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NTS Bulletin

NTS Bulletin August 2010 (Issue 1)
Issues:
Note: Please click on the respective titles or headers for the full report.

Disclaimer: All links and news reports are correct at the time of publication.

MAIN HIGHLIGHT

The International AIDS Conference 2010

The International AIDS Conference 2010 was held in Vienna, Austria from 18 to 23 July to gather those working in the field of HIV such as policymakers, scientists and researchers, those living with HIV, and other individuals committed to eliminating the HIV pandemic. This conference was particularly significant as a follow-up to the events of 2005, when G8 leaders, the UN World Summit and the UNAIDS Secretariat made a commitment to define a conceptual framework for universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention and care by 2010. The conference aimed to demonstrate the importance of continued HIV investments to broader health and development goals, to highlight the links between human rights and HIV, to present new scientific findings and to offer opportunities for dialogue on major issues facing the global response to HIV.

The Vienna Declaration, the official declaration of the conference, states that an over-reliance on drug law enforcement has resulted in overwhelmingly negative health and social consequences, yet it continues to be the dominant policy approach adopted by policymakers despite the existence of more effective public health interventions. To resolve this issue, the declaration calls for:

  • A transparent review of the effectiveness of current drug policies
  • Implementation and evaluation of a science-based public health approach to addressing problems stemming from drug use
  • Decriminalisation of drug users, scaling up evidence-based drug dependence treatment options, abolishment of ineffective compulsory drug treatment centres that violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  • Unequivocal endorsement and increased funding for the implementation of HIV interventions as detailed in the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UNAIDS Target Setting Guide
  • Involvement of those living with HIV in developing, monitoring and implementing services and policies that affect their lives
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HEALTH SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

In this report, Amnesty International argues that widespread and chronic malnutrition has triggered epidemics and mass outbreaks of illnesses related to poor diet in North Korea. It also argues that in spite of North Korean claims of a universal and free healthcare system, its health facilities are rundown, many hospitals function without medicines and other essentials, and medical personnel are often unpaid, which has led to doctors illegally charging for their services and rendered the poor unable to access medical care. The report also claims that the North Korean government does not provide adequate health information and examines how the government’s handling of the nationwide famine in the 1990s has led to a decline in national health standards.

This article details how the recent success of a Thai-formulated HIV vaccine lowering the rate of HIV infection by about 30 per cent in clinical trials is reinvigorating the scientific community’s interest in developing an HIV vaccine. It also explains that the vast genetic diversity among individuals and the tendency of HIV infection to elicit antibodies and immune cells specific to only one particular strain of HIV are two main obstacles to successfully formulating an effective general HIV vaccine.

This article explains India’s attempts at providing healthcare for its citizens who live below the poverty line. It claims that most of India’s 1.2 billion people have inadequate healthcare access and coverage for a multitude of reasons. These reasons include the cost of healthcare incurring unwanted debt, a low government share of health spending which makes out-of-pocket payments the dominant source of health financing, and a lack of uniformity and regulation in state-handled public health. It also details the new National Health Insurance Scheme which is helping impoverished families afford healthcare, but questions remain about its sustainability in the long term.

This article examines the reasons behind Indonesia’s withdrawal from the Global Influenza Surveillance Network (GISN) in 2007 and its implications within the World Health Organization (WHO) and global health governance processes. It also examines to what extent the International Health Regulations (IHR) are applicable to this case and why countries have chosen to address the issue via intergovernmental processes rather than the WHO-based framework. In addition, it questions the enforcement of international health agreements and how global health governance structures can be altered to ensure more effective global health diplomacy.

Events

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CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY AND NATURAL DISASTERS

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

This paper discusses the linkages of various types of trading systems. The objective of doing so is to identify opportunities for constructive linkage and policy choices that might limit or hinder linkage. It is argued that the basic approach of existing emission-reduction-credit systems, especially the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), can be extended to create linkage opportunities among diverse emission control systems while eliminating some of the problems in the CDM. Moreover, while emission-reduction-credit systems are designed to work with cap and trade, the authors describe how they might complement tax and certain regulatory systems as well.

This report examines foreign direct investment trends, and proposes a global partnership to synergise investment promotion and climate change mitigation and to galvanise low-carbon investment for sustainable growth and development. The five major components of the proposed partnership are: establishing clean-investment promotion strategies; enabling the dissemination of clean technology; securing international investment agreements’ contribution to climate change mitigation; harmonising corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disclosure; and setting up an international low-carbon technical assistance center (L-TAC). The report also notes that the current national and international policy frameworks are in flux and do not target private sector and transnational corporation contributions sufficiently and effectively. It stresses that integrating international investment policies into the climate change framework is essential when designing the new post-2012 regime.

This paper attempts to objectively assess the impacts of climate legislation and identify ways that such legislation could be shaped to provide greater opportunities for the agriculture sector. US farmers have long exhibited adaptability and entrepreneurship in the face of changing circumstances, and they will be presented with a host of new markets and opportunities with the advent of climate and energy legislation.

Events

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FOOD SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

Global competition to secure access to sources of food, energy, forest and mineral resources has specific risks if not governed effectively. Corruption and accompanying failures in the rule of law frequently undermine participation, transparency, accountability and equity in the access to and allocation of large-scale land acquisitions. Responsible governance of land and natural resource tenure therefore depends on recognising and mitigating against these risks. This note proposes how the Voluntary Guidelines on responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural resources, prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), can best address the macroeconomic impacts of corruption and governance failures in large-scale land acquisitions.

Although irrigation in Africa has the potential to boost agricultural productivities by at least 50 per cent, food production on the continent is almost entirely rain-fed. The area equipped for irrigation, currently slightly more than 13 million hectares, makes up just 6 per cent of the total cultivated area. Eighty-five percent of Africa’s poor live in rural areas and mostly depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. As a result, agricultural development is key to ending poverty on the continent. Many development organisations have recently proposed to significantly increase investments in irrigation in the region. However, the potential for irrigation investments in Africa is highly dependent upon geographic, hydrologic, agronomic and economic factors that need to be taken into account when assessing the long-term viability and sustainability of planned projects. This paper analyses large, dam-based and small-scale irrigation investment needs in Africa based on agronomic, hydrologic and economic factors. This type of analysis can guide country and local-level assessments of irrigation potential, which will be important to agricultural and economic development in Africa.

Most rural households lack access to reliable and affordable finance for agriculture and other livelihood activities. The recent financial crisis has made the provision of credit even tighter and the need to explore innovative approaches to rural and agricultural finance even more urgent. The set of 14 briefs presented in the report points out the importance of business realities faced by small farmers, including low education levels, the dominance of subsistence farming, and the lack of access to modern financial instruments. Its findings and recommendations hope to contribute to policy changes that enhance poor people’s access to financial services in ways that increase their livelihoods and improve their lives.

Events & Announcements

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ENERGY SECURITY

News & Commentaries

Selected Publications

This report is the 59th edition and examines the statistics and trends of the supply and demand of various forms of energy.

This report builds on the success of earlier editions, by providing decision-makers with more detailed practical information and tools that can help kick-start the transition to a more secure, sustainable and affordable energy future.

Events

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Use of this article:

You are free to publish this article in its entirety or only in part in your newspapers, wire services, internet-based information networks and newsletters and you are also free to use the information in your radio-TV discussions or as a basis for discussion in different fora. We would, however, appreciate it if you could let us know when and where the article was used.

About the Centre:

The Centre for NTS Studies of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, was inaugurated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Dr Surin Pitsuwan in May 2008. The Centre maintains research in the fields of Climate Change, Energy Security, Health Security, as well as Internal and Cross Border Conflict. It produces policy-relevant analyses aimed at furthering awareness and building capacity to address NTS issues and challenges in the Asia Pacific region and beyond. The Centre also provides a platform for scholars and policymakers within and outside Asia to discuss and analyse NTS issues in the region.

In 2009, the Centre was chosen by the MacArthur Foundation as a lead institution for the MacArthur Asia Security Initiative, to develop policy research capacity and recommend policies on the critical security challenges facing the Asia-Pacific.

The Centre is also a founding member and the Secretariat for the Consortium of Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies in Asia (NTS-Asia). More information on the Centre can be found at www.rsis.edu.sg/nts


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