Publications

Editor’s note - once again the SCN Secretariat is grateful to the many authors, printers, publishers and participating agencies who have sent us copies of their publications. Space is limited so SCN News editors try to select those titles which, together, cover the breadth of nutrition as well as titles that may become standard references for policy makers. SCN News is especially interested in publications that present nutrition thinking in a new way or summarize trends in key indicators for a wide audience. Also included for this issue of SCN News are several widely-disseminated reports that have neglected nutrition almost entirely.

NUTRITION AND HEALTH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Edited by Richard D. Semba and Martin W. Bloem, with a foreword by Nevin Scrimshaw Humana Press, 2002, 569 pp.

This is a comprehensive and authoritative text, a tour-de-force. It is well placed to take on the stature in years to come of the influential monograph by Scrimshaw, Taylor and Gordon published by WHO in the 60s, Interactions of Nutrition and Infection. This book examines nutrition and health, past, present and future in developing countries. It provides clear guidelines for improving nutrition and health in developing countries into the 21^st century. It goes well beyond the epidemiology of nutrition, to discuss issues such as urbanization, food and nutrition security, the impacts and costs of programmes, and the demographic transition. The editors started with the underlying conviction that nutrition is the main cornerstone of health in developing countries. Each chapter is written by an authority in the field: low birthweight by Michael Kramer and Cesar Victora, child growth by Mercedes de Onis, zinc deficiency by Roger Shrimpton, nutrition transition by Barry Popkin, economics of nutrition interventions by Sue Horton, research directions by David Pelletier. The book contains 22 chapters, each heavily referenced.

Available from: http://humanapress.com

FACTS FOR LIFE

UNICEF/WHO/UNESCO/UNFPA/UNDP/UNAIDS/WFP/World Bank Third Edition, 2002, 153 pp.

With a foreword signed by no less than eight UN agency heads, a write-up in a recent issue of The Economist, and 15 million copies in use worldwide in 215 languages this book aims to make life-saving and life-improving knowledge easily available to everyone. It presents the most important facts that people have a right to know to prevent child deaths and diseases, and to protect women during pregnancy and childbirth. Nutrition messages are present throughout. The book opens with a guide to communication, with sections on reaching the caregivers, factors that influence communication, translating and adapting messages, effective communication and communication breakdowns. The book consists of 13 chapters, each dealing with one major cause of childhood illness and death. Every chapter has three parts: an introduction, several key messages and supporting information. Introductions provide a brief and powerful call to action, basically the extent of the problem and why taking action is so important. Key messages are then addressed to parents and other care-givers, and supporting information elaborates on the key messages.

Available from: http: unicef.org/ffl

NUTRITION TODAY MATTERS TOMORROW

A Report from the March of Dimes Task Force on Nutrition and Optimal Human Development 2002, 154 pp.

The March of Dimes is a US foundation started by President Roosevelt in 1938 to save US youth from polio; it began as a partnership between volunteers and researchers. The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. March of Dimes funded important work on folic acid and spina bifida in the early 90s and advocated for folic acid fortification of wheat flour in the US. March of Dimes interest in nutrition continues to expand. In 1999 the March of Dimes convened an international, interdisciplinary group of 29 nutrition scientists, administrators, public health experts and policy makers to address ways to promote nutrition for optimal human development. The Task Force reviewed the scientific evidence and proposed ways to improve health outcomes around the world for two vulnerable groups, women of childbearing age and children under two, through better nutrition. Of special interest to the Task Force was food-based dietary recommendations and a life cycle perspective. This report, with a Foreword by Sir Richard Jolly, former SCN Chair, contains recommendations and suggested implementation strategies covering prevention of micronutrient deficiencies, promoting healthy weight for women, reducing risk of low birthweight, encouraging breastfeeding and optimal growth for children. The report is both readable and practical.

Available from: kbartley@modimes.org

COORDINATES 2002: CHARTING PROGRESS AGAINST AIDS, TUBERCULOSIS AND MALARIA

UNICEF/UNAIDS/WHO, 2002, 23 pp.

This report is based on presentations given in Geneva in January 2002 by UNAIDS Executive Director Dr. Peter Piot and WHO Director-General, Dr. Gro Brundtland to the board of the newly-created Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Coordinates 2002 is an evidence-based, consolidated review of the three different but interacting diseases. The report summarizes the burdens of these diseases, assesses the tools used to fight them, and discusses the barriers to progress. The report recognizes that these diseases have vastly different biological, political and cultural contexts. For example, the first effective quinine-based treatment for malaria was given to Europeans in the early 1600s. Highly active antiretroviral therapy did not become standard practice, in industrialized countries, until 1996. While prevention efforts for malaria are aimed at encouraging parents to put their children under bed nets, the challenge in preventing HIV infections is to motivate young people to alter sex and drug use be-haviours. TB, on the other hand, has been addressed by public health in an organized way for more than a century. The report highlights the interactions between the diseases. For example, HIV makes TB more deadly and complicates control efforts. The report reaffirms the value of prevention, but finds that prevention tools are little used. Fewer than 10%, often fewer than 1%, of children under five sleep under insecticide-treated bed nets. The report includes sections on burdens and trends, tools, targets, results, and funding gaps. Some of the facts seem very bleak indeed (eg “in many parts of Africa, the prevalence of malaria infection in children simply could not get much higher”), on the other hand, the evidence presented here confirms these diseases can be controlled. Absent though is any analysis of a role that nutrition interventions can play in the fight against these three infections.

Available from: www.who.int

PREVENTION OF MOTHER-TO-CHILD TRANSMISSION OF HIV: SELECTION AND USE OF NEVIRAPINE

World Health Organization WHO/RHR/01.21, 2001, 16 pp.

The UN agencies recommend a three-pronged strategy to prevent transmission of HIV to infants: a) primary prevention of HIV among parents to be, b) prevention of unwanted pregnancies among HIV-infected women, and c) prevention of HIV transmission from HIV-infected women to their infants through the provision of antiretroviral drugs to HIV-infected pregnant women and their infants, safe delivery practices, and counselling and support for safer infant feeding practices. A technical consultation on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV was convened by WHO in Geneva in October 2000. Participants reviewed available evidence on the efficacy and safety of antiretroviral prophylactic regimens used for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission in resource limited settings. The consultation concluded that all regimens that have been shown to be effective in controlled clinical trials can be recommended for use in prevention programmes in such settings. This technical note provides summary information on the nivirapine trials, and the technical basis for recommendations. Work currently underway in South Africa will provide further information on the effects of exclusive breastfeeding combined with nivirapine therapy on transmission rates and infant health and nutrition outcomes.

Available from: http://www.who.int/HIV_AIDS/MTCT/Nevirapine/en/who_hiv_aids_2001.03.pdf

EDUCATION AND AIDS: A WINDOW OF HOPE

The World Bank, 2002, 79 pp.

This document was prepared by members of the World Bank’s Education team led by Don Bundy (Chair of the SCN Working Group on Nutrition of the School Age Child from 2000-2002) and Manorama Gotur. The central message is that the education of children and youth merits the highest priority in a world afflicted by HIV/AIDS. This is because a good basic education ranks among the most effective, and cost effective, means of HIV prevention. It also merits priority because the very education system that supplies a nation’s future is gravely threatened by the epidemic, particularly in areas of high or rising HIV prevalence. The document argues for a broad strategic response to HIV rooted in education and set within a national, multisectoral context. Responses to the epidemic have too often been piecemeal, small scale, health focused and weakly integrated into related efforts. Strong political commitment is key to addressing such shortcomings. With sections on HIV and why education matters, the impact of HIV on education, case examples of country responses and action strategies, this document covers a lot of the basic ground concerning linkages between education and various development outcomes, and how these relationships as changing in the face of HIV/AIDs. One surprising gap is the lack of any guidance on the use of food in the school setting, for education and for nutrition.

Available from: www.worldbank.org

WE THE CHILDREN: MEETING THE PROMISES OF THE WORLD SUMMIT FOR CHILDREN

UNICEF, 2001, 102 pp.

This report is issued by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The report assesses the progress made in meeting the commitments made to children at the 1990 World Summit for Children. It also includes best practices and lessons learned, obstacles to progress, and a plan of action for building a world fit for children. This report is an updated and adbridged version of the Secretary-General's report (with the same title), released in May 2001, summarizing end-of-decade accomplishments. What has been achieved for nutrition? The goal to reduce underweight in underfives by half has been only partially achieved. More than 40 countries are reaching the large majority of their children (over 70%) with at least one high dose vitamin A supplement each year. As many as one million child deaths may have been prevented in this way in the last three years alone. However, many countries are now dismantling national immunization days and a new distribution system needs to be found. Exclusive breastfeeding rates increased over the decade, however, only about half of all infants are exclusively breastfed "for the first four months". There has been no change in rates of iron deficiency anemia rates. We the Children will be especially useful to policy-makers, journalists and students as a reference tool and a study of the progress that can be achieved through goal-oriented development planning.

Available from: http://www.unicef.org/pubsgen/wethechildren/index.html

GLOBAL SCHOOL FEEDING REPORT 2002

World Food Programme, 2002, 55 pp.

With an introduction by Catherine Bertini, this report is the first on WFP's global school feeding campaign. While recognizing that the use of food to support education is not a new idea, the report reflects on the new strategies employed in WFP-assisted school feeding programmes. WFP continues to emphasize the importance of girls' education. To help close the gender gap in schools, WFP provides take home rations to families. These help to compensate for the loss of their daughters' labour and earning potential, so that they can attend school. Take home rations are also provided to families caring for children who have lost parents to AIDS, war or natural disasters. WFP also provides de-worming treatment for school children, where prevalence of helminths is high and the problem untreated. The report describes this work in pictures and pie charts. It also presents information about the Ar-gos Satellite and Monitoring System, a sturdy, weather proof device equiped with a touch screen or keypad, a processing unit, an Argos satellite transmitter and an antenna. This device can be used by teachers to enter attendance records, food aid commodity counts, ration servings and other data and transmit directly from the school, via France, to WFP in Rome. The device was tested by WFP in 2001 in eleven countries with encouraging results. WFP has also prepared Basic Guide: School Feeding, which provides simplified guidelines on policy rationale and objectives of school feeding, and practical information on rations, food safety, health and sanitation, and monitoring and evaluation (available from the WFP School Feeding Support Unit, WFP in Rome).

Available from: www.wfp.org or email: schoolfeeding@wfp.org

STATE OF THE WORLD'S NEWBORNS

Save the Children, 2002, 49 pp.

Each year an estimated 4m babies die before they reach the age of one month, and 4m more are stillborn, dying between 22 weeks of pregnancy and birth. 98% of these newborn deaths take place in developing countries, and for the most part these newborn deaths occur at home in the absence of any skilled health care. There are enormous disparities worldwide; a mother in Africa is 30 times as likely as a mother in western Africa to lose her newborn in the first month of life. This State of the World's Newborns reviews the most recent data on the newborn. The report reveals alarmingly poor health and quality of health care for mothers and newborns in all developing countries. While there has been a dramatic reduction in underfive mortality in the past 20 years, there has been relatively little change in newborn mortality. Proven cost effective solutions exist to save many of these lives. The report points out that low birthweight is a secondary cause of 40-80% of newborn deaths. It advocates for the broad use of food and vitamin supplements to improve maternal nutrition as part of a development effort aimed at alleviating poverty, ensuring household food security and promoting healthy diets. Statistical tables provide information for 163 countries regarding 12 indicators relevant to new born health and survival. The countries in the tables represent over 99% of the world's births. The foreword is by Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Gates Foundation.

Available from: www.savethechildren.org

JIM GRANT: UNICEF VISIONARY

Edited by Richard Jolly, with a foreword by Jimmy Carter UNICEF, 2002, 173 pp.

Edited by Sir Richard Jolly who worked with Jim Grant as UNICEF's Deputy Director of Programmes from 1982 to 1995, this book gives glimpses, many very personal, of Jim Grant's leadership and achievements during his period as Executive Director of UNICEF. Jim Grant was appointed by Jimmy Carter to head UNICEF in 1980, he served in this position until 1995. Each piece is written by one of Mr. Grant's close colleagues: Peter Adamson writes about "the mad American", Jon Rohde about the early influences on Jim Grant's life and his childhood in China, Nyi Nyi on building foundations for a new perspective at UNICEF, Richard Reid on stopping wars for children, and Kul Gautum on the ten commandments of Jim Grant's leadership for development. A closing chapter provides some ten pages of Jim Grant's own words. This book is very special, a celebration of great achievement. The origins of the GOBI movement, the child survival and development strategies, the settings of goals and targets for nutrition, the Children’s Summit of 1990 are all explained in intriguing detail.

Available for $10.– from Amazon.com or from: http://www.unicef.org/pubsgen/jimgrant/

WEAVING THE SOCIAL FABRIC: 3 STRANDS OF AN INTEGRATED HEALTH-COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO HIV/AIDS

WHO, 2002, 6-page fold-out

This is a memory card describing how WHO will contribute to the global effort against the HIV/AIDS pandemic by intensifying its activities, and by providing support to national authorities as they seek to scale up their responses. The three strands are improving knowledge, preventing infection and providing care and support. The absence of affordable drugs to treat HIV infection and AIDS-related conditions has resulted in enormous strains being placed on health care infrastructures. WHO supports provision of voluntary testing and counselling, comprehensive care packages to include management of opportunistic infection, and ARV standardized protocol for resource poor settings. The essential care package is explained. Nutrition is not mentioned.

Available from: www.who.int

THE OPTIMAL DURATION OF EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING - A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

by Michael Kramer and Ritsuko Kakuma, WHO, (WHO/NHD/01.08), 47 pp, 2002; and Report of an Expert Consultation, Geneva, March 28-30, 2001, also published by WHO in 2002

There has been a long-standing debate over the optimal duration of exclusive breast-feeding centering on the so-called “weanling's dilemma” in developing countries: the choice between the known protective effect of exclusive breastfeeding against infectious morbidity and the theoretical insufficiency of breastmilk alone to satisfy the infant's energy and micronutrient requirements beyond four months of age. The primary objective of this review was to assess the effects on child health, growth and development, and on maternal health, of exclusive breastfeeding for six months versus exclusive breastfeeding for 3-4 months with mixed breastfeeding, thereafter through six months. The researchers found that infants who are exclusively breastfed for six months experience less morbidity from infection than those who are mixed breastfed as of three or four months, and no deficits in growth among infants who are exclusively breastfed for six months. Moreover, mothers of these infants have more prolonged lactational amenorrhea. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life in all country settings is thus recommended public health policy. This work was first presented to the SCN in Nairobi in April 2001.

Available from: www.who.int

CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH - A FOUNDATION FOR IMPROVING CHILD HEALTH

Global Fund for Health Research and WHO, 2002, 30 pp.

Progress in public health depends on the systematic critical review and analysis of current practice with a view to doing things better in the future. This is the essence of research. Although child health has improved overall, three of the ten most important conditions of the global burden of disease still are diseases of childhood - respiratory infections, perinatal conditions and diarrheal diseases - causing over half of child deaths. This publication summarizes some of the ways in which research findings have lead to very significant improvement in child health: eg, diarrhea management, breastfeeding promotion, prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV and controlling vitamin A deficiency. An updated figure shows the contribution of malnutrition to child deaths as 60%, rather than 54% seen in previous WHO publications.

Available from: http://www.globalforumhealth or www.who.int

DIALOGUE OR ENGINEERING OF CONSENT? OPPORTUNITIES AND RISKS OF TALKING TO INDUSTRY

Judith Richter, IBFAN-GIFA, Geneva, 24 pp.

Campaigns which challenge large corporations to act in socially responsible ways are not new. Since the 70s, citizen action groups have been attempting to achieve change by means of public awareness raising, boycotts, shareholder resolutions, postcard mailings, court cases and other strategies. At first, most of the corporations and business associations which were the objects of criticism reacted either by denying responsibility or by attempting to discredit those who criticized them. Today, however, the corporate community casts "dialogues" with critics as one of the best ways to deal with contentious issues. What lies behind the offers of large corporations and business associations to enter into dialogue with them? This publication looks to various sources to answer questions like this: public relations textbooks, academic publications on propaganda, and analyses of citizen action groups, to name a few.

Available from: email: info@gifa.org

PROTECT OR PLUNDER: UNDERSTANDING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Vandana Shiva, 2002, 146 pp.

This new series published by Zed Books in collaboration with a number of NGOs (including Third World Network and the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation) tries to deal with leading global issues and to stimulate new thinking and social action. This title, by a world renowned environmental leader and activist, deals with intellectual property rights, TRIPs and patents. Shiva shows that the kinds of ideas, technologies and identification of genes, even manipulations of life forms that can be owned and exploited for profit by corporations is a vital issue to all concerned with food security and nutrition. She argues that the unprecedented widening of the concept of intellectual property does not in fact stimulate human creativity and the generation of knowledge, on the contrary it increases vulnerability of the poor.

Available from: Zed Books - http://www. zedbooks.demon.co.uk/

BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS FOR FOOD SECURITY

UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security FAO, 2002, 48 pp.

The SCN Secretariat is often asked about the connection between the SCN and the ACC Network on Rural Development and Food Security, based at FAO. The Network recently took a new name, the UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security, and was set up in 1997 to act as a coordination mechanism at the country level for follow-up to the World Food Summit. Lavishly illustrated, this publication explains the work of the Network. The Network develops partnerships. It brings national stakeholders together to help governments translate the World Food Summit Plan of Action into concrete, practical action. The Network also reinforces ties between UN system organizations and other stakeholders to foster complementarities and synergies. It operates via national thematic groups working on rural development and food security. Promoting cassava research and production in the Congo, promoting poverty reduction efforts in Ethiopia, strengthening capacities in agricultural training in the Gambia are examples of the country-level work spearheaded by the Network.

Available from: www.rdfs.net

REPORT ON THE GLOBAL HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC

UNAIDS, 2002, 226 pp.

This global report is published every two years, timed to coincide with the world AIDS congress. It is written by staff of UNAIDS drawing on expertise from the co-sponsoring agencies (there are now eight). In the preface, Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, laments the fact that the epidemic has turned out to be far worse than predicted. The epidemic is still in its early stages, effective responses are possible but only when they are politically backed and full scale, and unless more is done today, the epidemic will continue to grow. The report describes a series of shifts in fundamental thinking about the epidemic. For one, access to comprehensive care and treatment for HIV/AIDS is not an optional luxury. Access to care is a basic necessity in programming in every setting and needs to encompass the full continuum, including home based and palliative care, treatment of infections and ARVs. The chapter on care and support contains just less than one page on the role of nutrition, beginning with "the inclusion of nutrition as a core part of any HIV care package is essential". SCN News asks, is there an evidence base to say more?

Available from: http://www.unaids.org

THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES REPORT 2002: ESCAPING THE POVERTY TRAP

UNCTAD, 2002, 265 pp.

Forty-nine countries are currently designated by the UN as least developed countries. The list is reviewed every three years by ECOSOC. The UN has hosted three conferences on the LDCs. Kofi Annan urged governments to ensure that the third conference, unlike the first two, would mark "a real turning point in the everyday life of poor people in the poorest countries". The purpose of this report is to contribute to that vision by providing an analytical base for national and international policies designed to promote poverty reduction in these countries. The central message of this report is that there is a major, but underestimated, opportunity for rapid reduction in extreme poverty in the LDCs through sustained economic growth. However, this opportunity is not realized in most LDCs because of an international poverty trap, i.e., poverty has effects which act as causes of poverty. The report argues that poverty reduction strategies should work for LDCs but don't, and suggests an alternative approach as well as new poverty estimates (using something called a "national-accounts-consistent" method). The new poverty estimates show that most LDCs are characterized by a situation in which absolute poverty is all-pervasive throughout society. The incidence and the depth of poverty are particularly severe in African LDCs; while rates are very high in Asia, Asian poverty is relatively less severe. The incidence of extreme poverty is increasing in LDCs as a whole. A section on human development targets includes mention of "malnourishment". Some 13 of the 34 LDCs with data are on track to achieve the goal of halving malnourishment by 2015. Curiously, halving malnutrition among pregnant women in LDCs by 2015 is listed as a suggested indicator for monitoring progress towards human development goals, but the report notes that there are no specific data available on nutrition of pregnant women.

Available from: http://www.unctad.org/../en/pub/ps1ldc02.en.htm

HIV/AIDS: A GUIDE FOR NUTRITION, CARE AND SUPPORT

Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project, AED. Washington DC. 2001, 55 pp.

This guide provides information for affected households and communities on how to live a healthy life from the time of infection with HIV through the progression of the disease. Because a majority of people may not know their HIV status, the food and diet messages included in this guide are appropriate to help all adults and children lead healthier, more productive lives. The guide does not cover drug treatment and preventive practices, but complements other references on this topic. The guide refers to the nutritional care and support needs of individuals infected with HIV; that is, they have the virus with or without signs of AIDS. The guide is also designed for individuals, families and communities affected by HIV; that is, they may or may not be HIV-infected but are experiencing the social, economic and often health consequences of the virus. The guide is designed with the view that sound nutrition practices will benefit both infected and affected populations. There are six modules: basic facts, coping with HIV, food management for adults living with AIDS-related symptoms and illnesses, nutritional issues concerning medical therapies (both modern and traditional), recommendations for infants and children, food based approaches to support affected households and communities. Relevant references are included for each module; many of these references are guidebooks, pamphlets and drafts produced by African ministries of health, agriculture, or social services. Several key references were produced by prominent African NGOs, for example the Network for African People Living with HIV/AIDS based in Kenya. This guide is well written and very practical.

ANTI-HUNGER PROGRAMME. REDUCING HUNGER THROUGH AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND WIDER ACCESS TO FOOD 1^st draft.

FAO, Rome, May 2002, 23 pp.

This publication, and the proposed Alliance against Hunger that it describes, were launched by the Economic and Social Development Department of the FAO at the recent World Food Summit - 5 yrs later event. The Alliance is aimed at mobilizing political will, technical expertise and financial resources so that the target of reducing hunger by at least half by 2015 can be achieved. (The terms hunger, malnutrition and malnourishment are used synonymously in this report.) The Alliance would bring together governments of poor and rich countries, the international community and civil society, from parliamentarians to concerned citizens. This report describes the economic benefits of accelerating the achievement of the 1996 goal as being in the range US$120b per year. Achieving the goal would also improve the chances of meeting the Millenium Development Goals, not only for poverty but also for education, child mortality, maternal health and disease. So, hunger is a moral outrage and imposes huge costs on societies. Why then is so little done? The report argues that this is because political will is lacking and, consequently, resources have not been adequately mobilized. An incremental average annual public expenditure required for a multicomponent programme intended to lead to the achievement of the goal by 2015 is set out. Total proposed investment costs amount to US$23.8b, the largest part of this would be expansion of rural infrastructure and market access. How the Alliance would go about its work is unclear, however, this is a first draft, "an idea" for discussion.

Available from: www.fao.org

REACHING SUSTAINABLE FOOD SECURITY FOR ALL BY 2020 GETTING THE PRIORITIESAND RESPONSIBILITIES RIGHT

IFPRI, May 2002, 34 pp.

In September 2001, IFPRI and its 2020 Vision Initiative sponsored an international conference in Bonn to bring together the actors needed to achieve a world free from poverty, hunger, malnutrition and unsustainable natural resource management. The 900 people who attended the conference considered the driving forces that will determine the difficulty of achieving this vision and articulated the steps required to achieve it. Amongst the nine driving forces is emerging, re-emerging and continuing health and nutrition crises. Micronutrient deficiencies, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and chronic diseases all compromise food and nutrition security in many development countries. Most developing countries also face a double burden of malnutrition: extensive undernutrition and overnutrition often in the same household. These crises not only destroy human lives, they "slam the door on opportunities". Actions must address the causes of food insecurity, malnutrition and unsustainable natural resource management. High-priority policy actions are needed in seven broad areas: investing in human resources, improving access to productive resources, improving markets, expanding research efforts, improving natural resource management, promoting good governance and supporting sound trade policies. The first of these, investing in human resources, includes improving access to health care, clean water and sanitation and child care, fighting micronutrient deficiencies, food safety and educating girls and boys. Nutrition also appears, logically and prominently, in sections on other policy actions.

Available from: www.ifpri.org

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2002 DEEPENING DEMOCRACY IN A FRAGMENTED WORLD

UNDP, 2002, 277 pp.

With special contributions from Nobel laureates Kyi and Williams and rock star Bono of U2 (on p 104), this year's Human Development Report is about politics and human development. It is about how political power and institutions - formal and informal, national and international - shape human progress. It is also about what it will take for countries to establish democratic governance systems that advance the human development of all people, in a world where so many are left behind. Politics matter for human development because people everywhere want to be free to determine their destinies, express their views and participate in decisions about their lives. These capabilities, it is argued, are just as important for human development as being able to read or enjoy good nutrition. The Report surveys the dramatic progress in opening up political systems and expanding political freedoms throughout the 80s and 90s, as well as the sombre realities of the post-cold war era. It argues that countries can promote human development for all only when they have governance systems that are fully accountable to all people. The first chapter provides a summary of progress against the Millennium Development Goals. These eight goals for development and poverty eradication are to be achieved by 2015 (see SCN News 23, p 49-50). Many countries have made progress, but much of the world, generally the poorest countries, seems unlikely to achieve the goals. The Report cites child underweight data as well as the FAO indicator of dietary energy supply as evidence for progress towards eliminating hunger. Other chapters cover deepening democracy by tackling democratic deficits, democratizing security to prevent conflict and to build peace and democracy at the global level.

PROGRAMMING OF CHRONIC DISEASE BY IMPAIRED FETAL NUTRITION EVIDENCE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES

Helene Delisle., WHO (NPH/02.1), 2001, 93 pp.

The purpose of this very comprehensive review is to assess recent evidence of the link between fetal nutrition and cardiovascular disease risk markers in later life, the mechanisms, and the causal pathways, based on epidemiological and experimental data, and to highlight some implications for policy and intervention strategies from developing country perspectives. The focus is on fetal programming, while acknowledging that the process may also extend to early postnatal life. The link between poor fetal growth and cardiovascular disease risk is given emphasis, rather than the determinants of impaired fetal growth per se. There are chapters on the concept of fetal programming of chronic diseases, experimental models of fetal programming and possible mechanisms, underlying mechanisms, the role of maternal nutrition, and susceptibility to post natal influences. A final chapter covers controversial areas and related hypotheses, such as folate deficiency, the thrifty genotype and low socioeconomic status as a confounding factor.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE SCN SECRETARIAT OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS

African Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Volume 2, No 1, March 2002. Professor Ruth K. Oniang'o, Editor-in-Chief. <www.ajfns. net>

Held to Ran$om, a press kit of the International Planned Parenthood Federation on the occa- sion of the one year anniversary of George Bush's global gag rule.

Press kit prepared by FAO for the World Food Summit - 5 years later. This contains an important excerpt (a graphic) from the Commission on the Nutritional Challenges of the 21^st Century, chaired by Professor Philip James, which reported to the ACC/SCN in 1999. The final report of the Commission was published by the Food and Nutrition Bulletin in September 2000.

Mobilizing the political will and resources to banish world hunger. Technical background document for the World Food Summit - 5 years later. FAO, 2002, 104 pp.

Macroeconomics and Health: Investing in Health for Economic Development Report of the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, Jeffrey Sachs., 2001, 202 pp.

South African National Guidelines on Nutrition for People Living with TB, HIV/AIDS and other Chronic Debilitating Conditions. Department of Health, South Africa and UNICEF, 2001, 28 pp.

Living Arrangements of Older Persons - Critical Issues and Policy Responses. Population Bulletin of the UN. Special Issue Nos. 42/43. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. UN, New York, 2001, 392 pp.

Handbook for Emergencies. 2^nd Edition. UNHCR. Undated, with a foreword by Ms. Ogata, who mentions that the 1^st edition was printed 17 years ago, 405 pp.

Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV in Asia. Practical Guidance for Programs. By Elizabeth Preble and Ellen Piwoz, Linkages Project, June 2002, 73 pp.

The 10/90 Report on Health Research 2001/2002. Global Forum for Health Research, Geneva, 2002, 224 pp.

Anemia, iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia. INACG Statement prepared by Penelope Nestel and Lena Davidsson. March 2002. <inacg.ilsi.org>

Attacking the Double Burden of Malnutrition in Asia and the Pacific. By Stuart Gillespie and Lawrence Haddad. ADB and IFPRI, 2001, 178 pp.

The Science of Infant Feeding. Edited by Arun Gupta, 310 pp.

PLEASE CONTINUE SENDING IN YOUR REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS

- We will do our best to include them in an upcoming issue

Congratulations India! To commemorate India’s commitment to the elimination of IDD, this stamp was released on IDD Day, October 21, 2001