* Health Care Policy A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Global Health and the Future Role of the United States, includes 14 recommendations for coordinated international emergency response and improving survival in women and children via targeted interventions: http://links.lww.com/AJN/A89.
* Hypertension In Argentina, a program of lifestyle interventions led by trained community health workers improved blood pressure control among low-income, uninsured patients. The report appeared in the September 19 issue of JAMA.
* Infectious Diseases Cholera. Yemen, Kenya, northeastern Nigeria, and Somalia are experiencing a resurgence of cholera, which is often associated with political instability, conflict, poor sanitation, and famine. Yemen has been particularly hard hit, with more than 725,000 suspected cases and 2,100 deaths as of September, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). More than half of Yemen's health care facilities are closed or only partly functioning, and aid relief has been impaired because of the ongoing conflict.HIV-AIDS. The PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) 2017 Annual Report to Congress includes accomplishments on disease control and prevention, and a 10-point plan to control the global HIV epidemic: http://www.pepfar.gov/documents/organization/267809.pdf.Malaria. Plasmodium falciparum resistance to artemisinin, the first-line agent used to treat malaria, has been documented in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Alarmed at the prospect of further spread to adjacent countries, the WHO and others have called for stepped up treatment in the region while artemisinin still works.
* Mental Health The Millennium Cohort Study, which is following almost 10,000 UK children born in 2000-2001, reported that at age 14 24% of girls and 9% of boys had symptoms of depression.
* Refugees Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) reported on the dire health needs of Rohingya refugees fleeing to Bangladesh from targeted violence in Myanmar. Medical facilities have been overwhelmed and the organization fears infectious disease outbreaks will follow. The United Nations has increased aid at the request of the Bangladesh government.