World's First Malaria Vaccine Introduced in Malawi
[ News and Trend of the Week ]
Earlier this week, the world’s first malaria vaccine was distributed to residents in Malawi. Despite steady declines in malaria related deaths in the past decade, the disease spread by mosquitoes still claims the lives of over 400,000 people each year, including over 250,000 children. The vaccine is being tested in Malawi as part of a global pilot program run in part by the World Health Organization.
Photo by WHO
China Holds Summit for Belt and Road Initiative
[ News and Trend of the Week ]
China held its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum this week, inviting delegates from around the globe to promote the project. Launched in 2013, the BRI is an ambitious foreign policy initiative that increases China’s trade ties with Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
While Beijing touts the BRI as a platform for inclusive cooperation, critics say that it is an effort to increase China’s global influence. They point to China’s large infrastructure projects that trap countries into debt. Nevertheless, state media reports that China has invested $90 billion since the launch of the project in 2013.
Photo by The Guardian
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group Receives Award for ESG Investments
[ Impact Investing ]
This week, the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group was awarded a Silver rating from EcoVadis, a French independent platform that reflects on companies’ initiatives in Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. MHI is currently located in Tokyo as one of the world’s leading industrial firms. Wth the Silver rating, MHI is now ranked among the top 24% of all the companies evaluated and in the top 16% of the machinery industry. They were given this prestigious award due to their strides in ESG investments such as reducing environmental burdens throughout their whole process, using sustainable materials, and promoting women’s empowerment in the workplace.
Prolonged Drought of Southeast Asia Threatens Stability of Life
[ People x Places ]
For over three decades, Southeast Asia has been suffering from a drought that has taken over the lives of more than 66 million people. Scientists have declared that it will only continue to get worse with climate change. As the period of drought it prolonged, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand are becoming more and more affected with the Northern part of Vietnam and Laos facing possible extreme drought. This problem becomes even more exacerbated by the fact that these countries are agricultural countries with 61% of Laos’ GDP made up on agricultural revenue, 41% for Vietnam, and 27% for Cambodia. The citizens of these countries are looking to the government to create new technologies to circumvent the problems with agriculture and to prepare for the next few decades as the drought continues.
Photo by EPA
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