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IPS examines undernourishment, efforts to reverse vitamin deficiencies

"Poverty is the leading cause of many vitamin deficiencies, especially vitamin A," and the problem is acute in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where food staples such as cassava and rice are high in calories but low in nutrients, Inter Press Service reports.

28 Nov 2012

State roundup: Conn. official says bulk buying prescription drugs could help budget

The state's chief fiscal watchdog is asking legislators and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration to take a second look at how government purchases prescription medication -- and a proposal he believes could save more than $65 million over the next fiscal year.

28 Nov 2012

Joint Implant Surgeons to participate in Operation Walk USA 2012

The physicians of Joint Implant Surgeons are proud to be participating in Operation Walk USA 2012, on December 7th, to provide joint replacement surgeries to patients across the United States who would otherwise be unable to receive appropriate and much needed surgical care due to financial circumstances.

27 Nov 2012

Avermectin family of drugs shows promise against TB

A well-established family of drugs used to treat parasitic diseases is showing surprising potential as a therapy for tuberculosis (TB), according to new research from University of British Columbia microbiologists.

26 Nov 2012

'Doc fix' cost: $25 billion for one year, CBO says

The Hill reports that delaying a scheduled pay cut for one year to doctors who treat Medicare patients would cost $25 billion.

22 Nov 2012

UNICEF releases demographic report on Universal Children's Day

On Universal Children's Day, November 20, "UNICEF issued a new research paper highlighting global demographic shifts forecast for the coming generation of children that present major challenges to policy makers and planners," according to a UNICEF press release.

22 Nov 2012

Washington Post examines polio eradication efforts in Pakistan

The Washington Post reports on polio eradication efforts in Pakistan, writing, "[O]verall trends in Pakistan, where nearly 30 million children have been vaccinated in recent years, are encouraging."

20 Nov 2012

Most African countries not on track to achieve MDGs, U.N. officials say

"Most African countries are lagging behind in achieving the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] and will not make as much progress in health, nutrition and sanitation as had hoped, U.N. officials said" on Thursday, the Associated Press/ABC News reports.

20 Nov 2012

Employer health costs rise 4.1% -- slowest growth in 15 years

Employer health costs rose just 4.1 percent nationally in 2012 -- the slowest rate of growth in 15 years -- as employers offer more high-deductible plans and increase employee cost-sharing, a new report from consulting firm Mercer has found.

16 Nov 2012

Bono says spending cuts to U.S. development aid would harm global health efforts

Speaking at the World Bank on Wednesday, "Irish rock star and anti-poverty activist Bono said thousands of people could die from AIDS if the United States cuts development assistance to reduce the budget deficit," Reuters reports.

16 Nov 2012

First Edition: November 15, 2012

Today's headlines include the latest details on states' decisions about pursuing health exchanges as well as other political and policy developments.

15 Nov 2012

Money spent on presidential campaigns could go far in fighting NTDs

Noting that an estimated $2 billion was spent on the U.S. presidential campaigns, Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, writes in the Huffington Post "Healthy Living" blog, "Many of us in the global health community can only look upon that $2 billion figure in awe because of the potential for those dollars to be repurposed to immediately and dramatically improve the lives of the poorest people who suffer from disease."

15 Nov 2012

Obesity and dental cavities increase and become epidemic as homeless children age

Obesity and dental cavities increase and become epidemic as children living below the poverty level age, according to nurse researchers from the Case Western Reserve University and the University of Akron.

14 Nov 2012

Overcleanliness in childhood may increase risk for peanut allergy

An increased incidence of peanut allergy in children from more wealthy families supports the “hygiene hypothesis” that overcleanliness may promote the onset of childhood allergies, say US researchers.

9 Nov 2012

IPS examines generic drug scheme in India's Rajasthan state

"As the northern Indian state of Rajasthan rolls out an ambitious universal health care plan, the discontent of the state's doctors stands in stark contrast to the joys of the 68 million people who will benefit from the scheme," Inter Press Service reports.

9 Nov 2012

Examining the importance of 'practical knowledge' in global health

Noting World Bank President Jim Yong Kim at the World Knowledge Forum last month "spoke of the need to 'lay the foundations for a new field that will collect and distribute practical knowledge that countries can use to get delivery right in their unique contexts,'" Wolfgang Munar, a senior program officer in the Family Health Division at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Larry Prusak, an advisor on knowledge networks for the Foundation, examine in the organization's "Impatient Optimists" blog why "practical knowledge is a topic worth exploring and better understanding for business, governments and philanthropies."

9 Nov 2012

Scarce resources threatening progress against AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa

"With donor money to fight HIV and AIDS falling, spending in sub-Saharan Africa must be targeted to get the best results," Bjorn Lomborg, director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, writes in the Guardian's "Poverty Matters" blog, noting, "Sub-Saharan Africa has 10 percent of the world's population but is home to 70 percent of those living with HIV and AIDS."

9 Nov 2012

International community must step up fight against TB in Southern African region

"With $2.5 trillion in mineral reserves, South Africa has the largest mining sector in the world," but "[t]he work can be devastatingly toxic for the body," with "inhumane and untenable" working conditions, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, archbishop emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

9 Nov 2012

Better quality neighborhoods can have positive effects on overall health of children

Better quality neighborhoods can have positive effects on the overall health of children, finds a new study of a government program designed to move families from public housing in very poor areas to private-market rental housing in areas with much lower poverty rates.

9 Nov 2012

States, especially GOP-controlled ones, facing crucial decisions on health insurance exchanges, Medicaid

Since the day it was enacted, many of the Affordable Care Act's opponents have preferred to treat it as provisional. ... there remain some significant uncertainties in the immediate future of the ACA, particularly in how Republican governors, who have vociferously opposed the law until now, will react in the wake of President Obama's victory.

9 Nov 2012