| |
- UN rapporteur tracks Israel, Palestine violations
Israeli and Palestinian authorities need to do a better job of guaranteeing freedom of expression within their territories, United Nations Special Rapporteur Frank La Rue says. Arbitrary arrests and detentions of journalists, and prohibitions on conferences were among the abuses La Rue chronicled during his visit to the region this month. The Jerusalem Post (free registration) (12/19)      - GAVI vaccine deal is extended through 2023
The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization will be able to buy 180 million doses of pneumococcal vaccine at a steep discount through 2023 under an agreement announced Friday between drugmakers Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline. The vaccine helps prevent pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis, conditions that, combined, kill an estimated 800,000 children each year, almost all in the developing world. Bloomberg Businessweek/The Associated Press (12/16), Reuters (12/16) - India eyes subsidies to tackle malnutrition
Indian authorities are hoping an updated food-subsidies program will help address widespread malnutrition and waning political fortunes without disrupting the economy. The plan, which will increase the number of beneficiaries from 180 million to as many as 810 million, has been approved by the Cabinet and heads to India's parliament next week. AlertNet/Reuters (12/19) - House budget cuts foreign aid request
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on a spending bill that includes $8 billion worth of cuts to requests by President Barack Obama for international programs such as USAID. The bill does include increases for some issue areas including global health programs, which will receive $338.5 million more than was allotted in the 2011 budget, although the amount is less than was requested by Obama. The budget also includes $898.2 million for the Millennium Challenge Corp., unchanged from fiscal 2011. Devex.com/Pennsylvania Ave. blog (12/19) - Grand initiative to fund innovations in medical diagnosis
Over the next three years, the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation and Grand Challenges Canada will be awarding some $32 million to promote the development of affordable, easy-to-use devices that could be used by health workers in poor countries to more quickly diagnose diseases. "Imagine a hand-held, battery-powered device that can take a drop of blood and, within minutes, tell a health care worker in a remote village whether a feverish child has malaria, dengue or a bacterial infection," said Peter Singer, chief executive officer of Grand Challenges, adding that swifter diagnoses of malaria could prevent 100,000 deaths annually. Business Daily (Nairobi, Kenya) (12/18) - Myanmar takes aim at HIV/AIDS
People infected with HIV/AIDS in Myanmar face severe social stigma and barriers to treatment that lead many to never admit they have the disease. Authorities have recently joined forces with the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS to formulate a five-year plan to address stigma and help reduce transmission rates. CNN (12/18) - Indian state takes on child marriage
Child marriage is on the decline in the state of Haryana, a rare victory in the battle against underage marriage in a country where about half of all young girls are married before 18. Haryana instituted a cash-incentive program to prevent underage marriage in 1994 and the first of 150,000 participants will turn 18 next year. The Daily Beast (12/19) - Rio+20 is not merely another G20, UNEP chief says
 Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environmental Program, sees next year's Rio+20 Earth summit as "a world summit on the economy, or a world economic summit," because issues of equity and sustainability are central to the future of the global economy. "We have to make the link between the broader sustainable development agenda, which to some may seem a little bit abstract, and the very real crises of the moment, but also not to simply get stuck in the symptoms," he said. The Guardian (London)/SciDev.net (12/15)  | - Without more aid, Yemen could become the next Somalia
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is expected to deepen next year, according to relief groups, requiring a projected $447 million in humanitarian aid for some 4 million people without adequate food, health care, sanitation and clean water. "In Yemen, there's a new Somalia in the making," said Naveed Hussain, a representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "Somalia became one of the largest refugee-producing countries in the world. We don't want that to happen to Yemen." Google/Agence France-Presse (12/18), Reuters (12/18) Top five news stories selected by UN Wire readers in the past week. - Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.
|
 | Key Sites
| | |
This SmartBrief was created for eleccion@yahoogroups.com
| Advertise With Us | Amy DiElsi
Director for UN Foundation Communications
United Nations Foundation
1800 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
(D) 202-419-3230
(C) 202-492-3078
(F) 202-887-9021
www.unfoundation.org | | | | About UN WIRE | | UN Wire is a free service sponsored by the United Nations Foundation which is dedicated to supporting the United Nations' efforts to address the most pressing humanitarian, socioeconomic and environmental challenges facing the world today. |
| | | | | | | Recent UN Wire Issues: - Friday, December 16, 2011
- Thursday, December 15, 2011
- Wednesday, December 14, 2011
- Tuesday, December 13, 2011
- Monday, December 12, 2011
| | | Lead Editor: Adam Mazmanian
Contributing Editor: Juliette Terzieff
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 | | | | | | © 1999-2011 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment