Latest KFF Health News Stories
Zanzibar’s Islamic Leaders Use Qur’an To Shift Attitudes About Sex, Contraception, HIV/AIDS
The Guardian’s “Poverty Matters Blog” examines how religious leaders on the island of Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, are using the Qur’an to shift attitudes about the issues of sex, contraception, and HIV/AIDS in an effort to reduce HIV infection, improve maternal health and curb rapid population growth. “Their aim is to shift deep-rooted views in their devout Islamic society that contraception is a sin,” according to the blog. “Compared with the Tanzanian mainland, Zanzibar has half the rate of use of contraception — just 13 percent in fertile women in 2011 — and more than double the proportion of Muslims, at 95 percent,” the blog notes, adding that imams’ work to educate the population is working, as “contraceptive use has crept up from nine percent to 13 percent in the past four years” (Carrington, 10/31).
In this Huffington Post opinion piece, Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity, examines the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partnership, which was launched last month by PEPFAR in conjunction with the George W. Bush Institute, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and UNAIDS with the aim of “integrat[ing] cervical and breast cancer education, screening, and treatment with HIV services.” She continues, “Given that women living with HIV are at an increased risk of developing cervical cancer, it makes sense. It’s a logical and critical part of what PEPFAR is calling care and support services.” But while the initiative “has the potential to reduce the number of cancer deaths among women living with HIV and improve their overall health,” the fact “that planning a family and preventing further HIV transmission is not part of what PEPFAR is calling care and support” is “counter-intuitive and counter-productive,” Sippel writes.
World Population Reaches 7 Billion Amid Warnings About Health, Natural Resources
“Countries around the world marked the world’s population reaching seven billion Monday with lavish ceremonies for newborn infants symbolizing the milestone and warnings that there may be too many humans for the planet’s resources,” the Associated Press/MSNBC.com reports (10/31). “With the world’s population more than doubling over the last half century, basics like food and water are under more strain than ever, say experts, and providing for an additional two to three billion people in the next 50 years is a serious worry,” AlertNet/Reuters writes, adding that the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says food production will have to increase by 70 percent to keep pace. “But climate change may be the greatest impediment to meeting this target, say experts,” the news agency notes (Kumar/Bhalla, 10/31).
“Genetically modified mosquitoes could prove effective in tackling dengue fever and other insect-borne diseases,” according to the results of a study by a U.K.-based scientific team published in the journal Nature Biotechnology on Sunday, BBC News reports (Black, 10/30). “In the 2010 trial, conducted on Grand Cayman island, researchers released 3.3 million male mosquitoes that had been genetically altered in such a way that they were born sterile, meaning they can’t have viable offspring,” which “triggered a population collapse,” the Wall Street Journal writes. “‘We saw an 80 percent reduction in the target area’ compared with the mosquito population in a similar zone where genetically tweaked males hadn’t been released, Luke Alphey, co-founder and chief scientist at Oxitec Ltd., the U.K. start-up behind the experiment, said in an interview,” according to the newspaper (Naik, 10/31).
Congress Should Grant PEPFAR Future Security Because Program Is ‘Desperately Needed’
In this CNN opinion piece, Julian Zelizer, an author and professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, reports on how, “[a]s the super-committee deliberates over how to reduce the deficit and other congressional committees struggle to cut spending, the fate of important programs,” such as PEPFAR, “hangs in the balance.”
Industry Becoming More Involved In Ensuring Food Security, Conference Attendees Hear
“Food security concerns as the world’s population surpasses seven billion have prompted global companies to become more actively involved in ensuring future supplies, participants at an agricultural conference said on Monday,” Reuters reports. “The increased role has come at a time government involvement is hampered by the global financial crisis and led to fears a private sector-led expansion may focus on products with profit potential and neglect more effective alternatives,” according to the news agency. “‘We need to produce more food. The figures are debatable but we clearly need at least 50 percent more food in the next two or three decades,’ said Ian Crute, chief scientist at Britain’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board,” at the CropWorld 2011 conference (Hunt, 10/31).
Opinion Pieces Address World Population Of 7 Billion
Though demographers do not know exactly when the world’s population will hit seven billion, the U.N. symbolically marked the day on Monday with celebrations and warnings about safety, health and sustainability. The following is a summary of several opinion pieces published in recognition of the day.
Alliances Form Among Super Committee Members
Three Republicans and three Democrats on the panel are joining forces to develop a deal of their own. Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO is launching a campaign to defeat any Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security cuts the panel may ultimately propose. And Social Security appears to be in play as deliberations continue.
Early Retirees’ Health Insurance Fund Running Out
A federal report predicts this $5 billion account created as part of the health law will be drained by 2012. Also drawing criticism are exchange regulations, which advocates say could undermine the law’s goal of expanding health insurance.
State Roundup: Ga., Minn. Move Slowly On Exchanges
Today’s state roundup comes from Massachusetts, Minnesota, Georgia, New Hampshire, Iowa, California, Oregon, Oklahoma and Kansas.
Obama Takes Action To Address Drug Shortages
President Barack Obama issued an executive order Monday directing the Food and Drug Administration to, among other steps, speed up reviews of manufacturers’ applications to begin or alter production of a drug in potentially short supply.
Congress Questions IRS On Oversight Of Nonprofit Hospitals
The New York Times reports that the Internal Revenue Service is not collecting information on the amount of charity care these facilities provide.
Debating ‘RomneyCare’s’ Parenthood
WBUR provides a video of a Republican-Democratic debate exploring whether Massachusetts’ health reforms laid the ground work for the federal health reform law.
NYC Settles Medicaid Suit; Wis. Officials Face Deadline For New Plan For Health Care For Poor
A roundup of state news about health care programs for low-income residents.
Home Health Payments Will Fall 2.3% in 2012
The pay cut for home health agencies was announced in a regulation that was issued Monday. Although this reduction is less than initially proposed and will be phased in over two years, industry voices described it as “severe.”
Hospitals Must Improve Tracking Of Serious Errors, Report Finds
According to USA Today, the Department of Health and Human Services will release a report today pressing hospitals to improve in their efforts to track and report serious errors.
Viewpoints: Super Committee Clock Is Ticking; Replacing CLASS; ‘Personhood’ Amendment In Miss.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care policy from around the country.
First Edition: November 1, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a report that the health law’s early retirees’ health insurance fund may be running out.
