Water and Disasters: Risk, Resilience, and Adaptation

Disasters, both natural and anthropogenic, have shaped water management and policy in the United States over the last 100 years. Federal, state, and local water-related policies, practices and infrastructure have often been designed and implemented in the wake of disasters. The response and recovery to disasters has consumed substantial spending at all levels of government, the private sector and individuals. In some areas, frequent flooding is outpacing the ability for communities to respond, while in other areas the wildfire season has expanded to create a "fire year" instead of a "fire season". As more individuals are exposed to hazards, how we respond to and recover from disasters has a significant impact on the well-being of the community.The 2022 Aspen-Nicholas Water Forum explored what must be done to ensure the water sector becomes more resilient to water-related disasters and how communities can navigate and prepare for the impacts of increasingly common water-related disasters. How do we reconcile different values as individuals, businesses and government negotiate who receives resources to mitigate, adapt, and recover?The annual Aspen-Nicholas Water Forum convenes thought leaders to address ongoing challenges to water sustainability in the United States. Participants come from the private sector, government, academia, and non-governmental organizations—representing expertise in industry, finance, philanthropy, government, academia, agriculture, food and organizations technology companies, investors and entrepreneurs. Topics discussed include big data, innovative financing, water quality, and water affordability. The common thread linking each forum is the fundamental question of what does good water governance look like for the United States

Moving to Site Neutrality in Commercial Insurance Payments

Over the next decade (2024-2033), policies that encourage site-neutral payments in the commercial insurance market could: Reduce total national health expenditures by $458 billionReduce commercial premiums by$386 billion and patient cost sharing by $73 billionReduce the federal budget deficit by$117 billionThese policies would also reduce incentives that drive consolidation and limit facility fee bills for patients.

Promovendo doações transfronteiriças sem obstáculos

Receber e utilizar recursos é o meio para a sociedade civil operar e implementar atividades em prol de um mundo mais justo, inclusivo e sustentável. A filantropia independente e habilitada, portanto, é fundamental para o apoio ao papel da sociedade civil no ecossistema social e democrático de qualquer país.No entanto, as restrições às doações transfronteiriças que apoiam a sociedade civil local e a construção de ecossistemas filantrópicos estão crescendo. Essas restrições representam grandes obstáculos à filantropia em todo o mundo.Este documento de política da WINGS fornece recomendações a governos e autoridades financeiras sobre como eles podem promover reformas políticas de regulamentos que atualmente desincentivam ou proíbem a colaboração internacional entre entidades filantrópicas em todo o mundo.Francês: https://wings.issuelab.org/resource/encourager-les-dons-transfrontaliers.htmlEspanhol: https://wings.issuelab.org/resource/promoviendo-mejores-condiciones-para-las-donaciones-transfonterizas.htmlInglês: https://wings.issuelab.org/resource/promoting-unhindered-cross-border-giving.htm

Designing a "good life" for livestock: Could gene editing improve farm animal welfare in low- and middle- income countries?

Gene editing's successful application to benefit farm animals' welfare is unlikely in the short to medium term, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), given the high costs and low rates of success to date in research settings.Reasons: 1. Gene editing is biased toward outcomes that can be easily measured and assessed. More complex traits associated with animal welfare such as behavior or condition are less likely to be targeted using gene editing.  2. Gene editing has been designed for use in vertically integrated production systems as livestock breeding is centralized and breeds themselves are highly standardised in these systems. Many LMICs lack vertically integrated production systems, have higher numbers of smallholder farmers, lack investment by companies and NGOs to promote these technologies, lack gene editing researchers, and have limited local support for biotechnology research and training.Potential downsides of gene editing: 1. Where the intensification of livestock production is growing, gene editing is likely to further accelerate intensification and disadvantage farmers relying on less intensive production systems. 2. Genetic diversity across traditional breeds is valuable and should be maintained. It is not clear how gene editing could affect this diversity.There may be specific applications that could lead to improvements in animal welfare in certain LMICs, for example: 1. Using gene editing to bias sex ratios could be particularly valuable in India, given the country's extensive dairy industry. 2. Sex selection in layer hens in Egypt, given hens there are raised in an increasingly vertically integrated production system. 3. Producing polled cattle and eliminating the need for mechanical dehorning as currently occurs in many locales.Many farm animal welfare issues in LMICs are less likely to be addressed through applications of gene editing as opposed to lower technological measures such as better access to veterinary services, better management practices, improved biosecurity, and poverty reduction

PledgeLA Venture Data Report 2023: An Analysis of Access to Capital in the Los Angeles Venture Capital and Tech Ecosystems

A new report from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs that tracks investments made by LA-based venture firms connected to the Annenberg Foundation's PledgeLA initiative found slight increases in funding to women and Black founders when compared with the previous year. However, there are still many gaps remaining, especially when it comes to check size and venture firms' comparative assets under management

The State of Women and Girls with Disabilities in New York

This landscape analysis focuses on existing and emerging disability justice and inclusion efforts at the intersections of gender and racial justice across New York City and State, and areas for funding that would support the work of disability justice leaders and advocates.In alignment with The Foundation's mission and values, the final report of findings includes an overview of organizations leading this critical work, a spotlight on community-based leadership moving this agenda forward, and information on emerging groups supporting gender and economic equity by and for people with disabilities

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in K-16 Education in Rhode Island

Racial and ethnic disparities have existed in the United States and Rhode Island from its founding. Removal of Native Americans, several centuries of slavery, a century of Jim Crow laws, and residential segregation created large gaps in academic access and attainment for Students of Color. While policies that created segregated schools ended decades ago, America and Rhode Island have yet to see a truly integrated educational system that produces high-quality educational opportunities for all.In the U.S., Black and Latino students have become increasingly segregated from white students over the last 30 years. Black and Latino students generally attend schools in which students are disproportionately Students of Color and high-poverty, while white students attend schools in which students are disproportionately white and low-poverty.Students in schools with high concentrations of low-income students and Students of Color have unequal educational opportunities when compared with the educational opportunities available to students who attend schools that are more diverse or that have mostly higher-income or predominantly white students because the schools they attend have more absences, lower graduation rates, teachers who have less classroom experience, and more teachers who are teaching outside their subject area of expertise

Medication abortion among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: Knowledge, access, and attitudes

Almost no research to date examines abortion attitudes and knowledge among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) in the U.S. While previous research shows lower rates of abortion among Asian women compared to other racial ethnic groups, abortion rates vary by subgroups when disaggregating data by ethnicity or country of origin. In addition, no literature currently exists documenting AANHPI experiences with and/or use of medication abortion (MA).To help address this research gap, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF), in partnership with Ibis Reproductive Health, conducted a two-year study examining AANHPI people's knowledge of, access to, and attitudes about abortion, with a specific focus on medication abortion. While medication abortion accounts for over half of all abortions in the U.S., participants in this study described limited knowledge of abortion methods, including medication abortion.Our study identified a range of barriers to medication abortion. For AANHPI communities, this includes community stigma towards abortion and sexual and reproductive health (SRH), a lack of family support, and the unavailability of language support for limited-English or non-English speaking patients at abortion clinics. Other barriers included the high cost of abortion care, lack of insurance coverage, limited appointment availability, lack of transportation, legal restrictions, longer wait times at the clinic, and protesters outside of clinics.The taboo nature of SRH topics, including abortion, in addition to the general lack of openness among AANHPI community members impacts access to information and services related to their reproductive health. There is an overall need to provide accurate and culturally relevant information about all abortion methods to AANHPI communities to help bridge information gaps and overcome barriers to access.

Bahar Rapid Needs Assessment (RNA) - Earthquake Disaster Northern Syria - Afrin District

This is a rapid needs assessment (RNA) targeting Afrin district in Northern Syria. The purpose is to create a snapshot of the current situation and needs after the earthquake struck NWS and Southern Turkey.ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGYBahar's MEAL team used both primary and secondary data sources to provide a comprehensive overview.? Primary data: field team observations and key informants interviews in affected areas.? Secondary data: through data shared by other parties located in the affected areas (local councils, NGOs, and community representatives) in addition to the reports shared by humanitarian response coordination clusters and agencies.Primary and secondary data were collected between the 06th and 8th of February 2023.LIMITATIONSAs this is an RNA conducted directly after the disaster occurred, Bahar MEAL team faced challenges collecting accurate statistics of the affected population, especially since the services were stopped, so the team gathered available pieces of data from different sources to create the full picture.CONTEXTOn Monday, 6 February 2023 at 04:17, a significant earthquake of magnitude 7.7 with an epicenter in southern Turkey caused a large number of casualties and widespread destruction to infrastructure and civilian buildings. Aleppo, Hama, Idleb, and Lattakia governorates in Syria sustained the majority of the damage, it was also felt in neighboring countries Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan. The earthquake severely impacted the GoS and OAG-held areas in Syria. In addition, 7.6, 6.6, and 6.5 magnitude earthquakes hit southern Turkey. The border between Turkey and Syria was the epicenter, and as of this writing, at least 435 aftershocks have been confirmed until Tuesday evening according to AFAD, and the number of earthquake victims across Syria rose to 2,370 fatalities and 2,554 injured according to Syrian civil defense

Türkiye Earthquake Response Rapid Needs Assessment in Ad?yaman, Gaziantep, and Kahramanmara?

In the early hours of February 6, a record-breaking earthquake struck Türkiye's Pazarc?k district in Kahramanmara?. Registering a 7.8 on the Richter scale, the deadly tremor was felt as far away as Egypt and Cyprus.Within hours, a second earthquake of 7.5 magnitude hit Elbistan, Kahramanmara?. i Thousands of aftershocks followed in the subsequent days and weeks, including several of magnitudes greater than 5.5—escalating the devastation and hindering search and rescue efforts to free the thousands of people trapped among the nearly 200,000 buildings that collapsed or were severely damaged.Almost a month since the initial earthquake, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) estimates more than 5 million people have been impacted, a large portion of whom will continue to need assistance in the coming weeks and months.vii About 750,000 on both sides of the Turkish-Syrian border are believed to be taking refuge in tents, makeshift shelters, or the remnants of destroyed buildings.viii This includes internally displaced populations in northern Syria and thousands of Syrian refugees living in southern Türkiye. Among these highly vulnerable groups are children orphaned or separated from their families by the earthquakes.ix The current situation, coupled with the likelihood that it will take months, if not years, for impacted communities to recover means that significant needs for a coordinated, targeted, and robust intervention across several sectors, including health, mental health and protection services (MHPSS), non-food item (NFI), protection, shelter, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)