Pakistan registered more polio infections in 2010 than any other country, a disheartening setback in a fight it appeared to be winning as recently as 2007. The 144 cases, coupled with at least 15 new cases this year, can be attributed to a host of factors, not least among them the vigilance of armed militants who oppose vaccinations for children and prevent medical teams from entering certain regions.
North Koreans are in urgent need of food aid, UN says
A UN study has found that a quarter of the population of North Korea, or some 6 million people — largely children, women and the elderly — are in desperate need of international food assistance. The world body on Thursday urged the country’s authoritarian government to allow food aid to reach civilians who most need it, as well as to cease subjecting political prisoners to torture and imprisonment in labor camps.
UK’s ‘Child soldier’ recruitment slated
Tens of millions of pounds are being wasted because the Ministry of Defence (MoD) continues to recruit “child soldiers” who are more likely to drop out of the armed forces, according to a report. Soldiers under the age of 18 are also being jailed after going absent without leave (AWOL), despite a policy which gives commanding officers the discretion to discharge “unhappy juniors”, said the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. The UK is one of fewer than 20 states, including Iran, North Korea and Zimbabwe, which still recruits 16-year-olds into the armed forces.
Jordanian youth erect protest camp in Amman
Jordanians set up a protest camp in a main square in the capital to press demands for the ouster of the prime minister and wider public freedoms. The 500 protesters appeared to be mostly university students or unemployed graduates unaffiliated with any political party. Many said they met through Facebook last month to launch a group called the Jordanian Youth Movement. The group changed its name on Thursday to “Youth of March 24” – marking what members said was the start of an open-ended demonstration.
Images in Northern Ireland likened to child soldiers
The children’s commissioner in NI is investigating photographs of young children dressed as republican paramilitaries. Patricia Lewsley described the photographs as “deeply worrying”. In them, children are seen wearing balaclavas, combat clothes and berets while holding replica weapons, including AK47s and Armalites.
WHO battles resistant TB
The UN World Health Organization is calling on world governments to commit more funds to step up the fight against the spread of tuberculosis, a multidrug-resistant form of which is expected to afflict more than 2 million people by 2015. Because current treatment methods are lengthy, and expensive, “many patients desist on their treatment and go on to develop resistant strains of the disease,” said UNITAID, the organization’s international facility for the purchase of TB and other drugs.
Jennifer Potts named Director of Maternal-newborn mHealth Initiative
The mHealth Alliance announced Jennifer Potts, MPH, as Director of the Maternal-newborn mHealth Initiative. In this role, Potts will help the mHealth Alliance leverage the growing reach of wireless technologies in the developing world and reduce maternal and newborn mortality through the power of modern information and communications technologies, or ICT, especially mobile.