Archives: Morning Breakouts

The medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) on Thursday said the conditions for hundreds of thousands of refugees living in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp are worsening and people there "are experiencing a 'humanitarian emergency' because of the scaling back of aid work," Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports (2/16). MSF "said the health of refugees at the complex is deteriorating, with recent outbreaks of measles, cholera and acute diarrhea," and said an estimated one in 12 children is malnourished, VOA News writes. "Most of the refugees at Dadaab are Somalis who fled last year's severe drought or Somalia's chronic conflict," the news agency notes. MSF "called on the Kenyan government, international aid groups, and the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to provide 'continuous support' to the Dadaab camp, saying thousands of refugees are relying on their support," according to the news agency (2/16).

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday marking the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, recognized on February 6, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton "said ... that there is no cultural justification for female genital cutting, a practice that is sometimes referred to as female circumcision," and that "governments and non-governmental organizations are making progress toward ending female genital mutilation, or FGM, by reaching out to those who still practice it," VOA News reports (Stearns, 2/16). "The press conference was intended to highlight the continuing need for policy changes and new strategies to end FGM and promote support for women who have undergone the procedures," ABC News writes (Conley, 2/16).

Researchers of H5N1 bird flu virus "are set to wrap up a two-day meeting on the issue Friday with international experts at the World Health Organization in Geneva" with the aim of settling controversy over the work of two research teams that created genetically altered viral strains that are easily transmissible among ferrets, a laboratory model for humans, the Associated Press reports (Mason, 2/17). "The meeting may reach some consensus on a few immediate issues, such as what parts of the studies should be published, and who might qualify for access to the full papers on a 'need-to-know' basis," according to the Nature News Blog (Butler, 2/16).

In this post on USAID's "IMPACTblog," USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah says the FY 2013 International Affairs budget request "showcases President Obama's commitment to making smart, efficient investments to help those in the greatest need while helping to create economic opportunity and safeguarding American security." Despite "important results" from investments made last year in humanitarian assistance, HIV/AIDS, malaria and agriculture, "we've had to make difficult choices this year, consolidating some programs and eliminating others. Our 2013 budget shows a willingness to focus on countries and programs where we believe we can make the greatest impact," Shah writes and outlines those efforts. "The investments included in the FY13 budget will improve the lives of people throughout the world. For millions, this assistance can literally mean the difference between life and death," he concludes (2/16).

"Relief agencies have warned that millions of North Koreans are malnourished, with the most vulnerable facing starvation in the coming months, despite reports that the impoverished state has received food aid from China and South Korea," the Lancet reports. "The warning comes after the sudden death of the North Korea's former leader, Kim Jong-Il, put on hold a possible deal in which it was preparing to accept 240,000 tons of food aid from the U.S. in return for suspending its uranium enrichment program, which would give it a further means of developing nuclear weapons," the journal writes. "The recent donations aside, U.N. agencies say that three million of North Korea's 24 million people will require food aid this year, adding that children are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition," the Lancet notes, adding, "According to a report by [World Food Programme] and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, North Korea faces a food deficit of 414,000 tons this year" (McCurry, 2/18).

Democratic women representatives walk out of a hearing in protest of an all-male panel; House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi blasts the committee. Meanwhile, Foster Friess, a major donor to Rick Santorum's campaign, makes an aspirin-as-contraception comment to MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell.

USA Today reports about the effort by home health care companies fighting an administration proposal on pay. Meanwhile in Connecticut, officials are considering changes in pay rules.

Both sides mount what they say will be prolonged campaigns to shape public perceptions on the issue, both on Capitol Hill and in races around the country.

The health law's individual mandate is not a tax, the OMB director said under questioning at a Capitol Hill hearing Wednesday, even though the administration has claimed the opposite in its defense of the law before the Supreme Court.

State legislatures are deciding on various aspects of the 2010 federal health law. Meanwhile, the 2006 reform in Mass. is popular.