The 50 Most Effective Ways To Transform The Developing World
There are so many projects in global health that sometimes it's hard to figure out which ones are the most important.
So Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory set out to list the 50 breakthroughs that would most transform the lives of the poor, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Shashi Buluswar, an author of the study, spoke with Morning Edition's Renee Montagne. Here's a sampling:
A low cost, fuel-free way to desalinate water. Many people in the world do not have enough fresh water to grow crops, and more and more fresh water runs off into oceans. Desalination creates usable water out of salty or brackish sources. "Right now it's tremendously energy intensive and expensive," Buluswar tells Montagne, "so trying to come up with a much more affordable, scalable and energy-efficient way of desalinating water would be tremendous."
Vaccines to control and one day stop HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Treating people with these diseases is a huge burden for low income countries. But researchers only know so much about the pathogens that cause each one. Take malaria, for example. "A lot of money has gone into it right now, but the malaria parasite is such a complicated beast that it's been very difficult to come up with something," says Buluswar. "It's quite likely that in the next couple of years there'll be a partially effective vaccine, but we're still a long way from vaccines for HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB."
Electronic textbooks that adapt to user's skills and language ability. An affordable tablet would help students connect to the Internet and tailor material to their needs.
Affordable smartphones. The best ones would support Internet and require minimal electricity to charge. "We've all heard stories about how mobile technologies and mobile phones have really made a tremendous improvement in the lives of the poor in places like sub-Saharan Africa," says Buluswar. "But there is increasing recognition that the functionality you get with a smartphone ... really could make a substantially greater difference."
New materials for building durable, lightweight, affordable homes. Many of the urban poor live in homes made from recycled materials, but ventilation is minimal and there's rarely running water or sanitation. Upgrading these homes can reduce the spread of TB, diarrhea and pneumonia, among other diseases.
Low-cost fertilizers that don't depend on natural gas. It's expensive to turn nitrogen into fertilizer, and it can only happen near natural gas sources. Right now African farmers have to buy their fertilizer from international sources, which makes the food they grow very expensive, especially when fossil fuels jump in price.
Cheap, fast mini-grids that could provide energy to rural areas. Buluswar and his colleagues envision a "utility-in-a-box," a bundle of parts that would be easy to set up and run on renewable sources.
A groundwater sensor to find water and a cheap drill to build a well. Wells are expensive to dig, especially if you drill in the wrong place. "If we were able to build a sensor that could tell you how deep water is under the ground," says Buluswar, "that can make digging, and hence irrigation, much more affordable."
A low-cost, DNA-based rape kit. Without evidence, it's tough to hold perpetrators accountable for their acts. "Now, if you could actually go to a clinic and have a clinician, a nurse, or someone like that, actually collect the evidence, it is no longer a case of he said, she said," says Buluswar.
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Transcript
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
A new study tries to identify what technologies could have the most impact, especially in the developing world in the years to come. The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab has come up with a list of 50 breakthroughs in a range of areas, among them global health and human rights. Shashi Buluswar is one of the authors and joined us to talk about some of those ideas. Good morning.
SHASHI BULUSWAR: Good morning, Renee.
MONTAGNE: Give us some examples of what would be key breakthroughs.
BULUSWAR: The most important one we found was desalination. Right now, it's tremendously energy-intensive and expensive. So trying to come up with a much more affordable, scalable and energy-efficient way of desalinating water would be tremendous. Another one in the context of food security has to do with irrigation. And if we were able to build a sensor that can tell you how deep water is under the ground, that can make digging and hence irrigation much more affordable.
MONTAGNE: And of course, this is a 600-plus page document. So there's plenty more in there - things like different types of homes for the urban poor that are lightweight. They're affordable - all kinds of different aspects of meeting the basic needs of food, water, shelter but also societal problems. And one item suggests some of the painful need, and that would be - you're looking ahead to a low-cost DNA -based rape kit.
BULUSWAR: Yeah, one of the topics we cover is gender equity. A fairly big problem in all societies, not just in developing countries, is that of sexual violence. In a place like the U.S., where you can have the systemic support to file complaints and, in principle, bring the perpetrators to justice, you can imagine how being able to call 911 and go to the police is very helpful. But if you're in rural sub-Saharan Africa, rural India, these things happen, and you don't really have anyone to rely on. Now, if you could actually go to a clinic and have a clinician, a nurse or someone like that actually collect the evidence, it is no longer a case of he-said-she-said.
MONTAGNE: And at least opens a pathway to some sort of...
BULUSWAR: Exactly. Now, it is important to recognize that technology alone won't fix this problem. There are massive issues of societal behavior and patterns and so on that have to change before gender equity and gender parity can be reached. But this can make a small dent.
MONTAGNE: Well, again, asking for examples - but it's interesting. This study puts the ideas on a spectrum from simple to extremely challenging.
BULUSWAR: Yep.
MONTAGNE: Some of the extreme challenges have to do with poverty and also lack of good government. But could you give me a quick example of the two extremes?
BULUSWAR: Yeah. One of the simpler ones is a very inexpensive smartphone. Now, we've all heard stories about how mobile technologies and mobile phones have really made a tremendous improvement in the lives of the poor in places like sub-Saharan Africa. But there is increasing recognition that the functionality you get with a smartphone - it could really make a substantially greater difference. Now, given how attractive that market is, a number of phone companies are already on their way to making these products. It's not necessarily simple, but it's going to happen regardless.
MONTAGNE: And so extremely challenging.
BULUSWAR: One really complicated one is a very effective vaccine for malaria, for instance. You know, a lot of money has gone into it right now. But the malaria parasite is such a complicated beast that's been very difficult to come up with something. And it's quite likely that in the next couple of years, there'll be a partially effective vaccine. But we're still a long way from vaccines for HIV, AIDS, malaria and TB. So those are among the three most complicated ones.
MONTAGNE: Shashi Buluswar is one of the authors of the Berkeley report "50 Breakthroughs: Critical Scientific And Technological Advances Needed For Sustainable Global Development." Thank you for joining us.
BULUSWAR: You're very welcome. Thank you, Renee. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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