FAMVIN: The International Vincentian Family

The creator of Farmville, Zynga, has raised more than $3.6 million for Haiti. Mark Pincus, Zynga’s founder and CEO, calls this “solidarity not charity.” Zynga describes this approach to giving back in this way: “Solidarity not charity is a culture that is not seeking a handout but instead is seeking a partnership, and a culture that had demonstrated by its past that it is worthy of our respect, of our collaboration and our sustained commitment.”

Despite world economic conditions Pope Benedict appealed today to world leaders to “courageously take and apply the necessary measures to wipe out extreme poverty, hunger, ignorance and the plague of pandemics, which above all hit the most vulnerable.”

There’s an extensive article in the Friday edition of THISDAY, one of Nigeria’s national papers, about the challenge of providing safe drinking water for everyone: “…women and children spend much of their lives in pursuit of this vital resource.” Read the story.

Having an enemy in common — malaria — has not meant that combatants agree about means and methods. This week’s publication of an internal document of the World Health Organization (WHO) that is critical of the Gates Foundation has turned the spotlight on some complaints. Read analysis in The Economist.

Promising results in Mali malaria vaccine trial Gates Foundation grants for small scale farm programs in Africa and Asia The Partnership for Prescription Assistance paid a visit to Ironton, USA

Malaria is back in parts of Perú. Read about probable causes. Repression of human rights and rampant infectious disease go together in Burma. See UC Berkeley’s report. In science this week, a discovery that having blood type “O” tends to provide protection from deadly effects of malaria. Read about it.