Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

We have known for years that vaccinations, including routine childhood vaccinations for diseases like measles, mumps and rubella prevent children from dying on a fairly massive scale. We also know that as a health intervention, most vaccines and vaccination programs are relatively inexpensive.  What was not well known, at least until recently, was the relationship between vaccine preventable illness and poverty.    Dr. Angela Chang lead a ground breaking study that shows how vaccines can be an effective tool to prevent individuals in the developing world from slipping down the income latter and into extreme poverty.   Dr. Angela Chang is a post doctoral fellow at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. The study was published in the journal Health Affairs while she was a doctoral candidate at Harvard School of Public Health. It examines the relationship between what is known as "medical impoverishment" and vaccinations.   We kick off the conversation discussing what we mean by medical impoverishment before having a longer conversation about her findings.

Thousands of Haitians have taken to the streets in anti-government protests that quickly turned violent. Several people have been killed and a great amount of property has been damaged in these protests.  Haiti, of course, is no stranger to political crisis. But this crisis feels different, according to veteran reporter Jacqueline Charles. Jacqueline Charles is the Haiti Caribbean reporter for the Miami Herald and in this conversation she explains the origins of this new protest movement and how it may play out over the coming weeks.  As she explains, these protests began, in part, over allegations of corruption surrounding a Hugo Chavez-era Venezuelan oil subsidy program, known as Petro Carbibe. But what began as an anti-corruption protest movement has morphed into something much broader that now threatens to bring down the government of President Jovenel Moise.   This crisis in Haiti has potential to unleash great instability in a very fragile country, which could have big international implications. This conversation does a very good job of giving you the background and context you need to understand events as they unfold.

The riddle of how to avoid the so-called "resource curse" has bedeviled a generation of policy makers, economists and academics.   Resource curse refers to the negative consequences that befall a country when it discovers a valuable natural resource, like oil. Often times the discovery of oil does not propel a country's economic development, and can even set a country back.   My guest today is engaging in ground-breaking research that suggests some ways that a government may avoid the resource curse. Sam Hickey is a professor of the politics and development at the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester . And in this capacity he is engaged in some long term research into how governments in Africa are approaching their oil sectors.This includes a fascinating study comparing how democratic Ghana and authoritarian Uganda have approached their relatively recent oil discoveries.    Responsible resource extraction is a key element in the development of many countries around the world and I found this conversation an extremely enlightening explanation about what academic research says about what works--and what does not -- in avoiding the resource curse.    We kick off with an extended discussion of the curse, before discussing his research.    This episode is part of a content partnership between the podcast and the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester. Experts from the Global Development Institute discuss their research and also the pressing news of the day as it relates to global inequalities and development. If you’d like to learn more about the Global Development Institute you can go to GDI.Manchester.ac.uk or click on the add on globaldispatchespodcast.com

About a decade ago, Simon Moss co-founded Global Citizen with a few friends in Australia. It has since grown into a behemoth of global advocacy on issues related to ending extreme poverty around the world. I've known Simon for years and have watched Global Citizen evolve over the years. So, I thought it might be useful and interesting to learn from him how an advocacy group like Global Citizen is adapting to broader geopolitical shifts. How does a group focused on ended extreme poverty respond to China's increasing influence in the global development space? How does it adapt to the withdrawal of the United States from its traditional role as a champion of global health and anti-poverty programs? I put these questions and more to Simon Moss in this enlightening and lively conversation about the future of global advocacy on issues related to sustainable development and fighting extreme poverty. We kick off discussing the origin story of Global Citizen before having a longer conversation about new trends in global advocacy work. Global Citizen is probably best known for its annual music festival in Central Park in New York that takes place during UN week, bringing together music stars, NGO leaders and government officials on stage in an effort to catalyze action on key global issues like polio eradication or girls education. Simon Moss explains the pros and cons of using a major event like a rock concert to leverage concrete policy outcomes. If you have 25 minutes and want to learn where international advocacy is headed in the Trump era, have a listen.

Zimbabwe was rocked by protests in mid-January in the most significant public display of dissatisfaction with the government of Emerson Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa you will remember deposed longtime Zimbawe ruler Robert Mugabe in a coup in November 2017  -- an this past summer he further ensconced himself in power through an election in which he was declared the winner.    The proximate cause of these protests were a sudden increase in the price of fuel. The government's response was exceedingly violent and repressive. Thousands of people are now languishing in jail.   On the line with me to explain what caused these protests and why the once promising reign of Mnangagwa is now looking more and more like a facsimile of the Mugabe era is Mako Muzenda.    Mako Muzenda is a freelance journalist from Zimbabwe. --and I have had the pleasure of editing her contributions to UN Dispatch. She is currently finishing her post graduate work at university in South Africa, which is where I caught up with her for this episode.       We kick off discussing the fuel tax hike that lead to these protests before having a longer conversation about the ups and downs of the Mnangagwa era in Zimbabwe.

My guest today, Dr. Sharifullah Dorani is the author of the new book America in Afghanistan: Foreign Policy and Decision Making from Bush to Obama to Trump’ as the title suggests, the book examines the history of US involvement in Afghanistan from 2001 through the first two years of the Trump presidency. And in this conversation we discuss what both what has stayed the same and what has distinguished the Trump administrations approach to Afghanistan from his predecessors.   We recorded this conversation just a few weeks after Trump, via Tweet, suggested a precipitous withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, which is of course America's longest war. So we do discuss what role American troops are currently playing in Afghanistan and what some of the debates about troop levels have been. We also discuss the ongoing diplomatic efforts led by Trump's envoy to Afghanistan, former US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad.

Today's episode is the launch of a new series: UN Correspondent Chatter. From time to time I'll check in with an in-house reporter at the United Nations headquarters in New York to discuss the latest news, buzz, and intrigues around Turtle Bay.   I'm pleased to launch this new series with Margaret Besheer of the Voice of America. She has covered the UN since 2008 and has a been a great source of news and insight to me over the years.    We cover a lot of ground in this conversation, including how the UN is responding to the situation in Venezuela, the significance of a breakthrough on Yemen in the Security Council, the implications of Palestine taking over as the chair of a key group of countries, what to expect from the US at the UN in the coming months, and whether or not other diplomatic breakthroughs may be possible in the coming months.    Join the referral program!

On January 23rd, the 35-year-old head of the Venezuela's National Assembly Juan Guiado declared himself president of Venezuela, promising to would serve in that role on an interim basis before free elections could be held. He was quickly recognized as the legitimate head of state by the United States, Canada, the Organization of American States and many countries in Latin America.  Of course, de-facto president Nicolas Maduro is rejecting this claim. At time of recording he still controls the government -- and most importantly the security services. Maduro is backed by other countries in the region and also other key international players like Russia.  There is an extremely dangerous standoff underway in Venezuela, the outcome of which is very far from certain. On the line to provide some context to help you understand this crisis is Ivan Briscoe. He is the regional director for Latin America with the International Crisis Group. We kick off discussing the political context of this situation, including how a relatively unknown politician came to declare himself President. We then discuss the crucial role of the military and security services in determining the political future of Venezuela and whether or not it was a mistake for the US and other countries to quickly rally behind Guiado. This is obviously a very rapidly unfolding situation and I am confident that this conversation will give you the context and background you need to interpret events in the coming days and weeks. Learn about the referral program! $upport the show on Patreon!

Dr. Aaron Davis, has one of the greatest titles of anyone I have ever interviewed in the last four years of doing this podcast. He is head of coffee research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.     And in that role, he co-authored of two new scientific papers which demonstrate that many species of what is known as "wild coffee" are threatened with extinction, and that is in large part due to climate change.    As Dr. Davis explains, we coffee drinkers do not generally consume wild coffee. Rather, there are two species of coffee that are not "wild" that most of us drink, called Arabica and Robusta. But you will learn, the fate of the two species of coffee we drink and that of the 124 species of wild coffee are closely linked.    Aaron Davis also holds the title of Senior Research Leader at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. And we kick off talking more generally about the science of coffee before having a longer conversation about the broader broader social and economic implications of his research into climate change and coffee excitation.     Support Mark's Coffee Habit (And Also Unlock Some Rewards for Yourself!) 

The Democratic Republic of Congo held elections on December 30th that would mark the country's first peaceful transfer of power since its independence in 1960. The long serving ruler, Joseph Kabilla had effectively delayed these elections for years, but finally promised to step down and cede power to the winner of these elections.  Votes were cast. Ballots were counted. A winner declared--and according to several reports a massive fraud was perpetrated.   The Catholic Church, which served as independent election monitors, said that the declared result do not match their data. And on January 15th the Financial Times newspaper obtained the raw data from electronic voting machines, which demonstrated a wide margin of victory for opposition candidate Martin Fayulu.    On the line with me to discuss what appears to be industrial scale election fraud in the DRC is Ida Sawyer. She is the deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Africa division and a longtime observer of politics in the DRC.   In this conversation she explains who the main candidates are; why this election is so significant, and what it means that    Over the next several weeks and perhaps months this election related drama will unfold in the DRC. This conversation gives you the context you need to understand and interpret events as they unfold.      Join our referral program!   Before we begin, I wanted to let you know about a way you can share this podcast with others who are similarly interested in global issues beyond the headlines. I'm launching a referral program in which for the simple act of telling people about the show, you can earn some freebies and rewards. If you tell just one person about the show, I'll send you my specially curated list of over 50 Twitter handles and Instagram accounts that every global affairs nerd should follow. The rewards get better from there, including a podcast mug and tote bag, and a free trial of my DAWNS Digest news clips service. To learn more and enter this limited time promo, you can go to Global Dispatches Podcast.com or click on the link in the description field of this podcast episode.