Weekly Highlights, July 26 – August 1 2009

by Lillian Gu · 2009-08-02 04:05:00 UTC
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(photo credit: sherrattsam)

Basics

Living in Central Asia, Alanna has first-hand experience with the pesky little sandflies that transmit the tropical disease leishmaniasis. Read her post Five Things to Know About Leishmaniasis to learn all about it. Also, learn about the five medical conditions that account for 80% of maternal deaths: severe bleeding, infections, hypertensive disorders, obstructed labor, and unsafe abortions.

As a first post in the series, "Things That Work," Alanna talks about Health Visitors: nurses, doctors or trained volunteers that conduct home visits and give people basic health education and care. Health visitors are one way to increase health care access, but What Does Access to Medical Care Really Mean? Alanna explains three main forms of access: geographic, financial, and cultural. And guest blogger Michael Keizer teases apart the differences between inequities and inequalities in his post The Health Equation.

News & Analysis

News broke out on Tuesday that the Cambodian government has been relocating people living with AIDS into a de facto "AIDS colony," one without clean water or sanitary facilities.

This week's Friday Futures explores Obesity. Alanna warns that, with increased meat consumption and urbanization, the developing world that is at risk for a rise in obesity. But urbanization is not just a risk factor for obesity. Given the higher population density and lack of healthcare in slums, Alanna thinks that Swine Flu is Going to Hit Megacities Hard.

Alanna has written about the Guttmacher Institute study that found withdrawal may be an effective method of birth control. In response to a New York Times article about this study, guest blogger Mara Gordon explores the tricky question, "What is a publication's responsibility when it comes to controversial health news?"

Career Advice

Alanna gives the pros and cons to Joining the Peace Corps as part of your global health career. One key point to remember is that the Peace Corps is not an international development organization, but a US public diplomacy agency. Also, you may be interested in a Very Interesting Vacancy at Center for Global Development (CGD). Alanna thinks the CGD is "the clearest, sanest voices out there on global development and health."

Lillian Gu
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