IHSJ Reader, June 2, 2011

IHSJ Reader     June 2011     Issue 2          

Note: Triple asterisk (***) indicates subscription-only sources.
 

HIV/AIDS

Clinton Health Access Initiative, UNITAID, and DFID Announce Lower Prices for HIV/AIDS Medicines in Developing Countries (Press Release - UNITAID, May, 17, 2011)
In the wake of groundbreaking HIV prevention results, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, UNITAID, and UK’s Department for International Development announced that their partnership achieved another round of dramatic price reductions in antiretroviral drug regimens. These price reductions will generate a global savings of $600 million to $1 billion over the next three years, making HIV treatment more widely accessible.

CHOLERA

Meeting Cholera's Challenge to Haiti and the World: A Joint Statement on Cholera Prevention and Care (PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Paul Farmer et al., May 31, 2011)
Debate about the public health response to Haiti's cholera epidemic continues as the crisis enters its ninth month. In a viewpoint article published on May 31, 2011 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, a coalition of medical and public health researchers, policymakers, and practitioners argues that a universal cholera vaccination campaign along with standard cholera prevention and strengthened treatment methods are essential to ending the crisis.

GLOBAL HEALTH FUNDING

G8 Declaration Renewed Commitment for Freedom and Democracy (G8 France 2011, May 26-27, 2011)
Though global health took a back seat at the 2011 G8 Summit, in the final Declaration, G8 leaders commit to continue to support the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; reaffirm their commitment to maternal and child health through the Muskoka Initiative; recognize the impact of the GAVI Alliance, and “strongly welcome” its efforts to expand access to new and under-used vaccines in the poorest countries through tiered pricing and innovative financing mechanisms; and stress their continuing commitment to the eradication of polio.  However, without specific targets, it will be difficult to hold G8 leaders accountable to delivering the investments needed to advance the fight against global hunger and premature death.

A Special Relationship to Save Lives (Huffington Post, Joanne Carter and Aaron Oxley, May 25, 2011)
On June 13^th, President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron will meet for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI Alliance) pledging conference. With nearly 40 percent of the 8.8 million child deaths in developing countries due to preventable and treatable conditions, both governments need to commit to funding GAVI’s immunization of 240 million children.  

Rhetoric versus Reality: The Best and Worst of Aid Agency Practices (William Easterly and Claudia Williamson, May 11, 2011); IHSJ Review of Easterly/Williamson Report (PIH Blog, Meredy Throop, May 31, 2011)
Have international aid donors delivered on their promises to improve aid practices? For the most part, no, according to a new piece about aid effectiveness by William Easterly and Claudia Williamson of the Development Research Institute. The IHSJ’s Meredy Throop provides a summary and analysis of the 78 page report by Easterly and Williamson.

HEALTH SYSTEM STRENGTHENING

Task Shifting in HIV Care: A Case Study of Nurse-Centered Community-Based Care in Rural Haiti (PLoS, Louise Ivers, Jean-Gregory Jerome, Kimberly Cullen, Wesler Lambert, Francesca Celletti, Badara Samb, May 6, 2011)
Good clinical and program outcomes demonstrate that task-shifting using a community-based, nurse-centered model of HIV care in rural Haiti is an effective model for scale-up of HIV services. The authors reveal how community health workers provide essential health services that are otherwise unavailable in poor, rural areas.

***Strengthening the Health System While Investing in Haiti (American Journal of Public Health, Louise Ivers, June 2011)
In this editorial, Dr. Ivers explains how disease-specific funding can be used to strengthen comprehensive health services and public health systems. In this way, a program created to respond to the HIV crisis has the breadth and flexibility with which to respond to a totally different kind of crisis—mass earthquake causalities.  

HEALTH AS A HUMAN RIGHT

***Human Rights in Global Health Diplomacy: A Critical Assessment (Journal of Human Rights, Michelle Gagnon and Ronal Labonté)
What arguments exist for why health (and notably health equity, the reduction of preventable inequalities in health within and between nations) should be a prominent foreign policy concern? Within the polyphony of possible arguments, where is there reference to human rights and have invocations to human rights by governments with stated commitments to health in their foreign policy mattered in how they actually behave? This article begins to address these questions.

FOOD SECURITY

Malnutrition: Child Mortality Observed 50% Lower With Better Food (Press Release – Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), May 24, 2011)
A study conducted  by MSF in Niger in the fall of 2010 found a 50 percent drop in mortality among young children who received a ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF), compared to those who did not. This outcome reinforces the need for complementary RUSF for young children in countries where malnutrition remains high. 

Chicago Council Releases 2011 Progress Report on U.S. Leadership in Global Agricultural Development (Press Release - The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, May 24, 2011)
The Progress Report on U.S. Leadership in Global Agricultural Development was released, giving the U.S. government an overall grade of B minus for its efforts to reassert leadership in global agricultural development. The report emphasizes that little progress has been made on several structural and economic barriers including: how food aid is administered; rules against working on specific commodities; opposition to input subsidies or vouchers as a development strategy; failure to complete negotiations to lower world trade distortions; and the use of corn for fuel instead of food.
 

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