UN seeks more women for peacekeeping
A five-year effort to increase the numbers of women involved in United Nations peacekeeping operations is producing results in police units, but lagging in military units, UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations officials say. The presence of female peacekeepers, supporters argue, can be a calming influence during tense security situations and provides a measure of comfort for women and girls who have suffered violent sexual assaults.
WHO: Campaign is under way to contain Tajikistan polio outbreak
Mass vaccinations campaigns are under way in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in an effort to stem the spread of a polio outbreak in Tajikistan that has resulted in more than 100 confirmed cases thus far, the World Health Organization says. Worldwide efforts to eradicate the disease are struggling to overcome budget shortfalls and security issues that prevent access.
As WHO renews effort to eradicate polio, some are losing patience
Health experts outlined fresh plans to combat polio at a WHO meeting this week, but after 22 years of fighting the disease, some say it’s a losing battle. “You don’t eradicate polio from 124 countries by doing it wrong,” argued WHO’s Dr. Bruce Aylward. “Either we finish eradication or we let the virus out and between 200,000 to 400,000 kids every year will be paralyzed.”
Afghan women will suffer when U.S. exits
A willingness among U.S. officials to consider reconciliation for moderate Taliban figures into Afghanistan government structures leaves Afghan women in the lurch — at a time when Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government is denying women more rights than ever before, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. Neither U.S. President Barack Obama nor U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has addressed the plight of Afghan women in recent months, even as Karzai has increasingly given politically connected rapists and abusers appointments and impunity. The UN Development Fund for Women reports that 87% of Afghan women say they are beaten on a regular basis.
Human trafficking and the World Cup
Human rights groups are concerned that with the World Cup comes prostitution and human trafficking — as seen in the migration of sex workers from Zimbabwe to South Africa in advance of the tournament. Eight popular hotels in Johannesburg were filled with newly arrived prostitutes from Zimbabwe, in a trend similar to that seen in Germany before the 2006 World Cup. Human rights groups and Christian organizations have urged South African hotels to guard against human trafficking and child prostitution, while the AIDS Consortium has expressed fears that disease could spread as a result of the influx of prostitutes.
Pope’s comments on abuse reveal split in Holy See
Though Pope Benedict XVI’s recent comments showed more decisiveness in confronting the sexual-abuse crisis than the Vatican has expressed to date, they may reflect an effort to get ahead of a brewing power struggle within the Catholic Church. In a recent off-the-record interview, Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn criticized Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano for blocking an investigation into alleged abuse by Schönborn’s predecessor, Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer.
Pope addresses sexual abuse crisis directly
In his most public comments on the sexual abuse scandal that has recently delivered a blow to the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI said that forgiveness could not come at the cost of justice. Describing the sexual abuse scandal that has swept Europe, the U.S. and South America as “truly terrifying,” the pope placed blame on highly placed Catholic Church figures who have done little to root out abusive priests.
Haiti’s fragile social services system is wracked by influx of orphans
Hospitals and orphanages in Haiti have been inundated by children in need of services since the Jan. 12 earthquake left tens of thousands of already impoverished families homeless and unemployed. Some are orphans, caregivers say, but many of the new arrivals are left by parents simply unable to care for the children.
Senegal struggles to provide basic services for mothers, babies
Improved access to reproductive health services and the availability of basic supplies like beds for patients to lie on are among the needs medical service providers in Senegal cite as critical in the battle against maternal mortality. One out of every 21 Senegalese women dies during childbirth or as a result of pregnancy complications.
