The following will appear in the February 20 issue of The Lancet:

Radiation protection The US Food and Drug Administration has an­nounced an initiative to reduce high radiation exposure from CT, nuclear medicine studies, and fluoroscopy. It will hold a meeting next month to solicit input about the requirements for manufacturers to incorporate safeguards in the development of technologies and provision of appropriate training for practitioners.

Dubious drugs A third of anti­malarial drugs available in three African nations are substandard, according to the USAID-funded Promoting Quality of Medicines pro­­gramme. Researchers sampled 491 antimalarials (artemisinin-based com­bination therapy and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine) in Madagascar, Sene­gal, and Uganda. The results are part of a larger ten-country project.

Technology for health Pharmaceutical companies are turning to non-traditional partners, such as telecoms and information technology, to meet the needs of their customers. Ernst & Young’s report—Progressions, Pharma 3.0—discusses the need for innovative approaches, such as iPhone applications for glucose monitoring, to improve clinical outcomes.

Yemen law Yemen could introduce a complete ban on female genital muti­lation within 4 years if new evidence shows that the practice is continuing unabated 9 years after a ban on health workers doing the practice came into force. Women’s rights groups say that although the practice may have stopped in hospitals, it is now done at home where the tools are less clean.

Stem cells for stroke? The first clinical trial of stem cell therapy for strokes has been granted approval. If successful, the 2-year trial of 12 patients with ischaemic stroke could provide a promising treatment option for stroke survivors, with the potential to provide some recovery of function to people left disabled. Extensive animal tests lend support to the use of neural stem cells for brain tissue repair.

Haiti aid Only 6% of post-earthquake assistance funds have been allocated to nutritional aid for women and children in Haiti. UNICEF has warned that high levels of acute malnutrition will result if insufficient provision for these vul­nerable groups continues. The target beneficiaries are 2·4 million women of childbearing age, 240 000 pregnant women, and 600 000 children younger than 5 years.

Pharmacovigilance Experts gathered in Brussels, Belgium, late last month to discuss the European Commission’s proposals for strengthening pharma­covigilance in the European Union. Delegates welcomed direct reporting of adverse drug reactions by patients to health authorities, but were wary of a shift in responsibilities to the pharmaceutical industry. The draft legislation will be voted on in the European Parliament later this year.

Cholera outbreak Papua New Guinea is struggling to contain its cholera outbreak, which has spread to 2000 people. The waterborne disease has killed at least 40 people since July, 2009, and is spreading to new areas, owing to poor sanitation in the country. WHO officials have urged the government to ensure people’s access to clean water.

Don’t forget Pakistan The UN has urged donors not to neglect Pakistan as Haiti’s plight dominates headlines. The organisation has appealed for US$538 million to assist the estimated 1 million Pakistani nationals who remain displaced by fighting between the army and the Taliban. Many are living with host families, but tens of thousands are in camps where food is desperately needed.

Cigarette tax hike A report by the US Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Heart Association, and others projects that adding a tax of US$1 per pack to cigarettes in the USA would raise more than $9 billion in new revenue per year, and save $52·8 bil­lion in immediate and long-term health-care costs; it also would prompt 1·2 million adult smokers to quit.

Deadly heatwave An unprecedented heatwave that began last month is continuing to cause deaths in Latin America. Those affected are mostly older people and those with existing medical disorders. With temperatures as high as 40°C in Paraguay and 43·9°C in Brazil, medical staff have launched campaigns to inform people of the dangers of dehydration, and the need to drink regularly.

Lost in space Global positioning systems (GPS), used in emergency services and disaster relief, might soon have their usual accuracy of 3 m decreased to 10 m as the sun wakes up from low activity. The speed of GPS signals entering the ionosphere is affected by the sun’s radiation. The Newton-Raphson equation for position might well need another dimension.

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