Increased funding has helped slash the number of malaria-related deaths by half in a third of countries where the disease is endemic, the World Health Organization says in its World Malaria Report 2009. Funding increased from $300 million in 2003 to $1.7 billion this year, allowing for more widespread delivery of bed nets and anti-malaria drugs.
PEPFAR and population growth
Despite the successes reaped by ramped-up funding for global anti-AIDS initiatives during the administration of President George W. Bush, the restrictions on family-planning efforts might have spurred population growth and contributed to growing poverty, according to this analysis. “It was a huge missed opportunity to integrate HIV/AIDS and reproductive health in ways that made sense,” said Jotham Musinguzi, a doctor and NGO head in Uganda.
Clinton lays out U.S. human-rights agenda
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton articulated a human-rights agenda that emphasizes the need for change within countries and continued U.S. engagement of adversaries such as Myanmar and Iran to foster improvements. “We must be pragmatic and agile in pursuit of our human-rights agenda, not compromising on our principles, but doing what is most likely to make them real,” Clinton said.
Eritrean soccer team disappears after match
After suffering a loss to Tanzania at a match in Kenya, Eritrea’s 12-member soccer team disappeared — seemingly fleeing the increasingly paranoid regime and desperate conditions that have taken root there. Each year, thousands of Eritreans flee the nation, in particular young men, who face the prospect of open-ended military service after graduating from school. The families of the players might face punitive fines or jail time imposed by Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki, according to this article.
Uganda bans female-genital mutilation
Human-rights groups applauded the decision by Uganda’s government to formally outlaw the practice of female-genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision. Though never officially condoned, the practice still persists in some rural areas — and might continue unless Ugandan officials enforce the law and increase awareness campaigns about the dangers that female-genital mutilation presents to women.
Guinea moves to counter polio resurgence
Guinea is conducting a countrywide polio-immunization campaign after the once polio-free country recorded more than three dozen new cases since April. More than 11,000 health workers will go door-to-door during the drive in an effort to reach every child in the country.
AFGHANISTAN: The tribulations of child-bearing children
Afghanistan has the second highest fertility rate in the world at 6.51 percent. For every 1,000 women in the 15-19 age-range, 121 give birth to one or more children, according to UN Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates for 2005-10. Female life expectancy in Afghanistan is 44 – one of the lowest in the world. Afghanistan also has among the worst maternal and infant mortality rates in the world. About 25,000 mothers die every year during pregnancy, at child birth or after delivery, according to UNFPA (equivalent to 800 deaths per 100,000 women). “Mortality and morbidity figures among mothers aged 15-19 are much higher than for women older than 19,” said UNICEF’s Nazery, adding that young mothers often lack awareness of the risks of pregnancy and child delivery. “Child mothers and their children are usually weak and vulnerable to diseases.” Only 14 percent of births in Afghanistan are attended by skilled health workers, according to UNFPA. Research by the German NGO Medica Mondiale in 2004 highlighted the negative effects of early marriages in Afghanistan: “It blocks [girls] from education and any possibility of independent work. It subjects them to pregnancy and childbirth before they have reached physical maturity,” it said.