AFRO-NETS> World Health Report 1999: Making A Difference

[Christopher Byrne <info@idn.org>]

World Health Report 1999: Making A Difference
---------------------------------------------

The subject report is being released by the World health Organization 
at the 52nd World Health Assembly on May 17. You can link both to the 
Document and to the World Health Assembly Web Site at:
http://www.idn.org/#Tools You Can Use

Here is what else is new the past two weeks at the International Devel-
opment Network Web Site located at http://www.idn.org/

TOOLS YOU CAN USE - http://www.idn.org/#Tools You Can Use

In addition to this week's tool, which is identified above, the week of 
May 9th, the IDN featured a link to World Development Indicators 1999 
This document presents 600 indicators in 83 tables, organised in six 
sections: world view, people, environment, economy, states and markets, 
and global links. The tables cover 148 economies and 14 country groups-
with basic indicators for a further 62 economies. 

Most of the text from the book is presented, but only a sampling of the 
tables from each section is available.

QUICK LINK OF THE WEEK - http://www.idn.org/#Quick Link Of The Week

Women Mean Business: A Global Exchange Women business owners represent 
a powerful force in the global marketplace. As this momentum increases, 
creating opportunities for women to share business experiences with 
their global counterparts becomes increasingly important.

Through USAID's Lessons Without Borders program, the Women Mean Busi-
ness: A Global Exchange conference has been designed to connect women 
business owners who, through sharing lessons learned and networking, 
can strengthen their enterprises. They can also improve their prospects 
of doing business domestically and internationally. 

This week's quick link is to the web site for this conference, being 
held from June 2-3, 1999 in Chicago, Illinois (USA).


Wei Jingsheng: A Profile in Courage

On May 16, 1999, Niagara University will award an honorary doctorate of 
humane letters to Wei Jingsheng. Mr. Wei is the most widely known and 
respected symbol of the struggle for democracy and human rights in 
China. 

Since January 1998, he has held the position of visiting scholar at the 
Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. But un-
til November 1997, when Mr. Wei was released by Chinese authorities on 
medical parole and permitted to leave for the United States, his life 
was a remarkable journey from living and discovering the realities of 
Chinese life both as a Red Guard and a member of the People's Libera-
tion Army to becoming the country's leading advocate for democracy and 
its most symbolic prisoner of conscience. More than one-third of Mr. 
Wei's 49 years have been spent in prison.

This week's quick link is to an interview with Wei Jingsheng, as con-
ducted by Dr. John Stranges of Niagara University.


NEW PUBLICATIONS - http://www.idn.org/#New Publications

Global Public Goods: International Cooperation in the 21st Century, ed-
ited by Inge Kaul, Isabelle Grunberg, and Marc A. Stern

UNESCO sees its strategy to promote public domain information confirmed 
by a new study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The 
study "Global Public Goods: International Cooperation in the 21st Cen-
tury," says the major world crises of the late 20th century could have 
been averted if governments and international organizations invested 
more in the management and protection of so called global public goods 
-- international assets that benefit all of humanity. 

The new study underlines that these assets, which include knowledge and 
information, public health, the environment, human rights and market 
efficiency, have been undervalued and mismanaged by institutions and 
governments. The study, which was launched on Monday 10 May at Harvard 
University in the United States, calls for policies to make the insti-
tutions more capable of responding to global challenges. In the area of 
Knowledge and information, the study highlights that at each step in 
the creation, treatment and dissemination of knowledge, attributes of 
global public goods are evident. Yet, the main policy issue with knowl-
edge, as the authors show, is not so much under-provision, as insuffi-
cient or unequal access. Joseph Stiglitz, for example, shows that in-
tellectual property rights that are too strong can hurt market effi-
ciency and equity. Among his suggestions to improve the accessibility 
and price of knowledge is the creation of a "knowledge bank," linked 
perhaps to a fairer patent fee system. Habib Sy explores the public 
good dimension of global telecommunications and of new information 
technologies - in particular the issues of access and pricing, and the 
dynamics that work to further marginalize the African Continent in the 
information age. In response, Sy calls for a renewed commitment to a 
public service agenda and, to that end, for increased cooperation be-
tween states on a regional basis. Debora Spar focuses specifically on 
the Internet, examining its public good status, as well as its positive 
and negative externalities. She argues that developing countries need 
to be empowered to reap the potential benefits from the Internet. 

You can order this publication through the IDN Bookstore, in associa-
tion with Amazon Books. All proceeds support the operations if the IDN.


NEW LINKS - http://www.idn.org/#New Links

Arbor Nutrition Guide - metaindex for nutrition related information and 
organizations.

Concern - Irish NGO that works to eliminate extreme poverty in the 
least developed countries of the world.

HealthLink - a project of the Health Systems Trust established to help 
meet the communication and information needs of health workers in South 
Africa. 

Healthlink Worldwide - works to improve the health of poor and vulner-
able communities by strengthening the provision, use and impact of in-
formation. 

  International Agricultural Centre - internationally oriented institute 
that acts as a platform for exchange and transfer of applied knowledge 
on sustainable management of renewable natural resources in developing 
countries.

International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders - 
A nonprofit nongovernment organization for the sustainable elimination 
of iodine deficiency worldwide.

The International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) - a worldwide founda-
tion that is making a difference in public health by advancing the un-
derstanding of scientific issues related to nutrition, food safety, 
toxicology, and the environment.

The International Network of Food Data Systems (INFOODS) - is a compre-
hensive effort, under the United Nations University Food and Nutrition 
Programme and co-sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of 
the United Nations, to improve data on the nutrient composition of 
foods from all parts of the world. 

The International Vitamin A Consultative Group (IVACG) - primary objec-
tive is to provide a forum for the exchange of new ideas, research 
findings, and programmatic interventions which may contribute to the 
eradication of vitamin A deficiency.

Kiwanis International Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) Project - work-
ing to raise $75 million to virtually eliminate the world's most preva-
lent, preventable cause of mental retardation, iodine deficiency disor-
ders (IDD).

Micronutrient Initiative (MI) - mission is to facilitate the achieve-
ment of the following goals related to the elimination of micronutrient 
malnutrition by supporting effective and sustainable programs. (Eng-
lish/French)

MN-NET A Global Micronutrient Network - Micronutrient Initiative's ef-
forts to facilitate dissemination and sharing of currently available 
information and knowledge related to the elimination and control of mi-
cronutrient deficiencies. 

Program Against Micronutrient Malnutrition (PAMM) - is a multi-
disciplinary team that engineers innovative solutions with public 
health officials worldwide to end hidden hunger through participatory 
training, customized technical support and strategic alliance building. 

Association for Global Internet Services (AGIS) - promotes global ac-
cess to new information and communication technologies as a means of 
addressing social and economic development problems and fostering in-
ternational cooperation. 

Egyptian Organization for Human Rights - monitors the human rights 
situation in Egypt and defends the rights of Egyptian citizens against 
human rights violations regardless of the identity or the affiliation 
of the victim(s) or of the violator(s).

Environmental Health Project (EHP) - sponsored by the U.S. Agency for 
International Development, the EHP assists development organizations to 
address environment related health problems. EHP focuses on the preven-
tion of three diseases: acute respiratory infections, diarrheal dis-
eases, and malaria. EHP also provides technical assistance in the areas 
of water supply, sanitation, wastewater, solid waste, and air pollu-
tion.

Health Sector Reform Initiative (HSR)/Iniciativa de Reforma del Sector 
Salud (RSS) - The Latin America and Caribbean Regional Health Sector 
Reform Initiative supports national reform processes to promote more 
effective basic health services. (English/Spanish)

Interfaith Hunger Appeal (IHA) - is a partnership of people and agen-
cies, rooted in faith, who are committed to ending global hunger.

The Micro-Biz Network - Business Development Services for Microenter-
prises and Small Businesses.

National NGO Commission for Population and Development of Egypt - pro-
vides technical assistance to NGOs especially by networking and train-
ing for capacity building and developing projects proposals and fund 
raising that help them in maintaining sustainability. 

Partnerships in South Africa - fostering the development of urban part-
nerships in South Africa.

The Southern Africa Regional Telecommunications Restructuring Program - 
funded by USAID and managed by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the objective is 
to help ensure that SADC member states realize the significant economic 
and social benefits of a modern information infrastructure and have the 
resources, both technical and financial, to develop it.

Swiss Centre for Development Cooperation in Technology and Management 
(SKAT) - is a Swiss consultancy firm working internationally in the ar-
eas of Water and Sanitation, Architecture and Building, Transport In-
frastructure, and Urban Development.

US/Brazil Learning Technologies Network - strives to provide Brazilian 
and U.S. Educators, public sector professionals, researchers, and busi-
ness people with convenient access to quality information on different 
aspects of educational technologies and an effective means for profes-
sionals working with educational technologies to meet, share experi-
ences, and collaborate via the Internet. (English/Portuguese)

  The IDN plans to continue our growth and to expand the depth and 
breadth of our information services. If you have not yet thought about 
a membership/sponsorship in the IDN, we encourage you to consider be-
coming a sponsor/member of the fastest growing, most comprehensive and 
current International Development Web Site on the Internet! Information 
is available at http://www.idn.org/membership/

-- 
Christopher Byrne
International Development Network
mailto:info@idn.org

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