POVERTY: The poor half billion: What is holding back lagging regions in South Asia?

Ejaz Ghani
28 October 2010


Ejaz Ghani

Economic Advisor at the World Bank

South Asia’s economy is one of the fastest growing in the world, yet it is also home to the largest concentration of people living in debilitating poverty. How do the two co-exist? This column says that South Asia’s division into leading and lagging regions means that stupendous growth hides deep pockets of poverty.
South Asia presents a depressing paradox. It is among the fastest growing regions in the world. But it is also home to the largest concentration of people living in poverty on earth. While South Asia is at a far more advanced stage of development than Sub-Saharan Africa, it has many more poor people.



Figure 1. Number of poor people has increased in South Asia
Source: World Development Indicators, World Bank 2009. Note: Number of people living on less than US$1.25 a day at 2005 international prices. South Asia includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. East Asia Pacific includes China.
Increasing number of poor people
Though economic growth has reduced the poverty rate in South Asia, its total number of poor people has increased. The number of poor people living on less than $1.25 a day increased from 549 million in 1981 to 595 million in 2005. In India, where almost three-quarters of these poor live, the number increased from 420 million in 1981 to 455 million in 2005 (Ravallion et al. 2009).
Moreover, human development has not kept up with the pace of income growth. Children and women appear to suffer more than others. More than 250 million children are undernourished and more than 30 million children do not go to school in South Asia. More than one-third of adult women are anaemic. The share of female employment in total employment is among the lowest in the world.
South Asia is a land of sharp contrasts and mind-boggling disparities (Devarajan 2006). It has more pronounced regional disparities than the rest of the world and is in fact divided into two Asias. A lot of attention has been given to “Asia Shining”. But there is another Asia that exists in parallel, “Asia Suffering”. The distinction between the two is so sharp that they seem to be anchored in two different centuries. And the gap is increasing.
Spatial disparities
The leading sub-sections of South Asia are the envy of the rest of the world. These shining lights are the gateways connecting South Asia with the developed economies. The city of Bangalore in India is an example of this, and it is riding the wave of globalisation in services. Growth has benefitted from technological externalities (self discovery, demonstration effects, learning by doing), pecuniary externalities (thick labour markets that promote better matching), and agglomeration (Krugman 1999). The city of Bangalore has acted like a hub of schools and universities that promote face-to-face learning and entrepreneurship (Glaeser 2010). The transformation that is taking place in the leading areas of South Asia seems to have become a virtuous circle, where an initial advantage has spiralled into greater growth, leading to even more growth, and so on. Indeed, rapid growth can eliminate poverty in the leading regions in a generation.
But the story is wildly different for the lagging sub-sections of South Asia. “Asia Suffering” is doing no better than many Sub-Saharan African countries.
The problems of South Asia – poverty, conflict, hunger, and gender disparities – are concentrated in these lagging areas (Ghani 2010). There are limits to growth in lagging regions, since economic geography, institutions, and globalisation will continue to favour increased concentration of economic activity in the leading regions. Because the migration rates are low, poor people do not move from lagging to leading regions. The lagging regions seem to be trapped by the dual failure of the market and the state.
What can be done?
While economic growth is critical for poverty reduction, reviving growth in lagging regions will take time. Given that growth has its limits, growth should not be the sole solution. Policymakers should consider direct policy interventions to reduce poverty (Banerjee and Duflo 2007). Direct interventions can have a double dividend – they will reduce human misery, which could spark growth.
A high priority should be given to increasing the pro-poor fiscal transfers.
Poor regions have a low base of economic activity to tax, and typically these regions have lower revenues. This revenue constraint prevents governments from expanding safety nets, investing in human and physical capital, and adequately delivering government services.
Achieving equity through fiscal transfers can ensure a level playing field.
This equity is particularly important if the government services are important inputs into future growth potential, such as in developing a healthy and educated workforce.
Simply directing financial resources to lagging regions, however, may not be sufficient. It will need to be complemented with an improvement in capacity, accountability, and participation at the local level.
Reduced migration rates for the poor
Migration rates are low in South Asia for its stage of development. Frictions and imperfections in the labour market seem to be hampering less skilled workers more than skilled workers. This is reflected in lower migration rates for uneducated than educated migrants (Caglar 2010).
In India, the mobility rate increases with the education level. The mobility of university graduates is much higher than the mobility of unskilled workers. Removing barriers to human mobility – such as labour laws, state-specific social welfare programs, and housing market distortions – should be an integral part of development. Human mobility allows poor people to move to geographic areas and economic sectors where the demand and the returns are higher. By pulling up wages in lagging regions, migration benefits non-migrants in these regions. Migration also empowers the traditionally disadvantaged groups, in particular women.
Poor growth in the agricultural sector
Slow agricultural growth has constrained economic opportunities for the vast majority of poor people in lagging regions. Policymakers should recast agriculture in the new environment of globalisation, supply chains, and growing domestic demand. The food price crisis has served as a “wake up call” for policymakers and has created an opportunity to revisit existing agricultural policies.
Regional development policies aimed at promoting equitable growth are not a solution for two simple reasons.
First, empirical evidence shows that convergence of per capita income between lagging and leading regions is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for achieving poverty and social convergence.
Poverty and social convergence can co-exist with (widening or reducing) income divergence.
Second, regional policies that promote balanced growth could lower the overall growth rate itself and, therefore, slow down the pace of poverty reduction.
Regional development policies lower growth when they target the creators of wealth and the concentration of economic activity. South Asia has numerous examples of such failed regional policies (Panagariya 2009).
The escape from human misery need not be a slow process. Not so long ago, Bihar, the poorest state in India, was known for law-and-order problems, extortion, carjacking, kidnapping, and low growth. However, with the restoration of law and order, improved governance, increased use of fiscal transfers, and greater market integration and human mobility, Bihar has started to turn a corner. So can others.
South Asia is at a critical stage of historical transformation. Time is of the essence. There is no room for complacency. Growing disparities could stifle growth itself. If not handled well, they could undermine the security of development.
References
Banerjee, A and E Duflo (2007), “The Economic Lives of the Poor”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(1):141-167.
Caglar, O and M Sewadeh (2010), “How important is migration?”, in E Ghani (ed.), The Poor Half Billion in South Asia, Oxford University Press
Devarajan, Shanta, 2006, “Can South Asia Eliminate Poverty in a Generation?” World Bank, Washington DC, World Bank.
Ghani, Ejaz (2010), The Poor Half Billion in South Asia – What is holding back lagging regions?, Oxford University Press
Glaeser, Edward (2010), “Making Sense of Bangalore”, Legatum Institute, London
Krugman, Paul (1999), “The Role of Geography in Development”, International Regional Science Review, 22(2):142-161.
Panagariya, Arvind (2009), India: The Emerging Giant, Oxford University Press.
Ravallion, Martin, S Chen, and P Sangraula (2009), “Dollar a Day Revisited”, Policy Research Working Paper No 4620, World Bank, Washington DC.
http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/5722

POVERTY: Poverty by headcount

Sonam Pelden
26 October 2010
Report links poverty to socio-economic conditions
Poor gewogs generally have poor access to markets, road networks, and poor rural elec­trification, according to small area estimation of poverty in rural Bhutan, a joint report prepared National Statistic Bureau and the World Bank, released this week.
Densely populated but non-poor gewogs in the west have high rates of rural electrifica­tion. Poverty incidence of each gewog is also associated with school attendance of children and linkage between gender and development.
Consumption expenditure alone is not the best way to measure the extent of depri­vation in remote areas. The report shows the picture of poverty in the country down to the gewog level.
Unlike the 2007 poverty analysis report that detailed only the national and dzong­khag level poverty estimates, this report has poverty maps to help locate pockets of poverty and deprivation in the gewogs enabling a proper headcount of poor people.
Earlier, all gewogs in a dzongkhag are assumed to have equal poverty rates. This study shows gewog-level pov­erty estimates to better reflect the ground realities.
The geographic patterns of poverty like access to roads, markets, education, electric­ity, and gender were used to calibrate poverty al­leviation strategies to fit local conditions.
Such findings, according to the report, can be used for designing, planning and moni­toring poverty alleviation strategies at the gewog level.
Areas in the southwest of the country around Samtse have high poverty rates with large number of poor people, and dzongkhags in the east have high rates of poverty but fewer poor people owing to lower population density.
Market access and con­nection to road networks, the report states, are the main drivers of poverty reduction and development in rural areas. One of the poorest dzongkhags, Zhemgang, has little access to road networks and markets, whereas places in the west are highly con­nected to markets and have lowest poverty levels. How­ever, Gasa makes an exception with low poverty incidence with limited market access.
Though Bhutan has made a tremendous progress in access to education in rural areas, there are many areas where few children attend school. Many of these gewogs tend to have high poverty rates. Poor gewogs register lower school attendance com­pared to non-poor gewogs.
Bringing electricity to rural population not only improves the quality of life, but also promotes economic activ­ity and increase agriculture production. The areas with high electrification rates tend to be concentrated in rich and densely populated gewogs in Paro, Chukha, Thimphu and Punakha. And rural electrifi­cation is relatively low in rest of the country.
Linkage between gender and development has gained much attention among devel­opment practitioners. Wom­en’s engagement in economic activities can bring more income and other resources to households and elevate the living standard. The report suggests that incorporating the pattern between rural poverty and female labour force participation can shed more light on the gender and development connection in Bhutan.
The poverty analysis report of 2007 states that about one fourth of the country’s population is estimated to be poor with rural poverty level as high as 30.9 percent.
The 2007 report estab­lished the poverty line at Nu 1,097 a person for a month with Nu 689 on food require­ment and Nu 408 on non-food requirement. About 23 percent of the population—146,000 of 629,000— was found to be poor. About six percent of the population was subsistence poor— consump­tion below food requirement of Nu 689.
The government aspires to bring down the poverty level to as low as 15 percent by the end of the 10th plan.

A gewog refers to a group of villages in Bhutan and thus forms an intermediate geographic administrative unit between village and dzongkhag. The country comprises 205 gewogs, which average 230 km² in area. The gewogs in turn are divided into chewogs. Beginning in the late 1980s, the King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck has pursued a long-time programme of decentralization. In 1991, following this principle, the gewogs became official administrative units, each headed by a gup or headman. The first-ever elections in Bhutan were held at that time, with a representative from each household voting to select their local gup.
 (from the invaluable Wikipedia)
http://www.bhutanobserver.bt/2010/bhutan-news/10/poverty-by-headcount-2.html

POVERTY: Pakistan

 Shaukat Masood Zafar • Oct 30th, 2010 •
Poverty is curse and it is said to be mother of crimes. It is in fact that most of the crimes that occur are due to poverty. It is a multi-faceted phenomenon which encompasses economic, political and social deprivations of the people in a country and manifests itself in a vicious circle. Low savings and ultimate low investments result in low income, poor education, lack of health facilities, unequal distribution of wealth and poor infra-structure. The denial of basic and essential needs to the population gives rise to the concept of poverty.
Pakistan, as a whole is filled with poverty and hunger. The hunger and poverty is assuming alarming proportions in Pakistan. The situation in Pakistan is now so bleak that even some honest people who hated corruption from depth of their beings failed to keep their mental balance due to the pressure of poverty and resorted to crimes just to maintain their existence. It is the time that the judge should not only look at the crime committed by anyone rather he should find out the cause that leads the committer to such an act. Poverty is watching our children and grandchildren share tears in their deepest sleep. Poverty is witnessing our children and grandchildren die in our arms but there is nothing we can do for them. Poverty is seeing our mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are committing suicides in pain and in sorrow just because they could not get something to eat for their families. So far there were suicides because of unemployment and poverty but a new phenomenon has now emerged; now the poor who cannot feed their children are leaving their children at charity homes or even selling their children. It is a sign of poverty when we hide your face and wish nobody could see us just because we feel less than a human being. Poverty is when we dream of bread and meat, we never seeing in the day light.
Poverty is when the hopes of our fathers and grandfathers just vanish within a blink of an eye. Poverty never sleeps rather it works all day and night and never takes a holiday. Poverty is getting nobody to feel our pain and poverty is when our dreams go in vain because nobody is there to help us. Poverty is when we have no employment. The person who is indulged to crimes and is labeled as a criminal by the society merely due to poverty might be a genius if he had been brought up in a healthy environment. In my opinion their sins are less or no greater then the sins of the selfish and mean-minded people who call themselves honest but are constantly usurping the public money and taking it to outside the borders. The only answer to remove poverty is the creation of a sound economic and social structure. The recent trend in poverty as reported by UN found that “Food security in Pakistan in 2007-2008 has only but worsened as a result of food price hike”. The findings of the report indicate that the high food prices are undermining poverty reduction gain, as food expenditure comprises a large share of the poor total expenditures and food price hike has severely eroded poor household purchasing power. Under the minimum calorie requirement approach too, through which poverty is defined in terms of a food poverty line which reflects the minimum food expenditure needed to achieve the minimum required level of caloric intake, it is found that compared to 1969-70, poverty increased in 2009-10 and the people of Pakistan are left to get lesser caloric intake even after thirty years. According to Pakistan Planning Commission (2009), overall poverty rate has jumped from 23.9 to 37.5 percent in the last three years. The following recent report of the Asian Development Bank is an eye opener for our policy makers:
“Pakistan’s education indicators are the worst in South Asia - the fact that the education index in Nepal and Bangladesh, two countries with significantly lower per capita incomes than Pakistan, is 10 to 20 percent higher than Pakistan is a clear indicator of the low priority accorded to education in Pakistan’s development policies. Pakistan’s public sector spending on education and health, at barely 2.1 percent of GDP, is significantly lower than that of other countries in the region. At the same time, experience in Pakistan shows that accelerating human development is as much an issue of increasing expenditure on social sectors as of improving the effectiveness of spending through better governance, and future social development initiatives must be designed keeping this in mind. The report further concludes that, in general, the capacity of the poor in Pakistan to access public entitlements like political processes, or goods and services which determine human development contrasts strikingly with that of the rich. The report provides a comprehensive commentary on the causes of the increase in poverty in the 1990s, and hypothesizes that poor governance is the key underlying cause of poverty in Pakistan. Corruption and political instability, which are both manifestations of governance problems, have resulted in waning business confidence, deteriorating economic growth, declining public expenditure on basic entitlements, low efficiency in delivery of public services, and a serious undermining of state institutions and rule of law, which in turn translates into lower investment levels and growth. The effects of poor governance have compounded the economic causes of rising poverty such as decline in GDP growth rate, increasing indebtedness, inflation, falling public investment and poor state of physical infrastructure. At the same time, social factors such as the highly unequal distribution of land, low level of human development, and persistent ethnic and sectarian conflicts are also obstacles to the achievement of long term sustained development. Environmental degradation is also closely interlinked with increasing poverty and has impacts on the health of the poor as on the unsustainability of their livelihoods.”
From the above report it seems that the problem of poverty now looks to be beyond control. Official planning and the market economy system have failed to alleviate poverty.
It is an inevitable fact that 70s and 80s was a golden era in poverty reduction but this declining trend in poverty was reversed in the 1990s after revival of “democracy”. The policies formulated to eradicate it during 90s and thereafter have failed to achieve their objectives. Official planning and the market economy system both have failed to lessen poverty. Due to rapid growth of population, the number of dependents is increasing; earners have to carry the burden of the increasing number of dependents. This situation is leading to decrease in the per capita income of the people of the country. The largest sector of the economy, the agriculture sector, is heading towards backwardness as 93 per cent of the farmers are concerned with small farms whose per capita land is less then 10 acres. This is forcing a decline in the proportion of GDP which can be spent on development and social sectors. The poor law and order situation has led to flight of capital as well as private sector investment. High inflation, Shortages (Food, energy, water, oil, gas), Unemployment and business closures among the many factors (There has been load-shedding of 12 to 18 hours due to which large number of SMEs, factories and mills closed which increased the unemployment ratios in the country and ultimately poverty ratios jumped even as per official figures from 23.9 to 37.5 percent( in the last three years), reduction of 100 billion rupees in the social sector budget which has badly affected development activities, has further worsened the situation. The issue of poverty in Pakistan has its significance for sustainable development. Long run development is not possible without protecting the rights of the vulnerable groups and the participation of the entire population in the development process.
The recent trends suggest that rapid economic growth over a prolonged period is the only way for reduction of poverty. According to the ADB report, poverty is spreading in Pakistan due to the rising population, high level corruption, political instability, agriculture backwardness, internal situation unequal income distribution, defence expenditure, increase in utility charges and rise in unproductive activities. There is poverty in Pakistan but Pakistan has almost all it takes to be the richest country on earth. The major problem facing Pakistan today is corruption and poor leadership. There are greedy people in Pakistan including our leaders who don’t care about their poor mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. Some leaders are too greedy and that is why Pakistan remains poor and becoming poorer. They come in power as saints and leave as devils. The president of Pakistan is a president for a few selected people. President is a president for only in the higher class and those who are his earning hands. The President and his team see no poverty and hunger. The president sees only money and money and nothing but money and shows no mercy; that is why the people of Pakistan are so poor. The present PPP regime has put the people in danger of starvation and unimaginable suffering.
A higher and sustained economic growth must be accompanied by other poverty alleviation measures are essential to reduce poverty. Coherent approach is needed to combat the social and cultural stigma attached to it and it should be combined with effective service delivery in all parts of the country. To date, the biggest reason for the failure of the programs has been the lackadaisical attitude of the government and lack of its commitment. Unless that is altered, change will remain elusive. Problems of high unemployment, floundering education system, crises of food, water and energy and population growth will have to be handled sharply to curb the poverty. Accelerating economic growth and maintaining macroeconomic stability, investing in human capital, Expanding social safety nets; restoration of investor confidence, eradicating corruption and improving governance are the building blocks for the bridge that will lead Pakistan into the prosperity Inshallah.
http://www.pakspectator.com/poverty-in-pakistan/

POVERTY: Factors that Help Poor People Lift Themselves Out of Poverty

 Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
What factors contribute to poor people in developing countries lifting themselves out of poverty?
A forthcoming paper by economists Anan Pawasutipaisit of Thammasat University and Robert M. Townsend of MIT How the Poor in Four Thai Provinces Increased Their Net Worth During a 7-Year Period

provides important insights into what kinds of households might be most effective at moving themselves out of poverty and how they are able do it.
Their paper, which is due to be published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Econometrics, suggests that poor people who skillfully manage their assets are especially successful in improving their net worth. The authors discovered that the ability of poor families to increase their wealth was strongly related with their rate of saving and, even more so, with their ability to create a high return on assets.
This means that those households who used their existing assets most productively were more successful at pulling themselves out of poverty. Many of the successful households reinvested their money in their small businesses and farms, suggesting that they are well aware of the source of their success.
Pawasutipaisit and Townsend identified these trends through an extensive survey that was taken from more than 500 Thai households across four provinces every month between 1999 and 2005. From this data, the authors created detailed, financial accounts for each home. They discovered that, over the course of their 7-year study, poor households grew their net worth by an average of 22% per year while rich households grew by just 0.09%.
The data also allowed the authors to identify traits that the most successful households tended to share in common: more highly-educated household members, a younger age of the head of household, a higher ratio of debt to assets, and a preference for formal financial markets over informal ones. But the largest source of variation in the rate of return on assets was household-specific and uncorrelated with any of these variables. This suggests there is great persistence among the most successful households.
"The data seem to show pretty conclusively that successful households are not just lucky," observes author Robert M. Townsend. "They are doing something systematic, month after month, year after year. The next step, of course, is to figure out what the associated skills and attitudes really are."
The paper, which is titled "Wealth Accumulation and Factors Accounting for Success," has been approved for publication in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Econometrics, which is published by Elsevier. The paper is currently available on the journal's website.
Anan Pawasutipaisit is a lecturer at Thammasat University in Thailand and Robert M. Townsend is the Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Their work was made possible, in part, by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation through the Enterprise Initiative at the University of Chicago where Townsend is a Research Associate and serves as the Principal Investigator.
SOURCE Consortium on Financial Systems and Poverty
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/economists-reveal-factors-that-help-poor-people-lift-themselves-out-of-poverty-105771348.html

POVERTY: Cholera in Haiti: "a disease of poverty"

Photo: United Nations
By Peter Costantini
Ansel Herz has filed three stories so far for Inter Press Service on the cholera epidemic in Haiti.
His reporting has given voice to the perspectives of some of the estimated 1.3 million internally displaced people stuck in over 1,350 tent camps, who are now threatened by the disease. He has visited hospitals that are treating cholera patients, and draws on several frontline medical-care providers as sources.
These stories look through the eyes of people confronting a horrifying yet preventable public-health breakdown. They also put the epidemic in the wide-angle context of underlying systemic crises dating back long before the January 12 earthquake.
For example, Herz reports that the percentage of Haitians without access to safe drinking water actually increased 7 percent from 1990 to 2005, according to Partners in Health. This international medical organization, which has a long history in Haiti, observed in a 2008 report: "Combined with unsanitary conditions, the lack of water is a major factor in exacerbating Haiti's health crises."
As PiH Chief Medical Officer Joia Mukherjee put it, cholera is "a disease of poverty" . During the previous government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, she pointed out, Inter-American Development Bank loans for a public water supply in the Artibonite Valley, where the cholera originated, were blocked by international donors on political grounds.
In rural areas, where most of the country's population lives, fewer than 8 percent have access to safe drinking water, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
The dearth of potable water and sanitation facilities not only in the camps, but also in many permanent communities, are now major factors contributing to the spread of the deadly disease.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/crossover-dreams/cholera-in-haiti-a-diseas_b_776565.html

POVERTY: ADB will continue to work with Nepal to reduce poverty

 29 October 2010
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said it will continue to work closely with the Government of Nepal and stakeholders in reducing poverty and promote inclusive growth for all Nepalis.
Such a commitment has come from the Bank's director general for South Asia department, Sultan H. Rahman, who completed his three-day official visit to Nepal.
According to a statement issued by Nepal Resident Mission (NRM) of the ADB, Rahman's commitment to assist Nepal is in line with its Country Partnership Strategy 2010 - 2012 for the country, which is anchored in the four strategic pillars of broad-based inclusive growth, social development, governance and capacity building and climate change.
"We will continue to focus on these core areas in our efforts to help alleviate poverty and uplift the standard of living of Nepalis, the majority of whom still have to make ends meet," said Rahman, who headed NRM from 2003-2006.
According to him, the ADB has been closely following the developments in Nepal with keen interest and appreciates the challenging and complex political transition the country is undergoing.
He further mentioned, "Nepal still faces formidable development challenges. It must transform the challenges into opportunities by consolidating the peace process and focusing on effective implementation of projects on the ground."
While in Nepal, Rahman met with Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Planning and Works, Finance Minister, the governor and other senior Government officials, among others. nepalnews.com
http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/business-a-economy/10159-adb-will-continue-to-work-with-nepal-to-reduce-poverty.html

POVERTY: Poverty and hunger on the rise in Pakistan

Ismat Sabir About one billion people are undernourished in 2010 and the number of hungry people is increasing globally day by day. Rising prices of grain, meat and sugar further threaten the hungry people. The FAO estimated that although there was a decline from 1.023 billion in 2009, but still higher than before the economic crisis of 2008-09.
It is to be noted that poverty is the main cause of hunger and undernourishment. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO, 2009) the number of hungry people worldwide rose to 963 million or 15 percent of the world population. This shows an increase of 142 million over 1990-92.
The number of hungry people in the world is rising for more than a decade, reaching to a record level in 2009 – due to economic crisis at international level and high domestic food prices in many developing countries. Food prices and food deficit in most of the low-income countries remained above the normal level that negatively affected the access to food by poor people, the FAO report indicated.
Specifically, soaring global wheat prices have resulted in a 30 percent increase in the price of bread. However, there has been two years of abundant crops around the world and the situation in global markets remained satisfactory. Wheat prices reached their highest level in about two years in August 2010 after Russia banned exports of the wheat.
Corn prices also continued to rise – hitting the highest level in nearly two years. Corn prices may fall short of expectations. The US is the largest corn producer; its Department of Agriculture reduced its yield forecast for corn this year to 162.5 bushels per acre from its August estimate of 165.9 bushels.
Russia is facing the worst drought, in more than a century – which triggered increase in wheat prices and now livestock producers are planning to pass on the higher cost of feeding their animals to consumers. It is predicted that prices would further rise 10 to 15 percent in near future.
It is projected that global wheat production would fall this year but the past years stocks of the two largest wheat harvests in history in 2008 and 2009 would help to keep a cap on prices. Moreover, global grain stocks are also at comfortable levels, due to two record crops over the past two years.
Globally, sugar prices have also been going up to their highest levels for the last six months due to fears of drought that will reduce yields in Brazil – the world’s top producer and exporter of sugar – in the next season.
In Pakistan, 2007, the rate of inflation was 12.5 percent, during 2006-07 it was 21 percent and in July-March 2010 the inflation has been 11.3 percent. The cumulative rate of inflation was 44 percent in three years, from September 2007 to September 2010.
The main reason of food prices inflation was the increase in wheat, petroleum products, electricity and gas responsible to an overall increase in prices. The rising interest rate, high remittances and depreciation of rupee against dollar also fueled the inflation. This situation directly hit the poor and increased poverty level in the country.
A shortfall in the production of some essential commodities also raised food prices. There are 13 food items in essential items’ list which also includes wheat and flour; sugar, poultry, mash pulse, meat, milk, tea, fresh vegetables etc, that account for almost 23 percent of the total weight in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Prices of food items in general have made food dearer in Pakistan. For instance, the average price of sugar has risen above 41 percent, wheat prices by 17 percent, chicken 24 percent, beef 13 percent and onion prices by 64 percent since July 2008 over April 2009. With a 23 percent weight in CPI, the contribution of these few items to the overall CPI inflation was 18 percent.
Although the world price of sugar has fallen unexpectedly since its peak in January 2010, but it is still up 21 percent year on year (YoY) basis. Dairy prices, on the other hand, have continued to raise their upward march.
Global price increase enhanced inflation sharply and Pakistan has no exception that has affected both globally as well as domestically. India’s food price inflation soared to 19.2 percent in December 2009, 16.7 percent in March. Similarly, food inflation in Bangladesh rose from 3.3 percent in July 2009 to 10.9 percent in February 2010.
Poverty ratio in Pakistan is rapidly rising due to economic slowdown; high inflation and reduction in subsidies compel 40 percent people of the country to lives around the poverty line, as per SBP estimates.
The country’s population has jumped to 184 million in 2010, 119 million in 1990, of which 73 million Pakistanis have fallen below poverty line, SBP said. The poverty level during 2010 rises by 4 percent to 40 percent, from 36.1 percent in 2009.
In the case of Pakistan, the increase in domestic prices of essential commodities remained relatively quiet as compared to the international price movements. However, since January 2010, international prices for some of the commodities like petroleum have fallen more rapidly than in Pakistan.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010%5C10%5C31%5Cstory_31-10-2010_pg5_13

POVERTY: Corruption Aggravates Poverty

VOA News 26 October 2010



Photo: Transparency International
A world map with Transparency International's 2010 corruption perceptions index, 26 Oct 2010

Anti-corruption group Transparency International said in a report that corruption aggravates poverty and slows economic development. Tuesday's report is based on surveys of perceived corruption in nations around the world.
The authors say systemic corruption can add 20 percent to 25 percent to the cost of government procurement, resulting in unnecessary purchases, and inferior quality goods and services. The report also notes that corruption distorts fair competition for government contracts, wastes scarce resources, and neglects basic needs.
In extreme cases, it can lead to "destruction of development opportunities," which perpetuates poverty.
Up to 70 percent of government expenditures are typically awarded in contracts, so corruption can have a major impact on public services and infrastructure. Transparency International said nations with weak governance and large flows of aid are particularly vulnerable to corruption.
The report also said corruption can hit private companies with major "financial and reputational consequences."
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/economy-and-business/Report-Corruption-Aggravates-Poverty-105774548.html

POVERTY: Rousseff Vows to Eradicate Brazil Poverty Without Overspending

Carla Simoes and Alexander Cuadros - Nov 1, 2010


Dilma Rousseff was elected today Brazil’s first female president after she pledged to continue the policies of her mentor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and end poverty in the world’s eighth-largest economy. Photographer: Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images

Jose Serra, presidential candidate for the Brazilian Social Democratic Party. Photographer: Jefferson Bernardes/AFP/Getty Images

Dilma Rousseff said her main goal is to eradicate poverty in Brazil while maintaining a lid on spending after being elected the country’s first female president.
Rousseff, who had never before run for political office, won 56 percent of the vote yesterday compared with 44 percent for Jose Serra, the former governor of Sao Paulo state. The former Cabinet chief dedicated her victory to Brazil’s women, and choked with tears as she remembered the legacy left by her mentor, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
“We’ll care for our economy with complete responsibility,” Rousseff, 62, told supporters in Brasilia. “The Brazilian people don’t accept governments that spend at unsustainable levels and for that reason we will make every effort to improve public spending.”
The yield on the January 2014 interest-futures contract fell 11 basis points, or 0.11 percentage point, to 11.560 percent at 10:20 a.m. New York time, as traders bet Rousseff’s remarks could point to a lower fiscal deficit during her four- year term.
“There is an expectation that the fiscal side is a priority of the new government,” said Eduardo Castro, who helps oversee 100 billion reais ($58.8 billion) in Sao Paulo at Santander Asset Management, Brazil’s fifth-biggest fund manager.
The real was little changed at 1.6986 per dollar.
Rousseff won by promising continuity with Lula, whose policies lifted 21 million Brazilians out of poverty since 2003 and created a record 15 million jobs.
Former Guerrilla
While lacking the charisma of her former boss, who leaves office Jan. 1 with a record 85 percent approval rating, she’ll be helped by the fastest economic growth in more than two decades.
Under Lula’s watch, stocks rose six-fold as the economy expanded at almost twice the pace of the previous eight years and inflation fell by a third from a peak of 17.2 percent.
Rousseff is a former Marxist guerrilla who was jailed and tortured by Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship. She joined Lula’s Workers’ Party, or PT for its Portuguese initials, on the eve of his election after serving as energy secretary in Rio Grande do Sul state. She served as Brazil’s energy minister and chairwoman of state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA before replacing PT stalwart Jose Dirceu as Cabinet chief.
Rousseff’s candidacy was put in doubt when she announced in April 2009 that she was being treated for lymphoma. Five months later, her doctors pronounced her in “excellent health.”
Tears for Lula
Serra, who also battled Brazil’s dictatorship as a student leader, led Rousseff by as much as 35 percentage points in a Datafolha poll taken March 2008. The 68-year old former health minister’s campaign fell flat as he failed to present an economic program that could persuade voters to abandon Lula.
Rousseff crisscrossed Brazil with Lula over the past year. As president, she said she’ll “knock on his door” regularly for advice. Lula will bring Rousseff to the Group of 20 nations summit this month in South Korea, the president’s foreign policy adviser Marco Aurelio Garcia said.
“The happiness I feel for my victory is mixed with emotions over his departure,” a teary-eyed Rousseff said last night after thanking Lula for her victory. “I know a leader like Lula never will be long from his people, from each of us.”
Maintaining Lula’s economic policies may be insufficient to allow Rousseff to match his successes, which include winning Brazil’s first investment-grade credit rating in 2008.
Tighter Spending
Traders are pushing up borrowing costs for Brazil, which has $957 billion in public debt, on bets that Rousseff will fail to curb spending, forcing policy makers to raise interest rates in 2011.
The interest-rate futures contract due in January 2015, the month Rousseff’s first term would end, yielded 11.64 percent on Oct. 29, a level that suggests traders expect the central bank to raise the benchmark rate almost one percentage point during the next four years, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
“In the short term, fiscal policy is key,” said Roberto Padovani, chief economist at Banco WestLB do Brasil in Sao Paulo. “If there is a clear sign of tighter fiscal policy, interest rates will tend to drop and the currency will be less strong.”
‘Huge Rally’
An early test of her discipline will be the 2011 budget and whether she seeks to raise the country’s monthly minimum wage more than the 5.5 percent to 538.15 reais ($317) proposed by Lula, said Pedro Tuesta, a Washington-based economist for Latin America at 4Cast Inc. Serra vowed to raise it to 600 reais.
Rousseff last night said social programs and investment Brazil needs would not be reduced. On the campaign trail, she vowed cut net public debt to about 30 percent of gross domestic product by 2014 from 41 percent. Latin America’s biggest economy will grow 7.3 percent this year, the fastest pace since 1986, according to estimates by the central bank.
Investors will scrutinize Rousseff’s cabinet picks for clues to how serious she is about restraining spending, said Marcela Meirelles, an emerging-market analyst with TCW Group Inc., which manages about $110 billion. Returning campaign adviser Antonio Palocci to his former post as finance minister would trigger a “huge rally,” especially in fixed-income assets, she said.
Central Bank President Henrique Meirelles may stay in his post for another six months to ease the transition, she said. Meirelles, arriving at Rousseff’s victory party last night, said “nothing is planned” for him to stay at his job.
Cabinet Picks
“Very early on, this new administration will have to send a signal to the market,” analyst Meirelles said in a phone interview from Los Angeles.
Rousseff will benefit from a majority in Congress. The PT picked up five additional Senate seats in elections last month, bringing to 14 the number of lawmakers it has in the 81-seat chamber. Parties backing the government will control another 35, and in the lower house her coalition got 311 of 513 seats.
Traders are wagering that policy makers, who have kept the benchmark Selic rate unchanged in their past two meetings after raising it to 10.75 percent from a record low 8.75 percent earlier this year, will be forced to resume increases early next year to curb inflation. The central bank will need to boost rates to 12.25 percent next year, according to Bloomberg estimates based on interest rate futures contracts.
“Brazil is going to have an inflationary problem, whether people believe it or not,” said Eric Conrads, who helps manage about $1 billion in emerging-market funds at ING Investment Management in New York. “If you’re getting a bit more relaxed on the fiscal front, you add fuel to the fire. The easy job is over; the hard job is ahead.”
To contact the reporters on this story:
Carla Simoes in Brasilia at Csimoes1@bloomberg.net Alexander Cuadros in Sao Paulo at acuadros@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-31/brazil-may-elect-rousseff-president-to-maintain-lula-policies-end-poverty.html

TUBERCULOSIS: TB research: active tuberculosis case finding in the Newly Independent States

26-10-2010
The estimated incidence of tuberculosis, globally as well as in the WHO European Region, is declining at a much slower pace than what was anticipated under the Global Plan to Stop TB. The importance of early case detection has been increasingly acknowledged, while the need to detect all forms of TB early has also been emphasized, both from a disease control perspective and from a right-to-care perspective. The few analyses that have been done have mainly assessed the impact of mass population screening, while comparisons of different approaches in different risk populations have been explored to much lesser extent.
A research project to systematically review the impact of active tuberculosis case finding strategies on case detection of active tuberculosis, tuberculosis treatment delays and tuberculosis transmission in the Newly Independent States was launched in October 2010. The project will entail a systematic literature review of active case finding experiences published in selected countries of the WHO European Region, making an inventory of historical and ongoing active case finding approaches, as well as documenting perspectives and opinions of national health policy makers on active case finding in selected countries of the WHO European Region. This project will contribute to the Global review of active tuberculosis case finding to inform policy on intensified case detection strategies, as well as to obtain better estimates for modelling.
http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-do/health-topics/diseases-and-conditions/tuberculosis/news2/news/2010/10/tb-research-active-tuberculosis-case-finding-in-the-newly-independent-states

TUBERCULOSIS: The Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis: How we can save 5 million lives by 2015

Oct 27th, 2010 Lisa Hendrickson
Each year, there are 9 million new cases of tuberculosis (TB), causing close to 2 million deaths worldwide. In order to address this epidemic, the Stop TB Partnership created the Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-2015, an action plan and list of required resources needed to halve the number of TB cases and related deaths by 2015. Now at the halfway point, the Stop TB Partnership recently released the Global Plan to Stop TB 2011-2015, an updated road map that outlines where we were, where we are now, and where we need to go in order to reach our TB goal by 2015.
In terms of where we were and where we are now, it is important to note that a lot of progress has been made since 2006. ONE members have joined in the fight to increase the U.S. commitment to combating TB through mechanisms such as PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. As a result of these efforts, the U.S. has mobilized more than half of its $4 billion pledge promised during the first five years of the plan towards TB research and development.
A global increase in funding has allowed for TB case detection rates to increase to between 55 to 67 percent. This funding has also helped health care providers gain access to a portfolio of new diagnostic tools, as well as allowed for the development of drugs essential to treating the disease.
That being said, a lot still needs to change in order for us to reach our 2015 goal. The report states that if no improvements to the current TB control strategy are made from 2010 onwards, 10 million people will die from TB. Part of the reason that we need to change our current strategy is due to the fact that the face of TB is changing. HIV has thrown a curve-ball into efforts to address the TB epidemic. HIV weakens the immune system, making individuals more susceptible to TB. As a result, the exponential rise in HIV cases—especially across Africa— has caused a considerable increase in TB cases as well. The emergence of drug-resistant strains of TB (frequently referred to as MDR-TB or XDR-TB) has also made addressing the TB epidemic more challenging. The new strategy must directly address both these phenomena, as well as the increase in related drug costs for treatment. A higher profile must also be given to laboratory strengthening and all levels of research.
If fully implemented, the Global Plan to Stop TB could save up to 5 million lives. As ONE members, we need to continue to pressure leaders to make the public health problems affecting the world’s poorest countries a priority, and for their control to be addressed in an integrated fashion.
http://www.one.org/blog/2010/10/27/the-global-plan-to-stop-tuberculosis-how-we-can-save-5-million-lives-by-2015/

TUBERCULOSIS: Infection control and the burden of tuberculosis infection and disease in health care workers in China:

Guang Xue HeSusan van den HofMarieke van der WerfGuo Jie WangShi Wen MaDong Yang ZhaoYuan Lian HuShi Cheng YuMartien Borgdorff


Credits/Source: BMC Infectious Diseases 2010, 10:313

Hospitals with inadequate infection control are risky environments for the emergence and transmission of tuberculosis (TB). We evaluated TB infection control practices, and the prevalence of latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease and risk factors in health care workers (HCW) in TB centers in Henan province in China.
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2005.
To assess TB infection control practices in TB centers, checklists were used. HCW were tuberculin skin tested (TST) to measure LTBI prevalence, and were asked for sputum smears and chest X-rays to detect TB disease, and questionnaires to assess risk factors.
Differences between groups for categorical variables were analyzed by binary logistic regression. The clustered design of the study was taken into account by using a multilevel logistic model.
Results:
The assessment of infection control practices showed that only in a minority of the centers the patient consultation areas and X-ray areas were separated from the waiting areas and administrative areas.
Mechanical ventilation was not available in any of the TB centers. N95 respirators were not available for HCW and surgical masks were not available for TB patients and suspects.
The LTBI prevalence of HCW with and without BCG scar was 55.6% (432/777) and 49.0% (674/1376), respectively (P = 0.003). Older HCW, HCW with longer duration of employment, and HCW who worked in departments with increased contact with TB patients had a higher prevalence of LTBI.
HCW who work in TB centers at the prefecture level, or with an inpatient ward also had a higher prevalence of LTBI. Twenty cases of pulmonary TB were detected among 3746 HCW.
The TB prevalence was 6.7/1000 among medical staff and 2.5/1000 among administrative/logistic staff.
Conclusion:
TB infection control in TB centers in Henan, China, appears to be inadequate and the prevalence of LTBI and TB disease among HCW was high. TB infection control practices in TB centers should be strengthened in China, including renovation of buildings, and use of respirators and masks.
Regular screening of HCW for TB disease and LTBI needs to be considered, offering preventive therapy to those with TST conversions.
http://7thspace.com/headlines/361848/infection_control_and_the_burden_of_tuberculosis_infection_and_disease_in_health_care_workers_in_china_a_cross_sectional_study.html

TUBERCULOSIS: New diagnostics for tuberculosis: fulfilling patient needs first

Jean-Francois LemaireMartina Casenghi
Credits/Source: Journal of the International AIDS Society 2010, 13:40

An effective tuberculosis (TB) control programme requires early diagnosis and immediate initiation of treatment. Any delays in diagnosing TB not only impair a patient's prognosis, but also increase the risks of transmitting the disease within the community.
Unfortunately, the most recent TB diagnostic tools still depend on high-infrastructure laboratories, making them poorly adapted for use in resource-limited settings. Additionally, existing tests show poor performance in diagnosing TB in children, people living with HIV/AIDS, and extrapulmonary forms of the disease.
As a consequence, TB patients are still to date left with either fair access to poor diagnostics or poor access to fair diagnostics.
Discussion
This article discusses recent efforts to identify the minimal test specifications for a new TB point-of-care diagnostic test through an approach based on medical and patient needs. As a first step, survey interviews with field practitioners were designed in order to identify the top-priority medical needs in resource-limited settings concerning new TB diagnostics.
Subsequently, an expert meeting convening field practitioners, laboratory experts, diagnostic test developers and researchers was held with the objective of defining the minimal test specifications for a new TB point-of-care test that would meet the identified medical needs. Finally, gaps in, as well as potential solutions for, enabling the development of adequate, patient needs-driven, low-cost new TB diagnostic tests specifically designed for vulnerable populations are discussed.SummaryAny new TB point-of-care diagnostic test should be designed to meet minimal specifications satisfying the most urgent medical needs in resource-poor settings.
The major gaps for developing a new TB point-of-care test include identification of new biomarkers, simplification of technological platforms, development of adequate and accessible specimen banks, and identification and definition of reference standards for diagnosis of childhood TB. Innovative research and development funding ensuring de-linkage of research and development costs from the price of the new product, such as a prize fund mechanism, could help focus these efforts towards the delivery of a much-needed point-of-care diagnostic test for TB.
http://7thspace.com/headlines/361287/new_diagnostics_for_tuberculosis_fulfilling_patient_needs_first.html

BIOTERRORISM: Bill Patrick obituary

Bill Patrick, who has died aged 84, spent nearly 20 years developing weapons of biological warfare and another 25 building defences against them.
 08 Nov 2010




Photo: AP

As America's pre-eminent designer of biological weaponry between 1951 and 1969, he numbered in his deadly arsenal such microscopic agents as anthrax and smallpox. He even tried to harness plague – the Black Death that ravaged Europe in the 14th century.
Following the Nixon administration's decision to scrap the development programme, Patrick devoted himself to what became known as "bio-defences", working as an adviser to the American government and as a private consultant.
Hargreaves may have been anxious - FergusonWhen the deputy head of the Soviet biowarfare programme defected to the United States in the early 1990s, Patrick was brought in by the CIA to lead his debriefing. Patrick was dismayed to learn that in 1972, when the Americans had abandoned their research, the Russians had started to expand theirs. Where the United States had produced one metric ton of dried anthrax annually, the Soviets had been turning out 4,500 tons.
In 1994 he went to Iraq as leader of a United Nations team of weapons inspectors, trying to penetrate Saddam Hussein's top secret biological weapons programme.
Patrick believed in the feasibility of biological warfare "without a shadow of a doubt", noting that a single gallon of concentrated anthrax contained enough spores to kill every person on the planet.
He also drew attention to the ease with which such weaponry could be transported, pointing out that he had carried aerosols of simulated anthrax undetected through 50 airport checkpoints over a period of 15 years.
Patrick's extrovert manner and gallows humour marked him out in a profession characterised by dourness. His business card bore a skull and crossbones, and his letterhead a drawing of the Grim Reaper, the figure's scythe labelled "Biological Warfare" and his outstretched arm sowing germs.
William Capers Patrick III was born on July 24 1926 at Ridgeland, South Carolina, the only child of a produce broker. After wartime service in the US Army he studied at the University of South Carolina and the University of Tennessee, earning a master's degree in Microbiology and Biochemistry in 1949.
After working briefly as a researcher for a solvents firm, he moved to the biological warfare laboratories at Fort Detrick, Maryland.
He helped turn naturally occurring germs into dangerous weapons; among these was Q fever, which was meant to cripple the enemy with chills, coughing, headaches, hallucinations and high fevers. On the one occasion when he came down with such a fever himself, he dismissed it as an occupational hazard.
By 1965 Patrick was in charge of some 80 scientists, engineers and technicians trying to turn bacteria, fungi, viruses and microbial toxins into "products" intended to kill and incapacitate. When the laboratories were closed in 1972, he remained at Fort Detrick with the US Army's Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.
Retiring from federal service in 1986, he formed his own consultancy, Biothreats Assessment, and worked for government agencies including the CIA, FBI and US Secret Service as well as for his former employers at Fort Detrick.
Convinced of the increasing danger of biological attacks, Patrick believed that much of the civilised world remained ignorant of the dangers and devoted himself to rectifying this. As well as lecturing to military, medical and government personnel, he appeared regularly on mainstream television and on the History and Discovery channels.
Bill Patrick, who died on October 1, is survived by his wife and two sons from an earlier marriage.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/science-obituaries/8118320/Bill-Patrick.html

MALARIA: Geographic Boundaries Of Endemic Malaria Getting Progressively Smaller

 30 Oct 2010 Current Article Ratings:

For the last 150 years the geographic boundaries of endemic malaria have been steadily getting smaller, what experts call "The Shrinking Malaria Map". In the medical journal The Lancet's "Series on Malaria Elimination", Professor Richard Feachem, The Minister of Health for Ethiopia and team say that the Shrinking Map continues and there is every reason to hopeful for the short- and long-term future.
Professor Feachem, Director of the Global Health Group (GHG) and Chair of the MEG (Malaria Elimination Group), said:
The UCSF Global Health Group and the Malaria Elimination Group are proud to join with The Lancet to launch this synthesis of the best information and research available on malaria elimination today. We hope that this Series raises awareness of the great progress that has been made in elimination, illuminates the many challenges that remain, and mobilizes the malaria community and malaria-endemic countries to continue shrinking the malaria map.
The authors explain that elimination has occurred when endemic transmission has been stopped and the risk of a return of the disease is minimal. To ensure that elimination prevails there needs to be serious, ongoing commitment. Otherwise the best that can be achieved is a state of "controlled low-endemic malaria", in which the malaria public health burden is no longer a major problem, but where transmission still happens, even if it does not come in from abroad.
Up to 1945, about 178 nations had endemic malaria. Since then 79 countries have eradicated the disease, including:
UK, 1952
USA, 1952
Australia, 1970
Morocco, 2005
Turkmenistan, 2010
Malaria is still endemic in 99 nations. 32 of them are expected to become controlled low-endemic countries with the aim of eventual elimination, while 67 are controlling the disease.
The Malaria Map has been steadily shrinking over the last 150 years. Every single malaria eliminating country, 32 of them with a total population of over 2 billion people, are on the outer margins of the map. They consist of nations with all types of economies and climates, including Turkey, South Africa, Malaysia, Mexico, Iraq, China and Argentina.
There are 66 nations that are still controlling malaria. They are all either in the tropics or very near to it, and include the majority of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, some parts of South America and a large chunk of Southeast Asia. Sub-Saharan Africa refers to countries situated in the region of Africa south of the Sahara.
The authors write:
Countries deciding to switch from controlled low-endemic malaria to elimination need to do so based on comprehensive understanding of technical, operational, financial, and socioeconomic feasibility. Countries should avoid moving towards elimination based on national aspirations not backed by evidence.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/206233.php

MALARIA: Changing trends in blood transfusion in children and neonates

Changing trends in blood transfusion in children and neonates admitted in Kilifi District Hospital, Kenya

Rosalon Pedro , Samuel Akech and Kathryn Maitland
Malaria Journal 2010, 9:307doi:10.1186/1475-2875-9-307
Published: 30 October 2010
Abstract (provisional)
Background
Severe anaemia is a common cause for hospitalization in children in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria plays an important aetiological role, resulting in a substantial burden of paediatric transfusion in hospitals. A decline in malaria and paediatric admissions to the Kilifi District Hospital has been reported recently. This review aims to investigate whether this trend affected clinical burden, clinical severity of anaemia and requirements for paediatric transfusion.
Methods
Eight-year retrospective review of paediatric admissions to Kilifi District Hospital, Kenya describing the frequency of moderate and severe anaemia, blood transfusion and case fatality over time. Definitions for severe anaemia were Hb <8 g/dl for newborns and <5 g/dl for other age groups and for moderate anaemia was Hb 8 to <11 g/dl for newborns and 5 to <9.3 g/dl for other age groups. Life threatening anaemia was defined as severe anaemia (Hb <5 g / dl) complicated by either deep breathing or prostration or profound anaemia (Hb <4 g / dl) alone.
Results
Of the 35,139 admissions 13,037 (37%) had moderate anaemia and 2,265 (6%) had severe anaemia; respiratory distress complicated 35% of cases with Hb <5g/dl. Concurrent with the decline in malaria there was a marked decline in the prevalence of severe anaemia between 2002 (8%) and 2009 (<4%) (chi2 for trend=134, P <0.0001). The number and proportion of admissions transfused also declined significantly over this time (chi2 for trend= 152, P <0.0001). Of the 2,265 children with severe anaemia 191 (8%) died. Case fatality remained unchanged during this period (P <0.26) and was largely explained by the unchanged proportion with life-threatening anaemia, present in 58-65% of cases throughout the study period.
Conclusion
The impact of reduced malaria transmission on child morbidity has positive public benefits on the demand and use of blood for paediatric transfusion. Despite an overall reduction in paediatric transfusion requirement, case fatality of severe anaemia remained unchanged over this decade. Further research is required to improve outcome from severe anaemia, particularly in the high-risk group with life threatening features.
http://www.malariajournal.com/content/9/1/307

MALNUTRITION: KENYA: Fears of surplus maize harvest going to waste

Photo: Jane Some/IRIN
A surplus maize harvest has drastically reduced produce prices (file photo)

 29 October 2010  After poor harvests due to erratic rains that culminated in a drought in early 2009, most maize farmers in Kenya are enjoying better times due to enhanced March-May long rains. However, they are struggling to offload a surplus harvest of the key staple amid fears that short October to December rains could lead to heavy post-harvest losses.
The long rains maize harvest accounts for more than 80 percent of national output.
“We are not complaining about food security now as we have enough; production has been staggered because of the rains since November 2009. We have not had a distinct season, farmers are harvesting and planting simultaneously,” Muthoni Kirui, the Njoro district agricultural officer (DAO), told IRIN.
“Whatever stocks we have, we are estimating they can last us for a year but farmers will sell off about 50 percent of their produce.”
Njoro is in Kenya’s “grain basket” region of Rift Valley.
The sale of surplus maize to meet other needs is a problem. In the Lare Division of Njoro, for instance, a 90kg bag of maize is selling at only KSh700 (about US$9). “The farmers are not breaking even but selling at a loss,” she said.
“After the selling spree, the same food will come back for sale at a higher price,” Kirui noted, adding that middle men are to blame.
According to farmer Bernard Maina, this is inevitable, especially for farmers without alternative income.
“Even if we are told that education is free, there are other school expenses. The teachers may have been lenient with us during the 2009 drought but now they will make us pay; they will say now you have maize to sell,” said Maina.
“We are putting a lot of emphasis on our children’s education now since farming has become a vicious cycle. After every five years there is a big drought for two years. If my children cannot study they will just end up like me.”
Lare experienced total crop failure in 2009. To cope, farmers were forced to seek casual jobs in exchange for food in the neighbouring divisions of Mauche and Mau Narok. “Some women abandoned their husbands as there was no harvest, not even fodder for the cows. What kind of life is that?” asked Maina.
Storage challenges
The good harvests in 2010 have brought with them other challenges for Maina - proper harvesting and storage.
With the farmers reliant on the sun for maize drying, there are fears of inadequate drying, which could predispose the produce to aflatoxin contamination and other losses due to ongoing rains.
“There is a need for cheaper drying technologies because it is now raining most afternoons,” said DAO Kirui. “We are training them on preservation as they are bringing in rotten samples of maize.”
People still want to produce maize irrespective of market availability and weather suitability. On any farm opening up new land they will plant maize and beans
Most farmers have been forced to leave their ready maize crop un-harvested or harvested but stacked in the fields.
“Prospects for enhanced rainfall in the western sector of the country, including the ‘grain basket’, may disrupt or even delay harvesting of long rains maize. As a result, increased pre- and post-harvest losses may occur, somewhat compromising national output. Nevertheless, beneficial effects of enhanced rains in the western areas could be substantial as long as the rains are not excessive,” noted the Kenya Food Security Outlook for October to March 2011.
La Niña conditions are expected to have the converse effect in most of the rest of the country. This, warns the outlook, could increase food insecurity over the period for urban households, because of high food prices.
Bridging loans
To help farmers with surplus produce take advantage of the expected higher prices, the government has introduced a storage programme, whereby receipts issued for the maize enable farmers to access micro-loans.
However, most farmers have been slow in embracing it. The cost of the monthly storage fee, cost of transport and access is a problem.
Maina, for example, told IRIN he would not be storing his expected harvest of about 100 90kg bags of maize at the warehouses. “I will keep it in the house as that is my bank. If I need some money, I can easily take out a bag of maize and sell it and keep the rest until prices improve,” he said.
Another farmer, Joseph Kuria, has invested in a greenhouse for tomato production. He is also harvesting water and diversifying his crops. “Maize farming is not good for us. Before maize matures, it takes six months compared to faster-growing potatoes and cabbage. What you get when you sell maize compared to the growing period is not beneficial for farmers.”
The reluctance to adopt other drought-tolerant crops persists, Lare agriculture extension officer, James Mwangi, said. “Generally, people still want to produce maize irrespective of market availability and weather suitability. On any farm opening up new land they will plant maize and beans.”
Http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=90919

MALARIA: The effects of a pre-season treatment with effective antimalarials on subsequent malaria morbidity

The effects of a pre-season treatment with effective antimalarials on subsequent malaria morbidity in under five-year-old children living in high and seasonal malaria transmission area of Burkina Faso.
Ouédraogo A, Tiono AB, Diarra A, Nébié IO, Konaté AT, Sirima SB.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of pre-season treatment with single dose of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) or artemether-lumefantrine (AL) on subsequent malaria morbidity in under-fives.
METHODS: A cohort of 156 children was enrolled for longitudinal follow-up. Children received curative therapy with SP or AL, and a third group received no treatment. Participants were home-visited twice a week with blood smears taken from children with fever (axillary T° ≥ 37.5 °C) or history of fever. To assess the time to re-infection, a blood film was also systematically obtained from pre-treated children every 2 weeks.
RESULTS: The mean time to the first malaria infection was 36 days in the SP arm and 26 days in the AL arm (P=0.006). The incidence density of malaria infection was similar in both groups (86.5%vs. 92.3%, P=0.52). The mean time to the first malaria episode was 47 days in the SP arm and 32 days in the AL arm (P<0.001). The incidence of malaria episodes was significantly higher in the group pre-treated with AL (45.7 per 1000 child days-at-risk CI 95% [35-56]) than in the control group (10.7 per 1000 child days-at-risk CI 95% [7-15]); P<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the radical clearance of parasitemia with AL may increase susceptibility to malaria infection and clinical malaria episodes.
Trop Med Int Health. 2010 Nov;15(11):1315-21. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3156.2010.02618.x. Epub 2010 Sep 24.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20958888?dopt=Abstract
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-3156.2010.02618.x/abstract

MALNUTRITION: KENYA: Wheat stem rust hits Rift Valley farmers

Photo: Ann Weru/IRIN

A close up shot of a Ug99 infested wheat crop at the KARI centre, Njoro, KenyaMAU NAROK, 28 October 2010 (IRIN) - Wheat stem rust, Ug99, continues to threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of farmers in Kenya’s Rift Valley region as controlling it pushes up production costs.
First identified in Uganda in 1998 and reported in 1999, hence the name, the fungus Ug99 was noted in some Kenyan wheat varieties in 2001; by 2003, all Kenyan varieties had been identified as susceptible.
“We have received a lot of reports from farmers this season especially complaining that despite spraying their crop it has been affected by the rust,” Hillary Kiprotich Ngeno, the Mau Narok divisional agriculture extension officer, told IRIN. Mau Narok, in Njoro District in Rift Valley, is a major wheat-growing region.
Wet and misty conditions, following successive rainfall seasons since November 2009, are making Ug99, which is spread via wind-borne spores, even harder to control.
“Before, we would spray the wheat field twice but now we are being forced to apply the chemical up to five times. This is adding to our expenses,” Joseph Mburu Njoroge, who has leased 4.5 hectares to grow wheat, at a rate of 5,000 shillings (US$62) for about half a hectare, told IRIN. “The land is also degraded and you have to apply fertilizer. You need some extra business on the side to meet these costs.”
The cost of a litre of fungicide, about 2,800 shillings ($35), which is enough for a hectare of wheat, and that of hiring a tractor for mechanized spraying, at about 1,200 ($15) per hectare, is pushing up production costs by about 40 percent. Small-scale farmers who account for 80 percent of wheat growers are especially hard hit.
Yield loss
According to a crop breeder with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in Njoro, Peter Njau, farmers are embracing disease control measures to avoid heavy crop losses. Spraying fields when infestation is already too high or using the wrong products are some of the problems.
“Wheat rust may account for yield losses of between 50 to 70 percent if uncontrolled. When the wheat has Ug99, farmers think it is ready for harvesting but all they get is chaff and no wheat,” Njau told IRIN, adding that in 2007 some farmers had been caught unawares and heavy wheat losses were experienced.
Infected plants produce fewer seeds, and in severe infections, may die.
KARI, through Cornell University, is among the centres working to develop Ug99-resistant wheat varieties with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“We are working to prevent the spread of Ug99 to Asia, which is estimated to produce 26 percent of the global wheat crop,” said Njau.



Photo: Ann Weru/IRIN Side by side: A Ug99 infested wheat crop on the right and a more resistant variety on the left at the KARI centre, Njoro, Kenya

For decades, wheat had been protected by a single rust-resisting gene but the rust has evolved to overcome this genetic barrier, enabling the disease to spread.
In 2005, for example, he said, the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative screened about 11,000 wheat varieties, of which less than 2 percent were found to have some resistance.
“We are developing varieties that in these other countries can act as a buffer,” added Njau. Ug99 was reported in Ethiopia in 2003 and later found in Sudan, Yemen and Iran.
“We have produced two varieties that are ready to go for trial. The varieties are undergoing resistance testing,” said Njau. KARI is collaborating with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre in adult plant research.
Seed varieties
The new varieties are helping to develop defences against the rust but more needs to be done outside laboratories to enable commercial seed production and to persuade farmers to use them, say researchers. Wheat is grown on more than 240 million hectares globally, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
In the Mau Narok region, some farmers have opted to grow barley instead of wheat, because of lower wheat output; barley also has a ready market as farmers are contracted by a malting company which also supplies them with inputs. But the price is fixed as there are few markets for barley.
“You also can’t hoard barley until prices improve… where will you take it and you cannot bake bread for your children to eat?” asked Njoroge.
With local wheat prices projected to be favourable due to a depressed global production, Njoroge says he will stick to wheat farming a while longer. “Wheat farming can be very profitable if you are able to sell a 90kg bag for about 2,500 shillings [$31].
“But selling is difficult because the price here depends on the brokers. Sometimes we listen to the radio and hear much higher prices than we get being reported. We need to be able to sell our wheat directly to the government,” he said. “Instead of the government buying wheat from outside, it should instead buy our wheat at better prices.”
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=90907

SANITATION: VIETNAM: Teaching new sanitation habits

Photo: Tharum Bun/IRIN

Water and sanitation challenges continue in VietnamCHAU DOC, 28 October 2010 (IRIN) - Vann Sopheap, an ethnic Cambodian who lives in this small border town in Vietnam, prefers the outdoors to the bathroom. "It smells much nicer outside," he says. "The toilets are too dirty."
Villagers such as Vann are often reluctant to use latrines, a behaviour that contributes to the prevalence of diarrhoeal diseases in Vietnam, which can sometimes become deadly, especially for children under-five.
According to the UN, some 10 million people in Vietnam continue to practise open defecation.
Each year more than 20,000 people die in the country because of a lack of clean water, poor sanitation and hygiene, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports.
Sanitation lags behind other MDGs
In the past two decades, speedy economic growth and efficient government policies have led to "considerable gains" in child health, Lotta Sylwander, the country representative for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), recently told government officials and international donors in the capital, Hanoi.
The country has achieved almost all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) "well ahead of schedule", making it a leader among many Asian countries, reveals a report published by UNICEF in September. But progress in sanitation has been slow.
In 2006, the latest year for which data is available, just over half of the rural population had access to "improved" sanitation facilities, as did 88 percent of the urban population, according to UNICEF.
Twenty million children, or 59 percent of all children in Vietnam, do not have access to proper sanitation. About 73 percent of schools have latrines, but fewer than half meet national standards. A lack of access to clean sanitation and hygiene causes about half of all communicable diseases in the country.
"Poverty can be one reason for this, but education and culture play very important roles as well," Thowai Zai, head of the UNICEF water and sanitation programme, told IRIN.
Many people living in rural and remote mountainous areas consider open defecation to be cleaner, he said. In poor areas, especially in northern mountainous regions and the central highlands, people have much scarcer access to toilets, Zai added.
Others defecate in rivers and ponds, the same water sources they use for cooking, cleaning and bathing.
Some experts argue that NGOs need to more effectively educate villagers. "Villagers know it's no good to poop into the water," Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation, told IRIN from Singapore.
"The only thing needed is to reinforce that message, because old habits take time to change," he added.
Community approach
Merely providing toilets does not guarantee local people will use them, experts say.
To encourage more efficient use of latrines and good hygiene, in 2009 the Ministry of Health introduced a programme called community-led total sanitation (CLTS), in several poor provinces throughout the country, such as Dien Bien, Lao Cai, Kon Tum, Ninh Thuan, and An Giang.
Rather than NGOs subsidizing the construction of individual toilets for each household, the project attempts to mobilize communities to analyze their own sanitation problems and agree on their own solutions.
UNICEF hopes the villages can become "open-defecation-free".
Earlier this year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a US$45 million loan for a large water supply and sanitation project in six central Vietnamese provinces.
The loan will be used to improve toilets in schools, hospitals and homes. About 350,000 people will reap the benefits, according to the ADB, which hopes the project will be completed by 2016.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=90900

MALARIA: Impact of national malaria control scale-up programmes in Africa: magnitude and attribution of effects

Richard W Steketee and Carlos C Campbell
Malaria Journal 2010, 9:299doi:10.1186/1475-2875-9-299
27 October 2010
Background
Since 2005, malaria control scale-up has progressed in many African countries. Controlled studies of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs), indoor residual spraying (IRS), intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy (IPTp) and malaria case management suggested that when incorporated into national programmes a dramatic health impact, likely more than a 20% decrease in all-cause childhood mortality, was possible. To assess the extent to which national malaria programmes are achieving impact the authors reviewed African country programme data available through 2009.
Methods
National survey data, published literature, and organization or country reports produced during 2000-2009 were reviewed to assess available malaria financing, intervention delivery, household or target population coverage, and reported health benefits including infection, illness, severe anaemia, and death.
Results
By the end of 2009, reports were available for ITN household ownership (n=34) and IPTp use (n= 27) in malaria-endemic countries in Africa, with at least two estimates (pre-2005 and post-2005 intervals). Information linking IRS and case management coverage to impact were more limited. There was generally at least a three-fold increase in household ITN ownership across these countries between pre-2005 (median of 2.4% of households with at least one ITN) and post-2005 (median of 32.5% of households with at least one ITN). Ten countries had temporal data to assess programme impact, and all reported progress on at least one impact indicator (typically on mortality); in under-five year mortality rates most observed a decline of more than 20%. The causal relationship between malaria programme scale-up and reduced child illness and mortality rates is supported by biologic plausibility including mortality declines consistent with experience from intervention efficacy trials, consistency of findings across multiple countries and different epidemiologic settings, and temporal congruity where morbidity and mortality declines have been documented in the 18 to 36 months following intervention scale-up.
Conclusions
Several factors potentially have contributed to recent health improvement in African countries, but there is substantial evidence that achieving high malaria control intervention coverage, especially with ITNs and targeted IRS, has been the leading contributor to reduced child mortality. The documented impact provides the evidence required to support a global commitment to the expansion and long-term investment in malaria control to sustain and increase the health impact that malaria control is producing in Africa.
http://www.malariajournal.com/content/9/1/299

MALNUTRITION

MSF Video
 http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=4819&cat=video

MALNUTRITION: CONGO: Malnutrition causing a quarter of under-five deaths

Photo: Catherine-Lune Grayson/IRIN

According to the International Food Policy Research Institute 11 percent of children in Congo are underweight, and the infant mortality rate among under fives is 12.7 percentBrazzaville, 28 October 2010 (IRIN) - "Malnutrition is an area that requires further progress: in Congo, more than a quarter of deaths among children under five are attributable to malnutrition," said Gianfranco Rotigliano, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) regional director for West and Central Africa, at the launch of a campaign to reduce maternal mortality.
The Act Now, No Woman Should Die Giving Life campaign was launched across the country on 20 October, and involves the government, three UN agencies (the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the UN Population Fund - UNFPA), civil society and private partners. It aims to reduce the maternal mortality rate of 781 per 100,000 live births.
"The mortality rates of children under five, and maternal and neo-natal mortality remain at high levels in Congo, and the rich… have access to faster essential interventions than the poor, "said Rotigliano.
"Reducing this inequality is essential if we are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals related to health," he said.
Congolese Minister for Health and Population Georges Moyen said: "Congo is favourably placed to shift maternal mortality trends, among other things, through the adoption of the national roadmap to accelerate its reduction."
To this end, since 2008 pregnant women and children aged 5-15 have been able to access free malaria treatment, and from January 2011 pregnant women will be able to get free Caesarean sections, according to the authorities.
“Moral imperative”
"The fight against maternal mortality is a public health priority and a social, moral and political imperative,” said Bounma Makinwa, UNFPA Africa regional head.
According to UNICEF, malaria kills 21,000 children under five every year.
It has often asked the government to allocate at least 20 percent of oil revenues to improving the lives of children. Oil revenue will be US$4.44 billion in 2011, according to Finance Minister Gilbert Ondongo.
In 2008, per capita health expenditure reached $53. "This figure hides great disparities. Additional resources must be mobilized to implement specific strategies to benefit the most disadvantaged," said Rotigliano.
UNICEF stated in 2008 that 50 percent of Congolese children (1.2 million) were affected by poverty and suffered hardship in the areas of education, nutrition, health, water, sanitation and housing.
The 2010 report of the International Food Policy Research Institute says 21 percent of the population are undernourished, 11 percent of children are underweight, and the infant mortality rate among under fives is 12.7 percent. It described the food situation as “serious".
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?Reportid=90903

MALNUTRITION: WFP chief says child malnutrition widespread in N.Korea

 Oct 28, 2010 SEOUL — More than a third of children in some parts of North Korea suffer from malnutrition, the UN World Food Programme chief said Thursday before a visit to the North.
"We are deeply concerned about the situation in child malnourishment... in some areas 35 to 40 percent of children have no adequate vitamins or nutrients," WFP executive director Josette Sheeran said in Seoul.
She is on a two-day visit to South Korea and will fly on to China before going to the North from November 2 to 4.
A UN report last week warned North Korea is heading for a new food crisis, with drought and floods in various parts of the country exacerbated by cuts in international aid.
The UN Children's Fund has said that each year 40,000 children under five become "acutely malnourished".
International donations have dwindled amid irritation over the regime's missile and nuclear programmes, and Sheeran said the WFP has been forced to halve the size of its project there.
The organisation, which once provided nutritional supplements to children in more than 130 counties, is now operating in only 65 counties and reaching about 671,000 children, she said.
"The nutrition-focused programme that we have now (in the North) is 20 percent funded as it is... we have a 80 percent gap in funding," said Sheeran, warning that now is an "extremely difficult time for the world's hungry".
Sheeran, a former journalist who interviewed the North's founding president Kim Il-Sung in 1992, said it was not clear whether she would be allowed to meet his son and current leader Kim Jong-Il or other senior officials.
"We have not received an official schedule yet... we seek to meet at the highest level as we can with the government," she said.
North Korea suffered famine in the 1990s which killed hundreds of thousands of people and still relies on international aid from the WFP and others to help feed its population.
The United Nations predicts that Pyongyang will have to import 1.1 million tonnes of cereals this year. But UN agencies have raised only 20 percent of the 492 million dollars they estimated in 2009 would be needed for the North.
South Korea used to ship 400,000 tonnes of rice a year plus 300,000 tonnes of fertiliser to the North, but the shipments ended in 2008 as relations worsened between the two sides.
Tensions rose further this year after the South accused the North of torpedoing one of its warships, which Pyongyang denies.
A foreign ministry spokesman said Sheeran, during a meeting earlier Thursday with Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan, did not press specifically for Seoul to help send aid to the North.
"She did not directly ask for aid for the WFP's operations in North Korea, saying she understands the political sensitivity of the issue," he told AFP.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h73DVtnPhS8Y6sBtsWqbOA49r-cA?docId=CNG.c8806b0465005156c3ed4b83c649cb5d.1f1

MALNUTRITION: Sudan blocks UN agency from releasing child malnutrition data

20 Oct .
The UN children’s agency (UNICEF) in the Sudan expressed concern that the Sudanese government “very often” bars the release of data on child malnutrition in Darfur. Nils Kastberg, UNICEF Representative in Sudan, said that the Sudanese security services have also hindered or delayed UNICEF’s access to camps in Darfur.
Kastberg told Radio Dabanga: “Part of the problem has been when we conduct surveys to help us address issues, in collaboration with the ministry of health, very often other parts of the government such as the humanitarians affairs commission interferes and delays in the release of reports, making it difficult for us to respond timely.”
UN cooperation with the Khartoum ministries like the Ministry of Health has failed to secure publication of the reports. The UNICEF country chief said “we are raising these issues with the government at the moment that the humanitarian affairs commission should not interfere with the release of these reports.”
Kastberg also pointed out that certain government agencies hinder the entry of UNICEF staff into the camps. “Sometimes it is security services that hinder access or delay access, sometimes it is the humanitarian affairs office that delays the release of nutritional surveys. Sometimes it is delays in granting permissions and visas. It is different sections of different institutions which interfere in our work.”
The UN and the Government of Sudan meet regularly in a high-level committee sanctioned by presidential decree. Kastberg noted, however, that such cooperation in Khartoum does not always bring about changes in Darfur: “Obviously we now have a more active high level committee on Darfur where we can raise these issues. It is important for us that if we agree on these things at the Khartoum level, we see changes at the local level.”
The total population of Darfur’s internally displaced (IDPs) is 2,665,115, according to the UN’s 2010 Work Plan. The international aid agencies have been most active in Darfur since war began there in 2003, and millions fled attacks on their villages.
Nils Kastberg has been the UNICEF Representative in Sudan since September 2009. He has worked with the agency since 1998. He is Swedish.
http://195.190.28.213/node/4997

MALNUTRITION: Yemeni children suffering acute malnutrition

October 20, 2010
(CNN) -- Nearly half the children in Yemen's troubled northern province are suffering from malnutrition, the humanitarian agency UNICEF warned Wednesday.
The United Nations children's agency supported a government screening that found 50 percent of the 26,246 children in five districts of Saada to be at risk of death because of inadequate nutrition. In some areas, as many as three out of four children were acutely malnourished.
"Malnutrition is the main underlying cause of death for young children in Yemen, and therefore this grim situation could spell disaster for the children of Saada," said Geert Cappelaere, the UNICEF representative in Yemen.
"As winter approaches, thousands of children are at serious risk if we are not able to act immediately," Cappelaere said.
Malnutrition was already a problem throughout Yemen, which is one of the poorest countries in the region and is hampered by high unemployment, inflation, drought and severe food shortages. The World Food Programme estimates that almost 3 million people in Yemen face severe food insecurities.
In Saada, the situation was aggravated by a protracted conflict between government forces and militant Shiite rebels, UNICEF said.
Efforts to deliver food and other basic relief items have been impeded by the "extremely volatile security situation," the agency said.
The United Nations estimates that more than 300,000 Yemenis have been displaced by six rounds of fighting since 2004 between the government and Houthi rebels demanding autonomy for their community. Though Yemen is mostly Sunni, the rebels are followers of slain Shiite cleric Hussein al-Houthi.
A cease-fire has been in effect since February, but U.N. agencies say the truce is shaky.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/10/20/yemen.malnutrition/

POVERTY: UN report: The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development

“People are the real wealth of a nation.” With these words the 1990 Human Development Report began a forceful case for a new approach to thinking about development. That the objective of development should be to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives may appear self-evident today. But that has not always been the case. A central objective of the Report for the past 20 years has been to emphasize that development is primarily and fundamentally about people.




This year’s Report celebrates the contributions of the human development approach, which is as relevant as ever to making sense of our changing world and finding ways to improve people’s well-being. Indeed, human development is an evolving idea—not a fixed, static set of precepts—and as the world changes, analytical tools and concepts evolve. So this Report is also about how the human development approach can adjust to meet the challenges of the new millennium.
The past 20 years have seen substantial progress in many aspects of human development. Most people today are healthier, live longer, are more educated and have more access to goods and services. Even in countries facing adverse economic conditions, people’s health and education have greatly improved. And there has been progress not only in improving health and education and raising income, but also in expanding people’s power to select leaders, influence public decisions and share knowledge.
Yet not all sides of the story are positive. These years have also seen increasing inequality— both within and across countries— as well as production and consumption patterns that have increasingly been revealed as unsustainable. Progress has varied, and people in some regions—such as Southern Africa and the former Soviet Union—have experienced periods of regress, especially in health. New vulnerabilities require innovative public policies to confront risk and inequalities while harnessing dynamic market forces for the benefit of all.
Addressing these issues requires new tools. In this Report we introduce three measures to the Report family of indices—the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the Gender Inequality Index and the Multidimensional Poverty Index. These state-of-the-art measures incorporate recent advances in theory and measurement and support the centrality of inequality and poverty in the human development framework. We introduce these experimental series with the intention of stimulating reasoned public debate beyond the traditional focus on aggregates.
Today’s challenges also require a new policy outlook. While there are no silver bullets or magic potions for human development, some policy implications are clear. First, we cannot assume that future development will mimic past advances: opportunities today and in the future are greater in many respects. Second, varied experiences and specific contexts preclude overarching policy prescriptions and point towards more general principles and guidelines. Third, major new challenges must be addressed—most prominently, climate change.
Many challenges lie ahead. Some are related to policy: development policies must be based on the local context and sound overarching principles; numerous problems go beyond the capacity of individual states and require democratically accountable global institutions. There are also implications for research: deeper analysis of the surprisingly weak relationship between economic growth and improvements in health and education and careful consideration of how the multidimensionality of development objectives affects development thinking are just two examples.
http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2010/summary/