Category: Developing Country

Genetically modified food (or GMO food) is food produced from plants or animals, whose DNA has been altered through genetic engineering. Genetic modification of rice grains to produce ‘golden rice’ will enhance vitamin A levels of the deficient, is a cost-effective solution for malnutrition and the poor; and will reduce the agricultural sectors carbon footprint.

Golden Rice and Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering involves a snip or tweak of DNA at precise locations on the genome, using technologies such as CRISPR to manipulate an organism’s genes. It helps to create crops that can survive drought or help produce food that is more nutritious. It is congruent to conventional breeding but is faster, safer and a more precise process – offering benefits to human health, agriculture and food. Golden rice is a genetically modified, biofortified crop that was created by introducing two new genes – one from maize and the other from a very commonly ingested soil bacterium. This allows golden rice to produce beta carotene – which is not normally produced in rice – that is converted into vitamin A when digested by the human body. It took a while, but once deemed safe as food, feed or in processed form, applications began pending in developing countries.

Golden Rice and Vitamin A Deficiency in Africa

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) has been recognized as a significant public health problem continuously for more than 30 years, affecting around 400 million predominantly in developing countries across Africa. White rice is the basic staple crop for half of humankind; however, whilst it is a great source of calories, it is deficient in micronutrients such as beta-carotene (provitamin A). Golden rice is as successful as milk, eggs or butter as a source of vitamin A. A daily intake of 40 grams can prevent both death and blindness; whilst likelihood of overdosing is not possible as the human body only converts the beta-carotene it requires to produce vitamin A and excretes the rest. Moreover, golden rice is safe to consume and will not cause allergies as it only differs from white rice by presence of beta-carotene. Pregnant women and young children are among the worst affected by VAD as it compromises the immune system, increases severity of common childhood infections, and in extreme cases causes irreversible blindness and eventually death. Around 250,000 to 500,000 children go blind every year and around 2.2 million die annually from VAD annually. These deaths in poverty-stricken communities could have been prevented through the implementation of golden rice and biofortified crops alike.

Golden Rice and Economical Benefits for Africa

Biofortified food crops hold a potential for improving nutrition in developing countries in a cost-effective manner. It is a one-time investment that is capable of generating earnings year after year. Three billion live on less than $2 per day and are unable to afford a diversified diet or industrially produced supplements. GM foods reach further into the rural areas from where consumption of mill-processed fortified foods is low; to where malnutrition is highest. Of the twelve million farmers who grew GM crops in 2007, eleven million were small-scale farmers in developing countries such as Africa. Farmers growing GM crops received higher produce, lower pesticide costs and small-scale farmers made more revenue from GM crops than large-scale farmers. The Golden Rice Project has freedom to operate under humanitarian use. There would be no charge for the nutritional trait, which has been donated by its inventors for use in public-sector rice varieties to assist the resource poor, and no limitations on what small farmers can do with the crop-saving and replanting seed, selling seed and selling grain are all possible. Therefore, biotechnology could improve the productivity and sustainability of developing countries’ agricultural systems whilst also supplying greater quantities and availability of micronutrients in sustainable ways.

Data

The vitamin A value of β-carotene in golden rice and in spinach was compared with that of pure β-carotene in oil when consumed by children. Sixty-eight children aging from 6-8 years old were randomly assigned to consume golden rice or spinach or β-carotene in an oil capsule and data was recorded from tests and blood samples. A similar study was conducted on eight healthy Zimbabwean men using yellow maize infused with high levels of β-carotene. Conducted over 36 days, subjects had blood samples collected every day as they were fed yellow maize porridge containing 1.2 mg β-carotene on day 1 and white maize porridge with 1 mg retinyl acetate on day 8. Results were analyzed using gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Economic benefits for farmers who use GM seeds amounted to $18.8 billion in 2012 and $116.6 billion for the 17-year (1996-2012) period. This money was divided equally between farmers in developing and developed countries. Environmentally, biotech crops have significantly reduced the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural practices. This is equivalent to removing 27 billion kg of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or equal to removing 11.9 million cars from the road for a year.

Data Analysis

The results from the study with children concluded that the β-carotene in golden rice is as effective as pure β-carotene in oil and is better than that in spinach at providing vitamin A to children. A bowl of 100 to 150 g cooked golden rice can provide 60% of the recommended nutrient intake of vitamin A for 6-8-year-old children. Children are among the worst effected by VAD, so these successful results could see millions of children safe from early childhood illnesses, blindness and potentially death. In eight healthy Zimbabwean men, 300g of cooked yellow maize containing 1.2 mg of β-carotene that was consumed with 20.5 g fat showed the same vitamin A activity as 0.38 mg retinol and provided 40-50% of the adult vitamin A recommended dietary allowance. Therefore, yellow maize – which can be substituted for golden rice – with high β-carotene is an effective source of vitamin A in healthy Zimbabwean men. Farmers around the world who use seeds improved with biotechnology are benefitting economically while improving the environmental sustainability of their farming operations. Half of the farm income gains and most of the environmental gains associated with changes in pesticide use and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions occurred in developing countries.

Conclusion

We are facing a situation where hundreds of millions of people are starving and suffering as they cannot afford quality food or supplements as a result of poverty and micronutrient malnutrition (VAD). Using genetic engineering technology, we have the potential to prevent this through the implementation of golden rice infused with β-carotene to produce vitamin A. Economies, farmers and families in third world countries across Africa would be able to able to afford golden rice and profit from it; overall improving their quality of life in a sustainable way that will also lessen our carbon footprint.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was first reported in 1981 among gay men in Los Angeles. HIV caused a severe infection that weakened their immune system. It was the beginning of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic (MHAF, 2019), which later in 2010 became the fifth leading cause of disability in all ages (Zulfiqar, 2017). Although these were the first incidents to be reported, many people have fallen victims of HIV and many have died before 1981. Although effective diagnosis, treatment and control have become available in higher income countries, this remains difficult for people living with HIV in disadvantaged countries in Africa. Throughout this essay, the disadvantaged circumstances of people living with HIV in Africa will be highlighted, and those of homosexual men in particular. Furthermore, the essay takes into account how shame and stigma act as barriers to effective treatment and control, and how education is crucial for HIV control.

What is HIV-1?

HIV-1 is the most common and virulent form of HIV, and it has spread worldwide. HIV-1 begins the assembly and the replication process by forming two different forms – mature and immature- vision of viral capsids (Ganser-Pornillos, 2008). These capsids are retroviral, meaning their genetic material consists of RNA molecules, which infect various immune system cells such as CD4+ T cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages (Zulfiqar, 2017). The virus first creates non-infectious and immature budding of the host’s immune cells, which are made out of a protein called Gag. The reason why the virus starts only with creating buddings is to prevent a strong immune reaction. The Gag protein molecules then assemble inside the plasma of the cells and the viral protease becomes activated, triggering the Gag to produce new layers of proteins and leading to the rearrangement of the immature visions in order to become mature and infectious (Ganser-Pornillos, 2008). This leads to the impairment of the immune cells function or in some cases to destroying them. Thus, making people with HIV more susceptible to infections as their immune cells cannot fight against infections anymore (Giamberardino, 2019).

What is the origin of HIV? Is it zoonotic?

HIV-1 is zoonotic, indeed. An evidence of animal reservoir was found in Africa, where one chimpanzees’ subspecies; the central P.t. troglodytes, had been commonly infected with a strain of virus called (SIVcpz), which is thought to be closely related to HIV (Gao, 1999). Based on this research, it was proven that this species is the primary reservoir for HIV-1. It is also thought that the transmission of SIV to humans initially occurred from Chimpanzees to African hunters through the delivery of Chimpanzees’ blood to the hunters’ cuts (Avert, 2019). Consequently, HIV-1 was primarily originated in Africa, and thus the African people were most likely the first to be infected with HIV-1. Hence, the spread of HIV-1 began through the migration of these African populations to the world – relocation and hierarchical diffusion; especially that HIV transmission only occurs through specific human-to-human interaction. Therefore, male African victims are expected to be in high numbers, especially that hunters are usually the males.

How is HIV transmitted to others? What are the unexpected ways of transmitting it?

HIV is transmitted through blood, semen and pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluid, vaginal fluid and breast milk. HIV transmission happens when any of these fluids comes into contact with the bloodstream or the mucous membranes of a HIV-negative. Yet, transmission does not occur very frequently since sexual acts, needles or razors sharing is required for transmission, and coughing or touching does not contribute to transmission. However, unfortunately acts like “not ejaculating semen” are unlikely to prevent the transmission of HIV and therefore, protective condoms must be used during intercourse with casual partners to lower HIV transmission (How Is HIV Transmitted, 2019). Yet, in countries with low SES, condoms are less available for people. A study was done in 1996 in Lusaka, Zambia, surveyed 806 participants showed that only 17% of women and 24% of men used a condom during their last intercourse with their casual partner. Surveyed men also revealed that condoms were used only when they are accessible, as sometimes they were unaffordable (Agha, 1998).

However, in some day-to-day life, using a condom is not seen as a necessity. This is due to developing unrealistic optimism; and it is when people, gay men in our case, believe they are less likely to be infected with HIV through sexual acts. In fact, two studies have shown that 89% and 77% of gay men think that HIV-1 infection is less likely to happen to them than their fellows (RS, 2006). Thus, these individuals are less likely to take actions to protect themselves, such as using condoms. The reason for this unrealistic optimism was predicted to be due to either of two models, the first is ‘motivational account’ where people attempt to encourage themselves and enhance their self-esteem. The second model is thought to be a by-product of ‘cognitive strategies’ which are done by employing cognitive heuristics. Often cognitive strategies do not have a good outcome as people tend to estimate how dangerous situations are based on how frequently they come to their mind. In the case of unrealistic optimism related to HIV, the model is different in different populations (RS, 2006). Additionally, in countries where homosexuality is socially and politically unaccepted and LGBT+ community and supporters might be jailed for 14 years (Bhalla, 2019) homosexual individuals are likely to marry a heterosexual partner but also have a secret homosexual partner. It is done to hide their homosexuality and to satisfy social norms (M.Fogel, 2018). Here lies the problem, when unrealistically optimistic gay men have sex with HIV-1 infected gay men in secret, not using condoms, and not using condoms with their female partner too. Thus, transmitting HIV-1 to their female partners, who could be breastfeeding, and thus infecting her infants. This creates an unaccounted-for cycle of HIV transmission. It was shown that even if women were aware of the HIV transmission and their partner’s homosexuality, they are unlikely to suggest safe sex practices to their partners, scared to be negatively viewed and stigmatised by them. This particularly happens when women are economically vulnerable which is more low SES countries. Yet, women who were more economically independent living in high SES countries were encouraged to do so. Therefore, African women at higher risk of infection compared to for example American women (Agha, 1998).

In another study of self-reporting HIV status among men who have sex with men (MSM) or transgender women who have sex with men in Africa, it was observed that HIV-infected African men may deny or choose not to disclose their HIV status. In fact, when 183 infected individuals were tested for antiretroviral drugs, 116 individuals reported themselves negative! This is connected to anxiety of shame of carrying HIV. Additionally, these individuals may think they will discriminated against or may feel stigmatised if ever this information is to be shared with society, particularly if their partners were not aware of their homosexual behaviour (M.Fogel, 2018). Another study based in the UK suggests that heterosexual carriers of HIV are more likely to disclose their HIV status to family and friends than a homosexual carrier. Furthermore, it also highlighted that individuals from a non-white ethnicity are less likely to disclose their HIV status and less likely to be on ART (Daskalopoulou, 2017). This could be due to lack of peer-support and fanatic religious views. This was demonstrated particularly when the US government funded campaigns in Africa, providing packs of condoms for free. Yet, when this was reported to media, public and religious organisation voiced reservation against condom promotion (Zulfiqar, 2017) and some people followed their views, countering the purpose of these campaigns.

Due to criminalization of homosexuality in countries of Africa, stigma and laws against LGBT, less testing for HIV is done among these populations (M.Fogel, 2018). This leads to latent detection of HIV, that if ever detected before these individuals die from infections, particularly gay African men as they are less likely disclose their HIV status. Moreover, due to this later intervention, the development of AIDS (most advanced level of HIV) is made possible, which may have been totally preventable if treatment for HIV was available. Since the development of HIV to AIDS could take 5-10 years, unknowingly infected African men are contributing to spreading and the re-emerging of HIV.

Furthermore, disadvantage occurs as hospitals in Africa may not be provided with the technology to properly sterile their equipment, or their lack of funding to purchase disposable equipment. According to a study, transmission of HIV due to using unproperly sterile equipment in Africa’s hospitals is 10-20% (Gisselquist, 2006). Thus, transmission could also occur from HIV positive to HIV negative patients when being treated at a hospital. This is unlikely to occur in high income countries, as regulations in hospitals are very strict.

Education plays a huge role in controlling HIV. HIV-related content is now integrated in the education system of the first world countries and is accessible for everyone, but not in Africa’s. The unawareness of flu-like symptoms that occur in the first stage of HIV is a contributor for its spread. Thus, educating African populations is a vital. This is further advocated when younger and more educated gay men were more likely to use condoms (Agha, 1998) showing that access to education made prevention possible. Thus, in order to be close to eliminating HIV, HIV-related and sexual education must be taught from a young age. Unfortunately, despite all the campaigns done around the world to eliminate HIV, 770 000 people around the world have died from HIV in 2018, according to WHO, and the majority of deaths happen in Africa (WHO, 2019). New strategies are being tested to lower infection rates, for example, it was suggested that male circumcision could reduce the chance of HIV transmission (Lawal, 2017) and implying this practice lower Africa’s cases.

HIV is a chronic and infectious virus, yet, no natural immunity against HIV is found, and no vaccines were discovered, thus herd immunity cannot be reached at this stage, and HIV-free environment may be hard to reach. HIV is severe, and most likely results in mortality, it is also spread world-wide, and can be transmitted to others through body fluids. It is found that individuals living in Africa are less likely to pursue methods for HIV prevention, detection and treatment, especially gay men. Actions are taken to lower mortality cases to less than 400 00 by 2030 worldwide. Still African populations are clearly disadvantaged, with 470 000 HIV deaths in Africa compared 49 000 in America in 2018 (WHO, 2019), so does where you live determines whether you live?

Bibliography

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Prior to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, their water was already questionable. Ever since the earthquake, sanitation issues in the water exploded and caused many diseases. Sanitation issues in Haiti are still occurring today. More than 7000 people have died from cholera, which is caused by unsanitized water. 530,000 people have gotten sick because of this issue, making it the gravest issue in Haiti right now.

Haiti is a small country with a population of 11.3 million. 52% of people live in rural areas and only 48% of people live in urban areas. The government in Haiti is a semi-presidential republic. Around two-thirds of Haiti’s land is cultivated, and Haiti’s major exports are apparel, cocoa, coffee, and vegetable oils. The major crops are cassava, maize, coffee, plantains, and bananas. The average farm size is about 2.5 acres, which is around the size of two football fields. The rainy season in Haiti is from July to November and the dry season is from December to June. The humidity is especially high during the rainy season. Floods are common with larger rain storms, and August is the hottest month of the year. Northern areas have more rainfall year-round, while southern countries have more extreme rainfall.

In urban areas in Haiti, families typically have 3-4 children, while in rural areas there may be up to 10 children. The majority of housing in Haiti contains 2 rooms built with mud walls and floors. The roofs are typically thatched with local palm trees or grasses. The windows have wooden shutters and no window panes. Most homes have outdoor kitchens and no electricity or running water. The restrooms are outhouses/latrines a bit far from the dwelling and they are very unsanitary and unsafe as they spread diseases like cholera. Typical foods eaten in Haiti are sweet potatoes, cassava, yams, corn, pigeon peas, and cowpeas. Mangoes, pineapples, bananas, and citrus fruits are eaten as snacks or desserts. Meat is eaten, but more by the wealthy and only on special occasions. The most common meals are soups and rice dishes. Haitians usually grow their own food, and cook it with firewood and charcoal. Most Haitian jobs are working on family farms. The men raise the crops and the women do domestic labor. The average wage in Haiti is less than $2.50 per day. Education in Haiti starts at age 6 and usually goes to the age of 11 (not required to go any later). However, only a small portion of Haitian children attend school because of a lack of staff and money, as well as the need to help out on the farms. Plus, the cost of education is unbearable for most Haitians at $75 annually. Access to health care is not easy. Many people have to walk on foot and then wait outside for service. There are 25 physicians and 11 nurses per 100,000 people in the population. Healthcare is cheap in Haiti, but very poor. The Haitian government only spends $83 annually on it. There is a lack of access to clean water and electricity in Haiti. Typical toilets are holes dug into the ground which are very unsanitary. Haitians can only have telephones if they can afford them, which few people can. The roads in Haiti are unmarked and unpaved. There are about 36 cars per 1,000 Haitians. Haitians do have access to local markets because many of them grow, eat, and sell their own food. Deforestation, poor weather, poor soil content, and economic downfall are just some of the reasons that Haiti families face trouble getting nutritious food and making a living.

The outbreak of disease because of sanitation issues started in 2010 after a major earthquake. The earthquake created about eight billion dollars in damage, however, over time this cost of damages has increased up to 14 billion dollars. Haiti’s sewage system was mostly destroyed after the earthquake, so the existing sewage system is unsanitary; many people use the restroom out in the open. The open waste flows into the water and causes diseases. Today, cholera and other diseases are present, but death rates are improving. Following 2011, death rates declined because of improving sanitation in Haiti. There has been improved access to clean water in Haiti and cholera treatment centers have been established to help those that have been affected. While access to clean water has improved, it is still not enough to majorly help the country because it is not sustainable. Rural and urban populations are both affected by water and sanitation issues. These issues lead to cholera outbreaks majorly in both urban and rural areas. Women have a higher risk of a worse case of sanitation disease because they come in contact with water more because of their chores. For example, women typically take care of sick families, clean the latrines, get and use dirty water, and have to prepare raw food that is usually contaminated. The elderly are more susceptible to diseases because of sanitation issues compared to adults because their bodies are more fragile. Among children, boys tend to have more cases of disease from unsanitized water which is the opposite of adults. Also, children have a bigger risk of getting cholera or other diseases due to sanitation issues. The unsanitized water in Haiti affects all populations the same, everyone has to use the water often because it is a necessity for life. Dirty water is everywhere in Haiti, and there are no good ways of avoiding or getting rid of it. It affects the environment because this is where the water comes from. In addition to this, the unsanitized water is harming Haiti’s crops. With clean water, better-quality crops could be grown.

To fix their water, Haiti’s government is currently collaborating with Direction Nationale de l’Eau Potable et de l’Assainissement, known as DINEPA. They are trying to find available resources and address the issues that have to do with Haiti’s dirty water. DINEPA is currently helping Haiti’s water situation, but not enough people are focused on fixing this issue. Something that can be improved with this issue is the amount of attention it is getting, as clean water should be the number one priority.

Nicaragua is currently fixing its water sanitation problems with the use of ceramic water filters. These are cheaper than most solutions and can be made with local materials in Nicaragua. The filters protect against 99.88% of water-borne diseases that come from unsafe water in the country. Making and using these filters would be appropriate in Haiti because they are cost-effective and useful, even though they are low-tech items. Plus, the filters could be made with local materials. The solutions would meet the needs of the Haitian population because although Haiti is very poor, this is one thing that is more affordable. The only issue would be the cost of setting up a facility that makes these filters. Because of this, an initiative should be set up to teach Haitians about the issues with their water and what they can do individually to help themselves. Plus, Haitians can be taught how to create their own ceramic water filters to help themselves instead of large and expensive factories. Lots of solutions would be effective, but many of them are too expensive for such a poor country – even the cheapest solutions are too expensive. With this initiative, a smaller amount of money is spent and Haitians can learn about why their water is unusable. After the Haitians learn this, they can find ways to change what they are doing and fix the everlasting problem of unsanitized water. This plan does not affect any cultural norms of Haitians because clean water is a necessity and finding a way to get it and avoid diseases from it should be a priority in Haiti.

The community, government, and organizations such as Potters for Peace and Direction Nationale de l’Eau Potable et de l’Assainissement (DINEPA) would need to partner and collaborate in order to make this plan successful. Potters for Peace is a non-profit organization that comes to countries and unites the communities to teach them how to help their water issues. They hold water filter training courses in the countries that they visit and teach locals how to make ceramic water filters that help clean and disinfect the water that is poured into them. If Potters for Peace came to Haiti, they could facilitate the training of the population to create filters and teach them about the dangers of polluted water. DINEPA’s goal is to develop a national policy for the sanitation of Haiti’s water.

The government could collaborate with Potters for Peace and DINEPA in order to make this a successful plan. This would help because Potters for Peace and DINEPA would motivate the government to stick to the plan and keep trying to fix the water and sanitation issues, as that is each organization’s goal right now. Haiti cannot afford to get new technology or build anything that could help them, so this is the most effective solution. Ideally, the World Bank, DINEPA, and the Haitian government would partner in order to fund the educational program to help Haitians learn about the issues with their water. A policy that would need to be put in place is for the government to commit to trying to fix the issue of unsanitized water and create a better partnership with organizations that can help. This project can be sustainable as long as Haiti has clear goals to fix its water. Also, Haiti would need ample support from organizations, the government, and maybe even other countries.

In conclusion, Haiti has had severe water issues for more than ten years now. In order to fix this, change is necessary. DINEPA and Potters for Peace are organizations that can help Haiti commit to a solution and bring them back up from the bottom. Fixing the water in Haiti will create a more sustainable and healthier life for Haitians all around.

Refugee resettlement in Third World nations has become a significant problem in latest years, both because the number of refugees has risen and because refugees have been staying in host nations for periods of time that indicate permanence. At the same moment, in the face of economic recession and political pressure, richer-country governments have tended to restrain immigration, including large-scale recognition of refugees. They may have provided enhanced support for relief and resetting as a partial replacement. Generally, the refugee can be defined as a displaced person who has been forced to cross national boundaries and who cannot securely return home. Such an individual may be called an asylum seeker until the contracting country or the UNHCR has awarded refugee status if they officially make an asylum claim. A lot of refugees and asylum seekers, including kids, they all have encountered conflict, family separation and important violations of human rights in their nations of origin and transit, including torture, physical and sexual violence and also, increasing the threat of circumstances of mental health such as depression and anxiety, exacerbated by the uncertainty and harsh circumstances of imprisonment (Zwi 2015). The Australian Human Rights Commission report, The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention, discovered that one-third of kids have a mental health disorder that needs psychiatric assistance in immigration detention centres. This paper will therefore explore the company economic problems and the social impact on the community in order to determine if it has a positive impact on the economy and society.

Resettling refugees and asylum seeker may have a major impact which caused by some of the factors in current society. According to the research done by Edward et al. (2016), it was found that the factors discovered in culture to impact the society may refugees and asylum seekers who could influence economic, cultural and religious affiliations, crime and the capacity to access security, and financial and social rights, as well as the literature, showed that variables affecting society may include age, education, relative earnings, and marriage. further, the factors that affect refugees and asylum seekers in society and culture are that they do not speak the language of the receiving country’s language, nor do they except receiving effective reception from the recipient country’s citizens or they may not adapt to the new environment (Edward et al. 2016). Top to chronically, it generates hormones that make it more reactive: the ‘fight mode’. People are more likely to be nervous, react without thinking, and have a lot of time to be scared. It’s hard to focus, plan for the future, and sleep in this ‘fight mode’ (Zwi 2015). Therefore, refugee resettlement and asylum seekers may not have a positive effect on both business and society today.

The competition among companies and business in the market is unstoppable and unpredictable. Definitely, the most crucial thing that business is worried about is whether it is profitable. This needs to refer to some economic and financial aspects, so as to decide whether it will bring gain to the company. Edward et al. (2016) have shown that the effects of refugee camps on agricultural prices and beneficial impacts on the prices of certain agricultural products and a fall in the cost of food distributed in kind in refugee camps. Most studies indicate that refugees have production capabilities and resources despite undergoing forced migration and often living in destitute circumstances. The influx of refugees, the complicated effects of refugees on the national economies and the infeasibility of an experimental strategy to identifying the impacts of refugees. Some research indicates that a huge influx of immigrants increases unemployment among the less-skilled workers and also lowers salaries among some populations. In addition to this, some research indicates that a huge influx of refugees and asylum seekers increases unemployment among the less-skilled workers and also lowers salaries among some populations (Edward et al. 2016). For long-term consideration, refugee and asylum seeker may not make a profit for the business and bring benefit to society. Thus, this may not be a positive step for the company.

In conclusion, resettling refugees and asylum seeker may cause some of the issues which may not bring any helps to business and society. Refugee and asylum seeker would likely reduce the employment rate in business and the original cultural environment. Moreover, they may influence the price of accommodation and slow down the economy and weaken the demand for labour. Hence, this would lead to a negative economic effect which produces plenty of problems and brings anxiety and restlessness to the public. This kind of social issues may not be beneficial to business, but the business could avoid loss by improving policy and awareness.

We live in a world where enough food is produced to feed the whole population. Surprisingly, one in nine people, and in third world countries and one in three children still experience hunger or malnutrition. With an increasing global population and wealth, we can only expect the demand for food to increase. This calls for action to prevent food crisis which is likely to worsen.

Climate change is putting more pressure on the food production. So what can we do to provide enough nutritious food for everyone in a sustainable, inclusive and environmentally friendly way? SDG zero hunger pledges to end hunger, achieve food security and promote sustainable agriculture.

All stakeholders in the food and agricultural system should step up and work together towards zero hunger. These include the governments, research, business, individual consumers and financial markets and institutions.

Financial economics explains how finance contributes to solving this problem of hunger. Thinking like a financial economist; there seems to be a puzzle. There is enough foods, but still people are hungry. Perhaps, something goes wrong on the kind of markets on which foods are traded. These are agricultural commodity markets. Trading foods, or more broadly agricultural commodities, plays a key role in providing food to the population and constitutes a major source of income for many developing countries and individuals around the world.

Agriculture is arguably the single largest employer in the world. It supports close to three billion people or 40 percent of global population to cater for food and other basic needs. Majority of the world’s hungry people live in developing agricultural economies, where poverty is prevalent among food crop farmers. The situation is getting worse day by day in South America, South Asia and most countries in Africa. So what does go wrong on agricultural commodity markets? People do not only starve because food is too expensive. Rather, it is the volatility of prices that hit food producers the hardest. This causes a chain reaction that affects the markets and the consumers as well, the group that suffers the most.

This volatility in commodity price has been increasing over time. Increased volatility means more unstable income for food producers. But also, more problems arise due to poor planning of food production processes leading to periods of food shortages or excessive production that is at risk of being wasted or more severely to cause damage to the environment.

Such causes fluctuating revenues making fiscal planning extremely difficult, and as a consequence, investment in infrastructure, healthcare and education suffer. Drastic increase in price of food commodities can also have disastrous consequences as farmers and agricultural countries can be tempted to engage in straightforward exploitations and focus on the current extensive consumption with no regard for long-term planning or environmental concerns which are critical to growing food crops.

Volatility is something that financial economists talk about. Another question is, what can be done about those price swings? Well, economic tools can be provided by financial markets. These are needed to stabilize commodity producers’ income. Commodity features or option exchanges allows commodity producers to use financial products to transfer their price risks to outside investors who are willing to take on those risks. This makes their income from food sales more stable and predictable. The challenge here is to create accessibility to well-functioning commodity exchanges for farmers in third world agricultural economies especially in Africa. The biggest commodity exchanges are only available in the developed countries mostly in Asia, Europe and America. Recognizing the challenge to access international exchanges, national and local exchanges have begun to develop in these countries.

Successful local commodity exchanges exists in Brazil and Asia and they are growing really fast. To facilitate access to international and national commodity exchanges, financial markets and institutions are expected to play a vital role. Financial institutions such as banks and insurance agencies can also make a difference by providing farmers with access to finance, insurance and other risk management tools. This will go a long way to ensure the incomes from agricultural practices become steady and sustainable. Also, to support the production process, they can focus investments in expansion of rural infrastructure and agricultural research in third world countries to support the production process.

Through the support we give local farmers, we can bring change, hence sustainable food choices and reducing food wastage. We can also make use of our power as voters to demand businesses and governments to make the choice to promote zero hunger. Together we can work towards achieving a sustainable, healthier and more inclusive future free without hunger. 

Reading is referred to as a number of interactive processes between the reader and the text, in which readers use their knowledge to build, create and to construct meaning. Reading is one of the important aspects that need to be mastered by students because reading is the foundation for learning subjects across all sciences (Rintaningrum, 2009b, 2015b). The ability to read is very important for finding a job or going to college. Reading ability plays an important role in improving an individual’s life, ability in school, and is important to support the development of a country. Reading can be classified into three main areas namely the recreational, survey and study-type reading respectively. With recreational reading one is reading a story purely for pleasure, enjoyment and the tendency is to be more relaxed with an even speed. Survey reading involves covering a large amount of text in order to have a general idea of its contents. Finally, with the study -type of reading, it most of the time allows the reader to pay close attention to what he or she is reading because the reader in this type of reading will pose a series of mental questions to himself even as he reads. Fast forward in the subsequent paragraph I will be identifying briefly the relevance of reading to developing countries.

To begin with, my first point is in relation to dissemination of information in the country. In a developing country like Ghana print media like newspapers, articles, journal among others always release news that update the citizens on current affairs and happenings in the country and outside the county. This news gives detailed information about politics and governance, sports, entertainment, business and finance among other sectors. So, when the population indulges in reading essays, they are well informed and well abreast about recent happenings both at the national, local and international levels respectively hence, this helps them to make meaningful contributions to issues regarding national interest as a form of adding to the standards of democracy where the opinion of the normal citizen is appreciated at the national level to aide development in a country.

Another reason that makes reading relevant to developing countries is that reading to helps to upgrade and increase the level intellectuality of the country .As a developing country when reading is inculcated into the masses or citizenry from children to adults it helps them gain more knowledge and as they gain more knowledge they are able to gain analytical skills which in turn will aide them to solve basic problems that may arise in their society and the country at large hence influencing development of the society both at the local and national level positively.

Finally, the importance of reading to a developing country like Ghana is that it enhances the rate of literacy in the country. The high rate of illiteracy has caused high level of ignorance in the citizenry when it comes to industrialization and happenings of technological know-how in the country. If reading is inculcated in the citizenry, they become knowledgeable in industrialization which promotes production and also reduces the rate of illiteracy within the population hence increasing the rate of literacy in the country.

To conclude, the importance of reading in a developing country like Ghana where the educational sector is still undergoing development process and restructuring at the basic level, the more frequently students are encouraged to read by the ministry of education, the more language knowledge they acquire. Knowledge of language includes vocabulary, grammar and structure. Students are more likely to have more opportunities to acquire different patterns of grammar and structure when they are trained to like reading. Different types of books serve different patterns of grammar and structure. Students’ vocabulary improves quickly when students like reading. Every book they read provides different vocabularies and this will enrich their vocabulary quickly. Reading will increase their vocabulary and help them find out new things.

When examining the effects of new technologies on global value chains (GVCs), it is important to understand both the positive and negative impacts that these factors have had on economic development in developing countries. Because of the very different economic conditions in these developing countries as opposed to more developed countries, changes brought about by new technologies, as well as ever-increasing GVCs, different economies have had very different experiences with regard to economic development. In his paper, Dani Rodrick goes into some detail concerning the nature of these challenges to development in developing economies.

When it comes to new technologies and their effect on global value chains with respect to developing economies, the positive impacts of the changes are frequently referenced. It is these positive impacts, from the perspective of the developing economies, that make the prospect of new technologies being introduced into these economies so attractive. These technologies have succeeded in changing the way in which the people of these countries have been able to access and participate in the global economy, thereby contributing to their further economic development. In his paper, Dani Rodrik mentions that the inception of mobile phone technology in developing countries has opened up numerous opportunities. This new technology has allowed fishermen in Africa to observe local markets and allowed others to transfer from areas such as subsistence agriculture into different industries through mobile banking (Rodrik, p.2, 2018). Giving less developed economies greater access to the global value chains and allowing them to improve their ability to compete is one of the key ways that new technologies can help support developing economies and help them to catch up to more developed countries. A study on the impact of mobile money on the developing country – Kenya – found that mobile money became accessible to millions of people and lifted as many as 194,000 Kenyans out of debt (Suri and Jack, 2016). The diffusion of mobile phones and mobile money into GVCs is one of several positive impacts that new technology has had on the level of development in developing economies. However, there are several concerns regarding how these changes may affect developing economies in the future.

When new technologies are introduced into the global value chains, it is not only the addition of new features of the economy that need to be considered but rather how these factors will affect those that already exist. This is crucial as not all technological improvements are uniformly beneficial in all circumstances. While GVCs give developing economies increased access to the global economy, this may not always remain the same. One of the key opportunities that new technologies have given to the global economy is the ability to automate industries. As previously mentioned, automation involves delegating certain tasks to machines and/or computers to reduce costs, increase productivity, and encourage consistent quality. These benefits are ideal for any business as they increase profits, however; this does not necessarily mean that developing economies will also be positively affected by automation. As Dani Rodrick points out (p.2, 2018), one of the key resources that most, if not all, developing and/or low-income economies possess is an abundance of unskilled labour. What this means is that they have a relatively inexhaustible supply of potential workers that they can use to fill numerous jobs that require little to no training, such as basic assembly jobs, at a very low cost (typically much less than in developed economies). This made labour-intensive production an ideal industry in which to invest in these developing economies, as they were almost immune to the “supply side bottlenecks” (Rodrick, p.2, 2018) that developed countries have to deal with. Developed economies have been exploiting this abundance of cheap labour by moving manufacturing jobs offshore, however; automation threatens to end this practice. Rodrick is concerned that with automation being comparatively cheaper and new technologies favouring higher skill sets, developing countries may lose their one advantage (Rodrick, p.14, 2018). If this concern is well founded, then there could indeed be a risk to the future development of these developing economies if they become less attractive to foreign companies. There does appear to be some evidence to suggest that the introduction of these new technologies into the global value chains can indeed hurt these countries. According to a report by the World Trade Organization, a number of countries have been automating production and moving or keeping production within their countries. According to the report, companies in the United States, Germany and China have in recent years been investing in new domestic factories that are largely automated (World Trade Organization, p.93, 2019). This means fewer jobs being outsourced to developing economies, thereby limiting their received benefits from GVCs. Also, it has been pointed out that as a result of automation, 3D printing, and other cost-saving technologies, the labour focus is now being shifted from less skilled workers to robots (the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/the World Bank, 2019). This means that the jobs that will still exist for workers in these developing economies may exclude low-skilled workers. From what we have discussed here, it is clear that Dani Rodrik’s concerns about new technologies in the GVC could be justified.

There are of course other potential impacts to be considered, regarding the effects of these technologies on the developing world. When considering the effect of the GVCs on employment, it is not only the number of jobs available but also the wages that these jobs come with. According to Ben Shepherd (p.2, 2013), while there have been increases in wages for workers, this increase is largely given to skilled labour, thereby creating a greater wage inequality between skilled and unskilled labour. This is problematic because the amount of highly skilled labour in these countries is far lower than the amount of unskilled labour, so the positive impacts of the jobs that are created in these countries are only accessible to a small portion of the available workforce. This issue can at least be partially contributed to the inception of new technologies into these economies, which shift the demand for labour in favour of highly skilled workers (Ben Shepherd p.19, 2013). While highly skilled workers clearly need employment as well, the problem is that if these countries can’t employ one of their most abundant resources (the large numbers of unskilled labourers), then it may become more difficult for these economies to develop. With relatively higher wages going to highly skilled workers, low-skilled workers may well be left behind.

From what we have discussed here, it is clear that the impact of new technologies on GVCs is not necessarily uniformly positive for developing economies. There is a real risk of low-skilled workers being disadvantaged by the relative cost-effectiveness of automation and the increased demand for higher-skilled labour. This demonstrates that economies need to make sure they consider the impact that these new technologies will have when considering introducing new technologies into the global value chains.

It is conceivable to characterize Media Imperialism as ‘an idea that suggests an unequal connection between nations, in which one will in general endeavor another’ (Schiller, 1991). Be that as it may, to truly comprehend what Media Imperialism is, we would initially need to characterize the terms ‘media’ and ‘government’ separate from each other. Media is a troublesome one to characterize, yet if you somehow happened to utilize the conventional definition it is characterized as, ‘the fundamental methods for a mass correspondence (broadcasting, distributing, and the Internet) respected all in all’. Media is something that is found out, shared, or procured, and is non-static and continually creating. Government originates from the word ‘realm’, and is characterized as the stretching out of a country’s impact and power through the utilization of military power, colonization, or different ways. Government is the unequal regional and human relationship dependent on the thoughts of predominance and prevalence. Media Imperialism likewise has a cozy association with worldwide correspondence. Worldwide interchanges can be characterized as the correspondence work occurring crosswise over national fringes, and political, and social partitions, and social. Worldwide correspondence has had an expanded need because of globalization, which will be referenced in this paper. This paper plans to contextualize and inspect Media Imperialism and investigate how Media Imperialism is as yet important idea today.

We wind up in a general public where circulation, utilization, and the generation of media items are going on a worldwide scale. Various media scholars have contended that globalization is a factor that assumes a key job in supporting Media Imperialism and is helping push the West to advance its social qualities and majority rules system to underdeveloped countries. Anyway, there are as yet individuals who contend against Media Imperialism, for example, John Tomlinson and numerous other people who trust that Media Imperialism is no longer a significant idea, for underdeveloped countries, for three reasons. Initially, the group of onlookers are specific and interpretive in what data they’ll get, furthermore, every nation will have its strategies set up which restrict the stream of outside media, and lastly, neighborhood rivalries.

Media Imperialism centers around various strategies for interchanges through which it spreads the message and how it works (Thuss, 2000). Jeremy Tunstall trusts that Media Imperialism ought to be examined while investigating the more extensive hypothesis of social dominion since it’s a situation in which an immense measure of media and business items from creating nations, media that is credible, some portion of the nearby culture and conventional, is by and large always prevailed over of presence by the unpredictable dumping of western media, particularly US.

In print media, Agence France Presse, Associated Press, and Reuters, three noteworthy world news organizations, composed and circulated a semi- restraining infrastructure in giving prime meanings of breaking news on the planet’s outskirts. While in electronic media it was exclusively commanded by the U.S as it were’. (Goonasekera, A.and Lee, P. 1998), as indicated by UNESCO 75% of media content that appeared on TV in underdeveloped nations was transported in and cloned from the created nations (Thuss,2000).