News outlets report on the WHO’s new recommendations for HIV preventive therapy for gay men and other key populations.

Agence France-Presse: WHO warns HIV ‘exploding’ among gay men, urges preventive drugs
“HIV infections are rising among gay men in many parts of the world, the World Health Organization warned Friday, urging all men who have sex with men to take antiretroviral drugs to prevent infection…” (7/11).

The Atlantic: The WHO Wants All Gay Men to Take HIV Prevention Medication
“Condoms alone aren’t cutting it, the World Health Organization declared today, urging all men who have sex with men — regardless of HIV status — to begin using antiretroviral drugs as a means of protection against the disease…” (Romm, 7/11).

BBC News: Healthy gay men urged to take HIV drugs — WHO
“The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging all sexually active gay men to take antiretroviral drugs to reduce the spread of HIV. The organization says the move may help prevent a million new HIV infections over 10 years…” (Mundasad, 7/11).

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Forbes: USAID, Pope Francis, And Impact Investing
In an interview, Forbes contributor Rahim Kanani speaks with USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah about his “participation in last month’s impact investing conference at the Vatican, how USAID harnesses private capital to fight poverty, the future of impact investing, and more…” (Kanani, 7/11).

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News outlets report on the ongoing crisis in Syria, where aid delivery is hampered by fighting.

New York Times: Bid to Deliver Aid to Syria May Set Stage for a U.N. Clash
“The United Nations Security Council was potentially headed for a showdown on Monday over getting food and medicine to millions of needy Syrians…” (Sengupta, 7/13).

U.N. News Centre: Syria: U.N agency urges Europe to shoulder more of refugee challenge
“With Syria heading into its fourth year of conflict, a United Nations agency [Friday] called on Europe to do more to help Syrian refugees, after a new report found that some nations in the region are turning back asylum seekers and ‘shouldering only a small part’ of the challenges…” (7/11).

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News outlets report on the ongoing challenges and responses to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Agence France-Presse: Regional Ebola response center to be set up in Guinea
“A regional center is being set up in Guinea to coordinate the response to the worst-ever outbreak of Ebola that has killed hundreds of people in West Africa, the World Health Organization said Friday…” (7/11).

Reuters: As Ebola stalks West Africa, medics fight mistrust, hostility
“Governments and health agencies trying to contain the world’s deadliest ever Ebola epidemic in West Africa fear the contagion could be worse than reported because suspicious locals are chasing away health workers and shunning treatment…” (Samb/Bailes, 7/14).

Inter Press Service: Defying the Ebola Odds in Sierra Leone
“The Public Health Education Officer for Sierra Leone’s Eastern Province, Michael Vandi, who is based in the Kenema hospital which houses the country’s only Supportive Treatment Centre and testing laboratory for Ebola, said that the country is far from winning the fight against the disease, blaming people’s fear and denial of the disease…” (7/12).

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News outlets report on challenges to polio eradication efforts in Nigeria and Pakistan.

Voice of America: Despite Insecurity, Polio Drops 85% in Nigeria
“Aid workers in Nigeria say they have never been closer to eradicating polio, with only four new cases reported this year. But as insurgent attacks grow more violent in the north, the workers say vaccination programs are at ‘high risk’ and continued success will depend on new strategies to reach children in what have become war zones…” (Murdock, 7/11).

Thomson Reuters Foundation: Pakistanis use fake polio vaccination cards to travel overseas
“Pakistanis seeking to travel overseas have used fake polio vaccination certificates to circumvent rules put in place to stem the spread of the crippling virus…” (Bhalla, 7/11).

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New York Times: Poor Sanitation in India May Afflict Well-Fed Children With Malnutrition
“…Now, an emerging body of scientific studies suggest that … many of the 162 million children under the age of five in the world who are malnourished are suffering less a lack of food than poor sanitation…” (7/13).

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Inter Press Service: Outdated Approaches Fueling TB in Russia, Say NGOs
“…Tuberculosis exploded in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union as health care infrastructure crumbled, the country was thrown into economic crisis and crime and poverty soared, leading to overcrowded penal institutions. But, say NGOs in Russia and international groups working to combat the disease, the continued use of outdated and inefficient approaches to the disease are still fueling its spread…” (Stracansky, 7/14).

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News outlets report on the cholera outbreak and refugee crisis in South Sudan.

Associated Press: Cholera threatens thousands in South Sudan: agency
“An outbreak of cholera is putting thousands of lives at risk in parts of South Sudan, worsening the country’s humanitarian crisis amid ongoing violence, the aid group Save the Children said Friday…” (Muhumuza, 7/11).

New York Times: South Sudan: Refugee Crisis Worsens
“The United Nations refugee agency said Friday that the number of South Sudanese fleeing for neighboring nations had reached 715,000, more than double the number envisioned when the agency began a funding appeal four months ago for refugees from South Sudan, which has been ravaged by a civil war and is on the verge of famine…” (Gladstone, 7/11).

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Inter Press Service: Time to “Drop the Knife” for FGM in The Gambia
“Women’s rights activists in the Gambia are insisting that more than 30 years of campaigning to raise awareness should be sufficient to move the government to outlaw female genital mutilation (FGM). The practice remains widespread in this tiny West African country of 1.8 million people, but rights activists believe that their campaign has now reached the tipping point…” (Jammeh, 7/13).

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IRIN: Donors giving more but needs are greater than ever
“Humanitarian funding reached a record US$22 billion in 2013, yet almost a third of needs remained unmet, according to data recently released by the U.K.-based think tank Global Humanitarian Assistance Programme’s Development Initiatives…” (7/14).

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Reuters: India caps prices of 108 more medicines; drugmakers to take hit
“India’s pharmaceutical pricing regulator has cut and capped the prices of more than 100 drugs used to treat diseases ranging from diabetes to HIV to malaria, a move likely to hit the profit margins of drug firms like Sanofi SA, Abbott Laboratories, and Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd…” (Siddiqui, 7/14).

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Devex: On World Population Day, a startling picture for women and girls
Renate Baehr, executive director of DSW — Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung

“…[O]n World Population Day, we must acknowledge that we are failing the 500 million girls in low- and middle-income countries. If we are to properly address the challenges they face, we need to prioritize girls and young women in international development policy and in the post-2015 framework. Ensuring that they have full access to their sexual and reproductive health and rights is a fundamental part of this challenge…” (7/11).

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SciDev.Net: Focus on Poverty: More nutrition science or political will?
Roger Williamson, independent consultant and visiting fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex

“The second Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI) has just been launched, providing detailed evidence on efforts to reduce hunger (10 indicators) and undernutrition (12 indicators) in 45 developing countries. The data show that the richer among these countries often do better — more resources should, after all, mean better outcomes. They also show that some poorer countries have been improving their performance despite difficult circumstances. … [J]oined-up health care systems and hunger and nutrition interventions are necessary. These need a proper scientific basis — so evidence-based policies are crucial. But so is the delivery of interventions, and political commitment to improve delivery…” (7/14).

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The Guardian: New development goals need ambition — and the U.K. must set the agenda
Jim Murphy, Labour member of parliament for East Renfrewshire and the shadow secretary of state for international development

“…With the correct [Sustainable Development Goals], we can wipe out extreme poverty, secure health coverage at all ages and begin to reverse climate change. That is a thrilling prospect — which is why these [U.N.] negotiations need an urgent injection of radical ambition led by the U.K. However, the British government is not doing enough to push things forward. … The U.K. has a robust record on development. We have helped steer the world to groundbreaking agreements — the time has come for Britain to do so again…” (7/14).

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USAID’s “Impact”: Moving Forward with USAID’s LGBT Vision for Action
Todd Larson, the senior LGBT coordinator at USAID, discusses USAID’s LGBT Vision for Action, the agency’s efforts to improve LGBT rights worldwide, and Pride Month, recognized in June (7/14).

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Kaiser Family Foundation: Web Briefing for Media: Key Stories Ahead of the 2014 International AIDS Conference
The Kaiser Family Foundation held an interactive web briefing exclusively for journalists on Friday to discuss key issues surrounding the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia, from July 20-25. An archived webcast is available online (7/11).

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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists”: When Impact Matters More Than Invention
Rebekah Scheuerle, a Gates Scholar and doctoral candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge, discusses the importance of translating innovative ideas “into feasible, life-changing products” and measuring impact (7/9).

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Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks”: WHO releases key population HIV guidelines, with new recommendations for PrEP and opioid overdose management, updated evidence for prison responses, call for law, policy reviews
Antigone Barton, writer and editor of “Science Speaks” and senior communications officer at the Center for Global Health Policy, discusses guidelines released by the WHO on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for key populations with HIV (7/11).

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