‘‘Eight million Africans are dying from HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria every
year. We want to stop this,'' Regis Mtutu of the Treatment Action Campaign
Regarding the commitment to put aside 15 percent of national budgets for
health services, ‘‘only Botswana and The Gambia have met this promise'',
Mtutu said.
included a plan to set
up pharmaceutical plants for producing life-prolonging anti-retroviral
drugs (ARVs).
Mtutu pointed out that ‘‘the ministers for finance and industry were not
part of the discussion. To succeed, the health ministers need mandates
from their finance and industry counterparts.
policy officer at Oxfam Kenya office, told IPS that ‘‘‘MDGs' is just a
label. It is a brand.
‘‘HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and other diseases are really the issue. It is
about systems to deliver health care. This should be the starting point to
meeting the MDGs,'' said Edete.
lthough governments have committed themselves to the MDGs and the Abuja
target, some prefer to move at their own pace. Kenya's government, for
example, says it will commit 12 percent of its national budget to health
by 2008
‘‘It should be a step-by-step approach. Each country has its own strategy.
If you set a time frame it might not work. For example, you cannot expect
(strife-torn) countries like Somalia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic
of Congo to reach the 15 percent target. It is not practical,'' she told
IPS.
the political and economic crisis
in Zimbabwe deserves special mention as it is also a health crisis for
Africa. People living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe cannot obtain the care
they need and the climate of violence is perpetuating the epidemics of HIV
and TB.
‘‘The shockwaves from the crisis in Zimbabwe are reverberating throughout
the continent as refugees seek health care and other services in
neighbouring countries. Our health ministers must speak out on Zimbabwe on
health and humanitarian grounds,'' the coalition argued.
a new report, ‘‘Paying for People'', published this month (April),
Oxfam estimates that 13.7 billion US dollars must be invested every year
to appoint an additional 1 million teachers and 2.1 million health care
workers urgently needed to break the cycle of poverty in Africa.
‘‘Today in too many of the world's poorest countries health and education
services are dependent on a handful of workers struggling heroically to do
their jobs on pitiful wages and in appalling conditions. Becoming a
doctor, nurse or teacher is like signing a contract with poverty,'' Oxfam's
Elizabeth Stuart wrote in the report.
Africa has 13 percent of the global population
and 25 percent of the global burden of disease but only 1.3 percent of the
global workforce.''
The report cites Tanzania as an example. This southern African country
produces 640 doctors, nurses and midwives each year. But to reach the
World Health Organisation's recommended staffing levels within 10 years it
would need to produce 3,500 such health workers each year.
Another example is Malawi where only nine percent of health facilities
have adequate staff to provide basic health care. The country loses around
100 nurses each year ‘‘who emigrate in search of a better wage'',
according to the Oxfam report.
Charo told IPS that Kenyan health workers are not only moving overseas but
are also seeking opportunities in the private sector for better pay. ‘‘If
you work for government, you get 12,000 Kenya shillings (about 172 US
dollars) but in the NGO or private sector you earn 40,000 shillings
(nearly 572 US dollars) a month. People are tempted to move on.''
(END/2007)
Has some good statistics. Lists lots of problems in African heatlhcare. Has some info on Africa Health Strategy, and proposes more money will solve more problems.
OLPC is funded by a number of sponsor organizations, including AMD, Brightstar Corporation, eBay, Google, Marvell, News Corporation, SES Global, Nortel Networks, and Red Hat. Each company has donated two million dollars.[6]
Industrialised nations are responsible for the bulk of greenhouse
gas emissions - both today and historically. In the past, economic
progress was linked directly to carbon dioxide emissions (via the
burning of oil, coal and gas to generate energy). Renewable energy
sources change this, but only a small number of nations have begun to
implement them in earnest.
Two billion people – one third of the world's population –
have no access to electricity for basic needs such as lighting or
cooking. Getting people the clean and reliable energy necessary for
essential needs such as clean water, health care facilities, heating
and lighting is one of the most pressing problems facing humanity
today.
Industrialised nations have the capital, resources and expertise to
jump-start their renewable energy industries. Obviously, countries with
advanced space programs, established higher educational systems and
abundant cash for investment are better positioned to implement these
new energy technologies then countries still struggling with basic
energy needs.
Links the United States poblem of race, education, and poverty to a lack of accountability by the government. The government did not even recognize they had a proble with poverty until the 1960's Civil Rights Movement. The structure of the government still has some inequalities that deal with race and poverty.
more than a million babies in the region die each year before they are a month old because of a lack of essential health care.
Malawi, together with Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Madagascar, Tanzania and Uganda, is regarded as having made significant progress in reducing infant deaths over the last 10 years, thanks to increased government spending on basic health care.
Currently infant mortality stands at 94 deaths per 1,000 live births in Malawi. A decade ago, the infant mortality rate was pegged at 146 per 1,000 live births.
The Malawian government has intensified the promotion of low-technology and cost-effective measures such as vaccines against child illnesses, antibiotics to treat respiratory infections, and oral rehydration therapy against diarrhoea.
measures include the provision of free insecticide-treated bed nets against malaria, and education in improved family care and breast-feeding practices.
Illnesses such as polio and neonatal tetanus have been virtually eradicated.
Japanese figures show fewer than two deaths per 1,000 live births.
Tokyo has provided financial aid for the procurement of drugs and preventive materials.
Annually, about 73,000 children in Malawi die from preventable diseases. One in every five children dies before she or he is a month old, and one in every eight dies before her or his fifth birthday.
Malnutrition is associated with 54 percent of all children's deaths in Malawi, says the country's former advisor for health, Wesley Sangala. According to him, seven in 10 deaths of under-five children are attributable to diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, measles, malaria and nutritional deficiencies.
She points out that malnutrition rates among Malawian children have not improved significantly since 1992.
Almost half of all children under the age of five (48 percent) are stunted, 22 percent are underweight, 59 percent suffer from vitamin A deficiency, and 80 percent are anaemic.
Describes Malawi's progress towards achieving the MDG of child mortality. Has a lot of really, really good statistics. Particularly important are the things that have worked to make a difference in child mortality rates, and the specific diseases that most commonly cause death in children in Malawi.
This video show how both African and American farming families struggle because of commodity subsidies given to producers from the US government. In this case there are a few number of farmers that benefit while the majority suffer. Here we can see how choices made by our gaovernment affect not only us but others as well.
This video show how both African and American farming families struggle because of commodity subsidies given to producers from the US government. In this case there are a few number of farmers that benefit while the majority suffer. Here we can see how choices made by our gaovernment affect not only us but others as well.
Another campaign that was maybe too much like Easterly's "Planner" as its members disbanded last year after increasing awareness and pressuring governments to relieve absolute poverty. The campaign was formed from members of trade unions, charities, religious groups, and many celebrities. In the US the campaign was known as the ONE campaign.
Another campaign that was maybe too much like Easterly's "Planner" as its members disbanded last year after increasing awareness and pressuring governments to relieve absolute poverty. The campaign was formed from members of trade unions, charities, religious groups, and many celebrities. In the US the campaign was known as the ONE campaign.
This page has the ecomony of the United States wrapped all in one. It links current policy trends of solving poverty with social issues, buying or consumer trends, history in deficit spending by the government, and the assistance provided by the government. This site talks about the inequalities of the minium wage and other statistics that are linked to global poverty.
It is very interesting to see how GE has benefitted from the US's war on terror. 90 percent of GE's nuclear power plants could discharge radiation into the atmosphere. It is responsible for polluting 78 Superfund sites, and is pushing the government to overturn Superfund legislation. Fraud and poor safety for workers are also issues. Why don't we see this on the ecomagination commercials?
THE NIGERIAN Government has officially ordered and paid for one million of the hundred dollar laptops which cost about 140 dollars, according to reports.
Both Intel and Microsoft have said they think its crap. It's probably pretty good then.
The money invested in North American companies producing green technology rose 35% in 2005, to a total of $1.6 billion, according to a new report by the Cleantech Venture Network.
Quite a large number of civil society organisations and NGOs have no organically-evolved mandate from the citizens,"
Mkaronda said complaints about NGO conduct may sometimes stem from public misunderstanding about the roles of these groups: "For example, the Zimbabwean community in South Africa expects us to mobilise resources to sort out shelter, feeding and legal (immigration) status. Yet our role is to highlight the crisis in Zimbabwe."
believes self-regulation may hold the key to improving matters: "It would be a good idea if NGOs and civil society groups came up with a code of conduct like the one which guides other professionals such as medical doctors and lawyers."
These include working "in genuine partnership" with local organisations and communities; complying with governance, accounting and reporting obligations in countries of operation; and balancing expectations of NGOs with the salaries needed to attract competent staff, when deciding on remuneration.
Puts forth some ideas that could make NGO's more effective. One thing noted is that even NGO's have to pay their employees wages high enough to have a low turnover rate, or else they cannot be effective.
I'm tagging this to illustrate bias in writing. This is mentioned by Mickelthwait and Wooldridge (2003) with an off-handed remark on page 177, mocking those who criticize Shell's actions in Nigeria as "they did not go around overthrowing governments."
My searcher solution. Handwashing is something so simple, but can save millions from disease. We have to look into why the government and health organizations are not pushing this!
Solution to poverty this article suggest using housing vouchers on government developed property. Among other solutions it proposes is to educate and provide better health care. The education they propose is to enable people to find some kind of trade to support themselves.
LEDC's development
It is alleged that various governments are over-playing the problem of global warming in an attempt to limit and slow down LEDC's (less economically developed countries) industrial development. This would work in other countries' favour as it would eliminate any future industrial competition.
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