Advise World Leaders on What Sustainable and Equitable Development Means to YOU In partnership with the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), World Pulse is collecting personal stories outlining women’s experiences and recommendations on sustainable and equitable development for presentation at the Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. How Can My Voice Be Included? SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Log in to your PulseWire account. Not a … [Read more...]
Victims Without a Voice – 18 month old dies from RAPE – Take Action!
- Fighting child sexual abuse - "18-month old baby boy died of internal damage after being raped" "I am not sure which of the following story is more painful; the pain of the children without a voice OR the spiritual condition of the souls inside these perpetrators, brutally pillaging INNOCENCE. WHAT compels a grown man to violently hurt a child let alone penetrate and violate through RAPE?" KINGSTON, Jamaica, May 2012 – A nine-year old boy was systematically raped by his … [Read more...]
BOGOTA – Margot Wallström hears stories of sexual violence
Margot Wallström hears stories from survivors of sexual violence in an IDP community, 100 km from Bogota, Colombia. UN Photo/R. Riveros Colombia must increase its efforts to fight impunity for crimes of sexual violence, a United Nations envoy said today, adding that such efforts should be paired with assistance to survivors and victims.“I understand that the country as a whole wants to look to the future, instead of dwelling on the past, but there can be no lasting peace without security … [Read more...]
Biologist Bryan Ballif, Langereis & Junior blood type proteins
You probably know your blood type: A, B, AB or O. You may even know if you’re Rhesus positive or negative. But how about I tell you that in addition to those 2 systems (ABO and Rhesus), one could have as far as 28 other types in his blood? Intriguing, isn’t it? 28 in fact, until a week ago. The number has now grown to 30 with the discovery of 2 new blood types, raising the total, alongside the classics we know to 32 blood types discovered so far. MNS, Lewis, Duffy, Kidd, Kell are the … [Read more...]
HEROINE – History & Hope for Solutions
Heroin was first synthesized in 1874 by C. R. Alder Wright, an English chemist working at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, England. He had been experimenting with combining morphine with various acids. He boiled anhydrous morphine alkaloid with acetic anhydride over a stove for several hours and produced a more potent, acetylated form of morphine, now called diacetylmorphine. The compound was sent to F. M. Pierce of Owens College in Manchester for analysis, who reported the … [Read more...]
Hepatitis Awareness Month, Mothers Can Make a Difference
As we approach Mother’s Day this Sunday and then observe Women’s Health Week (May 13-19), it is an excellent opportunity to focus on actions that can be taken to improve the health and well-being of mothers and their infants. Since May is also Hepatitis Awareness Month, I would like to highlight perinatal hepatitis B transmission and the actions needed to eliminate this preventable disease. An estimated 1.4 million Americans are living with chronic (lifelong) hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. … [Read more...]
Avaaz.org – Stop the Amazon Chainsaw Massacre
The Brazilian Congress has just passed a catastrophic forestry bill that gives loggers and farmers free rein to cut down huge swaths of the Amazon. Now only President Dilma can stop it. Fortunately, the timing is on our side -- in weeks Dilma will host the world’s biggest environmental summit and insiders say she cannot afford to open it as the leader who approved the destruction of the rainforest. She’s facing mounting domestic pressure, with 79% of Brazilians rejecting this new bill. Now, if … [Read more...]
SOUTH AMERICA – ‘camelids for sustainable rural development’
In Bolivia’s cold and harsh altiplano - a high-altitude plain at 4,000m above sea level - llamas, alpacas and vicuñas are big business. Llama prices are up, demand for shawls and scarves made from vicuña and alpaca fibre is increasing, and, as it turns out, llamas eat less grass, take a smaller toll on the environment than other animals like sheep, and taste good too. But how do smallholder farmers capitalise on these optimal market conditions? One answer comes from the Bolivian government’s … [Read more...]
Rising Stars in Women’s & Children’s Health
Rising Stars in Women's & Children's Health: Cast Your Vote! MAY 2012 – Grand Challenges Canada is calling on voters to help select winners in their third round of Rising Stars in Global Health contest. Fifteen grants valued in total at more than $1.5 million are up for grabs for Canada's most creative innovators working to improve global health conditions. This program aims to tap into the creativity, knowledge and skills of emerging Canadian innovators to solve some of the … [Read more...]
Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth
Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth Malian infants have low birth weights, linked to inadequate maternal care, malnutrition and endemic poverty. Photo: UNICEF Some 15 million babies worldwide – more than one in ten births – are born too early, according to a new United Nations-backed report, released today, which calls for steps such as ensuring the requisite medicines and equipment and training health staff to promote child survival.“All newborns are … [Read more...]
Lisa Pertoso, IWHC – Honor a woman today!
One week from now is Mother's Day. Have you honored a special woman in your life yet? If you make a gift between now and May 13th to support IWHC’s partner APAD, you not only show a loved one you admire her, but also help APAD win more funding to empower survivors of early and forced marriage in the Extreme North region of Cameroon. GlobalGiving is awarding up to $10,000 to the top 15 projects that have the most “in-honor-of” gifts this Mother’s Day. Honor a woman today! … [Read more...]
BARBADOS – ‘It was also the first time I had ever felt ashamed to be a woman.’
Barbadians were in shock after the murder of another one of our women. She was killed in the most brutal manner, the details will forever bring a chill to all Barbadians. The pain felt by her family and close friends will most certainly remain for years to come. Worst yet that she suffered at the hands of her husband, a man who vowed to love, cherish and protect her. I knew the perpetrator of this violence, as did many of those in my social circles. Though we were not close in recent times, … [Read more...]
Viet Nam’s National Assembly to protect breastfeeding
UNICEF partners with Viet Nam’s National Assembly to protect breastfeeding DA NANG, Viet Nam, May 2012 – In a record move to protect the breastfeeding rights of women and children, UNICEF and the National Assembly’s Institute of Legislative Studies have concluded a series of high-level consultative meetings in Viet Nam’s coastal city of Da Nang. At the high-level meetings, almost 200 elected bodies and National Assembly delegates reviewed international recommendations and their … [Read more...]