Start a Band, Pay for School

This past summer, the streets in Cape Town, South Africa, were filled with music from two unusual and inventive young musicians. Brothers Aviwe (10yrs) and Fuzile (8yrs) created their own instruments with the help of their mother, using some buckets, leather, wire, sticks, and lots of bottle tops. Playing and singing on the streets, they eventually collected enough money to buy an actual instrument: a keyboard. Their father passed away and their mother, injured from an accident, is unable to work. Although school is free, travel costs 5 Rand per day, and lunch is 3 Rand. The determined duo spent their summer vacation playing music on the streets to earn money for school, making about 100-200 Rand per day!
Watch a short clip of their performance here.

New Foreign Aid Policies

Republicans and Democrats have agreed that foreign aid policies of the US must be reworked. The current system, they said, is chaotic and ineffective. The Bush Administration's reaction to the attacks on 9/11 have refocused US aid to allies in the war on terrorism, and the main foreign development agency, USAID, has lost influence. Howard Berman from the House of Representatives says that they need to rewrite the current legislation dealing with foreign assistance, and give more authority to USAID.
Source: Reuters

Political Priorities by the Numbers

$18 billion: Bonuses received by Wall Street employees last year.
$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.

Latest Technology for Malaria Tests

Researchers at the University of Washington are working on developing an improved portable test for malaria, printed on a disposable Mylar card. This technology uses an "astronaut food approach," where the dried reagents can be stored easily and for long periods of time. Normally these reagents need to be refrigerated, but researchers have found ways to stabilize them by using sugar. The goal is to create a card into which one can deposit a drop of the patient's blood, and put it into a machine which can identify the presence of 20 different diseases. Developing countries will benefit greatly from this new technology because a quick, reliable diagnosis is important in receiving good medical care.
Source: 7th Space

Political Priorities by the Numbers

$275 billion: Amount of tax cuts in the stimulus bill passed in the House today.
$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.

Award-Winning Film Spotlights Global Poverty Problems

Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire provides an unprecedented opportunity to raise global public awareness of poverty in its many dimensions: poor health, illiteracy, inadequate schooling, social exclusion, powerlessness, and gender discrimination. Says Mr. Ron Nechemia, the Chairman and Founder of EurOrient Financial Group: "Through the commercial success of this extraordinary film, director Danny Boyle successfully manages to tell this wonderfully uplifting tale against the backdrop of the horrific living conditions in Mumbai, India, one of the world's most populated cities, but one which severely lacks the most basic services to meet fundamental human rights and needs."
Source: MSNBC
Movie Trailer

Fashion Takes a Stand Against AIDS

The popular fashion publication ELLE magazine launched an initiative this month to feature REDTM in 30 editions across the globe. The brand REDTM was started by U2's Bono and Bobby Shriver, an American philanthropist, to help eliminate AIDS in Africa by raising awareness about the issue. Products labeled with the brand contribute 50% of their profits to the Global Fund to invest in African AIDS programs. Since it was launched in 2006, REDTM has raised $120 million towards the Global Fund. The January 17 2009 issue of ELLE France was the first of 30 international editions to promote REDTM. Within the next few months, an audience of 20 million readers will be introduced to the widely effective movement.
Source: PR Newswire

President Supports UN Population Fund

Last Friday, President Obama announced that the United States would resume funding for UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). The fund has 180 other donor nations, working together to fight global poverty, improve the health of women and children, prevent HIV/AIDS, and provide family planning assistance to women in over 150 countries. US support has been withheld the past seven years, and President Obama's decision to restore this funding has been applauded by other world leaders.
Source: UN News Centre

Newspaper Coverage of Poverty Increases in Africa

Over the past few years, newspapers in Africa have been broadening the range of topics addressed in their publications. Articles about high politics and celebrity news have begun to give way to the less popular issue of poverty. The Weekly Observer in Uganda helped pave the way for this back in 2006 when it published a series of articles outlining the Millennium Development Goals. The articles won several journalism awards, both local and international. Inspired by the positive reaction to these articles, newspaper editors in Uganda and throughout Africa have begun making the difficult decision to publish more of what people need to hear rather than just what they want to hear.
Source: Guardian.co.uk

Bill Gates' first Annual Letter

Bill Gates published his first “annual letter” today outlining his work on his twin passions — health and development in the poorest nations and education in America — and calling for the United States to do more even during this economic crisis. Mr. Gates and his wife, Melinda, are already having an effect on the developing world through projects such as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations, which has saved more than three million lives since 2000. In his first annual letter Gates discusses major global issues including childhood mortality rates, agriculture, education, Polio, AIDS, and Malaria.
Read the Letter

Medications to Fight the Cholera Outbreak

Recently, World Vision and Health Partners International of Canada have airlifted a shipment of cholera medications worth $4 million to Zimbabwe. The recent outbreak of the disease has already claimed 1,900 lives since August, and 38,000 people have been affected overall. As the rainy season begins this month, the disease is expected to spread even more quickly. Sending out medications at this critical time can be vital in saving the lives of children and families that are most vulnerable.
Source: HPIC

Solving World Hunger from Space

Satellites from the European Space Agency are helping researchers monitor climate, vegetation, and humidity of farmlands in Ethiopia. The data collected from the satellites is analyzed at a center in Rome, and these findings aid scientists in improving agriculture. Satellite data has already helped increase cereal production in the country. It also has the potential to help identify ideal lands to use as pastures for cows and other livestock. This innovative technology plays a big part in solving world hunger.
Source: 3news.co.nz