According to the World Health Organization (WHO), viruses spread by mosquitos kill an estimated 700,000 people a year. Out of the mosquito-spread viruses, dengue, Zika and chikungunya are considered some of the most dangerous due to the quickness and severity of their infection rates. Although disease prevention has proven to be expensive for developed and developing countries alike, Wolbachia is increasingly being explored as a new tool in the fight against mosquitos.
Wolbachia Bacteria
Wolbachia, a word most of us are not familiar with, is, in fact, a safe and naturally developed bacteria that is present in 60 percent of all insect species. However, Wolbachia is not found in the Aedes aegypti species of mosquito that are the primary transmitters of dengue, Zika and chikungunya to humans.
The bacteria prevent the spread and outbreak of viruses by acting as a natural competitor in the mosquito. First, Wolbachia boosts the immune systems of Aedes aegypti mosquitos and prevents viruses from being able to spread to and survive on the species. Secondly, Wolbachia effectively consumes molecules, such as cholesterol, which viruses need in order to thrive.
In other words, viruses are being prevented from spreading viruses mosquito-to-mosquito and mosquito-to-human. This bacteria has proven to be very efficient in reducing the threat of mosquitos.
The World Mosquito Program
The leader in utilizing Wolbachia against mosquito-spread viruses is the nonprofit World Mosquito Program (WMP). The WMP conducts research, works with communities, governments and other nonprofit organizations and implements the release and studying of Wolbachia bacteria in mosquito populations.
Currently, the WMP operates in 12 at-risk countries with a primary interest in economically disenfranchised countries and populations. These 12 countries are Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Australia, Kiribati, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil. According to the U.N. Development Programme, viruses such as Zika pose tremendous economic, health care and tourism risks to countries while simultaneously hurting people in poverty who have a reduced access to health and sanitation facilities.
Support in Reducing the Threat of Mosquitos
Throughout the countries mentioned above, the WMP has gained countless support from communities, governments and nonprofits. For instance, the Australian and New Zealand have worked closely together to fund the WMP projects in Fiji and Vanuatu. In Fiji, these additional funds have allowed the WMP to reach an additional 120,000 people.
A well-known U.S. nonprofit organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has become an important funder for the WMP projects and for developing new technology for research and operations. The U.S. Agency for International Development has proven to be a lead contributor to financing projects against Zika in Colombia, where 25 million people are at-risk to an outbreak.
Other important actors that participate in WMP programs include the U.K. and Brazilian governments, the Candeo Fund, the Wellcome Trust, local rotary clubs and many health ministries and local governments.
Results are just as vital as gaining support for reducing mosquito-spread viruses. While the WMP has not moved onto phase two by analyzing the reduction of viruses, they have collected data for the spread and sustainability of Wolbachia in mosquito populations.
Tri Nguyen Island, Vietnam, Queensland and Australia have witnessed the spread of Wolbachia to nearly 100 percent of their mosquito populations since the projects began.
Doubts about Wolbachia
While initial results look promising, there have been reasonable doubts expressed about using Wolbachia bacteria. Some studies suggest that Wolbachia enhances the ability of West Nile Virus to spread in the Culex tarsalis mosquito and that temperatures play a large role in the effectiveness of the bacteria. However, the WMP has discounted the temperature claim by referencing the success rates in Vietnam, Australia, Brazil and Colombia in reducing the threat of mosquitos.
Despite the possible consequences, the WMP has maintained its belief in the ability of Wolbachia and continuing to research and study the results as much as possible. Looking at their sponsors, the WMP has become a popular potential solution to actors affected by and interested in mosquito-spread viruses.
These sponsors are not the only ones, however, as the WHO has labeled Wolbachia as a viable tool going forward. In 2016, the organization recommended that Wolbachia should be tested in pilot programs in order to gain more beneficial evidence. In fact, their laboratory tests confirmed that Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya were reduced in mosquitos introduced to Wolbachia.
The WMP’s program is meant to be a long-term, low-cost and sustainable virus reduction solution, not the one to be used just in emergency circumstances. With that being said, Wolbachia should be part of a greater toolbox in reducing mosquito-spread viruses through prevention, containment and reduction.
To reiterate, the entomology coordinator for the WMP operations in Brazil stated to the U.N. that Wolbachia bacteria is not a silver bullet, but it is really promising.
– Tanner Helem
Photo: Flickr
How to Reduce HIV/AIDS in South Africa
The life expectancy rate in South Africa was one of the lowest in the world due to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the country. The prevalence of HIV and AIDS in the country has been one of the most significant causes of low life expectancy in South Africa. However, with more and more cases being treated and new resources becoming available to help to prevent the disease, it may be possible to reduce the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in South Africa.
The Effect of HIV/AIDS in South Africa
South Africa has a population of 56.5 million people, which is an increase of about 900,000 since last year. In 2006, Women had a life expectancy of about 54.7 years of age and men at about 52.3 years, which made the countries average life expectancy 53.5 years of age. Currently, the life expectancy in South Africa is up 10.5 years to 64.
Today, South Africa has estimated that 13 out of 100 people or 7.06 million people in the country are HIV positive. Although, cases of HIV in people ages 18 to 24 has been decreasing. The rates have dropped by 3.3 percent from 2002 to 2017 from 7.3 percent to 4.6 percent.
Preventing the Spread of HIV/AIDS to Babies
By the year 2000, the rate of newborn babies born with the HIV virus was about 80,000 children a year. The antiretroviral drug nevirapine was offered to the government to treat at least half of those children for free. However, the government declined it and, instead, introduced a therapy that would prevent mother-to-child-transmission (PMTCT). Unfortunately, the treatment was delayed for about a year and not offered everywhere. As a result, most mothers were denied access to the treatment.
The infant mortality rate for children under the age of five in 2002 was close to 71 per 1,000 children; however, the Treatment Action Campaign took legal action and won against The Minister of Health to make PMTCT available to all mothers in hospitals within South Africa.
The Importance of HIV/AIDS Testing
Testing for HIV/AIDS in South Africa is the primary way of fighting the infection. The world largest effort to test for HIV was conducted in 2010. About 44 million people in South Africa have been tested for the infection, with about 10 million are tested every year. A fixed-dose combination of antiretroviral medication was introduced in 2013, which made adhering to treatment easier. In 2016, The Department of Health began to distribute treatment to anyone diagnosed with HIV.
HIV thrives in places with poor living conditions and places that do not have the tools to practice safe sex. In late June of 2016, South Africa introduced a campaign that would aim to help girls and young women to avoid being exposed to HIV—such as safe sex education and fighting the use of drugs and alcohol. They also have come up with a program to discourage sexual violence in boys and men.
HIV has been one of the main contributors to low life expectancy in South Africa; however, the life expectancy rate is showing improvements as programs aimed at treating and reducing HIV/AIDS in South Africa become more readily available.
– David Daniels
Photo: Flickr
The Impact of Community Gardening Projects
A community garden is a single piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people. On a rooftop of the United Nations headquarters in New York City, the United Nations began to promote food gardens by setting an example and creating a garden in the heart of the city.
In 2015, cooperation between interested members of U.N. delegations and community organizations officially opened the U.N. Food Gardens. These gardens do not only promote international cooperation among U.N. staff but also help promote United Nations sustainable community gardening projects around the world.
They use similar practices as their international developmental counterparts, such as turning food waste into sustainable fertile soil. They also serve as an outreach program. United Nations programs and international charity programs use a similar tactic. By showing a successful garden in one part of a city, town, or village, maybe the idea will be adopted by other communities and countries.
FAO Role in Community Gardening Projects
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is the biggest promoter and leader of the community gardening projects around the world. To promote and spread this idea the instructions of sustaining a successful community garden are accessible on the FAO website.
The instructions are separated into 12 parts. They cover everything from securing funding, motivating the community, planting the correct fruits and vegetable, instructions on how to properly care for them and selling the extra for profit. The most important step is step number 12 that covers the motivation of participants. For teachers, it is recommended that they suggest special days in a season so that the students can look forward to each season. This aims to create a sense of ownership over the garden by giving the children assignments like watering or weeding the garden. It will also give them the knowledge and tools to begin their own garden later in life.
The Example of Dangerendove
FAO community garden projects can be found all around the world. Not only do they help to provide food and income to communities but they have also been able to break down social barriers. In 2014, an article was written about one of the greatest successes of the FAO’s community garden projects. This story occurred in a small town named Dangarendove in Zimbabwe.
The FAO provided over 40,000 farmers, out of which 90 percent were women, on over 800 farms, with seeds and fertilizers. One of the women interviewed for the article describes that the biggest difficulty is not taking care of the garden but keeping up with the demand for their products. Traders come from villages all around to buy their products by the cratefuls. Approximately 200 cratefuls are produced each week earning the village around $3,000.
Due to the success, the men of the village have begun to take part in the gardening process, taking roles and responsibilities that were once delegated only to women. The success of this program demonstrates that providing food and economic security can do much more than just feed the people and provide money.
Latin America and Community Garden Projects
Many other communities are starting to realize the benefits of community garden projects. In Latin America, rapid urbanization of many Latin American countries in the late 20th and in the early 21st century has caused demand for fresh fruits and vegetables to decline. In Brazilian favelas, in large urban communities sometimes called shantytowns, that often lack access to clean water and sewage and have high crime-rates due to lack of employment, the formation of community gardens has begun.
In 2008, the Formiga Favela in Rio de Janeiro was pacified (a term used to refer to favelas that have been returned to government control) and the Formiga community garden projects have been initiated soon after. These projects have not only helped to provide food in this impoverished area but also to provide employment to the people that live in these communities.
Community garden projects are feeding and employing people, but they also improve social equality. However, their biggest impact is that they put power in the hands of individuals.
– Nicholas Anthony DeMarco
Photo: Flickr
The Outlook for Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, the United Nations launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to expand upon the progress of the Millennium Development Goals that were set from 2000 to 2015.
Comprised of 17 goals, the SDGs address issues such as poverty, education and health with the overall aim of achieving worldwide peace and prosperity by 2030. Three years into the initial reports on the outlook for Sustainable Development Goals express skepticism that these goals can be reached at the current rate of progress. The problems in meeting these goals are described below.
Eliminating Poverty
According to the World Bank, the rate of poverty reduction that more than halved the world population of people living in extreme poverty from 1990 to 2015 is currently in decline. The organization estimates that the annual rate of poverty reduction that was 2.5 percent from 2011 to 2013, will decrease to less than half a percentage point.
The World Bank has also calculated that the bottom 40 percent of people in terms of income would need to see a yearly income increase of eight percent or more for the next 12 years in order to meet the first SDG of reducing the global poverty rate to 3 percent or lower. The report also notes that income growth never reached this height from 2000 to 2015, despite the notable progress in poverty reduction during these years.
Improving Education
Although the information is scarce, the available data suggests that the current rate of progress in education is also too slow to meet designated targets by 2030. In its 2018 report, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) projects that at least 22 million children worldwide will be unable to participate in pre-primary education unless the current rate of progress doubles in countries that lag behind.
Low reading proficiencies among 15-year-old adolescents are of additional concern. According to the same UNICEF report, 26 percent of countries and 36 percent of 15-year-olds need to see faster improvement in reading proficiency in order to meet the target for quality education. This is without accounting the 70 percent of countries and 61 percent of 15-year-olds for which there is little or no data.
Providing Better Health Care
Along with education, health is considered one of the most important factors in fostering economic and other forms of development. The Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers Report provides recent data and future projections for 18 SDG indicators as a way of tracking the overall progress of the initiative, the majority of them pertaining to health. According to the 2018 report, the U.N. estimates that by 2030:
The Good News in the Outlook for Sustainable Development Goals
While the outlook for sustainable development in each of these reports is not ideal in terms of the time it will take to be achieved, data trends still show progress, not regression, in development. With 12 years remaining, the United Nations is still in the initial stages of its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. If the projections for 2030 fall short of the targets for the SDGs, they at least provide a better understanding of the extent of the resources necessary to improve the outlook for sustainable development goals going forward.
In consideration of the data, the World Bank, UNICEF and the Gates Foundation have all called for increased investment in world development. As a specific example, the World Bank has invested $3.2 billion in education programs for girls between 2016 and 2018, exceeding a commitment of $2.5 billion.
If all actors in the 2030 Agenda follow suit, the current outlook for Sustainable Development Goals does not have to determine the final extent of the world’s progress.
– Ashley Wagner
Photo: Flickr
Five Reasons to Increase Literacy Rates
When living in the U.S, it is easy to forget that being able to read and write is not something allowed to every person in the world. However, when it was discovered that approximately 32 million Americans could not read at a basic level, society deemed this as a crisis.
Comparatively, though, the crisis of illiteracy is much scarier in developing countries. The CIA World Factbook defines literacy as being able to read and write when older than the age of 15. Countries like South Sudan, Niger, Afghanistan and Ethiopia have literacy rates below 40 percent of their total population. These countries also happen to be the most poverty-stricken countries. This connection leads to the importance of listing five reasons to increase literacy rates.
Five Reasons to Increase Literacy Rates
These five reasons to increase literacy rates described in the article above showcase how being able to read and write can vastly improve someone’s life. Even if it does not fully bring them out of extreme poverty, these people will at least have the tools to make progress for themselves. Giving such tools is the least the world can do to help those in need and decrease the world poverty.
– Miranda Garbaciak
Photo: Flickr
The Path to Peace: Helping the Kurds of Turkey
Scattered throughout the mountainous regions of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia, the Kurds are known as one of the largest ethnic groups without a state. Totaling about 35 million, 20 million of these Kurds live in Turkey, making it the largest Kurdish population within a state’s borders. Despite the significant size of the Kurdish population in Turkey, most people in the U.S. and abroad don’t actually know what’s going on and how non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are helping the Kurds of Turkey.
Surviving War
Since 1984, Turkish authorities and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) have been interlocked in a gruesome conflict. Labeled as a terrorist group by most of the international community, the PKK has engaged in terrorist and guerrilla tactics in the hopes of establishing a free Kurdistan in southern Turkey. In response, Turkish forces have unleashed a brutal and destructive counter-terrorism campaign in the South.
In 2016, 653 security officers, 460 PKK militants, 52 civilians and 139 youth of unknown affiliation died from clashes.
Basic human rights — such as minority rights, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom from torture — have been frequently violated by Turkish forces; which can be found here on the U.S. State Dept’s page.
Bolstering Economics
In 2015, it is estimated that between 15 percent (official Turkish government numbers) and 40 percent (private estimates) of the population in Kurdish-majority areas are unemployed. In fact, a study by the International Terrorism and Transnational Crime Research Center found that 4 out of every 5 PKK militants were unemployed at their time of recruitment.
As of 2015, about 1 in 3 people living in Turkey below the poverty line come from the southeastern provinces. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute in 2016, 9 out of 10 of the poorest cities in Turkey reside in its southeastern provinces. This has resulted in the average daily income of $7 for people living in Kurdish-dominated cities.
The Turkish government attempted to re-finance the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) by pumping money into projects — such as dams, irrigation, agriculture and power plants — that focus on rebuilding war-torn infrastructure.
However, according to the Ministry of the Economy, two-thirds of the $309 billion went to already developed regions, such as Istanbul and Ankara, while the southeastern provinces only received a mere 5 percent of the total funds.
Improving Education
The largest city in the southern provinces, Diyarbakir, teachers’ union reported in 2008 that class sizes were up to 60 students per teacher with little to no funding for textbooks, facilities or classroom materials.
Moreover, most of Kurdish students grow up speaking only their native Kurdish language; however, the Turkish government only allows the use of Turkish as the official language in schools. Therefore, many teachers experience language barriers while trying to educate and teach.
While around 800,000 students graduated from the Diyarbakir region, only about half had employment readily available, and around 0.1 percent went on to a university.
It is clear that the people of southeastern Turkey (primarily Kurds) are suffering from severe disparities in education, employment, security and infrastructure compared to the rest of Turkey. While the Turkish government has implemented projects on paper, actually turning funds and promises into solutions have not shown much progress in helping the Kurds of Turkey.
The Path to Peace: The Kurdish Project
One of the most well-known NGOs helping the Kurds in Turkey is the Kurdish Project. It was created by Farhad “Fred” Khosravi, a Kurdish-American entrepreneur, with the help of other NGOs, the Kurdish-American community and San Francisco tech groups. The Kurdish Project is a cultural-education initiative that aims at raising awareness of the Kurdish people, their culture and their struggles.
Through education and awareness, the members of the project hope to bring peace and stability to the Middle East by sponsoring local and international NGOs that focus on helping the Kurds.
Lobby for Change
Keep in mind, Turkey and the U.S. share a strong relationship and partnership in Middle Eastern affairs. So, emailing, calling and meeting with representatives in support of helping the Kurds of Turkey could go a long way to pressuring the Turkish state to change its methods.
Change shouldn’t be thought of as too far way in this situation. In fact, Erdogan himself stated that: “If we solve this problem [the conflict with the PKK], then investments can boom.”
Although he has frequently leaned toward brutal crackdowns in the southeastern provinces, economic aid, not military force, is recommended by the Washington Institute. If security forces are applied to more constructive projects, such as rebuilding infrastructure and protecting civilians, then the Turkish government can make significant headway to bringing peace within its borders.
After all, rebuilding the southern provinces will not only be helping the Kurds of Turkey, but also the rest of the Turkish state as peace and prosperity overcome conflict and poverty.
–Tanner Helem
Photo: Flickr
Ryan Lewis’s Mom Fights Global AIDS
Ryan Lewis is a successful DJ, musician, and producer and ultimately, a very famous man. However, there was a 25 percent chance when he was born that he would contract HIV. Thankfully, he did not, but other infants with similar risks are not always so fortunate. Such occurrences are part of the reason why, while Ryan Lewis makes music, Ryan Lewis’s mom fights global AIDS.
Ryan Lewis’s Mom Fights Global AIDS
Ryan Lewis’s mother, Julie Lewis, is a 59-year-old, HIV-positive woman. She contracted HIV in 1984 when she received contaminated blood during a blood transfusion after her complicated first pregnancy with her daughter, Teresa. She was not diagnosed until 1990, during which time she gave birth to Laura and Ryan, who were both fortunate enough not to contract her HIV. Julie was only given 3 to 5 years to live.
However, Julie Lewis is still alive and relatively well today thanks to modern medicine. Unsurprisingly, she wanted to do something special to celebrate her life, and her contribution to society became founding the 30/30 Project and, with a little help from Ryan, raising $160,000 to help the project build its first clinic in Malawi. The project would only get bigger from there.
The 30/30 Project
The 30/30 Project is so named because it aims to build 30 clinics and keep them running for 30 years. Of the 18 clinics that have been, or are still, being constructed, 15 of them are in Africa, 1 is in India, and 2 are in Washington.
Such growth was accomplished by partnering with healthcare partners who live in towns, and villages of interest who lack the supplies and/or abilities to build the clinics themselves. Once the partnership had been established, it’s all a matter of designing the building, sending volunteer construction workers to oversee the project and helping the staff the clinic.
For example, one of the targeted areas was Limpopo, South Africa. This rural town has a high unemployment rate, a low education rate and a 19 to 27 percent prenatal HIV rate. The 30/30 Project partnered with the Ndlovu Care Group to construct a clinic there — the two-story, solar-powered building opened in fall of 2017 and features a waiting area, care clinic and laboratory.
30/30 Project Results
Of the 18 clinics that are mentioned on the 30/30 Project website, 13 of them have been completed. Each of these clinics has substantially improved the quality of care that HIV-positive individuals in the community can receive.
For example, the clinic in Limpopo, South Africa serves 7,600 people with HIV as well as provides the Ndlovu Care Group with a place to work on vaccines for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. The clinic in the Bududa District in Uganda serves over 16,000 people. The one in Madhya Pradesh, India cares for 5,000 people. Ultimately, Julie plans to provide 600,000 people with the same high-quality healthcare that allowed her to survive.
The Fight for Progress
As Ryan Lewis’s mom fights global AIDS, clinics are being constructed in developing nations so that HIV-positive people can receive the care they need. At 13 clinics and counting, it is clear that the 30/30 Project has already made a sizable impact in terms of how many people can survive their AIDS diagnosis.
Thanks to the efforts of Julie Lewis and all those who support her, HIV-positive people in these communities can now live long, healthy lives — just like Julie has.
– Cassie Parvaz
Photo: Flickr
Elbi App Turns Fashion into Fundraising
When Russian model, Natalia Vodianova, looked onto her Instagram feed years ago, she was frustrated. Though thousands of people liked her photos within minutes, Vodianova felt that had the wrong priorities on social media. She wanted to harness social media for social good, through an app that would make it easier for people to support charitable causes and turn the users’ love of fashion into fundraising. Now, Vodianova and Elbi’s co-creator, Timon Alfinsky, have created an app that connects users to charities and motivates them to donate.
How the App Works
Launched in 2015, the Elbi app thrives on the philosophy that little actions make a big difference. The app shows users different charitable organizations, through an easy-to-read, “newsfeed.” Users have several options to engage with charitable projects; they can donate, create content and share stories on other social media platforms. With focuses ranging from supporting Special Olympic athletes to funding education worldwide, the Elbi app helps donors find causes to support.
Each charitable campaign features a short video or photograph, along with information about the cause. Highlighting individual stories, this presentation helps make each cause more relatable to the user. Donating is made easy through the donation button, the “LoveButton.” Thus, the app mobilizes micro-donations, since users can contribute as little as $1 with each donation. In fact, 100 percent of these donations go directly to each charity, excluding any bank transaction fees.
While the Elbi app focuses primarily on fundraising, it also encourages users to raise awareness for charitable causes by creating and posting photos or other content in support of the cause. The pages also have leaderboards to rank the top donors to each cause; however, the main motivation to donate comes from Vodianova’s own specialty: fashion. The Elbi app turns fashion into fundraising, by allowing donors to trade their micro-donations for fashionable items.
Turning Fashion into Fundraising
When a user donates $1 with the “Love Button,” the Elbi app rewards the user with one LoveCoin. As users amass LoveCoins, they can use them in the “LoveShop.” The LoveShop carries exclusive goods from popular brands, such as Beats by Dre, Givenchy, Fendi, and H&M Conscious. By creating videos reacting to and supporting charitable causes, Elbi app users can earn additional LoveCoins to use in the LoveShop.
Beyond this, through the ElbiDrop tab, users have the chance to win products that are unavailable anywhere else. These products appeal to a wide range of people, with everything from soccer balls signed by professional players to limited-edition handbags. ElbiDrop introduces these exclusive items to users and then gives them 24 hours to collect LoveCoins. The user who collects the most LoveCoins in that period of time gets to trade their LoveCoins for the special item. Thus, ElbiDrop motivates users to return to the Elbi app constantly and drives donations in pursuit of specific items. This allows people to donate and turn their pursuit of fashion into fundraising.
Changing the Way We Donate
By giving potential donors an easy, user-friendly platform, the Elbi app makes donating fast and personal. The app allows users to see videos that make each issue personal and relatable. Accordingly, the Elbi app gives smartphone users a different way to donate, which maximizes small donations towards a charitable cause. In just a few minutes, users can donate and raise awareness for charitable causes they believe in, all with the convenience of the Elbi app.
– Morgan Harden
Photo: Flickr
Reducing the Threat of Mosquitos: Wolbachia
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), viruses spread by mosquitos kill an estimated 700,000 people a year. Out of the mosquito-spread viruses, dengue, Zika and chikungunya are considered some of the most dangerous due to the quickness and severity of their infection rates. Although disease prevention has proven to be expensive for developed and developing countries alike, Wolbachia is increasingly being explored as a new tool in the fight against mosquitos.
Wolbachia Bacteria
Wolbachia, a word most of us are not familiar with, is, in fact, a safe and naturally developed bacteria that is present in 60 percent of all insect species. However, Wolbachia is not found in the Aedes aegypti species of mosquito that are the primary transmitters of dengue, Zika and chikungunya to humans.
The bacteria prevent the spread and outbreak of viruses by acting as a natural competitor in the mosquito. First, Wolbachia boosts the immune systems of Aedes aegypti mosquitos and prevents viruses from being able to spread to and survive on the species. Secondly, Wolbachia effectively consumes molecules, such as cholesterol, which viruses need in order to thrive.
In other words, viruses are being prevented from spreading viruses mosquito-to-mosquito and mosquito-to-human. This bacteria has proven to be very efficient in reducing the threat of mosquitos.
The World Mosquito Program
The leader in utilizing Wolbachia against mosquito-spread viruses is the nonprofit World Mosquito Program (WMP). The WMP conducts research, works with communities, governments and other nonprofit organizations and implements the release and studying of Wolbachia bacteria in mosquito populations.
Currently, the WMP operates in 12 at-risk countries with a primary interest in economically disenfranchised countries and populations. These 12 countries are Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Australia, Kiribati, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil. According to the U.N. Development Programme, viruses such as Zika pose tremendous economic, health care and tourism risks to countries while simultaneously hurting people in poverty who have a reduced access to health and sanitation facilities.
Support in Reducing the Threat of Mosquitos
Throughout the countries mentioned above, the WMP has gained countless support from communities, governments and nonprofits. For instance, the Australian and New Zealand have worked closely together to fund the WMP projects in Fiji and Vanuatu. In Fiji, these additional funds have allowed the WMP to reach an additional 120,000 people.
A well-known U.S. nonprofit organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has become an important funder for the WMP projects and for developing new technology for research and operations. The U.S. Agency for International Development has proven to be a lead contributor to financing projects against Zika in Colombia, where 25 million people are at-risk to an outbreak.
Other important actors that participate in WMP programs include the U.K. and Brazilian governments, the Candeo Fund, the Wellcome Trust, local rotary clubs and many health ministries and local governments.
Results are just as vital as gaining support for reducing mosquito-spread viruses. While the WMP has not moved onto phase two by analyzing the reduction of viruses, they have collected data for the spread and sustainability of Wolbachia in mosquito populations.
Tri Nguyen Island, Vietnam, Queensland and Australia have witnessed the spread of Wolbachia to nearly 100 percent of their mosquito populations since the projects began.
Doubts about Wolbachia
While initial results look promising, there have been reasonable doubts expressed about using Wolbachia bacteria. Some studies suggest that Wolbachia enhances the ability of West Nile Virus to spread in the Culex tarsalis mosquito and that temperatures play a large role in the effectiveness of the bacteria. However, the WMP has discounted the temperature claim by referencing the success rates in Vietnam, Australia, Brazil and Colombia in reducing the threat of mosquitos.
Despite the possible consequences, the WMP has maintained its belief in the ability of Wolbachia and continuing to research and study the results as much as possible. Looking at their sponsors, the WMP has become a popular potential solution to actors affected by and interested in mosquito-spread viruses.
These sponsors are not the only ones, however, as the WHO has labeled Wolbachia as a viable tool going forward. In 2016, the organization recommended that Wolbachia should be tested in pilot programs in order to gain more beneficial evidence. In fact, their laboratory tests confirmed that Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya were reduced in mosquitos introduced to Wolbachia.
The WMP’s program is meant to be a long-term, low-cost and sustainable virus reduction solution, not the one to be used just in emergency circumstances. With that being said, Wolbachia should be part of a greater toolbox in reducing mosquito-spread viruses through prevention, containment and reduction.
To reiterate, the entomology coordinator for the WMP operations in Brazil stated to the U.N. that Wolbachia bacteria is not a silver bullet, but it is really promising.
– Tanner Helem
Photo: Flickr
Increasing Financial Inclusion in Australia Through Fintech
Recent reports estimate that globally, nearly two billion adults do not have access to a bank account. As a result, services such as loan credit and financial planning advice are denied to people all over the world. The primary reason that people do not have access to bank services is the lack of accessibility and affordability, especially as major banks all but dominate the entire market share regarding financial services.
However, there has been a global movement to make financial services more readily available to people who could not normally afford them. Financial technology (fintech for short) is an industry that uses technology to offer premium financial services at much more affordable costs and sometimes even for free. While fintech companies do not aim to compete with large banks, they do offer specific services, such as loan credit or financial planning advice.
Fintech is used to describe new tech that seeks to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services. In achieving this goal, fintech allows access to financial services to more people and helps fight poverty.
Financial Inclusion in Australia through Fintech
There has been a rise of fintech in Australia. Over the past 12 months, the financial technology sector of Australia has been rapidly evolving. An estimated 600 financial technology companies are currently being operated in Australia and this number has doubled since 2015. In fact, fintech is the largest startup sector in the country, with one in every five startups targeting fintech.
Some of the most successful startups in Australia include Prospa, Zip Money, and AfterPay Touch.
Prospa is Australia’s leading online lender to small businesses. This company has funded over $500 million, allowing small businesses to receive funding in a short period, as little as twenty-four hours. By making these funding more accessible, small and medium business owners will have the proper financial means to expand their businesses.
Zip Money provides microloans to people, free of fees. With over 700,000 users, ZipMoney allows consumers to make important purchases without any delays.
AfterPay Touch is a digital payment service that targets consumer-facing organizations. With over 800,000 customers and 6,000 retail merchants onboard, AfterPay Touch provides payment security, compliance, and fraud services at much more affordable costs.
Fintech Advantages
Although these companies provide vastly different services, they all have a common goal: to make financial services more convenient, accessible and affordable. These companies allow people to absorb unexpected losses, be financially mobile and save for the future. They are very helpful in achieving financial inclusion in Australia and in other countries as well.
Additionally, because these fintech companies are increasing financial inclusion for small and medium business owners, they are allowing business owners more opportunities to grow and expand their businesses. As a result, more jobs will be created and more people will be lifted out of unemployment and poverty.
The Impact of Fintech in Australia and Other Countries
The impact of fintech in Australia and its booming economy is not just felt domestically, but globally as well. For instance, Australian fintech startups are also working together with the Indonesian government to increase financial inclusion in Australia and Indonesia.
Indonesia has 49 million unbanked micro-enterprises. Australia has a new $1 billion New Payments Platform (NPP) that allows people to make real-time payments over the digital economy. This platform has the potential of advancing financial inclusion for both businesses and individuals in Indonesia. Increased financial inclusion will allow people not just to have access to a banking account, but also to escape poverty and recover from financial setbacks.
Recognizing that financial inclusion reduces inequality and helps millions of people lift themselves out of poverty is key to the development of fintech startups around the globe. As more governments start working together with the private sector, the impact of this new technology can be monumental.
– Shefali Kumar
Photo: Flickr
Famine Action Mechanism: Life-Saving AI Technology
The World Bank has discovered a new approach to helping the 124 million people currently affected by crisis-levels of food insecurity: artificial intelligence.
Three international organizations: the World Bank, the U.N. and the International Committee of the Red Cross, have partnered with three of the world’s largest tech giants: Microsoft, Google and Amazon, in a joint initiative to preemptively address world hunger. The result? It’s called the Famine Action Mechanism (FAM).
What is Famine Action Mechanism?
Launched by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on September 23, 2018, in New York, the Famine Action Mechanism seeks to improve international food aid through famine prevention, preparedness and early action. FAM is being created to augment the capability of existing warning systems to effectively distribute aid prior to the emergence of famine. This is being done through the establishment of official procedures that connect early warnings with financing and implementation.
With the cooperation of humanitarian development organizations, tech companies, academia, the insurance sector and, of course, international organizations, this collaborative effort hopes to see success through the investment of a wide variety of stakeholders.
While other forms of famine prediction, like Famine Early Warning Systems Network started by USAID in 1985, already exist, it lacks the ability to give real-time data and requires the hard work of hundreds of employees.
If successful, the Famine Action Mechanism will be the first quantitative modeling process using an algorithm to calculate food security in real time.
Hope is high for executives at Google and Microsoft who have seen the humanitarian power of technology firsthand. Advanced technologies have already proven effective in helping farmers to identify the disease in cassava plants as well as keeping cows healthier and more productive. President of Microsoft, Brad Smith, has expressed that artificial intelligence holds huge promise in forecasting early signs of food shortages.
How is FAM going to be implemented?
Famine Action will be implemented through four steps:
Isn’t Famine Pretty Easy to Predict?
While seemingly slow to take place, the cause of famine, defined as a daily hunger-related death rate that exceeds 2 per 10,000 people, is extremely complex.
The usual suspects of food insecurity like drought and crop production aren’t always the forces that bring a community to famine. Other factors like political instability, inflation or a natural disaster have the potential to significantly alter a community’s food supply. Additionally, nine of the last 10 major famines were triggered by conflict and war.
The uncertainty around when and how an undernourished community shifts into a crisis of famine adds to the importance of preemptive action for food insecurity and the demonstrated need for the Famine Action Mechanism.
Hunger in the World Today
After years of progress on decreasing hunger in the world, we have backtracked on those advancements with more than 820 million undernourished people in 2017. Approximately 155 million children will see the effects of stunting for their entire lives due to chronic malnourishment as well as a reduction of up to 13 percent of their lifetime income. Additionally, last year in Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen and South Sudan, more than 20 million people faced famine or near crisis levels of food insecurity.
One in nine people in the world today do not have enough to eat, but that does not mean we cannot get back on track. Not only can early response to famine result in saved lives and decreased suffering, but it is also cost effective. The World Bank predicts that an earlier response rate can reduce humanitarian costs up to 30 percent.
In 2017, the World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pledged to have zero tolerance toward famine, and in the declaration of this program that pledge has been renewed. In the eyes of the United Nations, the success of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development means ending hunger everywhere for everyone.
To conclude, in the words of Mr. Guterres: “Crisis prevention saves lives. We need to put cutting-edge technology to full use, in the service of all humankind in order to feed everyone in our world and to leave no one behind.”
– Sara Andresen
Photo: Flickr