Measles is succumbing to aggressive medical and public health programs. There have been heroic efforts to tackle guinea worm and river blindness, to address crucial gaps in nutrition, to conquer malaria. Not all is well, however. Indicators abound that even as we solve some of these problems, others remain and new ones appear. Trends within the United States and Japan, for example, show that birth defects of the reproductive organs of boys have increased dramatically over the last two decades.
More subtle problems emerge as well.
New data show that fetal exposure to pesticides and industrial contaminants can undermine mental ability, analogous, perhaps, to the well known effects of mercury and lead. This new insight may open a new chapter in the battle against major childhood diseases, including malaria and gastrointestinal disorders, collectively some of the biggest killers of children around the world. Thus while much progress has been made concerning the health of kids, many challenges remain. The Foundation has chosen to focus on one in particular, how pesticides undermine children's future. Practical solutions are available now to decrease many of the risks created by pesticides.