KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report

In The News

U.S. Travel Bans, Quarantines Will Not Prevent Coronavirus Spread, Disease Outbreak, Response Experts Testify In Congressional Hearing

Bloomberg Law: Travel Ban Won’t Help Contain Coronavirus, House Panel Told
“The Trump administration’s travel ban isn’t the answer to combating the spreading coronavirus outbreak, the former U.S. Ebola response coordinator told a House panel. ‘We don’t have a travel ban. We have a travel band-aid right now,’ Ron Klain, who led the Obama administration’s Ebola response effort, told the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation on Wednesday at the first congressional hearing since the outbreak occurred in late December. … The ban has 11 exemptions and is based on people’s passports, not where they’ve traveled, Klain said. The focus should be on monitoring people who have visited the Hubei province in the past 14 days, he said…” (Baumann, 2/5).

CNBC: Epidemiologist warns lawmakers: U.S. can’t keep coronavirus ‘out of our border’
“U.S. travel restrictions implemented in recent days to keep a fast-moving virus that has crippled much of China from spreading across America won’t work, a top epidemiologist told U.S. lawmakers Wednesday. ‘I have never seen instances where that has worked when we are talking about a virus at this scale,’ epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Health Security, testified before the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee. … Other witnesses included Jennifer Bouey, senior policy researcher at the Rand Corporation, and Ron Klain, former White House Ebola response coordinator. Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation, announced the hearing last week…” (Lovelace/Feuer, 2/5).

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U.S., China Clash Over Taiwan's Lack Of Recognition At WHO

Reuters: U.S. clashes with China over Taiwan’s place at the WHO table
“The United States and China clashed on Thursday over the issue of Taiwan’s exclusion from World Health Organization (WHO) meetings, where it is represented by China, with Beijing accusing Washington of political ‘hype-up.’ Earlier on Thursday, Taiwan accused China of providing the WHO with wrong information about the number of coronavirus cases on the island, after the WHO published incorrect case numbers earlier this week. Andrew Bremberg, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, told the WHO Executive Board in Geneva that the agency should deal directly with Taiwan authorities…” (Blanchard et al., 2/6).

VOA: Coronavirus Tests US-China Ties
“The United States is transporting donated supplies, including life-saving personal protection equipment and medical and humanitarian relief supplies, to Hubei, China, to help with the ongoing coronavirus crisis. The shipments, delivered by planes chartered by the U.S. State Department, arrived in Wuhan this week, as the Chinese government asserts that Washington has not provided substantive assistance. … Analysts said the fast spread of the deadly novel coronavirus and the handling of the ongoing crisis is further testing U.S.-China ties, as mistrust and gaps in information-sharing remain between the two major powers…” (Ching, 2/5).

Additional coverage of U.S.-China relations, and Taiwan’s efforts to be recognized at the WHO, is available from Al Jazeera, CNBC, Reuters, and U.S. News.

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WHO Releases Strategic Response Plan For Novel Coronavirus, Calls For 'Evidence-Based' Prevention Approaches; Researchers Model Potential Growth Of Outbreak

Devex: Tedros addresses criticism against China coronavirus response
“World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called on the international community to focus on taking actions to prevent the further spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak, instead of speculating on what China did or did not do in the early days of the outbreak. … Tedros said if something was hidden, the world would have witnessed more cases spilling outside its borders, given how connected China is to the rest of the world. But the number of cases outside China is ‘very small,’ he said. … But he said an after action review led by scientists can determine and reveal the truth. … In the meantime, he urged the international community to focus its actions toward investing in epidemic prevention and control…” (Ravelo, 2/6).

The Hill: WHO develops strategic response plan as Belgium reports first case of coronavirus
“The World Health Organization (WHO) released a global strategic preparedness and response plan Wednesday to the growing outbreak of the coronavirus. The fundamental framework of the plan will consist of six objectives: limiting human-to-human transmission; identifying and isolating patients in early stages; identify and reduce transmission from the animal source; address crucial unknowns; communicate critical risk information; and minimize social and economic impacts through multi sectoral partnerships…” (Kelley, 2/5).

Science: ‘This beast is moving very fast.’ Will the new coronavirus be contained — or go pandemic?
“…Two months after 2019-nCoV emerged — and with well over 20,000 cases and 427 deaths as of 4 February — mathematical modelers have been racing to predict where the virus will move next, how big a toll it might ultimately take, and whether isolating patients and limiting travel will slow it. But to make confident predictions, they need to know much more about how easily the virus spreads, how sick it makes people, and whether infected people with no symptoms can still infect others. … With the limited information so far, scientists are sketching out possible paths that the virus might take, weighing the likelihoods of each, and trying to determine the fallout…” (Kupferschmidt/Cohen, 2/5).

The Telegraph: Countries urged to avoid ‘blanket approach’ to contain surging coronavirus outbreak
“The World Health Organization has warned countries to take an ‘evidence-based approach’ when responding to the threat of the coronavirus after the U.K. urged its citizens to leave China. In a veiled criticism of the Foreign Office, which advised British residents to quit China if possible, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, said ‘blanket approaches’ were not helpful. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, he pointed out that 80 percent of China’s cases of the coronavirus were in just one province — Hubei in central China…” (Gulland, 2/5).

Additional coverage of the novel coronavirus outbreak and response is available from Bloomberg, Bloomberg Quint, Devex, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Reuters, Scientific American, The Telegraph, VOA, and Vox.

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WHO To Set Research Agenda For Novel Coronavirus, As Scientists Work To Develop Experimental Vaccines, Patients Seek Effective Treatments

Reuters: WHO convening experts on drugs, vaccines to set coronavirus research agenda
“Hundreds of experts will meet in Geneva next Tuesday and Wednesday to set research and development priorities for coronavirus drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines to combat the outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday…” (Nebehay, 2/5).

STAT: In effort to develop coronavirus vaccine, outbreak expert sees ‘hardest problem’ of his career
“As China struggles to contain an epidemic caused by a new coronavirus, science is racing to develop vaccines to blunt the outbreak’s impact. Central to the effort is CEPI — the Oslo, Norway-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations — a global partnership created to spearhead development of vaccines in just this type of emergency…” (Branswell, 2/6).

Wall Street Journal: China’s Coronavirus Outbreak Prompts Patients to Scramble for Remedies
“Desperate for a cure for the new coronavirus spreading quickly across the country, Chinese families are flocking online to seek experimental remedies that might be effective against the virus, despite government warnings that no proven treatment has been found…” (Chin/Wang, 2/6).

Additional coverage of research into a novel coronavirus vaccine and efforts to find effective treatments is available from The Economist, Foreign Policy, Homeland Preparedness News, New York Times, and Reuters (2) (3).

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African Nations, WHO Work To Prepare For First Coronavirus Cases On Continent With Close Ties To China

Washington Post: Africa has 1.2 billion people and only six labs that can test for coronavirus. How quickly can they ramp up?
“…No cases have been confirmed so far in any of Africa’s 54 countries, but the risk of an outbreak is high, World Health Organization leaders say. Africa is home to 1.2 billion people, including an estimated 1 million Chinese nationals, who tend to work in business, construction, oil, and mining — a testament to Beijing’s increasingly tight relationship with Senegal, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and beyond. … To address that concern, medical teams from 15 African nations are convening in Dakar on Thursday for an emergency workshop on the first layer of readiness: diagnosing the new virus. WHO officials said 24 countries, encompassing most of Africa’s population, will receive the material needed to conduct the tests by the end of the week…” (Paquette et al., 2/6).

Additional coverage of African nations’ responses to the novel coronavirus is available from The Guardian and Reuters.

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WHO Appeals For $675M To Bolster International Response To Novel Coronavirus

U.N. News: $675 million appeal to stop coronavirus in its tracks, as deaths rise
“The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) appealed on Wednesday for $675 million to boost international measures to counter the new coronavirus epidemic, as deaths from the outbreak [surpassed] 500. … Noting the concern generated by the virus, Tedros added that ‘we must not forget how difficult it is for the people of Wuhan,’ in reference to the city at the epicenter of the outbreak in central China…” (2/5).

Additional coverage of the WHO’s appeal is available from VOA and Washington Times.

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Gates Foundation Pledges $100M To Assist In Coronavirus Response

Business Insider: The Gates Foundation is spending $100 million to fight the coronavirus outbreak. Bill Gates has warned about a pandemic for years.
“As the novel coronavirus continues to spread around the world, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced on Wednesday that it is contributing $100 million toward the fight to contain the outbreak. ‘The funding will help strengthen detection, isolation, and treatment efforts; protect at-risk populations; and develop vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics,’ the foundation said in a press release. The foundation previously pledged to spend $10 million to boost efforts to address the outbreak, so the new figure includes that sum, though it’s a significant jump…” (Secon, 2/5).

Additional coverage of the Gates Foundation pledge is available from AFP, CNN Business, Devex, and Forbes.

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News Outlets Report On China's Handling Of Coronavirus Outbreak, Political Impacts

Financial Times: Coronavirus: the cost of China’s public health cover-up (Kynge et al., 2/5).

New York Times: China Clamps Down on Coronavirus Coverage as Cases Surge (Zhong et al., 2/5).

Reuters: China troubled at U.K. PM Johnson’s silence over coronavirus: BBC (Faulconbridge, 2/6).

Reuters: China may delay annual meeting of parliament due to virus outbreak: sources (2/6).

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Devex Examines Development Community's Concerns Over Funding For New International DFC, Potential Impacts On Other Aid Programs

Devex: Potential budget bump for DFC raises concerns about aid funding
“The development community has generally supported the new International Development Finance Corporation, but a proposal expected in the budget request next week is raising concerns that funding the new agency’s equity authority could come at the expense of other aid programs. … While the development community wants to see DFC succeed, several development experts told Devex that they had serious concerns about how the agency’s equity authority is being funded and that they felt Congress and the administration need to fix the way equity is treated…” (Saldinger, 2/6).

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World Bank To Split Africa Department To Align With Growing Loan Portfolio

Devex: Exclusive: With lending to Africa up, Malpass splits World Bank Africa department in two
“The World Bank will split its regional department for Africa in two, effective later this year, World Bank President David Malpass said Wednesday. … In an interview with Devex, Malpass described the move as a ‘recognition of the big challenges Africa is facing’ and an alignment of the World Bank’s personnel and management with its growing loan portfolio for Africa. … Malpass noted that the continent is also home to more than 40% of all people living in extreme poverty…” (Kumar, 2/5).

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Gavi, Partners To Immunize 45M Children In Africa, Asia With Measles Vaccine

Reuters: Measles vaccine drive aims to protect 45 million children in Africa, Asia
“Up to 45 million children in seven developing countries will be immunized against measles in a series of major vaccination campaigns to try to halt a global surge in the viral disease, the GAVI vaccine alliance said on Wednesday. … ‘Measles cases rose alarmingly in 2019, affecting hundreds of thousands of children and claiming many young lives,’ said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF’s executive director. ‘These measles outbreaks have taught us that we need to stay vigilant. We can’t afford to wait and watch’…” (Kelland, 2/4).

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Female Genital Mutilation Poses Serious Health Risks To Women, Girls, Hurts Global Economies, WHO Says On International Day Of Zero Tolerance

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Female genital mutilation hurts economies, says WHO
“Female genital mutilation (FGM) is exacting a ‘crippling’ economic toll on many countries, the United Nations said on Thursday as it launched a tool to help them calculate the cost of treating girls and women harmed by the practice. An estimated 200 million girls and women worldwide have undergone FGM, which causes a host of mental and physical health problems including hemorrhaging, chronic infections, cysts, and life-threatening childbirth complications…” (Batha, 2/6).

U.N. News: Female Genital Mutilation costs $1.4 billion annually: U.N. health agency
“Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) poses serious risks to the health and well-being of women and girls, but it also exacts a crippling economic toll, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). New modeling by the U.N. agency to coincide with the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, marked on Thursday, reveals that the cost of treating the total health impacts of FGM would amount to $1.4 billion globally per year…” (2/5).

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UNHCR Stepping Up Humanitarian Response In Africa's Sahel Region

U.N. News: Africa’s Sahel: Act now before the crisis ‘becomes unmanageable,’ urges Grandi
“The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) is stepping up response in Africa’s Sahel region where escalating violence has forced a rising number of people to flee their homes. Agency chief Filippo Grandi this week concluded a visit to three affected countries — Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Niger — expressing alarm over the rapidly deteriorating situation…” (2/5).

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More News In Global Health

AFP: Nepal census will add 3rd gender, recognizing LGBT minority (Gurubacharya, 2/6).

Devex: How can data build a truer picture of the gender gap in food insecurity? (Welsh, 2/4).

Devex: Video: How school meals can fight malnutrition (2/3).

New Humanitarian: The Gambia’s ‘MeToo’ year breaks silence on rape (Hunt, 2/5).

Science: Colombia’s first ever science minister faces calls to resign over fungi-based cancer treatment (Ortega, 2/3).

STAT: Gilead loses its challenge to a pair of U.S. patents for an HIV prevention pill (Silverman, 2/5).

The Telegraph: One in eight cancers may be triggered by viruses, study suggests (Knapton, 2/5).

Xinhua: Zimbabwe to host high-level U.N. conference on SDGs (2/5).

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Editorials and Opinions

Editorials, Opinion Pieces Discuss Novel Coronavirus Outbreak, Global Response

Wall Street Journal: China’s Taiwan Quarantine
Editorial Board

“…[A]mid this public health emergency, China is playing power politics at the world’s peril in its treatment of Taiwan. … The WHO has held two emergency meetings since the coronavirus outbreak. Taiwan wasn’t permitted to attend, despite its proximity to China and its handful of confirmed cases. … China’s bullying ought to be intolerable amid the coronavirus outbreak. As the single largest contributor to the WHO, the United States should make that clear to Beijing” (2/4).

Washington Post: In combating coronavirus, slamming the door to China will hurt more than help
Editorial Board

“…Physical isolation, rapid diagnostics of suspected cases, and monitoring of others can be vital tools. … China’s draconian lockdown of Wuhan and other cities was an attempt to physically contain the outbreak … But there is a serious possibility the virus will spread. … [T]hose who have been through this before wisely counsel that shutting down air routes and disrupting trade for a prolonged period will hurt more than it will help. Supply chains that are critical to the global economy, involving autos, technology, and even the surgical face masks so ubiquitous in recent weeks, emanate from China and are vital to everyone else. We must move on from emotion and fear to the immense practical needs of coping with the new coronavirus if it becomes a global pandemic. Surveillance, diagnostics, and improving capacity in health care systems, as well as new therapies, are practical priorities” (2/5).

Bloomberg: Coronavirus Would Be Worse Without the Web
Tyler Cowen, Bloomberg Opinion columnist (2/5).

Bloomberg: Quarantines and Travel Bans May Not Stop Coronavirus Now
Faye Flam, Bloomberg Opinion columnist (2/5).

Devex: Opinion: The danger of misinformation in a global health emergency
Vivianne Ihekweazu, managing director of Nigeria Health Watch (2/5).

The Guardian: Letters: Issues raised by coronavirus in geopolitics, science and economics
David YL Lin, representative at the Taipei Representative Office in the United Kingdom, and Robert East, emeritus professor of consumer behavior at Kingston University (2/5).

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Increase In Funding For Frontline Activists Critical To Ending FGM, Five Foundation Co-Founder Writes In Opinion Pieces

Devex: Opinion: Ending FGM by 2030 will be led by women
Nimco Ali OBE, co-founder and CEO of the Five Foundation

“…I am calling directly on donors — particularly large foundations — to take notice and to think differently about how to end FGM and fund a better future for all of the world’s girls. Grassroots activists know what they are doing and are fine-tuning their approaches all the time to ensure maximum impact. Awareness of FGM is one thing, but without an increase in global funding, we will not see an end to this devastating abuse in our lifetimes” (2/6).

The Guardian: We will end female genital mutilation only by backing frontline activists
Nimco Ali OBE, co-founder and CEO of the Five Foundation

“…The U.N. has set a 2030 deadline to end [female genital mutilation (FGM)]. … The Five Foundation partners with large charities … as well as with dozens of grassroots groups … We must all work together as much as we can. But we are also calling on foundations and governments to change the way we fund efforts to end FGM. This means finally trusting and supporting frontline activists … who are the most credible and effective agents of change — but who have been left out of the equation for far too long” (2/6).

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'Hope Is Not Lost' Because Of Experimental HIV Vaccine Failure, EGPAF President Writes In Opinion Piece

Washington Post: Letters to the Editor: A vaccine failed. But hope is not lost in the fight against HIV.
Chip Lyons, president and chief executive of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

“When imagining an HIV vaccine, we envision a breakthrough so historic that, after more than 30 years, the end of the epidemic would finally be in sight. The Feb. 4 news article ‘Trial of promising HIV vaccine fails’ starkly reminded us that, so far, that is not the story of HIV. While disappointed this trial was ineffective, we should remind ourselves that this is why clinical trials exist. Hope is not lost. … [W]e must continue to work toward a vaccine while developing cutting-edge diagnostics and better medicines for vulnerable populations, including children and adolescents. Only with unwavering determination on all fronts will we usher in a generation free of AIDS” (2/5).

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From the Global Health Policy Community

Global Health Community Discusses Response To Coronavirus Outbreak, Need For Strengthened Global Health Security

IDSA’s “Science Speaks”: 2019-nCoV: Spread of coronavirus highlights need for strengthened global health security
In a guest post, Judith Wasserheit, chair of the global health committee for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, William H. Foege chair of global health and professor at the University of Washington and co-director of the University of Washington MetaCenter for Pandemic Disease Preparedness & Global Health Security, and Krutika Kuppalli, vice-chair of the IDSA global health committee, affiliated assistant clinical professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, faculty fellow in the Center for Innovation in Global Health, and fellow through the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, discuss how the coronavirus outbreak highlights the need for strengthened global health security (2/5).

Africa Center for Strategic Studies: What the Coronavirus Means for Africa
Shannon Smith, professor of practice and director of engagement at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, discusses the potential threat the coronavirus outbreak poses to Africa (2/4).

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: U.N. food agencies offer support to China amid coronavirus outbreak
“The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Programme (WFP) have jointly expressed solidarity with China and offered support to the country as it battles the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak. In a joint letter to President Xi Jinping, the heads of the three agencies … paid tribute to the resilience of the Chinese people and praised the efforts made by the country dealing with the emergency…” (2/5).

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Analyses Discuss Funding For Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child Health

BMJ: Equity of resource flows for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health: are those most in need being left behind?
In an analysis published in BMJ on resource flows for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH), Melisa Martinez-Alvarez, senior scientist at the MRC Unit in The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and colleagues write, “Although equity has improved in recent years, donors and country governments still need to improve the amount and targeting of funding for [RMNCH]” (2/3).

The Lancet Global Health: Estimates of aid for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health: findings from application of the Muskoka2 method, 2002-17
Antonia Dingle, research fellow in health financing at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and colleagues discuss estimates from the Muskoka2 method to track aid for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (2/5).

 

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U.N. Agencies Recognize International Day Of Zero Tolerance For FGM

UNICEF: Approximately 1 in 4 FGM survivors were cut by a health care provider
“Around 1 in 4 girls and women who have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM), or 52 million FGM survivors worldwide, were cut by health personnel, according to a new analysis by UNICEF…” (2/5).

UNFPA-U.N. Women: Statement by UNFPA-U.N. Women on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation
In a statement by UNFPA-U.N. Women on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, Oluremi Sogunro, representative at UNFPA Iraq, and Dina Zorba, representative at U.N. Women Iraq, discuss the importance of protecting girls in Iraq from FGM (2/5).

UNFPA: Unleashing Youth Power: A Decade of Accelerating Actions Towards Zero Female Genital Mutilation
In a joint statement, UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, U.N. Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus discuss the need to eliminate FGM and the role young people can play in ending the practice (2/5).

WHO: Female Genital Mutilation Hurts Women and Economies
“Female genital mutilation (FGM) exacts a crippling economic as well as human cost, according to World Health Organization (WHO). … New modeling reveals that the total costs of treating the health impacts of FGM would amount to USD 1.4 billion globally per year, if all resulting medical needs were addressed…” (2/6).

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CGD Experts Discuss MVAC Blueprint To Create Market For New TB Drugs

Center for Global Development: A Final MVAC Blueprint — and the Start of an R&D Revolution?
Rachel Silverman, policy fellow at CGD, and colleagues discuss the Market-Driven, Value-Based Advance Commitment (MVAC) proposal, “a mechanism to create and guarantee a market for better TB treatment, if and when such a treatment becomes available,” and highlight a blueprint outlining its rationale and basic structure. The authors write, “We believe the MVAC is an innovative mechanism that can help to kickstart the R&D revolution needed to tackle diseases of the poor whilst also creating the beginnings of a marketplace for innovative products in emerging markets. We are proposing first use of this mechanism for new drugs for TB” (2/5).

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Health Affairs Blog Post Discusses Air Pollution In Delhi, Indian Government's Response

Health Affairs Blog: Delhi In A Chokehold: Air Pollution As A Public Health Emergency
Juliette Simpson McHardy, a former intern at the World Health Organization headquarters, and colleagues discuss the “ever tightening chokehold” of pollution in Delhi, which is “causing catastrophic health harms.” The authors conclude, “With air pollution in Delhi reaching new peaks, solutions must include unconventional and unpopular measures that tackle short- and long-term causes and benefit all residents of the city. Bold governments, a unified center-state front, and an independent, truly empowered agency focused on long-term measures — all are required to respond to a public health emergency” (2/5).

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From the U.S. Government

U.S. Continues To Provide Humanitarian Aid To Venezuelans In Need With Support From International Donor Community

U.S. Department of State’s “DipNote”: Delivering Life-Saving Humanitarian Relief to Venezuelans in Need
Carol Thompson O’Connell, acting assistant secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, writes, “Since 2017, the United States has provided over $656 million to aid the Venezuela crisis response, of which nearly $473 million is humanitarian assistance for the millions of Venezuelans who have been forced to flee their homes and those facing acute humanitarian needs inside Venezuela. … We continue to urge the international donor community to provide support for the crisis response so that Venezuelans displaced abroad and those enduring urgent humanitarian needs in Venezuela may live in dignity. The United States stands with the international community in supporting the region and we must all band together to support Venezuelans and the countries that host them. The United States cannot do it alone” (2/5).

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State Department Observes International Day Of Zero Tolerance For FGM/C

U.S. Department of State: Observance of International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting
This statement from Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus says, “The practice of female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C) undermines the basic human rights of women and girls. The United States continues to stand with the international community in support of the brave women and youth who are working toward a future in which no girl or woman will have to face this horrific threat. … The United States is proud to have contributed more than $20 million since 2017 to help end the practice of FGM/C. On this Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM/C, we renew our commitment to advancing efforts that prevent violence against women and girls everywhere and ensure survivors receive the access to lifesaving healthcare and psychosocial services they need to recover and heal” (2/6).

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From KFF

KFF Launches Coronavirus Tracker

KFF: Coronavirus Tracker
This tracker provides the number of cases and deaths from the novel coronavirus by country, the trends in case and death counts by country, and a global map showing which countries have cases and deaths. The data are drawn directly from official coronavirus situation reports released regularly by the WHO. This tracker will be updated regularly, as new situation reports are released (2/6).

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