Stigma Surrounding Leprosy Hindering Elimination Efforts In India March 11, 2014 News Summary Associated Press: Stigma hinders efforts to combat leprosy in India “…The stigma of leprosy endures in India, even though the country has made great strides against the disease, which is neither highly contagious nor fatal. Now the number of new annual cases has risen slightly after years of steady decline,…
Pharma Companies Need Better Incentives, Innovation To Invest In Neglected Diseases March 11, 2014 News Summary EurActiv.com: Pharma firms pressed to tackle neglected diseases in developing world “Poverty-related and neglected diseases (PRNDs) disproportionately affect the world’s poorest populations. Better incentives are needed for pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs, health campaigners say. Europe plays a critical role in developing new PRND products that are saving millions of…
South Sudan Undoes Gains In Food Security, U.N. Says March 11, 2014 News Summary VOA News: South Sudan Conflict Erases Gains in Food Security, U.N. Agencies Say “The conflict in South Sudan has undone the strides the young country has taken toward food security in recent years, U.N. agencies said Monday. Food insecurity levels had dropped to a record low of 3.4 percent of…
CDC Aiming To Create Better Disease Detection Systems March 11, 2014 News Summary Roll Call reports on CDC efforts to invest in new technologies that would facilitate disease detection. Roll Call: CDC Plans to Map DNA of Disease-Causing Viruses “Many public health experts see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the premier disease detection agency not just for the United States…
Pakistan To Pay Parents In New Polio Vaccination Campaign March 11, 2014 News Summary News outlets report on Pakistan’s new campaign that pays parents to vaccinate their children against polio. The Guardian: Pakistan to pay parents in new polio vaccination drive “Parents in one of Pakistan’s most troubled provinces are to be paid to vaccinate their children against polio, the crippling disease the world…
U.N. Commission On Women Opens 2014 Session With Focus On Development March 11, 2014 News Summary News outlets report from the 2014 U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women, which opened on Monday in New York. This year, the conference will focus on development. Agence France-Presse: Ban calls for progress as U.N. commission on women opens “U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said there is still much progress…
Cipla Could Provide Open Access To Patent For First-Line ARV March 11, 2014 News Summary LiveMint: Cipla may put patent for new HIV drug in open access pool “Cipla Ltd, which competed with multinational drug firms by cutting HIV treatment cost to a fraction of the prevailing rate, is hoping to make a similar impact with a new four-drug combination to treat HIV/AIDS in infants…
Acute Malnutrition On Decline In Burkina Faso But Chronic Malnutrition Persists March 11, 2014 News Summary IRIN: Gains and losses as Burkina Faso fights child hunger “The fight against child malnutrition in Burkina Faso is gaining ground but chronic malnutrition remains above emergency threshold levels, particularly in rural areas, a situation that will be resolved only if the government and its partners step up prevention efforts…”…
Devex, Partners Launch ‘She Builds’ Campaign To Highlight Women, Development March 11, 2014 News Summary Devex: Devex and partners launch campaign to celebrate women and development “…[O]n March 8 — International Women’s Day — Devex is launching ‘She Builds,’ a campaign to drive the conversation about women and development forward and provide a dedicated platform for leading organizations to pose big questions, offer new solutions…
Humanitarian Groups Should Focus On Efficiently, Quickly Saving Lives March 11, 2014 News Summary The Guardian: Why David Miliband is wrong about humanitarian goals Jonathan Whittall, head of humanitarian analysis at Médecins Sans Frontières “In a recent opinion piece in The Guardian, former British foreign secretary and now the head of the International Rescue Committee, David Miliband, argued that the goals of humanitarian action…