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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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 Nandini Oomman is director of the HIV/AIDS Monitor at the Center for Global Development. Full Bio Follow @NandiniOomman
Showing posts on the Global Health Policy blog. View author posts on: From Here to Hanoi: Flipping My Frame of ReferenceNovember 29, 2011By Nandini Oomman in Global Health Tags: Global Health
I arrived at CGD in March 2006 to take charge of a new and exciting initiative, the HIV/AIDS Monitor, and tomorrow is my last day after six amazing, enjoyable and productive years. I want to thank all of our global health policy blog readers for indulging me and my posts, with a special thank you to many regular readers who often posted interesting and very useful comments. I will be moving to Hanoi, Vietnam in a few weeks and I am eager to experience development as it happens in this brave new world where the relationship between donors and partner countries is changing, technology is transforming the way we do things, and the world is more connected – even if struggling financially. In keeping with CGD standards, I can’t sign off with just a plain old goodbye and thank you post, or dwell on the gloom and doom about funding for global health (see here) and development ODA in general (see here and here). Instead, as I step out of the DC policy wonk bubble into the real world, I’d like to share my thoughts about three exciting new opportunities: Comment »Killing Two Development Problems with One TabletNovember 16, 2011By Nandini Oomman in Global Health, Uncategorized Tags: Global Health
Development news like this report of a large-scale de-worming program from India makes my day. Why? Four very good reasons: 1) At scale intervention, 2) Easy to administer, 3) Low-cost, and 4) multi-impact It’s always exciting to read about proven development solutions that go to scale because of their potential impact–in this case, a state-wide (Bihar) school-based de-worming program targeting all 21 million school-age children. To put that number into perspective, it’s almost the size of Australia’s population! More importantly, we rarely hear about large-scale programs that involve proven interventions that have spillover benefits. Bihar’s state government implemented a simple (1 or 2 tablets per child per year), safe, low-cost (~ $0.50 per child per year), and proven effective intervention to keep worms out of little children, and to keep children in school. This prevents malnutrition and anemia of course, but it also reduces absenteeism, and increases children’s ability to learn. 4 Comments »BMGF’s New President for Global Development: A Bonanza for Global Health?November 2, 2011By Nandini Oomman in Gates Foundation, GAVI, Global Health Tags: Gates Foundation, GAVI, Global Health
This is a joint post with Amanda Glassman Chris Elias, President & CEO at PATH, will step down from his current position and join the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) as President for global DEVELOPMENT in February 2012. Yes, that’s global development, not global health. First reactions from many in global health lamented the “loss” of one of the field’s most accomplished and visible experts. But as we digested the details of the announcement and discussed its implications, we realized that the Foundation’s decision could be a bonanza for global health. Here are two reasons why: Comment »Outing Global Development “Committers”: The Case of the UN Global Strategy on Women’s & Children’s HealthSeptember 26, 2011By Nandini Oomman in MDGs, NCDs Tags: MDGs, NCDs
This is a joint post with Rachel Silverman New York City’s annual high level UN bash is an occasion for grand, development-related announcements and commitments. This year’s meeting, which took place last week, focused on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), but I was particularly pleased to see follow up from one of last year’s big announcements–the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health. Following its launch at last year’s UN Leaders’ Summit for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 2010, the strategy inspired over $40 billion in financial commitments, aiming “to save the lives of 16 million women and children by 2015.” This year, on September 20th, the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) released its one-year assessment of progress under this strategy. 3 Comments »Urgently Needed: PEPFAR’s Value for Money PlanAugust 22, 2011By Nandini Oomman in Global Health, HIV/AIDS & Infectious Diseases, PEPFAR, Uncategorized Tags: Global Health, HIV/AIDS & Infectious Diseases, PEPFAR
This is a joint post with Jenny Ottenhoff. Looming budget cuts for FY2012 and recent reports about the decline in AIDS funding from the USG in FY2010 relative to FY2009 have triggered the classic Washington, D.C. tug-of-war; global health and development advocates are pushing to maintain funding levels, if not to increase them, and the U.S. Congress is looking for ways to increase oversight and management of taxpayer dollars. Advocates are rightly pointing out what would happen if we don’t have the money and Congress is rightly signaling that the party is over. What’s new? Nothing. Comment »GlaxoSmithKline Taps Its Profit in LDCs for Health Work Force Development, but Needs Aid Effectiveness 101May 25, 2011By Nandini Oomman in Global Health, Pharmaceuticals & Health Products Tags: Aid Effectiveness, Big Pharma, LDCs
A little over a year ago, I wrote about Andrew Witty, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and his evolving business model, highlighting this Big Pharma CEO as a savvy businessman who is looking at future markets in the developing world, while also helping to solve big global health challenges. News this week confirms that GSK is fulfilling its 2009 pledge to offer 20% of its 2010 profits earned in least developed countries (LDCs) back to these countries to help boost their health work forces. The Guardian’s Sarah Boseley has an interesting piece with details on how £3.5 million will be redirected from the company’s 2010 profits to different LDCs through large international NGOs, focusing mainly on health work force development: Read More… 2 Comments »Happy 2nd Birthday to the U.S. Global Health Initiative! Next Time I Want a Goody Bag!May 6, 2011By Nandini Oomman in Global Health Tags: Global Health Initiative
This week marks the U.S. Global Health Initiative’s (GHI) second birthday, despite no celebration, no balloons, and no well-stuffed goody bags. It’s hard to believe that two full years have passed since President Obama announced the GHI on May 5, 2009. During this time, the administration has dedicated many hours of talented staff time just getting the GHI off the ground. The initiative was (and is!) a huge undertaking and while exciting for many reasons—including its focus on women and girls, increasing linkages between different global health programs, and working with countries to define their global health priorities and needs—questions continue to loom large about how this will actually take shape and deliver results. I did a quick look back at our key GHI blogs posts* and comments from our many smart readers. Here is a selection of key operational issues that came up over the last two years and a quick and dirty assessment of their current status: Read More… 1 Comment » |
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