Latest KFF Health News Stories
Escalating Sexual Violence Amid Famine In Horn Of Africa Is ‘Going Largely Ignored’
In this Guardian opinion piece, Lisa Shannon, founder of A Thousand Sisters, Run for Congo Women, and co-founder of Sister Somalia, examines how, in the context of famine, sexual violence in the Horn of Africa, and particularly in Somalia, “is being de-prioritized as primarily a psychosocial issue,” and asserts that grassroots international organizations offer a solution “outside the traditional big-aid model.”
Haiti Uses ‘Peanut Butter Medicine’ To Battle Malnutrition
CNN/Global Health Frontline News examines how “ready-to-use therapeutic foods” are being used in Haiti to help children with severe malnutrition. U.S. nonprofit organization Meds and Food for Kids makes “Medika Mamba, which means ‘peanut butter medicine’ in Creole. It’s a ready-to-eat paste packed with nutritious ingredients that — over a period of weeks — gives a jolt to the system and puts children back on track,” the news agency writes. The organization partners with local farmers to manufacture the product in Haiti and plans “to produce a new version of its product … which meets the requirements of major agencies such as the World Food Programme and UNICEF” in coming years, according to the news agency (Strieker, 10/11).
Mental Health Services Are ‘Critical’ To Comprehensive Approach For People Living With HIV
In this post in USAID’s “IMPACTblog,” Melissa Sharer, AIDSTAR-One senior care and support officer at John Snow, Inc., writes, “Although treatment is now widely available and [people living with HIV (PLHIV)] are able to live normal and active lives for many years, their mental health needs are often overlooked in care, treatment, and support programs.” Sharer highlights the success of programs in Vietnam and in Uganda that “combine mental health and existing health services.”
According to UNICEF, a cholera outbreak in West and Central Africa “has claimed almost 2,500 lives
This VOA News editorial examines how a public-private partnership between PEPFAR, the George W. Bush Institute, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, as well as private sector partners will launch a program called Pink Ribbon, Red Ribbon to “combat cervical and breast cancer for women in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.” “In the developing world, women’s cancers are often neglected and associated with stigma that discourages women from seeing a doctor,” VOA writes. The editorial quotes Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who said, “If we want to make progress on some of the toughest challenges we face in global health — fighting HIV, preventing childhood deaths, improving nutrition, stopping malaria, and more — then investing in women must be at the top of the agenda” (10/11).
U.S. Ambassador Advises Kenya To Seek Additional Sources Of Funding For Health Programs
“U.S. Ambassador Jonathan Gration has advised Kenya to seek new sources of money to finance health programs,” Kenya’s the Star reports, adding, “Gration said projects initiated by donors will only be sustainable if the Kenyan government takes over.” According to the newspaper, Gration made the comments after launching a campaign called “Let’s Live,” which will focus on maternal and infant mortality, HIV/AIDS, non-communicable diseases and child health “to reduce preventable deaths in Kenya by 50 percent by December 2012.”
Kenya To Increase Public Investment In Mental Health, Medical Services Minister Says
“Kenyans marked the World Mental Health Day Monday with a pledge to increase public investments in the treatment of mental illnesses, which affects at least 10 million people in the East African nation,” Afrique en ligne reports, adding, “Kenya’s Medical Services Minister Anyang Nyong’o said estimates show that at least one in every four Kenyans suffer from one form of mental-health related ailment.”
At Debate, Romney Offers Spirited Defense Of Mass. Health Plan
At Tuesday night’s GOP presidential hopeful face-off, former Mass. governor Mitt Romney was the focus of the other candidates, who criticized his economic policies and his state’s health overhaul. But, having earned the endorsement of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie earlier in the day, he appears to be gaining momentum.
Berwick Upbeat As ACO Reg Moves Through Review
CQ HealthBeat reports on the progress of the much-anticipated final rule for accountable care organizations. Meanwhile, The Connecticut Mirror reports on state progress regarding its state-based health exchange.
Roundup: N.Y. Health Insurers Seek To Keep Premium Memos Secret
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Physicians Continue Press To Fix Payment Formula
If Congress doesn’t intervene regarding the formula used to calculate Medicare physician payments, doctors in January will face a pay cut of nearly 30 percent.
37 States, D.C. Advance Plans To Improve Health Outcomes For Dual Eligibles
The states and D.C. are proposing demonstration projects to better coordinate and therefore improve care for an estimated 9 million people who fall into this category. States would receive a share of any resulting savings.
Viewpoints: Screening For Prostate Cancer, Stem Cell Research And Free Coverage For Iowa Lawmakers
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Abortion Legislation Scheduled For House Consideration This Week
Some observers say Republicans may have been better off trying to stay focused on this week’s series of votes on “coveted trade deals,” but an abortion-related bill is scheduled for a vote on Thursday.
AARP Members Take To The Hill To Protect Entitlements
In an effort to reinforce national television advertising, more than 400 AARP volunteers and staffers will be on Capitol Hill today to remind lawmakers not to cut Medicare. Meanwhile, both Democratic and Republican leaders are sending clear messages to the “super committee” and their fellow lawmakers regarding what they think should be on the table and how to frame expectations.
Mass. Medicaid Waiver Hits Roadblock; N.Y. Enrollment Reaches 5 Million
Politico reports that despite its health reform efforts, Massachusetts is having trouble getting the federal government to issue a waiver for Medicaid programs. The Wall Street Journal reports on the growing needs in New York.
First Edition: October 12, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports detailing how GOP rivals targeted Mitt Romney during last night’s presidential debate, and how Romney defended his health plan.
WFP Launches Phone Cash Program To Help Ivory Coast Residents
“Working with a local telecommunications company, the World Food Programme (WFP) has developed a program in the Ivory Coast to facilitate cash transfers that can be used by thousands of Ivorians to buy food despite a climate of political violence,” according to a Foreign Policy Association blog post. WFP provides a monthly sum of money to Ivorian households, “[h]owever, people have had trouble accessing the money because of unrest plaguing [the] Ivory Coast since the contested 2010 presidential election,” the blog states (Lucivero, 10/10). Residents will receive a text message when funds are available, “alerting them to the transaction and allowing them to withdraw money from local cash points,” AlertNet reports (Fominyen, 10/4).
Study Finds Experimental Vaccine Protects Monkeys From Blinding Trachoma
“An attenuated, or weakened, strain of Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria can be used as a vaccine to prevent or reduce the severity of trachoma, the world’s leading cause of infectious blindness, suggest findings from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study in monkeys,” an NIH press release reports. The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine on Tuesday, used cynomolgus macaque monkeys in the experiment “because their immune responses closely predict those of humans,” the press release states. “If this approach demonstrates continued success, the implications could be enormous for the tens of millions of people affected by trachoma, a neglected disease of poverty primarily seen in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH, according to the press release (10/10).
Human Toll Of Denying Women Right To Family Planning ‘Extraordinarily High’
In this post in the Guardian’s “Response” column, Jenny Tonge, chair of the U.K. all-party parliamentary group on population, development and reproductive health, responds to a Guardian opinion piece published last month entitled “Welcome baby seven billion: we’ve room on Earth for you.” Tonge writes, “The article seems to miss the point that more than 200 million women who are sexually active and do not want to become pregnant are not using modern contraception,” adding, “The human toll of denying women the fundamental right to plan their families is extraordinarily high and also a significant source of population growth. If all women who want to avoid pregnancy were able to use and access family planning, the rate of population growth would slow substantially” (10/10).
