News Outlets Examine Biggest Global Health, Development Stories Of 2013 December 20, 2013 News Summary News outlets look back at the biggest global health and development stories of 2013. Lancet correspondent Tim Dehnel highlights challenges that arose this year in the global polio response, the emergence of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), the emergence of the H7N9 strain of bird flu in China, and advances…
NIH Researchers Make Progress In HIV Vaccine Development December 20, 2013 News Summary “At the Vaccine Research Center at the [NIH], researchers have developed high-resolution images of the AIDS virus at the atomic level,” columnist Michael Gerson writes in a Washington Post opinion piece. He describes this research and the advances scientists have made in learning how to prevent HIV from infecting cells.…
Two Studies Describe How HIV Destroys Cells, Leads To AIDS December 20, 2013 News Summary “U.S. scientists have discovered the basic mechanisms that allow HIV to wipe out the body’s immune system and cause AIDS, which could lead to new approaches to treatment and research for a cure for the disease that affects 35 million people around the world,” Reuters reports (Steenhuysen, 12/19). “It turns…
Science Speaks Selects Top 10 HIV, TB Stories Of 2013 December 20, 2013 News Summary The Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog provides a list of key news stories on HIV and tuberculosis in 2013. The blog notes the passage of the PEPFAR Stewardship and Oversight Act, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria replenishment efforts, “[t]he Supreme Court’s upholding [of] the…
Opinion Pieces Examine Health Needs Of Children During Holiday Season December 20, 2013 News Summary The following is a summary of opinion pieces examining the needs of children around the world this holiday season. Marion Roche, Huffington Post’s “Impact” blog: Noting “[d]iarrhea remains the second leading cause of death in children under five years old” and “is also the leading cause of malnutrition in children…
Effective Healthcare Requires Universal Access, Delivery In Addition To Research December 20, 2013 News Summary In a SciDev.net opinion piece, Roger Williamson, an independent consultant and visiting fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, examines what “the poorest billion need to improve ‘poor health.'” He highlights an article published by SciDev.net last week, which “reported that the WHO will decide…
IRIN Examines Key Lessons For Adapting Food Security Response To Urban Settings December 20, 2013 News Summary “With the vast majority of population growth taking place in towns and cities, according to the U.N., aid agencies are adapting their food security responses to better fit into urban contexts,” IRIN reports. The news service provides a list of lessons that can be applied to this effort, including not…
Two Reports Recognize Progress In Malaria Eradication, Call For Increased Funding December 20, 2013 News Summary “Malaria eradication programs will fail in the face of rising drug resistance without increased funding in malaria research and development (R&D), according to two major reports published this month,” SciDev.net reports. “Over the next decade, malaria R&D will need as much as $8.3 billion to overcome increasing resistance of mosquitoes…
NPR Continues Profile Of PEPFAR Successes, Challenges; Examines Treatment For Serodiscordant Couples In Kenya December 19, 2013 News Summary NPR’s “All Things Considered” examines PEPFAR, saying the program — the largest public health initiative ever undertaken to address one disease — has been “transformative and yet the challenges ahead are enormous.” The program includes comments from David Wilson, the World Bank’s Global AIDS Program director, and Amanda Glassman of…