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Lobbying set for a record year fueled in part by health care debate

USA Today: "As the health care bill moves toward a critical vote in the Senate, the five senators charged with overseeing the floor debate count health interests among their biggest campaign contributors, records show. The political action committees and employees of drugmakers Schering-Plough and Amgen have been the top two contributors in the past five years to Montana Sen. Max Baucus, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and is one of three senators managing the bill for Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

22 Dec 2009

RNAO: Nurses care about climate change and will continue to demand action

An historic opportunity to reach a much needed agreement on climate change has been squandered due to a lack of political will, nurses say.

22 Dec 2009

WHO sponsors event at Copenhagen conference to highlight climate change effect on public health

The WHO held a "side event" on Thursday at the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen to highlight climate change's effect on public health, CNN reports. "We're reminding people that climate change is not just an environmental issue or an economic issue - it's a health issue that's actually about people's survival," Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, a scientist in the WHO's Public Health and Environment department, said of the event.

18 Dec 2009

Recent releases in Global Health

A Scientific American article examines recent efforts to tackle neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The author writes "NTDs have plagued humankind for thousands of years. … What is new, however, is that donors, drugmakers, health ministries in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization (WHO), and public-private partnerships are linking their efforts to combat the NTDs in a more coordinated and systematic way."

18 Dec 2009

USDA joins global alliance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase food security

The U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) said on Wednesday it has joined the Global Research Alliance, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase access to food worldwide, Reuters reports.

17 Dec 2009

Opinions: HIV prevention; PEPFAR; H1N1 vaccine donation; developing country R&D; climate change

"For nearly 30 years scientists have been trying to break the back of the AIDS epidemic," but the recent microbicide gel study and an AIDS vaccine trial in Thailand "show just how difficult and how distant that goal is," according to a Washington Post editorial. "While scientists continue searching for a vaccine or a cure, prevention remains paramount," the Washington Post concludes (12/16).

16 Dec 2009

Data shows drop in natural disaster-related deaths, growing economic losses; Sen. Murkowski moves to halt EPA greenhouse gas regulation

New data from the WHO and the Belgian Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters Deaths and released at the U.N. climate conference show the number of people dying in climate-related disasters has decreased, and that economic losses from natural disasters are growing, Reuters AlertNet reports.

15 Dec 2009

Opinions: Future of PEPFAR; family planning

A Washington Post editorial examines the future of PEPFAR under the Obama administration, as outlined in a five-year strategy released earlier this month. Though "[m]any organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, continue to worry that Mr. Obama is 'flat-lining' funding for the vital program," this "ignores Mr. Obama's move to make PEPFAR the center of a larger $63 billion global health initiative to develop more comprehensive and integrated approaches to care," the editorial writes.

15 Dec 2009

NBC News examines 'fastest growing' vector-borne disease: Dengue

Dengue is the "fastest growing" vector-borne disease worldwide, NBC News' "World Blog" writes in a story examining the disease. "It used to be contained largely to south-east Asia, but has been spreading, and is now found in South America, Africa, south Asia and parts of Australia.

15 Dec 2009

Agricultural alliance releases report calling for efforts to prevent climate change from affecting global food security

The "food-security arm of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR], a global alliance of agricultural experts," launched a report Friday at the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen that "calls for an intensive effort to speed the implementation of dozens of agriculture-related technologies in developing countries, which are the most vulnerable to climate change," the Globe and Mail reports.

14 Dec 2009

FY2010 State and Foreign Ops bill expected to move on the Hill this month

The fiscal year 2010 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which includes funding for global health-related measures, "is moving on the Hill as part of a mammoth catch-all spending bill that's expected to move through both chambers this month," Foreign Policy's blog, "The Cable," reports. "

10 Dec 2009

Global food prices reach 14-month high, FAO report says

In its latest report, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Wednesday said the agency's Food Price Index had been increasing for four consecutive months and reached a 14-month high in November, Reuters reports. FAO said the "index - which measures monthly price changes for a food basket composed of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar - averaged 168 points last month, the highest since September 2008.

10 Dec 2009

U.N. weather agency predicts heightened disease spread with rising temps; Globe and Mail examines potential health effects of climate change in Africa

The decade 2000-2009 "is very likely to be the warmest since record-keeping began in 1850, and 2009 could rank among the top-five warmest years," the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday at the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen, the Associated Press reports.

10 Dec 2009

Opinions: ARV access; global health promotion; climate change; under-nutrition; Ethiopia

In an Intellectual Property Watch column, Daniele Dionisio, of the Italian Network for International Fight against AIDS, examines how trade rules and policy directions by governments and institutions may help to improve countries' access to antiretrovirals.

8 Dec 2009

EPA declares greenhouse gases a threat to public health; other health issues addressed at climate conference

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday "said greenhouse gases are a danger to public health and welfare in a decision that could eventually lead to new emissions regulations," the Wall Street Journal reports (Ball/Forelle/Talley, 12/7). According to the Associated Press/ABC News, the declaration on the opening day of the U.N. Climate Change Conference "signaled the [Obama] administration was prepared to push ahead for significant controls in the U.S. if Congress doesn't act first on its own" (Herbert/Cappiello, 12/7).

8 Dec 2009

Climate change may affect mental health, but more research is needed

Among the many topics to be discussed at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this month, one that is unlikely to feature is that of increasing concern about the effects on climate change on people with a history of mental health, and the potential for an increase in the overall burden of mental disorder worldwide.

8 Dec 2009

Snowe becomes less prominent in health debate, McCain more partisan

News outlets report on some of the key players in the health care debate, including Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Colorado Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, both Democrats, and Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif.

8 Dec 2009

Sustainable development: A critical factor against rising global population and climate change

Sustainability is the only way forward for industry that does not lead to an environmental dead-end. Waste recycling has its place, but researchers in France suggest that from the outset the design of a product should consider the whole life cycle to offer any chance of sustainability.

7 Dec 2009

European scientists discuss strategies to strengthen the role of EU in promoting global public health

Taken together, the EU's member states constitute the world's largest aid donor to the low and middle-income countries, and the largest trade zone. This puts the EU in a unique position to contribute to better global health. But first, its member states must decide on their goals and how they can work together to achieve them.

5 Dec 2009

Findings underscore the need for additional medical student education for healthcare reform

As the population of people with chronic conditions and health care costs rise, so do opportunities for implementing health prevention strategies. Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean for public health at the University of Vermont (UVM) College of Medicine, believes a critical strategy for reforming the health care system lies in teaching medical students about prevention and public health.

5 Dec 2009

Climate Change News and Research

Lobbying set for a record year fueled in part by health care debate

RNAO: Nurses care about climate change and will continue to demand action

WHO sponsors event at Copenhagen conference to highlight climate change effect on public health

Recent releases in Global Health

USDA joins global alliance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase food security

Opinions: HIV prevention; PEPFAR; H1N1 vaccine donation; developing country R&D; climate change

Data shows drop in natural disaster-related deaths, growing economic losses; Sen. Murkowski moves to halt EPA greenhouse gas regulation

Opinions: Future of PEPFAR; family planning

NBC News examines 'fastest growing' vector-borne disease: Dengue

Agricultural alliance releases report calling for efforts to prevent climate change from affecting global food security

FY2010 State and Foreign Ops bill expected to move on the Hill this month

Global food prices reach 14-month high, FAO report says

U.N. weather agency predicts heightened disease spread with rising temps; Globe and Mail examines potential health effects of climate change in Africa

Opinions: ARV access; global health promotion; climate change; under-nutrition; Ethiopia

EPA declares greenhouse gases a threat to public health; other health issues addressed at climate conference

Climate change may affect mental health, but more research is needed

Snowe becomes less prominent in health debate, McCain more partisan

Sustainable development: A critical factor against rising global population and climate change

European scientists discuss strategies to strengthen the role of EU in promoting global public health

Findings underscore the need for additional medical student education for healthcare reform

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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