Global Health Weekly News Round-Up

• World Earth Day was celebrated on April 22^nd.
• World Primary Immunodeficiency week is celebrated from April 22- 29^th, 2012.

Politics and Policies

• The Ministry of Health (Angola) with World Bank and Total E&P Angola has launched a project for the Reinforcement of Municipal Health Services. It aims to contribute to the reduction of maternal and infant mortality rate in the country.
• American Embassy in Abidjan, Cote d’lviore, has sponsored the project launched by the Ministry of Health – HIV/AIDS hotline- to enable the public- especially the youth-to get information about the disease.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued new guidelines for couples in which one partner is HIV positive and the other is not. The guidelines for so-called “discordant” couples are being praised by UNAID, Doctors without Borders and others.
• Federal health officials endorsed a decision by their advisor to let publication of two controversial bird flu studies to prepare the world against a possible deadly pandemic.
• Indonesian tobacco companies will be forced by the government to place photos of horrific health problems caused by smoking on ever pack and advisers will be banned from showing cigarettes under a planned governmental regulation.

Programs

• Jeffrey Model Foundation joins 20 countries to Launch World Primary Immunodeficiency Week from April 22- 29. The campaign focuses on early diagnosis and access to appropriate treatment, through public awareness and physician education.
• Eurostat Press Office has released Health in the EU27 in 2010. According to it, at the age of 65, both men and women in the member states are expected to live a further 9 years in a healthy condition.
• Edo (state in Nigeria) receives N1.8 Billion cervical cancer vaccines from an international donor agency. The vaccines will be administered to the girl’s ages between 9 and 13 years in the state.
• The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that obesity and diet related illness could emerge as major challenges for Europe and Central Asia while hunger will only be a minor problem.
• Latest findings in Breastfeeding Science presented at Medela’s 7^th international breastfeeding and lactation symposium in Vienna, Austria on April 20-21, 2012. Presentations include insights into the unique properties of human milk, breastfeeding and medication, and stem cells in human milk.

Research

• Scientists of University of Edinburgh have found a key protein which is common to many potentially fatal forms of malaria. It could help to develop vaccines or drugs against life-threatening cases of the infection.
• A study by U.S. National Institute on Aging showed that more daily exercises, even doing housework can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This prospective, observational cohort study involved 716 participants without dementia who participated in the Rush Memory and Aging Project.
• A survey has revealed the misuse of pesticides, some of them banned, in northern Ghana is affecting the health of the farmers, sometimes with fatal consequences, and contaminating the crops.
• A research study shows Ayurvedic cure of HIV/ AIDS might be possible by the Neem tree.
• A study suggests second-generation drug used for hypertension aids heart function independent of blood pressure effect.
• A study done by the Japanese scientists raise hope for treatment of baldness.
• Report shows a link between money, education and life expectancy.
• University of Illinois researchers have shown how soy protein could significantly reduce fat accumulation and triglycerides in the livers of obese patients by partially restoring the function of a key signaling pathway in the organ.
• An Irish medical study confirms swine flu jab caused increased narcolepsy among those with age groups between five to nineteen years. International experts suggest a number of factors might have contributed to this increased risk.
• Discovery of a yeast prion which helps cells to survive.
• A study published in the journal Biofabrication, describes a new method for making medical devices called nerve guidance conduits or NGC’s which may help severely damaged nerves to regrow and restore function.
• Neuroscientists have discovered key protein responsible for controlling nerve cell protection. It is responsible for controlling the chemical process which reduce or enhance protection mechanism for nerve cells in the brain.
• The researchers at Columbia Medical Center have identified a molecular pathway that controls the retention and release of the brain’s stem cells- ‘Housekeeping’ mechanism.
• A team of scientists have shown that the vessels grown from donor cells are good and natural alternative to synthetic vessels. Animal trials have shown promising results.

Diseases and Disasters

• Earthquake in Chile. Two people died of heart attack.
• Mexico’s Popo volcano throws glowing rocks. Residents of the semirural communities near the volcano have reported hearing hours of ‘low-pitched roaring’.
• About 14 students in Bangladesh have been reported suffering from H1N1.
• In Sri Lanka, dengue fever killed 38, infects 10,000 in a few months.
• A mystery skin disease killed 19 in Vietnam. Officials seeking international assistance on this issue.

 

CSIS Video: The Road to AIDS2012

Get Excited: AIDS2012 Arrives in Washington, DC July 2012

From July 22 to 27, 2012, Washington, DC will host the nineteenth international AIDS conference, known as AIDS 2012. The AIDS 2012 conference theme, “Turning the Tide Together,” reflects organizers’ recognition that in 2012 the global AIDS community finds itself at a unique juncture: research advances have made it possible to envision an end to the epidemic at the precise moment when funding challenges threaten to slow progress on scientific discovery and program implementation.

The CSIS Global Health Policy Center is pleased to present a video featuring the perspectives of many of the participants in the Friends of AIDS 2012 group, as well as the insights of government officials, private sector representatives, advocates, and program implementers who have been long-time conference participants.

Global Health Weekly News Round-Up

The weekly news round-up for last week is posted below. Apologies for the delay. The holidays keep us all busy!

CDC’s report on its contributions on women’s health is available as the “Review on Women’s Health for the Year 2011″ (Source: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/WomensHealthReview/?s_cid=fb1332).

Politics and Policies:

• Democrat Charles Schumer asked Food and Drug Administration Commissioner to review the safety and legality of AeroShot Pure Energy caffeine inhaler (Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/controversy-over-inhaled-caffeine-grows-as-as-sen-schumer-calls-for-fda-probe/2011/12/22/gIQAjQaVDP_story.html).
• Due to concerns over bioterrorism the government advisory board that oversees biosecurity in the U.S. has asked the scientific journals Nature & Science to censor details on recent bird flu. It has asked the journals not to publish details on certain biomedical experiments (Source: http://www.thetakeaway.org/2011/dec/22/when-it-ok-censor-science/  and http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/health/fearing-terrorism-us-asks-journals-to-censor-articles-on-virus.html).
• New guidelines from the U.S. advisory committee on Immunization Packages have recommended Hepatitis B vaccination for the unvaccinated adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes due to increased risk of HBV infection. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the guidelines in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (Source: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/story/2011-12-23/Hepatitis-B-vaccine-recommended-for-adults-with-diabetes/52188138/1).
• The HPTN 052 study funded by US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) named as 2011 Breakthrough of the Year. It successfully demonstrated antiretroviral medications not only treat but also prevent transmission of HIV infection among heterosexual individuals (Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/health/2011-12/23/c_131322368.htm).
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has urged to double check the concentration of acetaminophen before giving it to infants. High concentration can lead to confusion in infants (Source: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20111223/infant-acetaminophen-dosage-change-may-cause-confusion).
• Some mental, emergency care and non-communicable diseases drugs being included in the list of free drugs for distribution in Nepal (Source: http://www.namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=180030).
• Avastin has been approved by the European Commission, as a drug for treatment of newly diagnosed and advanced ovarian cancer (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/23/us-avastin-ovarian-cancer-idUSTRE7BM15A20111223).

Programs

• India to start a nation-wide program, weekly iron and folic supplementation program (WIFS) to deal with the problem of anemia among its adolescents (Source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/govt-evolves-programme-to-tackle-anaemia_748331.html).
• United Nations population fund (UNFPA) with other agencies is working to provide necessary help to the pregnant and lactating women in the evacuation centers of topical storm hit areas. Team of doctors, midwives and other health care workers are being deployed in those areas. Reproductive health care supplies and medicines are being distributed. They will distribute clean delivery kits to for healthy and hygienic deliveries (Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/reproductive_health/supplies_philippines/prweb9063252.htm).

Research

• Cardiac MRI more accurate ruling out coronary heart disease than stress MRI. The Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) though exposes patients to ionic radiations but its highly accurate (Source: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/AcuteCoronarySyndrome/30369?pfc=101&spc=230).
• A daily dose of 80mg aspirin reduces bowel cancer risk according to researchers at Dartmouth Medical School, New Hampshire(Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-170649/Aspirin-cut-bowel-cancer-risk.html).
• According to a demonstration done by John Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, by genetically engineering immune system of Plasmodium falciparum, transmission of malaria parasite can be blocked. This will result in killing of large number of parasites which come into the mosquito’s body when they suck the blood of an infected person. The fitness of genetically modified bacteria was almost the same as those who were nonmodified  (Source: http://www.newswise.com/articles/scientists-engineer-mosquito-immune-system-to-block-malaria).
• A study published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicates that to avoid fondness towards salt, its reduced intake should begin early in life (Source: http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-babies-salt-20111221,0,6606273.story).

Diseases & Disasters

• Health department of Illinois has urged people to take a shot of whooping cough vaccine after looking into the reports of spread of this disease in Northern Illinois (Source: http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/news/9537068-418/whooping-cough-spreading-throughout-northern-illinois.html and http://www.thirdage.com/news/pertussis-outbreaks-trouble-illinois_12-18-2011).
• Hospital wards closed in Britain due to Norovirus outbreak (Source: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/12/23/Virus-outbreak-strikes-British-hospitals/UPI-91931324663834/?spt=hs&or=tn).
• People in Nairobi, Kenya, are fearing of Ebola virus outbreak after the death of profusely bleeding 29 year old women (Source: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/africa-emerges/ebola-makes-comeback).
• People in topical storm hit areas in Philippines  are in great need of milk for their babies (Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/12/23/11/breastmilk-needed-flood-hit-mindanao).
• Second bird found dead after infection with H5N1 in Hong Kong has raised health concerns in the city (Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2011/12/23/bird-flu-hong-kong.html).

These headlines were compiled by Vani Nanda, MPH Candidate at West Chester University PA.

Global Health Weekly News Round-Up

From December 4 to 10, the US Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) celebrated National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW). It was an effort to spread the message of the importance of continuing flu vaccination through the holiday season and beyond. (Source: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/FightTheFlu/?s_cid=fb1293)

On December 10, 2011, Human Rights Day was observed . (Source: http://www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/2011/index.shtml)

Politics and Policies

• President Obama approved the decision to limit the morning after pill. His administration overruled the decision to make this pill available over the counter for the girls aged 17 years or younger.  (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/09/us/obama-backs-aides-stance-on-morning-after-pill.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=policy&adxnnlx=1323604933-CM1yLsRFtM9NYMVPd6JSJA)
• Payroll tax package released by the Republicans would delay for the next two years , 27.4% payment cut for the doctors who accept / are paid via the Medicare plan. (Source: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/198389-house-gop-introduces-payroll-tax-package?page=2#comments  and http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g-kbpjjkZz4s9rbfbxxs2LOwTH-w?docId=46892985f4614d5399a9c6540c119fa0)

Programs

• At the 16^th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and STIs, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced  “Rapid Advice” document that presents a guidance on the diagnosis, prevention and management of cryptococcal disease in HIV-infected adults, adolescents and children, with a focus on settings with limited health systems capacity and resources, and a high burden of the disease. It will be officially launched in March 2012. (Source: http://www.panapress.com/WHO-gives-guidelines-on-cryptococcus-disease—15-809357-29-lang2-index.html)
• The World Health Organization (WHO) announced a new vaccine “MenAfriVac” for the elimination of a deadly group A meningitis strain. It will be introduced by Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad who are in “Meningitis belt.” (Source: http://www.afriquejet.com/meningitis-vaccine-nigeria-cameroon-chad-to-use-new-meningitis-vaccine-2011121029299.html)
• The United Nations (UN) sanctioned $6 million fund to alleviate the sufferings of people from food shortages in Niger. (Source: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40645&Cr=+niger+&Cr1=)
• The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced funding of $14.5 million for school based clinics. (Source: http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2011/December/09/hhs-school-grants.aspx)
• A five day campaign against polio has been launched by Congolese Minister of Health and Population. (Source: http://www.afriquejet.com/campaign-polio-congo-2011120929262.html)

Research

• Satellite images used to track diseases by the Princeton researchers. (Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-57340232-247/princeton-researchers-use-satellite-images-to-track-disease/)
• Research by University of California, San Diego shows a link between high starch diet and the recurrence of breast cancer. (Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2072000/White-bread-pasta-rich-diet-increases-risk-breast-cancer-returning.html)
• An inherited mutated gene from father can lead to the development of cancer of breast in women. (Source: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2011/12/10/dads-genes-can-speed-cancer.html)
• Abortion not related to risk of development of mental illness. (Source: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/womenshealth/story/2011-12-09/Study-Abortion-doesnt-raise-mental-illness-risk/51762674/1)
• A research study published in Journal of Sexual Medicine states that women may be able to smell men with sexually transmitted disease (STIs). (Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/men-stds-give-unpleasant-smell-women-study-found-gonorrhea-infected-men-putrid-article-1.989292)
• Gene therapy is the new treatment of patients with various hematological disorders. It involves replacing the defective gene with the intact version. (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/health/research/hemophilia-b-gene-therapy-breakthrough.html)
• The MRI scans used to understand the brain damage caused by Cerebral Malaria by a researcher of Michigan State University. (Source: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20111209/MSU-researcher-uses-MRI-to-unlock-how-cerebral-malaria-damages-brain.aspx)

Diseases and Disasters

• An earthquake of intensity 5.8 had hit Ryukyu Islands of Japan on Sunday December 11, 2011 at 10:22:44 AM. (Source: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc000753q.php#details)
• Fire at the Advanced Medical Research Institute hospital in Kolkata, India lead to the death of 92 people. (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/world/india-hospital-fire-kolkata-west-bengal.html)
• The United Nation (UN) issued a child malnutrition warning for Africa’s Sahel region. (Source: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40687&Cr=sahel&Cr1=)
• First West Nile Virus case confirmed in the Palm Beach County, Florida. Public asked to take precautions. (Source: http://www.disasternews.net/news/article.php?articleid=4364)
• Brazil develops a new formula for the pediatric patients for Chagas disease treatment. (Source: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20111209/New-pediatric-formula-for-Chagas-disease-treatment-developed-in-Brazil.aspx)
• In its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announced a new regimen for latent tuberculosis infection. It is an effective treatment which involves just one-third time of the current therapy. (Source: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20111209/Shorter-effective-treatment-for-latent-TB-infection.aspx)

These headlines were compiled by Vani Nanda, MPH Candidate at West Chester University PA.

Weekly Global Health News Round-Up

World AIDS Day was observed on December 1^st by the CDC and its partners from around the globe. (Source: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/worldaidsday/?s_cid=fb1285) According to the report by the World Health Organization (WHO) there has been 15% reduction of new infections and a 22% decline in death due to this deadly virus. (Source: http://www.who.int/en/)

The Guardian has put out a global map showing the level of corruption country-by-country based on data from Transparency International. (Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/dec/01/world-corruption-index-transparency-international-map)

Politics and Policies:

• On the occasion of World AIDS Day, President Barack Obama has set up a new target (6 million) of treating patients from all around the world (from 4 million). (Source: http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/233227-obama-raises-u-s-goal-on-fighting-aids.html)
• Australia will set the standard for Asia’s health data compliance laws, predicts market analyst IDC Health Insights. (Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/clear-e-health-compliance-laws-a-must-idc/story-e6frgakx-1226211890667)
• The minister of health of Jamaica, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, on the occasion of  World AIDS Day,  disclosed that amendments were being made to the Public Health Order to remove the discriminatory provisions relating to people suffering from HIV/ AIDS in their country. (Source: http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/leads-106/29388)
• Dr. Donald M. Berwick, official in charge of US Medicare and Medicaid described these policies as “extremely high level of waste”. He said that both involved activities that don’t have any value which if eliminated could save $150- $250 billion a year. (Source:  http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20111204/WIRE/111209831?p=2&tc=pg)
• Chinais planning to enter the vaccine market. (Source: http://www.montereyherald.com/living/ci_19467994)

Programs:

• Seven local health agencies have been funded by the Minnesota Department of Health to develop and implement programs that address health hazards at home. (Source: http://www.echopress.com/event/article/id/90040/group/News/)
• Initiatives for public health and safety have been sponsored by the health officials across east Tennessee which is aimed at encouraging flu vaccinations and winter weather preparedness. (Source: http://www.starhq.com/2011/12/04/health-officials-encourage-winter-weather-preparedness/)
• Zambia was announced as the first Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partner country which will be expanding its availability of vital cervical cancer screening and treatment and breast cancer education to those in need.  This announcement was made by President George W. Bush, who, with Mrs. Laura Bush and First Lady of Zambia Dr. Christine Kaseba and United States Ambassador Mark Storella, visited the George Urban Health Center in Lusaka, Zambia. (Source: http://news.gnom.es/pr/president-george-w-bush-and-the-first-lady-of-zambia-dr-christine-kaseba-announce-zambia-as-first-country-to-implement-pink-ribbon-red-ribbon)

Research:

• A potential effective treatment for the peripheral arterial disease has been brought into light by a group of researchers at Universityof Minnesota. According to them exercise may be more effective than peripheral stunts for pain. (Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2016916385_exercise05.html)
• A recent report indicated increasing number of HIV infected children resistant to AIDS drugs. Most of the children on the drug therapy have been seen to have low bone density. Scientists believe that the reason behind the signs of osteoporosis might be due to toxic effects of some AIDS drugs like tenofovir. (Source:  http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/259419/20111201/hiv-positive-children-asia-grow-resistance-aids.htm)
• A research study indicates the possibility of zinc oxide, a chemical found in food products, can cause cancer. (Source:  http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-30/health/30458208_1_consumer-products-dna-damage-cells)
• In a study released by Boston University’s School of Public Health, the people living in Cape Cod towns, who are exposed early in life to drinking water contaminated by solvents, have a higher probability of eventually using illicit drugs (Source: http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111202/NEWS/112020328/-1/NEWSMAP ).
• The scientists at the University of Edinburgh and Ludwing Maximilians University in Munich have discovered that the people with variant of ABCC9 gene need more sleep than others (Source: http://www.scotsman.com/news/health/to_sleep_to_gene_dna_could_be_key_to_why_some_people_need_more_rest_1_1991223 ).

Diseases and Disasters:

• The experts at AfriHealth Conference (30 November- 1 December) in Kenya said “most African health needs can be solved by the age-old basics of water and sanitation, nutrition and hygiene; if we concentrate on these we will make big strides in the lives of our people.” The experts said that a focus on high-tech healthcare solutions could come at the expense of basic prevention. E-health and telemedicine strategies are lacking in Africa, together with the laws that guide their practice. (Source: http://www.scidev.net/en/new-technologies/icts/news/african-e-health-moving-in-wrong-direction-.html)
• Out of 26,000 reported measles cases from January to October 2011, more than 80% of them have occurred in Western Europe. World Health Organization (WHO)- Europe has issued a warning to European nations. (Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/238590.php)
• Uranium mines in India pose a severe health hazard. According to the environmental health specialists, the mine waste dumped in the groundwater is radioactive. (Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i1G4YWJkajit3t0xD2ddl4UXwN7g?docId=CNG.5b3137d37ca033f82d1946db0c21911c.951)

These headlines were compiled by Vani Nanda, MPH Candidate at West Chester University PA.

Global Health Weekly News Round-up

Politics and Policies

• The US federal government has awarded Iowa $7 million to prepare a computerized system that will help the small businesses and individuals to find affordable coverage. (Source: http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/11/29/feds-give-state-7-million-for-insurance-exchange-planning/ )
• US federal agency has rejected Indiana’s bid for an exemption from federal health care. (Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57332830/feds-reject-ind-request-for-health-care-exemption/ )
• The House of Delegates, at its interim meeting in November, directed the AMA to use screening tools from the National Institute of Drug Abuse and others to identify the patients likely to abuse prescription drugs.                                                                                                                  (Source: http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/11/28/prsd1128.htm )
• From December 7-9, 2011, Kenya will hold its first national human resources for health conference which will avail a platform for placing health as a priority in the health strategy and national development towards vision 2030. The theme of the conference will be “Renewing commitment to the health workforce towards achievement of MDGs and vision 2030”. (Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201111291193.html )
• AstraZeneca Canada Inc., in partnership with mindyourbody and Physical and Health Educators (PHE) of Canada, together with the active involvement of the youth, has organized a program in Ontario, Canada. It is focused on improving the mental health and emotional well-being of vulnerable adolescents. (Source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/505390 )
• The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be posting no smoke signs within 15 feet of bus stops in Austin, Texas, beginning from February 1^st 2012 to prevent the non-smokers from inhaling the secondhand smoke. (Source: http://www.dailytexanonline.com/opinion/2011/11/28/capmetros-policy-breath-fresh-air )
• A recent study done by Dr. Avi Dor, professor in the Department of Health Policy at the GW School of Public Health and Health Services indicates a need to develop policies to encourage medication compliance which will lead to cost savings through healthcare system in the long run. (Source: http://www.newswise.com/articles/higher-patient-adherence-to-disease-modifying-therapies-reduced-costs-for-ms-patients )
• An invitation for the bid for consultant on public health authorities’ activities with the aim to protect the environment has been issued by the Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan. (Source: http://abc.az/eng/news_29_11_2011_60039.html )

Programs

• The first WHO European Conference on the New European Policy for Health – Health 2020, held in Jerusalem, Israel has called for working together across sectors for health and well-being. (Source: http://www.epha.org/spip.php?article4859 )
• In the 44^th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Nephrology, it was said that Healthy People 2010 met the goal of lower CVD deaths in CKD patients. (Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/754362 )
• The Global Fund will not be able to fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria until the year 2014. (Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57331033/massive-global-health-fund-says-its-broke/ )

Research

• A study done by a team at Harvard University involving stem cell transplant in the brain circulatory of mice could pave a way for effective treatment of Parkinson’s disease and autism. (Source: http://www.thehindu.com/health/medicine-and-research/article2659553.ece )
• According to a study done by the scientists at Indiana School of Medicine in Indianapolis, playing video games can make you aggressive. The research showed that the areas of the brain most affected were the left inferior frontal lobe and the anterior cingulate cortex. Once the gamers stopped playing, these areas of brain came back to normal. (Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Lifestyle/Wellness/Violent-video-games-make-you-aggressive/Article1-775010.aspx )
• In a recent study done by scientists at Harvard School of Public Health, a relationship was found between coffee consumption and rate of occurrence of endometrial cancer. They found an inverse relationship and found that the women who drank four or more cups of coffee had significant reduction (25%) in the risk of endometrial cancer than those who limit themselves to one cup of coffee per day. (Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Lifestyle/Wellness/Four-cups-of-coffee-can-prevent-womb-cancer/Article1-773052.aspx )
• The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has developed a new wet AMD drug known as EYLEA. This drug, when injected into the eye, will prevent the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the eye under retina to prevent their bleeding and preventing an abnormal blood loss. (Source: http://www.ffb.ca/research/research_news/eyelea.html )
• A new treatment for severe emphysema has been brought to light by the team of doctors at Thoraxklinik in Heidelberg, Germany. They used first endoscopic lung volume reduction system known as InterVapor that does not leave any foreign materials in the lungs but utilizes the body’s self-healing process for the treatment of this problem. (Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/29/idUS125291+29-Nov-2011+PRN20111129 )

Diseases and Disasters

• According to a CDC report, of the 1.2 million Americans who have HIV, 20% are unaware of their status. (Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57333212-10391704/cdc-240000-americans-have-hiv-and-dont-know-it/?tag=pop;stories )
• Egyptian scientists prepare an anti-diabetes drug from balsam pear. It has properties similar to bovine insulin and it will be taken orally, which will be a relief for the patients on insulin injections. (Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/29/egyptian-scientists-to-make-diabetes-drug-from-bitter-fruit.html )
• The 2010 data indicates that in India, the state of Andhra Pradesh has the highest prevalence of HIV/ AIDS. (Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article2663262.ece )
• Nearly 6% of the population of Pakistan (about 10 million people) are infected with hepatitis C (Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C11%5C28%5Cstory_28-11-2011_pg7_4 )
• The children in South Sudan are dying of preventable diseases. According to the UN, malaria is a hyper-epidemic in this country. It is said to be one of the biggest causes of miscarriage in pregnancy. (Source: http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/s-sudan-children-dying-of-preventable-diseases-1.1188555 )
• The countries in East Africa have been hit by the nanana wilt and the Cassava Brown Streak disease which has affected the household incomes and raised the famine threat. A warning has been issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). (Source: http://digitaljournal.com/article/315074 )

These headlines were compiled by Vani Nanda, MPH Candidate at West Chester University PA.

The Business of Benevolence

by Dr. Sosena Kebede

The Global Fund (an international financing organization that pools resources to fight against the top three leading infectious diseases in the world: AIDS, TB and Malaria, to date has committed $22.4 billion) just announced that, due to the current financial crisis, it is canceling round 11 of grant renewals for recipient countries. Most of the recipient countries are in the sub-Saharan Africa and the United States has been the single largest donor (traditionally about 33% of all donations through the GF come from the US) since the organization’s inception in 2002.

My initial reaction on hearing this news mirrors that of most of my colleagues in global health – let’s do something, anything; this can be catastrophic and may mean winding the clock back to when hundreds with HIV were perishing because they didn’t have access to drugs. Other thoughts that flash through my head include: What does this mean to governments of poor nations, NGOs, other donor agencies, pharmaceutical companies, health care workers in poor nations, business people, rich people with the disease, or poor people with the disease?  Will this mean drug rationing? Will this give rise to drug resistance if some treatments are stopped due to lack of funding? Will this mean a lucrative business for someone out there who will stand to gain big when resources shrink, and the rich will find a way to get access?  Speculations, speculations.

Some, all or none of the feared may come to pass. However, the more I think about it, the more I am bothered by the commentary this issue makes rather than the potential outcome, however grim it may (or may not) end up being.

It is deeply saddening to face the fact that the very livelihood of millions of poor people can often depend on the benevolence of the rich. Our world is changing fast; emerging economies are flexing their muscles and contending with Western powers for influence in poor countries. Yet, millions of the world’s poor will have no say on how this phenomenon called globalization will affect their lives. Poor nations have also been below the radar detection when debates rage all over the world about the global mess that years of fiscal irresponsibility and corporate greed has brought. For millions of the world’s poor, our new world order and the concept of globalization, the shift in power/wealth etc., whether good or bad, might as well be happening in another planet for all they have any part in it. Unfortunately, their lack of participation in the process does not shield them from the consequences – they stand to lose the most having no means or power for self-determination.

Poverty, health and human rights are inextricably intertwined. We can’t truly advocate for global health equity when the world continues to have millions of voiceless people and people will not have a voice unless they are economically empowered. The business of benevolence, however generous and much needed it may be, is only a temporary measure for the poor that merely affirms to us our implicit sense of moral superiority.

Sosena Kebede, MD, MPH is an assistant professor of medicine in the department of medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. She is also an associate faculty at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Medicine in the department of International Health. Her work in global health focuses on health systems strengthening works such as directing a hospital management training program in Ethiopia for Yale University as well as doing consultancy work for the World Bank. Her professional memberships include being a section counsilor for APHA’s international health advocacy and policy committee, as well as member of the advisory board for the international Association in Technology, Education and Development.

CGDev Lecture – Achieving an AIDS Transition: Preventing Infections to Sustain Treatment (video)

Mead Over presents his latest book, Achieving an AIDS Transition: Preventing Infections to Sustain Treatment. As one of the leading health economists focused on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Over is well-placed to propose solutions to the widening gap between funding and persons needing treatment for AIDS. As it stands today, there are two new infections each year for every individual enrolled in treatment. This book presents the AIDS Transition–lowering new infections to reverse the upward trend in persons living with HIV–as a goal for all participants in the fight against HIV. He outlines steps that donors, policy makers and practitioners can take to successfully stem the tide of HIV by incentivizing prevention while sustaining treatment.

CGDEv Video: Monitoring the Billions Spent for HIV/AIDS

Global Health News Last Week

Note: There will be no news round-up next week, as the IH section will be conducting its usual array of activities during APHA’s Annual Meeting.  Please tune in for updates on section sessions and activites at the conference.  Meanwhile, you can get your global health news fix from the DAWNS digest, Humanosphere, or the Healthy Dose.

October 16 was World Food Day.
October 17 was International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

POLITICS AND POLICY

• Scientists are warning officials negotiating a global treaty on mercury that banning the deadly chemical completely would be dangerous for public health because of the chemical’s use in vaccines. 
• The Washington Post runs an editorial critical of the GOP presidential candidates’ hostility toward foreign aid.
• An influential panel of MPs warned that changes in UK aid policies may make overseas aid more prone to corruption and misuse.
• Attendees at the Asia Pacific Conference on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights have called on countries in the region to introduce comprehensive sexuality education in schools.
• The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a report which finds that global HIV/AIDS funding dropped by 10% in 2010.

PROGRAMS

• HP Signed a Memorandum of Understanding with USAID to collaborate in the fight against global poverty through initiatives directed at issues such as public health.
• GAVI CEO Seth Berkley pens an op-ed in Huffington Post on the economic value of childhood vaccines.
• The Pan African Parliament has passed a resolution that urges African nations to prioritize maternal, newborn and child health programs.
• USAID is initiating research to find out whether developing world families will adopt a new cooking technology and adapt their cooking methods to save their health.
• At an event in Washington, the Aspen Institute’s Global Leaders Council called for increased accessed to contraception worldwide. 
• Microfinance initiatives to fund development could benefit from reinvigorating their aims and taking on new, integrated approaches, according to experts at the 2011 International Forum on the Social and Solidarity Economy in Montreal.

RESEARCH

• A new study, by researchers from the National Institutes of Health, Gilead Sciences Inc. and universities in Belgium and Italy, suggests that a microbicide gel, which was originally developed to fight AIDS in Africa, could lower the incidence of herpes in many women.
• RTS,S a malaria vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline, is showing great of promise in the early stages of its huge clinical trial.  The American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Council Member and Science Director at the PATH Malaria Control Program, Rick Steketee, explores the impact of the new RTS,S clinical trial results and what this breakthrough means for science and neglected tropical disease research. On the other hand, Sarah Boseley wonders where the money will come from once the vaccine has passed its trials, and Karen Grepin is not as excited about the new GSK malaria trial results as many others.
• Adults who have fallen behind on mortgage payments exhibited higher rates of depression and are skipping meals and medications because they cannot pay the bills, a study published in the American Journal of Public Health found.
• Teenage drivers have fewer crashes after they’ve been driving for a while, but new research in the American Journal of Public Health suggests that a few months behind the wheel do not improve their driving skills much.
• A recent study finds that the best way to fight TB in patients with HIV is to treat as early as possible.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

• The famine in Somalia isn’t getting much public attention, but not because things are improving. Aid workers predict things will get worse before they get better. Much-needed rain is coming, but the rainfall could deepen the crisis for the four million people there who need help.
• Numerous UN agencies are ready to be deployed if Southeast Asian nations ravaged by flooding request for assistance.
• A report by Roll Back Malaria Partnership released at the start of the Gates Foundation’s Global Malaria Forum says that the world is making positive steps towards eradicating malaria. Specifically, 29 countries are on track to stop malaria within a decade.
• Environmental hazards sicken or kill millions of people — soot or smog in the air, for example, or pollutants in drinking water. But the most dangerous stuff happens where the food is made — in peoples’ kitchens.
• World Health Organization officials say the rapid and extensive globalization of food production has increased the incidence of food contamination worldwide.
• Speculators in the agricultural commodities markets are forcing grocery prices to rise too quickly and erratically, according to some top economists marking World Food Day Sunday.
• Climate change poses an immediate and serious threat to global health and stability, as floods and droughts destroy people’s homes and food supplies and increase mass migration, experts warn.
• A survey of 87 countries showed more than half the countries reported more or much more awareness of mental illnesses in the past three years. Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot of new money behind that awareness.

Global Health News Last Week

October 10 was World Mental Health Day.
October 15 was Global Handwashing Day.

POLITICS AND POLICY

• The U.S. Army has proposed major cuts to its work on HIV, especially in the vaccine field. Leaders of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and other biomedical research organizations oppose the cuts.
• The WHO plans to recommend tighter nutritional standards in food aid for young children, a move activists say is necessary to improve donations from countries such as the United States.
• The US Department of Defense is funding platforms that will completely rethink how malaria drugs are developed.
• Former Bush Administration official Andrew Natsios argues the case for foreign aid: “Singling out foreign aid for disproportionate cuts—which is exactly what has happened—is a serious mistake the United States as a world leader will pay for in the future.”
• A survey of 507 Americans at the end of September sought to capture what, exactly, Americans know about the foreign aid budget. Particpiants were asked four questions about their impressions of foreign aid and opinions on why it is important to American interests.  Go here to read the full fact sheet that also includes more details about the study’s methods and see below to review the results in more detail.
• The World Health Organization’s chief on Monday urged governments to unite against “big tobacco”, as she accused the industry of dirty tricks, bullying and immorality in its quest to keep people smoking.

PROGRAMS

• Berk Ozler examines some recent reports about the challenges surrounding male circumcision. In the World Bank Development Impact blog, he offers two suggestions for how to improve the programs.
• A partnership between Pampers and UNICEF to deliver neonatal tetanus vaccines is on track to eliminate the disease by 2015.
• A $258 million initiative sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation aimed at preventing AIDS in India appears to have paid off overall, researchers say, resulting in more than 100,000 fewer new HIV infections over five years. Many aren’t quite ready to judge this project, Avahan, a success, however. The project failed in three of the six Indian states where it was tested.
• Are the Millennium Villages an intervention that can reach scale? Supporters say yes and detractors are skeptical. Madeline Bunting covers the debate in the Guardian Development.
• A report on the MGDS by United Nations Development Program, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission says that social protection programs can have a wide positive impact.

RESEARCH

• A cancer diagnosis can leave lasting psychological scars akin to those inflicted by war, according to a new survey. More than decade after being told they had the disease, nearly four out of 10 cancer survivors said they were still plagued by symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
• Researchers have found that vitamin D can be used to activate the immune system’s response to TB.
• The Paul G Allen Family Foundation is supporting the Infectious Disease Research Institute phase I TB vaccine trial with a two-year $300,000 grant.
• We know that eating lots of fruits and vegetables is good for the heart, but can a healthy diet really overcome the effect of genes that boost your risk for heart problems?
• Vitamin E supplements significantly increased the risk of prostate cancer in healthy men even after they stopped taking them, scientists reported Tuesday. Given the popularity of vitamin E for those 60 and over, the researchers wrote, “the implications of our observations are substantial.” Those studied took 400 international units (IUs) a day.
• New studies find that young people diagnosed with HIV will now likely survive for close to 46 years thanks to improved antiretrovirals
• A Norwegian study found that pregnant women who took folic acid supplements in the first two months of pregnancy were less likely to have children with severe language delays.
• “Tobacco Control is Tuberculosis Control,” says a new study in the British Medical Journal.
• The NIH has announced that it is providing University of California San Francisco $718,136 to support its anti-malaria research.
• A study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, University of Hong Kong and the Public Health Foundation of India and published in the Lancet shows that an Indian program to focus HIV intervention projects in high risk groups has dramatically reduced infection rates.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

• Primitive cooking stoves are used throughout half the world and kill more people per year — about two million — than malaria, researchers say. Three billion people worldwide cook indoors by burning solid fuels such as wood, charcoal or dung and are at high risk for lung diseases.
• Over the past three years, 1.5 million children deaths from malaria were averted, said the chief of Roll Back Malaria, downgrading malaria from the leading cause of infant mortality in Africa to the third leading cause of child mortality.
• The world has become more vulnerable to outbreaks of disease caused by contaminated food because of growing global trade and tracking them down is also difficult due to the global food supply chain, health officials said.
• For the first time, tuberculosis rates are declining worldwide. World Health Organization officials reported case numbers have gone down and death rates have plummeted 40% from 1990 to 2010. China has seen death rates decline almost 80% from 1990 to 2010.
• Mental illness drives a surprising amount of disability and death around the planet. The World Health Organization says investing just $3 to $4 per person to improve mental health in poor countries would significantly reduce the health and economic losses from mental illness.

Global Health News Last Week

SECTION NEWS
The Advocacy/Policy Committee would like to invite you to participate in our first Advocacy Day, led in partnership with the Global Health Council. The day, scheduled for Thursday, November 3rd, 2011, immediately following the annual meeting in Washington, D.C., will be an opportunity for us to voice support for a continued focus on international health to our elected officials. With the intense Congressional pressure to cut the budget, our voices can make a real difference. As a participant during this exciting day, you will be provided with training materials on effective advocacy techniques to ensure your message is clearly heard. Even if you do not have advocacy experience, you need not hesitate to sign up because you will be teamed with others. Please consider joining your fellow International Health Section members on Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 on Capitol Hill to advocate for a healthy globe. Interested parties should register here. Please note that registration will close on October 14th. Any questions should be directed to Peter Freeman, Advocacy/Policy Committee Chair, at pffreeman@gmail.com or 773.318.4842.

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POLITICS AND POLICY

• An op-ed advocates for a new global health strategy based on a recent meeting at the United Nations aimed at incorporating chronic diseases into an agenda that had tended to emphasize infectious diseases.
• The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a bill on Wednesday that zeroes out U.S. aid to the United Nations Population Fund, a women and children’s health program that works to reduce maternal mortality, prevent HIV/AIDS and provide contraception to the world’s most vulnerable populations.
• For the second year in a row, U.S. President Barack Obama has waived a Congressionally-mandated ban on military aid for four countries that use child soldiers.
• A decision was announced that the amount of money spent on HIV/AIDS by DfID will drop by 1/3 over the next 4 years.

PROGRAMS

• Sanitation and hygiene are sensitive and unpopular subjects, but funding them is essential to fighting disease, ensuring basic rights and meeting millennium development goals.
• The Gates Foundation’s European director Joe Cerrell comes to the defense of the beleaguered Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, arguing to improve on its “impressive record and ensure that millions more lives are saved and the progress against global disease is secured for generations to come.”
• Almost four months into the Horn of Africa crisis, aid agencies are involved in much soul-searching as to whether they could have responded more quickly to the drought and famine.

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

• A Japanese company, the Sumitomo Chemical Company, unveiled a new kind of insecticide treated bed net at a product launch in Kenya.
• Pregnant women who load up on fruits, veggies and whole grains have a reduced risk of having babies with neural tube defects, such as spina bifida or cleft lip, according to one of the first studies to look at the connection between diet and birth defects.
• A study by Stanford researchers has determined that infant health can be improved when a mother has a low-fat high fiber diet up to a year prior to getting pregnant.
• A study published in the British Medical Journal says that if current smoking trends continue until 2050, TB related deaths will jump by 40 million.
• Though young, there is a lot of potential in what mHealth can offer in developing countries. Amanda Glassman shares some ways that it can be improved.
• Researchers at the University of Washington have reported some highly problematic findings regarding a common method of birth control in eastern and southern Africa. They are problematic in that they indicate a popular injectable hormone, Depo-Provera, used by perhaps 140 million women worldwide (and often in poor settings) signficantly raises a woman’s risk of HIV infection.
• Test subjects in a Spanish HIV vaccine trial have shown a 90 percent immune response.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

• A cohort of American and British researchers say that by investing in AIDS treatments, money can be saved in the long term.
• What should be the top priorities in global health? Infectious diseases? Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)? Non-communicable diseases (NCDs)? A research scientist wonders at the confusion amid this sea of bad acronyms.
• Former US President Carter is leading the fight against guinea worm making a request that WHO members provide $93 million in funding to wipe out the disease.  DfID has committed to support the push against guinea worm by announcing it will allocating £20 million to the effort.
• The business news channel CNBC has published an extensive report on the lucrative and growing Dangerous World of Counterfeit Prescription Drugs.

Global Health News, Week of September 26-30

SECTION NEWS
The Advocacy/Policy Committee would like to invite you to participate in our first Advocacy Day, led in partnership with the Global Health Council. The day, scheduled for Thursday, November 3rd, 2011, immediately following the annual meeting in Washington, D.C., will be an opportunity for us to voice support for a continued focus on international health to our elected officials. With the intense Congressional pressure to cut the budget, our voices can make a real difference. As a participant during this exciting day, you will be provided with training materials on effective advocacy techniques to ensure your message is clearly heard. Even if you do not have advocacy experience, you need not hesitate to sign up because you will be teamed with others. Please consider joining your fellow International Health Section members on Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 on Capitol Hill to advocate for a healthy globe. Interested parties should register here. Please note that registration will close on October 14th. Any questions should be directed to Peter Freeman, Advocacy/Policy Committee Chair, at pffreeman@gmail.com or 773.318.4842.

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The University of Washington has launched the first full year of its Global Health Minor program!

POLITICS AND POLICY

• Tobacco companies knew that cigarettes contained a radioactive substance called polonium-210, but hid that knowledge from the public for over four decades, a new study of historical documents revealed.
• Latin American leaders have agreed to accelerate their efforts to address maternal health at the 51st Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization.
• Journalist Georgianne Nienaber looks at the impact of PEPFAR and how it may be impacted by budget battles in Congress.
• Earlier this week, the World Health Organization released a report analyzing air pollution levels in nearly 1100 cities in 91 countries. The analysis was based on air particulate levels between 2003 and 2010.
• When it came out a while ago that the CIA had used a fake vaccination scheme to try to find out where Osama bin Laden might be in Pakistan, many said it would undermine real health and humanitarian efforts. Here’s one group’s story.
• Foreign aid has acquired a bad reputation in recent years, as something usually wasteful and useless. Yet all this sound and fury has overshadowed the evidence that aid often can work.
• A report by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health finds that over 100 countries have increased financing for maternal and child health initiatives.
• The humanitarian impact of the world economic crisis became clearer this week, as the UN warned of huge job losses, a rise in the number of people afflicted by chronic undernourishment, and the “extraordinary price” being paid by children as “austerity programs” constrict the developing world.
• There is enough water in the world’s rivers to meet the demands of the expanding global population, but the rivers have to be better managed, according to a series of studies released today at the 14th World Water Congress in Porto de Galinhas, Brazil.
• UNICEF has called on the IMF and World Bank to ensure that children are not negatively impacted by austerity measures carried out by various countries.

PROGRAMS

• The New York Times shows how male circumcision is one of the most effective and simple solutions in HIV reduction, but has so far been hard to implement.  Meanwhile, a group of economists, including Bjorn Lomborg, are casting doubt on the cost-effectiveness of voluntary male circumcision campaigns as an HIV prevention measure.
• The New York Times features an article about the simple innovation of using vinegar to detect if a woman has cervical cancer by applying it with a brush to the cervix.
• The Global Fund, the world’s largest funder of global health, is set to radically shake up the way it disburses and manages donor money, in a move to boost efficiency that could reallocate a third of its financing in order to save more lives.
• On Tuesday, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization announced that it will be expanding its target vaccine areas to directly address diarrhea and pneumonia.
• UNFPA has announced that it is now collaborating with UNICEF to combat Female Genital Mutilation.

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

• Spanish researchers are pleased by the results from the MVA-B vaccine trials, but this ABC report warns that there is still work to be done until a complete vaccine can be discovered.
• A slew of mobile initiatives are revolutionizing the way that healthcare is delivered in Africa and other developing communities. Doctors and hospitals in remote areas are getting information and assistance to improve health services in poor communities across the continent.
• New research suggests that coffee may help ward off depression over the long term, especially for women.
• A way to protect newborns against the flu, say researchers, is for mothers to be vaccinated while pregnant.
• A vaccine that triggers the body to start fighting malaria earlier is being developed by a group of researchers and students at Michigan State University.
• The drug industry is increasingly running trials in the developing world because its cheaper, regulations aren’t as onerous, patient recruitment is easier and informed consent is less clearly defined.
• Unprotected sex is up and knowledge about contraceptives is down among global youth, says a recent survey.
• AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition Mitchell Warren says many folks ask whether an AIDS vaccine is still needed and if the search for an AIDS vaccine is affordable in today’s economic climate. The answer is yes, and Warren explains why.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

• Roads may accelerate spread of antibiotic resistance: Samples from villages by major roads in Ecuador compared to more rural villages shows antibiotic resistant E. coli is spreading along roads.
• The recent heavy flooding caused by the monsoon in Pakistan, most devastating in Sindh, has affected the lives of over five million people. The Health and Nutrition Cluster is appealing for US$45.9 million. WHO requires US$14.8 for response for Health, Nutrition and Water and Sanitation intervention.
• New enterovirus causes respiratory disease: Promed reports on 6 clusters of respiratory illness associated with human enterovirus 68 in Asia, Europe, and the United States during 2008–2010.
• More than 20 percent of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean lacks basic sanitation and 15 percent has no access to drinking water because of poor management, said experts at a meeting that ended Thursday in Brazil.
• The likelihood of water-borne disease outbreaks is high in areas in Philippines recently devastated by Typhoon Nesat.
• Aid groups are criticizing the U.S.government delay on deciding whether to resume large-scale food donations to North Korea. The charities warn that many vulnerable people in the impoverished communist state could die from starvation.
• In a new report on rabies, the WHO finds that 45% of cases in the world take place in Southeast Asia.
• A decade-long study of 135,000 men found that those who did not have children had a higher risk of dying from heart disease than those who did, raising new questions over the links between fertility and overall health,U.S. researchers said on Monday.
• More money is needed to save lives in famine-ravaged East Africa, with the UN saying it’s something like $700 million through year’s end. The World Bank announced from Washington it would boost its aid to area countries to nearly $1.9 billion.  As if famine weren’t enough, Nick Kristoff tells us that as Somalis stream across the border into Kenya, at a rate of about 1,000 a day, they are frequently prey to armed bandits who rob men and rape women in the 50-mile stretch before they reach Dadaab, now the world’s largest refugee camp.
• An explosion of new technologies and treatments for cancer coupled with a rapid rise in cases of the disease worldwide mean cancer care is rapidly becoming unaffordable in many developed countries, oncology experts said on Monday.

TOTALLY UNRELATED TO ANYTHING – Twitter knows what you’re feeling!

All Kinds of Belated News (Week of September 18-24)

SECTION NEWS

The Fall 2011 Newsletter has been posted!  Be sure to check out recent announcements, section updates, links to recent blog entries, and lots of fellowship opportunities!

The Advocacy/Policy Committee would like to invite you to participate in our first Advocacy Day, led in partnership with the Global Health Council. The day, scheduled for Thursday, November 3rd, 2011, immediately following the annual meeting in Washington, D.C., will be an opportunity for us to voice support for a continued focus on international health to our elected officials. With the intense Congressional pressure to cut the budget, our voices can make a real difference. As a participant during this exciting day, you will be provided with training materials on effective advocacy techniques to ensure your message is clearly heard. Even if you do not have advocacy experience, you need not hesitate to sign up because you will be teamed with others. Please consider joining your fellow International Health Section members on Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 on Capitol Hill to advocate for a healthy globe. Interested parties should register here. Please note that registration will close on October 14th. Any questions should be directed to Peter Freeman, Advocacy/Policy Committee Chair, at pffreeman@gmail.com or 773.318.4842.

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The G+ Vaccines Challenge has been launched!  G+, a new online community launched by Gerson Lehrman Group, has partnered with IndieGoGo and StartUp Health to solicit early stage ideas for tackling problems and inefficiencies in vaccine delivery  in-the-field, distribution and development. Finalists will have the unique opportunity to present their ideas to a panel of investment, NGO and corporate and life sciences professionals with the influence to advance those ideas towards realization.  You can find more information about the challenge here.

APHA NEWS

Dr. Benjamin is currently on a teaching sabbatical at Hunter College in NYC. Alan Baker (former Chief of Staff at APHA) returned to serve as Acting Executive
Director in the interim.

UN HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON NCDs

• The UN held its first-ever meeting on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.  Global health journalist Tom Paulson provided some great coverage of the event on the Humanosphere blog.
• World leaders unanimously adopted the NCD Summit Outcome Document at the General Assembly in New York.
• On the sidelines of the General Assembly meeting in New York, the United States and WHO signed a memorandum of understanding to help developing countries boost capacity to meet the International Health Regulations.
• The cost for the developing world to address NCDs, based on the WHO’s recommendation to increase budgets by 4%, will be $11.4 billion.

POLITICS AND POLICY

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates appears poised to endorse the adoption of a controversial financial transactions tax (FTT) to be used as a new source of development aid for poor countries.

PROGRAMS

• The multibillion dollar Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria must do a better job managing its grants to partner countries, according to an independent review panel.  A seven member panel investigating the Global Fund has recommended that it place greater emphasis on results and improve risk management.  In the Center for Global Development blog, William Savedoff is concerned that the new report suggesting changes for the Global Fund will move it away from innovating.
• USAID has announced that it will be giving a $200 million grant to the Public Health Institute to support its global health fellows program.
• Private and public actors have lined up to support Every Woman Every Child and its goal of preventing 33 million unwanted pregnancies.

RESEARCH

Researchers at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in Chicago announced that they were able to reduce the level of HIV in infected people through cell-based therapy.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

• The privacy curtains that separate care spaces in hospitals and clinics are frequently contaminated with potentially dangerous bacteria, according to a U.S. study.
• If today’s momentum and progress against malaria can be sustained, deaths from this infectious disease could be reduced to near-zero, and cases of infection cut by 75 per cent in the next decade, says a recent report by the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership.
• Depression may go hand in hand with a number of other physical health problems, including heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Now the latest evidence suggests that depression may also increase the risk of stroke.
• Polio has spread to China for the first time since 1999 after being imported from Pakistan, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed.

TOTALLY UNRELATED TO ANYTHING: Melinda Gates is now on Twitter!