On October 9, Glasgow University set a precedent for the UK, following suite with other parts of the world. The university announced that it will sell any of its shares invested in companies who produce fossil fuels. This translates to the withdrawal of £18 million of investments over the coming years.
David Newall, secretary of the university’s governing body, made a statement, “The university recognises the devastating impact that climate change may have on our planet, and the need for the world to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
A heavily involved student campaign of over 1300 students championed for these efforts. The campaign included rallies and even fake oil spills. The campaign is taking other active steps in reducing harm to the environment. For example, their carbon consumption will be significantly reduced.
The universal campaign is gaining support not only from Glasgow, but from 13 American universities who have also pledged to divest any support from fossil fuel companies. Fossil Free’s website provides a comprehensive list of various religious organizations, cities, counties, and universities in the U.S. who have also pledged to divest any investment in the fossil fuel industry.
In fact, Seattle, Washington, home of The Borgen Project, was the first U.S. city to do so. Their commitment took place near the end of 2012. Other universities who have done so include Stanford University and the University of Dayton in Ohio.
According to a Sept. article by The Guardian, even heirs to the Rockefeller oil fortune have chosen to divest. Thus $50 billion will be redirected from fossil fuel investments, sending a tremendous example to the rest of the world.
With less of a reliance on fossil fuels, the world can change its focus to safer, more efficient and more economical energy sources. The more the world learns to rely on solar and wind energy to power our cars and our homes, the more energy can be a resource for more of the global population.
People living in more poverty-stricken areas of the world do not necessarily have the funds for oil, but with the purchase or donation of a solar panel that could last a lifetime, they will finally have electricity opportunities that could in turn lead to a furthered education, a more literate population, healthier people and longer life spans.
So far, despite this activism, little effect has been seen on the trillion dollar franchise of the oil industry, but with increased participants and awareness this is likely to change. It’s promising that a majority of this change is beginning with the voices of our young people. And with people like those members of the Rockefeller foundation on board, these young people now have a means to make their influence known.
– Kathleen Lee
Sources: BBC, Fossil Free, The Guardian
Photo: Flickr
UK Moves Away From Dependence on Fossil Fuels
On October 9, Glasgow University set a precedent for the UK, following suite with other parts of the world. The university announced that it will sell any of its shares invested in companies who produce fossil fuels. This translates to the withdrawal of £18 million of investments over the coming years.
David Newall, secretary of the university’s governing body, made a statement, “The university recognises the devastating impact that climate change may have on our planet, and the need for the world to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
A heavily involved student campaign of over 1300 students championed for these efforts. The campaign included rallies and even fake oil spills. The campaign is taking other active steps in reducing harm to the environment. For example, their carbon consumption will be significantly reduced.
The universal campaign is gaining support not only from Glasgow, but from 13 American universities who have also pledged to divest any support from fossil fuel companies. Fossil Free’s website provides a comprehensive list of various religious organizations, cities, counties, and universities in the U.S. who have also pledged to divest any investment in the fossil fuel industry.
In fact, Seattle, Washington, home of The Borgen Project, was the first U.S. city to do so. Their commitment took place near the end of 2012. Other universities who have done so include Stanford University and the University of Dayton in Ohio.
According to a Sept. article by The Guardian, even heirs to the Rockefeller oil fortune have chosen to divest. Thus $50 billion will be redirected from fossil fuel investments, sending a tremendous example to the rest of the world.
With less of a reliance on fossil fuels, the world can change its focus to safer, more efficient and more economical energy sources. The more the world learns to rely on solar and wind energy to power our cars and our homes, the more energy can be a resource for more of the global population.
People living in more poverty-stricken areas of the world do not necessarily have the funds for oil, but with the purchase or donation of a solar panel that could last a lifetime, they will finally have electricity opportunities that could in turn lead to a furthered education, a more literate population, healthier people and longer life spans.
So far, despite this activism, little effect has been seen on the trillion dollar franchise of the oil industry, but with increased participants and awareness this is likely to change. It’s promising that a majority of this change is beginning with the voices of our young people. And with people like those members of the Rockefeller foundation on board, these young people now have a means to make their influence known.
– Kathleen Lee
Sources: BBC, Fossil Free, The Guardian
Photo: Flickr
How Americans Take in Media Coverage
In the current struggle against Ebola, the American public seems to care more about the threat to themselves than those already affected. In an era of decreased attention and increased media coverage the plight of the impoverished is often overlooked by the impatience of western readership.
On July 12, 1968, TIME Magazine published a head-turning cover story on starving children in the Biafran civil war. The pleading eyes of two children stared the world in the face, challenging every reader to pause and consider their predicament.
And consider it they did: individuals, foreign governments and charity organizations flooded West Africa with millions of dollars in relief funds.
The 2014 parallel to the Biafran War is Ebola. The virus’s meteoric rise to the forefront of every news program is challenging the way Americans intake news. The self-centered tone that clouds American media has turned the crisis into a threat to the American public.
But is it really an immediate terror? At the end of the day most would choose to watch a news segment and then change the channel, leaving Ebola to those in hazmat suits.
Curiosity in African crises rises and falls with the course of events such as the Rwandan genocide or Sudanese civil war. Interest swells as death tolls rise and accordingly subsides as the conflict calms.
In the case of Biafra, children’s hunger was the subject of years of aid and public interest. In the nearly 50 years since Biafra, the western public has continued this predictable pattern of temporary fascination with the impoverished. But this pattern is changing quickly. Where we once followed crises for years, we now spend only weeks.
Four months ago, the international terrorist group Boko Haram abducted almost 300 girls from primary schools in Northern Nigeria. Yet since the initial release of the Internet campaign #bringbackourgirls, the world has turned away from the issue in favor of more exciting news. More than 200 girls remain missing and Boko Haram is still at large. Similarly, the #stopkony2012 movement that went viral seemingly overnight received an underwhelming response from the American public when it came time to take action.
With the media coverage of the Ebola epidemic continuing to focus on American safety, how will those in the midst of the outbreak receive the help they so desperately need?
– Rourke Healey
Sources: Old Life Magazines, New York Times, Web TV
Photo: Afrocentric Confessions
Bethesda Lutheran Communities Advocate for the Disabled
Nearly one and a half out of every 10 people in the United States has difficulty living independently and a similar ratio of the population is categorized with cognitive difficulty. The disabled community in America totals roughly 46 million people and generally receives far too little attention and assistance from the general public. But fortunately, there are groups that labor to create a better life for the disabled. Among these unsung heroes is Bethesda Lutheran Communities.
Since 1903, Bethesda Lutheran Communities have been playing an active role in housing, educating and advocating for women and men “living with intellectual and developmental disabilities.” As far back as the early 1960s, Bethesda has been playing an active role in providing musical, occupational, physical and speech therapy. These invaluable resources facilitate personal growth for many who have been forgotten.
Deriving its name from a biblical story of healing waters, the word Bethesda is Aramaic for “House of mercy,” and over the years the organization has extended their particular mission of mercy to 14 states. Bethesda Lutheran Communities has also diversified its offerings to the disabled, operating 20 thrift shops that serve not only as a fundraising arm, but as a place for the disabled to work and further their involvement in the greater community. The organization also runs a unique summer camp that is fully accessible for women and men with disabilities.
This fall, in conjunction with Concordia University Wisconsin, Bethesda is offering its first college level classes to the disabled. President and CEO John Bauer explains the philosophy behind this bold venture by saying, “People with developmental disabilities often find it very challenging to discover postsecondary opportunities. Bethesda College will provide choices and opportunities that are responsive to each student’s unique learning style as well as help prepare them for future growth and success.”
While there are many challenges ahead in their pursuit to offer a better range of choices for their people, Bethesda Lutheran Communities points to a bill that has been introduced in Congress. The ABLE Act of 2013 (H.R.647) would make it possible for disabled persons to pursue work and education while still receiving government aid, which is currently hindered by the Internal Revenue Code. While the bill has nearly 400 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, there has yet to be a vote to move it forward to the Senate.
True to their legacy as humanitarian innovators, the leadership of Bethesda Lutheran Communities is pushing forward in hopes that the law will catch up and help to improve the future of the disabled in America.
– Casey Hobbs
Sources: U.S. Census, Bethesda Lutheran Communities, BizTimes Milwaukee, U.S. Congress
Photo: Bethesda Blog
Boko Haram and the Taliban
Nigeria’s militant Islamic group, Boko Haram, has created havoc in Africa’s most populous country. The militia, whose name translates to “Western education is sin,” has kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls in the village of Chibok and has threatened to sell them as child brides. Their primary objective is to create an Islamic state that would forbid Muslims to abide by or be influenced by Western culture. Thus, schools have served as a common battlefield. Additionally, battles have occurred in churches, police stations and all those opposed to the ideas of the militants. Without a proper education, these girls will continue to suffer the consequences of extreme poverty and related health risks.
Similarly in Afghanistan, the Taliban imposed strict restrictions on women during their rule from the late 1990s to 2001. They banned women from studying in schools, working outside the homes and took away most of their behavioral and personal freedom due to an extreme interpretation of the Koran. Women were pressured into adhering to their traditional roles, being forced to stay at home to take care of the children and the house. The Taliban also was opposed to Western influence, and it banned music, movies, cosmetics and brightly colored clothing, creating laws to punish those who did not wear the proper clothing, such as the burqa, for women.
In both situations, women’s rights have been and still are on the road to being taken away. Boko Haram has been accused of having communications with and training from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Islamic Maghreb. This is also true for the Taliban, who have had immense support and imported fighters from Al-Qaeda. Both groups want to see a change in government and have Shari’a law implemented in their respective countries.
In a divided country of Christians and Muslims, Nigeria has faced many problems, despite the abundance of oil and natural resources that exist in the country. The militia mainly blames the modern and secular government for bad governance and underdevelopment. In Afghanistan, the Taliban rose after the invasion of the Soviet Union to bring back stability into the country and instill rule of law in place of corruption. The strict restrictions on women were an effect of Shari’a law.
Without education for women, the countries’ development will be hindered and the population’s health will dramatically decrease. Afghanistan already has one of the lowest Human Development Indexes in the world and suffers from a complete lack of healthcare providers and facilities. Unfortunately, both Afghanistan and Nigeria face severe challenges and a future that does not seem as bright as it could be.
– Leeda Jewayni
Sources: CNN, CFR 1, CFR 2
Photo: Flickr
How to Help Fight Ebola
With the current Ebola outbreak, it is no wonder people are in a rush to help fight the treacherous disease. Although no known cure has been found, there are preventive measures one can take to halt its transmission.
Ebola is often transferred to humans from wild animals and can spread in the population through human-to-human contact with bodily fluids. Fruit bats are common vectors that transfer Ebola to humans through contact with blood, sweat and secretions.
Further, health workers are at great risk of contracting the disease when they treat patients with Ebola without proper protective gear. The average case fatality rate is at about 50 percent, but past outbreaks have had an average fatality rate of 90 percent. In 1976, the first outbreaks of the disease were recorded in the outskirts of Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ebola has since moved on to urban and rural areas of West Africa, as we are witnessing currently.
But how can we help fight Ebola? The World Health Organization claims that community participation is key in controlling outbreaks. There needs to be clear interventions set in case of rapid progression throughout the country, such as case management and surveillance, an adequate laboratory and effective burial methods.
Health care providers that are in close contact with the virus should wear gloves, masks and goggles, in turn diminishing chances of infection. In addition, people should stay clear of highly infected areas or restrict travel to countries with high prevalence of Ebola.
Since symptoms can take up to three weeks to manifest, it is crucial that people are aware of the risk factors for infection. Interaction with wildlife increases one’s chance of infection, and so to help fight Ebola, limit contact and always wear gloves and masks if working with animals. Also, if living in high-risk areas in Africa, make sure meat is cooked properly and thoroughly before consumption. Furthermore, when coming in contact with patients with Ebola, wash hands regularly. This includes contact with the living and the deceased. Thus proper and safe burial is essential for affected persons.
As the recent cases of health care workers in Dallas demonstrate, strict infection control measures and following protocols from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must be followed to help fight Ebola. Community engagement and education is also key in successfully controlling the outbreak. While an approved vaccine does not yet exist, the virus can be contained through protective measures that can effectively reduce human transmission.
– Leeda Jewayni
Sources: WHO, NLM
Photo: Flickr
Pathfinder International Addresses Overpopulation
Clarence Gamble was born in 1894 in Cincinnati, Ohio and proceeded to attend a slew of universities including the likes of Princeton and Harvard University, where at the latter he received his M.D. degree. Following, he became heavily involved in birth control organizations and research. He worked alongside Planned Parenthood and initiated projects to study population growth in countries such as India and Japan.
In 1957, Gamble founded the Pathfinder Fund, an organization dedicated to providing a wider audience of people with access to safe, efficient and helpful reproductive health services. The fund is donation-based, which came into play as early as the 1960s. In fact in the 1960s the USAID and Office of Population donated $10 million to the organization, thus proving the government’s support of the discussed issues.
Pathfinder was already operating globally in the 60’s and 70’s opening offices in Latin America, Indonesia, Egypt, Chile, the Philippines and actively participating in population schemes in various African countries. Over the decades, the Pathfinder Fund continued to grow and, by the 90’s, it was the Pathfinder International.
In 1996, Pathfinder won the UN Population Award, an award given to someone who has raised awareness of population issues and solutions. And more recently in the 2000’s Pathfinder began the African Youth Alliance program aimed toward people 10-24 years of age in African countries like Botswana and Ghana. It was formed in order to assist with reproductive health.
Nowadays, Pathfinder International continues their hunt for better sexual and reproductive health care for all. They have six main focus areas: Adolescents, HIV/AIDS, Contraception and Family Planning, Advocacy, Abortion and Maternal and Newborn Health.
For example of their comprehensive care, as part of their abortion focus, Pathfinder not only supports a woman’s right to an abortion, but also advocates for safe abortions and rigorous post-abortion care. The organization accomplishes this in a number of ways one being through legislation, and another by funding an expanded number of professionals who can provide the medical and psychological services needed.
Another focus area, the Contraception and Family Planning focus, is also a worldwide project for Pathfinder. Over the years, Pathfinder has involved itself in over 100 countries attempting to integrate family planning concepts and to provide contraception to those in need of it. Above all people need to be educated, and Pathfinder does their best to also take on that responsibility.
Pathfinder International encourages the public to do its part as well. People can host fundraisers and events of that nature to provide contraceptives to people. One of the easiest ways to support the cause is for people to use their voices. People can become a part of their advocacy network or even start a conversation about reproductive health on a public forum. And lastly, Americans can vote for legislation to continue this type of focus. In an ever-growing population, it is important to be as conscious as possible of the world’s sexual and reproductive health.
– Kathleen Lee
Sources: Pathfinder International, Harvard Library
British Charity Calls for Trafficking Database
The Children’s Society has called for a national human trafficking database for children who are at risk of being kidnapped and exploited in England.
The call for a database came after two girls told BBC Inside Out of how they were exploited and trafficked all around the country.
“If we created a national database then we’d be able to make sure that every missing person can be recorded,” Sam Royston, representative of the charity, stated.
Royston is calling for a database that have workers file missing person’s reports. He hopes that this will help officials find the missing child before they are exploited and that it will inhibit the practice of exploitation. He wants the database to be accessible to all, so everyone, including employers, can help get the abducted child home.
“You might have situations where staff just don’t realize it’s important to check whether the young person they are working with is known to the missing [person’s] service, or the sexual health service,” said Royston.
It is Royston’s hope that if the database is enacted, it will help in the prosecution process after the child is found, so the abductor is punished for the crimes he or she committed, because today, not many prosecutions occur for the perpetrator if the victim is found.
While Royston is making a push for a national database to be created, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime launched a global database for trafficked victims in October 2011.
The database includes information of “nationalities of the victims and their perpetrators, trafficking routes, verdicts… related to prosecuted cases from around the world… The database is aimed at assisting judges, prosecutors, policymakers… by making available details of real cases with examples of how the respective national laws in places can be used to prosecute human trafficking.”
The report that accompanied the database stated that at least 127 countries had victims of trafficking, and that 2.4 million people are becoming victims of exploitation at any second.
– Kori Withers
Sources: BBC, UNODC
Photo: Flickr
Central American Youth Migration Crisis
President Obama has called it an “urgent humanitarian situation.” The Department of Homeland Security has estimated that 52,000 youth have arrived across the border from Central and South America since October 2013. There are some as young as five, and 74 percent of all illegal youth have been coming from Central America’s Northern Triangle: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Violence, gangs, and economic hardships run rampant throughout this area. According to a report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 58 percent of the 400 youth the agency interviewed “had suffered, been threatened or feared serious harm.”
Honduras has the highest homicide rate in the world ,with 90.4 people in every 100,000 being murdered. El Salvador has the next highest and Guatemala is fifth. These three countries are also among the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, with 30 percent of Hondurans living on less than two dollars a day.
Officials have told advocates that they expect the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border to reach 74,000 by the end of 2014. “Undocumented migrant youth is not a new challenge,” says Lori Kaplan, President and CEO of the Latin American Youth Center. “What is different about today’s crisis is the magnitude and the visibility.”
The images have been so startling that the President has asked Congress for an additional $1.4 billion to deal with the youth influx by creating a multiagency taskforce, led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
This will go to fund many of the shelters that will be used to house these youth until their parents or guardians can be located. Most stay in these homes awaiting their trials and then ultimately to be deported. If no relatives can be found then they will be turned over to the foster care system.
These are all short term measures for a problem that will only escalate. Vice President Joseph Biden Jr. met with the leaders of the Northern Triangle and Mexico in the hopes that he can quell the recent rumors that the U.S. was relaxing its borders and allowing women with children across.
In a speech he gave to these leaders, he said, “The United States recognizes that a key part of the solution to this problem is to address the root causes of this immigration in the first place. Especially poverty, insecurity and the lack of the rule of law, so the people can stay and thrive in their own communities.”
He went on further to say that American would be donating $255 million dollars to Central America to assist repatriation programs for deportees, improve prosecution of criminal street gang members, and expand youth programs to reduce gang recruitment.
– Frederick Wood II
Sources: InterAction, PADF, Mother Jones, New York Times
Photo: Flickr
The Origin of AIDS Points to DRC
A group of international scientists have recently released findings that show the origin of AIDS to have been in the 1920s in Kinshasa, which is now the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Senior author of the paper and from Oxford University’s Department of Zoology, Professor Oliver Pybus said of the study: “For the first time we have analyzed all the available evidence using the latest phylogeographic techniques, which enable us to statistically estimate where a virus comes from. This means we can say with a high degree of certainty where and when the HIV pandemic originated. It seems a combination of factors in Kinshasa in the early 20th Century created a ‘perfect storm’ for the emergence of HIV… ”
The study, led by Oxford University and University of Leuven scientists, gives three probable factors of how the disease spread: population growth, sex trade and railway access.
The population of Kinshasa grew rapidly in the 20s, as male laborers piled into the city for work, causing the ratio of men to women to raise two to one. Because of the rise in males, sex trade began to increase. Because HIV is primarily transmitted through sex, sex trade increasing from population growth can be seen as a highly probable cause.
The study also noted that by the end of the 1940s, millions of Africans were traveling through Kinshasa by way of railway. Once some became infected with the virus, it spread throughout the DRC, Africa and eventually the world.
This study comes after news broke that HIV strings from chimpanzees and their infected meat transmitted the disease to African hunters through “the hunting or handling of bush meant.”
Since the 1920s, the infection has spread rampant and as of today, has infected close to 75 million people worldwide.
– Kori Withers
Sources: BBC, AOL, EurekAlert
Photo: Flickr
New Ideas on Improving Refugee Camps in Johannesburg
For the last 25 years, Women’s Refugee Commission has pushed hard for policies and programs that would drastically improve their way of living. Displaced women, men, children and young people have been living in tents in extremely populated, dusty camps. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has come up with ways to change the way refugees are living and want to make crowded, dirty camps an anomaly as opposed to the norm for Johannesburg.
The international humanitarian community saw the crisis in Syria, that left over three million refugees, and realized that there needs to be action taken to improve the reality in Johannesburg. Currently, there are 17 million refugees in the world, and only about one third of them live in camps. The ones who choose to not live in the camps live in the cities where it is possible for them to live more independently.
UNHCR released a policy statement back in 2009 saying that urban areas were a legitimate place for refugees to enjoy their rights. Going even further, now there has been a new policy released that commits the agency to “actively pursue alternatives to camps whenever possible.” This is the first recognized statement that we know of by the UNHCR saying that camps should indeed be a last resort for refugees.
In addition, refugee camps in Johannesburg have grown to become difficult to fund. “A lot of funding goes to new emergencies but within as little as 18 months, if the emergency is not continuing, there’s a falling away of donor support,” said Steven Corliss, director of UNHCR’s Programme Management and Support division. As the funding starts to trickle away, even basic services start to be in jeopardy like education and food.
The biggest obstacle that this policy would face is getting host states on board with it. The objective would be to convince the governments of these host states that alternatives to camps can not only improve the lives of the refugees and be better for them overall, but also it can increase local economies and communities.
The first step to executing this policy is to not only offer the refugees aid but also rights. These rights would include things like the right to go to work and send kids to school to get basic education. Michael Kagan, co-director of the Immigration Clinic at Nevada University’s William S. Boyd School of Law, supports the alternatives to refugee camps and said, “They have to have rights to be able to rebuild their lives in dignity. And that requires government buy-in.”
Although this policy is ambitious, it seems to have the support needed to be implemented and in turn help the refugees live more independently and build a better future.
– Brooke Smith
Sources: IRIN News, Women’s Refugee Commission
Photo: Flickr