Thailand praised for new drug

Wed, 11 Jul 2001, 00:00 WIB | Source: DPA

BANGKOK (DPA): Thailand was praised in a report issued on
Tuesday by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for its
efforts in producing a powerful new antimalaria drug.

The Human Development Report 2001 said the new Thai-made drug
dihydro-artemisinin (DHA) has been "hailed by the World Health
Organization (WHO) as one of the most important developments in
malaria treatment... (and) will soon provide a new edge against
resistance" to malaria.

Every year since 1990, the UNDP has commissioned the Human
Development Report by an independent team of experts to measure
countries' achievements in terms of life expectancy, birth rate,
educational attainment, adjusted real income and general well-
being.

This year the Human Development Index classified Japan (9),
Hong Kong (24), Singapore (26) and South Korea (27) as countries
with "high human development". Malaysia (56), Thailand (66), the
Philippines (70), China (87), Vietnam (101), Indonesia (102) and
Myanmar (118) were ranked as countries with "medium human
development". Norway came out first, Sierra Leone last.

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