Archives: Morning Breakouts

With more than one billion people lacking access to clean and safe water, and waterborne diseases causing 7,000 child deaths every day worldwide, "[i]t's more important than ever that we be willing to look at old problems and find innovative ways to solve them. The issues of water access, quantity and quality need to be addressed at the same time," Kevin McGovern and Quincy Jones, chair and honorary chair, respectively, of The Water Initiative (TWI), write in a Huffington Post opinion piece.

"A four-year test of drugs to treat a widespread parasitic disease called kala azar was announced on Monday by the governments of India and Bangladesh, Doctors Without Borders, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative [DNDi] and other groups," the New York Times reports. Kala azar, also known as visceral leishmaniasis, is transmitted by sand flies and affects approximately 500,000 people worldwide at any one time. The disease can cause skin boils, and, if left untreated, can also "cause persistent fever, weight loss, an enlarged spleen and ... death," the newspaper notes.

"Brazil is a world leader in the fight against hunger and its experience can be shared with other countries, visiting World Food Programme [WFP] chief Josette Sheeran said Monday ... in the northeastern city of Salvador while inaugurating a local branch of a newly established Center of Excellence Against Hunger based in [the capital] Brasilia," Agence France-Presse reports (11/7). The center "will assist governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America by drawing on the expertise of WFP and Brazil in the fight against hunger, while promoting sustainable school feeding models and other food and nutrition safety nets," the U.N. News Centre writes (11/7).

GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog reports on the addition of 21 countries to the original group of eight Global Health Initiative (GHI) countries in a second round of selections. The Obama administration has "review[ed] detailed plans from each on main strategies and goals," according to U.S. officials, the blog reports. The blog writes, "Unlike the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), GHI's plan from the start was to spread its principles of better integration of programs and expanding into new health areas as quickly as possible."

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) "reports heavy rains and flooding in parts of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia are causing havoc among thousands of displaced Somalis in the region" and "flood-damaged roads are hampering relief efforts to thousands affected by the heavy rains," VOA News reports (Schlein, 11/4). "UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told a press briefing in Geneva that the agency has distributed 4,500 assistance kits so far, which include plastic sheets, plastic buckets and soap," the U.N. News Centre writes (11/4). "In addition to providing emergency relief for floods, other U.N. agencies continue to increase their efforts to help Somalis who suffer from famine and insecurity," VOA notes (11/4).

CQ HealthBeat reports that Congress has taken an interest in tightening supplies of many drugs.

The U.N. reported Friday "that it is increasing its joint efforts with Cambodian authorities and aid providers to offer food assistance to some of the thousands of people that have been displaced by severe flooding recently," the U.N. News Centre reports. According to the news service, "Some 240,000 people have been displaced by heavy rains and according to the World Food Programme (WFP), 10 percent of the rice crops have been destroyed and 265,000 hectares of rice fields have been damaged, raising the price of rice by 12 percent" (11/4).

The L.A. Times reflected back on the changes since Magic Johnson's announcement that he was HIV-positive, and NPR examined the HPV vaccine controversy.