Latest KFF Health News Stories
Horn Of Africa Nations Risk ‘Massive Famine,’ Shah Says
The nations in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa “are at risk of ‘massive famine,’ Rajiv Shah, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), told the Huffington Post Wednesday.” “It’s very severe,” Shah said. “We know from the data that we’ve been collecting that this is the worst drought in 60 years and it’s going to have severe consequences. Eleven and a half million people are at real risk of malnutrition and famine already,” the Huffington Post reports (Hersh, 7/13).
Today’s early morning highligths from the major news organizations, including reports about how tempers are flaring in the midst of debt-ceiling negotiations.
Global Health Community Reacts To CIA’s Faux Vaccine Operation In Pakistan
After the Guardian broke the story that the CIA organized a fake vaccination program in Pakistan in an effort to confirm the location of Osama bin Laden and obtain DNA from his family members, several writers and health experts reacted to the situation, noting the possible implications for future health efforts.
Malaria Prevention Project Using Dirty Sock Odor Awarded Grand Challenges Grant
The odor of dirty socks can be used to attract mosquitoes and kill them before they’re able to spread malaria, Fredros Okumu of the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania said on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reports (7/13).
As President Barack Obama issued dire warnings about what will happen if lawmakers fail to raise the debt ceiling, one GOP leader advanced a “last-choice option” to avoid the consequences of failing to come to terms on a deficit-reduction package.
Health Interests Dislike Proposed Medicare And Medicaid Cuts
While lawmakers continue efforts to come to terms in the debt-ceiling negotiations, health interests ranging from public and teaching hospitals to the drug industry are making their positions known.
The World Has A Food Price Problem, Not A Food Price Volatility Problem
“Food price levels are at historic highs, but food price volatility, although high these past few years, is not out of line with historical experience and is generally lower than it was in the 1970s. This means that the world does not necessarily face a price volatility problem. It faces a high food price problem,” Christopher Barrett, a professor at Cornell University, and Marc Bellemare, a professor at Duke University, write in a Foreign Affairs opinion piece.
Foreign Policy Examines HIV Epidemic In Swaziland
Foreign Policy examines the HIV epidemic in Swaziland, where nearly one-fifth of residents are infected. Because of the country’s high per capita infection rate, “[o]ne might expect HIV to slap you in the face. But there are no buildings collapsed by an HIV earthquake, no towns flooded by an HIV tsunami. No zombie-sick people dripping HIV from their eyeballs. You don’t see obvious signs of it outside of the clinics and hospitals or the privacy of homesteads,” the article states. While “Swaziland’s HIV orphans present a frightening problem for the country’s future,” the piece describes one program, called Pasture Valley, that is helping a couple dozen orphans gain an education and health care (Raviv, 7/12).
Device That Collects Water Quality Data Introduced At TEDGlobal Conference
Researchers at the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, this week described a device that collects water quality data to “chec[k] supplies in real-time, alerting users to possible infections,” and “upload[s] the data, allowing scientists to monitor the location and movement of outbreaks,” BBC News reports. The researchers said the device, called the Water Canary, “could prove invaluable for governments around the world keen to contain disease and environmental disasters,” according to the news service (Wakefield, 7/13).
Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations Grant Recipients Look To Fight Malaria, HIV
The Associated Press/Atlanta Journal-Constitution examines two research proposals
Two New Studies Support Use Of PrEP For HIV Prevention Among Heterosexual Men And Women
“Two new studies done in three African countries have shown for the first time that AIDS drugs taken daily can cut by more than half a person’s chance of becoming infected with HIV through heterosexual intercourse,” the Washington Post reports. One of the studies, carried out in Kenya and Uganda by the University of Washington, was halted a year and a half early because of positive results, while the other, conducted in Botswana by the CDC, ended as scheduled in the spring, according to the newspaper (Brown, 7/13).
Study Examines Teaching Hospitals’ So-Called ‘July Effect’
The research looks at the effect when new untrained residents start working at hospitals. Also in the news, research exploring disparities in nursing home risk scores.
Studies Show AIDS Drugs Can Prevent Heterosexuals From Acquiring HIV
The Wall Street Journal reports on two new studies that add to the body of knowledge regarding ways to slow the spread of the virus. But costs may limit their use.
Feds Stepping Up Action On Medical Scooter Fraud
News outlets report on a range of developments related to health care fraud.
N.Y. Ends Medicaid Plan For Hospitals To Curb C-Sections
The Wall Street Journal finds that the Cuomo administration plan had expected to cut the number of surgeries in half. Also, a new study finds giving higher payments to dentists helps increase access for children on Medicaid.
Sebelius Takes To The Hill To Defend IPAB
During a Capitol Hill hearing, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius criticized the House-passed budget plan and its Medicare provisions and also defended the potential effectiveness and constitutionality of the health law’s Independent Payment Advisory Board.
State Roundup: N.H.’s Planned Parenthood Funding Dilemma
News outlets examine a variety of state health policy issues.
Home Health Care Payment Under Scrutiny – In Debt Talks, Rules
One GOP governor has asked his Republican colleagues in Congress to reject debt-ceiling proposals that would cut home health services while recently released rules will further squeeze corporate margins.
