Complete Wellness

The digital age is at every corner of our life and healthcare is not an exception. The constantly growing sector has taken a liking towards digitalisation and we are witnessing a massive shift in the last few years. The sheer number of healthcare facilities online is itself proof. A strategically planned and properly executed SEO is the only way to stand amidst the mighty ocean of healthcare . In this blog, ‘5 Revenue-Driving SEO Strategies for Healthcare Industries we’ll discuss exactly that. We’ll also discuss tested and proven strategies and some of the successful stories of the healthcare SEO world. Let’s get right into it.

What is Healthcare SEO?

Well, we can already see the gears in your head are turning very hard. Let’s just put it out there simply. With the help of Search Engine Optimization, healthcare providers will be able to rank their websites better in the Google Search Engine Result Pages ( SERP). This increased visibility attracts potential patients/partners which ultimately results in revenue conversions.

What are SEO Examples in Healthcare?

Now, let’s take a look at some of the examples illustrating how SEO works in the healthcare sector.

Website Optimization

A dermatologist in Dubai fine-tunes their website to rank higher for key phrases like best dermatologist in Dubai or skin allergy treatment in Dubai This way, potential patients searching for these terms are more likely to find their website.

Local SEO:

In a small town, its Google Business Profile with essential details such as operating hours, contact information, and the range of services provided. When locals search for a dentist near me, this clinic appears prominently in local search results.

Content Creation:

Consider a physiotherapy clinic that regularly publishes informative blog posts about common injuries, treatment methods, and preventive measures. These high-quality, keyword-optimized articles attract individuals searching for such information online, directing more traffic to the clinic s website.

Backlink Building:

A nutritionist contributes a guest post to a well-known health and wellness blog, incorporating a link back to their website. This not only brings direct traffic from the blog s readership but also enhances the nutritionist s website authority, leading to higher rankings in search results.

On-Page Optimization:

An example with a psychiatrist who strategically includes relevant keywords in their website s meta descriptions, headings, and image alt texts. This optimization helps search engines comprehend the context of the website s content, ultimately improving its visibility in search results.

The Top 5 SEO Strategies Every Healthcare Professional Should Use!

Awesome Content

Write interesting stuff that helps patients, shows off your know-how, and brings more people to your site. Extra brownie points if it s written by an expert in the field as it shows Google that the content is trustworthy, original, and authoritative as well.

An additional tip! : Healthcare Blogs

If you re diving into healthcare blogging, start by grasping HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) to dodge legal issues and potential fines. Make sure to steer clear of your money your life (YMYL) pitfalls as Google penalizes content affecting well-being. Your healthcare blog should embody EAT:

Expertise: Preferably, let medical experts create or review your content, a point emphasized by Google s 2022 Helpful Content Update.

Authoritativeness: Showcase authority in the

Trustworthiness: Offer accurate and reliable information to build trust.

Abiding by these rules is crucial, especially in the post-2022 Helpful Content Update era.

Local SEO:

Make sure your website pops up in local searches. That way, folks in your area can find you easily. People always go for the ‘the clinic/hospital near me’ option. So, unless you don t want to lose an array of potential patients make sure to properly do the local SEO.

Backlinks:

Get good-quality websites to link to yours. It tells search engines your content is valuable and makes your site show up higher in search results. For healthcare, the quality of backlinks is of utmost importance. For example, a link from a well-known medical journal is better than one from a random fashion blog. Also, the website linking to you matters. If it s a trusted healthcare site, it tells search engines and users that your content is valuable and reliable. Stick to links from places that make sense for healthcare, and ones that people trust. That s the way to go.

User-Friendly Design:

Nobody likes to log into a website and get confused about where I should create a profile upload a prescription/ or take a doctor s appointment. It’s important to have the website user-friendly and easy to navigate. The website should be easy to use and look good. That way, more people will stick around and check out what you have to offer. Trust me, people won t be thinking twice before exiting the website if it confuses them. So, make sure to go the user-friendly way. 

Keywords, Especially Long Ones:

Use words that people might type into search engines. Long-tail keywords, which are more specific, can help you reach the right audience. These latent semantic keywords play an important role in SEO more than you imagine.

Even though it might look like a lot, please note that it s not all about the techical stuff and keywords. A smart approach sees everything. Alt text usage, links, user-friendliness, and your visibility in local search are among these.

Thus, a comprehensive website is a good place for possible clients to visit, energy up more web searches, and expand your business.

Why Inter Smart SEO for your Healthcare SEO?

At Inter Smart, the top we specialize in healthcare SEO, fully grasping the challenges unique to healthcare providers. We re here to optimize your SEO strategy, tailoring it to fit your specific requirements.

To begin, set up a complimentary Zoom consultation with one of our SEO Specialists. During this chat, share insights about your website, practice, typical patients, and growth objectives. From there, we ll craft a personalized SEO strategy designed to drive your practice s success. Choose us to make certain that your online presence is as smooth as your healthcare services.

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Mental health treatment has come a long way. It’s now far more than simply lying on a couch and talking about your childhood for hours on end. These days, therapists are getting creative, using every possible method to help people heal. This is exciting news, as new approaches are popping up left and right.

Creative therapies are now available, offering fresh ways for people to express themselves and work through their issues. Of course, they’re not meant to replace traditional talk therapy but rather to complement it, providing more options and potentially faster results for everyone.

Let’s explore some creative methods for addressing mental health conditions and see what they’re all about.

Art Therapy

Ever felt like words just weren’t enough to express what you’re feeling? Sometimes, emotions can be so complex or overwhelming that verbal communication falls short. And art therapy can be the perfect outlet for people who find traditional talk therapy challenging. So, what is it all about?

In this method, you’ll engage in various art forms—such as painting, drawing, or sculpting—to explore your emotions and thoughts. Afterward, you’ll reflect on the artwork you created and integrate the insights.

The act of creating something that resonates with your inner self can be incredibly cathartic, letting you process trauma, anxiety, or depression in a non-verbal way. If you want more information about this therapy, read this or watch related videos to deepen your understanding.

Dance and Movement Therapy

Our bodies often hold onto stress and trauma long after our minds have processed events. Dance and movement therapy taps into this mind-body connection, using physical expression to heal emotional wounds.

However, it doesn’t mean you need to be a trained dancer to benefit. Therapists work with clients of all abilities, encouraging them to express themselves through gestures, postures, and rhythms. It’s particularly effective for people dealing with body image issues or those who have experienced physical trauma.

Music Therapy

If you’ve ever blasted your favorite song after a rough day, you’ve experienced a tiny taste of what music therapy can do. It has a way of reaching into the soul, bypassing the barriers that words sometimes fail to cross. Professional music therapists use instruments, singing, and listening exercises to help individuals work through their issues.

For some people, drumming out their frustrations on a percussion instrument can be incredibly releasing. Others might find comfort in composing and performing their own songs, turning their struggles into something beautiful. Music therapy has shown promising results for neurological conditions like dementia or traumatic brain injuries, proving that the power of melody goes far beyond just entertainment.

Overall, the therapeutic use of music can help individuals feel uplifted, manage stress, and navigate complex emotions. That’s why mental health professionals often incorporate into treatment plans.

Animal-Assisted Therapy

There’s something magical about the bond between humans and animals. Some people say it’s an unspoken understanding, a pure connection that you can’t explain. Pets have a unique ability to offer unconditional love and support.

For example, a cute dog sitting calmly beside you provides a sense of comfort and security. And the lovely cat purring on your lap? It can soothe stress and bring a moment of peace. Don’t forget the therapeutic role of fish in an aquarium, too. Watching them glide gracefully through the water can be incredibly pleasant. The rhythmic movements and tranquil environment of an aquarium can promote relaxation and offer a peaceful escape from the pressures of daily life.

Horticulture Therapy

Getting your hands dirty in a garden might not seem like therapy, but for many people, it’s incredibly healing. Horticulture therapy uses plant-based activities to improve mental and physical health.

Tending to plants can teach patience and nurturing skills. It provides a sense of purpose and achievement as seeds sprout and grow. What’s more? The physical activity involved in can also help combat depression and anxiety. After all, there’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of eating vegetables you’ve grown yourself, right?

Writing Therapy

For those who find solace in words, writing therapy can be a powerful tool. This approach encourages individuals to express their thoughts and feelings through various forms of writing, from journaling to poetry to fiction.

Writing can help people make sense of their experiences, gain new perspectives on their problems, and track their progress over time. It s also a great way to practice self-reflection and mindfulness. Some therapists even incorporate elements of bibliotherapy, using literature to help patients gain insights into their own lives.

Drama Therapy

Drama therapy takes the concept of fake it til you make it to a whole new level. By acting out different scenarios or playing various roles, patients can explore their emotions and behaviors in a safe, controlled environment.

This method can be particularly helpful for people who struggle with social anxiety or have difficulty expressing themselves. Through improvisation, storytelling, and role-play, they can practice new ways of interacting and gain confidence in their ability to handle real-life situations.

Virtual Reality Therapy

On the cutting edge of creative therapies, mental health experts find virtual reality (VR) making its way into treatment rooms. This technology enables therapists to create controlled environments where patients can face their fears or practice coping skills in a safe space.

Think of it: someone with a fear of flying being able to experience a virtual plane ride, complete with takeoff and landing, all while safely on the ground. Or a veteran with PTSD revisiting a traumatic scene, but this time with the power to control and change the outcome. VR therapy is opening new possibilities for treatment that were once thought impossible. You might call it ‘High-Tech Healing.’

Wrapping Up

As we’ve explored, the world of creative therapies is vast and varied. From painting and planting to virtual reality, there’s no shortage of innovative approaches to mental health treatment. These methods offer new avenues for healing, providing options for people who might not respond well to traditional talk therapy.

It’s important to remember that what works for one person might not work for another. Everyone’s journey is unique, so finding the right fit often involves some trial and error. Consulting with a mental health professional can be a great way to discover which therapy aligns best with your needs.

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Stefania Bianchi

BRUSSELS, Nov 7 2005 (IPS) – Gender experts will gather here this week for an international conference to examine how changing development policies are affecting efforts to promote gender equality and women s rights.
The conference on Owning Development: Promoting Gender Equality in New Modalities and Partnerships to be held in Brussels Nov. 9-11 will be jointly hosted by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (Unifem) and the European Commission, the European Union (EU) executive.

Gender equality experts from developed and developing countries, government representatives and donor bodies will discuss strategies to ensure that women s rights are central to a new aid architecture .

Unifem will be trying to ensure that that the EU and OECD countries take the lead in women s rights and that new aid flows reach women at country level through country- driven development strategies, Unifem executive director Noeleen Heyzer told IPS. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a grouping of 30 industrialised countries.

In recent years there has been a considerable reshaping of the structures and financing of development cooperation. Aid allocation is increasingly driven by the partnership between donor and recipient countries, and ownership by the recipients of aid.

Unifem says such shifts in development have raised important questions about aid implementation and the accountability of development actors, while presenting new opportunities to advance the gender equality and poverty eradication agenda.
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But Unifem warns that gender equality has not been addressed explicitly and that such opportunities could be lost unless serious efforts are undertaken to ensure that gender equality imperatives are central to the new aid architecture.

Heyzer says her address at the conference will highlight the progress made so far on women s rights since the fourth world summit in Beijing in 1995, and will stress that it has been too slow.

HIV/AIDS has become younger, poverty now has a woman s face, the income gap between men and women is widening, she said. We currently have good policies and strategies but they are not being implemented properly because there is a lack of accountability and responsibility.

In a series of workshops, delegates will also raise specific questions about what effect such changes have on gender equality and women s rights, and what partnerships are needed to spur progress to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These are a set of eight goals agreed by world leaders in 2000. The third of these goals is to promote gender equality and to empower women.

The conference follows three important events held this year a review in Beijing to assess what UN member states have done in the past 10 years to ensure equal rights for women, a review of aid effectiveness in March in Paris, and the UN summit in New York in September to review progress towards the MDGs.

We believe that gender inequality is greatest in the countries that the European Commission is trying to help with its development corporation, but not enough attention has been paid to gender equality so far this year, Lieve Fransen, head of the human and social development unit in the European Commission s development directorate-general told IPS.

We specifically planned this event after the Beijing summit so that its focus will not be lost in text and politics, she added.

Fransen says the Commission will be hoping to achieve a more appropriate strategy for gender equality at the meeting, and is concerned that the issue is not very visible in the EU development policy statement announced in July. She hopes it will be given a stronger mandate at this conference.

Gender equality is connected to rights, and development cannot be achieved if half of the population, namely women, are in poverty, she said.

Fransen says she will pay particular attention to the HIV/AIDS epidemic as an example of how gender equality has been neglected. HIV has a young African woman s face that only has one partner. This is a glaring effect of gender inequality.

Haider Rizvi

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 1 2005 (IPS) – Millions of people living with HIV/AIDS in poor parts of the world could lose their lives in the next few years if governments fail to keep their promises to fight the deadly pandemic, warn U.N. officials and health advocacy groups.
In the absence of treatment, as many as 74 million people could die from HIV/AIDS-related causes by 2015, according to the Geneva-based International Labour Organisation (ILO), which notes that young workers are the ones who are most at risk.

Though acknowledging that the international community has made some progress in the past few years, U.N. officials and independent groups say governments must do more to combat HIV/AIDS.

The world has made considerable promises, said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the eve of World AIDS Day Thursday. The time has come to keep them.

There are more than 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS today, according to the United Nations. The disease has already claimed some 25 million lives.

Though HIV/AIDS cases have been reported in all parts of the world, studies show that most people living with the disease reside in low-and-middle incomes countries, where most new HIV infections and deaths are occurring. Among them, sub-Saharan Africa has been hardest-hit, and is home to nearly 26 million people living with HIV/AIDS.
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In South and Southeast Asia, there are more than seven million people suffering from HIV/AIDS. In Latin America, the number of AIDS patients is estimated to be around two million, and almost the same number of people are infected in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Research shows that in developing countries, it is working class people who are disproportionately threatened by death from HIV/AIDS.

Nearly 90 percent of AIDS-related fatalities occur among people of working age, making it the leading cause of death worldwide for people between the age of 15 and 49, according to the Worldwatch Institute, an independent think-tank based in Washington.

The group estimates that due to HIV/AIDS, Africa loses at least 10 percent of its working age adults every five years. By contrast, industrial countries lose about one percent of this age group to all deaths in the same period of time.

Last September, while attending a major U.N. summit on development, world leaders pledged to implement the Declaration of Commitments they had adopted in 2001, by intensifying efforts for prevention, treatment, care and support.

But those campaigning for international action against AIDS doubt if governments will take their promises seriously.

We have been asked to stomach year after year of rhetorical statements disguised as commitments on AIDS, says Marcel Van Soest, executive director of the World AIDS Campaign based in Europe.

The litany of broken promises now rings hollow against unrelenting advance of the epidemic throughout the world, he adds.

In a new report titled Promises, Promises But How Many Get Delivered, the group notes that many declarations on AIDS have been seen as commitments and promises , but simply restate the current understanding of the epidemic and avoid committing to concrete deliveries.

Halting and reversing HIV/AIDS by 2015 is also one of the Millennium Development Goals world leaders had agreed on at a major U.N. summit held in New York in 2000. Among others, these goals are targeted to reduce poverty by half, ensure primary education for girls, and provide clean drinking water.

Halting the spread of AIDS is not a Millennium Development Goal in itself, it is a prerequisite for reaching most of others, Annan said in urging governments to speed up their efforts in the fight against the pandemic.

Studies suggest that among young people living with HIV/AIDS between the age of 15 and 24, women outnumber men. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, gender inequalities in social and economic status and in access to prevention and care services are increasing women s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

Researchers say the epidemic has multiple effects on women, such as added responsibilities of caring for sick family members, loss of income and property if they become widows, and even violence when their HIV status is discovered.

In their messages on World AIDS Day, various U.N. agencies, including UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO), tried to draw the world s attention to the suffering of millions of women living with HIV-AIDS, especially those who are pregnant.

UNICEF says the number of children who become HIV-positive every year could be more than halved if pregnant women with HIV received comprehensive services, including anti-retroviral drugs.

Currently, more than 600,000 children are estimated to become infected with HIV each year, more than 80 percent of them because they are born to mothers infected with the virus.

Hundreds of thousands of children are needlessly born with HIV every year, and many of them die in the first year of life, said UNICEF executive director Ann Veneman.

Veneman thinks that the number of children with HIV could be dramatically reduced by providing essential services to their mothers. That requires additional funding as well as practical action on promises made by government leaders in the recent past.

International funding to fight AIDS has increased significantly in recent years from 300 million dollars in 1995 to eight billion dollars in 2005. However, it remains to be seen how effectively governments implement the pledges made in the 2001 Declaration.

According to UNAIDS, prevention efforts are reaching fewer than 20 percent of those in need. And critics like Health GAP complain that U.S.-initiatives in particular refuse to deliver comprehensive, scientifically-based prevention messages and instead preach abstinence and faithfulness only in societies where 50 percent of youth are sexually active and marriage carries an even greater risk of infection than being single.

Failing on treatment is bad enough, but for the U.S. government to fuel the pandemic with evangelic messages that ignore women s vulnerability and the realities of human sexuality is criminal, Sharonann Lynch of Health GAP said in a statement Thursday.

The U.S. has created an artificial condom shortage in Uganda; it refuses to fund comprehensive sex education for youth; and it gags comprehensive family planning services and simultaneously undermines efforts to work with sex workers by requiring an anti-prostitution oath by service providers, she said.

• ‘BTS Cooking On: TinyTAN Restaurant’ เกมจาก Com2uS เพิ่มธีมใหม่ในชาเลนจ์เวทีชิงเชฟโลก
• สัมผัสอาหารหลากหลาย ทั้งฮอตด็อกสไตล์ซันติอาโก ‘คอมพลีทโตะ’, ‘ฮูซิโย’ และ ‘โซไปปิยา’
• จัดกิจกรรม ‘บิงโก·เค้ก’ สะสมไอเทมที่ได้รับเมื่อเล่นด่านในเมืองมาเข้าร่วมเพื่อรับรางวัลต่างๆ

‘BTS Cooking On: TinyTAN Restaurant’ เกมจำลองทำอาหารผลงานใหม่จาก Com2uS (CEO นัมแจกวาน) อัปเดตเวทีชิงเชฟโลกธีมใหม่ ‘คอมพลีทโตะ’ แล้ว

โหมดเวทีชิงเชฟโลกเป็นด่านประชันการทำอาหารหลากหลายธีม ซึ่งแตกต่างจากด่านในเมืองที่ผู้เล่นต้องบริหารร้านอาหาร ขั้นตอนการเรียนทำอาหารนั้นรวดเร็ว รวมถึงรูปแบบการเล่นเองก็สร้างความน่าตื่นเต้นและสนุกสนานที่ต่างไปจากด่านร้านอาหารในเมืองทั่วไป

เวทีชิงเชฟโลกในครั้งนี้มาในธีม ‘คอมพลีทโตะ’ ฮอตด็อกขึ้นชื่อแห่งซันติอาโก ทั้งยังมีน้ำพันช์ผลไม้สไตล์ซันติอาโก ‘ฮูซิโย’ ที่เหมาะไว้ดื่มคู่กัน และของหวานตัวแทนจากอเมริกากลาง ‘โซไปปิยา’ เมื่อผู้เล่นเคลียร์แต่ละด่านจะได้รับเพชรและไอเทมบูสเตอร์ต่างๆ และเมื่อเคลียร์ด่าน 15 ซึ่งเป็นด่านสุดท้ายได้ ก็จะได้รับรูปโปรไฟล์ลิมิเต็ด อีกทั้งยังสามารถรับโฟโต้การ์ดเพิ่มได้ทางกิจกรรมหลังเวทีชิงเชฟโลกสิ้นสุดลง ผู้เล่นสามารถเข้าร่วมเล่น ‘เวทีชิงเชฟโลก’ ในครั้งนี้ได้ตลอด 3 สัปดาห์ไปจนถึง 1 ตุลาคม

อัปเดตในครั้งนี้ยังมีการจัดกิจกรรมต่างๆ เริ่มจากบิงโกที่ต้องใช้ไอเทมแคปซูลที่ได้จากการเคลียร์ด่านร้านอาหารในเมือง เมื่อได้บิงโก 1 แถว ผู้เล่นจะได้รับโฟโต้การ์ด, เพชร, เหรียญ TinyTAN และชิ้นส่วนบูสเตอร์ต่างๆ เป็นรางวัล โดยกิจกรรมจะจัดจนถึง 17 กันยายนนี้

กิจกรรมทำเค้กก็จะจัดในช่วงเดียวกัน ผู้เล่นจะต้องสะสมไอเทม ‘ครีมสด’ ที่ได้จากการเสิร์ฟอาหารในร้านอาหาร เมื่อสะสมได้จำนวนหนึ่งจะได้รับไอเทมเสิร์ฟทันที, เหรียญ TinyTAN และชิ้นส่วน TinyTAN ไทม์

‘BTS Cooking On’ ที่เปิดตัวไปเมื่อเดือนสิงหาคมที่ผ่านมา เป็นเกมที่ผู้เล่นจะได้บริหารร้านอาหารโดยการทำอาหารประจำเมืองต่างๆ และเที่ยวรอบโลกไปกับ TinyTAN ตัวละครของหนุ่มๆ วง BTS

การพบกันระหว่าง Grampus (CEO คิมจีอิน) ผู้เชี่ยวชาญด้านการพัฒนาเกมทำอาหารที่ประสบความสำเร็จจากเกม ‘Cooking Adventure’ และ ‘My Little Chef’ ที่มียอดดาวน์โหลดทั่วโลกทะลุ 33 ล้านครั้ง และ ‘TinyTAN’ ตัวละครจากวง BTS ช่วยดึงดูดความสนใจจากทั่วโลกและคว้าอันดับ 1 เกมยอดนิยมใน App Store ของประเทศญี่ปุ่น และครองอันดับ 1 ประเภทเกมจำลองในกว่า 14 ประเทศ และยังได้อันดับ 1 ประเภทเกม Casual ในอีก 12 ประเทศอีกด้วย

คุณสามารถตรวจสอบรายละเอียดการอัปเดตและข้อมูลกิจกรรมใน ‘BTS Cooking On’ ได้ทางเว็บไซต์และโซเชียลมีเดียหลักของเกม

[อ้างอิง]

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BTS Cooking On BTS Cooking On: TinyTAN Restaurant com2us

WESTLAKE TECHNOLOGIES CO., PTE. LTD ประกาศเปิด Soft Launch สำหรับ Ace Alliance เกมมือถือ RPG สำรวจโลกแฟนตาซีลึกลับ 3 มิติ ค้นหาสมบัติ และรับสมัครแชมเปี้ยนระดับตำนาน ดาวน์โหลดได้แล้วบนระบบ Android ผ่าน Google Play Store ต่างประเทศ

Ace Alliance เกมมือถือ RPG ผจญภัยไปในดินแดนลึกลับและน่าหลงใหล สะสมสมบัติ คัดเลือกแชมเปี้ยนจากเผ่าพันธุ์ที่หลากหลาย และใช้ทักษะเชิงกลยุทธ์ต่อสู้กับศัตรูที่แข็งแกร่งเคียงข้างเพื่อนร่วมทีม พร้อมผูกมิตรกับนักรบทั่วโลกภายในกิลด์

Features

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• สัมผัสประสบการณ์การเล่นเกมกิลด์อันเข้มข้น

Soft Launch

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Simon Schneller

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 17 2006 (IPS) – Nearly 100 days after the devastating earthquake in Pakistan, survivors are facing a bitter winter while uncertainties over the financing of humanitarian aid still loom large.
I must say that given where we started a few months ago, a lot has been achieved and hundreds of U.N. staff and tens of thousands of Pakistani army people have been working now for 100 days and they have accomplished a lot, Margareta Wahlstrom, assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator, said Monday.

The Oct. 8 disaster, whose epicentre was in the Pakistan-administered region of the disputed territory of Kashmir, has claimed more than 74,000 lives, injured almost an equal number and displaced 2.5 million others.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is now struggling to assist nearly 140,000 survivors left homeless by the disaster and living in nearly 140 earthquake relief camps.

UNHCR is intensifying its winterisation drive in relief camps by replacing low-quality tents, distributing heating stoves and relocating people to camps that are better equipped to cope with the bad weather, UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told a news briefing in Geneva last week.

UNHCR has provided 40,000 stoves to the camps and will continue to supply them with kerosene for heating throughout the winter. Wahlstrom also emphasised that because of the U.N. s relief programme, hundreds of thousands of blankets, tents and food had been distributed in the affected regions.
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On Tuesday, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) received an 8.1-million-dollar contribution from the European Commission. The EC contribution is helping to ensure that all windows of opportunity will be used to distribute aid in the weeks to come, said WFP Executive Director James Morris.

To date, WFP has delivered 8,600 metric tonnes of food, 1,125 metric tonnes of non-food items, such as tents and tools, and 76 mobile warehouses to the earthquake victims in Pakistan.

No one is going to die because of lack of support through the U.N. development programme, Wahlstrom said in response to a question regarding how many lives could be lost if the United Nations cannot not secure the funds that are needed.

She said that currently the pledges and commitments are getting closer to 60 percent, which doesn t mean that all the money is in the box, but the money is firmly pledged and therefore you can expend against it if you have the resources to do so .

There is yet no reason to declare victory, but we are around 56 percent of the total appeal today, she said, adding We need 100 percent, of course.

In late October, the U.N. increased the level of funds sought to continue its relief operations from 238 million to 550 million dollars.

Leading donors like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the United States had pledged some 5.8 billion dollars to help Pakistan recover from the earthquake.

Approximately 3.5 billion dollars of this amount are needed for rebuilding the local infrastructure in affected areas.

But besides the reconstruction efforts, which, according to Wahlstrom, of course have to start now , the main issue at the moment is to support the people through the winter . Since early January, bad weather, rain and heavy snowfall, with temperatures dropping between six and minus 16 Celsius, have hit northern Pakistan.

We need to be able to sustain the help until the end of the winter so that the reconstruction efforts can then take off after the winter is lifting, Wahlstrom said. I think they have a funding shortfall until the end of January, but after that they really need to have a confirmation of new pledges.

The winter in Pakistan could last until maybe first of April, at least , she added.

The onset of winter has also hampered air relief operations, which rely mainly on helicopters and have played a vital role in reaching people in remote locations. The effort is the largest of its kind in the WFP s history, with a fleet of 14 MI-8, two MI-26 and two KA 30 helicopters.

On Tuesday, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush the father of the current U.S. leader ended a two-day visit to Pakistan as the secretary-general s special envoy for the South Asia earthquake.

Although the harsh winter weather kept him from visiting the affected areas, Bush met with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and made plans to visit these areas as soon as possible, a U.N. spokesman said on Tuesday.

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Feb 27 2006 (IPS) – The discrimination that people living with HIV face on a day-to-day level in the Caribbean results in frequent violations of their basic rights and is a major hurdle to the implementation of anti-AIDS programmes, say U.N. officials..
Prejudice based on religious, social or other reasons are exacerbated when HIV is thrown into the mix. This is one of the big obstacles to the fight against AIDS in the Caribbean and the rest of the world, Miriam Maluwa, representative of UNAIDS for Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas, told IPS.

In the region, there are women who have free access to the antiretroviral drugs that slow or inhibit the reproduction of HIV, the AIDS virus, but who do not show up for treatment in order to avoid the stigma of being identified as seropositive, she said.

People living with HIV/AIDS fear losing their jobs and their homes, not to mention the effects of the stigma on their young children, said the UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) delegate.

Another hurdle to fighting the epidemic, she said, is the limited social commitment.

People are afraid to work with people living with HIV because they don t want to be lumped in together with them, added Maluwa, who has a long history of involvement in human rights issues.
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She noted that Cuba has the smallest number of people living with HIV and the smallest number of people who die as a result of AIDS. But she also pointed out that last year there was a slight rise in the number of cases detected, arguing that prevention efforts among society at large and among the highest risk groups should be stepped up.

Although those living with HIV in Cuba report that they feel stigmatised, all HIV/AIDS patients have free access to antiretroviral drugs, and their jobs are guaranteed, unless they present a risk to the patient s health.

Maluwa talked to IPS during a four-day visit to Cuba in late February, where she met with authorities, people living with HIV and U.N. representatives.

Some 24,000 people died of AIDS in the Caribbean last year, and 300,000 are living with HIV, according to the UNAIDS/WHO AIDS Epidemic Update, published in December 2005.

In the Caribbean, the region hardest hit in the world by HIV/AIDS after sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS has become the primary cause of death among the 15-44 age group, and the disease is mainly spread through heterosexual sex and prostitution, with poverty and sexual inequality playing a strong role.

The situation varies considerably from country to country, according to UNAIDS and WHO (World Health Organisation) statistics.

Average HIV prevalence stands at around one percent of the adult population in Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Suriname, around two percent in the Bahamas, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, and three percent in Haiti. In Cuba, meanwhile, prevalence is under 0.2 percent.

Although the Caribbean was the only area in the world where the AIDS rate did not grow last year, a comprehensive approach is needed, that includes prevention, treatment, care and support, said Fritz Lherisson, director of the regional UNAIDS office based in Trinidad and Tobago.

At a press conference in the office of the resident coordinator of the U.N. system in Havana, Lherisson said the epidemic can be prevented, and underlined that we know how to do it. But, he added, what is needed is a change of attitude.

The need to foment cultural, social and legal changes and to modify people s way of thinking is especially urgent given the fact that there are Caribbean island nations, like Jamaica, that still have laws on the book which prohibit homosexual relations and even provide for penalties.

Many men who have sex with men live a double life, said Maluwa on her first official visit to Havana. They have a home, a wife, children. They live, pretending to be what they are not, for fear of stigma and discrimination as a result of their sexual behavior.

Although she acknowledged that the problem is not so pronounced in Cuba, she said the AIDS prevention programme aimed at men who have sex with men must be consolidated and expanded.

Gay men account for around 12 percent of HIV/AIDS cases reported in the Caribbean overall, although the real number could be much higher.

But in Cuba, 80.4 percent of the 6,827 cases reported between 1986 and 2005 involved men, most of whom had sex with other men.

By contrast with other countries in the region, there is a good working relationship with people living with HIV, Raúl Regueiro, national coordinator of work with homosexuals in the National Center for the Prevention of STDs/HIV/AIDS, told IPS.

Regueiro stressed the need to expand prevention efforts geared towards bisexual men, based on activities already being carried out in provinces in eastern Cuba.

The project that works with gay men in Cuba forms part of a much broader programme put into effect by the Cuban government with support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (26 million dollars for the 2003-2008 period) and from the office of the U.N. system in Cuba.

UNAIDS can support the monitoring and evaluation of efforts by the Cuban government, to see how they can be further expanded and document what has been done in the country, to share it with other countries both within and outside of the Caribbean region, Maluwa told reporters.

Julio Godoy* – Tierramérica

PARIS, Mar 24 2006 (IPS) – The European Commission s (EC) most recent decisions on genetically modified crops have condemned the continent s farms to transgenic contamination, say environmental groups consulted by Tierramérica.
In a report published Mar. 10 in Brussels, the EC considered it unnecessary to separate conventional and organic crops from genetically modified crops.

The EC also deemed illegal any measures to protect sensitive ecosystems against genetically modified organisms (GMOs), also known as transgenic, and threatened to sanction national or regional governments that attempt to ban such crops.

Given the total and irreversible nature of transgenic contamination, the EC report marks the end of traditional and organic farming in Europe, Arnaud Apoteker, head of the biogenetics campaign for the environmental watchdog Greenpeace in Paris, told Tierramérica. The EC is either very naive or completely dishonest.

The EC says it is optional for farmers who use transgenic seeds to obtain insurance to cover potential sanctions against them, in case their products genetically contaminate neighbouring fields through pollination.

The Commission also allows European governments to increase the maximum contamination to 0.9 percent transgenic content in organic or conventional products without risking fines or requiring labelling of products indicating GMO content if the contamination occurs by chance .
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Strict laws against genetic contamination of conventional and organic agriculture are necessary, as is suspending production and sales of GMOs, stressed Apoteker.

In January the EC also authorised three new types of genetically modified maize, including MON 863, whose toxic effects in rats have been demonstrated in laboratory tests.

Gilles-Eric Séralini, molecular biology professor at the French University of Caen and author of a study of MON863 effects in rodents, told Tierramérica that the tests revealed an increase in sugar in the blood, as well as anomalies in the quantity of white and red blood cells, and renal lesions in the animals.

Says Helen Holder, GMO campaign coordinator for the environmental organisation Friends of the Earth, the EC continues authorising imports of transgenics, without laws that protect organic and traditional agriculture against genetic contamination.

The French government is drafting a law on GMOs that, according to Greenpeace, ignores all the evidence about their potential threats to health and the environment.

But despite the efforts of the EC and of the major biotech multinational corporations, the production and sale of transgenics in Europe is limited. There are no European countries among the world s top 10 producers of GMOs, but there are three South American nations: Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Axel Kruschat, director of the German environmental group BUND, said in a Tierramérica interview that fields of transgenic maize represent less than one in a thousand of the total dedicated to growing conventional maize in Germany.

In France, transgenic maize is planted on less than 1,000 hectares, out of a total of three million hectares of maize fields.

The genetically modified maize variety grown in France in Germany is known as bt-maize , because it was grafted with a gene of the Bacillus thuringiensis (bt) to increase its resistance to Ostrinia nubilalis, a larva known commonly as the corn borer.

The corn borer is considered the worst maize pest. It begins by feeding on the plant s leaves, then bores into the stalk, developing two or three generations of larvae.

Despite its anti-pest benefit, bt-maize is avoided by most German farmers, said Kruschat. The consumers don t buy genetically modified maize, he explained.

Kruschat noted that Marka, the bt-maize seed distributor in Germany, offers to buy the entire crops of the conventional or organic farmers neighbouring the transgenic fields at market price, regardless of their contamination with genetically modified maize. For the farmers, it s an interesting proposal, because they have a sure buyer.

Marka thus avoids lawsuits filed by non-bt-maize farmers against its clients whose transgenic crops may cross the legal limits of contamination of nearby fields, according to Kruschat.

Andreas Thierfelder, spokesman in Germany for the agro-tech multinational Monsanto, creator of bt-maize, confirmed this approach in an article in the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.

The French growers of transgenic maize don t sell their harvest at home either they export it to Spain. According to a survey published in late February by the environmental group Agir pour l environnement (Action for the Environment), 75 percent of French consumers are opposed to genetically modified foods.

The precautions of Monsanto and Marka are justified. Despite the new directive of the EC, the limit for GMO contamination of conventional agricultural products is 0.9 percent. If it is any higher, the product must bear a label stating that it contains GMOs.

Katja Moch, a biologist with Germany s Ecological Institute of Freiburg, told Tierramérica that the maximum limit for genetic contamination in conventional and organic crops is obeyed, but only if the entire non-transgenic harvest is considered at the time of measuring the percentage of its GMO content.

As such, those parts of the harvest taken from areas farther away from neighbouring transgenic fields have less contamination. But in reality the farmers don t harvest their entire fields at once. In these partial harvests, the GMO content is frequently higher than 0.9 percent, said Moch.

This contamination also occurs as a result of conventional and organic farmers sharing machinery or storage sites with farmers who grow transgenic crops.

Many heavy machines used in farming and shared by several different farmers are difficult to clean, and that permits the dissemination of GMOs, explained Moch.

Environmentalists and organic farming activists insist that the maximum limit for GMO contamination must be reduced to 0.1 percent.

The European Commission continues to ignore their demands.

(*Julio Godoy is an IPS correspondent. Originally published Mar. 18 by Latin American newspapers that are part of the Tierramérica network. Tierramérica is a specialised news service produced by IPS with the backing of the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme.)

Jess Smee

BERLIN, Apr 28 2006 (IPS) – Silent playgrounds, boarded up schools, new old people s homes. What sounds far-fetched is actually a glimpse of the future for many German towns if the country s dwindling birth rate fails to stall.
Amid tabloid headlines like We are dying out! and dramatic press predictions that Germans will be extinct in 12 generations, Germany is waking up to the implications of the demographic downturn.

Germany has a birth rate of 8.5 per 1,000 inhabitants, the lowest in Europe and one of the weakest worldwide. With fewer babies, and people living longer, one in three Germans will be 60 or above by 2050, according to official projections.

A third more babies would be needed to maintain the German population as it is now, Bettina Sommer of the Federal Statistics Office told IPS. The demographic structure is undergoing a big change.

A shrinking population is a pan-European trend, according to Eurostat, the European Union s statistics organisation. By 2050, it estimates that Europe s population will fall by around 1.5 percent, or seven million people.

The figures released last month show Germany is hardest hit. In 2005 the number of children born was the lowest since the end of the second world war. Germany s 8.5 births per 1,000 inhabitants are far lower than Ireland with15.2, Britain with12, France with 12.7 and the Netherlands with 11.9.
Germany s birth rate has been flagging over the past 30 years, but policy changes have not managed to significantly stem the decline. Economists and demographers warn that failure to act soon will have serious consequences.

As the population gets older, fewer taxpayers will have to support an inflated pension system and the coveted welfare system. Meanwhile, the German economy will shrink further unless it can recruit 140,000 foreign workers every year, more than is currently the case, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) says.

Painting a bleak picture of the society of the future, the non-fiction book Minimum describes a society lacking families and awash with egocentric only-children. Frank Schirrmacher s book has topped bestseller lists for weeks, reflecting the wave of public concern.

Experts cite many reasons for Germans reluctance to reproduce. These include a scarcity of childcare facilities, schools that finish at lunchtime, and a tax system that discriminates against working women. Meanwhile, protracted university education means that many women study until they are 30, leaving little time to start both career and family.

Germany s traditional family model is a key factor, says Dr Michaela Kreyenfeld, who researches demographics at the independent Max Planck Society. The assumption is that the woman stays at home with the children. This has its roots in the conservative party but has continued to underpin policies by the subsequent left-wing (SPD) government, she told IPS.

Such stereotypes continue to weigh on political discussions she said, pointing out that many right-wing politicians morally object to laws encouraging nursery places for children under the age of three.

Other European countries have modernised their attitudes, especially France, where the crèche system is extensive. Unlike in Germany, it is not socially frowned upon that mothers promptly return to the workplace.

In Sweden, day care is aimed at creating equal chances for women in the workplace, whereas in Germany the politicians are driven by the falling birth rate, Kreyenfeld said.

Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Ursula von der Leyen, a doctor and mother of seven, is spearheading German efforts to become more family-friendly.

Among a raft of proposals to encourage more couples to have children she has mooted plans to allow parents to offset up to 4,000 euros of childcare costs each year. She has also drawn up a new form of state-funded child welfare support, whereby either parent will be entitled to 67 percent of their previous income while staying at home, up to a maximum of 1,800 euros per month.

But these measures must be discussed in parliament before any laws are passed, and there have already been fiery debates on the subject.

Meanwhile, politicians have to deal with stark differences in population patterns across the country. The fewest babies are born in the unemployment-blighted east of the country, where young people, especially women, are moving away to seek work. In contrast, the south, including key cities like Munich and Stuttgart, continues to flourish, according to a report the Berliner Institute published last month.

Researchers at the institute blamed a vicious circle that has become entrenched in much of eastern Germany following reunification in 1990. Where there s a lack of work, people, especially the young, move away. Where there s a lack of families, the economy weakens, they wrote.

Commentators argue that reform, especially to the increasingly costly pension system, is urgent. Public pension payments already take up 12 percent of gross domestic product more than in most other parts of the EU. And that is only going to rise.

As the average age of the electorate rises it will be politically unfeasible for parties to push through measures that tinker with the pensions status quo, even if it means building up more national debt.

Richard Jackson, director of the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies said in a report that this senior power means that politicians need to push through new laws, and soon.

The bottom line is stark, he wrote. Demography is pushing Germany towards a major crisis and time is running out.