In The News

The Administration’s Budget for Global Poverty and HIV/AIDS: How Do the Numbers Stack Up?

Lael Brainard February 24, 2003
The Bush Administration’s announcement of new funding for global poverty and HIV/AIDS has led to much rejoicing in many parts of the world, but it has also met with skepticism in some quarters. The Washington-based Brookings Institution offers an in-depth quantitative analysis of the offer and the establishment of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). The report summary presented here says...

Cases of New Bird Flu in Hong Kong Prompt Worldwide Alerts

Keith Bradsher February 22, 2003
Improvements in transportation have resulted in a physically interconnected world, but it is also now a world more susceptible to the spread of disease. The discovery of a new bird flu causing two human deaths in Hong Kong, although posing "no risk at the moment" has prompted the World Health Organization to alert health officials worldwide. – YaleGlobal

U.S. Delays Suing Europe over Ban on Modified Food

Elizabeth Becker February 13, 2003
After bouts of mad cow disease and foot and mouth disease, many Europeans prefer not to take a chance with genetically modified food. For the past 4 years, the European Union has placed a ban on genetically modified food, a restriction that the US claims could lead to starvation in the developing world. Although US agricultural industries are pushing for acceptance of genetically modified food,...

Behind Roses' Beauty, Poor and Ill Workers

Ginger Thompson February 13, 2003
In only five years Ecuadorean roses have become one of the most popular Valentine’s Day flowers on the international market. Born out of the anti-drug war in the US, which encouraged Central American farmers to convert to flowers rather than cocoa, Ecuador's flower industry now boasts 50,000 thousand jobs and salaries above minimum wage; the success has transformed a once impoverished...

Food Imports: Tough New Checks

February 5, 2003
Thailand’s announcement of more stringent inspections of food imports from the EU and other areas comes after the EU’s own announcement of stricter regulation against Thai food imports. Thai officials claim the new policy is not a retaliation against the EU, whose more rigorous inspections have caused Thai food exporters large financial losses. - YaleGlobal

No-Smoking Signs Spread Slowly Across Africa

Marc Lacey February 2, 2003
In the United States and Canada, restrictions on smoking and tobacco advertisements have been commonplace for years, but not so in Africa. In Uganda, British American Tobacco, a multinational corporation, provides thousands of jobs and is an important source of revenue in a struggling economy. Smoking is popular among Africans, but a few anti-smoking activists and lawyers are trying to change...

Gates Gives $200 Million to Aid Poor Nations

Lawrence K. Altman January 27, 2003
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is creating a new program to combat health problems in developing nations, including tuberculosis, malnutrition, and diarrhea. In an effort to divert funds from “rich-world” diseases and to invest in solutions to the problems that affect two-thirds of the world, the Gates Foundation is offering $200 million in competitive grants to scientists and health...