Archives: Morning Breakouts

A Congressional delegation consisting of six senators and one representative arrived in Africa on Thursday for an eight-day trip that "includes oversight of Department of Defense, Department of State, and USAID activities in Africa," the Daily Republic reports (Lawrence, 1/8). "According to [Sen. Lindsay Graham's (R-S.C.)] office, the delegation assessed 'the impact of U.S. sponsored counter-terrorism programs and projects relating to health, economic development, and strengthened trade relationships with African nations,'" the ONE blog writes.

Al Jazeera's "101 East" reports on how, "[a]s China faces social dilemmas such as a widening gender imbalance, it is considering loosening its [so-called] one-child policy." According to the 25-minute video program, "China's fertility rate is below the replacement level, providing fewer workers to support a rapidly growing elderly population," and "with a cultural preference for boys, China faces an alarming gender imbalance with projections of 30 million more men than women by 2020" (Nettleton, 1/5).

"Almost two years after the devastating 7.0 earthquake destroyed much of Port-au-Prince, full recovery appears to be years away," the Miami Herald reports, noting that "[t]housands of people continue to live in makeshift shelters and tents [and] rubble from dilapidated buildings still line some streets" (Lee, 1/7). In addition, "[t]he cholera outbreak in Haiti is 'one of the largest epidemics of the disease in modern history to affect a single country,' the U.N. World Health Organization's Pan-American Health Organization [PAHO] said in a news release," according to United Press International (1/7).

"Yemen's populist uprising and the political crisis that followed have pushed the country to the brink of a humanitarian emergency, according to the United Nations and aid agencies," the Washington Post reports, noting that "children have been hit especially hard." The newspaper continues, "Fresh conflicts, including a raging battle between the government and Islamist militants, have disrupted basic services; water, fuel and electricity shortages affect nearly every aspect of life, from hospital operations to trash collection. Food prices are rising, and health services have collapsed. In a nation in which half the population is younger than 18, many aid workers fear that the political crisis and the problems it has spawned will be felt beyond this generation of children" (Raghavan, 1/8). The newspaper also provides a graphic on malnourishment rates in Yemen and select other countries (1/8).

"For the first time in India, 12 people have been detected with totally drug-resistant lung tuberculosis (TDR-TB), a condition in which patients do not respond to any TB medication" and for which the mortality rate is 100 percent, the Hindustan Times reports. "Doctors treating these patients say the absolute resistance is a result of the patients being prescribed wrong antibiotics," the newspaper reports (1/7). "While Iran first reported TDR-TB cases three years ago, India seems to be only the second country to report this deadly form of the disease," the Times of India notes (Iyer, 1/7).

"Nigeria's 36 Executive Governors and the Federal Capital Territory have signed up to the Nigeria Immunization Challenge launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation last year," a Gates Foundation press release states. "The Nigeria Immunization Challenge sets specific objectives that need to be met during each quarter of 2012. If met, Nigeria will significantly improve its chances of stopping polio and protecting more children against vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough," the release adds, noting, "As of December 30, 2011, 51 cases of wild poliovirus had been reported in eight Nigerian states" (1/5).

PSI's "Healthy Lives" blog reviews a recent Science magazine article written by James Shelton of USAID's Bureau of Global Health in which he raises concerns about the use of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) as a prevention strategy. The blog notes he especially expresses concerns over drug adherence and resistance. "Dr. Shelton does not entirely dismiss the usefulness of ARVs, but seeks to look a bit more critically at how effective they are as a prevention tool," the blog states, noting that Shelton's article concludes, "ARVs are no 'magic bullet.' But ARVs' best potential is to contribute to the existing combination arsenal, which, well applied, can have a major impact in stemming the global HIV pandemic" (1/6).

Republican presidential candidates faced each other on Saturday and Sunday. They found rare accord on sending safety net programs, like Medicaid, back to the states. Also, front-runner Mitt Romney got testy about a hypothetical question on contraception.

As the Republican candidates plan two debates - tonight and tomorrow morning - news outlets are covering the possible topics.

A senior Obama administration official faced a question about the unpopular vegetable in a briefing with reporters.

In its brief, the Obama administration defended the constitutionality of the requirement that people buy health insurance.