Author: Liam Travers

KIGALI, Rwanda — Climate change is one of the most significant issues plaguing modern society, and it has long influenced the realms of politics, economics and technology. Though global warming is destructive to many areas around the world, its consequences include an increase in the rate of poverty in Africa. The aftermath of the most recent El Niño, a naturally occurring weather phenomenon, is currently devastating large regions of Africa. According to a report made by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), a drought caused by El Niño has put “26.5 million children at risk of malnutrition, water shortages and disease in…

CHICAGO, Illinois — Global Citizen is famous for their annual music festival, the Global Citizen Concert, held at Central Park in New York City, with this year’s acts including Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and Metallica. However, on September 17th, for the first time in the organization’s history, Global Citizen hosted a concert in Montreal, Canada to celebrate the progress that is being made in the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Global Citizen is a social action organization that hopes to end extreme global poverty by 2030. According to their website, the organization plans to reach this goal through the actions…

JOHANNESBURG — An extreme drought began in South Africa in 2015, triggered by a combination of increased temperatures and the El Nino Southern Oscillation. According to a report from the South African Weather Service, there was only 403 mm of rainfall in 2015, the smallest amount in the 112 years that it has been recorded, and well below the average of 608 mm per year. This has put millions of lives in danger, as the drought in South Africa has made farming nearly impossible in a majority of the country’s provinces. However, an answer to this crisis may have been found.…

MOSUL, Iraq — Ewan McGregor, a Scottish actor most famous for his roles in Trainspotting and the Star Wars saga, has been a UNICEF Ambassador since 2004. According to The Scotsman, a Scottish national newspaper, McGregor has traveled to numerous countries representing UNICEF, including Peru and the Congo. Recently, the actor traveled to northern Iraq, where thousands of civilians have escaped from Mosul, a large city that has been controlled by ISIS since June 2014. Families are forced to flee under the cover of darkness because they fear that they will be spotted and killed by snipers during the daytime.…

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — In the past, countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Morocco have dominated African tourism. Recently, however, the government of Ethiopia has placed a newfound focus on attracting and raising rates of tourism in Ethiopia to show off the country’s undeniable beauty and ancient history. The violence, political corruption and poverty that plagued Ethiopia during the 20th century kept tourism from becoming a booming industry. In 1974, a military council known as the Derg held power in Ethiopia until 1987. During this reign, they oversaw the murder of hundreds of thousands of suspected dissenters in what is known…

SEATTLE — Diana, Princess of Wales, was one of the most prominent figures in the fight to end the stigma that was attached to individuals with HIV/AIDS. In 1987, in one of her most famous moments, Diana shook hands with a man who had HIV: an act that was unheard of at the time. Now, nearly 30 years later, her son Prince Harry is following her example by tackling the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Lesotho head on. In a recent article, Science Magazine stated that South Africa is “estimated to have at least 6.6 million HIV-infected people–18 percent of the world’s total.”…