ZIMBABWE: Neonatal Circumcision Yet to Gain Ground

Judith Sikhosana recently gave birth to a healthy baby boy. And while she has strictly followed the advice of health workers about the post-natal care for her child, there is one thing she is yet to understand: why nurses want her baby to be circumcised.

Government Under Fire As Cholera Epidemic Rages

This death toll from a cholera epidemic in Cameroon's North and Far North provinces stands at 420, according to public health minister André Mama Fouda. The outbreak of the waterborne disease throws an unwelcome spotlight on inadequate access to clean water and sanitation, particularly in the country’s rural north.

Uganda Failing to Control TB

John Mahanga sits on his hospital bed, coughing persistently. The 42-year-old has been suffering from tuberculosis (TB) for the past three years. He has been in treatment for it, but repeatedly stopped taking medication when he felt better. Doctors have now diagnosed him with multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB.

UNICEF Leads Campaign for 69 Million Out-of-School Children

The U.N. children's agency UNICEF is taking the lead in an intense global campaign to provide schooling to some 69 million children who are unable to go to school - or don't have any schools to go to.

MIDEAST: Hungry in Gaza, More and More

"Sometimes, for a day or two we don't even have bread, nor flour to make bread. There's a store nearby that, when we are truly desperate, lets us take a bag of bread or something simple, on credit. I owe them a lot of money for the food I've brought from them, but I still can't pay them."

ARGENTINA: Activists File Writ of Habeas Corpus – for Legal Abortion

Heartened by the passage of a same-sex marriage law in Argentina, women's organisations in this South American country stepped up their demands for the legalisation of abortion, on the Day for the Decriminalisation of Abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Progress in Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

The number of pregnant women being tested for HIV and accessing treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa has shown significant progress – indicating that virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of the virus by 2015 is possible.

Tighter Budgets Threaten HIV/AIDS Gains

Although the world will miss the 2010 deadline for universal access to HIV treatment, some countries, notably in sub- Saharan Africa, have made real strides forward, three United Nations agencies reported Tuesday.

Q&A: “The Beer Industry Is a Leader in Self-Regulation”

Some two billion people around the world drink alcohol, a practice that has been around since time immemorial. Responsible drinking is only part of the picture; the WHO reports that the harmful use of alcohol affects tens of millions of people and kills two and a half million people every year, from causes ranging from illnesses to traffic accidents.

MALAWI: Village Chief Leads Fight For Maternal Health

In Ntcheu, a rural district in central Malawi, villagers have taken the fight against the country's high maternal mortality rate into their own hands. They have almost eradicated maternal deaths in the area by urging pregnant women to give birth in hospitals, under medical supervision.

MEXICO: Soaring Bottled Water Use Highlights Mistrust of Tap Water

More bottled water is consumed per capita in Mexico than in any other country in the world, according to a U.S. consultancy -- a fact that alarms non-governmental organisations because it highlights the lack of access to safe tap water.

Water Strategy Key to Cities of the Future

A diverse group of more than 4,500 professionals from the water industry gathered here to send a resounding message: a sharp break from past practices of water distribution and wastewater management is needed to cope with the burgeoning population growth in cities and impending water scarcity.

DEVELOPMENT: Obama Lays Out Vision, Details Still Blurry

Following U.S. President Barack Obama's introduction of his long-awaited Global Development Policy at the United Nations on Wednesday, exactly one year after he told member states that he would return with a plan to make the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) a reality, questions remain over how it will be executed.

KENYA: Agricultural Budget Out of Reach of Small-Scale Farmers

Although the majority of Kenyans are agricultural producers, only 3.6 percent of the country’s national budget goes towards the sector. This falls severely short of government’s promise to spend at least ten percent on agriculture.

EAST TIMOR: For Fragile States, MDG Summit Outcome Off-target

Calls by fragile states for greater focus on addressing conflict and fragility have been largely ignored in the outcome document of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Summit in New York, but critical donors are at least listening to the growing rumble of voices from developing nations.

$40 Billion for Women and Children, Millions of Lives at Stake

As a three-day anti-poverty talkfest drew to a close Wednesday, the United Nations shifted its focus from the poor and the hungry to two of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society: women and children.

Surfing the Web without Being Swept Away

City life and access to information technologies can open up a whole new arena of possibilities for young girls: better education, access to healthcare, new skills and a plethora of new ideas.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Averting the Grimmest Scenarios

The catastrophic floods in Pakistan have added urgency to a high-level United Nations summit this week, with delegates from mostly South Asian nations convening Tuesday to call for increased technology transfer from richer countries and to compare strategies to avert the worst effects of climate change.

ARGENTINA: Pioneer in Mainstreaming Gender Perspective in Justice System

Judges and other judicial officers in Argentina have begun to receive training on gender equality and women's rights, as part of a broad programme that could serve as a model for similar initiatives in the rest of Latin America.

LIBERIA: Chronic Malnutrition Blamed on Mothers

Mercy Freeman sits on a small hospital cot in one of Liberia’s emergency hospitals, looking down at her frail son, whose dark eye sockets have sunk into his bony face.

AFRICA: More Commitment to Education Needed

African nations lack the political will to provide access to primary education to all children, according to the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), a coalition of organisations in 100 countries.