PrEP Effective Only When Drugs Taken As Prescribed, Study Shows February 12, 2015 News Summary Humanosphere: HIV prevention trial exposes adherence challenge Humanosphere reporter Tom Murphy discusses results of a study published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine examining the effectiveness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV infection. “Treatments to prevent the spread of HIV are extremely effective, only when people take…
NPR Examines Kaiser Family Foundation Poll On Americans’ Knowledge About Foreign Aid Funding February 11, 2015 News Summary NPR: Guess How Much Of Uncle Sam’s Money Goes To Foreign Aid? Guess Again! “…In December, the Kaiser Family Foundation polled 1,505 people. Only 1 in 20 knew the right answer: less than 1 percent of the $4 trillion federal budget goes to foreign aid. The average respondent estimated that…
Most U.S. Troops To Return From Ebola-Hit Liberia By April; Obama To Make Announcement At White House Event February 11, 2015 News Summary ABC News: U.S. Military to End Ebola Relief Mission in Liberia “The U.S. military is ending its Ebola relief mission in West Africa, with the last American troops scheduled to leave Liberia by April 30…” (Martinez, 2/10). Agence France-Presse: U.S. to withdraw troops from Ebola mission in West Africa “…A…
German, Norwegian, Ghanaian Leaders Urge U.N. To Develop, Adopt Better Approaches To Handle International Crises February 11, 2015 News Summary Associated Press: Leaders to U.N.: We need better crisis response after Ebola “A trio of world leaders says the devastating Ebola outbreak exposed the ‘weakness’ of international crisis response and is seeking a solution. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, and Ghanaian President John Mahama have asked…
Addressing Social, Cultural Aspects Of Ebola Critical To Stopping Epidemic, Experts, Health Workers Say February 11, 2015 News Summary Reuters: Mistrust and machetes thwart efforts to contain Ebola in Guinea “…In [Guinea,] the country where West Africa’s Ebola outbreak began, hostility towards aid workers — fueled by ever more far-fetched rumors — is undermining efforts to contain the deadly virus…” (Hussain, 2/10). SciDev.Net: Lessons from the social response to…
Ebola Treatment Clinical Trials Face Hurdles As Number Of Patients Shrinks February 11, 2015 News Summary ScienceInsider: ‘Positive’ results for Ebola drug upsets plans for trials “…The Guinean government has already announced it wants to make [the experimental Ebola drug] favipiravir available to more people, and if the results hold up to greater scrutiny, they could force a change in the design of other clinical trials…
Vaccines Vital To Protecting Populations As Climate Change Heightens Disease Threats February 11, 2015 News Summary Mother Jones: Vaccines Are One of Our Best Weapons Against Global Warming “…There are a number of reasons that vaccines will play an important role in our efforts to adapt to a warming world. The most obvious is their ability to protect vulnerable populations from diseases that will be made…
Indonesia Makes MDG Progress But Problems Of Inequality Pose Challenges February 11, 2015 News Summary Wall Street Journal: Indonesia Gets Mixed Grade on Millennium Development Goals “Indonesia has met many of its Millennium Development Goals in the nearly 15 years since they were adopted by United Nations members, but efforts have been uneven, a new report says…” (Otto, 2/11).
Inequality, Stigma, Discrimination Drive HIV Epidemic In Caribbean February 11, 2015 News Summary Inter Press Service: Inequality Fuels HIV Epidemic in the Caribbean “…The Caribbean is one of the most heavily affected regions in the world, with adult HIV prevalence about one percent higher than in any other region outside sub-Saharan Africa. The HIV pandemic in the Caribbean is fueled by a range…