GRP 103 Reading Material.

An epidemic occurs when an infectious disease spreads rapidly to many people. For example, in
2003, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic took the lives of nearly 800
people worldwide. A pandemic is a global disease outbreak such as Covid 19.
Epidemics, Pandemics, and Outbreaks
When is a disease outbreak a concern? And what is the difference between an epidemic and a
pandemic?
What is a disease outbreak?
A disease outbreak happens when a disease occurs in greater numbers than expected in a
community or region or during a season. An outbreak may occur in one community or even
extend to several countries. It can last from days to years.
Sometimes a single case of a contagious disease is considered an outbreak. This may be true if it
is an unknown disease, is new to a community, or has been absent from a population for a long
time.
What is an epidemic?
An epidemic occurs when an infectious disease spreads rapidly to many people. For example, in
2003, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic took the lives of nearly 800
people worldwide.
What is a pandemic?
A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. HIV/AIDS is an example of one of the most destructive
global pandemics in history. In December 2019, the covid 19 virus spread to many continents
and resulted to closure of many business, schools and day to day affairs.
An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί epi "upon or above" and δῆµος demos "people") is the slow spread
of infectious disease to a large number of people in a given population within a short period of
time, usually two weeks or less. For example, in meningococcal infections, an attack rate in
excess of 15 cases per 100,000 people for two consecutive weeks is considered an epidemic.
• Epidemics of infectious disease are generally caused by several factors including a change
in the ecology of the host population (e.g. increased stress or increase in the density of a
vector species), a genetic change in the pathogen reservoir or the introduction of an
emerging pathogen to a host population (by movement of pathogen or host). Generally,
an epidemic occurs when host immunity to either an established pathogen or newly
emerging novel pathogen is suddenly reduced below that found in the endemic
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equilibrium and the transmission threshold is exceeded.
• An epidemic may be restricted to one location; however, if it spreads to other countries or
continents and affects a substantial number of people, it may be termed a pandemic.
Urbanization is by no means bad per se. It brings important benefits for economic, cultural and
societal development. Well managed cities are both efficient and effective, enabling economies
of scale and network effects while reducing the impact on climate of transportation. As such, an
urban model can make economic activity more environmentally-friendly. Further, the proximity
and diversity of people can spark innovation and create employment as exchanging ideas breeds
new ideas.
But these utopian concepts are threatened by some of the factors driving rapid urbanization. For
example, one of the main factors is rural-urban migration, driven by the prospect of greater
employment opportunities and the hope of a better life in cities. But rapidly increasing
population density can create severe problems, especially if planning efforts are not sufficient to
cope with the influx of new inhabitants. The result may, in extreme cases, be widespread poverty.
Estimates suggest that 40% of the world’s urban expansion is taking place in slums, exacerbating
socio-economic disparities and creating unsanitary conditions that facilitate the spread of disease.
The Global Risks 2015 Report looks at four areas that face particularly daunting challenges in
the face of rapid and unplanned urbanization: infrastructure, health, climate change, and social
instability. In each of these areas we find new risks that can best be managed or, in some cases,
transferred through the mechanism of insurance.
Infrastructure
The quality of a city’s infrastructure is central to the residents’ quality of life, social inclusion and
economic opportunities. It also determines the city’s resilience to a number of global risks, in
particular environmental, social and health-related risks, but also economic risks such as
unemployment. The availability and quality of infrastructure are at the core of many of the
challenges faced by rapidly urbanizing cities in developing countries, while underinvestment is
posing similar challenges in most developed economies
• Infrastructure investments in most developed economies are insufficient to maintain the
quality of infrastructure (WEF and OECD data): Transportation infrastructure (roads,
railroad, airports, ports)
• Electric power supply and distribution
• Water supply and sewage
• Communications infrastructure
As cities expand rapidly, there is a risk that infrastructure will not keep pace with their growth or
the increased expectations of their populations. Action is urgently needed to close the
infrastructure gap and reduce the potential for risks to have catastrophic cascading effects. The
OECD estimates that governments will have to spend approximately USD 71 trillion by 2030 to
provide adequate global infrastructure for electricity, road and rail transport,
telecommunications, and water.
Health
th
Throughout the 20 century, the health of city dwellers increasingly benefitted from better access
to education and healthcare, better living conditions, and targeted public-health interventions. In
advanced economics, emergency medical care can be accessed within hours and advanced
facilities for longer term treatments are readily accessible. However, when urbanization is rapid
and unplanned, a combination of high population density, poverty and lack of infrastructure can
have the opposite effect, fostering conditions for communicable diseases to flourish.
It is striking that, today, almost 700 million urban dwellers lack adequate sanitation. The problem
is particularly acute in sub-Saharan Africa and south-central Asia, where 62 percent and 43
percent, respectively, of the urban population live in slums and are faced with unacceptable
levels of risk to illnesses, worm infections, cholera and diarrhea.
Most worryingly, in today’s hyper connected world, it is easier for pathogens to be carried from
one city to another with potential for large scale outbreaks.
The economic impact of Ebola is enormous for the affected countries and neighboring states. The
World Bank Group estimates the economic cost of Ebola to be approximately USD 32 billion, in
the worst-case scenario. One of the key aggravating factors to the Ebola crisis was the lack of a
governance mechanism that would allow an effective link between what was being observed at
the country and city levels and the alert mechanisms needed to trigger an emergency response.
Rapid and unplanned urbanization can also quickly lead to urban violence and social unrest.
Widening inequalities also tend to be more starkly visible in urban than rural areas. The
combination of inequality, competition for scarce resources such as land, impunity from the law
and weak city governance increases the risk of violence and potential breakdowns in law and
order.
Urbanization can also create connected and cascading effects. For example, high population
density fuels property bubbles while a shortage of affordable housing contributes to social
exclusion, with this combination threatening to destabilize the wider economy and increase
social instability.
Ultimately, urbanization creates opportunities but also exacerbates risks, and the speed at which
it is happening challenges our capacity to plan and adapt. This is particularly true in developing
economies. For rapid urbanization to provide opportunities to all, carefully considered urban
planning and good governance with effective regulatory frameworks are required.
The inability of governments to provide appropriate infrastructure and public services is at the
core of many urban challenges in developing countries.
What is more, as the world continues to urbanize, power will increasingly be concentrated in
cities. This power – ranging from economic to social – not only makes cities the center of
gravity, but offers greater scope to find practical solutions to the most pressing challenges.
Indeed, many observers and organizations are now focusing on cities and the connections
between them rather than directing their attention at the national level. The strength of city-level
institutions in addition to national institutions – their capacity to be flexible, innovative and
dynamic, and effectively involve multiple stakeholders in governance – will largely determine
whether urbanization makes the world more resilient or more vulnerable in the face of global
risks.
Unemployment
1. the state of being unemployed.
o the number or proportion of unemployed people.
"a time of high unemployment
Unemployment occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find
work. Unemployment is often used as a measure of the health of the economy. The most
frequently cited measure of unemployment is the unemployment rate. This is the number of
unemployed persons divided by the number of people in the labor force.
Infrastructure
1. The basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization.
2. The fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area, as transportation and
communication systems, power plants, and schools.
3. The military installations of a country.
4. The basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) that are needed for a country,
region, or organization to function properly
5.The underlying foundation or basic framework (as of a system or organization, the permanent
installations required for military purposes
6. The system of public works of a country, state, or region; also : the resources (as personnel,
buildings, or equipment) required for an activity.

Infrastructure includes the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation
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of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function.
This entry aggregates articles on and lists of modern infrastructure failures by category (type of
infrastructure).
Structural
• Structural failures and collapses
• Collapsed buildings
• Bridge failures
• Dam failures
• Category: Dam disasters
• Levee failures and breaches
• Catastrophic collapses of radio masts and towers

Electrical and utility

Transportation
• Lists of rail accidents
• Accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
• Airship accidents
• Accidents and disasters by death toll
• Road accidents

• Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight structural failure

Nuclear
• Nuclear accidents
• Nuclear and radiation accidents
• Military nuclear accidents
• Civilian nuclear power accidents
• Nuclear accidents and incidents

Space
• Space Shuttle: Columbia disaster, Challenger disaster
• Space accidents and incidents

Other
• Engineering failures
• Collapsed oil platforms

An ethnic religion is generally defined by the ethnicity of its adherents, and conversion
essentially equates to cultural assimilation into that ethno religious group. Ethnic religions are
distinguished from religions that actively seek converts worldwide, regardless of ethnic
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affiliation. In contrast, ethnic religions have (diasporas excluded) limited geographic scope, and
membership is (by definition) determined by ethnic affiliation.
Religion was a defining part of a nation's culture, along with language and customs. With the rise
of the aggressively proselytizing religions that actively sought to cross ethnic boundaries, in
particular Christianity and Islam, many of the established ethnic religions began to be
polemically belittled as "pagan" (rustic), "heathen" (uncivilized) or shirk (idolatrous,
polytheistic), kafirun (unbelieving). In the last 2,000 years, most ethnic religions have been
supplanted or marginalized by either one of these two proselytizing religions: In Europe, for
example, the indigenous Slavic, Germanic, Celtic, Norse, Greek and Roman ethnic religions
were supplanted by Christianity.