Politics & Policies
Last week, Bill and Melinda Gates released their 10th annual letter, focused on the 10 toughest questions they receive in their work. To mark the occasion, the heads of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s three global programmatic areas – Global Development, Global Growth & Opportunity, and Global Health – answer the toughest questions they are asked.
UHC (universal health coverage) is defined as a situation where “all people can obtain the health services they need, of good quality, without suffering financial hardship.” These broad definitions leave lots of room for specifying how decentralization and UHC governance might interact.
Programs, Grants & Awards
Seattle’s Center for Infectious Disease Research announced Tuesday that it has received a new,$17.2 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to fund its research into TB (tuberculosis), a persistent and deadly disease in many parts of the world.
A multidisciplinary team of scientists from Baylor College of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Utrecht University have been shortlisted for Cancer Research UK’s grand challenge award.
Research
Researchers have identified a new family of antibiotics, malacidins, by using gene sequencing to analyze more than 1,000 soil samples in the US.
Elderly study participants who had positive beliefs about aging were 44% less likely to develop dementia than those who held negative beliefs over the course of 4 years, a new study shows.
Diseases & Disasters
A drug commonly used to control high blood pressure may also help prevent the onset of type 1 diabetes in up to 60 percent of those at risk for the disease.
Monkeys in Brazil are being illegally killed for fear they might help spread yellow fever.
Defeating measles has long been a cherished dream in global health. Just in 2016, according to the World Health Organization, the disease infected more than 20 million people and killed almost 90,000 children.
The World Health Organization has sent a six-person team and 40 boxes of personal protective gear to help fight a major outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria.
More people have taken their own lives in Northern Ireland since the Good Friday agreement than were killed in political violence during the Troubles between 1969 and 1997, the latest regional figures on suicide reveal.
Technology
A new tissue paper based wearable sensor has been engineered to detect a pulse or a blink of an eye. The researchers say that these light, flexible, inexpensive sensors could be used for a variety of applications.
Environmental Health
A class of chemicals called perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) used in many industrial and consumer products may be associated with greater weight gain after dieting particularly among women, a new study shows.
Increased neighborhood walkability has been found to be significantly associated with lower blood pressure and decreased hypertension risk among residents.
Equity & Disparities
A new study has found that there is lower access to private health care in areas with high mobile phone ownership. Additionally mobile phones base health care seems to discriminate against poorer households.
Cash transfers through emergency food security program are helping rebuild livelihoods in Sierra Leone after the Ebola epidemic.
Maternal, Neonatal & Children’s Health
An international charity warned on Monday that 4.7 million children across East Africa risk dropping out of school this year due to malnutrition arising from displacement sparked by drought and conflict.
More babies are dying each year in West and Central Africa even as child health improves overall, aid agencies said on Tuesday, calling the region’s newborn death rate a “hidden tragedy.
IH CONNECT 