What We’re Reading 3/9/10

Mar 9th, 2010 12:56 PM UTC
By Robyn Mitchell

The New York Times: Shower of Aid Brings Flood of Progress
The New York Times spotlights the rural village of Sauri, Kenya, the first of what are now more than 80 Millennium Villages across Africa, a showcase project that was the dream child of Columbia University economist Jeffrey D. Sachs. According to the Times, Sachs’ intent was to show that tightly focused, technology-based and relatively straightforward programs on a number of fronts simultaneously — health care, education, job training — could rapidly lift people out of poverty. The paper maintains that Sachs’ theory seems to be working in Sauri, where a mix of programs focused on agriculture and health, including employing cutting-edge mobile technology to aid in the battle against malaria, is proving successful.

IPS: HAITI: U.S. Acts Quickly on Debt Relief Ahead of Preval Visit
IPS reports that with President Barack Obama preparing to host Haitian President Rene Preval Wednesday, Congress is moving quickly to show support for far-reaching debt relief and additional aid for the earthquake-stricken Caribbean nation. The Senate approved a resolution late last week urging the U.S. representative at major international lending institutions to push for the cancellation of all of Haiti’s outstanding multilateral debt – about 700 million dollars – or about two-thirds of the country’s total outstanding debt of some 1.2 billion dollars. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who sponsored the House resolution, argued that “Extending complete debt cancellation to Haiti – as well as assistance in the form of grants – will give Haiti a strong chance to put the country on a sustained path to success. I commend my colleagues in the Senate for passing a debt cancellation bill, and look forward to the House acting this week.”

Voice of America: New HIV/AIDS Research Agenda to Better Respond to Women and Children
Voice of America reports that approximately 30 years since the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a new strategy is being launched to better respond to the needs of women and children. The research agenda – called “Asking the Right Questions” – includes 20 specific recommendations to expand and improve care and treatment, with this particular population at the focus. The announcement coincides with Monday’s International Women’s Day and is a joint effort by the International AIDS Society (IAS), U.N. agencies, researchers and civil society. Said the IAS Executive Director, “We’re nearly three decades into the epidemic and we have the depressing news that AIDS is now the leading cause of death of women of reproductive age across the globe.”

IPS: Africa: Five Years to Children Born Free of HIV
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria launched a new report Monday, where they maintain that a world where all children are born free of HIV infection is possible in only five years if donors continue to fund global efforts to combat the virus. They also argue that TB transmission will be halved by 2015 and malaria will be eliminated as a public health problem by 2020 if it increases funding for its programs. “The Global Fund is about getting results. This report clearly shows the world’s investments are making a difference,” said Michel Sidibe, the executive director of the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. Sidebe also highlighted the importance of the fund’s replenishment, saying that “a withdrawal of funding on Global Fund-supported projects would be a universal nightmare, as it will mean removing the people who are already on HIV treatment due to lack of funding.”

The New York Times: Counting on Clicks to Finance the Battle Against AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis
The New York Times reports that several foundations and travel companies, in cooperation with the United Nations, are starting a campaign to allow travelers to donate $2 to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, every time they pay for a flight, a rental car or a hotel room. The campaign, called MassiveGood, is asking users of various travel Web sites to click a box to donate when they pay, an act which is estimated to raise $600 million to $1 billion a year within four years. Founded in 2006, Unitaid channels the funds it earns to other groups — including UNICEF, the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — to pay for drugs for children with AIDS, drugs for adults with drug-resistant AIDS or tuberculosis, and mosquito nets to prevent malaria. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, and former President Bill Clinton last week announced the plan, which has been endorsed by several European governments.

The Guardian: Britain sends South Africa 42m condoms in HIV fight before World Cup
According to the Guardian, Britain is to give 42 million condoms to South Africa in response to a request for an extra billion as part of an HIV prevention drive before the World Cup. The request for British help in stockpiling sufficient condoms for the expected influx of thousands of soccer supporters in three months’ time was made during President Jacob Zuma’s recent visit to the UK to meet the Queen. The South African government estimates that up to half a million visitors could travel to the country, raising fears of a rise in prostitution and sex trafficking from neighboring countries and eastern Europe, and creating a potential HIV time bomb.

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