Health

June 25, 2009 — As of mid-2009, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research has already funded over $1 million in high-risk, high-reward approaches to Parkinson’s therapeutic development through its groundbreaking Rapid Response Innovation Awards. Projects include investigations of the safety and efficacy of an FDA-approved drug for kidney disease to treat Parkinson’s; characterization of a tenuous link between PD and certain strains of influenza virus; and a proof-of-principle approach to refine deep brain stimulation (DBS) into a potentially more effective symptomatic therapy.

July 2, 2009 — Based Rockefeller Foundation has announced a five-year, $100 million initiative to expand health coverage in Africa and Asia and provide new health and financial protections for all.

July 2, 2009 — One of the most important challenges in the cancer community today is whether people can, in fact, prevent their own cancers. Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is announcing millions of dollars in long-term grant funding to find out.

In his Easier Said Than Done column in April, Jeff Brooks recalled his experience working with a leprosy charity that didn’t want to talk about leprosy. He pointedly said, “How many people have leprosy right now because we couldn’t bring ourselves to say ‘leprosy’?”

July 1, 2009, The Chronicle of Philanthropy — The Rockefeller Foundation has pledged $100-million over five years to help impoverished nations build better health-care systems.

TORONTO, June 29, 2009 — Vulnerable youth facing mental illness and
addiction -- whose needs now go unmet -- will soon benefit from expanded
services in new facilities, thanks to the support of a generous donation of $5
million from the estates of Ken Thomson and his sister Audrey Campbell. The
donation will enable the expansion of CAMH's existing services through the
creation of a new inpatient centre which will be part of CAMH's pioneering
redevelopment project.

FAIRFAX, Va., June 29, 2009 — The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is now accepting applications for Survivor Circle grants, which are awarded to non-disease site specific cancer support organizations located in the state that ASTRO holds its Annual Meeting. ASTRO's Annual Meeting is in Chicago this year.

PORTLAND, Maine, June 25, 2009 — The Council for Disability Awareness (CDA), a Portland, Maine-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising public awareness about the likelihood of becoming disabled and the need to prepare for the potential financial consequences, announced the appointment of Barry Lundquist as Interim President, effective immediately.

BETHPAGE, N.Y., June 23, 2009 — The Lustgarten Foundation, the nation's largest private supporter of pancreatic cancer research, today announced its first round of 2009 grants, totaling $1.6 million awarded to six leading research centers for early diagnostic tests and better treatment for one of the nation's deadliest cancers.

June 18, 2009, The Seattle Times — Global health funding has quadrupled in less than two decades to almost $22 billion, boosted by U.S. public funding, corporate donations and giving from private foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.