THE COMMUNICATIONS INITIATIVE

The Communications Initiative focuses on health related communications, but it serves a broader constituency. It is a great site for people interested in how modern technology can be used to communicate important information in developing nations. Its main web site is:
http://www.comminit.com/

It published a weekly email newsletter, “Drum Beat”, available in English and Spanish. The opening of the current edition is worth quoting.

More than 10 years have passed since the Rio de Janeiro summit. In this time:
* global aid spending fell from $69 billion in 1992 to $53 billion in 2000;
* in 2000, 3 million children under 5 in developing countries died from diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe water supply, sanitation, and hygiene; 60% of the 2.2 million deaths per year in children under 5 are caused by acute respiratory infections associated with indoor air pollution;
* 80% of the wastewater in Latin American cities is discharged untreated into the environment;
* 31 countries, accounting for 8% of the world population, face chronic freshwater shortages;
* in Indonesia 70% of timber production is illegally logged; in Central Africa logging concessions cover more than half of the world's 2nd largest tropical rainforest;
* in 1996, one United States citizen was responsible for producing as much greenhouse gas as 19 Indians, 30 Pakistanis, or 269 Nepalese.

CommInit’s Base Line pages provide information on trends in international development:
http://www.comminit.com/baseline.html