Reuters: Mothers of babies afflicted by Zika fight poverty, despair “Nearly three years after a Zika outbreak in Brazil caused thousands of cases of microcephaly and other devastating birth defects in newborns, Reuters returned to check on the mothers and their children…” (Marcelino/Steenhuysen, 10/17). Reuters: Zika in Africa: Rare birth…

USAID: U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Mark Green’s Remarks at the Conference on Prosperity and Security in Central America In remarks at the Conference on Prosperity and Security in Central America, USAID Administrator Mark Green discusses USAID’s approach to development in Central America, highlighting U.S. efforts to provide food…

Aidspan: Global Fund Observer Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, published Issue 343 of the ‘Global Fund Observer.’ The newsletter includes articles on various topics, including a news article on the Global Fund’s announcement that it will donate $5 million to Venezuela…

Reuters: U.S. working to halt spread of diseases from Venezuela “The United States is working with governments across Latin America to help prevent the spread of diseases like diphtheria and measles from Venezuela as refugees flee the chaotic country, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on Tuesday…”…

U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Brazil: Secretary of Health Alex Azar to Attend Meetings in Brazil and Argentina for G20 Health Ministerial Meeting This week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar “will participate in bilateral meetings with government officials to discuss the ongoing collaboration between the United States…

Human Rights Watch: Brazil Should Not Forget the Zika Families João Guilherme Bieber, consultant at HRW’s Environment and Human Rights Division, discusses the impact of the Zika outbreak in Brazil. Bieber writes, “[F]amilies raising children with congenital Zika syndrome don’t have the support they need, much less services that protect…

Devex: U.S. pledges additional $48M for Venezuela crisis “United States Vice President Mike Pence announced an additional $48 million in U.S. funding for the regional response to Venezuelan refugees and migrants on Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly in New York…” (Welsh, 9/26).

Center for Global Development: Call a Spade a Spade: Venezuela is a Public Health Emergency Roxanne Oroxom, policy analyst, and Amanda Glassman, chief operating officer, senior fellow, and board secretary, both at CGD, discuss Venezuela’s health and humanitarian situation and outline how the international community can respond. The authors write,…

NIH: NIH funds study to prevent, treat HIV among adolescents in poor countries “The National Institutes of Health has awarded $7.5 million for an international research program to prevent and treat HIV infection among adolescents and young adults in seven African countries and Brazil. The study, called Prevention and Treatment…

The Lancet: Slow burn: tobacco control in the Americas Editorial Board “…[The] WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) … has been lauded as one of the most rapidly embraced treaties in U.N. history. However, it has also come under fire for poor implementation of its recommendations. … A report…