Tag: HIV/AIDS

Global Health News Last Week

by ihsection, posted in News

The PSI Healthy Lives Blog has begun running a daily global health news summary called “The Healthy Dose,” written by Mark Leon Goldberg and Tom Murphy (who also blogs about development at A View from the Cave).

STUDENTS AND YOUNG PROFESSIONALS: The Global Health Corps is currently accepting applications for its Global Health Fellows Program, which comes highly recommended by just about everyone I have heard mention it.

February 6 was International No Tolerance Day to Female Genital Mutilation.

The Vatican will host an international conference in May on preventing AIDS and caring for those afflicted with it amid continued confusion over its position concerning condoms as a way to prevent HIV transmission.

The Global Fund announced the launch of new anti-corruption measures after intense scrutiny from donors following stories on fraud investigations by The Associated Press. Meanwhile, debate and public controversy over the AP’s presentation of the story rages on.

The discovery of a new type of mosquito, a subgroup of Anopheles gambiae (the species which transmits malaria), is causing concern among scientists because it appears to be very susceptible to the malaria parasite.

Bill Gates is becoming frantic in his pursuit to eradicate polio. In addition to making it the cornerstone of his 2011 annual letter, he held a webcast event last week, campaigned for funds at Davos, and is needling governments to donate funds for a “final push.” He is also beginning to irk some, who say he is distorting other priorities.

Global Health News Last Week

by ihsection, posted in News

After the Lancet retracted the controversial Wakefield study last February, which suggested a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, BMJ has declared the study to be fraudulent after further investigation revealed that the author stood to make millions of dollars through lawsuits and diagnostic kits related to autism.

Kofi Annan urges the WHO executive board to set a date for measles eradication during their meeting, which will last until January 25.

Engineers Without Borders, Canada, is trying to change the way aid organizations represent their projects (and their failures) by launching Admittingfailure.com, a website where organizations can post their favorite failure. They hope to encourage groups to admit to, and learn from, their failures.

The Center for Global Development has posted an MDG progress index, which allows the user to see how different nations are progressing toward the MDG targets.

A research paper debunked claims made by UN environmental organizations that insecticide-free methods used in a malaria control project were effective at reducing transmission, thus making the case to stop the use of DDT.

End the Neglect posted a reading list on Thursday.

Developing nations continue to pressure the US and Russia to destroy their stocks of smallpox, though the WHO supports retention for research purposes.

Unlike many other countries, which are making progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Russia’s HIV epidemic is getting worse due to pervasive drug addiction. Meanwhile, religious leaders in Chechnya have declared the couples must obtain proof that they are HIV-negative in order to receive permission to marry.

Global Health News This Week

by ihsection, posted in Maternal and Child Health, News

Richard Holbrooke, an American diplomat who worked for peace in Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan and the founding President of the Global Business Coalition against AIDS, passed away on Monday due to complications in surgery.

The State Department has launched the Foreign Assistance Dashboard (v. 1.0), which allows visitors to see how the government’s foreign aid money is being spent. The website is still in its beginning stages and there is a lot that has not yet been published, but it is a step in the right direction. In related government news, Secretary Clinton announced the full release of the first QDDR on Wednesday.

The Gates’ seem to be establishing themselves as the new “Big Brother” of global health, which makes some journalists uncomfortable – most recently with regard to ABC’s new “Be the Change” global health series. The Gates Foundation (along with the WHO, UNICEF, and NIAID) has also recently announced the “Global Vaccine Action Plan,” following the Gates’ call this past January to make the next ten years the “Decade of Vaccines.” They also provided funding for the development of a new polio vaccine developed by researchers at the University of Leeds.

The Canada-based organization Aids-Free World is accusing the UN of endangering women and children in their push to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Swine flu (H1N1) has reared its ugly head again in the UK, shocking doctors by its severity and spread.

An article in the Lancet revealed that TB cases have risen by 50% in London in the last ten years, making it the tuberculosis capital of Western Europe.

The WHO released its 2010 World Malaria Report this week.

Doctors in Germany claim to have cured a man of both cancer and HIV, though critics maintain that the treatment – a transplant of bone marrow and stem cells from a naturally HIV-resistant individual – is not a reasonable option for the general population.

Global Health News This Week

by ihsection, posted in News

November 22 was Public Health Thank-You Day, and November 25 marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

UNAIDS released a report that said that we are finally making significant progress against the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. In related news, an international trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that daily prophylaxis can prevent HIV infection in MSM.

The Bread for the World Institute released its 2011 Hunger Report, which says that global hunger is increasing as the global food crisis gets worse.

A study published in the Lancet found that the malaria death toll in India may be as much as 13 times higher than WHO estimates.

Another study published in the journal Vaccine estimated that global polio eradication could save the world $50 billion.

The strain responsible for the cholera outbreak in Haiti has been identified as one originating from southeast Asia, which has led many Haitians to blame the Nepalese UN peacekeepers and has sparked riots against the UN.