Archives: Morning Breakouts

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Tuesday posted the results of several internal audits, showing "that 12 more probes had turned up an additional $20 million of mismanagement, alleged fraud and misspending," the Associated Press/CBSNews.com reports.

PlusNews reports on the results of the Zambia-South Africa TB and AIDS Reduction (ZAMSTAR) study released on Monday at the International Lung Health Conference in Lille, France, which show that "[h]ome-based tuberculosis (TB) education and testing reduced community TB prevalence by about 20 percent." Noting that "the trial cost US$27 million [and] the interventions it piloted cost about $0.80 per patient," the news service writes that while "the cost-effectiveness of household outreach has not yet been calculated, ... [t]his will be of particular interest not only to national policymakers but also donors, who continue to tighten purse strings amid a global economic downturn" (11/1).

In this Politico opinion piece, Brian Atwood and colleagues, all former USAID administrators in previous Democratic or Republican administrations and current advisers to the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, write, "Over [the last] half-century, USAID has had an extraordinary record of accomplishment. Using less than one percent of the U.S. budget annually, the American people have demonstrated their deepest values through USAID programs, saving tens of millions of lives worldwide with immunization programs, oral rehydration therapy, treatment for HIV/AIDS and work on other diseases." They add, "Because of the efforts of the American people, more than one billion people now have safe drinking water, smallpox has been eradicated and tens of millions have been saved through USAID's famine relief efforts."

In this Hill opinion piece, John Castellani, CEO and president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, writes, "Over the past three decades, more than 30 treatments have been approved to treat HIV/AIDS," but he adds, "While this is remarkable progress, it's not enough." He continues, "In order for scientific progress in these areas to continue, the substantial financial investments in medicines created in America's biopharmaceutical labs -- medicines that take years and billions of dollars to develop -- must be protected by international patent laws."

SciDev.Net examines tuberculosis (TB) in India, which has the world's highest TB burden, and some experts' hopes that researchers in the country can develop accurate and affordable diagnostic test kits. "The recognition that no new anti-TB vaccine is expected before 2015 has prompted experts to pin their hopes on improving diagnosis," the news service writes. "One cause for worry in India is a plateau in the number of new cases being detected at 87 percent of actual infections, over the past five years," and another is the "slow rate of decline of the disease in India," SciDev.Net notes, adding, "Despite the drawbacks, global experts at [a recent TB] conference were optimistic that Indian diagnostic companies would soon form a world hub for high-quality generic diagnostics" (Padma, 11/3).

In his New York Times column, Nicholas Kristof writes that family planning is "a solution to many of the global problems that confront us, from climate change to poverty to civil wars," but that it "has been a victim of America's religious wars" and is "starved of resources." Kristof discusses the potential impacts of overpopulation as the global population surpasses seven billion and adds, "What's needed isn't just birth control pills or IUDs. It's also girls' education and women's rights -- starting with an end to child marriages -- for educated women mostly have fewer children." He concludes, "We should all be able to agree on voluntary family planning as a cost-effective strategy to reduce poverty, conflict and environmental damage. If you think family planning is expensive, you haven't priced babies" (11/2).