World Health Partners

In September 2001, the World Intellectual Property Organisation released the Report of the Second WIPO Internet Domain Process (“the Second Report”). While discussing several identifiers as potential rights as a basis for complaints under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) for cancelling domain names, the Report excluded geographical indications (GIs) as one such prior right. This paper examines the stark irrelevance of this exclusion in the Second Report 23 years after its publication. In particular, the emergence of GIs as a prominent IPR in the world in these 23 years cannot be ignored. Some of the reasons why GIs emerged as a prominent IPR are; (i) the increased awareness and GI protection activities among developed and developing nations which makes GI protection as normal as other intellectual property rights, (ii) the visible harmonization and uniformity in GI protection using sui generis laws by nations of the world, (iii) the support from organizations and institutions that protect GIs in pushing GIs to the forefront as a branding tool, and (iv) the enactment of the Geneva Act, 2015 which recognizes the wider term “geographical indications”, thus potentially quelling the concerns raised in the Second Report on the lack of uniformity in the protection granted and the inability of the existing systems to fit in violations of GIs in the domain name world. In this context, two recent European Regulations [EC Regulation Nos. 2023/2411 and 2024/1143] that contain certain effective solutions for addressing and preventing the misuse of GIs as domain names become significant. These Regulations could be a trigger to break the barrier placed by the Second Report for GIs to be a basis for domain name complaints. These Regulations are also an answer to the problematic finding in the Second Report that the issue of the use of GIs as domain names by unconnected persons could be addressed only by creating a new law in view of the inadequacies of the existing laws. It is the author’s hope that these European Regulations could inspire other nations to enact similar laws in addressing the glaring gap in domain name protection in a world that is increasingly turning digital.

Abstract The use of technology to respond to the COVID-19 emergency is described. The sudden lockdown imposed by the government with just a four hours’ notice resulted in a paralysis of the healthcare system. World Health Partners (WHP) responded immediately to this crisis. WHP worked in partnership with the state governments of Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. The plan was that the state governments would provide the personnel and WHP would set-up a digitized system for providing health services to the people by using tele-medicine.A quick-to-access dashboard was created to give details in real-time of the number of doctors and assistants who were logged-in, the number of calls received and were attended to, prescriptions issued, and COVID-19 suspects identified. Doctors’ absenteeism proved to be a challenge in Bihar. Consequently, the full potential of the project could not be realized in Bihar. In Andhra Pradesh, however, the project was very successful. Despite receiving less number of calls, more consultations were provided through the tele-medicine project in Andhra Pradesh. The major reason for this success was the high level of political commitment by the state government which led to the availability of trained medical personnel for the project. The entire process of the project was successfully transitioned by WHP to the state government of Andhra Pradesh.

IntroductionIndia has the world’s highest burden of tuberculosis (TB). Private retail pharmacies are the preferred provider for 40% of patients with TB symptoms and up to 25% of diagnosed patients. Engaging pharmacies in TB screening services could improve case detection.MethodsA novel TB screening and referral intervention was piloted over 18 months, under the pragmatic staggered recruitment of 105 pharmacies in Patna, India. The intervention was integrated into an ongoing public–private mix (PPM) programme, with five added components: pharmacy training in TB screening, referral of patients with TB symptoms for a chest radiograph (CXR) followed by a doctor consultation, incentives for referral completion and TB diagnosis, short message service (SMS) reminders and field support. The intervention was evaluated using mixed methods.Results81% of pharmacies actively participated in the intervention. Over 132.49 pharmacy person-years of observation in the intervention group, 1674 referrals were made and 255 cases of TB were diagnosed. The rate of registration of symptomatic patients was 62 times higher in the intervention group compared with the control group (95% CI: 54 to 72). TB diagnosis was 25 times higher (95% CI: 20 to 32). Microbiological testing and test confirmation were also significantly higher among patients diagnosed in the intervention group (p<0.001). Perceived professional credibility, patient trust, symptom severity and providing access to a free screening test were seen to improve pharmacists’ engagement in the intervention. Workload, patient demand for over-the-counter medicines, doctor consultation fees and programme documentation impeded engagement. An additional 240 cases of TB were attributed to the intervention, and the approximate cost incurred per case detected due to the intervention was US$100.ConclusionsIt is feasible and impactful to engage pharmacies in TB screening and referral activities, especially if working within existing public-private mix (PPM) programmes, appealing to pharmacies’ business mindset and among pharmacies with strong community ties.