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Obama attacks GOP budget on Medicare changes, entitlement spending cuts

In what has been described as a searing speech, President Barack Obama charged that the GOP budget would end Medicare "as we know it," and included GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney in his criticisms.

4 Apr 2012

India must focus on food supply chain to improve malnutrition rates

The cause of malnutrition in India -- which "results in a loss of productivity, indirect losses from impaired cognitive development, and losses from increased long-term health care costs" -- is "not so much a lack of nutrient-rich food, but rather a weakness in the food supply chain," William Thomson, a research assistant at the U.S. Naval War College, writes in an opinion piece in The Diplomat.

4 Apr 2012

Haitian cholera epidemic no place for 'good-guy/bad-guy distinctions'

In this Reuters opinion piece, finance blogger Felix Salmon responds to a New York Times (NYT) article published on Monday in which journalist Deborah Sontag examines the global response to Haiti's cholera epidemic.

4 Apr 2012

Norway study raises new U.S. mammogram overdiagnosis questions

An analysis showing significant mammogram overdiagnosis in Norway has raised new questions about mammograms in the U.S., where some say the overdiagnosis problem could be more rampant because of how early most women begin getting them.

4 Apr 2012

Obama confident the health law will be upheld

In his first public comments about the law since last week's Supreme Court oral arguments, President Barack Obama not only defended the measure and maintained confidence that it would not be overturned, but he also offered warnings against judicial activism.

4 Apr 2012

IPS examines efforts to end FGM in Liberia

Inter Press Service examines efforts to end female genital mutilation (FGM) in Liberia. "Through cooperative efforts with traditional leaders, the government of Liberia is quietly moving to ... bring an end to female genital cutting in Liberia," IPS writes.

4 Apr 2012

Health law action at the high court takes a political toll

Findings from a new poll indicate that the public felt less favorable about both the health law and the Supreme Court after last week's oral arguments.

4 Apr 2012

New County Health Rankings released

Researchers found distinct regional patterns: They reported that excessive drinking rates were highest in the Northern states, while rates of teen births, sexually transmitted infections and children in poverty were highest in the South.

4 Apr 2012

Improved access to family planning in Africa will lead to economic development

Melinda Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation writes in an opinion piece in Nigeria's Vanguard, "My top priority as a co-chair of the foundation I run with my husband is making sure that all families have access to safe and effective contraception tools that empower them to make a decision about what's best for them and their family. And that means encouraging aid donors and governments here in Nigeria and across Africa to make family planning a priority."

4 Apr 2012

NIDA to showcase PEERx teen initiative at National RX Drug Abuse Summit

A unique, new campaign targeting teens will be on exhibit at the first national summit addressing the prescription drug abuse epidemic. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will showcase "PEERx," a NIDA initiative that uses interactive videos and other tools to educate teens about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and help them to spread the word.

4 Apr 2012

Advocates for Youth report examines youth policies within PEPFAR

A new report from Advocates for Youth "analyzes youth policies within the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), including its legislative authority, most recent five-year strategy, relevant guidance documents, and all 21 currently available PEPFAR country Partnership Frameworks."

4 Apr 2012

Oral arguments showcased justices' personalities

The New York Times reports that last week's action at the Supreme Court gave the public an in-depth view of the insitution and the justices. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that, in a recent speech, Justice Sonia Sotomayor didn't give any hints about what the high court will do on the health law question.

4 Apr 2012

Ryan budget plan draws tough talk from Obama while insurers keep their distance

President Barack Obama offers sharp critcism of the GOP budget plan, which passed the House on a near-party-line vote last week and which has been embraced by GOP presidential hopefuls. Although the plan, written by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., would greatly expand the role of private insurers in Medicare, the insurance industry has been mostly silent as well.

4 Apr 2012

White House, FDA often experience internal clashes

The internal clashes over F.D.A. policy played out against a broader backdrop of regulatory politics. Republicans have made the charge that Mr. Obama is an overzealous and job-killing regulator - a central element of their case against his re-election. And on issues from clean air to investor protections, the White House has been carefully calibrating its election season positions.

4 Apr 2012

New initiative aims to strengthen regulatory capacity, systems for delivery of medicines in Africa

"The need to ensure that people in Africa have access to essential, high quality, safe and affordable medicines has just received a major boost with the launch of the East African Community (EAC) Medicines Registration Harmonization Project in Arusha, Tanzania, on 30 March 2011," UNAIDS reports in a feature story on its website.

4 Apr 2012

International community urging Sudanese government to open humanitarian access to Southern areas

Officials from the U.S., African Union and the international community "are working with Sudan's government to open humanitarian access to" the country's Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states, where refugees "fleeing fighting between local militia and government troops" have gathered and are in need of food aid, VOA News reports.

4 Apr 2012

UNICEF launches social media campaign to raise awareness of malnutrition among children in Sahel region

UNICEF on Tuesday launched a social media campaign "to raise awareness about children in the Sahel region in northern Africa who are in urgent need of food aid," CNN reports.

4 Apr 2012

IOM releases summary of workshop on country-level decision making for controlling chronic diseases

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (IOM) on Monday released a summary of a workshop, titled "Country-Level Decision Making for Control of Chronic Diseases."

4 Apr 2012

Discussion of NSABB recommendation to publish controversial bird flu studies to continue in London meeting

The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity's (NSABB) "reversal on publishing two controversial H5N1 studies is poised to shift discussions on the topic that continue in London this week, as more participants in the debate weigh in following the March 30 announcement," CIDRAP News reports.

4 Apr 2012

Nine physician organizations identify specific tests or procedures that may be unnecessary

Nine leading physician specialty societies have identified specific tests or procedures that they say are commonly used but not always necessary in their respective fields. Patient advocates are calling the move a significant step toward improving the quality and safety of health care.

4 Apr 2012