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This week's links include why solar doesn't scale in Africa, testing for scale at the same time as efficacy, why honest work can still be bad, and more...
Last week’s promise to saw the legs off the bed has yet to be implemented. Three immediate constraints presented themselves: first, I need to buy a saw (I wasn’t kidding when I said DIY isn’t my thing); then the little one fell ill, and it seemed cruel to chop the bed down while he was still in it; and finally England started playing India in the third test. Of the three constraints, only one has resolved: the boy has recovered from his illness and is now causing an incredible amount of mayhem around the house.
Nigerian nurses are protesting new rules to prevent them working abroad for two years after completing their training, as authorities try to stop the exodus of medical talent being mirrored across the continent.
An update to last week’s intro: after a solid week of negotiation with my 3-year-old (whom the FBI should hire to conduct hostage negotiations, so good is he at getting his way and wearing down his opponent), we have agreed that the new bed I ill-advisedly constructed for him just before bedtime does not need to be ‘thrown in the bin’.
Lead poisoning may be one of the most overlooked challenges in global health, education, and development. Exposure to lead creates a multi-pronged and permanent attack on these children’s health and development during their vulnerable and formative early years, with devastating lifelong effects. Lead exposure is associated with cognitive deficits, lower educational attainment, behavioral disorders, violence, and reduced lifetime earnings. Though data is patchy, estimates suggest that lead exposure may cause 900,000 deaths and 1 trillion dollars in economic losses every year.