While many human rights activists address a wide spectrum of issues, Paul Farmer focuses his efforts on an often-overlooked human right – the right to health. Farmer is a medical anthropologist at Harvard Medical School and the founding director of Partners in Health, an international organization that seeks to address the health problems of the […]
Known for its stunning natural beauty and variety of wildlife, the country of Zambia draws thousands of global travelers seeking adventure and awe-inspiring views in its world-renowned state parks, along the mighty Zambezi River, and at the famous Victoria Falls, a UNESCO world heritage site. More than half of the country’s 752,000 square kilometers is arable […]
Poverty in Chad? Surprisingly for an oil-producing nation, Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world. After gaining its independence from France, Chad struggled to find its footing. Mismanagement, corruption, conflict and a harsh climate did the country no favors, and Chad has consistently remained one of the poorest countries in Africa. Over […]
Sadly, 40% of the world’s population lack access to basic latrines. The lack of sanitation is a major world public health issue. Water contaminated by sewage can propagate lethal epidemic diseases such as cholera which develops in fecal secretions. Today, 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation facilities. Without toilets, people must resort to […]
Gabon, the oil rich Central African country, continues to struggle with widespread poverty. Dependent largely on oil and natural resources including timber and manganese, Gabon’s economy struggles to attain sustainable methods of growth. With 50% of the GDP reliant on oil sales, the necessity for economic diversity stems from the post-peak levels of oil drilling […]
Mental healthcare is important to development. Last month, the World Health Organization adopted the Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan of 2013-2020 to emphasize the importance of global mental health and to establish goals pertaining to mental healthcare. The Action Plan is the first ever to make mental health its primary concern. The main objectives of […]
The Rohingya people represent a small Muslim minority in the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar. They are denied citizenship, forbidden from colleges, and have suffered mass killings and violence that the government has done nothing to halt. And recently, Myanmar passed a law restricting Rohingya childbirths, an action which may qualify as an act of […]
When people ask how to help the poor, child sponsorship often is suggested. Indeed, for a small amount of money each month, organizations allow individuals to sponsor a child and help to provide education, food, and clothing for them. In return, the sponsors get a picture of the child and quarterly or annual updates […]
One of the Millennium Development Goals is to promote gender equality throughout the world. This is because it has been proven that empowering women often leads to the empowerment of communities. The education of women is key to progress, for a number of reasons. An annual report by the NGO Save the Children has shed […]
The Promoting Malaria Prevention and Treatment (ProMPT) Project in partnership with USAID and the Ghana Health Service has developed an innovative way to distribute mosquito nets in Ghana. The ProMPT project has delivered over 12 million mosquito nets to prevent the spread of malaria in Ghana. The four year project has given households training on […]
