International Women’s day

Lancet (Editorial) – International Women's Day 2015

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60469-X/fulltext This Lancet Editorial sets the (international) scene for International Women’s day 2015. “ The 2015 UN theme for International Women's Day (March 8)—Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it!—envisions a world in which women can exercise their choices, whether that be participating in politics or living in a society free from violence and discrimination. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a globally endorsed framework towards advancing gender equality, human rights, and women's empowerment.  … On March 9, No ceilings: the full participation project, an initiative co-sponsored by the Clinton Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will launch the findings and  recommendations from its data-driven assessment of the gains made by women and girls since Beijing. Interestingly, they will show that gains made in health and primary education are far greater than in the other areas of economic participation, leadership, and security. But clearly, far more progress in health is needed. … “  The editorial finishes with some recommendations for the SDG negotiations: “Sexual and reproductive health and rights must not be sidelined again as they were initially in the Millennium Development Goals.” MSF focuses   focuses on adolescents’ health for International Women’s day 2015. Meanwhile, sexual violence against women is a massive and world-wide problem (and even seems to be worsening, one sometimes has the feeling) (check The Guardian for a comparative perspective). “India’s daughter”, the BBC documentary on the assault and murder of Jyoti Singh a few years ago in Delhi,  was and is big news in India – even if it’s not allowed to be broadcast in the country - and elsewhere in the world.  (One does have to admit that at least this week China faced its “inconvenient truths” more head on – see the documentary ‘Under the Dome’ on pollution ; already 150 million viewers online  - than India. )

Lancet – Offline: The uses of discomfort

Richard Horton; http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60456-1/fulltext Horton discusses last week’s meeting in Delhi on a new Global Strategy for Women's, Children's, and Adolescents' Health. This Global Strategy 2.0 is to be launched at the UN General Assembly in September this year alongside the SDGs. A progress report on the current Strategy will be released in March.  “Amina Mohammed, the UN's Special Advisor on Post-2015 Development Planning, said that to achieve our ambitions, “we need to be uncomfortable”. The Delhi consultation certainly had moments of discomfort. But more than that, it signalled an emerging consensus on a substantially broader and more ambitious scope for realising the hopes of women, children, and adolescents, not only in our generation, but for future generations too—the true meaning of sustainable development.”

Ebola ‘From Emergency to Recovery’ conference in Brussels

“Representatives of United Nations organizations engaged in the response against Ebola today pledged their support to the worst-affected West African countries in “each stage of this journey; the drive to zero, the early recovery, the medium and longer term development.” The pledge was made at a high-level international conference on Ebola sponsored by the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, earlier this week. The conference aimed at maintaining global attention on the crisis, taking stock of the fight against the epidemic and on coordinating next steps and discussing the recovery process. The world must “stay the course”  to get to zero cases.  Leaders of Liberia, Sierra Leone & Guinea asked for EU support to set up a Marshall Plan to fight Ebola (with national ownership). See also the Guardian for a nice overview of everything said, told & pledged at the conference. There’s still a funding shortfall, and estimates of Ebola casualties could be much higher than official ones till now. Some more info related to the conference:

• The EC’s press release ahead of the meeting (listing the aims).
• Euractiv: The conference in Brussels “provides an important opportunity to plan for the long term recovery and resilience of affected countries”, Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis told EurActiv in an interview.
• Overview of EU’s Ebola response so far : the facts (see informative sheet) (there was a bit less grandstanding on the EU’s (and the rest of the North’s) involvement in the “causes of the causes” of the Ebola crisis).
• A report by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), titled ‘Risking Repetition: Are We Ignoring Ebola’s Lessons, was presented at the conference. The report highlighted inefficiencies of the international response to the crisis.
• As for the World Bank Statement at the conference, by Keith Hansen, vice president – see here.   Besides talking about ‘unwavering commitment’ and listing everything the WB is doing in the area now, there was also this paragraph: “At the request of G20 leaders, the World Bank Group is now working to develop a global pandemic emergency facility, with new finance mechanisms so when the next global health emergency is declared, the world can quickly deploy the money, trained health workers, equipment, medicines and whatever else is required.  We are now in discussions with potential donors, private investors, the insurance industry and other development partners on the design of this proposed facility.”
• As for Helen Clark’s (UNDP) comments, see here.
• op-ed by David Miliband & Peter Piot, in the run-up to the conference (in the Guardian): “Fighting Ebola requires a culture change in the West as well as West-Africa” (stressing the role of communities, among others).

Save the Children (report) – A wake-up call: Lessons from Ebola for the world’s health systems

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/A-Wake-Up-Call.pdf For coverage of this new Save the Children report, see  The Guardian.  The Ebola outbreak was a “wake-up call”, according to Save the Children, but actually up to 30 countries are vulnerable to an Ebola-style epidemic, unless the world sits up and helps get urgent investment into universal healthcare.  Improving the health systems in the three Ebola-hit African nations would have helped to prevent the epidemic and cost a third of the relief effort, says the organization.  … The report’s analysis of health services in 75 countries shows that there are 28 countries with weaker health defences than Liberia.  … 2015 presents a historic opportunity to do something about it:  read ‘UHC for and/in LMICs’.  See also Devex for some more coverage of the report. You might also want to read a blog by Frazer Goodwin   on the broader picture around this ‘wake up call’ report, also in Oslo, London & the World Bank – with a view on UHC. Or Tom Murphy on Humanosphere, “Don’t squander lessons learned from Ebola outbreak, say advocates” (not just on this Save the Children report, but also on other reports released this week). But the message is the same: emphasis on health systems, communities, and of course, the tremendous opportunity for UHC now. If not now, then when?

Health Affairs - People In Sub-Saharan Africa Rate Their Health And Health Care Among The Lowest In The World

Angus Deaton et al; http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/34/3/519 “The health of people in sub-Saharan Africa is a major global concern. However, data are weak, and little is known about how people in the region perceive their health or their health care. We used data from the Gallup World Poll in 2012 to document sub-Saharan Africans’ perceived health status, their satisfaction with health care, their contact with medical professionals, and the priority they attach to health care. In comparison to other regions of the world, sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest ratings for well-being and the lowest satisfaction with health care. It also has the second-lowest perception of personal health, after only the former Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites. HIV prevalence is positively correlated with perceived improvements in health care in countries with high prevalence. This is consistent with an improvement in at least some health care services as a result of the largely aid-funded rollout of antiretroviral treatment. Even so, sub-Saharan Africans do not prioritize health care as a matter of policy, although donors are increasingly shifting their aid efforts in the region toward health.” For a short (related) Health Affairs blog, see here.

Social Watch – The 2015 declaration: meeting great expectations (maybe)

B Adams et al; http://www.socialwatch.org/node/16829 Excellent analysis of the ongoing post-2015 process.  “The most recent step in the post-2015 negotiations was the 17-20 February debate in New York on the Declaration, meant to be the framework political statement. Despite strong emphasis on transformation and high aspiration, traditional lines were drawn between (mostly) Northern and Southern positions.  At the same time, the debate was rich and nuanced, reflecting the increasing diversity of developing country concerns and their willingness to engage substantively on issues that will be critical to transformation. The process continues to suggest there is historic potential for redressing some of the longstanding imbalances driving deep social and economic disparities, and the impending collision with planetary boundaries. … ”  (must-read)

Ebola news update

 

• See Ebola Deeply for an update on some of the latest. As you can imagine, there’s no room for complacency, as the Ebola fight enters a new stage - see  David Nabarro on this, just before the meeting in Brussels. “The fight has reached a "second phase, getting to zero, and it really is the hardest part."   See also here.
• WHO – Ebola vaccine efficacy Phase III trial (of VSV-EBOV vaccine) will be launched in Guinea (7 March).
• report by Street Child on the number of orphans caused by Ebola: more than 12000 children are orphaned, due to Ebola, in Sierra Leone alone. (see The Guardian for coverage of this report).
• The New York Times reported that the fatality rate is falling in West African Ebola clinics – a mystery to MSF doctors…
• Liberian president Sirleaf thanked the American people last week in the US, for their Ebola efforts.
• Some good news from Liberia: last Ebola patient discharged from care.

 

Ebola viewpoints & perspectives

Nature (news) – Maternal health: Ebola’s lasting legacy

E Hayden; http://www.nature.com/news/maternal-health-ebola-s-lasting-legacy-1.17036 One of the most devastating consequences of the Ebola outbreak will be its impact on maternal health.

Vox – Ebola czar — "This thing isn't over yet." And the next pandemic could be even worse.

http://www.vox.com/2015/3/3/8134789/ebola-czar-ron-klain Reflective interview with US Ebola czar Ron Klain who returned to his private sector job mid-February.

IP Watch – Brief: Global Fund Publishes Terms Of Reference Of Equitable Access Initiative

http://www.ip-watch.org/2015/03/02/global-fund-publishes-terms-of-reference-of-equitable-access-initiative/ As reported last week, the new Equitable Access Initiative (EAI) had its first meeting in Geneva on 23 February; the meeting was co-chaired by Pascal Lamy & Donald Kaberuka and there were about 100 participants. “EAI is building a new policy framework to better understand the health needs and constraints countries experience as they move along the development continuum. The initiative stemmed from the need to develop a framework that can guide global health investments to ensure that people most affected by diseases are not left behind. Convening partners of the EAI are: the World Health Organization, the World Bank, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UNITAID and the Global Fund.” For the EAI website and terms of reference, see here.

NYT – US push for abstinence in Africa is seen as failure against HIV

New York Times; "The $1.3 billion that the United States government has spent since 2005 encouraging Africans to avoid AIDS by practicing abstinence and fidelity did not measurably change sexual behavior and was largely wasted, according to a study presented on the last day of an AIDS conference in Seattle..." The study was done by Nathan Lo at Stanford Medical School, with Dr Eran Bendavid as supervisor, and apparently caused a major stir in the room where it was presented. (The NYT article also gives the reaction from PEPFAR (at least the Pepfar representative in the room)). (So ‘High Fidelity’ might be a great book, but when it comes to HIV prevention the merits of abstinence are less clear.)

Health systems and reform - The Long Road to Universal Health Coverage: Historical Analysis of Early Decisions in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States

Jesse Bump; http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.4161/23288604.2014.991211#.VPgYEPnF__M Jesse Bump hugely impressed me in Cape Town with his presentation in a session with also Karen Grepin & Jeremy Shiffman, among others – but then again, I’m easily impressed by (some) people. This article, from the first Health Systems and Reform issue (see last week), also has 5 recommendations for LMICs on the path towards UHC. The Lancet published this week also ‘UHC: reaching a consensus’ (from David Nicholson), which already appeared online a few weeks ago (linked to the WISH conference).

The Conversation – What Europe’s hopeful left can learn from Latin America

https://theconversation.com/what-europes-hopeful-left-can-learn-from-latin-america-37422 Interesting piece for Syriza (and Podemos) fans in Europe.

BMJ (news) – Supreme Court case could upend Affordable Care Act

http://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h1162 Over to the US, then. Most US watchers looked baffled at Bibi’s performance in Congress this week, but there was also other news, also potentially bad for Obama. The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments “on Wednesday 4 March in a case that, should the justices decide for the plaintiffs, could potentially eviscerate the 2010 Affordable Care Act. In the case King versus Burwell the plaintiffs argue that federal subsidies that have helped millions of US consumers to purchase health insurance coverage through the federal exchange created by the 2010 act are illegal.” This could affect Americans in at least 34 states.   See Reuters for an assessment of the situation.  A ruling is expected late June. For an account of the opening day of the case, see also Reuters.  The Court is split, it appears, with justice Kennedy as a potential ‘swing voter’. Now that sounds very American. The Economist also has some articles on the turmoil around Obamacare this week, see here for example.

BMJ news - Experts question how India will meet promises on public health after cut in budget for 2015-16

http://www.bmj.com/content/350/bmj.h1244 India’s new budget doesn’t sound like good news for public health. “A proposed 16% cut in funding for the Indian health ministry for the coming fiscal year has triggered concerns over how the government will keep the pledges it made last year to provide free drugs and diagnostic tests and universal healthcare coverage.”  See also Reuters and an op-ed in the Hindu by Jean Drèze.

UN - Costs of Climate Change Adaptation Expected to Rise Far Beyond Africa’s Coping Capacity Even if Warming Kept Below 2°C

http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/03/costs-of-climate-change-adaptation-expected-to-rise-far-beyond-africas-coping-capacity-even-if-warming-kept-below-2c/ “Africa, the continent with warming deviating most rapidly from “normal” conditions, could see climate change adaptation costs rise to US$50 billion per year by 2050, even assuming international efforts keep global warming below 2°C this century, according to a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report. The report, ‘African’s Adaptation Gap’, was released at the 15th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN). By the way, this SDG UN website  is worth checking on a regular basis.

Lancet (Perspective) – Development with values: lessons from Bhutan

Robert Beaglehole et al ; http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60475-5/fulltext Splendid read, which will leave you with a harmonious feeling. The authors suggest that the principles guiding development in Bhutan, and especially Gross National Happiness (GNH), provide some important insights for (SDG) development discussions. The interpretation of the concept GNH is quite different from more western notions.

Devex - Bill Easterly's take on the SDGs

https://www.devex.com/news/bill-easterly-s-take-on-the-sdgs-85621 Sometimes the title suffices to want to read on. Easterly lives up to his reputation of a sceptic here.

Euractiv (special report) – Lack of social safety net hampers fight against killer diseases

http://www.euractiv.com/sections/fighting-diseases-challenges-ahead/lack-social-safety-net-hampers-fight-against-killer Billions of people in developing nations lack the health and social protections that most Europeans take for granted, a gap that experts say harms efforts to reduce poverty and prevent crises like the killer Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Let’s hope post-2015 the world will do something about this.

Youtube (Global Health) - Hans Rosling on global health

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlHcwFeK9TQ&feature=youtu.be Rosling reflects on important demographic changes and the implications for global health.

European Journal of International relations - The path-dependent design of international organizations: Federalism in the World Health Organization

T Hanrieder; http://ejt.sagepub.com/content/21/1/215 “The article puts forward a historical institutionalist account of how international organizations are ‘designed.’ (The author) argues that deliberate institutional design is circumscribed by path-dependent power dynamics within international organizations. Power-driven path dependence is used to explain that organizations lock in and reinforce historical privileges of international organization subunits. Early winners in the international organization lock in their privileges with the support of member-state allies, and reap increasing returns from their positions over rounds of reform. They thereby amplify features of international organization design that reformers would otherwise change later on. The argument is illustrated with a historical case study of the World Health Organization’s unique federal design, which grants the regional offices near autonomy from headquarter oversight. Vocal criticisms of the World Health Organization’s regionalization and repeated centralization attempts notwithstanding, the powers of the regions have increased over time. The case study retraces the path-dependent struggles over the World Health Organization’s federal design since its creation in the 1940s.” We also want to flag the book, “Expulsions. Brutality and Complexity in the Global Economy” by Saskia Sassen. A most-read for all the philantro-capitalists reading this newsletter!

Xinhua – Institut Pasteur launches global health initiative in Hongkong to combat infectious diseases

Xinhua News; “Institut Pasteur, a leading non-profit international biomedical research organization, launched a global health initiative in Hong Kong, aiming to raise 120 million U.S. dollars by 2020 for several projects to combat infectious diseases. The scheme, called ‘The 2020 Pasteur Global Health Initiative,’ targeted to implement efficient scientific programs at Pasteur Institutes located in the most vulnerable areas, to create new research institutes where there is a need in critical zones, and to train the new generation of global health scientists.”

2015 Icasa conference : coming up in Tunisia (Nov)

http://icasa2015tunisia.org/abstracts/submission-guidelines/ For some more info on the 18th ICASA conference, scheduled for November in Tunisia, see here.  

Lancet HIV (Editorial) – The end of AIDS?

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhiv/article/PIIS2352-3018(15)00029-6/fulltext Overview of the new Lancet HIV issue, providing also the broader picture in the fight against AIDS.

Humanosphere - AIDS advance benefits men but leaves women behind

Tom Paulson; http://www.humanosphere.org/global-health/2015/02/aids-advance-benefits-men-but-leaves-women-behind/ Some more analysis of one of the big stories of last week. “The biggest story out of one of the world’s biggest conferences on HIV-AIDS, which was held in Seattle this week, was that new studies further demonstrated the benefit of taking the anti-HIV drug Truvada to prevent infection by HIV.”  The studies only show a benefit for men, though.

Nature World News - How Dengue Fever Could Hasten Malaria's Deadly March on Africa

http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/13181/20150305/dengue-fever-hasten-malarias-deadly-march-africa.htm “Dengue is sometimes mistaken for malaria, especially in areas where diagnosis relies on clinical exams—and the implications for the fight against malaria could be profound.” Based on a new study in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene. Anti-malaria strategies might have to be reconsidered. In other malaria related news, CFR features a short  article by Yanzhong Huang on ‘Artemisinin’s rocky road to globalization’ (first of two articles).  This one focuses more on the Chinese part of the history, during the Cold war era.

WHO Bulletin (news) - New UN envoy joins campaign to end TB

http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/93/3/15-030315/en/ From the new Bulletin issue. “Eric Goosby tells Fiona Fleck why tuberculosis prevention and care should be integrated into a comprehensive package of health services for which universal health coverage is essential.”

WHO Bulletin (early online) – Reducing the price of treatment for multidrugresistant tuberculosis through the Global Drug Facility

K Lunte et al; http://www.who.int/bulletin/online_first/BLT.14.145920.pdf “The Stop TB Partnership’s Global Drug Facility is dedicated to improving worldwide access to antituberculosis medicines and diagnostic techniques that meet international quality standards. The Global Drug Facility is able to secure price reductions through competitive tendering among prequalified drug manufacturers and by consolidating orders to achieve large purchase volumes. Consolidating the market in this way increases the incentives for suppliers of quality-assured medicines. In 2013 the Global Drug Facility reduced the price of the second-line drugs it supplies for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: the overall cost of the longest and most expensive treatment regimen for a patient decreased by 26%. The price of treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis supplied by the Global Drug Facility was reduced by consolidating orders to achieve large purchase volumes, by international, competitive bidding and by the existence of donor-funded medicine stockpiles. The rise in the number of suppliers of internationally quality-assured drugs was also important. The savings achieved from lower drug costs could be used to increase the number of patients on high-quality treatment.” Some other bits of infectious disease news:

• Pakistani police arrested about 500 parents for refusing to allow their children to be vaccinated against polio in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. (see Deutsche Welle ).
• MERS is surging again in Saudi Arabia (see for example the Washington Post ).

WHO - WHO calls on countries to reduce sugars intake among adults and children

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/ Pretty big news this week. “A new WHO guideline recommends adults and children reduce their daily intake of free sugars to less than 10% of their total energy intake. A further reduction to below 5% or roughly 25 grams (6 teaspoons) per day would provide additional health benefits.”

UN News Centre - UN-backed treaty set to mark 10 years of dramatic change in tobacco use worldwide

U.N. News Centre From late last week, on the 10^th anniversary of the tobacco treaty (FCTC – on 27 February).  See WHO’s press release,     statements & all other related info.

CFR (expert brief) – The Tobacco Treaty Turns Ten

T Bollykly & T Fidler; http://www.cfr.org/health-policy-and-initiatives/tobacco-treaty-turns-ten/p36192 Analysis of the last ten years, and the extent to which the tobacco treaty was a model. “Can international law protect global health from a man-made menace? The World Health Organization (WHO) certainly thought so in adopting the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC), which entered into force on February 27, 2005.” The (somewhat harsh?) conclusion:  “The FCTC has not fared as well as a model for international lawmaking on other health challenges. The agreement has spurred little intergovernmental cooperation. Although FCTC parties adopted a protocol on the illicit tobacco trade in 2012, only six countries have ratified it. Domestically, tobacco monopolies remain entrenched in many countries as obstacles to tobacco control measures, and 92 percent of the world’s population still lives in countries where tobacco taxes are below what the WHO recommends.  Donor support for international tobacco control remains low, especially relative to other global health causes. Although tobacco use remains the second leading cause of death worldwide, only $68 million of the $31.4 billion in development assistance for global health in 2011 went to tobacco control. A decade later, none of the global health treaty proposals that the FCTC inspired have gained traction. Many lessons from the FCTC’s first decade are positive, but ultimately they are not about the power of treaty law. The sources of progress on the FCTC are about the same tactics that have long been effective in public health: identifying the strategies that work, reducing them to implementable and measureable programs, supporting and coordinating local implementation efforts, and monitoring and maintaining accountability for the results. Under the right circumstances, international law can contribute to the success of these strategies, but cannot substitute for them.”

Global Public Health – The relevance of the public–private partnership paradigm to the prevention of diet-associated non-communicable diseases in wealthy countries

M Stevenson; http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2015.1012528#abstract “The public–private partnership (PPP) paradigm emerged as a form of global health governance in the mid-1990s to overcome state and market failures constraining access to essential medicines among populations with limited purchasing power in low- and middle-income countries. PPPs are now ubiquitous across the development spectrum. Yet while the narrative that the private sector must be engaged if complex health challenges are to be overcome is now dominant in development discourse, it does not yet appear to be shaping government approaches to addressing health inequalities within high-income welfare states such as Canada. This is significant as both the actions and inactions of firms factor heavily into why low-income Canadians face a disproportionate risk of developing diet-associated chronic diseases, such as type II diabetes. In the same ways PPPs have been an effective policy tool for strengthening public health in poor countries, this paper illuminates how the PPP model may have utility for mitigating poverty-associated food insecurity giving rise to diet-associated non-communicable diseases within the context of wealthy states.”

WHO – Guidance note on the integration of NCDs into the UN development assistance framework

http://www.who.int/nmh/ncd-task-force/guidance-note.pdf?ua=1 “This Guidance Note is intended to assist those who are developing UNDAFs  (=United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks)  to strengthen the integration of NCDs into the UNDAF process, within the context of the United Nations Development Group’s (UNDG) guidance for developing UNDAFs. The Note highlights the importance of ensuring that linkages are made between the prevention and control of NCDs and broader development issues included in UNDAFs, such as universal health coverage, social protection, governance and wider social determinants of health. It highlights linkages with other sectors such as finance, trade, urban development and education. The guidance highlights the importance of engaging with all parts of government and all parts of society when integrating NCDs into the UNDAF process.”

BMJ (blog) –Where cancer is a neglected disease

Jocalyn Clark; http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2015/03/05/where-cancer-is-a-neglected-disease/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bmj%2Fblogs+%28Latest+BMJ+blogs%29&g=w_blogs_bmj-com A great deal of attention is being paid to NCDs as an emerging source of illness, death, and healthcare costs—recognising that low and middle income countries (LMICs) in particular are faced with a growing threat. Cancer is one of the four priority NCDs for the NCDs movement.  “At the level of global agenda setting, the disproportionate burden of cancer in LMICs helps make the case for more attention and investment. But on the ground, at least in some developing countries, cancer feels like a neglected disease.” In other cancer related news, global health experts (from Queen Mary University of London)  are questioning Sub-Saharan cancer data, more in particular WHO’s Globocan data.

Plos Speaking of Medicine – Chagas disease: the new numbers

Peter Hotez; http://blogs.plos.org/speakingofmedicine/2015/03/03/chagas-disease-new-numbers/#more-20032 Peter Hotez comments on new WHO estimates of the burden of Chagas disease in Latin America.

Lancet (World Report) - Working towards an end to FGM

Jules Morgan; http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60471-8/fulltext Stopping female genital mutilations, and providing high-quality care to survivors, are not easy goals but momentum is gaining to achieve them. Jules Morgan reports.

Lancet (Correspondence) –The Commission on Narcotic Drugs' attempt to restrict ketamine

J Nickerson et al ; http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60490-1/fulltext “On March 13, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs will convene in Vienna, Austria, for an annual meeting on drug control. On the Commission's agenda is a proposal to place ketamine—the leading anaesthetic used in developing countries—under Schedule I of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the same sort of international control reserved for the most highly illicit psychotropic drugs, such as mescaline and LSD. If the proposal passes, it will be a catastrophe for access to ketamine and safe surgery in developing countries.”   See also The Verge.

WHO – Does the world have enough midwives?

http://www.who.int/hrh/nursing_midwifery/world_have_enough_midwives/en/ “As the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health undergoes a revision for launch in September 2015, the global community in Geneva came together for a Geneva dialogue on midwifery aimed to inform the UNSG New Delhi Consultation taking place on 26-27 February.”  An overview of everything said at this event.

World Birth defects day

http://www.marchofdimes.org/mission/world-birth-defects-day.aspx# March 3 was the first ever World Birth Defects day, to raise awareness about the estimated 8 million babies worldwide who are born with serious birth defects. Those who survive may be physically or mentally disabled for life.  See also CDC’s Our Global Voices.

• The study of dinosaurs (and statistical methods to do so) can improve efforts to understand child malnutrition (according to Bill Gates himself, in a blog). Interdisciplinarity in global health!
• Finally, the Obamas announced ‘Let Girls Learn’, a new initiative to assist girls worldwide in attending & completing school. See the White House Factsheet.  The rationale is clear: “When a girl receives a quality education, she is more likely to earn a decent living, raise a healthy, educated family, and improve the quality of life for herself, her family, and her community. In addition, girls’ attendance in secondary school is correlated with later marriage, later childbearing, lower maternal and infant mortality rates, lower birth rates, and lower rates of HIV/AIDS”.

Frontline health workers coalition - Cost of Scaling up the Health Workforce in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea Amid the Ebola Epidemic: FHWC Costing Analysis

http://frontlinehealthworkers.org/wafricacosting/ “The Frontline Health Workers Coalition recommends that the U.S. Government and its partners address the public health emergency resulting for the Ebola virus epidemic in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea by investing in the training, retention, and support of frontline health workers. Based on the assumptions, data and calculations in this paper, the overall cost of doubling the health workforce over five years in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, and expanded coverage via a community health worker program comes to approximately $573.4 million, or less than $115 million per year on average.”

GHW Alliance - Statement of the Board of the Global Health Workforce Alliance

http://who.int/workforcealliance/media/news/2015/health_workforce2030/en/ “The Board of the Global Health Workforce Alliance (the Alliance) met in Geneva on 25-26 February 2015 to examine the strategic requirements for the health workforce agenda in the post-2015 period, the exciting potential of health workforce investment on health, equity and socio-economic outcomes, and the future of global governance for human resources for health (HRH) after the successful completion of the ten-year mandate of the Alliance in May 2016.” Check out the rest of the statement.

Science Speaks - Health workforce shortage weakens AIDS response

http://sciencespeaksblog.org/2015/03/03/health-workforce-shortage-weakens-aids-response/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ScienceSpeaksHivTbNews+%28Science+Speaks%3A+HIV+%26+TB+News%29 “While the U.S. government has helped train more than 140,000 healthcare workers through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief since the program was re-authorized in 2008, Africa still needs more than one million healthcare workers to address a critical shortage, U.S. Global AIDS Ambassador Dr. Deborah Birx said Monday at a Capitol Hill briefing. Speakers at the briefing, which was organized by the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, IntraHealth, and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, said no disease requires more healthcare workers in Africa than HIV.”

Financing health in Africa – Our future will be collaborative

Maxime Rouve; http://www.healthfinancingafrica.org/home/our-future-will-be-collaborative Maxime Rouve (ITM) introduces a new and exciting development for the Communities of Practice – opportunities for multiple collaborative projects, via a special platform.  In this blog post, he dwells on the first step in this direction : the new “collaborative projects” page of the Health Financing in Africa blog.

Lancet (Editorial) - The UK general election: a manifesto for health

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60467-6/fulltext The UK election is coming up. This manifesto also has a global health part.

Health Affairs –Compulsory Licensing Often Did Not Produce Lower Prices For Antiretrovirals Compared To International Procurement

R Beal et al; http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/34/3/493.abstract “Compulsory licensing has been widely suggested as a legal mechanism for bypassing patents to introduce lower-cost generic antiretrovirals for HIV/AIDS in developing countries. Previous studies found that compulsory licensing can reduce procurement prices for drugs, but it is unknown how the resulting prices compare to procurements through the Global Fund, UNICEF, and other international channels. For this study we systematically constructed a case-study database of compulsory licensing activity for antiretrovirals and compared compulsory license prices to those in WHO’s Global Price Reporting Mechanism and the Global Fund’s Price and Quality Reporting Tool. Thirty compulsory license cases were analyzed with 673 comparable procurements from WHO and Global Fund data. Compulsory license prices exceeded the median international procurement prices in nineteen of the thirty case studies, often with a price gap of more than 25 percent. Compulsory licensing often delivered suboptimal value when compared to the alternative of international procurement, especially when used by low-income countries to manufacture medicines locally. There is an ongoing need for multilateral and charitable actors to work collectively with governments and medicine suppliers on policy options.”

IP Watch - Why The Request By Least Developed Countries For An Extension Of The Transitional Period For Granting And Enforcing Medicines Patents Needs To Be Supported

Ellen ‘t Hoen http://www.ip-watch.org/2015/02/27/why-the-request-by-least-developed-countries-for-an-extension-of-the-transitional-period-for-granting-and-enforcing-medicines-patents-needs-to-be-supported/ In-depth analysis of this issue.

Lancet Infectious Diseases (Editorial) –Global harmonisation in vaccine price

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(15)70067-8/fulltext?rss=yes On Jan 20, 2015, Médecins Sans Frontières published the second edition of the report The right shot: bringing down barriers to affordable and adapted vaccines. This editorial gives the broader picture on vaccine pricing.

Global Public Health – Legal and policy foundations for global generic competition: Promoting affordable drug pricing in developing societies

P Zapatero Miguel; http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2015.1014824#abstract « The so-called ‘TRIPS flexibilities’ restated in 2001 by the World Trade Organization's Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health offer a variety of policy avenues for promoting global price-based competition for essential medicines, and thus for improving access to affordable medicines in the developing world. In recent years, developing countries and international organisations alike have begun to explore the potentialities of global generic markets and competition generally, and also of using compulsory licensing to remedy anti-competitive practices (e.g. excessive pricing) through TRIPS-compatible antitrust enforcement. These and other ‘pro-competitive’ TRIPS flexibilities currently available provide the critical leverage and policy space necessary to improve access to affordable medicines in the developing world.”

Lancet – Dainius Pūras: UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60474-3/fulltext Interesting profile.

Lancet (Correspondence) – Hearing loss: a global health issue

L Meng Looi et al; http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60208-2/fulltext March 3 was also International Ear Care Day. “Roughly 360 million people around the world are living lives separated from others because of hearing loss.1 32 million are children. If their condition is not identified and given appropriate treatment early in life, these children often face delays in development of speech, language, and cognitive skills, with knock-on effects such as learning difficulties in school.”

Review of International studies – Regionalism, activism, and rights: New opportunities for health diplomacy in South America

Pia Riggirozzi; http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9579522&fileId=S026021051400028X&utm_source=Issue_Alert&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=RIS This article analyses regional health diplomacy in South America. The article argues that regional organisations can become sites for collective action and pivotal actors in the advocacy of rights (to health) enabling diplomatic and strategic options to member state and nonstate actors, and playing a role as deal-broker in international organisations by engaging in new forms of regional health diplomacy.

Globalization & Health – Why language matters: insights and challenges in applying a social determination of health approach in a North-South collaborative research program

Jerry Spiegel et al; http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/11/1/9/abstract Social determinants is not quite the same as a social determination of health approach.

Journal of Health Services - Transnational Corporations and Health: A Research Agenda

Fran Baum et al;  http://joh.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/01/24/0020731414568513.full.pdf+html “Transnational corporations (TNCs) are part of an economic system of global capitalism that operates under a neoliberal regime underpinned by strong support from international organisations such as the World Trade Organization, World Bank, and most nation states. Although TNCs have grown in power and influence and have had a significant impact on population health over the past three decades, public health has not developed an integrated research agenda to study them. This article outlines the shape of such an agenda and argues that it is vital that research into the public health impact of TNCs be pursued and funded as a matter of priority. The four areas of the agenda are: assessing the health and equity impacts of TNCs; evaluating the effectiveness of government regulation to mitigate health and equity impacts of TNCs; studying the work of activist groups and networks that highlight adverse impacts of TNCs; and considering how regulation of capitalism could better promote a healthier and more equitable corporate sector.”

UN News centre – Over 5 billion people worldwide lacking access to essential medicines, says UN report

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50230#.VPlDP_nF__N “Around 5.5 billion people still have limited or no access to medicines containing narcotic drugs such as codeine or morphine the Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) says in its Annual Report for 2014, which went on to point out that around 92 percent of all morphine used worldwide is consumed by only 17 percent of the world population, primarily living in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.”

Lancet – Syrian refugee crisis: when aid is not enough

S Balsari et al; http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60168-4/fulltext Read also the Lancet Correspondence, “ 4 years of the humanitarian tragedy in Syria: who cares?” “How is it that the Ebola outbreak, (which has caused 8641 deaths, as of Jan 21)  has attracted more attention and relief efforts than the tragedy in Syria, which has caused more than 200 000 deaths? How many Syrian refugee children need to die before the world decides to take action? How many innocent people need to be killed and how many millions of Syrians need to be displaced before the world decides to intervene? Has the time not come for the international community to take action to alleviate this tragedy? Has the time not come for the UN to exert pressure on the political leaders of the world to end this humanitarian crisis and its tragic health effects?... ”  

Roux Prize nominations open – deadline 31 March

http://www.healthdata.org/roux-prize/nominations “Nominations are open for the 2015 Roux Prize, a US$100,000 award launched in 2013 to recognize individuals or groups who have used disease burden evidence to take action that makes people healthier. The prize was founded by philanthropists David and Barbara Roux and is awarded annually by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).  Dr. Rodrigo Guerrero, a Harvard-trained epidemiologist and mayor of Cali, Colombia, won the inaugural Roux Prize in 2014, in recognition of his success in reducing the toll of violence in his city. When Dr. Guerrero was elected mayor of Cali, he knew that violence was killing more people in his city than any disease. … Nominees may come from anywhere in the world and could include staff in government agencies, researchers at academic institutions, volunteers in charitable organizations, or health providers working in the community. The only requirement is that they have used disease burden evidence to improve health at the local, national, or global level. … If you think that you should be nominated for the prize, please contact info@rouxprize.org.   Nominations are due March 31, 2015, and the winner will be announced at an event in fall 2015. For more information, or if you have any questions, please visit rouxprize.org.”

Global Health Action –How decentralisation influences the retention of primary health care workers in rural Nigeria

Seye Abimbola et al; http://www.globalhealthaction.net/index.php/gha/article/view/26616 « This study examines how the decentralisation of health system governance influences retention of health workers in rural communities in Nigeria from the perspective of health managers, health workers, and people living in rural communities. The study’s conclusions : In Nigeria and other LMICs with decentralised health systems, intervention to increase the retention of health workers in rural communities should seek to reform and strengthen governance mechanisms, using both top-down and bottom-up strategies to improve the remuneration and support for health workers in rural communities.”

Lancet Correspondence –Boko Haram insurgency: implications for public health

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60207-0/fulltext A Lancet Letter co-authored by  EV Seye Abimbola. “The public health implications of the insurgency are dire, and the world cannot afford to sit by and watch. The Nigerian authorities have so far been unable to contain the insurgency. Nigeria and its neighbours, whose health-care systems are being stretched by the influx of refugees every day, need support for their health systems to respond to the unique challenge posed by the conflict. We hope that this letter will awaken and engage the world to prevent the looming public health disaster.”

IHP – How Bollywood helped build capacity in Health Policy & Systems research

Joe Varghese; http://www.internationalhealthpolicies.org/how-bollywood-helped-build-capacity-in-health-policy-and-systems-research/ Nice blog on the Martian exercise, for the occasion in a revised Bollywood version, done to open the inaugural Keystone course in Delhi. The two-week course is over now – more reflections/blogs to come on IHP in the coming weeks.

Health Research Policy & Systems (Editorial) - Health research improves healthcare: now we have the evidence and the chance to help the WHO spread such benefits globally

S Hanney et al; http://www.health-policy-systems.com/content/13/1/12/abstract “In May 2013 the World Health Assembly requested WHO  to establish a Global Observatory on Health Research and Development (R & D) as part of a strategic work-plan to promote innovation, build capacity, improve access, and mobilise resources to address diseases that disproportionately affect the world’s poorest countries. As editors of Health Research Policy and Systems (HARPS), we are delighted that our journal has been invited to help inform the establishment of the WHO Global Observatory through a Call for Papers covering a range of topics relevant to the Observatory, including topics on which HARPS has published articles over the last few months, such as approaches to assessing research results, measuring expenditure data with a focus on R&D, and landscape analyses of platforms for implementing R&D. Topics related to research capacity building may also be considered. The task of establishing a Global Observatory on Health R&D to achieve the specified objectives will not be easy; nevertheless, this Call for Papers is well timed – it comes just at the point where the evidence of the benefits from health research has been considerably strengthened.”

WHO Bulletin – March issue

http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/93/3/en/ Check out the new March issue of the Bulletin. Some of the articles were already early online (like the one   on Big data & global health and improving health in LMICs).

Social Science & Medicine (special issue) – One World One Health – Social science engagements with the one medicine agenda

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02779536/129 This agenda – ‘One World, One Health’ - always sounds a bit like the average cheesy Michael Jackson song, but it’s an important one nevertheless. For the editorial, see here.

International Health –  Special issue: Digital methods in epidemiology

http://inthealth.oxfordjournals.org/content/current For the editorial of this special issue, “Digital methods in epidemiology can transform disease control”, see here.

UN SDSN (working draft) - A Needs Assessment for SDG Monitoring and Statistical Capacity Development

http://unsdsn.org/resources/publications/a-needs-assessment-for-sdg-monitoring-and-statistical-capacity-development/ “There is a unique opportunity to make the case for investments in data and statistical systems over the next six months. In July 2015 the Government of Ethiopia will host the Third Financing for Development Conference (FFD). FFD will be the key forum in which to highlight investment needs in order to rise to the challenge of realizing the new Sustainable Development Goals. It will also be the forum in which to take stock of the paltry investment extended to data for development thus far. This report intends to inform the discussion at FFD by demonstrating the scale of both total and additional resources required, and providing some recommendations on where such resources might come from.”