The Guardian: Poor nutrition now affects a third of the human race, says report
“Malnutrition has become ‘the new normal’ and now affects a third of humanity, according to a study that warns of the devastating human and economic toll of undernutrition and obesity. … Not only is malnutrition responsible for nearly half of all deaths of children under five, it is also, along with poor diet, the leading driver of the global burden of disease…” (Jones, 6/13).

New York Times: Malnutrition and Obesity Coexist in Many Countries, Report Finds
“Twenty countries are triply cursed: They have serious levels of malnutrition, diet-related anemia, and obesity, according to the Global Nutrition Report published on Monday. Only China, Vietnam, and South Korea had no serious problems with any of the three indicators that health experts used as harbingers of poor nutrition: stunted toddlers, anemic young women, and obese adults. The United States, Germany, and 12 other countries have significant obesity…” (McNeil, 6/13).

Reuters: Too fat, too thin: Report finds malnutrition fuels disease worldwide
“At least 57 countries have a double burden of serious levels of under nutrition — including stunting and anemia — as well as rising numbers of adults who are overweight or obese, putting a massive strain on sometimes already fragile health systems…” (Kelland, 6/13).

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CQ Magazine: A British Firm’s Zika Solution Catches Congress’ Eye
“Hadyn Parry, chief executive of the British biotech company Oxitec, made a case to the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee last month that his firm can help halt the spread of the Zika virus, if only the Food and Drug Administration would let it. He said Oxitec has developed a genetically modified mosquito to interbreed with the Aedes aegypti, the mosquito breed that carries Zika, which is causing birth defects…” (Curry, 6/13).

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New York Times: How Zika Became a Global Threat
“…One of the leading scientific experts on Zika is Scott C. Weaver, the director of the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. In a recent interview, he helped explain how Zika came out of Africa, crossed the Pacific Ocean, came to Brazil, and became a dangerous public health threat…” (Bajaj, 6/13).

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CNBC: U.S. announces health collaboration with Cuba; will coordinate on diseases, R&D
“The United States said Monday it will collaborate with Cuba on health issues, the latest step in an historic rapprochement between the one-time bitter adversaries. An agreement between the U.S. and Cuba calls for ‘coordination across a broad spectrum of public health issues, including global health security, communicable and non-communicable diseases, research and development, and information technology,’ according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services…” (Mangan, 6/13).

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Inter Press Service: AIDS Meeting Was Bold but Disappointing, Organizations Say
“Though the High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS ended with the adoption of bold and life-saving targets, many organizations have expressed their disappointment in its outcomes. … Many were particularly concerned with stripped and exclusionary language on so-called key populations in the document…” (Yakupitiyage, 6/13).

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Deutsche Welle: Pope condemns ‘paradox’ of guns but no food in conflict zones
“Pope Francis told a meeting at the U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) that preventing supplies from reaching war zones was a violation of international law, adding that the world faced a ‘strange paradox.’ Francis’ visit to the WFP was the first by a pope to the Rome-based organization — which provides emergency food aid for 80 million people in 80 countries…” (6/13).

Reuters: ‘Feed people, not wars,’ pope says in address to U.N. food agency
“Pope Francis on Monday condemned the use of hunger as a ‘weapon of war’ and lamented the fact that it was easier to move weapons across borders than the aid needed to keep civilians alive…” (Pullella, 6/13).

U.N. News Centre: Visiting U.N. food relief agency, Pope Francis shines spotlight on urgent need to end hunger
“…He added that WFP is an example of how one can work throughout the world to eradicate hunger through a better allotment of human and material resources by strengthening the local community. He called for member states of the U.N. to decisively increase their commitment to cooperate with WFP…” (6/13).

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U.S. News & World Report: Sex, Sugar Daddies, and HIV in South Africa
“…This summer, just in time for bragging rights at the July International AIDS Conference in Durban, two large-scale initiatives will attempt to [prevent HIV infections among young women] in South Africa. By July, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, and other corporate and nonprofit partners plan to fully implement a program in South Africa called DREAMS, or Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe women. … This month, the South African government hopes to build on the DREAMS program by launching a three-year initiative aimed at curbing HIV infections in young women and the men who are their primary infectors…” (Haynie, 6/13).

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U.N. News Centre: INTERVIEW: U.N. envoy spotlights improvements in water and sanitation as critical to tackling cholera in Haiti
“Incidence of cholera has gone down by 90 percent in Haiti from 2011 to last year, and the United Nations will continue to help the country tackle the root causes of the disease, such as lack of clean water and sanitation services, the deputy head of the U.N. mission there has said. ‘Because cholera is, to a large extent, a disease of poverty, it remains a problem while there is poverty in Haiti,’ Mourad Wahba of Egypt, deputy special representative for the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) told the U.N. News Centre…” (6/13).

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Thomson Reuters Foundation: Why working to end malnutrition is our profession — and our passion
Roman Tesfaye, first lady of Ethiopia, and Lawrence Haddad, economist and senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute

“…[T]o make sure governments and donors intensify their investments [against malnutrition], all of us need to hold powerful stakeholders to account. The Global Nutrition Report aims to be a tool to help people all over the world to do this more effectively. To end malnutrition by 2030 we need to form global, national, and regional alliances across a wide range of stakeholders: politicians, parliamentarians, community and religious leaders, the media, civil society organizations, mothers, fathers, and families. No one can achieve this goal working on their own. But working together … anything is possible. Malnutrition is not destiny, it can be prevented through strong political actions and choices. Join us and choose to end it — soon” (6/14).

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The Hill: Global food security index a call to action
Jim Collins, executive vice president with responsibility for the DuPont Agriculture segment: DuPont Pioneer and Crop Protection

“…Pressures on systems that support food security even in the most developed countries are growing. … That’s why DuPont is deeply invested in building resiliency in food systems around the world. Meeting the needs of the growing global population — and the need for tools that can help farmers grow more nutritious food to feed us all — is at the heart of our business. To help achieve this goal, we’ve committed $10 billion to research and development and the introduction of 4,000 new products by the end of 2020. … The pressure of climate change means that we have a small window of opportunity to achieve our food security objectives, but they are achievable if we make the right investments in agricultural research and development now. Working in partnership with governments, non-governmental organizations, and farmers, I’m confident in our ability to do so” (6/13).

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Devex: Eliminating AIDS by 2030: End the epidemic in children, adolescents, and young women
Charles Lyons, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

“…[T]argets are only a part of what is required if we want to realize the promise of the first AIDS-free generation by 2020. Here’s what we need to do to get there. 1. Keep up the pressure to eliminate new HIV infections in children worldwide. … 2. Help children with HIV get treatment faster. … 3. Let teens tell us how to treat teens. … 4. Let data lead the way. … The world is within reach of an achievement unique in the history of this epidemic — the end of AIDS for an entire generation. … The boldness and determination reflected in last week’s international commitments, declarations, and targets articulated in Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free and other documents provide ample fuel for the next phase of this journey. But if urgent action on global and national scales does not follow, this historic milestone will stay just beyond our grasp. Is what we are asking ambitious? By necessity, yes. But it is also possible, and that alone makes it worthwhile” (6/13).

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Huffington Post: Is Antimicrobial Resistance On Your Radar Yet?
Michael Møller, director general of U.N. Office at Geneva

“…Antimicrobial resistance is becoming an increasingly serious threat to global public health. And this is not only about the problem of abusing antibiotics until they lose their effect — which is already happening. This also has to do with the drugs used to treat diseases such as HIV and malaria which have in their own right posed tremendous public health challenges. … We need to be careful with these precious, lifesaving commodities. We need to stop the overuse of antibiotics to treat ourselves and doctors have to be much more selective in handing out prescriptions. And it goes beyond humans. We must also be careful with the broad range of antimicrobials used in livestock and agriculture which ultimately ends up in our food and environment. … Governments will have to do their part, but every single one of us has a role to play… (6/13).

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Council on Foreign Relations: What the United State of Women Means for Global Issues
Catherine Russell, U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues, discusses U.S. efforts to advance global gender equality, including the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security; the U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence; and the U.S. Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls (6/13).

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Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks”: HLM 2016 AIDS: ‘Reaffirming’ urgency while dodging realities, U.N. resolution on HIV shows what happens when a declaration is political
Antigone Barton, senior editor and writer of “Science Speaks,” reports on the outcomes of the U.N. High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, highlighting the final declaration’s goals and some member states’ objections to inclusions and exceptions (6/13).

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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists”: Vaccine against Toxic Shock Syndrome successfully tested in a Phase I trial
Melvin Sanicas, global health fellow and program officer with the Gates Foundation, discusses toxic shock syndrome (TSS) and research into an experimental vaccine (6/13).

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