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  • African Science Academy Development Initiative (ASADI) Meeting in Ghana The fifth annual international conference of the African Science Academy Development Initiative (ASADI) will be held Nov. 9-11 in Accra, Ghana, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences. The theme of this year's conference will be improving maternal, newborn, and child health in Africa, which will be discussed by top experts from around the world. ASADI V will kick off with the release of Science in Action: Saving the Lives of Africa's Mothers, Newborns, and Children, a new report by several African science academies, assessing the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing maternal and childhood mortality -- the focus of U.N. Millennium Development Goals Four and Five -- in sub-Saharan Africa. The report will include estimates of lives that could be saved if proven scientific methods reached more parts of Africa. 11/9
  • Meeting HIV/AIDS Cost Demands: Is The Global Response Working? The November/December 2009 edition of Health Affairs focuses on key global health challenges – including the economic, political, scientific and ethical ones – facing world policymakers in their response to HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention. Over the next several years, the world could face a funding shortfall that would prevent millions more with HIV/AIDS from gaining access to antiretroviral drugs. Yet over the long-term, the world could also take critical steps to slash the global burden of HIV-AIDS – and the costs of battling the pandemic – by half. 11/10
  • Meeting HIV/AIDS Cost Demands: Is The Global Response Working? The November/December 2009 edition of Health Affairs focuses on key global health challenges – including the economic, political, scientific and ethical ones – facing world policymakers in their response to HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention. Over the next several years, the world could face a funding shortfall that would prevent millions more with HIV/AIDS from gaining access to antiretroviral drugs. Yet over the long-term, the world could also take critical steps to slash the global burden of HIV-AIDS – and the costs of battling the pandemic – by half. 11/10

India To Provide Incentives For Medical Professionals To Work In Rural, Underserved Areas

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Thursday, July 02, 2009

In an effort to encourage medical professionals to provide services to low-income rural populations in India, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced an initiative that will significantly raise the salary of "doctors, specialists and para-medical staff" who elect to work in "rural, particularly far-flung and inaccessible areas," the Hindu reports.

The Health and Family Welfare Ministry will base monetary incentives on location. Azad said rural salaries could be almost double those earned by urban medical professionals. He added that the ministry will work with state governments over the next three months to identify gaps in the health system and figure out which areas are the most difficult and inaccessible, particularly in hilly states and tribal regions.

In addition, a "web-based Health Management Information System (HMIS) will be fully operational by July 31, 2009, to enable district-wise reporting of the progress of the [National Rural Health Mission] on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. This will enable timely monitoring of physical and financial progress more effectively, he said," the Hindu writes.

Azad also indicated that the ministry plans to reopen three vaccine manufacturing units, which had their licenses suspended last year because they did not comply with WHO standards (Dhar, 7/2).

The Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report is published by the Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2009 Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.