#WHO

  This week, the WHO upheld its current guidelines in relation to use of hormonal contraception and women living with HIV.  President Obama released his administration’s budget request for 2013, with some surprising news for US global heath policy.  Finally, polio eradication efforts in Pakistan have been hamstrung by government health care and regulatory incompetency […]

Last week, I discussed the breaking news of an emerging strain of “totally drug resistant” tuberculosis (TDR-TB)* in Mumbai.  This week, the Indian government denied the findings, arguing that the twelve cases were in fact extensively drug resistant (XDR, not “extremely,” as I wrote previously).  The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated that nine […]

Monday was World Polio Day, and there was much to celebrate: as of now, the world has seen a 99% reduction in polio cases. That’s incredible news.  We have reached a point where polio could be wholly eradicated in less than five years.  Isn’t it nice to hear that it is possible to successfully combat […]

Earlier this month, a study published in The Lancet discussed findings that hormonal contraceptives doubled the risk of HIV infection and transmission.  The study examined 3,790 sero-discordant heterosexual couples (meaning that one of the two has HIV) in seven African countries.  Some of the women were using hormonal contraceptives, mostly injectable (such as Depo-Provera) but […]

I write often about communicable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, which get a lot of international attention and popular support, spurred on by celebrities, government leaders, and the media.  What is ignored, however, is the growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic or “lifestyle” diseases.  With the upcoming United Nations High Level Meeting […]

I went to an interesting talk last night by Dr. Anthony Fauci.  He is the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.  The Foreign Policy Association initiated a new series with his talk:  the Dame Jillian Sackler Distinguished Lecture.  (She was married to Arthur Sackler, the research psychiatrist and art patron.) Dr. […]

In an effort to focus this blog – and provide myself a bit of structure and sanity! – I’m devoting Tuesdays to “systems issues”.  For today, let’s start with the basics: what is a health system?  I know, this sounds patronizing, but in fact, the goal of defining and strengthening health systems has only recently […]

As the inaugural post to ‘Global Health’, I thought I’d start with a bit of philosophy.  A colleague of mine, with a career in the public sector, who at the time was pursuing his MBA, once remarked to me: “I’ve been pursuing equality my entire career; I decided now it was time to take a closer look at efficiency.”  As someone with a business […]