Pope OK’s Contraception to Prevent Zika Spread
The Zika virus is now endemic in 28 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. These are largely catholic countries, and on a plane ride back to the Vatican from Mexico on Thursday, Pope Francis suggested that it would be acceptable for catholics to use contraception to avoid pregnancy should the woman be at risk of contracting Zika. This is a big deal for two reasons. First, Zika has been linked to a birth defect in infants whose mother gets the virus during pregnancy. Second, there is some evidence that Zika can be sexually transmitted. Condoms and contraception could be an important way to stop the spread of the disease and the birth defects with which it is associated. That the Pope is willing to interpret Catholic teaching in such a way could be a boon to Latin America’s efforts to stem the impact of this virus.
Go deeper: (NPR http://n.pr/1KsYRM6)
Elections in Uganda
Ugandans went to the polls this week for national elections that pitted 30 year incumbent Yoweri Museveni against several rivals, chief among them his former doctor and political ally Kizza Besigye. The votes are still being tabulated, but Museveni is widely expected to win, (with some amount of accusations of voting irregularities). The degree to which this election is free and fair is not yet clear. What is clear is that there has been some low level violence ahead of the election; and that Besigye has spent much of the election week in some form of house arrest. A major take away here is that Uganda is yet another example of a country in the region in which a strong man who came to power to ostensibly restore democracy has engaged in parliamentary maneuvers to extend his time in office.
Go deeper: (Al Jazeera http://bit.ly/1Lx8Af9)
UN: El Nino Hurts Kids the Most
UNICEF this week estimated that 1 million children in Southern and Eastern Africa are suffering from malnutrition linked to the el Nino effect. The weather phenomenon has hit eastern and southern africa extremely hard, causing record droughts, which in turn have undermined food security. These regions were never terribly resilient to these kinds of climate shocks, and now the super-sized El Nino is creating massive amounts of misery among the most vulnerable in these regions. UNICEF needs $155 million USD to mitigate the disaster, but so far has only received about 15 percent of that amount.
Go deeper: (Reuters http://bit.ly/1LxaJHR)
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