topnaman | Malaria blog

The title of this post is a bit sensational for my tastes but honest in regards to the charges levied by Somandjinga et al in the Bulletin of the WHO. The history of malaria control is replete with stories of gaffes small and large. However, the “policy and practice” article contains frank and detailed criticism, [...]

Two events prompted this post. First, several people have asked me if the malaria vaccine they heard about in the news will eliminate malaria. Second, the GSK CEO Andrew Witty discussed pricing strategies (5% profit above the yet unknown production costs) for this vaccine, called RTS,S, at a recent talk. Wait – pricing? We don’t [...]

As a follow-up to the previous post on the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine is a remarkable piece of history on its origins written by Helen Power. The subtitle “institutionalizing medical research in the periphery” summarizes the article and the insights one can expect from reviewing such a process. How are institutions forged? Who decides [...]