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Better sanitation could save 2 million lives a year
Reuters -- Nearly 20 percent of the world's population still defecates in the open, and action to improve hygiene, sanitation and water supply could prevent more than 2 million child deaths a year, health experts said Monday. In a series of studies on sanitation published as a cholera epidemic claims hundreds of live in Haiti, public health researchers from the United States and Europe found that this year 2.6 billion people across the world do not have access to even a basic toilet. Unsafe sanitation and drinking water, together with poor hygiene, account for at least 7 percent of disease across the world, they said, as well as nearly 20 percent of all child deaths in the world... (Kate Kelland)

UN expert praises Congo’s draft law on indigenous rights
UN News -- An independent United Nations human rights expert today welcomed a draft law in the Republic of Congo intended to recognize and protect the rights of marginalized indigenous communities in the central African country. “I welcome the development of a bill for a law on indigenous peoples, and am pleased to have heard from Government and parliamentary officials that the bill will very likely be adopted into law during the current session of Parliament, before the end of the year,” said James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples...

Cuban launches next phase of malaria project
SciDev.net -- Cuba has announced plans to build biolarvicide factories in Brazil and several African countries in a bid to tackle malaria and dengue fever. Biolarvicides are biological products that are added to water to kill mosquitoes at the larval stage. The Cuban government will oversee the programme, and funding is expected to come from national governments of the countries involved. Final figures have not yet been confirmed. Ghanaian health minister Benjamin Kumbour welcomed the project and said it would teach Ghana the best practices that Cuba has used to manage the disease and would deepen bilateral relations between the two countries...

United States urged to take action on climate change
ONE Blog -- In a bold call to action, a bloc of 259 investors representing a quarter of global capitalization and assets signed a statement urging the newly minted United States Congress and climate negotiators in Cancun to address climate change reform — or risk further economic woes. Never before has there been such a coordinated effort emerging from the investors’ worldwide circle. The group strategically issued their message before the November 29th international climate change treaty negotiations set to take place in Cancun, Mexico, to tackle the next step in climate change once the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012... (Veronica Weis)