The nutritional situation of young children in Niger has deteriorated considerably inside the last 12 months, according to the results with the annual survey on child nutrition publicly released this Thursday. The World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF urge the international community to mobilize all necessary resources to enable them to defend and heal suffering youngsters.

The global acute malnutrition rate in Niger reaches 16.7 per cent for youngsters aged much less than 5, a level far above the 15 per cent warning threshold as well as the 12.3 per cent rate estimated in 2009. In particular regions, for example Diffa and Maradi, the rates reach, respectively, 22.1 per cent and 19.7 per cent, against 17 per cent and 13.1 per cent in 2009. In addition, severe acute malnutrition, which extremely increases mortality risks for children, went from an typical of two.1 per cent to three.2 per cent in 2010.

“The emergency threshold has been largely exceeded, the children are going through an very hard time and we’re extremely concerned. We need to reinforce quickly our interventions to limit illnesses and losses of human life”, said Guido Cornale, UNICEF Director in Niger. “An acceleration of preventive and curative actions for malnourished youngsters is ongoing, donors’ support is crucial at this stage”.

In the context of this nutritional and food crisis, which affects Niger, UNICEF and WFP have implemented significant preventive and curative activities for youngsters suffering from global acute malnutrition. Following the outcomes published by the National Institute for Statistics (INS), each United Nations’ agencies are mobilized to expand their operations beyond the existing emergency plans.

The focus is going to be on protecting kids and pregnant and lactating girls from malnutrition, in addition to supplying therapy to young children suffering from acute, severe, and moderate malnutrition. These actions is going to be facilitated by the Government of Niger’s authorization for the introduction of new merchandise including lipid based nutritional supplements known commercially as Plumpy’ Doz and Supplementary’ Plumpy.

“The instant priority for WFP is to collect all offered resources to guarantee ameliorated food assistance for beneficiaries from now to December 2010″ said Richard Verbeeck, WFP Director in Niger. “The high quality as well as the extent of our operations will depend on the donors’ commitment to attenuate the suffering of populations in Niger”.

Double the number of kids affected by moderate acute malnutrition, is going to be treated within the state wellness structures, supported by WFP and UNICEF. In parallel, UNICEF and its partners are expanding their interventions in favour of youngsters affected by severe acute malnutrition, whose lives are threatened. More than 107,000 youngsters have been treated among January and May 2010, with a clear enhance in admissions within the last month: far more than 1,000 youngsters are registered day-to-day in therapeutic centres given that mid-May.

A large scale communication campaign will likely be launched by UNICEF within the subsequent weeks to promote exclusive maternal breast-feeding until 6 months, the only protection with the infant along with the young child against malnutrition.

Insufficiency and poor rainfalls dispersion throughout the 2009 harvest in Niger have brought on essential cereals and fodder shortfalls. According to the outcomes with the national survey on household vulnerability to food insecurity in rural and urban areas, conducted in April 2010 by the government and its partners, food insecurity currently affects 47.7 per cent with the population that is far more than 7 million individuals. In certain departments, far more than two thirds with the inhabitants suffer from severe food insecurity.

Source:
UNICEF

The Well being Protection Agency, on behalf of the Department of Health and in conjunction with NHS London, will likely be holding Exercise Milo to train London’s Emergency Services and prepare and exercise their health-led response to potential major incidents.

The event is going to be held at the ExCeL London conference centre and at the Homerton Hospital on June 29 2010.

This field exercise will involve a variety of participants (identified as ‘players’) ranging from NHS London to the Metropolitan Police and Amputees in Action. The scenario for the exercise involves a chemical incident at a major sporting event for disabled athletes. Exercise Milo was created specifically to include disabled people, something that has never been tested this widely before.

Some 600 people in total is going to be involved in the exercise: 150 of them players from the emergency services, 120 volunteer casualties, 150 controlling and evaluating staff at the same time as staff volunteers at the Homerton Hospital

“Exercise Milo gives an excellent opportunity for London to rehearse its planned response to a major incident in the capital,” said Andy Wapling, Head of Emergency Preparedness, NHS London. “Nothing on this scale has been attempted before, with the rehearsed decontamination of both disabled and able bodied casualties and all of London’s emergency services providing their response towards the incident. NHS London are seeking forward to learning from the day and will be able to share this good practice across the NHS and with other partner agencies to continue to guarantee that London is prepared”.

As portion of its remit and on behalf of the Department of Health, the HPA Emergency Response Department leads a series of exercises across England to enable the NHS to boost well being preparedness to a range of potential incidents, which includes natural hazards, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) events and new or re-emerging threats. This includes one or far more annual field exercises.

“A multiagency preparing group has helped to strategy this exercise over many months,” said Gillian Dacey, HPA Exercise Manager. “Exercise Milo has been set up to give emergency response participants the opportunity to train and evaluate their skillset, and to take vital learning points, from a safe environment.”

Source
Health Protection Agency

Thousands of people are on the move in southern Kyrgyzstan seeking shelter, says UNICEF

“Many of them are trying to return home, even if their homes have been destroyed,” said Jonathan Veitch, UNICEF’s Representative in Kyrgyzstan “While most apparently intend to stay with neighbours or relatives there is now a significant require for temporary shelters.”

The Government of Kyrgyzstan has reported that 75,000 refugees in Uzbekistan made the move back in the last few days, 90 per cent of them are women and young children.

UNICEF has quickly changed the focus of its response. An airlift of emergency material scheduled to go into Andijan in Uzbekistan, will land tomorrow and have its supplies trucked across the border into Kyrgyzstan. The supplies comprise tarpaulins, practically 800 family water kits, and 100 basic health kits, plus medicines and anti-diarrheal medicine.

UNICEF’s humanitarian relief operation in Kyrgyzstan is now fully functional. Three aircraft have arrived with supplies. The supplies are being distributed in Osh and Jalalabad provinces exactly where UNICEF is operational.

The airlifted supplies include medical kits such as diarrheal illness sets, midwifery kits, obstetric surgical kits; Vitamin A, jerry cans, collapsible water tanks, basic family water kits, tarpaulins, education and child protection supplies. The medical supplies are being distributed to hospitals, while others are being distributed to primarily the most vulnerable among the internally displaced young children and communities.

UNICEF has opened an operations base and warehouse field in Osh to run the emergency response.

Source:
UNICEF

USAID will contribute $11.5 million for the Market Linkages Initiative (MLI), a two-year program aimed at promoting trade in “staple foods” in East Africa, the Daily Nation reports.

The project’s goal is “to build food security and capacity with strategic partners to open up market access for small-scale farmers” in seven countries, the publication writes (Senelwa, 6/29). Focus countries include: Burundi, the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic with the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, southern Sudan and Uganda, based on a press release from USAID’s East Africa office (6/9).

The hope is that small farmers can increase their incomes by being incorporated into national and regional markets, said Candace Buzzard, head of regional economic growth and integration. “She said the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) member states spend approximately $19 billion (Sh1.5 trillion) on food imports annually though only $3 billion (Sh240 billion) is produced within the region,” the Daily Nation writes. “In many seasons, large quantities of food are produced in the region as a whole, too considerably of which spoils or is otherwise wasted soon after harvest because farmers can’t store it or can’t find markets,” Buzzard said.

MLI’s objectives include: expanding grain storage, educating farmers about the the post-harvest processes, strengthening the market and cooperative learning, according to Buzzard. Anthony Ngosi, MLI project director, said $5.75 million grants will probably be given out to help with storage, staple food delivery and market standards compliance (6/29).

African Agriculture Expert Discusses Food Security On The Continent

VOA News interviews Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, CEO of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) about the G8′s $22 billion food security commitment last year in Italy, which leaders stood by at the recent summit in Canada.

“We are quite delighted that there was time spent on deliberating and linking to the L’Aquila agreement,” said Sibanda. In response to a question about how the $22 billion really should be spent, Sibanda pointed towards the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program, “a framework at a continental level exactly where each of the member states has created their investment plans prioritizing their investments.”

“To succeed, Sibanda says it’s important ‘to make confident our farmers have the right incentives. What we’ve been lacking in Africa is this will to produce because there are a lot of subsidies that become a disincentive.’ … ‘Farmers need to have to be given the dignity they deserve to ensure that they become the producers, the backbone of the economy, and they get a decent price for their produce. That’s what has been missing’” (DeCapua, 6/28).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Well being Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

? Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) announced that the Company will donate $300,000 towards the American Red Cross (ARC) to help people in need in ADM communities and all around the globe. The donation is being given through the Company’s social investment program, ADM Cares.

“Through ADM Cares, we support programs and organizations like the American Red Cross that help boost the quality of life where we live and operate,” said Jennifer Ballinger, manager of the ADM Cares program.

In total, ADM is donating $300,000 to the American Red Cross, which includes $125,000 to neighborhood ARC chapters in ADM communities, $100,000 towards the ARC International Response Fund and $75,000 towards the ARC Disaster Relief Fund.

“Recent flash floods and tornadoes in the Midwest have shown us that disasters can strike at anytime and can wreak devastating damage on homes and families, both at home and abroad,” said Neal Litvack, chief development officer, American Red Cross. “The Red Cross is grateful for support from ADM which will help provide immediate emergency relief along with other assistance to help people get back on their feet. These contributions, along with the support of the American public, are critical during floods along with other disasters in the United States and overseas because they enable the Red Cross to provide help and hope to those in want.”

The donation is being made in celebration of ADM’s Global Safety Week, which was held in June. ADM facilities about the globe observe Global Safety Week each year to sustain the Company’s downward trend in incidents and reinforce the belief that “Zero is Possible” when it comes to injuries in the workplace.

“ADM is committed to helping our colleagues, families and neighbors stay safe,” said Ballinger. “We support the American Red Cross because they fulfill immediate, vital desires and help keep people safe in communities around the world.”

Source:
American Red Cross
Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM)

5 (1 votes)

Healthcare Prof:

A cheap new vaccine against Meningitis A recently approved by the Globe Health Organization (WHO) is being described as a “game changer” which will bring hope towards the 430 million people at risk with the disease in the so-called Meningitis Belt, in Sub-Saharan Africa, but only if there is enough financial backing.

The new vaccine is the result of a collaboration between the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP, a partnership between the WHO and also the non-profit organization PATH which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), and an Indian manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India who will make the vaccine at an agreed starting price of 0.40 US dollars (30 UK pence) per dose.

The new vaccine will adjustdelivers four times greater protection and lasts significantly longer, which means it can be used to prevent epidemics rather than just respond to outbreaks like the existing vaccine.

“In 2009, MSF vaccinated a lot more than 7 million people for Meningitis A, but until now we have been confined to emergency response, trying to slow and stop epidemics,” Hewison said in a statement.

According to MSF, final product affordability and medical needs drove the development of the new vaccine. Dr Tido Von Schoen-Angerer, director of their Access to Essential Medicines campaign said:

“This is a complete revolution compared to the usual patent-based, profit-driven model.”

He said the developers focused on keeping the vaccine affordable, tailoring it to suit the medical needs of creating countries.

“This is a striking contrast to the blockbuster vaccines created by the largest commercial developers for Western markets, that fetch extremely high prices and aren’t produced with developing country desires in mind,” he added.

Research suggests that Africa has been experiencing meningitis epidemics on and off for the last 100 years.

The disease is most prevalent in the Meningitis Belt that stretches from Senegal along with the Gambia in the West to Ethiopia in the East, with epidemics occuring during the dry season from December to June. An epidemic wave can last up to three years, dying out during the rainy season.

The size of the epidemics in Africa is staggering: in the 1990s when there was a Meningitis C outbreak in the UK it killed 1,000 people, meanwhile at the same time, a Meningitis A outbreak killed a lot more than 100,000 people in Africa.

Epidemics of such proportions place a great burden on the wellness systems with the countries in the Meningitis Belt, where some communities have reported infection rates as high as 1 in 100 people (most African epidemics report rates of 100 to 800 per 100,000).

Two alarming new patterns underpin the urgency to bring in this new vaccine: the period in between epidemics appears to be getting shorter and the belt appears to be extending further south, towards Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda (Great Lakes region), and Zambia, although this could be a result of increased surveillance says MVP.

Mass roll out with the new Meningitis A vaccine will start this autumn in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger with backing from Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and WHO.

But rolling out to the rest of the Meningitis Belt will likely be a challenge: MSF suggests international leadership is required to mobilize the 475 million US dollars of funds required, as it is unlikely that the targeted countries will probably be able to shoulder such a burden on their own.

Dr William Perea, a WHO meningitis expert told Associated Press that while this sounds like a lot of money, we have to consider the value for money in terms of public well being impact:

“We’re spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to stop a petrol leak in the Gulf,” said Perea.

“Don’t tell me we can’t find the money to pay for something that is a real public health breakthrough,” he added.

Perea said that meningitis outbreaks also have knock on effects in other areas. When epidemics occur, for four or five months the wellness systems in the affected countries come to a halt while well being workers focus on meningitis patients.

He said “meningitis will most likely be history” if the money and resources can be found to make the vaccine offered to the entire area.

Sources: MSF, WHO, MVP, AP.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) today announced the election of its new international president, Dr. Unni Karunakara.

Dr. Karunakara was formally installed during MSF’s International Council meeting in in Amsterdam over the weekend. He takes over from Dr. Christophe Fournier, and will head MSF’s worldwide movement, which includes 19 national associations and branch offices in other countries, for the next three years.

“I am honoured to be elected for such an important role in the MSF movement and to contribute to strategic choices that face our organization,” said Dr. Karunakara. “We are confronted with many challenges in the provision of crucial medical help to people who are trapped by conflict or suffer the consequences of disasters, illness outbreaks, or neglect. MSF will remain relevant for the survival of large numbers of people, if we manage to constantly adapt our organisation to new realities. The members of MSF’s associative platforms, which includes the International Council, are important for setting out the organisation’s general directions. I look forward to making my contribution.”

Dr. Unni Krishnan Karunakara first became involved with MSF in 1995 when he was tasked with setting up a tuberculosis control program in Jijiga, Ethiopia. He went on to become medical coordinator of MSF activities in Azerbaijan, providing basic well being care services to forced migrants from Nagorno-Karabakh, in Brazil, running a well being care program for the indigenous population in Amazonas Province, and in the Republic of Congo, operating a sleeping sickness program. In 2002, Dr. Karunakara joined the public well being department of MSF in the organization’s Amsterdam office, advising country programs in the Middle East, southern Africa, and south and central America. Three years later, he became medical director of MSF’s Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. In 2007, he was component with the medical emergency response team that treated victims of cyclone Sidr in Mathbaria, Bangladesh.

Dr. Karunakara received his medical degree from Kasturba Medical College in India and degrees in public well being from Yale and Johns Hopkins Universities in the United States. He has held various academic and analysis fellowships at universities in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Germany, along with the United Kingdom, focusing on the demography of forced migration and the delivery of health care to neglected populations affected by conflict, disasters, and epidemics. Since 2008, Dr. Karunakara had been working at Columbia University in New York as Deputy Director of Health for the Millennium Villages Project at the Earth Institute, where he was also Assistant Clinical Professor at the Mailman School of Public Health.

As President, Dr. Karunakara will likely be based at MSF’s international office in Geneva, Switzerland, where he will perform alongside the organization’s secretary general, Kris Torgeson.

Source:
Doctors Without Borders

As Hurricane Alex churns through the Gulf of Mexico toward south Texas and Mexico, the American Red Cross is positioning workers, shelter and feeding equipment and emergency vehicles in Texas.

The storm is bringing strong winds and torrential rain to the area, and coastal residents are being evacuated, also as crews on oil rigs and platforms in the area. An additional concern is that the Rio Grande delta region is prone to flood during heavy rain.

“We could see significant flooding from this storm, forcing people to stay in our shelters for longer periods,” said Joe Becker, senior vice president for Red Cross Disaster Services. “People should take any evacuation orders seriously and leave when told to do so.”

The American Red Cross is supporting 20 shelters for those who may have to evacuate and has sent in two,000 cots, blankets, and kits containing personal hygiene items such as deodorant, toothbrushes and toothpaste, wash cloths, shampoo, razors and shaving cream. As many as 17 Emergency Response Vehicles have been deployed towards the area, and eight additional vehicles and crews are on stand-by. Kitchen equipment is also on the way from the Red Cross warehouse in San Antonio.

American Red Cross services are accessible to anyone in need in the affected areas in Texas. During a crisis, human beings require help to stay safe and sustain life, no matter what their nationality, cultural background or citizenship status as well as the American Red Cross will feed, shelter, provide emotional support along with other assistance without regard to race, religion or citizenship status

Additionally, the American Red Cross is in close contact with the Mexican Red Cross and is prepared to send support if requested to help people in Mexico who are impacted by Hurricane Alex. The Mexican Red Cross is ready with relief supplies for as many as 20,000 people.

The Red Cross pre-positions supplies near disaster prone areas to speed up the time it takes to respond to storms like Hurricane Alex, and also the ability to respond quickly due towards the financial support in advance of disasters by companies and organizations which are members with the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP). Members of the ADGP program are Altria Group, American Express, AXA Foundation, Cisco Foundation, ConAgra Foods, Darden.

Restaurants, Inc., FedEx Corporation, GE Foundation, General Motors Foundation, The Home Depot Foundation, John Deere Foundation, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Lowe’s Companies, Inc., Merck, Morgan Stanley, Nationwide Insurance Foundation, Ryder Charitable Foundation, State Farm, State Street Foundation, Target, The TJX Companies, Inc., UnitedHealthcare and UPS.

If you would like to help people affected by Hurricane Alex, and thousands of disasters across the country and about the globe, you can donate to Red Cross Disaster Response by visiting http://www.redcross.org or calling 1-800-RedCross. People can also text “RedCross” to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for disasters and provide shelter, food, emotional support as well as other assistance to victims of all disasters. Contributions may also be sent to your neighborhood American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

Source:
American Red Cross

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) and its family of companies, which includes UnitedHealthcare, Ovations, AmeriChoice, OptumHealth, Ingenix, Prescription Solutions and UnitedHealthcare Military and Veterans’ Services, are taking immediate action to assist people who may have been affected by the recent tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in seven counties across Minnesota. This includes a $10,000 donation toward the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which will help support people affected by the tornadoes and thunderstorms, and opening a counseling help line for neighborhood residents.

- Support for the American Red Cross – UnitedHealth Group is donating $10,000 towards the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. UnitedHealth Group participates in the Annual Disaster Giving Program with the American Red Cross. The donation will allow the Red Cross to provide support for shelters, meals, and clean-up and comfort kits, at the same time as mental health support for families and individuals in the affected communities.

- Help Line for Community Residents – OptumHealth, UnitedHealth Group’s wellness and wellness business, is providing a free help line for people coping with the emotional consequences with the tornadoes. Staffed by experienced master’s-level behavioral well being specialists, the help line offers help to callers seeking help in dealing with stress, anxiety as well as the grieving process. Callers may also receive referrals to community resources to help them with specific concerns, such as financial and legal issues.

The toll-free help line number, 866-342-6892, is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for as long as necessary. This service is free of charge to all Minnesotans even if they are not UnitedHealthcare customers.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people and neighborhood Minnesota communities who suffered such tragic losses of life and property in this disaster,” said Jeannine Rivet, executive vice president, UnitedHealth Group. “The Red Cross is making an immediate, positive impact for the people affected, and we want to support it as it helps these communities in the recovery effort.”

People interested in providing additional help can contact the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund to help provide food, shelter and counseling for people affected by disasters like the recent tornadoes by logging on to RedCross.org or calling 1-800 RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) to make a donation. Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may also be sent to a neighborhood American Red Cross chapter or towards the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C., 20013.

“Thanks to the generosity of our Annual Disaster Giving Program members, the Red Cross is able to mobilize supplies and staff to provide help to people and communities in need to have,” said Neal Litvack, chief development officer at the American Red Cross. “These contributions, along with the support with the American public, are critical during tornadoes and similar disasters because they enable the Red Cross to rush immediate relief to disaster victims before the first donation has been given.”

Source:
American Red Cross
UnitedHealth Group

Ahead of Wednesday’s mark-up of the FY 2011 state and foreign ops appropriations bill, Foreign Policy’s “The Cable” weblog examines recent comments made by House Foreign Operations Subcommittee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) in which she “promised … to remove all the Afghanistan foreign operations and aid money from subsequent year’s funding unless she can be assured none of the funds are being wasted due to corruption in the Afghanistan government.”

According to a spokesperson for Lowey, her comments came Monday after many media reports of abuses of aid money in Afghanistan and reports that President Hamid Karzai “is protecting high-level political officials from scrutiny related towards the missing funds,” the weblog writes.

“Lowey’s spokesman told The Cable that the largest pots of money to be affected are about $3.3 billion in economic support funds and about $450 million requested for anti-narcotics and law enforcement aid to Afghanistan. Other accounts to be excluded include global well being money, anti-terrorism funds, and military training funds for Afghanistan army officers. Humanitarian aid would not be affected,” based on the blog.

It remains unclear “exactly how Lowey’s bill will likely be treated right after it passes out of her committee” or how the Afghan government along with the Obama administration would prove that U.S. funds into Afghanistan are not being misused, based on the weblog.

In a statement released Monday, Kay Granger (R-Texas), the ranking Republican on the committee, seconded Lowey’s concerns about the misuse of donor funds in Afghanistan. Nonetheless, she said, “I cannot support cancelling all FY2011 Afghanistan funding for the State Department and USAID until all the facts are clear and we know the impact this could have on our troops on the ground. When General Petraeus helped craft the present Afghan strategy last year it was not exclusively a military strategy – the State Department and USAID were intended to be important partners in the overall effort” (Rogin, 6/28).

This info was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Well being Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

? Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.