KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report

In The News

USAID Moves From Data To Implementation On 'Journey To Self-Reliance' In Country Development Strategies

Devex: USAID moves from self-reliance metrics to implementation
“USAID has mapped its country partners along a ‘journey to self-reliance.’ Now the agency is turning those metrics into new country development strategies…” (Igoe, 11/8).

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Media Outlets Continue Coverage Of Trump Administration's Lawsuit Against Gilead Over Patent Infringements On PrEP Medicines

Axios: Federal lawsuit against Gilead puts patent rights on trial (Herman, 11/8).

Financial Times: U.S. sues Gilead over HIV patent infringements (Mancini, 11/7).

The Hill: Trump administration sues HIV prevention drug maker for patent infringement (Sullivan, 11/7).

STAT: HHS sues Gilead for refusing to reach a licensing deal over patents for HIV prevention pills (Silverman, 11/7).

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1 In 5 People Could Not Afford EAT-Lancet Ideal Diet Targeted For Health, Sustainable Food Systems

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Diet for healthy people, healthy planet too costly for some
“At least one in five people could not afford science’s ‘ideal diet’ designed to feed 10 billion people without hurting the planet, according to a study published on Friday. The EAT-Lancet report made headlines when it was unveiled in January because it proposed the first scientific targets for both a healthy diet and a sustainable food system…” (Win, 11/7).

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Drug Makers File With European Medicines Agency For Regulatory Approval Of Investigational Ebola Vaccine; WHO Notes Fluctuating Pattern Of Disease Transmission In DRC Outbreak

CIDRAP News: European regulators consider 2nd Ebola vaccine
“Bavarian Nordic [Thursday] announced that it and its partner Janssen Pharmaceuticals, part of Johnson & Johnson, have submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for approval of their investigational two-dose Ebola vaccine regimen. The news comes as one new Ebola case was reported [Thursday] in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) outbreak, part of a fluctuating pattern that the World Health Organization (WHO) noted [Thursday] in its weekly snapshot of the event…” (Schnirring, 11/7).

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Outbreak Of Polio P2 Strain Allegedly Covered Up In Pakistan, Guardian Reports; Former, Current Pakistani Health Officials Deny Cover Up

The Guardian: Pakistan accused of cover-up over fresh polio outbreak
“Officials in Pakistan have been accused of covering up an outbreak of the most dangerous strain of polio and planning a covert vaccination program to contain the disease. According to a source in Pakistan’s polio eradication program and documentation seen by the Guardian, a dozen children have been infected with the P2 strain of polio, which causes paralysis and primarily effects those under five. Dr. Malik Safi, coordinator of the national emergency operation centre of the Pakistan polio eradication program, confirmed the P2 outbreak, but would not give any further comment…” (Ellis-Petersen, 11/7).

Tribune: Pakistan’s ex-polio focal person seeks apology from U.K. daily over polio cover-up allegations
“The country’s former focal person on polio eradication, Babar bin Atta, denounced a report published by British daily The Guardian and sought an apology over accusations of ‘covering-up’ a polio outbreak. Babar termed the allegations ‘baseless.’ … Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr. Zafar Mirza also denied any cover-up and said the ‘Sabin-like type 2 derived virus outbreak in Pakistan is vigilantly being monitored & appropriately responded’…” (11/8).

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More News In Global Health

Associated Press: Chinese company in vaccine scandal declared bankrupt (11/8).

CNN: First native Zika cases in Europe confirmed as experts warn climate change could bring more (Picheta, 11/7).

Homeland Preparedness News: KSU-developed model accurately predicted Ebola spread into Uganda (Galford, 11/7).

IPS: Nearly Half of Nepali Children Still Malnourished (Awale, 11/8).

New Times: Kagame: We can’t afford setbacks in health sector (Bizimungu, 11/8).

SciDev.Net: ‘Game-changing’ TB vaccine shows promise in trials (Ogema, 11/7).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Factbox: Virginity testing — a ritual from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe (Furneaux, 11/7).

Xinhua: SADC calls for implementation of U.N.’s declaration on universal health coverage (11/8).

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Editorials and Opinions

Editorial, Opinion Piece Call For Expansion Of, Strong Commitment To Agenda At Nairobi Summit On ICPD25

The Lancet: ICPD at 25 years: time to expand the agenda
Editorial Board

“…The global consensus that emerged in [1994 in] Cairo — manifested in the [International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)] Programme of Action adopted by 179 countries — shifted the focus of the development agenda away from demographics towards sexual and reproductive health and wellbeing, individual rights, and gender equality. 25 years on, the community will reconvene in Nairobi, Kenya, on Nov. 12-14, to review progress and accelerate the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action. Although there will be much to celebrate at Nairobi, progress since 1994 has been uneven and the Programme of Action remains unfulfilled. … The U.N. Population Fund has thus placed the elimination of preventable maternal mortality, unmet need for family planning, and violence and harmful practices against women and girls at the forefront of the summit’s agenda. Imperiling the achievement of these and other goals is a growing backlash against sexual and reproductive rights and gender equality. … As this issue of The Lancet goes to press, however, there seems little indication that the summit will produce a high-level declaration, probably a reflection of the troubling political climate. Nonetheless, when participants meet in Nairobi later this month they will be faced with an important choice: seek to limit controversy and confine ambitions to the agenda set out in Cairo 25 years ago, or press forward with a renewed and expanded plan fit for purpose for the next quarter of a century?…” (11/9).

IPS: The Nairobi Summit Is about the Future of Humanity and Human Prosperity
Siddharth Chatterjee, U.N. resident coordinator to Kenya

“…It wasn’t until a mere 25 years ago at the ICPD in Cairo that the world agreed that population and economic development issues must go hand in hand, and that women must be at the heart of our efforts for development. … At the Conference in Nairobi, we all have an opportunity to repeat the message that women’s empowerment will move at snail-pace unless we bolster reproductive health and rights across the world. This is no longer a fleeting concern, but a 21st century socio-economic reality. We can choose to take a range of actions, such as empowering women and girls by providing access to good health, education, and job training. Or we can choose paths such as domestic abuse, female genital mutilation, and child marriages, which, according to a 2016 Africa Human Development Report by UNDP, costs sub-Saharan Africa $95 billion per year on average due to gender inequality and lack of women’s empowerment. Fortunately, the world has made real progress in the fight to take the right path. … [A]ll governments [should] work towards giving half the world population the final and absolute control over their own bodies” (11/8).

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International NGOs Must Reinvent Themselves To Be Part Of Global Movement For Social Justice, Former Oxfam Executive Director Writes

Devex: Opinion: INGOs — it’s time for us to go further, faster
Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS and former executive director of Oxfam International

“…When citizens assert themselves and link with each other in solidarity across countries, they can realize more just and equal societies. In both the North and the South a resurgence of social movements is essential. … Oxfam needs to be part of the global movement for social justice. We have learnt, may I say, from painful experience, that one cannot take on powerful corporations and political leaders while upsetting no one. Fighting inequality is rightly disruptive. … But when movements build strong collective power, transformative social change can happen: that’s how our forebears won the fights against slavery, colonialism, apartheid, and crushing debt. In this new era there are many dangers, but one of them is standing still. … To be frank, we are behind the times. We must catch up, and overtake, or we, and the millions we work alongside, will be left behind. The solutions to our unjust world are to be found in citizens challenging the imbalance of power and wealth, joining together with others in collective struggles for dignity and the right to shape their own destiny. Oxfam’s role is to be on their side, and at their side. To do that we must speed up our journey to reinvent ourselves, fast…” (11/8).

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From the Global Health Policy Community

Health GAP Expert Examines PEPFAR COP Process, Proposed Funding Cuts In Kenya

Health GAP: PEPFAR Funding Cuts Threaten the Future of People Living with HIV in Kenya
Maureen Milanga, associate director of international policy and advocacy at Health GAP, examines PEPFAR’s Country Operating Plan (COP) process for Kenya and the implications of proposed funding cuts for HIV efforts in the country. Milanga writes, “As the program begins to implement COP19 we call for PEPFAR to reverse the approval memo’s recommendation to decrease COP19 funding further. This will jeopardize the country’s ability to reach out to people who have slipped through the cracks of the HIV response. Instead the program needs to channel funds to improving outreach to hard-to-reach communities such as men, invest in quality diagnosis for pediatric that allow the program to offer children quality services such as same-day initiation, and invest in a community-based system that allows people living with HIV that are afraid to get test[ed], an easy opportunity for testing” (11/4).

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amfAR Brief Examines Expanded Mexico City Policy's Implications For Global Fund Investments

amfAR: Issue Brief: The Expanded Mexico City Policy: Implications for the Global Fund
This new amfAR brief examines the implications of the Trump administration’s expanded Mexico City policy for the Global Fund and estimates Global Fund investments that are subject to the policy. “…The Expanded Mexico City Policy (EMCP or the Policy) … restricts non-U.S.-based or foreign nongovernmental organizations (fNGOs) from receiving U.S. [global health assistance (GHA)] if they perform, counsel on, or refer for abortion, or advocate for its liberalization outside of limited exceptions. The EMCP restrictions apply only to fNGOs, meaning that U.S.-based organizations and multilateral institutions such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund or GF) are formally exempt from the Policy. However, because EMCP restrictions apply to the [foreign non-governmental] organization’s activities as a whole while receiving U.S. GHA, private and multilateral investments can be impacted when implementing partner networks overlap. Indeed, it is common for the Global Fund and the U.S. government (USG) to fund the same NGO, which has implications for that prime recipient as well as its sub-recipients…” (November 2019).

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Commitments, Press Release, Podcast Address Various Aspects Of Nairobi Summit On ICPD25

Nairobi Summit On ICPD25 “Commitments”: Empowering women and girls to thrive
This commitment from the United States says, “The U.S. government has been, and commits to continue to be a prime advocate and funder for programs which empower women and girls throughout the world. The United States works to reinforce the inherent dignity of women and girls, by those means which promote and advance their equality, protect their inalienable rights, and support optimal health outcomes across the lifespan, including through youth empowerment programs. … To that end, the United States funds international programs that provide skills, opportunities, and empowerment for women, without compromising the dignity and inherent value of every human life — born and unborn.” A searchable database of commitments from other nations and organizations also is available on the website (11/1).

FIGO: FIGO Response to the Nairobi Statement
This press release states, “FIGO welcomes the Nairobi Statement on ICPD25: Accelerating the Promise, and looks forward to working with partners and fellow women’s health champions to turn these commitments into concrete progress and ensure rights and choices for all.” The release includes links to four of FIGO’s commitments for the summit (11/7).

U.N. Dispatch’s “Global Dispatches Podcast”: UNFPA Director Dr. Natalia Kanem Explains What You Need to Know About The Nairobi Summit on ICPD25
Mark Leon Goldberg, editor of U.N. Dispatch and host of the Global Dispatches Podcast, speaks with Natalia Kanem, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund, about the upcoming Nairobi Summit and “what kinds of progress has been made on the rights and health of women and girls since the ICPD 25 years ago” (11/7).

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Global Community Must Transform Preparation For, Responses To Disease Outbreaks, Experts Write In Nature Article

Nature: A new twenty-first century science for effective epidemic response
In this review article, Juliet Bedford of Anthrologica, Jeremy Farrar of Wellcome, and colleagues “argue that our concept of epidemics must evolve from crisis response during discrete outbreaks to an integrated cycle of preparation, response, and recovery. This is an opportunity to combine knowledge and skills from all over the world — especially at-risk and affected communities. Many disciplines need to be integrated, including not only epidemiology but also social sciences, research and development, diplomacy, logistics, and crisis management. This requires a new approach to training tomorrow’s leaders in epidemic prevention and response” (11/6).

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Researchers Propose Framework To Improve Health Of Aging Populations, Urge Governments, WHO To Take Action

University of Liverpool: Experts propose new health care framework to help aging populations stay healthier
“An international team of researchers have put forward a position statement, published in Science, which lays out a new health care framework to help aging populations stay healthier for longer. The statement is a ‘call to action’ to governments, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the scientific and medical community to come together and develop the classifications and staging systems utilizing the framework as the basis for diagnosing and treating age-related diseases, including directly treating all aging tissue and organs…” (11/1).

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