House GOP proposes $9.7B cut in international affairs budget by 2016 – Rep. Paul Ryan (R) of Wisconsin, unveiled the GOP 2013 budget plan, titled “Path to Prosperity,” which proposes to cut the international affairs budget from $47.8 billion in 2012 to $38.1 billion in 2016. Rep. Howard Berman (D) of California said that Ryan’s budget “fails to recognize the importance of development and diplomacy in the country’s national security,” as the proposal “cuts the very resources that would make a strong and effective U.S. international leadership a reality.” (Devex, Jenny Lei Ravelo)
Securing Rights for Women Farmers – Estimates show that women provide at least 43% of the agricultural work force in developing countries, yet they “continue to face discrimination, gender inequality and a lack of access to credit.” The Gender and Agriculture Partnership is calling for “urgent action to unleash the potential of half the world’s population,” and increase “access to markets, to services, to equal pay for the same work” for women farmers in order to improve household food security as well as national food security levels. (VOA, Joe DeCapua)
Africa’s Political Instability Hinders Maternal Health Progress – Health experts warn that “political instability, civil strife and humanitarian crises in Africa have over the past decades reversed countless maternal health development gains” in Africa. Long-term political stability is critical for ensuring investments in maternal, sexual and reproductive health, and it will take “strong leadership at the country level to shift” priorities and more effectively implement existing policies and international agreements to achieve the health-related Millennium Development Goals. (IPS, Kristin Palitza)
New TB Drug Regimen Launched in Africa, South America – A global alliance of public and private health experts will mark this year’s World TB Day by “launching human clinical trials of a new anti-tuberculosis drug regimen in South Africa, Tanzania, and Brazil.” The new regimen “deploys a new anti-bacterial drug that promises to kill the TB bacillus more quickly – in combination with a known, frequently used drug.” This regimen would be less expensive and shorter than the existing treatment cycle. (VOA, Vidushi Sinha)
Efforts to save lives in Nigeria with clean cookstoves – The UN-linked Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves launched a new campaign in Nigeria this week, “aimed at preventing deaths due to toxic smoke from rudimentary cookstoves, one of the developing world’s worst public health threats.” Approximately two million people die every year from diseases caused by toxic cookstove smoke, and the Global Alliance aims to see Nigeria equipped with 10 million clean cookstoves by 2020. (AFP)
