Rock is a traditional musical genre that relays memories within a large following. Five rock-themed acts have touched the lives of millions with their charitable efforts to restore proper global health, gestures that have been just as effective as their own iconic music.
1. Linkin Park
An experimental-meets-metal band known for edge-cutting hits like “In the End,” Linkin Park has been steady in giving back to many over a number of years with their philanthropic routines.
In late December 2004, the platinum-selling group donated over $100,000 to the American Red Cross via the band’s established Music for Relief, giving back to Southeastern Asian natives traumatized by the tsunami that had struck. In addition, as part of Linkin Park’s Music for Relief, the band encourages fans to take part in charitable actions by “Download[ing] to Donate”; in return, generous donors receive musical prizes, typically containing previously unreleased digital goods.
The aforementioned strategy proved useful when the band implemented the tactics in fixing numerous aftereffects caused by global tragedies like Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haitian earthquake. Having raised over $5 million since its establishment, by 2014, Linkin Park’s initiative aided West African natives suffering from the treacherous Ebola virus through a separate fundraising activity, one in partnership with interactive charity broadcast Chideo.
2. Nirvana
Another humanitarian rock act is the legendary Nirvana. In 1993, the “Heart-Shaped Box” collective managed to make headlines throughout when the band held a fundraising concert in an effort to give back to Croatian women. As documented in an Entertainment Weekly article, in his early overseas travels Nirvana bassist Chris Novoselic was appalled to learn of the horrors Croatian women endure, not only from suffering rape at the hands of Serbian soldiers but also from the forced birthing of the soldiers’ children.
With this, Nirvana managed to rally enough attention to treat the cause; in the end, the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” group racked up an estimate of over $60,000 per combined 10,000 ticket sales. All proceeds went to Tresnjevka Women’s Group, as part of an effort to designate mobile units and medical centers to women.
3. Pearl Jam
Nirvana and Linkin Park were not the only musical acts to enrich suffering lives. Renowned alternative-rock group Pearl Jam followed suit with their charitable causes, which were geared towards international crises like climatic extremities and wars. In 1999, Pearl Jam prepared a benefit album that would give back to refugees in the Kosovo War, featuring the group’s biggest hit: the cover recording of “The Last Kiss.”
Proceeds collected from the J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers cover were donated to CARE, an organization benefiting Kosovo refugees. Aside from the moving gesture, Pearl Jam took on more accompanying humanitarian roles, such as fundraising for the betterment of the environment, alongside headlining charity concerts that combatted world hunger.
4. Evanescence
2000s metal-rock band Evanescence is far from inexperienced with taking on a number of advocate roles. Some of the “Bring Me to Life” unit’s most familiar causes include their donative proceeds collected per each 2006 “Open Door” outtake “Together Again.” The funds were used to help those affected by the 2010 Haitian earthquake.
As part of a partnership with the United Nations Foundation, funds generated from Evanescence’s single would immediately go towards distributing food, water, medicine and emergency relief to the earthquake victims.
5. Radiohead
The fifth and final musical group in “rocking out” for a difference is innovative Radiohead. The English-based game-changing unit has been involved in an assorted number of programs that both treat and expose overlooked issues in the developing world.
In 2008, the “There, There” band formed a side-charitable supergroup, Seven Worlds Collide, with fellow peers Wilco, The Smiths and Neil Finn to pool the funds collected per each group’s released material and direct it towards Oxfam, an international operative organization that works endlessly to seek solutions in alleviating poverty and injustice. Aside from musical collaborative work, Radiohead additionally designated sincere measures when the pact agreed on donating their visual “All I Need” as a promo for MTV, in an effort to raise awareness of the drastic human trafficking issue that occurs consistently in unimagined environments like third-world sweatshops.
With these five acts rocking out for a change, one can only hope that optimization will be instilled in progressing generations that may view the groups’ humanitarian milestones as setting the world at a more reasonable pace.
– Jeff Varner
Sources: Billboard, United Nations Foundation, AltWire, MTV, Paste, BBC News, United Nations Foundation, MTV, UpVenue, Entertainment Weekly
Photo: Captains Dead
Global Public Good: International Trade Regime
In the interest of ending poverty, much attention has been focused on trade. Trade is supposed to make everyone better off and allow people to utilize their comparative advantage, selling goods to others and buying better goods for cheaper. What this abstraction looks like in real life is a messy bundle of tariffs, quotas, free trade zones and heaps of rules and regulations. This begs the question, how is an international trade regime a public good and what should it really look like?
Borrowing a page from game theory will help us answer this question. Imagine the government of country A imposing barriers to trade on country B. Country A may do this for a number of reasons, including pressure from their domestic private sector. Their action will impose costs on exporters and manufacturers in country B, which country A has little reason to take into account. Their decision to under-value the cost of their trade barriers takes the form of an externality and results in an inefficient international trade regime.
Therefore a case can be made for an international institution aimed at easing the flow of trade between countries to make everyone better off. This would be achieved by lowering tariff barriers, increasing the predictability of tariff rates, which give exporters a clearer view of how their products can compete in the international market, and providing a platform for member countries to discuss trade-related issues and negotiate agreements. Making trade easier would make people better off.
Being a member of this institution would offer network externalities, where one user can make the good more valuable for others, whose benefits would grow with the number of members, making it desirable to have all countries participate in the trade regime.
The most prominent figure in international trade is the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is responsible for correcting the externalities and making the benefits of trade available to all.
The level of trade has dramatically increased since the introduction of the WTO, but problems have arisen as well.
The way that many of these agreements have played out have not necessarily benefited the poorest countries. One reason is that “institutional adjustments related to trade are costly.” Member nations must be compliant with WTO rules and regulations, and because these regulations are generally the norm for developed countries, the costs of implementation are borne by the countries that are less able to afford them.
For example, the United Nations uses an estimate of $150 million for a typical developing country to meet requirements in just three of several WTO agreements, “customs valuation, health and phytosanitary measures and intellectual property rights.” $150 million can be equivalent to an entire year’s development budget for some of the least developed countries. Meeting the WTO requirements implies reforming the tax structure and social safety nets to comply with the rules for intellectual property, health measures and subsidies, among others.
Should developing nations opt out of the WTO, foregoing the expensive compliance costs but also the benefits of belonging to a market-opening, trade-facilitating institution? Before answering, a look at how the WTO can fix these problems is in order.
First, a broader evaluation of the fairness of the trade regime is required. Three aspects, identified by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, include neutrality, the net benefit for all and the maximin rule. These aspects translate to ensuring that “each country should be at least as well off with the trade regime as without it”, all members need to see a benefit from the regime and developing countries need to experience increasing benefits from the system. Retooling the WTO according to these fairness aspects would benefit developing nations and boost the effectiveness of the international trade regime overall.
In addition, financial and technical support to help developing countries meet the exacting WTO requirements is needed. The WTO has recognized its failure and is dedicating more energy to building capacity and helping developing nations meet these requirements with little cost. Recently, Germany donated a little more than $1 million dollars to a fund dedicated to this purpose.
With a number of global trade deals on the table, including the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership, a deeper look into the workings of the international trade regime and what efforts can be levied to make it work better can have a large effect on global poverty rates.
– John Wachter
Sources: Dartmouth University, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, World Trade Organization 1, World Trade Organization 2
Photo: Georgetown Law
5 Answers to Your Questions About Polio Eradication in Nigeria
1. Is Nigeria “polio-free?”
Not yet. Global health organizations have not documented a case of polio in Nigeria–one of three nations that have never fully eradicated polio–since July 24, 2014. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) will not declare Nigeria “polio-free” until the West African nation reaches a full year with no new cases.
2. Is it probable that polio will permanently be eradicated in Nigeria?
That depends on whom you ask. On one hand, polio eradication in Nigeria has almost been successful, and recent media coverage seems hopeful that no new cases will appear in the twenty-some days before the WHO’s approval. Eradication of polio on the entire contiguous continent of Africa also seems plausible, as officials declared in June 2015 that the outbreaks in Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia and Kenya are no longer health threats. This could mean that worldwide efforts to eradicate polio from Africa have improved since the outbreaks began in 2013.
However, some health officials warn that the world should not be too quick to celebrate. Hamid Jafari, the polio chief at the WHO, warned that the virus is very difficult to detect.
“We are not yet certain that the wild poliovirus is gone from the African continent,” said Jafari, “there are areas in the African region in the northeast of Nigeria, Lake Chad, the north of Cameroon where the situation is uncertain security-wise. We may have undetected transmission of poliovirus there.”
3. Why is polio so difficult to detect in Nigeria?
There are a variety of health and political concerns that have made the nation difficult to vaccinate since the early 2000s. From the medical perspective, people often spread the virus without showing any symptoms. Only one in 200 polio cases cause paralysis.
In short, the fact that health officials have not reported any cases does not mean that people in Nigeria are not infected.
Additionally, some areas in Nigeria–like the locations that Jafari referenced above–are near impossible for vaccination teams to reach because of the control of Islamic militant groups. Boko Haram, one of the most “lethal and resilient” jihadist groups in the history of Nigeria, has repeatedly denounced efforts to eradicate polio, claiming that vaccinations are a ploy by the West to sterilize Muslim children.
4. Is religious opposition to vaccinations in Nigeria the source of the problem?
Not really. Boko Haram’s skepticism and violence toward polio vaccination campaigns are based more on its opposition to Western culture than the specific religious beliefs of Islam. Boko Haram is a loose translation of “Western education is forbidden.” Present in Nigeria since 2002 and active in military operations since 2009, Boko Haram is a group of roughly 9,000 men (according to CIA estimates) that seeks to establish the Islamic State in Nigeria by purging the nation of Western influence.
Analysts say that governmental effort to reduce Nigeria’s chronic poverty and construct an education system that is inclusive of local Muslims is the only way to eliminate the threat of Boko Haram. However, the violent actions of jihadist groups against vaccination campaigns are not representative of the entire Islamic community in Nigeria.
Although resistant to vaccination efforts initially, Muslim leaders were actively involved and very influential in vaccination campaigns in the years before 2012, often citing moral principles as justification.
“We don’t care if it’s something that will affect you and your family alone. But [if] you don’t comply with us, you allow your child to go—he’s going to spread it to 200 other innocent children around the vicinity,” said Nigeria’s top-ranking Muslim and the “polio point man” for the region of Kano, Wada Mohamed Aliyu.
5. What outside assistance do foreign organizations provide to Nigeria?
National and local municipalities and organizations in Nigeria play a role in polio detection and prevention as well as immunization, but many global actors have greatly contributed to efforts in order to eradicate the virus. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), spearheaded by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, UNICEF, the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have worked with Nigerian groups to lower the global incidence of polio by 99% since 1988. The GPEI and its associated organizations have not only financially funded eradication efforts but have also actively been strategic partners that have provided technical and political support to Nigeria. Gavi, the vaccine alliance, has also been a major player in facilitating the implementation of inactive polio vaccines, which work in tandem with oral polio vaccines to secure a polio-free world.
– Paulina Menichiello
Sources: NPR 1, NPR 2 , BBC, NPR 3, NPR 4, Polio Eradication
Photo: Monitor Healthcare
Improving Vaccine Shelf Life
In order for vaccines to remain potent, they must be kept within a range of suitable temperatures. For instance, they are rendered useless in excessive heat.
The effects of such temperature fluctuations can be substantial. According to the global health nonprofit PATH, the cholera vaccine Dukoral has a shelf life of 36 months when stored at temperatures between 2-8 degrees Celsius. If stored at 27 degrees Celsius, the vaccine will only last 14 days.
This poses a problem for those performing vaccinations in the developing world; in countries near the equator, the heat can be stifling. That means vaccines could expire when they are needed most.
Compounding the problem is the lack of electricity in certain regions. With high temperatures and no reliable way of keeping supplies cold, many vaccines go to waste.
At Intellectual Ventures Lab, scientists are developing a new device to keep vaccines at the ideal temperature, as part of their Global Good program. The Arktek, a passive vaccine storage device, is able to keep vaccines cold for a month with no electricity. It uses the same techniques to remain protected from extreme temperatures as employed by spacecrafts.
The device was put to the test during the recent Ebola outbreak. When health care workers started to test Ebola vaccine candidates, they needed a way to keep them cold during transport and storage.
The vaccines were required to be kept between -60 and -80 degrees Celsius, well below the usual temperature range of the Arktek device. However, with some quick modifications and carefully conducted tests, the container was modified to support such low temperatures.
That meant scientists could prolong the shelf life of experimental Ebola vaccines, if only for a few days longer.
– Kevin McLaughlin
Sources: Intellectual Ventures Lab, PATH, World Health Organization
Photo: Science Museum
The New Three-Minute Diagnosis of HIV/AIDS
The viral infection has been notoriously associated with poverty; 70% of the cases arise from the Sub-Saharan African region, which remains one of the poorest areas in the world to date. The issue in its particular prevalence in the poorer regions is not a direct socioeconomic correlation. Rather, it is a manifestation of the lack of access to diagnostic and therapeutic facilities.
HIV, or Human Immunodeficiency virus, is a retrovirus that is the causative agent for AIDs: Acquired Immune Deficiency syndrome. The disease is infectious, that is it spread from person to person through contact with blood serum. As of yet, the disease remains untreatable. The only effective course of action as of yet is antiretroviral therapy, which slows the spread of the virus.
To maximize the rate of success in treatment, as well as implement effective preventative measures for the infection, timely diagnosis of the disease is vital. The diagnosis involves a test that screens the blood of the patient. In response to the virus in the bloodstream, antibodies are created against the foreign viral DNA in the body. These antibodies are then analyzed through enzymatic assays.
The process of diagnosis can be inaccessible in some areas, as well as time-consuming. In many developing countries, the most effective means of diagnosis and testing is Point of Care testing. Point of Care testing provides for faster diagnostic techniques, which can be administered anywhere. These tests are also generally less invasive and expensive.
Recently, a Canadian company MedMira has utilized these useful aspects of Point of Care testing to introduce a diagnostic tool for HIV/AIDS. The device, called Reveal G4 Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test, is currently in the process of premarket approval by the Food and Drug Administration for sales in the United States.
The device uses the Rapid Vertical Flow Technology platform to detect the HIV-type 1 virus. Unlike traditional lab tests, however, it can detect the exposure to the HIV virus within three minutes. The test involves mixing the sample from the patient—typically a blood drop taken with the auto-pipette provided—with a provided buffer solution.
The resulting solution is then poured on the provided “cartridge.” The cartridge contains a membrane, which is composed of peptide chains specifically designed to bind with HIV antibodies. A colloidal solution of gold and proteins then helps to visualize the presence or absence of the antibodies.
The effectiveness of the test is made more significant due to the fact that the test results are simplified. The results of the assay do not require special training to interpret. In the event of positive exposure to the HIV virus, the test cartridge shoes a red line and a parallel dot. In the event of negative results, only the vertical line is visible. The test is also useful in its versatility of viable samples: it can test whole blood, plasma, as well as serum.
The product is estimated to be cost-efficient as well to make it more accessible for developing countries, and favorable for Western consumers. The method of Point of Care testing here, as with other such techniques, has the issue of providing adequate technical assistance to healthcare providers. However, it is important to note that no rapid screening test provides delivers 100% sensitivity and specificity.
The Reveal G4 Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test remains a promising new tool in the provision of diagnostic—and consequentially preventative—healthcare facilities for HIV/AIDS.
– Atifah Safi
Sources: WHO, The Chronicle Herald, MedMira 1, MedMira 2, Lab Tests Online
Photo: Sense & Sustainability
Power Grids, Africa and Poverty
Often the recipient of international aid, Africa and poverty go hand in hand—the continent is home to 19 of the 23 poorest countries on earth. International agencies and many countries assert that developing Africa will lift millions out of poverty by slowing population growth and bringing the continent up to par economically with the rest of the world.
What is often overlooked is the infrastructure needed to make international aid effective. The American economy is strong because there is a reliable source of power. Businesses can be open eight hours a day without hesitation. The dependability is almost second nature.
But for the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, the power grid is undependable.
South Africa, which has the biggest power infrastructure in the region at 44 gigawatts, imposes blackouts, or “load shedding,” to cope with the power demand. The continent’s biggest economy, Nigeria, has only six gigawatts for 170 million people. In comparison, the United States has over 1,000 gigawatts for its 320 million citizens.
Most of the businesses only get power four hours a day from the national grid. Many run on private generators. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari lamented that the lack of energy security is “the biggest drag on the economy.”
Other areas of Sub-Saharan Africa are in worse shape. Encompassing 630 million people, 85 percent of Africa does not have access to any type of power infrastructure. The World Bank estimates the region loses 2.1 percent of annual GDP due to the unreliable power.
Yet there is opportunity here. As climate change becomes more evident, and carbon dependent infrastructures of the developed world give way to renewable ones, Africa can become a testing ground to prove that economies that run on renewables are not only sustainable but prosperous.
Since 2000, there have been efforts to bring reliable power to Africa. Two years ago, President Obama launched “Power Africa,” a $7 billion initiative aimed at bringing power infrastructure to the continent. China and some European countries, as well as private companies, have financed solar, wind and hydropower projects in numerous countries.
Kenya is in the process of building a massive wind farm. When completed in 2017, the Lake Turkana 310-megawatt project will supply 17 percent of Kenya’s power. The European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank financed the project. Kenya is already laying the groundwork for a 400-megawatt wind farm.
Last year, hip-hop artist Akon launched the Akon Lighting Africa initiative. The initiative focuses on bringing solar power to those who do not have it. But rather than simply installing solar technology, Akon implemented Solar Academy. The school teaches individuals how to install and maintain solar panels.
In an interview with Think Progress, Akon said this empowers people through education while building Africa into an economy that can compete on a global level. He would like the initiative to expand to all of Africa by 2020.
The International Energy Agency wants renewable energy to account for half of Sub-Saharan Africa’s power supply by 2040—an ambitious goal but achievable. With international investment, Africa can build a sustainable power grid while expanding economically, benefiting the millions still living in poverty today.
– Kevin Meyers
Sources: Business Insider, Clean Technica, New York Times, Think Progress
Photo: New York Times
5 Metal Rock Acts Working to Restore Proper Global Health
Rock is a traditional musical genre that relays memories within a large following. Five rock-themed acts have touched the lives of millions with their charitable efforts to restore proper global health, gestures that have been just as effective as their own iconic music.
1. Linkin Park
An experimental-meets-metal band known for edge-cutting hits like “In the End,” Linkin Park has been steady in giving back to many over a number of years with their philanthropic routines.
In late December 2004, the platinum-selling group donated over $100,000 to the American Red Cross via the band’s established Music for Relief, giving back to Southeastern Asian natives traumatized by the tsunami that had struck. In addition, as part of Linkin Park’s Music for Relief, the band encourages fans to take part in charitable actions by “Download[ing] to Donate”; in return, generous donors receive musical prizes, typically containing previously unreleased digital goods.
The aforementioned strategy proved useful when the band implemented the tactics in fixing numerous aftereffects caused by global tragedies like Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haitian earthquake. Having raised over $5 million since its establishment, by 2014, Linkin Park’s initiative aided West African natives suffering from the treacherous Ebola virus through a separate fundraising activity, one in partnership with interactive charity broadcast Chideo.
2. Nirvana
Another humanitarian rock act is the legendary Nirvana. In 1993, the “Heart-Shaped Box” collective managed to make headlines throughout when the band held a fundraising concert in an effort to give back to Croatian women. As documented in an Entertainment Weekly article, in his early overseas travels Nirvana bassist Chris Novoselic was appalled to learn of the horrors Croatian women endure, not only from suffering rape at the hands of Serbian soldiers but also from the forced birthing of the soldiers’ children.
With this, Nirvana managed to rally enough attention to treat the cause; in the end, the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” group racked up an estimate of over $60,000 per combined 10,000 ticket sales. All proceeds went to Tresnjevka Women’s Group, as part of an effort to designate mobile units and medical centers to women.
3. Pearl Jam
Nirvana and Linkin Park were not the only musical acts to enrich suffering lives. Renowned alternative-rock group Pearl Jam followed suit with their charitable causes, which were geared towards international crises like climatic extremities and wars. In 1999, Pearl Jam prepared a benefit album that would give back to refugees in the Kosovo War, featuring the group’s biggest hit: the cover recording of “The Last Kiss.”
Proceeds collected from the J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers cover were donated to CARE, an organization benefiting Kosovo refugees. Aside from the moving gesture, Pearl Jam took on more accompanying humanitarian roles, such as fundraising for the betterment of the environment, alongside headlining charity concerts that combatted world hunger.
4. Evanescence
2000s metal-rock band Evanescence is far from inexperienced with taking on a number of advocate roles. Some of the “Bring Me to Life” unit’s most familiar causes include their donative proceeds collected per each 2006 “Open Door” outtake “Together Again.” The funds were used to help those affected by the 2010 Haitian earthquake.
As part of a partnership with the United Nations Foundation, funds generated from Evanescence’s single would immediately go towards distributing food, water, medicine and emergency relief to the earthquake victims.
5. Radiohead
The fifth and final musical group in “rocking out” for a difference is innovative Radiohead. The English-based game-changing unit has been involved in an assorted number of programs that both treat and expose overlooked issues in the developing world.
In 2008, the “There, There” band formed a side-charitable supergroup, Seven Worlds Collide, with fellow peers Wilco, The Smiths and Neil Finn to pool the funds collected per each group’s released material and direct it towards Oxfam, an international operative organization that works endlessly to seek solutions in alleviating poverty and injustice. Aside from musical collaborative work, Radiohead additionally designated sincere measures when the pact agreed on donating their visual “All I Need” as a promo for MTV, in an effort to raise awareness of the drastic human trafficking issue that occurs consistently in unimagined environments like third-world sweatshops.
With these five acts rocking out for a change, one can only hope that optimization will be instilled in progressing generations that may view the groups’ humanitarian milestones as setting the world at a more reasonable pace.
– Jeff Varner
Sources: Billboard, United Nations Foundation, AltWire, MTV, Paste, BBC News, United Nations Foundation, MTV, UpVenue, Entertainment Weekly
Photo: Captains Dead
Mobile Schools in Kenya Help Girls Get an Education
Although Kenya’s education system has improved over the past decade, many students are still left behind. One million Kenyan children are currently out of school, and while that number has steadily decreased in recent years, it still places Kenya at ninth in the world for out of school children. Even if a child does complete primary school, the quality of education is often insufficient for retaining necessary skills, a glaring flaw best illustrated with the statistics surrounding illiteracy in Kenya. Among men ages 15 to 29 who have completed six years of primary school, 6 percent are illiterate and another 26 percent are only semi-literate. For women of the same age group with the same level of education, the problem is even worse: 9 percent are illiterate, and 30 percent are semi-literate.
Marginalized children, particularly poor girls from rural areas, have still not benefited from improvements in Kenya’s school system. For example, almost all children from wealthy families in the capital, Nairobi, attend school, but in the North East region, only 55 percent of poor girls and 43 percent of poor boys attend school. This is partly due to the fact that the indirect cost of secondary education typically exceeds the monthly income of many families in rural areas.
Adeso, a Nairobi based development charity, is currently working to bring education to those who may have never had the chance to set foot in a classroom. The organization focuses on the idea that in order to improve the quality of life across Africa, development must come primarily from within Africa. Adeso works on development in four main areas. They aim to educate young people and equip them with necessary life skills, provide humanitarian aid where people lack food security, water, and sanitation, strengthen local economies, and influence local and international government policies.
Adeso runs a mobile school program in rural areas of Kenya that brings learning to nomadic students, usually girls, whose families have to relocate frequently in order to survive. They plan the school calendar around the weather patterns. Most formal learning is scheduled for rainy seasons when children do not have to balance labor demands and are more likely to stay in one place. The schools will travel with students as far as possible to allow them to continue their education.
The mobile school program was launched in February 2014, but funds are expected to run out by 2016. Adeso hopes to continue the program, but faces many obstacles, from political insecurity to poor infrastructure, to a pervasive belief in many areas that girls should not be educated. Adeso is still working towards securing more funding in order to extend the program. However, should the mobile schools close, the organization hopes that students have benefited from further education and can pass on what they have learned to their communities.
– Jane Harkness
Sources: Adeso 1, Adeso 2, Adeso 3, Huffington Post, UNESCO
Photo: Miss Tourism Kenya
One Direction Presents Action/1D
On July 8, the stars of One Direction launched the action/1D campaign to rally their expansive fan base to speak out regarding their views on extreme poverty, climate change and inequality.
In the fall and winter of this year, leaders from around the world will attend two conferences to talk about and make a change surrounding these issues and many more global problems. The popular boy band members, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne, are urging their fans to take an active part in the discussion by participating in their movement, action/1D.
“So, now is the time for us all to have our say, to take action and to show that we care. We can be part of something that actually makes a difference to our future and helps people who need the support,” Tomlinson said.
Horan and Payne also said that they would like fans to help promote the cause by speaking out about goals that members of the cause may have to get the attention of world leaders.
“Become part of action/1D. Make your voice heard, and make 2015 the year we change our futures forever,” Horan said.
One Direction’s manifesto is associated with action/2015, which is an organization that combines a group of more than 1,600 organizations around the globe who share the goal of providing a better future for the world’s peoples.
The action/2015 website said that although there has been some success, the world is not moving in the right direction for confronting inequality, terminating poverty or dodging hazardous climate change.
“We’ve already made progress—we’ve halved extreme poverty rates, cut preventable child deaths by nearly 50 percent and made real progress in protecting the ozone layer. When we come together, we can make a difference. But we need to move faster—there’s still so much to do,” the website said.
According to action/2015, one of the conferences, which takes place in September, will address inequality and poverty and will focus on creating a permanent solution. The other summit, which will occur in December, will discuss climate change and will explore different methods to conduct research and inform the world about ways to help preserve the Earth.
One Direction encourages viewers to demonstrate their opinions through the use of creativity. The website hosts a webpage that allows fans to post upload media that relates to the featured causes.
“All you need to do is tell us what you want your world to look like in the future. You can make videos or send us pictures. It’s easy. Just complete one of the actions listed on our site,” Payne said.
Each week, new prompts are posted on the action/1D website that explain what action participants can perform. The posts contain a topic that deals with a worldwide issue and instructions for a picture or a video. The most recent post asked partakers to “film a close-up part of your face—your mouth speaking, your ear, maybe your eye blinking” to exhibit the theme “Speak, Listen, Watch” to stimulate conversation about the issues.
So far, there have been almost 43 thousand actions posted to the action/1D website.
To get involved, or to learn more about action/1D, visit their website.
– Fallon Lineberger
Sources: Action/1D 1, Action/1D 2, Action/2015 1, Action/2015 2
Photo: Digital Spy
China Launches $50 Million Trust Fund to End Poverty
On July 16th, Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei and World Bank Group President Jim Young Kim signed a groundbreaking agreement. The new deal between China and the World Bank establishes a $50 million trust fund to end poverty and promote development across the globe.
As the World Bank’s third-largest shareholder, this new agreement strengthens the growing partnership between China and the Bank. President Kim commented on the partnership, stating, “I look forward to a continued strong, cooperative, and productive relationship, which will benefit developing countries around the world.”
The trust fund is expected to start later this year. In addition to enhancing cooperation between China and the World Bank, the fund aims to leverage the resources that developing countries need to escape poverty. It will finance investment projects, operations, knowledge development and human-resource cooperation.
Finance Minister Lou commented on the new fund, stating, “The establishment of this trust fund signals that our partnership with existing multilateral development banks is growing, even as we support new ones.” Secretary General Jin echoed Lou’s enthusiasm, pledging his full confidence in the new fund, and in the existing partnership.
China has remained the largest contributor to world growth since the global financial crisis. In fact, over the last few years, approximately 30 percent of global growth has come from China alone. China is a global leader in development. Over the past 25 years, the country has lifted more than 600 million people out of poverty.
That number is greater than the number of people lifted out of poverty by the rest of the world combined over the same time period. There is no doubt that China is doing all that it can to lead the worldwide anti-poverty charge.
In fact, during Kim’s two-day visit to the county, he also met with Secretary General Jib Liqun of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Multilateral Interim Secretariat to discuss further cooperation between the two institutions. Both leaders agreed to expand their cooperation and invest in future development projects.
Last month, the prospective founding members of the AIIB signed the Articles of Agreement, making way for the bank to be operational by the end of 2015. By increasing funding for infrastructure, they are tackling the poverty problem at its deepest roots.
According to Secretary General Jin, with the emerging AIIB too, the World Bank “has been very generous in sharing its expertise, lessons of experience and global good practice knowledge with the Secretariat.” He went on to express full confidence in the powerful partnership’s ability to improve the lives of countless impoverished citizens.
Cooperative partnerships such as these represent the quickest, most efficient means of tackling poverty and promoting development worldwide. As one of the world’s strongest powers with the second largest economy, China is unquestionably the perfect contender to combat poverty.
America sits proudly beside China in a position of global power. As possessors of the power needed to put an end to poverty, we maintain a global responsibility to co-lead the anti-poverty fight. There is no better way to achieve this than to collaborate our resources through such cooperative partnerships.
– Sarah Bernard
Sources: The Financial, The World Bank, Sputnik News
Photo: Sputnik News
The Role of Sharks in the Global Food Supply
In the ocean, sharks are at the top of the food chain. Although they are widely regarded as ruthless killers, they play a seriously important role under the sea. Sharks help to preserve marine biodiversity and keep several species of fish from overpopulating. Without sharks, the ecosystem would disintegrate.
Sharks contribute to a healthy underwater ecosystem by consuming slow, unhealthy fish, leaving more wholesome and healthy fish not only for other marine life, but also for people to catch and eat. Therefore, it is important that people are more concerned with the decline in shark populations than an unlikely and highly rare shark attack.
Increased shark populations reduce global poverty by providing a healthy and sufficient food supply to the world’s poor.
Unfortunately, shark populations are primarily at risk due to overfishing. Many developing countries rely on fishing as a source of food and income. Because their techniques are outdated, belief-based and usually harmless, developing countries do not put marine biodiversity at risk.
Moderately developed countries, however, show the greatest parallel between the devastation of shark populations and poverty. Countries and economies transitioning from low to moderate development use semi-modern fishing techniques that are inefficient and harmful to the ocean’s ecosystem. Sharks are killed, and thus so are their contributions to human food supply.
Furthermore, these countries usually have unstable governments that have not instated proper regulations and cannot efficiently control fishing practices.
Fortunately, there is a clear solution: conserve the fisheries and save the sharks. Eliminate devastating fishing techniques by making it a focus of government regulation. Educate communities on the importance of sharks in the preservation of a healthy marine ecosystem and the global food supply.
A 40-year-old iconic American film, Jaws, instilled in viewers a great fear of sharks and the complete devastation they can cause. The likelihood of being attacked by a shark, however, is 1 in 3 million. Fear of sharks must be left in the past because now, sharks are swimming in the right direction, and it is towards the end of global poverty.
– Sarah Sheppard
Sources: Global Citizen, The Conversation
Photo: Flickr