Access to clean drinking water is crucial in order to sustain life. For some nations, this is a major dilemma. Thus, water quality in Malaysia is currently of some concern.
Malaysia is experiencing rapid urbanization and population growth. This rapid growth leads to an increased demand for water and spiked levels of water pollution. These factors seriously harm the water quality in Malaysia.
Various human, domestic, industrial, commercial and transportation wastes trickle into the water supply. Polluting water sources consequently creates serious health hazards.
Water quality in Malaysia, as well as access to water in general, is a major problem. The primary pollutants present in the water are Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Ammoniacal Nitrogen and Suspended Solids. These are consequences of untreated or only partially treated sewage.
Lakes and reservoirs serve as domestic, industrial, agricultural, hydroelectric, navigational and recreational sources of water. Since 98 percent of the water originates from rivers, river pollution is a serious concern.
Malaysia has departments like the Department of Environments to take charge of the water quality problem. The Department of Environments is responsible for tracking the water quality in Malaysia using Water Quality Index and National Water Quality Standards. The National Water Quality Monitoring Programme added new rivers in the area to control the presence of Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Ammoniacal Nitrogen and Suspended Solids.
With the development of the Department of Environments to control the water quality problem and the National Water Quality Monitoring Program to decrease pollutants in the water supply, water quality in Malaysia is improving significantly. Malaysia receives 25,000 cubic meters of renewable water for each person each year from this river system.
This system significantly improves the water quality in Malaysia. However, the country lacks a nationally recognized standard for water quality. Several agencies manage the system, but they have no legal ties or obligations to follow certain policies.
Malaysia continues to work on improving its water quality through these fragmented agencies, but these efforts are not enough to completely salvage the quality. Fixing the fragmentation is a step in the right direction for Malaysia. Additionally, outside organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund are working in Malaysia.
Focusing on creating a cohesive and binding system in Malaysia would improve the water quality while also ensuring that agencies have a legal obligation to comply with monitoring practices.
– Katelynn Kenworthy
Photo: Flickr
5 Tips for Helping People in Uganda
There are dozens of nonprofits dedicated to helping people in Uganda. In fact, many organizations have people whose job it is to help people decide how they are best able to aid someone half a world away.
If you’re wondering how to help people in Uganda, here are some tips:
Another way you can help the people in Uganda is by contacting congressmen and encouraging protection of the International Affairs Budget31. President Trump’s administration has proposed a 31 percent cut to the State Department and USAID, both of which support development and diplomacy around the world and creates jobs in America.
You can also contact your representatives about the AGOA and MCA Modernization Act, the READ Act, Economic Growth and Development Act and many more. The Borgen Project website has information about these pieces of legislation, as well as many more.
You can stop wondering how to help people in Uganda and put this knowledge into action. Stay educated, become passionate and decide that helping people is an important step for you to take.
– Emily Arnold
Flickr
Water Quality in Vanuatu
Because the island is inhabited in part by tourists who visit sporadically, maintaining reliable water sources for the entire island population can prove to be quite difficult. Furthermore, the island community predicts that the risk of pollution and climate-related changes will affect and likely lessen the availability of clean water sources in years to come.
Water quality in Vanuatu is paramount to sustaining the island’s natural environment and its booming tourist industry. As a result, Vanuatu’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources works constantly to ensure that citizens and visitors have access to sufficient quantities of clean water to perform basic functions including drinking, cooking and sanitation.
One obstacle that many island communities face is the lack of freshwater sources available nearby. The island’s Ministry of Water emphasizes providing equitable access to clean water sources for all communities to support public health and promote social and economic development. Vanuatu’s main strategy to access fresh water is through groundwater drilling, which provides the urban areas of Port Vila and Luganville with clean water for daily tasks.
While accessing clean water in one of the country’s large cities may not be difficult, a major concern lies in providing rural communities with clean water. One way that Vanuatu addresses this concern is through the use of smaller hand pumps in rural areas as an alternative to groundwater drilling machinery. Another effective method is rainwater catchments which are slightly less reliable and require monitoring of weather patterns.
Perhaps the most important concern for the island country of Vanuatu is the fragile and limited nature of their freshwater sources. As a precaution, water resource officers patrol rivers and other water sources and monitor the river flow to predict droughts or flooding. Water resource employees also conduct water quality testing to ensure that the local and visiting populations are protected from water-borne diseases that plague the area such as scabies, skin diseases and malaria.
Water quality in Vanuatu is constantly and effectively monitored by the government and natural resource employees to ensure that the island’s biggest asset, its natural beauty, remains intact. The island community’s continuous prioritization of water control and resource preservation is extremely effective to combat the issues that many water-locked areas face.
– Sarah Coiro
Photo: Flickr
Water Quality in Malaysia
Malaysia is experiencing rapid urbanization and population growth. This rapid growth leads to an increased demand for water and spiked levels of water pollution. These factors seriously harm the water quality in Malaysia.
Various human, domestic, industrial, commercial and transportation wastes trickle into the water supply. Polluting water sources consequently creates serious health hazards.
Water quality in Malaysia, as well as access to water in general, is a major problem. The primary pollutants present in the water are Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Ammoniacal Nitrogen and Suspended Solids. These are consequences of untreated or only partially treated sewage.
Lakes and reservoirs serve as domestic, industrial, agricultural, hydroelectric, navigational and recreational sources of water. Since 98 percent of the water originates from rivers, river pollution is a serious concern.
Malaysia has departments like the Department of Environments to take charge of the water quality problem. The Department of Environments is responsible for tracking the water quality in Malaysia using Water Quality Index and National Water Quality Standards. The National Water Quality Monitoring Programme added new rivers in the area to control the presence of Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Ammoniacal Nitrogen and Suspended Solids.
With the development of the Department of Environments to control the water quality problem and the National Water Quality Monitoring Program to decrease pollutants in the water supply, water quality in Malaysia is improving significantly. Malaysia receives 25,000 cubic meters of renewable water for each person each year from this river system.
This system significantly improves the water quality in Malaysia. However, the country lacks a nationally recognized standard for water quality. Several agencies manage the system, but they have no legal ties or obligations to follow certain policies.
Malaysia continues to work on improving its water quality through these fragmented agencies, but these efforts are not enough to completely salvage the quality. Fixing the fragmentation is a step in the right direction for Malaysia. Additionally, outside organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund are working in Malaysia.
Focusing on creating a cohesive and binding system in Malaysia would improve the water quality while also ensuring that agencies have a legal obligation to comply with monitoring practices.
– Katelynn Kenworthy
Photo: Flickr
Improving Water Access in Cabo Verde
Limited water access primarily affects women and the poor, groups not often represented in policy dialogue. Trips to retrieve water can take hours. Often the public tap is empty, thus requiring a longer trip to the next available fountain. More than half of those without water receive it from these community fountains. The rest receive it from private tankers, meaning the poorest pay the most for water. The time it takes to retrieve the water limits possibilities to earn income and educational opportunities.
There are many risks associated with these time-consuming trips to retrieve water. Women and girls are most often on these water trips, and sexual harassment and violence are significant threats. Additionally, potentially-contaminated water makes possible dangerous water-borne illnesses such as cholera.
Fifty-nine percent of people in Cabo Verde have access to piped water in their home. More concerning, only 20 percent of the population connects to a sewer, and 27 percent must resort to open defecation. As a result, this makes sanitation standards difficult and allows diseases to spread even more rapidly.
Partnering with the government, the MCC is working to develop improved clean water access in Cabo Verde, from providing clean tap water systems to installing safe waste-water removal. The MCC is currently working on connecting 13,000 families, with single mothers in the lead, to clean water and sanitation infrastructure. Additionally, they are planning their strategies based on the input of the women and other disenfranchised populations.
With women and the poor becoming involved in the decision-making process, they can tailor the project to fit their needs and increase the likelihood of success. Improved water access in Cabo Verde will thus allow women to participate in the economy by pursuing educational and employment opportunities and reduce their risk of harassment and water-borne illnesses.
The improved quality of life that will accompany improved water access in Cabo Verde is clear. With the voices of women and the poor now being heard, the future of Cabo Verde is consequently very promising.
– Kelly Hayes
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About Guinea Refugees
However, the inflow of people has burdened the economy. Poverty is a substantial reason for fleeing Guinea. The instability afflicting the country has consequently made life unbearable for many of their citizens. Here are 10 facts about Guinea refugees and an explanation of the relationship between refugees entering and leaving the country:
These 10 facts about Guinea refugees show that the country is struggling. However, improvements are happening. For example, food insecurity in the forest region has decreased. In 2007, 59.7 percent of the population was at or below the poverty line. In 2012, this was down to 35.3 percent.
Guinea’s population is growing, and the nation has made enormous strides in the past few years. If Guinea keeps moving in this direction, poverty will decline and the overall prosperity of the country will increase.
– Lucy Voegeli
Photo: Flickr
Mindanao Youth Development
The program is four years old. It addresses the displacement of residents, essential services and high rates of poverty and youth unemployment. Overall, Mindanao Youth Development aims for out-of-school youth to contribute to community development and the workforce.
Mindanao Youth Development works to implement livelihood skills, support access to education curricula to think critically and creatively, and provide the capacity to build development alliances. They seek to engage at least 19,000 youth in the workforce or community development activities.
Aizel Quisano, a young lady who was out of school and unemployed in Mindanao along with thousands of other young people, took part in the program. Her participation in USAID’s Mindanao Youth Development program has drastically improved her circumstances.
Quisano learned about effective communication and financial literacy, which allowed her to begin building her career. As a result, the program taught her new life skills and gave her a new job at an organic farm.
“My parents are happy because, aside from being able to earn income, I am also helping my community,” says Quisano. Since 2013, MYDev has helped over 13,000 individuals in Mindanao.
Mindanao Youth Development has organized summits to allow the youth to demonstrate their skills and present themselves professionally to employers. Consequently, this provides the youth open links to jobs and opportunities.
Like Quisano, many young people are finding more opportunities in their communities that benefit everyone. With the program’s providing curriculum for work readiness and civic engagement, there is hope for the youth to advance the community into a developing society.
– Brandi Gomez
Photo: Flickr
How One Man Brought the Strength of Words to His Community
Gutierrez’s family could not afford for him to remain in school beyond primary. However, Gutierrez said his mother would still read to him every night and he credits her with his appreciation for books. So when he found a copy of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, the idea sparked. He began taking 50 to 60 books home with him each day on the job.
The Strength of Words now holds more than 20,000 books, all of which were found in the trash. Before the library, the children in his neighborhood didn’t have easy access to reading material. Now, they have unlimited access to books that can help them with their schoolwork and fulfil their other interests. Either way, The Strength of Words has made it easier for the children in his community to learn.
The library is not just for school children. Adults also have access to the wide variety of texts. They can use the books to learn skills they otherwise did not have, which can help them get jobs or advance in those they already have. Gutierrez also provides books for Colombia’s peace process after being contacted by a fighter from the FARC rebel group, who wanted books to help transition fighters back into civilian life and prepare them for jobs.
No longer able to contain the whole collection in his home, Gutierrez distributes books to other poor and remote towns throughout Colombia. He believes that there should be multiple libraries in every neighborhood in all towns, cities and rural areas. And he is making strides to see his dream become a reality.
The success of The Strengths of Words is an inspiring story of how one man recognized a need in his community and sought to fix it. Because of Gutierrez, many children and adults now have easy access to educational reading materials in their own neighborhoods.
– Hannah Kaiser
Photo: Pixabay
A Glance at the Causes of Poverty in Iraq
While Iraq is by textbook definition a democracy, the nation is shrouded with instability. It has a history of harsh oppression, violent neighboring countries, and an inherent lack of women’s rights. This volatility makes it impossible to maintain a strong central government. Consequently, poverty-decreasing programs are impossible to enact.
In 2013, the World Bank recognized that poor infrastructure and institutions were limiting Iraq’s ability to reach its potential and launched a huge Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) campaign with three goals: improving governance, supporting economic diversification and reducing poverty.
ISIS’s Role in Poverty in Iraq
The work of the CPS campaign was incredibly effective. However, ISIS’s emergence has created obstacles in Iraq’s path towards improvement. While unemployment was at a record low in 2014, it climbed back to 16 percent in 2016. This high rate is yet another addition to the causes of poverty in Iraq.
Organizations such as the World Bank and UNICEF have only increased their presence in Iraq since the conflict and its ensuing destruction began making international news.
Much of their current work aims to help children, as one-fourth of Iraq’s children are living in poverty. UNICEF works to provide vaccinations and medical care to communities where this is prevalent. A new World Bank initiative seeks to promote the inclusion of conflict-affected children in Iraq, both socially and with regards to their education. With the help of generous international organizations, Iraq is doggedly continuing to improve the welfare of its citizens.
– Emily Trosclair
Photo: Flickr
Books for Africa: Ending the Book Famine in Sub-Saharan Africa
Books for Africa is an organization that is working to accomplish that goal today. Its message is clearly stated on its website: “education is the great equalizer in the world, and books are at the foundation of a strong educational system.”
This inspiring organization controls all aspects of giving books to children in Africa; it collects donated books, sorts them, ships them, and distributes them to the children.
Since Books for Africa’s founding in 1988, they have shipped more than 38 million books to 49 different African countries. These are huge numbers that are making great strides for children’s education in Africa.
The Board of Directors has a multitude of factors that must work for the operation to be successful: do they have enough donations to send, will they have enough money to send the shipment, did they pick an African community that will actually use the books?
According to Publishers Weekly, “It costs $10,300 on average to ship each container by sea to Africa from the U.S.” With this expense, it is imperative for people to continue donating their books, time and money. Books for Africa is sure that its cause is making a difference.
Studies done by the World Bank, various researchers and Books for Africa have concluded that providing even one textbook can increase literacy rates by five to 20 percent.
One program focused on promoting education, Learn NC, concluded that reading a book does so much more than merely pronouncing the written words. Reading can spark discussion, promote engagement with others, transform the reader’s mind and inspire the reader to act.
Books for Africa promotes that a “gift of books truly is a gift of hope.” Ending global poverty can happen one book at a time.
– Sydney Missigman
Photo: Flickr
6 of the Most Common Diseases in Costa Rica
Malaria is a disease spread by the parasites living in certain mosquitoes. The initial symptoms — chills, headaches and fever — typically take around 10-15 days to make themselves apparent. Even though it can be life-threatening if left untreated, it is both preventable and curable. Chloroquine is a popular prescription for it in Costa Rica.
Two more common diseases in Costa Rica are dengue fever and chikungunya virus. During 2016’s first five weeks, these infections skyrocketed 600 percent from the same time the preceding year. They are both transferred via mosquito bites and share a few symptoms: headaches, joint and muscle pain and rashes. Fortunately, dengue and chikungunya are rarely fatal.
Zika, another mosquito-borne illness, can be found in Costa Rica. Once someone is infected, they are also at risk of spreading the disease through sex. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend either using condoms or avoiding sexual contact with an infected individual. Additionally, not everyone who has Zika gets sick. This is a problem especially for pregnant women, as they may not know they are infected and can pass the disease along to their child which would result in serious birth defects.As of now, the CDC states that Zika has no vaccine or medicine. However, it recommends staying above 6,500 feet (where Zika-carrying mosquitoes are unlikely to be found due to unfavorable environmental conditions) and has a guide for preventing mosquito bites altogether.
Chagas disease is spread via parasites in the Reduviid bug and mostly affects people living in rural Costa Rica. One of the methods of infections is particularly repulsive. While the bug bites someone, it defecates on them. The parasites rely on the person to swat the bug as this will grind the feces into the new bite wound.According to Mayo Clinic, the symptoms — loss of appetite, fatigue, eyelid swelling, nausea and others — are typically mild and may not even occur until the disease reaches the chronic stage. Current treatments for Chagas disease focus on eliminating the parasite, but these medications won’t work if the disease becomes chronic.
Lastly, there is leptospirosis. It is a bacterial disease spread through the infected urine of animals. People with scrapes or open wounds who come into contact with contaminated water are at risk. The symptoms can be mistaken for a multitude of other diseases and take anywhere from two days to four weeks to surface.However, prevention is fairly easy. Avoiding contact with water that may be infected (including puddles) and wearing protective clothing when engaging in water sports greatly reduce the chances of infection.
While some of the most common diseases in Costa Rica may not have cures as of now, prevention is key. There are many resources widely available to help locals and tourists alike maintain their health in a climate that can foster such illnesses.
– Jada Haynes
Photo: Flickr