How to Turn the Corner On AIDS

An excerpt from an article in the Washington Post by Jim Kim:

November 23, 2005

A new U.N. report shows that the global AIDS epidemic has beencutting a broad and destructive path, causing 3 million deathsin the past year alone, or 60,000 a week. Nearly half of the 40million people living with HIV-AIDS are women, and more than 2million are children. Infection rates are rising in nearly everyregion of the world.

Why, then, in the face of numbers such as these, are some publichealth officials, myself included, optimistic that the epidemiccan be stopped? Because there is a growing body of evidence thatpublic health approaches such as pairing HIV treatment and pre-vention and strengthening health care delivery systems in poorcountries can help not only slow HIV-AIDS but also make long-needed breakthroughs in reducing the impact of diseases such asmalaria and tuberculosis that enslave the developing world.

Read more online on the Washington Post site.

If all politics is local, all health is global

Kouchner, a cofounder of the humanitarian doctors group Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), offered “resistance to oppression” as a definition of health and noted that efforts to expand humanitarian aid that crosses national borders, “that limits only the spread of solidarity rather than germs,” have been met with opposition. “We were called the hippies of medicine and doctors without diplomas,” he said. “That has stopped since we won the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Solutions such as partnering hospitals in the developed world with hospitals in the developing world are an important way to continue collaborations that can make a difference, he said, but the real problem is bigger than that.

“Public health is not a neutral activity; it is a political activity, the good sense of the world. Global health is a political problem, and nothing is more revealing of gender and racial inequality,” he said. Other speakers agreed.

More: http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/news-cms/news/?dept=4&id=37071&template=4

U.S. Surgeon General, International Experts Gather for Boston University

Boston—Internationally respected leaders and practitioners in the areas of public health, health science and policy, the social sciences, and the arts will gather at Boston University, Nov. 16–19, to consider how key global public health issues will evolve over the next 50 years. The conference, “Global Health: A Bridge to the Future,” is the inaugural event of Boston University's Global Health Initiative (GHI), a University-wide effort aimed at improving the health and well-being of populations throughout the world and educating a new generation of global citizens.

Seventy-five experts from developed and developing nations will participate in the four-day event. Other notable participants are founder and past president of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Doctors Without Borders Bernard Kouchner; former executive director of UNICEF Carol Bellamy; Mexican minister of health Julio Frenk; director of the Indian Council of Medical Research Nirmal Ganguly; anti-poverty advocate and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University Jeffrey Sachs; and software entrepreneur and social activist Mitchell Kapor.

http://www.bu.edu/dbin/sph/Summit.htm

TIME - Global Health Summit

The Bills Take On the Summit

The two Bills, Clinton and Gates, took the stage this afternoon at the Time Global Health Summit. For two men who spend their lives in the klieg lights, this was a rare opportunity for what could almost pass for a schmooze. TIME managing editor Jim Kelly asked them a wide range of questions, many of them posed in writing by conference attendees.

http://www.time.com/time/2005/globalhealth/

http://time.blogs.com/global_health/

Happy Diwali!

Why is Diwali Important To Sikhs?

The Third Sikh Teacher, Guru Amar Das institutionalized this as one of the special days when all Sikhs would gather to receive the Gurus blessings at Goindwal. In 1577 the foundation stone of The Golden Temple was laid on Diwali. The Diwali festival took place during the life of the sixth Sikh Guru Hargobind Sahib. The Muslim Emperor Jahengir, imprisoned the Guru and 52 Kings.The Emperor ruled India at this time. The Asian Indians begged the Emperor to release the Guru and the Emperor agreed but the Gurus said also release the kings. Guru ji had a gown made with 52 string pieces for the Hindus to hold. The Guru and the Hindu kings were also freed at Diwali, Sikhs were very happy when their leader was released. Guru Hargobind Sahib went to the Golden Temple Amritsar in the Punjab. Sikh Diwali is recalled throughout India and in many countries; each year to remember Guru ji's release. At Diwali we worship the religious freedom for Sikhs and this is why Diwali is called the Light Festival. As Guru's Mother was full of happiness that her son was released she ordered food and sweets and gave them to everyone. The worshippers float multi-coloured light candles on the water at the Golden Temple.

from: http://www.sikhstudy.com/diwali_for_sikhs.html