The use of rape to terrorize women and girls, has continued throughout the Congo’s long and bloody war-torn history. Fear has become a daily emotion for women and girls, as the numbers of rape victims have continuously risen since the end of the Second Congo War, becoming a common feature of Congolese daily life. Why […]
A comments section conversation about WikiLeaks between myself and my FPA-o-sphere colleague Patrick Frost has morphed into a conversation about the morality of American military force. Patrick wrote: The US military’s history of bringing literally unsurpassed prosperity, liberty, and security to the world in the past 70 years cannot even be compared to a minimal […]
It’s 1965 in Indonesia. Sukarno heads an ever-increasingly unstable government. That is the backdrop for this story, the story of Australian journalist Guy Hamilton and his trial by fire in his first overseas assignment. He meets the diminutive Billy Kwan, a photographer who helps him secure sources for his stories. Through Kwan, Hamilton is introduced […]
A recent BBC article reports that more people are classified as “poor”in India’s eight poorest states than Africa’s 26 poorest countries. In this case, an estimated 421 million Indians are in poverty. Recently, many have argued that the Indian government should replace its inefficient social safety net of subsidized government food, cooking fuel and education […]
There is an excellent op-ed in today’s New York Times, Slumdog Tourism, by Kennedy Odede. It notes the increase in “slum tourism” in places like Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai and Nairobi. Slum tourism has its advocates, who say it promotes social awareness. And it’s good money, which helps the local economy. But it’s not worth […]
How is health measured? A consistent measure used by global health practitioners is the DALY, or Disability Adjusted Life Year, which compares one disease with another and uses this comparative measure to quantify the overall disease burden. Karen Grepin recently posted about a collaboration between the WHO, Harvard University, among others, to update and revise the […]
One of children’s biggest pastimes is hunkering down in-front of the old tube and playing video games. While of course the fist thought is to recommend that your child’s access to games and TV is limited, as an advocate for good old outdoor play. Nonetheless we all know that moderate video game usage isn’t necessarily […]
Somali militant group bans 3 aid agencies (shockingly, all agencies are Christian) (AP) More about the aid workers killed in Afghanistan (CNN) Huffington Post is sponsoring three blogs from women leaders in aid. Check out the posts by Melinda Gates on saving children and rotavirus, Mia Farrow on the value of education, and Susan Smith […]
Thanks to Mark Overmann at the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange for the summary of this important legislation: Reps. Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) introduced last Friday the Excellence and Innovation in Language Learning Act (HR 6036), a bill that would authorize $400 million in funding for FY 2011 for the […]
Click on the map to view the interactive version. Photo Credit: IRIN/Plus News
Chris Blattman doesn’t think so. Read his reasons below: Aid is not a mythical goddess, walking through a barren field, greenery spouting in her wake. None of us, really believe such a thing, but we do approach charity as though rapid transformation is possible. It’s uplifting (well… less depressing) to remember a few things. 1. […]
(copyright Lee Lorenz and The New Yorker) This recent New Yorker cartoon reminded me of the old Wizard of Id strip that I referenced in my post on Nature’s Way.
Taliban fighters ambushed and killed a 10-member medical team, including six Americans (three of which were women), as they were returning from a trip to a remote northern area to provide eye care to villagers. The Taliban claimed that the aid workers were spies and preachers of Christianity. This attack is one of the deadliest […]
Tajikistan polio outbreak continues An outbreak of polio in Tajikistan has undermined efforts to eradicate the disease worldwide and threatens to spread even further. This year alone, 452 cases of polio have been confirmed, with several more detected in neighboring Russia. Authorities have spent $7 billion since 1988 in a campaign to eliminate polio, which […]
We all know the obvious culprits of the Western diet that can be harmful to our children’s health…the dreaded fast food, but could our diet actually harm children in the developing world even on a good day? According to new research from Italian scientists in the August 2-6 issue of the Proceedings of the National […]