http://www.oneworld.net/article/archive/58 en_GB http://tv.oneworld.net/article/view/160448/1/58 http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160423/1/58 Five days after Cyclone Nargis hit parts of Myanmar, international aid has begun to arrive. Latest estimates claim over 22,000 people have perished and twice as many gone missing, leaving a million people homeless. The Irrawaddy delta still remains cut off from the world. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160362/1/58 Hot weather and lack of safe drinking water have led to a severe spate in diarrohea cases in Bangladesh. According to health experts, poverty, rising food prices and low levels of awareness on sanitation are driving people to eat cheap contaminated food. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160325/1/58 The US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 has left an indelible impact on country’s health and environment. Scientists believe that rising incidence of diseases and birth defects in Afghan children are attributed to the weapons used by the American forces containing depleted uranium. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160306/1/58 For N.Nandadevi, a dedicated health activist in Manipur in north-eastern India, mere counseling on HIV/AIDS is not enough to tackle the fatal disease. A believer in pragmatic solutions, she distributes disposable syringes among drug users to prevent transmission through shared needles. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160301/1/58 The vulture population in India has come down by 99.9% since 1992, says a new survey. A drug named diclofenac, used in treating sick cattle, is said to be the main culprit. If strict measure are not taken they are likely to disappear within a decade. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/160125/1/58 On World Malaria Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is due to announce a global initiative to fight against the vector-borne disease that kills a million people around the world every year. In India, malaria is spreading to newer areas owing largely to a changing climate. http://africa.oneworld.net/article/view/160121/1/58 Today, on World Malaria Day, 3,000 children will die of malaria. This year, it will kill more than one million people. When faced with such disastrous statistics, it can be easy for us to feel overwhelmed – to see malaria as another problem that is too big and too complex. The reality is different: malaria is 100 per cent preventable. But action must be taken before the mosquito bites. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159934/1/58 Figures compiled by WaterAid disprove the government's claims of providing safe drinking water to over 90% of population. India has yet to do more to reach the Millennium Development Goals in this sector as millions continue to suffer from contaminated water-borne diseases. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159917/1/58 Female community health workers are saving young lives in the country by providing key services and interventions to pregnant women and children. While Nepal’s success in reducing child mortality puts it on track to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4, neonatal mortality remains a challenge with over 50% less than one month old babies dying. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159725/1/58 Indian Institute of Health Management Research, in collaboration with WHO and UNFPA, is organising a training course on ‘Programming for HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health of Young People in South and South-East Asia’ in Jaipur, India. The programme, aimed at strengthening management capabilities, addresses the concerns of younger generation about the disease. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159668/1/58 Climate change can cause rise in malaria and diarrhea, the global killers of children. Fall in crop productivity and water availability will also severely impact the lives of women and children, warned UNICEF on the occasion of World Health Day 2008. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159541/1/58 Increasing resistance to antibiotic drugs around the world has many factors from overuse to poor diagnostic capability to faulty prescribing practices to abundance of fake drugs. Authorities, doctors and patients all have a role to play in fighting it, says Jia Hepeng. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159369/1/58 Asia may have 8 million more new cases of HIV/AIDS by 2020, according to a new report by the independent Commission on AIDS in Asia. The report, presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, is the first ever comprehensive study in the region and calls for immediate priority interventions. http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/159365/1/58 Social stigmas attached to leprosy continue unabated in India, home to over 50% of the world's leprosy patients. Ostracised by society and lacking government support, it is ghettos like the Village of Hope in Delhi that offer shelter, companionship and dignity to those afflicted by the disease, writes Aditi Rao.