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Investing now in early child development will have long-term benefits

Gordon Alexander, director of the office of research at UNICEF's Innocenti Research Centre, writes in this post on the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog" that a series published in Friday's Lancet on early child development (ECD) shows "that the payoff from concerted, integrated action around ECD would be enormous."

27 Sep 2011

Insurers, patients wrestle with payment, care issues and strategies

News outlets report on a variety of issues reflecting the insurance hassles patients sometimes face and the efforts by insurance companies to find profits in better-coordinated care.

27 Sep 2011

Congressional mood, 'super committee' news highlight difficulties

The New York Times reports that expectations for the deficit-reduction panel continue to drop, as the Democrats' and Republicans' respective positions on trimming entitlements and raising taxes appear to be hardening. And, in the background, The Wall Street Journal notes that another government shutdown looms as lawmakers fail to make progress in striking a deal to fund the federal branch through Nov. 18.

27 Sep 2011

U.S. commits additional funds to Clean Cookstoves initiative

On the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, the U.S. made an additional financial commitment of up to $55 million, "bringing the total United States commitment to up to $105 million in the first five years," according to a State Department press release.

27 Sep 2011

Immediate action needed to curb spread of TB, especially among children

In this post in the Huffington Posts "Impact" blog, Kolleen Bouchane, director of ACTION, an international partnership of advocates working to mobilize resources to treat and prevent the spread of tuberculosis (TB), examines the need for improved TB vaccines and diagnostics in order to curb the spread of multidrug-resistant TB, especially among children, and highlights ACTION's new report.

27 Sep 2011

Dem lawmakers, advocates push to save CLASS Act

The Hill reports that backers of this long-term care program, including congressional Democrats, say the administration can continue working on its developments using money from the health law.

27 Sep 2011

Obama administration decision could impact timing of Supreme Court ruling

The Justice Department must decide today whether to ask the full U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a 2-1 August decision declaring unconstitutional the health law's individual mandate. If it does seek the full court's review, which could take weeks or months, it will likely push back a Supreme Court ruling until 2013.

27 Sep 2011

New Banner MD Anderson center to deliver unprecedented cancer care in Arizona

Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, a unique collaboration between Banner Health and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, opens today, ushering in a new era of unprecedented cancer care in Arizona.

27 Sep 2011

GlobalPost examines country ownership in GHI Rwanda program

As part of its special report "Healing the World," GlobalPost examines country ownership within the Global Health Initiative (GHI). The news service writes that Rwandan Health Minister Agnes Binagwaho told GlobalPost that a GHI focus on gender-based violence in Rwanda was a "curious" decision, which "she said ... wasn't a priority and no one had asked her if that fit in with the national plan."

27 Sep 2011

As interest in global health rises in U.S., San Francisco stands at forefront of field

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on a growing interest in global health throughout the U.S. and how Jaime Sepulveda, who served as head of epidemiology in Mexico in the early 1980s and who took over the Global Health Sciences division at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) earlier this month, "hopes to make the Bay Area a powerhouse in research and development of global health policies worldwide."

27 Sep 2011

Medical ethics and comedy

Doctors and other medical professionals occasionally joke about their patients' problems. Some of these jokes are clearly wrong, but some joking between medical professionals is not only ethical, it can actually be beneficial, concludes an article in the Hastings Center Report.

27 Sep 2011

HIV vaccine research showing promise

Recent findings on HIV vaccine research, some presented recently at the AIDS Vaccine 2011 conference in Bangkok, "show that the science of an AIDS vaccine is vibrant and vital," Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC-Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention, writes in a "Science Speaks" guest blog post.

27 Sep 2011

Public Health Institute to receive $209.5M in 'cooperative agreement' funding from USAID

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) announced Friday that the Oakland-based Public Health Institute will receive $209.5 million in "cooperative agreement" funding from USAID, NBC/Bay City News reports.

27 Sep 2011

GOP lawmakers show no sign in letting up on controversy surrounding health reform waivers

Even though the Obama administration decision to end health law exemptions for businesses and unions has now kicked in, Republicans say they will keep up their criticism. Politico Pro explores some of the questions that still surround this waiver program.

27 Sep 2011

Health workers key to 'effective health care delivery'

In addition to "essential money," "the right policies, government commitment and citizen accountability" are needed to decrease child mortality and improve other global health indicators, "but the sine qua non for effective health care delivery is health workers. Whether it's prevention, treatment or care, it's all about health workers," Jonathan Glennie, a research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, writes in a post on the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog."

27 Sep 2011

Rush Foundation, Copenhagen Consensus Center examine how to spend hypothetical AIDS funding

In this post in the Center for Global Developments "Global Health Policy" blog, Mead Over, a senior fellow at the center, writes that the Rush Foundation has asked the Copenhagen Consensus Centre to address the question of how to spend an additional, but hypothetical, $10 billion on HIV/AIDS programs in Africa over the next five years.

27 Sep 2011

NPR: Bartering to cover health care costs

Deb Barth is raking leaves for Lesley Jones. But Barth isn't earning money for her yardwork, at least not in physical currency. She's earning "time dollars" - for every two hours she spends doing odd jobs, she'll earn a free visit with her doctor.

27 Sep 2011

Gates Foundation report for G20 supports taxing financial transaction, tobacco, fuel to aid poor

A report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that was commissioned by the G20 chair "proposes raising new funding for poorer countries by taxing financial transactions, tobacco, and shipping and aviation fuels, according to details of a G20 report obtained by Reuters," the news service reports.

27 Sep 2011

World Bank pledges $1.88B to address drought in Horn of Africa; additional funding announced at U.N. meeting, by U.S.

"The World Bank said on Saturday it was more than tripling funding to $1.88 billion for a worsening drought in Horn of Africa countries affecting more than 13 million people," Reuters reports.

27 Sep 2011

UNC CDTR aims to reduce diabetes-related health disparities

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received a $3 million, 5-year grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to establish the UNC Center for Diabetes Translation Research to Reduce Health Disparities.

27 Sep 2011