| |  | |  India is on the verge of a polio-free future On Friday, India will reach the one-year mark of registering not a single polio case, dealing a significant blow to a disease that remains endemic in only three other countries -- Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. Indian authorities, with the help of domestic and international aid agencies, have pursued a massive, sustained battle to raise awareness and vaccinate Indian children against polio. Hamid Jafari of the World Health Organization said, "The importance of India can't be overstated. This establishes beyond doubt that ... it is possible to stop transmission even in extremely challenging conditions." The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (1/11), The Washington Post (1/11)     
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|  | "The world commemorates the second anniversary of the devastating January 2010 earthquake on Thursday. There are a number of retrospectives, reports, and renewed media focus on Haiti this week. I thought it would be useful to give these stories some context by offering some facts and figures about the recovery." UN Dispatch | |
| - UN, regional health groups to tackle cholera
UNICEF announced Wednesday that it had joined the Pan-American Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help Haitian and Dominican governments develop a plan to eradicate cholera. The alliance will push for delivery of clean water and sanitation to areas stricken by infections. Reuters (1/12) - USAID and Haiti reconstruction
The U.S. Agency for International Development is working to help rebuild Haiti and to foster growth in agriculture, education, health care capacity and other areas, writes Mark Feierstein, assistant administrator, Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean at USAID. Feierstein also touts public-private partnerships with the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation and Coca-Cola to help drive development initiatives. The Huffington Post (1/12) - WHO looks to switch polio vaccines
The World Health Organization is expected this month to begin phasing out the trivalent oral polio vaccine, in light of improvements to diagnostic tests and better vaccines. The virus -- which WHO had hoped to eradicate by the end of this year -- is endemic in only three countries, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. Chicago Tribune (1/11), The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (1/11) - Sachs sees MDG success for Ghana
Ghana is on track to successfully meet most of the Millennium Development Goals, says Jeffrey Sachs, professor at Columbia University's Earth Institute and former director of the United Nations' Millennium Project. While Ghana is still grappling with pockets of extreme poverty, the county has consistently invested significant funding into health, education and gender-equality programs. The Christian Science Monitor (1/11) - Ranking nuclear security
Australia does the most to secure nuclear materials, while Pakistan and North Korea have the fewest safety precautions in place, according to a survey from the Nuclear Threat Initiative. The analysis focused on the two main fuels used for nuclear weapons, plutonium and enriched uranium, and examined factors such as accounting methods, transportation procedures and political stability. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (1/11) - Trek by Sherpa seeks answers to Himalayas climate change
A Nepalese Sherpa is embarking upon a 1,062-mile, 120-day trek across the Himalayas -- including Mount Everest, which he has climbed a record 21 times -- to draw attention to the effects of climate change on people living poorly in remote foothills among eight of the world's 14 highest mountains. "During this trek, we will try to find out how the mountain people are adapting and what they need to fight the impact of climate change," said the 52-year-old climber, Apa Sherpa. AlertNet/Reuters (1/10) - Mixed messages from North Korea on food aid
The regime of new North Korea leader Kim Jong Un has accused the U.S. of politicizing ongoing talks over the delivery of food aid, however that position appeared to shift with a Foreign Ministry statement that appeared to invite new negotiations. Negotiators on Wednesday said that the U.S. had offered to ship grain and other humanitarian aid, as well as temporarily lift economic sanctions, if North Korea stopped enriching uranium. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (1/11), The Wall Street Journal (1/11) - Al-Shabab drives Somalia concerns
The African Union has asked the United Nations Security Council to increase the number of peacekeeping troops in Somalia, where troops from Burundi, Uganda and Djibouti are struggling to counter al-Shabab militants. The group has also been engaged in Twitter warfare with representatives of the Kenyan military over Kenya's cross-border pursuit of al-Shabab. Google/Agence France-Presse (1/11), The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (1/12) - Wirth hails India's achievement
On January 13, India will celebrate a year without a crippling case of polio. UN Foundation President Timothy E. Wirth congratulates the Indian government and other participants in the effort, including the United Nations, Rotary International and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but he also points out that it's still critical to keep pressing on in the fight against the disease. He writes, "India's success is also a reminder that we can't stop now. While tackling the last percent of polio cases is both challenging and expensive, it is essential to global health, because polio anywhere poses a threat everywhere." The Huffington Post (1/12) | |  | | Position Title | Company Name | Location | | Africa Program Specialist | METI Inc., contractor for the USDA Forest Service Office of International Programs | Washington D.C., DC | | Program Director - Sustainable and Thriving Environments for West Africa Regional Development | METI Inc, contractor for the USDA Forest Service Office of International Programs | Freetown, Sierra Leone | | Communications Officer, Nothing But Nets | United Nations Foundation | Washington DC, DC | | Grants Manager, Women and Population | United Nations Foundation | Washington DC, DC | | Senior Director, Global Market Development and Program Quality, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves | United Nations Foundation | Washington DC, DC | | Director, International Reproductive Health and Family Planning (IRH/FP) | United Nations Foundation | Washington DC, DC | | Senior Development Associate, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves | United Nations Foundation | Washington DC, DC | | Program Associate, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves | United Nations Foundation | Washington DC, DC | | | Click here to view more job listings. | | |
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In an interview, Susan Bissell, chief of child protection programs for UNICEF, talks about influences on her career, as well as the reputation of the UN agency and the emerging global challenges it is facing. Among the programs she mentions is the public-private partnership, 
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