Global Health Briefs
November - December, 2009 | Volume 8, Issue 6
Chronic disease alliance sets priorities
The recently-formed Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases - whose members collectively manage about 80 percent of the world’s public health funding - have announced its first targets in the fight against chronic diseases. The group pledged to focus efforts on lowering high blood pressure, reducing tobacco use and addressing indoor pollution caused by cooking stoves. Fogarty and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute are founding members of the group and were recently joined by the National Institute of Mental Health.
Climate change effort launched
NIH teamed up recently with The Lancet and leading international organizations to address the public health impacts of climate change by promoting new strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve health. Fogarty Director Dr. Roger I. Glass joined NIH partners in participating in the international launch via satellite from the National Press Club in Washington.
PEPFAR unveils new strategic plan
The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has unveiled its new five-year strategy detailing plans for "expanding its current partnerships with implementers, researchers, and academic organizations to improve the science that guides this work." PEPFAR also says it will improve contributions to the evidence base around HIV interventions, as well as broader health systems strengthening and integration.
HIV outbreak peaked in 1996
The number of people infected with HIV world-wide has remained unchanged at 33 million for the last two years, according to a report by the UN and WHO. Officials say the epidemic probably peaked in 1996 and is stable in most regions except for Africa, which last year accounted for 72 percent of the world’s 2.7 million new cases.
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