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Dr. Vivek Murthy, the United States Surgeon General, discusses the importance of social connection to our mental and physical well-being with actor Matthew McConaughey, a University of Texas professor.
Should social media apps be labeled dangerous for kids?
US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is demanding Congress require a safety label on social media apps like cigarettes and alcohol, citing that teens who use them for three hours a day double their risk of depression.
Murthy has a history of advocating for mental health: He issued a similar advisory last year categorizing loneliness as a health crisis comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.
So far, Congress hasn’t done much to curb children’s social media usage, apart from chastising a few tech CEOs and targeting TikTok as a national security threat. Murthy’s emergency declaration on Monday was a call for concrete action.
“A surgeon general’s warning label,” Murthy argued in a recent op-ed in the New York Times, “would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe.”
Would it work? Labels on tobacco did lead to a steady decline in adolescent cigarette smoking over the past several decades (that is, until vapes came along … but that’s another story). Murthy acknowledged, however, that a warning label alone wouldn’t fix that the average teen spends nearly five hours a day scrolling, and also suggested that schools, family dinners, and anyone in middle school or below, stay phone-free.
What do you think? Should social media apps be labeled as dangerous for children? Let us know here.An adult female Anopheles mosquito bites a human body to begin its blood meal at Tehatta, West Bengal; India on 24/02/2023.
Djibouti goes high-tech to take a bite out of malaria
The coastal country of Djibouti, one of the smallest by population in Africa, has a big problem in a tiny package: An invasive species of mosquito from the Indian subcontinent has driven malaria rates through the roof, so the government on Thursday released thousands of genetically modified bugs in a bid to save thousands of lives.
How deadly is the disease? Malaria has probably killed more human beings over the sweep of history than any other single infectious disease, and African governments have been fighting for decades to eliminate it. Djibouti darn near made it: In 2012, the country recorded just 27 cases.
But since then, an invasive species has arrived. Unlike the mosquitoes indigenous to most of Africa, the new bugs thrive in urban environments and bite during the day, making them impossible to avoid. In 2020, over 70,000 people contracted malaria — one in every 15 Djiboutians — of whom 190 died. The invasive bugs are spreading to important cities in Ethiopia and Kenya, and have been found as far away as Lagos, Nigeria, a metropolis of over 15 million.
Fight bugs with bugs: Working with scientists at US firm Oxitec, Djibouti released thousands of genetically modified versions of the invasive mosquitos whose female offspring die quickly. Since only females of the species bite humans, the hope is reducing their number will reduce human exposure.
Similar programs in Brazil met with astonishing success, driving down the population of dengue-carrying mosquitoes by 96%, a model later copied by Panama and the Cayman Islands. We’re watching Djibouti’s plan with great hope.
How can the world build back better public health after COVID?
Every year, over ten million people globally die from high blood pressure, more than all infectious diseases combined. Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control, is tackling this massive problem in public health, among many others, as CEO of Resolve to Save Lives.
He told GZERO’s Tony Maciulis that ensuring easy access to three drugs — amlodipine for blood pressure, metformin for blood sugar, and atorvastatin for cholesterol — could save tens of millions of lives over the next quarter century for just a penny per pill.
It’s part of a set of goals Frieden calls the three Rs: Renaissance in public health, robust primary healthcare and resilient populations. But as the developing world takes on more and more public debt, where will the money come from?
See more from Global Stage.
"We need to invest in public health," says former CDC director, lessons that "we better learn"
If we've learned anything from COVID, former CDC chief Tom Frieden says it's that we need to invest a lot more in public health.
"We need a renaissance in our public health system. We need a robust primary care system. And we need resilient populations," he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
Without good primary care, we can't get detect outbreaks, diagnose, treat, or vaccinate properly. Resilient populations means those that can withstand the shock of a pandemic because, for instance, chronic diseases are under control.
Trust is also an issue — and that's why Frieden wants the CDC to stay in Atlanta, far away from the White House.
Watch the GZERO World episode: How depoliticizing the US health response will save lives (COVID isn't over)
COVID ain't over
We're not done with the pandemic — yet.
In the US, infections are up five-fold from a year ago, although both hospitalizations are down.
Although COVID will likely become endemic sometime this year in some parts of the world, the virus will still rage on everywhere else.
China's zero-COVID strategy is having a tremendous cost, while barely 17.4% of Africans are vaccinated. That bodes well for new variants.
Meanwhile, rich countries keep hoarding jabs, now also against monkeypox. Did we not learn anything after more than two years?
Watch the GZERO World episode: How depoliticizing the US health response will save lives (COVID isn't over)
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"Stunningly infectious" COVID demands better preparation, says Former CDC director
Many people are done with the pandemic, but the pandemic ain't done with us yet.
Why? There's long COVID, and also we can't predict how the virus will play out in the future, former CDC chief Tom Frieden tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
Still, he points out, the best way to "keep yourself out of the hospital and, quite frankly, out of the morgue" is to get vaxxed and boosted.
Frieden says he's stunned by how infectious COVID is compared to other diseases — and that's why those who claim they can predict what's going to happen in a few weeks don't know what they're talking about.
Watch the GZERO World episode: How depoliticizing the US health response will save lives (COVID isn't over)
How depoliticizing the US health response will save lives (COVID isn't over)
We're not done with the pandemic — yet.
Although COVID will likely become endemic sometime this year in some parts of the world, the virus will still rage on everywhere else.
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer catches up on the pandemic's state of play with former CDC chief Tom Frieden, who has a message for everyone who hasn't gotten vaxxed yet: do it.
Why? New variants could emerge, making the virus more deadly.
Frieden also shares his thoughts on why China needs to transition to "almost" zero-COVID, the post-pandemic need to invest more in public health, and whether we should worry about monkeypox.
Bonus: we mark Pride month by looking at the history of the AIDS quilt.
- What we learned from COVID - GZERO Media ›
- Top Risks 2022: We're done with the pandemic, but the pandemic ... ›
- Should we worry about monkeypox? - GZERO Media ›
- Let's learn from COVID to prevent the next pandemic - GZERO Media ›
- China isn't budging on zero-COVID - GZERO Media ›
- Coming soon: the State of the World with Ian Bremmer - GZERO Media ›
- Coming soon: Ian Bremmer gives his 2022 update on the State of the World - GZERO Media ›
Episode 2: Saving the world’s water supply
Listen: Nearly half of the world's population currently lives in areas that face water scarcity for at least one month out of every year, and more than 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. This basic human need is too often at risk for communities around the globe, creating grave public health and security crises.
The latest episode of Living Beyond Borders, a special podcast series from GZERO brought to you by Citi Private Bank, examines the growing problem of both physical and economic water scarcity, and its potential to cause further humanitarian and security threats. Moderated by Mikaela McQuade, Director of Energy, Climate, and Resources at Eurasia Group, this episode features Harlin Singh, Global Head of Sustainable Investing at Citi Global Wealth, and Franck Gbaguidi, Senior Analyst of Energy, Climate, & Resources at Eurasia Group.
Mikaela McQuade
Director of Energy, Climate, and Resources at Eurasia Group
Harlin Singh
Global Head of Sustainable Investing at Citi Global Wealth
Franck Gbaguidi
Senior Analyst of Energy, Climate, & Resources at Eurasia Group
- S5 Episode 7: Future-proofing: How we fix broken supply chains - GZERO Media ›
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- S3 Episode 5: Could today’s crisis lead to future growth? - GZERO Media ›
- S3 Episode 9: US/China power struggle, the global political balance, and your finances - GZERO Media ›
- S3 Episode 6: Economic weapons & fallout of the new Cold War - GZERO Media ›