Jan 17.2022
![Three Pressing Global Issues That Can Be Addressed by The Internet of Things]()
Three Pressing Global Issues That Can Be Addressed by The Internet of Things
Global problems like food insecurity, armed conflict, and the pandemic are threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions worldwide. Find out how the Internet of Things can help.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) recently released its 2022 Emergency Watchlist highlighting 20 global humanitarian crises that require immediate, effective responses this year. Like the years before, the Watchlist was a sobering report.
The record numbers of people affected by starvation, political tension, violence and persecution, adverse climate conditions, economic fragility, and health epidemics painted an uncertain and scary future for most of the world's population.
Fortunately, emerging technologies could turn the tide. While no single "silver bullet" exists that can solve any crisis, the Internet of Things may be one way for technology to contribute to lasting change.
In today's post, we discuss IoT's potential to address some of the world's most pressing issues.
The IoT Effect: Transforming Everyday Live
The Internet of Things is a new infrastructure that enables virtually everything we use every day — from cell phones and smart home systems like Amazon Echo and Google Home to buildings and vehicles — to collect and exchange data.
Real-time connectivity has led to unprecedented possibilities: homes can measure electricity usage down to individual appliances; businesses can visualize operations and optimize processes at a granular level, and cities can track traffic, public transit, and crime rates in real-time.
However, none of these impacts are more exciting than IoT's potential to address global issues. IoT demonstrates arguably more promise than any other advancement before it because it enables deeper interactions between people, societies, and countries and allows devices to communicate directly with each other across numerous sectors.
How Can IoT Help Address Global Issues?
With the world battling substantial economic and political upheavals, IoT's potential impact on urgent socio-economic problems has become more apparent than ever. Below are three primary issues on IRC's 2022 Emergency Watchlist that IoT solutions can address.
1. Food Insecurity
1. Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is a problem with high stakes and great urgency. According to the IRC, approximately 41 million people in 43 countries are on the brink of starvation. Moreover, in so-called Watchlist countries, 100 million people - 10% of their population - can only survive by liquidating their key assets.
Food insecurity in afflicted regions stems from several factors. At the top of the list is climate change, whose effects, including high temperatures, irregular rainfall, flooding, droughts, and wildfires, undermine food production and drive world hunger to unprecedented heights.
Conflict is also a significant cause of food insecurity. Besides forcing farmers to flee their homes and livelihoods in search of safety, conflicting parties often use hunger as a deliberate weapon of war.
The Internet of Things can help address food insecurity in several compelling ways.
- Remote Sensing: Devices that collect and measure data on weather, water resources, and crop health can provide farmers with critical information to aid agricultural decision-making.
- Data Sharing: IoT devices can support real-time cross-border coordination between governments and humanitarian agencies to ensure food aid is delivered where it's needed most.
- Distribution Systems: A network of connected sensors at ports, warehouses, trucks, and distribution centers can facilitate the real-time monitoring of goods as they flow from source to destination, boosting operational speed, efficiency, and safety.
- Resource Optimization: Connected irrigation systems can monitor soil conditions and optimize water distribution, reducing waste while promoting crop health.
Although most projects remain in the early stages of development, these innovations could revolutionize food security by allowing farmers to produce more with less and delivering food to critical areas as quickly as possible.
2. Conflict
2. Conflict
Conflict perpetuates human suffering and stifles economic growth. The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) reports that more than 50,000 people die from armed conflicts annually. Moreover, the most recent UNHCR data indicates that, since 2011, conflict-propelled internal displacement has risen by 230% and external displacement by 160%.
The Internet of Things has significant potential to help reduce conflict. Here are three notable examples.
- Coordination: The IoT's ability to facilitate real-time cross-border information sharing, among other capabilities discussed above, can help humanitarian entities and authorities coordinate activities and promote peace.
- Security: The IoT's ability to monitor locations, objects, and people can be used to identify potential threats and prevent them from ever materializing.
- Autonomous Systems: The use of robots, drones, and automated devices such as driverless cars can reduce direct human involvement in conflict zones and minimize costly errors.
Strife presents a unique opportunity for technology companies to provide solutions to help people in need. By integrating IoT technologies into current humanitarian efforts, governments, companies, NGOs, and citizens can improve coordination and collaboration, reduce human suffering, and even arrest disputes before they materialize into armed conflict.
3. Disease and Pandemics
3. Disease and Pandemics
The ravaging COVID-19 pandemic has put struggling health systems to the ultimate test, and unsurprisingly, most have crumbled. The pandemic has done catastrophic damage in the developing world, where medical resources were already stretched and strained by infectious diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and cholera.
While the problems in struggling countries are protracted and complex, technology offers some much-needed hope. Below are four ways IoT can bolster healthcare delivery efforts and pandemic management.
- Surveying Infection: The ability to monitor, detect, and respond to disease outbreaks in real-time can help arrest infection spread by limiting exposure.
- Tracking Medical Supplies: Using IoT devices to track supplies can ensure medications, vaccines, and treatment kits reach their intended destinations, especially in regions with inadequate infrastructure.
- Monitoring Population Health: Connected sensors can facilitate data collection to gauge the impact of disease events and inform appropriate responses by humanitarians and authorities.
- Delivering Remote Care: The ability to provide healthcare remotely can offer relief for medical professionals and patients in crisis-prone regions.
While diseases and pandemics will remain long-term existential threats, leveraging IoT can help governments and humanitarian organizations design effective interventions that improve response efforts and reduce human suffering.
Leveraging IoT for a Better World
The Internet of Things has demonstrated remarkable promise in changing how people live, communicate, and collaborate. However, its most significant impact will be felt in its contribution toward dealing with prevalent global issues.
By facilitating cost-effective, efficient, and reliable solutions to problems like food security, conflict, and pandemics, the Internet of Things promises to improve the lives of millions and make the world a better place.
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