[CivilSoc] ISAR journal: Spring Issue of Give & Take

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ISAR journal: Spring Issue of Give & Take"Independent Public Health
Initiatives"
ISAR Announces the Spring 2002 Issue of
Give & Take: A Journal on Civil Society in Eurasia
ISAR: INITIATIVE FOR SOCIAL ACTION AND RENEWAL IN EURASIA, a US-based NGO,
is pleased to announce the Spring 2002 issue of its quarterly publication,
Give & Take: A Journal on Civil Society in Eurasia.
This issue of Give & Take salutes the independent initiatives of NGOs in the
FSU working to provide health services to the least-served segments of the
population, from alcohol and drug addicts to pregnant mothers, from young
people with cerebral palsy to disabled women and children.
The economic and political problems that followed the collapse of the Soviet
Union have taken their most serious toll in the sphere of public health. In
Russia, for instance, the death rate now exceeds the birth rate to such an
extent that the country's population has dropped by four million, from 148
to 144 million, over the last ten years. The underfunded public health
systems in the FSU cannot respond to the basic needs of the population, much
less handle the rising tide of HIV/AIDS, drug-resistant tuberculosis and
infectious diseases.
In this issue we hear about Central Asian journalists brave enough to
publicize the repressive region's public health problems; Goldman prize
winner Oral Ataniyazova's efforts to improve reproductive health in
Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan); and an NGO in Atyrau, Kazakhstan that has won
government support to provide preventive health care. Articles also address
groups working with addiction issues and HIV/AIDS, and a joint university
project in Kansas that has brought indigenous peoples in the Midwest
together with their counterparts in Siberia to deal with contaminated water
sources, a prime cause of illness among native communities in both
countries.
These NGO interventions, implemented with very modest resources, demonstrate
the staunch, enterprising way private citizens seek solutions to society's
toughest problems when traditional structures break down. They also provide
compelling examples of how, in the face of apparently intractable problems,
FSU/US partner organizations encourage and empower each other by joining
forces.
Give & Take draws on ISAR's grassroots contacts and 17 years of experience
encouraging citizen initiatives in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
The journal blends stories about local NGO activity with analysis of the
trends affecting civil society development.
TO RECEIVE GIVE & TAKE:
For a copy of the latest issue, or to order back-issues, please contact
Tamara Kowalski (tamara@isar.org) or send $5.00 (checks drawn on a US bank
only) to:
ISAR, 1601 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite #301, Washington, DC 20009
GIVE & TAKE ON THE WEB:
Give & Take is also available on-line and in .pdf format at
<http://www.isar.org>. The website includes information on ISAR programs, as
well as archived articles from Give & Take, ISAR in Focus (ISAR's newsletter
on field office activities), and from our previous journal, Surviving
Together.
BECOME A MEMBER!
Your tax-deductible membership of $35 ($50 for organizations/institutions)
supports our programmatic work and public outreach efforts.  Membership
includes a one-year subscription to Give & Take: A Journal on Civil Society
in Eurasia and ISAR's newsletter, ISAR in Focus, as well as invitations to
our forums and brown-bag lunches.
Please send your name, mailing address and e-mail, along with your check
made payable to ISAR to Membership Program, at the address above.