The Government of Japan will sign a new agreement with UNICEF tomorrow, making available $5.6 million (¥ 533 million or SDG 13.5 million) in support of health programmes that will benefit up to 5 million people in the coming year.

The contribution will be used to fund a number of lifesaving health activities in both north and Southern Sudan including

Provision of vaccines for routine immunization activities as well as polio and measles immunization campaigns.
Provision of solar refrigerators for vaccine storage facilities
Provision of malaria diagnosis and testing equipment and drugs
Provision of primary health centre kits containing essential drugs and medicines for 12 months
Provision of longlasting insecticidetreated bed nets to protect against malaria
Training of health workers and local vaccinators.

Announcing the contribution, His Excellency Yuichi Ishii, Ambassador of Japan to Sudan underlined the commitment of his country to fighting infectious diseases throughout Sudan.

“Improving quality of and access to basic health services is one of the priority areas for Japans assistance to Sudan. Infectious disease prevention for children is Japans major contribution to the health sector in Sudan and the Government of Japan has been supporting this programme since 2000 and will extensively support the continued efforts by UNICEF and the Government of the Sudan in preventing infectious diseases in Sudan,” Ambassador Ishii said.

Mr. Kenichi Shishido, Resident Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Sudan Office, commented that “In 2008 JICA started a Mother Nile Project, a threeyear project of $2.5 million, focusing on the empowerment of village midwives (VMWs) in Sennar State. This unique project supports the “One Village One VMW” policy of the Federal Ministry of Health, in the areas of policymaking training and management of maternity health services.”

Acknowledging the importance of Japans continued support to health programmes in Sudan, acting UNICEF Representative Per Engebak said “This contribution is another tangible demonstration of Japans commitment to tackling preventable diseases in Sudan, and to give children the best chance of a healthy start to life.”

“While we have seen notable reductions in the incidence of infectious diseases in Sudan for example in Southern Sudan, the number of measles cases fell from 671 in 2007 to 383 in 2008 the reemergence of polio in the last two years has reminded us that we cannot afford to relax in the fight against infectious diseases,” he added.

Sudan has recorded significant progress in protecting childrens health since prior to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement; underfive mortality rates in Sudan fell from 156 deaths per 1,000 live births prior to 2005 to 112 according to the 2006 Sudan Household Health Survey.

However, to reach the Millennium Development Goal target of an underfive mortality rate of 62 deaths per 1,000 live births, continued efforts to improve child survival and development are required.

In 2008, UNICEF and its partners including the Government of National Unity, the Government of Southern Sudan and the World Health Organization took further steps towards that goal through the Sudan Accelerated Child Survival Initiative and other health activities that saw almost 9 million children immunized against polio, more than 3 million immunized against measles, and 1 million children vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, while nearly 2.5 million insecticidetreated bed nets to protect against malaria were distributed to families across Sudan.

“Consolidation of peace” is one of the main pillars of Japans foreign policy to Africa. It is, therefore, a basic principle of Japans assistance to Sudan, which is a highpriority country in Africa for Japans peace building programme. Since signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the Government of Japan has been committed to accelerating consolidation of peace in Sudan and its grant assistance to Sudan since 2005 amounts to approximately $390 million.

USAID announced on Thursday a $1 million commitment to a Red Cross project aimed at helping those “living along southern Africas Zambezi River cope with worsening natural disasters because of climate change,” the AP/Washington Post reports.

“For the 32 million people who live in the Zambezis basin some of the worlds poorest the river is a source of transportation, jobs and fertile soil for agriculture,” the AP/Washington Post writes. “But it also brings misery with a cycle of flood and drought that displaces hundreds of thousands of people annually. Extreme flooding and dry spells destroy crops and cause food shortages, while receding waters leave cholera, dysentery and malaria,” according to AP/Washington Post.

The Red Cross chose to launch the Zambezi River Basin Initiative after this years devastating flood season claimed the lives of 90 people and displaced over 276,000 in Namibia alone, according to the AP/Washington Post.

Through the threeyear $8.6 million initiative, the Red Cross will work with “the seven nations that the river winds through Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe” to “boost early warning systems and local training for disaster management, as well provide funds for malaria, cholera, and HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention projects,” the AP/Washington Post writes (Theriault, AP/Washington Post, 6/25).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

The Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) issued a statement (pdf) asking developed countries to establish training programs that would allow African students to stay in Africa or other developing countries in effort to curb the “tide of African talent leaving the continents universities,” CNN reports (Wong, CNN, 6/22).

Ahead of next months meeting in Italy which includes G8 leaders plus Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa NASAC has asked the group for greater investment in Africas research infrastructure, EurActiv.com reports. According to NASAC, onethird of all African scientists live and work in developed countries, which has crippled development efforts in Africa. Only about 1.4 percent of articles published in international peerreviewed journals come from Africa, NASAC said (EurActiv.com, 6/18).

CNN Examines London Schools Program To Educate Students In Developing Countries

CNN examines the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicines distance learning program, which could be the “key to curbing the flight of the skilled health professionals from the developing world.” The school started the program “to allow health professionals to enhance their skills and knowledge at their own pace and in their own country,” CNN writes. Currently, 2,500 students are enrolled in the program, which offers Masters degrees and graduate diplomas in infectious diseases, public health and clinical trials.

Andrew Haines, the director of the London School, said, “We dont train people for the brain drain. We train people very much to make a contribution to their own countries.”

According to Sharon Huttly, the dean of studies, approximately 40 percent of students in the program are based in Africa. Theres also a significant portion from Southeast Asia.

Although Internet access has improved since the program launched in 1998, one of the “biggest challenges is trying to deliver something that is still accessible and suitable to a student who is sitting somewhere thats got very poor Internet access but also is suitable for a student sitting somewhere whos got every gadget and highspeed bandwidth available to them,” Huttly said (CNN, 6/22).

Program Helps Developing Country Researchers Publish Work

In related news, SciDev.Net examines SciEdit, which is a “free editing service for developing country researchers who are trying to publish their work.” A group of undergraduate and graduate students in Canada, Europe and the U.S. run SciEdit, which aims to “provide detailed editorial feedback in accordance with the standards of journals,” including Nature and Science.

SciEdit cofounder Justin Chakma, who is a researcher at the McLaughlinRotman Centre for Global Health in Canada, said, although there is a lot of “innovative” research happening in developing countries, “its not being represented well in international literature, unfortunately.” Chakma said English and editorial conventions can be challenging for students who are unfamiliar with the language and procedures.

As a result, Chakma said the group mostly offers help with “grammar, the conventions, the style that you need.” He added, “But we also offer, if [the researchers] want, feedback on the science because we have graduate students across a variety of disciplines” (Antony, SciDev.net, 6/22).