Over the past several years, thousands of Syrian refugees have been fleeing their homeland to escape war and heading to Jordan, where the refugee-friendly Za’atari camp resides.
Za’atari opened in 2012 and currently houses 80,000 Syrian refugees, including families in need of a proper education system for their children. Although Jordan implemented a provision in 2016 which provided 75,000 new schools specifically for Syrian refugee children, thousands of these children are missing out on the Jordanian education system.
Among these 75,000 new schools are 50,000 new public schools and 25,000 locations in non-formal school settings, all of which were meant to be designated learning spaces for Syrian refugee children living in Jordan.
Despite the significant number of schools available to Syrian refugees, there is a severe lack of teachers who are adequately trained and qualified to instruct these students. Additionally, Syrian refugee children who enroll in Jordanian schools face social restrictions due to bullying problems.
With nearly 27,000 students in need of education, Za’atari resources, including education, have become very limited, which has led many young people to child labor or early marriage to help their families’ financial situations. With so few of these kids in school, Save the Children has found that almost 50 percent of Jordan’s Syrian population rely on income provided by a child in the family.
However, Syrian refugee children who do not attend school are not the only ones who are facing problems. Those who do go to school are only attending for about three or four hours, as the morning hours get used for other children in Jordan.
Because Syrian refugee children have been missing out on education throughout their time living in Syria, they have much learning to be successful in the Jordanian education system. With such a limited number of school hours available to these children, catching up with the other kids of Jordan is nearly impossible.
As Syrian refugee students struggle to keep up with other kids in Jordan, some are dropping out of the Jordanian education system due to bullying and harassment issues. Girls specifically have been targeted and subjected to this abuse, which leads to these young girls dropping out and being forced into marriage at an early age.
Za’atari has recognized these issues and is working to solve them to make every Syrian refugee feel safe and included in the Jordanian education system. Parents and organizations throughout Za’atari have been seeking resources to better train teachers and obtain higher security in schools.
The efforts being made in Za’atari and other parts of Jordan have been met by an outpouring of support for Syrian refugees through Their World’s #YouPromised campaign.
Their World, a nonprofit working to provide education and necessary resources to children across the globe, started #YouPromised to ensure that the Syrian refugees in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon receive the quality education that they were promised.
You can get involved with the #YouPromised project to amplify the voices of the Syrian refugee children struggling in the Jordanian education system by sending a message to world leaders.
With the work being done in Za’atari and the rest of Jordan as well as Their World’s #YouPromised campaign, Syrian refugee children are closer than ever to receive the quality education that they deserve.
– Kassidy Tarala
Photo: Flickr
Water Quality in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Currently, only about 65 percent of the country’s population has a connection to municipal or public water utilities – the average of European Union countries is 90 percent. Only large urban centers have a satisfactory supply of water, both in terms of quality and quantity. Unfortunately, the poorest and most vulnerable of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s population live in rural areas.
However, help has recently come through the implementation of 18 infrastructure projects within the “Securing Access to Water through Institutional Development and Infrastructure in Bosnia and Herzegovina.” Implemented through a partnership with the nation’s own citizens, one of the goals of the program is to educate the country’s water supply companies on how to best provide for their communities.
With financing from the government of Spain and support from the Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund, the program has been able to help 55,000 people gain sustainable access to clean water. Today, disused water pipes have been replaced, returnee settlements have secured connections to sustainable water supplies, more water springs are protected and filter plants have been installed.
This has constituted an overall increase of two percent of citizens with access to clean water. Although it may not seem like much, it is a fundamental step in the right direction. Damages inflicted during the country’s recent war dealt a blow to the country’s infrastructure, as maintenance was neglected and pollution increased. Therefore, it is precisely with programs like this that water quality in Bosnia and Herzegovina will hope to see improvement.
– Shannon Golden
Photo: Flickr
The Most Common Diseases in Burundi
This state has been achieved due to several factors, including some vaccine programs – such as the rotavirus vaccines introduced in 2013 – all of which have helped to increase the supply and accessibility of health services. Nonetheless, the death rate in Burundi is still pretty high.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the infant mortality rate in the United States is 5.82 deaths per 1000 live births. Considering the population of Burundi is slightly under the population of the state of Ohio in the U.S., this is quite a significant difference. What makes matters more worrisome is that the common diseases in Burundi that do the most damage are for the most part avoidable.
Overall, diarrhea, lower respiratory disease and other common infectious diseases are the deadliest causes of harm in Burundi. This is supported by the fact that 20.1 percent of deaths are caused by these diseases. They are followed closely by HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis at 13.8 percent and neglected tropical diseases and malaria at 13.3 percent.
Again when looking at the common diseases in Burundi, we must understand that while much work still needs to be done, in the larger scope of things the situation is improving. The nation’s child mortality rate is dropping; death due to malaria has decreased by 69.1 percent, and above all, there is more knowledge and awareness about preventative health measures.
As said before, the common diseases in Burundi that do the most damage are for the most part avoidable. According to healthdata.org, the biggest risk factors that drive the most death and disability in Burundi include child and maternal malnutrition, unsafe water, sanitation, and hand washing. If the 3732.8 deaths due to diarrheal diseases can be cut down with access to clean water, then this problem appears to be solvable.
– Obinna Iwuji
Photo: Flickr
Australian Government on Economic Inequality & Poverty
Among the millions of impoverished Australians are approximately 730,000 children who are not receiving necessary education, housing or financial stability. Thus, the Australian government is focusing on improving the nation’s current poverty situation.
According to Labor Leader Bill Shorten, tackling rising economic inequality is a “defining mission” of a future Labor government. With this in mind, the Australian government is working with hope and opportunity rather than frustration and fear.
Australia is in its 17th year of running the Household, Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA), which is a longitudinal study that provides important insight into the life courses of Australians.
Although HILDA has found that many households that experience poverty over a 10-year period only suffer poverty for about one or two of those years, about three percent of Australia’s population is living in persistent poverty. This percentage of the population is a great focus of Australian government assistance.
Additionally, HILDA shows a common theme between education and poverty. As expected, those who receive more education from higher quality institutions receive higher paying jobs while those who are not as educated tend to live below the poverty line.
When families fall below the poverty line, it becomes increasingly difficult to afford childcare and education for their children, which leads to a full circle of improper education and a lifetime of poverty. Single-parent families are at an extreme threat of poverty as one wage is unable to cover the doubling costs of childcare.
About 10 percent of the Australian community is at risk of poverty. In single-parent families, this number grows to about 20 to 25 percent. Since 2012, child poverty in single-parent families has increased every year.
By living in poverty, these children are unable to receive the same care and education that children from two-parent households are receiving, which puts them at a setback later in life.
The Australian government has recognized the suffering of these children, and immense efforts are getting put into protecting the welfare and economic assistance to families living in poverty.
– Kassidy Tarala
Photo: Flickr
The WHO’s Rapid Access Expansion Program
RAcE integrates the diagnosis, treatment and referral of children who initially present with a fever. Research shows that this system increases rates of necessary treatments for malaria and catches diseases that may also present with a fever, such as pneumonia and diarrhea. These three diseases are curable if diagnosed and treated early enough. This style of treatment is also more cost-effective.
The program is implemented in a five-year plan and is currently expanding in five countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger and Nigeria. RAcE works with the governments of these countries to train health care workers and create evaluation systems in remote areas. These countries have many rural villages whose occupants cannot easily access a health center.
Community health workers get trained and live in the community where they work. These areas are often rural and difficult to access. The community health workers become a valuable resource for people in the village who might not have access to healthcare otherwise. The volunteers are trained to diagnose malaria with a rapid test and treat children with as artemisinin-based combination therapy. Health workers treat diarrhea with oral rehydration salts and zinc. If health professionals recognize the signs of pneumonia, they treat it with amoxicillin.
So far, RAcE has produced promising results. Over six million correct diagnoses of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea have been recorded. The under-five mortality rate in has dropped 53 percent globally since 2000. Nearly 8,400 community health workers are trained to work in integrated treatment for children. Some countries have altered their national health policies to use rapid diagnostic tests for malaria and amoxicillin in community health care practices.
Perhaps most importantly, the Rapid Access Expansion Program has provided information on how to scale up an integrated treatment system. RAcE depends on many organizations to provide training, supplies and monitoring systems. Each of these organizations researched the best way to train workers and set up their facility.
For example, the program in Malawi studied several variants to understand how the program could be expanded to a national level. Nongovernmental organizations or governments that want to attempt integrated community healthcare can learn from these studies. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria plan to expand their programs based on the evaluations from RAcE.
– Sarah Denning
Photo: Flickr
Jordanian Education System Struggles to Educate Refugees
Za’atari opened in 2012 and currently houses 80,000 Syrian refugees, including families in need of a proper education system for their children. Although Jordan implemented a provision in 2016 which provided 75,000 new schools specifically for Syrian refugee children, thousands of these children are missing out on the Jordanian education system.
Among these 75,000 new schools are 50,000 new public schools and 25,000 locations in non-formal school settings, all of which were meant to be designated learning spaces for Syrian refugee children living in Jordan.
Despite the significant number of schools available to Syrian refugees, there is a severe lack of teachers who are adequately trained and qualified to instruct these students. Additionally, Syrian refugee children who enroll in Jordanian schools face social restrictions due to bullying problems.
With nearly 27,000 students in need of education, Za’atari resources, including education, have become very limited, which has led many young people to child labor or early marriage to help their families’ financial situations. With so few of these kids in school, Save the Children has found that almost 50 percent of Jordan’s Syrian population rely on income provided by a child in the family.
However, Syrian refugee children who do not attend school are not the only ones who are facing problems. Those who do go to school are only attending for about three or four hours, as the morning hours get used for other children in Jordan.
Because Syrian refugee children have been missing out on education throughout their time living in Syria, they have much learning to be successful in the Jordanian education system. With such a limited number of school hours available to these children, catching up with the other kids of Jordan is nearly impossible.
As Syrian refugee students struggle to keep up with other kids in Jordan, some are dropping out of the Jordanian education system due to bullying and harassment issues. Girls specifically have been targeted and subjected to this abuse, which leads to these young girls dropping out and being forced into marriage at an early age.
Za’atari has recognized these issues and is working to solve them to make every Syrian refugee feel safe and included in the Jordanian education system. Parents and organizations throughout Za’atari have been seeking resources to better train teachers and obtain higher security in schools.
The efforts being made in Za’atari and other parts of Jordan have been met by an outpouring of support for Syrian refugees through Their World’s #YouPromised campaign.
Their World, a nonprofit working to provide education and necessary resources to children across the globe, started #YouPromised to ensure that the Syrian refugees in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon receive the quality education that they were promised.
You can get involved with the #YouPromised project to amplify the voices of the Syrian refugee children struggling in the Jordanian education system by sending a message to world leaders.
With the work being done in Za’atari and the rest of Jordan as well as Their World’s #YouPromised campaign, Syrian refugee children are closer than ever to receive the quality education that they deserve.
– Kassidy Tarala
Photo: Flickr
How to Eliminate Global Poverty in Three Ways
Combat Homelessness
A stable life is almost impossible to achieve without a home, and it is society’s job to help the homeless find a more permanent residence. Many people think of the homeless as people suffering from addiction and poor health. The reality of the homelessness problem is that a large percentage of the 1.6 billion individuals lacking adequate housing in the world are suffering from the results of political instability and chronic poverty. Eliminating the environment which makes people homeless also helps create a solution to global poverty.
One way to fight against homelessness is to support shelters that house the homeless until they can find a job and more permanent residence. Numerous foundations have this goal in mind: for example, The United Way has done the work required for any citizen to get involved in fighting global homelessness.
Combat Hunger
According to The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, of the 7.3 billion people in the world, 795 million of them suffer from chronic undernourishment. This means at about one in eight people do not have access to the most fundamental quantities of food. The majority of citizens experiencing hunger reside in developing countries. Hunger makes working at one’s full potential difficult, and children who are hungry do worse academically in school. Being hungry is a key reason people are classified as impoverished. Thus, addressing this issues helps eliminate global poverty.
One method to fight against hunger is through food donations to groups fighting global hunger. Organizations such as The American Red Cross fund $33.2 million per year to fight hunger around the world. By investing in these agencies through volunteering and donations (money or non-perishable food stock), global citizens facing undernourishment can be supported.
Invest In Education
A high school diploma is one of the fastest routes impoverished people can use to escape their circumstances. Education allows people to find better jobs, pursue higher education, and learn the skills necessary to eliminate global poverty.
One way to encourage youth to remain in school and receive a high school diploma is to invest in organizations which support public schools struggling to get their students to graduate. For example, the group Robin Hood donates more funds towards education than any of their other initiatives. The organization hosts interventions with families helping children finish high school and provides extra support services on the elementary-school level (tutoring and therapy). Donating to groups such as Robin Hood helps to ensure that more children who struggle with poverty finish high school.
Poverty is an issue that remains prevalent in our society. However, much can be done to combat this problem. This includes donating and volunteering at organizations such as Robin Hood or The Red Cross or supporting groups such as The Borgen Project that advocate for anti-poverty acts from Congress. The Borgen Project works alongside Congress and advocates for them to pass laws and legislation which have the potential to address how to eliminate global poverty. Last year, The Borgen Project built support for the Global Food Security Act. This act later became law and helped address food insecurity by teaching small-scale farmers sustainable techniques which produce more food. Overall, society can avoid the issues that stem from poverty by continuing to support these organizations.
– Nicholas Beauchamp
Photo: Pixabay
Poverty Rate in Cambodia Declining Despite Corruption
The poverty line in Cambodia is defined as living while only using $0.93 or less each day. As indicated by a study done by the Ministry of Planning in 2009, about 22.9 percent of the Cambodian population currently lives under the poverty line. This percentage means that these people do not have enough resources to meet their daily needs.
This poverty rate has only been exacerbated by the history of conflict in the region. The start of this economic crisis lasted from 1980 to 1989 and was spurred by the reign of the communist regime, Khmer Rouge. Socialist policies, the suppression of the Cambodian population and government corruption under this regime continued to stunt the growth of the Cambodian economy. It was only in 1989 when the Cambodian people gained independence from Khmer Rouge that its economy began to grow again.
Freedom from Khmer Rouge brought the free market to the region. Some key factors that allowed the Cambodian government to grow so quickly include expansion of construction, tourism, and the growth of the agricultural sector.
The population of Cambodians still living in the countryside still struggle with poverty. The Asian Development Bank conducted a study in 2012, attempting to determine the poverty rate in this region. They found that 18.9 percent of the Cambodian population lived in poverty and many of them living in rural areas.
The reason for the higher rate in the rural regions of Cambodia stems from their lack of access to the skills and tools needed to escape poverty. Rural citizens have little access to primary education, health care and public services due to the lack of government support. This lack of infrastructure all stems from the country’s newfound freedom from Khmer Rouge.
Even though Cambodia has recently gained freedom from Khmer Rouge, corruption in the government continues to hold back progress in the region. An indication of this was that, in 2010, Cambodia ranked 154th out of 178 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index, making it one of the most corrupt countries in the world. This amount of corruption acts as a deterrent for foreign investors, further contributing to its high poverty rate.
However, there is hope for reducing the poverty rate in Cambodia. As the GDP increases in the country, foreign investors will continue to consider Cambodia as a place to invest. On top of this, the United Nations tasked Cambodia to meet the Millennium Development targets by 2015.
These goals included reducing corruption in the government, increasing the GDP, and improving infrastructure within the country. Cambodia managed to reach these goals, and the U.N. stated that the country was “an early achiever” and it praised the country for the work it had been doing to alleviate poverty.
The future of Cambodia is still uncertain, but if the nation continues to work alongside the U.N. and continues to meet the goals created by the Millennium Development program, the poverty rate in Cambodia can only go down, and the quality of life in the nation can only go up.
– Nicholas Beauchamp
Photo: Flickr
How Climate Change in Thailand Is Impacting Development
Agricultural Development
Thailand is the world’s largest rice exporter, making agricultural output ten percent of the country’s GDP. Before the heavy rainfalls in December 2016, Thailand experienced four years of droughts which significantly affected the country’s agricultural industry.
The consecutive warm, dry years created a drought, leaving the water reservoirs and irrigation systems dry in the country. The Prime Minister mandated that farmers should cultivate less rice to reduce the intensity of the water crisis.
As 31.84 percent of the workforce in Thailand are employed in the agricultural sector, the fall in output of rice production and other crops significantly impacted the livelihoods of citizens. The droughts, therefore, cut incomes and led many farmers to fall into debt.
While the heavy rainfalls of December 2016 ended the droughts affecting the country’s agriculture industry, the extreme weather created detrimental flooding that damaged over 590,000 acres of farmland. With much of the economy relying on agriculture and natural resources for income, climate change in Thailand has critically affected the productivity and development of the nation.
Health
In 2002, Thailand established universal health coverage, and, by 2013, the nation was spending 4.6 percent of its GDP on health services. However, a statement by the World Health Organization says investment in the population’s health is likely to be threatened by climate change.
With increasing temperatures in Thailand, the sea levels have risen between 12 and 22 centimeters over the last century. With rising water levels, the country is expected to continue to experience extreme flooding as was seen in 2011 and late 2016.
The WHO estimates that, if the current emissions standards remain, over 2.4 million citizens in Thailand will be affected by flooding from the sea. Therefore, climate change in Thailand is expected to increase the chance of water-borne diseases as well as insect-borne crises such as dengue fever and malaria. By 2070 the WHO predicts that 71 million people in Thailand will be at risk for malaria if current climate changes persist.
Along with greater risks of flooding, higher temperatures may also increase malnutrition in the nation. Higher temperatures are creating land and water scarcity as well as the displacement of the population of Thailand. These events have impacted the agricultural production and have caused a breakdown in the food systems of the country. The WHO believes that this is one of the many issues created by climate change, with food insecurity affecting the vulnerable the most.
These are two areas of Thailand’s economy that are being significantly impacted by climate change. While the challenges are acknowledged by the nation, solutions are being debated frequently. The government of Thailand is attempting to introduce flood protection walls however many individuals believe that climate monitoring systems should be the center of a long run solution. With over 80 percent of all natural disasters today being a result of climate change, the question should not be how to avoid the impact of the events but rather how to eliminate them.
– Tess Hinteregger
Photo: Flickr
Why is Albania Poor?
After World War II, Albania became a communist state under Stalin’s regime, but was not part of the Soviet Union. In 1989, communist rule in Europe collapsed and in 1990, independent political parties in Albania formed. By 1992, the Democratic Party won elections, officially ending communist rule in Albania after 47 years.
Why is Albania poor? The country’s transition from a communist regime to a free market in a democratic republic has disrupted economic growth and has caused high levels of poverty. Most of the poverty in Albania is considered deep, whereby incomes are below minimally acceptable standards, people struggle to meet basic needs such as food, clothing and heating. Albanians face poor public services and inaccessible social services. Many citizens who do not face poverty in terms of income still are threatened by it.
The standards for poverty in rural and urban areas, however, are different based on circumstances. According to estimates from the World Bank as of 2013, 25-30 percent of Albanians in rural areas live in poverty, while about 15 percent of Albanians living in urban areas live in poverty. These statistics are relative to the conditions of the rest of Albania’s rural and urban populations.
The majority of rural families live in the mountains and the uplands. The main determinants of rural poverty are farm size, livestock holding and off-farm income. About 25 percent of the rural population lives on a farm that is too small to provide a sufficient level of subsistence.
Urban poverty has different characteristics than rural poverty. Urban poverty in Albania is concerned with the education level and the employment status of the head of the household, the number of children in a household and the number of dependent generations in a household (if there are grandparents or grandchildren). As more Albanians migrate out of rural areas into urban areas, poverty starts to become concentrated in more rural, mountainous areas.
Albania has made recent strides in poverty reduction. The country’s main production resources — agriculture and construction — have been privatized. The reduction of state involvement is especially important in agriculture, which is now mostly privately owned. Additionally, the liberalization of prices, trade and foreign exchange has helped the economy grow. The World Bank classified Albania as an upper middle-income country as of 2010. The percent of Albanians below the poverty line has decreased dramatically, from 25.4 percent of citizens in 2002 to 14.3 percent in 2012.
In 2009, Albania applied to join the European Union and was confirmed as a candidate in 2014. Albania is not expected to join the EU until 2020, however, as the EU has urged Albania to tackle corruption and organized crime, especially relating to trafficking of humans and drugs.
Though Albania has historically ranked as the poorest country in Europe, poverty in Albania is slowly starting to decrease. Albania’s transition from a post-Cold War economy into a viable EU candidate proves that this country has the potential to transition out of extreme poverty, and may no longer need to provide an answer to the question, “Why is Albania poor?”
– Christiana Lano
Photo: Flickr
Water Quality in Slovakia: A Hot and Cold Issue
In order to understand water quality in Slovakia more in depth, it is necessary to first look at the main sources of fresh water in the country:
The country’s reservoirs include Orva (the largest lake in Slovakia), Domasa (located along the Orva River), Zemplínska Šírava, Liptovská Mara and Sĺňava. Notable lakes include the Sunny Lakes (25 kilometers from Bratislava), Golden Sands and Duchonka. The Danube is the most famous of the rivers and runs through southern Slovakia, emptying into the Black Sea in Romania.
Groundwater is the source most readily used for drinking water, accounting for 82 percent of the drinking water in Slovakia. Out of the groundwater sources in Slovakia, Žitný Ostrov is the largest. The water in Slovakia is allocated by the government, making it public. Public systems account for how 86 percent of the population receives water.
The water quality in Slovakia is checked by the government in accordance with 82 specific parameters and it was found that the water quality in Slovakia is overall average, meaning that there are no considerable pollutants affecting the health of consumers.
Furthermore, the Danube River, which has seen an increase in pollution in recent years, is surprisingly clean as it runs through Slovakia. The WRI credits this with an exceptionally good condition, along with its natural purification abilities. Regardless, there is still room for improvement in the Danube, with the potential to build water treatment plants and remove barriers that disrupt the flow of the Danube. By improving the quality of water surrounding its tributaries as well, water quality could, in turn, improve.
In the future, it will be important to monitor agriculture as a major potential source of pollution in the Danube River, along with surrounding smaller rivers. This is because farm land takes up the majority of the banks of the Danube, therefore making it easier for chemicals to get into the surface water. It will be critical to watch these areas deemed “possibly at risk” so that they avoid being seen as “at risk” by the Slovakian government.
– Sydney Roeder
Photo: Pixabay