Politics & Policies
Donald Trump’s election to the US presidency marks a time of global transition, with singular importance to health. The world is witnessing the rise in populist movements characterized by concerns about trade, immigration, globalization, and international organizations.
Nearly a dozen members of Congress are urging the US Army not to issue an exclusive license to Sanofi Pasteur to develop a vaccine for the Zika virus over concerns the product may be priced too high for many Americans, even though it was developed with taxpayer funds.
Programs, Grants and Awards
The third annual World Birth Defects Day is March 3, 2017. The day is designed to raise global awareness of birth defects and increase opportunities for prevention.
The government of Botswana announced a new $100 million pediatric hematology-oncology initiative this week called Global HOPE (Hematology-Oncology Pediatric Excellence). The new public-private partnership aims to treat children with cancer and blood disorders, modeled after successful pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment programs in the region.
Srilanka hosted the 2nd Global Consultation on Migrant Health, Feb 21st- 23rd, to build solidarity to improve health and lives of migrants.
The February 16 Climate & Health Meeting in Atlanta brought together more than 350 scientists and public health professionals to explore the science of climate change, the consequences to public health and possible solutions.
The Institute for Global Health Innovation presented a selection of research focused on end-of-life care at February’s Global Health Forum, hosted by the Helix Centre for Design in Healthcare.
Research
A new study predicts that South Korean women would be among the first to have an average life expectancy above 90 by the year 2030.
In a study published in the journal AIDS Brown University researchers propose a “new system of understanding and implementing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) programs in clinical practices” According to the study, it is helpful to view PrEP care as a continuum with nine proposed steps.
Diseases & Disasters
Global health officials on Monday unveiled a first-of-its-kind Llist of the world’s most deadly “superbugs” in a bid to urge businesses and governments to get serious about developing new antibiotics.
Nearly 75 percent of all deaths in the United States are attributed to just 10 causes, with the top three of these accounting for over 50 percent of all deaths. Over the last 5 years, the main causes of death in the U.S. have remained fairly consistent.
Rambling and long-winded anecdotes could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, according to research that suggests subtle changes in speech style occur years before the more serious mental decline takes hold.
Abortion and AIDS are the two most common causes of death among Cambodian female sex workers and AIDS is the most frequent cause of death among their children, according to a small new study.
Technology
A vital race is on in laboratories across the globe to develop a vaccine for the Zika virus. However, even if a vaccine were available today, many of the world’s poorest people would not be able to receive it due to political and economic concerns surrounding vaccine injuries.
Environmental Health
Many lessons for addressing the effects of climate change were shared throughout the course of the Climate & Health Meeting, held Feb. 16 at the Carter Center in Atlanta, and one panel discussed ways we can find solutions from a less obvious source: low- and middle-income countries.
From Cambodia to California, industrial-scale sand mining is causing wildlife to die, local trade to wither and bridges to collapse. And booming urbanisation means the demand for this increasingly valuable resource is unlikely to let up.
Equity & Disparities
Sounding the alarm on behalf of more than 20 million people in South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and north-east Nigeria facing devastating levels of food insecurity, Secretary-General António Guterres joined other top United Nations officials today calling for “strong and urgent” action from the international community to help the already-fragile countries avert catastrophe.
More than 3500 people in the DRC has suffered paralysis (konzo) in the last 20 years. Konzo is caused not just by eating cassava but also due to poverty and severe malnourishment among people living in DRC’s rural regions.
Maternal, Neonatal & Children’s Health
Access to healthcare for women in Cambodia has improved drastically in the last decade with the support of donor governments including the US and Australia. Maternal mortality rates have more than halved from 2005 to 2014. Yet those gains risk being undone by new restrictions that will lead to huge cuts in funds from the US, the biggest global donor on women’s health.
Fourteen social entrepreneurs completed training intended to improve maternal and child health outcomes in Africa and graduated from the GE and Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. This is the first cohort of healthymagination Mother and Child Program.
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