March 2010

Keeping our Soft Power Strong

One of the most interesting and important diplomatic developments in modern times has been the rise of "health diplomacy"—using our generous foreign assistance programs to project an unassailable image of American values in action. The effect is best when we keep these programs outwardly independent from more traditional diplomatic and policy making operations.

Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice used to call this principle "diplomacy by deeds."Secretary Clinton's version is known as the projection of "smart power.”

Learn more about health diplomacy..

ReliefWeb has released a short piece on the challenges for children and pregnant women in the North Rift Valley of Kenya.  The article does a compelling job of presenting the risks malaria and other diseases create for pregnant women and children.

"Depending on the level of transmission in an area, a malaria infection can affect the mother and fetus in different ways. In areas of high transmission, where malaria is endemic, adult women have developed clinical immunity. In these areas, such as Central and North Pokot where HealthRight works, a malarial infection will be asymptomatic but can cause severe maternal anemia as well as parasitic infection in the placenta. When located in the placenta, the parasites impede the flow of nutrients between mother and fetus causing low birth weight, which decreases the chance of infant survival.”

ONE has posted an update on the first class of Malaria Griots!  The blog is posted below:

Watch out malaria. Thirty-three Malaria Griots are coming for you.
We at ONE and Malaria No More are extremely proud to introduce the very first class of Malaria Griots. As we shared in earlier posts, the Malaria Griots Project (beta edition) is an interactive program designed to train passionate volunteers into powerful spokespersons in the fight against malaria.

We put out a call for entries—and we were completely wowed by the applications we received. We have an inaugural class of 33—and they're an unbelievable group. We also have a few auditors taking part to help us evaluate the course. We deliberately chose a smaller group of Griots this time around as this is our beta launch and these folks are the pioneers that will lead the way for lots more people to follow.

Learn more about Malaria Griots...

Mark Green has penned a personal recollection on the affects of countless diseases on those he met in Africa.

It was my first night in that Kenyan village—actually, it was less a village and more a loose collection of huts and gardens on the slopes of a hill. The headmaster of our little school was driving me along the mud paths that I would get to know so well. But that night, as we bounced along in his old Toyota, with only his headlights and the distant cooking fires breaking up the darkness, I had no idea where we were going.