Migrating to Costa Rica from Panama for economic opportunities, many indigenous people are experiencing the consequences of lacking a state ID, specifically the Ngäbe-Buglé people of remote Costa Rica. Originally from Panama, many Ngäbe-Buglé have moved to Costa Rica in search of work, often as coffee farmers. The farmers and their families are deprived of any national healthcare as well as the opportunity to seek a secondary education without a valid ID.
For many, the lack of healthcare leads to preventable deaths. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), an expectant mother, 23-year-old Teresa, suffered from leukemia that went undiagnosed because she lacked access to a medical center. Teresa soon found it difficult to walk and experienced frequent fainting.
However, thanks to the registration drive in Costa Rica by the Costa Rican and Panamanian Civil Registry Office, supported by the UNHCR, Teresa and the Ngäbe-Buglé people are receiving assistance with state registration, giving them access to hospitals and much-needed treatment.
For Teresa, this project saved her life as well as her baby’s. “I was fainting and I couldn’t even walk … They came to the house and helped me with the paperwork,” Teresa said, according to UNHCR. After becoming a citizen and being admitted to a hospital, Teresa received a bone marrow transplant as well as chemotherapy.
The outreach program, the Chiriticos Project, travels door-to-door, primarily targeting the Ngäbe-Buglé people during the harvesting season. The reason many Ngäbe-Buglé adults fail to obtain an ID is because they are unaware of the required steps and paperwork.
Often traveling by motorcycle or even on foot, the outreach workers aim to bridge the gap by guiding them through the process. According to UNHCR, about 15,000 Ngäbe-Buglé travel from Panama to Costa Rica without an ID. However, more than 3,600 people have received assistance with registering for an ID since 2014 thanks to the Chiriticos Project.
Chiriticos experience immense deprivation of opportunity in life. Parents often fail to register their child’s birth, making obtaining a birth certificate an overwhelming and nearly impossible feat later in life. Without a birth certificate, children are denied access to secondary schools and forced to return to farming, trapping them in an inescapable circle.
Another way that the UNHCR supports the registration drive is through its campaign #IBelong, which aims to eliminate statelessness by 2024. The campaign is supported by local authorities and assists indigenous people with obtaining an ID and providing legal aid.
One person who reaped the benefits of the registration drive in Costa Rica is 18-year-old mother Elida Andrade. According to The Costa Rica Star, Andrade’s parents, who moved to Costa Rica from Panama for work, never registered Elida’s birth. The effect of their decision was made clear when Andrade tried to enroll in a secondary school. Without a state ID, the state denied Elida access to grants, pushing the possibility of an advanced education out of reach.
The outreach project restored Andrade’s hope by helping her register for a birth certificate and opening the door to her potential education. “That day was one of the happiest days of my life. I now feel like a real Costa Rican,” Andrade said. She quickly registered her one-year-old son Pablo’s birth to prevent him from facing the same problem later in life.
Andrade, who plans on studying in the medical field, expressed her enthusiasm and appreciation for the registration drive in Costa Rica. “I will be the pride of my parents and my community. In the meantime, I will promote birth registration so that all my people can assert their rights. The future is ours,” Andrade said, according to The Costa Rica Star.
The registration drive in Costa Rica has unveiled a whole new realm of possibilities for some Ngäbe-Buglé people living in remote, poor areas. While providing a pathway to education for some, and opening access to medical care to others, the registration drive is essential for the wellbeing of the Ngäbe-Buglé.
However, according to UNHCR, more than 10 million people worldwide suffer from statelessness. Gaining citizenship is just another step to improve a nation’s most remote and poor areas.
– Austin Stoltzfus
Photo: Flickr
Confronting Oral Health in Haiti
Although Haiti is facing some tough times combating these major public health concerns, it is a must that dental care is provided, as it interlinks with one’s overall wellness. Infections like gum disease can heighten the chances of HIV transmission, tooth decay can contribute to poor nutrition and oral diseases can lead to bloodborne infections and ultimately cause heart attacks.
Haiti has about one dental hygienist for every 10,000 Haitians, and the majority of these dentists practice in or around the country’s capital of Port-au-Prince, leaving the remaining 48 percent living in rural Haiti with restricted access to dental care. In the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, the workforce for oral health in Haiti has faced countless challenges, mandating aid from international oral health organizations, including Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO).
HVO is a nonprofit organization committed to developing the resources and quality of healthcare in developing countries through education, training and professional development. HVO works with the American Dental Association Foundation (ADA) and the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons on international oral health programs.
To confront the issues that Haiti’s oral healthcare community is facing, HVO and ADA established the Adopt-a-Practice: Rebuilding Dental Offices in Haiti program. Through the program, the ADA and HVO have helped dentists in Haiti who were impacted by the earthquake to reconstruct their practices. The Adopt-a-Practice program has raised more than $129,000 in contributions from dentists and donors across the globe. Many of these doctors have been able to receive donations and new equipment in order to re-establish themselves and continue providing care.
HVO has also been collaborating with the Faculté d’Odontologie, Haiti’s only dental school that graduates about 15 to 20 students annually, for a training program that focuses on oral health in Haiti. A large percentage of Faculté d’Odontologie students leave the country once finished with school to practice elsewhere. The school’s goal is to graduate a group of dentists who can serve the Haitian community.
The more dentists that graduate from the Faculté d’Odontologie and are willing to stay in Haiti and serve their local community, the more they can contribute to improving dental health for Haitians that need it. Building a community of Haitian dentists all around Haiti is just the first step in the right direction.
– Zainab Adebayo
Photo: Flickr
Registration Drive in Costa Rica Opens New Opportunities
Migrating to Costa Rica from Panama for economic opportunities, many indigenous people are experiencing the consequences of lacking a state ID, specifically the Ngäbe-Buglé people of remote Costa Rica. Originally from Panama, many Ngäbe-Buglé have moved to Costa Rica in search of work, often as coffee farmers. The farmers and their families are deprived of any national healthcare as well as the opportunity to seek a secondary education without a valid ID.
For many, the lack of healthcare leads to preventable deaths. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), an expectant mother, 23-year-old Teresa, suffered from leukemia that went undiagnosed because she lacked access to a medical center. Teresa soon found it difficult to walk and experienced frequent fainting.
However, thanks to the registration drive in Costa Rica by the Costa Rican and Panamanian Civil Registry Office, supported by the UNHCR, Teresa and the Ngäbe-Buglé people are receiving assistance with state registration, giving them access to hospitals and much-needed treatment.
For Teresa, this project saved her life as well as her baby’s. “I was fainting and I couldn’t even walk … They came to the house and helped me with the paperwork,” Teresa said, according to UNHCR. After becoming a citizen and being admitted to a hospital, Teresa received a bone marrow transplant as well as chemotherapy.
The outreach program, the Chiriticos Project, travels door-to-door, primarily targeting the Ngäbe-Buglé people during the harvesting season. The reason many Ngäbe-Buglé adults fail to obtain an ID is because they are unaware of the required steps and paperwork.
Often traveling by motorcycle or even on foot, the outreach workers aim to bridge the gap by guiding them through the process. According to UNHCR, about 15,000 Ngäbe-Buglé travel from Panama to Costa Rica without an ID. However, more than 3,600 people have received assistance with registering for an ID since 2014 thanks to the Chiriticos Project.
Chiriticos experience immense deprivation of opportunity in life. Parents often fail to register their child’s birth, making obtaining a birth certificate an overwhelming and nearly impossible feat later in life. Without a birth certificate, children are denied access to secondary schools and forced to return to farming, trapping them in an inescapable circle.
Another way that the UNHCR supports the registration drive is through its campaign #IBelong, which aims to eliminate statelessness by 2024. The campaign is supported by local authorities and assists indigenous people with obtaining an ID and providing legal aid.
One person who reaped the benefits of the registration drive in Costa Rica is 18-year-old mother Elida Andrade. According to The Costa Rica Star, Andrade’s parents, who moved to Costa Rica from Panama for work, never registered Elida’s birth. The effect of their decision was made clear when Andrade tried to enroll in a secondary school. Without a state ID, the state denied Elida access to grants, pushing the possibility of an advanced education out of reach.
The outreach project restored Andrade’s hope by helping her register for a birth certificate and opening the door to her potential education. “That day was one of the happiest days of my life. I now feel like a real Costa Rican,” Andrade said. She quickly registered her one-year-old son Pablo’s birth to prevent him from facing the same problem later in life.
Andrade, who plans on studying in the medical field, expressed her enthusiasm and appreciation for the registration drive in Costa Rica. “I will be the pride of my parents and my community. In the meantime, I will promote birth registration so that all my people can assert their rights. The future is ours,” Andrade said, according to The Costa Rica Star.
The registration drive in Costa Rica has unveiled a whole new realm of possibilities for some Ngäbe-Buglé people living in remote, poor areas. While providing a pathway to education for some, and opening access to medical care to others, the registration drive is essential for the wellbeing of the Ngäbe-Buglé.
However, according to UNHCR, more than 10 million people worldwide suffer from statelessness. Gaining citizenship is just another step to improve a nation’s most remote and poor areas.
– Austin Stoltzfus
Photo: Flickr
Bettering Citizens’ Lives With Infrastructure in Swaziland
Swaziland is a small, middle-income country in southern Africa that was once heavily influenced by British and Dutch rule in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Since it was granted its freedom in 1968, the Swazi government has worked hard to create a stable and thriving community for its inhabitants, one of its main focuses being infrastructure in Swaziland.
Swaziland has a GDP of approximately $3.73 billion and a population of 1.1 million. It is estimated that 63 percent of the Swazi population lives under the poverty line and lives in areas that lack adequate access to basic needs, such as reliable roads and a constant food source. To address these issues surrounding citizen well-being, the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) drafted a Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for 2014 to 2018 that focuses on promoting economic growth and improved quality of life in Swaziland.
This document, while tenacious, hopes to address the country’s status as a lower-income country with moderate to high poverty and inequality rates. The board drafted two main goals in its legislature:
Within the first goal of the legislature, the board’s plan was to address infrastructure in Swaziland by improving the country’s amenities to match those of surrounding countries. This was meant to aid the integration of disadvantaged groups of society by giving them better access to opportunities coming from improved infrastructure. Since the CSP was drafted in 2014, there have already been progressive steps taken in addressing these issues.
First, in 2014, the Board of Executive Directors of the AfDB approved a $47 million loan to improve the quality of the Manzini-Mbadlane highway, a highly trafficked roadway. This job not only provided 250,000 Swazis with economic benefits regarding reduced travel cost and time, but it also provided a more stable route to and from South Africa, a popular tourist destination and stable trading partner.
Additionally, in May 2016, Swaziland received a $63 million loan in order to finance the second phase of the Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project in the southeastern part of the nation. This loan provided an opportunity for small, poorer farmers to use the natural resources provided by the Lower Usuthu River Basin to get involved with the commercial agriculture sub-sector, which is an excellent opportunity for both the underserved citizens of Swaziland as well as the country’s overall economy.
However, contrary to the active work being done to improve infrastructure in Swaziland, the country has not seen much development in terms of official action being taken to strengthen governance and institutional capacity. But, in recent years, the country’s lawmakers have drafted plans that focus on bettering healthcare and the decentralization of hospitals in Swaziland.
The Swaziland Ministry of Health National Health Sector Strategic Plan, which was drafted for 2014 to 2018, has outlined some key procedures surrounding the improvement of responsiveness, sustainability and creating a distinctive organizational culture within Swaziland’s healthcare sector. These plans will be funded by the World Bank and the European Union, and are being led by the Health Partners Southern Africa, which will be working with the Health Information Systems Program, the Institute for Health Measurement as well as the Strategic Development Consultants. The hope is that the goals stated in these drafts will come into effect in the next few years.
While there is still a long way to go in terms of improving infrastructure in Swaziland, the country’s lawmakers are working with their economic resources to find ways to better the lives of their country’s inhabitants. With loans and foreign support, the hope is that Swaziland will acquire the means to reach its goal of becoming a first world country.
– Alexandra Dennis
Photo: Flickr
Bill Gates on Why Global Health Must Be a Global Priority
J.P. Morgan has made the following its core values:
In January 2018, Bill Gates made an appearance at the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference to discuss his thoughts. At the conference, Gates’ speech discussed recent progress in global health and what else still needs to be done. Initially, he pointed out how global health has been the focus of his foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, for the last eight years. He explained how child mortality has decreased by 50 percent and credited new vaccines to reducing deaths due to rotavirus, pneumonia and malaria.
Afterwards, he expressed the need for more innovation, explaining how funding research is the most elementary step in improving global health. He mentioned the current gap between the tools that are currently available to eliminate stubborn diseases and poverty and the tools that are needed, explaining that the only solution is innovation. He emphasized how “the tools and discoveries companies are working on can also lead to breakthrough solutions that save millions of lives in the world’s poorest countries.”
He concluded his speech by emphasizing the need for more research into preterm births, as they account for half of newborn deaths. It has also become clear that a child’s nutrition and the microbiome in their stomach, or rather the interactions between the two, are the largest factor in determining the child’s survival rate. The best solution to this is ensuring that children have the proper ratio of microbes in their stomach, a problem Gates and his partners have started to tackle.
Gates and his foundation have always made global health a priority. They work with partners globally to improve the following five program areas:
Thanks to Bill Gates, his foundation and the J.P. Morgan healthcare conference, investors and advancements will continue to increase, alleviating the burden of global poverty and improving global health.
– Chylene Babb
Photo: Flickr
15 Organizations That Help Improve the World
With the myriad difficulties that face the world, it is essential to have organizations making the planet a better place. Without such generous assistance, the world would be plagued with unmanageable adversities. The following is a list of 15 organizations that help improve the world with their innovative ideas and generous efforts.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is an organization that works to fight hunger and its consequential effects on a global scale. It works specifically to eradicate infectious diseases and child mortality rates in struggling countries.
Doctors Without Borders delivers emergency aid to people in need. These efforts include helping people in situations of natural disasters, epidemics and lack of health care.
The FAO’s prime purpose is to defeat hunger. It works in 130 countries worldwide to help ensure people have access to food and are not going hungry. The organization has been fighting hunger since 1945.
Human Rights Watch was established in 1978 and is an organization that reports on human rights conditions in countries all over the world. With its findings, it meets with governments and financial corporations to urge for policy changes that assist the betterment of human rights around the world.
Oxfam is a global organization that helps improve the world through poverty-reduction efforts. It focuses on the conditions that cause poverty and works to fix the effects of such difficulties. Its efforts include disaster response, programs to help people afflicted by poverty and education improvement.
Founded in 1881, the Red Cross foundation works to help people in urgent need. Assisted greatly by volunteers, the Red Cross mainly provides disaster relief, support to America’s military families, health and safety services, blood donations and international services.
Save the Children is a nonprofit organization that focuses primarily on helping children in need. This includes emergency response, global health initiatives, HIV and Aids prevention, disaster response and creating educational opportunities. In 2016, Save the Children reached and assisted 157 million children.
The Borgen Project is a nonprofit organization that aims to end poverty by working to make poverty a focus of U.S. foreign policy. The organization is an influential ally for the world’s poor that educates and mobilizes people to communicate with their Congressional leaders to ensure funding for poverty-fighting efforts are not eliminated. In 2017, the organization had volunteers in 754 U.S. cities and is one of the 15 organizations that help improve the world immensely.
The World Bank works with other organizations to provide extensive financial assistance to developing countries. It was established in 1944 and has more than 10,000 employees and 120 offices worldwide.
The UNDP is an organization that aims to eradicate poverty. It implements this goal by developing policies, skills and partnerships to enable people to sustain their progress and improvement. The UNDP is in over 170 countries and territories.
UNICEF is an organization that fights for children’s rights to shelter, nutrition, protection and equality. It does so by being children’s advocates and providing humanitarian assistance to children and their families, most often in developing countries.
USAID is an international agency that provides development assistance to countries in need. It works to advance U.S. national security and “economic prosperity” by promoting self-sufficiency. It uses humanitarian response efforts to bring disaster relief and supplies to those who are struggling.
WFP’s mission is to fight world hunger and provide people around the world the quality food they need to survive. It does this by working with U.S. policymakers and other foundations to organize financial resources, as well as develop necessary policies to assist the fight against worldwide hunger.
Of the 15 organizations that help improve the world, WHO is among the largest. The WHO is an organization that works directly with governments and various partners to ensure a healthier future for people all around the world. It fights infectious diseases and works directly with mothers and children to improve and maintain their health.
The WWF is an international nongovernmental organization working to conserve nature and reduce extreme threats. It also aims to increase awareness to prevent further damage to the earth and its inhabitants.
These are only 15 organizations that help improve the world. There are many more that work together with partners to help make the world a better and safer place to live. Their generosity helps people on a daily basis live healthier and happier lives, and it is troublesome to think of where the world would be without such assistance.
– McCall Robison
Photo: Flickr
Sustainable Agriculture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
These beautiful rocky islands are home to approximately 109,000 citizens who can benefit from an increase of sustainable agriculture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, personally and economically. The Grenadine islands consist of Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau and Union, which form a chain of landmasses leading to Grenada.
Only a portion of the island’s 150 square miles is being utilized, with a large part dedicated to agriculture (25 percent) while the majority is forest (68 percent). Despite much of the land being used for agriculture, it only makes up about 7 percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
With most of the population centered around the nation’s capital, Kingstown, much of the agriculture comes from small family farms outside of the capital. But two crops, bananas and arrowroot, in particular, have the potential to change the country’s economic condition and future circumstances for the good.
Bananas
Despite the recent threat, plans to encourage the farming of bananas have come in the form of the Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM) for the sustainable agriculture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
In 2010, BAM was created by the European Union as an initiative to help developing countries export bananas better; of the developing countries, African, Pacific and other Caribbean nations were chosen. Essentially designed to create economic opportunities, competitiveness and diversification of sustainable agriculture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the initiative involved EC$18 million to install.
BAM is based on minimizing poverty through strategic investing that increases banana production along with other crops, such as root vegetables. So far, the financial packages have established a food science lab at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College and other infrastructural add-ons that aid in banana production, specifically, such as upgrades to packing facilities.
Arrowroot
This root vegetable alone has the potential to significantly reduce the poverty of whoever grows it. The sustainable agriculture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is unique for being one of the only producers of the starchy tuber, producing 95 percent of the world’s arrowroot. Arrowroot flour is used in a variety of Caribbean dishes for its starchy texture and gluten-free characteristics, but these are not the only aspects of the root vegetable that make it profitable.
Once ground into flour, arrowroot can be mixed with chemicals like sodium chloride and citric acid to create a dressing for paper, making it extremely water resistant. Print photographers originally used this kind of paper for its water resistance, but the practice became outdated. Since then, arrowroot has made a revival due to the technology boom and the abundant use of printers. The root vegetable is now crucial in the manufacture of carbon-less paper.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Raymond Ryan, said the desire for this form of sustainable agriculture in St. Vincent could get higher with “100,000 pounds of [the] starch per year” acting as the potential. This fact, along with the “growing demand of gluten-free products,” means arrowroot and its starch have a good chance of elevating St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ growing popularity.
The Uplifting Effects of Bananas and Arrowroot
Both of these crops have the potential to pull St. Vincent and the Grenadines to the high standards that a global economy demands. However, arrowroot has many profitable niches that bananas have already overblown, indicating that the root vegetable’s potential is arguably greater for the island.
The fact that St. Vincent is the main supplier of arrowroot is an overall positive for the country. Formerly dependent on only bananas, this root offers a second chance at economic growth for sustainable agriculture in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
With this kind of agricultural diversity on the horizon, the Caribbean nation can compete on a global economic scale and turn small rural family farms into big agricultural businesses that financially impact their communities as much as their country.
– Toni Paz
Photo: Pixabay
The Success of Humanitarian Aid to the Maldives
Since its independence from colonial British rule in 1965, the Maldives gradually improved from least developed country status to upper-middle-income status in 2013. The success of humanitarian aid to the Maldives is notable and contributed greatly to its economic growth.
The country mostly received foreign assistance from Arab countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates before 1980. However, in 1992, it received $11.6 million in foreign aid from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and Japan, which was intended for education, health, transport, fisheries and harbor development.
Although the Maldives is known as a great tourist destination, it is facing a unique danger of potentially disappearing into the ocean due to climate change and rising sea levels. In 2004, the country was struck by a tsunami, leading to massive destruction on its various islands.
Following the tsunami, the U.S. among many other countries provided $8.65 million and USAID contributed $1.9 million in foreign aid for the reconstruction of the damaged areas. Libya sent almost $2 million in emergency humanitarian aid to the Maldives. The U.S also contributed $100,000 after a storm in May 2007 for disaster recovery assistance.
In January 2005, UNICEF, with the help of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office, provided educational supplies and other basic emergency supplies with a total value of $1 million to children in the Maldives who were affected by the tsunami, with an aim of returning them to school by the end of the month.
In December 2014, when a fire destroyed the generator of the largest water treatment plant in the capital city of Mali, India provided water aid to Maldives residents. Ten planeloads of drinking water and two warships with the capacity of purifying water through reverse osmosis systems were dispatched from India, helping almost 150,000 Mali residents.
The European Union contributed €4 million in humanitarian aid in 2007 and another €4 million in 2013 towards environmental sustainability and poverty reduction. This helped in the improvement of safe water, waste disposal, renewable and efficient energy development and coral reef protection.
Australia contributed almost A$1.3 million through the United Nations Development Program for Integrated Government from 2012 to 2018. This includes strengthening civil society organizations and the transparency of the justice department, as well as improving respect for human rights in the country.
The success of humanitarian aid to the Maldives is evident from the birth of the country up to recent times. It has aided in the development of the country’s infrastructure, increased its economic activity and helped with restoration after natural disasters. These examples demonstrate the short-term and long-term effects that humanitarian aid can have on developing countries.
– Mahua Mitra
Photo: Flickr
Addressing the Success of Humanitarian Aid to Kiribati
Although Kiribati’s land mass covers 811 square kilometers, its 33 coral atolls are spread over an area the size of the United States and the vast majority rise no higher than three meters above sea level. Kiribati’s small land mass and high fertility rate mean its main centers are severely overcrowded.
Unemployment rates remain high in the island nation and only 15 percent of children attend secondary school. Only two-thirds of the population has access to an improved drinking water source, and less than 40 percent have access to adequate sanitation facilities. Tuberculosis, dengue fever, leprosy and typhoid are major health concerns for Kiribati.
The United Nations lists Kiribati as an “endangered country” because of the dangers it faces from rising sea levels, contaminated fresh water supplies and poor waste management. There is a need for humanitarian aid to Kiribati because of significant development challenges, such as:
Kiribati’s economy relies on overseas aid, income from fishing licenses and remittances from merchant seamen. Most of Kiribati’s inhabitants are employed in fishing and subsistence farming, but poor soil fertility limits production. Fortunately, new programs are focusing on humanitarian aid to Kiribati.
Caritas Australia implemented The Disaster Response and Preparedness program, funded by AusAID, in four Pacific Island countries. The three-year initiative expands Kiribati’s capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters. Caritas Australia partnered with the Diocese of Tarawa and Nauru to train local young people to work with communities and raise awareness about the impacts of climate change.
Saltwater contaminates drinking wells and high tides destroy land crops, threatening the food security of communities dependent on subsistence agriculture in Kiribati. The Disaster Response and Preparedness program pairs young people with elders to identify strategies to mitigate these effects.
This initiative has given young people the opportunity to become strong advocates for their small island at international climate change forums around the world. Humanitarian aid to Kiribati has been handed off to the next generation.
– Paula Gibson
Photo: Flickr
Humanitarian Aid to Guinea Improves Livelihoods of All Guineans
Situated between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone, Guinea is home to about a third of the world’s bauxite reserves which have not been smelted and refined into aluminum largely owing to the political instability in the country. Chronic underdevelopment has also angered many locals who have, in desperation, disrupted operations at the country’s mines to bring attention to their plight.
According to the U.S. State Department’s Office of Investment Affairs, Guinea suffers from “persistent corruption and fiscal management.” However, the country is not only resource-rich but also filled with economic potentials in the energy and the agricultural sector.
With over four billion tons of untapped high-grade iron ore, abundant rainfall, gold and diamond reserves, off-shore oil reserves and indeterminate amounts of uranium, Guinea has many economic drivers. The country’s natural geography also makes it very hospitable to renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric dams and turbines.
In May 2015, the 240 megawatt Kaleta Dam project was built after a $526 million investment by China. Kaleta more than doubled the country’s electricity supply and encouraged the government to seek aid for more energy infrastructure, mainly in the solar and hydroelectric sector.
According to USAID, Guinea suffered heavy losses to its economical revenue and outlook in the wake of the Ebola outbreak. Many widespread preventable and treatable diseases, such as malaria, prevail in the country and infant and maternal mortality rates remain very high. Furthermore, the agricultural sector is not able to completely function to provide the much-needed source of income and revenue for the people and the government.
The success of humanitarian aid to Guinea is underlined by USAID’s work in the country. In March 2015, USAID provided more than $7 million through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to improve food security and nutrition as a means to combat poverty and hunger in Guinea.
This culminated in WFP making the largest-ever purchase of locally-produced rice, which supported the local agricultural sector and provided children with meals in hundreds of schools across the country. Furthermore, farmers were educated about the business and contracting process, including working with development partners, and were encouraged to establish relationships with banks to obtain credits and rates they could use to sustain their farms.
It has been said that Guinea’s entire population of 12 million people is at risk of malaria. Malaria control efforts and prevention policies are underway in the country, but the damage is ongoing. According to the Ministry of Health, most of the hospitalizations, consultations and deaths in Guinea are a result of malaria.
Aid organizations such as Plan International have been working for decades to provide humanitarian aid to Guinea. Plan International improves children’s access to health, education and sanitation. This is done by ensuring that sustainable, quality education is provided to all children. Children are afforded access to clean water and sanitation facilities. Furthermore, a safe environment designed to empower children is nurtured.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Guinea actively helps vulnerable people and migrants to resettle in other countries by advocating on their behalf and lending support at every step of the resettlement process, including performing medical health assessments on behalf of the resettlement countries. Funding for IOM Guinea is mainly provided by the same governments of resettlement countries, and the international community can and should support the efforts of these countries.
With more humanitarian aid to Guinea, this resource-rich country certainly carries the potential to infuse its wealth of resources into the livelihoods of all Guineans.
– Mohammed Khalid
Photo: Flickr
The Devastating Effects of Cluster Bombs in Poor Countries
More than 98 percent of known cluster bomb victims are innocent civilians, and 40 percent of these are children. Cluster bombs are most prevalent in poor countries because these areas tend to be high in crime, corruption and war. These weapons undergo the following process that may result in detonation:
The Drop
A cluster munition is dropped from a plane and can fly around nine miles before releasing its submunitions. This ability makes for highly inaccurate targeting, meaning the bombs are a disproportionate hazard to civilians.
The container begins to spin a short time before releasing its submunitions. It opens at an altitude between 330 and 3,300 feet. The cluster munition’s height, rotation speed and velocity determine how large of an area will be impacted.
Parachutes Open
Submunitions deploy parachutes as they descend. The parachute ensures that each submunition is stable and descends with its nose down. Each submunition is about the size of a soda can and made of a copper cone containing over 300 steel fragments and incendiary material. The cone can pierce through seven inches of armor and its contents are designed to burn the targeted area and destroy its inhabitants.
Effects of Cluster Bombs
Depending on altitude and wind speed, a cluster bomb’s submunition strikes can cover an area up to 861,120 square feet. The detonation of a single submunition can cause fatalities in a 65-foot radius and injure anyone within a 328-foot radius.
Cluster bombs lack consistency; they are prone to external factors such as weather and deployment tactics. Their volatility renders it near impossible to predict the exact size of an area affected. The effects of cluster bombs usually include numerous civilian and child deaths because of the bomb’s unpredictability.
Many submunitions fail to detonate on impact, resulting in the scattering of explosive “duds” throughout the targeted area. Duds contaminate the area even after conflict ends, essentially becoming landmines that injure and kill civilians. The percentage of unexploded submunitions from older canisters can be as high as 30 percent, but modern canisters typically range from two to 20 percent.
Currently, 63 countries are stockpiling submunitions and this number continues to grow. Cheaper variations of the bombs are likely to be used by countries that brutalize their own civilians or by violent no-state agents that disregard civilian safety.
The Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibits the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster bombs. The international agreement was created in August 2010 and has been signed by 111 countries and ratified by 70. The U.S. has not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
It is possible to combat the effects of cluster bombs by supporting the clearance of unexploded bombs and encouraging countries to sign the treaty banning cluster munitions. With continued effort, civilians’ and children’s lives can be spared.
– Carolyn Gibson
Photo: Flickr