SOLIDARITY TO ALL WORKINGMEN & WOMEN!

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

01 May 21^st Century

This social analyst, development worker and self-development guru from Manila hereby extends a most heartfelt solidarity and synergy with the working men & women of our beloved planet Earth!

If there is a core life element that must be celebrated today, the 1^st of May, it is the power of labor to…

Atlas Corps is hiring for 2 positions!  http://www.atlascorps.org/career.php

Atlas Corps is seeking an energetic, organized individual with sales experience, partnership…

“GO GREEN NOT NUKES” FOLLOW PH MODEL!

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

That line comes from a retired PH journalist, Crispin Maslog, who urged Asian countries to go green rather than to force nuke energy for power generation. From the very own words of the noblesse environmentalist, Asian countries—the top models of emerging markets—should follow the ‘Philippine way’ of power generation via the RE or renewable energy sources plus minimal fossil fuel…

GETTING PHARMACEUTICALS TO WORLD’S POOR VIA NEW FUNDING MODELS

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Getting pharmaceuticals to the world’s poor is verily a tough task to do. Certain emerging markets such as those of Asia’s have mature and well developed pharmaceutical industries, yet too many poor folks can’t afford to pay for their own medical drug needs.

One opinion says new funding models may need be crafted to get such drugs to the world’s…

From yesterday's “But will this be sustainable?” also comes...

“This project will be innovative.” 

The development aid sector is not lacking in ideas or methods and it's hardly appropriate to declare one's self "innovative," right?

Last year when I found the one-page piece I wrote about a local implementing…

"But will this be sustainable?"

This is a question I find it harder and harder to tolerate it in discussions about international development. (Luckily, due to my nature and to this blog, I rarely have to bite my tongue.)

I share this though because we as aid workers and funders need to challenge this notion of the necessity of the "sustainability" of activities within aid projects. Basic services to people must be sustainable. Training…

LOWERING HIV RISK FOR SEX WORKERS, ANYONE?

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Is there any enthused soul out there who may have some bright ideas about strategies to lower HIV risk for sex workers?

A grim ripper of a research shows the very high levels of HIV risks on sex workers. This research was done across the continents, involving  100,000 female sex workers across 50 developing countries, cross-analyzing 102 previous studies for that matter. The…

My video contribution to A Day Without Dignity 2012 on how-matters.org's YouTube Channel. Click here to watch it!

Below are some other posts featuring local champions on…

X-RAY BENEFITS ON PLANT MICRO-NUTRIENT ANALYSIS

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Good afternoon from Manila!

Here’s a good news concerning XRay benefits on plant micro-nutrient analysis coming from Africa. Researchers in Rwanda are very particular about the potential benefits of XRay applications, so this development adds more points towards brightening the image of Rwanda as its old ethnic violence and purges must be expunged with…

BIRDS’ FLU RETHOUGHT WITH SCIENTIFIC OPENNESS

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Birds flu struck the world as a pandemic just a few years back, creating fright night panic in some key cities over incoming overseas visitors that are afflicted with the ailment. Indonesia is among those countries hit hard in terms of transmission of the birds flu, and so the Indonesian case could be examined to rethink the health problem at hand.

What makes the…

CLEANING UGANDA’S IMAGE WITH CLEAN DEVELOPMENT HUB ROLE

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Great good news is coming out of the African continent by the day, one them being the new role assigned to Uganda as clean development mechanism or CDM hub.  I surely welcome this new development for Uganda, and wish no less for its immense success.

The target is to roll out the pioneering sectors over the next three (3) years that will exhibit the…

SOUND SCIENCE SUSTAINS OCEANS

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Ocean management is among the emerging multi-disciplinal fields today. Judging by the rise of eco-disaster events such as oil spillage in the oceans of late, there is no reason to further delay the growth of ocean management.

Sound science is the key to workable ocean management, and I do go along with this contention. Better monitoring can buttress emergency responses by millions…

Understanding the organizational dynamics of local, indigenous, community-based groups directly serving vulnerable families is vastly different from the project-based, accountability-by-paper world of the aid industry. While those in the aid system may acknowledge local groups’ resourcefulness in mobilizing local resources, their language and cultural competencies, and responsiveness to communities’ needs, there are challenges in working with local groups that many organizations are not up…

Andebo Pax Pascal shares his experience as an aid worker in Africa’s newest country in his second guest post.  By examining beneficiaries’ place (or lack thereof) in two projects, he explores whether the development discourse has drifted into the abstract, beyond those he serves.

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The idea of different categories of people--donors, government representatives,…

MARINE BIOPROSPECTING FOR ASIA-PACIFIC

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Seaweeds, sponges, and sea urchins are species that abound in the Philippines and elsewhere in Asia. Add corals and more, and you’d have a long list of marine species that can serve medical and related purposes.

Biotech has reached maturity in Asia, and its applications had revolutionized crop production and forestry production. Biotech likewise has applications for marine…

RE-ENGINEERING NIPPLE DEVICE TO AVOID INFANT HIV

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Breastfeeding by a healthy mother can yield enormous health and adaptability benefits for the fragile infant. However, an AIDS infected mother is a different story altogether, in that breastfeeding brings HIV harm directly to the infant.

Researchers are therefore challenged to innovate on a nipple device that can cut the infant infection by the mother’s HIV/AIDS…

ASIA’S 2^ND GREEN REVOLUTION, WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Crispin Maslog from the Philippines has been advocating for a 2^nd Green Revolution for Asia. I wonder what fellow development stakeholders think about this afterthought.

The Green Revolution was waged beginning in the 1960s, with no less than Philippine technocrats and industry players praising the UN-led initiative to high praises. The…

With the continuing violence and wars in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, now we are hearing loud noises and threats of attack on Iran. There is a dire need to expose the bogus calls of war propaganda and work for a safer environment in the Middle East.



Just after the protests outside the British Embassy in Tehran recently, William Hague, the UK Defence Minister put forward a plan to attack Iran (another Muslim country) which will open up another venue for the military to engage in future…

INDIA GEARS UP AS SCIENCE SUPERPOWER

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

India is gearing up to become a science superpower. Millions of youth are being urged to take up science careers, and there’s sufficient reason to forecast the success of this expectation.

Federal institutions have already allotted no less than US $8B for science R&D to bring science to the next level. Do note that at this juncture, certain industrial sectors have…

When I was a girl, I wanted a horse, sooooo bad. Every Christmas, every birthday, I had but one request.

“Please, Dad, I just want a horse.”

“There are no horses on pig farms,” my father would flatly respond.

But maybe my cowgirl dreams have finally come true. Because now…this farmer’s daughter is working for the cowboys.…