Rupert Whitaker: A pill for risky sex—another step on the road to a pill for bad housing

PrEP—or chemoprophylaxis against HIV infection, as the less sexy phrase goes—is about using chemicals to prevent yourself from contracting HIV during sex or the sharing of injection equipment, the acronym standing for “pre-exposure prophylaxis.” It has gradually emerged as a possibility as a public health intervention after six years of clinical trials. It looks very promising, […]

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The BMJ Today: More GPs needed

“Why are medical schools attracting so few would-be GPs?” asks Richard Wakeford in a personal view, concluding that the Medical Schools Council is at least partly responsible: “Of 33 members representing undergraduate medical schools just two are GPs, the rest mostly clinician scientists.” His conclusion: “Medical schools must act, and the Medical Schools Council’s membership […]

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Anne Muendi Musuva: Why global health needs a health systems social movement

This blog reflects discussions I had with fellow young people who attended the Third Global Symposium on Health Systems Research, which was held in Cape Town from 29 September to 3 October 2014. We attended the symposium as part of the Emerging Voices for Global Health, an initiative of the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, […]

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Chris Ham: The NHS Five Year Forward View—the man matters more than the plan

Something very important happened on 23 October and it wasn’t the publication of the NHS Five Year Forward View. Far more important was the passion and confidence with which Simon Stevens launched the plan and challenged politicians to provide the funding needed to deliver it. His performance stood in stark contrast to the bickering over the […]

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Anand Bhopal: Alcohol in society—the search for nuance in a fractious debate

Alcohol is a historical part of British culture, and pubs remain central to communities across the country. Yet the same liquor is also responsible for filling A&E departments; absorbing police time; and adversely affecting millions through dependency, addiction, social problems, and disease. Too much of the current discourse on alcohol policy overlooks this spectrum and […]

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Developing evidence based health policy in resource limited settings—lessons from Nepal

Few would argue against the benefits of evidence informed public health and health policies. However, efforts to inform health policy in resource limited settings face particularly daunting challenges—often specific to the political complexity and resource limitations experienced uniquely in low and middle income countries (LMICs). The Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC), a Government of Nepal […]

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