December 2023

Hey there Caddyshackers! 

We love Future Crunch so much, that the December Blog will just be a repeat of last year’s, by highlighting ALL the good news that has happened in topics that are relevant to our area of work.

Future Crunch are part of a global movement of scientists, artists, technologists and entrepreneurs who believe science and technology are creating a world that is more peaceful, transparent and abundant.

Founded by political economist, Dr Angus Hervey and cancer scientist, Tane Hunter in 2014, Future Crunch is a thought leadership brand consisting of a team of corporate speakers, workshop facilitators and experience designers. They specialize in the creation and delivery of dynamic, uplifting, visually spectacular presentations that combine world-class research with inspiring stories of human progress.

Lets get into it! It will be wordy, but worth it. Promise.

Transmission Good News

Namibia has one of the world’s highest HIV prevalence rates, and the virus is still the country's leading cause of death. However, Namibia has made remarkable progress. The rate of new infections is five times lower than in 2002, the death rate has fallen by a factor of three, and the country is on track to hit the 95-95-95 UNAIDS targets before the 2030 deadline.

Progress continues: 12 countries in Africa have reached 95% antiretroviral therapy coverage in pregnant women, 16 countries worldwide have eliminated mother to child transmission of HIV, and Botswana recently became the first high prevalence African country to be validated as being on the path to elimination.

Did you know that George W. Bush was responsible for the United States' most impactful foreign policy intervention of the 21st century? No, not that one. This year marks the 20th anniversary of PEPFAR, Bush’s HIV/AIDS program that turned the tide of the global epidemic, and has saved 25 million lives so far.

Uganda has made notable progress in its fight against AIDS. Between 2010 and 2021, new HIV infections declined by 39%, and AIDS-related deaths fell from 51,000 a year to 17,000 a year, a decline of 67%. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved, and mother-to-child infections have plummeted too.

Progress continues in the fight against AIDS in South Africa. In 2022, there were an estimated 164,000 new infections, three times lower than the peak of 538,000 in 1999. Deaths linked to HIV are also declining, with around 48,000 in 2022, less than a fifth of the peak of 265,000 in 2005.

Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have reached their targets on Hepatitis B control, joining five other countries in Europe that have done the same in the last two years, and bringing the continent a step closer to achieving the ultimate goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.

Amidst the barrage of headlines about political dysfunction in the United States you might have missed the news that there was a recent bipartisan agreement to spend billions more fighting HIV and malaria abroad. Global health support by the US will increase from $9.83 billion in 2022 to $10.56 billion in 2023.

Egypt used to have the highest rate of hepatitis C in the world. In 2018, the government decided to implement a massive and unprecedented campaign to screen and treat every citizen, crystallizing into something called the 100 Million Healthy Lives Campaign. Today, both the World Bank and the WHO say Egypt has eliminated hepatitis C from its entire population

Uganda launched a massive, free hepatitis B screening programme in 2015. Today, 90% of all infants receive childhood vaccinations, four million people have been screened, and those infected can access comprehensive treatment services, making Uganda the first country in Africa to surpass the WHO’s programme targets.

The UN just released its latest AIDS report, showing that deaths fell to 630,000 last year, a reduction of 69% since their peak in 2004. There were an estimated 1.3 million new HIV infections in 2022, the lowest in decades, with the declines especially strong in regions with the highest burdens, and only 130,000 new infections in children, the lowest since the 1980s

Queer Good News 

The Caribbean nations of Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, and Barbados have all recently repealed colonial-era sodomy laws, and St Lucia and Grenada are currently considering them. If they follow suit, the number of countries with such laws in the Commonwealth Caribbean will have halved in less than a decade.

Taiwan has amended its laws to allow same-sex couples to adopt children they are not biologically related to.

Namibia's Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriages conducted outside the country must be recognised by the government, expanding the interpretation of the term 'spouse' in its immigration laws.

Amidst the horrors of the war in Ukraine, one of the rare bright spots has been a dramatic shift in attitudes towards the LGBTQ community. Queer people have achieved unprecedented visibility in the country's fight to preserve its sovereignty, and public opinion has rapidly grown more supportive of reforms to fully recognize their rights as citizens.

Since the first same-sex marriages took place in the Netherlands in 2001, more than 30 other jurisdictions have enacted laws allowing gays and lesbians to marry. In 24 of these places where recent detailed statistics are available, same-sex marriages have ranged from 0.4% to 3.4% of all marriages in a given year.

Iceland has become the latest country to ban conversion therapy. 'This is a really important issue for all gay people and a step worth celebrating. There is no cure for being gay and any attempt to do so is violence. It’s so good that the government recognizes it with legislation.'

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has given the green light to a bill seeking to decriminalize homosexuality, a move hailed by campaigners as a historic development that has created hope towards real change.

Estonia has become the first ex-Soviet state–and 35th country in the world–to pass a law legalising same-sex marriage. Lawmakers voted to approve the law earlier this week, and it will go into effect on 1st January 2024. This is a decision that does not take anything away from anyone but gives something important to many.

The Cook Islands has officially decriminalized homosexuality. The country, comprising 15 islands in the South Pacific, has rescinded a section of its Crimes Act of 1969. "We are so grateful for all the people and organizations throughout our community who have been working tirelessly to make this happen.”

Did you know 2022 was a great year for LGBTQ rights around the world? Numerous countries removed bans on homosexuality, outlawed conversion therapy and legalized gay marriage. 33 governments have now legalized same-sex unions, triple the number compared to a decade ago. It feels like something of a tipping point.

Finland has passed legislation making it substantially easier for trans people to change their legal gender. The new law, passed by a large majority in parliament, means transgender people 18 and older can legally change their gender by a process of self-declaration, and no longer have to go through an onerous medical and psychiatric approval process first. Spain passed a similar law in December.

Substantial majorities of Americans think progress toward inclusion and diversity is on the right track. In a new poll, 86% believe more should be done to promote gender equality, 69% say more should be done to foster acceptance of LGBTQ people, 70% think businesses should promote racial diversity, and 58% are happy with new pronouns.

USAID, the largest official aid agency in the world in terms of dollars, just announced a new policy on LGTBQI+ inclusion. 'USAID is incredibly proud to champion LGBTQI+ inclusive development and the human rights of LGBTQI+ people through our work. We stand for nondiscrimination, for empathy and for inclusion.'

Japan's Supreme Court ruled last week that its trade ministry violated a public service law by banning a transgender woman from using the women’s bathroom at work. The decision sets an important precedent, requiring employers in Japan to develop policies and practices that allow individuals to use a bathroom aligned with their gender identity.

Spain has passed legislation expanding reproductive and transgender rights, and will be the first country in Europe to allow workers paid menstrual leave. Period products will now be offered free in schools and prisons, state-run health centres will do the same with hormonal contraceptives and the morning after pill, and workers suffering debilitating period pain will be allowed to take paid time off. The changes also enshrine the right to have an abortion in a state hospital - 80% of procedures are currently carried out in private clinics.

A big leap forward for LGBTQI rights in South Korea: in a landmark ruling, the Seoul High Court has ruled that a government health insurer owes coverage to the spouse of a customer after the firm withdrew it when it found out the pair were gay. The court also found that denying benefits to same-sex couples amounted to discrimination. This ruling offers hope that prejudice can be overcome.

Last month, the Australian state of Queensland passed new laws to remove barriers to updating birth certificates. The new legislation means transgender, non-binary and gender diverse people will no longer be forced to undergo surgery before being able to correct their gender identity documents.

A Peruvian high court has ordered same-sex unions to be legally registered, marking a victory for the LGBTQ community in a country that has been reluctant to recognise gay couples. Peru is one of the last remaining countries in Latin America that has not recognised same-sex marriage.

Nepal's Supreme Court has issued an order clearing the way for same-sex marriage for the first time in the largely conservative country. Although discrimination has been outlawed since 2007, there has been no legislation governing marriage until now. LGBTQ activists are hailing it as a historic decision.

Reproductive Good News

America's teen birth rate has plummeted in a single generation, "a change of such improbable magnitude that experts struggle to fully explain it." In 1991, a quarter of 15-year-olds became mothers before turning 20. Today, just 6% become teen mothers, a decline of 77% in 30 years. Teen births have fallen at equal rates among white, Hispanic and Black teenagers, and by more than half in every state.

107 countries around the world now provide paid parental leave for fathers. Back in the 1990s, only 46 countries had a paid leave policies for fathers, largely high-income nations. "There is widespread recognition that we don't solve gender equality without dads getting leave."

Teenage pregnancy among girls aged 15 to 19 in the Philippines has fallen from 8.6% in 2017 to 5.4% in 2022. This is good news for a country with one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the world, and comes off the back of last year's landmark ban on child marriage.

Malawi and Kenya are making significant progress on family planning. Around 60% of women in both countries are now using contraceptives, up from 15% in the 1990s for Kenya and just 7% in Malawi. Contraceptives, including implants and intrauterine devices, are now widely available, including for the majority of populations living in rural areas.

Kenya has also made some big strides in reducing teen pregnancy, with rates falling by more than half in four years. In 2018, healthcare facilities recorded a total of 427,297 pregnant teenagers. By 2022, that number had fallen to 260,442. This is a big deal–until recently Kenya had the third-highest rate of teen pregnancy in the world.

British Columbia has become the first jurisdiction in Canada to make prescription contraception free to all residents. This includes oral hormone pills, contraceptive injections, intrauterine devices, subdermal implants and the morning-after pill. "This is a win for health, and it's a win for gender equity in our province."

Reproductive rights activists in Honduras are celebrating after Honduran President Xiomara Castro signed an executive order ending a ban on the morning after pill. Honduras, a heavily Catholic nation, banned the use and sale of the emergency contraception in 2009, arguing it would cause abortion.

The US FDA just approved the first oral medication designed to treat severe depression related to childbirth or pregnancy, a condition that affects an estimated 400,000 new mothers in the United States every year.

The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding has increased from 38% to 48% globally in the last decade, just 2% short of the 2025 target set by the WHO back in 2014. 21 countries have increased their breastfeeding rates by more than 10%, showing that progress is possible when breastfeeding is protected, promoted, and supported.

The words no woman may be deprived of the right to termination of pregnancy have taken a step closer to being added to France’s constitution after being approved by the country's Senate. “At a time when so many women are still deprived of this right, when countries are taking it away from them or challenging it, France will continue to tirelessly defend it.”

As of last week, Taiwan has made period products available in all schools and is providing additional subsidies for low-income students to purchase supplies they need independently. Its Ministry of Health estimates that about 95,000 students will benefit from the program.

A win for reproductive rights in Australia, where the Therapeutic Goods Administration scrapped restrictions on access to medical abortion pills, which are used in the early stages of an unplanned pregnancy. Doctors and pharmacists without specialist certification will now be able to prescribe termination pills.

The United States FDA has approved the first daily oral contraceptive for over-the-counter use. Organisations such as the American Academy of Paediatrics and the American Medical Association have applauded the decision, saying the move will help millions of women around the country gain broader access to safe and effective reproductive healthcare.

Argentina will no longer require a prescription to obtain emergency contraception, commonly known as the 'morning-after pill,' broadening reproductive rights in the traditionally conservative South American country. This removes an important barrier to access.

In 2022, the International Planned Parenthood Federation delivered 226.9 million sexual and reproductive health services, including 5 million safe abortion services, an increase of 11% from 2021. The organisation also served 10 million people in humanitarian settings, a record number, and achieved 150 advocacy wins, a 24% increase from 2021.

In 2017, Malawi launched a program to improve the quality of care provided to newborns and their mothers. It worked. The maternal mortality ratio fell from 439 to 381 per 100,000 births between 2017 and 2020, and one hospital on the outskirts of Blantyre reduced maternal and neonatal mortality by more than 50% between 2017 and 2022.

The US Pregnant Workers Fairness Act has gone into effect. All employers are now legally required to give pregnant workers lighter duties, extra breaks and time off for medical appointments. The measures also apply to childbirth recovery, abortion care, morning sickness and postnatal depression, benefiting an estimated 3 million people a year.

Consent & Rights 

The Netherlands' House of Representatives has voted to introduce a consent-based definition of rape. This historic change, hailed as a victory for survivors of sexual assault, removes the requirement that rape must involve physical force, threat, or coercion. The Senate is expected to pass the amendment, making the Netherlands the 17th of 31 European states to recognise sex without consent is rape.

Australian unions have won significant changes to improve the lives of working women in the last 12 months, including more parental leave, more rights to flexible work, wage increases in female-dominated sectors, stronger equal pay laws, and new protections from discrimination. "There is more to be done, and we are not giving up."

New legislation banning child marriage has come into force in England and Wales, a major step forward for women's rights. Girls younger than 18 can no longer get married or have a civil partnership even if their parents give consent. Previously, religious marriages were legally permitted to occur at any age. "We’ve campaigned for this change for a decade.”

Humanity is making steady progress in eliminating the awful, centuries-old practice of female genital mutilation. UNICEF just released new data showing that the percentage of affected girls aged 15-19 in the 31 countries where it is still practised fell to 28% in 2021, down from 34% in 2016.

2023 marks two decades since the adoption of the Maputo Protocol, humanity's most progressive legally-binding instrument on women’s and human rights. Forty-four African countries have signed and ratified it, 43 of them now have laws putting the minimum age of marriage at 18, and 22 out of 29 African countries practising female genital mutilation now have national laws banning the practice.

Sierra Leone has passed landmark legislation advancing women’s rights. Activists have been fighting for this for more than a decade. The law requires all employers to reserve at least 30% of jobs for women, extends maternity leave to 14 weeks, mandates equal pay, grants equal access to financial support and training and puts an end to six decades of customary laws that prevented women from owning land.

A new law protecting women against discrimination and sexual harassment has come into effect in China. It's the country's most significant reform to women's rights in 30 years, and the only place we were able to find the story was in a law journal and an HR magazine. In case the significance isn't apparent, there are 326 million female employees in China.

UNICEF on how the lives of girls around the world have improved in the last decade. More girls are completing high school, fewer are having children, more have access to family planning, fewer child marriages take place, female genital mutilation has decreased and the proportion of girls being infected by HIV has fallen. It's not enough - but it shows that progress is possible.

The United Kingdom has overtaken Canada, Germany and Australia to become one of the world’s most socially liberal nations towards divorce and abortion. What were once pressing moral concerns – things like homosexuality, divorce and casual sex – have become simple facts of life for much of the public.

Japan has raised the age of consent from 13 (the lowest among developed nations) to 16 and introduced far stricter laws against sex crimes, expanding the scenarios under which rape prosecutions can be made, including for victims who were frightened or under the influence of alcohol or drugs and in cases of perpetrators taking advantage of social status.

Saudi Arabia has made significant progress on women's rights since 2019. Critics say the reforms are intended to deflect attention from the country's flagrant human rights violations, which cannot be ignored, but for millions of women, genuine change is happening quickly, altering the country's social fabric.

That’s a wrap

School holidays coming up!

We have a fantastic line up of guests for the On The Couch webinars in 2024. We will see you back here soon!

Peace, Love & Protection

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