Smoky Stoves, The Silent Killer

In a recent article published by alertnet on trust.org, a recent study shows that over two million people a year are killed by the smoke produced by indoor stove fires in developing countries each year. It is thought that the smoke produced from these stove fires kills more people than malaria, which kills nearly a million people each year. With an annual death toll around two million because of these smoky stoves, their effect on the population is currently at detrimental levels, and also requires some further investigation. The death tolls that are seen are not in the populations of developed countries. The smoky stoves are killing only those from the most rural areas of developing countries. These stoves are such an issue in most of these areas of developing countries because of the lack of ventilation seen in the shacks built in these areas. There are often no chimneys in these huts, thus there is no way for the smoke to escape. This is also an issue, which mainly affects women and children, not men. In the social structure of these developing countries, men do not spend all their time in the hut, and are typically not cooking the meals. This lessens their exposure to the harmful smoke produced by these stoves. The women however spend far more of their time in the hut, and typically are the ones cooking the meals. The children are also more often with their mothers as opposed to their fathers so they have almost as high of an exposure rate as the women do. This is an issue that stems back not just to the smoke itself, but the conditions many people are living in, in these developing countries. Before the issue can be fixed, the broader picture must be looked at.                                  ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/smoky-stoves-kill-2-mln-people-a-year-say-scientists/

The North Korean Food Crisis

In a recent article on radioaustralia.net, the North Korean food crisis is discussed. Because of recent flooding in many areas due to extremely high rainfall, the necessary crops, such as the maize that is the lifeblood of North Korea, there is an extreme food shortage, the children of North Korea are paying the price. The children are so malnourished that there is a chance they may never recover. These children are suffering from various ailments resulting from their malnutrition such as hyponatremia, kwashiorkor, and various other ailments due to their malnutrition. It is unjust that in this time of crisis, the children of North Korea must pay for the unavoidable natural disasters. According to the World Food Organization, women and children are often the ones who suffer when food becomes scares. The men are all too often the last ones to go hungry when famine becomes a problem; this is an unjust issue. Alert Net was allowed into North Korea for a tightly controlled visit with a camera crew and several nutrition experts who work with Doctors Without Borders. Of the 28 children seen by the various nutritionists, twelve of them were so malnourished that the doctors warned that without proper nutrition and proper treatment of their various other conditions, resulting from their malnutrition and other various factors, they could very well die without treatment. This is an unfortunate natural disaster with unavoidable consequences, but the children of North Korea should not be paying such a steep price for Mother Nature’s cruelty.

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/asiapac/stories/201110/s3335128.htm

The Issue of Statelessness

In a recent article published by www.trust.org, the topic of statelessness is addressed. The article discusses the issue that is statelessness poses when countries have not very delicately defined their specific territories. The definition of a stateless person is someone who is not recognized as a national by any country. Because of their lack of a country, these people are most often denied the most basic of human rights. This is a problem that goes largely unnoticed by the international community. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in 2009 there were around 12 million people around the world with no national status. This sets these people below even the most impoverished people of countries around the world, for those people at least these people have a national identity. Only very recently has anything been done to address the issue of statelessness. This December the UNHCR will be holding a meeting where countries of the UN will proposition various countries to join the 1961 convention and “make pledges to address specific concerns on their territory.” Until countries in various parts of the world sit down and discuss their various territorial issues, statelessness will still remain a large problem that we will continue to face. If it has not begun to be resolved in the coming years, this will give rise to territorial issues, which could lead to far bigger problems in the world. The countries of the UN need to insure that is addressed with haste so that much larger international problems can be avoided.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/feature-invisible-millions-pay-price-of-statelessness/