Nepal Launches Pilot Project To Reduce Child, Infant Mortality

The Child Health Division of the Health Ministry in Nepal on Wednesday announced the beginning of a pilot project to reduce child and infant mortality in 10 districts this year, myrepublica.com reports. As part of the project, female health volunteers will work in districts to treat infants and educate mothers in hopes of driving down the country’s child mortality rate – “61 per 1,000” – and infant mortality rate – “48 per 1,000,” according to the news service (Dhakal, 7/15).

U.S. Commitment To Reducing Maternal, Child Mortality In Ghana

Joy Online examines how the recent visit of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to a Ghanaian hospital highlights the president’s commitment to reducing maternal and child mortality in the country where “450 out of 100,000 women” die from childbirth and “50 out of 100,000 children” die before age five. The article reviews recent efforts of the U.S. to improve the country’s health sector and forecasts how future U.S. funds will improve health facilities (Bentil, 7/14). 

Xinhua Examines Debate Over The Release Of GM Mosquitoes In Malaysia

Xinhua examines the debate over the release of genetically-modified (GM) mosquitoes into parts of Malaysia to see if the sterilized male Aedes aegypti, “the type of mosquito that carries yellow fever, chikungunya, and dengue fever” can out compete wild-type mosquitoes to stop the spread of dengue. “The first open-field testing of GM mosquitoes has many fearing that Oxitec [the biotechnology company credited with the mosquito’s development] and the Malaysian government will lose control over its creation, creating a Frankenstein-mosquito,” Xinhua writes (Saunders, 7/14).

Vanguard Examines Nigeria’s Interfaith Efforts To Fight Malaria

The Vanguard examines interfaith efforts in Nigeria to combat malaria after Obama “single[d] out for special mention, Nigeria’s path-breaking interfaith initiative to defeat malaria.”  Nigeria’s Interfaith Action Association has pioneered ways to unite Christian, Muslim and other faith leaders for the purpose of fighting malaria, according to Jay Winsten, an associate dean at the Harvard School of Public Health (Ogundipe, 7/14).