MOSAIC: Sharing knowledge -DAWN Magazine; July 4, 2004

c MOSAIC: Sharing knowledge -DAWN Magazine; July 4, 2004

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July 4, 2004

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MOSAIC: Sharing knowledge A joint study commissioned by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and presented at an international meeting on the world’s wildlife, highlights the complexities of how best to recompense countries, communities and indigenous people for the knowledge and genetic resources they nurture and hold, and the practicalities of ensuring that benefits from access and use of these resources are shared equitably. The study features two examples relating to a ‘wonder’ medicine, derived from an Indian plant with apparent fatigue-busting properties and a gene from a wild, West African rice which is being used in the multi-billion dollar biotech industry, that demonstrates the potential benefits and pitfalls of current benefit sharing agreements. The study highlights the shortcomings of a number of existing voluntary agreements and suggests ways that these may be improved to ensure that the real custodians of genetic resources and traditional knowledge on which promising, agricultural discoveries are based have a share in the derived benefits. WIPO and UNEP commissioned the independent study by Professor Anil K.Gupta, an internationally renowned expert on benefit sharing in relation to genetic resources and traditional knowledge. Professor Gupta is the founder of the Honeybee Network of community-based grassroots innovators that has documented more than 10,000 traditional practices using genetic and biological resources and other know-how. Many top selling drugs, such as penicillin, cyclosporine and the anti-cancer drug Taxol, have been derived from nature; and traditional medical knowledge can point the way to new drug development. Future drugs, industrial products and genes for improved crops are being sought from plants and animals, particularly in the genetically rich developing world. A so-called ‘access and benefit sharing’ system aims to promote scientific and technological breakthroughs from plant and animal sources, while at the same time recognizing the contributions and rights of those who cultivate and preserve these resources, or have come to understand their uses. Developing an equitable international system for access and benefit-sharing is one of the key issues. In Germany, annual retail sales of over-the-counter herbal drugs was estimated to be around $3.5 billion. Total annual sales in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain are estimated to be about $7 billion, according to some industry estimates from the 1990s. Establishing effective and fair rules, in which companies and local communities share in these profits and other non-monetary benefits that arise from the use of the biological resources, will not only help fight poverty in developing countries but will also create sustainable development on a broader base. It should also generate incentives for local people to conserve their biodiversity and reduce the threat of over-exploitation. — Samina Iqbal A healthy habit NEARLY two million children die annually from diarrhoeal disease, states a recent issue of the Journal of American Medical Association. Hand washing decreases diarrhoea by 47 per cent according to a recent meta-analysis. The most vulnerable age for mortality due to diarrhoea is below one year, when it is the mother who should wash hands after cleaning the infant. A controlled study done in 36 low income neighbourhoods in urban squatter settlements of Karachi, over a period of one year, included 906 households, with each having at least two children below 15 years and one of them being younger than five years. Weekly visits were performed to 25 neighbourhoods (600 households) and training given to wash hands after defecation, before preparing food, eating and feeding a child. They were provided soap regularly, 300 getting plain soap and 300 antibacterial soap. Eleven neighbourhoods (306 households) were controls, with no training and no soap supply. Children younger than 15 years living in households receiving hand washing promotion and soap had a 53 per cent lower incidence of diarrhoea compared to the children of the control group. Children younger than five years living in households with training had 42 per cent fewer days with diarrhoea. The 50 per cent reduction in diarrhoea, secondary to the practice of hand washing, was acquired, despite the fact that the wash water was heavily contaminated with human fecal organisms and no provision was made for clean drying of hands. Hand washing with soap removes transient potentially pathogenic organisms from hands. It lessens the likelihood of transmitting pathogens from fingers to mouth or to food. Antibacterial soap does not have a significant advantage over ordinary soap. It is the practice of hand washing which is more important. — Dr Fatema Jawad PC in every home COMPUTER roadshows are being held all across metropolitan Karachi as some of the biggest names in the local IT industry try to spread the digital dream. Inbox, Jin and Enabling Technologies, along with Intel Pakistan, have been going, not only to neighbourhoods, but to individual apartment complexes throughout the city to help facilitate people try and learn more about computers. Being held for the past two months, the roadshow has been exhibiting the power of the digital tomorrow. And more than families, it are the children who have been fascinated by the games, the infotainment CDs and the latest in PC power. The travelling IT exhibition has been encased in four different zones; education, gaming, multimedia, and the digital home. However, the crowd pullers have been the demos by professionals. These include editing of digital music, photos and movies, and burning of CDs. At one of the shows, Kamil Hasan, Country Manager Intel, noted that today’s digitally connected and savvy kids have a wonderful world of software, personal digital devices and powerful PCs to help them create exciting multimedia and better school presentations. The exhibition will continue till the end of July. *—Atif Khan*

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