First world results on a third world budget

This article shows directly what Hans Rosling demonstrated in his presentation--that wealth follows health, but the inverse isn't necessarily as possible. The article also has a nice .pdf of Cuban health stats:

First world results on a third world budget | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited: "...This snapshot of Havana shows a healthcare system that is extensive, accessible and, at times, ropey. What is unique is the blend of third world conditions with a progressive ethos and first world results [...]"

Nigeria: Unsafe Abortions - Another Silent Killer?

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Unsafe Abortions - Another Silent Killer? (Page 1 of 2): "...The Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians of Nigeria estimates that about 20,000 Nigerian women die from unsafe abortions each year. About 760,000 induced abortions occur annually in Nigeria. [...] Abortion is illegal in Nigeria, and most medical practitioners refuse to conduct abortions because of fear of the legal consequences. The result is that most women wanting an abortion tend to patronise unqualified practitioners who offer quick and cheap abortions..."

Chronic Poverty Report

This report is quite amazing. Pages 32-33 and 80 echo our discussions from today's class. It's a free download here:

Chronic Poverty Research Centre: "The Chronic Poverty Report 2004-05 is about people living in chronic poverty - people who remain poor for much or all of their lives, many of whom will pass on their poverty to their children and all too often die easily preventable deaths."

Understanding the Impact of a Microfinance-Based Intervention on Women's Empowerment and the Reduction of Intimate Partner Violence in South Africa

Understanding the Impact of a Microfinance-Based Intervention on Women's Empowerment and the Reduction of Intimate Partner Violence in South Africa -- Kim et al., 10.2105/AJPH.2006.095521 -- American Journal of Public Health: "...Our findings, both qualitative and quantitative, indicate that economic and social empowerment of women can contribute to reductions in intimate partner violence [...]"

CARE Turns Down U.S. Food Aid

This is the article on monetization I mentioned in class today:

CARE Turns Down U.S. Food Aid - TIME: "A major international charity has decided to turn down millions of dollars worth of grain from the U.S. government to feed the world's hungry because it believes America's method of delivering vital food supplies does more harm than good [...]

"CARE has decided to phase out all such monetized food aid by 2009, turning its back on $46 million a year in U.S. federal funding. The charity said selling food to fund its programs is inefficient and often delivers life-sustaining grain not to the hungry but to those who can afford it. It says it made the decision to abandon the controversial source of funding in 2005, but chose to make the decision public in an article in the International Herald Tribute on Wednesday in order to make a stand as Congress debates an overhaul of its food aid program in a new farm bill this summer...."

CyperSeminar: Population Environment Research Network - CyberSeminars

September 10-14 Earth Institute CyberSeminar

Population Environment Research Network - CyberSeminars: "The purpose of this cyberseminar is to examine the linkages among population, development and environmental processes in rural agrarian communities of the Sudano-Sahelian zone in West Africa. Droughts in the early 1970s and 1980s prompted many to proclaim this region as a Malthusian crisis in the making. Twenty years later, have these gloomy prognoses been borne out, or have agricultural systems coped and adapted to growing population numbers? Or is the picture more complex? This seminar will address these questions (and others themes listed below) through a focus on the results of recent research sponsored by the Programme for International Research on the Interactions between Population, Development and Environment (PRIPODE) of the French Foreign Ministry and the Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography (CICRED)."

Growth Promotion: Effective Design Elements

Link to a World Bank Nutrition document that discusses important design elements for growth promotion programs:

siteresources.worldbank.org/NUTRITION/Resources/Tool4-Chap2.pdf

Link to Child Health Care: A Learning Programme for Professionals

Here's a link to a useful resource that speaks to a number of child health issues. For the purposes of Tuesday's (9/11/07) presentation on Growth Monitoring Promotion and Food Supplementation we recommend chapters 3 and 4. This manual is available for download in its entirety from http://www.childhealthcare.co.za/. Follow the link that says, "Read the Book", specific chapters can be downloaded individually, or you can scroll to the bottom of the page to download the entire book.

Under-nutrition levels in India among the highest

This article has details on the CARE campaign for better nutrition in India:

Citizen News Service: Under-nutrition levels in India among the highest: "...Around 40% children are low birth weight and around 47% children are malnourished. It is understood that 60% of Infant & child deaths could be prevented only if we are able to check malnutrition among children [...]"

Some Food Additives Raise Hyperactivity, Study Finds

Some Food Additives Raise Hyperactivity, Study Finds - New York Times: "Common food additives and colorings can increase hyperactive behavior in a broad range of children, a study being released today found.

It was the first time researchers conclusively and scientifically confirmed a link that had long been suspected by many parents. Numerous support groups for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have for years recommended removing such ingredients from diets, although experts have continued to debate the evidence [...]"

Widening Socioeconomic Disparities in US Childhood Mortality, 1969 2000 -- Singh and Kogan 97 (9): 1658 -- American Journal of Public Health

Widening Socioeconomic Disparities in US Childhood Mortality, 1969 2000 -- Singh and Kogan 97 (9): 1658 -- American Journal of Public Health: "Results. Despite marked declines in child mortality, socioeconomic gradients (relative mortality risks) in overall child mortality increased substantially during the study period. During 1969–1971, children in the most deprived socioeconomic quintile had 52%, 13%, 69%, and 76% higher risks of all-cause, birth defect, unintentional injury, and homicide mortality, respectively, than did children in the least deprived socioeconomic quintile. The corresponding relative risks increased to 86%, 44%, 177%, 159%, respectively from 1998–2000.

Conclusions. Dramatic reductions in mortality among children in all socioeconomic quintiles represent a major public health success. However, children in higher socioeconomic quintiles experienced much larger declines in overall, injury, and natural-cause mortality than did those in more deprived socioeconomic quintiles, which contributed to the widening socioeconomic gap in mortality. Widening disparities in child mortality may reflect increasing polarization among deprivation quintiles in material and social conditions."

Jobs Abroad Support ‘Model’ State in India

Jobs Abroad Support ‘Model’ State in India - New York Times: "...With leftist governments here in the state capital spending heavily on health and schools, a generation of scholars has celebrated the “Kerala model” as a humane alternative to market-driven development, a vision of social equality in an unequal capitalist world. But the Kerala model is under attack, one outbound worker at a time [...]"

Utilization of Antenatal Care Services by a Semi-Nomadic Bedouin ...

ConnectComplete: Utilization of Antenatal Care Services by a Semi-Nomadic Bedouin: "...Conclusions. The study demonstrated improvement in utilization of ANC in the study population. However, after the establishment of a local MCH clinic, over 40% of pregnant women still received no ANC. Non-geographic barriers to ANC are important and need to be addressed through community-based intervention programmes."

More fathers attend babies' clinics

More fathers attend babies' clinics - Fiji Times Online: "Health authorities are encouraged by the increasing number of fathers who are taking their babies for their routine medical checks."

World Clock

Statistics (based on estimates) updating in real time about deaths, diseases, disasters, etc globally.

(found via Gyford.com)

1.5 Million Children Could Be Saved If Diarrhea Treatments Followed

ScienceDaily: 1.5 Million Children Could Be Saved If Diarrhea Treatments Followed: "Despite global efforts to control it, diarrhoea is still one of the most common reasons for the high child mortality rates in many low and middle-income countries. This according to a doctoral thesis, soon to be presented at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet. One fifth of all the deaths amongst children under the age of five that are reported every year are caused by serious diarrhoea [...]"

Men - Architects of Change in Promoting Maternal Health

This article reminded me of Dr. Cunningham's recommendation that men be included in the maternal and child health discussions:

allAfrica.com: Malawi: Men - Architects of Change in Promoting Maternal Health: "...Most tradition in Malawi has it that men have decision-making powers in their different roles as husbands, fathers, traditional and religious as well as political leaders. Their decision-making powers transcend all the spheres including health matters. In this respect it is essential that men, as decision makers, need to take an active role in ensuring that maternal health outcomes are favourable for a healthy mother and baby [...]"

class updates

I'm so glad some of you are already finding your way around Blogger. Another tool to acquaint yourself with is the Blog This button. This is a browser add-in to your bookmarks tool bar that makes posting articles during your research very fast.

Yesterday Dr. Brown brought up Mr. Condom, the famous sex educator in Thailand. The NYTimes profiled Mechai Viravaidya in 1992. This interview covers his big return to public life in 2005. In an unusual case of promoting Best Practices research, India is now looking for their own brand of Mr. Condom.

The Great Debate readings

Readings from the booklist (on the sidebar, scroll down) relevant to today's class debate on vertical versus horizontal public health interventions:

Just and Lasting Change (Taylor): pages 8-30, 62-68, 308-321
My Name is Today (Morley): 177, 190-202, 203-235, 250-253, 352
Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire): 52-62
The Myth of Development (DeRivero): 1-10

Hans Rosling presentation from TED

This presentation by Professor Hans Rosling was shown on the first day of class. If you missed it, be sure to watch it at home!



This presentation was from TED 2006. Click here to see the March 2007 follow-up!

Click here to learn more about Professor Rosling.

Click here to learn more about TED.