Archives: Morning Breakouts

"A year after the worst drought in 60 years sent 13.3 million people in the Horn of Africa into crisis, we are now facing a rising threat of crisis in the Sahel -- an arid belt that stretches from Senegal through Niger and Burkina Faso to Chad," Nancy Lindborg, head of democracy, conflict, and humanitarian assistance at USAID, writes in this post in Huffington Post's "The Blog." She notes, "Today, rising food prices, another failed rain, and conflict in Mali and Libya, means that between seven and 10 million people are at risk of sliding into crisis as we enter the lean season of the months ahead," and writes, "As we focus on the rising crisis in the Sahel, we are committed to responding immediately and acting on the most important lessons learned from the Horn response."

"Organizations involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS will get greater government support," Yu Jingjin, director of the disease prevention and control bureau under China's Ministry of Health, said, China Daily reports. He said, "'The government will beef up investment and support for social groups' and cooperate with reliable ones," and added, "Each province this year will support three to five civil societies tackling HIV/AIDS and help them with operational costs and training," according to the news service. "Yu urged health authorities to work more with society in general to fight AIDS," China Daily writes, adding, "Cooperation in this sphere has not always worked fully to its potential, he said" (Shan, 3/2).

Inter Press Service examines gender discrimination and mortality in India, writing, "Global infant and child mortality rates have been on the decline in recent years, with a large portion of the world seeing young girls experiencing higher rates of survival than young boys; but India remains the exception to this positive trend." A new report, "'Sex Differentials in Childhood Mortality,' a project of the U.N.'s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), reveals that a girl aged between one and five years is 75 percent more likely to die than a boy in India, marking the world's most extreme gender disparity in child mortality," according to the news service.

A study published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Disease on Tuesday examines the relationship between political conflict in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and "the spread or re-emergence of a variety of tropical diseases -- some previously eliminated or controlled -- affecting an estimated 65 million people" in the region, VOA News reports (Sinha, 3/1). "The report, authored by global health leaders Dr. Peter Hotez, Dr. Lorenzo Savioli and professor Alan Fenwick, reveals the high prevalence and uneven distribution of [neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)] such as schistosomiasis, lymphatic filiariasis, dengue fever and Rift Valley fever in the MENA region and suggests opportunities for NTD control, especially in high-risk populations in Egypt and Yemen," the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases writes in an article on its website.

"The State Department's announcement that North Korea would halt nuclear activities in exchange for 240,000 metric tons of U.S. food aid was welcomed by aid groups that have long struggled to raise money to feed hungry people under an unpopular regime," the Los Angeles Times' "World Now" blog reports. Marcus Prior, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Asia said the group is "encouraged" by the development but it "remain[s] concerned about the level of nutrition, especially for children in poorer areas," according to the blog. More than 90 percent of U.S. food aid has been delivered through the WFP since 1996, with the remainder channeled through non-governmental organizations (NGOs), a 2011 Congressional Research Service report (.pdf) says, the blog notes.

About 1 in 10 needle drug users tested positive for HIV in 2009, a steep drop from the rate recorded in the 1990s, which was 1 in 5.

In an announcement launching the Zimbabwe Parliamentarians Against HIV (ZIPAH) in Harare on Thursday, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said since he came to office in 1980 "quite a number of" his cabinet ministers have died of AIDS-related causes, and he challenged government officials to get tested for HIV and publicly reveal their status, the Zimbabwean reports (3/1). Chaired by lawmaker Blessing Chebundo, ZIPAH "aims to end HIV transmission among legislators and increase cooperation with other groups," according to VOA News, and "so far 175 parliamentarians, including 25 staff members, have joined the program." Chebundo "said the first public testing will take place in two months," the news service notes.

A new practice code for pharmaceutical companies now covers all interactions with health care professionals and bans them from giving payments to doctors to attend conferences.

On this point, the Massachusetts Senate rate between Republican Senator Scott Brown and his Demcratic challenger Elizabeth Warren is drawing a significant amount of media attention.