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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

Also In Global Health News: Children With HIV/AIDS; Leishmaniasis Treatment; ITNs In Tanzania; U.S. Malaria Fight; PEPFAR Safe Injection Funds

Toolbox

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

IRIN Examines Hardships Facing Parents, Guardians Of Children Living With HIV/AIDS

IRIN examines the hardships parents and guardians of the estimated 170,000 Kenyan children currently infected with HIV often face. "Caregivers face the dilemma of how to disclose status to ... [HIV-positive] children, and to whom," as well as other issues, Mabel Ngoe Takona, HIV/AIDS Coordinator for Africa at ActionAid, said. The article explores ways the government could help to provide parents and guardians with disclosure guidelines as well as training and support (IRIN, 6/24).

University Of Dundee , DNDi Working Together To Develop Leishmaniasis Treatments

The University of Dundee’s drug discovery unit is working with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative on a potential five-year 1.8 million pound – about $3 million – deal to develop "affordable and effective" treatments for visceral leishmaniasis, PharmaTimes reports. The money provided under the partnership will be put towards establishing a dedicated leishmaniasis drug discovery group at the university (McKee, PharmaTimes, 6/23).

Campaign Under Way To Distribute 7.2M Mosquito Nets To Children Under 5 In Tanzania

The Citizen examines the Tanzanian government's efforts to rid the country of malaria. In an address to the Parliament on Monday, Aisha Kigoda, the deputy minister for Health and Social Welfare, spoke of a campaign underway that aims to distribute 7.2 million mosquito nets countrywide to children under the age of five. So far, 962,312 mosquito nets have been distributed (Said/Jube, Citizen, 6/23).

BMJ Examines U.S. Role In Fighting Malaria

The British Medical Journal examines the U.S. role in fighting malaria worldwide. According to BMJ, "[b]ilateral US funding for malaria has grown almost fourfold, from $198 million in 2004 to a projected $762 million in 2010." Timothy Ziemer, head of the President’s Malaria Initiative, said, "We’ve gotten past the slogans and rhetoric" on malaria, and the U.S. is focusing on what works, expanding successes and on strengthening local health systems sustain efforts (Roehr, BMJ, 6/22). The article quotes experts from the Kaiser Family Foundation's recent briefing, which examined the U.S. government's role in addressing malaria moving forward, including its strategic options for reducing the impact of the disease, and the current status of the development of the comprehensive malaria strategy. A webcast, transcript and other resources are available here.

PEPFAR Funds Supplies, Training To Promote Safe Injection Practices

Over the past five years, PEPFAR has helped to purchase and distribute over 7 million safe injection commodities and train over 10,000 health workers through the Making Medical Injections Safer (MMIS) project in Nigeria, Vanguard/allAfrica.com reports. Speaking in Lagos last week, MMIS Country Director Abimbola Sowande "[c]ommend[ed] Lagos state government for blazing the trail in injection safety" and "called on other states in Nigeria to copy the best practices currently apply in the state," Vanguard/allAfrica.com writes (Obinna, Vanguard/allAfrica.com, 6/22).

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