The Atlantic: Stopping HIV Would Require an Entirely Different Trump
“The grand gesture of commitment to an implausible health goal is a State of the Union tradition. … On Tuesday night, Donald Trump championed ending AIDS in the United States. ‘My budget will ask Democrats and Republicans to make the needed commitment to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years,’ the president said. ‘Together, we will defeat AIDS in America and beyond.’ Leaked transcripts of the speech did not include ‘and beyond,’ which was presumably ad-libbed. That would be a much bigger commitment…” (Hamblin, 2/6).

CBS News: Trump promises to “defeat AIDS,” but his track record leaves critics skeptical
“…Critics aren’t convinced Mr. Trump can deliver on that promise. In a tweet Tuesday night, Representative Barbara Lee, the co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus, wrote that the president’s ‘record on HIV has been abysmal.’ … In a statement, AIDS United and other groups said, ‘We stand ready to work with him and his administration if they are serious. But to date, this administration’s actions speak louder than words and have moved us in the wrong direction’…” (Smith, 2/6).

New York Times: Trump Plan to Stop Spread of HIV Will Target ‘Hot Spot’ Areas
“…Officials have been planning an offensive against HIV with the precision of a military campaign. They intend to deploy platoons of community health workers to step up the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infections. [Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex] Azar said Mr. Trump would seek substantial new funds for the effort, but he refused to say how much…” (Pear, 2/5).

Roll Call: Trump could be his own biggest obstacle on HIV/AIDS plan
“…Trump is winning some praise for the goal, and most advocates say that, scientifically, it is achievable. However, the administration’s broader policies, such as liberalizing health insurance regulations and cutting discretionary spending, are at odds with increasing access to drugs and other steps that could end the spread of the high-profile disease…” (Siddons, 2/5).

Science: Applause, with some raised eyebrows, to Trump’s pledge to end AIDS in the U.S. by 2030
“…Shortly after the speech, the Department of Health and Human services released this fact sheet about the proposal; the White House is expected to release its annual budget request to Congress on 11 March…” (Cohen, 2/5).

STAT: Can the U.S. end the HIV epidemic in a decade, as Trump pledged?
“… ‘There were high expectations that the president would use this opportunity to announce something bold on HIV in the U.S.,’ said Jen Kates, vice president and director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation. ‘While getting anything into the (State of the Union) is always an achievement and important, this announcement had few details. There was no detail on funding, for example, or the specific components of what might be done,’ she said. ‘Without this detail, it is hard to say what this will mean for truly making a difference on HIV’…” (Branswell, 2/5).

Additional coverage of the State of the Union announcement is available from the Associated Press, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, BuzzFeed News, The Hill, Kaiser Health News, New York Magazine, Quartz, Rewire.News, Vox, Washington Post, Washington Times, and Yahoo News.

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The Hill: Trump pick sets up fight over World Bank
“President Trump’s pick to lead the World Bank could spark an unprecedented battle over the future of the multinational lender. Trump is set to nominate Treasury Under Secretary David Malpass — a fierce critic of the World Bank — to serve as its next president, spurring concern within the development finance world. Malpass has been a key figure in the Trump administration’s push to scale down U.S. foreign aid, and he has blasted lenders like the World Bank as ‘inefficient’ and ‘often corrupt’…” (Lane, 2/6).

Wall Street Journal: U.S. Works to Pave Way for Its Pick to Lead World Bank
“The Trump administration is moving swiftly to shore up support for the candidacy of David Malpass to be the next president of the World Bank, hoping to head off potential challengers as the nominating process gets under way. An official announcement of Mr. Malpass’s nomination is expected Wednesday, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been speaking with foreign counterparts to rally support for Mr. Malpass’s candidacy, according to a senior administration official. The World Bank presidency is formally open to candidates from other countries, but no other country has moved with the same urgency as the U.S., no other candidates have been announced, and so the U.S. may get its way in appointing a sharp critic of the institution to lead it…” (Zumbrun, 2/5).

Additional coverage of the expected nomination is available from Bloomberg, Foreign Policy, and Vox.

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Devex: New chief of House Foreign Affairs Committee outlines his top priorities
“The new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee asked for patience on Tuesday as he presented just a few of the many items the committee will be juggling — including foreign policy decision-making about Russia, North Korea, and China. Representative Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York, laid out his foreign policy priorities at an event at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. There was little mention of global health or development issues, although Yemen will be the subject of the committee’s first hearing this week, and he suggested an ongoing focus to address challenges in Central America causing migration to the United States…” (Saldinger, 2/6).

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Health Policy Watch: WHO Board Skeptical On Changes To Global Flu Framework, Sends Issue To WHA
“The World Health Organization Executive Board last week remained uncertain on the way forward on questions of access to influenza viruses as countries are increasingly implementing an international protocol regulating the sharing of genetic resources. The Board requested informal discussions be held in the lead-up to the annual World Health Assembly in May…” (Saez, 2/4).

Health Policy Watch: WHO Benchmarking Tool Made “More Transparent” In Evaluating Regulatory Authorities
“Over the past year, the World Health Organization (WHO) has rolled out the latest version of its benchmarking tool for evaluating progress of national regulatory authorities towards meeting WHO quality assurance targets. This benchmarking tool applies a more transparent and systematic approach than previous versions, and was developed through ‘extensive’ consultation with member states and the public…” (Branigan, 2/5).

Health Policy Watch: WHO Members Unite To Support Universal Health Coverage; U.S. Blasts Abortion
“…World Health Organization Board members agreed last week on a draft resolution for the preparation of a United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on universal health coverage in the fall, following intensive closed consultations. The United States, however, dissociated itself from language it thought gave a permissive view of abortion…” (Saez, 2/5).

Intellectual Property Watch: TRIPS Debated As WHO Board Reaches Agreement On Universal Health Coverage
“…The mention of TRIPS flexibilities no longer appears in the resolution as something member states should be encouraging, but an introductory paragraph (PP14) does mention the TRIPS flexibilities and the 2011 Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health ‘which recognizes that intellectual property rights should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of the right of Member States to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all, and notes the need for appropriate incentives in the development of new health products’…” (Saez, 2/5).

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U.N. News: With millions of girls ‘at risk’ today of genital mutilation, U.N. chief calls for zero tolerance
“Female genital mutilation, is ‘an abhorrent human rights violation’ still affecting women and girls around the globe, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres stated in his message for the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM, marked on Wednesday. ‘It denies them their dignity, endangers their health, and causes needless pain and suffering, even death,’ the U.N. chief added. … ‘On this Day of Zero Tolerance, I call for increased, concerted, and global action to end female genital mutilation and fully uphold the human rights of all women and girls,’ concluded the secretary general…” (2/6).

Associated Press: Grandmothers helping to banish female genital circumcision (Petesch, 2/6).

BBC News: What is FGM, where does it happen and why? (Ontiveros, 2/6).

BBC News: FGM: ‘The cruelest thing’ (Derbyshire, 2/4).

BBC News: Uganda FGM ban: ‘Why I broke the law to be circumcised aged 26’ (Byaruhanga, 2/6).

The Guardian: Female genital mutilation: 53,000 Australians have had procedure, report estimates (Davey, 2/6).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Factbox: What is female genital mutilation and where does it happen? (Batha, 2/5).

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IRIN: As Venezuela crisis spirals, needs across the Colombian border grow
“…According to aid groups and local people [in Colombia], last week saw an upsurge in arrivals as the situation in Venezuela spiraled further out of control, amid mass street protests calling for President Nicolás Maduro to step aside. Since last week, more than 30 countries have recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president, including the United States, Canada, several E.U. countries, and Colombia, while 15 others — including China and Russia — continue to support Maduro. Eleven regional countries have also issued a statement urging the Venezuelan military to back Guaidó and calling for the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid…” (Grattan, 2/5).

NPR: Collapse Of Health System Sends Venezuelans Fleeing To Brazil For Basic Meds
“Venezuela’s once impressive medical system has crumbled dramatically. But it’s hard to know exactly how bad things are — because the Ministry of Health stopped releasing national health data. … Statistics that have come out show that all the basic parameters of health in Venezuela have been moving ominously in the wrong direction for the past decade. Rates of malnutrition and HIV are rising; there are new outbreaks of preventable diseases like diphtheria. Infant mortality … is on the rise…” (Beaubien, 2/5).

Wall Street Journal: Venezuelan Opposition Plans to Import Aid, in a Slap at Maduro
“…Venezuelan exiles working with Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader the U.S. and other countries recognize as the nation’s interim president, on Tuesday had started shipping nutritional biscuits for malnourished children by truck to Cúcuta from Colombia’s capital Bogotá, a 12-hour journey on mountain highways. The tactic is designed to put the Venezuelan government on the spot in front of the international media. Venezuelan security forces will either turn back the aid, which is needed by impoverished residents, or permit it to come in against Mr. Maduro’s wishes…” (Pérez et al., 2/5).

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Bloomberg: Philip Morris Rebuffed by WHO as It Tries to Rewrite Narrative
“Philip Morris International Inc. is trying to burnish its image, most recently among the international, socially conscientious elite at Davos. But even as its upcoming earnings are expected to underscore its migration away from cigarettes, the World Health Organization says it’s not buying into the idea that the tobacco giant is ‘healthier’ than before. … If the WHO and tobacco companies are able to work together, Philip Morris says they can better encourage adult smokers who would otherwise keep buying cigarettes to switch to vaping or other alternatives it calls lower risk. … But the health organization doesn’t want to work with a company that still supplies 813 billion cigarettes a year to smokers outside the U.S…” (Kary et al., 2/6).

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Deutsche Welle: New U.N. study highlights global child poverty problem
“Children aged 14 and below represent 25 percent of the world’s population. But in many parts of the world they are disproportionately affected by poverty: two out of three children have no access to social protection…” (Chimbelu, 2/6).

Reuters: U.N. sees poverty hope in African uptake of child welfare payments
“The spread of state welfare for children around Africa has the potential to make a major dent in global poverty, the United Nations said on Wednesday. … Globally, about a third of children are covered by social protection programs, but it ranges from 88 percent in Europe and Central Asia to 16 percent in Africa, said a new study by two U.N. bodies…” (Miles, 2/5).

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Devex: Why can’t pregnant women be vaccinated during epidemics?
“…It is a common situation during outbreaks and epidemics. Most live vaccines are not offered during pregnancy due to a lack of evidence about how they might affect the fetus, since pregnant women are almost always left out of clinical research in developing epidemic vaccines. While there are good reasons to be cautious about how they are included in some types of research, [Carleigh Krubiner, a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development and one of the lead authors of a recent report on maternal immunization,] explained, excluding them ultimately exposes them to greater risks when outbreaks hit. The new report, supported by the Wellcome Trust, offers guidance on when and how to include pregnant women in vaccinations against emerging epidemic threats…” (Abrahams, 2/6).

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Agence France-Presse: On World Cancer Day, professor hails ‘tremendous progress’ made so far (2/4).

Al Jazeera: U.N. warns of health risks for Iraqi children in deadly winter (Matheson, 2/5).

Associated Press: Brazil institute: Potential health crisis from dam breach (Jeantet, 2/5).

Bloomberg: Ebola Fears Take Monkey Meat Off the Menu (Francis, 2/6).

The BMJ: Cervical cancer: deaths increase as HPV vaccine is underused, says WHO (Dyer, 2/6).

Devex: Q&A: WHO’s new Western Pacific director on vaccine hesitancy, UHC (Ravelo, 2/5).

The Guardian: Young woman dies in fourth ‘period hut’ tragedy this year in Nepal (Ratcliffe, 2/6).

SciDev.Net: West Nile Virus spotted in Pakistan (Shaikh, 2/5).

SciDev.Net: Community projects cut new malaria cases by 94 percent (Ogema, 2/5).

Science: Rise in size of African families may be tied to less schooling (Kaiser, 2/4).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: India’s doctors: from ‘conversion’ to conversation on LGBT+ issues (Rosman, 2/4).

U.N. News: Libya: $202 million needed to bring life-saving aid to half a million people hit by humanitarian crisis (2/5).

Xinhua News: Nigeria records 41,000 cancer-related deaths in 2018: WHO (2/5).

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Los Angeles Times: The anti-vaxx movement is a worldwide pandemic
Editorial Board

“…[I]n just the last few years there has been a 30 percent increase in measles worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. How has this disease that was once considered all but eliminated in the U.S. and other developed nations, surged back to life? According to international health officials, the same anti-vaccination fear-mongering that has been at work in the U.S is contributing to a decline in vaccination rates, and measles outbreaks around the world. … Not surprisingly, some of the declines have been in poor countries with limited access to health care. … But developed countries with strong health care systems have become measles hot spots as well. Last year, France and Italy had huge measles outbreaks that the World Health Organization says [were] driven not by lack of access to immunizations, but by a lack in trust in their efficacy. This distrust, called ‘vaccine hesitancy,’ is such a threat to public health that it is on the World Health Organization’s list of top 10 global health concerns for 2019. … Around the world, too many people seem to believe that vaccinations don’t really matter any more. Loose vaccination rules contribute to that sense. But those attitudes must change. Parents need to understand that vaccines save lives” (2/6).

The Conversation: Measles: Why it’s so deadly, and why vaccination is so vital
Paul Duprex, professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at the University of Pittsburgh

“…[F]orgetting the past has precipitated selective amnesia in our post-measles psyche. Ignoring scientific facts has tragically brought us to a place where some people fail to appreciate the values and utility of some of the most phenomenal tools we have created in our historical war on infectious disease. Unsubstantiated claims that vaccines like [measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)] were associated with autism, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, etc., etc., and ill-informed celebrities have wreaked havoc with vaccination programs. Genuine, caring parents unaware of the realities of diseases they had never seen decided that since the viruses were gone from this part of the world shots were so last millennium. Put simply, some people have given up on vaccines. This has created the perfect storm. Since the measles virus is so infectious and Europe, Africa, South America, and South East Asia are not really that far away by jumbo jet, a case somewhere in the world can lead to an infection anywhere in the world. Failure to vaccinate large groups of people is helping measles come back. … Now we can only live in hope that the last death from this deadly disease in the U.S. remains from 2015. Unfortunately, that is not a given” (2/1).

Baltimore Sun: Have vaccines become victims of their success?
Susan Krenn, executive director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

“…There are many factors at play: distrust in modern medicine and in government; fear of side effects; international travel, which brings diseases from one nation to another through the ease of an airplane flight; poor immunization infrastructure in lower- and middle-income countries; a misguided feeling that vaccines are worse than the diseases themselves. We must shift the narrative. We know parents want to help their children. Even as they reject immunizations, parents do so because they believe they are doing the right thing. Doctors need to take those concerns seriously, and carefully counter the misinformation and misperceptions that have led parents to this place without validating claims that have been debunked by science. The best response may be to lay out the facts about the harms of contracting a vaccine-preventable illness and explain that their child is susceptible, not to simply tell them they must vaccinate their kids. … [N]one of us can sit by and let those who oppose vaccines continue to make headway. There has been too much damage done already” (2/4).

Project Syndicate: Global Health Versus Online Trolls
Junaid Nabi, public health researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School

“…In the United States, a recent study in the American Journal of Public Health reported how Twitter bots and Russian trolls have skewed the public debate on vaccine effectiveness. … The internet amplifies the damage caused by these ‘alternative facts,’ because it can disseminate them at massive scale and speed — a few fake or troll accounts are enough to spread misinformation to millions. … If we don’t take robust and coordinated steps to address this alarming trend, we may lose out on a century’s worth of successes in health communication and vaccination, both of which depend on public trust. We can take several steps to start reversing the damage. For starters, health officials and experts in both developed and developing countries need to understand how this online misinformation is eroding public trust in health programs. They also need to engage actively with global social media giants … In addition, social media companies can work with scientists to identify patterns and behaviors of spam accounts that try to disseminate false information on important public health issues. … The next battle for global health may be fought on the internet. And by acting quickly enough to defeat the trolls, we can prevent avoidable illnesses and deaths around the world” (2/1).

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New York Times: Venezuela’s Crisis Spreads Beyond Its Borders
Editorial Board

“The tense standoff in Venezuela between Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guaidó has morphed into something far larger than a contest for power between a failed leader still supported by parts of the army and die-hard leftists, and a young legislator propelled to the front by popular demonstrations. In part because of the Trump administration’s all-in support for regime change, the crisis has become a dangerous global power struggle. That’s the last thing Venezuelans need. There is no question that President Maduro must go, the sooner the better. … [H]e has led his oil-rich country into utter ruin. Its currency is useless, basic foods and medicines have disappeared, and more than three million people have fled, fomenting refugee crises in Colombia, Brazil, and Ecuador. The only solution is an interim government under Mr. Guaidó, who as the head of the National Assembly has a legitimate claim to the presidency under the Venezuelan Constitution. It would lead to new presidential elections and a flood of emergency aid…” (2/5).

The Conversation: Venezuela: Denial of food is a human rights crime
Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann, professor emeritus in the Department of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University

“…Venezuela’s food shortages are a consequence of state-induced hunger, not of any natural events. The Venezuelan government and its illegitimate leader, President Nicolás Maduro, are guilty of state food crimes. … Venezuela is guilty of more than violating the right to adequate food. Maduro’s government is knowingly and willingly starving its people. … Knowing a government’s policies create famine does not mean much can be done about it. States have the sovereign right to violate their citizens’ human rights. However, states cannot commit genocide or crimes against humanity. States’ rights are far more important to the international governing communities than the rights of starving citizens. This is why Russia and China will probably oppose any moves at the United Nations to arrest Maduro and other Venezuelan leaders for crimes against humanity. So for the foreseeable future, Venezuelans will continue to flee in search of food. They will find it increasingly difficult to do so, as the countries they try to enter, such as Colombia, crack down on legal migration. The result is irregular migration controlled by smugglers and armed groups…” (2/5).

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ONE: You need to know about the bold fund fighting HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria everywhere
Robyn Detoro, digital coordinator at the ONE Campaign, discusses the importance of investing in the Global Fund, writing, “To make sure the Global Fund can continue with their critical work, they will be hosting their sixth replenishment conference in October. They’re asking world leaders and private investors to come together and help save 16 million lives over the next three years by meeting their replenishment goal of US$14 billion. This investment is the bold ambition the world needs to get us on track to stop the spread of these diseases — and it’s why we’re calling on world leaders to #StepUpTheFight by fully financing the Global Fund” (2/5).

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U.N. Dispatch: An American Has Always Led the World Bank… Until Now?
Mark Leon Goldberg, editor of U.N. Dispatch and host of the Global Dispatches Podcast, discusses the Trump administration’s expected nomination of David Malpass, an official at the U.S. Treasury Department, to serve as president of the World Bank. Goldberg also highlights a podcast in which he speaks with Scott Morris, senior fellow and director of the U.S. Development Policy Initiative at the Center for Global Development (CGD), “about the growing global discontentment over the United States’ lock on the job.” Goldberg writes, “[T]his time around, there is a good chance that World Bank member states will rally around a non-American” (2/5).

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Center for Strategic & International Studies’ “Take as Directed”: Realizing Kakenya’s Dream: Educating Girls and Ending Female Genital Mutilation
In this podcast episode, Janet Fleischman, non-resident senior associate at the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, “speaks with Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya, a Kenyan educator, activist, and founder of ‘Kakenya’s Dream,’ a leading nongovernmental organization for girls’ education, health, and empowerment, which also works to end [female genital mutilation (FGM)] and child marriage. Dr. Ntaiya discusses the personal journey that led her to form ‘Kakenya’s Dream,’ and how her work is helping to develop the next generation of women leaders in her community” (2/5).

UNICEF: Take action to eliminate female genital mutilation by 2030
In a joint statement on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem, and U.N. Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, discuss global efforts needed to end FGM, writing, “Thanks to the collective action of governments, civil society, communities, and individuals, female genital mutilation is in decline. But we are not aiming for fewer cases of this practice. We are insisting on zero” (2/5).

UNICEF: Ending female genital mutilation in Djibouti
Eva Gilliam, video consultant at UNICEF, discusses the practice of FGM in Djibouti, highlighting the experiences of a woman who underwent FGM as a child and is now an advocate to end the practice (2/6).

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PLOS Medicine: Setting targets for HIV/AIDS — What lessons can be learned from other disease control programs?
First authors Tazeem Bhatia, specialty registrar in public health for the global health team at Public Health England, and Jamie Enoch, research assistant on AIDS policy at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and colleagues discuss setting targets for HIV control using relevant lessons and experiences from malaria, leprosy, and tuberculosis control programs. The authors write, “Several important lessons emerge from our analysis that should be considered in developing future goals and targets for HIV control. Engagement of stakeholders as well as multidisciplinary scientific expertise … Balance between ambition and caution when setting targets … Avoiding burdensome reporting and conflicting targets … Retention of specialist skills … Sustaining investment and political commitment as incidence falls” (2/4).

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U.S. Department of State: Observance of International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting
In a press statement on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting, Robert Palladino, deputy spokesperson for the State Department, writes, “Ending this practice requires a survivor-led response and leadership from policymakers, health practitioners, and faith-based communities. … On this Day of Zero Tolerance, the United States stands with women and girls throughout the world and renews the call to end this abhorrent violence and to create a safer, healthier, and more prosperous future for all women and girls” (2/6).

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: ICE, FBI recognize International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
“February 6 marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI, both members of the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC), join U.S. and foreign government partners, non-governmental organizations, and local communities to call for the eradication of the practice…” (2/6).

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NIH Fogarty International Center: Global Health Matters
The most recent issue of the Fogarty International Center’s newsletter contains various articles addressing global health topics, including an article on a new fellowship program at NIH for African scientists; a summary of the 2018 Women Leaders in Global Health conference; and an article highlighting a supplement to the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene calling for more institutional support for mentorship training in low- and middle-income countries (January/February 2019).

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Kaiser Family Foundation: The U.S. Government Engagement in Global Health: A Primer
This updated primer provides a comprehensive overview of the U.S. government’s engagement in global health issues. Specifically, the document includes information about global health challenges; provides a brief history of the evolving responses of the U.S. government and other stakeholders; describes the U.S. agencies and programs involved in global health and the federal budget supporting these efforts; and explores how the U.S. engages with multilateral institutions and international partners (2/5).

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