Robert Browning once said, “Who hears music, feels his solitude peopled at once.” For those living in poverty around the world, being surrounded by others in the same predicament often manifests in a collective loneliness. While the cadence of the day-to-day drones on, music’s tempo sets the pulse of nations. Music and poverty may dance in the shadows at times, but their connection lives beyond subtleties — it is a real and often necessary connection.
Medicine for the Soul
Just how powerful is music? According to eMedExpert, an online informational Web site dedicated to health and medicine, music can:
- Boost immunity to disease
- Benefit emotional intelligence, and turn negative thoughts to positive
- Create stronger literacy skills
- Increase productivity
The Fajara Cancer Centre in Nairobi, Kenya bears witness to the healing power of music. When Berklee College of Music graduate Cara Smith did research in East Africa for her degree in music therapy, cancer patient Aisha hadn’t spoken all week while undergoing treatments. The two sat down together and wrote a song, creating an avenue for Aisha to express herself despite the verbal challenges from personal trauma.
Inspired, Smith went on to create Umoja Community Music Therapy which now operates in more than 50 schools, hospitals and community centers in Uganda and Kenya.
Smith, along with fellow graduates Brooke Hatfield and Kristina Casale, have also seen former child soldiers climb out of depression and trauma to find joy, and young women become empowered through music. Smith points out the connection of music to East African culture and sees it as an open door ready to be pushed.
“El Sistema”
Passing away earlier this year, Jose Antonio Abreu left a legacy of the profound impact of music. As founder of a music program for Venezuelan children, Abreu understood the relationship between music and poverty. His program, known widely as “El Sistema” (the system), trained musicians across all social classes.
According to Abreu, the system fought poverty at its roots. He explained to 60 Minutes’ Bob Simon, “A child’s physical poverty is overcome by the spiritual richness that comes from music.”
El Sistema helped to create other musical movements in developing countries, such as those implemented by Children International (CI), an organization devoted to breaking the cycle of poverty on the world stage. With programs in the Dominican Republic since 2014 and Columbia since 2015, CI sees first-hand how the method puts an emphasis on peer-to-peer instruction, cultivating leadership and selflessness, and keeps youth away from gangs and other destructive environments at the same time.
Then, there are the nonquantifiable effects of music. Juan David, a participant in the Columbian program, says “when I’m playing, I feel very peaceful and calm, because I leave my world behind.”
Power and Purpose
While a temporary escape from reality might be welcome, song may wield the power to affect real change in health and development outcomes through their musical passions. Case studies in Africa have shown the utility of songs in networking, fundraising and advocacy.
In 2008, U2’s lead singer and humanitarian, Bono, led his One Campaign, which united over 100 international artists, and put major pressure on G8 summit leaders to create change. More recently, in 2014, One’s Do Agric Campaign sent a message to African leaders to invest in agriculture.
The cornerstone song for that campaign, Cocoa na Chocolate, plainly stated: “like the seeds of light forever, let the Earth provide for her children.” The track, one of the biggest collaborations in Africa’s history, inspired a nation to take initiative and provide for itself.
Music, Poverty and Change
In Africa, songs have been written for political mobilization, as a tool for therapy, as a cry against social injustices and as a show of cultural solidarity.
Music and poverty seem to provide limited evidence of a direct cause/effect correlation (i.e., music decreasing levels of poverty), but music’s inherent emotional value strikes a subliminal chord almost universally. With iconic international musicians like U2 writing charity songs that encourage action, music disseminates information and raises awareness, while encouraging those in poverty that they are not alone.
In every song, there are notes of struggle, relatable and comforting; there are notes of dignity, reminding of a need for hope; there are notes of resistance, pressing people to find relief from stress and the motivation to change their condition.
-Daniel Staesser
Photo: Flickr
World Blood Donor Day and Blood Donations in Developing Countries
Every year since 2004, countries around the world have celebrated World Blood Donor Day on June 14 and this year plans to be no different. While the day this campaign falls on is the same, the theme varies each year. This year’s theme is blood donation as an act of solidarity and highlights the human values of respect, empathy and kindness. These three traits ultimately sustain the voluntary unpaid blood donation system present today.
Blood Donations
Blood donations in developing countries are essential to help support and uplift those in need. Up to 65 percent of blood transfusions are given to children under the age of five years old from blood donations in developing countries. In these low and middle-income countries, these blood transfusions are for those with pregnancy-related complications or severe childhood anemia.
Blood transfusions given to those in need help thousands live longer and have a higher quality of life. Although, blood transfusions are only useful if the blood is safe — it was estimated that 5-10 percent of HIV infections in the 1980s was due to unsafe blood transfusions. Globally, in 2006, up to four million had been infected with HIV due to unsafe transfusion of blood.
Keeping blood safe is therefore imperative to sustaining global health, yet “equitable access to safe blood still remains a major challenge in many countries,” said Doctor Edward Kelly, the director of service delivery and safety at the World Health Organization in a recent news release. “Providing safe and adequate supplies of blood and blood products should be an essential part of every country’s national health care policy and infrastructure.”
Ensuring Blood Safety
One of the main reasons many countries have unsafe blood donations is because these countries lack policies, procedures and/or resources for ensuring the safety of blood.
Only 46 percent of blood donations in developing countries screen blood for HIV. There are five steps that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends to ensure blood safety in developing countries:
Time to Donate
If just 1 percent of a country’s population donated blood, more of the people in need could have their basic health requirements met; the time is now to take steps to donate blood.
This year, the WHO calls for an increase in blood donations as numbers continue to rise of those in need. As June 14 draws closer, countries around the world must remember the call from the World Health Organization and this year’s World Blood Donor Day slogan: “Be there for someone else. Give Blood. Share Life.”
– Victoria Fowler
Photo: Flickr
Child Malnutrition in Mali Must Be Addressed Immediately
Recently, Mali has faced “shocks” to its economic profile, including from a partial drought and internal strife. A 2013 World Bank study found that a 25 percent increase in cereal prices and 25 percent decrease in cereal production would push over 600,000 individuals to food insecurity levels in Mali. In addition, sustainably high population growth rates have risen the number of malnourished individuals in the country.
Effects of Child Malnutrition in Mali
While millions of Malians of all ages are affected by food insecurity, malnutrition is the second highest cause of death of children under the age of five. Almost 900,000 Mali children are at risk of global acute malnutrition in Mali, including 274,000 facing severe malnutrition and at risk of imminent death, according to UNICEF and the World Bank. To put this in the context of the country’s population, a 2013 World Bank study found that 44 percent of Malian households have at least one chronically malnutritioned child.
Malnutrition leads to devastating, long-lasting effects on young people. Research by an associate professor at the Federal University of São Paulo, Ana Lydia Saway, shows that malnutrition is linked to higher susceptibility to gain central fat, lower energy expenditure, higher blood pressure and disruptions in insulin production. These are all factors which heighten the risk of other chronic diseases later in life.
How Mali is Combatting the Issue
Child malnutrition in Mali is a significant concern, requiring action and deserving worldwide attention. But a major problem limiting international assistance comes in the form of funding for aid.
In May, UNICEF reported that limited donor interest in the region has made it increasingly difficult for the organization to provide children with therapeutic food necessary to combat malnutrition. Funding for humanitarian organizations is low, as nearly 80 percent of UNICEF’s $37 million call for humanitarian aid for the year 2018 has not been raised.
“The children of Mali are suffering in silence, away from the world’s attention,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore said during a visit to the country this year. “Amid increasing violence, more children are going hungry, missing out on learning and dying in the first days of life.”
Still, community and international-based organizations are working to mitigate the effects of child malnutrition in Mali. For example, in the capital of Ségou Centre, the local population, with the help of the World Bank and Swiss Corporation agency, is working to provide necessary social services to its commune.
The third phase of this project involved the decentralizing of health facilities, which were starchly underequipped. The commune recently constructed a community health center, showing promising bottom-up action within Mali. Other organizations are helping out to create sustainable progress in development, including Groundswell International.
Furthermore, farmers and processors in Mali have been working together to increase the presence of Misola flour to combat malnutrition. During processing, vitamins and minerals are added to the flour, targeting those with nutritional deficiencies.
A 2012 study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism found that Misola can help rehabilitate undernourished children and help those with depressed immune systems. “The porridge made from the flour allows for a nutritional transition from breast milk to traditional solid food,” Fernand Rolet, co-President of the Misola Association, said.
Overcoming Child Malnutrition Globally
Rwanda provides a prime example that overcoming child malnutrition is possible. The nation, which has a similar wealth level to Mali, has made progress in lowering malnutrition levels. A 2015 Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Access Report found that the level of stunting in young children dropped seven percent from three years prior. In Rwanda, the World Food Programme has been largely active, supplying food assistance such as providing meals for thousands of primary school children.
Combating malnutrition is an ongoing struggle, especially in Africa. Due to poor economic conditions and food scarcity, malnutrition continues to take the lives of thousands of children in Mali each year. Although citizens have founded programs to improve child nutrition and the issue is on humanitarian aid organizations’ radars, it is clear that more effort is needed to eradicate the problem. With continued efforts, child malnutrition in Mali will begin to decline.
– Isabel Bysiewicz
Photo: Flickr
Medellín: From Pablo Escobar’s Home to Top Tourist Destination
In 1993, Colombia had the highest homicide rate in the world at 420 per 100,000 people, making it one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Medellin was said to be the most dangerous city in Colombia during this time, but has gone through great changes in the past two decades. Medellín’s transformation is an inspiring model for many cities previously affected by violence and war.
Danger of Medellín
In the 1980s, Medellín was considered to be one of the most violent cities in the globe. In fact, TIME Magazine named Medellín the most dangerous city in the world due to the high crime and murder rates in 1988.
At the time, Medellín was home to Pablo Escobar’s cartel and cocaine empire. There was a lack of government control of the city and crime rates exponentially increased. Additionally, the nation was also affected by the internal conflict between Colombia and the internal guerilla groups. In 1991, the city experienced 6,349 killings, bringing its annual rate to 181 per 100,000 people.
Transformation of Medellín
Since then, the city has put in place many violence prevention programs, invested in social entrepreneurship, created effective public transportation, transformed public spaces and improved some of the worst neighborhoods severely affected by the internal war.
In the past 20 years, homicide rate has been cut by 95 percent and the poverty rate by 66 percent. Now, the annual rate of killings per year is fewer than 50 per 100,000 people and it contributes more than 8 percent of Colombia’s GDP, as its second largest city.
Forty percent of Colombia’s exports now come from Medellín. Additionally, 9 out of the top 50 medical facilities in the Americas are located in Medellín. In 2012, Medellín was even named the most innovative city in the world by the Urban Land Institute. Medellín’s transformation began with its public transportation system. The first metro ride in Medellín took place in 1995, and since then, it has become the most effective public transportation system in Colombia.
Transportation in Medellín
Additional lines were added and the cable car were built in the 2000s. The transportation project in Medellin connected the entire city, including slums previously neglected by the government. Additionally, escalators were built to facilitate access for people in the slums — citizens in areas such as Comuna 13 used to walk 1,300 feet, but due to the transportation advancements, they came to experience further integration with surrounding areas.
Such developments allowed many living in poor areas outside of the city to take on jobs in the city center, and shortened the commute time for all people in Medellín. To this day, the metro and its stations are still very clean, safe and well maintained within the city.
Social Entrepreneurship and Social Change
Medellín’s transformation is also largely due to its investment in education and social programs. Medellín is known for its investment in social entrepreneurship. A part of revenues earned by the city is invested in organizations such as Ruta N, which work to promote social innovation and technological development.
People in poor areas are also encouraged to start their own businesses, shop, or cafe; such business endeavors are facilitated by entrepreneurial development centers that provide cheap credit loans. Medellín’s transformation ignited economic growth and rapid change for the city by becoming an international hub for business, innovation and tourism.
Such developments have shown that areas affected by violence can change for the better through investment in urban development and innovation.
– Luz Solano-Flórez
Photo: Pixabay
Fight For Change: 10 Countries with Child Soldiers
The Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a ‘child’ as a person below the age of eighteen years. Children across the world have been used as soldiers in state and non-state military warfare, including World Wars I and II.
The 1970s saw a rise of humanitarian groups that raised the awareness of protecting children from the onslaughts of war, and it was during this time that the word “child soldier” appeared as an unacceptable condition. Though the 2002 Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court made enlistment of children under fifteen a war-crime, countries with child soldiers have consistently fallen behind in addressing this issue.
The United Nations (U.N.) estimates that, at present, approximately 300,000 children are used as child soldiers in more than 20 countries in the world, and forty percent of these children are girls. According to the U.N.’s 2017 studies, these are some of the countries with child soldiers:
Countries with Child Soldiers
The Fight of International Aid Organizations
Wars, absence of education, poverty, religious/political conditioning and abduction are some of the causes that contribute to this social crime. UNICEF and ILO have been working with government ministries to stop the use of child soldiers by both state and non-state parties. Programs sponsored by UNICEF and various human rights groups aim towards rehabilitation of child soldiers, building community networks, funding and providing education.
Child Soldiers International has been working with local organizations and advocating the protection of children and reintegration of former child soldiers. HRW has been creating information databases on recruitment patterns of a number of agencies in these countries. Though change is slow, the attempt to improve the condition of millions of children in countries with child soldiers remains consistent.
– Jayendrina Singha Ray
Photo: Flickr
How the Media Misrepresents the Refugee Crisis and Its Impacts
The European Refugee Crisis has become one of the most discussed and debated conflicts in international discourse and current affairs in the world today. Given its ubiquitous presence, the media also plays a crucial role in transcending awareness to the international community about key underlying global issues.
Power of the Media
However, the media misrepresents the refugee crisis due to (oftentimes) inadequate coverage. There is a strong correlation between media portrayal and the reception that ‘media bias’ can have on various audiences. This occurrence, as well as photographic evidence, can give rise to negative perceptions of the situations and news stories at hand.
A majority of the time, even the visual imagery of photography in the media can contribute to a warped, and sometimes over-exaggerated, view of the situation. On the other hand, some cases — such as the Mediterranean crisis in 2016 — a shocking image can become a very powerful and lasting symbol for the refugee crisis. In 2016, the limp body of Alan Kurdi, a 3 year-old Syrian, washed up onshore and became just that; his dead body caused a huge outcry and a great deal of global outrage.
The reaction to Kurdi is a direct example of the media’s scope, power and influence in global information. Moreover, the rather high incidence of “fake news” stories is also changing the tide of mainstream media coverage and giving rise to more inflammatory rhetoric, racism, controversy and division.
The Misrepresentation of the Refugee Crisis
The media misrepresents the refugee crisis also largely in reference to the growing skepticism associated with new immigrants crossing international borders. A number of media forums are often pervaded by hate speech and campaigns against refugees; such portrayals can give rise to increased hysteria and the spreading of misinformation.
The deficiencies in media coverage of the refugee crisis can often cause overly biased narratives that hinder efforts at raising awareness about key issues and shedding light on the unbiased truth. Given the often divisive nature of geopolitics, news stories are often written with the intention of covering international affairs. As a result, humanitarian concerns and concerns about human rights for refugees can also be quite politicized in nature and impact interpretations.
With the prominence and importance of these topics, though, media coverage should aim to not only cover these topics, but also shed light on positive stories associated with the refugee crisis. Sustainable news sources — objective and advocacy journalism and community media, for instance — can help counteract associations of overly negative images when the media misrepresents the refugee crisis.
Quest to Ensure Journalistic Integrity
Moreover, journalistic integrity must be maintained through free press. With more accurate representation in the media, immigrants and refugees can become more humanized and realistic in media coverage, and thereby demonstrate the more optimistic and “good news” side of reality.
Such accurate depictions will also benefit various key stakeholder groups involved in the refugee crisis — such as governments and international organizations. Positivity in the media could ensure greater ease in the provision of humanitarian and development aid and packages.
So there must be increased levels of inclusion and greater coverage of important stories to counter the media misrepresenting the refugee crisis. This change can help the international community take up a larger role in addressing large and pertinent issues, such as human rights.
– Shivani Ekkanath
Photo: Flickr
Seven Ways to Provide Water for Developing Countries
What’s the problem with water? It’s scarce, and is deficient for more than 844 million around the world. One in nine people on the globe lack access to water, but the problem isn’t just supply and demand — it’s miseducation and mismanagement.
The old saying goes, “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” In economically and socially challenged countries, governments and people lack the knowledge and skill to properly tap into and manage resources like water supply. Water.org and the United Nations are great allies for suffering nations, but education is key. Here are a few ways to help developing nations solve their water problem.
7 Ways to Provide Water for Developing Countries
The passive process follows the same process with the exception of treatment and usage, and addresses the survival of plant and soil life. The Active Process, on the other hand, involves the following steps:
There are numerable ways to provide water for developing countries. These options speak directly to governments seeking solutions to providing water to their nations while enlisting the help of other organizations.
– Naomi C. Kellogg
Photo: Flickr
On a Better Note: The Rhythm of Music and Poverty
Robert Browning once said, “Who hears music, feels his solitude peopled at once.” For those living in poverty around the world, being surrounded by others in the same predicament often manifests in a collective loneliness. While the cadence of the day-to-day drones on, music’s tempo sets the pulse of nations. Music and poverty may dance in the shadows at times, but their connection lives beyond subtleties — it is a real and often necessary connection.
Medicine for the Soul
Just how powerful is music? According to eMedExpert, an online informational Web site dedicated to health and medicine, music can:
The Fajara Cancer Centre in Nairobi, Kenya bears witness to the healing power of music. When Berklee College of Music graduate Cara Smith did research in East Africa for her degree in music therapy, cancer patient Aisha hadn’t spoken all week while undergoing treatments. The two sat down together and wrote a song, creating an avenue for Aisha to express herself despite the verbal challenges from personal trauma.
Inspired, Smith went on to create Umoja Community Music Therapy which now operates in more than 50 schools, hospitals and community centers in Uganda and Kenya.
Smith, along with fellow graduates Brooke Hatfield and Kristina Casale, have also seen former child soldiers climb out of depression and trauma to find joy, and young women become empowered through music. Smith points out the connection of music to East African culture and sees it as an open door ready to be pushed.
“El Sistema”
Passing away earlier this year, Jose Antonio Abreu left a legacy of the profound impact of music. As founder of a music program for Venezuelan children, Abreu understood the relationship between music and poverty. His program, known widely as “El Sistema” (the system), trained musicians across all social classes.
According to Abreu, the system fought poverty at its roots. He explained to 60 Minutes’ Bob Simon, “A child’s physical poverty is overcome by the spiritual richness that comes from music.”
El Sistema helped to create other musical movements in developing countries, such as those implemented by Children International (CI), an organization devoted to breaking the cycle of poverty on the world stage. With programs in the Dominican Republic since 2014 and Columbia since 2015, CI sees first-hand how the method puts an emphasis on peer-to-peer instruction, cultivating leadership and selflessness, and keeps youth away from gangs and other destructive environments at the same time.
Then, there are the nonquantifiable effects of music. Juan David, a participant in the Columbian program, says “when I’m playing, I feel very peaceful and calm, because I leave my world behind.”
Power and Purpose
While a temporary escape from reality might be welcome, song may wield the power to affect real change in health and development outcomes through their musical passions. Case studies in Africa have shown the utility of songs in networking, fundraising and advocacy.
In 2008, U2’s lead singer and humanitarian, Bono, led his One Campaign, which united over 100 international artists, and put major pressure on G8 summit leaders to create change. More recently, in 2014, One’s Do Agric Campaign sent a message to African leaders to invest in agriculture.
The cornerstone song for that campaign, Cocoa na Chocolate, plainly stated: “like the seeds of light forever, let the Earth provide for her children.” The track, one of the biggest collaborations in Africa’s history, inspired a nation to take initiative and provide for itself.
Music, Poverty and Change
In Africa, songs have been written for political mobilization, as a tool for therapy, as a cry against social injustices and as a show of cultural solidarity.
Music and poverty seem to provide limited evidence of a direct cause/effect correlation (i.e., music decreasing levels of poverty), but music’s inherent emotional value strikes a subliminal chord almost universally. With iconic international musicians like U2 writing charity songs that encourage action, music disseminates information and raises awareness, while encouraging those in poverty that they are not alone.
In every song, there are notes of struggle, relatable and comforting; there are notes of dignity, reminding of a need for hope; there are notes of resistance, pressing people to find relief from stress and the motivation to change their condition.
-Daniel Staesser
Photo: Flickr
Kivu Specialty Coffee Project Helps DRC Eradicate Poverty
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was once called a “paradise of coffee” and is host to some of the most fertile land in the world. But years of conflict have cost the nation its access to the world market and left farmers with no income or infrastructure to maintain a business. On March 22, 2016, Starbucks started selling specialty coffee from the South Kivu province of DRC across 1,500 stores in USA, Canada and online.
The Kivu Speciality Coffee Project
This coffee is also gaining popularity amongst other premium labels such as Counter Culture Coffee, Square Mile Coffee and Blue Bottle Coffee, to name a few. This is possible because of the Kivu Specialty Coffee Project, which is not only reviving their previously declining industry, but is also a testament to how international funding can alleviate poverty.
The Kivu Specialty Coffee Project is a joint four-year funding venture of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation; the program supports over 4,000 farmers with $5 million. Known to the locals as Kahawa Bora Ya Kivu, the project is implemented on site by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), World Coffee Research and the Eastern Congo Initiative.
Coffee Export Stability
Farmers have always known how to produce coffee, but have faced challenges in exportation. The biggest hurdle was sustaining production in an environment where rebel groups often attacked farmers working outdoors or at markets.
This led to low productivity, as farmers only produced 250 kg per hectare when they could be producing 2000 kg per hectare, and an irregular supply of beans. Moreover, lack of access to technology and processing units led to low-quality beans that didn’t receive a reasonable price in the world market.
Through the Kivu Specialty Coffee Project, survivors not only receive healthcare support, but they also learn new techniques to produce coffee. Farmer field schools are set up to increase access to technical education and assuage the transfer of knowledge from farmer to farmer.
Becoming More Eco-Friendly
People are also educated on eco-friendly approaches to harvesting. Compost from coffee pulp and other ingredients is recycled as fertilizers. This detail ensures that they produce not just more, but higher quality coffee whose production can be sustained for a long time.
The World Coffee Research (WCR) contributes to this goal through the introduction of technology, improvement of soil fertility and intercropping practices. The organization has also funded three new washing stations for coffee bean preparation and a coffee-tasting laboratory in the South Kivu region so that the government can monitor the quality of coffee before its sale.
Farmers learn from WCR personnel how the variety of coffee beans can be increased and are also taught marketing strategies to ensure the stability of DRC coffee in the global coffee market. This has fostered stronger buyer-seller relationships for DRC while also encouraging innovation.
Providing Farmers Credit
Farmers, regardless of male or female, now have a higher access to credit. The project launched a pre-harvest financing agreement with Westrock Coffee to ensure that farmers are directly paid for their cherries during the time of harvest.
This system ensures that women and men are both paid fairly according to their yield, not their gender. This works to rid Congolese of the innate idea that coffee is a man’s crop since 29 percent of the Kivu Specialty Coffee Project’s cooperative members are women and receive just as much income as the men do.
As more of DRC’s coffee is sold in North America, farmers now receive triple the amount of 2014. With more organized and informed production, several citizens are benefitting and winning the battle against poverty.
Starbucks for Positive Change
The Starbucks Foundation is also increasing measures to support the education of young women studying agriculture by investing in local organizations. This action is geared in the hopes of creating more jobs for affected young adults and former child soldiers, and of promoting peace and conflict resolution in the region.
Several residents of South Kivu experience improved standards of living thanks to the Kivu Specialty Coffee Project, and this positive impact wouldn’t be possible without international funding. Such success is yet another success story that drives home the message that eradicating poverty and funding those measures benefits everyone.
– Sanjana Subramanian
Photo: Flickr
Malnourishment Has Decreased, Improving Children’s Lives
In many parts of the world, malnourishment has been a fatal problem — not just for children, but also for communities. Today, malnourishment has decreased but continues to affect children globally. Despite this prevalence, strides have been made and malnourishment is becoming less and less detrimental for people, children especially, in numerous parts of the globe.
Facts of Malnourishment
Malnourishment involves a dietary deficiency — a poor diet may lead to a lack of vitamins, minerals and other essential substances. Too little protein can lead to kwashiorkor, symptoms of which include a distended abdomen. In addition, a lack of vitamin C can result in scurvy.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 462 million people worldwide are malnourished, and possess stunted development due to poor diet; this affects 159 million children globally.
Stunting in Senegal
When this millennium began, malnourishment was highly prevalent in most poor countries across the planet. In Senegal, however, stunting affected as many as 30 percent of children under five years of age. Stunting in growth is the result of long-term malnourishment.
In Senegal, stunting has life-long consequences such as: the reduction of cognitive abilities, limited school attainment, decreases in adult wages and can make children less likely to escape poverty as adults. The solution to these outcomes lies in holistic monitoring and feeding.
Within the globe, 1 in 4 children are stunted in growth; today, Senegal has a rate of 19 percent of stunted children. This makes it the lowest rate in any sub-Saharan African nation. Thanks to efforts from the Nutrition Policy Coordination Unit in the Prime Minister’s office — who worked with local governments, public service providers and NGOs — nutrition services have been delivered to in-need communities and households.
The services included health education, breastfeeding promotion, infant and young child feeding counseling, monthly weighing sessions, micronutrient supplementation, conditional cash transfers, targeted food security support and more.
Importance of Good Nutrition
The best chance a child has for growth is in access to good nutrition; child survival and development both stem from a healthy start. Children who are well nourished are more equipped to grow, learn and participate in the community, and are also much more resilient in the face of disease or disaster.
Malnourishment is often linked to nearly half of childhood deaths under the age of five; this figure calculates roughly to about 3 million young lives a year. For millions of children, chronic malnourishment results in stunting, irreversible physical and mental growth.
The first 1,000 days of a mother’s pregnancy are when malnourishment begins to take hold of the child; thankfully, by focusing on these first 1,000 days, UNICEF has helped cut the number of children affected by stunting by nearly 100 million since 1990.
First Steps of Progress
Now more than ever, millions of children’s lives are being saved on a grand and global scale. Within the last decade, malnourishment has decreased despite its continuance to globally affect children.
This progress is only the beginning — the start of the first 1,000 days to help prevent malnourishment from taking life away from those who’ve yet to begin to live it. To continue in the fight for the children is to continue to allow life to be at its best.
– Gustavo Lomas
Photo: Flickr
Addressing the Issue of Using Child Soldiers in Afghanistan
Under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), using children under the age of 15 in combat is deemed a war crime because children can either end up dead or traumatized from their experience. Afghanistan is a party to the Rome Statute.
Furthermore, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict was ratified by Afghanistan in 2003 and states that people under the age of 18 may not be recruited by armed groups under any circumstances. It established the need to take measures, such as prohibition and criminalization of this action, to prevent the use of child soldiers. A violation of this is considered a breach of international law.
Conflict Creates Instability
The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 in order to remove the Taliban from power. Although Kabul was reclaimed, the Taliban still controls some regions in Afghanistan and the war has continued. Additionally, the spread of the Islamic State’s presence in Afghanistan has aggravated the situation and increased the threat of terrorism. The decades of war and instability have created severe poverty and violence.
Child soldiers in Afghanistan are recruited on both sides of the conflict. Some Afghan children have even been recruited to fight in Syria. The Taliban has recruited child soldiers since the 1990s. Children participate in the war in many ways. They often are sent to combat, go on suicide missions, work in noncombat positions and serve as messengers or spies.
The Recruitment of Child Soldiers in Afghanistan
The Taliban has used Islamic religious schools to train children from a young age. They often begin studying religious subjects taught by Taliban teachers at age six and learn military skills around the age of 13. Usually, these kids are not taken by force. The Taliban schools are an attractive option for poor families since they provide food and clothing for the children.
Despite evidence of young boys participating in combat, the Taliban claims that to participate in military operations they have to prove “mental and physical maturity.” Although child soldiers in Afghanistan are mostly used by the Taliban, they are also used by the Afghan National Police as cooks and guards at checkpoints. Parents often do not oppose this since the boys could be the sole provider for their families.
Girls in the War
The number of girls considered to be child soldiers in Afghanistan is minimal. Danielle Bell, the head of the Human Rights Unit at the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, addressed this when she said, “In five years of monitoring and reporting, the U.N. has verified one case of child recruitment of a girl who was a trained suicide bomber.” Although they are not trained as soldiers, girls are often taken and forced into sex slavery for military groups.
The 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act prohibits the U.S. from giving military assistance to countries that use child soldiers. Jo Becker, the children’s rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, has criticized the U.S. for ignoring child soldiers in Afghanistan, saying, “The United States has paid hundreds of millions of dollars to support an Afghan militia that recruits and uses children to fight the Taliban.” Using children for military combat is both a violation of international law and a war crime and the United States government should take proper action against it.
– Luz Solano-Flórez
Photo: Flickr