Posted by Suzanne Brundage on Dec 20, 2011 at 11:36 am
A period of major change is unfolding in health and HIV services in South Africa, carrying opportunities and risks for delivering effective, integrated health services that improve health outcomes and save lives. This report finds that the United States can find feasible, flexible ways to support this process, even though its health program through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is scaling down.
Posted by Phillip Nieburg on Dec 13, 2011 at 02:54 pm
This brief report focuses on the “nuts and bolts” of the complex biological, epidemiologic, and risk management concepts that are the foundations of global and national “expert group” recommendations for specific target groups for currently available childhood vaccines and others. Using examples of specific vaccine successes and disease challenges, this report highlights the ongoing attention to detail required for the success of local, national, and global immunization efforts.
Posted on Dec 13, 2011 at 02:47 pm
There is a tremendous opportunity for transforming global health and could have significant consequences for child survival while expanding the impact of vaccines across the lifespan, but there is no easy formula for success. How a number of challenges are addressed will be critical to success or failure in the next decade and to the most effective use of available resources. This report outlines 10 important issues facing the global vaccine and immunization agenda.
Posted on Dec 12, 2011 at 01:26 pm
The second CSIS High-Level Forum on U.S. Leadership in Global Health placed a focus on vaccines as instruments of U.S. global leadership in pursuit of security and economic interests at home and abroad, in close enduring partnerships with corporations, foundations, multilateral organizations, and other countries.
Posted by Katherine Bliss on Dec 08, 2011 at 09:41 am
On December 6, 2011 the CSIS Global Health Policy Center hosted a half-day seminar focused on the activities, practices, and strategies that characterize the global health outreach of Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa, or the BRICS.
Posted on Dec 07, 2011 at 01:38 pm
In November 2011, a team from CSIS traveled to Zambia to produce a video on vaccination efforts - their value, their long-term sustainability, and the challenges to their implementation. The video aims to portray the complexities of immunization in Zambia and to make broader points about global immunization efforts. This five minute trailer is a preview of what we saw. Please stay tuned for the full video in early 2012.
Posted by J. Stephen Morrison on Dec 05, 2011 at 03:13 pm
In early November, I traveled to Tokyo and Fukushima City, Japan where I had the chance to meet with a diverse group of experts, both within and outside government, involved in the health reconstruction effort. From my visit, I took away four major impressions.
Posted by Janet Fleischman on Dec 02, 2011 at 11:07 am
The U.S. government has relatively balanced health and development funding in Malawi, which gives the GHI comparatively greater potential for impact than in neighboring countries where U.S. flexibility is limited because funding is effectively tied to PEPFAR. The value and impact of GHI�s new business model may ultimately be evaluated based on its outcomes for women and girls, given the prominence of the women, girls, and gender equality principle in GHI and the importance of cross-sectoral approaches to address their health and non-health needs.
Posted by Margaret Reeves on Nov 12, 2011 at 10:41 am
The United States has an opportunity to make rapid progress on PMTCT in the 14 countries where PEPFAR is already partnering with governments to implement PMTCT Acceleration Plans. To facilitate progress more broadly, the United States should use its leadership role and influence in global health to encourage other donors, partner organizations, and institutions such as the Global Fund to do more to lower the incidence of mother-to-child transmission. Through its own programming and diplomatic partnerships, the United States can do better by addressing more aggressively stigma and gender inequity, integrating programs, and strategically targeting investments to address persistent obstacles.
Posted on Nov 06, 2011 at 08:08 pm
Announced in mid-September at the “Summit to Save Lives,” hosted by the George W. Bush Institute, the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon (PRRR) initiative aims to leverage the public health infrastructure established through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) with new public and private investments to make progress in the early detection and treatment of cervical and breast cancer in the developing world. The initiative’s name highlights its linkage of cancer and HIV/AIDS programs: pink ribbons have traditionally denoted support for breast cancer research and awareness, and red ribbons have signified support for HIV/AIDS research and awareness.
Posted by J. Stephen Morrison on Nov 03, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Since April 2011, I organized a health working group that has examined the complex, evolving health situation in Japan, post-March 11, and weighed what would be the most appropriate and effective U.S. assistance in the medium term to support Japanese-led health recovery efforts. That working group contributed the health chapter contained in a broader CSIS effort – the ‘Partnership for Recovery and a Stronger Future: Standing with Japan after 3-11.’ In Chapter Four of the final report, entitled Health and Recovery, we identify three core issues that are most appropriate and effective for U.S. assistance over the next three years in support of Japanese-led reconstruction initiatives
Posted by Julia Nagel on Nov 02, 2011 at 01:35 pm
While there are numerous reasons to be optimistic about the future of malaria control efforts, there are also several challenges that stand in the way of eradication.
Posted by Julia Nagel on Oct 25, 2011 at 12:12 pm
The October 17-19, 2011 Global Malaria Forum in Seattle hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation made the case that malaria control and eventual eradication efforts have entered a new day. This is in contrast to the 1950's when global efforts to eradicate malaria successfully eliminated the disease from 37 of 143 endemic countries, but weren’t sustained and malaria resurged as a consequence. Today leaders have focused the world’s attention again on malaria, leveraged high-level political will, substantially increased resources, and expanded the adoption, use, and distribution of effective, existing interventions.
Posted by Julia Nagel on Sep 26, 2011 at 12:29 pm
As world leaders gathered in New York last week for the United Nations General Assembly, another group of representatives assembled in New York at the second annual Social Good Summit to discuss the power of new media and technology in solving the world’s greatest challenges. While the Social Good Summit caters to a new army of leaders – the blogger, the technologist, the activist – the mission of the conference is one that everyone should care about: how do we take new emerging technologies and harness them for social good? As Raj Shah, Administrator for USAID, said – governments cannot solve every problem alone. At a time when budgets are tight and debate abounds as to where precious resources should go, citizens need to think creatively, engage philanthropically, and actively participate to achieve broad gains in society.
Posted by J. Stephen Morrison on Sep 26, 2011 at 10:36 am
The September 19-20 High-Level Meeting at the UN General Assembly was a high-profile, somewhat risky and ultimately sobering test of the proposition that non-communicable disorders (NCDs) could become a new global health priority. Though the result last week for NCDs fell far short of a transformative moment, it was hardly a failure. Indeed there were many achievements. Outcomes were mixed, were largely predictable, and were shaped by a profoundly different set of economic and political factors at play in 2001.
Posted by Seth Gannon on Sep 23, 2011 at 12:40 pm
The conclusion this week of an unprecedented UN High-Level Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases offers an opportunity to take stock of U.S. efforts against chronic disease at home and abroad. Given the emphasis the Obama administration has placed on global health as a strategic priority, it is important that U.S. foreign policy reflect the common-sense principles that have led to smart tobacco control domestically.
Posted on Sep 16, 2011 at 01:30 pm
In the lead up to the UN High-Level Meeting that begins on Monday, September 19th 2011, major private sector partners have come together to support a robust agenda in the fight against Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Among these private sector partners, Medtronic – a medical device company – has played an important leadership role. In this statement, introduced with a cover letter from J. Stephen Morrison, Medtronic and other leading business corporations express their commitment to providing assets and finding solutions to stem the tide of non-communicable diseases.
Posted on Sep 13, 2011 at 12:38 pm
One in four people in the Americas has a chronic disease. These diseases—mainly cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes—contribute to two thirds of U.S. healthcare costs. On September 12, CSIS senior fellow Katherine Bliss hosted Dr. Jon Andrus, deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), to discuss how PAHO’s regional action strategy can inform the September 2011 high-level UN meeting on noncommunicable diseases.
Posted by Julia Nagel on Sep 08, 2011 at 02:57 pm
While all of there are several reasons why the HPV vaccine is not gaining widespread popular support, I believe that America’s highly partisan political environment and the upcoming Republican primary are reshaping the HPV vaccine debate. Instead of hearing about Gardasil as a life-saving vaccine, we are hearing arguments that mirror the platforms of our Republican presidential nominees: we don’t want government interfering in our lives.
Posted by J. Stephen Morrison on Sep 07, 2011 at 02:31 pm
The story of US engagement in South Africa to battle HIV/AIDS over the past decade is one of strategic choice, sustained commitment, and significant human impact, matched by recent strong action by the South African government to assert its leadership in reversing the course of its AIDS epidemic. The story unfolding today is of a delicate, complex transition in lead responsibilities – from the United States to South Africa -- that is highly fraught with risks. Several colleagues from CSIS visited South Africa in August to examine this change
