KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report

In The News

China Pledges Additional $20M Over 5 Years To WHO; Leaders Discuss Potential For Partnerships Along New Silk Road

Devex: WHO proposes partnerships with China along Silk Road
“…Just six weeks after his July 1 appointment, [WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus] led the WHO delegation to the Belt and Road Forum for Health Cooperation. During the two-day conference, Tedros used the opportunity to press Beijing to become a leader in global health as it rolls out its $900 billion ‘new silk road.’ … Tedros secured an additional $20 million from the nontraditional donor for WHO’s work…” (Ravelo, 9/7).

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Gates Foundation Grants $120M To PATH For Vaccine R&D, Deployment

GeekWire: PATH receives $120M Gates Foundation grant to fuel vaccine development across the globe
“Seattle-based global health nonprofit PATH announced Wednesday that it has received a $120 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation aimed at fueling the organization’s development and deployment of life-saving vaccines. The funds will go to the PATH Center for Vaccine Innovation and Access (CVIA), which launched last year with an initial $11 million in funding from the Gates Foundation. As part of the grant, CVIA also added four vaccine experts to its leadership team…” (McGrane, 9/6).

Seattle Times: Booster shot: Gates Foundation gives Seattle global health group $120 million for vaccine work
“…A $120 million grant to PATH’s Center for Vaccine Innovation and Access, announced Wednesday, will allow the program to operate more like a pharmaceutical company — focused not on profits but saving lives, said Dr. Trevor Mundel, Gates’ president of global health. … The four-year grant will boost PATH’s ability to work on a wide range of vaccines, including against pneumonia — now the leading infectious killer of children — and a range of respiratory and digestive infections, said PATH President and CEO Steve Davis…” (Doughton, 9/6).

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Guardian Series Examines Early Childhood Development, Importance Of Maternal, Child Nutrition, Environmental Factors

The Guardian: About the First Fight series
“The First Fight, a series of reports on early childhood development, is funded by support provided by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. The journalism is editorially independent and its purpose is to focus on the early years and the issues that affect the cognitive and health development of young children most affected by global poverty…” (9/6).

The Guardian: The first 1,000 days: Jay Rayner explains their impact on a child’s future — video
“Good nutrition, health care, and sanitation are crucial to a child’s early development. Without these, a child’s brain won’t develop properly. They will have a lower IQ and they will grow up shorter than they should, a condition known as stunting. The Observer’s food critic, Jay Rayner, explains how a child’s future is determined by the first years of life…” (Purcell et al., 9/6).

The Guardian: ‘They should be much bigger’: the heavy toll of hunger on Madagascar’s children
“…[H]alf of Madagascar’s children are so chronically malnourished they grow up too small for their age, a condition known as stunting. The odds against these children making it to secondary school, let alone managing an intellectually or physically challenging job, are vertiginous. Research shows that if a child is stunted by the age of two, the damage to their young minds and bodies is virtually irreversible…” (McVeigh, 9/6).

The Guardian: Surviving without thriving — but all is not lost for the world’s ‘stunted’ children
“…[T]he view that stunting’s impact is irreversible has now been challenged — by an anthropological study which has followed the lives of children in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam over 15 years. Some of the first cohort in Young Lives are now having their own children, yielding insights into three generations. … [C]hildren who experienced greater than expected ‘catch-up’ growth (stunted at one, but recovered by eight) were more likely to be in age-appropriate classes at eight and to have higher cognitive scores than children who remained relatively short…” (Lamble, 9/7).

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Venezuelans With HIV Face Medication Shortages, Collapsing Health Care System

Washington Post: A Venezuelan woman had grown used to shortages. Then her HIV drugs ran out.
“…Already living with the world’s highest inflation rate and an increasingly repressive government, Venezuelans are facing an imploding health system. … [S]hortages of medication, the lack of tests, and the disintegrating economy, experts say, appear to be sharply worsening the HIV crisis now, making the country an outlier in a region that is generally making gains against the virus…” (Faiola/Krygier, 9/6).

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Cholera Complicates Humanitarian Response In Nigeria's Northeast, U.N. Says

Inter Press Service: Cholera in Northeastern Nigeria: An Endemic Outbreak
“…Cholera outbreaks are endemic in northeastern Nigeria. According to an overview in the Pan-African Medical Journal, such endemic outbreaks are prone to occur in conflict-affected areas where civil unrest has disrupted public sanitation services. Borno State is one of Boko Haram’s strongholds…” (Mogeni, 9/6).

Reuters: Cholera spreads through camps in Nigeria’s strife-hit northeast: U.N.
“…Most deaths were recorded in Muna Garage camp on the outskirts of state capital Maiduguri, the epicenter of the Islamist insurgency that has also destabilized neighboring Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. A U.N. report said more than 530 suspected cases of cholera had been registered by Tuesday — more than three times the number reported five days earlier. Twenty-three people had died, it added, up from 11 reported on Aug. 31…” (Miles, 9/6).

U.N. News Centre: Suspected cholera cases complicate already complex crisis in northeast Nigeria — U.N. relief wing
“…In addition to poor quality and quantity of safe water and very poor sanitation and waste management conditions, the region also suffers from high rates of malnutrition, especially among children — who are amongst the most vulnerable to the deadly disease…” (9/6).

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Sierra Leone To Vaccinate 500K People Against Cholera Following Deadly Mudslide

Thomson Reuters Foundation: After deadly mudslide, Sierra Leone vaccinates against cholera
“Sierra Leone will vaccinate half a million people against cholera as thousands risk infection in emergency shelters with limited access to clean water and sanitation, an official said three weeks after one of Africa’s worst mudslides…” (Lazareva, 9/6).

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War In Yemen Continues To Exacerbate Humanitarian Crisis, Pushes 7M People To Brink Of Famine

Financial Times: Yemenis fight for survival in country on the brink of famine
“…[M]illions of Yemenis [are] trapped in a conflict that has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises: two-thirds of the 28m population face food shortages and lack access to clean water. More than 5,000 civilians have been killed by bullets and bombs. Another 7m are on the brink of famine, according to the U.N. Now a cholera epidemic is raging across the country…” (al-Sakkaf, 9/7).

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About 800K Under-5 Children 'Severely Malnourished' In Lake Chad Region, NGO Says

Quartz: Nearly a million children are victims of a severe food crisis in the Lake Chad region
“Boko Haram’s insurgency in and around the Lake Chad region has seen thousands killed and millions more displaced. Now, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is shining a light on another set of victims: around 800,000 children under the age five who are ‘severely malnourished’…” (Kazeem, 9/6).

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Mosquitoes Capable Of Carrying Human Diseases Moving Into New Areas, Reporting Website Suggests

New York Times: Infectious Mosquitoes Are Turning Up in New Regions
“A mounting number of citations on a popular disease-tracking website suggests that mosquitoes may be moving into new ecological niches with greater frequency. The website, ProMED mail, has carried more than a dozen such reports since June, all involving mosquito species known to transmit human diseases…” (McNeil, 9/7).

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Sanofi Ends Research Into 2 Experimental Zika Vaccines After U.S. Funding Focus Shifts

Wall Street Journal: Sanofi Stops Work on Two Zika Vaccines
“Drugmaker Sanofi SA has ended its development of two Zika virus vaccines, citing a decline in new infections and limits on U.S. government funding, in a move that illustrates the challenges in sustaining research in emerging infectious diseases after major outbreaks subside…” (Loftus, 9/6).

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Editorials and Opinions

Global Community Should Unify Messaging To Strengthen WHO

HuffPost: A Strong WHO: We All Have a Role to Play #WHODrivingForce
Nicole Schiegg, stratcomms consultant

“…[C]ivil society is crucial to WHO’s efforts. … We are at our best when we hear several viewpoints and still unify around a common agenda. … We all have a role to play in WHO’s success. We need to take ownership in advocating for WHO, especially in donor cities. … [W]e should get into the habit of weaving in messaging for a strong WHO into our everyday dialogue. … We as a global health community need to hold WHO accountable while making the business case for its vitality. In this spirit, let’s support [WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus] as he strives to strengthen WHO’s image through better communications and more open engagement. … I encourage everyone to use #WHODrivingForce when you tweet, especially during UNGA Week. Together we can build a health for all movement and help drive transformative change” (9/6).

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Governments, Aid Organizations Should Ensure Public Awareness, Continued Support Of Lake Chad Region

HuffPost: Why Is No One Talking About One Of The World’s Largest Humanitarian Emergencies?
Alexander Matheou, executive director of international at the British Red Cross

“…The response from the international community [to the Lake Chad crisis] means famine has so far been averted, but getting aid to people is not easy. … The severity and complexity of this crisis means that it shows little signs of abating. … Aid organizations will need to adapt their approach to support different vulnerable communities, including ‘new’ and ‘long-term’ refugees, as well as those that choose to return home and rebuild their lives. Greater commitment and engagement is needed by governments and humanitarian organizations to help address the underlying existing grievances. This is not a crisis that can be solved by a military response alone. … [W]e must all work to ensure that the momentum of public awareness and support is maintained, to make sure that voices … are heard in this silent emergency” (9/6).

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From the Global Health Policy Community

'Science Speaks' Discusses Markup Of Senate's FY18 LHHS, SFOPs Appropriations Bills

Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks”: Senate funding committees vote to boost NIH, global TB investments, maintain global and domestic health funding
Christine Lubinski, executive director of the Center for Global Health Policy and vice president for global health at the Infectious Diseases Society of America, discusses global health-related aspects of the Senate FY18 Labor, HHS, Education and State Foreign Operations Appropriations bills, which will be considered by the full Senate Appropriations Committee today (9/6).

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CSIS Analyses Discuss U.S. Leadership In Global AIDS Response

Center for Strategic & International Studies: Advancing Country Partnerships on HIV/AIDS
Richard Downie, deputy director and fellow for the CSIS Africa Program, discusses U.S. investments to address HIV/AIDS, including support for PEPFAR and the Global Fund. He writes, “The United States should help countries put the foundations in place for a sustainable HIV response, including ambitious but realistic plans to grow their economies and increase the share of domestic revenues allocated to health” (8/9).

Center for Strategic & International Studies: Opportunities for U.S. Leadership at Its Moment of Reckoning on Global HIV
Sara M. Allinder, deputy director and senior fellow at the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, suggests three key considerations to guide the Trump administration and congressional leadership on global HIV: “1. U.S. leadership on HIV continues to advance U.S. national interests. … 2. U.S. leadership centers on a proven formula for success. … 3. We know what needs to happen next and we know what is at risk.” The report also demonstrates “how HIV remains a relevant policy priority for the U.S. government” (9/1).

Center for Strategic & International Studies: The Global Fund and PEPFAR
Todd Summers, non-resident senior adviser at the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, discusses the roles of the Global Fund and PEPFAR in addressing global HIV/AIDS, and how the two initiatives are complementary and threatened by proposed budget cuts (9/1).

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Food Insecurity Situations In Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria Warrant More Attention, CSIS Analysis Says

Center for Strategic & International Studies: The Four Famines: The Alarm Bells Are Ringing, But Who Is Listening?
Noting a lack of media attention to food insecurity in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan, and northeastern Nigeria, Kimberly Flowers, director of the CSIS Global Food Security Project, discusses questions about the looming famines, including, “Did we know this crisis was coming? … Is this humanitarian crisis really ‘unprecedented?’ How does it compare to the past? … How is famine related to conflict and U.S. national security? … What is the United States doing to help? … What are the long-term effects of famine?” (9/6).

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CSIS Report Provides Overview Of Ukraine's Health Sector, Reform Efforts

Center for Strategic & International Studies: Ukraine’s Health Sector
In this report, Judyth Twigg, director of the Eurasia Health Project and non-resident senior associate for the Russia and Eurasia Program at CSIS, discusses Ukraine’s health sector, including its current status, history, and reform efforts and challenges, writing, “The United States should make consolidation of health reform in Ukraine a policy priority, drawing on a strategy of high-level diplomatic engagement, continued strong bilateral support through USAID, and continued collaboration with key multilateral partners, including the U.N. agencies, the World Bank, and potentially the European Union” (8/18).

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