In a time of political, social, and economic turmoil, the focus on global health has blurred slightly. We’ve made great gains against polio, malaria, HIV, and a number of other diseases in the past decade, but there is, as always, much to be done. With tensions high across the Middle East and Europe, an election […]
For today, I’d like to share a few links to recent articles about global health. A New Whooping Cough Epidemic? : Slate examines the recent rise of whooping cough in the United States. Although parents’ failure to vaccinate their children is a major cause, Amanda Schaffer discusses the complexities behind the re-emergence of this disease. Remembering […]
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 […]
Well, the Global Fund has had a big week. It’s been ten years since the creation of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and the recent news about the fund has not been great: internal divisions, questions about improper funding allocations, missing money, and financial shortfalls. On the other hand, the Global […]
Monday was World Polio Day, and there was much to celebrate: as of now, the world has seen a 99% reduction in polio cases. That’s incredible news. We have reached a point where polio could be wholly eradicated in less than five years. Isn’t it nice to hear that it is possible to successfully combat […]
There are exciting new developments in the fight against malaria. More attention must be paid to mental illness around the world. Finally, a community-based program out of Senegal is stamping out female genital cutting, and the model should be developed to be scalable and replicable for areas where the practice endures. Malaria Developments: As fellow […]
Where should global health dollars go? The good news is that more funders are investing energy into devising ever-more-sophisticated ways to allocate health spending. When priorities are aligned, such as the international commitment to reducing maternal and child mortality rates through the Millennium Development Goals, these sophisticated allocation methods can assist in deploying scarce resources to greatest […]