Afghanistan is no longer the worst place in the world to be a mother, according to a new report by Save the Children. I am at once heartened and shocked by this news. If that respected NGO can show that progress has been made in this country, it must be true, and that is a good thing. But then this means that there is a place where women risk even more to have a child than in Afghanistan. My heart goes out to the women of Niger, the new holders of this soul-wrenching title. Even … [Read more...]
Biologist Bryan Ballif, Langereis & Junior blood type proteins
May 12, 2012 by
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
May 11, 2012 by
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
May 10, 2012 by
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...]
Rising Stars in Women’s & Children’s Health
May 8, 2012 by
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...]
Afghanistan: Concerns over child detention conditions in Kandahar
May 6, 2012 by
A government plan to relocate an all-boys juvenile rehabilitation centre (JRC) in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, from the city centre to a site near Sarposa prison, where top Taliban leaders are held, could expose the children to significant risk, according to observers. The Kandahar JRC in its current site holds 20 to 55 boys at a time, some as young as seven, in cramped and insanitary conditions. According to the Child Rights Consortium (CRC), a program managed by Terre des Hommes in … [Read more...]
Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth
May 6, 2012 by
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!
May 6, 2012 by
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.’
May 5, 2012 by
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
May 3, 2012 by
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...]
Women as ‘Cornerstone’ in Quest for Equitable Development, Human Dignity
April 24, 2012 by
UNCTAD XIII Must Be New Pillar of Change, Qatar Museums Authority Chairperson Says, Hailing Women as ‘Cornerstone’ in Quest for Equitable Development, Human Dignity (Received from a UN Information Officer.) DOHA, QATAR, 23 April — Change in favour of equitable and sustainable development in the Arab world and around the globe must be achieved by women working side by side with men at all levels, Qatar Museums Authority Chairperson Sheikha Al Mayyasa bint Hamad bin Khalifa … [Read more...]
