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Fuel Up For Fun Wins National Food And Healthy Living Award
Dietitians of Canada and Kraft Canada have announced the winners of the 12th annual Speaking of Food and Healthy Living Award - an annual competition designed to showcase and encourage collaborative efforts that help Canadians make informed choices about healthy eating and physical activity.

Blogs Comment On Ryan-DeLauro Bill, Sex Education Funding, State Reproductive Health Legislation
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries.~ "A Taxing Problem," Jessica Arons, Huffington Post blogs: The five Democrats who last week sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) "suggesting a "common ground" solution to the abortion "roadblock" in health care reform" should be "applauded" for keeping the debate"s focus on covering the uninsured and "for being unwilling to sacrifice health care reform on the altar of abortion politics," writes Jessica Arons, director of the Women"s Health & Rights Program at the Center for American Progress. Arons adds that while the proposal, led by antiabortion-rights Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), "is in welcome contrast to the stonewalling and ultimatums coming from Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and his allies," it is "based on a misguided and attenuated definition of government spending, and it conflicts with what Americans want and expect from health care reform." She continues that the "suggestion that a health plan might offer abortion coverage, and it might be used by someone, who might have paid a lower premium than someone else, because the government might have helped pay their premium is a horrible reason for Congress to carve out an explicit exception to a bill that is otherwise entirely silent on coverage options." Taxpayers "do not have the right to specify how their tax money should be spent," she writes, adding, "I understand why people would want to withhold their taxes from purposes they oppose, but our system does not -- nor should it -- work that way" (Arons, Huffington Post blogs, 7/30).~ "The Breakup of the Pro-Life Movement," Cristina Page, Birth Control Watch: Rep. Ryan is "in many ways a typical pro-life American" who opposes abortion rights and, "like most pro-life Americans, ... supports every effort to prevent the need for it," including contraception, Page writes. However, because of his support for contraception and sponsorship of the "Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act," Ryan was "banished" from the board of Democrats for Life of America, Page writes, adding that antiabortion-rights publications have "taken to qualifying his pro-life status as "allegedly" pro-life or referring to him as someone "who claims to be" pro-life." The bill, also known as the Ryan-DeLauro bill, would increase funding for contraception, and support comprehensive sex education and services for women who choose to carry unintended pregnancies to term, Page writes. She notes that the bill is supported by "many prominent pro-life individuals" and groups that support abortion rights, though "[n]ot one leading pro-life group signed onto the bill." Page writes, "Pro-life Americans favor expanding access to contraception because of the undeniable pro-life results," adding, "Unintended pregnancy is the root cause of abortion. We know when used properly, contraception works." It is "time for the disagreement over contraception to be addressed by the pro-life community at large," she writes, adding, "We will have no chance of making a real impact on unintended pregnancy and abortion rates without dramatic, informed strategies on prevention" (Page, Birth Control Watch, 7/28).~ "Senate Subcommittee: Ab-Only Out, Syringe Ban Still In; Advocates Hope for Further Changes in Conference Committee," Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check: The spending bill approved yesterday by the Senate Appropriations Committee "zeroes out funding" for the Community-Based Abstinence Education program, which has "for years [been] the main of support for now-discredited abstinence-only programs," Jacobson writes. The "elimination of these funds parallels similar action in the House, ... so unless amendments are proposed, accepted and passed during either the full committee vote or on the Senate floor, this bill spells "the end of abstinence-only programs as we know them," said one advocate, "at least for this year,"" Jacobson writes. The Senate version of the bill allocate
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"Thousands Have Lived Without Love, Not One Without Water"
Water for Work and Home, an innovative wellbeing organisation, is providing the essential water to keep the "living monuments" hydrated whilst on the Fourth Plinth.
Mental Health

Connecticut Department Of Public Health Implements Plan To Limit The Spread Of Novel H1N1 Influenza In Youth Camps

The Department of Public Health (DPH) announced that it is implementing a plan to limit the spread of novel H1N1 influenza, or swine flu, in youth camps. "The health and wellness of our children is a top priority," stated DPH Commissioner Dr. J. Robert Galvin. "At this time of year, when school is ending and many children are attending camps, it is important that the camps are aware of the seriousness of H1N1 and the best ways to protect the children attending their camps from it." DPH"s plan to limit the spread of novel H1N1 influenza in youth camps includes: - Coordinating with local health departments and licensed camps throughout the state to assist them in addressing the current H1N1 situation while they prepare for the upcoming camp season. - Encouraging camps to develop a working relationship with local health officials and plan jointly for possible contingencies during the camp season. - Encouraging camps to pre-plan with parents/guardians regarding how illnesses or health emergencies among children attending camp will be handled. - Encouraging camps to educate parents and staff about communicable disease prevention including specific information on how to recognize symptoms of influenza-like illness. DPH is recommending guidance recently issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) specific to novel H1N1 influenza and camps. In addition, DPH has advised camps of the procedures for reporting outbreaks and disease in a camp setting, and provided camps with an informational letter for parents regarding when to keep their children home from camp. The CDC guidance as well as the materials developed by DPH may be accessed by visiting the Connecticut Flu Watch at http://www.ct.gov/ctfluwatch/swineflu and are posted under the heading "Schools/Daycares/Camps." The Department of Public Health licenses more than 400 youth camps each year. Licensing assures that those programs that are licensed have achieved at least the minimum standards required by law to meet the health, safety and comfort needs of campers and staff. The Connecticut Department of Public Health


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