President Obama Requests Nearly $2B For Emergency Zika Funding, Works With Governors On Virus Response February 23, 2016 News Summary CQ News: White House Strengthens Ties With Governors on Zika Response “With health experts warning that the Zika virus could spread to the United States this summer, the White House announced it will partner with the National Governors Association in responding to the mosquito-borne disease. Zika was one of the…
Obama Administration Seeks $200M Boost For President’s Malaria Initiative In FY17 February 23, 2016 News Summary Media sources discuss the Obama administration’s request for a funding increase for the President’s Malaria Initiative. Devex: What can $200M buy in the fight to eradicate malaria? “U.S. President Barack Obama delighted malaria fighters with his State of the Union pledge to ask the Congress for more money to help…
New Money Needed To Address Zika, White House Says; Policymakers, Experts Discuss Family Planning Needs In Outbreak Response February 22, 2016 News Summary The Hill: White House shoots down using Ebola money to fight Zika “The White House on Friday brushed aside a House Republican proposal to use leftover Ebola funding to fight the Zika virus. ‘The important work that the United States has done to fight Ebola and to protect the American…
Answers On Zika, Microcephaly Link Up To 6 Months Away, WHO, U.S. Officials Say February 22, 2016 News Summary International Business Times: Zika Outbreak 2016: Proof Of Link Between Zika Virus And Birth Defects May Take 6 Months, WHO Says “The World Health Organization said Friday that it could take four to six months to prove the link between the Zika virus spreading through the Americas and the birth…
WHO Issues Guidance For Blood Supply Collections In Zika-Hit Nations February 22, 2016 News Summary New York Times: WHO Advises Caution, but Not a Halt, in Blood Collection in Zika-Affected Areas “The World Health Organization issued recommendations on Friday for safeguarding the blood supply from the Zika virus, but said blood collection might need to continue in some affected areas, despite concerns that the virus…
U.S. Official Expresses Concern Over Zika’s Possible Impact In Haiti; Colombia Experiencing Higher Incidence Of Zika-Associated Guillain-Barré February 22, 2016 News Summary Agence France-Presse: ‘Extreme’ U.S. worry about Zika impact in Haiti “A top U.S. health official expressed ‘extreme concern’ Friday over the potential for Zika to expand throughout Haiti and said the United States is helping the deeply impoverished Caribbean nation prepare. There was ‘extreme concern of Haiti in terms of…
As Aedes Aegypti Spreads Diseases, Mosquito Proves Tough Foe, Researchers Say February 22, 2016 News Summary PRI: We’ve lost the battle against dengue, is Zika next? “…[H]ow we have been fighting the battle against dengue could predict our odds of winning the battle against Zika. From the chart above, chances are pretty slim. Although we identified the Aedes aegypti as a dengue vector as early as…
Climate Change Factors Into Disease Spread Worldwide, UNEP Executive Director Says February 22, 2016 News Summary The Hill: U.N. links climate change to Zika, Ebola “…In a speech [last] week, the executive director of the U.N.’s Environment Programme (UNEP) said officials should take a more aggressive stance toward climate change, highlighting studies that show nearly a quarter of premature deaths around the world can be attributed…
Contraception Becoming More Acceptable Among Some Religious Leaders, Especially For Public Health Reasons February 22, 2016 News Summary Associated Press: Philippine bishops back pope’s remarks on Zika contraception “Despite their staunch opposition to contraceptives, Philippine Roman Catholic bishops expressed their full support Saturday to Pope Francis’ remarks suggesting artificial contraception can be used by women threatened by the Zika virus…” (Gomez, 2/20). Los Angeles Times: Pope Francis isn’t…