KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report

In The News

DFID Needs Additional Staff, Resources, Official Mandate To Support Cross-Government Aid Strategy, U.K. Oversight Commission Says

Devex: DFID resources drained by other departments, experts warn
“The United Kingdom’s aid watchdog has said the Department for International Development needs more staff and resources and a clear mandate to carry out its much-needed job of helping other departments spend U.K. aid effectively. It comes amid concerns that DFID’s supporting role in the cross-government aid strategy, in addition to no-deal Brexit preparations, are becoming a drain on the department…” (Edwards, 9/12).

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Inaugural Global Vaccination Summit Addresses Vaccine Hesitancy, Rise In Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

Devex: First Global Vaccination Summit sounds the alarm on access and hesitancy
“Politicians, policymakers, and pro-vaccine campaigners met Thursday at the first Global Vaccination Summit to raise the alarm about the resurgence of measles, share plans to tackle misinformation in the age of social media, and reiterate the need to reach the 19.4 million infants worldwide who missed routine immunization last year…” (Chadwick, 9/13).

The Telegraph: World at ‘critical turning point’ in fight against vaccine-preventable diseases
“A lack of access to vaccines is partly to blame for the worldwide spread of diseases such as measles, the director of the World Health Organization has warned. Speaking at the world’s first-ever Global Vaccination Summit, held in a bid to address the reasons behind a surge in vaccine-preventable diseases, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, said vaccinations were a ‘right for all.’ … Earlier this year the WHO declared ‘vaccine hesitancy,’ the refusal or reluctance to have childhood vaccinations, one of the top 10 threats to global health, alongside air pollution and obesity…” (Gulland, 9/12).

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Devex Examines Governments' Willingness To Frame Health Care Financing As Capital Investment

Devex: Should governments see health care as an ‘investment’?
“…At budget debates and investor pitches, alike, leaders of the global health architecture are increasingly eager to frame health funding as a capital investment. And it is central to the case for domestic financing for universal health coverage — the idea that now dominates the global health agenda and has earned its own high-level meeting during the September United Nations General Assembly. The upcoming meeting in New York raises questions about the implications of positioning health financing as an investment, including whether that approach aligns with the vision of inclusive health services that is at the core of UHC and whether it can guarantee sustainability given the political reality that governments often prize investments that offer more immediate returns…” (Green, 9/13).

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Some Experts Concerned About Possible Risks Following Polio Vaccine Switch

STAT: ‘The switch’ was supposed to be a major step toward eradicating polio. Now it’s a quandary
“Three years ago, the leaders of the international campaign to eradicate polio pulled off a landmark feat, phasing out a problematic component of the vaccine used in developing countries, and introducing a newer version that they hoped would put the world on a better footing to finally eliminate a global scourge. Now, some organizers are weighing whether ‘the switch,’ as the process was known, needs to be reversed. If it’s not, some fear, the world could face a heightened risk of spread of the disease, currently confined to its last redoubt, Pakistan and Afghanistan…” (Branswell, 9/13).

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Lack Of Access To Water, Sanitation, Medicines Increases Risk Of Disease In Hurricane-Hit Bahamas, Experts Warn

Reuters: After Dorian, disease is next threat on shattered Bahamian island
“Piles of debris, decaying human and animal corpses, and fetid water on storm-hammered Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas are posing a new risk for those who survived Hurricane Dorian’s wrath: Disease…” (Fagenson/Caspani, 9/12).

TIME: Hurricane Dorian Is Gone. But the Bahamas Still Faces a Big Risk From Infectious Disease
“…The lack of access to toilets, clean water, and medications puts tens of thousands at risk for disease, public health experts warn. … [A]id groups are saying survivors are beginning to show signs of gastrointestinal issues from contaminated water. Those with chronic illnesses are struggling without access to treatment for chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. And if water that the storm dumped on the islands remains stagnant and untreated for long enough, it could become a breeding ground for mosquitos, giving rise to diseases like dengue, chikungunya, and Zika…” (Mansoor/Law, 9/12).

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Kenya Rolls Out Malaria Vaccine In High Incidence Areas, Joining Malawi, Ghana In Africa

Associated Press: Kenya becomes 3rd country to roll out malaria vaccine
“Health authorities in Kenya on Friday started administering doses of the world’s only licensed malaria vaccine to young children in rural areas facing high transmission rates. Kenya became the third African country to introduce the vaccine, after Malawi and Ghana. The aim is to reach about 360,000 children per year across the three countries…” (Muhumuza, 9/13).

Additional coverage of the vaccine rollout is available from BBC News and Reuters.

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More News In Global Health

Global Voices: Cameroonians with HIV face ‘a death sentence’ as Global Fund threatens to pull antiretroviral drugs (Daniel, 9/12).

Guam Daily Post: Guam has 1st local dengue in 75 years (Daleno, 9/13).

The Guardian: Indonesia takes steps to improve protection of mental health patients (Kamali, 9/13).

Nature: Scientists use gene-edited stem cells to treat HIV — with mixed success (Lambert, 9/11).

New Humanitarian: From Ebola to Kunduz: MSF head Joanne Liu looks back (Parker, 9/12).

New York Times: At a Maternity Center Near a War Zone, 20 Births in One Day (Zucchino/Faizi, 9/12).

NPR: Rape Emergency Declared In Sierra Leone, Then Lifted. Did Anything Change? (Kardas-Nelson, 9/12).

The Telegraph: From eye cancer to HIV and Parkinson’s — meet the companies developing smartphone apps set to improve medical diagnostics (Boland/Chowdhury, 9/12).

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Editorials and Opinions

Opinion Piece Outlines 4 Steps For Governments To Mobilize Commitment, Align Stakeholders For UHC Implementation

The Lancet: Financing universal health coverage: four steps to go from aspiration to action
Amir Aman, minister of health of Ethiopia; Diane Gashumba, minister of health of Rwanda; Ira Magaziner, CEO and vice chair of the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI); and Anders Nordström, ambassador for global health at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs

“A U.N. High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) will be convened during the 74th session of the U.N. General Assembly on Sept 23, 2019. … We propose four practical steps for governments to define their pathway to UHC and align stakeholders around these reforms. First, governments should define a cost-effective package of essential health benefits available to all. … Second, governments should develop investment plans for the physical and human infrastructure needed to deliver benefits. … Third, governments should develop a national health financing system, such as insurance, to fund health service delivery. … Fourth, governments should develop multisectoral district transformation approaches to ensure macro-level policies, strategies, and resources to transform lives at the household level. … The U.N. High-Level Meeting on UHC can reaffirm and mobilize commitment to the right of all people to access quality health care regardless of their ability to pay. It is a time to take the first steps of turning an admirable aspiration into action” (9/14).

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University Of Global Health Equity In Rwanda Can Serve As Model For Reinventing Global Health Education, Vice Chancellor Says

Devex: Opinion: A medical school for the future that Africa needs
Agnes Binagwaho, Rwandan pediatrician and the vice chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity, and Miriam Frisch, research associate to Dr. Binagwaho

“…The newly established University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda is aiming … to reinvent global health education — and as a result, transform how health care is delivered. A key goal is to develop a new crop of clinicians and health program managers. … In Rwanda and across the continent, we need clinicians who are ready to serve people where they live, who practice cultural humility, and who truly take the time to listen to their patients and allow them the agency to make their own informed health decisions. It is critical for health care professionals to understand not only diseases and symptoms, but the central role of social determinants in health. … UGHE can serve as a model for the future of health education in Africa and in the rest of the developing world. We cannot simply cut and paste American or European medical education systems — our communities’ needs are different, and we must have a persistent focus on delivering the best results for them, to the best of our potential…” (9/12).

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From the Global Health Policy Community

Friends Of The Global Fight Releases Report On Importance Of Funding For Global Fund, U.S. Bilateral Programs To Prevent Disease Resurgence

Friends of the Global Fight: Resurgence: Could AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria make comebacks?
“[Thursday], Friends of the Global Fight released a report, ‘Resurgence: Could AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Make Comebacks?’ The world has made remarkable progress over the past two decades to address AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, and increased investment can help ensure disease resurgence does not undo these gains. Stepped-up funding for the Global Fund and U.S. bilateral programs are our best defense against future disease resurgence…” (9/12).

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Friends Of The Global Fight Experts Discuss Importance Of Addressing Health Inequities, Reducing Gender Inequality In Global Health Programs

Council on Foreign Relations’ “Women Around the World”: Fighting HIV in Young Women Through Economic Empowerment
In this post, a “Voices from the Field” feature, Lanice C. Williams, advocacy and partnership manager, and Mark P. Lagon, chief policy officer, both at Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, highlight Global Fund-supported HIV treatment and prevention programs that “integrate strategies which take into account the multiple factors that influence young women’s opportunities and decisions.” The authors write, “Global health programs must ensure that they are not only fighting diseases but also addressing health inequities and reducing gender inequality, which serve as barriers to women’s economic independence” (9/12).

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Global Health Financing Expert Discusses 'Market Shaping' For Global Health Products, Gavi Paper On Topic

Center for Global Development: Reflections on 15 Years of “Market Shaping”: The Case of the Pentavalent Vaccine
Rachel Silverman, a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, discusses a paper published in the August issue of Vaccine: X, in which “former and current employees and partners of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance reflect on their 15 years of ‘market shaping’ experience — that is, Gavi’s efforts to use its purchasing power and other tools to create more favorable market conditions — for the pentavalent vaccine (often called ‘penta’).” Silverman offers her own analysis on the broader context of procurement, concluding, “I encourage you to read the whole thing — and I urge others in the market shaping world to clearly document (and empirically evaluate!) your efforts” (9/12).

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Lancet Series Addresses Tuberculosis Diagnosis, Treatment, Drug Resistance

The Lancet: Tuberculosis 2019
“Tuberculosis remains the leading cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide. With the targets of the WHO End TB Strategy set, the need for effective prevention and treatment is even more urgent. … In this Series, we present how diagnosis of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis can be improved, how drug regimens could be used to best treat different patient populations, and future perspectives for management of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis…” (9/12).

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From the U.S. Government

USAID Administrator Green Announces Nearly $4M In Additional Humanitarian Aid For Hurricane-Hit Bahamas

USAID: USAID Announces Nearly $4 Million In New U.S. Humanitarian Assistance For The Bahamas In Response To Hurricane Dorian
“[Thursday,] U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green announced that the United States is providing nearly $4 million in additional humanitarian assistance to help people in The Bahamas affected by Hurricane Dorian, which brings the total U.S. funding for this response to more than $10 million to date. This additional funding will support emergency shelter, health, water, sanitation, hygiene, and psychosocial support for people affected by Hurricane Dorian…” (9/12).

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U.S., Ethiopia Sign New Partnership Agreement Under USAID Global Accelerator To End TB

U.S. Embassy In Ethiopia: United States and Ethiopia Renew Partnership to End Tuberculosis
“The United States and Ethiopia officially signed a new statement of partnership agreement to continue working closely together to end tuberculosis (TB) across the country. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Sean Jones and State Minister of Health Dr. Lia Tadesse signed a statement of partnership under which Ethiopia will be one of 30 focus countries under USAID’s new Global Accelerator to End TB initiative…” (9/13).

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