Mental Health Program mhGAP Provides Healthcare Access to IDPs

mhGAP
After the program’s continued success both outside and within internal displacement camps in northeastern Nigeria, the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) plans its first expansion by training 70 new healthcare workers.

mhGAP

Since the program’s inception in September 2017, mhGAP has trained 64 primary healthcare workers and assisted more than 5,000 people from over 35 different primary healthcare facilities, including local clinics. The project was launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with Borno state authorities and the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital of Maiduguri in order to treat mental illness in emergency situations, particularly internally displaced persons and low-income individuals (often times intersecting).

The prevalence of mental health disorders in Nigeria is estimated at around 12 percent, an unproportionately high figure compared to the small number of clinics that offer treatment. Due to the widespread violence in northeastern Nigeria, nearly 7 million people live in camps meant for internally displaced persons and WHO estimates that nearly 1 in 5 of said 7 million may need mental health care, much of which is largely unavailable. In fact, the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital of Maiduguri is the only facility in the region that focuses primarily on mental health.

Prevalence of Mental Illness

Mental illness is particularly prevalent in communities that experience extreme levels of stress and adversity, such as internally displaced persons and those living in extreme poverty. According to WHO, experiences such as abductions, violence, gender-based violence and atrocities can trigger mental illness and other psychological problems.

The prevalence of disorders such as anxiety, depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have increased by an average of 5 to 10 percent, and the instances of psychosis double on average, according to public data published by the World Bank. These percentages are often higher among children and adolescents, with incidents of PTSD ranging from 50 to 90 percent.

mhGAP Intervention Methods

To combat increased prevalence, mhGAP utilizes programs for intervention and management, focusing on neurological, mental and substance-use-associated disorders such as psychotic disorders, epilepsy, suicide, dementia, alcohol and illicit drug abuse and childhood mental illness.

The program provides access to mental healthcare otherwise unattainable for the majority of those displaced. This lack occurs due to an absence of monetary resources and a scarcity of functioning mental health facilities.

Approximately two-thirds of the 749 known healthcare facilities in Borno have been destroyed or damaged as a result of the Nigerian army’s eight-year-long conflict with Boko Haram. The ongoing violent conflict has also forced over 2 million people from their homes, negating any possibility of regular access to affordable health services — mental or otherwise.

Hope, Help and Knowledge

Borno, accompanied by the majority of northeastern Nigeria, struggled socioeconomically prior to any conflict with Boko Haram. Over 70 percent of Borno’s population lives under the poverty line — almost 30 percent higher than the national average of 46 percent, according to the U.N. Global Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index.

While mental health continues to remain only one of the many pressing issues of internally displaced persons, mhGAP’s success both inside and outside displacement camps demonstrates a positive shift towards the national perception of mental illness. mhGAP’s resources enables the most vulnerable to hope and provides the knowledge that their situations are not permanent.

– Katie Anastas
Photo: Flickr

10 Important Facts About Girls’ Education in Somalia

Facts About girls' education in SomaliaThe East African country of Somalia has been ravaged by famine and war, leaving a large majority of the population in poverty. In addition, education opportunities for many Somali children are somewhat limited, especially for girls. Education and equal opportunities are important for improving the quality of life. Below are 10 highly important facts about girls’ education in Somalia.

10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Somalia

  1. Over 70 percent of Somalia’s population is under the age of 30, with slightly more males than females. Somalia’s large percentage of youth indicates a need for economic growth in a country with an unemployment rate of 67 percent. In order to ensure a higher living standard and an improved economy as Somali youth mature, education is a key factor for Somalia.
  2. Although education problems exist in both rural and urban areas of Somalia, access to education in rural regions is even more limited. Nomadic pastoralists account for about 65 percent of the Somali population, and only 22 percent of pastoralist children receive a formal education. Of the 22 percent that receive a formal education, fewer than half are girls.
  3. Low enrollment rates in schools are apparent throughout the country, and girls’ enrollment rates are significantly lower, indicating why these facts about girls’ education in Somalia are so important. Somalia has one of the world’s lowest enrollment rates for primary schools. Only 30 percent of children in Somalia are in school and only 40 percent of those children are girls.
  4. One of the biggest reasons for a disparity in girls’ education is due to the act of female genital mutilation, or FGM. According to UNICEF, about 98 percent of Somali girls have undergone a form of FGM. These acts are often performed in unhygienic conditions by surgeons who have no training. After a girl undergoes FGM, the aftereffects of debilitating scarring and infections–along with the possibility of marriage–results in the withdrawal of thousands of girls from school.
  5. Girls in Somalia are often wed at young ages, ending their education enrollment. According to UNICEF, 45 percent of girls were already married by age 18 in 2017. Through education initiatives, however, more daughters are able to stay in school.
  6. Somali girls are also subject to gender expectations that keep them from receiving an education. Girls often stay home and complete domestic housework or help raise younger children.
  7. The majority of female jobs, particularly in the rural south of Somalia, are jobs that do not require an education. These jobs–which include tending to livestock, milking animals, home care and farming–discourage parents from allowing their children to receive a formal education. Somalia’s high poverty rates and economic challenges could be aided with formal education for girls and boys and could shift the rate of unskilled labor in the country. Receiving an education would be essential and beneficial for these children.
  8. Literacy rates in Somalia are unevenly distributed between boys and girls. The total literacy rate is 37.8 percent in the African nation. Men have a literacy rate of 49.7 percent, while only 25.8 percent of females are literate, highlighting the true educational gender inequality in Somalia.
  9. Girls’ education in Somalia has been the subject of organizations like UNICEF, which strives to improve access to and the quality of girls’ education in the country. Due to political instability, however, UNICEF Somalia has only operated in the autonomous region of Puntland and the de facto independent Somaliland. In Puntland, UNICEF has established four girls’ leadership committees in schools and plans are underway to train 40 female teachers through Garowe Teachers’ College. In addition, 12 trained female teachers were recruited to be part of the Somaliland Ministry of Education teaching force.
  10. The Galkacyo Education Center for Peace and Development was established in 1999 as a response to gender inequality in the Somali education system and operates in Somalia proper and Puntland to increase educational access for girls. Since its foundation, the organization has provided primary schooling to 800 girls–over half of which completed grade eight–and informal education to 1,600 adolescent women.

The inequality between boys’ and girls’ education is apparent with these 10 facts about girls’ education in Somalia. Economic issues, political instability, in addition to traditions like FGM and required housework, have restricted girls’ access to a formal education. Despite these problems, there are organizations and centers that aim to educate more girls in the country and the work must continue to grow. In order for the young Somali population to have better opportunities in the future, equal gender opportunities to education in the country are vital.

– Matthew Cline­
Photo: Flickr

Printing Homes: Affordable Housing for Disaster-Prone Areas

affordable housingMakeshift tent communities become semi-permanent homes for those who have lost everything to natural disasters. Though housing charities like San Francisco-based New Story have built 850 houses for those affected by natural disasters since 2015, the cost and time it takes to build these houses are hindering the progress.

With plans to build an entire 3-D printed community in earthquake-prone El Salvador by the end of this year, New Story is partnering with ICON to print affordable housing for those that have no choice but to live in tents. Of the 850 houses built so fair, New Story has raised funds for 1,600. Solutions like the 3-D printed house will ensure that available funds are utilized efficiently, transitioning more communities from tents to secure shelters sooner.

Printing 3-D Affordable Housing

The current cost for one New Story house equipped with running water, a sanitary bathroom and concrete floor is $6,500. In March of this year, ICON, New Story’s tech construction partner, printed a 3-D house that only cost $4,000 and was built in 24 hours.

Specifically designed for disaster relief housing, the 3-D printer that built this prototype is made from aluminum, making the printer lightweight and easily transportable. The printer has a generator built in should a power outage arise. Designed to withstand worst conditions, ICON’s 3-D printer is revolutionizing affordable housing solutions, specifically for those devastated by natural disasters.

So far, houses built by New Story have improved the lives of over 6,000 people. Through traditional construction, houses have been built in the following places:

  • Haiti – Leveque, Labodrie, Minoterie, Gonaives
  • El Salvador – Nuevo Cuscatlan, Ahuachapan
  • Bolivia – Mizque

How 3-D Printed Houses Change Lives

Living in a secure shelter helps people out of poverty. Not having the worry of where clean water will come from, the floor turning into mud from the rain or someone robbing the home in the middle of the night allows people to focus on things other than survival.

Prior to living in their New Story houses, a community in Labodrie, Haiti, lived in tents for nearly six years after the 2010 earthquake. Many families were separated due to poor living conditions that were unsafe for children. Living in secure shelters bumped the community’s employment rate up 16 percent and reunited families. 150 homes were built equipped with clean running water, bathrooms and concrete floors.

Also devastated by the 2010 earthquake was Leveque, Haiti. People had been living in tent cities before New Story stepped in. With access to clean water, bathrooms and concrete floors, 75 percent of children in this community now attend school.

In El Salvador, 90 homes were built in Nuevo Cuscatlan and Ahuchapan with the help of New Story. In Nuevo Cuscatlan, 16 percent of homeowners started a business from their home, a playground was built in the community for the children and 66 percent of these children are attending school.

The Future of 3-D Printing

The impact of living in a solid home is the difference between surviving and thriving in a community. With the help of new technology, affordable housing will be built in even more communities than in the past. In addition to helping those affected by natural disasters, 3-D printing homes has the potential to help with a global housing shortage caused by rapid city growth and unaffordable housing prices.

According to City Lab, in some developing nations, “housing costs exceed incomes by more than 3000 percent.”  Disaster area or not, unaffordable housing puts people at risk for poverty.  Continued innovation by companies like ICON and New Story will build stronger, self-sustaining communities in places that are most susceptible to natural and manmade disaster.

– Hope Kelly
Photo: Flickr

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Addressing the Nine Most Important Benefits of Education

Benefits of EducationAccess to education is an ongoing civil rights struggle. Education is not only the accumulation of knowledge but also a chance for students to go beyond their current limitations. The following is a list of 10 of the most important benefits of education.

10 Major Benefits of Education

  1. Improved Health: In developing countries, students are forced to miss school for about 500 million days per year because of sickness. Furthermore, one of the benefits of education for mothers is increasing the survival of her child; a child is 50 percent more likely to live past five years old, 50 percent more likely to be immunized and twice as likely to attend school than children of uneducated mothers.
  1. Individual Economic Growth: With education comes opportunities to advance in life. One extra year spent at school increases an individual’s earnings by up to 10 percent. There is a positive correlation between literacy rates and high per capita income; education can give someone the chance to increase personal wealth. These benefits of education give people the skillset and knowledge to improve their lives.
  1. National Economic Growth: Educated civilians would also contribute to the economic growth of their entire country. For example, each additional year of schooling raising the average annual GDP growth by 0.37 percent. Also, providing education for children has a greater benefit than initial cost. The cost of 250 million children not attending school and not learning the basics of education is equivalent to a loss of $129 billion per year. Therefore, education not only advances the country’s economy but also saves the country from major losses.
  1. Reduction of Poverty: Poverty is a major reason why people in rural communities are unable to attend school. However, education is extremely important in reducing poverty. For instance, if adults had two more years of schooling, a total of 60 million adults would be able to take advantage of more opportunities and escape poverty. Also, if more children were given secondary education, about 20 million people would be lifted out of poverty. This would mean that the number of impoverished people worldwide would reduce by at least 50 percent.
  1. Gender Equality: Sending daughters to school can be quite expensive for impoverished families, so many choose not to. This leads to women being paid less for their work which prevents them from being able to sustain themselves independently. However, one additional year spent at school can increase a woman’s earnings by 10 to 20 percent.
  1. Reduction of Child Marriage: In rural communities, the value of a male child can be greater than that of a female child. As a result, if a family has to choose between financing the education of their son or their daughter, the son often gets priority while daughters are left to focus on domestic life. This leads to an increase of child marriage. Over 60 percent of uneducated girls marry before the age of 18.
  1. Reduction of Child Mortality: One of the benefits of education is having educated parents as it reduces the probability of child mortality. For example, UNICEF found that babies born to young mothers under 18 years old have a 60 percent increased risk of infant mortality than other babies. In 2008, an estimated 1.8 million children’s lives could have been saved in sub-Saharan Africa if their mothers had secondary education or more.
  1. Self-Dependency: Through education, girls all over the globe are able to build self-reliance and independence through education. Receiving an education allows girls to become empowered women who can fight against poverty. Furthermore, education provides individuals with a promising and secure future for better opportunities and lives. In rural areas, education allows people to overcome poverty by expanding their knowledge and using them to lead better and healthier lives.
  1. Better Community: An educated individual has a greater chance of contributing to the community. Literate people are more likely to participate in the democratic process and exercise their civil rights while uneducated people may turn to crime and violence to sustain themselves. This can lead to an increase of conflict in the community because impoverished people do not see any other way to survive. Thus, an important benefit of education is educated people working together toward a better and safer community.

Places with fewer resources and fewer guarantees of survival are often stuck in an endless cycle of poverty throughout generations. Restricting education can lead to stunted economic growth and unstable social and political conditions. By ensuring that access to education is uncontested to all communities, society can benefit from an educated population.

– Jenny S Park
Photo: Flickr

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Fighting Malaria with Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes

Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes
This June, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it would be investing over $4 million in support of Oxitec — an Oxford-founded group that focuses on reducing insect-borne disease around the world. Specifically, the Gates Foundation and Oxitec are partnering to fight malaria with genetically engineered mosquitoes.

The Threat of Malaria

Mosquitoes kill more humans each year than any other creature — a total of 830,000 — and can carry a number of diseases including dengue fever and zika virus. The most deadly of these is malaria.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that there were 216 million cases of malaria in 2016, which resulted in nearly 450,000 deaths. Malaria hits the very young the hardest, and most fatalities are children under the age of 5; even the children who survive may develop intellectual disabilities.

Malaria occurs in nearly 100 nations. The world has made great progress fighting the disease, including eliminating it in much of Europe and North America, but progress has stalled. Support for fighting malaria has stagnated and the disease is starting to develop a resistance to the drugs which treat it.

A New Strategy

This is where Oxitec’s genetically modified mosquitoes come in. Oxitec introduces a self-limiting gene in male mosquitoes. When these lab mosquitoes mate with females in the wild, any male offspring are unharmed and continue carrying the gene. Female offspring, though, will die before they reach adulthood.

Only adult female mosquitoes can bite and spread diseases. The self-limiting gene effectively targets this portion of the mosquito population while also allowing new males to survive to carry and spread the gene after the original lab mosquitoes have died.

These genetically engineered mosquitoes would be one of several vector control methods (such as mosquito netting and repellant sprays) aiming to reduce the number of disease-carrying mosquitoes in affected areas.

The Oxitec mosquitoes have already proven effective in recent field tests in Brazil where they were released to combat the zika virus and dengue fever. Areas where modified mosquitoes were released showed an 82 percent reduction of larvae and a 91 percent reduction of dengue fever cases. This may have been a relatively small test, but the lab mosquitoes were incredibly effective and even outperformed tried and true traditional methods like insecticides.

Safety and Precision

Similar to many other genetically modified products, many have met the Oxitec mosquitoes with some suspicion. In 2016, residents of the Florida Keys voted against a planned field test in their communities, and environmentalist groups have also opposed Oxitec in the past.

Concerns with protecting the earth’s ecosystems are understandable and commendable. Still, genetically engineered mosquitoes have the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives, protect children from the risk of lifelong disabilities and accomplish all of this with minimal and controllable impacts on the environment.

The modified mosquito strategy is not intended to cause the mass extinction of mosquito species. The self-limiting gene only lasts up to ten generations, which ideally will allow for long-term reduction in disease without leading to an unstoppable downward spiral in insect populations.

Long-Term Goals

The gene is also designed to only affect a single, specific species of insect at a time. This specificity allowed Oxitec field tests to target the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that were instrumental in spreading zika and dengue fever in Brazil while leaving other insect populations unaffected.

Whatever the case, both the precision and effectiveness of the genetically engineered mosquitoes doubtless played a role in convincing the Gates Foundation to back Oxitec. Philip Welkhoff, the malaria program director at the Gates Foundation, has affirmed that new, innovative ways of fighting malaria are necessary to eradicate the deadly disease once and for all. The second generation of Oxitec’s mosquitoes are set to be field tested by 2020, and countless lives hope for a breakthrough.

– Josh Henreckson
Photo: Flickr

10 Facts About Girls’ Education in South Africa

Facts About Girls’ Education in South Africa
Education is a basic human right and key to improving people’s quality of life. Despite this fact, millions of women and girls worldwide lack the same access to quality education as men and boys, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa, however, is unique. Though there is still much progress to be made in ensuring gender equality in education in the country, these facts about girls’ education in South Africa can provide a model for other sub-Saharan countries.

Facts About Girls’ Education in South Africa

  1. In many African countries, far more boys attend school than girls. In South Africa, primary school enrollment rates are roughly equal: from 2008-2012, the primary school enrollment rate for boys was 89.7 percent; for girls, it was 90.9 percent.
  2. However, these enrollment rates hide the large racial disparities that exist in South Africa’s education system. Though South Africa has made progress in reducing racial discrimination since the end of apartheid (a system of extreme racial segregation and discrimination that lasted from 1948-1994), racial inequality is still persistent. In general, black girls are at a severe disadvantage compared to white girls in receiving quality education.
  3. One reason for the racial disparities in South Africa’s education system is the racial disparity in poverty. In 2015, 27.9 percent of black Africans were unemployed compared to 7 percent of white people. The poverty rate for Africans is 38 times higher than that of whites. Millions of people classified as black or colored under apartheid live in townships and informal settlements in extreme poverty, while a majority of whites live in cities and nice suburbs. This racial inequality is detrimental to non-white girls trying to achieve the same education as white girls and boys.
  4. Girls are also at a disadvantage in attaining quality education because of the patriarchal nature of South African society. Women occupy a lower social status than men and are socialized to work in the home and be mothers. This deemphasizes the importance of receiving an education.
  5. At around 7.1 million, South Africa has the most people living with HIV/AIDs in the world. This figure is more than double the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, the country with the second highest HIV/AIDS population. Girls and women are four times more likely to be HIV-positive than boys and men, which may lead them to drop out of school. Girls are also often forced to drop out of school to care for family members living with HIV/AIDS which limits girls’ opportunities to pursue careers that could lift them out of poverty.
  6. The rate of crime in the townships in which millions live, particularly gender-based violence, is extremely high compared to those in the suburbs of major cities. Many schools are far from children’s homes, forcing children to walk long distances to school. This exposes girls to the risk of violence on their travels to and from school.
  7. Violence against girls in school is a serious issue in South Africa. Girls face sexual harassment and assault in schools from both fellow students and teachers. These occurrences cause girls to fear going to school, and some to stop going altogether. Girls cannot learn well under these circumstances.
  8. Various programs have been developed to work to improve girls’ education in South Africa. One is the Girls Education Movement (GEM), which was launched in South Africa in 2003. The program aims to give girls equal access to education, make schools safer for girls and improve the quality of girls’ education. GEM is run via school-based, boys and girls clubs and has been implemented in each of South Africa’s nine provinces.
  9. Technogirls is a project that works to support girls in pursuing careers in math, science and technology — typically male-dominated fields. Girls from rural disadvantaged communities are given priority in the selection process. Girls who are selected become interns in various companies and enter a mentoring and skills development program with scholarship opportunities.
  10. The United Nations Educational and Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) works to ensure that every person has access to a quality education. The continent of Africa and gender equality are two of UNESCO’s top global priorities, and UNESCO is active in promoting gender equality in South Africa’s education system.

Room for Growth

Successful girls and women are critical to furthering the development of developing countries such as South Africa. For girls to be successful, they need equal access to a quality education. Though there are many challenges among these facts about girls’ education in South Africa, GEM, Technogirls and UNESCO are making strides in the right direction.

These initiatives not only improve girls’ education in South Africa, but they also provide an example by which other developing countries can improve their education systems for girls.

– Laura Turner
Photo: Flickr

How the Media Misrepresents Senegal as Poor and Helpless

Senegal
When reporting on countries like Senegal, major media outlets often reinforce negative stereotypes of the entire continent. This creates a problem in how the media misrepresents Senegal. Our rare interactions with stories from Africa tend to paint the entire continent with a single, wide brush as a cohesive unit rather than distinct countries.

Changing Views

Marisa Peters, a college student who recently traveled to Senegal, told The Borgen Project in an interview that how the media misrepresents Senegal can cause others to dismiss the country and look down on it as well. For many of us, our only exposure to Senegal is through this incomplete media coverage and do-good campaigns. This lack of balance and context leads to a one-sided perspective. Victims of poverty, hunger and disease stare back at us from haunting images and videos on our screens; big eyes and tiny limbs seem to plead for pity, desperate for help. We hear time and again about the violence, corruption and backwards-thinking that plagues the continent.

Perception vs Reality

All of these aspects certainly exist in African countries, many even in Senegal, but this is only one side of the story. There are so many positive aspects of Senegal that people rarely ever see. By failing to report the many distinct and positive aspects of Senegal, the media perpetuates the myth that it is just another “helpless African country”.

Many perceive Senegal as a nation of famine and starvation when, in reality, most Senegalese have plenty to eat. This speaks to how the media misrepresents Senegal as a poor and powerless country.

Poverty, while still a problem, is not an inevitable one in Senegal. They have actually made significant strides in the last decade toward reducing poverty rates. The government has been heavily investing in infrastructure, energy and agriculture which has led to strong economic growth – consistently between six and seven percent in the last several years. This solid fiscal foundation has helped turn Senegal into one of the economic hubs of Western Africa.

A ‘New’ Glimpse at Senegal

This growth has caused the poverty rate to fall by four to seven percent since 2011. In addition, Senegal has one of the largest safety net programs in Africa. However, this progress is rarely a part of the way Senegal is portrayed. Another example of Senegal’s underrepresented progress are the improvements in child health – a result of reducing malaria and malnutrition.

Because of various campaigns by organizations and outside governments, Senegal is misrepresented as a nation that struggles with AIDS. However, the Senegalese were actually able to quickly respond to the disease, and currently have a prevalence rate below 1 percent – a model of success for the continent.

Properly understanding the progress that Senegal has made — largely through government initiatives and investments — can also help dispel notions of corruption and instability that often accompany coverage of Senegal. In fact, Senegal has one of the most stable and democratic political institutions in Africa. Its history of civilian leaders and having only three major political transitions – all of which were peaceful – contradicts how the media misrepresents Senegal.

Debunking Stereotypes

Another media focus point is Senegal’s perceived issue of violence. Petty crime can be a problem in Senegal, but the machine-gun-carrying warlords that enamor Hollywood are nowhere to be seen. Focusing on primitive aspects of Senegal also shows how the media misrepresents Senegal; Westerners often perceive of the Senegalese as backwards. They are stereotyped as practitioners of voodoo and witchcraft, despite Islam being the main religion.

Like many African nations, Senegal is also seen as being technologically limited; in reality, the technology gap in Senegal is being reduced by their innovative youth.

Another one of the numerous ways the media misrepresents Senegal is by omitting many unique aspects of Senegalese life and culture. The capital, Dakar, is a fascinating city that beautifully blends new trends and old traditions. Senegal is home to a vibrant music scene, rich history, delicious cuisine, bustling markets and striking landscapes.

Senegalese Warmth and Hospitality

The Senegalese themselves, contrary to what can be found in most news outlets, are known for their friendliness and hospitality. The warmth of their culture reflects that of the temperate weather — this hospitality is known locally as “Teranga.” Peters said that it encompasses the incredibly kind and welcoming nature of the many Senegalese she met. She particularly remembers their willingness to invest time and energy into one another; in Senegal, “time is people.”

Of course, it is necessary for the media and academics to continue to report on the poverty and problems that African countries such as Senegal face. This is the only way outsiders can make informed decisions and stay up to date. However, this coverage needs to be balanced, and context must be provided or else myths and stereotypes will continue to be perpetuated.

Western media has already made significant improvements in covering more positive aspects of Senegal as well as considering the progress they have made, but as always, more can be done.

– Liesl Hostetter
Photo: Flickr

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A New Solar Power: UV Water Filtration System

UV Water Filtration System
Today, nearly 850 million people live without access to clean water. Clean water, while a basic necessity and right, has become nearly unobtainable for those living in poverty around the world. In places where unsafe water is the only water available and used for washing clothes and dishes, bathing, drinking and in food preparation, it’s negative effects permeate nearly every aspect of life.

Unsafe Drinking Water In Developing Countries

Approximately 75 percent of diseases in developing countries occur from polluted drinking water. In developing countries, waterborne diseases such as diarrhea account for over 800,000 deaths per year for children under the age of 5. They also create ripple effects throughout the community, placing additional economic stresses on people already living in extreme poverty.

The need for clean water has been the target of governmental aid in many developing countries for years. However, more could be done for individual communities, particularly in rural areas, as they are often without access to the clean water systems available to more populated and typically wealthy areas.

UV Waterworks

In 1996, physicist Dr. Ashok Gagdil created a UV water filtration system known as the UV Waterworks (UVW) to supply small communities in developing countries with safe drinking water. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and private foundations, Gagdil was able to design a device capable of delivering clean water to a village of 2000 for a year for under $2 per person.

This UV water filtration system is as small as a microwave oven, weighs just 15 pounds and can treat approximately 15 liters of contaminated water per minute. The contraption works simply by exposing the water to UV light, which eliminates bacterial and viral DNA and other organic particles that make the water unsafe for human consumption.

While UV water filtration systems had been in use prior to Gagdil’s UVW, the innovations involved in his creation made for a more affordable, reliable and efficient UV water filtration system for developing countries. The system was licensed in 2010 to WaterHealth International, a company focused on providing affordable, safe water to communities in need. The UVW is now used in WaterHealth International’s standard filtration system.

How It Works

In Gagdil’s UV water filtration system, the UV lamp is positioned above the tanks of water, reducing residue in the water supply, and the water flows evenly without a need for a pump system — an expensive and temperamental part of many UV water filtration systems. This process then exposes the water to more UV rays for maximum decontamination.

The UVW system addresses the needs of rural communities disconnected to grid power by using a 12 V car battery or a photovoltaic solar panel as system’s power source. These two power sources were tested with support from the US Department of Energy in locations without access to grid power with great success.

Other UV Water Filtration Systems

At an even smaller scale, there are UV water filtration systems that operate without power sources all together and are tailored for personal or family use. The SteriPen is a UV water filtration wand capable of cleaning up to 32 ounces of water in 90 seconds. This wand is popular among those traveling in areas where clean water is scarce, as is it light, portable and lasts for 100 treatments before requiring new batteries.

Similar to the SteriPen, the Pure Water Bottle filters a small amount of water for the individual. Relying on a dual process of mesh filtration and UV water filtration for cleaning water, the entire process of the Pure Water Bottle takes 2 minutes and removes 99.9 percent of contaminants. Water is collected and filtered to remove particles larger that 4 microns before being sterilized by a hand-crank-powered UV bulb.   

A Filtered Future

While the SteriPen and Pure Water Bottle are more expensive UV water filtration systems suited for smaller scale family or individual use rather than village scale, they can help address the needs of families in urban areas, or with somewhat better economic means. This group, while not suffering the most extreme poverty, is still a large and growing number in developing countries such as China, India, Brazil and others.

By providing a number of options with a range of costs and applications, innovations in small scale UV water filtration systems are helping to address one of the most pressing needs of the world’s poor.

– Anna Lally

Photo: Flickr

10 Astounding Facts About Human Rights Violations in China

Human Rights Violations in ChinaSince Xi Jinping began his presidency in March 2013, widespread human rights violations in China have been documented as government constraints have deepened. Such issues also became more apparent after Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo died in police custody in 2017. Some violations include increased internet censorship, lack of women’s and workers’ rights, repression of minority groups and imprisonment of human rights defenders. Here are 10 facts about human rights violations in China as well as what is being done to combat these issues today.

10 Facts About Human Rights Violations in China

  1. Authorities control citizens’ internet use by blocking social media sites and restricting news publications. Any news reporting that “slanders the country’s political system” is typically shut down. The government also adopted Blue Shield filtering software to document websites visited by users. A Cybersecurity Law was implemented in June 2017, requiring all internet companies working in China to regulate content for Chinese citizens.
  2. The government only allows five officially recognized religions in approved religious sites. In February 2018, a revised Regulations on Religious Affairs was established. The revision invests all control over religious activities to the government, including finances, personnel appointments and publications. The law also states a goal of restraining “infiltration and extremism” which could enforce a limitation on religious freedom for Tibetan Buddhists and Uighur Muslims.
  3. Although labor laws allow trade union organization and elections of trade union committees, the government still controls these rights. Workers cannot vote for trade unions while the right to strike usually goes unacknowledged. According to various human rights groups, China violates workers’ freedom of association. This is due to China’s prohibition of independent union organizing and Trade Union Law. This law requires the All-China Federation of Trade Unions to maintain communist leadership.
  4. In 2017, China ranked 100 among 144 countries for gender parity for the ninth year in a row. According to The Party Congress, there is a substantial absence of women in chief political positions. Females in China are more likely to experience domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment and workplace discrimination which can increase their chances of becoming impoverished. However, it is difficult for women to overcome such barriers since the government does not favor women’s rights activism.
  5. Uighurs, Tibet and Tibetan-populated areas endure higher poverty rates, displacement, discrimination and crucial human rights issues. According to the U.N. Special Rapporteur, the situations of Tibetans and Uighurs is deeply problematic. Similar to most Chinese citizens, ethnic minorities do not have the right to freedom of religion, expression and peaceful assembly. Over 150 Tibetans have and continue to protest repressive laws by self-immolation.
  6. Authorities continue to conduct politically motivated prosecutions. After a national crackdown in July 2015, over 250 human rights protesters were detained, nine of which were convicted of “subverting state power.” Some detainees admit to being tortured or forced to confess. Though many have since been released, they continue to be isolated and monitored. Lawyers of protestors are often harassed and intimidated by authorities.
  7. About 500,000 individuals are currently detained without trial, charge or access to legal aid. The government uses Re-education through Labour (RTL) to arrest individuals without a trial. Usual targets of RTL include petitioners, protestors and those practicing an unrecognized religion. “Black jails” and mental health institutions are types of illegal detention that are utilized by authorities.
  8. China is currently the leading executioner in the world. For decades, China imposed the death penalty for nonviolent crimes and unfair trials. In March 2017, the President of the Supreme People’s Court said that capital punishment was only applied “to an extremely small number of criminals for extremely severe offenses.” However, China’s statistics on death penalties remains classified and authorities fail to release numerical data.
  9. China is accepting help from the U.N. in addressing human rights issues. In 2016, the government formed the policy paper, New Progress in the Judicial Protection of Human Rights in China. The policy paper addresses the country’s human rights issues and suggests potential developments. After inviting the U.N. to support the initiative, the U.N. agreed and made visits to China.
  10. Human Rights in China (HRIC) works to promote human rights and hold the government accountable. HRIC is an NGO that uses advocacy and policy engagement to give citizens voices and improve human rights protection. Its advocacy program aids individual casework and long-term reforms. By advocating both domestically and globally, HRIC promotes international NGOs, the business community, multi-stakeholder groups and results-oriented government engagements.

China’s goal is to remove 60 million people from poverty by decreasing air pollution and improving health standards and its judicial system by 2020. The U.N. and organizations like the HRIC provide hope for more human rights protection in the future. Though China is working to form and implement related policies, it is important that the government allows activists and lawyers to support minority groups and give all citizens a voice in order to end human rights violations in China.

– Diane Adame
Photo: Flickr

10 Extremely Important Facts About the Nuer of South Sudan

10 Facts About The Nuer of South SudanThe East-Central African country of South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011. Since then, the nation of 13 million people has struggled to maintain governance and control due to violent civil conflict. This struggle has lead to a dire humanitarian crisis and four million South Sudanese facing displacement.

The Nuer are a prominent and second most populous ethnic group in South Sudan, contributing to 16 percent, or two million people, of the total population. Given this status, the Nuer have stood at the center of the civil Sudanese conflict for decades. These 10 facts about the Nuer of South Sudan offer insight into an ethnic group afflicted most by the South Sudanese Civil War.

10 facts about the Nuer of South Sudan

  1. The Nuer live in South Sudan in rural swamps and open savannas on both sides of the Nile River. They are located approximately 500 miles south of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. Due to the civil conflict, the Nuer also inhabit United Nations refugee camps in the South Sudanese capital city of Juba.Nuer also seek refuge in neighboring countries like Uganda, which hosts over a million refugees. Approximately 2.5 million South Sudanese are seeking refuge or asylum protections. The majority of these refugees are women and children.
  2. The Nuer of South Sudan are cattle raising pastoralists. Horticulture is also commonly practiced, but less desirable. With more than 80 percent of the populace living in rural areas, cattle have historically been both a cultural and religious symbol, signifying wealth as well as an economic livelihood for the Nuer. Cattle are particularly important as a part of bridewealth exchanges.
  3. Since independence, the official language of South Sudan is English, replacing Arabic, but the Nuer traditionally speak the Nuer language. The Nuer language belongs to a subgroup of Nilo-Saharan languages, as a Nilotic language indigenous to the Nile Valley.
  4. Despite a high infant mortality rate , South Sudan is the world’s youngest country. The infant mortality rate stands at 79 infants per 1,000 live births and the under-five mortality rate is 108 per 1,000 live births. Around 45 percent of the country is between zero and 14 years of age.
  5. The Nuer of South Sudan form a cluster of autonomous sections and clans. The North had long sought state control of Nuer land, but neglect of social and political developments provoked two civil wars. This eventually led to South Sudan gaining independence from the North after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 and the Independence Referendum in 2011.There is  no structured political system for the Nuer, generating significant conflict. However, dominant clans often hold more significance and elders often make decisions.
  6. In 2013, Vice President Riek Machar, a Nuer, was dismissed by the South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, over accusations of a coup attempt against the president. In addition to past support for the North by the Nuer, this sparked massive violence; President Salva Kiir ordered the deaths of thousands of Nuer in the Juba Massacre of 2013. These actions prompted the ongoing civil war in South Sudan.
  7. Since the start of the conflict, more than 2.4 million people have been displaced. In the northern part of South Sudan, the United Nations protects civilians in camp Bentiu. Nearly everyone in this camp is Nuer. In February 2017, a group of Dinka soldiers called the Upper Nile State attacked the Bentiu U.N. compound, killing an estimated 300 Nuer civilians.
  8. Thousands of Nuer have faced rape, sexual exploitation and attacks on women outside of Protection of Civilian (POC) sites. Studies show that 65 percent of women and girls in South Sudan have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. According to UNICEF, these incidents have occurred continuously over the past two and a half years, increasing with the outbreak of violence.
  9. International nonprofit and government agencies like the Nuer International Relief Agency (NIRA), The Red Cross, UNICEF and the U.N. provide humanitarian relief, health and education for war-affected and displaced Nuer. In the first three months of 2018, the International Committee of the Red Cross provided 1,675 metric tons of food, improved access to water for 267,000 people and helped 16,000 people reach family members separated by the conflict. Additionally, these agencies actively advocated and lobbied for successful peace and reconciliation as of June 2018, as well for the support of international communities in addressing the crisis.
  10. In May 2018, more than 200 children were released from armed groups in South Sudan. The release was the third this year, totaling to more than 800 child soldiers being freed in 2018. Additional releases are expected in coming months that could result in more than 1,000 children being freed.Despite this success, an estimated 19,000 children continue to serve in armed groups. UNICEF urges for the abolishment of recruitment and for the release of all child soldiers.

These 10 facts about the Nuer of South Sudan show a lot still needs to be done on the ground to address the suffering of Nuer ethnics and all South Sudanese nationals. More than 8 million people are in need of emergency humanitarian assistance in South Sudan. However, on June 28, 2018, warring parties signed a permanent ceasefire in Sudan’s capital city Khartoum, calling for an end to the four-and-a-half year civil war. The agreement, signed by President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, and Former Vice-President Riek Machar, a Nuer, represents a significant stride towards peace in South Sudan’s history and resolution of these crises.

– Joseph Ventura

Photo: Flickr