The World Economic Forum is colloquially coined as “Davos”, after Davos, Switzerland, the city in which the conference is housed annually. The WEF is an independent organization, dedicated to improving the economic state of the globe by incorporating leaders in business, politics, academics, and civil society to influence global, national, and industrial decisions.
Founded in 1971, the World Economic Forum started out as a humble group of business leaders, meeting under the umbrellas of the European Commission and the European Industrial Associations. The chair of the first gathering, Klaus Schwab, led 440 participants from over 30 countries in Davos to commemorate the finding of this non-profit organization, and created the building blocks to repeat the forum annually each January.
WEF is designed to be independent from any political, partisan, or national interest. This allows the participants in the forum to develop cross-cultural objectives to fighting economic weakness around the world.
A 1983 Forum document described the meetings as
“One of those increasingly rare international events where formality can be dispensed with, where personal contacts can be made, where new ideas can be tried out in complete freedom, where people are aware of the responsibilities involved in belonging to an international community, where we have time to look at the really important issues rather than everyday pressures. This is what we call the Spirit of Davos.”
The purpose of the WEF annual meetings varies from year to year, but all topics fall under the theme of ensuring that world leaders and attendees of the conference exercise their responsibilities “jointly, boldly, and strategically” to improve the economic state of the world for its future inhabitants.
WEF achieves this goal by collaborating with people, systems, and technologies to created indispensable leadership challenges to cultivate “new models, bold ideas, and personal courage to ensure that this century improves the human condition rather than capping its potential.”
In 1994, the World Economic Forum welcomed its 1,000th member, and decided to cap membership at that number, in order to ensure quality in member conversation and benefits.
– Kali Faulwetter
Source: Weforum, Weforum- Executive Summary
Photo: Business Week
Vaccine Could Limit Cattle Deaths in Africa
A research group in Belgium is developing a new type of vaccine against bovine malignant catarrh fever (BMCF). BMCF is a virus that kills thousands of cattle across the world and specifically has been a major problem for cattle herders in East Africa. In East Africa wildebeest carry the virus and spread the infection to cattle. The disease is often fatal and can infect up to 40% of a heard in any sporadic outbreak. The Maasai people of East Africa, who herd large numbers of cattle, have been hit hard by this disease, losing seven to ten percent of their cattle to BMCF every year.
No vaccines have been found so far, however, researchers at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine’s Immunology Vaccinology lab at the University of Liege, claim they have altered the BMCF virus so that it does not develop after infection. The original virus causes an uncontrollable division of white blood cells, much like cancer. In the genetically engineered virus, the researchers have managed to stop the production of the protein that leads to this uncontrollable division. Researchers exposed the new virus to rabbits who did not show signs of BMCF and were protected against any other strains of the BMCF virus they came in contact with. Research leader Benjamin Dewals claims, “…we have generated a virus that does not induce BMCF, does not persist in the infected host and protects against a subsequent infection with a virulent virus.”
This study shows promise for the future eradication the BMCF disease, however Dewals recognizes it may take 5 to 10 years to develop a vaccine for cattle specifically. George Russell, a specialist in cattle infections, states, “…such a vaccine will need to be demonstrated in cattle and the protection conferred will need to be evaluated in terms of dosage and duration of protection…” Despite the challenges that lie ahead, this discovery represents a big step forward in the effort to ultimately find a cure for this disease.
– Catherine Ulrich
Source: AllAfrica
Photo: Hope4Africa
Nationalism and Genocide: The Bosnian War
The Bosnian War was an ethnic conflict that ravaged the former Yugoslavia from 1992-1995. The Bosnian War was marked by the systematic mass rape and murder of Bosnian Muslims by Serbian nationalists. In order to understand the genocide in Bosnia, however, one must first examine the recent history of the torn Balkan region.
At the conclusion of World War II, Bosnia became a federal republic of Yugoslavia when Yugoslavia was united under the authoritarian dictator Josip Broz Tito. Under Tito, strict policies were instituted that dampened tensions between the three main ethnic groups in the newly formed republic: The Bosnian Muslims (or Bosniaks), the Catholic Croats, and the Orthodox Serbs. When Tito died in the early 1980s, Yugoslavia disintegrated, fanning the fire of ethnic hostility.
The Serbian President Slobodan Milošević was the driving force behind the genocide. Milošević ascended to power in 1989 on a platform of emotional rhetoric that appealed to his supporters. Milošević propagated a message of extreme Serbian nationalism, calling for the expansion of the Serbian state into Bosnian territory. In a 1988 Belgrade speech, Milosevic identified Bosniaks as the “internal enemy,” a gesture eerily similar to Hitler’s pre-WWII demonization of the Jews in Germany.
Wary of Serbia’s aggressive ambitions, Bosnia declared independence in 1992. A Serb army was quickly formed in Bosnia by Radovan Karadžić with the support of Milošević in Belgrade. The purpose of this army was to cleanse Bosnia of “non-Serbs” who were predominantly Bosniaks. After Bosnia’s declaration of independence, Serbian forces sieged Sarajevo and began the extermination of thousands of Bosniaks that continued for three years.
NATO intervened in 1995 and conducted military strikes that decimated the Serbs, forcing them into a disadvantageous position. In November of the same year, the presidents of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Croatia signed the Dayton Accords, formally bringing the war to a close. The number of Bosniaks killed is estimated at about 100,00. The population was dramatically reduced through ethnic cleansing.
How could seemingly normal human beings commit such heinous acts of violence in the name of the state? Surely nationalism was the driving force behind the genocide in the Bosnian War, but loyalty to one’s flag should never result in atrocities of this magnitude. History, however, has proven that nationalism has the ability to motivate average people to do terrible things. In the case of the Bosnian War, the Serbian commitment to ethnic cleansing and state expansion resulted in the genocide of innocent men, women, and children.
– Josh Forgét
Sources: Wikipedia, Gendercide.org, Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War, The Three Yugoslavias
Photo: Military Photos
3D Printers to End World Hunger?
NASA recently invested $125,000 in a project aimed to solve the challenges of supplying food in space missions. The project would astronauts to create their own food in space by utilizing 3D printers.
Just as a paper printer shapes ink to form letters, a 3D printer uses different materials to create a 3D object. To produce food for its astronauts in space, NASA is looking to print edible materials with 3D printers, including powdered forms of carbohydrates, proteins, and other nutrients. 3D printers could be beneficial for long space voyages because powdered substances could last up to 30 years.
While NASA may be looking to use 3D food printers for space travel, there is great potential for the use of 3D printers here on Earth, namely to end world hunger. With the long shelf life of food produce by 3D printers, the concern of food being wasted due to spoilage disappears. The powdered forms of the nutrients are also easier to transport because they exist in a more compact state.
The nutrients used in a 3D printer can also be retrieved from unconventional sources. For instance, insects could be used as a source of protein, which the UN has noted recently as a way to fight world hunger. Insects are rich in protein, emit less greenhouse gases than livestock, and are easy to harvest. Whether or not insects are used as the protein source of printed foods, the 3D printer could allow for better transportation and longevity of nutrients, which would help considerably in the fight to end world hunger.
– Jordan Kline
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,National Geographic,Time Magazine
Photo: Wikipedia
Meet Owen Benko
Name: Owen Benko
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Title: Chief Cuteness Officer
Why I joined The Borgen Project: “I believe everyone deserves life, liberty and a binky. I happened to enter the world in America, but for my fellow toddlers who entered the world in places like Somalia and Sudan, life is extremely difficult. Let me be frank, many don’t have binky’s or play time. I find this unacceptable. I joined The Borgen Project to help right this preventable wrong… And because my Aunt Kate gave me this awesome T-Shirt.”
Famine and Politics in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a country defined by its environment. The East African nation has been plagued by droughts and famine throughout its history, plunging the people into an abject state of poverty. In the latter half of the 20th century, drought and famine became more prevalent, inciting political turmoil in Ethiopia.
These unfavorable environmental conditions especially devastated the northeastern Wollo and Tigray regions of Ethiopia. One of the most tragic events in the nation’s history was the 1958 famine in Tigray in which around 100,000 people perished.
In 1973, another brutal famine struck Wollo that resulted in the toppling of Ethiopia’s government. The reigning monarch Hailie Selassie’s inability to resolve the food crisis incited revolution. Selassie was removed from power and supplanted by a Communist junta under the infamous Mengistu Haile Mariam.
From 1983-85 Ethiopia suffered the worst famine in its history. Over 400,000 people died over the two year period. A combination of climate conditions and the policies of the incompetent Derg regime caused the famine.
After the fall of the Derg in 1991, Ethiopia stabilized before entering into a war with the neighboring country Eritrea in the late 1990s. Although the war has ended, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest nations in the world and has become a breeding ground for separatist groups like the Ogaden National Liberation Front and the Islamist terror group al-Ittihaad al Islami. Both of these groups, although their goals are different, pose a threat to the current government in Ethiopia. Moreover, the existence of radical Islamic terrorist organizations in Ethiopia could eventually harm the United States.
As Ethiopia continues to reel from the damages of famine, perhaps it would be wise for the United States to supply their East African ally with more aid. If Ethiopia is not provided for, the nation will spiral into another devastating cycle of coups. This would threaten the well being of the Ethiopian people, the stability of the region, and the national security of the United States.
– Josh Forgét
Source: BBC,The Borgen Project,Bahru Zewde
Photo: Word Press
Radio Station Supports Polio Vaccinations
Recently, insurgents have kept polio teams out of vulnerable areas. Distrust of all things American and the belief that the polio vaccine was being used to control the population has led to outspokenness against the treatment from some, and outright violence from others. In the latter part of last year alone, there were eight polio workers that were killed due to such rhetoric. However, the latest casualty in this battle is a child less than one year old, who died in a hospital.
The child’s father, Taj Muhammad, said that polio teams had not been to their area in three years due to such activity. The child joins 257 children that have succumbed to the disease in the past two years in Pakistan.
The Pakistani government suspended UN-supported vaccinations following the shooting of two female polio workers on May 28th. Radio Free Europe’s Pashto station Radio Mashaal has nevertheless been working to connect aid workers to the communities that need them. Radio Mashaal’s approach, which includes inviting religious and secular figures of authority such as mullahs and doctors to engage in discussion has, according to one doctor, led to a 50 percent drop in the number of parents who refused to administer polio drops to their children.
Yet, Pakistan—along with Afghanistan and Nigeria—remains one of the few places on the planet where polio remains an epidemic.
– Samantha Mauney
Sources: Radio Free Europe, LA Times
Photo: Gates Foundation
What a Waste
Here’s an interesting stat: one-third of all food grown globally is lost to spoilage and waste. Without any increases in crop yield or technology, 50% more people could be fed by the food already produced.
When faced with the realities of poverty and global hunger, the obvious fix is to produce more. Genetic modification, hybrid-seeds, increased fertilization… These are the solutions that come to mind and are being promoted throughout the world as well as being introduced to developing regions where food shortages are most acute. But in many cases, increased yields due to these methods won’t actually lead to any real gains in production. Not in areas where fruits already rot on the vine due to a lack of pickers to harvest them, or where a lack of serviceable infrastructure prevents farmers from efficiently transporting their product to market.
If this food spoilage and waste could be eliminated, or even reduced, the benefits could far outweigh those of slow, albeit persistent, methods of improving crops and yield. This change though will require a concerted effort. Currently, the majority of agricultural funding is channeled into research and development, with the focus being on production. The cynic could claim this is because the industry has an economic interest in increasing output, as it would lead to increased sales of seeds and other of their own products. But regardless of the reason, it is a route that needs exploring.
On February 19th, the U.S. State Department hosted a conference on ‘Food Security and Minimizing Post-harvest Loss: Markets, Applied Research, and Innovation.’ This conference was a positive step, as it demonstrated the administration’s acknowledging the seriousness of this issue, while also bringing together scientists and politicians from all over the world to address it. More steps like this need to be taken, and funding needs to be provided for research into food storage. If we can save even a portion of that lost third, the gains will be immediately apparent.
– David Wilson
Source: Mother Earth News
Photo: Guardian
Kenyan Girls Protected from Cervical Cancer
Every year, approximately 275,000 women lose their lives to cervical cancer. The vast majority of these women live in developing countries where it is difficult to access the necessary healthcare, and where the ability to screen, diagnose and treat the life-threatening cancer is rarely available. However, the fight against cervical cancer in developing countries received an unprecedented boost when the GAVI Alliance announced recently that it had guaranteed a record low price of $4.50 per dose for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines.
For the first time, the GAVI Alliance will make the vaccination available to girls of a school age on a widespread scale, and at an affordable price. The GAVI Alliance has already begun their vaccination program in Kenya where cervical cancer is responsible for the deaths of more Kenyan women than any other cancer. In the past, most of the HPV vaccine programs have only been available in richer countries despite the fact that the need for these programs has always existed in developing countries. Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance, said that through their partnership with WHO and UNICEF, their support for HPV vaccines is “bridging the gap between rich and poor countries, enabling HPV vaccines to reach girls no matter where they live.”
The vaccine is distributed in three doses, and since Kenya has high enrollment rates among girls, schools will become the main centers for the HPV vaccines. With the support of community health workers, the treatment will also be available to girls who are unable to attend school, and who are often at higher risk of contracting the disease.
Seven other sub-Saharan countries will also receive support from the GAVI Alliance in the near future; Ghana, Lao PDR, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. The GAVI Alliance estimates that by 2020, it will have immunized more than 30 million girls in 40 countries. In these countries, where access to diagnosis and treatment is seldom available, providing a preventative vaccine is the clearly preferred option. This news provides hope to millions of girls and women in developing countries who remain at risk of contracting cervical cancer.
– Chloe Isacke
Source: GAVI Alliance,Impatient Optimists
Photo: WUSC
Cooperative Farming Takes Off in El Salvador
Since its civil war in the 1980s, El Salvador has imported more than 90% of its fruits and vegetables from surrounding countries. Although Salvadorans enjoy quality products, very little of it actually comes from Salvadoran farmers because there aren’t many left.
José Mejía, a farmer who grows crops in the Salvadoran countryside, is one of the few. He and his father, who has owned the land for decades, have spent their lives selling to “coyotes”—middlemen who pay almost nothing for the crops and sell them at the market for inflated prices. Mejía recently learned that his squash, which he was selling for $5 a unit, was being sold for three times as much in the market an hour and a half away.
“The coyote has the advantage of knowing the market and handling large volumes,” said Andrés Bernal, who coordinates a regional Oxfam program that trains farmers on how to access the market. According to him, farmers like Mejía can only expect to keep, on average, 21% of the final price of their produce.
But farmers are finally taking action. Now, Mejía’s small community delivers its food products to the market personally every two weeks and they earn up to 50% more of the final profit. Farming cooperatives like his are sprouting up across the country making it easier for farmers to understand the market, meet the demand for their products, and earn more for their work.
Some cooperatives have even partnered with local supermarkets and restaurants to supply them with fresh fruits and vegetables directly from surrounding farms, thus benefiting both the farmers and their clients. Others have begun replacing coyotes by acting as middlemen themselves, offering fairer prices and better service.
Cooperatives like these are empowering Salvadoran farmers and setting the country on a path to reconfiguring its agricultural sector. Sometime in the future Salvadorans may be eating their own food.
– John Mahon
Source: The Guardian, IPS News
Photo: Flickr
What is Davos? – The World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is colloquially coined as “Davos”, after Davos, Switzerland, the city in which the conference is housed annually. The WEF is an independent organization, dedicated to improving the economic state of the globe by incorporating leaders in business, politics, academics, and civil society to influence global, national, and industrial decisions.
Founded in 1971, the World Economic Forum started out as a humble group of business leaders, meeting under the umbrellas of the European Commission and the European Industrial Associations. The chair of the first gathering, Klaus Schwab, led 440 participants from over 30 countries in Davos to commemorate the finding of this non-profit organization, and created the building blocks to repeat the forum annually each January.
WEF is designed to be independent from any political, partisan, or national interest. This allows the participants in the forum to develop cross-cultural objectives to fighting economic weakness around the world.
A 1983 Forum document described the meetings as
The purpose of the WEF annual meetings varies from year to year, but all topics fall under the theme of ensuring that world leaders and attendees of the conference exercise their responsibilities “jointly, boldly, and strategically” to improve the economic state of the world for its future inhabitants.
WEF achieves this goal by collaborating with people, systems, and technologies to created indispensable leadership challenges to cultivate “new models, bold ideas, and personal courage to ensure that this century improves the human condition rather than capping its potential.”
In 1994, the World Economic Forum welcomed its 1,000th member, and decided to cap membership at that number, in order to ensure quality in member conversation and benefits.
– Kali Faulwetter
Source: Weforum, Weforum- Executive Summary
Photo: Business Week