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GAVI Alliance audit expressed 'serious concerns of misuse of GAVI funds' in Sierra Leone, Reuters reports

The GAVI Alliance "has put on hold some $6 million earmarked for Sierra Leone after an audit showed misuse of previous funds, a document seen by Reuters showed," Reuters reports.

21 Dec 2012

CHPA praises signing into law of anti-methamphetamine bill

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) today applauded Ohio Governor John Kasich for signing into law House Bill 334, an anti-methamphetamine bill authored by Representative Terry Johnson (R-Portsmouth) and Representative Danny Bupb (R-West Union). With the new law, Ohio now becomes the 25th state to adopt real-time, stop-sale technology known as the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx).

21 Dec 2012

Efforts to eliminate FGM 'breaking new ground' with approval of U.N. General Assembly resolution

"The fight to eliminate the scourge of female genital mutilation is breaking new ground," following the adoption of a U.N. General Assembly resolution on Thursday "calling on all states to enact legislation banning this egregious human rights violation," Emma Bonino, vice president of the Italian Senate and founder of No Peace Without Justice, writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

21 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Playing chicken on entitlements; 'Getting serious' about mental illness; Hospital labs devastated by Sandy

This is no time for a Grand Bargain, because the Republican Party, as now constituted, is just not an entity with which the president can make a serious deal. If we're going to get a grip on our nation's problems - of which the budget deficit is a minor part - the power of the G.O.P.'s extremists, and their willingness to hold the economy hostage if they don't get their way, needs to be broken. And somehow I don't think that's going to happen in the next few days (Paul Krugman, 12/20).

21 Dec 2012

Republicans press Obama administration for information on contractors

GOP members of the Senate Finance Committee say they want more information from the Department of Health and Human Services, even as House and Senate GOP lawmakers pressed for details about the contractors who will set up insurance markets in states that don't do it themselves.

21 Dec 2012

Mobile technologies helping mothers receive health information

"Twenty years ago this month, the first text message was sent through the airwaves," Sharon D'Agostino, vice president for worldwide corporate contributions and community relations at Johnson & Johnson, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, adding, "Since then, text messages have been used to communicate all sorts of information.

21 Dec 2012

Ambulance diversion not an effective way to control emergency department crowding

Massachusetts' 2009 ban on ambulance diversion not only did not increase emergency department length of stay or ambulance turnaround time but may actually have led to improvements in both areas, according to a study published online today in Annals of Emergency Medicine ("The Effect of an Ambulance Diversion Ban on Emergency Department Length of Stay and Ambulance Turnaround Time").

21 Dec 2012

Cholera strain from Guinea identified as more toxic, contagious

"Scientists say the cholera outbreak that struck more than 7,000 people in Guinea this year was caused by a more toxic and more contagious generation of the bacteria," and they "suspect the same strain killed nearly 300 people and struck more than 22,000 others in neighboring Sierra Leone," VOA News reports.

21 Dec 2012

Medicare rolls out quality bonuses and penalties

Under a new program created by the health law, hospitals can get larger payments -- or payment cuts -- based on the quality of care they provide.

21 Dec 2012

Looking back at global health in 2012

In a joint post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and a senior fellow at the CGD; research assistant Denizhan Duran; and Kate McQueston, program coordinator to the global health policy team, recap major global health events in 2012, linking to previous coverage of highlighted issues.

21 Dec 2012

Medical marijuana lawsuit in Calif. hinges on federal inaction, science

The fight over marijuana -- for medical purposes or not -- simmers in California, where the drug is treated casually and a large medical marijuana dispensary is challenging the federal government's closure of its business.

21 Dec 2012

Photo-catalytically active coatings can help reduce nitrogen oxides

Surfaces with photo-catalytic characteristics clean the air off nitrogen oxides and other health-endangering substances. Using a new test procedure, Fraunhofer researchers can find out how the coatings behave during a long-term test. They will introduce the test at the booth of the Fraunhofer Building Innovation Alliance in Booth 131 / 135 in Hall C2 at the Trade Fair BAU that will take place from 14 - 19 January, 2013, in Munich, Germany.

21 Dec 2012

Political cartoon: 'Pole Position?' By Jimmy Margulies

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Pole Position?" By Jimmy Margulies.

21 Dec 2012

Fewer people expected to go hungry in Africa in 2013, but more children face malnourishment

"Despite good rains across much of the Sahel this year, 1.4 million children are expected to be malnourished -- up from one million in 2012, according to the 2013 Sahel regional strategy," IRIN reports. "The strategy, which calls on donors to provide $1.6 billion of aid for 2013, says fewer people are expected to go hungry in 2013 -- 10.3 million instead of 18.7 million in 2012," the news service writes.

21 Dec 2012

Can crowdfunding be used effectively to advance HIV vaccine research?

"What will the next great leap forward be, and how can we make sure it gets tested ASAP?" Zachary Barnett, founder and executive director of Abzyme Research Foundation/ENDHIV.com, asks about HIV research in the Huffington Post's "Gay Voices" blog.

21 Dec 2012

PEPFAR scale-up linked to strengthening of health systems, study says

Noting "PEPFAR has been criticized for its vertical or 'stove-piping' structure, with resources targeting a specific disease rather than working to strengthen the underlying health system," a study published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes "aimed to evaluate whether PEPFAR activities were associated with system-wide improvements in both proximal and distal indicators of health systems strengthening."

21 Dec 2012

Pakistan reports 9th death in polio worker attacks, resumes vaccination campaign under police escort

"Another victim from attacks on U.N.-backed anti-polio teams in Pakistan died on Thursday, bringing the three-day death toll in the wave of assaults on volunteers vaccinating children across the country to nine, officials said," the Associated Press reports (Khan, 12/20). "Four female health workers were killed in Karachi, shot dead by masked men on motorbikes.

21 Dec 2012

GAO raises concerns about spending on new Medicare programs

The government may be duplicating efforts under several programs and paying for the same services to test new payment and treatment delivery models, a study finds.

21 Dec 2012

Feds OK health insurance exchange plans for three more states; Other 'Obamacare' implementation news

The Obama administration gave conditional approvals to Delaware, Minnesota and Rhode Island, saying they will be ready to open new insurance markets in 2014, as required under the health care law. Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper indicates he's likely to push for Medicaid expansion.

21 Dec 2012

U.N. General Assembly adopts resolution urging countries to ban FGM

"The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on Thursday urging countries to ban female genital mutilation, calling it an 'irreparable, irreversible abuse' that threatens about three million girls annually," Reuters reports.

21 Dec 2012

Healthcare News

GAVI Alliance audit expressed 'serious concerns of misuse of GAVI funds' in Sierra Leone, Reuters reports

CHPA praises signing into law of anti-methamphetamine bill

Efforts to eliminate FGM 'breaking new ground' with approval of U.N. General Assembly resolution

Viewpoints: Playing chicken on entitlements; 'Getting serious' about mental illness; Hospital labs devastated by Sandy

Republicans press Obama administration for information on contractors

Mobile technologies helping mothers receive health information

Ambulance diversion not an effective way to control emergency department crowding

Cholera strain from Guinea identified as more toxic, contagious

Medicare rolls out quality bonuses and penalties

Looking back at global health in 2012

Medical marijuana lawsuit in Calif. hinges on federal inaction, science

Photo-catalytically active coatings can help reduce nitrogen oxides

Political cartoon: 'Pole Position?' By Jimmy Margulies

Fewer people expected to go hungry in Africa in 2013, but more children face malnourishment

Can crowdfunding be used effectively to advance HIV vaccine research?

PEPFAR scale-up linked to strengthening of health systems, study says

Pakistan reports 9th death in polio worker attacks, resumes vaccination campaign under police escort

GAO raises concerns about spending on new Medicare programs

Feds OK health insurance exchange plans for three more states; Other 'Obamacare' implementation news

U.N. General Assembly adopts resolution urging countries to ban FGM

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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