Archive for category: Health

Information and stories on health topics.

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7 Key Points from the USGLC Global Impact Forum 2022

USGLC Global Impact ForumOn June 13, 2022, the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s (USGLC) Global Impact Forum took place. The USGLC Global Impact Forum 2022 entailed conversations with leading stakeholders and policymakers surrounding the role of the U.S. in the global sphere.

7 Key Discussions of the USGLC Global Impact Forum 2022

  1. Current Humanitarian Crises in Numbers. Across the globe, as many as 323 million people endure acute hunger and 100 million people have been forcibly displaced. In addition, just 17% of people in low-income nations have received one COVID-19 vaccine dose.
  2. Local Impact of Global Events. In simple terms, what happens globally impacts the U.S. domestically. An evident example of this is the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Current spikes in food prices in the U.S. reflect how the pandemic impacts the United States on a national level. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also led to wheat export blocks, causing food shortages in countries in the Middle East and Africa. Famine can create instability and unrest, which can translate into conflict, and while conflict is a problem in itself, it also creates more problems like displacement and forced migration. Rising food prices across the world highlight the interconnectedness of the global food supply chain.
  3. Vaccines. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) has said “America might be done with the pandemic, but the global pandemic is not done with the world.” With COVID restrictions easing and life gradually going back to normal, it is easy to believe that there are no more obstacles to surpass. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Though the U.S. has committed to supplying roughly 1.2 billion vaccines globally, there remain issues with manufacturing and distribution. Less than 1% of vaccines consumed in Africa are manufactured locally, therefore, vaccine distribution is critical to effectively tackle COVID-19 and future pandemics. Similarly, despite the heavy exports of vaccines, funding is still necessary to facilitate the process of getting doses into people’s arms.
  4. Food Insecurity. Secretary Tom Vilsack from the U.S. Department of Agriculture simplified the issue of food insecurity into three C’s: “COVID, Climate, Conflict.” Three factors that all contribute to the ongoing food crisis. USAID is actively working across the world to invest in urban agriculture, reduce food waste and increase domestic cropping and production of fertilizers and other inputs. As farmers stand at the center of the food system, they require support to enable the U.S. to keep markets open to supply fertilizers and other goods globally. At the moment, the focus is on the Ukrainian conflict — helping citizens in Ukraine as well as providing support to other countries affected by the reduced production capacity in Ukraine.
  5. Extreme Weather Patterns. President Biden has called on all federal agencies to also prioritize efforts to tackle extreme weather events. USAID launched a climate strategy in April 2022 that seeks to decrease carbon emissions by 6 billion tonnes and aims to invest $150 billion in climate-smart efforts, among other initiatives. This is critical considering that extreme weather events go hand-in-hand with economic insecurity, habitat destruction, internal and external migration and climate refugees.
  6. The Importance of Funding. For all the government officials, companies and NGOs present at the forum, the general consensus is that more funding is necessary to tackle the aforementioned global threats. More aid is needed from federal sources but also from the private sector which can benefit from these investments as well.
  7. Benefits for the U.S. A common misconception among U.S. citizens is that foreign aid solely benefits the recipient, but the USGLC Global Impact Forum 2022 showcased that foreign aid is mutually beneficial. Coca-Cola representative Joanna Price shared that 95% of consumers are based outside of the United States, making it critical to invest in the markets of tomorrow. U.S. companies have to maintain and grow connections globally as this will strengthen the global economy and secure democracy and stability. Domestically, supplying aid should be viewed opportunistically, as it can create a business environment and generate jobs for Americans to help partners abroad.

The USGLC Global Impact Forum reminds the U.S. about the importance of remaining engaged globally and providing adequate foreign aid for those in need.

– Claudia Efemini
Photo: Flickr

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The World Bank’s $2.3 Billion Program in Africa

The World Bank's $2.3 Billion Program in AfricaOn June 21 2022, The World Bank approved a $2.3 billion program aimed at addressing food insecurity in Southern and Eastern African countries in different phases. Due to factors such as market instability, the war in Ukraine and disease outbreaks, “an estimated 66.4 million people” could face food stress and famine by July 2022. The World Bank’s $2.3 billion program in Africa will utilize systems created to tackle food insecurity. The Food Systems Resilience Program for Eastern and Southern Africa (FSRP) will be used to strengthen “inter-agency food crisis response strategies.” This includes “rapid response planning” and “emergency trade measures.”

Alleviating Food Insecurity

The World Bank’s $2.3 billion initiative in Africa highlights the power of international institutions to help vulnerable populations during difficult times. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine, international institutions such as The World Bank have stepped in to alleviate food insecurity in developing countries. In fact, The World Bank’s $2.3 billion program in Africa “is the first regional and multi-sectoral operation” aimed at tackling food insecurity in Eastern and Southern Africa.

The World Bank hopes to achieve that by “ensuring regional coordination” in confronting food insecurity by focusing on food policy reforms and market volatility. In other words, this is a story of how international institutions uphold human rights by cooperating with countries to make sure every person lives a better life.

The Impact of Food Insecurity on People in Southern and Eastern Africa

Food insecurity has had a devastating effect on the livelihood of people living in Africa. For example, 22.7 million people in Ethiopia are struggling with food insecurity “due to drought.” In fact, the food price index in Ethiopia has increased to 43% alongside an increase in the price of vegetable oil and cereals “by over 89% and 37% year-on-year.”

In Madagascar, between 1 and 2.5 million people are in need of food assistance because of weather disasters such as flooding and storms. Thus, The World Bank’s $2.3 billion program in Africa aims to address these crises and mitigate them.

First Phase of the Program

The first phase of The World Bank’s $2.3 billion program in Africa will address food insecurity in Ethiopia and Madagascar. The World Bank has approved “a total financing package of $788 million that could “benefit 2.3 million people,” as reported on its website. This financing package will support the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) “which will strengthen information and data sharing.”

It will also support the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA). This will utilize “its existing networks and outreach tools for regional coordination mechanisms” to help Ethiopia and Madagascar.

Other Efforts to Tackle Food Insecurity in Africa

The World Bank’s $2.3 billion program in Africa is ongoing and more details will be unveiled later. However, more international institutions are also tackling food insecurity in Africa at the same time as The World Bank. For example, since April 1, 2022, The World Food Programme (WFP) “has delivered 100,000 tonnes of food,” to the Tigray region of Ethiopia which was “enough to feed 5.9 million people for a month,” the U.N. News reports. The WFP has also provided emergency food rations to “1.3 million people in Afar and Amhara,” regions of Ethiopia since April 1, 2022.

Though much more aid is needed as global threats persist, The World Bank’s and other international institutions’ efforts in tackling food insecurity in Africa are a step in the right direction.

– Abdullah Dowaihy
Photo: Flickr

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Peecycling Process to Help Fertilizer Shortage

Peecycling ProcessThe war in Ukraine has steeply increased the price of natural gas, a major component of fertilizers and also a primary source of energy. This, combined with the sanctions imposed on Russia, one of the world’s top exporters of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus fertilizers (contributing about 15%, 19% and 14% of the global supply respectively), is causing a severe fertilizer shortage. Amid this food catastrophe, a branch of sustainable food developers, going by the name “peecyclers,” have found a promising solution: using human urine as a suitable alternative to fertilizers by implementing the peecycling process.

Prices of fertilizers are skyrocketing worldwide, forcing farmers to produce less, and thus, unintentionally harming their livelihoods. This ripple is also extending into the food market, with the FAO Food Price Index reaching an all-time high of 159.7 points in March 2022.

Benefits of Using Human Urine as Fertilizer

  • Urine is rich in nutrients. About 80% of the nitrogen and 66% of the phosphorus that human beings release as waste comes in the form of urine. Both these elements are vital in the making of fertilizers.
  • In research conducted as early as 2010 in Finland, researchers planted four plots of beets and treated them with different fertilizers. Researchers fertilized one of the plots solely with urine and fertilized another with urine and wood ash. After 84 days, the researchers harvested 280 beets. The research concluded that the two samples  fertilized with urine and a combination of urine/ash were “10% and 27% larger by mass, respectively, than those grown in mineral fertilizer.” Moreover, researchers noted no reduction in the number of nutrients contained in all samples, proving that urine is not a lesser substitute and can stand as an effective fertilizer.
  • About 125 gallons of urine can help produce 320 pounds of wheat as urine is both organic and rich in nutrients. Using urine could reduce the pollution that arises from using nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers.
  • Urine diversion is the process of collecting urine separately and using it for productive purposes. It also helps conserve freshwater and reduces the number of water bodies polluted by sewage waste.
  • Urine is readily available, and hence, is much cheaper than synthetic fertilizers. Although the initial infrastructural costs of peecyling may be expensive, the cost of production for farmers could come to be much less in the future, spurring profits.
  • Flushed urine has nutrients that are difficult to remove. By diverting urine for other purposes, wastewater treatment becomes much less costly as nitrogen and phosphorus are easy to remove.

How the Peecycling Process Works

A variety of systems, including cups, jugs and special toilets with attached plumbed tanks, were designed to aid the process of urine diversion. These instruments are easy to use and once the urine is collected, it is transported to the site of treatment.

The process of sterilizing urine is simpler than doing the same for feces. All one has to do to destroy the remaining pathogens is keep the collected urine between temperatures of 71-75 degrees Fahrenheit for about three months.

Urine is 95% water, and therefore, requires significant storage capacity. This is expensive, but there are ways to concentrate urine through various processes such as evaporation, distillation and reverse osmosis. One particularly effective process is “alkaline urine dehydration.” This involves raising the pH value of urine to reduce its volume and convert it into fertilizer.

Peecycling Projects Underway

  1. The NGO Rich Earth Institute implemented the Urine Nutrient Reclamation Program. It is a urine donation program in Vermont that is educating people on the benefits of using urine as a fertilizer and mobilizing them to donate the “liquid gold.” In 2021, the organization collected more than 12,000 gallons of urine and had “four farm partners who [applied] the urine to their hay fields.” One of them, Noah Hoskins, commented that he saw “very strong results from the urine” after applying it at the Bunker Farm in Dummerston.
  2. In Niger, female farmers have implemented the usage of sanitized urine (referred to as “Oga” by the natives) to fertilize crops in areas where the soil is infertile. The peecycling process for them has proven to produce a higher yield of pearl millet, their staple crop, by about 30%. This means more profit for the farmers because urine is a low-cost, risk-free input.
  3. A team of researchers associated with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala, Sweden, is trying to expand the peecycling process into a large-scale process that every region in the world can emulate. The Gotland project started in 2021 and is carrying out its experiments with urine on barley fields. The researchers developed a process that converts urine into a powder, which is then easily compressed into fertilizer pellets. Such equipment is easy for farmers to use on a daily basis.
  4. Certain regions in Uganda, where there are limited “soil nutrient management” options, use urine to increase crop production. The research began on a small scale in 2014. Published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, the experiment concluded that human urine is indeed advantageous for smallholder farmers as it increased their food security and income.

A lot of potential is yet to be unpacked from human urine and scientists are on top of it. Nevertheless, one thing is certain: the peecycling process provides a feasible solution to global fertilizer shortages, ensuring food security worldwide.

– Anushka Raychaudhuri
Photo: Flickr

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US Approval of COVID-19 Vaccines For Young Children

COVID-19 vaccines for young childrenIn late June 2022, the CDC and FDA approved the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines for young children such as Pfizer and Moderna for children ages 6 months to 5 years old. While countries worldwide have received vaccinations from Pfizer and Moderna, the U.S. is the first country to approve vaccines for children under five. Though children in this age group are less likely to experience severe infection than other age groups, the vaccines for young children were worth recommending as it works to reduce the spread of COVID-19. As countries across the globe continue to vaccinate their people, what does the U.S. approval of vaccines for children under five mean for people worldwide?

COVID-19’s Effect on Children Worldwide

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 543 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide. As of December 2021, 17,200 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in adolescents under the age of 20, making up 0.4% of deaths worldwide. The effect on children is harder to understand. Data on child excess mortality and case numbers are inconsistent. Numbers disproportionately represent high-income countries and while the pandemic hits the poorest children the hardest, the effects on middle and low-income countries are underreported.

Along with the direct health effects of contracting COVID-19, children are experiencing indirect effects from prolonging the pandemic. Specifically in low-income countries, children have been affected by the strain on the healthcare system, such as disruptions from routine care and lost family income.

For example, according to UNICEF, 80 million children under the age of one may miss out on other essential vaccines because of the disruptions of the pandemic in May 2020. With increased vaccination rates worldwide, the hope is the pandemic can be mitigated and such effects on children will decrease.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for young children approved in the U.S. have a smaller dosage than their adult counterparts. For Moderna, two doses given four weeks apart are 25 micrograms each. With Pfizer, three shots contain three micrograms each. Each vaccine contains just a fraction of the dosage given to adults.

Worldwide Childhood Vaccine Distribution

Since the beginning of the pandemic, health care responses have not been equitable across the globe. While 66% of the world has been vaccinated against COVID-19, only 16% of people in low-income countries have received one dose as of May 2022. Initiatives similar to the WHO’s COVAX program has helped distribute COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries. As of May 2022, Pfizer has distributed 3.5 billion COVID-19 vaccines to over 175 countries.

As the U.S. was the first country to approve Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for children under 5 years old, other efforts are underway across the world. Pfizer and Moderna are not the only COVID-19 vaccines, as a Cuban vaccine has been given to over 1.7 million children under the age of 18. This vaccine is now being produced for Iran, Vietnam and Venezuela.

Vaccine Regulations and Authorizations

Pfizer and Moderna are some of the most prominent vaccines as they are making up around 33.6% of the total vaccines distributed in Africa. The companies are working to get vaccines for young children approved in other countries. Pfizer says they are committed to protecting all age groups from COVID-19 and are working to ensure other countries will follow the actions of the U.S. authorization. The company plans to submit authorizations for vaccinations under five to regulators around the world. For example, the company will request authorization from the European Medical Agency beginning in July 2022.

Ultimately, the vaccine regulations and processes differ for each country. Countries will license various vaccines for different age groups depending on their own analysis of the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. As WHO’s Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan states, countries should follow their guidelines to determine their own calculated risks. Vaccine companies like Pfizer and Moderna will work with health care providers, governments and communities as they continue to expand access to healthcare throughout the world.

Conclusion

While it is unclear when each country will approve vaccines for young children and start distributing the shots, companies similar to Pfizer are working around the world to make sure children will have access to the vaccine.

– Abigail Turner
Photo: Flickr

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Professional Lacrosse Players Giving Back

Professional Lacrosse Players
Playing a sport is one of the most developmental experiences a child can take part in. Sports offer great health benefits, foster social interaction and give children a sense of fun, happiness and motivation. Most impoverished children who play sports end up quitting or have to quit because of how expensive sportswear and equipment are. Even then, less investment goes into sports programs in underdeveloped countries, and as a result, players struggle to reach their full potential. Some interpret this as developing countries do not perform as well as more powerful countries in global sporting events. This is why two professional lacrosse players are giving back with the Give & Go Foundation: an organization dedicated to supporting underserved lacrosse communities around the world through a variety of services, helping some of the 365 million children living in extreme poverty.

The Professional Lacrosse Players Behind the Give & Go Foundation

Adam Ghitelman and Scott Ratliff are professional lacrosse players with major accomplishments in lacrosse, but they are also the inventors of a global nonprofit organization. Ratliff, a long stick midfielder and captain for the Archers Lacrosse Club, is a three-time Major League Lacrosse All-Star and a 2017 recipient of the fundraising award “Real Man of the MLL.”

Ghitelman, a goalie for the Archers Lacrosse Club, is a two-time Major League Lacrosse All-Star and was chosen as the World Lacrosse Foundation Ambassador of the Year. These two came together to organize the Give & Go Foundation with the simple mission of growing the game of lacrosse around the world, focusing on underdeveloped communities. The game has “brought so much” to their lives, so they decided to give others the chance to experience it. “Lacrosse promotes teamwork, physical exercise, discipline and communication. By sharing this sport with underserved programs we will be able to add massive value to the lives of the players whom we connect with,” said the co-founders on the organization’s website.

How the Give & Go Foundation Makes a Difference

Since 2015, Ghitelman and Ratliff have been giving back with the Give & Go Foundation to empower, grow, link and inspire lacrosse communities globally. This organization focuses on financing, consulting, educating and donating resources to lacrosse programs in need.

Program development is a focus point of the organization, providing resources to numerous programs: coaching, funding, equipment and even “kickstart[ing] international youth programs.” Children’s personal development is an area of focus that Give & Go prioritizes through leadership, education and shared love for the game.

There are scholarship programs that allow the next generation to attend college/prep school, ensuring they reach their fullest possible potential. Give & Go aims for programs to reach Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Status to support players with “the dream of playing in the world games.”

The Give & Go Foundation serves as a worldwide network for the lacrosse community, connecting lacrosse players all around the globe. Travel experiences are another focal point, so the organization gives stipends to travel and coach in various places and establishes travel plans for individuals, groups and teams.

The Foundation makes sure to provide all the necessary equipment for the game along with money for the field space as there is no way to play the game if there is nowhere to play. Professional ambassadors, both men and women, work to inspire, consult and teach programs internationally.

Helping Countries in Poverty

A few of the many countries Give & Go has impacted include Jamaica, Argentina, Costa Rica, Portugal, Spain, the Czech Republic, Nicaragua, Panama and the Netherlands. In just these countries alone, millions of people face poverty. In Nicaragua, in 2016, about 25% of people lived below the national poverty line. Meanwhile, in Portugal, in 2016, close to 2.6 million people faced risks of poverty, and in Argentina, about 10 million people endured poverty in the first half of 2019.

Ghitelman and Ratliff have already impacted so many lives by giving back with the Give & Go Foundation. The organization is providing children all over the world with the opportunity of playing the great sport of lacrosse. In the process, the organization educates children and teaches them skills necessary for personal development.

In an interview with The Sport of Philanthropy in 2019, co-founder Ratliff  said that “Sports are a safe environment to learn how to fail and try again, to learn how to deal with loss in emotionally elevated circumstances and to learn how to communicate through differences with teammates and coaches who aren’t always like you.” He further stated that his mission “is to not only help more people have access to sports but also to understand the power and value of sports when viewed through this lens.”

The Give & Go Foundation is prioritizing the well-being and development of children through sports, ensuring that children obtain the skills and empowerment necessary to rise out of poverty.

– Dylan Olive
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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The Need for More Aid to Latin America

Aid to Latin America
The diverse sprawl of nations that make up Latin America and the Caribbean is currently mired in the intense ramifications of inequity and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite internal efforts from across Latin American nations to fight off poverty, inequality and illness, it is evident that more foreign aid to Latin America is necessary. The aid should fall into the two main categories of helping maintain sovereignty for Latin Americans and growing their economies.

The Current Crisis

The most significant threat to lifting Latin American nations out of poverty is the rate of high inequality paired alongside low social program spending, which has resulted in the region accounting for 28% of total global COVID-19 fatalities by April 2022 despite only making up 8.4% of the world’s population. In addition, ineffective cash transfers and tax systems, which often neglect to collect from the wealthiest citizens, result in women, Indigenous communities and other marginalized groups bearing the brunt of the economic fallout.

The impact of the pandemic has only exacerbated the issues of low social program spending and lack of progressive taxation. Increased food insecurity, economic contraction of 7.4% in the region in 2020, as well as increased poverty and extreme poverty rates, all paint the current picture of economic and social inequality in Latin America and the need for more aid to alleviate the region’s levels of poverty.

Current Aid

Funds are currently in play, supplying aid to Latin America for COVID-19 relief and future infrastructure support. The World Bank initiated funding for public health systems throughout 2021, various industry support funds, vaccines and emergency health response improvement. Countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica and Panama have received substantive aid with the primary focus on COVID-19 and health-related recovery.

Over the past 20 years, the need for aid in Latin America and the Caribbean has remained high, but due to developmental growth in the region, the “U.S. government has increasingly concentrated those resources in fewer countries and sectors.”

The rate of poverty in the region reduced from 45.3% in 2002 to 30.5% in 2019. However, around 2015, progress in many Latin American nations began to stagnate. Political instability deteriorated economic conditions in nations such as Nicaragua and Venezuela, and poverty levels only worsened across the region in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the Biden administration has proposed as of March 31, 2022, a foreign assistance budget of $2.1 billion for aid to Latin America and the Caribbean. However, these funds have yet to receive approval and the type of causes that the money would go to suggests that there is no exclusive focus on marginalized groups and women in these countries.

The Necessary Aid

An Amnesty International report in April 2022 shows the need for more aid to Latin America in the coming months, but the kind of aid that goes beyond basic health and economic assistance. Most notably, countries must rework the frame of providing funding and aid by opting for a “human rights-based approach to recovering from the pandemic and tackling inequality.”

Looking Ahead

With much of the impact of the social and economic fallout of the pandemic falling on the women of these countries, aid that is to come to the region must take into account how services and economic improvements can work for women. Aid that helps Latin American countries provide financial investment for improved infrastructure is aid that can help alleviate poverty. In addition, aid with a focus on equality and taking into account the social and economic discrepancies on a nation-by-nation basis can more adequately contribute to ending poverty in Latin America.

– Albert Vargas
Photo: Flickr

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Chad’s Food Shortage

Chad’s Food ShortageOn June 1, 2022, Chad declared a food emergency due to a dwindling supply of grain. A decrease in exports from Ukraine, as a result of their war with Russia, has caused food prices in Chad to skyrocket. Amid Chad’s food shortage, the country has asked the international community to provide aid as it is estimated that about one-third of the population of Chad will require humanitarian assistance this year.

Causes of Chad’s Food Shortage

While drought has ravaged Chad and surrounding countries for the past couple of years and undoubtedly plays a role, it is not the most significant factor causing Chad’s food shortage. Many factors have contributed to the severity of food insecurity in Chad.

In 2021, Chad experienced its second straight year of recession, with the country’s GDP dropping by 1.2% over the course of the year. Rising food prices, due to a combination of gradual inflation and rapid inflation sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have placed the final nail in the coffin. Internationally, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, global wheat prices have increased for the fourth month in a row, rising 5.6% in May 2022 alone. Rising prices combined with dropping income place the people of Chad in a difficult situation. The U.N. ranks Chad as the third most impoverished nation in the world in 2022, a status that the current food emergency does not ease.

Solutions and the Way Forward

Chad’s food shortage has prompted the country to request urgent aid from the international community. While at the moment it is unclear which countries will answer the call, one organization that is already helping is the World Food Programme (WFP).

The humanitarian organization aims to provide assistance to approximately 3 million people facing food insecurity in Chad in 2022. About 42% of the population of Chad falls below the poverty line, but the WFP plans to help in a few ways. The organization provides displaced people within Chad with cash-based transfers to purchase food. The WFP also works with the Ministry of Health to support government-backed nutrition programs, reaching “458,000 children and 235,400 pregnant and nursing women with specialized nutritious foods” in 2021.

Another measure the organization is taking is working to provide children within Chad with school lunches. These provided meals not only help with food insecurity but also encourage school enrollment in a country with low rates of education. These school meals reached 200,000 children in 2021.

Chad’s call to action came just days before a meeting between Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, and Macky Sall, the head of the African Union. On June 3, 2021, Sall met with Putin to discuss “freeing up stocks of cereals and fertilizers, the blockage of which particularly affects African countries.” The discussion did not spark any immediate change but there is cause for optimism as Putin said “We strive to develop humanitarian ties with African countries and will do everything in our power to make this process gain momentum.”

Whatever the outcome, Chad will need the support of numerous countries and organizations across the globe.

– Thomas Schneider
Photo: Flickr

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Renewable Energy in Ghana

Renewable Energy in GhanaTechnological innovation has always been an important determinant of economic growth. Now, renewable energy in Ghana is paving the way for a better nation. On May 25, 2022, the government of Ghana signed a grant agreement with the African Development Fund, as well as a financing agreement with the Swiss government, for the Ghana Mini-Grid and Solar Photovoltaic Net Metering project.

The Impact of the Agreement

In order to bring about renewable energy in Ghana, Ghana adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and strives to fulfill Sustainable Development Goal 7, which ensures that the population has access to energy-related services that are modern, affordable, reliable and sustainable. In the recent decade, Ghana has seen a growth in energy demand that has surpassed that of supply. According to an article from Sage Journals, despite the fact that Ghana has adopted the U.N. SDGs, the country’s primary energy sources are still nonrenewable.

According to the World Bank, poverty in Ghana stood at 25.5% in 2020. Ghana can use energy to improve the quality of life for the population, however, Ghana has a vast renewable energy potential that is currently underutilized. According to the World Bank, in 2020, 85.9% of the population had access to electricity.

In order to help the remaining 14.1%, the nation is considering the role of renewable energy in meeting energy needs by replacing traditional fuels with clean and reliable energy sources. This push for renewable energy is geared toward enhancing economic growth. The project will help schools, health facilities and communities throughout Ghana as electricity will be readily accessible to people within the population.

Technological plan

The relevant parties will implement this project within three years beginning in May 2022 and ending in December 2025. The agreement calls for the construction of “35 mini-grids in the Volta Lake region and the deployment of 12,000 units of roof-mounted net-metered solar PV systems.”

These solar cells will convert sunlight into electricity directly. “The systems will power 750 small medium-sized enterprises, 400 schools, 200 health centers, and the energy service systems in 100 communities in the Volta Lake region and Northern region of Ghana.”

Overall, the project aims to “bring sustainable and affordable electricity to [more than] 6,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and almost 5,000 households, besides 1,100 public buildings.”

Next Steps

It is clear to see that technology continues to influence Ghana to plan a more sustainable future that benefits the population. The authorities remain firm in their commitment to transition to renewable energy in Ghana. One of the country’s goals is to have 10% of renewable energy in the mix of electricity generation by 2025. According to an article from The Finder, the 12,000 units of roof-mounted net-metered solar PV will lead to the reduction of the public sector’s power debt and lower the costs of electricity for households and smaller businesses.

According to an article on Hindawi, Ghana has an undeniable potential to considerably increase local energy production and enhance the efficiency of energy distribution networks. Renewable energy in Ghana will provide energy access to the poor, which will improve their quality of life.

– Frema Mensah
Photo: Unsplash

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Senegal’s MADIBA Vaccine Facility

MADIBA Vaccine FacilityThe true scope of vaccine inequality in Africa proved evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of 2021, more than 92% of Africa’s 1.2 billion residents had not received full vaccinations against COVID-19. Furthermore, in 2021, low-income and developing nations received less than 2% of COVID-19 vaccines created by Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech. Low vaccination rates have had far-reaching impacts, such as drops in school attendance. By May 2021, almost 750,000 children stopped attending school in South Africa alone. The establishment of the MADIBA vaccine facility in Senegal brings hope to Africa in terms of vaccine access.

As of 2020, 39% of Senegal’s population lives in poverty and 60% of the population is younger than 25 years old, according to the World Food Programme. Only 25% of families in Senegal do not suffer from chronic poverty. The MADIBA vaccine facility project offers a brighter future for Senegal’s younger generation and hope for those in need of vaccines throughout Africa.

MADIBA Vaccine Facility and Poverty

On June 2, 2022, the hope for higher vaccination rates in the future became a reality. The Institut Pasteur de Dakar is a “nonprofit association of public utility” in West Africa committed to improving public health and fighting deadly diseases. The Institut Pasteur de Dakar and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced the close of a €75 million agreement to construct a vaccine manufacturing facility in Senegal.

The Manufacturing in Africa for Disease Immunisation and Building Autonomy project (MADIBA) aims to decentralize vaccine production and provide vaccines domestically to residents. With the production of vaccines in Africa, the Institut Pasteur de Dakar plans to distribute essential vaccines and improve public health in Senegal and other African countries in need.

Vaccine Production and Imports

Africa currently relies on imports for vital vaccines needed to combat endemic diseases. In fact, Africa imports 99% of its vaccines from other continents. Aspen, a South African vaccine manufacturer announced in May 2022 that it would pause its production of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines after producing 180 million doses. The MADIBA vaccine facility has the ability to produce 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines (or other vaccines) a year.

The MADIBA vaccine facility stands as the “first full-service vaccine production facility” in Africa. While Africa has vaccine plants in various countries, most are limited to packaging vaccines. Producing doses of vaccines in Africa would reduce the need for imports and create a new market for future generations.

Construction and Vaccine Production

On March 29, 2022, the creators of the vaccine manufacturing facility shipped it to Senegal. KeyPlants created and assembled the facility in Sweden, then disassembled it for shipment. The process took less than eight months. KeyPlants, a Swedish company, designs modular, “innovative life science facilities.” The facility is portable and can be scaled over time to meet the demand for production. The facility expects to begin the production of vaccines in Africa at the end of 2022.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the MADIBA vaccine facility will produce mRNA vaccines along with other life-saving vaccines, including yellow fever vaccines. Yellow fever is endemic in tropical locations of Africa and death rates range from 29,000 to 60,000 deaths each year in Africa. Along with standard vials of vaccines, the MADIBA vaccine facility will produce pouches of vaccines at the new facility. The facility can store each pouch, containing 200 doses each, in a refrigerator for about six days.

Looking Forward

The MADIBA vaccine facility project will continue to fight the imbalance of vaccines in Africa. To combat childhood deaths, the facility hopes to produce vaccines for polio, rubella and measles in the future. In sub-Saharan Africa, “pregnant women who were hospitalized with COVID-19 had double the risk of death compared to nonpregnant women with similarly severe cases” and five times the risk of expectant mothers without COVID-19.

With the MADIBA vaccine facility, more pregnant women would have access to vaccines, reducing the risk of death for themselves and their children. With these protections, maternal and child mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa would lower.

The facility will also offer job opportunities to young Africans, which will lower unemployment rates in Senegal and lead to economic growth. With increased access to vaccines, combating deadly but preventable diseases in Africa can become a reality without the need for imports.

– Sara Sweitzer
Photo: WikiCommons

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Renewable Energy in the Philippines

Renewable Energy in the PhilippinesAs demand for electricity grows in the Philippines, so does the occurrence of power outages. Renewable energy in the Philippines presents itself as a potential solution to this issue that affects its citizens so often, especially with 23.7% of its population living in poverty. A future with fewer power outages means better access to sanitation, healthcare, education and many other elements necessary for a country to grow its economy and continue to develop.

The State of Electricity Access in the Philippines

The Philippines historically has relatively lower rates of energy consumption. However, demand is growing as the government works to expand electricity access to the whole nation. As of 2020, 96.8% of people in the Philippines have access to electricity, an increase of 20% over the last two decades. This has paid for itself through the benefits that it has brought to the Filipino economy. For instance, there is an annual welfare gain of $616 in electrified households. This, when taking the cost of electricity into account, is roughly the same increase in welfare that comes from conditional cash transfers that the government runs.

Despite the benefits that increased access to electricity has brought, its stability often falls into question, especially because of the impacts of climate change. Electricity outages affect every sector of the Filipino economy and just one hour of an outage has been demonstrated to deal a heavy blow to its GDP. Not only do these outages harm the economy, but dozens of peer-reviewed articles have pointed to evidence that they also lead to negative health outcomes in both the short and long term.

How Renewable Energy Can Help Improve the Situation

With the drastic consequences of power outages playing themselves out so often, it has become apparent that in order for the development of the Philippines to be sustainable, the energy it uses must be as well. A grid powered by renewables has been shown in models to provide stability at a cheaper price point. Not only is it possible, but some also claim it is preferable. The money and time invested into short-term energy supplies, such as kerosene, stands in the way of more productive economic activities that can fuel growth. Harnessing readily available resources, such as water or the sun, can quickly supply remote villages with long-term electricity.

Luckily, the Philippines is home to an abundant supply of renewable energy resources that can provide low-cost solutions to a lack of reliable energy. Considering the number of fossil fuels that the Philippines currently imports to keep the lights on, investment in homegrown solar, wind, hydro and geothermal power sources could save everyday Filipinos money while bolstering the country’s economy.

Where Renewable Energy in the Philippines Stands Right Now

With over 47% of its energy coming from renewables, the Philippines has been a leader in the expansion of these technologies. Though there has been an uptick in the use of renewable energy, it still has a long way to go before it unleashes its full potential. The government has set a goal of 15.3 GW of renewable power capacity by 2030, according to Energy Tracker Asia.

Currently, the majority of renewable energy in the Philippines comes from geothermal sources as it has some of the greatest stores of geothermal power capacity on the planet. Much of the government’s plans for expanding renewable energy are centered around increasing its geothermal capacity. Greater use of hydropower, wind and solar also factor heavily into the government’s plans, Energy Tracker Asia reports.

Solutions

The Philippine government has worked vigorously to expand the use of renewables. One of the key factors to its success has been shaping a marketplace that incentivizes renewable energy in the Philippines under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008. Some of these incentives include tax breaks, renewable energy sourcing mandates for suppliers and the Green Energy Option Plan which allows users to switch to a renewable energy supplier.

Along with government action, a number of businesses and NGOs are helping the Philippines along the way in its renewable energy transition. One of these organizations is Okra Solar, a company that supplies mesh grids to villages that they can quickly attach to rooftops of households and organizations to generate energy which is quicker than waiting to get a permit for a large-scale project. Once these grids are set up, they can be linked to other grids in the same system over time to provide a whole population with shared electricity access.

This has been especially beneficial for remote islands of the Philippines that often rely on importing diesel for electricity needs. The company’s systems could create a 30% increase in income through jobs in management and upkeep of the panels. Okra Solar has received a loan of $500,000 to supply 30,000 pods over the next few years.

 The Philippines has come a long way in its mission of providing electricity access to all of its population. As demand grows, a key way to avoid power outages and reduce the costs of electricity is further to invest in renewables. Companies like Okra Solar and policies such as the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 will help the Philippines reach a sustainable and electrified future.

– Joey Harris
Photo: Flickr