IHP news : Towards a not very cosmopolitan moment?
( 17 June 2016)
The weekly International Health Policies (IHP) newsletter is an initiative of the Health Policy unit at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium.
Dear Colleagues,
With the UK referendum scheduled for 23 June, I’m afraid we’re heading for “a not very cosmopolitan moment” in this part of the world– a Brexit. For a number of reasons, a Brexit is (still) far more likely than a Trump victory later this year in the US. I haven’t made up my mind whether a Brexit would suit my own Theory of Change (for a better world) or not; going through more knowledgeable commentators’ views like Simon Jenkins, Jonathan Glennie, Simon Maxwell, George Monbiot, Giles Fraser, … might be intellectually stimulating but it doesn’t really help to make up one’s mind.
And then, after I wrote this first paragraph, the horrific attack on Jo Cox happened in the UK. Martin McKee tweeted: “Growing up in Northern Ireland I learnt that people do terrible things when politicians sow hatred. Do we have to learn this again?“
Trouble is, politicians on both sides sow hatred, though in different ways. Ask the South-Europeans (and especially the Greeks) how “united” the Eurozone was when it mattered. Neoliberal technocratic politicians have sown as much hatred in recent decades and years as xenophobic populist & nationalist politicians now.
In the end, I presume, most people will listen to their gut feeling when they vote for or against a Brexit. Voting in line with one’s interests becomes increasingly difficult anyway in a very complex world, not to mention the pervasive political spin or downright lies that are being spread. Fortunately, I don’t have to make a choice. It’s fair to say, though, that the EU has betrayed some of its very core values in recent years - even if the left & right don’t agree on the European values & principles that have been betrayed. “Brussels” might pay a price for it now. By the way, I kind of wonder what the mood was at the European Development Days (EDD) this year – now that ‘development’ is more and more tied to ‘stopping migration’. “At all cost”.
In this week’s IHP featured article, Radhika Arora, a self-proclaimed Twilight fan, zooms in on World Blood Donation day. Early next week, you might also want to read her take on the 10th EDD and some sessions she attended. Stay tuned for that on IHP.
Enjoy your reading.
The editorial team
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Featured Article
The only place it can come from is you
Radhika Arora (IHP)
As the full horror of the Orlando shootings unfolded, another story gained a slow and steady visibility in the media – the issue of blood donation. Not since Edward Cullen – the teenage heartthrob of the Twilight series – glided through the cafeteria doors of Forks High School, has the issue of blood received such attention, unfortunately at a price which society should never have had to pay. Two elements of the stories to have emerged struck me in particular: one was on the call from AIDS researchers and gay-rights activists to revisit guidelines on blood donation which do not allow men who have had sex with men in the year prior to the day of donation, to donate blood – this, an improvement a law which banned men who had sex with men from donating blood at all. The second element to have caught my attention was a small piece of information in a news piece – on an organization other than the Red Cross being the point of contact for blood donation. This is important and relevant because it reminded me of how in many of our societies access to and availability of safe blood is a conversation yet to gain momentum.
In countries such as India safe blood for routine and emergency use is in short supply. Blood is sourced from other people, largely through donations. Voluntary blood donation is preferred over paid donation to prevent exploitation, as well as safer blood (for more on why voluntary donations are preferred, see here). Large disparities exist in blood donation rates between high income countries and low income countries. Almost 50% of blood donations are in high-income countries, at a rate of 36.8 per 1000 population, with it dropping to 11.7 for middle income and 3.9 in low-income countries. Disparities also exist in the way in which blood is used across countries. With very young children of less than 5-years receiving up to 65% of blood transfusions in LMICs whereas it’s those above the age of 65 who undergo blood transfusions in high income countries. In many countries such as India, almost half the collected blood is from those below the age of 25.
India, much like other LMICs, faces a chronic shortage of blood with a 25% gap (the WHO recommends at least a 1% reserve of a country’s population). For those of us living in cities in India – we’re better off. We might not have ready access to blood, especially for emergency services, and there is hope and the opportunity to arrange donations in exchange of blood used for scheduled and routine purposes (replacement blood – a concept wherein patients needing blood from a hospital would first have to provide donors from among family or friends – a separate donor for each unit of blood). It’s not unheard of getting urgent text or Facebook messages – usually from friends, of friends of friends – all tapping into a network of people to look for potential blood donors. The country does not have a central blood agency; the Red Cross is well known for its blood donation drives, and creating visibility in this area of work. The private sector flourishes; even as stories on the poor standards and exploitation abound. From time to time the media picks up stories which reflect inadequate resources and regulation. The chronic shortage of blood is the perfect condition for an illegal market to flourish, nicknamed “red market” in this article. Horror stories of abuse and exploitation of the poor and vulnerable by an underground industry. The situation is perhaps even worse in rural and remote areas with places like Chhattisgarh facing a deficit of almost 81per cent. Even when available, quality and safety present major concerns; data sourced from National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) via a right to information initiative, indicate health system constraints have led to poor resources for testing, often leading to infections. It is estimated that in the past year alone over 2,000 people have contracted HIV as a result of blood transfusions in the country.
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And while efforts are being made to ensure regulations are in place to ban paying donors, to ensure quality and testing of blood by blood banks – the capacity to implement, regulate and ensure compliance is limited. And if exploitation and neglect weren’t horrific enough, one hears of things which border on the absurd, such as this week’s news when local authorities in the north Indian state, Punjab seized 7,600 litres of fake blood plasma – made of refined oil, soya bean milk and egg yolk. This really makes me wonder if people have lost all conscience.
Studies attribute the limited availability of blood in LMICs in general to a number of factors, including low donation rates, perhaps because of low awareness and poor health infrastructure; poor storage capacity and high prevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections in the blood supply from LMICs which often leads to greater wastage. Limited awareness and stigma on blood donation also contribute to lower donation. However, efforts, especially in the context of improving maternal health, have been undertaken over the last decade to set up blood storage facilities at first referral units, community health centres and primary health centres. India also has a National Blood Policy, and the regulation and monitoring is undertaken by the Drugs Controller General of India and also has the engagement of the NACO.
I wrote this blog on a day in which the Google Doodle celebrated Viennese pathologist, Karl Landsteiner who was born on the 14th of June 1868. Landsteiner classified blood into different groups in 1901 and created the blood grouping system we use today. It’s now also World Blood Donor Day. Voluntary blood donation in a high-income country has received reasonable media coverage over the last few days, unfortunately in the wake of unjustifiable violence; but perhaps this offers a chance for us to take this opportunity to think and include the issue of blood safety in our work as public health professionals
Highlights of the week
Project Syndicate – Rethinking Robin Hood
Angus Deaton; https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/globalization-hurts-poor-in-rich- countries-by-angus-deaton-2016-06
The read of the week. Check out why. Angus Deaton reflects on “the Robin Hood principle” or “cosmopolitan prioritarianism,” “an ethical rule that says we should think of everyone in the world in the same way, no matter where they live, and then focus help where it helps the most”. He has some second thoughts.
2016 Global Nutrition report http://globalnutritionreport.org/the-report/
The (Third) Global Nutrition Report 2016 was launched on June 14, with events at several locations around the world. The report highlights that the world is off track to reach global targets on
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nutrition, but notes this trend can be reversed to end malnutrition by 2030. “Malnutrition has become “the new normal” and now affects a third of humanity, according to a study that warns of the devastating human and economic toll of undernutrition and obesity….”
Do certainly check out Panel 1.3 (by Kent Buse): “Getting political about nutrition.”
Coverage of the report, among others, in:
BBC news: Obesity boom 'fuelling rise in malnutrition'
NYT: Malnutrition and Obesity Coexist in Many Countries, Report Finds
Guardian – Poor nutrition now affects a third of the human race, says report
Lancet series - Transgender Health http://www.thelancet.com/series/transgender-health
“Transgender people and their needs remain little understood, not only by health-care providers but also more generally in society. An absence of appropriate information, together with misinformation, breeds stigma and prejudice, leading to discrimination, harassment, and abuse, with alarming consequences for transgender people’s health and wellbeing. This Series is an effort to understand, and provide a framework to improve, the health and lives of transgender people globally. The three papers in this Series examine the social and legal conditions in which many transgender people live, clinical care considerations and service delivery models in transgender health, and the global health burden facing transgender populations, including the specific contexts and multiple determinants of health affecting them.”
You can start by reading Lo & Horton’s Comment - Transgender health: an opportunity for global health equity
Orlando shooting
Foreign Policy – In Orlando massacre, a new target for islamist lone wolves: LGBT http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/06/12/terror-ties-investigated-as-death-toll-rises-in-mass-shooting- at-florida-nightclub/
Let’s hope this won’t become a global “pattern”. By now, the motives of the culprit are even murkier. But also in Brussels, gay bars are on high alert now.
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Plos Translational global health - Public Health or Politics: The Recent History of America’s Gun Epidemic and What Public Health Can (and Should) Do to End It
James Michiel; http://blogs.plos.org/globalhealth/2016/06/public-health-or-politics-the-recent- history-of-americas-gun-epidemic-and-what-public-health-can-and-should-do-to-end-it/
Recommended blog – even if we’re not big fans of treating gun violence as an “epidemic”.
Independent Commission on Multilateralism (ICM) (Discussion paper): Global Pandemics and Global Public Health https://www.icm2016.org/IMG/pdf/global_pandemics_and_global_public-paper.pdf
“With the global health architecture increasingly under strain and the links between health, development, and security becoming ever clearer, the multilateral system must address global health issues with renewed focus. This paper explores the main challenges related to global health, provides an overview of current debates, and offers a number of recommendations to the multilateral system.” (as a reminder: “Over the course of two years, the Independent Commission on Multilateralism will analyze the multilateral system through the lens of sixteen issue areas, and each will be the focus of expert-level discussions. The resulting issues papers will be posted on this website and circulated to seek external input before culminating into a final report by the end of 2016.”)
You find the executive summary of the discussion paper here. The paper makes a series of recommendations aimed at (1) The UN system at large and (2) member states more specifically. One of them being: “Convene a global health summit in 2018 to address the future of the global health architecture and normative frameworks, with a particular focus on accountability and finance.”
World Blood Donor Day (14 June)
WHO - Voluntary unpaid blood donations must increase rapidly to meet 2020 goal http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/world-blood-donor-day/en/
See also this week’s Featured article by Radhika Arora. The theme of World Blood Day (14 June) was "Blood connects us all". “Voluntary, unpaid blood donations must be increased rapidly in more than half the world’s countries in order to ensure a reliable supply of safe blood for patients whose lives depend on it, WHO said on World Blood Donor Day.” “One of its aims is to create wider public awareness of the need for regular blood donation while inspiring those who have not yet donated blood to do so.”
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AMR
Huffington Post – To Fight Superbugs, Fight Poverty
Jason Silverstein; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-silverstein/to-fight-superbugs-fight- _b_10222138.html?utm_content=buffer93b5e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&ut m_campaign=buffer
Must-read. “…Most have pinned the blame for the impending doom of a “post-antibiotic world“ on the overuse of antibiotics and a lack of new ones in the development pipeline. But there’s another superbug incubator that hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves: poverty. Last month at the IMF meeting in Washington, D.C., UK Chancellor George Osborne warned about the potentially devastating human and economic cost of antimicrobial resistance. … .” But Gerry Bloom, a physician and economist at the Institute for Development Studies, argued that any measures to stop overuse and concoct new drugs must be “complemented by investments in measures to ensure universal access to effective antibiotic treatment of common infections.” “In many countries, poor people obtain these drugs in unregulated markets,” Bloom said. “They often take a partial course and the products may be sub-standard. This increases the risk of resistance.” For at least fifteen years, we’ve known about these socioeconomic origins of antimicrobial resistance. …”
OECD insights - Tackling antimicrobial resistance M Cecchini (OECD health division) http://oecdinsights.org/2016/06/09/tackling-antimicrobial- resistance/
Read about the OECD & AMR.
WHO – Options for a global development and stewardship framework to combat AMR: Consultation of Member States and relevant partners (ppt, Geneva, 29 Feb)
http://www.who.int/phi/news/amr_ppt_consultation2016-02-29.pdf
For the AMR governance fans.
IPS – Antibiotic Resistance Requires Global Response Similar to AIDS, Climate Change http://www.ipsnews.net/2016/06/antibiotic-resistance-requires-global-response-similar-to-aids- climate-change/
“Addressing antibiotic resistance will require a global political response similar to the way the world has reacted to climate change or HIV / AIDS, Sweden’s Minister of Public Health Gabriel Wikstrom, told IPS recently. “(These problems) began with a small group of experts discussing and
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trying to warn the rest of us and it was not until it was politically addressed that it really became an issue that was solvable.” “Of course (with antibiotic resistance) we have many technical issues still to solve, and medical issues, as well but it’s foremost a political issue,” said Wikstrom. … Heads of State and Government will discuss the pressing issue of the decreasing effectiveness of antibiotics at a high level meeting scheduled to take place at the UN in September. Earlier this week, experts and political leaders from the health, agricultural and economic sectors spoke at the UN and the Yale Club of New York about what needs to happen at the September summit….”
Access to Medicines
Plos Medicine – Delinking Investment in Antibiotic Research and Development from Sales Revenues: The Challenges of Transforming a Promising Idea into Reality
Kevin Outterson et al; http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002043
Kevin Outterson and colleagues outline a model to address access, conservation, and innovation of antibiotics. (must-read)
IP-Watch – Panels Brainstorm Ideas On Innovation And Drug Access http://www.ip-watch.org/2016/06/15/panels-brainstorm-ideas-on-innovation-and-drug-access/
“The quest of balance between encouraging medical innovation and the imperative of broad access to medicines has so far been elusive. Two Harvard University programmes jointly organised a workshop this week with the aim of encouraging a conversation between global health actors and see if some “outside the box” thinking is possible. The Harvard Global Health Institute and the Berkman Center for Internet and Society & Global Access in Action co-organised an event on practical strategies to expand access to medicine and promote innovation on 13 June…. ” Interesting stuff.
2016 High-Level Meeting on ending AIDS (8-10 June) http://www.unaids.org/en/aboutunaids/unitednationsdeclarationsandgoals/2016highlevelmeetingo naids
We already reported on the HL meeting last week, including on the Political Declaration. So we’ll keep it ultra-short here.
For some (further) overall analysis, you might want to read, for example:
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Science Speaks: HLM 2016 AIDS: “Reaffirming” urgency while dodging realities, UN resolution on HIV shows what happens when a declaration is political.
IPS: AIDS Meeting Was Bold but Disappointing, Organisations Say
NYT (editorial) – The World Could End AIDS if It Tried
AP - Countries commit to double AIDS treatment “Countries committed to nearly doubling the number of people who receive life-saving HIV treatment over the next five years as a high-level United Nations conference devoted to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 drew to a close Friday. During the three-day-long meeting, countries also saw the U.N.'s 193-member states commit for the first time to monitoring the quality of treatment, with a goal of getting 90 percent of those receiving anti-retroviral medicine to reduce their viral load to the point where it is undetectable — something that improves quality of life and reduces the risk of transmission. "It's a paradigm shift. What it's going to do is put the focus on quality. Instead of how many people have access to treatment now it's for how many people is the treatment working properly," said Sharonann Lynch, HIV & TB Policy adviser for Medecins Sans Frontiers. …”
NCD Alliance - NCDs in political declaration on HIV and AIDS “For the first time, NCDs were included in detail in such a document. While the 2011 Political Declaration (link is external) on HIV and AIDS committed to strengthening the advocacy, policy, and programmatic links between HIV and NCDs, it did not further elaborate the links between HIV and NCDs, nor did it establish NCD care and services as an integral part of health services delivery programs. The 2016 Declaration highlights the need for integrated services and programs for HIV/AIDS and NCDs several times:…”
Lancet (Comment) – AIDS 2016: from aspiration to implementation
K H Mayer et al ; http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)30621- 3/fulltext
The authors look ahead to the upcoming 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) in Durban, South Africa, on July 18–22, 2016, which “must take on the challenge of expanding access to HIV treatment”.
Zika
WHO – WHO statement on the third meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR(2005)) Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations http://who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2016/zika-third-ec/en/
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Coverage in STAT news, for example: WHO doesn't see need to delay or move Olympics over Zika fears “The World Health Organization will not urge the International Olympic Committee to postpone or move this summer’s Rio Games because of the Zika outbreak in Brazil. Holding the Olympics as scheduled won’t substantially increase the risk of the Zika virus spreading, a committee of experts that advises the WHO on Zika told the global health agency on Tuesday. “The committee concluded there … is very low risk of additional international spread from the Olympics,” said Dr. David Heymann, who chairs the expert panel. ….”
(Some good news for Brazil in the week that their football team crashed out of the Copa America.)
Goats & Soda - Zika Infection Late In Pregnancy Carries Little Risk of Microcephaly http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/06/15/482206200/zika-infection-late-in- pregnancy-carries-little-risk-of-microcephaly
More good news on Zika: “Zika infections during the third trimester don't seem to cause severe birth defects, such as microcephaly, the scientists and their international colleagues reported Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.” For the NEJM article, see Zika Virus Disease in Colombia — Preliminary Report.
Globalization & Health – Assessing the health impact of transnational corporations: its importance and a framework
Fran Baum, David Sanders et al; http://globalizationandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12992-016-0164-x
“The adverse health and equity impacts of transnational corporations’ (TNCs) practices have become central public health concerns as TNCs increasingly dominate global trade and investment and shape national economies. Despite this, methodologies have been lacking with which to study the health equity impacts of individual corporations and thus to inform actions to mitigate or reverse negative and increase positive impacts. This paper reports on a framework designed to conduct corporate health impact assessment (CHIA), developed at a meeting held at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in May 2015….”
“Healthy Systems – Healthy Lives” Roadmap update: World Health Assembly 2016: A milestone event for the Roadmap http://health.bmz.de/what_we_do/hss/Publications/From_a_joint_understanding_to_joined_action s_in_strengthening_health_systems/index.html?pk_campaign=12_2016&utm_content=buffer9d10c &utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
“A milestone for the Roadmap ‘Healthy Systems - Healthy Lives’: 200 participants discussed a draft political declaration and technical paper of the Roadmap during a side event of the World Health Assembly on 27 May 2016.”
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“…The Roadmap ‘Healthy Systems – Healthy Lives’ is an initiative launched as part of the 2015 German G7 Presidency by Angela Merkel & Margaret Chan, at a high-level side event of the UN summit which adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015. In the last months, a consultative process sought to develop a joint understanding and a concise set of recommendations in order to improve the way in which global health actors support countries in strengthening and increasing the resilience of their health systems. The preliminary results of the consultations were presented to 200 participants of a side event at the 2016 World Health Assembly in Geneva, namely a draft political declaration which embodies the will and commitment of all stakeholders and a draft technical paper which elaborates on the declaration and sets out the concrete recommendations which will be implemented between 2017 and 2021. …”
African Health Volunteers Corps joins raft of continental health actions http://www.medicalbrief.co.za/archives/african-health-volunteers-corps-joins-raft-continental- health-actions/
“The African Union is creating an African Health Volunteers Corps that will help fight disease outbreaks and other emergencies, based on the team of volunteers that helped to thwart the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The corps is one of a raft of continent-wide measures that also include an African Medicines Agency, African Health Strategy and a ‘catalytic framework’ to end AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria by 2030, writes Karen MacGregor for MedicalBrief….”
“A working group paper titled “African Health Volunteers Corps Report of the Secretariat” was prepared for a meeting of African health ministers held in Geneva on 21 May, ahead of the World Health Assembly. The ministers adopted key health policy instruments aimed at providing strategic direction for Africa over the next 15 years. … … At the meeting before the World Health Assembly, health ministers adopted key health policy instruments for the continent including the revised Africa health strategy 2016-2030 which provides a superstructure to tackle the continent’s health and development agenda….”
Lancet Global Health (blog) – The Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN): new directions, new opportunities
Sally Theobald et al; http://globalhealth.thelancet.com/2016/06/03/expanded-special-project- elimination-neglected-tropical-diseases-espen-new-directions-new
Must-read. “The African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC), a key actor in the fight against the disease responsible for a high burden of disability in Africa, closed in December 2015. Under the leadership of the WHO/AFRO Regional Director Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti, a robust consultation process led to the creation of the Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN), which was launched on day 1 of the 69th World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 23. We detail here the principles underlying the new approach.”
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World Elder Abuse Awareness day (15 June) http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54235#.V2Kcs2bVzUm
“Marking World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [today] emphasized that ending neglect, abuse and violence against older people is crucial as the international community continues to work together towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and fulfil their underlying pledge to leave no one behind. …”
See also WHO for an infographic.
The Lancet (Editorial) – Pride in autistic diversity http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)30831-5/fulltext
“The annual Autistic Pride Day falls every June 18, with an ongoing theme of neurodiversity. The pride label is intended to encourage a celebration of autistic differences, rather than reinforcing stereotypical perceptions of autism as a disease. Autistic Pride Day educates people directly from the experiences of autistic people themselves, and celebrates autistic lives inclusive of wide variation, aiming also to progress a recognition of the achievements of autistic people. Society is still some way from understanding and accepting the range of autistic differences, and changing attitudes is a necessary step towards enabling autistic people to lead fulfilling lives without discrimination, and allowing them to participate in and contribute to all aspects of society….”
Oxford Review of Economic Policy (Spring issue)– The economics of global health: an assessment
A Farlow; http://m.oxrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/32/1/1
“The international community, through the MDGs and now the SDGs, has long recognized the critical role of improved global health in achieving social and economic development. This edition of the Oxford Review of Economic Policy explores whether this importance has been mirrored in the field of economics. It does so by bringing together the voices of 28 economists working on widely varying aspects of global health economics to confront three key policy questions: how do we build better, more equitable health systems? how are ‘global commons’ health problems to be overcome? and how might we improve evaluation and priority setting in global health? This assessment considers the degree to which these questions have been answered, and extracts the key thrusts of a research agenda. It suggests that, as in global health itself, while much has been achieved, many challenges and potential achievements await in the field of global health economics.”
Check out the Table of Contents. Articles by Adam Wagstaff (Measuring progress towards universal health coverage: with an application to 24 developing countries) , Gavin Yamey (“Reorienting health
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aid to meet post-2015 global health challenges: a case study of Sweden as a donor”), and many others.
New Website Emerging Voices for Health http://www.ev4gh.net/
Check it out!
Zika
You already got some of the key Zika related news above.
JAMA (viewpoint) - Is the United States Prepared for a Major Zika Virus Outbreak? http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2514046
Guess who’s talking now. Larry again. He concludes: “Ebola demonstrated that even advanced health systems can fail to eliminate the risks of novel infections. As the CDC noted at its national summit on April 1, local Zika virus transmission will likely occur in the continental United States this summer; the question is whether we are ready. The nation’s state of preparedness is compromised by Congress’s inaction on supplemental funding, epidemiologic uncertainties, and the weak capacities and powers of states and localities. If preventable cases of Zika-related infant abnormalities emerge, there will be a high political price for the failure to act decisively.”
A few more Zika reads:
Stat news - WHO seeks to clarify: it's not suggesting pregnancy delays in Zika regions
NYT - Republicans, Who Warned of Dithering on Ebola, Now Hesitate on Zika
But on the bright side, “Republicans in control of negotiations on long-delayed funding to combat the Zika virus are (now) promising a quick agreement, as behind-the-scenes negotiations have focused on a potential deal in the range of a $1.1 billion measure passed by the Senate last month.” (AP)
Guardian - WHO advice that women at Zika risk delay pregnancy isn't an abortion debate (by Ann Neumann – on the disability rights critique of the new Zika recommendations).
Stat news – Summer tourism could spread Zika in parts of Europe (among others: in Barcelona, Rome, and Milan)
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The Hill - White House rolls out Zika crisis plan
Tim France - Zika and the Rio Olympics: Two burning questions (from late last week)
Global health events of the week
10th European Development Days (EDD) in Brussels (15-16 June) https://www.eudevdays.eu/about-edd16
“Organised by the European Commission, the European Development Days (EDD) bring the development community together each year to share ideas and experiences in ways that inspire new partnerships and innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. For its tenth anniversary, EDD 2016 will focus on the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, making it one of the very first major conferences dedicated to the issue.”
A first overall impression from Radhika Arora on the EDD: “The Brexit barely featured in any of the discussions I attended, but the mood was somber: 1. On the lack of a concrete plan to achieve the SDGs; 2. The tremendous task ahead; 3. Migration - the issues: causes and EU's response; 5. The role of the private sector.”
The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) presented its evidence-based research at an exclusive global health policy briefing hosted by Health Affairs in Washington D.C. on 14th June. https://cdn.qf.com.qa/app/media/50068
The forum, entitled ‘Global Health: Patient Safety, Cancer Care, Universal Health Coverage and Innovation’, was going to explore major issues confronting the global health community, such as the effective implementation of universal health coverage and improving patient safety drawn from WISH’s portfolio of policy research in recent years.
See here if you want to re-watch the whole thing: http://www.healthaffairs.org/events/2016_06_14_global_health/ In the words of Health Affairs (the journal works together with WISH) : “Building upon our September 2014 thematic issue, "Advancing Global Health Policy," and the April 2013 volume, "The Triple Aim Goes Global," the program on June 14 will explore major issues confronting the global health community. A highlight of the event will be a discussion of international health policy - led by Weil - among Victor Dzau, president of the National Academy of Medicine; Peter Pronovost, senior vice president for patient safety and quality at Johns Hopkins Medicine; and Lord Ara Darzi, surgeon, scholar and former UK
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Health Minister. Additional panels will look at cancer care, universal health coverage and innovation in health care.”
Coming up: High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) (11-20 July) https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf
Check out the info on this rather important upcoming meeting in NY. Theme: “Ensuring that no one is left behind”.
Coming up: UNGA High-Level Meeting on Refugees and Migrants ( 19 September, NY) http://sd.iisd.org/events/high-level-meeting-of-unga-plenary-on-addressing-large-movements-of- refugees-and-migrants/
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) will convene a high-level plenary meeting on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants, on 19 September 2016, immediately prior to the general debate of the 71st session. See also here. “On the margins of the General Assembly, on 20 September 2016, the United States President Obama is hosting the Leaders' Summit on Refugees which will appeal to governments to pledge significant new commitments on refugees. While the Presidential Summit will focus on refugees, not migrants, the General Assembly event will address large movements of both. The two events will complement one another.
Global governance of health
CGD - Escaping the Scandal Cycle: Three Ways to Improve Funder Response
W Savedoff, A Glasmann et al; http://www.cgdev.org/blog/escaping-scandal-cycle-three-ways- improve-funder- response?utm_source=160614&utm_medium=cgd_email&utm_campaign=cgd_weekly&utm_&&&
“Health aid pays for life-saving medicines, products, and services in the poorest countries in the world. Funding for such uses needs to be smooth and uninterrupted. But when fraud is detected, funds are subject to sudden stops and starts—the result of a sequence of events set off by the scandal cycle in health aid. We examine this idea in a new CGD policy paper….” For the paper, see Global Health, Aid and Corruption: Can We Escape the Scandal Cycle?
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“…Funding for global health initiatives has increased in the last twenty years. Nevertheless, financial support is periodically jeopardized when scandals erupt over allegations of corruption, sometimes halting health programs altogether. This paper reviews four cases involving the World Bank, USAID, the Global Fund, and European donors in terms of the severity of abuses, the quality of evidence, the responses of funders and recipients, and the impact on health and institutions. It argues that, from a funder’s perspective, the main way to address the dynamics of the scandal cycle is to make sure that the decision of whether or not to disrupt health aid is influenced as much by program results as by the amount and character of corruption. It suggests three strategies to accomplish this goal: (1) communicate using program results; (2) differentiate responses by program results; and (3) disburse program funding in proportion to results.”
Meanwhile, Japan committed an extra $76 million to Gavi, whereas Belgium committed 19 million euro to the Global Fund.
WSJ – Judith Rodin Steps Down as Head of Rockefeller Foundation http://www.wsj.com/articles/judith-rodin-steps-down-as-head-of-rockefeller-foundation- 1466031571
“Institution’s first female president ends 11-year tenure in which she stressed forging corporate partnerships to further philanthropic projects.” (rest is gated)
See also Rockefeller foundation (not gated) on the news: “After nearly 12 years at the helm, Judith Rodin, the first female president of The Rockefeller Foundation, announced her decision to depart the institution once a new president is identified and takes office. Rodin’s leadership ushered The Rockefeller Foundation into a new era of strategic philanthropy that emphasized partnerships with business, government, and the philanthropic community to address and solve for the complex challenges of the 21st century. In her planned announcement to the board, Rodin and longtime colleague and Board Chair, Dick Parsons, committed to a seamless transition. Until a new president takes office, Rodin will continue to actively lead the Foundation as she has for the past 12 years. As president, Rodin recognized that the Foundation’s funding alone was unable to spur the kind of systemic change necessary to solve the key challenges facing the world. Responding to that dynamic, Rodin led the Foundation in a sweeping transformation that modernized all operational and programmatic aspects of The Rockefeller Foundation. Rodin looked for new spaces where there was momentum for innovation, identified places where Rockefeller could use its influence to leverage additional financing and engage private and public sector partners to ensure impact continues after Rockefeller grantmaking ends. Building on the Foundation’s history of creating and developing the field of public health and the Green Revolution, under this new form of strategic philanthropy, Rodin championed two whole new fields that are now pervasive: resilience and impact investing. …”
For more (gated) news on global health position switches & changes, see IP-Watch: People: More Changes In UN Agencies; Movements In Global Health
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UNU-Wider - The World’s new middles - Implications for the future of development and aid
Andy Sumner; https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/world%E2%80%99s-new-middles- implications-future-development-and-aid
“The basic storyline of this blog is economic growth since the Cold War. It is outlined how growth has produced two new middles. The first is middle-income countries, and the second is ‘middle people’ who live above the global poverty line—but not too far above. Thinking about contemporary and future development, and development co-operation, this blog identifies five important patterns of growth, precarity, and structural change in developing countries.”
You might also want to read an op-ed by the same author in the Jakarta Post - Can the world really end poverty? His conclusion: “the good news is that it’s possible to end poverty at the lower poverty lines in another 15 years or so by around 2030. The bad news: Growth alone is unlikely to be enough to eradicate poverty even at the lower poverty lines. However, the final good news is that developing countries and international partners have the capacity to speed things up. The reallocation of regressive fossil fuel subsidies in many countries would make a huge difference in increasing the chances of ending global poverty by 2030….”
Globalization & Health (Commentary) – Measuring success in global health diplomacy: lessons from marketing food to children in India
Richard Smith et al; http://globalizationandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12992-016- 0169-5
“Global health diplomacy (GHD) focuses on international negotiation; principally between nation states, but increasingly non-state actors However, agreements made at the global level have to be enacted at the national, and in some cases the sub-national level. This presents two related problems: (1) how can success be measured in global health diplomacy and (2) at what point should success be evaluated? This commentary highlights these issues through examining the relationship between India and the WHO Set of Recommendations on the Marketing of Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages to Children, endorsed by Resolution WHA63.14 at the 63rd World Health Assembly in 2010.”
HP&P – What systems are essential to achieving the sustainable development goals and what will it take to marshal them?
James C Thomas et al; http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/06/12/heapol.czw070.short?rss=1
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« The SDG for health is linked to 67 indicators, eight times more than their predecessor, the MDGs. In many LMICs, the information infrastructure is not yet able to collect and use the data needed for the indicators. As they seek to be responsive to the SDG agenda, LMICs must not lose sight of their local data needs; they should be cautious about embracing untested electronic technologies for data collection, analysis, and use; carefully balance the care provision and data collection responsibilities of care providers; and use evidence of what works in strengthening their health information systems (HIS). While attending to these concerns, countries can look for instances in which SDG indicators are in sync with their own HIS goals. »
The Graduate institute, Global health centre (policy brief) – The security sector and global health crises: lessons and prospects http://graduateinstitute.ch/files/live/sites/iheid/files/sites/globalhealth/ghp- new/publications/pb/PB_health_security_v6.pdf
“Security services played a key role in the response to Ebola in West Africa. What are the main lessons and what should be done to ensure better preparedness for the next global health crisis?”
Aldo Caliari (blog) – World Bank: A successful case of human rights immunization http://www.rightingfinance.org/?p=1604
The author of this blog comes back on a human rights report (from a while ago) on the WB. “According to a recent human rights report, “in its operational policies, in particular, [the World Bank] treats human rights more like an infectious disease than universal values and obligations.” No, the recent report was not from a health agency, but from the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Mr. Philip Alston. In the report, he summarizes the World Bank (“the Bank”)’s practice on the matter in four propositions: “(a) pay lip service to human rights in official settings, as long as there are no consequences; (b) acknowledge the theoretical significance of human rights in studies and analyses of issues in relation to which they are incontestably relevant; (c) ensure that, as a general rule, the Bank does not engage with any aspect of human rights in its actual operations and lending; and (d) be prepared to make exceptions when political imperatives require it, even if that involves a high degree of inconsistency.” …”
Reuters – Scientists use climate, population changes to predict diseases http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-disease-prediction-idUSKCN0YY133
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“British scientists say they have developed a model that can predict outbreaks of zoonotic diseases – those such as Ebola and Zika that jump from animals to humans – based on changes in climate. Describing their model as "a major improvement in our understanding of the spread of diseases from animals to people", the researchers said it could help governments prepare for and respond to disease outbreaks, and to factor in their risk when making policies that might affect the environment….”
CGD (blog) – Head and Heart: Are More Generous Donors Less Effective?
Owen Barder; http://www.cgdev.org/blog/head-and-heart-are-more-generous-donors-less-effective
“When it comes to development aid, you might think that there is a trade-off between head and heart: that more generous donors would be less serious about making sure that their aid is used properly. There are some examples of this: Luxembourg has a large aid programme which appears to be relatively less effective compared to its peers; whereas Ireland, which spends a lower proportion of its national income on aid, has the most effective aid programme among the donors we were able to evaluate. But in a new CGD working paper, we find that these are indeed exceptions. In general, more generous donors tend also to be the most effective….”
CNBC – US announces health collaboration with Cuba; will coordinate on diseases, R&D http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/13/us-announces-health-collaboration-with-cuba-will-coordinate- on-diseases-rd.html
“The United States said Monday it will collaborate with Cuba on health issues, the latest step in an historic rapprochement between the one-time bitter adversaries. An agreement between the U.S. and Cuba calls for "coordination across abroad spectrum of public health issues, including global health security, communicable and non-communicable diseases, research and development, and information technology," according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services….”
Thomson Reuters Foundation news - A people-driven plan to end epidemics
Anita Asiimwe and David Stevenson; http://news.trust.org/item/20160609134956- v4nht/?source=hpMostPopularBlogs
By two former Global Fund board members – so well worth reading.
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“Attacks on medical units in Syria may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity” – UN Expert warns http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/(httpNewsByYear_en)/79C966F9BF677A0DC12 57FCE0035BDB5?OpenDocument
From late last week. “The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Pūras, today condemned the direct targeting and continued damage and destruction of medical units, such as hospitals and other healthcare facilities, in the context of the ongoing war in Syria. “These incidents amount to war crimes and may constitute crimes against humanity, as well as a violation of the right to health, and those responsible must be brought to justice,” the expert warned. …”
Project syndicate – Which Policies Should Have Priority?
B Lomborg; https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/bangladesh-policy-cost-benefit- analysis-by-bj-rn-lomborg-2016-06
Application of the Copenhagen Consensus logic on Bangladesh.
EU refugees & migration “policy”
ODI – Five reasons why the EU’s ‘Marshall Plan’ against migration is a bad idea
G Fanjul; https://www.odi.org/comment/10409-five-reasons-why-eu-s-marshall-plan-against- migration-bad-idea
“Tree years into the most important human mobility crisis since World War II, Europe insists on kicking the ball away. The latest proposal by the European Commission (EC) to the Parliament recommends sizeable economic investments in nine countries from Africa and the Middle East. The basic logic is that this would spur economic development and persuade potential migrants to stay home, while at the same time locking origin and transit governments into migration control schemes. Should the carrot not do its magic, the EC is suggesting the deployment of ‘negative incentives’ that would, in effect, tie EU aid and trade to the purpose of stopping refugees and migrants wherever they are. There are at least five reasons why this so called ‘Marshall Plan against migration’ is a bad idea”: it’s not much money; it’s not worth it; it misses the point; it will backfire; and alternatives are possible, but take political savvy.”
Read also:
European Governments’ treatment of refugees is doing long term damage to international law “Maya Mailer (@mayamailer), Oxfam’s Head of Humanitarian Policy & Campaigns, reflects on a recent visit to Greece on the day it launches Stand As One, a big new campaign on refugee rights”.
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EU willing to pay ‘almost any cost’ to stop refugees (last week it was Eritrea & Sudan, this week, “Amnesty International has accused the EU of indirectly supporting attacks on refugees by Libyan security forces because of the bloc’s cooperation with the country’s authorities.”
UHC
Third WHO Advanced Course on Health Financing for Universal Coverage for Low and Middle Income Countries (Barcelona – 13-17 June) http://www.who.int/health_financing/hfcourse2016/en/
Among others, you can re-watch a keynote lecture (with the likes of Adam Wagstaff & Sara Bennett) on the use of global and local evidence to inform health financing policy for universal health coverage here: http://www.who.int/health_financing/events/webstream-15-june- 2016/en/#.V2ECmaSI9BN.twitter
JLN - Universal Health Coverage: Protecting the Most Vulnerable http://www.jointlearningnetwork.org/news/universal-health-coverage-protecting-the-most- vulnerable
“USAID’s Health Finance and Governance (HFG) Project, led by Abt Associates, is supporting many countries’ progress toward UHC. HFG in May published a toolkit designed to increase countries’ awareness of UHC and how it aligns with USAID’s programs. The toolkit includes an annotated bibliography of core UHC publications and a list of frequently asked questions on general concepts in UHC and the role and relevance of UHC in the work of USAID. The HFG Project also co-sponsored a meeting of experts at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy in 2015. The meeting produced a series of reports and briefs on how countries can progress toward UHC….”
USAID - Leadership and Governance for Health Indicators (part of a Compendium) https://www.hfgproject.org/health-governance-indicators/
“The US government through USAID and other agencies supports health systems strengthening efforts to expand coverage and use of priority health services and to improve health outcomes worldwide. While there are generally accepted measures of health systems performance, there is
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not a single readily-available resource of health systems strengthening (HSS) indicators measured at the program level that can be used as a reference when monitoring and reporting on specific HSS interventions or programs. The need for a readily-available resource of HSS indicators, measured at the program level and covering the spectrum of HSS interventions, prompted the development of this compendium. The compendium provides a wide-ranging menu of indicators to be used by USAID, implementing partners, and other organizations when preparing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plans for HSS programs. The compendium covers three of the health system building blocks defined by the World Health Organization: Health Financing; Human Resources; Leadership and Governance….”
JAMA (viewpoint) - Social Entrepreneurship - Improving Global Health
Y W Lim et al; http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2528220
On the trend towards more social entrepreneurship. “Among those working to improve global health are governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and social entrepreneurs. The defining characteristic of social entrepreneurs is their application of business and entrepreneurial approaches to solving social problems among disadvantaged populations. Unlike NGOs, social entrepreneurs do not rely on traditional charity as their main source of funding. They aim to become self-sufficient by developing viable business models and taking financial risks. A key assumption of social entrepreneurs is that individuals who are poor are not helpless or dependent, but rather are partners and co-designers of solutions. Social entrepreneurs focus not on donating to the poor but on providing affordable solutions. There is a mutual relationship rather than 1-way dependence….”
You might also want to read (in Medium) a piece by Steve Davis (CEO Path) - Achieving global health equity: what will it really take? According to Steve, it’s “social innovation” that will lead to the greatest impact on human health.
(yet, from a certain point of view, Donald Trump can also be considered a “social innovation” )
Abt Associates: Creating an interface between health authorities and central budget agencies: implications for domestic resource mobilization for health
G Alawode; http://abtassociates.com/Perspectives/June-2016/Creating-an-Interface-between- Health-Authorities-a.aspx
On the need to bring health agencies and central budget agencies together.
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The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology (Editorial) - HIV and NCDs: the need to build stronger health systems http://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587%2816%2930110- 3/fulltext#.V1_O8KsUMj0.twitter
“One of the greatest health achievements of recent decades is turning HIV infection from a death sentence to a chronic disease. Widespread access to combination antiretroviral therapy means that people with HIV are now living near normal life spans—and thereby facing different health challenges. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is now one of the leading causes of non-AIDS-related morbidity and mortality in people with HIV.”
Johns Hopkins Public Health Magazine – Rich and Sick: Why do wealthy Middle East countries struggle with public health?
G Gateley; http://magazine.jhsph.edu/2016/summer/briefings/rich-and-sick/
“Wealth alone doesn't guarantee good health care. Bloomberg School researchers found this borne out by the broken public health systems of two oil-rich Middle East states. Just off an 18-month study of public health systems and health care in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, 10 Bloomberg School and Ernst & Young health researchers found chronic disease rampant in both nations. “They’ve got all the riches, but they have very poor public health systems,” says David Celentano, ScD ’77, MHS ’75, Epidemiology chair….”
Planetary health
Euractiv – Europeans surrender control of climate initiative to Bloomberg http://www.euractiv.com/section/climate-environment/news/europeans-surrender-control-of- climate-initiative-to-bloomberg/
“Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, will be in the driving seat of a new global alliance of cities to tackle climate change, despite the EU having pioneered the idea of coordinating mayors to fight global warming. After two years of overlapping efforts, the European Commission and the businessman turned environmental activist, Michael Bloomberg, will on 22 June merge their initiatives to reduce greenhouse emissions and mitigate the effects of the climate change. The fusion of the EU’s Covenant of Mayors and Bloomberg’s Compact of Mayors will create the new global Covenant of Mayors, an alliance of 7,500 cities, representing more than 600 million inhabitants across the planet. …” (Billionaires still rule this world…)
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Arup & Rockefeller Foundation - City resilience index http://www.cityresilienceindex.org/
“The City Resilience Index is the first comprehensive tool for cities to understand and assess their resilience, enhancing their ability to build sound strategies and plans for a strong future.”
Guardian - France becomes first major nation to ratify UN climate deal https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/15/france-becomes-first-major-nation-to- ratify-un-climate-deal
Meanwhile, the French keep winning at Euro 2016 too! In sum, a good week for Hollande et al. As for the climate deal, still quite some ratifications needed, though…
Vox - The climate fight will be won or lost in India, in 8 charts http://www.vox.com/2016/6/14/11919610/india-decarbonization-8-graphs
“Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) is out with its annual New Energy Outlook for 2016, forecasting global energy trends through 2040, focusing this year on electricity. There’s lots to dig through, but the big story is familiar: Progress is occurring more rapidly than almost anyone forecast — global fossil fuel electricity use is expected to peak in 2025 and decline thereafter — but not rapidly enough to forestall 2 degrees of global warming. We’re going fast, but not fast enough. That said, there are lots of interesting nuances and substories in the report. One of them reveals that India, not China, is becoming the key to global decarbonization….”
Read also, in Euractiv: Climate finance short by $5 trillion, study reveals “A further $5,300 billion of investment is needed to stabilise the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere below dangerous levels, according to a study by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, an energy consultancy.”
You might also want to read (in the Guardian): Carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere forecast to shatter milestone.
FT – Citi, Deutsche and JPMorgan censured for backing fossil fuel https://next.ft.com/content/4e983b06-31aa-11e6-bda0-04585c31b153
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Meanwhile, in TBTF land: “Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase have delivered billions of dollars in financing for coal, oil and gas companies that is “deeply at odds” with the goals of the Paris climate change accord, according to a study. The banks rank among the top North American and European private sector backers of coal mines, coal power plants and costly oil and gas ventures over the past three years, according to the report by environmental campaign groups the US Sierra Club, the Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack and Oil Change International. …“
The Guardian (In-depth) – What would a global warming increase of 1.5C be like? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/16/what-would-a-global-warming-increase- of-15c-be-like
“The Paris climate conference set the ambitious goal of finding ways to limit global warming to 1.5C, rather than the previous threshold of 2C. But what would be the difference? And how realistic is such a target? Environment 360 reports.”
Infectious diseases & NTDs
Lancet (Comment) – WHO recommendations on shorter treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis
G Sotgiu et al ; http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)30729- 2/fulltext
The authors welcome “the recent release by WHO of new recommendations aimed at speeding up tuberculosis DST (drug susceptibility testing) using a rapid molecular MTBDRsl test and use of shorter MDR tuberculosis treatment regimens”. It’s “a welcome, long-awaited development”. Yet, they also have some concerns, among others about whether the shorter treatment regimen will be effective in all geographical settings .
Lancet (World Report) – Yellow fever continues to spread in Angola http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)30835-2/fulltext
“Health workers in Angola warn that although the number of newly confirmed cases of yellow fever is stabilising, local transmission is ongoing in the country. Andrew Green reports.”
For more on yellow fever, see also WHO – Yellow fever global vaccine stockpile in emergencies “When a major outbreak of yellow fever hits, countries urgently need vaccine supplies to control the
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spread of the disease. By mid-June 2016, almost 18 million doses of yellow fever vaccine have been distributed in emergency vaccination campaigns in Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda. If countries do not have sufficient yellow fever vaccine supplies, they can access the global stockpile of emergency vaccines….”
Guardian – India launches emergency vaccine drive for new polio strain https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jun/15/india-emergency-vaccine-new-polio-strain
“India is launching an emergency vaccination drive two years after the country was declared free of polio, after discovering a strain of the disease that is not covered by existing inoculations. Although no case of the disease has been detected, health officials said they would vaccinate hundreds of thousands of children living in the southern state where the variety of the virus was found in a sewer during routine checks. The strain had not been seen in India for 17 years and the vaccines are being flown in from Geneva as they are not available locally in sufficient quantities….”
In other polio related news, KFF published an updated fact sheet, examining global polio eradication efforts and the U.S. government’s role in addressing polio worldwide, including current programs, funding, and challenges.
Vaccine - The effect of mass vaccination campaigns against polio on the utilization of routine immunization services: A regression discontinuity design
S Helleringer et al; http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X16303632
Some of the messages of this research:” (1) Mass vaccination campaigns may affect the use of routine immunization services. (2) Unobserved confounders and reverse causality affect evaluations of mass vaccination campaigns. (3) We proposed a framework that emulates a randomized trial of exposure to a mass vaccination campaign. (4) In Bangladesh, we found that exposure to a polio campaign increased the use of routine immunization. (5) This framework could help evaluate other vaccination campaigns and disease-specific programs.”
Reuters – Malaria "out of control" in Congo with sick children dying at home - charity http://www.reuters.com/article/us-congodemocratic-malaria-idUSKCN0YV18U?utm_campaign=KFF- 2016-Daily-GHP- Report&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=30477143&_hsenc=p2ANqtz- 81IK6sK7PxF_EycCciWno4gGDh2hMRYHIYqjuoUbAU6vqXv4Xax2pnTpQgV--5q3YfMpiDA1- qjIt7jnyPtFfBSrdpvv29gToQ56yrMgYXWtQmg2s&_hsmi=30477143
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Worrying news from late last week.
Science Speaks - Preventing HIV through treatment of neglected tropical diseases could save billions
P H Brodish; http://sciencespeaksblog.org/2016/06/16/preventing-hiv-through-treatment-of- neglected-tropical-diseases-could-save-billions/
“I recently viewed a short video from The New York Times with Dr. Eyrun F. Kjetland discussing her work on female genital schistosomiasis and HIV. It’s hard to watch the video, looking into the faces of these young school girls, and argue we should not act on what is becoming evident: Among girls and women, genital schistosomiasis increases the likelihood of later infection with HIV….”
Mapping Ebola http://blog.cifor.org/41810/mapping- ebola?fnl=en&utm_content=buffer2b7ee&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_ca mpaign=buffer
From last week. A new (biogeographical ) method for tracking the virus could help prevent outbreaks. The method maps favorable conditions for the Ebola virus, both in terms of environment and the presence of animals as potential hosts.
You find the paper here.
You might also want to read (in the Guardian) a joint op-ed by the mayors of Paris & New York - Why cities hold the key to fighting Aids.
NCDs
NYT – U.S. Chamber Out of Step With Its Board, Report Finds
U.S. Chamber Out of Step With Its Board, Report Finds
“None of the 108 board members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce came forward to explicitly support the lobbying group’s policies on tobacco and climate change, according to a new report from a group of eight Senate Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders. The report, which was written by Senator Warren and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, followed on
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reporting by The New York Times that revealed the chamber’s international campaign against antismoking laws and its efforts to undermine policies aimed at curbing global warming. …”
NCD Alliance - New resolution for UN to scale up action on NCDs https://ncdalliance.org/news-events/news/new-resolution-for-un-to-scale-up-action-on- ncds?utm_source=NCD+Alliance+Combined+List&utm_campaign=3bdda07c5d- WCC+%26+Mexico+Declaration+%2F+Webinar+%2F+GNR+%2F+UNIAFT&utm_medium=email&utm _term=0_1750ef6b4b-3bdda07c5d-64397109&goal=0_1750ef6b4b-3bdda07c5d-64397109
“The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) adopted a new resolution on 2 June broadening the scope of work of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on NCDs (UNIATF) to reflect the NCD-related targets of the SDGs in their work.”
Lancet Global Health (blog) - Growth rates and aggregates: bringing data to the soda wars
Rajeev Cherukupalli ; http://globalhealth.thelancet.com/2016/06/10/growth-rates-and-aggregates- bringing-data-soda-wars
(Recommended). « A 2013 public health initiative in Mexico introduced a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (soda) of one peso a litre, resulting in soda prices rising when compared to bottled water and other untaxed beverages. While that much is clear, the effectiveness of the tax on reducing consumption is hotly debated in what is the second largest soda market by volumes sold in the world, with implications for other countries, large and small….” Not just for the wonks, this one.
Reuters – Can coffee cause cancer? Only if it's very hot, says WHO agency http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-who-coffee-idUSKCN0Z10X9
Bet you heard this news already. Especially if you enjoy a cup of coffee (or more than one).
But read also Vox - Drinking coffee just got even more confusing, thanks to the WHO.
Last but not least, Philadelphia is the first major US city with a soda tax.
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Sexual & Reproductive / maternal, neonatal & child health
Global Health Science & Practice (Commentary) – Investing in Family Planning: Key to Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
Ellen Starbird et al; http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/early/2016/06/10/GHSP-D-15- 00374.full.pdf+html
“Voluntary family planning brings transformational benefits to women, families, communities, and countries. Investing in family planning is a development ‘‘best buy’’ that can accelerate achievement across the 5 Sustainable Development Goal themes of People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership. “
UN News – States must do more to safeguard adolescent health rights – UN expert http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54234#.V2KZdLt97IV
“A United Nations human rights expert today called on States to remove all legal barriers to access health facilities, goods and services interfering with the rights of adolescents to be heard and taken seriously, and that limit their right to make autonomous decisions. “Governments must strike a balance between adolescents’ emerging autonomy and their right to protection in particular when it comes to mental health, the rights to sexual and reproductive health, and substance use and drug control, given the specific challenges these issues pose,” said Dainius Puras, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, in a statement released by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) after the presentation of his latest report to the UN Human Rights Council….”
Economist – Female genital mutilation: an agonising choice http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21700658-after-30-years-attempts-eradicate-barbaric- practice-it-continues-time-try-new
“After 30 years of attempts to eradicate a barbaric practice, it continues. Time to try a new approach”, the Economist reckons.
(the rest I couldn’t read, so I wonder what this ‘new approach’ might entail; I also couldn’t read “the unkindest cut “, further in the Magazine on the same issue). And I hate to admit, but “Snip Snap” (on male circumcision in the US), I also couldn’t get hold of. Guess I’ll have to buy the bloody magazine).
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TMIH – Multistakeholder partnerships with the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea to improve childhood immunisation: A perspective from global health equity and political determinants of health equity
H Kim, P Hotez et al; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tmi.12721/abstract
This article aims “to examine the current partnerships to improve the childhood immunisation programme in the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the context of the political determinants of health equity.”
CFR (blog) - What the United State of Women Means for Global Issues http://blogs.cfr.org/women-around-the-world/2016/06/13/what-the-united-state-of-women- means-for-global-issues/
By Catherine Russell, U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues. She dwells on U.S. efforts to advance global gender equality. Among others: The National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security; The U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence; and The U.S. Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls. (more to come no doubt, if Hillary were to become the next US president)
Access to medicines
IPWatchdog - UN Access to Medicines Panel Undermines Bayh-Dole
Chris Gallagher; http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2016/06/15/un-access-medicines-panel-undermines- bayh-dole/id=70070/
“Global epidemics are outrunning globally accessible containment and cures. There are now more ways to spread diseases worldwide than safe, effective ways to counter them. Biomedical stakeholders are engaged in finding solutions. Now rumored recommendations pending at a UN High Level Panel may make matters worse. Appointed by outgoing Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the Panel is said to be preparing to release its examination of world “Access to Medicines”. Amazingly it is rumored to be encouraging international flouting of U.S. Bayh-Dole- based patent protection and producer pricing prerogatives. This inevitably will undermine our nation’s life science innovation ecosystem, effectively destroying world hopes for effective response to evolving epidemics….”
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Ahum. See a tweet from Ellen ‘t Hoen: “Strange: @ipwatchdog is happily (well not really happy) commenting on a report by #UNSGAccessMeds that is not out.”
Another IP-Watch article worth reading: Alongside UN Commitments To End AIDS, Event On Access Brings Tears, Vision “Last week, United Nations members agreed on a political declaration on ending AIDS by 2030, with some new and old commitments. Alongside the 8-10 June High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, a side event looked at issues of access and got into intellectual property rights issues….”
Reuters – Colombia to set new price for Novartis cancer drug: minister http://www.reuters.com/article/us-novartis-colombia-cancer-idUSKCN0YV2NT
From late last week. “Colombia will set a new price for the Novartis cancer drug imatinib in a bid to cut healthcare costs after price negotiations with the Swiss company broke down, the health minister said on Thursday. A so-called public interest declaration for imatinib will allow health regulators to examine the case and set a new, lower price for the drug. Colombia stopped short of declaring a compulsory license, which would have overridden Novartis' patent and permitted other companies to make cheaper generic versions….”
Human resources for health
WHO Bulletin – Community health worker programmes after the 2013–2016 Ebola outbreak
H Perry et al; http://www.who.int/bulletin/online_first/BLT.15.164020.pdf?ua=1
“…In this paper we make the case for investing in robust national community health worker programmes as one of the strategies for improving global health security, for preventing future catastrophic infectious disease outbreaks and for strengthening health systems.”
The Pulse – Africa Will be Short Six Million Healthcare Workers by 2030, But it Can Still Achieve its Commitment of Universal Health Care if it Takes Action Now http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com/africa-short-million-healthcare-workers-2030-achieve- commitment-universal/
By Kate Tulenko.
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Miscellaneous
The Lancet (Offline) – Something for the weekend
Richard Horton; http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)30789- 9/fulltext
Ethicist “Peter Singer identifies his essay, Famine, Affluence, and Morality, as one of the two great achievements of his lifetime […]. His essay was first published in 1972 and has now been reissued, together with several related articles by Singer and a foreword by Bill and Melinda Gates. Singer's core argument is straightforward: few of us are doing enough to address the injustices of our world. …” “…In their foreword, Bill and Melinda Gates suggest that Singer's original argument was ahead of its time, “But perhaps its time has now come.””
Humanosphere – Record number of refugees need resettlement, but countries don’t want them
Tom Murphy; http://www.humanosphere.org/world-politics/2016/06/record-number-refugees- need-resettlement-countries-dont-want/
“A record 1.19 million refugees are expected to need resettlement in 2017, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency. The 72 percent increase since 2014 comes at a time when wealthy countries are increasingly taking steps to keep refugees and migrants out. The agency hopes to resettle 170,000 refugees next year, less than 15 percent of the overall need. “Resettlement is now more important than ever as a solution, and we must grasp this opportunity to increase the number of refugees benefiting from it, as well as other avenues for admission,” said High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, in a statement….” . The Projected Global Resettlement Needs 2017 report was released at an annual meeting in Geneva on Monday (June 13).
Humanosphere – U.K. foreign aid debate shows cross-party support, rather than division http://www.humanosphere.org/world-politics/2016/06/u-k-foreign-aid-debate-shows-cross-party- support-rather-than- division/?utm_content=buffer3cc91&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaig n=buffer
Some good news from the UK. “The British House of Commons debated Monday over whether the U.K. should maintain its commitment to spend 0.7 percent of national income on foreign aid after an e-petition urged the government to reconsider its pledge. Concerns that the government would
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reverse its spending pledge were quickly allayed by general agreement among speakers that foreign aid is valuable, and the spending target should be protected….”
Duncan Green (blog) – After the Summit: What next for humanitarianism? http://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/after-the-summit-what-next-for-humanitarianism/
Good question : what now, after the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul? As always, Duncan Green has some good answers as well, based on the premise that ‘humanitarian reformers need a Theory of Change (too)’.
Report finds big ag's global land grab expanding to new frontiers http://www.farmlandgrab.org/post/view/26226
“Big Ag's global land grab is huge, growing, and "extending its reach to new frontiers," according to a new report from the international non-profit GRAIN. … …. Increasingly, gaining access to farmland is part of a broader corporate strategy to profit from carbon markets, mineral resources, water resources, seeds, soil and environmental services…. Moreover, while "food security-driven land grabbing" has subsided in recent years, "plain old profit-driven agribusiness expansion is now the dominant agenda," GRAIN states.”
Guardian - Why unfair tax treaties hold back developing countries
L Moller; http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals- network/2016/jun/15/why-unfair-tax-treaties-hold-back-developing-countries
From an ActionAid policy advisor. “Developed countries need to review their tax treaties with developing countries to prioritise the fight against poverty.” ( Eagerly waiting for a Bloomberg/Gates/WB partnership to tackle this ….)
FT – China becomes global leader in development finance https://next.ft.com/content/b995cc7a-1c33-11e6-a7bc-ee846770ec15#axzz491kNBLjW
“China is now a bigger presence in international development finance than all of the world’s six major multilateral financial institutions put together, a new study has found.”
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WHO – Seven universities selected to host international postgraduate training scheme http://www.who.int/tdr/news/2015/7_universities_selected/en/
“Seven universities from low- and middle-income countries have been selected to host the TDR international postgraduate training scheme in implementation research to improve health. There are 3 universities in Africa, 2 in Asia, and 1 each in Latin America and the Middle Eastern region. Each will serve students from their regions.”
ILO – ILO adopts historic labour standard to tackle the informal economy http://www.ilo.org/ilc/ILCSessions/104/media-centre/news/WCMS_375615/lang-- en/index.htm?shared_from=shr-tls
News from the 104th session of the International Labour conference: “The International Labour Organization (ILO) has adopted a new international labour standard that is expected to help hundreds of millions of workers and economic units move out of informality and into the formal economy. More than half of the world’s workforce is estimated to be trapped in the informal economy* , which is marked by the denial of rights at work, the absence of sufficient opportunities for quality employment, inadequate social protection, a lack of social dialogue and low productivity, all of which constitutes a significant obstacle to the development of sustainable enterprises. The new Recommendation acknowledges that most people enter the informal economy not by choice but due to a lack of opportunities in the formal economy and an absence of any other means of livelihood. The Recommendation – the first ever international labour standard specifically aimed at tackling the informal economy – was passed by 484 votes in favour and garnered outstanding support from the ILO’s tripartite constituents….”
Guardian – Refugee camps are not the answer to a complex crisis http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/jun/10/refugee- camps-urban-dadaab-kakuma-jordan
“In urban areas, NGOs around the globe are illustrating the possibility of creating alternatives to refugee camps.” A vital op-ed against the Kenyan and Middle Eastern backdrop, among others.
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CGD - Do Middle-Income Countries Get More Aid than Low- Income Countries?
Owen Barder et al; http://www.cgdev.org/blog/do-middle-income-countries-get-more-aid-low- income-countries
“In a recent TV documentary, Professor Hans Rosling suggested that middle-income countries (MICs) get three times as much aid per person in poverty as countries which are further back in their development.” Must-read for the wonks among you. (the others can just grab a beer and watch a Euro 2016 football game, including the hooligan action )
The conversation - Protests surge as gap widens between reality and the ‘Africa rising’ narrative
Patrick Bond; https://theconversation.com/protests-surge-as-gap-widens-between-reality-and-the- africa-rising-narrative-59342
From mid-May already, but well worth reading and pondering.
Julio Frenk (blog) – Forces of Change http://unfoundationblog.org/forces-of-change/?platform=hootsuite
“Midway through my first year at the University of Miami, I called upon the thinkers, scholars, leaders, and mentors throughout our 11 schools and colleges to join me on a journey of monumental importance. I asked them to spend the next nine years leading to the University’s centennial in a united effort to become: the hemispheric university, leveraging our geographic location to build bridges within the Americas and across the world; the excellent university, one that recognizes both arts and sciences as essential elements of a thriving society; the relevant university, a pipeline for translating scholarship into solutions; and the exemplary university, a model for inclusion of all ethnicities, genders, religions, sexual orientations, ages, and abilities in a true culture of belonging….”
Emerging Voices
Two former EVs were at the European Development Days in Brussels on Wednesday-Thursday, Shakira Choonara (EV 2014) & Radhika Arora (EV 2012). Stay tuned for their analysis next week.
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Albino Kalolo (EV 2010) defended his PhD successfully at the Institute of Public Health, University of Heidelberg. In his research , he focused on the implementation process of community based health insurance schemes in Tanzania. For a recent paper from Albino, see Global Health Action (study protocol): Factors affecting adoption, implementation fidelity, and sustainability of the Redesigned Community Health Fund in Tanzania: a mixed methods protocol for process evaluation in the Dodoma region
IDS (blog) - A Tale of Neglect: From Kashmir to the Indian Sundarbans
Upasona Ghosh (EV 2014); http://www.ids.ac.uk/opinion/a-tale-of-neglect-from-kashmir-to-the- indian-sundarbans
A must-read, ahead of the Vancouver symposium on ‘resilient & responsive health systems for a changing era’. Upasona Ghosh went back to Kashmir, 25 years after the first time. Check out what she found in this (politically very sensitive) ‘paradise on earth’, and the pertinent questions she asks on climate change policy & voices from different layers, resilience, ….
Research
International Journal for equity in health (Study protocol) - Measuring and understanding the effects of a performance based financing scheme applied to nutrition services in Burundi—a mixed method impact evaluation design
M Nimpagaritse et al; http://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-016-0382-0
This paper presents the protocol for the impact evaluation of the PBF scheme applied to malnutrition (in Burundi).
BMJ global health – Poverty-Related Diseases College: a virtual African-European network to build research capacity
T PC Dorlo et al; http://gh.bmj.com/content/1/1/e000032
“The Poverty-Related Diseases College was a virtual African-European college and network that connected young African and European biomedical scientists working on poverty-related diseases. The aim of the Poverty-Related Diseases College was to build sustainable scientific capacity and international networks in poverty-related biomedical research in the context of the development of Africa. The Poverty-Related Diseases College consisted of three elective and mandatory training modules followed by a reality check in Africa and a science exchange in either Europe or the USA. In
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this analysis paper, we present our experience and evaluation, discuss the strengths and encountered weaknesses of the programme, and provide recommendations to policymakers and funders….”
IJHPM - Beyond “Two Cultures”: Guidance for Establishing Effective Researcher/Health System Partnerships
S Bowen et al; http://ijhpm.com/article_3221_0.html
“The current literature proposing criteria and guidelines for collaborative health system research often fails to differentiate between: (a) various types of partnerships, (b) collaborations formed for the specific purpose of developing a research proposal and those based on long-standing relationships, (c) researcher vs. decision-maker initiatives, and (d) the underlying drivers for the collaboration. …. …. … Findings suggest that the common “two cultures” approach to research/decision-maker collaboration provides an inadequate framework for understanding the complexity of research partnerships….. …. Participants’ experience with previous research activities, factors related to the established collaboration, and interpersonal, intra- and inter-organizational dynamics may present additional challenges to research partnerships built on existing collaboration. Differences between researchers and KUs may pose no greater challenges than differences among KUs (at various levels, and representing diverse perspectives and organizations) themselves. Effective “relationship brokering” is essential for meaningful collaboration.”
Health Research Policy & systems – Applying for, reviewing and funding public health research in Germany and beyond
A Gerhardus et al; http://health-policy-systems.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12961-016-0112- 5
“Public health research is complex, involves various disciplines, epistemological perspectives and methods, and is rarely conducted in a controlled setting. Often, the added value of a research project lies in its inter- or trans-disciplinary interaction, reflecting the complexity of the research questions at hand. This creates specific challenges when writing and reviewing public health research grant applications. Therefore, the German Research Foundation (DFG), the largest independent research funding organization in Germany, organized a round table to discuss the process of writing, reviewing and funding public health research. The aim was to analyse the challenges of writing, reviewing and granting scientific public health projects and to improve the situation by offering guidance to applicants, reviewers and funding organizations….”
HHR – Human Rights-Based Approaches to Mental Health: A Review of Programs
S Porsdam Mann; https://www.hhrjournal.org/2016/05/human-rights-based-approaches-to-mental- health-a-review-of-programs/
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“The incidence of human rights violations in mental health care across nations has been described as a “global emergency” and an “unresolved global crisis.” The relationship between mental health and human rights is complex and bidirectional. Human rights violations can negatively impact mental health. Conversely, respecting human rights can improve mental health. This article reviews cases where an explicitly human rights-based approach was used in mental health care settings. Although the included studies did not exhibit a high level of methodological rigor, the qualitative information obtained was considered useful and informative for future studies. All studies reviewed suggest that human-rights based approaches can lead to clinical improvements at relatively low costs. Human rights-based approaches should be utilized for legal and moral reasons, since human rights are fundamental pillars of justice and civilization. ….”
Health Policy & Planning –Public health interventions to protect against falsified medicines: a systematic review of international, national and local policies
W Hamilton et al; http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/06/15/heapol.czw062.short?rss=1
“Falsified medicines are deliberately fraudulent drugs that pose a direct risk to patient health and undermine healthcare systems, causing global morbidity and mortality.” This article aims to “produce an overview of anti-falsifying public health interventions deployed at international, national and local scales in low and middle income countries (LMIC).”
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