Did you remember to take the pill?

One of the Christmas charity campaigns we supported here was  Médicos Sin Fronteras 'Take a pill for someone else's pain'. The results are in: over 3 million boxes were sold from Spanish pharmacies, which will allow MSF to begin treating millions of cases of infantile Aids in Zimbabwe and as many cases of Mal de Chagas in Bolivia. But yesterday was World Tuberculosis Day, and we are reminded that the disease is taking hold again in the 'First World' although it never left the 'Third'. So, if you have a spare euro or two and are passing your local chemist's, pop in an buy a box or two.

Take a pill against someone else's pain

SPAIN Médicos Sin Fronteras, the international aid organization, has had a brilliant fund raising idea. They have sent every farmacia in the country packets of pills (only chewing gum, really) to be sold at only €1. The website says, among other things, "In the First World, if something hurts, we take a pill. But ... what happens to the other world's pain, to the pain of those who don't have a pill? Isn't it great that we, who have pills for almost everything, can take one to alleviate someone else's pain?" These marvels of science (and marketing) are available exclusively at a farmacia near you (we have confirmed with the Regueiras that they have received them).