Development Report

New Vaccine Joins Campaign to End Polio
New formulation, first used in Afghanistan in December, targets two types of virus in one dose. Transcript of radio broadcast: 17 January 2010

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

An Afghan girl receives a dose of polio vaccine

The World Health Organization has begun to use a new vaccine against polio. Officials say it will become a major tool in the campaign to end a disease that mainly affects children under age five.

The new formulation is known as B.O.P.V. , or bivalent oral polio vaccine. It was used for the first time in December in a polio immunization campaign in Afghanistan.

Carol Pandak is with the PolioPlus program of the service organization Rotary International. She explains that health workers have been using what are called trivalent vaccines in some places. These are areas like Afghanistan where more than one kind of polio virus exists.

There are three types of polio virus. The trivalent vaccine is least effective against type three, more effective against type one and highly effective against type two. As a result, few new cases of type two have been reported since nineteen ninety-nine.

This has led to greater use of monovalent vaccines to protect against either type one or type three polio. But Carol Pandak says the monovalent vaccine is not enough in areas with both.

CAROL PANDAK: "You address the type one, and the type three cases go up. You address the type three, and the type one cases go up."

Rod Curtis at the World Health Organization in Geneva says the new bivalent vaccine solves this problem.

ROD CURTIS: "The beauty of the bivalent vaccine is that it is able to attack both types of wild polio virus in one dose."

Carol Pandak says tests found the new vaccine to be thirty percent more effective than the trivalent vaccine.

More than thirty new cases of polio were reported in Afghanistan last year. About half were type one and the others type three. Rod Curtis says that shows the importance of the new vaccine targeting both viruses at once. Officials say similar vaccination campaigns are planned this year in India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Intensive vaccination campaigns have reduced the number of new polio cases reported worldwide to fewer than two thousand a year. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative says the number has fallen by ninety-nine percent since nineteen eighty eight.

Polio is highly infectious. One victim in two hundred suffers permanent paralysis, usually in the legs. Five to ten percent of those victims die when their breathing muscles fail.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

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Solar-Powered Pumps Aid African Farmers
Irrigation systems tested in Benin led to bigger surpluses that women farmers could sell. That way they could buy more food during the dry season. Transcript of radio broadcast: 10 January 2010

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Harvest in Benin

A new study in West Africa shows how farm irrigation systems powered by the sun can produce more food and money for villagers. The study in Benin found that solar-powered pumps are effective in supplying water, especially during the long dry season.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the part of the world with the least food security. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that more than one billion of the world's people faced hunger last year. Around two hundred sixty-five million of them live south of the Sahara Desert. Lack of rainfall is one of their main causes of food shortages.

Jennifer Burney from Stanford University in California led the study. The research team helped build three solar-powered drip irrigation systems in northern Benin.

Between thirty and thirty-five women used each system to pump water from the ground or a stream. Each woman was responsible for farming her own one hundred twenty square meters of land. They also farmed other land collectively.

The solar-powered irrigation systems produced an average of nearly two metric tons of vegetables per month. During the first year, the women kept a monthly average of almost nine kilograms of vegetables for home use.

They sold the surplus produce at local markets. The earnings greatly increased their ability to buy food during the dry season which can last six to nine months.

People in the two villages with the systems were able to eat three to five more servings of vegetables per day. But making the surplus available at markets also had a wider effect.

The study compared the villages with two others where women farmed with traditional methods like carrying water in buckets. The amount of vegetables eaten in those villages also increased, though not as much.

The researchers note that only four percent of the cropland in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated. Using solar power to pump water has higher costs at first. But the study says it can be more economical in the long term than using fuels like gasoline, diesel or kerosene. And solar power is environmentally friendly.

The study appears this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. You can post comments and learn about other issues in the developing world at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

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New Treatment for Sleeping Sickness
The new treatment is more effective, less costly and has fewer side effects. Transcript of radio broadcast: 03 January 2010

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

The World Health Organization is using a new combination of drugs to treat human African trypanosomiasis disease, also known as sleeping sickness. The drugs nifurtimox and eflornithine will be given out in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Officials from the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative say the new treatment has fewer side effects. It is also more effective and less costly than the drugs traditionally used. In addition, the new treatment reduces the number of injections needed. And it shortens the amount of time patients must spend in the hospital.

Sleeping sickness threatens millions of people in thirty-six countries in Africa. Most live in poor rural areas. The disease is caused by the trypanosoma parasite. It is spread to humans through the bite of infected tsetse flies.

Common signs of sleeping sickness include fever, headaches, extreme tiredness and pain in the muscles and joints. Early identification of the disease may be difficult because many infected people do not show any immediate symptoms.

Over time, the parasites invade the central nervous system. The disease causes sleep disorders, mental confusion, personality changes, speech problems, seizures and coma. If left untreated, sleeping sickness kills.

The World Health Organization estimates that about sixty thousand people are currently infected with the disease. It develops in two different forms. Trypanosoma gambiense is responsible for ninety percent of the reported cases of sleeping sickness. People infected with this form may develop the disease over many years without any major symptoms. The disease develops more quickly over a few weeks or months in people infected with trypanosoma rhodesiense.

Until now the drug melarsoprol was used to treat patients in the advanced stage of sleeping sickness.

But the drug requires many painful injections several times a day for several weeks. It also causes bad side effects, some of which can be deadly.

In Uganda, a new study has confirmed earlier research linking the spread of sleeping sickness to infected farm animals. The writers of the study have called for stronger rules requiring cattle to be treated before being sold at market. The study was published in the Public Library of Science.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

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Disabilities in Old, Young Studied in Developing Nations
A new study suggests that dementia, not blindness, is the leading cause of disability in the elderly. Another shows the relationship between disability and a lack of nutrition and education in children. Transcript of radio broadcast: 27 December 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

A new study says the leading cause of disability in older people in low and middle income countries is dementia. The researchers disagree with the World Health Organization which says blindness and other vision problems are the leading cause.

A study says dementia is more widespread in the developing world than has been recognized

Dementia is a loss of intellectual ability that affects memory, learning, attention, thinking and language skills. People with dementia may forget family members or not know what day it is. Sometimes they become angry or sad, hear voices, or see things that are not there.

Renata Sousa from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London and other researchers wrote the new report. Their study looked at the causes of disability among fifteen thousand people age sixty-five or older in seven countries. The countries were China, India, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico and Peru.

The team found that dementia was the largest cause of disability in the elderly in areas other than rural India and Venezuela. Other major causes were stroke, loss of use of arms or legs, arthritis, depression, eyesight problems and gastrointestinal problems.

In low and middle income countries, heart disease and cancer get much of the attention given to chronic diseases. The researchers say increased importance should be given to chronic diseases of the brain and mind. As populations age, societies will have to deal with more and more cases of dementia.

The study says the elderly are nine percent of the total population of low and middle income countries today. But their numbers are growing quickly. They are expected to reach twenty percent of the total population by the middle of the century.

The study appeared in the Lancet medical journal which published a special issue on disability. A separate study of eighteen low and middle income countries dealt with children.

It found that in almost half the countries, children who were not breastfed were much more likely to have a disability than those who were. The same was true of those who did not receive vitamin A supplements and those who were underweight.

Children who did not take part in early learning activities or attend school were also more likely to be disabled than those who did.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States and UNICEF did the study.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

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Increase in Illegal Killing of Rhinos in Africa, Asia
A new report says the animals are being hunted for Asian trade in their horns, especially in Vietnam. Still, some rhino populations are growing. Transcript of radio broadcast: 13 December 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

A new report says the illegal killing of rhinos for their horns is increasing in Africa and Asia. Rhinoceros poachers are killing an estimated two to three of the rare animals each week.

Experts say demand in Asia -- especially Vietnam and China -- currently drives most trade in rhino horns from southern Africa. The horns are often used to make traditional medicines, or handles for dagger knives.

The report is from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and an organization known as Traffic.

Most African rhino poaching is in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Experts found that two hundred ten rhinos were illegally killed in South Africa in the last three years.

The estimate for Zimbabwe is two hundred thirty-five. The situation threatens gains made in its rhino populations in the nineteen nineties. In the last two years, only six people were found guilty of poaching charges out of forty-one arrested.

In two thousand one, sixty-eight percent of African rhino horns entering illegal trade were recovered. By this year, nine out of ten were heading to Asian markets without interference.

The report says poaching and illegal horn trade has increased in South Africa even with new measures against it.

Adding to the problem, poachers today are more skilled at killing rhinos, and not only with guns. They also use quieter methods, like veterinary drugs, poison and crossbows.

An international agreement on protecting endangered animals and plants provides for sport hunting of white rhinos in Africa. But the horns often enter illegal markets.

Not all the news is bad, however. The report notes that rhino populations are increasing in some areas. These include both white rhinos and black rhinos in the wild in Africa.

Africa had an estimated seventeen thousand white rhinos and four thousand black rhinos as of two years ago. Current estimates for Asia are around three thousand rhinos. But even with poaching, growth is reported in some areas of India and Nepal.

Wildlife activists are urging governments to do more to fight rhino poaching.

The report was presented to the organization known as CITES. CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The next conference of countries that are parties to the agreement is in March in Doha, Qatar.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

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Looking for New Ways to Fight Malaria
Scientists say current research shows different areas of promise. Transcript of radio broadcast: 06 December 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Scientists are studying ways to make mosquitoes resist malaria-causing parasites

Scientists continue to seek better weapons against malaria. Each year the number of cases is in the hundreds of millions worldwide. Around a million people die, most of them in Africa. Economic losses from the disease amount to an estimated one percent of the African economy each year.

George Dimopoulos is an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.

GEORGE DIMOPOULOS: "Forty-two percent of the earth's population live in areas where malaria transmitting mosquitoes exist. All of these people are [at] risk of being infected with malaria. The sad thing is that the majority of people that are killed by malaria are children because their immune system is not strong enough to ward off this infection."

Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium. The organism is injected into people through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Malaria can be treated, but in many areas the parasites have become resistant to different drugs.

George Dimopoulos and his team are studying ways to make mosquitoes resist infection by the parasite. There are hundreds of kinds of mosquitoes in the world. Most do not spread malaria. Some have immune systems that kill Plasmodium.

GEORGE DIMOPOULOS: "We are particularly interested in these types of immune reactions that are responsible for killing the malaria parasite. Because we think once we understand how they work, we could be able to manipulate the mosquito genetically and convert mosquitoes that can transmit malaria into mosquitoes that cannot transmit malaria."

The researchers have developed a way to make genetic changes in the three mosquito species known to spread malaria. The changes cause their systems to attack the parasite, blocking its development. Other researchers are working on ways to spread these genetically modified insects among mosquito populations.

Professor Dimopoulos says there is still a long way to go, but current malaria research is highly promising.

A new vaccine is in final testing. So far it has proven effective at preventing the disease in half of those vaccinated -- which is more than ever before.

And at the Malaria Institute at Macha in Zambia, researchers are developing an easier way to identify malaria. The test uses saliva instead of blood to diagnose the infection.

Current efforts in malaria control are mainly based on the use of insecticide sprays and treated bed nets. But George Dimopoulos says malaria needs to be attacked with drugs, with vaccines, with bed nets -- with whatever researchers can find.

GEORGE DIMOPOULOS: "Malaria needs to be attacked with multiple weapons. There is not one magic bullet to control this disease."

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. Transcripts and MP3s of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

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Some Tips for Cold Storage of Foods
How to build an evaporative cooler. Also, how to prepare fruits and vegetables for cold storage. Transcript of radio broadcast: 29 November 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

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Indonesian women sell their harvest in a traditional floating market

Before refrigerators were invented, the next best thing was an ice box. But another way to keep food fresh is to use an evaporative cooler. A common design is a tall box with several shelves inside to hold the food. The shelves are pieces of metal with many small holes through them. The sides of the box are covered with pieces of thick cloth.

Containers of water are placed at the top and bottom of the cooler. The ends of each piece of cloth lie in the water so the cloth stays wet.

The cooler is put outdoors, but not in the sun. Air will pass through the wet cloth. The inside of the box will stay several degrees cooler than the outside air temperature. And this may be cool enough to keep foods fresh, at least for a short time.

Some foods can make you sick if they are stored in conditions that are not cold enough to prevent the growth of harmful organisms. Freezing can keep some foods in good condition for months after the growing season. Yet foods can be damaged if they are kept too cold.

The British development group Practical Action says the best way to prepare foods for storage is at harvest time while still in the field.

Use a sharp knife and place the harvested items on a clean surface or directly into storage containers. Do not put them on the ground.

Use clean water to remove dirt, and keep the water clean. Usually it is better not to remove outer leaves from fruits and vegetables before storage. Without the leaves, food can become dry.

Fruits and vegetables must be cool from field heat before they are put into storage. But cooling them in water can spread fungus throughout the food. A better idea is to harvest foods either early or late in the day, then leave them to cool naturally.

Some fruits and vegetables must be stored at zero to four degrees Celsius. Any colder, and they might be damaged. Some foods need to be stored at four to eight degrees, and some need to be stored above eight degrees for best results.

Wet the fruits and vegetables so they do not become too dry. The best time to do this is before storage. Cover the items in plastic once they reach the right "critical temperature" for storage. Most fruits and vegetables need the relative humidity in storage to be kept between eighty-five and ninety-five percent.

Finally, leave space between the food containers and the walls of the cold storage area so air can flow. Keep the space clean. And try not to open the doors too often.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report. I'm Steve Ember.

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Results of UN Food Summit Seen as Disappointing
The meeting in Rome produced only limited measures to fight rising hunger.Transcript of radio broadcast: 22 November 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks at the World Summit on Food Security

Last week, the United Nations held a World Summit on Food Security. But the three-day meeting in Rome produced only limited measures to fight rising hunger. The U.N. World Food Program says more than a billion people -- one in six worldwide -- do not get enough food to be healthy.

The troubled world economy is not the only cause of recent increases. The poorest countries continue to face high food prices, which have fallen elsewhere. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says more than thirty nations continue to need emergency food assistance.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the food crisis has forced millions of families into poverty and hunger. He said six million children die of hunger every year. And he warned that food security is closely connected to the issue of climate change.

BAN KI-MOON: "At a time when the global population is growing, our global climate is changing. By twenty fifty we will need to grow seventy percent more food. Yet weather is becoming more extreme and unpredictable."

The delegates in Rome promised to continue efforts to reduce by half the number of hungry people by two thousand fifteen. But critics pointed out that world leaders made a similar promise more than ten years ago.

Several countries promised to increase aid for agriculture, to help developing nations become more independent.

Still, critics deplored a lack of greater action. Leaders from more than sixty countries were in Rome. But Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was the only leader from a major industrial nation in the Group of Eight. An official from Kenya, Adam Barre Duale, said it showed a lack of unity in the fight against hunger.

ADAM BARRE DUALE: "We need both the developed world and the developing countries to come together and to give and support a global initiative in the war against hunger."

The Food and Agriculture Organization says more than forty billion dollars a year needs to be invested in agriculture to defeat world hunger. The growing problem has affected developing countries, but also industrialized nations.

The government estimates that forty-nine million people in the United States were "food insecure" last year. That means their households, at some time during the year, had difficulty providing enough food for all members because of a lack of resources. Almost fifteen percent of all households were in that situation. And the Agriculture Department says the numbers may be even higher this year.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

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Project Finds New Homes for Unwanted Bikes From US
Bikes for the World has shipped thousands of bicycles to developing countries. Transcript of radio broadcast: 15 November 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Bikes are delivered to San Jose, Honduras, through the Bikes for the World program

Americans bought an estimated eighteen and a half million bicycles last year. Some bikes never get much riding. Mostly they gather dust. But a project based in Washington is putting unwanted bikes from the United States to good use in developing countries.

Keith Oberg is the director of Bikes for the World.

KEITH OBERG: "Everybody has an old bicycle, and it is usually not ridden. It sits there in the garage, or basement or shed, going to waste."

Stephen Popick recently had two bikes to donate.

STEPHEN POPICK: "I brought in two mountain bikes that my wife and I have ridden for the past ten years. My bikes wouldn't fetch a nice price and wouldn't be worth trying to sell, but they could be useful to somebody else."

Bikes for the World collects bicycles and delivers them at low cost to community programs in developing countries. It shipped more than five thousand bikes during the first eight months of this year. Last year it shipped about ten thousand three hundred.

The bicycle recycling program is one of the largest in the United States. It is a sponsored project of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.

Bikes for the World began in two thousand five. Since then it has shipped more than forty thousand bikes to communities in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, says director Keith Oberg.

KEITH OBERG: "We work currently with partners in seven countries actively -- in Uganda, Ghana. We're talking to an organization that we would like to ship to in Liberia. We have shipped to Namibia and the Gambia in the past. And in Central America we ship to Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and we are talking to two organizations in El Salvador."

Bikes for the World partners with nonprofit groups in the United States to collect unwanted bikes. Then it works with nonprofits in the other countries to get the bikes to organizations and individuals that need them the most.

For example, the Bicycle Empowerment Network Namibia uses the bikes to provide transportation for health workers. That makes it possible for them to visit more patients each day. The organization also has bicycle ambulance services to transport the sick.

The Bicycle Empowerment Network also provides training and support to help local organizations and individuals open bike shops of their own. The businesses sell the recycled bikes at low cost and provide repair services. Many of the organizations use the money they earn to help pay for other community projects.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms with additional reporting by Susan Logue. You can learn about other organizations working in the developing world at voaspecialenglish.com. And you can also find us on Twitter and YouTube at VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember.

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Plan Aims to Fight Child Diarrhea in Developing World
Experts say the condition is easy to prevent, yet causes more deaths in children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Transcript of radio broadcast: 08 November 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Mothers with children being treated for diarrhea at a hospital in Allahabad, India

Diarrhea kills one and a half million children each year -- one in five child deaths worldwide. The only disease that kills more children under age five is pneumonia.

Experts say diarrhea causes more child deaths than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. New findings show it also kills more than a million adolescents and elderly people every year.

Therese Dooley is a senior adviser at UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.

THERESE DOOLEY: "In addition to the deaths, there's about two-point-five billion -- and I want to emphasize, about two-point-five billion cases of diarrhea among children every year."

But a new report says sixty percent of those in developing countries do not get the recommended treatment. The report, appearing in the Lancet medical journal, is from UNICEF and the World Health Organization. It includes a seven-point plan for countries to use to prevent and treat diarrhea.

The condition causes fluid loss and reduces the body's supply of zinc. This mineral is needed for normal growth and development.

For the past five years, UNICEF and the W.H.O. have recommended zinc supplements to treat diarrhea. They also recommend fluid replacement solutions made from what are called low-osmolarity oral rehydration salts.

Yet zinc supplements remain largely unavailable in the developing world. And the fluid replacement solutions can also be difficult to find.

A leading cause of diarrhea in children is the rotavirus. Public health officials are now advised to include the rotavirus vaccine in all national immunization programs. But the vaccine is still not available in many developing countries.

The report says new ways to expand the use of treatments are now being developed. Proposals include, for example, supplying treatment kits through community health workers or special campaigns.

Experts say children with diarrhea should continue to eat, and babies should continue to breastfeed.

To help prevent diarrhea, the report suggests that children receive both the rotavirus and measles vaccines. It also calls for improving supplies of clean water in developing countries.

Another prevention measure is hand washing with soap.

Diarrhea can be easy to prevent. Campaigns to fight childhood diarrhea had some success during the nineteen seventies and eighties. The authors of the report hope this new plan will help return the issue to worldwide importance.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms, and available at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Bob Doughty.

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In Kenya, a Better Life Through Mobile Money
Millions of mobile phone users in Kenya use the M-Pesa service to send and receive cash. Transcript of radio broadcast: 01 November 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Mobile phones have revolutionized the way people connect not only with family and friends but also business services. A good example: services that let people use their phones to send and receive money.

Two companies, Safaricom and Vodafone, launched the M-Pesa mobile money service in Kenya in two thousand seven. Pesa means money in Swahili. The service operates much like a savings bank -- which is important, because plenty of Kenyans do not have bank accounts.

Most of the early users were young men who worked in cities and wanted to send money home to rural areas. Now customers can also use their M-Pesa accounts to pay bills, make purchases or pay for services like taxis. Users pay a small amount for each transaction.

Stephen Mbugua has a farm a half-hour's drive from the capital. He uses M-Pesa to receive money from his son and to pay bills.

Stephen Mbugua: "I used to go to Nairobi or to any bank to pay my bill. But now, right now, I don't go to Nairobi, I just pay my bill from here."

Some businesses use the service to pay their employees.

All across Kenya, there are stores and automated teller machines where M-Pesa users can add and withdraw money from their accounts.

People can also transfer money to other mobile phone users, even those without an M-Pesa account. The other person receives a text message with a code to take to the local M-Pesa agent to get the money.

All this pleases twenty-two year old Phelister Omari.

Phelister Omari: "It's very fast. The M-Pesa, they're available everywhere. So once you are going somewhere, you can drop, get some cash and proceed."

M-Pesa is improving economic conditions for many Kenyan families. British-based Vodaphone has also teamed with local companies to offer the service in Uganda and Afghanistan.

Safaricom says nearly eight million people in Kenya now use M-Pesa. That number is expected to grow as more people use mobile phones.

A recent report predicted that the number of mobile phone accounts worldwide will reach almost four and a half billion this year. That is twelve percent more than last year, and equal to two-thirds of the world's population.

The report was from the European Information Technology Observatory. The group says the strongest growth in mobile phone use now comes from newly industrialized and developing countries.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. You can find transcripts and podcasts of our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. And you can find us on Twitter and YouTube at VOA Learning English. I'm Bob Doughty.

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Simple, Low-Cost Ways to Cut the Risk of an Early Birth
Second of two reports on the world's leading killer of newborn babies. Transcript of radio broadcast: 26 October 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

A premature baby in a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey

We talked last week about a new report on preterm births -- the leading cause of death in newborn babies worldwide. Each year an estimated thirteen million babies are born too soon. More than one million of them die as a result of their prematurity. Yet experts say many early births can be prevented.

The report came from the March of Dimes and the World Health Organization. Christopher Howson is the vice president for global programs at the March of Dimes, a nonprofit group. He says there are a number of simple, low-cost interventions that can improve the chances of a full-term birth.

CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: "We should treat malnutrition in women both before and during pregnancy. We should treat infections that increase risk. We should monitor pregnancies carefully for signs of trouble. And should that baby be born preterm, we should care for that baby by providing a package of interventions that have been shown to be tried and true and very effective."

For example, there are programs in Africa that teach the skin-to-skin method, also known as kangaroo care. Mothers learn to carry preterm babies in front instead the traditional African way of carrying a baby, on the mother's back. Skin-to-skin helps keep a preterm baby warm. The direct contact also makes it easier for the baby to breastfeed.

Most preterm births take place in Africa and Asia. But rates in the United States have increased by more than one-third in the last twenty-five years. This is largely the result of more births in older women and more use of fertility treatments.

Alan Fleischman is the medical director of the March of Dimes. He was among a group of medical experts who met in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. The group met to develop a quality improvement plan for dealing with the problem in the United States. Doctor Fleischman says there is concern especially about rising numbers of what are known as late preterm births.

ALAN FLEISCHMAN: "Those are the babies who are born between thirty-four and thirty-seven weeks gestation. Those are the fastest increasing numbers of prematures. In fact, they are responsible for seventy-two percent of all prematures in America."

The rise of these births may be linked to increased use of drugs to start or speed up labor and more births by Cesarean section. Doctor Fleischman says the group strongly advises against these interventions before thirty-nine weeks unless medically necessary.

The experts also say doctors need to work with pregnant women to do a better job of estimating exactly when a pregnancy began.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

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Report Calls Attention to Millions of Preterm Births
Prematurity can result in lifelong health problems. Most of the babies are born in Africa and Asia. First of two reports. Transcript of radio broadcast: 18 October 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

A premature baby in a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey

Each year millions of babies are born too soon and too small. Premature or preterm births are defined as births at less than thirty-seven weeks.

Prematurity is the leading cause of death in newborn babies. More than one-fourth of the four million newborns who die each year around the world were born too early.

Preterm babies that survive can suffer a lifetime of serious health conditions. The examples include cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing problems and learning disabilities. Families and communities face emotional, physical and financial costs.

Christopher Howson is the vice president for global programs at the March of Dimes, a nonprofit group. His group and the World Health Organization recently published a report called "The Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth."

CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: "Frankly the crisis of preterm birth is under-recognized, undercounted, undervalued and underfunded. I mean, this reports shows that thirteen million babies are born every year preterm, and that over a million of those babies die as a result of being born too early."

And these are just estimates; the true numbers could be even higher. More than eighty-five percent of preterm births happen in Africa and Asia. Africa has the highest rate, with about four million cases each year.

Chris Howson says many of the causes of preterm births are related to poverty and weak health-care systems.

CHRISTOPHER HOWSON: "For example, the poor overall health and nutritional status of women. A high burden of infectious diseases. Lack of provision of family planning -- allowing a women to decide when to start and end having children and how to space her children. And also the lack of good prenatal care programs that might identify problems early on in pregnancy."

Preterm births are a problem not just in the developing world. The combined rate in the United States and Canada is the second highest in the world. Preterm birth rates in the United States have increased thirty-six percent in the last twenty-five years.

This has been largely the result of two reasons. One is an increase in pregnancies among women over age thirty-five. The other is an increase in the use of reproductive therapies. Fertility treatments can produce multiple births, which increases the risk that the babies will arrive early.

One of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals for two thousand fifteen is to reduce death rates in young children by two-thirds. Chris Howson says premature births must be reduced if that goal is to be met. What is being done about this issue? That will be our subject next week.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. Transcripts and MP3s are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

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Need an Answer? Just Ask the Box
Question Box, a service created by a California woman, brings search results to users without Internet access in India and Uganda. Transcript of radio broadcast: 11 October 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

A Question Box in India

When you have a question about something, where do you go? For many people the answer is simple. They go online to a search engine like Google or Yahoo. But what about people in rural or underdeveloped areas who may have no way to get on the Internet?

A business and international development consultant in California, Rose Shuman, wanted to find an answer for them, too. Her solution is Question Box.

Question Box is a service that provides answers -- free of charge -- for people who cannot search the Internet directly. They might not be able to read, or they simply have no access.

Question Box began two years ago in India. People use a metal call box with a push-to-talk button to connect to a live operator, as Rose Shuman explains:

ROSE SHUMAN: "You just push a button, a big green button, and that will connect you directly to our operators who are sitting in front of computers, and speak your language. And you can ask them any sort of question you want, and they'll look it up in English or in Hindi, or whatever the main language is, and translate the answer right back for you."

The service is currently offered in two villages. The latest version of the box uses mobile phone technology, and solar panels in case the electrical power fails. Rose Shuman says the aim was to make the box as easy as possible for users.

ROSE SHUMAN: "Rather than try to bring a lot of infrastructure to them and expect them to learn how to use the Internet, the idea was to make a technology that even Grandma could use, figuring that Grandma could probably walk up to a box and push a button."

In April, Question Box expanded to Uganda. Forty community workers with mobile phones connect villagers to call center operators in Kampala. The community workers go around telling people about the service. They wear T-shirts that say "Ask Me."

But Internet service in Uganda proved slow and undependable. So Question Box teamed up with a local technology company to store information on a local server. That way, the researchers in Kampala can quickly search the database for answers.

Question Box is a project of Open Mind, a nonprofit organization founded by Rose Shuman. She says Question Box is working to expand by offering its software through partnerships.

In Uganda, Question Box formed a partnership with the Grameen Foundation. Grameen had money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to bring agricultural information to rural farmers. But users also ask about current events and many other subjects.

ROSE SHUMAN: "When was Mahatma Gandhi born, and how long is the Nile River? What's the tallest mountain? The funniest one I think we got was, 'Did the pyramids ever move to another place?' Which we found pretty funny. But we did look it up, and they haven't moved."

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

Lisenning English MP3

Houses Made of Straw
The big bad wolf may huff and puff, but he won't blow your house down this time. Transcript of radio broadcast: 04 October 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Today we bring you a new take on an old tale. It's the story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf that blew down a house made of straw and one made of sticks. The only house left standing was the one made of bricks. Now there is new evidence to suggest that houses built with bales of straw can be very strong. They are also environmentally friendly.

Pete Walker and Katharine Beadle are leading the research at Bath

Pete Walker is a professor at the University of Bath in Britain. He and a team of researchers there have built a house made out of straw bale and hemp material.

During the next twelve months the team will study the effectiveness of these materials in home building. Professor Walker says there are many good reasons for using straw.

PETE WALKER: "One of the benefits is it's a relatively inexpensive renewable material that's readily available."

Professor Walker says straw takes in carbon dioxide as it grows. So it can be seen as having no harmful effects on the environment. He says straw helps the environment in other ways.

PETE WALKER: "The straw bales walls are relatively thick and so all that straw provides very good thermal insulation. So we make buildings that require very little heating in the winter or indeed very little cooling in the summer. So they require very little additional energy."

Professor Walker says this reduces home operating expenses. It also reduces the effect on the environment. He says the current interest in straw bale houses is a direct response to the problem of climate change.

David Lanfear owns an eco-friendly home building service in the United States called Bale on Bale Construction.

He says he laughed when some friends first told him about houses built of straw. But after doing his own research, he learned that building with straw bales makes a lot of sense. He has now helped to build more than ten straw bale houses and says the building material is becoming more widely accepted.

To build the houses, he fills a wood frame with tightly packed bales of straw. Next he coats the walls inside and out with layers of clay plaster. He says the common ideas about straw houses continue, including stories about the threat of fire. Mister Lanfear says straw bale houses have done well when tested for fire resistance. And he says his builders use the same building methods as traditional builders to keep out rain.

DAVID LANFEAR: "We use what we call good shoes and a good hat, and that would be a solid foundation and a really good roof."

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

Lisenning English MP3

For Health of Young People, a Mixed Picture
Deaths in children under 5 continued to drop last year. But a study calls attention to the great number of preventable deaths in young people age 10 to 24. Transcript of radio broadcast: 27 September 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Children eat sugar cane near their home in Kumbali, Malawi earlier this year. UNICEF says the southern African country is among those where the child death rate is improving.

UNICEF says the death rate for children under the age of five has fallen twenty-eight percent since nineteen ninety. Experts credit the drop to improvements in public health measures. These include vaccination campaigns and the use of bed nets chemically treated to kill mosquitoes that spread malaria.

Still, Brian Hansford at the United Nations Children's Fund says more work remains.

BRIAN HANSFORD: "Certainly the good news is that the rate of deaths of children under five years of age continued to decline in two thousand eight. The absolute number of child deaths declined to an estimated eight-point-eight million from twelve-point-five million in nineteen ninety. Compared to nineteen ninety, ten thousand fewer children are dying each day. The bad news is that an annual death total of eight-point-eight million is still a tragedy, and so there's still much to do."

One of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals is to reduce the under-five death rate by two-thirds by two thousand fifteen. One country that could reach this goal is Malawi. In nineteen ninety, there were two hundred twenty-five deaths for every one thousand live births. The estimate for last year was one hundred deaths.

UNICEF spokesman Brian Hansford says pneumonia and diarrhea remain the world's two greatest killers of young children. Ninety-three percent of the deaths happen in Africa and Asia.

A separate new study looked at deaths worldwide in young people age ten to twenty-four. It found that ninety-seven percent happen in low and middle income countries. And two out of every five are the result of injuries and violence.

Professor George Patton at Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, was the lead author.

GEORGE PATTON: "In high income countries such as the United States, the U.K. and Australia, death rates are around forty-five per hundred thousand per year. In sub-Saharan Africa we have the highest death rates in the world, and they are around seven times higher than that."

The study found that worldwide, more than two and a half million people age ten to twenty-four died in two thousand four. Nearly two-thirds were in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

Conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth were a leading cause of deaths in females. But for both sexes combined, the leading killer in this age group was traffic accidents. Ten percent of all the deaths were blamed on road injuries.

Next came suicide and violence. Also in the top ten causes were infections, including tuberculosis and H.I.V./AIDS, as well as drowning and fire-related deaths. The study appears in the journal The Lancet.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

Lisenning English MP3

Diseases Threaten Banana Crops in Africa
Experts call for action to fight two infections that could lead to food shortages for many people in sub-Saharan countries. Transcript of radio broadcast: 20 September 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

A Senegalese banana vendor in Dakar, Senegal

Two separate diseases are destroying banana and plantain crops in Africa. They could threaten food security for millions of Africans who depend on bananas as an important part of their diet.

Banana bacterial wilt was first reported in Ethiopia in the late nineteen sixties. In two thousand one it was found in Uganda. Since then it has spread to neighboring countries including Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The leaves of infected plants weaken and become yellow. They also leak a yellow liquid. The bananas ripen too quickly and begin to rot.

Farmers can unknowingly spread the infection with their cutting tools. Experts say by the time a farmer discovers that something is wrong, it is already too late. The crop must be destroyed.

Uganda is Africa's leading producer and consumer of bananas. The organization Biodiversity International reports losses of up to eighty percent in heavily affected areas of the country.

Farmers worry that a second disease could also spread to Uganda. Bunchy top disease causes all of the leaves to grow from the top of the banana plant. Infected plants produce small, abnormal fruit. Finally, they stop producing completely.

The International Institute for Tropical Agriculture says the disease is widely found in Gabon, Angola, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The institute's Rachid Hanna says farmers must destroy infected plants, normally by burning them. Bunchy top disease can spread from plant to plant and is also spread by aphids. These small insects must be destroyed. Rachid Hanna advises farmers to use biological controls such as natural enemies of the aphids.

He says bunchy top disease and banana bacterial wilt can both affect entire plantations. Not only are farm incomes affected, but so are local food supplies. Experts say more than thirty million people could be at risk of shortages unless a solution is found.

Scientists from around the world met in Tanzania last month to discuss the situation. Rachid Hanna says strong measures must be taken now to prevent a crisis in the future.

RACHID HANNA: "What is necessary in this case is a collective effort, not only by the researchers and the people on the ground, but also the donor community, because controlling those two diseases can go a long way in improving people's food security and livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa."

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

Lisenning English MP3

Working With Clay: A How-to Guide
Clay is formed by the action of wind and water on rocks over thousands of years. Transcript of radio broadcast: 13 September 2009

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Clay

Clay is found almost everywhere in the world. It is formed by the action of wind and water on rocks over thousands of years. The rocks change in both chemical and physical ways. Chemically, elements like potassium and aluminum are added and taken away. Physically, the rocks break down into smaller and smaller pieces. After a long time, some of the rock changes to clay.

Clay is important because it is used around the world to make containers of all kinds. Potters add water to soften the clay. This makes it easier to form into shapes by hand or by machine. Then it is fired in an extremely hot stove. The result is a container with a hard surface that will last for many years.

In many countries, clay was formed from volcanoes. This kind of clay usually contains many minerals. So the fires to make containers from volcanic clay must be hotter than those used for non-volcanic clay. The fires may be as hot as one thousand four hundred degrees Celsius.

It is also important to dry the clay containers slowly. This means that the highest temperature should not be reached too fast.

You can add materials to clay to gain desired results. For example, you can add sand to prevent tiny breaks or lines from forming in the finished product. But you should not use sand from the coasts of oceans. Instead, you should use sand from rivers or from other areas of land that are not near the sea.

You can usually find good clay in low areas of islands or land, especially if volcanoes helped form the land. Clay often exists in fields covered with some water. The clay will be found about one meter below the ground. River banks often also have clay about one meter or less under the surface.

You can recognize clay because it is very shiny when it is wet. You can also perform a test. Take some of the material and add enough water to it to make it seem like you are making bread. Then press it in your hand until it is about the size of an egg. It is probably clay if it holds together instead of falling apart when you stop pressing.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Gary Garriott. Guides to working with clay and other materials can be found on the EnterpriseWorks/VITA list of publications. These publications can be ordered for a charge. The list is available at enterpriseworks.org. Transcripts, MP3 and archives of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Chris Cruise.

Lisenning English MP3

Economics Report

Obama Seeks Limits on Banks, Condemns Campaign Finance Ruling
The proposals came the same week as he marked his first year as president and his party lost an important Senate seat. Also, the Supreme Court eased political spending limits on corporations. Transcript of radio broadcast: 22 January 2010

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

President Obama is proposing rules to limit the size of banks and the risks they can take. He wants to prevent banks from using government-insured deposits to make risky investments. He also wants to keep them from owning hedge funds or private equity funds.

Banks took big losses as they traded mortgage-related securities that went bad. That helped create the financial crisis.

Bank shares fell after the president's announcement Thursday. His earlier efforts at financial reform have faced strong opposition from financial companies and some members of Congress.

Scott Brown, a Republican state senator, celebrates in Boston after a special election for U.S. senator from Massachusetts. He won the remaining three years in the term of Ted Kennedy, a Democrat who had held his seat for almost 50 years.

In the Senate, sixty votes are needed to prevent unlimited debate on a bill. But the Democrats have lost their sixtieth vote. On Tuesday voters in Massachusetts elected a Republican to finish the term of Ted Kennedy who died in August.

Scott Brown opposes the health care legislation in Congress. His election could also affect other areas, like climate change legislation and reforms in the financial system.

And at the same time a separate development could affect elections around the country. The United States Supreme Court has cleared the way for businesses to spend more in political campaigns. The ruling is expected to apply to labor unions as well.

The court decided Thursday to ease campaign finance restrictions that were in place for many years. The vote was five to four. The decision overturned rulings that barred corporations from using their own money to pay for campaign ads for or against candidates. The conservative majority on the court said the restrictions on political speech violate the free speech guarantee in the Constitution.

President Obama called it a "major victory" for powerful interests like big oil companies, Wall Street banks and health insurance companies. He directed his administration to talk with congressional leaders from both parties to develop a "forceful response."

Elections for Congress are this November. The next presidential election is in two thousand twelve.

Wednesday marked Barack Obama's first anniversary in office. But the Republican victory in liberal Massachusetts was seen in large part as a sign of voter anger across the country about the economy.

Unemployment has doubled in two years to ten percent. Many people are angry that they struggle while the government rescued big banks. Some banks took losses last year but others earned record profits.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. I'm Mario Ritter.

Lisenning English MP3

Google May Leave Fast-Growing China
China has the world's largest Internet market, and just claimed the title of top export nation. But a cyber attack and censorship laws -- on top of limited success in China -- could lead Google to withdraw. Transcript of radio broadcast: 14 January 2010

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

China says it has passed Germany and become the world's top exporter. Exports totaled more than one trillion dollars last year. That was down from two thousand eight, but about thirty billion more than Germany.

China's influence in the world has increased with its fast-growing economy. The United States remains the largest economy. China is third and gaining on Japan.

A Chinese flag waves beside Google headquarters in Beijing

Manufacturing has expanded, fueling exports. But China has not imported as much as its trade partners would like. Its policies about valuing its currency and its human rights record have also created tensions.

And now there is a new dispute. China is the world's largest Internet market, but Google says it may leave. The company said it was targeted last month by a major Internet attack launched from China.

It says "intellectual property" was stolen and the attackers sought access to Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. At least twenty other large companies in different industries were also targeted.

Also, the company said it is no longer willing to censor search results as required by Chinese law. Google says it is still observing censorship laws, but it will hold talks with the government in the coming weeks.

Google.cn launched four years ago this month. Google is estimated to have around a thirty percent share of the search market in China. But that is only about half the share of the Chinese search engine Baidu. Baidu also reported an attack on its Web site earlier this week.

Online advertising sales in China are estimated to bring Google only a few hundred million dollars a year. Not much for such a big company, notes business expert Fariborz Ghadar at Penn State University.

FARIBORZ GHADAR: "Google has to make a decision whether they want to basically deviate from their vision mission statement that they 'do no harm' and stay in China. Or whether they have just had enough and they don't like the restrictions, and they don't like the cyber attacks, and they're going to move out so as to preserve their name and brand."

Online activity in China is closely watched and the government tries to limit access to many sites, including VOA.

On Thursday a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said "China's Internet is open" and that Chinese law bars cyber attacks. Another government official said China itself is the victim of a growing number of foreign attacks.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she would like an explanation from the Chinese about Google's accusations. She is giving a speech next week about Internet freedom.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

Lisenning English MP3

Electronics Industry Hopes for a Reset in 2010
3-D TV, digital tablets and Google's new phone could help in recovering from a bad year. Thousands of new products are being presented at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Transcript of radio broadcast: 07 January 2010

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

This year's Consumer Electronics Show opened Thursday in Las Vegas. The event is the world's biggest technology trade show.

More than three hundred companies are presenting more than twenty thousand new products. The goal is to build excitement, make deals -- and hopefully get good reviews in the media. Industry sales dropped eight percent last year during the recession.

Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, predicted that one area of strong sales this year will be mobile phones. That includes fifty-two million smartphones expected to be sold in the United States. Smartphones run applications and access the Internet.

Google is launching the Nexus One -- which it calls a "superphone." This is its first attempt to sell its own device. The Nexus One will compete with Apple's popular iPhone.

Apple is reportedly about to introduce a new digital tablet. Tablets are easy-to-hold screens that let you read and watch media or search the Web. An example is the Amazon Kindle. Like netbooks, tablets cost less than traditional laptop computers. But that can also mean smaller profits for manufacturers and sellers.

A 3-D movie is shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada

Companies like Sony and Panasonic are introducing new television sets for watching three-dimensional TV. A three-D TV costs more than three thousand dollars. Americans are expected to buy four million of them this year. Sports broadcaster ESPN and the Discovery Channel plan to start their own three-D channels.

The Consumer Electronics Show has an area for companies to demonstrate products that save energy, reduce waste and use recycled materials. Show spokeswoman Jennifer Bemisderfer says the Sustainable Planet Tech Zone is four times bigger than last year.

She says manufacturers are increasingly interested in the idea of "cradle-to-cradle" technology. That involves thinking about a product's whole lifetime.

JENNIFER BEMISDERFER: "When those products are at the end of their useful life, how are they going to be broken down? How are we going to get some of the essential elements out of those products and have them reused in the manufacturing process?"

Interest is also growing in energy management systems for the home -- and safe driving technologies for the car. These include voice-activated systems that let drivers make calls and send text messages without using their hands. Other products warn drivers if they are falling asleep or in danger of an accident.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

Lisenning English MP3

Banks Recover, but the Economy Struggles in 2009
The stock market recovered. And banks repaid billions of dollars in government rescue money. But the housing market and unemployment weighed on the economy. Transcript of radio broadcast: 31 December 2009

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Two thousand nine may be remembered as the year the world avoided an economic depression.

In the United States, stock prices sank to their lowest levels in March. But stocks recovered strongly for the year. The S & P Five Hundred index gained over twenty percent--its largest increase in six years.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner tells Congress in December that he is extending the TARP to October 2010

As two thousand nine ended, the nation's biggest banks rushed to repay money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. In October of two thousand eight, Congress approved up to seven hundred billion dollars to rescue the financial industry. Last month, the United States Treasury announced that Wells Fargo and Citibank had repaid forty-five billion dollars. They joined Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America in returning government aid.

In June, the Treasury permitted the ten largest banks to return their rescue money and withdraw from TARP. This let banks escape government restrictions on pay for top officials. Now, the government holds a large ownership share in only one big bank, Citigroup. The Treasury says it expects banks to repay one hundred seventy-five billion dollars of TARP money this year.

A Ford dealer advertises the government's so called "cash for clunkers" program to lift sales

The American car industry also had big problems in two thousand nine. Chrysler and General Motors sought bankruptcy protection from their creditors. The restructured companies may still need government aid, which has already reached over sixty billion dollars. But a government program that paid Americans to trade in old vehicles for new, fuel-saving models increased car sales in the summer.

The Ford Motor Company refused government aid and is working to become profitable again by two thousand eleven. And there are signs that the industry is starting to recover.

However, the housing market continued to suffer its worst downturn in generations. Mortgage financer Fannie Mae reports that payments on five percent of its single-family home loans are late. The ten percent unemployment rate has meant that many people are struggling with their house payments.

Still, consumer confidence grew in December. Experts say Americans were feeling better about the job market and the economy. Growth in the United States is expected to reach about two and a half percent in two thousand ten.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

Lisenning English MP3

Where Every Day Is Christmas
Profit reinvestment and strong community ties have made family-owned Bronner’s into possibly the world’s biggest Christmas store. Transcript of radio broadcast: 24 December 2009

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

(MUSIC)

There is a place where Christmas lives all year long. It is called Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan. The family-owned business calls itself the world's largest Christmas store. The late Wally Bronner started the business in nineteen forty-five.

Wayne Bronner, Wally's son, is president and chief executive of what is now a multi-million dollar corporation. He learned the business from an early age. Some of his best memories are traveling to other countries with his father to find new products for the store.

Goods for sale at Bronner's

Bronner's sells more than fifty thousand holiday products from seventy nations. Half of the products cost less than ten dollars. Wayne Bronner says demand for small objects to hang on Christmas trees has expanded over the years. People put more time, effort and money into decorating their homes with these ornaments, lights and religious scenes. Bronner's is famous for its nativity scenes which show the birth of Jesus Christ.

Michigan has the nation's highest unemployment rate. Bronner's has been affected by the recession, too. But not in reduced sales.

WAYNE BRONNER: "Even though people are spending less, we're having more people visit here. And as a result we've actually had a sales increase."

Bronner's success is also linked to community cooperation and investment. Frankenmuth is a town of five thousand people in eastern Michigan's farm country. The town was settled by Bavarian Germans in the eighteen hundreds. It has kept its traditions alive in buildings and restaurants.

Bavarian cultural themes and Bronner's huge store bring three million visitors a year. The town is the most popular place for tourists in the state.

Bronner's business is aimed at a single day of the year. But that is not too different from other businesses.

WAYNE BRONNER: "About half of our business is done in the last quarter of the year, in the last three months. And actually when you contrast that with most retailers, that follows the same pattern."

Wayne Bronner says the family's long-term planning and willingness to reinvest profits has grown the company into what it is today. Still, it does not hurt to build a business on a holiday celebrated worldwide. Currently, about two percent of sales are overseas. But Wayne Bronner sees room for growth, especially through the Internet.

(MUSIC)

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

Lisenning English MP3

How Islamic Finance Works
Such systems are a small but growing part of banking, including in the West. Lenders charge fees instead of interest and often share in risk; bondholders have no guarantee of repayment. Transcript of radio broadcast: 10 December 2009

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Dubai's recent debt problems have brought attention to the growth of Islamic finance. A government-owned group of companies, Dubai World, has been seeking to restructure twenty-six billion dollars of debt. About six billion of it is in Islamic bonds, including a three and a half billion dollar bond set for repayment on Monday.

The biggest difference between Western and Islamic finance involves beliefs about charging interest on borrowed money. In Islam, the basic idea is that you should not make money from money itself.

Instead of interest, lenders charge fees. Ghiyath Nakshbendi at American University in Washington is an expert on Islamic financing.

GHIYATH NAKSHBENDI: "The bank will estimate its costs based on its fixed costs, variable costs, the cost of their employees, the rent and so on and so forth. And from that they estimate how much they are going to charge."

But he points out that this system can make Islamic financing costly. The costs of the system are shared by the borrowers. The fewer the borrowers, the more each has to pay.

In many cases, Islamic financing requires the lender and borrower to share profits and losses. Ghiyath Nakshbendi explains what that means with Islamic bonds, called sukuk.

GHIYATH NAKSHBENDI: "When we talk about sukuk, we don't guarantee a certain return."

He says the bondholders are buying a share of a business or property. If business is good, then they could get back more than they expected. But if it fails, then there is no guarantee of repayment. Islamic bonds can be structured in different ways, but a major idea is shared profit and loss.

Professor Nakshbendi says Islamic lending practices are also supposed to be socially responsible.

In world banking, the total share of Islamic finance is less than one percent. But it is growing at a rate of fifteen to twenty percent a year. There is growing interest in Islamic banking in the West. London is becoming a center of Islamic finance. And France recently proposed changes in finance laws to protect Islamic bondholders.

Estimates differ, but as much as one and a half trillion dollars may be managed under Islamic rules.

Last year, the International Monetary Fund studied the financial security of Islamic banks. It found that their lack of complex products like futures and derivatives limits the ability to spread risk.

Professor Nakshbendi notes that Islamic finance does not appeal only to Muslims.

GHIYATH NAKSHENDI: "In Malaysia, the majority of customers in Islamic banks are non-Muslims."

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. Our reports are online at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

Lisenning English MP3

Dubai Feels the Financial Pain
Government-owned investment company Dubai World seeks a six-month freeze in paying $26 billion in debt. Could this be a signal of more problems to come elsewhere in the world? Transcript of radio broadcast: 03 December 2009

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

In recent years, a shining city grew in the desert of Dubai on -- and even off -- the Gulf coast. An island shaped like a palm tree was built for hotels, homes and entertainment.

In October of last year the same developer announced plans for the world's tallest building yet. But the economic downturn soon forced the Nakheel company to suspend those plans.

Dubai is in the United Arab Emirates, a thirty-eight year old federation of seven territories ruled by emirs. But, unlike its neighbor Abu Dhabi, oil has not fueled Dubai's growth. Oil is only six percent of its economy. Instead, the property and service industries have led its expansion.

Now Dubai finds itself in financial pain. And its reaction has some investors worried.

Last week, Dubai's largest investment company called for a six-month delay in paying some of its debts. Dubai World Group is seeking to renegotiate terms on twenty-six billion dollars in debt. All of it is linked to Nakheel, which is part of Dubai World.

The government owns Dubai World and will take control of its restructuring. But Dubai's finance chief said the government does not guarantee its debt.

Dubai World owes creditors a total of sixty billion dollars. The company is not an investment vehicle for the government like a sovereign wealth fund. It is a holding company for businesses in land development, port operations, energy and financial services. The group has used borrowed money for economic development.

Ghiyath Nakshbendi of American University in Washington notes that the problems are linked to a worldwide collapse in real estate prices.

GHIYATH NAKSHBENDI: "Emerging markets are as victim to the world meltdown as any other economy and there are no exceptions."

He expects the debt restructuring to be successful. He says Dubai and its leaders have too much to lose to let creditors -- like banks in Britain -- suffer losses.

Still, last week's announcement was a surprise. Now Dubai World is faced with selling properties at heavy losses to raise money. Some experts question how willing Abu Dhabi will be to rescue Dubai. Their relationship is sometimes tense.

Ghiyath Nakshbendi says Dubai World will have to change its ways.

GHIYATH NAKSHBENDI: "I think Dubai went a little bit too fast and they borrowed too much money in a very short period of time."

Of course, Dubai was not alone in gathering debt during the easy credit years. There are worries that the crisis could be the first of more to come in other parts of the world.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

Lisenning English MP3

Junior Achievement Marks 90 Years of Business Education
Volunteers help millions of young people around the world understand economics. Transcript of radio broadcast: 26 November 2009

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

This year, Junior Achievement marks its ninetieth anniversary of educating young people about business and economics. The nonprofit organization is the largest of its kind. Jack Kosakowsky is executive vice president.

JACK KOSAKOWSKY: "We are the oldest business and economic education organization in the world. We're now serving nine-point-two million young people around the globe in one hundred twenty-three different countries."

Programs begin in elementary school and continue through middle and high school. The education is based on the ideas of market-based economics and entrepreneurship.

Shakara Walker shows a product her group of students is marketing at JA offices in Atlanta, Georgia

Junior Achievement began in nineteen nineteen in Springfield, Massachusetts. Two business leaders, Horace Moses and Theodore Vail, joined with Senator Murray Crane of Massachusetts to start the group.

For more than fifty years, Junior Achievement programs operated through clubs that met after school. But in nineteen seventy-five, JA also began to teach business skills during the school day.

Volunteers from the community teach about businesses, how they are organized, and how products are made and sold. The volunteers also teach about the American and world economies and about industry and trade.

The Junior Achievement Company Program teaches young people how entrepreneurship works. They learn about business by operating their own companies.

Students develop a product and sell shares in their company. They use the money to buy the materials they need to make their product, which they then sell. Finally, they return the profits to the people who bought shares in the company.

Chellsey Cruz joined a student-operated company two years ago. The Higher Grounds Cafe in West Hills, California, sells high quality coffee.

She says her experience has given her valuable training that will help her for a lifetime.

CHELLSEY CRUZ: "It taught me to be dedicated, and that if you want to be successful, you have to put in a lot of time and effort. You really have to work at it."

Junior Achievement says three hundred eighty-five thousand volunteers support its programs around the world. In the United States alone, there are nearly twenty-three thousand places that hold Junior Achievement events.

Junior Achievement Incorporated and Junior Achievement International combined their operations in two thousand four. They formed Junior Achievement Worldwide. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter with additional reporting by Faiza Elmasry. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found at voaspecialenglish.com. And you can follow us on Twitter at VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

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Half of US Jobs Now Held by Women
Also: The government loses its first criminal case related to the financial crisis that hit Wall Street. Transcript of radio broadcast: 19 November 2009

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Women are on their way to holding more than half of all American jobs. The latest government report shows that their share of nonfarm jobs nearly reached fifty percent in September. Not only have more and more women entered the labor market over the years, but the recession has been harder on men. In October the unemployment rate for men was almost eleven percent, compared to eight percent for women.

Former eBay chief Meg Whitman, right, a Republican candidate for California governor, talks to a supporter at a business women's conference

Industries that traditionally use lots of men have suffered deep cuts. For example, manufacturing and building lost more jobs last month. But health care and temporary employment services have had job growth. Both of those industries employ high percentages of women.

Thirty years ago, women earned sixty-two cents for every dollar that men earned. Now, for those who usually work full time, women earn about eighty percent of what men earn. And women hold fifty-one percent of good-paying management and professional jobs.

Yet a study released Thursday said men still hold about nine out of every ten top positions at the four hundred largest companies in California. The results have remained largely unchanged in five years of studies from the University of California, Davis.

Also, a new research paper in the journal Sex Roles looks at the experiences of women who are the main earners in their family. Rebecca Meisenbach at the University of Missouri in Columbia interviewed fifteen women. She found they all valued their independence and many enjoyed having the power of control, though not all wanted it.

But they also felt pressure, worry and guilt. Partly that was because of cultural expectations that working women will still take care of the children. Also, men who are not the main earners may feel threatened.

The job market continues to suffer the effects of last year's financial crash. Now, a judgment has been reached in the first case involving charges of criminal wrongdoing on Wall Street.

Last week, the government lost its case against two managers at Bear Stearns, the first investment bank to fail last year. A jury found Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin not guilty of lying to investors.

The hedge funds they supervised lost their value in two thousand seven. But jurors said there was no clear evidence that they meant to mislead investors.

The Justice Department continues to investigate other companies.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

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On the Road to Health Reform, Congress Moves a Step Closer
The bill narrowly passed by the House includes a public option, a government-run health insurance plan. Transcript of radio broadcast: 12 November 2009

Correction attached

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

A major reform of the American system of health care and insurance has moved farther in Congress than ever before. President Obama wants a final bill passed by the end of the year. But a difficult road still lies ahead.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after passage of the bill

Saturday night, the House of Representatives passed a bill with an estimated trillion-dollar price over ten years. The president called the vote historic.

BARACK OBAMA: "The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a piece of legislation that will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance, quality affordable options for those who don't and bring down the cost of health care for families, business and our government while strengthening the financial health of Medicare."

But thirty-nine Democrats voted no, and only one Republican, Joseph Cao of Louisiana, voted yes. The bill passed with just two more votes than required. Republicans say the plan would add to the nation's debt, raise insurance costs and expand government involvement in health care.

Representative Joe Barton is a Republican from Texas.

JOE BARTON: "So, there is a choice. Bigger government, more mandates, more control, less freedom. Or lower costs, more opportunity, more freedom or more choice. I vote for more freedom."

The bill aims to provide health coverage to thirty-six million Americans. That would raise the nation's coverage rate to about ninety-six percent.

The most disputed part of the bill is a "public option" for individuals and small businesses. The government would compete with private plans by offering it own insurance -- based on payment rates negotiated with providers.

The House bill would raise taxes on high earners to help pay for the plan. It would also cut four hundred billion dollars from health programs for the retired and poor -- money that supporters of the bill say is now being wasted.

Most Americans would have to buy insurance or pay a fine; the government would help the needy. All but the smallest businesses would have to offer insurance for their workers or pay a tax. Some small businesses could receive tax credits to help with their costs.

Insurance companies could not deny or cancel coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. And the industry would lose its protection from anti-competitive laws.

Now, Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader, is working to produce a health care bill in the Senate. Two bills passed by committees must be combined into one. If that passes, then a compromise would be needed with the House version.

But there is strong resistance in the Senate to a public option. Also, the Senate proposals would not require employers to provide coverage, but would offer tax credits to those that do.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

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Correction: An earlier subheadline over this story overstated opposition to a "public option" by saying the idea had "little support" in the Senate.

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So Where Are the Jobs?
Credit remains tight even as the U.S. economy has returned to growth, with government support. The job market took a long time to recover after the last two recessions. Transcript of radio broadcast: 06 November 2009

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

America's economy has started to grow again. Now what about jobs?

The government says productivity jumped in July, August and September. That meant companies produced more with fewer workers. Also, new claims for unemployment aid fell last week to the lowest number since January.

People waiting in line at a job fair in Livonia, Michigan

But eight million jobs have disappeared since the recession began in December of two thousand seven.

Jack Strauss at Saint Louis University in Missouri says recent recoveries have been slow to create jobs.

JACK STRAUSS: "Historically, during our last two recessions in ninety-one and two thousand one it's taken twenty-three months in ninety-one and about thirty-six months, three years, in our last recession in two thousand one for the United States to regain the jobs lost in the recession."

Experts debate the reason for these so-called jobless recoveries. But Professor Strauss says a banking crisis is especially hard to recover from, because there is less money to lend to support growth. Banks have been holding bigger safety reserves.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept its target rate near zero for overnight loans between banks. The central bank said levels are likely to remain "exceptionally low ... for an extended period."

Low interest rates and growing federal deficits have weakened the dollar. But that also lowers the price of American exports, which could help drive job creation. Yet where exactly will future jobs come from?

Investor Warren Buffet says America's "future prosperity" depends on its rail system. On Tuesday his Berkshire Hathaway company agreed to buy the nation's second-largest railroad, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe. The forty-four billion dollar deal is Berkshire's biggest ever.

The Obama administration is also putting money into transportation to speed recovery. A program that paid Americans to buy new vehicles with higher fuel economy lifted sales for automakers. Ford just reported a profit of almost a billion dollars for July through September.

A second government program -- a tax credit for first-time home buyers -- has helped the housing market. These two programs fueled a lot of the recent economic growth.

But economist Jack Strauss says credit conditions threaten the main engine of job growth since two thousand one -- small businesses.

This week, CIT, a lender to small and medium sized businesses, sought bankruptcy protection from its creditors so it can reorganize. Taxpayers will likely lose more than two billion dollars in federal rescue money.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, available online at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Mario Ritter.

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US Says Economy Grew 3.5 Percent in Third Quarter
First expansion reported in more than a year; also, the debate over pay for top officials at companies indebted to taxpayers. Transcript of radio broadcast: 29 October 2009

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Early estimates show that the United States economy began to grow again in July, August and September. The three-and-a-half percent growth was the first expansion in more than a year, and the strongest in two years.

The government said increases in consumer spending and exports and improvements in business investment led the growth. So did increased federal spending and housing investments.

The economy is growing again, but when will jobs follow? Job seekers attend a jobs fair in Little Rock, Arkansas, Tuesday.

But high unemployment could limit growth for some time.

President Obama had this reaction to Thursday's report on the gross domestic product -- a wide measure of goods and services in the economy.

BARACK OBAMA: "This is obviously welcome news and an affirmation that this recession is abating and the steps we've taken have made a difference. But I also know that we've got a long way to go to fully restore our economy and recover from what's been the longest and deepest downturn since the Great Depression."

That downturn was partly caused by bankers and others taking irresponsible risks to earn huge payments. So say their critics. Criticism of Wall Street pay is nothing new. But never before has the government used hundreds of billions of dollars to rescue companies that made risky investments.

In June, the Obama administration appointed lawyer Kenneth Feinberg as the "special master" on executive pay -- also known as the pay czar. Congress gave him power over compensation of the twenty-five highest-paid employees at seven companies most indebted to taxpayers.

This week, he gave lawmakers a progress report.

Kenneth Feinberg

KENNETH FEINBERG: "We greatly reduced the amount of cash that would be made available to these senior officials. We reduced that cash by approximately ninety percent."

The seven companies are in the financial and auto industries. Now Kenneth Feinberg must consider their next seventy-five highest paid officials.

But some management experts warn that limiting pay could make it harder for taxpayers to get their money back. Edward Lawler at the University of Southern California says these companies may now have difficulty getting and keeping high-quality employees.

But he agrees that in recent years, many companies have tied pay to short-term performance, instead of their long-term health. He also says boards of directors need to do more to control pay.

EDWARD LAWLER: "We could have boards that do a much better job of designing compensation plans. If we had good boards, I think they could certainly do a better job of that than the government can."

Last week, the Federal Reserve proposed to examine pay policies at thousands of banks. The central bank would reject policies that it thought might cause bankers to take too much risk.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report. I'm Mario Ritter.

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In the US, the New Look of Gas Exploration
Some see gas shale development as a way to fight global warming and reduce the need for oil. But low prices and a danger of water pollution could hurt an industry led by small to medium companies. Transcript of radio broadcast: 22 October 2009

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Many people think the search for cleaner energy leads only to renewable resources like sun, wind and water. But it also leads to a fossil fuel. Natural gas is considered the cleanest of the fossil fuels, the fuels created by plant and animal remains over millions of years.

Burning it releases fewer pollutants than oil or coal. The gas is mainly methane. It produces half the carbon dioxide of other fossil fuels. So it may help cut the production of carbon gases linked to climate change.

Drilling beneath the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota

Russia is first in what are called "proved reserves" of natural gas. The United States is sixth. Over the years, big oil and gas companies recovered much of the easily reached supplies of gas in America. They drilled straight down into formations where gas collects. As these supplies were used up, big drillers looked for similar formations in other countries.

But now the industry is taking a new look. Companies are developing gas supplies trapped in shale rock two to three thousand meters underground. They drill down to the shale, then go sideways and inject high-pressure water, sand or other material into the rock.

This causes the rock to break, or fracture, releasing the gas. Huge fields of gas shale are believed to lie under the Appalachian Mountains, Michigan and the south-central states.

Gas shale exploration is being done mainly by small to medium sized companies.

Eric Potter is a program director in the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin.

ERIC POTTER: "The types of opportunities that are left for natural gas exploration in the U.S. have changed. So it's a different class of resource -- not as easy to develop, and not even recognized as something worth pursuing, say, twenty years ago."

He says more than half the gas in the United States is now coming from these new reserves.

But hydraulic fracturing can also produce debate and anger over the risk of groundwater pollution. This method of drilling is not federally supervised under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Some in Congress want to end that exemption from the law.

Natural gas provides Americans with about one-fourth of their energy. And, unlike oil, most of it is produced in America. Gas producers invested heavily in reaching new supplies when prices were high. But prices are down sharply now because the recession cut demand for energy. So energy expert Eric Potter says it is too early to know how the new gas shale reserves will affect the market.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

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