Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report—Maternal and Newborn Health

Family Planning Drive Launched During Conference In Uganda

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:22:12 GMT

Agence France-Presse examines a new U.S.-backed "12 million dollar family planning drive launched" Wednesday during a three-day conference on family planning in Kampala, Uganda. The project aims to "improve access to contraceptives for women in six African nations [including Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Kenya] as well as Indonesia and Pakistan," the news service writes (Simon, 11/18).

UNFPA Report Highlights Relationship Between Family Planning, Women's Health And Climate Change

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:09:00 GMT

"Providing access to contraception for 215 million women, mainly in developing countries, would help to stabilize population growth and significantly reduce the effects of climate change," according to a report released Wednesday by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Nature News reports (Gilbert, 11/18).

GAVI Alliance Drives Down Pentavalent Vaccine Costs, Data Shows

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:45:22 GMT

The "co-ordinated buying policy" of the GAVI Alliance has driven down "[t]he price of a vaccine that helps babies fight off killer diseases," according to data released by the group, Reuters reports. In 2010, the price of pentavalent vaccine, which protects against Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and hepatitis B, will fall "below $3.0 – a drop of almost $0.50 cents per dose on the 2009 price," according to the news services.

Health, Policy Experts Gather For 3-Day Conference On Family Planning

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:12:21 GMT

By offering family planning services to people seeking HIV/AIDS information and treatment, Africa's population growth rate could be curbed by 2.5 percent, health experts said Monday during an international family health conference in Kampala, Uganda, Agence France-Presse reports (11/16).

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.

Maternal Mortality, Abortion Rates Decline In Former Soviet Bloc

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:41:44 GMT

Over the last decade, the maternal mortality rate has dropped by 50 percent in some former Soviet bloc and Balkan countries, according to a U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) report released Thursday, Agence France-Presse/France24 reports.

New York Times Examines Impact Of Small, Direct Grants To Boost Development In Afghan Village

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:33:00 GMT

The New York Times examines the use of small, direct grants to improve health and development in Afghanistan. The article focuses on efforts in "Jurm, a valley in the windswept mountainous province of Badakhshan, in the northeast," where small amounts of money – "often less than $100,000" – were given directly to villagers.

Almost 200M Undernourished Children Worldwide, Report Says

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:55:20 GMT

In developing countries, almost 200 million children under the age of 5 "suffer from stunted growth and health problems due to poor nutrition in their early years," according to a UNICEF report released on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

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.

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).

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.

Also In Global Health News: Breast Cancer In Developing World; Burkina Faso ITN Distribution; Diarrhea In People Over Age Five; Gates Q&A

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Opinions: Obstetric Fistula; Malaria And Climate Change

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:06:12 GMT

Also In Global Health News: Undernutrition In Afghanistan; Namibia's HIV Clinics, Outreach Programs

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:49:00 GMT

Recent Releases In Global Health

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:49:00 GMT

Advocates Call For Increased U.S. Investment In Global Health

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:33:35 GMT

A report released Thursday by a group of global health experts outlines ways the U.S. can work toward increasing access to health care throughout the world, Inter Press Service reports.

New York Times Examines Debate Over U.S. Global Health Spending Priorities

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:17:00 GMT

The New York Times examines the "debate over whether the United States and other rich nations spend too much on AIDS, which requires lifelong medications, compared with diarrhea and the other leading killer of children, pneumonia, both of which can be treated inexpensively."

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.

Gates Foundation Praises U.S. Global Health Investments, Calls For 15-Year Goal Of Cutting Child Deaths Worldwide By Nearly Half

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:27:00 GMT

As part of a "major push to convince the United States to maintain government spending on worldwide health initiatives, despite the financial crisis and a soaring U.S. budget deficit," the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is urging U.S. policymakers to commit to cutting "the number of child deaths each year, from 9 million to 5 million" by 2025, CNN reports.

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).