TB Hope

For a long time now, it has been believed that a TB vaccine loses its effectiveness and eventually becomes useless. However, a recent study has shown that the vaccine acquires traits that make it ineffective towards the bacteria causing the disease, and these traits can actually be removed, producing stronger immune responses.
Source: UPI.com

High Price of Childbirth

Death due to complications in childbirth is almost unheard of in our country and throughout the rest of the developed world. Unfortunately, this is not the case in poorer countries that lack proper equipment, medicine, and facilities. As a result, many women die from bleeding, infection, or high blood pressure- complications which are easily treatable. One of the main problems is the price of giving birth in a hospital; for many, it is too expensive and they resort to giving birth at home with a birth attendant who doesn't have any formal training. A midwife would charge $2, whereas a hospital birth would cost $6 and an emergency Caesarean would be $15. It's tragic that so many women's lives are taken each day simply because they cannot afford to get proper medical attention during childbirth.
Source: NY Times.

The Impact of Aid

Dambisa Moyo's book about decreasing foreign aid has caused a stir that people are still arguing about. Jeffrey Sachs tackles the topic in a recent article, highlighting the many instances in which foreign aid has in fact been beneficial to a country's overall economic success. In an interesting twist, he compares the scholarships Moyo received for her studies and the money needed for a child to receive a malaria net. He challenges his readers to reconsider aid- if we eliminate it, where would we draw the line?

"Of course, most Americans know little about the many crucially successful aid efforts, because Moyo, Easterly, and others lump all kinds of programs - the good and the bad - into one big undifferentiated mass, rather than helping people to understand what is working and how it can be expanded, and what is not working, and should therefore be cut back. Nor do Americans hear that many poor countries graduate from the need for aid over time, precisely because aid programs help to spur economic growth and successfully prepare countries to tackle future priorities. US aid to India for increased food production in the 1960s paved the way for India's growth takeoff afterwards. There are countless other examples in which countries have benefited from aid and then graduated, including Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Israel, and others. Egypt is on that path today, and Rwanda, Tanzania, Ghana, and others will be as well if both donors and recipients carry forward with a sensible assistance strategies.

Out of every $100 of US national income, our government currently provides the grand sum of 5 cents in aid to all of Africa. Out of that same $100, we have found around $10 for the stimulus package and bank bailouts and another $5 for the military. It is not wonderful that what has caught the public's eye are proposals to cut today's 5 cents to 4 or 3 cents or perhaps zero."

Read the full article here.

The Problem about Hunger

In his weekly op-ed column, Nicholas D. Kristof discusses the misunderstanding that most people have about hunger. The issue is not just a lack of food, but rather a lack of vital micro nutrients. Without the necessary iron, zinc, or vitamin A, the body cannot function properly and begins to deteriorate. Americans get their micronutrients from fortified foods, and this could work for those in Africa as well. The cost for fortifying foods is incredibly small, yet it would make an enormous impact. Read the full article here.

Why Poverty is Expensive

In an article for the Washington Post earlier this week, DeNeen L. Brown makes a conclusion about poverty that most people find surprising- "The poor pay more for things middle-class America takes for granted." Because most of them cannot afford cars, for example, they end up doing their shopping at the nearest corner grocery store. In poor neighborhoods, these stores often cannot survive unless they charge higher prices for their product. As a result, people end up having no choice but to pay an extra dollar on a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread, which can really add up. According to the Census Bureau, about 37 million people in the US live below the poverty line. A lot of those people work hard and struggle to earn a living, but it's not easy.
Source: Washington Post