Madagascar is the fourth-largest island in the world and has a population of nearly 24 million people. Madagascar also has a majority rural population of 16 million. Due to remoteness, many people become isolated during flooding seasons and can lose all contact with health facilities, thus the top diseases in Madagascar are more deadly than they may ordinarily be.
Here is an in-depth look at four of the most deadly diseases in Madagascar.
Bacterial Diarrhea
Diarrhea often hits tourists while visiting new places around the globe. Yet, most travelers do not fear for their lives when they are afflicted. Unfortunately, diarrhea is a much more serious issue for those who live without clean water or proper sanitation. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), diarrhea is the second leading killer of children under the age of five globally.
For those in Madagascar, lack of clean water and proper sanitation is a major cause of diarrhea, but there are cultural factors at work as well. Often, the Malagasy have been taught to believe that using an outhouse can cause miscarriages and that fecal matter does not belong in the ground where ancestors are buried. These beliefs only further instances of diarrhea-related death.
In order to dispel these myths, locals are being educated about the advantages of proper hygiene. This can even be done in the form of puppet shows for illiterate communities in Madagascar.
Lower Respiratory Infections
There are multiple causes of lower respiratory infections, but the WHO estimates that indoor and outdoor pollution is responsible for 18,700 deaths in Madagascar annually.
Indoor pollution is especially dangerous in Madagascar because many households still rely on solid fuel such as coal and wood for cooking and heating. In addition to the use of solid fuel, many houses in Madagascar are small and have poor ventilation which leads to higher exposure to pollutants.
The solution to this problem is to move away from solid fuels and increase education about the dangers of poor ventilation and inhaling pollutants.
Perinatal Conditions
Perinatal conditions are a killer in developing countries worldwide. These conditions occur just before or after birth and can affect both mothers and children. Low birth weight, prematurity, neonatal diseases, birth trauma and birth asphyxia are all perinatal causes of death and contribute to one of the top diseases in Madagascar.
Death from perinatal conditions tends to be easily avoidable, but many in developing countries lack the knowledge and resources necessary for prevention. In fact, according to UNICEF, 90% of the population of Madagascar lives on less than two dollars a day. This type of poverty often leads to malnutrition and most of the conditions mentioned above.
Potential solutions may include increased education of perinatal care, food aid and increasing the amount of neonatal care and supplies available.
Non-communicable Disease
In other words: cancer. Cancer is the most prevalent of the top diseases in Madagascar, and the most deadly. Of the types of cancer affecting Malagasies, cervical cancer is predominant.
Unfortunately, options for cancer treatment in Madagascar are limited. Very few hospitals have cancer wards and many farmers and unemployed citizens cannot afford the costly treatment for cancer.
One measure to fight cervical cancer in Madagascar has been taken. In 2008, the University of Washington School of Medicine put forth an education and screening program. This program was an effort to increase early detection so that there was a greater possibility of getting help.
As is the case with the top diseases in Madagascar, developing countries tend to be more susceptible because they may lack resources to fight them. Often, providing simple education or inexpensive medications can make a huge difference for those who have very little.
– Weston Northrop
Photo: Flickr
5 Things You Should Know About World Breastfeeding Week
Breastmilk is a baby’s best protection against illness and disease, but data has shown that the number of newborns breastfed within the first hour of life has not improved over the past 15 years. World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated annually from August 1–7 in over 170 countries, and global organizations are sharing how early breastfeeding can make the difference between life and death.
5 Things to Know About Breastfeeding
Though some of the statistics given might seem shocking, World Breastfeeding Week takes the initial steps necessary to create change by raising awareness of the problem and producing individuals that can implement solutions.
– Mikaela Frigillana
Photo: Flickr
“Ladies Special Services” Bus Helps Women in India
Harassment in India
Unfortunately, women are hassled on buses all over the globe. However, it is particularly difficult for women in India: a Reuters poll states that 80 percent report being publicly harassed, which ranges from cat-calling, groping or even rape. Women in Kashmir say the harassment is especially bad on the frequently crowded buses. Most have been leered at, groped or even followed.
Stigma often prevents them from reporting. A university student said that she did not tell her parents when a man was targeting her every day, in order to avoid excessive restrictions. Instead, she quietly started walking to school. Other women claim that if they do speak up or make a scene, people either ignore it or even blame them for provoking the molestation. A month before the Ladies buses premiered, Kashmir Observer calls out men who ignore the situation and encourages them to speak up, saying, “you would only be making the world a better place for your mother, daughter, wife or sister.”
Safety with Ladies Special Services
Currently, the Ladies Special Services fleet consists of five buses that make two round trips per day in Sringar. While some male politicians objected to the service, Chief Minister Mufti argued that they do not understand because have never shared these experiences. Because the bus is currently running at a fiscal loss, their service needs government support to continue funding. If not, the bus service will be forced to close.
Ideally, the service will continue. So far it has been a huge success. The bus is full of smiling, relaxed women. Transportation official Mushtaq Chanda reports that he receives a daily deluge of emails asking for expanded service.
Hope to Expand the Service
Ms. Hassan, a woman interviewed by BBC, says that this service is “an answered prayer” because traveling on regular buses is “like going to war.” Many hope that the service will be expanded to run more routes, more often in more cities. The Ladies Special Services have made huge strides toward gender equality by giving some women in India more freedom to safely travel and raising the issue of women’s treatment to the forefront.
– Jeanette I. Burke
Photo: Flickr
3 Keys to Ending World Hunger Forever
This is especially critical in developing countries. There, food productivity and sustainability are just one amongst a plethora of other issues, including overpopulation, civil conflict and lack of education.
However, while the effects of hunger are not limited by race, religion or country, the answer to ending the world’s food shortage problem lies in many, perhaps unexpected places.
Women’s Empowerment
For instance, one such solution can be found in empowering women. Of the 600 million small farmers, herders and food providers in the world, half are women. However, this large fraction of food providers is hindered from producing adequate quotas due to cultural and gender boundaries.
Typically, women have less access to education, ownership of land or livestock. They also receive less credit than their male counterparts. As a result, half of the world’s food providers are unable or not producing nearly enough to sustain themselves, let alone the world’s population.
If these restrictions on female agriculturists decreased, however, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) the number of hungry people in the world would drop 17%.
Education
Another solution to ending world hunger revolves around education. Countries in Africa and South America have fertile land, but with ignorant farmers, food production remains low. These uneducated agriculturists practice outdated farming techniques and in turn reap poor results.
But programs such as Food for Training projects focus on educating food providers in developing nations. They can dramatically improve food production levels and encourage long term self-sustainability at very little cost.
Moreover, school meal projects also reduce hunger amongst children, who most heavily feel the effects of food shortages. In turn, the free or reduced meals schools provide encourage families to send their children to school, which supports education.
Reducing Food Waste
Lastly, a crucial part of reducing and eventually ending world hunger lies in ending global food waste. If the world were to reduce its food waste, a third of the world’s entire food supply would be saved, which is enough to feed 3 billion people.
Ultimately, this would result in a food surplus that could sustain entire countries. However, food recycling projects and campaigns such as Feedback, which focuses on saving leftover produce and creating nutritious meals from marketable food scraps, help reduce hunger. This provides thousands of people around the world with free, nutritious meals.
World hunger has reduced significantly since the 1990s; however, it has since leveled in 2010. Strategies such as food waste reduction campaigns, education and discouraging gender inequality can make significant dents in the fight to end this battle.
– Jenna Salisbury
Photo: Pixabay
Shifting Focus to Support Education in Haiti
Education in Haiti is a critical issue. Haiti is an impoverished country that struggles to educate its youth due to factors including past disasters, social disparity and present economic hardship. A couple facts put this into perspective:
These factors have destroyed the lives of many Haitians. As a result, education in Haiti is not an economic priority for the Haitian government and only 10 percent of the federal budget is spent on primary and secondary schools. Haiti ranks 177th out of 186 in the world for national spending on education.
Only 76 percent of children in Haiti enroll in primary school; one of the lowest enrollment rates in the world. However, despite the low percentage of educational success, Haitians highly value literacy and proudly wear their school uniforms when they are enrolled in school. However, compared to most other countries, it takes a higher percentage of one’s income to be able go to school, making it difficult for many to attend.
The most prevalent challenges Haitian education faces include funding and teacher training. In the United States, USAID helps fund Haitian education systems. USAID supports 550 schools and strives toward improving early grade reading and writing while helping demonstrate modern instruction to teachers and staff members.
In 2014, the Haitian Minister of Economy and Finance and the World Bank Special Envoy signed a grant of $24 million to help 230,000 children attend school and receive a quality education. This is done through tuition waivers and other means of support under the Education for All project.
The grant helps focus the Haitian government’s priorities on education. It does this by aiming to increase the quality of teaching and continuously focusing on increasing enrollment.
The goals of the Education for All project include
With the help of the United States and other developed countries, education in Haiti is slowly improving as enrollment rates continue to rise. Hopefully, this trend will continue and thousands of Haitians will be able to wear their school uniforms with pride.
– Casey Marx
Photo: Flickr
An Assessment of Poverty in Colombia
Approximately 29 percent of the population of Colombia live in extreme poverty. The constant violence and illegal occupation in Colombia is partly at fault for the number of those who continue to struggle. Families who have been displaced struggle to provide their daily needs, particularly the indigenous and Afro-Latino communities.
Small farmworkers in particular are victims of displacement, as the recent reduction in poverty in Colombia is partly due to many of the small farmers abandoning their careers to find new work in urban areas with less conflict. Here, they are able to generate sustainable income and provide for their families.
However, as is the case in many impoverished urban areas, there is little security of employment or reliable access to education and health services. While the lack of human security allows the issues contributing to poverty to fester, Colombia has been lately successful at poverty reduction by focusing on reducing crime and conflict in the two largest cities, Bogota and Medellin. By targeting these areas, surrounding cities have also improved.
In the past decade, the number of citizens living in extreme poverty in Colombia has been cut in half. Doing so through times in conflict shows the overall ability of Colombians to reduce poverty, the results of which would be vastly greater if violent conflicts could be reduced as well.
Gerardo Corrochano says when speaking to the World Bank, “The current face of Colombia is completely different and its future, promising.” With continued international aid and investment in infrastructure, Corrochano believes that Colombia can eradicate poverty and sustain peace for the people. Colombia is now considered to have a more middle class than an impoverished population, which displays the progress that the nation has already made.
– Amanda Panella
Photo: Flickr
5 Things to Know About #RaiseYourHand Campaign
This partnership has already proven itself capable of doing massive amounts of good in the world. The CEO of Bulgari, Jean-Christophe Babin, spoke up about the work Bulgari and Save the Children do together, saying, “Bettering the world is a quality inborn in Bulgari’s company culture. We are proud to partner with Save the Children to do our part in making a better tomorrow.”
– Jordan Little
Photo: Forbes
The Fatal 4: Top Diseases in Madagascar
Here is an in-depth look at four of the most deadly diseases in Madagascar.
Bacterial Diarrhea
Diarrhea often hits tourists while visiting new places around the globe. Yet, most travelers do not fear for their lives when they are afflicted. Unfortunately, diarrhea is a much more serious issue for those who live without clean water or proper sanitation. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), diarrhea is the second leading killer of children under the age of five globally.
For those in Madagascar, lack of clean water and proper sanitation is a major cause of diarrhea, but there are cultural factors at work as well. Often, the Malagasy have been taught to believe that using an outhouse can cause miscarriages and that fecal matter does not belong in the ground where ancestors are buried. These beliefs only further instances of diarrhea-related death.
In order to dispel these myths, locals are being educated about the advantages of proper hygiene. This can even be done in the form of puppet shows for illiterate communities in Madagascar.
Lower Respiratory Infections
There are multiple causes of lower respiratory infections, but the WHO estimates that indoor and outdoor pollution is responsible for 18,700 deaths in Madagascar annually.
Indoor pollution is especially dangerous in Madagascar because many households still rely on solid fuel such as coal and wood for cooking and heating. In addition to the use of solid fuel, many houses in Madagascar are small and have poor ventilation which leads to higher exposure to pollutants.
The solution to this problem is to move away from solid fuels and increase education about the dangers of poor ventilation and inhaling pollutants.
Perinatal Conditions
Perinatal conditions are a killer in developing countries worldwide. These conditions occur just before or after birth and can affect both mothers and children. Low birth weight, prematurity, neonatal diseases, birth trauma and birth asphyxia are all perinatal causes of death and contribute to one of the top diseases in Madagascar.
Death from perinatal conditions tends to be easily avoidable, but many in developing countries lack the knowledge and resources necessary for prevention. In fact, according to UNICEF, 90% of the population of Madagascar lives on less than two dollars a day. This type of poverty often leads to malnutrition and most of the conditions mentioned above.
Potential solutions may include increased education of perinatal care, food aid and increasing the amount of neonatal care and supplies available.
Non-communicable Disease
In other words: cancer. Cancer is the most prevalent of the top diseases in Madagascar, and the most deadly. Of the types of cancer affecting Malagasies, cervical cancer is predominant.
Unfortunately, options for cancer treatment in Madagascar are limited. Very few hospitals have cancer wards and many farmers and unemployed citizens cannot afford the costly treatment for cancer.
One measure to fight cervical cancer in Madagascar has been taken. In 2008, the University of Washington School of Medicine put forth an education and screening program. This program was an effort to increase early detection so that there was a greater possibility of getting help.
As is the case with the top diseases in Madagascar, developing countries tend to be more susceptible because they may lack resources to fight them. Often, providing simple education or inexpensive medications can make a huge difference for those who have very little.
– Weston Northrop
Photo: Flickr
Lower Mekong Initiative Launches New Infrastructure Plan
Through LMI, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the U.S. collaborated to create sub-regional cooperation that fosters economic growth and aims to narrow the development gap between the Lower Mekong countries.
At this year’s annual meeting, LMI designed the Sustainable Infrastructure Partnership, a training platform with two main goals: to help LMI countries identify training deficiencies in infrastructure planning and to develop a strategy to enhance the planning process and improve efficiency. This new partnership comes as a result of a crippling drought in the Lower Mekong. The region produces 13 percent of the world’s rice, centering its economic stability on agriculture. However, the current Mekong River levels are at their lowest point of the past century, putting millions of farmers that depend on this water source at risk.
The Sustainable Infrastructure Partnership aims to lessen the region’s vulnerability to climate change and strengthen its infrastructure. This new element adds to the existing six pillars of LMI: agriculture and food security, connectivity, education, energy security, environment and water, as well as health. The success of LMI can be attributed to the targeted approaches of each pillar’s program.
The Lower Mekong Initiative fosters agriculture and food security by expanding trade and investment in the region. Encouraging community engagement in the industry is also key. Similarly, the connectivity pillar draws upon U.S. strengths to promote physical, institutional, and people-to-people connectivity across the region.
The education pillar encourages the sharing of best practices between countries; supporting programs that encourage English language proficiency and teacher training. LMI health pillar combats transnational challenges, such as infectious diseases, as well as supporting the enforcement of International Health Regulations.
Both the Energy Security and Environment and Water Programs work to develop a regional strategy to create sustainable environmental management and access to energy.
The U.S. has played a central role in the success of LMI, having founded a U.S.-Singapore Third Country Program that has trained regional officials on cybercrime and water management. The U.S. has also helped Cambodia launch a women’s business center, with plans to launch another in Vietnam this year.
Through the Lower Mekong Initiative, the region has seen growth in several sectors. The adoption of the Sustainable Infrastructure Partnership will further benefit Lower Mekong countries, continuing to narrow the development gap across the region.
– Anna O’Toole
Photo: Pixabay
Purchase for Progress Changed Farming in Ghana
More than half of Ghana’s population works in agriculture, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Low-income families farming in Ghana are facing new challenges, such as climate change and the increase of conflicts, natural disasters and pandemics. The World Food Programme launched Purchase for Progress in 2008 to provide support for smallholder farmers to handle these shifts. The program connects smallholder farmers to markets and creates consistent demands. Below are five ways the program changed farming in Ghana:
Weighing System
Purchase for Progress introduced a weighing system to solve the problem of farmers’ lost revenue due to the “bush weight” system.
“Size 5” bags of grains weighing 150–170 kilograms were sold for the price of a 100-kilogram bag, leaving the farmers with less money than their valued crop. The World Food Programme’s Purchase for Progress program introduced weighing scales, which allowed the farmers to see the disparity between their product and its price when using the bush weight system.
Transition to Fair Bagging
The exposed, unfair system influenced the government to transition to a new method of fair bagging.
Since the upkeep of weighing scales can be expensive, the officials in the Ejura-Sekyedumasi municipality introduced another solution to ensure farmers received fair prices for their product. They have implemented the mandatory use of the “Size 4” bag, which holds 110 kilograms, instead of 150–170 kilograms.
Trained Farmers to Offer Quality Goods
Farmers learned to make sure their products do not have inferior grains and inorganic items. This improvement gives buyers the best quality crops and ensures that they will return.
Increased Transparency Within Trade Markets
The new standardized market system of trade allows for clarity and accountability between both farmers and buyers.
To establish awareness and acceptance of the new system across the market, the community radio joined Farm Radio International to give farmers a place to share their position.
Empowers Farmers
The new systems empower smallholder farmers and transformed farming from mere survival into a business. Farmers’ income has increased, sometimes up to 40% — the amount that was previously lost with “Size 5” bags.
The new system gives farmers the opportunity to estimate the amount of money they will make each season, helping them to predict their future income.
– Erica Rawles
Photo: Grain
Improving Literacy Rates in Developing Countries with Phone Data
Literacy is one of the most significant contributing factors to eradicating poverty. Telenor, a Norwegian research group, believes it has found a way to measure literacy rates in developing countries using mobile phone data.
Currently, an estimated 750 million people around the world are unable to read and write. Two-thirds of these people are women, according to MIT Technology Review. UNESCO studied the effects of illiteracy in South American communities and found that illiteracy correlates to higher unemployment rates, poor health, exploitation and human rights abuse.
In order to address the growing concern of widespread illiteracy in developing countries, Telenor, led by Pål Sundsøy, developed a machine-learning algorithm to figure out which communities have the highest rates of illiteracy.
Using mobile phone data, Telenor’s algorithm evaluates a variety of factors to predict literacy rates in developing countries including the location of calls, number of incoming versus outgoing text messages and the diversity of social contacts.
When evaluating the probability of illiteracy, geographic location is one of the most deciding factors. Sundsøy believes that the algorithm is able to identify slum areas where economic development is low and illiteracy is high by analyzing where calls are placed.
Additionally, a higher quantity of outgoing messages and a lower number of incoming messages may also hint at illiteracy. Telenor’s model takes this information into consideration since people do not typically send texts to contacts who they know can’t read.
The diversity of an individual’s social network is also a helpful indicator of literacy since those who are illiterate are more likely to concentrate their efforts on communicating with a few people. The relationship between the diversity of social contacts and illiteracy is also supported by a strong three-way correlation between economic well-being, illiteracy and diversity of social contacts.
By identifying which communities are at risk for low literacy rates, Telenor’s mobile phone data algorithm can make literacy programs more effective in developing countries.
The National Literacy Programme in Namibia (NLPN) states that their main challenge to boosting literacy rates is limited funding for the program. Implementing Telenor’s algorithm would make a significant impact on programs like NLPN that have finite resources by helping organizations to identify and allocate resources to communities that have a higher concentration of illiterate people.
While regional and gender disparities continue to persist in current illiteracy data, the development of powerful resources like Telenor’s algorithm will help raise literacy rates in developing countries and make it easier for literacy programs to target those who at a greater disadvantage.
– Daniela N. Sarabia
Photo: Pixabay