The blind will “see”, the paralyzed will “feel” – with a chip in the brain

chip in the brain – A fundamental problem – we do not know where and how thoughts are stored in the brain

Chips in the brain will help blind people “see” and paralyzed people feel again. Technology can also make telepathy between people possible, writes Deutsche Welle. What are brain-computer interfaces?

“The future will be strange” – the prophetic words of Elon Musk were spoken by him in 2020, while explaining the possible application of brain implants developed by his neurotechnology company Neuralink.

For the past 7 years, she has been working on a computer chip that is implanted in the human brain. From there, he monitors the activity of thousands of neurons. The chip, which is thought to be a “brain-computer interface” (BCI), consists of a tiny probe containing more than 3,000 electrodes attached to flexible threads, each thinner than a human hair.

Musk’s idea is to connect the brain to computers so that information and memories can be retrieved from the depths of consciousness. As well as using this technology to treat conditions such as blindness and paralysis, the businessman has ambitions to use Neuralink to achieve telepathy between people. According to the tech mogul, this will help humanity prevail in the war with artificial intelligence. He also announced that he wanted the technology to give people “supervision”.

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Science fiction or reality?

Are at least some of these bold intentions feasible? The short answer is no.

ʺWe can’t read people’s minds. The amount of information we can decode from the brain is very limited, says Giacomo Valle, a neuroengineer at the University of Chicago in the US.

Juan Alvaro Gallego, a brain-computer interface researcher at Imperial College London, UK, agrees. “The fundamental problem is that we don’t actually know where and how thoughts are stored in the brain. We can’t read thoughts if we don’t understand the neurology behind them,” he explained to DW.

Musk first introduced the technology in 2019 using a pig with a Neuralink chip implanted in its brain and a video of a monkey mind-controlling a ping pong video game.

But the potential of the brain-computer interface goes far beyond animals playing computer games. Gallego says the technology was first developed to help paralyzed people with spinal cord injuries or those suffering from conditions like Locked-In Syndrome. With it, the patient is fully conscious, but cannot move any part of his body except the eyes. If we could turn the internal communication of these patients into a computer language, it would change a lot of things, Gallego points out.

In fact, the brain-computer interface does not record the thoughts themselves, but rather sends signals to the body to make a certain movement, for example with a finger, hand or foot, or to open the mouth in order to make a sound. The scientists also demonstrated that they can read the motor cortex’s intention to spell a given letter, Gallego says.

The paralyzed will be able to feel again

Another breakthrough was publicly displayed in 2016, when then-US President Barack Obama shook Nathan Copeland’s robotic hand. The man paralyzed after a car accident felt Obama’s handshake as if the two had touched skin to skin.

Instead of using electrodes to record from the brain and interpret planned movements, the brain is stimulated with weak currents to induce sensation, Gallego explains. A brain-computer interface was implanted in Copeland’s brain to improve the functioning of a damaged part of his nervous system. The device, made by a Neuralink competitor, was inserted into his sensory cortex and connected to sensors on the ends of his robotic arm.

ʺThese technologies have been around for a while. “Deep brain stimulation has been used to help hundreds of thousands with Parkinson’s disease since the 1990s,” Gallego added.

Brain surgery for everyone?

So far, brain-computer interfaces are only used in special, exceptional cases, and Neuralink’s technology has only been tested on animals. All clinical applications are still at the development stage and have not entered clinical practice, explains neuroengineer Giacomo Valle.

Last year, Neuralink tried to get approval from federal regulators to test the technology on humans, but authorities rejected the request because of serious safety concerns. The company’s device consists of 96 tiny, flexible probes that are placed separately from each other in the brain.

Doubts about safety are not at all unfounded, since even if the invasive procedure is successful, the risks of infection or immune rejection of the device remain long after implantation. Musk’s company is expected to renew its request later this year.

The birth of neuroethics

Valle also points out that the brain-computer interface raises “various ethical issues.” This technology also marks the beginning of a completely new field – neuroethics. It is here that discussions begin to resemble science fiction. But in the end, the role of science fiction is just that – to prepare the world for what may appear in the future.

Trafficking in the Sahel: Killer cough syrup and fake medicine

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27 May 2023

Trafficking in the Sahel: Killer cough syrup and fake medicine

This feature, which focuses on the illegal trade in substandard and fake medicines, is part of a UN News series exploring the fight against trafficking in the Sahel.

From ineffective hand sanitizer to fake antimalarial pills, an illicit trade that grew during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 is being meticulously dismantled by the UN and partner countries in Africa’s Sahel region.

Substandard or fake medicines, like contraband baby cough syrup, are killing almost half a million sub-Saharan Africans every year, according to a threat assessment report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The report explains how nations in the Sahel, a 6,000-kilometre-wide swath stretching from the Red Sea to the Atlantic, which is home to 300 million people, are joining forces to stop fake medicines at their borders and hold the perpetrators accountable.

This fight is taking place as Sahelians face unprecedented strife: more than 2.9 million people have been displaced by conflict and violence, with armed groups launching attacks that have already shuttered 11,000 schools and 7,000 health centres.

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Deadly supply meets desperate demand

Health care is scarce in the region, which has among the world’s highest incidence of malaria and where infectious diseases are one of the leading causes of death.

“This disparity between the supply of and demand for medical care is at least partly filled by medicines supplied from the illegal market to treat self-diagnosed diseases or symptoms,” the report says, explaining that street markets and unauthorized sellers, especially in rural or conflict-affected areas, are sometimes the only sources of medicines and pharmaceutical products.

Estimated malaria incidence rate per 1,000 population at risk, by country, 2020

Fake treatments with fatal results

The study shows that the cost of the illegal medicine trade is high, in terms of health care and human lives.

Fake or substandard antimalarial medicines kill as many as 267,000 sub-Saharan Africans every year. Nearly 170,000 sub-Saharan African children die every year from unauthorized antibiotics used to treat severe pneumonia.

Caring for people who have used falsified or substandard medical products for malaria treatment in sub-Saharan Africa costs up to $44.7 million every year, according to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates.

Counterfeit drugs at a market in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Motley trafficking

Corruption is one of the main reasons that the trade is allowed to flourish.

About 40 per cent of substandard and falsified medical products reported in Sahelian countries between 2013 and 2021 land in the regulated supply chain, the report showed. Products diverted from the legal supply chain typically come from such exporting nations as Belgium, China, France, and India. Some end up on pharmacy shelves.

The perpetrators are employees of pharmaceutical companies, public officials, law enforcement officers, health agency workers and street vendors, all motivated by potential financial gain, the report found.

Traffickers are finding ever more sophisticated routes, from working with pharmacists to taking their crimes online, according to a UNODC research brief on the issue.

While terrorist groups and non-State armed groups are commonly associated with trafficking in medical products in the Sahel, this mainly revolves around consuming medicines or levying “taxes” on shipments in areas under their control.

Snip supply, meet demand

Efforts are under way to adopt a regional approach to the problem, involving every nation in the region. For example, all Sahel countries except Mauritania have ratified a treaty to establish an African medicines agency, and the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization initiative, launched by the African Union in 2009, aims at improving access to safe, affordable medicine.

All the Sahel countries have legal provisions in place relating to trafficking in medical products, but some laws are outdated, UNODC findings showed. The agency recommended, among other things, revised legislation alongside enhanced coordination among stakeholders.

Custom and law enforcement officers prevent huge quantities of contraband from entering the markets of destination countries.

States taking action

Law enforcement and judicial efforts that safeguard the legal supply chain should be a priority, said UNODC, pointing to the seizure of some 605 tonnes of fake medicines between 2017 to 2021 by authorities in the region.

Operation Pangea, for example, coordinated by UN partner INTERPOL in 90 countries, targeted online sales of pharmaceutical products. Results saw seizures of unauthorized antivirals rise by 18 per cent and unauthorized chloroquine, to treat malaria, by 100 per cent.

“Transnational organized crime groups take advantage of gaps in national regulation and oversight to peddle substandard and falsified medical products,” UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly said. “We need to help countries increase cooperation to close gaps, build law enforcement and criminal justice capacity, and drive public awareness to keep people safe.”

Following the death of 70 children in The Gambia in 2022, the World Health Organization identified four contaminated paediatric medicines in the West African nation.

Crime in a box: CCP fights transnational organized crime by improving containerized trade security

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine is moving to a new calendar

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News desk

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27 May 2023

The Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine approved the transition to the New Julian calendar from September 1, Reuters reports.

This means that the Church will now celebrate Christmas on December 25th instead of January 7th. Other fixed-date holidays will also be moved, but the change will not apply to Easter, as its date varies.

The Church points out that regardless of the Synod’s decision, parishes and monasteries can continue to use the old calendar.

Although the transition to the new calendar must be approved by the local council of the church on July 27 with the participation of the laity, Metropolitan Epiphanius and a number of other bishops clarified that the matter has in fact been resolved and the change will take place from the beginning of September.

It was previously reported that the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church also intends to switch to another calendar.

In the past, Zelensky’s government has been hesitant to oppose the Moscow-backed church in Ukraine, lest it cross any boundaries of freedom of religious expression or violate European or international norms protecting religious rights. Zelensky did not want to offend the adherents of this church, clearly realizing that in the ranks of its priests and worshipers there are many patriotic Ukrainians, some of whom are fighting on the front lines against the Russians.

But evidence that church leaders were acting to varying degrees as proxies for the enemy caused a shift in opinion amid public pressure for action.

More than 50 priests, according to the latest data, are under investigation for cooperation with Russian forces. One of the most famous is Father Mykola Yevtushenko, who is said to have collaborated with the Russians during their savage 33-day occupation of Bucha, offering blessings to the occupying soldiers and urging his parishioners to welcome the invading forces. As well as trying to support the invasion on behalf of his church, he has also named local residents most likely to resist the occupation of Bucha, a town northwest of Kiev that has become a byword for Russian war crimes.

In September and November, police actions in the buildings of the UOC found pro-Russian literature and Russian passports. Earlier this month, Metropolitan Pavel, abbot of the Lavra, was placed under house arrest ahead of hearings to determine whether he incited religious divisions and praised the Russian invasion. Paul says that the actions against him and the expulsion of the monks from the monastery were politically motivated.

The Kremlin is trying to use as a weapon the actions of the Ukrainian authorities against the UOC for propaganda purposes. In April, Western media outlets, including Politico, and human rights organizations were bombarded by thousands upon thousands of spambot emails purporting to come from ordinary Russian citizens expressing deep concern that Ukraine was “provoking an inter-religious war.” Spam messages from fake accounts claim that the Ukrainian president is throwing monks out into the street in violation of international norms and freedom of religious belief.

Biden announced the first national strategy with more than 100 measures to combat anti-Semitism

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Gaston de Persigny

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26 May 2023

US President Joe Biden announced yesterday a new initiative to fight anti-Semitism, consisting of more than 100 measures that can be taken by the US government and its partners, the Associated Press reported.

Biden pointed out that this is the first US National Strategy to combat anti-Semitism and that it sends a clear message that “evil will not win in America.”

The strategy, months in the making, has four main goals: to understand the causes of anti-Semitism and how it threatens America, to strengthen the security of Jewish communities, to take measures to combat discrimination based on anti-Semitism, and building solidarity and taking common action from different communities in the name of fighting anti-Semitism.

Jewish organizations welcomed the initiative of the American government, notes AP.

At the same time, the US president announced his nomination for the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, Reuters reported.

This is the head of the US Air Force, General Charles Brown.

“General Brown has built a reputation as an unwavering and highly effective leader, a man of teamwork and trust who carries out with distinction” the tasks set, Biden said when announcing the nomination.

Information about Biden’s nomination was announced already on Wednesday. If confirmed by the US Senate, Brown would succeed current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and become the second black man to hold the post since Colin Powell (who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993. ).

Biden urged the Senate to approve Brown’s nomination. So far, however, the timetable for the process of approving Brown’s candidacy is not entirely clear, notes Reuters.

Illustrative Photo by Ksenia Chernaya: https://www.pexels.com/photo/candles-burning-3730952/

UNESCO unveils new AI roadmap for classrooms

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26 May 2023

UNESCO unveils new AI roadmap for classrooms

Less than 10 per cent of schools and universities follow formal guidance on using wildly popular artificial intelligence (AI) tools, like the chatbot software ChatGPT, according to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which hosted more than 40 ministers at an groundbreaking online meeting on Thursday.

The ministers exchanged policy approaches and plans while considering the agency’s new roadmap on education and generative AI, which can create data and content based on existing algorithms, but can also make alarming factual errors, just like humans.

“Generative AI opens new horizons and challenges for education, but we urgently need to take action to ensure that new AI technologies are integrated into education on our terms,” said Stefania Giannini, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education. “It is our duty to prioritize safety, inclusion, diversity, transparency and quality.”

Institutions are facing myriad challenges in crafting an immediate response to the sudden emergence of these powerful AI apps, according to a new UNESCO survey of more than 450 schools and universities.

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Rapidly evolving landscape

At the same time, governments worldwide are in the process of shaping appropriate policy responses in a rapidly evolving education landscape, while further developing or refining national strategies on AI, data protection, and other regulatory frameworks, according to UNESCO.

However, they are proceeding with caution. Risks to using these tools can see students exposed to false or biased information, some ministers said at the global meeting.

The debate revealed other common concerns, including how to mitigate the chatbots’ inherent flaws of producing glaring errors. Ministers also addressed how best to integrate these tools into curricula, teaching methods, and exams, and adapting education systems to the disruptions which generative AI is quickly causing.

Many highlighted the vital role teachers play in this new era as learning facilitators.

But, teachers need guidance and training to meet these challenges, according to UNESCO.

Adding to existing frameworks

Teachers need guidance and training to meet these challenges. — UNESCO

For its part, the agency will continue to steer the global dialogue with policy makers, partners, academia, and civil society, in line with its paper, AI and education: A guide for policy-makers and Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, as well as the Beijing Consensus on Artificial Intelligence and Education.

UNESCO is also developing policy guidelines on the use of generative AI in education and research, as well as frameworks of AI competencies for students and teachers for classrooms.

These new tools will be launched during Digital Learning Week, to be held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 4 to 7 September, the agency said.

Learn more about UNESCO’s work in digital learning and education here.

Ukraine: UN delivers aid to millions, as civilian suffering continues

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26 May 2023

Ukraine: UN delivers aid to millions, as civilian suffering continues

Humanitarians reached 5.4 million people in Ukraine with desperately needed aid by April this year, including cash assistance, food, health services, and medicines, the UN said on Friday.

‘Safe digital public square’ never more important, says Türk

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26 May 2023

‘Safe digital public square’ never more important, says Türk

Volker Türk was issuing a clarion call to protect and expand civic space, arguing that it’s the only way to enable us all “to play a role in political, economic, and social life, at all levels, from local to global.”

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Hate speech going unchecked

He said with more and more decision-making migrating online, “with private companies playing an outsized role, having an open, safe digital public square has never been more important”.

And yet, States are struggling and “often failing” to protect online space for the common good, “swinging between a laissez-faire approach that has allowed violence and dangerous hate speech to go unchecked, and overbroad regulations used as a cudgel against those exercising their free speech rights, including journalists and human rights defenders,” he added.

Invest in multilingual markets

He called on big business to step up and increase investment in preventing and responding to online harms, especially in the non-English language environment, stressing that “doing business in any location requires making sure you can do so safely, in line with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.”

The UN rights chief said that carving out civic space was key to human rights, to peace, development, and for “sustainable and resilient societies”, but coming under more and more pressure from undue restrictions, and laws.

This includes crackdowns on peaceful assembly, internet shutdowns and bullying and harassment online.

Expand space as a ‘precondition’

“States must step up efforts to protect and expand civic space as the precondition for people to be able to sustainably enjoy all other entitlements enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, from access to healthcare and clean water and quality education to social protection and labour rights”, Mr. Türk argued.

Pressure on civil space continues despite the inspiring commitment of civil society groups, he continued.

“Civil society is a key enabler of trust between governments and the populations they serve and is often the bridge between the two. For governments to reduce barriers to public participation, they must protect this space, for the benefit of all – both online and offline”.

Weather experts predict ‘near normal’ season, with 5 to 9 potential hurricanes

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26 May 2023

Weather experts predict ‘near normal’ season, with 5 to 9 potential hurricanes

The US National Hurricane Center acts as WMO’s Regional Specialized Meteorological hub, based in Miami, Florida.

There is a 40 per cent chance of a near-normal season, 30 per cent possibility of an “above-normal season”, and also 30 per cent of a below-normal season, according to forecasters with the Climate Prediction Center.

The hurricane season covering the Atlantic region, including the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and US east coast, lasts from 1 June to 30 November.

NOAA forecasts between 12 and 17 total named storms, which means winds of at least 63 kilometres per hour, or 39 miles per hour.

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Up to 4 major hurricanes

Among the potential hurricanes, it forecasts one to four “major hurricanes” – categories three to five – with winds of at least 178kmh, or 111mph.

WMO said that NOAA has “a 70 per cent confidence in these ranges.

“It is expected to be less active than recent years, due to competing factors – some that suppress storm development and some that fuel it – driving this year’s overall forecast for a near-normal season, according to NOAA”, WMO reported in a press release.

The agency reminded however, that it takes just one landfalling major hurricane to set back years of growth and development.

Statistics presented to the ongoing World Meteorological Congress showed how Small Island Developing States suffer disproportionately in terms of both economic impact and the human toll.

Early warning imperative

For instance, Hurricane Maria in 2017, cost the Caribbean island nation of Dominica, a staggering 800 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product.

“Between 1970 and 2021 tropical cyclones (the generic term which includes hurricanes) were the leading cause of both reported human and economic losses worldwide, accounting for more than 2,000 disasters”, said WMO.

However, the death toll from deadly storms has fallen from around 350,000 in the 1970s to less than 20,000 in 2010-2019. Reported economic losses in 2010-2019 were at $573.2 billion.

‘Major killers’

“Tropical cyclones are major killers and a single storm can reverse years of socio-economic development. The death toll has fallen dramatically thanks to improvements in forecasting, warning and disaster risk reduction. But we can do even better,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.

“The UN Early Warnings for All initiative seeks to ensure that everyone has access to warnings of life-threatening winds, storm surge and rainfall in the next five years, especially in Small Island Developing States which are on the frontlines of climate change,” he said.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts near-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic for the 2023 season.

Name that storm

An average Atlantic hurricane season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

In total, the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season produced 14 named storms, of which eight became hurricanes and two were major hurricanes (Ian and Fiona). Both 2020 and 2021 were so active that the regular list of rotating names was exhausted.

After three hurricane seasons with a La Niña, there is a high potential for El Nino to develop this summer, which can suppress Atlantic hurricane activity. El Nino’s potential influence on storm development could be offset by favorable conditions local to the tropical Atlantic Basin.

New model boosts prep time

“With a changing climate, the data and expertise NOAA provides to emergency managers and partners to support decision-making before, during and after a hurricane has never been more crucial,” said NOAA Administrator, Rick Spinrad.

“To that end, this year we are operationalizing a new hurricane forecast model and extending the tropical cyclone outlook graphic from five to seven days, which will provide emergency managers and communities with more time to prepare for storms.”

Despite ‘slightly’ improved food security in Yemen, hunger stalks millions

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26 May 2023

Despite ‘slightly’ improved food security in Yemen, hunger stalks millions

“The United Nations and its partners made strides in rolling back the worst food insecurity last year, but these gains remain fragile, and 17 million people are still food insecure in Yemen,” said David Gressly, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the country.

Compared to the same period in 2022, the levels of acutely malnourished people rose in 2023, indicating a need for more funding to stave off extreme hunger, according to the latest findings of a new report by three UN agencies that are closely monitoring the situation, following eight years of intense warfare.

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Drivers of hunger

Yemen remains one of the most food insecure countries globally, mainly driven by the impact of conflict and economic decline, according to the report from the UN food agency, FAO, the World Food Programme (WFP), and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The integrated phase classification (IPC) analysis provides an outlook for the period between now until the end of this year, indicating the need for more programme investments, as the modest improvements may be eroded, the agencies said.

Their report showed that the people of Yemen continue to require attention, with hunger stalking millions. The agencies cautioned that the situation could worsen if nothing is done to address the key drivers of food insecurity.

The new report showed that between January and May 2023, about 3.2 million people experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in government-controlled areas, representing a 23 per cent reduction from the period between October and December 2022.

During the June to December 2023 period, the report estimated that the number of people likely to experience high levels of acute food insecurity could increase to 3.9 million, out of which 2.8 million people are projected to reach crisis levels of hunger.

Life-saving interventions

FAO Yemen representative Hussein Gadain, said the agency is focused, through various interventions, on improving household food security and income by strengthening agricultural production practices, increasing labour opportunities, and diversifying livelihoods in a sustainable way that fosters peaceful coexistence.

There are women, men, and children behind these IPC statistics, whose lives straddle the fine line between hope and utter devastation. – Richard Ragan, WFP Country Director

We are working directly with farmers on the ground to enable them to maintain their livelihoods,” he said. “We make sure that smallholder farmers in Yemen will withstand any shocks which impact food security.”

UNICEF and partners reached around 420,000 children suffering from severe and acute malnutrition with life-saving interventions in 2022, said the agency’s Yemen representative, Peter Hawkins.

“This is the highest ever reached in Yemen, thanks to the scale-up of nutrition services,” he said, adding that despite this, malnutrition levels remain critical in many areas of the southern governorates.

“A multisectoral approach to address all forms of malnutrition is essential and together with partners UNICEF is strengthening the provision of primary health care, including early detection and treatment of severe acute malnutrition”, he said.

Averting famine

The UN food agency’s assistance is critical for getting people to firmer ground, for averting crisis and famine, said WFP Country Director, Richard Ragan. Yemen’s food insecurity situation remains fragile, and the hard-won gains of the past 12 months will be lost without continued and urgent support, he said.

“There are women, men, and children behind these IPC statistics, whose lives straddle the fine line between hope and utter devastation,” he said, urging donors to renew their commitment to supporting the most vulnerable Yemenis. “We simply cannot take our foot off the gas now.”

Learn more about what the UN is doing to help the people of Yemen here.

Stop tobacco farming, grow food instead, says WHO

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26 May 2023

Stop tobacco farming, grow food instead, says WHO

Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on Wednesday 31 May, WHO deplored that 3.2 million hectares of fertile land across 124 countries are being used to grow deadly tobacco – even in places where people are starving.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that governments across the world “spend millions supporting tobacco farms”, and that choosing to grow food instead of tobacco would allow the world to “prioritize health, preserve ecosystems, and strengthen food security for all”.

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Disaster for food, environmental security

The agency’s new report, “Grow food, not tobacco”, recalls that a record 349 million people are facing acute food insecurity, many of them in some 30 countries on the African continent, where tobacco cultivation has increased by 15 per cent in the last decade.

According to WHO, nine of the 10 largest tobacco cultivators are low and middle-income countries. Tobacco farming compounds these countries’ food security challenges by taking up arable land. The environment and the communities which rely on it also suffer, as the crop’s expansion drives deforestation, contamination of water sources and soil degradation.

Vicious cycle of dependence

The report also exposes the tobacco industry for trapping farmers in a vicious cycle of dependence and exaggerating the economic benefits of tobacco as a cash crop.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva on Friday, Dr. Rüdiger Krech, WHO’s Director for Health Promotion, warned that tobacco’s economic importance is a “myth that we urgently need to dispel”.

He said that the crop contributes less than 1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in most tobacco-growing countries, and that the profits go to the world’s major cigarette-makers, while farmers struggle under the burden of debt contracted with the tobacco companies.

‘Smokers, think twice’

Dr. Krech also explained that tobacco farmers find themselves exposed to nicotine poisoning and dangerous pesticides. The broader impact on communities and whole societies is devastating, as some 1.3 million child labourers are estimated to be working on tobacco farms instead of going to school, he said.

“The message to smokers is, think twice”, Dr. Krech said, as consuming tobacco came down to supporting an iniquitous situation in which farmers and their families were suffering.

Workers at a tobacco factory in Malawi fill processing machinery with coal. (file)

Breaking the cycle

WHO, along with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have joined forces around the Tobacco Free Farms initiative, to help thousands of farmers in countries like Kenya and Zambia to grow sustainable food crops instead of tobacco.

The programme provides farmers with microcredit lending to pay off their debts with tobacco companies, as well as knowledge and training to grow alternative crops, and a market for their harvest, thanks to WFP’s local procurement initiatives.

Dr. Krech said that the programme was a “proof of concept” of the power of the UN system to enable farmers to break free from harmful tobacco cultivation. He outlined ambitious plans to expand the programme, as countries in Asia and South America were already requesting support.

“We can help every farmer in the world to get out of tobacco farming if they wish,” he said.