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Fighting Common Diseases in Guatemala

Fighting Common Diseases in GuatemalaCommon diseases in Guatemala include malaria, bacterial diarrhea, and HIV/AIDS. These diseases are common throughout this area of the world. Malaria spreads through mosquitoes, which are common in Central American countries, putting inhabitants at a greater risk for the disease. People in these countries may live in areas without proper sanitation, consequently causing a high prevalence of bacterial diarrhea. HIV/AIDS is common in Guatemala partially due to a lack in sexual education programs.

In certain areas of Guatemala, malaria rates are higher than in other countries. In 2015, there were 6,834 cases of the disease. Since 2005, the government has been fighting the disease with additional funding from the Global Fund. The goal is to nationally eliminate malaria by 2020. In order to avoid bacterial diarrhea, doctors advise individuals to practice good hygiene when using the restroom, maintain clean water, and properly clean food.

Lastly, Guatemala created a comprehensive sexual education plan to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. However, a survey in 2015 showed that only 7 percent of students learned all of the intended points in the program. Another issue with this program is that out of classrooms that taught students about condom usage, 43 percent did so incorrectly. Since STDs and STIs are a common problem in Guatemala, people are pushing for improvement of the sexual education program through better instructor training or a complete reconstruction.

These are a few of the most common diseases in Guatemala. Travelers are warned against malaria and bacterial diarrhea. Additionally, HIV ranks number nine in the top 10 causes of death in Guatemala. Through better education and prevention, the prevalence of these common diseases in Guatemala can significantly drop and the well-being of the people will improve.

– Helen Barker

Photo: Flickr

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How to Improve the Economy by Reducing Global Poverty


In addition to the moral reasons for reducing global poverty, more investment in foreign assistance benefits both domestic and international economies. To understand how to improve the economy by reducing global poverty, some particular factors must be considered. These are access to education, infrastructure and finance. All of these factors stimulate an economy.

Global poverty reduction boosts the global economy. Education plays a substantial role in this by closing the gap between the world’s rich and poor. According to Brookings, studies show that “the education gap between kids from poor and rich families has increased substantially, making it difficult for children from poor families to close the income gap between themselves and children from rich families.” It is becoming more and more apparent that education bridges these divides and helps accelerate economic growth.

Education is in the best interest of countries giving foreign aid. Education-based programs can give children the skills they need to complete degrees for well-paying jobs later in life. The comprehensive skill level of a labor force is a leading element of local job and wage growth. Growth in job numbers helps an economy to prosper. A generation with access to education will likely become a group of entrepreneurs more likely to practice equitable governance and improve not only their own country’s economy but the worldwide economy. Furthermore, advances in human development promote economic growth.

It is in the best interest of first world countries to use their foreign aid budget to help lessen the growing worldwide gap between rich and poor. An influx of foreign aid helps promote a strong and stable economy for all. As more people in developing countries are given the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty, it creates new consumers of U.S. products. The U.S. already benefits from an about one percent investment in foreign aid from the federal budget, as more than half of U.S. exports now go to developing countries. Every prosperous countries should consider how to improve the economy by reducing global poverty.

Even with trillions of dollars being spent on programs, there is still a long way to go in order to get the entirety of the global population above the poverty line, which is $1.90 per day. More than 700 million people are living at or below this level. Increasing not only work rates, but the amount of schooling completed is thought to be a successful approach. There are solutions to these emerging problems; education and an influx of jobs are what is going to create the most change and prosperity.

– Lucy Voegeli

Photo: Flickr

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9 Facts About Hunger in Ireland

9 Facts About Food Poverty in Ireland
Food poverty is classified as the inability to afford an adequate and nutritious diet. The phrase has been used before to refer to hunger in Ireland, but resurfaced in 2012 with the global recession and continues to plague the country. Here are nine facts about hunger in Ireland.

9 Facts About Hunger in Ireland

  1. Despite an increase in median incomes since 2010, there were still almost 800,000 people living in poverty in Ireland in 2015, surviving on less than $13,354 per year.
  2. Due to these low incomes, many citizens have experienced a lack of basic needs. In particular, people are struggling to gain access to healthy foods. According to the Department of Social Protection, hunger in Ireland affected one in eight people in 2013.
  3. Safefood, an organization that focuses on informing citizens about food safety and nutrition, defines the three factors of food poverty in Ireland as follows: a person cannot afford a meal with meat or a vegetarian equivalent every second day; a person cannot afford a weekly roast dinner or vegetarian equivalent; or a person missed a meal in the last two weeks due to a lack of money.
  4. The average cost of a healthy bag of groceries ranges between 15 percent and 36 percent of a low-income person’s salary each week, and largely depends on the family composition. This cost went down slightly from 2014 to 2016.
  5. More than one million tons of food is wasted every year in Ireland, and 60 percent of this waste could be avoided. Annually, this equates to $783.72 per household.
  6. Research team Focus Ireland has suggestions for some policy frameworks that can play a key role in “tackling food poverty.” These include a national policy on social inclusion and anti-poverty, social welfare policy and provision, a national policy on health promotion and a planning and development policy.
  7. One in five Irish children goes to school or bed hungry. Fortunately, more than 500 breakfast clubs have opened in schools and communities to increase attendance and participation throughout the school day by making sure children are fed a nutritious meal.
  8. Safefood will be funding 13 “community food initiatives” between 2016 and 2018. The initiatives aim to work on a local level to teach families how to eat healthily on a budget, prepare food safely and inspire a healthy lifestyle.
  9. A nonprofit called FoodCloud helps supermarkets and other businesses reduce food waste through a new app. Businesses can connect with local charities and organizations to redistribute the food by sharing a description of items on FoodCloud’s app or website.

While food poverty in Ireland is improving, it is still not eradicated. Because food poverty involves many aspects and policies, an aligned front must be formed in order to continue to move in the right direction.

– Madeline Boeding

Photo: Flickr

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Water Quality in the United Arab Emirates

Water Quality in the United Arab Emirates

Known for having one of the largest oil reserves in the world, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) currently faces daunting issues with its water. Water availability and water quality in the United Arab Emirates are both areas of concern.

Because of the country’s extremely arid landscapes, water scarcity is a crucial issue, especially since the country has one of the highest rates of consumption of water per capita at 550 liters a day. The scarcity of groundwater coupled with the limited and expensive processing and treatment of existing water creates a challenging situation for the UAE. With so little water available in the area, water becomes a commodity that some predict will eventually become more expensive than oil.

The water crisis in the United Arab Emirates is a growing concern for government officials. One company even proposed a plan to bring icebergs all the way from Antarctica to the coast in order to deal with the water scarcity. Others focus on desalination plants as a solution, but desalination is an expensive and energy-intensive process. There are also risks of negative environmental impacts on the coast, and the water that these plants produce has a higher risk of oil pollution.

Two main sectors are responsible for most of the water consumption in the UAE: the private sector and the agricultural sector. The approach that these sectors take when dealing with water scarcity will be crucial to how the country deals with the water crisis.

The Private Sector

The private sector consumes about 24 percent of the UAE’s water. In such a brutally hot climate, much of the water used in private homes is because of air conditioning units, but the most important use of water is drinking water. Due to concerns about water quality in the United Arab Emirates, many people prefer to drink bottled water. Because it takes about three liters of water to make one liter of bottled water, the prevalence of bottled water greatly inflates water use on an individual level.

Contaminated water is not an imagined problem for UAE households, so it is understandable why so many choose to drink bottled water. Private water can be contaminated by old and rusty pipes filled with bacteria, and because water is often stored in tanks, there is a risk of contamination by foreign objects such as animals, insects, and metals. Since the UAE has no law to enforce the replacement of pipes or the cleaning of such tanks, water contamination is a possibility.

Despite these risks of water contamination, the water quality in the United Arab Emirates is adequate, and most experts maintain that this sort of contamination is very unlikely. In an effort to reduce unnecessary water use, many people advocate against the overuse of bottled water. They teach that bottled water and filtered tap water are almost exactly the same in quality and taste, yet there is a prevailing attitude that the water is dangerous to use or drink. The water quality is blamed for problems such as dry skin, premature aging and hair loss.

Advocates against the dependence on bottled water also warn that bottled water might have its own harmful consequences, such as the presence of fluoride, a substance still under scrutiny, and BPA, an industrial chemical that may have negative health effects on the brain and blood pressure. The environmental impact is important to consider as well since most people use the bottle once and throw it away, leading to a large amount of unnecessary and expensive waste. Even with these concerns in mind, many UAE citizens continue to rely on bottled water.

The Agricultural Sector

Though the private sector has a great deal of influence on the water availability crisis, the agricultural sector has the biggest impact and is the largest consumer of water. The agriculture sector consumes nearly two-thirds of the nation’s water. Due to the continually growing population of the UAE, there was a recent surge in demand for food, causing the UAE’s agricultural sector to have a higher demand than ever.

The agriculture industry is attempting to move away from water-intensive crops and introduce drip irrigation, and people continue to search for ways to reduce the excessive use of water in agriculture. Some have suggested an improved system of collecting and treating wastewater to use for agriculture. Wastewater processing plants are cheaper than desalination plants in part because they make use of the water already present in the system rather than relying on extracting water from the surrounding environment, but these solutions have yet to be put in place.

There are many possible ways for the UAE to address the water crisis, but along with the various proposed solutions, education about the crisis is an important step along the way. The water quality in the United Arab Emirates is only a part of the problem; the water crisis is a long-term problem that is likely to have profound impacts for decades to come. Therefore, the continued education about water scarcity and responsible water use is crucial to further efforts of reducing water consumption and working to end the water crisis.

– Rachael Lind

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Bulgaria Refugees

Connecting Turkey with continental Europe, Bulgaria has been a passageway for millions of refugees seeking to reach wealthier countries such as Germany and France. This increase in migrants has posed difficulties at the borders and for the people and economy of Bulgaria. Here are 10 facts about Bulgaria refugees.

10 Facts About Bulgaria Refugees

  1. In 2016, the Asylum Information Database reported that there were 19,418 refugees seeking asylum in Bulgaria. The majority of the refugees had come from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.
  2. Bulgaria is currently the poorest country in the EU (as measured by GDP per capita), which means the nation is less equipped for the large influx of refugees crossing its borders.
  3. Bulgarian vigilante groups have arisen on the Bulgarian border with Turkey. They claim to be protecting Bulgaria and the rest of Europe from the migrants.
  4. Bulgaria borders Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Romania, making it a favorable route for migrants as they are able to spread throughout Europe.
  5. Bulgaria’s economy ranks 47th in the world, with 78 percent of Bulgarian citizens saying that the increase in refugees has created a strain on the economy.
  6. Integration into Bulgarian life is another perceived challenge for refugees, with 49 percent of Bulgarians claiming that the state is too weak to provide conditions for the integration of refugees.
  7. Bulgaria has been criticized for its handling of the migrant crisis. U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said in 2016, “One of the most serious problems is that virtually all people entering Bulgaria in an irregular manner are detained as a matter of course.”
  8. In 2016, 2,750 of the asylum-seekers in Bulgaria were unaccompanied minors. Of these unaccompanied minors, 95 percent were male with 17 percent being younger than the age of 14.
  9. Between January 2017 and May 2017, 1,007 migrants found to be residing in Bulgaria illegally were removed.
  10. After the construction of a 30-kilometer wall along the border with Turkey, the number of Bulgaria refugees seeking land passage decreased. This increased the number of migrants using the Mediterranean Sea, the deadliest migrant route to date. Migrants arriving in Bulgaria through Turkey decreased by 5,501 in the year following the creation of the wall.

The migrant situation in Bulgaria has had sensitive social implications with many Bulgarians unhappy about the influx of refugees. These factors have created tension and difficulty for refugees, as gaining entry to Bulgaria has become increasingly challenging.

– Sophie Casimes

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Rocinha, Brazil

10 Facts About Rocinha, Brazil

Just outside Rio de Janeiro are some of the largest urban slums in Latin America, filled with people and rich culture that makes up some of the unique parts of the country. One of these many slums is Rocinha, the country’s largest favela. Here are 10 facts about Rocinha, Brazil.

10 Facts About Rocinha, Brazil

  1. Rocinha is located in Rio de Janeiro’s South Zone on a large hillside overlooking the city.
  2. Rocinha is Rio de Janeiro’s largest “favela” or slum, with around 180,000 people living in the tightly packed city.
  3. Despite its large population, Rocinha takes up less than a square mile of land. This extreme lack of space forces families to build houses on top of one another. This results in house structures up to 11 stories tall.
  4. Rocinha is considered one of Brazil’s better favelas due to its close proximity to jobs and services. Easier access to jobs also means that families are better off and can afford basic necessities such as electricity and water.
  5. Although the slum has economic opportunities, drug-related violence is one of Rocinha’s more well-known characteristics.
  6. Since 2004, Rocinha has been under the control of a criminal group called Amigos dos Amigos, a gang known for violence and drug dealing.
  7. The average education level for a resident of Rocinha is 4.1 years, with less than 1 percent of the population receiving a degree above a high school diploma.
  8. In December of 2010, then-President Lula inaugurated Rua 4, a street development project that revamped a previously decrepit street into a downtown for the favela. With the new street came improved housing, gardens, playgrounds, plazas and locations for potential stores to open and boost the local economy.
  9. In 1998, an NGO called Two Brothers Foundation was founded in the slum in order to teach children and adults how to read and write in English for free. As of 2012, the organization had seven full-time staff members and about 50 volunteers from all over the world who join the program in order to help educate the residents of Rocinha.
  10. In 2012, a group called Green My Favela piloted its first “green space” in Rocinha. The project created a community garden in the urban slum and involved the local community by encouraging residents to come out and help maintain the garden. The garden has helped children get away from street violence and inspired interest in something benefitting the whole community.

These 10 facts about Rocinha, Brazil are a brief look into the favela. While the city has experienced hardships throughout its history, those who see all that the city has to offer to continue to make the city better for the generations that follow.

– Olivia Hayes

Photo: Flickr

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Decreasing the Rate of Poverty in Belize


Belize, located south of Mexico in Central America, was the center of the Mayan civilization thousands of years ago. Since then, Belize has developed into an independent, democratic country with English as its official language. The Belizean economy remains small, depending mainly on agriculture, merchandising and tourism. The sugar and banana industries make up two of the biggest sources of economic production. The developing nation has become an attractive travel destination for people around the world, but the rate of poverty in Belize remains very high.

As of September 2016, the rate of poverty in Belize stood at 41.3 percent, which meant that 380,010 people lived in conditions below the poverty line. People living in rural areas suffer more from poverty than those living in Belize City. This occurs because federal revenue is distributed to all the districts disproportionately.

When compared to other countries in the Caribbean, the rate of poverty in Belize ranks second-highest after Haiti. Reducing this statistic has proven to be a challenge for the Belizean government, as poverty in Belize often results from many factors, including lack of access to education, sanitary drinking water and medical attention.

While poverty in Belize cannot be eradicated overnight, the government of Belize has made significant steps in recent years. Belizean politicians have pursued legislation and programs to tackle the challenges faced by the people living below the poverty rate. The Belize Social Investment Fund, established in 1996, assists groups within communities in their efforts to help the poor.

The National Integrated Water Resources Act, approved by the government in 2010, will eventually result in access to clean water. When safe drinking water is brought in, communities see increased economic growth without fail, and Belize has been no exception.

Other pushes towards a decrease in poverty include the Quality School Initiative, resulting in increased school enrollment. Gender equality has also increased, with access to education, literacy rates and employment rates rising over the past 10 years. In 2015, the infant mortality rate had decreased by two-thirds. With increased efforts to attack the roots of poverty in Belize, the nation is sure to see a decrease in the poverty rate.

– Julia McCartney

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Refugees in the Czech Republic

10 Facts About Refugees in the Czech Republic
Although the current refugee crisis is the worst humanitarian crisis since WWII, the uptick of Syrian refugees coming into Europe in 2015 has been continuously met with hostility from post-communist Central European countries, such as the Czech Republic. Discussed below are the leading facts about refugees in the Czech Republic and their implications.

10 Key Facts about Refugees in the Czech Republic

  1. The Czech President, Miloš Zeman,  opposes the quota system (which is based on a country’s population and wealth) proposed by the EU but has not yet followed Slovakia and Hungary in challenging the courts. Rather than meeting the quota to take in about 2,600 refugees, Czech leaders are now discussing broader security steps.
  2. The Czech Republic, along with Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have the most opposition towards the quotas set by the EU.
  3. Before the Syrian refugee crisis, there was only one detention center located in Bělá-Jezová. There are now three; the center located in Bělá-Jezová has been dedicated to vulnerable migrants, such as families with women and children.
  4. Under the 2015 EU relocation quota, the Czech Republic has to accept around 4,300 people seeking asylum, which is about 410 refugees per one million of its population.
  5. In 2015, 3,644 people made up the population of refugees in the Czech Republic.
  6. In 2016, 1,475 people applied for internal protection. The government granted asylum to 148 applicants and subsidiary protection for 302 people.
  7. President Zeman has stated, “Our country simply cannot afford to risk terrorist attacks like what occurred in France and Germany. By accepting migrants we would create fertile ground for barbaric attacks,” according to his spokesman Jiri Ovcacek.
  8. The Czech Republic accepted 12 refugees and does not plan to take in anymore according to Interior Minister Milan Choyanec. The EU may take action against the Czech Republic in September if they continue to deny refugees.
  9. Since May 2016, there has been no offer of resettlement by the Czechs for any refugee within the EU program.
  10. President Zeman has stated that all refugees must prove that they are politically persecuted if they seek asylum and “the fact itself that they come from a country in which fighting is underway is no reason for being granted it.”

Although these facts are disheartening, the Czech Republic maintains its embassy in Damascus, Syria. The Czech Republic will also continue to provide humanitarian aid to Syria, as well as provide help for refugees in Syria, Lebanon and Turkey.

– Stefanie Podosek

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About the UNDP


The world’s current growth in population, wealth and technology may be seen as exceptional progress, but it has been accompanied by growing inequality. In order to combat these inequalities, a variety of assistance programs has been developed. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is one of the leading organizations fighting these disparities, through equipping individuals with the tools needed to create a sustainable and safe life. Here are 10 facts about the UNDP.

10 Facts About the UNDP

  1. Working on the ground in more than 170 countries, the UNDP’s principal goal is eradicating global poverty while protecting the planet and establishing sustainability.
  2. For more than 50 years, the UNDP has been fighting poverty. When it began its mission, more than half of the world lived in extreme poverty. Now, that number has decreased to about 13 percent.
  3. For the past two years, the UNDP has been recognized as the most transparent aid organization in the world, according to the Aid Transparency Index. This acknowledges the UNDP’s dedication to publishing data and including detailed lists of where its funds are allocated. This ensures to donors and volunteers that the UNDP is not only a helpful program but a trustworthy one too.
  4. The UNDP develops solutions in three main areas- democratic governance and peace-building, sustainable development and climate and disaster resilience. By focusing its efforts on these three fundamental objectives, the UNDP takes a multidimensional approach to eliminate poverty at the source.
  5. The first solution — the sustainable development objective — aims not just at aiding the impoverished but ensuring that they will have the tools necessary to be successful. From the sustainable development projects, the UNDP has led to the creation of 1.35 million new jobs in 94 countries, 42 percent of which have been for women.
  6. The next UNDP solution — implementing effective democratic governance and peace preservation — is focused on allocating legal and governmental resources to the most vulnerable. Through these projects, the UNDP has successfully increased participation in democratic systems by registering 68 million new voters in 37 different countries.
  7. Just as important as a vote is one’s access to judicial services. The UNDP has helped more than 2.1 million people in 35 countries gain access to legal aid services, 51 percent being women. This feat is a victory for both gender equity as well as legal justice.
  8. Within the climate and disaster resilience building resolve, the UNDP has worked to decrease risks of natural disasters as well as advance the fight against climate change. So far, 1,035 new disaster reduction and adaptation plans have been put in place in 51 countries, and 2.5 million people have better access to energy in 46 countries.
  9. The UNDP implemented the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were established in 2000 by the U.N. as a 15-year effort to end global poverty. Successes of the MGDs include lifting one billion people out of poverty, cutting the child mortality rate and out-of-school children rate in half and decreasing HIV/AIDS infections by almost 40 percent.
  10. In 2016, the Millennium Development Goals were replaced by a new 15-year plan: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs outline the 2030 Agenda and act as 17 universal objectives to eradicate global poverty. These goals build on the progress of the MDG’s, but also include new objectives ranging from Zero Hunger to Affordable and Clean Energy.

Although these 10 facts about the UNDP feature an array of successes, the UNDP makes it very clear that its work on global poverty and sustainability is not nearly finished. These 10 facts about the UNDP prove its devotion to the well-being of the world.

– Kelly Hayes

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Refugees Living in the Gambia


The Gambia is a West African nation that shares most of its borders with Senegal. Despite some political instability during the past presidential election, the Gambia has remained relatively peaceful and houses a substantial number of refugees from surrounding regions. In fact, the Gambia plays a key role in alleviating the West African refugee crisis. The following are 10 facts about refugees living in the Gambia.

10 Facts About Refugees Living in the Gambia

  1. The Gambia is considered one of the most refugee-friendly countries in West Africa. This can be primarily attributed to the nation’s status as a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which guarantees refugees of certain nationalities the right to work within the Gambia. Additionally, it has upheld the OAU convention held by the UN Refugee Agency in 1969, which outlined policies and protocols regarding the protection of West African refugees.
  2. According to the UNHCR, there are approximately 12,000 refugees living in the Gambia. However, the agency notes that other sources place the number between 10,000 and 30,000, as many are undocumented.
  3. The Gambia is an attractive option for English-speaking refugees, as the country maintains its colonial language as the official language.
  4. The Gambia was a major ally for Senegalese in the Casamance region of Senegal displaced by the civil war, which started in 1982 and only recently resolved in 2014. The Bambali refugee camp has accommodated hundreds of Senegalese during this period.
  5. During the 2015 Rohingya refugee crisis, the Gambia offered asylum to all Southeast Asian migrants, fulfilling the “sacred duty” to help fellow Muslims.
  6. The majority of refugees living in the Gambia come from Sierra Leone, fleeing the country’s recent civil conflict. In 2003, the Gambia initiated a voluntary repatriation program for Sierra Leoneans to return home, aiding the transition for thousands of refugees.
  7. Undocumented urban refugees make up the majority of those living in the Gambia. One estimate places 10,000 living in the capital of Banjul alone.
  8. Roughly four out of 10 Gambian refugees depend on remittances from relatives or family members abroad. Refugees require a residence permit to earn money in the Gambia. However, many refugees do not have one or are still in the application process.
  9. The Gambian Food and Nutrition Association (GFNA) donated money to Senegalese refugees in 2015 with the intention of “sustaining livelihood” and “supporting self-reliance at the household level.” The GFNA has also provided food in refugee camps.
  10. The UN Refugee Agency reported that Gambian host communities were generally very accepting of refugees seeking asylum. Due to the strong culture of hospitality, integration is a good option for refugees.

Though only 10,000 square kilometers in size, the Gambia’s open policy towards migrants has made a substantial impact in helping refugees. These 10 facts about refugees living in the Gambia indicate that the nation will continue to uphold their open policy towards West African refugees in the years to come.

– Kailey Dubinsky

Photo: Flickr