Zimbabwe’s HIV-positive children seek treatment abroad
A lack of access to medicines in Zimbabwe is spurring a new wave of migration to Botswana and South Africa of children with HIV/AIDS in search of antiretroviral drugs. Zimbabwean authorities offer free antiretroviral treatment, but waiting lists and an exhaustive vetting process leave the vast majority of HIV-positive children unable to gain access
Cambodia reconsiders culture of acid burns
Cambodia’s only acid-burn shelter, the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity, is receiving increased attention as a result of an uptick in the number of acid-burn attacks in Cambodia this year. The Cambodian legislature is considering a law that would restrict the availability of acid, now cheap and accessible, and impose harsh sentences for those who use acid in attacks or punishments. The current system, in which the victim must press charges, has resulted in few convictions.
Nigeria’s Muppets warn about malaria
The Muppets take Nigeria in “Sesame Square,” an export of “Sesame Street” repackaged and produced by the U.S. Agency for International Development for the Muslim-majority country — half of whose 150 million people are 14 or younger. “Sesame Square” will focus on themes appropriate to Nigeria, where many young people work instead of going to school, including HIV, malaria nets and gender equality. Zobi, a Muppet taxi driver whose yellow cab lacks an engine, teaches about the proper use of a malaria net by getting tangled in one on the show.
India tests programs to curb large families
Indian authorities have launched a pilot program in Satara to offer cash bonuses to newlyweds who wait two years after marriage to have children. Across India, officials continue to test initiatives such as encouraging the use of condoms and campaigns to end teenage marriages as part of the government’s ongoing bid to curb population growth. The size of India’s population — half of which consists of individuals under 25 years old — is increasingly straining the government’s ability to provide services and threatens the country’s economic gains of the past decade.
Haiti looks to rewrite the book on education
Haiti’s education system was in a shambles even before the earthquake that plunged the country into chaos, with just one in three children advancing past the sixth grade. Now a presidential commission on education working with U.S. education expert Paul Vallas seeks to revise the system as it is being rebuilt by using international aid to consolidate the proliferation of private schools under state authority. The group will air their $4.3 billion proposal before an Interim Haiti Recovery Commission meeting chaired by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive.
IHRC to fund Haitian rebuilding projects
Job creation in the agriculture sector, back-to-school programs and medical worker trainings are among $1.6 billion worth of proposals approved by the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission on Tuesday. The IHRC, which is jointly chaired by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, is responsible for allocating billions of dollars in reconstruction funding pledged by international donors. Reportedly $1 billion of the $1.6 billion has been committed by donors.
