It is heartening to see the progress being made to build, for the first time, a strong education sector in Haiti. But, unfortunately, a critical piece is still absent.

Early childhood development programs that serve children from birth to age 8 would have an immense and lasting positive impact on both individual children and Haiti as a whole.

The Education for All Act of 2010 is a key step toward ensuring access to school for all children, directly supporting the Millennium Development Goals. If all eight goals are achieved by 2015, including basic education for all children, world poverty will be cut by half and tens of millions of lives will be saved. Funding education is the perhaps the most cost-effective use of our tax dollars, and our global policies should reflect that.

Like most tales of great invention, the story of Plumpy’nut begins with a eureka moment, in this case involving a French doctor and a jar of Nutella, and proceeds through the stages of rejection, acceptance, evangelization and mass production. The product may not look like much — a little foil packet filled with a soft, sticky substance — but its advocates are prone to use the language of magic and wonders. What is Plumpy’nut? Sound it out, and you get the idea: it’s an edible paste made of peanuts, packed with calories and vitamins, that is specially formulated to renourish starving children. Since its widespread introduction five years ago, it has been credited with significantly lowering mortality rates during famines in Africa. Children on a Plumpy’nut regimen add pounds rapidly, often going from a near-death state to relative health in a month. In the world of humanitarian aid, where progress is usually measured in subtle increments of misery, the new product offers a rare satisfaction: swift, visible, fantastic efficacy.

An experimental Novartis drug can clear malaria infection in mice with a single dose and scientists say it shows promise as a possible future treatment for one of the world's major killer diseases.

In a study published in the journal Science on Thursday, an international team of scientists said the drug, called NITD609, is effective against the two most common parasites responsible for malaria -- Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax -- and also against a range of drug-resistant strains.

It is heartening to see the progress being made to build, for the first time, a strong education sector in Haiti. But, unfortunately, a critical piece is still absent.

Early childhood development programs that serve children from birth to age 8 would have an immense and lasting positive impact on both individual children and Haiti as a whole.

The Education for All Act of 2010 is a key step toward ensuring access to school for all children, directly supporting the Millennium Development Goals. If all eight goals are achieved by 2015, including basic education for all children, world poverty will be cut by half and tens of millions of lives will be saved. Funding education is the perhaps the most cost-effective use of our tax dollars, and our global policies should reflect that.

August 10, 2010: NEW DELHI--Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, who was today appointed UNICEF ambassador, says she will be working for the cause of girl education in the country.

August 10, 2010: To address the epidemic of undocumented children in Angola, the government recently passed a new law establishing free birth registration for children under five at maternity hospitals.