The degree of the risk to get infectious diseases in Chad, the biggest landlocked country on the African continent, is critically high. Typhoid, cholera, malaria and hepatitis E tend to become more widespread in the rainy season.
Chad’s population continuously grows due to the country’s high fertility rate and a large youth cohort. More than 65% of the populace is under the age of 25, although the mortality rate is high and life expectancy is low. Diseases in Chad caused the world’s third-highest maternal mortality rate. According to UNICEF, 33% of children between 12-23 months are not vaccinated against childhood diseases.
Among blood or waterborne diseases in Chad, the most concerning are bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E and typhoid fever. Vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, water contact disease schistosomiasis, respiratory disease meningococcal meningitis and some of the animal contact diseases including rabies had a large outbreak in 2016 and are also among the most threatening. In the past decade, Chad has faced epidemics of meningitis, measles and cholera with increasing severity.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) identified the first hepatitis E cases and treated 885 patients with Acute Jaundice Symptoms (AJS), with numbers increasing to an average of around 60 new cases a week. AJS commonly causes the yellowing of the skin and eyes, which can indicate if a person has hepatitis E. In total, 45% of cases tested positive for hepatitis E. Since September 2016, 11 have died, including four pregnant women among hospitalized individuals, but the fatality rate could be underestimated. Nearly 90% of the AJS cases were reported from Am Timan which appears to be the epicenter of the outbreak.
The government of Chad officially declared a cholera epidemic on August 30, 2010. In January 2011, the number of cases started to increase again and during September, 4,410 cases and 83 deaths were reported. The high mortality rate appeared due to the weakness of the monitoring system, the lack of appropriate health strategies and of access to health services for patients and the poor quality of existing health services.
As with some other diseases in Chad, cholera appears during the rainy season in the regions surrounding the Lac Chad. In 2014, 172 cases of cholera were notified in the regions of Lac, Mayo Kebbi and N’Djamena. In 2016, no cases were notified. Given the low levels of access to a sustainable water source (only 52% of Chad’s population have access) and improved sanitation (12%), it is likely to be a continuous problem.
In 2016, more than a million cases of malaria were notified among other diseases in Chad. UNICEF and the World Health Organization have launched a distribution of bed nets, medicines, malnutrition treatment for children under five and stimulated prenatal services such as vaccination and preventive malaria treatment.
The causes of malaria are dirty water and garbage that become the nests for mosquitoes. More important, even with vaccination, is to use nets, especially covering children’s and elders’ beds, as the disease affects them the most.
Travelers to Chad should follow standard hygiene recommendations in terms of water and food safety. These should protect them against hepatitis E, as the risk of person to person transmission is very low. In order to control these epidemics and reduce morbidity and mortality rates associated with cholera, malaria, yellow fever, measles and meningitis outbreaks, UNICEF in collaboration with Chad’s government plans to launch mass vaccination of the entire population and returnees of all ages to prevent further spread of epidemic diseases in Chad.
– Yana Emets
Photo: Flickr
How Education is Affecting the Poverty Rate in India
India, which now has the world’s third-largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, has been an urban-centered, industrializing nation since its independence in 1947. Over the last 25 years, India has been noted for its significant economic growth which looks to continue for the 2017 -2018 fiscal year with an expected growth rate of 7.2%. While India has maintained much economic success, many failures and weaknesses still debilitate the nation’s full potential. For example, the poverty rate in India has been less severe in recent years, but there is still much room for improvement.
In 2016, 270 million Indians were surviving on $1.90 or less a day, the World Bank’s definition of extreme poverty. Of the people living in these conditions, 80 percent lived in rural India, where the main source of income for the population is through casual labor. While the economy has appeared to have boomed over the last 25 years, most growth has been in urban areas where large multinational corporations, such as IBM and Microsoft, base their software development headquarters.
With this divide between urban and rural life, economic growth does not seem to remove the issues of extreme poverty in the way a neoliberal economist would suggest. A study in 2002 found that these conditions in India are partially due to educational poverty, which is defined as the deprivation of basic education and literacy. Only 6% of the income from poor households is invested in education and health, while the majority is spent on other necessities such as food and fuel.
However, Tsujita, a researcher of the Institute of Developing Economies, believes that “there may be a chance of escaping poverty through education.” The government in India seems to agree with this statement as they promoted the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) project as a part of their flagship program. SSA was a project in India that began in 2002 to enroll all six- to 14-year-olds in primary education by 2010. The project attempted to do so by improving the facilities and infrastructure of schools while also expanding access to these facilities nationally. As a result, by 2009, 98% of children were only 1 kilometer away from educational facilities and only 2.7 million children remained out of school.
With the extreme poverty rate in India falling from 53.86% in 1983 to 21.23% in 2011, the World Bank strongly believes that education is a powerful instrument for poverty reduction. While the reductions in the extreme poverty rate in India over the past 20 years in India are not due solely to educational improvements, the investment in enhancing basic education has had a significant impact on the poverty rate in India.
Although India’s literacy and education rates remain poor on a global scale, the recent achievements of the SSA are far greater than those previously undertaken, as the program was implemented throughout all districts of India. However, there is still more work to be done. A recent survey shows that half of the government schools in India have no teaching activity and low student progression rates. For the nation to truly eradicate extreme poverty, quality education must be promoted.
These same strides should be made internationally to ensure a better future. Today, 263 million children still do not attend school or lack access to such facilities due to conflicts or national instabilities. Former U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-Moon, professed that “with partnership, leadership and wise investments in education, we can transform individual lives, national economies and our world”.
The American people have the opportunity and ability to support such a transformation. The Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development (READ) Act aims to provide basic education and access to the remaining out-of-school children around the world. This piece of legislation has recently passed through the House of Representatives, but it must still be approved by the Senate. As the dramatic changes in India over a 10-year period were due partially to improvements in basic education, a bill such as the READ Act has the potential to improve living conditions for children globally.
– Tess Hinteregger
Photo: Flickr
New National Innovations: Water Quality in Singapore
Singapore’s Public Utility Board (PUB) believes that it has an innovative answer as to how to improve water quality in Singapore.
PUB is responsible for the collection, production, distribution and reclamation of water in Singapore. For a country that, for a large amount of its lifetime, relied on importing water from Malaysia to moderate its water scarcity, water quality in Singapore is an important issue. Hence, the PUB’s mission to “ensure an efficient, adequate and sustainable supply of water” is quite a big deal.
The organization’s solution came the form of a project called the “Four National Taps,” comprised of imported water from Malaysia, local catchment, NEWater and desalinated water.
Understanding how these “taps” work is essential to understanding why the water quality in Singapore is now reported to be very good. The local catchment tap involves the collection of rainwater running through more than 8,000 kilometers (or 4,970.97 miles) of waterways to one of the 17 reservoirs located around the country.
Desalination is the process of removing salt from seawater. Singapore’s two desalination plants alone allow PUB to meet 25% of the nation’s water need. The NEWater tap includes the use of advanced technologies to treat used water so it may be used for drinking and industrial use– essentially recycling water. This tap has been proven to be both cost-effective and efficient and is used to supply 30% of the nation’s water demand; by 2060 it is expected to meet 55% of the nation’s demand.
The NEWater tap includes the use of advanced technologies to treat used water so it may be used for drinking and industrial use, essentially recycling water. This tap has been proven to be both cost-effective and efficient and is used to supply 30% of the nation’s water demand; by 2060 it is expected to meet 55% of the nation’s demand.
PUB takes water quality in Singapore very seriously, claiming that Singapore’s tap water is now “well within the World Health Organization drinking water guidelines and U.S. Environmental Public Health (Quality of Piped Drinking Water) Regulations.”
The drive for Singapore to have and maintain high-quality water is further illustrated through its initiation of several community-focused programs to educate citizens on the importance of the conversation and appreciation of water. Minister Vivian Balakrishnan stated: “Although we can be confident of meeting our water needs, let us remember that every drop of water is precious. Do continue to practice good water-saving habits and avoid unnecessary consumption. We can make every drop count.”
– Obinna Ikechukwu Iwuji
Photo: Flickr
Causes of Poverty in Venezuela, Once Latin America’s Richest Nation
Despite housing the largest oil reserves in the world, Venezuela is experiencing crippling and widespread poverty. The causes of poverty in Venezuela are atypical from other developing countries. The nation has an abundance of natural resources, and, in the 1950s, it had the fourth-highest GDP per capita in the world. For much of its history, the country has occupied a coveted position as the strongest economy in Latin America. Despite frequent political instability–as recently as 2007 poverty was in decline, with the economy riding high off oil profits where the price of a barrel was in the triple digits.
Fast-forward to 2017: 81% of Venezuelans live below the poverty line, largely as a result of the economic collapse.
The most severe symptoms of the new Venezuelan economy are ones that make it difficult for the average citizen to simply exist, let alone thrive. Food is either scarce or astronomically expensive, and hospitals are chronically understaffed and have to endure subpar equipment. Schools are increasingly characterized by the need to feed children who arrive hungry and have brought nothing to eat.
The Washington Post describes the situation as an “entirely man-made disaster,” identifying Nicolás Maduro’s government as one of the primary causes of poverty in Venezuela. Corruption is endemic in Venezuelan politics and enormous oil profits are often siphoned off into private hands. Transparency International identifies Venezuela as the ninth most corrupt country in the world, by far the highest in the Latin America region.
Government intervention to address the crisis has also often backfired. An attempt to introduce price controls on foodstuffs led to imports disappearing almost entirely, and for months most Venezuelans were unable to acquire basic items such as milk, eggs and flour. Inflation is expected to rise to 475% in 2017. Over the course of the past year, the average Venezuelan has dropped 19 pounds in weight.
The spike in oil prices during better times allowed Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, to implement an economic populist agenda. A combination of infrastructure investment and expansion of social services allowed millions of Venezuelans to be lifted above the poverty line. However, this model of poverty alleviation was flawed due to its dependence on a single resource. Following a decline in oil prices, the country now faces even greater challenges than before.
A major fiscal overhaul is the best bet for the millions of Venezuelans who urgently need access to food and medicine. A food-stamp style system for vital goods is currently only a proposal, but the enormity of Venezuela’s government and its subsidiaries means it could be distributed relatively easily across the country.
In the long term, a redirection of the economy away from oil towards privately owned farms could stimulate a self-sufficient food market. If this was achieved, the kind of shortages that plague Venezuela in 2017 would be unlikely to occur again.
Perhaps then, some of the current causes of poverty in Venezuela can be overcome and the nation can begin to rebuild towards its former status as one of the wealthiest in the world.
– Jonathan Riddick
Photo: Flickr
Poverty Rate in Aruba
Aruba, a small country in the South Caribbean Sea, has been regarded as a popular vacation spot where tourism continues to thrive. Accounting for 30% of the island’s income, the tourism industry has been on the rise since 1985. This industry has brought an increase in business to the hotel industry as well as construction and the food industry. Tourism has helped create a flourishing economy and contributed to the low poverty rate in Aruba.
These increases of industry have paved the way for an increase in jobs. This contributes to the low unemployment rate, 6.9% as of 2005. Aruba’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been estimated at about $23,500 per capita in 2011, which is among the highest in Central and South America as well as the Caribbean.
The unemployment rate continues to be low due to an abundance of jobs and a stable economy, yet jobs still go unfulfilled. With a focus on tourism, the majority of jobs are concentrated in the tourism industry, whether it be in the hotel industry or otherwise.
Although public debt was recorded as 67% of the GDP in 2013, the inflation rate in 2016 was negative at about minus 0.8%. Like any island nation, Aruba exports only a fraction of what it imports. Partially due to tourism, the island maintains a steady economy, where 1.79 Aruban Florin has consistently been equivalent to $1 since 2012. With more than one million visitors to the island per year, the majority of businesses in tourist areas operate on the U.S. dollar.
Aruba’s tourism industry has continued to thrive in recent years. Increases in the tourism industry have created low unemployment and have contributed to the low poverty rate in Aruba. The tourism industry is expected to continue to prosper in Aruba due to the stable economy and exchange rate. Continued low rates of poverty can also be expected for the near future of Aruba.
– Stefanie Podosek
Photo: Flickr
Preventing the Spread of Common Diseases in Chad
The degree of the risk to get infectious diseases in Chad, the biggest landlocked country on the African continent, is critically high. Typhoid, cholera, malaria and hepatitis E tend to become more widespread in the rainy season.
Chad’s population continuously grows due to the country’s high fertility rate and a large youth cohort. More than 65% of the populace is under the age of 25, although the mortality rate is high and life expectancy is low. Diseases in Chad caused the world’s third-highest maternal mortality rate. According to UNICEF, 33% of children between 12-23 months are not vaccinated against childhood diseases.
Among blood or waterborne diseases in Chad, the most concerning are bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E and typhoid fever. Vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, water contact disease schistosomiasis, respiratory disease meningococcal meningitis and some of the animal contact diseases including rabies had a large outbreak in 2016 and are also among the most threatening. In the past decade, Chad has faced epidemics of meningitis, measles and cholera with increasing severity.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) identified the first hepatitis E cases and treated 885 patients with Acute Jaundice Symptoms (AJS), with numbers increasing to an average of around 60 new cases a week. AJS commonly causes the yellowing of the skin and eyes, which can indicate if a person has hepatitis E. In total, 45% of cases tested positive for hepatitis E. Since September 2016, 11 have died, including four pregnant women among hospitalized individuals, but the fatality rate could be underestimated. Nearly 90% of the AJS cases were reported from Am Timan which appears to be the epicenter of the outbreak.
The government of Chad officially declared a cholera epidemic on August 30, 2010. In January 2011, the number of cases started to increase again and during September, 4,410 cases and 83 deaths were reported. The high mortality rate appeared due to the weakness of the monitoring system, the lack of appropriate health strategies and of access to health services for patients and the poor quality of existing health services.
As with some other diseases in Chad, cholera appears during the rainy season in the regions surrounding the Lac Chad. In 2014, 172 cases of cholera were notified in the regions of Lac, Mayo Kebbi and N’Djamena. In 2016, no cases were notified. Given the low levels of access to a sustainable water source (only 52% of Chad’s population have access) and improved sanitation (12%), it is likely to be a continuous problem.
In 2016, more than a million cases of malaria were notified among other diseases in Chad. UNICEF and the World Health Organization have launched a distribution of bed nets, medicines, malnutrition treatment for children under five and stimulated prenatal services such as vaccination and preventive malaria treatment.
The causes of malaria are dirty water and garbage that become the nests for mosquitoes. More important, even with vaccination, is to use nets, especially covering children’s and elders’ beds, as the disease affects them the most.
Travelers to Chad should follow standard hygiene recommendations in terms of water and food safety. These should protect them against hepatitis E, as the risk of person to person transmission is very low. In order to control these epidemics and reduce morbidity and mortality rates associated with cholera, malaria, yellow fever, measles and meningitis outbreaks, UNICEF in collaboration with Chad’s government plans to launch mass vaccination of the entire population and returnees of all ages to prevent further spread of epidemic diseases in Chad.
– Yana Emets
Photo: Flickr
How Many Africans Live in Poverty?
Understanding how many Africans live in poverty means delving into the economic and social status of every country on the continent. As Africa’s population continues to grow at record rates, making it the second-most populous region in the world, so does the need to reduce poverty and truly understand how many Africans live in poverty.
Despite assumptions that poverty in Africa is worsening or stagnant, according to the United Nations, current estimates of poverty in Africa are actually lower than expected. The number of Africans considered impoverished fell from 56% in 1990 to 43% in 2012. Even with improved statistics, the proportions must also count the rapidly increasing population which averages about 2.6% growth each year. With this growth in mind, the percentages translate to roughly 330 million poor in 2012 compared to 280 million in 1990.
Africa has also improved in other areas, helping to alleviate how many Africans live in poverty. Intergenerational mobility in education and occupation has bettered across the continent but remains low. South African publication Daily Maverick reports that access to electricity and sanitized water in the region has dramatically increased.
Even with the various societal improvements toward becoming more developed, Africa still suffers from widening inequality. The Brookings Institute has found divergent trends in simultaneously expanding economies and growing numbers of people living on less than $1.25 a day. Seven of the 10 most unequal countries in the world are in Africa and most of them in southern Africa. However, excluding these select countries, inequality is not higher in Africa than elsewhere in the world. Some Africans are becoming wealthier, and others are becoming poorer. Differences between urban and rural areas across regions are large. Reducing how many Africans live in poverty is not an isolated solution, but one that must keep in mind economic inequality.
Those vulnerable to widespread inequality suffer the consequences. Twenty-eight of the poorest countries are in Africa. Without stable governments to ensure basic rights, 589 million sub-Saharan Africans live without electricity, and almost 40% of people in the world without access to safe drinking water live in Africa. Diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS result in premature deaths and orphaned young people without the resources available to escape the depths of poverty. However, there is a disconnect between the realities of poverty and the policymakers able to assist further with inequality in Africa.
How do people learn more about accurately defining how many Africans live in poverty and inequality? Through more frequent and widespread household surveys, the information gap between censuses must be shortened; the latest for some countries is at least three years old according to the United Nations. As quickly as the African landscape changes, accurate information about poverty in Africa is the catalyst necessary for advocacy and progress.
Africa is a mural dyed with many shades not fully encompassed in a single statistic. A piece of data cannot amplify the voices of those impoverished. But for those capable of communicating the reality of how many Africans live in poverty, a statistic can translate into action.
– Allie Knofczynski
Photo: Flickr
How to Help People in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico experiences extreme debt. It is $70 billion dollars behind in expenses. As a result, non-profits are lending their assistance to Puerto Rico to help its citizens and economy. Those wondering how to help people in Puerto Rico can rest assured that there are a variety of ways to be able to do so.
Here are four ways you can help people in Puerto Rico:
Meanwhile, the U.S. is currently making an effort to help by ensuring Puerto Ricans have a temporary benefit of Medicaid assistance.
Without this help, the island would need to fund Medicaid on its own for the fiscal year of 2018. In its current financial state, this would be impossible. Over 900,000 people would be without healthcare without this form of aid.
In the words of Bernie Sanders, “We cannot allow Puerto Rico’s budget to be balanced on the backs of the most vulnerable people – working families, veterans, the elderly, children and the poor.” He continues by saying that not only is this immoral, but it is economically a bad decision as well.
Puerto Ricans can really use all the help they can get. Take action by learning how to help people in Puerto Rico today.
– Noel Mcdavid
Photo: Flickr
The Truth About Water Quality in Finland
The water quality in Finland was not always known for being astonishingly clean as it is today.
Before Finland earned the name of a country with some of the cleanest tap water in the world, researchers discovered that the water supply was filled with cancer-causing materials. At this time, citizens referred to their tap water as “ugly water.”
Thanks to the panic and uproar that the discovery of this dirty water caused, Finland’s tap water is now ranked among the cleanest in the European Union.
Evaluating Water Quality in Finland
Just as in most countries, however, drinking the natural water in Finland is certainly not in anyone’s best interest. With sheep, other forms of livestock, and pulp factories in the area, drinking from downstream is not recommended.
Although Finland’s drinking water is up to par, ecology reports demonstrate that water quality for aquatic life remains questionable.
This is mostly due to the large amounts of agricultural production in Finland, causing nutrient over-growth in lakes and rivers. It is the responsibility of farmers and other individuals to do their part in keeping pollutants out of Finland’s waterways.
Finland is also working to restore pathways for fish in order to help with the recent extinction of migratory fish stocks. These pathways surpass dams in a variety of 20 Finnish waterways.
Water quality in Finland is monitored by researchers in a laboratory that includes water from each individual local treatment plant.
Most of the tap water in Finland originates from Lake Päijänne, traveling 120 km to where the water is then treated in pools and safely dispersed into the homes of locals. The rest of the small portion of tap water recipients are receiving their water from a groundwater plant.
After years of fighting against impure and polluted waters, water quality in Finland ranks among the greatest in the world. That is, as long as individuals refrain from drinking downstream.
– Noel Mcdavid
Photo: Flickr
Sex Workers in Cambodia
Cambodia is a country in Southeast Asia known for sex tourism. With the highest rate of HIV infection in Asia, sex workers in Cambodia are likely to contract HIV, which causes AIDS.
An estimated 10 to 40 million women sell sex around the world, the majority of whom are mothers looking for a way to support their families. In Cambodia, where 36% of the population lives below the poverty line and only 30% of girls attend schools, women are desperate to make a living for themselves and their families. Girls from poor, rural families come to cities where they can make a living in the sex industry. The average age of sex workers is 29.
Abortion and AIDS are the most common cause of death among sex workers in Cambodia. According to a study by Global Health Promise, a nonprofit based in Portland, sex workers are 12 times more likely to be infected with HIV than other women. HIV is passed from mother to child to during pregnancy, and children of sex workers are most likely to die from AIDS than any other cause.
Unprotected sex in brothels and entertainment hubs in Cambodia is common. Although abortion is legal in Cambodia, public clinics often do not provide the procedure. Women are forced to use other methods and may use traditional practices like deep massage abortion, which can cause fatal hemorrhages.
With in the next five years, it is expected that 200,000 children in Cambodia will be orphaned by AIDS, and at least 15,000 will be HIV-positive. Life-saving AIDS drugs cost $500 per year for a child. Drugs provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) are received by only 3,000 people out of the 170,000 infected with HIV.
With the assistance of the WHO, the Cambodian government is making efforts to reduce and treat HIV among sex workers. The 100% Condom Use Program (CUP) Pilot Project aims to prevent the transmission of HIV from high-risk groups, including sex workers, to low-risk groups, like housewives. It also aims to control STIs through condom use and provide access to outreach programs for all sex workers.
Organizations like Hope for Justice recognize the importance of education and have established schools for sex trafficking survivors. Sunrise New Hope is another organization that is working to restore hope, dignity and promise to sex workers and provides free education, medical and welfare services.
A commitment by local authorities is needed to help stop the spread of HIV. Moreover, girls must have access to education to be able to find other employment with which they can support their families. Working to eliminate poverty is key to reducing the spread of HIV among sex workers in Cambodia.
– Aishwarya Bansal
Photo: Flickr
The Current State of Poverty in Romania
Ringing in at a 25.4% poverty rate, Romania is one of the six countries off the coast of the Black Sea in southeast Europe that has seen its fair share of poverty and struggle in the last century. Taking part in both World Wars and being under Soviet occupation has severely weakened the economy as well as the morale of natives, and resulted in escalating poverty in Romania.
After reaching a point of good economic growth and being the second-largest producer of oil in Europe after World War I, Romania was pulled into the crossfires of World War II by an ultimatum from the USSR. This led to Soviet occupation and, ultimately, the decline of Romania. Not only did the Soviets exploit Romanian natural resources, but they also implemented a mass genocide targeting the Jews and Roma communities.
Once the communist influence had pulled out, however, Romania was left in shambles. The post-USSR era called for the reorganization of farmland, which displaced many of the farmers and added to the problem of poverty in Romania. Since Romania cultivated a predominantly agriculture-based economy, this disturbed the lives of many and resulted in a shift to subsistence farming. Farmers were bound to low levels of production and marginal incomes due to a lack of resources.
Furthermore, because 44% of Romanians live in rural areas, according to the Rural Poverty Portal, almost half of the population is confined to small-scale farming. In particular, people that reside in the remote mountain areas face the harshest conditions due to minimal access to infrastructure.
Poverty in Romania
For the past couple of decades, these farmers have been stuck in the vicious cycle of working for the bare necessities of living for generations. In 2015, a Eurostat news release projected that 46.8% of children were at risk of poverty. This low level of living and lack of opportunity has propelled Romania into a primarily emigration-based nation.
Ethnic minorities and victims of the post-communist decline in jobs looked for hope outside of Romania, which caused the natives to look for opportunities outside the nation as well. According to Focus Migration, around two million Romanians moved in order to better their lives. This included professionals that are vital to the survival of a nation, such as doctors.
Despite the low unemployment rates and misleading statistics often presented by the Romanian elite, there is still much work to accomplish regarding human rights, government, economy, and poverty in Romania for it to be a safer and more stable country for its residents.
– Tanvi Wattal
Photo: Flickr