Authorities in 26 African countries announced a joint push to eliminate malaria deaths by 2015. To meet that goal, the program would need to provide bed nets, insecticides and medicine to every person on the continent by the end of 2010.
mHealth technologist makes Time’s list of big thinkers
Time magazine included Technology Director Matt Berg of ChildCount+, a text-powered mobile health service in Africa, among its list of the year’s 100 most influential leaders and thinkers. ChildCount+ employs text messages to monitor the health, screenings and nutrition of tens of thousands of children — a group that is particularly vulnerable to diseases such as malaria. Berg is expanding ChildCount+ to monitor the health of some 100,000 children under 5.
In Sudan, brides are traded for cattle
Mundari tribesmen make up just one of the tribes caught between ancient tradition and the rush of modernity in southern Sudan, where the tribes still trade daughters for longhorn cattle. Luxury goods and government services alike hold appeal to many people who live by tribal traditions yet encounter these things every day, leading some fathers to trade daughters for cash in order to buy modern conveniences.
Canadian politician has harsh words on abortion
Conservative Canadian Senator Nancy Ruth delivered a blunt warning to aid and development groups Monday, telling them to stop complaining about the government’s stance on abortion in foreign aid or risk potential domestic policy fallout. “This is now a political football. This is not about women’s health in this country,” Ruth said. Canada hosts the next G8 meeting in June where maternal health is expected to feature prominently on the agenda.
Gathering seeks to highlight role of grandparents in HIV/AIDS crisis
More than 450 grandmothers from 12 countries are heading to Swaziland to participate in the inaugural African Grandmothers’ Gathering where they will discuss the impacts of HIV/AIDS on families. Organizers hope to build a movement to support targeted funding for grandparents, who often step in to care for children when parents die from the disease, from aid agencies and donors.
Yemeni clerics denounce proposed child bride law
The death of a 13-year-old girl after being raped by her older husband has galvanized discussion in Yemen over a proposed law to raise the legal marriage age to 18. However, conservative clerics have used the the death of Elham Assi as means to rally opponents of a change to the country’s marriage laws and denounce the proposal as the imposition of a Western rights agenda and “un-Islamic.”
Free education no guarantee for Indian girls
Indian authorities have made education for all children between 6 and 14 free and mandatory, but tradition and poverty may keep most Indian girls out of school. Indian laws do not prevent parents from removing their children from school for agricultural or domestic work, nor does it characterize either as child labor. A recent government survey showed 42% of girls drop out of school on the instructions of parents who need them to look after siblings and the family house.