Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles
Natural Remedies

Columnist Discusses Recent Findings On Teenage Condom Use, HIV Prevention
"In the past few months, we"ve experienced near hysteria over swine flu and almost constant media attention to scares about tainted food," syndicated columnist Marie Cocco writes in the Oregonian, adding, "These are genuine health hazards - but they aren"t necessarily deadly, nor do they affect nearly as many people in the United States and around the world as does AIDS." Cocco discusses a recent finding by researchers from Columbia University and the Alan Guttmacher Institute that links a drop in condom use among teenagers "in part to waning public concern about transmission of HIV." She writes, "The clear increase in the proportion of teenagers using condoms came during years when public health and media messages about the dangers of HIV were at a height." Cocco continues, "You can argue, based on hard data, that when it comes to teenagers and sex, good policy and genuine leadership get better results than moralizing or ignoring signals that an upsurge in HIV infections may emerge" (Cocco, 7/2).
generic viagra online
South Africa Launches HIV/AIDS Research Initiative
South Africa"s Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor on Tuesday announced a government-sponsored research initiative that "aims to combat HIV and AIDS through scientific and technological research, the development of new drugs, diagnostic tests and vaccines," SAPA/IOL reports (7/28). "[K]ey focus areas" of the South Africa HIV/AIDS Research and Innovation Platform (SHARP) will be prevention and therapeutics, according to BuaNews (7/28).
News of the day
Advocates Eager To Learn More About Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor's Abortion-Rights Views
Abortion-rights groups on Wednesday offered their support for Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor but said that they were eager to learn more about her views on abortion rights, an issue on which she has made few major rulings in her time as a judge, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, groups on both sides of the abortion-rights debate tend to believe that Sotomayor would uphold Roe v. Wade because she was nominated by President Obama, who supports abortion rights. However, when asked on Tuesday if Obama questioned Sotomayor about her views on abortion rights before the nomination, White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said that the president "did not ask that specifically." In addition, none of her rulings has directly dealt with the underlying issues of constitutional privacy that are the foundation for the Roe decision, according to the Times. The abortion-related cases Sotomayor has handled in the past have "turned on other legal issues," rather than privacy, and they have resulted in rulings in favor of abortion-right opponents, the Times reports. For example, in 2002, she wrote an opinion upholding the Bush administration"s "global gag rule" policy banning federal funding of international groups that offer abortion information or services. "The Supreme Court has made clear that the government is free to favor the antiabortion position over the pro-choice position and can do so with public funds," Sotomayor wrote in the opinion. In 2004, she said that antiabortion-rights protesters were permitted to sue police who they claimed used excessive force in stopping a demonstration at a clinic. Sotomayor also has ruled on several immigration cases related to people fighting deportation orders to China over its family planning policies, the Times reports. Because of the limited information on Sotomayor"s abortion-rights views, advocates have stressed that senators ask questions about her views during her confirmation hearing. NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan in a letter to supporters urged them to press senators to ask Sotomayor about privacy rights. Keenan wrote, "Discussion about [Roe] will -- and must -- be part of this nomination process. As you know, choice hangs in the balance on the Supreme Court as the last two major choice-related cases were decided by a 5-to-4 margin" (Savage, New York Times, 5/28). Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said that she would be surprised if an Obama nominee did not support abortion rights but added that "other presidents have been surprised before" when their nominees" views did not align with their assumptions. Northup said that "no one has been able to give us an assurance" of Sotomayor"s views on abortion rights, adding that she would be "very concerned if the question is not asked and answered during the Senate hearings." Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal said, "What we know about [Sotomayor] we like, but I don"t know that answer on abortion rights" (Savage/Nicholas, Los Angeles Times, 5/28). The New York Times reports that more about Sotomayor"s views on abortion rights could come to light if a past writing on the subject surfaces, as was the case during Justice Samuel Alito"s confirmation process. Steven Waldman, editor in chief of beliefnet.com, said, "Everyone is just assuming that because Obama appointed her, she must be a die-hard pro-choice activist, but it"s really quite amazing how little we know about her views on abortion" (Savage, New York Times, 5/28). Thomas Goldstein, a leading appellate attorney and founder of scotusblog.com, said that the "fact that she hasn"t gone off on these sorts of questions" on contentious topics like abortion rights and gay marriage, "I think shows that honestly she"s not a dyed in the wool liberal." He added that there are issues on which Sotomayor could prove to be more conservative than retiring Justice David Souter (Lerer, Politico, 5/27).According to the Washington Post, many antiabortion-rights supporters are critic
Health Insurance

$10 Million European Community Water And Sanitation Project Underway In Iraq; UNICEF Relocates Country Office To Baghdad

- A $10 million project funded by the European Community to improve Iraq"s water and sanitation services is underway. Implemented by UNICEF in collaboration with the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works and the Ministry of Municipalities in Kurdistan, the project will increase the government"s provision of services as well as strengthen their capacity to manage and develop Iraq"s water and sanitation sector. "This investment will provide over 100,000 people including children from 30 schools in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Muthanna, Thi-Qar, Missan, and Basra with improved access to water and sanitation facilities" stated Sikander Khan, UNICEF Iraq Representative. "The project also provides a critical support to the government"s efforts to improve its overall delivery of water and sanitation services to millions more people. We aspire to enhance quality water and sanitation coverage to all Iraqi children and families, which will ensure the millennium development goal of reducing by half the number of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015 is attained." Iraq"s water and sanitation sector is currently unable to meet much of the population"s needs. After years of chronic under-investment and inadequate maintenance due to conflict and sanctions around six million people, 4.5 million of whom live in rural communities, currently do not have access to safe drinking water. Of these, nearly 2.5 million people are accessing their water from a river or streams, putting them at very high risk of contracting water borne diseases such as acute watery diarrhea, the second largest killer of children in the country. In the next year, the project will train hundreds of government staff on best global water and sanitation practices, support the establishment of a water and sanitation Knowledge and Training Center, produce an up-to-date survey on the water and sanitation sector to identify the most critical areas in need of investment, and develop water and sanitation plans in two governorates that could be replicated in all governorates to ensure quality services are planned to reach the majority of the population. Coinciding with the project"s development, after six years of ensuring its operational response from Amman, Jordan due to conflict UNICEF Iraq is reinforcing its presence in Iraq with the arrival of five senior staff to Baghdad. This marks the beginning of the UNICEF Iraq country office"s full transition back to Iraq over the next year. "UNICEF has started relocating to Baghdad to strengthen its support to the government so that the long standing issues that have impinged children"s rights are systematically resolved," stated Khan. "With children representing the most critical re for Iraq"s future stability and prosperity we must now, as reconstruction starts, ensure every effort and investment is made so their survival and development prospects improve. We look forward to developing and enhancing partnerships with all aspects of Iraqi society to bring the situation of Iraqi children on par with that of children in developed countries." About UNICEF in Iraq UNICEF has been on the ground in Iraq since 1983 working to ensure Iraqi children survive and realize their full potential. UNICEF is supporting the Government of Iraq to develop child-friendly policies, build the capacity of institutions, and mobilize res to realize the full rights of Iraqi children. Via a network of staff and partners, UNICEF"s programmes continue to improve basic health services, safeguard quality education, rebuild water and sanitation systems, protect children from abuse, violence and exploitation, and meet the needs of the most vulnerable in crisis situations. UNICEF


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009