Recent Releases in Global Health: U.S. Global Health Funding, Surgery in Developing World, Mosquito Nets in Africa
IOM Report Calls for Boost in U.S. Global Health Funding
The U.S. should increase overseas disease prevention and treatment funding to $15 billion per year by 2012 to increase utilization of "existing preventive and therapeutic interventions," and expand "research on health problems that are endemic to low- and middle-income countries," according to a new Institute of Medicine (IOM) report. The report recommends that President Obama create a White House Interagency Committee on Global Health, lead by a senior White House official to plan, prioritize, and coordinate budgeting for the nation's global health programs and activities (National Academies release, 5/20). A related poll conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org and IOM found that 64% of Americans want the U.S. government "to make efforts to improve health for people in developing countries" (Ramsay et al., WorldPublicOpinion.org, 5/20).
PLoS Medicine Explores Training Non-Specialists To Meet The Surgical Care Demands Of The Developing World
As efforts to scale up surgical care in the developing world increase, the lessons learned from "task shifting" the shifting of medical responsibilities to less specialized health workers in the area of HIV/AIDS care could help provide a model for task shifting in surgery, representatives from Doctors With Borders write in an essay appearing this week in the journal PLoS Medicine. "By defining the limits of task shifting, ensuring adequate training and supervision, providing adequate recognition and remuneration, developing simplified tools and guidelines, ensuring engagement with regulatory bodies, and mobilizing community health workers" non-specialists can help to meet the surgical care needs of the communities in developing countries (Chu et al., PLoS Medicine, 5/19).
More People in Sub-Saharan Africa Report Having Mosquito Nets
The number of people in 23 sub-Saharan African countries reporting that they have mosquito nets in their homes increased between 2006 and 2008, according to a recent Gallup poll. According to Gallup, the "largest increase was in Benin, where the reported presence of mosquito nets increased from 44% to 79%. Chad was a close second, where rates jumped from 45% to 75%" The poll includes malaria treatment information and other data (Pelham/Tortora, Gallup.com, 5/15).
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