Index insurance and climate risk management: addressing social equity

Motivation Fair distribution of benefits from index insurance matters. Lack of attention to social equity can reinforce inequalities and undermine the potential index insurance holds as a tool for climate risk management that is also pro-poor. Purpose The aims are to: (i) examine social equity concerns raised by index insurance in the context of climate risk management; (ii) consider how greater attention can be given to social equity in index insurance initiatives; and (iii) reflect on the policy challenges raised by seeking to take social equity into account as a mechanism for climate risk reduction. Approach and methods The article draws on learning from the CGIAR’s Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and presents the cases of the Index Based Livelihoods Insurance (IBLI) and Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise Ltd. (ACRE) in East Africa. It proposes a framework for unpacking social equity related to equitable access, procedures, representation and distribution within index insurance schemes Findings Systematically addressing social equity raises hard policy choices for index insurance initiatives without straightforward solutions. Attention to how benefits and burdens of index insurance are distributed raises the unpalateable truth for development policy that the poorest members of rural society can be excluded. Nevertheless, a focus on social equity may open up opportunities to ensure index insurance is linked to more socially just climate risk management. At the very least, it may prevent index insurance from generating greater inequality. Taking social equity into account thus, shifts the focus from agricultural systems in transition per se to systems with potential to incorporate societal transformation through distributive justice. Policy implications A framework is presented for unpacking different dimensions of social equity in index insurance schemes. It is intended to facilitate identification of opportunities for building outcomes that are more equitable, with greater potential for inclusion and fairer distribution

MHC-genotyping of IDDM patients in Luxembourg. Evidence for a pediatric patient subgroup.

[No abstract available

High iron requirements for growth in the nuisance alga Gonyostomum semen (Raphidophyceae)

The bloom-forming freshwater alga Gonyostomum semen is associated with acidic, mesotrophic brown water lakes in boreal regions. However, researchers have been unable to conclusively link G. semen abundance and bloom formation to typical brown water lake traits, that is, high water color and DOC (dissolved organic carbon) concentrations. Iron is a main driver of water color in boreal lakes, and a recent study of lake monitoring data indicated a connection between lakes with high G. semen abundance and iron concentrations >200 µg · L−1. Thus, iron may be the missing link in explaining G. semen abundance and growth dynamics. We experimentally assessed the effects of different iron concentrations above or below 200 µg · L−1 on the growth of G. semen batch monocultures. Iron concentrations 200 µg · L−1 did not. Moreover, the iron concentration of the medium required for growth was higher than for other common phytoplankton (Microcystis botrys and Chlamydomonas sp.) included in the experiment. These results indicate that G. semen requires high levels of iron in the lake environment. Consequently, this and previous findings using lake monitoring data support the hypothesis that high concentrations of iron favor the formation of high-density G. semen blooms in boreal brown water lakes. As lakes get browner in a changing climate, monitoring iron levels could be a potential tool to identify lakes at risk for G. semen blooms, especially among lakes that provide ecosystem services to society

White book on physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM) in Europe. Chapter 7.The clinical field of competence: PRM in practice

In the context of the White Book on Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) in Europe this paper deals with the scope and competencies of PRM starting from its definition as the "medicine of functioning." PRM uses the rehabilitative health strategy as its core strategy together with the curative strategy. According to the complexity of disabling health conditions, PRM also refers to prevention and maintenance and provides information to the patients and other caregivers. The rehabilitation process according to the so-called rehabilitation cycle including an assessment and definition of the (individual) rehabilitation goals, assignment to the rehabilitation program evaluation of individual outcomes. PRM physicians treat a wide spectrum of diseases and take a transversal across most of the medical specialties. They also focus on many functional problems such as immobilization, spasticity, pain syndromes, communication disorders, and others. The diagnosis in PRM is the interaction between the medical diagnosis and a PRM-specific functional assessment. The latter is based on the ICF conceptual framework, and obtained through functional evaluations and scales: these are classified according to their main focus on impairments, activity limitations or participation restrictions; environmental and personal factors are included as barriers or facilitators. Interventions in PRM are either provided directly by PRM physicians or within the PRM team. They include a wide range of treatments, including medicines, physical therapies, exercises, education and many others. Standardized PRM programs are available for many diseases and functional problems. In most cases rehabilitation is performed in multi-professional teams working in a collaborative way, as well as with other disciplines under the leadership of a PRM physician and it is a patient-centered approach. Outcomes of PRM interventions and programs, showed reduction of impairments in body functions, activity limitations, and impacting on participation restrictions, and also reduction in costs as well as decrease in mortality for certain groups of patients