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Provider groups weigh in with Supreme Court on Calif. Medicaid case; Fla. docs oppose Medicaid revamp

In other Medicaid news, Texas switches its Medicaid recipients to cards instead of using monthly proof-of-coverage letters to save cash while some advocates worry that children's health could be at risk.

9 Aug 2011

Guardian features fact pages on MDGs

The Guardian on Friday published fact pages on the eight Millennium Development Goals.

8 Aug 2011

Leprosy spreading in India, WHO official warns

"Six years after leprosy was declared officially eliminated in India, officials and doctors are warning that the disfiguring disease is spreading in poverty-stricken pockets of the country," Agence France-Presse reports.

8 Aug 2011

Economic slowdown should not hamper global fund donations

With the new knowledge that providing antiretroviral treatment to people living with HIV would "contribut[e] to a sharp slowdown in the spread of the virus," "scaling up treatment now may prove to be the least expensive option if we want to bring this deadly pandemic, which still infects 1.8 million people every year, under control," Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria writes in the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog."

6 Aug 2011

Feed the future working to improve drought resiliency

Food insecurity in the Horn of Africa "is driven by cyclical drought, poor land management practices, limited availability of animal health services, food inflation, conflict over land and water, poor hygiene practices, and lack of dietary diversity," Paul Weisenfeld, assistant to the administrator, Bureau of Food Security at USAID, writes in the agency's "IMPACTblog."

5 Aug 2011

TrustLaw publishes special report on child marriage

TrustLaw, a Thomson Reuters Foundation service, on Thursday published a series of articles, infographics and videos in a special report on child marriage. According to the series homepage, "every day, 25,000 girls under the age of 18 are married worldwide. For many child brides, a future of poverty, exploitation and poor health awaits".

5 Aug 2011

Children of depressed mothers in developing countries less likely to thrive, report says

"Children of depressed mothers in developing countries are 40 percent more likely to be underweight or stunted than those with mothers in good mental health," according to a report published in the August edition of the WHO Bulletin, Reuters reports.

4 Aug 2011

Famine will spread in Somalia unless 'massive' response mounted, U.N. says

The drought and hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa is getting worse, and unless there is "a massive increase in the response, the famine will spread to five or six more regions" in Somalia, Valerie Amos, the U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told reporters on Monday, Reuters reports.

3 Aug 2011

More opinions: Berwick, Deparle, Rep. Pitts and others on health costs; public health transparency guidelines

Unfortunately, there are too many examples that show how our system can fail to meet patients' needs. These problems are not a reflection on the many doctors, nurses and other professionals who work tirelessly to deliver the highest quality care they can.

2 Aug 2011

Cutting foreign aid is shortsighted solution to U.S. budget woes

"Haggling in Congress over bills to fund the state department and foreign operations in 2012 are worrying for those of us seeking to address global poverty and climate change, and respond to famine and other disasters," Samuel Worthington, president and CEO of InterAction, writes in the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog."

1 Aug 2011

Disparities persist despite insurance

A pair of studies highlights how health disparities continue to take shape and unravels some of the factors that are involved in differences in health outcomes.

1 Aug 2011

Opinion pieces address drought, famine in Horn of Africa

"Why can't we end famine in Somalia?": "What is needed right now is for the international community to act immediately to save the millions who are starving," Maryan Qasim, a doctor and an adviser in the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, writes, concluding, A long-term development strategy to ensure that when the famine finally comes to an end, it really does come to an end, is equally important.

30 Jul 2011

Journalism fellows to gather in Los Angeles to explore community health issues

USC Annenberg announced journalism awards totaling $53,500 to support investigative and explanatory reporting projects on topics ranging from health in America's underserved communities to the challenges for health reform and quality medical care.

30 Jul 2011

Viewpoints: Sanders on angry Americans; Sebelius on Md. exchanges; Samuelson: 'it's the elderly, stupid'

If the Republicans have their way, the entire burden of deficit reduction will be placed on the elderly, the sick, children and working families. In the midst of a horrendous recession that is already causing severe pain for average Americans, this approach is morally grotesque. ... The Reid plan is bad. The constantly shifting plan by House Speaker John Boehner is much worse. ... Those cuts would mean drastic reductions in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

30 Jul 2011

U.N. officials reiterate clean drinking water and sanitation are human rights issues

One year after the U.N. General Assembly "adopted a resolution declaring that safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right," top U.N. officials on Wednesday "stressed the need to realize the human right to water and sanitation, stating that it is critical not only to a life of dignity but also to achieving progress in the areas such as poverty reduction, boosting child health and combating diseases," the U.N. News Centre reports.

29 Jul 2011

U.S. foreign policy should promote healthy women

"When women are healthy and empowered, they can spark a ripple effect in their families, communities and nations that can lead to lower rates of poverty and stronger economic growth and productivity," Tamara Kreinin, executive director of women and population at the United Nations Foundation, writes in a "RH Reality Check" blog post.

29 Jul 2011

India plans to establish central foreign aid agency to fight corruption, cut costs

India plans to establish a central foreign aid agency, "believed to be modeled on" USAID, "to prevent funds from being misused and delays in aid delivery," the Guardian reports. "The agency will reportedly be called the Indian Agency for Partnership in Development, overseeing $11.3bn over the next five to seven years," the newspaper writes.

28 Jul 2011