Aid / Disasters News From Medical News Today

Forbes Examines Efforts To Bring Clean Drinking Water To India, Kenya Forbes examines efforts currently under way to help people living in India and Kenya access clean drinking water through a partnership between Acumen Fund, "a nonprofit global venture fund focused on alleviating poverty" and the design firm IDEO. Called the Ripple Effect, the partnership received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.WFP Appeals For $5.2M To Feed At Least 500,000 Malawaians Through Dec. 2010The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) made an international appeal Thursday for $5.2 million to help feed more than half a million people in Malawi through the end of next year, Agence France-Presse reports. Anne Callanan, the WFP's country director, said although the country's maize yield of 3.Psychological Growth From 'Ground Zero-Scale' TraumaPeople who live through an extreme traumatic experience such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks or an airplane crash often have the capacity to bounce back or even grow to a higher level of functioning and personal strength, according to a University at Buffalo researcher and expert in the effects of horrifying trauma.Plastic Surgeons Should Be Part Of Disaster Relief Planning, ResponseWhen a terrorist bomb explodes, a tornado rips through a town, a hurricane devastates a region, or wildfires ravage homes and businesses, plastic surgeons are not typically atop the list of emergency responders. But they should be, UT Southwestern Medical Center plastic surgeons and disaster experts recommend in the September issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.Drought, Food Shortages Lead Guatemala To Declare 'State Of Public Calamity'"Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared 'a state of public calamity' late Tuesday to help mobilize funds and resources to confront a food shortage that will affect thousands of families," the Associated Press reports (9/9).Red Cross Sees Increase In Youth Volunteers During United We Serve ProgramThe United We Serve program helped involve more people in volunteering at the American Red Cross, with a notable increase in young volunteers, in particular, since the launch of the initiative in late June. The United We Serve initiative to promote greater public service culminates on Friday, September 11, with a National Day of Service and Remembrance.South East Asian Health Ministers Adopt Declaration To Improve Disaster Preparedness, Address Childhood DiarrheaHealth ministers from 11 member states in the WHO's South East Asian region on Tuesday at the 62nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for South East Asia adopted the Kathmandu Declaration on Protecting Health Facilities from Disasters, which commits them to make health facilities better prepared for health emergencies, Newspapers Examine Drought, Famine In East Africa According to Canada's National Post, a humanitarian coalition "warns East Africa faces 'a perfect storm of crop failures, a multi-year lack of rain, conflicts and political turmoil,' which now threatens 20 million people with severe hunger." Fighting in Somalia has driven 1.New Monkey Malaria Potentially Fatal To Humans Researchers in Malaysia have found that an emerging new form of malaria, thought previously only to infect monkeys, that can be easily confused with a less serious type, is widespread among humans in the region and is potentially fatal if not diagnosed and treated early.South East Asian Ministers Gather At WHO Regional MeetingSouth East Asian health ministers met on Monday in Kathmandu, Nepal, for their 27th meeting during the 62nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for South East Asia, Republica reports.Also In Global Health News: West Africa Flooding; UNICEF Official Ordered To Leave Sri Lanka; South Africa Child Health Campaign; More Nearly 600,000 West Africans Affected By Flooding, U.N. Says The U.N. on Monday "sharply increased its toll of the number of people affected by floods in West Africa, putting the number at more than 592,000 in no less than 10 countries," Agence France-Presse reports. Yvon Edoumou, a spokesperson for the U.N.Poverty-Reduction Programs Need To Also Look At Improving People's Well-BeingThere is more to life satisfaction than money, and public policy programs aiming to tackle poverty need to move beyond simply raising people's income to also improving their quality of life in other areas. These findings1 by Professor Mariano Rojas from Mexico's Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales are published online in Springer's journal, Applied Research in Quality of Life.Recent Releases: PEPFAR In Zimbabwe; Dengue In Thailand; Blogs On Improving U.S. Foreign Aid; Examining Allocations Of Health Aid U.S. Optimistic About Zimbabwe Health System Revitalization The U.S. plans to support efforts to develop a sustainable health system in Zimbabwe and increase its capacity to treat people, Eric Goosby, U.S. global AIDS Coordinator for PEPFAR, said on Wednesday after a visit to the country with USAID and CDC officials, according to a press release from the U.S.Opinion: Local Drug Production In Developing Countries; Obama's PEPFAR Changes Local Drug Production Doesn't Increase Access, Undermines Quality The international community focuses on lowering drug prices as a means of improving access and "today its idea is local pharmaceutical production ...Members Of Congress Say They Will Advocate For More Health Funding In RwandaFive members of Congress who are visiting Rwanda said they will advocate for more funding for the country's health sector, New Times/allAfrica.com reports. The delegation includes Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), and Melvin Watt (D-N.C.) (Musoni, 9/1). The group will visit "several development projects funded by the U.S.UNICEF Appeals For Over $6 Million To Help Women And Children In Northern Yemen UNICEF launched today an appeal for $6.1 million to meet the needs of women and children affected by the current fighting in Yemen's northern region of Saada. The appeal is part of the inter-agency Flash Appeal launched by the United Nations for nearly $23.5 million, to cover humanitarian needs until the end of the current year.Psychological Barriers Reduce Responsiveness To Bushfire Risk, Australia'Bad things do happen, but to someone else' and 'The world is a safe, fair, predictable place' are two of the beliefs that prevent people from taking adequate precautions before bushfire seasons, even when they are advised to take action by Government and emergency services, according to Australian psychologists.Births Decline In Most Areas Hardest Hit By Hurricane KatrinaBirths in most of the Gulf Coast areas hit by Hurricane Katrina plunged in the 12 months following the deadly storm, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report from CDC′s National Center for Health Statistics, "The Effect of Hurricane Katrina: Births in the U.S. Gulf Coast Region, Before and After the Storm," examines birth certificates for the 12 months preceding Katrina and the 12 months following the storm, (Aug. 29, 2004 to Aug.Clorox Sponsors American Red Cross "Do More Than Cross Your Fingers" Preparedness CampaignThe American Red Cross is proud to announce that The Clorox Company has committed to sponsoring Do More Than Cross Your Fingers, a public awareness campaign encouraging and enabling personal preparedness in the event of an emergency. Clorox's $500,000 sponsorship pledge includes both cash and marketing support that will expand the reach of the Red Cross preparedness message.Information For California Fire Victims And Evacuees Health Net of California, Inc. is helping ensure that Health Net members who are victims and evacuees of the wildfires currently taking place in California have access to essential prescription medications, critical Health Net information and services to help them cope with grief, loss, stress or trauma.USA Today Examines Salaries Of CEOs At U.S. Government-Funded Foreign Aid Non-Profits USA Today reports on its investigation into the salaries of "government-funded non-profit" CEOs who "are paid to deliver U.S. foreign assistance," which revealed four of the top 10 largest foreign aid contractors made more than a half-million dollars in 2007.American Red Cross And Jamie Lee Curtis Launch "Do More Than Cross Your Fingers" Public Awareness Campaign To Prepare People For EmergenciesA new survey shows that while about half of Americans have experienced a significant emergency, many people still are not ready for the unexpected because they do not know what to do. To help people take needed preparedness steps, the American Red Cross is launching a new Do More Than Cross Your Fingers public awareness campaign.Acute Impact On Brain Function In Earthquake SurvivorsNew research has found that the Wenchuan, China earthquake that occurred on 12 May 2008 had an acute impact on the brain function of physically healthy survivors and poses a risk to the mental health of these survivors. The results of the study, which was carried out by the Institute of Psychiatry in collaboration with colleagues from universities in China, the US and Liverpool, have been published in PNAS online.Gates Foundation Task Force Visits Flooded Indian StateThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently sent an eight member task force, led by the foundation's country head Ashok Alexander, to the Indian state of Bihar, which has experienced significant flooding in many districts, PTI/Hindu reports (8/30). "With major rivers in spate, there is no let up in the overall flood situation in Bihar where 1.Red Cross Shelters Wildfire Evacuees, CaliforniaThe American Red Cross is on the scene offering evacuees a safe place to stay as wildfires in California force people from their homes and scorch thousands of acres. Overnight, nearly 200 people took refuge from the smoke and fire in Red Cross shelters. "If you are ordered to leave your home, please do it immediately," said Joe Becker, Red Cross senior vice president for disaster services, "These wildfires can be very dangerous.

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