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Obama announces $3B food initiative for Africa

In a Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security on Friday, President Barack Obama "announced a plan to accelerate investments in developing world agriculture to meet rising food demands and improve nutrition, calling the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition a moral, economic and security imperative," IIP Digital reports.

22 May 2012

Tackling 'hidden crisis' of childhood undernutrition critical

"Nearly more than 170 million children under age five suffer from undernutrition, a hidden crisis that robs them -- and their countries -- of a healthy and prosperous future," Cat Cora, chef and founder of Chefs for Humanity, writes in an opinion piece on the Feed the Future website.

22 May 2012

Globe and Mail examines resurgence of malaria in Congo

The Globe and Mail reports on "a massive resurgence of malaria [in the Democratic Republic of the Congo] that has baffled scientists and raised doubts about the global fight against the deadly scourge."

22 May 2012

Study explores what factors drive health care spending

A report out today from the Health Care Cost Institute analyzed what insurers and households paid for medical care from 2007 to 2010.

22 May 2012

Focusing attention on population, reproductive health issues

"As representatives of the World Health Organization Member States arrive in Geneva this week for the 65th World Health Assembly, I feel a cautious optimism about the future, and the future health of Africa," Joy Phumaphi, co-chair of the Aspen Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health, writes in this post in the Huffington Post Blog.

22 May 2012

New poll explores what it's like to be sick in the United States

A poll by NPR with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health asked people to share their experiences with the health care system.

22 May 2012

7 ways for programs combating hunger to better reach women

"Through the U.S. Government's Feed the Future initiative, women are being recognized as playing a major role in tackling global hunger," guest blogger Seema Jalan, director of global development policy at Women Thrive Worldwide, writes in this post in USAID's "IMPACTblog."

22 May 2012

'Atlanta Declaration' addresses how U.S. can advance world's health

The World Affairs Council of Atlanta, CARE USA, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) last week held a conference "on how the United States, even in the midst of fiscal austerity and political division, can best advance the world's health," CSIS' "Smart Global Health" blog reports.

22 May 2012

Chicago Council on Global Affairs publishes several commentaries on food security

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs' "Global Food for Thought" blog on Sunday published several commentaries addressing food security issues.

22 May 2012

Viewpoints: A gamble on Alzheimer's research; Hidden costs of insurance rebates

The Obama administration has announced a bold research program to test whether a drug can prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease well before any symptoms appear. It is a long shot, but the payoff could be huge.

22 May 2012

Teen diabetes soars -- a sign of the obesity epidemic

Karlton Hill was only 12 years old when when he found out he had diabetes. Even though he was only in seventh grade, Karlton knew what diabetes was; he had watched the disease destroy his great-grandmother's life.

22 May 2012

Bill introduced in U.S. Senate is latest push to award prizes for new drug development

"As Washington prepares for a major international AIDS conference this summer, developments on the drug front are once again elevating the subject of the continuing epidemic in the public eye," CQ HealthBeat reports.

22 May 2012

Government-supported 'Prize Funds' would help important drugs have greater social impact

"Every year, millions of people die from preventable and treatable diseases, especially in poor countries," World Bank Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate, writes in this BusinessDay opinion piece.

22 May 2012

New research reveals effective treatments for gastrointestinal conditions

New research being presented at Digestive Disease Week- (DDW) reveals effective treatments for a number of gastrointestinal conditions, which are often chronic and costly.

22 May 2012

FDA clears Teleflex’s ARROW PICC with Chloragard technology

Teleflex Incorporated announced today that in addition to broad-spectrum antimicrobial protection, the pressure-injectable ARROW PICC with Chloragard Technology provides antithrombogenic protection for at least 30 days.

22 May 2012

Kaiser Family Foundation releases new poll examining Americans' views of U.S. support of global health

"Two-thirds of Americans say that the U.S. is spending too little or about the right amount on global health with one in five saying spending is too high, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation [KFF] survey on the public's views of global health issues" released Monday, a KFF news release reports.

22 May 2012

Medicare expenditures, quality rating system grab headlines

Kaiser Health News looks at criticisms of the government's program for rewarding higher-quality Medicare Advantage plans, while Modern Healthcare reports on a memo from the Medicare actuary that projects expenditures in the federal healthcare program.

21 May 2012

Some states taking federal funds are still hesitant about building health exchanges

Health and Human Services officials dispatched $181 million in grants to six states this week to help establish health insurance exchanges. But some state officials who are about to receive checks aren't rushing to create the new marketplaces.

21 May 2012

Two health care nonprofit co-ops receive health law loans

These two co-ops, located in Nevada and Michigan, received a total of $135 million in loans from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

21 May 2012

Deletion of 'lunatic fringe' promotes tumor formation of basal-like breast cancers

Multiple research projects - including a 2006 study conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - have used DNA microarray analysis to identify several breast cancer subtypes, including luminal A, luminal B, basal-like and HER2-enriched.

21 May 2012