In The News

India's Medical Tourism Industry

Neeta Lal June 2, 2010
Producers of necessary goods anticipate sustained profits, but that does not preclude competition in the areas of quality or affordability. As costs for health care climb in developed nations, India’s hospitals and physicians step up efforts to become a destination for tourists seeking a range of treatments. Travel companies organize trips, sometimes combining treatment with sightseeing tours;...

BP Oil Spill: Louisianans Want More From Obama ... But More What?

Bill Sasser June 1, 2010
Offshore oil drilling has enriched communities along the Gulf of Mexico since the 1970s. An explosion ripped apart undersea pipes in April and has since left oil gushing and polluting waters and beaches that have fed those same communities with seafood for centuries. One representative called the seeping oil in gulf waters “a slow-motion tragedy,” anticipating decades of problems and cleanup....

Globalization Helps Spread 'Exotic' Diseases

Muiris Houston May 5, 2010
Globalization means increased travel and tourism for many people in the developed world. But when travelers return home, they can bring more than photographs and memories. Often unbeknownst to them, pathogens travel on their bodies and with belongings. In recent years, Europe has seen the outbreak of a handful of diseases traditionally associated with the tropical world. Northern Italy saw...

For India, US Health Care a Sea of Opportunity

Taylor Barnes April 26, 2010
India’s outsourcers are preparing to develop their next business sector from the United State’s health care reform by covering its administrative and technological needs. A demand for lower administrative expenses and treatment of more patients for every dollar requires low cost labor that comes from outsourcing. Since there are no regulations limiting personal medical data from leaving the US,...

For Somalis Caught Between Islamists and Weak Government, Fleeing is Only Option

Sudarsan Raghavan April 21, 2010
Al-Shabab, the Islamist group that controls increasingly large swathes of Somalia, has instituted a repressive and violent regime that is forcing Somalis to flee to neighboring countries. Al-Shabab has gained strength despite an Ethiopian invasion, supported by the Americans, in 2006 designed to remove Islamists from power. Now, however, the internationally-supported government is paralyzingly...

The Caribbean Brain Drain: Nursing a Grievance

April 12, 2010
According to the World Bank, only one-quarter of nurses in the English-speaking Caribbean remain working in their countries. The rest leaves to work abroad, where working and living conditions are significantly better. The economic incentives of working abroad outweigh the challenges of staying. This is not a new phenomenon: it has been taking place for almost two centuries and is not confined to...

Silicon Sweatshops: An illness in Suzhou

Kathleen E. McLaughlin March 19, 2010
A large number of workers at a plant in China that makes components for Apple products have become sick from handling a chemical used to clean the glass screens for products like the iPod and iPhone. The company doesn't have the necessary permits to use the chemical, n-hexane, but continues to do so to shave a few seconds off its production time. Apple, meanwhile, refuses to answer questions...