The U.N. Relief and Works Agency’s (UNWRA) health program has dramatically decreased the risk of communicable and vaccine-preventable diseases among Palestinian refugees in Syria. However, doing such great work is challenging among crowded refugee camps that are not easily accessible. The threat of contagious diseases is always present.
The threat of a potential typhoid outbreak spreading to the capital of Damascus was prevalent in July, had UNWRA not been allowed to help. The largest “unofficial” camp at Yarmouk emptied of Palestinian refugees after fighting began between Islamic State, local groups and government forces. Refugees are temporarily in Yalda and other towns close by controlled by armed groups that have reached deals with the government. The groups have strong leaders and civilian committees that collaborate with UN agencies.
UNWRA was able to deliver whatever was needed to refugees between April 23 and June 8. They provided 6,000 food parcels each month, and healthcare. Since June 8, UNWRA has no longer been allowed, as a result of assassinations in Yalda, supposedly by insurgents. Those inaccessible places saw the loss of UNWRA host areas for the distribution of water and medical services.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent and other aid organizations have little access to these areas where there is a strong need for water purification tablets and hygiene kits. In a similar situation last year, access was eventually granted. In other parts of Syria, 10,000 Palestinians have been displaced to a small Aleppo camp with no electricity or water. To the east of Aleppo city, the large Neirab camp is under government control.
UNWRA has done everything it can in the places it can access. UNWRA staff wasted no time when they heard about the potential typhoid outbreak in Yarmouk. They took blood and water samples from those who showed symptoms, and within 24 hours typhoid medicine was delivered to Yarmouk. Currently, the number of cases is decreasing and under control.
UNWRA is hopeful about preventing outbreaks, with its rapid response of reporting cases to UNWRA senior staff, having medicine in Damascus office and 3 month supply kept at clinics. The concern for areas that are not easily accessible is still present.
Agencies are preparing for worsening conditions in Deraa and Aleppo. Before the conflict started in 2011, there were 560,000 Palestinian refugees registered with the UNWRA in Syria; today, there are 480,000, 95 percent of which need constant aid. The number of consultations for medical services has gone up from 100 to 500.
Palestinian refugees are closed off from Jordan and Lebanon, which leaves them with two options: staying in a war zone or being smuggled to Turkey, where they will take unreliable boats to Europe.
UNWRA needs $414 million just for Syria this year due to the 2014 appeal being only half funded. Due to under-funding, it will have to postpone the school year for 700 schools for half a million children unless they receive $101 million from donors by August. A source believes they should qualify, considering they are one of the countries taking part in the US-led campaign against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, which already has cost $5 billion.
UNWRA devotes half of its budget to education; schools ensure continuity and stability for children in conflicted Syria and Gaza, unstable Lebanon, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Jordan, all trying to manage the influx of Palestinian and Syrian refugees.
In the past decade, donor contributions have not kept up with population growth. UNWRA offers protection and services to 5 million refugees, but it currently only has enough money to provide relief and healthcare, leaving education out of the equation.
– Paula Acevedo
Sources: Europa, Irish Times
Photo: Mashable
Mahatma Gandhi Employment Program: Women and Poverty
A new report by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in India is calling the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Scheme a success, though maybe not quite as large of one as was hoped.
Using data from two rounds of the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) which involved more than 26,000 rural Indian households, the surveyors determined that the MGNREGS program helped reduce poverty by up to 32 percent and kept an estimated 14 million people from falling into poverty.
While overall economic growth contributed significantly to the reduction in total poverty, and the impact of the program is smaller than hoped, the authors of the study said the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Scheme did play a significant role in lowering the overall poverty level.
The researchers found that the program did not add days of employment in rural economies, but did succeed in pulling workers into more productive lines of work, thereby increasing overall incomes. The program, which works to ensure at least 100 days of paid employment each year, also proved to be a powerful tool for providing women with employment opportunities.
An estimated 45 percent of the women enrolled in the MGNREGS program had either never worked, or worked only on the family farm. “This may well be the first opportunity many women have to earn cash income,” said the authors of the report. Female employment not only creates greater overall family incomes but increases women’s control of resources, giving them greater independence.
Children from MGNREGS households also saw direct benefits the report found, with them being more likely to obtain higher education than their non-MGNREGS peers. One reason for the disparity, the researchers offered, was that children in non-enrolled households were more likely to be working instead of attending school.
The one thing holding back the program, according to the report, is work rationing, the issue MGNREGS has with meeting the high demand. Despite high interest in the program, erratic funds and trouble implementing them has left the program with high levels of unmet demand, said Jugal Kishore Mohapatra, secretary at the Ministry of Rural Development.
Despite uncertain results, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Scheme, also known as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, has been hailed by the Indian government as “the largest and most ambitious social security and public works program in the world.” In 2014, the World Development Report referred to the program as a “stellar example of rural development.”
So, while there have been bumps in the road, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has shown itself to be a successful venture, with much room to grow, and a lot of help to offer India’s poorest.
– Gina Lehner
Sources: The Hindu, MGNREGS-AP
Photo: imagenes
Child Family Health International at a Glance
There is a plethora of organizations working toward the betterment of our world and the people living in it, however, they often do not get the attention or credit they deserve. So let’s shine a little spotlight on one and take a minute to appreciate others’ hard work and the power of teamwork.
Child Family Health International (CFHI) is a nonprofit organization that is focused on global health education. They offer education programs for individuals interested in global health and related careers. Here are three ways CFHI is working towards improving global health.
Educate Future Global Health Crusaders
CFHI offers education programs for students or volunteers to gain experience with the clinical practices, public health and social services in developing nations. They work within Latin America, Africa and India.
Participants of community-based Global Health CFHI programs can gain the valuable experience needed to build their resumes or earn college credit. CFHI offers more than twenty different programs in seven countries that work within and with the local community on projects like providing healthcare for underserved communities in the Himalayas to training midwives in Oaxaca.
Integrates into the Local Health Care Community
CFHI recognizes that there are already health care professionals and experts residing in the community they are working in and have partnered with existing health care providers. By utilizing local community leaders and health workers, CFHI helps support the development of opportunities for their international partners.
They invest in the continuing of their educations by offering scholarships for higher degrees and including locals in conferences and workshops. CFHI holds that students can learn not only from CFHI staff but also from those living in the communities they are working with.
Invests in Host Community
Students who participate in a CFHI education program pay a fee, which is common amongst study abroad experiences. However, unlike many other programs, CFHI invests half of a student’s fee back into the community they will be working and learning in. The invested funds work to bolster the economy of the countries CFHI works with and compensate the communities for their time, expertise and hospitality.
– Brittney Dimond
Sources: Child Family Health International 1, Child Family Health International 2, GoAbroad.com
Photo: Flickr
Ending Extreme Poverty: Politics Weighs Us Down
In November, The United Nations Climate Change Summit will commence in Paris, France, the last of three paired conferences that set to discuss action regarding two great problems of our time: extreme poverty and climate change. Even though extreme poverty has been cut in half since 1980, political systems are making it difficult to envision the end of extreme poverty by 2030.
Since 2000 when the UN adopted the Millennial Development Goals (MDGs), major victories have been made in regard to extreme poverty. Compared to 1990, the number of people in the world living on less than $1.25 per day has dropped from 1.9 billion to 836 million.
Despite the efforts of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implemented in September 2015, politics may be halting the fight to eradicate extreme poverty.
Due to war and climate change, 59.5 million people worldwide have left their homes, a global displacement figure that has not been this high since World War II.
With this high displacement, the European Union (EU) has failed to find homes for a mere 60,000 asylum seekers. Since the EU has a population of over 500 million, political leaders have no excuse for finding homes.
In regards to the UN’s Third Financing for Development Summit this past July in Ethiopia, the goal was to discuss ways to finance the end to extreme poverty in 2030.
One key phrase from the conference linked climate, environment, and development: “All of our actions need to be underpinned by our strong commitment to protect and preserve our planet and natural resources, our biodiversity and our climate.”
Unfortunately, no dates or commitment to the clause ensures physical action, lacking a sense of urgency that should be present.
As the Climate Change summit approaches, world leaders will decide a necessary strategy in regard to the growing problem with climate change and its connection to extreme poverty.
With only 15 years left to solve extreme poverty, world leaders and the general population cannot expect the matter to solve itself. More compromise and effort is needed with all world leaders to solve extreme poverty.
– Alexandra Korman
Sources: Arab News, Devex, Irish Examiner
Photo: Flickr
5 Things to Expect from the Post-2015 Development Agenda
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are set to expire at the end of 2015, and a new proposal of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be discussed in September. MDGs have helped alleviate poverty and hunger, reduce fatality rates for children under 5, improve maternal health and help prevent HIV/AIDS from spreading.
For the last 15 years, the MDGs have been the most important global humanitarian effort to help improve living conditions in developing countries. The SDGs have an even more ambitious agenda and will involve all member states instead of just developing countries.
Here are 5 things you can expect from the Post-2015 Development Agenda
If the commitment to the MDGs is a sign of things to come, then there will be many success stories involving the new SDGs.
– Donald Gering
Sources: End Poverty 2015, Global Education, Green Biz, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Internet.org, LA Times, UN
Photo: concorditalia
Syrian Town Affected by Decline in Health Care
Syrian towns are lacking healthcare services. The Islamic State’s rules make the situation worse with the segregation of the genders and having to treat fighters before civilians.
The Islamic State (IS) has convinced thousands of foreign fighters and their families to flee to Syria where they will build a great place for them to live. Syrians in IS-controlled cities like Raqqa, believe they’re providing basic governance despite the civil war. IS has done a pretty good job with their recruiting efforts and getting funds through oil sales, taxes and extortions to continue their fight and gain more control.
Syrians, however, are in serious need of better healthcare services, especially women, to avoid a potential HIV/AIDS outbreak. Syrians feel that their health care was better under President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which covered most medical costs. Now, hospitals are charging and medications are hard to come by in pharmacies.
The IS hospitals are pretty limited given that they can’t do complex surgeries and procedures or treat cancer patients. As a result, Syrians are going to regime-controlled areas for medications and for complex procedures. The trip is worth it given the price disparity, for example, with a blood test that costs $10 at a public hospital and $20 at a private clinic.
The biggest problem is IS’s gender rules that hurt more women than men, especially in the case of emergencies. A woman cannot be seen by a man unless the husband and son are present. This problem is magnified during airstrikes by the Assad regime or U.S. led coalition forces. Fortunately, on one night, the IS let go of its gender rules.
The hospitals are already understaffed and supplemented by volunteer foreign doctors, Arab and Western, who lack experience with war-zone injuries. Fortunately, for the people of Raqqa, the IS hospitals are better equipped than rebel-controlled territories.
There is, however, a potential HIV/AID outbreak in the region. According to the activist group, Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, various factors are contributing to this. Among them are blood transfusions without adequate screening, foreign and local fighters injecting drugs, short-term marriages, and high turnover of partners. Under the Assad regime, everyone would check for HIV/AIDS before marriage. Due to the threat, IS is bringing equipment from Mosul, Iraq, where they have a strong base.
Fortunately, for the people of Raqqa, the IS is responding to the need of abandoning gender rules during airstrikes and getting necessary equipment, but more needs to be done so these people can live peaceful, stable lives.
– Paula Acevedo
Sources: The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post
Photo: Flickr
Meet Flo
When living in poverty, girls beginning the transition into puberty can face difficult challenges. Due to being unable to access affordable sanitary items, many young girls have to use reusable menstrual pads, and the process is often time-consuming and dangerously unsanitary. The lack of access to cheap and affordable sanitary products is a scary thought for many women, and for these young girls, it has consequences beyond hygiene.
In many countries with extreme poverty there are stigmas against puberty for women, and many young girls fear their menstrual cycle and will drop out of school in order to hide at home. The students from the Art Center College of Design created a solution to this problem.
Meet “Flo”, an invention that allows young women living in extreme poverty a multi-purpose device for more effectively dry, sanitary and discreetly concealed reusable menstrual pads. Flo was created by the James Dyson Foundation, which released a video explaining how the device makes periods safer and less disruptive to young women’s lives.
On the website, the James Dyson Foundation talks about what makes Flo so unique. A statement released states, “Girls will have access to dry, clean pads that can reduce illness and will be more comfortable, both physically and emotionally. Girls will be able to work around their menstrual cycle and be in control…By having control over their menstrual cycle, girls do not have to give up their dreams and can be empowered to pursue what they want to become.”
– Elizabeth Steadman
Sources: GOOD, Metro, James Dyson Award,
Photo: Flickr
Microsoft Creates Employment Opportunities Overseas
In a continued effort to increase its network to reach over seven million people across the Middle East and Africa by the end of the year, Microsoft is looking to create over 100,000 new job opportunities via partnerships with public, private and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Microsoft’s target markets for what it refers to as future “employability platforms” to include Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Botswana, Algeria and Ghana, and will eventually expand into 21 Middle Eastern and African countries.
According to Microsoft Middle East and Africa’s corporate vice president Ali Faramawy, employment opportunities for poor communities will have to be realized by helping to establish business-friendly climates and specialized training for higher-level students.
“Part of the unemployment problem is caused by a lack of economic opportunity as well as the fact that graduates from secondary and tertiary institutions lack the skills required by employers,” she said. “But there is no shortage of determination and even in a country like Iraq that has been faced with some dire situations, our platform has helped put 30,000 youths into jobs in the past 14 months.”
Microsoft has launched a number of initiatives aimed at providing grant funding, leadership mentoring and specialized training to a wide range of civilians, from motivated students at the secondary levels of education to already-established startups looking for financial backing.
One such initiative is known as EmployMentor, a Microsoft program that aims to provide female tech and business graduates with job opportunities and entrepreneurial guidance throughout Africa. Over the course of the weeklong training program, participants engage in mock interviews, business case studies and financial-modeling training aimed at providing them experience with real-world business scenarios.
Another initiative has provided innovation grants to seven African startup companies, a program that was announced at Microsoft’s 4Afrika Advisory Council meeting in Nairobi in November 2014. Through the program, seven startups received funding, technical support and mentorship to stimulate their growth.
According to Microsoft’s general manager of Africa Initiatives Fernando de Sousa, Microsoft’s business grants largely go to startups that focus on sustainable and wide-reaching solutions.
“We’re supporting startups that have developed their solutions beyond the idea stage. They are either in the process of acquiring their first batch of clients or well under way in expanding their existing portfolio of clients,” he said. “All startups have created solutions that are addressing key sectors fuelling growth across the continent.”
With its employment and entrepreneurial training initiatives in Africa, Microsoft is setting an example for American companies looking to help those in poor and developing countries while simultaneously creating opportunities for themselves to tap into new and emerging markets. When companies invest in the lives of those living in poor communities, they are helping to create business-friendly conditions in emerging markets, and are creating opportunities for both American companies and African students in ways that are more direct and involved than vaguely directed aid contributions.
– Zach VeShancey
Sources: African Business Review, Microsoft, , Naija 247 News
Photo: Flickr
Potential Typhoid Outbreak in Syria
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency’s (UNWRA) health program has dramatically decreased the risk of communicable and vaccine-preventable diseases among Palestinian refugees in Syria. However, doing such great work is challenging among crowded refugee camps that are not easily accessible. The threat of contagious diseases is always present.
The threat of a potential typhoid outbreak spreading to the capital of Damascus was prevalent in July, had UNWRA not been allowed to help. The largest “unofficial” camp at Yarmouk emptied of Palestinian refugees after fighting began between Islamic State, local groups and government forces. Refugees are temporarily in Yalda and other towns close by controlled by armed groups that have reached deals with the government. The groups have strong leaders and civilian committees that collaborate with UN agencies.
UNWRA was able to deliver whatever was needed to refugees between April 23 and June 8. They provided 6,000 food parcels each month, and healthcare. Since June 8, UNWRA has no longer been allowed, as a result of assassinations in Yalda, supposedly by insurgents. Those inaccessible places saw the loss of UNWRA host areas for the distribution of water and medical services.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent and other aid organizations have little access to these areas where there is a strong need for water purification tablets and hygiene kits. In a similar situation last year, access was eventually granted. In other parts of Syria, 10,000 Palestinians have been displaced to a small Aleppo camp with no electricity or water. To the east of Aleppo city, the large Neirab camp is under government control.
UNWRA has done everything it can in the places it can access. UNWRA staff wasted no time when they heard about the potential typhoid outbreak in Yarmouk. They took blood and water samples from those who showed symptoms, and within 24 hours typhoid medicine was delivered to Yarmouk. Currently, the number of cases is decreasing and under control.
UNWRA is hopeful about preventing outbreaks, with its rapid response of reporting cases to UNWRA senior staff, having medicine in Damascus office and 3 month supply kept at clinics. The concern for areas that are not easily accessible is still present.
Agencies are preparing for worsening conditions in Deraa and Aleppo. Before the conflict started in 2011, there were 560,000 Palestinian refugees registered with the UNWRA in Syria; today, there are 480,000, 95 percent of which need constant aid. The number of consultations for medical services has gone up from 100 to 500.
Palestinian refugees are closed off from Jordan and Lebanon, which leaves them with two options: staying in a war zone or being smuggled to Turkey, where they will take unreliable boats to Europe.
UNWRA needs $414 million just for Syria this year due to the 2014 appeal being only half funded. Due to under-funding, it will have to postpone the school year for 700 schools for half a million children unless they receive $101 million from donors by August. A source believes they should qualify, considering they are one of the countries taking part in the US-led campaign against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, which already has cost $5 billion.
UNWRA devotes half of its budget to education; schools ensure continuity and stability for children in conflicted Syria and Gaza, unstable Lebanon, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Jordan, all trying to manage the influx of Palestinian and Syrian refugees.
In the past decade, donor contributions have not kept up with population growth. UNWRA offers protection and services to 5 million refugees, but it currently only has enough money to provide relief and healthcare, leaving education out of the equation.
– Paula Acevedo
Sources: Europa, Irish Times
Photo: Mashable
The Role of XPRIZE in Ending Poverty
Lack of access to sanitation and agriculture; the inability to maintain infrastructure or attend school—these are just some of the issues addressed by non-profit organizations aiming to combat global poverty. XPRIZE, one such non-profit, comes at the problem from a different angle by focusing on what the organization believes to be a need for ending poverty and spurring development: competition.
According to the organization’s website, “an XPRIZE is a highly leveraged, incentivized prize competition that pushes the limits of what’s possible to change the world for the better.” This group believes that innovation can solve the world’s problems, and competition created by the website and sponsors will foster this innovation.
There are eleven highlighted prize competitions listed on the website: Adult Literacy, Global Learning, Qualcomm Tricorder, Google Lunar, Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health, Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE, Ansari, Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander XCHALLENGE, Progressive Insurance Automotive, Archon Genomics and Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup XCHALLENGE.
Some of these have already had winners selected, some are just beginning and some have finalist teams chosen. These competitions each fall within one of the “grand challenge” categories, which are Energy and Environment, Exploration, Global Development and Learning and Life Sciences.
A number of competitions involve using technology to improve access to education or healthcare. The Ansari XPRIZE was the first competition in 1996 and was awarded in 2004 to Mojave Aerospace Ventures for the creation of an aircraft capable of private space flight.
This competition relies on public participation, as well. People around the world can go online to see the current competitions and the guidelines for each and can vote for which competitions they would like to see in the future. Furthermore, anyone can join or create a team, with the idea being to have experts and amateurs in fields working creatively to produce solutions to global issues.
Through this unique approach, according to its website, XPRIZE is “spurring innovation and accelerating the rate of positive change.” By creating competition, problems caused by poverty are being and continue to be solved and brought to public attention.
– Rachelle Kredentser
Sources: Forbes, Philanthropy, XPRIZE 1, XPRIZE 2, XPRIZE 3
Sources: Global Learning XPRIZE
BioLite HomeStove for Safe, Sustainable Energy
In the developed world of today, it is difficult to imagine cooking food over a hazy smoke of open fire for everyday consumption. Unfortunately, this is the reality of life for an estimated 3 billion people worldwide.
In addition to the hassle of such a method of energy consumption as open fires, there is an added danger of hazardous, toxic byproducts from the smoke accumulating in the houses where it is used. Over four million people die annually from indoor air pollution. Burning of wood or oil creates hazardous gases, including carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is not only a notorious greenhouse gas contributing to global warming and climate change, but is also exceedingly dangerous if it accumulates. As the carbon dioxide builds up in houses in absence of proper ventilation, the gas can turn into lethal carbon monoxide.
The usage of wood, oil and kerosene is expensive as well. These fuel resources are also not sustainable, environmentally or financially. As these resources become scarcer, the prices for these commodities also rise, which makes the usage of these fuels for cooking unfeasible.
BioLite, a company that makes energy-efficient stoves and lights, has a solution to these problems: biomass-fueled home stoves. The company initially manufactured camp stoves that utilized easily available biomass such as wood, dried leaves and the like, turning the biomass into heat for cooking as well as other purposes, such as charging a phone or an LED flashlight. The company has extended the same principle to the manufacture of BioLite HomeStoves. Their cookstoves have been distributed in many developing countries, including India and Uganda.
The stove uses the same energy sources as used in open fires, including wood. The difference lies in the efficiency of energy consumption. The device harvests and recycles much of the energy produced, therefore ensuring less smoke and harmful byproducts, and more value for the money spent. The heat not used for cooking is converted into electricity by the use of a thermoelectric generator: the electrical energy produced can be used to charge a cell phone. The rest of the energy powers a fan which ensures a continuous supply of oxygen to the fuel being burnt. This is an essential component of the stove, as it increases the combustion of the fuel, which improves fuel efficiency, and reduces the production of toxic byproducts.
The device dramatically reduces the amount of smoke – and consequently toxic gases – produced as a result of open fires. The manufacturer estimates a 91 percent reduction of carbon monoxide produced as a result of using BioLite HomeStove and 94 percent smoke reduction. The usage of this stove over traditional methods also saves poor families $200 annually, on average, by using almost half as much fuel per year. The two watts of energy produced can be used to charge a multitude of portable devices.
With all the advantages that the BioLite HomeStove has to offer, it still has a pricing issue. The stoves cost about $100, and although the device gives a return of almost twice its value within a year, the price might make it inaccessible for many people. Despite these initial problems, the success of the device is likely to spur further innovation that can overcome these difficulties as well.
– Atifah Safi
Sources: BioLite Stove, Acumen
Photo: fm.cnbc