Global health news briefs - June 2020

Global health news briefs - June 2020

NIH releases nutrition research plan

To spur discovery and innovation, NIH has launched the first agency-wide strategic plan for nutrition research. The cross-cutting scientific agenda - supported by nearly $2 billion each year - includes a proposed focus on diet, behavior patterns, nutrition across the lifespan and food as medicine.

Mental health strategy developed by NIH

NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has released a strategic plan to guide its research. Its four stated goals are: defining brain mechanisms underlying complex behaviors, examining mental illness across the lifespan, striving for prevention and cures, and strengthening the public health impact of its research.

NIH launches PhenX Toolkit

NIH has developed a new resource - the PhenX Toolkit - to provide standardized measures for phenotypes and exposures in biomedical research involving the social determinants of health. The open-access collection of 19 protocols was supported by the NIH’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).

WHO creates COVID-19 tech access pool

Thirty countries and multiple international organizations are partnering to support the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), a WHO initiative aimed at speeding progress and ensuring vaccines, tests, treatments and other health technologies to fight coronavirus are freely accessible to all.

COVID-19 guide for youth is published

The Smithsonian has collaborated with the WHO and others to develop a rapid-response COVID-19 guide for youth. Published in more than 15 languages, it aims to help young people understand the science of coronavirus as well as help them take actions to keep themselves, their families and communities safe.

WHO reports on state of global nursing

More than 190 countries provided data that was analyzed for the WHO’s 2020 study that projects a nursing shortfall in the next decade and suggests policy options to strengthen the nursing field. The overview also highlights specific gaps in the evidence of the effectiveness of nursing interventions.

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