Kenya: The dangerous rise of 'medicalised' genital mutilation

By Rédaction Africanews

As Edinah Nyasuguta Omwenga fought for her life after developing complications during childbirth, she overheard doctors in the Kenyan hospital describe her condition as a textbook example of the damaging -- even deadly -- effects of genital mutilation.

But unlike thousands of girls across East Africa, Omwenga underwent female genital mutilation (FGM) in a hospital, at the hands of a health worker -- part of a worrying trend keeping the illegal practice alive.

"I was seven years old... no one told me it would cause so many problems," Omwenga, now 35, recalled.

When Kenya banned FGM in 2011, few expected that the practice -- traditionally performed in public with pomp and ceremony -- would migrate to backroom clinics and private homes, with nurses and pharmacists doing the procedure underground.

Medicalised FGM -- as it is known -- is defended by practitioners and communities alike as a "safe" way to preserve the custom, despite risks to the victim's physical, psychological and sexual health.

According to a 2021 report by UNICEF, medicalised FGM is growing in Egypt, Sudan, Guinea and Kenya, where it threatens to undo progress made by the East African nation in stamping out the tradition, which involves the partial or total removal of the clitoris.

Kenya estimates that FGM rates fell by more than half "from 38 percent in 1998 to 15 percent in 2022". However, campaigners caution that actual figures are likely to be higher.

- 'Traditions defy education' -

In Kisii county, 300 kilometres (180 miles) west of Nairobi, more than 80 percent of FGM procedures are carried out by health workers, according to government data.

Doris Kemunto Onsomu spent years administering the cut to schoolgirls in the hilly region, believing it was a significantly safer alternative to the traditional procedure she underwent as an adolescent.

"Because I was aware of the risk of infection, I would use a fresh blade every time," she told AFP.

"I thought I was helping the community." The lucrative gig added 50 percent to her monthly income as a health worker before she stopped the practice. Demand came from all quarters, including upper middle-class households.

"Traditions defy education. It takes a long time to unlearn certain practices," the 67-year-old said.

Tina -- not her real name -- the daughter of an engineer, was at her grandmother's house in Kisii when a health worker turned up late at night to perform the procedure on the eight-year-old and her cousin.

"It felt like the world was ending, it was very painful," she told AFP, recounting her confinement on the orders of her grandmother, who told her she had to remain in seclusion until the wound was healed.

Now a student at the University of Nairobi, the 20-year-old campaigns against the practice, reflecting a growing push by FGM survivors to eradicate the custom.

As the youngest of five sisters raised in Kisii, Rosemary Osano said she "felt pressure" to go along with tradition when she was cut.

"People feel like we have adopted Western culture in so many ways... so they want to hold on to this (practice) as a way of holding on to their culture," the 31-year-old graduate told AFP.

- 'Save me from FGM' -

The belief also persists across the diaspora, with families flouting local laws and travelling to Kenya for the procedure.

In October this year, a London court convicted a British woman for taking a three-year-old girl to a Kenyan clinic to undergo medicalised FGM.

"It's done by the elite, they know it's wrong but they do it to defend their culture," activist Esnahs Nyaramba told AFP.

"They say that without this (cut) the girl will be a harlot," she added.

President William Ruto has urged Kenyans to stop practising FGM, but Nyaramba said the authorities needed to take tougher action against perpetrators, including health workers and victims' families.

"If you (throw) a parent... in jail and highlight it, then people will fear it." But other campaigners caution that a crackdown could drive the practice even further underground.

Instead, organisations have chosen to focus on building awareness and persuading families to opt for alternative rites of passage, combining celebratory coming-of-age rituals with traditional teachings.

At a recent ceremony organised by Kenyan non-profit Manga HEART in Kisii, around 100 girls -- wearing kitenge skirts and aged between seven and 11 years old -- sang songs and recited rhymes, urging their parents to "save me from FGM".

As the children received "certificates of achievement", their beaming relatives applauded and ululated -- the public ceremony reflecting an emerging resolve to end the dangerous practice. Some of the grandmothers and mothers celebrating that day knew the stakes all too well.

"I lost a lot of blood during FGM... but I couldn't stop it from happening," said Omwenga, the mother-of-three who nearly died during childbirth.

"I am here today because my girl is not going to go through FGM," she said. "I don't want my daughters to suffer like me."

 

Missouri AG launches investigation of Media Matters

BY DOMINICK MASTRANGELO - 12/12/23 

The opening page of X is displayed on a computer and phone in Sydney, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. Australia’s online safety watchdog has fined X, formerly known as Twitter, $385,000 for failing to explain how it tackles child sexual exploitation on the social media platform. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) says he has launched an investigation into Media Matters for America, the progressive watchdog, following its report about harmful antisemitic content on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

In a letter to the media watchdog, Bailey wrote his office has “reason to believe Media Matters used fraud to solicit donations from Missourians in order to trick advertisers into pulling out of X, the last platform dedicated to free speech in America.”

“Radicals are attempting to kill Twitter because they cannot control it, and we are not going to let Missourians get ripped off in the process,” Bailey said. “I’m fighting to ensure progressive tyrants masquerading as news outlets cannot manipulate the marketplace in order to wipe out free speech.”

Media Matters last month published a report laying out how X, under Elon Musk’s leadership, is placing advertising next to antisemitic content. The report, in addition to controversial posts Musk has made on the platform in recent weeks, has sparked a wave of blue-chip companies to pull advertising from the platform.

Musk days later sued Media Matters, alleging in court documents the company maliciously misled the public about how the platform operates. Musk’s lawsuit was cheered by many Republican politicians and conservative pundits once it was filed.

Media Matters declined to comment on Bailey’s letter Tuesday and in a recent statement called Musk’s lawsuit “frivolous” and “meant to bully X’s critics into silence.”

Polluted fish, tainted rivers and contaminated drinking water prompt state action in SC

Sammy Fretwell
Tue, December 12, 2023 

Joshua Boucher/jboucher@thestate.com

Previously criticized for its slow pace in protecting rivers from hazardous forever chemicals, South Carolina’s environmental department has taken steps that could limit the future spread of the toxic compounds.

In September, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control began requiring wastewater plants and industries to disclose whether they use, receive or generate forever chemicals, and if the contaminants are in wastewater the facilities discharge to rivers.

The department already had asked utilities whether sewer sludge spread on the land as fertilizer contains forever chemicals, also known as PFAS, or per and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

DHEC’s idea in seeking the information is to help the agency make better decisions on permits to discharge pollution.

Under federal and state law, anyone wanting to discharge pollution to the environment needs a permit from DHEC, but those are only approved after the agency reviews whether certain contaminants are within acceptable levels.

Forever chemicals have not historically been regulated in wastewater discharges and sewer sludge..

DHEC’s September decision follows pressure from environmental groups and recommendations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to track down and limit forever chemical pollution.

The agency’s action also comes after The State published a series of stories this year that revealed how PFAS-contaminated sewer sludge was being spread on the land as fertilizer in South Carolina..

The State and its parent company, McClatchy, found that about 3,500 agricultural fields across South Carolina had been approved for sludge disposal. In Darlington County, people who drank the water complained of illnesses.

Environmentalists praised DHEC’s action, saying it is overdue. The agency’s action also includes requiring more information about another type of poisonous compound known as 1,4-dioxane.

“For years, South Carolina has had a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy around PFAS and 1,4-dioxane pollution,’’ said Carl Brzorad, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. “As a result, these toxic chemicals have contaminated rivers, drinking water, fish, and people across South Carolina — and the public has no idea who is responsible.’’

“We’re heartened to see DHEC start to peel back the veil.”

Forever chemicals have been found in most every river checked in South Carolina and at elevated levels in drinking water provided by about 50 utilities. The department also has found PFAS at unsafe levels in some freshwater fish that people eat in South Carolina.

These chemicals have been widely used in society since they were developed in the 1940s. Among other things, they can be used to repel water from clothing, make foam to extinguish fires, and keep carpets from being stained.

But they don’t break down easily in the environment. And they have been found to cause certain types of cancers, raise cholesterol levels and cause thyroid problems in people exposed to them in sufficient amounts. Until the past 20 years, much of the information about PFAS hazards was not widely disclosed to the public by the manufacturers and distributors.

In an email to The State, DHEC said the agency is trying to determine how PFAS tainted wastewater and sludge are affecting the environment.

“The information will allow the department to make more informed permitting decisions,’’ the department’s email said.

Oil wealth, U.S. intervention aggravate Venezuela – Guyana border conflict

December 12, 2023 

 BY W. T. WHITNEY JR.

PEOPLES WORLD

A man carries the new map of Venezuela with the Essequibo territory, a large swath of land that is administered and controlled by Guyana but claimed to Venezuela, to the National Assembly building in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. | Ariana Cubillos/AP

Venezuela’s National Assembly on December 6 began deliberation on President Nicolás Maduro’s plan for incorporating Essequibo into the Venezuelan nation. The region lying between Guyana to the East and Venezuela to the West has long been claimed by both nations.

Maduro’s plan involves creation of a “Zone of Comprehensive Defense of Guyanese Essequibo,” the naming of General Alexis Rodríguez Cabello to direct the project, designation of state agencies for licensing the “exploration and exploitation of oil, gas, and minerals,” distribution of a revised map of Venezuela, and, importantly, creation of “an organic law for formation of Guyanese Essequibo and all the decisions [voted upon] last Sunday.”

Venezuelans on December 3 approved a referendum calling upon their government to establish sovereignty over the contested territory. Over 95% of those voting backed each of the referendum’s five points but some 50% of Venezuelans did not vote.

An old border dispute is now a conflict impinging on the very fabric of the Venezuelan nation. The major responsibility for the trouble, it should be noted, lies with U.S.-based ExxonMobil Corporation, its activities, and acquisitive purposes.

Guyana became a British colony after the Napoleonic wars. Britain was uncertain about the boundary between their new colony and newly independent Venezuela. A survey carried out under British auspices in 1835 put the colony’s western boundary close to or at Venezuela’s Orinoco River.

Venezuela’s actual eastern border during its colonial period, however, extended beyond the Orinoco, to the East, to the Essequibo River, flowing from south to north. During the 19th century, Venezuela’s leaders adhered to that version of the border.

President Antonio Guzmán Blanco initiated negotiations with Great Britain. Assuming that the Monroe Doctrine, as advertised at that time, represented a barrier against European designs, Venezuela’s government allowed two U.S. diplomats to negotiate on Venezuela’s behalf.

They colluded with their British counterparts. The negotiations ended with an agreement signed in Paris in 1899 that assigned the disputed Essequibo region to Guyana, the British colony.

Essequibo’s gold-mining potential was evident at the time. Now, according to a recent report, “Gold mining generates Guyana’s main export product, and such mining is carried out mainly in the Essequibo.”

Britain granted independence to Guyana in 1966. Earlier that year representatives of the Venezuelan and British governments, meeting in Geneva, agreed to submit the continuing dispute over Essequibo to arbitration. Venezuela’s government subsequently presumed that the 1899 Paris Agreement no longer applied.

With no resolution in sight, the two sides in 1987 submitted the issue to United Nations mediation. Nothing happened. In 2018, in response to a request from Guyana, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres referred the issue to the International Court of Justice located in The Hague.

Although Venezuela denies the Court’s jurisdiction, representatives of both nations appeared before the Court in November 2023. At issue was a Guyanese demand that Venezuela cancel the referendum that was scheduled for Dec. 3. The referendum nevertheless took place as scheduled.

Exxon Mobil responsible

The recent urgency of resolving the Essequibo quandary has everything to do with unfortunate moves by the ExxonMobil Corporation.

In 2015 ExxonMobil discovered copious off-shore oil reserves under Essequibo’s territorial waters. Guyana’s government expanded the bidding process for oil explorations. A previously humdrum territorial dispute had turned into a momentous contest with potentially far-reaching consequences.

ExxonMobil epitomizes power and wealth. Profits in 2022 were $56 billion. ExxonMobil revenues of $413.7 billion for 2022 were greater than the GDPs that year of all but 34 countries in the world; it ranked seventh for income-generating capacity among the world’s corporations.

ExxonMobil sees Guyana as its potentially most productive oil-producing region, a place accounting for more than 25% of ExxonMobil’s total hydrocarbon production.

According to analyst Vishay Prashad, “ExxonMobil … signed an agreement with the government of Guyana in 1999 to develop the Stabroek block, which is off the coast of the disputed Essequibo region.” He adds that “ExxonMobil was given 75% of the oil revenue toward cost recovery, with the rest shared 50-50 with Guyana. The oil company, in turn, is exempt from any taxes.”

According to Reuters, “Guyana has emerged as a key source for Exxon’s future production, with 31 oil discoveries in its giant Stabroek block so far. It and partners say they plan to pump 1.2 million barrels of oil and gas per day from the block by 2027.” ExxonMobil is exploiting off-shore oil and gas reserves in the territorial waters of Surinam, Guyana’s neighbor to the east.

Guyana will benefit. The International Monetary Fund is projecting 86% growth in the Guyanese economy due to off-shore oil production.

Venezuela’s government recently accused the Guyanese government of carrying out military operations in Essequibo together with troops of the U.S. Southern Command, their purpose being to “protect U.S. energy corporations.” A Venezuelan observer condemned “the provocative and dangerous incursions of troops of the U.S. Southern Command in [Guyanese] territory,” including “territory claimed by Venezuela.”

On November 30, a Guyana news source indicated that “At present, members of the U.S. military from the U.S. Army 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) are … in Guyana helping the Guyana Defense Force to build capacity.”

Citing U.S. Ambassador Nicole Theriot as its source, the report stated that the U.S. government would “stand in Guyana’s corner when it comes to threats to its territory and sovereignty.” It referred to “Exercise Tradewinds” which entailed 1,500 multi-national troops training in Guyana in July under the auspices of the U.S. Southern Command. U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken visited Guyana on July 6, 2023.

The U.S. government has long paid attention to Guyana. As ordered by President John Kennedy, the CIA manipulated Guyana’s labor unions so as to depose left-leaning Prime Minister Cheddi Jagan, in 1964. More recently, Guyana as a member of the now-defunct Lima Group of nations was a U.S. ally in efforts to marginalize Bolivarian Venezuela.

CONTRIBUTOR

W. T. Whitney Jr. is a political journalist whose focus is on Latin America, health care, and anti-racism. A Cuba solidarity activist, he formerly worked as a pediatrician, lives in rural Maine. W.T. Whitney Jr. es un periodista político cuyo enfoque está en América Latina, la atención médica y el antirracismo. Activista solidario con Cuba, anteriormente trabajó como pediatra, vive en la zona rural de Maine.

 

Digital platforms like TikTok could help China extend its censorship regime across borders

by Ge Chen, The Conversation

Credit: cottonbro studio from Pexels

China's drive to expand its influence through soft power mechanisms like censorship is coming into sharper focus, especially under Xi Jinping's leadership. Recently, the social media app TikTok has become a prominent symbol of this global strategy.

The platform consistently denies that its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, is close to China's government. "ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government. It is a private company," TikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew said. However, US congressional hearings and discussions about potential bans this year may suggest that there are suspicions in some quarters of other countries suspect a deeper, more intricate connection.

The crux of the matter lies in understanding how TikTok, and platforms like it, fit into China's wider interests in spreading its culture, enhancing its global influence and censoring views it objects to across national borders.

At first glance, TikTok provides light-hearted entertainment via catchy dances and comedic sketches. Yet, its content strategy largely reflects a prevalent ethos in China—to "live silently."

This essentially means navigating the digital space in a seemingly non-confrontational manner, being less critical, or at least overtly so, of the Chinese government.

Given the myriad of censorship laws in China, this approach may be both strategic and necessary for TikTok. It reportedly ensures that content creators steer clear of potential controversies. By aligning itself with the Chinese government's narrative, TikTok would certainly reduce its chances of being banned in China.

Such an ethos, however, starkly contrasts with those of western democracies that champion freedom of expression, even when it encompasses controversial or unpopular opinions.

The US Supreme Court, for instance, adheres to a constitutional doctrine which holds that the American government cannot prohibit "expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable."

These two divergent philosophies are at the heart of the debate in western countries over TikTok and a broader narrative about how digital platforms can become tools of the state.

When censorship meets capitalism

The potential and temptation for China to exert censorship across borders gets magnified when it's intertwined with global economic interests. China's emphasis on cyber sovereignty and efforts to mold digital standards globally along with its aspirations to position itself at the helm of the digital era are closely aligned with its wider geopolitical goals.

Projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative further underscore China's ambitions, where "soft power" and censorship combine to become a formidable tool of influence.

Such global ambitions are intricately tied to China's economic prowess. Using the promise of access to its vast market and investments, China has been criticized for exerting what has been described as "economic coercion." Governments and corporations, eager for a slice of the pie, might find themselves compromising their principles, including freedom of expression.

This economic leverage becomes a subtle yet powerful tool, potentially making nations or businesses think twice about opposing or criticizing China's policies.

Today, global tech giants find themselves having to balance profits against democratic principles if they want to tap into China's vast and lucrative markets. The conundrum isn't just about TikTok's content policies. It's a reflection of the broader challenges global corporations face, balancing profit motives with foundational principles

A digital divide

China's efforts to exert influence go beyond mere content curation. Its economic prowess allows it to deploy what some academics have called "transnational repression"—a potent tool in the party-state's transnational censorship arsenal.

There's evidence that China has used a combination of digital platforms, surveillance technology and international collaborations to suppress dissent. This is not just happening domestically, but also among its diaspora.

If governments and corporations compromise their foundational values to access China's markets and resources, it extends the regime's control, ensuring that criticism and challenges to its authority are curtailed globally.

The ideological rift between platforms like TikTok and western democratic values therefore extends beyond mere business challenges. It underscores a profound conflict of values. Digital platforms hailing from China, such as TikTok, operate within a framework that mandates content curation in line with the Chinese government's directives.

Amplified influence

China's unwavering adherence to its ideological principles, including campaigns such as "class struggle," can be traced back to historical movements in China like the "Yan'an Rectification Movement" of 1942. The strategies may have changed, but the core objective remains unaltered: to amplify the influence of an assertive, authoritarian regime.

In today's interconnected world, digital platforms are not just sources of entertainment. Instead, they represent the convergence of technology, politics and culture. TikTok, and its global reach, is a testament to this fusion. With its catchy challenges and trending dances, it is not just an entertainment app, but a digital stage where business, entertainment and geopolitics converge.

As we continue to interact with these platforms, it's vital to understand these underlying currents, recognizing the geopolitical games at play beneath the surface of viral trends and social media challenges.

Provided by The Conversation 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

EU opens probe into TikTok, YouTube over child protection

Canada Should Take the Time Needed to Get Its Cybersecurity Bill Right


Cybercriminals and state actors are rapidly scaling up ransomware and other attacks.

Michael Den Tandt
December 7, 2023

Cyberthreats are emerging from criminal enterprises, as well as state actors and their proxies. 

(Photo illustration by Kacper Pempel/REUTERS)


Bill C-26, the Government of Canada’s stab at shoring up the country’s cyber readiness, passed first reading in the House of Commons on June 14, 2022. The legislation has two thrusts; first, to keep hardware from adversarial states out of Canada’s telecom networks; and second, to ensure our critical infrastructure is hardened against a plethora of new digital threats.

Nearly a year later, in late March 2023, C-26 limped through second reading. The bill now rests with the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, for review and possible amendment.

That this law continues to languish at committee, 18 months after it first saw the light of day, encapsulates one of its core failings which, in fairness, is not unique to this piece of lawmaking: despite showing signs of having been written in a hurry, presumably in hopes of keeping pace with technological change, it’s emerging too slowly.

By the time it passes third reading, then meanders its way through the Senate to royal assent, C-26 may well have been overtaken by events. The threats it is intended to counter are multiplying far more quickly than the glacial pace at which the legislative process appears able to match.

What are these threats? The latest National Cyber Threat Assessment from the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (the Cyber Centre) encapsulates them in language that, for a government document, is remarkably direct. Cybercriminals are rapidly scaling up, evolving ransomware and other attacks into a transnational enterprise, while state actors — specifically China, Russia, Iran and North Korea — are deploying vast resources to attack and undermine open economies and societies by eroding trust in public institutions and the factual foundation on which their credibility rests. “You may be tempted to stop reading halfway through,” writes Cyber Centre Head Sami Khoury in the foreword, “disconnect all your devices and throw them in the nearest dumpster.”

To counter this, the draft bill offers two pillars: first, a revamp of the Telecommunications Act, giving the federal minister of innovation, science and industry sweeping powers to order companies to ban certain products, clients or service providers, with possible daily penalties of up to $15 million if they don’t comply; and second, the Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act (CCSPA), which would allow the minister and an appointed official to order cyber measures in federally regulated parts of the private sector considered essential to national security.

These include telecom, energy and power infrastructure including pipelines and nuclear plants, transportation, banking, clearing and settlement.

Seen from 10,000 feet up, the broad scope of the legislation will appear justified to some; after all, don’t significant threats justify dramatic action? But there’s a difference between action that is on point, and action so riddled with gaps that it’ll need a reboot the day it becomes law.

Christopher Parsons, in a dissection for The Citizen Lab, outlines six major concerns, any of which should be grounds for disqualification: an excess of arbitrary power; too much secrecy; inadequate controls on information sharing within government; potentially prohibitive costs for smaller firms (the legislation draws no distinctions based on scale or industry sector); vague language; and no recognition of Charter or privacy rights. Brenda McPhail, in an October 2022 analysis for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, echoes many of Parsons’s criticisms, noting wryly that the law joins “an increasingly long line of legislation that would fill a clear need, if only it were better.”

If the goal, broadly, is governance that promotes prosperity, security, accountability, diversity and equity in a democratic society, then C-26, as drafted, should not pass.

Is legislation urgently needed? Absolutely. But have its drafters gotten it right? No. Given the lightning pace of growth in cyberthreat vectors, it makes sense to continue to manage these threats on an ad hoc basis, as the minister has been doing, with assistance from the Cyber Centre and the CCSPA, and take the time needed to get the legislation right.

This article first appeared in The Ottawa Citizen.


The opinions expressed in this article/multimedia are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of CIGI or its Board of Directors.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Den Tandt

Michael Den Tandt is managing editor of CIGIonline.org, a longstanding writer and editor on international affairs and a former advisor to the prime minister and deputy prime minister of Canada.

Bank of Canada Must Address the Sky-High Distrust Around Its Digital Currency

According to a recent report, 85 percent of respondents would not use a digital Canadian dollar.

Ori Freiman
December 12, 2023

Privacy must be a fundamental feature of digital currency, the author argues. 

(Photo illustration by Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto via REUTERS)

In June, the Bank of Canada (BoC) concluded six weeks of online public consultations about issuing a digital Canadian dollar, an idea that has gained increasing prominence along with the rise of cryptocurrencies. Last Wednesday, the results of those consultations were published, along with the central bank’s report on the matter, and they are pretty revealing.

Almost 90,000 Canadians participated in the online survey. While keeping in mind that participation is not representative of the Canadian population and that nearly all who answered had heard about the idea of a digital Canadian dollar, the results were clear: privacy matters, and there is a major distrust of institutions with respect to how they handle private data.

According to the report, 85 percent of respondents would not use a digital Canadian dollar. Not surprisingly, most people ranked the ability to make private transactions as the most important potential feature of such a currency.

The report also found:86 percent of respondents do not trust technology companies to access and protect personal payment data responsibly and lawfully;
86 percent mistrust the Government of Canada to handle their data; and
72 percent mistrust financial institutions.

Considering that these institutions already handle our data, these findings signal that there’s plenty of work ahead for regulators and everyone in the financial ecosystem. Trust is key to a thriving economy, and this pronounced lack of trust hinders opportunities and limits the potential for fintech-related innovations.

When it comes to the potential issuer of the digital Canadian dollar, 79 percent of people distrust the BoC’s ability to safeguard their sensitive financial information. Assuming the BoC is a digital fortress, it must act to improve public trust in its ability to protect personal data.

Another point to consider is that 78 percent of respondents do not believe the BoC will consider their feedback as it builds the capacity to issue a digital dollar. This is ironic because the whole point of conducting a consultation is to gather feedback and insights from the public, and yet respondents feel their opinions will not be considered. The central bank needs to engage meaningfully with the public to build trust in its decision-making processes, too.

This sentiment is not exclusive to Canada. Currently, more than 130 central banks are exploring and experimenting with the idea of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). A CBDC for retail and public usage promises an innovative payment option, an alternative to other digital currencies, and a safer society through its ability to track the movement of funds involved in money laundering, terrorism and crime. However, despite the positive promises, CBDCs pose serious concerns.

The concerns range from cybersecuring CBDC infrastructure, through economic scenarios leading to financial and monetary instability, to dystopian scenarios for democracy. The latter concerns have given CBDCs a negative reputation worldwide, and with some justification.

The ability of future governments to access, surveil and control private financial data, and program digital money to have restrictions, could lead to monitoring citizens’ transactions, limiting freedoms, and identifying political dissidents and acting against them. In fact, Canada often serves as an example among opponents elsewhere: during the truckers’ protests in Ottawa, even a democratic and liberal government was not afraid to use financial instruments against those involved. How easy would that be with a CBDC?

A digital Canadian dollar has plenty of positive potential. It would serve as a novel payment option offered by the BoC for the public — in addition to cash. In an economy with a growing number of digital transactions and electronic means of payment, the argument goes, this new form of currency could better suit the needs of Canadians.

But a digital currency is doomed to fail without the public’s trust.

If the BoC goes forward, it must convincingly address these concerns, involve the public and civil liberty organizations, make privacy a fundamental feature of the digital currency and convince Canadians that a digital dollar would benefit the public.

These processes take time. Unlike the fast-paced, much-hyped, rapid and viral adoption of technological innovations, when it comes to the national currency, being cautious and careful is necessary to safeguard financial stability and democracy.

This article first appeared in The Globe and Mail.


The opinions expressed in this article/multimedia are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of CIGI or its Board of Directors.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ori Freiman

Ori Freiman is a post-doctoral fellow both at McMaster University’s Digital Society Lab and with the Digital Policy Hub at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. His research focuses on building trust in central bank digital currencies.

The hidden death toll of flooding in Bangladesh sends a dark signal about climate and health

December 12, 2023 

 BY ZOYA TEIRSTEIN

People push an auto rickshaw through a flooded road in Sylhet, Bangladesh. | AP

In the summer of 2022, one of the worst monsoons on record turned swaths of Bangladesh, a low-lying country in South Asia, into huge, muddy lakes. When the brunt of the flooding finally eased, at least 141 people had died and millions of others throughout the region had been injured, impoverished, or displaced. The sheer scale of the destruction made 2022 an outlier year, but data from the past few decades signals that the historic monsoon was part of a larger trend: Climate change is making South Asia’s rainy season more intense and inconsistent. Unusually fierce floods have plagued the region earlier in the year and more often than they used to — a pattern that research shows will continue, and worsen, as the planet warms in the years ahead.

A study published last week shows Bangladesh’s intensifying monsoons come with a staggering death toll, both in the immediate aftermath of the flooding itself and, more significantly, in the months that follow. The true scale of the toll has not been fully captured by local officials, aid organizations, or the international research community.

The same is likely true for other parts of the world that experience recurrent climate disasters. “In the climate and health field, we often evaluate the health effects of specific acute events, because it’s easier to account for all the other potential factors that could be confounding the association,” said Lara Schwarz, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Diego, who was not involved in the study. But a focus on the short-term obscures the larger picture. “Most climate events don’t occur only once and are likely to harm vulnerable populations over and over, through years, decades, and generations,” she said.

In the new study, researchers from the University of California in San Diego and in San Francisco found that flooding contributed to the deaths of 152,753 infants — defined as children 11 months and younger — in Bangladesh in the three decades between 1988 and 2017. The researchers used health surveys conducted by the United States Agency for International Development to collect data on more than 150,000 births over the course of the 30 years. They compared that data against high-resolution maps of major floods over that time span and found a stark difference in mortality risk: There were 5.3 more infant deaths per 1,000 births in flood-prone areas than in non-flood-prone areas. The authors extrapolated from this finding to estimate how many infant deaths, overall, were attributable to flooding in Bangladesh over the time period they studied.

Infants are an especially vulnerable subset of the population, and changes in infant health can reflect the prevalence of health issues in the wider population. “Death is the most severe health outcome,” said Schwarz. “The increased risk of infant mortality suggests that populations living in a flood-prone region may also be at higher risk of other adverse health problems such as improper nutrition, water-borne diseases, and poor mental health.”

The majority of the deaths were likely linked to three flooding-related conditions. The first, diarrheal disease, often spreads when flooding overwhelms local sanitation infrastructure and causes drinking water supplies to be contaminated. Cholera, one of the most common and deadliest water-borne bacterial diseases, is a particular concern in poor countries where sanitation infrastructure is underdeveloped. Flooding also contributes to outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, because standing water creates ample breeding ground for mosquitoes. Finally, flooding turns agricultural fields into bogs and can lead to massive crop losses, which contribute to existing food insecurity in Bangladesh. Babies are extremely vulnerable to hunger. The Lancet, a leading medical journal that publishes an annual analysis of the impacts of climate change on human health around the world, has identified bacterial and vector-borne diseases and malnutrition as top areas of concern.

Drownings and other injuries from the flooding also led to a small percentage of the deaths, the study’s authors told Grist. All of the health-related risks posed by flooding, from the first drowning to the last case of dengue, were exacerbated by socioeconomic factors like food security, family income, vaccination history, access to medical care, and the condition of local infrastructure such as sewage systems and drinking-water treatment facilities.
The authors of the study told Grist that their results indicate that the risks of environmental health hazards are shifting as climate change worsens. Government health agencies and researchers often collect information on the immediate public health impacts of a single extreme weather event. But, because a warmer world also means a world plagued by more frequent and intense disasters, communities are being affected by extreme weather repeatedly. The long-term, cumulative health consequences of events that occur on a yearly or sometimes even more frequent basis are not well understood by the scientific community. And as such, the world has a flawed understanding of the true human cost of extreme weather.


“We need to understand this kind of long-term impact in the context of climate change because communities are going to be repeatedly and systematically exposed to these hazards,” said Tarik Benmahria, an environmental health researcher at the University of California, San Diego, and one of three authors of the Bangladesh study. “These types of issues used to be exceptional by definition,” he added. “They’re not anymore.”

The method used by the researchers to determine the burden of flooding on communities in Bangladesh over multiple years, Schwarz said, “has the potential to be applied to evaluate the long-term effects of other climate exposures.” Extreme heat, hurricanes, and drought, to name a few of the environmental disasters being exacerbated by climate change, can also have compounding health effects that occur weeks, months, even years after the event takes place. If future research pinpoints how and when these effects occur, it could potentially save lives. “The approach is very relevant to other areas of the world that are vulnerable to recurrent climate hazards,” Schwarz said.

This article was reposted from Grist.org.

UK MP criticises government for inaction during a UN resolution for ceasefire in Gaza

UK Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said the UK’s abstention during a UN vote seeking a ceasefire in Gaza last week is ‘unforgivable’. She stressed the need for immediate and creative diplomacy given the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where starvation is rife, and violence affects both the Palestinian and Israeli civilian populations. Lucas added that there is no military solution to this conflict, highlighting the necessity of a political resolution to bring an end to the decades of suffering and repeated violence.


December 12, 2023 

Health Fears As Wildfires Can Spread Cancer-Causing Toxic Metal

Dec 12, 2023 
By Jess Thomson
Science Reporter

A heavy metal that can cause cancer may be spread far and wide via the smoke of wildfires, new research has found.

The carcinogenic form of the metal chromium and other cancer-associated chemicals were found to be present in large quantities in ash after wildfires across Northern California, a new paper in the journal Nature Communications reveals.

In dry environments, this ash may easily be blown towards population centers in the wind, and could therefore pose a long-term public health hazard.


The researchers analyzed the soil after wildfires across Northern California in 2019 and 2020, including in Sonoma, Napa and Lake Counties, finding that there were dangerous levels of chromium in the ash. The chromium was discovered to be most prevalent in areas with an underlying metal-rich geology, and in areas where the fires were more severe.
A stock image of a wildfire near South Lake Tahoe in California. Wildfires have been found to leave behind ash rich in the carcinogenic form of the metal chromium.ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS

"We demonstrate that high temperatures during California wildfires catalyzed widespread transformation of chromium to its carcinogenic form in soil and ash, as hexavalent chromium, particularly in areas with metal-rich geologies (e.g., serpentinite)," the authors, hailing from Stanford University, wrote in the paper.


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"In wildfire ash, we observed dangerous levels (327-13,100 µg kg−1 [micrograms per kilograms]) of reactive hexavalent chromium in wind-dispersible particulates," they said.

Chromium is an essential element in the human body, but only in the form of trivalent chromium (Cr III). Hexavalent chromium (Cr VI), however, is carcinogenic, and is the form of chromium that has been found in the wildfire ash. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Cr VI exposure is strongly linked to lung cancers in humans and animals, as well as acute effects including coughing and wheezing, and even gastrointestinal and neurological effects in high dosages.

The researchers also found that drier weather in the aftermath of the fires caused the chromium to stay in the soil and dust for nearly a year.

"Relatively dry post-fire weather contributed to the persistence of elevated hexavalent chromium in surficial soil layers for up to ten months post-fire," the authors wrote.
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Wildfires release large quantities of other dangerous substances, including PM2.5 pollution. PM2.5 particles are 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, and include soot, black carbon, ammonia, sodium chloride and mineral dust, which can all cause respiratory irritation.

A stock image of a man wearing a face mask to protect himself against wildfire smoke in Australia in 2020. Wildfires release large quantities of dangerous substances that can cause respiratory irritation.

The researchers suggest that the chromium left behind in the ash may also pose a large health hazard to people living nearby and first responders, as it will get blown around in the wind. While the study focused on California wildfires, the authors estimate that other regions of the world where soils are rich in heavy metals and fires are frequent face similar problems, including large swaths of West, East and Southeast Africa, Northern Australia and Russia.

As the chromium appears to persist in the soil for longer in drier environments, the effects of climate change may therefore play into both the frequency and severity of wildfires, as well as exacerbating the damaging effects of wildfire pollution in the future.

"Our findings provide new insights into why wildfire smoke exposure appears to be more hazardous to humans than pollution from other sources," the authors wrote.

Jess Thomson is a Newsweek Science Reporter based in London UK. Her focus is reporting on science, technology and healthcare. She has covered weird animal behavior, space news and the impacts of climate change extensively. Jess joined Newsweek in May 2022 and previously worked at Springer Nature. She is a graduate of the University of Oxford. Languages: English.

California wildfires could be transforming natural metals into cancer-causing compounds

BY SHARON UDASIN - 12/12/23 

Forest burns in the Carr Fire on July 30, 2018 west of Redding, California. (Getty Images)


Wildfires in parts of the U.S. West may be transforming a benign form of chromium into its cancer-causing counterpart — potentially endangering first responders and surrounding communities, a new study has found.

The research, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, identified high levels of the hazardous metal hexavalent chromium, or chromium-6, at specific types of burn sites along California’s North Coast.


Also known as “the Erin Brockovich chemical,” chromium-6 emerged in the public eye in the 1990s after Brockovich — then a legal aid — found that it was contaminating drinking water and sickening residents of Hinkley, Calif.

This toxic compound, which raises cancer risk when inhaled or ingested, was not present at the sites of interest for the study before they burned.

Rather, soils and plants at these locations were rich in naturally-occurring trivalent chromium — chromium-3 — an essential nutrient that helps the human body break down glucose.

While chromium-6 can also exist naturally in the environment, this toxic form of the metal more often contaminates communities via runoff and wastewater from industrial processes.

Wildfire smoke plumes are known to transport dangerous pollutants such as aerosols, gases and fine particulate matter, but the researchers wondered whether the same could be said for heavy metals, and what the risk might be to firefighters and those who reside downwind.

“In the complex mixture of gasses and particles that wildfires spew out as smoke and leave behind as dust, heavy metals such as chromium have largely been overlooked,” senior author Scott Fendorf, a professor at Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability, said in a statement.


Laboratory experiments conducted by Australian researchers in 2019 had already shown that chromium-6 could form rapidly from chromium-3 in surface soils set ablaze.

This transformation occurs through a process known as oxidation — or in this scenario, a reaction between chromium and atmospheric oxygen in which electrons are lost.

Because that process is slow at low temperatures, it “effectively doesn’t happen,” Fendorf, who is also a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, told The Hill.


“But when you start heating the samples up through in this case wildfires, that causes that reaction to occur,” he said. “And so, you’ve transformed from the benign to the really toxic form.”

With that in mind, Fendorf and his colleagues decided to test the theory that wildfires could leave soils contaminated with chromium-6 in their stead.

The scientists focused their attention on California’s North Coast, where they identified four recently burned ecological preserves that contain chromium-rich rocks, such as serpentinite.


While the southern Sierra Nevada tends to have more granite and less chromium content, the northern Sierra has more serpentinite — California’s state rock, Fendorf noted.

“When you bring the wildfire through, that then leads to much higher levels of chromium-6 being produced,” he said.

The four research sites — Pepperwood Preserve, White Rock Preserve, Modini Preserve and Sylvia McLaughlin Natural Reserve — were all partly or completely burned during the Kincade or Hennessey fires, which respectively occurred in Nov. 2019 and Sept. 2020, per the study.


Lead author Alandra Lopez, a postdoctoral scholar in Earth system science at Stanford’s Doerr School, collected soil from these sites and then separated out the smallest particles that are most sensitive to wind transport.

She then measured the levels of chromium-6 in this ultra-fine dust from both burned and unburned areas, while also gathering data on local fire severity, prevailing soil conditions, underlying geology and ecosystem traits.

In chromium-rich sites where vegetation fueled long-lasting fires at high heat, the scientists found that toxic chromium concentrations were 6.5 times higher than those in unburned areas.


“Our study suggests far more attention should be paid to wildfire-modified chromium, and we presume additional metals as well,” Lopez said in a statement.

Doing so, she added, is necessary “to more thoroughly characterize the overall threats wildfires pose to human health.”

As far as these potential threats are concerned, the authors said they believe that fire-induced toxic chromium exposure has the most acute impacts on first responders and people who live near the blazes.


In comparison to exposure to chromium-6 via contaminated drinking water, as discovered in Hinkley by Brockovich, Fendorf stressed that “inhalation is far worse.”

“Toxicologists are really clear on that,” he said. “If you had the choice, you want to drink it before you breathe it. And not that they suggest either one.”

The extent of the threat also varies based on which plants are fueling the fire, according to Fendorf.

Grasslands, for example, don’t produce sufficiently high temperatures to create a lot of chromium-6, but shrubs and tree canopies do provide ample heat, he explained.

Even after the fires end, strong winds could expose nearby populations to fine particles of chromium-laced soil, the researchers noted.

The brunt of the risk associated with inhaling airborne chromium-6 likely declines following the first big rainfall, which can wash the metal underground, according to Fendorf.

But in an arid environment like that of the U.S. West, which is facing increasing and prolonged droughts due to climate change, exposure risks could persist for those rebuilding and revegetating burned areas, he warned.

While chromium has been Fendorf’s biggest toxin of interest due to “the radical transformation that takes place,” he said he is also concerned about other metals, such as manganese, certain forms of iron, nickel and cadmium.

Stressing the need for further research into wildfire-related exposure to heavy metals, Fendorf noted that the time being, wearing an N95 at such a burn site could be beneficial.

Fendorf said that he and his team are now creating predictive maps, so that firefighters have more awareness as to where they might encounter fine particulate matter and where they might also face chromium-6 exposure risk.

He and his colleagues have been preparing for the past two years to deploy active monitoring devices that are capable of monitoring contaminants amid a blaze, but such conflagrations have been minimal during this period.

Ed Burton, who led the 2019 research on the transformation of chromium-3 to chromium-6, credited the new study for showing “that wildfires cause a dramatic shift in chemistry of chromium in fire-impacted soil.”

“Significantly, the authors show that newly-formed hexavalent chromium can persist in surface soil and ash for many months after wildfires,” Burton, a professor of environmental geochemistry and mineralogy at Australia’s Southern Cross University, told The Hill in an email.

In addition to describing the potential health risks to those exposed to soil particles or ash, he stressed his “particular concern” as to the impacts of these findings on the U.S. West.

The region could be at particular risk because “large areas of land are naturally rich in soil chromium and because wildfires appear to be increasing in severity and frequency due to climate change,” said Burton, who was not involved with the Stanford study.

Dimitrios Alexakis, a professor of geology and geochemistry at Greece’s University of West Attica, likewise described “a broad global threat of dust-born metal and wildfire smoke to humans,” stemming from the mix of these blazes and chromium-rich soils.

“This study demonstrates an underrecognized health threat to humans associated with the geology and fire severity,” he told The Hill in an email.

Alexakis, who was also not involved in this research, has studied both the dispersion of toxins from burned vegetation and the impacts of fire-fueled land contamination on human health.

The Stanford study, he observed, could help offer “fresh perspectives on the reasons behind the heightened health risks associated with exposure to wildfire smoke compared to pollution from other sources.”

Understanding how environmental factors contribute to the creation of chromium-6 through fire could also help scientists devise predictive tools to mitigate exposure risk and guide policymaking, according to Alexakis.

As further research on the subject unfolds, the Stanford team stressed that the results will be applicable not just to California’s North Coast, but to fire-prone areas with metal-rich landscapes around the world.

“With wildland fires expected to increase in frequency and severity in many geographic regions due to a combination of climate change and past fire management, post-fire dust emissions are likely to rise,” the authors stated.

Both the Pacific Rim and Mediterranean areas have geologies that are higher in chromium, as do other parts of Europe, Australia, South Africa and Brazil, according to the study.

“Every continent has areas that are quite high at risk, so it’s not a small point,” Fendorf said. “It’s really a broadly distributed problem.”