Today's discussion about climate change and refugees is a good opportunity for me to plug a new initiative of Nothing But Nets to cover over 600,000 refugees in protective, anti-Malaria bed nets. The most vulnerable populations in the world are hit hardest by Malaria--it is the number one killer of refugees. But Malaria is also a preventable disease. A simple, insecticide treated bed net is a cheap and effective way of curbing Malaria. It can mean the difference between life and death.
The new Nothing But Nets initiative seeks to send enough bed nets to protect some 630,000 refugees living in 27 camps in Uganda, Eastern Sudan, Tanzania and Kenya. One bed net can cover a family of four for about four years--and costs only $10. So, as they say, send a net, save a life.
Everyday this week a distinguished group of panelists will respond to an idea submitted to On Day One, a website that asks users for their ideas on what the next president can do, on day one. Our theme this week is human rights and On Day One user Nick Robson wants the next president to focus on climate refugees.
Rising sea level caused by anthropomorphic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will have a huge impact in Small Islands Developing States and coastal dwellers globally. It could be argued that for the majority of these people, certainly those in the less developed world who have not contributed significantly to GHG output, have a right to continue to live in their ancestral home. Their forced evacuation caused by sea level rise could be said to be a abuse of their human rights. How can we help them?
Micheal Bear Kleinman, Eric Schwartz and Emily Holland respond below the fold.
Early last month, back to back to back hurricanes devastated Haiti--the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. As always happens when a natural disaster strikes a developing country, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs issues an flash appeal to which member states pledge funds for humanitarian relief and reconstruction. The problem, though, is that member states sometimes pledge funds, but are slow to actually deliver. Alternatively, member states simply do not respond to the appeal at all. This latter seem be happening in Haiti. So far, only 40% of the $107 million appeal has been pledged. According to the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes, this is not going to cut it.
"Even that 40 per cent is nowhere near enough of what we're going to need for the next six months or so for people in Gonaives, and Gonaives is not the only place affected by any stretch of the imagination," Mr. Holmes said on his return from a two-day visit to Haiti, which was hammered by four successive storms in as many weeks from mid-August to mid-September...
Gonaives, the hardest-hit city, is still a "dramatic and grim site" even six weeks after the last hurricane hit, said Mr. Holmes. Some 30,000 people are still taking refuge in city shelters, which are very often ill-equipped schools, and some of those who have gone back to their homes are camping on roofs and in courtyards.
There is a large new lake just outside Gonaives, which did not exist before and now covers the bridge and roads leading to the city, and living conditions have been made even more difficult by huge amounts of mud and stagnant water.
"If urgent action is not taken on the disaster risk reduction front, then we're simply going to see more tragedies in the future," warned Mr. Holmes.
If you are interested in helping out, Yele Haiti (Wyclef Jean's NGO), and the World Food Program have established a Haiti Storm Relief Fund. Still, there is a limit to what NGOs can do. Member states need to step up.
(Photo of Gonaives after Hurricane Hanna. From Flickr. Photo credit to Logan Abassi (MINUSTAH) )
With one week to go before elections here in the United States UN Dispatch, On Day One, Chasing the Flame and Humanitarian Relief are joining forces to talk human rights. Everyday this week a distinguished group of panelists will respond to an On Day One user generated prompt about a human rights idea the next president can adopt, figuratively, on day one. Our panelists include:
Our first prompt comes from On Day One user David Tuckman, who says the United States should support the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Eric Schwartz, Suzanne Nossel, and David Kaye respond below the fold.
Via Yglesias, Nebraska Republican Senator Chuck Hagel offers a defense of the United Nations. From the New Yorker:
Critics have suggested that McCain's League of Democracies could diminish the role of the United Nations. When I mentioned this to Hagel, he said, "What is the point of the United Nations? The whole point, as anyone who has taken any history knows, was to bring all nations of the world together in some kind of imperfect body, a forum that allows all governments of the world, regardless of what kinds of government, to work through their problems--versus attacking each other and going to war. Now, in John's League of Democracies, does that mean Saudi Arabia is out? Does that mean our friend King Abdullah in Jordan is out? It would be only democracies. Well, we've got a lot of allies and relationships that are pretty important to us, and to our interests, who would be out of that club. And the way John would probably see China and Russia, they wouldn't be in it, either. So it would be an interesting Book-of-the-Month Club.
"But in order to solve problems you've got to have all the players at the table," Hagel went on, his voice rising. "How are you going to fix the problems in Pakistan, Afghanistan--the problems we've got with poverty, proliferation, terrorism, wars--when the largest segments of society in the world today are not at the table?" He paused, then added, more calmly, "The United Nations, as I've said many times, is imperfect. We've got NATO, multilateral institutions, multilateral-development banks, the World Trade Organization--all have flaws, that's true. But if you didn't have them what would you have? A world completely out of control, with no structure, no order, no boundaries."
In this week's UN Plaza, I speak with Oisin Walton of Telecoms Sans Frontieres (TSF).
UPDATE: In recent weeks, TSF has deployed to Haiti after four successive cyclones devastated the island nation, and to Honduras, where more than 200,000 have been affected by heavy flooding. TSF's emergency communications for disaster relief work is supported by the UN Foundation and Vodafone Foundation Technology Partnership.
Children from around the world showed off both their artistic skills and their awareness of climate change in an exhibit yesterday called "Paint for the Planet," part of the UN Environment Program's "UNite to Combat Climate Change" initiative. This painting comes from 11-year-old Siem Diem Siong of Malaysia, a testament to the importance of reversing deforestation.
The focus on young climate activists is both a moral imperative and a shrewd strategic decision. Children are disproportionally at risk of suffering from natural disasters that stem from climate change, and, with almost half the world's population under 25 years old, youth represents the vanguard of climate activism. Overwhelming percentages of children in surveyed countries attested to the urgent need to combat the threat posed by climate change with major steps in the immediate future -- revealing the extent to which this position has become almost mainstream in a very short period of time.
For those interested in artwork like Siem's above, UNEP is holding an auction of 26 such paintings, with the proceeds going to UNICEF emergency relief programs. The deadline for pre-bidding is midnight tonight, so make a bid!
At a Nothing But Nets event in Atlanta on Wednesday, some amazingly talented students from the Ron Clark Academy offered their take on the presidential campaign. From CNN.Embedded video from CNN VideoUPDATE: Inspired by the kids? Then check out Nothing But Nets, an organization that raises money to send anti-Malarial bed-nets to Africa. Malaria needlessly kills one million people each year, the vast majority of whom are children under five years old. Simple bed nets save lives. One $10 donation buys a net large enough to cover a family of four for up to four years.
Send a net. Save a Life.