In 2019, there were 747 million SIM connections in Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 75% of the population. While each SIM connection does not necessarily constitute a unique user, this number represents an unprecedented rate of access to mobile connections in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result of this radically increased mobile connection, public services have been able to reach populations that people previously considered to be extremely remote due to lack of nearby roads or airports. Among these services, telemedicine has been one of the most effective ways to fill gaps in healthcare systems for rural Sub-Saharan Africans. Here are three startups transforming telemedicine in Africa.
mPedigree
Aiming to address the issue of counterfeit drugs plaguing Sub-Saharan Africa, mPedigree is a drug authentication service that allows customers themselves to be sure their medicine is genuine. Over 122,000 children across the continent die annually from counterfeit antimalarials, a number that the company’s founder, Bright Simons, sought to slash to zero when he launched mPedigree in Ghana in 2007.
To authenticate the drug, the company first prints 12 digit codes onto drug packaging. Users then text this code to mPedigree’s customer service number, and the company confirms or denies the validity of the code in its database. Not only does this prevent users from consuming counterfeit drugs, but it also allows the company to trace fraud back to the source. As founder Bright Simons reported, “in Nigeria, our technology has helped regulators pinpoint where fraud is happening and catch the fraudsters.”
Simons estimates that 75 million Africans have benefited from mPedigree’s services, with more than 2,000 products registered in the company’s database. Through its simple yet effective method, mPedigree not only saves lives but marks a major milestone for the implementation of telemedicine in Africa.
Zipline Rwanda
When Silicon Valley drone startup, Zipline, partnered with the Rwandan government to deliver to remote rural villages, vital medical supplies became infinitely more accessible almost overnight. The startup’s main focus is blood delivery, a vital resource in a nation where maternal mortality rates, largely due to postpartum hemorrhaging, are 20 times higher than those in the United States. On top of this, Rwandan hospitals often lack the refrigeration and electricity necessary to keep blood on hand.
As of 2016, Zipline has delivered more than 4,000 units of red blood cells, platelets and plasma to 12 hospitals across Rwanda. As Dr. Roger Nyonzima, the head surgeon in the maternity ward at a hospital near the nation’s capital, said, “before it took at least 3 hours to get blood in an emergency. Three hours can make a difference between saving and losing a life. Now we get blood in 15 minutes.”
Zipline Rwanda has thus far completed over 14,000 life-saving blood deliveries, with plans to expand into its neighboring country, Tanzania. By cutting around the need for paved roads or airports for medical deliveries, the company provides one of the most essential resources to those who would otherwise have the least access.
Ubenwa
Founded in 2014, this Nigerian application uses AI to detect signs of infant asphyxia in a child’s cry. Today, infant asphyxia, or, loss of oxygen, causes about one-third of deaths in children under the age of 5. By a simple downloadable application, Ubenwa seeks to give parents the ability to prevent asphyxia before it starts.
Taking just 10 seconds to detect signs of infant asphyxia, Ubenwa is faster than a traditional blood test detection, which can take hours to process. Additionally, the app is non-invasive, needing only the child’s cry. It is also roughly 95% cheaper than a traditional blood test. In other words, the app seeks to give detection ability to any parent, at home, in real-time.
Currently, the app is in the final stages of fine-tuning its AI algorithm but has been deployed in several Nigerian hospitals. During testing, Ubenwa attained 95% accurate prediction rates among the 1,400 baby cries that underwent testing. With its easily accessible platform, Ubenwa represents a major achievement for the use of AI in telemedicine in Africa.
As rates of smartphone ownership increase across the continent, telemedicine continues to fill gaps in Africa’s healthcare systems, providing vital services to those who would otherwise be left underserved.
– Jane Dangel
Photo: Flickr
Coronavirus Data in the DRC: Driving Change
Currently battling cholera, measles, ebola revival and the new coronavirus — the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is experiencing one of the worst public health crises in the world. The DRC has seen about 9,300 cases of coronavirus, a small number given its population. Roughly 90% of these cases are located in the Kinshasa Province, which has a 2.3% mortality rate as of July 2020. At first glance, this number looks very small and suggests that the government has effectively prevented the spread of COVID-19. However, a hard look at coronavirus data in the DRC, reveals otherwise.
These numbers are misleading — given that over 50% of the countries’ population live in rural areas. These regions do not have the same access to testing equipment nor the technology that would provide valuable coronavirus data. As a result, the government’s main objectives now are to slow the propagation of COVID-19, support communities with insufficient medical infrastructure and strengthen the healthcare system. Mobile data is central to accomplishing these goals and avoiding further economic contraction.
The Need for Mobile Data in the DRC
Data is vital to limiting the spread of any virus, as it allows governments to obtain necessary health equipment for communities — based on existing medical infrastructure. Also, proper information enables health officials to warn at-risk citizens, promptly. Mobile data has five stages in the fight against COVID-19:
In countries where most of the population uses the internet, coronavirus data is available in abundance. This, in turn, allows such governments to progress through these five phases, quickly. However, the DRC’s ability to obtain and use coronavirus data is hindered by limited infrastructure. Only 17% of the country’s population has access to electricity. Furthermore, around 70% of the population lives in poverty. Therefore, only 4% can afford the internet.
Improving Information Accessibility
Recognizing its need for data to fight public health crises, the DRC is increasingly funding improved internet access. Most notably, the country partnered with Grid3, a company that helps governments collect, utilize and map demographic and infrastructure data. This results in better population estimates and enables the country to plot its healthcare centers concerning that data. Additionally, the DRC has partnered with various mobile operators, digital health specialists and public health NGOs to jumpstart its data-driven coronavirus policy project. Such projects have already produced promising results, such as mobile connectivity has risen by one million connections from 2019 to 2020.
Data Is the Key
Ultimately, data will be essential to tracking and predicting the spread of the new coronavirus as communities begin to open up. Better data will create more informed policies that will better protect the DRC’s fragile healthcare system and economy. Although the U.N. has said that 50% of all workers in Africa could lose their jobs because of the coronavirus, (putting millions more Congolese at risk of poverty) the DRC’s recent data collection efforts are promising for the future of poverty in the DRC. If the government continues to value mobile data and access to technology, poverty can be greatly reduced. Likewise, widespread electricity and internet availability, as well as the advent of a modernized, more resilient economy will increase the quality of life in the DRC.
– Alex Berman
Photo: Flickr
Benefits of the African Auto Boom
The future is brighter for Africans looking to buy a new car as the automobile industry is rapidly growing. Many nations across the continent are investing in better infrastructure because of this African auto boom. They are also building roads to support rapid economic and population growth. African automobile companies such as Kantanka, Kiira and Innoson have recently entered the marketplace. They provide jobs that help alleviate poverty across the continent.
Paving the Future
African nations are rapidly growing and building the necessary infrastructure to accommodate the change. Numerous North African nations combined efforts and are currently constructing a trans-African highway system. This highway system will connect people across the northern region of the continent. The Trans-Maghreb highway will connect 55 towns and 22 international airports in addition to numerous ports and other industrial areas. Growing businesses require room to expand and will significantly benefit from the increasingly connected continent due to access to more trading partners.
In addition to economic benefits, the African auto boom empowers individuals to migrate and travel to other regions easily. Currently, 416 million Africans live in extreme poverty, and many are stuck in impoverished areas that are difficult to escape physically. Access to automobiles allows people to leave poorer areas for better opportunities in different regions. There is a strong correlation between the lack of access to cars and poverty. Professor of urban planning David King states, “There are a lot of people who keep struggling because they can’t afford to get around reliably.” Some jobs require someone to travel an unwalkable distance; those without access to a car cannot work specific jobs. The expanded highway system, coupled with the growth of regional automobile manufacturers, promotes more economic opportunities and individual autonomy.
Empowered Growth
Major automobile companies such as Ford, Volkswagen and Nissan operate manufacturing plants across numerous African countries and provide high-skilled jobs for local economies. Nations such as Nigeria and Kenya offer automobile companies tax incentives to expand their business and provide employment to reduce the unemployment rate. Many companies view Africa as a continent that has great potential and predicts the rapid growth of sales as more countries industrialize and modernize their economies. Although major companies face stiff competition from used car sales, more people have access to automobiles and high-skill jobs.
In addition to the manufacture and sale of foreign cars, African owned automobile companies developed domestically produced alternatives that compete with international brands. Ugandan-based Kiira Motors Corporation company produces both hybrid and electric vehicles ranging from sedans to solar-powered busses. It also provides numerous jobs to local Ugandans and boosts the country’s industrial productivity. Other companies such as Kantanka Automobile company and the Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing company are participating in the African auto boom. They produce automobiles that compete with foreign car companies and grow local businesses. The cars are manufactured, designed and sold in Africa. Domestic production chiefly benefits local people that need both jobs and cars to escape poverty.
The Road Ahead
Despite the automobile industry’s early success in Africa, there is still great potential for growth and eventual prosperity. Volkswagen predicts sales will reach three to four million new cars a year and other companies continue to expand across the continent. Domestic African automobile companies are rising and competing with big-name companies. The African auto boom will continue to provide stable jobs, grow the economy and increase the autonomy of impoverished populations across the continent.
– Noah Kleinert
Photo: Flickr
Successful Strategies Addressing Poverty in Bhutan
Poverty in Bhutan
Poverty in Bhutan stems largely from issues with the country’s terrain. The Himalayas, while beautiful, are also difficult to cultivate, traverse and control. Farmers struggle to grow enough crops to maintain a stable income due to the limited access to farmable land. What workable land there is, often rests at the whims of various natural disasters. The lack of education and diverse job opportunities also have made it difficult for many to rise out of their economic situation without help and intervention.
Over the last 10 years, the government has made impressive strides to address poverty in Bhutan. Between 2007 and 2012, poverty dropped from 23% down to 12%. In 2017, Bhutan announced that it had once again cut its poverty rate by half over five years, dropping the number down to 5.8%.
Strategies and Improvements
The value of land productivity has been rising and thus, farming has become a more profitable and sustainable industry. Bhutan cultivates less than 3% of its land but the country has shifted to producing high-value commercial crops. These crops sell for a high price with countries such as India and Bangladesh, making up for the lack of farmable land. Trade agreements have stimulated the value of agricultural exports, increasing the international cash flow into Bhutan’s own economy.
Infrastructure and road production have become vital players in the reduction of poverty in Bhutan. The Government of Bhutan set out to update existing paths, develop new highways and ensure that no town is more than a half-day walk from the closest road. High-quality roads allow for traffic both through and out of rural areas. This increased traffic to urban areas provides easier access to jobs, education and other opportunities for those who previously struggled with inaccessibility.
Hydroelectric projects also play a sizeable role in Bhutan’s efforts to fight poverty. These projects have not only stimulated job growth within rural communities but have also brought in many foreign workers. The presence of these workers increases local spending, benefitting rural communities with income.
Looking Forward
Over the last decade, the rate of poverty in Bhutan has fallen to new lows. While there are still many in the country that struggle with poor living conditions, the government is working to ensure that they too will benefit from the economic changes that Bhutan is trying to normalize. The Gross National Happiness Index accounts for all the people of the country and thus, Bhutan will continue to work at helping its people until all are holistically happy.
– Nicolette Schneiderman
Photo: Flickr
What To Know About Homelessness in Montenegro
Montenegro is a country located in the western Balkans. Neighbouring Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, the country spans approximately 13,800 square kilometers of land. With an approximate population of 622,300 people, the country has very few homeless people at an estimate of 300 people. This is partly due to the country’s high socioeconomic development. With a low number of homeless people when compared to the majority of the globe, the Montenegrin government has recently taken interest in minimizing the number of people in need. Here is some information about homelessness in Montenegro.
How Montenegro Defines Homelessness
The Montenegrin government officially defined the term “homeless person” in 2013. The legislation passed to officially recognize a homeless person as an individual that does not possess any property or means of living. They are expected to reside within a public space or center that is not habitable.
Four years later, there was a revision of the definition. In 2017, a homeless person was now defined as an individual that does not possess a residential address and is located within a public space or center that is not habitable.
The previous definition categorized people living in temporary conditions and conventional properties as homeless. However, the revised definition excluded them from being classified as homeless.
The Current Statistics
Montenegro’s government currently has insufficient information for a good estimate of the number of homeless people in the country. The 2013 national legislation is the only place where classification was introduced. As a result, homelessness in the country did not have accumulated data.
Alongside introducing the classification of a “homeless person” in 2013, the Strategy for Social and Child Protection System planned an initiative. This initiative determined the number of such individuals within the country. Due to the lack of existing records and failed attempts to implement the project, the statistics are only derived through social service facilities and unofficial sources. In 2015, several social service facilities reported that 36 individuals were homeless in Montenegro while other unofficial sources reported a different number ranging up to 300.
Government Initiatives to Fight Homelessness
The low amount of homelessness in Montenegro is in part due to several government initiatives that have helped Montenegrins for decades. The global housing market remains highly unstable and worrisome to many. However, Montenegro’s government initiated its year-long Housing Mortgage for Low-income Persons project in 2010. This project yielded an overwhelmingly positive effect. Approximately 433 families and 1,239 Montenegrins did not have any more housing issues.
The country’s government launched phase two of the project nearly six years later in December 2016 to further deal with the housing issues. With a heavily funded €20 million project, the government was able to solve housing issues of more than 500 families. It also facilitated in subsidized mortgage and permanent housing processes.
As a neighbor to struggling nations such as Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the government of Montenegro has facilitated approximately 150,000 displaced refugees over the years. Working alongside the UNHCR, the country has assisted and provided asylum for many. With displaced individuals looking for housing facilities within Montenegro, the country’s government has constructed more than 1,300 housing units for refugees to settle into.
With strong project management and several positive initiatives, the Montenegrin government has been very keen on minimizing homelessness in Montenegro. Alongside the continued efforts on the government-level and support from international agencies such as the UNHCR and Regional Housing Programme, Montenegro has been continually providing its citizens and refugees with permanent and guaranteed housing for years.
– Omer Syed
Photo: Flickr
The Tony Elumelu Foundation: Fostering Entrepreneurship in Africa
Africa stands as a continent of nearly 1.3 billion people, with 27 nations having a poverty rate of over 30%. As COVID-19 spreads through the region, falling demand and break down of supply chains threaten to further slow already-sluggish growth rates. Ever the land of great resilience and innovation, hundreds of enterprising individuals have excelled in Africa, enriching themselves and their countries. Increasingly more Africans are seeking out entrepreneurial and small business opportunities to combat poverty. One such businessman helping in this effort, multimillionaire Tony Elumelu, is using his wealth to fuel entrepreneurship in Africa and transform the continent into a booming commercial hub and providing hope for the future.
Roadblocks to Economic Growth in Africa
Africa’s economy has long suffered stubborn development setbacks. Government inaction, fragile infrastructure and widespread instability have hindered the region’s industrialization and economic growth. Many countries grapple with deficient infrastructure, including inadequate means of transportation, limited access to electricity and water and poor telecommunications systems. The World Bank estimates that the resolution of these structural shortcomings would increase the region’s productivity by as much as 40%.
Politicians have been reluctant to bolster manufacturing despite an international consensus on Africa’s need for industrialization. Such apprehension can be partially attributed to Africa’s unique position in the world economy: a pre-industrial continent already aspiring to post-industrialism. This misguided ambition has discouraged lawmakers from implementing protectionist policies. Without tariffs that benefit domestic manufacturing industries, larger international corporations choke out Africa’s budding factories and discourage entrepreneurship in Africa.
Ongoing fiscal and political instability serves to magnify these already difficult issues. Mounting debt levels divert money from investment to reimbursement and waste significant capital on unproductive endeavors. For example, sub-Saharan Africa’s aggregate debt-to-GDP ratio doubled from 2008 to 2017. Additionally, frequent leadership turnover has deterred international companies from entering African countries.
Working to mitigate these hurdles is Tony Elumelu, the founder of Heirs Holdings Ltd, a private investment corporation that operates in the energy sector. Beyond oil and gas, Elumelu is investing in a far more valuable asset: Africa’s future innovators. His nonprofit organization, the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), empowers young entrepreneurs with the resources they need to build meaningful businesses.
How The Tony Elumelu Foundation Advances Entrepreneurship in Africa
The Tony Elumelu Foundation fosters entrepreneurship in Africa to alleviate poverty and spark economic gains. The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme offers grants and mentorship to innovative African businesspeople, allowing them to transform their ideas into profitable corporations. Endowed with a generous $100 million, the program has already assisted 9,000 individuals in creating businesses that invigorate their entire communities.
The broad scope of TEF’s investments cultivates economic diversification, a key tenet of development and stability. Some of the organization’s recent beneficiaries include:
By supporting young visionaries, the Tony Elumelu Foundation is generating hope, ambition and entrepreneurship in Africa. Its passionate beneficiaries are launching innovative and impactful companies that not only empower their creators but also their communities. The foundation has employed the continent’s most creative, altruistic minds, initiating a cycle of philanthropy that portends Africa’s future prosperity.
– Rosalind Coats
Photo: Flickr
3 Startups Transforming Telemedicine in Africa
In 2019, there were 747 million SIM connections in Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 75% of the population. While each SIM connection does not necessarily constitute a unique user, this number represents an unprecedented rate of access to mobile connections in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result of this radically increased mobile connection, public services have been able to reach populations that people previously considered to be extremely remote due to lack of nearby roads or airports. Among these services, telemedicine has been one of the most effective ways to fill gaps in healthcare systems for rural Sub-Saharan Africans. Here are three startups transforming telemedicine in Africa.
mPedigree
Aiming to address the issue of counterfeit drugs plaguing Sub-Saharan Africa, mPedigree is a drug authentication service that allows customers themselves to be sure their medicine is genuine. Over 122,000 children across the continent die annually from counterfeit antimalarials, a number that the company’s founder, Bright Simons, sought to slash to zero when he launched mPedigree in Ghana in 2007.
To authenticate the drug, the company first prints 12 digit codes onto drug packaging. Users then text this code to mPedigree’s customer service number, and the company confirms or denies the validity of the code in its database. Not only does this prevent users from consuming counterfeit drugs, but it also allows the company to trace fraud back to the source. As founder Bright Simons reported, “in Nigeria, our technology has helped regulators pinpoint where fraud is happening and catch the fraudsters.”
Simons estimates that 75 million Africans have benefited from mPedigree’s services, with more than 2,000 products registered in the company’s database. Through its simple yet effective method, mPedigree not only saves lives but marks a major milestone for the implementation of telemedicine in Africa.
Zipline Rwanda
When Silicon Valley drone startup, Zipline, partnered with the Rwandan government to deliver to remote rural villages, vital medical supplies became infinitely more accessible almost overnight. The startup’s main focus is blood delivery, a vital resource in a nation where maternal mortality rates, largely due to postpartum hemorrhaging, are 20 times higher than those in the United States. On top of this, Rwandan hospitals often lack the refrigeration and electricity necessary to keep blood on hand.
As of 2016, Zipline has delivered more than 4,000 units of red blood cells, platelets and plasma to 12 hospitals across Rwanda. As Dr. Roger Nyonzima, the head surgeon in the maternity ward at a hospital near the nation’s capital, said, “before it took at least 3 hours to get blood in an emergency. Three hours can make a difference between saving and losing a life. Now we get blood in 15 minutes.”
Zipline Rwanda has thus far completed over 14,000 life-saving blood deliveries, with plans to expand into its neighboring country, Tanzania. By cutting around the need for paved roads or airports for medical deliveries, the company provides one of the most essential resources to those who would otherwise have the least access.
Ubenwa
Founded in 2014, this Nigerian application uses AI to detect signs of infant asphyxia in a child’s cry. Today, infant asphyxia, or, loss of oxygen, causes about one-third of deaths in children under the age of 5. By a simple downloadable application, Ubenwa seeks to give parents the ability to prevent asphyxia before it starts.
Taking just 10 seconds to detect signs of infant asphyxia, Ubenwa is faster than a traditional blood test detection, which can take hours to process. Additionally, the app is non-invasive, needing only the child’s cry. It is also roughly 95% cheaper than a traditional blood test. In other words, the app seeks to give detection ability to any parent, at home, in real-time.
Currently, the app is in the final stages of fine-tuning its AI algorithm but has been deployed in several Nigerian hospitals. During testing, Ubenwa attained 95% accurate prediction rates among the 1,400 baby cries that underwent testing. With its easily accessible platform, Ubenwa represents a major achievement for the use of AI in telemedicine in Africa.
As rates of smartphone ownership increase across the continent, telemedicine continues to fill gaps in Africa’s healthcare systems, providing vital services to those who would otherwise be left underserved.
– Jane Dangel
Photo: Flickr
4 Facts About Distance Learning in Ghana
Education is a key tool that people can use to effectively fight intergenerational poverty. Education boosts workers’ resumes and skillsets, diversifies career opportunities for young people, helps women gain skills to bring in income and provides essential information to improve returns in existing economies like agriculture. In Ghana, the government has prioritized widespread education through various programs, public funding legislation and goal setting since the 1980s. However, primary, secondary and higher education can still be hard to come by in Ghana, where growing demand for education outpaces the available supply of teachers and infrastructure. Luckily, distance learning in Ghana is becoming a priority.
The Situation
Primary school students can sometimes be in classrooms with 80 to 100 other students, while secondary students must alternate when they can attend school. Additionally, students who live in rural areas often lack access to educational hubs, especially since these areas typically suffer a shortage of qualified teachers. As a result, Ghana has led the way in developing extensive distance learning programs at all levels of schooling, such as university. Distance learning uses technology to enable fewer teachers to publish educational information for a much wider, and widespread, audience. Distance learning cuts down on travel time and cost, diminishes the need for large schooling infrastructure otherwise needed to accommodate every student taking a given class, provides flexibility for employed individuals seeking to improve their resumes and makes education available to a broader array of families. Here are four facts about distance learning in Ghana.
4 Facts About Distance Learning in Ghana
Distance learning is changing the game for widespread education in Ghana and setting an example for the rest of the world. Distance learning in Ghana allows primary and secondary students in rural areas to access adequate educational material despite limited local resources, provides accreditation opportunities for working adults and equalizes individuals’ opportunities to enroll in higher education. As enrollment in distance learning programs continues to increase and technology continues to improve, it is safe to say that the best is yet to come.
– Elizabeth Broderick
Photo: Flickr
Poverty Reduction through Microloans in Tanzania
Poverty reduction through microloans has been a successful strategy in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Between 2007 and 2016, Tanzania’s poverty rates have decreased from 34.4% to 26.8%. Consequently, microloans have become a necessity for low-income earners whose businesses are apart of informal sectors.
MYC4 is an online platform that helps individuals loan money to small enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa. Mads Kjaer, its chief executive, describes the importance of microcredit by stating how “people need access to capital to grow their informal and formal businesses that offer them a regular income and enable them to lead decent lives.”
As a result, governments now appreciate the impact of microfinance. They are encouraging investments by opening up the industry to foreign capital and improving policing mechanisms for customer protection. With micro and small enterprises making up approximately 32% of Tanzania’s GDP, microcredit strategies have played an essential role in reducing poverty through progressive business approaches.
New Microfinance Act in Tanzania
In 2018, the parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania passed a Microfinance Act that illustrates the framework under which microfinance institutions operate. The Act allows for enhanced regulation of the microfinance sector for the mainland of Tanzania and Zanzibar. But with only 16% of Tanzania’s population banked, 27% is financially excluded. Microfinance options and the accessibility of mobile money have expanded financial inclusion to nearly half of Tanzania’s population. For example, as of 2017, financial NGOs, mobile money and microloan providing institutions served 48.6% of the population.
Nonprofits that are Helping
Opportunity Tanzania, a nonprofit organization that provides loans, savings, and insurance to impoverished entrepreneurs, has helped over 3,625 clients in Dar Es Saalam. Its microfinancing services provide entrepreneurs and their families with a path out of poverty. Only 20% of Tanzania’s population has access to a formal bank within an hour’s walking distance of their home. Therefore, Opportunity Tanzania is now working to build a regulated bank that will offer clients savings products and provide them with a secure place to store their money.
The International Labour Organization [ILO], in collaboration with the UN joint program on Youth Employment, established a five-day training program for financial service providers to create outreach strategies that will educate youth on microfinance resources.
High population growth and substantial poverty are still present in Tanzania. However, the expansion of microloan services play a crucial role in supporting entrepreneurs and creating more job opportunities for youth. In short, poverty reduction through microloans is an important avenue for growth in Tanzania.
– Erica Fealtman
Photo: Unsplash
How Hesperian Health Guides Is Saving Lives
The average global life expectancy is now above 70 years, and infant, neonatal and maternal mortality and infectious diseases have declined all over the world. Unfortunately, though, the statistics hide a crucial disparity: the inequality of life expectancy. This disparity highlights the health issues that continue to plague poor countries. For example, while life expectancy in Japan is 83 years, it is 30 years less in a poorer country like the Central African Republic. People continue to die of preventable diseases because of a lack of funding and health education. Fortunately, Hesperian Health Guides is there to help.
Hesperian Health Guides is a nonprofit that fights to bring life-saving healthcare information to even the most remote corners of the world. Its mission is to work toward a better future for everyone. It wants an empowered future where everyone has the tools and education necessary to control and understand their health.
Health
Though not founded until 1973, the spirit of Hesperian Health Guides started in the early 1970s in Ajoya, Mexico. There, a group of volunteers put together a simple pamphlet. This pamphlet included medical knowledge to help locals take care of their health needs in the absence of qualified doctors. Established as the Hesperian Foundation, the organization published the pamphlet, with “Donde No Hay Doctor” as the title. Four years later, the organization published “Where There is No Doctor,” an English translation. This publication later became the most widely read health book in the world.
Work
In collaboration with countless health workers, doctors, locals and volunteers, Hesperian Foundation, renamed Hesperian Health Guides in 2011 to more clearly communicate its mission, continues to publish and translate texts regarding all kinds of health concerns, spanning from women’s health to handicap health, and everything in between. A digital platform has also been available since 2011. It allows individuals better access, translations and downloads of additional medical information.
Accessibility
To further its mission of providing accessible healthcare information for all, Hesperian Health Guides are published in over 85 languages. The translation is in part facilitated by the nonprofit’s open copyright policy, which permits the translation, modification and distribution of its life-saving texts without requesting royalties in order to facilitate the speed and spread of information to needy communities. In addition, local healthcare workers collaborate on both print and online content. Their input presents texts in simple, culturally-sensitive languages and illustrations, benefiting those with little to no education.
Impact
Healthcare workers, members of the Peace Corps, educators, community leaders, volunteers and missionaries use Hesperian Health Guides in over 220 countries around the world. Benefited communities have written to Hesperian Health Guides to testify to the cumulative effect health education has on vulnerable communities. The guides, however, also empower individuals. Through comprehensive information and small action-tasks, people are able to take better care of themselves and others. They can help by learning simple tasks like disinfecting surgical tools or building a small water filter.
Hesperian Health Guides is working to raise the life expectancy of everyone by spreading health information to many neglected people. It is saving lives one book at a time.
– Margherita Bassi
Photo: Flickr
Campaigns for Gender Equality in Rwanda
Rwanda started the journey to women’s empowerment earlier than the introduction of the Sustainable Development Goal 5, which encourages gender equality. Rwanda started encouraging gender equality after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and during its rebuilding. The country, therefore, developed a system that led to the appointment of more women in governmental leadership positions. This system also intensively invested in girl education. More women received encouragement to join the army and national security departments. After these interventions, the government started creating business opportunities and training for women. They were able to participate in activities that could provide them with an income. The following are some of the campaigns for gender equality that have been helping with achievements in Rwanda.
Isange One-Stop Center (IOSC)
IOSC is a national police-led center where victims of gender-based violence receive treatment and protection. Doing this helps to make sure that they can live healthy and developed lives. The program aims to provide psychosocial, medical, police and legal services. The Center provides these services to adult and child survivors of gender-based violence and child abuse occurring in the family or in the community at large. The U.N. office in Rwanda reports that there are currently 44 operating IOSCs in the country.
Parents’ Evenings (Utugoroba tw’Ababyeyi)
Parents’ Evenings are local evening gatherings that connect parents so they can discuss the community’s wellbeing. These evenings encourage conversations about fighting against gender-based violence in families. Additionally, these gatherings have discouraged different stereotypes about women and girls who faced discrimination in the local villages. These gatherings have also encouraged women to join together and invest in economic activities to generate income for them.
HeForShe Campaign
HeForShe is a U.N.-based campaign that aims to achieve global gender equality. The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, joined this campaign and committed to bridging the gender gap in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) access. This tripled the number of girls enrolled in Technical and Vocational Training and also eradicated gender-based violence. These fields are crucial for achieving gender equality in Rwanda since economic development depends on them. In 2018, HeForShe reported that the number of women with access to mobile phones increased from 35.1% in 2010 to 84% in 2016. Additionally, there was an encouragement to start different campaigns granting mentorship and career guidance to girls in technology. Examples of these campaigns include Smart Village, Girls in ICT and the Miss Geek competition. All these campaigns for gender equality supported the cause of the HeForShe campaign in Rwanda by empowering women and girls.
Rwanda is one of the few countries that is substantially improving gender equality. This is the result of intensive investments in women empowerment, girls’ education and the fight against gender-based violence. Rwanda is showing progress because its campaigns for gender equality support the nation as a whole.
– Renova Uwingabire
Photo: Flickr