Database Provides Information on Hundreds of Kenya Organizations
The National Coordinating Agency on Population and Development (NCAPD), with the assistance of the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) and the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has developed a national database that provides information on more than 900 organizations that work in population, health development, gender, and the environment in Kenya. (June 2007)

Is Low Birth Weight a Cause of Problems, or a Symptom of Them?
A symposium sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Population Center and the Population Reference Bureau marshaled expert speakers to address the topic, "How Important Are the Long-Term Consequences of Low Birth Weight?" In one corner was Dalton Conley, a New York University sociologist, who argued that low birth weight contributes to so many later health and behavior problems that policymakers need to address it directly. In the other was Marie McCormick, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard University, who stated that while low birth weight is associated with later problems, it is not clear that it causes them directly. (June 2007)

The Growing Global Chronic Disease Epidemic
At a PRB Symposium in April 2007, three panelists focused on the rise in chronic diseases around the world. While infectious diseases, lack of nutrition and other traditional killers are claiming fewer lives in developing countries, deaths attributable to chronic diseases are rising. And diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic conditions account for most deaths in rich, middle-income and lower middle-income countries, surpassing infectious diseases, malnutrition, and deaths of new mothers and babies combined. (May 2007)

Growing Up in North America: Child Health and Safety in Canada, the United States, and Mexico
The Children in North America Project aims to highlight the conditions and well-being of children and youth in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The report Growing Up in North America: Child Health and Safety in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, documents the health challenges these children face. The project is a collaboration of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Canadian Council on Social Development, the Children's Rights Network in Mexico, and the Population Reference Bureau. (May 2007)

Medicare Drug Benefit Will Help, but May Carry Unwanted Side Effects
When the Medicare drug benefit, Medicare Part D, took effect last year, its architects said it would help elderly Americans cope with the soaring costs of prescription medications. This program has been successful in providing prescription drug coverage to many seniors who previously had no such health benefit. But research indicates that lapses in drug coverage, such as the benefit gaps that are part of the new program, could have unwelcome health and financial side effects by making people less likely to follow prescribed drug treatments. (April 2007)

Confronting Chronic Diseases: Are We Prepared?
On April 30, 2007, a panel of distinguished researchers discussed recent research findings in chronic diseases, and ongoing public health strategies as well as other promising public policy approaches. In addition, the panel addressed the economic rationale for policy intervention and prospects for cost-effective approaches to the treatment and prevention of chronic disease. The symposium was sponsored by the Population Reference Bureau. (April 2007)

PRB to Resume Publication of 'New and Noteworthy in Nutrition' Newsletter
PRB will resume publication of a well-regarded and widely circulated newsletter on nutrition, previously published by Alan Berg of the World Bank and later by the International Food Policy Research Institute. (April 2007)

Prescription Drugs and Medicare (PDF: 101KB)
This e-newsletter is the second in a series funded by the University of Michigan Demography Center. This issue reviews trends in prescription drug spending and research findings concerning the effect of benefit caps and implications for Medicare costs. (April 2007)

TB Anywhere Is TB Everywhere
The global fight against tuberculosis has become more complicated by the emergence of new strains of TB that are resistant to many standard drugs. Many public health specialists are deeply concerned that without greater attention to the disease worldwide now, there is a risk that drug-resistant strains will spread. In a globalizing world, TB anywhere really is TB everywhere. Commerce, tourism, and immigration are sources that enable it to spread. Last year in the United States, for example, there were 9,000 new cases. (March 2007)

Healthy Aging (PDF: 101KB)
This e-newsletter is the first in a series funded by the University of Michigan Demography Center. This issue, "Healthy Aging," reviews research from scientists funded by the National Institute on Aging that identify several factors that can improve the chances of staying healthy longer. (March 2007)