In Haiti, reconstruction grinds
Six months after a massive earthquake devastated Haiti relief and reconstruction efforts have stalled as overwhelmed Haitian authorities struggle to assert control and donors fail to deliver promised funding. More than 1.4 million peoples remain without adequate permanent housing. Children’s advocates worry available services are inadequate and the reality many families face will lead to an explosion in the numbers of “restaveks” — children sent to work in slavelike conditions in exchange for food and housing.

UN looks for more action on maternal health
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for increased efforts on maternal mortality rates and access to medical care for women around the world. A recent UN report shows hundreds of thousands of women continue to die every year from pregnancy or childbirth, and efforts to expand family-planning options have been hampered by poverty and lack of education. “If world leaders put women and children at the top of the global agenda, we can make real progress toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals,” said Kathy Calvin, chief executive officer of the UN Foundation.

Lead-poisoning epidemic explodes in Nigeria
In an incident that the World Health Organization describes as an “unprecedented environmental emergency,” some 2,000 Nigerians have been exposed to lead poisoning as a result of gold-extraction activities. More than 100 children in the state of Zamfara suffer from lead concentrations 12 times higher than the level considered dangerous enough to cause brain damage. Medecins Sans Frontieres established two units to coordinate chelation therapy to treat children suffering from toxin exposure.

Tuberculosis drugs may fight tropical diseases
Drug treatments being developed to fight tuberculosis may help treat sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and leshmaniasis, the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development and Drugs for Neglected Diseases say. The two have launched a combined effort with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to share information and streamline development of treatments.

General Assembly unanimously backs UN Women
The General Assembly voted unanimously Friday to create a UN agency devoted to issues of concern to women and girls. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women — to be known as UN Women — will work to promote equality and end discrimination against women around the world.

Haiti’s earthquake orphans find little help
Children orphaned as a result of the Jan. 12 earthquake face an uncertain future, living in orphanages struggling to maintain operations or adopted by relatives also struggling to recover from the disaster. Frades, a local grass-roots organization now caring for children, has battled unsuccessfully to obtain material and financial support to help care for orphans in a makeshift facility consisting of two tents.

Kurdish Iraq is a capital for genital mutilation
Some 90% of women living in the Sulaymaniyah district in Kurdish Iraq have experienced genital mutilation — likely a greater number than in any other place in the Middle East. In this region and in others where genital mutilation persists, the people doing the act could not be considered midwives or surgeons and work in environments lacking facilities for proper hygienic care. Kurdish identity, religion, pressure from peers and an effort to curb women’s sexuality are four factors driving the practice in Kurdistan, according to Human Rights Watch.

Women’s advocates battle rise of DR Congo rapes
Public health and women’s rights advocates warn the prevalence of sexual assault as a weapon of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the past decade is translating into higher occurrences of civilian rape. A recent study showed a 17-fold increase in the incidence of rapes between 2004 and 2008, prompting many observers to caution sexual assault has gained a disturbing level of social acceptance in DR Congo.

MSF questions WHO measles strategy in Africa
The resurgence of measles epidemics across Africa after 20 years of decreases raises questions about the effectiveness of the World Health Organization’s vaccination strategy, Médecins Sans Frontières says. WHO set a target of measles eradication by 2015, but a lack of coordination between agencies and government representatives, and drops in available funding, have allowed the disease to spread in 2009 and 2010, the group warns.

Actress Davis appeals for better gender representation
The American film and television industries need to do a better job portraying women and girls as American-generated content is the mode widely available around the world, actress Geena Davis urged at the United Nations as the Economic and Social Council opened a weeklong meeting. Media can be a powerful tool in helping empower women and girls and furthering Millennium Development Goals, Davis said, but current content continues to display significant gender disparity

More addiction treatment is needed for Afghan women, children
Aid workers are struggling to help Afghan women and children overcome drug addiction, adapting Western-style treatment programs to reflect local realities. An estimated 1.5 million Afghans suffer from addiction, but most of the country’s 40 treatment facilities are geared toward men.

HRW presses Iraqi Kurds to ban female circumcision
A report issued by the group on Wednesday said the practice was widespread in Iraqi Kurdistan, and was having a harmful effect on the physical and emotional health of many women. It called on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to enact legislation to ban the practice on young girls or unconsenting adult women. It also called on the KRG to launch a public awareness campaign on its damaging and dangerous consequences.

Somali government is mobilizing child soldiers
Somali human-rights groups and UN officials report that the Somali government is recruiting hundreds of child soldiers to fight on the front lines of its ongoing conflict with radical Islamic insurgent forces. The UN has named the Somali government as one of the most persistent recruiters of child soldiers — some as young as 9 — a charge that Somali government officials attribute to improper vetting. The beleaguered Somali government has not yet taken action on UN plans to remove child soldiers and has refused to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child — as has the U.S.

Advocates challenge laws, traditions for African women’s rights
A team of international human-rights lawyers and advocates are looking to change the mores around sexual assault and women’s rights in Africa, beginning with Kenya, Malawi and Ghana. All three countries are reviewing laws related to marital rape, but additional efforts will be needed to address the norms of customary law that equate women with property.

South Africa youth league takes on AIDS stigma
Triad Trust, a U.S. organization working to reduce the number of deaths caused by AIDS, is working with a South African youth soccer league in an effort to eliminate the misinformation and stigma surrounding the disease, which is more prevalent in South Africa than anywhere else. By testing and educating sports players who serve as role models for younger children, the organization hopes to demonstrate that HIV is preventable, testing is available and living with AIDS is a possibility through medicine.

U.S. medical association debates genital mutilation
The American Academy of Pediatrics sparked outrage by considering publicly an endorsement of a “ritual cut” in clitoral skin in place of the practice of female circumcision, a notion of appeasement proposed in recognition of the widespread nature of the dangerous practice. The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 140 million women — spread mostly across African countries — have been subjected to genital mutilation. Christian, Muslim and animist faiths in Africa have endorsed the practice.

Pope asks forgiveness at St. Peter’s over abuse scandal
Pope Benedict XVI asked for forgiveness in front of thousands of priests and worshippers in St. Peter’s Square, marking the Catholic Church’s fullest admission yet of wrongdoing regarding the sexual abuse scandal. But the pope rejected calls from some that the Church re-examine its policy regarding celibacy. While the pope said that they would take new efforts to ensure the well-being of children, he reaffirmed his support for the policy of celibacy in response to a question posed by another priest.

Researchers find some genetic links for autism
A set of rare genetic variations may leave individuals susceptible to disorders in the autism spectrum, according to a report from the Autism Genome Project Consortium. Researchers say they hope the discovery will help advance testing, identification and treatment options for families.

Over the last two days, May 3-4, 2010, members of parliament (MPs) from across Africa met in Dakar 3-4 to discuss a continental ban on female genital mutilation (FGM). The African MPs are calling on the United Nations to pass a General Assembly resolution appealing for a global FGM ban, in accordance with the practices general human rights violation. The two days of meetings were used to for individual country’s to share lessons learned, as 17 individual countries have already banned the practice such as; Burkina Faso, Togo, Senegal and Uganda. The meeting then followed with a discussion and resolution of actions need ensure a full continental ban and resolution. “While national human rights laws, and regional treaties such as the 2003 Africa Union Maputo Declaration refer directly or indirectly to FGM/C, separate laws must be passed to address it head-on, said delegates.” (IRIN)

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Female Circumcision can be the partial or full removal of the external genitalia. FGM can often be fatal, especially when done in non-sanitary conditions, and, or by non-medically trained persons. The fatal results of FGM can often be caused by excessive bleeding, transmission of disease, or shock. The complications and the long-term effects of FGM can include; pain, infertility, difficulties in child birth, trouble with menstruation or urination, problems and extreme pain with intercourse, lack of sexual desire, no sexual stimulation, and mental illness.

While the ban is undoubtedly a historically positive step in the right direction to seeing an end to FGM across Africa and around the globe once and for all, the banning of the practice alone is not enough to ensure the practice is abolished.

However, no matter how strong national legislation is, if neighbouring countries do not also pass a ban, people will simply cross borders to undergo the procedure, Togo MP Christine Mensah Atoemne, told IRIN.   “We have to develop cross-border strategies to eradicate the phenomenon,” she said, adding that FGM/C rates are 6 percent in central Togo and 15 percent in border areas.

Nonetheless increased programs to educate on the dangers of FGM, must be more widespread prior to its implementation. Governments and NGO’s must work together with community leaders, on all levels, to see that the entire community is adequately educated on the full facts of FGM, and the long term effects it has on a girls mental and physical health.

Please see my previous posts on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)/Female Circumcision for more information and background on the issue. Please also see the World Health Organization (WHO) FGM Fact Sheet and The Female Genital Mutilation Education and Networking Project for more news and information on the long term consequences of FGM.

On April 15, 2010 Oxfam released a new report, “Now, The World Is Without Me”: An investigation of sexual violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.  The report, which was commissioned by Oxfam and conducted by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, is an extensive study of rape victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  The study analyzed data collected over a period of four years from 4,311 female rape victims treated in Panzi hospital in South Kivu Province. The study’s reported that 60 percent of rape victims surveyed in the DRC stated that they were gang raped by armed men and more than half of assaults took place in the supposed safety of the family home at night, often in the presence of the victim’s husband and children.

The study reported that the level of rape was highest at points when military activities were in occurrence. However as the study showed the majority of rapists were vomited by either combatants, it also reviled that the rate of rapes committed by civilians has increased 17-fold during 2004 - 2008.

Susan Bartels, chief researcher from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, said the research confirmed what had been reported anecdotally. “Sexual violence has become more normal in civilian life,” she said. “The scale of rape over Congo’s years of war has made this crime seem more acceptable.” (Guardian)

The report was issues just as the UN Security Council made their visit to DRC to discuss renewing the current UN peacekeepers mandate. Margot Wallstrom, the U.N. special representative on sexual violence in conflict, while visiting the Congo, seeks to persuade the Congolese government not to seek a withdrawal of U.N. peacekeepers.  When commenting on the DRC’s legislation to outlaw sexual violence, Wallstrom said the country’s capacity to implement it was “near zero.”

” “How will it help if (the U.N. peacekeeping mission) withdraws? Will it help the situation here? I think not … I have a lot of fears,” she added in Kinshasa Monday. (Reuters)

When will the rapes end?  This is a question that is being asked, not only in the Congo,  but across the globe.  However while the DRC remains one of the worst countries in the world for is exuberant use of rape as a weapon of war, it is not alone in this destructive act that not only destroys the bodies of women and girls, but serves to ultimately brake down civil society.  Regardless of how the situation with UN peacekeepers is resolved the continuance of conflict in the country and high level of impunity for those perpetrators who use rape, it will not only become a weapon of war, but a societal norm as the reports increased numbers of civilian rapes begins to give increased light to.

The increased levels of civilian rape in conflict and post-conflict countries is and area where I have placed a great deal of my own personal research.  Please see more on my preliminary research and work on Rape as a Weapon of War and it’s Long-term Effects on Victims and Society.  The paper looks at the following key questions: Does rape as a tool of war leave a country with less chance of a solid and stable political future? What are the long term effects on the society as a whole? What are the ongoing effects of stigmatizing, victims, including a look into the effects of marriages among victims. This also entails looking at the inequality and gender discrimination women face in times of war, including social exclusion, and how this symbolic form of violence affects that marginalization in the future and in times of peace. The paper concludes with recommendations on for more in depth analysis and studies on primary and secondary victims, as well as the rapist.

Today,Tuesday April 20, is SAAM Day of Action. The day was set for to nationally to create increased awareness on sexual violence prevention. Across the country events are taking place and various community action campaigns are in effect, much of which, along with additional resources can be found at  The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC).

Sexual violence can take many forms and does not have to be physical, but can also be psychological, such acts can include; rape, attempted rape, forced nudity, genital mutilation, sex trafficking or slavery, coercion of others to perform sexual acts on another, incest, ect.

While sexual violence has received greater attention both domestically and internationally, much is due to the increase of both reporting and awareness of domestic assaults and due to the increased use of rape as a weapon of war, which I have often reported on. The increase in both the use of sexual violence and level of brutality calls for more awareness.

The facts on sexual violence are shocking:

• Sexual violence does not only occur to women, boys and men may also be targets.
• One in five women worldwide will become a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime.
• Sexual violence is under-reported: many women feel shame and fear rejection by their families and communities as ‘dishonoured’, soiled or unmarriageable. Economic and social dependence upon men in many societies contributes to under-reporting.
• Victims of sexual violence often suffer not just immediate injury but also severe long-term health damage: fistulas (tears in the vagina, bladder and rectum that cause incontinence); uterine prolapse or ruptures; infertility; and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological damage.
• Some 150 million girls and 73 million boys under 18 experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual violence during 2002.^[v]

Facts from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Please take time today to learn more and help increase awareness on sexual assault across the globe, so that we can begin to bring an end to such unspeakable crimes.

For more information and see my previous posts on Abuse, Gender Inequality, Sodomy, sexual violence/rape

Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) was set to raise awareness of sexual violence and increase prevention. Across the country special events will take place over the next month to highlight the use of sexual violence, and its effects as a major public health issue. Much of the events will be hosted with an aim to reinforce the increased need for prevention programs.

This year the SAAM Day of Action will be observed on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, a day set to specifically focus awareness on sexual violence prevention. The National Sexual Violence Research Center (NSVRC), visit the Community Activities page for ideas on how to observe the day and to post your events on the online calendar.

To join the fight against sexual assault begin this month by attending an event, see the NSVRC calender for events in a number of cities across the US. Check your local cities rape crisis centers, shelters, community groups for events in your hometown.

Female Genital Mutilation (Circumcision) (FGM) is a human rights violation that follows women and girls across the globe. In the last few years news has begun to shed a little more light on the global fight, which in many ways is only in its infancy.  In February 2008 10 UN agencies urge end to female genital mutilation, for which the UN claimed the best initiative to change this tradition is to come from individual countries.  Since a few battles have been won over the past few years, such as most recently in Uganda, where the practice has now legally banned, and those engaging in the practice will now face 10 years in prison, and life if the victim dies during the procedure.  Intensive awareness campaigns and events have recently taken place, such as; Enditnow: In Kenya, Girls Say No To FGM and with Gambia’s 2nd ropping Of The Knife By Female Circumcisers.

According to the World Heath Organization (WHO) the number of girls who have been subject to FGM is “estimated at between 100 and 140 million” and that each year another 2 million are at risk.  FGM can be the partial or full removal of the external genitalia. FGM can often be fatal, especially when done in none sanitary condition, and/or by non-medically trained persons, which can often cause excessive bleeding, transmission of disease, or shock. The complications and long term effects of FGM, can include; pain, infertility, difficulties in child birth, trouble with menstruation or urination, problems and extreme pain with intercourse, lack of sexual desire, no sexual stimulation, and mental illness.

The fight against FGM is truly a global fight, and while it may seem often that it is isolated primarily to Africa and the Middle East, however the issue of FGM has risen in western countries, such as the US, UK and other mainland European Nations.  Therefore there has been a growing need to educate and advocate against FGM amongst immigrant populations in the west.  Immigrants may often have a tendency to hold more tightly to traditions and customs, out of a sense of  fear loosing their culture or social identity.  Therefore the need for increased laws and enforcement is not isolated to countries with a history of the the traditional practice.  Such can be noted by the example of France, where under French law FGM falls under Article 222 of the criminal code on violence, which can carry a prison sentences of up to 20 years for both those who preform the procedure and for parents.

Many countries where FGM has been common have passed laws to ban the practice, however laws have proven to be ineffective on their own, as often the practice is deeply rooted in the culture or history. Additionally laws prove futile without education and awareness, as many countries have discovered, only when its been at the high cost of death. Such as can be seen in the following posts; Egypt Makes Huge Strides in Putting an End to Female Circumcision and Girls Death in Burkina Faso Has Many Wondering If Laws are Enough!.

However many FGM related deaths never make it into the media, nor are they often reported.  In Yemen, where FGM, which was banned in 2001 in private and public health facilities, by the Ministry of Health, is most often preformed on newborns; has left many FGM related deaths unreported. Thus the failure of laws alone to end the practice has led the government to seek additional strategies. Last year in Yemen the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood (SCMC), a government body moved to stem female genital mutilation (FGM). The plan to significantly reduce FGM by 2012 is a huge step in the eradication of FGM in the country, and could lead as an example for other countries fighting to truly end FGM in all forms.

While rates of FGM have fallen in many countries with significant use of the practice, the fight to end the practice is far from over and efforts must not only continue in countries where the practice has a long standing history, but also in the West as the fight for gender equality and an end to sexual violence is global and will not be won without a united. FGM must be clearly seen as a human rights violation, and not a one time instance of abuse. Therefore education and awareness on the long term effects must be put into place, as should laws be established that address the severity of the crime, and in doing so on a global scale we can begin to see the end of this extreme form of gender-based violence.

True laws are a vital step in the right direction to ending the practice of FGM once and for all, the banning of the practice alone is not enough to ensure the practice is abolished. Governments and NGO’s must work together with community leaders, on all levels, to see that the entire community is adequately educated on the full facts of FGM, and the long term effects it has on a girls mental and physical health. However glorious the win for laws and persecution of their violators, may seem, the reality has shown a huge societal failure in viewing that FGM is a one time persecution that ends once the cutting is over. For the women and girls who are victims of FGM the pain and torture of the procedure are far from a one time affair, and both the physical and mental scars can last a lifetime.es

So to answer the question; ‘yes, we are closer to an end for FGM’, however we still have significant strides and progress to go before we can see an end to the needless suffering and abuse of women and girls across the globe through the practice.  Please see my previous posts on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)/Female Circumcision for more information and background on the issue. Please also see the World Health Organization (WHO) FGM Fact Sheet and The Female Genital Mutilation Education and Networking Project for more news and information on the long term consequences of FGM.

Officials: In Ghana, cell phones reduce maternal mortality
In Ghana’s Amensie village, where the Millennium Villages project made mobile phones near ubiquitous in 2006, deaths related to childbirth have fallen from 20 per year to zero in 2008, according to local health officials. Local health workers attribute the improvement in part to women’s new-found emergency access to health workers through cell phones and the district hospital’s new ambulance.

Uganda readies female genital-mutilation law
A Bill outlawing female genital mutilation is ready to be presented to the House for the second reading and be passed into law, MPs have been told. Addressing a regional parliamentary workshop on the theme “Consolidating political will for child well being” at Imperial Royale Hotel yesterday, the chairperson of the committee on gender, Beatrice Lagada, blamed the practice for the high drop out rates in Universal Primary Education (UPE).

$24 billion would slash maternal-mortality rates
Doubling current funding to $24 billion for basic health services could cut maternal-mortality rates in developing countries by nearly half, a United Nations Population Fund and Guttmacher Institute report says. Widespread availability of routine delivery care and family-planning services would prevent the deaths of 400,000 women and 1.6 million babies a year, and cut unintended pregnancies by two-thirds, according to the report.

Somalia violence exacts heavy toll on civilian population
Violence has forced half a million Somalis to flee their homes this year and left half the population in need of food aid, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled the country to Yemen, Ethiopia, Kenya and the Sudan.

South Africa announces universal care for HIV-positive babies
South African President Jacob Zuma has vowed to ensure those younger than 1 year old that test positive for HIV/AIDS will receive treatment. South Africa has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infections in the world, and an estimated 59,000 are born HIV-positive every year.

Deadly salmonella strain taking toll on Africa
A new drug-resistant strain of salmonella bacteria has emerged in Africa, causing death in one of four cases among children and vulnerable adults, British and African researchers reported. Individuals weakened by malaria, anemia and HIV/AIDS are particularly susceptible, researchers said.

UN launches massive Humanitarian Appeal
The United Nations launched its largest annual Humanitarian Appeal, calling for $7.1 billion in funding from rich countries to provide humanitarian assistance to 48 million people in 25 countries. Funds will be shared by 380 relief organizations working to help vulnerable communities overcome the effects of natural disasters and armed conflict.

WHO takes new position on HIV drugs for breastfeeding mothers
The World Health Organization is reversing its position on the administration of anti-retroviral therapy drugs used to treat HIV, advising they be given sooner to breastfeeding mothers in hopes of preventing transmission of the disease — a position that will call for more treatments for many more people. Though falling prices have widened the number of people receiving anti-retroviral treatments, particularly within poor countries, fewer than half of those who require treatment currently receive it.

Women’s rights key to climate change — and vice versa
Noting that women must work harder to care for food and hygiene as global temperatures rise, UN Population Fund Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said women must play a greater role in forging an agreement on climate change. Improving education and health care access for women — especially within developing countries — will help to control population growth and increased strain on limited resources. Experts observe that women’s participation can ensure creative solutions to problems that weigh most heavily on women within a given community.

Ageing Shanghai urges 2nd baby for eligible couples
For the first time in decades, some officials are openly calling for Chinese to have more than one child. Shanghai city officials worry the rapidly increasing percentage of residents older than 60, combined with low birth rates, will tax the country’s ability to support its aging population.

Millions of Afghan children forced to work
Millions of Afghan children have been forced into the workforce through a combination of prolonged conflict, grinding poverty and a lack of education, Afghan and United Nations officials say. More than 1 million are the main breadwinners for their families, and in most cases, the working children sacrifice their education to contribute to the family income.

UNICEF uses text messages to spread the word about polio in Zambia
UNICEF has partnered with Zambian health officials and telecommunications companies to text millions of parents in support of a polio immunization drive. The texts encourage parents to bring in their children for free polio vaccines.

Israel cuts 1948 ‘catastrophe’ from Arabic texts
School-age Israeli Arabs no longer will read about the 1948 founding of Israel called “al-naqba,” or “catastrophe,” in officially sanctioned textbooks. Education Minister Gideon Saar of the right-wing Likud party announced the move, saying, “No other country in the world, in its official curriculum, would treat the fact of its founding as a catastrophe.” One Israeli Arab lawmaker, Hana Sweid, said the textbook cut was a “major attack” on Palestinian Arab memory and identity.

Kenya: Doctors Asked to Stop Female Cut Operations
Traditionally performed by midwives and religious leaders, FGM is increasingly being done by medical professionals. This has been dubbed the “medicalisation of FGM”. In a meeting that started in Nairobi which will end on Wednesday, UN officials, medical professionals and representatives from the ministry of Public Health and Sanitation are discussing how to end this trend.

Global Fund concerned about funding targets
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria likely will fall short in its efforts to find $30 billion in funding next year from donors besieged by the ongoing global recession, the Fund’s Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine says.

Urban poor and hungry burgeoning unnoticed
The number of poor and food-insecure people in developing countries is increasing more quickly in urban areas than in rural areas, and could be dropping off the policy radar, says new research by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). “Poverty is still viewed by many as a rural problem, as both governments and donors continue to allocate resources to rural development in order to reverse the bias of urban policies of the 1970s and 1980s,” Shahla Shapouri and Stacey Rosen, researchers in the department’s Economic Research Services, write in the USDA’s Food Security Assessment 2008-09.

 Chavez Beats Back His Student Opposition
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is taking no chances in the runup to a Feb. 15 referendum on term limits, quashing the only effectively mobilized opposition group in Venezuelan — students. Student leaders have called Chavez’s campaign against them an act of desperation but admit it appears to be effective.

The Global Funds Financial Gap
Global Fund programs are increasingly effective and popular among African nations in the effort to fight or eradicate AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis — yet increasing costs associated with these programs have conspired with the weak economy to produce a funding gap. Global Fund leaders hope to encourage the U.S. and other advanced nations to fulfill most or even all of their commitments — such as the $2.7 billion pledged for 20009 during the Bush administration, of which the Global Fund has collected just $1.7 billion.

China birth defects ‘up sharply’
Throughout China and especially in coal-producing regions such as Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, officials are noting a worrying uptick in the incidence of birth defects — a trend they attribute to pollution. A study by China’s National Population and Family Planning Commission found that birth defect incidence had grown a staggering 40% from 2001 to 2006, though the actual number of defects was not provided. Environmental activists are hailing the news release as a victory.

BURKINA FASO: Cutters turn razors on babies to evade FGM/C law
Female circumcision practitioners in Burkina Faso have shifted to carrying out their duties on increasingly younger babies to avoid scrutiny of those attempting to enforce laws against the practice.

UNICEF feels the pinch of the food price crisis
UNICEF estimates it will require as much as 1,100 tons in food aid per month to stave off crisis in Ethiopia — just one site among many areas suffering from malnutrition. One of the leading costs for the UN food agency, combating malnutrition in a bare minimum of crisis states will require $1 billion — a global appeal target that will ensure the continuation of UNICEF’s programs in these areas.

New Child-Friendly Malaria Drug Presents Distribution Challenge
Anti-malaria drug manufacturers recently overcame one hurdle by introducing a small, cherry-flavored pill to appeal to children. However, with this innovation comes another problem: how to distribute the new drug through the poor distribution networks in Africa. Medications such as anti-malarials often experience “pill pileups” when aid personnel cannot establish routes to get the drugs to people who need them.

RPT-FEATURE-India grapples with high maternal death rate
UNICEF reports poverty and poor access to health care are contributing to a high death rate among pregnant women in India. Annually, about 78,000 women in India die giving birth, mostly in rural areas, which have not shared in the country’s economic boom.

WFP in race to feed 6.5 mln in southern Africa
More than 6 million people in southern Africa are in need of food aid, 5.5 million of them in Zimbabwe alone, where the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, the World Food Programme said Friday. The agency remains tens of millions of dollars short of the funds necessary to meet the need.

Polio’s Last Stand
Efforts to eradicate polio stand right at the brink of a final victory, but the disease’s ability to spread quickly, easily and often silently combined with governance and logistical challenges makes the battle difficult to win even with millions in donor funds available for the fight.