In The News
1. Obama Administration Officials Send Letter Urging Congress To Approve Zika Funding
Associated Press: Inaction on Zika funding likely to delay vaccine testing
"The Obama administration on Tuesday cautioned top lawmakers that continued gridlock over legislation to combat the Zika virus could delay research and development of a vaccine to protect against Zika and tests to detect it. The warning came in a letter from White House budget chief Shaun Donovan and Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell..." (Taylor/Jalonick, 7/12).
CQ News: White House in Last-Minute Zika Plea Backs Off Dollar Figure
"...Notably, the letter contains no reference to a specific dollar figure or offsets, main points of contention on the Zika aid package. It also does not mention the 'poison pill' provisions that Democrats have cited repeatedly as their reason for opposing a Republican-written agreement on Zika aid that's stalled in the Senate..." (Bennett, 7/13).
The Hill: GOP chairman blasts White House over Zika spending
"...House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that the Obama administration has spent just $90 million of the $590 million it redirected from its Ebola virus fund in April to launch efforts against Zika. That would mean the administration has spent less than one-fifth of its available money, even as Democrats continue to hammer the GOP and block a $1.1 billion Zika funding plan..." (Ferris, 7/13).
Huffington Post: Mosquito Mascot Trolls Senate Republicans At Zika Hearing
"...The human-sized mosquito, a reproductive rights advocate with NARAL Pro-Choice America, made an appearance to denounce Republicans' lack of action on the Zika epidemic. Members of the House and Senate are struggling to agree on a plan to address the virus, and House Republicans have proposed a solution that could make it harder for women in Zika-affected countries to access birth control and family planning services..." (Bassett, 7/13).
Kaiser Health News: NIH's Fauci On Combating Zika: 'You Have To Have The Resources To Act Quickly'
"...At the center is Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He oversees federal Zika vaccine research and development activities and has been the leading government spokesman on the overall anti-Zika effort. It's also been his job to find resources within NIH to support vaccine development while fighting for Congress to provide the additional funding. If it doesn't happen soon, he warns, the progress made so far will stall. ... Fauci recently spoke with Kaiser Health News' Carmen Heredia Rodriguez about the safety considerations that go into developing a vaccine and the ongoing funding fight..." (Rodriguez, 7/12).
MSNBC: Zika Virus Funding Battle in Congress 'Simply Inexcusable'
"The failure of Congress to approve any money to help fight Zika is 'simply inexcusable' and a 'dereliction of duty,' senators said during a hearing Wednesday, with just two days left before a long break means no money before autumn. As senators traded accusations at the hearing, Texas reported a baby was born in Houston's Harris County with microcephaly, the disturbing birth defect that's become the hallmark of Zika virus infection..." (Fox, 7/13).
Roll Call: Zika Talks Stalemated Despite Last-Minute White House Plea
"...Democrats are urging Republicans to send a $1.1 billion aid package to President Barack Obama's desk that excludes budgetary offsets or language on contraception curbs and environmental permitting for mosquito spraying. Those and other provisions are included in an anti-Zika conference package to which Democrats and the administration object. That measure passed the House, but remains stalled in the Senate. It is possible that Senate Republican leaders on Thursday will try another procedural vote to advance the legislation that is expected to fail..." (Bennett, 7/13).
2. Low Risk Of Zika Spreading In Most Countries Due To Olympic Games Travel, CDC Says; Colombia Sees Much Lower Numbers Of Zika-Related Fetal Deformities Than Brazil
Associated Press: Low risk in all but 4 countries of Olympics-related Zika
"The upcoming Olympic games are not likely to have a major impact on the spread of Zika virus, although four developing countries could face a substantially higher risk, according to a new government estimate..." (7/13).
Bloomberg: Finally, Some Good News for the Olympics: Zika Risk Not Elevated, CDC Says
"...Because travel for the Olympics represents less than 0.25 percent of total travel to Zika-affected countries, and because the Games' August and September dates come during Brazil's winter months, when mosquitoes are less prevalent, the Games themselves represent a very low additional risk for transmission, the CDC found..." (Shanker, 7/13).
Wall Street Journal: Global Zika Risk Is Low for Rio Olympics, CDC Says
"...The finding bolsters a conclusion reached by the World Health Organization last month that the Olympics, scheduled to get under way in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 5, need not be postponed due to Zika..." (McKay, 7/13).
Washington Post: Colombia offers the possibility that the Zika epidemic may not be as bad as feared
"In the nine months since the Zika virus appeared in Colombia, the government has reported nearly 100,000 cases, including more than 17,000 among pregnant women. But the epidemic has not produced the dreaded wave of fetal deformities witnessed in Brazil..." (Miroff, 7/13).
3. U.S. House FY17 Foreign Aid Spending Bill Limits Assistance For International Family Planning Programs
Roll Call: Foreign Aid Bill Omits U.N. Family Planning, Climate Change Funds
"House appropriators on Tuesday advanced the $52 billion fiscal 2017 foreign aid spending bill, as amended, which includes Republican policy riders that would block funding for a U.N. climate change fund and limit financial assistance for family planning programs. ... In both cases, the Senate is closer to the request by the Obama administration..." (Oswald, 7/12).
4. Devex Examines International Efforts To Work Toward Universal Health Coverage
Devex: Universal health coverage movement, alliance or partnership?
"...One of the targets under SDG 3 is to achieve universal health coverage, which helped garner support behind a proposal of creating a partnership -- now with a wider set of players -- that would boost efforts to achieve strong and resilient health systems to achieve UHC. The World Health Organization together with the World Bank, which hosts the [International Health Partnerships, or IHP+,] Secretariat, circulated a letter in March 2016 asking all 66 signatories to the partnership what they think of the idea of transforming IHP+ to cater to a UHC partnership. The answer, Devex has learned from a source close to the matter, was unanimous: Yes, we are in favor of expanding the IHP+'s mandate to accommodate these emerging priorities..." (Ravelo, 7/13).
5. MSF Says U.N. Failing In Northeast Nigeria, As Food Crisis Kills Hundreds Daily
The Guardian: U.N. accused of failing as north-east Nigeria at risk of famine
"The U.N. has been accused of failing to act quickly enough to save hundreds of thousands of lives in northern Nigeria where a food crisis already killing hundreds of people a day is poised to become the most devastating in decades. ... Isabelle Mouniaman, head of Médecins Sans Frontières operations in Nigeria, said MSF has been raising the alarm in northern Nigeria for two years and U.N. organizations have failed to respond..." (Greenwood, 7/14).
6. Food, Medicine Stocks Dwindle In Aleppo, Syria, After Government Forces Cut Off Road Access
Wall Street Journal: Syria's Aleppo Running Out of Food, Medicine After Regime Forces Advance
"Food and medicine have begun to dwindle in the city of Aleppo after an advance by Syrian regime forces effectively cut off the only road into the rebel-held side of the divided city, residents and opposition leaders said Wednesday..." (Abdulrahim, 7/13).
7. Women In Cambodia’s Garment Industry Lack Access To Health Information, Safe Abortion
The Guardian: Cambodia's garment workers vulnerable to unsafe abortions
"...The garment industry is the linchpin of Cambodia's economy, and the single biggest employer of women. ... Away from their homes and support networks, and with low levels of education and income, these women are particularly vulnerable and may be inhibited from accessing health care information and services, including abortion, according to the U.N. population fund, UNFPA..." (Kasztelan, 7/13).
8. STAT Examines Roles Of Scientists Involved In Discovering Ebola
STAT: History credits this man with discovering Ebola on his own. History is wrong
"If you ask Google who discovered Ebola, you will immediately be presented with a picture of Dr. Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. ... There's a small problem here, however. Piot did not discover Ebola on his own -- and depending on how you define discovery, may not be able to actually make the claim at all. ... But over the years he has come to be credited, perhaps unwittingly, with an outsized role in the story of Ebola, to the mounting annoyance of infectious disease scientists who have known better..." (Branswell, 7/14).