Global health briefs - January 2017

January / February 2017 | Volume 16, Issue 1

Workshop details Ebola research agenda

Research is needed to answer questions about Ebola transmission, how to improve diagnosis, properly contain the ill and develop an effective vaccine, according to participants of a recent workshop organized by the Forum on Microbial Threats. The meeting report was published by the National Academy of Medicine.

• Access the full report, The Ebola Epidemic in West Africa: Proceedings of a Workshop, released December 6, 2016, from the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

WHO says malaria control better in Africa

Children and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa have greater access to effective malaria control measures than five years ago, according to the WHO’s latest global malaria report. However, funding shortfalls and fragile health systems are undermining overall progress.

• Read the full December 13, 2016 new release, Malaria control improves for vulnerable in Africa, but global progress off-track from the WHO.

Human subject research guidelines revised

A new version of ethical guidelines for health-related research involving human subjects has been released by the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences. The guidelines pay particular attention to research in low- and middle-income countries.

• Access the International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research involving Humans from the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS).

CDC reviews 50 years of immunization

The CDC has published an article to mark the 50th anniversary of the agency’s global leadership in immunization, describing its involvement in smallpox eradication and efforts to eliminate polio, measles and rubella.

• Access the article Fifty Years of Global Immunization at CDC, 1966-2015, published December 19, 2016 by Public Health Reports.

Global goals for translational research

Translational science is a global effort, according to the new strategic plan released by the NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. The Center pledges to incorporate an international perspective in development of core competencies, as well as to form global partnerships that leverage complementary capacities and accelerate progress.

• Access the updated Strategic Plan from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).

New NIH plan for behavioral, social sciences

While it’s widely accepted that behavioral and social factors cause numerous premature deaths, understanding how those factors interact with biology and can be modified requires a robust and rigorous research agenda, according to the new strategic plan released by the NIH’s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research.

• Read the November 23, 2016 news release, A new strategic direction for behavioral and social sciences research at NIH, from the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at NIH.

To view Adobe PDF files, download current, free accessible plug-ins from Adobe's website.