Copyright 2008 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 Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/116007.php Three years after Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of the Gulf Coast, a new survey conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health Project on the Public and Biological Security shows that one-third (34%) of those affected by the storm report they are very prepared if a major hurricane were to strike their communities in the next six months. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115919.php Millions of people each day rely on transit, yet few urban area emergency plans have focused on its role in an emergency evacuation, says a new report from the National Research Council's Transportation Research Board. Transit systems could play a significant role in transporting carless and special needs populations in times of emergency, but these groups are inadequately addressed in most local emergency plans and evacuating them could easily exceed limited transit resources. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115805.php A chart prepared by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which provides AIDS care and treatment services to more than 79,000 individuals in 20 countries worldwide, shows how the Senate version of legislation to re-authorize PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), the successful US global AIDS program, will be able to save five to seven million lives over the next five years. The program is on pace to treat two million people by the end of this year. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115700.php You don't have to watch the latest news to see the devastating impact that the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are having on American soldiers. You can just look on the streets of many American cities. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are already homeless, and each year their numbers grow larger. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115660.php The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS welcomes U.S. Senate approval of the "Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde Global Leadership on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008." With this key vote, the U.S. government has taken another major step in keeping its commitment to the global AIDS response. Today's action in the US Senate is a vote of confidence that past and current investments in bilateral and multi-lateral programs are working. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115654.php The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has reported 80 active wildfires still burning in parts of California where the American Red Cross has opened 17 shelters since early June to help those who have been affected by the fires. The Red Cross relief operation has served more than 21,000 meals and snacks, and distributed more than 1,100 comfort kits, all of this accomplished by hundreds of Red Cross disaster felief workers on the scene. Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115545.php WHO (the World Health Organization) has resumed the permanent placement of international staff in Iraq after five years. This move will strengthen WHO's support to the Iraqi government in responding to humanitarian crises, reforming healthcare system and prioritizing health services. Foreign staff were withdrawn after the August 2003 terrorist attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad. Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115535.php Wednesday evening, the U.S. Senate voted to reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) with an overwhelming 80-16 majority. Africa Action commends the tireless work of the global health activists and leaders in the Senate who overcame a series of last-minute objections to get the bill passed, but notes that more still needs to be done to address the AIDS crisis in Africa. "This bill is a tremendous improvement over the previous U.S. Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115519.php The United Nations World Food Programme said today that attacks on aid workers on the ground and threats to ships delivering food aid to Somalia, are jeopardising the lives of millions who now need urgent food assistance. "Somalia is at a dire crossroads," said Peter Goossens, WFP's Country Director for Somalia at a news conference today in London. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115295.php Today the U.S. Senate passed a crucial bill, backed by President Bush, that reauthorizes the U.S. program on global HIV/AIDS while also authorizing much greater funding for programs to address tuberculosis and malaria. "The bill is a tremendous achievement, and I commend Senators Biden and Lugar, who authored the bill, and Senator Reid whose fierce determination to bring the bill forward was indispensable," said Dr. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115258.php The United Nations World Food Programme warned that greater numbers of people fleeing fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo were stretching the agency's resources to the limit as thousands gather in camps in search of safety. Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/115038.php USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) will allow producers who would otherwise be ineligible for the new disaster assistance programs to become eligible by paying a fee as required by the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Act). Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114961.php At an event at the House of Lords to mark World Population Day, International Development Minister, Gillian Merron, tonight announced additional funding of £5 million over the next 5 years to the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) to improve sexual and reproductive health in the world's poorest countries. The announcement increases the Department for International Development's (DFID) total support to IPPF to £8.5 million annually for the next five years. Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114928.php UNICEF trucks loaded with nutritional supplies and medicines, intended for children in the isolated North Eastern provinces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, have started rolling out of Pyongyang, the capital city. The trucks are expected to reach these provinces, which have been off limit to all international agencies since the end of 2006, after an arduous four day drive over mountainous roads. Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114921.php Americas Watchdog has created the most useful service for victims or family members of victims of Mesothelioma available in the US. Mesothelioma is a rare, and lethal form of cancer. Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos. The group never realized that there was no safety net for victims, to get help from the government or VA. They did not know how difficult it might be to get veterans benefits or social security benefits. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114923.php Scientists in Australia have made a breakthrough discovery about how the malaria parasite makes red blood cells too sticky and rigid for the the immune system to deal with that could one day lead to effective treatment against a devastating disease that infects and debilitates 600 million people and kills nearly 3 million every year, with children and pregnant women being the most affected. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114868.php HP (NYSE:HPQ) announced it has donated 500 HP iPAQ Travel Companions with GPS technology, valued at approximately $300,000, to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), supporting the establishment and operation of a public health surveillance and evaluation effort in earthquake-affected Sichuan Province. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114866.php Early in the morning of June 14, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Kurihara in northern Japan, killing six people and causing considerable damage. To assist in recovery efforts, Neways Japan sent 400 boxes of oxygen-fortified Athletic Super Water® and 200 packs of fluoride-free UltraShine Radiance® toothpaste. "Thank you very much for your help," said local welfare officer Yasuo Hirasawa. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114849.php Learning from Past Emergency Response In a special session running all day Wednesday, July 16, 2008, presenters will share lessons learned during past incidents involving emergency evacuations, including some involving radiation releases, and the ensuing emergency response (some involving radiation). Presenters use these lessons to model future event responses. Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114800.php The World Health Organization (WHO) completed a two-day emergency radiation exercise today. This test involved a simulated accident at the Laguna Verde nuclear power plant in Mexico. It was coordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), together with 74 of its Member States and 9 international organizations. The test utilized all WHO systems including Headquarters in Geneva, Regional Headquarters in Washington, and the Country Office in Mexico. Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114799.php Worsening malnutrition and the threat of disease outbreaks are compounding Ethiopia's humanitarian crisis. The World Health Organization is working with the Government of Ethiopia and health partners to support the 4.6 million people needing urgent emergency food relief nationwide. Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114579.php Using remarkably sensitive new instruments, seismologists have detected minute geological changes that preceded small earthquakes along California's famed San Andreas Fault by as much as 10 hours. If follow-up tests show that the preseismic signal is pervasive, researchers say the method could form the basis of a robust early warning system for impending quakes. The research appears in the journal Nature. Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114741.php Worsening malnutrition and the threat of disease outbreaks are compounding Ethiopia's humanitarian crisis. WHO is working with the Government of Ethiopia and health partners to support the 4.6 million people needing urgent emergency food relief nationwide. The number of people who need food assistance is increasing noticeably in Ethiopia. Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114668.php The Washington Post on Thursday examined the Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114724.php Unable to respond to the medical needs of populations affected by internal conflict in Ethiopia's Somali Region, the Swiss section of the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has decided to stop its activities and withdraw from the Fiiq area where it began an assistance program in December 2007.