The Phamaceutical Sector in Madagascar Coursework

The Phamaceutical Sector in Madagascar - Coursework Example These can then be developed into drugs in the western world and marketed in ventures where a pharmaceutical company can make millions if not billions of dollars. To do this, they have encouraged conservation efforts of the rainforests as well as speedy cataloguing of all the different species that are largely unknown to date. Thorough all of this, it must be taken into consideration that while Madagascar does not have the financial resources to develop the drugs themselves, these pharmaceutical companies are working in a sovereign country where the biological flora present is, in fact, a property of that country. This must be delicately balanced with attaining the materials needed for research as well as keeping within the legal framework of the country. For a start, this paper will first take a brief look at the country of Madagascar. It will examine some general facts, the political and economic situation in the country and the tropical rainforests. The interest of pharmaceutical c ompanies lies primarily in these forests and the importance of conservation of these forests will be detailed. Some examples of plants that have been successfully developed into drugs will be made mention of as well as the legal aspects of exporting biodiversity such as this to other countries. In addition, the financial aspects that are considered why a pharmaceutical company will be detailed followed by a discussion of whether it is worth investing in the pharmaceutical industry of Madagascar by companies based in the western world. Madagascar is an island in the Indian Ocean that is located about 400km away from the coast of Mozambique. It is the world’s fourth largest island. It covers an area of 587,041 sq km (226,658 sq miles) (BBC News) and has a population of 20.1 million (UN, 2010 from BBC News). The inhabitants of Madagascar, the Malagasy are descendants of the both Africans and Indonesians who moved to this island over 2000 years ago (BBC News). Madagascar used to be a French colony and only gained independence 1960 (BBC News). Due to this colonialism, Madagascar has strong ties both culturally and economically both to France and other West-African countries where French is spoken (BBC News). The two main official languages in the country are Malagasy and French though English was recently introduced as an official language too (BBC News). Due to its positioning, Madagascar is prone to being affected severely by massive flooding and torrential rains, the latest being in 2000 and later in 2004 (BBC News). Natural disasters have not been the only challenge the people of Madagascar have faced. The country has been in political turmoil for a number of years. Andry Rajoelina, along with the army’s support overthrew the president at the time Marc Ravalomanana. Rajoelina Rajoelina’s government has not been recognized internationally and no agreement has been reached with other political parties in the country. Due to this stalemate, Ma dagascar’s economy has suffered with private investment slowing down and international donors suspending support (BBC News). It has been approximated that up to 70% of people in Madagascar survive on less and a dollar a day (World Bank from BBC News) and the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita was US $420 (World Bank, 2009 from BBC News). Poverty is widespread and there has been much competition for agricultural land (BBC News), which is where the next aspect of this paper leads us to. The forests are home to much of the products that foreign