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U.N.-backed campaign aims to vaccinate 111M children in 20 countries against polio over 4 days

"Some 111.1 million children below the age of five are to be vaccinated against polio in a synchronized campaign covering 20 countries in West and Central Africa starting on Friday," the WHO and UNICEF said in a joint statement on Wednesday, PANA reports.

23 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Health law's threat to individual liberty; Conflicting opinions on the constitutionality of the individual mandate

On Monday, the Supreme Court will begin an extraordinary three-day hearing on the constitutionality of ObamaCare. At stake are the Constitution's structural guarantees of individual liberty, which limit governmental power and ensure political accountability by dividing that power between federal and state authorities. Upholding ObamaCare would destroy this dual-sovereignty system, the most distinctive feature of American constitutionalism.

23 Mar 2012

No added benefit from retigabine therapy in adults with epileptic seizures

The drug retigabine was approved in March 2011 as add-on therapy for adults with epileptic seizures. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the "Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products" (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether retigabine offers an added benefit compared with the present standard therapy.

23 Mar 2012

USAID Administrator Shah addresses agency's FY13 budget proposal at House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing

Speaking Tuesday at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah said USAID's FY 2013 budget proposal "is slightly lower than last year," but that "future U.S. foreign aid investments will be more 'prioritized, focused and concentrated,'" and he "promised that U.S. aid will still be able to meet global development challenges," VOA's "Breaking News" blog reports.

23 Mar 2012

Physicians preferred over online sources for information by parents of pediatric cancer patients

Parents and adult caregivers of pediatric cancer patients prefer personal consultations with trusted health care providers over online sources for information about their child's illness, according to a University at Buffalo research study.

22 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 22, 2012

Today's headlines include examinations of the health law as it approaches its two-year anniversary and its review by the Supreme Court, as well as reports about what's next for the Ryan budget plan.

22 Mar 2012

Working together to fight TB

In this post in USAID's "IMPACTblog," guest blogger Joanna Breitstein, director of communications for the TB Alliance, describes an event organized by the Critical Paths to TB Drug Regimens that took place on Monday, "heralding the launch of a new clinical trial that tests tuberculosis drugs in combination."

22 Mar 2012

Prioritizing health for women, girls worldwide

"Africa has the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, with 48 percent of all global maternal deaths occurring in this region," Jotham Musinguzi, regional director of the Partners in Population and Development Africa Regional Office in Kampala, Uganda, writes in an Independent opinion piece.

22 Mar 2012

Symposium to focus on oral health care workforce

On March 22, during the 41st Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), held in conjunction with the 36th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, a symposium titled "Building the Oral Health Care Workforce: Multipronged Research on Dental Therapy" will take place to help attendees understand opportunities for effective utilization of new workforce models in nontraditional settings within the oral health care community.

22 Mar 2012

VOA News examines polio eradication efforts in Pakistan

VOA News examines polio vaccination efforts in Pakistan, where "authorities say national pride is now at stake for polio eradication and they are hoping to overcome years of setbacks from natural disasters, misinformation and war."

22 Mar 2012

Abortion, contraception legislative battles escalate in states

All across the country, state legislatures and governors are grappling with bills designed to limit access to abortion or contraception. In Virginia, it's affecting a U.S. Senate race.

22 Mar 2012

State roundup: Oregon's coordinated care program moves ahead

Ten thousand more employees at five city agencies have signed on to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to raise monthly health insurance premiums by $50 for employees who fail to participate in a "wellness program" to manage chronic health problems. Emanuel hopes to save $20 million in 2012 -- and $240 million over four years -- by riding herd over costly, but controllable problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and asthma.

22 Mar 2012

Experts discuss significant findings from CROI in video interview

This post in the AIDS.gov blog provides video of Ron Valdiserri, deputy assistant secretary of health for infectious diseases, interviewing Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, at the recent 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.

22 Mar 2012

Illinois winner Romney supports Ryan ideas on Medicare, Medicaid

Mitt Romney took home the win in the Illinois Primary Tuesday and expressed support for Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan that would reduce spending on Medicare and Medicaid. Rick Santorum, in the meantime, continues his quest against the health reform law.

22 Mar 2012

Health law message machine, implementation rolls on

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was in Florida Tuesday pointing out the health law's accomplishments. Meanwhile, news outlets offer implementation reports from California and Arkansas.

22 Mar 2012

Supreme Court limits patents on diagnostic medical tests

The U.S. Supreme Court put new limits on the availability of patents for diagnostic medical tests, ruling in favor of the Mayo Clinic in a case that will shape the growing field of personalized health care.

22 Mar 2012

New GOP budget triggers immediate budget battles, political reactions

News outlets report that the plan unveiled Tuesday by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., almost automatically became "the centerpiece" of the upcoming election-year discourse. The document, which was cheered by the GOP for its smaller government vision, is certain to be rejected by the Senate.

22 Mar 2012