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Save the Children launches new call for innovation partners with bold solutions to boost child vaccinations in Nigeria and Ethiopia

Stuart Mitchell

The Save the Children Immunisation Accelerator has today opened a second round of applications, inviting organisations in Nigeria and Ethiopia to submit proposals for innovations that tackle entrenched barriers preventing children from receiving vaccinations. The $1 million initiative, funded through a grant from GSK, was launched in April last year. It is open to community-based organisations, local and national NGOs, research teams, social enterprises and tech companies, who will be eligible for up to $100,000 funding per project, as well as broader technical support tailored to their innovation. Successful applicants…

Microplastics are everywhere – but our methods to track them are all over the place

Stuart Mitchell

A new study from the University of Portsmouth has highlighted the growing role of citizen science in tackling one of the planet’s most pervasive pollution problems: microplastics and mesoplastics. While researchers often warn that a lack of standardised protocols risks muddying the waters, this research shows that public involvement could be key to plugging the data gaps and that comparability rather than conformity is key. The study compared three leading sampling protocols across coastal sites in southern England. These methods included two citizen science sampling protocols, the Big Microplastic Survey…

Qualcomm Signs the Rome Call for AI Ethics

Stuart Mitchell

A prominent technology player joins call to ensure responsible AI around the world.  “We are very pleased that Qualcomm has joined the Rome Call, as a key technology partner in advancing artificial intelligence (AI) globally”, said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life and the RenAIssance Foundation, commenting on today’s signing by Qualcomm President and CEO, Cristiano Amon. “This step strengthens the alignment between Qualcomm’s corporate responsibility and the ethical principles of the Rome Call. When we first launched the call for algorethics in 2020—urging ethical…

$420 billion annual shortfall blocking gender equality in developing countries

Stuart Mitchell

Developing countries are falling short by an estimated USD 420 billion a year in the funding needed to achieve gender equality under the Sustainable Development Goals. At the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Sevilla, Spain, UN Women welcomed the adoption by consensus of the Compromiso de Sevilla, which reaffirms Member States’ shared commitment to inclusive and sustainable development. Despite a difficult global context, the agreement signals a step forward in recognizing the essential role of gender equality in financing strategies. FfD4 is a critical opportunity to…

World leaders rebuke ‘narrow unilateralism’ and call for nations to urgently join forces to combat inequality

Stuart Mitchell

40 former Heads of State and Government are calling for “a new economic coalition of the willing” to urgently tackle inequality and “remake our world in response” to “era-defining disruption”. In a joint letter released ahead of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, they call for a restoration of development aid, comprehensive debt relief, international tax cooperation, and ambitious reform of the world’s “outdated” economic model. The leaders include former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark, former Prime Minister…