Bezalel

Although Jharkhand is among the less urbanized states of India, the state has been witnessing rapid growth of urban population in recent decades. As per the 2001 Census, 60 lakh persons comprising 22.25 per cent of the state's population were residing in towns and cities. It is estimated that the urban population of Jharkhand will grow rapidly to reach 93 lakh by 2026. Along with rapid urbanization, there is a rapid growth of the urban poor population in Jharkhand. As per estimates of the National Sample Survey Organization, 13.2 lakh persons comprising 20.2 per cent of the state's urban population is living below poverty line. However, estimates of the Jharkhand government put the slum population at around 40 per cent of the total urban population. The urban poor rarely benefit from the facilities in urban areas and are as deprived as those in rural areas. The health of the urban poor is considerably worse off than the non poor and is comparable to the rural figures. This wall chart presents health of the urban poor in Jharkhand compared with other population groups based on an analysis of the Third National Family Health Survey conducted in 2005-06. A wealth index has been developed based on 33 assets and household characteristics. The bottom quartile in urban areas is taken as the representative of the urban poor.

In spite of the enshrining anti-poverty programs and objectives of the poverty eradication programs contained in India's five year plans, women's poverty in India, even after 58 years of independence, is glaring. This paper, based on a field survey, addresses the issues of economic constraints and the denial of women's access to productive assets in the form of land ownership and human capital such as education, skill-training. The article contributes to the overall picture of female poverty at the national level. The author finds an exaggerated emphasis being placed on women laborers and inadequate economic opportunities among them as the major obstacle to reducing female poverty. Because of these constraints and discrimination, women enter into the unorganized sector, i.e. the agriculture sector. This paper examines how lack of skills, heavy physical work of different types, long hours of work with limited payment, lack of guarantee of minimum wages, lack of job security, lack of minimum facilities at the work place are the characteristics of the informal sector which contribute to women's economic disempowerment. With regard to the economic position of Indian women, it is clearly evident that India is principally an agricultural economy, and despite their significant contributions to economic production, they are far from equal to men. Land, for example, is a critical asset in rural areas. Evidence points to gender disparities in access to this and other assets necessary for poverty reduction. Having rights to land is a crucial factor in determining how people will ensure their basic livelihood. In all cases women's more limited access to these assets hamper their efforts to reduce poverty and diminishes the effectiveness of poverty reduction more generally. Although the principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution (in its preamble with respect to fundamental rights, fundamental duties and directive principles) with respect to

This book is designed to assist women in caring for their own health, and to help community health workers or others meet women's health needs. It remains highly relevant and includes valuable and vital information that will be useful for those with no formal training in health care skills and for those who do have some training. It provides comprehensive chapters on sexual and reproductive health, nutrition for women, family planning and women with disabilities.

This paper addresses high population growth rates, high fertility rates and low contraceptive coverage. It was presented at the international symposium 'Population Change in Asia and the Pacific: Implications for Development Policy', Australian National University. The pacific region still has high population growth rates, high fertility rates and low contraceptive coverage. Getting the basics right, means that more training is required for senior supervisory levels and front line health staff.

An article on the Guardian Katine website about an innovative solution to the lack of transporation to take women in labour to the nearest hospital. The eRanger is being used in Malawi and costs less than cars to buy and maintain. Could this be a cost-effective life saving solution?

This publication highlights the link between rainwater harvesting, ecosystems and human well being and draws the attention of readers to both the negative and positive aspects of using this technology and how the negative benefits can be minimized and positive capitalized.

This report is one of the primary outputs of the Vulnerability Assessment of Freshwater Resources to Environmental Change project, and presents a situation analysis with regard to the vulnerability of water resources systems in South Asia. In addition to the more general issues addressed herein, this report considers three South Asian transboundary river basins as case studies: (i) Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM); (ii) Indus; and (iii) Helmand. Collectively, these basins provide South Asia with a variety of waterrelated challenges that encompass floods in the monsoon season; water shortages in the summer; sedimentation and erosion in the river and associated flood plains; drainage congestion in low-lying areas; and environmental and water quality problems.

For some people, the water crisis means having to walk long distances every day to fetch enough drinking water - clean or unclean - just to get by. For others, it means suffering from malnutrition or disease caused by droughts, floods or inadequate sanitation. Many people suffer these hardships due to lack of funds or inadequate knowledge of how to solve local water use and allocation problems. Full document in PDF format (280.31kb); Number of pages: 12p

Clean water and sanitation are not only about hygiene and disease; they're about dignity, too.… [E]veryone, and that means ALL the people in the world, has the right to a healthy life and a life with dignity. In other words: everyone has the right to sanitation.' Prince Willem Alexander of the Netherlands, Chair of the UN Secretary General Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation. 2.5 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. Tellingly, the Millennium Development Goal sanitation target, to halve by 2015 the proportion of people living without access to sanitation, remains the most off-track of all the MDG targets. The impact of a lack of sanitation on health, education and economic growth is profound. Every day, at least 5,000 children under the age of five die due to diarrhea, a disease directly related to poor sanitation. Lack of adequate sanitation in schools is a critical barrier to school attendance, particularly for girls. The resulting economic cost to individuals and to governments of ill-health and under-education is at least nine times greater than the cost of addressing this problem. Full paper in PDF format (1.53MB); Number of pages:

Call for abstracts: 8th International Conference on Urban Health (ICUH), 18-23 October 2009, Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, Kenya

This guide is written for MFIs committed to managing and achieving their social mission, and the organisations that support them. Inside, you will find step-by-step guidance on integrating a social lens into your performance management systems. This practice guide draws upon experience and lessons learnt from over 45 MFIs and support organisations across the industry, detailing: - Different entry points into SPM - Case examples from the field - Key issues at each step of the process - Practical tips and clear guidance - Further resources and support Whatever your starting point, you can use this guide to strengthen the systems you use to deliberately balance your social and financial objectives.

This evaluation of the role and contribution of the United Nations system to the Republic of South Africa was conducted between August 2008 and March 2009 by an independent, external team of South African and international evaluation specialists. The report is the outcome of a new approach to evaluation in the United Nations based on partnership between a national government and the UN Evaluation Group. It is an attempt to address the call in the Triennial Comprehensive Policy Review for nationally led evaluations and capacity development in evaluation.

WAPI to indicate when SODIS has reached appropriate temperature. $6

Pakistan Philanthropist Cares For Karachi's Forgotten

Click on the "Read more about Breastfeeding" link to see the 10 facts. A good overall summary of breastfeeding benefits.

'Diseases that disproportionately affect the developing world cause immense suffering and ill health. Medical innovation has the potential to deliver new medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics to overcome these diseases, yet few treatments have emerged. Current efforts to resolve the crisis are inadequate: financing for research and development (R&D) is insufficient, uncoordinated, and mostly tied to the system of intellectual property rights. Delivering appropriate medicines and vaccines requires reforms to the existing R&D system and a willingness to invest in promising new approaches.'

Abstract: 'Each year, more than half a million women die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, and nearly 4 million newborns die within 28 days of birth. Millions more suffer from disability, disease, infection and injury. Cost-effective solutions are available that could bring rapid improvements, but urgency and commitment are required to implement them and to meet the Millennium Development Goals related to maternal and child health. The first chapter of The State of the World's Children 2009 examines trends and levels of maternal and neonatal health in each of the major regions, using mortality ratios as benchmark indicators. It briefly explores the main proximal and underlying causes of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity, and outlines a framework for accelerating progress.'

'What interventions are needed to improve the legal position of women, especially in Muslim societies, so that women's rights exist not only on paper but are realised in practice? Drawing on interviews conducted in Egypt, Yemen and Jordan in early 2008 with affected individuals, activists and people involved in development projects, this report proposes three key areas of action: formal legal reforms, improving women's access to their rights, and working closely with traditional and religious authorities to spread knowledge about existing laws. It presents case studies of interventions taking place in relation to these three areas, including an example of how the Association for the Development and Enhancement of Women (ADEW) lobbied for gender equality in nationality law in Egypt, a study of a national coalition against underage marriage in Jordan, and an example of how cooperation with male and female Islamic preachers in Yemen was successful in raising awareness of existing laws to protect women's rights. A central factor in the success of all the projects presented was the combination of lobbying with training measures and action research. Documentaries and public hearings at which affected women could tell their own stories proved to be particularly effective in lobbying and advocacy. Projects with judges (male and if possible also female), with employees of the judiciary and with the police force were also found to bring about positive changes.'

The paper argues that successful service delivery to poor people requires that clients have voice and influence in the process of service design and delivery. It presents methods - such as participatory planning and gender budgeting - to strengthen the voice of poor women, and help ensure that both women's and men's concerns and priorities are taken into account. But it also recognises that tools and training are not enough; if women's perspectives on poverty reduction priorities disappear once the consultative stage is over, or if the results of a gender budgeting process are ignored, then nothing will change. Women's organisations, other civil society organisations and donors therefore have an important role to play in holding governments and providers accountable with respect to women's empowerment and gender equality. Guidelines are presented to support donors in strengthening accountability with respect to public services. These include: provide and demand sex-disaggregated data in all documents to make gender biases visible, promote gender auditing systems and gender budgeting initiatives, and carry out assessments and evaluations to measure outcomes and impact of service delivery with regard to gender equality.'

This report presents the public financial management and accountability assessment (PFMAA) for Pakistan's Sindh province. The assessment uses the public expenditure and financial accountability (PEFA) 20051 framework, which comprises 31 performance indicators to evaluate (i) the six core public financial management (PFM) dimensions (credibility of the budget; transparency and comprehensiveness; policy-based budgeting; predictability and control in budget execution; accounting, recording, and reporting; and external scrutiny), and (ii) the extent to which donor practices and the management of donor funds affect the PFM systems in the country. This assessment report highlights the likely impact of PFM weaknesses on budgetary outcomes, aggregate fiscal discipline, the strategic allocation of resources, and efficient service delivery.