Sanitization News and Research

RSS

U.N. General Assembly declares access to clean water, sanitation a human right

The U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday declared access to safe, clean drinking water and sanitation to be a "'human right' in a resolution that more than 40 countries including the United States didn't support," the Associated Press reports (Lederer, 7/28).

30 Jul 2010

African leaders agree to expand maternal health campaign as AU Summit concludes

African leaders participating in the 15th African Union Summit, which concluded on Tuesday, agreed to expand a campaign aimed at curbing maternal mortality on the continent and adopted other "key actions" in an effort to reduce infant and maternal mortality, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

29 Jul 2010

Dengue fever emerges as major health threat in Gulf coast cities

Several cases of dengue fever, a potentially fatal viral disease transmitted by the bite of urban dwelling Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, have recently been reported in the continental United States. Prevalent in Central America and the Caribbean, dengue fever's most common symptoms include fever, chills, headache, and body aches lasting several days. The disease's more threatening form, dengue hemorrhagic fever, can cause internal bleeding, loss of blood pressure, and death. Over the past five years, outbreaks of both forms of the disease have been reported in Texas and Florida.

28 Jul 2010

Life-saving interventions can save 11 million African women, children over next five years: Countdown report

In the next five years, 11 million African women and children could be saved by creating near-universal availability of key life-saving interventions, according to The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health and the Countdown to 2015 Decade Report (2000-2010).

27 Jul 2010

AU leaders summit kicks off, focus on maternal and child health

Heads of state from the African Union (AU) started a three-day meeting in Kampala, Uganda, on Sunday as part of the 15th AU Summit, People's Daily Online reports. Leaders will focus on maternal and child health and will discuss several other issues, including agricultural development, food security, infrastructure development and economic integration (7/26).

27 Jul 2010

AU Summit panel focuses on water, sanitation to meet MDG targets in Africa

African countries should focus on preventing diarrhea - the biggest killer of children in Africa - in order to achieve Millennium Development Goal targets, Yunia Musaazi, WaterAid's East Africa policy advisor, told delegates at the 15th African Union Summit, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

26 Jul 2010

Opinions: AIDS vaccine and cure; China's role in the Global Fund; Child marriage prevention act; Gorbachev on safe water

A Globe and Mail editorial discusses the importance of "the quest for an AIDS vaccine and the search for a cure," stating that "it is simply not possible to 'treat' our way out of this disease." The authors write that "for every person who receives treatment - which must continue over their entire lifetime - about three new people become infected."

21 Jul 2010

Neogen fiscal 2010 net income increases 26% to $17.5M

Neogen Corporation announced today that its net income for its 2010 fiscal year, which ended May 31, increased 26% from the previous year to $17,521,000. Net income in the fiscal year increased to $0.76 per share, compared to the prior year's $0.61, adjusted for a 3-for-2 stock split that was effective Dec. 15, 2009.

20 Jul 2010

Microbiologists work to decrease mold growth in flooded homes through improved prevention, cleanup

A team of microbiologists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River National Laboratory is working with Tuskegee University and Mississippi State University to decrease mold growth in flooded homes through improved prevention and cleanup.

15 Jul 2010

News outlets examine Haitian rebuilding effort six months after major quake

"Six months to the day since a magnitude-7.0 earthquake leveled 60% of [Port-Au-Prince's] buildings and killed 230,000 people, there are few visible signs of improvement," USA Today reports.

13 Jul 2010

Department of Agriculture asks consumers to discard Milky Way Farm's hard cheddar cheese

The Department of Agriculture today advised consumers who purchased aged hard cheddar cheese made with raw milk from Milky Way Farm in Troy, Bradford County, to discard the product immediately because of potential bacterial contamination. The Bureau of Food Safety has identified 20 pounds of raw milk cheddar cheese that entered the consumer market.

9 Jul 2010

Westchester Medical Center warns of potential dangers associated with hot weather

The warm weather usually means lots of summer fun and outdoor activities. Unfortunately, the combination of high heat and high humidity often become very dangerous. Temperatures over the next few days are expected to be in the upper 90's with a heat index of over 100 and that can often cause health problems especially in older adults and infants.

3 Jul 2010

MDG targets still attainable despite setbacks from global economic situation, U.N. report says

Efforts to curb poverty worldwide have been slowed by the global economic situation, but the developing world is still on track to reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the number of people living on less than $1 per day by 2015 - according to an annual U.N. report (.pdf) on the MDGs, which this year shows a "mixed picture" on reaching all eight targets - the Associated Press reports (Lederer, 6/23).

25 Jun 2010

Report says G8 countries short $10B on $50B commitment, reveals mixed progress on health goals

An accountability report, prepared by officials in G8 member countries' foreign affairs departments, acknowledges that G8 "countries are $10 billion behind the five-year, $50-billion commitment they made at their 2005 summit in Scotland," the Canadian Press/CTV News reports (6/20).

22 Jun 2010

UNDP releases 8-pronged strategy to help developing countries meet MDGs

The U.N. Development Program (UNDP) on Thursday released a report (.pdf) outlining "an eight-pronged strategy it hopes can help poor nations advance sustainable development, considerably reduce poverty and essentially drive the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the next five years," BusinessDay reports (Nwachukwu, 6/18).

19 Jun 2010

District of Ilama in Santa Barbara to receive improved water supply

The district of Ilama in Santa Barbara, Northern Honduras will receive an improved water supply thanks to Water for People and volunteers like Marianna Novellino, Senior Process Engineer for Parkson Corporation.

18 Jun 2010

Two-day conference examines effectiveness of U.N. pilot program to coordinate development assistance

A two-day conference examining the effectiveness of a pilot program aimed at improving the coherence and effectiveness of U.N. assistance is taking place this week in Ha Noi, Vietnam, South Asian News Agency reports.

17 Jun 2010

AIS introduces line of Full IP65/NEMA 4 Rated Stainless Steel LCD Computers for food industry

American Industrial Systems Inc., has introduced a line of Full IP65/NEMA 4 Rated Stainless Steel LCD Computers for superior performance in wet, dusty, rugged, and humid environments. The Panel PC utilizes the latest Intel® Atom Fanless processor featuring low power consumption, high reliability, long product life cycle and superior performance per watt operation.

14 Jun 2010

U.N. MDG summit draft conclusions call for aid promise follow through, highlight progress and challenges

The draft conclusions for the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) summit in September, which were distributed to governments last week, call on world leaders to follow through on promises of aid money to help countries reach the benchmarks established in 2000, Reuters reports.

11 Jun 2010

CMAJ to publish comprehensive new guidelines on immigrant health

CMAJ will publish a ground-breaking series of comprehensive new guidelines on immigrant health (pre-embargo link only) beginning June 7, 2010 . The Canadian Immigrant Health Guidelines, a multi-part series, will assist clinicians, policy makers and immigrants in understanding the diverse needs of immigrants to Canada. Few resources like this exist in the international medical literature.

8 Jun 2010