Explore the vast range of titles available.

Background Investing in the health workforce is key to achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. However, achieving these Goals requires addressing a projected global shortage of 18 million health workers (mostly in low- and middle-income countries). Within that context, in 2016, the World Health Assembly adopted the WHO Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030. In the Strategy, the role of official development assistance to support the health workforce is an area of interest. The objective of this study is to examine progress on implementing the Global Strategy by updating previous analyses that estimated and examined official development assistance targeted towards human resources for health. Methods We leveraged data from IHME’s Development Assistance for Health database, COVID development assistance database and the OECD’s Creditor Reporting System online database. We utilized an updated keyword list to identify the relevant human resources for health-related activities from the project databases. When possible, we also estimated the fraction of human resources for health projects that considered and/or focused on gender as a key factor. We described trends, examined changes in the availability of human resources for health-related development assistance since the adoption of the Global Strategy and compared disease burden and availability of donor resources. Results Since 2016, development assistance for human resources for health has increased with a slight dip in 2019. In 2020, fueled by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it reached an all-time high of $4.1 billion, more than double its value in 2016 and a 116.5% increase over 2019. The highest share (42.4%) of support for human resources for health-related activities has been directed towards training. Since the adoption of the Global Strategy, donor resources for health workforce-related activities have on average increased by 13.3% compared to 16.0% from 2000 through 2015. For 47 countries identified by the WHO as having severe workforce shortages, the availability of donor resources remains modest. Conclusions Since 2016, donor support for health workforce-related activities has increased. However, there are lingering concerns related to the short-term nature of activities that donor funding supports and its viability for creating sustainable health systems.

The World Health Organization’s Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030 identified a projected shortfall of 18 million health workers by 2030, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. The need for investment was re-enforced by the 2016 report and recommendations of the United Nations High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth. This exploratory policy tracing study has as objective to map and analyse investments by bilateral, multilateral and other development actors in human resources for health actions, programmes and health jobs more broadly since 2016. This analysis will contribute to the accountability of global human resources for health actions and its commitment by the international community. It provides insights in gaps, priorities and future policies’ needs. The study follows an exploratory rapid review methodology, mapping and analysing the actions of four categories of development actors in implementing the ten recommendations of the United Nations High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth. These four categories of actors include (A) bilateral agencies, (B) multilateral initiatives, (C) international financial institutions and (D) non-state actors. Analysing the data generated via this review, three trends can be observed. Firstly, while a broad range of human resources for health actions and outputs have been identified, data on programme outcomes and especially on their impacts are limited. Secondly, many of the programmatic human resources for health actions, often funded via bilateral or philanthropic grants and implemented by non-governmental organisations, seemed to be rather short-term in nature, focusing on in-service training, health security, technical and service delivery needs. Despite the strategic guidance and norms developed by multilateral initiatives, such as the International Labour Organization–Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development–World Health Organization Working for Health programme, has it been for several development projects difficult to assess how their activities actually contributed to national human resources for health strategic development and health system reforms. Lastly, governance, monitoring and accountability between development actors and across the policy recommendations from the United Nations High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth could be improved. There has been limited actionable progress made for the enablers required to transform the workforce, including in the domain of generating fiscal space for health that would strengthen jobs in the health sector, the development of health workforce partnerships and its global agenda, and the governance of international health workforce migration. In conclusion, one can observe that global health workforce needs are much recognised, especially given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, 20 years after the Joint Learning Initiative on Human Resources for Health, there is still an urgent need to take shared responsibility for international cooperative action for overcoming and addressing persistent underinvestment in the health workforce. Specific policy recommendations are provided to this end.

Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) periodically decide on both which products to launch (or phase out) and in which global regions, thereby conducting an integrated products-countries consideration in diversification strategies. Over time, these diversification decisions can have a cumulative impact on the structure. Diversification literature has primarily focused on one of these two metrics rather than providing an integrated view; this work investigates both metrics. Considering deal-making as an execution instrument of strategies, a comparison of historic deals of MNEs with their current structure offers insights into the nature of the diversification strategies that were pursued. For the most active global deal-making pharmaceutical firms, we derive normalized deal diversity profile metrics in terms of their cumulative past product-countries’ preferences and compare them with the product-countries’ operations of their current subsidiaries. We rationalize MNE deal behaviors as means to shed, acquire and consolidate businesses to enable their market leadership aspirations. The analysis reveals two trajectories that have been actively favored in deals: one directed at niche products offered globally, and one directed at niche products in selected countries. The former is characterized by deals in a high number of countries, whereas the latter by two identifiably different product concentration levels. In contrast, trajectories directed at widely diverse products have been disfavored in deals. Understanding such directions and their pace can aid in global- or group-level strategy formulation, monitoring strategy execution, interpreting competitor moves and designing regional policies.

For the majority of plant species of conservation concern, seed banking and traditional propagation methods are the most efficient ways of meeting the ex situ and recovery conservation goals of Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) Target 8. However, there are estimated to be 5000 or more endangered species for which these methods will not be adequate conservation tools. These \"exceptional\" species are those with recalcitrant seeds or those that produce few or no seeds. In vitro methods can provide alternative procedures for propagating and preserving germplasm in the long term for these species. Research at the Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) with several U.S. endangered species has shown the potential of these methods. In vitro propagation can provide plants for reintroduction and research when traditional propagation methods are not adequate. Phytotissue banking can be used for long-term ex situ conservation when seed or embryo banking is not possible. In vitro methods are also needed for recovery when embryo banking of recalcitrant seeds is possible. The full implementation of in vitro methods is constrained by information, scientific, and economic challenges, but the need for its use in meeting the needs of exceptional species should provide impetus for overcoming these challenges and making these methods an integral part of an overall ex situ conservation strategy.

Ding, S., 2019. The game theoretical model for the “go global” strategy of Chinese ship building industry. In: Gong, D.; Zhu, H., and Liu, R. (eds.), Selected Topics in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 94, pp. 416–421. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. This paper studied the “go global” strategy of ship building industry in China. This paper proposed two game models to analyze the situation faced by the ship building industry in China. The paper first considered the “country selection” problem (CS problem) to shed light on the situation when trying to find a right partner to fulfill the “go global” strategy. The results showed the conditions that guarantee the go global cooperation becomes a dominant strategy Nash Equilibrium. Then, the paper considered the “product or technology” problem (POT problem) to discuss the “go global” mode, i.e. what should be exported to the other country. The results showed that even technology export may generate more payoffs to China, the more likely cooperation mode will be the product export. Based on the results of the paper, some practical suggestions have been made to the “go global” strategy. As far as we know, this paper is the first paper which studies the “go global” strategy of Chinese ship building industry by game theory.

There is need for Kenyan small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in particular to focus concern on the orientation of business strategy toward global market strategy, market research geared at obtaining foreign market intelligence, innovation and technology, product adaptation, service orientation, collaborative ventures, and long-range vision as critical factors in making them successful in the international market. They also need to interact effectively with other firms in more or less tightly connected networks of shared production and innovation if they are to succeed in the current wave of globalization. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of global market strategy on the global expansion of Kenyan firms. The research study used descriptive and inferential design as a chosen design. The researcher used multiple/multivariate regression analysis to determine the functional relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. The global market strategy variables considered include the following: market strategy incorporating: global advertising and promotion, external advisory services, foreign market specialization, competitive pricing strategies, and focus on quality products/services; foreign market intelligence on locating markets, trade restrictions, competition overseas, and market and investment opportunities; and logistics and distribution incorporating: handling of documentation, distribution coordination, warehousing, arranging transportation, and collaboration with large firms.A random sample of 205 firms was drawn out of 440 members of Kenya Association of Manufacturers, based in Nairobi, from the Kenya Association of Manufacturers and Exporters Directory of 2012. The senior management of selected firms was surveyed and 175 firms responded making a response rate of 85 percent. The key finding from the research is that there is a functional relationship between global market strategy and global expansion of SMEs. The implication for practice and policy is that there is a need for collaboration between industry and government in pursuing policies for global expansion and among SMEs and large enterprises particularly in developing capacity and collaboration in global marketing strategy, market intelligence gathering, export promotion and strengthening of foreign trade missions. An early-warning system to alert firms of changes that may lead to potential failure in their global business activities can be developed.

The status and trends of issues related to the conservation of orchids native to the United States, Canada, and Greenland are considered. We focus on nine of the 16 Targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). The first two targets, which all other targets rely upon, appear to have been adequately achieved, in addition to Target 11. Limited progress has been made on six other GSPC targets. Three case studies of efforts to conserve the native threatened orchids, Platanthera leucophaea (Nutt.) Lindl., Isotria medeoloides (Pursh) Raf., and Tolumnia bahamensis (Nash) Braem, are presented to demonstrate the difficulties as well as the issues associated with effective conservation. We describe our efforts to establish an international program to conserve all native orchids in the United States and Canada. The North American Orchid Conservation Center (NAOCC) is an internationally focused effort that is based on public-private partnerships. The goal of NAOCC is to conserve the genetic diversity of all native orchids through efforts to develop an international collection of seeds and orchid fungi. The NAOCC also focuses on the cultivation of all native orchids in an international network of botanic gardens, and they partner with private and public landowners to develop techniques to conserve and restore all native orchid species.

Cyanobacteria can form dense and sometimes toxic blooms in freshwater and marine environments, which threaten ecosystem functioning and degrade water quality for recreation, drinking water, fisheries and human health. Here, we review evidence indicating that cyanobacterial blooms are increasing in frequency, magnitude and duration globally. We highlight species traits and environmental conditions that enable cyanobacteria to thrive and explain why eutrophication and climate change catalyse the global expansion of cyanobacterial blooms. Finally, we discuss management strategies, including nutrient load reductions, changes in hydrodynamics and chemical and biological controls, that can help to prevent or mitigate the proliferation of cyanobacterial blooms.

The Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) is supporting community-based conservation at 11 priority areas for plant conservation in Madagascar. Our strategy for conserving these sites integrates a range of activities that include research and monitoring, the creation and policing of local rules to enable the sustainable use of natural resources, environmental education, the provision of alternatives to the unsustainable over-exploitation of natural resources, poverty alleviation, and the restoration of degraded ecosystems. While this approach is successfully conserving biodiversity in the short term and at local scales, over a longer time period these reserves will become increasingly threatened by a rapidly growing human population whose livelihood is dependent on natural resources that will become increasingly rare outside of protected natural areas. Extensive ecological restoration of landscapes surrounding reserves is a prerequisite in Madagascar for the long-term conservation of these protected areas and will thus be an essential part of a national effort to achieve Target 4 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). Here, we describe our current restoration program, analyze its strengths and weaknesses, and consider the threats and opportunities relating to restoration in Madagascar. This information is used to identify key attributes for a proposed up-scaled restoration initiative that can serve to develop more sophisticated methods, strengthen expertise through training, and demonstrate the power of ecological restoration for achieving long-term, sustainable conservation outcomes, as called for by the GSPC.

Target 2 of the 2020 Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) calls for a comprehensive list of the world's threatened plant species. The lack of such a list is one of the greatest impediments to protecting the full complement of the world's plant species, and work to achieve this has been slow. An efficient system for identifying those species that are at risk of extinction could help to achieve this goal in a timeframe sensitive to today's conservation needs. Two systems that efficiently use available data to assess conservation status were tested against a provisional International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List analysis to evaluate the native seed plant species of Puerto Rico. It was demonstrated that both systems efficiently identify species at risk, which is a step toward both the GSPC Target 2 and a more comprehensive IUCN Red List for plants. Both systems were effective at identifying plant species at risk, with the New York analysis identifying 98% and the Smithsonian analysis 85% of the plant species considered Threatened in the IUCN Red List. Both analyses to some extent overestimated those plants at risk, but the species identified are all range restricted and, thus, of some conservation interest.