Politics and Policies:
- A new healthcare-for-all program in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta is under scrutiny. National officials are monitoring the city’s response and experience ahead of the rollout of a government scheme to provide universal healthcare by 2019.
- The ministry of Health and Population of Nepal has decided to upgrade all sub-health posts to health posts by 2015.
- The Pediatric Society of New Zealand has called for funding for infant vaccinations against the disease as an urgent priority.
- Bill in North Dakota bans abortion after heartbeat is found.
Programs:
- Solar-powered mobile health center equipped with remarkable range of facilities (- eye clinic, blood clinic and dental surgery) unveiled in Cape Town, South Africa. Besides proving screening for conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure it will also emphasize on health education.
- The United States will provide Burundi an additional $3.5 million in aid towards its fight against HIV/AIDS and mother-to-child transmission of disease.
- The Association of Heath Journalists with a support from the UNAIDS will be trained on tuberculosis, HIV and co-infection.
- Japan gives N443 million for childhood disease to Nigeria. This grant will partly support facilitation and monitoring of health sector performance in Nigeria.
- Somaliland to vaccinate 600,000 young children against polio.
- Scotia bank has announced pledge of $1 million to support the Carribbean –SickKids Paediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Project. These funds will be used to support the projects telemedicine programs in Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas.
- United Healthcare Awards $5.2 million in grants to California nonprofits-$2.2 million to three Los Angeles-area health organizations.
Research:
- A team of scientists from the United States have claimed to have treated a child of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection.
- Mozambique is on its way to utilize tests for tuberculosis by the GeneXpert machine which would speed up its diagnosis from two to three months to two hours.
- A three day campaign launched by the Chaadian government with support of the United Nations agencies to eradicate polio, boost vitamin A and de-warm four million children under the age of five years.
- According to a study providing life-long antiretroviral treatment to HIV-infected pregnant women not only prevents HIV infections in infants, but also improves the 10 years survival rate in mothers.
- Mozambique’s first HIV vaccine trial heralds new era in local research.
- Rwanda Ministry of Health deploys technology to report potential disease outbreaks and help health workers contain the spread of disease.
- Government of Rwanda is introducing its first combined Rubella-Measles vaccine. A nationwide campaign against these two diseases has been launched in the country.
- The scientists from University of Toronto and SickKids Research Institute have mapped genome that causes Dutch elm disease.
- Studies uncover risks and threats to Arctic inhabitant’s health that might be due to contaminants brought by warmer air and sea water currents resulting from climate change.
Diseases and Disasters:
- Nearly fifteen people have died in Libya after consumption of home-made alcohol and more than 300 people are suffering from alcohol poisoning.
- Since November 2012 about 389 people have been infected and nearly 10 people are killed because of cholera outbreak in Congo’s second largest city, Pointe-Noire.
- Measles kills 17 in Niger state.
- The report of United Nations has raised air safety concerns in India.
- According to the officials, hospitals in South Sudan.
- According to a data posted on the health ministry website in China, from 1971 to 2010, a total of 328.9million abortions were carried out in the country.
- Cluster of Vancomycin resistant enterococci cases has been reported in United Christian Hospital in Hong Kong.
- According to a report by WHO, road safety is worst in India.
- Undocumented children in Indonesia have no access to education and basic healthcare.
- The swine flu virus isolated from the throat swab samples of six H1N1-infected patients at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) has shown small genetic mutation.
- According to the reports of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MOH)’s Preventive Health Department, hand-foot-mouth (HFM) disease has affected over 10,000 Vietnamese people.
- Health officials investigate norovirus outbreak at Andina in Porland.
- Mexico fireworks blast death toll rises to 14.
IH CONNECT 