As technology continues to advance and grow more accessible, women around the world are increasingly gaining access to a cell phone for the first time. Though it is taken for granted in much of the developed world, cell phone use opens multiple doors that were not there before. According to Africa in Focus, technology can be thought of as a tool that creates opportunities for women. Specifically, technology has permitted women entry into the realms of finance, education and health and employment, thereby encouraging female empowerment and democratization in low-income countries.
Firstly, cell phone ownership gives women the ability to be financially independent, because they can open an online bank account separate from their husbands’. Impatient Optimists claims that “A private account gives women in developing nations control over their money as well as the ability to put food on the table.”
Currently, 1.7 million women in low-income countries don’t own a cell phone, according to the GSMA (an association representing mobile operators worldwide). Women are also 14 percent less likely to own a phone than men. Therefore, technology is a vital component of big-picture solutions to gender inequality and female disempowerment.
Secondly, cell phones are beneficial in the realm of women’s education and health. Impatient Optimists notes that “The East African nation has rolled out an ambitious program allowing parents to register their child’s birth via mobile phone. Under the program, midwives can request a child’s birth certificate by sending a text message.”
The East African program will save women time and money because they will not have to travel to the capital to acquire a birth certificate for their child. The Millennium project reported that most women live on less than 1 dollar per day. Under such conditions, the option of an online birth certificate can have a dramatic impact. Significantly, children in Africa need a recorded birth certificate in order to access schools, medical care, and, eventually, a bank account.
Thirdly, cell phone access can increase employment for women in Africa. Impatient Optimists points out that having a mobile phone allows women to open their own businesses in remote villages, as opposed to walking a great distance in order to register the business.
The New York Times recognizes that, “economically empowered women are one of the most important engines of growth in developing countries, and they play a central role in building prosperous communities.” That is why women in Africa must have their own phones, instead of sharing with family members.
When women have access to their own phones, bank accounts, and financial situations, they often invest in health-care, nutritious food and education. In fact, The New York Times reports that, “A child born in a household where the mother controls the family budget is 20 percent more likely to survive and much more likely to thrive.”
Women in Africa should be given the power and authority to make financial decisions for their family, given that they tend to prioritize moral and just causes. A mobile phone in the hands of a determined woman could benefit not only the economy, but the daily lives of families across Africa.
– Megan Hadley
Photo: Flickr
South Asian Countries Aim for Greater Integration
The 42nd meeting of the standing committee of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) took place in Nepal in mid-March 2016. India’s External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, called for greater cooperation among member nations to increase overall prosperity and decrease poverty rates.
According to The Times of India, Swaraj emphasized the importance of regional integration and cooperation for the benefit of all: “We continue to face significant challenges in delivering food security, health, nutrition and education to our peoples. All this goes to show that while we are doing well individually, we have not been able to unleash our collective strength effectively. We must think innovatively and find solutions so that we may harness our economic complementarities and ensure a conducive environment for rapid growth.”
The SAARC comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. As a region, these South Asian countries have more people living under the poverty line than anywhere else in the world.
Swaraj acknowledged this fact in her speech, saying, “We must recognize that we have common enemies in poverty, illiteracy, terrorism and environmental degradation. We will need to fight these challenges together since we have a shared history and a shared destiny. Let us reach for it together.”
The historic tension between India and Pakistan has been one of the toughest barriers to regional integration among SAARC countries. Even so, new developments suggest that the relationship between the two countries may be improving.
During the summit, Swaraj met with Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Advisor, Sartaj Aziz, multiple times. Greater cooperation between India and Pakistan’s intelligence and criminal investigation agencies was a major topic of conversation between the two leaders.
In November 2016, the Indian Prime Minister will visit Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, for another SAARC summit. This visit could lead to an even greater relief of the tensions in India-Pakistan relations.
An article in The Indian Express asserts that the “SAARC countries have been held hostage by India-Pak tensions.” Thus, a stronger relationship between India and Pakistan would benefit the entire region.
India’s Foreign Secretary, S Jaishankar, has stated that only when India-Pakistan relations improve “will building a peaceful, secure and prosperous neighborhood yield rich dividends for all SAARC member states.”
Reducing regional poverty rates hinges upon greater economic integration among South Asian countries. Stronger India-Pakistan ties, along with increased cooperation in South Asia can help increase regional prosperity, secure peace and reduce poverty.
– Clara Wang
Photo: Flickr
Why Every Woman in Africa Should Have Access to a Cell Phone
Firstly, cell phone ownership gives women the ability to be financially independent, because they can open an online bank account separate from their husbands’. Impatient Optimists claims that “A private account gives women in developing nations control over their money as well as the ability to put food on the table.”
Currently, 1.7 million women in low-income countries don’t own a cell phone, according to the GSMA (an association representing mobile operators worldwide). Women are also 14 percent less likely to own a phone than men. Therefore, technology is a vital component of big-picture solutions to gender inequality and female disempowerment.
Secondly, cell phones are beneficial in the realm of women’s education and health. Impatient Optimists notes that “The East African nation has rolled out an ambitious program allowing parents to register their child’s birth via mobile phone. Under the program, midwives can request a child’s birth certificate by sending a text message.”
The East African program will save women time and money because they will not have to travel to the capital to acquire a birth certificate for their child. The Millennium project reported that most women live on less than 1 dollar per day. Under such conditions, the option of an online birth certificate can have a dramatic impact. Significantly, children in Africa need a recorded birth certificate in order to access schools, medical care, and, eventually, a bank account.
Thirdly, cell phone access can increase employment for women in Africa. Impatient Optimists points out that having a mobile phone allows women to open their own businesses in remote villages, as opposed to walking a great distance in order to register the business.
The New York Times recognizes that, “economically empowered women are one of the most important engines of growth in developing countries, and they play a central role in building prosperous communities.” That is why women in Africa must have their own phones, instead of sharing with family members.
When women have access to their own phones, bank accounts, and financial situations, they often invest in health-care, nutritious food and education. In fact, The New York Times reports that, “A child born in a household where the mother controls the family budget is 20 percent more likely to survive and much more likely to thrive.”
Women in Africa should be given the power and authority to make financial decisions for their family, given that they tend to prioritize moral and just causes. A mobile phone in the hands of a determined woman could benefit not only the economy, but the daily lives of families across Africa.
– Megan Hadley
Photo: Flickr
USAID to Assist in Zimbabwean Drought Crisis
This extra emergency food aid will secure adequate supplies for 600,000 rural Zimbabweans who are experiencing their second straight year of drought due to the devastation generated by El Niño. $5 million of the donation, which was officially handed over to the WFP by U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Harry K. Thomas Jr., will be used to provide emergency food supplies and cash allocations for the most at risk Zimbabweans.
The supplementary funds from USAID will allow the WFP to reach more emergency food aid to Zimbabwe’s most at-risk individuals. The WFP noted that in addition to revitalizing existing operations in eight districts already receiving assistance (Zvishavane, Mudzi, Hwange, Binga, Chiredzi, Mwenezi, Kariba and Mbire) it will add three more districts: Chipinge, Mangwe and Uzuma Maramba Plungwe, to reach those most in need of emergency food aid. “With this funding, we will continue to pursue our goal to reach zero hunger in Zimbabwe by investing in resilience-building activities while meeting the immediate needs of the most vulnerable people during this difficult time,” said WFP Zimbabwe County Director Eddie Rowe.
The additional $5 million USAID funds will be used by the WFP to resume its Productive Asset Creation program. This will, said the WFP, allocate monthly food rations or cash transfers to the most disadvantaged Zimbabweans in exchange for labor on community possessions such as irrigation schemes, dip tanks and dams. The assistance will improve rural infrastructure and at the same time improve economic conditions for those rural populations.
In response to the emergency food aid crisis, the WFP also plans to extend its relief program for those who have been hardest hit by food insecurity in Zimbabwe.
The calamitous weather conditions in the country have been a major cause of the extensive crop failure and livestock deaths across the country. The WFP reports that Zimbabwe’s 2014/15 agricultural season recorded a 51 percent decline in maize production compared with the 2013/14 season due to drought, which was exceptionally severe in the south of the country.
These exceptional circumstances have thus propelled the WFP to adjust their relief program and extend it, due to the extreme and ominous impact of El Niño. WFP’s seasonal relief, intended to help individuals through difficult pre-harvest months, typically is in operation from October to March. This year, for the first time, food and cash assistance will continue throughout 2016 and into 2017.
– Heidi Grossman
Access to Private Toilets Improves Sanitation
For those living in developed countries, having access to private toilets is taken for granted. Having access to something as simple as private toilets changes lives drastically but about 2.3 billion people or a third of the world does not have access to them. This puts their health, education and safety at risk, as reported by The Huffington Post.
According to The Indian Express, approximately 60 percent of people in India do not have access to safe toilets. The people most affected by this are women and girls. They have no other choice but to relieve themselves outdoors. This puts them at a higher risk of getting assaulted or contracting diseases due to a lack of sanitation.
If private toilets exist in a community or neighborhood, they tend to be far and few between. More often than not, many schools in developing regions do not have sanitary facilities. When girls attending school don’t have access to sanitation, they have no privacy to deal with their needs and end up having to miss class when menstruating. This will often discourage girls from going to school at all, to avoid embarrassment and falling behind in school.
However, even if there is access to clean water and a private bathroom, many will continue to use the outdoors. According to The Guardian, particularly in India, many men still prefer to go outside to defecate, even if they have already installed a toilet at home. It gives them a moment of quiet as they survey their farmlands.
The results of using the outdoors as a toilet are negative. The practice continues to pollute already scarce water sources and to spread diseases such as cholera, tuberculosis, and diarrhea. Other health risks include malnutrition and childhood stunting, which impairs 161 million children every year, according to a report by the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
A study released by WaterAid states that nearly 40 percent of India’s children are stunted. Stunting can affect not only their lives but the country’s prosperity in the future. Also, diarrheal diseases kill 700,000 every year.
Despite various governments’ pledges to install toilets in every home, little has been done to improve education about the damages that unsanitary practices cause.
Prime Minister Modi of India has made the issue of sanitation a top priority. In 2014 Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission, which translates to Clean India. This project aims to ensure a toilet in every home by 2019 and to teach people about the long-term consequences of using proper sanitation. In order to provide everyone with access to toilets, India would have to build 100 million.
March 22 was United Nations World Toilet Day. There is the hope that the day will increase awareness and educate about the importance of access to toilets.
– Michelle Simon
Photo: Flickr
Cleft Lip Surgeries Boost Economies
Cleft lips and palates disproportionately impact the developing world. In parts of Asia, South America and Africa, for example, babies born with cleft lip or palate often go untreated due to a lack of medical resources.
In some communities, children with cleft lip or palate are even ostracized or killed. Many are forced to live in isolation due to the stigma that surrounds the physical malformation. Because the condition causes a speech impediment, many sufferers cannot attend school or find work, as reported by Huffington Post.
Repairing this condition, however, requires only a simple surgery costing $250. The surgery can generate significant positive economic ripple effects. The cleft charity Smile Train predicts that performing a single cleft repair surgery puts $50,000 back into the economy, as that patient can then go on to lead a full life.
“It allows patients to return to economic productivity and meaningfully participate in their societies,” said Dr. Scott Corlew, an author of the study conducted by Smile Train: Economic Valuation of the Global Burden of Cleft Disease Averted by a Large Cleft Charity.
Smile Train and other charities like it provide free cleft repair surgery. They also provide the necessary training, facilities for surgeons to perform the procedure and offer the financial support necessary to maintain high standards of care.
According to this independent study, the total economic impact achieved as a result of cleft repair surgeries worldwide, measured across 83 countries between 2001 and 2011, amounted to $20 billion.
– Michelle Simon
Photo: Flickr
Recent MERS Outbreak in Saudi Arabia
Caused by a coronavirus and found in camels, the illness has been linked to countries near the Arabian Peninsula. Health organizations such as WHO and the CDC advise against consuming raw camel products like meat and milk that is not pasteurized.
Due to travel, outbreaks have occurred in 26 countries throughout the globe, including cases in the U.S. The largest outbreak outside of the Middle East occurred in the Republic of North Korea in 2015.
A typical case of MERS begins with a cough, fever and shortness of breath. If the virus progresses, an individual can experience pneumonia, kidney failure or septic shock.
“It is not always possible to identify people with MERS-CoV early because the early symptoms are non-specific. For this reason, all health care facilities should have standard infection prevention and control practices in place for infectious diseases,” according to the World Health Organization. “It is also important to investigate the travel history of patients who present with respiratory infection.”
Human-to-human transmission has not been common except in places where there is extremely close contact, such as health care facilities. People with diabetes, renal failure, lung disease and compromised immune systems are especially vulnerable to becoming infected with MERS and should be evaluated immediately after being in close proximity to the disease.
There is not yet a vaccine for MERS or any specific antiviral treatment. Symptoms of the illness can be relieved with medical care. Preventative actions such as hand washing, avoiding those infected and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces. These actions serve as the only forms of protection at this point.
“WHO is working with clinicians and scientists to gather and share scientific evidence to better understand the virus and the disease it causes, and to determine outbreak response priorities, treatment strategies, and clinical management approaches,” WHO said about their response to MERS.
Of the four cases reported this month in Saudi Arabia, one patient died.
– Emily Ednoff
Photo: Wikipedia
Germany Hires 8,500 New Teachers For Child Refugees
According to a survey carried out across 16 German states, an estimated 196,000 school-age refugee children entered into the German school system in 2015. They were escaping situations of poverty and war.
“Schools and education administrations have never been confronted with such a challenge,” Brunhild Kurth, head of the education authority in Germany said to Die Welt. “We must accept that this exceptional situation will become the norm for a long time to come.”
Germany has led Europe in welcoming refugees from war-torn areas across the globe. According to Al Jazeera America, over one million asylum seekers entered the country in 2015. The interior ministry of Germany claims this is around five times more than the previous year. Those fleeing war and violence have the greatest likelihood of being granted refugee status. Within that group, refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan make up about half of the asylum applicants in the nation.
An additional 20,000 teachers are expected to be needed in the upcoming months to accommodate a large number of child refugees. This statistic is according to Heinz-Peter Meidinger, head of the DPhV (Deutscher Philologenverband), a teacher’s union in Germany.
Marlis Tepe, head of the GEW, an education and science union in Germany, believes that number may be even higher. “Our formula says for every 100,000 new pupils, we need 8,250 teachers,” Tepe said in an interview with Deutsche Welle.
Saxony, a state in eastern Germany, has hired 300 additional language-focused teachers for the influx of refugees and plans to recruit approximately 190 more, according to CNN. The state plans to focus on providing special German as a second language course for the children.
“It’s an immense challenge, but we are full of confidence that we will cope with the influx of refugees at school,” Manja Kelch, press officer for Saxony’s Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, said in an interview with CNN. “Our experience is that the refugees often are very ambitious and willing to integrate. We have examples of refugees who are the best in their classes in our schools, in a very short time.”
– Lauren Lewis
Photo: Flickr
Mother Teresa To Become A Saint This Year
Pope Francis will canonize Mother Teresa, a nun who committed her life to helping the poor. The Pope will do so on the 19th anniversary of Mother Teresa’s death in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta, where she did extensive work assisting the impoverished.
An article written in USA Today describes Mother Teresa as, “Affectionately known as the saint of the gutter for her unconditional love for the poor, abandoned and marginalized.” As a result of her work in India, Mother Teresa earned several international honors, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
Mother Teresa was born in Albania in the year 1910. At the age of 18, she joined an Irish Convent and received the name, “Sister Mary Teresa.” Months later, she moved to India, where she taught at St. Mary’s School for girls.
According to an article on the CNN website, “There, she took her Final Profession of Vows and became Mother Teresa.” Her Vatican biography stated that “nearly 20 years later, during a train ride in India, she felt a calling from Jesus to care for the poor.” She established Missionaries of Charity to serve the poorest of all.
She was beatified in 2003 by Pope John Paul II, who approved her first posthumous miracle. A USA Today report explains that beatification, recognition by the Catholic Church that a person is welcomed into heaven, requires at least one miracle, while to be sainted, requires two. Mother Teresa’s first miracle was declared after the Vatican Committee found no scientific explanation for the recovery of an Indian woman who prayed to Mother Teresa while suffering from a stomach tumor.
CNN reports that, in December of last year, Pope Francis recognized a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa, the recovery of a Brazilian man suffering from multiple brain tumors. Pope Francis will be canonizing Mother Teresa on September 4 of this year.
– Isabella Rolz
Photo: Wikipedia
TSEP Enhances Access and Quality of Education in Sri Lanka
The government of Sri Lanka launched Transforming School Education Project (TSEP) in 2012 to run through 2016. According to News Line, the objective of TSEP is enhanced access and quality of primary and secondary education. The project addresses the country’s underfunded education, wide ranged regional disparities and limited focus on key skills that students need to compete in today’s global economy.
“IDA has provided financing for the education sector in Sri Lanka over a long period of time to improve the quality of human capital through effective education and skills development,” The World Bank said of their contribution. “This $100 million project is the fifth education project in Sri Lanka.”
Strategies used to achieve school enrollment and attendance included health and nutrition programs to provide meals for children in poor communities and the building of sanitation facilities. In addition, special education programs were implemented for students who required alternative forms of education.
TSEP contributed to a spike in students reaching grade 11 up from 82 percent in 2011 to 85 percent in 2016. Of 3.2 million students, 52 percent were female.
School-based management and teacher development improved student learning and strengthened academic performance. One reform established a system for conducting national assessments of learning outcomes in order to better reflect modern international trends in curriculum practice. TSEP seeks to orient Sri Lanka’s education system to the world of work by focusing on subjects like English, IT, science, mathematics, commerce and management, as well as improving current curricula.
According to the World Bank, Sri Lanka has 4 million school children but only 215,000 teachers and around 10,000 schools. Only 7.3 percent of the government budget was invested in education in 2014.
By backing TSEP, The World Bank is supporting the Sri Lanka government’s development initiative Program for School Improvement. School officials are expected to be joined by local communities in the management and administration of schools, as greater responsibility and power will be delegated to them.
– Emily Ednoff
Photo: Flickr
New “Clean Birthing Kit” Improves Women’s Health
A birthing kit for low-income women promises to help diminish the adverse health effects of childbirth in poor areas.
According to the World Health Organization, about 830 women die from complications during pregnancy or childbirth around the world every day. “By the end of 2015, roughly 303,000 women will have died during and following pregnancy and childbirth,” the organization reports. “Almost all of these deaths occurred in low-resource settings, and most could have been prevented.”
While up to 99 percent of these deaths occur in developing countries, the United States itself has struggled with surprisingly high rates of maternal mortality. A report from Save the Children showed that the United States had the worst maternal death rate among developed countries. In fact, mortality rates in the U.S have been on the rise since 1987.
In developing countries, women often lack the tools and sanitation equipment necessary for a healthy childbirth. The WHO reports that many deaths during childbirth occur due to severe bleeding and infections. “Only 51 percent of women in low-income countries benefit from skilled care during childbirth. This means that millions of births are not assisted by a midwife, a doctor or a trained nurse,” states the WHO.
Zubaida Bai is a woman trying to change all of this. In an interview with TED, Bai describes her background and explains why she became interested in women’s health. “Growing up in India, I witnessed my mother and many women struggle with financial hardship and poor health. At a young age, I often dreamed of solutions to end this silent suffering of women.”
With a Master of science degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA from Colorado State University, Bai took her skills and founded AYZH, described on its website as “a for-profit social venture providing health and livelihood solutions to impoverished women worldwide.”
AYZH has created a simple birthing kit about the size of a purse called a Janma, containing all the materials necessary for a healthy and clean birth, for just two to five dollars. The website states that “the kit contains simple tools recommended by the World Health Organization to provide sanitation and sterility at the time of childbirth, which not only saves the lives of mother and baby but also helps ensure a healthy and happy start to life.”
– Michael A. Clark
Photo: Flickr