The Bulletin of the World Health Organization is an international journal of public health with a special focus on developing countries. Since it was first published in 1948 the Bulletin has become one of the world's leading public health journals. As the flagship periodical of the World Health Organization (WHO) the Bulletin draws on WHO experts as editorial advisers reviewers and authors as well as on external collaborators. In this month's issue:The sound of silence: missing the opportunity to save lives at birth; Global health diplomacy: five years on; Landmines and explosive remnants of war: a health threat not to be ignored; Increased paediatric hospitalizations for empyema in Australia after introduction of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; Identifying high-risk areas for sporadic measles outbreaks: lessons from South Africa; Evaluation in three provinces of the introduction and impact of China s National Essential Medicines Scheme; Timing of antiretroviral therapy in Cambodian hospital after diagnosis of tuberculosis: impact of revised WHO guidelines; Emergency obstetric care in Mali: catastrophic spending and its impoverishing effects on households; Untreated maternal syphilis and adverse outcomes of pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis; Private sector contributions and their effect on physician emigration in the developing world; The underreporting of landmine and explosive remnants of war injuries in Cambodia the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam.