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December 5, 2003
WHO pushes forward with diet and health strategy
The World Health Organisation’s influential report on diet and chronic disease, issued in draft form earlier this year, has reached the next stage of a process that aims to see the recommendations implemented by the international community. The WHO last week finalised its Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, due to be presented at the World Health Assmebly meeting in May 2004.
Read article at NUTRAingredients.com

November 29, 2003
Report predicts 20 million AIDS orphans in Africa by 2010
The number of children left as orphans because their parents have died from AIDS related diseases in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to almost double—to 20 million—over the next seven years and could account for as many as 12% of all the region's children, says a new Unicef report
Read article at BMJ.com

November 29, 2003
Nearly 50,000 adults in the United Kingdom now have HIV
The number of people infected with HIV in the United Kingdom increased by almost 20% between 2001 and 2002, from 41 700 to 49 500, says a report published by the Health Protection Agency to mark world AIDS day, 1 December.
Read article at BMJ.com

November 27, 2003
Preventing the HIV/AIDS Tide
Left unchecked, the HIV/AIDS epidemic could cost the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region approximately one-third of today's GDP by 2025 according to a recently published World Bank report
Read article at WorldBank.org

November 26, 2003
Grim World AIDS Statistics Show Disease's Global Grip
HIV/AIDS has continued its relentless growth this year, adding 10 new HIV infections every minute, according to a report issued yesterday by the United Nations AIDS Programme
Read article at Newsday.com

November 23, 2003
No AIDS progress without affordable medicine, Clinton says in India
Former US president Bill Clinton said the AIDS epidemic will never be stopped without affordable medicine, as he visited an Indian pharmaceutical giant taking part in his drive to provide cheaper treatment to poor countries
Read article at TerraNetPlus.lb

November 18, 2003
UN urges $3bn for world's needy
The United Nations is to urge wealthy nations to donate $3bn next year to save 45 million lives in crisis areas. “Some 45 million civilians are struggling to survive displacement, loss, and severe disruption to their lives in the world's wars, conflicts and natural disasters," said Kofi Annan in a statement today. "I know that the world's wealthy nations understand their responsibility to help people in need. A world where - amid increasing global prosperity - millions still live in desperate conditions will not be a world at peace," Mr Annan said
Read article at BBCNews.co.uk

November 12, 2003
FDA's Dr. Christine Taylor to Lead Special Nutrition Project for World Health Organization
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that Dr. Christine Taylor, the Director of the Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling, and Dietary Supplements in FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, will be accepting a two-year assignment to head a special project on nutrition issues for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva , Switzerland
Read article at FDA.gov

November 11, 2003
Global Report on Nutrition's Role in Cancer Prevention Will Adopt New Approach
Work has officially begun on the production of the 2nd WCRF/AICR Expert Report. Due in 2006, the report will evaluate the many thousands of published, peer-reviewed scientific studies that have investigated how factors related to food, nutrition and physical activity affect the chances of developing cancer
Read article at PressReleases.be

October 18, 2003
Corporate hijacking of food is the most important health hazard of our time
Globalisation of agricultural and food production will lead to further hunger and malnutrition in the world and represents the most important health hazard of our time, Dr Vandana Shiva, founder of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, told a London audience this week
Read article at BMJ.com

October 17, 2003
International Health Organisations Slowing Fund To Disease Fights
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which has awarded $2.1 billion in grants to combat those three diseases since it was founded less than two years ago, has decided to slow the pace of its awards so it does not run out of money
Read article at DowJonesNews.com

October 3, 2003
Free-for-all on trade will harm everyone, says UN
Speaking in London yesterday, UNCTAD official Yilmaz Akyuz said the rules agreed in the Uruguay round of World Trade Organisation talks 10 years ago had left many developing countries with no chance of nurturing the home-grown firms which are crucial to economic success. He singled out the so-called TRIPS agreement on patent rights for particular criticism
Read article at Guardian.co.uk

September 29, 2003
Heart disease: kills twice as many women as cancers
Women need to take urgent action to reduce their risk of heart disease, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday, as it revealed study results to show that heart disease is a bigger killer of women than cancer
Read article at NURTAingredients.com

August 28, 2003
Africa greets medicines pact with anger, criticism
Kenyan activists accused the United States on Thursday of bullying poor countries into accepting a trade deal on drugs that favours corporate greed above the lives of millions dying from AIDS and other diseases.
Read article at AEGIS.com

June 13, 2003
Improvement to child nutrition halted
The food crisis that hit six southern African countries last year ended a regional trend throughout the 1990s of improving child nutrition, a survey by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has revealed.
Read article at IRINnews.org

June 3, 2003
Global bid to cut cancer details
The World Health Organisation and the International Union Against Cancer have launched a Global Action Against Cancer Program
Read article at BBCNews.co.uk

May 22, 2003
New report published by the Worldwatch Institute says poverty, disease and environmental decline threatens global security
Failure to meet the needs of the world’s poorest citizens threatens long-term global stability, reports Vital Signs 2003, the latest publication from the Worldwatch Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based research organization.
Read article at OneWorld.net

May 12, 2003
WHO seeks food industry input
WHO host roundtable discussion with food industry in attempt to encourage healthier diets worldwide to help prevent cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Some of the companies represented at the discussion are the main offenders – McDonalds, Coca Cola and Nestle
Read article at NUTRAingredients.com

May 2, 2003
Almost half of US citizens say they think the US will face a SARS epidemic within months
Almost half of Americans think that within months this country is likely to face a SARS epidemic similar to that in Asia, an Associated Press poll found.
Read article at ABCNews.com

April 9, 2003
First SARS case in Africa
A 62-year-old South African man is being treated at a Pretoria hospital as a "probable SARS" case, according to officials.
Read article at CNN.com

April 8, 2003
$72 million HIV/Aids, TB and Malaria aid grant to be signed in KwaZulu-Natal on 11th April 2003
The countdown has begun to Wednesday's historic signing, in Pretoria, of the $72-million (R576-million) global fund grant for HIV/Aids, TB and malaria in KwaZulu-Natal.
Read article at IOL.co.za

April 5, 2003
Canadian report calls for global health research priorities that focus on reducing the burden of disease
Burden of disease and inherently global health issues should both be considered
Read article at BMJ.com

April 5, 2003
World cancer rates to double by 2020
Worldwide cancer rates are set to double by 2020, a report published this week by the World Health Organization says.
Read article at BMJ.com

April 4, 2003
HIV/Aids crippling public health provision in South Africa
With an increasing number of HIV/AIDS patients seeking health care from already over-stretched public sector facilities, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is undermining the quality of care in South Africa's health system.
Read article at IRINnews.org

March 5, 2003
UNICEF say Aids and hunger claim one life every minute in southern Africa
Southern Africa's "ugly sisters" - HIV/Aids and hunger - now claim a victim every minute, according to the United Nations Children's Fund.
Read article at IOL.co.za

February 22, 2003
WHO criticised over funding of new initiative to help developing countries join Codex
A new $40m (£25m; €37m) global fund to help the world’s poorest countries to raise food safety standards was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization last week amid controversy over whether the fund would accept donations from the food industry.
Read article at BMJ.com

February 22, 2003
Members of UK health community supported anti-war march in London
Doctors, nurses, and international health specialists joined the biggest demonstration in British history on Saturday to protest against the prospect of a war on Iraq.
Read article at BMJ.com

February 21, 2003
UNICEF will launch a campaign to provide supplement vitamin A to some 12 million children aged six to 59 months nationwide
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will on Saturday launch a campaign to provide supplemental Vitamin A to some 12 million children aged six to 59 months nationwide.
Read article at IRINnews.org

February 17, 2003
KENYA: Call to reject WTO proposal on drugs
Recent gains made in making HIV/AIDS treatment accessible and affordable to Kenyans are being threatened by a deal currently under discussion at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which would severely restrict access to such drugs, a group of local NGOs has warned.
Read article at IRINnews.org

February 15, 2003
US given more time to re-consider WTO cheap drugs deal
Trade negotiators said on Monday they needed more time to persuade the United States to agree to a revised deal that would give African and other poor nations access to cheap, lifesaving drugs.
Read article at BMJ.com

February 14, 2003
A joint FAO/WHO initiative will provide a $40 million fund to enable developing countries to participate more fully in the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commitee
A $40 million Trust Fund to help the world’s least developed countries participate in Codex Alimentarius was launched in Geneva today by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Codex Alimentarius sets food standards that protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in food trade.
Read article at WHO.int

February 12, 2003
Meningitis outbreak in Burkina Faso kills 58
An outbreak of meningitis has killed at least 58 people in Burkina Faso and infected hundreds of others in the west African country, taking on epidemic proportions, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
Read article at News24.com

February 12, 2003
US criticises South Africa's stance on AIDS
The US ambassador to South Africa has questioned the commitment of the South African authorities to fighting Aids. The ambassador, Cameron Hume, said the government had failed to spend its own Aids budget, bringing into question whether the authorities would use US donations effectively.
Read article at BBCNews.co.uk

February 11, 2003
MEP's criticise US over WTO deadlock on generic medicines
MEPs have backed a Commission compromise proposal aimed at bringing fresh impetus to World Trade Organisation negotiations on the availability of medicines to poor countries and accused the US of delaying a WTO agreement on this issue.
Read article at EUObserver.com

February 10, 2003
Bhutan declared first country in Southeast Asia
to eliminate all 10 WHO Iodine Deficiency Disorder indicators
Bhutan imports majority of iodised salt from neighboring countries, mainly from India. It has been declared a “normal iodine nutrition country”. It is the first country in Southeast Asia to be declared by the WHO.
Read article at Foodingredientsfirst.com

February 8, 2003
Bush criticised for not giving AIDS money to Global Fund
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria needs an extra $6.3bn (£3.8bn; 5.8bn) in contributions over the next two years if it is to approve a third round of grants in October.
Read article at BMJ.com

February 7, 2003
Botswana receives over P100 million to fight AIDS, TB and malaria
Botswana's fight against HIV/AIDS has received a major boost, thanks to over P100 million from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.
Read article at Gov.bw