this seems to be the first time workers were killed in nigeria, despite previous opposition to vaccines. on thursday, a controversial islamic cleric spoke out against the polio vaccination campaign, telling people that new cases of polio were caused by contaminated medicine. more on targeting vaccination workers here.
‘where the streets have no name’
that's the title of a short article in the jan/feb 2013 atlantic-- and i couldn't think of a better one. i have written previously about the joys of getting and giving directions in lower-income countries - specifically for research and household follow-up, although the general taxi/auto/tuk-tuk stories of trying to reach any specific location purposefully are equally funContinue reading "‘where the streets have no name’"
embracing local
a nice sentence, on which i will follow-up (from booth 2012, development as a collective action problem, citing kelsall 2008): developing efforts have a greater chance of success when they stop treating cultural factors as a problem to be solved and try instead to harness them as a means to channel behavior in more positiveContinue reading "embracing local"
corn as small things: all maize is corn but not all corn is maize?
i think i just made a minor life breakthrough. i am working on re-reading 'salt' - at least i thought i was re-reading it but it doesn't seem as familiar as it should, so maybe i am just reading it. over the past several years, a troubling thing would sometimes happen. i would go toContinue reading "corn as small things: all maize is corn but not all corn is maize?"
helpful grammar tip for cold and flu season
nauseous, like noxious and nauseating, describes a quality of making other people ill - in fact, feel nauseated. if you feel ill, you are nauseated. describing yourself as nauseous indicates that you make other people sick to their stomachs. try not to do that. the flu is sufficient.
more on polio vaccination efforts.
i have been trying to keep up with polio vaccination efforts here. but it seemed like this deserved a new post, as it deals not just with commentary on the recent killings but also some actions that USG could take, via charles kenny. there is information here, followed by an interesting conversation in the commentsContinue reading "more on polio vaccination efforts."
thank you. water, sanitation, infrastructure, cholera.
someone said something helpful here. about cholera. but not about a new vaccine, a new super-antibiotic, or engineering a new vector that can be lulled to sleep by harp music, along with plans for a helicopter drop of harps or new ways to subsidize harps. whenever epidemics of cholera occur, the global public health communityContinue reading "thank you. water, sanitation, infrastructure, cholera."
from ’empires of food’ – a small note on high-yield seeds
i received empires of food: feast, famine, and the rise and fall of civilizations by evan fraser and andrew rimas for the holidays and am so far enjoying it quite a bit. one passage, in particular, seemed worth repeating, as it relates to the long-run effects of short-run "poverty fixes" that are in vogue. on p 27 and 28, theyContinue reading "from ’empires of food’ – a small note on high-yield seeds"
carols and shanties
there's someone else out there (actually, several people, it would seem) that enjoy both re-writing song lyrics and pirates. if you are so inclined, she invites you to add to the songs: http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2012/12/the-pirate-was-a-gentleman/ http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2011/12/pirate-carols/
dear sir – response to AMFm article in the economist
on 24 november, this article was published in the economist on AMFm and the Global Fund. below is the response i would have liked to have published because a few things in the article were maddening. particularly frustrating are those celebrating the end of AMFm as though ending a subsidy on ACTs in the private sector are theContinue reading "dear sir – response to AMFm article in the economist"
Heather E. Lanthorn 