Lancet Series Papers Examine Surveillance, Economic Impact Of NTDs

“As national programmes respond to the new opportunities presented for scaling up preventive chemotherapy programmes for the coadministration of drugs to target [several neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)] possible synergies between existing disease-specific policies and protocols need to be examined,” write the authors of a Lancet Series paper that compares present disease-specific protocols for mapping, monitoring and surveillance for the diseases targeted by the preventive chemotherapy approach (Baker et al., 1/16). A second Lancet Series paper examines the economic impact of neglected tropical diseases on individuals, household and nations (Conteh et al., 1/16).

Lancet Student Examines Importance Of Interdisciplinary Approach To Global Health Issues

The Lancet Student looks at the players in an interdisciplinary approach to tackling global health issues. “The challenge is thus to bring these different people together in a multi-disciplinary environment, maximising the transfer of ideas and skills, to more efficiently reach the common goal.” The article highlights several success stories for global health when researchers from diverse backgrounds have come together and points to future directions for multidisciplinary approaches (McDonald, 1/15).

Report Highlights Missed Opportunities By PEPFAR, Issues Recommendations For Future

While recognizing the achievements of the PEPFAR program since its creation in 2003, a report by the Center for American Progress examines several ways that PEPFAR has, in the words of the study author, “hindered, rather than supported, preventive efforts to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS.” The report details recent efforts to improve PEPFAR and recommendations for future PEPFAR programs (Evertz, 1/13).

Blog: Senator Wyden Lays Out Consequences If Anti-Gay Legislation Passes In Uganda

According to the Infectious Diseases Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., “went further than other U.S. government officials have so far in threatening specific repercussions if Uganda does not abandon its draconian anti-gay legislation.” In a press release, Wyden said the bill “would be a violation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA),” which prohibits “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.” The Senator also sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk (Shesgreen, 1/12).

Blogs Examines Clinton’s Remarks On International Family Planning

A Center for Global Development “Global Health Policy” blog post welcomes Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s recent speech about international family planning and looks at its implications for the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) community. The blog recommends how to handle the conflict between “enthusiasm for SRHR within the ‘international community’ with the much less positive view in many of the governments of developing countries,” which can be difficult  “when it comes to simultaneously insisting on the value of a women-centered approach in health and the principle of ‘country ownership’ and engagement in true partnerships …” (Nugent, 1/11).

In a related post examining Clinton’s speech on “The Hill’s Congress Blog,” the writer notes a recent study by the Guttmacher Institute and the U.N. Population Fund, which “found that investments in family planning boost the overall effectiveness of every dollar spent on the provision of pregnancy-related and newborn health care.” According to the blog, “Clearly, investing in women’s reproductive health and autonomy always yields dividends – dividends that accrue at the individual, family and societal levels. The needed investment is modest in relation to the dramatic returns it guarantees” (Cohen, 1/11).  

Blogs Reflect On Lessons Learned From H1N1

The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Commission on Smart Global Health policy’s blog reflects on the success and failures in the U.S.’s response to the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic, drawing from reports in the media. Though the “2009 H1N1 has been the least lethal of modern flu pandemics … [i]t could have been much worse,” the blog writes. “Perhaps, as H1N1 is the first such pandemic in decades, many will not find this an immediate concern. When the next flu pandemic breaks out, however, they too will hope that the U.S. has built upon its successes in 2009 – and learned from its failures. That process must start well in advance of the next outbreak” (Gannon, 1/11).

According to a Huffington Post blog post, “The H1N1 experience has taught us that a more robust U.S. response must address the inadequate global supply of vaccine during pandemic emergencies … and enhance low and middle-income countries’ domestic response capabilities.” The piece continues, “In addition to stimulating vaccine production, the U.S. should devote additional financial and technical resources to building disease surveillance and response capacity in developing countries. Most importantly, the world needs a formal governance mechanism for pandemic emergencies that procures, stockpiles and distributes vaccines and supplies for developing countries to replace the current system of ad hoc donations” (Navario/Rosenstein, 1/11).