focused on a 25 percent drop in overall drug use among youths since 2001, when he took office.

2008 survey found that at least one in eight high school seniors reported abusing prescription painkillers and stimulants obtained from friends, relatives or schoolmates.

Last month, Vazquez vetoed legislation that would have legalized abortion in the first trimester due to hardship on the basis of economics, family, age, health, or risk to the mother's life. A three-fifths majority vote to override the veto was attempted but failed.

Current law in Uruguay criminalizes all abortion except in cases of rape or endangerment of the mother's life. A public opinion poll found that 57% of Uruguayans support legalized abortion, according to Agence France Presse.

Vazquez could always join the U.S. Republican Party, after all they are looking for Latinos.

Via / Feminist Majority

A recent Rand Corp. report . . . estimated that 19% of the troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, or more than 300,000 people, have come back with traumatic brain injuries. It estimated that treatments for such injuries and the loss in productivity have cost the nation, conservatively, about $554 million.

There's something wrong with the numbers in the Brain Damage story. Assuming that 19% of the US troop returning from Iraq is about 300,000 people would lead to the total number of the US troops deployment at around 1,578,947.

More than 1.75 million servicemen and women have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. [There are only 25,000 Americans serving in Afghanistan, as opposed to 150,000 serving in Iraq.]

1,750,000 * 19 percent (with brain injuries) = 332,500

Obama will inherit President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (the PEPFAR programme), which has helped to place hundreds of thousands of people on life-saving medication. PEPFAR was launched in 2003, and has spent some $19 billion so far with another $48 billion (including $9 billion for tuberculosis and malaria) pencilled in for 2009-2013. But while it is often cited as the only positive foreign policy accomplishment of the outgoing administration, it is also deeply controversial. The programme has been undermined by the US culture wars, the Republican assault on science and a unilateral and privatised approach to foreign policy. So what must Obama do about it?

There are a number of things that could be done quickly. First, he should cancel the Mexico City Policy (which was introduced by Reagan, repealed by Clinton and reintroduced by Bush) that denies US funds to foreign NGOs that even mention abortion in counselling or referrals, undermining the provision of comprehensive health services. Although Bush signed an order exempting PEPFAR from the policy, it still applies to all US family planning funding and should be repealed.

Second, social conservative positions on abortion have also led to HIV/AIDS-related programming becoming separated from reproductive health and family planning services. Reintegration would help to protect women and girls and boost maternal health.

Third, the first version of PEPFAR  mandated that one-third of all money spent on preventing the transmission of HIV be focused on ineffective "abstinence-only" interventions rather than the comprehensive prevention strategies supported by the vast majority of experts and international opinion. The second phase (authorized by the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008) removes this "hard earmark" but replaces it with a requirement for all country programs to report to Congress if they spend less than fifty percent on "abstinence-only" programs. This should be removed.

Fourth, PEPFAR II requires "at least half" of all funding to be spent on treatment and care. But many experts believe that with new HIV infections running faster than the roll out of treatment, the focus in stopping the pandemic must be on prevention, and that, in any case, the decision on what interventions to adopt should be decided in-country and not in Washington DC.

Fifth, PEPFAR II retains requirements for partner organisations to denounce prostitution and sex trafficking. While this might sound reasonable on the surface, it makes it impossible to reach groups who are vulnerable to HIV but also often oppressed by law enforcement agencies. It should be scrapped.

Sixth, PEPFAR II still allows partner organizations to opt out of best-practice, comprehensive programming if they don't like any aspects of it (the ‘conscience clause'). This too should go. Finally, the new legislation contains a clause that should make travel to the US easier for people living with HIV. This needs to be fully implemented. 

Overall, too much of the programme has been influenced by earmarks and provisions that are geared to domestic political and economic constituencies rather than international best practice and assessments of need. At the same time, global HIV/AIDS policy raises larger questions about how the US engages with the world that the new President will also have to confront.

PEPFAR has been very closely linked to other aspects of US foreign policy, echoing their problems. In 2007 the US Institute of Medicine identified a lack of transparency and accountability to partners and recipients within the programme. The vast majority of PEPFAR funding is channelled bilaterally via US embassies and focuses on selected countries. This contrasts with the multilateral Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which is by no means perfect but aims to support all countries with viable action plans and is guided by scientific criteria. However, it remains underfunded. Meanwhile, the Bush administration has placed the fight against HIV/AIDS on the agenda of the Pentagon's new Africa Command, which has been hastily assembled and has proven deeply unpopular. A substantial shift towards a dialogue-based and partnership-driven approach is therefore required in global health and foreign policy alike. Other countries are well ahead of the US in setting themselves standards for the relationship between health and foreign policy. Though there is a long way to go in holding them to account, this does provide new openings for social movements to articulate their visions of global health.

It should be remembered that the biggest challenge in global health right now is not HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, pandemic influenza or any individual disease. It is the chronic weakness or complete absence of health systems in the world's poorest countries, compounded by deep inequality and an overall lack of public health infrastructure. While PEPFAR has delivered life-saving drugs to hundreds of thousands of people, there is widespread concern that the international drive to focus on individual diseases is weakening health systems rather than strengthening them, a problem compounded by the Bush administration's preference for the contracting-out of foreign policy to private actors and its scepticism towards public bodies. Health system strengthening, increasingly a focus within global health, must be placed at the fore of US policy under Obama, but to achieve real progress a deeper rethinking of the political and economic forces shaping health and health systems is also required.

Ultimately, this calls for a new global health paradigm that confronts the deeply asymmetric nature of global economic interdependence and pervasive deficits of accountability and responsibility in the conduct of foreign policy. It must also reflect the balance of need rather than the balance of power. Developing such a paradigm can only be a collective endeavour.

--------

Alan Ingram is Lecturer in Geography at University College London. He researches relationships between global health, foreign policy and security and is a contributor to Global Health Watch. 

Kris Peterson is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at UC Irvine and co-chair of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars

Twenty years ago, it simply wouldn't have been possible -- pregnant, single and a member of Congress? Oh, the scandal! But Hester Prynne has morphed into Juno MacGuff . . . and "unwed mother" has been recast as "single mom."

Who do we have to thank for that? Thousands, from Madonna to Dan Quayle. In 1992, Quayle waged moral warfare on the sitcom character "Murphy Brown" -- famous, rich, single and pregnant. . . . And, of course, Bristol Palin.

Post extendido - Leer más 'Make Up Your Minds About Latina Women and Their Uteruses'...

Daschle is a classy, well-liked politician that commands respect from both sides of the isle and I am so glad to see him back after republicans from all over the country converged on South Dakota in 2004 to make sure he lost his seat after he was viewed as an “obstructionist” by the republicans for trying to stop the “Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act” in 2001 that offered a $1.4 trillion tax cut to mostly wealthy Americans. Fast forward to the situation in 2008…….need I say more?

Just glad to see Daschle back.

Still, surprisingly, Mr Obama has made some foreign policy committment to Africa - e.g. assistance with funding for ARV for HIV patients. Something for Africans to be optimistic about though it’s not quite the equivalent of visa-free travel to the US that many were secretly hoping for in Kenya.

Even critics of “socialized” health care systems should be able to detect the trick here — the health care industry is seeking to maintain the ability to set prices and is hoping that the government will step in to pay the potentially high rates that would be charged to those with pre-existing health problems or high risk behaviors.  On the other hand, the proposal would provide coverage for those who cannot receive it now as well as providing flexibility for those caught in “job lock” where they dare not change jobs lest they lose their existing health coverage and are unable to obtain new coverage.

Of course, the alternative of maintaining a health care system where costs are elevated by uninsured people who delay seeking health care until the problem is so severe as to require emergency room treatment is not viable either.  A government limitations on the cost threaten to stifle equipment and research investments much as similar mandates have done in countries like Canada.

There are no easy solutions to the health care dilemma.  Demogogues on the left will continue to decry the obscene costs of modern health care and lament the plight of the uninsured while ignoring the problems of research and equipment costs.  Demogogues on the right will continue to cry “socialism” to object to any national system while ignoring the elevation of costs charged to the government after the uninsured seek emergency treatment.  The countervailing demogogury results in stasis where both sides receive political benefits from the issue, but don’t actually do much to address it.

©2008 PoliGazette. All Rights Reserved.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y), considered a prominent contender to become secretary of State in the Obama administration, was offered an alternative Tuesday -- to be a senior member of the Senate team aiming to overhaul the nation's healthcare system.

Do you know a young woman or family member that has been affected?

In July 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) added five new vaccinations to the list of required immunizations for immigrants seeking legal permanent residency in the U.S. or people applying for immigrant visas. The list included a vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV), a viral infection that is transmitted by direct skin-to-skin contact and is the leading cause of cervical cancer. Following a recommendation by the CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices to administer Gardasil, the only HPV vaccine currently approved for the U.S. market to females ages 11 to 26 in the U.S., the recommendation became an automatic requirement for prospective immigrants and applicants seeking to adjust their status when the government updated its list of vaccines in July.

The policy went into effect on August 1, and advocates in the immigrant rights and public health movements are calling for a reversal with respect to the HPV vaccine. The mandate creates additional cost barriers for young immigrant women and immigrant families seeking adjustment of status or entry to the U.S., and unfairly forces immigrant women to subject their bodies to a vaccine that is new to the market and has unknown long-term efficacy rates.

Please consider sharing your story if you know someone who has been directly impacted by the new mandate for the HPV vaccine or any of the other vaccines involved. Contact Priscilla at phuang@napawf.org with your story.

Post extendido - Leer más 'Call for stories regarding the new HPV vaccination mandate'...

In this post, Kathleen McKinley briefly describes some of the worthy organizations she’s worked with in support of the most innocent of human lives.  Well worth the quick read and our support.

©2008 PoliGazette. All Rights Reserved.

Harry Clarke’s ‘commentary on economics, politics & other things’ discovered an Obama policy that is already under challenge. He seemed attracted to the idea of community service though his source didn’t:

Gregory Mankiw points out that Barack Obama supports the conscription of youth into community service. I wonder how many aged lefties will now dump on Obama on the basis of past Vietnam Moratorium ideals. Well of course its not this aged lot who now face the prospect of being conscripted so that a certain amount of soundly-justified hypocrisy is plausible.

Maybe spending the last week in China has dented my democratic ideals but I think the Obama suggestion makes a lot of sense.
Obama supports conscription

Nicholas Gruen, CEO of Lateral Economics  who posts at Club Troppo focused on the one big thing which Obama has done since Tuesday:

Paul Krugman was always critical of Obama for not being more partisan. We’ll see what happens. In my ignorance I’m expecting Obama to be like Clinton - a pro when it comes to policy who hires the best advice he can get unlike Republicans who haven’t done that since - well perhaps someone can remind me. But I don’t expect him to be particularly bold. But who knows. The thing that always struck me as ridiculous about Krugman’s critique is that being all post-partisan was a good way to build a coalatition and get into power. You find out how people are going to govern after they get into power - or hasn’t Krugman noticed. FDR was elected on a platform of balancing the budget.

And now we get to see how Obama governs. And his first decision is to go for a hard man as a chief of staff - Obama plays the good cop and everyone is telling us that Rahm Emanuel gets to play the bad cop. I’ll be interested to see if Krugman has anything to say on this - I’ve not seen it yet. But it’s a first sign that Obama is under no illusions about how lovely the Republicans will be towards him.
Rahm Emanuel - the enforcer

Another economist, John Quiggin, whose blog presents itself as a ‘Commentary on Australian & world events from a social-democratic perspective’ looked forward to:

a revival of the progressive politics of the New Deal, in retreat ever since the 1970s. If Obama can combine an economic recovery with a new commitment to social equity, his election victory could prove more significant than any since that of Roosevelt in 1932.

He mentioned several policy areas, one of which is global warming:

… looming over all of this is climate change. Obama has promised a cap-and-trade scheme, and a return to world leadership at Copenhagen. But, as in Australia, there will be powerful voices calling for a continuation of the Bush policy of delay and denial, and putting the financial crisis forward as a pretext. Neither the world nor the position of the US as a world leader can afford this.
A tough road ahead

I feel a ‘three economists in a boat’ joke coming on. So let’s give Tigtog at Hoyden About Town the punch line. She speculated about what Obama’s priorities should be:

Just like a gazillion others, I’ve been thinking about what Obama could/should do, in his first 100 days in office, that would be small in terms of the effort required (falling within executive powers entirely, no Congressional courting/approval required) but that would make an immediate, huge, difference to many people.

I ended up deciding that there were so many things that needed fixing, that I would be better off focussing on what I would be horrendously disappointed to find that he was not going to do. So here’s my One Thing that I will be broken-hearted if he does not do it:

1. negate the Global Gag Rule (aka Mexico City Policy)

Our continuing research shows the gag rule is eroding family planning and reproductive health services in developing countries. There is no evidence that it has reduced the incidence of abortion globally. On the contrary, it impedes the very services that help women avoid unwanted pregnancy from the start.

What's your One Thing?

Just one thing

According to the blog, a hoyden (hoid’n) is a woman of saucy, boisterous or carefree behavior. A match for 3 economists anyday.

As part of their campaign, Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden said that more must be done to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as malaria and tuberculosis (TB). They pledged to provide at least $50 billion by 2013 for the global fight against HIV/AIDS, hoping to at least double the number of HIV-positive people on treatment, and supported increasing U.S. contributions to the Global Fund for AIDS, malaria, and TB. The ONE Blog lists other health- and poverty-related campaign promises.

Bloggers around the world are excited about what Obama's win could mean for health issues. Ray Hartley, blogging on The Times, South Africa, posts an excerpt of Obama's speech on World AIDS Day, 2006, after a visit to South Africa:

“We know how to save people’s lives. We know the medicine is out there and we know that wealthy countries can afford to do more. That’s why it was so frustrating for me to go to South Africa, and see the pain, and see the suffering …We should never forget that God granted us the power to reason so that we would do His work here on Earth - so that we would use science to cure disease, and heal the sick, and save lives. And one of the miracles to come out of the AIDS pandemic is that scientists have discovered medicine that can give people with HIV a new chance at life.”

yannick Santana, commenting on this excerpt says:

“If people have been wondering about ways in which President Obama change could positively impact the problem-solving process in Africa, this is an illustration.”

addis2000, blogging on Addismenged, provides five reasons why Obama's win is good for Ethiopians, including potentially helping Ethiopian-Americans access affordable healthcare. Within Ethiopia addis2000 adds:

“HIV/Aids and food insecurity form convergent miseries. To combat poverty, Ethiopian economists urge for immediate steps to curb the country’s exponential population growth. And yet, despite the Bush administration’s outstanding work to treat HIV/Aids victims in Africa through the PEPFAR programme, it worsened things by ordering USAID missions in six African countries to ensure that no U.S.-financed condoms, birth control pills, I.U.D.’s or other contraceptives are furnished to Marie Stopes International, which operates clinics in Ethiopia. Senator Obama supports family planning.”

Others also remain hopeful. A post on Med India says that Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., is optimistic about Obama's efforts to tackle global health issues, including ones in India. Understand Argentina also believes we have much to celebrate, and hopes this will be a new era for all Americans: North, Central and South. One of the reasons to celebrate, she adds, is because Obama will bring:

“More assistance in vocational training, micro-finance and community development; continue fighting AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis; reinforce global education.”

In the U.S., Obama's healthcare plan includes making healthcare affordable and accessible to all, lowering healthcare costs, and promoting public health. He also pledged to develop and begin implementing a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy during his first year of presidency.

RH Reality Check says that Obama's victory can be seen as a mandate for science and rationality, especially in healthcare policy. A post on Housing Works is also excited about these science-based policies, and hopes they will target people most in need.

“AIDS advocates were overwhelmingly thrilled by President-elect Barack Obama’s victory Tuesday, expressing hope that Obama’s election will bring meaningful changes to health care reform, science-based prevention, and a National AIDS strategy — all of which he promised during the campaign. And there is a real hope that the first black president — who has spoken out against health disparities in minority populations and homophobia in the black community — will frankly address the epidemic in the United States which overwhelmingly affects African-Americans, Latinos and gay men.”

Stiletto, blogging on Pourquoi Pas?, points out that though Obama has inherited huge problems from President George W. Bush, she hopes he will still deliver on his promises.

“For the American people, I hope he manages to find the 33 billion dollars to make America’s health system a thing of everyday like here in Europe, instead of being a joke like a third world country and having 45 million people with no health care cover. If that idiot Bush managed to find nearly 1000 billion dollars to go murder hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, surely, 33 billion dollars to keep the health of the citizens of USA is a lot more important and a lot cheaper. But this is your problem, Americans, and I wish you all the best. “

However, My African Diaspora cautions that we need to give Obama time to come through on all his promises:

“Temper expectations. Change won’t occur overnight. We’ve got so many pressing priorities: the economy, healthcare, the war, foreign policy and a slew of others. He won’t be able to wave a magic wand and make it all better. To expect him to would only demonstrate our own ignorance of the political process. Instead, reserve judgment and criticism and engage in the governance of your country. It is our right and our responsibility.”

Photo of Obama Posters by tonx on Flickr.

Michigan became the thirteenth state to legalize the physician supervised possession and use of cannabis. According to early returns, more than 60 percent of Michigan voters decided in favor of Proposal 1, which establishes a state-regulated system regarding the use and cultivation of medical marijuana by qualified patients...

Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, some 65 percent of voters (and virtually every town) decided "yes" on Question 2, which reduces minor marijuana possession to a fine-only offense...

Question 2 is expected to become law in 30 days -- making Massachusetts the thirteenth state to decriminalize the personal possession and use of cannabis.

Via / Alternet

The Audacity of Hope . . . Realized.

President Obama, Michelle, Sasha and Malia will soon be the new residents of the white house. And yes, he did it with a smart, beautiful black woman by his side.

I didn’t believe it when I first heard his name, when he announced his intent to run for the presidency. I didn’t believe it when he beat Hilary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.  I didn’t believe it when the polls, articles and whispers in cyberspace predicted his victory. I didn’t believe it - fully, until just after 8pm, when my nephew (who should have been asleep) called to say CNN had declared him the winner.

You see, even I, one who has studied and trumpeted the accomplishments of people of African descent worldwide, I too held that nasty seed of doubt. It’s that little voice in our minds, that boulder that we sometimes carry like heavy burden upon our backs, that tell us we are victims. It tells us that we should understand our place, that because we are a different, there are certain things that are out of our reach.

I know better, still, sometimes I let myself be surprised at our accomplishments. But this is a condition I intend to silence once and for all and I encourage all people - of African descent and any other descent to do the same.

Our parents told us and we need to believe it. With hard work, dedication and persistence, nothing can stop you.

I have to commend Senator McCain on is speech. He made it clear to his supporters, that no matter the outcome, we are all still Americans and owe our support to the next President. Some of the crowd booed, but that’s to be expected, I’d like to think that some of those gathered heard and realize the importance of his message.

I watched President Obama’s acceptance speech and believe that he did an excellent job in both rallying the American people to his demonstrated example that change is possible, while also making it clear that the way will be difficult. It is time for Americans to become more active in our government, without our attention and intervention, things will remain the same and our new President will fail.

Remember that every policy he introduces, every change he tries to establish will be largely dependent upon those other officials, your congressmen and senators. It would behoove us all to call our representatives, email, write - whatever is necessary to ensure our voices are heard. In that way, they cannot ignore us.

Temper expectaions. Change won’t occur overnight. We’ve got so many pressing priorities: the economy, healthcare, the war, foreign policy and a slew of others. He won’t be able to wave a magic wand and make it all better. To expect him to would only demonstrate our own ignorance of the political process.

Instead, reserve judgment and criticism and engage in the governance of your country. It is our right and our responsibility.