Maternal Health News and Research

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Recent releases in Global Health

A study appearing in the Journal of Infectious Diseases explores how well access to safe drinking water reduces rates of diarrhea experienced by 6-month-old infants born to HIV-infected mothers following weaning.

25 Sep 2009

Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker calls for a global fight against cancer

The leader of the global breast cancer movement today warned of a coming wave of cancer deaths and told global health ministers to be “fearless and united” in addressing the growing cancer crisis, particularly in developing countries.

23 Sep 2009

Also in Global Health news: HIV/aids in Zambia; Ugandan medical workers; Obama administration officials' Q&A, speech; South African health care reform efforts; texting to combat drug shortages in Africa

The Post of Zambia examines the findings of a recent report revealing "the devastating effects" the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zambia is having on the country's ability to meet the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. The article also looks at the relationship between HIV/AIDS and nutrition, maternal health and education (Chackwe, 9/21).

21 Sep 2009

TIME examines voluntary airline tax that aims to fund global health projects

TIME examines a voluntary airline tax, to be introduced in the U.S. and several European countries in January, that aims to "make up a shortfall in official government aid to poor countries — a shortfall exacerbated by the world financial crisis." The tax will be used to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and it will also go towards improving maternal health and reducing child mortality.

21 Sep 2009

Recent releases: Climate change, health; ITNS; Mexico H1N1; Policy Tracker; TB treatment; blogs

In addition to the Lancet's recent publication of an opinion piece and letter by 18 doctor association leaders about the potential health risks associated with climate change, the journal includes an editorial about sexual and reproductive health and climate change and a comment on the upcoming Copenhagen conference in December (9/19).

21 Sep 2009

IPS examines maternal mortality in Mozambique

Inter Press Service examines efforts to curb maternal mortality in Mozambique. The article profiles the work of English medical doctor Peg Cumberland and her team, who have trained "around 400 local people in remote health care" since she came to the country more than 13 years ago.

21 Sep 2009

Pressure on G20 leader to tax financial transactions for aid money intensifies

G20 finance ministers meeting in London next Friday, ahead of a G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, "will face concerted pressure to introduce a tax on financial transactions as a coalition of anti-poverty campaigners aim to force the issue onto the agenda," the Guardian reports.

29 Aug 2009

IBM announces expansion of service program in Africa

IBM on Monday announced the expansion of the company's Corporate Service Corps, which sends teams of professionals around the world "to work pro bono with local organizations and businesses on projects that intersect business, technology and society," Daily Independent/allAfrica.com reports.

28 Aug 2009

Welfare reforms improve quality of life for single mothers and their children

Single mothers are more likely to be employed, to enjoy greater financial security and to have improved mental health, thanks to a decade of government reforms, according to new research from Bristol University's Centre for Market and Public Organisation.

26 Aug 2009

NYT Magazine interviews Clinton on global women's issues

The New York Times Magazine, as part of a special issue that focuses on women worldwide, published an interview with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who "staked her claim as an advocate for global women's issues in 1995, when, as first lady, she gave an impassioned speech at a United Nations conference in Beijing." The interview was conducted ahead of her 11-day, seven country tour of Africa.

20 Aug 2009

Cambodia's maternal mortality; drugs in Uganda; cholera risk in Zimbabwe; HIV laws in Niger

A lack of outreach by public health officials and rural villagers' preference for traditional midwives have hindered efforts to reduce maternal morality in Cambodia, government officials said recently at regional conference, the Phnom Penh Post reports.

20 Aug 2009

Cooperation between faith-based organizations and UNFPA critical to maternal health, say groups

Partnerships between faith-based organizations and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, are critical to enhancing efforts to reduce maternal deaths and end violence against women.

7 Aug 2009

In Kenya, Clinton calls on African leaders to promote good governance, women's rights

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday in Kenya "re-affirmed the new U.S. administration's commitment towards expanding its partnership with African countries, expressing optimism in the continent's long-term potential for growth and development," VOA News reports.

5 Aug 2009

Guardian examines U.K. offer to help provide free healthcare in 'world's poorest countries'

The Guardian examines British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's offer "to help some of the world's poorest countries to make healthcare free – starting with pregnant women and children – in a push to widen access to doctors across Africa and Asia."

4 Aug 2009

Ethical ramifications of H1N1 vaccine priority groups

Pregnant women are among the groups that should receive H1N1 (swine) flu vaccinations this fall, according to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices panel whose recommendations are generally accepted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

31 Jul 2009

U.N. program has little effect in reducing deaths among children in Bangladesh, study finds

"The U.N. unveiled a multimillion dollar strategy a dozen years ago to save children worldwide, but a new [Lancet] study has found the program had surprisingly little effect in Bangladesh, one of the world's poorest countries," the Associated Press reports.

31 Jul 2009

Maternal mortality; health system strengthening, Opinions

Columnist Nicholas Kristof examines maternal health in developing countries in his latest New York Times opinion piece. Kristof describes a Pakistani woman's birth experience to illustrate the sort of "dramas" that "play out constantly in poor countries" where one "woman dies a minute from complications of pregnancy or childbirth somewhere in the world, and 20 times as many suffer childbirth injuries," he writes.

30 Jul 2009

Maternal exposure to nanoparticles related to neurological dysfunction in the mouse

Maternal exposure to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide (TiO2) affects the expression of genes related to the central nervous system in developing mice. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology found that mice whose mothers were injected with the nanoparticles while pregnant showed alteration in gene expression related to neurological dysfunction.

28 Jul 2009

Expert says the benefits of breastfeeding are oversold

Michael Kramer, a professor of pediatrics says that much of the evidence used to persuade mothers to breastfeed was either wrong or out of date.

22 Jul 2009

Hydrogen sulphide investigated for role in pregnancy

Scientists at the University of Leicester are investigating how the stuff of stink bombs and flatulence could play a critical role in the human reproductive system.

20 Jul 2009

Maternal Health News and Research

Recent releases in Global Health

Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker calls for a global fight against cancer

Also in Global Health news: HIV/aids in Zambia; Ugandan medical workers; Obama administration officials' Q&A, speech; South African health care reform efforts; texting to combat drug shortages in Africa

TIME examines voluntary airline tax that aims to fund global health projects

Recent releases: Climate change, health; ITNS; Mexico H1N1; Policy Tracker; TB treatment; blogs

IPS examines maternal mortality in Mozambique

Pressure on G20 leader to tax financial transactions for aid money intensifies

IBM announces expansion of service program in Africa

Welfare reforms improve quality of life for single mothers and their children

NYT Magazine interviews Clinton on global women's issues

Cambodia's maternal mortality; drugs in Uganda; cholera risk in Zimbabwe; HIV laws in Niger

Cooperation between faith-based organizations and UNFPA critical to maternal health, say groups

In Kenya, Clinton calls on African leaders to promote good governance, women's rights

Guardian examines U.K. offer to help provide free healthcare in 'world's poorest countries'

Ethical ramifications of H1N1 vaccine priority groups

U.N. program has little effect in reducing deaths among children in Bangladesh, study finds

Maternal mortality; health system strengthening, Opinions

Maternal exposure to nanoparticles related to neurological dysfunction in the mouse

Expert says the benefits of breastfeeding are oversold

Hydrogen sulphide investigated for role in pregnancy

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Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

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