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G8 addresses developing nation economic assistance, reforming African aid, establishing farming investment, food security, climate change

Leaders of the world's five biggest developing economies (G5) - Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa - joined the G8 summit on Thursday in an effort to get international financial institutions to use their "multi-billion dollar government bailouts to help developing countries emerge from the economic crisis," AFP/Google.com reports.

9 Jul 2009

ECOSOC's agenda should include noncommunicable disease threat in developing countries

"[E]xplicit indicators to measure progress in reducing heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory diseases" are missing from the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) agenda as it meets in Geneva this week "to focus on implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to public health," and the "omission needs to be urgently addressed if the intent is to have a major impact on reducing poverty by 2015," Ala Alwan, WHO's assistant director-general for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health; George Alleyne, PAHO's director emeritus; and Martin Silink, president of the International Diabetes Federation write in an opinion piece in the Hindu.

8 Jul 2009

Climate change, hunger, economy G8 Summit top priorities; France's First Lady calls on G8 to expand on global health 'achievements'

President Barack Obama joined world leaders in Italy on Wednesday for "three days of intense talks on threats to global security and stability" at a G8 summit "where climate change, the continuing global economy crisis and world hunger got top billing," AP/Google.com reports (Babington, 7/8).

8 Jul 2009

Developed countries must address global warming to prevent disease, hunger in developing world

Pollution from the world's wealthiest countries is spreading disease and hunger in developing countries, according to a new Oxfam International report, which calls on developed countries to address global warming when G8 leaders meet in Italy, the Globe and Mail reports.

7 Jul 2009

G8 Summit begins Wednesday; WFP calls for 'twin-track' approach to food security

The G8 summit is scheduled to open Wednesday in L'Aquila, Italy. The World Food Program (WFP) on Tuesday issued a statement praising the G8 leaders' focus on food security and calling for support of its efforts to combat hunger among the world's poorest people, Xinhua reports. In the statement, WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran recommended leaders take a "twin-track" approach to food security, which includes supporting long-term agricultural production along with immediate hunger assistance.

7 Jul 2009

Lawmakers seek compromise on health overhaul proposals

Democrats and Republicans are saying that they will need to compromise on a government-run public plan if they are to meet the deadline of having a bill on the Senate floor by the August recess, The Associated Press reports.

7 Jul 2009

Minnesota clinics serving many more thanks to stimulus dollars

As Minnesota braces for some cuts to public health programs, the state's network of community health centers is being buoyed by money from the federal stimulus that will expand coverage to the un- and underinsured in that state, The Minnesota Post reports.

7 Jul 2009

World poverty gains reduced, countries unlikely to achieve most MDGs, U.N. report says

The global economic downturn has "reversed a 20-year decline in world poverty" and could "add up to 90 million to the ranks of the hungry in 2009, an increase of six percent over current totals," according to a U.N. report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched in Geneva on Monday, Reuters reports (Evans, 7/6).

7 Jul 2009

Finance Committee Senators: Reform bill trimmed to less than $1 trillion

Some senators on the Finance Committee said Thursday they've moved closer to cutting their health reform bill's cost to under $1 trillion.

29 Jun 2009

Recent trends in breast cancer incidence in U.S. white women by urban/rural and poverty status

The recent decline in invasive breast cancer in the US was significantly less pronounced in the poor and those who live in rural areas. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medicine suggest this may be due to varying reductions in the numbers of women taking hormone therapy (HT).

28 Jun 2009

Counting of uninsured Americans a difficult task

Estimates of the total number of uninsured Americans may be based on "faulty assumptions" that are "inflating the projections," The Wall Street Journal says in its "Numbers Guy" blog.

25 Jun 2009

Namibia close to reaching some MDGs

Namibia's recently released second MDG Report 2008 finds that the country is making progress toward achieving some of the U.N. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets. However, the Prime Minister says the global economic situation could reverse progress and notes that the country is behind on some health-related targets, New Era reports.

24 Jun 2009

Swine flu tally has U.S. top and Australia 6th

The latest update, # 52, from the World Health Organisation on the influenza A H1N1 pandemic (swine flu), says as of the 22nd of June the grand total of those infected is now 52,160 including 231 deaths.

23 Jun 2009

Some Governors oppose Medicaid expansion proposals

"Some governors are pushing to scale back or kill proposals to expand Medicaid to provide health-care coverage to the uninsured, raising a new challenge to President Barack Obama's effort to overhaul the system," The Wall Street Journal reports.

23 Jun 2009

H1N1 spread continues worldwide; first death in Asia confirmed

The H1N1 (swine flu) virus has now infected more than 52,000 people, leaving 231 dead, the WHO said Monday, AFP/Washington Post reports.

23 Jun 2009

Children in Afghanistan suffering from post traumatic stress

Children who live in Afghanistan are particularly affected every day by a multitude of war time stressors which increase the likelihood of developing PTSD: trauma, child labor, and family and military violence. On a daily basis they are first-hand witnesses to the bombings, abuse, and the general upheaval of their home life and society as a result of war, including the effects of long-term poverty and familial turmoil.

23 Jun 2009

House Democrats push their health reform plan

House Democrats' health care bill draft released Friday is likely to survive relatively intact, "including a robust new Medicare-like public health plan that would compete with private companies in a national health insurance exchange," Roll Call reports.

22 Jun 2009

U.N. calls for increased commitment to help vulnerable countries prepare for natural disaster

Instead of responding to natural disasters after they happen, aid should be dedicated to helping countries prepare for future disasters, John Holmes, the U.N.'s emergency relief coordinator, said Friday, Reuters reports.

22 Jun 2009

House reform outline includes public insurance option

"House Democrats released the outline of their health care reform bill Friday - a proposal that would create a public insurance option, expand Medicaid, and require employers to provide coverage or pay a tax," Politico reports. "The outline did not include details on how Democrats would pay for the plan."

21 Jun 2009

Finance Committee seeks to trim cost of bill

"A draft proposal in the Senate to overhaul the nation's health-care system would require most people to buy health insurance, authorize an expansion of Medicaid coverage and create consumer-owned cooperative plans instead of the government coverage that President Obama is seeking," the Washington Post reports.

21 Jun 2009

Poverty News and Research

G8 addresses developing nation economic assistance, reforming African aid, establishing farming investment, food security, climate change

ECOSOC's agenda should include noncommunicable disease threat in developing countries

Climate change, hunger, economy G8 Summit top priorities; France's First Lady calls on G8 to expand on global health 'achievements'

Developed countries must address global warming to prevent disease, hunger in developing world

G8 Summit begins Wednesday; WFP calls for 'twin-track' approach to food security

Lawmakers seek compromise on health overhaul proposals

Minnesota clinics serving many more thanks to stimulus dollars

World poverty gains reduced, countries unlikely to achieve most MDGs, U.N. report says

Finance Committee Senators: Reform bill trimmed to less than $1 trillion

Recent trends in breast cancer incidence in U.S. white women by urban/rural and poverty status

Counting of uninsured Americans a difficult task

Namibia close to reaching some MDGs

Swine flu tally has U.S. top and Australia 6th

Some Governors oppose Medicaid expansion proposals

H1N1 spread continues worldwide; first death in Asia confirmed

Children in Afghanistan suffering from post traumatic stress

House Democrats push their health reform plan

U.N. calls for increased commitment to help vulnerable countries prepare for natural disaster

House reform outline includes public insurance option

Finance Committee seeks to trim cost of bill

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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