Sharing news with public? That’s progress

Dr. Lowman’s latest Nature’s Secrets column in newsobserver.com:

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation just released its annual letter, providing an update on their progress toward creating a better world in which “every person deserves the chance to live a healthy, productive life.” Their mission is daunting: Globally, it seeks to improve health, education, agriculture, sanitation, and the general state of the human condition. The goals of the foundation are based in part on the Millennium Development Goals, agreed upon by 189 nations as part of a United Nations pledge in 2000 to achieve them by 2015. That 15-year deadline is fast approaching.

The eight goals? 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; 2. achieve universal primary education; 3. promote gender equality and empower women; 4. reduce child mortality; 5. improve maternal health; 6. combat HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases; 7. ensure environmental sustainability; and 8. develop a global partnership for development.

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