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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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 Rachel Nugent is deputy director, global health, at the Center for Global Development. Full BioShowing posts on the Global Health Policy blog. View author posts on: The World at 10 BillionMay 23, 2011By Rachel Nugent in Global Health Tags: Population, UN
In a recent op-ed published in the New York Times International Edition, I discuss the United Nations’ new projections on population. The UN Population Division recently raised its estimate for global population to reach 10.1 billion by 2100—a steep increase from the previous projections which showed the world’s population leveling off at 9 billion by 2050. Clearly, the UN has been too optimistic in its assumptions about how long it would take for many countries to reach replacement fertility. In this editorial, I suggest that rather than thinking about “population,” we think about how fertility and mortality differentially affect population levels and growth rates, and how effective family planning policies can lead to lower fertility, which in turn, reduce child and maternal mortality. You can access the full text of the op-ed here. 5 Comments »From DC to NYC: Promoting Recommendations for a More Effective UNFPAApril 18, 2011By Rachel Nugent in Global Health, Population & Reproductive Health Tags: Babatunde Osotimehin, ICPD, International Conference on Population and Development, Population & Reproductive Health, Rachel Nugent, UNFPA
CGD is well known in Washington for convening smart and interesting people for good discussions. We don’t have much track record in New York, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when we trekked up to the United Nations last week to release our new report on UNFPA (the UN Population Fund). (The release coincided with the annual meeting of the Commission on Population and Development so we reached visiting country delegations, as well as year-round diplomats.) CGD’s past reports to agencies undergoing leadership changes (to UNAIDS, the World Bank, Global Fund, and others) have been received enthusiastically both for their technical advice, as well as their political value in stimulating a focus on reform. Mostly, I hoped the transplantation of good discussion about important policy issues would take hold. We had a great line-up starting with Professor David Bloom of the Harvard School of Public Health, one of my co-chairs on the CGD working group that looked at UNFPA on the occasion of its recent leadership transition. David presented our motivation for the report and the working group recommendations. My other co-chair, Dr. Jotham Musinguzi, who heads the Africa regional office of Partners in Population and Development, then talked about the way UNFPA operates in countries. After all, the vast majority of its resources are in country offices, so that’s the true test of its effectiveness. Panelists Jill Sheffield, president of Women Deliver, and Jonna Jeurlink from the DFID mission to the UN talked about their perceptions of UNFPA as a partner and as a recipient of funds, respectively. Comment »Drug Resistance Gets Its Day… Again. Will This Time Be Different?April 5, 2011By Rachel Nugent in Uncategorized
World Health Day is April 7. Who remembers the theme of World Health Day 2010? Never mind. If you read any major media in the past week, you almost couldn’t escape knowing that World Health Day 2011 is about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), or drug resistance (here’s a link to an example from The Economist.) At least the World Health Organization’s (WHO) public relations machinery is ramped up. And they want us to be alarmed. Here’s a quote from WHO: Read More… 1 Comment »Staff Consultation Draft Report on the Future of UNFPA – Comments and Feedback RequestedDecember 15, 2010By Rachel Nugent in Health Systems Tags: UNFPA
I am pleased to announce that the staff consultation draft report for the CGD Working Group on the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA’s) Role in International Population Policy, Reproductive and Sexual Health, and Reproductive Rights is now posted on the CGD website. Along with my co-chairs David Bloom and Jotham Musinguzi, we formed this working group in August to identify “what’s next?” for UNFPA. The final report will provide the new executive director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, with an actionable set of recommendations for steering the Fund toward solid footing and greater relevance and effectiveness on population, reproductive health, and development issues. (See my blog post for more on Dr. Osotimehin’s appointment.) As is custom at CGD, the working group staff have posted the consultation draft report online. Read More… Comment »Turning Recommendations into Reality (to Combat Drug Resistance)October 20, 2010By Rachel Nugent in Drug Resistance, Pharmaceuticals & Health Products Tags: Drug Resistance, TB
As some of you may know, CGD’s Drug Resistance Working Group released a report this summer, providing a comprehensive examination of drug resistance—across different diseases, geographies, and stakeholders. The report highlights alarmingly high rates of drug resistance throughout the world and warns of a growing public health crisis as more and more drugs lose their efficacy. One of the important findings of our work is that common drivers across diseases are causing treatments to fail. We have received very positive feedback since publishing the report in June. However, we are acutely aware that talk is cheap. Simply writing what needs to be done (much to the chagrin of my co-authors and myself!) is far easier than actually doing it. Since the report was published, we have been working with a range of organizations to advance the ideas and see them implemented. Read More… 4 Comments »Congress Faces Resistance of a Different SortJune 14, 2010By Rachel Nugent in Drug Resistance, Health Product Innovation and Access Tags: Drug Resistance, On the Hill, USAID
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-CA) and his staff are worried about something, and it’s not politics. The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is holding a series of hearings on antimicrobial resistance. Waxman’s staff is notorious for their hard-hitting investigatory work on behalf of the Congressman’s former committee of jurisdiction, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Maybe the bugs should start to worry. As in drug-resistant bugs. Working with Health Subcommittee Chair Frank Pallone, the committee staff has organized three hearings on AMR, the second of which was held last week before a full hearing room. (I wrote about the first hearing here.) So far, the hearings have focused exclusively on antimicrobial resistance (commonly referred to as AMR), and the most visible ways that AMR is manifested in the U.S., including MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and Acinetobacter baumannii (sometimes called “Iraqibacter” because soldiers increasingly are sent home with resistant infections of this bug.) While this political attention is encouraging, it must extend to drug resistance across all infectious diseases and move beyond a U.S. focus. Read More… 2 Comments »Drug Resistance Gets a Hearing on Capitol HillMay 6, 2010By Rachel Nugent in Drug Resistance, Health Product Innovation and Access Tags: Drug Resistance, On the Hill
Drug resistance finally got its day on Capitol Hill last week when the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee held a hearing on the topic. The event signaled interest in two ways: first, by the expert witnesses the panel invited, Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health and Thomas Frieden of the Centers for Disease Control; and second, by the number and importance of the subcommittee members who attended. Fifteen members joined the subcommittee’s chairman, Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), and ranking member, John Shimkus (R-Ill.), including Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the full committee, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), Waxman’s predecessor as chairman, and two major supporters of legislation designed to tackle problems caused by drug resistance, Reps. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). Read More… 1 Comment » |
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