A report from the UN Foundation and Vodafone Foundation titled New Technologies in Emergencies and Conflicts: The Role of Information and Social Networks turns the spotlight on how mobile communications and social networks can be used in support of crisis response, especially in impoverished or isolated regions that lack established communications and transportation infrastructure.
PAKISTAN: Youth blasé about `Shisha’ smoking risks
Shisha smoking has become fashionable over the last decade in Pakistan. The misconception that it is harmless, a belief shown to be widely held among `shisha’ users, means that young people and their parents are largely unaware of the health risks. The growth in `shisha’ smoking has been rapid. A 2008 survey of 450 students in Karachi found that 64.2 percent of males and 37.9 percent of females had smoked a `shisha’ at least once in their lifetime; 77.3 percent of males and 33.3 percent of females smoked a `shisha’ regularly.
Irish abortion ban up before European human-rights court
Lawyers and activists argue an abortion ban in Ireland challenged by three women in the European court of human rights violates several articles of the Council of Europe’s convention on human rights. In a case being closely watched by traditionally Catholic European nations, the three women told the Strasbourg, France, court that they traveled to Britain to seek abortions because of the Irish ban, which they say has caused them humiliation, hardship and trauma.
Iran escalates crackdown of students
Clashes between students and security forces in Iran continued for a second day as Iranian forces escalated the crackdown against demonstrators by storming Tehran’s most prominent university and attacking several hundred students. Students fought back against the Basij militia, which is backed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Basij security forces also surrounded the offices of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the opposition figurehead who lost the controversial June presidential election to incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Renewing the fight against TB
Health workers are preparing to conduct a large clinical trial on the first new tuberculosis vaccine in more than 90 years. Tuberculosis kills more than 1 million people a year in mostly poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
Nigeria scores major victory against guinea worm
World Health Organization officials are preparing to declare Nigeria guinea worm-free after a 20-year campaign to eradicate the disease. Guinea worm remains endemic in only four other countries.
Poverty cut doomed unless disabled empowered: UN
Ending neglect and discrimination faced by the world’s 650 million disabled persons is key to poverty reduction efforts, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says. About 20% of the world’s poorest people have a disability, and 90% of disabled children in developing countries are kept from attending school.
The link between undernutrition and climate change
Seven children die of hunger every minute because they do not have access to treatment, but the impact of climate change on the drivers of undernutrition – food insecurity, health threats and water stress – could push up this number, the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNSCN) said at the UN conference on climate change in Copenhagen (COP15). The committee said it wanted to make the case for promoting and protecting nutrition as part of adapting to climate change by “collaborative action” and “building bridges” across the “biological, environmental, social and economic dimensions and sectors” to “develop synergies and alliances to ensure that political will, financial resources and human efforts are optimized”.