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Top 10 Facts About Living Conditions in Comoros

Sitting on the eastern African coast, Comoros is an island nation in the Indian Ocean. Though Comoros is experiencing steady economic growth, government debt could cause a decline in the growth rate as time goes on. Here are the top 10 facts about living conditions in Comoros.

Top 10 Facts About Living Conditions in Comoros

  1. Poverty: One household-conducted survey from 2014 found that approximately 18 percent of Comoros’ population lives below the international poverty line. The government is continuously funding infrastructure projects with non-concessional loans aimed to improve the island’s living conditions.
  2. Unemployment: Rates of unemployment in Comoros currently rest at 14.3 percent. With about 38.4 percent of people working in agricultural zones, employment is one of the country’s top priorities. 
  3. Education System: One aspect of living conditions in Comoros is that students are required to attend Quranic schools for two to three years from the age of 5. Then, students will advance to primary and secondary school, which is modeled on the French system. Subsequently, students receive six years of primary education and seven years of secondary education. Comoros does not have any post-secondary education in place, like universities, therefore students will either pursue higher education abroad or partake in business, teaching, or agricultural training.
  4. Political Unrest: Much of the living conditions in Comoros, specifically the education system, are negatively affected by political unrest and instability. This often results in teacher and student strikes across the island, which has affected student performance and completion rates. In 2004, education indicators showed that while 85 percent of children were enrolled in primary education and only 35 percent continued to enroll through secondary school.
  5. Life Expectancy: Comoros has a life expectancy of nearly 64 years, a significant improvement from 41 years in 1960. The country currently spends approximately $57 per capita on health care which falls below the average of sub-Saharan Africa ($98) but is significantly higher than that for lower-income countries overall ($37). According to the World Bank, public financing for health makes up 8.7 percent of total government spending.
  6. Clean Water Access: Over 90 percent of Comoros’ population has readily accessible potable drinking water. Clean water supply and access have been improving tremendously because of programs like UNICEF, which has received funding of almost $1.3 million from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid’s office. This funding supports endeavors such as cleaning and protecting roughly 1,500 reservoirs across the nation.
  7. Human Development: In 2016, Comoros ranked 158 out of 188 on the United Nations’ Human Development Index. This low number indicates a dire need for focusing on initiatives that combat hunger and malnutrition. Further, a report by the World Bank found that nearly 30 percent of children face chronic malnutrition and stunted growth.
  8. Malaria: The government has developed a goal to fight malaria, where the aim is to reach zero cases on the island. A surge of malaria cases has hit Comoros over the past two years, primarily due to the weak health system. In 2018, nearly 16,000 indigenous malaria cases were reported.
  9. Child Labor: In an effort to improve living conditions in Comoros, the government has recently launched an initiative to reduce child labor rates. Children often perform domestic and agricultural work in order to provide support to the family. Often, these children are sent to wealthier families if the parent is unable to properly care for the child. It has been found that 20.8 percent of children between the ages of seven and fourteen work while in school.
  10. Working Women: Over a third of women in Comoros are in the labor force, providing financial support for a majority of the home bills and school fees for the family. There are strong matrilineal traditions present across the island. Women represent approximately 20 percent of key positions in the government, like the minister of telecommunications and labor minister.

As one of the world’s poorest countries, these top 10 facts about living conditions in Comoros are essential in understanding the importance of economic growth and reduction of poverty on the island.

– Brittany Adames
Photo: Flickr

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9 Facts about Life Expectancy in Guinea

10 Facts about Poverty in GuineaGuinea is a small, impoverished West African country that has been featured in the news due to the 2015 Ebola outbreak. The virus strained the nation’s already struggling economy. Despite this, the disease did not affect the average life expectancy. Still, Guinea faces many issues that are harmful to life expectancy. Here are nine facts about life expectancy in Guinea that reflect these concerns.

9 Facts about Life Expectancy in Guinea

  1. The average life expectancy is only 59.8 years with 59.4 for men and 60.4 for women. Guinea ranks about average when compared with its West African neighbors. For instance, Sierra Leone is among the lowest at only 54 years in 2017, while Ghana is among the highest at 63 years. 
  2. Guinea’s life expectancy has increased steadily over time since 1960 with a slight dip in the early 2000s. Despite the fatal impact of Ebola on individuals and communities, the virus did not affect the course of growth for the average life expectancy in Guinea. 
  3. The country has extremely high infant and maternal mortality rates. In 2015, the maternal mortality rate was one of the worst in the world with 549 deaths per 100,000 live births. The infant mortality rate was 60.3 per 1,000 live births in 2016.
  4. About 55 percent of Guinea’s citizens live below the poverty line. This is thought to be due to the prolonged political instability since the nation’s founding in 1974. Furthermore, while 90 percent of the country’s exports come from mining, few such jobs are available; Guinea employs only 2.5 percent in this sector. 
  5. Approximately 24.4 percent of children face chronic malnourishment due to widespread poverty. During the 2018-19 school year, The World Food Programme provided hot school meals to 131,895 children in 896 schools in addition to take-home rations to 12,155 girls who are in their final year of school.
  6. About 14 million people in Guinea experience year-round transmissions of malaria and 25 percent of hospitalizations among children under 5 can be attributed to the disease. USAID support through the President’s Malaria Initiative aims to reduce the malaria mortality rate by 50 percent in Guinea as well as other sub-Saharan African countries. 
  7. Only half of the country’s population has access to public health care services. Access to health services (under 30 minutes) is 38.9 percent with a rate of use of 18.6 percent. This makes Guinea especially vulnerable to pandemics such as the recent Ebola virus. A major hurdle for the country will be expanding health coverage nationwide by strengthening the delivery of such services.
  8. In rural regions, 142 out of every thousand children die each year. This is because rural regions in particular lack clean water, access to health services and a proper sanitation system. Of those living below the poverty line, 80 percent live in rural areas. U.N. and NGO assistance makes up 26.9 percent of all expenditure on health. 
  9. USAID’s Health Finance and Governance project is working with Guinea’s Ministry of Health to improve transparency and accountability in the delivery of health services. Such methods include better responses to crises such as the 2015 Ebola outbreak. 

These nine facts about life expectancy in Guinea reflect that the nation still has much to improve on before life expectancy reaches the levels seen in western countries. To reduce high mortality rates from tropical diseases such as malaria, better access to health care is a must. Fortunately, some of the funding from the President’s Malaria Initiative is tackling some of these issues.

– Caleb Steven Carr
Photo: Flickr

10 Facts About Corruption in Kenya

10 Facts about Corruption in Kenya
Kenya is one of the world’s most corrupted countries. In 2017, Kenya ranked 143 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s (TI) corruption index. High corruption levels permeating every sector of Kenya’s economy and politics is hindering development and endangering democracy. These 10 facts about corruption in Kenya provide a brief overview of this issue, as well as the anti-graft attempts made by the government and other private organizations.

10 Facts About Corruption in Kenya

  1. Corruption and terrorism: The high level of corruption in Kenya not only undermines counter-terrorism efforts but also provides extremists with funding, access and motivation. Kenya’s security and police force are known to take bribes and collaborate with extremists, allowing easy access for al-Shabaab operatives, which has resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives.
  2. Police: The Kenya Police Service is the most bribery-prone institution in Kenya. Seventy-five percent of Kenyans believe that most or all police officers are corrupt, and one-in-two Kenyans who have interacted with the police report bribing them. The police force frequently engages in corruption crimes such as false imprisonment, fabrication of charges and abuse of human rights to extort bribes, but are rarely arrested or prosecuted.
  3. Perception of government effort: A 2017 survey shows that 67 percent of respondents from Kenya do not think that the government is putting enough effort into fighting corruption. The respondents rated the anti-corruption performance of the president as average, while the judiciary and legislative service were rated as poor.
  4. Reporting corruption: Journalists often face increasing pressure from the government and new laws that limit their capacity to report freely. Many choose to self-censor. Tipping about corruption is a high-risk endeavor, resulting in being fired, harassed or even murdered. One blogger was arrested in Kenya after reporting on corruption, and another was sent into exile in the U.K. after exposing graft and fraud in the Kenyan government. However, the country’s private media outlets still publish a variety of views and critical reporting.
  5. Financial cost: The country’s anti-graft chief estimates that up to a third of Kenya’s state budget, an equivalent of $6 billion, is lost to corruption annually. Kenya has lost approximately $66 billion to corruption since its independence in 1964. The exact scale of corruption, however, is unknown.
  6. President Kenyatta’s war on corruption: In a recent crackdown, 28 Kenyan high-profile officials, including the Kenyan Finance Minister, have been charged with financial crimes. This marks a turning point for Kenya when someone as high-profile as the country’s finance minister is being held to account in court. However, many Kenyans still hold doubts over this recent crackdown as there have not been any convictions for Kenyan public officials previously charged with corruption.
  7. Engaging citizens in the fight against corruption: The TI-Kenya have Integrity Clubs in primary and secondary schools that teach anti-corruption lessons to students, helping them become more active citizens who promote good values. It also organizes mobile anti-corruption legal advice clinics to raise awareness of corruption and their rights in remote rural areas of the country. In just 12 months after the launch of these clinics, TI-Kenya has received almost 4,000 reports from citizens.
  8. Assistance from the U.S.: The Kenyan government signed an agreement with the U.S. to introduce new anti-graft measures during the former U.S. President Obama’s visit to Kenya in 2015. The deal includes increased assistance and advice from the U.S. on relevant legislation, as well as Kenya’s participation in the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
  9. Business impairment: Pervasive corruption is one of the biggest obstacles for Kenya’s business sector, scaring away foreign investors. Public-service corruption makes starting a business very costly and complying with administrative requirements extremely time-consuming. One-in-six companies report having to pay bribes to get operating licenses, and one-in-three companies need to bribe to obtain a construction permit.
  10. Support from the U.N.: The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) applauds President Kenyatta’s recent renewed pledge to fight corruption in Kenya and make the issue a focus area in the coming months. The U.N. continues its assistance and support of the anti-corruption efforts through several partnerships with the government and the private sectors, including the Blue Company Initiative Project, the Fast Tracking UN Convention Against Corruption project and the Programme for Legal Empowerment and Aid Delivery in Kenya. The Kenya School for Government is also working closely with UNODC on an online anti-corruption course for public officials.

These 10 facts about corruption in Kenya provide an overview of the critical issues threatening the development of the African nation. A long list of corruption scandals have plagued Kenya ever since its independence, leading to billions of dollars being lost. Corruption in Kenya is a serious problem that urgently needs to be addressed and resolved in order for the nation to grow and harness its potential.

– Minh-Ha La
Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Malta

Malta is a small island republic in the central Mediterranean Sea. Like most other EU member states, the Maltese government operates a socialized health care scheme. However, life expectancy in Malta is a full year higher than the European Union average, for both males and females. Keep reading to learn the top 10 facts about life expectancy in Malta.

10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Malta

  1. Trends: Life expectancy in Malta ranks 15th globally and continues to rise; the current average life expectancy is 82.6, an improvement of 4.6 percent this millennium. Median life expectancy on the archipelago is expected to improve at that same rate through 2050, reaching an average death age of 86.4.
  2. Leading Causes of Death: The WHO pinpointed coronary heart disease as the republic’s number one killer, accounting for 32.46 percent of all deaths in 2018. Additional top killers include stroke (10.01 percent) and breast cancer (3.07 percent).
  3. Health Care System: Malta’s sophisticated and comprehensive state-managed health care system embodies universal coverage for the population. Although population growth and an aging workforce present long-term challenges, the Maltese have access to universal public health care as well as private hospitals. Malta’s health care spending and doctors per capita are above the EU average. Despite this, specialists remain fairly low. Currently, the government is working to address this lack of specialized care.
  4. Infant and Maternal Health: The high life expectancy in Malta is positively impacted by low infant and maternal mortality rates. Malta’s infant and maternal mortality rates are among the lowest in the world, ranking at 181 and 161, respectively. The Maltese universal health care system provides free delivery and postpartum care for all expectant mothers. These measures provided as the standard of care have minimized the expectant death rates of new mothers to 3.3 out of 100,000.
  5. Women’s Health: Like most other developed nations, Maltese women experience longer lives than men. Comparatively, WHO data predicts that women will live nearly four years longer, an average of 83.3 years to 79.6. Interestingly, the estimated gender ratio for 2020 indicates that the Malta population will skew to be slightly more male, specifically in the 65-and-over age bracket. 
  6. Sexual and Reproductive Health: Sexual health services, including family planning and STD treatment, are free of cost in Malta. Additionally, HIV prevalence is very low, at only 0.1 percent in 2016. These measures have certainly played a role in life expectancy in Malta.
  7. Violent Crime: Although crime rates typically spike during the summer, Malta’s tourist season, violence is generally not a concern. Despite fluctuations throughout the year, the national homicide rate remains low. Currently, homicide is resting at 0.9 incidents per 100,000 citizens.
  8. Obesity: Recently, 29.8 percent of the population was found to be obese, one of the highest figures in the EU. Even higher rates of obesity have been found in Maltese adolescents: 38 percent of 11-year-old boys and 32 percent of 11-year-old girls qualify as obese.
  9. Birth Rates: Sluggish population growth is typical throughout the developed world and Malta is no exception. Current data places the population growth rate at an estimated 0.87 percent. Out of 229 sovereign nations, Malta’s birth rate was ranked 192nd with 9.9 births per 1,000 citizens.
  10. Access to Medical Facilities: The competitive health care system supports high life expectancy in Malta by providing an abundant availability of hospitals and physicians per capita. Due to the archipelago’s small population, 4.7 hospital beds and 3.8 doctors exist for every 1,000 citizens.

These 10 facts about life expectancy in Malta highlight the strength of the health care system in the country. While rising rates of obesity are concerning, Malta has a strong track record of investing in the well-being of its citizens.

– Dan Zamarelli
Photo: Flickr

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The Link Between Agriculture and Poverty Reduction

The Link Between Agriculture and Poverty Reduction
The link between agriculture and poverty reduction has significant documentation. Developing countries that have risen from high levels of extreme poverty have seen improvements in agriculture and an increase in farmers’ wages that cooccur with drops in the poverty rate. According to an OECD report, one can attribute 52 percent of poverty reduction to growth in agriculture incomes. In addition, for a measure of 1 percent GNI growth, agriculture contributed the most to poverty reduction. The policy that seemed to work the most was significantly increasing the protection of agriculture exports by reducing high taxes on exports and reducing overly inflated exchange rates. The greatest advantage of improving agriculture is that the poorest of society benefits the most. The lower the literacy rates, the stronger the poverty-reducing effect.

Vietnam

Changes in Vietnam over the decades exemplify the link between agriculture and poverty reduction. It lifted its people out of extreme poverty by focusing on improvements in its agriculture sector. The poverty rate was northward of 60 percent in 1990 and fell to just 20.7 percent in 2010. Vietnam lifted an estimated 30 million people out of poverty in total. During that time, the government incentivized farmers to invest in their land. Instead of food shortages, the country was able to export its commodities at a surplus. Multilateral trade agreements formed, and the country moved from a closed economy to one open to trade. In the 1980s, Vietnam had food shortages, and today it is a major exporter of rice to world markets.

Indonesia

Some developing countries did not focus on developing their agriculture sectors. In addition to this, those countries experienced the opposite trend. In contrast to Vietnam, Indonesia slowed in poverty reduction last decade. Overall growth in this sector has been weak with researchers making little progress. The poverty rate declined by only half a percentage point in each 2012 and 2013, which was the smallest declines in the last decade. One of the reasons might be a recent trend where small farmers experience eviction from their land in favor of large companies. These companies then use the land for palm oil and rubber. However, are signs that suggest that the agriculture sector may be rebounding. In 2017, there was an increase in both agriculture employment and production. Currently, 32 percent of Indonesians work in the sector. Additionally, rice production went up to 75.4 million tons and up from around 70 million tons in 2014.

Guinea

Guinea is another country that focuses on other sectors for its economic growth. Mining makes up 80 percent of Guinea’s exports, and agriculture makes up the rest. Despite mining being a lucrative industry, it only employs 2.5 percent of the working population. Based on simulations using the 2014 population census, the poverty rate increased to 57.7 percent. Surprisingly, experts often cite Ebola as one of the causes, but low agriculture productivity is an equally large problem.

There is plenty of room for growth in this sector, both in terms of technology and land area farmed. In addition, farmers use very little agricultural inputs such as fertilizer and mechanization. In contrast, there are signs that agriculture is becoming more of a focus. The country has decided to invest in agriculture. In 2018, Guinea allocated 12.5 percent of its budget to agriculture, up from the current level of 7.3 percent. Additionally, IFAD and the Guinean government reached an aid agreement that will raise wages for 65,000 rural farm families and aims to increase family farm production.

For the poorest nations, choosing the sector to focus on reducing poverty is important. Evidence suggests that the link between agriculture and poverty reduction is strong. Developing countries that invest in the agriculture sector and promote policies that benefit farmers tend to fare better in this respect than countries that focus on other sectors.

– Caleb Carr
Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Albania

Girls’ Education in Albania
Albania is a small country located in southeastern Europe neighboring Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia and Greece. The country has endured many socioeconomic hardships since the fall of communism in 1991 but is now on the rise from one of the poorest countries in Europe to a middle-income country. As in most countries, education is an integral part of social, cultural and economic development. Here are 10 facts about girls’ education in Albania.

10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Albania

  1. Most girls attend primary and secondary schools. Albania considers the first nine years of school mandatory, which it calls primary education, although most students complete three additional years of school which are part of secondary education. According to the World Bank, the female net enrollment ratio for girls of primary school age (ages 6-15) was 94 percent in 2013. Meanwhile, 89 percent of females ages 15-18 enrolled in secondary schooling in 2018. However, these percentages of girls in the Albanian school system are still very good, as nearly the entire population of eligible girls attended some type of schooling.
  2. A little over half of the population of young adult women attend tertiary schools. Tertiary schooling is typically at universities and students aged 18 and older can study to obtain a bachelor’s, master’s or a Ph.D. The gross enrollment rate in 2018 was 68 percent for women in tertiary education, up from 39 percent in 2009. Even though the gross enrollment rate in 2018 for tertiary schooling is not as high as the net enrollment rates for additional schooling, these numbers show that girls’ education in Albania is rising.
  3. There are more girls receiving an education than boys. In the same study that the World Bank conducted, only 90 percent of boys of primary school age enrolled in school, compared to 94 percent of females in 2013. As for secondary schools, the male net enrollment rate stood at 84 percent compared to 89 percent for females in 2018. Thankfully, boys’ education and girls’ education in Albania have a very small gap between them. However, since 2009, there has been a significant gap between the gross enrollment rates in tertiary schools by gender. The most recent data has the male enrollment rate in tertiary education at 43 percent, a 25 percent difference between genders.
  4. Unemployment for women could impact tertiary education enrollment. Women’s participation in the labor force has dropped drastically from 78 percent in 1989 to 46 percent in 2005, likely due to the collapse of communism and social upheaval in 1991. This number did not reach 50 percent until 2013 and has been gradually rising since then. For decades, Albania has held onto strong patriarchal values that place women outside of the labor market. Because of these values, “women of reproductive age are discriminated against in the market because they may start a family, and thus have fewer opportunities for retraining and qualification.” If women experience exclusion from employment and have to operate in the domestic sphere, they may not see the value of an education, thereby contributing to lower rates of enrollment beyond compulsory schooling.
  5. Women earn less than men on average. In addition to hiring difficulties, women also earn 10.5 percent less than their male counterparts. The good news is that Albania has a lower gender wage gap than most of the European Union. The E.U.’s gender wage gap average was 16.2 percent in 2016. However, the gender wage gap could exist due to women’s lack of participation in the labor market, or vice versa. This could also be related to the rising net enrollment rate for girls’ education in Albania, specifically in tertiary schooling.
  6. Similarly, there is a low representation of Albanian women in decision making. In 2007, women occupied only 7 percent of seats in Albania’s parliament, with only nine women total in senior-level positions and 2 percent of local government leaders women. In 2017, the number of seats that women occupied in parliament rose to 21.4 percent. Having years of low representation of women in the Albanian government has allowed for the gender-based discrimination in education and employment to run rampant throughout the country. With fewer women involved in decision making, girls have fewer protections, making something as necessary as education difficult to obtain.
  7. There are low government expenditures on education. Unfortunately, Albania spent only 3.95 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on education in 2016, according to UNESCO. A government undermines the value of an education when it invests so little in it.
  8. However, the Albanian government is helping girls in other ways. The Albanian government has spent this past decade focusing on undoing the decades of gender inequality through the law, specifically the Law on Reproductive Health, Measures on Domestic Violence and laws on Prevention and Elimination of Organized Crime and Trafficking Through Preemptive Measures on Personal Assets. In 2015, the Prime Minister of Albania publicly announced to the United Nations the national government’s commitment to gender equality. Following this, the national government adopted the Gender Equality and Action Plan 2016–2020 with the aim to consolidate efforts by all institutions to advance gender equality. The government used funds to benefit women’s enterprises and support services for survivors of domestic violence.
  9. Other organizations have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of women in Albania. The Mary Ward Loreto Foundation is an organization creating programs to empower adolescent girls and protect them from domestic violence and trafficking on the ground in rural communities in Albania. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has partnered with the Albanian national government and civil society to create programs to end gender-based discrimination, like the Gender Equality and Gender-Based Violence Programme in 2015. UNICEF has partnered with Albania’s Ministry of Education to implement new systems to improve access to education for children throughout the country. In November 2019, the World Bank loaned Albania $10 million to improve women’s access to economic opportunity.
  10. Female education is on the rise in Albania. Female enrollment has been rising since 2009 by roughly 1 to 2 percent every year. The total net enrollment rate is at 96 percent, so, fortunately, the majority of Albania’s children have access to public education. Despite having a lower percentage of girls attending primary and secondary school, over half of the women aged 18-22 enrolled in tertiary education at 67.58 percent in 2018. The girls who enrolled in education continue on to undergraduate and graduate studies.

Albania is a country rich in history. Unfortunately, much of that history has allowed gender-based discrimination to take root, even affecting girls’ education in Albania. Because of its changing political and social climate, patriarchal beliefs and a lack of protection for women have allowed the country to leave them behind. The good news is that women are catching up. Albania has worked tirelessly this past decade to undo gender inequality through laws, civil society and partnerships with global organizations to provide women the resources they need to succeed, starting with a promise of an education.

– Emily Young
Photo: Unsplash

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10 Facts about Life Expectancy in Guinea-Bissau

10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau, a small country in Western Africa, has a low life expectancy of 57.67 years.  However, life expectancy in Guinea-Bissau of both men and women increased by seven years over the last 17 years. In 2001, life expectancy in Guinea-Bissau was 50.368. Currently, men in Guinea-Bissau have a life expectancy of 55.6 while women have a life expectancy of 59.62. The increase in life expectancy in Guinea-Bissau is due to improvement in health care services, education, preventive measures and a reduction in child mortality.

10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Guinea-Bissau

  1. Child Mortality: The infant mortality rate in Guinea-Bissau continues to decrease. Child mortality was 125 for every 1,000 children in 2008 and that number decreased to 81.5 for every 1,000 children in 2018. Guinea-Bissau’s investments to provide mothers with children under the age of 5 with better access to health care contributed to the reduced child mortality rate. In addition, a U.N. report determined that an increase in vaccinations was extremely effective in reducing the child mortality rate. This was possible because of collaboration from organizations like the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization and GAVI. However, there is still more that people can do to improve life expectancy in Guinea-Bissau, such as training more medical professionals to help with childbirth. In 2014, only 45 percent of childbirth had trained professionals available. The leading causes of death for children under 5 are communicable diseases, particularly malaria, diarrheal diseases and respiratory illnesses.
  2. The Leading Causes of Death: The leading causes of death in Guinea-Bissau in 2012 were lower respiratory infections including whooping cough and infection of the lung alveoli, along with HIV/AIDs, malaria and diarrheal diseases. Although malaria-related death is common, that number is declining due to both government and donor efforts from organizations like the Global Fund. These efforts include providing insecticide-treated bed nets and increasing education about malaria.
  3. Spending on Health Care: In Guinea-Bissau, both the government and individuals spend little money on health care. In 2016, the per capita average that people spent on health care was $39 while the government spent 6 percent of its GDP on health care. A U.N. report stated that in 2001, the African government pledged to increase health care expenditures to 15 percent. However, Guinea-Bissau has not yet reached that goal. In addition, the most vulnerable population that suffers from preventable illness and diseases, women and children, receive less than 1 percent of health care funds.
  4. Politics: One of the reasons the government faces difficulty in increasing health care funding is because of instability in Guinea-Bissau’s politics. Since Guinea-Bissau’s independence in 1974, the country has had four successful coups and 16 failed coups. The instability causes constant changes in government officials who are responsible for policies.
  5. National Institute of Public Health: In 2011, the creation of the Instituto Nacional de Saúde Pública (INASA) or the National Institute of Public Health helped bring different components of Guinea-Bissau health care together in order to provide adequate services. INASA works with both international donors, institution and the government to help with disease surveillance and preparation for health emergencies. The responsibility of INASA is to help create health policy in the country as well as to help place health care workers and officials throughout the country.
  6. Lack of Trained Medical Personnel: Guinea-Bissau does not have enough health care workers. It has 1.7 doctors for every 10,000 people, 1.4 midwives and nurses for every 1,000 people, three pediatricians and four obstetricians. For example, in 2014, Guinea-Bissau lost some of its health care workers due to brain drain (trained medical personal moving to other countries). In addition, the lack of adequate pay and failure by the government to pay its medical workers on time have led to strikes. According to a U.N. report, Guinea-Bissau would need to create incentives in order to better retain its health care workers.
  7. Training of Health Care Workers: Training health care workers in Guinea-Bissau is difficult because the country relies on international help from countries like Cuba. One of the main problems is that the training material is in Spanish instead of Portuguese. In addition, some of the reading materials are in e-book formats and students may not have access to computers to read the content. Furthermore, during medical training, there are not enough specialists to oversee or conduct the necessary training. There is hope, however, as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is helping provide some advanced training for medical professionals who require it.
  8. Vaccine Coverage: Although the lack of political instability has limited government spending in health care, Guinea-Bissau’s coverage rate is 80 percent due to help from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other non-government agencies. Children receive rotavirus and pneumococcal vaccines to help with respiratory and diarrheal illnesses.
  9. Accessibility to Health Care Facilities: In Guinea-Bissau, it can be difficult to visit a medical facility because of the lack of adequate roads. Although there are motorized boat ambulances, it can still be difficult to get to a medical facility in some regions in Guinea-Bissau. However, there are plans to build surgical centers in places like the Bijagos region to provide better access to health care.
  10. Community Health Programs and Workers: Community health programs and outreach have been effective in helping with the Guinea-Bissau health care system. These programs that community health workers (CHW) administer provide a community-based approach in helping with the health needs in Guinea-Bissau. Programs include spreading knowledge of childhood nutrition, malaria prevention, pneumonia and household hygiene, and providing several health services. There are around 4,000 community health workers and they are each responsible for visiting 50 households every month. During their visits, community health workers encourage families to adopt the 16 key family practices that can help reduce the number of diseases children may experience. These family practices include the promotion of mosquito nets and six months of breastfeeding, and handwashing, etc.  Community health workers also play a vital role in helping with literacy because of the high illiteracy rate in the country.

Although Guinea-Bissau’s life expectancy is low, there is hope that it will continue to increase due to continuous investment by international donors and non-government organizations. One of the best ways that Guinea-Bissau can provide better health care for its citizens is to strive to be more politically stable.

– Joshua Meribole
Photo: Flickr

 

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Reducing Poverty for Scheduled Tribes in India

Scheduled Tribes in India
The term “Scheduled Tribes” refers to multiple tribes in India who the Indian government and the country’s constitution recognizes. Currently, 705 Scheduled Tribes exist in India. Among these 705 recognized tribes, 75 of them have the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) designation. These groups have a pre-agriculture level of technology, stagnant or declining populations, extremely low literacy and subsistence-level economies.

Scheduled Tribes

Scheduled Tribes of India are usually called Adivasi after the original inhabitants of India. Many of these Scheduled Tribes have their own languages, religious customs, forms of self-governance and traditions of their own.

During India’s industrialization era, from 1750 to 1947, many Scheduled Tribes experienced displacement from their homes and homelands. Mining activities, commercial farming, timber industries and war were the main causes of Adivasi displacement during this time period. Due to their displacement, Adivasis had to migrate to different parts of India. The majority of these Adivasi had problems integrating into the mainstream Indian society since many of them were illiterate and malnourished. This contributed to the Indian perception that the Adivasi were poor, ignorant and backward.

According to the 2011 census of India’s population, Scheduled Tribes made up approximately 8 percent of India’s population. Scheduled Tribes also accounted for 25 percent of the poorest populations in India. In 2018, India’s National Data found that Scheduled Tribes in India were the poorest populace. According to The National Family Health Survey 2015-2016, 45.9 percent of Scheduled Tribe members lived in the lowest wealth bracket. This finding was even more shocking since more people of Scheduled Tribes lived in the lowest wealth bracket than the people of Scheduled Castes, who people previously knew as the untouchable castes.

Statistics

A 2018 study in the Journal of Social Inclusion Studies delves deeper into the above statistics. The study points to the lack of access to productive income-earning assets, non-utilization of available resources, lack of education and equal opportunities, all serving as the main causes of poverty among Scheduled Tribes in India. What further complicates the matter is that traditional methods of addressing tribal poverty are not viable.

While economic development usually associates with poverty alleviation, economic development and industrialization are the cause of Scheduled Tribes’ poverty in India. The recent economic development has eliminated many of the traditional occupations that tribal inhabitants of India had. The same study presented a table of data about the incidence of poverty between tribals and non-tribals in India. The researchers noted that India’s economic development did not occur equally for the many Scheduled Tribes. The data from 1993 to 2012 shows that tribal poverty is always higher than non-tribal poverty. The study found that tribal poverty was still more than two times higher than non-tribal poverty, even though India’s overall incidence of poverty has been in decline since 1993.

The Indian Government

The Indian government is working to reduce poverty among Scheduled Tribes. In 2019, for example, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that India is allocating 85,000 crore ($74,710.96) of its 2020 budget to furthering the development and welfare of scheduled tribes. The Indian Ministry of Tribal Affairs is also responsible for promoting and implementing the programs that will benefit Scheduled Tribes in India.

On February 14, 2020, the Minister of Tribal Affairs conducted a workshop with the Tribal Cooperation Marketing Federation of India (TRIFED). During the workshop, the minister recognized and congratulated TRIFED in its mission of expanding and promoting products that tribal craftsmen and craftswomen made. In the same workshop, multiple shareholders, mainly leading national institutions, social sector and industry leaders, met up to discuss their further cooperation with the TRIFED’s mission.

Scheduled Tribes in India still find themselves in a difficult economic reality. The historic and economic marginalization which displaced the Scheduled Tribes still seems to still loom over India. More shockingly, the cause of Scheduled Tribe poverty seems to have its roots in India’s improving economic conditions since 1750. The Indian government does, however, recognize the importance of economically supporting and developing its Scheduled Tribes. With the help of the Indian government, many hope that a better financial future waits for the Scheduled Tribes in India.

– YongJin Yi
Photo: Flickr

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Addressing the Issues Surrounding Ireland’s Impoverished Children

Addressing the Issues Surrounding Ireland’s Impoverished ChildrenEconomic hardship is an all too real and frequent issue across the world. It has been known to create harmful factors such as corrupt governments, homelessness, hunger, limited to non-existent access to healthcare and an overall lower standard of living. However, as negative as these factors can be for those affected by poverty in general, it is especially detrimental toward children. The plight of Ireland’s impoverished children serves as one such case in which rampant economic penury has served as a severe detriment to their overall quality of life.

Ireland and the 2008 Recession

Irish children are one of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups within the region. Granted, Ireland suffered and continues to be burdened from persistent economic difficulties since the 2008 recession. Since then, more than 689,000 Irish people are reported to be in the poverty range, according to the 2019 Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC). Additionally, of these people living in poverty, 202,000 are shown to be children.

The gradual process of economic recovery since the 2008 recession has shown to be beneficial to the more general population, rather than vulnerable groups such as children. In fact, one report from the 2011 annual census found that 9.3% of children were living in perpetual poverty, with an additional 22% listed as going to school hungry. Conditions have unfortunately worsened since this census.

Moreover, whereas infrastructure has been invested in other important aspects of economic stability, such as industrial and technological growth, the same cannot be said for all aspects of economic stability. Specifically, the areas of health, housing and education were cut substantially in the aftermath of the 2008 recession, and there have not been suitable efforts to restore them to their previous levels.

These government cutbacks, unfortunately, do not even refer to some of the most disadvantaged subsections of children. For instance, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights Nils Muiznieks reports that the Travelers experienced disproportionate drawbacks in housing (up to 85%) and in education (up to 86%). These drawbacks are especially harmful to the children in this group.

These unfortunate circumstances may not be in place forever. New initiatives and actions have been taken to mitigate and heal the issues affecting Ireland’s impoverished children.

No Child 2020: Addressing Child Poverty in Ireland

One of the more prominent examples of this includes the initiative, No Child 2020. This initiative’s goal was to bring public attention and government action to child poverty in Ireland. Headed by The Irish Times, the following five issues were addressed through the initiative: child hunger, homelessness, accessible healthcare, education and access to culture and sport.

No Child 2020 made substantial success in terms of garnering attention toward the issues of child poverty in Ireland. A key example of this can be seen in the passing of the journal Social Justice Ireland, which published its very own list of issues that require government involvement to rectify the issues of child poverty. It should be further noted that of the 12 issues the journal listed, the need to “provide adequate payments for children to end child poverty” was highlighted.

As a result of these endeavors, the Irish government added an extra one million euros toward creating a pilot system providing free books to more than 50 primary schools. There has also been the provision of free dental care for Irish children below 6 years of old and free general practitioner coverage for Irish children below 8 years of age.

Looking Ahead

There is still far more to be accomplished to assist Ireland’s impoverished children. The Irish government still has not bestowed more medical coverage to low-income families altogether, nor The Irish Times’ request 20 million pounds per year for free school books to all of Ireland’s primary schools. Moreover, no official government action has been taken to better address the aforementioned dilemmas concerning child hunger, homelessness and sporting/cultural involvement.

If progress is to be truly advanced to address these issues, more financial investment and government action are required. According to Muiznieks’s 2016 report, significant “budgetary and economic redress” is critical to aid vulnerable groups such as Ireland’s impoverished children.

Still, the presence of the No Child 2020 and the Social Justice Ireland have shown development in the country. These initiatives have already contributed economically, educationally and politically toward resolving the obstacles of Ireland’s impoverished children. Who knows how many more initiatives or reformative actions these imperatives could inspire? Progress takes time but now that the issues of Ireland’s impoverished children are being acknowledged, there is hope that the reality of such progress continues.

– Jacob Hurwitz
Photo: Flickr

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Eradicating Femicide in South Africa

Femicide in South Africa
In September 2019, after days of protests, the South African government declared femicide in South Africa a national crisis. Femicide, simply put, is the intentional murder of a woman. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) elaborates on the definition and adds that the murder of a woman is intentional because she is a woman. It is different from male homicide because in many cases of femicide, the crime is “committed by partners or ex-partners and involves ongoing abuse in the home, threats or intimidation, sexual violence or situations where women have less power or fewer resources than their partner.”

The Facts

The Republic of South Africa is at the southern tip of Africa, and Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho borders it. Femicide in South Africa is nothing new, dating back as early as colonialism in the 17th century. Female violence has continued since then, possibly due to the lack of severe consequences for the perpetrators. However, studies for femicide in South Africa did not begin until 1999.

According to South Africa’s Department of Police, someone murders a woman every three hours, which equates to about seven per day. In contrast, someone murders a man every 30 minutes, about 50 per day. Despite the lower murder rates for women, most female homicides are much more violent in nature than the male. Many of the female victims suffer assault, rape and burning before their perpetrators dump them. In comparison to other countries, this rate of femicide is almost five times higher than the world’s average. South Africa ranks fourth in the world for the highest rate of violence against women. Additionally, people reported 39,633 rapes and 6,253 sexual assaults in 2017 alone.

Activism Enabling Change

Femicide has gained a lot of media attention in recent years. Anene Booysen suffered brutal rape and murder in 2013. In 2017, an ex-boyfriend murdered Karabo Mokoena. Protests against femicide in South Africa broke out in September 2019 after the rape and murder of the University of Cape Town student, Uyinene Mrwetyana. The protests requested action from the South African government, including the death penalty for all perpetrators of femicide.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country was in a national crisis of violence against women after three days of protests. He detailed a plan of action to combat femicide and gender-based violence, including making the register of offenders public, reviewing cold cases and providing harsher penalties for perpetrators. President Ramaphosa also promised to implement policies in schools, workplaces and communities that would curb violence against females.

The Cavalry Steps In

Femicide in South Africa is also gaining attention internationally. The stories of Anene Booysen and Karabo Mokoena have made international headlines. Award-winning and South African-born actress Charlize Theron has used her platform to speak out against the violence against women in the country, and she has been doing so since 1999. She urged the leaders of South Africa to do more for women and told men not to be bystanders.

In an era of the internet and movements such as #MeToo, the ongoing femicide in South Africa is impossible to ignore. Thankfully, the South African government has taken the right steps. Not only did the President of South Africa publically acknowledge it as a national crisis but also vows to take action against it. It remains for one to see if the South African government keeps its promises, but it is clear that the women and media of South Africa will hold it accountable until they get the justice they deserve.

– Emily Young
Photo: Pixabay