Archbishop calls for NHS bill to cover spiritual health

Humans are spiritual entities, says the Archbishop of York

• Q&A: The NHS shake-up
• NHS shake-up: The sticking points
• Is the NHS set for an autumn of discontent?
• Analysis: Why the NHS wants to move on

Spiritual health must be a feature of the NHS bill for England, the Archbishop of York has insisted during debate in the House of Lords.

Dr John Sentamu told peers: "I am one of those who believe that human beings are psychosomatic spiritual entities."
The archbishop then told how he freed the spirit of a young girl, left petrified by seeing a goat sacrificed.
During a debate on an amendment he said: "Illness can be physical or mental but it can also be spiritual."
The amendment, tabled by psychiatrist and crossbench peer Baroness Hollins, called for the words to be inserted into a clause about the duty of the secretary of state, the NHS Commissioning Board and clinical commissioning groups to improve the quality of services.
Making his case, the Anglican archbishop argued that schools now emphasised students' spiritual dimensions, and said hospital chaplains' work addressed spiritual issues, as well as the physical and mental.
Witches' coven He also told how when he first became a vicar in south London, he was invited to a home where there was "a presence", a phrase he said he did not understand at the time.
At the home, he said, he found a young girl who had been unable to move for nearly three weeks and would shout out in the middle of the night.
He was told the family had been to a witches' coven where a goat had been sacrificed. The young girl was petrified she would be next.
Visits from a GP, psychiatrist and psychologist did little to help, he said, but then he said a prayer, anointed the girl and lit a candle on his visit.

You can see the Archbishop's contribution 3hrs 23mins into this video

Shortly after, he received a phone call saying the girl was no longer terrified and was talking again.
"That was not mental or physical illness; there was something in her spirit that needed to be set free," he told his peers.
Dr Sentamu, 62, acknowledged the importance of highlighting mental and physical illnesses, but asked whether they needed to be spoken of "in almost separate categories" in the bill.
"I do not want to divide up a human person. Therefore, I believe that the bill covers people's needs without inserting the words 'physical and mental'.
He said he was "content" that the bill, as it stood, covered all aspects of the human person simply by using the word "illness" .
"The element of the spiritual well-being of people is not on the face of the bill but I am absolutely convinced that, as it stands, my needs would be taken care of because it talks about 'the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness'."
The Health and Social Care Bill, if passed, would see GPs and other clinicians given much more responsibility for spending the budget in England, while greater competition with the private sector would be encouraged.

• Q&A: The NHS shake-up

  The Health and Social Care Bill paves the way for a major shake-up of the NHS. How will the health service be changing?
  

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• NHS shake-up: The sticking points

• Is the NHS set for an autumn of discontent?

• Analysis: Why the NHS wants to move on

• How the NHS works in rest of UK

News

• Delays 'could kill off NHS bill'

• Fears as GPs offer private option

• Critics renew NHS revamp attacks

• More competition planned for NHS

• PM agrees major NHS concessions

• GPs want 'more NHS concessions'

China to maintain its family planning policy: official

November 2nd 2011  |  Tags: Family planning and reproductive health,Population info and analysis

China will adhere to its family planning policy so as to maintain a low reproduction rate, said the country’s family planning chief on Sunday, expected to be the eve of the world’s population reaching seven billion.

“Over-population remains one of the major challenges to social and economic development,” said Li Bin, director of the State Population and Family Planning Commission in an exclusive interview with Xinhua, adding that the population of China will hit 1.45 billion in 2020.

Li said maintaining and improving the existing family planning policy and keeping a low reproduction rate, along with addressing the issues of gender imbalance and an aging population, will be the major tasks in the future. Li’s words came just one day before Oct. 31, the day on which the United Nations estimates the world’s population will reach seven billion.

Zhai Zhenwu, a leading Chinese demographer, said earlier in the past week that China’s family planning policy had postponed this day for at least five years, as it prevented 400 million people from being added to the country’s population, which is 1.34 billion at present.

“The population of China would have hit 1.7 billion had it not been for the family planning policy, and it would have created more difficulties for society,” said Li.

Read on: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-10/30/c_131220403.htm

Disciplined surgeon working in Guy's and St Thomas'

Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital said Mr Lauffer is working in a non-surgical role

A surgeon disciplined for carrying out operations "beyond his competency" and not disclosing "restrictions" placed on him is working in a London hospital.

Gideon Lauffer was suspended for six months by the General Medical Council after it found him guilty of serious professional misconduct and dishonesty.
The cases happened when he was at King George Hospital, Ilford, in 2007-08.
Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital said the doctor is working in a non-surgical role and is under "close supervision".
The allegations relate to incidents in 2007 and 2008 when Mr Lauffer worked as a consultant general surgeon at Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust and was in private practice at Spire Roding Hospital and the Spire Hartswood Hospital.

The Panel is satisfied that your actions and omissions amount to misconduct and that such misconduct is serious”

End Quote Ruling in 2010

An independent panel found he "acted outside area of competency" when he performed laparoscopic incisional hernia repair in September 2007 on a patient, known as AS, as he had no formal training for it.

He also performed a surgery in March 2007 which later led to damage to the patient's testicle, but he "did not acknowledge damage was as a result of surgery" to the patient.
Soon after the case of AS, the NHS Trust informed him that he could no longer perform some procedures, including laparoscopies and varicose vein surgery.
But he "failed to inform" the two private hospitals about the restrictions and in March 2008 carried out a part of a laparoscopy on a patient, unsupervised, and "failed to obtain informed consent".
The Panel Chair said: "The Panel is satisfied that your actions and omissions amount to misconduct and that such misconduct is serious.
"The Panel has already determined that your fitness to practise is impaired by reason of your misconduct."
Suspending him for six months the GMC recommended to the independent panel that he be struck off.
GMC 'role undermined' But earlier this year a review placed conditions on his registration, including supervision.
The GMC's chief executive, Niall Dickson, said: "Our role is to protect patients. This is undermined when panels do not take the action we believe is needed to do this.
"We are pressing for the right of appeal of these decisions as part of our ongoing reforms."
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust said Mr Lauffer was employed as a clinical fellow in the emergency medicine department.
"He has returned to work to retrain in a non-surgical specialty and works as a junior doctor under the close supervision of consultant staff.
"He was employed by the trust with full knowledge of the conditions placed on his practice by the GMC and remains in close contact with the GMC, as do the staff supervising his retraining."

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Related Internet links

• GMC
• Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Cronopio dentiacutus is one of the very few mammal specimens to come out of South America from the era when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.

Tiny but toothy mammal unearthed

What the animal did with those impressive canines is not exactly clear

An extraordinary looking, mouse-sized, fossil animal is shedding new light on the ancient history of mammals.

With a thin snout, beady eyes and long canines, the creature would have looked remarkably like that fictional sabre-toothed squirrel of Ice Age movie-fame.
But Cronopio dentiacutus is one of the very few mammal specimens to come out of South America from the era when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.
The 100-million-year-old animal is reported in the journal Nature.

We know so little about the actual diversity of mammals that even some very wild guesses might come through; they might actually be present in the fossil record”

End Quote Prof Guillermo Rougier University of Louisville

It was discovered in sandstone sediments at Cipolletti, Rıo Negro Province, Argentina.

Those ancient river sediments reveal a lot about what the local environment was like in the Late Cretaceous, but scientists are struggling to pin down the details of Cronopio's lifestyle.
The animal displays a host of features that appear to have no parallel among living or extinct mammals, says Prof Guillermo Rougier from the University of Louisville, Kentucky, US.
"The back teeth, the molars, are the kind of teeth that you will find in an insectivore, an animal that eats insects of different kinds, and even very small invertebrates, or perhaps small lizards, which were present in the same place," he told BBC News.
"But we have no idea why he needed such huge canines. Those tusks are a big surprise."
It is possible Cronopio used them to skewer certain insect prey, but it is clear the canines could not have been deployed with much force.
The slender nature of the snout and of the teeth themselves mean that to have bitten down hard, or to have wrestled another creature with its mouth, would have invited almost certain injury.
Cronopio is what is termed a dryolestoid. These were a group of primitive, extinct mammals belonging to the lineage leading to modern marsupials and placental mammals.
They are known mainly from teeth and jaws found in North America and Europe from the Jurassic Period (145-200 million years ago). To now have relatively complete dryolestoid skulls form South America in the form of Cronopio is therefore a boon to scientists trying to study the spread and diversity of mammals through Earth history.

There are so few well-preserved South American mammals from the time of the dinosaurs

"In the northern continents, there is a longer tradition of palaeontology and so they are well represented," observed Prof Rougier.
"In South America, Africa and Australia - not so much work has been done proportionately, and so we know very little; and that's why Cronopio is so important.
"Instead of having a picture that is so heavily biased to what happened in the North, we're starting to get some information about what happened in the southern continents, and fortunately in this case the quality of the specimens is very good."
As to that likeness with Scrat, the acorn-obsessed squirrel in the animated Ice Age features films, Prof Rougier finds the association highly amusing.
"I remember when I saw the movie I thought, 'why have they done this ridiculous animal - there is no such thing?'. And then we find something that kind of looks like it. But it just goes to show - we know so little about the actual diversity of mammals that even some very wild guesses might come through; they might actually be present in the fossil record."

 That ageing Thalidomide generation now faces rising care bills - but some hope a possible Nazi link to the drug could bring more compensation.

Fifty years ago, the sedative Thalidomide was withdrawn after thousands of mothers gave birth to disabled babies. That ageing Thalidomide generation now faces rising care bills - but some hope a possible Nazi link to the drug could bring more compensation.

In November 1961, I was five months old. My family had no idea why their otherwise healthy baby boy had been born with short arms, twisted hands and no thumbs.
But by the end of that month, the truth was finally out in the open.
After a German newspaper reported that Thalidomide was the likely cause for the mysterious spate of disabled babies born in Germany since 1958, the drug's producer, Chemie Gruenenthal, caved in to growing pressure, and on 26 November withdrew all products containing Thalidomide from what had been very lucrative, over-the-counter sales.
A few days later, Thalidomide's British licensee, Distillers, followed suit in the UK. But by then, the damage was done.
Thalidomide has strong sedative properties and many women in the early weeks of pregnancy had taken it to ease their morning sickness, utterly unaware its effect on the unborn child can be teratogenic, or "monster-forming".

Frederick Dove

• Born in Hamburg, West Germany, in June 1961
• Thalidomide-affected hands and hips
• Five hip operations as a child
• Grew up in Germany, Nigeria, Netherlands, UK
• Taught in Sudan 1985-89
• Joined the BBC World Service in 1989
• Presented Outlook from 1998-2008 and now occasionally hosts World Briefing
• Former captain of England's Disability Cricket XI

Limbs can fail to develop properly, in some cases also eyes, ears and internal organs. No-one knows how many miscarriages the drug caused, but it's estimated that, in Germany alone, 10,000 babies were born affected by Thalidomide. Many were too damaged to survive for long.

Today, fewer than 3,000 are still alive. In Britain, it's about 470. Among the nearly 50 countries affected are Japan (approximately 300 survivors), Canada and Sweden (both more than 100), and Australia (45). Spain's government only recently acknowledged the drug was ever distributed there. No-one knows how many Spanish survivors there are. It could be hundreds.
After 1961, the drug didn't disappear - medical researchers discovered it can be extremely effective in certain treatments. Stringent precautions should be taken, particularly with women patients of child-bearing age. But sadly, in Brazil, where the drug has been widely used in treating certain leprosy symptoms, there is now another, younger generation of about 800 disabled Thalidomide survivors.
Just as the drug's effect in the womb seems totally random, so too was the compensation received. In recent years, UK survivors have won concessions from the government, the tax authorities and Distillers' successor company, which has boosted current average compensation pay-outs in the UK to around $63,000 (£40,000) a year.

“Start Quote

There is overwhelming circumstantial evidence that it was tested as part of their [Nazis'] search for an antidote to nerve gas”

End Quote Martin Johnson UK Thalidomide Trust

But elsewhere, survivors still get nothing, or very little. Of today's 6,000 estimated survivors around the world, nearly half fall under the compensation deal in Germany. That currently provides a yearly maximum of about 13,500 euros (£11,840), which does not cover the needs of those with multiple limb deficiencies. Many have no independent income and require constant care.

Campaigns for higher compensation are gaining support - in Germany and elsewhere. Progress has been slow, but that could change dramatically, if proof is found that it was not Chemie Gruenenthal which discovered Thalidomide, as has always been claimed, but scientists working for the Nazi regime.
Gruenenthal patented Thalidomide in the mid-1950s. But investigations in the past two years have confirmed that the German brand-name - Contergan - was owned by the French pharma-company, Rhone-Poulenc, during the early 1940s, when it was effectively under Nazi control.
It's also now becoming clear that Gruenenthal was part of a post-war network of German scientists and businessmen who had played leading roles during the Nazi era. Immediately after the war, for example, Gruenenthal employed Dr Heinrich Mueckter as chief scientist, who was sought in Poland on charges of war crimes after conducting medical experiments in prison camps, during which hundreds of prisoners may have died.

The severity of the condition varies

"Gruenenthal taking on someone like Dr Mueckter is one of the key factors we must highlight in the Thalidomide scandal," says Gernot Stracke, a leading spokesman for survivors in Germany.
He adds: "To my knowledge, no representative for the German government has yet made any public comments about Thalidomide's possible roots in the Nazi-era, or whether the government would accept greater liability and offer more help to survivors if proof of such a link were found."
Martin Johnson, director of the UK Thalidomide Trust, and Professor Ray Stokes, of the University of Glasgow, are preparing to publish a book after investigating Thalidomide's possible Nazi origins.
Mr Johnson says: "Although, at this stage, we cannot prove that Thalidomide was definitely developed and tested in prison camps by the Nazis, there is overwhelming circumstantial evidence that it was tested as part of their search for an antidote to nerve gas."
For the survivors, decades of coping with stunted, twisted or missing limbs has meant greater wear and tear on remaining joints and muscles, and virtually guaranteed the premature onset of arthritis and chronic pain.
Many who managed to go out and work have already been forced into early retirement, while others who used to rely on their parents for everyday care, can no longer do so. Every year, more and more are becoming totally dependent on other family members, on social benefits or health insurance payouts - or on charity.
Which is why, on 26 November - 50 years on - we, the German survivors, will march, waddle, limp or roll in wheelchairs from the Brandenburg Gate to the Federal Chancellery in Berlin.
To celebrate that we are still alive, and to remember those who never lived

Fracking tests near Blackpool 'likely cause' of tremors

Cuadrilla's Mark Miller: "There are procedures we can put in place to practise earthquake prevention"

Continue reading the main story

Energy Futures

• Solar tariff slash 'risks jobs'
• China urges tough atomic watchdog
• Warning over green energy spend

It is "highly probable" that shale gas test drilling triggered earth tremors in Lancashire, a study has found.

But the report, commissioned by energy firm Cuadrilla, also said the quakes were due to an "unusual combination of geology at the well site".

It said conditions which caused the minor earthquakes were "unlikely to occur again".

Protesters opposed to fracking, a gas extraction method, said the report "did not inspire confidence".

Six protesters from campaign group Frack Off climbed a drilling rig at one of Cuadrilla's test drilling sites in Hesketh Bank, near Southport, ahead of the report.

They oppose the controversial extraction method which pumps water and chemicals underground at high pressure to shatter rock formations and release gas, claiming it can be unsafe.

Safety concerns

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said the force was "liaising with the site owners and the protesters to bring about a peaceful resolution".

Cuadrilla suspended its shale gas test drilling in June, over fears of links to the earthquakes.

One tremor of magnitude 2.3 hit the Fylde coast on 1 April, followed by a second of magnitude 1.4 on 27 May.

Continue reading the main story

ANALYSIS

Daniel BoettcherEnvironment correspondent

Cuadrilla Resources believes there are huge reserves of natural gas in layers of shale under Lancashire.

That is based on the testing it has already done, but an important part of its exploration work was put on hold when it had to suspend hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Even though today's report says it is highly probable that fracking did trigger two earth tremors earlier this year, the company believes it can resume that process safely- with some modifications to the way it works.

Some environmental groups opposed to shale gas are calling for a moratorium on fracking. It's not just the process itself that they're concerned about. They say large-scale gas extraction will lead to more reliance on fossil fuels rather than alternative energy sources.

The industry argues that there is big potential for a new home-grown energy source that could reduce gas prices and also provide new jobs.

A study by The British Geological Survey placed the epicentre for each quake about 500m away from the Preese Hall-1 well, at Weeton, near Blackpool.

The Geo-mechanical Study Of Bowland Shale Seismicity report, carried out by independent experts, said the combination of geological factors that caused the quakes was rare, and would be unlikely to occur together again at future well sites.

It said: "If these factors were to combine again in the future local geology limits seismic events to around magnitude 3 on the Richter scale as a worst-case scenario."

However, it said that "even the maximum seismic event is not expected to present a risk".

Mark Miller, chief executive officer of Cuadrilla Resources, said: "We unequivocally accept the findings of the independent report and we are pleased that there is no threat to people or property in the local area from our operations.

"We are ready to put in place the early detection system that has been proposed in the report so that we can provide additional confidence and security to the local community.

"Cuadrilla is working with the local and national authorities to implement the report's recommendations so we may resume our operations."

A spokesman for Frack Off said: "This report does not inspire confidence, they should have done their research before drilling began."

He added: "Can we believe anything else the industry says when it talks about the safety of fracking?"

Protesters have called for an end to fracking. There have been concerns that potentially carcinogenic chemicals could escape during the process and find their way into drinking water sources.

'Hopelessly naive'

"The contamination of irrigation water means that everyone's food supplies could potentially be affected," the Frack Off spokesman added.

Friends of the Earth's senior climate campaigner Tony Bosworth said: "This report shows fracking for shale gas caused earth tremors in Lancashire - experience in the US shows it could also pollute air and water supplies.

"Extracting shale gas would suck vital funding away from clean and safe energy alternatives that could create thousands more UK jobs.

"An early seismic detection system won't be enough to make local people feel safe - there should be no more fracking in Britain until the health and environmental impacts are fully understood."

Doug Parr, chief scientist at Greenpeace, added: "Anyone who believes shale gas is the solution to our energy needs is being hopelessly naive.

"There are significant unknowns about the local and global impacts of fracking, illustrated by the conclusion by seismologists that recent fracking in the North West was responsible for a minor earthquake."

He said fracking was a "distraction from the real challenges" and that "real energy solutions" would be found in using renewable sources.

Nick Molho, head of energy policy at World Wildlife Fund UK, reiterated a call for a moratorium on fracking in the UK.

"These findings are worrying, and are likely to add to the very real concerns that people have about fracking and shale gas," he said.

The industry denies that shale gas is unsafe and a government committee has recommended that fracking should be allowed to go ahead.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said: "The implications of this report will be reviewed very carefully - in consultation with the British Geological Survey, independent experts, and the other key regulators, HSE and the Environment Agency - before any decision on the resumption of these hydraulic fracture operations is made."

More on This Story

Energy Futures

• Solar tariff slash 'risks jobs'

• China urges tough atomic watchdog

• Warning over green energy spend

• Fracking protesters target tower 06 AUGUST 2011, LANCASHIRE
• Q&A: What is fracking? 02 NOVEMBER 2011, UK
• Shale gas drilling inquiry call 08 JUNE 2011, LANCASHIRE
• Small earthquake hits Lancashire 28 MAY 2011, LANCASHIRE

• British Geological Survey
• Cuadrilla
• Frack Off

Global Food Prices Remain High and Volatile Affecting Poorest Countries the Most

	Available in: Français, Español
Press Release No:2012/134/PRM
Floods in Thailand add further uncertainty. Food crisis in the Horn of Africa continues WASHINGTON, November 1, 2011–Global food prices remain high and volatile, hitting the poorest countries hardest and adding to the strains facing the global economy, according to the World Bank Group’s new Food Price Watch released ahead of the G-20 Summit in Cannes, France. While the Bank’s food price index has dropped 5 percent from its February 2011 peak and dipped marginally in September by one percent, it remains 19 percent above its September 2010 levels. “The food crisis is far from over,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick, who has urged the G-20 to put food first. “Prices remain volatile and millions of people around the world are still suffering. The World Bank has been working closely with the French Presidency of the G-20 and our partner international organizations on actions to protect the most vulnerable from the dangers of food price volatility, while also addressing some of its root causes. Let's remember, averting crisis is not just about banks and debt. Millions of people around the world face a daily crisis of hunger and malnutrition. At Cannes, the G-20 can and should take steps to address their needs."   The Group of 20 heads of government, who are meeting in Cannes Nov. 3– 4 to discuss the global economy, are expected to endorse a package of concrete actions to improve transparency and policy coordination to detect and correct problems early; to help countries manage price volatility using sound risk management tools; to promote more productive and resilient agriculture; and to get food to the needy fast through emergency regional humanitarian food reserves and agreement not to ban exports of food for World Food Programme. As the world population reaches a staggering 7 billion people, it is more important than ever for the global community to galvanize around actions to improve food security. According to Food Price Watch, a quarterly report, recent floods in Thailand−the worst in 50 years−may add uncertainty in the short run following estimated production losses of between 16 to 24 percent of total production. In the meantime, the food crisis in the Horn of Africa continues, affecting over 13.3 million people in the region–an additional million since August, and the outlook remains frightening. The report said prices of grains rose 30 percent (September 2010–September 2011), with maize increasing by 43 percent, rice by 26 percent and wheat 16 percent. Soybean oil went up by 26 percent. Over the last quarter, however, an increase of 3 percent in the price of grains was roughly offset by a 3 percent decline in the prices of fats and oils. Volatility, which is higher in low income countries, is expected to persist in the medium term due to multiple global and domestic factors. Structural factors contributing to the volatility include rising populations and changing diets, increasingly intertwined relations between food and energy prices, and increasing production of biofuels. On the other hand, a favorable outlook on supply and stocks is likely to relieve some of the pressure on global food prices. Latest forecasts show global wheat stocks reaching a 10-year high in 2011-12, global production of maize to rise by 4 percent from increased production in Argentina, Brazil, China, Russia, and Ukraine. Global rice output is also likely to get a boost in 2011-12 due to an expected bumper harvest in India following very favorable monsoon rains. These production gains in some markets underscore the critical need to keep international markets open, to get food where it is needed, provide incentives to farmers who expand production, and avoid panic behavior created by export bans. While a troubled global economy could dampen demand and push food prices down, the effect on developing countries would be mixed−hurting food exporting countries and poor producers in rural areas, and benefiting food importers and consumers. The problem, Food Price Watchwarns, is that developing countries might have now limited resources to protect vulnerable populations following the economic crisis and stimulus spending. In addition, fears associated with the global economy may affect medium to long-term investments in agricultural research and more productive agricultural techniques, especially amid persistent volatility. Among the ongoing efforts to improve volatility-related information, the G-20 agriculture ministers introduced the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), officially launched in September, to increase market transparency on the short-term global food outlook, especially stocks, and to identify abnormal international market conditions in order to prompt early responses. How the World Bank Group is helping to put food first ·         In the Horn of Africa, the World Bank Group is providing $1.88 billion to save lives, improve social protection, and foster economic recovery and drought resilience. More than 13 million people are affected by the crisis. ·         A first-of-its-kind World Bank Group risk management product, provided by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), will enable up to $4 billion in protection from volatile food prices for farmers, food producers, and consumers in developing countries. ·         The Global Food Crisis Response Program (GFRP) is helping some 40 million people through $1.5 billion in support. ·         The World Bank Group is boosting its spending on agriculture to some $6 to $8 billion a year from $4.1 billion in 2008. ·         Supporting the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), set up by the World Bank Group in April 2010 at G-20’s request, to assist country-led agriculture and food security plans and help promote investments in smallholder farmers. To date, six countries and the Gates Foundation have pledged about $971.5 million over the next three years, with $571 million received. ·         The World Bank Group is coordinating with UN agencies through the High-Level task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis and with NGOs. ·         The World Bank Group supports the Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research (CGIAR), which it helped to establish in 1971. In 2008, the CGIAR with the support of the World Bank and other donors launched a reform process, which culminated in the adoption of a comprehensive strategy that determines the new global research programs and a new funding model that prepares CGIAR to absorb and attract vastly more program funding, with a target annual budget of $1 billion by 2013, to which the World Bank contributes some $50 million per year. With agriculture production needing to rise some 70 percent by 2050, and with a five- to ten-year window to develop new varieties and get them to farmers, increased funding from the international community for global research is critical. Contacts:  In Washington: Alejandra Viveros, (202) 473-4306, aviveros@worldbank.org For Broadcast Requests: Natalia Cieslik, (202) 458-9369, ncieslik@worldbank.org To access Food Price Watch, please click:  http://go.worldbank.org/26VBL9Q3F0 Food Price Watch author, Jose Cuesta will take part in World Bank Live online discussion about Global Food Prices on Tuesday, November 8 at 10:00 am EST (15:00 GMT).  Participate and submit questions in advance here: http://live.worldbank.org/qa-global-food-prices-nov-2011 Visit us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/worldbank Be updated via Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/worldbank For our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/worldbank