Given the significance of healthcare systems to their beneficiaries, it can be easy to generalize them as either “bad” or “good.” However, while both remarkably successful and disastrous systems do exist, setups like the Irish system demonstrate that a single system’s success can vary greatly between “bad” and “good.” Here is some pertinent information about healthcare in Ireland.
Background
As with most nations in Western Europe, Ireland utilizes a public healthcare system. The quality of the aid options covered by the government is inversely related to a citizen’s income and situation. Still, every Irish citizen is entitled to public hospital care, birthing services and a chance to apply for limited prescription drug or medicine payment.
Supplemental support for the Irish public system comes in the form of private health insurance companies and increasing government spending. Private healthcare has exploded into a wide field of Irish companies providing extended care to over 30% of the population. Government healthcare budgets have also grown, with an annual expenditure of 21.1 billion euros as of 2017.
Despite these traits, problems with healthcare in Ireland, especially with accessibility, remain. In fact, while Ireland has gone through four systematic changes and over six different healthcare management departments in the past fifteen years, citizen access to medical care is still an urgent issue.
Structural Accessibility Problems
While Ireland has taken great pains to offer monetary support for its public and private medical professionals, the nation’s support of citizens in need of said professionals is poor. In theory, medical aid would be distributed equally by need across Ireland’s counties. Instead, regions like the nation’s South-East have difficulty accessing support for any medical field, lacking professionals from general practitioners to speech therapists.
Additionally, Ireland faces lingering challenges due to its restructured healthcare system from the 2008-2009 global economic crisis. Ireland’s public system remained in place during the crisis but at the cost of temporarily plummeting expenditure and creating lasting widespread changes. Some of the changes to the system were:
- Specialized national directories were subsumed into an Integrated Services Directorate (ISD)
- Management of individual regions was given to locally-based Integrated Service Areas (ISA)
- The provision of healthcare became a task split between the national government and four regional departments
While Ireland’s division of hospitals and state worked during an economic crisis, over time, significant flaws have appeared. Barring emergencies, the healthcare system is simply too slow to change in accordance with the needs of Ireland’s citizens. As a result, regions with above-average health risks are left without necessary national aid. In nations with more independent local governments, this shortage might be resolved. In this case, it only leads to severe problems with healthcare accessibility in Ireland.
For example, the county of Wexford consistently provides medical care below Ireland’s national average despite a disabled population of over 20,000 citizens and theoretically widespread access to healthcare. As the amount of at-risk citizens has not quite reached emergency levels, the region simply is not prioritized despite a clear need for and a right to more healthcare access.
Private Insurance
A further limitation on healthcare accessibility in Ireland is the growth of its private healthcare system. This system was affirmed in the 1950s and initially led by the Voluntary Health Insurance Board to alleviate the concerns of private insurance owners. Today, the private system leads to conflicts of interest.
With most Irish private care still delivered in public hospitals, as opposed to private ones, a vicious cycle has formed. Due to Ireland’s restrictions on their access to public healthcare, owners of private insurance receive priority when admitted to hospitals. However, as public insurance users also rely on these hospitals, those dependent on public insurance can be forced into long waits for treatment or prescriptions. This, in turn, forces citizens in need of urgent or regular care to purchase private insurance. The more private insurance is purchased, the more other public users feel as though they need private insurance to ensure hospital access. Ultimately, this leads to even more private insurance and more pressure until certain economic groups are priced out of public hospitals, limiting already restricted access.
Potential Solutions
In terms of resolving the problems with healthcare accessibility in Ireland, several different options present themselves. The first, as demonstrated by the Irish Red Cross, is to fill the gaps in national service with volunteers. However, this solution is inherently limited in scope. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), which has devoted a research series to optimizing Ireland’s healthcare process, is leading an alternative approach. This research series, while informative and educational, has not taken any form of direct action.
Instead, the most definitive actions taken thus far have been by the Irish government. Recently, it has established Regional Integrated Care Organisations (RICO) to serve as midpoints between ISDs and ISAs to ensure faster national response times to regional welfare changes.
While Ireland has made progress in ameliorating healthcare accessibility, there is much further to go. A country with Ireland’s system and budget can do more to aid its citizens. While its situation is improving, awareness of the issues around healthcare in Ireland remain vital in ensuring its continued success.
– Chase McCall
Photo: Freepik
4 Technologies Improving Water Sanitation
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 3.4 million people die annually from water-related diseases. These illnesses disproportionately affect children, making up 90% of the 2.2 million deaths that diarrhea causes every year. Trachoma, another condition that unclean water causes, is the leading cause of preventable acute blindness across the world. Simple filtration mechanisms can prevent all of these water-related diseases. Yet, the world’s poor lack access to the life-saving filtration devices available in other parts of the world, leaving them with high numbers of water-borne diseases. New technologies improving water sanitation are reaching the impoverished and saving new lives each day. Here are four innovative technologies helping to guarantee clean water for all.
4 Technologies Improving Water Sanitation in Developing Countries
These devices exhibit the innovation necessary to rid the world of prevalent yet avoidable water-related diseases. Entrepreneurs across the world are challenging the deaths that lack of clean drinking water causes head-on. With the continued development of new technologies aimed at improving water sanitation, there is hope that water-related diseases might become preventable for all.
– Garrett O’Brien
Photo: Flickr
Fast Track COVID-19 Facility: Interview With Egypt’s World Bank Team
Interview With the World Bank’s Team of Correspondents
1. Could you speak more about why Egypt qualifies for the World Bank’s new Fast Track COVID-19 Facility and why the World Bank spurred this initiative?
“In March, the World Bank’s Board of Directors approved a package of fast-track financing to assist countries in their efforts to prevent, detect and respond to the rapid spread of COVID-19. The Bank organized and approved the fast track facility to quickly get resources to countries dealing with a fast-moving, global public health crisis.
As an IBRD* member, Egypt qualified for $50 million funding, the maximum amount available under the Facility based on the criteria of population size.
More information on the World Bank Group’s COVID-19 operational response is available on our website.”
*IBRD, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, consists of countries that are pre-approved for World Bank lending.
2. What organizations in Egypt will receive this funding? Why are these organizations chosen?
“The World Bank’s Egypt office worked closely with our counterparts in the Ministry of Health and Population to design the project, with funds that continue to support:
After receiving the funds, the Government of Egypt decides which organizations are chosen to execute specific parts of the project, such as the procurement of equipment. As part of the project, the World Bank’s technical experts continue to advise the Government of Egypt on technical issues related to the execution and evaluation of the project.”
3. What strategies does the World Bank use to ensure its funding avoids corrupt hands?
“With all of its operations, the World Bank has zero tolerance for fraud and corruption, and we take very seriously our obligation to ensure that the Bank’s funds are used for clearly defined activities and reach affected communities.
Emergency financing provided by the World Bank is subject to the same high level of safeguards as regular financing, including reporting requirements and oversight requirements. With the COVID-19 Facility, as in all World Bank operations, we have put checks and balances into place to help address fiduciary risks.
Additionally, the World Bank Group’s sanctions system ensures that fraud and corruption impacting WBG-financed activities are addressed efficiently and fairly, and that a strong deterrence message is complemented with a focus on prevention and integrity compliance programs.
More information on the World Bank’s procurement framework can be found on our website.”
– Rory Davis
Photo: Flickr
Giving Businesses Incentives to Invest in Developing Countries
Incentives for Investing
Potential Risks
While incentives for businesses to invest in developing countries are certainly important, disadvantages to this practice are also worth noting. Incentives can distort the market and even create dominant monopolies. Monopolistic competition makes it difficult for small businesses to gain traction and thrive long-term, which can lead to unemployment for many local workers and business owners. Furthermore, with fiscal incentives come greater risks for inflation, corruption and fraud. Therefore, although incentives may be critical in creating economic growth and development, it is important to address their drawbacks.
Deciding Whether to Provide Incentives
In sum, encouraging large businesses to operate in low-income countries boosts profits and yields exposure to new markets. Perhaps more importantly, though, developing countries themselves benefit immensely. Corporate presence from just one company opens the door for other businesses to expand into these countries, attracting new jobs, income, resources and opportunities. This economic growth can help reduce extreme poverty by involving more citizens in the job market.
However, it remains essential for developing countries to acknowledge the potential drawbacks of corporate investment and make economic decisions accordingly. Regardless, providing incentives for business investment has the potential to give hope to low-income countries aiming to improve life for their citizens.
– Sophia McWilliams
Photo: Flickr
Tackling Poverty Eradication in Niger
Niger, a nation in Western Africa, is currently facing a poverty crisis. As of 2019, more than 9.5 million people in the country are experiencing poverty, causing the Human Development Index to rank the nation as the least developed country on earth. A rapidly growing population, frequent climate events such as droughts and floods and limited access to food and water all contribute to Niger’s status as one of the most impoverished countries in the world. However, there is good news — both the nation’s government and outside organizations have made strides, particularly in the last 20 years, towards poverty eradication in Niger.
The government and other contributors have provided the people of Niger with access to food, water, education and contraception. These measures will significantly contribute to poverty eradication in Niger. Three strategies have emerged to fight poverty in the country: involvement of the Nigerien government, food and water security measures and provision of family planning resources.
The Nigerien Government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy
The Nigerien government’s fight to eradicate poverty began in 1997 with the passage of the Framework Program to Combat Poverty (PCLCP). This strategy involved both the country’s government and the private sector in the goal of poverty eradication in Niger.
In 2002, the government released its Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP) as an update to the PCLCP. The PRSP contains several ambitious goals, such as creating sustained economic growth and guaranteeing access to social services for the impoverished. The document also features detailed plans on the application of these programs.
Family Planning and Hunger Assistance from Outside Organizations
In addition to the poverty eradication strategy that the Nigerien government proposed, outside organizations have assisted Niger in its growth and development, primarily in the areas of family planning and hunger. Two of the primary issues facing Niger are its incredibly high birthrate, which stretches the country’s resources thin, and its limited access to food and water for its ever-growing population. Organizations including the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (SWEDD), the Ouagadougou Partnership and Action Against Hunger, among others, are fighting towards poverty eradication in Niger by providing its people with resources such as food, water, education and contraception.
Food and Water Security
While agriculture and livestock make up 80% of Niger’s livelihood, climate shocks such as droughts and floods have devastated this landlocked country in recent years. These events, as well as limited water access, poor soil quality and a lack of pasture lands for grazing animals, lead to food scarcity for a large percentage of the Nigerien population. A shocking 20% of Nigerien people do not have enough food to eat, with two in five children experiencing malnutrition that turns deadly for one in 10. Groups such as Action Against Hunger have taken the initiative to combat this crisis, providing nearly 500,000 people with nutrition, food security and water programs in 2018. These programs create long-term solutions by providing seeds, livestock and financial assistance to farmers and small businesses.
Family Planning Resources
Niger has both the fastest growing and the youngest population in the world, with women bearing an average of 7.6 children each. Contraception and family planning are taboo subjects, as Nigerien culture associates a large family with social status.
Both SWEDD and the Ouagadougou Partnership have worked to provide Nigerien women to reduce the stigma around family planning. Some villages, such as Angoual Gao in Niger’s Zinder region, have additionally implemented “safe spaces” for women to discuss issues and solutions surrounding family planning.
Both the Nigerien government and outside organizations have taken steps to combat this poverty crisis. While Niger needs to do more work, it has reached many important milestones in the fight for poverty eradication in Niger.
– Daryn Lenahan
Photo: Flickr
Eradicating Child Marriage in Malawi
Changes to Malawi’s Constitution
The Malawi government has been making strides against child marriages within the nation. In 2015, the Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act raised the minimum marriage age from 15 to 18. Nevertheless, a loophole limited this law from fully eradicating child marriage by allowing children between the ages of 15 and 18 to get married as long as their parents gave consent.
Luckily, in February of 2017, the country’s government addressed this loophole. A vote ensued in the nation’s Parliament to pass a constitutional amendment banning child marriage in Malawi for those under the age of 18. The amendment passed unanimously, making child marriage officially illegal in the nation.
The Road to Change
In recent years, organizations around the world have shown increasing interest in eliminating child marriage in Malawi. For example, Plan International, an organization dedicated to advancing equality for children with a focus on girls, joined the movement by supporting Malawian youth groups that spoke up against child marriage.
The United Nations has also spoken out against this issue. U.N. Women Malawi engaged through lobbying efforts, holding consultations with different Malawian agencies about banning child marriage. The organization is continuing to support the ban by aiding in the law’s implementation.
Government Efforts
Local leadership and government have also proven a fighting force against child marriage. Many chiefs within the nation have created specific rules regarding child marriages for their communities. For example, Chief Kapolona of Machinga, Malawi has seen success as the number of child marriages in his community decreased from 10-15 a year to just two cases in 2017.
On the national level, the Malawian government has made commitments to ensure a complete ban on child marriages. For instance, the government has pledged to a United Nations Sustainable goal to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.” Through this goal, the nation plans to eradicate all child marriage in Malawi by 2030. Malawi’s government also created the National Plan of Action to Combat Gender-Based Violence in Malawi. This document includes many smaller goals, all of which are designed to end child marriages.
Although Malawi has a robust history of child marriage, the nation has made drastic progress in eradicating the issue. Hope now exists for young girls across the country to escape poverty, finish their education and gain financial independence.
– Erica Burns
Photo: Flickr
What to Know About Corruption in Kyrgyzstan
In November of 2019, approximately 500 protestors assembled in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to express their dissatisfaction with the corruption in their country. The protestors demanded that law enforcement further investigate a $700 million money-laundering scheme, first discovered by the media. This incident of corruption is nothing new in the country of Kyrgyzstan.
Corruption is a common occurrence in the everyday life of Kyrgyzstan. The issue is especially common among businesses and in the government. Across the country’s judiciary and police forces, along with other sectors, corruption prevails. While many efforts to reduce fraud in Kyrgyzstan have had little effect, there are still routes the country can take to combat the large amounts of corruption within the country.
Judiciary
Corruption in Kyrgyzstan’s judiciary is extremely troublesome. This means that any anti-corruption legislation is implemented inadequately by the judiciary itself. Because of this, many efforts to reduce corruption in Kyrgyzstan have been largely unsuccessful. Attorneys in Kyrgyzstan’s legal system have often reported that giving bribes to judges is a regular occurrence. Many attorneys make the complaint that no matter how well organized their arguments might be, they know that ultimately it is these bribes that determine the decision of the case. In 2010 there was an attempt to reform the judiciary in order to eliminate corruption within it. However, the attempt failed because the government politicized the reform. Specifically, the president and parliament sought to use it as a way to assign judges that suited their political preferences.
Police
Corruption in Kyrgyzstan also extends to the police force. Unprofessional behavior among police officers is a regular occurrence, and as a result, law enforcement is much less effective in performing its duties. Some evidence has also shown that local law enforcement units answer directly to local government officials rather than serve the citizens. This type of behavior is especially common amongst police forces in Southern Kyrgyzstan. There are also reports that police will arrest people and threaten prosecutions in order to extort money from these “suspects”. Foreigners in Kyrgyzstan are especially at risk. The cars that foreign people drive in Kyrgyzstan have specialized license plates, making it easier for police officers to target them.
Reform
Despite the pervasive amount of corruption in Kyrgyzstan and the ineffective reforms that have passed, various institutions studying the corruption within Kyrgyzstan have made suggestions. One such institution is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. After conducting extensive research on the issue, the OECD concluded that the best way for Kyrgyzstan to proceed is to not rely on the judiciary and prosecution service. The OECD recognizes that the judiciary stands in the way of truly preventing and eliminating corruption in Kyrgyzstan. Another possible solution is that Kyrgyzstan uses specialized law enforcement that deals specifically with corruption cases.
While not the sole cause of poverty, corruption definitely can have an effect on it. This is especially the case when corruption affects businesses, which can negatively impact business owners and thus their employees. The best way for Kyrgyzstan to proceed in preventing corruption is by making some changes in the judiciary as the OECD recommends.
– Jacob Lee
Photo: Flickr
Problems with Healthcare in Ireland
Given the significance of healthcare systems to their beneficiaries, it can be easy to generalize them as either “bad” or “good.” However, while both remarkably successful and disastrous systems do exist, setups like the Irish system demonstrate that a single system’s success can vary greatly between “bad” and “good.” Here is some pertinent information about healthcare in Ireland.
Background
As with most nations in Western Europe, Ireland utilizes a public healthcare system. The quality of the aid options covered by the government is inversely related to a citizen’s income and situation. Still, every Irish citizen is entitled to public hospital care, birthing services and a chance to apply for limited prescription drug or medicine payment.
Supplemental support for the Irish public system comes in the form of private health insurance companies and increasing government spending. Private healthcare has exploded into a wide field of Irish companies providing extended care to over 30% of the population. Government healthcare budgets have also grown, with an annual expenditure of 21.1 billion euros as of 2017.
Despite these traits, problems with healthcare in Ireland, especially with accessibility, remain. In fact, while Ireland has gone through four systematic changes and over six different healthcare management departments in the past fifteen years, citizen access to medical care is still an urgent issue.
Structural Accessibility Problems
While Ireland has taken great pains to offer monetary support for its public and private medical professionals, the nation’s support of citizens in need of said professionals is poor. In theory, medical aid would be distributed equally by need across Ireland’s counties. Instead, regions like the nation’s South-East have difficulty accessing support for any medical field, lacking professionals from general practitioners to speech therapists.
Additionally, Ireland faces lingering challenges due to its restructured healthcare system from the 2008-2009 global economic crisis. Ireland’s public system remained in place during the crisis but at the cost of temporarily plummeting expenditure and creating lasting widespread changes. Some of the changes to the system were:
While Ireland’s division of hospitals and state worked during an economic crisis, over time, significant flaws have appeared. Barring emergencies, the healthcare system is simply too slow to change in accordance with the needs of Ireland’s citizens. As a result, regions with above-average health risks are left without necessary national aid. In nations with more independent local governments, this shortage might be resolved. In this case, it only leads to severe problems with healthcare accessibility in Ireland.
For example, the county of Wexford consistently provides medical care below Ireland’s national average despite a disabled population of over 20,000 citizens and theoretically widespread access to healthcare. As the amount of at-risk citizens has not quite reached emergency levels, the region simply is not prioritized despite a clear need for and a right to more healthcare access.
Private Insurance
A further limitation on healthcare accessibility in Ireland is the growth of its private healthcare system. This system was affirmed in the 1950s and initially led by the Voluntary Health Insurance Board to alleviate the concerns of private insurance owners. Today, the private system leads to conflicts of interest.
With most Irish private care still delivered in public hospitals, as opposed to private ones, a vicious cycle has formed. Due to Ireland’s restrictions on their access to public healthcare, owners of private insurance receive priority when admitted to hospitals. However, as public insurance users also rely on these hospitals, those dependent on public insurance can be forced into long waits for treatment or prescriptions. This, in turn, forces citizens in need of urgent or regular care to purchase private insurance. The more private insurance is purchased, the more other public users feel as though they need private insurance to ensure hospital access. Ultimately, this leads to even more private insurance and more pressure until certain economic groups are priced out of public hospitals, limiting already restricted access.
Potential Solutions
In terms of resolving the problems with healthcare accessibility in Ireland, several different options present themselves. The first, as demonstrated by the Irish Red Cross, is to fill the gaps in national service with volunteers. However, this solution is inherently limited in scope. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), which has devoted a research series to optimizing Ireland’s healthcare process, is leading an alternative approach. This research series, while informative and educational, has not taken any form of direct action.
Instead, the most definitive actions taken thus far have been by the Irish government. Recently, it has established Regional Integrated Care Organisations (RICO) to serve as midpoints between ISDs and ISAs to ensure faster national response times to regional welfare changes.
While Ireland has made progress in ameliorating healthcare accessibility, there is much further to go. A country with Ireland’s system and budget can do more to aid its citizens. While its situation is improving, awareness of the issues around healthcare in Ireland remain vital in ensuring its continued success.
– Chase McCall
Photo: Freepik
The Success of Indigenous Healthcare in New Zealand
New Zealand has a large population of indigenous people. According to New Zealand’s 2013 Census, 15% of the population are Māori (indigenous New Zealanders), and 7% of the population are Pacific Islanders. Of the five million people who live in New Zealand, 894,546 people identify as Māori or as a Pacific Islander.
New Zealand is recognized around the world for its efforts toward indigenous relations. New Zealand first established a treaty with the Māori people in 1840, to which, over time, all indigenous and Pacific Islander communities have agreed. The treaty outlines that all Māori and Pacific Islander people are to have equal rights and opportunities across New Zealand. It has also allowed New Zealand to provide extensive healthcare to all indigenous people across the country. However, there are persisting health discrepancies between indigenous and non-indigenous New Zealanders.
Indigenous Health Challenges in New Zealand
In 2012, New Zealand reported that across the country, indigenous children aged zero to 15 years old were considered to be in overall good health. The discrepancy in overall health between indigenous and non-indigenous people came to light in adulthood. For instance, Māori and Pacific Islanders have higher rates of diabetes and obesity when compared to non-indigenous New Zealanders, with 44% of Māori people reportedly suffering from obesity.
Another health challenge for indigenous people in New Zealand is the heightened rate of smoking. Māori adults are 2.7 times more likely to smoke than non-indigenous New Zealanders. Additionally, 24% of the Pacific Islander population in New Zealanders are smokers. This is two times higher than the national smoking rate of 12%. The Smoke-Free Organization of New Zealand also reports that adults who smoke are more likely to have poor mental health.
A 2018 health survey found that indigenous people are more likely to experience psychological distress and be diagnosed with a mental health disorder than non-indigenous citizens. It is estimated that around 50% of the Māori population will experience a mental health disorder throughout their lifetimes. Of this 50%, only half will seek professional attention concerning their mental condition. By comparison, non-indigenous people are 25% more likely to receive professional attention for mental disorders than indigenous New Zealanders.
Access to Indigenous Healthcare in New Zealand
There is currently a challenge when it comes to healthcare accessibility for indigenous people in New Zealand. The government reported that only 61% of indigenous patients had their primary healthcare needs fulfilled in 2012. This highlights a large portion of the indigenous population that does not have sufficient access to primary healthcare. For example, many indigenous New Zealanders encounter barriers when seeking after-hours healthcare. In 2012, of the indigenous adults who needed after-hours medical attention, 14% were deterred due to the cost of care.
Indigenous Healthcare Initiatives
Improving indigenous healthcare has been a major focus for the local government. The New Zealand government emphasizes the importance of having accessible Māori health providers. These healthcare providers were first established in 1991 with the aim of increasing the accessibility of healthcare to indigenous people. Māori healthcare providers ensure that patients receive quality primary care with a focus on cultural relations and communication between the government and the local indigenous community.
Another initiative being established to improve indigenous healthcare in New Zealand is the cultural safety education training provided to nurses and midwives. This training places emphasis on the fact that healthcare professionals play a role in a healthcare system with obstacles and barriers that inhibit people from accessing healthcare. The training also ensures that professionals consider the cultural, historical and political context of each patient when providing care.
Overall, indigenous healthcare in New Zealand is of a fairly high quality. Despite having some health discrepancies, the New Zealand government has promptly established initiatives to target and improve the health situation for Māori and Pacific Islander people. Countries such as Australia and Canada are currently modeling their own indigenous healthcare initiatives on New Zealand’s due to the success of indigenous healthcare in New Zealand.
– Laura Embry
Photo: Flickr
Finding Sustainable Solutions to Poverty
The United Nations recognizes the success of The Millennium Development Goals in decreasing the world’s extreme poverty in half. With the intention of contributing to that success, the UN has developed a 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that aim to ensure the prosperity of poor countries and secure environmental protection in these regions through the implementation of sustainable solutions.The SDGs were scheduled to begin being implemented on January 1, 2016, and continue over the next 15 years.
The first item on the list is ending poverty. The UN points out that accomplishing such a challenging goal requires strategies that foster economic growth as well as address core issues such as health, social protection and employment.
What is Biomimicry?
Biomimicry is a way of looking at design through engineering that occurs in nature. The idea is to mimic the way organisms have been adapting and surviving on this earth. These natural adaptations provide a guide to life on earth in the long haul.
Biomimicry can be used in favor of disenfranchised populations living in harsh climates. Finding water in deserts, for example, can be quite a difficult task. Biomimicry might be used to disclose a solution to this problem through observation of a Namibian Beetle which lives in the desert of southern Africa and collects water from fogs. This particular beetle has special structures on its wings scales that condense water out of the air. This beetle’s wing design is ten times more efficient at collecting eater than the fog-catching nets humans have used in the past.
New technologies developed out of Biomimicry provide more opportunities for green economies to flourish. Green economies are those in which all economic activities, such as exporting goods and services, occur with little environmental impacts. This would provide more opportunities for developing countries and improve global trade which, in turn, allows developing countries to acquire more technology.
The Global Design Challenge
The Biomimicry Institue inspired innovators from all over the globe to use biomimicry and apply nature-inspired designs as sustainable solutions to urgent global issues. The groups who made it to the final round presented their projects at the Biomimicry Global Design Challenge in 2015.
The three aforementioned designs offer agricultural development and greater access to food. Other designs included devices that provide freshwater resources and nutrient sources that come from insects. All of these designs not only increase the amount of food available to those in need but guaranteed the freshness and nutritious qualities of the food offered.
The Sustainable Development Goals are a “call for action.” In order to fulfill the UN’s goal of eradicating poverty by 2020, it is necessary to help poor countries develop resilience and adopt sustainable strategies as they move out of poverty. With such solutions, the environment is protected and is sure to provide for future generations. Sustainable solutions offer an entirely new outlook on designs that could eradicate poverty. As new editions of the Global Design Challenge, more environmentally-friendly solutions for global poverty are developed each year.
– Zoe Schlagel
Photo: Pixabay
The Problem with Global PFAS Contamination
Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) are a class of human-made chemicals that manufacturers have used in consumer products since 1950. There are more than 4,500 PFAS, which go into making fluoropolymer coatings and other heat-resistant products. PFAS can be in products such as clothing, furniture, food packaging, cooking materials, electrical insulation and firefighting foam. PFAS contamination has become a significant concern for environmentalists around the world, as many of these chemicals are not biodegradable. As a result, PFAS has contaminated soils and water sources across the globe.
How Do PFAS Impact Health?
The effect of PFAS on humans is uncertain; however, studies on animals indicate that PFAS can have serious health effects. Studies have repeatedly shown that exposure to PFAS can stunt growth and development, alter reproductive and thyroid function and damage the immune system and the liver. PFAS can also reduce vaccine effectiveness and increase the risk of kidney and testicular cancer.
Exposure to this potentially dangerous group of chemicals is widespread. People are most likely exposed to PFAS by consuming contaminated water or food or by breathing in PFAS-contaminated air particles. Those who work in the production of PFAS or PFAS-containing products are most at risk of PFAS exposure. In these jobs, workers can inhale PFAS or absorb the chemicals through their skin.
How Do PFAS Harm Developing Countries?
In the developed world, PFAS contamination has received significant scientific and political attention. However, in less wealthy countries, people have done very little to address the issue or even gather data on PFAS. In 2019, a study occurred in 12 Middle Eastern and Asian countries to understand better how PFAS impact the developing world. Unsurprisingly, the study found that PFAS water pollution in these countries is abundant. In Malaysia, for example, the greatest source of drinking water, which supplies water to 6 million people, tested significantly over the PFAS regulatory limits in the United States. Moreover, in Indonesia, PFAS levels in the Jakarta Bay were 10 times as high as the highest-level record in San Francisco Bay.
Widespread PFAS water contamination has led to the contamination of food products in these countries. Studies have shown that PFAS has contaminated seafood and some terrestrial animals in Bangladesh, India, Japan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Other consumer products, such as textiles, also contain alarming amounts of PFAS. For example, a Greenpeace investigation found that waterproof coats made in Bangladesh contain 557 µg/m² ionic PFAS. The E.U. limits PFAS to 1 µg/m² in textiles.
In developing countries, the abundance of PFAS has resulted in high PFAS levels in both children and adults. In Jordan, the average level of PFAS in breastmilk is seven times higher than standard drinking water advisory levels in the United States. Similar levels exist in India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam. Experiencing exposure to high levels of PFAS from birth, it is no surprise that people in these countries also experience high levels of PFAS in their blood.
Solutions for PFAS Contamination
While the impacts of PFAS on human health are not certain, studies on animals suggest that people should implement measures to reduce PFAS contamination on a global level. To protect people in developing countries, PFAS must receive more scientific and political attention in these regions. Members of the international community, such as the United States and E.U. countries, should assist developing nations to gather data on PFAS in their countries. The data could help developing regions implement regulations regarding PFAS production and use. With cooperation from the international community, it is possible that global PFAS contamination could experience better management in the future.
– Mary Kate Langan
Photo: Flickr