Morning Breakouts

Latest KFF Health News Stories

IRIN Reports On Challenges To Fighting Child Malnutrition In Nepal

Morning Briefing

IRIN examines the “silent epidemic” of child malnutrition in Nepal, where nearly half of all children under five have stunted growth and 13 percent of children over six months and under five years old have moderate or severe acute malnutrition under a measurement known as global acute malnutrition (GAM).

Financial Times Examines Product Development Partnerships Researching ‘Neglected’ Diseases

Morning Briefing

The Financial Times examines the rise of product development partnerships (PDPs), which are “non-governmental organizations that generate their own funding and build partnerships with universities, businesses, government and patients in low-income countries to develop new drugs, vaccines, prevention techniques and diagnostics for diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, cholera and meningitis.”

IAS Conference Concludes With Mostly Positive News On HIV Prevention

Morning Briefing

“Scientists on Wednesday wrapped up their biggest forum in the 30-year history of AIDS, unveiling stunning weapons to prevent the spread of HIV,” Agence France-Presse reports about the 6th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Rome. The article summarizes study findings presented at the conference, including research on treatment as prevention, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), male circumcision, and flushing out latent reservoirs of HIV in the “quest for a cure” (Ingham, 7/20).

U.N. Increases Humanitarian Aid Need To $7.9B For 2011

Morning Briefing

The U.N. on Wednesday said during a donor meeting in Geneva that “it needs $7.9 billion this year, $500 million more than it had originally sought, to fund relief operations in the face of spreading humanitarian crises in Africa and Asia,” Reuters reports (7/20).

First Edition: July 21, 2011

Morning Briefing

Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about some of the specific cuts included in the “Gang of Six” deficit-reduction plan.

Gates Foundation Announces Sanitation Grants, Calls For Toilet Innovation

Morning Briefing

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced on Tuesday that it plans to invest millions of dollars in projects aimed at improving sanitation in the developing world, the Guardian reports (Ford, 7/19).

Obama Backs ‘Gang Of Six’ Plan That Includes Medicare Cuts

Morning Briefing

The group unveiled its 10-year, $3.7 trillion deficit reduction plan Tuesday and received a warm, bipartisan reception in the upper chamber. Meanwhile, House GOP lawmakers, in a largely symbolic vote, passed their “cut, cap and balance” measure.

Attention Must Be Paid To Famine Early Warning Systems

Morning Briefing

Early warnings about rising malnutrition, drought and possible famine in the Horn of Africa “went unheeded” for the past year, but “[w]hat is the point of an early warning system if nobody is listening?” a Globe and Mail editorial asks.

British PM Cameron Should Keep Development Aid Pledge

Morning Briefing

British Prime Minister David Cameron’s “pledge to increase development aid is something he is finding it harder and harder to defend” to colleagues and voters, because “[f]or more than half a century western nations have been spending on aid

European Commission Resumes Foreign Aid To Niger To Improve Education, Health

Morning Briefing

“The European Commission resumed aid to Niger on Tuesday, releasing 25 million euros ($35 million) after the west African nation returned to democracy this year following a coup,” Agence France-Presse reports.