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  • AVAC Calls For Speedy Funding Of Critical Microbicide Follow-Up Studies
    AVAC issues a call to action to donors, policy-makers, researchers and advocates to ensure that critical follow-up studies to the landmark CAPRISA 004 microbicide trial receive the economic and political support needed to move forward as quickly as possible. The call comes as a group of microbicide and public health experts have agreed upon a plan for further studies, which are expected to cost $100 million over three years, of which only $58 million has been committed. "We have an imperative to learn about the effectiveness of 1 percent tenofovir gel, the product tested in CAPRISA 004...


  • Colorado Society Of Anesthesiologists Disagrees With NPATCH's Support To Allow Nurses To Administer Anesthesia Without The Supervision Of A Physician
    "The Colorado Society of Anesthesiologists (CSA) strongly disagrees with NPATCH's support for allowing nurses to administer anesthesia without physician supervision. Regrettably, their action was not unexpected. It is disturbing that NPATCH and others would support policies whereby a patient's life-and-death medical decisions would be made by nurses, not doctors. "Medical practice laws in Colorado clearly state that physicians are responsible for anesthesia care, and the Governor's opt-out plan is inconsistent with state law...


  • Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission To Host Third Annual Maryland Stem Cell Research Symposium
    The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission (Commission) will host the Third Annual Maryland Stem Cell Research Symposium in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010. The symposium, "Facilitating State and National Collaboration to Advance Groundbreaking Life Science Research," will be held at the NIST main campus in Gaithersburg, Md., and will feature research supported by the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) and federal agencies in the state of Maryland...


  • Physician Executive Leadership Center Conducts 2010 Physician Executive Compensation Survey
    Physician Executive Leadership Center (PELC), the nation's only executive search firm focused solely on the recruitment and placement of physicians in executive leadership positions, is conducting their annual survey of physicians serving in leadership positions in health care organizations. Since 1985, PELC has been tracking compensation trends for physician executives and documenting career and performance issues from year to year. Participants who complete the survey will be provided a complimentary, individualized report of findings as soon as the information becomes available...


  • Starting The School Year Right
    As many children head back to school this fall, are they truly prepared for what lies ahead? With a few simple medical exams; Maine's school-age children will be armed with the tools they need to have a healthier school year. The exams we are referring to are given in a doctor's and/or dentist's office, and should take place before or shortly after the start of the new school year, and include a routine doctor's exam to confirm that all immunizations are up-to-date, a dental exam and a vision exam...


  • Urgent Call For Blood Donors As Hurricane Approaches
    New York Blood Center (NYBC), serving more than 20 million people in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley and New Jersey, calls upon our communities to please donate blood and platelets, as the East Coast braces for Hurricane Earl. While donations from Rh-negative types are especially crucial, healthy people of all blood types and ethnicities are encouraged to donate. Hurricane Earl comes at an especially challenging time for NYBC, since fewer people are able to donate due to school and work vacations, plus the Labor Day holiday. The need for blood is constant...


  • Legacy Education Acquires High Desert Medical College, Inc. As Part Of Its Growing Family Of Career Training Schools
    Career educational institution Legacy Education welcomed the newest member of its family of career training schools, High Desert Medical College, Inc. The medical training school prepares aspiring medical professionals for careers that include ultrasound technician, massage therapist, medical assistant and full and part time vocational nurse. "From our first conversation, we were impressed with High Desert Medical College's extraordinary commitment to its students," said Ken Guerrero, President of Legacy Education...


  • Light The White House Blue For Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
    Members of the Prostate Cancer Roundtable, consisting of America's Leading Prostate Cancer Organizations, are asking President Obama to place a blue ribbon on the White House and light the White House blue in the evenings in recognition of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September. This visible show of support for prostate cancer awareness by the White House will be a major tribute to the 2.5 million men, and their family members, who are battling prostate cancer as survivors today...


  • Peeling Back DNA Packaging To Gain Insight Into Cells
    Scientists have built a clearer picture of how lengthy strands of DNA are concertinaed when our cells grow and divide, in a discovery could help explain how cell renewal can go wrong. Scientists have identified thousands of proteins that play a key role in compacting DNA - a crucial process by which DNA is shortened up to 10,000 times to fit inside cells as they split into two. Researchers hope the findings could shed light on what happens when this packaging process fails and cells divide abnormally - which can lead to cancer or cause developing embryos to miscarry...


  • Microrobots Could Be Used For Search And Rescue, Agriculture, Environmental Monitoring
    Engineers at Harvard University have created a millionth-scale automobile differential to govern the flight of minuscule aerial robots that could someday be used to probe environmental hazards, forest fires, and other places too perilous for people. Their new approach is the first to passively balance the aerodynamic forces encountered by these miniature flying devices, letting their wings flap asymmetrically in response to gusts of wind, wing damage, and other real-world impediments...


  • Human Unconscious Is Transferred To Virtual Characters
    Virtual characters can behave according to actions carried out unconsciously by humans. Researchers at the University of Barcelona have created a system which measures human physiological parameters, such as respiration or heart rate, and introduces them into computer designed characters in real time...


  • Canine Hip Dysplasia May Be Underreported, According To Penn Vet Comparative Study
    A study comparing a University of Pennsylvania method for evaluating a dog's susceptibility to hip dysplasia to the traditional American method has shown that 80 percent of dogs judged to be normal by the traditional method are actually at risk for developing osteoarthritis and hip dysplasia, according to the Penn method. The results indicate that traditional scoring of radiographs that certify dogs for breeding underestimate their osteoarthritis susceptibility. The results are of clinical importance to several populations, most notably veterinarians, breeders and pet owners...


  • Lupus Research Institute-Funded Study Points To Increased Risk For Lupus In Men
    Lupus Research Institute-funded researcher Betty Tsao, PhD, at the University of California Los Angeles has discovered that humans - males in particular - with a variant form of the immune receptor gene "Toll Like Receptor 7 (TLR7)" are at increased risk of developing the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus). This breakthrough finding offers renewed hope for developing more targeted treatments...


  • PhD Thesis Researches Relationship Of Youth Today With The New Technologies
    Sociologist Ms Lucía Merino presented her PhD thesis entitled, Digital natives: a study of the technological socialisation of young people, at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Considering that young people nowadays are natives of the so-called digital culture, Ms Merino explored their relationship with the new technologies and how they learn and socialise through them. With this research, the author wished to set out guidelines as a basis to continue studying the so-called digital natives in the future...


  • Is Europe Prepared For 'Flu?
    The results of a three-year research project into pandemic flu preparedness in Europe will be launched at a meeting in Brussels in September. The results of the PHLawFlu (Public Health Law Flu) conference, Pandemic Influenza Preparedness in Europe: Are National Public Health Laws Fit for Purpose? will be presented by Professor Richard Coker, Professor of Public Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on 23 September at the European Parliament in Brussels...


  • Forecasting: Patient Flow Modeling Comes Of Age - Pre-Summit Workshop October 5th Boston
    Judith Kulich, Associate Principal, and Emily Jin, Manager, at ZS Associates talk to eyeforpharma about how patient flow modeling can inform forecasting. Patient flow, or system dynamics forecasting is a common approach for modeling situations in which patient potential is affected by movement between disease states. The technique is used frequently in oncology, diabetes, RA, and other markets with lines of therapy dynamics...


  • The Art Of Dividing
    A basic requirement for growth and life of a multicellular organism is the ability of its cells to divide. Chromosomes in the cells duplicate and are then distributed among the daughter cells. This distribution is organized by a protein complex made up of several hundred different proteins, called the centrosome. In cancer cells, the centrosome often assumes an unnatural shape or is present in uncontrolled numbers. The reasons for this were previously largely unknown...


  • U.S. Neurologists Agree On Protocols For Treatment Of Infantile Spasms
    Researchers from across the U.S., as part of the Infantile Spasms Working Group (ISWG), established guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of infantile spasms (IS). The goal of the ISWG is to improve patient outcomes by creating protocols that educate pediatricians on early diagnosis and treatment options. Full details of this study appear online in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy. Infantile spasms-known also as West syndrome and named after Dr...


  • Chronic Lyme Disease, How Often Is It Diagnosed And Treated?
    Cincinnati, OH, September 2, 2010 The existence of chronic Lyme disease is an issue of sharp debate within the medical community. Some health care workers who call themselves "Lyme literate" insist that chronic Lyme disease is frequently diagnosed and treated by primary care physicians. Others, however, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, state that there is no convincing biological evidence that chronic Lyme disease exists...


  • All Genes In One Go
    The majority of rare diseases are hereditary. But despite significant progress in genome research, in most cases their exact cause remains unclear. The discovery of the underlying genetic defect is, however, a prerequisite for their definitive diagnosis and the development of innovative approaches to their treatment. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics and the Institute of Medical Genetics at the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin have succeeded in using a new process with which all of the genes in the human genome can be analysed simultaneously...


  • Rochester Leads International Effort To Improve Muscular Dystrophy Treatment
    A large international study aimed at improving the care of muscular dystrophy patients worldwide is being launched by physicians, physical therapists, and researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Neurologist Robert "Berch" Griggs, M.D., is heading the study of treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the most common form of the disease that affects children. The condition, which affects boys almost exclusively, progresses rapidly. Boys' symptoms start when they are toddlers; untreated, they end up in a wheelchair before they become teenagers...


  • Medical Affairs Report Outlines Resource Needs For Group Success
    The Medical Affairs function arguably plays the most critical role in a biopharmaceutical organization, with heavy responsibilities across areas such as clinical development, scientific publications, KOL development, and medical education. These areas must operate effectively for new products to succeed. Appropriate spending across these activities is one of the challenges facing the Medical Affairs function as it attempts to balance its different roles across the organization...


  • CyberKnife Treatment For Prostate Cancer
    CyberKnife radiosurgery treatment for prostate cancer is rapid, effective and has no side effects, with the added benefit of being non-invasive. Since 2003, the CyberKnife Center of Miami and the CyberKnife Center of Palm Beach have been providing this high tech cancer treatment longer than any facility in South Florida. Prostate Cancer is diagnosed in more than a quarter of a million men each year in the U.S. Treatment options in existence which are non-invasive with little to no side effects are practically none...


  • Trauma Center Status Update For Pennsylvania
    Effective September 4, 2010 there will be 30 accredited trauma centers in Pennsylvania: Adult Level I Trauma Centers 1. Allentown - Lehigh Valley Hospital 2. Bethlehem - St. Luke's Hospital 3. Danville - Geisinger Medical Center 4. Hershey - The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center 5. Johnstown - Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center 6. Philadelphia - Albert Einstein Medical Center 7. Philadelphia - Hahnemann University Hospital 8. Philadelphia - Temple University Hospital 9. Philadelphia - Thomas Jefferson University Hospital 10...


  • ForteBio Announces Launch Of Protein G Biosensor For Use On Company's Octet® Instruments
    ForteBio®, Inc., a leading supplier of label-free technology that accelerates the development of biotherapeutic and pharmaceutical products, announced the launch of its Dip and Read™ Protein G biosensor for rapid detection and quantification of numerous types of mammalian immunoglobulin (IgG), an antibody molecule, from solution. Because it runs on the company's label-free Octet instrumentation platform, the new biosensor enables such measurements with unprecedented speed, ease of use and cost-efficiency...


  • What's Causing Life-Threatening Blood Clots Following Brain Surgery?
    One of the most severe complications of brain surgery is a life-threatening blood clot in the lungs called a pulmonary embolism. But a Loyola University Health System study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery suggests that screening methods hospitals typically use to access the risk of pulmonary embolisms may fall short. Hospitals typically screen for blood clots in legs, which can break free, travel to the lungs and cause pulmonary embolisms...


  • HeartWare Receives Second Patient Allotment Under Continued Access Protocol For Pivotal U.S. Bridge-To-Transplant Clinical Trial
    HeartWare International, Inc. (Nasdaq: HTWR; ASX: HIN), a leading innovator of less invasive, miniaturized circulatory support technologies that are revolutionizing the treatment of advanced heart failure, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an IDE (Investigational Device Exemption) Supplement that allows HeartWare to enroll a second allotment of 54 patients in its "ADVANCE" bridge-to-transplant clinical trial under a Continued Access Protocol (CAP)...


  • 'Basal-Like' Breast Cancer Does Not Originate From Basal Stem Cells
    New research uncovers a case of mistaken identity that may have a significant impact on future breast cancer prevention and treatment strategies. The study, published by Cell Press in the September 3rd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, suggests that despite their "stem cell-like" characteristics, most aggressive breast tumors are not derived from normal mammary gland stem cells. The glandular tissue of the breast contains two main cell types, outer "basal" cells and inner "luminal" cells...


  • Functional Motor Neuron Subtypes Generated From Embryonic Stem Cells
    Scientists have devised a method for coaxing mouse embryonic stem cells into forming a highly specific motor neuron subtype. The research, published by Cell Press in the September 3rd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, provides new insight into motor neuron differentiation and may prove useful for devising and testing future therapies for motor neuron diseases. Motor neurons in the spinal cord communicate with other neurons in the central nervous system and send long projections out to muscles, transmitting signals that are essential for proper control of movement and posture...


  • Value Of Oxygen Therapy In End-Of-Life Care Challenged By Study
    Millions of patients with advanced disease in palliative care settings receive oxygen therapy to help them breathe more easily. But a new study from Duke University Medical Center says roughly half of them don't benefit from the intervention, and among those who do benefit, it doesn't make a bit of difference whether they get pure oxygen or just plain old room air - both offer equal benefit. "Offering oxygen when patients begin experiencing shortness of breath has become standard care in many places, but the practice is not based on rigorous scientific investigation," says Dr...


  • Protecting The Lungs Against 'Collateral Damage' From The Immune System
    A study published in the journal Science shows how our bodies try to minimise potential 'collateral damage' caused by our immune system when fighting infection. The research may also provide new clues to why cigarette smoke is a significant risk factor for developing diseases of the lung such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema. When bacteria or viruses enter the body, our immune system fights back to neutralise any danger. One of the key 'soldiers' working for the immune system is a particular type of cell known as a neutrophil, which releases toxic enzymes to kill the invading organism...


  • New Findings May Lead To The Development Of More Effective Therapies For Inflammation, Wounds And Malignant Tumors
    In two closely related studies, two teams of Scripps Research Institute scientists have discovered the underlying mechanisms that activate a type of immune cell in the skin and other organs. The findings may lead to the development of new therapies to treat inflammation, wounds, asthma, and malignant tumors. The results of the two companion studies were published in the September 3, 2010 issue of the prestigious journal Science...


  • New Discovery Could Pave The Way For Identification Of Rogue CFC Release
    A new discovery by scientists at the Universities of East Anglia and Frankfurt could make it possible in future to identify the source of banned CFCs that are probably still being released into the atmosphere. Using mass spectrometers, the researchers analysed air samples collected in the stratosphere by balloons belonging to the French space agency, the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). They discovered the largest chlorine isotope enrichment ever found in nature. CFCs were banned in most countries because of their depletion of the ozone layer...


  • A Scientific Breakthrough On How HIV Takes Control Of Cell Division
    Dr. Eric A. Cohen, Director of the Human Retrovirology research unit at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal (IRCM), and his team published yesterday, in the online open-access journal PLos Pathogens, the results of their most recent research on the role of the Vpr protein in HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection and AIDS (acquired autoimmune deficiency syndrome). "We previously identified that HIV, when infecting target cells, blocks cell division and induces cell death," says Dr. Cohen. "We then discovered that the Vpr protein was involved in this process...


  • Scientists Uncover Counterpart Of Cerebral Cortex In Marine Worms
    Our cerebral cortex, or pallium, is a big part of what makes us human: art, literature and science would not exist had this most fascinating part of our brain not emerged in some less intelligent ancestor in prehistoric times. But when did this occur and what were these ancestors? Unexpectedly, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have now discovered a true counterpart of the cerebral cortex in an invertebrate, a marine worm...


  • Serendipity Contributes To MRSA Susceptibility Findings
    Duke University Medical Center researchers have found two genes in mice which might help identify why some people are more susceptible than others to potentially deadly staph infections. The researchers uncovered important genetic clues that ultimately could help inform patient management and drug development. "If you know up front that a patient is at risk for developing an Staphylococcus aureus infection, then you will be better able to manage them clinically, give them preventive measures, and treat them more aggressively if they become ill," said Vance Fowler, M.D...


  • Cancer-Causing Gene Found To Be Crucial In Stem Cell Development
    Stem cells might be thought of as trunks in the tree of life. All multi-cellular organisms have them, and they can turn into a dazzling variety other cells - kidney, brain, heart or skin, for example. One class, pluripotent stem cells, has the capacity to turn into virtually any cell type in the body, making them a focal point in the development of cell therapies, the conquering of age-old diseases or even regrowing defective body parts...


  • Compound Cleared Malaria Parasites Quickly In Mice
    A chemical that rid mice of malaria-causing parasites after a single oral dose may eventually become a new malaria drug if further tests in animals and people uphold the promise of early findings. The compound, NITD609, was developed by an international team of researchers including Elizabeth A. Winzeler, Ph.D., a grantee of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health...


  • New Prediction Tool For Oil Spill Spread, Other Contaminants
    Prompted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a UC Santa Barbara scientist has come up with a new way of predicting how contaminants like oil will spread. He was able to forecast several days in advance that oil from that spill would wash ashore in particular parts of the Gulf of Mexico. "We predicted where the oil was going to go," says Igor Mezic, a professor of mechanical engineering at UC Santa Barbara who studies fluid dynamics. "We were able to do 3-day predictions pretty accurately." In a paper published online Sept...


  • Chemical In Widely Consumed Foods Linked To Skin Cancer
    The September cover story of the nation's leading cancer journal, Cancer Research, features a new study from The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, that links capsaicin, a component of chili peppers, to skin cancer. While the molecular mechanisms of the cancer-promoting effects of capsaicin are not clear and remain controversial, The Hormel Institute has shown a definite connection to formation of skin cancer through various laboratory studies...


  • Wide Variation In EMS Agency Safety Cultures: Pitt Study
    A survey of emergency medical services (EMS) agencies from across the country found wide variation in perceptions of workplace safety culture - providing a tool that might point to potential patient safety threats, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The study, to be published in the October/December issue of Prehospital Emergency Care and now available online, analyzed survey results from 61 EMS agencies in the U.S. and Canada...


  • Position Statements About The Post-Reproductive Health Of Women Published By EMAS
    Elsevier has announced the publication of four important position statements from the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) in the journal Maturitas on common management problems in the post-reproductive health of women. The statements cover the management of the menopause in the context of obesity, epilepsy, endometriosis and premature ovarian failure. Each statement has summary recommendations as a quick aid for the busy clinician...


  • Antibiotic Secrets Tapped By Ancient Brewers
    A chemical analysis of the bones of ancient Nubians shows that they were regularly consuming tetracycline, most likely in their beer. The finding is the strongest evidence yet that the art of making antibiotics, which officially dates to the discovery of penicillin in 1928, was common practice nearly 2,000 years ago. The research, led by Emory anthropologist George Armelagos and medicinal chemist Mark Nelson of Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. "We tend to associate drugs that cure diseases with modern medicine," Armelagos says...


  • Cortisol Levels In Hair Linked To Heart Attack Risk
    Cortisol levels in hair may be the first biomarker to measure chronic (long-term) stress, which is linked to a higher risk of having a heart attack (acute myocardial infarction), according to a new study published in the medical journal Stress. Employment, marital, bereavement, and financial problems are examples of stressors that have been associated with a higher heart attack risk, say the authors. But no previous study has come up with a biological market to measure chronic stress...


  • Workers Paying 14% More For Family Health Coverage This Year, USA
    The US worker is paying an average of $482 extra this year for family health coverage, 14% more than last year, even though total premiums - including what employers contribute - only rose 3% to an average of $13,770 in 2010, according to a survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust. The 2010 Employer Health Benefits Survey revealed that workers are paying almost $4,000 this year for family health coverage. The total amount of employers' contributions for family coverage remains unchanged, the report reveals...


  • 4.7 Million Uninsured But Eligible Children Not In Medicaid Or CHIP
    There are still about 4.7 million uninsured American children who are eligible for CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) or Medicaid and are not enrolled, says a new report published in the journal Health Affairs. The report estimated about 7.3 million American children were uninsured on an average day in 2008 - of those, 65% of them (4.7 million) were eligible for Medical or CHIP but not enrolled. According to the report, ten states had participation rates either close to or above 90%. 39% of eligible uninsured children live in California, Florida or Texas, while 61% (2...


  • Half Of Severe Asthma Cases In Children Are Not Untreatable; Just Follow The Basics
    Many youths appear resistant to treatment from the onset of a severe asthmatic condition. Why? Simply put, many have been wrongly diagnosed or caretakers have not followed asthma treatment guidelines properly. There is no one cure-all for this condition that is a chronic, or long-term lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways...


  • Prescription Drug Use Rises 10%, Spending More Than Doubles In One Decade
    The number of people in the USA who took one prescription medication in a one month period rose 10% during the decade up to the end of 2008. Americans spent US234.1 billion on prescription medications in 2008, more than double the figure in 1999, according to a report published by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). A prescription drug or medication is one that requires a doctor's prescription, as opposed to an OTC (over-the-counter) drug, which can be purchased straight from the pharmacy without having to see the doctor first...


  • Important Breakthrough In Origins Of Aggressive Breast Cancer
    Researchers have made a major breakthrough in finding out how aggressive cancers originate, raising hope of novel targeted therapies for future breast cancer patients, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Stem Cell. The scientists say this is the first study to show that the most aggressive cancers probably arise from intermediary, or progenitor, cells, which may significantly influence future research into fighting breast cancer...


  • Every Rose Has Its Thorn; Legionnaire's Disease In The Garden
    Quite an unusual case of Legionnaire's disease arose in 2010 and is now being thoroughly investigated. Why so strange? A healthy 67 year old man contracted Legionnaire's through a cut on his hand while handling compost in his garden. This week's edition of The Lancet reports the full details based on a Case Report by Dr. Simon M Patten, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley and his colleagues. In March 2010, this fit senior in the United Kingdom arrived at the Royal Alexandra Hospital possessing eight days delirium, fever with shakes, lethargy, and shortness of breath...


  • Minister Harney Launches The Findings Of The All-Ireland Traveller Health Study
    Mary Harney, Minister for Health & Children, yesterday (Thursday 2nd September, 2010) welcomed the publication of the findings of the All-Ireland Traveller Health Study, which she launched in July 2007...


  • ADA 2010 Annual Session Features Latest Products, Technologies In Dentistry
    There's still time to register and gain firsthand knowledge of the latest products, technologies and techniques in dentistry at the American Dental Association's (ADA) 151st Annual Session and World Marketplace Exhibition. It takes place Oct. 9 - Oct. 12 at the Orlando (Fla.) Orange County Convention Center. The ADA Annual Session offers attendees the choice of more than 245 relevant and topical continuing education courses, with more than 50% of lecture courses offered free with registration. Advance registration discounts, benefits only available through Sept...


  • Need For Cancer Information And Support Expected To Double, UK
    Macmillan Cancer Support and Boots UK today officially launched a groundbreaking new three-year partnership, which aims to help provide the two million people living with cancer, and their family and friends, increased access to the information and support they need - when they need it, where they need it...


  • Commitments To Global HIV/AIDS Programs Falter For 'First Time In 15 Years,' UNAIDS Chief Says
    UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe "said Thursday that global contributions to fighting [HIV/AIDS] are dropping off for the first time in 15 years amid tough economic times," Agence France-Presse reports. "The world economic recession is pushing countries ... to enforce austerity," Sidibe said during a press conference in Tokyo during which he called upon Japan to maintain its support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. "Governments and donors are second-guessing in terms of their budget and priorities," he added...


  • Regional Director Of WHO Africa Warns Of Impact Global Financial Situation Will Have On Health Systems, MDGs
    Regional Director of WHO for Africa Luis Sambo discussed during the 60th session of the Africa Committee of the WHO how the global economic situation could impact funding for health programs in Africa and the ability for countries to reach U.N. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports. In a report to the meeting taking place in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, "Sambo indicated that between 2008 and 2009, Africa's real average GDP growth rate declined from about 5% in 2008 to 2...


  • U.N.-NGO Meeting Concludes With Participants Calling On World Leaders To Do More For MDGs
    A group of more than 350 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concluded a U.N. forum in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday with a call for world leaders to step up their commitments to achieving the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Australian Associated Press/Sydney Morning Herald reports (Rose, 9/1). "In a wide-ranging declaration adopted at the end of the three-day meeting ... participants stressed that achieving the MDGs, which world leaders have pledged to do by 2015, 'is a moral imperative,'" U.N. News Centre writes...


  • IPS Examines Agricultural Funding In Africa
    Inter Press Service examines how some African countries are benefiting from the global agriculture fund the G8 pledged $22 billion to in July 2009. According to the article, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), which seeks to increase African spending on agriculture to foster more growth, "has received a major boost as several countries have begun drawing" on the G8 money. "The World Bank is administering the funds...


  • Opinions: Pakistan's Rebuilding; Kenya's Constitution; Development Financing; Africa's Black Market For Malaria Drugs
    U.S., Other Countries Must Develop Strategy To Ensure Honest, Transparent Pakistani Rebuilding A Washington Post editorial encouraging the U.S. to generously support Pakistan as it recovers from major flooding, states: the "humanitarian interest is heightened by Pakistan's centrality to America's national security interests. The Obama administration must seize this chance to deepen and broaden what is already a large commitment, lest Pakistan become even more of a breeding ground for terrorism...


  • Also In Global Health News: Congo Security Warnings; Niger Food Crisis; Drug Cost In Developing Countries; Measles Vaccination In China
    Congolese Community Leaders Warned U.N. About Security; 240 Rape Victims Now Identified "Congolese community leaders say they begged local U.N. officials and army commanders to protect villagers days before rebels gang-raped scores of people, from a month-old baby boy to a 110-year-old great-great-grandmother," the Associated Press reports. The Walikale Civil Association "first sounded the alarm on July 25," in a meeting with the Congolese army and local authorities and first warned the U.N. on July 29, according to the association's Charles Masudi Kisa...


  • International Experts Gather To Address Pressing Threats To Food Security
    From catastrophic floods in Pakistan that have left millions homeless and hungry to the aftermath of Haiti's devastating earthquake, relief efforts are under way in many parts of the world where disasters have brought food crises along with destruction. In Africa's Sahel region, severe drought has been followed by floods that are now threatening the food security of millions of people among the world's poorest. More than half of Niger's population - some 7 million people - as well as millions more in neighbouring Chad, Mali and Mauritania face hunger and malnutrition...


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