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- Security Council hears findings on DR Congo rapes
The United Nations Security Council heard disturbing testimony from Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Atul Khare on Tuesday on the recent mass rapes in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Khare, who just returned from the affected area, called peacekeeping troops efforts in the region inadequate and informed the council that the numbers of women and girls raped in late July and early August is close to 500 -- up from the 242 originally reported. UN officials said rebels and government forces are using rape as a weapon of war. The New York Times (free registration) (9/7) , BBC (9/7)       - Obama to participate in UN's MDG summit
U.S. President Barack Obama will travel to the United Nations to address delegates to the upcoming summit on Millennium Development Goals on Sept. 22 and the opening session of the General Assembly the next day. The summit will look at ways to accelerate efforts on poverty, maternal and child mortality, HIV/AIDS and other MDGs ahead of the 2015 deadline. Google/The Associated Press (9/7)  - Time is right to eradicate polio
 Concerted efforts to provide vaccines to young children around the world before 2015 should be a critical element of efforts to meet the 2015 Millennium Development Goals and could finally eradicate polio worldwide, writes Jeff Raikes, CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Polio cases have dropped 99% in the past two decades and the disease remains endemic in only four countries. The Huffington Post (9/7) - Economic divides are costing children's lives
Children from poor backgrounds receive substandard medical care, which has led to the preventable deaths of 4 million children over the past decade, according to reports from Save the Children and UNICEF. Even as developing countries seek to improve basic health care services to their populations, the poorest and rural communities are often unable to accessing treatment. The two reports were published two weeks ahead of a major United Nations conference on Millennium Development Goals. BBC (9/7) - Floods wracked Pakistan's food system
Development planners, government officials and relief agencies are struggling to identify a road map for Pakistan to replace to the massive amount of food-producing capabilities destroyed by recent monsoon flooding. Raging waters destroyed 1 million hectares of agricultural land, existing food supplies, seed banks and millions of chicken and livestock. Planners hope to help Pakistani farmers complete the winter planting season, but it will be years before Pakistan can return to a status as a "food secure" country. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (9/8) - UN: Reef networks provide better coral protection
Networks of small no-fishing zones would be effective at protecting coral reefs while insulating them from the effects of climate change, officials from the United Nations University's Institute for Water, Environment and Health say in a report. Reuters (9/8) - Figueres: Carbon market is in danger of fragmentation
The United Nations' Clean Development Mechanism for the exchange of carbon credits awarded for reduction efforts in developing countries may soon unravel if the world's climate negotiators cannot reach new agreement at the December climate summit in Cancun, Mexico, warns Christiana Figueres, head of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The CDM, created as part of the Kyoto Protocol, expires in 2012. Countries may decide to create trading markets independent of any broader agreement, or form an extension market unregulated by the UN, Figueres said. Bloomberg (9/8) - China calls on world to back Myanmar elections
Chinese officials are calling on governments around the world to endorse the Myanmar junta's November election plans and provide constructive assistance. The call came as Myanmar's leader, Gen. Than Shwe, arrived in China for an official visit. Human-rights advocates and Western governments have repeatedly expressed concerns over a repressive environment and poll laws that favor the ruling junta. BBC (9/7) - ElBaradei urges Egyptians to boycott elections
Egyptians should boycott parliamentary elections scheduled for October over concerns fraud will significantly overshadow the effort, former International Atomic Energy Agency chief and dissident Mohamed ElBaradei says. The Nobel Laureate has also threatened to launch a civil disobedience campaign if calls for political reform remain unanswered. The Guardian (London) (9/7) - Sri Lanka boosts presidential power
Sri Lanka's parliament approved expansive new powers for President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The new powers include authority for appointing judges, electoral officials and a number of other important offices, all without the prospect of veto. Critics fear that Rajapaksa, who is enormously popular among the Sinhalese population for presiding over the defeat of the Tamil rebellion, may set up his son, a government minister, to succeed him. BBC (9/8) - Corruption undermines NATO support in Afghanistan
Endemic political corruption in Afghanistan, including alleged efforts by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to block corruption investigations, has frustrated public support for the ongoing war effort among NATO allies. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that he has asked Karzai to crack down on corruption -- or risk losing support for NATO's continued presence. Kabul Bank, in which Karzai's brother Mahmoud Karzai is a shareholder, is at the center of a corruption scandal that has exposed a network of family and political relations at the heart of the corruption allegations and threatens to undermine Afghanistan's banking system. The Washington Post (9/7) , The New York Times (free registration) (9/7)  | |  | | | | | | | | Communications Officer, mHealth Alliance | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Director of Performance Measurement | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Director, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program | HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | New York, NY | | Executive Assistant | Social Science Research Council | Brooklyn, NY | | Deputy Director, Women and Population | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Executive Director, Europe and Central Asia Division | Human Rights Watch | London, United Kingdom | | PROGRAM ASSISTANT FOR UNAIDS COMMUNICATIONS AND CONSULTATION FACILITY | International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO) | Toronto, Canada | | | |  | |  | |
 | - Register now for the mHealth Summit in Washington, D.C.
The 2010 mHealth Summit brings together leaders in government, private sector/industry, academia and not-for-profit organizations to share information and experiences related to the intersection of mobile technology, health research and policy.Featured speakers include Bill Gates, Co-chair and Trustee of the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation; Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer; Dr. Julio Frenk Dean of Faculty, Harvard School of Public Health; and Ted Turner, Chairman, UN Foundation. The mHealth Summit takes place Nov. 8 to 10 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Click here for more information and to register. |
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