It’s hard enough to understand each other within one language. Imagine having more than 850 different languages spoken by seven million people in one country, with most of these languages having no written form. Such is the condition of Papua New Guinea, the most linguistically diverse nation in the world.
Papua New Guinea has come a long way in recent years, but for the most part is still a widely underdeveloped and rural country. Only 13 percent of citizens live in cities. Mountains, swamps, jungles and other topographical obstacles have kept some villages completely isolated. Some of its inhabitants have never had any contact with the outside world. This inaccessibility to books, technology, and paper have kept many of these rural areas from developing written languages. It’s no surprise, then, that the nation’s literacy rate is a low 62.4 percent.
Reconciling this rich diversity and lack of literacy is no small task. The Papua New Guinean government wants to give its citizens the opportunity to develop and flourish in their mother tongues. However, it also wants to give the country an edge in terms of advancing careers and the nation’s economy with the official languages of English and Tok Pisin. But supplying millions of people with education in Papua New Guinea, particularly rural areas that have no written form of communication, is an immense task, and the funding and workers are few.
Fortunately, this project isn’t a one-nation effort; many foreign nonprofits have come alongside the government to help grow education in Papua New Guinea. One of them is Wycliffe Bible Translators. This Christian organization seeks to improve vernacular literacy in several nations, including Papua New Guinea. The organization seeks to create written languages for those who have none with the end goal of translating the Bible into these languages.
The road to translation is not a short nor easy one, though. Reading and writing are not everyday pastimes in traditional Papua New Guinean culture. Children who do go to school often leave in the fourth through sixth grade because many jobs don’t require a lengthy education, or because there is a lack of opportunity for paid employment in rural areas, where subsistence farming is the norm. Without cultivation, these children often lose their literacy skills as they grow older. In order for them to be able to read complex literature like the Bible and understand it for themselves, many need to bolster their basic literacy skills
While their efforts are mainly based in churches, Wycliffe volunteers have realized the necessity of strengthening the literacy skills of the surrounding communities. Research shows that children succeed better in school if they begin their education in their mother tongue and then bridge to a second or third language later on in their schooling. So Wycliffe is coming alongside schools and teachers to help improve learning materials and curriculums to better equip school-age kids. The organization also provides workshops for adult community members to polish their reading and writing skills.
Many Papua New Guineans think that since they know how to fluently speak their mother tongue, they should be able to easily read it. But the jump from having no written language to a brand new alphabet to reading out loud is tremendous. Wycliffe started providing fluency reading exercises to these adult learners. The volunteers help Papua New Guineans become more comfortable with reading out loud, stressing that learning how to read takes a lot of work, no matter who you are or what language you speak.
Aside from the more long-term work that Wycliffe does in partnership with schools, Wycliffe’s language surveyors traverse Papua New Guinea’s jungle-like terrain to meet with rural communities, which may lack written languages and some of the necessary materials for education. Some villages require days of backpacking or helicopters to reach. Once there, the Wycliffe volunteers assess the village’s situation: what the culture is like, what languages the people speak, how many languages exist and more.
The volunteers also take note of what educational resources the villages have. Schools that exist in these remote villages may not have electricity, so accessing new curriculums or books is difficult. Teachers may have to hand-draw materials or walk to towns with printers to get the materials they need. Wycliffe is working with the government and other nonprofits to deliver the necessary resources these villages need to strengthen their literacy.
While Wycliffe volunteers have helped significantly in developing written languages and improving education in Papua New Guinea, there’s still an immense amount of work left. As some languages thrive, others seem to falter and disappear. Languages in rural areas that have only a few dozen speakers often blend into other languages as they become more interconnected.
But Wycliffe also believes in empowering Papua New Guineans to do their own translations and teaching. Everything that Wycliffe does as foreigners and staff, it tries as much as possible to train Papua New Guineans to do the same, sharing their skills, expertise and knowledge with them. The vision is that the locals will become qualified to do all of the work on their own, and Papua New Guineans will become experts in linguistic fields. As more languages gain written forms, Wycliffe hopes that vernacular education and bridging programs will become more widespread, leading to improved education in Papua New Guinea.
– Sydney Cooney
Photo: Flickr
Article 308 Repealed in Jordan
Article 308 was intended to be a precautionary measure to protect womens’ honor. As Jane Arraf of NPR reported, “According to tribal and social customs in a lot of Jordan, if a girl or a woman is raped, it reflects on the victim and harms her family’s honor. Forcing her to marry the rapist is used as a solution. Some of the lawmakers opposed to changing the law said being married would erase the stigma of rape.”
According to the Ministry of Justice in Jordan, 159 rapists avoided prison sentences because of Article 308 between 2010 and 2013. After 2013, the Ministry of Justice stopped publicly providing that information because of the controversy it created. Because of recommendations by the royal judiciary committee, Jordan’s Cabinet officially rescinded it in April of 2017.
Asma Khader, a lawyer who has worked on cases regarding Article 308, has worked to repeal the law for 35 years. She is the executive director to Sisterhood Is Global Institute and is a top campaigner for women’s rights. Khader and other activists believe that the repeal of Article 308 will hopefully bring a change in the mindset of shaming and blaming the victim in cases of rape.
Ghada Saba, a women’s activist, noted in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that “Our problem in all of these things, whether it’s human rights or women’s rights, is ignorance,” she said. “People … see women as a container that holds their children, nothing beyond that.”
Although the upper house still has yet to repeal the law, many believe that members will be largely in favor of it. Jordan is one of many countries – including Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia – that has repealed some version of this law in the past. Lebanon is currently working to repeal one of its variants, Article 522.
Thankfully, with the help of local and international activists, Jordan is on its way to moving past traditions and onto a brighter path for women’s rights.
– Sydney Roeder
Photo: Flickr
Teach for Afghanistan: Education in Afghanistan
According to UNICEF, 40 percent of school-aged children in Afghanistan are not enrolled in an educational program. This is due to ongoing violence, poor access and lack of funding, as well as persistent barriers for girls in obtaining an education. The fact that such a large portion of children are not in school becomes more concerning when it is noted that schools are more than simply a place of learning: in conflict zones schools provide the stability and structure necessary for children to cope with the trauma inflicted upon their daily lives. Children who do not have this resource face an increased risk of abuse, exploitation and attempted recruitment by militant groups.
After witnessing the effects of school improvements in India, Rahmatullah Arman was moved to emulate similar reforms in his home country of Afghanistan. Upon completing his studies at the University of Pune where he volunteered with Teach for India, he began laying the groundwork for what would later become Teach For Afghanistan.
Arman told BBC News that his largest inspiration is the aspiration that, while many people have lost their future to years of conflict and uncertainty, their children may still have a future. Fourteen years of foreign-backed reconstruction has resulted in 3.6 million children out of school, a majority of unqualified teachers and an adult illiteracy rate of 60 percent, leaving many without hope, but Arman’s program will undoubtedly have an impact on the quality and accessibility of education in Afghanistan.
Teach for Afghanistan came to fruition in 2013, partnering with Teach for All, an organization created by Teach for America and Teach First in 2007. As the program developed, teacher recruitment began, with Arman setting selective criteria to ensure credible volunteers. Teach for Afghanistan received 3,000 applications for just 80 positions. Ninety-nine percent of applicants were from Afghan universities, a signal that Arman’s country supports his mission to improve education in Afghanistan.
Afghan girls face significant cultural barriers to obtaining a full education, as many believe that being able to read and write is sufficient. Teach for Afghanistan emphasizes the importance of educating girls and many of the teaching fellows are young women. The goal is to demonstrate that girls can be well-educated, hold a good job and still adhere to the more traditional cultural aspirations for young women as successful wives and mothers.
Arman reports that there has been no violent interference with the program, noting that the organization’s strong relationships with community and religious leaders act as a measure of security. He also cites youth education as the most effective tool to counter the growth of terrorism and extremism.
Teach for Afghanistan will open its first 21 programs to students this month in one province, but the ultimate goal is to expand to the entire country. To do so would be to provide Afghan children and families with a resource integral to their health and well-being. The 80 fellows selected have been placed in 21 high-need schools that serve more than 23,000 students, ensuring that Teach for Afghanistan is beginning to bring hope where it is needed most.
– Alena Zafonte
Photo: Flickr
Growing Quinoa Helps Latin American Farmers
Quinoa is native to the Andean region of South America, and is known there as the “mother of all grains.” The hardy plant thrives there despite extreme altitude and high-risk climate conditions. It has been shown that quinoa can also thrive in a variety of Asian, North American and European climates – though none of these have seen the benefits as much as Latin America.
Countries such as Ecuador and Peru are some of the top exporters of quinoa, which is grown primarily by small-scale farmers in mountainous regions. As the grain has gained popularity and reputation as a superfood, farmers in these lower-income regions have seen a higher demand for their production. In such a reliable market, growing quinoa helps previously vulnerable Latin American farmers achieve a more steady income. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has declared quinoa a key component in global food security, for both present and future generations.
In Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador – the three major Latin American exporters of quinoa – the area of land set aside for quinoa cultivation has more than doubled within the last 30 years. Imports to the U.S. from Latin America hover around an astounding £70 million annually. Not only have Latin American nations started selling more quinoa to high-income nations, but they have started selling it at a far steeper price. In between the years 2006 and 2013, the price of quinoa around the globe tripled. Such a lucrative market is clearly beneficial for farmers in these areas of the world.
Historically, demand for raw goods like quinoa has led to the exploitation of low-income countries and only corporate interests have seen real benefits. However, studies have proven that this is not currently the case. The rural region of Puno, where 80 percent of Peru’s quinoa comes from, has seen enormous economic growth and improved welfare as a result of the superfood craze. Not only that, but despite the dramatic price increases, studies have found that people living in communities where quinoa is part of the traditional diet can still afford to eat the grain at similar or even higher rates.
In Puno, households cut back on less nutritious, high-fat foods in order to accommodate the price increases on quinoa; as a result, their health improved. The health benefits of quinoa serve to empower rural poor in Latin America, as well as other impoverished regions around the world. Bolivia declared 2013 the “Year of Quinoa” because the sustainably-grown grain is incredibly nutritious. Quinoa is the only plant food containing all essential amino acids, vitamins, trace elements and no gluten, making it the perfect base for an affordable, nutritious diet. It is also high in fiber and lysine.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has declared quinoa a key component in global food security, both currently and in the future. As Latin America maintains a strong monopoly on quinoa, it is increasingly helping its farmers live healthily and sustainably – and will surely continue for years to come.
– Kailey Dubinsky
Poverty Rates in Iraq Six Years Later
After the war in Iraq, the county was left decimated by poverty. Prior to the Iraq war the percentage of Iraqi people living in slums was approximately 20 percent. At the end of the Iraq war that percentage dramatically rose to 53 percent due to structural damage to many facilities and the mass displacement of civilians.
Following the crippling of its economy and infrastructure, Iraq worked to rebuild and to reduce its poverty rate, which was considered by most to be alarmingly high. However, entering the vacuum created by the withdrawal of U.S. troops emerged another enemy in the war on poverty, the Islamic State. In 2014, the poverty rate of the country resurged to 22.5 percent, almost eclipsing the progress that had previously been made.
After examining the poverty rates in Iraq, it becomes clear there are two main contributors to the rise of poverty in unison with the emergence of ISIS: the need to divert funding to fighting ISIS, an overarching lack of cashflow, and the high poverty rates within ISIS-controlled territory.
With the continued presence and aggression seen from ISIS, the Iraqi government has been forced to divert a significant portion of its funds to anti-ISIS military measures. This has hurt the Iraqi people by diverting funds that could otherwise be invested into state-run aid programs meant to further the fight against poverty.
In a uniquely contrasting situation, 99 percent of government revenue in Iraq is produced by the country’s oil sector. The oil sector only employs around 1 percent of the country’s population, however, leaving the remainder of the Iraqi economy to struggle to fill the remaining gap. Due to the sharp decline in the price of a barrel of oil, the country revenues have sharply declined, most noticeably felt by the construction industry.
The head of services and construction provincial committee Ghalib al-Zamili explained that the “fiscal deficit has led to the freezing of most of [the] infrastructure projects” in Baghdad. In total, this adds to “more than 750 infrastructure projects that have been halted.”
Territory occupied by ISIS also faces heightened levels of poverty in comparison to the rest of the country, significantly anchoring the poverty rates in Iraq. Poverty rates in regions controlled by ISIS are reported to be 41 percent in comparison to the already-high 22.5 percent seen in the rest of the country.
Numerous issues that have caused the poverty rates in Iraq to significantly increase. While some of the issues present require prolonged military action to resolve, such as the presence of the Islamic State, others can be and should be a focal point of U.S. foreign aid spending.
– Garrett Keyes
Photo: Flickr
The Use of Technology in Africa
Previously, the majority of African farmers used traditional farming styles to produce crops each season. Each farmer’s products were traded between local tribes or at regional markets, so expensive tools or a large farm was unnecessary. As a small percentage of farms grew, some took advantage of the technology available. African entrepreneurs are now interested in how farmers work and how they can help improve yields.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the world’s population will grow to 9.1 billion by 2050. In order to feed that amount of people, global food production must increase by 70 percent.
Africa is projected to house approximately two billion people by 2050, so farm productivity must accelerate at an even faster rate than the global average to avoid continued mass hunger. Africa has suffered from continued famine and drought for decades at current population rates. With more mouths to feed, the consequences will be dire.
Farming technology will become increasingly important not only to Africa, but to the world and humanity itself.
Aerial images from satellites or drones, soil sensors, weather forecasts and cameras make it possible to manage and monitor crop growth. Automated systems provide early warnings if there are deviations from normal growth or other factors, giving the farmer time to plan and adjust.
Zenvus, a Nigerian precision farming startup, measures and analyzes soil data. Soil data includes temperature, nutrients and vegetative health. These aspects help farmers apply the right fertilizer and the perfect amount of irrigation to their farms.
The three largest tech companies on the ground that are increasing the use of technology in Africa are IBM, Microsoft and SalesForce. IBM realizes financial inclusion is the largest challenge within Africa, since approximately 80 percent of the population has no access to financial services. Microsoft developed 4Afrika, which focuses on instilling the knowledge of technology into the people, increasing access, building skills and creating the ability to eventually develop technology within Africa. SalesForce focuses on micro-financing for social enterprises and small rural farmers, among other projects.
Whether used as a tool for learning, a window to knowledge or a portal to share thoughts, the use of technology in Africa has drastically risen in the last decade. Precision farming methods have improved farm productivity and reduced input waste by using analytics to facilitate data-driven farming practices for small-scale farmers. However, much technology, investment, creative thinking and science is needed to feed the population of 2050. Technology, knowledge and innovation should be praised and rewarded in any country.
– Danielle Preskitt
Educating Pregnant Students in Tanzania
Since the 1960s, Tanzanian schools have had the power to refuse educating pregnant students in Tanzania. This has culminated in 55,000 young mothers being expelled over the last decade, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
The protest came to a head when President John Magufuli commented on the matter. During a speech, Magufuli declared that no pregnant student will ever attend or return to school as long as he is president.
Magufuli reasons that educating pregnant students in Tanzania would encourage other girls to get pregnant as well. He also believes that teenagers would be too distracted to concentrate on school. The 29 organizations highlight how this stance against educating pregnant students in Tanzania infringes on their human rights. All students, according to Equality Now, have a right to education, regardless of whether or not they have a child.
Equality Now also highlight that the government’s actions unfairly puts the consequences of pregnancy solely on the mothers. According to The Guardian, 21 percent of girls between 15 and 19 in Tanzania are already mothers, oftentimes due to “rape, sexual violence and coercion.”
Lack of education, moreover, exacerbates the poverty that most of the pregnant students live in. Many young mothers are forced to take menial jobs in order to support themselves and their children.
Equality Now urges Tanzania to put the burden of pregnancy consequences on the sexual perpetrator rather than the victim. The organization requests that the government establishes stricter punishments for rapists in order to curtail teen pregnancy.
The organization also asks for more sexual education for teenagers. Unfortunately, many of the teenagers do not realize the connection between sex and pregnancy.
Finally, Equality Now has observed how other countries have readmitted pregnant or new teenage mothers. According to the nonprofit organization, there is no rise in pregnancies due to the presence of pregnant students.
The Tanzanian government is resistant to change on this matter. Magufuli feels that the foreign nonprofit organization are involving themselves in matters best left to the national government.
Regardless, organizations like Equality Now will continue working towards educating Tanzanian pregnant students.
– Cortney Rowe
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About Grenada Refugees
Since Grenada is small, its migrant flow has not been overwhelming, which has allowed the Grenadian government to cooperate with migrants. As Grenada may soon expect an increase in asylum-seekers, it is imperative that the Grenadian government begins to address the rights of Grenada refugees and the country’s ability to host a refugee population.
– Christiana Lano
Photo: Pixabay
3 Strategies for Reducing Corruption in Developing Countries
Corruption thrives when government officials can take advantage of inefficient bureaucracies. Poorly managed public sectors with complex regulations make sidestepping rules easy for these officials. Reducing corruption means, above all, streamlining bureaucracy. This can be done in multiple ways.Some studies suggest that simply condensing agencies reduces corruption. Smaller agencies with smaller amounts of personnel reduces the opportunity for them to collect bribes. Another strategy is to make tax codes easy to understand and computerize simple procedures. In Senegal, these two measures alone reduced fraud within the public sector by 85 percent.
Corrupt government officials can usually find ways to stay in office. And citizens can vote for re-election without realizing how corrupt their representatives are. Making elections more transparent can have an impact on this trend.In Delhi, India, a randomly selected pool of citizens was given ‘report cards’ of officials running for office. These ‘report cards’ had information on the qualifications and past performance of candidates. In the areas where citizens had the report cards, the quality of governance increased. Delhi is a perfect case study in the power of transparent elections. When citizens understand who they’re voting for, they can make better decisions. That leads to better government, with less corruption.
Voters don’t just need to understand who people they’re electing to office. They also need to have a broad understanding of what that official is doing while in office. Civic education is vital to this goal. Giving citizens of developing countries the tools to understand their political rights is key to reducing corruption.Researchers confirmed this in Uganda. In their study, citizens were provided with information about the hijacking of public funds by local officials. Due to this information campaign, public officials stopped redirecting public funds to their private bank accounts. Consequently, there was an increase in money that reached schools. This led to more children attending school. Giving citizens access to information they deserve gives them a voice. And when it comes to reducing corruption, their voices are the most important.
Corruption is prevalent in a majority of developing countries, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Reducing corruption is an achievable goal. To jumpstart the process, developing countries must examine and streamline their government agencies. Citizens in these countries must have the information they need to make informed decisions. And after they make the decision, they must hold their elected officials accountable.
This is work that’s easier said than done. But organizations like the World Bank have already begun work on these problems, and U.S. citizens can call their representatives and ask for the U.S. to take a bigger role in tackling these issues. Corruption is one of the last barriers preventing developing countries to become developed. But with these strategies, soon it could be a thing of the past.
– Adesuwa Agbonile
Photo: Flickr
Wycliffe Translators Make a Difference for Education in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea has come a long way in recent years, but for the most part is still a widely underdeveloped and rural country. Only 13 percent of citizens live in cities. Mountains, swamps, jungles and other topographical obstacles have kept some villages completely isolated. Some of its inhabitants have never had any contact with the outside world. This inaccessibility to books, technology, and paper have kept many of these rural areas from developing written languages. It’s no surprise, then, that the nation’s literacy rate is a low 62.4 percent.
Reconciling this rich diversity and lack of literacy is no small task. The Papua New Guinean government wants to give its citizens the opportunity to develop and flourish in their mother tongues. However, it also wants to give the country an edge in terms of advancing careers and the nation’s economy with the official languages of English and Tok Pisin. But supplying millions of people with education in Papua New Guinea, particularly rural areas that have no written form of communication, is an immense task, and the funding and workers are few.
Fortunately, this project isn’t a one-nation effort; many foreign nonprofits have come alongside the government to help grow education in Papua New Guinea. One of them is Wycliffe Bible Translators. This Christian organization seeks to improve vernacular literacy in several nations, including Papua New Guinea. The organization seeks to create written languages for those who have none with the end goal of translating the Bible into these languages.
The road to translation is not a short nor easy one, though. Reading and writing are not everyday pastimes in traditional Papua New Guinean culture. Children who do go to school often leave in the fourth through sixth grade because many jobs don’t require a lengthy education, or because there is a lack of opportunity for paid employment in rural areas, where subsistence farming is the norm. Without cultivation, these children often lose their literacy skills as they grow older. In order for them to be able to read complex literature like the Bible and understand it for themselves, many need to bolster their basic literacy skills
While their efforts are mainly based in churches, Wycliffe volunteers have realized the necessity of strengthening the literacy skills of the surrounding communities. Research shows that children succeed better in school if they begin their education in their mother tongue and then bridge to a second or third language later on in their schooling. So Wycliffe is coming alongside schools and teachers to help improve learning materials and curriculums to better equip school-age kids. The organization also provides workshops for adult community members to polish their reading and writing skills.
Many Papua New Guineans think that since they know how to fluently speak their mother tongue, they should be able to easily read it. But the jump from having no written language to a brand new alphabet to reading out loud is tremendous. Wycliffe started providing fluency reading exercises to these adult learners. The volunteers help Papua New Guineans become more comfortable with reading out loud, stressing that learning how to read takes a lot of work, no matter who you are or what language you speak.
Aside from the more long-term work that Wycliffe does in partnership with schools, Wycliffe’s language surveyors traverse Papua New Guinea’s jungle-like terrain to meet with rural communities, which may lack written languages and some of the necessary materials for education. Some villages require days of backpacking or helicopters to reach. Once there, the Wycliffe volunteers assess the village’s situation: what the culture is like, what languages the people speak, how many languages exist and more.
The volunteers also take note of what educational resources the villages have. Schools that exist in these remote villages may not have electricity, so accessing new curriculums or books is difficult. Teachers may have to hand-draw materials or walk to towns with printers to get the materials they need. Wycliffe is working with the government and other nonprofits to deliver the necessary resources these villages need to strengthen their literacy.
While Wycliffe volunteers have helped significantly in developing written languages and improving education in Papua New Guinea, there’s still an immense amount of work left. As some languages thrive, others seem to falter and disappear. Languages in rural areas that have only a few dozen speakers often blend into other languages as they become more interconnected.
But Wycliffe also believes in empowering Papua New Guineans to do their own translations and teaching. Everything that Wycliffe does as foreigners and staff, it tries as much as possible to train Papua New Guineans to do the same, sharing their skills, expertise and knowledge with them. The vision is that the locals will become qualified to do all of the work on their own, and Papua New Guineans will become experts in linguistic fields. As more languages gain written forms, Wycliffe hopes that vernacular education and bridging programs will become more widespread, leading to improved education in Papua New Guinea.
– Sydney Cooney
Photo: Flickr
The State of Common Diseases in The Gambia
Among the top causes of death are both lower respiratory infections and HIV/AIDS. They hold the number one and two spots, respectively, for greatest quantity of lives taken. Also among the common diseases in The Gambia are diarrhoeal diseases, neonatal sepsis and malaria. These diseases are responsible for an even larger percentage of premature deaths in The Gambia. Among the top 10 most common causes of death in the small West African nation, eight out of 10 are communicable diseases, with lower respiratory infections and neonatal sepsis causing the most untimely deaths.
Common diseases in The Gambia were also looked at on a smaller, more grassroots scale in a paper from the US National Library of Medicine. The article explored the deaths caused by disease in the rural town of Farafenni. According to the article, death in the small town was “dominated by communicable diseases.” The study goes on to cite the two most dangerous causes of death as the mosquito-borne malaria and acute respiratory infections (ARI) or lower respiratory infections. As for children under the age of five, diarrhoeal diseases were a major contributor to childhood deaths.
However, the article also expresses a lot of good news. The results show that of the 3,203 deaths recorded, mortality at all ages declined from 15 out of every 1,000 people to 8 out of every 1,000 people, from 1998 to 2007. Children saw the greatest improvement in their overall survival rate, dropping from 27 out of every 1,000 people to a mere seven.
There are also significant scientific advances and programs being funded to combat illness in The Gambia. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) lists their largest financial investment in The Gambia as malaria-based studies. In particular, these studies explore severe cases of malaria in children as well as methods that could potentially curb the population of mosquitoes.
One scientific advancement with the ability to take on common diseases in The Gambia is a vaccine being implemented to fight against pneumococcal infections – diseases such as meningitis and pneumonia. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 1.6 million people die every year from pneumococcal infections, 800,000 of which are children. The trial for this pneumococcal vaccine was the first in over 20 years to show a statistically significant reduction in child mortality.
Another scientific advancement that could help in the fight against diseases in The Gambia comes from the sequenced genome of a mosquito. With this genome sequence, scientists could potentially genetically alter the species responsible for the spread of diseases like the dengue fever and yellow fever to make them incapable of carrying the disease.
With mortality rates from certain communicable diseases already declining as well as these promising scientific developments currently being made, the future of common diseases in The Gambia is looking brighter than ever.
– Stephen Praytor
Photo: Flickr