Archives: Morning Breakouts

The average price of a vaccine that protects children against five diseases is expected to "drop to $2.58 next year compared to the current average price of $2.97," the GAVI Alliance said Friday, Reuters reports. The group credits the expected price decline, which "represents a decrease of 30 percent over the last seven years," in part to an "increased demand for the pentavalent, or five-in-one vaccine," according to the news service (Kelland, 11/26).

Health law advocates and opponents are preparing for Republican control of the House of Representatives.

Proposals from both parties have "urged shrinking or eliminating" tax breaks for employers

News outlets looked at political and legal issues surrounding the health law.

Media outlets continued to track the major developments in HIV/AIDS this week, including: prevention research using an antiretroviral; new UNAIDS estimates of HIV/AIDS around the world; and Pope Benedict XVI's stance on condoms for HIV prevention.

A McClatchy-Marist poll shoes a slim majority of voters favor the new law; Rep. Gary Ackerman dares Republicans to repeal health care with his "HIPA-CRIT" law; an Ohio judge allows a lawsuit against health care reform to proceed.

Womens News Network/Guardian Development Network examines a WHO/United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) report released last week that highlighted the health disparities affecting populations living in urban areas. The article focuses on the impact of urban poverty on women's health, noting: "Women suffering under poverty are especially sensitive to impacts of urbanisation as statistics show women in densely populated areas have a 1.5 times higher rate of HIV/AIDS than men. Women in cities also face higher dangers of contracting AIDS, a figure almost twice as high as their rural sisters" (11/23).

At a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council to address global food security, ministers "pledged to a set of recommendations meant to improve co-operation and develop policies that could cope with a sudden interruption of food supplies" and vowed to "improve co-operation with international bodies such as the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on food security matters," The National reports (Detrie, 11/24).

A report released by the African Development Bank (AfDB) at a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the 3rd Africa Water Week, points to poor governance as a major cause of the inadequate water supply that threatens the health of millions living in Africa, 234next.com reports (Abutu, 11/24).