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Researchers, politicians gather in London for Global Health Policy Summit

Medical researchers, politicians, and policymakers gathered at a Global Health Policy Summit in London Wednesday "to champion innovative solutions to the world's major health problems," Imperial College London reports in an article, which notes the summit, "the first event of its kind, is the result of a partnership between Imperial College London and the Qatar Foundation for education, science and community development" and "will tackle maternal health, primary care, non-infectious diseases and aging societies".

3 Aug 2012

IRIN examines conditional cash transfer program aimed at improving maternal health in the Philippines

"A nationwide conditional cash transfer program in the Philippines is slowly improving maternal health, but more is needed to reverse the climbing maternal mortality ratio, say women's groups," IRIN reports.

3 Aug 2012

U.N. SG Ban names 26 members to high-level advisory panel for development agenda

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday "announced the members of a High-level Panel to advise on the global development agenda beyond 2015, the target date for achieving the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)," the U.N. News Centre reports.

2 Aug 2012

Access to quality health care, political will essential for continued progress in reducing maternal mortality

In this Daily Beast opinion piece, Sarah Brown, an adjunct professor at the Institute for Global Health Innovations at Imperial College in London and global patron of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, and Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, head of obstetrics and gynecology and deputy head of clinical sciences at St. George's University of London, highlight the Global Health Policy Summit scheduled to take place in London on Wednesday.

2 Aug 2012

Families abandon women who suffered spinal injuries in Pakistan earthquake

Women who suffered spinal injuries in the 2005 Pakistan earthquake continued to endure hardships years later, including abandonment by spouses and families, according to new research from the University of Alberta.

27 Jul 2012

Views on AIDS: The benefits of male circumcision; A more optimistic battle; The need to focus on high-impact prevention strategies

A selection of editorials and op-eds from around the country that focus on the campaign to eradicate HIV.

25 Jul 2012

Associated Press examines HIV/AIDS in Uganda, effects of PEPFAR funding

The Associated Press on Saturday examined the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Uganda, where "[a] new government report says the prevalence of HIV in this East African nation increased from 6.4 percent in 2004 to 7.3 percent in 2011, a shocking statistic for a country once praised for its global leadership in controlling AIDS."

24 Jul 2012

U.S. government, World Bank launch initiatives to collect more, better data on women worldwide

"The World Bank and U.S. government on Thursday each announced major new initiatives aimed at expanding knowledge on the experience of women around the world, while acknowledging that much remains to be done on filling the global 'data gap' on women," Inter Press Service reports.

21 Jul 2012

VOA examines maternal mortality in South Sudan one year after independence

"A year after independence, South Sudan is still battling a lack of staff and resources as it tries to end its distinction of having the highest maternal mortality rate in the world," VOA News reports.

18 Jul 2012

Gates Foundation's efforts to improve access to contraceptives will improve health, lives of women, children

"Supporters of women's health ought to cheer the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's plan" to provide $1 billion over eight years to increasing women's access to contraceptives and family planning services because the "effort underscores the critical role of family planning in the international battle to reduce poverty and improve maternal health," a Seattle Times editorial states.

17 Jul 2012

Blog posts address London Summit on Family Planning

On World Population Day, observed on Wednesday, July 11, the U.K. Government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation co-hosted the London Summit on Family Planning. The following are summaries of blog posts addressing the summit.

13 Jul 2012

Satisfying unmet need for contraception could reduce maternal deaths by 30%

New research published as part of The Lancet Series on family planning provides startling new estimates of the effect that contraceptive use has on the number of mothers who die every year, suggesting that satisfying the global unmet need for contraception of women who want to limit or space their pregnancies but are not using contraception could reduce maternal deaths by 30%, saving around 104000 lives per year.

10 Jul 2012

Family planning is central to global development according to new evidence in the Lancet

Increasing access to family planning will play a central role in achieving UN targets for maternal health, eradication of poverty, education, and gender equality, according to a major new Series on Family Planning published today by The Lancet.

10 Jul 2012

Childbearing may reduce mortality in later life

All-cause mortality rates fall progressively among women aged 60–76 years the more children they have borne, show Australian study results.

9 Jul 2012

Indonesia must work to empower women in order to improve maternal health standards

Though Indonesia is "widely seen as a development success story -- indeed, it is sometimes referred to as one of Asia's 'rising powers' ... in the area of maternal health, the successes have been modest and much remains to be done," Andrew Rosser, associate director of the Indo-Pacific Governance Research Centre at the University of Adelaide, writes in an Inside Indonesia opinion piece.

4 Jul 2012

Annual report on MDGs shows success in some areas, but continued lack of progress in other areas, including maternal health

"An annual report card on the ambitious U.N.-led initiative known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) says that in three areas -- poverty, slums and water -- the goals have been met ahead of the 2015 deadline, but persistent gaps remain, notably in the critical area of maternal health," Inter Press Service reports.

4 Jul 2012

International observers hopeful about Malawian President Banda's agenda for maternal health

"Any new president has a vast array of items on his or her agenda, but newly inaugurated Malawian President Joyce Hilda Banda has elevated a praise-worthy agenda for maternal health at the very outset of her time in office," Alisha Kramer, a research assistant at the Center For Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) Global Health Policy Center, writes in this post in the center's "Smart Global Health" blog.

26 Jun 2012

Family planning summit should address range of influences on maternal health

In this post on RH Reality Check, Marianne Mollmann, senior policy adviser with Amnesty International, addresses an upcoming summit in London on family planning funding, which is being co-hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.K. Department for International Development and supported by USAID and UNFPA.

25 Jun 2012

London family planning summit 'must be about enabling women to choose'

"As the London family planning summit looms closer, the debate begins over how much money is needed, what it should pay for and whether the fundamentally important issues of women's reproductive rights will be addressed," Sarah Boseley, health editor of the Guardian, writes in her "Global Health Blog."

22 Jun 2012

Researchers outline strategy and benchmarks to curb childhood preventable deaths

Preventable childhood deaths caused by illnesses such as pneumonia and diarrhea can be nearly eliminated in 10 years according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the National Institutes of Health. In a new commentary featured in the June issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers outline a strategy and benchmarks for curbing childhood preventable deaths and recommend a new common vision for a global commitment to end all preventable child deaths.

15 Jun 2012