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U.N. set to announce expansion of 'Every Woman Every Child' program

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday is expected "to announce a significant expansion of the organization's ambitious global program to tackle infant and maternal mortality and boost access to reproductive health over coming years," the Financial Times reports.

21 Sep 2011

'Science Speaks' interviews director of multilateral diplomacy at OGAC

In the second in a series of interviews with staff members of the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC), which is responsible for PEPFAR, the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog speaks with Winnie Roberts, director of multilateral diplomacy at OGAC.

21 Sep 2011

HHS publishes guidance for health exchange state partnership model

Meanwhile, Arizona's efforts to create an exchange are morphing into a political hot potato. Also in the news, WellPoint has purchased its own private exchange to compete with the state-run versions envisioned in the health law.

21 Sep 2011

Big monthly premium hikes likely next year for Medicare Rx plans

Although monthly premiums will go down next year for Medicare prescription drug coverage on average, seniors in the most popular plans will see sizable jumps - notably a 14 percent hike for the 4.7 million in United Healthcare's plans, a new study says.

21 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 21, 2011

For Kaiser Health News, Jackie Judd talks with PBS NewsHour's David Chalian about the GOP presidential candidates' health law repeal rhetoric, the varying level of nuance among their viewpoints and how each is attacking the President's – and each other's – stances.

21 Sep 2011

Influential leaders hold high-level discussions on biomedical S&T initiatives

Influential leaders from the medical and research communities held high-level discussions on biomedical science and technology (S&T) initiatives at the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Sept. 16.

21 Sep 2011

Free public lecture to reveal new insights into brain cells linked with stroke, cerebral palsy

A free public lecture at the University of Leicester is to discuss how the white matter of the brain could be the key to understanding and treating brain disorders - not grey matter as previously thought.

21 Sep 2011

Gothenburg researcher advises patients with acute low back pain to stay active

Move if you have back pain, this is the advice of a researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. Patients with acute low back pain who were advised to stay active despite the pain fared better than those who were told to adjust their activity in line with their pain.

21 Sep 2011

Foreign Affairs examines history of negotiations on NCD political declaration

Foreign Affairs on Tuesday published an analysis examining the history of negotiations behind the political declaration approved on Monday by leaders attending the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases.

21 Sep 2011

MedPAC offers possible offsets for Medicare physician pay fix

Still, Obama's deficit-reduction plan, released yesterday, includes no funding for the doc fix. Some are eyeing a Medicaid adjustment that will garner $13 billion in savings as a possible cash cow - but competition is stiff for these funds.

21 Sep 2011

St. Jude Medical pledges $100,000 to support SIR Foundation's Discovery Campaign

The Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation's Discovery Campaign, which seeks to further the growth of minimally invasive medicine into new areas of discovery, announced a major corporate pledge to that initiative. St. Jude Medical Foundation, the philanthropic arm of St. Jude Medical, has pledged $100,000 and is a "Pioneer" level supporter.

21 Sep 2011

GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry's record on women's health scrutinized

As the GOP presidential primary campaign continues to heat up, news outlets focus on Texas Gov. Rick Perry's state policy record: An NPR report today examines his funding for women's health. Meanwhile, Michele Bachmann offers her take on employer-sponsored health insurance.

21 Sep 2011

U.S., WHO sign MOU to help nations support International Health Regulations

The U.S. and the WHO on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) "to help developing nations strengthen their capabilities to support the International Health Regulations (IHR)," which is "an international agreement that requires WHO Member States to prevent and respond to acute public health risks that have the potential to cross borders and threaten people worldwide," according to a State Department press release.

21 Sep 2011

Three reports evaluate global progress to meet MDGs 4 and 5

Three recent reports -- a one-year assessment released by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health of the WHO on Tuesday, an analysis by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington published on Tuesday in the Lancet, and a Save the Children report released on Monday entitled "No Child out of Reach" -- examine the progress of the global campaign to save mothers and children under five in developing nations and evaluate whether Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, reducing child mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 and maternal deaths by three-quarters over the same period, can be met.

21 Sep 2011

World leaders should commit to closing health care worker gap

Recent U.N. statistics showing a drop in child mortality are both good and bad, because the number of child deaths continues to drop, but "progress isn't reaching all families around the world, and it isn't reaching newborn babies as often as older children," Joy Lawn, director of Global Evidence and Policy for Save the Children's Saving Newborn Lives program, writes in a GlobalPost opinion piece.

21 Sep 2011

New organ donation rules under consideration

Surgeons retrieving organs for transplant just after a donor's heart stops beating would no longer have to wait at least two minutes to be sure the heart doesn't spontaneously start beating again under new rules being considered by the group that coordinates organ allocation in the United States.

21 Sep 2011

Pakistan officials move to contain dengue epidemic that has infected thousands

"On top of a raging insurgency and devastating seasonal floods, Pakistan is reeling from a particularly acute outbreak of dengue fever that has left local authorities scrambling to contain the epidemic" and has put a strain on the health care system, the Washington Post reports, adding that the disease "has already infected thousands across the country and killed as many as two dozen people."

21 Sep 2011

UAB surgeons perform second toe-to-thumb transplant

Cary Ramey has the word Carpe tattooed on the underside of his right wrist and Diem tattooed on the left. He loves extreme sports, especially mountain biking and "rock climbing without the ropes."

21 Sep 2011

World leaders unanimously approve NCD political declaration

World leaders attending the first-ever U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) kicked off the summit on Monday by "unanimously approving a 'political declaration' meant to stem a rising tide of NCDs, now the world's leading killer," CNN reports.

21 Sep 2011

AIDS 2012 CCC selects Turning The Tide Together as theme for XIX international conference

The AIDS 2012 Conference Coordinating Committee (CCC) have selected Turning The Tide Together as the theme for the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012), which will be held in Washington, D.C. from 22 - 27 July 2012.

21 Sep 2011