The country of Myanmar is facing many difficulties regarding the spread and effects of COVID-19. With a tattered healthcare system, warring states, a fragile economy and thousands of people displaced, Myanmar’s most vulnerable populations are experiencing several risks. Displaced people living in detention camps, Rohingya Muslims and the poor disproportionately face the negative effects of COVID-19 in culmination with a declining economy.
Myanmar
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified Myanmar’s health system as one of the worst in the world. According to official data, about 40% of Myanmar’s population live below or close to the poverty line.
There is a limited number of doctors, with 6.1 doctors per 10,000 people. Additionally, there are as few as one doctor per 83,000 people in conflict-affected areas according to Human Rights Watch.
Furthermore, there is little healthcare or medical facilities in rural areas, where most of Myanmar’s population lives. That makes it extremely difficult for people to seek medical assistance and testing for COVID-19, and estimate the number of coronavirus cases.
Ethnic Conflict
In addition to a poor healthcare system, Myanmar is also riddled with the conflict between the government and Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs). Fighting in areas such as the Rakhine state and Chin state prevents any possible COVID-19 relief and government aid.
Additionally, the government has put mobile internet restrictions in place in response to the armed conflicts. Lack of accessible internet limits information about the virus along with access to medical services, preventing people from knowing the government’s response to COVID-19 and how they can protect themselves.
The Vulnerable
It is at a time like this that minorities and threatened groups are the most vulnerable. Many aid workers fear that on top of inadequate resources and poor living conditions, the virus could exacerbate hostile emotions towards minorities and targeted groups in Myanmar.
Groups such as displaced persons and the Rohingya Muslims face difficult obstacles in receiving medical treatment or preventative measures against the COVID-19 virus.
Displaced People
According to Human Rights Watch, there are about 350,000 displaced people in Myanmar, and 130,000 people living in detention camps in the Rakhine state. Military conflict between the government and ethnic armed groups mainly caused these people’s displacement. Living conditions are dismal in these camps, with little to no resources for treating or preventing COVID-19. There is limited access to clean water, toilets and medical services. Diseases are common and according to a Human Rights Report, “in such camps, one toilet is shared by as many as 40 people, [and] one water access point by as many as 600.”
The Rohingya Muslims
The Rohingya Muslims, a religious minority group, is one of Myanmar’s most vulnerable populations. They have been living in detention camps after experiencing persecution in Myanmar. The Myanmar government has restricted their freedom of movement, and the Rohingya Muslims live in squalid camp conditions. There are only two health centers available, both unequipped to test and treat COVID-19.
Living conditions are extremely cramped. According to a Forbes article, one of the refugee camps, Kutupalong, houses “almost 860,000 refugees. They are more densely populated than New York, with more than 100,000 people living in each square mile.” With people living in such close proximity to one another, the spread of COVID-19 through the Rohingya Muslims is inevitable.
Economic Effects on the Poor
COVID-19 also negatively impacts Myanmar’s economy. As a consequence, it has exacerbated poverty and lowered living conditions. According to the International Growth Centre and World Bank Open Data, Myanmar had the lowest per capita GDP in Southeast Asia in 2018.
Furthermore, because Myanmar’s economy largely relies on international investment and exported goods such as garment products, COVID-19’s disruption on the world economy has caused Myanmar to further suffer.
Especially affected by the economic decline are poor workers and households. Groups such as “street and mobile vendors and various day-rate workers in urban areas, and the landless and day-rate workers in rural areas” experience adverse effects as income, food security and employment decline, according to the International Growth Centre.
In the face of the COVID-19 virus, Myanmar suffers many challenges that make preventing and treating the virus extremely difficult. In all of this, Myanmar’s most vulnerable populations – the displaced, the Rohingya Muslims and Myanmar’s poor – are at the greatest disadvantage. Although there have been efforts by the government to provide financial aid for preventative measures and help from humanitarian organizations, it is not enough. These vulnerable groups are still hugely at risk from COVID-19.
– Silvia Huang
Photo: Flickr
5 Facts About China During COVID-19
5 Facts China During COVID-19: Early Months
Success So Far
China has taken exceptional measures to eradicate the COVID-19 virus and prevent any further spread. So far, it has been able to slowly reopen during COVID-19 and still keeping the case numbers to a dwindling minimum. China is determining how to maintain social activities while keeping citizens safe. These five facts about China during COVID-19 show that good safety practices and diligence may be key to reopening during the virus. Hopefully, this practice will continue to keep the numbers of patients down. Clearly, citizens and officials alike are taking these measures and precautions seriously.
– Kim Elsey
Photo: Gauthier DELECROIX
5 Facts About Healthcare in Kiribati
The Republic of Kiribati, better known as just Kiribati, is an Oceanic country formed by 33 unique islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The majority of Kiribati’s population is located on the Eastern Gilbert islands, while many islands located in the center function without a permanent population. Healthcare in Kiribati has been a committed work-in-progress, especially after the notification in the late 20th century that its population was at one of the lowest standards of living in Oceania. The disjointedness of the islands and a lack of cohesive national health policy has significantly impacted Kiribati’s ability to effectively provide national healthcare services to all that need it.
In fact, as recently as 2012, there was not an official agency for national health policy, regulation of health standards, assessment of health technology, or management of health technology. However, despite this glaring lack of infrastructure, Kiribati has instituted projects at the national level to improve its primary level of healthcare. The government, along with partnerships from international health organizations, is working to invest in Kiribati’s health infrastructure.
The following five facts about healthcare in Kiribati are integral to understanding the country’s changing health structures and transition out of poverty.
5 Facts About Healthcare in Kiribati
In the fight against poverty and for a healthcare system that can serve its entire population, Kiribati has much work to do. Progress has been made in developing training for healthcare professionals and educational programs for communities, but many services such as sanitation and clean water supply still aren’t up to standards. Still, with a government committed to increasing the healthcare provisions for its people, Kiribati is sure to develop into a country that can provide for its growing population.
– Pratik Samir Koppikar
Photo: Pixabay
Poverty and Hunger in Chile During COVID-19
Chile is a coastal country located in the far southeast of South America. With a population of more than 18 million people, it is the sixth most populous nation on the continent. Chile has recently achieved a thriving economy recognized by its peers, but it still experiences high levels of hunger. Income inequality is a significant factor contributing to this issue, which has roots in the country’s historic neoliberal policies.
Neoliberalism and Income Inequality
Championed by Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet during the late 1900s, neoliberalism sought to privatize state assets, concentrating wealth and resources in the hands of the elite. The privatization of key public services such as pension funds, education and health care subjected most working class Chileans to rising prices and low wages, rendering them unable to provide for their households.
Continued marginalization of the public sector throughout the early 2000s culminated in protests and demonstrations across the country in 2019, calling for an end to wealth disparities. However, despite the government’s subsequent decision to reform its social agenda in the larger public’s favor, its proposals have been widely deemed as insufficient, especially with regard to the informal labor market. Today, one in every four workers in Chile are informally employed due to the lack of financial and structural development in the country’s rural and peripheral areas. Among other health-related risks, informal workers are highly vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity. Yet proposals by the state to counter the effects of neoliberalism, including raising the mandatory contribution rate of pensions from 10% to 16%, revolve around social security and therefore do not extend to this subset of the population. Accordingly, progress in Chile has been limited, and does not truly encompass those in desperate need of better wages and social protections.
The Pervasiveness of Hunger
Although Chile has been assigned a low level of hunger in the 2023 Global Hunger Index, food insecurity remains a pervasive issue that still affects a large number of Chileans today. An estimated 17.6% of the Chilean population experienced moderate to severe food insecurity from 2021 to 2023. In particular, the Araucanía region of central Chile has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation, with over 17% of the population currently living in poverty. Poverty in this area is perpetuated by low levels of education and underdeveloped infrastructure, which has disproportionately affected the indigenous Mapuche population. Conflicts between this group and the state over the targeted criminalization of the Mapuche people have isolated them even further from the resources needed to sustain themselves, putting them at high risk of food insecurity.
Viewed as a whole, as in many other countries worldwide, the effects of COVID-19 have also exacerbated poverty and income inequality throughout the country. Despite Chile’s widely acknowledged success in having recovered its economy, the unemployment rate still remains high at 8.5%. Similarly, gender gaps in the market continue to persist, with women’s labor force participation at 52.6% in comparison to men’s at 71.4%. Overcoming these challenges – which are often linked to food insecurity – requires inclusive productivity growth, which may be achieved by improving job recruitment efforts and implementing labor integration policies.
Improving Conditions
One group working to address the problem of hunger in Chile is Desafío Levantemos Chile, a nonprofit organization that has provided aid to thousands of Chileans by distributing food, providing microloans and advocating for public education reform. Recently, the foundation raised a total of $9,705,288,880 to support those affected by the sudden fires and intense rains that hit Licantén and Coltauco in 2023. Through its “Let’s Lift Up the South” campaign, the organization donated 10,237 food kits and 64,024 liters of water to families in need. Other initiatives centered around alleviating hunger in Chile include the reconditioning of 10,000 smallholder farmers and the construction of housing in Vilcún, Purén and their surrounding rural areas.
Conclusion
Many of the factors related to the high levels of hunger in Chile are endemic to the country’s socioeconomic and political status quo. The effects of neoliberalism have created a stark division of wealth and resources in the country, putting millions at risk of hunger. As in many countries around the globe, and especially in South America, the lingering effects of COVID-19 are expected to continue creating hardships for impoverished Chileans. Fortunately, groups such as Desafío Levantemos Chile have dedicated their efforts towards curbing all motivators of food insecurity, whether they be immediate emergencies or perdurable issues.
– Jason Beck, Moon Jung Kim
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Updated: September 23, 2024
Nutritional Solutions to Stunted Growth in Children
In 2019, 149 million children under the age of 5 around the world experienced stunted growth. Children that stunted growth affects are 33% less likely to evade generational poverty as adults. By continent, 36% of children in Africa under the age of 5 are malnourished. Around 40-45% of “all preventable child deaths” are due to undernutrition. In 2012, this meant that more than 6 million children died from stunted growth disorders.
Stunted Growth in Children
Malnutrition in the early stages of a child’s life causes stunted growth. Stunting correlates with impaired physical growth and cognitive development, a weakened immune system, higher mortality rates and overall poor health. Stunted growth is a chronic condition that appears within the first two years of a child’s life.
Children who experience stunting are more likely to be fatigued and less curious, which naturally lessens their psychosocial development. Additionally, they tend to face disciplinary challenges as well as possess less developed motor function and social skills. These challenges perpetuate the cycle of poverty, as stunted growth in children leads to higher dropout rates and a 22% reduced earning capacity in the workforce.
While the effects of stunted growth are largely irreversible, reducing malnutrition will lessen underdevelopment and other illnesses that stem from malnourishment. The World Health Organization (WHO) has plans in place to reduce the prevalence of this disease by 40% by the year 2025.
Physiological Explanation
Malnutrition causes diminished cognitive function and psychosocial adversity in children by altering neurological function. This, in turn, leads to reduced income as adults. Dendrites are neurons that communicate with nerve cells and pass on signals in the brain. Malnutrition in young children decreases the density of dendrites in the brain and therefore reduces the number of neurons. This process negatively affects critical brain development such as memory formation, locomotor skills and other neurological functions, which are critical to healthy brain development.
Links to GDP Growth
According to the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition, malnutrition drains the global economy of approximately $3.5 trillion per year from lost productivity. Individuals often experience a lack of brain development during the first years of their lives from undernourishment. They later suffer from diminished productive capacities in their livelihoods. The Global Panel reports that a 3% to 16% annual GDP loss results from malnutrition. Simply put, better-nourished children grow into more productive adults.
Policy Changes and Solutions
As with many public health problems worldwide, foreign aid investments may be a critical starting point for reducing malnutrition and stunted growth in children in poor regions. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that if the U.S. invested $1.2 billion per year in the global fight against malnutrition, the decrease in deaths and an increase in “future earnings” (GDP income and relative economic benefits) would generate $15.3 billion for the U.S. per year. This calculation represents a thirteen to one benefit-to-cost analysis.
An Ethical Approach
Much more than an economic incentive, there is a moral imperative to improve nutrition globally. Eliminating malnutrition would increase the overall health of populations. Poor communities that lack consistent access to nutritious food and healthcare would particularly feel this effect.
Research shows that, while the impaired cognitive state is not necessarily permanent and can improve incrementally, there typically remains overall “cognitive dysfunction” in stunted children in comparison to healthy children. The FAO’s recommendations include dietary supplements, food fortification (the addition of nutrients to food to increase the nutrient content) and biofortification (agricultural practices that incorporate DNA recombination to augment nutritional content in primary crops).
Along with FAO dietary solutions, the WHO has developed policy aims to reduce stunted growth in children by 2025. Its policies include collaboration between organizations such as Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN), which works to reduce global malnutrition and the health disorders that accompany malnourished children. SUN helps countries develop and implement government policies to improve nutrition during the critical period before a child’s second birthday. Through collective action efforts, SUN, WHO, governmental entities, the U.N. and individual stakeholders are joining forces to eliminate malnutrition.
– Nye Day
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Global Maker Challenge: Innovative Solutions For Global Prosperity
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity (the Global Prosperity Initiative) launched the second cohort of its Global Maker Challenge in late 2019, in Abu Dhabi. The challenge is an innovation-based contest that brings together entrepreneurs from around the world to present ideas and solutions for promoting global prosperity and improving living standards.
Global Maker Challenge 2019 Themes
The Global Prosperity Initiative partnered with 10 U.N. agencies as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Solve, a marketplace for social impact initiatives, to select four themes that Global Maker Challenge submissions must follow. This cohort’s themes are (1) Sustainable and Healthy Food for All, (2) Climate Change, (3) Innovation for Inclusive Trade and (4) Innovation for Peace and Justice. Nearly 3,400 participants submitted cutting-edge ideas — including web and mobile applications, machine learning algorithms, artificial intelligence and cloud-based solutions.
The Finalists
In the end, 20 finalists (five from each section) were chosen by a select group of experts from U.N. agencies, global organizations, digital innovation companies, NGOs and academia. The final projects selected stood out among the rest because they were both affordable and scalable — two characteristics that are critical when working with disadvantaged communities. Limited infrastructure and resources are often some of the greatest challenges that must be overcome.
Category Objectives and Finalist List
Final Pitch
Finalists will present their solutions in a series of virtual pitches, starting in late August 2020 and commencing in early September of the same year — during the Global Maker Challenge Award Ceremony. Prizes include project funding and mentorship worth up to $1 million.
Seeing the Big Picture
The second cohort of the Global Maker Challenge comes at a critical time. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, vulnerable groups lack humanitarian aid, social protection and stimulus packages. Unless action is taken, as many as 50 million people could fall into extreme poverty, as a result of the pandemic. Innovation and collaboration are powerful tools for developing solutions to unprecedented challenges. Today’s entrepreneurs and designers provide hope for overcoming setbacks caused by the pandemic and maintaining progress towards the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
– Sylvie Antal
Photo: Flickr
Providing Water Services To the Poor
Water services to the poor are severely lacking around the globe. The World Health Organization estimates that 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services. Moreover, more than twice as many people lack safe sanitation. Consequently, 361,000 children less than the age of five die from diarrhea, every year. Of the people who do not have safely managed water, 844 million do not even have basic drinking water services. These conditions compel 263 million people to collect water from sources far from home — a process that takes over 30 minutes per trip. A further 159 million people still drink untreated water from surface water sources, such as streams or lakes.
At the current pace, the world will fall short of meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (U.N. SDG) of universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030. Accelerating efforts to meet this goal will cost as much as $166 billion per year for capital expenditures alone. It seems that to achieve this U.N. SDG, something must change and soon.
A New Funding Approach
Private finance could play an important role in expanding access to improved, reliable water services to the poor. However, most providers that serve the poor are not privately financeable in their present state and will continue to require subsidies. Hence, development assistance and philanthropic funds are of utmost importance to protect the global poor.
A global funding model, known as a conceptual Global Water Access Fund (GWAF), has been established in other sectors to raise additional funds for targeted interventions. It pools resources in a way that provides incentives for access and utility performance for poor households.
This method is tried and tested. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, received $15 billion in pledges and yielded a net increase in funding. Unitaid, an organization that accelerates access to high-quality drugs and diagnostics in developing countries, generated more than $1 billion through a levy on airline tickets.
Investments in the poor are often perceived as having low or even negative returns. Therefore, pro-poor utilities face challenges entering financial markets. This also explains why profitable utilities are hesitant to expand their services to the global poor. GWAF changes this by bridging the funding gap and placing pro-poor utilities in stronger positions to attract capital for further service investments.
Making Individual Change
Though funding seems like a larger issue, there are ways for individuals to support clean water for all. Many nonprofits focus on bringing clean water services to the poor. Here are three organizations that are dedicated to the proliferation of clean water services to the world’s poor.
3 Nonprofits Tackling Global Water Services for the Poor
Remaining on Track
Although sustainable development goals seem a difficult achievement to reach, innovative techniques such as GWAF and individual efforts through donations take steps in the right direction in ensuring water services to the poor. With nonprofit organizations such as the aforementioned as well as assistance from international organizations and governments like, there is still hope in reaching the U.N. SDGs.
–Elizabeth Qiao
Photo: Pixabay
COVID-19 and Myanmar’s Most Vulnerable Populations
Myanmar
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified Myanmar’s health system as one of the worst in the world. According to official data, about 40% of Myanmar’s population live below or close to the poverty line.
There is a limited number of doctors, with 6.1 doctors per 10,000 people. Additionally, there are as few as one doctor per 83,000 people in conflict-affected areas according to Human Rights Watch.
Furthermore, there is little healthcare or medical facilities in rural areas, where most of Myanmar’s population lives. That makes it extremely difficult for people to seek medical assistance and testing for COVID-19, and estimate the number of coronavirus cases.
Ethnic Conflict
In addition to a poor healthcare system, Myanmar is also riddled with the conflict between the government and Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs). Fighting in areas such as the Rakhine state and Chin state prevents any possible COVID-19 relief and government aid.
Additionally, the government has put mobile internet restrictions in place in response to the armed conflicts. Lack of accessible internet limits information about the virus along with access to medical services, preventing people from knowing the government’s response to COVID-19 and how they can protect themselves.
The Vulnerable
It is at a time like this that minorities and threatened groups are the most vulnerable. Many aid workers fear that on top of inadequate resources and poor living conditions, the virus could exacerbate hostile emotions towards minorities and targeted groups in Myanmar.
Groups such as displaced persons and the Rohingya Muslims face difficult obstacles in receiving medical treatment or preventative measures against the COVID-19 virus.
Displaced People
According to Human Rights Watch, there are about 350,000 displaced people in Myanmar, and 130,000 people living in detention camps in the Rakhine state. Military conflict between the government and ethnic armed groups mainly caused these people’s displacement. Living conditions are dismal in these camps, with little to no resources for treating or preventing COVID-19. There is limited access to clean water, toilets and medical services. Diseases are common and according to a Human Rights Report, “in such camps, one toilet is shared by as many as 40 people, [and] one water access point by as many as 600.”
The Rohingya Muslims
The Rohingya Muslims, a religious minority group, is one of Myanmar’s most vulnerable populations. They have been living in detention camps after experiencing persecution in Myanmar. The Myanmar government has restricted their freedom of movement, and the Rohingya Muslims live in squalid camp conditions. There are only two health centers available, both unequipped to test and treat COVID-19.
Living conditions are extremely cramped. According to a Forbes article, one of the refugee camps, Kutupalong, houses “almost 860,000 refugees. They are more densely populated than New York, with more than 100,000 people living in each square mile.” With people living in such close proximity to one another, the spread of COVID-19 through the Rohingya Muslims is inevitable.
Economic Effects on the Poor
COVID-19 also negatively impacts Myanmar’s economy. As a consequence, it has exacerbated poverty and lowered living conditions. According to the International Growth Centre and World Bank Open Data, Myanmar had the lowest per capita GDP in Southeast Asia in 2018.
Furthermore, because Myanmar’s economy largely relies on international investment and exported goods such as garment products, COVID-19’s disruption on the world economy has caused Myanmar to further suffer.
Especially affected by the economic decline are poor workers and households. Groups such as “street and mobile vendors and various day-rate workers in urban areas, and the landless and day-rate workers in rural areas” experience adverse effects as income, food security and employment decline, according to the International Growth Centre.
In the face of the COVID-19 virus, Myanmar suffers many challenges that make preventing and treating the virus extremely difficult. In all of this, Myanmar’s most vulnerable populations – the displaced, the Rohingya Muslims and Myanmar’s poor – are at the greatest disadvantage. Although there have been efforts by the government to provide financial aid for preventative measures and help from humanitarian organizations, it is not enough. These vulnerable groups are still hugely at risk from COVID-19.
– Silvia Huang
Photo: Flickr
The Effects of Microfinance on Gender Inequality
Many women around the world struggle to stay afloat and support their families. However, the effects of microfinance on gender inequality are significant in that a loan could help women start businesses to financially support themselves.
The Story of Nicolasa
At the age of 4, Nicolasa’s mother died, leaving her in the care of her father and older sister. Though Nicolasa’s father did his best to provide for his daughters, they both had to abandon their education in order to keep the family afloat. Nicolasa and her sister worked on the streets of San Antonio Palopó, Guatemala selling a variety of food items.
As Nicolasa grew up and married, she vowed that her child would not live the same life as hers. She wanted to be present for her children, yet the only place she had worked was far from home. To care for her children both physically and financially, Nicolasa decided she would start her own weaving business from home. With no capital or collateral, and no banks to borrow from in her small town, Nicolasa faced an immense obstacle.
Microfinance
Nicolasa’s problem is one that many women in Guatemala and other developing nations face every day. Guatemalan women want to become financially independent but often have nowhere to obtain even a small loan. Without the aid of a financial institution, these women have minimal opportunity to start a business, make small investments or simply support their families.
In 1976, Muhammad Yunus recognized the difficulties these women face and started the first modern run microfinancing bank. His goal was to lend small amounts to those in developing countries who did not have access to banks or had little collateral to support their endeavors. A microloan as small as $60 could now go to a woman opening a fruit stand, for example. Microloans may not cover large purchases, but just a small amount of money can go a long way for women in developing nations. A successful loan may help a woman jump-start her business and become financially independent. Therefore, the effect of microfinance on gender inequality could be very significant.
The Effect of Microfinance on Gender Inequality
Studies have proven microfinance to be a great tool for economic development and the promotion of gender equality. When women are financially independent, they often meet with greater decision making power within their households. Gender equality within households often results in women taking a more prominent stance on societal issues, which in turn, further promotes equality around the world.
Gender equality can also create a healthier and more robust global economy. A study that the McKinsey Global Institute conducted claims that if each country had equal opportunity for women, the global GDP would increase by $28 trillion, or 26% by 2025. From individual households to the global economy, gender equality results in a healthier balance of power across developing nations.
Criticism
Not everyone agrees with the impact that microfinance could have on gender equality. Many critics claim that a country’s cultural disapproval of women who work can minimize the positive effects of microfinance and prevent women from obtaining microloans. To combat these cultural norms and their negative effects on gender equality, many microfinance banks offer loans to women who are hoping to start a business from home. Nicolasa is one of these women.
Nicolasa Now
Nicolasa obtained a loan of $400 from the Foundation for International Community Assistance. She used the money to buy a loom, from which her success was significant enough to seek investment for a second loom. She currently weaves fabric and rents out her other loom to women from her village. Nicolasa is now proudly saving to send her daughter to college.
Nicolasa is one of many women in developing countries experiencing the positive effects of microfinance. She has provided herself with a sustainable income and is giving her daughter the wonderful gifts of higher education and financial support. If one small loan can change a woman’s life for the better, it is easy to see how microfinance is providing the same benefits to women across the world.
– Aiden Farr
Photo: Flickr
Samu Social Senegal is Helping Children Off the Streets
In French, SAMU stands for “Service d’Aide Médicale Urgente,” meaning “Urgent Medical Services.” However, Samu Social is something very different. Samu Social works with the homeless and the impoverished to maintain and restore social bonds, to deliver entertainment and education and to deliver basic medical and food-related services. One of its most significant missions is helping children off the streets in Senegal.
Samu Social denotes a comprehensive approach to helping the world’s poor that places a huge emphasis on social interaction. Dr. Xavier Emmanuelli founded Samu Social in Paris in 1993. In 1998, Dr. Emmanuelli founded the umbrella organization Samu Social International. One branch of the Samu Social International that deserves a spotlight is Samu Social Senegal. This organization mainly operates in the capital city of Dakar and focuses on the plight of young street children, most of whom are talibé.
A Dangerous History of Exploitation
In West Africa in particular, there is a strong tradition of young children becoming talibé, students of the Quran who study with a marabout, a Quranic teacher. Senegal is 95.5% Muslim, and marabout can wield immense power and influence not just in the religious world, but in politics and business as well. As a result, the Senegalese view sending one’s child to study with a marabout at a daara, a Muslim school, one of the few avenues to success and prosperity.
To be sure, there are many good marabouts in Senegal who do not exploit their charges and faithfully impart their knowledge of the Quran. That being said, Human Rights Watch estimates that over 100,000 talibé must beg for food and money every day in Senegal. Beyond that, it is thought that many talibé who remain in the daara are subject to extreme abuse, malnutrition and lack of medical care. The problem has reached epidemic proportions, with President Mack Sall vowing to “remove children from the streets.” However, the extreme power and influence of many marabouts have hampered government efforts.
How Samu Social Senegal is Making a Difference
Enter Samu Social Senegal which, as a part of Samu Social International, “reaches out to the most desocialized people who have been pushed into a state of basic survival, as they have become ‘victims’, no longer able nor willing to seek ordinarily available assistance.” In Senegal, those people are often talibé, set adrift in the big city of Dakar with no guidance other than the imperative to beg. Samu Social Senegal helps these children primarily in two ways: with street rounds and accommodation.
Samu Social Senegal has two Mobile Assistance Teams (MAT) composed of a social worker, a physician and a driver. These teams drive around Dakar day and night, five days a week, amounting to more than 350 rounds per year. They do this to identify and help at-risk and vulnerable children. The MATs receive extensive training to accomplish four main missions:
The MATs have seen success in Dakar by identifying nearly 8,000 children each year. Moreover, they distribute nearly 6,000 nutritional support packs each year along with the conducting of over 2,500 individual medical and social interventions.
How Samu Social Senegal Aids Children
However, this is only half of the work that Samu Social Senegal does in its mission of helping children off the streets. Some of its most important work is the providing of accommodations to children who are physically or psychologically vulnerable. Samu Social Senegal accommodations provide comprehensive support medically, socially and psychologically. They place a huge emphasis on rehabilitation of the body and mind using not only medical and psychological practices, but also more basic methods such as compulsory controlled social interaction, games, and artistic activities. Samu Social Senegal hosts up to 600 children each year, providing about 30,000 meals.
Ultimately, this is necessary to get children off the street, rehabilitate them and then reintegrate them into healthy and productive members of society. While it can be difficult to evaluate what it means to leave the street behind, Samu Social has helped reunite 521 families between 2016-2018, a success rate of 96.5%. Furthermore, it estimates that since 2004, 1,500 children have left the street in a “durable” way.
The problem of street children is a catastrophe not only in Senegal or West Africa but across the world. Such pervasive, entrenched practices and people can only undergo reform through the government. In the meantime, however, it is incredibly important to provide these children with the resources they need to rehabilitate. Samu Social Senegal should receive commendation for its excellent work helping children off the streets.
– Franklin Nossiter
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
My Business-My Freedom: Human Trafficking in Nepal
Millions of Nepalese citizens are at risk of becoming victims of the human trafficking trade every year. However, one can only estimate the statistically correct percentage of victims. Captivating International, a nonprofit based in Nepal, founded My Business-My Freedom in the hopes of fighting human trafficking in Nepal.
My Business-My Freedom
My Business-My Freedom is a micro-finance and education program helping Nepalese women achieve business success, self-sustainability and freedom. Beneficiaries include both women who are most at risk of becoming victims of trafficking and current rescued survivors of human trafficking in Nepal.
The organization estimates that a loan of $200 will help one woman start her business and that when she repays it, it will go to the next prospective business owner. Currently, 240 women living in Pokhara and Chitwan are immersed in the program with room to grow. The initiative plans to continue expanding into other regions and aiding around 1,000 women per year.
How does My Business-My Freedom Work?
The program leads each woman through the process of starting a business including ensuring that it is successful, well-funded and sustainable. The My Business-My Freedom program involves the following steps for prospective business owners:
Captivating International and COVID-19 Relief
In recent news, My Business-My Freedom partnered with 3 Angels Nepal to combat food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The partnership accomplished this through checking in on women and families over the phone. If the women and their families were in need, the partnership made and delivered food relief packages to them. These packages included rice, dal, cooking oil, salt, soybeans and lentils.
The efforts of Captivating International and 3 Angels Nepal found that 30 women were in need, and provided them and their families with food. The latter organization also works on the ground by suspending loan payments and providing both phone support and food assistance.
Lowering Vulnerability Through Funding Successful Entrepreneurs
According to the Report of Armed Police Force of India, the number of Nepalese girls working in sex trafficking in India increased quite steadily from 2012 to 2017. Child trafficking is incredibly high as well. Captivating International, through My Business-My Freedom, is just one of the organizations working to eradicate human trafficking in Nepal. In covering a widening area of influence and contributing to building the economy, Captivating International is creating sustainability by increasing security and income for women. This, in turn, should help to alleviate the vulnerable populations that traffickers prey upon in Nepal.
– Savannah Gardner
Photo: Flickr