Global Health Weekly News Round-Up

Politics and Policies:

• Ban placed on the sale of ‘synthetic marijuana’ in New York (Source: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/30/ban-placed-on-sell-synthetic-marijuana-in-new-york/ ).
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejects petition to ban BPA, a chemical found in food packaging including plastic bottles and canned food (Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57407289-10391704/fda-rejects-petition-to-ban-bpa-in-food-packaging/ ).

Programs

• The United Nations and New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPD) agency have partnered together to advance sustainable responses to HIV/ AIDS, health and development across the continent (Source: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41655&Cr=HIV/AIDS&Cr1=).

Research

• A study indicates that pregnancy and hormonal changes that continue 12 weeks after giving birth increases women’s risk of heart attack (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/25/us-heart-pregnancy-idUSBRE82O0FZ20120325 ).
• The findings of a research presented at American Chemical Society meeting at San Diego shows that the popcorn has antioxidants (Source: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-food/story/2012-03-25/Popcorn-packed-with-antioxidants-hidden-health-benefits/53777198/1 ).
• A research indicates a risk of the spread of Flu pandemic during the London Olympics (Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/new-research-warns-of-olympics-flu-pandemic-risk-7606577.html )
• According to a team at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) , an antidepressant together with a drug derived from Vitamin A can be used to treat an adult form of leukemia- acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120312003050.htm ).
• According to a study there is a link between the genetic variants  in an area of genome and risk of developing Podoconiosis (Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/03/28/podoconiosis-genes-idINDEE82R0I920120328 )
• A research indicates that HIV super infection may help to develop vaccines against this deadly infection (Source: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/03/29/superinfected-patients-give-clues-to-fighting-hiv ).
• Researchers at University of Melbourne have identified a mutation linked to breast cancer attached to the newly identified gene called XRCC2 (Source: http://www.smh.com.au/national/new-breast-cancer-gene-discovered-20120330-1w1xt.html ).
• Finnish researchers have found that the children vaccinated with the pandemic H1N1 swine flu shot were 13 times more likely to develop narcolepsy, a condition characterized  by excessive sleepiness, even during the day time (Source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/health/health-news/swine-flu-shot-may-hasten-sleeping-disorder_16290.html ).
• A study shows that those patients, who had surgery to remove a gastrointestinal stromal tumor and have a high risk of cancer recurrence, have improved survival rates when they undergo treatment with anticancer drugs (Source: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_123476.html ).
• Researchers have found that a commonly used drug Metformin, for treatment of type II Diabetes may help to prevent liver cancer (Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Diabetes-drug-may-help-prevent-liver-cancer/articleshow/12491050.cms ).
• The researchers at Lund University, Sweden are working to make the vaccines available in the market in five years, which will target the build-up of fatty deposits in arteries (plaques) to prevent heart attacks (Source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/health/health-news/vaccines-for-heart-attacks-to-be-ready-within-5-years_16333.html ).
• Researchers show how vitamin D slows the growth of prostate cancer. These supplements lower levels of a key protein called Ki67 (Source: http://www.emaxhealth.com/1020/researchers-uncover-how-vitamin-d-slows-prostate-cancer ).
• Depression is linked with sleep breathing disorder. Women with sleep apnea have 5.2 times more chances of developing depression (Source: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/30/depression-linked-with-sleep-breathing-problems-study-finds/ ).
• The researchers at University of Sydney through their study indicate that people who sit for a longer time have a shorter life span (Source: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/30/too-much-sitting-linked-to-shortened-lives/ ).
• A survey by the researchers from the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore and John Hopkins University, finds 63% of children with autism are bullied (Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57406540/survey-finds-63-of-children-with-autism-bullied/ ).

Diseases & Disasters

• An explosion at Evonik Degussa chemical plant in the west town of Mari (Germany) has killed one person. Residents were asked to stay indoors with their door closed (Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5giWW7i_NwjgXDhsZFMKd0LRjl6dQ?docId=CNG.65605d82f9e8f0788a078c1a4655b4de.171 ).
• An earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck central Chile on Sunday night (Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jsZz0L80EJKEWngc0ohu3woJDhPA?docId=97f8310de8f24dd48602b01296ea290b ).
• The deadliest form of malaria on rise in Banke district of Nepal. Fifteen people have already been detected with the plasmodium falciparum and plasmodium vivax (Source: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Malaria+on+rise+in+Nepalgunj&NewsID=325903 ).
• Fentanyl, a synthetic form of heroin causes overdose boom in Estonia (Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17524945 ).
• Washoe County health officials have reported 30 cases of childhood illness of hand, foot and mouth disease (Source:  http://www.examiner.com/infectious-disease-in-national/washoe-county-health-officials-report-30-cases-of-hfmd ).
• Cholera grips Haiti (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/world/americas/haitis-cholera-outraced-the-experts-and-tainted-the-un.html?ref=todayspaper )

 

 

Global Health Weekly News Round-Up

Politics and Policies

• Texas has passed regulations on barring Planned Parenthood clinics and other “affiliates of abortion providers from participating in the state’s Medicaid program starting March 14 (Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/state-issues/212301-texas-defies-obama-administration-bars-abortion-providers-from-state-medicaid-program ).
• A program created to help insurance-seekers in Texas cut through the complexities of federal health care reforms is shutting down in April (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/us/texas-to-shut-consumer-health-assistance-program.html?_r=1&ref=policy ).
• Medicare covers Yoga for heart disease (Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/25/health/medicare-covers-yoga-heart-disease/ ).

Programs

• A national immunization campaign to eradicate polio was launched on 23^rd February in the Central African Republic (CAR) to reach all children in the country (including those who have limited access to health services) (Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201202241273.html ).
• The Department of Health (DH) of Hong Kong has issued a warning on the slimming product (name Sheng Yuan Fang) with undeclared and banned drug ingredients (Source: http://www.moviemazaa.com/node/1068362 ).
• The Philadelphia city Health Department will begin offering free, confidential testing for human immunodeficiency syndrome virus (HIV). The free testing site will be in Tuscarawas County (Source: http://www.timesreporter.com/communities/x1618024551/Phila-to-offer-free-HIV-testing ).

 

Research

• A study published in Australian Journal of Law and Medicine has cited numerous flaws in the Kenya, South Africa and Uganda studies which claimed that male circumcision provides protection against HIV transmission (Source: http://www.newzimbabwe.com/news-7273-Circumcision%20HIV%20impact%20doubted/news.aspx ).
• A study reveals that Zelboraf, a drug to treat advanced cases of deadly shin cancer melanoma, nearly doubles length of patient’s lives (Source: http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/22/10480484-advanced-melanoma-drug-nearly-doubles-survival-time ).
• According to a study pregnant females who get vaccinated for influenza vaccine have less likely babies with low birth weight (Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/health/Moms-Flu-Vaccination-Boosts-Baby-Birth-Weight-140341143.html ).
• Research demonstrates the use of antibiotics in food production can lead to the development of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Strain (Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-201202221120usnewsusnwr201202210221staphfeb22,0,635726.story ).
• According to a research study, colonoscopy reduces the chances of colon cancer death risk (Source: http://articles.boston.com/2012-02-23/lifestyle/31087870_1_colon-cancer-colonoscopy-growths ).
• A study reveals that a chemical found in the Chilean fruit Avocado has the property to combat multi-resistant bacterial strains (Source: http://zeenews.india.com/ayurveda/avocado-can-help-combat-multi-resistant-bacterial-strains_1063.html ).
• A study published in journal Stroke has provided evidence that consuming more citrus fruits as a part of the daily fruit and vegetable intake reduces the risk of ischemic (blood clot related) stroke (Source: http://health.einnews.com/picture/9053 ).
• According to a recent study Hepatitis C kills more Americans than by the HIV/AIDS infection. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Infection (the CDC) data, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, in 2007 more than 15,000 people died of Hepatitis C infection as compared to 12,734 deaths due to HIV-related causes (Source: http://health.einnews.com/picture/9056 ).

Diseases and Disasters

• E.coli outbreaks in Michigan linked to consumption of raw sprouts (Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/25/e-coli-outbreak-linked-to_n_1300994.html ).
• About forty people died across Nigeria from the outbreak of Lassa fever in last four weeks (Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201202220127.html ).
•  The health authorities in the Republic of Congo have warned the spread of Cholera in the northern district of Likouala (Source: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/congo-cholera-continues-spreading ).
• A 16^th case of the measles has been confirmed in central Indiana. According to health officials, visitors to a popular Carmel county club may have been exposed to the highly contagious virus. The outbreak has been traced to a family who was infected during a trip overseas (Source: http://www.theindychannel.com/news/30537578/detail.html ).
• According to Shaoguan city government (China), about 64 children have been diagnosed with elevated blood lead levels (Source: http://english.cri.cn/6909/2012/02/24/2724s683087.htm ).
• Four babies were identified as carrying Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus  (MRSA) in the neonatal ward of Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) of Hong Kong (Source: http://7thspace.com/headlines/406545/queen_elizabeth_hospital_mrsa_cases_and_update_on_vre.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:%207thspace%20%287thSpace%20Interactive%29 ).
• A Haiti aid group warns on cholera surge during the rainy season (Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/americas/haiti-aid-group-warns-of-cholera-surge-on-eve-of-rainy-season/2012/02/24/gIQAg7bvXR_story.html ).

Global Health News Last Week

September 5 was Labor Day.

POLITICS AND POLICY

• The State Department has announced the official US Delegation to the UN High Level Meeting on NCDs, which will take place September 19-20.
• Access to affordable lifesaving medicines will be threatened where they are needed most—in parts of the developing world—if the U.S.insists on implementing restrictive intellectual property policies in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, says Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).
• Sarah Boseley shares the great news that Kenya has officially made female genital mutilation illegal.
• A federal appeals court in Virginia has dismissed two lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.
• United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon singled out sustainable development as the top issue facing the planet with the world’s seven billionth person expected to be born next month. Key to this was climate change, and he said time was running out with the population set to explode this century.
• Thousands of proposed cuts in the US Congress could lead to significant cuts to USAID.
• The Philippines reproductive health bill is still making its way through the senate.  Meanwhile, 7 villages in Bataan, the Philippines have banned “artificial contraception” amid national debate over the bill.
• A report co-authored by an Australian academic highlights the need for healthy ecosystems as the basis for sustainable water resources and stable food security for people around the world.

PROGRAMS

• Sometime this fall, the world’s population will reach 7 billion people. Experts now forecast that by 2050, the population could be 10 billion. Some say those numbers should force policy makers to focus more intently on making family planning much more widely available in the developing world.
• The Institution of Mechanical Engineers has put together a one day conference bringing together innovators and health workers to share ideas about ways to more easily deliver interventions.
• It has been commonly held that insecticide treated bed nets reduce the rate of malaria for people who use them. Now there is hard evidence to back up that assumption.

RESEARCH AND INNOVATIONS

• A new study shows that less than three doses of the vaccine against cervical cancer can effectively protect women in the developing world where 80% of global deaths due to cervical cancer take place.
• Only three African countries are on track to achieve MGD 5, according to an African Institute for Development Policy study.
• Most efforts in the Western world seeking to find solutions for developing world problems tend to think of inventing new technologies or, at least, using the tools we typically use to fix things — modern drugs for diseases, improved seeds for crops, a better mousetrap. Sometimes, all you need is a newly geared donkey. 
• Scientists may have developed a new TB vaccine after tests showed the elimination of TB from infected tissue in mice.
• A socially active lifestyle can dramatically speed up weight loss through the burning of fat in mice, a study shows. Researchers at Ohio State University in the US identified a link between the amount of social interaction in a mouse’s environment and its weight.
• An easy-to-use diagnostic chip for HIV could “give results in minutes” and be a game changer in the field of cheap diagnostics for remote regions, claim the researchers who developed it.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

• Having to contend with U.S.army drones and the crossfire between the Taliban and the Pakistani army, the residents of Pakistan’s tribal areas find access to treatment for HIV/AIDS harder than in most other parts of the world.
• Three-quarters of a million people are facing death by starvation in Somalia according the United Nations, who declared Monday that famine had spread to a sixth southern region of the beleaguered Horn of Africa state.  Meanwhile, an investigation has revealed that masses of food meant for famine victims in Somalia are being stolen. There have also been reports of rioting and killings during food distribution at camps for famine victims.
• A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 100km southwest of the city of Medan, Sumatra and 110km beneath the earth’s crust.
• A New York Times editorial castigates the international community’s response to the cholera outbreak in Haiti.
• The CEO of insulin manufacturer Novo Nordisk says the WHO should buy low cost diabetes drugs in bulk for the developing world.
• Messages of good health and positive self-esteem for girls aren’t hard to come by in kid lit, so what’s the deal with all the attention for a not-yet-published rhyming picture book about an obese, unhappy 14-year-old named Maggie?

INFOGRAPHICS AND OTHER MEDIA

• Interaction has published an online “Horn of Africa Aid Map” showing 98 aid and development projects working on immediate famine relief as well as long-term development in East Africa.
• There may not be any zombies, vampires or mutant monsters wreaking bloody havoc on innocent people, but the fact that “Contagion” has a premise that experts say is all too plausible may make it the scariest movie of the season.
• A new index from Save the Children establishes the safest – and most dangerous – places in the world for a child to fall sick, which correlate closely with their chances of getting to see a health worker.

Global Health News, Week of August 28-September 3

Global Fund round 11 is now open for proposals.

GREAT LEARNING OPPORTUNITY

A seven-part webinar series, called the “Outstanding Presentations Workshop,” began this Wednesday and is available for free to all who register. Each one-hour seminar will be streamed live over the next few weeks on Wednesday and will be recorded for later viewing.  Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to improve your presentations and spare your audiences death by PowerPoint. More information is available here, and the schedule can be accessed here.

POLITICS AND POLICY

• In Uganda, the landmark legal case of Jennifer Anguko, a mother who died while she was in labor for 12 hours in a government hospital, will begin in early September.
• Critics of the World Health Organization say it needs to redefine and reposition itself within the increasingly complex and convoluted field of global health. These experts suggest that the world will not suffer if the WHO cuts certain programs while narrowing its focus.
• In the United States, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are promoting the use of IUDs as the “most effective form of reversible contraception available and safe for most women.”
• The Global Fund may cut its contributions to China by half.
• USAID Admin Dr. Raj Shah announced that $23 million in new aid will be directed towards the Horn of Africa crisis.
• Anonymity is no longer a right of people seeking HIV/AIDS tests in China, and the change has lead to a significant drop in the number of tests being performed.
• The Asian Development Bank has called for Asia-Pacific countries to collaborate on combating HIV/AIDS at the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific.
• Tension between the United States and Pakistan will not prevent USAID from continuing to support health, energy and education systems says the USAID Pakistan Chief.
• The epidemics of diabetes, heart disease and cancers that have stricken the populaces of wealthy countries are spreading to the developing world, yet the United Nations lacks an agreement, let alone an overall goal, on how to limit the preventable illnesses and deaths arising from these so-called non-communicable diseases. The British Medical Journal reports many developed countries, including the U.S. and Canada, are resisting specific targets for reduction in fats, sugars and salt in processed foods.

PROGRAMS

• Overall, more newborn children are surviving, but slower progress in cutting death rates among babies in the first weeks of life is putting the global goal of reducing child deaths by two-thirds in jeopardy.
• One expert says as the question of aid effectiveness has moved to the centre of development debates. If donors want to make their aid more effective, then they need to engage strategically with the private sector.
• In the Washington Post, Michael Gerson makes the “pro-life” case for increased support for contraception and family planning worldwide.
• UNICEF and international NGOs are working to raise awareness and encourage West African communities to invest in the construction of more pit latrines. Pit latrines, say advocates, can drastically reduce the spread of diarrhea, cholera and worms.

RESEARCH

• A study published in Lancet finds that the workers who took part in the efforts to rescue people from the World Trade Center on 9/11 are at a high risk of suffering physical and mental illness.
• A study by the Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation in Uganda and Zambia found high rates of syphilis and HIV co-infection among pregnant women, but showed that “integrating rapid syphilis screening and HIV testing for pregnant women was feasible, cost-effective, and helped to prevent transmission of syphilis and HIV from mother-to-child.”
• A genetically engineered virus may be the key to combating cancer, says a group of scientists.
• Believed to only help children under four, researchers have determined that the rotavirus vaccine also reduces deaths in children between the age of five and fourteen.
• Researchers who have tracked Haitian cell phone SIM cards relative to the cholera outbreak are optimistic that their findings will lead to future use of the same technology for other outbreaks.
• Scientists may have found a critical weakness in Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria. Researchers say the discovery provides a promising target for new malaria therapies.
• Engineers at Michigan State University are developing a low-cost mobile phone application that can detect certain types of cancer.
• Danish scientists say mosquito populations are dropping in many parts of Africa, even in parts where there are no human efforts such as insecticide spraying or bed net distributions underway.
• A study published in the British Medical Journal reports a 24% reduction in deaths in children who received vitamin A.
• A new approach to malaria vaccines grows the parasite inside mosquitoes and extracts vaccine components from the salivary gland.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

• A study published in Nature says that the last three waves of cholera can all be traced back to the Bay of Bengal.
• Despite a massive humanitarian effort after the 2010 earthquake, females in Haiti remain neglected, rights activists say, lacking access to care as they give birth to babies in squalid conditions, often as a result of sex in trade for food or other necessities.
• UN FAO warns that the bird flu is on the rise in Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
• Reports from the Libyan capital Tripoli say a humanitarian crisis appears to be emerging following the ouster of long-time ruler Muammar Qaddafi. There is a shortage of medicine, fuel, food, water, and power supplies, and growing piles of uncollected garbage.
• Polio has been reported in China and Kenya.

Thanks to Tom Murphy and Mark Leon Goldberg, Tom Paulson, Isobel Hoskins, and UN Wire.

Global Health News Last Week

POLITICS AND POLICY

• South Africa’s government has set out its plans to introduce a universal health care scheme with a pilot program in 10 areas by 2012 and nationally over the next 14 years.
• The U.N. must make reducing salt intake a global health priority, sayUK scientists. Writing in the British Medical Journal they say a 15% cut in consumption could save 8.5 million lives around the world over the next decade.
• IRIN reports on the story of Daniel Ng’etich, a Kenyan man who was arrested and jailed for not continuing his TB treatment.
• Dr. Jill Biden is leading a high level American delegation toKenya, which includes Raj Shah, to look into the American response to the famine crisis in the Horn of Africa.
• A report on the state of maternal health in South Africa by Human Rights Watch has uncovered some alarming trends.

PROGRAMS

• WHO has launched a new website to help those combating malnutrition. eLENA, a new e-library, gathers together evidence-informed guidelines for an expanding list of nutrition interventions. It is a single point of reference for the latest nutrition guidelines, recommendations and related information.

RESEARCH

• A TB vaccine designed for those with HIV enters phase IIb trials this week in Senegal. The vaccine works by boosting response of T cells already stimulated by the traditional BCG vaccine.
• Female smokers are more at risk for heart disease than male smokers, finds a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Lancet.  This is a concern, as smoking rates are increasing in young women worldwide.
• Scientists are in the second phase of research into using microwaves to kill malaria parasites in mice.
• A USC researcher has developed a lentiviral vector that can track down HIV infected cells which can potentially act as a marker for targeted elimination of infected cells.
• People living with HIV who receive the proper ARV treatment have no greater risk of death compared to people without HIV, finds Danish researchers.
• Around 30 genetic risk factors for developing multiple sclerosis have been discovered by a UK-led team.
• A new study, showing that a simple blood test can accurately determine the sex of a fetus 95 percent of the time, is great news for parents at high risk of having a baby with rare genetic diseases. But it is bad news to those concerned that the tests could be used to abort a fetus based on gender.
• British researchers have discovered that the introduction of spermless male mosquitoes can lead to fewer malaria carrying females.
• A device which can test blood for HIV/AIDS in a matter of minutes has been developed by University of Columbia scientists.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

• As if it did not have enough problems already, Somalia is now facing cholera epidemic, World Health Organization officials said.
• In an August 4 article, Trustlaw’s Lisa Anderson exposes the “silent health emergency” faced by child brides around the globe.  Not yet physically mature, they face grave danger in childbirth, due to narrow pelvises. Girls younger than 15 years of age have a five times greater risk of dying during delivery than women over 20; most of these deaths occur in developing countries that lack adequate and accessible pre- and postnatal care.
• Amid contradictory government statistics, a volunteer group in Japan has recorded 500,000 radiation points across the country.
• A Mexican teenager is the first officially known person to die from vampire bat induced human rabies infection. The 19-year-old victim was a migrant farm worker in theUnited States.
• An estimated 500,000 people in West Africaare infected with lassa fever every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, amid calls for more money to be spent on preventing its spread.
• Over at Global Pulse, Human Rights Watch researcher Katherine Todrys guest blogs on the HIV epidemic in Uganda’s penitentiaries.Uganda, she explains, has often been presented as a success story in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, and has received over $1 billion from the US for AIDS programs. Many HIV-positive Ugandans have been excluded from these efforts, though, including gay men, drug users, sex workers, and prisoners.
• Sleep apnea, a fairly common and treatable disorder that causes people to stop breathing momentarily while they sleep, may lead to cognitive impairment and even dementia.
• Although cases of sexual violence have been under-counted during some wars, during others, such as the ongoing unrest in Libya, they have been vastly over-counted.
• All patients getting cancer treatment should be told to do two and a half hours of physical exercise every week, says a report by Macmillan Cancer Support.

Global Health News Last Week

SECTION NEWS
Attention IH section members! We are still in need of moderators for the scientific sessions at this year’s annual meeting. According to our program committee, the following sessions are still available:

Monday, October 31
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: International Health Programs & Policy 1

2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Act Global, Think Local: Domestic applications of international health lessons; Child Survival & Child Health 1

Tuesday, November 1
8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.: Builidng Partnerships and Coalitions for better International Programs; Emerging, Re-emerging & Neglected Tropical Diseases

10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: International Health Communication/ Behavior Change Communication

12:30 p.m. 2:00 p.m.: HIV/AIDS 2

Wednesday, November 2
8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.: HIV/AIDS 3; Innovations in International Health 2

Please contact Omar Khan (ih.apha@gmail.com) for more information, or to volunteer!

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USAID celebrated its 50-year anniversary this week.

The benefits of breastfeeding are being showcased around the world
for Breast Feeding Week.

POLITICS AND POLICY

• US organizations will find it easier to deliver aid to parts of Somalia controlled by a pro-Al Qaeda group – the threat of prosecution if it ends up in the wrong hands has been reduced  after an announcement by the State Department.
• Dr. Ariel Pablos-Méndez was sworn in as the new Assistant Administrator for the Global Health Bureau at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
• Although Congress resolved the debt ceiling debate, the way the budget package is being shaped — particularly by combining International Affairs with defense in a single “security” category, global poverty spending is getting severely handicapped.
• Blood tests for tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis may be putting patients’ lives at risk through providing misleading results, and should not be used, according to a WHO policy statement.

PROGRAMS

• The inaugural charter of the Alliance for Oral Health Across Borders was signed at Temple University yesterday.
• Tom Paulson of Humanosphere breaks down the 2010 Gates Foundation annual report, with some interesting commentary.
• Jaclyn Schiff of UN Dispatch says we can look for more global health leadership coming from the city of Houston (my hometown!), as Dr. Peter Hotez, whom Schiff calls “an international health force of nature,” and an arm of the Sabin Vaccine Institute move there.
• The Measles Initiative today announced it has helped vaccinate one billion children in more than 60 developing countries since 2001, making significant gains in the global effort to stop measles.
• India’s health minister announced Tuesday a new initiative underway to boost the country’s rate of immunizing newborns by collecting mobile phone numbers of all pregnant mothers to monitor their babies’ vaccinations.

RESEARCH

• A multi-resistant strain of Salmonella Kentucky could be spreading globally, suggests a study by Institut Pasteur. Case numbers have risen in Europe and the US, and infections have also been acquired in various parts of Africa and the Middle East. The strain has also been found in food animals in Africa.
• Pharmaceutical manufacturer iBio, Inc announced the successful animal testing of a malaria vaccine candidate in trials sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• A new study in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene shows a relationship between a kind of river flow and cholera outbreaks.
• A new study in the Lancet shows that text messaging can be an effective tool in malaria treatment and prevention.
• PLoS Medicine published a new study on HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa. Among its key findings was the startling fact that sex between men (MSM) accounts for nearly one quarter of all new HIV infections across the region.
• According to a new study, children of depressed mothers in developing countries are 40 percent more likely to be underweight or stunted than those with mothers in good mental health.
• A cheap and portable blood test could provide a breakthrough for diagnosing infections in remote areas of the world, a scientific study says.
• Using WHO data, researchers found that children who experience abuse and develop mental health disorders are at increased risk for chronic physical problems later in life.
• A new study in the journal Nature Medicine finds that a credit card shaped device used for testing HIV, known as “Lab-on-a-Chip,” has had a successful trial run in Rwanda.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

• Mass treatment of river blindness and lymphatic filariasis with ivermectin has been hampered by severe reactions if the patient also has Loa loa. A new map developed by WHO’s African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control will help communities identify low risk areas for Loa loa and distribute ivermectin for lymphatic filariasis control safely.
• The CDC reports that the annual number of HIV infections in the USA is holding steady at about 50,000, and that African American MSM are at particular risk.
• AIDS remains a metaphor for inequality, argues Michel Sidibe in the LA Times. In the world’s wealthier nations, where access to medicine is widespread, AIDS is becoming a chronic disease rather than a death sentence. But in the eveloping world, 1.8 million people die of AIDS each year.
• Global cholera incidence has increased since 2000, with Haiti’s large outbreak tipping the largest burden away from Africa for the first time since 1995, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Sunday.
• Tens of thousands of Somalis have died and more than half-a-million children are on the brink of starvation. Western aid isn’t flowing to where the worst of the famine is — partly due to the “war on terror.”
• The head of World Food Program in Ethiopia says the country’s emergency food stocks are almost gone, the latest trouble caused by the drought in the Horn of Africa.

TOTALLY UNRELATED TO ANYTHING – Apparently Hollywood has discovered its next Greg Mortenson: Sam Childers, the “Machine Gun Preacher,” is the subject of much hubbub and an upcoming movie starring Gerard Butler.  This man claims to have been a gangbanger and drug dealer who found Jesus and then took up arms to rescue child soldiers from the LRA.  Global health blogger Brett Keller offers some commentary into Childers’ outlandish (and, frankly, dubious) story, while anonymous aid blogger “J” at Tales from the Hood has a few choice words.

Global Health News Last Week

SECTION NEWS

The IH Section hosted its third topic-focused conference call, on Current Developments in MCNH, took place on Monday, June 27, 2011 from 1:00 to 2:00 EST. We had several members of the IH section offer their commentary and expertise on current issues concerning maternal and child health.  Speakers included Laura Altobelli, Elvira Beracochea, Carol Dabbs, Miriam Labbock, and Mary Anne Mercer.  Read the summary here.

IH Section Communications Chair Jessica Keralis attended APHA’s Mid-Year Meeting on healthcare reform.  There were several interesting sessions on technology implications of reform, the public health workforce, advocacy, and others.  Read all about it on the IH Blog.

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POLITICS AND POLICY

• In the first part of a two-part series called “The great billion dollar drug scam,” investigative journalist Khadija Sharife questions the accuracy of figures given by the pharmaceutical industry to justify the high cost of drugs.
•  The American Chronicle reports how Brazil has been implementing numerous programs to reduce the rate of HIV infection within the country.

PROGRAMS

• Nearly six months after it began operations, UN Women appears to be struggling due to lack of donor funding.

RESEARCH

• At the 7th annual meeting of the World Conference of Science Journalists, several speakers said clinical research trials done in the developing world lack adequate patient protections as well as an ethical and legal framework.
•  Arizona State University Scientists have developed recombinant attenuated salmonella vaccines which they believe will make vaccines more effective.
•  A test for dengue through saliva has been developed by researchers from Singapore.
• Researchers believe that they have discovered the precise mechanism by which drugs attack and beat malaria. In doing so, they believe that they can gain a more precise understanding of how resistances are forming and develop better malaria medicines.
• A recently published report on research and development by the Malaria Research Initiative examines the current state of malaria research and offers six recommendations in going forward to improve R&D.
• A dramatic increase in support for malaria R&D since the mid-1990s puts the world well on the way to achieving global malaria control, treatment and elimination goals in the next five to six years.
• A study has found that AIDS patients who take nucleoside analog reverse-transcriptase inhibitors experience premature aging.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

• The WHO has put together a series of graphs based on 2008 global health data to illustrate the 10 leading causes of death by broad income group. Heart disease, stroke and other cerebrovascular disease represent the top two killers in middle and high-income nations while they sit as number three and five respectively for low-income countries.
•  A report published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the CDC, has determined that UN peacekeepers from Nepal brought cholera to Haiti, which led to an outbreak last fall.
• More than 350,000 women die in childbirth every year and 8 million children will die of preventable diseases before their fifth birthday. A new report concludes that more trained midwives could help save prevent millions of such deaths.
• In a recently released report, UNICEF says as many as 70% of the world’s children are exposed to violence amounting to 1.5 billion children each year.
• The drug misoprostol is saving women’s lives around the world by preventing excessive bleeding after childbirth, the leading cause of maternal death in the developing world; it is also causing controversy, as the drug can also be used to induce abortion.
• Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis is on the rise and hard to cure. Médecins Sans Frontières wants people with the disease to blog about it, to find out what they really need.
• A new study in The Lancet shows that over the past thirty years the number of adults diagnosed with diabetes has doubled to 350 million.
• Ghana’s Food and Drugs Board (FDB) issued a statement to warn the public against the sale of counterfeit Artesunate tablets on the market, which it claims are from China; laboratory analysis had confirmed that contained no active anti-malaria ingredient.

Many thanks, as usual, to the Toms – Tom Murphy and Tom Paulson.

Global Health News Last Week

SECTION NEWS

APHA’s 2011 Section elections are coming up soon! Online voting will open on May 16 and ends on June 20. Section members should receive an e-mail on May 16 (next Monday) which will include:

• Your online election validation number
• Your APHA membership ID number
• Voting instructions
• A direct link to your voting Web site

All you have to do is click on the direct link and VOTE!

APHA’s Trade and Health Forum has released its first newsletter! The Forum has established a quarterly APHA Trade & Health Forum Newsletter that includes brief reports from forum members regarding recent work and analyses of issues related to trade and health, as well as announcements for trade and health advocacy opportunities and events. The first spring issue can be viewed here (PDF).

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David Sencer, the longest-serving director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and one of the leaders of the U.S. contribution to the smallpox campaign, passed away at age 86 on May 2.

May 5 was International Day of the Midwife.

POLICY

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have joined forces to assist Asia Pacific countries in identifying priority actions for dengue prevention and control.
• On May 11, dozens of countries around the world will kick off the first global Decade of Action for Road Safety, from 2011-2020.
• Starting last week, China’s Ministry of Health is strengthening its tobacco rules to require 28 types of businesses, including bars, coffee shops, hotels and stadiums to become 100 percent smoke-free.

PROGRAMS

• After a sensationalistic (and rather silly) report from the AP on corruption and graft, the Global Fund has assembled a high-level panel of independent experts to assess the risk of fraud in the current portfolio. The review should be concluded by mid-September
• Sri Lanka commemorated 100 years of its National Malaria Control Program, which has brought the death toll from malaria from 80,000 per year to 0, on May 5. In 2010, only 684 cases of malaria were reported in the country.
• Health officials in India have taken up a pilot project at taluka places to identify areas with less number of institutional deliveries to bring down maternal deaths.
• UNICEF has found that boreholes drilled in response to the Zimbabwe cholera outbreak in 2008 have not been adequately supported by the government in Harare.
• USAID announced that it will be launching a $10 million mobile health program which will deliver information and tips to mothers via SMS.

RESEARCH

• Protease inhibitors used to treat patients with HIV looks to provide an effective treatment to malaria as well and are being hailed as ‘superdrugs.’
• Headaches are the most common health disorders across the world, yet they remain neglected and under-treated, according to a UN study.
• Researchers warn that East African plants that could cure malaria could disappear before scientists have a chance to study them.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

• India’s The Hindu provides a comprehensive article on the impact of TB in the country, and on women in particular.
• India achieved a major success on the global platform by pushing for inclusion of mental health in the list of non-communicable diseases.

Thanks, as usual, to the Healthy Dose and Humanosphere.

Global Health News Last Week

From March 28 to April 1, panelists working in Canada, Uganda, the United States, and Zambia will lead a discussion in GHDonline.org on ways to build sustainable partnerships to strengthen surgical and anesthesia capacity in resource-poor settings. More information can be found here.

March 22 was World Water Day. Blogger Tom Murphy has collected some interesting videos on PSI’s blog here.
Elizabeth Taylor, Hollywood icon and longtime advocate for the fight against HIV/AIDS, passed away on March 23 at age 78.
March 24 was World TB Day.

POLICY

• China, the world’s largest tobacco producer and home to a third of all smokers, has issued a national ban on smoking in hotels, restaurants and other indoor public spaces.
• Fears are growing among HIV/AIDS sufferers in the Ukraine amid claims from some patients that they have been denied life-saving medicines by authorities during a crackdown on drug substitution therapy.
• The WHO has announced a list of 30 essential medicines for treating common diseases of mothers and children that can be used as the basis for procurement and supply of medicines and guide local medicine production.

RESEARCH

• Scientists from the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), Dublin City University and Universidad de Valparaiso (Chile) have developed a self-powered, low-cost chip that can test blood samples and diagnose diseases like tuberculosis and HIV within minutes.
• Researchers have discovered that capsaicin, the compound that makes jalapeños, red chilies, and the famous habanero pepper spicy, inhibit the production of cholera toxins.
• Results from a recent study show that people with HIV who change antiretroviral treatment regimens due to side effects are at higher risk for developing drug resistance.
• The Pakistan Medical Association’s 2011 annual report found that 400,000 infants die in the first year of their life each year and 1 out of 10 children die by the age of five.
• A study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University found that child diarrhea deaths could be almost halved if currently available interventions such as breastfeeding, hand washing with soap, and improved household water treatment were widely implemented.
• Global health and development blogger Amanda Makulec shares seven key ideas that she took home from the Global Health Metrics and Evaluation Conference in Seattle.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

• Despite setbacks, work continues at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, in addition to radiation-contaminated vegetables, officials are now warning families to not give Tokyo tap water to infants due to elevated levels of radiation found in the water supply. The World Bank estimates that the earthquake and tsunami have caused as much as $235 billion in damage to Japan and that it will take five years for the nation to recover.
• The crisis in Côte d’Ivoire continues as well, as the country’s healthcare system is strained by the violence.
• Leprosy, which has been officially “eliminated” in India, still affects hundreds of thousands of people who are shunned by society. There are 130,000 new cases diagnosed in the country each year.
• Leaders at the 26th Annual Conference of Alzheimer’s Disease International challenged the World Health Organization and countries around the world to take action on the dramatic surge in the global incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Global Health News Last Week

POLICY

• Assistant Senate Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) introduced the Water for the World Act of 2011, a bill in the Senate which will make providing safe and clean drinking water around the world a priority for US foreign aid.
• More than 60 world nutrition experts met at WHO headquarters last week to revise guidelines and to identify solutions to tackle the growing problems of both malnutrition and obesity around the world.
• Ministers of health and other high-level health officials from throughout the Americas called for a series of actions to reduce the toll of chronic noncommunicable diseases, in a declaration issued last week in Mexico City.
• The Global Fund announced that former President of Botswana Festus Mogae and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt have agreed to lead a high-level panel of experts that will conduct an independent and thorough review of the Global Fund’s financial safeguards.
• UN agencies are concerned that reduced donor funding due to the recession, combined with free trade agreements, will reduce the availability of low-cost HIV medications in developing countries.
• The United Nations General Assembly will convene a high-level meeting in September this year to discuss the financial burden caused by non-communicable diseases (NCD) on countries.

RESEARCH

• A study done is Malawi by the World Bank attracted attention (and criticism) from Businessweek. Young women were given to stay in school and deter them from accepting money and gifts from “sugar daddies” in exchange for sex. The study found that HIV infection rates were 60% among schoolgirls who received cash compared to those who received nothing.
• A recent review of malaria treatment clinical trial results, published in the Chochrane Library, shows that artesunate was more effective that quinine at treating severe malaria.
• A personalized text messaging reminder service significantly boosted antiretroviral (ARV) adherence over a six-week period compared with a standard beeper reminder system, according to a study published in the March issue of AIDS Patient Care and STDs.
• About 600 people gathered at the Global Health Metrics and Evaluation conference in Seattle to discuss issues surrounding the evaluation of effectiveness of health programs.

PROGRAMS

• Global health blogger Alanna Shaikh discusses how micro-credit and the Green Revolution, two of international development’s biggest successes, are being re-evaluated.
• The Nepalese government is planning launch a large vaccination campaign against elephantiasis in 40 high-risk districts.
• Dubai’s Ministry of Health introduced Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine PCV13, a vaccine that protects young children from the worst effects of illnesses including pneumonia, blood infections and meningitis.
• The National Influenza Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has been designated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, making China the first developing country to house such an institution.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

• Europe is concerned by the growing incidence of drug-resistant TB, particularly in children.
• The world continues to follow the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, including the unfolding situation at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. The WHO has assured that there is no danger to individuals being exposed to radiation in nearby nations (e.g. China).
• As if Haiti needed any more bad news, a study published in the Lancet says that the UN estimate of 400,000 cholera cases in Haiti this year is nearly half of what the real projection should be for the recovering nation. Meanwhile, health officials in Lagos have called on residents to observe high standards of personal and environmental hygiene and have designated emergency numbers to call in case of suspected cases; the Ghana Health Service has set up cholera centers in Accra to deal with the outbreak there; and the interim federal government of Somalia on Tuesday denied reports of an outbreak of cholera in the country, responding to an Associated Press story over the weekend that Somali doctors had reported that more than 20 people had died from the disease.
• In the February 2011 issue of PLoS Neglected Tropical Disease Journal, contributing editor Serap Aksoy discussed the triumphs behind the control of human African trypanosomiasis, or African Sleeping Sickness.
• Although women get diagnosed for tuberculosis (TB) later than men, treatment outcomes among women are better than men with higher TB treatment success rate and lower default (drop-out) rate in the female patients. The finding was announced at a meeting on TB and women in New Delhi, India.
• While the total number of newly reported HIV positive people and AIDS patients are still low in Japan compared with other countries, the number of newly HIV-infected people in Japan has doubled in the past decade due to public complacency and lower awareness.

Global Health News Last Week (plus interest in a new working group!)

Attention IH Section Members: Dr. Kaja Abbas, MPH student at the University of Rochester, is gauging interest in forming a working group focused on using system science to improve global health, similar to the intitiaves being promoted by NIH. Her interests are in conducting system science research on global health policy by modeling population and disease dynamics and economic evaluation of public health interventions and systems, with a focus on HIV and TB. Dr. Malcolm Bryant, our section chair, has encouraged the expansion of our section’s activities in areas of technical expertise, and Dr. Abbas is enthusiastic about a working group within the section that promotes system science methodologies for global health solutions. She welcomes your thoughts and suggestions at kaja [dot] abbas [at] gmail [dot] com.

Global Health Delivery online’s HIV prevention community is hosting a “virtual expert panel” March 7-11 to continue the dialogue around PrEP as a novel approach to prevention. Panelists from Uganda, South Africa and the United States will lead the online discussion, highlighting various barriers and opportunities to implementing PrEP in clinical settings; how to encourage long-term adherence; and what additional research questions need to be answered. Panelists include (1) Douglas Krakower, MD, a fellow in Infectious Diseases at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School, (2)Andrew Mujugira, MBChB, MSc, the East Africa regional medical director for the Partners PrEP study, and (3) Vivek Naranbhai, PhD, who was involved in CAPRISA microbicide gel study. All GHDonline members can participate in this online discussion. You can sign up here if you are not currently a member.

POLICY

• Paramount Chief Mpezeni of the Ngoni people in the Eastern Province of Zambia has urged his subjects to get circumcised in order to reduce the chances of spreading HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases in his land.
• Britain is threatening to pull out of the Food and Agriculture Organization due to “patchy” performance.
• Due to uncertainty in past estimates, the Indian government has formed a 16-member expert group to determine the annual death rate caused by malaria in the country each year.
• The breakdown of the air conditioning in the plenary hall of the Philippines’ House of Representatives stalled the heated debate of a controversial reproductive health bill. The bill is vehemently opposed by the Catholic Church and pro-life groups and has caused a stir in the largely Catholic country.
• A massive demonstration rally was held in New Delhi to protest a free trade agreement between India and Europe, which many fear may threaten the production of low-cost generic drugs, particularly HIV medicines.

RESEARCH

• US researchers believe that half of men in the general population may be infected with human papillomavirus or HPV, the human wart virus that causes cervical and other cancers, strengthening the case for vaccinating boys against HPV.
• A recent study published in the WHO bulletin argues for the need to implement gender-specific tobacco control activites to curb the growing tobacco epidemic.
• The World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, announced the launch of the Global Health Data Charter, a project designed to improve global health by leveraging the collection and management of data.
• A new study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation found that the poorest in Thailand have significantly more difficulty accessing diabetes care than the general population.
• A research trial found that a microbicide gel with the ARV tenofovir, initially designed for vaginal use, may also be effective in stopping HIV transmission during anal sex.
• A report released by UNICEF, “The State of the World’s Children 2011,” highlighted India’s poor child and maternal health conditions.

PROGRAMS

• Dr. Bruce Aylward, head of the WHO’s Global Polio Eradication Initiative, discusses why it is so difficult to eradicate polio. Meanwhile, former US President Jimmy Carter is leading his own campaign to make guinea worm the second disease (after smallpox) to be eradicated.
• Amanda Glassman writes about Bangladesh’s success story in drastically lowering its maternal mortality rate.
• The International HIV/AIDS Alliance is expanding its project (which is funded by the UK’s Department for International Development) to reduce HIV-related maternal mortality in South Sudan.
• Prompted by Burma’s (Myanmar’s) transition to “civilian rule” after last November’s elections, the Global Fund has returned and is providing grants for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB programs.

DISEASES

• The WHO has declared Nepal polio-free after no infections were reported during a six-month period, while a new outbreak is spiking in the DRC.
• The massive flow of refugees fleeing violence in Libya has created a humanitarian crisis, as organizations struggle to provide for the basic needs of nearly 175,000 people who have crossed the border into Tunisia, Egypt, and Niger.
• After losing 4,500 lives to the cholera epidemic that raged through Haiti after the January 2009 earthquake, doctors in Port-au-Prince say they are bringing the disease under control. Unfortunately, health experts fear that the rainy season will cause a fresh outbreak in Nigeria.

Global Health News Last Week

POLICY

• Amanda Glassman discusses the debate surrounding a new proposal by the United Network for Organ Sharing to prioritize younger, healthier donors for kidney transplants instead of their current “first come, first served” approach.
• The highly-anticipated new UN agency, UN Women was launched on Thursday. It will be headed by former Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet. Women’s rights advocates argue that domestic violence should be the agency’s top priority.

RESEARCH

• A paper published in Science by a research group at the University of Maryland demonstrates that a fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae, can be used to combat the malarial parasite inside the mosquito. Another promising study suggests that a compound produced by a seaweed in Fiji could be used to combat malaria.
• A new study has shown that that Internet kiosks providing information on prenatal and postnatal care have helped reduce infant, child, and maternal mortality rates in rural India.
• A study published by the Harvard School of Public Health last year found that the poorest third of the world’s population account for only 4% of surgeries worldwide, and that over two million people in low-income countries have no access to life-saving surgery.
• The first phase trials of the HIV vaccine developed in India were completed with no side effects reported. Meanwhile, a three-year research trial on a vaginal anti-HIV gel has been launched in Rwanda.
• The Trachoma Atlas, an open-access resource on the geographical distribution of trachoma, was launched by a team of collaborators from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the International Trachoma Initiative at The Task Force for Global Health, and the Carter Center. It is funded by a generous donation from (you guessed it!) the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• The European Solutions Enterprise for Neglected Diseases (euSEND), a new initiative, based in the Netherlands, was launched to aid in the fight against neglected tropical diseases. The organization’s goal is to “take the role of matchmaker” to facilitate partnerships in research for NTD treatments and vaccines.

PROGRAMS

• Swaziland has a large-scale circumcision drive in an attempt to lower HIV rates.
• Cash-transfer programs as a means of assisting the poor are beginning to gain attention and popularity from development and economic professionals. Mexico’s and Brazil’s have captured particular attention and are credited with poverty reduction and GDP growth.
• The first methadone maintenance program in sub-Saharan Africa recently opened in a hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Heroin use is a growing problem in port cities, where the drug passes through en route from Afghanistan to Europe.

DISEASES

• WHO Director-General Margaret Chan and IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano published a joint editorial on the growing burden of cancer on the world’s poor and disadvantaged populations.
• H5N1, colloquially known as bird flu, is making a comeback: a report of a Cambodian mother and her infant dying after eating meat from a contaminated chicken is the latest in a series of cases in Indonesia, South Korea, and India.
• here has been an increase in reported cholera cases in three regions in Ghana, where 34 deaths have occurred over the last five months. In Haiti, the WHO has warned of a high risk of cholera during Carnival in the absence of strict hygiene measures.

Global Health News Last Week

The IH Newsletter is up! The Winter 2011 edition features several articles written by section members on various topics, a social media corner, fellowships and internships, and member publications. Check it out, and please consider contributing to the Spring edition!

On Tuesday, USAID administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah gave the 2011 David E. Barmes Global Health Lecture at NIH. His speech, titled “Addressing Grand Challenges:The Role of Science in Global Health Development,” can be viewed here. The transcript can also be downloaded, or you can read it on USAID’s website here. Also, you can check out commentary by Amanda Glassman, Sarah Arnquist, and K4Health.

Cholera, as usual, remains in the news: experts say the outbreak in Haiti has plateaued, while the one in Papua New Guinea rages on, and it is just getting started in Ghana. Meanwhile, health officials in Bangladesh prepare to launch the world’s largest cholera vaccine trial near Dhaka, the capital.

Scientists from Edinburgh University claim that the malarial parasite is particularly deadly because it competes with other strains of the infection by focusing on producing quickly-replicating cells, thus “duking it out” in the bloodstream. On a more positive note, Kenyan scientists believe that a spider that is attracted to the smell of human sweat may aid in the fight against the disease.

UN experts maintain that the laws in many Asian countries obstruct access to HIV/AIDS care and services. Nineteen countries in the region outlaw same-sex relations, and 29 criminalize prostitution. The remarks were made just before the Global Commission of HIV and the Law took place in Bangkok, where experts from around the world gathered to discuss HIV-related legal and human rights issues. Also, China has declared its intention to bring the spread of AIDS under control by 2020.

According to the WHO, Moldova has emerged as the world leader in per-capita alcohol consumption.

Experts have been sounding the alarm about rising food prices, and many analysts have linked the crisis to the recent riots in north Africa and the Middle East.

Obama and the Republicans continue to battle over the budget, as the president requests a modest increase in global health funds while Congressional Republicans try to slash spending.

Global Health News Last Week

December 9 was Anti-Corruption Day.
December 10 was Human Rights Day.

A recently published research study reveals that aspirin can prevent cancer – to very little acclaim.

There is a new rapid diagnostic test for TB, though some argue that it may not be the best idea for developing countries.

There is a polio outbreak in the Congo, and cholera rages on in Haiti and the Dominican Repubic.

Global Health News This Week

November 22 was Public Health Thank-You Day, and November 25 marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

UNAIDS released a report that said that we are finally making significant progress against the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. In related news, an international trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that daily prophylaxis can prevent HIV infection in MSM.

The Bread for the World Institute released its 2011 Hunger Report, which says that global hunger is increasing as the global food crisis gets worse.

A study published in the Lancet found that the malaria death toll in India may be as much as 13 times higher than WHO estimates.

Another study published in the journal Vaccine estimated that global polio eradication could save the world $50 billion.

The strain responsible for the cholera outbreak in Haiti has been identified as one originating from southeast Asia, which has led many Haitians to blame the Nepalese UN peacekeepers and has sparked riots against the UN.