A yearlong human rights project culminated December 8 with the premiere of Finding Our Voice, a 20-minute film documenting the work of the team of San Gabriel Valley high school students who participated in the project.

The film premiered at the Education and Responsibility Human Rights Day Forum at Pasadena City College, commemorating the 64th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The student human rights project was conceived and carried out by Tim Bowles, Human Rights Director of the Church of Scientology of Pasadena, who served as the students chief advisor along with Joseph Jay Yarsiah, Youth for Human Rights program director for Africa.

The 20-minute film, directed by award-winning filmmakers Bayou Bennett and Daniel Lir of Dolce Films, documents the students search for answers to declining trends in California public education: Once a national leader in education, California currently ranks 47th in spending per student and is ahead of only Mississippi, Alabama and the District of Columbia in student science proficiency. This trend is a barrier to California students realizing article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Everyone has the right to education.

In looking for answers to this issue, the students sought to define their own roles in reversing what they found to be the most critical crisis of allhow to get the bulk of classmates to care about school.

Introducing the film, Marshall High School junior Cheyenne Smith said, We hope the film will help the community to support us in our quest to enhance education. This is what we have worked so tirelessly and passionately to achieve.

Khadejah Ray, leader of the Pasadena High Schools team, said, We will only be able to improve our society if we take responsibility now, if we lead now, to help each other achieve the great success of which we are capable.

The students were each presented certificates of Congressional recognition signed by U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu.

Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard said, The Pasadena High Schools team has certainly earned our respect and thus our trust that their campaign is but a milestone for them and for those they inspire toward ever greater humanitarian service to our community and our world.

Pasadena Chief of Police Phillip Sanchez told the students, Within two or three years, you will represent the largest voting bloc in America. You must understand and support human rights or you will fail. You must respect yourselves and your peers as well as the authorities. Human rights education is vital to the future.

Dignitaries attending also included Theresa Lamb Simpson representing Congressman Adam Schiff; Liz Reilly, City of Duarte Mayor pro tem; George Brumder, Chairman of the Board of Pasadena Educational Foundation; Pastor Nicholas Benson, President of the Interdenominational Ministerial Allience of Greater Pasadena; Joe Brown, President of NAACP Pasadena; Paul Little, President of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce; Nat Nehdar, chair of Pasadena Human Relations Commission; Yuny Parada of the Pasadena Latino Foundation; Dr. Mohammed Khalid Ejaz, Consul General for Pakistan; and Maria Hellen Barber De La Vega, Consul General for the Philippines.

Bowles based this pilot project on the success of the African Human Rights Leadership Campaign, a project he launched in 2008 to empower youth in impoverished and wartorn African countries and educate them on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Acknowledging what the San Gabriel Valley students have accomplished, he said, Today, these team members come of age as true leaders in and advocates for their community.

Scientologists on five continents engage in collaborative efforts with government agencies and nongovernmental organizations to bring about broad-scale awareness and implementation of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the worlds premier human rights document.

The Church of Scientology has published a new brochure, Scientology: How We HelpUnited for Human Rights: Making Human Rights a Global Reality, to meet requests for more information about the human rights education and awareness initiative it supports. To learn more, visit the Scientology website.

L. Ron Hubbard wrote, Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream. The Code of a Scientologist calls on all members of the religion to dedicate themselves to support true humanitarian endeavors in the fields of human rights.

Scientologists on five continents engage in collaborative efforts with government agencies and nongovernmental organizations to bring about broad-scale awareness and implementation of the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the worlds premier human rights document.

Press Contact: Karin Pouw

Tel: (323) 960-3500

eMail: MediaRelations(at)ChurchofScientology(dot)net

GBCHealth announced today the winners of the 2012 Business Action on Health Awards. The awards recognize the best corporate programs developed to address global health needs. Awards will be presented to winning companies during GBCHealths annual conference on May 14th and 15th at the Roosevelt Hotel, New York City.

In 2011, GBCHealth announced that it was expanding its mission beyond HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria to take on a wider range of global health challenges. The winning programs address issues as varied as cardiovascular disease, preventable blindness and the need for communications technology to improve health care in a Chinese province crippled by an earthquake. The winners tap intervention strategies as diverse as a water filtering, non-surgical male circumcision and the use of smart phones to quickly report malaria information and improve disease surveillance.

This years award winning and commended companies embrace GBCHealths expanded mandate and showcase an unprecedented diversity of innovative private sector solutions to global health problems, said John Tedstrom, President and CEO of GBCHealth. Collectively, these programs demonstrate the unique power of business to help overcome our worlds most pressing health challenges. Congratulations to our winners and to all companies who are making a positive difference in the lives of their workers, their communities and beyond.

GBCHealth received entries from companies working across all six continents, in dozens of countries. Whats more, half of this years entries came from companies that had never before competed.

Winning programs represent innovative work from AstraZeneca, Chevron Corporation, PrePex, Cisco Systems, Inc., Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, HP, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited and Vestergaard Frandsen.

In addition to the Business Action on Health Awards, GBCHealth will recognize the significant contributions of HEINEKEN and mothers2mothers during a gala dinner on May 15 at Cipriani Wall Street. HEINEKEN, one of GBCHealths founding supporters, will receive the 2012 Business Leadership Award for its more than two-decade commitment to tackling some of the most challenging health issues. Its many health-related efforts include trailblazing work in HIV/AIDS, malaria and Vesico-vagina fistula.

mothers2mothers will be presented with the 2012 Frontline Heroes Award in honor of its more than 1,500 HIV-positive Mentor Mothers who deliver life-saving information to women who are also HIV- positive in sub-Saharan Africa.

GBCHealth 2012 Business Action on Health Awards

Winner: Workplace/Workforce Engagement: General Chevron Corporation

Chevron Corporation implemented an enterprise-wide Cardiovascular Health Program to reduce employees risk of developing cardiovascular disease. To date, it has been deployed in 11 countries, including Angola, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Nigeria, Philippines and the United States. Of roughly 35,000 eligible employees, approximately 17,000 have completed the risk assessment and 11,000 have enrolled in follow up programming. Participants previously at risk of developing coronary heart disease within the next 10 years have reduced that likelihood by more than a third.

Winner: Workplace/Workforce Engagement: Special Focus on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis or Malaria Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold

Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM), a mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo majority owned and operated by Freeport-McMoRan, developed its Public Health and Integrated Malaria Control Program (IMCP) in partnership with International SOS after baseline research showed high malaria prevalence among employees and their families. Since the programs inception in late 2007, the malaria incidence rate among employees has reduced by 66% and prevalence in their communities has dropped by 47%.

Winner: Community Investment: General Standard Chartered

Seeing is Believing, a global partnership between Standard Chartered and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), combats avoidable blindness in developing countries. As of 2011, Seeing is Believing projects had reached over 28 million people, providing over 2.8 million cataract surgeries, treating 1.9 million people for River Blindness, distributing nearly 168,000 pairs of spectacles, supplying 2 million people with vitamin A supplements, and providing 14.4 million individuals with preventive treatment and education services.

Winner: Community Investment Special Focus on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis or Malaria AstraZeneca AstraZeneca worked in partnership with the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) to create a program focused on integrated management of malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) in the high-incidence areas of Luwero and Kiboga, Uganda. The program focused on improving community- based prevention methods, constructing and equipping 10 clinical laboratories, and training health system staff. Since the projects inception, 6,618 local people have been trained and more than 1.5 million patient visits have occurred. In the districts covered by the project, malaria deaths in hospital declined by half between 2007 and 2011 and new TB cases dropped by 10%. New HIV diagnoses fellfrom 11% to 7%, with 69,730 tests now carried out per year, three times the annual figure at the start of the project.

Joint Winners: Application of Core Competence Cisco & Sumitomo Chemical Company

Cisco Systems, Inc.: In 2008, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake displaced 4.8 million residents and claimed 68,000 lives in Chinas Sichuan Province. Recognizing that a long-term response was needed, Cisco collaborated with the Chinese government to create a 21stcentury medical delivery system called Connecting Sichuan, bridging the gap between urban and rural healthcare with advanced communication technologies. The network enables providers throughout the healthcare system to interact and share resources.

Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited: Sumitomos groundbreaking Olyset

Addvalue Technologies Ltd (the ?Company?) is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Addvalue Communications Pte Ltd (?Addvalue?), and Smartmatic International Corp (?Smartmatic?), a world-class leading supplier of electoral solutions and services, have successfully co-operated in the deployment of 5,500 Wideye Sabre 1 Terminals to provide a proven, fast, secured and automated electoral solution for the transmission of election data and results for the Philippines? first computerised 2010 National Elections (comprising the Presidential, Legislative and Local Elections). The Philippines switched to an automated system to reduce the cheating, disputes and violence that accompanied the manual counting in past elections that took weeks to complete.

The successful deployment of the 5,500 Wideye Sabre 1 Terminals and about 82,200 automated voting machines across 7,107 islands were carried out by Smartmatic. It sets the record as the world?s largest BGAN terminals deployment for a single project, with over 1,400 Wideye Sabre 1 Terminals transmitting data simultaneously at a peak. In fact, the first set of results came from satellite transmissions out of the mountainous regions in northern Luzon, where there are no regular cell phone sites and the voting populations are small. The first set of results was delivered in 30 minutes after the close of voting while 92% of the total votes of the entire country were transmitted and tallied within 24 hours, a feat which is unheard of in the country?s previous elections.

The Wideye Sabre 1 Terminal is a high quality, reliable, robust and easy-to-use terminal with flexible interface options. It features built-in Ethernet/LAN and RJ11 phone interfaces and can support both voice call and data transmission simultaneously. In October 2008, 1,200 Wideye Sabre 1 Terminals were also successfully deployed for Brazil?s municipal elections.

?Once again, the Wideye Sabre 1 Terminal has not only demonstrated its quality, reliability and performance, it has also set a new record in the process and helped to expedite the delivery of secured election results from what used to take a few weeks to a few hours.? remarked Dr Colin Chan, Chairman and CEO of the Company.

Mr Antonio Mugica, CEO of Smartmatic, added that, ?the speed, transparency and universal acceptance of the election results in the Philippines is evidence that our electoral solution aides the democratic process. We are indeed pleased with the dedicated support provided by Addvalue and with it?s technology.?

About Addvalue (http://www.addvaluetech.com)

Addvalue is a leading one-stop digital, wireless and broadband communications technology products innovator, which provides state-of-the-art satellite-based communication terminals and solutions for a variety of voice and IP-based data applications. Addvalue has established itself as a key partner to many major players in the satellite communication industry, counting amongst its customer base internationally-renowned leaders such as Inmarsat, Stratos, Vizada, Satlink and Globe Wireless.

Through the recent years of consistent business transformation, Addvalue has emerged to be a leading global developer and supplier of mobile satellite terminals supporting coverage provided by premier mobile satellite communication operators. These terminals are ideal choices for communications in areas around the world where terrestrial networks are non-existent, inept or ineffective. This is particularly so for maritime communications, which rely almost entirely on satellite communications, and Addvalue?s products are well poised to address these needs.

About Smartmatic (http://www.smartmatic.com)

Smartmatic is a multinational company that designs and deploys technological solutions aimed at helping governments fulfill, in the most efficient way, their commitments with their citizens. It is one of the largest cutting-edge technology suppliers, with a wide and proven experience in the United States, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Smartmatic’s competitive strength lies on its cutting-edge technology and expertise in three key areas: Election Solutions, Identity Management Solutions and Public Safety Solutions.

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Four ASEAN equities exchanges (Bursa Malaysia, the Philippine Stock Exchange, Singapore Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Thailand) have selected SunGard to be the technology provider for the ASEAN trading link.

The Link will electronically interconnect participating ASEAN exchanges to facilitate cross-border order routing and trading, thus helping investors and members access ASEAN markets via a single connection. SunGard will supply the infrastructure for the network based on its Valdi trading solution suite.

The Valdi suite provides global, multi-asset class order management, market access, liquidity and compliance management, as well as hosted services. Through a central point of connection to the ASEAN trading link, hosted by SunGard in Singapore, investors will be able to route orders to the four exchanges and receive market data from each of them. The ASEAN trading link will also be connected to the SunGard Global Network (SGN), so that global brokers and investors can send orders to participating ASEAN members.

Raj Mahajan, president of SunGard?s global trading business, said, ?SunGard’s strategy is to help broker-dealers generate new revenue by helping them navigate the global trading environment cost-effectively. SunGard has supported the growing demand for access to the ASEAN marketplaces for many years via our SGN and Valdi trading solutions. We will now work with the ASEAN exchanges to tailor these technologies to their requirements.?

About Bursa Malaysia

Bursa Malaysia Berhad is a public company limited by shares under the Companies Act 1965. Bursa Malaysia is an approved exchange holding company under Section 11D of the Securities Industry Act 1983. Other companies in the Bursa Malaysia Bhd Group of companies include a stock exchange, a derivatives exchange, an off-shore international financial exchange, equity and derivatives clearing houses, a central depository, an information services provider and an Information Technology services provider. Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia Berhad, is an approved stock exchange under Section 8 of the Securities Industry Act 1983. For more information, please visit Bursa Malaysia’s website: http://www.klse.com.my

About Philippine Stock Exchange

The Philippine Stock Exchange, Incorporated owns and operate the only stock exchange in the Philippines. The Securities and Exchange Commission granted the company the status of self regulatory organisation in 1998. It was incorporated in 1992 as a non-stock corporation and underwent a listing by way of introduction in 2003, pursuant to the demutualization mandate of the Securities Regulation Code of 2000. In addition, the PSE sold to strategic investors by way of private placement in 2004. For more information, please visit PSE’s website: http://www.pse.com.ph

About Singapore Exchange (SGX)

SGX was inaugurated on 1 December 1999, following the merger of two established and well-respected financial institutions – the Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES) and the Singapore International Monetary Exchange (SIMEX). SGX is Asia-Pacific’s first demutualised and integrated securities and derivatives exchange and is listed on its own bourse. The exchange’s stock is a component of benchmark indices such as the MSCI Singapore’s Free Index and the Straits Times Index (STI). SGX aims to offer a highly trusted, comprehensive and efficient securities and derivatives marketplace for raising capital, risk transfer, trading, clearing and settlement. SGX facilitates the trading and clearing of commodity futures and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives such as forward freight agreements and oil swaps. Through strategic alliances and partnerships with other exchanges around the world, SGX is firmly positioned as an Asian Gateway. For more information, please visit SGX website: http://www.sgx.com

About The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)

SET is a fully-integrated exchange providing a wide variety of investment products (i.e., equities, bonds, and derivatives) and quality services to both local and foreign investors, with timely, accurate and complete information disclosure. SET began operations in 1975 and operates under the Securities and Exchange Act, 1992. SET services investors and other market participants with fully computerised trading systems and aims to enhance the efficiency of market infrastructure to continually meet international standards. The Exchange also emphasises promoting corporate governance amongst market participants and adopting best international practices to enhance the market’s efficiency, transparency and performance.

For more information, please visit SET’s website at http://www.set.or.th

About SunGard?s Valdi

SunGard?s Valdi provides equities, futures, fixed income and options traders with multi-asset and risk management solutions on 130+ markets worldwide. Valdi global trading solutions support the entire trade lifecycle including integrated trade and order management systems, execution services, risk management, market data, compliance, and clearing and settlement services. Through connectivity via the SunGard Global Network (SGN), SunGard’s global trading solutions help customers achieve increased performance, low latency and execution across multiple platforms, instruments and geographies.

About the SunGard Global Network (SGN)

A trade automation and connectivity solution, the SunGard Global Network links institutions throughout the financial services value chain, offering services for equities, fixed income, listed derivatives, mutual funds, money market funds and other cash equivalents. The SunGard Global Network helps automate the entire trade lifecycle from order execution through to post-trade processing. It provides access to 110 markets worldwide and connects the buy-side, third party networks, broker/dealers and investment companies, including more than 2,000 asset managers and 500 broker connections. Its international connectivity hubs also support low-latency market data delivery from global markets.

About SunGard

SunGard is one of the world’s leading software and technology services companies. It has more than 20,000 employees and serves 25,000 customers in 70 countries, providing software and processing solutions for financial services, higher education and the public sector. SunGard also delivers disaster recovery services, managed IT services, information availability consulting services and business continuity management software. With annual revenue of about $ 5 billion, SunGard is ranked 434 on the Fortune 500 and is the largest privately held business software and IT services company. Look for us wherever the mission is critical. For more information, please visit http://www.sungard.com.

Trademark Information: SunGard, the SunGard logo, SunGard Global Network and Valdi are trademarks or registered trademarks of SunGard Data Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. All other trade names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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DuPont Philippines, a premier science company, and the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) recently held a Paper Presentation of Finalists for the 2003 NAST-DuPont Talent Search for Young Scientists at the Champagne Salon, Manila Hotel.

The five young scientists competing for this prestigious award are: (1) Dr. Amelita J. Bartolome, PhD (Technical Chemistry) – University of Santo Tomas; (2) Dr. Alvin Y. Chua, PhD (Mechanical Engineering) – De La Salle University; (3) Dr. Windell L. Rivera, PhD (Medical Science) – University of the Philippines, Diliman; (4) Dr. Luis Francisco G. Sarmenta, PhD (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science); and, Dr. James A. Villanueva, PhD (Chemistry) – University of the Philippines, Diliman. A panel of judges carefully screened the participants and selected the three best paper presenters who will receive a plaque of recognition from NAST during the awarding ceremonies at the Manila Hotel on July 10, 2003. In addition, the winners will receive cash prizes from DuPont Philippines during the occasion.

“We believe in the value of education and the significance of recognizing young students for their innovative ideas and dedication to contribute to the society with their gifted knowledge,” said DuPont Managing Director Ramon S. Abadilla. “This contribution to the academe is in line with the company’s social commitment initiatives for sustainable development in education.”

DuPont Philippines and NAST, the government advisory and recognition body on science and technology, had signed a memorandum of agreement that would sustain the Young Talented Scientist Awards from 2002 to 2004. Aside from this notable project, DuPont has supported several programs and initiatives worldwide with the potential to demonstrate improved and sustainable outcomes, primarily focused in mathematics, science, and technology education.

DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by solving problems and creating solutions that make people’s lives better, safer and easier. Operating in more than 70 countries, the company offers a wide range of products and services to markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.

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DuPontTM is a trademark of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.

For additional information about the company

and its social commitment initiatives, visit http://www.dupont.com

The Tahrir Square uprising highlighted the importance of the strategic and social elements of forming a democracy. The uprising gave the world a clear understanding that in order to achieve democracy members of the government, private sector and civil society have to learn how to work together and understand each others positions.

It is clear that the beginning of true democracy must come from constitutional laws. These laws are key to democratic change even though the transition from the Mubarak Regime to Democracy is unique from any other historical formation of a democracy. Egyptian democracy must be developed with consideration of the needs and realities of the people and their society which emerging from a specific tradition, culture and historical context.

During the Mubarak Regime the Egyptian Intelligence Agency took control of Civil Society Organization (CSO), a group viewed as catalyst for democratization. The regime deprived the CSO of an effective policy advocate, debating reform and engaging citizens in collaborative governance. Egyptian Americans are taking the lead in bringing the three sectors together, domestic and international, to pursue their goals through non-violent means, adequate staff and appropriate training. Egypt joins a diverse list of countries such as the Philippines, Poland, Indonesia and others whose authoritarian regimes were replaced by democratic government as a result of such unarmed civil insurrection.

Egypt’s Civil Society Organization (CSO) can be traced back to 1821. Egypt boasts a large number of CSO’s with an estimated 21,500 civic organizations registered with the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MOSS), according to a report from 2007. According to the 2007 MOSS report, the multiple CSOs included 15 million members.

A one-day forum is scheduled with the Houston, Texas based Egyptian CSO. Dr. Alaa Issa, Consul General of Egypt, Dr Mahmoud El Gamal, professor of International Economics, and Mrs. Mahi Khallaf a Civil Society Consultant in addition to other speakers will address the necessary road map toward democracy in Egypt during the forum.

Sunday May 22, 2011

9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Arab American Cultural Center (ACC.)

10555 Stancliff Road

Houston Texas 77099

Tel: 832-351-3366.

Attendance to the forum is free, however seating is limited.

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More Philippines Government Press Releases

Patrons of McDonalds in Philippines are enjoying a new taste at its outlets; the taste of dynamic digital signage. McDonalds joins the booming multimedia savvy corporations all over the world who have embraced the power of Scala?s visual communications in the current era of technology.

Implemented and managed by Globaltronics Inc.; a pioneering provider of Digital Media Management Services and Systems, the concept behind the McDonalds digital signage network was to enhance the store experience and strengthen McDonald?s branding exercise by keeping customers informed, entertained and educated with visually rich content. The signage network was also aimed to enhance the customer shopping experience in addition to ensuring a focused message is delivered to its intended audience.

Powered by the Scala InfoChannel

Manila-based migrant non-government organizations are moving to stop the conversion of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) into a national government agency (NGA) which, they said, could cause the transfer of over P6 billion in OWWA funds to the National Treasury.

If and when that happens, Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) President Carmelita Nuqui said, the OFW contributions accumulated over the years could be converted into a slush fund for government.

“The national government’s petty cash fund,” says John Batara of the Center for Overseas Workers (COW) sarcastically. At the moment, the OFW contributions are kept in a trust fund managed by the OWWA for its members.

The move to convert OWWA into a NGA is part of the new OWWA Omnibus Policies passed by the OWWA Board of Trustees headed by Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas with OWWA Administrator Virgilio Angelo as vice-chair on September 19, 2003 through Board Resolution 038. The policies have been posted on the OWWA website as a prerequisite to its implementation.

]]> http://www.totallymanila.com/government/manila-manila-based-migrant-ngos-are-set-to-file-for-a-temporary-restraining-order-on-the-conversion-of-the-overseas-workers-welfare-administration-owwa-into-a-national-government-agency-which-t/feed 0 http://www.totallymanila.com/government/new-golden-rice-partners-join-forces-against-vitamin-a-deficiency http://www.totallymanila.com/government/new-golden-rice-partners-join-forces-against-vitamin-a-deficiency#comments Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:25:49 +0000 Totally Admin http://www.totallymanila.com/government/new-golden-rice-partners-join-forces-against-vitamin-a-deficiency (PRWEB) April 13, 2011

Announced today, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and national rice research institutes in Bangladesh and the Philippines have joined with Helen Keller International (HKI), a leading global health organization that reduces blindness and prevents malnutrition worldwide, in a new effort to further develop and evaluate Golden Rice as a potential tool to reduce vitamin A deficiency. Golden Rice is a unique type of rice that contains beta carotene, a source of vitamin A.

Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children. It also impairs immune system function and increases the risk of death from certain childhood diseases. Globally, approximately 670,000 children die every year and another 350,000 go blind because they are vitamin A?deficient.

?IRRI and its partners have been working on Golden Rice for about ten years to develop a safe and effective way to address vitamin A deficiency, prevent blindness, and save lives,? said Dr. Gerard Barry, Golden Rice Network coordinator and IRRI?s Golden Rice project leader. ?Our latest stage of work is now supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and will bring in HKI ? a new partner from the nutrition sector ? to further understand how well Golden Rice can reduce vitamin A deficiency.?

HKI has been advocating the elimination of vitamin A deficiency for more than 40 years, working with governments and other partners to reach those most in need through various interventions.

?The most vulnerable children and women in hard-to-reach areas are often missed by existing interventions that can improve vitamin

A status, including vitamin A supplementation, food fortification, dietary diversification, and promotion of optimal breast-feeding,? said Ms. Nancy Haselow, HKI vice president and regional director for Asia-Pacific, who has been designing, implementing, and testing vitamin A delivery programs for more than 20 years.

?We welcome the opportunity to see if Golden Rice is efficacious and can fill the gap in access to adequate vitamin A for all vulnerable groups in a sustainable way,? she added.

According to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, daily consumption of a very modest amount of Golden Rice ? perhaps a cup (or around 150 g uncooked weight) ?could supply 50% of the Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamin A for an adult.

?Since a large proportion of vitamin A?deficient children and their mothers reside in rice-consuming populations, particularly in Asia, Golden Rice should substantially reduce the prevalence and severity of vitamin A deficiency, and prevent at least hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths and cases of blindness every year,? said Dr. Alfred Sommer, professor and dean emeritus, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Sommer is an internationally acclaimed public health scientist who has been at the forefront of research into vitamin A deficiency, leading major studies that were fundamental to the current understanding of the effect of vitamin A supplementation on mortality, malnutrition, and blindness.

The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute(BRRI) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) have been working with IRRI on Golden Rice for several years. They are leading the development of Golden Rice varieties in their countries.

?We are conducting our breeding carefully to make sure that the new Golden Rice variety retains the same high yield, pest resistance, and excellent grain and eating qualities while helping to address the pervasive problem of vitamin A deficiency in the Philippines,? said Dr. Antonio Alfonso, chief science specialist and Golden Rice team leader at PhilRice.

?I am delighted with our success in breeding a Golden Rice version of Bangladesh?s most popular rice variety, BRRI dhan29, which we hope will make a substantial contribution to reducing vitamin A deficiency across the country,? said Dr. Alamgir Hossain, principal plant breeder at BRRI.

Golden Rice, which is genetically modified, will be available to farmers and consumers only after it has been approved by national regulatory bodies. This project will also generate and collect safety information related to Golden Rice for submission to regulators as early as 2013 in the Philippines and 2015 in Bangladesh. Golden Rice is expected to cost farmers about the same as other rice, and they will be able to save seeds for replanting.

The inventors of Golden Rice, Professor Ingo Potrykus and Dr. Peter Beyer, donated the technology in 2000 as a gift for resource-poor farmers in developing countries because of its enormous potential to benefit public health.

This non-profit Golden Rice project is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development, and other donors.

Fast facts

Conservation International (CI) today announced a partnership with Toyota to support efforts to restore and protect more than 4,000 acres of the Philippines? Pe