Archives: Morning Breakouts

Investments to keep 3.5 million people living with HIV on antiretroviral drugs provided by programs co-financed through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria through 2020 will cost an estimated $14.2 billion, but "the financial savings would amount to between $12 billion and $34 billion," according to a study published in the journal PLoS One, Sarah Boseley reports in her "Global Health Blog" in the Guardian (10/5).

In a special report, CNBC.com examines "the world of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, from the dangers they pose and where they're made, to what is being done to combat them." The news service notes that "[i]n some countries, counterfeit prescription drugs comprise as much as 70 percent of the drug supply and have been responsible for thousands of deaths in some of the world's most impoverished nations, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)," and adds that counterfeit drugs also affect people in developed nations (Toscano, 10/4).

The use of mobile phones for medical purposes, or mHealth, holds "promising implications," but "there are still some challenges to overcome," PBS NewsHour reports. Additional research is necessary to determine whether people act on health-related text messages and whether the messages have value for a user, to "questions ... around whether applications can be used across all mobile devices, and how to charge cell phones in areas where electricity is spotty or nonexistent," the news service writes. "Despite all of the challenges, there is progress, especially in the area of collecting health information," NewsHour notes (Epatko, 10/5).

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the latest from Capitol Hill and the campaign trail, as well as findings from new research related to health care quality issues.

In a KQED interview, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins discussed a range of topics, including the state of medical research funding.

"At a press briefing in London on Wednesday, British officials are expected to pledge 20 million pounds ($31 million) over four years to" a campaign led by the Carter Center, the WHO, and the CDC to eradicate guinea worm, a parasitic disease that now exists only in four African countries, by 2015, the Associated Press/Seattle Times reports. Former President Jimmy Carter and British officials are urging other donors to come forward with additional funding, the news service writes (10/4). The WHO "reports it is very close to eradicating guinea worm" and that "it needs $350 million to finish the job," VOA News notes (Schlein, 10/4).

During a visit to Ethiopia's capital on Tuesday, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah announced new grant programs to help the nation address food insecurity, the Associated Press reports. Shah said the U.S. will provide $110 million to a food security program that will benefit 1.5 million people, $10 million for a nutrition program and $1.2 million for loans to farmers, the news agency notes (10/4).