Morning Breakouts

U.K. Government To Increase NTD Spending Fivefold Between 2011 And 2015

January 24, 2012 Morning Briefing

“The U.K. government has announced a fivefold increase in spending on combating neglected tropical diseases [NTDs] as part of an international effort to help rid the world of a group of infectious diseases that currently affect one billion people and kill more than half a million every year,” BMJ reports (Moszynski, 1/23). “International Development Minister Stephen O’Brien said funding for [NTDs] is to increase from

U.S. Military Provides Medical Care, Education Services To Women, Children In Tanzania

January 24, 2012 Morning Briefing

The U.S. Army news service reports on a five-day Medical Civil Action Program, or MEDCAP, in Tanzania, during which “Tanzanian medical providers working in partnership with U.S. service members from Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa provided medical care to more than 2,100 Tanzanian women and children.” According to the news service, “The program supported the Tanzanian Health Initiative, a program that seeks to provide a comprehensive approach to health for the Tanzanian people and parallels the U.S. government’s Global Health Initiative.”

South Africa’s Population Would Be 4.4M More If Not For AIDS, Data Show

January 24, 2012 Morning Briefing

“There would be more than 4.4 million more people in South Africa if it were not for the AIDS pandemic, according to a survey released on Monday” by the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR), SAPA/News 24 reports (1/23). Without AIDS-related deaths, the population would have been 55 million today, instead of 50.6 million, where it currently stands, and “[b]y 2040 the population would have reached 77.5 million — a whopping 24 million people more than is currently projected,” according to the study, GlobalPost notes (Conway-Smith, 1/23). “The survey is based on data sourced from the Actuarial Society of South Africa and the Institute for Futures Research,” SAPA/News 24 writes (1/23).

As London Prepares For Summer Olympics, IRIN Examines Health Risks Of Mass Gatherings

January 24, 2012 Morning Briefing

As London prepares for more than five million visitors to attend Olympic events in the city this summer, IRIN examines how “mass gatherings — from religious pilgrimages like the annual Haj to Saudi Arabia and India’s huge Kumbh Mela, to major sporting events like the Olympic Games and the Football World Cup — present important health challenges to organizers and participants alike.” The news service writes that “a new public health specialty is developing around these major international events, allowing organizers to share their expertise, and exploit new technologies to manage risk and track disease outbreaks in real time.”

Celebrating Polio Eradication Efforts In India With ‘Guarded Optimism’

January 24, 2012 Morning Briefing

In part one of a two-part blog post in USAID’s “IMPACTblog,” USAID Worldwide Polio Eradication Coordinator Ellyn Ogden reports on the “hard work and dedication of the Indian government at the national, state, district, block and panchaiyat levels” that was required for the country to have a year free of polio. “Over two million health workers, mobilizers, and volunteers have contributed to this success and deserve to be seen as heroes in their communities,” she writes (1/20). In part two of the post, Ogden recaps polio vaccination efforts and challenges, discusses the last recorded case of polio, and writes that going forward, “Guarded optimism prevails” as the country “is still at risk of importations from countries that have not yet stopped polio transmission” (1/23).

Tracking News On Universal Health Coverage Worldwide

January 24, 2012 Morning Briefing

The Results for Development Institute has launched a new website on universal health coverage, UHC Forward, “that features news, events, and publications related to the global UHC movement,” an institute press release states (1/17). Visitors to the site can “stay informed of health coverage efforts in countries around the world, better understand how to translate available research into pragmatic action, apply an analytic eye to reform experiences, exchange ideas with others, and find links to additional resources,” according to the website (1/24).

Targeting Health Aid To Poor People

January 24, 2012 Morning Briefing

In the Center for Global Development’s (CGD) “Global Prosperity Wonkcast,” Lawrence MacDonald this week interviews Amanda Glassman, a CGD research fellow and director of the center’s global health policy program. Glassman “offers four recommendations for how major health donors — mainly the GAVI Alliance and the Global Fund — could better-target aid to poor people,” including “dropping country-income thresholds as the main criteria for allocating global health funding”; “setting up regional pooled procurement or pricing mechanisms”; “building evidence-based priority-setting institutions”; and “establishing increased accountability mechanisms,” according to the blog (1/23).

Comprehensive Policy Package Based On Research Needed To Stem Abortion Figures

January 24, 2012 Morning Briefing

“The astounding thing about the global abortion debate is not that some people have deeply held views about what a pregnancy is and when a human existence begins” but that “policymakers continue to ignore carefully amassed information about the actual outcome of programs and laws related to sexuality and reproduction,” Marianne M

PBS NewsHour Examines Family Planning In The Philippines

January 24, 2012 Morning Briefing

PBS NewsHour on Monday aired the second installment in its “Food for 9 Billion” series, in which “Sam Eaton of Homelands Productions goes to the fishing village of Humay-Humay” in the Philippines and “speaks with families about their concerns that future generations won’t enjoy the same access to fish as a food staple and way of life,” the PBS NewsHour blog “The Rundown” reports. The video report looks at how “one organization is making birth control more readily accessible to those wishing to keep their families small,” according to the blog.

Public-Private Partnerships Can Help Poor Access Health Care, Reach Economic Potential

January 24, 2012 Morning Briefing

In this Washington Post “Davos Diary” blog entry, Kate Roberts, vice president of corporate marketing, communications and advocacy at PSI, writes about what to expect at the World Economic Forum, beginning on January 25 in Davos, Switzerland. Noting that poor health and access to health care can prevent a growing middle-class population from reaching its “full economic potential,” Roberts writes, “The key to changing this scenario will be finding ways to encourage this emerging class of consumers to adopt healthier behaviors, and giving them the means to do so.” She says public-private partnerships are critical to solving these issues.

Universal Access To HIV Treatment Can Be Achieved

January 24, 2012 Morning Briefing

“Thirty years after AIDS made its deadly debut, a future without the disease is finally within reach,” a Boston Globe editorial states, adding, “But just as science is on the verge of winning the battle, financial resources and political will are flagging.” The editorial details reductions in HIV spending, a Congressional stipulation that U.S. funds cannot be spent on needle-exchange programs, and new science showing how HIV treatment can help people living with the disease live longer and reduce the risk of them spreading the virus.

Abortion Foes Take Aggressive Position In 2012 Debate

January 24, 2012 Morning Briefing

As part of their election-year strategy, some anti-abortion groups plan to force President Obama and congressional Democrats into a corner on an abortion-related issue.