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Catholics for Choice supports coverage of reproductive healthcare services in healthcare policy

"Catholics believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. However, our vision for healthcare reform is different than the US bishops and their conservative allies, who seek to marginalize issues of reproductive health-as if people's reproductive health can be separated from their overall health. People in the United States need coverage of reproductive healthcare services, and efforts to deny this coverage based on the opinions of a small but vocal minority are unjust.

5 Sep 2009

Discovery of two antibodies could move AIDS vaccine development forward

Scientists from Scripps Research Institute on Thursday announced they have discovered and isolated two antibodies "with the ability to neutralize [or block the action of] many strains of the AIDS virus, a discovery that might help create a long-sought vaccine against the deadly disease," Bloomberg reports.

5 Sep 2009

Media examine debate over UNESCO international sex education guidelines

The New York Times examines how "[a] set of proposed international sex education guidelines aimed at reducing H.I.V. infections among young people" and unplanned pregnancies, based on "more than 80 studies of sex education," has received some criticism. The release of the final guidelines, originally scheduled for next week by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has been delayed.

4 Sep 2009

Catholics believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege: Catholics for Choice

As Congress returns from the summer recess, we hope that we will soon see an honest and productive debate on truly comprehensive healthcare reform that leads to positive changes in healthcare accessibility for women and men in the United States.

4 Sep 2009

Also in global health news: Africa measles eradication; water, food security in South Asia; MDR-TB in Mumbai; SADC summit; U.S. Cuba embargo

WHO Regional Director for Africa Luis Gomes Sambo said Tuesday during the 59th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, that measles could be eradicated from the continent by 2020, citing an 89 percent reduction in the number of deaths caused by measles between 2000 and 2007, Angencia AngolaPress reports.

4 Sep 2009

Two new antibodies for targeting HIV virus discovered

Researchers at and associated with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), at The Scripps Research Institute, and at the biotechnology companies Theraclone Sciences and Monogram Biosciences have discovered two powerful new antibodies to HIV that reveal what may be an Achilles heel on the virus. They published their work in Science this week.

3 Sep 2009

Criminal pricing of Merck’s HIV/AIDS drug Isentress challenged by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation

As part of its ongoing campaign to lower drug prices and increase access, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today unveiled its latest advocacy campaign challenging Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals over the steep price of its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress (raltegravir). The first phase of the public awareness campaign includes a postcard mailer, scheduled to arrive this week in the mailboxes of residents of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, where Merck is headquartered.

3 Sep 2009

Health systems, HIV/AIDS, malaria discussed at WHO Regional Committee meeting

Luis Gomes Sambo, WHO regional director for Africa, on Tuesday at the 59th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, presented a nine-point guide suggesting malaria control strategies for African countries, Agencia AngolaPress reports. Suggested approaches include updating policies and strategic plans, strengthening research and scaling up supplies of medicines (9/1).

3 Sep 2009

Yale University awarded $36 million ARRA funds for over 100 research projects

Faculty at Yale University have been awarded over 100 research grants totaling $36 million since February 2009, when the federal stimulus package was signed into law. Known as the American Recovery and Revitalization Act of 2009 (ARRA), the law aims to reinvigorate the economy and lay the foundation for long-term economic recovery by increasing investments in infrastructure, education, the environment and scientific research.

3 Sep 2009

Also in global health news: Vietnam PEPFAR funding; remote village health care; HIV in India; UNICEF budget; mapping drug shortages

PEPFAR will continue to fund HIV/AIDS programs in Vietnam, Hoang Thanh Hai, a spokesperson, said on Tuesday at a memorial for 100 people who died as a result of complications from the disease, Bernama reports. "Since 2004, PEPFAR has provided $320 million to help Vietnam provide comprehensive services on taking precautionary measures against the disease and care and treatment of HIV" patients, the news service writes (9/2).

3 Sep 2009

Induced antibodies neutralize HIV-1; recognize peptides encapsulated in liposomes

For the first time, researchers have experimentally induced antibodies that neutralize HIV-1 and simultaneously recognize both HIV-1 envelope protein and lipids. The results were reported by U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) researchers on Aug. 25 in the online version of AIDS, the official journal of the International AIDS Society.

2 Sep 2009

Single-dose H1N1 vaccine wins approval in China

The Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech Ltd. on Monday announced its H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine won the approval of a panel of experts from China's State Food and Drug Administration, the Associated Press/Forbes reports. The company expects to obtain a production license later this week. According to the company, clinical trials of the H1N1 vaccine showed a single shot produced an immune response capable of protecting against H1N1 (8/31).

2 Sep 2009

The Leverhulme Trust funds researchers for understanding the relationship between agricultural production and population health

Pioneering researchers coordinated by the London International Development Centre (LIDC) have won approximately £3.5m to address the global food security crisis by investigating the neglected links between agriculture and health. Their programme, funded by The Leverhulme Trust, bridges traditional disciplines and aims to create a new holistic paradigm for understanding the relationship between agricultural production and population health.

2 Sep 2009

Despite financial crisis, Africa must focus on health, Rwandan President says at WHO regional meeting

Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the opening of the 59th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, urged delegates from across the continent to focus on promoting health, New Times/allAfrica.com reports (Nambi, 8/31).

2 Sep 2009

New South African government shows commitment to HIV/AIDS, health care, editorial says

The new government of President Jacob Zuma seems to have a clearer-eyed view of the [HIV/AIDS] problem, its remedies and the need to improve the overall health care system" in South Africa, according to a New York Times editorial. "Fixing what's broken will not be easy, but we are encouraged by signs of a commitment to do so," the newspaper writes, pointing to health minister Aaron Motsoaledi's acceptance of last week's Lancet examination of South Africa's health system.

2 Sep 2009

USAction affiliates to participate in rallies in support of affordable health care

As Congress prepares to return to work, USAction affiliates and partner organizations are participating in at least 102 rallies and other events in 20 states in support of quality, affordable health care with a public health insurance option.

1 Sep 2009

Nighttime acid reflux symptoms impair sleep quality

There has been much debate about the relationship between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep. Three new studies in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology explore GERD's effect on sleep quality and the health-care system as well as how a widely prescribed sleeping pill may mask the disease.

1 Sep 2009

TIME examines debate over using female condom to fight HIV/AIDS in Uganda

TIME examines the debate over the Ugandan government's recent decision to use money from the U.N. Population Fund to purchase and distribute 100,000 female condoms to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. Supporters of the government's plan say female condoms increase a woman's ability to negotiate with her partner.

1 Sep 2009

Globe and Mail examines HIV/AIDS rate in India

The Globe and Mail writes that "[w]hen India announced in 2007 that it had 2.3 million people living with HIV, rather than the 5.7 million reported the year before, the government first attributed much of the change to better data collection. Many in the AIDS field were skeptical."

1 Sep 2009

Also in Global Health news: Flu, cholera in PNG; improving life awards; HIV/AIDS in Rwanda; men and maternal/child health; MDR-TB in India

"Twin outbreaks of a flu-like illness and dysentery in a remote region of Papua New Guinea have killed 47 people and infected another 2,000 villagers, a senior medical official said Monday," Agence France-Presse reports. According to provincial health adviser Doctor Theo Likei, the WHO has collected and is testing samples of the virus from the "stricken villages" (8/31). Additionally, the country is experiencing a cholera outbreak - "the first time the disease has officially been confirmed in the country," the BBC reports (Mercer, 8/31).

1 Sep 2009

AIDS News and Research

Catholics for Choice supports coverage of reproductive healthcare services in healthcare policy

Discovery of two antibodies could move AIDS vaccine development forward

Media examine debate over UNESCO international sex education guidelines

Catholics believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege: Catholics for Choice

Also in global health news: Africa measles eradication; water, food security in South Asia; MDR-TB in Mumbai; SADC summit; U.S. Cuba embargo

Two new antibodies for targeting HIV virus discovered

Criminal pricing of Merck’s HIV/AIDS drug Isentress challenged by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation

Health systems, HIV/AIDS, malaria discussed at WHO Regional Committee meeting

Yale University awarded $36 million ARRA funds for over 100 research projects

Also in global health news: Vietnam PEPFAR funding; remote village health care; HIV in India; UNICEF budget; mapping drug shortages

Induced antibodies neutralize HIV-1; recognize peptides encapsulated in liposomes

Single-dose H1N1 vaccine wins approval in China

The Leverhulme Trust funds researchers for understanding the relationship between agricultural production and population health

Despite financial crisis, Africa must focus on health, Rwandan President says at WHO regional meeting

New South African government shows commitment to HIV/AIDS, health care, editorial says

USAction affiliates to participate in rallies in support of affordable health care

Nighttime acid reflux symptoms impair sleep quality

TIME examines debate over using female condom to fight HIV/AIDS in Uganda

Globe and Mail examines HIV/AIDS rate in India

Also in Global Health news: Flu, cholera in PNG; improving life awards; HIV/AIDS in Rwanda; men and maternal/child health; MDR-TB in India

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

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