Category Archives: Global health

fun tidbits from grading (medicare and expensive treatments)

every year i am re-astounded by the things we discuss about medicare in norm daniels’s ethics class. among them: 1. it is not permissible for medicare to consider cost, cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit, or opportunity cost when deciding to cover a new medicine or treatment. only effectiveness (‘reasonable and necessary’) (see D Brock 2010). this is trueContinueContinue reading “fun tidbits from grading (medicare and expensive treatments)”

how is a raven like a writing desk? (smartphones as sanitation metaphor)

i have raised my eyebrows once or twice here about some of the discussions on the ipad or smartphone of toilets and sanitation. now i have gotten through the @gatesfoundation challenge paper and have a few more things to say. i briefly summarize the three key topics of the paper in  terms of approaches to improvingContinueContinue reading “how is a raven like a writing desk? (smartphones as sanitation metaphor)”

bringing in the state for experiments and development efforts — when? how?

there have been a lot of mentions of governments, experiments, ownership, & development in the past two weeks that sparked a few ideas in my head. the underlying theme is that we need to start considering not just the political economy of the contexts in which we work but how to actually bring political andContinueContinue reading “bringing in the state for experiments and development efforts — when? how?”

demography: two things i remember from class and one thing i managed to remember from a book

sometimes memory devices and catch phrases work for me, like remembering how to set a table, how to spell encyclopedia, and how many ounces are in a pint (and a pound, incidentally). sometimes, they do not, as evidenced by the fact that i only remember the demonic halves of the demonic mnemonics for the cranialContinueContinue reading “demography: two things i remember from class and one thing i managed to remember from a book”

experimenting with intention

this post revisits some issues i have touched on before. first of all, good find by roving bandit. the gist is that an experimental program undertaken in ‘ideal’ (NGO-run) conditions did not show any effect when the same program was run by the government. oops. i think this raises several possible questions related to carryingContinueContinue reading “experimenting with intention”

talking about ‘the rest’ (no dear, we don’t call it that because we are not talking about africa right now)

this is so spot-on and people have added several more strong ones in the comments. i particularly like the vision of norway invading the US and sorting us out. they can play ‘immigrant song’ on the trip over. am thinking we need to start a list for health… also, for past and present high-seas piracy.

if it doesn’t kill them, it makes them stronger (III) / why would you do things that way? (II)

well, this is bad and annoying. bad: malaria resistance to ACTs is being increasingly reported in Thailand. annoying: the article’s narrator & interviewee go on to say that immediate steps need to be taken. then, instead of listing some possible steps, they highlight that maybe a malaria vaccine is on the horizon. 1. what should weContinueContinue reading “if it doesn’t kill them, it makes them stronger (III) / why would you do things that way? (II)”

off-the-grid, profitable toilets? / why would you do things that way? (I)

i am pretty sure this is the beginning of a cool idea for improving water & sanitation, which is ever-so-critical for public health (still the #2 cause of under-5 mortality globally – though it’s not clear if these new toilets have potty-training options and what that actually means for the spread of disease…). skipping theContinueContinue reading “off-the-grid, profitable toilets? / why would you do things that way? (I)”

rethinking the use of the word ‘simple’ in global health & development (III)

suvojit made some great points that turned into (what i think is) an interesting conversation. check it & think about what ‘best buys’ in development really mean. plus, generally check out suvo! we’re all better off since he decided to stop and blog every now and then.