INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS CALL FOR CONCERTED ACTION TO COUNTER RAPID GROWTH OF WOMEN’S CANCERS IN LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES

Misinformation and Lack of Diagnosis and Treatment Mark Women’s Experiences; Low-Cost, High-Impact Initiatives Could Save Thousands of Lives

(Berlin, 22 September, 2009) – The Cancer Treatment Informal Working Group (CanTreat International), a coalition of international cancer experts, today released The Hidden Epidemic: Women’s Cancers in Low- and Middle-Income Countr… Continue

Gender and Eye Health - how do we address the inequity?

India finds itself in the enviable position of being on track to attain its goals related to the "Vision 2020: The Right to Sight" initiative, a World Health Organisation campaign to eradicate preventable blindness by the year 2020. In 2001, the number of blind people in India was estimated to be 18.7 million. Current estimates suggest that 10 million are blind in India - a prevalence of 1%. India's goal is to reduce the prevalence of blin… Continue

1. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, and the total number of cancer cases is on the rise.

2. A few cancers are on the decline, but overall, cancers are increasing. Some of this is due to longer life spans – more people are living long enough to get cancer. Increased use of tobacco an alcohol, especially among women, is another factor.

3. Cancer is not the problem of the develo… Continue

Decade-long US Project to Fight Malaria Builds Thriving African Mosquito Net Industry

Data Shows Combined Approach of Selling Bed Nets and Giving Vouchers for Subsidized and Free Nets Proves Effective, Sustainable, Replicable

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 17, 2009) —In a decade-long initiative to protect millions of families from malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, a U.S. government-funded project helped sell 50 million bed nets in seven countries, crafted a voucher system to allow the… Continue

One billion people globally live in an environment without access to clean water. Environmental health is one of the greatest challenges to global health. A huge range of infections spread easily when people can’t easily wash or dispose of waste – cholera, typhoid, and hepatitis, for example. However, environmental health goes beyond water and sanitation. It includes contamination such as a… Continue

Editor's note: I get a lot - A LOT - of press releases on global health topics. I don't have time to write them all up, so I thought I'd just post them up as entries for those of you not on all the global health mailing lists. If you hate it, let me know in the comments. Otherwise, expect one or two of these a day. I'll always label them as press releases so you know it's not my writing.

Geneva/Kampala, September 22nd, 2009 NECT (Nifurtimox-Eflornithine Combination Therapy), the first ne… Continue