Brazilian leaders' investment into transforming Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic Games, even as the country is quickly spiraling into a deep recession and its housing market has declined, illustrates the government's troubling development priorities.
This policy brief urges collaboration between the United States and Mexico to address widespread epidemics of mosquito-transmitted diseases like West Nile, dengue and chikungunya in both countries. Such policy development should focus on vector control programs, public awareness and the development of vaccines to curb the spread of these diseases.
Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Jennifer R. HerricksDecember 16, 2015
Despite right-wing pushes for the annexation of a significant portion of the West Bank, support remains for a two-state solution to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yair Hirschfeld, fellow in the Center for the Middle East, analyzes Israel's political environment in this post on the Baker Institute Blog.
Officials in the U.S. and Mexico should coordinate a response to the spread of Chagas disease in their countries. Chagas is the third most common parasitic infection in the world.
Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Jennifer R. HerricksOctober 30, 2015
Baker Institute experts blog on opportunities for the U.S. and Mexico to jointly address the neglected tropical diseases found among the poorest people living in both countries.
Peter J. Hotez, Jennifer R. Herricks, Kirstin R.W. MatthewsSeptember 28, 2015
In this commentary, the authors examine the roots of the United States’ reluctance to embrace universal health care, concluding that it "is neither sound nor ethical in a nation that promulgates fairness and equal opportunity" to deny coverage.
Asthma in children costs an estimated $27 billion annually for doctor visits, emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Not surprisingly, kids with asthma miss more days of school and do worse academically. The first step to the management and treatment of asthma is access to a primary care provider who can prescribe the necessary medications and develop an asthma action plan. However, if we want to have a significant impact on the negative consequences of this disease on our children, a multi-faceted approach that includes policy is an absolute must.
Genomic testing is a rapidly growing field, especially in cancer medicine, where it can be used to match patients to the most effective targeted treatment. In the past decade, we have seen rapid growth in the number of new genomic tests that are available. However, genomic testing is usually very expensive, raising the question of whether the testing is worth the cost.