This is a guest post by Anita Chary. Anita is an MD/PhD student in anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis. She is also the research director for Wuqu’ Kawoq | Maya Health Alliance. Cancer rates are rapidly rising in Latin American countries, according to a recent report published in the Lancet [1]. Low- and [...]
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
Excerpt from: Cervical Cancer Vaccine Success Brings Hope to Millions of Women
May 16, 2013 Phase III trials of the Rotavac Rotavirus Vaccine show that it has the potential to save thousands of lives, say scientists. From the BBC: Rotavirus causes dehydration and severe diarrhoea and spreads through contaminated hands and surfaces and is rampant in Asia and Africa. India says clinical trials show the new vaccine, Rotavac, can save the lives of thousands of children annually. An Indian manufacturer said the vaccine would cost 54 rupees ($1; £0.65). International pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Merck produce similar vaccines but each dose costs around 1,000 rupees. “This is an important scientific breakthrough against rotavirus infections, the most severe and lethal cause of childhood diarrhoea, responsible for approximately 100,000 deaths of small children in India each year,” India’s Department of Biotechnology official K Vijay Raghavan said
By PRI podcasts
Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie has undergone a double mastectomy to reduce her chances of getting breast cancer. The 37-year-old mother of six has explained her reasons for having the surgery in a New York Times op-ed. The public announcement “touched my heart,” Saudi Arabian doctor Samia Al-Amoudi tells PRI’s The World. Al-Amoudi became one of the first Saudi women to go public about her breast cancer in 1996 and has been trying to reduce the stigma of breast cancer across the Arab world ever since. Then on the pod, we travel to Chile where a simple vending machine that dispenses laundry detergent makes a difference in a poor neighborhood. Finally, in Cape Town, South Africa, where Lukhanyo walks two and a quarter miles, through open fields and gang territories, and past areas where petty thieves hang out to get a high-quality education. He says he’s an easy target for robbers because of what he’s wearing: a school uniform.
By GHHub
For Cambodia which offers no treatment for cervical cancer apart from palliative care, see-and-treat programmes could radically cut deaths and reduce the burden of disease via See-and-treat approach can rein in Cambodia’s cervical cancer death toll | Global Development Professionals Network | Guardian Professional.
By GHHub
Africa is the most dangerous place to be a woman with cervical cancer. Ten of the countries with the highest cervical cancer mortality rate can be found in Africa. via allAfrica.com: Rwanda: Africa Has the Highest Cervical Cancer Deaths.
By Eldis Jobs
Organization: UN Population Fund Country: Iraq Closing date: 17 May 2013 We are pleased to announce the following vacancy: JOB ID NO: Job ID 2236 CLOSING DATE: 17 May 2013 (5:00 p.m. New York time) POST TITLE: Humanitarian Programme Coordinator CATEGORY: ICS-10 (equivalent to P-3) POST NUMBER: New POST TYPE: Non-rotational DUTY STATION: Erbil, Iraq DURATION: Temporary Appointment (364 days) ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT: Arab States Regional Office ORGANIZATIONAL SETTING: According to UNHCR data, more than 125,000 Syrian refugees are residing in Iraq, the number keeps growing and it is estimated that it will each more than 350,000 by the end of 2013, out of those, 66,500 are women of reproductive age, facing major complications due to lack or interruption of reproductive health services, including antenatal, postnatal and emergency obstetric care, not to mention family planning and other services that was part of RH package provided in Syria including early detection of cervical and breast cancers. UNFPA Iraq has been scaling up its humanitarian assistance to the Syrian refugees in North of Iraq (Kurdistan region) and South-West of Iraq (Anbar Governorates) since mid-2012. The intervention of Iraq CO is based on three main strategies: • Ensure accessibility of affected people to RH services and information including the emergency obstetric care through: a) deployment of staff to health facilities; b) procurement and delivery of RH commodities and pharmaceutical supplies, medical equipment and dignity kits; • Ensure accessibility of Syrian women and young girls (hosted in Refugee camps, as well those within hosting communities), in general, with particular focus on GBV survivors, to GBV Information and Psycho-Social Support and First Aid; • Facilitate sensitization and mobilization of Syrian youth (male and female), hosted in Refugee camps, as well those within hosting communities, on issues related to SRH, violence and GBV.
May 10, 2013 Millions of girls will have access to the lifesaving HPV vaccine thanks to a partnership between GAVI and Merck that will reduce the vaccine cost to below $5. From the New York Times: Thanks to Pap tests, fatal cervical cancers are almost unknown today in rich countries. But the disease kills an estimated 275,000 women a year in poor countries where Pap tests are impractical and the vaccine is far too expensive for the average woman to afford, so the price cut could lead to a significant advance in women’s health. The World Health Organization, which has been pressing for faster progress in maternal health, greeted the news as “a great step forward for women and girls.” When the new price was described, Dr.
By GHHub
As the world grapples with a myriad of problems, ranging from unfavourable climatic conditions and population pressure on resources, disease burden is arguably one monster that continues to destabilise the very essence of life. via allAfrica.com: Kenya: Rising Cancer Cases Worry Medics (Page 1 of 5).
By SarahBoseley
The GAVI Alliance has announced that the cost of the HPV vaccine to developing countries, agreed with Merck and GSK, will be $4.50 a dose – a big discount on rich country prices but campaigners say it is too highCervical cancer vaccines for the developing world will cost $4.50 a dose, says the GAVI Alliance today. That is $13.50 per young woman, because each needs three shots. It is a small price to pay for preventing a disease which is a scourge of Africa and Asia – but the bill for immunising whole populations of schoolgirls will be huge.The price has been agreed between the GAVI Alliance – which channels money into vaccine programmes in poor countries – and the two major pharmaceutical companies that manufacture HPV vaccine. They are Merck, which makes Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline, which makes Cervarix. The prices are a substantial discount on the cost to rich countries like the USA, France and the UK where immunisation programmes are in full swing
By GHHub
Men with HIV have twice the chance of getting cancer compared to the general public, but combination antiretroviral therapies (cART) were effective at protecting the body to such a risk, a new study shows. via HIV Doubles Risk For Cancer In Men : US/World : Medical Daily.
By GHHub
The men and women who often treat prostate cancer are now recommending that the blood test commonly used to screen for it should be given a lot less often. via Urologists Recommend Less PSA Testing For Prostate Cancer : Shots – Health News : NPR.
By GHHub
A record number of women under 50 are being diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK, a charity has warned. via Breast cancer rates increase among younger women | Society | The Guardian.
