| May 2006
Development Assistance & Foreign Aid | Health | Humanitarian Issues |
H1 - Making a World of Difference through Development
Alliances
Runde, Dan
Public Manager, Winter 2005/2006 v34, #4, pp38-41
In the past three decades foreign aid changed from consisting
primarily of government funds to resources mainly composed of
funds other than U.S. government assistance. Currently, more than
80% of resources for the developing world coming from the U.S.
consist of investments made by a diverse group of nongovernmental
organizations. “In keeping with this shift in development assistance,
in which the private sector and civil society play larger roles,
USAID, the federal government's leading agency for foreign aid,
created the Global Development Alliance (GDA). The GDA initiative
welcomes partners, including private companies, as equals, taking
part not only in the implementation of development projects, but
also in their identification, design, and funding. These partnerships
unite the unique skills and resources of each partner and apply
them to problems that no one actor could solve alone.” This articles
outlines some of the “lessons learned” since the GDA was implemented
in 2001. Dan Runde is Director of the Office of Global Development
Alliances at the USAID. Fulltext
H2 - The Threat of Global Poverty
Rice, Susan E.
The National Interest, Spring 2006, #83, pp76-82
“When Americans see televised images of bone-thin children with
distended bellies, their humanitarian instincts take over. They
don't typically look at UNICEF footage and perceive a threat that
could destroy our way of life. Yet global poverty is not solely
a humanitarian concern. In real ways, over the long term, it can
threaten U.S. national security.” In this article Rice gives examples
for a strong correlation between poverty and terrorist activities.
She also points to security threats through the global spread
of diseases and through environmental degradation evident in poorer
parts of the world. Therefore, she argues, it is in the national
interest of the United States to increase foreign aid, not as
a benevolent gesture but as a strategy for achieving global and
national security. Susan E. Rice is a Senior Fellow at the
Brookings Institution and a former Assistant Secretary of State
for African Affairs. Fulltext
H3 - New Hope for Defeating Rotavirus
Glass, Roger I.
Scientific American, April 2006, v294, #4, pp46-55
“This article is a report on the rotavirus and drugs that are
being introduced to combat it. Rotavirus is the leading cause
of severe childhood diarrhea, a frequent cause of death in children
in the developing world. In January 2006, scientists reported
that two vaccines had proved successful in large clinical trials.
The rotavirus vaccines have been developed by pharmaceutical companies
GlaxoSmithKline and Merck. The World Health Organization and the
Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization are making rotavirus
inoculations a top priority.” Roger Glass is chief of the
Viral Gastroenteritis Section at the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention and adjunct professor of pediatrics and international
health at Emory University. Fulltext
H4 - The World Health Report 2006 - working together
for health
World Health Organization, April 2006, 237p.
“The World Health Report 2006 - Working together for health contains
an expert assessment of the current crisis in the global health
workforce and ambitious proposals to tackle it over the next ten
years, starting immediately. The report reveals an estimated shortage
of almost 4.3 million doctors, midwives, nurses and support workers
worldwide. The shortage is most severe in the poorest countries,
especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where health workers are most
needed. Focusing on all stages of the health workers' career lifespan
from entry to health training, to job recruitment through to retirement,
the report lays out a ten-year action plan in which countries
can build their health workforces, with the support of global
partners.” Fulltext
H5 - A Very Long Engagement
Katz, Marisa
New Republic, May 2006, v234, #18, pp20-25
“The article reports that U.S. policy towards Darfur has been
a long three years of "constructive engagement" that
values U.S. interests, oil politics and the war on terror over
humanitarian intervention. The article argues that the U.S. has
made a number of moves towards diplomacy, only to undermine them
with concessions to the government in Khartoum. Marisa Katz
is Assistant Editor for The New Republic. Fulltext
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