Weekly Highlights, August 2 – August 8 2009

by Lillian Gu

category: Global Health Links

Published August 09, 2009 @ 07:27PM PT

(Mosquito larvae. Photo credit: Alvaro Rodriguez)

Basics

This week, global health guide Alanna Shaikh gives us Malaria Prevention in a Nutshell, and explains the four main ways to reduce transmission: bednets, indoor residual spraying, habitat reduction, and preventative treatment.

Last week, guest blogger Michael Keizer defined an inequality as inequitable if it is "avoidable, unnecessary, and unfair." This week, he responds to commenter Catee Lalonde's critiques on this definition in his post, Is being a couch potato inequitable? Or hard questions about inequities.

News & Analysis

There has been some Good News and Bad News this week. The good news is that tuberculosis incidence could be reduced by half by 2050, but the bad news is that a new strain of HIV has been discovered. (Also check out this post for interesting tidbits on chimpanzees and orangutans.)

USAID Needs a Leader! The current acting administrator, Alonzo Fulgham, is doing three jobs, and we need a permanent USAID leader. Sign Alanna's letter to President Obama asking him to appoint an administrator ASAP.

A guest post from Andre Blackman asks the question, Are We Developing the Right Vaccines? As scientists develop the H1N1 vaccine, they are also stockpiling vaccines against smallpox, a great potential biological weapon. However, Andre points out that certain efforts are leaving out roughly 80 million Americans who are immunosuppressed.

In this week's Friday Futures, Alanna predicts that the world won't run out of food anytime soon, but loss of variety in our diet will put us at a greater risk of losing food sources to diseases.

Guest blogger Carol Dunn outlines six reasons why Horrible Outcomes Don't Change Behavior, and why pandemic risk communicators need to stop using ‘the horrible outcome' as an emotional lever for funding and action.

Career Advice

Last week, Alanna wrote about the Pros and Cons of the Peace Corps. Former Peace Corps volunteer Molly Mattessich thinks Peace Corps is What You Make of It. Her own experience in Mali had a ripple effect on her family and friends, "making the world seem a little bit smaller."

One reader asks, How Do You Stay a Generalist? Alanna did so by being proactive in seeking out opportunities in her work and becoming known as a writer and a manager, rather than a public health specialist. Another reader asks, How Do You Sell Your Writing skills? Alanna suggests putting it in resume summary section as well as selling it in the cover letter.

Kudos

This week's Comment of the Week was by Theo Smart. Theo offers a new perspective on global funding for maternal health. Remember to share your thoughts with us in the comments, so you can be the next winner, and earn a charity gift on Change.org.