FAO: World ripe for another food crisis
More international aid to combat higher food prices and insufficient production in developing countries is needed to stave off another food crisis, warns Jacques Diouf, director general of the Food and Agriculture Organization. “There is a lack of priority in fighting hunger and poverty at the highest political level, not only in developed countries but in developing countries,” Diouf said.

WHO: World’s women face unequal health care
Unequal health treatment provided to women rooted in gender discrimination is damaging societies across the world, the World Health Organization warns in a report. HIV/AIDS is the No. 1 cause of disease and death in women ages 15 to 44 years old, the report noted.

Government limits discussion of Ethiopia’s growing hunger problems
Drought and hunger are plaguing Ethiopian farmers and their families, threatening a countrywide famine. With elections scheduled for May, the government has instituted strict controls on the release of hunger-related information. Aid agencies that speak about famine can be expelled from the country and organizations are prevented from conducting independent assessments.

Kenya takes aim at cervical cancer
Ignorance and a lack of available preventative treatment leaves HIV-positive women particularly vulnerable to cervical cancer, the most prevalent cancer among Kenyan women. Kenyan authorities are planning an early detection screening and treatment program and a countrywide public-awareness campaign.

Breast cancer rising in the developing world
Breast cancer cases are on the rise across the developing world, where nearly two-thirds of women are not diagnosed before the cancer spreads through their bodies. Stigma, fear and poor diagnosis are contributing to the rise. International cancer specialists are meeting this week to prepare a two-pronged strategy to combat the rise by training midwives and negotiating cheaper prices for chemotherapy treatment.

Italy outraged over rights ruling on classroom crucifixes
There was uproar in Italy today over a ruling by the European court of human rights that the crucifixes that hang in most Italian classrooms are a violation of religious and educational freedoms.  The seven judges, whose decision could prompt a Europe-wide review of the use of religious symbols on public premises, said state schools had to “observe confessional neutrality”.

Ban encourages countries to lift HIV/AIDS travel bans
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging other countries to emulate a decision by U.S. President Barack Obama to lift travel restrictions on people with HIV/AIDS. The Obama administration said it soon would lift the ban on entry for HIV-positive foreigners, which has been in place since 1987.

Column: Obstetric fistulas easily reversed
U.S.-based doctor and Worldwide Fistula Fund founder Lewis Wall promotes a simple $300 surgery that easily reverses the effects of obstetric fistulas, returning women to health and to society. Women who develop fistulas during childbirth often are younger mothers. In many African societies, a fistula is a sentence of ostracism for the women who suffer them.

UN launches pneumonia prevention, treatment appeal
An investment of $39 billion to support efforts to prevent and treat pneumonia could save the lives of 5.3 million children in the developing world by 2015, the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund said. Pneumonia kills about 1.8 million children every year, but relatively few resources are directed toward countering the disease.

Chad pursues vaccination campaign amid confirmed polio cases
A three-day nationwide polio vaccination campaign began on 30 October throughout Chad, including in the east where according to the World Health Organization the rate of routine immunizations is among the weakest nationwide.