Health Should Be Central To Habitat III’s New Urban Agenda October 28, 2016 News Summary The Lancet: A missed opportunity for urban health Editorial Board “…The document agreed and adopted at the [Habitat III] meeting … is … lofty. The so-called New Urban Agenda outlines an agreed framework and aspirational agenda for sustainable urban development as the new way to frame and plan cities, and…
‘Robust Health Planning’ Critical To Avoiding Infectious Disease Outbreaks During Economic Downturns October 28, 2016 News Summary STAT: Mosquitoes — and diseases like Zika — flourish when economies tank Amy K. Liebman, director of environmental and occupational health for the Migrant Clinicians Network “…Serious public health challenges often flourish in struggling economies because the habits and movements of people change. Yet health authorities rarely treat migration as…
Next Administration Should Work To Reform How U.S. Pays For Medical R&D October 28, 2016 News Summary New York Times: The U.S. Is Standing in the Way of Cheaper Drugs for the Poor Jason Cone, executive director of Doctors Without Borders USA, and Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America “…High prices and monopolies are not delivering innovation that responds to people’s needs. In fact, many public…
New Diagnostic Tools, Expanded Guidelines Needed To Reach More People With Latent TB October 28, 2016 News Summary The Conversation: New estimate suggests a quarter of the world’s population has latent tuberculosis Pete Dodd, research associate in health economic modeling at the University of Sheffield, and Rein Houben, associate professor in infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine “…In a new paper published…
Genetic Analysis Shows HIV Came To U.S. Via Haiti In Early 1970s, Long Before Identification Of First AIDS Cases, ‘Patient Zero’ October 27, 2016 News Summary The Atlantic: How One Man Was Wrongly Blamed for Bringing AIDS to America “HIV arrived in the U.S. from Haiti a decade before the first cases were identified — and well before the so-called Patient Zero contracted the virus…” (Yong, 10/26). New York Times: HIV Arrived in the U.S. Long…
In Letter To President Obama, 5 Diverse Groups Express Concern Over Longer Biologics Patent Protections In TPP October 27, 2016 News Summary The Hill: Five groups urge President Obama to forego longer protections for biologics in the TPP “Five diverse groups on Wednesday urged President Obama to forego any agreements that would lengthen data protections for high-tech medicines in an expansive Asia-Pacific trade deal. In the letter to the president, the groups…
Obama Administration Quietly Implements Policies To Promote LGBT Rights Overseas October 27, 2016 News Summary Associated Press: OBAMA LEGACY: A quiet mission to export gay rights overseas “While the world was watching America’s gay rights transformation, the Obama administration was pursuing a quieter mission to try to export the same freedoms overseas to places like sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. The U.S. has…
Researchers To Release Bacteria-Infected Mosquitoes In Colombia, Brazil To Help Prevent Transmission Of Zika, Other Diseases October 27, 2016 News Summary Deutsche Welle: Researchers release bacteria-infected mosquitoes to combat Zika “Researchers said on Wednesday that they plan to release swarms of mosquitoes infected with bacteria to combat the spread of the Zika virus in Colombia and Brazil…” (10/26). Devex: Gates Foundation to scale potential game changer in Zika, dengue control “…The…
India’s Family Planning Policies Could Focus More On Men, Provide More Contraceptive Options After Court-Ordered Closure Of Sterilization Camps October 27, 2016 News Summary The Guardian: Will the closure of India’s sterilization camps end botched operations? “…The Supreme Court’s verdict [ordering the government to shut down sterilization camps across India within three years] is a historic victory for women’s rights activists who have campaigned against sterilization camps for decades. The ruling could mean that,…