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Philips Foundation, Red Cross, UNICEF to Form New Co-creation Models
The Philips Foundation has formed global innovation partnerships with UNICEF and the Red Cross, led by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Netherlands Red Cross.
Collaboration will be based on new types of co-creation models that enable the partners to identify opportunities for innovation based on shared value, while benefiting from a global reach of over 190 countries.
The Philips Foundation, which was established in 2014, will utilize the core expertise of Philips in research, design and technology to create solutions for addressing healthcare and lighting challenges in disadvantaged communities or those affected by disasters.
“In 2015, as the world prepares to define the Post-2015 Development Agenda, it’s clear that the only way to overcome many of the global challenges is through cross-sector collaboration,” said Ronald de Jong, chief market leader at Royal Philips and chairman of the Philips Foundation.
“We look forward to leveraging the expertise and people from each organization. Consolidating these efforts into these global partnerships under the Philips Foundation is a logical and exciting step in contributing to our company’s mission to improve the lives of 3 billion people by 2025.”
The Red Cross and the Philips Foundation will focus on exploring innovations and technology that could assist in providing immediate relief to people in regions affected by humanitarian crises including natural disasters.
Key areas of cooperation include exploring ways to improve healthcare, providing powerful solar lighting to enhance safety in affected communities, and understanding how existing technology or sustainable practices could be utilized in emergency management.
“As the world faces an unprecedented number of crises, the gap between the vast humanitarian needs and the ability to respond adequately is widening,” said Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“We need to find more innovative ways of responding to needs that will enable us to bring aid more effectively and quickly to millions of people who require it. The partnership with the Philips Foundation will play a crucial role in helping us innovate and shape the future of humanitarian aid.”
The Philips Foundation and UNICEF have partnered to develop new healthcare innovations for the first 1000 days of children’s lives, from the moment of conception up until the age of two – as this is a crucial period for children to build the basis to be able to thrive.
To kick start the partnership, the Philips Foundation will support the global innovation agenda of UNICEF and intends to be a lead partner in the Maker Movement project in Nairobi, which is focused on developing and deploying solutions and new business models that improve access to healthcare for mothers and their children in low-resource settings.
“We work to give children the best start in life, because proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a person’s future.
“The first 1000 days of a child’s life are crucial. Today, approximately 18 million mothers around the world still do not receive proper antenatal and neonatal care. Partnering with the Philips Foundation allows us to work with experts in cutting-edge healthcare technologies and adapt innovations to the realities of the regions and local communities we work in,” said Sharad Sapra, principal adviser and director of the UNICEF Innovation Center.
Additionally, the Philips Foundation will support Philips’ country organizations with local community programs and use innovation, products, expertise and employee support in the areas of healthcare and lighting.
According to a statement by Eeva Raaijmakers, Philips Group Communications, this enables the Foundation build on and complement existing Philips projects such as the community light centers program with the KNVB across Africa and Latin America, the Community Life Center in Kenya, the mobile obstetrical monitoring to reduce maternal mortality in Indonesia, and the Design for Empowerment program.
Royal Philips is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting.
The Philips Foundation, on the other hand, is a registered charity and has been created to help enable lasting social change in disadvantaged communities through the provision and application of innovation, talent and resources.
Together with key partners the International Red Cross and UNICEF, the Philips Foundation seeks to identify the challenges where a combination of Philips expertise and partner experience can be used to create meaningful solutions that impact people’s lives.
UNICEF is notable for promoting the rights and wellbeing of every child.
Together with its partners, UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.
Also, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the largest humanitarian network in the world.
Its mission is to alleviate human suffering, protect life and health, and uphold human dignity especially during armed conflicts and other emergencies. It is present in every country and supported by millions of volunteers.
The “Movement” is made up of the following components: the International Committee of the Red Cross, the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Presidents John Dramani Mahama of Ghana and Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria have celebrated the Chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., on the occasion of his 72nd birthday.
In congratulatory messages, both leaders praised Dr. Adenuga’s outstanding contributions to the economic development and growth of both Ghana and Nigeria. They commended his remarkable entrepreneurial spirit, resilience, and commitment to excellence.
President Mahama described Dr. Adenuga’s life as “a shining example of vision, resilience, and extraordinary accomplishment.” He noted that through his entrepreneurial endeavors, Dr. Adenuga has not only built enduring businesses but also contributed significantly to the socio-economic advancement of the African continent.
He noted that Dr. Adenuga’s leadership and philanthropic endeavour remain a beacon of inspiration for generations across Africa.
Also President Tinubu stated that Dr. Adenuga’s humility and diligence have enabled him to succeed in various sectors, including banking, telecommunications, oil, and gas. He praised Dr. Adenuga’s innovative approach to business, citing Globacom’s pioneering per-second billing, which expanded telephony and digital access to millions of Nigerians.
“In addition, Conoil has proven that an indigenous firm can compete with international oil companies, fostering energy independence and security for our country.” He added.
President Tinubu who expressed the gratitude of Nigerians to Dr. Adenuga for his immense contributions to the country’s progress and prosperity, also commended him for extending his investments to other African countries and Europe, “a bold effort which earned you well-deserved honours as Commander of the Legion of Honour (France) and Ghana’s Companion of the Star of Ghana”.
Most online services and apps require the user to create a password. Chances are many of those passwords are not being used daily and due to this overabundance, there’s a high probability that many of the passwords are being reused.
Poor password management is compounded by a reliance on common combinations of names, dictionary words and numerals. Not only are these passwords relatively easy to decipher, but if a cybercriminal gains access to a password on one site, that could result in access to a plethora of other sites.
People are urged to create unique, random passwords to counter the vulnerability posed by using the same password multiple times. However, password creation and management can be an arduous task.
To tackle the burden of password creation and management, people might be tempted to use large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Llama or DeepSeek to generate their passwords.
The appeal is clear. Rather than struggling to come up with a strong password, users can simply ask AI, “Generate a secure password” and get an instant result.
AI produces strings that look random, which helps avoid the human tendency to create predictable, dictionary-based passwords. But appearances can be deceptive, AI-generated passwords may not be as secure as they appear.
Alexey Antonov, Data Science Team Lead at Kaspersky, tested this by generating 1,000 passwords using some of the more prominent and trusted LLMs including ChatGPT (from OpenAI), Llama (model from Meta group), DeepSeek (newcomer from China).
“All of the models are aware that a good password consists of at least 12 characters, including uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. They report this when generating passwords,” says Antonov.
“In practice, though, the algorithms often neglected to insert a special character or digits into the password: 26% of passwords for ChatGPT, 32% for Llama and 29% for DeepSeek. While DeepSeek and Llama sometimes generated passwords shorter than 12 characters.”
In 2024, Alexey Antonov developed a machine learning algorithm to test password strength and found that almost 60% of passwords can be cracked in under an hour using modern GPUs or cloud-based cracking tools.
When applied to AI-generated passwords, the results were alarming, they were far less secure than they appeared: 88% of DeepSeek and 87% of Llama generated passwords were not strong enough to withstand attack from sophisticated cyber criminals. While ChatGPT did a little better with 33% of passwords not strong enough to pass the Kaspersky test.
“The problem is LLMs don’t create true randomness. Instead, they mimic patterns from existing data, making their outputs predictable to attackers who understand how these models work,” notes Antonov.
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has introduced a crowd-sourcing initiative aimed at providing more accurate statistical information and data to policymakers and the general public.
According to a statement issued by Folorunso Alesanmi, head of Public Relations, the initiative, which commenced several months ago, involves compiling daily price data from a wide range of sources.
These include open markets, supermarkets, neighbourhood shops, bulk and discount stores, street outlets, and large retail shops.
Data collection has been conducted across all 36 States, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and every senatorial district.
However, the Bureau clarified that price data gathered through crowd-sourcing differs from the data used in computing the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
While CPI data is collected at specific, pre-determined outlets during the second and third weeks of each month, crowd-sourced price data is gathered randomly from different respondents daily.
By leveraging the power of crowd-sourcing, the Bureau has been able to gather a vast amount of data that offers a more nuanced picture of price trends in the economy.
“We are thrilled to release our first price data compiled through crowd-sourcing. This initiative represents a major step forward in our efforts to harness the power of technology and innovation to improve the quality and timeliness of our statistical data,” said Prince Semiu Adeyemi Adeniran, Statistician-General of the Federation and NBS CEO.
The newly released data offers insights into the prices of essential food items commonly consumed by Nigerians, such as local rice, white beans, white maize, garri, yam, and more. It provides a daily snapshot of food costs.
The NBS plans to update this data on a daily basis, offering entrepreneurs, policymakers, and researchers a valuable tool for monitoring price fluctuations and making informed decisions.
The data is accessible to the public through a dedicated dashboard, where users can view, analyze, and download it in real-time—enhancing transparency and accessibility.
“To this end, the agency has implemented a range of quality control measures, including data validation and verification processes, to ensure that the data is reliable and trustworthy,” the statement added.
The release of this crowd-sourced price data underscores the NBS’s commitment to innovation and collaboration.
By working with citizens and embracing technology, the Bureau aims to provide more timely and accurate statistics to drive economic growth and development
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