Agriculture & Nutrition
Study says meeting contraceptive needs could cut maternal deaths by a third
A new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University shows that fulfilling unmet contraception demand by women in developing countries could reduce global maternal mortality by nearly a third, a potentially great improvement for one of the world’s most vulnerable populations....

Child survival up, but not enough
Global mortality among children younger than five years declined by 26 percent between 2000 and 2010 - meaning that the lives of some two million children were saved - but this is still not enough for many countries to meet the Millennium Development Goal of reducing deaths in this age group by two-...
Ethiopia: Too many deaths in childbirth
In Ethiopia, a lack of awareness of the importance of skilled hospital deliveries, cultural beliefs and transport challenges in rural areas are causing a high number of deaths during childbirth, say officials. Only 10% of deliveries take place within health facilities, according to the Ethiopia's la...
US lags in global measure of premature births
Fifteen million babies are born prematurely each year, and the United States fared badly in the first country-by-country global comparison of premature births, which was released Wednesday by the World Health Organization and other agencies....
In Haiti, global failures on a cholera epidemic
MIREBALAIS, Haiti — Jean Salgadeau Pelette, handsome when medicated and groomed, often roamed this central Haitian town in a disheveled state, wild-eyed and naked. He was a familiar figure here, the lanky scion of a prominent family who suffered from a mental illness....
India plans big increase in health-care spending to catch up to rivals
In recent years, India has watched with alarm as countries such as China, Egypt, Mexico and Brazil raced ahead, and as its performance on child health and infant mortality was overtaken even by much of sub-Saharan Africa. ...
Fund halts new grants for AIDS, TB and malaria treatment in poor countries as developed country contributions drop
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which underwrites AIDS treatment for about half the people getting it in developing countries, announced Wednesday that it will make no new grants for the next two years because of the worldwide economic downturn....
Report cites dramatic drop in AIDS deaths worldwide
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Malaria deaths fall over 20% worldwide in last decade
There has been a fall of just over 20% in the number of deaths from malaria worldwide in the past decade, the World Health Organization says....
Fall in funding raises question mark over future of global fight against Aids: International financing for HIV programs in developing nations worldwid...
International funding for Aids programmes in developing countries across the world dropped by 10% in 2010, according to a new report, raising concern that funding for the global fight against HIV and Aids may be on a long-term downward trend....