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News...Girls prepare message for G20 leaders
Girls representing the G20 countries and the African Union have gathered for a G(irls) 20 Summit to highlight efforts to end child marriage and discuss other issues that affect young women around the world. Participants will prepare a communiqué on the issue to be delivered to policymakers at the G20 summit next month.

Cholera epidemic in Haiti is the world’s worst
Cholera has afflicted 5% of the Haitian population, and according to Dr. Paul Farmer, UN envoy and founder of Partners in Health, Haiti accounts for more cases of the bacterial disease than in Congo and Bangladesh. Farmer said, “To eradicate cholera, we’re going to have to vaccinate huge numbers of people. It’s going to require a massive campaign like polio.”

Aid groups struggle to meet Horn of Africa need
Kidnapping incidents and inclement weather are adding to the woes of aid groups working to combat drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. Aid groups have been battling infrastructure gaps and security concerns to meet expanding need amid a shortfall of funds. 

Landmark vaccination program is under way in Ethiopia
The largest immunization program in the developing world against pneumococcal disease — which can cause a range of infections, including pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis — began Sunday in Ethiopia. The initiative, funded by the GAVI Alliance, is intended to help the country meet the Millennium Development Goal of reducing child mortality by two-thirds by 2015, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the health minister.

Elders work to confront child marriage
Working to bring an end to child marriages is a key focus area for Nelson Mandela, Mary Robinson and The Elders. The group of senior diplomats is endorsing community-level education efforts and engaging males in conversations on ending a practice that affects 10 million young girls every year.

Movement against genital cutting spreads across Senegal
Villages across Senegal are galvanizing behind a growing grass-roots social movement against female genital cutting. More than 5,000 such villages have promised to abandon the practice.

Vietnam province launches child-marriage awareness campaign
The provincial authority of Long An has issued an instruction to fight against child marriage in the province. The instruction was made after many marriages at an early age were reported in the province’s remote areas and districts with industrial zones, such as Tan Hung, Duc Hue, Moc Hoa, Duc Hoa and Ben Luc. To prevent child marriage, Long An People’s Committee has assigned the Department of Justice to better educate residents about marriage law. The Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs was asked to conduct a survey on causes of early marriages and to map out policies on vocational training for young people who may be involved in child marriages so they could more easily find jobs.

Pakistan struggles to mount effective polio battle
Pakistan’s ongoing struggle to eradicate polio is an example of how the country’s leadership has failed to provide the security, process and information necessary to wipe out the disease. Pakistan is one of only four countries in the world where polio remains endemic, and has experienced an upswing in confirmed cases throughout 2011.  As of Oct. 13, 111 cases of polio had been recorded this year in Pakistan — second only to the African nation of Chad, where 114 cases have been reported this year. Last year, Pakistan logged 144 cases of polio. 

Health professionals battle Haiti malnutrition
Health workers in Haiti are turning to Medika Mamba — peanut butter medicine — to help alleviate malnutrition that plagues children from Haiti’s poor families. Poverty and malnutrition have increased in the wake of the devastating 2010 earthquake. 

Ugandan midwife leads campaign
Midwives such as Esther Madudu, from the Katine region in northeastern Uganda, regularly help mothers deliver babies using the light cast by mobile phones because electricity has yet to be restored to her health center after armed conflict in 2003. Madudu is slated to launch today the Stand Up for African Mothers campaign, which aims to advocate for reduction of high maternal-mortality rates across Africa.

Technologies spur innovations in African teaching
Within the next several years, more people in sub-Saharan Africa will have access to mobile phone networks than electricity. The growing penetration of mobile technologies is spurring African schools and universities to explore using the technology to assist in teaching — in primary schools in Tanzania, in distance learning in South Africa and through ground-breaking applications in Kenya. 

USAID head urges action on maternal, child health
The Million Moms Challenge is part of a groundbreaking effort to ensure better care for pregnant women and small children around the world, writes U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Rajiv Shah. In countries such as South Sudan, a young woman is more likely to die in childbirth than complete a secondary education, and prevention and treatment options must be made more available.

 

 

Author

Cassandra Clifford

Cassandra Clifford is the Founder and Executive Director of Bridge to Freedom Foundation, which works to enhance and improve the services and opportunities available to survivors of modern slavery. She holds an M.A., International Relations from Dublin City University in Ireland, as well as a B.A., Marketing and A.S., Fashion Merchandise/Marketing from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Cassandra has previously worked in both the corporate and charity sector for various industries and causes, including; Child Trafficking, Learning Disabilities, Publishing, Marketing, Public Relations and Fashion. Currently Cassandra is conducting independent research on the use of rape as a weapon of war, as well as America’s Pimp Culture and its Impact on Modern Slavery. In addition to her many purists Cassandra is also working to develop a series of children’s books.

Cassandra currently resides in the Washington, D.C. metro area, where she also writes for the Examiner, as the DC Human Rights Examiner, and serves as an active leadership member of DC Stop Modern Slavery.


Areas of Focus:
Children's Rights; Human Rights; Conflict