An Iowan is one of 15 Americans participating in the “World Health Organization” conference in Switzerland. Iowa Department of Public Health director Stephen Gleason is one of the people who helped write the Clinton Health care plan six years ago. Dr. Gleason is in Geneva on President Clinton’s behalf to discuss the world’s top health issues with scientists and policy makers. Gleason’s hoping the world leaders can agree on a strategy to eliminate the sale of prescription drugs over the Internet. He says it’s tough to do because it’s so easy for someone to set up a site out of reach of individual state laws prohibiting the sale of drugs on the Internet.Gleason says they’ve been discussing the dire situation of Aids in Africa. Within 10 years, health officials predict half of the population on that continent will be dying of the disease. He says they don’t have capability of dealing with the issue.Gleason says the World Health Organization is negotiating with pharmaceutical companies, hoping to reduce the cost of providing life-saving drug treatment to Africans who are infected with H-I-V. Gleason spoke with Radio Iowa by phone from Geneva.
