Author: Marina Middleton

SEATTLE — Since 2002, the Global Retail Development Index published by the trusted global management-consulting firm, A. T. Kearney, has guided international retailers to the most promising emerging markets. The index for 2015 indicates that retailers are sticking to long-term strategies. Despite the regional and macroeconomic challenges of this past year, retailers have made significant inroads into many previously untapped markets, including smaller countries like Qatar and Mongolia. The top 10 developing countries for international retailers according to the GRDI are China, Uruguay, Chile, Qatar, Mongolia, Georgia, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Malaysia and Armenia. The GRDI is calculated every…

LAHORE, Pakistan – Pakistan has one of the worst track records in the world when it comes to the treatment of women. Rudeness, lewdness and harassment are the norm for women traveling without a male companion. Recent efforts to give women a foothold in the professional world have been stymied by the hazards women face commuting to and from work. A new, all female transit company may soon change that. Lahore native Zar Aslam has decided to do something about the troubles women face when traveling. Aslam, who is the CEO and founder of the Environment Protection Fund, has recently…

LIMA, Peru — As the second-largest desert city in the world, Lima has always needed to manage its water carefully. In recent years, climate change has made access to water even more challenging. By one estimate, the region deals with a yearly water deficit of 43 million cubic meters. For seven months out of the year, the city of Lima has drastic water shortages. Many of Lima’s nine million residents find themselves without reliable running water for much of the year. During the December-to-May rainy season, Lima receives sufficient precipitation, but runs the risk of flash floods and landslides. The…

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon — It is generally well known that the biggest killer in Africa is HIV/AIDs. What is less well known is that the second biggest killer is cardiovascular disease. A new device built by a young engineer from Cameroon could make cardiovascular disease in Africa manageable. Marc Arthur Zang was only 24 when he patented the CardioPad in 2009. In his own words, “the tablet is used as a classical electrocardiograph device: electrodes are placed on the patient and connected to a module that, in turn, connects to the tablet. When a medical examination is performed on a patient…

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The Cambodian economy is resisting the global trend of slowing growth affecting the rest of the world. According to the World bank, the gross domestic product is projected to increase by 7.3 percent in 2015 and by 7.5 percent in 2016, and despite recent challenges, Cambodia’s economy is looking more energetic than many in the region. According to the Asia Development Bank, Cambodia’s economy has been growing at an increasing rate, going from six percent in 2010, 7.1 percent in 2011 and to 7.2 percent in 2012. This growing expansion, while still fairly modest, could be…

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — What stands 30 feet tall, is shaped like a vase and has a giant orange shape inside of it? If you answered the future of water sources, you could be right. Of the seven billion people on this planet, about 783 million of them do not have access to clean water. As the global population continues to expand, and environments continue to degrade because of pollution and climate change, this chronic water shortage is predicted to worsen. Rivers are drying up, water tables are shrinking, and people are suffering. Unless we can find a way to…

NAIROBI – After years of research and testing, a potential vaccine for malaria is approaching the stage where it could be available to the public. The vaccine, called RTS,S, is meant to combat the deadliest strain of the malaria parasite, the Plasmodium falciparum. About 90 percent of deaths due to malaria are in sub-Saharan Africa, where the Plasmodium falciparum is most prevalent. An estimated 77 percent of malarial deaths in that region are of children under age five. More than 200 million people per year contract malaria. It is estimated that more than 600,000 people per year die from malaria,…

ELKTON, Florida — A potato farmer named Bryan Jones has won the The Agricultural-Environmental Leadership Award for his new system of drip irrigation, which he claims has increased water efficiency by 90 percent, reduced fertilizer use by more than 60 tons, reduced operating costs and improved crop yields. Drip irrigation is not a new idea. Invented in Israel in the 1960s, drip irrigation systems are gaining popularity in countries affected by droughts and climate change. The system, which delivers small drips of water close to the roots of the plant, uses significantly less water than the traditional irrigation method of flooding…

ULAAN BATAAR, MONGOLIA — Mongolia’s rocketing GDP has hit a snag that could damage its development prospects. In 2011, Mongolia’s economy was growing at a jaw-dropping 17.5%. In 2013, its growth rate had shrunk to 11.7%, with no signs that it can recapture the staggering growth of 2011. The puttering out of Mongolia’s rocket-like growth is mainly attributed to lower global demand for mineral resources, and to tense relationships between the Mongolian government and the firms investing in its mines. Sandwiched between the superpowers of Russia and China, Mongolia has been largely unconsidered on the international stage. Things started to…

SENDAI, Japan — This March marked the third U.N. World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, an international gathering of officials and experts working to make the world more resilient in the face of natural disasters. In 2013, natural disasters killed 22,000 people and affected 97 million more with nearly $118 billion in damages. As part of the conference that Sendai hosted, a showcase presented an unassuming bit of technology that could save countless lives. It looks more like a toy than a life-saving technology. The plastic pieces are plain and white, their connections to each other seem jury-rigged at best and…