Latest KFF Health News Stories
A Call For Safer Birth Practices In Timor-Leste
Cassandra Clifford, founder and executive director of Bridge to Freedom Foundation, calls for safer birth practices in Timor-Leste in this Aid Netherlands blog post. Clifford says that unsafe traditional birth practices, “the country’s history and lack of infrastructure, especially regarding healthcare,” and “a lack of education and understanding on maternal health, safe birth practices, and family planning” are contributing to a high maternal mortality rate and health complications among newborns. She says birth spacing, the “training of midwives, [and] training [in] hygiene methods for at-home deliveries is a must to bridge the gaps to safer birth practices” (8/15).
U.S., International Support For Somali Refugees Making A Difference
Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, U.S. representative to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome, writes about her recent visit to the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya in the State Department’s “DipNote” blog. “There is something remarkable about seeing how U.S. contributions
PlusNews Examines Challenges To Burundi’s PMTCT Program
“A shortage of health facilities and health workers, frequent drug shortages and a weak government policy mean HIV-positive pregnant women in Burundi often give birth without taking any precautions to prevent transmission of the virus to their children,” PlusNews reports.
U.S. Aid To Liberia Important For Health And Development Improvements
“Even now, eight years after our civil war ended, Liberia faces a huge uphill battle,” Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf writes in a Washington Post opinion piece, adding that “[w]ith support from the United States, we have been able to make progress.
As International Affairs Budget Faces Cuts, Development Community Must Fight For Aid
In the wake of the agreement to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, and “[w]ith 20 percent cuts already on the table, the international affairs budget is in for a tough fight throughout the fall,” Richard Parker, director of communications for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, writes in a post on Devex’s “Obama’s Foreign Aid Reform” blog, stating, “It is more critical than ever for the development community to demonstrate how strategic and effective its programs are for U.S. national security, for our own economy, and as a demonstration of our leadership in the world.”
East African Profiles New GAVI Alliance CEO Seth Berkley
The East African profiles Seth Berkley, the new CEO of the GAVI Alliance and founder and former CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. “‘In my time at GAVI, I would like to see the vision of polio eradication and measles elimination come to pass. We want all the existing childhood immunizations and new generation vaccines, including those for malaria, TB and HIV, to be available to all children that need them,’ Dr. Berkley said,” the newspaper writes (Mwangi, 8/14).
Latest Health Law Decision Pushes Challenges Toward Supreme Court
As court action continues, some policy experts expect this development to intensify efforts to find an alternative to the individual mandate.
Health Overhaul Draws Political Support, Fire In Various Campaigns
It was a hot topic when Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination. It’s also been a hot topic in town hall meetings and congressional campaigns.
Disease Outbreaks, Looting Hampering Relief Efforts In Somalia Famine
“Outbreaks of measles and cholera are striking down Somali children already weakened by hunger, resulting in dozens of new fatalities,” the Guardian reports (Rice, 8/13). According to the WHO, “181 people have died from suspected cholera cases in a single hospital in Mogadishu, and there have been several other confirmed cholera outbreaks across the country,” the New York Times writes (Gettleman, 8/12). UNICEF spokesperson Marixie Mercado “said Friday that tens of thousands of children have died and countless more are particularly at risk of cholera and other diseases because of drought and violence in East Africa,” the Associated Press/NPR notes (8/12).
Somalia Famine Highlights Need For Long-Term Food Security Initiatives
Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, and Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) write in a USA Today opinion piece about their visit last week to the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya, stating, “Amid the devastation, we saw the impact of [U.S. and international] aid. We saw inexpensive oral rehydration packs bring listless babies back to life. We saw children getting vitamins and vaccines that will stop the spread of deadly diseases throughout the camps.”
South Africa Expands AIDS Program To Allow Earlier ARV Treatment
The South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) on Saturday endorsed a new National Health Council policy to expand the country’s AIDS program “to allow people living with HIV to start antiretroviral [ARV] treatment earlier” by raising the CD4 count necessary to access treatment from 200 to 350, Agence France-Presse reports (8/14). Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi “said the plan would be integrated into the proposed National Health Insurance system,” SAPA/News24 writes (8/13).
Anti-Health Law Measure Secures Place On Ohio Ballot
States wrestle with a range of health policy issues.
Viewpoints: Health Reform ‘Tax’ Vs. ‘Penalty’; Super Committee Forecast; Boomer Tsunami
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Medigap Policies Could Come Under ‘Super Committee’s’ Budget Knife
The Connecticut Mirror reports that a Washington advocacy group is issuing warnings about provisions that have been on the table that could impact Medicare beneficiaries.
Patient Information-Sharing Network Under Development By VA, Defense
The Washington Post reports on how this emerging electronic health record system is impacting the marketplace. In other Health IT news, the Twin Cities’ market appears to be full of “early adopters” of online care services, according to the Pioneer Press.
IPAB Draws Sustained Opposition From GOP, Health Industry Lobbyists
The Independent Payment Advisory Board, which is one of the health law’s central tools for cutting Medicare costs, continues to be a topic that draws significant opposition.
Feds Offer More Details, Money For Health Exchange Creation
The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $185 million in grants to 13 states. The government also clarified how states will be expected to determine who is eligible to participate in exchanges under the health law.
U.N. Should Make Reduction In Salt Intake A Global Health Priority, Researchers Say
Researchers from the Universities of Warwick and Liverpool in a report published on Thursday in the British Medical Journal called for the U.N. to “make reducing salt intake a global health priority,” stating that “a 15 percent cut in consumption could save 8.5 million lives around the world over the next decade,” BBC News reports. “The researchers say there is a ‘consistent, direct relation between salt intake and blood pressure,'” which “in turn is linked to heart disease, stroke and kidney problems,” and “[t]hey point to the U.S., where cutting salt intake by a third would save tens of thousands of lives and save up to $24 billion annually in health care costs,” the news agency reports.
Nearly 6,000 Dead In Haitian Cholera Outbreak, Health Ministry Says
“The number of cholera fatalities in Haiti has risen to just short of 6,000, the health ministry said Sunday,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports. “By 31 July, 5,968 had died with 10 more people succumbing every day, the ministry said,” and “[m]ore than 420,000 people have been infected since the outbreak started in October and another 600 cases are registered daily,” the news agency notes.
First Edition: August 15, 2011
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about Friday’s ruling on the health overhaul as well as other action related to the law and highlights from the weekend’s health policy developments.
