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Death toll expected to rise as flooding subsides in some parts of Pakistan

Pakistani government officials say the death toll from the country's flooding stands at more than 1,600 and it could rise significantly as flood waters recede and more bodies are identified, CNN reports (8/28). "There is no official estimate of the number of missing because mass displacements have made accounting for them almost impossible," according to Reuters (Haider, 8/29).

31 Aug 2010

Salmonella contamination drives retail sales of pasteurized shell eggs

Consumer demand for safe eggs has driven retail sales of pasteurized shell eggs up by more than 50% since Aug. 16 when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended their use to prevent illness from egg-related Salmonella Enteritidis, announced National Pasteurized Eggs (NPE).

31 Aug 2010

Ten million face hunger in Central Africa; Niger flooding exacerbates food shortage, leaves 200,000 homeless

Flash floods have "worsened an already chronic humanitarian crisis caused by drought" in central Africa where aid agencies have warned that "10 million people are already facing severe food shortages, particularly in the landlocked countries of Chad and Niger, after a drought led to the failure of last year's crops," the Independent reports.

31 Aug 2010

Opinions: MDG progress; Drug patents; Aid for scientific research; Avoiding food crises; Hunger in India; U.S. commitments to PEPFAR, Global Fund

"Between the catastrophes of the Haiti earthquake and the Pakistan floods, there was actually some good news this spring on the global health front, which offers hope that the United Nations' ambitious Millennium Development Goals might not be at a standstill. Though a great deal remains to be done, all of us are living longer, fewer mothers are dying in childbirth, and fewer children are dying before school age," Eli Adashi, professor of medical science at Brown University, writes in Boston Globe editorial.

30 Aug 2010

Industry experts to share knowledge on benefits of GIS systems

Carlos Zeferino Torreblanca Galindo, Governor of the State of Guerrero, Mexico and the former mayor of Acapulco spoke of the poverty within his state. Demographic data he showed put his state near the bottom of most statistics in basic services. Most support comes from the federal government but by the time the state uses funds to pay for basic services and debt finance, little is left to support services for the people.

From IQPC Ltd 30 Aug 2010

Malawi's President threatens to close newspapers, expel donors in response to reports of food shortages

Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika threatened to chase donors away from the southern African nation on Thursday and close newspapers for reporting that more than one million people are in need of food aid,Reuters reports.

30 Aug 2010

Study evaluates use of drought-tolerant maize in Africa

Reuters reports on a study (.pdf) examining the use of drought-tolerant maize in 13 African countries, which was published on Thursday by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) with input from several other food research institutes (Cocks, 8/26).

27 Aug 2010

Drought-tolerant varieties of maize could boost harvests in 13 African countries: Study

As climate change intensifies drought conditions in Africa and sparks fears of a new cycle of crippling food shortages, a study released today finds widespread adoption of recently developed drought-tolerant varieties of maize could boost harvests in 13 African countries by 10 to 34 percent and generate up to US$1.5 billion in benefits for producers and consumers.

27 Aug 2010

Cooper Institute receives contract from Texas Department to develop NUTRIGRAM for children

In an effort to curb the alarming rates of obesity in Texas, The Cooper Institute was recently awarded a contract from the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) to develop a nutrition assessment and educational service for students called NUTRIGRAM.

27 Aug 2010

Ants use antibiotics to inhibit growth of unwanted fungi, bacteria

Research led by Dr Matt Hutchings and published today in the journal BMC Biology shows that ants use the antibiotics to inhibit the growth of unwanted fungi and bacteria in their fungus cultures which they use to feed their larvae and queen.

27 Aug 2010

Coalition of organizations request FDA to govern antibiotic usage in food animal production

Today a broad coalition of organizations hand-delivered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more than 180,000 letters responding to the agency's request for comments on rules governing the use of antibiotics on industrial farms.

27 Aug 2010

Opinions: Health and agriculture; GHI's main ideas; Recommendations to improve Haiti's government; China and the Global Fund

In a SciDev.Net opinion piece, Jeff Waage, director of the London International Development Centre, argues for more collaboration between agriculture and health experts. "The relationship between agriculture and health may seem intuitive and simple - grow more crops and people will have more food and live healthier lives.

26 Aug 2010

Berries can prevent age related brain degeneration: Study

According to a new study, berries like strawberries, blueberries and acai berries help to recycle toxic proteins that are linked to age-related memory loss and other mental decline.

25 Aug 2010

Water soluble extract of cinnamon reduces diabetes and heart disease risk

A study led by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) chemist Richard Anderson suggests that a water soluble extract of cinnamon, which contains antioxidative compounds, could help reduce risk factors associated with diabetes and heart disease.

25 Aug 2010

Also in Global Health News: IDUs in Kenya; Haiti recovery; Pandemic preparedness; Somalia hunger; HIV in Mozambique; Strengthening immune system against HIV

In Kenya, "[i]ntravenous drug users (IDUs) have been largely ignored by the government's HIV programmes on the basis that drug-taking is illegal, but a new policy is being drafted with the aim of reducing HIV transmission among this high-risk group," IRIN/PlusNews reports. The article includes comments from Nicholas Muraguri, head of the National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Programme, who said that the policy would treat drug use as a health issue, not a criminal one.

25 Aug 2010

Children consuming school lunches likely to become overweight: USDA-Backed Study

New research funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture finds that children who eat school lunches that are part of the federal government's National School Lunch Program are more likely to become overweight.

24 Aug 2010

As flood waters spread, international aid for Pakistan tops $800M, foreign minister says

International donors have pledged more than $800 million to help Pakistan deal with severe flooding after the U.N. appealed for $460 million in aid, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the country's foreign minister, said on Sunday, the Associated Press reports.

24 Aug 2010

Berries help aging brain stay healthy

Scientists today reported the first evidence that eating blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries may help the aging brain stay healthy in a crucial but previously unrecognized way. Their study, presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), concluded that berries, and possibly walnuts, activate the brain's natural "housekeeper" mechanism, which cleans up and recycles toxic proteins linked to age-related memory loss and other mental decline.

24 Aug 2010

Interim Haiti Recovery Commission approves 29 rehabilitation projects for Haiti worth $1.6B

The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), led by Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and former President Bill Clinton, recently announced more than $1.6 billion in projects to rebuild Haiti, "including a $200 million plan to create 50,000 new jobs in agriculture," Reuters reports.

21 Aug 2010

Cornell University experts comment on recall of 380 million eggs

Cornell University experts on farm animals and food safety comment on the recall of at least 380 million eggs in the past week due to concerns over salmonella contamination.

21 Aug 2010

Agriculture News and Research

Death toll expected to rise as flooding subsides in some parts of Pakistan

Salmonella contamination drives retail sales of pasteurized shell eggs

Ten million face hunger in Central Africa; Niger flooding exacerbates food shortage, leaves 200,000 homeless

Opinions: MDG progress; Drug patents; Aid for scientific research; Avoiding food crises; Hunger in India; U.S. commitments to PEPFAR, Global Fund

Industry experts to share knowledge on benefits of GIS systems

Malawi's President threatens to close newspapers, expel donors in response to reports of food shortages

Study evaluates use of drought-tolerant maize in Africa

Drought-tolerant varieties of maize could boost harvests in 13 African countries: Study

Cooper Institute receives contract from Texas Department to develop NUTRIGRAM for children

Ants use antibiotics to inhibit growth of unwanted fungi, bacteria

Coalition of organizations request FDA to govern antibiotic usage in food animal production

Opinions: Health and agriculture; GHI's main ideas; Recommendations to improve Haiti's government; China and the Global Fund

Berries can prevent age related brain degeneration: Study

Water soluble extract of cinnamon reduces diabetes and heart disease risk

Also in Global Health News: IDUs in Kenya; Haiti recovery; Pandemic preparedness; Somalia hunger; HIV in Mozambique; Strengthening immune system against HIV

Children consuming school lunches likely to become overweight: USDA-Backed Study

As flood waters spread, international aid for Pakistan tops $800M, foreign minister says

Berries help aging brain stay healthy

Interim Haiti Recovery Commission approves 29 rehabilitation projects for Haiti worth $1.6B

Cornell University experts comment on recall of 380 million eggs

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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