You've done it again B!

Once again, Bill Gates gets it! With world leaders in my neighborhood for the UN General Asssembly to discuss the Millenium Development Goals, and President Bush's speech totally avoiding anything to do with the MDGs and things other than terrorism, someone is actually trying to do something! Human rights groups and humanitarian organizations have long been saying that importing US/European food is not the answer to hunger around the world.

Rather than simply buying the farmers' crops outright, much of the money will go to teaching better farming methods, and to helping them store their crops in warehouses, plant higher-yield seeds, and transport their produce to customers.

What a concept! Way to go B (also WFP and Howard G. Buffett Foundation)! I hope this becomes something sustainable over time.

In the News

Lots of health care issues in the news this week. These things keep us health advocates in tune and on our toes.

The Controversial
A court in the Indian city of Bombay (now Mumbai) rejects a couple's plea to abort their 25-week fetus in a key test case. The couple decided they wanted to abort the fetus after receiving test results indicating a chance of the baby being born with a defect. Ethical? Maybe that's subjective, but who can say not being in the situation. The couple says they do not have the resources to care for the sick child.

Immigrants Facing Deportation by U.S. Hospitals (Yikes!) This is a serious problem! People are being sent back to their native country, oftentimes to areas where proper care is lacking.

The Bad
Medication Increasingly Replaces Psychotherapy It's cheaper to cover medication than consistent therapy.So, even at the detriment of lots of people, therapy falls by the wayside.

The Hopeful
Honduras Promises To Invest In Its Farmers Hunger is a huge problem all over the world. Things like conflict and climate change are damaging to local food supplies. Genetic engineering of food is a bit controversial. But in this instance, it's helping to feed people in desperate need of food. I'm interested to see how this plays out and what kind of impact it has on both Honduras and genetic engineering.

FDA Oversight of tobacco. Stricter labeling requirements, prohibiting marketing to kids/teens sign me up! The argument made by the tobacco companies (with the exception of Phillip Morris, who would actually benefit from the new oversight) is that the FDA has too much to deal with already and they will get lost in the fold. To me it makes perfect sense that the FDA oversees a toxic substance we commonly put in our bodies.

The Unusual
Fish-icures: Flesh-Eating Fish Perform Pedicures. I'm not quite sure what to think of this. Maybe I'll have to try it. It's probably expensive though. I get a little bit of a shiver when thinking about sticking my feet into a tank of fish that I know will touch me. Ehhhh.

Solutions for Global Hunger

Solutions for world hunger or Promotion of free trade?
Interestingly enough, I could not find anything in the BBC or the NYTimes about the G8 summit today.

More about hunger relief from IRIN.

Both of these articles bring into focus the use of aid through imported food, rather than helping to support the production of local agriculture

What's the saying? When you give a (wo)man a fish, you feed him (her) for a day. When you teach a (wo)man to fish, you feed him(her) for a lifetime.