Latest KFF Health News Stories
U.N. SG Ban Commends India For Working To Improve Public Health
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday during travel to India met with Indian Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nazi Azad and “commend[ed] the country’s progress on health,” its “continued efforts towards achieving universal health coverage,” and its “commitment to the Global Strategy on Women’s and Children’s Health,” highlighting “its innovative programs in this area” and “the need to do more to promote the well-being of women and children,” the U.N. News Centre reports (4/26). Recognizing the “work still to be done to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, Ban said he would like to showcase India’s experiences and best practices in dealing with maternal and child health issues for others to follow,” according to the IANS/Daily News. Ban also “said [U.N.] member nations … are ready to help India in dealing with polio, malaria, tetanus, measles and HIV transmission-related mortality,” the news service notes (4/26).
Malaria Researchers Discuss Achievements, Threats To Progress At Capitol Hill Event
“To commemorate World Malaria Day, top malaria researchers came together Wednesday to present their work at a research and development event on Capitol Hill, hosted by Malaria No More,” the Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog reports. “Representatives from 20 academic and research organizations discussed the contributions American private companies, universities, and research institutions are making to the fight against malaria through” research and development, the blog writes, noting, “Researchers at the briefing celebrated achievements made so far but warned that malaria remains a huge public health hazard” (Aziz, 4/26).
Blog Continues Coverage Of International Treatment As Prevention Conference In Vancouver
The Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog continued its coverage of the 2nd International Treatment as Prevention Workshop in Vancouver. One post describes a presentation by Zunyou Wu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who “offered … new information about China’s response to new evidence on treatment as prevention” (Lubinski, 4/25). A second post discusses a presentation by Vladimir Novitsky of the Harvard School of Public Health, who “offered … a snapshot of a four-year treatment as prevention study planned for Botswana (Lubinski, 4/25). “Chewe Luo, a senior adviser for UNICEF, discussed efforts to eliminate vertical HIV transmission from the perspective of treatment as prevention,” according to a third post (Lubinski, 4/26). Finally, Stephen Lawn of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine “reminded the audience … that antiretroviral therapy (ART) goes a long way to protect HIV-infected individuals from tuberculosis (TB),” a fourth post notes (Lubinski, 4/26).
IOM Releases Summary Of Workshop On Drug-Resistant TB In India
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) on Friday released a summary of a joint workshop by the Institute of Medicine, the Indian National Science Academy, and the Indian Council of Medical Research, titled, “Facing the Reality of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: Challenges and Potential Solutions in India.” According to the report’s webpage, “The aim of the workshop was to highlight key challenges to controlling the spread of drug-resistant strains of [tuberculosis (TB)] in India and to discuss strategies for advancing and integrating local and international efforts to prevent and treat drug-resistant TB” (4/27).
Ghanaian Vaccination Campaign Hopes To Prevent Up To 14,000 Child Deaths
In a Huffington Post Blog opinion piece, Orin Levine, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC), describes watching the suffering of an infant with severe pneumonia and his parents while in Ghana on Thursday, writing that the experience was “a personal reminder as to why our work to prevent disease is so perilous, and why disease control so promising in Africa.” Noting that last year in Ghana, “approximately 50,000 young children — nearly seven out of every 100 — died before their fifth birthday,” Levine adds, “I also saw the promise of prevention in Ghana,” with the launch of an immunization campaign to provide both pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines. With support from the GAVI Alliance, Ghana is the first country in Africa to introduce two new vaccines against pneumonia and diarrhea at the same time,” he notes.
Melinda Gates Discusses Inclusion Of Contraception In Global Health Agenda
In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists” blog, Melinda Gates, co-chair of the foundation, discusses including contraception on the global health agenda. “I have learned a lot from following the reaction to the talk I gave at TEDxChange two weeks ago,” she writes, adding, “Because I’m so passionate about the issue, I’m excited to see so many people talking about it online. The more people talk, I think, the more they’ll realize how much agreement there is around the basic argument that birth control saves lives and helps families build a better future.” She concludes, “I believe in giving women the methods they want to use so they can do what’s best for themselves and their families. … I hope we can agree that there really is no controversy around this idea” (4/26).
Feed The Future Examines ‘Whole-Of-Government Approach’ To Fighting Global Hunger
Tjada McKenna, deputy coordinator for development for Feed the Future, and Jonathan Shrier, acting special representative for global food security and deputy coordinator for diplomacy for Feed the Future, examine efforts to end global hunger through a “whole-of-government approach” in this article on the initiative’s webpage. McKenna and Shrier highlight efforts in Haiti, Guatemala, Senegal, Uganda, Ghana, and Bangladesh, noting “all are supported through a range of different U.S. Government organizations under Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative.” They continue, “Together — and with the help of our development partners from universities, the research community, multilaterals, the private sector, and the NGO community — we are working to break the cycle of poverty and food insecurity that has led millions in the developing world to lives of chronic hunger and undernutrition” (4/26).
Drug-Resistant Malaria Might Be Spreading In Africa, Study Suggests
A strain of malaria that is resistant to artemether, the main ingredient in Coartem, a widely used drug to treat the disease, may be spreading in Africa, according to a study published Thursday in Malaria Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. “Studies in Cambodia and Thailand have shown that drugs based on artemisinin, the class of remedies to which artemether belongs, are becoming less effective there,” the news service writes, adding that study author Sanjeev Krishna of the University of London said, “Drug resistance could eventually become a devastating problem in Africa, and not just in southeast Asia where most of the world is watching for resistance.” According to the authors, “[t]he effectiveness of other artemisinin-based drugs, such as artesunate, wasn’t significantly affected by the mutations,” the news service states (Bennett, 4/26).
Opinion Pieces Examine Malaria Fight In Recognition Of World Malaria Day
Wednesday, April 25, marked World Malaria Day, which this year had the theme “Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria.” The following opinion pieces address the fight against malaria.
“A lack of awareness of the importance of skilled hospital deliveries in Ethiopia, cultural beliefs, and transport challenges in rural areas are causing a high number of deaths during childbirth,” officials say, according to IRIN. “Only 10 percent of deliveries take place within health facilities, according to Ethiopia’s latest (April) Demographic Health Survey results,” the news service writes, adding, “Nevertheless, the figure is a significant improvement on six percent in the previous 2005 survey.”
Senate Committee Questions Federal Officials About Dual-Use Research Of Concern Procedures
“Spurred by events surrounding two controversial H5N1 transmission studies, a U.S. Senate committee [on Thursday] questioned federal officials whose agencies have a stake in dual-use research of concern (DURC) about the procedures they use to spot possible bioterror threats,” CIDRAP News reports. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs “hearing marked the first time officials have testified before Congress on the issue, and follows concerns raised in recent letters to federal officials by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), who has questioned the Obama administration’s safeguards on DURC and has inquired about allegations of bias that arose following an expert group’s recommendation that helps clear the way for publication of the two papers,” the news service notes (Schnirring, 4/26).
Rumors, Politics Swirl Around Supreme Court’s Much-Anticipated Health Law Decision
The Supreme Court this week completed the current term’s last oral arguments, and now begins a waiting game for what might be its most anticipated decisions in years — the constitutionality of the health law.
Rebates For Those Who Bought Their Own Insurance To Average $127 Per Person
Millions of consumers and small businesses will receive an estimated $1.3 billion in rebates from their health plans this summer under a provision of the health care law that requires insurance companies to pay refunds if they don’t spend a high enough percentage of premium dollars on health care costs, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
State News: Cuomo’s Plan For Out-Of-Network Charges Runs Into Trouble
Today’s news on local health policy issues comes from New York, Connecticut, Mississippi, Colorado, Iowa, Texas, North Carolina and Kansas.
Members Of Congress Urge Investigation Of Accretive Health
Accretive Health, which is one of the nation’s largest medical debt collectors and which has been the subject of an inquiry by Minnesota’s attorney general, is also drawing attention from lawmakers in Washington.
After Losing Two State Contracts, Molina Healthcare Pushes On
The Los Angeles Times reports on how marketplace changes are creating challenges for this insurer.
GOP Report: Obama’s Corporate Advisers Say Health Law Will Increase Costs
The report by Republican staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee also contends consultants have advised large employers to drop employee coverage after the exchanges come online in 2014. Democrats say the report takes comments out of context, calling it “misleading, inaccurate, contradictory.”
Public Health Prevention Fund At Center Of Partisan Clash On Student Loans
House Republicans are eyeing the fund as a means to offset the costs of extending the current interest rates for student loans, but Democrats have other plans.
McKesson To Settle Medicaid Billing Lawsuit
The Justice Department had charged the drug distributor with causing Medicaid to overpay for prescription drugs.
Minn. Gov. Vetoes Anti-Abortion Bill; Calif. Bill Stalls
The Minnesota bill would have required clinics performing 10 or more abortions a month to be licensed. The California measure would let nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants to perform specific types of abortion in the first trimester.
