Malaria News and Research

Latest Malaria News and Research

Opinion: Job development for Haiti; NTDs in Africa; U.S. investment in TB

"Even before the earthquake, the Haitian economy was already on shaky ground. There is 70 to 80 percent unemployment in the formal economy. ... U.S. policy helped build this disastrous economy," AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker writes in a Miami Herald opinion piece. Baker says previous employment efforts in Haiti resulted in "stop-gap jobs," which do not provide "employment stability or social protections."

2 Apr 2010

VA may expand list of Gulf War illnesses

The Army Times/Veterans Today: "In a boost for veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War and those who have served in recent years in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Veterans Affairs Department has proposed changes to its list of illnesses that are presumed connected to service to include nine infectious diseases."

1 Apr 2010

Also in Global Health News: HIV/AIDS in Central Asia; Nigeria MDGs; Aid transparency; Maternal health in Peru

Aljazerra.net reports on the spread of HIV/AIDS throughout Central Asia along drug routes in the region. The piece examines the lack of information available to the people of Central Asia about HIV prevention strategies and a recent effort among a group of Muslim imams in Tajikistan to educate people about the disease (Andersen, 3/31).

1 Apr 2010

2010 BIO International Convention to discuss issues that impact drug discovery and development

The 2010 BIO International Convention will feature a robust health and medical program highlighting the latest scientific breakthroughs and policy and business development issues that impact drug discovery and development. Hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the Convention will be held May 3-6, 2010 in Chicago, Ill. at McCormick Place.

31 Mar 2010

Wall Street journal examines fundraising efforts by GAVI, Global Fund

The GAVI Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria "on Friday began an effort to raise as much as $24 billion from members of the Group of 20 nations that will test whether a major push begun a decade ago against infectious diseases can survive the global recession," the Wall Street Journal reports. The two groups held meetings last week in The Hague with government representatives from existing and potential donor nations, according to the newspaper.

30 Mar 2010

GenVec announces discontinuation of TNFerade PACT trial for pancreatic cancer

GenVec, Inc. announced today that it is discontinuing its Phase 3 clinical trial of TNFerade™ in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer based on results of an interim analysis. This interim analysis of overall survival, conducted after the 184th death (two-thirds of total expected events), was designed to determine whether the study should continue.

30 Mar 2010

Also in Global Health News: H1N1; USAID's Global Pulse; Rotavirus vaccine; Uzbek doctors; Zimbabwe development; Malaria vaccine

WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda on Monday announced that a group of 29 independent scientists and public health experts has been formed to evaluate the response of the organization and national governments to the emergence of H1N1 (swine flu), the Associated Press reports. According to Fukuda, the committee will hold its first meeting April 12-14 (3/29).

29 Mar 2010

Inovio Biomedical's total revenue increased to $2.6M for quarter ended December 31, 2009

Inovio Biomedical Corporation today reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

29 Mar 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

"Sub-Saharan Africa is affected by a disproportionately high prevalence of both HIV infection and food scarcity," write the authors of an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition article on the relationship between malnutrition and the progression of HIV/AIDS. "Underweight individuals will continue to represent a significant proportion of patients who present for HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa.

27 Mar 2010

World TB Day coverage: Lesotho, Armenia, drug resistance, HIV coinfection

"To mark World [Tuberculosis] Day on Wednesday, Medecins Sans Frontieres [MSF] drew attention to Lesotho, which has the world's third-highest prevalence of HIV ... and the fourth-highest prevalence of tuberculosis," the Associated Press reports

26 Mar 2010

Civil society groups urge G8 to follow through with AIDS funding commitments

"Civil society organisations from around the world on Wednesday made a coordinated appeal to the Canadian government to help pressure the Group of Eight (G8) into fulfilling its aid commitments in the fight against AIDS,"

26 Mar 2010

UNAIDS Executive Director calls for 'serious attention to TB' on World TB Day

In a statement marking World Tuberculosis Day, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe "warned Wednesday that double infections of HIV and TB could become the next new epidemic," the Associated Press reports. Sidibe said, "I'm calling for serious attention to TB, and serious attention to TB-HIV co-infection" (Corder, 3/24).

25 Mar 2010

FHI, Duke University Medical Center pertner to improve TB treatment

Family Health International, a nonprofit global health and development organization working to improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable people, recently joined the Tuberculosis Trials Consortium, an international body that researches new TB drugs and treatment strategies. The consortium is funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As part of the consortium, FHI is partnering with Duke University Medical Center to conduct clinical trials that aim to reduce the duration of TB treatment and lessen the side effects of TB drugs.

24 Mar 2010

Opinion: Repurposing wastewater; expanding global fund; financing global health needs

In an Economic Times opinion piece, Jeffrey Sachs of the Earth Institute at Columbia University outlines what he sees as "two huge challenges facing" the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria:

24 Mar 2010

Administration official discusses Obama's commitment to Africa's food security in Reuters interview

Food security is central to President Barack Obama's Africa policy, "the administration's top official for Africa," Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson, said in an interview with Reuters. "We want to see the food security initiative take on greater momentum as more African countries are drawn into this program," Carson said.

23 Mar 2010

Global malaria investments saving lives, more funds needed

A new study linking funding increases in the global fight against malaria to a drop in deaths from the disease also shows that resources from donor governments still fall short of those needed for maximum impact against the world's fourth-biggest killer of children, according to a global health policy analyst at international aid agency World Vision.

20 Mar 2010

Report highlights gains in malaria fight, documents need for more funding

Global funding for efforts to fight malaria, which stood at $2 billion at the end of 2009, have "helped to contain the disease," but is "far short of the estimated $6 billion required annually to expand" efforts to fight it, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership said on Thursday, Reuters reports. The statements came as the partnership released a report (.pdf) that examined a decade's worth of global funding for malaria and its impact on fighting the disease (Hardach, 3/18).

20 Mar 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

A Lancet study performed a systematic review of HIV prevention and treatment services targeting injecting drug users (IDUs) globally based on the availability of "core interventions for IDUs: needle and syringe programmes (NSPs), opioid substitution therapy (OST) and other drug treatment, HIV testing and counselling, antiretroviral therapy (ART), and condom programmes." The authors conclude, "although the number of countries with core HIV prevention services is growing … worldwide, there are few countries in which the level of intervention coverage is sufficient to prevent HIV transmission" (Mathers et al., 3/20).

20 Mar 2010

Opinions: U.S. foreign aid effectiveness; Faith-based groups' work abroad

Although "foreign assistance is a very small proportion of the overall budget, its effectiveness is both measurable and priceless," Sheila Nix, the executive director of ONE, writes in a Roll Call opinion piece.

19 Mar 2010

Media outlets interview Shah during life sciences conference in Seattle

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah was in Seattle on Tuesday to speak at the annual Life Science Innovation Northwest conference, the Seattle Times' blog, "The Business of Giving," reports. The blog outlines the Obama administration's global health and development goals, including the six-year $63 billion Global Health Initiative (GHI), as well as some of the challenges facing Shah at USAID.

19 Mar 2010