Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report—Health Systems

Recent Releases In Global Health

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:12:00 GMT

Also In Global Health News: HIV/AIDS In Uganda; Medical Equipment In Tanzania; Birth Control In Afghanistan; Ethiopia Malaria Fight

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:09:14 GMT

Los Angeles Times Examines Health Care In Sierra Leone

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The Los Angeles Times writes: "Sierra Leone is one of those nations where decades of foreign aid have failed to appreciably lift the fortunes of the people. The country is a charity case: 60% of its public spending comes from foreign governments and nonprofit organizations. Since 2002, it has received more than $1 billion in aid," the newspaper writes.

Opinions: Health System Funding; Malnutrition Assistance; Social Dimension Of HIV

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:02:00 GMT

Science-Based Health Policies Could Prevent Nearly 4M Maternal, Child Deaths In Africa, Report Says

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:29:35 GMT

Nearly 4 million deaths among women and children in sub-Saharan Africa could be prevented annually if relatively inexpensive, "science-based health policies" reached 90 percent of Africans, according to an African Science Academy Development Initiative (ASADI) report (.pdf) published Monday, Nature News reports. The report, which is the initiative's first policy paper, was released at the group's fifth annual conference in Accra, Ghana, from Nov. 9-11.

Also In Global Health News: Nutritionally-Enhanced Products; Health Care In India; Cell Phones As Microscopes; GSK Pneumonia Vaccine; Men Fighting HIV/AIDS

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:14:30 GMT

WHO Report Calls For Improved Health Care For Women, Girls

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:11:13 GMT

A new WHO report, released Monday, said women tend to "receive poorer quality care throughout their lives, particularly as teenagers and elderly people" even though they live six to eight years longer than men, Reuters reports. The WHO said women worldwide are "'denied a chance to develop their full human potential' because many of their critical medical needs are ignored" (MacInnis, 11/9).

WHO, MSF Highlight Poor Health Situation In Southern Sudan

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Three quarters of people in South Sudan, which has a population of 8 million, do not have access to health care, and 10 percent of children there and in Darfur die before the age of 1, Mohammad Abdur Rab, the WHO's representative to Sudan, said Thursday, Reuters/ABC News reports.

Recent Releases In Global Health

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:30:22 GMT

Rights Group Highlights Maternal Health Issues In India

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

"India is falling behind other countries in meeting international commitments to improve obstetric care because it does not adequately monitor deaths and injuries in the critical period following childbirth and fix gaps in its health system and programmes," Human Rights Watch said Wednesday, the Hindu reports.

Climate Change Is Biggest Global Health Threat To Children, Report Says

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:49:12 GMT

According to a report (.pdf) by Save the Children, climate change is the biggest global health threat to children in the 21st century, the Hindu reports.

PEPFAR Expands Efforts To Improve Health Services Worldwide Through Use Of Mobile Devices

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:03:43 GMT

Fierce Mobile reports on the recent announcement that PEPFAR is teaming up with the United Nations Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Vodafone Foundation to be a founding member of the mHealth Alliance, "a group seeking to bring health services to the most remote corners of the globe using mobile networks and technologies." U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby announced the partnership during a keynote address last week during the inaugural mHealth Summit in Washington, D.C., according to the news service (Versel, 11/3).

AMFm Subsidized Malaria Drugs To Be Delivered Soon

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:59:00 GMT

Subsidized artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) under the Affordable Medicines Facility - malaria (AMFm) program will be available in select countries "in two week's time," SABC News reports. The announcement came Monday at the 5th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) Pan-African Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

Recent Releases In Global Health

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:49:00 GMT

UNFPA Maternal Health Conferences Wrap Up

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:59:58 GMT

Two United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) conferences this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, gathered "international policymakers, government ministers, and lawmakers" to address the half a million maternal deaths annually, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports. Although the U.N. "hopes to reduce maternal mortality by three quarters between 1990 and 2015," this Millennium Development Goal target "has seen the least progress in recent years," the news organization writes.

Also In Global Health News: U.S. Grant To Uganda; Reproductive Health In Philippines; Counterfeit Drugs

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:56:51 GMT

More Than 150 Health Ministers Meet In Ethiopia To Discuss Maternal Mortality

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:52:02 GMT

At a U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, "[h]ealth ministers from around the world have agreed that swift action must be taken to reduce the number of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth," the BBC reports. While there appeared to be some agreement "that family planning was the most cost-effective way of [tackling] the problem ... no unanimous declaration was adopted at the Addis Ababa talks," according to the news service (10/26).

Gateses To Appeal For Ongoing U.S. Funding Of Global Health

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:42:12 GMT

Bill and Melinda Gates are expected to ask Washington officials on Tuesday to "continue funding global health initiatives despite the recession and to commit to nearly halve the number of child deaths worldwide by 2025," the Washington Post reports.

Post-Storm Conditions In Philippines Continue To Threaten Health

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:40:00 GMT

Filipinos are "struggling to live in flooded suburbs or crowded shelters one month after devastating rains began pounding the Philippines, and officials warn no quick fix is in sight," Agence France-Presse reports. According to the WHO, 1.43 million people, "mostly in and around Manila, continue to endure a dangerous existence living in flooded districts" (Morella, 10/26).

Opinions: Africa Food Aid; International Violence Against Women Act; Brain Drain

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:37:00 GMT