Devex: Nikki Haley needs to square rhetoric with U.S. funding, experts say following hearing
“Development experts are expressing concern as to how Nikki Haley, United States ambassador to the United Nations, will square her seemingly open-minded rhetoric on the U.N. and humanitarian work with the likely future leadership direction — and retreating donor strategy — of the U.S. … Haley, during her two open congressional hearings Tuesday and Wednesday, doubled down on President Donald Trump’s controversial and widely criticized decisions to expand the ‘global gag rule,’ defund the U.N. Population Fund, and withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change. Trump has also taken a hard line against the U.N. more broadly, and other international bodies. However, she also walked a fine line of diplomacy, affirming her support for addressing multiple, worsening food insecurity crises, supporting women and girls’ health and, generally, the work of U.N. agencies…” (Lieberman, 6/30).

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Reuters: Exclusive: White House weighs tightening U.S. food aid shipping rules — sources
“President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing an executive order that will require all U.S. food aid to be transported on American ships, according to four sources with knowledge of the deliberations. Currently, 50 percent of such aid must be transported on U.S.-flagged vessels. The sources said Trump is considering going as far as doubling that to 100 percent, a move likely to stir opposition from both Republicans and Democrats…” (Wroughton/Zengerle, 6/29).

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CIDRAP News: Europe announces new action plan on AMR
“European officials [Thursday] released a new action plan on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that builds on efforts to address the emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens in humans, animals, and the environment…” (Dall, 6/29).

EURACTIV: Commission seeks ‘measurable goals’ in new antimicrobial resistance plan
“…Based on the ‘One Health’ principle, meaning that human and animal health is tightly connected to each other as diseases are transmitted from humans to animals and vice versa, the European Commission believes that the new plan will help member states address this critical situation in a more coordinated way…” (Michalopoulos, 6/29).

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Devex: The ‘Grand Bargain’ one year on: Some progress, a long way to go
“A year after the landmark ‘Grand Bargain’ was agreed, humanitarian aid leaders met in Geneva for the biggest emergency aid meeting in the United Nations calendar and took stock of progress so far. Their verdict? Some improvement, but could do better. … Devex summarizes the key themes and takeaways which came out of last week’s meetings…” (Edwards, 6/30).

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CIDRAP News: Five more polio cases reported in Syria as vaccine ships
“Five more vaccine-derived polio cases have been confirmed in Syria, and vaccine shipments are on their way to the region, with the first of two immunization campaigns slated to begin next week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest update…” (Schnirring, 6/29).

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Humanosphere: More than 200 million women still lack access to modern contraception
“A new study published [Thursday] by the Guttmacher Institute reports that some 214 million women, mostly in the developing world, lack access to modern methods of contraception and other reproductive services routinely available in the West…” (Nikolau, 6/29).

Slate: In Developing Nations, 214 Million Women Want to Prevent Pregnancy But Have No Contraception
“…These women, the majority of whom live in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, account for 84 percent of all unintended pregnancies in developing countries. If they had access to contraception, Guttmacher estimates, unintended pregnancies in these regions would shrink from 89 million to 22 million per year, and induced abortions would drop from 48 million to 13 million per year…” (Cauterucci, 6/29).

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Thomson Reuters Foundation: Map of malaria funding in Africa uneven despite death risks: study
“About a quarter of countries in sub-Saharan Africa receive little funding for research into malaria despite having high death rates, according to a study on Thursday that highlighted the unequal spread of resources to tackle the disease. The study by Britain’s University of Southampton said no research investment could be found in Chad, Congo, and Central African Republic, where malaria deaths are some of the highest in the region, or in Sierra Leone and Mauritania…” (Shah, 6/29).

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Deutsche Welle: Kenya first in Africa to enroll new generic AIDS drug
“Kenya’s government and the global health initiative UNITAID announced Wednesday that the East African nation will make the generic version of dolutegravir [DTG] available for routine use…” (Muvunyi, 6/28).

Devex: Kenya becomes first country to debut generic HIV drug
“…DTG has been the preferred first-line treatment in the United States and Canada since 2014, a year after it came onto the market. Although some patients on the continent have accessed the more expensive version, the affordability of the generic DTG will be a ‘game changer’ in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, said Robert Matiru, UNITAID director of operations…” (Roby, 6/28).

Intellectual Property Watch: World’s Most Effective HIV Drug Rolled Out In Africa In Generic Version
“…Medical experts said the drug — produced by Indian-based generic manufacturer Eurobindo Pharma Limited — has few side effects, is easier to take than other formulations (one small tablet taken daily) in use, and that those who use it are less likely to develop resistance…” (Nzwili, 6/29).

VOA News: Kenya’s New HIV Treatment Offers Hope for Patients
“…UNITAID donated approximately 148,000 bottles of DTG to Kenya’s Health Ministry, which will cover about one percent of the patients living with HIV in the country…” (Ruvaga, 6/28).

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Mail & Guardian: Malawi’s village health heroes
“…In Malawi, workers such as [37-year-old Amidu] Malope are called health surveillance assistants (HSAs) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which provides supplies to these assistants, has said they are one of the reasons child mortality has dropped by two-thirds: from 244 deaths for every 1,000 live births in 1990 to 68 in 2015…” (Pather, 6/30).

Reuters: Malawi, UNICEF launch Africa’s first humanitarian drone testing corridor
“Malawi and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) launched an air corridor on Thursday to test the effectiveness of drones in humanitarian emergencies and other development uses, the first project of its kind in Africa…” (Banda, 6/29).

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The Lancet: Sexual health and reproductive rights at a crossroad
Editorial Board

“The untimely death of Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), comes at a turbulent time for sexual and reproductive health and rights. … In the darkening atmosphere surrounding sexual and reproductive health and rights, and increasing self-censorship in the face of the Trump administration and its policies, the need to argue the case for the constellation of issues around contraception and abortion loudly, clearly, and repeatedly becomes ineluctable. The UNFPA is a multilateral organization in which the USA has a key role. The new head of the UNFPA will not be elected by member states. The appointment must go to someone who has an established track record in sexual and reproductive health and rights, a strong history in working for women, and who is not afraid to speak out. That person will have all our support” (7/1).

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U.S. Global Leadership Coalition: Providing a 360-Degree Response to Food Insecurity and Conflict
Laura Mack, communications intern at the USGLC, discusses the food security crises in the Middle East and Africa and highlights the efforts of FHI 360, which receives U.S. funding, to address food security globally. Mack mentions the Trump administration’s proposed FY 2018 cuts to foreign assistance and concludes, “Organizations like FHI 360 recognize the complexities of solving global hunger and strive to design and implement innovative solutions as an investment for the future. But with the proposed cuts to USAID, millions in need across the globe could have the rug swept out from underneath them — losing the critical food and health assistance they depend on. It is important that research, programs, and public-private partnerships focused on human development continue to receive the resources necessary to empower communities worldwide” (6/29).

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Woodrow Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program’s “New Security Beat”: Meeting the Maternal and Newborn Needs of Displaced Persons in Urban Settings
Namita Rao, intern for the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program, discusses the challenges and needs of internally displaced persons and refugees in urban settings, especially those of young women, mothers, and newborns. Rao also highlights the proceedings of a Wilson Center event held on May 31 addressing these topics (6/30).

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PLOS Blogs: When water doesn’t flow…
Marisa Gallegos, senior public health program manager at Emory University’s Center for Global Safe Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (CGSW), discusses CGSW’s investigations of water conditions in health care facilities in resource-limited settings and uses her own experience in a Ghanaian hospital to illustrate the impact of water shortages on health facilities and the provision of care (6/29).

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Friends of the Global Fight: Friends of the Global Fight Welcomes Dr. Mark Dybul as Board Member
“Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Friends) is very pleased to welcome Dr. Mark Dybul — former executive director of the Global Fund and incoming professor of medicine and faculty director of the new Center for Global Health and Quality at Georgetown University — to its Board of Directors…” (6/29).

Georgetown University Medical Center: Global Health Expert, Alumnus Mark Dybul Returns To Georgetown To Lead New Center
“…Dr. Mark Dybul (C’85, M’92), a tenured professor of medicine at Georgetown’s School of Medicine, has been named faculty director of the new Center for Global Health and Quality, which will seek to work with international partners to respond to some the most pressing global health challenges of our time. … Dybul says the GHQ is structured as a multidisciplinary, cross-campus enterprise that will leverage the leading minds in global health, health care, big data, service delivery, economics, program design, private sector, international relations, law and management, and more…” (6/28).

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