I am now a weekly contributor to the Change.org Global Health blog. Here is a link to my first post, “Can a piece of cloth keep girls in school?“

Pardon me for blogging about a topic like handwashing outside of the established global health calendar. I just could not wait until the next Global Handwashing Day (Oct 15 if you were wondering).

Diarrhea is a leading cause of death for children under the age of five in [...]]]>

CDC/Mary Hilpertshauser

Pardon me for blogging about a topic like handwashing outside of the established global health calendar. I just could not wait until the next Global Handwashing Day (Oct 15 if you were wondering).

Diarrhea is a leading cause of death for children under the age of five in developing countries — second only to pneumonia. This 2009 UNICEF report puts it bluntly: diarrhea “kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.”

Oral rehydration salts and zinc tablets save lives, but prevention is key to averting 1.5 million under five deaths per year. A whopping 88 percent of all diarrheal deaths worldwide can be linked to water, sanitation, and hygiene. Resources + Environment + Behavior = Health.

Handwashing with soap is one of the most effective prevention tools, but habits are hard to change — everywhere, including U.S. hospitals. The Mayo Clinic recommends 20 seconds of vigorous washing (or two rounds of “Happy Birthday” according to the CDC — and who doesn’t love to sing this classic?). Add on time for rinsing and drying and you approach 2 minutes. Just do the math for health care workers who see 30 patients a day. What a time suck!

But behavior change is only part of the story. For too many people in this world, access to clean water and soap is limited. If only there was a device that slashed handwashing times and eliminated the need for soap and water…

Phil Wilson/NY Times

So predictable, I know. Anne Eisenberg at the New York Times reports on a developing technology that uses electric current to create a plasma (gas) that can inactivate a variety of microorganisms.

The electric current ionizes the oxygen, nitrogen and water vapor in the air…eventually creating the nitric oxide, hydrogen peroxide and particles that are so effective against bacteria, viruses and fungi.

The cost? Less than $100 (probably). Dr. Gregor Morfill at the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (think international space station, not aliens) has reportedly developed some very Earthly protypes, including “portable, battery-operated model the size of a large electric toothbrush.”

We’re going to need a new Wellbee poster.

Good luck Cambodia. Google still has not responded to my message [...]]]> Kate at Wronging Rights points to an AP report that the Cambodian government has complained to Google about the representation of its border with Thailand in Google Earth, calling it “devoid of truth and reality, and professionally irresponsible, if not pretentious.”

Good luck Cambodia. Google still has not responded to my message about the border between Kenya and Tanzania. Too busy with gigabit WiFi I guess (awesome!).

Here is a geotagged image of the Kenya/Tanzania border marker. The border looks a little off in Google’s map, eh?

Here is a wonderful graphic of the President’s 2011 budget proposal. The big blocks for national defense, social security, [...]]]> Great data visualizations can tell a story that, for some, may be lost in tables and text. The New York Times seems to get this. They have a first rate graphics operation.

Here is a wonderful graphic of the President’s 2011 budget proposal. The big blocks for national defense, social security, medicare, and income security really show the nation’s priorities/obligations. You’ve got to visit the site to get the full effect.

As a side note, the President proposed a 9.4% increase in global health spending in 2011. There are also proposed increases of 18.1% for development assistance, 4.8% for USAID, and 15.8% for the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Explore the New York Times graphic.
Visit the NYT Visualization Lab.
Browse Smashing Magazine’s run down some of my favorite visualization blogs/sites.

Criteria for selection included:

Oh, the status of a program evaluator!

Also on the list is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist and Health-Informatics [...]]]> You’re in luck. Marty Nemko at Kiplinger predicts that Program Evaluator will be one of the top careers in the next decade.

Criteria for selection included:

• Likelihood of sustaining at least a middle-class income
• Socially redeeming
• Quality of life
• Status

Oh, the status of a program evaluator!

Also on the list is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist and Health-Informatics Specialist. Is he right? I don’t know, but my tasks this week have included prepping for a public health informatics workshop that I will teach this weekend, studying for my psychology licensing exam, and helping to manage an impact evaluation in Uganda.

Judging by the comments on this article, I should not be too excited. The most common response is “Really?” and “WTF?” Marty, next time consider burying “Federal-Government Manger” around #10. Not a great lead in.

HT: @aeaweb

This one-day workshop is designed to give students an overview of current trends in health mapping; knowledge of state-of-the-art tools, methods, and [...]]]>
I posted the syllabus for my upcoming Public Health Informatics II course: Health Mapping in a Digital Age. This workshop is for students in the NYU Master’s Program in Global Public Health.

This one-day workshop is designed to give students an overview of current trends in health mapping; knowledge of state-of-the-art tools, methods, and resources for collecting, analyzing, and visualizing geographic health data; and experience working with several web-based and desktop programs and spatial data resources. The objective is to frame health mapping as an accessible set of tools and methods that students can begin to use in their work, even without years of specialized training.

Robben Island, the famous sliver of land in South Africa’s Table Bay where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years, has an animal control problem.

…this island is overrun with rabbits, multiplying at the astonishing rates for which they are renowned. They have burrowed [...]]]>

Photo: Robin Hammond for The New York Times

Robben Island, the famous sliver of land in South Africa’s Table Bay where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years, has an animal control problem.

…this island is overrun with rabbits, multiplying at the astonishing rates for which they are renowned. They have burrowed beneath the historic buildings and denuded the place of the leafy plants that keep the soil from whooshing into a dust bowl…For the island’s managers, the rabbits long ago ceased being furry innocents and are viewed instead as maddening varmints. Various efforts have been made to control the population but every idea failed in one way or another…The females can breed at three months of age and are capable of delivering litters of eight six times a year [New York Times].

The news is (partial) vindication for South Carolina’s Lt. Governor Andre Bauer (and his grandmother) who told an audience last week about the consequences of poor resource management.

“My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals,” Bauer told a Greenville-area crowd. “You know why? Because they breed. “You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that. And so what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better.”

Human population control policies are under review.

The editorial board at the New York Times weighs in as well. In case you were outside feeding strays (or supporting your local [...]]]> Stephen Colbert, South Carolina native, picks up the reporting on “Stray Animal-Gate (SAG)”

The editorial board at the New York Times weighs in as well. In case you were outside feeding strays (or supporting your local food bank) when the story broke, here is a recap from SC’s Lt. Governor Andre Bauer:

“My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals,” Bauer told a Greenville-area crowd. “You know why? Because they breed. “You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that. And so what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better.”

In Bauer’s defense, he has acknowledged his poor choice of words. He has vowed, however, to continue to speak out against the political correctness that is “killing” the state.

Nevertheless, in the wake of SAG, Bauer had to walk back some of his comments. He told CNN that he is “not against animals,” and noted that he has raised money for animal protection groups. This is a good step. Animal rights groups can be tough.

Bauer also told CNN that he wishes he had “used a different metaphor.” So what is an animal-loving, political correctness hating gubernatorial candidate to do?

Target plants, not animals

The pro-plant groups are less likely to make a fuss. Until the Botanical Society of America can steal Sarah Mclachlan away from the ASPCA to film a plant cruelty video, species from the kingdom Plantae are a safe target.

I suggest focusing on weeds. Everyone hates weeds. Here’s what a plant-poverty rant could look like:

“My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray WEEDS. You know why? Because they GROW OUT OF CONTROL. You’re facilitating the problem if you give a WEED or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that. And so what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better.”

I’m just saying. It could work.