The Poor Man's Meat

In a recent article published by Trust.org's Alertnet, the genome for the Pigeon-pea, or "the poor man's meat" as it is more commonly known, has just been cracked. This is a significant accomplishment for the global fight against world hunger for several reasons. Firstly, with the genetic code now cracked, scientists will be able to genetically altar the genome. This will allow them to create drought and disease resistant hybrids that will be better able to supply the people in developing worlds. If scientists succeed it will bean a step towards supplying starving people of the world with the proper protein needed for growth, healthy development, and stronger immune systems to help these people ward off the waves after waves of disease that people in the developing worlds often encounter. It is important that these kind of leaps forward in nutritional science development are made so that scientists can help better equipped various fruits and vegetables that are able to withstand the extreme, often arid and dry climates or overly flooded climates that people in developing countries often live in. These developments are saving lives, and it is important that we help enable the continual forward progress. The article can be found at http://www.trust.org/alertnet/blogs/climate-conversations/cracking-the-pigeonpea-genetic-code-to-help-poor-farmers/

According to a recent article published on Trust.com’s breaking news section, Alertnet, the recent flooding in many provinces of Pakistan, disease is running rampant. It is a big issue in many provinces, but the Sindh province seems to be one of the hardest hit. Because of the recent flooding in the Sindh province of Pakistan, many of their residents have been left without clean drinking water or sanitation. The only water resource these victims are left with is the stagnant water left over from the flood, which is most often contaminated with human waste and other contaminants. Because of this, disease is running rampant through the affected areas of Pakistan. The diseases are hitting everyone in the country, but it seems that the portion of the population being hit the hardest by this wave of rampant disease is the children of Pakistan. According to the American Lung association, Pneumonia kills upwards of 100,000 people annually since 2000, but that rate is far higher in the affected areas of Pakistan; especially for the children. Pneumonia kills more children under the age of five in Pakistan than any other disease. An initiative is needed to help curb the rising number of cases of pneumonia and various other infectious diseases in these various affected provinces, because the mortality rate is climbing at an increasingly high rate. With clean water initiatives, and some sanitation improvements the issue can begin a turn around, to try and save people from dying from a largely preventable and treatable disease.

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/blogs/photo-blog/children-at-risk-as-killer-diseases-increase-in-flooded-pakistan/