Economics

Scarcity of key material squeezes medical mask manufacturing

Thu, 2020-09-10 10:30 — mike kraft

Scarcity of key material squeezes medical mask manufacturing FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Rachel Spray is still grieving the loss of her fellow nurse who died after being exposed to the novel coronavirus at Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center. Now, as she... AP NEWS

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First Famines of Coronavirus Era Are at World’s Doorstep, U.N. Warns

Sun, 2020-09-06 11:03 — mike kraft

The first famines of the coronavirus era could soon hit four chronically food-deprived conflict areas — Yemen, South Sudan, northeast Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo — the top humanitarian official of the United Nations has warned.

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India coronavirus caseload crosses 4M, stretching resources

Sat, 2020-09-05 09:40 — mike kraft

India coronavirus caseload crosses 4M, stretching resources NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s coronavirus caseload surpassed 4 million on Saturday, deepening misery in the country's vast hinterlands, where surges have crippled the underfunded health care system.... AP NEWS

...The Indian economy has shrunk faster than any other major nation’s. As many as 200 million people could slip back into poverty...

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Trump Administration Will Redirect $62 Million Owed to the W.H.O.

Fri, 2020-09-04 17:39 — mike kraft

As the United States withdraws from membership in the World Health Organization, the Trump administration will redirect $62 million still owed for this year’s dues to other health-related causes also under United Nations auspices, State Department officials announced on Wednesday.

Most of the redirected money will go to children’s immunization and influenza surveillance, officials said. But the United States Agency for International Development will continue with plans to give $68 million to the W.H.O. to support its work in Libya and Syria, and on polio eradication in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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ANALYSIS: Solar Panel Prices have dropped sharply since 2016

Wed, 2020-09-02 18:50 — mike kraft

Solar Panel Prices Have Dropped Off Cliff & Sunk Into Ocean — Solar Panels 9× Cheaper Than In 2006 CleanTechnica

by Zachary Shahan

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Pandemic brings hard times for farmers, worsening hunger

Tue, 2020-09-01 09:57 — mike kraft

Pandemic brings hard times for farmers, worsening hunger The coronavirus pandemic has brought hard times for many farmers and has imperiled food security for many millions both in the cities and the countryside. United Nations experts are holding... AP NEWS

The coronavirus pandemic has brought hard times for many farmers and has imperiled food security for many millions both in the cities and the countryside.

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Companies test antibody drugs to treat, prevent COVID-19

Wed, 2020-08-12 10:15 — mike kraft

Companies test antibody drugs to treat, prevent COVID-19 With a coronavirus vaccine still months off, companies are rushing to test what may be the next best thing: drugs that deliver antibodies to fight the virus right away, without having to train the... AP NEWS

With a coronavirus vaccine still months off, companies are rushing to test what may be the next best thing: drugs that deliver antibodies to fight the virus right away, without having to train the immune system to make them.

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Zika Could End Up Costing Latin America and the Caribbean Up To $18 Billion, UN Reports Finds

Thu, 2017-04-06 19:05 — Kathy Gilbeaux

CLICK HERE - REPORT - A Socio-economic Impact Assessment of the Zika Virus in Latin America and the Caribbean: with a focus on Brazil, Colombia and Suriname

un.org

6 April 2017 – In addition to the impact on public health, the tangible impact of the Zika outbreak, such as on gross domestic product (GDP), could cost the Latin American and the Caribbean region as much as $18 billion between 2015 and 2017, a new United Nations report has revealed.

The report Socio-economic impact assessment of Zika virus in Latin America and the Caribbean, prepared by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), has a particular focus on Brazil, Colombia and Suriname – countries that first reported the outbreak in October-November 2015.

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After Bringing Cholera to Haiti, U.N. Can’t Raise Money to Fight It

Tue, 2017-03-21 02:22 — Kathy Gilbeaux

A clinic in Rendel, Haiti, was overflowing with cholera patients in October. The disease has killed nearly 10,000 people in Haiti since it was introduced there in 2010 by a United Nations peacekeeping force. Credit Meridith Kohut for The New York Times

nytimes.com - by Rick Gladstone - March 19, 2017

When the leader of the United Nations apologized to Haitians for the cholera epidemic that has ravaged their country for more than six years — caused by infected peacekeepers sent to protect them — he proclaimed a “moral responsibility” to make things right.

The apology, announced in December along with a $400 million strategy to combat the epidemic and “provide material assistance and support” for victims, amounted to a rare public act of contrition by the United Nations. Under its secretary general at the time, Ban Ki-moon, the organization had resisted any acceptance of blame for the epidemic, one of the worst cholera outbreaks in modern times.

Since then, however, the United Nations’ strategy to fight the epidemic, which it calls the “New Approach,” has failed to gain traction.

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David Nabarro: UN Fighting Cholera with 'Hands Tied Behind Our Backs'

Wed, 2016-11-16 20:44 — Kathy Gilbeaux

David Nabarro, United Nations secretary-general’s special adviser leading the cholera response in Haiti.
Photo by: Cia Pak / U.N.

devex.com - by Amy Lieberman - October 26, 2016

As it scrambles to ensure cholera doesn’t surge in Haiti the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, the United Nations is coming up short on funds.

A $120 million emergency flash appeal for relief and recovery work remains only 28 percent funded, now more than three weeks after the storm hit Haiti on Oct 4. Even more questions linger over how the U.N. will fund a planned $400 million Multi-Partner Trust Fund, half of which would go toward material compensation for victims of cholera and their communities. The fund is meant to complement U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s acceptance of responsibility for bringing cholera to Haiti following an earthquake in 2010.

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