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Former CDC head to lead Merck's vaccine division

The pharmaceutical company Merck on Monday named former CDC head Julie Gerberding as president of the company's vaccine division, Reuters reports. "Gerberding, who led the CDC from 2002 to 2009 and stepped down when President Barack Obama took office, will head up the company's $5 billion global vaccine business that includes shots to prevent chickenpox, cervical cancer and pneumonia," the news service reports.

22 Dec 2009

Also in Global Health news: HIV prevention in China; Global Fund in Philippines; drug-resistant TB; U.S. stance on anti-gay legislation

"A gay bar partially funded by the government of a Chinese city heavily affected by AIDS has finally opened after a delay caused by intense media interest which the owners felt may scared off potential patrons," Reuters Life! reports. The bar in the southwestern city of Dali is a collaborative effort by the city's health department and two NGOs, according to the news service (12/21). "The venue aims to provide a place where homosexuals can meet in a relaxed atmosphere and get information about HIV/AIDS prevention," Agence France-Presse reports (12/20).

22 Dec 2009

Orphanage care in developing countries is a 'viable option,' study finds

A study, published on Thursday in PLoS One, finds that the "care at orphanages [in developing countries] is often at least as good as that given by families who take in orphaned or abandoned children," challenging "the widespread belief that orphans in poor countries fare best in family-style homes in the community and should be put into orphanages only as a last resort," the New York Times reports (Grady, 12/17).

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

Opinion: Uganda anti-gay bill; Shah confirmation

Columnist Michael Gerson in a Washington Post opinion piece writes of Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 being considered by the country's parliament "that would impose new and harsher penalties on homosexuality, including life imprisonment and capital punishment. It also would force pastors and others to report homosexuals to the authorities.

18 Dec 2009

New WHO report shows considerable progress in malaria

According to the World Health organization’s World Malaria Report 2009 released earlier this week, more than one third of affected countries included in the study have witnessed reduction in malaria cases by more than 50 percent between 2000 and 2008.

18 Dec 2009

Also in Global Health news: Hospital births in Guinea-Bissau; drought in E. Africa; drug-resistant malaria; U.S. response to H1N1

IRIN examines the increase in the number of women giving birth in hospital settings rather than delivery by a traditional birth attendant - a behavior that health officials hope will lead to a drop in the country's maternal mortality rate. "According to UNFPA, 38 percent of women gave birth in a hospital in 2009, up from 29 percent in 2003," the news service writes.

17 Dec 2009

Obama signs $447B omnibus spending bill

"President Barack Obama signed a $447 billion omnibus spending bill into law Wednesday, assuring that federal agencies will be able to operate through the remainder of fiscal 2010," Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal reports. The bill provides appropriations for the State Department and several other agencies (Pulizzi, 12/16).

17 Dec 2009

AlphaRx, Venturepharm sign supply agreement for ARX1088's API

AlphaRx Inc. announced today that it has signed an agreement that provides long-term supply of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for ARX1088, an orally active interferon inducer intended for the adjunctive treatment of Hepatitis in China and other emerging markets. Under the agreement, Venturepharm will be the primary supplier of AlphaRx's worldwide requirements for the compound.

17 Dec 2009

Also in global health news: Kenya HIV/AIDS; Uganda bill; water project in Philippines; U.N. appeal for Yemen

U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger on Wednesday announced the U.S. would provide $26.5 million (2.7 billion Kenyan shillings) between 2009 and 2013 to fight HIV/AIDS in Kenya, the Daily Nation reports (Sinundu, 12/16). In related news, the Standard reports the Kenyan government will be begin the gradual phase out of the antiretroviral drug, Stavudine, which is known to cause adverse side effects (Mwai, 12/15).

17 Dec 2009

Interactive education program to fight against malaria

ONE and Malaria No More announced today they are accepting applications for the first-ever "Malaria Griots" program, a dynamic education course that will train and educate participants to become leaders in the fight against malaria.

16 Dec 2009

Also in Global Health news: Drug trafficking in Kenya; violence in S. Sudan; Uganda bill; sleeping sickness

Drug trafficking and use are fueling the spread of HIV/AIDS in Kenya, according to a recent report by the U.N. Security Council, the Nation reports. "A statement from the council's Presidency currently … states that Afghan heroin was being imported, causing a dramatic increase in heroin addiction and spreading HIV/AIDS in the slums of Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya's two main cities," the newspaper writes.

15 Dec 2009

Ethanol can worsen global health problems

Ethanol, often promoted as a clean-burning, renewable fuel that could help wean the nation from oil, would likely worsen health problems caused by ozone, compared with gasoline, especially in winter, according to a new study led by Stanford researchers.

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

Detroit-area residents plead guilty in connection with health care fraud schemes

Detroit-area residents Baskaran Thangarasan, Sandeep Aggarwal and Wayne Smith pleaded guilty this week for their roles in connection with several Detroit-area health care fraud schemes, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Terrence I. Berg, Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI's Detroit Field Office and Daniel Levinson, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today.

14 Dec 2009

National Vaccine Plan aims to protect Americans from vaccine-preventable illnesses

While vaccines help prevent many diseases in the United States, we lack immunization protection against several serious illnesses, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine that identifies priority areas for updating the National Vaccine Plan.

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

Financial Times analyzes global approaches to debate over family planning

The Financial Times' Andrew Jack analyzes the debate over different approaches to family planning worldwide. According to Jack, there is a "growing worry that some developing countries have failed to follow the broader 'demographic transition' to lower fertility levels that has occurred in past decades in the western world and more recently across Latin America and much of Asia.

10 Dec 2009

Washington Post, New York Times examine PEPFAR

The Washington Post examines the Obama administration's goal "to get the 'emergency' out of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief" and integrate HIV/AIDS programs more into the health infrastructure of recipient countries. A five-year strategy for PEPFAR was released last week.

9 Dec 2009

Also in global health news: Illegal drug trade in E. Africa; Somalia humanitarian crisis; alcohol, IV drug use in Russia; HIV/AIDS in China; FBOs engage in HIV fight

"[D]ozens of people" from China's Henan province who contracted HIV/AIDS from blood transfusions "demonstrated in front of the country's health ministry in Beijing" to highlight the challenges facing Chinese AIDS patients, the Irish Times reports.

9 Dec 2009