Archives: Morning Breakouts

The New York Times analyzes the Obama administration's approach to implementing the health law at the state level.

Reaching the Millennium Development Goal of "[r]educing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015" likely will be reached, "but large numbers of people in the world's least developed regions will still not benefit," according to a report (.pdf) released Tuesday by UNICEF and the WHO, the U.N. News Centre reports (12/20). The report "found that between 1990 and 2008, the proportion of the world's population with access to improved drinking water sources increased from 77 percent to 87 percent," which means 1.8 billion more people have drinking water access, according to Medical Daily (Daley, 12/20).

"Philippine authorities are warning of the spread of diseases in cramped evacuation centers, days after flash floods hit the southern Philippines and claimed more than a thousand lives," ABC/Asia Pacific News reports, noting that flooding also has affected the country's northern provinces, displacing at least 50,000 people (Escalante, 12/20). Tropical Storm Washi "hit the main southern island of Mindanao over the weekend, bringing heavy rains, flash floods and overflowing rivers that swept whole coastal villages away," forcing 44,000 people to evacuate the area, Agence France-Presse/Inquirer News writes (Celis, 12/21). Officials say hundreds of thousands of people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and the U.N. has stepped up its efforts in the area, the U.N. News Centre reports (12/20).

March 27 will be the day for two hours of arguments over the provision, which starting in 2014 will require most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a penalty. The high court is expected to announce its decision by the end of June.

The FY12 Appropriations Agreement recently passed by Congress includes reinstatements of bans on the domestic and international use of federal funds for needle-exchange programs, the Haiwai'i News Daily reports (Smith, 12/20). The following summarizes several opinion and blog pieces on the issue.

Inter Press Service profiles the Garissa Maternal Shelter in North Eastern Province, Kenya, "the only such facility in an area with the country's highest maternal mortality rate." The news service writes, "At 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births, [the maternal mortality rate] is almost double the country's average, [b]ut despite this, there are only seven women here in a facility that can accommodate 24."

The Guardian examines how ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) -- "small packets of a sticky, peanut butter-like paste, fortified with minerals and vitamins, that can reverse severe malnutrition within six weeks" -- "have revolutionized famine relief in Africa," and asks whether these products could be produced in the countries in which they are being distributed. "The vast majority of RUTFs are produced in the U.S. or Europe, bought by aid agencies such as UNICEF, and transported great distances to reach those in need," the newspaper writes, adding, "But a small group of social enterprises is questioning this business model, redesigning it with a more local footprint in mind."

Public-private partnerships "will boost small enterprises, bring technology to schools and improve sanitation and clean water in Jamaica," a VOA News editorial states and highlights three such partnerships created by USAID. The first, between USAID and the Jamaican National Building Society, will create a Social Enterprise Boost Initiative; the second, between food processing company GraceKennedy Ltd. and the Western Union Company, will train teachers and bring technology to 13 schools in Jamaica; and the third, between USAID in Jamaica and the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment, will help provide access to sanitation and clean water in a neighborhood of Jamaica's capital. "The effect of USAID's aid to Jamaica expands exponentially with these public-private partnerships," the editorial writes, adding, "The projects are valued at more than $7 million. USAID's contribution is less than $2 million" (12/18).

This Lancet Infectious Diseases editorial responds to the Global HIV/AIDS Response 2011 progress report (.pdf) launched by the WHO, UNICEF, and UNAIDS on November 30, writing that the report "contains much good news on treatment and prevention, but the gains made by past efforts are jeopardized by the ongoing global financial crisis and dwindling funds."