Tag: Health insurance

Politics and Policies:

• Burundi is introducing the second dose of measles vaccine in its vaccination campaign in order to strengthen its efforts to fight preventable diseases.
• China has stated that it will assist Cameroon in its fight against malaria as well as to strengthen health policies.
• Angola parliament approves main lines of 2013 budget bill. A third of it will be spent on education, health, social welfare and housing.
• African government’s will implement a health scorecard to reduce child deaths. This monitoring system publicly collects and reports health data.
• Ghana is planning to establish its Health Insurance Learning Center to provide expertise and training on health insurance to many countries and institutions across the world.
• China plans emergency measures to control Beijing air pollution. The rules will formalize previous ad-hoc measures including shutting down factories, cutting back on burning coal and taking certain vehicle classes off the roads on days when pollution hits unacceptable levels.
• Negotiations on the Minamata Convention on Mercury (in Switzerland) among the delegates of 140 United Nations member states state that mercury added products like batteries, switches, thermometers etc. may not be manufactured, imported or exported no later than 2020. Mercury-added dental amalgams are also to be phased out. But certain mercury-added products are to be exempted from ban- like products for military and civil protection, products used in religious practices and some vaccines (with thimerosal) etc.
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new type of flu vaccine which is made with a process that does not require the virus to be grown in chicken eggs. This will make it available weeks earlier in the event of a pandemic.

Programs:

• In order to prevent, strengthen, and mobilize the society on HIV/AIDS risks, a project “Proactive” was presented in Angola by the Population Services International (PSI). It will target prostitutes, lorry drivers and gays.
• In collaboration with UNAIDS, Tango organized a two-day workshop on combating stigma and discrimination in HIV/AIDS for Civil Society Organizations.
• To provide treatment to the needy heart patients mainly children and elderly, the Emirates Heart Group has launched humanitarian missions in Sudan, Egypt and Bosnia.
• Guinea worm eradication program is coming to its completion. The reports show that the cases of the parasitic disease were reduced by nearly half in 2012.
• For increasing awareness on road traffic safety the Riders for Health-the Gambia (RFH) and the British High Commission have established a Training-cum Resource Center in Gambia.

Research:

• According to a study done by the researchers of UK, US and Germany, eating with seven servings a day is linked to peak mental well-being.
• A study states that the HIV infection rate has declined among the pregnant females in the Republic of Congo from 3.4 percent in 2009 to 2.8 percent in 2012.
• According to the World Health Organization, the cases of measles have fallen by 75 percent since 2000 but the rate of vaccination is still quite low to progress towards its complete eradication.
• A study states that the HIV infection rate has declined among the pregnant females in the Republic of Congo from 3.4 percent in 2009 to 2.8 percent in 2012.
• A report states that the Somali women living in Minnesota for 20 years or more have their cultural traditions about pregnancy and birth. They continue to resist cesarean sections, prenatal care and family planning.
• A study published in PloS One states that South Africa pays a high cost to treat both drug-resistant and drug-sensitive tuberculosis. It states that drug resistant tuberculosis in South Africa consumed about 32% of the total estimated 2011 national TB budget of $218 million.
• A simple radiographic scoring system has been suggested as it is found to reliably rule out active pulmonary tuberculosis in smear negative HIV – uninfected patients. It will potentially reduce the need for further testing in high burden settings.
• A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine states that a 48-week course of antiretroviral medication taken in early stages of HIV infection slows the damage to immune system and delays the need for long term treatment.
• According to a study bats are reservoirs for Ebola virus in Bangladesh.
• Studies have shown that the cactus fruit could treat diabetes, help to lower cholesterol and have high levels of vitamin C.
• A study published in Plos One states that majority of the high risk population in a setting in rural China have been diagnosed with a Cardiovascular Disease related disease. Majority of them did not take any cardiovascular disease drugs and very few of them took some drugs to prevent the diseases.
• A study done in University of Gothenburg, Sweden, states that amputations among people with diabetes can be reduced by 50%. They stated that simple interventions like shoe inserts, podiatry, regular check-ups and other simple interventions can help to reduce it.
• A new infection caused by ticks similar to Lyme disease has been found in 18 people in southern New England and upstate New York. According to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, this sickness could be infecting more than 4,300 Americans a year with flu-like symptoms and relapsing fevers.
• According to a study vitamin D3 supplements are as effective as influenza vaccine. The study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states that those school children who took vitamin D3 supplements were 64 % less likely to contract seasonal influenza A viral infection.

Diseases and Disasters:

• A recently introduced five-in-one vaccine against diphtheria, pneumonia, tetanus, hepatitis B and Hib meningitis have raised health concerns among the doctors in India.
• The Public Health Laboratory Services Branch (PHLSB) of the Center for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health Hong Kong, has confirmed a case of New Delhi metallo-β – lacatamase-1 (NDM-1) Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in a 26 year old female.
• The Department of Health (Hong Kong) has released a warning on a oral product named ‘Chashoot’. They say that it may contain undeclared Western drug ingredients that are dangerous to health.