Sub-Saharan Africans join forces for TB vaccine research

May 2, 2012 Leave a comment

[JOHANNESBURG] Researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa are playing a key role in the development of a new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, following South Africa’s lead, a meeting in Johannesburg heard last week (20 March).

At the meeting, held before World TB Day (24 March), researchers launched a blueprint on TB vaccine research for the next decade, and discussed the role the country and the region will play in TB vaccine research.

South Africa has the second-highest incidence of TB worldwide, which makes it an appropriate place to test new vaccines. There are 1,000 cases per 100,000 people in South Africa, compared with around 200 in India and less than 100 in China, according to David Mametja of the South African Department of Health.

He added that South Africa has the highest number of TB cases per capita in the world.

Each year, there are about nine million new cases of TB and 1.5 million deaths. Most countries where the disease is endemic give children the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, but this does not protect adults from pulmonary TB, the most common and infectious form of the disease.

There are 15 vaccines in clinical trials, and many more in preclinical stages of research and development.

Hassan Mahomed, co-director of the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative (SATVI), said it was “important for Sub-Saharan Africa to take the initiative and develop a vaccine … There are excellent scientists in South Africa who understand the epidemic and can conduct research”.

Gavin Churchyard, chief executive officer of the Aurum Institute, a non-profit research organisation based in South Africa, agreed. “South African researchers are playing a leading role internationally in research and diagnostics,” he said.

South Africa is collaborating with nine other institutions in Africa. For example, SATVI has formed partnerships for clinical trials with research institutions in Kenya, Mozambique and Uganda.

SATVI, according to Mahomed, is leading the way in South Africa.

“We have tested five vaccine candidates and have led eight vaccine trials,” he said, adding that phase 2A clinical trials are currently being conducted on one vaccine candidate — MVA85A — with results expected early next year.

“This is the first time we’ll have efficacy results, to determine if this trial prevents TB. We’ll be making history,” said Mahomed.

Filed under SciDev

Africa-wide monitoring tool aims to boost food security

May 2, 2012 Leave a comment

Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla

 

28 March 2012 | EN | FR

agricultural production and ecosystem health in Africa could boost food security and decrease environmental degradation across the continent.

The Africa Monitoring System (AMS) tool was launched last month (23 February), and aims to provide real-time integrated data on agriculture, ecosystems services and human well-being, assembled in six indicator categories, whichpolicymakers and organisations can use to better understand trade-offs that result from increased agricultural production.

Ethiopia, Ghana and Tanzania will be the first countries to contribute data to the tool, in the first of three phases targeting five regions in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The US-based non-governmental organisation Conservation International is a co-leader of the project, and Sandy Andelman, CI’s vice president, said data will be collected by automated sensors as well as manual observations and measurements from technicians. Data will also be incorporated from  household surveys using smart phones.

“The data will be summarised into a set of holistic indicators and displayed on [an open access] web-based dashboard. Raw data and analytical outputs will be available through the web as well as various customised reports on particular topics,” she told SciDev.Net.

Policy nodes at national, sub-national and international scales will be established, and regular input from policymakers will be obtained to ensure they understand the service and are receiving relevant information from it.

Andelman, who will serve as AMS executive director, said the tool’s target audience will be policymakers at the international, national and regional level, donors, agricultural extension systems, non-governmental organisations andfarmers‘ associations.

He said farmers would also benefit indirectly through improvements to livelihoods and the maintenance of ecosystems.

Keith Shepherd, chief soil scientist at the World Agroforestry Centre, Kenya, said the system would help generate more evidence-informed decisions.

But he warned that “one of the key challenges will be good planning and coordination across multiple agencies so that everything comes together into a smooth operation”.

“If standardised and systematic processes with good quality control are not put in place, we may just end up with a lot of messy data from different sites that cannot be combined,” he said, adding that data handling, statistical analysis and interpretation, and obtaining sufficient investment were also potential challenges.

AMS is headed up by CI, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa and the US-based Earth Institute, and has received significant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Business of stem cell banks questioned

May 2, 2012 Leave a comment

Umbilical cords are in demand for therapies that exploit neonatal stem cells, but some private cell banks are accused of taking advantage of parents.

Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla

Virgin Health Bank

Private stem cell banking is a steadily growing business in the Arab region, with parents increasingly aware of the potentially life-saving benefit of preserving a newborn’s umbilical cord. Cord blood treatment is currently used in therapy for a number of cancers; blood, metabolic and immune disorders. While harvesting and storing blood from the umbilical cord is not a controversial medical practice in the Middle East, there are several ethical issues that need to be considered.

Umbilical cord blood transplantation, even from a mismatched donor, is an effective alternative treatment for a bone marrow transplant if marrow from a matched donor is unavailable. Hind Humaidan, director of the Cord Blood Bank set up in 2003 at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Saudi Arabia, says her hospital has performed more than 3,500 bone marrow transplants, but that finding a suitable donor is often a major obstacle.

Since the cord blood bank’s launch, it has collected 3,725 UCB samples. Humaidan says the non-profit public cord bank has benefited patients, and has resulted in huge savings for the hospital. “We used to pay US$30,000 to US$35,000 to import and transplant UCB. The cost to transplant a local unit from our bank is US$7,300.”

The American Academy of Paediatrics, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the World Marrow Donor Association have all questioned the benefit of private stem cell banking, arguing there is no real advantage in autologous transplantation. The banks have also been criticized for aggressive marketing to expectant parents. “You cannot tell people if you don’t donate your baby’s umbilical cord blood cells (UCB), your child may possibly die. That’s just wrong,” said Rajan Jethwa, head of Virgin Health Bank (VHB) in Qatar, speaking at a panel discussion at the Qatar International Conference on Stem Cell Science and Policy in February 2012

Jethwa argues that the aggressive marketing of some private cell banks is driven by a commercial imperative which can override promoting the medical value of stem-cell preservation. Although VHB, headquartered in the United Kingdom, has existed as a private enterprise since opening in Qatar in 2009, a new public-private model will come into effect this year under which a sample of the child’s cells will be banked privately, and the remainder, with parental permission, will be placed into the public bank. “Thus social enterprises can make a profit and do good,” Jethwa explains. “I like to think we are the architects of Arab stem cell banks.”

The state will pay the bank to operate the public donor bank, which will be fully managed by VHB.

Therapeutic potential

Medical professionals encourage the donation of UCB to public stem cell banks since, like blood banks, they benefit the wider community. Humaidan, suggests banks should accurately explain to parents the terms of donation and how it can benefit others. “Most mothers, if approached correctly, agree to donate cord blood.”

“In Saudi Arabia, large families are common, so there’s a larger donor pool for UCB,” says Humaidan, suggesting this would solve the problem of the lack of matched donors. Since the bank opened in 2003, the hospital has done 219 successful UCB transplants.

Both Humaidan and Jethwa confirm that once parents donate umbilical cords to a public bank by informed consent, they concede control of the tissue. “However, if it’s needed for a transplant and it’s still available, it will be given to the patient,” says Humaidan.

Filed under Nature

Qatari women scientists aim for the top

May 2, 2012 Leave a comment

Four young female researchers are trailblazing their way to becoming leading stem-cell scientists in Qatar’s thrust to become a top country of research.

Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla

Heba Al-Siddiqi explaining her work to Sir Magdi Yacoub.Nature Middle East

Stem cell research began in Qatar in 2007 when the Qatar Foundation joined forces with the Baker Institute, a policy institute and part of Rice University in Houston, Texas. Their goal is to help develop stem-cell research in the small Gulf country.

One of the first steps taken by the collaborations was to form the International Programme on Stem Cell Science and Policy, charged with examining the ethical and religious issues involved in stem-cell science, relevant to Arab culture, and engaging with local communities. Five years on, the plan is bearing fruit.

Hamda Al-Thawadi, Halema Al-Farsi, Heba Al-Siddiqi and Sarah Abdullah joined the Qatar Science Leadership Program (QSLP), a QF initiative that aims to groom Qataris to take leading roles in Qatari science and one day steer its ambitious national programme of research.

The QSLP sends students to train at some of the best universities in the world. And 2011 saw Al-Thwadi and Al-Farsi go to one of France’s largest universities, University Paris-Sud 11, Al-Siddiqi go to Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Massachusetts and Abdullah go to the University of Cambridge in the UK.

At the Qatar International Conference on Stem Cell Science and Policy held this past week in Doha, Al-Thawadi, Al-Farsi and Al-Siddiqi presented their research on ovarian cancer and obesity-related diseases. Al-Thawadi practiced medicine for two years before applying for the QSLP. “In the past there was only one path for a medical doctor, treating patients. But when QF started this programme, they created a new path for doctors or graduates interested in science,” she says. “This is a perfect chance for Qatar to create home-grown researchers.”

A bioethics class at Cardiff University in the UK got Al-Siddiqi hooked. “There was a lot of controversy over using embryonic cells, so I took a class which made me read more about stem-cell research, and decided to go into it.”

Relevant research

 

Hamda Al-Thawadi standing next to her poster on ovarian cancer and thrombosis.Nature Middle East

The first research paper Al-Siddiqi’s co-authored was published inNature Cell Biology in February 2012. “It felt amazing, especially after all the hours of hard work,” she says.

Al-Thawadi and Al-Farsi decided to work on ovarian cancer as it is highly prevalent in the Middle East. Al-Thawadi incubated cancer cells in culture with Protein C, a coagulation factor, to test its effect on thrombosis of ovarian cancer cells, which led to a significant increase in metastasis. “This gives us a clue to outline preventative measures for thrombosis in ovarian cancer patients,” she explains.

For the past year, Al-Farsi looked into ways to reprogram certain cancer stem cells. “They contain PD117, a factor found only in stem cells which allows them to regenerate. The same principle can be applied to other cancers.”

Abdullah realised halfway through medical school in Nottingham University in the UK that research interested her more. She returned to Qatar with a neuroscience degree to look for an institution that would fund her to “research stem cell and neurological disorders, which aren’t very common in Qatar at the moment.”

Abdullah’s focus is on the role of the transcription factor oxo-3a in myelin-forming cells called oligodendrocytes. When the factor disappears from cells after trauma or disease it can lead to neurodegeneration. “I hope to promote formation of differentiating cells by studying stem cells and look at why oligodendrocytes fail to remyelinate,” Abdullah elaborates.

None of the budding young researchers feel they’ve faced gender discrimination. “It’s better to be a female,” laughs Al-Siddiqi. “I feel more privileged, and I think I’m treated better and there’s a lot of support.”

Living in Paris, Al-Farsi at first felt a bit out of place, and felt judged wearing a hijab, but has since settled in. “I feel accepted now.”

Abdullah feels she is playing an important role in dispelling misconceptions about Arab women. “As an Arab woman I think people abroad are shocked at how modern and knowledgeable we are. For a long time Muslim women have made a name for themselves, and I’m just joining a group of established women.”

CORRECTED:

The original article mistakenly stated Heba Al-Siddiqi published her first co-authored paper in Nature. It was published in Nature Cell Biology.

  • References

    1. Ahfeldt, T. et al. Programming human pluripotent stem cells into white and brown adipocytes. Nature Cell Biology 14, 209-219 (2012)doi:10.1038/ncb2411 | Article | PubMed | CAS |

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Ancient Egypt in 3D

May 2, 2012 Leave a comment

Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla

The Valley of the Kings; The Karnak Temple Complex and the Temple of Hatshepsut. Just three of the marvellous attractions of Luxor in Egypt, the site of the ancient city of Thebes, which have lured people from afar for millennia. Now, new 3D technology may offer virtual visitors the change to gaze at those ancient wonders without as much as a tourist bus in sight.

Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have used new imaging technology to construct 3D models of these ancient wonders.

Shooting an Egyptian temple with the CAVEcam at nightGreg Wickham

The teams employed CAVEcam photography: two cameras rigged to snap the shutters simultaneously, each taking 72 photographs for panoramic views of 360° vistas. Only three such systems have ever been built, one belongs to its designer, Dick Ainsworth, and the other two are at KAUST and USCD.

“There is no system other than the CAVEcam that can capture 3D images covering the complete sphere — 360 degrees by 180 degrees,” says Ainsworth.

“The CAVEcam has two cameras sitting side by side which replicate both the distance and view of the human eye. So as a result you have a left and right eye perspective of photos taken,” explains Adel Saad, systems administrator at KAUST’s Visualisation Lab. The cameras reposition automatically at regular intervals for subsequent photographs to capture the entire scene, from sky to ground.

Software stitches simpler images together, but more complex scenes need to be stitched manually, taking from 12 hours up to a week. “The stitching process is automatic only in the most trivial sense. It is fairly easy to combine multiple images of a scene to create a single composite photograph. Creating matched stereo images that accurately represent the complete spherical view as seen from each eye, however, is complex. The entire stereo image must be created to accurately duplicate what our eyes see.”

With KAUST boasting one of the most advanced imaging facilities in the world, the next step is to integrate sound and touch into the experience. The team envisions cyberarchaeology, whereby historic sites are preserved and made digitally available in special, 3D visualization facilities, such as those available in KAUST. “I can look at a 3D image of a piece of ceramics and feel the holes and little chips in it, without it actually being there,” explains Saad. He expects such technological developments may be seen in as little as six months to a year.

It can also allow researchers from around the world to study artefacts without worrying about shipping them overseas or accidentally damaging or contaminating them.

Currently, the images and 3D visualization lab are only accessible to KAUST students, faculty and collaborating researchers. Saad hopes the 3D immersive images will be made available to the public in the near future.

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COP17 report on climate change in Arab world

December 24, 2011 Leave a comment

Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla

Climate change is a threat to poverty reduction and economic growth and threatens to undo many of the developments in recent decades in the Arab world, according to a World Bank draft report presented at the COP17 in Durban, South Africa.

The report, Adaptation to a Changing Climate in the Arab Countries, is produced in partnership with the League of Arab States (LAS) to provide information on climate change in the Arab countries, as well as technical guidance on how to adapt to a changing climate.

“Climate change poses a challenge to Arab countries in achieving our Millennium Development Goals,” commented Fatma El Mallah, advisor to the secretary-general of LAS.

Many Arab states are already feeling the effects of climate change, with 2010 being the warmest year on record since records began in 1850. The temperature is predicted to rise 0.3–0.4°C per decade, one and a half times the global average, according to the report. Most of the Mediterranean region will become drier and rainfall will decrease.

“The region will face a 10% reduction in water by 2050,” warns Dorte Verner, climate change coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank. Today, demand for fresh water exceeds available supply by 16%, likely to increase to 50% in 2050,”

In Jordan, the fourth driest country in the world, this fall in water supply would be disastrous. At present, it needs 1.5 million cubic metres of water to meet demands, but only 900,000 cubic metres are available. A temperature increase and rainfall reduction, compounded with a growing population, will result in food insecurity and water insecurity.

Economic impact

 

“Women are the most engaged in agriculture, but least in decision making processes.”


“Climate change is not a stand-alone issue,” says Amam Dababseh, director of sustainable development at the Amman Institute for Urban Development in Jordan. “It is linked to economic development and solutions need to converge across society, environment and economy.”

The cost to the economy could be severe. The report contends increased droughts will reduce GDP growth by 1% and increase poverty levels by up to 1.4%.

According to El-Mallah, Arab countries import food worth US$30 billion more than they export. “Droughts are increasing in intensity, and it’s a reality we have to live with. With climate change, Arab countries will grow more dependent on food imports,” she said.

Nearly 70% of the Arab world’s population live in rural areas, and will be the most affected. “The local food production system will come under stress”, said Verner. “The agricultural output could decrease 20-40% by 2080 due to high dependence on climate sensitive agriculture.”

Although the Arab climate has always been harsh, coping strategies used for centuries are inadequate for coping with climate change. The report cites the example of Syria’s Bedouin herders suffering from a drought lasting several years, who were forced to move to the outskirts of cities, losing their livelihood and way of life.

Disproportionate effects

Climate change disproportionately affects the poor and has a greater impact on the daily lives of women. Poor people have little capacity to respond to prepare their home for more extreme weather, and in Yemen, for example, women must travel greater distances to fetch fresh water — some trips taking seven hours a day.

“Women are the most engaged in agriculture, but least in decision making processes,” comments Verner. “We have to act now — together and differently,” she asserted. “The vulnerable must be taken into account when planning policy.”

Based on the report, the team has started to draft an action plan, Diversification, Integration, Adaptation, Leadership (DIAL). “Economic activities must be both at household and national level to improve climate resilience, and must be integrated into all projects, not standalone adaptation projects. We need a holistic approach”, stresses Verner.

The report will inform the fifth IPCC report. Leila Dagher, an economist at the American University in Beirut, sees the report as an important first step. “The next step should be a fully-fledged economic adaptation study, to produce a range of estimates to help Arab countries be better aware of their climate finance needs”, she said.

El Mallah pledged that LAS will do all it can to help the Arab world adapt to climate change. “We welcomed the proposition by the World Bank to compile this report. Climate change is on the political agenda of Arab summits, since the region is highly impacted by the effects.”

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Green Schools Planned in Gaza

December 24, 2011 Leave a comment

The United Nations plans to build a sustainable, carbon-neutral Gaza. As a first step, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has partnered with award-winning green architect Mario Cucinella to build a green school in the Gaza Strip.

“When we saw Mario’s work, we were immediately interested in it for Gaza,” said Ugo Bot, UNRWA’s external relations officer. “With Gaza’s precarious water and electricity supply, the school would be of educational and social benefit.”

Cucinella, founder of Mario Cucinella Architects, favours simple construction systems over expensive technology. “In the past, people in the Middle East built beautiful buildings with a natural heating and cooling system. That capacity is now forgotten,” he said.

Green technology is considered expensive owing to the initial investment typically involved, but Cucinella has demonstrated it can be affordable. At a cost of US$2 million, his school will cost little more than a normal school built by the UNRWA, which cost on average about US$1.8 million.

Green design

A concrete slab will form the foundation for the school, with the bedrock beneath acting as a first ‘bioclimatic moderator’, which can regulate the building’s internal temperature. Cucinella explains that pipes will run through prefabricated hollow concrete pillars passing through the school that can heat or cool the building’s interior to keep a tepid temperature within the classrooms. The pipes will suck hot air from outside, travel through the interior and cool it before being expelled through solar chimney ventilators.

Polycarbonate mashrabiya panels, a type of projecting window with a wooden frame popular in the Middle East in the 19th century, are another natural source of ventilation.

The curved roof is designed to collect rainwater and store it in separate storage tanks. Shrubbery on the roof will also act to cool the building. One storage tank will hold potable water, the other water for the sanitation system. A ground wetland purification system will recycle wastewater for toilet and irrigation use. Plants and bacteria remove pollutants from the water, with plants absorbing nitrates and phosphates and bacteria consuming organic waste.

The school will source its energy needs from local renewable resources. “It’s off grid-and self-sustaining. We aren’t reliant on expensive technology,” said Cucinella. Amorphous thin solar photovoltaic panels covering 400 square meters will provide the power.

Bot hopes the school’s sustainable approach will spread beyond its walls. “It can become a meeting place for the community, where they have good access to clean water and electricity. But also, it can change mindsets in Gaza. Very few people are familiar with green architecture and recycling of rainwater. It’s a learning experience.”

Technology transfer is high on UNRWA and Cucinella’s agenda. “We want to share this technology with communities, so they can use it to build their own schools or use this design in their homes.”

UNWRA plans to build another 20 such schools in the Gaza Strip. “We are adopting green technology, and want to mainstream it into our work in all sectors and in all areas, not just Gaza”, said Bot. “In developing green standards, we’ll be creating jobs and providing training opportunities.”

Filed under Nature

Life, Above All

December 24, 2011 Leave a comment

By Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla /Special to Daily News Egypt August 25, 2010, 2:29 pm Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.” Anthony Brandt Two films at the recently concluded Durban International Film Festival epitomized this statement by Brandt. “Mammoth” and “Life, Above All” were poignant reminders of the familial relationships which shape us. It was difficult to keep a dry eye in both movies, yet the pathos is not soppily sentimental. The realities are portrayed with no polishes. Oliver Schmitz’s “Life, Above All” — which received overwhelmingly raving reviews when it premiered last May in Cannes — won the South African Best Feature Film award at DIFF. Based on Allan Stratton’s evocative novel, “Chanda’s Secrets,” this emotional narrative reveals a young girl’s loyalty and fearless courage in trying to keep her family together. Untrained local actress Kgomotso Manyake was discovered through auditions in a rural area, and delivers a powerful debut performance in here. When Chanda’s baby sister, who’s just a few months old, dies of a mysterious illness, rumors spread through her rural village. Her drunkard stepfather disappears, and when he returns, he shouts that his wife’s milk poisoned the baby. An estimated one in five South African adults is infected with HIV/Aids, yet as “Life, Above All” testifies, a positive status remains a shameful secret, especially in rural areas. Superstitious beliefs and prejudice results in people with AIDS being treated as outcasts. Twelve-year-old Chanda is forced to take responsibility for her family, as her mother falls progressively sicker. The community, most of whom are devout Christians, begins to shun them. Chanda tries, and fails, to get her mother to acknowledge she has AIDS. Their neighbor and friend Mrs Tafa perpetuates the hidden truth. Her mother is told by a sangoma (traditional healer) to travel to her home town to exorcize the demons inside her. After a fight with Mrs Tafa, Chanda visits her mother. There she discovers her mother has been left to die on the outskirts of the village, with other AIDS sufferers. “Life, Above All” is an illustration of how strength and courage of conviction can overcome adversity. It’s a tribute to child-headed households of AIDS orphans whom complacent South Africans now accept as a norm. “Mammoth” centers on a yuppie couple Leo (Gael García Bernal) and Ellen (Michelle Williams) who live in a fancy apartment in New York. “Mammoth” is an insightful, albeit somewhat conventional look at our globalized and material lives by Scandinavian director Lukas Moodysson. The film centers on a yuppie couple Leo (Gael García Bernal) and Ellen (Michelle Williams) who live in a fancy apartment in New York. She’s a trauma surgeon working nightshifts; he’s a dot-com entrepreneur who’s made millions through a videogame website. Their seven-year-old daughter is mostly looked after by the Filipino nanny Gloria, who has left her two sons and family to earn in dollars so she can build a home and give her children a better future. In an ironic scene, she buys a basketball in America, made in the Philippines. Set in three countries; America, Thailand and Philippines, the film is a call for evaluation on what ultimately matters. Nothing is tied up; it’s a seamless screenshot projection into psyches which leaves one discomfited. When Leo and his business partner travel to Thailand to sign a business deal, Leo feels distanced from the opulent world he inhabits. He longs for simplicity, checks out of his five-star hotel, and checks in to a beach house. Meanwhile, Ellen feels ravaged by her job, maternally jealous of Gloria, and distanced from their daughter, who prefers spending time with the nanny. Despite their careers, wealth and material possessions, they feel empty. In typical male fashion, Leo seeks to fill the void by sleeping with a Thai prostitute he strikes up a meaningful friendship with. Pitying her poverty, he gives her a pen gifted to him, which at $3,000, is the most expensive pen in the world. The pen and a Rolex watch fetch her just $25 at a pawn shop. It is Gloria’s sons’ plaintive need for their mother, and hers for them, which repetitively builds on a viewer’s sympathy, climaxing in an outpouring of grief. In an attempt to find work so his mother can come home, her eldest son is molested and beaten by a white male tourist. It is the weak and poor who are taken cruel advantage of by the wealthy and powerful; it is the children who suffer most. “Mammoth” is about the small details which make life so worthwhile, and the infinite yearning of humankind for love and companionship.

Filed under Daily News Egypt

Pulmonary Diseases May Be Highest in Middle East

August 9, 2011 Leave a comment

Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla

Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria as seen using a colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM).CDC/ Dr. Ray Butler

A review of pulmonary diseases in the Middle East claims the region could have the highest incidence of pulmonary infections in the world.

“The wealth of pulmonary pathologies encountered in the Middle East probably surpasses all other regions of the world,” said Atul Mehta, chief medical officer at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi and lead author of the study, which was published in Respirology1.

People living in the region are more prone to respiratory disease owing to the environmental conditions, genetics and lifestyle particular to the Middle East. Last year, a study employing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on the earliest known Egyptian mummy to receive an autopsy, provided evidence that pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) was a burden on the region thousands of years ago2.

The authors organized the contributing factors into several categories: environmental factors, infections, genetic-idiopathic diseases, sleep disorders, lung malignancies, pleural diseases and miscellaneous respiratory conditions.

Various causes

Extreme weather variations and allergens from the desert exacerbate asthmatic conditions. Children are especially affected by exposure to cigarette smoke and household allergens. However, a Gallup poll revealed that 25% of people in the Middle East smoke cigarettes, which puts it on par with other regions. Socially, the ubiquitous water-pipe and smoking are responsible for pulmonary disease and coronary heart disease. The regular burning of incense is also cited as a pollutant.

“The burden of respiratory illness is a drain on both patients and healthcare systems.”


“Bronchial asthma is more prevalent in urban areas, especially in children. Pneumonia occurs more frequently where people live in closed spaces, again with children most at risk,” says Yaser Abu El-Sameed, pulmonologist at the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City and a co-author of the study.

“Water pipe smoke could affect children in the womb. Secondhand smoke could damage the lungs of children because of the fine size of particle matters emitted from smoking,” explains Monique Chaaya, an epidemiologist at the American University in Beirut who has studied the effects of water pipes and maternal smoking. Fine particles settle deeper into the lungs, and children breathe more rapidly than adults, thus inhaling more pollutants.

Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis has a foothold in the region, accounting for 0.9–5.4% of new cases of TB. In 2010, the World Health Organization published a report, Multidrug and Extensively Drug Resistant TB, revealing the rise in its incidence in the Middle East3. Pneumonia caused by both viral and fungal infections is also common, with an overall mortality rate of 13%.

A culture of family relatives marrying has resulted in genetic conditions, such as sickle cell disease, Behçet’s syndrome and primary ciliary dyskinesia, which can have a significant impact on pulmonary health. Lung cancer is also a common disease.

El-Sameed says there are many ways to decrease the incidence of respiratory disorders, such as offering vaccinations for bacterial influenza and pneumonia. “Physicians can provide patients with medication to help them quit smoking. Counselling should also be offered. Education programmes to improve public health awareness are significant.”

If the rise in respiratory disorders is not curbed, it will exact a heavy socioeconomic impact, contend the authors. “The burden of respiratory illness is a drain on both patients and healthcare systems. Respiratory disorders are a major cause of death and disability for many people. The results are lost productivity, missed educational opportunities and extremely high healthcare costs,” says El-Sameed.

Filed under Nature

Solar Energy Projects Picking up Again After Uprising

July 28, 2011 Leave a comment

EGYPT:
Solar Energy Projects Picking up Again After Uprising

by Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla

(This article also appeared on Al Jazeera)

CAIRO, Jun 22 (IPS) – On a blazingly hot summer’s day in Cairo, it’s 36 degrees Celsius in the shade. Air-conditioners and fans whirr across the city, burdening the national electricity grid. Last summer, the populous city experienced frequent water and power cuts, causing a furore. Consumption had grown by 2,600 megawatts, an increase of 13,5 percent from 2009.

Over 1,000 years ago ancient Egyptians worshipped the sun god Ra. Centuries later, modern Egypt is only just beginning to realise the importance of utilising the sun as an energy source. One of the most sunlight-rich countries in the world, this North African country is making slow strides with solar energy.

About 100 km south of Cairo lies Kuraymat, Egypt’s first solar plant, which is expected to produce 120 MW. A hybrid power plant, 20 MW will be from solar energy and 100 MW from natural gas. Initially expected to start up in Dec. 2010, its activation has been postponed several times. The Jan. 25 uprising further stalled the launch.

“Foreign partners on the project left and we couldn’t continue”, says Khaled Fekry, director of research and development at the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), a government body. German companies Ferrostaal and Flagsol, a subsidiary of Solar Millenium, provided the technology.

Currently, Kuraymat is in the final stage of commissioning, with tests being carried out. Fekry hopes it will be ready at the end of June.

A second 100 MW plant in Kom Ombo was announced last July and should be completed in 2017. Fekry lists other projects: “We aim to develop a 200 MW plant for cement factories and a 1,000 MW plant for the private sector. “

This is all very ambitious but ties in with Egypt’s plan of producing 20 percent of energy output from renewable sources by 2020. Solar energy will provide a third, or 7,200 MW, of that percentage. Fekry is confident it can be achieved.

While large-scale projects won’t have a direct effect on Egyptians just yet, a joint undertaking by NREA and the Italian ministry of environment has changed the lives of villagers living deep in the Western Desert. The villages of Ain Zahra and Umm al Saghir, not connected to the national energy grid, have had their homes, schools, mosques and hospitals electrified with photovoltaic (PV) solar energy since Dec. 2010.

NREA engineers have remained on site, providing training to the villagers. Six months in, Fekry reports, there have been no complaints.

But Mohab Hallouda, senior energy specialist at the World Bank’s Egypt office, explains that, although PV energy is suitable for outlying areas, “the price must decline to be a viable alternative to electricity from the grid”.

Away from the bureaucracy of government-led proposals, a simple concept, SolarCITIES, is empowering residents of local communities. Darb el Ahmar and Manshiet Nasser are two of Cairo’s poorest areas.

Crumbling buildings are built close together, lining narrow streets and jostling with animal, vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Many residents cannot afford heating appliances and “women’s duties” include having to boil water on kerosene stoves. Winter is a hazardous time with frequent burn injuries being reported.

Mustafa Hussein, a Darb el Ahmar resident, is a founding participant of SolarCITIES. He became convinced of the usefulness of the technology after meeting Thomas Culhane, SolarCITIES founder, who sketched him a prototype of a solar panel and heater. The system was built; 25,000 dollars in funding was obtained from the U.S. Agency for International Development; and 35 units installed.

Amm Hassain, 70 years old, was one of the first residents to agree to the installation of the unit on his building’s rooftop. No longer does his family have to laboriously boil water for a bath, risking potential injury.

The unit provides 200 lt of hot water per day, which can serve up to 10 family members comfortably, and 200 lt of rooftop coldwater storage to help them get through the many days when water is cut in the community.

Mustafa Hussein feels projects like these have more value: “The government plans are removed from us. Here we involve the community directly. I live here, I know this place, I know how to connect with people.”

But, unless more funding is received, SolarCITIES may not grow. With the average annual income in these areas being 610 dollars, the 678 dollar unit is unaffordable for most.

Hussein feels people will realise the importance of turning to solar energy within a few years. “We’ll experience more power cuts. Last summer there was a scarcity of gas tanks and people died fighting for them.”

Fekry wants Egypt to follow the Tunisian model: “The government subsidised solar water heaters, and provided them on credit with low interest rates,” he explains.

But, with an unequal playing field, a paradigm shift toward renewable energy seems unlikely. Even with gas subsidies in Egypt being phased out, fossil energy remains cheap, while a lack of competition won’t reduce the cost of solar energy.

Kuraymat cost 360 million dollars and the Kom Ombo plant’s cost is estimated at 270 million dollars. The Egyptian government plans to spend 100-120 billion dollars to triple capacity by 2027.

Fekry points to taxes on imported solar components as the culprit contributing to the high cost of solar energy. He also believes that, “we can only expand if we have finance. Foreign investors should direct funds to Egypt now, and not wait until the country is stable. ” (FIN/2011)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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