Author: Patrick Tolosky

SEATTLE — Vaccine access inequality is critical to understanding the implementation of one of modern medicine’s most unique tools in fighting disease. Vaccines have incredible power to prevent illness before it arises, but access to this medical advancement is disproportionately correlated to income and a given country’s economic standing. Many countries around the world have successful medical systems despite past economic instability. For instance, despite being a low-income country (based on GDP per capita), Rwanda has a highly advanced health insurance system that has helped lower maternal mortality rates, reduce tuberculosis deaths and provide free vaccine coverage. Despite such success…

LONGMEADOW, Massachusetts — Many scholars, international bodies and citizens around the globe believe that health is a human right. Guaranteeing the delivery of health has proved to be a difficult task in modern society, yet the private sector may currently be a key asset needed to ensure the right to health. Public avenues for equitable health access are not adequate in many communities. In India, public expenditures on healthcare have resulted in only 0.9 beds per 1,000 patients in the country, well below the 3.5 per 1,000 prescribed number of the World Health Organization. Despite increasing insurance coverage in Peru,…

SEATTLE, Washington — Ethnic violence can take many forms and exists all over the world. It has been present throughout human history, yet what is ethnic violence compared to other types of conflict, and how can its horrific and dehumanizing consequences be halted? Dr. Ashutosh Varshney of Brown University, a professor of political science, argues that the term “ethnic” can be understood in a narrow definition including solely “linguistic” or “racial” groups, or more broadly as to include religion, tribe and caste in group distinction. Ethnic conflict must also be distinguished from ethnic violence. Conflict can arise in the form…

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Water is one of the most basic human needs regardless of culture, community traditions or geographic location. Although there have been many progressive steps to increase access to water worldwide, access alone is not enough to increase wellbeing. In Kathmandu, a city still reeling from a devastating earthquake, water quality is not assured and this creates risks for Nepalese communities. In the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, there were major worries about an outbreak of cholera, similar to that which killed almost 10,000 in Haiti in 2010, and infected a further 750,000. However, based on…

SEATTLE, Washington — U.S. businesses, investors and foundations have invested in Africa’s renewables industry over the past few decades, yet current trends show that China’s economic influence and investment in Africa is far outcompeting U.S. initiatives. Many experts say that Africa is the frontier of economic development, and investment partners have the chance to build a greener economy. In the past, a typical renewable infrastructure project has created 600 to 800 local jobs. Renewable infrastructure only takes nine months to begin delivering energy to the grid, compared to the average of four to five years with traditional energy production. With…

SEATTLE, Washington — Statistics on poverty tend to be presented in a very simple way, such as how many people live on less than a dollar per day. New research is attempting to gain a more comprehensive understanding of regular fluctuations in poverty, based on a multitude of factors which could be incorporated into more effective policy. Duke University professor of political science Anirudh Krishna studies poverty and all of its complexities. Much of his work has taken place in India, Kenya, Peru and Uganda, and his vast quantities of data have led to the development of a poverty assessment methodology termed “Stages of…

SEATTLE, Washington — The theory of climate change caused by human activity is no mere hypothesis, but a consistent observation based on mountains of data supported by the world’s leading scientists. Preventing climate change is at the forefront of many government agendas around the world, particularly in northern Europe and the BRICS nations, but others are taking longer to implement transformative policy. Below is a partial list of data that are currently used to illustrate the reality of climate change: Levels of carbon dioxide have surpassed 400 parts per million in our atmosphere, surpassing the 400,000-year historic high of 300…

WINDHOEK, Namibia — Namibia has enjoyed a stable political atmosphere since 1990 with effective leadership, legitimate elections and infrastructure development. The southwest African nation of 2.3 million people is relatively prosperous, but about 40 percent of Namibians remain in poverty. President Hage Geingob hopes to uplift the poor by encouraging foreign investment in Namibia’s untapped industries. The poorest half of Namibians own just three percent of the wealth, while the wealthiest five percent own 70 percent. Unemployment is estimated to be between 28 and 38 percent, but is difficult to measure. This inequality of wealth muddies the waters of poverty in Namibia because…

SEATTLE, Washington — Climate change has been one of this century’s most widely-discussed global issues among developed nations, but the reality is that climate change will disproportionately affect the poor. Threatening not only a way of life but a key element of survival, climate change will diminish agricultural yields with resulting food shortages for the poor on a global scale. Agriculture is the main source of income for 70 percent of rural impoverished populations, and crops also offer nutrition to these families. The inter-generational knowledge that has long yielded a steady food supply and source of income is now in more jeopardy than previous years due to…

SEATTLE, Washington — The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has partnered with Pfizer to develop a vaccine for pregnant women that will protect newborns. Increasing vaccine access to this biotechnology will be a challenging and vital task. Group B Streptococcus infection is a leading killer of infants around the world. Nearly one in four mothers carry the bacteria, yet most of these women will be asymptomatic. However, during vaginal deliveries, the bacteria can infect a newborn due to the general lack of sophistication of infant immune systems. Mortality rates for the disease vary from between six and 14 percent in developed countries to between…