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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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October 9, 2008Swarming Around MalariaPosted by Rachel Nugent in News, UncategorizedMalaria is clearly the disease du jour — and it waited a long time to get basked in the spotlight. Two weeks ago in New York, at the UN Millennium Development Goals Malaria Summit (the third malaria summit in so many years), funders announced roughly $3 billion in new (and gently used) funds for malaria control, treatment, and research. View a webcast of the event. Comment »October 3, 2008Creating Awareness of Extremely Drug-Resistant TB: The TED Prize and James Nachtwey’s “One Wish to Change the World”Posted by Scott Kniaz in HIV/AIDS & Infectious Diseases, NewsXDR-TB, the widely untreatable, mutated manifestation of TB, is spreading; that much is known. Unknown is how much is out there, and how fast it is growing. Between 1996 and 2006, TB cases rose nearly 30%. One-fifth of new cases are resistant to at least one of the drugs available, as my colleague, Rachel Nugent, points out in the most recent issue of Foreign Policy. The StopTB Partnership reports that in some places, as many as 19% of cases are resistant to multiple first-line and second-line drugs. In light of these statistics, the knowledge and awareness of this emerging global health threat is woefully insufficient. In 2007, world-renowned photojournalist James Nachtwey decided to do something about it. Natchwey was one of three in the world to be awarded the TED Prize, receiving $100,000 and “One Wish to Change the World.” Nachtwey summed up his wish in two sentences: Comment »September 23, 2008When Domestic Meets Global: The U.S. Response to HIV at Home and AbroadPosted by Nandini Oomman in HIV/AIDS & Infectious Diseases, News, TuberculosisThis is a joint posting with Luke Easley In August, CDC released updated estimates of HIV Infection in the U.S. showing that incidence for 2006 and over the previous decade was 40% higher than previously estimated. This was big news on the eve of the Mexico City AIDS Conference, but made more news on September 17th, when CDC officials “at a House Government Reform and Oversight Committee hearing said they would need an additional $4.8 billion dollars over the next five years to reduce the annual number of new HIV infections in the U.S.” The LA Times reports that:
Sound familiar? Prevention of HIV transmission was NOT the strongest component of the United States’ fantastically generous PEPFAR program overseas (see my colleague David Wendt’s blog) AND it doesn’t seem to be doing the trick at home either. As the LA Times reports: “Young black gay men have been especially hard hit, representing 48% of new infections among gay and bisexual males ages 13 to 29. Yet only four of the CDC’s 49 recommended intervention programs specifically target gay men, and only one of them is designed to address gay men of color.” Comment »September 12, 2008AMFm — Not just a Radio AnymorePosted by Rachel Nugent in News, UncategorizedThe Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm) may be the best idea you’ve never heard of. It’s a piggybank that would accept money from donors of all stripes and then shell the money back out to eligible buyers to help pay for new malaria drugs, specifically artemisinin-combination therapies (ACTs). The goal is to make these new, expensive drugs as cheap as old drugs for the vast majority of developing country consumers, including the more than half who buy their drugs from private-sector pharmacies, shops and drug sellers. As we’ve pointed out here in the past (13 Pharma Companies Withdraw Malaria Monotherapies, May 12, 2006), the combination drugs are far less likely to promote drug resistance than artemisinin monotherapy. The conundrum has been how to get people to buy pricey ACTs before too much monotherapy makes all Artemisinin-based drugs another hit-or-miss treatment, like so many malaria drugs that have come before. Comment »August 21, 2008Donors Officials Discuss HIV/AIDS Monitor Report on Health Systems at the 2008 International AIDS ConferencePosted by David Wendt in HIV/AIDS & Infectious Diseases, HIV/AIDS and other Infectious Diseases, Health Systems, NewsFrom Aug 2-9, the Center for Global Development’s HIV/AIDS Monitor team and its research partners from Mozambique and Uganda attended the international AIDS Conference in Mexico City. In addition to taking advantage of the fantastic opportunity for learning and exchange with the over 23,000 participants committed to addressing HIV/AIDS globally, our team also launched its new paper “Seizing the Opportunity on AIDS and Health Systems.” This turned out to be a very timely piece of research, as discussions on health systems strengthening dominated much of the conference. Comment »August 18, 2008Le Raison de Résistance: Substandard TB Drugs Found in South AfricaPosted by cgdadmin in Drug Resistance, HIV/AIDS and other Infectious Diseases, NewsThe Times of South Africa recently reported the recall of two TB drugs, manufactured by Pharmascript, after the national health department found them to be substandard. Initial tests at the local WHO laboratory found they did not contain the needed amount of active ingredients, as claimed on the label, and concluded that they “would most likely not have effectively treated ‘thousands’ of TB patients.” The author, Yazeed Kamaldien, seems to find solace in the fact that “these drugs are used only to treat primary TB, however, and not other cases, such as multi-resistant TB.” He appears to completely misunderstand a primary cause of MDR-TB (multi-drug resistant TB) and drug resistance in general. While he is correct to breathe a sigh of relief that this discovery will, hopefully, not cause any MDR-TB cases to become the virtually untreatable XDR-TB (extremely-drug resistant TB), episodes such as this undoubtedly increase the risk of resistance among uncomplicated, primary TB patients. As MDR-TB can cost up to 300 times as much (in time, money and human resources) to treat as primary TB, these errors can put incredible strain on an already weak health system. Comment »August 14, 2008The World Tuberculosis Cup – Score One for Global Health InnovationPosted by Kristie Latulippe in HIV/AIDS & Infectious Diseases, HIV/AIDS and other Infectious Diseases, NewsWhat do you get when you cross cartoonists with public health experts? You get a bunch of baccili-busters! The WHO-hosted Stop TB Partnership released a comic book on July 24 aimed at teaching children and teens about tuberculosis and how to prevent it. The Stop Tuberculosis Team is captained by the Portuguese soccer star, Luis Figo, who in the comic book leads his team to victory against a team of tuberculosis germs. In a statement issued on the occasion of the comic book launch, Figo urges young people to take the comic book’s message seriously: “Tuberculosis is a killer, and I want all of you to stay safe from it. I am passing the ball to you — you can help reach the goal of stopping tuberculosis.” The comic book is the result of a global competition in January 2008 to reward the best comic design aimed at preventing TB. At stake in the competition was a US$5000 cash prize from the Stop TB Partnership along with worldwide acclaim from cartoon and comic circles (most likely a greater incentive than the cash!). Comment » |
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