Global Health News and Research

RSS

Opinions: U.S. commitment to Global Fund; Innovative financing; Global food security; Aid for Pakistan

A Times of Trenton editorial looks at the work of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which is "estimated to have already saved 5 million lives, enables programs that prevent and treat infections, eliminate the transmission of HIV from pregnant women to their unborn children, contain the threat of multidrug-resistant TB, and eliminate malaria as a public health problem."

9 Sep 2010

Experts gathered for UNAIDS, WHO meeting recommend follow-up studies of ARV-containing microbicide gel start soon

Experts gathered at a joint meeting of UNAIDS and the WHO last week called for two additional clinical trials to test the effectiveness and safety of a microbicide vaginal gel containing the antiretroviral tenofovir, which previous studies have shown reduces the risk of HIV transmission in women who used it before and after sex by 39 percent, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports (9/5).

8 Sep 2010

Also in Global Health News: India's antibiotic use; Abstinence curriculum in China; Child, maternal health in India; Plumpy'nut; PEPFAR funds to Uganda

"The health ministry has formed a committee to frame a policy for antibiotic use, following an uproar over a Lancet study that traced a drug-resistant bacterial superbug's origins to India," LiveMint.com reports. The panel will also look into the "excessive use of antibiotics among Indians," partly fueled by self-medication, that has increased resistance to the drugs. The article notes that the Indian government "rejected the findings of the report" but has "taken note of a lack of policy on antibiotics" (Pandeya, 9/3).

7 Sep 2010

VOA News examines U.S. Global Health Initiative

VOA News examines President Barack Obama's $63 billion Global Health Initiative (GHI), noting the initiative's emphasis on cost-effective strategies to improve child- and maternal-health as well as programs to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. The article includes recent comments by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on the role the GHI will play in strengthening health systems and the administration's on-going commitment to global HIV/AIDS programs.

4 Sep 2010

AVAC calls for economic and political support for CAPRISA 004 microbicide trial's critical follow-up studies

AVAC today issues a call to action to donors, policy-makers, researchers and advocates to ensure that critical follow-up studies to the landmark CAPRISA 004 microbicide trial receive the economic and political support needed to move forward as quickly as possible. The call comes as a group of microbicide and public health experts have agreed upon a plan for further studies, which are expected to cost $100 million over three years, of which only $58 million has been committed.

4 Sep 2010

Governments called upon to recognize that access to pain management is a fundamental human right

Health care providers and researchers in the field of pain management are calling for governments worldwide to recognize the rights of people to the access of reasonable care for acute and chronic pain.

3 Sep 2010

U.N.-NGO meeting concludes with participants calling on world leaders to do more for MDGs

A group of more than 350 non-governmental organizations concluded a U.N. forum in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday with a call for world leaders to step up their commitments to achieving the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, the Australian Associated Press/Sydney Morning Herald reports (Rose, 9/1).

3 Sep 2010

WHO revises treatment protocols for HIV patients

Prompted by clinical research into the early initiation of antiretroviral therapies for HIV performed at the GHESKIO clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the World Health Organization (WHO) has revised its treatment protocols for HIV patients.

3 Sep 2010

Commitments to global HIV/AIDS programs falter for 'first time in 15 years,' UNAIDS chief says

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe "said Thursday that global contributions to fighting [HIV/AIDS] are dropping off for the first time in 15 years amid tough economic times," Agence France-Presse reports.

3 Sep 2010

AMIA launches non-profit Global Health Informatics Partnership

AMIA, the U.S.-based association for informatics professionals, has launched a non-profit, wholly owned subsidiary organization called the Global Health Informatics Partnership (GHIP) to serve as an international center for collaborative initiatives on health informatics. With generous operational support from AMIA, GHIP, aims to build grassroots networks of health informatics advocates and professionals that will result in strengthened health informatics capacity in low-resource settings, primarily in South America, Africa, and Asia.

3 Sep 2010

Short sleep duration increases risk of psychological distress

Young adults who get fewer than eight hours of sleep per night have greater risks of psychological distress, a combination of high levels of depressive and anxious symptoms, according to a study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.

2 Sep 2010

Also in Global Health News: China's first HIV discrimination case; Congo mass rape; S. Sudan flooding; Kenya's population growth; Family planning in the Philippines

"A municipal court in central China has accepted the country's first lawsuit alleging work discrimination because of HIV status, state media reported Tuesday," the Associated Press reports (8/31). "The lawsuit alleges city officials denied the plaintiff, a recent college graduate, a teaching job after a medical screening revealed he had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS," Agence-France-Presse reports (8/31).

2 Sep 2010

World becoming numb to HIV/AIDS: UNAIDS executive director

HIV infection is on the rise but there is potential to control the upsurge of infections with effective measures only if there are adequate funds. According to UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe the world has become numb to the fact that 7,400 people are being infected with AIDS every day and funds to combat it are not pouring in as they should. Since 2001, the number of newly infected people has fallen by 17 per cent a year - but there are still 2.7 million new cases each year.

1 Sep 2010

CIGNA completes acquisition of Vanbreda International

Global health service company CIGNA has acquired Vanbreda International, based in Antwerp, Belgium, giving CIGNA unmatched global reach in expatriate benefits and further accelerating CIGNA's global growth strategy.

31 Aug 2010

U.N.-NGO conference on MDGs kicks off in Australia

Ahead of next month's U.N. Summit in New York, a joint U.N.-NGO conference tracking the world's progress toward reaching the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) kicked off in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday, ABC News reports (8/30).

30 Aug 2010

Opinions: MDG progress; Drug patents; Aid for scientific research; Avoiding food crises; Hunger in India; U.S. commitments to PEPFAR, Global Fund

"Between the catastrophes of the Haiti earthquake and the Pakistan floods, there was actually some good news this spring on the global health front, which offers hope that the United Nations' ambitious Millennium Development Goals might not be at a standstill. Though a great deal remains to be done, all of us are living longer, fewer mothers are dying in childbirth, and fewer children are dying before school age," Eli Adashi, professor of medical science at Brown University, writes in Boston Globe editorial.

30 Aug 2010

Also in Global Health News: GM mosquitoes; Iodine deficiency in Nepal; South African health workers strike; Novartis to build vaccine plant in Brazil; Population control in Niger

Malaysia is still "considering releasing" up to 3,000 mosquitoes that are genetically modified to "combat dengue fever, in a landmark field trial that has come in for criticism from environmentalists," Agence France-Presse reports. The insects are modified "so that their offspring quickly die," which researchers hope will cull the population and lessen the risk of dengue.

30 Aug 2010

Canada hosts 13th World Congress On Pain

The Canadian Pain Society (CPS) eagerly welcomes leading pain experts from across Canada and around the globe to the 13th World Congress on Pain in Montreal, Quebec, from August 29 to September 2. Hosted by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), more than 6,000 pain professionals will gather to share their thoughts, research and best treatment practices concerning this throbbing public health issue.

30 Aug 2010

Mobile Health Expo conference program highlights international nature of mobile health

Mobile Health Expo, the only event focusing on the convergence of mobile technology and healthcare across the entire mobile health ecosystem, today revealed some highlights from the conference program that focuses on the truly international nature of mobile health. Speakers representing both developing and developed nations will share case studies and best practices of how mobile health is being used in other countries.

30 Aug 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

"[N]ew diagnostic techniques [for tuberculosis] need to be studied in children," according to a Lancet Infectious Diseases Reflection. "Tuberculosis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide, but estimates of disease burden are inaccurate because most cases are not confirmed," the author writes. He discusses a study published in the same issue that examines various methods for diagnosing TB in children.

27 Aug 2010

Global Health News and Research

Opinions: U.S. commitment to Global Fund; Innovative financing; Global food security; Aid for Pakistan

Experts gathered for UNAIDS, WHO meeting recommend follow-up studies of ARV-containing microbicide gel start soon

Also in Global Health News: India's antibiotic use; Abstinence curriculum in China; Child, maternal health in India; Plumpy'nut; PEPFAR funds to Uganda

VOA News examines U.S. Global Health Initiative

AVAC calls for economic and political support for CAPRISA 004 microbicide trial's critical follow-up studies

Governments called upon to recognize that access to pain management is a fundamental human right

U.N.-NGO meeting concludes with participants calling on world leaders to do more for MDGs

WHO revises treatment protocols for HIV patients

Commitments to global HIV/AIDS programs falter for 'first time in 15 years,' UNAIDS chief says

AMIA launches non-profit Global Health Informatics Partnership

Short sleep duration increases risk of psychological distress

Also in Global Health News: China's first HIV discrimination case; Congo mass rape; S. Sudan flooding; Kenya's population growth; Family planning in the Philippines

World becoming numb to HIV/AIDS: UNAIDS executive director

CIGNA completes acquisition of Vanbreda International

U.N.-NGO conference on MDGs kicks off in Australia

Opinions: MDG progress; Drug patents; Aid for scientific research; Avoiding food crises; Hunger in India; U.S. commitments to PEPFAR, Global Fund

Also in Global Health News: GM mosquitoes; Iodine deficiency in Nepal; South African health workers strike; Novartis to build vaccine plant in Brazil; Population control in Niger

Canada hosts 13th World Congress On Pain

Mobile Health Expo conference program highlights international nature of mobile health

Recent releases in Global Health

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st 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