Polio Outbreak In Congo Leads To Emergency Immunization Effort “Eighty-five deaths and 184 cases of paralysis were reported in the port city of Pointe Noire, the epicenter of the Republic of Congo’s first polio outbreak in a decade, the World Health Organization said in a statement yesterday,” Bloomberg reports. “The…

A report (.pdf) released on Thursday by UNICEF highlights the recent progress made in reducing the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) despite ongoing social pressures in five African countries, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports. (11/18). “Millions of girls worldwide are cut or mutilated each year,” according to a UNICEF press release (.pdf). “The practice, a serious violation of their human rights, can cause severe, lifelong health problems including bleeding, problems urinating, childbirth complications and newborn deaths,” the release adds (11/18).

“The Obama administration is expected on Tuesday to announce a large increase in its pledge to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and to call for reform of the organization,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The pledge of $4 billion over the next three fiscal years to the Geneva-based organization comes as governments and donors around the world have slowed increases in spending to combat HIV/AIDS, with weaker economies straining budgets,” the newspaper adds (McKay, 10/5).

Marking the 10th anniversary of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 – the first “to recognize the importance of women’s ‘full involvement’ in efforts to maintain and promote peace and security” – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday together with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and diplomats called for increased action to end sexual violence in war and increase women’s involvement in peace-building efforts, the Associated Press/Forbes reports (10/26).

The NIH on Tuesday announced a partnership with Wellcome Trust and the African Society for Human Genetics that will enable African researchers to “use the latest genetic and clinical technology to study common health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and other diseases,” VOA News reports (DeCapua, 6/22).

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) discussed the need for a new foreign aid strategy and vision at an international development forum, hosted by InterAction on Wednesday, Congressional Quarterly reports.

Lancet Infectious Diseases Editorial Reflects On Need To Integrate HIV/AIDS, TB Prevention, Treatment Services Ahead of the International AIDS Conference, held July 18-23 in Vienna, Austria, a Lancet Infectious Diseases editorial notes, “While there has been welcome progress in making ART available, HIV/AIDS raises other challenges that we are only…

The U.S. State Department on Monday released its 2010 report on human trafficking, which “grades 175 nations on their efforts to fight this modern form of slavery,” Bloomberg Businessweek reports (Ten Kate/Gaouette, 6/15).

Under Shah’s Leadership, USAID Poised ‘To Regain Its Prominence’ In Global Nutrition, Lancet Opinion Says  Rajiv Shah’s appointment as USAID administrator “comes at a crucial time of challenge and opportunity for the Agency to improve the nutritional well-being of impoverished societies,” write the authors of a Lancet Comment that examines…

A new report highlights challenges facing the Obama administration in Africa, including HIV/AIDS, poverty and climate change, VOA News reports. The report, published jointly by Africa Action and Foreign Policy in Focus, notes despite the recent success of programs such as PEPFAR, funding for the program has not increased at levels seen in previous years, the news service writes.