A member of the European Union since 2004, Estonia is among the wealthiest nations in the Baltic region. Likewise, the country has a modern health system that can reasonably support its population of 1.3 million.
Almost all Estonians are covered by health insurance, and the greatest menaces to public health, like heart disease and cancer, are characteristic of a developed country.
Nonetheless, more than one in five Estonians live below the poverty line and are especially at risk for certain health problems that are prevalent in the country. Here are some of the top diseases in Estonia and what is being done to combat them.
HIV/AIDS
While the death toll from AIDS is dwarfed by that of heart disease and cancer in Estonia, the country has the highest prevalence of HIV in all of Europe. Around 1.3% of the population carries HIV, comparable to rates in Sierra Leone or Mali.
The first case of HIV was diagnosed in 1988, and the rate of incidence remained minuscule until the turn of the century. According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease exploded in 2000, mostly among drug users.
Since then, the incidence rate has declined, but still more cases are reported each year. Epidemiologists have found that heterosexual transmission has increased in recent years, adding to the more than nine thousand Estonians who have been infected.
Estonia has seriously grappled with HIV/AIDS for decades. All treatment for HIV-positive patients is free, and education about the disease is standard in Estonian classrooms. Some trends have epidemiologists in the country hopeful: according to U.N. AIDS, both safe sex practices and HIV testing are on the rise among Estonians.
Tuberculosis
Like AIDS, tuberculosis is not one of the major killers in Estonia, but the disease poses complex challenges for the country’s health system. Estonia has one of the highest multi-drug resistant tuberculosis burdens in the world. In many ways, tuberculosis in the country is tied to the issue of HIV: the prevalence of TB/HIV co-infection in Estonia is one of the highest in Europe at 15%.
Beyond people who suffer from AIDS, tuberculosis also particularly threatens Estonians who use intravenous drugs or drink heavily — a population that reports from WHO suggest could be large.
The rate of tuberculosis incidence is decreasing, indicating that Estonia is winning its battle against the disease. But according to WHO, as the incidence decreases, new challenges will arise. As the issue shrinks in magnitude, political and financial commitment may also dwindle — something that Estonia’s government must avoid if the disease is to be defeated in the country.
Obesity
There is still controversy over whether obesity is actually a “disease,” but reports and data on public health in Estonia have outlined it as a clear issue. Sources disagree, but 2014 research from the University of Tartu found that as many as one in three Estonians are clinically obese (a body mass index of over 30).
Obesity can greatly increase the risk of a myriad of health issues, including diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Heart disease and stroke accounted for nearly half of all deaths in Estonia in 2012 (48%), so many physicians believe the issue should be taken seriously as one of the top diseases in Estonia.
The issue may be correlated to modernization. WHO estimates that nearly half of Estonian adults are insufficiently active, while salt intake is growing.
Obesity is not an easy issue to tackle, but growing scholarship and research on obesity has helped Estonia assess its magnitude and effects. In recent years the government has implemented some policies to promote consumer awareness and healthy eating habits in schools.
Estonia faces unique but surmountable public health challenges. The government likely has the means to solve such issues, and the nation, therefore, serves as a good example of how funding is not the only weapon fights like these; there must be political attention, commitment and patience. Coming years will tell the extent of Estonia’s diligence in the realm of health, and likely provide valuable lessons for nations facing similar issues.
– Charlie Tomb
Photo: Flickr
Volunteering and its Effects on Empathy
A common reason for conflict, whether cultural, racial or economic is lack of empathy. The solution to this problem may be simpler than previously believed. An article on psychology website Spring suggests that empathy can increase with as little as two positive experiences with a group.
To collect their research, scientists paired Swiss people with people of Balkan descent. The Swiss-Balkan relationship has historically been tense due to anxiety about immigrants in Switzerland. In the experiment, Swiss participants expected to receive a painful electric shock but were rescued by people with traditional Balkan names.
The Swiss participants then received brain scans while observing other people being shocked. If earlier in the experiment a Balkan person had helped the Swiss person in question, the Swiss participant’s brain would demonstrate a similar empathetic response toward both Balkan and Swiss victims. If, however, the Swiss person had not had that positive encounter with a Balkan participant, he or she exhibited lower levels of empathy toward Balkan victims than towards Swiss victims.
According to this study’s researchers, “Our findings show that empathy with an out-group member can be learned and generalizes to other out-group individuals.”
How can these findings be applied globally? Simply put, they may indicate that volunteering can increase empathy. Not only can volunteering help reduce some of the immediate symptoms of global poverty; it can also decrease inter-group tension.
Bridging the gap preventing different groups from interacting with each other is an important step in reducing conflict. Volunteerism does just that by putting human relationships first. It places members of different communities that may never have had positive inter-community encounters in close proximity to each other. Positive volunteering experiences can lead to increased empathy and decreased conflict between them.
In an article by the New Zealand Red Cross, Warwick Armstrong, a volunteer driver for the Cross Town Shuttle wrote about the benefits of volunteering. The Cross Town Shuttle provides transportation for people in Christchurch who have no transportation means of their own. Armstrong said he enjoys the companionship his position provides.
“It’s good for your health!” he wrote. “It gives your empathy batteries a recharge”.
Volunteerism puts human relationships first and encourages personal interaction. It is a powerful tool for increasing empathy, and thus reducing tension, between groups.
– Jordan Little
Photo: Flickr
Education in Finland: A Model for Equality
Education in Finland is prestigious and public. After 40 years of education reform to propel the economy, Finland has created some of the finest students in the world. In 2000, they led in reading, in 2003, in math and in 2006, in science. Since 2009, they consistently rank at the top for each subject in the Programme for International Student Assessment.
Not only does education in Finland produce top tier students, but the country has also created an education system that works for everyone. About 93 percent of Finns graduate from high school, 17.5 percentage points higher than the US, and 66 percent go to college, the highest rate in the European Union. Yet, Finland spends 30 percent less on education than the US.
Even with their amazing achievements in education, however, Finland has not yet found a popular following in implementing similar policies within other countries. In Finland, there is only one standardized test, unlike the U.S. and many Asian countries, where standardized tests are taken every year to measure students. Science classes are capped at 16. In the U.S., however, poorer public school systems pack many students into underfunded science classes. Teachers are also required to have master’s degrees, which are fully subsidized by the government, while the U.S. expects a bachelor’s degree without providing subsidies.
Although Finland may strive for excellence in education, they primarily value equality, a value missing in many American and Asian education systems. Whereas gifted students are separated into higher level classes in the U.S., Finland keeps all students in the same classrooms, providing extra help to those who need it. There are no private schools in Finland as all schools are 100 percent publicly funded. Each student has equal access to free school meals, health care, psychological counseling and individual student guidance, regardless of socioeconomic background.
As opposed to the U.S., where a good education generally means sending your kids to private or charter schools if you can afford it, Finland provides an equal education for everyone. Rather than creating a market for certain individuals to buy the best quality education, Finland created the base of its education system to help everyone. As opposed to Asian cultures that stress constant studying and competition between students, Finland prioritizes the students’ learning desires and fostering cooperation. There are no rankings for best schools or students.
Among other factors, Finland also selectively chooses its teachers; there is a 7 percent acceptance rate in Helsinki, which encourages constant retraining for teachers, creates broad curriculum guidelines and focuses more on quality time in the classroom. Education in Finland is clearly more relaxed and equitable, yet they still consistently boast the best scores. Although expensive private schools and exhaustive studying may produce similar results, they are not the most efficient strategies for a both equitable and robust education system.
– Henry Gao
Photo: Flickr
Work in Progress: Reforming Education in Haiti
Although school attendance has increased within the past several years, education in Haiti remains a problem. More than 200,000 Haitian children do not go to school, and half of Haiti’s adult population is illiterate.
Because most schools in Haiti are privately operated without government regulation, the cost of tuition is taxing. In many cases, students are forced to take a year or more off between grades because they can’t afford to continue. Joseph Woaly, an alumni of the Haitian school system, said he completed primary school at age 17 and secondary school at 25.
Other challenges persist. Even some of the newest institutions are not up to code. School buildings lack basic necessities such as clean water and working lavatories. According to education officials, much more funding is needed to continue plans for reforming education in Haiti.
As in most impoverished countries, women receive fewer opportunities than do men in Haiti. The World Bank estimates that a 1 percent increase in the number of women receiving an education can increase a country’s financial growth by 0.3 percent.
In 2007, the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank started a tuition waiver program to help reform education in Haiti. The World Bank has allocated $24.1 million toward supporting the program from 2014 to 2017. The grant helps underprivileged families pay for the cost of primary school tuition and supplies.
This tuition supplementation program has enabled more children to enroll in school while simultaneously creating a need for more teachers, thus benefiting the Haitian job market. Unfortunately, most Haitian teachers are somewhat unqualified, having received little or no training.
Another effective initiative started in 2012. The Adolescent Girls Initiative (AGI) set out to reform education in Haiti by teaching young women the skills they need to obtain long-term employment. Technical trades are often geared toward males, but AGI challenged those stereotypes, training women in such trades as plumbing, construction, machinery and IT.
The development of soft skills like professionalism, self-esteem and leadership is also crucial to gaining and retaining a profession. AGI found that women who received training were more self-confident, developing better decision-making abilities and more optimistic outlooks for the future.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has also taken a deep interest in reforming education in Haiti. The organization has actively worked with the Ministry of Education in Haiti to maximize donor resources and improve national literacy levels. Over the past five years, USAID has helped Haitian children learn how to read, providing them with 85,000 workbooks, 3,700 teacher guides and curricula meeting international standards. USAID also reformed 19 schools to cater to the needs of disabled children.
Last year the World Bank promoted the idea of transferring some private schools into the public sector, hoping to increase enrollment among children who still cannot afford school fees. No notable progress has been made toward this initiative. The Haitian government maintains that there is no funding available for the project now, nor will there be within the foreseeable future.
– Amy Whitman
Photo: Flickr
EcoDomum is Reshaping Affordable Housing in Mexico
As a result, it’s often the world’s poor who suffer the worst consequences of global pollution. In fact, the World Bank estimates that 95 percent of people affected by pollution-related illnesses live in middle and low-income nations. It’s important to address the global burden of pollution, not only for health-related reasons but also because pollution management offers countless economic benefits. Living in extremely polluted conditions can make everyday activities such as cooking and getting to work unreasonably difficult. Cleaner living conditions bring fewer communicable diseases and better opportunities because they obviate the challenges of contaminated resources.
One Mexican start-up thinks environmentally sustainable housing is one way to improve the living conditions of the world’s poor. EcoDomum, or “EcoHome,” builds affordable housing in Mexico using building materials made from recycled plastics. Based in Peubla, the company collects, sorts and melts down non-toxic plastics into a liquid form. A hydraulic press then forms the melted plastic into hard panels sturdy enough to construct a house. Each house uses around two tons of plastics and contains two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. The whole process takes a week and the price of the finished product is a mere $273. For most Mexican families living below the poverty line on around $125 a month, an EcoDomum is an affordable investment.
EcoDomum has bigger plans than just building houses — they want to stimulate Mexico’s economy with sustainable industry. The company has already built 500 recycled homes and has recently partnered with local trash collectors to maintain a steady supply of materials. EcoHome also promises higher wages for plastic collectors, which incentivizes locals to participate in their project. After seeing such a huge success since their start in Mexico, EcoDomum plans to expand their work internationally within the next five years.
– Jessica Levitan
Photo: Flickr
Poverty in the Netherlands
Poverty in the Netherlands? Pockets of poverty still exist.
Around 2.5 million people in the Netherlands live below the poverty line. With a population of 17 million, that means around 14 percent or one in seven people lives below the poverty line.
Poverty in the Netherlands: Implications and Solutions
The poverty line for the Netherlands is drawn at approximately €1,040 a month for a single individual and up to €1,960 for a couple with two children. These figures calculate to $1,174 up to $2,213 and they are considered the bare minimum necessary to eat, live and partake in social activities in the Netherlands.
Some 217,000 Dutch households were found, in 2014, to have lived on or below the poverty line for at least four consecutive years, indicating a lack of support from the Netherland’s government to help its less fortunate citizens since the worldwide economic crash of 2008.
Those family units most likely to land below the poverty line in the Netherlands are single parents, singles over the age of 65, non-Western households and anyone living solely on social assistance benefits, all of whose poverty rates have risen dramatically since 2012.
To help single parents below the poverty line, the Dutch government affected the Child-Care Schemes Reform Act in 2015. The act provides income specifically for a child or children based on the parent’s income to help offset the considerable cost of rearing children. Netherland’s government will also award double the amount of financial aid to parents of severely disabled children who require round-the-clock care.
There is still much work to be done to help combat poverty in the Netherlands; organizations such as CARE and Cordaid work tirelessly to create employment opportunities and build thriving communities in the Netherlands. With their work and continued support from the government, poverty in the Netherlands will decrease in the years to come.
– Bayley McComb
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts about Cambodian Refugees
One could believe that things have since settled in what is viewed as one of the most corrupt nations on the planet. However, Cambodia and its people are still waiting for a stable future.
Obstacles continually arise for Cambodia and its people while they are only presented with small reliefs. Below are 10 facts about Cambodian Refugees and their current status:
The early 80s punk band “The Dead Kennedy’s” released the song “Holiday in Cambodia” which is critical of Pol Pot’s regime in Cambodia as well as the United States’ lack of aid.
Since it is apparent a more humanitarian approach to the Cambodian people will not begin within the country’s borders, the world will have to focus more humanitarian attention on Cambodia. In the meantime, countries should welcome and help resettle the large number of Cambodian refugees around the globe.
– Keaton McCalla
Photo: Flickr
Public Health Challenge: Combating the Top Diseases in Estonia
A member of the European Union since 2004, Estonia is among the wealthiest nations in the Baltic region. Likewise, the country has a modern health system that can reasonably support its population of 1.3 million.
Almost all Estonians are covered by health insurance, and the greatest menaces to public health, like heart disease and cancer, are characteristic of a developed country.
Nonetheless, more than one in five Estonians live below the poverty line and are especially at risk for certain health problems that are prevalent in the country. Here are some of the top diseases in Estonia and what is being done to combat them.
HIV/AIDS
While the death toll from AIDS is dwarfed by that of heart disease and cancer in Estonia, the country has the highest prevalence of HIV in all of Europe. Around 1.3% of the population carries HIV, comparable to rates in Sierra Leone or Mali.
The first case of HIV was diagnosed in 1988, and the rate of incidence remained minuscule until the turn of the century. According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease exploded in 2000, mostly among drug users.
Since then, the incidence rate has declined, but still more cases are reported each year. Epidemiologists have found that heterosexual transmission has increased in recent years, adding to the more than nine thousand Estonians who have been infected.
Estonia has seriously grappled with HIV/AIDS for decades. All treatment for HIV-positive patients is free, and education about the disease is standard in Estonian classrooms. Some trends have epidemiologists in the country hopeful: according to U.N. AIDS, both safe sex practices and HIV testing are on the rise among Estonians.
Tuberculosis
Like AIDS, tuberculosis is not one of the major killers in Estonia, but the disease poses complex challenges for the country’s health system. Estonia has one of the highest multi-drug resistant tuberculosis burdens in the world. In many ways, tuberculosis in the country is tied to the issue of HIV: the prevalence of TB/HIV co-infection in Estonia is one of the highest in Europe at 15%.
Beyond people who suffer from AIDS, tuberculosis also particularly threatens Estonians who use intravenous drugs or drink heavily — a population that reports from WHO suggest could be large.
The rate of tuberculosis incidence is decreasing, indicating that Estonia is winning its battle against the disease. But according to WHO, as the incidence decreases, new challenges will arise. As the issue shrinks in magnitude, political and financial commitment may also dwindle — something that Estonia’s government must avoid if the disease is to be defeated in the country.
Obesity
There is still controversy over whether obesity is actually a “disease,” but reports and data on public health in Estonia have outlined it as a clear issue. Sources disagree, but 2014 research from the University of Tartu found that as many as one in three Estonians are clinically obese (a body mass index of over 30).
Obesity can greatly increase the risk of a myriad of health issues, including diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Heart disease and stroke accounted for nearly half of all deaths in Estonia in 2012 (48%), so many physicians believe the issue should be taken seriously as one of the top diseases in Estonia.
The issue may be correlated to modernization. WHO estimates that nearly half of Estonian adults are insufficiently active, while salt intake is growing.
Obesity is not an easy issue to tackle, but growing scholarship and research on obesity has helped Estonia assess its magnitude and effects. In recent years the government has implemented some policies to promote consumer awareness and healthy eating habits in schools.
Estonia faces unique but surmountable public health challenges. The government likely has the means to solve such issues, and the nation, therefore, serves as a good example of how funding is not the only weapon fights like these; there must be political attention, commitment and patience. Coming years will tell the extent of Estonia’s diligence in the realm of health, and likely provide valuable lessons for nations facing similar issues.
– Charlie Tomb
Photo: Flickr
Christopher Reeve Foundation: Spinal Cord Injury Research
The story of Christopher Reeve became the impetus for the establishment of the foundation. With as much of a passion for horses as he has for helping others, Reeve loved to participate in the horseback riding leisure activity known as eventing, which included show jumping. In May 1995 during the cross-country aspect of an eventing competition in Culpeper, Virginia his horse hesitated at the rail and pitched him forward. Reeve landed head-first and fractured the top vertebra in his spine causing him to be paralyzed immediately. With medical help and surgery, his spinal cord was stabilized yet he would never be able to walk again.
Reeve died in October 2004 after going into cardiac arrest due to an antibiotic response to an infection. Dana Reeve passed away two years later in March 2006 from lung cancer. However, they leave behind them a legacy of making a global impact and improving the lives of the disabled through their spinal cord research programs.
The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation is identified as the leading spinal cord injury research organization worldwide. The foundation recruits new scientists to the field of spinal cord injury research and provides them with capital for new developments supported by the National Institutes of Health.
The main purpose of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation is to give medical help and empowerment to those living with spinal cord injuries. The foundation offers multiple ways to facilitate the treatment of these individuals. One of the rehabilitation treatments offered by the foundation is activity-based therapy, which reteaches patients the movement they lost. The organization aims to find research and medical solutions to spinal cord injury that will benefit patients around the globe.
Before becoming the founder of the Christopher Reeve Foundation in 1996, the actor partnered with philanthropist Joan Irvine Smith to build the Reeve-Irvine Research Center in California.
The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation continues to give multinational hope to those who are experiencing disabilities from paralysis. In the words of the late Christopher Reeve, “And now that I am disabled, of course, my main focus is on the quality of life for all disabled people and doing everything I can to help scientists make progress toward cures.”
– Shanique Wright
Photo: Flickr
German Companies Give Refugees in Germany a Chance
Large German companies are hesitant to hire refugees for a myriad of reasons. Companies argue that they do not want to risk their productivity by employing refugees who don’t currently possess the necessary skills. Companies may also have qualms about the fact that many refugees have yet to become fluent in German, and that 80 percent of asylum seekers do not possess a primary- or secondary-level education.
Legal issues still remain, such as incomplete paperwork for asylum approval and a lack of proper identification for background checks. Merkel and some German companies, however, are working to make it easier for refugees to land jobs that not only provide income but also the skills necessary to be qualified contenders in the job market.
Despite the trepidation of some German companies towards refugee employment, many are using the influx of people to their advantage. Germany’s national rail carrier, Deutsche Bahn, announced that over the next two years it will create room for an additional 150 refugees in its qualification program, which includes German language courses. Deutsche Post currently employs more than 100 refugees, and national internet service provider Deutsche Telekom plans to hire 75 refugees through an apprenticeship program as well. Companies such as Mercedes, Siemens and Daimler have even created pre-training programs to prepare refugees for apprenticeships.
With the support of German companies, refugees in Germany can build better lives.
– Mariana Camacho
Photo: Flickr
Rates of Rural Poverty in Zimbabwe Astonishingly High
However, between 1990 and 2003 the political and economic climate began to decline, causing the rates of poverty in Zimbabwe to more than double from 25 percent to 63 percent.
While urban areas of Zimbabwe face the threat of unemployment, it is rural Zimbabweans that feel the presence of poverty and food scarcity the most acutely. More specifically it is Zimbabwe’s rural farmers that need reinforcement to start back on the path towards development.
In some areas rates of poverty in Zimbabwe have grown to exceed 90 percent. These include Lupane, Gokwe South and Mudzi. The cause of this can be traced back to the many problems plaguing the agricultural industry.
Food shortages are an on-going threat for both rural and urban populations. Even those with access to food are not always able to afford it; around 96 percent of those living in rural farming areas are forced to get by on less than one dollar per day.
Agriculture in Zimbabwe is most easily explained by dividing it into the two main subsets of large-scale production and smaller local farms. Large-scale farms produce many cash crops such as tobacco and grain, which at one point were being harvested in enough excess to export around the world. The more scattered, rural farms grow mostly maize, as it is an important crop to feed people in towns and villages across the country.
Government sanctioned land reform jeopardized the employment of more than 400,000 people in these rural farming areas, affecting the economy by preventing new investment and in turn discouraging budding enterprises from flourishing.
Scorching temperatures in an area already prone to drought has made a difficult situation even more of a challenge for the farmers of Zimbabwe.
With such an amalgam of obstacles for rural farmers, it is estimated that almost 20 percent of the population has fled the country since the 1990s. Many others are afflicted with HIV/AIDs and unable to work, further contributing to the slowed production of food.
UNICEF estimates that one-third of Zimbabwe’s children suffer from malnutrition as a direct result of these issues. Many organizations and relief groups have come together to impact the lives of Zimbabweans. Most notably, the United Nations and World Food Program were at one point feeding over half of the country.
While the risk of recessing further is always a possibility, aid such as this provides Zimbabweans the opportunity to put effort into other aspects of life besides basic survival.
A group called TechnoServe put together Agro Initiative Zimbabwe in 2011 with funding from the Department of International Development. This initiative provides innovative solutions for the agricultural industry impacting 40 businesses and 54,000 smallholder farms.
This program and efforts like it have the potential to get Zimbabwe on a brighter path so long as it receives the necessary support. Donations and volunteers matter at all levels, from home and overseas in order to keep lawmakers and leaders focused on what is important.
The cycle of poverty in Zimbabwe can be reversed and Zimbabwe has many great organizations on its side as well as hardworking and passionate citizens striving to do what they can for the good of their nation. Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) and many other strategic programs are hard at work to make Zimbabwe and the rest of the world a better place.
– Aaron Walsh
Photo: Flickr