David Fedson, an international expert in flu vaccine policy, says the current distribution system could leave many developing countries without access to vaccines during a flu pandemic. Fedson suggests more attention be given to alternative drug therapies.

Despite the unknowns about the swine flu outbreak, policymakers need to keep a steady flow of information and prevent a panicked global response, says Michael Osterholm, a leading public health expert.

Steve Radelet, an expert on African developmental issues, considers the long-term impact of President Bush’s policies toward Africa.

On the annual occasion of World AIDS day, CFR health expert Laurie Garrett points to problems in tracking and addressing the disease.

CFR fellow Laurie Garrett discusses Botswana’s infant formula policy debacle and its implications for other innovative efforts for fighting HIV/AIDS.

Reuters investigates the legitimacy of North Korea's appeals for massive food aid that have gone mostly unanswered by a skeptical international community.

Amanda Glassman, director of Global Health Policy at the Center for Global Development, discusses the impact of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), strategies to reduce NDC occurence, and the failure to implement such interventions.

Amanda Glassman and Kate McQueston suggest five affordable low-cost or no-cost interventions against the increasing frequency of non-communicable diseases.

The authors consider how non-communicable disease prevention strategies might be integrated into pre-existing health platforms in order to minimize costs and maximize efficiency.

Sir George Alleyne, Alafia Samuels, and Karen Sealey explain the tensions between advocacy factions in the effort to reduce non-communicable diseases (and communicable diseases), and potential constructive resolutions.

Contrary to popular belief, Mark Bittman argues that sustainable agriculture may be what's best for the world.

This Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation report explains the rise in development assistance for health globally and provides a comprehensive picture of the amount of health funding flowing to developing countries.

In this issue of Food Outlook, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports on global supply and demand balances, and warns against further supply shocks as prices continue to rise.

As the world approaches the 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals--which include a goal of reducing the proportion of hungry people by half--the 2010 Global Hunger Index offers a useful multidimensional overview of global hunger.

The rise of global health issues within the world of foreign policy is precipitating great interest in the concept and practice of health diplomacy. Much discussion of this new field, particularly within the global health community, has narrowly focused on how diplomatic negotiations and foreign policy can be used to support global health goals. Recent articles claim, for example, that "foreign policy is now being driven substantially by health," and that health can move "foreign policy away from a debate about interests to one about global altruism."

The Economist tells why so little is known about the effects of erupting volcanoes on air travel and their potential long-term effects.

In this Foreign Policy op-ed, Eduardo Gomez looks at President Barack Obama's new vision for tackling global health challenges,  examining how Obama's new initiative differs from the previous administration's approach by focusing on broad-category initiatives. 

Eduardo Gomez writes that as President Obama pushes to pass healthcare reform in the United States, "he would do well to examine the praiseworthy successes -- and the worrying failures -- of a decades-old universal system in the region's second-largest democracy."

This report looks at the various ways changes to the American health insurance system could affect the labor market.

It is not often clear when the spread of a disease, such as cholera, becomes a pandemic.