Archive for category: Health

Information and stories on health topics.

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Experts to Create a Global Health Risk Framework

What is the Commission on Global Health Risk Framework
In response to recent outbreaks of infectious diseases such as Ebola, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and H1N1, the National Academy of Medicine is coordinating a new Commission on Global Health Risk Framework. The framework will address the need for better local and global health infrastructure to stem the spread of diseases on a global scale.

The Commission is a multinational, independent board made up of 18 members from 11 countries. The National Academy of Medicine serves as the secretariat. Those serving on the board are members of their countries’ health ministries and funds while others work in universities and the insurance industry.

To create the framework, the Commission will convene four workshops, each lasting up to three days. Topics include governance for global health, financial responses to pandemic threats, resilient health systems, and research and development of medical products.

A wide range of experts will address the layout of related global initiatives, challenges and lessons learned from past health threats, and the reactions of governments, communities, and the private sector during threats.

The first public meeting was held in Washington D.C. on July 29, 2015. At the conclusion of the four workshops, the commission will publish a consensus report on how to address the issues raised and will provide detailed recommendations for fixing  problem areas. The report is scheduled for release by the end of 2015.

– Katherine Hewitt

Sources: NAM 1, NAM 2, News Medical
Photo: Flickr

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Eva Longoria and LG Raise Money For No Kid Hungry

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Last week, Eva Longoria hosted an LG Electronics USA product launch in Hollywood for the company’s new ranges with ProBake Convection technology to benefit the No Kid Hungry Campaign.

A-list celebrities and VIP guests like actress Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, chef Angel Estrada and actor Jesse Metcalfe, gathered for a family oriented event sponsored by LG. The occasion featured cooking activities and games, as well as interactive culinary demonstrations highlighting the new cooking technology.

The fun-filled afternoon also served to raise awareness and support for the No Kid Hungry campaign that is sponsored by Share Our Strength, an organization that helps to provide food for children and families in need. Fittingly, the charity also empowers families to cook healthy meals together.

The Desperate Housewives star said that she really values the importance of family and passing down recipes to loved ones.

“I come from a tight-knit family where we value the importance of gathering for meals and celebrations, and I’m thrilled to join LG to encourage families to do the same, all while benefitting such a fantastic cause,” Longoria said.

Longoria supports a worthy cause — malnutrition is a continuing problem. According to Action Against Hunger, 3.5 million children die each year from malnutrition.

To help eradicate this problem, the No Kid Hungry campaign asks for donations for hungry children and lists ways for people to improve the lives of the impoverished. The campaign’s website focuses on using food as a tool to create a better value of life, stating that “another kid falls behind and never catches up” without proper nourishment.

The campaign also seeks to provide parents the tools to create and offer nutritious meals to their children. Supporting No Kid Hungry, LG encouraged the community to start their own “PostBake sales” in their neighborhoods using kits gifted by the event to all attendees.

Longoria hosted her own bake sale at the LG event. The award-winning cookbook author and co-restaurateur shared her cooking expertise during her live demonstrations. Her culinary creations were all recipes from her New York Times bestselling cookbook, “Eva’s Kitchen: Cooking with Love for Family and Friends.”

In addition, she helped organize pizza and flatbread baking, cake and cookie decorating, a themed photo booth and more.

Since the event, LG and Longoria have helped connect struggling kids with more than 345 million meals. The benefit also helped to launch school breakfast programs, recruit summer meals sites, and helped to provide grants to the most effective hunger-fighting organizations to help end child hunger in their communities, according to the No Kid Hungry website.

Not only is the campaign feeding kids, but it is also making their dreams come true.
Straight-A students and sisters, Jeane and Jahnique love to run, dance and cheerlead, and with the help of No Kid Hungry, they are able to do these activities with more energy.

“When I eat, it makes me run faster,” one sister said.

No Kid Hungry has helped many more kids in different areas. The operation’s website shows several more stories like this one. To read these stories and to learn how to support these kids, visit the No Kid Hungry website.

– Fallon Lineberger

Sources: Action Against Hunger, Look to the Stars, No Kid Hungry 1, No Kid Hungry 2, Vimeo
Photo: Homemade Mimi

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UNLV’s New Research on HIV

UNLV’s New Research on HIVResearchers from the University of Nevada Las Vegas have begun working on new research on HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, by finding ways to stop the virus from infecting human cells.

UNLV has already earned several financial grants for the research, including one from the National Institutes of Health.

The researchers are looking at genetic codes called minimotifs that direct cellular function. Their goal is to understand how the codes can help cells fight off HIV by blocking the virus from interacting with the cells.

“We chose HIV as our model system because we know viruses depend solely on cells to live,” said Kiran Mathew, a researcher at UNLV, in an interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal. “It’s a great model system we can use to test out the effects of (the codes) in the cell.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1.2 million Americans were infected with HIV as of 2012, with roughly 50,000 new cases each year.

By the end of 2014, close to 37 million people were living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and about 15 million people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy. The World Health Organization cites sub-Saharan Africa as the most affected region by HIV/AIDS globally with 26 million people infected in 2014. The region also accounts for almost 70 percent of the global total of new HIV infections.

There is currently no cure for HIV. The Food and Drug Administration has approved more than 25 antiretroviral drugs to help fight infections and improve quality of life for patients. With successful treatment, HIV infection can become a chronic, manageable disease. But therapy must be life long and there are limitations to diagnosis, treatment and care in geographical areas that are most heavily affected.

The promising new research coming out of UNLV might help develop new HIV drugs, code for other diseases and make personalized drugs specific for a patient’s genetic makeup. But first the findings must be published and patented before pharmaceutical companies could begin the process of bringing it to market where patients can benefit.

– Megan Ivy

Sources: Review Journal, CDC, WHO
Photo: Flickr

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Improving Global Surgery Addresses Development Needs


According to the World Health Organization, 5.8 million people die each year as a result of injuries. This is 32 percent more than the number of fatalities that result from malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDs combined.

The most common life-threatening issues include road traffic, homicide and suicide. The World Health Organization also states that “injuries are a leading killer of youth.” Unfortunately, less attention has been directed toward surgical services in the developing world. A study in the Lancet Global Health Journal analyzed the factors that have contributed to this unmet need.

Key factors include:

  • Lack of leadership in the global surgery community
  • Disagreement on how to address the problem
  • Lack of effective efforts to take advantage of political actions
  • Minimal data on effects of surgical diseases

Despite these difficulties, there are networks committed to advancing the priority of global surgery. One promising solution is to link these efforts with other global health goals.

Basic surgical care could avert 1.5 million deaths per year. A few surgical diseases include blindness, fractures and appendicitis. While we may place less of an emphasis on these health issues, in comparison to HIV/AIDS for example, they still place significant burdens on the quality and productivity of life in developing communities.

It is important for the above factors to be addressed with existing organizations that have the structure and ability to bring attention to this goal. With adequate healthcare, communities in developing countries are more likely to develop in a sustainable and equitable manner.

– Iliana Lang

Sources: World Health Organization, The Lancet
Photo: Unsplash

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Fighting the Dengue Fever Outbreak in Malaysia


Malaysia is overwhelmed with its never before seen dengue fever outbreak. According to the Health Ministry, there have been more than 40,000 cases and 201 deaths so far. The deaths have increased from 215 in 2014 total, 92 in 2013, and 35 in 2012.

In six months, deaths increased 100 percent from last year between January and June 6, with 144 deaths compared to 72 last year. From the 21st week to the 22nd week, the numbers of cases increased by 8 percent.

Dengue fever is spread by the female Aedes mosquito, which can lay up to 400 eggs per week and needs very little water to breed. The mosquito typically bites in the morning or at dusk with initial symptoms feeling like the flu.

Those infected realize it’s dengue from the exhaustion, fever and joint pains they get. In the worst-case scenario, victims develop hemorrhagic fever, which can lead to death.

There is growing concern that the virus is changing and becoming more deadly with changes in symptoms and repeat infections. The deputy director general of Health at the Ministry says, “There’s always a chance virus may change.” He does find it strange that the new symptoms are liver failure, meningitis and brain infection.

There is currently no cure for dengue. The most that can be done to treat it is the platelet count with a saline drip.

The disease is common in many Asian countries and costs the economy about $2 billion annually, excluding the cost of fogging and other methods used to kill the Aedes mosquito.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dengue cases have increased 30-fold in the last half century, and half of the world population is at risk.

Citizens are combatting the disease with leaflets and insecticide. Citizens like Kau Siew Yoon, a retired librarian, are volunteering with their local anti-dengue squad.

At the government level, workers are sent out to spray fog around the neighborhoods affected and doctors are given rapid detection kits as soon as a doctor reports a case to the Health Ministry.

Doctor Lam Sait Kit, who has been studying dengue for 40 years, doesn’t think fog is very effective, and believes vaccines could prevent outbreaks. Given that WHO is aiming to decrease dengue by 25 percent and its mortality by at least half by 2020, many companies are looking to develop a vaccine.

The most progress has been made by the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Pasteur, which finished its third phase of clinical trials for a vaccine it has been working on for more than 20 years.

The trials were done on thousands of children in Asia and South America, and the vaccine shows protection against all four types of fever with varying results. Those ages 9-16 showed an 80 percent reduction in hospitalization and a 93 percent reduction in the disease becoming more severe.

Malaysia is working with WHO in analyzing the vaccine data. Baptiste De Clarens, GM for Sanofi-Pasteur in Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore, believes a vaccine isn’t the only solution, with a need for vector control and public awareness.

Given the alarming numbers of this outbreak, the focus needs to be on reducing the current cases and finding solutions that prevent the disease, such as an educational campaign to fight against it.

– Paula Acevedo

Sources: IRIN, The Malaysian Insider
Photo: Flickr

Life Saving Dot: The New Bindi

Life Saving Dot: The New Bindi
Women in India have been sporting small dots between their eyebrows since the third or fourth century. The mark is called a bindi and is a Hindu tradition.

Historically, it has been worn for religious purposes or to show that a woman is married. Today, women of all ages wear the bindi just as a beauty mark.

A nonprofit organization based in Nashik, India has come up with a new reason to wear the bindi. The Neelvasant Medical Foundation and Research Center, in partnership with Grey Group Singapore, a company that makes advertisements, wants the bindi to become a source of iodine.

The two organizations initiated the Life Saving Dot program that coats bindis with a full daily recommended dose of iodine. Dr Prachi Pawar is the leader of the project. He explains that the skin can absorb the essential micronutrient, but the nonprofit is still studying just how efficient the dots are.

“It would have been more satisfying—and convincing—if [the organizers] had done a bit of work beforehand to show that it actually delivers iodine,” says Michael Zimmerman. He is a nutrition researcher for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

Roland Kupka is a micronutrient senior adviser for UNICEF. He points out that no one knows for sure if the iodine stays on the bindi. There is a chance that it might evaporate off when women spend time in the sun.

India is one of 54 countries struggling with iodine sufficiency. The soil there lacks iodine and, therefore, so do the crops. Iodized salt is unavailable to a third of all families in the country. According to UNICEF, 66 percent of families worldwide have access.

Iodine is necessary for the manufacture of thyroid hormones. For pregnant women, it is crucial for the development of the fetus’ brain. Iodine deficiency is the greatest cause of preventable but irreversible brain damage in the world. It also causes depression and weight gain in adults. Children can suffer from mental health issues like retardation and even death.

So far, more than 30,000 women in about 100 villages throughout India have been given the special iodine bindis. The organizations are starting to plan a system to produce and distribute them on a large scale.

If the Life Saving bindis are successful at administering iodine, they will be an affordable nutritional supplement: 10 repees, about 16 cents, for a package of 30 bindis.

The Neevlasant Medical Foundation and Research Center is a nongovernmental organization that strives to support rural and tribal parts of India and other developing countries. Started in August of 2005, they have specific programs for health, environment conservation, finance, child/women development, mental health and water conversation.

– Lillian Sickler

Sources: NPR, YouTube, Neelvasant Foundation, Indian Journal of Medical Research, Huffington Post, The Times of India, WHO
Photo: Health Life

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New Zealand Gang Feeds Children

new_zealandThe Tribal Huk gang of Ngaruawahia, in New Zealand, has been working for the last four years to help feed the country’s poor children. Every day, the gang has been making and delivering sandwiches to thirty-one schools in the area and putting food in more than four hundred hungry children’s mouths.

Jamie Pink, the president of the organization, called Kai 4 the Future, knows what it is like to grow up in poverty. As a child, he barely ever had enough food for himself. When he grew to be an adult, he knew he wanted to do something about it. Although he does admit he likes violence, he says he liked helping people even more.

Now, Tribal Huk leases fifty acres of farmland around Horotiu and Ngaruawahia, and owns dozens of beef, sheep and pigs. Some animals are sold to finance the foundation while the rest go in the sandwiches.

In New Zealand, 270,000 children live below the poverty line, according to the country’s Children’s Commissioner. Although the government has implemented a $9.5 million program in the last couple of years to help solve the problem, children remain hungry.

Pink laments that New Zealand has enough water, food and other resources- sheep even outnumber people ten to one- to support their population, but children are still going hungry. He hopes to get government assistance so the gang can make even more sandwiches every day.

He is also hoping to start a new trust in which people donate just $5 a week to the Foundation. If 50,000 people pay this amount for a year, they would collect $30 million – enough to feed every hungry child in the country.

– Radhika Singh

Sources: Stuff, RadioNZ
Photo: Stuff

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New Report Casts Light on Global Health Innovations

New Report Casts Light on Global Health Innovations
Innovation Countdown 2030 (IC2030), an initiative led by an international nonprofit organization, released its inaugural report on July 13, which features 30 innovations that have the potential to transform global health and save millions of lives by 2030.

The report, Reimagining Global Health, was announced at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa.

IC2030 is led by PATH, the frontrunner when it comes to global health innovation, with support from the Norwegian Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The report involved a yearlong process in which more than 500 innovations were nominated from over 50 countries, with a goal of propelling investment and support for health technologies.

Each innovation was assessed by dozens of international health experts, leading to the 30 that are featured in the report. Each innovation was selected for the potential it has to save lives and transform global health.

The innovations cover four health areas: maternal, newborn and child health, infectious diseases, reproductive health and non-communicable diseases.

The report also includes commentary from leading experts in health, business and technology on the important role innovation plays in driving health impact.

One such expert is Amie Batson, the chief strategy officer for PATH. In the report, she emphasizes four key strategies to help further innovations in global health.

The strategies are: sourcing health solutions globally, pinpointing the most cost-effective innovations, creating new devices concentrating on financing and coordinating investments.

These approaches are seen in PATH’s cost impact modeling process, a feature the nonprofit created with its partner, Applied Strategies.

Specifically, the model measures how many lives are saved, the number of cases of disease avoided, and the costs for health innovations.

Two innovations seen in the report and evaluated with PATH’s cost impact modeling process have to do with preventing infections in newborns and stopping diarrheal disease from contaminated water from reaching children.

Chlorhexidine is a low-cost antiseptic used in umbilical cord care to prevent infections in newborns. Every year, thousands of newborns die as a result of unsanitary conditions during birth and not having access to antiseptics for the first week after being born.

Chlorhexidine, which comes in liquid and gel form, can be applied to the umbilical cord stump after birth at a safe and effective concentration. By doing so, the chance of infection is greatly reduced.

More importantly, health workers or family members can use the antiseptic at home.

It’s estimated that, by using Chlorhexidine, 1,004,000 neonatal lives can be saved between 2015 and 2030, with a nine percent reduction in deaths caused by sepsis. A scaled-up use of the antiseptic is expected to cost $81 million.

The second innovation has to do with preventing diarrheal disease in children by using chlorine to disinfect water in small communities.

Developing countries often have shortages in clean water, as not only are most public water systems inadequate, but many households don’t have the necessary resources to purchase treated water.

As a result, new tools have been developed to disinfect water at sources in small-scale communities. One such tool, the Zimba automated batch chlorinator, fits on hand pumps and community taps, and chlorinates the water with no need for electricity or moving parts.

The device has the capability to disinfect up to 8,000 liters of water before the chlorine dispenser needs to be refilled.

Estimates show that, by chlorinating water in small-scale communities, 1,515,000 child lives will be saved, with a 16 percent reduction in diarrhea-related deaths. In addition, the disinfecting devices will save $1.2 billion because of the decrease in the number of cases of diarrheal disease, leading to a reduction in treatment costs.

Moving forward, PATH wants to build on IC2030 to give a greater voice to global innovators. The organization also wants to engage experts from different subject matters and raise awareness and visibility about possible lifesaving innovations.

– Matt Wotus

Sources: PATH, PR Newswire, The IC2030 Report
Photo: Flickr

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Vaccinating the Masses

Vaccinating the MassesFlu shots are synonymous with cold and wintry conditions. Lines stretching hundreds of feet from the doors of CVS and middle schools become commonplace during the first months of a new year.

Every year, children squirm awaiting the dreaded shot, vaccinating them from the clutches of the dreaded flu. We’ve become accustomed to this process over the years, but the reality is that this tedious cycle may be coming to an end with new medical advancements on the horizon.

The world’s first universal vaccine may be right around the corner. Researchers at Rockefeller University are working to develop a new type of vaccine that, according to the Times of India will, “harness a previously unknown mechanism within the immune system to create more effective and efficient vaccines against this virus which may ultimately result in a vaccine that provides life-long immunity against flu infections.”

The vaccine operates by targeting all varieties of flu strains and utilizes modified antibodies.

These new antibodies are being formulated to target flu strains that often are not treated by standard vaccines. An article in EurekAlert examined the science behind this bold undertaking by scientists.

“Work in the Ravetch lab suggests a new alternative: chemical modifications to the Fc region of antibodies. These regions go on to form complexes with vaccine antigens, which then modulate the evolving vaccine response,” reads an excerpt from EurekaAlert.

Essentially, once the new vaccine is administered to the patient, it continually evolves to combat any future flu strains that may arise in the patient.

The possibility of a universal flu vaccine being only years away would revolutionize world health. By only needing to be administered once, the vaccine could be distributed all over the world.

This would allow for those in poverty to receive vaccination and have life-long immunity. Mortality rates all over the world would decrease incrementally with life-long vaccination a reality.

– Diego Catala

Sources: Eurekalert, Times of India
Photo: Google Images

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Rwandan Parliament Seeks to Increase Maternity Coverage

Maternity coverageIn March, the Government of Rwanda approved a bill granting mothers full compensation while on a 12-week maternity leave. If implemented, the Maternity Leave Benefits Scheme would increase maternity coverage by 80 percent for the second half of their leave from the workplace.

Throughout the spring, the bill moved through parliament but was temporarily tabled in the House because of other pressing issues. Members of parliament are set to discuss this important legislation in the next few weeks, though, according to an article in Equal Times.

Because of the current system, many Rwandan women on maternity leave return to the workplace after just six weeks because they cannot afford to lose 80 percent of their compensation for that time.

Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Claver Gatete said that the current plan is not conducive to supporting a mother and her child both socially and financially.

The new legislation will have employers compensating mothers for the first six weeks and a social security fund covering compensation for the second six weeks. As an insurance scheme rather than a government fund, the additional compensation will come from a new income tax.

Public and private sector employees will make a 0.6 percent contribution of their salary to the insurance scheme in order to cover the costs of this fund. Contributions are set to be taken through the existing Rwanda Social Security Board, but the scheme funds are set to be distinct from other social security funds.

There is widespread support throughout Rwanda for this legislation, many calling this bill “long overdue.” Dominique Bicamumpaka, president of the Congrés du Travail et de la Fraternité — Rwanda (CONTRAF) was quoted in Equal Times, explaining her and other campaigners’ support for this legislation.

“[CONTRAF was] involved in the whole process and we encourage all the citizens to embrace this new initiative wholeheartedly because when a woman gives birth, it is not only for the family but also for the society,” she said.

If adopted, this bill will improve living conditions for mothers and their newborns, while also giving mothers more value and credibility in Rwandan society.

Many Rwandans consider this legislation a major step toward improving working conditions for women throughout the country. However, advocates such as Andre Mutsindashyaka, secretary general of the Rwanda Extractive Industry Workers Union, hope that this is just the first step of many other adjustments in making the workplace more mother-friendly.

“We are trying to make it easier for mothers, especially that nursing, by finding ways how they can work but also look after their babies,” he was quoted in Equal Times.

“So far, there is a plan that we hope to launch in five years, which will see each office have a daycare centre where mothers can breastfeed their babies. So far, some places like [the Rwandan Tea Authority] are providing [daycare facilities] and we hope that eventually, every office can do the same.”

– Arin Kerstein
Photo: Flickr