Latest KFF Health News Stories
Focusing On Disease Eradication Rather Than Control ‘Can Pay Off’
“Work on malaria suggests that focusing on the science and technology required to eliminate a disease, rather than just control it, can pay off — and that such approaches could be applied to other diseases,” SciDev.Net Editor David Dickson writes in a SciDev.Net editorial, adding that “programs can place greater emphasis on research into transmission pathways, not just the treatment of patients,” and “can also increase pressure to generate epidemiological data to demonstrate the effectiveness of elimination campaigns and compare control strategies.”
Agencies Mark World Food Day, Call For Increased Transparency In Commodity Markets
At a ceremony marking World Food Day on Monday, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) “called for more transparency on commodity markets to prevent sharp spikes in global food prices and deplored the scale of world hunger,” Agence France-Presse reports (Le Roux, 10/16). “FAO chose the theme of ‘Food Prices — From Crisis to Stability’ for this year’s day to shed light on the trend and what can be done to mitigate its impact on the most vulnerable,” the U.N. News Centre writes.
Facing National Deficit While Preserving Foreign Assistance
Noting some of the successes of U.S. foreign assistance in the area of global health, Christopher Elias, president and CEO of PATH, and Richard Stearns, president of World Vision U.S., write in The Hill’s “Congress Blog,” “Unfortunately, … American aid is being threatened with severe cuts, though it makes up less than one percent of the federal budget.” They continue, “When we also consider food aid, disaster assistance, and economic development, it is clear that millions upon millions of people are able to live healthy, productive lives today because of the goodwill of everyday Americans.”
Associated Press Highlights Challenges Of Global Population Growth
As the world’s population approaches seven billion, “experts say most of Africa — and other high-growth developing nations such as Afghanistan and Pakistan — will be hard-pressed to furnish enough food, water and jobs for their people, especially without major new family-planning initiatives,” the Associated Press/San Jose Mercury News reports. In the article, “Associated Press reporters on four continents examin[e] some of most distinctive examples” of how “population challenges vary dramatically around the world” (Crary et al., 10/15).
Los Angeles Times Examines Polio Eradication Campaigns In Pakistan
The Los Angeles Times examines polio eradication campaigns in Pakistan, which is one of just four countries where the disease remains endemic. “Several factors have stood in the way of eradication,” including tribal violence, migration within the country and “an intense mistrust among some Pakistanis for the vaccines and the people who supply and administer them,” according to the newspaper (Rodriguez, 10/16).
Denver Hospital Sale Completed; Iowa Hospitals’ Tax Exemption Probed
Colorado activists had objected to the sale of the nonprofit hospitals to a for-profit system. Meanwhile, the Des Moines Register analyzes hospitals spending on charity.
Rural Women Need Same Access To Resources As Men To Help Increase Food Production, Ban Says
“Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on the international community to give rural women the same access to productive resources as men, noting the huge benefits that would ensue, from increased food production to a drop of 150 million in the number of the world’s hungry people,” the U.N. News Centre reports (10/14).
Speedy Reinstatements Undermine Medicare Anti-Fraud Efforts
An AP review shows that regulators frequently suspend Medicare providers but then quickly reinstate them – which often leads to a missed chance to stop the flow of dollars to “bogus” companies.
Beyond 9-9-9: Herman Cain On Health Policy
As GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain’s polling numbers surge, the Wall Street Journal examines his positions on health policy. Meanwhile, in other news from the Republican primary race, the Des Moines Register reports that Michele Bachmann is warning that the Supreme Court cannot be trusted to undo the health law, while the Texas Tribune takes a look at Rick Perry and Planned Parenthood.
State Flexibility Key Issue In Health Law Implementation
The Washington Post reports on how some states want to move past the 2010 measure in advancing their own health reforms. Meanwhile, as states build their health insurance exchanges, a key variable will be the degree of competition within their own insurance marketplaces.
Roundup: Texas Planned Parenthood Clinic Struggles
News outlets report on a variety of state health policy issues.
Viewpoints: CLASS Act’s Effect On Health Law; New Prescriptions For Medicare; Food Marketing To Kids
A selection of today’s editorials and opinions from around the country.
First Edition: October 17, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the latest on the super committee’s deliberations, the demise of the CLASS program and Herman Cain’s health policy positions.
Cantor Predicts Super Committee Deal; Lawmakers, Advocacy Groups Warn About Cuts
Major news outlets are examining what the deficit-cutting committee might be discussing and what the possible fallout would be.
Sebelius On The CLASS Act: ‘I Do Not See A Viable Path Forward’
KHN tracked the news coverage regarding Friday’s CLASS Act news.
IRIN reports on one community’s efforts to increase access to contraceptives and help provide information on family planning in Madagascar. The news service highlights efforts by women in Antalaha, Madagascar, who formed an association called Femmes Interessee au Development de Antalaha (FIDA). The association uses World Bank funding to run a center that provides information and support to teenage girls, with a focus on preventing early pregnancy; broadcasts “a radio program aimed at educating women about their reproductive health and legal rights; … disseminates information on how to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs)”; and works with husbands to change “negative attitudes towards family planning, [which] were preventing even those women who could get contraceptives from their local clinic from using them,” according to IRIN.
Health Groups Urge Secretary Of U.S. Army To Sustain Funding For Military HIV Research Program
“Speaking out against a potential $16 million cut in the Army’s base research and development budget for HIV, leaders of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) sent a letter (.pdf) Thursday to the Secretary of the U.S. Army, John McHugh, making the case for sustaining the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP),” according to the Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog. In the letter, IDSA President James Hughes and HIVMA Board Chair Kathleen Squires “urged the secretary … to continue the modest investment in the MHRP, which also sustains more than 100,000 HIV-infected people in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Mozambique and Thailand on lifesaving antiretroviral therapy through the [PEPFAR] program,” the blog writes (10/13).
WHO To Offer New Guidelines For Food Aid, Recommends ‘Tighter Nutritional Standards’
The WHO said Thursday that “it plans to recommend tighter nutritional standards in food aid for young children, a move activists say is necessary to improve donations from countries such as the United States,” the Associated Press/Washington Post reports. “The new guidelines are likely to make food aid more expensive in the short term, but the improved formulas will be more effective at reducing moderate malnutrition in children under the age of five,” the news service writes (10/13).
“Developing countries are making efforts to improve the health of women and children but more needs to be done, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said” at an awards ceremony in New York, United Press International reports. “‘As of today, more than 60 countries have committed to step up efforts to improve women and children’s health,’ Ban said,” the news agency writes (10/14).
Forum Focuses On Challenges Facing Women, Girls Affected By HIV In Eastern Europe, Central Asia
“Women, girls and HIV were the focus of a panel discussion on the final day of the International Forum on [Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6] in Eastern Europe and Central Asia,” UNAIDS reports. “In Russia, HIV prevalence among young women aged 15-24 is two times higher than among men of the same age, according to government figures,” UNAIDS notes, adding women’s health advocates in Russia say, “Stigma and discrimination
