USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Government of Norway, Grand Challenges Canada, and the World Bank have joined to launch Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development. We call on the brightest minds across the globe to identify and scale up transformative prevention and treatment approaches for pregnant women and newborns in rural, low-resource settings around the time of birth... Learn more
Learn more about the 77 finalists.
July 19th, 2011
The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Center for Strategic & International Studies, Research!America and Sabin Vaccine Institute invite you to:
A Briefing on the Department of Defense’s Essential Contributions to Global Health
Thursday, July 28, 2011, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Top of the Hill Banquet and Conference Center, Reserve Officers Association
1 Constitution Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002
Fifth floor, Minuteman Ballroom
The U.S. Department of Defense is at the intersection of health and security worldwide. Through its work, the DoD improves health in developing countries with a focus on groundbreaking R&D, building capacity and strengthening infrastructure. Please join us to learn how its unique expertise offers indispensible yet little-known contributions to global health R&D resulting in improved health for U.S. forces as well as those around the world.
Moderator:
Karen A. Goraleski, Executive Director, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Panelists:
Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD, President, Sabin Vaccine Institute
Col. Kent E. Kester, MD, Commander, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
J. Stephen Morrison, PhD, Director, Global Health Policy Center, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Karen Remley, MD, MBA, FAAP, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Health
Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD, President, Sabin Vaccine Institute
Col. Kent E. Kester, MD, Commander, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
J. Stephen Morrison, PhD, Director, Global Health Policy Center, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Karen Remley, MD, MBA, FAAP, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Health
Register for this event by clicking here.
June 21st, 2011
Research!America, Global Health Council and PATH invite you to:
Making the Case for Cost-Effectiveness of Vaccines for Global Health
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Breakfast: 9:00-9:15 a.m.; briefing: 9:15-10:30 a.m.
Rayburn House Office Building, Room B338
Breakfast: 9:00-9:15 a.m.; briefing: 9:15-10:30 a.m.
Rayburn House Office Building, Room B338
As the U.S. tightens its belt, Congress has been focusing on how it can maximize health outcomes for the lowest cost. Vaccines against common killers like pneumonia, meningitis, tuberculosis and others are saving countless lives around the world and providing hope for millions of families, especially children. Please join us for an important briefing on the cost-effectiveness of vaccines and how the public and private sectors are working together to catalyze innovative, simple solutions to save lives and improve the health of millions in the U.S. and the world.
Panelists:
Peter Hotez, MD, MPH, President, Sabin Vaccine Institute
Marc LaForce, MD, Director, PATH Meningitis Vaccine Project
Lewellys Barker, MD, Senior Medical Advisor, Aeras
Peter Hotez, MD, MPH, President, Sabin Vaccine Institute
Marc LaForce, MD, Director, PATH Meningitis Vaccine Project
Lewellys Barker, MD, Senior Medical Advisor, Aeras
Moderator:
Eileen Quinn, PATH
Eileen Quinn, PATH
June 13th 2011
The Global Health Council's Annual Meeting has returned to DC and that's where I will be living for the next week! Can't wait to report back on GH updates and exciting news......http://www.globalhealth.org/conference_2011/.
June 7th 2011
Yesterday I attended "Spurring health and wealth through medical breakthroughs: The promise of new vaccines for global health" at the Capitol Building’s Senate Visitor Center. This engaging meeting drove home talking points necessary to engage the various communities in global health (from researcher/scientist, to pharmaceutical and bio companies, to policy makers, to the general public). The main message was “vaccines are a best buy in global health and here’s why”.
The Argument
In a very tough political climate today, the necessity to make an economic argument for vaccines is imperative and also a promising argument from a global health perspective. Vaccines are cost effective and the research/innovation that stems from this research is “worth it”. Global health research spurs economic growth in America by providing jobs and supporting the health sector here at home. In CA, the global health sector supports 350,000 high quality jobs and $19.7 N in wages/salaries (University of CA GH Institute, 2009). This type of research is cellular (involving T-cells) which is translational to cancer research. Vaccines enable military personnel to exercise soft power in global territories (cough* cough*, national security). When the US invests in health abroad, this improves the economic value and human capital of other territories, making them more stable and at peace. The government also has a role to play in vaccine research which is through support and partnership (PPPs/PDPs). Their role is essential to incentivizing collaborations and providing grants to researchers.
Communication Gap
Michael Gerson also highlighted a communications gap, "We have not done a good enough job in relaying the success stories of vaccines to the public. GAVI is one of the biggest success stories in the world and it is amazing how few US citizens recognize this organization." He is right, we can do better in getting the message more widespread and letting Americans hear the success of vaccines loud and clear (ie: MenAfriVac was made specifically for an African strain of meningitis and now costs 50 cents a dose! To date, more than 19.5 million people have received the vaccine since its introduction in Burkina Faso in 2009).
Conclusion
To sum up quickly and not write at verbatim, vaccines have the potential to be the greatest life saving device at our disposal in the next 20 years. With dengue, malaria, an HIV/AIDS, and TB vaccines in the pipeline we (the world, especially the US) need to continue the investment in this type of research today.
The US only gives <.7% of GDP to global health R&D….if we cut this, we really aren’t saving much and losing much more in the long run.
Panelists included: Michael Gerson (Columnist, Washington Post), John Lusingu (MD, PhD, Principal REsearch Scientist, Malaria Vaccine Trials, Tanzania), Margaret McGlynn (Member of the Board, IAVI), and Moderator: David Cook (Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer IAVI).
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December 16th 2010:
In honor of World Aids day, publishing company Granata has made an eBook version of The Wisdom of Whores, by Elizabeth Pisani available for free download for the month of December. Go to this page:
http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2010/12/01/the-wisdom-of-whores-ebook-for-free
This book is an eye-opener in regards to where the world has been in addressing the HIV/AIDs epidemic. It opens your mind to the world of sex, drugs, and money and is anything but dull! I highly recommend reading this book as it offers a unique perspective. Want more information about Elizabeth Pisani or the book? Visit: http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/book/.
November 27th 2010:
Do you know what TedTalk is?! Hopefully, because it may be one of the most inspiring webcast of ideas yet and they have a TedWomen now as well! Below is a famous talk given by Hans Rosling that "reframes 10 years of UN data with his spectacular visuals, lighting up an astonishing -- mostly unreported -- piece of front-page-worthy good news: We're winning the war against child mortality. Along the way, he debunks one flawed approach to stats that blots out such vital stories."
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/hans_rosling_the_good_news_of_the_decade.html
Ted Women Conference in
http://www.tedwomen.aol.com/
November 25th 2010:
The New World Health Report has been released!!
Theme: Health Systems Financing: a path to universal coverage.
Read the report: http://www.who.int/whr/2010/en/index.html
Directly quoted from the WHO website:
Good health is essential to human welfare and to sustained economic and social development. WHO's Member States have set themselves the target of developing their health financing systems to ensure that all people can use health services, while being protected against financial hardship associated with paying for them.
In this report, the World Health Organization maps out what countries can do to modify their financing systems so they can move more quickly towards this goal - universal coverage - and sustain the gains that have been achieved The report builds on new research and lessons learnt from country experience. It provides an action agenda for countries at all stages of development and proposes ways that the international community can better support efforts in low income countries to achieve universal coverage and improve health outcomes.
November 16th 2010:
The First Global Symposium on Health Systems Research began today!!
You can watch the meetings happen via the website webcasts and/or find out more about who is attending and the topics of discussion. This is a major meeting between world leaders and scientist on the health systems research and how to make these systems more effective and efficient.
Check it out: http://www.hsr-symposium.org/
October 26th 2010:
The Changing Landscape of Global Public Health Video:
http://globalhealth.kff.org/Series/Changing%20Landscape%20of%20Global%20Public%20Health.aspx
This conference was held at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health & Association of Schools of Public Health October 24-26, 2010.
Aims of the Meeting:
- To map the key changes and scientific capabilities that are transforming the emerging agenda of global health
- To create a vision for the public health leadership needed in global health and articulate an agenda to secure this
- To lay the initial foundation for the creation of Knowledge Networks enabling engagement of diverse stakeholders in this agenda.
