Last year, United States President Barack Obama announced the Power Africa initiative to increase access to power in sub-Saharan Africa. This was largely due to the fact that 600 million people in this region, 70 percent of the population, lives without electricity. His initiative aims to double the number of people with access to power by unlocking the substantial natural gas and renewable energy potential that Africa’s climate is suited to deliver.
By bringing together governments of African nations such as Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania to start, the Power Africa will add more than 10,000 megawatts (MW) of efficient cost effective and sustainable electricity generation capacity. By the year 2020, it hopes to connect 20 million new households to electricity and provide commercial industry with electrical power solutions.
On March 27, the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs held a hearing titled Powering Africa’s Future: Examining the Power Africa Initiative. With testimony from organizations like U.S. Agency for International Development, Export Import Bank of the United States, Symbion Power, General Electric, The ONE Campaign and others, Congress got an update on the Power Africa initiative.
Working with private companies, USAID has already brokered deals between African governments and private industry that will secure 25 percent of the 10,000 MW goal. Private industry has so far stepped up to commit $2 for every $1 spent by the U.S. government, accounting for $14 billion. Power Africa uses its expansive network and technical expertise to bring together investors, governments, and businesses to facilitate learning and build transactional capacity.
A significant project born out of this collaboration is the Corbetti geothermal project in Ethiopia. The Power Africa base has worked with the Ethiopian government and Reykjavik Geothermal, the company developing the project. The project will generate up to 1,000 MW of renewable energy. This project created further interest in geothermal projects in a region capable of producing up to 15,000 MW of clean power.
In Tanzania, Power Africa teamed up with Kiwari to develop a 10 MW hydropower project. Through a project with Cummins, Kenya launched a 10 MW biomass project that uses mesquite wood as feedstock for its generator. Cummins hopes to expand its biomass projects throughout other nations in Africa.
The ONE Campaign used this opportunity to highlight the Electrify Africa Act, which they say will produce 20 gigawatts of new power using no additional appropriations from the U.S. government.
Power Africa is a great initiative that connects the U.S. with African nations. It spurs economic opportunity for U.S. and local African companies and gives millions of Africans reliable, sustainable power. The participating governments in Africa get to develop projects that they can be proud of and that will uplift their people.
– Sunny Bhatt
Sources: U.S. Senate, U.S. Senate, USAID
Photo: Huffington Post
Ebola Resurfaces in Africa
As one of the most fatal, incurable diseases in human history, Ebola functions as a deadly virus that induces the severe hemorrhaging of internal organs, causing death in an estimated 90 percent of cases. A popular theory concerning the origins of the virus is that Ebola was first introduced to humans through contact that an individual may have had with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected animal. The individual subsequently succumbed to the deadly virus, not before spreading the disease to other people, creating an epidemic. Early signs of infection are a sore throat, red eyes, rash, fever, muscle aches, headaches, and bleeding from bodily orifices, such as the eyes or nose.
An estimated duration of survival after initial infection and after the incubation period ranges, on average, from 2-21 days. Initially identified in 1976 after surfacing in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, the Ebola virus has made a reappearance in the West African country of Guinea. The virus spreads through the direct transmission infected blood, mucus, and other bodily fluids. Burial ceremonies in which individuals are exposed to direct contact with the infected body also contribute to the transmission of the virus, and as such it has infiltrated the neighboring country of Liberia.
Although outbreaks of Ebola have surfaced in the past, following the initial identification of the virus in 1976, Doctors Without Borders alleges that this particular outbreak may be the most severe yet. A salient factor unique to this outbreak is its geography – this is the first time that Ebola has surfaced in Guinea. Although the virus typically appears in rural areas especially near rainforests, the virus has not been localized in specific areas of the country. For instance, cases miles apart have surfaced throughout Guinea. Therefore, this instance of the outbreak is much harder to contain than previous incidences.
Furthermore, according to health experts, although the disease is most often fatal, infection requires extremely close contact with the infected individual or engagement in avoidable activities such drugs. Additionally, during the incubation period, which can last up to 21 days, the individual is unable to transfer the disease to others. Once symptoms arise and transmission is viable, surrounding individuals are likely to stay away from the victim since their symptoms are generally severe and obvious. Therefore, it is unlikely that a widespread, global epidemic will occur. As is the case with most disease outbreaks, individuals in affected regions are strongly urged to take proper precautions while individuals residing in unaffected areas are advised on to not create undue panic.
However, other nations are already taking precautions of their own. For instance, Morocco has increased its border control, Senegal has shut down its borders with Guinea and France has instructed its medical workers to watch out for signs of the virus in the local population. Despite fears that the virus may spread through airplane flights, the World Health Organization has not issued any restrictions on flights, since individuals who show signs of the virus are typically too ill to travel, and therefore risks of airplanes transmitting the virus are not a significant cause of concern. Although no viable treatments against Ebola currently exist, experimental drug treatments are undergoing examination and testing.
– Phoebe Pradhan
Sources: USA Today, Time, WHO
Photo: New Vision
China’s Water School
Life as we know it owes a great debt to water. We ourselves are comprised of nearly 70 percent water and can’t live without a regular dose. However millions around the world still live without a reliable, clean water source.
As it turns out, our most precious resource is not nearly as abundant in potable form as human demand requires.
In fact, water is so scarce that 780 million people have no access to clean drinking water. In some cases, as with China’s Yangtze River, the poor quality of the water is in part caused by human activity and waste.
Fortunately China is investing in its water security by bringing school children out of the classroom and to the Yangtze in order to promote conservation and sustainable practices.
Since 2008 this experimental school program has focused on education for sustainable development (ESD). The so-called “Water School” is designed to get China’s children active in the protection and safe treatment of their water resources.
UNESCO and other international organizations are praising the program as a revolutionary and fundamental step for the protection of our vital resources. These organizations hope to sponsor similar programs across the globe by spreading awareness of the positive effects China’s water school has produced.
The program has already involved approximately 130,000 students and 200,000 community members, creating a new intellectual base that is deeply in touch with issues of conservation and water treatment.
Part of the program is to build children’s sense of responsibility to the Yangtze’s natural resources, and also to provide them with experiential learning. Tasks like monitoring PH levels and the health and biodiversity of local ecosystems aim to create a more secure future not just for the water, but also for the wildlife and vegetation that also rely on the river.
According to the project website, “The Water School for a Living Yangtze provides opportunities for young people living in different parts of the Yangtze River Basin to link their learning with the indigenous knowledge, traditional practice, and belief systems of local and more distant communities.”
The other major development for the water school is the way it uses the Yangtze, which cuts through the interior of the continent, as a unifying structure between the variety of cultures that live beside its waters. In that sense, the river acts as a vehicle for social development and promulgates shared responsibility for such a critical natural resource.
– Chase Colton
Sources: UNESCO, Water School, UN Water
Photo:
The Fertility Awareness Method of Contraception
Few things in our lives are controlled, understood and maintained on our own. When we go to the grocery store, people may see the bread on the shelves but ignore how flour, sugar, water and yeast reacted to put it there in the first place. So too can be said of the cars we drive, buses we ride and bikes we steer, all of which may and typically are maintained by a specialized group that leaves the rest of us ignorant.
As individuals we rely on others to inform us how our lives should be shaped and run. We are told that this is fine, that these specialists exist to make our lives more convenient and that we do not need to understand how everything works. The time saved allows us to focus on our own pursuits.
For women, our bodies have been similarly fashioned. Menstrual cycles have turned into a veritable organic production line in which outside sources inform us when we are ovulating, when we are pregnant, which method of contraceptive is best, and for hormone-regulating options, when we should be taking it each month.
This disassociation from our bodies may change due to the resurgence of the fertility awareness method (FAM) of contraception.
In comparison to the calendar method in which women guess their ovulation schedule based on previous menstrual cycles, FAM users relies on bodily indicators to determine when they’re ovulating. By tracking spikes and falls in body temperatures while at rest, or basal body temperature, noting increases in cervical mucus and the position of the cervix, women may rely on their own bodies to either become pregnant, or avoid it.
Although WebMD reports that 25 out of 100 women have unintended pregnancies while using FAM, it still provides a viable alternative to hormone birth control, which provides its own disadvantages: possible bone loss, blood clots and increased risk to Chlamydia and Gonorrhea.
According to Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights, 76 million women in developing countries experience unintended pregnancies annually while 19 million women resort to unsafe abortions.
As for those with access to contraception, there still remains the stigma and cost associated with purchasing them. With proper education, FAM could help women around the world control their lives more effectively, simply by understanding their bodies better.
– Emily Bajet
Sources: WebMD 1, WebMD 2, Mayo Clinic
Photo: Flickr
Walking for Aid
Some people contribute to the world through travel or volunteer work; some work from their homes, spreading awareness and advocating for people half a world away. Others prefer to write checks and still others…walk!
Women and children in developing countries walk an average of four miles per day to collect water, while the average weight a woman carries on her head is approximately 44 pounds. Additionally, the average African family uses five gallons of water per day while the average American family uses 300 gallons of water per day.
In commemoration of this, New York Pace students, faculty and staff carried buckets of water one mile across their Pleasantville campus on April 20, 2013. Funds went toward projects to supply clean water to communities like Isanjandugu in Tanzania.
In a dedicated attempt to spend a day in the childhood shoes of Ishmael Beah, students of the East Aurora High School arranged a 38-mile walk from the east side of Aurora to Soldier Field in Chicago on March 26, 2014. The 60-plus students had been taking a ‘Survivor Literature’ class in which they’d read Beah’s book, “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.” The class’s excursion raised $7,500 which they spent on having the adult Beah come talk to them.
Those who are interested in walking for aid but do not want to organize a walk themselves are encouraged to join a pre-existing one:
Walk to Africa had its sixth annual eight-mile walk on May 17, 2013. The organization raises money to send doctors, volunteers, medicine as well as supplies for hospitals and schools to various countries in Africa.
A partnership between Sure Foundation Ministry and Walk for Water Africa arrange walks whose funds are used to provide rural African villages with clean water. Their group works directly with locals, teaching them how to repair and maintain their existing wells to provide the most water for the cheapest cost.
Funds from Canada-based Run to End Poverty go directly to Engineers Without Borders. Participants work in teams that spread awareness, gather funds and race in a relay.
Race to End World Hunger was first started in 1977 by a group of runners who decided they could use their love of fitness to benefit the larger world. World Runners’ purpose is “to advance life-long fitness of its members while making a difference in the world.” Money raised from events goes to sponsor the education of women and girls in Africa, Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as micro-finance in the developing world.
However you choose to contribute to the world, whether it is by spreading a message or finding a way to share the things you love, there is always a way to benefit the world at large.
– Lydia Caswell
Sources: Walk to Africa, Walk for Water Africa, R2EP, World Runners, Daily Herald, Pace, Walk in a Bucket
Photo: Lighthouse Medical Missions
Senate Hearing on Power Africa
Last year, United States President Barack Obama announced the Power Africa initiative to increase access to power in sub-Saharan Africa. This was largely due to the fact that 600 million people in this region, 70 percent of the population, lives without electricity. His initiative aims to double the number of people with access to power by unlocking the substantial natural gas and renewable energy potential that Africa’s climate is suited to deliver.
By bringing together governments of African nations such as Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania to start, the Power Africa will add more than 10,000 megawatts (MW) of efficient cost effective and sustainable electricity generation capacity. By the year 2020, it hopes to connect 20 million new households to electricity and provide commercial industry with electrical power solutions.
On March 27, the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs held a hearing titled Powering Africa’s Future: Examining the Power Africa Initiative. With testimony from organizations like U.S. Agency for International Development, Export Import Bank of the United States, Symbion Power, General Electric, The ONE Campaign and others, Congress got an update on the Power Africa initiative.
Working with private companies, USAID has already brokered deals between African governments and private industry that will secure 25 percent of the 10,000 MW goal. Private industry has so far stepped up to commit $2 for every $1 spent by the U.S. government, accounting for $14 billion. Power Africa uses its expansive network and technical expertise to bring together investors, governments, and businesses to facilitate learning and build transactional capacity.
A significant project born out of this collaboration is the Corbetti geothermal project in Ethiopia. The Power Africa base has worked with the Ethiopian government and Reykjavik Geothermal, the company developing the project. The project will generate up to 1,000 MW of renewable energy. This project created further interest in geothermal projects in a region capable of producing up to 15,000 MW of clean power.
In Tanzania, Power Africa teamed up with Kiwari to develop a 10 MW hydropower project. Through a project with Cummins, Kenya launched a 10 MW biomass project that uses mesquite wood as feedstock for its generator. Cummins hopes to expand its biomass projects throughout other nations in Africa.
The ONE Campaign used this opportunity to highlight the Electrify Africa Act, which they say will produce 20 gigawatts of new power using no additional appropriations from the U.S. government.
Power Africa is a great initiative that connects the U.S. with African nations. It spurs economic opportunity for U.S. and local African companies and gives millions of Africans reliable, sustainable power. The participating governments in Africa get to develop projects that they can be proud of and that will uplift their people.
– Sunny Bhatt
Sources: U.S. Senate, U.S. Senate, USAID
Photo: Huffington Post
Facebook Sends Drones to Africa
When you think of robot drones, what is the first image or information that comes to mind? If you are like me, your brain probably imagined military drones patrolling the Middle East, gathering intelligence and firing missiles. This type of drone has become popular thanks to our recent military engagements and the push by drone manufacturers to utilize them for domestic law enforcement purposes.
Let us put these images of militarized drones aside and come back to a happy place where instruments are used for peace. This is precisely what U.S. technology companies are trying to do with their investments in drone manufacturers. Google made headlines when it announced its new adventure, Project Loon, which seeks to provide internet and network capabilities using balloons in the stratosphere.
Not to be outdone, Facebook, Inc. has plans to buy a drone manufacturer in hopes to use the high altitude crafts to send network signals to communities across the African continent. With two- thirds of the planet currently without internet, technology companies are now racing to conquer these untapped markets.
Facebook’s effort is a part of a larger project called Internet.org. Founded by Ericsson, Mediatek, Opera Software, Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung and Facebook, the group believes in bringing internet to every person throughout the planet. The group, moreover, feels this is too much responsibility and too important a goal for one company or government to achieve alone.
Utilizing Facebook’s Connectivity Lab, groups of scientists and engineers are designing drone satellites that can fly over remote areas and send network signals to the people living there. Cruising at about 65,000 feet, Facebook estimates that a satellite-equipped drone can provide signal to a city-sized area of territory with a medium population density. Furthermore, solar panels will allow the drone to store energy during the day and use its batteries during the night.
Although this project is in its early stages, companies such as Facebook and Google are providing hope for the millions across the globe still stuck in poverty. A study by Deloitte illustrates the potential and value for internet connectivity. Out of the 4.7 billion people currently living without internet, a majority are in poor and many disadvantaged regions. The report estimates that economic activity as a result new internet connectivity could generate $2.2 trillion in additional GDP and 140 million new jobs.
The benefits of spreading internet technology around the globe are too great to pass up. While most governments are stuck in a state of austerity and can’t spend on research and development, private industry and non-governmental organizations are picking up the slack. With time and greater investment of resources, the world is poised to become more connected than ever.
– Sunny Bhatt
Sources: Internet.org, Deloitte, Business Insider
Photo: Liberty Beat
Five Sites for North Korean News
Cut off from much of the world, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), or North Korea, is a mystery to most people. The DPRK constantly provokes its southern counterpart with missile tests and hosts odd guests like Dennis Rodman. If you only got your information from the mainstream media, you probably perceive the nation to be an uncontrollable enemy of the United States and the Western world.
Much of the reason why we know very little about this country is because the DPRK government purposely isolates itself and its people. Any political expression is prohibited, unless you are supporting the Kim family establishment. For those looking to get the inside scoop on the DPRK, here are five websites to help you become more informed:
NKnews.org: This trusted news site provides independent news and intelligence information focused on North Korea. From politics and military to social and culture, NKnews provides a wide array of news and prides itself on being impartial.
Dailynk.com: This company has taken a strong stance against the North Korean regime. Dailynk provides information of widespread human rights and other violations by the government. In hopes to free the people, the publication works to defend human rights, supports democratization and a peaceful unification of the Korean peninsula.
The Korea Herald: This publication is South Korea’s leader in English-language news and boasts over 1 million users. Its National section also includes news on North Korea. News topics include military activity and political tensions between the two neighbors.
The New York Times: The Times is a world-renowned news agency so it is not surprising that they have an extensive archive of news on North Korea. Their 4,612 articles about North Korea covers human rights, international relations, military activity and more. They also have a “Chronology of Coverage” that has updated several times a week since the start of the year.
Reddit, North Korea News: Although not a news site, Reddit’s North Korea News page is probably the largest aggregator of North Korean news articles on the web. People create threads with news articles from all across the internet. Article sources include Bloomberg, The Times, Dailynk, and other international publications. It is a great way to stay updated on anything related to North Korea.
We hope you will visit these websites and stay informed on North Korea. The best way to fight against any misconceptions about a people is to learn about them, and these websites should provide you with some great information!
– Sunny Bhatt
Sources: New York Times, Reddit, The Korea Herald, DailyNK, NK News
Photo: North Korea Herald
The Poop Guy
Some would say that Swapnil Chaturvedi was living the American dream. A graduate from Northwestern University, he held a software engineering job and lived comfortably in America with his wife and daughter.
Then in 2007, he returned to his native India where he realized his true purpose in life was to help the country’s poor. On his trip he witnessed and questioned the enormous income disparity and the lifestyle discrepancies between the poor and the rich. He was appalled by India’s lack of basic sanitation.
Almost 626 million of the 1.2 billion individuals in India do not have access to a working toilet. Defecating in the open can create extremely unsanitary conditions, leading to diseases and malnutrition. Even when there are working toilets, women and girls choose to not use them because those communal restrooms often leave them exposed to harassment and attacks by men.
“What does GDP mean for a woman who has to spend over an hour to find a place to defecate?” asked Chaturvedi. “Who is responsible for providing the most basic services to the urban poor?”
The locals of Pune, India, call Chaturvedi the Poop Guy. In 2011, he founded Samagra Sanitation, a company based in Pune that provides sanitation services to the urban poor. The company increases ventilation, availability and overall cleanliness of the existing communal toilets and encourages locals to improve their hygiene routines. It currently services three slums in Pune and provides cleaner toilets to more than 3,300 individuals on a daily basis.
With a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Chaturvedi also developed a toilet that converts human waste into electricity and fertilizer. However, because of a lack in funding and incentives, the project will not reach many people.
Wanting to reach more Indians, Chaturvedi turned to India’s cell phone usage for help by connecting two seemingly unrelated figures. While only 626 million out of 1.2 billion individuals in India have access to working toilets, 800 million Indians have cellphones. He created Poop Rewards, a startup that “creates an incentive program using cell phone talk minutes and other prizes to convince Indians that don’t have easy access to toilets to use designated public toilets in their area.” This system motivates individuals by adding rewards programs along with improved sanitation services.
Chaturvedi explains his motivation for creating better sanitary conditions in India; “There is only one reason: for a woman’s dignity. It goes back to me being a father of a girl child…when I look at my daughter and I think about her future, this is the kind of service I would like her to have.”
Chaturvedi’s efforts are changing sanitary habits among India’s poor. While there is still a long way to go, his ideas are facing the problems caused by extreme poverty and a lack of access to sanitation services head on. Although India’s economy is growing rapidly, millions of its citizens are stuck in poverty. Chaturvedi recognized that although he alone could not change that fact, he could contribute his services and his determination to alleviate the effects of poverty on India’s urban poor.
– Sarah Yan
Sources: Huffington Post, Gigom, The Kids Should See This, Mental Floss
Photo: Business Outlook India
Climate Change To Worsen Food Security and Impact Poverty
In a report released by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), scientists say that there is cause for concern that global warming makes it more difficult to provide food for the world’s population. The scientists say the negative impacts of climate change on crop yields have been more common than the positive.
Further climate change is expected to slow down economic growth, hinder efforts at poverty reduction and generally diminish food security. Since climate change will negatively impact crop production, food prices will rise and therefore food insecurity will rise. This food insecurity will be especially prevalent in countries with high levels of income inequality and will most affect those that are already poor, thereby undermining efforts to get rid of the cycle of poverty. Indeed, the report mentions climate change as a “threat multiplier” to the lives of people living in poverty worldwide.
However, crop production is expected to increase given the constant improvement of agricultural techniques, which is set to expand production at a rate of 10 percent per decade. Since climate change is expected to decrease agricultural output at a rate of 1 percent per year, this means crop production will go up, but at a slower pace than it would normally, according to David Lobell of Stanford University.
Yet some rural areas in countries such as India do not rely on irrigation techniques to increase crop yield, but rely rather on rainfall. Such places would be affected greatly by the climate change.
The report also stated that climate change would increase food prices within the range of 3 to 84 percent by 2050. Staple agricultural products such as wheat and corn would be most affected, and the report mentions that the countries in Central and South America that grow coffee will be negatively impacted.
Climate change is a reality that we must face right now if we want to help prevent human suffering on a grand scale years from now. We have been warned, now it is up to all of us, including our governments and the private sector, to do something about it.
– Jeff Meyer
Sources: Denver Post, Huffington Post, IPCC: Climate Change, IPCC: Livelihoods and Poverty
Photo: InHabitat
100K Strong in the Americas Program
One of President Obama’s most important initiatives in the Latin American region has been the 100K Strong in the Americas Program. This program was launched in March 2011, and seeks to increase international study in the Western Hemisphere. The idea is to foster a common understanding between the peoples of the Americas in the hopes of bettering inter-American relations.
The Department of State has partnered with the Association of International Educators (NAFSA), and Partners of the Americas, a development agency, in order to realize this vision. The program works by establishing a network of partnerships with foreign governments, universities, and colleges, and the private sector to increase foreign student participation in the U.S. and U.S. student participation in the Americas. The goal of the program is to reach 100,000 Latin American students studying in the U.S. and 100,000 U.S. students studying in Latin America by 2021.
In order to finance this venture, the State Department has set up the 100K Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund, whereby companies can donate money to Latin American and U.S. universities in order to improve cross-cultural student exchange. By current figures, 40,000 U.S. students study in Latin America and the Caribbean while 66,000 Latin American students study in the U.S. each year. Clearly there is work still to be done.
One large obstacle is the fact that many Latin Americans from poorer backgrounds do not have the necessary grasp on the English language that is required to succeed at a U.S. college or university. On the other hand, many U.S. students do not understand or recognize the value of studying abroad at Latin American colleges or universities.
It is hoped that the public-private sector partnership through the Innovation Fund will be able to increase the numbers of students studying in the U.S. and in Latin America.
Through the 100K Strong in the Americas program the U.S. hopes to construct a more understanding relationship between Latin Americans and the U.S. Enhancing cross-cultural contact is necessary for a better working relationship within the hemisphere in the future. By promoting this contact between the future leaders of the Americas, the U.S. is ensuring more successful diplomatic efforts down the line.
– Jeff Meyer
Sources: 100K Strong, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State
Photo: US Embassy