MANZINI, 7 September 2010 (IRIN) - The scope of Malawi's health assistants - first introduced in the 1960s as part of an initiative to eradicate smallpox - is being broadened to compensate for the lack of available medical skills and to assist in managing the treatment of child malnutrition.

NEW YORK, 7 September 2010 (IRIN) - Activists are pulling out all the stops ahead of a development summit at UN headquarters on 20-22 September. Pro-aid and anti-poverty lobbyists are trying everything from giant letters to banging pans to raise awareness of the high-level event. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) suffer from a lack of widespread public recognition, not least in the summit's host country, the US. Mobilizing popular support and influencing delegates will demand a range of online and offline techniques, according to advocacy specialists, some more quirky than others.