-The Economic Times   Development economist A K Shiva Kumar has been appointed as an advisor by the Sikkim Government for formulating the second State Human Development Report. Kumar, who is a development economist and adviser to the UNICEF- India , teaches economics and public policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He works on issues of poverty, health, nutrition, education along with women and children rights. He is also a founding...

-The United Nations   An estimated 2,500 youth are newly infected with HIV every day, with women and adolescent girls facing a disproportionately higher risk, according to a new joint report by the United Nations and the World Bank that calls for a “chain of prevention” to protect young people. “Opportunity in Crisis: Preventing HIV from early adolescence to young adulthood” presents, for the first time, data on HIV infections among young...

-The United Nations   Sixteen countries have announced concrete commitments aimed at drastically reducing current levels of maternal, newborn and child mortality, the United Nations reported today. The commitments, largely in the form of specific budgetary increases for maternity and natal care, and promises of increased medical coverage for mothers and children, were announced as part of the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, a $40 billion programme that Secretary-General Ban...

Progress has been made on key MDG health targets, but non-infectious diseases have spread to developing countries The world is experiencing a change in the geographic distribution of diseases. Traditionally, infectious diseases, which claim the lives of so many children, have affected poor countries and non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, cardiac ailments and cancer, have plagued rich countries. But the latest statistics released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday show...

-Irin   Changing the food the US government supplies as aid could deliver better results and still save money, a new study says. The review for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) by researchers at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy has been welcomed by NGOs and US food aid experts, but the findings have also come in for some criticism. The two-year review considered if USAID...