The following will appear in the January 30 issue of The Lancet:

Indian cancer registry The Associ­ation of Surgeons of India has announced that it will set up the country’s first national cancer registry, with the help of other medical associations in the country. The registry will fill the gap in the collection of cancer data in India, allow practitioners to study the causes of cancer in particular regions, and stimulate treatment and research for the disease.

European women’s health The Euro­pean Commission has published a report on women’s health in the European Union. Demo­graphic and socio­economic trends, lifestyle, and health care were assessed and, among other findings, the report states that women are more prone to Alzheimer’s disease and depression than are men. The first European men’s health report will be published in spring, 2011.

Drug price cuts The Philippine Government has requested that drug companies submit lists of drugs for which they are willing to drop prices by 50%. In this second round of drug pricing control, the Government aims to further improve access to essential medicines, especially for less financially able individuals.

Hepatic hero Martin Lombard has been appointed by the UK Department of Health as the first National Clinical Director for Liver Disease. The respected hepatologist is faced with the develop­ment of a national liver strategy—a challenging task in the face of growing rates of liver disease, especially given the difficulties associated with early diagnosis and late-onset treatment.

Indigenous issues The UN has released its first report on the State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which includes a section on health. The report states that Indigenous people worldwide continue to have disproportionately high rates of health problems. For example, in the USA, a Native American is 600 times more likely to contract tuberculosis and 62% more likely to commit suicide than is the non-Indigenous population.

FDA devices chief US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg has appointed Jeffrey Shuren as permanent Director of the agency’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. Shuren has been serving as acting head since September, 2009. Priorities for 2010 include implementation of a “total product life cycle approach”.

An open door? GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced that it plans to put thousands of compounds that might help to find a cure for malaria into the public domain. The drug company will give US$8 million to help pay for scientists to explore these chemicals. However, whether GSK will patent any potential drugs discovered by such non-company scientists remains unclear.

Going private On Jan 17, Sweden witnessed the inauguration of its first private pharmacy since 1971. A vote by Parliament in May, 2008, ended the state-owned chain Apoteket’s monopoly over prescription and over-the-counter drugs. This major change in the Swedish pharmaceutical industry is expected to improve access to medicines and to lower drug prices.

Fake drugs Bolivia’s Minister of Health, Ramiro Tapia, has promised tougher sanctions against companies that import counterfeit medicines. More than 200 Bolivian pharmacies have being thoroughly inspected after the seizure last December of 40 tonnes of drugs that were out of date, adulterated, or fake. Local company ESKE imported most of these drugs to Bolivia.

Arming doctors The Iraqi Government has drafted a law intended to revert the present trend of violence towards health professionals. In opposition to the historical Iraqi practice of seeking “tribal settlement”, penalties drafted for the victimisation of health professionals will include a 3-year prison sentence and a large fine. The new legislation will also allow doctors to carry weapons for protection.

Happy birthday Charité Charité, the University Hospital in Berlin, Germany, is celebrating its tricentennial with a season of historical medical cinema. The programme includes films that were crucial to the development of Berlin’s medical community but also important in the context of German film history. Themes include physical disability, sexuality, gender, infectious disease, and abortion.

Family planning South Korea’s Min­istry of Health recently sent its em­ployees home early by switching off the lights at 1900 h. Further blackouts are planned once per month—but not to save energy. The country’s demographic viability is threatened by a miniscule birthrate, and the hope is that less work could lead not only to more play but more procreation too.

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