American Academy Of Ophthalmology Wins Award Of Excellence For Haiti Relief Efforts
The American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) is one of only 21 organizations nationally to receive an Award of Excellence for its Task Force on Haiti Recovery work from the ASAE and The Center for Association Leadership as part of their Associations Advance America (AAA) program...

African Leaders Agree To Expand Maternal Health Campaign As AU Summit Concludes
African leaders participating in the 15th African Union (AU) Summit, which concluded on Tuesday, agreed to expand a campaign aimed at curbing maternal mortality on the continent and adopted other "key actions" in an effort to reduce infant and maternal mortality, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports...

Also In Global Health News: House Passes Bill Including Haiti Relief; Kenya Adopts Safer ARVs; Florida At Risk Of Dengue Outbreak; Merck, More
House Passes War Supplemental Spending Bill; Includes Fund For Haiti The House on Tuesday passed a $59 billion war supplemental spending bill by a vote of 308-114, which will now be sent to President Barack Obama "for his signature," CongressDaily reports (Sanchez, 7/28). The bill includes "$2...

Also In Global Health News: Kyrgystan Appeals For Aid; TB In Western Pacific; Pakistan Water Crisis; Zimbabwe Medical Fees; Measuring TB
Kyrgystan Asks For $1.2B In Aid To Rebuild Country "Kyrgyzstan's government appealed to an international donors conference Tuesday for $1.2 billion in aid to rebuild the country after months of political and ethnic violence," the Associated Press reports. The conflict "ravaged major markets and businesses, depriving the south of important sources of employment and economic development...

Red Cross Launches Disaster Relief Fundraising Drive
The American Red Cross has launched a new fundraising drive in anticipation of a very active hurricane season that could be made even worse by the Gulf Coast oil spill...

Three-Time Victims: Colombians Continue To Face Violence, Neglect, And Stigma As A Result Of Long-Standing Conflict
Victims of the on-going conflict in Colombia not only suffer from the direct consequences of violence caused by the conflict but also from social and institutional stigma and neglect, according to a report released today by the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)...

TAU Helps Develop Early-Warning Hazard System For The World's Railways
Thousands of people around the world have died in train wrecks caused by natural disasters. In 2004, the tsunami in Southeast Asia derailed a Sri Lankan train, killing 1,700 people. But with modern advances, these tragedies can be avoided - and a Tel Aviv University researcher, working in collaboration with teams from seven countries, is leading the way. Prof. Lev V...

Report By Sen. Lugar Criticizes Haitian Leadership, Calls For Reforms
Senator Richard Lugar, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a paper (.pdf), which "sharply criticized Haiti's president Thursday, portraying him as an ineffectual leader who is hindering recovery from January's devastating earthquake," the Canadian Press reports. Lugar "advised U.S. legislators to reconsider sending money to Haiti if reforms are not made...

AIDS 2010 Opinions: U.S. Funding For Global HIV/AIDS Programs; Empowering Women, Girls In Fight Against HIV/AIDS
Global Health Leaders Respond To Recent New York Times' Opinion Pieces Two global health leaders respond to AIDS-related opinion pieces in the New York Times letters section. The first letter, Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, addresses an opinion piece by Desmond Tutu, archbishop emeritus of Cape Town and honorary chairman of the Global AIDS Alliance...

Also In Global Health News: NIH And Rare Diseases; Cold Emergency In Peru; U.S.-Russia Emergency Cooperation Pact
NIH Program Pilots Drug Development For Schistosomiasis, Other Rare Diseases The NIH Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program has "launched five pilot projects that are taking the [NIH] in a new direction: developing drugs," writes the Wall Street Journal. Among the projects is one that targets "drug development ...

Statement By UNICEF's Executive Director On Ongoing Situation In Southern Kyrgyzstan
The political situation in southern Kyrgyzstan has calmed down. But life for Kyrgyzstan's children has not. As their stories vanish from the front page, we risk putting their safety on the back burner. We cannot allow that to happen for the 100,000 children displaced by violence...

Organizations Highlight Plight Of HIV-Positive Haitians, Call For Donors To Support 'Whole Of Society' Health System Strengthening
Organizations attending the International AIDS Conference-AIDS 2010 highlighted the plight of HIV-positive earthquake survivors in Haiti who are "still waiting for aid promised to them before" the quake as rebuilding efforts slowly move along, Agence France-Presse reports. AFP notes the sentiments of some of the organizations' representatives...

Also In Global Health News: Humanitarian Aid To Somalia Underfunded; Sahel Food Crisis; Social History Of Malaria
Somalia Humanitarian Aid Underfunded; Donors Discouraged Due To Violence "U.N. humanitarian activities in Somalia are severely underfunded, hurting Somalis who are outside areas controlled by Islamist rebels, a senior U.N. official said on Wednesday," Reuters reports...

Also In Global Health News: India's Food Security; ASEAN To Address Disaster Preparedness; Iraqi Food Aid; Why Fistula Plagues Kenya
Implications And Challenges Of India's Proposed Food Security Bill A Reuters article discusses the implications of an Indian bill that would "subsidise grains for the poor, a move that will impact government finances as well as political support...

Sec. Of State Clinton Stresses Importance Of Science And Innovation For Development
"Innovation, science [and] technology must again become fundamental components of how we conduct development work," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a "high-level meeting of international development and science experts" last week, SciDev.net reports...