Activism or Slacktivism: has the ice bucket challenge been a success?

If you’ve visited facebook anytime recently then you will no doubt have come across a video or two of friends dousing themselves in ice cold water. The ice bucket challenge is a campaign with the aim of raising awareness of, and funding for, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or as it is often referred to in the U.K., Motor Neurone Disease (MND).  In the past weeks the challenge has gone viral with millions putting themselves through mild discomfort, with the hope of fulfilling these aims. The campaign, however, has not been without its critics, so I felt compelled to write this and perhaps shed light on a few misconceptions, and say why I think the ice bucket challenge has in part been a great success, but why it is also likely to be a short lived one.

Polish health cares long & winding road

It’s 4 weeks since I arrived in Krakow, Poland, on a 5-week field trip that represents the culmination of year 1 on the MSc Global Health programme.

Having been offered the opportunity to travel to either Tanzania or to Poland, I elected to come here to Krakow. The decision, in hindsight, wasn’t that difficult. In 2010/11 I spent some time working in Gambia and Kenya, I loved living both and am sure I will return at some point in the near future.  So there is perhaps a sense of irony - with Poland being less than 2 hours flight from Copenhagen – that I felt this may be one of my only opportunities to come and explore and work in a Central European country.

Feeding and nourishing the world: An imperative for humanity

The current system is failing billion

Food, we can't live without it, and fortunately most of us never have to. Yet every day 842 million people in the world do not have enough to eat with 52 million children under the age of 5 suffering from acute malnutrition. In addition to the people who suffer from food shortages are the 2 billion people who suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, including the 165 million children under the age of 5 who are stunted (an indication of chronic malnutrition).

4 TedTalks Worth Your Time

By Henry Mark and Jack Fisher

This week a selection of 4 TedTalks that have been selected by myself and a fellow MSc Global Health student Jack Fisher, that reflect important topics currently relevant to Global Health. Happy watching.

The Devil’s in the Demographics

This is a story of great success. It should also perhaps come with a warning; it contains a lot of number – something that may turn a few people off. Yet the aim here is not to confuse, more to paint a vivid picture of the world we live in – or perhaps more specifically – who lives in that world.

Vocal youth - a post 2015 imperative

A few weeks ago i had the pleasure of writing a blog for the Copenhagen School of Global Health blog page. I chose to write about the post-2015 development agenda and the need for youth to be a central part of developing this.

http://globalhealthstudents.blogs.ku.dk/2013/10/16/its-time-for-todays-youth-to-stand-and-shout/

The countdown is on

In 806 days the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), formulated at the turn of the 21^st century will come to an end.