100 Things That Matter

Video

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:59:00 -0500

saharareporters: Lagos Grounded By Occupy Protesters On Day...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:57:33 -0500

Lagos Grounded By Occupy Protesters On Day 2

A huge protest movement is in progress in Lagos on a second day of strike action over removal of gasoline subsidy in Nigeria. Some 500,000 Nigerians massed at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota area of Lagos singing and chanting protest songs.

It Only Takes a Girl

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:54:15 -0500

It Only Takes a Girl

globallyinspired: The Joint United Nations Programme on...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:45:43 -0500

globallyinspired:

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that 22.5 million of the 33 million people infected with HIV reside in sub-Sarahan Africa. Furthermore, they estimate that, within South Africa, 10 percent, or 4 million people, are infected—making it the country with the highest number of infected individuals worldwide. With such alarming statistics, global institutions, national governments, and civil society must unite in an effort to continuously raise awareness of the epidemic and provide support to those affected by it.

Thus, I’m eager to share with you a creative display of support emerging from within South Africa.

The Sinikithemba Choir is a gospel group whose members are all HIV positive men and women.

“Sinikithemba,” which roughly translates to “give us hope” in Zulu, originally began as a support group at McCord Hospital in Durban, where 70 percent of medical admissions are HIV-related. The choir came into existence, as many of its members—largely influenced by the region’s rich choral traditions—sang when working.

The group is a safe haven for those likely be ostracized by friends and relatives if their infection status is publicly disclosed. It is also a source of income for its members, who in addition to singing, sew and create Zulu bead work. 50 percent of the proceeds from such endeavors go to the person who created the work, while the remaining half is used to support a common fund, which pays for the healthcare of ill group members.

The message of The Sinikithemba Choir resonates with people all around the world. In spite of the obstacles they face, a few courageous individuals have inspired us and demonstrated the value of a positive outlook in attempting to eliminate the stigma of HIV/AIDS.

Learn more about The Sinikithemba Choir and the work of UNAIDS.

wfp: This is what it looks like to win a battle against hunger....

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:43:41 -0500

wfp:

This is what it looks like to win a battle against hunger. On the left is Michael, a severely malnourished child from Haiti. On the right is Michael again, just four months later.

Find out more about how Michael won

Photo by WFP/Stephanie Tremblay

World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide: Hungr In The News

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:43:08 -0500

World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide: Hungr In The News :

wfp:

Going With The Grain Gives Food For Thought –The Sydney Morning Herald

This month Freerice welcomed its millionth member. ”Freerice not only feeds the hungry, it supports local markets and farmers,” the WFP head of web, Pierre Guillaume Wielezynski, said. ”We also focus on sustainable…

united-nations: Right now in Doha, Qatar, 30 youths from...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:28:55 -0500

united-nations:

Right now in Doha, Qatar, 30 youths from developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Palestinian Territory are gathered to participate in a ten-day long camp on grassroots projects on sports and development.

Photo gallery

UN News Centre story

UN Office on Sport and Development for Peace

doctorswithoutborders: Khanda Faraj Mohammed, 27 years old,...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:28:02 -0500

doctorswithoutborders:

Khanda Faraj Mohammed, 27 years old, mother of three and pregnant with her fourth child was severely burned in a car bomb explosion while shopping in the market of Kirkuk in Iraq. She is being treated in a program run by Medécins Sans Frontières (MSF) that cares for Iraqi victims of violence whose injuries can not be treated inside Iraq. The program is now beginning to receive patients from Yemen, Syria, Egypt and Libya in addition to Iraqis. See more on the MSF photo blog.

Photo: © J.B. Russel

doctorswithoutborders: Access to Essential Medicines: Ten...

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:55:08 -0500

doctorswithoutborders:

Access to Essential Medicines: Ten Stories That Mattered in 2011

4. Numbers of Patients on Treatment for Drug-Resistant TB Remains Catastrophically Low

Governments are not meeting the challenge of providing treatment for the rising numbers of people infected with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), which has infected around five million people over the past ten years.

DR-TB—which occurs when the TB bacterium becomes resistant to anti-TB drugs—can be cured in the majority of cases, but many people go undiagnosed and untreated because of the difficulties involved in getting a correct diagnosis, and the expensive and complex treatment.

In what many hope will prove to be a breakthrough development, a new diagnostic test has been rolled out this year—including by MSF in seven countries—that can drastically reduce the time it takes to diagnose DR-TB, from several weeks to under two hours. Although the test is very expensive and is not as simple a test as is ultimately needed, the fact that it’s now a lot easier to diagnose people should spur governments into putting many more on treatment.

Photo: Armenia 2010 © Bruno De Cock/MSF

WFF: New Report Finds Maternal Health Care Desperately Lacking in Niger

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:58:00 -0400

WFF: New Report Finds Maternal Health Care Desperately Lacking in Niger:

worldwidefistulafund:

Findings from the United Nations’ recently released report The State of World’s Midwifery 2011: Delivering Health, Saving Lives are as sobering as might be expected: to fully meet the needs of women around the world, we need 350,000 more skilled midwives (112,000 in the neediest 38…

Doctors Without Borders: Haiti: MSF Reorganizes Post-Earthquake Medical Services

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:56:00 -0400

Doctors Without Borders: Haiti: MSF Reorganizes Post-Earthquake Medical Services:

doctorswithoutborders:

Thirty-five seconds. That’s all it took for an earthquake to shatter the lives of millions of Haitians on January 12, 2010. Medical needs were immediate and massive. More than 300,000 people were injured and 1.5 million left homeless.

Then in October, a cholera epidemic struck, with 250,000 cases…

The Truth Without Photoshop

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:35:00 -0400

The Truth Without Photoshop

doctorswithoutborders: Pakistan has one of the highest rates of...

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:15:44 -0400

doctorswithoutborders:

Pakistan has one of the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality in Central Asia. It is a particular problem in embattled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, where access to medical care of any kind is limited and insecurity makes it even harder to reach treatment when needed.

As so often happens, the toll of a situation like this falls heavily on women and children. After evaluating obstetric and gynecological needs in and around Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s main city, Peshawar, MSF decided to build a 30-bed reference hospital that is dedicated solely to women and is furnished with a labor and delivery room and an operating room.

Photo: Pakistan 2010 © Ton Koene

Live ‘em, ya’ll.

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:08:47 -0400

Live ‘em, ya’ll.

Photo

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:01:45 -0400

A Plea From South Kordofan State, Sudan

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 01:58:01 -0400

A Plea From South Kordofan State, Sudan:

‎”Dear my fellow tribesmen and women, this is a call of hope and prayers. I am stuck in the middle of the heavy shooting and bombardments at the UNMIS Camp in Kadugli…. Please advocate and mobilize the world so that we are released or at least our security is granted by the U.N. and the Government of Southern Sudan. All lives are at risk.”

"Everyone lives differently. When you go somewhere out of your own comfort zone, out of your own..."

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 01:55:06 -0400

“Everyone lives differently. When you go somewhere out of your own comfort zone, out of your own realm, and you enter someone else’s, that’s learning.”

- The Human Experience