New GAVI head eyes elimination of polio, measles
Seth Berkley, the new head of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations, talks about his life, career and the promotion of immunizations- “cost-effective and powerful tools for public health” worldwide. “The excitement about GAVI is the vision to ensure that all effective vaccines are available to all who need them, whether they live in the richest or poorest country,” he says.
Time to end chronic hunger
Wielding the power of online connectivity and technological advances are among the tools available to today’s generation to help end chronic hunger, writes Josette Sheeran, head of the United Nations World Food Program. WFP is focusing on community-level efforts and using electronic vouchers and cellphones to provide new solutions to chronic-hunger issues.
More Somali refugees are abandoning their children
Parents fleeing famine in the Horn of Africa are abandoning their children after arriving at the Kenya-based Dadaab refugee camp, Save the Children says. The aid group said the number of children arriving at Dadaab without parents increased to 80 in July, compared with 2010’s average of 22 per month.
Cholera epidemic streaks across famine-stricken Somalia
There have been 181 deaths believed to be cholera-related in one hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, according to the World Health Organization. “We don’t see the end of it. As long as we have people on the move, in crowded places and using contaminated water, we will see a rise in cases. All the causes are still there,” said WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic.
25% of children in New Zealand are impoverished, report says
One in four New Zealand children live in poverty and spending more on early childhood would reap huge social rewards, according to a new report which ranked New Zealand 28th out of 30 countries in the developed world. The report was compiled by Every Child Counts – a coalition of organisations and individuals led by Barnardos, Plunket, Unicef, Save the Children and Te Kahui Mana Ririki (a New Zealand Maori children’s wellness forum). New Zealand’s low ranking out of 30 OECD nations showed a high teenage birth rate and the worst suicide rate – at more than twice the OECD average.
Senegal child bride works to end practice
Former teen bride Fatou Diakhate has become a community leader rallying against child marriage in Senegal, where an estimated 43% of girls are married before turning 18. Diakhate, who was married at 13 and bore 12 children, lobbies to convince village leaders to endorse an end to the practice.
Child marriage condemns millions of girls to poverty
Ten million girls under the age of 18 are married every year, with the rates of child marriage above 70% in countries such as Chad and Mali, according to child-rights advocates. Child marriage directly impacts efforts to reach Millennium Development Goals on poverty, education, health and gender equity, advocates warn.
U.S. group connects with Haitian girls through arts
Volunteers from a northern California group, Girls United, recently taught about 80 Haitian girls and women to become peer-to-peer counselors through photography, printmaking, drama and creative writing. The group is a collaboration among the United Nations Foundation, Full-Circle Learning and a San Rafael-based nonprofit, the Meridian Health Foundation.
