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Five food security priorities for the G20

Olivier De Schutter, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, outlines five priorities for G20 leaders to endorse at the upcoming summit in a Guardian "Poverty Matters Blog" post.

18 Jun 2011

Longer looks: Turning doctors' views of alternative therapies; a male birth control pill; teenagers and tanning beds

Medicine has long decried acupuncture, homeopathy, and the like as dangerous nonsense that preys on the gullible. Again and again, carefully controlled studies have shown alternative medicine to work no better than a placebo. But now many doctors admit that alternative medicine often seems to do a better job of making patients well, and at a much lower cost, than mainstream care — and they're trying to learn from it.

18 Jun 2011

Civil society must have voice in future of MDGs

"There are three main options on the table" about what to do after the Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015, Leo Williams, chair of Beyond 2015, an international campaign that aims to "ensure that the process of developing a development framework is participatory, inclusive and responsive to those directly affected by poverty and injustice," writes in a post on the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog."

18 Jun 2011

Research roundup: Kids on Medicaid have trouble seeing a specialist; safety in outpatient facilities; community health center patients linking to electronic health care

In this study, researchers posing as parents sought specialty care for children in Cook County, Ill., to examine access opportunities for families on Medicaid. They found a major disparity between children with public insurance versus private insurance -- 66 percent of the callers saying the children were insured by Medicaid were denied an appointment, compared to 11 percent with a private plan.

18 Jun 2011

White House focuses on prevention with release of national strategy

Described as a way to improve the nation's prosperity, the Obama administration announced a sweeping plan to emphasize health promotion and disease prevention for all walks of life.

17 Jun 2011

Lawmakers draw lines, offer views on Medicare

Senate Democrats argue that the best way to find savings in Medicare is to build on the program changes that were included in the health law. Meanwhile, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., says he is open to Medicare changes that would leave the traditional program intact as an option for seniors in the future.

17 Jun 2011

Pawlenty aims verbal barb at Romney

On Thursday, GOP presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty called rival Mitt Romney a "co-conspirator" in the federal health overhaul. He also repeated his call for repealing the measure, and maintained that, when he was governor, he handled health reform "the right way."

17 Jun 2011

UK should continue to provide aid to India, parliamentary report says

Despite enormous economic gains over the past 25 years, Britain should continue to provide aid to India until 2015 to ensure the country meets the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a cross-party report published by the House of Commons international development committee on Tuesday, the Guardian reports.

17 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 17, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about how health entitlement programs are faring in the ongoing deficit-reduction negotiations.

17 Jun 2011

U.S. government's GAVI pledge took 'trade-offs' in global health portfolio

"Investments in vaccines are one of the best and most cost-effective life-saving investments for the world's children, which is why we've made tough choices and trade-offs within our current global health portfolio to make this commitment"

17 Jun 2011

Sarkozy calls for G20 agriculture ministers to establish farm database

"French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged G20 agriculture ministers to agree at talks in Paris next week on a farm database that would gather and store market-sensitive information such as food stocks," Reuters reports.

17 Jun 2011

U.S. food aid policies must be streamlined to prevent a food security crisis

Feed the Future programs "will indeed address hunger at its core, offering farmers the tools and opportunity they need to feed their families. ... But on the other side of town we've deepened our investments in policies that increase food insecurity.

17 Jun 2011

Health care in the U.S. must focus primarily on disease prevention: Surgeon General

U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin said Monday that health care in the United States must shift its primary focus to disease prevention rather than the treatment of illness.

17 Jun 2011

Physician payment, home health out-of-pocket costs grab headlines

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's latest report casts the challenges surrounding Medicare physician payment as an "opportunity" to hasten needed reform. Additionally, an analysis by Avalere Health measures the impact of a proposal for home health co-payments.

17 Jun 2011

Joint venture to manufacture and distribute tenofovir gel in Africa

CONRAD and the South African Government's Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) on Tuesday announced a license agreement that grants TIA the rights to manufacture and distribute tenofovir gel in Africa, according to a CONRAD statement.

17 Jun 2011

ECCHC, Kool Smiles open new dental office in East Chicago

East Chicago residents will soon have something new to smile about. Kool Smiles, a leading dental health provider dedicated to expanding access to quality dental care for children and families in underserved communities, is opening a new office in East Chicago in partnership with the East Chicago Community Health Center.

17 Jun 2011

Federal health law implementation drives state policy debates

Examples of implementation activity at the state level stem from preparations underway for health insurance exchanges.

17 Jun 2011

U.S. to provide additional $7.5M in humanitarian aid for Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia

The U.S. will provide an additional $7.5 million in humanitarian assistance for refugees and internally displaced persons in Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia, according to a statement from the State Department on Wednesday, RTTNews reports.

17 Jun 2011

Wall Street Journal examines business schools' focus on health care

The Wall Street Journal examines how some top business schools are tailoring their programs to students who are interested in the health care industry, "which promises to grow as populations age and those in developing countries demand access to the latest treatments."

17 Jun 2011

GOP governors continue push for Medicaid flexibility as part of debt-cutting deal

These Republican officials argue that as federal funding for Medicaid has expanded, so has federal control. Their argument to include the measure in debt-ceiling legislation is raising concern among some Medicaid advocates.

17 Jun 2011