Latest KFF Health News Stories
New Global Map Shows Difficult-To-Treat Malaria Strain Remains Prevalent In Asia, Latin America
“Declining malaria deaths in Africa and progress toward an effective malaria vaccine are raising hopes the disease will soon be eradicated worldwide,” but “researchers at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, [on Monday] unveiled a new global malaria map that raises new concerns about the disease,” VOA News writes (Sinha, 12/5). The researchers from Britain’s Oxford University mapped the Plasmodium vivax malaria parasite, “which is often recurring and can be deadly,” and found it is “endemic in substantial parts of the world,” particularly in Asia and Latin America, Reuters writes (Kelland, 12/5).
Fake, Poor-Quality Drugs Boosting Malaria Drug Resistance In Southeast Asia, U.S. Experts Say
“Fake or poor quality malaria drugs are boosting resistance in parts of southeast Asia, a problem that is likely to worsen unless tighter regulations are adopted, U.S. experts said Monday” at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, Agence France-Presse reports. “‘Drug resistance to the most effective drug available, artemisinin-based combination therapy, is developing and has been recognized in southeast Asia,'” Regina Rabinovich, director of infectious diseases at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said, according to the news service.
Vietnam Should Shut Compulsory Rehab Centers For Drug Users, Sex Workers, U.N. Expert Says
A U.N. expert on Monday “urged Vietnam … to close down its compulsory rehabilitation centers for sex workers and drug users, stressing that detention and forced treatment violate their right to health and perpetuate stigmatization and discrimination of those groups in the society,” the U.N. News Centre reports (12/5). “‘It’s essential to ensure that the considerable resources now invested in these centers are used instead to expand alternative treatments for injecting drug users,’ said” U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health Anand Grover, the Associated Press/Washington Post writes (12/5).
Reuters Examines Role Of Family Planning At Durban Climate Change Talks
“[W]ith studies suggesting that 215 million women around the world want — but cannot get — effective contraception, making sure birth control methods are available to those who want them could be one of the cheapest, fastest and most effective ways of addressing climate change, experts said at the U.N. climate conference in Durban” this week, AlertNet reports. “But getting U.N. climate negotiators to even mention the controversial issue is nearly as difficult as getting them to agree on a long-delayed new global climate treaty,” the news agency adds.
Kenyans Affected By Flooding In Need Of Humanitarian, Medical Aid
Heavy rains and flooding in Kenya, which have affected more than 40,000 people and caused at least a dozen deaths, are “complicating efforts to reach thousands of people made homeless by the flooding, an official of the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) told IRIN.” Nelly Muluka, KRCS public relations and communications officer, said on Monday that in some areas “there is the danger of waterborne diseases breaking out after latrines and boreholes were submerged and in other areas, water pipelines have burst,” according to IRIN. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said those affected by flooding “urgently require relief aid such as food, mosquito nets, tents, blankets, cooking utensils and medicine,” the news service writes, adding, “Teams comprising government, KRCS and U.N. officials are involved in rapid assessments of the flooding situation, a humanitarian official, who requested anonymity, told IRIN” (12/6).
PlusNews Examines HIV/AIDS In Laos
PlusNews examines HIV/AIDS in Laos, writing, “Out of a total population of 6.3 million, the national prevalence of 0.2 percent among 15-49-year-olds puts the 8,500 reported HIV/AIDS cases in Laos nearly a decade behind that of its neighbors.” However, the news service notes that, “as the socialist country increasingly opens its borders, health workers are bracing for a potential concentrated, ‘catastrophic’ outbreak in a country where HIV prevention is not yet a priority.” Kinoy Phongdeth, director of the Lao Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, said, “It is true that in Laos there are not so many people living with HIV and AIDS, but we are still people and we need help,” PlusNews reports (12/2).
Needle-Free Anemia Test To Be Launched In February, Guardian Reports
The Guardian profiles Biosense Technologies, an Indian startup company, and its first product, the “world’s first needle-free anemia scanner,” called ToucHb, which will be launched in February. “Anemia, or abnormally low hemoglobin in the blood, affects more than half of children under five and pregnant women in the developing world, according to the [WHO],” and it is a leading cause of maternal mortality because of postpartum hemorrhage, according to the newspaper.
First Edition: December 6, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a story detailing how the health law is helping Medicare beneficiaries save money on their prescription drug costs.
WHO Issues Measles Warning For Europe
The WHO on Friday issued a measles warning for Europe, where measles outbreaks “have caused nine deaths, including six in France, and 7,288 hospitalizations,” BBC News reports. A WHO report “says there were over 26,000 measles cases in 36 European countries from January to October 2011.” According to the news service, “Western European countries reported 83 percent of those cases, with 14,000 in France alone,” and “[i]n England and Wales, there were just under 1,000 confirmed measles cases in that period — compared with just 374 in the whole of 2010.”
Reflecting On Bush’s Global Health, Foreign Policy Initiatives In Africa
In this Brookings opinion piece, Mwangi Kimenyi, director of the Africa Growth Initiative (AGI), and Jessica Smith, a research assistant at AGI, reflect on George W. Bush’s four-day tour of Tanzania, Zambia and Ethiopia, where he will “focus on some of the initiatives that [he] advocated for and strongly supported while in office.” They write, “Despite demonstrating a unique commitment to the African continent, …
2nd International Conference On Family Planning Concludes in Senegal
The 2nd International Conference on Family Planning ended on Friday in Dakar, Senegal, Ghana Business News reports, noting that more than 2,200 people attended the conference to “shar[e] research, best practices, and progress on national strategies to deliver family planning services, with the ultimate goal being universal access to family planning.” The news service notes that UNFPA requested an “acceleration in funding for [family planning] activities to make decisive progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goal 5” (12/3). In related news, the Guardian examines family planning in Dakar, which was chosen to host the conference “because this is what one conference participant called ‘the wild, wild west of family planning,'” according to the newspaper (Boseley, 12/2).
Bush Launches Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon Project In Zambia
“Zambian President Michael Sata on Friday told former U.S. president George W. Bush that the West should help fight the scourge of maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa,” Agence France-Presse reports, adding, “Bush is in Zambia on the second stop of a three-nation trip aimed at promoting efforts to fight diseases like cancer, AIDS and malaria” (12/3). While in Zambia, “Bush and his wife … launched a project … to expand the availability of cervical cancer screening, treatment and breast care education,” making the country “the first … to become part of the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon project,” the Associated Press/Seattle Times writes (12/2).
16th International Conference On AIDS, STIs Opens In Ethiopia
The 16th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in Africa (ICASA) opened Sunday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, “with mixed messages of hope and fear,” Afrique en ligne reports, adding, “With about 7,000 people in attendance, the opening ceremony witnessed the celebration of past successes and fear over future uncertainties in funding for HIV/AIDS” (12/4). According to Next, the conference “will provide a platform for effective African solution toward defeating the scourge once and for all” (12/5).
Medicare ‘Doc Fix’ On The Congressional To-Do List
News outlets report on Congress’ pivotal week ahead, which could include an extension of the payroll tax break and a patch to prevent a scheduled cut in Medicare physician payments.
Ark. Lets Feds Create Health Exchange; Minn. Tests The State-Based Concept
The Arkansas state insurance commissioner said the efforts to create a state-run exchange were abandoned because of legislative opposition. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, several exchange prototypes will be available online for public review.
S. Korea Resumes Aid Through UNICEF To N. Korea
“South Korea said on Monday that it would send 6.5 billion won, or $5.7 million, in aid to North Korea through UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency,” the New York Times reports. South Korea last year suspended aid to North Korea through UNICEF and the WHO, but Seoul last month resumed aid through the WHO, the newspaper notes (Choe, 12/5). “Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Monday it will donate about $5.7 million to UNICEF programs to send medicines and vaccines and help malnourished North Korean children,” the Associated Press/Washington Post writes (12/5).
The Wall Street Journal reports on how “a reportedly fake vaccination campaign conducted [by the U.S.] to help hunt down Osama bin Laden has caused a backlash against international health workers in some parts of Pakistan and has impeded efforts to wipe out polio in the country,” one of only four worldwide where polio remains endemic. The article quotes a UNICEF country representative, a U.S. Embassy official, a Muslim cleric, a non-governmental organization representative, a local health care worker, and an official with a provincial health department (Tohid, 12/3).
Incorporate Other Diseases Into Fight Against AIDS
“The public and private sectors have achieved remarkable success in Africa in the battle against AIDS, and the question now is: Where do we go from here?” James Glassman, founding executive director of the George W. Bush Institute and former under secretary of state for public affairs and public diplomacy, writes in this Forbes opinion piece. Noting the “incredible accomplishment” made in fighting HIV/AIDS over the past decade, Glassman says “the first answer to where we go from here is more of the same, and then some,” and states that the UNAIDS targets of “Zero new HIV infections” and “Zero AIDS-related deaths” “soun[d] right.”
Fully Funding Global Health Initiatives Critical In AIDS Fight
“With donor support flagging around the world, U.S. leadership is crucial. Congress must fully fund its global health programs, especially the Global Fund” to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Joyce Kamwana, a Global Fund “HERE I AM” campaign ambassador, writes in The Hill’s “Congress Blog.” She adds, “Reducing support for global health would put millions of people at risk” and “would deal a devastating blow to the global fight against AIDS, which has reached a critical point.”
