KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report

In The News

Devex Examines Sexual, Reproductive Health NGOs Caught Between Donors Due To Mexico City Policy

Devex: Forced to choose between U.S. and Swedish funding, sexual health NGOs speak out
“Sexual and reproductive health and rights NGOs struggling to deliver services in the wake of the United States ‘global gag rule’ have spent a year caught between donors, after the Swedish aid agency, a key funder of sexual and reproductive health and rights, said it could not support organizations that go along with the rule. That decision, activists told Devex, is unintentionally making life harder for them on the ground…” (Edwards, 9/12).

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U.N. Declaration On TB Draft Text Posted For Review, Approval Under 'Silence' Procedure

Intellectual Property Watch: Shhh … U.N. Declaration On Tuberculosis Draft Text Out For Approval
“Negotiators’ agreed draft text for a United Nations political declaration on ending tuberculosis worldwide has been posted for all member states to see, and negotiators hope, not comment on. Under a U.N. procedure, the text has been placed ‘under silence’ until 10:00am New York time on 14 September. If no one breaks the silence, the text is considered agreed and will advance to the High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis on 26 September as part of the annual U.N. General Assembly…” (New, 9/11).

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News Outlets Continue Coverage Of U.N. Report Showing Rise In Global Hunger Due To Climate Extremes, Conflict

Agence France-Presse: Climate extremes ‘key driver’ behind rising global hunger: U.N.
“Extreme weather events were a leading cause of global hunger rising last year, with women, babies, and old people particularly vulnerable to the worsening trend, a U.N. report said Tuesday. … In countries where conflict and climate shocks coincide, the impact on food insecurity was even more relentless, the report said…” (9/11).

Additional coverage of the report is available from Bloomberg, NPR, U.N. News, and Washington Post.

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SciDev.Net Examines How Conflict In Middle East Nations Opening Doors To Disease Outbreaks, Health Systems Deterioration

SciDev.Net: Arab countries caught in a cycle of war and disease
“Conflict has left the door wide open for epidemics in the Middle East, letting leishmaniasis into Syria, polio back into Iraq after 14 years, and — after two violent waves — cholera to spread across Yemen once again. Sometimes, more people die from diseases associated with war, or the aftermath of war, than from the conflict itself…” (Elsonpaty et al., 9/11).

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Women's Rights Activists Express Outrage Over Tanzania President's Comments On Contraception

The Guardian: ‘No need for birth control’: Tanzanian president’s views cause outrage
“Women’s rights campaigners have expressed outrage after the Tanzanian president said there is no need for birth control. The president, John Magufuli, told a rally in Meatu, in the Simiyu region, that outsiders who promote birth control are giving bad advice, and that people who use contraceptives are lazy, according to local media. … The Citizen newspaper, which reported the comments, said there was no indication the statement will lead to a change in national policy. But campaigners fear Magufuli’s speech may influence services offered in some areas…” (Ratcliffe, 9/11).

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Papua New Guinea, WHO To Launch Nationwide Polio Vaccination Campaign After 10 Confirmed Cases

Al Jazeera: Papua New Guinea to launch nationwide polio vaccination campaign
“Papua New Guinea (PNG) is gearing up for a nationwide vaccination campaign to protect citizens against polio 18 years after the disease was eradicated from the country. The initiative, which is organized by the PNG government and the World Health Organization (WHO), is aimed at stopping the spread of the disease after 10 cases were confirmed in the country…” (9/11).

Radio New Zealand: Poor hygiene conditions heighten risk of polio in PNG
“A leading Papua New Guinea health official has warned that communities with poor water and sanitation conditions in the capital are most at risk of the spread of polio. A tenth case in PNG’s polio outbreak was in recent days confirmed in Port Moresby, the first to be registered in the capital…” (9/11).

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More News In Global Health

Al Jazeera: When will the chronic malnutrition of Guatemala’s children end? (Mercer, 9/11).

New York Times: It’s Not Just You: 2017 Was Rough for Humanity, Study Finds (Chokshi, 9/12).

New York Times: Zimbabwe Declares Cholera Emergency as Disease Spreads in Capital (Moyo/Pérez-Peña, 9/11).

NPR: For Many In Venezuela, Social Media Is A Matter Of Life And Death (Garsd, 9/11).

U.N. News: Save Idlib from ‘transforming into a blood bath,’ U.N. chief Guterres urges fighters and their allies (9/11).

Wall Street Journal: China Replaces Family Planning With Family Development as Births Decline (Qi, 9/11).

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Editorials and Opinions

USAID Examining Use Of Cash Transfers Versus Conventional Foreign Aid

New York Times: Is Cash Better for Poor People Than Conventional Foreign Aid?
Marc Gunther, journalist for the New York Times

“…[USAID] has begun measuring a few of its traditional programs against cash transfers distributed by a nonprofit named GiveDirectly. Economists will try to figure out which approach does more good. This is the first time USAID has funded programs that simply give people cash, experts say, and they believe it is also the first time any funder has used cash as a tool to help determine which other programs work and which do not. … Studies have found positive impacts from cash transfers, not just on poverty but on health. … One advantage of providing money over conventional aid is that it is cheap and easy to deliver, via cellphones. … Some people argue that a second advantage of cash is philosophical. … Much will depend on how the USAID bureaucracy and its overseers in Congress and the Trump administration react to the idea of simply giving away money to the poor” (9/11).

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African Governments Must Commit To Developing Female Leaders By Investing In Health, Education Of Women, Girls

Project Syndicate: Africa’s Women Belong at the Top
Joyce Banda, founder of the Joyce Banda Foundation and former president of Malawi

“…Today, more than 130 million girls worldwide are out of school through no fault of their own. … Some are victims of harmful cultural practices, like female genital mutilation and child marriage, while others are unable to escape the poverty that grips their families and communities. … Changing endemic cultural norms about gender and identity — and developing more female leaders — begins in the classroom. School-age girls must be taught to value themselves and one another, and that it is their right to be educated, healthy, and empowered. … [G]overnments must recommit to supporting female leaders’ development by investing in the health and education of women and girls. … [W]hen governments increase the percentage of women in their ranks, social issues like health care, education, and food security receive higher priority. Having more women in leadership is thus good for everyone. … To give more young women the opportunity to develop their talents and put their skills to work, today’s leaders must clear a path for the female leaders of tomorrow” (9/12).

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From the Global Health Policy Community

Global Fund Releases 2018 Results Report Demonstrating 27M Lives Saved

Global Fund: Global Fund Partnership has Saved 27 Million Lives
“The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria released a report today demonstrating that 27 million lives have been saved by the Global Fund partnership. The report shows tremendous progress that has been achieved by efforts to end the epidemics, while highlighting new threats…” (9/12).

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France Hosts Presentation Of Global Fund 2018 Results, Launches Preparations For 6th Replenishment Conference

France Diplomatie: Health — Launch of the campaign to replenish the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
“Jean-Yves Le Drian, minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Agnès Buzyn, minister for Solidarity and Health, will host, at the Quai d’Orsay on September 12, the presentation of the report on the 2018 results of the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund. … The event … will launch preparations for the Sixth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund due to take place in Lyon on October 10, 2019, aimed at raising, for the 2020-2022 programming period, the private and public funding needed to continue its mission to combat major pandemics. … The decision to host this conference reaffirms France’s historic commitment to global health…” (9/12).

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4th Report On Financing U.N. Development System Released

IISD SDG Knowledge Hub: Report on Financing the U.N. Development System Launched
Kali Taylor, project officer at IISD, writes, “At a special session for U.N. Member States, U.N. organizations, and civil society organizations in Geneva, the U.N. Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTFO) and the Dag Hammarsköljd Foundation launched a report titled, ‘Financing the U.N. Development System: Opening Doors.’ This publication is the fourth in a series of reports published annually. It provides a big picture perspective of what financing looks like across the U.N. system and within the context of global financial markets…” (9/11).

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MEASURE Evaluation Specialist Discusses Challenges Of Measuring Data Use In Decision-Making

IDSA’s “Science Speaks”: What is data use anyway?
In a guest blog post, Michelle Li, data use specialist with the MEASURE Evaluation at Palladium, discusses the challenges of conceptualizing and measuring data use “in strategic planning, policymaking, program planning and management, advocacy, or delivering services,” highlighting a recent MEASURE Evaluation report. Li writes, “With a focus on rigorously defining and measuring data use, we work to strengthen the evidence base to aid understanding which interventions work and which don’t work, why that is, and then point a way forward to produce better data for better health” (9/11).

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Technological Advances, Women In Tech Helping To Improve Maternal, Women's Health

Council on Foreign Relations “Women Around the World/Women and Foreign Policy Program”: New, Affordable Technology is Improving Women’s Health Access
Catherine Powell, adjunct senior fellow for Women and Foreign Policy at CFR, and Maiya Moncino, research associate in international economics at CFR, discuss ways technology can improve maternal and women’s health and highlight the benefits of women in the technology sector. The authors write, “In addition to providing job opportunities for women, women’s entry into tech expands the number of technologists who can bring a gender lens to enhance the ways in which new technologies can be used to improve women’s health” (9/11).

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Guttmacher Institute, Uganda's Makerere University Release Study On Abortion Rates, Abortion-Related Complications Among Ugandan Adolescents

Guttmacher Institute: First Study on the Incidence of Abortion Among Ugandan Adolescents Released
“A new study by researchers at the U.S.-based Guttmacher Institute and Uganda’s Makerere University documents, for the first time, abortion rates and the severity of abortion-related complications among Ugandan adolescents aged 15-19. The study … found that adolescents seeking postabortion care for complications resulting from an unsafe abortion or miscarriage did not face greater disadvantages in their abortion care experiences, compared with women older than 20. However, among those seeking postabortion care, unmarried women, including unmarried adolescents, were more likely than married women to experience severe complications.” The study is accompanied by several resources, including an infographic on unintended pregnancy among adolescents in Uganda and a fact sheet on induced abortion and postabortion care among adolescents in Uganda, also available in Luganda (9/11).

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