As COVID-19 spreads across the world, it is still not the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. According to the CDC, that title belongs to tuberculosis, a respiratory illness that the bacteria species Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes. It usually targets the lungs but can attack any part of the body. Tuberculosis in Liberia, among other impoverished countries, remains a predominant issue that the country needs to address.
While tuberculosis is largely curable, it can be lethal if left untreated. The disease still affects populations of developing nations due to their lower capacity health care systems. According to the CDC, tuberculosis is the eighth leading cause of death in Liberia. The disease infects over 300 people per 100,000 Liberians.
Poverty in Liberia
An article in the Lancet explains that tuberculosis is the “archetypal disease of poverty,” remaining prevalent largely in developing nations such as Liberia. Over 90% of the Liberian population lives under the international poverty line of $5.50 per day. Poverty not only makes treatment costs excessively burdensome for many people, but it also contributes to risk factors that further the spread of the infection.
According to Dr. Saurabh Mehta, Associate Professor of Global Health, Epidemiology and Nutrition at Cornell University, conditions that weaken the immune system are risk factors for tuberculosis transmission. These conditions include HIV infection, diabetes and malnutrition, all of which correlate with a lower socioeconomic status.
Dr. Mehta explains that overcrowding is another risk factor that facilitates TB transmission. In a crowded setting, a person infected with tuberculosis has a higher potential to interact with susceptible people.
Both malnutrition and overcrowding could contribute to the impact of tuberculosis in Liberia. One in three Liberian children experience stunting due to malnutrition, and over half of Liberia’s urban population lives in slums. The World Food Program is working to alleviate hunger in Liberia by providing meals in schools, supporting refugees through direct food aid and creating food reserves in food-insecure communities. The World Food Program provided over 66,000 pounds of rice as an initial reserve, which community members can access at a low-interest rate.
Rebuilding Health Care System Capacity
In order to treat tuberculosis in Liberia, the Liberian government needs a robust health system. However, civil war and outbreaks of other illnesses, such as Ebola, have weakened Liberia’s health system leaving fewer than four physicians per 100,000 people.
From 1989 to 2003, a civil war wreaked havoc throughout the nation, killing more than 250,000 people. Because many either died or fled, the number of trained doctors in Liberia declined from 237 to less than 20 by the end of the war.
While training programs that the country established after the war helped increase the number of nurses, Liberia only had a few dozen of its own doctors at the outset of the 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak. Ebola killed 4,809 people and further damaged Liberia’s health systems, among other West African countries. In a few years, the disease killed at least 600 health care workers across Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
To expand and safeguard its health care system’s capacity, Liberia collaborated with the WHO and other organizations to invest in Ebola treatment units as well as training for over 21,000 health workers.
Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis Treatment
Drug-resistant pathogens are a serious public health concern globally. As existing medications become less effective, previously treatable illnesses become more deadly.
Over 2.5% of people with tuberculosis in Liberia have a multidrug-resistant form of the illness, making their condition higher risk and their treatment more expensive. Additionally, according to Mehta, treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is less effective and takes two to four times as long to complete as the treatment for tuberculosis that is not drug-resistant.
Taking an incomplete course of tuberculosis treatment increases the risk that someone could develop multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. This risk would decrease, however, if patients had more affordable treatment options.
The Liberian National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Control Program has worked to expand access to the international standard of care for tuberculosis, DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short courses). Although the treatment success rate for those who received treatment was at 80%, less than half of people with tuberculosis obtain treatment.
Tuberculosis Comorbidity with HIV/AIDs
The World Health Organization reports that 53 out of every 100,000 people in Liberia have a particularly lethal combination of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDs. People who have both diseases face a higher risk of their tuberculosis becoming active rather than remaining latent/asymptomatic. This is because HIV/AIDS weakens the immune system. As a result, tuberculosis causes 40% of deaths in HIV/AIDS patients.
While treatment to prevent tuberculosis for HIV/AIDs patients exists, only 21% of HIV positive patients receive such treatment. Expanding access to preventative treatment has the potential to significantly reduce mortality for people with tuberculosis in Liberia who also have HIV/AIDs.
– Tamara Kamis
Photo: Flickr
What to Know About Hunger in Chad
Lake Chad sits on the borders of Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger. The lake is used to support 30 million people in the surrounding regions who depend on the water source for agriculture, fisheries and livestock. However since the 60s, droughts, overuse and climate change have shrunk the lake down to 90% of its original size. This has caused millions in the Lake Chad region to suffer from food insecurity.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Chad
This, along with armed conflict in neighboring countries, has led to more than 100,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Chad. It has also contributed to an influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees from other central African countries. This puts significant strain on Chad’s scarce resources and has resulted in 66.2% of the population living in severe poverty. Additionally, the crisis places 4.3 million Chadians in need of humanitarian aid. Although humanitarian efforts are occurring in the Lake Chad region, millions of Chadians still face hunger daily across the country.
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network predicts that this year’s growing season will produce “stressed levels of food insecurity” across regions disrupted by displacement and conflict. This includes the millions affected by drought and conflict around Lake Chad. The U.N.’s Children Fund (UNICEF) also found a 20% increase in children below the age of five who suffered from severe acute malnutrition in 2019 compared to the year before. This means a predicted 1.8 million young children in Chad may suffer from acute malnutrition in 2020.
The 2018 National Nutrition Survey recorded that 13.5% of the global population endures acute malnutrition. This number, however, is much larger in Chad. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that 4.5 million of Chad’s 14 million citizens face food insecurity. Furthermore, OCHA reports that 991,000 Chadians are severely food insecure. This means 7% of Chadians face severe malnutrition as a result of political instability, armed conflict from neighboring countries and the desertification of Lake Chad.
Organizations Helping the Hunger Crisis in Chad
In response to widespread hunger in Chad, USAID’s Office of Food for Peace, the U.N. World Food Program and non-governmental organizations work together to provide services for the most vulnerable. UNICEF administers treatment to children with severe acute malnutrition, provides vaccinates for the measles and distributes learning materials. In 2020, they aim to support pregnant and breastfeeding mothers with supplements. They also seek to continue their work treating children with severe acute malnutrition.
After three years in the Lake Chad region, Doctors Without Borders announced that living conditions for IDPs have greatly improved. The organization also stated that locals have begun slowly returning to their home villages thanks to development programs set up by aid agencies. This is an optimistic improvement and a step in the right direction to ending hunger in Chad. However, the aid cannot stop as hundreds of thousands of Chadians and refugees still depend on humanitarian aid.
Great work is being done to end hunger in Chad and support the 10 million people affected by the Lake Chad crisis. However, as of December, the International Organization for Migration found that at least 170,000 IDPs still remained in Chad. The hunger crisis in Chad needs increased aid to battle the rise of acute malnutrition in children and help all those whose livelihoods the Lake Chad crisis affect.
– Eleanor Williams
Photo: Flickr
How Skateistan Brings Skateboarding Worldwide
About Skateistan
Australian skateboarder and researcher Oliver Percovich founded the organization in 2007. Its headquarters are in Berlin, and there are Skateistan schools in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa. Children in these countries, especially girls and those with disabilities, benefit from picking up a new hobby in a safe space, such as skateboarding. A documentary about Skateistan’s work in Afghanistan, “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl),” came out in 2019 and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (Short Subject) in 2020. Since it began, the nonprofit has had a positive impact on the lives of thousands of children in these three countries.
Afghanistan
Over half the population of Afghanistan lives below the poverty line, making it one of the poorest countries in the world. In addition, the country has extreme inequality between the sexes. The government discourages women from participating in sports and other group activities and strongly limits their education. Less than 14% of women in Afghanistan have literacy skills. These factors make the work Skateistan does crucial to the lives of many young girls there. Skateistan brings skateboarding worldwide and focuses on children who face these barriers. Afghanistan does not technically consider skateboarding a sport and therefore girls are able to take full advantage of the programs offered at Skateistan schools.
Participants in the programs go beyond just skateboarding outside. They gain important skills like teamwork while learning how to skate and are offered interactive courses that teach subjects such as art and nutrition. There are Skateistan schools in two cities in Afghanistan: Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif. Although the organization has had to make concessions due to the culture of Afghanistan, such as having specific girls-only days with female instructors, the program has been very successful. Afghanistan now has one of the highest percentages of female skateboarders in the world, thanks in part to Skateistan’s efforts.
Cambodia
Cambodia is among the poorest countries in Asia, although its poverty rate has been continuously decreasing over the past decade. Less than 15% of the population now lives in poverty. Skateistan has a school in the Cambodian city Phnom Penh. Children are allowed to take a skating lesson for up to one hour a day (using a skateboard and equipment provided by Skateistan) as long as they also study or read in the school’s classroom or library. This is intended to supplement the limited education that children in Cambodia typically receive, as well as to protect them from the crime and violence that many children face. The program also includes special courses for students with disabilities, helping them develop life skills such as confidence and communication.
South Africa
South Africa experiences intense inequality. The bottom 90% of the country earns only 35% of the total income, and as a result, many South Africans live in poverty. In 2016, Skateistan opened a school in Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. The organization received financial support from various groups to fund and build this school, including the Tony Hawk Foundation and the Royal Danish Embassy. As with the Skateistan schools in Afghanistan and Cambodia, this will provide opportunities for underprivileged children to learn to skate while also supplementing their education with classes and homework help. Almost half of the hundreds of students who have enrolled at this school are girls.
Skateistan brings skateboarding worldwide to underprivileged children who would otherwise never have the opportunity to learn to skate. They are able to develop life skills while skating as well as gain education in various other subjects. The emphasis that the organization places on including girls and children with disabilities ensures that they are not left out. Many of the students who take part in the program return as teachers, using their love of skateboarding to help other children grow. This cycle of growth that Skateistan creates has helped thousands of impoverished children in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa.
– Gabriel Guerin
Photo: Wikimedia
How COVID-19 Has Impacted Artisanal Gold Miners in Burkina Faso
Artisanal gold mining has continued in Burkina Faso, though more slowly than before the pandemic. Measures to control the spread of the virus, such as curfews, social distancing and even police violence and raids by national security guards, have slowed the pace of gold panning. This means the miners have even less opportunity to make a livable income.
Why It Matters
Of the over 20 million people in Burkina Faso, over 430,000 are directly employed in the artisanal gold mining industry. Most of the miners have little education and rely on mining to provide for themselves and their families. The miners include both men and women, with studies estimating that between 40 and 50 percent are female. Women run most of the hangars in which the gold is processed. These women are known as Tãngpogse and have enjoyed more economic freedom than many women.
The disruptions caused by COVID-19 put all of these artisanal gold miners at risk. Even before the pandemic, 45 percent of people in Burkina Faso survived on less than the U.S. $1.25 per day. Artisanal mining is an industry employed by people trying to escape poverty. Now, instead of realizing that dream, miners are facing uncertainty and hunger.
To make matters worse, the COVID-19 crisis is piling on top of other crises in Burkina Faso—jihadist violence in the north, and drought throughout much of the country. In the face of this complicated situation, many gold miners are struggling to feed themselves and their families. Many find that they must sell their gold at low prices to predatory buyers, in order to generate an income. If the situation worsens, the miners could find themselves increasingly desperate, and willing to turn to banditry or prostitution for income.
How World Agencies Are Helping
Two world agencies have stepped in to provide relief for artisanal miners. The first, the World Bank, has created an emergency relief fund for artisanal miners around the globe. According to Reuters, the fund already has $5 million in donations, with a goal of $15 million. This money will aid miners of various materials in different countries, not just Burkina Faso. Still, the World Bank’s effort is an important one. World agencies rarely aim for emergency relief at artisanal miners specifically.
The second world agency, the Artisanal Gold Council, is an NGO based in Canada. The Artisanal Gold Council has focused specifically on the artisanal gold miners of Burkina Faso and has purchased gold directly from them at the pre-pandemic rate. This business provides miners with much-needed income and should help to ease some of the economic stress they are under. As with the World Bank’s emergency relief fund, the Artisanal Gold Council’s actions are rare for an NGO; other organizations consider the money and effort necessary to bring artisanal gold into formal channels of the trade too high of a price to pay.
Aid from these world agencies should improve the artisanal miners’ economic situation. Still, the high poverty rate and continuing cases of COVID-19 in Burkina Faso remain causes for concern. As of July 1, Burkina Faso had reported a total of 962 cases of COVID-19, and 53 deaths from the virus. As the pandemic’s effects linger on, the miners will need more help to finally achieve their dreams of climbing out of poverty.
– Emily Dexter
Photo: Flickr
5 Reasons Child Marriage Continues in Togo
Working Toward a Solution
Many organizations are working to end child marriage in Togo. Women’s WorldWide Web (W4) is an online crowdfunding platform working specifically in Togo. They promote education and the empowerment of women. Their programs aim to provide income-generation for women who have been affected by young marriage. This helps women gain financial independence and create sustainable livelihoods for themselves.
Togo’s child marriage prevalence is mainly due to poverty itself, the rippling effects and the lack of government support for child marriage prohibition legislation. However, there are many organizations like W4.org fighting for these young women and their rights. With their efforts and the push for proper legislative policies, young Togolese girls may one-day gain financial and personal independence.
– Kaitlyn Gilbert
Photo: Flickr
Coffee Production in Vietnam
Historical Production of Coffee
Coffee culture is an established social tradition in nearly all countries. Coffee beans have been one of the most impactful and cultivated products dating back to the 15th century. Societies changed with the creation of coffee houses and advances in technology to keep up with demands. The spike in crop exportation shifted coffee from an early morning refreshment to a global trade phenomenon.
Coffee production in Vietnam stems from French colonization in the mid-1850s. The Robusta bean became widespread throughout the country. After WWII and the Vietnam War, private farming opened up for more business opportunities. Vietnam began to slowly regain economic security in the late 1980s. Since then, 3 million jobs have been generated from coffee-based agriculture.
Technology
Advances in machinery have cut costs for farmers and have kept coffee production in Vietnam consistent compared with other competitors. Reducing the labor-intensive strip-picking with automative and mechanical harvesters has become the norm. Even hand-made equipment serve farmers by reducing damage to trees. Investing in technology to improve sustainability practices contributes to the national output. Coffee production in Vietnam has also profited due to investments put into advanced coffee plantlets from companies such as Nestlé.
Irrigation has a significant impact on coffee plantations due to water stress. Monitoring groundwater changes with water pilots help farmers evaluate how to manage aquifer recharge. Less water and pesticide use means a higher yield for farmers without paying more to combat the effects of climate change.
Gender Equality
Integrating women into coffee production in Vietnam has provided them with increased job opportunities. In contrast with predominantly male-run businesses, the coffee sector provides better access to women who wish to pursue business ventures.
Eighty-five percent of both men and women participate in economic enterprises in Vietnam. The inclusivity of women is higher in Vietnam than in other developing countries, where women are performing unpaid work. Through the booming coffee industry, women have aided in economic development through coffee trading companies. Negotiation strategies implemented by women through buyers and farmers prove to be successful. Training for the coffee supply chain given to women empowers them to make their own household decisions as entrepreneurs, and even own larger plots of land. Gender equality in the workplace is paving ways for gender equality throughout the country.
Sustainability
Vietnam has been ahead of other competitors regarding sustainable coffee production. Cooperatives such as K’Ho Coffee have utilized sustainable strategies such as planting nitrogen-fixing crops alongside coffee plants. This enhances the fertility of the soil. In addition, farmers raised free-range livestock and planted their own produce on their property to provide for themselves. Some experts also suggest that intercropping is the best way to increase the yield.
Programs focused on sustainable coffee production in Vietnam also increase annual income for farmers. The Sustainable Coffee Program has run for four years to help farmers adapt to the changing market. The program’s focus involved various ways to increase production, from resiliency to climate change to developing financial awareness.
Combating the risk of groundwater depletion through soil testing and reducing energy outputs helps the country produce coffee at low costs. Being sustainably certified puts Vietnam at the top of the competition. Improved efficiency within smallholder farms means less waste as well.
With a forecasted output of 32.2 million bags for 2020 and the country exceeding exportation rates to the US and the UK, Vietnam plans to stay near the top of the coffee sector. Coffee production in Vietnam turned a once-war-torn country into an export powerhouse. Locals enjoy quality coffee in various ways while tourists seek to try Cà phê trúng, egg coffee, for the first time. The tiny green bean is more than just a sweet morning pick-me-up. It’s a growing culture that is ever-changing the success of the country.
– Sydney Stokes
Photo: Pixabay
Treating Tuberculosis in Liberia
As COVID-19 spreads across the world, it is still not the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. According to the CDC, that title belongs to tuberculosis, a respiratory illness that the bacteria species Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes. It usually targets the lungs but can attack any part of the body. Tuberculosis in Liberia, among other impoverished countries, remains a predominant issue that the country needs to address.
While tuberculosis is largely curable, it can be lethal if left untreated. The disease still affects populations of developing nations due to their lower capacity health care systems. According to the CDC, tuberculosis is the eighth leading cause of death in Liberia. The disease infects over 300 people per 100,000 Liberians.
Poverty in Liberia
An article in the Lancet explains that tuberculosis is the “archetypal disease of poverty,” remaining prevalent largely in developing nations such as Liberia. Over 90% of the Liberian population lives under the international poverty line of $5.50 per day. Poverty not only makes treatment costs excessively burdensome for many people, but it also contributes to risk factors that further the spread of the infection.
According to Dr. Saurabh Mehta, Associate Professor of Global Health, Epidemiology and Nutrition at Cornell University, conditions that weaken the immune system are risk factors for tuberculosis transmission. These conditions include HIV infection, diabetes and malnutrition, all of which correlate with a lower socioeconomic status.
Dr. Mehta explains that overcrowding is another risk factor that facilitates TB transmission. In a crowded setting, a person infected with tuberculosis has a higher potential to interact with susceptible people.
Both malnutrition and overcrowding could contribute to the impact of tuberculosis in Liberia. One in three Liberian children experience stunting due to malnutrition, and over half of Liberia’s urban population lives in slums. The World Food Program is working to alleviate hunger in Liberia by providing meals in schools, supporting refugees through direct food aid and creating food reserves in food-insecure communities. The World Food Program provided over 66,000 pounds of rice as an initial reserve, which community members can access at a low-interest rate.
Rebuilding Health Care System Capacity
In order to treat tuberculosis in Liberia, the Liberian government needs a robust health system. However, civil war and outbreaks of other illnesses, such as Ebola, have weakened Liberia’s health system leaving fewer than four physicians per 100,000 people.
From 1989 to 2003, a civil war wreaked havoc throughout the nation, killing more than 250,000 people. Because many either died or fled, the number of trained doctors in Liberia declined from 237 to less than 20 by the end of the war.
While training programs that the country established after the war helped increase the number of nurses, Liberia only had a few dozen of its own doctors at the outset of the 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak. Ebola killed 4,809 people and further damaged Liberia’s health systems, among other West African countries. In a few years, the disease killed at least 600 health care workers across Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
To expand and safeguard its health care system’s capacity, Liberia collaborated with the WHO and other organizations to invest in Ebola treatment units as well as training for over 21,000 health workers.
Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis Treatment
Drug-resistant pathogens are a serious public health concern globally. As existing medications become less effective, previously treatable illnesses become more deadly.
Over 2.5% of people with tuberculosis in Liberia have a multidrug-resistant form of the illness, making their condition higher risk and their treatment more expensive. Additionally, according to Mehta, treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is less effective and takes two to four times as long to complete as the treatment for tuberculosis that is not drug-resistant.
Taking an incomplete course of tuberculosis treatment increases the risk that someone could develop multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. This risk would decrease, however, if patients had more affordable treatment options.
The Liberian National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Control Program has worked to expand access to the international standard of care for tuberculosis, DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short courses). Although the treatment success rate for those who received treatment was at 80%, less than half of people with tuberculosis obtain treatment.
Tuberculosis Comorbidity with HIV/AIDs
The World Health Organization reports that 53 out of every 100,000 people in Liberia have a particularly lethal combination of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDs. People who have both diseases face a higher risk of their tuberculosis becoming active rather than remaining latent/asymptomatic. This is because HIV/AIDS weakens the immune system. As a result, tuberculosis causes 40% of deaths in HIV/AIDS patients.
While treatment to prevent tuberculosis for HIV/AIDs patients exists, only 21% of HIV positive patients receive such treatment. Expanding access to preventative treatment has the potential to significantly reduce mortality for people with tuberculosis in Liberia who also have HIV/AIDs.
– Tamara Kamis
Photo: Flickr
Creating Accessible Healthcare in Australia
Australia has a blend of public and private healthcare systems. While every citizen receives guaranteed public healthcare, the government encourages middle- and upper-class Australians to acquire private insurance if they make above around $62,000 per year. They pay a specific tax if they do not take out private coverage. Private healthcare facilities in Australia are generally “nicer” than public ones, with shorter waiting times and more attentive care — but they are also more expensive.
Younger Australians, generally healthier than the rest of the population, are growing frustrated with the private healthcare system’s rising out-of-pocket costs. As these young people lean away from private insurance and pay to stay on the public plan, premiums will rise for older and sicker Australians with private healthcare plans.
Care for Indigenous Populations
Indigenous Australians face greater barriers in the healthcare system than non-indigenous Australians. The United Nations has recognized human rights concerns in Australia when it comes to indigenous populations and their healthcare. There is a gap of around 17 years in the life expectancy of indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.
Wealth is a factor behind this inequality. Indigenous Australians earn only 62% of the weekly earnings of other Australians. Education barriers also make the healthcare system harder for indigenous Australians to navigate. The Australian government underfunds schools in majority-indigenous areas, and indigenous students are half as likely as non-indigenous students to continue onto year 12 of education. Higher levels of education usually lead to higher income, which makes the healthcare system more accessible. In addition, increased education can help people understand vital health information.
Reforms for Greater Accessibility
Wealth seems to be a common theme throughout the story of healthcare in Australia. While many are unsure of what to do, there is a consensus that things need to change. Some experts have suggested changing resource allocation and tracking patient care outcomes. With people waiting up to four months for healthcare treatments, some experts have argued that hospitals must become more efficient.
One notable organization working for change is Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA), formed in 2008. This network connects indigenous members of the Australian healthcare industry — or those pursuing a healthcare career — to other indigenous people working toward health education, resources and research for their communities. It also provides cultural responsiveness training so that Australian healthcare workers can learn to better connect with indigenous patients. Overall, IAHA aims to increase indigenous participation in the healthcare industry and make healthcare more accessible to indigenous peoples.
Australia may seem like a progressive paradise to some Americans, but it has its flaws. Age, race and wealth all factor into how someone accesses healthcare in Australia. Groups like IAHA are working to make health coverage more equitable in a troubled system. They have made positive changes and provided the necessary training to marginalized communities that their government often neglects. The land down under still has a long way to go to create a fair healthcare system for all, but Australians may look toward a brighter future under improved policies and protections.
– Tara Suter
Photo: Flickr
Hunger in Ecuador during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Present-day Challenges
Since the enactment of a lockdown, hunger in Ecuador is increasing for many reasons. Namely, the price of domestic food products has increased due to the shortage of goods being grown and produced. Therefore, access to adequate food supply has decreased. As a result, many Ecuadorians lack food security and are struggling to adhere to healthy diets. People with disabilities face additional challenges. They can receive emergency food vouchers provided by the government, but the vouchers do not last more than a few days. The vouchers are also not being provided to over 20% of the population with disabilities. Many Ecuadorians with disabilities and Ecuadorians in general, continue working despite the risk of contracting COVID-19 because that is their only form of income. Those who are unable to work face starvation.
Additionally, a report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) details concerns about hunger in Ecuador and other Latin American countries in relation to the pandemic. Major concerns for these countries include increased unemployment rates, which could negatively impact families that already struggle with food insecurity. Additionally, these unemployment rates are predicted to force 16 million of all Latin Americans into extreme poverty. Those who were able to afford nutritious meals before the pandemic will have to resort to less nutritious food: if they are able to find food at all. Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s executive secretary, worries that the pandemic will cause a food crisis if interventions aren’t implemented quickly and successfully.
The Good News
Despite COVID-19’s significant impact on hunger in Ecuador, there is some positive news regarding overall poverty in Ecuador. Although Ecuador is a hotspot for natural disasters, which can destroy crops, the World Food Programme (WFP) works with the Ecuadorian government to prepare citizens for natural disasters before they happen. Specifically, Ecuador’s Secretariat of Risk Management and National Decentralized Risk Management System work with the WFP to calculate how natural disasters have affected food supply so they can learn from past crises. Vulnerable Ecuadorians can attend workshops to learn about emergency preparedness and how to protect their crops. The workshops also provide training sessions about better eating habits on a low budget. With these calculations and workshops, Ecuador can be more prepared for the next crisis.
Another hunger-relief organization is Banco de Alimento Diakonía, a food bank that works solely to reduce hunger in Ecuador. Its slogan is “Barrigas contentas, corazones llenos,” which translates to “Happy bellies, full hearts.” The food bank’s threefold mission is to reduce hunger, improve nutrition and decrease food waste; the food bank accepts donations in the forms of money and non-perishable foods. Since 2015, Banco de Alimento Diakonía has been a certified member of the Global FoodBanking Network, and it has helped an estimated 16,200 people get access to nutritious food. Fortunately, the food bank is continuing to provide aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Looking Forward
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed economies and ways of life in every country around the globe. It will undoubtedly have long-lasting effects on poverty, such as the prevalence of hunger in Ecuador. However, citizens and governments can be more prepared for the next time a crisis comes along. With food banks, workshops and the right preparations, nations like Ecuador can recover from disasters and emerge with new tools to overcome the next challenge.
– Levi Reyes
Photo: Unsplash
Poverty in Guatemala
Guatemala is a Central American country that borders Mexico and Belize to the North, and Honduras and El Salvador to the Southeast. With a population of 16.3 million as of 2018, Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America. Of the country’s total population, estimates have determined that more than 40% are indigenous, and approximately 75% of them live in poverty. Although most demographics in the country face poverty, rural indigenous communities feel the effects most acutely.
Second-Highest Level of Poverty in the Americas
Poverty in Guatemala is disproportionately high for the country with the largest economy in Central America; while Guatemala had a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $75.62 billion in 2017, it also has the second-highest poverty rate in the Americas. Since 2006, poverty has grown. Approximately 2 million people slid below the poverty line (measured by an income of less than $5 USD per day) from 2006 to 2014. During the same window of time, around half a million slipped into extreme poverty ($1.90 USD or less per day). According to a national survey, the poverty rate among indigenous, predominantly rural communities is as high as 79%.
Poor Distribution of Resources
Extreme socioeconomic and geographic inequality largely characterizes the nature of poverty in Guatemala. As many as eight in 10 citizens living in rural municipalities live in poverty. One study found, from a sample of six other Latin American countries, that Guatemala had the poorest distribution of health and educational resources. Access to health resources and quality education is key in enhancing social mobility and bringing individuals out of poverty. Poor distribution of these resources in rural areas fortifies the regional cycle of poverty between contributing to lower life expectancy and limiting opportunities for education.
Additionally, chronic malnutrition debilitates poor Guatemalan communities; the level of malnutrition in Guatemalan children—47% as of 2019—is the highest of all the Latin American countries, and among the highest globally. This aggravates the cycle of poverty as well. Malnutrition burdens the already-limited health care system and stunts the local economic potential by reducing the physical and intellectual capability of youth. While many families traditionally subsist on agriculture to feed themselves, chronic drought has left many of these communities fully reliant on overseas remittances for survival.
Effects of the Coronavirus
As is the case in many countries, experts anticipate that poverty in Guatemala will increase as a result of COVID-19. In addition to the uneven allocation of health resources, the country’s poor have also suffered under strict lockdown rules, job loss and an enormous reduction in overseas remittances. The country reported a 17.2% loss in remittances corresponding with the rising unemployment rate in the U.S. These remittances not only make up approximately 12% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product but directly impact those families that rely on that form of income to feed themselves.
Additionally, stay-at-home orders have effectively collapsed the country’s informal economy, in which 70% of Guatemalans participate. Unregulated by the government, the informal economy comes with no formal protections or benefits in the event of labor loss. Similarly, official reports of unemployment in Guatemala are disproportionately skewed, as only 30% of Guatemalans work in the formal sector; this allows for employment statistics to disproportionately represent the number of individuals at risk of slipping into poverty.
NGOs Working to Help
Both domestic and international NGOs have turned their attention to meeting the challenges of poverty; these include issues both introduced and aggravated, respectively, by the COVID-19 pandemic. The humanitarian group Plan International presently tracks food prices via telephone surveys throughout Guatemala, identifying which regions are most food insecure.
The locally-based Konojel Community Centre is working to adapt its boots-on-the-ground services, suspending traditional programs aimed at reducing child malnutrition in order to distribute food packages to the community’s most vulnerable families. Simultaneously, Konojel Community Centre’s director is currently pushing the Guatemalan government to apply for loans from the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank to lessen the blow of economic crisis in vulnerable areas.
This comes at a time that Konojel Community Centre, like many NGOs at present, is hard-pressed for funding with the sharp decline of the global economy. Despite the circumstances, these NGOs are working to prevent as much loss of progress on malnutrition and poverty in Guatemala as possible.
– Alexandra Black
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About Poverty in Tajikistan
10 Facts About Poverty in Tajikistan
Looking Ahead
Tajikistan has been climbing its way out of poverty since it has gained its independence in 1991. However, the nation’s over-reliance on remittances has allowed for its own economy to stagnate. This has resulted in a hungry workforce and few jobs to supply them. Groups like Gurdofarid work to try and empower the Tajik workforce; they teach women vocational skills that are necessary for them to become employed in their own country.
– Catherine Lin
Photo: Flickr