults and nymphs provided with choice food did not discriminate against food treated (200 ppm) with either R-20458 or Ro 20-3600 indicating the absence of non-preference. Also, in a separate study with treated paper cards (0.5 mg/cm²), these two insect growth regulators did not exhibit any significant repellency to the German cockroach adults. Farnesol, however, was found to be significantly repellent. The bait formulations of synthetic insect growth regulators with juvenile hormone activity appear promising for the control of German cockroach.

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Zusammenfassung Bei Wahlversuchen entschieden sich Adulte und Nymphen vonBlattella germanica (L.) nicht gegen Nahrung, die mit R-20458 oder mit Ro 20-3600 behandelt war (200 ppm), womit das Fehlen einer Non-Pr?ferenz erwiesen war. Ferner zeigten in einer gesonderten Studie mit behandelten Papierkarten (0,5 mg/cm²) diese zwei Insektenwachstumsregulatoren keine signifikante Abschreckung gegenüber Adulten der Deutschen Schabe. Dagegen erwies sich Farnesol signifikant als repellent. K?derformulierungen von synthetischen Insektenwachstumsregulatoren mit Juvenilhormonaktivit?t erscheinen aussichtsreich für die Bek?mpfung der Deutschen Schabe.

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Paper of the Journal Series, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.     

Gender, sexuality, and HIV/AIDS: the what, the why, and the how

The focus of Geeta Rao Gupta's plenary presentation of 12 July 2000 at the XIII International AIDS Conference is on the what, why, and how of gender, sexuality, and HIV/AIDS. Dr Rao Gupta discusses the factors associated with women's vulnerability to HIV; and the ways in which unequal power balance in gender relations increases not only women's, but also men's, vulnerability to HIV-despite, or rather because of, their greater power. She then addresses the question of how one is to overcome the seemingly insurmountable barriers of gender and sexual inequality. How can we change the cultural norms that create damaging, even fatal, gender disparities and roles? According to Dr Rao Gupta, an important first step is to recognize, understand, and publicly discuss the ways in which the power imbalance in gender and sexuality fuels the epidemic. She provides examples of sensitive, transformative, and empowering approaches to gender and sexuality and concludes that, in the final analysis, reducing the imbalance in power between women and men requires policies that are designed to empower women--policies that aim to decrease the gender gap in education, improve women's access to economic resources, increase women's political participation, and protect women from violence.     

Unnatural death investigation in India. A plea for the introduction of a medical examiner system of inquest

The inquest upon a dead body is the basis of the scientific crime investigation and administration of criminal justice. The pivotal issue in any inquest is the initial visualization of the body and its surroundings at the scene of incident by a team of investigators and experts. This must be carried out meticulously, since the subsequent course of the case, and its success or failure in the court of justice, essentially depends upon its proper execution. Unfortunately, such an important step as the inquest is generally the most neglected part of any crime investigation process as it exists in India today. It is quite often left entirely to the inspired guesswork and seasoned experience of the lowest ranking police officers and more often than not to a Head Constable of a police station or substation. Nevertheless, while the coroner's system has proved to be utterly unsuitable for Indian conditions, we have failed to find an alternative solution to the growing challenge of scientific crime investigation in India, by involving the forensic pathologist in inquests held upon dead bodies, by including him in the first crime investigation. A strong case is made for adoption of the medical examiner's system of inquest, wherein the forensic pathologist plays the pivotal role and leads the "unnatural death investigation team."     

Indian is the New Black? The Rise of Indian-Americans on American Television

This article argues that the growing use of Indian-American characters in American television programming results from a combination of societal shifts in the United States as well as changes in the international system—specifically, the increasing ethnic diversity in America as well as the rise of non-western nations as important players in a globalized world that has led to a growing global market for American television programs. Further, the portrayal of such characters also ranges from what the British Broadcasting Corporation calls ‘color-blind casting’ (where the race and ethnicity of characters do not determine or limit the roles they portray) to more stereotypical renderings of the Indian-American community. It concludes by suggesting that changes in demography, as well as market forces within the United States and abroad, will probably lead not only to more Indian-Americans on television but also to their portraying roles that fit into the reality of the Indian-American status and experience in American society.     

Managing fragmentation in global environmental governance: the REDD+ Partnership as bridge organization

This article analyzes the increasing institutional and organizational complexity and fragmentation surrounding the international financing mechanism REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries and related forest activities), now being negotiated within the UNFCCC. We focus, in particular, on critically assessing the prospects of managing such fragmentation. We do so by analyzing whether and how (what we conceptualize here as) a “bridge organization”—the voluntary, multi-stakeholder REDD+ Partnership bringing together state and non-state actors from global to local scales—has aided in managing fragmentation in this realm, through exercising four enabling functions (enhancing transparency, participation, knowledge sharing, and coordination). Our analysis shows that the REDD+ Partnership has partially succeeded in furthering such procedural aims, but that this has not resulted in a “scaling up of REDD+ action and finance,” its overarching substantive aim. In contrast to dominant views of a bridge organization’s modus operandi, we conclude, based on our analysis, that its value lies not in overcoming persisting geopolitical conflicts around climate mitigation and providing a “depoliticized” context within which to manage fragmentation. Instead, its success lies in permitting dialogue and exchange even in the face of persisting political conflicts over its raison d’être and functions. In making these arguments, the article extends recent debates on the prospects to manage fragmentation in global environmental governance and provides a critical assessment of the role therein for bridge organizations.     

Global governance principles for the sustainable development of groundwater resources

A normative framework for the governance of groundwater is emerging at the global level. However, existing analyses have not comprehensively covered all the governance texts that have a bearing on transboundary groundwater resources or looked at them from the perspective of sustainable groundwater governance. Therefore, this paper responds to the questions: What are the global governance texts (including international laws) applicable to groundwater resources; to which forms of the resource do they apply; which principles have been included over time; and what are the implications for sustainable development of groundwater resources now and in the future? The analysis highlights key groundwater concepts, discusses twelve global groundwater governance texts and the thirty principles therein, classifies the principles into ideal–typical categories based on the sustainable development concept; and assesses the gaps and conflicts between the principles and texts. The paper has three key findings. First, groundwater governance is rapidly evolving and there are a number of principles available to promote sustainable development. Second, however, these collective principles do not adequately address (a) the link with all water resources; (b) the potential impact of climate change on water resources; and (c) the impact of trade on equitable sharing of groundwater and protection of groundwater-related ecosystems. Third, to the extent that this collection of principles can contribute to sustainable development, they are inconsistently included in the legally binding groundwater governance texts. Therefore, much progress is needed to ensure a global normative framework that can guide the sustainable governance of groundwater resources.     

Child Protection Law as an Independent Variable

Child protection professionals work in a multidisciplinary system in which the law and the family court play central roles and which collects an increasing amount of data. Yet we know little about what impact the law has on whether a child is removed by child protective services, is deemed neglected by a family court, or reunifies with a parent. Do state‐to‐state variations in child protection laws, or changes by individual states to their laws, lead to different outcomes for children and families? The dramatic variations in child welfare practice from one state to another suggest that legal variations do matter. Yet empirical research on these questions is scarce both because we collect too little data to measure all such issues, and, because we have failed to study the data we do have. This article is a plea for researchers to rectify that problem and for policymakers to improve data collection. Doing so would facilitate a more clear understanding of the law's effect on child protection outcomes and aid policymakers and advocates in identifying both promising and problematic practices and legal reforms.