Top 5 Global Health Headlines: Push for USAID Cuts, Rotavirus Successes

Republicans Call for USAID Cuts

A group of 165 Republican members of the House of Representatives are calling for drastic spending cuts in foreign aid, including $1.39 billion a year from USAID, which funds health and development programs around the world.

The administrator for USAID, Rajiv Shah, pledged to put in place cost-cutting measures earlier this week, but argued the agency needs to be able to continue its mission.

“We need our partners on the Hill in both parties to recognize that, done well, development saves lives and improves economic opportunities, and needs to be elevated and not cut,” he said.

Children Benefit from Rotavirus Vaccine

Vaccinating infants against rotavirus significantly cuts the number of children admitted to hospitals with the potentially deadly disease, according to a new study released in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal Thursday.

Researchers looked at four countries that recently added the vaccine to routine childhood immunizations and found steep declines in hospitalizations — the United States has seen a 58-86 percent reduction, El Salvador, a 69-81 percent drop.

Flooding in Sri Lanka

Up to 400,000 children in Sri Lanka could go without food due to devastating floods in the region, Save the Children said this week. The United Nations is appealing for $51 million to meet the needs of the more than 1 million people affected by the monsoon flooding, which has killed 43 people and drove 360,000 people from their homes.

Transgender Killings in Honduras

UNAIDS is raising the alarm over the reported killings of six transgender people in Honduras, including one new case reported just this week. The organizations is calling on the Honduran government to protect the human rights of all individuals. Human Rights Watch previously worked to raise awareness of what the groups calls and “epidemic” of violence against the transgender community in Honduras.

U.S.-China Health Partnership

A U.S.-China public private partnership, aimed at health research collaboration and improving access to health service in China, was announced this week as President Hu Jintao visited President Obama in Washington.

The program will involve big name companies like Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer and would give China greater access to U.S. private sector expertise and foster the exchange of best practices.