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Georgetown professors explore balance of national security and scientific freedom

The U.S. government's request that the journals Science and Nature withhold scientific information related to the genetically modified H5N1 virus because of biosecurity concerns does not violate the First Amendment, say two Georgetown University professors. They caution, however, that a fair, transparent process undertaken by research organizations is preferable to governmental constraints on disseminating scientific information.

19 Jan 2012

Health experts call for U.N. special session on mental illness, illicit drug use

"Mental illness and drug abuse can wreak havoc in global societies and economies, and the U.N. General Assembly should devote a special session to the matter, global health experts said" in a PLoS Medicine article published on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reports (1/17).

19 Jan 2012

Facilitating low-cost innovations in increased usage of health care

The argument that "a country's quickest way to better health for its people is economic development ... is only one factor, and not the most important one, in explaining global health outcomes," Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, writes in a SciDev.Net opinion piece. "The challenge is to ensure that a cheap basic package of health interventions is available to -- and is used by -- all," he continues.

19 Jan 2012

Aspirin may benefit HIV-infected women at risk of cervical cancer

Research conducted by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center global health investigators and cancer specialists in New York, Qatar and Haiti suggests that aspirin should be evaluated for its ability to prevent development of cervical cancer in HIV-infected women.

19 Jan 2012

Study outlines how QI initiatives can increase overall survival rates for mothers, children

A large regional hospital in Ghana saw a reduction in maternal and infant deaths after continuous quality improvement (QI) initiatives were put into place through a collaborative partnership.

19 Jan 2012

Blog covers USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah's comments at country ownership roundtable

This post in the Ministerial Leadership Initiative's (MLI) "Leading Global Health" blog is "the first of a series of perspective pieces on country ownership from the 'Advancing Country Ownership for Greater Results' roundtable organized last week by" MLI.

19 Jan 2012

GlobalPost blog reports on roundtable discussing country ownership of development aid

GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog reports on a roundtable held on Thursday and organized by the Ministerial Leadership Initiative for Global Health (MLI) -- a "five-year project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation" -- at which "U.S. officials, developing country leaders, and heads of non-governmental organizations that do tens of millions of dollars of work in health around the world" discussed country ownership with respect to development aid.

18 Jan 2012

India applauded for marking one year without polio, but urged to also focus on other diseases

In this post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Victoria Fan, a research fellow at CGD, and Rachel Silverman, a research assistant at the center, respond to India's marking of one-year since a case of polio was found in the country, writing, "While we applaud India for its commitment to reaching this milestone, let us not allow this recent success obscure the sorry state of vaccination in India."

18 Jan 2012

Bloomberg examines effects of financial crisis on global health

Bloomberg examines the effects of the global financial crisis and a resulting stall in development aid for global health programs, writing, "Governments struggling to curb deficits from Spain to the U.S. have cut or slowed the growth of their contributions to the World Health Organization and disease-fighting funds that prop up health services in the world's poorest countries, according to a report by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, a research unit at the University of Washington in Seattle."

18 Jan 2012

Gates, Kristof answer questions about Bangladesh, public health in final installment of blog series

Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof continue to answer readers' questions in this third and final installment of the series on Kristof's "On the Ground" blog.

18 Jan 2012

Work of WHO essential medicines department at risk due to funding shortage, Oxfam warns

"The work of the essential medicines department of the World Health Organization (WHO) is under threat because of a serious shortage of funds, says a worrying and important letter published in the Lancet [on Thursday]," Guardian Health Editor Sarah Boseley reports in her "Global Health Blog."

13 Jan 2012

HHS Secretary Sebelius helps India mark one year since last recorded polio case

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "administered polio vaccination drops to children in New Delhi on Friday as India marked one year since its last case of the crippling disease," the Associated Press reports (1/13).

13 Jan 2012

Journalists discuss challenges of reporting on global health issues

The Global Post's "Global Pulse" blog reports on a GlobalPost and Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard seminar that took place in December, at which "journalists discussed the challenges in telling compelling global health stories in the digital age."

13 Jan 2012

Suing others for spread of disease ignores dynamics of infectious disease

In this post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Victoria Fan, a research fellow at the CGD, and Richard Cash, senior lecturer on global health at the Harvard School of Public Health's Department of Global Health and Population, report on a lawsuit brought forth against the U.N. on behalf of some of Haiti's 15,000 cholera victims.

13 Jan 2012

Promoting new investments in global health workforce

In this post in the Public Health Institute's (PHI) "Dialogue4Health" blog, Jeff Meer, director of PHI's Washington-based advocacy on global health, reports on the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, launched Wednesday, which is "developing support for new investments in the global health workforce, particularly those working at the community level who are the first and often the only link to health care for millions of people."

13 Jan 2012

U.N. poised to take on challenge of global health

"In just over two decades, global health has gained a political visibility and status that some authors have called a political revolution," Ilona Kickbusch, director of the Global Health Programme at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, writes in a U.N. Chronicle opinion analysis.

12 Jan 2012

Advocates react to administration's draft framework to stop Alzheimer's

The organization USAgainstAlzheimer's applauded the plan's goal of eliminating the disease by 2025 but would like to speed the timeline for development of new prevention and treatment approaches.

12 Jan 2012

Investing in Frontline Health Workers effective in saving lives of mothers, children

In the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children, writes about the Frontline Health Workers Coalition's call on the U.S. government to train 250,000 new frontline health workers in developing countries, stating, "At a time when every dollar counts more than ever, the new Frontline Health Workers Coalition believes this focus is the most cost-effective way to save mothers' and children's lives around the world, address global health threats, and help advance strategic U.S. interests in a secure and prosperous world."

12 Jan 2012

Frontline Health Workers Coalition launches initiative to add 1M health care workers in developing countries

The Frontline Health Workers Coalition -- which consists of 16 major non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Family Care International, the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, and RESULTS -- has launched "a new initiative to add one million health care workers in developing countries," VOA News reports.

12 Jan 2012

Potential human health risk from illegal wildlife trade

An article released today in PLoS ONE entitled, Zoonotic Viruses Associated with Illegally Imported Wildlife Products, from a collaborative study led by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), identified evidence of retroviruses and herpesviruses in illegally imported wildlife products confiscated at several U.S. international airports, including John F. Kennedy International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental-Houston and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International.

11 Jan 2012

Global Health News and Research

Georgetown professors explore balance of national security and scientific freedom

Health experts call for U.N. special session on mental illness, illicit drug use

Facilitating low-cost innovations in increased usage of health care

Aspirin may benefit HIV-infected women at risk of cervical cancer

Study outlines how QI initiatives can increase overall survival rates for mothers, children

Blog covers USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah's comments at country ownership roundtable

GlobalPost blog reports on roundtable discussing country ownership of development aid

India applauded for marking one year without polio, but urged to also focus on other diseases

Bloomberg examines effects of financial crisis on global health

Gates, Kristof answer questions about Bangladesh, public health in final installment of blog series

Work of WHO essential medicines department at risk due to funding shortage, Oxfam warns

HHS Secretary Sebelius helps India mark one year since last recorded polio case

Journalists discuss challenges of reporting on global health issues

Suing others for spread of disease ignores dynamics of infectious disease

Promoting new investments in global health workforce

U.N. poised to take on challenge of global health

Advocates react to administration's draft framework to stop Alzheimer's

Investing in Frontline Health Workers effective in saving lives of mothers, children

Frontline Health Workers Coalition launches initiative to add 1M health care workers in developing countries

Potential human health risk from illegal wildlife trade

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

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