Bill and Melinda Gates have pledged $10 billion in a bid to save millions of lives during the next decade with vaccines. The funds will support efforts to provide vaccinations for diseases such as measles, diphtheria and polio, and develop new vaccines.
U.S. struggles over status for Haitian parents
U.S. officials are looking at how to address the plight of hundreds of Haitian parents able to come to the U.S. as escorts for their American citizen children but who received tourist visas upon entry. Under current guidelines, the parents do not qualify for protective “humanitarian parole” status given to Haitians already in the U.S. when the Jan. 12 earthquake struck, allowing recipients to remain legally and work.
Rotavirus vaccinations key to cutting diarrhea-related deaths
Vaccinating babies against rotavirus could save 2 million during the next decade, according to two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The vaccinations would cut deaths from diarrhea by 61% in Africa and by 35% in Mexico, the studies project.
Haiti’s children are left vulnerable after quake
Health, social, psychological and nutrition issues are mounting for the population of children left orphaned and homeless after the devastating earthquake in Haiti. UNICEF says it is concerned about the prospect some might press children no longer accompanied by adults into adoption, sex trade or domestic service. About 90% of Haiti’s schools have been destroyed, leaving children disoriented and in need of interim care — which UNICEF and other organizations are racing to provide.
Gates sees malaria vaccine in 3 years
Software mogul and philanthropist Bill Gates says a partially effective vaccine for malaria might be available in as soon as three years — with a fully effective vaccine achievable in five to 10 years. Gates, whose Bill Gates Foundation is active in fighting malaria and in other development and health issues, warned the effort shows developed nations should not sacrifice foreign aid and development budgets to tackle climate change.
Security issues compromise polio fight in Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s polio eradication efforts hinge on health workers reaching children younger than 5 years old in 13 districts where security and population movement issues remain serious challenges, World Health Organization officials say. More than 80% of Afghanistan has been declared polio-free, but the disease remains endemic in the southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand and Farah.