BIOSAFETY
November, 2009
Health Financing and Health Outcomes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Policy Brief
By Marwa Farag, Research Fellow, The Dubai Initiative
This policy brief is based on analysis conducted in the paper entitled "Health Financing and Health Outcomes in the Eastern Mediterranean Region". An overview of health financing and health outcomes in the region using crosscountry and over-time comparisons (1995-2006) shows that, as expected, there is great variation among countries in the region in terms of health spending, health inputs, and health outcomes, with one extreme being Afghanistan, which spent less than 50 constant international dollars on health per capita per year, and the other being Qatar with a per capita health spending exceeding 2,500 constant international dollars in the period 1995 to 2006. This variation in health spending is echoed in health outcomes with more than 250 under-5 deaths per 1000 live births in Afghanistan, while it is less than 10 per 1000 live births in the United Arab Emirates. This pattern of health spending and health outcomes clearly demonstrates the very different stages at which health care systems in the region operate, and hence the different nature of challenges and health issues facing these countries.
June 30, 2008
"Get Biotechnology on the Agenda for Africa"
Op-Ed, The Japan Times
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
"Leaders at the Group of Eight industrialized nations' summit in Hokkaido next month need to take strong measures to promote cooperation in using biotechnology to address Africa's food challenges. At present there is resistance from Europe, and even Japan is dragging its feet on this vital issue....While the claims about risks need to be addressed, they no longer carry the same stigma worldwide. South America and Asia have in many cases leapfrogged into the genomics age through the adoption of biotechnology while its use in Africa remains largely marginal."
November 15, 2007
"Africa Warms Up to Biotechnology"
Op-Ed, Business Daily, (Nairobi)
By Ismail Serageldin and Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
"Much of the debate about biotechnology in Africa assumes that African countries are only being asked to accept products developed elsewhere. To the contrary, Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa’s Development shows that extensive biotechnology research is under way in Africa...."
November 13, 2007
"Putting Biotechnology to Economic Use in Africa"
Op-Ed, Business Daily, (Nairobi)
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa and Ismail Serageldin
African leaders are determined to forge a new economic outlook based on science and innovation. This is reflected in their decision to seek advice from African experts on the role of biotechnology in Africa’s development.
The results of the work of the High-level African Panel on Modern Biotechnology are contained in Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa’s Development....Freedom to Innovate outlines specific and practical measures to advance development, quality of life and environmental sustainability using biotechnology. It is a bold statement on the need for Africa to build the capacity needed to manage emerging technologies.
November 13, 2007
"Africa Should Bank on Innovation"
Op-Ed, Business Daily, (Nairobi)
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa and Ismail Serageldin
"Biotechnology offers a wide range of economic growth opportunities for Africa. But as “Freedom to Innovate”, a biotechnology report on Africa’s Development shows, the continent needs to locate biotechnology policy in the context of wider economic strategies. Technological development goes hand in hand with overall economic growth and not as an isolated activity."
Autumn 2007
The Day After: Action Following a Nuclear Blast in a U.S. City
Journal Article, Washington Quarterly, issue 4, volume 30
By Dr. Ashton B. Carter, Co-Director, Preventive Defense Project (on leave), Harvard & Stanford Universities, Dr. William J. Perry, Former Co-Director, Preventive Defense Project and Dr. Michael M. May
Failure to develop a comprehensive contingency plan, such as the one proposed here, and inform the American public, where appropriate, about its particulars will only serve to amplify the devastating impact of any nuclear attack on a U.S. city
August 2007
Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa's Development
Report
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa and Ismail Serageldin
"This report is about biotechnology and the role it can play for development in Africa. The report suggests specific and practical measures to advance development, quality of life and environmental sustainability using biotechnology."
December 2006
"The Role of Government Policy: For Growth, Sustainability and Equity"
Book Chapter
By Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Former Research Fellow, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project/Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, 2005-2006
This chapter focuses on the role of government policy in the evolution of GM technology and institutions.
December 2006
"Institutional Changes in Argentina, Brazil, China, India and South Africa"
Book Chapter
By Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Former Research Fellow, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project/Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, 2005-2006
"...the emergence and spread of GM crops at the global level was driven by markets and shaped by institutions. This chapter analyses the same process at the national level and compares the experiences of Argentina, Brazil, China, India and South Africa...."
December 2006
The Gene Revolution: GM Crops and Unequal Development
Book
By Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Former Research Fellow, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project/Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, 2005-2006
This is the first book to bridge the gap between the "naysayers" and "cheerleaders", and to provide a penetrating examination of the realities, complexities, benefits and pitfalls of GM adoption in developing countries that are desperately fighting poverty while trying to stay afloat in the hyper-competitive global economy.
