Dragging aid workers roughshod into political conflicts

Despite their noble efforts, aid workers in marginalized countries remain easy targets in political crossfire. It’s easy enough to predict. In most cases, they are volunteers working outside an official system, or for non-profits. Their security is not necessarily bankrolled, nor is their safety prioritized by military interventions in conflict zones.

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In cases where they aren’t victims, they are suspected of being intelligence operatives. Forgood reason. As Katherine Bigelow’s controversial film Zero Dark Thirty reveals, health programs such as community vaccinations are usually set up by First World intelligence agencies to gather information for counter-terrorism missions. The film shows this happening through a polio vaccination program. Fact-checkers for the movie, however, reveal this as a hush-hush tribal infiltration mission in real life through a CIA-sponsored hepatitis B vaccination program in the hunt for bin Laden.

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One of the controversial pressures on Bigelow now is the growing distrust for aid workers arising from her movie’s reception in Pakistan. Truth or assertion, the portrayal of aid workers has its reprisals, with Taliban community heads disallowing polio vaccinations or aid workers now marked out as enemies by tribal leaders. The article also reports the murder of six polio vaccinators. Whether they were murdered as war’s collateral damage or on account of the suspicion they incite is another question.

Image Source: guardian.co.uk

Such fate is not unique to aid workers. But for years, the dodgy place is where they get inadvertently thrown. Ironically, it’s no coincidence that conflict-zones need them more.


The efforts of aid workers go hand in hand with the obligation of pharmaceuticals to promote public health. Mary Szela, an immersed representative of this industry, tackles its work through this webpage.

To curb child obesity, move to cleaner air

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Child obesity is a recognized epidemic in America. Over the last year, parents, pediatricians, and elementary school teachers have launched an aggressive campaign against sugars and fats. While effective, a recent study shows this attempt to remove fatty food from a child’s diet is futile if the child is predisposed to obesity. While it is true that obesity can be genetic, even children from families without the gene can be exposed to the dangers of obesity while still in the womb. This does not– as one might think– depend entirely on what the mother eats while pregnant. The prenatal factor that has been proven to lead to obesity is in fact what the mother inhales.




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The debate over air pollution has possibly existed longer than the concern for obesity has. Air pollution has been known to cause allergies, lung infections, and respiratory failure. A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is associated with an increased chance of having heavier children. The research concluded that air pollution contains endocrine disruptors and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)– endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in cigarette smoke and car exhaust. Like estrogen, PAHs interfere with some developmental and metabolic functions. According to the research findings, children born to mothers with the highest PAH levels during their third trimester had a 79% greater risk of becoming obese.




Image Source: telegraph.co.uk


While it is difficult to avoid air pollution– particularly for expectant mothers living in cities– it is possible to consciously avoid the worst sources of PAH exposure. This means avoiding second-hand cigarette smoke and similar exhaust. Knowing that air pollutants can cause child obesity– which is known to lead to diabetes– should be motivation enough for pregnant women to stay vigilant.



Child obesity is known to lead to type 2 diabetes– a growing issue for children in America. As the former Senior VP of Global Strategic Marketing and Services of Abbott Diabetes Care, Mary Szela takes this issue close to her heart. Read more about her advocacy on this website.