Archives: Morning Breakouts

"[T]he highest levels ever of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) have been found in Russia and Moldova," the WHO reports in research published in the February edition of the WHO Bulletin, but "the agency didn't have data from most of Africa and India, where tuberculosis rates are much higher," the Associated Press/USA Today's "Your Life" reports. According to the AP, the "experts reported that about 29 percent of new TB patients in parts of Russia were drug-resistant" and that "65 percent of previously treated patients in Moldova had resistance problems." The news service notes, "Normally, less than five percent of TB cases are drug-resistant" (2/2).

"The lives of thousands of HIV-positive people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are at risk as the country faces declining donor funding and a severe shortage of HIV treatment, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)," PlusNews reports. "'The problem is quite old in the DRC; the country has always been minimized by donors who have not seen it as a priority, mainly because HIV prevalence is relatively low at between three and four percent,' Thierry Dethier, advocacy manager for MSF Belgium in the DRC, told IRIN/PlusNews," and he added, "But look at the indicators: more than one million people are living with HIV, 350,000 of whom qualify for [antiretrovirals (ARVs)] but only 44,000 -- or 15 percent -- are on ARVs," the news service writes.

More than "50 food security officials from 30 countries, and international and regional organizations" are meeting at the State Department in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss the L'Aquila Joint Statement on Global Food Security, which was endorsed at the 2009 G8 Summit and "mark[ed] a turning point for international efforts to achieve sustainable global food security," according to a State Department media note. Participants "will discuss coordination efforts between partner and donor governments; investments in research to improve food security; tracking progress toward meeting the L'Aquila commitments; and using Managing for Development Results to enhance the impact of investments in food security," the media note states (2/2).

AllAfrica.com examines efforts by African researchers to develop a female-controlled HIV prevention method, writing, "[S]cientists searching for a gel or vaccine that can prevent HIV infection ride a rollercoaster of hope and disappointment." The article profiles efforts by researchers from the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (Caprisa) to find a microbicide gel to protect women from HIV infection.

Following the announcement on Monday that 13 pharmaceutical companies, several large non-profit organizations, governments, and U.N. agencies are joining forces to fight neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), Al Jazeera's "Inside Story" interviewed several experts in the field, asking, "Why have these diseases been neglected for so long? And how effective will the new plans be to counter these diseases and, in turn, alleviate poverty? Is the target date of 2020 set by the initiative realistic to wipe out some of the world's deadliest conditions? And what is in it for them?" according to the show's summary. Host James Bays discusses these and other issues with guests Tido Von Schoen-Angerer, director of the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Access Campaign; Lorenzo Savioli, director of the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases at the WHO; and Mario Ottiglio, associate director of Global Health Policy and Public Affairs at the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (2/1).

Kenya has sufficient funds to support HIV/AIDS treatment programs through 2016, the head of the National AIDS Control Council (NACC) said in a statement on Wednesday after activists protested on Monday in support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Star reports. The Global Fund had to cancel Round 11 grants because "the cash at hand was not in the bank by the time we wanted to disburse," according to the Fund's Deputy Executive Director Debrework Zewdie, a move that sparked fears there would not be sufficient funding to pay for existing treatment programs, the Star notes (Muchangi, 2/2). In his statement, NACC head Alloys Orago said, "Though the available fund cushions beneficiaries from immediate effects of donor withdrawal up to 2016, such a move calls for home grown and innovative ways of locally financing the disease," according to the Daily Nation (2/2).

"Famine conditions have ended in war-torn Somalia six months after they were declared, but the situation remains dire with a third of the population needing emergency aid, the U.N. said on Friday," Agence France-Presse reports (Vincenot, 2/3). "'Long-awaited rains, coupled with substantial agricultural inputs and the humanitarian response deployed in the last six months, are the main reasons for this improvement,' the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Director-General Jos

In this PLoS Medicine editorial, the editors review progress toward the journal's goal of reflecting and addressing inequity in the burden of ill-health around the world as part of the Global Burden of Disease project -- a "comprehensive work studying the burden of ill-health and death resulting from specific conditions, injuries, and risk factors," a PLoS press release writes. "By prioritizing studies in areas that contribute most substantially to the global burden of ill-health and premature mortality, PLoS Medicine, as an open-access journal, can specifically ensure that this important research is disseminated and reused widely," the press release states (1/31).

This post on the Center for Strategic & International Studies' "Smart Global Health" blog reports on a presentation hosted by the Global Health Policy Center on Monday which "highlight[ed] the contributions faith-based-organizations (FBOs) make to global health, including the fight against HIV/AIDS." The post highlights quotes from several speakers at the event, provides audio footage of the event, and links to podcast interviews with Kay Warren, founder of the HIV/AIDS Initiative at Saddleback Church, and Ken Hackett, president of Catholic Relief Services (1/31).

In this Global Health and Diplomacy opinion piece, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete examines efforts to meet Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets on maternal and child mortality in Africa, noting, "Although Africa has just 12 percent of the global population, it accounts for half of all maternal deaths and half the deaths of children under five." He writes, "Though global maternal deaths are in decline and women's health has at last become a global priority, our goal of reducing maternal mortality by 75 percent in 2015 is still a long way off. ... It is unacceptable to allow mothers and children to die when we have the knowledge and resources to save them."