Morning Breakouts

Examining HIV/AIDS In Zambian Prisons

February 27, 2012 Morning Briefing

In this post in PSI’s “Healthy Living” blog, Mannasseh Phiri, PSI’s country representative in Zambia, examines HIV/AIDS in Zambian prisons. Phiri reports the findings of a survey recently conducted by the IN BUT FREE (IBF) Prisons Project “to determine the extent and magnitude of the HIV and AIDS epidemic in Zambia’s prisons.” He concludes, “The high prevalence of HIV in our prisons cannot and should not be ignored. We cannot hope to be able to tackle our HIV epidemic in Zambian society outside of the prisons, unless we face up to the reality of the HIV epidemic inside the prisons” (2/24).

Blog Examines Sale Of Fake Malaria Drugs In Tanzania

February 27, 2012 Morning Briefing

In this post in Malaria Free Future’s “Malaria Matters” blog, Bill Brieger, a professor in the health systems program of the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins University, examines recent discoveries of fake malaria medications being sold in Tanzania. He writes, “All of this comes amid efforts of [the Affordable Medicines Facility malaria (AMFm)] to ensure that prequalified anti-malarial drugs reach the market (public and private) at prices people can afford. Cheap fake drugs threaten this effort.” He concludes, “Despite improved access to [artemisinin-combination therapies (ACTs)] and improved quality of front line medicine store outlets, Tanzania cannot let up on its pharmacovigilence” (2/27).

Ghana Health Service Launches Initiative To Prevent, Eliminate NTDs

February 27, 2012 Morning Briefing

A new project developed and launched by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) aims “to address the debilitating effects of neglected tropical diseases [NTDs] in Ghana,” the Global Network for NTDs’ “End the Neglect” blog reports. The primary objective of the project, called “End in Africa — Ghana and 2012 MDAs for NTDs,” is to implement mass drug administration (MDA) to treat NTDs and clinical management of the diseases across Ghana, the blog notes, adding that the “initiative will also provide public health education to all targeted endemic NTD communities” (2/24).

India Taken Off WHO List Of Polio Endemic Countries

February 27, 2012 Morning Briefing

“India was taken off a list of polio endemic countries by the World Health Organization on Saturday, marking a massive victory for health workers battling the crippling disease” and “leav[ing] just three countries with endemic polio — Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria,” Agence France-Presse reports (2/26). “Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the WHO removed India from the list after the country passed one year without registering any new cases,” the Associated Press/CBS News writes, adding, “India must pass another two years without new cases to be declared polio-free” (2/27).

Aid Group Warns Of Cholera Surge As Haiti Enters Rainy Season

February 27, 2012 Morning Briefing

“A Haiti aid group warns on the eve of the rainy season that the Caribbean nation will likely see a surge in cholera cases,” the Associated Press/Seattle Times reports. “Paul Farmer of the Boston-based group Partners in Health writes in an email Friday that Haiti could see a spike like the one that occurred last year,” when the “number of cholera cases nearly tripled from almost 19,000 last April to more than 50,000 two months later,” the news service writes. The AP notes, “Partners in Health will launch a vaccination campaign in the coming weeks to stem the spread of the waterborne disease” (2/24).

Study Shows Incorrect Condom Use Common Worldwide

February 27, 2012 Morning Briefing

According to an analysis published in the journal of Sexual Health, the incorrect use of male condoms has become a concern for public health officials worldwide, CBS News reports (DyBuncio, 2/24). Researchers from the Kinsey Institute Condom Use Research Team (CURT) reviewed 50 articles from 14 countries and found “errors in condom use — such as putting it on too late, or not using condoms throughout sex, or not leaving space at the tip — are common worldwide,” according to WebMD Health News.

Swaziland Looking To Shore Up Funding For AIDS Treatment, Testing Supplies

February 27, 2012 Morning Briefing

“Cash-strapped Swaziland is struggling to fund its HIV programs, and experts are warning of long-term damage to treatment and prevention schemes if steps are not taken to ring-fence funding and supplies,” the Mail & Guardian reports. About 200,000 people are living with HIV in Swaziland, nearly one quarter of the population, the newspaper notes, adding, “Until now the government has done well in terms of providing antiretroviral (ARV) treatment — achieving 78 percent coverage, just under the World Health Organization’s ‘universal coverage’ rate of 80 percent. But there are fears that uncertainty about funding streams and weak supply-chain management could result in a reversal of this progress.” The article discusses funding from the government, PEPFAR, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; antiretroviral drug and testing supply problems; and the epidemic’s effect on children and life expectancy in the country (Redvers, 2/27).

World Bank Needs Better Leadership To Achieve Goals Of Reducing Poverty

February 27, 2012 Morning Briefing

With the proper leadership, the World Bank “can play a key role” in fighting “poverty, resource depletion and climate change,” therefore “[t]he global stakes are … very high this spring as the bank’s 187 member countries choose a new president to succeed Robert Zoellick, whose term ends in July,” Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and a special adviser to the U.N. secretary general on the Millennium Development Goals, writes in a Project Syndicate opinion piece. Achieving its goals to “reduce global poverty and ensure that global development is environmentally sound and socially inclusive … would not only improve the lives of billions of people, but would also forestall violent conflicts that are stoked by poverty, famine, and struggles over scarce resources,” Sachs says.