KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report

In The News

U.N. General Assembly Approves Resolution Sending Draft '2030 Agenda For Sustainable Development' To Member States

U.N. News Centre: General Assembly hands over draft global sustainability agenda to U.N. Member States
“The United Nations General Assembly [Tuesday] approved a resolution sending the draft ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ to Member States for adoption later this month, bringing the international community ‘to the cusp of decisions that can help realize the … dream of a world of peace and dignity for all,’ according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon…” (9/1).

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SDGs Aim To Leverage Local Communities, Investment, Christian Science Monitor Reports

Christian Science Monitor: In new U.N. goals, an evolving vision of how to change the world
“…Out is the view of development as a technical enterprise largely funded by the world’s wealthy powers and other outsiders. In is seeing development as a political process involving a wide range of actors — well beyond technocrats and politicians — in which foreign aid and global development institutions take a back seat. The priority is on leveraging local communities and investment…” (LaFranchi, 9/1).

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Asia-Pacific TB Parliamentary Caucus Meets To Discuss Region's Efforts Against Tuberculosis

Devex: Asia-Pacific unites in battle against tuberculosis
“Parliamentarians from the United Kingdom and countries in Asia and the Pacific gathered this week in Sydney, Australia, to create a unified voice for the region’s fight against tuberculosis. … The Asia-Pacific TB Parliamentary Caucus is the first regional meeting to come out of the Global TB Caucus, which was established in October 2014…” (Cornish, 9/1).

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MERS Cases In Jordan Linked To Hospital Outbreak, WHO Confirms

CIDRAP News: WHO confirms hospital MERS outbreak in Jordan
“The World Health Organization (WHO) [Tuesday] confirmed that four of Jordan’s recent MERS-CoV cases are part of [a] hospital-linked outbreak, the third country since May to report such an outbreak, as Saudi Arabian officials announced four more cases in Riyadh…” (Schnirring, 9/1).

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WHO Expands Experimental Ebola Vaccine Trial To Sierra Leone After New Case Detected

U.N. News Centre: New Ebola case in Sierra Leone prompts expansion of experimental vaccine trial — U.N. health agency
“The detection of a new case of Ebola in Sierra Leone over the weekend after the West African country had marked almost three weeks of zero cases has prompted the use of an experimental vaccine to fight the disease, according to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO)…” (9/1).

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Group Of Therapists Looks To Change Mental Health Treatment In Afghanistan

The Guardian: Afghanistan tackles hidden mental health epidemic
“…Fourteen years of violence have created a hidden epidemic in Afghanistan of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other war-induced illnesses. It is one of the most enduring damages wrought by the war — one few people understand, and fewer can treat. But a small army of therapists now seeks to change that. And they are led by a woman…” (Rasmussen, 9/2).

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Collapsing Health Care System, Dengue Outbreak Complicating Humanitarian Crisis In War-Torn Yemen

Reuters: Civilians pay heavy price in Yemen’s Taiz, health care collapses: U.N.
“Nearly 100 civilians have been killed in the past two weeks in Yemen’s southwestern city of Taiz where a collapsing health care service and outbreak of dengue fever are compounding a dire humanitarian situation, the United Nations said on Tuesday…” (Nebehay, 9/1).

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Conflict, Failing Infrastructure Causing Severe Food Insecurity In South Sudan's Northern Region

International Business Times: South Sudan On The Brink: Failing Currency And Armed Conflict Pushes Country Closer To Famine
“In the southern city of Morobo, South Sudan, mangoes litter the ground beneath the trees that line the roads. But 500 miles north, in the northeastern city of Malakal, people are severely malnourished and rely entirely on shipments of food from humanitarian groups. The stark difference between the two cities — one bordering Uganda, the other, Sudan — represents a wider phenomenon that could push the world’s youngest nation into a man-made famine…” (Banco, 9/1).

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Editorials and Opinions

Young People Must Engage In Humanitarian Action For More Resilient Future

Huffington Post: Young People on Frontlines of Humanitarian Response
Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of UNFPA

“…If young people are more engaged in humanitarian action, it is more likely that their needs and rights will be addressed. … We can no longer afford to leave young people behind. It is time to make the humanitarian system work for young people by engaging them, addressing the particular risk factors they face, and maximizing their ability to drive a local response, rebuilding and re-energizing their communities and countries. … [L]et us fully engage young people in emergency preparedness and humanitarian response and recovery. Let us create a new global humanitarian compact that prioritizes the rights, participation, and leadership of young people to build a more resilient future” (9/1).

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Accountability To SDGs Vital For Future Generations

Huffington Post: An Open Letter to the Generation That Will Grow Up With the Sustainable Development Goals
Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF

“…When world leaders come together this month, they will be doing more than agreeing to 17 goals. They will be coming together in common commitment to the hard, and sometimes politically difficult, work necessary to reach the global goals for every child — rich or poor. … And I hope that someday, when you are old enough to know whether we are succeeding or failing, you will hold your leaders — and all of us — accountable. For if we fail you, we will fail ourselves…” (9/1).

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India's Innovations To Address Menstruation Offer Lessons For U.S.

New York Times: Menstruation Innovation: Lessons from India
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, vice president for development at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

“…In the quest to address issues of menstrual health and hygiene … most of the ingenuity and innovation has been spearheaded in the developing world, where millions can’t access sanitary products … In fact, India — where only 12 percent of women in India use sanitary products — offers many lessons that can be adapted here in the United States. … The slew of period-focused news spiraling the Internet — what I’ve come to refer to as 2015’s Menstruation Sensation — stands in contrast to how little is being done to meet the menstrual needs of poor women here at home. … Women in America, and around the globe, deserve a comprehensive and innovative policy agenda that addresses the very real crisis of menstrual hygiene management” (9/1).

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From the Global Health Policy Community

First-Ever World Hepatitis Summit Aims To Enhance Prevention, Treatment Of Viral Hepatitis Infections

WHO: World Hepatitis Summit harnesses global momentum to eliminate viral hepatitis
“…The summit, co-sponsored by WHO and the World Hepatitis Alliance, and hosted in Glasgow by the Scottish Government this week, is the first high-level global meeting to focus specifically on hepatitis, attracting delegates from more than 60 countries. The aim is to help countries enhance action to prevent viral hepatitis infection and ensure that people who are infected are diagnosed and offered treatment…” (9/2).

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Gavi Board Looks To Wean Countries From International Support, Increase Domestic Resource Allocation

Center for Strategic & International Studies: Catalyzing Sustainable Global Immunization Programs
In a CSIS paper, Katherine Bliss, senior associate with the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, discusses actions that the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance took “to bolster the sustainability of the immunization programs it supports in the world’s 49 lowest-income countries. One important Board action was to refine the process by which countries that have been receiving Gavi assistance are weaned from international support and increase their allocation of domestic resources to fund immunization programs” (8/31).

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School-Based Mass Deworming Programs Can Improve Children's Health, Nutrition

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists”: A New Perspective on the War on Worms
Charles Mwandawiro, chief research officer and assistant director of partnership and collaboration at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), discusses the efficacy of school-based mass deworming programs for children and offers Kenya’s national deworming program as a successful example of one that reduced the prevalence of parasitic infections (9/1).

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Report Examines R&D Pipeline Progress For TB, HIV, HCV

Global Health Technologies Coalition’s “Breakthroughs”: Pipeline report points toward nascent progress in the fight against tuberculosis
Lindsay McKenna, TB/HIV project officer at the Treatment Action Group (TAG), discusses a report examining advancements in tuberculosis research and development. McKenna writes, “TAG’s 2015 Pipeline Report looks at advances in diagnostics, treatment, and prevention that offer hope for those engaged in the global fight against TB. The report, which also covers HIV and hepatitis C, highlights scientific potential while recognizing that the realization of innovations in the pipeline is conditional on our ability to mobilize political will, resources, and collaboration” (9/1).

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September 2015 Issue Of WHO Bulletin Available Online

WHO: Bulletin of the World Health Organization
The September 2015 WHO Bulletin includes news, research, and policy articles on various topics, as well as a public health roundup and a perspective piece on universal health coverage (September 2015).

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