View previous stories
	Canadian Medical Association opposes “Shameful” Asbestos Export by Mesothelioma Resource Online   The Montreal Gazette reports that Canadian doctors continue to condemn the current prime minister, Stephen Harper, calling his “decision to block listing asbestos as a hazardous product” “shameful.”   In response to Harper’s stance on asbestos, the news source explains “Delegates to the Canadian Medical Association"s general assembly voted nearly unanimously - 99 per cent - in support of a motion opposing the federal government for contesting the international designation of chrysotile asbestos as a hazardous substance.”   The news source reports that according to the outgoing president of the CMA, the export of this dangerous product should not be part of Canada’s economy.   This debate over asbestos export has been raging in Canada since Harper took office in 2006, continuing to vocalize on many occasions his support for Canada’s production and sale of this material to foreign nations. However, opponents of this asbestos export point to their government’s own ban on the use of this material as testimony of the conservative-president’s hypocrisy.   Though prohibited in new Canadian construction and still being removed from government and public buildings, Harper and industry supporters still maintain asbestos is "safe?" when used correctly. The Gazette goes on to explain that “The head of the Canadian delegation at a United Nations summit in Geneva” made it clear that Canada “opposes placing limits on the export of asbestos.”   Because a consensus is “needed to list the substance as a hazardous material under the United Nations Rotterdam Convention,” the news source explains, asbestos remains a product without international export restrictions. The Gazette goes on to explain that CMA members are done “begging” the federal government to take the appropriate action.   With the nearly unanimous vote to oppose the federal government’s support of chrysotile asbestos export, the Gazette said Canadian physicians hope a strong message is sent which shows they will not tolerate this “unethical and shameful behavior.”   Asbestos export has garnered this level of controversy in Canada because of the material’s lethal health impacts. When inhaled or swallowed, tiny asbestos fibers become trapped in the lining of the chest or abdominal cavity, leading to a number of serious health conditions, including lung cancer and mesothelioma.   Mesothelioma is a particularly lethal form of cancer which gives patients a short average life expectancy of just four to 18 months.   The CMA’s position as a healthcare provider to victims of asbestos exposure no doubt contributed to this motion. Though no longer used in Canada, the delay in disease development means medical professionals continue to see the effects of past asbestos exposure, even today. Visit the related web page
	UN opens conference on unlocking economic potential of world’s poorest countries by AP, UN News & agencies Istanbul, Turkey   9 May 2011   A major United Nations conference aimed at devising a new strategy to help the world’s poorest countries unlock their economic potential and accelerate development opened today in Turkey, where of heads of State and senior officials from international organizations are among 7,000 participants in attendance.   The Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Istanbul will assess the implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action – the outcome document adopted at the last such conference, held in 2001 – and try to reach agreement on a new set of support measures for the 48 nations classified as LDCs.   Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the opening session that LDCs should not be seen as “poor and weak” but countries with “vast reservoirs of untapped potential” that are home to nearly 900 million people or 12 per cent of the global population.   “Investing in LDCs is an opportunity for all,” said Mr. Ban. “First, it is an opportunity to relieve the world’s most vulnerable people of the burdens of poverty, hunger and needless disease. This is a moral obligation.   “Second, investing in LDCs can provide the stimulus that will help to propel and sustain global economic recovery and stability. This is not charity, it is smart investment.   “Third, it provides a massive opportunity for South-South cooperation and investment. The world’s rapidly emerging economies need both resources and markets.”   The Secretary-General pointed out that LDCs “represent a vast and barely touched area for enterprise… for business. We have here, this week, all the ingredients for success… for a genuine partnership for development.”   Outlining some of the challenges facing LDCs, Mr. Ban noted that the countries suffer disproportionately from preventable diseases and are most vulnerable to natural disasters, environmental degradation and economic uncertainty.   They are also the least secure, with eight of the 15 UN peacekeeping missions operating in LDCs. Over the past decade, least developed countries produced 60 per cent of the world’s refugees.   Mr. Ban called for a successful conclusion to the Doha Development Round of multilateral negotiations, saying there was little point in helping LDCs to grow food and other commodities, manufacture products and develop services if they cannot trade fairly in the global marketplace.   Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the conference, Mr. Ban stressed that the gathering must come up with a practical and far-reaching programme of action which will spur LDCs’ productive capacity through trade, improved agriculture, financing for development and addressing the consequences of climate change.   “Here in Istanbul, where continents and cultures connect and converge, let us build a strong bridge – a bridge that will enable the least fortunate and most vulnerable members of our human family to cross to the land of prosperity and security,” he said.   The President of the General Assembly, Joseph Deiss, described the conference as a unique opportunity to make a real difference for the development of LDCs and called for the renewed and stronger support of the international community.   He said the plan of action that will be agreed in Istanbul “must empower the least developed countries to transform their economies and society by helping to create an enabling national and international environment for social and economic development and enhancing productive capacities.”   But Mr. Deiss pointed out the quality of institutions and policies at the national and regional levels must be sound to facilitate development in LDCs.   “Rule of law, respect of human rights and democracy must be strengthened. The fight against corruption has to be intensified,” he said.   “Eradicating poverty and reducing vulnerability in the least developed countries is a duty that we have towards the million people living in these countries. This will in turn contribute to making the world safer, more prosperous, more dynamic, more democratic and more united.”   May 2011   Rising prices are hurting world’s poorest countries. (AP & agencies)   A United Nations conference aimed at helping the world’s poorest people opened Monday with dire warnings about the threat of rising food and fuel prices to the vulnerable. There were also calls to seize investment opportunities in developing countries.   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was among up to 8,000 delegates who converged on Istanbul for the conference on “least-developed countries,” which lists 48 members in its ranks. Thirty-three are in Africa, 14 are in Asia and one Haiti in the Americas.   The group accounts for nearly 13 percent of the global population, but just 1 percent of world trade. Least-developed countries, known as LDCs, have enjoyed relatively high growth rates in recent years.   “Investing in LDCs is not charity. It’s an opportunity for all,” Ban said. “Investing in LDCs can provide the stimulus that can help to propel and sustain global economic recovery.”   The last such conference was hosted by the European Union in Brussels in 2001, and Ban said it was vital to ensure the long-term monitoring of any promises of assistance from developed and emerging economies. “We have received generous pledges in the past, but not all of them have been delivered,” he said. “Therefore accountability will be very important.”   WFP calls for Global Leadership to invest in Nutrition as rising Prices hit Hard.   As rising prices cast millions of families overnight into the ranks of the hungry, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has called for global leadership to invest in nutrition.   “For families who spend 80 percent of their income on food, all it takes is one price shock to cast them overnight into the ranks of the hungry,” said WFP’s Deputy Executive Director Amir Abdulla.   “These people are often faced with desperate choices—to feed one person or the other, to forego needed health care, to take girls out of school.”   Abdulla told a special session of the UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries that malnutrition was an economic issue that affected the overall potential of nations.   This year, food prices, weather emergencies and political instability were intersecting in a perfect storm hitting the world’s most vulnerable people.   He said WFP was seeing a changing face of hunger and malnutrition, with more hungry and poor in urban areas – even in middle-income countries.   In 2010, WFP reached more than 100 million people in more than 70 countries, including 38 of the Least Developed Countries or LDCs. Practically every second child under the age of five (43 percent) in these, poorest, countries, was stunted or small for their age.   Mr Abdulla highlighted that advances have been made in fighting child malnutrition in countries such as Nepal, Ethiopia, Mali and Mauritania. Brazil has set an example with its innovative Zero Hunger policy, slashing rates for undernutrition from 37 percent in 1974 to 7 percent in 2007.   Prime Minister Jhalnath Khanal of Nepal was among speakers who said soaring food and fuel costs were hurting the world’s poorest people, and that the impact of climate change in the form of droughts and floods was placing additional pressure on them. He cited the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas as one example, and noted Bangladesh was also susceptible to natural disasters.   Since the United Nations introduced the category of least-developed countries, only Botswana, Cape Verde and Maldives have developed enough to be removed from the list. Qualification for the list includes a per-capita annual income of less than $905, and assessments of malnutrition, child mortality and education levels, as well as an “economic vulnerability” rating based on population size, remoteness and instability in exports and production. The category does not include large economies, and the populations of its members must be below 75 million.   Negotiators for the LDCs are looking to put in place measures for building infrastructure to attain economic self-sufficiency, push back poverty and create decent jobs", the UN said.   The executive European Commission underlined its commitment to help the LDCs out of poverty in a statement Friday. "As the largest donor to the least developed countries, with 15 billion euros of aid in 2010, the EU will urge other partners to match its pledge to provide from 0.15 to 0.20 percent of its gross national income to LDCs," it said.   The LDCs are home to 645 million people living below the poverty line -- and their total populations are expected to double by 2050. Economically vulnerable they account together for only one percent of world trade.   "Rising food prices pose a severe challenge. Most LDCs are net food importers and one third of their populations are chronically malnourished. But if modern infrastructure is in place and local farmers have access to necessary support, they may benefit from firm prices and launch a turnaround in low-productivity agriculture", said the UN statement.   Campaigners from Sierra Leone, one of the LDCs, stressed that the cost of food was a key issue there. Sorie Conteh, secretary-general of Sierra Leone"s Food for Survival, insisted the conference should produce action, rather than mere talk.   "People here are just barely living from hour to hour, battered by poverty and unemployment. The call is that the conference should not be reduced to a talking shop but an action-oriented movement," she told AFP.   "The issue of rising food prices is of fundamental importance to a country like Sierra Leone with an economy which is donor driven," said Christine Webber of People for Sustainable Living. Visit the related web page
	View more stories