DGI Brief -Nov 4, 2016

Happy Friday all. Today's top 3 global issues news are about #Haiti, #Turkey and a #GoodStoryFriday about #innovation & #socialentrepreneurship

- HAITI: According to latest figures, more than 800,000 Haitians are in urgent need of food & there are

still many inaccessible areas where Hurricane Matthew caused total destruction. The UN raised on 1/3 of its $120 million emergency appeal needed to help people over the next 3 months, including 315,000 children. At least 3,500 suspected cholera cases have been reported, but the numbers are likely higher given the many areas where help has not yet reached. Why it matters: How is it that we can’t raise measly $120 million to save almost a million of lives? Haiti is a neighbor on the brink of a famine & massive, deadly cholera outbreak. Do people have to start dying first for the world to take action? We have a chance to prevent a catastrophe. Please urge your local government to help.

- Authorities in TURKEY arrested 11 pro-Kurdish lawmakers including 2 co-chairs of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) for refusing to testify in ongoing terrorism-related investigations. Immediately following the attempted coup, Turkish authorities lifted the immunity of members of parliament to allow for the purge amongst their ranks. HDP is accused of being the political arm of the Kurdistan Workers’s Party (PKK), an outlawed opposition/separatist group considered an armed terrorist organization. Why it matters: Things seem to be getting progressively worse in Turkey – fundamental rights & freedoms stripped away one by one, silencing journalists, dissident, & now publicly elected officials from opposition parties. President Erdogan may be securing himself a dictatorship for some time to come, but eventually the resistance & resentment will grow to a point of boiling over. Not a good outlook.

- #GoodStoryFriday A young college student Samir Lakhani found an innovative solution for 2 problems – the spread of easily-treatable diseases & viruses in the developing world due to inaccessibility to soap & the waste of 2.6 million bars of soap every day (!!) by hotel chains in the US. With a simple formula of sanitizing & recycling hotel soap, his new NGO Eco-Soap Bank has distributed >174,000 soaps, serving >659,000 people in Cambodia. The NGO also provides livelihoods to women & training to communities on good hand-washing/hygiene practices. Why it matters: we often take for granted that such basic items like soap are considered a luxury item in developing countries. Simply washing hands with soap can prevent many diseases & viruses, creating long-lasting positive impact. Please check out http://www.ecosoapbank.org to learn more and to donate. Corporate partnerships very welcomed.