Category: Sports

Posted on

WHO Backs Malaria Vaccinations for African Children

The World Health Organization recommended Wednesday that children in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions on the continent with moderate-to-high malaria transmission receive a malaria vaccine.

The vaccine, known as Mosquirix, proved effective in a pilot program in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800,000 children since 2019.

The WHO said malaria is a top killer of children in sub-Saharan Africa, causing the deaths of more than 260,000 children under age 5 every year.

The vaccine, which requires four doses, counters P. falciparum, “the most deadly malaria parasite globally, and the most prevalent in Africa,” WHO said in a press release.

“For centuries, malaria has stalked sub-Saharan Africa, causing immense personal suffering,” Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said in a statement. “We have long hoped for an effective malaria vaccine and now for the first time ever, we have such a vaccine recommended for widespread use. Today’s recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the continent which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease and we expect many more African children to be protected from malaria and grow into healthy adults.”

Substantial benefit

According to WHO, pilot program data showed that more than two-thirds of children who were not sleeping under bed nets were benefiting from the vaccine, and that there was a 30% reduction in “deadly severe malaria, even when introduced in areas where insecticide-treated nets are widely used and there is good access to diagnosis and treatment.”

The pilot program also found that the vaccine had a “favorable safety profile” and was “cost effective.”

According to The Wall Street Journal, it could still be years until the vaccine is widely available.

The vaccine has been under development for 30 years by GlaxoSmithKline, a global pharmaceutical company; PATH, a global nonprofit focused on health issues; and some African research organizations, WHO said.

The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation provided late-stage development funding for the vaccine, WHO said.

Source: Voice of America

Posted on

McDonald’s to Phase Out Plastic Toys from Happy Meals

Fast-food giant McDonald’s said Tuesday it would phase out plastic toys from its signature Happy Meals by 2025.
“Starting now, and phased in across the globe by the end of 2025, our ambition is that every toy sold in a Happy Meal will be sustainable, made from more renewable, recycled, or certified materials like bio-based and plant-derived materials and certified fiber,” the company said in a statement.
McDonald’s said that this process had already begun in Britain and Ireland, and that all its Happy Meal toys in France were already made sustainably.
The signature meal for children typically contains a plastic toy, often an action figure. But the new plan means that figurines may be made of cardboard for the child to assemble.
McDonald’s, which has been serving Happy Meals since 1979, said that its new plan to make toys out of renewable materials will reduce fossil fuel-based plastic in its toys by 90%.
But a large part of McDonald’s packaging remains plastic, the company acknowledges, saying that it has “set goals” for all its packaging to be from “renewable, recycled, or certified sources” by 2025.

Source: Voice of America

Posted on

Japanese City Cheers for Lao Para Athletics Team

Ise City in Mie prefecture is serving as a host city for the Lao Para Athletics team, who will compete at the Tokyo Paralympic Games to be kicked off on Aug 24.

Giving an online interview to the media on August 18, Mayor of Ise City, Mr. Suzuki Kenichi said that people in Ise City are glad to cheer for the Lao Para athletics team at the Paralympics, hoping that they will achieve outstanding results.

“It is my first time to host a Para athletics team from Laos. I am proud and happy to connect Japanese local towns with countries and regions participating in the Tokyo Games 2020, and to have various exchanges in terms of sports, culture, economy, etc. Participating countries and regions can develop long-term relationship with Japanese local towns,” said Mayor Suzuki Kenichi.

Elementary school students in the host Japanese city have designed an official uniform for the Lao Para athletics team.

In November last year, three elementary schools in the city held a design contest for the official uniform for the Lao Para Athletics team while they were learning the history and culture of Laos. A total of 118 designs were submitted by 192 students, and the National Paralympic Committee of Laos chose the winner.

The winning design mainly uses three colors, white, blue and red, as they are used in the flag of Laos. White is used as a whole to avoid heat and blue and red are placed on the shoulders and armpits areas.

With its motto to be “a people-friendly town,” Ise City implements policies, such as barrier-free transportation, barrier-free tourism and supporter registration system, to offer an amenable environment to persons with disabilities, according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Over days in Ise, each member of the Lao Para athletes team took turn in participating in a cultural exchange event to share lessons, experiences with local children while keeping industrious training ahead of the big games.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics was held between July 23 and August 8 while the Paralympics will take place from August 24 to September 5.

Source: Lao News Agency