18. Currency (include current exchange rate): Venezuelan Bolivar Fuerte…1=23.27 US cents
19. Balance of Trade:39.21 US Billion Dollars per year
20. Historical events:
1989 - Carlos Andres Perez (AD) elected president against the background of economic depression, which necessitates an austerity programme and an IMF loan
1996 - Perez imprisoned after being found guilty of embezzlement and corruption.
1998 - Hugo Chavez elected president.
2000 - Foreign Minister Jose Vicente Rangel discloses plot to kill Chavez. Chavez wins another six years in office and a mandate to pursue political reforms.
Chavez becomes the first foreign head of state to visit Iraq since the 1991 Gulf war, in defiance of strong opposition from the US.
2002 February - National currency, the bolivar, plummets 25% against the US dollar after the government scraps exchange rate controls.
2002 25 February - Chavez appoints new board of directors to state oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela in move opposed by executives.
2002 April 12 - Armed forces head announces Chavez has resigned, a claim later denied by Chavez. Chavez is taken into military custody. Military names Pedro Carmona, one of the strike organisers, as head of transitional government.
2002 April 14 - Chavez returns to office after the collapse of the interim government.
2003 May - Government, opposition sign deal brokered by Organisation of American States (OAS) which sets out framework for referendum on Hugo Chavez's rule.
2005 January - President Chavez signs decree on land reform which aims to eliminate Venezuela's large estates. President says land redistribution will bring justice to rural poor; ranchers say move is an attack on private property..
2005 June - Venezuela and 13 Caribbean states launch a regional oil company at a summit in Caracas. Venezuela, a major producer, agrees to supply the nations with cheap fuel. Critics accuse President Chavez of using oil to increase diplomatic influence.
2006 December - Hugo Chavez wins a third term in presidential elections with 63% of the vote.
2007 March - President Chavez says 16 large farms have been seized for redistribution under a land reform plan.
2007 December - Mr Chavez suffers his first defeat at the ballot box, when voters in a referendum narrowly reject proposals to extend his powers and accelerate his socialist revolution.
2008 August - President Chavez announces plans to nationalise one of the country's largest private banks, the Spanish-owned Bank of Venezuela.
2008 November - Opposition makes gains in regional elections and wins Caracas mayoral poll. President Chavez's allies retain control of 17 out of 22 governorships.
2009 February - Voters in a referendum approve plans to abolish limits on the number of terms in office for elected officials; this would allow President Chavez to stand again when his current term expires in 2012.
2009 November - The diplomatic row escalates after the Colombian government and the US sign their long-trailed deal on the use of Colombia's military bases. President Chavez orders 15,000 troops to the Colombian border, citing increased violence by Colombian paramilitary groups.
2010 March - Economy shrank by 5.8 % in last three months of 2009, according to the central bank.
2010 October - Mr Chavez visits Iran, where he and the Iranian president promise to deepen their "strategic alliance" against US "imperialism".
PART 2: BACKGROUND OF TOPIC
Malaria is caused by a parasite that is passed around through an infected mosquito. This parasite is called Plasmodium. This parasite can also be passed through blood transfusions and from a mother to a newborn child. Symptoms begin ten days to four weeks after being infected and symptoms include headaches, fever, vomiting. If malaria is not treated properly, it has the ability to become life threatening and through cutting off blood supply to important organs. Malaria is a disease that requires a hospital stay. Treatments include insecticidal nets, residual spraying, and certain therapies. Currently, there are 106 malaria endemic countries. In 2010, malaria caused over 600,000 deaths, even though it is preventable and curable. Malaria even has decreased certain countries GDP by over one percent. In Africa, malaria accounts for 22 percent of children’s deaths. Children, travelers, non immune pregnant women, and those with HIV/AIDS are most susceptible to malaria. Malaria is completely preventable, however many people die from it for their lack of resources and inability to receive medication. Due to the fact that it is more difficult to give medication to remote areas, indigenous places are increasing the growth rate of malaria world wide. Malaria is a problem to the world because it is murdering helpless people globally, as well breaking apart undeveloped nations’ already fragile governments and economies.
PART 3: UNITED NATIONS INVOLVEMENT
The United Nations is mostly involved through WHO, the World Health Organization. The most important thing the World Health Organization does is keep an annual World Malaria Report to keep the public educated about malaria. The United Nations is involved with malaria in two aspects: health and economics. Not only is malaria murdering thousands, but it is decreasing the GDP of multiple countries. The World Health Organization created the Global Malaria Programme to be responsible for “malaria surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, policy and strategy formulation, technical assistance, and coordination of WHO’s global efforts to fight malaria.” In addition, the World Health Organization created GPARC: the Global plan for artemisinin resistance containment. This is a call to action for those in another program the World Health Organization created: the Roll Back Malaria partnership. The programme is a plan to attack malaria and its sources. An independent branch that works jointly with the World Health Organization is the Malaria Policy Advisory Committee. This program will advise the World Health Organization’s director-general on appropriate major issues concerning malaria. The World Health Organization also has split the world up into regions, in order to conquer and divide, and target malaria in blocs.
PART 4: YOUR COUNTRY’S POLICY & ACTIONS
Venezuela has not had an extremely active role in dealing with malaria. However, malaria has been rapidly growing in Venezuela. Bolivar state has been the epicenter for malaria, and the more rural areas in the country are hit more hardly than those more urban. In southern Venezuela, many miners had been carrying the disease. The government had displaced them into cities, and those miners carried the disease with them as well. Indigenous communities have been harder to reach and vaccinate, further worsening the case of malaria in Venezuela. Venezuela must take a larger grasp on the disease, since they have not taken many important steps to eradicate malaria, or immunize Venezuelans. In addition, the growing number of patients are making it more problematic to send medications to all of them. Venezuela, of course, is part of the Global Malaria Programme; however, Venezuela must pinpoint solutions that are more specific to Venezuelans themselves. Possible solutions include working with the United Nations to create a specific outline that will target Venezuela alone. Other solutions include targeting people in remote areas that have a harder time attaining medication. An essential idea would be to inform the public about malaria prevention, and also to inform the public about the rapid increase of the disease across the country. This is extremely important due to the fact that many Venezuelans have no clue exactly how fast malaria is encroaching upon their country. Venezuela would in support of any solution to eradicate malaria. Lastly, it is also important to consider Venezuela’s other issues that make it harder to focus on malaria. Finding a plan specific to Venezuela’s different conditions is vital to helping decrease the rapid rate of malaria in Venezuela.
Prevention of Nuclear Contamination
Part 1: Background of Topic
Nuclear waste results from anything that emits radioactive matter. Nuclear power is not the issue; however, the waste that is released when it is produced is the issue. There are three types of radioactivity: alpha, beta, and gamma. Alpha is the least harmful, and gamma is the most harmful. Nuclear waste has the ability to kill many right away, as well as the ability to prolong its symptoms. Nuclear power plants are incredibly dangerous, and if damaged, may be able to harm an entire country. Preventing this harmful pollution from spreading is vital to every country, even those that do not have power plants. Nuclear waste has the ability to severely damage each and every single kind of life form; therefore, it is mandatory to take steps to solve this issue. Events such as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are harsh reminders about the potential nuclear waste has if left alone to build up. Countries must work as a unit in order to find a place to safely dispose of nuclear waste before it damages people of all nations.
Part 2: United Nations Involvement
The most actively involved portion of the United Nations in removal of nuclear waste is the International Atomic Energy Agency. The International Atomic Energy Agency works in order to not only safely remove nuclear waste, but find ways to safely utilize nuclear power. It also keeps nuclear power plants in order. The International Atomic Energy Agency is most important in keeping an informed report of each countries status on nuclear power use, and most importantly: each nations way of removing nuclear waste and amount of nuclear emissions. The International Atomic Energy Agency is actively involved in finding new kinds of technology that can remove nuclear waste safely, as well. It is vital that each country is actively participating with the International Atomic Energy Agency as to ensure a safe removal of nuclear waste as well a safe utilization of nuclear power plants. The International Atomic Energy Agency also works in joint with WHO, the World Health Organization, in order to combat those who have been affected by nuclear contamination, and most importantly: in order to prevent those who may be contaminated by nuclear waste.
Part 4: Your Country’s Policy and Actions
Although Venezuela has not used nuclear power itself, the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, has made deals with Russia and Iran in the past to utilize nuclear power. However, after the recent incident with Japan’s nuclear power plant and its terrible effects, Chavez had called off the deals. Therefore, one can see that Venezuela is in total support of preventing nuclear contamination. Although Venezuela would have built nuclear power plants, the harsh reality of its waste is enough to keep Venezuela away from building nuclear power plants at all, even though it would raise demands on oil imports. Possible solutions Venezuela would take are playing a more active role in finding other types of energy in order to avoid using nuclear energy. Venezuela should also look to substitute finding ways of building its economy besides attempting to affiliate itself with nuclear superpowers. This would prevent nuclear contamination through avoiding nuclear power altogether. Venezuela should focus on educating the public on the threat of nuclear power, and focus on building a more stable economy, as to not rely on larger countries that do rely on nuclear power. Also, it is important that Venezuela acts as a role model country, by demonstrating that the cons outweigh the pros of nuclear power. Overall, Venezuela is in support of the prevention of nuclear contamination, and is willing to attempt different methods of preventing nuclear pollution.
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