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In this issue: |
New climate accord is step forward, says UN head
New guidelines issued for fighting HIV/AIDS
One-third of Indians below poverty line
Empowering the disabled to make MDGs inclusive |
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Welcome
to Asia and the Pacific MDG Watch.
This fortnightly electronic newsletter brings to you news
and information on the progress of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) in Asia and the Pacific.
The MDGs are a global initiative taken by the world’s
governments to improve the lives of their people.
Enjoy reading and ... |
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A woman carries a globe during a march to the Bella Center, December 16, 2009
Photo credit: InvestigateWest/ Flickr
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Climate verdict
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‘United in purpose,
not in action,’ claimed
the UN Chief even as
he described the Copenhagen
Accord as a satisfactory
first step towards actions
that would create a
legally binding climate
pact next year.
Read more...
While India’s
shift in climate policy
gets a mixed response,
it is also panned for
protecting the interests
of Indian industry and
MNCs.
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December
1 is World AIDS Day
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Positive cure |
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New UN guidelines recommend an
early start to treatment, and
antiretroviral drugs for
HIV-positive mothers and their
infants while breastfeeding to
prevent transmission.
Read more...
To make
universal access to treatment a
reality,
the medical community
must
stop discriminating against
AIDS patients, writes S. Mohammad Afsar, ILO Technical Specialist
(HIV/AIDS), South Asia.
Read more...
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AIDS patients often face discrimination by the medical community
Photo credit: Flickr
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10 December is International Human Rights Day |
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In defense of dignity |
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More than half the population in
Philippines suffer involuntary
hunger and
abject poverty. It is
time to reclaim rights to food,
health, education and
decent jobs –
the right to lead lives of dignity,
writes Joel Saracho, National
Coordinator of the Global Call
against Poverty in Philippines.
Read more... |
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New line of poverty |
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Meanwhile a new report in India
using a cost-of-living index to
measure poverty finds over one-third
of its poor living below the poverty
line.
Read more... |
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December 3 is International Day of Persons with Disabilities
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Championing equal rights
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The UN Chief calls for the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to make MDGs disability-inclusive. One in every
ten people around the world suffers some form of disability, with 20% of them living in poverty in developing countries.
Read more... |
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News |
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Climate partners |
At the Copenhagen climate talks, the Nepal Prime Minister
calls for an alliance of
Himalayan mountain countries to
share knowledge and adaptation strategies. |
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Just 2 drops |
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Afghanistan tests a new bivalent oral polio
vaccine that protects young children against both
type 1 and 3 of the paralysing virus. |
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Bait |
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Lured by free cooking oil, poor parents in
Pakistan send their children to school, leading to
a rise in girls' attendance. |
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Meeting MDGs |
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Speakers at a national sharing meeting in the
Bangladesh capital demand local problems are
addressed in line with country specific targets to
achieve the MDGs. |
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Resources |
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Class interrupted
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Based on visits to 22 state-run schools in India’s
Bihar and Jharkhand states, Sabotaged Schooling, a
report released by Human Rights Watch, details how
the attacks by Maoists rebels on schools and their
occupation by the security forces are disrupting
education in the two states. |
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Water adaptation |
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The ICIMOD report Local Responses to Too Much or
Too Little Water in the Greater Himalayan Region
documents adaptation strategies by communities to
climate change induced water constraints and
hazards in the Himalayan region. For people in the
Hindu Kush-Himalayas, adapting to increased risk
of severe floods and droughts are among the new
climatic realities. |
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This newsletter is brought to you by OWSA, in
partnership with the UN Millennium Campaign.
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