Middle East
A child living in a garbage dump in Bagdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq – A recent report studying health in Iraq finds that malnutrition has almost doubled among children since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Malnutrition, which has been exacerbated by lack of clean water and adequate sanitation, now affects 7.7 percent of Iraq’s children under 5 years old, up from 4 percent after Hussein’s capture. Overall, more than a quarter of Iraqi children do not get enough to eat. Nutrition in Iraq was generally considered good in the 1970s and 1980s, but it was hurt by the UN Security Council sanctions imposed after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Continuing violence hampers the delivery of adequate food supplies to Iraqi citizens. (chicagotribune.com)
Bush promotes anti-mother-to-child HIV drugs
KAMPALA, Uganda – Considered a symbol of hope in Africa for its successful AIDS policies, Uganda has recently adopted US-financed sexual-abstinence programs, a decision which threatens to reverse the country’s progress. Human Rights Watch has warned that the new policies, which are backed by the American Christian Right and advocate abstinence until marriage rather than condom use, will leave unmarried youths without the knowledge they need to protect themselves from HIV infection. Information on condoms, safer sex, and the risks of HIV in marriage have been removed from primary schools, and some materials in secondary schools now incorrectly say that condoms have microscopic holes that transmit the HIV virus. In October, the government withdrew all free condoms, saying that they had failed quality control tests. (guardian.co.uk)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Ethiopia has recently launched an emergency campaign to immunize nearly 15 million children against polio, hoping to prevent an outbreak after two cases on the Sudanese border. The two cases were the first to be reported in Ethiopia in four years, and they have generated concern that irresponsible Nigerian polio policies may have international consequences. Over 100,000 volunteers and health workers have begun going house to house across the nation. The disease usually strikes children, attacking the nervous system and sometimes leading to paralysis, respiratory problems, and death. (yahoo.news.com)
Five health workers in full "Ebola suits"
UIGE, Angola – Hasty quarantine measures have been taken to control a recent outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in northern Angola, which has caused over one hundred deaths since October 2004. No vaccine or cure exists for Marburg, a member of the Ebola family, and most deaths occur three to seven days after the onset of symptoms. UN and aid agency officials have been helping the government contain the virus, but efforts have been complicated by an infrastructure ruined by years of civil war. Marburg was first identified in 1967 among laboratory workers in Europe who had been in contact with monkeys. (newyorktimes.com)
Over half of Californians are overweight
Americas
CHICAGO, Illinois – A recent study contends that life expectancy in the United States will fall dramatically in coming years because of obesity, an alarming reversal of the trend toward longer lives. According to the study, the average life span of 77.6 years will drop by at least two to five years, meaning obesity will have a greater impact on average lifespan than cancer. Over the past 25 years, childhood obesity has more than doubled, and childhood diabetes has increased 10-fold. America’s current life expectancy already falls short of twenty other developed countries. (newyorktimes.com)
WASHINGTON, DC – Health officials have just announced that rubella, a virus capable of causing tens of thousands of birth defects and deaths in a single outbreak, has been eliminated from the United States. However, since the disease still exists elsewhere, Americans must continue to vaccinate their children, and women who might become pregnant must still ensure that they are immune. Since 1969, the rubella virus has been included in the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) combined vaccine given to all babies and young children. The Pan American Health Organization is planning to begin a vaccination campaign this year in every country in the Americas, which will include a rubella component. (unifcef.org)
Collecting ducks to be killed in Bangkok
Asia
HANOI, Vietnam – Bird flu has recently re-emerged in Vietnam, killing twenty-eight people. Health officials blame public ignorance about the disease, weak surveillance systems, and small-scale farming activities. Instructions have been issued that all poultry farms in the country, even the backyard farms that are often difficult to monitor, must be disinfected to control the virus. Concern has risen that if the virus were to mutate and become easily passed among humans, it could kill millions worldwide. (newyorktimes.com)
BANGKOK, Thailand – Governments of six Asian countries have recently agreed to collaborate closely in ending human trafficking from the Mekong region. The Mekong, which includes parts of Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, sees between 500,000 and 4 million people trafficked each year. The area’s fast-growing economy has widened the gap between rich and poor, exacerbating crimes that often target those most vulnerable in society, such as women and children. The collaboration seeks to investigate and prosecute traffickers, as well as develop a support system of repatriation and assistance to help trafficked victims return home. (washingtonpost.com)
A Cambodian man is missing two daughters
BEIJING, China – China has neglected the danger of an HIV/AIDS pandemic for years. Now, local Chinese authorities in several severely affected regions have unveiled aggressive prevention and control measures that are stirring debates about individual rights. In recent months, “green harbours,” or purposely built homes for HIV/AIDS patients, have been set up, giving rise to fears that affected patients are being sent there without their consent. The UN estimates that as many as 1.5 million people in China have HIV, and another 10 million could become infected in five years if the epidemic goes unchecked. (ipsnews.net)
Compiled from newyorktimes.com, washingtonpost.com, ipsnews.net, unifcef.org, chicagotribune.com, guardian.co.uk, yahoo.news.com, jpost.com, tauac.org
Compiled by IAN BISHOP