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Thailand enjoys the dubious distinction of being the world’s most unequal nation, the deadliest country in ASEAN for road accidents, and one of the Asian nations with the highest level of gun-related murders, according to recent studies.
The plan had begun on Jan 23, starting at Bang Kwang central prison near Bangkok, with 563 inmates seeing their shackles unlocked and removed for the last time. At the end of May, some gathered for a ceremony, led by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, to officially kick off the policy, kick off the chains, and put the shackle era to an end for good.
Public health and HIV/AIDS activists from the developing world are seeking to break the monopoly over drugs held by pharmaceutical giants through a new global campaign designed to influence international debate over the issue. Formulated at the end of a three-day meeting, which brought some 200 participants from 20 countries to Thailand’s capital, the campaign seeks ‘’a new way out of the current patent system; one that will encourage innovation of new drugs and access for all,’’ says one of the organizers of the International Conference on Compulsory Licensing: Innovation and Access for All. ‘’What we have now is innovation controlled by the pharmaceutical industry that allows them to have a monopoly on drugs.’’
