There are many people around the globe who are standing up and advocating for themselves and the human rights of the people around them. Whether their countries allow them to speak freely about their oppression or try to silence them, these social activists are making an impact. These are some of the top emerging social activists from around the world.
Shamma bint Suhail Faris Mazrui – United Arab Emirates
The youngest government minister in the world, Shamma bint Suhail Faris Mazrui became Minister of State for Youth Affairs in the UAE in 2016. One of her main views on what youths can add to public affairs and relations is resourcefulness, arguing, “Hopelessness results when youth are not seen as resources, and apathy results they’re not seen as assets.”
Mazrui’s vision is to bring more youths into the private sectors of the UAE and not just into public affairs. She believes that the change of a nation starts with the investment of the youth. Ultimately, her goal is to set a vision into the youth’s eyes that there is something more important than living solely for yourself.
Majandra Rodriguez Acha – Peru
In 2009, the government of Peru released its jungles from protection and opened them for scavenging and oil extraction. That year, nineteen-year-old Majandra Rodriguez Acha decided she would not stand for her jungles to be exploited. A group of activists including Ahca chanted “La selva no se vende, la selva se defiende.” In English, “You don’t sell the jungles, you defend them.”
Since then, Acha has formed a group called TierrActiva Perú. The group advocates for the voice of the jungle. It reconciles urban youth groups to indigenous youth groups in Peru directly affected by the exploitation of the jungles.
In 2014, Acha organized a conference that brought together over 100 indigenous and urban youths, mainly under 30 years old. Acha says, “We believe that people are experts of their own reality” and the conference was one of little convention. The people were free to come up to the stage, write on a whiteboard, and express their own emotions and ideas towards bettering Peru.
Li Maizi – China
China has been under the rule of the communist party for sixty-six years. The country runs on the traditional principles of efficient work and a conventional, stable family-core. However, in 2015, emerging social activists like Li Maizi challenged these values.
China has no laws or allowance for activism which does not conform to the structure of society within the country. Maizi and others handed out stickers on International Women’s Day in 2015. They were protesting and raising awareness of sexual abuse and harassment. These women were detained and interrogated. Maizi herself was imprisoned for over thirty-five days but was released after being labeled a spy.
Four other women were detained alongside Maizi. All either queer or labeled as free-women, meaning they do not wish to have children, they have been called the Feminist Five. The group realize public rallies in their country are not possible. To succeed in fighting against the oppression of women, they have to formulate different tactics to raise awareness.
Maizi believes that the U.S. is a breeding ground for social activism. She believes it has the right political and social atmosphere to transcend borders and empower China. “If we don’t set up this group in the U.S., China’s feminist movement will become too passive. The position of our core activists is extremely fragile and we don’t know when the police will come and arrest someone again—it could be today or tomorrow,” she says.
Alioune Tine – Chad
The government of Chad has cracked down on social activism and freedom of speech within the last two years. It has also banned peaceful protests within the country. Alioune Tine is the Amnesty International West and Central Africa Director. He has said that officials have made criticism of their government something that cannot be voiced or acted upon.
Many of the known political and social activists in Chad have reached out to Amnesty International, stating that they have received phone calls and harassment. They allege that the calls include interrogatory questions which leave them afraid and confused.
Tine says that Chad is at a crossroads. It must choose between muzzling citizens and critics of its government or to walk in the promises made by the president during his election.
These emerging social activists are just a few among many around the world who are standing up and speaking out despite opposition. As Acha said, “people are experts to their own reality.” These experts believe people have a right to be heard.
– Hannah Vaughn
Photo: Flickr
A Look at the Top 10 Worst Typhoons
However, the word hurricane is used for tropical cyclones that form over the North Atlantic Ocean and Northeast Pacific, and the word typhoon is used for tropical cyclones that form over the Northwest Pacific Ocean. Typhoons are often seen as more destructive than hurricanes because they tend to hit the densely populated countries of Asia. Below is a list of the top 10 worst typhoons of all time.
Top 10 Worst Typhoons
The damage done by the top 10 worst typhoons reveals how vulnerable humans are to uncontrollable forces of nature. Humans have not yet developed the technology they need to shield themselves from all of a typhoon’s destructive effects though research efforts are ongoing.
– Jacob Stubbs
Photo: Flickr
Secondhand Clothing Import Ban in the EAC
Prior to 1980, the domestic clothing and textile industry within the East African Community (EAC) was booming and employed thousands of people. Certain liberalization policies caused the industry to fail, creating a reliance on imported products. Used clothing imports reached $151 billion in East Africa during 2015. Secondhand clothing offers a cheap and quality source of garments for the people within the EAC.
Imports of used clothing are estimated at around 540 million pieces per year versus the 20 million pieces of clothing created domestically each year in East Africa. Primarily, the United States and Europe, places where people discard large sums of used clothing, sent these imports. These areas donate 70 percent of donated garments to Africa. The EAC initiated the start of a secondhand clothing import ban in 2016 with the goal of accomplishing a complete ban by 2019. The hope is to create a self-sustaining and reliable textile industry that provides jobs for many people.
Taxation in the EAC
The plan was to expand local textile industries prior to the ban, however certain countries within the EAC, such as Rwanda, have already begun raising taxes on imported secondhand clothing. Taxes went from $0.2 to $2.5 from 2016 to 2017, at a 12 percent increase. People who oppose the ban fear that this will disproportionately affect people with lower incomes, rather than support positive industrialization. The opposition also fears that seeing the ban to completion will violate portions of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) where many African countries agreed to lift barriers restricting trade and investment with the United States.
However, the East African Community seems concerned with positive domestic growth and industrialization with the hopes of sustaining its economy. Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda plan to continue to raise taxes on clothing imports, while Kenya has said it cannot economically support the 2019 ban deadline because it is unable to meet domestic demands with local markets.
Creating a Textile Industry
Supporters of the ban have recognized that wearers of secondhand clothing might have a risk of obtaining skin candidiasis, scabies, ringworm, body lice and other health risks. To avoid added health risks and to maximize use of domestic commodities, the East African Business Council (EABC) has expressed the need to use the large production of cotton in the EAC domestically to create textiles, rather than exporting it for low costs. The countries within East Africa continue to work towards an improved domestic clothing and textile industry by creating facilities and advancing technology available towards textile production. Tanzania’s Minister of State, Jenista Mhagama, announced a training program in 2016 that would encourage and assist young people to become tailors.
Despite push back from European countries and the United States, the EAC continues its push towards growing its domestic textile industry and implementing the secondhand clothing import ban. As the EAC fulfills the ban, the impact of this on its economy will become clear.
– Claire Bryan
Photo: Flickr
Access to Seeds and the Global Seed Industry
Lack of access to high-quality seeds is one of the greatest obstacles to reducing hunger around the world. Smallholder farms produce as much as 80 percent of all global food production (that is, farmer who operate between one and 10 hectares of land), but only about 10 percent of these farmers have access to seeds distributed by the world’s largest companies, which have been bred to withstand drought, increase yields and improve nutrition. This is the statistic which inspired the creation of the Access to Seeds Foundation, a Netherlands-based organization funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It examines the global seed industry to improve seed access for smallscale farmers.
The most prominent product of the Access to Seeds Foundation is the Access to Seeds Index. The index collects data from 60 different prominent seed companies in four major regions: Latin America, Western and Central Africa, South and Southeast Asia and Eastern and Southern Africa. The companies are compared to each other according to seven criteria, ranging from Research and Development (or the development of new seed technologies) to Capacity Building (or the training of local farmers in the use of new technologies and methods).
According to Ido Verhagen, executive director of the Access to Seeds Index, “Our main goal is just to show how this industry is performing and which companies are good candidates for partnerships with NGOs and research institutes.” While Verhagen stops short of suggesting that the Access to Seeds Index has singlehandedly levied great change to the global seed industry, he does acknowledge that the index has allowed experts to make observations about the seed industry which may be very useful in the future. Here are just three of the insights which the Access to Seeds Index of 2019 has allowed researchers to make about the global seed industry.
The Global Seed Industry is Local
Although the list includes big names in the agricultural technology sector like DuPont and Monsanto, the companies which rank highest tend to be smaller and more local. For instance, the top two spots in the 2019 Access to Seeds Index for Eastern and Southern Africa are occupied by East African Seed, a state-owned Kenyan company and Seed Co., a company based in Zimbabwe.
Agricultural technology companies are all over the world, in part because local companies have a better understanding of the particular needs of local farmers. In the case of Eastern and Southern Africa, the 2019 Access to Seeds Index found 13 companies in Zambia, five in Lesotho, and three in Somalia, among other countries.
Even when it comes to multinational corporations, the biggest corporations are not necessarily the ones that top the index. The highest ranking multinational corporation in both Asia and Africa is East-West Seed, a Thailand-based multinational company which is much smaller than its peers in the United States and China.
The Global Seed Industry is Starting to Respond to Climate Change
In the past, the global seed industry has focused mainly on yields, since high yields mean more money for farmers. Farmers have also preferred to purchase seeds which they could replant year after year. As a result, local companies limited the amount they invested in new technologies. It also meant that farmers were not preparing for climate change. For instance, farmers in areas that have not always been prone to droughts need to start acquiring seeds that are especially drought-resistant.
This trend appears to be changing. Out of the 13 companies in Western and Central Africa that the 2019 Access to Seeds Index listed, 12 of those companies reported that they are beginning to count climate change resistance higher among the traits they target.
This change has come about in part because of strong public-private partnerships. In Zimbabwe, for example, eight out of 10 farmers now get their seeds from private seed companies, ensuring that they are growing crops with the latest technology, capable of responding to climate change and also with the greatest nutritional value.
Seeds are Important, but so are Methods
Although the seed industry is most interested in the distribution of seeds, these seeds are less useful if they are not accompanied by the most recent farming methods. According to Verhagen, the executive director of Access to Seeds, Ethiopian farmers who used advanced methods doubled their yields, even without buying their seeds from companies. Documentation showed that new seed varieties made an even greater difference in yields, but advanced methods proved to be an important component to the increasing yields as well. This is why the Access to Seeds Index measures the seed industry’s success at educating local farmers in new farming methods in addition to their research, distribution and marketing of seeds.
The Access to Seeds Index is still a relatively new project and it is hard to know for sure how much of an impact it is having on the industry. Certainly, the Access to Seeds Index cannot take credit for all recent changes in the global seed industry. Still, the careful monitoring of the Access to Seeds Foundation has allowed insights like the ones listed above and this information may be very useful to farmers and companies in the future.
– Eric Rosenbaum
Photo: Flickr
PAHO and WHO’s Initiatives to Eliminate Malaria
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and World Health Organization (WHO) have initiatives in place to help eradicate malaria with hopes that malaria will be eliminated by 2030. Five initiatives to eliminate malaria are Municipalities for Zero Malaria, Malaria Champions of the Americas, Global Technical Strategy for Malaria, Millennium Development Goal 6, Rapid Access Expansion Program (RAcE) and the Global Malaria Program. It is estimated that half the world’s population, 108 million, is at risk for malaria.
Municipalities for Zero Malaria
Municipalities for Zero Malaria is a newly launched initiative by PAHO arriving on World Malaria Day, April 25, 2019. This initiative is focused on the Americas and its struggles and triumphs with malaria. Recent research has found that malaria in 19 countries exists in 25 municipalities. These 25 municipalities hold 50 percent of all cases of malaria in the Americas. This new initiative will focus on the empowerment of communities and addressing malaria at a local level. Local level measures allow for earlier access to diagnosis and treatment for malaria patients as well as raising awareness of seeking health care treatment. According to Dr. Marcos Espinal, the goals and keys for the success of the Municipalities for Zero Malaria are that “Organizations, citizens and local government authorities must be engaged in developing key interventions for malaria elimination at a municipality level if we are to ensure that no one gets left behind.” This initiative will be a part of the current program, Malaria Champions of Americas.
Malaria Champions of the Americas
Malaria Champions of the Americas started in 2009 and honors countries that have the best practices for eliminating malaria. This organization is a platform to continue to promote good news about malaria and the ongoing fight to eliminate it. The organization chooses and nominates municipalities based on efforts to eliminate malaria. This year, Malaria Champions of the Americas hopes that the new initiative, Municipalities for Zero Malaria, will spark new growth at local level prevention and eradication of malaria. Over the past 11 years, these great initiatives made an effort to eliminate malaria:
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization has three initiatives currently in motion. WHO’s Global Malaria Program is an overarching program that guides all of WHO’s initiatives and publishes a yearly malaria world report. As of 2017, incidence rates have dropped from “72 to 58 per 1000 population at risk” and deaths declined from 607,000 in 2010 to 435,000 in 2017. Currently, 46 countries have equal to or less than 10,000 cases of malaria.
The Global Technical Strategy for Malaria is a longterm initiative that will run from 2016 until 2030. The goal is to reduce case incidence and mortality rates by 90 percent, eliminate malaria in more than 35 countries and prevent the revitalization of malaria in areas it no longer exists. The program is primarily to help guide and support regional programs with the elimination and prevention of malaria.
Rapid Access Expansion Program (RAcE) concentrates on five endemic countries, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger and Nigeria, through an integrated community case management (iCCM) program. Each country has a corresponding organization partner to help obtain the goals of RAcE. The objectives of RAcE are to reduce the mortality rates, increase the access to diagnosis, treatment and referral services, meet the Millennium Development Goal 6 and provide evidence and support to WHO policymakers on iCCM. RAcE’s results have been successful with “over 8.2 million children under 5 were diagnosed and treated for malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea from 2013-2017.” The program also trained 8,420 health care workers to deliver these services to communities.
The Millennium Development Goal 6 has achieved its goal with a 37 percent decrease in cases of malaria over 15 years. Estimates determine that malaria-ridden countries avoided about 6.2 million deaths between 2000 and 2015 due to the initiatives to eliminate malaria.
– Logan Derbes
Photo: Flickr
Always Helps Girls Achieve Education Worldwide
In March 2018, Always — a major feminine hygiene product maker — launched a campaign aimed at ending period poverty. Since then, Always and The Red Box Project, a community-driven initiative that ensures girls can access sanitary products, have donated over 14 million sanitary pads to school girls in the U.K. This is not the first time Always has helped girls around the world. Always has partnered with over 60 organizations that help girls in need. Below are a few of the programs that Always helps girls with around the world.
How Always Focuses on Girls’ Education Around the World
Always believes that every girl should be able to access sanitary hygiene products, and as of March of 2019, it has donated more than 15 million pads to school girls in the United Kingdom. By partnering with The Red Box Project, Always helps girls become empowered all across the United Kingdom. This initiative has also reached the United States.
Before launching #EndPeriodPoverty, Always worked with In Kind Direct, a nonprofit organization in the United Kingdom that “inspires product giving for social good and works to alleviate hygiene poverty.” This organization receives donated items from over 1,125 different companies, like Always, and distributes them to charities across the United Kingdom. For over 14 years, Always has partnered with In Kind Direct and donated over two million hygiene products to the more than 137,700 school girls in the United Kingdom that miss school due to period poverty.
The Syrian refugee crisis represents one of the worst humanitarian crises of this time. The majority of the more than 11 million Syrians that have fled their homes during the Syrian Civil War are girls and young women who are unable to attend school or find employment. The main reason for this is that these young girls face gender-based barriers. Always and P&G have partnered with UNESCO and Save the Children to implement an empowerment program that ensures that girls and young women living in Jordan have access to educational opportunities, learn life skills and have access to work readiness training. This program is an expansion of the Always and Save the Children partnership, which has concentrated on helping young girls in Mexico, Nepal, South Africa, Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa stay in school. It is also an extension of Always’ previous work with UNESCO, which gives girls in Senegal and Nigeria basic literacy and information technology education. By creating educational programs such as this, Always empowers girls to build confidence and strive to reach their fullest potential.
In 2011, Always and UNESCO partnered to give young African girls access to literacy education. According to Always, 497 million girls and young women are illiterate and in Senegal, more than four out of 10 girls have dropped out of school. With the Girls’ Literacy Program, 60,000 girls in Nigeria and Senegal have gained information and communication technologies which will help them achieve access to the education they need. Through the Revitalizing Adults and Youth Literacy program, also created by Always and UNESCO, young girls use e-Learning to learn how to read and write, gain basic numeracy and learn life and vocational skills as well. Always has committed to reaching 110,000 girls in Nigeria and Senegal before 2020.
According to UNICEF, one in 10 African school girls does not attend school during menstruation or drops out of school altogether because they lack sufficient sanitation facilities. Another reason that these young girls drop out of school is that their families and cultures do not have the correct facts about menstruation. In a video produced by Save the Children, one girl from Ethiopia said that her parents told her that a girl gets her period when she has sex outside of marriage. Save the Children and P&G, the producers of Always, have partnered to ensure that young girls gain the knowledge and confidence to stay in school. Together, Always and Save the Children have helped over 10,000 girls in Nepal, Ethiopia and Mexico escape embarrassment from menstruation and allow them to remain in school. By providing the tools to succeed, Always empowers girls to say in school.
While many girls around the world miss school during menstruation, providing basic hygiene products as well as education about puberty and menstruation can help keep girls in school. By working with local governments and charities, Always helps girls stay in school by making sure they have clean and safe sanitary facilities and provide education about feminine hygiene and puberty. Always’ Keeping Girls in School programme has helped over 170,000 girls in addition to donating 11 million pads to schools.
Always helps girls and women all around the world and empowers them to live their lives without any barriers. Millions of girls worldwide miss school and drop out due to period poverty. Girls from Africa to the United States suffer this issue but Always is dedicated to empowering girls and young women by educating them about puberty and providing them with proper feminine hygiene products.
– Andrea Rodriguez
Photo: Flickr
Emerging Social Activists from Around the World
There are many people around the globe who are standing up and advocating for themselves and the human rights of the people around them. Whether their countries allow them to speak freely about their oppression or try to silence them, these social activists are making an impact. These are some of the top emerging social activists from around the world.
Shamma bint Suhail Faris Mazrui – United Arab Emirates
The youngest government minister in the world, Shamma bint Suhail Faris Mazrui became Minister of State for Youth Affairs in the UAE in 2016. One of her main views on what youths can add to public affairs and relations is resourcefulness, arguing, “Hopelessness results when youth are not seen as resources, and apathy results they’re not seen as assets.”
Mazrui’s vision is to bring more youths into the private sectors of the UAE and not just into public affairs. She believes that the change of a nation starts with the investment of the youth. Ultimately, her goal is to set a vision into the youth’s eyes that there is something more important than living solely for yourself.
Majandra Rodriguez Acha – Peru
In 2009, the government of Peru released its jungles from protection and opened them for scavenging and oil extraction. That year, nineteen-year-old Majandra Rodriguez Acha decided she would not stand for her jungles to be exploited. A group of activists including Ahca chanted “La selva no se vende, la selva se defiende.” In English, “You don’t sell the jungles, you defend them.”
Since then, Acha has formed a group called TierrActiva Perú. The group advocates for the voice of the jungle. It reconciles urban youth groups to indigenous youth groups in Peru directly affected by the exploitation of the jungles.
In 2014, Acha organized a conference that brought together over 100 indigenous and urban youths, mainly under 30 years old. Acha says, “We believe that people are experts of their own reality” and the conference was one of little convention. The people were free to come up to the stage, write on a whiteboard, and express their own emotions and ideas towards bettering Peru.
Li Maizi – China
China has been under the rule of the communist party for sixty-six years. The country runs on the traditional principles of efficient work and a conventional, stable family-core. However, in 2015, emerging social activists like Li Maizi challenged these values.
China has no laws or allowance for activism which does not conform to the structure of society within the country. Maizi and others handed out stickers on International Women’s Day in 2015. They were protesting and raising awareness of sexual abuse and harassment. These women were detained and interrogated. Maizi herself was imprisoned for over thirty-five days but was released after being labeled a spy.
Four other women were detained alongside Maizi. All either queer or labeled as free-women, meaning they do not wish to have children, they have been called the Feminist Five. The group realize public rallies in their country are not possible. To succeed in fighting against the oppression of women, they have to formulate different tactics to raise awareness.
Maizi believes that the U.S. is a breeding ground for social activism. She believes it has the right political and social atmosphere to transcend borders and empower China. “If we don’t set up this group in the U.S., China’s feminist movement will become too passive. The position of our core activists is extremely fragile and we don’t know when the police will come and arrest someone again—it could be today or tomorrow,” she says.
Alioune Tine – Chad
The government of Chad has cracked down on social activism and freedom of speech within the last two years. It has also banned peaceful protests within the country. Alioune Tine is the Amnesty International West and Central Africa Director. He has said that officials have made criticism of their government something that cannot be voiced or acted upon.
Many of the known political and social activists in Chad have reached out to Amnesty International, stating that they have received phone calls and harassment. They allege that the calls include interrogatory questions which leave them afraid and confused.
Tine says that Chad is at a crossroads. It must choose between muzzling citizens and critics of its government or to walk in the promises made by the president during his election.
These emerging social activists are just a few among many around the world who are standing up and speaking out despite opposition. As Acha said, “people are experts to their own reality.” These experts believe people have a right to be heard.
– Hannah Vaughn
Photo: Flickr
Mental Health in Ukraine
Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine has faced many troubles. As of early 2014, Ukraine has been in nearly continual conflict with Russia and Eastern Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatists. Ukraine is also home to almost 45 million people. In July 2018, over 1.5 million people were internally displaced, meaning that they had to leave their homes as a result of the fighting. Mental health in Ukraine is affected by the enduring strife in their country.
Issues Impacting Mental Health in Ukraine
Many of those living in Ukraine deal with problems like anxiety and depression, that negatively influence their mental health. These conditions are exacerbated by turmoil. Citizens of Ukraine have dealt with the consequences and brutalities of war, including casualties of friends and family members. Some have had to leave behind the places they call home.
In addition, physical threats are also often an issue. Those living in war zones or even partial cease-fire zones, such as the line of contact through Donetsk and Luhansk, are in constant danger. Roughly 3,300 civilians were killed from 2014 to 2018.
Mental health care is also taboo in Ukraine. During the Soviet era, mental health issues were used as an excuse to imprison in asylums those with differing political beliefs from those in power. The ramifications of this injustice persist today, with many skeptical of psychiatry.
This taboo worsens the effects of anxiety and depression. One survey of 1,000 internally displaced individuals found that 20 percent of those internally displaced suffer from moderately severe to severe anxiety. Also, 25 percent suffered from moderately severe to severe depression. These numbers are significantly higher than the percentage of people suffering from anxiety or depression in the United Kingdom.
The stigma surrounding mental health deters some from voicing their struggles. The matter is further complicated as people who prefer to speak with Church leaders are now unable to do so because many leaders have also fled out of necessity. Those living in separatist territories are denied access to a psychological help hotline. Also, up to 77 percent of the internally displaced are completely deprived of any and all forms of professional help.
Organizations Working to Improve Mental Health in Ukraine
UNICEF has a mobile outreach program that aims to provide psychosocial support to the people of Ukraine. These individual and group activities are designed to focus on relieving anxiety and fear, issues that are abundant in the turbulent areas. UNICEF’s efforts are near the line of contact and provide help for children and their caregivers; 1,792 people were helped by these efforts during January 2019.
Also, UNICEF established the aforementioned hotline for both legal and psychological relief. In 2017, over 43,000 calls were made to the hotline. This outlet for help provides much-needed support to those in need.
The WHO, in cooperation with Ukrainian health authorities, also created a mobile mental health center to provide psychological services, support and education. The program is community-based. Based on the success of the four mobile units across the conflict areas, this system may be implemented on a larger scale as a measure to reform mental health care in Ukraine.
Johns Hopkins University, along with USAID, recently completed a project that started in March 2015 in Ukraine. The design sought to improve the mental health of community members and research the effects that conflict has had on the population.
With the help of these organizations and more, hopefully, the effects of the Ukrainian struggle on mental health can be alleviated. The programs are working to find workable solutions to mental health stigmas and to provide relief for those facing issues with mental health in Ukraine.
– Carolyn Newsome
Photo: Flickr
Improving Mental Health in Ukraine
The embattled eastern European country of Ukraine faces increasing levels of poverty as the majority of the population is unable to afford required expenses, 28 years after the country earned its independence. Compared to countries in the European Union, Ukraine’s poverty indicator is 1.6 times higher. Rising rates of unemployment, disconnections, lack of education and conflict impact the state of mental health in Ukraine. At the start of the war in 2014, Ukraine ranked second on the list of the top 10 most depressed countries in the world.
The Current State of Mental Health in Ukraine
Due to the armed conflict plaguing the nation, 32 percent of Ukrainians suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, 22 percent suffer from depression and 17 percent suffer from anxiety. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), there is an average of 9,024 deaths due to suicide per year, ranking Ukraine at 21 for the countries with the highest rates of suicide. Data from the World Bank suggests that nearly one-third of the Ukrainian population experiences at least one mental health disorder during their life, which is higher than the global average. The 1.6 million Ukrainians that the conflict displaced and those still residing in areas of conflict are amongst the most vulnerable populations for mental health disorders.
Seventy-four percent of the population reported they were unable to receive necessary psychiatric care because of the high costs of care and medicine. Stigma, prejudice and fear of societal rejection further complicate the lack of mental health care in Ukraine.
Moving Toward the Future
The Ukrainian health care system currently models the Soviet’s, and despite 28 years of independence, it has seen little change and lags behind the developed world. There has been a call to integrate mental health care with the ongoing health care reform in Ukraine. Currently, the country devotes only 2.5 percent of the budget within the health care sector to mental health. Eighty-nine percent of the allocation goes to psychiatric hospitals. Decentralization of care would protect patient confidentiality, shrinking the widespread stigma. Inappropriate treatment aggravates the problem of mental health, with the inability to diagnose or the offering of a misdiagnosis. In moving forward, financing needs to increase, referral pathways should strengthen and mental health services must integrate into the existing health care platforms.
USAID in Ukraine
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) assists Ukraine in developing its health system with the overall aim of assuring the Ukrainian population receives modern care from knowledgeable, trained medical professionals. USAID and Ukraine’s partnership is to ensure those the conflict impacted in the eastern part of the country benefit from the appropriate psychosocial support and treatment that demonstrates effectiveness.
With help from the USAID and a focus on mental health moving forward, Ukraine looks to improve its care for those suffering from mental health disorders. Despite high levels of poverty and conflict plaguing the nation, there is a promising future for the care of mental health in Ukraine.
– Gwen Schemm
Photo: Flickr
Humanitarian Assistance in Afghanistan
Hardship and struggles have been reoccurring for Afghanistan and its residents for several years. Afghanistan’s civil war broke the country, but it has been attempting to rebuild. Afghans have been working to begin their lives again and be able to provide for their families. Luckily, there is some humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan helping the country get back on its feet.
Issues and Conflicts
At the close of March, the United States announced an additional $61 million in humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. This assistance will work to provide for communities that have been affected the most, such as displaced persons, returning refugees and Afghan refugees located in the region. Afghans initially fled their country because of the ongoing conflict and the very frequent natural disasters. Natural disasters include landslides, flash-floods and avalanches. Afghanistan has been dealing with these humanitarian issues and natural disasters for at least 17 years. The $61 million in humanitarian aid assistance will fund emergency food assistance, nutrition services, hygiene kits, safe drinking water, access to latrines and protection.
In 2001, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) began working on the stability operations project, which others know as the nation-building project. No matter the name, the goals were the same. USAID was to bring peace and stability to conflicted areas of the country, repair institutions and infrastructure, establish functioning government services and build the country to endure long-term success. For the first year of the nation-building project, the lack of security, fragility of government institutions and lack of agreement caused progress to be slow and complex. In 2002, progress took a turn for the better. USAID’s humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan included work towards the country’s poor infrastructure, lost generations, refugees, Afghanistan’s limited government and its low literacy rates.
The Progress
USAID’s progress in Afghanistan is what follows:
The Programs
USAID’s four implemented programs are as follows:
With the additional humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan from USAID, these programs and initiatives will have more support, which will lead to the opportunity to make changes and implementations when, and where, needed.
– Lari’onna Green
Photo: Flickr
Five Obstacles with Access to Healthcare on the West Bank
Five Obstacles in Access to Healthcare
NGOs Improving Access to Healthcare
Healthcare access on the West Bank is limited due to a number of interrelated reasons. In order to make it more accessible to those who are most affected, NGOs have been developed in both Palestine and Israel. In particular, the Palestine Medical Relief Society was founded in 1979 to aid the most vulnerable members of society. They have a mobile clinic program that includes a first-aid training program to help people gain access to healthcare in remote areas.
Another prominent NGO is Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). Founded in 1988 by Israeli physicians, this organization focuses on humanitarian aid and policy change. Furthermore, there are volunteer medics who provide free services to people with limited or no access. PHR serves more than 20,000 individuals each year.
Both of these organizations recognize the importance of addressing the fundamental issue through and data collection, policy and education, and they are working to improve access to healthcare on the West Bank.
– Tera Hofmann
Photo: Wiki