Archives: Morning Breakouts

"[P]articipants at a symposium held last week by the U.K. Consortium on AIDS and International Development warned that [progress on HIV and tuberculosis (TB) vaccines] could be jeopardized by the recent downturn in global health funding," BMJ reports. The journal summarizes comments made at the meeting by researchers and advocacy group representatives, who stressed that successful vaccines for HIV and TB would save millions in existing research investments and long-term treatment costs (Moszynski, 5/22).

"The prevalence of drug-resistant HIV strains in Uganda has risen from 8.6 percent to 12 percent in the last five years, one of the highest rates in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a recent study," PlusNews reports. "The PharmAccess African Studies to Evaluate Resistance (PASER) monitoring cohort study report for 2008-2012" -- "which was based on results from the capital, Kampala, the western town of Fort Portal, and the eastern town of Mbale" -- "found that the prevalence of transmitted drug resistance among people who have never taken life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) medication was substantially higher in Uganda" than in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the news service writes.

At the opening of the U.N. Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children on Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the commission but "said that much remains to be done to save the lives of the 800 women and more than 20,000 children who die every day from preventable causes," the U.N. News Centre reports (5/22). Devex notes that the commission "aims to increase access to lifesaving medicine and health supplies, ... includ[ing] oxytocin, which helps stop bleeding among mothers after giving birth, and antibiotics such as amoxicillin, which treats pneumonia among newborns." The commission finalized its recommendations on Tuesday, the news service notes (Ravelo, 5/23).

News from state houses around the United States includes legislation requiring end-of-life discussions in Massachusetts, adding a step to vaccine opt-outs in California, approving tax cuts in Kansas and debating licensure of insurance advisers in Iowa.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, sought additional information from Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., took to the Senate floor to criticize the arrangement.

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports on the findings of a Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) survey released on Monday that examines Americans' views on U.S. global health efforts. The survey found that two-thirds of Americans say that the U.S. "is spending too little or about the right amount on global health aid," "with one in five saying the U.S. spends too much," the blog writes. The blog discusses additional survey findings and notes, "This is the fourth survey in a series that KFF has conducted to determine the attitudes of Americans toward U.S. spending on improving the health of those living in low-resource countries" (Mazzotta, 5/21). In addition, PSI's "Healthy Lives" blog reports on the findings of the survey, writing, "Overall, the survey findings are very positive, ... suggest[ing] that a case can be made for increased development spending, and the audience is receptive. The challenge is reaching Americans to build a broad-based level of support" (Murphy, 5/21).

In a report released last week, Members of Parliament (MPs) on the International Development Committee urged the U.K. to increase its donation to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, according to a Committee press release (5/22). "Ministers have said they will increase the commitment, but the MPs are concerned that this money" -- pledged by ministers over a year ago -- "has not yet been delivered, nor the amount of the increase confirmed," BBC News writes (Dreaper, 5/22).

"Public Radio International (PRI) announces that it has received a two-year, $1.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to lead a major initiative to raise awareness, understanding and engagement around critical issues of health and development worldwide," a PRI press release reports. According to the press release, "PRI will use the grant to further extend the reach and impact of coverage around critical issues affecting the world's poorest nations, such as maternal health and infant mortality; water, sanitation and hygiene; vaccines and immunization; infectious and chronic diseases; and food security and nutrition" (5/21).

"Over a billion people, one in every six people living on this planet, suffer from one or more neglected tropical diseases, or NTDs," a VOA editorial states, noting, "These usually treatable and preventable diseases include schistosomiasis; elephantiasis; trachoma; Chagas disease; river blindness; leprosy; kala-azar, dengue, black fever and other forms of leishmaniasis; and the three most common infections -- the soil-transmitted parasites hookworm, roundworm and whipworm."