On April 18, 2018, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) partnered with the Kaiser Family Foundation to host a discussion of the current state and future of financing for HIV/AIDS. The Borgen Project was invited to attend this critical summit and hear from the leading voices in this space.
About 36.7 million people worldwide were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2016; one million of those cases resulted in fatality. A disease that still affects so many requires adequate funding for care, treatment and prevention.
The fight against AIDS began in 1981 when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report which detailed one of the first cases of the disease. From there, the CDC began to work on discovering risk factors.
Between 1996 and 2000, spending on HIV/AIDS from major donor countries increased from $248.45 million to $749.37 million. According to Christopher J.L. Murray, one of the panelists and a professor at the University of Washington, “If you cumulate total spend since 2000, the world has spent just around half a trillion dollars on HIV/AIDS.”
The amount of financing for HIV/AIDS continuously increased through the years up until 2011. Murray pointed out current spending trends using a graph. “From basically 2011, with the exception of 2012, we have been flat,” meaning that total spending from donor assistance channels, such as the WHO and World Bank, has not increased since 2011. Though some individual channels may have increased financing for treatment and prevention, others have decreased spending, making total spending fairly consistent in recent years.
Another concern for financing for HIV/AIDS is the limited spending coming from countries with the highest numbers of affected people. The majority of financing is coming from the upper and upper-middle income countries. J. Stephen Morrison, the Senior Vice President and Director of the Global Health Policy Center, pointed out some of the most striking realizations that have come from new data on HIV/AIDS.
“It also begins to show us a way in which there has been an erosion of the financial and political commitment dedicated to those low-income countries with the greatest burden and the greatest prevalence,” Morrison noted. “The most dramatic point was in saying that since 2012, 2013, a 23.7 percent decline in the levels of donor assistance into those countries from just over 12 billion to 9.1 billion dedicated to HIV.”
The stagnant spending is a severe problem considering the rate of population growth. Mark Dybul, one of the panelists and a professor at Georgetown University, pointed out the hypothetical: “You double the population, you’re going to double the size of the infection rate.” A Business Insider estimation claims that more than half of the population growth that will occur between now and 2050 is going to occur in Africa. As Africa is also the site of the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases, this means that the rate of those infected with HIV/AIDS will likely increase significantly.
The future of financing for HIV/AIDS is looking challenging to Dybul given the difficulties in raising funds. “The reality is, there is no argument that’s going to get an increase in donor funding for HIV. We are at the highwater mark, we are not going up.” Dybul suggested that, instead, change will come through smarter investing, including focusing on prevention first, and treatment second.
Additionally, Dybul suggested that some change is needed in how we talk about the epidemic. As he pointed out “Young people in Africa don’t think about HIV anymore, they think about other things.” In this way, raising awareness may be crucial in fighting HIV/AIDS.
Moving forward with financing for HIV/AIDS will be a challenge considering stagnant spending across the board, little spending from low-income countries, and the drastic population growth expected in Africa in the coming years. But with changes in how organizations and governments invest and heightened awareness of the epidemic, it is possible to win the war against HIV/AIDS.
– Olivia Booth
Photo: CSIS
10 Facts About Poverty in Lagos
10 Facts About Poverty in Lagos
These facts skim the surface of the issues that are causing millions of Lagosians to live in poverty. However, they do shed light on issues that can be tackled with the right policies and aid.
In the meantime, the Lagos government is developing strategies to uplift all in Lagos. Governor Akinwunmi, through the N25 Billion Employment Trust Fund, plans to make more Lagosians self-employed, creating 300,000 direct and 600,000 indirect jobs by 2019.
As surety, the Lagos Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment was created to encourage entrepreneurship by using strategies that create wealth. Lagosians are expecting to see a turnaround on poverty in years to come.
– Naomi C. Kellogg
Photo: Flickr
CSIS and Kaiser Family Foundation Discuss Financing for HIV/AIDS
On April 18, 2018, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) partnered with the Kaiser Family Foundation to host a discussion of the current state and future of financing for HIV/AIDS. The Borgen Project was invited to attend this critical summit and hear from the leading voices in this space.
About 36.7 million people worldwide were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS by the end of 2016; one million of those cases resulted in fatality. A disease that still affects so many requires adequate funding for care, treatment and prevention.
The fight against AIDS began in 1981 when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report which detailed one of the first cases of the disease. From there, the CDC began to work on discovering risk factors.
Between 1996 and 2000, spending on HIV/AIDS from major donor countries increased from $248.45 million to $749.37 million. According to Christopher J.L. Murray, one of the panelists and a professor at the University of Washington, “If you cumulate total spend since 2000, the world has spent just around half a trillion dollars on HIV/AIDS.”
The amount of financing for HIV/AIDS continuously increased through the years up until 2011. Murray pointed out current spending trends using a graph. “From basically 2011, with the exception of 2012, we have been flat,” meaning that total spending from donor assistance channels, such as the WHO and World Bank, has not increased since 2011. Though some individual channels may have increased financing for treatment and prevention, others have decreased spending, making total spending fairly consistent in recent years.
Another concern for financing for HIV/AIDS is the limited spending coming from countries with the highest numbers of affected people. The majority of financing is coming from the upper and upper-middle income countries. J. Stephen Morrison, the Senior Vice President and Director of the Global Health Policy Center, pointed out some of the most striking realizations that have come from new data on HIV/AIDS.
“It also begins to show us a way in which there has been an erosion of the financial and political commitment dedicated to those low-income countries with the greatest burden and the greatest prevalence,” Morrison noted. “The most dramatic point was in saying that since 2012, 2013, a 23.7 percent decline in the levels of donor assistance into those countries from just over 12 billion to 9.1 billion dedicated to HIV.”
The stagnant spending is a severe problem considering the rate of population growth. Mark Dybul, one of the panelists and a professor at Georgetown University, pointed out the hypothetical: “You double the population, you’re going to double the size of the infection rate.” A Business Insider estimation claims that more than half of the population growth that will occur between now and 2050 is going to occur in Africa. As Africa is also the site of the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases, this means that the rate of those infected with HIV/AIDS will likely increase significantly.
The future of financing for HIV/AIDS is looking challenging to Dybul given the difficulties in raising funds. “The reality is, there is no argument that’s going to get an increase in donor funding for HIV. We are at the highwater mark, we are not going up.” Dybul suggested that, instead, change will come through smarter investing, including focusing on prevention first, and treatment second.
Additionally, Dybul suggested that some change is needed in how we talk about the epidemic. As he pointed out “Young people in Africa don’t think about HIV anymore, they think about other things.” In this way, raising awareness may be crucial in fighting HIV/AIDS.
Moving forward with financing for HIV/AIDS will be a challenge considering stagnant spending across the board, little spending from low-income countries, and the drastic population growth expected in Africa in the coming years. But with changes in how organizations and governments invest and heightened awareness of the epidemic, it is possible to win the war against HIV/AIDS.
– Olivia Booth
Photo: CSIS
Girls’ Education in Thailand
School Enrollment Rates
For the most part, Thailand does not have disparities in school enrollment rates for boys and girls. The 1999 National Act promises education for all Thai children, and in 2005 that right was extended to all children living in the country regardless of nationality. Currently, elementary and secondary school enrollment is almost equal0 for both genders. In fact, girls have overtaken boys in secondary and tertiary education enrollment. This indicates that past efforts to create equal access to education have been successful. However, this does not mean girls do not face other forms of discrimination in education.
Girls’ Education in STEM Fields
According to the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C., girls face discrimination in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields from as early as primary school. This discrimination then continues through higher education and into employment. Additionally, a report published in 2015 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) indicated that this discrimination came in the form of gender stereotypes and a lack of female role models in STEM.
Girls’ Education and Nonprofit Organizations
In 2017, the Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities Centre in the Greater Mekong Subregion (DEPDC) received the UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education. DEPDC is a local organization in Thailand and they received the award for their projects that aim to reduce exploitation of migrant children and women. The program uses education and other skills training to prevent human trafficking and other kinds of exploitation. However, DEPDC is just one example of an organization focusing on girls’ education in Thailand.
Another such organization is Angel Covers that runs the Girls Advocacy Through Education (GATE) program. GATE focuses on girls in rural, northwest Thailand where families often cannot afford to send their daughters to school. Similar to DEPDC, this organization recognizes the potential of education in reducing human trafficking. GATE provides these children with school materials, lunches, transportation costs and more.
Finally, the government and nonprofits also work to improve girls’ education in Thailand. In April 2018, the Ministry of Education announced that it would be partnering with the United Nations to promote girls’ involvement in STEM education. This is a part of a 20-year national strategy called Thailand 4.0, which hopes to increase development in the country. Thailand is the first country in the region to adopt a “policy toolkit” from the United Nations for gender equality in STEM.
Future of Girls’ Education in Thailand
To conclude, girls in Thailand do have equal access to education but there are often other obstacles in their way. Girls who do not attend school are at a higher risk of being human trafficked — organizations like DEPDC and Angel Covers focus on this aspect of girls’ education. Additionally, girls face much discrimination in male-dominated STEM fields, which the government recently pledged to address. While Thailand has seen many improvements in girls’ education, there is still work to be done. With continued commitment from the government and other organizations, Thailand will be on its way to achieving true gender equality in education.
– Liyanga de Silva
Photo: Pixabay
Top 10 Facts About Poverty in Cairo
Facts About Poverty in Cairo
Egypt has found itself in the throes of poverty and social unrest for many years. With the economy, education, population and development showing uneven statistics throughout protests and social issues that the country has found itself in, the people of Cairo still have hope. These top 10 facts about poverty in Cairo prove that Egyptians are resilient, strong people just fighting for a better future.
– Rebecca Lee
Photo: Flickr
Girls’ Education in India Still Requires Significant Improvement
Education is a necessary component for the growth of a nation and educating girls still continues to be a problem in most developing countries. India has made quite considerable progress with an overall increase in literacy rates from 64.8 percent in 2001 to 74.04 percent in 2011, but girls’ education in India still requires improvement in a number of ways.
The Current Situation in India
The literacy rate of women, according to 2011 census, is 64.46 percent while the male literacy rate is 82.14 percent. The top states that have the largest number of literate women in India are Kerala (92 percent), Mizoram (89.4 percent), Lakshadweep (88.2 percent), Tripura (83.1 percent) and Goa (82 percent). At the same time, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have the largest number of women entrepreneurs in the nation.
The states that include the lowest female literacy numbers are Rajasthan (52.66 percent), followed by Bihar (53.33 percent), Jharkhand (56.21 percent) and Jammu and Kashmir (58.01 percent). Though there has been a substantial increase in the number of literate women in the past few years, the number still falls low for the entire nation.
How This Situation Arose
One of the main reasons for the lack of girls’ education in India is the male-dominated society. Even though the country is making progress, the belief that women belong in the home is still widely held.
Gender inequality is a very serious issue in the Asian nation, which is why 10 million female babies have been aborted over the past 20 years. A son’s education is given more importance because it is thought that daughters will eventually get married and live with their husband, so many believe that a girl’s education is not of much help directly to her family.
Addressing Girls’ Education in India
The government has taken numerous strategies to improve girls’ education in India:
The situation in India may seem daunting but it is steadily progressing with time. With hope, in the coming years, girls’ education in India will achieve new heights.
– Shweta Roy
Photo: Flickr
Girls’ Access to Education in Turkey Still Needs Improvement
The Turkish Education System
Turkey’s education system is monitored and regulated by the state. Its structure is very similar to the United State’s system, with an optional preschool enrollment before primary school (lasting four years), then a middle school level (another four years). The secondary portion of the education system has not always been mandatory, but since 2012, students have been required to complete schooling up through grade 12.
The overwhelmingly young population of the country continues to put pressure on education systems. One of the primary pressures facing the system is seeking out equal opportunities for Turkish students. Primary education and secondary education are the foundation for opportunity. With increases in access to education, students are graduating from the primary and secondary school systems and increasingly seeking higher education both at home and abroad.
Turkey is home to 166 universities and this number could be growing. Turkish universities have been enrolling refugees as well as attracting international students from countries in Europe and the Middle East. There is an active effort to recruit international students to engage with the Turkish higher education system. Students have also been outgoing, seeking opportunities in the U.S., Germany and Canada. As Turkey has a relatively high unemployment rate for university graduates, foreign markets become increasingly appealing for ambitious students.
How Opportunity is Still Lacking
At the start of the twenty-first century, Turkey addressed its weaknesses with education through the Basic Education Programme. This encouraged enrollment and made at least eight years of education mandatory, which has since been increased to 12. Girls’ access to education benefitted the most from this strong regulation and standardization from the state. Enrollment rates increased and literacy improved, thus gender gaps in access to education are diminishing significantly.
The rural-urban divide tends to be a strong indicator of access to education. The Southeast portion of the country experiences a rate of illiteracy over 30 percent. The Ministry of Education (MONE) recognizes these disadvantages for rural and impoverished youth and has created programs and channels through which to increase access to education for disadvantaged youths.
Addressing Girls’ Access to Education in Turkey
One of MONE’s programs is the creation of 13 boarding schools, 11 of which were designed for young girls. By increasing access to school supplies, food, safe transportation and technology, MONE has assisted in narrowing the gap between urban and rural access.
Another organization addressing girls’ access to education in Turkey is Hey Girls, Let’s Go To School, a grassroots campaign powered by volunteers working in rural areas going door-to-door lobbying families on behalf of young women’s education. These volunteers talk with skeptical family members and are effective in addressing cultural concerns that weigh on the hearts and minds of the girls’ caretakers. Since the start of the program in 2003, the group has been successful in enrolling 20,000 young girls in the education system.
Girls of Hope is a documentary that highlights the challenges of girls’ access to education in Turkey. The lack of adequate resources and safe venues for education are one of the obstacles addressed in the film. Cultural standards and practices are further challenges for girls that most often prevent them from accessing education.
Turkey is aware of the shortcomings of its education system and has taken meaningful steps to improve access for all. Organizations focused on girls’ access to education in Turkey have helped the country progress and will continue to narrow the education gap between young boys and girls in the country.
– Madison Shea Lamanna
Photo: Google
Girls’ Education in Sri Lanka Part of the Country’s Gender Equality Goals
The Successes of Girls’ Education in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is the only South Asian country that has already achieved the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal for gender equality at all levels of education. This is a great achievement for the small island nation, and it can be used as a model for other countries.
These achievements have been possible because the government has been committed to ensuring gender equality and improving girls’ education in Sri Lanka. In 1945, the government introduced free primary, secondary and university education for all children, regardless of gender. Additionally, the constitution provides for equal rights irrespective of sex and forms of affirmative action to ensure equality for women.
Continued Work Towards Complete Gender Equality
However, Sri Lanka does still have things to work on. While girls in the nation have access to the same education as boys and tend to do better than them in school, the statistics for adults do not quite mirror these trends. Women’s adult literacy is lower than that of men and the unemployment rate for women is two times higher than the rate for men.
This has been the case for the last three decades, indicating that while women have been given the same access to education, that education is not translating into equal employment later on in life. This is an issue that needs to be addressed by the government to ensure that girls’ access to education is really benefiting them in the long run.
NGOs Focus on Education
Of course, the Sri Lankan government does not have to face these challenges alone. There are numerous nonprofit organizations, such as the World Bank Group and the Asian Development Bank, that have partnered with the government to implement projects regarding gender equality and education. Additionally, there are a variety of independent organizations that focus on education in the nation.
Room to Read is one such organization that runs literacy and girls’ education programs in Sri Lanka, but there are also many others. The Sri Lankan government can utilize these resources and work with them to create equal opportunities for men and women both during and after their attendance at educational institutions.
Ultimately, girls’ education in Sri Lanka has been on the right track for many years. The country has shown a commitment to providing equal access to education regardless of gender, and this is a very commendable effort. While these accomplishments should not be forgotten, the government also needs to be aware of other issues of gender inequality, such as unequal employment and disparities in adult literacy. These are concerns that should be addressed through the development of new policies and collaboration with NGOs that work in the region.
– Liyanga De Silva
Photo: Flickr
How Vaccines Reduce Poverty in Developing Countries
The Ways That Vaccines Reduce Poverty
Vaccines will have the greatest impact on reducing poverty caused by hepatitis B, helping an estimated 14 million people avoid medical bankruptcy. Cases of poverty caused by measles and meningitis A will also be reduced by vaccines, with an estimated five million and three million cases averted respectively. The measles vaccine is estimated to prevent by far the highest number of deaths: 22 million of the 36 million total.
The Harvard study, co-authored by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and a wide range of partners, modeled the health and economic impact of vaccines for 10 diseases in 41 developing countries. According to the study, the poorest 20 percent of the population from the study represented over a quarter of deaths preventable by vaccination. These findings assert the notion that vaccines reduce poverty when introduced to developing countries.
A healthy child is more likely to go to school and become a more productive member of society in later life. Their families can also avoid the crippling healthcare costs that diseases can bring. This is enough to save millions of people from the misery of extreme poverty when vaccines reduce poverty.
Addressing the Obstacles to Universal Vaccination
Vaccines have made possible some of the greatest public health successes of the past century. Basic childhood immunization is one of the few health interventions to which most of the world’s poor have access, free of charge and through the public sector. In fact, immunization is one of the most reasonable health interventions. Vaccines protect girls and boys alike, and reach the poor at higher rates.
However, according to Doctors Without Borders, there are multiple factors that make delivering vaccines to children in developing countries difficult. To start, the newest vaccines are often too expensive, mostly because of a lack of competition in the market, obstructing their use in developing countries. Secondly, there is a lack of research and development for better-adapted and needed vaccines, as there is little incentive for pharmaceutical companies to conduct R&D for diseases that affect populations with limited purchasing power. Lastly, weak health systems with corresponding health worker shortages make it difficult to administer the vaccines to those in need.
UNICEF Programs See Great Success in Improving Vaccination Rates
UNICEF is one of many organizations reaching out to aid developing countries in gaining easier access to vaccines. UNICEF works with partners in government, NGOs, other U.N. agencies and the private sector to provide immunization to the children who need it the most. UNICEF’s immunization program also helps identify those children that have been left behind by the health system and can bring other life-saving care to these mothers and children. UNICEF and its partners support immunization programs in more than 100 countries to help realize children’s right to survival and good health.
As a result of these programs, vaccines have reduced poverty in every country aided. In 2016, UNICEF procured 2.5 billion vaccine doses reaching almost half of the world’s children. Measles vaccinations averted an estimated 17.1 million deaths between 2000 and 2014. Since 2000, 2.5 billion children have been vaccinated and the number of polio cases has fallen by more than 99 percent, dropping to just 22 cases in 2017. Continued investments in immunization in low- and middle-income countries could avert up to 36 million deaths and 24 million cases of impoverishment due to medical costs. Thanks to these efforts, the world’s poor have affordable access to proper medication.
– Richard Zarrilli, Jr.
Photo: Flickr
10 Extremely Important Facts About Poverty in Rwanda
Small, landlocked and with a densely packed population of approximately 11.9 million people, Rwanda has become one of the fastest growing economies in Central Africa. Since the 1994 genocide that left 800,000 dead, Rwanda has seen over two decades of uninterrupted economic growth and social progress.
However, even with these great strides, more than 60 percent of the population continues to live on less than $1.25 a day. The government has guarded its political stability since the genocide and has prioritized long-term developmental goals to assure that its economy continues to grow and poverty falls. Here are 10 important facts about poverty in Rwanda.
10 Facts About Poverty in Rwanda
These facts about poverty in Rwanda demonstrate the current programs and priorities. With a strong focus on homegrown policies and governmental initiatives like Vision 2020 and EDPRS 2, Rwanda has contributed to significant improvements in access to services and human development. The country’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP) grew eight percent each year from 2001 to 2014 and continues to see improvements in life expectancy, primary school enrollment, literacy and healthcare spending.
However, economic growth has been slowing down recently and remained subdued in 2017. Although the country still has some ways to go, these 10 facts about poverty in Rwanda are meant to show a glimpse into the remarkable growth the country has seen already.
– Aaron Stein
Photo: Google
Girls’ Education in China More Accessible Than Ever
Laws Mandate Girls’ Education in China
In 1986, the “Compulsory Education Law of the People’s Republic of China” Law took effect. This law required that all citizens obtain at least nine years of education, funded by the government. Before this, the greater value of males in society gave boys priority over girls to the right to an education. According to the journal Gender Inequality in Education in China, “Thanks to the compulsory education system and gender equity promotion, the gender gap in educational attainment has been greatly eliminated in the past decades.”
Rural Girls Still Struggle to Obtain an Education
As mentioned before, there are still many challenges in terms of girls’ education in China, including:
A further challenge is the population of left-behind girls in China, a population of girls whose parents have moved from their village to the city to find better-paying jobs. Often times, parents are more inclined to take their sons to the city and leave their daughters behind. According to China Daily, 96.1 percent of girls in rural areas attend school from ages six to 11. However, only 79.3 percent have access to high school education. Additionally, these left-behind girls are often put in a position where they have to drop out of school and find work to provide for their aging grandparents.
Government and Nonprofit Programs Address Remaining Education Gaps
Nevertheless, the country’s government and international NGOs are working to improve such challenges to girls’ education in China. For instance, the State Council publicized its National Program for Women’s Development that worked towards development dealing with China’s women, making women’s education one of the six areas of priority.
In 2006, China’s new five-year plan incorporated more investments in education. In the same year, the state revised its compulsory education law that takes steps to improve rural students’ quality of education by “abolish[ing] tuition and miscellaneous fees for all rural students and guarantees free textbooks and subsidies for room and board.” Meanwhile, UNICEF has proceeded with its efforts in western China to improve the quality of education in poor areas, focusing on gender equality.
Furthermore, China has made significant progress in girls’ education in China in the last three decades. Female enrollment in higher education is on the rise. In 2012, female college students made up 51.4 percent of the total university student population. Women are beginning to take on more roles in science and technology. More and more programs are beginning to subsidize girls’ college tuitions. Although numerous programs have been put in place to further girls’ education in China, it is important to continue this work to improve gender equality awareness throughout the country.
– Emma Martin
Photo: Flickr