UN Development Programme

Dear Delegates,

Charlotte Lee

I am incredibly excited to welcome you to the United Nations Development Program Committee for Harvard National Model United Nations 2012. My name is Charlotte Lee, and I look forward to meeting you over a rewarding course of three days filled with inspirational debate and much positive energy!

To briefly introduce myself, I grew up in Tokyo, am ethnically Chinese, and went to an international school where I became involved in Model UN my sophomore year, one of the best decisions that I’ve made. Thanks to a traveling bug that resides within my family, I’ve been able to travel to many places around the world, from trekking along the Silk Road to sightseeing across Europe. At Harvard, I am a sophomore in Adams House, and I plan on studying Neurobiology or Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology (thank goodness for acronyms!) with a secondary in Economics. Besides being involved in HNMUN and the high school conference (HMUN) and the International Relations Council in general, I am an active member in the Harvard Cancer Society, and I also write for the Global Health Review.

Addressing and resolving developmental issues requires us to dig deeper beyond superficial issues and transcend our own limitations. We must be idealistic, yet realistic within this committee. The two topic areas this year—“Proper Infrastructure and Management in Earthquake Prone Areas”, and “The Politics of Neglected Diseases”—are especially important and timely issues that affect the essence of what we do. The unprecedented earthquake that hit Japan in March 2011, along with the natural disasters that have shaken the world in the past decade in Haiti and areas in the Pacific pushes us to think of how to reduce the repercussions of such disasters on the most vulnerable populations, prepare better contingency plans, and build sound reconstruction plans. Moreover, the recent close eradication of Guinea Worm Disease, the second disease to be eradicated after small pox, is a historical feat that should be both celebrated while reflected upon. How can we ensure that “neglected” diseases will be prioritized? How can we build community support and awareness so that local governments will act?

I am positive that as HNMUN UNDP 2012, we can work together to create the very best by constantly questioning how and what we can do. And, on this note, please feel free to send me any questions or concerns. I truly look forward to meeting you!

Sincerely,

Charlotte Lee
Director, UN Development Programme
Harvard National Model United Nations 2012

Topic Area A: Proper Infrastructure and Management in Earthquake-Prone Areas

The recent earthquake in Japan and the risks of radiation exposure has heightened tension and caused many to question the government and industries’ response to such a disaster. Most surprisingly, there has been a thorough lack of transparency by TEPCO, Japan’s main electrical energy supplier, and also a lack of regulation by the Japanese government in communicating with the people about the reality of the situation. Not only has TEPCO failed to provide a proper and efficient response, they have been very loose in their evaluation of the disaster, including misreading radiation levels, and jeopardizing the health of their workers. Even in such an earthquake-prone area such as Japan, properly made contingency plans seem to have fallen apart. Furthermore, even in such a developed country, there has also been a general lack of trust in the government that has fostered political instability, similar to the situation in earthquake-affected countries such as Haiti. Even in developing countries, such as those severely affected by the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004, proper reconstruction efforts are still underway and have greatly undermined resolving developmental issues.

The implications and repercussions from such disasters require thorough follow-up efforts and reassessments for the future. It is thus highly necessary for the UNDP and timely to consider both the long-term implications and reconstruction after earthquakes and other natural disasters, and also better monitoring of industries (nuclear facilities, essential water supplies and pipelines) that could be affected by such earthquakes. Nuclear plants, mine tailings and other human-made hazards contribute to the problem of providing an effective response to natural hazards, and affect every strata of the population. Furthermore, other topics to tackle would be humanitarian intervention, and what kind of framework would be used to assess the use of given aid. What kinds of funneling methods are used to streamline foreign aid and donations into foreign countries undergoing crises, and how do we push industries to provide a more rapid and responsible response when disasters occur? Looking at this issue from both the perspective of developed and developing countries would be a new and refreshing way of discussing disaster management.

Topic Area B: The Politics of Neglected Diseases

In 1977, the last case of small pox was reported in Somalia. Three years later, the WHO announced the success of the global eradication of smallpox, a miraculous feat in the history of medicine. In a mere span of thirty years, history is about to repeat itself again, in the form of a tropical parasitic disease—Guinea Worm disease—caused by Dracunculus medinensis . Unlike its preceding success smallpox, the overwhelmingly successful eradication of guinea worm disease cannot be attributed to a simple medical tool, such as a vaccine, but was due to a strenuous effort of implementing health education to change people’s behavior and perception towards a historically debilitating worm parasite.

Neglected diseases are a set of tropical diseases that are not as popularly known as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, but highly impact many developed regions around the world. These include such diseases as Schistosomiasis, river blindness, African sleeping sickness, and the recently near eradicated guinea worm disease. Through simple preventive measures and medical treatments, such diseases can be cured easily; the problem, however, lies in the governmental and administrative prioritization of such diseases. Those who are afflicted with NTDs (neglected tropical diseases) are amongst the most poor and vulnerable communities and rarely have a voice in their respective regions. These diseases are very important to tackle because not only do they exacerbate the poverty cycle, but cause afflicted individuals to be even more susceptible to other diseases. Neglected tropical diseases are also intimately linked with chronic malnutrition, a prominent problem in developing countries, and something that affects maternal health and infant mortality. According to WHO’s leader, Dr. Margaret Chan, “NTDs express the link between health and development. NTDs have a widespread effect beyond the health sector, especially on labor market and productivity”.   Furthermore, foreign countries that invest in developing nations or provide aid to such nations rarely prioritize such tropical diseases which actually do inhibit the productivity of the region. By being trapped by such neglected tropical diseases, such regions have little hope in rising beyond their developing world status. Furthermore, many of these individuals are also marginalized by the powerful authorities in their communities, leading to a lack of research into drug development, and a lack of initiatives to promote health education and other powerful tools to combat these parasitic diseases.