Also in Global Health news: U.S. food aid declines; agriculture in Zimbabwe; U.S.-backed ITN network; reducing maternal mortality; DNDI expands; healthcare in Congo

Oct 3 2009

U.S. Food Aid Declines, Despite Two-Year 53% Funding Increase

Although U.S. food aid funding has increased by 53 percent over the last two years, a Government Accountability Office report on Wednesday said that during the same time period, the "amount of food delivered to address emergencies abroad fell 5 percent," the Washington Independent reports. "GAO is citing as a culprit a U.S. law requiring that almost all international food aid be grown domestically — a boon to American agribusiness — rather than purchased closer to the disaster, an approach known as local and regional procurement," according to the publication (Lillis, 9/30).

World Bank Grants Zimbabwe $74M For Agriculture; Farmer's Union Warns Of Grain Deficit

The World Bank on Wednesday said it plans to give Zimbabwe a $74 million grant to revive the country's agriculture sector, Agence France-Presse reports. David Rohrbach, a senior agricultural economist at the World Bank, said, "We are dealing directly with NGOs. We are following suit with what other donors have done to help Zimbabwe. We are not yet at a stage to deal with government directly but we consult them" (9/30).

In related news, "Zimbabwe's farmers' unions on Wednesday warned the country could face another grain deficit in the next season due to poor preparations and lack of funding, despite government projections of the biggest harvest yet," Reuters reports. The article examines the country's challenges in agriculture (Banya, 9/30).

Washington Times Examines U.S.-Backed ITN Network

The Washington Times examines Netmark, a U.S.-backed project, which "over the past decade ... has sold 50 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets in African countries plagued by malaria" (Franchineau, 10/1).

Guardian Examines How To Decrease Maternal Mortality

The Guardian examines a recent Lancet study, which found that the "lives of a third of the women who die in childbirth could be saved if a cheap and common drug to prevent haemorrhage, together with antibiotics, were readily available in their villages" (Boseley, 10/1).  

Japanese Drug Group Joins Effort To Fight Chagas Disease

The Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai Inc. on Tuesday announced it would partner with the non-profit organization Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative in an effort to develop new treatments for Chagas disease, "a tropical parasitic disease that threatens 100 m[illion] people in the Caribbean and Latin America," the Financial Times reports. "European and - increasingly - US companies have become involved in partnerships with non-profit groups for an increasing range of drugs and vaccines, including for malaria and tuberculosis," the newspaper writes, adding, Eisai represents one of the first Japanese groups to join this effort (Jack, 9/29).

Vancouver Sun Examines Work Of NGO In Congo

The Vancouver Sun examines the success of a small non-governmental organization (NGO) called HEAL Africa that delivers holistic care to the people of Congo "with Congolese staff drawn from every local tribe." Though the "$7-million-a-year NGO" run by a Congolese doctor and his wife "is small by world standards," it has gained attention for its work with local doctors and outreach to victims of rape, the newspaper writes. The NGO is supported, in part, by the Canadian International Development Agency and the Clinton Foundation (Cayo, 9/30).