More mothers and pregnant women in Malawi are attending antenatal clinics since the increased training of health workers in pediatric HIV care improved services to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, and pediatric HIV testing and treatment. Today, 45 percent of HIV-positive pregnant women use PMTCT services, putting Malawi on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal of reduced infant mortality by 2015. Providing antiretroviral (ARV) drugs like nevirapine as part of PMTCT services can lower the baby’s chances of being infected by more than 40 percent, according to UNAIDS.
Summit looks at Doha effects on poverty levels
Delegates to the recent global poverty summit in South Africa examined what progress has been made as a result of the Doha Development Round of negotiations at the World Trade Organization a decade ago. Progress related to the Doha effort — which aims to reduce barriers to market access in agriculture, intellectual property and services as a means to decrease poverty levels in developing countries — has been limited by the continuation of government subsidies for exports by developed countries, according to delegates.
Gaza blockade creates child scavengers, imperils lives
A report by a UNICEF-led group highlights the plight of thousands of children in the Gaza Strip who are regularly shot at by Israeli soldiers, and sometimes killed, while scavenging for scrap metal and construction materials in the buffer zone near the border fence with Israel.
Vatican official advised against reporting priests for child abuse
A Vatican official strongly advised against Irish church officials reporting clergymen accused of abuse to police, according to a Vatican letter obtained by an Irish broadcaster. Observers question whether the revelation carries any legal implications as it was an opinion expressed by one official rather than a policy communication from Vatican authorities.
VIETNAM: Stricter child helmet law needed
Thousands of children in Vietnam continue to be killed or injured in motorcycle-related accidents each year, reinforcing the need for stricter enforcement and further revision of the country’s mandatory helmet law. Despite near 100 percent compliance for adults, compliance among children is very low at an estimated 30 percent, health experts and activists say.
Grape Company Rejects Child Labour Allegations [Namibia]
A 15-year-old girl claimed that she and about 14 other children were employed at Riaan De Klerk Farming to sort and package grapes at a daily wage of N$30. The girl further claimed that they were locked up in a storage facility and sometimes were made to work to from 07am up to 05am the next day. “We’re only given a half-hour break…We’re forced to work behind locked doors after the breaks. No one is even allowed to go to the toilet[…]” the girl said. The girl also claimed that she and some other children only received half of her wages when they quit the job.
CHAD: Beyond the cholera emergency
Temporary thatch-walled latrines marked “Oxfam-GB” in green letters line a schoolyard in the southern Chadian town of Bongor. The NGO put them up as part of an interagency response to a cholera epidemic: along with emergency beds and intravenous equipment are temporary toilets, because most public schools have no loos. Cholera, though easily preventable, is one of the most deadly diarrhoeal diseases. But proper sanitation facilities, as well as safe drinking water, are out of reach for most Chadians. And tackling this, experts say, must be the priority post-emergency. With the rate of infection slowing as of mid-December, Chad had 6,369 documented cases of cholera with 180 deaths, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
ZAMBIA: Don’t ignore the children of sex workers
At an increased risk of HIV and often unable to negotiate safe sex with clients, sex workers have been a major focus in HIV prevention and treatment. However, away from the streets and brothels, their children have been largely ignored. Now a small but growing body of research has suggested that the children of sex workers face a range of HIV risks including early sexual debut, low school enrollment, parental abandonment and psychological issues, including social marginalization, related to their mothers’ work, according to Jennifer Beard, assistant Professor in the Department of International Health at the Boston University School of Public Health. Beard published a review of the existing literature on the children of sex workers and other vulnerable population groups in the July 2010 Journal of the International AIDS Society, and found that little research had been done on the issue.
Dutch company accused of slave-like treatment of laborers, including teens
Dutch-based agribusiness company Nidera, a member of the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) is being investigated for tax evasion by the Argentine government. But that’s the least of the crimes of which Nidera stands accused, which include slave-like treatment of workers and human rights abuses. “Nidera…had been holding prisoner 130 workers from the North of Argentina, adults and teenagers who didn’t know where they were, were unable to leave, had no electricity or water and whose cash-in-hand wages were heavily discounted for the supplies sold by the company at extortionate prices…” Upon verifying the workers’ conditions, the District Attorney started procedures to bring charges on slavery and embezzlement of public funds…Doctor Julio Carballo, in charge of the San Pedro Sanitation Office told a local radio that the living conditions for the workers were those of a concentration camp.
Parliament urged to end UK’s recruitment of ‘child soldiers’
hildren and young people’s rights groups are calling for a change in the law to end the recruitment of 16 and 17-year-olds into the UK armed forces. Their call comes ahead of the second reading of the Armed Forces Bill, which the Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, will present to the House of Commons tomorrow (10 January). The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, together with War Child, UNICEF UK, the Children’s Society, and the Children’s Rights Alliance for England today insisted that the Bill be amended to end the “outdated practice” of recruiting soldiers aged under 18. Amnesty International UK and the United Nations Association have given their backing to the call.