Latest KFF Health News Stories
U.S., N. Korean Officials Meet To Discuss Resuming Food Aid
“U.S. officials have arrived in Beijing to meet with North Korean leaders about whether and how to resume food aid to the isolated and impoverished country, according to State Department officials,” the Washington Post reports (Wan, 12/14). “U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues Robert King and senior U.S. aid official Jon Brause met Thursday with North Korea’s director-general for American affairs, Ri Gun,” and “are to focus on strict monitoring mechanisms should the U.S. decide to give aid,” the Associated Press writes (Bodeen, 12/15).
HIV Testing Remains Important Amid Push For Expanded Treatment In Africa
“With a needle puncture on your finger and a drop of blood, the magic of modern science can give you a rapid HIV test in seconds, and so, knowing your status, you are better able to negotiate the rocky road of surviving HIV where timely detection is key,” Farai Sevenzo, a columnist and filmmaker, writes in this BBC News opinion piece, part of a series from African journalists. “But human nature is not so straightforward and despite hundreds of rapid HIV test centers in many capitals, the knee-jerk response is not to want to know,” he continues, adding, “It is this attitude which may account for the continuing high rates of infection.”
First Edition: December 15, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about a new approach being advanced by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to overhauling Medicare.
Ryan, Wyden To Announce New Medicare Proposal
Republican Rep. Ryan – the author of the plan that would replace fee-for-service Medicare with a premium-support system – has a new plan in mind.
House OKs Payroll Tax Cut Extension Bill
The House measure was approved on a largely party-line vote and was met with immediate promises of opposition from Senate Democrats and the White House. Caught in the crossfire is the Medicare “doc fix” and, possibly, a separate omnibus spending bill to provide government funding through next September.
Much In Play For Health Interests As Congress Works On Payroll Tax Cut
A two-year fix to the formula that sets Medicare payments for physicians was included in yesterday’s House-passed version of this bill. Still, the fix’s future is not certain. Meanwhile, other health interests are trying to protect their own funding, which has so far been targeted as a way to pay for the payroll tax holiday extension.
Malaria Mortality Rates Down, But Progress Threatened By Funding Shortfall, WHO Report Says
“Malaria mortality rates have fallen by more than 25 percent globally since 2000, and by 33 percent in the WHO African Region, according to the World Malaria Report 2011, issued [Tuesday] by [the] WHO,” the organization reports in a press release. “This is the result of a significant scaling-up of malaria prevention and control measures in the last decade,” the press release adds. However, the press release notes, “WHO warns that a projected shortfall in funding threatens the fragile gains and that the double challenge of emerging drug and insecticide resistance needs to be proactively addressed” (12/13).
Chevron’s Role In Fight Against HIV/AIDS In Africa
In this Africa.com opinion piece, Ana Ruth Luis, medical director of the Southern Africa Strategic Business Unit at Chevron Africa and Latin America Ex in Angola, discusses what she calls “the important role Chevron has in driving down the incidence of HIV/AIDS in Africa.” She writes, “Chevron was able to drop new infections to zero among our employees and their babies by educating our employees, establishing a culture of voluntary, confidential testing and treatment, addressing stigma and discrimination in the workplace, and providing comprehensive medical care for expectant mothers.”
Goal Of Near-Zero Malaria Deaths Attainable With Continued Will, Resources
In this TIME “Ideas” opinion piece, David Bowen, CEO of Malaria No More, writes that with the right resources and political will, an end to malaria is possible. He recounts progress made against the disease, citing a report by the WHO released Tuesday that shows “deaths from malaria have fallen by more than 25 percent globally since 2000 — and by more than five percent in the last year alone,” and writes, “Despite these gains, much more needs to be done. The unacceptable fact still remains that malaria claims a child’s life in Africa every minute. The world has begun to mobilize the skills, resources and innovative genius needed to end this terrible death toll.”
Congress Should Give Clean Water To World’s Poor Through Water For The World Act
In this Huffington Post opinion piece, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) writes about access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation among the world’s poor, stating, “As America prepares for the holiday season … I hope that Congress will give a gift of life, health and hope by helping people around the world with something that most Americans take for granted: safe drinking water.”
Pharma Exports, R&D Investment Benefit U.S. Economy, Global Health And Must Be Protected
In this post in the Hill’s “Congress Blog,” John Castellani, president and CEO of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, reports on how biopharmaceutical exports benefit the U.S. economy and global health, writing, “Leadership is needed to help keep U.S. biopharmaceutical research companies competitive in the global export market.” He continues, “According to the Administration, if we increased exports by just five percent, we would create hundreds of thousands of new U.S. jobs. … Among the ways that they can advance this effort is by knocking down foreign barriers and promoting strong intellectual property (IP) protections that allow biopharmaceutical companies to bring their medicines into other markets and, importantly, to the patients who need them.”
U.N. Issues $1.5B 2012 Joint Appeal For Humanitarian Aid In Somalia
The U.N. on Tuesday issued its 2012 consolidated appeal process (CAP), or joint appeal, for $1.5 billion to fund 350 projects in Somalia, “where famine and conflict have already cost tens of thousands of lives,” the Guardian reports (Chonghaile, 12/13). “The $1.5 billion appeal is based on a realistic assessment of the emergency needs of four million people in crisis, tens of thousands of whom will die without assistance,” Mark Bowden, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, said, Agence France-Presse notes.
Discrimination Against LGBT Population Undermining HIV Prevention Efforts In Guatemala, IPS Reports
Inter Press Service examines discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Guatemala, where advocates and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) say such discrimination is undermining HIV prevention and treatment. Carolos Valdez of the NGO Proyecto Unidos “said the country has taken ‘few steps’ for preventing the spread of HIV among vulnerable groups,” including “opening five clinics catering to members of sexual minorities,” IPS writes.
TIME Examines Lawsuit Against U.N. Alleging Responsibility For Cholera Outbreak
“The question of who is responsible for Haiti’s cholera epidemic — the first that the Caribbean nation, the western hemisphere’s poorest, has seen in a century — has raised tempers since the first case was detected in October 2010,” TIME reports in an article examining a lawsuit filed against the U.N. claiming it is responsible for bringing the disease into the country and seeking damages for cholera victims and their families.
Paul Farmer Discusses Equity In International Health With Scientific American
In this Scientific American “60-Second Health” podcast, journalist Katherine Harmon interviews Paul Farmer, a Harvard professor and co-founder of the non-profit Partners in Health, who is “famous for his health work in Haiti.” Farmer discusses international health as an equity issue, stating, “If we don’t have an equity strategy, then how can modern medicine and science participate meaningfully in responding to cancer in a globalized world? Same thing with cholera, same thing with AIDS, same thing with [tuberculosis], same thing with hunger, on and on it goes
Emerging Economies Taking Greater Role In Development Aid
“The past year has underlined how the dramatic growth of some of the world’s most populous developing economies is propelling a remarkable shift in the global geopolitics of aid and development,” the Guardian reports in an article examining how “non-traditional donors” contributed large amounts to several humanitarian crises this year.
