November 28 2014 Issue

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Greetings and welcome to the latest edition of our growing newsletter! Volume 1, Number 5
News and Reports
The Consortium for Humanitarian Intervention held its inaugural meeting at the Chicago School in November. It was a great meeting with much more to come. If you’re interested in learning more, please see: http://www.slideshare.net/drchrisstout1/humanitarian- intervention-consortium-5

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Grant and Funding Opportunities
APA Travel Grants for U.S. Psychologists to Attend International Conferences APA's Travel Grants for U.S. Psychologists to Attend International Conferences will provide funding for conference registration fees at international conferences held outside the United States and Canada. APA and APAGS members are eligible to apply. Applications are being accepted now for 2015 conferences. Deadline: March 31, 2015 Sponsor: APA Office of International Affairs Psychology of Black Graduate Student Women Award The Psychology of Black Women (Section I) of the APA’s Society for the Psychology of Women (Div. 35) sponsors the Graduate Student Award to recognize the work of a black woman graduate student in psychology. Deadline: April 5, 2015 Sponsor: Div. 35, Section I Upcoming Conferences and Events
Unite For Sight's Global Health University warmly invites you to participate in their upcoming free webinars: Critical Global Health Needs and Solutions Webinar December 1st, 2-3pm Eastern Time Register at http://slate.uniteforsight.org/register/dec1webinar Expert Panelists:  Sanjeev Arora, Director of Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes); Professor of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center  Daniel G. Bausch, Head, Virology and Emerging Infectious Department, U.S. Naval Research Unit No.6, Peru; Associate Professor, Department of Tropical Medicine, Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine  Sasha Kramer, Co-founder and Executive Director, Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL)  Philip J. Landrigan, Dean for Global Health, Ethel H. Wise Professor and Chairman, Department of Preventive Medicine; Professor of Pediatrics; Director, Children's Environmental Health Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai  Chris Underhill, Founder, BasicNeeds

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Careers in Global Health and Social Entrepreneurship Webinar January 21st, 4-5pm Eastern Time Register at http://slate.uniteforsight.org/register/jan21webinar Expert Panelists:  Jordan Levy, Chief External Relations Officer, Ubuntu Education Fund  Leila Makarechi, Chief Operating Officer and Executive VP of Program Management, Microclinic International  Barrett Prinz, Chief People Officer, One Acre Fund  Robin Smalley, Co-Founder, Director of mothers2mothers International  Panelist TBA  Panelist TBA Complete details and the online enrollment instructions can be seen at http://www.uniteforsight.org/volunteer-abroad Ebola and Infectious Disease Related
Aggregated news from:
http://labroots.com/user/news/article/id/226769/title/death-or-full-recovery-ebola-outcome-may- depend-on-your-genes
http://labroots.com/user/news/article/id/226655/title/ebola-patient-zero-how-outbreak-started-from- single-child

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Ebola Think Tank
https://convetit.com/ebola-thought-leader- thinktank-pilot-312.html
Using tech to fight Ebola http://www.idgconnect.com/abstract/9001/sierra-leone-ibm-new-ebola-insights
Essential update: New tests speed the diagnosis of Ebola The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency authorization for two new tests for detecting Ebola in humans. The tests, which can detect Ebola in blood or urine samples in 1 hour, can be performed on-site in hospitals with the proper lab equipment from the tests’ manufacturer, BioFire Defense. In other tests, samples must be sent from hospitals to be run in specialized labs and require 24-48 hours to produce results. Emergency use authorizations by the FDA permit the use of unapproved medical products in dealing with life-threatening illnesses when no approved or available alternatives exist.[1]
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/216288-overview?src=wnl_ref_prac_emed&uac=17144PJ
Aggregated News Reports from:
Cases Surge in Sierra Leone The Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) warns that Ebola cases have increased sharply in rural Sierra Leone—with 9 times more new cases per day than were reported two months ago. In the capital of Freetown, AGI reports 6 times more new cases per day than two months ago. The only encouraging news: In the northern region of Bombali, new cases have leveled off,

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according to AGI. "The pace of the spread in rural Sierra Leone shows we still have no time to lose," AGI Chief Executive Nick Thompson said. The news follows announcement by WHO that Ebola cases have topped 13,500 with 4,951 deaths. BBC
Cuba’s Grand Gesture For a small island nation, Cuba has stepped up in a big way in the Ebola response, committing to send nearly 500 doctors to West Africa—shaming large countries slow to respond to WHO’s pleas for more doctors. But Cuba’s support did not come out of the blue; Cuba has pinned its diplomatic strategy and even its economic health on such moves, as Jon Lee Anderson writes in this article. Cuba has one of the highest proportions of doctors (83,000 for its population of 11 million) in the world, and it has made a name for itself sending doctors to emergencies from, Pakistan to Haiti, and providing medical education to students from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The New Yorker Related: Many Mysteries Still Surround Ebola – Scientific American Related: Treating Ebola without Fear – The New York Times Related: Thousands in Sierra Leone break Ebola quarantine to find food – Associated Press via NBC Related: WHO asks Canada to justify Ebola-related travel restrictions – CIDRAP Related: Ebola and insurance: A complicated mixture – CBS
Sierra Leone’s Battle While this week saw the first glimmers of hope that Ebola may have crested in Liberia, this Guardian story from Sierra Leone shows the fight is far from over. “Every ambulance is now an Ebola ambulance in Sierra Leone’s capital,” writes Lisa O’Carroll, who notes that the military has now taken over the national response to the epidemic. In brutal detail, the article examines the on the ground realities of the still-raging epidemic—including 1,300 ambulance calls per day—and the follow-on consequences: the country’s first oncology unit has been put on hold, general health care is suffering, malaria cases are going unreported, and women are no longer giving birth in clinics and hospitals. “The world has never seen this before. The tool kit to fix it doesn’t exist. It’s very hard to see the solutions without a really large injection of resources from the rest of the world,” said Sinead Walsh, the Irish ambassador and a senior development expert. The Guardian

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The WFP’s Full Plate The scale of the Ebola epidemic in Guinea—showing no signs of subsiding—has forced the World Food Programme to operate well beyond its core mission to distribute $25 million of food to at least 353,000 people. Engineers are building 4 treatment centers—a first for WFP—with help from WHO and Médecins Sans Frontières. The org is also moving humanitarian personnel with its 19-seater aircraft and procuring personal protective equipment kits and gloves. The Quote: “We need to work not only on the emergency response, but also on the longer-term by restarting or expanding the nutrition programmes we have in the country,” says Elisabeth Faure, WFP’s Guinea director. “Otherwise, we’re going to see… all the progress that’s been made being reversed.” The Guardian
Related: Africans Worst Responders in Ebola Crisis – Associated Press Related: Jamaica: Chikungunya and Ebola – H5N1 Related: Ebola Training Videos – MSF Related: Braving Ebola – The New York Times (Photo Essay) Related: Ebola Design Challenge Says Yes To The Wedding Dress Designer – NPR Goats and Soda Related: Let’s talk about Ebola survivors and sex – Scientific American Related: DRC may be declared Ebola-free in late November – News24 Related: World Bank pledges $100m to send health workers to Ebola-hit countries – The Guardian Related: Keeping skin out of the game: A weekend programming project aims to save lives half a world away – The Economist Related: China is at serious risk of Ebola because of large numbers of travelers from Africa and poor hospital standards, warns Peter Piot – Daily Mail Related: China to send elite army unit to help fight Ebola in Liberia – Reuters Related: U.S. quarantines 'chilling' Ebola fight in West Africa (MSF) – Thomson Reuters Related: From Governors, a Mix of Hard-Line Acts and Conciliation Over Ebola – The New York Times Related: Why Kaci Hickox might lose a legal battle against Ebola quarantine – The Washington Post

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DENGUE
A Uniform Approach There's no vaccine against dengue—yet. As a stopgap, however, researchers in Thailand are evaluating the feasibility of using insecticide-treated school uniforms to protect children from day-biting mosquitoes that transmit the dengue virus. The work grew out of the findings of a PLOS One study, which suggests that treating uniforms with insecticide—a practice used by the military for decades—could be a cost-effective method to reduce dengue infection among the country's 5- to-14 age group, which accounts for 65% of dengue hemorrhagic fever patients. From a cost perspective the intervention may be an option worth considering but, at this point, it's unclear whether insecticide-treated uniforms would actually protect against dengue infection. SciDevNet
MALARIA Drumbeat for Eradication Malaria eradication is possible, and a necessary objective—one that young scientists should dedicate their careers to, Bill Gates emphasized at a keynote speech at the opening of the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in New Orleans last week. Citing the rise of artemisinin resistance and the need to eliminate Plasmodium falciparum from southeast Asia, Gates’s pointed to why it’s critical … and he also offered some specifics: calling for realism, a balanced and multidisciplinary approach, with support from experts in parasitology, entomology, primary care, social science, and communications in the fight. To make it happen, we need more tools, too, he urged—and the priorities should include digital mapping, a single-dose radical cure, novel vector control methods, and more sensitive and field-friendly diagnostics. The Lancet Global Health Blog Related: Gates Foundation Boosts Aid to Stamp out Malaria – Associated Press TUBERCULOSIS Mothers and Infants at Risk Pregnant women with tuberculosis in Cape Town, South Africa, face disturbingly poor outcomes, according to a study presented yesterday by Adrie Bekker at the 45th Union World Conference on Lung Health. The Numbers:  Out of 74 maternal tuberculosis cases in a Cape Town clinic, 53% had HIV co- infections.

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 5 mothers and 9 babies died; all mothers were HIV-positive  2/3 of the babies were born premature, 58% with low birth weight. One hurdle to addressing these problems is the lack of good epidemiological data on latent TB or TB disease during pregnancy, and the lack of official guidelines to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis during pregnancy, added Jyoti Mathad from Cornell University. ScienceSpeaks Blog
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1412166?query=infectious-disease

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HIV/AIDS Care, Denied in Yemen Yemeni health care workers have discriminated against HIV-positive patients and withheld care, despite a 2009 law mandating free health care to people with HIV—and imposing criminal penalties on health workers who discriminate against them. Health professionals told Human Rights Watch (HRW) the discrimination is common in the health system. They told HRW about a doctor at a state-run hospital in Sanaa who refused to treat an HIV-positive patient suffering from seizures. The doctor also shouted the patient’s HIV-positive status to the room, ordered her removal from the hospital, and demanded the arrest of the patient’s husband for withholding her status. In another instance, a woman told HRW that doctors at a private clinic sent her away when she was in labor and in need of a caesarian section after learning about her HIV status. HRW detailed the concerns in a letter to the Yemeni health minister. Human Rights Watch Related: Editorial: Fighting HIV/Aids – Sun Star (Philippines) Related: The world's most effective HIV prevention drug hasn't lived up to its potential – Washington Post $100 Million to Predict and Prevent The University of California, Davis will receive up to $100 million in grant funds from USAID to continue its work to detect and respond to emerging infectious disease threats, like Ebola. Over the past 5 years, the project has exposed more than 800 new viruses at high-risk of harmful transmission, and responded to 24 disease outbreaks. The new money will increase focus on the effects of human behavior on the emergence and spread of disease, with emphasis on people and livestock in high-risk areas. Sacramento Business Journal
South America’s Suffering While Ebola has soaked up global attention, the chikungunya virus has spawned a massive epidemic, infecting almost 1 million people in South America in the past year. Although deaths are relatively rare—about 150 people in the Americas—the painful, debilitating virus, which has no treatment, has taken a toll in poor countries with already struggling health systems. The virus has rapidly spread across the Americas, causing huge pressure on health services in some of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. The Dominican Republic has recorded 500,000 cases, and Central America has also been affected, with 123,000 cases in El Salvador. As the virus is new to the Americas, it is attacking people with no immunity, and the first human clinical trials are at least several years away. The Guardian

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PLAGUE Outbreak in Madagascar 119 cases of plague have been confirmed in Madagascar, including 40 deaths, as of November 16. 2% of reported cases are of the deadlier pneumonic form, rather than the more treatable bubonic form. Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital and largest city, has reported 2 cases of the bacterial disease. Given the city’s dense population and weak health care system, the risk of the disease spreading is considered high. Efforts to stop the spread are complicated by widespread resistance in Madagascar to deltamethrin (an insecticide used to control fleas). WHO/ReliefWeb
MENTAL HEALTH Minding the Body It’s been long recognized—and largely ignored—that people with serious mental illness die, on average, 20 years earlier than the general population, from heart disease, etc. Now, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Derbyshire Healthcare Foundation Trust are pioneering a 2-year initiative promoting well-integrated care for mental health service users. The program addresses lifestyle factors such as smoking (people with a mental illness are 5 times more likely to smoke than those who do not) and exercise (40% of people with schizophrenia are obese). The BHF commitment to improving cardiac health for people suffering from severe mental ill health conditions “will support the national progress towards parity of esteem,” says Geraldine Strathdee, NHS England’s national clinical director for mental health. The Guardian Related: Visualizing the most neglected disease: Mental illness – Humanosphere
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
Health Sector Response Lags Behind 1 in 3 women will experience physical and/or sexual violence—ranging from intimate physical and sexual partner violence, female genital mutilation, child and forced marriage, sex trafficking, and rape—in their lifetime, constituting a major global health problem, according to the WHO. The Lancet tackles the problem with a series assessing the evidence base for prevention, identifying data gaps, underscoring the need to involve men and women, providing practical lessons, and presenting a call for action with key recommendations and indicators to track progress.

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In their commentary introducing the series, Udani Samarasekera and Richard Horton argue that the health sector lags behind in addressing violence against women and girls, and should be playing a more vital role: not only in treating the consequences of violence, but also in addressing the underlying issue of inequality and helping women understand that what they are experiencing is abuse. The Lancet
CONFLICT Syria's War on Health Public health is among the casualties of Syria's 3-year civil war that has displaced 3 million people and killed hundreds of thousands. A report in PLOS examines the growing epidemics of infectious disease, including polio, measles and cutaneous leishmaniasis in the context of Syria's decimated health care infrastructure. The authors also take world leaders to task for continued inaction. The Quote: "The international community has fallen short in its response to the crisis of infectious diseases in the Syrian conflict, and the consequences of this failure will continue to grow until there is a coordinated and exhaustive global effort." PLOS
Extermination in Sudan The Enough Project has built a case for crimes against humanity in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, where the government has banned aid to rebel-controlled areas and attacked its own civilians. Evidence lies in people’s living conditions—assessed by anonymous researchers in August 2014—in South Kordofan state, 3 years into a relentless war. The Numbers: Cultivation has dropped to 20% of pre-war levels. 70% of displaced households consistently experience moderate or severe hunger. 66% of households stated that their child had malaria in the preceding 4 weeks. Relief Web Related: More reports of hemorrhagic fever in Sudan's South Kordofan - Radio Tamajuz

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Cheers, and thank you for your work,
Chris http://DrChrisStout.com Founding Director, http://CenterForGlobalInitiatives.org LinkedIn Influencer: http://www.linkedin.com/influencer/3055695 American Psychological Association International Humanitarian Award Winner, http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec07/rockstar.html