Tag: South Africa

Global Liver Institute Convenes Largest Number of Community Events around the World in the 6 Years of International NASH Day

Washington, D.C., June 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today is International NASH Day, a time where healthcare experts and community members around the globe step up and raise awareness of the most common liver disease in the world – nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) – and it’s more severe form, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Fatty liver disease is a condition in which excess fat builds up in the liver, which can lead to scarring and cirrhosis (permanent damage that impairs liver function). An estimated 25% of the global population, or about 2 billion people, are affected by NAFLD. 20% of those with NAFLD progress to NASH.
International NASH Day 2023 is endorsed by 30 medical specialty societies from around the world, and more than 50 global organizations, from research institutions to community organizations to medical centers and more, will be hosting events to inform and educate their communities.
“By releasing new, multilingual resources to help patients access NASH diagnostics and treatment, leading even more awareness and educational events worldwide, and continuing to foster opportunities for patients to step up and speak out, GLI and its partners are stepping up for those with or at risk of NASH this year,” shared Donna R. Cryer, JD, President and CEO of Global Liver Institute. “We have been heartened through collaboration with the broader patient advocacy community on health technology assessment (HTA) and regulatory processes. Together we have made certain that the patient voice is the clear, powerful force that it ought to be.”
While NASH can develop at any point in life, many of the factors that heighten an individual’s risk of developing NASH are well-known, including overweight or obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Despite established risk factors, too often patients in high-risk groups are still not triaged, not screened, and not connected to the care they require. We are grateful that, just this year, several societies have updated their treatment guidelines for identifying and caring for NAFLD/NASH to reflect our best current understanding of the disease. We are grateful to the scientists who have expanded our understanding of – and ability to control – the disease. It is time for health systems to step up and invest effort in operationalizing these new guidelines.

We urge health system leaders to step up and examine the NASH patient pathway, identify where patients are lost, and bolster those processes.
We encourage primary care and endocrinology providers to step up and learn which of their patients are at heightened risk of NAFLD/NASH – and to connect them to the screening they need.
We challenge the media to step up against the stigma and cover stories about NAFLD/NASH and liver health, especially when discussing obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other risk factors.
We implore regulators to step up for the livelihood of the millions of patients around the world whose lives are affected by NAFLD/NASH.

Clear, strong connections between primary care providers, specialists, and intervention support are all critical – and within reach – to help more patients find and stop the progression of NASH while they have the opportunity.
“It can be overwhelming how widespread the chronic, progressive disease of NAFLD and NASH has become. Those at risk should know they are supported and empowered to step up for a healthier liver,” encouraged Jeff McIntyre, VP of Liver Health Programs at Global Liver Institute. “Ask your doctor for a screening if you have a risk factor – and receive the treatment you need before the disease progresses. Individuals can make small changes with big impacts to support better liver health through better nutrition and incorporating more movement into their daily habits. Although fatty liver disease can progress, it can be controlled if caught early. Get screened now for a healthy liver.”
It’s time to #StepUpforNASH!

Join the Movement
Get tested! Check if you are at risk for NAFLD/NASH and make a note to talk to your primary care provider at your next appointment.
Support the #NASHday social media campaign using hashtags #NASHday #StepUpforNASH. Please direct any additional questions to NASHday@globalliver.org.

About Global Liver Institute 
Global Liver Institute (GLI) is a patient-driven 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in the EU and UK, founded in the belief that liver health must take its place on the global public health agenda commensurate with the prevalence and impact of liver disease and the importance of liver health to well-being. GLI promotes innovation, encourages collaboration, and supports the scaling of optimal approaches to improve research, care, and policy. By bringing together more than 200 community-based, national, and international organizations across its councils, campaigns, and events, GLI equips advocates to identify and solve the problems that matter to liver patients. Follow GLI on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. GLI is the global host of International NASH Day.
International NASH Day and its logo are registered trademarks of Global Liver Institute.

Christine Maalouf
Global Liver Institute
communications@globalliver.org

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8854884

USD $60 million funding will catalyze a new initiative to apply AI and satellite data to help end illegal fishing and safeguard the ocean

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Global Fishing Watch has received a five-year USD $60 million commitment through The Audacious Project to leverage open data and emerging technology to revolutionize global ocean management. Over the next five years, the ocean conservation nonprofit will publicly map more than one million ocean-going vessels and all fixed infrastructure at sea.

Housed within TED, a nonprofit dedicated to “ideas worth spreading,” The Audacious Project selects a cohort of projects every year that represent bold solutions to critical challenges facing the world. By connecting these ambitious initiatives with an inspiring group of donors and supporters, The Audacious Project helps accelerate big ideas and amplify the overall impact of the work.

Global Fishing Watch’s chief executive officer, Tony Long, delivered a TED Talk released on World Ocean Day (June 8) describing the organization’s pioneering project to map and monitor all industrial activity at sea and make this knowledge freely available to the world.

“Shockingly, little is known about human activity taking place across more than two-thirds of our planet’s surface. This must change if we’re to restore our ocean’s health,” said Tony Long, chief executive officer at Global Fishing Watch. “We’re honored to receive this catalytic funding through The Audacious Project, which clearly signals support for our innovative technology to tackle the urgent crisis in our ocean. With this investment, we can transform how we manage the ocean by making the invisible visible.”

Founded in 2015 as a collaboration between Oceana, SkyTruth and Google, Global Fishing Watch has demonstrated the power of artificial intelligence and satellite data to shine a light on global fishing activity. The nonprofit built the first-ever map to visualize and publicly track industrial fishing vessels—some 70,000 boats—in near real-time.

Under this open ocean project, Global Fishing Watch will combine GPS data with millions of gigabytes of satellite imagery and use machine learning to publicly display the activity of all industrial fishing vessels and hundreds of thousands of small-scale fishing boats and cargo ships. It will also map all stationary infrastructure at sea like aquaculture pens, wind farms and oil rigs, opening an online window onto our impact across our blue planet for the first time.

“Today, anyone can freely access satellite imagery to explore every road and building on land with just a few clicks of a mouse. We want to do the same for the ocean: create a complete, dynamic map of all industrial activity at sea that’s free for anyone to view and use,” said David Kroodsma, director of research and innovation with Global Fishing Watch. “Our initiative is audacious. It is new, big and bold. We’re driven by the potential for impact—and that potential is hugely exciting.”

Ocean stewardship efforts have been hampered by the absence of accurate and actionable information. Many governments lack the resources needed to process and analyze data on where and when their boats are fishing and what they are catching, or monitor other human activity at sea. The open ocean project will unleash a new wave of open data and transparency in ocean governance.

“To protect the ocean, we need to see and understand everything that happens at sea. And we need to empower institutions and people to act on that knowledge,” added Paolo Domondon, chief program officer with Global Fishing Watch. “We’ll enable governments to improve the management of their waters to better protect the marine environment and the people who rely on it – both by using our technology platform and by co-creating tools that meet their own specific needs.”

The project will receive $60 million in funding from multiple donors, including the Acton Family Giving, Ballmer Group, Becht Foundation, Oak Foundation, Laura and Gary Lauder and Family, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, MacKenzie Scott, Sea Grape Foundation and Valhalla Foundation, among others.

“The audacious work being done by Global Fishing Watch will transform how we see the ocean and our place in it. We are running out of time to protect this important life support system and the marine biodiversity that we all depend on,” said Anna Verghese, executive director at The Audacious Project. “We are excited about the change Global Fishing Watch will catalyze over the coming years with this surge in support.”

Ultimately, Global Fishing Watch aims to raise an additional USD $60 million to match funds secured through The Audacious Project, which will support the organization’s international program working with governments and civil society to harness open data and usher in a new era of transparency toward ocean governance. The investment from new donors along with established funding partners such as Bloomberg Philanthropies and Oceankind are generating momentum toward the organization’s goal.

“Understanding human activity and its impacts on the ocean is critical not only for the health of marine ecosystems and the people who depend on them but preserving our planet against the threats of climate change,” said Antha Williams, who leads the environment program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “Global Fishing Watch’s long standing partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, Oceana, the Outlaw Ocean Project, and others has helped transform how our ocean is managed. This new investment in cutting-edge technology will help uncover even more vital data to protect valuable resources, promote sustainable practices, and mitigate the effects of climate change.”

Notes to the editor:

• Open Ocean Project: https://globalfishingwatch.org/open-ocean-project/
• TED Talk: available at go.ted.com/tonylong (publishes June 8, 2023 at 11 a.m. ET)
• Images: Global Fishing Watch map: image 1 and image 2. © Global Fishing Watch

Global Fishing Watch is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing ocean governance through increased transparency of human activity at sea. By creating and publicly sharing map visualizations, data and analysis tools, we aim to enable scientific research and transform the way our ocean is managed. We believe human activity at sea should be public knowledge in order to safeguard the global ocean for the common good of all. globalfishingwatch.org

The Audacious Project: Launched in April 2018, The Audacious Project is a collaborative funding initiative that’s catalyzing social impact on a grand scale. Housed at TED, the nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, and with support from leading social impact advisor The Bridgespan Group, The Audacious Project convenes funders and social entrepreneurs with the goal of supporting bold solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges. The funding collective is made up of respected organizations and individuals in philanthropy, including Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ELMA Philanthropies, Emerson Collective, MacKenzie Scott, Skoll Foundation, Valhalla Foundation, and more. Each year The Audacious Project supports a new cohort. The 2023 grantees are CAMFED, Canopy, Clean Slate Initiative, Global Fishing Watch, Innovative Genomics Institute, Jan Sahas’ Migrants Resilience Collaborative, ReNew2030, Restore Local, Think of Us, and Upstream USA.

Attachments

• Global Fishing Watch’s Open Ocean Project
• Global Fishing Watch’s Open Ocean Project

Sarah Bladen
Global Fishing Watch
+447920333832
sarah@globalfishingwatch.org

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8854515