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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

Lancet Examines Obama's Pledge To Fight HIV/AIDS

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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The journal Lancet Infectious Diseases examines whether President Obama is fulfilling his campaign promises to tackle HIV/AIDS abroad and at home. Although Obama has surrounded himself "[w]ith lauded experts … concerns have been raised by activists that investment plans are not matching up to the rhetoric," Lancet writes.

One such expert is Eric Goosby – the newly confirmed U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator –who, during his senate confirmation hearing spoke of the principles that would guide his work as head of PEPFAR, but "funding was not a key matter discussed," according to the Lancet. The article examines Obama's shift from "[o]riginal funding pledges for PEPFAR of $50 billion over 5 years … to a proposed $51 billion over 6 years, with an extra $12 billion for other global health issues such as maternal and child health, family planning, and neglected tropical disease" – an initiative that the White House sees as "a more integrated approach to fighting diseases, improving health, and strengthening health systems," but others worry it might impact "treatment and prevention of vertical transmission."

The article concludes: "The Global AIDS Alliance says that 'Goosby has a unique opportunity to hold the Obama administration accountable for its campaign promises to increase funding for prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS overseas'. However, Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, says 'it is crucial that President Obama ensures that Dr. Goosby has the capability and full support of the administration to effectively lead this landmark lifesaving global AIDS programme, and that we do not squander the steady progress that PEPFAR has already made in the global fight against AIDS'" (Morris, Lancet Infectious Disease, 7/09).

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