When the Ebola epidemic hit Sierra Leone in 2014, the outbreak began slowly but gradually built into a burst of cases, then increased exponentially from there. With little knowledge on how to contain the disease and even less on how to cure it, the country declared a state of emergency and proceeded to shut down schools, cinemas and other common gathering places in a bid to contain the disease.
SMS messaging also played a key role in eradicating Ebola in Sierra Leone by March 2016.
Global Response to the Ebola Epidemic
In response to the outbreak, UNICEF launched the Rapidpro free source platform, which provided SMS messaging in Sierra Leone that had no need for internet, a sophisticated phone or even phone credit. Users only needed a basic handset with a network connection. This system — launched globally in September of 2014 — has been lauded for its ease of use particularly on pre-existing equipment and phone networks, even in remote places.
Rapidpro is cloud-based, multi-language and multi-channel so it can be accessed through SMS, voice or Twitter. SMS messaging in Sierra Leone was first used by the UNICEF team behind the Ebola Community Care Centres (CCCs), which set up 46 centers in five districts with 404 beds in less than two months. They needed SMS to communicate information on triage numbers, admissions and results on a daily and monthly basis so that experts would be able to stay updated on the latest caseload trends.
SMS Messaging Helped Get Information to the Public
On November 7, 2015, the World Health Organization made an initial declaration that the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone was over, with the official announcement coming the following Spring. Over the course of the year and a half that the disease rampaged through the country, 8,704 people were infected and 3,589 died. Of those who died, 221 were health care workers.
As the country recovered from the epidemic, this system also allowed workers to monitor Observational Interim Care Centres (OICCs), report from district protection desks as well as follow up on family reunification efforts. Using a network of 788 monitors across the country, officials used SMS messaging in real-time to facilitate social mobilization.
SMS played a role in sharing information about school reopenings, plans for nutrition supply monitoring and reporting on HIV treatment. Thanks to this initiative, officials reached 1.2 million subscribers, containing the spread of Ebola in Sierra Leone thanks to text messages.
SMS Messaging in the Aftermath
Today, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation uses SMS Messaging in Sierra Leone to monitor aid supplies received from the EU, DFID, USAID and UNICEF. SMS helps ensure that these life-saving supplies reach those in need at some 1,200 health facilities by simply sending a text message as soon as the products have arrived. Every facility is required to report the drugs and supplies within 24 hours of receiving them, saving everyone time. The previous, paper-based system, took many days to check and had a slow response time. SMS messaging increases trust for donors, governments and communities because they know that the supplies are reaching the people who direly need them.
Workers like Alfred Pujeh, an administrator at one of Sierra Leone’s OICCs use the system to answer questions immediately from the Ministry of Social Welfare and Gender and Children’s Welfare Agency in Freetown about the children in their care. SMS messaging makes his job easier and more efficient so he is able to focus more on the children who need him, instead of being weighed down by paperwork that could get lost en route to his supervisors.
– Michela Rahaim
Photo: Flickr
3 International Children’s Peace Prize Winners
Each year, the winner of this prestigious award receives a study and care grant and a platform to promote their ideas to help other children around the world. Also, KidsRights invests £100,000 in a project fund in the winner’s area of work in their home country.
Here are three children who have won the International Children’s Peace Prize.
3 International Children’s Peace Prize Winners
Each year, the International Children’s Peace Prize recognizes children that have done extraordinary things to change their own destinies as well as help other young people around the world.
– Komalpreet Kaur
Photo: Unsplash
Solutions for Addressing Faecal Sludge and Septage Issues
What is Faecal Sludge and Septage?
In order to understand how to help low and middle countries discard waste, it must first be explicitly stated what this waste is and how hazardous it is to the environment. Fecal sludge and septage are the two most abundant and environmentally damaging types of waste excreted by the entire global population. Fecal sludge refers to the excess solids and slurry from the storage of blackwater or excreta. Septage refers to the liquid and solid material pumped from a septage tank or cesspool, containing urine and feces.
When unregulated, fecal sludge and septage are key contributors to environmental pollution. In primarily agricultural societies, such as those in low and middle-income countries, the treatment of sludge is unhygienic because there is no access to proper ways of disposal. Across the globe today, 4.5 billion people lack access to safely managed disposal services of waste. The effects of improper sanitation facilities have extremely harmful impacts on not only the environment but also overall human health.
How Does This Book Help?
Taylor worked alongside the Global Water Security & Sanitation Partnership (GWSP) as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to publish the book in order to make it unique from other published books on waste treatment.
This book, in particular, focuses on how to build affordable sanitation facilities for low-income countries, whereas other guides are aimed at building more expensive technologies with resources unavailable to low and middle-income countries. Improper disposal of fecal waste can be life-threatening when it affects water content, and lower income countries often do not have the resources available to prevent contamination.
The overall goal of the book is to break down the process of the sanitation of fecal sludge septage for lower income countries with expanding cities and towns. As a result, the guide is flexible to many different environments and resources. The aim of Taylor, GWSP and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is not only to reverse the damages to health and the environment as a result of improper treatments of waste, but also to stop these problems before they start.
According to worldatlas.com, the top three countries with the lowest access to sanitation facilities are South Sudan with 16 percent of its population having access to improved sanitation facilities, Madagascar with 18 percent and the Republic of Congo with 20 percent. Access to clean water and sanitation is recognized as a human right, though not legally. “Faecal Sludge and Septage Treatment: A Guide for Low and Middle Income Countries” is being published with the goal of helping these countries claim this right because they need help. The book will launch at Stockholm World Water Week on Wednesday, August 29, 2019.
Photo: Pixabay
Four Top Speeches on Girls’ Education
Despite major headway, particularly in global poverty alleviation, there are still significant social and cultural barriers to education for girls around the world. Modern third-wave feminism and contemporary feminist jurisprudence itself continue to prioritize the elimination of gender-based discrimination in all facets along with its focus on intersectionality.
As girls’ education remains one of the most prevalent social issues of today, the following are some of the top speeches on girls’ education that prove to be inspiring and revolutionary not only in their content and scope but also their context and timelessness.
Four Top Speeches on Girls’ Education
These four incredible women have been an inspiration to women and girls around the world. They have tirelessly fought for equality for women and an equal chance at education. These four women delivered the four top speeches on girls’ education.
– Shivani Ekkanath
Photo: Pixabay
Winch Energy: A Brighter Future in Sierra Leone
Effects of Lack of Electricity
Sierra Leone’s power sector has been experiencing “decades of underinvestment.” Public health facilities cannot offer quality healthcare due to the lack of electricity. It was reported that Sierra Leone could reduce the infant mortality rate by 40 percent if clinics in rural areas had better “lighting for night time births.” Without improved access to electricity, Sierra Leone will continue to remain in the dark.
In 2014, Sierra Leone, along with the rest of West Africa, had experienced one of the biggest Ebola outbreaks. It caused devastating effects to many communities, economies and public health systems across West Africa. Due to the Ebola outbreak, the quality of public health worsened in Sierra Leone, especially in the areas with high rates of poverty and lack of electricity.
Winch Energy
Winch Energy is a global energy developer that creates sustainable solutions for off-grid distributed power. Its goal is to improve power generation and eliminate unequal telecommunications access. It works to improve electricity distribution to people all over the world, especially to those who don’t have access to running water, communications and electricity. The Ministry of Energy in Sierra Leone has signed a contract with Winch Energy in efforts to bring direct electricity access to 24 villages and towns in Sierra Leone through the installation of solar-mini grids.
Winch Energy has already begun the first phase of the project. It has installed 12 mini-grids in northern Sierra Leone, and the company hopes to make them operational by June 2019. This first phase of the project is said to benefit 6,000 people. During the second phase of the project, another 12 mini-grids will be installed by October 2019, which will benefit another 24,000 people.
The installation of mini-grids in Sierra Leone can make electricity easily accessible and even better the quality of life. Things such as printing, television, internet and refrigeration can become common in these towns and villages. Electricity will also help public health facilities improve the quality of service, which will help better the quality of life among the people of Sierra Leone.
This project could help increase income within the community and improve the current socio-economic status of Sierra Leone. Providing access to electricity has the potential to create jobs and better the quality of life in rural areas of the country. Development and access to electricity come hand in hand. This is how Winch Energy is paving the way to a brighter future in Sierra Leone.
Feminist Foreign Policy: Progress Around the World
Feminist Foreign Policy
According to the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy (CFFP), “a feminist approach to foreign policy provides a powerful lens through which we can interrogate the hierarchical global systems of power that have left millions of people in a perpetual state of vulnerability.” In other words, feminist foreign policy involves making domestic and global gender equality issues a central focus of the government. It is a multidimensional policy with the goal of improving women’s and marginalized groups’ experiences and quality of life. Its goal is to explore the effects of the patriarchy, capitalism and racism.
Origins
In 2014, Sweden became the first country to prioritize feminist foreign policy, led by Swedish Foreign Minister, Margot Wallstrom. Subsequently, the government applied a systematic gender equality perspective throughout Sweden’s entire foreign policy plan.
In 2018, Sweden released its feminist foreign policy manual which took a deeper dive into the policy. The manual contains lessons on women’s rights and includes work and research from the last four years. The manual includes topics about economic emancipation, sexual violence and women’s political participation.
Other Countries’ Views of Feminist Foreign Policy
Under the power of Justin Trudeau, Canada has adopted a foreign feminist policy. In 2017, Chrystia Freeland, the Canadian Foreign Minister, stated that “It is important and historic that we have a prime minister and a government proud to proclaim ourselves feminist. Women’s rights are human rights.” Also in 2017, Canada’s aid program was renamed the Feminist International Assistance Policy because the government felt that the best way to reduce poverty and create a peaceful and inclusive world was to promote empowerment of girls and women, and equality of the sexes.
New Zealand is ranked ninth of 144 countries when it comes to gender equality, according to the Global Gender Gap Index 2016 by the World Economic Forum. It was also the first country to give women voting rights, which happened in 1893. But according to Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, “There is no room for complacency.” The country will continue to work towards supporting girls and women in education, ending domestic violence and closing the pay gap. “This work will continue until we have equality,” says Ardern.
In the U.S., Hillary Clinton stated at a 2010 TEDWomen event that equal gender rights would create more stable and secure nations and that the inequality between genders is a threat to domestic and global security. This idea went on to be known as the Hillary Doctrine. It is also written in the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review of 2010 that the protection and empowerment of women is key to foreign policy and safety of the United States.
Although there are still gains to be made when it comes to gender equality in foreign policy, definite improvements have been achieved, especially in the last 10 years. While some countries have fully embraced the idea of feminist foreign policy, many have yet to make it a focus. Sweden has caused a ripple effect and made an impact when it comes to gender equality on a national and international level.
– Malena Larsen
Photo: Flickr
The Fight Against Modern-Day Pirates
For the fishermen and industry workers that transport goods throughout the waters of the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa, pirates are an everyday encounter. These criminals steal millions of dollars, kidnap crew members and capture the goods being transported. For these workers and many others, it is a constant fight against modern-day pirates.
Transporting goods across ocean waters is one of the easier ways to get the product to the buyer. An estimated 90 percent of all African exports and imports are moved across high seas, and the shorelines often become a target due to the large amount of good shipped. For example, the number of incidents in the Horn of Africa doubled in 2017 from 2016. Attacks also rose in 2016 with a total of 94 incidents off the west coast of Africa. It is clear that pirates seek out and target these high trafficked shipping areas.
When pirates board ships, they not only steal the goods that are being transported but also kidnap the crew members and hold them for ransom. In 2016, Somali pirates released 26 Asian crew members that were held for five years, releasing them once the ransom was paid. It is estimated that between the years 2005 and 2012, $339 to $413 million dollars were paid to pirates in ransoms off the Somali coasts. The average haul for these pirates comes out to just about $2.7 million, which usually comes out to about $30,000 to $70,000 for each person. Those that operate in the Gulf of Aden usually make $120 million in net profits. Studies also point to outside investors frequently help to ‘fund’ these pirate attacks and who then receive a cut of the payment after.
There are many different ways that governments, organizations and individuals are uniting to combat the damage caused by pirates. Some governments are focusing on unregulated fishing which allows local fisherman to thrive. Doing so provides long term, sustainable careers for locals who may otherwise turn to piracy. Shipping companies have also implemented several anti-boarding devices and armed contractors to deter pirates. Some ships have collapsible electric fences that act as a barrier between the ship and pirates, and tear gas and orange smoke flare canisters are sometimes placed along the side of boats. These preventive measures fight against modern-day pirates, help keep the crew members safe and are now lowering these attacks.
With anti-boarding devices, armed contractors and the creation of employment opportunities, pirate attacks are now lowering in numbers. While there is still work to be done, the fight against modern-day pirates has produced encouraging results.
– Emme Chadwick
Photo: U.S. Coast Guard
Sleep Deprivation and Global Poverty
Sleep deprivation and global poverty are indisputably connected. Science has long acknowledged the relationship between adequate sleep and overall health. Lack of sleep leads to weight gain, a higher incidence of Type II diabetes and heart issues, to name just a few complications caused by poor sleep. Insufficient sleep also impairs cognitive abilities. All of these factors are hindrances to reaching one’s earning potential, contributing to the cycle of poverty.
Sleep Deprivation in Asia and Africa
Until relatively recently, there has been little available data to address the relationship between sleep deprivation and global poverty. Many studies of the public health of developing countries were focused on disease and malnutrition, widely considered more pressing health issues. However, a 2012 article detailed a study conducted in Asia and Africa that examined the sleep patterns of more than 40,000 participants.
The participants were a mix of men and women aged 50 or older from low-income settings in Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, South Africa and Indonesia. Among the conclusions were correlations between sleep problems and depression, anxiety, physical disability, lower education and “poorer self-rated quality of life.”
Sleep Deprivation in India
India is one of the most sleep-deprived nations in the world, with a nightly average of 6 hours and 55 minutes. An article in India Today cited a study done by the brand Fitbit, famous for the wearable devices used to track heart rates, sleep patterns and calorie burning. The results illustrated that young people are not immune to the effects of inadequate sleep. The study found that teens who slept poorly scored lower in cognitive abilities than their well-rested counterparts. Type II diabetes, cardiovascular issues and hypertension are all on the rise in India, and all can be traced back to poor sleep.
For people on the lower end of the socioeconomic continuum in India, it is simply harder to get a good night’s sleep. Many of India’s poorest people live in a single room with multiple occupants, with few noise barriers to drown out incessant honking and other loud street noises. It is often extremely hot, and in many cases, individuals are sleeping on a hard floor without a pillow. Mosquitoes also tend to be a problem due to the humid climate.
Necessities of Sleep and How to Improve it
As the correlation between sleep deprivation and global poverty has begun to receive closer examination, academics are now asking more pointed questions about the impact of poor sleep on one’s decision-making abilities and how that can perpetuate a poverty cycle. University of Pennsylvania economist Heather Schofield, who conducted a sleep-related study in South India, posits that extreme fatigue can cause a complete abdication of decision-making. This can manifest itself as someone who is living at or below the poverty line being too exhausted to even think about how to improve their station in life, let alone actually take the steps to make a significant change. Sleep deprivation can also affect one’s ability or willpower to delay gratification. For example, the purchase of items like alcohol or tobacco may offer short-term relief or pleasure but are ultimately detrimental to a person’s physical and financial health.
Sleep is as essential to survival and optimal health as food and water. As such, the link between sleep deprivation and global poverty cannot be ignored. A worker who completes a 14-hour shift to sleep on a mat in a crowded room is not going to be as productive as someone who can collapse onto a comfortable bed in a cool, quiet room.
One of the governing principles of providing foreign aid is to set the stage for a developing nation to succeed on its own. Schofield found simple ways of measuring the effects of improved sleep on her test subjects, providing earplugs, blankets and sleep masks, as well as offering nap times, in some cases. These low-tech solutions made a substantial difference, demonstrating that increased awareness may be what is most needed to tackle the problem of sleep deprivation and global poverty.
– Raquel Ramos
Photo: Flickr
How SMS Messaging Helped to Combat Ebola in Sierra Leone
When the Ebola epidemic hit Sierra Leone in 2014, the outbreak began slowly but gradually built into a burst of cases, then increased exponentially from there. With little knowledge on how to contain the disease and even less on how to cure it, the country declared a state of emergency and proceeded to shut down schools, cinemas and other common gathering places in a bid to contain the disease.
SMS messaging also played a key role in eradicating Ebola in Sierra Leone by March 2016.
Global Response to the Ebola Epidemic
In response to the outbreak, UNICEF launched the Rapidpro free source platform, which provided SMS messaging in Sierra Leone that had no need for internet, a sophisticated phone or even phone credit. Users only needed a basic handset with a network connection. This system — launched globally in September of 2014 — has been lauded for its ease of use particularly on pre-existing equipment and phone networks, even in remote places.
Rapidpro is cloud-based, multi-language and multi-channel so it can be accessed through SMS, voice or Twitter. SMS messaging in Sierra Leone was first used by the UNICEF team behind the Ebola Community Care Centres (CCCs), which set up 46 centers in five districts with 404 beds in less than two months. They needed SMS to communicate information on triage numbers, admissions and results on a daily and monthly basis so that experts would be able to stay updated on the latest caseload trends.
SMS Messaging Helped Get Information to the Public
On November 7, 2015, the World Health Organization made an initial declaration that the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone was over, with the official announcement coming the following Spring. Over the course of the year and a half that the disease rampaged through the country, 8,704 people were infected and 3,589 died. Of those who died, 221 were health care workers.
As the country recovered from the epidemic, this system also allowed workers to monitor Observational Interim Care Centres (OICCs), report from district protection desks as well as follow up on family reunification efforts. Using a network of 788 monitors across the country, officials used SMS messaging in real-time to facilitate social mobilization.
SMS played a role in sharing information about school reopenings, plans for nutrition supply monitoring and reporting on HIV treatment. Thanks to this initiative, officials reached 1.2 million subscribers, containing the spread of Ebola in Sierra Leone thanks to text messages.
SMS Messaging in the Aftermath
Today, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation uses SMS Messaging in Sierra Leone to monitor aid supplies received from the EU, DFID, USAID and UNICEF. SMS helps ensure that these life-saving supplies reach those in need at some 1,200 health facilities by simply sending a text message as soon as the products have arrived. Every facility is required to report the drugs and supplies within 24 hours of receiving them, saving everyone time. The previous, paper-based system, took many days to check and had a slow response time. SMS messaging increases trust for donors, governments and communities because they know that the supplies are reaching the people who direly need them.
Workers like Alfred Pujeh, an administrator at one of Sierra Leone’s OICCs use the system to answer questions immediately from the Ministry of Social Welfare and Gender and Children’s Welfare Agency in Freetown about the children in their care. SMS messaging makes his job easier and more efficient so he is able to focus more on the children who need him, instead of being weighed down by paperwork that could get lost en route to his supervisors.
– Michela Rahaim
Photo: Flickr
Credit Access in the Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands, one of the third largest archipelago countries, consists of nearly 900 islands with a total population of 400,000. It is located between the sea routes of the South Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Sea and the Coral Sea. Given its unique landscape and dispersed population, there is limited banking and credit access in the Solomon Islands. Currently, there are about 300 islands that are inhabited and within those islands, there are only 14 bank branches.
Current Status of Financial Inclusion
Limited banking and credit access in the Solomon Islands impact the way Solomon Islanders handle their finances. According to the Solomon Islands’ financial demand-side survey, the following statistics reveal the involvement in the Solomon Islands’ financial sector.
It is important to note the barriers that Solomon Islanders face when they attempt to enter the financial sector. One of the many barriers includes the country’s mountainous and rainforest-covered landscape which constrains their ability to access financial services such as banks or ATMs.
It was reported that those without bank accounts live an average of 6 hours away from a bank while those with bank accounts must travel about 2 hours to access banking services. The farther away Solomon Islanders are from accessible financial services the more costly it is to participate in the financial sector.
Understanding the Gender Gap
It is important to address gender disparity when it comes to the financial involvement between men and women in the Solomon Islands. Only 20 percent of adult women have a commercial bank account compared to 32 percent of males. The Solomon Islands National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2016-2020 (NFIS) notes that “Banked adults now average 4.5 years more schooling than the unbanked: a factor that helps explain the widening gender divide.” The gap is also evident in terms of literacy rates as 89 percent of men in the country are able to read and write compared to only 79 percent of women.
Solutions for Financial Exclusion
The government is prioritizing efforts to provide accessible banking and credit access in the Solomon Islands and though it has been a tedious process there has been some progress. The updated NFIS strategy has a goal of helping men, women and young people “to be financially competent and have access to a full range of financial services that help them achieve greater financial security and financial opportunity.” Overall, the goal is to ensure that 300,000 adults to have a form of formal or semi-formal financial accounts by 2020. The NFIS also seeks to ensure that 90 percent of the population will be able to access financial services within one hour of ordinary travel from their homes.
The Solomon Islands Government also launched the Women’s Financial Inclusion in the Solomon Islands which focuses on empowering women to realize “their full potential, importance, and status, and be increasingly recognized and heard in Solomon Islands society.” The program also seeks to provide women with the necessary tools to become business owners and participate in the private sector. A number of initiatives have been spearheaded under the Women’s’ Financial Inclusion program:
Overall, promoting financial inclusion through greater credit access to the Solomon Islands has the potential to bridge the gender gap in the country while creating economic opportunity for those in rural areas.
– Jocelyn Aguilar
Photo: Unsplash
Urgent Need to Address Malnutrition in the Horn of Africa
Due to the drought sweeping across the region:
People in the countries of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have also been heavily affected by the worst flooding in the area in 30 years. In Kenya, floods have affected 800,000 people and displaced 244,400 people. These conditions have also resulted in crop failure and loss of livestock, turning conditions from poor to dire.
Immediate Help to the Horn of Africa
Beginning in 2014, UNICEF has treated 135,000 children for severe acute malnutrition in Somalia. They have vaccinated nearly 2 million children against polio. In Ethiopia, 2.7 million children, mothers and pregnant women have been screened for malnutrition. UNICEF has started supplementary feeding programs to further combat the malnutrition in the Horn of Africa. In Kenya, they have expanded their assistance to the flood of refugees coming in from South Sudan.
Organizations like Oxfam are on the ground in these areas, working with locals to get to those most in need. They are providing emergency food distributions and working with people to produce their own food and incomes. They are combating malnutrition in the Horn of Africa by providing emergency water and sanitation to stop the spread of diseases like cholera and diarrhea.
Continued Help in the Region
UNICEF’s efforts have continued to focus on preventing and treating severe acute malnutrition. They seek to expand access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. Their people are increasing the number of children that they are vaccinating so that they can better respond to childhood illnesses and prevent them. Their focus is also on the people’s access to assets and safety nets that are responsive to seasonal factors and other shocks.
While there are many organizations that are coming to the aid of the people in the Horn of Africa, they still need more support if they are going to overcome the political and environmental issues that are making their lives unliveable.
– Michela Rahaim
Photo: Flickr