Sierra Leone has both one of the highest malnutrition rates and one of the highest child mortality rates. More than a third of children are chronically malnourished; in 2010, 22 percent were underweight, 44 percent were stunted, or had a low height for their age and eight percent were wasted, or had a low weight for their height.
The child mortality rate is 267 deaths per 1,000 children. Almost half of these premature deaths are caused by malnutrition.
The major influence in the high malnutrition rate is the lack of breastfeeding. Only eight percent of infants are breastfed. The rest are given insufficient substitutes, sometimes water.
Because of the conflict in Sierra Leone’s recent past, malnutrition has only recently come into focus as a concern. Even now, malnutrition is one of the most neglected areas of concern for the country. Despite Sierra Leone’s economic growth, the number of underweight children has increased 24 percent.
With such a high rate of malnutrition, many organizations are working to lessen the number of those malnourished.
One focus has been to vary diets, many of which consist mostly of rice. Farmer Field Schools were developed to increase agricultural productivity, but they have now been adapted to teach farmers how to raise more nutritious crops.
These Field Schools also connect farmers to markets where they can sell their crops.
Mother-to-mother support groups have also been set up. These target the community level by educating women to teach others. They also report instances of malnourishment that they see.
A total of 1,228 Peripheral Health Units are running in Sierra Leone, too. They serve around 5,000 people each by providing medical care and nutrition services.
The WFP, UNICEF and WHO have also started their own supplementary feeding programs and centers.
There are 63 WFP-organized supplementary feeding centers in western Sierra Leone, which have reached almost 50,000 children. They are funded by the government of Japan.
Children who are under 70 percent of a normal body weight are admitted.
The centers give children sugar, oil and a modified cereal that is enriched with micronutrients. The UNICEF centers provide high-protein biscuits, therapeutic milk and a complex of vitamins and minerals.
Parents also receive health and nutrition education from the centers. Many parents believe that milk and eggs are bad for children, and this education corrects these notions. They also teach parents how to provide supplemental feedings.
After they provide rations and education, the centers continue to monitor the progress of the children. They check to make sure children do not develop pneumonia or diarrhea, and they check to ensure that the child’s health improves.
Sierra Leone faces many struggles as they attempt to combat malnutrition. The constraints for aid range from low funds, to a lack of data for what is needed, to low governmental support.
Staff are often underqualified, and there is frequent turnover. The low numbers of personnel lead to less knowledge being passed to the people who need it, as information is diluted passing from person to person.
Mothers have low incentives to help their children because they are often blamed for their children’s poor health. They see it as shameful to admit their children are malnourished, so they do not seek help.
Many nutrition efforts have seen an added strain from the recent Ebola outbreak, as well. Sierra Leone has been upgraded to a Level Three food emergency, the highest threat level.
Despite these setbacks, Sierra Leone is working hard to increase the health of its population. The country is making progress, but there is still work to be done to decrease malnutrition in the country.
– Monica Roth
Sources: WFP, UNICEF, Reuters, New Internationalist
Photo: Sorenbosteendahl
Africa Gathering and Sustainable Collaboration
In the African savannah, the baobab tree is a symbol of life, a sign of positivity in a dry landscape where very little other life can survive. The baobab tree is also a place where people come to share knowledge, discuss their thoughts and learn from one another; it is the meeting point for people from different walks of Africa.
The Africa Gathering movement draws its inspiration from the baobab tree, and brings together individuals with very different career focuses.
From writers to activists, techies to artists, the organization creates a place where passionate innovators can share their ideas and celebrate their dreams for a positive Africa. It provides a network for creative individuals to collaborate and share ideas on how technology can transform the continent on both small and large scales.
In its sixth year, Africa Gathering draws on inspiration from change from within its own country through the methods of planting seeds of innovation in the continent’s young men and women. By increasing visibility and allowing anyone who has an idea to share it, the organization hopes to mobilize people for change and create a sustainable Africa.
Africa Gathering frequently hosts events to engage supporters and allow African thinkers to share their ideas on technology and sustainable development. In celebration of its five-year anniversary in 2013, the movement hosted a conference with BBC Africa that focused on the increasing number of African women in the technology sector.
The conference focused on how women taking the lead in developing technological solutions could solve problems. While there was no anniversary party this year, leaders from Africa Gathering traveled to Geneva, Switzerland for the Africa CEO 2014. The group debated on the increasingly competitive nature of Africa and the delocation of foods from where they are manufactured.
“In my short but very entertaining life, there have been the few moments that have created great change – Having a child at a young age, discovering my life’s purpose, and attending the Africa Gathering last year,” said Tonisha Tagoe, a film producer and artist. “My reason for attending was as simple as a Tweet, but the results have been life changing. Africa has got a lot to offer to the world, but most importantly to Africans. It is beautiful to see such focus, determination, and family spirit fused into one space at this event.”
– Julia Thomas
Sources: The Tree of Life, Africa Gathering, The Guardian
Photo: National Geographic
Plastic Trade Transforms China
Global plastic waste has turned cities in China from natural wonders into chasms of poverty and sickness.
In 2010, author and Shanghai correspondent Adam Minter went undercover to explore the inner workings of the plastic business in China, and he discovered the frightening realities of recycling plastic scraps. Minter visited Wen’an, a Chinese city that has become a global hub of the scrap plastic trade, to see the effects of the recycling industry.
According to locals, Wen’an was once well known for its beautiful landscape and the natural bounty that came from the streams, peach trees and fertile soil. However, the lush nature of Wen’an quickly disappeared when its citizens began to realize that there was money to be made in the plastic recycling business.
By 2006, one third of the 60,000 Chinese Plastics Processing Association’s workshops were located in Wen’an.
When Minter traveled to Wen’an he noticed that the streets are “bustling, crowded and incomprehensibly dirty.” What used to be a green paradise is now a dead zone where children play in dried puddles of melted plastic instead of on the grass. The common health problems of the citizens of Wen’an have shifted from poverty related ailments to still more dangerous conditions caused by pollution.
Before the plastic waste factories sprung up across China, people suffered from stomach problems and diarrhea due to a lack of nutrition and clean water. These sicknesses disappeared when cities could pay to dig wells for uncontaminated water. However, the money for these wells came from plastic factories that polluted the streets, air and laborers’ lungs.
“Since the ’80s, high blood pressure has exploded,” a doctor from Wen’an warned. “In the past nobody had it. Now 40 percent of the adults in this village have it. People have it in their 30s so badly that they can’t move anymore. They’re paralyzed.”
In addition to the environmental impact, the economic reality in the region is grim. Although the plastic industry brought employment to the citizens of Wen’an, the wages are pitiful and the working conditions are astonishingly poor.
During his undercover visit to a plastic factory, Minter noticed that although the owner was well fed and sharply dressed, his employees are “scrawny and bug eyed.” Men breathe in melted plastic fumes from the machinery, while teenage boys work shirtless under the sun, picking rubbish from shredded piles of plastic.
Since Minter’s visit to Wen’an in 2010, the Chinese government imposed new regulations and shut down the scrap plastic trade in parts of the country. Despite the modest improvements, the Bureau of International Recycling estimates that the global plastic scrap trade will grow from the 15 million tons consumed in 2007 to about 45 million tons by 2014.
Although the scrap plastic trade creates employment in cities like Wen’an, it is disheartening to watch the disintegration, not only of the wellbeing of the workers, but also the natural beauty of nations worldwide.
– Grace Flaherty
Sources: The Guardian, Great Lakes Trade Adjustment Assistance Center
Photo: The Guardian
#GirlWithABook
Last month, the creators of #GirlWithABook, a project advocating for girl’s education, had the opportunity to meet Malala Yousafzai, their inspiration. #GirlWithABook, the hashtag coined by college students Olivia Curl and Lena Shareef, has caught the attention of leaders and advocates worldwide.
Students at American University in Washington, D.C., Curl and Shareef shared the world’s reaction of astonishment and disgust after 14-year-old Pakistani Yousafzai was attacked on her way home from school in October 2012.
Malala Yousafzai survived after she was shot in the head by the Taliban, and when United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon admonished the Taliban in an address to the world, his words stuck with the two American girls. Ki-moon explained that what frightens terrorists the most is “a girl with a book.”
Curl and Shareef decided to start a campaign based on those words. They sent out a call to action, asking their female friends and family to pose for photos with books and flood social media with the pictures accompanied by the hashtag #GirlWithABook.
“Stand with Malala Yousafzai and show the Taliban that there’s no way they can stop us girls from getting an education,” their website reads. “Post a picture of yourself reading a book or holding a sign of support.”
Just a month after the project had begun, hundreds of photos flooded in from notable figures around the world. Ki-moon is pictured reading to his granddaughter, violinist Midori sent in a photo and even scientist Jane Goodall participated in the campaign.
The overwhelming response from women’s education supporters worldwide prompted Curl and Shareef to compile all the photos into a book. The Secretary-General presented Yousafzai with the book on her 16th birthday, when she visited the United Nations headquarters in New York.
A year has passed since #GirlWithABook was published, but the excitement over the movement continues.
Recently, Curl and Shareef were invited to participate in a conversation about the Millennium Development Goals as a part of the U.N.’s 500 days of action. On August 18, the girls spent the day at United Nations headquarters, along with 500 other young people.
They had the opportunity to meet face to face with Yousafzai and her father, who showered the girls with words of encouragement to continue their advocacy efforts.
Lena Shareef speaks on behalf of her partner when she describes the future of #GirlWithABook: “If Malala wants us to keep going, then there’s no question that we will.”
– Grace Flaherty
Sources: UN
Photo: UN
How Carbon Can Power Solar Energy
According to the World Bank, renewable and efficient energy are key to overcoming global poverty. Researchers have recently found that carbon-based materials can offer some of the most effective sources of renewable solar energy.
The first source is an all-carbon solar cell developed by researchers at Stanford University. As the name suggests, the cell uses carbon to replace traditional silver and indium tin oxide, which are far more expensive.
What proves most beneficial about the cell is the consistency. The prototype is a thin film, and because of this, it can be placed on top of existing equipment to gather energy. This means new windows or panes do not need to be retrofitted to the new design. Instead the film can simply be placed on top and the energy will generate.
The product is still in the developmental stages, thus not yet reaching the levels of silicon solar panels. This is partially because the carbon-based material needs infrared light to function. While this is problematic, researchers are confident that they can adjust the material to make it a potent form of energy that can be used around the world.
Another carbon-based material has also been found as an excellent steam generator. Solar-powered steam is effective for electricity, but there are other uses that make it ideal for areas of the world whose only natural resource is sunlight. These include refrigeration, sterilization, chemical purification and waste treatment.
Despite its many beneficial uses, it will be hard to pass these on at a commercial level. While it might take a while, it seems that the researchers at MIT are confident about solar energy.
The verdict on both of these carbon-based materials seems to be similar: they can be quite effective but are still in nascent stages. However, the research that has happened up to this point has proven to be very promising. Researchers have looked into several different solutions to each of the unique problems posed. The big incentive backing it should be enough cause to act.
– Andrew Rywak
Sources: The Economist, Scientific American, Gizmag
Photo: Gizmag
Afghan Sikhs Found in Shipping Container
Thirty-five undocumented immigrants were discovered after screams for help were heard coming from a metal shipping container at Tilbury Port in Essex, England.
The immigrants, now identified as families of Afghan Sikhs, were suffering from hypothermia and dehydration on their nine hour journey across the English Channel in which one man, named as Meet Singh Kapoor, lost his life. The shipping container didn’t contain enough ventilation holes and the stowaways were drifting in and out of consciousness in the pitch black.
The 34 survivors included a baby, 13 children and a 72-year-old man. All were taken to Basildon University Hospital to receive emergency medical treatment once discovered.
A homicide investigation is being launched into Meet Singh Kapoor’s death. His children and wife were also hidden away in the container which was full of pallets of a bottled cleaning fluid behind which the families were able to hide from boarder inspectors. Another investigation is underway into the human trafficking network that brought the families 4,000 miles from Afghanistan, across Europe in a lorry and into the “metal coffin.”
Afghan Sikhs are a persecuted minority in Afghanistan where 99 percent of the population is Muslim. When the Taliban ruled, the Sikh families were forced to wear yellow armbands to identify themselves. Despite their new legal protection under the country’s constitution, they are still harassed and persecuted.
In Afghanistan in the 1970’s, the Afghan Sikh community numbered 50,000, but this number dwindled when the soviets invaded in the 1980’s and then again when the Taliban came to power and imposed strict Islamic sharia law in the 1990’s.
An Essex Police spokesman said the Afghan Sikhs found in the container as well as the other family members would be taken to a “suitable location” by Border Force officials, although it is understood they are not in immigration detention.
– Charles Bell
Sources: Mail Online, The Telegraph, euronews
Photo: Standard
Change the World: People-to-People Partnership
Creative Learning is a nonprofit dedicated to building peace and breaking down culture barriers through people-to-people partnership. It reaches its goal by supporting three local programs: Aid to Artisans, America’s Unofficial Ambassadors and School-2-School.
Aid to Artisans joined the Creative Learning in 2006, and provides opportunities to low-income artisans in the world of sustainable business. Its training program, Market Readiness Program, teaches the artisans marketing principles, profitable business strategies, how to determine price according to cost and how to enter the American market.
Artisans can receive insights of the market and understand the complicated structure of U.S. market. They also network with other artisans and share their experiences.
America’s Unofficial Ambassador (AUA) is a citizen initiative to encourage Americans to volunteer in the Muslim World to meet the most urgent needs such as education and technology.
A poll from TIME indicates that 62 percent of Americans say that they have never met a Muslim in their lives. The goal of this initiative is to change this by establishing mutual understanding and eliminating mistrust between Americans and the Muslim World. By December 2013, at least 35 ambassadors volunteered in Muslim World and shared their stories after completing their missions.
As an extension of the AUA initiative’s education goal, School-2-School (S2S) integrates virtual cultural program and direct volunteering to benefit both sides. In 2014, S2S brought together Alderman Road Elementary School in Fayetteville, North Carolina with Sukma Bangsa schools in Aceh, Indonesia. Students can meet regularly through internet-based classes and teacher Andi Webb from Alderman will visit Sukma Bangsa schools in Indonesia.
The S2S program has partnerships in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Panama, Philippines, Uganda and the United States. The students from both sides will start to make friends, increase mutual understanding and transcend the stereotype of “the other.”
– Jing Xu
Sources: America’s Unofficial Ambassadors, Creative Learning.org 1, AUA: School-2-School, Creative Learning: Aid to Artisans>, Creative Learning: AUA, Aid to Artisans, Creative Learning.org 2
Photo: Global Giving
Nestle Protects Farmers’ Land Rights
One of the world’s largest food companies recently made landmark commitments to ensure that small-scale farmers and their property are protected from land grabs. More specifically, Nestle committed to a specific set of policy provisions to hold its company and its suppliers accountable.
This new effort is designed to ensure that absolutely no land grabs take place in the harvesting of ingredients for Nestle’s products and that the company harvests products only from places where the land has not been illegally or unfairly taken from their owners.
Furthermore, Nestle has said that it will work to identify opportunities for men and women who currently do not own land to gain property and help support their families. The company will also work to ensure that women who own land will remain secure in their rights and that their rights will be equal to those of men.
These commitments allow Nestle to improve the rights of land owners already incorporated into their supply chain, as well as those who have the opportunity to gain access to land. The company will also proactively identify potential risks to each farmer’s land rights and take steps to reduce or avoid these risks completely.
While these new commitments constitute a very worthy action, Nestle has taken it a step further by advocating for each farmer’s land rights. The company has stated its desire to strengthen its efforts in assisting disadvantaged individuals and indigenous people whose rights are not currently respected or recognized.
Nestle has also announced its support for the U.N. Committee on World Food Security Voluntary Guidelines on Governance of Tenure and will promote development of public information and warning systems to help ensure that rights are respected and that no land grabs take place.
These actions that Nestle has taken are notable and admirable steps toward respecting and protecting the rights of farmers who own land.
– Andre Gobbo
Sources: Oxfam, Nestle, FAO
Photo: Oxfam
Corruption Kills Millions, Steals Trillions
In a report released by ONE, an anti-poverty organization, it is estimated that corruption causes 3.6 million unnecessary deaths and costs poor countries $1 trillion each year.
Using three different methodologies to calculate the cost of corruption, all three measures indicated that the loss was either $1 trillion or $2 trillion.
In what is called a “trillion dollar scandal,” corrupt business practices, “anonymous shell companies, money laundering and illegal tax evasion” all serve to severely reduce the effectiveness of poverty relief efforts.
While extreme poverty has been reduced to half its original level over the past 20 years and has the potential to be completely eradicated by 2030, corruption is putting much of that progress at risk.
While corruption is damaging in almost all countries, it is especially dangerous in poorer and developing countries and mostly affects children. It is estimated that millions of deaths could be avoided if corruption was combated and recovered funds were reinvested in essential fields.
Furthermore, the money that is siphoned out of poor countries is not from international development aid, which has helped make a considerable improvement, but rather directly from businesses in these countries. The money is generated by domestic businesses and illegally extracted out of the country. The largest source of financial drain is the illegal manipulation of cross-border trade.
The organization found that even recovering a small amount of the money lost to corruption could dramatically affect development. In Sub-Saharan Africa, a small amount of recovered funds could provide an education to an additional 10 million children each year; pay for an additional 500,000 primary school teachers; provide antiretroviral drugs for more 11 million people with HIV/AIDS and buy nearly 165 million vaccines.
The report stresses action that serves to end the secrecy that allows corruption to thrive. If specific policies were implemented that increased transparency and combated corruption in the four areas of “natural resource deals, the use of phantom firms, tax evasion and money laundering,” developing countries could considerably stem the financial drain.
Natural resources in particular can provide a vital source of funds that could greatly increase economic growth in many developing countries. Corruption concerning natural resources is particularly bad, with approximately 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa rich in natural resources but receiving few benefits from these reserves.
Specifically, One calls for mandatory reporting laws for the natural resource sectors and publish open data so citizens are able to track where travels from and to, ensuring that the funds are not lost to corruption.
Published in anticipation of the G20 meeting in Brisbane, Australia in November, the organization stresses the importance for the G20 nations to address the issue. Now that the cost of corruption has been defined in real terms, the fight against corruption can become more directed and effective.
— William Ying
Sources: ONE 1, ONE 2, ONE 3, BBC, The Guardian, ABC News, Yahoo News
Photo: Blogspot
Malnutrition in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone has both one of the highest malnutrition rates and one of the highest child mortality rates. More than a third of children are chronically malnourished; in 2010, 22 percent were underweight, 44 percent were stunted, or had a low height for their age and eight percent were wasted, or had a low weight for their height.
The child mortality rate is 267 deaths per 1,000 children. Almost half of these premature deaths are caused by malnutrition.
The major influence in the high malnutrition rate is the lack of breastfeeding. Only eight percent of infants are breastfed. The rest are given insufficient substitutes, sometimes water.
Because of the conflict in Sierra Leone’s recent past, malnutrition has only recently come into focus as a concern. Even now, malnutrition is one of the most neglected areas of concern for the country. Despite Sierra Leone’s economic growth, the number of underweight children has increased 24 percent.
With such a high rate of malnutrition, many organizations are working to lessen the number of those malnourished.
One focus has been to vary diets, many of which consist mostly of rice. Farmer Field Schools were developed to increase agricultural productivity, but they have now been adapted to teach farmers how to raise more nutritious crops.
These Field Schools also connect farmers to markets where they can sell their crops.
Mother-to-mother support groups have also been set up. These target the community level by educating women to teach others. They also report instances of malnourishment that they see.
A total of 1,228 Peripheral Health Units are running in Sierra Leone, too. They serve around 5,000 people each by providing medical care and nutrition services.
The WFP, UNICEF and WHO have also started their own supplementary feeding programs and centers.
There are 63 WFP-organized supplementary feeding centers in western Sierra Leone, which have reached almost 50,000 children. They are funded by the government of Japan.
Children who are under 70 percent of a normal body weight are admitted.
The centers give children sugar, oil and a modified cereal that is enriched with micronutrients. The UNICEF centers provide high-protein biscuits, therapeutic milk and a complex of vitamins and minerals.
Parents also receive health and nutrition education from the centers. Many parents believe that milk and eggs are bad for children, and this education corrects these notions. They also teach parents how to provide supplemental feedings.
After they provide rations and education, the centers continue to monitor the progress of the children. They check to make sure children do not develop pneumonia or diarrhea, and they check to ensure that the child’s health improves.
Sierra Leone faces many struggles as they attempt to combat malnutrition. The constraints for aid range from low funds, to a lack of data for what is needed, to low governmental support.
Staff are often underqualified, and there is frequent turnover. The low numbers of personnel lead to less knowledge being passed to the people who need it, as information is diluted passing from person to person.
Mothers have low incentives to help their children because they are often blamed for their children’s poor health. They see it as shameful to admit their children are malnourished, so they do not seek help.
Many nutrition efforts have seen an added strain from the recent Ebola outbreak, as well. Sierra Leone has been upgraded to a Level Three food emergency, the highest threat level.
Despite these setbacks, Sierra Leone is working hard to increase the health of its population. The country is making progress, but there is still work to be done to decrease malnutrition in the country.
– Monica Roth
Sources: WFP, UNICEF, Reuters, New Internationalist
Photo: Sorenbosteendahl
Helping Hand for Relief and Development in Action
Ninety percent of the Helping Hand for Relief and Development’s (HHRD) funds are spent on the programs and services it delivers. HHRD is a nonprofit based out of Detroit, Michigan and prides itself on being known as a group of “Muslims for Humanity.”
The organization responds to emergencies and disasters all over the world with a focus on those living in poverty. Apart from disaster relief programs, HHRD also works on long term projects including economic empowerment, livelihood, orphan and widow support and skills development.
Founded in 2005, the HHRD believes in the Islamic principle of helping those who are in need. The organization works to strengthen the human condition regardless of gender, religion or ethnicity. Their core values seek to recognize the innate worth of all people, ensure equity and justice, increase transparency and advocate mutual respect.
In the event of a natural disaster, HHRD provides food, clothing and medical relief to the troubled area. It does not simply come in to provide relief and then leave once the chaos of the disaster has been subdued. Following a catastrophe, the nonprofit supports physiotherapy and donates artificial limbs for victims in need. It rebuilds homes and schools in affected areas, as well.
It also sponsors rehabilitation centers, supports home construction and contributes to career programs. The organization has scholarships available for students in need. Apart from direct contributions, HHRD also raises awareness through campaigns such as its walk for tuberculosis.
Partnering with organizations ranging from small community support groups to international relief programs, HHRD is funded predominately by private donors. In addition, it receives funding from big names including the World Food Program and the World Health Organization. Corporations such as Microsoft serve as match partners, agreeing to match HHRD’s private donor gifts.
This nonprofit works all over the globe—particularly in areas considered under the poverty line, such as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
With the current events surrounding ISIS and other terrorist organizations, the religion of Islam often gets unfairly labeled as a violent religion. HHRD’s mission and life-altering work is the perfect example to prove the negative stereotype wrong.
– Caroline Logan
Sources: HHRD, Charity Navigator
Photo: Helping-hand-online