Politics & Policies
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is planning to significantly reduce its overseas work to fight disease due to coming funding cutbacks, according to an internal email reported by The Wall Street Journal.
It may require a culture change, but making the link between global health and development challenges — from education to poverty – is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,
Programs, Grants & Awards
The Vanderbilt Global Health Case Competition, sponsored by the Vanderbilt Institute of Global Health, gives students the opportunity to work together to develop solutions to global health problems.
Vandana Gopikumar who co-founded The Banyan and The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health will receive the Penn Nursing Renfield Foundation Award for Global Women’s Health this year.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a $1.4 million grant to Wistar Institute in Philadelphia to create a synthetic DNA-based vaccine for malaria.
Research
Results from a new study show that steroids reduced both the duration of septic shock and the time spent on life support therapy in intensive care.
To explore the duration of asymptomatic Plasmodium infections and changes in parasite densities over time, a cohort of participants who were infected with Plasmodium parasites was observed over a 2-year follow-up period.
Diseases & Disasters
The government of Brazil’s southeastern state of Minas Gerais has decreed a state of emergency for its public health system due to an outbreak of yellow fever in 94 of its 853 cities.
With the crisis in war-ravaged Yemen continuing to deteriorate, United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners have launched a $2.96 billion response plan to reach over 13 million people with lifesaving assistance.
The long struggle to eliminate polio from Pakistan has faced many obstacles – public ignorance about the disease, myths about a Western plot to sterilize Muslims, claims about fake vaccination drives being used to cover up spying.
The fight against HIV in Uganda provides lessons to combat a disease largely eliminated in develop countries: rheumatic heart disease (RHD).
Technology
Smart thermometers made by Kinsa Health allow you to upload body temperatures to a website that helps track flu faster and with greater geographic detail, the company claims.
An international research team has conducted successful phase II clinical tests of a new anti-malaria medication. The treatment led to a cure in 83 cases.
Environmental Health
For the second time in 5 days, air pollution levels in Hong Kong were at its worst, posing serious risks to health of the people.
Following a winter storm, piles of trash washed up on the beaches about 10 miles from Beirut (Lebanon). The trash overwhelmed the shoreline and accumulation is expected to continue if winter storms resume.
Equity & Disparities
There has been a sudden 30% increase (from 2016) in violent deaths of LGBT people in Brazil.
The number of older adults diagnosed with four or more diseases is expected to double between 2015 and 2035, a new study reports.
Maternal, Neonatal & Children’s Health
Withdrawing the contraceptive injection, Depo-Provera, from sub Saharan African nations would lead to an increased likelihood of maternal deaths, possibly outweighing the risk of increased HIV infections and subsequent deaths, a new study shows.
Results from a 30-year prospective cohort study that included 1283 mothers and babies show that mothers who breastfed their babies for six months or more were 47% less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. The study shows that “lactation duration is independently associated with lower incidence of diabetes”.
Pneumonia is the biggest killer of children worldwide, but when it comes to fighting the deadly disease, the problem is not a lack of tools or knowledge, but access, experts say.
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