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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

Also in Global Health News: Disaster preparedness in Asian health sector; PEPFAR in Uganda; Malnutrition in Chad

IRIN reports on disaster preparedness in Asian health sectors. According to the news service, nine countries working with Bangkok-based Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) "have emergency preparedness plans in place for their health sectors."

27 Aug 2010

Opinions: Health and agriculture; GHI's main ideas; Recommendations to improve Haiti's government; China and the Global Fund

In a SciDev.Net opinion piece, Jeff Waage, director of the London International Development Centre, argues for more collaboration between agriculture and health experts. "The relationship between agriculture and health may seem intuitive and simple - grow more crops and people will have more food and live healthier lives.

26 Aug 2010

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Procter & Gamble to co-promote Silenor

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Somaxon and Procter & Gamble have entered into a co-promotion agreement for Silenor (doxepin), a newly-approved treatment for insomnia characterized by difficulty with sleep maintenance.

25 Aug 2010

Also in Global Health News: IDUs in Kenya; Haiti recovery; Pandemic preparedness; Somalia hunger; HIV in Mozambique; Strengthening immune system against HIV

In Kenya, "[i]ntravenous drug users (IDUs) have been largely ignored by the government's HIV programmes on the basis that drug-taking is illegal, but a new policy is being drafted with the aim of reducing HIV transmission among this high-risk group," IRIN/PlusNews reports. The article includes comments from Nicholas Muraguri, head of the National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Programme, who said that the policy would treat drug use as a health issue, not a criminal one.

25 Aug 2010

Merck and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation commit additional $60M to support Botswana's ACHAP

Merck today announced the Merck Company Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are committing an additional $60 million to support Botswana's African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP). Merck is known as MSD outside the US and Canada. A unique program developed with and led by the Government of Botswana, ACHAP is one of sub-Saharan Africa's oldest, most successful public-private partnerships.

24 Aug 2010

New antisense drugs may help treat accidental infections: Study

New studies show that treatments targeting specific viral genes protected monkeys infected with deadly Ebola or Marburg viruses. Furthermore, the animals were protected even when therapeutics were administered one hour after exposure-suggesting the approach holds promise for treating accidental infections in laboratory or hospital settings.

23 Aug 2010

Global Health News and Research

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

Also in Global Health News: Disaster preparedness in Asian health sector; PEPFAR in Uganda; Malnutrition in Chad

Opinions: Health and agriculture; GHI's main ideas; Recommendations to improve Haiti's government; China and the Global Fund

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Procter & Gamble to co-promote Silenor

Also in Global Health News: IDUs in Kenya; Haiti recovery; Pandemic preparedness; Somalia hunger; HIV in Mozambique; Strengthening immune system against HIV

Merck and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation commit additional $60M to support Botswana's ACHAP

New antisense drugs may help treat accidental infections: Study

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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