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The political situation in southern Kyrgyzstan has calmed down. But life for Kyrgyzstan’s kids has not. As their stories vanish from the front page, we risk putting their safety on the back burner.

We cannot allow that to happen for the 100,000 children displaced by violence. We cannot allow that to happen for the 400,000 kids who require to start school in September and yet find their schools damaged or destroyed.

Right now, UNICEF has raised about 40 per cent of the approximately $11.8 million these children need to have.

To date, UNICEF has airlifted some 200 metric tonnes of UNICEF supplies into the region, provided water and sanitation kits to internally-displaced households and given essential material and child well being supplies to wellness care facilities.

But winter is coming. Kyrgyzstan’s young children desperately need additional support. Unless we take the steps now, the harsh winters common in this region will result in further harm to youngsters, a lot of of whom already suffer from psychological trauma and wellness troubles.

UNICEF and its partners are focusing on establishing child friendly spaces exactly where children from all communities can feel safe and receive assistance and where females can also get psychological support. These spaces can also help supply a range of essential wellness interventions.

Along with urgent humanitarian assistance and recovery activities, UNICEF is operating to help restore trust among different groups and communities. Already, people from different communities have banded together for aid and shelter. Their example can present a model for broader reconciliation.

We must take the steps that can protect Kyrgyzstan’s children. The time to act is now. If we succeed, we will have not only helped save children’s lives, but helped promote peace in the region.

Source:
UNICEF

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NIH Program Pilots Drug Development For Schistosomiasis, Other Rare Illnesses

The NIH Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program has “launched five pilot projects that are taking the [NIH] in a new direction: developing drugs,” writes the Wall Street Journal. Among the projects is one that targets “drug development … for parasitic diseases schistosomiasis and hookworm.” The program, which has a $24 million budget, targets rare diseases because “many pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to take on the risks and expense of trying to develop new drugs for these conditions,” the newspaper writes. “‘Most with the problems we are addressing are not scientific issues,’ said Christopher P. Austin, director of the NIH program. ‘They are operational issues’” (Marcus, 7/24).

Cold Weather In Peru Prompts Emergency Declaration

“The Peruvian government has declared a state of emergency in more than half the country due to cold weather,” BBC News reports. This season, temperatures have reached -24C [11F]. The state of emergency was “declared in 14 of Peru’s 24 regions” and “means regional authorities can dip into emergency funds to supply medicine, blankets and shelter to those most affected,” based on the news service. Doctors attribute “malnutrition, extreme poverty and poor living conditions” as “major contributing factors” to hundreds of related deaths that have occurred inside the country (Collyns, 7/24).

Russia And U.S. Emergency Officials To Cooperate On Emergency Situations, Humanitarian Aid

Russian and U.S. chief emergency officials signed a joint statement outlining “key locations of cooperation” in “prevention and handling of emergency situations,” KyivPost reports. “This may be the 1st meeting between Russian and U.S. chief emergency officials under the [U.S.-Russian Bilateral Presidential Commission],” stated Yury Brazhnikov, a representative from the Russian emergencies ministry (7/23). Xinhua adds that “one with the immediate joint projects is offering aid to Kyrgyz population, stated Brazhnikov.” Among other key areas are the “joint assessment of food security” and emergency preparedness in Central Asia, “joint humanitarian response drills,” and “increased exchange of specialists and details between the Russian and U.S. humanitarian aid agencies” (7/24).

This info was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with type permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Loved ones Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Every day Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

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Senator Richard Lugar, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a paper (.pdf), which “sharply criticized Haiti’s president Thursday, portraying him as an ineffectual leader who is hindering recovery from January’s devastating earthquake,” the Canadian Press reports. Lugar “advised U.S. legislators to reconsider sending money to Haiti if reforms are not made.”

Haitian President Rene Preval has “demonstrated marginal capacity to lead his country’s reconstruction,” the 16-page paper says. In an opening letter, Lugar wrote, “President Preval’s actions do not suggest a departure from the self-destructive political behaviour that has kept Haiti the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.”

According towards the news service, the “report’s proposals cut to the heart of some of Haiti’s most intractable pre-earthquake conflicts, which it said have left rebuilding ‘almost at a standstill because of a dearth of political will and leadership.’ For 1, it calls for modernization with the land-title system, an archaic and anarchic void that plunges anyone trying to build on undeveloped terrain into a morass of competing claims, contradictory deeds and interfamily conflicts.” The paper also recommends the Haitian government make it easier to start and run companies, noting that sometimes investment proposals have “dragged on for years until investors just gave up.”

“It is incumbent upon Congress to reassess our government’s investments in Haiti if this partnership is in question,” Lugar stated in a statement, the Canadian Press reports. The report is based on info obtained from “meetings with 10 of Haiti’s most powerful businessmen, much more than a dozen of their counterparts inside the neighbouring Dominican Republic, U.S. diplomats and Globe Bank staff. The lone Haitian government official listed is Lionel Delatour, who consults for the Haitian committee aimed at growing garment exports to the U.S.” (Katz, 7/23).

The reconstruction of Haiti’s private sector can be a “main concern” with the report, the Wall Street Journal writes.

“The report warns that present efforts to rebuild Haiti could follow [previous] U.S. attempts to aid the country which it called unsuccessful,” the newspaper reports. “Since 1990, the U.S. has given roughly $4 billion in aid to Haiti, but the effort has ‘not delivered several improvements,’ the report said” (Casey, 7/22).

In related news, the Miami Herald examines Preval’s role inside the Haitian reconstruction effort. “For two months, Haitian President Rene Preval has been quietly laying the foundation for his quake-wrecked nation’s rebuilding. … Often criticized for inaction, Preval has personally dispatched government top loaders and bulldozers to many of the hardest-hit neighborhoods, asked international aid agencies to send displaced residents to clean up their own streets, and sat with neighborhood leaders and camp dwellers to determine their desires,” the newspaper writes.

Although “reconstruction remains slow … Preval stated he’s working on a three-prong reconstruction plan that includes using government heavy equipment to allow numerous of the estimated 1.5 million displaced quake victims to return to their neighborhoods, and having the government construct affordable multi-story apartments. At the same time, he’s pushing an innovative plan to redevelop downtown from the waterfront to the Champ de Mars with the help of Central Bank financing, and by using rubble to extend the Port-au-Prince harbor.” The post includes details about Preval’s vision for Haiti’s rebuilding, noting his expectations (Charles, 7/23).

This data was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Every day Global Wellness Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

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Global Wellness Leaders Respond To Recent New York Times’ Opinion Pieces

Two global health leaders respond to AIDS-related opinion pieces within the New York Times letters section.

The first letter, Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, addresses an opinion piece by Desmond Tutu, archbishop emeritus of Cape Town and honorary chairman with the Global AIDS Alliance. Goosby writes, “The United States has been and continues to be the global leader on HIV/AIDS. The best metric of our success is lives saved.” Goosby cites an increased number of folks on antiretrovirals financed by the United States and a commitment to treat four million more as portion with the Global Well being Initiative.

In a second letter, responding to a New York Times editorial about global AIDS funding, Adrienne Germain, president of the International Women’s Well being Coalition, writes: “[M]ore resources are required for programs to empower girls and females, here and in other countries.” She cites an increase within the number of ladies living with HIV globally and writes that girls can be empowered by developing self-esteem, educating young men and women that “violence and sexual coercion are unacceptable,” and supplying access to health services (7/23).

President Obama Should Listen To Tutu On U.S. AIDS Commitment

Former U.S. President George W. Bush was “rightfully celebrated for his commitment to fighting the global AIDS epidemic” while President Barack Obama’s budget increase of $366 million this year “doesn’t come close towards the $1 billion a year the existing president promised to add as a candidate,” writes journalist Sean Kennedy in a CNN.com commentary. Kennedy notes that “people around the world are starting to notice the discrepancy,” citing Tutu’s recent opinion piece.

The commentary also discusses Obama’s domestic AIDS strategy, which “isn’t much better,” in accordance with the author. “Obama should listen to his fellow Nobel laureate Tutu. … Right after all, he wants posterity to judge him far more favorably than Bush, right?” Kennedy concludes (7/23).

This data was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Loved ones Foundation. You are able to view the whole Kaiser Every day Global Wellness Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for e-mail delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

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Thousands of people around the globe have died in train wrecks brought on by natural disasters. In 2004, the tsunami in Southeast Asia derailed a Sri Lankan train, killing 1,700 individuals. But with modern advances, these tragedies can be avoided – and a Tel Aviv University researcher, working in collaboration with teams from seven countries, is leading the way.

Prof. Lev V. Eppelbaum of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Geophysics & Planetary Sciences and his colleagues are collecting high-tech sensing data from satellites, airplanes, magnetic and soil sensors, and unmanned aircraft to devise a solution that will supply a reliable early-warning system for train operators.

It’s all portion with the European Project FP7 research, “Integrated Program for Transport Infrastructures Surveillance and Monitoring by Electromagnetic Sensing,” which includes participants from Israel, Italy, France, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Romania. The international team of researchers aims to connect emerging technologies so that train accidents triggered by avalanches, earthquakes and even terrorists can be avoided.

A method to detect sabotage

Dr. Virginia Pascual, former director with the pediatric rheumatology division at UT Southwestern, contributed to the study. Researchers from Dynavax Technologies Corp. had been lead and senior authors of the paper; researchers at Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, the National Institutes of Health and Institut Curie in Paris also contributed towards the investigation.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Wellness, the Alliance for Lupus Research and also the Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research.

“Sinkholes, avalanches, landslides, earthquakes, flash floods – these disasters can cause train wrecks anywhere around the globe,” says Prof. Eppelbaum. “We are hoping to develop a platform that can be fitted to any railway, passenger or freight carrier, to better predict natural disasters and possible terror attacks on rail lines.” He says that his part of the study should be completed by next year.

“We are creating a new interpretation technique – permitting us to integrate cutting-edge technologies from across Europe,” he says, adding that the greatest challenge, right now, is eliminating background “noise” from the data becoming collected.

Climatic features and parameters like soil types and physical geography can be very different from 1 region to one more, which makes the work even far more of a challenge. Some of Prof. Eppelbaum’s recent research advances have been reported inside the Zeitschrift f???1r Geomorphologie, the Journal of Arid Environments and the Proceedings with the SAGEEP Conference (USA).

On the right Amtrak

The international team also hopes to examine the additional risk of terror attacks on trains. While all the other data collected by the research teams is going to be made public, this section will stay top secret.

Prof. Eppelbaum expects their methods is going to be adopted by the world’s railway systems. As the cost of fuel for cars and planes rises, and environmentally-friendly train travel is much more heavily promoted, experts predict that far more Americans will be riding the rails to work and between cities. In 2008, about 30 million passengers rode on Amtrak trains, and train ridership figures have been steadily increasing.

At present, there’s no monitoring method for either natural disasters or terror attacks on rail systems in America or anywhere else. Prof. Eppelbaum says he has his work cut out for him: putting together different geophysical measurements and formats of sensors, he is collecting very different kinds of data and trying to turn it into usable data.

“It’s complicated math and physics,” says Prof. Eppelbaum. “And yes, it includes lots of scribbling and equations on the chalkboard.”

Source:
George Hunka
American Friends of Tel Aviv University

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Victims of the on-going conflict in Colombia not only suffer from the direct consequences of violence triggered by the conflict but also from social and institutional stigma and neglect, based onInside the report, titled “Three Time Victims,” MSF documents how violence, stigma, and neglect impact the mental well being of people living in Caquet?????? Department of southern Colombia, and calls for mental health services to be adapted towards the requirements of this vulnerable population.

“Our teams witness the appalling reality endured by most with the population in Caquet??????,” said Teresa Sancrist????val, head of MSF operations in Colombia. “On the one hand, individuals are exposed to the violence perpetrated by the different armed groups, and on the other hand authorities and society fail to provide them with the attention they deserve. The consequences of this situation for mental wellness consist of severe psychological suffering that should be addressed by authorities.”

Between March 2005 and September 2009, MSF saw 5,064 patients in its mental wellness project in Caquet??????. Of these patients, 49.two percent had been directly exposed towards the conflict, caught within the fighting between armed groups, also as violent incidents involving threats, injuries, forced recruitment, displacement, movement restrictions, or killings of family members.

The victims of the conflict not only endure the consequences of direct violence, but also face social stigma. “In Colombia, the stigma surrounding those affected by the conflict forces them to keep silent about their condition and suffering, which prevents their social integration and recognition and sense of belonging,” said Mar???aa Crist????bal, MSF mental health officer in Colombia. This prevents people’s access to employment, housing, education, and wellness.

In addition to direct violence and social stigma, victims are often excluded from receiving state support through social services. This institutional neglect can be clearly observed through the scant recognition with the forced displacement phenomenon in Colombia.

“The Colombian government should live up to its responsibility in terms of tending towards the needs of these individuals,” said Sancrist????val. “Based on our experience in Caquet??????, we can say that offering mental well being care with limited resources in conflict contexts is possible and that this care can effectively improve patients’ conditions.”

Source:
Doctors Without Borders

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The American Red Cross has launched a new fundraising drive in anticipation of a very active hurricane season that could possibly be made even worse by the Gulf Coast oil spill.

“We are worried about predictions of a severe hurricane season along with the possibility that individuals will want to evacuate their properties for longer periods of time, given the oil inside the Gulf,” stated Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the Red Cross.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts three to seven major hurricanes this year. Key hurricanes are those Category three, 4 and 5 storms that do the most damage – for example Hurricanes Andrew, Katrina, Rita and Wilma – with winds of far more than 111 mph.

These predictions bear an eerie resemblance towards the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, when multiple significant hurricanes, which includes Katrina, struck the United States. Much more than 35 million individuals live in regions vulnerable to Atlantic Ocean hurricanes, and many within the Gulf Coast region are already experiencing hardship as a result with the oil spill.

In preparation for this hurricane season, the Red Cross has already spent $30 million training and preparing volunteers and pre-positioning equipment and materials and is gearing as much as offer 1 million meals a day, shelter for 350,000 people a day and deployment of 50,000 volunteers.

“Practicing what we preach on preparedness, we are asking the public for their support in advance, rather than following a disaster strikes,” said McGovern.

“Contributions towards the fundraising drive will support our readiness to the 70,000 disasters the Red Cross responds to every year, whether they are hurricanes that affect millions of folks, floods that affect thousands, or a house fire that drives 1 loved ones from their home,” added McGovern.

While media attention has focused on the Gulf oil spill and on Haiti, the American Red Cross has responded to 29 significant disasters within the U.S. so far this year. These have included floods in Tennessee, North Dakota, the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, tornadoes within the South and Midwest, and main fires in communities across the country.

As portion with the new disaster response fundraising effort, kicked off just ahead of the height with the hurricane season in August and September, the Red Cross is airing television ads, sending targeted fundraising appeals, using social media and making public appeals for disaster donations.

“Red Cross chapters across the country will probably be asking for help for disaster relief, and we hope people will respond,” McGovern stated. “Please click, text or call to donate to the Red Cross to help people affected by disasters. Every single donation brings hope to those in want.”

People who want to make a contribution can go here or call 1-800-REDCROSS to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief – or text REDCROSS to 90999.

The Red Cross spends about $450 million a year responding to nearly 70,000 disasters across the country – floods, hurricanes, wildfires, tornados and home fires.

You can help people affected by disasters like floods, fires, tornadoes and hurricanes, as well as countless crises at home and around the world, by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for and supply shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance in response to disasters. Check out here or call 1-800-RED-CROSS. Contributions may also be sent to your nearby American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

Source:
American Red Cross

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Kyrgystan Asks For $1.2B In Aid To Rebuild Country

“Kyrgyzstan’s government appealed to an international donors conference Tuesday for $1.two billion in aid to rebuild the country after months of political and ethnic violence,” the Related Press reports. The conflict “ravaged significant markets and organizations, depriving the south of important sources of employment and economic development.” The AP adds that “the most instant attention is being paid towards the humanitarian situation within the south, exactly where thousands have been forced to take refuge in tents or live with relatives” (Leonard, 7/27). In June, the U.S. committed $6.5 million in humanitarian aid towards the country (Kaiser Every day Global Health Policy Report, 6/17).

TB Efforts In Western Pacific Require Much more Financial Support

Xinhua reports that the WHO “warned Monday that the Western Pacific Region’s gains in tuberculosis manage over the last decade would be lost” without more financial and technical support. The epidemic concentrates in vulnerable populations with limited access to health care, in accordance with Shin Young-soo, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific. Shin’s remarks were made in the Stop TB Technical Advisory Group meeting, which also discussed HIV, which he said can be a “major threat and has the potential to reverse the gains achieved by the TB control efforts” (7/26).

AP/Washington Post Examines Pakistan’s Water Crisis

A growing population and inefficient farming practices are causing a “severe [water] crisis” in Pakistan, according to the Associated Press/Washington Post. Nearly 630 children die every single day and “up to a third of Pakistan’s 175 million folks lack safe drinking water,” the news service reports, citing a study by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The AP/Washington Post reports that Pakistan’s water availability per person dropped from 5,000 cubic meters in 1947 to 1,000 today and notes that “at least” 90 percent of the country’s water is used for farming (7/26).

Medical Fees Create Barriers To Care For Pregnant Ladies In Zimbabwe

Health service fees are “opening a growing gap between policy and implementation in maternal health” in Zimbabwe where the government policy is that pregnant ladies, new mothers and infants should receive free care, Inter Press Service reports. “Expecting mothers are required to pay a 50 U.S. dollar booking fee at clinics and government hospitals, but this is … an amount several here cannot afford.” In some instances, females are told they cannot leave the hospital or are denied documents needed to get a birth certificate until they pay their bills, the news service reports, adding that “the country’s rapid economic decline inside the past decade has compelled well being institutions to raise their own revenue to meet costs.” The write-up also examines Zimbabwe’s progress toward Millennium Development Goals on child and maternal well being and a “proliferation” of traditional medicine because of women’s inability to access formal health care (Banda, 7/26).

MODS Culture Method Shows Promise In Diagnosing TB In Youngsters

“The microscopic-observation drug-susceptibility (MODS) culture method, using duplicate gastric-aspirate specimens, may be the best diagnostic test for pulmonary tuberculosis in high-risk youngsters in a resource-poor setting, in accordance with research published online” Tuesday in Lancet Infectious Diseases, HealthDay/ModernMedicine reports. Researchers from Tulane University compared 218 young children, from a low-income region in Lima, Peru, with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis with 238 controls. Twenty-two situations had “at least one positive M tuberculosis culture,” and also the researchers found that MODS was “more sensitive” than the standard Lowenstein-Jensen culture, diagnosing 20 of 22 patients compared with 13 of 22 patients (7/26).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. It is possible to view the whole Kaiser Every day Global Well being Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for e-mail delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

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African leaders participating in the 15th African Union (AU) Summit, which concluded on Tuesday, agreed to expand a campaign aimed at curbing maternal mortality on the continent and adopted other “key actions” in an effort to reduce infant and maternal mortality, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

Summit attendees agreed to extend the Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA), Bience Gawanas, the AU’s commissioner for social affairs, stated. “The primary objective of CARMMA [which was launched in the AU's health minister conference in May 2009] is to accelerate the availability and use of universally accessible top quality health services which are vital for the reduction of maternal mortality, particularly in countries with high rates,” the news service writes. AU leaders also decided to broaden the campaign to focus on the well being of newborns, in addition to maternal health, Gawanas added.

“The lives of African ladies and young children could be the concern of everybody. This session has been a historic first in the sense that the debate strongly focused on the lives of Africa’s girls and kids in development,” Gawanas stated (7/27).

“Thirteen Member States have launched [CARMMA] nationwide and eight others would do so by the finish of the year. We hope that during this Summit which is getting held under the theme ‘Maternal, Infant and Child Health and Development in Africa,’ and in the end with the deliberations which we trust is going to be productive, the other Member States will come on board,” H.E Jean Ping, chairperson of the AU Commission, said in an address (.doc) towards the executive council (7/22). Ping said, “We want an Africa exactly where females want not die because they are giving life,” the Daily Monitor reports.

Also in the summit, African leaders renewed the 2001 Abuja Declaration, which calls on African countries to spend at the least “15 percent of their national budgets, excluding donor contributions, on well being,” the Everyday Monitor writes, noting that only “Botswana, Rwanda, Niger, Malawi, Zambia and Burkina are currently meeting this target” (Lirri, 7/28).

Leaders also agreed “to strengthen national wellness systems with comprehensive maternal, newborn and child wellness services,” PANA/Afrique en ligne reports. “Aware with the fact that the majority of African countries would not achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the session also noted that it is important to adopt best well being practices that have already been tested in some of the member states.” In addition, the summit agreement “directed the AU Commission to explore the best mechanism for African countries to access funds pledged by the recent G8 Summit” and called for countries to produce annual reports on maternal and child health to share at future AU meetings (7/27). “The AU appealed to donors who will meet in an October 2010 meeting of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to extend the fund’s support to child and maternal health,” Inter Press Service reports.

Gawanas called the summit “historic.” She said, “[W]e have been asking about political will and leadership and there is certainly no doubt that the AU heads of states and governments have shown the political will to promote maternal and child health on the continent.”

IPS also reports on the reaction of civil society groups who “were initially concerned that the conflict in Somalia … would overshadow the formal theme of the summit.” The post includes reaction from representatives of Save the Young children and Oxfam (Michael, 7/28).

On Monday, Ugandan First Lady Jeannette Museveni highlighted how a lack of water and sanitation results in several child deaths on the continent, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

“Each day, 2,000 small Africans die from diarrhoea, while the use of toilets with all the hygiene and wellness conditions can reduce the mortality rate related to this illness by 90 percent,” in accordance with a communique issued Monday on the sidelines of the summit (7/27). Other African initial ladies joined Museveni’s call for “African leaders to improve access to potable water to tackle child mortality,” Leadership/allAfrica.com reports. “If we do not multiply and improve our efforts, if we do not recognise the integrated nature of Africa’s development, by improving the well being of our young children and our mothers, they is going to be extremely challenged,” Museveni stated on behalf of the first ladies (7/27).

On Tuesday, State Department officials held a briefing on the AU summit. A full transcript is available (7/27).

WFP Wants To Help Africans Address Hunger, Promote Self-Sufficiency, WFP Head Says

The U.N. is committed to helping African nations address hunger and malnutrition, but also aims to help the continent feed itself, Josette Sheeran, executive director with the World Food Program (WFP), told leaders the AU Summit, the U.N. News Centre reports.

“When designed right, social protection programmes including school meals, food-for-education and food-for-work are foundations for not just beating hunger and malnutrition, but also drivers for agricultural development and faster economic growth,” she stated. Food aid programs are sometimes the biggest purchasers from smallholder farms, she stated. “They help create community infrastructure like roads, irrigation, food processing and storage connecting farmers to markets. They help ensure that farmers and others benefit from the food supply chain so food reaches the individuals who want it most,” in accordance with Sheeran who highlighted the “Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative by which WFP buys surplus from local farmers’ organizations for its aid operations,” the news service writes.

“WFP envisions the day when its emergency operations in Africa will likely be largely supplied by African farmers. We are gearing programmes to empower folks to be food self-sufficient and contribute towards the food supply chain,” she said (7/27).

U.N. Official Discusses Importance Of Malaria Fight With African Leaders

Also in the summit, U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) that the fight against malaria is a central component of strengthening the wellness of girls and youngsters and making progress toward other MDGs, the U.N. News Centre writes.

“If you continue to see malaria manage as an integral component of reaching the MDGs … of building strong wellness systems … of improving your people’s well-being … then the success we have noticed to date will continue, and grow,” Migiro stated. She noted ALMA’s recent efforts, “including ensuring pooled procurement of goods and services, and eliminating taxes and tariffs on these life-saving products,” the news service writes. “The new investments you triggered are now paying off,” she said. Though she highlighted some significant achievements in malaria manage more than the last few years, she said, “these results stay fragile, and tremendous challenges remain.”

“The challenges she cited include finishing the job of scaling up life-saving measures, noting that 85 percent of the world’s malaria cases and 90 percent of malaria-related deaths still occur in Africa. She stated it is also vital to address the emergence of mosquitoes that are resistant to many of the insecticides used on mosquito nets and for indoor spraying, such as by training more experts to monitor and analyse this situation.”

“Malaria is an ancient enemy. The fight against it will probably be lengthy,” in accordance with Migiro. “But we are on the road to success. With perseverance, we will win” (7/27).

This data was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family members Foundation. You are able to view the entire Kaiser Every day Global Well being Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for e-mail delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

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House Passes War Supplemental Spending Bill; Includes Fund For Haiti

The House on Tuesday passed a $59 billion war supplemental spending bill by a vote of 308-114, which will now be sent to President Barack Obama “for his signature,” CongressDaily reports (Sanchez, 7/28). The bill includes “$2.8 billion for relief efforts in Haiti,” Foreign Policy’s blog “The Cable” notes (Rogin, 7/27).

Kenya To Roll Out Safer ARV Regimen

Kenya will switch its HIV therapy regimens to contain a less toxic combination of drugs in line with Globe Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, PlusNews reports. Patients is going to be initiated on the safer drugs “as soon as subsequent month [August],” in accordance with Ibrahim Mohamed, director of Kenya’s National AIDS and Sexually transmitted infections Control Programme. “WHO has recommended that [antiretroviral drug] Stavudine be replaced with less toxic drugs like Tenofovir (TDF) or Zidovudine, better known as AZT. A number of the side-effects of Stavudine contain nerve harm and changes in body shape.” The article also discusses patients’ reaction, 1 of “cautious excitement,” and funding concerns, which Mohamed stated will make the roll out gradual: “we expect to phase it [Stavudine] out completely by the finish of four to five years” (7/27).

Florida At Risk Of Dengue Outbreak, Expert Says

“An epidemic of dengue fever inside the Caribbean and Latin America has increased the risk of an outbreak of the sometimes deadly mosquito-borne virus in South Florida, a bioclimatologist and dengue expert said on Tuesday,” Reuters reports. The state’s “proximity to affected countries,” and similar tropical climate increased the possibility of dengue spreading in Florida, Douglas Fuller, chair of University of Miami’s Geography and Regional Studies, told the news service. Fuller also noted Florida’s desires to “put a lot more effort into early warning capacity, preventative kinds of measures, rather than reactive measures based on passive surveillance” (Fletcher, 7/27).

Meanwhile, the Palm Beach Post features an write-up about the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute-Florida in Port St. Lucie, which has been “researching dengue fever for years” and has discovered leads they hope will foster vaccine and therapy developments. Specifically, the institute has been “examining the human immune system’s responses to dengue fever compared with its response to yellow fever, a similar mosquito-transmitted virus for which an effective vaccine has existed given that the mid-20th century” (Duret, 7/27).

CBC Reports On Needle-Free ‘Nano-Patch’ Vaccine

Researchers in Australia have “developed a needle-free, dissolving vaccination that they say could possibly be mailed to households in the course of a pandemic,” CBC reports. The “nano-patch,” which researchers described in a paper in the journal Small, is smaller than a postage stamp and does not require to be refrigerated. “When the patch is placed against the skin, the projections push through the outer skin layer and deliver the biomolecules towards the target cells,” in accordance with the CBC. The new patch, which has not but undergone clinical trials, uses one-100th of the dose found in a needle so the “cost to the wellness program is reduced,” explained study co-author Mark Kendall of the University of Queensland’s Australian Institute for Biotechnology and Nanotechnology (7/27).

Merck Forms Joint Venture With Chinese Pharmaceutical Group Sinopharm

The pharmaceutical company Merck on Tuesday announced “it will team up with Sinopharm, a huge Chinese distributor and maker of pharmaceutical as well as other wellness products,” the Related Press reports. “In its latest move to expand in emerging markets, Merck will form a joint venture with Sinopharm, cooperating on vaccines for illnesses such as human papillomavirus in China,” the news service writes (Johnson, 7/27). As component of the agreement, the companies “will also discuss the potential for promoting and marketing Merck’s pharmaceutical products in China,” based on a Merck press release (7/27).

“Merck as well as other Western drug companies are rushing to grab market share in emerging markets including China and India,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Rivals such as Pfizer Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC believe much with the industry’s growth in coming years is going to be in these countries, as expanding middle classes gain better access to health care, and changes in lifestyle increase the prevalence of certain chronic illnesses like diabetes” (Loftus, 7/27). Merck “has projected that much more than 25 percent of its pharmaceutical and vaccine sales will come from emerging markets by 2013, up from 17 percent currently,” according to Reuters (7/28).

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