Image couresty Magnolia Pictures

By MATTHEW GRAY for The Toronto Globalist

Thirty seconds and twelve minutes (Amount of time for a briefing and amount of time for a decision by the President of the United States about a retaliatory nuclear response, respectively)

Two minutes (Time for 1,500 launch ready weapons to be launched from the United States)

Ten to twelve minutes (Time for all of the world’s launch ready weapons to be in the air)

Twenty eight minutes (Time from launch to impact of ICBMs fired from the Russian Federation to the United States)

Almost 100% (percentage of nuclear smugglers caught by chance alone)

23,000 (Number of nuclear weapons globally; this includes depth charges, warheads on ballistic missiles, free fall bombs,  and air-to-air missiles)

60,000 (Peak number of nuclear weapons globally)

$6,883,000 (Estimated cost to construct a rudimentary fission bomb)

Source: Countdown to Zero

Today, every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable. Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident, or miscalculation, or by madness. The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us.

The Globalist will hold its first meeting for the 2010-2011 academic year on August 13th, at 4:30PM.

Do you want to set the direction of the Toronto Globalist in the coming year? How about getting involved in a publication which is part of a global network of magazines? The Globalist offers a great number of opportunities for students who wish to work on their writing, journalism skills, photography, and design.

At this meeting, we will discuss positions for next year, and assign positions based on the applications received thusfar (you can apply at: http://www.torontoglobalist.org/join-the-team/

If you have any questions, or are unable to attend and must make alternate arrangements, please contact Matthew Gray at 416 500 3242, and send an e-mail to matthew.gray@utoronto.ca.

Please RSVP via e-mail, or via Facebook at this address: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115742771809978

Imagine a world where everyone benefits from new diagnostics, vaccines, drugs and other life science solutions. Between October 17 and 21, 2009, some of the most talented biomedical researchers convened to discuss this vision in Arusha, Tanzania, for the fifth annual Grand Challenges in Global Health (GCGH) meeting. This meeting marked the fourth anniversary of the GCGH initiative, a program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) that seeks to improve the health of people living in the developing world. As part of this initiative, 44 international research teams have been tasked with addressing the scientific bottlenecks that are thought to most significantly hold back major advancements towards global health. Such bottlenecks include the cold chain required for vaccines, the challenge of finding drugs that can eliminate latent infections, the difficulty of controlling populations of disease-transmitting mosquitoes, and the lack of point-of-care diagnostic systems that could rapidly and cheaply test for common infections and health problems. At the meeting, principal investigators and their teams presented their early findings and update their colleagues on their progress. The McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health (MRC), an academic centre at the University of Toronto and the University Health Network that works at the nexus of translational research, the developing world and entrepreneurship, and uses scholarly research to help move technologies from the lab to the village, sent a strong delegation to this GCGH meeting.

Photo by Remy Steinegger, Couresty WEF

Aware that GCGH investigators would inevitably face ethically-, socially- and culturally-unchartered areas as part of their work, the BMGF has mandated the MRC to provide ethics-centered advisory services to its 43 grantees. This service is part of our Ethical, Social and Cultural Program (ESC) for the Grand Challenges in Global Health and the aim of our team is thus to help GCGH researchers anticipate, mitigate and address the ESC issues that threaten the critical path from discovery to delivery. By doing so, we work towards our common vision of a world where everyone benefits from new diagnostics, vaccines, drugs and other life science solutions. Already, research findings from the MRC have proven to be a critical component in the success of numerous global health research projects.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation quickly acknowledged the importance of addressing Ethical Social and Cultural issues that arise as part of biomedical research…

With an estimated ten billion dollars committed in global health grants, the BMGF is now an undeniable player in global health. As a relative newcomer to the field, the BMGF quickly acknowledged the importance of addressing ESC issues that arise as part of biomedical research. Such interest in the impact of ESC issues on global health projects has increased worldwide, in parallel with the internationalization of biomedical research. For example, other major international funders, such as the Wellcome Trust, are also realizing the importance of better understanding the mechanics of community engagement in biomedical research. However, one component of the ESC issues associated with biomedical research that remains understudied is community engagement, which is defined as the “process of working collaboratively with and through groups of people affiliated by geographical proximity, special interest, or similar situations to address issues affecting the well-being of those people.”

A US Army doctor in Uganda provides dental care in a humanitarian clinic. Photo by Samara Scott, CC2.0.

Despite increasing interest in community engagement, the academic literature remains remarkably silent on how communities can successfully be engaged. Evaluations of community engagement projects have been limited and they remain elusive as to what makes community engagement effective. However, as part of the initial development of the ESC Program for the GCGH at the MRC, we identified community engagement as an overarching issue that would impact the success of all GCGH projects. We were mandated to conduct a series of global case studies to document effective practices of community engagement. We have chosen to use qualitative methods to explore the perspectives of ‘Southern voices’ on community engagement. This includes determining from research participants, communities and researchers what they consider to be good practices of community engagement. We aim to translate our findings into a set of guidelines that GCGH investigators will implement in order to more successfully engage with communities. By engaging communities in more appropriate and active ways, we believe the efforts and resources committed to eradicating grand challenges in global health will be more successful.

Certainly, the opinion that biotechnological solutions to health problems should be linked to the lack of access to basic resources like nutrition, clean water and housing abounds and is valid. However, facilitating active and authentic participation in research projects will further help ensure that invested resources truly improve the lives of participating communities. Ultimately then, the increasing commitment to address ethical, social and cultural issues in international biomedical research promises to help researchers and companies get their life science technologies to those who need them in the developing world.

Renaud Boulanger and Arisa Goldstone are research assistants at the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health.

Windmill built by William Kamkwamba

It’s no secret that North America is a continent of abundance and excess. Today we are citizens of a society that naturally takes things for granted, living in an environment filled with handouts and easy access to whatever we desire. In fact, it’s clear that the more we seem to be given, the less we seem to think. Has this abundance driven mindset made us loose our ability to innovate, our drive to create and our ambition to achieve? It’s no doubt had a lasting impact on our education system and our economic growth. Sure, there exist many precious and tremendous attributes of living in a developed society. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself what you could achieve if you had nothing to work with? What if you were stripped of all your education, all your money and most importantly, your computer? Would there still exist that unfettering drive to conquer your obstacles and achieve what you dream of?

These imaginary situations were a reality for a young African boy named William Kamkwamba, who at the age of 14 single-handedly built a windmill for his village in Malawi Africa. A country gravely affected by droughts and hunger, and a place where little boys and girls had minimal access to education and only their dreams to live on. As a child, William would always be amazed by the wonders of electricity and the power of energy. He had often dreamt about understanding how it worked and using it to help his village. However, due to a severe famine that greatly affected his family and his town, William lacked the funds to pay the $80 in annual school fees that would have been able to put him through school. Thus, he made the decision to drop out and help his family gather food as their whole village was on the brink of starvation. This unfortunate turn of events however did not deter William from chasing his dreams. Rather than succumb to his circumstances William started borrowing books from the community lending Library. One of these books was an 8th grade American Textbook called “Using Energy”. The text soon became the lexicon upon which William built his windmill, hoping to power both his family’s home and his village. William dared to dream, and provide his family with a luxury that only two percent of Malawi citizens could afford (electricity and clean water). Using only a broken bicycle, tractor fan blade, an old shock absorber and blue gum trees, William forged a gritty windmill which had the power to light four light bulbs and charge his neighbours cell phone. Soon, the boy who was once called crazy by his fellow villagers was known as a global inspiration.

The story of William Kamkwamba puts a perspective on exactly how much our society is reliant on abundance and excess. In the west, it takes the federal governments and multi-national conglomerates to build a windmill which merely powers a small geographic area. Whereas halfway across the globe, there are individuals like William who haven’t even received a complete education, and still find a way to innovate and create. William’s story is a testament to what the true raw potential of an individual is, and what a person can do even without access to what western society takes for granted everyday.

These days you can see William touring North America to promote his book; The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind a personal recollection of his journey to build the windmill. You can also read about him in numerous well noted publications across the globe like the Wall Street Journal, La Repubblica and the UK Financial Times. Furthermore, William has now gathered the funds to attend the African leadership Academy; a top prep school outside Johannesburg. Upon completing his SAT’s and graduating secondary school, William hopes to enrol into college in the United States.

So, the next time you feel that your goals and ambitions are unattainable and unrealistic, just remind yourself that there are kids on the other side of the earth who can do twice as much with twice as less. Never forget the raw potential that a human being has to innovate and excel.

Cellphones and Development

by MATTHEW ESCANO for The Toronto Globalist

Today, Africa is being revolutionized by what many in most privileged countries consider an everyday item: mobile phones. While Blackberries may not be the standard for many, access to a mobile phone has reaped huge benefits for African citizens economically, politically, and socially.

A BBC report states that the mobile phone found its way into Africa by an increasing demand for services from the wealthy, allowing the first mobile networks in developing countries to lay their foundations despite high network costs. When mobile phones were first used, people would talk first and pay later, a practice requiring them to be in good credit standing – a status exclusively for the wealthy. The development of prepaid phone bills allowed basically anyone the ability to have access to a phone for the first time. Though the cost of handsets were high to begin with, ordinary people were able to use microfinance to purchase a phone or at least a means to save enough money for one.

For example, an Economist article highlights Mary Wokhwale from eastern Uganda as having made a living out of just one mobile phone. Using a microfinance loan, she decided to buy a basic handset and an antenna for her rooftop to ensure a reliable signal. While some use their microfinance loans to purchase a cow from which they can repay and gain profit from selling its milk, she chose to become a “village operator” and sell phone calls to other villagers, for whom making and receiving phone calls is of vital importance. To these villagers, and other people in developing countries, cell phones provide them with access to telecommunications for the very first time. Because of this high demand, she was able to pay back her loan and buy another phone, and from there open a music and video shop which she uses to finance her children’s education. Now that companies have realized the potential market in Africa for mobile technology, prices have dropped for as little as $15-$20 for a cell phone. Top-up vouchers with credit balances as low as $0.50 can be bought from small shops and street corners in many places across Africa.

This case is not restricted to Uganda alone, or much less Africa. In Bangladesh, the Economist found this practice is also widely used across the rural areas, where “telephone ladies” and “village operators” have set up shops in many villages. The Grameen Foundation, a non-profit organization set up by Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen bank, has further spread this practice to Rwanda, Cameroon, and Indonesia as well. Even in Afghanistan, women are able to pay off their microloans in about eight months and afterwards can earn up to $100 a month.

What’s more, the advent of this mobile revolution has created new ways for people to manage their money. While a BBC report estimated at least one billion people around the world who lack access to a bank or a bank account, that same billion are now more than likely to own a mobile phone. Africa boasts one of the fastest-growing mobile phone markets in the world, with South Africa having eight mobile phones for every one fixed landline. Ten years ago in Kenya, there were about 15 000 handsets in use, but nowadays that number has blossomed to over 15 million. With this rapidly growing market in cell phones, companies such as M-PESA in Kenya have pioneered the idea of mobile banking – the practice of storing money on one’s cell phone.

To set up an account is relatively simple. A video on BBC describes how users must first register with M-PESA, and provide a phone and ID card as well as some cash to deposit into your account. This money can now be used to pay from things like beer and samosas to livestock, such as cattle. Many people in Kenya prefer mobile banking rather than actual banks as it is a much more efficient way to move money. People no longer have to worry about thieves stealing their hard-earned cash from their homes or stores, and taxi-drivers can rest easier knowing that they have less cash to carry around. Sending relatives money is now as simple as the push of a button; one can even pay school fees through the phone. M-PESA now has nearly 7 million users in a country of 38 million people, and the numbers of users are growing fast.  With the market in Kenya mostly consolidated, M-PESA now has its sights on neighboring Tanzania and even Afghanistan. A similar company operates in South Africa under the name of Wizzit. Nearly half a million South Africans also use their mobile phones as a bank. Wizzit, like M-PESA, is also targeting over half of the adult population without bank accounts to sign up for their services – they hired over 2000 unemployed citizens (called “Wizzkids”), trained them, and used them to boost business, which proved to be a big success as eight out of ten Wizzit customers were introduced to banking for the first time.

However, though Kenya, South Africa, and much of North America have close to 100% mobile coverage, the same BBC report states that countries such as Rwanda, Burundi, Eritrea and the Central African Republic have less than 30% coverage. As with many developing countries, low incomes, combined with illiteracy and poor infrastructure make it hard for the sale and use of cellular devices. Though telecom experts have claimed African markets too risky for mobile phone companies, some companies such as MSI Cellular have already begun to penetrate places like Sierra Leone, wracked by civil war and poverty. The establishment of their company in Freetown coincided with a rebel invasion, and after the smoke cleared, British peacekeepers and displaced families were desperate for mobile phones and reliable information. Sierra Leone was MCI’s fastest network to reach profitability because of this, and the customers were happy to pay up front in cash.

These “risky African markets” are exactly the places which need mobile coverage the most, as cases have shown the presence of cell phones to aid in fighting corruption and increasing government accountability. In terms of politics, mobile phones are helping people monitor elections, as was shown on the news in Nigeria earlier last year. Voters were able to text complaints to a computer where they could be cross-checked by monitors such as the European Union. In Egypt, people are able to capture cell phone video clips of torture perpetrated by those in authority. These are posted up on websites run by NGO’s such as Witness, whose website “Hub” (http://hub.witness.org/) catalogues anything from pictures to verbal reports and videos depicting cruelty in action. In the face of growing evidence, governments would be much keener on curbing their violent practices. Places such as the Philippines have long used cell phones as a way to organize social movements. Africa is no different.

Though it is not easy to believe that something as simple as a mobile phone has the power to change the face of African society on such a wide scale, this power is very real and is definitely working in Africa and other parts of the developing world. The international community is not merely standing on the sidelines either. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation plans to put $12.5 million into a program to extend services to the poor, and companies with a firm foothold in their home markets are always looking to expand. What the international community can do to boost development is to step up their peacekeeping efforts, especially in places like Somalia, so that more of Africa becomes safe enough for cell phone companies to invest in. Once new companies are in place, hopefully the same pattern will emerge where people can begin to gain microfinance loans to afford their own phones and spread the use of this beneficial technology to those who need it the most. The developing world, especially in Africa, has much to gain from something as simple as the ability to communicate with a mobile phone; this is something those in the developed world should think twice about before taking their own phones for granted.

Matthew is a fifth year student at the University of Toronto, studying Political Science & Anthropology

Toronto Mayor David Miller said Monday that he’s sending the bill for damages and compensation from the G20 summit to the federal government. Police vehicles were burned, bank windows smashed and storefronts vandalized Saturday as a small band of militant protesters ran riot in the downtown core.

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Photo by MATTHEW GRAY

by MATTHEW GRAY, Editor-in-Chief

Though I am the Editor-in-Chief of this publication, I am a relatively newly minted journalist.  As the world’s most powerful leaders congregate in Huntsville and Toronto for the G8 and G20 Summits respectively, Bedour Alagraa and I have co-ordinated on coverage of this rare spectacle.

We’re a small publication in a sea of international media, non-governmental organizations, inter-governmental organizations, delegates, bloggers, and other small outlets.  How can we provide unique coverage of such an event, with the little access that has been afforded to us?

Increasingly, access to communication tools means that anybody can become a reporter.  Bloggers, social media sites and small publications are all capable of getting ‘on the inside’, and providing timely reporting.

My media pass gets me access to the Alternative Media Centre (AMC).  This means I can’t get into the Summit area, I don’t get to see the Fake Lake, and I don’t get a bottle of maple syrup in my media package.  I’m not complaining though, the AMC is like a massive hangar filled with lukewarm coffee and sandwiches.  Lukewarm coffee is better than no coffee.

I have been surprised to see how much access I am afforded despite these drawbacks; there are countless non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are eager to share their criticisms and analysis of G20 policy.  These NGOs are also surprisingly accessible, and provide their analysis openly.

Our interview with MSF’s regional director Marilyn McHeard revealed the problems with international food aid.  MSF’s pressure applied to the G20 countries represents a shift in global governance; civil society groups are increasingly able to criticize the policy of states, and are increasing their presence at the table.  Their presence at the Alternative Media Centre, and at the Summits, shows that their voices have become part of the process.

Reuters said of the protests that their significance and numbers were far less than those at other Summits, and that NGOs are playing a larger role in marshaling opposition to G20 actions.

It is my opinion that working inside a system to change it is better than confronting it head on.  This is evidenced by how the violent activists have overshadowed the peaceful protestors, and how much of the real policy change will come from pressure applied by NGOs, whose position papers and reports represent real alternatives to existing policy.  They are working within the system to create real change, and are substantially more effective than the message-less, car-burning anarchists who reared their heads on Saturday.

Read more here.