Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
At the time, few could have realised the significance of the commitment made by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, President of the UAE, when he invited the former US president Jimmy Carter to the UAE for the first time.
Among the topics for discussion on that July day in 1990 was an initiative by the 39th president of the United States to free the world of a little known parasitic disease that was causing untold misery and blindness across large parts of Africa.
Sheikh Zayed responded to the crisis with a substantial donation to the Carter Centre for combating Guinea-worm disease – the start of three decades of giving by the UAE that has transformed the fight against plagues that have claimed the lives of millions of some of the world’s most disadvantaged peoples.
Just how successful these efforts have been can be judged by the title of conference to be held in Abu Dhabi on November 15. Reaching the Last Mile: Mobilising Together to Eliminate Infectious Diseases is a global health forum that looks forward to the day when the world is freed from their grip.
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UAE pushes for political commitment to eradicate infectious diseases
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Hosted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the summit will gather hundreds of world experts and organisations in the capital, including the Carter Centre, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, another major player in the battle against diseases like polio and malaria. The forum recognises the UAE’s long standing commitment to reducing and eliminating preventable disease.
Doubtless, those taking part will also hear of the progress made against Guinea-worm disease, a parasitic illness that can cripple its suffers for months and was once widespread across 20 sub-Saharan African countries.
Today, over 27 years after it was first brought to Sheikh Zayed’s attention, Guinea-worm disease has been tamed, thanks to better health care and water purification measures to filter out the microscopic worms that grow inside the bodies of unfortunate victims until bursting through their skin.
In 1990, around 900,000 cases of Guinea-worm disease were recorded in counties like Chad, Senegal and the Central African Republic. The recorded total for 2017 up to the end of July is nine, all from a handful of villages in Chad.
The hope now is that the Guinea-worm parasite, once deprived of its human host, can soon be driven from the planet, just as smallpox was by the 1970s. At the same time, other parasitic diseases like river blindness, and lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis for its disfiguring effect on the human body, still cause incalculable hardship and suffering.
Referring to smallpox, former President Carter says: “Only one human disease has ever been eradicated, but with the strong support and cooperation of international partners, together we can aim higher. Guinea worm disease and polio are close to being eradicated, and other diseases are achieving regional elimination.”
The Abu Dhabi meeting, he says, is a signal of a renewed determination by leaders like Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and the global health community, “to maintain the momentum and help address human suffering everywhere".
Like his father, Sheikh Mohammed has been generous in these battles, personally contributing US$167 million to the fight against polio and another $US30 million to the eradication of malaria.
The Abu Dhabi forum "builds on the UAE leadership’s 30-year efforts to permanently wipe out several deadly global diseases,” said Mohamed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Undersecretary of the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi.
The driving force, he adds, is the conviction of Sheikh Mohammed that "no human should suffer from a preventable disease, and that investment in disease eradication is crucial to global development".
The philanthropy and determination of the Crown Prince, matched with the continuing work of the Carter Centre, and Bill and Melinda Gates, the world’s wealthiest man and his wife, has certainly energized what once seem to be a hopeless cause.
Mr Gates believes the world now has a real chance of eliminating these diseases. “I hope that Reaching the Last Mile will help accelerate the fight against these preventable diseases, giving more of the world’s poorest people the chance to live healthy and productive lives,” he says.
In the case of polio, victory is tantalisingly close.
Just months before Sheikh Zayed and President Carter met in 1991, a single outbreak of the disease in China infected around 10,000 people. Worldwide, polio was found in over 120 countries, with around 350,000 cases.
Fast-forward to 2017, and polio is just a bad memory in most of the world. The disease that once killed or crippled millions exists in just four countries where the fight is handicapped by political turmoil. Even so, in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria - where the disease has sadly returned as a result of the continuing civil war – just 37 cases were reported last year.
The same cannot be said of malaria. There is good progress, but the last mile here is still some distance away. In 1990, the best estimate was 120 million cases annually and around 800,000 deaths in Africa alone.
Last year, the number of cases was put at 214 million, but 438,000 deaths worldwide; a huge toll, but much reduced. Since the peak of the disease in 2004, with 1.8 million deaths worldwide, the number has fallen by around seven per cent each year.
These figures need to be treated with caution though. The reporting of malaria cases is thought to be unreliable. The World Health Organisation believes that while only 117,000 deaths were recorded in 2009, the true figure was closer to 800,000. Most deaths are of children.
By meeting in Abu Dhabi, those government officials, heads of international development organizations and philanthropic organizations, global health experts, and private sector representatives collectively hope to take full advantage of the UAE’s long standing commitment to reduce the incidence of these diseases and eventually eliminate them.
It is also a chance to recognise the efforts of the tens of thousands who work in the front line of the worst affected countries and who have devoted their lives to prevention and treatment.
For them, reaching the last mile on a journey that was started in meeting with Sheikh Zayed over 25 years ago, is something that cannot come soon enough.
Sour%20Grapes
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Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
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'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
Wednesday's results
Finland 3-0 Armenia
Faroes Islands 1-0 Malta
Sweden 1-1 Spain
Gibraltar 2-3 Georgia
Romania 1-1 Norway
Greece 2-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Liechtenstein 0-5 Italy
Switzerland 2-0 Rep of Ireland
Israel 3-1 Latvia
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
The%C2%A0specs%20
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
RESULT
Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
US Industrial Market figures, Q1 2017
Vacancy Rate 5.4%
Markets With Positive Absorption 85.7 per cent
New Supply 55 million sq ft
New Supply to Inventory 0.4 per cent
Under Construction 198.2 million sq ft
(Source: Colliers)
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
