From Somalia to France, this week has seen a host of positive events, including the fact under-5 child mortality rates have reached an historic low. The United Nations revealed that the reasons for this were multiple, but had been driven largely by successful healthcare programs in countries including Cambodia, Malawi, Mongolia, and Rwanda. Despite the good news, under five deaths still number roughly 4.9 million globally, with most occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, and many of them from preventable or treatable causes, like pneumonia, diarrhoea, and malaria.
There is more good news out of France, where measures aimed at making fast fashion less attractive were passed this week. These included a ban on advertising for the cheapest textiles and an environmental levy on low-cost items. France’s parliament has become the first to legislate against “the excesses of ultra-fast fashion”, according to Christophe Bechu, the minister for the ecological transition. A €5 ($4.20) surcharge per item of clothing, with a big ecological footprint and a levy cannot exceed 50% of an item’s price tag, are also planned from next year, rising to €10 by 2030.
Meanwhile, Somalia was pleased to announce this week that 99% of its outstanding debt has been cancelled, thanks to the efforts of rich creditor nations, which included the US, UK and Russia. Speaking on the debt relief, Somalia’s finance minister, Bihi Eged, stated that it would “allow our government to create fiscal space for basic public services”.
Finally, Joe Biden announced the strictest car emissions limits yet in the US, in an effort to increase the number of electric vehicles, with a target of 56% for all new vehicles sold in the US to be electric by 2032. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the new regulations, made public on Wednesday, will prevent 7bn tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere over 30 years, however, the regulations were watered down in concession to car makers
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