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Your comprehensive guide to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals summit 

Letter to the United Nations (UN) and its member states calling for the inclusion of indicators to measure global health research and development (R&D) in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) monitoring framework 

Charting a realistic course to attain SDGs 

Strengthening the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 

7 steps toward sustainable development by 2030 

Without tackling substandard medicines, health goals will falter 

IMF’s Lagarde – weaker global growth complicates development goals 

Increased Domestic Resource Mobilization in Africa: A Priority for the Post-2015 Era  

Reflections on global economic governance at the “start of a new era”  

Health Advocates Press United States On WTO LDC IP Waiver 

KEI urges investigation of trade pressures on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in light of Executive Order 13155 

US pharmaceutical company defends 5,000% price increase 

Exclusive: Americans overpaying hugely for cancer drugs – academic study  

Top US Lawmakers On Trade Urge Action On India’s Treatment Of IPRs 

Paper: Strict Plant Variety Protection In Africa Goes Beyond International Regulation 

Cultivating nutrition: Fortified crops and good nutrition in the first 1,000 days 

WHO bungling of Ebola crisis in Africa revealed in e-mails 

Malaria deaths cut by 60% since 2000 but UN says $6bn a year boost needed 

R&D plan announced for drugs for neglected diseases 

Launch of Regional Global Fund Grant to help fight TB in Eastern Europe and Central Asia  

PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE MEDICINES PATENT POOL 2010 – 2015 

Measuring poverty in a rapidly changing world 

Women should be at the heart of peacebuilding talks 

DOCUMENTI 2° CONFERENZA NAZIONALE SOSTENIBILITA’ E SALUTE 

DEBATE ON THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 9 September 2015 

EMA organizza workshop sull’approccio da seguire per dimostrare il beneficio significativo dei nuovi farmaci orfani rispetto ai medicinali già esistenti 

Seven ways to get water on the climate agenda 

Is new Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull already a climate change turncoat? 

Air Pollution in China: Mapping of Concentrations and Sources 

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What is the UN general assembly? 

Public health round-up 

New Ebola death in S.Leone dims optimism for epidemic’s end  

European Commission supports better access to medicines in poorest countries 

MSF response to EC announcement on LDC extension on WTO IP rules 

Joint NGO letter to USTR and USPTO: What is the US Position on LDC Pharmaceutical Extension of TRIPS Transition Period? 

The Lexmark Litigation: Why Does Big Pharma Care So Much About Ink Cartridges? 

The World Bank Keeps Missing Opportunities to Save Lives and Mobilize Domestic Revenues 

The Politics of Priority Setting in Health: A Political Economy Perspective – Working Paper 414 

Study: United States weak on UN development goals 

TPP Countries Prepare to Regroup in Wake of Hawaii Meeting 

Aid can help to eliminate inequality by 2030 – if five key lessons are heeded 

Sustainable Development: Something New or More of the Same? 

Monitoring inequality: an emerging priority for health post-2015 

Moving From Documenting Disparities To Reducing Them 

Protecting The Women’s Health Movement On A Global Scale 

Data collection tools for maternal and child health in humanitarian emergencies: a systematic review 

Why the ‘people’s agenda’ for sustainable development is also the business agenda 

Lessons for dealing with today’s migrant crisis from the last one 

Ripensare la formazione medica: Il contributo della Rete Italiana per l’Insegnamento della Salute Globale 

UNESCO Chair in Bioethics 11th World Conference BIOETHICS, MEDICAL ETHICS & HEALTH LAW Napoli, 20-21-22 Ottobre 2015

Maximizing the impact of community-based practitioners in the quest for universal health coverage 

Cost–effectiveness of community-based practitioner programmes in Ethiopia, Indonesia and Kenya 

Achieving universal health coverage 

Raising Money for a Basic Need With a Powerful Brand Behind You 

Disclosure of medical errors to patients in China 

Health, Economics, And Preparedness: Considerations And Paths Forward 

EU ministers’ ‘deal’ on emissions leaves little time for COP21 diplomacy 

Australia, New Zealand reject stronger climate measures at Pacific Islands Forum 

Will new leadership bring a sea change to Australian aid policy? 

Laudato Si’ Encyclical Letter by Pope Francis on Care for Our Common Home – Chapter Six: Ecological Education and Spirituality 

 

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World Health Organization Corporation?: Resisting Corporate Influence in WHO 

Pharmaceutical firms spend €40m a year for ‘privileged access’ to EU decision-makers 

Pfizer resists calls for greater clinical trial transparency 

Rising Cost Of Drugs: Where Do We Go From Here? 

When US, UK docs refuse to prescribe made-in-India drugs, it reeks of racism 

Neglected Diseases R&D Initiative To Expand Portfolio To Hepatitis C, New Antibiotics 

SDG SERIES: What Might the SDGs Mean for Health and Human Rights? An Introduction to the Series 

MEASURING GLOBAL HEALTH R&D FOR THE POST-2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA 

TURNING AMBITION TO ACTION: The critical role of health innovation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 

Universal Health Coverage, Millennium Development Goals And Post-2015: The Improvable Way Forward 

How to communicate the sustainable development goals to the public 

Focus. Migranti e profughi: i costi reali dell’assistenza sanitaria 

Malattie infettive e immigrazione: facciamo chiarezza 

Vaccini, fa più paura una malattia mortale o una diceria? 

To Fight Noncommunicable Diseases, Forge Strong Partnerships 

The Atlanta Declaration: A 21st Century Vision For US-Based Global Noncommunicable Disease Research 

The Pathway To Sustainability: Aligning Ambulatory Patient Experience Survey Implementation 

How the NHS is being dismantled in 10 easy steps  

We Got 99 Problems and Climate Change Is One: Can Hip Hop Save The Planet? 

Climate-smart cities could save the world $22tn, say economists 

The state of the climate movement 

Obama says world must reach climate deal in Paris ‘while we still can’  

Laudato Si’ Encyclical Letter by Pope Francis on Care for Our Common Home – Chapter Five: Lines of Approach and Action 

Future Fortified: What does it take to end hidden hunger? 

FAO and Action Aid join forces to empower rural people 

Human Rights Reader 369 

 

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Fast paper test detects three diseases at once 

DNDi Annual Report 2014 

Getting The WHO To Take The Reins In Global Pandemics 

WHO: Work Underway to Better Respond to Global Epidemics 

WHO to study use of sanctions as part of global epidemic response 

WHO commends the Roll Back Malaria Partnership’s contribution to global progress as governing board disbands secretariat 

The Individualised versus the Public Health Approach to Treating Ebola 

Sierra Leone celebrates milestone on road to ending Ebola 

Antibiotic resistance: the race to stop the ‘silent tsunami’ facing modern medicine 

Vaccine hesitancy: A growing challenge for immunization programmes 

Noncommunicable Diseases: A Globalization of Disparity? 

Health, Health Inequality, and Cost Impacts of Annual Increases in Tobacco Tax: Multistate Life Table Modeling in New Zealand 

Tropical Forests Equal to the Size of India Will Be Lost by 2050, Unless We Act 

Why Municipalities Are the Key to Fighting Climate Change 

 Germany and Brazil join forces on climate change action 

Laudato Si’ Encyclical Letter by Pope Francis on Care for Our Common  Home – Chapter Four: Integral Ecology 

French development aid reform to generate ‘substantial’ new funds 

 WIPO Launches Development Agenda Program In Uganda 

WIPO Director Gurry Highlights Value Of Indigenous Knowledge 

Traditional medicine for modern times: Facts and figures 

Overcoming Malnutrition in Niger 

Are African leaders misusing Chinese development finance? The price of country ownership 

Stop TTIP Newsletter  

Mass protest against TTIP and CETA to take place in Berlin 

NGOs Call Out Switzerland For Pressuring Colombia On Compulsory Licences; Switzerland Replies 

Humanitarian aid in 2015: great challenges but greater opportunities 

A New Framework For Health Care Management 

Who Said Big Foundations Can’t Change? Four Takeaways from MacArthur’s Makeover 

New Lectureship post on Global Public Health at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) 

 

 

 

 

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Why be a humanitarian? Aid workers in South Sudan explain 

Human Rights Reader 368 

Five Reasons Why TPP Countries Should Unite To Oppose The US Pharmaceutical IP Agenda 

Ecuador, BRICS Moving Away From International Investment Dispute Regime, Paper Says 

17 WTO Members (Brazil, China, India, Russia) submit draft Ministerial Decision on Non-Violation and Situation Complaints 

EU, India working to resolve trade row over generic drugs 

India’s Lead Role In South-South Cooperation For Environmental Diplomacy 

Bright ideas for better aid 

The Medicines Patent Pool welcomes initiative from UNICEF and the Global Fund in Ukraine 

Focus On: Innovation 

The human cost of Africa’s science strategy 

How developing countries are paying a high price for the global mineral boom 

Environmental Justice Atlas 

Why a ‘no regrets policy’ on disease outbreaks is a must for Asia-Pacific 

Breaking The Fee-For-Service Addiction: Let’s Move To A Comprehensive Primary Care Payment Model 

The Ebola Vaccine We Needed 

How will we ensure the new Ebola vaccine reaches those most in need? 

WHO: West Africa Ebola Outbreak Could End This Year 

Ebola: Attention, World: The Ebola fight isn’t over 

Ebola’s lessons: How WHO mishandled the crisis 

Call for more weaponry against ‘neglected malaria’ 

Meningitis C vaccine shortage prompts fears of major outbreak in Africa 

TB in Uzbekistan: “The regimen is long and arduous” 

Nutrizione. Oltre 40 organizzazioni scientifiche hanno presentato ad Expo il manifesto delle criticità. Ministero della Salute: “Al via tavolo di lavoro a settembre” 

Plastic Pollution in the World’s Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea 

EEA Technical report No 9/2015: EU 2010 biodiversity baseline — adapted to the MAES typology (2015) 

NGOs urge Australia to do more on climate change 

The 100-day dash for climate action 

Climate boss says EU can only back a strong Paris deal 

3 Ways Open Data Can Help Forests 

Talk Is Cheap. Renewable Energy Isn’t 

Laudato Si’ Encyclical letter by Pope Francis on Care for our Common Home – Chapter three: the human roots of the ecological crisis 

 

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Analysing Proposals for Reform of the Global Health Architecture 

Time for Action: Shifting the paradigm towards integrated, people-centred health systems 

Lean: A Comprehensive Approach To The Transformation Our Health Care System Needs 

Italy to receive most EU funding for migrant crisis 

Trans-Pacific Partnership could pose risk to public healthcare, leaked draft shows 

WikiLeaks raising reward funds for insiders’ tips on TTIP 

EU, Vietnam reach deal to boost trade  

You Ask, We Answer: What Would US Global Health Reform Really Look Like?  

Why women deserve to be counted 

Measuring change in women’s participation and leadership under the SDGs: why indicators must be ambitious 

Getting women actively involved in climate change mitigation 

Obama Takes Lead on Climate Change Ahead of U.N. Talks in Paris 

Rich nations’ climate plans fall short of hopes for Paris summit 

IEA: Technology roadmap – Wind Energy 

Opinion: The Road to Paris and the Path to Renewable Energy 

Global Stakes, Local Fights: A Funder Takes on Climate Change In Its Home Region 

La Marine Strategy inizia a diventare operativa 

Re-examining ‘Green Light’ Subsidies in the Wake of New Green Industrial Policies 

Laudato Si’ Encyclical letter by Pope Francis on Care for our Common Home – Chapter two 

IMF Executive Board Reforms the Fund’s Policy on Poverty Reduction Strategies in Fund Engagement with Low-Income Countries 

Global Fund News Flash 

Mexico’s Anti-Poverty Programmes Are Losing the Battle 

Calls for greater collaboration to tackle food security 

UN stands firm in face of hunger stats accusation 

Improving Patient Safety Through The National Action Plan For Adverse Drug Event Prevention 

Defeating The ZIP Code Health Paradigm: Data, Technology, And Collaboration Are Key 

CORSO DI MALATTIE TROPICALI E MEDICINA INTERNAZIONALE Brescia, dal 2 novembre al 20 novembre 2015 

A Quiet Revolution in the Treatment of Childhood Diarrhea 

How to beat the next Ebola 

Ebola’s victims of the future: pregnant women  

HIV/TB Counselling: Who’s Doing the Job? Time for Recognition of Lay Counsellors

Africa advances toward a polio-free continent 

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Consensus Reached on New Sustainable Development Agenda to be adopted by World Leaders in September 

For Jeffrey Sachs, $100B climate finance target has 2 major problems

WHO Bulletin: Public Health Round-Up 

National health accounts data from 1996 to 2010: a systematic review 

Emergency care in 59 low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review 

Obama issues challenge on climate change with power plant rule 

ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME 

Laudato Si’ Encyclical letter by Pope Francis on Care for our Common Home – Introduction 

Laudato Si’ Encyclical letter by Pope Francis on Care for our Common Home – Chapter one 

Climate change, cash transfers and health 

Fracking, Farting, and Foundations: The Money Behind the Battle Over Methane Gas 

A message to climate negotiators: Don’t forget farmers 

Digging for data on Africa’s climate future 

Energia: il futuro è nella bioenergia, elettricità da paglia, alghe e scarti agroindustriali 

Cittadini per l’aria 

Human Rights Reader 367 

Can technology free developing countries from light poverty? 

New Money, Big Bets: Three Takeaways From a Massive Tech Grant to Fight Poverty 

Does the developing world need a welfare state to eliminate poverty? Some insights from history 

NUTRITION AID: DO WE HAVE THE FULL PICTURE? 

Space technologies for health 

Does LNOB really merit so much attention?  

Always Playing Catch Up? Philanthropy and Social Movements  

A State-Based Strategy For Expanding Primary Care Residency 

No Deal Overall, But TPP Ministers Agreed Some IPR Issues In Hawaii, US Says 

Ebola: UN emergency response mission winds down as WHO announces possible ‘game changer’ vaccine 

Ebola Vaccine: The Need to Act Now 

8th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, Vancouver 19-22 July 2015: Recorded Sessions 

How AIDS changed everything — MDG6: 15 years, 15 lessons of hope from the AIDS response 

Monitoring of HIV treatment in seven countries in the WHO Region of the Americas 

A Big Gift to Fuel the Final Offensive Against Guinea Worm 

Hospital Quality And Care 

In Pursuit Of Hospital Quality: Creating Effective Performance Measures And Transparency In Health Care 

 

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Are these the global health leaders who will save humanity? 

Ban welcomes UN Assembly’s endorsement of action plan on post-2015 development financing 

Fit for whose purpose? Private funding and corporate influence in the United Nations 

The Impact of Publicly Supported Private Finance on Development And Poverty Reduction In Africa: Case of Rwanda & Zambia 

The new debt trap: how the response to the last global financial crisis has laid the ground for the next  

TPP Trade Talks at Pivotal Stage as Hawaii Meet Nears Conclusion 

The TPP’s Reckless Proposals For Damages Will Have Negative Impact On Future Reform Of IPR Regimes 

TPP Negotiators Must Fix the Most Damaging Trade Agreement Ever for Global Health 

Decision Time On Biologics Exclusivity: Eight Years Is No Compromise 

Dynamic Vision Is A Cornerstone Of State Payment Reform Initiatives 

What are 17 goals in view of the planet’s future? 

The realities of achieving effective SDG partnerships 

Is Bitcoin a Powerful New Friend to the World’s Poor? Some Funders Hope So 

One person in three in the world lives in poverty 

Behind the Impact Data in Feed the Future’s New Report: 6 Questions 

Human Rights Reader 366 

Study: Restrictions on refugee healthcare cost more than free access to services 

Ebola cases fall to year low but WHO warns of trouble ahead 

WHO: 400 Europeans die of hepatitis each day 

Where should money go to manage global health’s ‘silent epidemic’? 

UN health agency to mark World Hepatitis Day with pilot initiative to curb unsafe injections 

World’s first malaria vaccine gets regulatory go-ahead, faces WHO review 

Malaria vaccine: How good is good enough? 

When offered, many will take malaria rapid test, cutting misuse of drugs, study finds 

Closer intersectoral collaboration using existing tools can defeat zoonoses affecting humans 

Next Move? Parsing What Bill and Melinda Said About Education Funding 

Focus on Private Sector: Female suppliers drive profits 

The Mistreatment of Women during Childbirth in Health Facilities Globally: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review 

New “tool” released to aid UN climate talks ahead of December deadline 

Tree rings expand African climate records

Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) Control 2015

This book gathers more than 30 outstanding authors on a broad range of topics and concepts, from proposals for new Intellectual Property Rights approaches to R&D for antibiotics, to the latest data showing that the 44 billion dollars spent on antibiotic for animal husbandry may only be wasteful, to the need for urgent investments in water and waste management by banks and investors, or, last but not least, as it is top in the just adopted United Nations Global Plan of Action on AMR: infection prevention and control (IPC) as a must against AMR, Ebola and MERS

by Garance Fannie Upham

Deputy General Secretary, AC2BMR/WAAAR World Alliance Against Antibiotic Resistance

Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) Control 2015

 

The book AMR Control 2015 gathers more than 30 outstanding authors on a broad range of topics and concepts, from proposals for new Intellectual Property Rights approaches to R&D for antibiotics, to the latest data showing that the 44 billion dollars spent on antibiotic for animal husbandry may only be wasteful, to the need for urgent investments in water and waste management by banks and investors, or, last but not least, as it is top in the just adopted United Nations Global Plan of Action on AMR: infection prevention and control (IPC) as a must against AMR, Ebola and MERS.

Let me tell you a secret: the book is intended for the lazy professional, the investment decision makers, because it gives a pocket overview of all the different facets of AMR, all into one single book!

The book was put together by the President and Deputy Secretary of the Paris based World Alliance Against Antibiotic Resistance (WAAAR). It can be consulted on line, articles downloaded individually. Printed copies can be ordered on line.

Global overview of Antimicrobial Resistance. A world leader in the drive to control AMR, Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer of England, along with Professor John Watson, Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Dr Laura Shallcross, UCL Research Department of Infection and Population Health, present here a succinct overview of the need for action: “Individual nations have recognised the importance of antimicrobial resistance as a health issue, but countries have different needs and priorities. In many parts of the world, those with treatable infections lack access to antibiotics, particularly in rural areas. Here the challenge is to improve access without making the drugs so readily available that they can be used inappropriately, the so-called paradox of controlling drug resistance.”

Antibiotic Innovation– Some Lessons from the WHO Processes on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property. This very comprehensive overview, from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health Professors Jens Plathe and John-Arne Røttingen provides us a well informed overview of business models, inspired by the experience of  WHO’s Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development (CEWG), which the second author had chaired: How to combine reduction of ‘excess use’, with ‘equitable access’? Experience from neglected diseases can be brought to bear. “How can IPR be mobilized and harnessed in ways that contribute to a feasible economic reward model for sustainable access to effective antibiotics, and in this respect what experiences can be drawn from the field of neglected diseases generally and from the recommendations proposed by the CEWG under the auspices of WHO?”

Creating an Intergovernmental Consortium for New Antibiotics. WHO Assistant Director-General Dr Marie-Paule Kieny has given a lot of thoughts to the kind of new development models which would carry the features necessary to satisfy the need to reward R&D. She proposes an “Intergovernmental Consortium for New Antibiotics” that would feature: 1) mostly public sector funded research and clinical trials, 2) grants to small and medium-size innovative companies or universities to develop new products, 3) milestone and end prizes to reward innovation, 4) patent pools to bring together Intellectual Property Rights generated by public sector funded research, 5) production and marketing agreements for a needs-based number of treatments per year”.

Surveillance and Monitoring of Antimicrobial Resistance. US Centers for Disease Control Director for AMR, Professor Steve Solomon, with Dr Kashef Ijaz, unlike many norm setting institutions or public health specialists, do not in the least “demand” yet another load of data to LMICs. On the contrary, they write from the standpoint of how low income countries can be partners in the needed global effort. For example, on the need for Improving laboratory capacity: «The ability of laboratories to accurately and consistently identify pathogens and their antibiotic susceptibility varies greatly. Trained personnel are the single most important asset in any laboratory» Further down he writes «Prioritize which bacteria are most important to track» which is so important in view of the ‘kitchen sink’ approach to bacterial resistance which is a tendency in some resource poor countries after years of not looking at all.

Antimicrobial Resistance Control in Asia. From South Korea, Professor Jae-Hoon Song, a member of STAG (the WHO initiated expert working group on AMR), takes us through the “six major action plans to control and prevent AMR in the Asian region can provide Asian countries: 1) Strengthen the surveillance of AMR and antibiotics use; 2) Improve awareness of AMR; 3) Promote appropriate uses of antimicrobial agents; 4) Strengthen hospital infection control, 5) Promote vaccination against bacterial infections; 6) Strengthen the national infrastructures and international efforts”.

The Actions of China in Antimicrobial-Resistance Containment. Since 2011 China has embarked on an ambitious program for “rational antibiotic use”, reports Professor Yonghong Xiao of the Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases. What is striking is that the same levels of antibiotic drug resistance are found in all regions and settings even though the regions are widely different in terms of socio-economic development, neglected – element in proper antibiotics usage.

A middle-income country model national AMR Plan: South Africa. A very comprehensive model program on AMR control has been put together by the Republic of South Africa, described by Professor Marc Mendelson and Ms Malebona Precious Matsoso in South Africa, the report highlights reinforcement of infection prevention and control within health care structures, and comprises just about all the recommended features, including flu vaccination to decrease superfluous use of antibiotics in the flu season. The South African Strategy Framework features: “Optimization of surveillance and early detection of AMR with a watch on: 1) Antimicrobial resistance patterns; 2) Antimicrobial consumption; , 3) Antimicrobial drug quality; 4) Medication errors.” Overall the RSA program is a model of the kind for a middle income country.

Actions to Face AMR/ABR-Prescription Control in Human Health. Professor Céline Pulcini, of France’s Nancy University Hospital, and WAAR’s General Secretary, a pioneer innovator in her field, discusses what is called antibiotic stewardship. The paper describes the main measures that could be implemented and discuss the potential limitations and barriers to implementation of those restrictive antibiotic stewardship strategies.

The Role of Sanitation in the Development and Spread of AMR. The article from Professor Timothy Walsh, UK Cardiff University and Professor Antoine Andremont, is set to challenge many perceived notions on AMR Control. One sentence for example says: The link between sanitation, or lack thereof, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is primarily to do with two factors: the level of antibiotic resistant bacteria in a person’s gut, and 2, the level of AMR in the environment”.

Diagnostic Solutions Critical to Limit Antimicrobial Resistance Development. Time has come for more investments and more expenditures in diagnostics, in every way, postulate Dr Catharina Boehme (Foundation for Innovative Diagnostics), Mark Kessel, and Professor Ilona Kickbush: Accurate, precise, diagnostic tools ought to be considered as crucial as medicines, the necessary companion. Too many doctors in well to do countries bypass precise diagnostic to put patients on antibiotics indiscriminately. Too many LMIC hospitals systematically give ‘a shot of antibiotics’ to a patient coming up with diarrhoea, for example, in regions where parasitic and viral pathogens causing diarrhea are widespread.

Infection Prevention and Control – Patient Safety a Key Objective for AMR Control. Is Patient Safety important for AMR Control says USAID team with Professor Rashad Massoud (with Danika Barry, Sonali Vaid, Samson M. Haumba, Nokuthula Mdluli Kuhlase). According to USAID ‘patient safety’, starting with the prevention and control of infection in health care settings, is a crucial component of any AMR control program, internationally and nationally. This article takes us through the USAID outstanding effort in this area and their partnering with low income countries, in this case Zambia.

Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis monitoring in India.“Systematic surveillance for TB drug resistance is the best way to document its presence and has been very difficult to establish in most of the high burden countries, the major obstacle to the expansion of routine surveillance activities has been the lack of laboratory capacity needed to detect resistance.” writes Assistant Director General of the TB program for the Indian government Department of Health, Dr Kuldeep Singh Sachdeva, (with Dr S. Anand and Dr Ranjani Ramachandran of the WHO-India).

HIV Resistance to Antiretrovirals another key issue of AMR Management. ​From South Africa, Professor Gary Maartens, Head of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Professor Lyn Morris, HIV Virology laboratories at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Dr Gillian Hunt, senior research scientist, Centre for HIV and STI and Professor François Venter, Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (RHI) review the management of HIV resistance in a high burden country. With over 6 million persons living with HIV, South Africa has, on record, the highest number of patients to whom the country offers antiretroviral treatment. The RSA is truly a model country today considering that it is not a high resource country, and that it also has, historically, a high load of tuberculosis.

From civil society’s input, other than WAAAR, we have two contributions: CDDEP director Hellen Gelband, reports on the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy partnership with LMIC : “The Partnership operates to bring a set of new voices to the antibiotic resistance issue and to establishing local capacity to develop and help to implement evidence-based policies in eight LMICs from Africa and Asia”, while our WAAAR collaborator, Dr Abdul Ghafur explains his Mumbai Declaration initiative, an India wide coalition which has been extremely effective, in that it convinced authorities to stop over the counter sales of medicines.

Just before  the European Médicines Agency  organized the first ever seminar on the Therapeutic use of bacteriophages (June 8th, 2015), which I attended,  I had sollicited two articles on the issue:

Phagoburn: an EU Research program. Professor Patrick Jault, French Military Health Services, and Jérôme Gabard, CEO of Pherecydes Pharma, gives us an account of a specific clinical research “Phagoburn”, funded by the European Union, on the use of viruses specific to bacteria (phages) to combat bacterial infection so dangerous on burn wounds, the type of research which might well open our arsenal to treat antibiotic resistant infections.

Phage therapy: Could viruses help resolve the worldwide antibiotic crisis?The article from Professor Daniel de Vos and Dr Jean-Paul Pirnay, both with the Belgian Military Hospital research, gives a background on ‘phages’ as therapy and stresses the epistemological hurdles in its acceptance for mainstream medicine. Phage therapies could be part of a ‘patient-centered’ highly individualised medicine of the future.

Costs and benefits of antimicrobial use in livestock. Could Animal Husbandry Do Without Antibiotics?  Aude Teillant, researcher at Princeton’s Environmental Institute, discusses the costs and benefits of antimicrobial use in livestock. She is co-author of the OECD just released first study on global consumption of antibiotics in food producing industries.

What are law makers waiting for? In 2006 the EU banned AGPs (Antibiotic Growth Promoters), the US FDA only ‘recommends it’.

 

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Public health round-up 

Tracking progress to 2030 

TTIP: a corporate lobbying paradise 

The Trans-Pacific Partnership – Is It Bad for Your Health? 

Mylan criticisms of the TPP provisions as regards generic medicines, warns USTR on “lazy drafting” 

Investor-State Cases Could Have Cost Cash-Strapped Argentina $80B, Paper Says 

“BRICS” bank launches in Shanghai, to work with AIIB 

The New BRICS Bank Should Be Green and Focus on Poverty 

The Guardian view on global development goals: heed the good news, but more needs to be done 

EU Commissioner Signals Support For LDC Request To Waive IP Rights Enforcement On Pharma 

Human Rights Reader 365 

Technology, innovation and health equity 

UN talks deliver development financing framework for post-2015 era 

The Medicine Patent Pool Statement on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda: Third International Conference on Financing for Development 

To Support Physician Decision-Making, Re-Evaluate Industry Funding Of Science 

A comparative analysis of national HIV policies in six African countries with generalized epidemics 

Roche expands HIV Global Access Program to include infants in resource limited settings 

Aid Agencies Hail Agreement On Access To Early Infant HIV Diagnostic Technologies 

MSF warns successful global HIV response will require bigger emphasis on adherence 

A UNAIDS–Lancet Commission on Defeating AIDS—Advancing Global Health 

Strengthening Incentives for a Sustainable Response to AIDS: A PEPFAR for the AIDS Transition 

SECONDO WORKSHOP DI ECONOMIA E FARMACI PER L’ HIV WEF HIV 2015 – Milano 8/9 settembre 2015 

Learning From Ebola 

Merck, UNESCO and Cambridge University join hands to build Research Capacity in Africa with the aim to fight against Ebola 

Ebola recovery is impossible unless resilient health systems are rebuilt in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone 

The need to accelerate access to new drugs for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis 

Antimicrobial resistance: a priority for global health action 

The FACT project: a successful approach to solving public health needs 

We need to grow 50% more food yet agriculture causes climate change. How do we get out of this bind? 

Health impacts of household energy use: indicators of exposure to air pollution and other risks 

3 Reasons Why Women are Key to the Future of Global Health and Development