Die US-Regierung hat kürzlich ein Gutachten veröffentlicht, das ein grelles Bild der Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf die menschliche Gesundheit zeichnet. Die steigenden Temperaturen würden „Tausende bis Zehntausende“ Amerikaner töten, heißt es dort.

Corruption is a huge problem across the globe. In Africa, it is estimated that one-quarter of the continent’s GDP is “lost to corruption each year.” In Latin America, the Inter-American Development Bank believes that corruption may cost 10% of GDP every year. In the only comprehensive overview based on surveys of businesses and households, the World Bank puts the total direct cost of corruption at $1 trillion annually.

This Friday, world leaders and their entourages will disembark from carbon-spewing jets in New York to sign the world’s costliest climate change treaty. Lit by the flashbulbs of the world’s press and warmed by their sense of accomplishment, these politicians will pat each other on the back and declare a job well done.

The reality is that the so-called “Paris Treaty” is a hugely expensive way of doing very little.

Every hour, tuberculosis kills nine Bangladeshis. Another seven die each hour from arsenic in drinking water. Simple and cheap solutions are available to avoid almost all these deaths.

Bangladesh has made incredible progress over recent years on many health indicators. But the country continues to face great challenges, like tuberculosis (TB) and arsenic, two of the biggest killers. Many other grave health issues remain too, including factors that threaten mothers and their children.

Korruption ist auf der ganzen Welt ein großes Problem. Schätzungen zufolge geht dem afrikanischen Kontinent jedes Jahr ein Viertel des BIP durch Korruption verloren. Die Interamerikanische Entwicklungsbank geht davon aus, dass Korruption Lateinamerika Jahr für Jahr 10% des BIP kosten könnte. Im einzigen umfassenden Überblick, der auf Umfragen in Unternehmen und Haushalten basiert, schätzt die Weltbank die jährlichen Kosten durch Korruption auf 1 Billion US-Dollar.

Korupce je obrovský problém po celém světě. Odhaduje se, že v Africe se čtvrtina kontinentálního HDP „každoročně ztratí v korupci“. Meziamerická rozvojová banka je přesvědčena, že korupce v Latinské Americe může rok co rok ukrojit 10 % HDP. V jediném komplexním přehledu založeném na průzkumu mezi podniky a domácnostmi Světová banka dochází k úhrnným přímým nákladům korupce na bilion dolarů ročně.

Air pollution is a major issue around the world. It kills seven million people annually-one in every eight people that die around the world. And, of course, air pollution is a well-known and much-complained-about fact in Bangladesh. Few major global cities suffer from air pollution worse than Dhaka. During the dry season, when dust is especially bad, pollution levels can reach up to 16 times higher than the World Health Organisation's air quality guideline.

Infectious diseases get all the attention. And for a long time, these diseases were what most people around the world died from. But as we are increasingly beating back infections and live to grow older, we start dying from what doctors call non-communicable diseases (NCDs), like heart disease, strokes, cancer, and diabetes. 

Each year, Bangladesh spends more than Tk. 72,000 crore on government procurement. That includes paying for anything from Padma Bridge to pencils for government offices and everything in-between. Imagine if this process could be done just 1 percent more efficiently - that would save Tk. 720 crore. As it turns out, it can likely be improved by closer to 10 percent, saving billions of takas that could pay for other projects or services.

Se os meios de comunicação globais fossem a sua única fonte de informação, estaria perdoado por pensar que, no que respeita à saúde, a maior preocupação do mundo, neste momento, é o vírus Zika, e que, no ano passado, foi o Ébola – ou o SARS e a gripe das aves antes disso.