Global Health News and Research

RSS

U.S. health system 'ill-prepared' to deal with major radiation event, Washington Post reports

The U.S. health system is "ill-prepared to cope with a catastrophic release of radiation, despite years of focus on the possibility of a terrorist 'dirty bomb' or an improvised nuclear device attack," according to U.S. officials, the Washington Post reports.

11 Apr 2011

Opinions: Budget talks, foreign aid; making drugs more accessible to poor

"If the federal government shuts down at midnight on Friday - which seems likely unless negotiations take a sudden turn toward rationality - it will not be because of disagreements over spending. It will be because Republicans are refusing to budge on these ideological demands," argues a New York Times editorial, highlighting issues such as "foreign aid to countries that might use the money for abortion or family planning ... aid to the United Nations Population Fund, which supports family-planning services."

11 Apr 2011

German government, Gates Foundation sign agreement to provide funding for GAVI Alliance

The German government on Wednesday said it would provide an extra 14 million euros or about $19.9 million "for child immunization in the developing world as part of an agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation," the Associated Press reports (4/6).

8 Apr 2011

Democratic Congresswoman highlights threat climate change poses to public health

Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) "called climate change a bigger public health threat than AIDS, malaria and pandemic flu" before a vote on Wednesday on a bill aimed at thwarting Environmental Protection Agency climate regulations, The Hill's "E2-Wire" blog reports.

8 Apr 2011

Opinions: Support antibiotic R&D; foreign aid budget cuts

"The framework for antibiotic discovery, development and approval is broken," Matthew Cooper of the University of Queensland and David Shales, former vice president at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, write in a Nature comment, calling for "a sustained effort from government and industry to develop new drugs quickly."

8 Apr 2011

Cisco survey of global health leaders: Collaboration key to health sector innovation

Today at the World Health Congress, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) unveiled findings from a global health leader survey on national health sector innovation. The most significant findings from the online survey, commissioned by the Cisco® Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) and conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI), reveal that collaboration and information-sharing among health professionals have the greatest near-term potential for facilitating large-scale health sector innovation.

7 Apr 2011

Superbugs and antibiotic resistance

Health experts come together today (Thursday) to warn that a new form of superbug that gives bacteria the power to resist virtually all known antibiotics is spreading quickly, posing a global health disaster. It is called New Delhi metallobeta-lactamase, or NDM-1 for short. This enzyme destroys carbapenems, an important group of antibiotics used for difficult infections in hospitals, and has been found in a wide variety of bacterial types. British researchers last August reported that infections involving NDM-1 had been found in patients in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Britain.

6 Apr 2011

Heart patients share perspectives on deactivation, donation and reuse of ICD devices

Each year, more than 100,000 patients in the U.S. undergo implantation of a new implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for heart rhythm abnormalities. This number constitutes a 20-fold increase over the last 15 years. Current medical guidelines advocate discussion of end of life care of these medical devices, including deactivation, but many patients may not understand their options.

6 Apr 2011

Study: Hookah use may spread among youth in the U.S.

An alternative and harmful form of tobacco use, known as the hookah or water pipe, may be spreading among youth in the United States according to researchers from the University of California, San Diego's Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and San Diego State University. This trend is emerging even as cigarette smoking among high school students is on the decline nationally.

6 Apr 2011

Bill Gates travels to Europe to promote global health investments

Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is in Europe this week "in an effort to persuade Europeans not to cut aid budgets in the face of austerity - and in particular not to reduce spending on vaccinations and agriculture," the Wall Street Journal reports.

6 Apr 2011

Opinions: Africa's agricultural sector; foreign aid funding

"There is no doubt that Africa is on the move … But if African countries are to achieve the new future within their grasp, then there needs to be a new focus on the daunting obstacles still to be overcome. … High among these challenges is the need to transform the continent's agriculture," former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan writes in a BusinessDay opinion piece reflecting on the challenges facing Africa's agricultural system and the opportunities to respond to the growing food demands.

5 Apr 2011

All Children's Hospital joins Johns Hopkins Medicine

All Children's Hospital, in St. Petersburg, Fla., is now a part of the Johns Hopkins Health System (JHHS) and a fully integrated member of Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM). All Children's is the first U.S. hospital outside of the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., region to become integrated with JHM, which includes the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System.

4 Apr 2011

Eli Lilly to launch Connecting Hearts Abroad program

Eli Lilly and Company's new global service program, Connecting Hearts Abroad, is set to launch. Through the program, the company is sending 200 Lilly Ambassadors to assist people and communities that often lack basic resources.

2 Apr 2011

Recent releases in Global Health

A Lancet Infectious Diseases editorial describes the growing public concerns over a global rise in antimicrobial resistance. "Bearing in mind that our objective is to contain antibiotic resistance rather than eradicate it, several policies could be adopted to help guarantee a future for antibiotics," the editorial states, adding, "We need reliable data to tackle antibiotic resistance.

2 Apr 2011

USAID Administrator testifies before State, Foreign Ops subcommittee about FY12 budget, expresses concerns about FY11 budget cuts

In a hearing regarding the FY12 budget before the House Appropriations State and Foreign Operations subcommittee earlier this week, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah highlighted the possible impact of the FY11 budget cuts currently being debated in Congress, Foreign Policy's "The Cable" blog reports.

1 Apr 2011

Symposium to discuss about healthcare reform issues in the U.S. and China

More than 250 leaders from Chinese and U.S. academic and governmental institutions will gather April 10-12, 2011 at Emory University to examine and compare healthcare reform in the two countries, focusing on cost, quality and access to care.

1 Apr 2011

Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine create Texas Children's Center for Global Health

Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) today announced the creation of the Texas Children's Center for Global Health and the appointment of renowned physician-scientist Dr. Russell E. Ware as director.

31 Mar 2011

International experts meet to focus on impact of vaccines on global health at a time of public scepticism and complacency

International experts gather in Prague today for a three day meeting focused on the impact of vaccines on public health, at a time of increasing concern that public scepticism and complacency could undermine the positive impact of current and future vaccine campaigns.

31 Mar 2011

UC San Diego student to make medical imaging available in low-income countries

Benjamin Johnson, a fourth-year student at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine is determined to make medical imaging technology widely available in low-income countries. His journey started in Uganda, where currently just 35 local radiologists serve the needs of 30 million people.

29 Mar 2011

Nordion presents TheraSphere Phase II trial results against liver metastases at SIR meeting

Nordion Inc., a leading provider of products and services to the global health science market, today shared results from the first multi-site, Phase II clinical trial to evaluate TheraSphere® for treatment of metastatic liver cancer.

29 Mar 2011

Global Health News and Research

U.S. health system 'ill-prepared' to deal with major radiation event, Washington Post reports

Opinions: Budget talks, foreign aid; making drugs more accessible to poor

German government, Gates Foundation sign agreement to provide funding for GAVI Alliance

Democratic Congresswoman highlights threat climate change poses to public health

Opinions: Support antibiotic R&D; foreign aid budget cuts

Cisco survey of global health leaders: Collaboration key to health sector innovation

Superbugs and antibiotic resistance

Heart patients share perspectives on deactivation, donation and reuse of ICD devices

Study: Hookah use may spread among youth in the U.S.

Bill Gates travels to Europe to promote global health investments

Opinions: Africa's agricultural sector; foreign aid funding

All Children's Hospital joins Johns Hopkins Medicine

Eli Lilly to launch Connecting Hearts Abroad program

Recent releases in Global Health

USAID Administrator testifies before State, Foreign Ops subcommittee about FY12 budget, expresses concerns about FY11 budget cuts

Symposium to discuss about healthcare reform issues in the U.S. and China

Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine create Texas Children's Center for Global Health

International experts meet to focus on impact of vaccines on global health at a time of public scepticism and complacency

UC San Diego student to make medical imaging available in low-income countries

Nordion presents TheraSphere Phase II trial results against liver metastases at SIR meeting

Industry Focus eBook - Forensics & toxicology (2nd edition) eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Latest News