Matthew Berger
WASHINGTON, Apr 26 2010 (IPS) – The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in its first-ever case involving genetically modified crops. The decision in this case may have a significant impact on both the future of genetically modified foods and government oversight of that and other environmental issues.
The case, Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, revolves around an herbicide-resistant alfalfa, the planting of which has been banned in the U.S. since a federal court prohibited the multinational Monsanto from selling the seeds in 2007.
That decision found that the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not do a thorough enough study of the impacts the GM alfalfa would have on human health and the environment and ordered the agency to do another env…
Kristin Palitza
DURBAN, South Africa, Jun 3 2010 (IPS) – Even though tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause for illness and mortality in children, South Africa lacks the political will to tackle the disease, health experts say.
TB goes undiagnosed in many South African children. Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS
And the country s health system is not up to scratch to diagnose and treat children who have contracted the bacteria.
TB in children is neglected, and we need to urgently redress this, said Health System…
WASHINGTON, Jul 6 2010 (IPS) – The bicycle has many attractions as a form of personal transportation. It alleviates congestion, lowers air pollution, reduces obesity, increases physical fitness, does not emit climate-disrupting carbon dioxide, and is priced within the reach of the billions of people who cannot afford a car.
Bicycles increase mobility while reducing congestion and the area of land paved over. Six bicycles can typically fit into the road space used by one car. For parking, the advantage is even greater, with 20 bicycles occupying the space required to park a car.
Few methods of reducing carbon emissions are as effective as substituting a bicycle for a car on short trips. A bicycle is a marvel of engineering efficiency, one where an investment in 22 pounds of …
Mohamed Fofanah
FREETOWN, Jul 28 2010 (IPS) – Posseh Sesay will never be able to bear children again following a tragic birthing experience at the hands of her village traditional birth attendant (TBA).
Health workers at govt health clinic in Rokupa, Sierra Leone: free care for women and children has initially had some unexpected effects. Credit: Teu…
Claudia Ciobanu
BUCHAREST, Aug 26 2010 (IPS) – Five newborns died last week in a fire caused by an airconditioning fault at a Bucharest maternity. Insufficient, overworked staff and deficient maintenance results of inadequate funding of the health system -were listed among the causes.
I m surprised such tragedies don t happen more often, given the conditions we work in, said resident doctor Raluca Grumazescu from the Brasov Children s Hospital.
The sole nurse attending the newborns at the Giulesti maternity in Bucharest had stepped out of the ward when the fire broke out. Three babies in incubators died instantly and two others did not survive severe burns.
In Romanian hospitals, it is common that only one doctor and one nurse supervise up to 100 patients du…
Baradan Kuppusamy
KUALA LUMPUR, Sep 17 2010 (IPS) – Genetically modified terminator mosquitoes are the latest weapons that the Malaysian government wants to use against the deadly dengue fever, but activists and environmentalists say the public health risks of introducing a new artificial strain of mosquito are far too high.
The government has discussed plans to release in December male terminator mosquitoes with killer genes that would lead to a reduction in the population of the Aedes mosquito, which carries and transmits the dengue virus to humans.
Under what would be a pilot project devised by British and Malaysian scientists, the genetically engineered male Aedes mosquitoes would pass on when they mate with the wild female of the species lethal genes that would k…
BULAWAYO, Oct 8 2010 (IPS) – Mother-to-be Agnes Ncube budgets up to 100 dollars each month from her informal roadside business just so she can pay for the maternal services at her local government clinic.
Ncube usually pays a maximum of 20 dollars for each consultation, depending on the service. But sometimes there are other costs that emerge, such as a referral – usually to a private doctor – where she has to pay cash upfront for a consultation.
Even though the City Council Clinic is a government facility, Ncube has to pay for each consultation because currently the Zimbabwean government does not provide free maternal care. This is because the money is needed to resuscitate a health care system that has been dysfunctional after years of underinvestment and massive staf…
Zofeen Ebrahim
KARACHI, Pakistan, Nov 10 2010 (IPS) – Asleep in her mother s lap, three-year-old Amna Ghafoor looks at peace with the world. But mother and child are at Karachi s National Institute of Child Health (NICH), and a plastic cannula inserted in the child s tiny left wrist is a sure sign that all is not well.
You cannot do public health on a prayer, Pakistani doctors say. Credit: Fahim Siddiqi/IPS
The little girl has pneumonia and has been in hospital for the last six days, says…
Daniel Zueras
SAN JOSÉ, Dec 16 2010 (IPS) – Costa Rica is one of the few countries in the world where in vitro fertilisation (IVF) is illegal. And the Vatican wants it to stay that way: Pope Benedict XVI himself recently urged the government not to pass a law that would make it legal.
But if IVF is not legalised soon, Costa Rica will be hauled before the Inter-American Court on Human Rights.
In 2000, the constitutional chamber of the Supreme Court banned IVF in this Central American nation, ruling that the procedure violated the right to life of embryos that are not successfully implanted in a woman s womb
A year after the court handed down its decision, 10 Costa Rican couples filed a legal complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR),…
Milagros Salazar
LIMA, Feb 1 2011 (IPS) – When the price of medicines for treating cancer soared by up to 64 percent in 2010, the Peruvian government set up a watchdog commission that will also monitor prices of drugs for diabetes and HIV/AIDS.
The Directorate General of Medicines, Supplies and Drugs (DIGEMID) told IPS that the commission s functions would be extended to other products that also enjoy tariff- and tax-free status, but are still priced beyond the reach of the general population.
The medicines market is imperfect by nature, since pharmaceutical companies with products protected by patents have a virtual monopoly, thanks to the protection of intellectual property, and can set whatever price they want, Alejandra Alayza, coordinator of the Peruvian Network…