WORLD POPULATION: 7,964,410,225
POLITICS & POLICIES
July 4, 2022: Atul Gawande, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s global health office, is trying to figure out how to tackle one of the world’s biggest crises in decades as governments struggle to fund the effort. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/04/atul-gawandes-new-global-health-fight-00043494
PROGRAMS, CONFERENCES, GRANTS, AWARDS & EVENTS
July 25, 2022: Virtual indigenous peoples panel discussion: Inputs to the Report on Health and Nature-Based Solutions. https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2022/07/25/default-calendar/virtual-indigenous-peoples-panel-discussion–inputs-to-the-report-on-health-and-nature-based-solutions
July 26, 2022: Introduction to recent World Health Organization (WHO) publications on Patient Blood Management, Clinical Use of Blood and Haemovigilance Systems – Webinar. https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2022/07/26/default-calendar/introduction-to-recent-world-health-organization-(who)-publications-on–patient-blood-management–clinical-use-of-blood-and-haemovigilance-systems-webinar
HISTORICAL, REPORTS, DOCUMENTS, DATA & INDEXES
July 12, 2022: Patients with a specific form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in the United States, are at significant risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke, according to new research from New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai. This study, published in the July issue of Retina, is the first to demonstrate a link between the disorders. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-07-eye-disease-strongly-heart.html
July 7, 2022: Preeclampsia—a condition that occurs in pregnancy and is characterized by high blood pressure and signs of kidney damage—can be dangerous for both mother and baby. New research published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica suggests that the characteristics and lifestyle of the fathers do not play a significant role in their partners’ susceptibility to preeclampsia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-07-fathers-affect-partners-susceptibility-preeclampsia.html
RESEARCH
July 18, 2022: Scientists at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom report that they used cell and animal models to show that the drug, dubbed AZD1390, can block the body’s response to DNA damage in nerve cells and restore function after a spinal injury. “This early study shows that AZD1390 could be used as a therapy in life-changing conditions,” said Dr. Richard Tuxworth of the university’s Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences. “In addition, repurposing this existing investigational drug potentially means we can reach the clinic significantly faster than developing a new drug from scratch.” https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-07-18/could-an-experimental-cancer-drug-help-treat-spinal-injury
DISEASES & DISASTERS
July 12, 2022: Rising COVID-19 cases are not only putting further pressure on already stretched health systems and workers but also triggering an “increasing trend of deaths”, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists at the regular weekly press briefing on Tuesday. https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/07/1122382
July 22, 2022: Two fatal cases of Marburg virus disease (MVD) were reported from Ashanti region, Ghana. On 28 June 2022, these cases were notified to health authorities as suspected viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) cases and tested positive for Marburg virus on 1 July 2022. An outbreak of MVD has only been reported once previously in West Africa, and this is the first time MVD has been notified in Ghana. An outbreak of MVD may represent a serious public health threat as it is severe and often fatal. https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON402
TECHNOLOGY
July 27, 2022: With medical devices and data at a heightened risk of Log4j exploitation, here are steps you can take to secure your organization and your health IT environment. As a prime target for cyberattacks and data breaches, healthcare companies must be constantly on guard against new threats. One of the latest and most dangerous vulnerabilities involves a commonly used application tool that resides on many medical devices and in healthcare software solutions. https://healthtechmagazine.net/article/2022/07/log4j-vulnerability-what-should-healthcare-organizations-do-next-protect-patient-data-perfcon
CLIMATE CHANGE & ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
July 22, 2022: In a world first, the American state is expected to adopt a bill that would let people contribute to the Least Developed Countries Fund when filing their tax return. https://www.climatechangenews.com/2022/07/22/massachusetts-set-to-enable-citizens-to-give-climate-finance-to-vulnerable-nations/
July 21, 2022: US President Joe Biden has announced $2.3bn (£1.9bn) to help build infrastructure that can withstand extreme weather and natural disasters. But he stopped short of formally declaring a climate emergency, which would grant him further powers. Mr Biden spoke in Massachusetts as a heatwave brings extreme weather to Europe and North America. Tens of millions of people in the US, across more than two dozen states, are living under heat warnings this week. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62241954
EQUITY & DISPARITIES
July 15, 2022: MUSCATINE, Iowa — Bailee Tordai, who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy, barely made it to the prenatal checkup. Her clunky old Jeep couldn’t complete the 2-mile trip from her house to the University of Iowa’s outreach clinic in her southeastern Iowa hometown. It was a hot June day, and a wiring problem made the Jeep conk out in the street. https://khn.org/news/article/nurse-midwives-prenatal-care-rural-hospital-birthing-centers/
July 12, 2022: SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After the Russian invasion, Katie Nelha and her husband couldn’t safely return to their home in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, so they took their chances as refugees. Flying from Poland, where they were working, to Mexico in early April, they crossed into the U.S. at Tijuana, where they were granted a temporary visa for humanitarian reasons. https://khn.org/news/article/california-medicaid-ukrainian-refugees-interpreter-shortage/
WOMEN, MATERNAL, NEONATAL & CHILDREN’S HEALTH
July 15, 2022: The largest sustained decline in childhood vaccinations in approximately 30 years has been recorded in official data published today by WHO and UNICEF. The percentage of children who received three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) – a marker for immunization coverage within and across countries – fell 5 percentage points between 2019 and 2021 to 81 per cent.
July 21, 2022: The Senate today passed and sent to the president for his signature the Formula Act (H.R. 8351), bipartisan legislation that would suspend tariffs on imported infant formula through 2022. The Food and Drug Administration has allowed formula imports to help address a U.S. formula shortage, but tariffs have increased the retail cost of these products. The Department of Health and Human Services offers a webpage to help health care providers and families locate formulas. https://www.aha.org/news/headline/2022-07-21-congress-temporarily-suspends-tariffs-imported-formula-reduce-cost
HUMANITARIAN, NONPROFITS, FOUNDATIONS & NGOS
July 4, 2022: When 5.3 million Ukrainians entered the EU between February and June 2022, alongside life-saving emergency assistance came similarly crucial support: the right to stay and work in the EU for up to three years. This arose out of the recognition that people deserve the chance to make a living in exile – and that doing so can benefit host countries as well. https://theconversation.com/do-humanitarian-agencies-help-refugees-become-independent-evidence-from-history-184744
July 20, 2022: The founder of the world’s largest Western-based international Muslim relief agency, one that helps millions worldwide. Today, Islamic Relief Worldwide has an income of some $200m per year, supporting almost 12 million people in 36 countries. The Muslim relief agency was co-founded by Hany El-Banna, an Egyptian medical student training in the United Kingdom. https://www.aljazeera.com/program/al-jazeera-world/2022/7/20/hany-el-banna-the-giving-business
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