General updates

On June 10, David Beasley, Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP), confirmed distressing new information that although it is are “deploying more than 180 staff and increasing food distributions to reach 1.4 million people,” these are less than half of the estimated 4 million people in the Ethiopian region of Tigray facing severe hunger. Of those, 350,000 are threatened with famine, representing the highest number in a single country over the past decade, the World Food Program said in a statement.

Beasley emphasized that “the brutal reality for our staff in Tigray is that for every family we reach with life-saving food, there are countless more especially in rural areas whom we cannot reach. We have appealed for humanitarian access but are still being blocked by armed groups…. Our teams tell me that in 53 villages they visited, 50% of mothers and almost a quarter of children they’ve been screening are malnourished. Millions of people urgently need food. Without it, many of them will die.”

According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, published by the UN and aid partners on June 10, “the conflict, which began last November between central government forces and regional forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, is the key cause of acute food security in Tigray,” The fighting has destroyed infrastructure—especially farms—killed or scattered livestock, and has caused massive displacement of the population.

Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Henrietta Fore stated that “without humanitarian access to scale up our response, an estimated 33,000 severely malnourished children in currently inaccessible areas in Tigray are at high risk of death. The world cannot permit that to happen.”  She also addressed a severe situation in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique in her June 11 briefing. UNICEF Press Release

Beasley appealed to world leaders, saying that “three things are needed to prevent hunger from claiming millions of lives in Tigray; a ceasefire, unimpeded access for WFP and partners to all areas, and the money to expand our operations to meet the growing numbers of people who desperately need emergency food assistance.” WFP Statement

The upcoming two-day Schiller Institute International June 26-27 conference is part of a continuous process to build a stronger and stronger anti-Malthusian alliance worldwide, incorporating a network of people who understand the profound importance of a Renaissance of Classical culture.

The World Health Organization (W.H.O) Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, applauded the intention of the Carbis Bay Declaration on Health released today by the G7 meeting near Carbis Bay in Cornwall, UK, but stated that it is insufficient to address the current pandemic crisis.

The Declaration signers pledged one billion doses of vaccine to the poorest nations; to decrease the approval time for new vaccines to 100 days, and to increase capabilities for the world to track and sequence new diseases, among other initiatives.

Dr. Ghebreyesus stressed, “‘Many other countries are now facing a surge in cases – and they are facing it without vaccines. We are in the race of our lives, but it’s not a fair race, and most countries have barely left the starting line. We welcome the generous announcements about donations of vaccines and thank leaders. But we need more, and we need them faster…Together we need to build on the significant scientific and collaborative response to the Covid-19 pandemic and find common solutions to address many of the gaps identified.’” He also emphasized that (even though it’s too little, too late) 11 billion doses are needed to vaccinate at least 70% of the world’s population by mid-2022.

His statements were underscored by Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF, who said this weekend: “‘We have reached a grim milestone in this pandemic: There are already more dead from COVID-19 in 2021 than in all of last year. Without urgent action, this devastation will continue. Equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines represents the clearest pathway out of this pandemic for all of us — children included. 

“UNICEF thanks G7 member states for their significant pledges and continued support. However, much work remains to continue to ramp up both the amount and the pace of supply to the rest of the world, because when it comes to ending the COVID-19 pandemic, our best interests and our best natures align. This crisis will not be over until it is over for everyone.’” UNICEF Press Release

The Chinese take their public health pretty seriously. When the coronavirus pops up in a locale, certainly there is quarantining, and then tracing all the contacts. But mass testing in a few days, whether of a confined neighborhood or of a metropolis of millions, is par for the course.  

Guangzhou, a city of 18 million, found their first case of the highly contagious delta variant two weeks ago. Prior to that, they had been averaging about 2 new cases/day of the regular strain, and zero cases on May 24. But on May 26, there was a ‘spike’ of 14 cases, and the public health authorities sprang into action. From May 26 to June 7, about 29 million tests were conducted, where 119 people were found to be infected, seven of which were asymptomatic cases. They are confident that they can surround and finish off the invading enemy virus. 

Their massive testing capacity, over two million tests per day, was achieved with the aid of a new, quick-to-assemble mobile testing lab, capable of a million tests per day. The “Huo-Yan Air Lab” can be flown in, transported on a truck, and erected/inflated in ten hours. (Note the time-lapse video) The P2-level lab has an automated nucleic acid extraction robot. 

Developed by BGI and Etopia, it has already been exported to a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Togo, Benin, Gabon, and Kazakhstan. BGI first used an inflatable structure for fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014. “Huo-Yan” means “fire-eye.” It refers to the power of the legendary Monkey King to detect evil hidden beneath covers – or, in this case, the presence of the coronavirus. A spray is being developed to ‘concretize’ the walls, in case it is desired to make the temporary structure more permanent. The same team is working on an inflatable COVID hospital ward design.

Meeting and beating a crisis can be an inspiration.

The required measures to defeat the enemy virus globally will be discussed at the upcoming international Schiller Institute conference.