Ending child malnutrition in Mexico is the main goal for the “Va por mi cuenta” (“It’s on me”) movement. They serve more than 20,000 meals per month to children living under vulnerable conditions.
As of today, the “Va por mi cuenta” movement has four “Nuestro Comedor” dining rooms located in the state of Mexico: in Metepec, Chalco and Ecatepec. The fourth dining room is located in Mexico city.
The movement plans to collect a minimum amount of 100 million pesos during a period of 5 years in order to construct ten “Nuestro Comedor” child dining rooms. According to the movement’s website, these dining rooms will provide 2,530,000 meals and feed 2,300 children daily.
“Va por mi cuenta” has the support of different companies, brands, and restaurant chains that, through different mechanics of collection, provide help advance the movement’s prospects.
Some of the brands that collaborate with “Va por mi cuenta” are Alsea, Starbucks, Burger King, Domino’s, PayPal, Flock, X Design, California Pizza Kitchen, Chili’s, and Pei Wei, among others.
Alsea is the responsible for addressing and responding to the concerns and requirements that participants may have. Alsea is also responsible for coordinating the movement’s partnerships.
This foundation canalizes the funds raised by the movement into the construction and operation of “Nuestro Comedor” dining rooms, and it monitors and reports results.
The fast food restaurant chain, Burger King, has also partnered with the “Va por mi cuenta” movement. All Burger King locations in Mexico support the movement by making a donation for every single ice cream cone the restaurant sells.
In 2013, Burger King donated 1 peso for every single ice cream cone that the restaurants sold, and 2 pesos for every double ice cream cone.
Domino’s, the pizza restaurant chain, also contributes to the movement. Domino’s Mexico locations allocate a percentage from the sale of two of their products to the “Va por mi cuenta” movement.
The sale of the restaurant’s “Canelazo Bites” and “Pakecompartas”—a package deal that includes a pizza, chicken strips, and french fries—funds Domino’s donations to “Va por mi cuenta”.
Domino’s also contributes to the movement by encouraging Mexican artists to contribute their own designs for pizza and “Canelazo Bites” boxes. Notable Mexican artists that have contributed to this project and the “Va por mi cuenta” movement are Kari Mayo, Jorge Tellaeche, and amoATO Studio.
The Starbucks coffee chain’s Mexican locations have begun to sell bracelets with the Starbucks and “Va por mi cuenta” insignia written on them in order to contribute to the “Va por mi cuenta” movement. The purpose of the bracelet is to invite children that are most in need to a meal.
By visiting the restaurants that have signed on to help the “Va por mi cuenta” movement, consumers are also becoming a part of the effort by contributing their purchases.
Individuals could also independently contribute to the cause by making donations through Banco Santander, or by contributing an “invite” to meals via PayPal.
The “Va por mi cuenta” movement is fighting to eradicate child malnutrition in Mexico. By constructing “Nuestro Comedor” dining rooms, and with the help of different brands, restaurant chains and corporations, the movement is little by little making a greater impact on Mexican children who suffer from malnutrition.
– Diana Fernanda Leon
Sources: Alsea, Eclecticmex, Dominos, Movimiento va por mi cuenta 1, Movimiento va por mi cuenta 2, Movimiento va por mi cuenta 3
Photo: Movimiento va por mi cuenta
“Va por mi cuenta” Movement
Ending child malnutrition in Mexico is the main goal for the “Va por mi cuenta” (“It’s on me”) movement. They serve more than 20,000 meals per month to children living under vulnerable conditions.
As of today, the “Va por mi cuenta” movement has four “Nuestro Comedor” dining rooms located in the state of Mexico: in Metepec, Chalco and Ecatepec. The fourth dining room is located in Mexico city.
The movement plans to collect a minimum amount of 100 million pesos during a period of 5 years in order to construct ten “Nuestro Comedor” child dining rooms. According to the movement’s website, these dining rooms will provide 2,530,000 meals and feed 2,300 children daily.
“Va por mi cuenta” has the support of different companies, brands, and restaurant chains that, through different mechanics of collection, provide help advance the movement’s prospects.
Some of the brands that collaborate with “Va por mi cuenta” are Alsea, Starbucks, Burger King, Domino’s, PayPal, Flock, X Design, California Pizza Kitchen, Chili’s, and Pei Wei, among others.
Alsea is the responsible for addressing and responding to the concerns and requirements that participants may have. Alsea is also responsible for coordinating the movement’s partnerships.
This foundation canalizes the funds raised by the movement into the construction and operation of “Nuestro Comedor” dining rooms, and it monitors and reports results.
The fast food restaurant chain, Burger King, has also partnered with the “Va por mi cuenta” movement. All Burger King locations in Mexico support the movement by making a donation for every single ice cream cone the restaurant sells.
In 2013, Burger King donated 1 peso for every single ice cream cone that the restaurants sold, and 2 pesos for every double ice cream cone.
Domino’s, the pizza restaurant chain, also contributes to the movement. Domino’s Mexico locations allocate a percentage from the sale of two of their products to the “Va por mi cuenta” movement.
The sale of the restaurant’s “Canelazo Bites” and “Pakecompartas”—a package deal that includes a pizza, chicken strips, and french fries—funds Domino’s donations to “Va por mi cuenta”.
Domino’s also contributes to the movement by encouraging Mexican artists to contribute their own designs for pizza and “Canelazo Bites” boxes. Notable Mexican artists that have contributed to this project and the “Va por mi cuenta” movement are Kari Mayo, Jorge Tellaeche, and amoATO Studio.
The Starbucks coffee chain’s Mexican locations have begun to sell bracelets with the Starbucks and “Va por mi cuenta” insignia written on them in order to contribute to the “Va por mi cuenta” movement. The purpose of the bracelet is to invite children that are most in need to a meal.
By visiting the restaurants that have signed on to help the “Va por mi cuenta” movement, consumers are also becoming a part of the effort by contributing their purchases.
Individuals could also independently contribute to the cause by making donations through Banco Santander, or by contributing an “invite” to meals via PayPal.
The “Va por mi cuenta” movement is fighting to eradicate child malnutrition in Mexico. By constructing “Nuestro Comedor” dining rooms, and with the help of different brands, restaurant chains and corporations, the movement is little by little making a greater impact on Mexican children who suffer from malnutrition.
– Diana Fernanda Leon
Sources: Alsea, Eclecticmex, Dominos, Movimiento va por mi cuenta 1, Movimiento va por mi cuenta 2, Movimiento va por mi cuenta 3
Photo: Movimiento va por mi cuenta
Ed Tech the Next Big Thing in Global Education?
Much has been made of the gains that education has made in the developing world recently. Primary school attendance is up and education parity has been met in many countries. While quality still lags up to 100 years behind the developed world, a new phenomenon could change that.
Technology-aided education, ed tech, has the potential to change the way education is understood and delivered around the world. In a world of exploding high education prices and more technical demands in the working world, especially for skills in programming and developing, ed tech is on the rise.
The spread of the Internet has helped to make this possible. Lynda.com was recently bought by LinkedIn and provides online tutorials and classes on anything from photography to programming. A paid subscription is required to access most of them, but the potential is there to change the way learning is done in the classroom. Another company, Udemy, offers similar classes on Java, Excel and HTML. Fifty percent of the company’s revenue comes from outside of the U.S.
These online courses present easy access to learning opportunities. If governments or schools can provide for subscription costs, they can unlock a huge wealth of knowledge for a great many people.
With the spread of mobile phones throughout the developing world, they too have had a role to play in education. Education can be an equalizer, and with more and more people having access to phones they in turn have more and more access to it.
Different mobile-based services offer a variety of educational opportunities. Dr. Math enables both primary and secondary school students to request help in real-time from volunteer tutors using MXit, a popular platform for social messaging in South Africa. MobiLiteracy aims to improve literacy at home in countries where teachers are often stretched thin in the classroom. A pilot program was kicked off in Uganda last year with help from USAID.
Interestingly, MobiLiteracy targets adults before children. It offers daily reading lessons by SMS or audio. This raises an important point about ed tech: since it is mostly based outside the classroom and accessed either by the Internet or mobile phones, the knowledge is open to anyone. Students can use it to supplement their learning or to help with homework, teachers can use it to their advantage in the classroom and adults can continue their education outside the classroom or even begin an education they never had.
With access to resources like Udemy, people in the developing world can have the chance to get an education that they might not have access to otherwise. In this ever-evolving world where much value has been put on university degrees as prerequisites for employment, the ability to acquire knowledge for less or no fee is valuable. If an individual can perform a certain skill such as program a website, it does not matter as much where that person went to school or how high their GPA was. All that is needed is Internet or a mobile phone, some motivation and a dream. With continued development, ed tech can be the next big thing in global education.
– Greg Baker
Sources: Tech Crunch 1, Tech Crunch 2, The Guardian, Brookings
Photo: Newsanywhere
SMILE – Compact, Affordable Solar Power for All
An estimated 1.5 billion people have no access to electricity. Countless more have limited access or are unable to use it with any regularity. Electricity may seem like a modern luxury, and to some not a necessity, but a lack of electricity has a large number of negative consequences. Much of the developing world and the communities without proper electricity rely on the burning of wood and fossil fuels as a source of heat and to cook. This practice of open-fire and kerosene usage leads to health risks, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and deforestation. However, with recent advances in technology those lacking access to electricity, otherwise known as energy poverty, is on the decline.
Solar power is the leading solution to energy poverty. It is renewable, readily available, and the devices used to generate solar power are becoming less and less expensive. Companies like Goalzero and WakaWaka have already developed compact solar panels for the use of charging small devices like mobile phones and laptops. But these devices cannot power a house, or aid in the cooking for a whole village. That’s where SMILE comes in. SMILE stands for Solar Mobile Independent Low-cost Energy System. It is currently being designed and tested by Norwegian company Heliac. Heliac CEO, Heinrik Parnov states that the developing world needs “a cheap, robust, and self contained” device to be used to generate power.
SMILE is a large piece of specialized foil that, when used with companion devices like a stove or heating unit, generates large amounts of energy. SMILE is cheaper to manufacture and more durable than glass framed solar panels. While not meant to replace large power grids or increased infrastructure, SMILE is being developed to create safer, smarter, and healthier developing communities and by extension a healthier world. Currently, the project is seeking funding on Kickstarter and has met about a quarter of its $44,000 goal.
– Joe Kitaj
Sources: IEA, Waka-Waka, Kickstarter, Engineering
Photo: Kickstarter
The Path to Banning Female Genital Mutilation in Sierra Leone
In some areas of Africa and the Middle East, girls and women are subjected to the horrors of female genital mutilation. The World Health Organization defines FGM as “procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.” FGM is typically performed on young girls, from infancy to age 15, and provides no health benefit. Instead, it can result in a variety of complications, such as severe bleeding, cysts, infections and infertility. Later in life, it can lead to problems with childbirth and increased risk of infant mortality. The procedure is often performed by traditional “circumcisers” in the community, but even health care providers have carried out FGM.
FGM is recognized as a human rights violation against girls and women, yet it continues for a number of reasons. Community and religious leaders may uphold the practice due to “cultural tradition,” and families may have girls undergo the procedure because of social pressure to conform to these traditions. FGM is also used as a tool to discourage girls from having premarital sex because many believe it reduces their libido.
Approximately 125 million girls and women worldwide have undergone FGM. FGM is most widespread in Africa, where it is estimated that three million girls are at risk annually.
In Sierra Leone, about 90 percent of women have undergone FGM. Women in this country are often subject to a particularly crude operation with razor blades or broken glass, carried out by elderly women who have been specifically designated by community leaders as circumcisers. FGM is part of an initiation ceremony, intended to prepare girls for marriage and motherhood. It is has been exceptionally difficult to prove to the people of Sierra Leone that this strongly held tradition is harmful. Furthermore, the country is home to numerous women’s societies with strong political power that still support the practice. The outlook may seem bleak for the women of Sierra Leone, but the nation has recently taken an important step towards ending FGM.
In early July, Sierra Leone’s government ratified the Maputo Protocol, which is intended to protect women’s rights in Africa. It addresses a variety of areas, such as political participation, protection of women in armed conflicts, girl’s access to education, economic and social welfare rights, reproductive health rights, and land rights. But the main objective of the Maputo Protocol is eliminating FGM in Africa. Sierra Leone has not banned the practice, but the ratification is a crucial first step towards doing so, as it shows an official political commitment to gender equality for the country.
Other groups are working to change attitudes towards FGM in Sierra Leone. Amnesty International’s Africa Human Rights Education Program has successfully helped communities such as the Chiefdom of Masungdala to ban FGM. Those fighting FGM must work to reach everyone in society to effectively enforce a ban, and it will take time to completely eradicate the practice, but the future is looking more promising for the women of Sierra Leone.
– Jane Harkness
Sources: Amnesty International, Equality Now, Huffington Post, WHO 1, WHO 2
Photo: Flickr
UN Peacekeepers Sexually Abuse Haitian Women and Girls
The United Nations has recently come under fire due to a report of sexual transactions between peacekeepers and Haitian women and girls. According to a report, U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti regularly exchange materials like laptops, food and medicine for sex.
Although the U.N. bans peacekeepers from exchanging employment and money for sex, many have disregarded this rule.
Since 2010, peacekeepers have maintained a ‘friendly’ presence on the island. Their main mission was to assist Haiti in both the cleanup after the earthquake as well as the rejuvenation of the country.
However, many have called into question how much progress they could have made, since many were exploiting the people they were supposed to be helping.
While this revelation is horrific, there is little prosecution for the peacekeepers committing these offenses. Typically, peacekeepers have immunity in countries in which they are serving.
This is not the first time the U.N. has come under fire for the sexual exploitation of country natives. In 2012, Kathryn Bolkovac published her remembrances of her trip to Bosnia in 1999.
In an interview with a reporter from The Telegraph, she spoke about how U.N. officers had exploited Bosnian prostitutes.
Because of the proximity of the release of the Red Cross Haiti scandal, many are questioning the Western presence in Haiti.
Is the West truly helping Haiti, or are they making the country’s economic and social situation worse?
– Erin Logan
Sources: The Telegraph, Al Jazeera, RT,
Photo: Women Under Siege
Chinese Woman Receives Global Recognition For Education
On July 2, Dr. Betty Chan Po-king received her third honorary degree in Bath, United Kingdom, from the University of Bath, granting her global recognition for education efforts from three continents.
At the summer graduation ceremony for the University of Bath, an honorary graduate award was presented to Po-king for Doctor of Laws. After her fifteen-year relationship with the university, the accolade was given to her for her commitment to providing and stimulating education, cultural diversity, and leadership.
This honor is one of three given to Po-king in the span of five years. Po-king initially earned an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, U.S., her first intercontinental accomplishment in her professional career.
Four years later, she received a second award in China, Asia. The Honorary Fellowship by the Hong Kong Institute of Education was presented to Po-king in acknowledgement of her grand involvement in education in Hong Kong and beyond.
The University of Bath facilitated her third academic accolade in Europe. Honorary degrees are the most esteemed awards given by this university and are set aside for people of noticeable excellence.
Po-king originally earned her doctorate at The Union Institute and University in Vermont in 1985 and went on to acquire experience for teaching. She then became the Director of Yew Chung International Schools in China and California, which was founded by her mother, Madam Tsang Chor-hang.
In addition to her several doctorate degrees, Po-king has also served in numerous leadership positions for her educational efforts.
She has served as the Treasurer of the Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association, the Chairperson of Child Education and Community Services Discipline Board of Vocational Training Council and the adviser of the Center for Child Development.
Po-king has served as a Member of Standing Committee on Language Education Research, a member of the Education and Manpower Bureau and a member of Appeals Board (Education) in Hong Kong, as well. She was also appointed as a Hong Kong Convention Ambassador of the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications.
Po-king’s educational ability has also presented her with unique opportunities as a Chinese female educator.
She became a member of one of the first groups of female life members of Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. In addition, she was the first Chinese Keynote Speaker at the 2004 Alliance for International Education Conference in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Po-king has traveled all around the world for her educational experience. According to China Education Development, where she is a founder, “she has integrated the essence of the Eastern and Western education and has accumulated rich experience in teachers’ training.”
With her extensive knowledge of education, Po-king could very well earn additional award in another continent, but for now, her global recognition in Europe, the U.S., and Asia will continue to propel her career and enhance global education.
– Fallon Lineberger
Sources: China Education Development, PR Newswire, University of Bath 1, University of Bath 2, Yew Chung International School, Yew Wah Education Management
Photo: South China Morning Post
Not All Fun And Games: African Gaming Companies Make A Difference
Driven by an increase in the availability of cheap phones and a jump in the number of telecom subscribers, the African gaming world is booming, to the delight of several ambitious developers on the continent. Mobile games often cost less than a dollar and can be downloaded quickly, making them easy to access on a budget and on the go. The African video game market is tiny in comparison to the $50 billion U.S. market, but growth is steady; at the end of 2013 the video game market in Kenya was worth $44 million and Nigeria’s valued at $71 million.
Although the action/adventure genre remains popular among consumers, many game creators are attempting to add more depth to their games in order to help reform Western perceptions of African countries. Developers attempt to use their games to tell unique African stories that break through widespread stereotypes. Abiola Olaniran, founder and chief executive of the Nigerian gaming company Gamsole, creates games with a distinctly African flavor that revolve around local characters in African cities. A continent of 54 countries and 3,000 cultures, there are a lot of stories to tell.
“African-themed games can be the future of gaming if people can relate with the content on a personal basis, based on their daily life experiences,” Olaniran notes.
Kuluya Games, based in Nigeria as well, also makes African culture the centerpiece of their games. One of the studio’s most popular apps is called Afro Fighters, and in it you can play as Safari the Warrior and attempt to defeat the Dark Lord of Oti. Similarly, Ghana’s Leti Arts created Ananse: The Origin, a game based on West African folklore that takes storylines from the tales of the ancients.
The influence of the growing African gaming market is not only cultural. In Nairobi, Allan Mukhwana of Momentum Core crafts his games to be educational. Momentum Core’s game Mosquito Hood tasks players with killing mosquitoes through several increasingly difficult levels. Each time a player completes all levels of the game, the Kenyan government has agreed to donate a mosquito net to a family living in a malarial zone. So far, the game has made it possible for 1,400 families to receive mosquito nets. The company has also created games raising awareness about HIV and focused on literacy.
Anne Shongwe, founder of the South African based gaming company Afroes, emphasizes the ways in which video games can be useful in inspiring social change. The company developed a game called Moraba in partnership with U.N. Women. The aim of the game is to end violence against women, and as players move through the game they are required to answer questions related to gender violence.
Although the African gaming market has a long way to go, especially in the arena of finance/budget, developers remain optimistic that a serious breakthrough is possible. The prospect that video games may be a useful in solving societal issues may seem far-fetched, but with the bright future that the gaming market seems to have, it should not be cast aside.
– Katie Pickle
Sources: Elearning Africa, BBC
Photo: Google Play
How the World Bank is Changing the Way We Measure Poverty
Currently, poverty is considered apparent when someone lives on less than $1.25 a day, but some question the reliability of this simplistic measurement. Therefore, the World Bank has announced that a new commission will propose revisions to the International Poverty Line to account for the many components of poverty in every country.
It turns out that the way we have been thinking about poverty is in over-generalized terms. When the United Nations announced its post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, first on the list was the eradication of poverty “in all forms.” The notion that global poverty is multi-faceted is becoming universally accepted, and is acknowledged by the Bank’s chief economist, Kaushik Basu, who said, “The Global Commission will advise us on other dimensions of poverty that the Bank should collect data on, track, analyze and make available to policymakers for evidence-based decisions.”
A more data-driven reason for revising the way we measure poverty comes from a 2011 price survey from the International Comparison Program, which analyzes economic activity and poverty in almost every country. But evaluating the data gets complicated; depending on how the data is used, the results vary greatly, showing either a dramatic decrease in poverty or little decrease. Prices and exchange rates are changing, so the $1.25 a day standard must account for this.
Another problem with the current International Poverty Line occurs when a country’s poverty level decreases; it can be dropped from the list of countries averaged to set the IPL, resulting in a skewed measurement of progress. In addition, economic comparisons among countries include the exchange of all goods, while assessing only some goods is significant for impoverished communities.
The commission advising the Bank will consist of 24 leading international economists, and the report will be finished by April 2016. The World Bank hopes that a revised IPL will increase the possibility of attaining its two goals; the first goal is to bring the number of impoverished people to less than 3 percent of the global population by 2030, and the second is to increase per capita income of the poorest 40 percent of each country’s population.
Alterations in the International Poverty Line will change the way we define poverty in the first place, impacting philanthropy everywhere. Basu said, “We expect the Commission report to be influential not only for our own work on poverty but also in shaping global research and policymaking on this most important challenge of our times.”
– Jordan Reabold
Sources: Devpolicy, World Bank 1, World Bank 2
Photo: Give A Billion
Malala Opens Girls School for Syrian Refugees
The Malala Yousafzai All-Girls School opened on July 12 to Syrian refugees—for girls who have fallen victims to displacement. Malala Yousafzai opened the school on behalf of the 28 million children who are kept from classrooms because of armed conflict. The event also marked Malala Yousafzai’s 18th birthday, of which she was proud.
Malala Yousafzai is no stranger to armed conflict, as she was attacked in her native Pakistan in 2012 because of her support and efforts to campaign for girls’ rights and education. For this brave act, Malala was in fact awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
Yousafzai currently believes that world leaders are failing Syria’s children. At the opening of the school she stated, “On this day, I have a message for the leaders of this country, this region and the world: you are failing the Syrian people, especially Syria’s children. This is a heart-breaking tragedy — the world’s worst refugee crisis in decades.”
That is why this school is one small step on Yousafzai’s part to help the children of the war-torn country. This effort is applauded by Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. He stated, “We are really heartened by Malala’s ardent support for the education of refugee girls whose aspirations have already been so cruelly cut short by war. These children are the future of Syria; we must not jeopardize that by denying them the basic right to education while they are in exile”.
The newly opened school will serve around 200 Syrian girls living in refugee camps in the Bekaa Valley region along the Lebanese border, to which many Syrians have fled.
This school will stand as a testament to the perseverance and strength of the Syrian children and hopefully become inspiration to the similar creation of future schools.
– Alysha Biemolt
Sources: Look to the Stars, UNHCR, PBS, Voanews
Photo: Sampsonia Way
Cuba Earns WHO Recognition for Terminating Risk of HIV Mother-Child Transmission
On June 30, 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized Cuba as the first nation in the world to officially eliminate HIV mother-child transmission, a huge step towards the eradication of the disease entirely. WHO guidelines define ‘elimination of transmission’ as transmission so low that it no longer constitutes a public health problem — a level now certifiably reached by Cuba in terms of transmission of the disease from mother to child. Both the WHO and the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), as well as nations around the world, congratulated Cuba in recognition of this historic achievement. Director-General of the WHO Margaret Chan called the milestone “one of the greatest public health achievements possible.”
The WHO estimates that more than 42 million people now live with HIV. 1.4 million HIV-positive women become pregnant every year, and inevitably run the risk of transferring this disease to their child. The likelihood of the infant being HIV-positive varies, but the disease can be transmitted in many ways — not only during the pregnancy, but also during breastfeeding and in different stages of the delivery process. According to various conditional factors — including geography, income and race — an untreated woman with HIV currently has a 15-45 percent chance of transmitting HIV to her child.
However, antiretroviral medications have shown enormous progress in reducing the number of children who are born HIV-positive, lowering the risk to a barely 1 percent chance of infection.
But this medication is only a crucial first step to preventing transmission of HIV from mothers to children. Cuba, with help from the WHO and other international and regional organizations, has employed a rigorous and comprehensive program that resulted in the successful elimination of mother-to-child transmission. Cuba has previously received recognition for having the lowest HIV prevalence in the Americas, at 0.05 percent of its 11 million inhabitants, partly due to a nationwide HIV screening program implemented in the 1980s.
Cuba’s existing healthcare infrastructure, which guarantees healthcare to all citizens, has allowed the nation to infuse mandatory maternal and child health programs with the tools needed for early prevention and treatment of HIV. Such treatment includes access to prenatal care and comprehensive testing, as well as treatment for HIV-positive mothers and their children both before and after delivery. A few particularly successful efforts beyond the provision of antiretroviral medication deserve credit for Cuba’s achievement: these include mandatory HIV testing for expectant women (and their partners), provision of caesarean deliveries over natural births and breastfeeding substitutions for HIV-positive mothers.
While this success was doubtless a joint and multilateral effort between various organizations, institutions and the Cuban government, it is equally obvious that the superb Cuban health system provided the gateway for the possibility of such an achievement. The Pan-American Health Organization’s (PAHO’s) director, Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, commented that “Cuba’s success demonstrates that universal access and universal health coverage are feasible and indeed are the key to success… [it] provides inspiration for other countries.”
– Melissa Pavlik
Sources: WHO 1, WHO 2, The Conversation
Photo: Caribbean 360