3 times unlucky

I just finished inhaling an extremely large bowl of pasta in an attempt to lessen the nausea the antimalarial drug I'm taking causes. Yep, for the 3rd time in three years those little bastards got me.

The joints ache. The head aches. Shivering one minute, sweating bullets the next. The mind incessantly rambling to itself in an incoherent manner. Lacking the energy needed to simply sit on the toilet for more than 10 seconds. Not fun. Not fun at all.

Fortunately, I'm of the economically privileged compared to most in Africa. Death by malaria is not really possible in my case. I can afford some of the most powerful drugs on the market (less than 48 hours later I feel considerably better). But what comes with that privilege is discomfiting knowledge. The knowledge that in many cases, fellow beings are dying and/or suffering from illnesses that could be treated by affordable generic drugs. But generally, the poor are not allowed to make them. Instead, they are often placated with handouts. Why? Patent law says so.

Is there not a better way to deal with this situation rather than granting exclusive patent rights on health-care products?