Today we’re reading about an ongoing debate in the global health field, about the unfortunate state of donations to GAVI, and another analysis of Bill Gates & Bill Clinton’s testimony to Congress in favor of global health spending.
The Other Health Care Debate, Chris Collins, Huffington Post
Donors scaling back and not scaling up funding for GAVI at critical juncture, Karen Grepin’s Global Health Blog
Giving Congress the Good Global Health Stories, Te-Ping Chen, Global Health at Change.org
Hello everybody! Today we’re reading about GlaxoSmithKline upping its efforts to fight lymphatic filariasis, a new treatment for American soldiers who caught cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iraq, the latest release on the fight against LF in India, and, on a different note, a group of ultra-Orthodox rabbis declaring that lox should no longer be considered kosher due to a variant of roundworm found in fish.
In tough climate, GSK dedicates plant to fight elephantiasis, Rick Smith, Localtechwire
Heat therapy shown effective in treating cutaneous leishmaniasis among US soldiers in Iraq, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
DMO allays fears over DEC tablets, The Hindu
Rabbis Claim Lox No Longer Kosher, Erica Butler, NBC New York
Today, March 8, 2010 marks International Women’s Day, a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. This years’ theme “Equal rights, Equal opportunities,” is a stark reminder of the unfinished agenda of giving women their rightful place at the table. So as we reflect and commemorate this important day, we should take a critical look ahead at the opportunities that await future generations of women, opportunities to give women an equal voice and choice.
Interventions focused on neglected tropical disease (NTD) control and elimination could offer an opportunity for improving the health and rights of girls and women in the poorest countries of world. In his paper, Empowering Women and Improving Female Reproductive Health through Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases , Dr. Peter Hotez explains the devastating effects that NTDs have on women and girls in developing countries, by impairing reproductive health, increasing the transmission of sexually transmitted infections and promoting stigma and gender inequality.
The suffering that women and girls infected with NTDS is reflected best in the words of WHO Director-General who said “imagine the impact when a young woman with leprosy is told she can be fully cured, can marry, have children, and will not infect others. Just imagine the impact”
So today, as we recognize the incredible women of the world who, despite all odds, have overcome many obstacles to make it possible for us to celebrate this day, let us also use it as a call to action. We’re keeping our eyes locked on the future, when NTDs and other diseases that perpetuate gender inequality will be nothing but a thing of the past.
Today, as we join in celebrating International Women’s Day, we’re reading the WHO’s comments on this day as well as reviewing a paper Dr. Peter Hotez wrote about womens health and NTDs. We’re also reading a profile of river blindness and about Buruli ulcer, one of the less discussed NTDs.
Equal rights, equal opportunities: progress for all, World Health Organization
WHO laments “shameful” lack of respect for women’s right to good health, World Health Organization
Empowering Women and Improving Female Reproductive Health through Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, Peter Hotez, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Blind to the river and its hazards, Stanley M. Aronson, The Providence Journal
Buruli ulcer: an overlooked tropical disease, Robert Herriman, Examiner.com
When the Obama Administration released its FY 2011 budget, it included $58.5 billion for International Affairs. This includes $8.8 billion allocated for global health issues. However, the United States’ struggling economy, record budget deficit, and huge debts has led to mounting political pressure to cut spending, including, unfortunately, the International Affairs account which supports global health initiatives and a number of development programs that life people out of poverty and promote stability worldwide
Fortunately, the community is united! We’ve joined with a coalition of other non-profits, NGOs, faith-based organizations, and others to send a letter to members of the US House of Representatives and Senate, emphasizing the importance of the International Affairs budget in U.S. foreign policy. The full text of the letter is below.
If you’re interested in joining the dialogue, call your congressman to tell them you support U.S. foreign assistance.
Dear Member of Congress:
We the undersigned organizations support the president’s request of $58.5b, as the minimum amount needed for the International Affairs account for FY11. This amount is expected to be 1.4% of total outlays of federal spending in FY11.
Our support is based on factors as varied as our specific missions themselves. But we are united around a common belief that the budget for International Affairs is critical to U.S. foreign policy and our shared future with people and nations around the world.
Sincerely,
The Global Network is a finalist in Kiwanis International’s quest for their next World Service Project. If Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are chosen, this could make a HUGE impact in the control and elimination of diseases that affect 1.4 billion people worldwide!
The Global Network’s Proposal is to ensure that more than 1 billion children born between 2003 and 2020 journey into adulthood as the first generation to grow and thrive without the burden of NTDs.Ending the neglected of these diseases will help bring prosperity to local economies, increase access to education, reduce poverty and most importantly, build sustainable development.
Please join the discussion and vote for Neglected Tropical Diseases!
http://sites.kiwanis.org/Kiwanis/en/worldwide-service-project/wsp-idd/joindiscussion.aspx
Happy March, everybody. We’re starting out this month by reading about NTDs in the latest WHO newsletter, analysis of the possibility of using flightless mosquitos to fight dengue fever, and a look at India’s spending on NTDs.
Elimination of neglected tropical diseases in the South-East Asia Region of the World Health Organization, World Health Organization
Can flightless mosquitoes be used to control dengue?, Paul Chinnock, TropIKA.net
Cure The Ground, Amba Batra Bakshi, Outlook India
Today we’re reading about reactions by Doctors Without Borders to the NTD aspects of the Obama Administration’s Global Health Initiative, an article about the difficulties registering new drugs in Africa to fight NTDs, and about an ongoing effort to combat lymphatic filariasis in southern India.
Fighting Deadly Neglected Tropical Diseases: Opportunities to Expand U.S. Impact in Control of NTDs, Doctors Without Borders
White House Called on to Expand Global Health Initiative, Doctors Without Borders
Registering New Drugs: the African context, Paul Chinnock, TropIKA.net
Filariasis Medicines to be Distributed, The Hindu
© UNICEF/ HQ96-1400/ Pirozzi
This week marks the 5th annual World Orphan Week sponsored by SOS Children’s Villages, the world’s largest charity dedicated to the long-term care and prevention of orphaned and abandoned children.
According to UNICEF, an estimated 143 million children worldwide are orphans due to natural disaster, conflict, disease and poverty and another 100 million abandoned children live on the streets. SOS Children’s Villages works in 132 countries worldwide providing shelter, emotional support, education and medical care to orphans to ensure that they have a brighter future.
We are especially mindful of the plight of orphaned and abandoned children in Haiti which were already at about 380,000 prior to the January 12th earthquake, and the long-term consequences this vulnerable population faces. Poverty and lack of a support system only exacerbate the challenges orphaned and abandoned children face, increasing their susceptibility to prevalent neglected tropical diseases in Haiti. Now, more than ever, children around the world need our support.
World Orphan Week sheds light on the issues faced by orphaned and abandoned children worldwide and provides the opportunity to help make a difference in the lives of the world’s most vulnerable population.
As we dig ourselves out and are settling back into the office after unprecedented amount of snow hit Washington DC this past week, here is what we’ve been reading.
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