Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Aid / Disasters News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/aid-disasters/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170235.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170235.php In light of a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) report calling for sustained HIV/AIDS funding, VOA News writes: "Many AIDS-related groups and activists have been calling on U.S. HIV / AIDS Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170279.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170279.php The Dutch Government has given $23.5 million to UNICEF in Sudan which will be used to provide safe water and improved sanitation for hundreds of thousands of people across the country. "This very generous contribution by the Dutch Government will have a real impact on saving lives," said Hilde Johnson UNICEF's Deputy Executive Director. Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170280.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170280.php Last month, seven vaccination sites operated by the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) came under fire during attacks by the Congolese army against the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Thousands of civilians had gathered at the sites. MSF denounces this clearly unacceptable abuse of humanitarian aid for military purposes. Immune System / Vaccines Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170270.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170270.php Mental Health America grieves at the loss of life at Fort Hood and expresses its deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the victims. Our thoughts are with the men and women who proudly serve in our nation's armed forces and the families who support them. We have many questions about the specific circumstances underlying the tragedy at Fort Hood that will help guide us in deciding how best to assure that this doesn't happen again. Aid / Disasters Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170105.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170105.php Community-based education and awareness programs minimized the death toll from the recent Samoan tsunami, though there are still ways to improve the warning and evacuation process, according to a team of researchers that traveled to Samoa last month. The team, funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, collected data Oct. 4 through Oct. 11 to document the impacts of the 8.1 earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that occurred on Sept. 29. Aid / Disasters Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169925.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169925.php The International Examines Contributing Factors To Uneven Distribution Of Childhood Vaccines As a follow-up to the release of the State of the World's Vaccines and Immunization by the WHO, UNICEF and World Bank last month, Immune System / Vaccines Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169922.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169922.php Three billion of the $20 billion that G8 leaders promised to invest in agriculture in developing countries "appears to be new money, diplomats and sources close to the matter said on Tuesday," Reuters reports. Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169921.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169921.php Fierce Mobile reports on the recent announcement that PEPFAR is teaming up with the United Nations Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Vodafone Foundation to be a founding member of the mHealth Alliance, "a group seeking to bring health services to the most remote corners of the globe using mobile networks and technologies." U.S. IT / Internet / E-mail Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169814.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169814.php The Christian Science Monitor looks at one idea about why hunger is receiving a lot of attention in the international arena. Nutrition / Diet Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169785.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169785.php "Perhaps the most wretched people on this planet are those suffering obstetric fistulas," a childbirth injury "often suffered by a teenager in Africa or Asia whose pelvis is not fully grown," New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof writes. Women's Health / Gynecology Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169624.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169624.php Fistula Hospital Plan Is A Great Investment For American Foreign Aid In a New York Times opinion piece, columnist Nicholas Kristof examines a new plan to tackle obstetric fistula, "a childbirth injury, often suffered by a teenager in Africa or Asia whose pelvis is not fully grown. Women's Health / Gynecology Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169623.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169623.php As part of its ongoing "Federal Player of the Week" series with the Partnership for Public Service, the Washington Post examines the role of Richard Greene, the head of USAID's Office of Health, Infectious Diseases, and Nutrition in the Bureau of Global Health. Aid / Disasters Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169573.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169573.php Even if the outcome of the December climate negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark, are positive, scientific forecasts suggest that temperature rises in the next few decades are unavoidable. Human societies and economies are vulnerable to the associated negative impacts, particularly in South America, Africa and Asia. This week (4-6 November), an international group of experts meet in Brazil to discuss how global change will affect nations, with a focus on developing countries. Water - Air Quality / Agriculture Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169431.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169431.php ABC News examines U.S. food aid policy, which "requires that food aid money be spent on food grown in the U.S., at least half of it must be packed in the U.S. and most of it must be transported in U.S. ships." But "critics are complaining that" these policies are "exacerbating the cycle of starvation." U.S. Aid / Disasters Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169430.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169430.php A report released Thursday (.pdf) by a group of global health advocates outlines ways the U.S. can work toward increasing access to health care throughout the world, Inter Press Service reports. They call "for doubling U.S. Aid / Disasters Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169289.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169289.php Missing Grain Deliveries in South Sudan Suggest Corruption Or Mismanagement, Finance Minister Says David Deng Athorbei, South Sudan's finance minister, "said he was trying to track down hundreds of millions of dollars worth of missing grain deliveries, at the heart of what could be a massive case of mismanagement or corruption," Reuters reports. Aid / Disasters Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169283.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169283.php The U.S. will hold off on donating H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine stockpiles to developing countries until "at-risk Americans" receive the vaccine, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday, Swine Flu Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169287.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169287.php "A drought in India and typhoons in the Philippines have damaged large tracts of rice paddies, threatening to upset the fragile food market amid fears of shortages and riots, experts said Wednesday," the Aid / Disasters Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169225.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169225.php I am deeply saddened by the murderous assault on humanitarian staff in Kabul and the lives that have been lost today following the brutal bomb blast in Peshawar. Our thoughts are with the families of those killed and injured in the attacks, as well as with our colleagues at partner agencies in Afghanistan who must now find the strength to carry forward the crucial work of the United Nations. Aid / Disasters Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169162.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169162.php Experts from the Australian Psychological Society (APS) have stressed that psychological preparedness is a vital component of being prepared for any disaster such as a bushfire. "In light of the recent and ongoing bushfires here in Queensland, it is important to acknowledge that being psychologically prepared can assist us to think more clearly and reduce the risk of serious injury and loss of life or property," said APS President, Professor Bob Montgomery. Psychology / Psychiatry Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168968.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168968.php Bill and Melinda Gates are expected to ask Washington officials on Tuesday to "continue funding global health initiatives despite the recession and to commit to nearly halve the number of child deaths worldwide by 2025," the Washington Post reports. At a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation event in Washington, D.C., Bill Gates will address "members of Congress, the U.S. HIV / AIDS Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168973.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168973.php Despite drops in commodity market prices due to the global economic downturn, "[m]ost of the developing world is paying more for food," and the price of food staples in developing countries has risen, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program (WFP), said Monday, the Associated Press reports. "The food crisis is not over. Nutrition / Diet Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168910.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168910.php The American Red Cross today announced that through a new collaboration with Amazon Payments, people will be able to make charitable donations to the Red Cross through the Amazon Payments program. Aid / Disasters Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168832.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168832.php Emergency response plans must include knowledge from the people who need to be protected if these plans are to help communities respond effectively to threats, write Drs. Roz Lasker, Noni MacDonald and Editor-in-Chief Paul Hebert in an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "There is no question that emergency planners have critically important expertise for designing protective strategies," write the authors. Aid / Disasters Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168812.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168812.php Food Aid Won't End African Problems While the drought and starvation in the Horn of Africa are "ghastly to be sure," when "you see children on TV with distended bellies keening over their dying parents ... do them a favour. Sit on your hands," Sam Kiley, a former Africa bureau chief with the London Times, writes in a Aid / Disasters