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PAHO urges donors to wait for assessment of Asian tragedy's needs

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is urging all citizens, organizations and governments wishing to help the tsunami victims in southern and Southeast Asia to wait for an assessment of what's needed before sending anything.

28 Dec 2004

Red Cross Red Crescent launches appeal for victims of the Bay of Bengal earthquake and tsunamis

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has launched a preliminary appeal for 7.5 million Swiss francs to assist some 500,000 people and bring immediate support to relief operations of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and other countries in the region after the strongest earthquake in 40 years caused massive tidal waves

27 Dec 2004

Medecins Sans Frontieres prepares to deliver assistance to Southeast Asia

Following the severe earthquake that has hit Southeast Asia, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is preparing an emergency intervention in a number of affected countries. Already ten MSF emergency workers have been mobilised to evaluate the needs in India, Malaysia and Indonesia.

27 Dec 2004

United Nations relief experts rush to Indian Ocean countries

United Nations relief experts are headed to Sri Lanka to help coordinate the international response to the massive tidal waves that struck the Indian Ocean nation after a series of earthquakes rocked the western coast of Northern Sumatra in Indonesia as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

27 Dec 2004

Increased Australian assistance for Sudan and Chad

In response to the ongoing crisis in Africa, Australia will provide an additional $10 million to help relieve the suffering of people in Darfur, Sudan and in Eastern Chad. $7 million has been allocated for Darfur and $3 million for Eastern Chad. This brings Australia's total assistance to the Sudan/Chad crisis to $30 million.

14 Dec 2004

More people live to be 100 in Switzerland than anywhere else in Europe

More people live to be 100 in Switzerland than anywhere else in Europe, and the country is one of the world leaders in the longevity stakes, reveals research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

13 Dec 2004

Interactive talking books delivered to Afghanistan

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has announced the delivery of thousands of interactive women's health books built with the LeapPad learning system technology to Afghanistan and an additional $6 million in aid to improve the health of the Afghan people.

13 Dec 2004

More than 11 million children in developing countries die every year from preventable illness

More than 11 million children in developing countries die every year from preventable illness, while as many as 500 000 women don't survive during pregnancy or childbirth. More than 39 million people are living with HIV/AIDS and the epidemic is growing.

4 Dec 2004

300 million people in the developing world are seriously ill from intestinal worms

300 million people in the developing world are seriously ill from intestinal worms. Treatment is cheap and effective—and if successfully delivered with other public-health measures could make a substantial contribution to achieving many of the world’s Millennium development Goals (MDGs), concludes the lead editorial in this week’s issue of THE LANCET.

4 Dec 2004

Report finds Listeria Rule sparks major industry changes

A report outlining the impact of the interim final rule designed to further reduce the incidence of Listeria monocytogenes (LM) in ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products and making recommendations for possible future actions was released for public comment by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

3 Dec 2004

Study highlights the effectiveness of azithromycin (Zithromax) in reducing infection rates of trachoma

The New England Journal of Medicine published today a study entitled "Mass Treatment with Single-Dose Azithromycin for Trachoma."

4 Nov 2004

First public healthcare and HIV/AIDS programme in Kibera, Kenya

On October 21, in collaboration with the Kenyan Ministry of Health, the international humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) opened a health centre providing public healthcare, including treatment for HIV/AIDS, for the residents of Kibera slum in Nairobi.

22 Oct 2004

Plea for every human to have access to safe drinking water

A plea to the world's physicians and health authorities to do more to support measures to provide access to safe drinking water at low cost to every human on the planet has been made by the World Medical Association.

12 Oct 2004

Global under-five death rate far below targets agreed to by world leaders

New country-by-country data reveals alarmingly slow progress on reducing child deaths despite the availability of proven, low-cost interventions, a UNICEF survey revealed today.

8 Oct 2004

PAHO outlines health challenges ahead

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr. Mirta Roses today presented a report summarizing PAHO's work over the past year in the Americas, during a special session of a meeting of the region's ministers of health taking place at PAHO headquarters this week.

28 Sep 2004

Stress won't cause stomach ulcers, but it can make them worse

“Stress won't cause stomach ulcers, but it can make them worse,” says Dr. David Graham, professor of medicine and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine. “Stress causes the body to produce higher amounts of acid, which can irritate preexisting ulcers.”

27 Aug 2004

One billion people still use unsafe sources of drinking water

More than 2.6 billion people - over 40 per cent of the world's population - do not have access to basic sanitation, and more than one billion people still use unsafe sources of drinking water, warns a report released today by the World Health Organization and UNICEF.

26 Aug 2004