Here are some of the articles we’re currently reading:
Monthly Archives: December 2009
Happy Holidays!
From all of us here at the Global Network, Seasons Greetings and Best Wishes for the New Year!!!
Holiday Reading: The Power of Educating Adolescent Girls
The newest report from the “Girls Count” series released by the Coalition for Adolescent Girls examines research focusing on girls in the developing world and demonstrates how improving their lives with better access to healthcare and education will lift communities out of poverty.
The Coalition for Adolescent Girls was founded in 2005 by the United Nations Foundation and the Nike Foundation and is currently comprised of over 30 leading international organizations including the Population Council and the International Women’s Health Coalition.
The “Girl’s Count”series calls for 10 specific actions:
- Give adolescent girls an officially recognized identification
- Collect data on adolescent girls and disaggregate it by age and gender to assess whether programs are reaching adolescent girls
- Increase funding for adolescent girls – and track what it achieves
- Expand opportunities for girls to attend secondary school
- Re-focus HIV/AIDS prevention strategies to focus on adolescent girls
- Re-orient health delivery systems to work for adolescent girls
- Economically empower adolescent girls by building and protecting their assets
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Build marketable skills by enhancing the relevance of educational curricula and developing after-school tutoring and mentoring programs.
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Make the law work for adolescent girls
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Equip adolescent girls to advocate for themselves and their communities
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Mobilize communities, families, men and boys to support adolescent girls
We’re definitely going to reading through this important report over the holidays. What other important global health/development reports and/or books should we be currently reading? Let us know!
Cameroon’s Innovative Partnership for the control of Parasitic Worms
“Together for a Cameroon Without Worms”
The prevalence of schistosomiasis and intestinal worms are a major public health problem in Cameroon. School-aged children are the most adversely affected by these debilitating diseases that are responsible for high morbidity rates, retarded growth, a reduction in cognitive growth, and vulnerability to other infections.
In an effort to combat and control these diseases, the government of Cameroon has adopted an inter-sector collaboration for the implementation of regular deworming activities in all Cameroonian schools. The Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Basic Education, and the Union of United Councils and Cities have teamed up to form the collaboration. This innovative tripartite agreement will capitalize the resources of each partner and include vital education and water & sanitation activities.
Already, the partnership has mobilized the resources from the Global Network, WHO, UNICEF, Children Without Worms, Johnson & Johnson and Merck KGaA, to launch the official national campaign for de-worming of school-age children in May 2009. The campaign targeted all 10 regions of Cameroon and a total of 4 million school age children in 13,000 schools.
The signing of the tripartite agreement by the Minister of Public, the Minister of Basic Education, and the President of the Union of United Councils and Cities of Cameroon
The campaign successfully dewormed a total of 5,957,122 children. In each district, directors of schools and health personnel were trained and educated and deworming materials were widely distributed. The children of Cameroon can now look towards healthier and more successful futures.