Daily Post: Why Nigerian govt must spend more on health — U.S. Ambassador
“The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, has urged the federal government to continue to invest in building resilient health systems for the citizens. Doing so, he argued, would not only safeguard the people but also act as a strategy to bolster economic transformation in the country…” (Jannah, 9/10).

Premium Times: How U.S. is partnering Nigeria to strengthen health sector — Diplomat
“…According to a statement made available to Premium Times by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Mr. Symington made this call during a courtesy visit to the agency’s office in Abuja. Mr. Symington reportedly said that the correlation between health security and economic stability for nations cannot be overemphasized as Nigeria contends with various economic and social priorities…” (Yahaya, 9/10).

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United Press International: PLO: U.S. funding cut to East Jerusalem hospitals will cause ‘grave harm’
“A U.S. plan to withdraw $25 million in aid to hospitals in East Jerusalem was denounced Monday by the hospital network and the Palestinian authority. The move is the latest in a series of cutbacks of over $200 million in aid to Palestinians. Last week, the State Department said it would end funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees…” (Adamczyk, 9/10).

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BBC News: Global hunger increasing, U.N. warns
“The number of people suffering from hunger has increased during the past three years, after years of decline, a U.N. report suggests. According to the analysis, 821 million people globally were undernourished in 2017 — about one person in every nine…” (Mundasad, 9/11).

CNN: Hunger rising with global temperatures, U.N. report says
“Climate change is having a negative effect on global agriculture and is driving up the number of hungry people around the world, according to the United Nations’ 2018 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, released Tuesday…” (Clarke, 9/11).

The Guardian: Global hunger levels rising due to extreme weather, U.N. warns
“…The U.N. report covers last year, and does not take account of 2018’s extreme weather which has brought heatwaves and high temperatures to much of the northern hemisphere, accompanied by droughts in some parts of the globe and floods in others. However, the changing climatic trends are likely to spell trouble for years ahead…” (Harvey/McVeigh, 9/11).

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The Guardian: China scraps three family planning offices amid push to boost birthrate
“China has done away with three family planning offices, in another sign the country may soon eliminate birth limits altogether after almost four decades of restricting family sizes…” (Kuo, 9/11).

Reuters: China does away with family planning offices
“…State-media has hinted in recent weeks that China, the world’s most populous nation, may be preparing to end its decades-long policy of determining the number of children that couples can have…” (Shepherd, 9/10).

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New Times: First Lady renews call to end new HIV infections in children
“…No child should be born with HIV/AIDS because his/her mother is infected, and HIV-positive mothers should spare no effort to ensure zero new infections of children. To achieve this, according to the First Lady, Mrs. Jeannette Kagame, it will require concerted efforts by all players, including government, development partners, as well as individual citizens…” (Mbonyinshuti, 9/11).

New Times: New drive to end HIV/AIDS infections among children to be launched
“…According to a statement by Imbuto Foundation, the campaign, dubbed ‘Free to Shine,’ comes at a time when the national prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) program moves to the next step to look at individual case by case in the framework of elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT). Imbuto Foundation is the brainchild of First Lady Jeannette Kagame…” (Mbonyinshuti, 9/10).

Xinhua News: Rwanda launches campaign to end mother-to-child HIV transmission
“…A launching event, in the Rwandan capital Kigali, attracted 2,500 people, including young mothers, youth, representatives from civil society organizations, the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, and government agencies. Health Minister Diane Gashumba told the event that the campaign focuses on mobilizing citizens, especially women of reproductive age, to access HIV prevention services to stop new HIV infections among children and keep their mothers alive…” (9/10).

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Al Jazeera: Tanzania’s John Magufuli advises against birth control
“President John Magufuli has advised Tanzanian couples to stop using contraceptive methods, saying that the country needs more people, according to local media reports…” (9/10).

BBC News: Tanzania’s President Magufuli calls for end to birth control
“…Opposition MP Cecil Mwambe has criticized the comments, saying they contradicted the country’s health policy…” (9/10).

CNN: ‘Don’t use birth control,’ Tanzania’s President tells women in the country
“…[Magufuli] was quoted in a local newspaper, The Citizen, as saying that those advocating for birth control were foreign and had sinister motives. Magufuli urged citizens to keep reproducing as the government was investing in maternal health and opening new district hospitals…” (Busari, 9/11).

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Associated Press: Zimbabwe declares cholera outbreak after 20 deaths
“A cholera emergency has been declared in Zimbabwe’s capital after 20 people have died, the health minister said Tuesday…” (Mutsaka, 9/11).

Reuters: Zimbabwe declares cholera emergency in capital after death toll rises to 20
“…[M]ore than 2,000 people were infected after drinking contaminated water, new Health Minister Obadiah Moyo said on Tuesday…” (Dzirutwe, 9/11).

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CIDRAP News: DRC reports second Ebola case from urban hub (Schnirring, 9/10).

Global Health NOW: The Lessons of Alma-Ata (Simpson, 9/9).

The Guardian: Polio outbreak in Papua New Guinea reaches capital Port Moresby (Lyons, 9/10).

The Guardian: Spanish flu: the killer that still stalks us, 100 years on (Honigsbaum, 9/9).

Motherboard: Bicycle Ambulances Helped Cut the Malaria Death Rate in Zambia by 96 Percent (Rogers, 9/10).

Namibia Economist: 16 Countries Ink Windhoek Declaration to End Malaria in the Region by 2030 (Rasmeni, 9/10).

Newsweek: World Suicide Prevention Day: 15th Annual Event Takes Aim at Illustrating the Importance of Mental Health (Murdock, 9/10).

New York Times: Rich Nations Vowed Billions for Climate Change. Poor Countries Are Waiting (Ives, 9/9).

PRI: She saved a pregnant woman’s life. Now, she works to make childbirth safer for all Afghan women (Jaafari, 9/10).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Rich nations must act to avoid ‘refugee catastrophe’ in East Africa — aid agencies (Bhalla, 9/10).

Xinhua News: Chinese TV firm partners with UNAIDS to promote AIDS awareness in Kenya (9/10).

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Agri-Pulse: Opinion: University of Illinois Leading the Way in Global Food Security
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) and Peter Goldsmith, professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois

“…To improve food security in sub-Saharan Africa and many other regions of the world, agricultural production systems need to be transformed. With widespread support, the University of Illinois and the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES) are championing efforts to improve the way we produce, enhance, and deliver technologies needed to improve our food systems. … Research … is necessary if we are to feed the world by 2050 … It is critical that the U.S. government and our land grant universities continue to partner and to lead on global food security and nutrition programs. Through this collaboration, we can lift hundreds of millions of people out of conditions of poverty and hunger, and we can develop new political partnerships and markets for U.S. agriculture and other products in fast-growing developing countries across the globe” (9/10).

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Devex: Opinion: Lifesaving solutions to climate change we need to talk about
Kathy Calvin, president and chief executive officer of the United Nations Foundation

“…For too long, we’ve viewed climate solutions as only for the climate; but climate action is essential to solving our biggest collective challenges across a range of issues. … Thankfully, solutions already exist that improve lives, economies, and the environment; now it’s time we give them the attention and support they deserve. … Efforts to tackle health problems and climate change are taking off … For example, by powering health clinics with solar electricity, mothers can safely deliver babies instead of giving birth in the dark. … Equally powerful — access to contraception — an essential part of women’s reproductive health and rights, can be a game-changing solution for our planet. … These health-related climate solutions only scratch the surface of climate solutions currently available. Solutions exist in every sector. We need to raise the profile of cross-cutting climate action and encourage bold innovation across every sector and at every level…” (9/11).

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Devex: Opinion: Communication is essential to achieving WHO’s new strategy
Daniel Carucci, global medical director at McCann Health

“…[T]he development of effective health communications based on evidence that takes into account the most effective channels of communication, that are targeted at key populations, that are creative and meaningful to the audience, and that can be measured for impact, will be essential to achieving the health outcomes described in the [WHO’s] General Programme of Work. … Effective public health communications must be based on a strategy that is informed by well-formulated qualitative and quantitative market research. … To effectively measure the effectiveness of these communications strategies, metrics must focus on outcomes, not outputs; changes in behavior, or product or service uptake, and not numbers of people reached. … So, while countries and development agencies work toward realizing the goal of ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being, it should be incumbent upon them to also ensure that the often under-resourced and under-appreciated component of effective health communications is not overlooked” (9/10).

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WHO Regional Office for Europe: Implementing the Action plan for sexual and reproductive health — how policies can make a real difference
This post highlights a meeting in Stockholm that convened “national and regional experts in sexual and reproductive health from 21 countries … to assess how well countries have managed to implement the Action plan [for sexual and reproductive health] in the two years since its endorsement. A wide range of key professionals with roles in health policymaking and sexual and reproductive health discussed progress, successes, and barriers to implementation” (9/10).

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World Bank: Global Preparedness Monitoring Board convenes for the first time in Geneva
“The World Health Organization and the World Bank Group [on Monday] convened the first meeting of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), a new body set up to monitor the world’s readiness to respond to outbreaks and other health emergencies. … The GPMB has been established to monitor progress, identify gaps, and advocate for sustained, effective work to ensure global preparedness. At its first meeting at WHO’s headquarters in Geneva, the GPMB … discussed key issues in global preparedness and agreed its terms of reference and governance structure. The board aims to publish its first report on the global state of preparedness in September 2019…” (9/10).

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Center for Strategic & International Studies: Global Health Policy Center Monthly Newsletter: September 2018
In the September 2018 CSIS Global Health Policy Center Newsletter, J. Stephen Morrison, senior vice president and director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, highlights publications, podcasts, and past and upcoming events hosted by CSIS. The newsletter includes links to a brief written by Morrison reflecting on this year’s International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam; a podcast episode hosted by Sara Allinder, deputy director and senior fellow at the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, who speaks with Farhana Amanullah, pediatric TB expert at the Indus Hospital Karachi in Pakistan, about the challenges of addressing pediatric tuberculosis in low- and middle-income countries; and a podcast episode hosted by Nellie Bristol, senior fellow at the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, who speaks with Mike McGovern, chair of Rotary’s PolioPlus Committee, about Rotary International’s role in global polio eradication (September 2018).

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IDSA’s “Science Speaks”: Can counseling, links to services cut death rates in half among people with HIV who inject drugs?
Antigone Barton, senior editor and writer of “Science Speaks,” discuses results from a study published in The Lancet examining the engagement of people who inject drugs in HIV care and medication-assisted treatment. Barton notes the study “found that a little support went a long way for people living with the virus and injecting drugs — helping them to stay on antiretroviral treatment and opioid substitution therapy, and keep their viral levels suppressed…” (9/10).

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Kaiser Family Foundation: The U.S. Government and Global Tuberculosis Efforts
Updated ahead of the U.N. High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis (TB), this fact sheet explains the U.S. government’s role in addressing global TB, including the history of U.S. involvement and funding trends (9/11).

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