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A new report by Refugees International, a Washington-based refugee advocacy group, is sharply critical of conditions in the refugee camps in Haiti. Nearly 10 months after the earthquake devastated the country, the report says the people of Haiti are still living in a state of emergency, with a humanitarian response that appears paralyzed.

Refugees International says sexual, domestic and gang violence in and around the refugee camps is rising. The report adds there is an urgent need for experienced U.N. personnel and resources for humanitarian protection, and says that action is urgently needed to protect the basic human rights of people displaced by the earthquake.

Questioned about the report, U.N. spokesperson Martin Nesirky said it

highlights some very important matters including the protection, especially, of women

A woman stands next to makeshift tents at a camp set up for earthquake survivors left homeless in Port-au-Prince, one month after a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Haiti, Feb 2010

\"That has been a major concern for everybody right from the start,\" said Nesirky. \"And we obviously share those concerns and we also want to see increased protection capacity when it comes to tackling sexual violence, which, as you know, is primarily against women and girls. Measures have already been taken, as you know, to improve protection - and that includes patrolling camps and having a 24-hour presence of U.N. troops and police officers in some camps where the problems are particularly serious.\"

The U.N. spokesperson said 559 U.N. police officers are permanently present in six of the Haitian refugee camps and that 614 U.N. military personnel are stationed in six of the largest camps.

\"It is worth noting that sexual violence has been a serious problem in Haiti long before the earthquake, and it also continues to be a serious problem outside of the camps, as well. As I say, this is no comfort for the people in those camps and we need to work very hard on that,\" said Nesirky.

Refugees International also acknowledges gender-based violence has always been a problem in Haiti, but notes there has been a significant increase in sexual violence reports since the January earthquake and there have been

reports of increasing domestic violence in the stressful living conditions in the refugee camps.

Joe DeCapua 11 October 2010

Swaziland has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world - 26 percent for those between the ages of 15 and 29. But to deal with the epidemic, health officials must do more than increase treatment, care and prevention efforts. They must also address another disease that's targeting HIV-positive people more and more often – tuberculosis.

Much progress has been made in extending the lives of people living with HIV, the AIDS virus. Anti-retroviral drugs – or ARVs – can literally pull people back from death's door.

It's estimated that about five million people worldwide are currently receiving the drugs. However, it's believed as many as 10 million people actually need them. Without ARVs, HIV can weaken or destroy the immune system, leaving the body defenseless against many opportunistic infections.

One of them is tuberculosis, which can often kill much more quickly than HIV. So health officials now look at HIV and TB in combination in dealing with the AIDS pandemic.

HIV/TB

Dr. Mary Kathryn Linde, who recently visited Swaziland, says, \"Because of the prominence of AIDS in that country, the resistance to organisms like TB is much lowered in the general population. And so it is transmitted more easily. And then once an individual has it they don't have the immune resistance to be able to combat it. And so it's taken a terrible toll.\"

ASCP

Dr. Mary Kathryn Linde in Swaziland

To help Swaziland deal with the growing TB threat, hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent to renovate a TB testing facility in Mbabane. It's a joint effort by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Doctors Without borders.

Dr. Linde, who represents the pathology group, says a high quality lab plays a vital role in controlling the spread of TB.

\"It's so important to have the correct diagnosis and a very rapid, timely diagnosis so that the patient can be treated. The patient[s] can't be treated until they are diagnosed,\" she says.

A lab that meets standards set by the Centers for Disease Control also makes it much easier for patients.

Linde says, \"Another problem is that the people have to travel to get to the laboratory. And they don't have the money to actually do that. And then if they have to come back they may not be able to afford to come back or may not be physically able to come back. They need to be diagnosed as rapidly as possible and be treated as rapidly as possible.\"

Dan Robinson | White House 11 October 2010

Photo: AP

President Barack Obama pushes for his $50-billion infrastructure-investment proposal as a way to create more jobs, with Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner, left, and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, right, at the White House in Washington, 11 Oct 2010

Saying the United States lags behind China and other nations in dealing with a crumbling infrastructure, President Barack Obama has renewed a call for action to repair roads, bridges and airports.

A new report by the Treasury Department and White House Council of Economic Advisers says the United States now spends two percent of its Gross Domestic Product on infrastructure, with overall spending falling by 50 percent since 1960.

In contrast, it notes China spends about nine percent on infrastructure, and Europe about five percent. It is clear, the report states, that persistent neglect will affect America's competitive position with the rest of the world.

President Obama met for about an hour with key state governors, city mayors and Cabinet officials. In the White House Rose Garden, he spoke about the consequences of \"woefully inefficient and outdated\" infrastructure for current and future economic growth.

\"The bottom line is our short-sightedness has come due. We can no longer afford to sit still. What we need is a smart system of infrastructure equal to the needs of the 21st century, a system that encourages sustainable communities with easier access to our jobs, to our schools, to our homes.\"

In September, the president asked Congress for an initial $50 billion to begin a six-year plan of infrastructure upgrades, spending he insists will be offset by ending a collection of oil and gas industry tax breaks.

But legislative action will have to wait until Congress returns after the November 2

midterm elections, at which point one or both chambers could be controlled by Republicans, who have sharply criticized Obama's stimulus spending.

Saying \"there is no reason why the world's best infrastructure should lie beyond U.S. borders,\" Mr. Obama cited examples of other countries, including China, that he said are recognizing the importance of investing today for tomorrow.

\"Right now China is building hundreds of thousands of miles of new roads. Over the next 10 years it plans to build dozens of new airports. Over the next 20 it could build as many as 170 new mass transit systems. Everywhere else they are thinking big, they are creating jobs today, but they are also planning to win tomorrow,\" said President Obama.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a Republican, voiced optimism about prospects for bipartisan cooperation when Congress returns. He also lashed out at critics of Obama economic stimulus.

\"There [are] thousands of people working, 14,000 projects today. The idea that our stimulus did not work is nonsense,\" said LaHood.

A separate recent study contained recommendations similar to the Obama administration report, and it estimated the federal government, plus state and local governments, would have to spend as much as $194 billion simply to repair existing infrastructure.

President Obama said the United States had deferred decisions on repairing aging

highways, rail lines and other infrastructure for years, hindering economic growth. He also indirectly linked the issue with the upcoming congressional elections, saying Americans face a choice between decline and prosperity, and between the past and the future.

Brian Padden | Hanoi 11 October 2010

Photo: AP

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and China's Minister of Defense Liang Guanglie shake hands before a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, 11 Oct. 2010

At the ASEAN Defense Ministers meeting in Hanoi, Chinese Minister of Defense Liang Guanglie invited his U.S. counterpart Defense Secretary Robert Gates to visit China, in what seems like an easing of military tensions in the region.

Diplomacy appears to be making some progress in reducing tensions at the ASEAN Plus Eight defense ministers' meeting. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations invited the United States, China, Japan, Russia and other regional powers to address security issues in the Pacific.

China resumes military relations

By inviting Defense Secretary Robert Gates to visit next year, China is resuming high-level military relations with the United States. Earlier in the year, China suspended military contacts because of U.S. planned arms sales to Taiwan.

The Chinese Defense Minister also said talks with Japan's defense officials were positive. Tensions between the two countries have increased after a Chinese fishing boat collided with Japanese coast guard patrol ships in waters claimed by both sides.

U.S. support for Southeast Asia

Earlier in the day, speaking to members of the military and students at the Vietnam National University in Hanoi, Secretary Gates sent a message to reassure Southeast Asia.

\"I think all Asia can be confident that the U.S. intends to remain engaged in Asia as we have been for so many scores of years before and that we intend to be an active party, not only in economic and political matters but also in defense and security matters,\" Gates said.

The United States is concerned territorial disputes over small island chains in the region could hurt access to one of the world's busiest sea lanes.

Beijing says its claims over the Spratly and Paracel islands are a \"core national interest.\" Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia also claim all or part of the islands. Although largely uninhabited, the islands are believed to sit atop vast reserves of oil and natural gas.

Solution to sea disputes

The United States says it has a national interest in freedom of navigation in international waters. Mr. Gates said Asian sea disputes should be resolved peacefully through negotiations.

The defense secretary also says by acting together in a multilateral organization like ASEAN, smaller Asian countries can better resolve regional security issues.

\"Increasingly we find that relying exclusively on bilateral relationships is not enough,\" said Gates. \"We need multi-lateral institutions in order to confront the most important security challenges in the region.\"

During his two-day visit, Gates will meet with several Asian defense ministers who want U.S. support to counter the growth of China as a regional power

William Eagle | Washington, DC 10 October 2010

For International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials, the past week's annual meetings were part of efforts to improve dialogue with the developing world.

The IMF's Director of External Relations, Caroline Atkinson, says \"we've funded

representatives from civil society organizations to come to the [annual] meetings to tell us of their concerns, to hear from us about what we are doing and why, and promote an exchange. We've also funded a number of journalists and other media to come from Africa and Asia.\"

But non-governmental organizations say the Fund needs to do more.

Jubilee USA

Demonstrators compared the IMF to a \"loan shark\" and urged an end to what they called unjust economic policies

The group ActionAid says IMF programs have generally prohibited the type of government-supported stimulus used by the industrialized countries to help weather the international financial crisis. Instead, it says they emphasize austerity measures that often call for cuts in government spending, including social services needed to help poor nations meet UN Millennium Development Goals. The MDG's call for drastic reductions in poverty as well as vast improvements in education and child and maternal health by 2015.

Melinda St. Louis is the deputy director of Jubilee USA Network, which includes over 70 religious, labor and humanitarian groups supporting lower-income countries.

Photo: Trevor Samson / World Bank

Critics say austerity measures mean less money for education and other social services

For example, in Burundi, she says \"even though public sector wages are well below average for the region, the IMF used its influence to ensure the government reduce its spending on public sector wages – having hiring freezes and cutting subsidies for fuel and reinstate a 20 percent fuel tax affecting the poorest.

\"Ghana had to raise utility prices, and have a wage freeze. They needed to increase salaries for health care workers to keep them in Ghana, but the IMF said they were not able to increase salaries to the level they needed to, which could affect the brain drain of health care workers forced to leave the country to make a living.\"

Smaller budgets and reductions in public expenditures may be continuing. She says IMF programs are projecting that countries tighten their fiscal and monetary policies in 2010 and 2011.

IMF

Some IMF and World Bank projects aim to boost developing countries' exports to niche markets, including flowers from Africa to Europe

Development groups are also concerned about the effect of budget tightening on the poor.

Activists say many countries try to attract foreign investment with consumption taxes on lower income groups, instead of closing loop holes on the wealthy. Some governments favor free trade zones with minimal taxes on corporations.

Melinda St. Louis says governments also lower tariffs and import taxes, sources of funding for health and education services. Jubilee USA says an IMF requirement to lower trade

barriers in Zambia made the country's textile industry less competitive, and led to the loss there of 30,000 jobs.

Besides calling for reforms on loans and policies for less developed countries, Jubilee USA is also calling for greater transparency regarding deals signed between national governments and the Washington-based financial institutions.

Jubilee USA

Last week, Jubilee USA demonstrators urged the IMF to break the chains of debt and end unjust economic policies

\"[Some] governments borrow from the IMF or World Bank,\" says St Louis, \"without the knowledge or understanding of the population. Basically, they are getting money up front from projects that may be good, or even wasteful, but the country and citizens are saddled with that debt for decades to come.\"

She says in some cases, the Ministry of Finance in a given country signs with the IMF loan agreements whose details are not made public for scrutiny by the parliament, media or voters.

Caroline Atkinson of the IMF disagrees with the criticism. She says the Fund has tripled financing to low income countries with zero interest rate loans. She says money has been made available to the poorest countries on favorable terms so they are not crippled with the burden of repayment.

And, she says conditions on loan agreements have been streamlined.

\"One of the reasons for conditionality,\" she says, \"is that we lend when countries are sick, when they have a problem. So like any doctor we advise steps they should take to get

better. The medicine is the money that supports them with symptoms and helps them get better, but they also need lifestyle changes. If they have got into crisis because the government is spending too much, or they can't borrow any more, then they probably need to adjust that over time. That is part of what we do.\"

World Bank / Curt Carnemark

The global downturn exacerbates the struggle to improve sanitation and other services by 2015, a part of the UN Millennium Development Goals

Atkinson says the IMF does not prescribe policies that place tax burdens on the poor, or that single out corporate interests for tax breaks.

\"One of the things we feel strongly about,\" she says, \"is the tax burden needs to be spread fairly and fall on those best able to pay. We give a lot of technical assistance and advice on how to make sure that people with high incomes or wealth pay the vast bulk of tax. Also, there is no IMF policy in support of lower corporation taxes or free trade zones. Many countries may have them because they have a view about what will encourage exports and growth.\"

As for transparency, Atkinson says the IMF publishes a large number of loan agreements. She denies there are any private deals between the Fund and clients.

The IMF official says health and education spending was higher last year in countries with Fund support for programs that protect nutrition or provide cash to poor families. Some clients, she says, even have intensive public works programs.

Atkinson says it's evidence the Fund is listening to its critics, and helping to protect the most vulnerable.

Joe DeCapua 08 October 2010

A new study says developing countries will need between $400 million and $700 million over the next 20 years to battle HIV/AIDS. The findings appear in The Lancet medical journal. The estimates are being released at a time when overall funding for HIV/AIDS has flatlined in a troubled world economy.

At this month's replenishment round for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, donor nations pledged $11.7 billion over three years - an amount several billion dollars below what many had called a bare minimum.

Dr. Robert Hecht says the situation underscores the need for long-term financial planning.

\"This epidemic is not a short-term phenomenon. We've been battling with the virus and with the epidemic now for almost three decades. And we still have a long way to go. It's important now that we move out of the short-term emergency mode and mentality and look long term. Even while we act in the short-term, we need to see where this epidemic is going<\" he says

Hecht is managing director of the Results for Development Institute in Washington and lead author of The Lancet article.

Take action now

Five million people are currently receiving anti-retroviral therapy. But it's estimated at least 10 million people should be receiving the life-saving drugs.

\"Actions we take today to prevent new infections – and this is where we need to do a great deal more than we are right now – will have huge consequences for what happens 5 to 15, 20 years ahead of us,\" he says

Results for Development Institute Dr. Robert Hecht

The Lancet article estimates the cost for developing countries to fight HIV/AIDS will range from $397 billion to $722 billion. Hecht says it all depends on the choices developing countries make now.

\"Countries do have distinct choices. They can do much better to target and use their dollars for prevention. They can avoid people becoming infected at a higher rate if they do the right things. And this has big savings down the road when it comes to treatment and caring for orphans,\" he says.

Take heed

He warns if funding and treatment efforts level off in the coming years, the number of new HIV infections could rise to more than 3-million annually by 2015. That's up from 2.3 million in 2009. If an aggressive prevention approach is taken, he says, the number of new infections each year could fall to one million. Hecht calls that \"progress,\" but says without a cure or an effective vaccine the epidemic will continue.

\"Even if we expand the prevention services that we have today, the things that are in our prevention toolkit, we will still be seeing more than a million people becoming infected 20 years from now. We still will not have completely stopped AIDS in its tracks,\" he says.

He describes that as very sobering news for donor countries, who will need to target countries most in need. These include countries with very high HIV rates and weak economies.

\"Using whatever money is available in the most targeted and efficient way I think is only underscored by the situation that's occurring right now with the challenges of the global fund and the leveling off of U.S. bilateral assistance for HIV,\" he says.

The Lancet article also calls for greater investment in research and development to \"generate game-changing technologies\" and to \"intensify targeted cost-effective prevention.\"

Jim Randle | Washington 07 October 2010

Photo: AP

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, right,

and World Bank President Robert Zoellick prepare for a meeting of the G-24, during the annual IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington, 07 Oct 2010

Top international economic leaders said continuing disputes over currencies and trade could escalate and hurt the fragile economic recovery. The heads of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund both had blunt warnings Thursday for national and economic leaders.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick says if nations do not stop bickering and start compromising on currency issues, the economic downturn could get far worse. \"First, one needs to manage the tensions, if one lets this slide into conflict or forms of protectionism, then we run the risk of repeating the mistakes of the 1930s.\"

Those mistakes preceded the Great Depression.

The warning comes as the United States, China, European and other nations continue squabbling over the value of currencies. Also, Japan recently intervened in markets to push down the value of its currency, the yen.

Zoellick says the tensions grow out of the slow and uneven economic recovery, which is leaving millions of people out of work. \"Whenever you have high unemployment, you have risks of other tensions, we see this now in debates on currencies.\"

Having a weaker currency can help cut unemployment by boosting exports. It does this by making a nation's products less expensive and easier to sell on international markets. More sales mean more demand for products and more jobs.

That strategy will not work, however, if too many nations try to do it at once. This means the various nations need to work out compromises, but it is hard to make deals right now because high unemployment is putting domestic political pressure on national leaders.

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, urged political and economic officials to tone down their rhetoric and find less provocative ways to bolster their economies. \"Many (nations) do consider their currency as a weapon, and that is certainly not for the good of the global economy.\"

The IMF chief also sent a message to emerging economies that have been clamoring for a greater voice in IMF decisions. Strauss-Kahn said countries that want to have a greater say also need to accept more responsibility for maintaining a healthy global economy.

The IMF and the World Bank have called for China to allow the value of its currency to rise. But economic experts say one of China's major trading partners, the United States, should also make changes, like cutting budget deficits and boosting savings.

William Eagle | Washington, DC 07 October 2010

The 24-member board of the IMF approves billions of dollars in loans for countries hit by the global financial crisis.

A third of its seats are held by European countries, including small ones like Belgium and the Netherlands.

But that's expected to end.

The IMF is committed to broadening the influence of the developing countries on the board, with Europe under pressure to give some of its seats to other countries.

Soren Ambrose is the development finance coordinator for ActionAid International.

IMF

He says originally, the executive board had only 20 members, and an agreement to keep the number at 24 has to be renewed every two years. The US says it will not agree to a renewal unless the Europeans agree to change their representation on the board.

If a decision is not made by the end of October, the board could become smaller.

\"If no action is taken,\" he says, \"we would lose four seats on the board automatically, the four smallest in terms of voting power– India, Brazil and Argentina. [They're], all members of the G20, who have reasons to say they are important and need representation on the board.

\"The fourth on the board belongs to 23 sub-Saharan African countries, and it would be unwise for the IMF to exclude African countries which have been taking out loans most consistently for last 30 years.

Reforms would likely favor middle-income countries like Turkey and the Philippines and not the poorest of the poor. That's because, he says, votes on the IMF board are apportioned according to a country's \"relative weight\" in the global economy. In his view, the least

developed countries of the world have a meager voice on the board and could even have that diluted by future reforms. Middle income countries currently on the 24-member board include Thailand, Egypt, Iran and India.

IMF/ Stephen Jaffe

Members of the media ask questions to International Monetary Fund's Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

He says ActionAid would rather see voting weight based on a country's population and on the support they've provided the IMF through repayments of loans.

\"The reason we say [a revised board should] take loans into account,\" he says, \"is that for many years, the IMF survived on the repayments being made by (developing) countries taking out loans. So if they were to get credit for all they've paid in like interest payments and so on, that would increase their voice.\"

Also up for discussion are improvements in loans to the developing countries and the anticipated introduction of what's being called a Global Stabilization Mechanism, which would make large amounts of money available on short notice to a number of countries at once in the case of a pending global economic collapse.

\"It would be collective action backed by board of the IMF,\" says Ambrose, \"and, by doing many countries at once, try to restore confidence in entire system. It means the IMF is not trying to [publicly] identify a country's weaknesses, acting like a credit rating agency, but instead be a more systemic fixer of the entire global economy.\"

Participants are also expected to discuss ways of boosting growth.

Some countries are trying to boost growth by devaluing their currency, thus making their exports cheaper. IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn warns that a race to lower exchange rates could destabilize the world economy.

IMF/ Stephen Jaffe

International Monetary Fund's Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn warns against a race to devalue currencies

Participants will also discuss whether the international community should boost economic growth by continuing to spend tax payer funds to stimulate their economies and provide jobs, or whether they should promote private sector growth by cutting spending and paying off debt.

Ambrose says the decision will ultimately affect developing countries.

\"They rely on demand coming from the richer countries for the products they export,\" he explains.

\"If the [developed] economies are slowing down and there's not as many people working and consuming, then they are not buying the coffee, the cotton for their clothing from poorer countries, and the prices for the commodities go down. That's what affects Africa, Latin America and Asia.\"

New ideas could emerge through some of the week's lectures and panel discussions. Among them are ways to jump-start job creation and a look at some of the challenges facing emerging market economies.

Ambrose says it's not clear if any consensus will emerge from the meetings. If not, he says, the debate on many of the issues, including reforms of the IMF governance board, will continue in November at the meeting of G20 in Seoul, South Korea.