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GPHF 1998 General Meeting At the GPHF 1998 General Meeting, the GPHF member companies - in the mean-time 23 in number - were able to draw a positive balance of the project ac-tivities of the GPHF: all projects initiated by the society have proceeded suc-cessfully and ac-cording to schedule. Considerable progress was made in particular in connection with the GPHF Minilab project. If all goes according to plan, it will be possible to present this easy-to-handle testing method for the detection of drug forgeries to the public in the middle of this year. In addition, the GPHF projects launched in Indo-nesia and Mauritania in 1997 have gotten off to a good start in the past months (see reports on the following pages).
In his annual report, the GPHF chairman, Dr. Reiner Welters, emphasized that the financial funding of all projects currently in progress is fully covered by the assured donations of the members. Dr. Welters thanked all sponsors for their generous sup-port of the GPHF's project activities in 1997. This notwithstanding, he went on, the aim should now be to devote greater efforts to ensuring that the level of donations can be maintained over the long term, too. In this connection, Dr. Welters appraised the success of the GPHF's projects as the best advertisement for the society. In his report on the successful balance of the projects, the chairman expressed his sincere thanks to all the partners of the GPHF. As in the past, in 1997 too the stra-tegy of managing each project in close cooperation with experienced and reliable partners was seen to pay off. Dr. Welters was also pleased to be able to report that in the past year it had been possible to enrol two new members into the GPHF, namely Centeon Pharma GmbH and ZENECA GmbH. In the board elections, Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Diesner (Grünenthal GmbH) was appointed a new member of the GPHF board. Dr. Diesner succeeds Dr. Franz Wirtz, who up to now has represented the Grünenthal GmbH company on the GPHF board. A further new member of the board elected was Dr. Hilmar Kienzl (ZENECA GmbH), who will assume his office on September 1, 1998. With regard to the annual account and the annual report, the members unanimously gave formal acceptance to the board on both counts.
The GPHF wishes to thank the following sponsors for their generous support of the its project activities in 1998:
Iodine deficiency in Indonesia All political and economic turbulences notwithstanding, the mobile laboratory for the diagnosis of iodine-deficiency-related diseases funded by the GPHF has arrived safely in Indonesia, meaning that the GPHF project can start in February 1998 as planned. After personnel were instructed regarding the handling of the so-called "ThyroMobil", investigations have meanwhile begun in school-children and pregnant women on Sumatra, Java, and Bali. The scientific responsibility for the project, which is scheduled to last twelve months, lies in the capable hands of Prof. Djokomoeljanto (University of Djakarta).
According to estimates made by UNICEF, over 50 million children worldwide are retarded in their mental development as a result of iodine deficiency. In Indonesia too, iodine-deficiency-related diseases constitute a major public-health problem, with children being among those worst affected. The diagnostic measures now being sponsored by the GPHF are part of a comprehensive information campaign aimed at enhancing the awareness of the Indonesian population regarding the risks to health posed by iodine deficiency. For the diagnosis of iodine-deficiency-related disorders, the GPHF has equipped the ThyroMobil among other things with an ultrasonic device, a refrigerator, a physical-examination couch, and an air-conditioning unit. The objective of the project is to collect reliable data concerning the coverage of the iodine requirements of the Indonesian population. For this purpose, some 8,000 schoolchildren aged between 8 and 14 years and also roughly 500 mothers-to-be shall be investigated for thyroid volume and urine iodine excretion. In addition, the investigation is also designed to provide information for possible approaches for any necessary therapeutical measures. Besides the University of Djakarta, the International Council for the Control of Io-dine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD) and the GPHF member company Merck are partners of the GPHF in connection with this project.
GPHF model project in Mauretania Since 1997, the GPHF - in cooperation with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the German GTZ (Society for Technical Cooperation), and the local public-health authorities - has been conducting a model project for the inte-grat-ed containment of endemic tropical diseases. The project is aimed at combat-ting malaria, the guinea worm, and schistosomiasis and intestinal parasites. The area covered by the project lies in the southern region of Mauritania, in the provinces of Trarza and Brakna, just north of the border to Senegal. In the judgement of Joachim A. Ernst, who as a member of the GPHF board is re-sponsible for the project, the initial results gained in the project give reason for optimism that the ambitious objectives of the project can be achieved.
The aims of the project are the reduction in the morbidity and mortality associated with malaria by 50 percent, the complete eradication of the guinea worm, and the permanent reduction of infections due to schistosomiasis and intestinal parasites. In the first, now completed, phase of the project, the support lent by the GPHF has en-abled the following measures, among others, to be taken: the supply of microscopes and laboratory materials, the training of chemlab personnel, the installation of a docu-mentation centre, the conduct of epidemiological studies, and the supply of pharmaceutical drugs. Besides the carrying out of further epidemiological investigations and the treatment of the diseases themselves, one major point of emphasis of the future activities in the project area will be the compilation of informational material for the people affected and the inclusion of schools in a comprehensive enlightenment campaign on the risks associated with tropical diseases. After the second phase of the project has come to a successful conclusion at the end of 1998, it is planned to possibly continue the project and to extend it to other provinces in Mauritania.
Drug forgeries The trials of the GPHF Minilab for the detection of drug forgeries continue to proceed very successfully. After the first tests of the portable laboratory on the Philippines (see GPHF News IV/97), project director Dr. Richard Jähnke is now able to report positive results also from the trial runs that have been carried out in the meantime in Kenya, Ghana, and Tanzania. In his judgement, the four-stage test plan - consisting of visual and disintegration tests, colour reac-tions, and thin-layer chromatographic investigations - has come through with flying colours.
The objective is to present the GPHF Minilab to the public in the middle of the year. By this time, the slight modifications of the Minilab's equipment and fittings that were shown to be necessary in the evaluation of the test phase will all have been completed. The GPHF will already present the Minilab at a reception of the Inter-national Federation of Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA) this May in connection with this year's World Health Assembly at Geneva. In February, the German "Deutsche Welle" television and radio station brought a report on the GPHF Minilab in one of its television programmes, which are broadcast all over the world.
Floods in Kenya On account of the acute emergency situation that arose as a result of the catastrophic floods in Kenya, the GPHF has granted the African Medical and Research Founda-tion (AMREF) financial support as a measure to maintain the laboratory operations in ru-ral health centres. In a model project that lasted several years, AMREF and GPHF had established laboratory facilities at rural health stations. Last year, the GPHF already lent further support as a measure to guarantee the long-term viability of this project by installing a quality-management system.
Drug donations The GPHF is currently conducting a survey among the member companies of the GPHF and VFA regarding the practice of drug donations. The background of this survey is the preparation of a GPHF project that is to support the exchange of in-formation and the coordination between the drug manufacturers in the area of drug donations.
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