Decrease in Maternal and Child Mortality in Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, it used to be that one in five children wold die from preventable illnesses like pneumonia and diarrhea and one in 11 mothers would die from pregnancy related causes. Recent data released by the Afghan government reveals that maternal and child mortality has been reduced dramatically. Now, one in ten children and one in 50 mothers die due to preventable causes.

Thanks to organizations like Save the Children, more and more midwives are being trained. Four years ago, a province would typically have only four midwives for almost half a million people. With increased training provided by Save the Children, nearly 150 new midwives will deliver 500 new borns a year and in the process save thousands of mothers and babies.

-Akshika Patel


SOURCE: Save the Children 

UN Moving to Reduce Indoor Pollution in Afghanistan

With 95 percent of its 30million people burning wood and other solid fuels in their homes, Afghanistan is ranked among the top ten nations with the worst indoor pollution. Recently, the UN World Health Organization discovered that 5,400 Afghans die yearly from inhaling smoke due to indoor heating and cooking. Furthermore, the usage of dung and wood for fuel is placing pressure on already diminishing resources. The UN Environment Program (UNEP) revealed that 30 years from now, Afghani forests will no longer exist.

The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, a UN supported program, is pushing 100 million homes to adopt clean stoves and fuels by 2020. By bringing together local metal-smiths, engineers and environmental experts in Bamiyan province, this program has designed prototypes for clean cook stoves. These stoves will cut the estimated 1.6-1.8 million premature deaths each year caused by indoor emissions.

This year is the UN International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. Initiatives such as the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstove contribute to the universal achievement of access to modern energy services and renewable energy. By pursuing projects that focus on sustainable energy services, we may see these goals reached.

-Akshika Patel


SOURCE: UN News Centre

Senator Graham Stands to Protect International Affairs Aid

With our current financial crisis, it is clear that foreign aid is the first of many programs to go on the chopping block.  Who is to say that the financial problems in the U.S. will be alleviated if international aid gets axed completely?  One thing is certain, the small percentage of the federal budget that currently goes to foreign assistance has made a larger impact on the world’s poor than we realize. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a military lawyer and an Air Force colonel, is going full force in advocating for the protection of foreign aid, despite going toe to toe with all the cynics who believe that U.S. resources should be focused at home.  With his current position as senior Republican, Sen. Graham is doing what he can to stall funding cuts, but with our current economic situation, more Americans are reluctant to spend money abroad especially when some are doing all they can to simply make ends meet.  To top it off, members from his own political party demonstrate their clear displeasure in having any funds at all allocated to foreign assistance.  At the presidential debate in Las Vegas last week, many GOP candidates made arguments defacing international aid and how it must be cut.  “I’m very concern about the direction my party is taking.  I’m a Ronald Regan Republican.  I would like to shape worldly events rather than watch the world fall apart.  That means you have to be engaged.” 

Early this year, Sen. Graham moved to the Senate Appropriations Committee and became the top Republican on its foreign operations panel.  Sure, Americans are a bit hesitant about helping countries in the Middle East after Afghanistan and Iraq, but Sen. Graham strongly believes that directing U.S. aid to those places could yield huge dividends for the U.S.  It is also important to note that there is a connection between U.S. defense and foreign aid efforts abroad.  The foreign aid allocated to these poor countries will reduce terrorism and drug cartel involvements, and in turn will help strengthen our own national security.

Sen. Graham believes the U.S. needs to be doing more for its foreign counterparts.  As a senator in the conservative state of South Carolina, he knows that his work will unquestionably hinder him politically.  Yet, the risk that he is willing to take to sustain foreign aid will change the lives of millions.

“It is a tough sell, but you can be pennywise and pound-foolish.”

-Senator Lindsey Graham, (R-S.C.) 

-Georisa Chang

SOURCE: The State

Donation By Bill Gates And Abu Dhabi Prince To Vaccinate Children

Borgen Project: In order to vaccinate children in Afghanistan and Pakistan against Polio and other diseases, Bill Gates from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Sheik Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan will each donate $50 million. Both the donors said that two-thirds of their donations will fund a pair of vaccines against Pneumonia, Diphtheria, Whooping Cough and other ailments afflicting young children in Afghanistan. The rest of the fund will be given to World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF to provide Polio vaccines among Afghan and Pakistani children.

Gates recently told the Associated Press that eradicating Polio is his top priority, and that he is planning to announce a major donation to the effort in Davos, Switzerland on Friday.

-Nisha Noor

SOURCE: YAHOO NEWS

Food Aid Strategy To Feed Millions In Afghanistan

Over the last couple of months, the Government of Afghanistan has been working with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to develop a comprehensive plan for providing food aid to millions of Afghans who are suffering from severe hunger and food security problems. A committee consisting of WFP representives and Afghan government officials have been meeting in Kabul, where various technical working groups have been created to systematize colletive approaches to crucial food and hunger related issues. Some of the subjects include agricultural development, education, health, nutrition, economic development, and vocational skills training. The committee is focusing on planning and policy, and is acting as a way for the WFP to support the Afghan Government's food aid policies. The meetings in Kabul have proven to be very beneficial. A strategy intent on helping upwards of 7.3 million vulnerable Afghans each year, the "Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation," has been coordinated successfully, with plans on an effective implementation policy still being worked out. Officials from the WFP and Afghan Government have continually stressed how serious both parties are on improving food security and hunger problems in the country.

Another positive byproduct of these coordination efforts is an agreement last month for the WFP to buy a large quantity of wheat directly from Afghan farmers that will help feed 500,000 people for three months, which represents the largest local purchase ever by the agency. Agreements like this are designed to increase agricultural production and incomes in poor countries, as well as help cut down distribution time within countries.

- Brock McNairy

SOURCE: UN NEWS CENTER