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California Gov. Schwarzenegger's State Budget Plan Includes Cuts To County HIV/AIDS Services
The Santa Maria Times examines how California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger"s (R) plan to reduce state spending by more than $5 billion over the next two fiscal years, which includes millions of dollars in funding cuts to HIV prevention, education and treatment programs, could affect county residents (Womack, Santa Maria Times, 5/31). According to the Times, hundreds of residents in Santa Barbara County -- including more than 100 AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) clients -- would potentially be affected by the funding cuts (Santa Maria Times, 5/31). The proposal also would result in $1.8 million in cuts to programs for low-income residents living with HIV in Riverside County, the Desert Sun reports (Brambila, Desert Sun, 5/29). The plan, issued by Schwarzenegger last week, includes $55.5 million in cuts to California"s ADAP and other state Office of AIDS programs (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/27).

Total Sleep Time Not Increased By Regular Daily Exercise, Study Finds
According to a research abstrac presented on June 8 at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, days with increased activity were followed by nights with lower total sleep time (TST), while nights with lower TST were followed by increased activities during the next day.
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Oklahoma Antiabortion Lawmakers Try To Revive Vetoed Bill To Ban Stem Cell Research
Antiabortion lawmakers in Oklahoma on Wednesday attempted to revive vetoed legislation that would have banned embryonic stem cell research in the state by adding the ban to an unrelated bill (HB 1114) that would prohibit human cloning, the AP/CNBC.com reports. House members on Wednesday also added a prohibition on human cloning to that measure. According to Tony Lauinger, chair of Oklahomans for Life, the measure is "narrower" than the vetoed bill and would "ban reproductive cloning, as well as the creation of human embryos for the purpose of harvesting their stem cells."Gov. Brad Henry (D) had vetoed the measure that would have banned stem cell research three weeks ago. The veto subsequently was overwridden by the House and sustained by the Senate. The House on Wednesday also voted 88-6 to approve a measure (HB 1595) that would ban gender selection for genetically modified embryos and ban sex-selective abortions. The measure also would require physicians who perform abortions to report abortion-related information to the state Department of Health. In addition, the bill would require the department to publish annual abortion reports on its Web site and conduct periodic inspections of abortion clinics (AP/CNBC.com, 5/14).
Mental Health

PEPFAR Funds Used To Encourage Swaziland Couples To Get Tested Together

CNN examines the success of an HIV testing campaign in Swaziland that urges couples to get tested together. "The nationwide initiative - funded by the United States government and implemented by global charity "Population Services International" (PSI) - is aimed at couples because tests can be useless if partners are not aware of the others" HIV status," CNN writes. "If partners get tested separately, they may not disclose the results and not get the support they need," said Dominic McNeill, spokesman for PSI Swaziland, adding, "We wanted to turn HIV on its head and move away from the fear-inducing campaigns we"ve seen in the past, which don"t work. Instead, we focus on love, saying that it is love that should be contagious and couples should get tested together," McNeill explained. PSI offers free, "on-the-spot" HIV testing and counseling services "in facilities in the four regions of the country. If results show one or both partners are HIV positive, PSI offers longer-term free counseling," according to CNN. PEPFAR donated $3 million to PSI Swaziland, which has gone to art, radio, TV and print advertisements and PSI"s HIV testing and services. "Since the launch of the campaign in April, PSI - which partnered with UNICEF and UNAIDS - told CNN it has already seen a 25 percent increase in couple testing and a 400 percent in general testing year-on-year." The campaign, which is expected to run through the end of the year, has captured the attention of neighboring countries (Lorie, CNN, 6/17). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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