Highlights from my reading this week…
The Council on Foreign Relations has released a working paper on “The Challenges of Global Health Governance“. Viewed in the context of recent rumours about USAID reform and last week’s release of the White House’s National Security Strategy, I think the paper is likely to generate significant discussion. They write: “…these questions about governance effectiveness have been raised in the wake of a revolution in global health governance over the past ten to fifteen years. This revolution has encompassed the creation of radically new regimes, an unprecedented growth in funding for global health, and the growing influence of policymakers, activists, and philanthropists who viewed global health as a foreign policy issue of first-order importance. As a result, global health has become an essential part in the equation of international relations.”
The Lancet has published another report which supports the emerging evidence that HIV treatment is prevention too. Bloomberg reports that the study shows that HIV drugs cut transmission by 92 percent and refers to a previous study that suggested transmission rates could by cut by 95% if all HIV-infected were treated immediately upon testing positive. These studies, which have been emerging fast and furiously, are adding fuel to the flames of the backlash against flatlined funding from PEPFAR – most recently reported by Medicins Sans Frontieres. Tired of reading the reports? My colleague, Sean Patrick Murphy, at the Global Film Review has reviewed The Lazarus Effect, a film which documents the effect of treatment on those living with HIV.
And some fun little snippets: Suzanne LaBarre at Fast Company highlights an initiative by Vir.Mueller Architects to combine public toilets with community meeting centers in India; First Lady Michelle Obama has launched her “Let’s Move” initiative to promote healthier children; and Rachel Kaufman at Change.org discusses how Americans spend $77 billion annually treating events that were once considered a natural part of life – like losing one’s hair.
