Global Health

Earth Policy Institute - Book Byte - February 7, 2013

In Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity, Lester Brown explains that "The world is in transition from an era of food abundance to one of scarcity." 

With the demand for grain increasing and the supply of grain decreasing, food prices are rising and hunger is spreading.  "On the demand side of the food equation, population growth, rising affluence, and the conversion of food into fuel for cars are combining to raise consumption by record amounts. On the supply side, extreme soil erosion, growing water shortages, and the earth’s rising temperature are making it more difficult to expand production."

"Food shortages undermined earlier civilizations. The Sumerians and Mayans are just two of the many early civilizations that declined apparently because they moved onto an agricultural path that was environmentally unsustainable ... We, too, are on such a path."

"The bottom line is that it is becoming much more difficult for the world’s farmers to keep up with the world’s rapidly growing demand for grain ... We are entering a time of chronic food scarcity, one that is leading to intense competition for control of land and water resources—in short, a new geopolitics of food."

Official Report of 01 Ogawa Cholera in Havana

Ministry of Public Health, Cuba - sld.cu - January 16, 2013

The outbreak of cholera (01 Ogawa Vibrio cholerae) in Havana is now being reported as under control.  Cuba has a strong public health system, which has traced the cholera outbreak to a single asymptomatic food vender.  In addition to rigorous epidemiological measures, the Ministry of Health has also stepped up health communication regarding hand-washing, and the use of sanitary measures regarding clean water and the cooking of food.

http://www.sld.cu/sitios/colera/verpost.php?blog=http://articulos.sld.cu/colera/&post_id=1587&c=521&tipo=2&idblog=178&p=1&n=dfp

Image: Health employees protest outside the Health Ministry in Athens against pay and budget cuts. Fewer resources for malaria treatment and mosquito control may be contributing to malaria's comeback in Greece. Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

npr.org - October 26th, 2012 - Michaeleen Doucleff

After a 40-year hiatus, malaria is returning to Greece.

Some 70 cases have been reported there this year, and at least 12 people appear to have been infected in the country. (The others picked up the disease elsewhere.)

That's a concern for health workers because it means malaria may now be endemic to Greece — and not just hitching a ride with travelers.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)