December 1st is World AIDS Day

Maternal death is not often a health issue connected with HIV/AIDS, but this study shows that in one Mozambique hospital AIDS-related infections accounted for more maternal deaths than the traditional big five causes. Maternal risk is not included in the current World AIDS Day Thematic Campaigns.

PLoS Medicine - An Autopsy Study of Maternal Mortality in Mozambique: The Contribution of Infectious Diseases:

"Between October 2002 and December 2004, there were 179 maternal deaths in the Maputo Central Hospital and 31,135 live births, corresponding to a ratio of 874 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. (Because the hospital was a referral center, this ratio would not be expected to reflect the actual MMR for the general population of the Maputo area.) Complete autopsies were done on 139 of the women, HIV infection was measured using standard tests, and malaria was diagnosed by looking for parasites and malaria-associated changes in postmortem samples. Of these 139 women, just over one-third died because of obstetric complications; hemorrhage was the most common cause of death (one in six maternal deaths). The commonest nonobstetric causes of maternal death were HIV/AIDS- related conditions, including infections and cancers (about 1 in 8 maternal deaths; about half the women in the study were HIV positive). Other common causes were pyogenic (pus-forming) bacterial infections of the lungs and brain, and malaria. Together, these infectious diseases accounted for nearly half of the maternal deaths."

Food for the Holidays

Food for the Holidays | The New York Observer:

"...'New York is still the city people look to for so many trends, and we need to keep focusing on these things,' Bloomberg said, referring to the City's newest battles on calories, trans-fat and the sodium content in packaged food products.

As part of its drive to create a healthy, happy city, the Mayor's Office has three goals:

* Get city agencies to abide by high nutrition standards that include lowering salt and calorie contents and supplying more high-fiber meals;
* Make healthy food more affordable; and
* Bring healthier food to low-income neighborhoods.

Each year New York City schools serve 225 million meals, more than any other US agency other than the Defense Department. The challenge, Bloomberg noted, is getting people to eat the healthy food provided. In other places getting people to eat healthy means increasing access to nutritious food. More than 1/4 of all Harlem residents are obese, a health problem that continues to get worse even as the city become more environmentally friendly, Bloomberg noted [...]"

what is gentrification and how does it affect our neighborhood: Harlem

found via Uptown Flavor

Global Climate Campaign

Global Climate Campaign:

"This webpage has been set up to publicise and promote plans for demonstrations on climate change, to coincide with the United Nations Climate Talks (COP14/MOP4) in Poznan, Poland, December 1st to 12th 2008.

We intend synchronised demonstrations around the world on Saturday December 6th 2008 - in as many places as possible - to call on world leaders to take urgent action on climate change."

Halting AIDS vs. denying it

Halting AIDS vs. denying it | FP Passport:

"The juxtaposition of two of today's headlines pertaining to AIDS in Africa is glaring. One touted a new strategy for HIV testing that could slow, if not altogether halt the spread of the virus, while the other released the devastating findings of a Harvard University study which linked 365,000 premature deaths to former South African President Thabo Mbeki's refusal to acknowledge scientific evidence of HIV/AIDS's viral capability [...]"

Cholera aggravates Zimbabwe collapse | FP Passport

Cholera aggravates Zimbabwe collapse | FP Passport:

"...But after everything else, it might be cholera that pushes the limits of how far failed this failed-state can go. South Africa is doing its best to keep the cholera on one side of the border, but further collapse could send an flood of refugees where there has always been a trickle. That would further destabilize a politically shaky South Africa in the midst of its presidential transition."

The pitfalls of Africa's aid addiction

BBC NEWS | Africa | The pitfalls of Africa's aid addiction:

"Where I come from in West Africa, we have a saying: 'A fool at 40 is a fool forever', and most African countries have now been independent for over 40 years.

Most are blessed with all the elements to help compete on a global stage - abundant natural resources, a young population and the climate and conditions to be a major agricultural force.

And yet today, my continent, which is home to 10% of the world's population, represents just 1% of global trade. I have no doubt we have to take responsibility for our failures. We can't afford to keep playing the blame game.

But when 50 years of foreign aid has failed to lift Africa out of poverty, could corruption be the reason?

Could that really be all there is to it? [...]"

Let’s Build a Sustainable Auto Industry

Let’s Build a Sustainable Auto Industry | Steve Cohen blogging in The New York Observer:

"...The truth is that there is no tradeoff between environmental protection and economic growth. Destroy the environment and you cannot grow food, draw fresh water or breathe. If you poison the land with toxic waste, it costs billions of dollars to detoxify. Economic growth depends on environmental protection. The real benefit of the sustainability perspective is its goal of driving waste and pollution out of the production process entirely. If you make a product with fewer raw materials and less energy, your efficiency should result in lower prices or higher profits – and possibly both. Pollution is a form of waste and waste is the enemy of efficiency."

New Tactics | Human Rights in Higher Education: Incorporating practical experience

"Are you interested in participating in an online dialogue with other human rights educators sharing ways they have incorporated practical experience in their curriculum? Come and join us on the New Tactics website!"

New Tactics | Human Rights in Higher Education: Incorporating practical experience:

"The November New Tactics on-line dialogue will feature “Human Rights in Higher Education: Incorporating practical experience”. This dialogue will specifically feature ideas, experiences and methods from human rights higher education programs for incorporating practical experience into human rights curriculums to better prepare human rights advocates for doing “on the ground” and “in the trenches” human rights work."

Global health is “the new pink”

The Lancet Student Archive Global health is “the new pink”:

"...To effectively practice medicine internationally, a doctor should be more than a doctor. He should be the health system administrator, public health advocate, policy maker and implementer, the economist, and the voice of the people he is serving. In theory, an effective global health doc would have an MD, MBA, MPH, JD, and a PhD all in one! In practice, people simply don’t have the money to go through 15 years of post-graduate work to help an underserved population."

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