speel's blog

Education Slows Spread of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa
By Joe DeCapua
Washington D.C
25 March 2009

A new study says a good education can help slow the spread of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. The study says it acts as a social vaccine against the disease.

Penn State University Professor David Baker is sharply critical of many HIV/AIDS awareness programs. He describes them as "scandalous," saying they're "so simplistic and minimalist."

The Washington Post

Where Foreign Aid Works
Sunday, March 29, 2009; A14

The March 22 editorial "Plowshares for Peace" said that foreign aid "often doesn't do much good."

This broad statement overlooked the immense benefit of many foreign aid programs, particularly public health efforts that save lives, stave off epidemics and stabilize economies.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2009) — Combating climate change may not be a question of who will carry the burden but could instead be a rush for the benefits, according to new economic modeling presented at "Climate Change: Global Risks, Challenges & Decisions" hosted by the University of Copenhagen on March 12.

View full posting at
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090312093918.htm

CSIS and Congressman Linder's House Water Caucus held a briefing on WATER 3 31 09

Howard D. Passell, PhD
Water and Energy Resources Ecologist, Sandia National Laboratories (national security labs focusing on macro level)

VALUE OF FUNCTIONING ECOSYSTEMS is TWICE THE VALUE OF GLOBAL GDP
Functioning ecosystems are basis of all human security and prosperity – we cannot ignore complexities and interdependencies any more.

Vaccine Refusals Spur Outbreak Fears

March 25, 2009
By Maria Danilova

A widespread scare about vaccine side effects in Ukraine has led to a sharp drop in immunizations that could result in disease outbreaks spreading beyond the former Soviet republic, international and local health officials say.

What if you lived by the largest body of fresh water in the world but could no longer afford to use it?

Residents of Highland Park, Michigan, known as the birthplace of the auto-industry, have received water bills as high as $10,000; they have had their water turned off, their homes foreclosed, and are struggling to keep water, a basic human right, from becoming privatized.

In a sign of the times, silos are breaking down and projects and interventions are exploring ways of integrating vital work within communities:

Please find the link below to access "Healthy People, Healthy Ecosystems: A Manual on Integrating Health and Family Planning into Conservation Projects"
produced by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Washington Post

5 Myths About Pandemic Panic
By Philip Alcabes
Sunday, March 15, 2009; B03

Winter is almost over, and it appears that we're going to make it through another flu season without a global disaster. That may seem like a miracle after the hysteria generated in recent years by SARS, avian flu and the World Health Organization's standing warning that it's "a matter of time" before the next influenza pandemic strikes. But the truth is that the threat is being hyped.

1. Infectious diseases are spreading faster than ever.

March 8, 2009
OP-ED COLUMNIST
The Inflection Is Near?

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Sometimes the satirical newspaper The Onion is so right on, I can’t resist quoting from it. Consider this faux article from June 2005 about America’s addiction to Chinese exports:

Birth Control Knowledge Lacking in Developing World

Feb. 27, 2009
By Anne Harding

In developing countries, young women's use of modern methods of contraception is limited by a range of factors, a review of seven studies conducted in five countries suggests.

Lack of knowledge, access problems and side-effect fears were the "overarching themes" limiting the women's use of hormonal contraceptives such as the birth control pill or hormone implants, Dr. Lisa M. Williamson of the MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow and her colleagues report.

Zimbabwe Cholera Cases Top 80,000: WHO

Feb. 20, 2009

More than 80,000 people have now been infected with cholera in Zimbabwe's six-month-old outbreak which has killed 3,759, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
About half of the patients who died from the water-borne diarrheal disease failed to reach any of the country's 365 cholera treatment centers, the United Nations agency said.

The proportion of deaths has been decreasing steadily since early January, but the fatality rate remains above the acceptable level in such an epidemic, according to the WHO.

© 2009 Reuters

Saving the Economy and the Environment with Green-Collar Jobs

Van Jones has been a critical bridge between the environmental and social justice worlds through his call for green collar jobs. This is one of the key promises of the Obama campaign, so in this interview, conducted on November 12, 2008, I asked him how can turn his idea into a real policy.

But this interview by Sarah van Gelder, which has just appeared in full in the Spring issue of YES! Magazine, shows Van’s leadership extends far beyond a single issue.

Several videos can be viewed at

America’s Global Health Programs at a Crossroads
By: Allen Moore

President Obama thrilled the global health community during his campaign—he pledged to double foreign aid by 2012, including $50 billion over five years to fight HIV/AIDS. Although he backed off his timetable for doubling aid during the Presidential Debates, it was still rare for a presidential candidate to talk so boldly about the benefits of foreign aid to a skeptical public. The President believes strongly that America’s global interests are best served with a better balance of foreign aid, diplomacy, and defense.

To address the growing concerns about the potential impact of the financial and economic crisis on global health, WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan convened a high-level consultation on 19 January 2009. Based on evidence from previous economic crises, the consultation aimed to:

- build awareness of the possible ways in which an economic downturn may have impact on health spending, health services and health outcomes;
- make the case to a wider audience for sustaining investment in health; and

Doctors group: Zimbabwe ripe for new epidemics
By DONNA BRYSON
The Associated Press
Tuesday, February 17, 2009; 10:42 AM

JOHANNESBURG -- Zimbabwe's entire health system has collapsed and the southern African nation now overwhelmed by cholera will soon see other epidemics, a worsening AIDS crisis and the effects of widespread malnutrition, an international doctors group said Tuesday.