Both the New York Times and the Washington Post reported good news today on worldwide child mortality rates. As shown in the Times chart after the jump, the number of deaths of young children around the world has been cut in half since 1960, when these statistics were first recorded. This fact is even more impressive considering: 1) world population has doubled since 1960, and 2) these stats are based on 2005 household surveys and do not adequately account for the recent uptick in funds from sources like the Global Fund, the Gates Foundation, and the Administration's AIDS and malaria programs. UNICEF gives four reasons for the dramatic decrease (according to the Times).
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is providing assistance to thousands of victims of a cholera outbreak in northern Iraq.
Yesterday the World Health Organization (WHO), which is leading the UN response to the outbreak, reported that Sulemaniyah governorate experienced close to 5,000 cases since 10 August, with 10 deaths reported and 51 confirmed cases in Kirkuk. Two hospitals in the stricken governorate also reported treating 2,000 diarrhoea cases.More
A senior official from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Iran has called for increased efforts to prevent HIV and AIDS from becoming an epidemic in the country.
"I am very impressed by Iran's social programme and in particular the country's approach to health issues," said Omar Abdi, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, on Wednesday. "Iran's experience in these fields can serve as a useful model for other countries and could be central for increased south-south cooperation on social issues."More
As top officials from the Group of Eight (G8) gathered in Germany for their summit meeting, UNAIDS urged them to show continued leadership on the issue of HIV/AIDS.
The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) "urges the G8 leaders to translate their previous commitments on AIDS into tangible action and to ensure that additional pledges on AIDS reinforce and build on existing" and praised the G8 leaders for their "unprecedented commitments."
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Hilary Swank, the two-time Academy Award winning actress, kicked off a race--known as the Blue Planet Run--to bring safe drinking water to 20 million people by 2015.
"We're gathered here to acknowledge that for over one billion people on this planet, safe drinking water is simply not available," the Hollywood actress said at the launch in New York of the first-ever around-the-world relay race to raise funds and spread awareness about the need for safe drinking water.Swank also lauded the men and women participating in the race: "Because of your efforts on behalf of the one billion people who struggle daily to get the water they need to stay alive, I know I'll never take a glass of water for granted again." More
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint UN Programme Against HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) have called for increased care and prevention services related to HIV.
The prevailing model now is voluntary testing and counselling, where individuals actively seek diagnosis. But experts say this system is impeded by the fear of stigma and discrimination, limited accessibility to services and the perception of many – even in areas with high rates of HIV infection – that they are not at risk.Approximately 80 per cent of people living with HIV in low-income countries are unaware that they're infected with the disease. More
The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has released recommendations urging that all indoor environments be completely free of smoke. The organization cites extensive evidence of harm caused by second-hand tobacco smoke in their statement.
WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said, "There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke." Chan urged all countries to pass laws requiring all indoor workplaces and public places to be completely smoke-free.
There are about 4,000 known chemicals in tobacco smoke; more than 50 of them are known to cause cancer, according to WHO, which says exposure to second-hand smoke causes heart disease and many serious respiratory and cardiovascular diseases that can lead to premature death in adults. It also causes diseases and worsens existing conditions, such as asthma, in children.More
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has noted that the world is lagging in its efforts to aid the number of people who lack access to decent sanitation; he called for concrete measures from Member States and civil society groups to remedy the problem.
Mr. Ban told the first preparatory meeting for the International Year of Sanitation, which will be marked in 2008, that "access to sanitation is a fundamental issue of human dignity and human rights, and also of economic development and environmental protection."Approimately 2.6 billion people worldwide don't have access to basic sanitation services. More
Nothing But Nets has been nominated for a "Webby Award" for excellence on the internet. NBN is the anti-malaria campaign sponsored by a number of organizations, including the NBA and the United Nations Foundation. It is up for the award in the Charitable Organizations / Nonprofits category and faces stiff competition from the the Denver Zoo.
Click here to register to vote for Nothing But Nets. And as always, donate $10 to send an anti-malarial bed net to Africa. Send a net, save a life.