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European countries to review impact of environmental policies on popluation health status

Representatives of 53 Member States from the WHO European Region will gather in Parma, Italy, on 10-12 March 2010 to review the impact of national and cross-border environmental policies on the health status of their populations.

10 Mar 2010

Haitian President to meet with Obama as long-term rebuilding plans take shape

Haitian President Rene Preval is expected to meet with President Barack Obama Wednesday in the U.S. to ask for "billions of dollars to rebuild" Haiti, Agence France-Presse reports.

9 Mar 2010

Tetanus, hepatitis vaccination campaign launched in Chile amid fears of disease outbreaks

"Chile launched a hepatitis and tetanus vaccination campaign Friday and doctors warned of outbreaks of diarrhea and infection among thousands of people displaced by the earthquake and the tsunami that heavily damaged or destroyed 36 hospitals and made garbage dumps of coastal towns and cities," the Associated Press reports. So far, no dysentery outbreaks or other communicable diseases had been reported, Chile's health ministry said, adding that it believed it had adequate amounts of tetanus and hepatitis vaccinations.

9 Mar 2010

Free online training Webinars to prepare nurses for continued relief efforts in Haiti launched

While disaster response is a highly technical and sensitive effort, the most qualified of disaster professionals require additional education or real-life experience to ensure that help is delivered effectively, safely and efficiently. To assist nursing professionals volunteering their services in Haiti, Chamberlain College of Nursing in cooperation with the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future, will provide free online training Webinars hosted on the Gannett Healthcare Group's newly launched Haiti Web page to prepare nurses physically, mentally and culturally for the continued relief efforts.

6 Mar 2010

Conference calls for East African countries to prioritize water, sanitation programs

During a sanitation conference being held in Kampala, Uganda, this week, "experts have urged regional countries to prioritize programs aimed at increasing access to safe water and sanitation" to move them closer to reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target in 2015, New Times/allAfrica.com reports.

6 Mar 2010

As rainy season begins, U.N. special envoy Clinton asks for more shelter, latrines for Haitian earthquake survivors

During a phone call on Monday, Bill Clinton, the U.N. special envoy for Haiti, asked U.N. officials to provide more tents, latrines and hurricane-proof shelter to improve housing and sanitation for Haitian earthquake survivors living in temporary camps, the Associated Press writes.

3 Mar 2010

Some U.S. troops stay in Haiti; Aid officials prepare for rainy season

Kenneth Merten, the U.S. ambassador to Haiti, said on Thursday that American troops would stay in the country to aid in its recovery, Agence France-Presse reports. "There are about 6,500 soldiers in Haiti at the moment. There were some 20,000 for the emergency effort launched in the wake of January 12," Merten said. "What is planned for the moment is more and more staff from USAID on the ground and fewer and fewer troops. Gradually, they'll leave. In my opinion, we will need some American troops to stay here for the foreseeable future" (2/25).

2 Mar 2010

Ashton and Georgieva visit Haiti to evaluate development of European humanitarian aid

Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, and Kristalina Georgieva, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, will visit Haiti to evaluate the development of European humanitarian aid and assess future needs.

1 Mar 2010

Surge in volunteers without overall coordination can make devastating situation worse instead of better

A surge in volunteers following a major disaster can overwhelm a response system, and without overall coordination, can actually make a situation worse instead of better. The outpouring of medical volunteers who responded to the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti in January provides a roadmap for health care providers during future disasters, say the authors of a New England Journal of Medicine "Perspectives" piece that will be published online February 24.

26 Feb 2010

Senate Committee report addresses U.S. government response to Haiti

A Senate Foreign Relations Committee report, written by two Senate staffers, who just returned from Haiti where they assessed relief efforts, draws attention to "immediate shelter and sanitation concerns" and voices "concern about the coordination of Washington's U.S. government response to Haiti," Politico's Laura Rozen writes on her blog. A link to the text of the report appears on Politico's Web site.

24 Feb 2010

World Vision receives $19M grant from USAID to help families and communities in Haiti

International relief and development agency World Vision has been awarded a $19 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development to help families and communities in Haiti affected by the devastating January 12 earthquake in Port-au-Prince.

24 Feb 2010

Humans can harbor bacteria in gallstones, infect others with active typhoid fever

A new study suggests that the bacteria that cause typhoid fever collect in tiny but persistent communities on gallstones, making the infection particularly hard to fight in so-called "carriers" - people who have the disease but show no symptoms.

23 Feb 2010

Also in global health news: Infant, maternal mortality in N. Korea; malaria in Cambodia; Zambia PEPFAR program; Pakistan's anti-polio campaign; U.N. Ambassador responds to Somalia; Myanmar refugees

Higher rates of infant and maternal mortality have lead to a decline of life expectancy in North Korea over the past 15 years, census figures, which were obtained with help form the U.N. Population Fund, said on Monday, Agence France-Presse reports (2/22).

23 Feb 2010

Haitian President says up to 300,000 people could have died in quake

The major earthquake in January in Haiti could have killed as many as 300,000 people, an estimate that includes bodies buried in the rubble, Haitian President Rene Preval said on Sunday at a meeting of Latin American and Caribbean leaders in Mexico, Reuters reports.

23 Feb 2010

U.N. calls for $1.4B to fund basic needs in Haiti through the end of 2010

The U.N. on Thursday launched its "largest appeal following a natural disaster," calling for $1.4 billion "to provide food, water, shelter and sanitation to 3 million Haitians throughout 2010," Bloomberg/BusinessWeek reports (Varner, 2/18).

20 Feb 2010

WHO urges medical aid agencies to remain in Haiti as health care system is rebuilt

On Wednesday, the WHO "urged medical aid agencies to stay in Haiti as long as possible while health care is rebuilt following last month's devastating earthquake," Agence France-Presse reports.

19 Feb 2010

U.S. decreases troop presence in Haiti

A decreased need for troops has led the U.S. military to reduce its troops from a high of about 20,000 after the earthquake to 13,000, General Douglas Fraser said on Saturday, Agence France-Presse reports. Fraser also said the Haitian government was resuming control of the Port-au-Prince airport during daylight, according to the AFP.

17 Feb 2010

Senators Durbin, Brown travel to Africa to focus on health, other issues

U.S. senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) departed Friday "for a trip to Africa," the Associated Press/Chicago Tribune reports. The Senators "planned to visit Tanzania, Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan. They [are] expected to return to the United States on Feb. 19" (2/13).

17 Feb 2010

Seminar held in Tallinn provides information about hygienic design and cleaning procedures

Hygiene in food processing factories is highly dependent on hygienic design of the process lines and equipment as well as on cleaning efficiency. Principles of hygiene design are simple but several faults appear in food processing premises. Hygienically designed process lines are supposed to be cleanable but still optimization of cleaning programs is worthwhile.

11 Feb 2010

Haitian death toll climbs to 230,000, government says

The death toll from the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti has risen to 230,000, Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue, the country's communications minister, said on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

11 Feb 2010

Sanitization News and Research

European countries to review impact of environmental policies on popluation health status

Haitian President to meet with Obama as long-term rebuilding plans take shape

Tetanus, hepatitis vaccination campaign launched in Chile amid fears of disease outbreaks

Free online training Webinars to prepare nurses for continued relief efforts in Haiti launched

Conference calls for East African countries to prioritize water, sanitation programs

As rainy season begins, U.N. special envoy Clinton asks for more shelter, latrines for Haitian earthquake survivors

Some U.S. troops stay in Haiti; Aid officials prepare for rainy season

Ashton and Georgieva visit Haiti to evaluate development of European humanitarian aid

Surge in volunteers without overall coordination can make devastating situation worse instead of better

Senate Committee report addresses U.S. government response to Haiti

World Vision receives $19M grant from USAID to help families and communities in Haiti

Humans can harbor bacteria in gallstones, infect others with active typhoid fever

Also in global health news: Infant, maternal mortality in N. Korea; malaria in Cambodia; Zambia PEPFAR program; Pakistan's anti-polio campaign; U.N. Ambassador responds to Somalia; Myanmar refugees

Haitian President says up to 300,000 people could have died in quake

U.N. calls for $1.4B to fund basic needs in Haiti through the end of 2010

WHO urges medical aid agencies to remain in Haiti as health care system is rebuilt

U.S. decreases troop presence in Haiti

Senators Durbin, Brown travel to Africa to focus on health, other issues

Seminar held in Tallinn provides information about hygienic design and cleaning procedures

Haitian death toll climbs to 230,000, government says

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