Significant progress has been made in delivering life saving malaria nets and treatments over the past few years, but the coverage of malaria programmes needs to be stepped up drastically in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a report released today by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The World Malaria Report 2009 found that the increase in international funding commitments (US$ 1.7 billion in 2009 compared to US$ 730 million in 2006) had allowed a dramatic scale up of malaria control interventions in several countries, along with measurable reductions in malaria burden. However, the amounts available still fall short of the US$ 5 billion required annually to ensure high coverage and maximal impact worldwide.
The WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, described the findings in the report as cause for cautious optimism and said "While much remains to be done, the data presented here clearly suggest that the tremendous increase in funding for malaria control is resulting in the rapid scale up of today's control tools. This, in turn, is having a profound effect on health - especially the health of children in sub-Saharan Africa. In a nutshell, development aid for health is working."
The report found that more life-saving malaria nets and treatments were delivered in 2007 and 2008 compared to 2006.
More African households (31%) own at least one insecticide-treated net (ITN), and more children under 5 years of age used an ITN in 2008 (24%) compared to previous years. These averages are affected by low ITN ownership in several large African countries for which resources for scale-up are only now being made available. Household ITN ownership reached more than 50% in 13 of the 35 highest burden African countries.
Use of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) is increasing but remains low in most African countries with fewer than 15% of children with fever receiving an ACT.
More than one-third of the 108 malarious countries (9 African countries and 29 outside of Africa) documented reductions in malaria cases of more than 50% in 2008 compared to 2000.
Where scale-up of proven interventions has occurred, and surveillance systems are functioning, remarkable impact has been documented:
In countries and areas that have achieved high coverage with bed nets and treatment programmes (e.g. Eritrea, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Zambia and Zanzibar, the United Republic of Tanzania) recorded cases and deaths due to malaria have fallen by 50% (target set by World Health Assembly for 2010) suggesting that MDG target for malaria can be achieved if there is adequate coverage of key interventions.
Large decreases in malaria cases and deaths have been mirrored by steep declines in all-cause deaths among children less than 5 years of age suggesting that intensive efforts at malaria control could help many African countries to reach, by 2015, a two-thirds reduction in child mortality as set forth in the MDGs.
High levels of external assistance were shown to be linked to decreases in malaria incidence. However, many external funds are concentrated on smaller countries with lower disease burdens. More attention needs to be given to ensuring success in large countries that account for most malaria cases and deaths.
Parasite resistance to anti-malarial medicines and mosquito resistance to insecticides are major threats to achieving global malaria control. Confirmation of artemisinin resistance was reported in 2009, and WHO is leading a major resistance containment effort in South East Asia. Key elements in the global strategy to prevent the spread of drug resistance include: 1) Rapidly reducing the spread of malaria using malaria preventive tools 2) ensuring that all malaria infections are correctly diagnosed, effectively treated and followed-up to ensure that they do not spread the disease to others 3) halting the marketing and use of oral artemisinin monotherapies and importantly, 4) carefully monitoring the efficacy of medicines to detect early evidence of resistance.
The report noted that there was urgent need for the global community to completely fund the Global Malaria Action Plan in order to sustain early success and achieve the 2015 MDGs. The African Region had the largest increase in funding of all regions, led by investments by the Global Fund, the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative, and other agencies.
The success of malaria control efforts will be in reducing the burden of malaria and improving child survival. Investing in malaria control is not only helping the world to reach the MDGs, but is also helping to build health systems that will ensure that these development gains are sustained.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Oncologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to Chair International Childhood Cancer Organization
Will Lead Children's Oncology Group -- Collaborative Organization in Pediatric Cancer
Peter C. Adamson, M.D., a pediatric oncologist and leading scientist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, has been selected to lead the Children's Oncology Group (COG) in its efforts to find cures for children with cancer.
An internationally recognized leader in pediatric cancer drug development, Dr. Adamson will assume his new role with COG on Jan. 1, 2010. He was elected by principal investigators of more than 200 COG sites. COG unites more than 5,000 experts in childhood cancer at leading children's hospitals, universities, and cancer centers across North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe in the fight against childhood cancer.
Dr. Adamson, who came to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 1999 from the National Cancer Institute, is the director of Clinical and Translational Research and chief of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Children's Hospital. He also is a professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He will remain on the staff of Children's Hospital and on the Penn faculty while serving as COG chair.
Emerging research shows that even the more common childhood cancers are actually a mix of different diseases, each potentially requiring a different specific therapy. Creating such disease-targeted therapies for children with cancer requires a better pathway for moving from the bench to the bedside, which Dr. Adamson will lead through expanding COG's role at Children's Hospital and fostering new and enhanced collaborations with COG sites throughout the world.
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. www.chop.edu
The Cancer Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's large basic and clinical research programs are particularly strong in pediatric neuro-oncology, neuroblastoma, leukemia and lymphoma, and sarcomas.
Physicians at Children's Hospital have had pioneering roles in developing international standards for diagnosing and treating neuroblastoma, and in developing programs for survivors of childhood cancer.
Peter C. Adamson, M.D., a pediatric oncologist and leading scientist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, has been selected to lead the Children's Oncology Group (COG) in its efforts to find cures for children with cancer.
An internationally recognized leader in pediatric cancer drug development, Dr. Adamson will assume his new role with COG on Jan. 1, 2010. He was elected by principal investigators of more than 200 COG sites. COG unites more than 5,000 experts in childhood cancer at leading children's hospitals, universities, and cancer centers across North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe in the fight against childhood cancer.
Dr. Adamson, who came to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 1999 from the National Cancer Institute, is the director of Clinical and Translational Research and chief of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Children's Hospital. He also is a professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He will remain on the staff of Children's Hospital and on the Penn faculty while serving as COG chair.
Emerging research shows that even the more common childhood cancers are actually a mix of different diseases, each potentially requiring a different specific therapy. Creating such disease-targeted therapies for children with cancer requires a better pathway for moving from the bench to the bedside, which Dr. Adamson will lead through expanding COG's role at Children's Hospital and fostering new and enhanced collaborations with COG sites throughout the world.
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. www.chop.edu
The Cancer Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's large basic and clinical research programs are particularly strong in pediatric neuro-oncology, neuroblastoma, leukemia and lymphoma, and sarcomas.
Physicians at Children's Hospital have had pioneering roles in developing international standards for diagnosing and treating neuroblastoma, and in developing programs for survivors of childhood cancer.
Afghanistan first in world to use new vaccine against polio Critical step as global eradication effort faces entrenched challenges
A new vaccine against polio will be used for the first time today in polio immunization campaigns in Afghanistan. The bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV), recommended by the Advisory Committee on Poliomyelitis Eradication, the global technical advisory body of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative as a critical tool to eradicate polio, can provide the optimal concurrent protection needed by young children against both surviving serotypes (types 1 and 3) of the paralysing virus. This will vastly simplify the logistics of vaccination in the conflict-affected parts of this country. This sub-national immunization campaign, from 15-17 December, will deliver bOPV to 2.8 million children under five in the Southern, South-Eastern and Eastern Regions of Afghanistan. Of the three wild polioviruses (known as types 1, 2 and 3), type 2 has not been seen anywhere in the world since 1999. This achievement led to the development of monovalent vaccines, which provide protection against a single type with greater efficacy than the traditional trivalent vaccine. To determine whether a bivalent vaccine could effectively protect children living in areas where both types circulate, a clinical field trial completed in June 2009 compared bOPV with the existing vaccines. For both types 1 and 3 polio, bOPV was found to be at least 30% more effective than the trivalent vaccine and almost as good as the monovalent vaccines, yet in a package that could deliver both at once.
The bOPV allows countries to simplify vaccine logistics and to optimize protection using a mix of the available polio vaccines according to local needs. In southern Afghanistan, where access to children can be limited depending on the security situation, using bOPV helps maximise the impact of each contact with a child.
Most of Afghanistan is polio-free: 28 out of the 31 children paralysed by polio this year come from 13 highly insecure districts (of 329 districts in the country). In 2009, polio eradication efforts in Afghanistan have focused on improving operations and creating a safe environment for vaccination teams. Nongovernmental agencies have been contracted and local leaders involved to ensure that parties in conflict are approached, safe passage for vaccinators assured and children reached. Due to such preparations and strengthened supervision and staffing, the proportion of the nearly 1.2 million children under five years old in the Southern Region who could not be reached was reduced from more than 20% in early 2009, down to 5% during the July and September 2009 campaigns. The availability of bOPV multiplies the effect of such improvements. However, in the 13 highest-risk districts of Kandahar and Helmand provinces in the Southern Region, the proportion of children who are still unimmunized is well above 20% – and more than 60% in some areas.
Four countries in the world have never stopped polio transmission – Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. Types 1 and 3 polio circulate in limited parts of all these countries, and the others will follow Afghanistan's lead in using bOPV during the coming months, marking the adoption of a major new tool in the international effort to eradicate polio. While the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a public-private partnership leading the effort, has reduced the incidence of polio by more than 99% (from an estimated 1000 children affected daily in 1988 to 1483 children in all of 2009 to date) polio still has a foothold in the four endemic countries. The consequences are severe beyond those areas: 16 previously polio-free countries are currently suffering outbreaks following importations of the virus; in four of these, polio transmission has lasted more than a year.
The availability of bOPV is part of a range of new and area-specific tactics in 2009 to reach eradication more quickly. The swift production of the vaccine was the result of extraordinary collaboration between the World Health Organization, UNICEF, vaccine manufacturers and regulatory agencies.
The vaccination campaign in Afghanistan is financed by the Government of Canada. Canada, which assumes presidency of the G8 in 2010, first placed polio on the group's agenda when it last held the presidency in 2002. The G8 is the single-largest donor bloc to polio eradication.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is spearheaded by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF.
The bOPV allows countries to simplify vaccine logistics and to optimize protection using a mix of the available polio vaccines according to local needs. In southern Afghanistan, where access to children can be limited depending on the security situation, using bOPV helps maximise the impact of each contact with a child.
Most of Afghanistan is polio-free: 28 out of the 31 children paralysed by polio this year come from 13 highly insecure districts (of 329 districts in the country). In 2009, polio eradication efforts in Afghanistan have focused on improving operations and creating a safe environment for vaccination teams. Nongovernmental agencies have been contracted and local leaders involved to ensure that parties in conflict are approached, safe passage for vaccinators assured and children reached. Due to such preparations and strengthened supervision and staffing, the proportion of the nearly 1.2 million children under five years old in the Southern Region who could not be reached was reduced from more than 20% in early 2009, down to 5% during the July and September 2009 campaigns. The availability of bOPV multiplies the effect of such improvements. However, in the 13 highest-risk districts of Kandahar and Helmand provinces in the Southern Region, the proportion of children who are still unimmunized is well above 20% – and more than 60% in some areas.
Four countries in the world have never stopped polio transmission – Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. Types 1 and 3 polio circulate in limited parts of all these countries, and the others will follow Afghanistan's lead in using bOPV during the coming months, marking the adoption of a major new tool in the international effort to eradicate polio. While the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a public-private partnership leading the effort, has reduced the incidence of polio by more than 99% (from an estimated 1000 children affected daily in 1988 to 1483 children in all of 2009 to date) polio still has a foothold in the four endemic countries. The consequences are severe beyond those areas: 16 previously polio-free countries are currently suffering outbreaks following importations of the virus; in four of these, polio transmission has lasted more than a year.
The availability of bOPV is part of a range of new and area-specific tactics in 2009 to reach eradication more quickly. The swift production of the vaccine was the result of extraordinary collaboration between the World Health Organization, UNICEF, vaccine manufacturers and regulatory agencies.
The vaccination campaign in Afghanistan is financed by the Government of Canada. Canada, which assumes presidency of the G8 in 2010, first placed polio on the group's agenda when it last held the presidency in 2002. The G8 is the single-largest donor bloc to polio eradication.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is spearheaded by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
International Diabetes Federation Drives Global Action Ahead of World Diabetes Day-November 14
November sees global celebrations to mark Diabetes Awareness Month
In many countries, November is diabetes awareness month, with November 14 - World Diabetes Day - the most significant date on the diabetes calendar.
The need to increase diabetes awareness grows ever year with the increasing impact of the disease worldwide. The latest data published by IDF in the 4th Edition of the Diabetes Atlas, show that 285 million people worldwide now live with diabetes. IDF predicts that, the total number will exceed 435 million in 2030(i) if the current rate of growth continues unchecked.
Ahead of World Diabetes Day, IDF President Professor Jean Claude Mbanya called for increased health promotion and political action in the face of the epidemic."Diabetes is claiming four million lives each year," he said. "It is ravaging communities and threatening economies. We must improve care and stop the many millions at risk from developing the disease. With a growing cost of over 376 billion dollars a year, either we make healthy life choices available and affordable now, or pay billions more tomorrow."
World Diabetes Day around the globe
Celebrated every year, World Diabetes Day is a campaign led by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and its more than 200 member associations in over 160 countries and territories. Created by IDF and the World Health Organization in 1991, World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2007 thanks to a UN resolution that calls on all member states to organize events to mark the day.
This year sees the first of a five-year campaign that addresses the growing need for diabetes education and prevention programmes to tackle diabetes and its life-threatening complications. The World Diabetes Day campaign aims to establish access to diabetes education as a right for all people with diabetes, to promote greater awareness of the risk factors and warning signs of diabetes, and encourage best-practice sharing in diabetes prevention.
The International Diabetes Federation is calling on all countries to mark World Diabetes Day and increase diabetes awareness by lighting monuments around the world in blue - the colour of the blue circle, the global symbol for diabetes. More than 400 monuments and iconic buildings have already confirmed participation on November 14. They include: Table Mountain in South Africa, the London Eye in the United Kingdom, the Burj al Arab in the United Arab Emirates, Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, the Hofburg in Austria, the Alamo in the USA and Tokyo Tower in Japan. Across Japan close to 60 monuments will light in blue; 82 will light in Argentina, 34 in Kazakhstan and 21 in the USA.
In addition to the lightings, hundreds of events will take place worldwide to mark the day from individual acts of celebration and community-based activities, all the way up to regional events such as the Pan-African meeting in Mauritius that will see the launch of an African Declaration on diabetes.
The World Diabetes Day campaign can be followed online at www.worlddiabetesday.org; www.twitter.com/wdd; Facebook-http://tinyurl.com/o7o6kf and www.youtube.com/worlddiabetesday.
Note to Editors
About IDF
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is an umbrella organization of 212 member associations in than 163 countries and territories, representing over 285 million people with diabetes, their families, and their healthcare providers. The mission of IDF is to promote diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide. Its main activities include education for people with diabetes and healthcare professionals, public awareness campaigns and the promotion and exchange of information. IDF is a non-governmental organization in official relations with WHO and associated to the United Nations' Department of Public Information. For more information, please visit www.idf.org and follow us at twitter.com/IntDiabetesFed
About World Diabetes Day
World Diabetes Day is celebrated on 14 November, a date chosen to mark the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, one of the pioneers in diabetes research. An official United Nation's Day, World Diabetes Day is represented by the blue circle logo that is the global symbol of diabetes. The World Diabetes Day campaign is supported by 14 official partners: Abbott Diabetes Care, AstraZeneca, Boston Scientific, Bristol-Myers Squibb, LifeScan, Eli Lilly, Medtronic, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi Aventis and Takeda.
(i)IDF Diabetes Atlas 4th Edition, International Diabetes Federation, 2009. www.diabetesatlas.org
In many countries, November is diabetes awareness month, with November 14 - World Diabetes Day - the most significant date on the diabetes calendar.
The need to increase diabetes awareness grows ever year with the increasing impact of the disease worldwide. The latest data published by IDF in the 4th Edition of the Diabetes Atlas, show that 285 million people worldwide now live with diabetes. IDF predicts that, the total number will exceed 435 million in 2030(i) if the current rate of growth continues unchecked.
Ahead of World Diabetes Day, IDF President Professor Jean Claude Mbanya called for increased health promotion and political action in the face of the epidemic."Diabetes is claiming four million lives each year," he said. "It is ravaging communities and threatening economies. We must improve care and stop the many millions at risk from developing the disease. With a growing cost of over 376 billion dollars a year, either we make healthy life choices available and affordable now, or pay billions more tomorrow."
World Diabetes Day around the globe
Celebrated every year, World Diabetes Day is a campaign led by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and its more than 200 member associations in over 160 countries and territories. Created by IDF and the World Health Organization in 1991, World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2007 thanks to a UN resolution that calls on all member states to organize events to mark the day.
This year sees the first of a five-year campaign that addresses the growing need for diabetes education and prevention programmes to tackle diabetes and its life-threatening complications. The World Diabetes Day campaign aims to establish access to diabetes education as a right for all people with diabetes, to promote greater awareness of the risk factors and warning signs of diabetes, and encourage best-practice sharing in diabetes prevention.
The International Diabetes Federation is calling on all countries to mark World Diabetes Day and increase diabetes awareness by lighting monuments around the world in blue - the colour of the blue circle, the global symbol for diabetes. More than 400 monuments and iconic buildings have already confirmed participation on November 14. They include: Table Mountain in South Africa, the London Eye in the United Kingdom, the Burj al Arab in the United Arab Emirates, Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, the Hofburg in Austria, the Alamo in the USA and Tokyo Tower in Japan. Across Japan close to 60 monuments will light in blue; 82 will light in Argentina, 34 in Kazakhstan and 21 in the USA.
In addition to the lightings, hundreds of events will take place worldwide to mark the day from individual acts of celebration and community-based activities, all the way up to regional events such as the Pan-African meeting in Mauritius that will see the launch of an African Declaration on diabetes.
The World Diabetes Day campaign can be followed online at www.worlddiabetesday.org; www.twitter.com/wdd; Facebook-http://tinyurl.com/o7o6kf and www.youtube.com/worlddiabetesday.
Note to Editors
About IDF
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is an umbrella organization of 212 member associations in than 163 countries and territories, representing over 285 million people with diabetes, their families, and their healthcare providers. The mission of IDF is to promote diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide. Its main activities include education for people with diabetes and healthcare professionals, public awareness campaigns and the promotion and exchange of information. IDF is a non-governmental organization in official relations with WHO and associated to the United Nations' Department of Public Information. For more information, please visit www.idf.org and follow us at twitter.com/IntDiabetesFed
About World Diabetes Day
World Diabetes Day is celebrated on 14 November, a date chosen to mark the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, one of the pioneers in diabetes research. An official United Nation's Day, World Diabetes Day is represented by the blue circle logo that is the global symbol of diabetes. The World Diabetes Day campaign is supported by 14 official partners: Abbott Diabetes Care, AstraZeneca, Boston Scientific, Bristol-Myers Squibb, LifeScan, Eli Lilly, Medtronic, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi Aventis and Takeda.
(i)IDF Diabetes Atlas 4th Edition, International Diabetes Federation, 2009. www.diabetesatlas.org
Protect Your Child Against Pneumonia – the Leading Cause of Death in Children
World Pneumonia Day – 2 November 2009
Up to 61 million children under the age of five in South East Asia are expected to develop pneumonia over the next year[1].
Pneumonia kills more children than any other illness – more than aids, malaria and measles combined[2]. Alarming statistics show that one child dies from pneumonia every 15 seconds. 5,500 children every day. Two million children every year[3].
World Pneumonia Day (November 2, 2009) recognizes the millions of deaths caused by pneumonia and encourages parents across the world to take action to overcome the impact of this preventable disease.
The leading cause of pneumonia deaths in children is pneumococcal disease[4]. Pneumococcal disease is also a major cause of meningitis and sepsis (blood poisoning)[4]. Vaccination is the most effective way to ensure children are protected from this serious disease.
The Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMO) is a global voice for the organisations and patient groups which continue to be formed to raise awareness about meningitis and sepsis and provide support for those affected by the devastating diseases.
As pneumonia and meningitis are serious health concerns for children, CoMO members continue to work within communities to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of disease and advocate early detection and prevention of disease via national immunisation programmes.
It has been estimated that more than one million lives could be saved each year if both prevention and treatment interventions for pneumonia were implemented worldwide[5].
The WHO has recommended the priority inclusion of pneumococcal disease vaccine, PCV7, in national childhood immunisations worldwide since 2007[6]."Since the introduction of PCV7 to infant immunisation schedules in the United States, there has been a 65 percent decline in hospital admissions for pneumococcal pneumonia for children younger than two[7]." said Professor Lulu Bravo, Philippine Foundation for Vaccination and CoMO member who is participating in the World Pneumonia Day Summit in New York.
"In addition to vaccination, parents can proactively manage flu like symptoms in their children to recognise and help prevent the onset of more serious illnesses such as pneumonia and meningitis. It's important that families remain as healthy as possible to fight off illness, particularly in light of recent developments in infections like the swine flu (H1N1)," said Professor Bravo.
"Enough restful sleep and drinking plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration is essential in preventing more serious illness," said Professor Bravo. According to Mr Bruce Langoulant, President of CoMO, "It is important that parent are doing everything they can to minimise the illness in their families".
Below is a checklist which parents can use to reduce illness and protect against serious infection[8].
* Ensure your children drink plenty of fluids to help thin mucus and prevent dehydration. Provide your baby with water between feeds.
* Cover nose blowing, coughing and sneezing with a tissue and dispose of used tissues carefully.
* Wash hands with soap regularly, especially before cooking or eating and after blowing nose.
* Wash children’s dummies and toys regularly.
* Avoid sharing utensils used for eating and drinking.
* Eat a healthy, balanced diet.
* Ensure children are kept away from cigarette smoke – it can make symptoms worse.
For more information, parents are encouraged to speak to their doctor.
Interviews are available with:
Mr Bruce Langoulant
President, Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMO)
Dr Lulu Bravo
Philippine Foundation for Vaccination
For further information or to coordinate interviews, please contact:
Andrea Brady – andreabrady01@gmail.com or +64 212 545 324.
About CoMO:
The Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMO) was established in 2004 to be a global voice for the organisations and patient groups which continue to be formed to raise awareness about meningitis and septicaemia (blood poisoning) and to ensure support is available for those affected. CoMO is now comprised of
26 meningitis and children's health organisations and 7 individual advocates from around the world and is working to strengthen its network of families and healthcare professionals within the Asia Pacific region.
For more information please visit: www.comoonline.org
References:
[1] Rudan l, Boschi-Pinto C, Biloglav Z, Mulholland K & Campbell H.
Epidemiology and etiology of childhood pneumonia. Bulletin of the World Health
Organization 2008; 86:408-416. Accessed 16 October 2209
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/5/07-048769.pdf
[2] World Health Organization, Pneumonia: the forgotten killer of children,
2006. Accessed 13 August 2009
http://www.who.int/child_adolescent_health/documents/9280640489/en/
[3] PneumoADIP, Child Death and Disability: Pneumococcal disease and
pneumonia, Child Morbidity and Mortality, 2009. Accessed 16 October 2009
http://www.preventpneumo.org/diseases/child_morbidity_and_mortality/index.cfm
[4] PneumoADIP, Serious pneumococcal infections are a major global health
problem and are vaccine preventable, Fact Sheet: Pneumococcal Disease, 2009.
Accessed 16 October 2009
http://www.pneumoadip.org/resources/factsheets/pneumococcal.cfm
[5] Unicef, Pneumonia, Pneumonia kills more children worldwide than any
other single cause, 6 May 2008. Accessed 15 October 2009
http://www.unicef.org/health/index_43828.html
[6] World Health Organization. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for childhood
immunization, March 2007- WHO position paper. Wkly Epidemiol Record 2007;12:
93-104 Accessed 13 October 2009
http://www.who.int/immunization/wer8212pneumococcus_child_Mar07_position_paper.
pdf
[7] Grijalva, CG MD. Effectiveness of PCV7 in Pneumonia: The United States
xperience. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA,
2009.
[8] Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Pharmacy Self Care Health
Information, Colds and Flu, 2009.
Up to 61 million children under the age of five in South East Asia are expected to develop pneumonia over the next year[1].
Pneumonia kills more children than any other illness – more than aids, malaria and measles combined[2]. Alarming statistics show that one child dies from pneumonia every 15 seconds. 5,500 children every day. Two million children every year[3].
World Pneumonia Day (November 2, 2009) recognizes the millions of deaths caused by pneumonia and encourages parents across the world to take action to overcome the impact of this preventable disease.
The leading cause of pneumonia deaths in children is pneumococcal disease[4]. Pneumococcal disease is also a major cause of meningitis and sepsis (blood poisoning)[4]. Vaccination is the most effective way to ensure children are protected from this serious disease.
The Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMO) is a global voice for the organisations and patient groups which continue to be formed to raise awareness about meningitis and sepsis and provide support for those affected by the devastating diseases.
As pneumonia and meningitis are serious health concerns for children, CoMO members continue to work within communities to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of disease and advocate early detection and prevention of disease via national immunisation programmes.
It has been estimated that more than one million lives could be saved each year if both prevention and treatment interventions for pneumonia were implemented worldwide[5].
The WHO has recommended the priority inclusion of pneumococcal disease vaccine, PCV7, in national childhood immunisations worldwide since 2007[6]."Since the introduction of PCV7 to infant immunisation schedules in the United States, there has been a 65 percent decline in hospital admissions for pneumococcal pneumonia for children younger than two[7]." said Professor Lulu Bravo, Philippine Foundation for Vaccination and CoMO member who is participating in the World Pneumonia Day Summit in New York.
"In addition to vaccination, parents can proactively manage flu like symptoms in their children to recognise and help prevent the onset of more serious illnesses such as pneumonia and meningitis. It's important that families remain as healthy as possible to fight off illness, particularly in light of recent developments in infections like the swine flu (H1N1)," said Professor Bravo.
"Enough restful sleep and drinking plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration is essential in preventing more serious illness," said Professor Bravo. According to Mr Bruce Langoulant, President of CoMO, "It is important that parent are doing everything they can to minimise the illness in their families".
Below is a checklist which parents can use to reduce illness and protect against serious infection[8].
* Ensure your children drink plenty of fluids to help thin mucus and prevent dehydration. Provide your baby with water between feeds.
* Cover nose blowing, coughing and sneezing with a tissue and dispose of used tissues carefully.
* Wash hands with soap regularly, especially before cooking or eating and after blowing nose.
* Wash children’s dummies and toys regularly.
* Avoid sharing utensils used for eating and drinking.
* Eat a healthy, balanced diet.
* Ensure children are kept away from cigarette smoke – it can make symptoms worse.
For more information, parents are encouraged to speak to their doctor.
Interviews are available with:
Mr Bruce Langoulant
President, Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMO)
Dr Lulu Bravo
Philippine Foundation for Vaccination
For further information or to coordinate interviews, please contact:
Andrea Brady – andreabrady01@gmail.com or +64 212 545 324.
About CoMO:
The Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMO) was established in 2004 to be a global voice for the organisations and patient groups which continue to be formed to raise awareness about meningitis and septicaemia (blood poisoning) and to ensure support is available for those affected. CoMO is now comprised of
26 meningitis and children's health organisations and 7 individual advocates from around the world and is working to strengthen its network of families and healthcare professionals within the Asia Pacific region.
For more information please visit: www.comoonline.org
References:
[1] Rudan l, Boschi-Pinto C, Biloglav Z, Mulholland K & Campbell H.
Epidemiology and etiology of childhood pneumonia. Bulletin of the World Health
Organization 2008; 86:408-416. Accessed 16 October 2209
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/5/07-048769.pdf
[2] World Health Organization, Pneumonia: the forgotten killer of children,
2006. Accessed 13 August 2009
http://www.who.int/child_adolescent_health/documents/9280640489/en/
[3] PneumoADIP, Child Death and Disability: Pneumococcal disease and
pneumonia, Child Morbidity and Mortality, 2009. Accessed 16 October 2009
http://www.preventpneumo.org/diseases/child_morbidity_and_mortality/index.cfm
[4] PneumoADIP, Serious pneumococcal infections are a major global health
problem and are vaccine preventable, Fact Sheet: Pneumococcal Disease, 2009.
Accessed 16 October 2009
http://www.pneumoadip.org/resources/factsheets/pneumococcal.cfm
[5] Unicef, Pneumonia, Pneumonia kills more children worldwide than any
other single cause, 6 May 2008. Accessed 15 October 2009
http://www.unicef.org/health/index_43828.html
[6] World Health Organization. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for childhood
immunization, March 2007- WHO position paper. Wkly Epidemiol Record 2007;12:
93-104 Accessed 13 October 2009
http://www.who.int/immunization/wer8212pneumococcus_child_Mar07_position_paper.
[7] Grijalva, CG MD. Effectiveness of PCV7 in Pneumonia: The United States
xperience. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA,
2009.
[8] Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Pharmacy Self Care Health
Information, Colds and Flu, 2009.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
How the rice pledging scheme is backfiring on Thai farmers
The government rice pledging scheme, in place for six years and paying higher than market prices,has encouraged farmers to plant rice varieties with big yields. There has been no emphasis on quality. The quality of Thai rice has thus deteriorated and foreign buyers have reduced their purchases, notes a Thai Rath writer.Thai rice exports have fallen 30% over the six years to a global market share of 22% while Vietnam has seen its exports rise 56% to capture a 20% global share,becoming the second biggest rice exporter in the world.
Another adverse effect of the rice pledging scheme is that some rice traders are importing cheaper rice from neighbouring countries such as Burma and Cambodia and selling it to the gov-INernment under the pledging scheme,reaping double benefits. The result of this corrupt practice is many farmers in Burma and Cambodia have expanded production for export to Thailand to be sold to the government.
The rice pledging scheme not only encourages the planting of lower quality rice by Thai farmers but also helps farmers in neighbouring countries sell their produce in Thailand at a cost to Thai taxpayers who have to foot the bill.
As a trained economist, the Thai Rath writer said he did not agree with any form of price intervention, whether as a rice pledging scheme or as a rice guarantee scheme. Any measure that distorts market mechanisms will have adverse consequences for the economy as a whole.
But the writer recognised that, in terms of politics or even humanitarian consideration, helping poor farmers whose economic status is below any other sector in society is necessary. For this reason, most economists would not object to all price intervention schemes.They understand the good intentions of successive governments in trying to help poor farmers. They just feel that the rice price intervention scheme must be handled with utmost care to benefit farmers directly - and only when it is absolutely necessary.
Even if the scheme means the whole country has to shoulder some losses to benefit poor farmers, the writer believes most Thai taxpayers would be supportive. However, they would not be pleased to learn the scheme is being misused by some rice traders to buy cheaper rice from neighbouring countries and sell it for a profit to the government.
The writer said it was time to revise the rice pledging scheme. It has several adverse consequences. the main one being the low quality of Thai rice which has enabled Vietnam to expand its rice exports at the expense of Thailand. Vietnam may leapfrog Thailand to become the world's leading rice exporter next year or soon after, concluded Thai Rath .
Asean rice free trade
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told the Asean ministerial meeting in Phuket this week that Asean would become like the EU within six years with people,labour, capital and goods flowing freely within the 10 Asean member countries,noted another Thai Rath writer.Asean member countries will gradually reduce or abolish tariffs on several products in the years to 2115,when a completely free trade environment is implemented. Starting from Jan 1 next year,rice trading within Asean will be tariff free, which means neighbouring countries can sell their rice to Thailand and Thailand can sell its rice to other Asean countries tariff free.
This may seem to be good news as Thailand is the world's No1 rice exporter.But the facts suggest otherwise. Thai farmers cannot compete against Vietnamese rice farmers in terms of productivity and price, meaning Vietnam will gradually grab a bigger rice export market share at the expense of Thai rice exporters.
Most Thai farmers plant rice according to the seasons because the irrigation system does not cover most rice fields.Most Thai farmers have to sell at low prices because they are at a disadvantage in dealing with rice traders. For this reason, successive governments have operated a pledging scheme to buy rice from farmers at higher than prevailing market prices, putting a huge dent in the national budget as the government has to sell the rice stocks at reduced prices to exporters.
The Abhisit government has proposed a new rice price guarantee scheme, which means the government will pay farmers less as there is no need to manage rice stocks.
When the Asean Free Trade Area on rice takes effect next year, the Thai Rath writer believes rice from Vietnam, Burma,Cambodia and Laos will be exported to Thailand to compete with the local variety, and could win a significant share due to lower prices.
If more and more Thais resort to buying cheaper rice from neighbouring countries, the writer believes Thai rice farmers will suffer.
How will they earn a living?
VeteranDemocrat MP shows insensitivity
The Election Commission on July 16 ruled that 13 Democrat MPs should lose their seats in parliament for breaching the provision in the constitution barring MPs from holding shares in media companies or those holding government concessions, noted Nongnuch Singhadecha,aMatichon writer.Nongnuch cited the reactions of some of the veteran Democrat MPs, including constituent MPs Juti Krairirk and Samphan Thongsamak and party-list MP Trairong Suwannakhiri.
Mr Juti, representing Phitsanulok province, said he accepted the EC's ruling.He did not blame anyone but himself for failing to study the constitution provision. He said he would contest the byelection made necessary by his disqualification and spend the next three to four months stumping for votes. He asked people to forgive him for necessitating a by-election to be paid for by taxpayers.
Nongnuch judged Mr Juti's remark to be full of political spirit and very mature, upholding the Democrat Party's standards.
She also praised Mr Samphan, a Nakhon Si Thammarat MP, for saying he accepted the EC's ruling and he too would contest the by-election.
But she took issue with veteran MP Trairong, who said the ruling was suspect because some EC commissioners might not understand stock trading and had misinterpreted the law.
He also lashed out at the constitution drafters for writing the provision ambiguously and causing this problem of interpretation.
As if the Democrat Party's image was not damaged enough, the next day Mr Trairong said Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who was also judged guilty and resigned from his seat in parliament, had quit mainly to spite the EC.
The remarks of the former cabinet minister gave the impression some Democrat MPs were no better than the MPs from the opposition party which is financed by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. These MPs criticise any independent body's ruling that does not favour them as biased and praise any decision that goes their way.
What irked Nongnuch the most was Mr Trairong's phrase,"One need not believe [the EC commissioners] because they might lack knowledge about stock trading", which could be interpreted as saying the independent body, which is tasked by the law to hold both local and national elections, cannot be relied upon to be neutral or knowledgeable.
If everyone accepts Mr Trairong's argument, then independent bodies would not be able to function - including the courts - as people could cite the same argument - that judges lack expertise in economics and business and so their decisions cannot be accepted.
Nongnuch blasted Mr Trairong for being insensitive as the matter was still not final. The EC ruling is awaiting a Constitution Court interpretation. He should waitand argue in the Constitution Court that his stock holding is so small he could not influence the direction of the company with a concession with the government.
It would have been better if Mr Trairong and his party had said the issue rested with the Constitution Court. Or better, he could have said nothing if he disagreed with the EC ruling.
If Mr Trairong wishes to continue to blast the EC as an institution that cannot be believed, Nongnuch reminded him that former executives of the Thai Rak Thai and People Power parties might also argue they should not have been barred from politics for five years.
It is often said that before one speaks,one is the master. Once words are spoken,one is a slave of those words. Some Democrat MPs should be aware of this,concluded Matichon
Miscellany
The Public Health Ministry is reporting 20 more deaths from the deadly type-A (H1N1) flu and estimates more than 500,000 Thais have been infected.
The new fatalities recorded over the past seven days raise the national death toll to 44 from the flu pandemic. Another 35 patients were in hospital, seven of them in critical condition, the ministry said in its weekly report, which replaces its daily report in an attempt to calm public panic about the disease.
Kamnuan Ungchusak, a senior expert in preventive medicine, said the estimated figure of 500,000 A (H1N1) cases was based on ministry calculations, which used the number of patients who had sought hospital treatment as a factor.More than 25,000 people have sought treatment for flu-like symptoms at hospitals each day, the ministry has found.
But he said a surge in A (H1N1) cases was not impossible.
"If we can't quarantine the patients with mild symptoms at home, the figure will absolutely skyrocket," Dr Kamnuan said."If 50% of them stay home, the rising infection rate will stabilise. And if more than 70% of them stay home, we can successfully control the outbreak."
Another adverse effect of the rice pledging scheme is that some rice traders are importing cheaper rice from neighbouring countries such as Burma and Cambodia and selling it to the gov-INernment under the pledging scheme,reaping double benefits. The result of this corrupt practice is many farmers in Burma and Cambodia have expanded production for export to Thailand to be sold to the government.
The rice pledging scheme not only encourages the planting of lower quality rice by Thai farmers but also helps farmers in neighbouring countries sell their produce in Thailand at a cost to Thai taxpayers who have to foot the bill.
As a trained economist, the Thai Rath writer said he did not agree with any form of price intervention, whether as a rice pledging scheme or as a rice guarantee scheme. Any measure that distorts market mechanisms will have adverse consequences for the economy as a whole.
But the writer recognised that, in terms of politics or even humanitarian consideration, helping poor farmers whose economic status is below any other sector in society is necessary. For this reason, most economists would not object to all price intervention schemes.They understand the good intentions of successive governments in trying to help poor farmers. They just feel that the rice price intervention scheme must be handled with utmost care to benefit farmers directly - and only when it is absolutely necessary.
Even if the scheme means the whole country has to shoulder some losses to benefit poor farmers, the writer believes most Thai taxpayers would be supportive. However, they would not be pleased to learn the scheme is being misused by some rice traders to buy cheaper rice from neighbouring countries and sell it for a profit to the government.
The writer said it was time to revise the rice pledging scheme. It has several adverse consequences. the main one being the low quality of Thai rice which has enabled Vietnam to expand its rice exports at the expense of Thailand. Vietnam may leapfrog Thailand to become the world's leading rice exporter next year or soon after, concluded Thai Rath .
Asean rice free trade
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told the Asean ministerial meeting in Phuket this week that Asean would become like the EU within six years with people,labour, capital and goods flowing freely within the 10 Asean member countries,noted another Thai Rath writer.Asean member countries will gradually reduce or abolish tariffs on several products in the years to 2115,when a completely free trade environment is implemented. Starting from Jan 1 next year,rice trading within Asean will be tariff free, which means neighbouring countries can sell their rice to Thailand and Thailand can sell its rice to other Asean countries tariff free.
This may seem to be good news as Thailand is the world's No1 rice exporter.But the facts suggest otherwise. Thai farmers cannot compete against Vietnamese rice farmers in terms of productivity and price, meaning Vietnam will gradually grab a bigger rice export market share at the expense of Thai rice exporters.
Most Thai farmers plant rice according to the seasons because the irrigation system does not cover most rice fields.Most Thai farmers have to sell at low prices because they are at a disadvantage in dealing with rice traders. For this reason, successive governments have operated a pledging scheme to buy rice from farmers at higher than prevailing market prices, putting a huge dent in the national budget as the government has to sell the rice stocks at reduced prices to exporters.
The Abhisit government has proposed a new rice price guarantee scheme, which means the government will pay farmers less as there is no need to manage rice stocks.
When the Asean Free Trade Area on rice takes effect next year, the Thai Rath writer believes rice from Vietnam, Burma,Cambodia and Laos will be exported to Thailand to compete with the local variety, and could win a significant share due to lower prices.
If more and more Thais resort to buying cheaper rice from neighbouring countries, the writer believes Thai rice farmers will suffer.
How will they earn a living?
VeteranDemocrat MP shows insensitivity
The Election Commission on July 16 ruled that 13 Democrat MPs should lose their seats in parliament for breaching the provision in the constitution barring MPs from holding shares in media companies or those holding government concessions, noted Nongnuch Singhadecha,aMatichon writer.Nongnuch cited the reactions of some of the veteran Democrat MPs, including constituent MPs Juti Krairirk and Samphan Thongsamak and party-list MP Trairong Suwannakhiri.
Mr Juti, representing Phitsanulok province, said he accepted the EC's ruling.He did not blame anyone but himself for failing to study the constitution provision. He said he would contest the byelection made necessary by his disqualification and spend the next three to four months stumping for votes. He asked people to forgive him for necessitating a by-election to be paid for by taxpayers.
Nongnuch judged Mr Juti's remark to be full of political spirit and very mature, upholding the Democrat Party's standards.
She also praised Mr Samphan, a Nakhon Si Thammarat MP, for saying he accepted the EC's ruling and he too would contest the by-election.
But she took issue with veteran MP Trairong, who said the ruling was suspect because some EC commissioners might not understand stock trading and had misinterpreted the law.
He also lashed out at the constitution drafters for writing the provision ambiguously and causing this problem of interpretation.
As if the Democrat Party's image was not damaged enough, the next day Mr Trairong said Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who was also judged guilty and resigned from his seat in parliament, had quit mainly to spite the EC.
The remarks of the former cabinet minister gave the impression some Democrat MPs were no better than the MPs from the opposition party which is financed by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. These MPs criticise any independent body's ruling that does not favour them as biased and praise any decision that goes their way.
What irked Nongnuch the most was Mr Trairong's phrase,"One need not believe [the EC commissioners] because they might lack knowledge about stock trading", which could be interpreted as saying the independent body, which is tasked by the law to hold both local and national elections, cannot be relied upon to be neutral or knowledgeable.
If everyone accepts Mr Trairong's argument, then independent bodies would not be able to function - including the courts - as people could cite the same argument - that judges lack expertise in economics and business and so their decisions cannot be accepted.
Nongnuch blasted Mr Trairong for being insensitive as the matter was still not final. The EC ruling is awaiting a Constitution Court interpretation. He should waitand argue in the Constitution Court that his stock holding is so small he could not influence the direction of the company with a concession with the government.
It would have been better if Mr Trairong and his party had said the issue rested with the Constitution Court. Or better, he could have said nothing if he disagreed with the EC ruling.
If Mr Trairong wishes to continue to blast the EC as an institution that cannot be believed, Nongnuch reminded him that former executives of the Thai Rak Thai and People Power parties might also argue they should not have been barred from politics for five years.
It is often said that before one speaks,one is the master. Once words are spoken,one is a slave of those words. Some Democrat MPs should be aware of this,concluded Matichon
Miscellany
The Public Health Ministry is reporting 20 more deaths from the deadly type-A (H1N1) flu and estimates more than 500,000 Thais have been infected.
The new fatalities recorded over the past seven days raise the national death toll to 44 from the flu pandemic. Another 35 patients were in hospital, seven of them in critical condition, the ministry said in its weekly report, which replaces its daily report in an attempt to calm public panic about the disease.
Kamnuan Ungchusak, a senior expert in preventive medicine, said the estimated figure of 500,000 A (H1N1) cases was based on ministry calculations, which used the number of patients who had sought hospital treatment as a factor.More than 25,000 people have sought treatment for flu-like symptoms at hospitals each day, the ministry has found.
But he said a surge in A (H1N1) cases was not impossible.
"If we can't quarantine the patients with mild symptoms at home, the figure will absolutely skyrocket," Dr Kamnuan said."If 50% of them stay home, the rising infection rate will stabilise. And if more than 70% of them stay home, we can successfully control the outbreak."
Magnificent seven
In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
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