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Influence of health rights discourses and community organizing on equitable…

GlobalizationAndHealth — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Background: The right to health is recognized as a fundamental human right. Social participation is implied in the fulfillment of health rights since Alma Ata posited its relevance for successful health programs, although a wide range of interpretations has been observed for this term. While Peruvian law recognizes community and social participation in health, it was the GFATM requirement of mixed public-civil society participation in Country Coordination Mechanisms (CCM) for proposal submission what effectively led to formal community involvement in the national response to HIV and, to a lesser extent, tuberculosis. This has not been the case, however, for other chronic diseases in Peru. This study aims to describe and compare the role of health rights discourse and community involvement in the national response to HIV, tuberculosis and cancer

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Influence of health rights discourses and community organizing on equitable…

Book Review: The Plague That Refuses to Go Away

PLoS Medicine Blog — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:38:00 +0000

Jasmine Grenier and Madhukar Pai from McGill University review “Spitting Blood: The History of Tuberculosis” by Helen Bynum Sputum microscopy, the method used by Koch, continues to be the most widely used test for TB in endemic countries.Image Credit: Madhukar Pai Tuberculosis is one of the oldest human diseases and remains to this day one of the world’s top killers. The WHO reported nearly nine million new cases of tuberculosis globally in 2011, with 1.4 million deaths worldwide. Even today, in India alone, nearly 1000 patients die of tuberculosis every day. Clearly, this is one ancient plague that continues to take a toll on humanity.

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Book Review: The Plague That Refuses to Go Away

Research and Innovation Urgently Needed for Improved TB Diagnosis &…

PSIHealthyLives — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:47:00 +0000

By Dr.Ya Diul Mukadi, Senior Tuberculosis Media Advisor, USAID In 1882, Dr. Robert Koch discovered Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes TB. In 1952, the first combination of antibiotics was used to treat. Today, thoughout the world, most people with TB are diagnosed with the same simple microscopy method that Koch used to identify the bacteria. Additionally, almost all are treated with the same basic antibiotics that have been used since mid-20th century.

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Research and Innovation Urgently Needed for Improved TB Diagnosis &…

Emergence of multilateral proto-institutions in global health and new…

GlobalizationAndHealth — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

The role of multilateral donor agencies in global health is a new area of research, with limited research on how these agencies differ in terms of their governance arrangements, especially in relation to transparency, inclusiveness, accountability, and responsiveness to civil society. We argue that historical analysis of the origins of these agencies and their coalition formation processes can help to explain these differences. We propose an analytical approach that links the theoretical literature discussing institutional origins to path dependency and institutional theory relating to proto institutions in order to illustrate the differences in coalition formation processes that shape governance within four multilateral agencies involved in global health. We find that two new multilateral donor agencies that were created by a diverse coalition of state and non-state actors, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and GAVI, what we call proto-institutions, were more adaptive in strengthening their governance processes.

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Emergence of multilateral proto-institutions in global health and new…

Africa: TB, HIV and Malaria Vaccine Research Gets Major Boost

Sara Gorman — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:14:41 +0000

Aeras, a nonprofit biotech advancing TB vaccines for the world, the University of Oxford and Okairos, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in T-cell vaccines, today announced a $2.9 million grant to Aeras in support of a collaboration among the three parties to support the development of vaccines against tuberculosis, HIV and malaria.

via allAfrica.com: Africa: TB, HIV and Malaria Vaccine Research Gets Major Boost (Page 1 of 2).

Portable device provides rapid, accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis, other bacterial infections

GHHub — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:12:04 +0000

A handheld diagnostic device that Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators first developed to diagnose cancer has been adapted to rapidly diagnose tuberculosis (TB) and other important infectious bacteria. Two papers appearing in the journals Nature Communications and Nature Nanotechnology describe portable devices that combine microfluidic technology with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to not only diagnose these important infections but also determine the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains.

via Portable device provides rapid, accurate diagnosis of tuberculosis, other bacterial infections.

Ratting Out TB: Scientists Train Rodents To Diagnose Disease

GHHub — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:24:49 +0000

Rats are notorious for spreading nasty diseases. Think the plague, lassa fever and even salmonella.

But could some jumbo-size African rodents help health workers diagnose diseases more quickly? They just might.

via Ratting Out TB: Scientists Train Rodents To Diagnose Disease : Shots – Health News : NPR.

Examining U.S. Investment In Global Health Programs Supporting Frontline…

Kaiser GH Update — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:41:00 +0000

In the ONE blog, Mandy Folse, director of the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, discusses “the importance of U.S. investment in global health programs for the livelihood of millions.” Noting “President Barack Obama’s release of his fiscal year 2014 budget request” earlier this month, Folse discusses U.S. “[i]nvestments specific to the training and support of frontline health workers … made within programs to improve maternal and child health, improve nutrition, increase access to family planning, and prevent and treat diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and pandemic influenza.” She writes, “Because these investments are so widespread between different government agencies and within different programs of government, it is imperative that in order to get the most bang for our buck, the U.S. government have a strategy on how its programs will address the frontline health workforce crisis.” She concludes, “The Frontline Health Workers Coalition will continue to work with the U.S. government to get the maximum benefit of America’s global health investments by ensuring that the frontline workers needed to deliver health care in the developing world are well trained and supported” (4/29).

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Examining U.S. Investment In Global Health Programs Supporting Frontline…

Continued Work Needed In Vaccine Development

Kaiser GH Update — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:04:00 +0000

Reflecting on World Immunization Week, April 21-28, Angeline Nanni, director of market access at Aeras, discusses the “remarkable results” of expanded immunization programs in a guest post on the Global Health Technologies Coalition’s “Breakthroughs” blog. “Immunization has saved the lives of more children than any other medical intervention in the last 50 years. However, one in five children still do not have access to these lifesaving vaccines,” she notes. Nanni discusses the importance of developing tuberculosis and HIV vaccines, writing, “Prevention through vaccination would be the most cost-effective tool to mitigate these global epidemics.” She adds, “Vaccines have made the world a vastly different place by reducing the incidence of disease, providing freedom from worry and fear of the death and disability that they cause. Vaccines hold the key to a healthier and wealthier world for all of us” (4/26).

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Continued Work Needed In Vaccine Development

Congress Should Maintain Support Of Global Health Programs ‘Despite Fiscal…

Kaiser GH Update — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:02:00 +0000

“U.S. support for global health has had a major impact around the world, particularly our contributions to fighting malaria through the President’s Malaria Initiative and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria,” Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases, and Steve Davis, CEO of PATH, write in a Washington Times opinion piece. “Since the launch of the malaria initiative in 2005, malaria cases have decreased by 50 percent in 43 countries, saving the lives of more than one million children and improving economic growth and national security in malaria-endemic countries,” they state.

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Congress Should Maintain Support Of Global Health Programs ‘Despite Fiscal…

Continued Political, Financial Support Needed To Reduce Global Malaria…

Kaiser GH Update — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:30:00 +0000

“With the globally agreed target of reversing the incidence rate of malaria by 2015 now in sight, top United Nations officials [on Thursday] urged the international community to stay committed to protecting people from this preventable disease and to scale up key interventions such as the provision of insecticide-treated mosquito nets,” the U.N. News Centre reports, noting April 25 marked the annual World Malaria Day, with this year’s theme, “Invest in the future. Defeat malaria.” In statements, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Financing the Health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and for Malaria Ray Chambers, and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Executive Director Mark Dybul all stressed political will, financial support, and continuing cooperation to beat malaria, according to the news service (4/25).

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Continued Political, Financial Support Needed To Reduce Global Malaria…

U.N. Urges Sustained Support For Prevention, Treatment Activities On World…

Kaiser GH Update — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:35:00 +0000

On World Malaria Day (April 25), the U.N. “warned … that malaria maintains its impact on less developed countries, mainly in Africa, where millions of people lack needed attention,” and in a message marking the day, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “urged political leaders and health authorities of states where malaria is endemic to keep their commitment to achieve universal access to prevention and treatment of malaria,” Prensa Latina reports (4/24). “According to UNICEF, malaria still kills 660,000 people every year, most of them African children,” Xinhua writes, adding the agency “called for concerted efforts to prevent malaria deaths and illness, noting that insecticide-treated bed nets are key” to controlling the disease (4/25).

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U.N. Urges Sustained Support For Prevention, Treatment Activities On World…

UNITAID, Medicines Patent Pool Work To Improve Access To Medicines In…

Kaiser GH Update — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:10:00 +0000

Devex features a sponsored interview with Dennis Broun, executive director of UNITAID, which uses innovative financing and “its understanding of how to address market shortcomings to improve access to quality-assured treatment and diagnostics for HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria patients in low-income countries.” Broun discusses innovations in global health financing, lessons from UNITAID for the global health community, and solutions to overcoming obstacles to entering markets, ensuring supply chains, and improving access, according to the news service. “We are faced with problems of intellectual property, for instance; this is why we have set up what is called the Medicines Patent Pool to help arrange voluntary licenses for HIV drugs, as patents can block access,” Broun notes, according to Devex (Rosenkrantz, 4/23). The Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog highlights a presentation given last week at the Global AIDS Policy Partnership meeting by Medicines Patent Pool Executive Director Greg Perry (Aziz, 4/22).

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UNITAID, Medicines Patent Pool Work To Improve Access To Medicines In…

Three Steps To Eliminating NTDs

Kaiser GH Update — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:09:00 +0000

In a post on the PLoS “Speaking of Medicine” blog, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) editor-in-chief Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, reviews progress being made toward the elimination of NTDs through mass drug administration and other efforts. He reports on measures undertaken to help Togo “become the first sub-Saharan African country to eliminate lymphatic filariasis,” and says three things must happen to continue to help countries eliminate NTDs: first, countries other than the U.S. and U.K. must “step-up and provide support”; second, “[w]e need both [the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria] and PEPFAR to prioritize NTDs as an essential component of their activities and to address people living with HIV/AIDS who are co-infected with parasites”; and third, “[w]e will need an expansion of public support for R&D on new drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines.” Hotez adds, “Finally we will continue to require a strong and empowered WHO together with its regional offices to help in the coordination of these important activities. We will also need to maintain a strong program of independent advocacy, which will work with the G20 countries and continue to heighten awareness on the NTDs as the most common infections of humankind” (4/23).

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Three Steps To Eliminating NTDs

Global Fund Working To Fight Malaria In Latin America

Kaiser GH Update — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:18:00 +0000

In the ONE blog, Deborah Derrick, president of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, writes about how the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is working to prevent malaria in Latin America. She notes that in San Pedro, Peru, “[t]he infection rate has dropped more than 12-fold in just a few years, … thanks to community leadership, a dedicated focus on prevention and care, and support from the Global Fund.” She continues, “The good news is: San Pedro is not alone. Investments in malaria over the last decade have helped protect millions of children and families from this mosquito-borne illness, with mortality rates declining 26 percent globally.

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Global Fund Working To Fight Malaria In Latin America

The Daily Impact: Technologies Revolutionize TB Care in Kenya

PSIHealthyLives — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 16:45:00 +0000

April 19, 2013 Technology is assisting in the management of TB facilities and drugs in Kenya. From IRIN: Mobile phone platforms like TIBU could have even wider life-saving potential. A recent report by multinational firm PricewaterhouseCoopers noted that mobile phone applications such as short text messages could, over the next five years, help African countries save over one million of the estimated three million lives lost annually across the continent to HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and pregnancy-related conditions. “SMS reminders to check for stock levels at the health centres have shown promising results in reducing stock-outs of key combination therapy medications for malaria, TB and HIV. For HIV patients, simple weekly text reminders have consistently shown higher adherence amongst the patients,” said the report

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The Daily Impact: Technologies Revolutionize TB Care in Kenya

Reports Examine Issues Of HIV Treatment Among Prisoners, Sex Workers,…

Kaiser GH Update — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:03:00 +0000

“The recent arrest of Zambian HIV treatment and human rights advocate Paul Kasonkomona for only talking about legal barriers to HIV and other health services for Zambians who are prisoners, sex workers or members of sexual minorities, raises the question of how those barriers can be addressed by the country’s board charged with distributing money from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria” — the Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), the Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog writes. “Recently, two reports released by AIDS Accountability International, a Sweden and South Africa-based non-profit that examines AIDS responses, said [CCMs] could hold both the challenges to sound health responses, and the solutions,” the blog notes and summarizes the reports (Barton, 4/18).

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Reports Examine Issues Of HIV Treatment Among Prisoners, Sex Workers,…

Donors Must ‘Seize This Opportunity’ To Fully Support The Global Fund

Kaiser GH Update — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:20:00 +0000

At a recent donor conference in Brussels, Belgium, “the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria presented a compelling case for funding the organization to not only tackle these diseases but also to accelerate gains against them,” a Lancet editorial states, noting, “A needs assessment report by the fund and its partners estimated that $87 billion would be required from all sources — domestic and external funders — for 2014-16 to effectively fight the three diseases in low-income and middle-income countries, with $15 billion coming from the fund.” The editorial continues, “The gains of the collective funding would certainly be impressive, according to estimates in the report,” which “also noted that investment now would make economic sense by preventing billions of dollars in additional costs over the long term.”

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Donors Must ‘Seize This Opportunity’ To Fully Support The Global Fund

APOPO is changing the face of TB detection in East Africa

Center for Health Market Innovations — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:34:00 +0000

TB is the second greatest killer worldwide after HIV, with 95% of these deaths occurring in low-and-middle income countries. Moreover, TB remains undiagnosed in up to 50% of the population in some areas, leading to untreated cases, uncontrolled spread, and avoidable deaths.APOPO’s innovative TB screening techniques are employed at 17 TB centers in Tanzania and 8 in Mozambique and have improved case detection rates by over 40%! I had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Negussie Beyene, who is a Program Manager and has worked with APOPO’s Tanzania TB operation for five years.Negussie Beyene, Program Manager at APOPO TanzaniaGina Uppal: What is the role of rats in APOPOs TB detection program?Negussie Beyene: At APOPO we have trained African giant pouched rats to accurately detect the scent of TB in human sputum samples. A rat can screen hundred samples in less than 20 minutes, a task which would take a lab technician more than two days

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APOPO is changing the face of TB detection in East Africa

Key Points About The Global Fund From Executive Director Dybul

Kaiser GH Update — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:39:00 +0000

Writing in the International Health Policies blog, Rachel Hammonds of the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium, writes about a “panel discussion organized by several [members of the European Parliament (MEPs)], the Stop AIDS Alliance and others at the European Parliament on 8 April” that discussed the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. She describes what she calls “[t]hree key takeaways” from Global Fund Executive Director Mark Dybul: “First, Dybul emphasized that the Global Fund (new and old) is a 21st century partnership model” that “aims to be country owned, embraces participation and acts as a catalyst for increased domestic financing”; “Second, according to Dybul the Global Fund aims to be a learning organization that drives change and then responds to that change”; and, “Finally, a theme that ran through [European Commission Deputy Director General for Development and Cooperation (DEVCO) Klaus] Rudischhauser and Dybul’s comments, human rights.” She concludes, “[H]opefully [Dybul's points] will translate into the funding the Global Fund needs to help fight three global killers” (4/16).

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Key Points About The Global Fund From Executive Director Dybul