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U.S. Leadership in Global Health

October 13th, 2011

By: Linda Diep

On Tuesday, I attended a panel discussion hosted by the TCU Schieffer School of Journalism and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Entitled “U.S. Leadership in Global Health,” the event was moderated by Bob Schieffer, Chief Washington Correspondent for CBS news, and anchor for “Face of the Nation.” Panelists included the following:

The discussion kicked off with talk about U.S. foreign assistance. In 2003, the U.S. spent $1.7 billion on global health, increasing to $8.8 billion in 2010. These figures may be staggering, however, this funding only accounts for 1% of our overall spending. Thomas Frieden of the CDC emphasizes that this aid is important due to globalization – we are interconnected with other nations and it is in our best interest to address the diseases of the developing world even if they don’t currently affect us. Representative Kay Granger goes on to say that America is a caring country, and we are willing to provide help where it is needed. » Read more: U.S. Leadership in Global Health

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Posted in Global Health, Non-communicable diseases, U.S Government

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Deep Discounts for Vaccines in Low-Income Nations

June 7th, 2011

Drug manufacturers are stepping up to the plate in the race to provide low-cost vaccines to low-income nations in a global effort to sustain supply and allow greater accessibility to life-saving drugs at low-threshold prices.  Diarrhoea, caused by rotavirus, is the second leading cause of high children under 5 mortality rates, killing more than half a million children each year.  Vaccines like Rotatrix that work to immunize children from rotavirus are now being offered to GAVI by GSK at up to 67% off the current market price, reducing the cost of an immunizing dose to 5 bucks per child. 

In 2009, the WHO recommended that all countries should include rotavirus vaccines in national vaccination programs, but many poorer countries struggle to afford them.

GAVI, which funds bulk-buy vaccination programs for nations that can’t afford shots at Western prices, has committed to help fund rotavirus vaccine introduction in at least 40 of the world’s poorest countries by 2015.

However, funding is tight and there is a $3.7 billion gap that impedes on the longevity of this project through 2015. Thankfully,

[t]he price cuts, offered by both generic and branded drugmakers including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Johnson & Johnson’s Crucell and Sanofi-Aventis’ Sanofi Pasteur, should help the alliance narrow a $3.7 billion funding gap for its commitments up until 2015.

In addition to deep discounts on rotavirus vaccines, pentavalent vaccines which combine five different vaccines (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae type b)  into one shot, are also on the list of drugs to be discounted in the near-term.

A great thing about this long term endeavor is that it encourages drug makers world wide to pump out vaccines, engendering integrated global pharmaceutical efforts to sustain supply to developing nations.  However, it is important that developing nations begin and continue to take the initiative in developing a stronger health system such that they can also develop life-saving vaccines and loosen their dependence on external resources.

Read the original article here.

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Posted in brain food, Global Development, NTDs, pharmaceuticals, Public Health, U.S Government, Vaccine Diplomacy

NTD Reading Breakfast.

May 16th, 2011

Greetings from End the Neglect!


Learn something new; Catch up with happenings around the world; Supplement your coffee with some of our reading suggestions below!

  1. Check out the U.S Government’s Response to Neglected Tropical Diseases.
  1. Learn more about Aboriginal health disparities in Australia.

The Government’s new approach in Indigenous policy has been presented as being premised on the principles of collaboration, with mainstream government departments working in a coordinated manner with Indigenous communities [...] The draft SRA was presented by the Government as ‘an example of how we want to work in all the communities’ The Federal Opposition described it as ‘patronizing and coercive’ [...]

  1. Learn about why Egypt has one of the most successful health programs in the world.

Egypt currently has one of the most successful and renowned health and family planning programs in the world, according to Holly Fluty Dempsey, director of the Office of Health and Population at USAID Egypt.

  1. Learn about Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the U.S and Ghana’s virtual network that engages top students in rigorous infectious disease research.

By means of the Virtual Institute Training in Research on Infectious Diseases, students and professors at the four institutions may undertake exchange and pass information on research.

ENJOY!

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Posted in brain food, NTDs, reading list, Trachoma, Tropical Medicine, U.S Government

Global Network Ambassador Continues to Make the Case for Global Health

February 17th, 2011

Tommy G. Thompson, former Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and former Governor of Wisconsin (1987-2001) spoke out about global health as a key lever in foreign policy on Wednesday in an editorial published by the Huffington Post. Secretary Thompson acknowledges the difficult foreign policy issues facing the 112th Congress and offers up a solution: use health diplomacy to improve international health conditions in order to bolster the U.S. economy and strengthen foreign policy.

He states that health diplomacy involves “winning the hearts and minds of those abroad by strategically exporting medical care and humanitarian aid, building in-country capacity, and providing health education, training and personnel.” By using this deliberately the U.S. can engage in measures to reduce terrorism, increase the number of productive workers, and ultimately “secure our nation’s future and build a strong, stable global community.”

Drawing on his experience, he says: “Health diplomacy must be institutionalized as a critical component of U.S. diplomatic, defense and foreign policy. Global health is not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue. It’s not even exclusively an American issue. It is the moral responsibility and strategic concern of every freedom-loving citizen of the world.”

Governor Thompson has been a Global Network Ambassador since 2008 and a vital voice for NTDs. In August 2008 he traveled throughout Rwanda and joined the Rwandan Ministry of Health in launching their first-ever national deworming campaign. Yesterday’s post follows a 2009 editorial co-authored with Dr. Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute in which they examine NTD control as a means of U.S. foreign policy.

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Posted in Africa, Global Health, NTDs, policy, Politics, U.S Government

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