Elizabeth Ogolo
who@worldmun.org
Elizabeth is a senior at Harvard studying Neuroscience and Spanish. Although her passion for pursuing a career as an Orthopedic Surgeon was realized at a young age, she has also discovered an interest in teaching and mentoring students domestically and internationally. Elizabeth is an ADHD research intern at the Boston Children's Hospital and works intimately with various public service organizations across Harvard and Greater Boston. In her free time, she enjoys scrolling on tik tok, walking along the Charles River, dancing to afrobeats music, learning new languages and playing her ukulele.
Topic: Tobacco Farming in the Developing World
The global effects of the tobacco industry have been a controversial topic since the 1600s. Initially, the spread of tobacco was record-breaking. Manufacturing plants and tobacco farms emerged all over the world in order to meet the supply and demand of the increasingly popularized habit. As it became a common pastime for many, societies all over the world were altered to accommodate the demands for breaks, spaces, and social acceptability of smoking. But normalized tobacco imagery in the media would soon fall from glamor as the truth behind tobacco simultaneously spread across the world. Countless articles and professional commentary advising against smoking, exposés on the realities of tobacco workers, lawsuits against tobacco companies for unscrupulous behavior and millions of deaths sweeping nations would soon cast a negative light and infamize the industry. Despite the abundant evidence, many countries still find it challenging to prevent the extensively studied negative effects of smoking from occurring among their constituents. Moreso, it is even more difficult to validate newer studies which reveal insight into the effects of tobacco harvesting and production.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year, including 1.3 million non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke. As one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, it is important to understand tobacco beyond smoking by investigating the processes that allow it to reach consumers. Many of the countries affected by inadequate access to food are also big exporters of tobacco. Tobacco farming has been highlighted as another concerning area in the tobacco industry due to its alleged contributions to food insecurity, among other challenges. A look into the economic, health, environmental, political, and social determinants of tobacco farming may better help decision makers understand the complexity of agricultural practices and why they exist. Although fighting tobacco and hunger seems to be a unilateral fight, many countries still vary in their political and economic support towards the cause.
As responsible delegates of the WHO, it is imperative that you create resolutions that cater to this delicate issue at hand. The emerging benefits and threats of tobacco farming must be meticulously weighed to reach a conclusion on the best course of action for nations dependent on, beneficiaries of, or adversaries to the success of the industry. My hope is that by the end of this committee, you will adequately create resolutions that consider multiple variables affecting communities such that the WHO can conscientiously support and implement your proposed solutions.