Archives: Morning Breakouts

At a ceremony marking World Food Day on Monday, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) "called for more transparency on commodity markets to prevent sharp spikes in global food prices and deplored the scale of world hunger," Agence France-Presse reports (Le Roux, 10/16). "FAO chose the theme of 'Food Prices -- From Crisis to Stability' for this year's day to shed light on the trend and what can be done to mitigate its impact on the most vulnerable," the U.N. News Centre writes.

Noting some of the successes of U.S. foreign assistance in the area of global health, Christopher Elias, president and CEO of PATH, and Richard Stearns, president of World Vision U.S., write in The Hill's "Congress Blog," "Unfortunately, ... American aid is being threatened with severe cuts, though it makes up less than one percent of the federal budget." They continue, "When we also consider food aid, disaster assistance, and economic development, it is clear that millions upon millions of people are able to live healthy, productive lives today because of the goodwill of everyday Americans."

As the world's population approaches seven billion, "experts say most of Africa -- and other high-growth developing nations such as Afghanistan and Pakistan -- will be hard-pressed to furnish enough food, water and jobs for their people, especially without major new family-planning initiatives," the Associated Press/San Jose Mercury News reports. In the article, "Associated Press reporters on four continents examin[e] some of most distinctive examples" of how "population challenges vary dramatically around the world" (Crary et al., 10/15).

The Los Angeles Times examines polio eradication campaigns in Pakistan, which is one of just four countries where the disease remains endemic. "Several factors have stood in the way of eradication," including tribal violence, migration within the country and "an intense mistrust among some Pakistanis for the vaccines and the people who supply and administer them," according to the newspaper (Rodriguez, 10/16).

"Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on the international community to give rural women the same access to productive resources as men, noting the huge benefits that would ensue, from increased food production to a drop of 150 million in the number of the world's hungry people," the U.N. News Centre reports (10/14).

As GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain's polling numbers surge, the Wall Street Journal examines his positions on health policy. Meanwhile, in other news from the Republican primary race, the Des Moines Register reports that Michele Bachmann is warning that the Supreme Court cannot be trusted to undo the health law, while the Texas Tribune takes a look at Rick Perry and Planned Parenthood.

Major news outlets are examining what the deficit-cutting committee might be discussing and what the possible fallout would be.

IRIN reports on one community's efforts to increase access to contraceptives and help provide information on family planning in Madagascar. The news service highlights efforts by women in Antalaha, Madagascar, who formed an association called Femmes Interessee au Development de Antalaha (FIDA). The association uses World Bank funding to run a center that provides information and support to teenage girls, with a focus on preventing early pregnancy; broadcasts "a radio program aimed at educating women about their reproductive health and legal rights; ... disseminates information on how to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs)"; and works with husbands to change "negative attitudes towards family planning, [which] were preventing even those women who could get contraceptives from their local clinic from using them," according to IRIN.

"Speaking out against a potential $16 million cut in the Army's base research and development budget for HIV, leaders of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) sent a letter (.pdf) Thursday to the Secretary of the U.S. Army, John McHugh, making the case for sustaining the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP)," according to the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog. In the letter, IDSA President James Hughes and HIVMA Board Chair Kathleen Squires "urged the secretary ... to continue the modest investment in the MHRP, which also sustains more than 100,000 HIV-infected people in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Mozambique and Thailand on lifesaving antiretroviral therapy through the [PEPFAR] program," the blog writes (10/13).

The WHO said Thursday that "it plans to recommend tighter nutritional standards in food aid for young children, a move activists say is necessary to improve donations from countries such as the United States," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports. "The new guidelines are likely to make food aid more expensive in the short term, but the improved formulas will be more effective at reducing moderate malnutrition in children under the age of five," the news service writes (10/13).

"Developing countries are making efforts to improve the health of women and children but more needs to be done, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said" at an awards ceremony in New York, United Press International reports. "'As of today, more than 60 countries have committed to step up efforts to improve women and children's health,' Ban said," the news agency writes (10/14).

"Women, girls and HIV were the focus of a panel discussion on the final day of the International Forum on [Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6] in Eastern Europe and Central Asia," UNAIDS reports. "In Russia, HIV prevalence among young women aged 15-24 is two times higher than among men of the same age, according to government figures," UNAIDS notes, adding women's health advocates in Russia say, "Stigma and discrimination

In this post in USAID's "IMPACTblog," Kasey Channell, the acting director of the Disaster Response Team for USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, reports on the importance of preparing for future disasters as the world observed International Day for Disaster Reduction on Thursday, writing "Before the next disaster hits, now is the time to recommit to making smart investments that save lives, property, and money. Whether at home or abroad, measures to improve response, increase disaster management capacity, and plan and prepare, can have dramatic dividends."