Topic: World Health Organization

Japan earthquake: 5 ways the international community is helping

Japan has received offers of assistance from 14 international organizations and 102 countries (including a number of unexpected aid donors such as embattled Afghanistan and poverty-stricken Cambodia), according to the latest report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Japan has accepted help, mostly in the form of search and rescue teams, from 15 countries. Here is an overview of some of the help pouring into Japan as it struggles to dig out from Friday’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami.

Cell phone radiation: Is it harmful?

Cell phone radiation has been proven to alter brain activity. But it's not clear if it's dangerous. Try an earphone?

Opinion: Control over your food: Why Monsanto's GM seeds are undemocratic

Large biotech agribusinesses like Monsanto control much of the global seed market with genetically modified (GM) crops. This centralization of GM seeds threatens food safety, food security, biodiversity, and democratic ideals.

Flotilla aid fails to deliver in Gaza

As much as 60 percent of the aid was damaged or otherwise unusable. Some still hasn't been distributed.

In Kenya, a water treatment so easy it raises doubts

The simple solar water disinfection method, endorsed by the World Health Organization and being used in Kenya's slums, is so easy that many of its users have doubts that it works.

Opinion: Air quality in Beijing is 'crazy bad,' but China still beats US in green investment

The US Embassy in Beijing tweets hourly air quality reports. While the Twitter feed reads 'crazy bad' and 'beyond index,' China far surpasses the US in its green investment efforts. China's air pollution won't change overnight, but it's on the right track. Congress, take note.

World Toilet Day: Top 10 nations lacking toilets

See a lot of people squatting in the open today? Don't be offended. The so-called "big squat" was held worldwide to coincide with the 10th annual World Toilet Day, an initiative to bring awareness to the need for adequate sanitary facilities. Every day, some 1.1 billion people go to the bathroom without any type of toilet, according to the World Health Organization. And even with a toilet, facilities are not necessarily sanitary. WaterAid America estimates that roughly 2.5 billion people – nearly 40 percent of the global population – do their business unsafely, often in public spaces. World Toilet Day is organized by the Singapore-based World Toilet Organization, which has 235 member organizations in 58 countries "working toward eliminating the toilet taboo and delivering sustainable sanitation." Here's a list of the world's worst nations in terms of people lacking access to sanitary facilities.

A fat tax? No. Let's be free!

A British newspaper's proposal to impose a fat tax is wrongheaded.

Oil company helps make Syrian roads safer

The oil company Shell is working with Syrians to provide driving and road safety lessons. Syria has the 29th highest number of traffic fatalities in the world.

Privatizing electricity puts Nigeria on the right track: IEA economist

The chief economist for the International Energy Agency says oil-rich Nigeria has the capacity to extend electricity to all its 150 million citizens.

To meet UN Millennium Development Goals, fight energy poverty, report says

The chief economist for the International Energy Agency says the international community must mobilize to target the 1.4 billion people worldwide without electricity, and to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals.

For Hamas, an end to Gaza's tunnel trade may be only the beginning

As Israel eases the Gaza blockade, Hamas is positioned to strengthen its grip on the Gaza Strip. The Gaza tunnel trade that thrived under the blockade provided tax revenues and helped Hamas stay firmly in control.

The Monitor's View: Chicken Little over swine flu: Learning from the H1N1 scare

Last year's scare over a potential H1N1 flu epidemic was a bust, the WHO now indicates. With reports of another scare over a "superbug" supposedly from India, officials and media need to act with caution and restraint without stoking fears.

Israel to allow soda into Gaza, but not rebuilding materials

Israel partially eased its economic blockade of Gaza on Wednesday, allowing cookies, soda, and canned fruit to be legally sold there for the first time in more than a year.

World No Tobacco Day: Which countries smoke the most?

The percentage of female smokers is increasing, and the number of annual tobacco-related deaths is expected to rise at an alarming rate unless action is taken, the World Health Organization announced on World No Tobacco Day.

South Africa AIDS orphans: Gift's birth mother confronts his foster parents

Another facet of the heartbreak of South Africa AIDS orphans: Gift's foster parents are confronted by his birth mother.

South Africa AIDS orphans overwhelm social work services

Lora Doman has 450 cases to keep track of: A daunting challenge typical amng those in social work services providing care and protection of South Africa AIDS orphans.

Megacities of the world: a glimpse of how we'll live tomorrow

By 2050, 7 out of 10 people will live in megacities, offering the benefits of concentrated living but also some of the biggest public-works challenges in human history.

Why Rush Limbaugh would go to Costa Rica if Obama's healthcare plan passes

Rush Limbaugh said he'd go to Costa Rica for medical treatment if the healthcare reform touted by President Barack Obama is passed. If that happens, he'll join legions of American medical tourists who travel to this bastion of socialized medicine every year.

Australian town confronts hidden costs of mining boom

The Australian mining boom has put food on the table for many communities like Mount Isa. But residents there are now suing the local mine’s owner and the government after tests showed their children had high levels of lead in their blood.

Chile earthquake: President Bachelet opens up to foreign aid

After days of holding off on accepting foreign aid offers in the wake of the Chile earthquake, President Michelle Bachelet has now welcomed help from abroad.

Difference Maker At her Thai border clinic, Cynthia Maung treats victims of war from her native Burma

Gray water's grass roots

In a grass-roots effort, a Los Angeles community pushes the plant-saving practice of reusing water from showers, baths, sinks, and washers.

Patiently, US soldiers struggle to help Haiti rebuild

As US troops arrive in Haiti, they are feeling overwhelmed by the sense of need. But they are also gaining experience and learning how to manage the situation.

In Haiti, signs that foreign aid flow is strengthening

As Haiti earthquake relief efforts continued, President Barack Obama joined with predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to appeal for donations and sent Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Caribbean nation.