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Rio Cruz and a crew of young disabled veterans are teamed up to sail around the world for charity--but when they're kidnapped by a psychotic African warlord and his band of child soldiers the trip of a lifetime turns into a nightmare journey into the African jungle.

Introduction The third Sustainable Development Goal, focused on health, includes two targets related to the reduction in maternal, newborn and under-five childhood mortality. We found it imperative to examine the equity and coverage of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) interventions from 2001 to 2016 in Nepal; and the death aversion that will take place during the SDG period.MethodsWe used the datasets from the Nepal Demographic Health Surveys (NDHS) 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016. We calculated the coverage and equity for RMNCH interventions and the composite coverage index (CCI). Based on the Annualized Rate of Change (ARC) in the coverage for selected RMNCH indicators, we projected the trend for the RMNCH interventions by 2030. We used the Lives Saved Tools (LiST) tool to estimate the maternal, newborn, under-five childhood deaths and stillbirths averted. We categorised the interventions into four different patterns based on coverage and inequity gap.Results Between 2001 and 2016, a significant improvement is seen in the overall RMNCH intervention coverage-CCI increasing from 46 to 75%. The ARC was highest for skilled attendance at birth (11.7%) followed by care seeking for pneumonia (8.2%) between the same period. In 2016, the highest inequity existed for utilization of the skilled birth attendance services (51%), followed by antenatal care (18%). The inequity gap for basic immunization services reduced significantly from 27.4% in 2001 to 5% in 2016. If the current ARC continues, then an additional 3783 maternal deaths, 36,443 neonatal deaths, 66,883 under-five childhood deaths and 24,024 stillbirths is expected to be averted by the year 2030.ConclusionNepal has experienced an improvement in the coverage and equity in RMNCH interventions. Reducing inequities will improve coverage for skilled birth attendants and antenatal care. The current annual rate of change in RMNCH coverage will further reduce the maternal, neonatal, under-five childhood deaths and stillbirths.

Alaska is no treat for a Southern California girl like Gabi, whose father moved them there after the divorce from her movie-star mother, but handsome, half-Tlingit Kai has proved to be a major compensation--but when Kai disappears, apparently seeking to find his father, whom he still believes is alive, Gabi and Hunter, Kai's twin brother, set off to find him, because it is November and winter is setting in.

The fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG 5) established the goal of a 75% reduction in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR; number of maternal deaths per 100 000 livebirths) between 1990 and 2015. We aimed to measure levels and track trends in maternal mortality, the key causes contributing to maternal death, and timing of maternal death with respect to delivery. We used robust statistical methods including the Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm) to analyse a database of data for 7065 site-years and estimate the number of maternal deaths from all causes in 188 countries between 1990 and 2013. We estimated the number of pregnancy-related deaths caused by HIV on the basis of a systematic review of the relative risk of dying during pregnancy for HIV-positive women compared with HIV-negative women. We also estimated the fraction of these deaths aggravated by pregnancy on the basis of a systematic review. To estimate the numbers of maternal deaths due to nine different causes, we identified 61 sources from a systematic review and 943 site-years of vital registration data. We also did a systematic review of reports about the timing of maternal death, identifying 142 sources to use in our analysis. We developed estimates for each country for 1990–2013 using Bayesian meta-regression. We estimated 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) for all values. 292 982 (95% UI 261 017–327 792) maternal deaths occurred in 2013, compared with 376 034 (343 483–407 574) in 1990. The global annual rate of change in the MMR was −0·3% (–1·1 to 0·6) from 1990 to 2003, and −2·7% (–3·9 to −1·5) from 2003 to 2013, with evidence of continued acceleration. MMRs reduced consistently in south, east, and southeast Asia between 1990 and 2013, but maternal deaths increased in much of sub-Saharan Africa during the 1990s. 2070 (1290–2866) maternal deaths were related to HIV in 2013, 0·4% (0·2–0·6) of the global total. MMR was highest in the oldest age groups in both 1990 and 2013. In 2013, most deaths occurred intrapartum or postpartum. Causes varied by region and between 1990 and 2013. We recorded substantial variation in the MMR by country in 2013, from 956·8 (685·1–1262·8) in South Sudan to 2·4 (1·6–3·6) in Iceland. Global rates of change suggest that only 16 countries will achieve the MDG 5 target by 2015. Accelerated reductions since the Millennium Declaration in 2000 coincide with increased development assistance for maternal, newborn, and child health. Setting of targets and associated interventions for after 2015 will need careful consideration of regions that are making slow progress, such as west and central Africa. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

\"Inspired by a true story, two teens kidnapped by an African warlord find salvation through love in a powerful and healing historical novel. Anthony Opoka and Florence Okori are coming of age in Uganda in the 1990s. Outstanding students, they believe in being good humans before they are kidnapped and forced into the fanatical Lord's Resistance Army. In a legion of young recruits, no one gets closer than Anthony to powerful messianic warlord Joseph Kony and his darkest secrets. To stay sane as he spirals through chaos, Anthony clings to his childhood lessons about being a good human. Florence's upbringing grounds her, too, helping her keep her dreams alive even as she's pulled deeper into the insanity of Kony's war. At the lowest points of their lives, certain they'll never go home, Anthony and Florence meet by chance, fall in love, and begin to dream of surviving their captivity. They devote their lives to helping their fellow child soldiers escape bondage and return to their families and redemption by following the stars. By turns tender, shocking, moving, desperate, and ultimately triumphant, Florence and Anthony's story is an epic drama of humanity, a life-affirming tale, and an experience readers will never forget.\" -- Goodreads.

In humans, support from partners and alloparents is crucial for successful child-rearing and optimal child development. However, the complex relationships among childcare support, children's outcomes and parental characteristics have not been fully examined. We investigate how three sources of partner and alloparental support—partner's childcare participation, support from children's grandparents and support from non-kin—can be associated with child social development. We hypothesize that the associations between childcare support from partners/alloparents and child social development are partly mediated by parental psychological condition and parenting style. To test this, we conducted path analyses on online survey data collected in 2016 from parents of 3- to 5-year-old children in Japan. We found no evidence that childcare support had direct positive effects on child social development. Rather, the benefit of childcare support was mediated by its effects on parental psychological condition and parenting style, which in turn improved children's outcomes. At the same time, we found some evidence that greater availability of childcare support was directly associated with more behavioural difficulties in children. Our findings reveal the complex pathways between childcare support, parental characteristics and children's outcomes in Japan, showing potential mechanisms behind parental and alloparental effects in industrialized populations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Multidisciplinary perspectives on social support and maternal–child health'.

Taylor is a rebellious teenager with a habit of sneaking out to hang with his anti-war friends, so in January 1968 his mother drags him off to Saigon where his father is attached to the United States embassy; bored (and still rebellious) Taylor sneaks out of the embassy to watch the Tet celebrations, just as the war erupts all over Vietnam and there he is captured by the North Vietnamese Army and sent North as a prisoner and hostage--and during the brutal journey Taylor is forced to confront the realities of war and survival for the first time in his sheltered life.

Social marketing is a commonly used strategy in global health. Social marketing programmes may sell subsidized products through commercial sector outlets, distribute appropriately priced products, deliver health services through social franchises and promote behaviours not dependent upon a product or service. We aimed to review evidence of the effectiveness of social marketing in low- and middle-income countries, focusing on major areas of investment in global health: HIV, reproductive health, child survival, malaria and tuberculosis. We searched PubMed, PsycInfo and ProQuest, using search terms linking social marketing and health outcomes for studies published from 1995 to 2013. Eligible studies used experimental or quasi-experimental designs to measure outcomes of behavioural factors, health behaviours and/or health outcomes in each health area. Studies were analysed by effect estimates and for application of social marketing benchmark criteria. After reviewing 18 974 records, 125 studies met inclusion criteria. Across health areas, 81 studies reported on changes in behavioural factors, 97 studies reported on changes in behaviour and 42 studies reported on health outcomes. The greatest number of studies focused on HIV outcomes (n = 45) and took place in sub-Saharan Africa (n = 67). Most studies used quasi-experimental designs and reported mixed results. Child survival had proportionately the greatest number of studies using experimental designs, reporting health outcomes, and reporting positive, statistically significant results. Most programmes used a range of methods to promote behaviour change. Programmes with positive, statistically significant findings were more likely to apply audience insights and cost-benefit analyses to motivate behaviour change. Key evidence gaps were found in voluntary medical male circumcision and childhood pneumonia. Social marketing can influence health behaviours and health outcomes in global health; however evaluations assessing health outcomes remain comparatively limited. Global health investments are needed to (i) fill evidence gaps, (ii) strengthen evaluation rigour and (iii) expand effective social marketing approaches. Le marketing social est une stratégie couramment utilisée dans la santé mondiale. Les programmes de marketing social peuvent vendre des produits subventionnés à travers des points de vente du secteur commercial, distribuer des produits à un coût approprié, offrir des services de santé par le biais de franchises sociales et promouvoir des comportements qui ne dépendent pas d’un produit ou d’un service. Notre objectif était d’examiner les preuves de l’efficacité du marketing social dans les pays à revenu faible ou intermédiaire, en mettant l’accent sur les principaux domaines d’investissement de la santé mondiale: le VIH, la santé reproductive, la survie de l’enfant, le paludisme et la tuberculose. Nous avons effectué des recherches dans les bases de données PubMed, PsycInfo et ProQuest en utilisant des termes de recherche établissant un lien entre le marketing social et les résultats de santé dans les études publiées de 1995 à 2013. Les études retenues ont utilisé des modèles expérimentaux ou quasi expérimentaux pour mesurer les résultats des facteurs comportementaux, les comportements liés à la santé et/ou les résultats sanitaires dans chaque domaine de santé. Ces études ont été analysées par l’estimation des incidences et pour l’application des critères de référence du marketing social. Après avoir examiné 18 974 dossiers, 125 études ont répondu aux critères d’inclusion. À travers les domaines de la santé, 81 études ont relevé des changements dans les facteurs comportementaux, 97 études ont fait état de modifications dans le comportement et 42 études se sont intéressées aux résultats de santé. Le plus grand nombre d’études portait sur les résultats du VIH (n=45) et avait été effectué en Afrique subsaharienne (n=67). La plupart des études ont utilisé des modèles quasi expérimentaux et ont fait état de résultats mitigés. Proportionnellement, la survie de l’enfant présentait le plus grand nombre d’études utilisant des modèles expérimentaux, signalant des résultats sur le plan de la santé et rapportant des résultats positifs et statistiquement significatifs. La plupart des programmes utilisaient une gamme de méthodes pour promouvoir le changement de comportement. Les programmes présentant des résultats positifs et statistiquement significatifs étaient plus susceptibles de mettre en application les perceptions de l’auditoire et les analyses de rentabilité pour motiver les changements de comportement. D’importantes lacunes ont été constatées dans la circoncision masculine volontaire et la pneumonie chez l’enfant. Le marketing social peut influer sur les comportements et les résultats dans la santé mondiale; cependant, les évaluations des résultats sanitaires demeurent relativement limitées. Des investissements mondiaux dans le domaine de la santé sont nécessaires pour i) combler les lacunes en matière de données probantes, ii) renforcer la rigueur de l’évaluation et iii) développer des méthodes de marketing social efficaces. 社会营销是全球卫生中常用的策略, 可通过商业渠道销售补贴 产品, 分发定价适当的产品, 通过社会特许经营提供卫生服务, 或推广不依赖于产品或服务的某些行文。本研究旨在回顾社 会营销在中低收入国家的有效性的证据, 重点是全球卫生中资 金投入的主要领域： HIV、生殖健康、儿童生存、疟疾和结 核。我们使用PubMed、PsycInfo和ProQuest, 采用与社会营 销和健康产出相关的检索词, 检索 1995 年至 2013 年发表的 文献。选择文献的标准为：采用实验或准实验设计测量各个 卫生领域中行为因素的结局、健康行为和/或健康产出。为应 用社会营销基准, 采用效果估计值分析入选的研究。在检索到 的 18974 篇文献中, 有 125 篇符合纳入标准, 其中 81 篇报道 行为因素的变化, 97篇报道行为变化, 42篇报道健康产出。多 数研究关注HIV结局 （n= 45）, 研究地点为撒哈拉以南非洲 地区（n= 67）。多数研究采用准实验设计, 报道了混合结 果。按比例来看, 儿童生存领域采用实验设计、报道健康产 出、报道有统计学意义的阳性结果的研究最多。大多数项目 采取一系列方法来促进行为改变。产生有统计学意义的阳性 结果的项目更可能利用受众分析和成本效益分析来推动行为 改变。缺少证据的主要领域是自愿男性包皮环切和儿童肺 炎。社会营销可以影响全球卫生中的健康行为和健康产出, 但 健康产出的评估仍然较少。全球卫生投入需要以下三点： （1） 补充证据, （2） 加强评估的严谨性, （3） 推广有效的 社会营销方法。 El mercadeo social es una estrategia comúnmente usada en la salud global. Los programas de mercadeo social pueden vender productos subsidiados a través de puntos de venta del sector comercial, distribuir productos de precio adecuado, prestar servicios de salud a través de franquicias sociales y promover comportamientos que no dependen de un producto o servicio. Nuestro objetivo fue revisar la evidencia de la efectividad del mercadeo social en los países de ingresos bajos y medios, centrándonos en las principales áreas de inversión en salud global: VIH, salud reproductiva, supervivencia infantil, malaria y tuberculosis. Se realizaron búsquedas en PubMed, PsycInfo y ProQuest, usando los términos de búsqueda que vinculan el mercadeo social y los resultados de la salud para estudios publicados de 1995 a 2013. Los estudios escogidos usaron diseños experimentales o cuasi experimentales para medir los resultados de factores de comportamiento, comportamientos de la salud y/o resultados de la salud en cada área de la misma. Los estudios fueron analizados por los efectos estimados y por la aplicación de criterios de referencia de mercadeo social. Después de revisar 18,974 registros, 125 estudios cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión. En las áreas de salud, 81 estudios informaron sobre cambios en factores de comportamiento, 97 estudios informaron sobre cambios en el comportamiento y 42 estudios informaron sobre los resultados de salud. El mayor número de estudios se centró en los resultados del VIH (n=45) y tuvo lugar en el África subsahariana (n=67). La mayoría de los estudios usaron diseños cuasi-experimentales e informaron resultados variados. La supervivencia infantil tenía proporcionalmente el mayor número de estudios usando diseños experimentales, informando resultados de la salud e informando resultados positivos y estadísticamente significativos. La mayoría de los programas usaron una gama de métodos para promover cambio de comportamiento. Los programas con conclusiones positivas y estadísticamente significativas tenían más probabilidades de aplicar percepciones de audiencia y análisis de costo-beneficio para motivar el cambio de comportamiento. Las brechas claves en evidencia se encontraron en la circuncisión médica masculina voluntaria y en la neumonía infantil. El mercadeo social puede influenciar los comportamientos de la salud y los resultados de la misma en la salud global; sin embargo las evaluaciones calculando los resultados de la salud permanecen comparativamente limitadas. Las inversiones en la salud mundial son necesarias para (i) llenar los vacíos de pruebas, (ii) fortalecer el rigor de la evaluación y (iii) ampliar los enfoques de mercadeo social efectivo.

\"Born in 1970s North Korea, Lucia Jang grew up in a typical household-- her parents worked in the factories and the family scraped by on rationed rice and a small garden. Nightly, she bowed to her photo of Kim Il-Sung. But it was the beginning of a chaotic period with a decade-long famine resulting in more than a million deaths. In this harsh time, Jang married an abusive man who sold their baby. She left him and went home to help her family by illegally crossing the river to China to trade goods. She was caught and imprisoned twice. After giving birth to a second child, which the government ordered to be killed, she escaped with him, fleeing under gunfire across the Chinese border. This stunning demonstration of love and courage reflects the range of experiences many North Korean women have endured-- loss of a child, starvation, imprisonment, and trafficking\"--Provided by publisher.

Background Child survival is a significant public health concern, especially in low and middle-income countries. Understanding the effectiveness and scope of interventions applied hitherto, in terms of quality, is crucial for developing strategies to reduce under-five mortality. Objective This scoping review aimed to identify interventions implemented to promote child survival practices among mothers and caregivers of children under five, as well as their outcomes. Method The review used Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework and adhered to PRISMA-ScR for transparency and rigour. Sub-Saharan African studies published between 2014 and 2024 were searched using electronic databases such as PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus. Result The study analyzed 32 studies and found that most were conducted in Ethiopia and Kenya (21.9% respectively). Some others were conducted in Ghana and Malawi (12.5% respectively), Tanzania (9.4%), Nigeria and Uganda (6.3% respectively), and Zambia (3.1%). In terms of study design, cluster randomized controlled trials were most commonly used (31.3%), followed by comparative or experimental interventions (18.8%) and randomized controlled trials (6.3). Merely five (15.6%) studies explicitly utilized a theoretical or conceptual framework to inform the design, execution, or assessment of their interventions. Community-based communication for behaviour change including interpersonal communication, and home visits were the most frequently deployed intervention strategies (56.3%). Media-based approaches (radio, mobile, SMS), nutrition-sensitive agriculture, and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) interventions were each featured in 18.8% and 15.6% of studies, respectively, while health facility- and group-based approaches were the least common (9.4%). The most frequently measured outcome focused on maternal and child health service uptake (25.0%), followed by child growth and development (15.6%), and hygiene and WASH-related behaviours (12.0%). Vaccination demand was the least studied outcome, reported in only one study (3.1%). These findings highlight the prevailing outcomes in improving child health and survival through community health promotion. Conclusion Community-based communication for behaviour change, including interpersonal communication and home visits, was the most commonly employed intervention in improving child survival practices among caregivers.