US Government Urged to Maintain Global Health Spending

Source: Voice of America

The coalition director praised the proposed Obama budget for its continued support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as well as the GAVI Alliance, which is a public/private partnership concentrating on child immunizations. 

After Polio, India to eliminate Measles, Tetanus

Source: PTI

Laying emphasis on strengthening of routine immunisation, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today said the lessons learnt from success of polio campaign could help eliminate measles-related child deaths and neonatal tetanus from the country. 

GAVI CEO to give lecture at university in Mozambique

Source: Manica Foundation

Under the theme: "Miracles of Science: Vaccines and ensuring access for all” the Manhiça Foundation organizes on 12th March 2012, the 4th Edition of the Global Health Annual Lecture, which will be presented by Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance.  

In Angola, UN chief launches annual polio eradication drive

Source: UN News

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today launched a national polio vaccination campaign in Angola, where the crippling disease has returned despite being eradicated in 2001, and praised the Government for its leadership on the issue.  

India taken off WHO polio list in major milestone

Source: AFP

India was taken off a list of polio endemic countries by the World Health Organisation on Saturday, marking a massive victory for health workers battling the crippling disease. "This gives us hope that we can finally eradicate polio not only from India but from the face of the earth," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. The announcement leaves just three countries with endemic polio -- Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. 

IAVI and NineSigma Collaborate on New Approaches to AIDS Vaccine

Source: The Wall Street Journal

A collaboration between NineSigma and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) is helping to advance HIV vaccine research by identifying new approaches to the design of a potential vaccine. A leading worldwide provider of innovation services, NineSigma has connected IAVI with some of the world's leading biomedical researchers, and helped it identify two scientists who will receive a total of $875,000 to develop solutions for generating stable protein complexes for use in AIDS vaccines. The grants were issued by the Innovation Fund, a program of IAVI, which seeks out and underwrites the application ofnovel technologies to HIV vaccine design. 

India gives polio drops to Pakistani children

Source: BBC

Health authorities in the Indian state of Rajasthan are giving polio drops to children leaving from or arriving at the Munabao railway station on the border with Pakistan. The drive was launched after more than 175 cases of polio were reported in Pakistan, officials said. 

A Brief History of Vaccines

Source: The Wall Street Journal

It's hard to imagine an outbreak of smallpox today. But for centuries the deadly virus wiped out entire populations. WSJ's Christina Tsuei reports on how the discovery of vaccines (with the help of cows) eradicated the disease and led to the prevention of many other diseases. 

Bangladesh vaccinates 22 million children against polio

Source: Vaccine News Daily

Bangladesh vaccinated an estimated 22 million children under the age of five during its 20th immunization drive against polio. 

Seth Berkley - Quality is key in having healthy vaccine market

Source: LiveMint

Seth Berkley of GAVI Alliance spoke to Mint about the vaccine market and other initiatives by the organization. 

Hepatitis E vaccine

Source: Nepali Times

A potentially life-saving vaccine for our part of the world was recently approved by China's State Food and Drug Administration. The world's first commercial hepatitis E vaccine (Hecolin) is now available in China. 

'This is a profound moment in the history of immunisation' - Seth Berkley Q&A

Source: The Times of India

Berkley spoke with Kounteya Sinha about the exciting moment we are witnessing in global health today, growing equity between rich and poor nations in health - and how a shot in the arm could save a child's life. 

Let's Celebrate to Accelerate

Source: The Huffington Post

Ten years ago today, at a small press conference in New York, Bono and Bill Gates launched an activist entity called DATA, with start-up funds from Mr Gates, George Soros and Ed Scott. 

Malaria deaths hugely underestimated - Lancet study

Source: BBC News

Worldwide malaria deaths may be almost twice as high as previously estimated, a study reports.