Archives: Morning Breakouts

"Following separate investigations into the misuse of GAVI funding in Cameroon and Niger, both Ministries of Health have cooperated fully and confirmed their commitment to take all necessary measures, including the reimbursement of misused funds," the GAVI Alliance said in a statement released on Thursday. According to the statement, "The findings suggest that up to US$4.2 million allocated for health systems strengthening (HSS) has been misused in Cameroon and up to US$2.5 million allocated for immunization services support (ISS) has been misused in Niger," with approximately $1.8 million and $1.5 million of those funds under investigation for theft in the respective countries.

Those who consider the health law one of President Barack Obama's leading domestic achievements look to see whether he will include it in his Tuesday night speech. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius predicts continued criticism and "misinformation" about the health law while House Republicans celebrated the one-year anniversary of their vote to repeal it.

"Funding to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS consistently fails to reach programs designed to control the disease among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), according to a new analysis (.pdf) released Wednesday by amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research and the Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR) at Johns Hopkins University," an amfAR press release states. The report, titled "Achieving an AIDS-Free Generation for Gay Men and Other MSM," "finds that resources dedicated to addressing the epidemic among MSM are grossly insufficient, and that funding intended for this population is often diverted away from MSM-related services," the press release says (1/18). The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog notes, "The report authors looked at reporting data related to the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria HIV funding in eight countries -- China, Ethiopia, Guyana, India, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ukraine and Vietnam" (Mazzotta, 1/19).

This post in the Ministerial Leadership Initiative's (MLI) "Leading Global Health" blog is "the second of a series of perspective pieces on country ownership from the 'Advancing Country Ownership for Greater Results' roundtable organized last week by" MLI. "The second of four pieces covers the perspective of Ethiopia Minister of Health Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus," the blog writes, noting, "Minister Tedros said for many years he has been pushing for more country ownership. His approach is consistent: One vision, one set of priorities, and one group -- donors, partners and countries -- working together" (Donnelly, 1/18).

Sharon D'Agostino, vice president of worldwide corporate contributions and community relations at Johnson & Johnson, writes in a Huffington Post opinion piece about the launch of the Global Motherhood partnership between Johnson & Johnson and the Huffington Post. "The Huffington Post and Johnson & Johnson have collaborated to create this forum focused on global motherhood, a place to share ideas and experiences for improving maternal and child health," she writes, adding, "We hope that the Global Motherhood section will give voice to the people and organizations that are making a difference and inspire others to join in this effort" (1/18).

"Kristalina Georgieva, the European commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis response, arrived in Niger on Wednesday to see at first hand the extent of food shortages" in the country and announced the European Union (E.U.) "is doubling its humanitarian aid to the Sahel to nearly

"In a move that is likely to raise the ire of HIV/AIDS activists, maternity clinics in [Harare] are conducting compulsory HIV/AIDS tests on pregnant women before they can register for delivery," the Zimbabwean reports, adding, "Scores of pregnant women in the high-density suburb of Glen-Norah told this newspaper that they were being asked to bring their spouses [to be tested] if they wanted to register to deliver their babies." According to the newspaper, "The Zimbabwean visited [a clinic] in Glen-Norah where workers confirmed they had turned away 'a few' people so they could bring their spouses for testing."

"Artemisinin, a crucial drug in the global fight against malaria, could soon become cheaper and easier to make, thanks to researchers who have found a better way to synthesize the compound," Science NOW reports, providing an overview of the research published in Angewandte Chemie on Monday. "'The impact of this is hard to overestimate,' says Jack Newman, an industrial chemist at Amyris Biotechnologies in Emeryville, California, who was not involved in the work," the news service writes. Newman added that "the supply chain to make artemisinin has been a huge problem," the news service notes.

Although Mitt Romney wasn't present, the other Republican presidential hopefuls challenged his abortion stance. Meanwhile, with South Carolina's GOP presidential primary vote fast approaching, the Republican candidates are stepping up their ads and their efforts take the spotlight.

The advocacy group says states are not doing enough to stop smoking.