A report released last month discussed the rising profile of BRICS countries–Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa–in health and development assistance and called upon the group to further their cooperation for better global health in the developing world. “Shifting Paradigm: How the BRICS are Shaping Global Health and Development” (PDF), written by the NGO […]
While democracy struggles to take hold in Myanmar and the Maldives, last weekend’s Summit of the Americas in Colombia raised some interesting questions about development and democracy in the Western Hemisphere. Events at the conference itself have been addressed elsewhere in FPA blogs (and here); I’d like to examine what the conference indicates about the […]
At a TEDxChange webcast event last week, Melinda Gates announced that she would dedicate the next 30 years of her life to advocate for and support family planning. Asserting that birth control should not be a controversial issue, Gates discussed the implications of the dearth of family planning programs and services in the developing world–particularly […]
Time for reform: 1200 pages – an application to the Global Fund As I wrote last week, the recent appointment of Gabriel Jaramillo as General Manager to The Global Fund signals the international community’s conclusion that the Fund is “too big to fail”. A former banker, Jaramillo has wasted no time in making promised changes to […]
The Maldives is a tiny country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Sri Lanka. It is made up of about 1,200 islands, with a population of almost 400,000. As with many tropical island nations, there are two sides of the Maldives: one seen by tourists at luxurious seaside resorts which constitutes the islands’ […]
Earlier this year, the global health community watched with bated breath as The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria stood at a precipice. The chain of events was like a series of dominoes falling. Earlier, in October 2011, cash-strapped donor countries with austerity budgets said “no” when the Fund asked for $20 billion in replenishment […]
So the National League for Democracy (NLD) of Myanmar achieved a dramatic victory in recent parliamentary elections. Its polarizing leader, Aung San Suu Kyi (she’s the one on the cell phone in the picture above), will now be part of the government that kept her under house arrest for about 15 years. Reforms introduced by […]
Meningococcal disease, or meningitis, is a bacterial infection of the meninges, or lining around the brain and spinal cord. If left untreated, it has a 50% mortality rate, and it spreads most easily through crowded areas where people are in close and prolonged contact, from college dorms to informal settlements. Meningococcal disease can result in severe, permanent […]
In a second post on global health news for this week, U.S. President Barack Obama’s budget request for next year has reduced funding for neglected tropical diseases. This decrease may have wide-reaching effects on one-sixth of the world’s population. Additionally, a writer tells his story of life in a serodiscordant relationship and navigating the American health care […]
In post one of two on global health news this week, a new study found that malaria prevention efforts over the last decade have saved the lives of almost one million children. The Global Fund’s new General Manager, Gabriel Jaramillo, discusses his plans for the organization going forward in an interview with Spanish newspaper El […]
United States President Barack Obama announced today that he was nominating Dr. Jim Yong Kim for president of the World Bank. This was a surprise to almost everyone, as Dr. Kim is not a traditional pick by any means: a medical anthropologist and physician, current president of Dartmouth College, co-founder of the non-profit Partners in Health […]
Growing suspicions that recently engulfed the credibility of humanitarian organizations working in Haiti could cause people to underestimate the significant initiative launched in Cap-Haitien by Hands on Haiti, Mothering Across Continent and STARS Alliance; however, their work in Northern Haiti this spring will be nothing short of extraordinary. Haiti proclaimed its independence 208 years ago, […]
With Vladimir Putin’s re-election for a six year term, and with him talking of helping himself to second-six year term after that, it is a good time to take stock of what Masha Gessen calls the “criminal tyranny” he has established in Russia. Gessen, the author of a an important new book about Putin published […]
Neglected tropical diseases have been getting a bit of press recently, possibly because it’s been a slow news week or two in the world of global health. Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are so named because they’re precisely that: generally ignored by funders, scientists, advocacy organizations, and governments. They are often endemic in developing countries, where […]
February 11 marked the one year anniversary of the official fall of Hosni Mubarak from power. What started with street demonstrations and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) overthrowing the President and dissolving the Parliament, was followed by a referendum to amend the existing constitution and fresh Parliamentary election. On February 22, the […]