Infectious Diseases of Poverty
http://www.idpjournal.com/content
[Accessed 25 April 2015]
.
Research Article
Prevalence and risk factors associated with malaria infection among pregnant women in a semi-urban community of north-western Nigeria
Sani Fana, Mohammed Bunza, Sule Anka, Asiya Imam, Shehu Nataala Infectious Diseases of Poverty 2015, 4:24 (24 April 2015)
.
Research Article
Knowledge, perception and practices about malaria, climate change, livelihoods and food security among rural communities of central Tanzania
Benjamin K Mayala, Carolyn A Fahey, Dorothy Wei, Maria M Zinga, Veneranda M Bwana, Tabitha Mlacha, Susan F Rumisha, Grades Stanley, Elizabeth H Shayo, Leonard Mboera Infectious Diseases of Poverty 2015, 4:21 (24 April 2015)

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
Volume 13, In Progress (September 2015)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22124209/13

.
Disaster risk reduction or disaster risk production: The role of building regulations in mainstreaming DRR
Original Research Article
Pages 10-19
Ksenia Chmutina, Lee Bosher

Exploring the impacts of flood insurance reform on vulnerable communities
Original Research Article
Pages 20-36
Earthea Nance

Mapping the expected annual fatality risk of volcano on a global scale
Original Research Article
Pages 52-60
Hongmei Pan, Peijun Shi, Tao Ye, Wei Xu, Jing’ai Wang

Comparing the direct human impact of natural disasters for two cases in 2011: The Christchurch earthquake and the Bangkok flood
Original Research Article
Pages 61-65
Ilan Noy

International Journal of Infectious Diseases
June 2015 Volume 35, p1
http://www.ijidonline.com/current

.
Prevalence of tuberculosis in adolescents, western Kenya: implications for control programs
Videlis Nduba, Anna H. Van’t Hoog, Ellen Mitchell, Peter Onyango, Kayla Laserson, Martien Borgdorff
p11–17
Published online: March 11, 2015
Open Access
Preview
Tuberculosis (TB) has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO).1 No current vaccine has been shown to reliably prevent pulmonary TB in adolescents.2 The risk of TB disease increases steeply in adolescence, suggesting adolescents may be a suitable target group for vaccination.3,4 New vaccines are currently being developed,5–7 and adolescents are considered a convenient target for novel TB vaccine trials because they are easy to reach in schools, are not highly mobile, and do not have many of the comorbidities that exclude adults from trial participation.

International Journal of Mass Emergencies & Disasters
March 2015 (VOL. 33, NO. 1)
http://www.ijmed.org/issues/33/1/

.
Religious Actors in Disaster Relief: An Introduction, 1 -17
The neglected intersection between religion and disaster relief should be given much greater attention. This emerging field is an intellectually compelling area for study, though much work stills needs to be done to explore the processes that take place on the ground in different settings. It is also important for practitioners and policy makers involved in disaster response to have a nuanced understanding of the work that religious actors undertake. This special issue begins with an interview with representatives of prominent humanitarian organizations, all of whom call for greater attention to the work of religious actors in disaster relief. The following case studies provide a textured empirical analysis of religious responses to disasters in contemporary Asia. By attending to particular contexts it is shown that religious actors can and do play important yet complex roles in relief processes. This special issue – edited by Philip Fountain, Robin Bush, and R. Michael Feener – aims to critically examine these diverse intersections and also help set future research agendas on the subject.

Engaging Religion: An Interview with Practitioners, 18 -28

Religion in Spaces of Social Disruption: Re-Reading the Public Transcript of Disaster Relief in Pakistan, 29 -55

Waves of Conversion? The Tsunami, ‘Unethical Conversions,’ and Political Buddhism in Sri Lanka, 56 -76

Disaster ‘Caliphatization’: Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, Islamic Aceh, and the Indian Ocean Tsunami, 77 -98

Habitat for Humanity’s Post-Tsunami Housing Reconstruction Approaches in Sri Lanka, 99 -121

Breaking Rules to Be Compassionate: The ‘Skillful Means’ of Buddhist Relief after the Wenchuan Earthquake Disaster, 122 -147

JAMA
April 21, 2015, Vol 313, No. 15
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx

.
Global Health | April 21, 2015
Fifty Breakthroughs for Sustainable Global Development
M. J. Friedrich
JAMA. 2015;313(15):1506. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.3340.
Technological and scientific advances most needed to make a difference in the lives of poor people around the world are mapped out in a new study titled “50 Breakthroughs: Critical Scientific and Technological Advances Needed for Sustainable Global Development,” from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Institute for Globally Transformative Technologies (LIGTT) (https://ligtt.org/50-breakthroughs).
The authors of the study consulted with over 1000 experts to identify advances that could transform global outcomes, which are categorized into 9 areas: global health, food security and agricultural development, education, human rights, gender equity, water, access to electricity, digital inclusion, and resilience against climate change and environmental damage.

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health
May 2015, Volume 69, Issue 5
http://jech.bmj.com/content/current

.
Commentary
Impact evaluations of mental health programmes: the missing piece in global mental health
Mary J De Silva
The missing piece…
The past 10 years have witnessed a remarkable rise in the visibility of the field of global mental health, which applies the core principles of global health (improving health and equity in health for all people worldwide1) to mental health. The stated goal of global mental health is to reduce the burden of mental disorders using an evidence-based and human rights approach with a focus on low and middle income countries (LMIC) as this is where inequity in mental health treatment and care is the greatest.2…

.
Health service use, out-of-pocket payments and catastrophic health expenditure among older people in India: The WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE)
Ethel Mary Brinda1, Paul Kowal2,3, Jørn Attermann4, Ulrika Enemark1
Author Affiliations
1Section for Health Promotion and Health Services Research, Department of Public health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
2Department of Health Statistics and Information Systems, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
3Research Centre for Gender, Health and Ageing, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
4Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Published Online First 9 January 2015
Abstract
Background
Healthcare financing through out-of-pocket payments and inequities in healthcare utilisation are common in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Given the dearth of pertinent studies on these issues among older people in LMICs, we investigated the determinants of health service use, out-of-pocket and catastrophic health expenditures among older people in one LMIC, India.
Methods
We accessed data from a nationally representative, multistage sample of 2414 people aged 65 years and older from the WHO’s Study on global Ageing and adult health in India. Sociodemographic characteristics, health profiles, health service utilisation and out-of-pocket health expenditure were assessed using standard instruments. Multivariate zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were used to evaluate the determinants of health service visits. Multivariate Heckman sample selection regression models were used to assess the determinants of out-of-pocket and catastrophic health expenditures.
Results
Out-of-pocket health expenditures were higher among participants with disability and lower income. Diabetes, hypertension, chronic pulmonary disease, heart disease and tuberculosis increased the number of health visits and out-of-pocket health expenditures. The prevalence of catastrophic health expenditure among older people in India was 7% (95% CI 6% to 8%). Older men and individuals with chronic diseases were at higher risk of catastrophic health expenditure, while access to health insurance lowered the risk.
Conclusions
Reducing out-of-pocket health expenditure among older people is an important public health issue, in which social as well as medical determinants should be prioritised. Enhanced public health sector performance and provision of publicly funded insurance may protect against catastrophic health expenses and healthcare inequities in India.

.
Review
Birth weight and childhood wheezing disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Teumzghi F Mebrahtu, Richard G Feltbower, Darren C Greenwood, Roger C Parslow
Author Affiliations
Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Published Online First 22 December 2014
Abstract
Background
Previous observational studies have claimed that birth weight and childhood wheezing disorders are associated although the results remained inconsistent. One systematic review and two systematic reviews that included meta-analyses reported inconsistent results. We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate this.
Methods
An online search of published papers linking childhood asthma and wheezing disorders with birth weight up to February 2014 was carried out using EMBASE and Medline medical research databases. Summary ORs were estimated using random-effects models. Subgroup meta-analyses were performed to assess the robustness of risk associations and between-study heterogeneity.
Results
A total of 37 studies comprising 1 712 737 participants were included in our meta-analysis. The unadjusted summary ORs for risk of childhood wheezing disorders associated with low birth weight (<2.5 kg) were 1.60 (95% CI 1.39 to 1.85, p<0.001) and 1.37 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.79, p=0.02) when compared with ≥2.5 and 2.5–4.0 kg birthweight groups, respectively. The overall summary OR for high birth weight (>4 kg) as compared to the 2.5–4.0 kg birthweight group was 1.02 (95% CI 0.99 to 1.04, p=0.13). There was substantial heterogeneity in the unadjusted low birth weight risk estimates which was not accounted for by predefined study characteristics. There was no significant heterogeneity in the high birth weight risk estimates. There was some evidence of funnel plot asymmetry and small study effects in the low birth weight (2.5 vs ≥2.5 kg and <2.5 vs 2.5–4 kg) OR estimates.
Conclusions
Our results suggest that low birth (<2.5 kg) is an independent risk factor for wheezing disorders during childhood and adolescence although there was substantial heterogeneity among the risk estimates. However, we found no significant association of high birth weight with wheezing disorders.

JAMA
April 21, 2015, Vol 313, No. 15
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx
.
Viewpoint | April 21, 2015
Infant HIV-1 Vaccines – Supplementing Strategies to Reduce Maternal-Child Transmission
Genevieve G. Fouda, MD, PhD1,2; Coleen K. Cunningham, MD1; Sallie R. Permar, MD, PhD1,2
Author Affiliations
This Viewpoint proposes that development of an infant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 vaccine is equally important as adult HIV-1 vaccine development to reduce maternal-child HIV transmission.

Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved (JHCPU)
Volume 26, Number 2, May 2015
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_health_care_for_the_poor_and_underserved/toc/hpu.26.2.htm

.l
Part 2: Refugee, Immigrant, International, and LEP Patient Populations
Commentary
The Health Implications of Deportation Policy
pp. 406-409
Juliana E. Morris, Daniel Palazuelos

.
Improving Access to Mental Health Services for Racialized Immigrants, Refugees, and Non-Status People Living with HIV/AIDS
pp. 505-518
Y.Y. Brandon Chen, Alan Tai-Wai Li, Kenneth Po-Lun Fung, Josephine Pui-Hing Wong

Journal of Public Health Policy
Volume 36, Issue 2 (May 2015)
http://www.palgrave-journals.com/jphp/journal/v36/n2/index.html

.
Editorial
Is WHO ineffectual because its members are ministries not states?
Anthony Robbinsa and Phyllis Freemana
Journal of Public Health Policy (2015) 36, 131–133. doi:10.1057/jphp.2015.4; published online 19 February 2015

.
A North/South collaboration between two national public health institutes – A model for global health protection
The authors describe a strategic collaboration between the national public health institutes of England and South Africa to protect their populations against infectious diseases and implement WHO International Health Regulations.
Chikwe Ihekweazu, Fortune Ncube, Barry Schoub, Lucille Blumberg, Ruth Ruggles, Mark Salter, Shabir Madhi, and Anthony Kessel
J Public Health Pol 36: 181-193; advance online publication, January 8, 2015; doi:10.1057/jphp.2014.52

.
Translating active living research into policy and practice: One important pathway to chronic disease prevention Open
Concerned about rising rates of non-communicable diseases, the authors propose ten strategies that may facilitate translation of research into health-enhancing urban planning policy.
Billie Giles-Corti, James F Sallis, Takemi Sugiyama, Lawrence D Frank, Melanie Lowe, and Neville Owen
J Public Health Pol 36: 231-243; advance online publication, January 22, 2015; doi:10.1057/jphp.2014.53

.
The Federation’s Pages
Public health at all levels in the recent Nigerian Ebola viral infection epidemic: lessons for community, public and international health action and policy
Michael C Asuzua, Adebayo T Onajoleb, and Yahya Disuc
aDepartment of Community Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. E-mail:
bDepartment of Community Health, University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria
cLagos State Local Government Service Commission, Lagos, Nigeria

The Lancet
Online First
Comment
Final results from a pivotal phase 3 malaria vaccine trial
Vasee S Moorthy, Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele
Published Online: 23 April 2015
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60767-X
Summary
In The Lancet, the RTS,S Clinical Trials Partnership1 report the most recent results from the pivotal phase 3 trial of RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine, the fourth major publication from this randomised controlled trial.2–4 The trial enrolled 15,459 infants and young children at 11 centres in seven sub-Saharan African countries: Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Two age groups were included: 6–12 weeks and 5–17 months at first dose. The schedule involved a primary series of three monthly doses, with a booster dose given 18 months later in one of the three trial groups.

.
Articles
Efficacy and safety of RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine with or without a booster dose in infants and children in Africa: final results of a phase 3, individually randomised, controlled trial
RTS,S Clinical Trials Partnership – Members listed at end of paper
Published Online: 23 April 2015
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60721-8
Summary
Background
The efficacy and safety of the RTS,S/AS01 candidate malaria vaccine during 18 months of follow-up have been published previously. Herein, we report the final results from the same trial, including the efficacy of a booster dose.
Methods
From March 27, 2009, until Jan 31, 2011, children (age 5–17 months) and young infants (age 6–12 weeks) were enrolled at 11 centres in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1:1) at first vaccination by block randomisation with minimisation by centre to receive three doses of RTS,S/AS01 at months 0, 1, and 2 and a booster dose at month 20 (R3R group); three doses of RTS,S/AS01 and a dose of comparator vaccine at month 20 (R3C group); or a comparator vaccine at months 0, 1, 2, and 20 (C3C [control group]). Participants were followed up until Jan 31, 2014. Cases of clinical and severe malaria were captured through passive case detection. Serious adverse events (SAEs) were recorded. Analyses were by modified intention to treat and per protocol. The coprimary endpoints were the occurrence of malaria over 12 months after dose 3 in each age category. In this final analysis, we present data for the efficacy of the booster on the occurrence of malaria. Vaccine efficacy (VE) against clinical malaria was analysed by negative binomial regression and against severe malaria by relative risk reduction. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00866619.
Findings
8922 children and 6537 young infants were included in the modified intention-to-treat analyses. Children were followed up for a median of 48 months (IQR 39–50) and young infants for 38 months (34–41) after dose 1. From month 0 until study end, compared with 9585 episodes of clinical malaria that met the primary case definition in children in the C3C group, 6616 episodes occurred in the R3R group (VE 36•3%, 95% CI 31•8–40•5) and 7396 occurred in the R3C group (28•3%, 23•3–32•9); compared with 171 children who experienced at least one episode of severe malaria in the C3C group, 116 children experienced at least one episode of severe malaria in the R3R group (32•2%, 13•7 to 46•9) and 169 in the R3C group (1•1%, −23•0 to 20•5). In young infants, compared with 6170 episodes of clinical malaria that met the primary case definition in the C3C group, 4993 episodes occurred in the R3R group (VE 25•9%, 95% CI 19•9–31•5) and 5444 occurred in the R3C group (18•3%, 11•7–24•4); and compared with 116 infants who experienced at least one episode of severe malaria in the C3C group, 96 infants experienced at least one episode of severe malaria in the R3R group (17•3%, 95% CI −9•4 to 37•5) and 104 in the R3C group (10•3%, −17•9 to 31•8). In children, 1774 cases of clinical malaria were averted per 1000 children (95% CI 1387–2186) in the R3R group and 1363 per 1000 children (995–1797) in the R3C group. The numbers of cases averted per 1000 young infants were 983 (95% CI 592–1337) in the R3R group and 558 (158–926) in the R3C group. The frequency of SAEs overall was balanced between groups. However, meningitis was reported as a SAE in 22 children: 11 in the R3R group, ten in the R3C group, and one in the C3C group. The incidence of generalised convulsive seizures within 7 days of RTS,S/AS01 booster was 2•2 per 1000 doses in young infants and 2•5 per 1000 doses in children.
Interpretation
RTS,S/AS01 prevented a substantial number of cases of clinical malaria over a 3–4 year period in young infants and children when administered with or without a booster dose. Efficacy was enhanced by the administration of a booster dose in both age categories. Thus, the vaccine has the potential to make a substantial contribution to malaria control when used in combination with other effective control measures, especially in areas of high transmission.
Funding
GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA and the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative.

The Lancet
Apr 25, 2015 Volume 385 Number 9978 p1591-1696 e38-e44
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

.

Editorial
Vaccines: a step change in malaria prevention?
The Lancet
According to WHO’s 2014 World Malaria Report there were an estimated 198 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2013, occurring in around half of the world’s countries. These infections resulted in some 584 000 deaths, principally associated with Plasmodium falciparum infection, of which 90% occurred in equatorial Africa. Most distressingly, malaria mortality is concentrated in children, with about 453 000 deaths of children aged younger than 5 years in 2013, the vast majority in African countries.

The Lancet
Apr 25, 2015 Volume 385 Number 9978 p1591-1696 e38-e44
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current
.
Comment
Research priorities to address violence against women and girls
Marleen Temmerman
Published Online: 20 November 2014
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61840-7
Violence against women and girls is increasingly visible on the global health and development agenda—both as a matter of social justice and equality for women and as a public health priority. After many years of dedicated efforts, more is known about the epidemiology of some forms of violence against women, and knowledge is increasing about what works to prevent and respond to such violence. However, as this Lancet Series on violence against women and girls1–5 highlights, in terms of research and evidence this is still an emerging field.

.
Series
Prevention of violence against women and girls: lessons from practice
Lori Michau, MA, Jessica Horn, MSc, Amy Bank, BA, Mallika Dutt, JD, Cathy Zimmerman, PhD
Published Online: 20 November 2014
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61797-9
Summary
This Series paper describes programming to prevent violence against women and girls, and emphasises the importance of systematic, sustained programming across the social ecology (ie, the delicate equilibrium of interacting social, institutional, cultural, and political contexts of people’s lives) to transform gender-power inequalities. Effective prevention policy and programming is founded on five core principles: first, analysis and actions to prevent violence across the social ecology (individual, interpersonal, community, and societal); second, intervention designs based on an intersectional gender-power analysis; third, theory-informed models developed on the basis of evidence; fourth, sustained investment in multisector interventions; and finally, aspirational programming that promotes personal and collective thought, and enables activism on women’s and girls’ rights to violence-free lives. Prevention programming of the future will depend on all of us having a vision of, and a commitment to, gender equality to make violence-free lives for women and girls a reality.

.
Series
Addressing violence against women: a call to action
Dr Claudia García-Moreno, MD, Cathy Zimmerman, PhD, Alison Morris-Gehring, PhD, Lori Heise, PhD, Avni Amin, PhD, Naeemah Abrahams, PhD, Oswaldo Montoya, MA, Padma Bhate-eosthali, SW, Nduku Kilonzo, PhD, Prof Charlotte Watts, PhD
Published Online: 20 November 2014
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61830-4
Summary
Violence against women and girls is prevalent worldwide but historically has been overlooked and condoned. Growing international recognition of these violations creates opportunities for elimination, although solutions will not be quick or easy. Governments need to address the political, social, and economic structures that subordinate women, and implement national plans and make budget commitments to invest in actions by multiple sectors to prevent and respond to abuse. Emphasis on prevention is crucial. Community and group interventions involving women and men can shift discriminatory social norms to reduce the risk of violence. Education and empowerment of women are fundamental. Health workers should be trained to identify and support survivors and strategies to address violence should be integrated into services for child health, maternal, sexual, and reproductive health, mental health, HIV, and alcohol or substance abuse. Research to learn how to respond to violence must be strengthened. The elimination of violence against women and girls is central to equitable and sustainable social and economic development and must be prioritised in the agenda for development after 2015.

The Lancet Global Health
May 2015 Volume 3 Number 5 e240-e296
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/issue/current
.

Comment
Burden of obstetric fistula: from measurement to action
Saifuddin Ahmed, Özge Tunçalp
Open Access
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(15)70105-1
For every maternal death, an additional 20–30 women develop serious pregnancy-related complications. Among all maternal morbidities, obstetric fistula is one of the most devastating. It is caused by injury during childbirth, resulting in an abnormal opening between the vagina and the bladder (vesicovaginal fistula) or rectum (rectovaginal fistula), leading to continuous urinary or fecal incontinence. Obstructed labour is the most common cause of vesicovaginal fistula in low-income countries.1 Worldwide, an estimated 2–3 million women have obstetric fistula,1 almost exclusively in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia.
.

Articles
Prevalence of symptoms of vaginal fistula in 19 sub-Saharan Africa countries: a meta-analysis of national household survey data
Mathieu Maheu-Giroux, ScD, Véronique Filippi, PhD, Sékou Samadoulougou, PhD, Marcia C Castro, PhD, Nathalie Maulet, MPH, Prof Nicolas Meda, MD, Dr Fati Kirakoya-Samadoulougou, PhD
Open Access
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(14)70348-1
Summary
Background
Vaginal fistula is a serious medical disorder characterised by an abnormal opening between the vagina and the bladder or rectum, which results in continuous leakage of urine or stool. The burden of this disorder in sub-Saharan Africa is uncertain. We estimated the lifetime and point prevalence of symptoms of vaginal fistula in this region using national household surveys based on self-report of symptoms.
Methods
We considered all Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicators Cluster Surveys (MICS) from sub-Saharan Africa and included data for women of reproductive age (15–49 years). We estimated lifetime prevalence and point prevalence of vaginal fistula with use of Bayesian hierarchical meta-analysis.
Findings
We included 19 surveys in our analysis, including 262 100 respondents. Lifetime prevalence was 3•0 cases (95% credible interval 1•3–5•5) per 1000 women of reproductive age. After imputation of missing data, point prevalence was 1•0 case (0•3–2•4) per 1000 women of reproductive age. Ethiopia had the largest number of women who presently have symptoms of vaginal fistula.
Interpretation
This study is the first to estimate the burden of vaginal fistula in 19 sub-Saharan Africa countries using nationally representative survey data. Point prevalence was slightly lower than previously estimated but these earlier estimates are within the prevalence’s credible intervals. Although vaginal fistula is relatively rare, it is still too common in sub-Saharan Africa.
Funding
None.

The Lancet Global Health
May 2015 Volume 3 Number 5 e240-e296
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/issue/current

.

Comment
Governing the UN Sustainable Development Goals: interactions, infrastructures, and institutions
Jeff Waage, Christopher Yap, Sarah Bell, Caren Levy, Georgina Mace, Tom Pegram, Elaine nterhalter, Niheer Dasandi, David Hudson, Richard Kock, Susannah Mayhew, Colin Marx, Nigel Poole
Published Online: 29 March 2015
Open Access
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(15)70112-9
Summary
Three of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) concerned health. There is only one health goal in 17 proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Critiques of the MDGs included missed opportunities to realise positive interactions between goals.1 Here we report on an interdisciplinary analytical review of the SDG process, in which experts in different SDG areas identified potential interactions through a series of interdisciplinary workshops. This process generated a framework that reveals potential conflicts and synergies between goals, and how their interactions might be governed.

The Lancet Global Health
May 2015 Volume 3 Number 5 e240-e296
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/issue/current

.
Articles
Health gains and financial risk protection afforded by public financing of selected interventions in Ethiopia: an extended cost-effectiveness analysis
Dr Stéphane Verguet, PhD, Zachary D Olson, MA, Joseph B Babigumira, PhD, Dawit Desalegn, MD, Kjell Arne Johansson, PhD, Margaret E Kruk, MD, Carol E Levin, PhD, Rachel A Nugent, PhD, Clint Pecenka, PhD, Mark G Shrime, MD, Solomon Tessema Memirie, MD, David A Watkins, MD, Prof Dean T Jamison, PhD
Open Access
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(14)70346-8
Summary
Background
The way in which a government chooses to finance a health intervention can affect the uptake of health interventions and consequently the extent of health gains. In addition to health gains, some policies such as public finance can insure against catastrophic health expenditures. We aimed to evaluate the health and financial risk protection benefits of selected interventions that could be publicly financed by the government of Ethiopia.
Methods
We used extended cost-effectiveness analysis to assess the health gains (deaths averted) and financial risk protection afforded (cases of poverty averted) by a bundle of nine (among many other) interventions that the Government of Ethiopia aims to make universally available. These nine interventions were measles vaccination, rotavirus vaccination, pneumococcal conjugate vaccination, diarrhoea treatment, malaria treatment, pneumonia treatment, caesarean section surgery, hypertension treatment, and tuberculosis treatment.
Findings
Our analysis shows that, per dollar spent by the Ethiopian Government, the interventions that avert the most deaths are measles vaccination (367 deaths averted per $100 000 spent), pneumococcal conjugate vaccination (170 deaths averted per $100 000 spent), and caesarean section surgery (141 deaths averted per $100 000 spent). The interventions that avert the most cases of poverty are caesarean section surgery (98 cases averted per $100 000 spent), tuberculosis treatment (96 cases averted per $100 000 spent), and hypertension treatment (84 cases averted per $100 000 spent).
Interpretation
Our approach incorporates financial risk protection into the economic evaluation of health interventions and therefore provides information about the efficiency of attainment of both major objectives of a health system: improved health and financial risk protection. One intervention might rank higher on one or both metrics than another, which shows how intervention choice—the selection of a pathway to universal health coverage—might involve weighing up of sometimes competing objectives. This understanding can help policy makers to select interventions to target specific policy goals (ie, improved health or financial risk protection). It is especially relevant for the design and sequencing of universal health coverage to meet the needs of poor populations.
Funding
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Maternal and Child Health Journal
Volume 19, Issue 5, May 2015
http://link.springer.com/journal/10995/19/5/page/1

.
Review Paper
Use of Text Messaging for Maternal and Infant Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Elisabeth Poorman, Julie Gazmararian, Ruth M. Parker, Baiyu Yang, Lisa Elon
Abstract
Text messaging is an increasingly popular communication tool in health interventions, but has been little studied in maternal and infant health. This literature review evaluates studies of text messaging that may be applied to the promotion of maternal and infant health. Articles from peer-reviewed journals published before June 2012 were included if they were experimental or quasi-experimental studies of behaviors endorsed either by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the American Pediatrics Association, or the United States Preventive Services Task Force; included reproductive age women (12–50 years) or infants up to 2 years of age; and were available in English. Qualitative studies of text messaging specific to pregnant women were also included. Studies were compared and contrasted by key variables, including: design, time-period, study population, and results. Forty-eight articles were included, 30 of which were randomized controlled trials. Interventions vary greatly in effectiveness and soundness of methodology, but collectively indicate that there is a wide range of preventative behaviors that text message interventions can effectively promote, including smoking cessation, diabetes control, appointment reminders, medication adherence, weight loss, and vaccine uptake. Common methodological issues include not accounting for attention affect and not aligning text message content to measured outcomes. Those interventions that are based on an established theory of behavior change and use motivational as opposed to informational language are more likely to be successful. Building on the growing body of evidence for text message interventions reviewed here, as well as the growing popularity of text messaging as a medium, researchers should be able to use this technology to engage difficult to reach populations.

Nature
Volume 520 Number 7548 pp407-578 23 April 2015
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html
.
Editorials
Highway to health
Africa has an ambitious and welcome plan for a continent-wide centre for disease control — but if the agency is to live up to its promise, it will need substantially better resources.
.
Comment
Policy: Five priorities for the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Restructure data-gathering and evaluation networks to address climate change, energy, food, health and water provision, say Yonglong Lu and colleagues.

PLOS Currents: Disasters
[Accessed 25 April 2015]
http://currents.plos.org/disasters/

.
Revitalising Evidence-based Policy for the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030: Lessons from Existing International Science Partnerships
April 23, 2015 • Research article
The convergence of agreements on disaster risk reduction (DRR), development finance, sustainable development and climate change in 2015 presents a unique opportunity for coherence across these inter-related policy areas. At the same time, demand is growing for a more prominent and effective role for science and technology in providing evidence for policy, with the international community recognising that successful disaster risk reduction (DRR) depends on it. Reflecting this ambition, science is included as a core aspect of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, although the ways in which this will be implemented in practice is still unclear. This paper aims to inform the implementation of international science coordination for DRR by examining a number of existing international science partnerships used across other relevant areas of policy to understand best practice, options for coordination and lessons identified. In the field of DRR, the science-policy interface needs to be strengthened in line with the best practice described in this review. An enhanced UNISDR Scientific and Technical Advisory Group will be given the mandate for to enhance the evidence base for DRR and mobilise science and technical work in coordination with a broad range of stakeholders. The structure and function of an enhanced STAG must be as open, as inclusive and as participatory as possible in order to build trust in new and existing institutions at local, national, regional and global levels. The challenge for the international community is to facilitate evidence-based policy making by formally recognising the links between DRR, development finance, sustainable development and climate change in the upcoming post-2015 agreements.

PLoS Currents: Outbreaks
http://currents.plos.org/outbreaks/
(Accessed 25 April 2015)

.
Understanding the Emergence of Ebola Virus Disease in Sierra Leone: Stalking the Virus in the Threatening Wake of Emergence
April 20, 2015 • Research
Since Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) was first identified in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, and despite the numerous outbreaks recorded to date, rarely has an epidemic origin been identified. Indeed, among the twenty-one most documented EVD outbreaks in Africa, an index case has been identified four times, and hypothesized in only two other instances. The initial steps of emergence and spread of a virus are critical in the development of a potential outbreak and need to be thoroughly dissected and understood in order to improve on preventative strategies. In the current West African outbreak of EVD, a unique index case has been identified, pinpointing the geographical origin of the epidemic in Guinea. Herein, we provide an accounting of events that serve as the footprint of EVD emergence in Sierra Leone and a road map for risk mitigation fueled by lessons learned.

PLoS Medicine
(Accessed 25 April 2015)
http://www.plosmedicine.org/

.
Research Priorities to Improve the Management of Acute Malnutrition in Infants Aged Less Than Six Months (MAMI)
Chloe Angood, Marie McGrath, Sagar Mehta, Martha Mwangome, Mary Lung’aho, Dominique Roberfroid, Abigail Perry, Caroline Wilkinson, Anne-Dominique Israel, Cecile Bizouerne, Rukhsana Haider, Andrew Seal, James A. Berkley, Marko Kerac, MAMI Working Group Collaborators Guidelines and Guidance | published 21 Apr 2015 | PLOS Medicine 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001812
Summary Points
:: Worldwide, 8.5 million infants aged less than 6 months (<6m) are acutely malnourished. For the first time, 2013 WHO Malnutrition Guidelines describe their treatment, but on the basis of “very low quality” evidence, per WHO. More and better research is urgently needed.
:: To prioritise the many possible research questions on infant <6m malnutrition, we used the systematic, transparent, well-established Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) approach. Sixty-four experts scored 60 research questions on the basis of their answerability, likelihood of intervention efficacy, effectiveness, deliverability, sustainability, impact on disease burden, and impact on equity.
:: “How should infant <6m SAM be defined?” was the top-scoring research question; that this and other basic questions are still needed highlights paucity of evidence on this topic.
:: Other leading questions reflect interest in public health/community-focused models of care, e.g., “What are priority components of a package of outpatient care?” These questions are important to inform new outpatient strategies now recommended by WHO.
:: Most of our questions received high-priority scores reflecting a great need for a wide variety of evidence. Several major global initiatives such as the “Scaling Up Nutrition Movement” and “Generation Nutrition” would benefit from better evidence. Our results show clear ways forward for future research investments.