Posted by Julia Nagel on Aug 16, 2011 at 02:03 pm
While most health-related news coverage on Somalia is linked to famine, cholera, and measles, mass vaccination campaigns are occurring throughout the country to ward against other infectious diseases. One disease officials are concerned about is polio. Though eradicated from Somalia in 2008, officials worry that mass migration could cause a reemergence of the virus.
Posted by CSIS Staff on Aug 03, 2011 at 09:19 am
In August 2011, the CSIS Global Health Policy Center will be traveling to South Africa to look at the major efforts underway to renew United States' bilateral relationship with South Africa. In lead up to the trip, we are publishing four articles summarizing the significant health challenges facing the country: HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Maternal and Child Health, and Noncommunicable Diseases. This piece on HIV/AIDS briefly depicts what the HIV/AIDS situation looks like in South Africa and what the government is doing to combat the challenge.
Posted by Margaret Reeves on Jul 01, 2011 at 09:54 am
The “GAVI Going Forward” event, hosted jointly on June 27 by CSIS and the Center for Global Development (CGD), looked at how GAVI can mitigate its weaknesses and leverage its strengths to save and improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children.
Lisa Carty of CSIS and Amanda Glassman of CGD moderated a panel discussion featuring Amie Batson, USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Global Health; Joelle Tanguy, Managing Director of External Relations for GAVI; Nicole Bates, Senior Program Officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Claire Moran, Development Counselor at the British Embassy.
Posted by Lisa Carty on Jun 24, 2011 at 02:07 pm
First lady Michelle Obama’s trip to Africa this week with her daughters and her mother has generated major U.S. media attention. News outlets now feature the pictures of their meeting with South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, or dancing with local school children.
But the first lady’s trip to southern Africa is about more than colorful photos. It is focusing national attention on the serious U.S. strategic interests on the continent.
Posted by Julia Nagel on Jun 06, 2011 at 10:53 am
For the past five years, the ONE Campaign has been diligently monitoring the commitments to sub-Saharan Africa made by the G7 countries at the 2005 G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. The 2011 Data Report shows that while 2010 was the highest year on record for development assistance to sub-Saharan Africa, the G7 only delivered 61% of what it promised in 2005.
Posted by Xiaoqing Lu Boynton on Jun 02, 2011 at 03:48 pm
On May 24, CSIS co-hosted with the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS) a conference on China’s emerging global health and foreign aid engagement. Participants agreed that global health was one of the most promising areas for U.S.-China-Africa trilateral collaboration. Nevertheless, significant challenges exist.
Posted by Judyth Twigg on Jun 02, 2011 at 02:37 pm
Russia’s top political leaders are searching for vehicles to demonstrate expanding global responsibility and influence. Health can be an important venue and issue area for Russia’s global leadership aspirations, but only if approached carefully and responsibly, with thoughtful strategy and institutional development preceding substantial allocation of resources and action.
Posted by Margaret Reeves on May 17, 2011 at 12:11 pm
On the question of whether WHO has value to U.S. global health policy and U.S. national interests, the answer, in the opinion of the authors of this paper, is decidedly yes—provided that WHO narrows its focus strategically to those activities for which it is best suited and for which it has the greatest prospects of delivering substantial value.
Posted on May 02, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Following the Haiti earthquake of January 12, 2009, certain approaches to emergency worked while others did not. The magnitude of the catastrophe brought out the need to fix lingering problems with the existing humanitarian assistance architecture. In emergency response, many of the decisions that need to be made will be difficult and not politically popular, but the focus needs to be unwaveringly and unflinchingly on providing those in need with the best possible care,
Posted on May 02, 2011 at 09:26 am
In the past decade, health and health systems in conflict-affected states have been subject to intensified study and intervention. Despite certain knowledge gaps, our understanding of the indirect effects of war and instability on population health – ranging from infectious disease to severe psychological distress – has grown.
Posted on Apr 28, 2011 at 09:00 am
The 2010 floods were by far the worst natural disaster in Pakistan’s history. Flooding of almost biblical proportions ultimately affected more than 20 million people and covered one-fifth of the country’s territory. However due to coordinated emergency reponse, the international community avoided a large-scale disease outbreak in Pakistan in 2010.
Posted on Apr 20, 2011 at 02:44 pm
While twin forces of urbanization and climate change have compounded the effects of disasters over recent decades, advances in technology have had a similarly drastic effect on the ability of disaster responders to quickly communicate with affected people. Mobile phones empower people to receive essential information and engage in dialogue with authorities about their needs.
Posted on Apr 20, 2011 at 09:53 am
In emergencies, communication can mean the difference between life and death. Responses to large-scale humanitarian crises like political conflicts and natural disasters are no exception. As number of natural disasters and civil conflicts rise worldwide, so too does access to communications technologies. To build resilience in the face of these more frequent and complex humanitarian emergencies, the ongoing revolution in human connectivity may provide our greatest opportunity.
Posted on Apr 12, 2011 at 03:34 pm
In the past year, the events in Japan, Haiti, and elsewhere have put increased attention on emergency response. This month's blog is dedicated to responding to health needs during crisis situations: the necessary communications, the challenges that arise, and a host of other factors that go into this complex work.
Posted by Margaret Reeves on Mar 14, 2011 at 10:46 am
Reform abounds these days in terms of U.S. Development efforts. The launch of the Global Health Initiative, in concert with USAID’s revamped Evaluation Policy and PEPFAR’s “Smart Investments” campaign, promise to maximize the sustainable health impact achieved for every dollar invested. The key catch phrases common in all of these initiatives are efficiency, effectiveness and innovation.
Posted by CSIS Staff on Mar 09, 2011 at 04:12 pm
The CSIS Global Health Policy Center convened key government officials and leading experts at a March 7 forum on U.S. leadership in global health.
Posted by Margaret Reeves on Feb 17, 2011 at 03:26 pm
It’s an exciting, but trying time for development in Washington. A number of new initiatives have been launched by the White House including the Global Health Initiative and Feed the Future, but their fate is uncertain and much rests on their ability to demonstrate real impacts. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has made strong gains over the past seven years. As the program moves from an emergency response to a sustainable development effort, it has committed to changes to increase efficiencies, innovations and impact. On Thursday, February 10 PEPFAR hosted a day-long meeting to highlight some of the key approaches that will be implemented to ensure that PEPFAR’s new “Smart Investments” save as many lives as possible.
Posted by Margaret Reeves on Feb 03, 2011 at 04:06 pm
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are on the rise globally and are an increasing factor in the burden of disease in low and middle income countries. Dr. Harvey Fineberg, President of the Institute of Medicine, spoke to a sizable crowd at CSIS this week as the first speaker in a series of events on NCDs hosted by the CSIS Global Health Policy Center leading up to the September United Nations High Level NCD Meeting.
Posted by CSIS Staff on Jan 04, 2011 at 02:58 pm
Secretary Clinton's presentation of the QDDR on December 15 left several strong impressions, among them, the need to change the competencies, culture, and outlook of both the State Department and USAID.
Posted by Katherine Bliss on Nov 24, 2010 at 06:45 pm
Improving access to water and sanitation may seem like an indirect way to fight gender based violence, but studies show it's incredibly effective.
