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'Repackaging' of U.N. cholera initiative detracts attention from epidemic's origin

"Those following the two-year-old saga of the United Nations and cholera in Haiti were startled by" the U.N.'s announcement last week of a $2.2 billion initiative to help eliminate cholera in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

19 Dec 2012

Increased life expectancy not benefitting everybody equally: U of T

Global lifespans have risen dramatically in the past 40 years, but the increased life expectancy is not benefitting everybody equally, say University of Toronto researchers. In particular, adult males from low- and middle-income countries are losing ground.

17 Dec 2012

Scientists discover how Yersinia pestis avoids setting off immune system's early infection-alarm

The plague-causing bacteria Yersinia pestis evades detection and establishes a stronghold without setting off the body's early alarms.

14 Dec 2012

African development activist wins 2013 University of Oklahoma International Water Prize

The University of Oklahoma Water Technologies for Emerging Regions (WaTER) Center has named development activist Ada Oko-Williams as the recipient of the 2013 University of Oklahoma International Water Prize. Oko-Williams, associate director at Water and Sanitation for Africa, was nominated and selected for her advocacy and collaborative community approach for clean water, sanitation and hygiene in Africa.

13 Dec 2012

U.N. launches $2.2B appeal for new initiative to eliminate cholera in Haiti, Dominican Republic

"The United Nations on Tuesday announced a new initiative to help eliminate cholera in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the two nations that make up the Caribbean island of Hispaniola," the U.N. News Centre reports.

13 Dec 2012

Bringing malnutrition into the political spotlight

"Most people think malnutrition is all about not having enough food or enough of the right kind of food to eat," but while "this is a big part of the story ... there are many other links in the chain," Lawrence Haddad, director of the Institute of Development Studies, writes in a BBC Magazine opinion piece.

1 Dec 2012

Broad range of human activities affects spread of vector-borne zoonotic diseases, experts say

West Nile virus, Lyme disease, dengue fever, and plague are examples of "vector-borne zoonotic diseases," caused by pathogens that naturally infect wildlife and are transmitted to humans by vectors such as mosquitoes or ticks.

30 Nov 2012

Haiti, Dominican Republic to seek $2.2B over 10 years for cholera elimination plan

"Haiti and the Dominican Republic will require $2.2 billion over the next 10 years for an ambitious plan to eliminate cholera, an official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] said Wednesday," the Associated Press/NewsOK reports.

30 Nov 2012

University of Toronto engineering team to continue work on designing waterless, hygienic toilet

A University of Toronto engineering team has received a major grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to continue work on designing for a waterless, hygienic toilet that is safe and affordable for people in the developing world.

29 Nov 2012

Diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine: an interview with Dr. Rudi Eggers, World Health Organisation

The Diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine is sometimes also called the “triple vaccine” and has been around for about 50 years, and it protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. These are serious diseases caused by bacteria.

28 Nov 2012

Academic rigor, better data needed for WASH programs

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and community-led total sanitation (CLTS) programs are coming under increased academic scrutiny, Darren Saywell, the WASH/CLTS technical director at Plan International USA and vice-chair to the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) initiative, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, adding, "I personally see this trend as positive.

21 Nov 2012

Washington Post examines polio eradication efforts in Pakistan

The Washington Post reports on polio eradication efforts in Pakistan, writing, "[O]verall trends in Pakistan, where nearly 30 million children have been vaccinated in recent years, are encouraging."

20 Nov 2012

Commitment, teamwork needed to control, eliminate NTDs by 2020

The focus of the Uniting to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases: Translating the London Declaration into Action conference, which took place November 16-18 in Washington, D.C., was "how we can work together to put the right systems in place and implement the change needed" to control or eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2020, Simon Bush, director of NTDs at Sightsavers, writes in the Huffington Post U.K.'s "Impact" blog.

20 Nov 2012

Most African countries not on track to achieve MDGs, U.N. officials say

"Most African countries are lagging behind in achieving the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals [MDGs] and will not make as much progress in health, nutrition and sanitation as had hoped, U.N. officials said" on Thursday, the Associated Press/ABC News reports.

20 Nov 2012

World Toilet Day aims to break taboos, encourage construction of clean toilets

World Toilet Day, recognized annually on November 19, "aims to break the taboo around loos and basic hygiene," the Guardian reports. The newspaper continues, "Some 57 countries are seriously off-track to meet the target within Millennium Development Goal [MDG] seven to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation; around 2.5 billion people lack access to a clean toilet."

20 Nov 2012

New solar steam method from Rice University

Rice University scientists have unveiled a revolutionary new technology that uses nanoparticles to convert solar energy directly into steam. The new "solar steam" method from Rice's Laboratory for Nanophotonics (LANP) is so effective it can even produce steam from icy cold water.

20 Nov 2012

IPS reports on World Toilet Day, observed November 19

Inter Press Service reports on World Toilet Day, observed on November 19, noting, "Currently, over 800 million people have no access to safe drinking water and over 2.5 billion people are living without adequate sanitation."

17 Nov 2012

Examining private sector, foreign government involvement in Haiti's health system

With recent suggestions "of privatizing the [U.S.] government's emergency response capability for natural and human-caused disasters and infectious diseases," Henry (Chip) Carey, an associate professor of political science at Georgia State University in Atlanta, writes in the World Policy Blog, "One might want to look at Haiti for a case study in the effects of bypassing the government health sector for private organizations."

16 Nov 2012

U.N. has 'moral responsibility' to address cholera outbreak in Haiti

Sometimes "[w]hen the international aid community descends on a vulnerable place ... good intentions make a bad situation even worse," a Boston Globe editorial states, adding that is "what happened two years ago, when United Nations peacekeepers arrived in Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake, bringing the deadly disease cholera with them."

14 Nov 2012

U.N., partners call for greater efforts to fight number one killer of children on World Pneumonia Day

On World Pneumonia Day (WPD), recognized on November 12, "the United Nations and its partners ... called for greater efforts to eradicate pneumonia, the number one killer of children under the age of five," the U.N. News Centre reports.

14 Nov 2012

Sanitization News and Research

'Repackaging' of U.N. cholera initiative detracts attention from epidemic's origin

Increased life expectancy not benefitting everybody equally: U of T

Scientists discover how Yersinia pestis avoids setting off immune system's early infection-alarm

African development activist wins 2013 University of Oklahoma International Water Prize

U.N. launches $2.2B appeal for new initiative to eliminate cholera in Haiti, Dominican Republic

Bringing malnutrition into the political spotlight

Broad range of human activities affects spread of vector-borne zoonotic diseases, experts say

Haiti, Dominican Republic to seek $2.2B over 10 years for cholera elimination plan

University of Toronto engineering team to continue work on designing waterless, hygienic toilet

Diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine: an interview with Dr. Rudi Eggers, World Health Organisation

Academic rigor, better data needed for WASH programs

Washington Post examines polio eradication efforts in Pakistan

Commitment, teamwork needed to control, eliminate NTDs by 2020

Most African countries not on track to achieve MDGs, U.N. officials say

World Toilet Day aims to break taboos, encourage construction of clean toilets

New solar steam method from Rice University

IPS reports on World Toilet Day, observed November 19

Examining private sector, foreign government involvement in Haiti's health system

U.N. has 'moral responsibility' to address cholera outbreak in Haiti

U.N., partners call for greater efforts to fight number one killer of children on World Pneumonia Day

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