Category: Information and Social Media

MSF Video: HIV/AIDS in Yemen

by ihsection, posted in Information and Social Media

This video, done by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), focuses on the stigma faced by individuals with HIV/AIDS in Yemen. The HIV prevalence rate in Yemen, and in the Middle East in general, is very low compared with most other regions in the world. However, individuals with HIV face intense stigma and discrimination from family, society, and healthcare providers. In addition to several doctors and project managers, two people with HIV are interview and tell the stories of how they were refused treatment and cast off by their families. It is an interesting look at HIV in a region that typically receives very little attention for it.


HIV is not a major epidemic in Yemen; prevalence is estimated at about 0.2 per cent of the population. However, people living with HIV face stigma and discrimination almost everywhere, even in some health facilities. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is working to provide treatment and help fight the stigma

CGDev Video: More Health for the Money

by ihsection, posted in Information and Social Media

This video with the Center for Global Development’s Amanda Glassman, announces the release of a new report on how the Global Fund can get the most value for its money. The draft report, titled “More Health for the Money,” has been released and is available on CGDev’s website: http://www.cgdev.org/vfm. Glassman and her colleagues are actively seeking commentary and feedback, so you can contribute your expertise.

CSIS Video: President Joyce Banda’s Story

by ihsection, posted in Information and Social Media

In this six-minute interview Joyce Banda, the current president of Malawi, talks about how her life and personal experiences have shaped her mission and policy priorities that she has carried throughout her career. She focuses on three main areas: educating girls, combating domestic abuse against women, and improving post-natal care to keep women alive.


Watch Malawi’s first female President, Joyce Banda, talk about the importance of education for girls and the empowerment of women.

WHO Video: Ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (World No Tobacco Day 2013)

by ihsection, posted in Information and Social Media

Here is another short anti-tobacco video (PSA?) from the WHO marking World No Tobacco Day this year. Like last year’s video, it portrays Big Tobacco as the sinister bad guy who controls us all without us knowing it. I know these videos are meant to appeal to a wide audience, and send a strong and simple message, but I wish that the anti-tobacco videos would feature more actual information and statistics, rather than just showing us that Big Tobacco is some big, bad puppeteer.


Every year, on 31 May, WHO and partners mark World No Tobacco Day, highlighting the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. Tobacco kills nearly six million people each year, of which more than 600 000 are non-smokers dying from breathing second-hand smoke.

China’s Development Finance to Africa: A Media-Based Approach to Data Collection

by ihsection, posted in Information and Social Media

As China is taking an increasingly active role on the world stage, its foreign assistance and development programs in other countries in increasing. However, unlike most Western nations, China does not publish this information. This report is particularly interesting because it tries to get an idea of China’s development financing over the last decade through media reports (press releases and newspaper articles).


How big is China’s aid to Africa? Does it complement or undermine the efforts of traditional donors? China releases little information and outside estimates of the size and nature of Chinese aid vary widely. In an effort to overcome this problem, AidData, based at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, has compiled a database of thousands of media reports on Chinese-backed projects in Africa from 2000-2011. The database includes information on 1,673 projects in 51 African countries, and $75 billion in commitments of official finance.