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Food price increases create discontent among the poor

A new report published on Tuesday by Oxfam and the Institute of Development Studies on the impact of rising food prices "shows that the overall impact of the 2011 food price spike seems to be a ratcheting up of inequality, producing a pattern of 'weak losers and strong winners,'" Duncan Green, Oxfam GB's head of research, and Naomi Hossain, a research fellow in the Participation, Power and Social Change team at IDS, write in a post on the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog."

23 Jun 2011

Middle-class early retirees may be eligible for Medicaid in 2014

As a result of the health law, many early retirees may in 2014 be eligible for Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor. This expansion, which is being termed a "glitch" and is drawing significant Republican reaction, could mean that early retirees with household incomes up to $64,000 would qualify.

23 Jun 2011

G20 must uphold previous agriculture pledges, invest more

"In the last few years, funding of agriculture has slowly been increasing after a generation of decline in investment in the sector, but not fast enough. In the L'Aquila pledge, the G8 made commitments to food security in 2009 of $20 billion.

22 Jun 2011

Food security and development lessons from Vietnam

In a post on the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog," Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize, discusses the impact of witnessing how road development influenced the introduction of "miracle rice" in Vietnam.

22 Jun 2011

NCDs responsible for majority of deaths worldwide and cost trillions, report says

Nearly two-thirds of deaths worldwide are caused by non-communicable diseases such as heart and lung disease, cancer, and diabetes, which are increasingly prevalent and cost the global economy trillions of dollars, according to a U.N. report and preliminary results from a new study announced Monday at a press conference to preview the September U.N. High Level Meeting on NCDs, the Associated Press/MSNBC.com reports.

22 Jun 2011

DIA recognizes CAPRISA team for outstanding achievement in HIV prevention

Today the CAPRISA 004 study leadership team is being awarded the inaugural Drug Information Association (DIA) President's Award for Outstanding Achievement in World Health.

21 Jun 2011

To reduce global hunger, access to food must be expanded

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil from 2002 to 2010, outlines priorities in the battle to end global hunger in a Guardian opinion piece.

21 Jun 2011

Quality home learning experiences may help prepare children for kindergarten

Previous research says on average, children living in poverty are less well prepared to start school than children from middle-income homes. Now, new research says home learning experiences may help low-income children's school readiness.

21 Jun 2011

Cancer Statistics 2011 report finds progress has not benefitted all segments of the population equally

A steady reduction in overall cancer death rates translates to the avoidance of about 898,000 deaths from cancer between 1990 and 2007, according to the latest statistics from the American Cancer Society.

18 Jun 2011

Important to fund the GAFSP now

In a Guardian opinion piece, Lael Brainard, under-secretary for international affairs at the U.S. Treasury, writes about the importance of funding the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) and investing in small farmers in the developing world.

18 Jun 2011

Low levels of education, poverty and other social factors contribute to many U.S. deaths

How researchers classify and quantify causes of death across a population has evolved in recent decades. In addition to long-recognized physiological causes such as heart attack and cancer, the role of behavioral factors-including smoking, dietary patterns and inactivity-began to be quantified in the 1990s. More recent research has begun to look at the contribution of social factors to U.S. mortality.

18 Jun 2011

Integrating AIDS fight with other global health efforts is next step

An "invisible turning point" in the fight against HIV/AIDS recently occurred: "the realisation that simply strengthening the vertical programme that is AIDS has to end. The new opportunity is integration," a Lancet editorial states.

18 Jun 2011

News highlights: Report urges smoke-free laws; N.J. state workers rally against pension and health care changes

A million people would quit smoking, nearly 400,000 teenagers would never start, and more than 700,000 lives would be saved if the 27 U.S. states that don't have good antismoking laws would adopt them, the American Cancer Society projected on Wednesday.

18 Jun 2011

Five food security priorities for the G20

Olivier De Schutter, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, outlines five priorities for G20 leaders to endorse at the upcoming summit in a Guardian "Poverty Matters Blog" post.

18 Jun 2011

Civil society must have voice in future of MDGs

"There are three main options on the table" about what to do after the Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015, Leo Williams, chair of Beyond 2015, an international campaign that aims to "ensure that the process of developing a development framework is participatory, inclusive and responsive to those directly affected by poverty and injustice," writes in a post on the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog."

18 Jun 2011

UK should continue to provide aid to India, parliamentary report says

Despite enormous economic gains over the past 25 years, Britain should continue to provide aid to India until 2015 to ensure the country meets the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a cross-party report published by the House of Commons international development committee on Tuesday, the Guardian reports.

17 Jun 2011

G20 agriculture ministers should focus on small farmers to address food price volatility

"When the G20 Ministers of Agriculture develop an action plan to address food price volatility and its impact on the poor, they should focus on both urgent actions and the vital role of smallholder farmers," Shenggen Fan, director-general of the International Food Policy Research Institute, writes in an Inter Press Service opinion piece.

17 Jun 2011