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Friday, April 5, 2013
The $188 Billion Price Tag From U.S. Extreme Weather From 2011 To 2012
By Daniel J. Weiss and Jackie Weidman
The United States was subjected to many severe climate-related extreme weather over the past two years. In 2011 there were 14 extreme weather events — floods, drought, storms, and wildfires — that each caused at least $1 billion in damage. There were another 11 such disasters in 2012. Most of these extreme weather events reflect part of the unpaid bill from climate change — a tab that will only grow over time.
CAP recently documented the human and economic toll from these devastating events in our November 2012 report “Heavy Weather: How Climate Destruction Harms Middle- and Lower- Income Americans.” Since the release of that report, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has updated its list of “billion-dollar”-damage weather events for 2012, bringing the two-year total to 25 incidents.
From 2011 to 2012 these 25 “billion-dollar damage” weather events in the United States are estimated to have caused up to $188 billion in total damage. [1] The two costliest events were the September 2012 drought — the worst drought in half a century, which baked nearly two-thirds of the continental United States — and superstorm Sandy, which battered the northeast coast in late October 2012. The four recently added disastrous weather events were severe tornadoes and thunderstorms.
Here is an update of vital extreme weather event data after the addition of these four events:
67 percent of U.S. counties and 43 states were affected by “billion-dollar damage” extreme weather events in 2011 and 2012.1,107 fatalities resulted from these 25 extreme weather events in 2011 and 2012.Up to $188 billion in damage was caused by these severe weather events in 2011 and 2012.$50,346.58 was the average household income in counties declared a disaster due to these weather events—3 percent below the U.S. median household income of $51,914. [2]356 all-time high temperature records were broken in 2012.34,008 daily high temperature records were set or tied throughout 2012, compared to just 6,664 daily record lows—a ratio of 5-to-1.19 states had their warmest year ever in 2012.
Below are descriptions of each of the four weather events in 2012 that were not included in our previous report.
April 12: Tornadoes
Nearly 100 tornadoes touched down across Kansas and other midwest states over a two-day period in mid-April 2012, resulting in six deaths. Extensive damage to schools, hospitals, businesses, and homes was estimated to cost $1.8 billion. Many towns were without power for extended periods of time. Fourteen counties in Kansas were declared disaster areas because of the storms. Households in these disaster-declared counties earn, on average, an annual income of $47,027 — 9 percent below the U.S. median household income.
April 28: Severe Storms
Severe weather in Oklahoma and surrounding states caused at least $4 billion in damage and one confirmed fatality in late April 2012. Storm damage throughout the area was primarily caused by 38 confirmed tornadoes and severe hail. Oklahoma was most heavily impacted — six Oklahoma counties were declared disaster areas in the wake of the storm. Households in the counties that were disaster areas earn, on average, an annual income of $39,638 — a staggering 24 percent below the U.S. median household income.
May 25: Severe Storms
Twenty-seven confirmed tornadoes touched down over a broad swath of the United States, including from Oklahoma to New Hampshire. The tornadoes and outburst of severe hail, straight-line winds, and thunderstorms caused one fatality and approximately $2.5 billion in damage. Most of the damage occurred in Oklahoma and the entire state was declared a disaster area. New Hampshire and Vermont also had some disaster-declared counties. Households in these disaster-declared counties earn, on average, an annual income of $45,431 — 12 percent below the U.S. median household income.
June 29: Derecho
A derecho is a “widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Such a storm ravaged eastern and northeastern states in June 2012. It caused 28 fatalities and ripped through a 700-sqaure-mile swath of the mid-Atlantic region, leaving 3.4 million homes there without power. The storm caused at least $3.8 billion in damage in 215 counties in Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. All were declared disaster areas.
These events, along with the seven other “billion-dollar” weather events in 2012, made it the second-most-extreme weather year on record, according to the U.S. Climate Extremes Index.
NASA climatologist Gavin Schmidt says that when it comes to higher temperatures and extreme weather, “what matters is this decade is warmer than the last decade, and that decade was warmer than the decade before. The planet is warming. The reason is because we are pumping increasing amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.”
The U.S. National Climate Assessment draft released in January 2013 indicates that the effects of climate change will continue to threaten the health and vitality of our communities as extreme weather becomes more frequent and/or severe. One of the report’s key findings is that U.S. coastal communities are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise, storms, floods, and subsequent erosion. And scientists predict that precipitation events across the United States are likely to be heavier. These risks pose serious threats to our electricity grid, infrastructure, clean water, and sewage treatment system in the most affected places.
The climate-related extreme weather events of the past several years have become the new normal. We must act now to reduce the industrial carbon pollution responsible for climate change and help communities become more resilient to the coming storms, floods, droughts, heat waves, and wildfires.
Disaster Relief
Disaster relief has suddenly become a partisan issue. This became overwhelmingly clear during recent debates in the Senate and the House of Representatives over the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act (H.R. 152), which provided $50.7 billion in emergency aid for superstorm Sandy victims. [3] The measure was passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama on January 29, 2013 — an unacceptable 91 days after the storm devastated the northeast corridor.
Despite passing with support from all but one voting Democrat in the House and Senate, the vast majority of Republicans in each chamber opposed essential aid to hurricane victims. These conservative lawmakers attempted to deny financial assistance to those in need, even after some of them previously requested disaster funding for their own states. All 36 Republican senators who voted against the Sandy aid bill are from states that experienced at least one “billion-dollar damage” extreme weather event in the past two years. In fact, 98 percent of lawmakers in either chamber who voted against the bill — 211 of the 216 Republicans — represent states that experienced at least one “billion-dollar damage” extreme weather event in the past two years.
The debate over congressional passage of disaster recovery assistance raises serious concerns about whether Congress can both aid disaster victims in a timely fashion and work to help communities minimize damages from future storms and other extreme weather. In order to help these communities reduce their vulnerability to extreme weather, Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) and 37 of her colleagues urged President Obama to appoint a blue ribbon panel to develop a a “community resilience fund” dedicated solely to providing the financial and technical assistance to vulnerable communities hit by extreme weather events. Dedicated funding for predisaster mitigation will protect lives, shield middle- and lower-income households from the worst impacts of extreme weather, and save taxpayers money over time.
For more information on this proposal, please see CAP’s December 2012 column “An Ounce of Prevention: Increasing Resiliency to Climate-Related Extreme Weather.”
Methodology
This Center for American Progress analysis compiled data from multiple sources. Extreme weather events data were from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center, or NCDC. Counties affected by each event were compiled from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Declared Disasters database.
In order to assess income levels for the most affected counties, we used median household income (2006–2010) data and number of households (2006–2010) data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s State and County QuickFacts. The 2006–2010 values are an average over the five-year period. We compared the percent difference between the average annual median household incomes for the affected counties in each weather event to the U.S. median — $51,914. We accounted for the population of each county when calculating these values. The cost per household was calculated by taking the cost of the event divided by the total number of households for each event.
Endnotes
[1] The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will release final 2013 disaster cost estimates in mid-2013.
[2] U.S. median income figures are based on the 2005-2010 Census Bureau average.
[3] This was the second installment of Sandy aid. The first installment of $9.7 billion was passed on January 1, 2013.
Daniel J. Weiss is a Senior Fellow and Director of Climate Strategy at the Center for American Progress. Jackie Weidman is a Special Assistant at the Center.
jQuery(document).ready(function(){jQuery('#comment_submit').click(function(){if(jQuery('#comment_check:checked').lengthSenate Majority Leader Scolds GOP For Unprecedented Hagel Obstruction: ‘What A Shame’
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Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) today filed a cloture motion on Chuck Hagel’s nomination to be the next Defense Secretary, saying he was forced to file the motion — which effectively means that 60 votes will be required for an up or down vote on Hagel — because Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-OK) and other Republicans “aren’t willing to consider” the Nebraska Republican’s nomination. “This is the first time in the history of our country that a presidential nominee for Secretary of Defense has been filibustered,” Reid said on the Senate floor. “What a shame.” Watch the clip:
The cloture vote is scheduled for Friday and It’s unlikely Senate Republicans will be able to derail Hagel’s confirmation. At this point, their obstruction and delay appears to be just that: obstruction and delay.
But it’s worth remembering who wants Chuck Hagel to be the next Secretary of Defense — former top military and defense officials from both parties, 50 former U.S. ambassadors, veterans and military families, a bipartisan group of former national security advisers, and the country’s most prominent newspapers and journalists — and who doesn’t: James Inhofe, Ted Cruz, Bill Kristol, Rick Santorum, Elliott Abrams, and Jennifer Rubin. You do the math.
Statement from United States President Barack Obama, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso
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Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release February 13, 2013 Statement from United States President Barack Obama, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel BarrosoWashington, D.C. – We, the Leaders of the United States and the European Union, are pleased to announce that, based on recommendations from the U.S.-EU High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth co-chaired by United States Trade Representative Kirk and European Trade Commissioner De Gucht, the United States and the European Union will each initiate the internal procedures necessary to launch negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
“The transatlantic economic relationship is already the world’s largest, accounting for half of global economic output and nearly one trillion dollars in goods and services trade, and supporting millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.
“We are committed to making this relationship an even stronger driver of our prosperity. In that regard, we welcome the High Level Working Group’s recommendations on how we can expand further our transatlantic trade and investment partnership, promoting greater growth and supporting more jobs.
“A high-standard Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership would advance trade and investment liberalization and address regulatory and other non-tariff barriers.
“Through this negotiation, the United States and the European Union will have the opportunity not only to expand trade and investment across the Atlantic, but also to contribute to the development of global rules that can strengthen the multilateral trading system.”
President Obama issued an Executive Order directing federal departments and agencies to use their existing authorities to provide better cybersecurity for the Nation, efforts that will by necessity involve increased collaboration with the private sector.
February 13, 2013 5:15 PM ESTOpen for Questions: The State of the Union and the EconomyAlan Krueger, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, answered questions from the public about President Obama's State of the Union Address in an “Open for Questions” session moderated by Yahoo! Finance. Check it out below.
February 13, 2013 4:55 PM ESTFirst Lady Michelle Obama hosts a “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Movie Workshop for StudentsThe stars of the Oscar-nominated drama joined Mrs. Obama to help teach students about the hard work required to create a beautiful movie.
view all related blog posts ul.related-content li.views-row img {float: left; padding: 5px 10px 0 0;}ul.related-content li.view-all {padding-bottom: 3em;} Stay ConnectedFacebookTwitterFlickrGoogle+YouTubeVimeoiTunesLinkedIn Home The White House Blog Photos & Videos Photo Galleries Video Performances Live Streams Podcasts Briefing Room Your Weekly Address Speeches & Remarks Press Briefings Statements & Releases White House Schedule Presidential Actions Legislation Nominations & Appointments Disclosures Issues Civil Rights Defense Disabilities Economy Education Energy & Environment Ethics Foreign Policy Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Taxes Rural Urban Policy Veterans Technology Seniors & Social Security Service Snapshots Women Violence Prevention The Administration President Barack Obama Vice President Joe Biden First Lady Michelle Obama Dr. Jill Biden The Cabinet White House Staff Executive Office of the President Other Advisory Boards About the White House Inside the White House Presidents First Ladies The Oval Office The Vice President's Residence & Office Eisenhower Executive Office Building Camp David Air Force One White House Fellows White House Internships Tours & Events Mobile Apps Our Government The Executive Branch The Legislative Branch The Judicial Branch The Constitution Federal Agencies & Commissions Elections & Voting State & Local Government Resources En español Accessibility Copyright Information Privacy Policy Contact USA.gov Developers Apply for a Job Rep. Broun boasts he’s the first to call Obama a ‘socialist’
Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) boasted in a fundraising letter that he was the first member of Congress to call President Obama a “socialist who embraces Marxist-Leninist policies,” according to text acquired by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
“As a Member of the House of Representatives for the last few years, I have fought tooth-and-nail against President Obama's agenda at every turn,” the letter reads in part. “I was the first Member of Congress to call him a socialist who embraces Marxist-Leninist policies like government control of health care and redistribution of wealth.”Broun, who is running to fill the Georgia Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R), has made a name for himself by describing Obama as an extreme leftist. Late last month, Broun accused the president of following the Soviet Constitution.
Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago prior to becoming a U.S. senator.
?Broun recently took steps to fill the role of former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) as a top critic of the Federal Reserve. One of his first actions in the 113th Congress was to introduce legislation authorizing a massive audit of the central bank. He also may be considering a primary challenge to Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.).
Broun said in the fundraising letter his voting record was “virtually identical" to Paul’s.
“Truth be told, except for foreign policy, Ron Paul's voting record and mine are virtually identical and I wear it as a badge of honor when I'm accused of being a strict constitutionalist who doesn't bend or break when it's tempting to do so,” he wrote.
View CommentsUPDATE 2-Hospira receives FDA notice over medical device problems
* Rocky Mount plant back to capacity in 2013 - Hospira
* Q4 adjusted eps 55 cents vs Street view 54 cents
* Expects 2013 sales up 1 pct to 3 pct, adjusted diluted eps of $2.05-$2.20
Feb 13 (Reuters) - Hospira Inc, a hospital products maker that has grappled with regulatory issues at manufacturing plants for the past 18 months, said it had received a notice over the quality of its medical devices from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The company reported the notice during a conference call on Wednesday after announcing a profit for the fourth quarter versus a year-earlier loss as sales of generic injectable drugs, IV solutions, drug pumps and other products increased more than 8 percent.
Hospira said the FDA completed an inspection of its medical device quality systems at its headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois, last month and issued a list of 10 objectionable conditions. The list is known in the industry as a Form 483.
The company also said it sent notices to customers about some of its infusion pumps that had to either be recalled, fixed or adjusted. Hospira did not disclose the scope of the action nor the exact product models.
Shares in Hospira fell 67 cents to $34.28 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Chief Executive F. Michael Ball said that FDA inspectors acknowledged some progress since the last inspection.
"The observations re-enforced our own assessment there is still a lot of work to be done within our device operations," Ball said on the conference call.
He said management had been doing a complete review of all of its medical devices even before the FDA notice. He said the new strategy would be aimed at modernizing and streamlining platforms.
Ball said there has been progress at some of its other manufacturing facilities that have had problems, including its Rocky Mount facility in North Carolina. Ball said a reinspection by the FDA would be extensive and lengthy but he expects it to resume production at full capacity this year.
He said Hospira's other plants emerged from shut downs on schedule.
Hospira's Clayton, North Carolina facility has resumed manufacturing propofol, an anesthesia that is administered intravenously and has been in short supply, and is building inventory in the fourth quarter of 2012 for an early 2013 relaunch.
He said the drug was being priced at a premium.
Hospira said it expects sales to rise 1 percent to 3 percent for 2013, and adjusted earnings per diluted share to be between $2.05 and $2.20.
Management said the relatively wide range is based on the expected rate of supply recovery and share gains, as well as improvements in quality and manufacturing performance.
In the fourth quarter, its net income was $5.3 million, or 3 cents per share, in the latest quarter, compared with a net loss of $214.0 million, or $1.30 per share, in the year-earlier period.
Adjusted earnings were 55 cents per share. On that basis, analysts on average were expecting earnings per share of 54 cents.
Net sales rose to $1.1 billion in the quarter from $1.0 billion a year before.
Message -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Libya
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13566 of February 25, 2011, is to continue in effect beyond February 25, 2013.
Colonel Muammar Qadhafi, his government, and close associates took extreme measures against the people of Libya, including by using weapons of war, mercenaries, and wanton violence against unarmed civilians. In addition, there was a serious risk that Libyan state assets would be misappropriated by Qadhafi, members of his government, members of his family, or his close associates if those assets were not protected. The foregoing circumstances, the prolonged attacks, and the increased numbers of Libyans seeking refuge in other countries caused a deterioration in the security of Libya, posed a serious risk to its stability, and led me to declare a national emergency to deal with this threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
We are in the process of winding down the sanctions in response to developments in Libya, including the fall of Qadhafi and his government and the establishment of a democratically elected government. We are working closely with the new Libyan government and with the international community to effectively and appropriately ease restrictions on sanctioned entities, including by taking actions consistent with the U.N. Security Council's decision to lift sanctions against the Central Bank of Libya and two other entities on December 16, 2011. The situation in Libya, however, continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and we need to protect against this threat and the diversion of assets or other abuse by certain members of Qadhafi's family and other former regime officials. Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency with respect to Libya.
BARACK OBAMA
President Obama issued an Executive Order directing federal departments and agencies to use their existing authorities to provide better cybersecurity for the Nation, efforts that will by necessity involve increased collaboration with the private sector.
Alan Krueger, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, answered questions from the public about President Obama's State of the Union Address in an “Open for Questions” session moderated by Yahoo! Finance. Check it out below.
The stars of the Oscar-nominated drama joined Mrs. Obama to help teach students about the hard work required to create a beautiful movie.
view all related blog postsHospices Reveal Obamacare’s Impact
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Two hospice care centers are struggling to make ends meet, and Obamacare’s cuts to Medicare are to blame.
Hospices—health care facilities for the terminally ill—along with other Medicare providers are facing Medicare pay cuts. Of the $716 billion in payment reductions, hospice care was hit by a $17 billion payment cut from 2013 to 2022.
Now, contrary to all of the misleading claims, this effect is already beginning.
San Diego Hospice recently laid off 260 workers, closed a 24-bed hospital, and has recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. San Diego Hospice’s financial condition is attributed mainly to reduced Medicare reimbursement, fewer patients, and a federal audit that hurt the center’s reputation.
Another provider, Delaware Hospice, had to lay off 52 workers, citing lower federal reimbursement as the cause. “The decision,” said CEO Susan Lloyd, “is a direct result of a consequential decline in census and the need to position the organization to meet additional changes and challenges that the hospice industry anticipates with health care reform.”
“There’s a bit of a squeeze going on,” said Theresa M. Forster, vice president for hospice policy and programs at the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. “Hospices have to do more with less, and you can see how that could take its toll over time.”
If other Part A providers (e.g., hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, hospices), like these hospice centers, can’t withstand Obamacare’s $700 billion worth of cuts, how will seniors be able to access these services?
Remember how AARP, the liberals in the media, and the President insisted that Obamacare’s $716 billion in cuts to Medicare were “reforms that won’t touch your guaranteed Medicare benefits. Not by a single dime”?
Heritage had explained that financing Medicare benefits and seniors’ ability to access those benefits are inseparable—you can’t cut payment to services without affecting persons who depend on those services.
Recall that both the actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Medicare trustees projected that Obamacare’s cuts would cause 15 percent of Part A providers to become unprofitable by 2019 and (if the reimbursement rates stay at Obamacare levels) 40 percent by 2050.
This is flawed and counter-productive policy. During tonight’s State of the Union address, it will be interesting to see if the President wants to double down on this approach. There’s a better way: harnessing the forces of competition. That will require serious structural reforms—as outlined in The Heritage Foundation’s Saving the American Dream—not just tightening price controls that put Medicare providers out of business.
Saving Syria before it's too late
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Saving Syria before it's too lateBy Mindy Ko, American University-02/13/13 03:00 PM ET Tweet !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");
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');}if(navigator.userAgent.match(/iPad/i)) {document.write('');}if(navigator.userAgent.match(/Android/i)) {document.write('');} Follow!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");Advanced Search Options » Home/NewsSenateHouseAdministrationCampaignPollsBusiness & LobbyingSunday Talk ShowsCampaignBusiness & LobbyingK Street InsidersLobbying ContractsLobbying HiresLobbying RevenueOpinionColumnistsEditorialsLettersOp-EdWeyants WorldCapital LivingCover StoriesFood & DrinkNew Member of the Week20 QuestionsMy 5 Min. W/ObamaAnnouncementsMeet the LawmakerJobsVideoGossip: In The Know Briefing RoomRegWatchHillicon ValleyE2-WireFloor ActionOn The MoneyHealthwatchTransportationDEFCON HillGlobal AffairsCongressBallot BoxGOP12In The KnowPunditsTwitter Room HomeSenateHouseAdministrationCampaignPollsBusiness & LobbyingSunday Talk ShowsBlogsBriefing RoomRegWatchHillicon ValleyE2-WireFloor ActionOn The MoneyHealthwatchTransportationDEFCON HillGlobal AffairsCongressBallot BoxGOP12In The KnowPunditsTwitter RoomOpinionA.B. StoddardBrent BudowskyLanny DavisDavid HillCheri JacobusMark MellmanDick MorrisMarkos Moulitsas (Kos)Robin BronkEditorialsLettersOp-EdsJuan WilliamsJudd GreggChristian HeinzeKaren FinneyJohn FeeheryCapital LivingCover StoriesFood & DrinkAnnouncementsNew Member of the WeekMy 5 Min. W/ObamaAll Capital LivingVideoHillTubeEventsVideoClassifiedsJobsClassifiedsResourcesMobile SiteiPhoneAndroidiPadLawmaker RatingsWhite PapersOrder ReprintsLast 6 IssuesOutside LinksRSS FeedsContact UsAdvertiseReach UsSubmitting LettersSubmitting Op-edsSubscriptions Saving Syria before it's too lateBy Mindy Ko, American University-02/13/13 03:00 PM ET Tweet !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); This month marks two years since the start of the Syrian crisis. The civil war has claimed at least 60,000 lives and sent 755,000 refugees fleeing to neighboring Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. Nearly half of the refugees in Jordan are younger than twelve years old, and women outnumber men two to one. Over two million Syrians are internally displaced and unable to cross borders. The United Nations reports that more than four million Syrians are in urgent need of assistance. President Bashar al-Assad’s “iron fist” has responded to global condemnation and the rise of opposition forces with increased violence and overwhelming force.
Last week, the World Health Organization reported outbreaks of Hepatitis A in Syria, particularly among the internally displaced. Doctors Without Borders stated that leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease, is endemic in and around Aleppo. Water and sanitation conditions throughout Syria have deteriorated, as public water is being rationed and sanitation conditions across the country have broken down. Fleeing civilians must struggle not only with harsh winter conditions, but also lack of proper medical care, overcrowded camps, and a critical shortage of medicine. More than half of Syria’s public hospitals have closed, with some overtaken by the Syrian regime and rebel opposition forces as torture centers and staging grounds. Ambulances have been impounded for use in combat. As doctors and medical staff flee the country, Syrian civilians are left in an increasingly fragile position that demands international attention beyond humanitarian aid.
President Obama has repeatedly issued statements hinting at deeper intervention in Syria following his re-election, but his administration has done little besides increase humanitarian and non-lethal aid. How beneficial are medical and food supplies if the country is engulfed in such violence that these supplies are unable to reach those in particularly volatile conflict zones? The cautious leadership of the U.S. has stalled for far too long, and the violence in Syria has now escalated to the level of genocide, defined by the Genocide Convention as “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy…a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group such as: (a) killing members of the group; (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) imposing measure intended to prevent births within the group; and (e) forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.” The Syrian regime and opposition forces are both guilty of at least three (a, b, and c) of these violations.?
The U.S. is well aware that the international community looks to it for the green light in intervention in Syria. Political debates about the regime’s ties to Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as the threat of chemical warfare and warnings of a regional war were the U.S. to take action, have stymied U.S. intervention in Syria. The crisis in Syria has reached a point where it can only deteriorate: without further intervention, the sectarian conflict will spill across borders and conditions of refugee camps will deteriorate. Chemical weapons could fall into the hands of Islamist extremists or Hezbollah. Cities and villages across Syria are collapsing as the recently formed National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces has proven to be largely ineffective. Neighborhood shellings occur on a daily basis, and the exodus of police forces and medical staff have left civilians increasingly vulnerable.
Now more than ever, the Obama administration needs to place Syria at the top of its agenda. In yesterday’s State of the Union address, President Obama declared that “[the United States] has a huge stake in the outcome [of Syria]…we will support policies that lead to strong and stable democracies and open markets, because tyranny is no match for liberty.” The problem is, President Obama, tyranny in Syria by the Assad regime has proven – for two years – to be a match for liberty. Continued cautious leadership and failure by the U.S. to effectively intervene may very well lead to policymakers’ worst fears: threats of Al Qaeda or other extremists coming to power, a regional war, and tens of thousands more lives lost at the hands of delayed intervention.
Ko is a graduate student at American University's School of International Service. She served in the Peace Corps in Jordan from 2006-2008 and is currently studying international human rights.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/282913-saving-syria-before-its-too-lateThe contents of this site are © 2013 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.
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The contents of this site are © 2013 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.Why America Must Do More To Track And Trace Counterfeit Medication
A new study released Wednesday by the Institute of Medicine concludes with a dire warning: start effectively tracking and monitoring medication, or face the devastating worldwide public health consequences of a market littered with counterfeit products.
According to the Associated Press, researchers and global health advocates are deeply concerned about the effects that diluted — and even poisonous — drugs can have on patient health. Particularly troubling is the fact that, superficially, imitation drugs appear to be indistinguishable from real ones, making step-by-step tracking procedures of utmost importance:
“There can be nothing worse than for a patient to take a medication that either doesn’t work or poisons the patient,” said Lawrence O. Gostin, a professor of health law at Georgetown University who led the IOM committee that studied how to combat the growing problem.
A mandatory drug-tracking system could use some form of barcodes or electronic tags to verify that a medication and the ingredients used to make it are authentic at every step, from the manufacturing of the active ingredient all the way to the pharmacy, he said. His committee examined fakes so sophisticated that health experts couldn’t tell the difference between the packaging of the FDA-approved product and the look-alike.
“It’s unreliable unless you know where it’s been and can secure each point in the supply chain,” Gostin said.
Patient safety advocates have pushed for that kind of tracking system for years, but attempts to include it in FDA drug-safety legislation last summer failed.
The report goes on to suggest various approaches to combating the scourge of counterfeit drugs, including “licensing requirements for the wholesalers and distributors who get a drug from its manufacturer to the pharmacy, hospital or doctor’s office,” and “wider promotion of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy’s online accreditation program” aimed at helping consumers locate legitimate drugs from online vendors — one of the biggest sources of counterfeit medicine today.
The real world effects of counterfeit drugs are already rampant, with tuberculosis gaining resistance to antibiotics largely due to watered-down versions of the drugs peddled to patients in developing nations and a fake Adderall scandal right here in America.
A federal tracking system was in the pipeline for a landmark food and drug safety overhaul passed last summer with bipartisan support — but the amendment did not make it into the final bill despite support from both the FDA and the pharmaceutical industry due to Congress’ inability to sketch out an effective digital tracking regime.
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