INDIA: ONE YEAR FREE OF POLIO

It has been one full year since the last case of polio in India, formerly the world's epicenter of the disease. This incredible achievement, thanks to a collaborative eradication program supported by the Indian government, UNICEF, and partners, will save hundreds of thouands of children from lifelong paralysis or death each year.

Good news indeed!

GENDER INEQUALITY'S DEADLY TOLL

In its inaugural report on women's health from the cradle to the grave, the World Health Organization found that HIV is the #1 killer of women ages 15 to 49 worldwide and that unequal access to sex education and health care leads to millions of preventable deaths each year. Traffic accidents, suicide and breast cancer are the top causes of death in high-income nations, while HIV/AIDS, maternal conditions (such as dying during childbirth and unsafe abortions) and tuberculosis account for 1 in 2 female deaths in poorer countries.

Top 10 causes of death for women ages 20 to 59 worldwide:

HIV/AIDS—835,000
Maternal conditions—453,000
Heart disease—429,000
Stroke—360,000
Tuberculosis—313,000
Breast cancer—223,000
Suicide—204,000
Lower-respiratory infection—190,000
Traffic accident—172,000
Pulmonary disease—149,000

Source of information: World Health Organization

OTHER NUMBERS

20%--Percentage increase in the availability of antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV in sub-Saharan Africa from 2009 to 2010, according to t new UNAIDS report

13 years—-Increase in the average life expectancy of HIV patients since 1996, thanks to combination antiretroviral therapy.

In Rwanda, deaths from malaria have been cut by 66%, in large part because of the increase in bed net and anti-malarial medicine distribution.