“After the death of my husband, my neighbour harassed me through insults and threats to harm me and my family. But the worst was when he let his cows into my farm and destroyed all my crops. I was left with nothing to feed my children since I’m not employed and I have no other source of income,” recalls Florence*, a 34-year-old farmer and mother of three from Kitui Country which lies south-east of Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi. “I had lost everything and they kept telling me I had no ‘one’ … [Read more...]
Real change, lasting solutions empowering women involve engaging men ..
September 11, 2012 by
Empowering women through access to family planning means that mothers and infants are healthier, families are more financially stable, and communities are stronger. Although family planning has traditionally been a gender-based issue, it’s not too hard to realize why improving access to women’s health care, especially reproductive health care, is in everyone’s interest. That is why UNFPA has become a strong proponent of engaging males in the family planning process. “Real change and … [Read more...]
Sickle Cell Anaemia Month – September 2012
September 10, 2012 by
SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA MONTH SEPTEMBER 2012 Sickle-cell disease (SCD), or sickle-cell anaemia (or anemia, SCA) or drepanocytosis, is an autosomal recessive genetic blood disorder with overdominance, characterized by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape. Sickling decreases the cells' flexibility and results in a risk of various complications. The sickling occurs because of a mutation in the hemoglobin gene. Life expectancy is shortened. In … [Read more...]
CDC Launches HIV Prevention Planning (ECHPP) Web Page
July 21, 2011 by
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently launched a new web page providing details about the Enhanced Comprehensive HIV Prevention Planning (ECHPP) Project, which is a cornerstone of the larger HHS-wide 12 Cities Project. The new page provides information on the three-year demonstration project funded by CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP) for the 12 municipalities with the highest number of people living with AIDS in the United States. Executive summaries of the … [Read more...]
Yemen’s Dangerous Hunger Crisis
July 21, 2011 by
Yemen’s Dangerous Hunger Crisis The embattled nation is struggling to find food and water while the world focuses on ending President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s violent campaign to keep power, writes Ellen Knickmeyer. In one of the cities at the center of Yemen’s revolution, tanks and soldiers of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’sloyalist forces occupy the main hospital, turning away the civilian sick and wounded, and using the hospital as a vantage point to shell residential neighborhoods at … [Read more...]
Obama Administration – Inspiration for a Future Free of HIV
June 24, 2011 by
Future Free of HIV This week, First Lady Michelle Obama is visiting South Africa and Botswana, focusing on youth leadership, education, health and wellness. Today, Mrs. Obama met with organizations dedicated to combating HIV/AIDS in South Africa, including groups that use soccer to convene and educate children about HIV/AIDS. Tomorrow, she will meet with a Teen Club in Botswana that teaches teens about leadership and how to educate others about HIV. During her meetings with … [Read more...]
UN-HABITAT's Water- WOMEN as a Solution, hard lesson learned in Liberia
March 11, 2011 by
UN-HABITAT's Water and Sanitation programme; Women as Solution... The highest priority for UN-HABITAT's Water and Sanitation programme is improving access to safe water and helping provide adequate sanitation to millions of low-income urban dwellers and measuring that impact. World leaders meeting at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000 committed themselves to attaining the Millennium Development Goal 7, target 10 which aims to reduce by half the proportion of people without … [Read more...]
