Dangerous Pregnancy Complications

The UN has reported recently that women in the world's least developed countries are 300 times more likely to die during complications in pregnancy or childbirth than women in developed countries. The reasons for this are varied, including shortage of medical supplies, improper health care, and the countries' lack of attention to women's rights. To lower the risks of such complications, it is essential to provide women with health services during all stages of pregnancy, including before and after. It is also vital to create an environment that supports women's empowerment, education, and protection. This issue is one of the Millennium Development Goals, and the UN is working to solve it.
Source: UN News Centre

Today at The Borgen Project

Producer Marc Castillo was at the office today interviewing members of The Borgen Project. In the coming weeks, clips of the interviews will be available on YouTube.

European Athletes Compete Against World Hunger

A group of former European soccer players teamed up in Egypt as part of a UN campaign to combat world hunger. They visited the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projects in Cairo to help with fundraising and building awareness. The campaign consisted of broadcasts, concerts, and sporting events involving the media and celebrities. As one of the most popular sports in Europe, soccer has the power to reach a vast number of people. The Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) recognized this and initiated their anti-hunger campaign in October 2008. This visit was the group's first initiative towards their goal of improving nutrition and agricultural techniques in impoverished countries.
Source: UN News Centre

Agriculture and AIDS Education

The Nyanza Province, with the highest HIV prevalence in Kenya, is home to thousands of orphans. Five years ago, the UN set up a program there to help those children with a lack of farming skills and AIDS knowledge. The program is based on the "living classroom" method: students are given a small plot of land where they plant vegetables and fruits, tend to the crops, and study the different aspects of farming. As they learn important agricultural skills, they are also taught about AIDS treatment and prevention. The program has had great success over the years, with 17,000 children having graduated from the program. 12 African countries are currently participating and many more plan to join in the movement this year.
Source: UN News Centre

Pope Encourages Obama to Continue Fight Against Poverty

"On the occasion of your inauguration as the forty-fourth president of the United States of America I offer cordial good wishes...At a time when so many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world yearn for liberation from the scourge of poverty, hunger and violence, I pray that you will be confirmed in your resolve to promote understanding, cooperation and peace among the nations, so that all may share in the banquet of life."

-Pope Benedict XVI to President Obama on his inauguration

Hippo Rollers

Farming at Home to Fund Agriculture Overseas

In Waucon, Iowa, a group of farmers from several local churches have joined together to raise money for agricultural programs in the developing world. Planting, harvesting, and selling their crops, the farmers were able to earn $70,000 since 2005. Almost half of that money came from the year 2008 alone. This group, known as the Corner of Hope, is one of 41 similar organizations in Iowa, collecting funds and sending them to countries in need. The humanitarian agency Foods Resource Bank oversees these organizations.

Obama Pledges to Fight Global Poverty

“To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.”
- President Barack Obama

Kenya Celebrates the Inauguration of President Obama

As President Barack Obama was sworn into office just a few hours ago today, his father's hometown in Kenya celebrated the historic event with singing and dancing. They are even running theatrical production, filling up every seat in the auditorium. "Obama: The Musical" was performed all throughout the November election season, and started up again recently in honor of the inauguration. Television stations across the country as well as big screens set up throughout the streets were broadcasting the ceremony. Watch a video clip of the celebrations here. President Obama's promise to double the US poverty assistance to $50 billion is greatly anticipated around the globe.
Sources: BBC News, CS Monitor

Award- Winning Rabies Drug

In South Africa, scientists have received an award for their rabies research that could potentially lead to a safer, cheaper, more effective treatment for the infection. The typical treatment involves cleaning the wound and using antibodies, which are sometimes infected with harmful pathogens such as hepatitis. The new treatment would be created by genetically modifying tobacco leaves to create antibodies. Tobacco is an inexpensive crop and does not have the risks that human or equine antibodies sometimes do. The resulting vaccine would be very cheap and easily accessible, resulting in a very effective treatment for an infection that kills around 50,000 people each year.
Source: SciDev.net

Obama = Good News for Millennium Goals

"In the 21st century, progress must mean more than a vote at the ballot box – it must mean freedom from fear and freedom from want. We cannot stand for the freedom of anarchy. Nor can we support the globalization of the empty stomach. We need new approaches to help people to help themselves. The United Nations has embraced the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015. When I’m president, they will be America’s goals."
-- Barack Obama, Chicago, October 2, 2007

The Need for Increasing Aid

As the current economic crisis seems to have no end in sight, some might take it as an excuse for withdrawing financial aid to poor countries. In reality, aid must be increased by 20% to ensure that these countries can afford to create their own economic rescue packages. The West spends billions of dollars bailing out their own banks, and according to a high-powered UN commission, "it is imperative that developing countries be provided with funds to allow them to undertake comparable policies."
Source: The Observer

Innovative Farming

One of the major obstacles standing in the way of achieving the Millennium Goals is the agricultural challenge in dry regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa. Short growing seasons separated by hot and dry periods, droughts, low soil fertility, and pests create a very difficult environment for farming. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) works on developing scientific innovations to help farmers fight these conditions. They study crops such as pearl millet, sorghum, chickpea, pigeonpea, and groundnut. ICRISAT focuses on improving the productivity of the crop, developing early maturing varieties and hybrids, and developing drought and disease tolerance.