More positive news in the fight against HIV/AIDS – close to 100 new products in testing for treatment/prevention

97 new products for the prevention or treatment of HIV/AIDS and related conditions are currently in human clinical trials, or awaiting approval by the FDA, according to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.  These products in development include 23 vaccines and 54 antivirals.
While not all these products will be approved, it’s more encouraging news [...]

UNAIDS report: 33.4 million worldwide have HIV, but infections slow

A newly released United Nations report on HIV  says that while the disease has killed 25 million people worldwide, the rate of new infections is slowing sharply.  The UNAIDS agency report says the number of newly infected grew by 2.7 million in 2008,  bringing the world total to 33.4 million.
In sub-Saharan Africa,  where the scourge [...]

Poor nutrition stunting growth

A third of deaths in children under five in those countries are linked to poor diet, a report by UNICEF suggests. It also reveals 195m children – one in three – have stunted growth, even though rates have fallen since 1990.  UNICEF said the number of underweight children also remained high, with many countries struggling [...]

UN Report: reducing 5 key health risks could boost global life expectancy by 5 years

Addressing five critical risk factors – underweight childhood, unsafe sex, alcohol use, lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and high blood pressure – could add almost five years to global life expectancy, according to a new United Nations report.
These five factors are responsible for one quarter of the 60 million deaths estimated to occur [...]

UN Secretary-General urges global response to combat fake medicines

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged collective action to protect people from falling victim to the “insidious and illicit” trade in counterfeit medicines, a problem affecting all countries but which hits the poor particularly hard.
“We must join forces to fight this global crime for the sake of international public health,” Mr. Ban told the “Call of [...]

UN Report: 40% global increase in access to HIV treatment within the last year

Over 4 million people are now receiving treatment for HIV, marking a nearly 40 per cent jump from the previous year according to a new United Nations report.
The new study – produced jointly by the UN World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) – said [...]

Global cooperation crucial to achieving MDGs, nations tell UN

Meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight ambitious anti-poverty targets agreed on by world leaders, by their 2015 deadline will require concert global cooperation, nations have told the General Assembly’s high-level annual debate.
Norway pointed out that the financial crisis has pushed millions into poverty. “Loss of income is placing public policies at perilous risk, potentially [...]

UN report: Public health experts credit immunizations and other health interventions for decrease in deaths of children under 5

Newly released data compiled by demographers and health experts from UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the UN Population Division shows a 28 per cent decline in the under-five mortality rate, from 90 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990, to 65 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2008.
Public health experts [...]

UN report on HIV transmission in Asia: more than 90% of HIV+ women in Asia were infected by husbands or long-term partners

A new UN report estimates that more than 90 per cent of the 1.7 million women living with HIV in Asia became infected from their husbands or partners while in long-term relationships.  A further 50 million women in Asia, who are either married or in long-term relationships with men who engage in high-risk sexual behaviours, [...]

Bill Clinton on Global Public Health

Former United States President Bill Clinton offered closing remarks at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) event (February 23, 2009) that was convened as a special Preparatory meeting for the 2009 High-level Segment on the theme of Philanthropy and Global Public Health. The meeting discussed and explored collaborative opportunities in advancing progress in maternal [...]