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House Foreign Affairs Committee approves bill to withhold up to half of U.S. funding to U.N.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday approved legislation (HR 2829) that would withhold up to half of non-voluntary U.S. contributions to the United Nations "if, in two years, the United Nations is not collecting 80 percent of its regular budget in voluntary contributions," Agence France-Presse reports.

18 Oct 2011

Rural women need same access to resources as men to help increase food production, Ban says

"Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on the international community to give rural women the same access to productive resources as men, noting the huge benefits that would ensue, from increased food production to a drop of 150 million in the number of the world's hungry people," the U.N. News Centre reports.

18 Oct 2011

Politicizing undernutrition critical to tackling major global problem

In this post in the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog," Lawrence Haddad, director of the Institute of Development Studies, writes, "We must politicize undernutrition, which is still a major global problem, so that it gets the attention it deserves." He adds, "Three key elements of governance are critical to tackling undernutrition: capacity, accountability and responsiveness."

18 Oct 2011

Single approach to tackling NCDs, NTDs includes improving governance, strengthening health systems

In this "End the Neglect" blog post, Alanna Shaikh, a writer for U.N. Dispatch, follows up on her previous post in which she asserts that "there is a single approach that will help to fight both" non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), writing that in order to tackle both types of diseases "we can improve governance and we can strengthen health systems."

18 Oct 2011

Movement to end female genital cutting spreads through Senegal

The New York Times reports on a growing movement in Senegal to end female genital cutting, which was officially banned in the nation more than a decade ago. "The change is happening without the billions of dollars that have poured into other global health priorities throughout the developing world in recent years," the newspaper writes.

18 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: Class Act's effect on health law; new prescriptions for Medicare; food marketing to kids

Now that one of ObamaCare's major new benefit programs has been scrapped, liberals are trying to make stone soup by claiming that the Obama Administration merely committed an act of "good government." They claim that when this long-term care insurance program proved to be unworkable, the Administration conceded as much, and now it's gone. So let's review the evidence, not least because it so perfectly illustrates the recklessness that produced the Affordable Care Act.

18 Oct 2011

Most technoelectric dependent children not prepared for power failure

Children dependent on electrically powered medical devices for life support and maintenance are vulnerable to an unexpected loss of power - and their parents are ill-prepared to deal with it, according to an abstract presented Sunday, Oct. 16, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in Boston.

18 Oct 2011

African-American or Hispanic children less likely to receive CT scans after head trauma

White children are far more likely to receive cranial computed tomography (CT) scans in an emergency department following minor head trauma than are African-American or Hispanic children, a study by researchers at UC Davis has found.

18 Oct 2011

Roundup: Many who swarmed LA free clinic last year are still without health care; Texas Planned Parenthood clinic struggles

They came with rotting teeth, shattered glasses and broken bodies. In the predawn darkness outside the Los Angeles Sports Arena, they lined up last year by the thousands, waiting as the sun burned their backs for healthcare they could not afford. Many needed more than the volunteer doctors and dentists at the Remote Area Medical clinic could give. When the glasses ran out, they settled for eye exams. Instead of root canals, they got teeth pulled. They pointed to the holes in their smiles with relief. At least the pain had stopped.

18 Oct 2011

Health, medicine used by Israel as 'instrument of control' over Palestinian people

In this Lancet opinion piece, Ruchama Marton, president and founder of Physicians for Human Rights – Israel writes, "Everything one can say about the health-care system in Palestine was summed up by the physician and political leader Haidar Abdel-Shafi … in September, 1993. He said: 'We cannot take care of health and education as long as we live under occupation.'"

15 Oct 2011

Founder of Every Mother Counts to address AAP National Conference

Fashion model and Global Maternal Health Advocate Christy Turlington Burns will speak at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on International Child Health meeting at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition in Boston on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 4:15-5 p.m. ET.

15 Oct 2011

AAP President to outline efforts to advance agenda for children

O. Marion Burton, MD, FAAP, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) will address attendees at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday,Oct. 15, 2011, at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition in Boston.

15 Oct 2011

Meridian Health joins Michelle Obama's Let's Jump! challenge

Meridian Health, a leading New Jersey health care organization, is helping Michelle Obama and National Geographic Kids magazine set the Guinness World Record title for the most jumping jacks in a 24-hour period.

15 Oct 2011

National Health Service Corp. nearly triples in size, according to HHS

Funding from the health care law and the 2009 stimulus bill helped drive the increase in the loan-repayment and scholarship program, which grew from about 3,600 clinicians in 2008 to more than 10,000 this year.

15 Oct 2011

CDC report lays out 'lessons learned' from Haiti's cholera outbreak

"Cholera cases have risen in Haiti, but the number dying from the disease is down, according to researchers from the [CDC]," CNN's health blog "The Chart" reports. Robert Tauxe, researcher and deputy director at CDC said, "The number of deaths was initially way too high. But within a few weeks of the outbreak, we trained teams to treat the disease and increased access to supplies," according to the blog.

15 Oct 2011

Uninsured rates, impact of malpractice award limits in Perry's Texas

Texas Gov. Rick Perry takes the media hot seat today as news outlets examine his state's uninsured rate, the success of Texas' malpractice award limits and the GOP hopeful's claims about rival Mitt Romney's health plan.

15 Oct 2011

Sebelius on the CLASS Act: 'I do not see a viable path forward'

The Obama administration has decided to halt plans to implement the long-term care program in the 2010 health care law after determining that financing mechanisms were not sufficient.

15 Oct 2011

Preparing for future disasters 'saves lives, property and money'

In this post in USAID's "IMPACTblog," Kasey Channell, the acting director of the Disaster Response Team for USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, reports on the importance of preparing for future disasters as the world observed International Day for Disaster Reduction on Thursday, writing Before the next disaster hits, now is the time to recommit to making smart investments that save lives, property, and money.

15 Oct 2011

Blue Shield of Calif. adds additional $283 million to policyholder 'giveback'

Blue Shield of California says it will give customers in the state a $283-million credit on their insurance premiums, saying it is fulfilling a promise to return money to policyholders when its net income exceeds 2 percent of revenue.

15 Oct 2011

Panel gets earful of advice on taming the federal deficit

Among the messages to the super committee members: caution. Meanwhile, Democratic governors expressed fears about deep cuts in federal aid to their states, especially regarding Medicaid and other entitlement programs. Hospital advocacy groups also carried a similar message about treading lightly in regard to trimming Medicaid funding.

15 Oct 2011