Growing up in the ’90s, it is not easy to forget those who mustered up the courage to appear on nationally syndicated talk programs, where they detailed impactful incidents while addressing how they managed to not let it interfere with their lives. Hydeia Broadbent embodied that example, and years later she is still addressing an issue: smiling in the face of AIDS.
Since her birth on June 14, 1984, Broadbent, a Las Vegas native, has been HIV positive. Abandoned by her drug-abusing biological mother and raised by adoptive parents, the young Broadbent sought medical treatment throughout her early life, traveling from state to state in a desperate attempt to find an answer to the life-threatening disease.
The time would come when Broadbent, at five-years-old, was enrolled at the Maryland-based National Institutes of Health (NIH). There, Broadbent garnered attention from famous AIDS activist Elizabeth Glaser, who branded Broadbent her hero and willingly asked Broadbent’s mother, shortly before her death, if the young AIDS sufferer could speak publicly of her experience.
Her mother agreed, and what soon followed were iconic visuals featuring Broadbent advocating for increased awareness of the misconceptions concerning HIV/AIDS.
Among those pieces included the 1992 Nickelodeon televised special featuring famed basketball player Magic Johnson. The televised event presented a group of kids whose lives had been altered by the contraction of AIDS, and also featured a weeping Broadbent who cried and yearned for the comfort of former playmates that lost their lives to AIDS.
The awareness statement soon accumulated not only news coverage, but also assorted views from several activists and entertainers, including Broadbent’s favorite singer, Janet Jackson.
Just two years following the child-targeted special, Broadbent already possessed various experiences and accolades under her belt. The young activist toured with the likes of Billy Ray Cyrus at AIDS-benefit concerts, established the Hydeia L. Broadbent Foundation and soon attained her first honorific recognition from the Black Achievers Awards, as documented in the March 1994 issue of JET Magazine.
The philanthropic win would open the door to more opportunities for Broadbent to voice the adjustments she had to make as means to survive with an AIDS infection.
From guest college lectures to documentary segments, Hydeia Broadbent earned eligibility as a guest attendant on a 1996 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
During her televised appearance, Broadbent disclosed the horrors of how AIDS altered her immunity and health. The tiny advocate shared that fungus was growing on her brain and that blood infections increased her chance of dying, but among the most difficult for Broadbent to fathom was the reality that AIDS-infected friends of her own had died.
Her emotional plea was not the only massive reception-generator of 1996; an esteemed hearing at a Californian Republican rally would position Broadbent for popular philanthropic stardom.
“I am the future, and I have AIDS” served as vital words that emphasized Broadbent’s command upon the political stage and would go on to captivate a nation, placing pressure on politicians to up the ante on awareness of and medical tactics towards combating the harrowing sexual disease.
With high achievements and laudable recognition channeling from coast to coast, Broadbent felt inner torment eating away at her as she struggled with the overwhelming responsibilities of being a humanitarian success, all while battling a deep depression. By the late ’90s, it became all too much for the young AIDS sufferer.
From 1998 to 2011, Broadbent kept a low profile to explore what she had left of her youthful years. But during her public absence, Broadbent’s name still managed to surface in scarce reports and rare public television appearances.
The Broadbent family’s book, “You Get Past the Tears,” published in 2002, and their 2004 feature on ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” were close enough to what the nation would get as far as Hydeia Broadbent’s health progress was concerned.
However, she would not be missing from the public eye for long. In May 2012, Broadbent’s name reemerged when she was tapped for commentary in a CNN article detailing her involvement with the ESPN documentary “The Announcement,” a visual featuring AIDS sufferer Magic Johnson, who had previously met Broadbent in his Nickelodeon-sponsored special decades prior.
Within the news report, Broadbent was deemed a “life changer” by Johnson for her courage in sharing her turbulent struggles of living with AIDS at such a young age.
Further media buzz skyrocketed when Broadbent was highly requested by audiences to be featured in a 2014 “Where Are They Now” special on The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), catching viewers up on how her personal life has progressed, specifically concerning romantic relationships and steady donative work.
Broadbent, now 31-years-old, is still vowing to remain a pivotal voice in the HIV/AIDS community to convey her message that AIDS is neither something to play around with nor something that should be viewed as an easy way of living.
Broadbent feels the burden day-in and day-out of taking a handful of medications each day to prevent potential AIDS-induced infections, citing the responsibility as a “life sentence” rather than a “death sentence,” especially when dealing with financial hardships relating to medical insurance.
Nevertheless, the series of frustrations stemming from medical visits has not interrupted her diligent work ethic as a key speaker for AIDS awareness programs.
As recently as February 2015, Broadbent has added another endorsement to her extensive list of accolades: she was chosen as a partner for “Ampro Pro Style” beauty line to raise awareness of the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This was part of a campaign to increase efforts to educate black communities on the basics of how to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
Yet it is not only endorsements that Broadbent continues to accumulate on her shelf of awards. Known for the lectures and speeches she gives yearly in college and academic settings, in early June 2015, she secured a keynote speaker role at Louisiana-based Southern University’s annual O.M.G. Youth Conference, to elaborate on the AIDS crisis with young women in a “girl talk-style outlet.”
With further academic orations and pending documentary plans still going strong, Broadbent works effortlessly to remind the unaware of the dangers that await them if protection is not fully recognized when engaging in sexual activity.
Broadbent, whose hometown of Las Vegas has commemorated a holiday in her honor, believes that with time and the right medical innovations, HIV/AIDS will eventually be fully eradicated. She concedes, however, that it is going to take time and full knowledge from the public to understand that this is not a disease to joke around with.
As the optimistic Broadbent proclaimed to CNN reporting staff: “[The current generation] thinks [they] can pop a pill and be OK, [but] they don’t know the seriousness of the disease, [let alone medicated] side effects and financial realities of the situation. They really don’t know that you can die.”
– Jefferson Varner IV
Sources: CNN, People, Las Vegas Sun, The Advocate, Huffington Post, PR Newswire, POZ
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Why Are Libyan Refugees Drowning at Sea?
The distance from Benghazi to Sigonella, Sicily is 470 miles. On a small and inefficient fishing boat, that could be two to three weeks at sea. Ahmad, like all Libyan refugees, must be ready to endure an extremely dangerous voyage upon a vessel crammed over capacity. He must be ready to not have adequate water and food as he and many others navigate the perilous waves and winds of the Mediterranean Sea. In the back of his mind, he is aware that he may drown, like the 800 Libyan refugees in April of 2015 when their over-packed fishing boat capsized.
Yet, he is willing to make the sacrifice for a supposedly better life. So why are he and countless other Libyan refugees willing to drown at sea for this trip? The answer is not simply due to political violence and warring factions that fight for control of precious resources and cities. The situation is far more complex, but one of the main reasons is the inadequate aid that Libya’s health and educational systems are receiving after NATO’s military intervention in 2011.
In 2010, barring debates of human rights violations, Libya was considered an economic jewel of Northern Africa. Life expectancy was higher than anywhere else in Africa and the Middle East. Children between the ages of one and two years of age had a 98% immunization rate against measles, and 97% of the population had access to improved sanitation facilities.
Education was another bright spot for the nation. Women’s education was the most progressive in Northern Africa, where over 50% of university enrollment were women. According to data from the United Nations, primary-secondary enrollment ratio (female/male per 100) between 2006 and 2012 was 112.5 to 106.0.
Today, the educational system in Libya is in complete shambles. A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson explained that one of the main areas of concern for Benghazi was the closure of over 60 schools and universities. Instead of teaching, many of the schools are now public housing for displaced Libyans. As the next generation becomes uneducated, they are more likely to join extremist groups in hopes of achieving work and status.
The lack of access to medical treatment is taking its toll on the country’s vulnerable population. In a World Health Organization (WHO) report from January 2015, Libya’s hospitals are overburdened with internally displaced persons (IDPs). There is an increasing strain on Emergency Medical Services (including obstetric care) and insufficient capacity of health services to cope with increasing numbers requiring emergency healthcare due to decreased staff numbers.
On top of the lack of staff and facilities, there is a significant risk of transmission of communicable disease (TB, HIV and possibly Ebola) through the thousands of illegal immigrants passing through Libya. The report also states that there is “an increased possibility of outbreaks (especially measles) due to the recent displacement and the disruption of the primary health care network in the main cities.”
Since the start of the year, there are an estimated 150,000 refugees migrating to Europe. That number is only likely to increase.
Countries such as Italy and Greece have been overwhelmed by the majority of refugees. On June 14 of this year, the Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi addressed the European Union (EU) insisting that “Europe’s answers have so far have not been good enough.” He urges the EU to aid in setting up refugee processing camps in Libya to help with the relocation process.
This is, however, not enough, as processing camps will eventually become overwhelmed with escaping refugees. More aid is needed to address the growing needs of the Libyan people. In March, WHO delivered medical supplies to help serve 250,000 people. The aid was donated by Italy and the Central Emergency Response Fund.
On May 21, the United Nations hunger relief agency delivered ten trucks with food and humanitarian relief. In conjunction with the World Food Programme, they aim to provide life-saving assistance to over 243,000 IDPs over the course of six months. Unfortunately, no aid was delivered in March and April due to lack of funding, and another $14 million is needed to ensure the food operation continues uninterrupted.
The United States and its allies must send foreign aid to Libya for the rebuilding of the health and education systems. Libya is slowly heading down the same path as Iraq and Syria. If no aid is sent, the migration pressure on Europe will become too strenuous, eventually affecting that region. If the Libyan people are not assisted and more take to the seas, the economic conditions will further worsen in Europe, which in turn, will not bode well for the United States.
– Adnan Khalid
Sources: Centre for Research on Globalization, Free Map Tools, The Guardian, UN Data, UN 1, UN 2 UN Refugee Agency, WHO 1, WHO 2, World Bank
Photo: Esquire
Good School Toolkit Reduces Violence in Uganda
In the Luwero District of Uganda, the nonprofit organization Raising Voices has implemented the Good School Toolkit in local schools in the hopes of combating violence in educational environments. It was developed as a direct response to the fact that 60% of schoolchildren in Uganda experience continuous violence at school.
The toolkit consists of three packages to guide schools through steps to establish safe and nurturing learning spaces. These packages include information about what it means to be a good teacher, strategies for positive discipline in lieu of the traditional corporal punishment and methods to develop a healthy school culture for all children.
It is accessible and effective because it does not require any monetary expense. The kit relies on the determination of students and teachers to improve the school environment; without their motivation and effort, little to no improvement will be seen. A few of the tools include posters and cartoon booklets that explain how to discipline children in a positive manner to avoid a culture of violence.
The followup study of this program indicated significant changes in the 450 schools that have used the toolkit. There was a 42% reduction of the risk of physical violence by teachers and staff against children. In addition, children were more likely to associate positively with their school, with increased feelings of safety and belonging.
Raising Voices, in partnership with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Makerere University and the Luwero District Education Department, believe that the project created significant change because of shifts in teacher-student relationships, opportunities for student participation and accountability of the school administration.
Moving forward, there is an opportunity for the Ministry of Education and Sports to implement the toolkit in all Ugandan schools. A reduction in violence in schools may correspond with reduced violence in family homes, ultimately fostering healthier, more productive lives in Uganda.
– Iliana Lang
Sources: The Lancet, Raising Voices
Photo: Raising Voices
Young Social Innovation Around the World
Countries are growing younger than ever. One quarter of the world’s population is made up of adolescents, and more than half of the world is under the age of 30.
Paired with technology and a global trend for social responsibility, the young majority is making headway in addressing youth crises and global issues.
While this demographic change poses potentially destabilizing risks, USAID is working to enable the youth bulge to make positive change in their communities through social innovation.
In Honduras, young people are mapping crime violence along its urban public bus systems. According to USAID, the United Nations and the Honduras National Police tracked 86 homicides per 100,000 people in 2011, the highest in the world. Due to gang violence and armed robbery, busses are ripe for extortion and murder. In June 2012, young Hondurans traveled through Tegucigalpa’s dangerous buses with a global positioning system (GPS) in order to develop blueprints for a public bus map for citizens to follow so they could avoid problematic hotspots. The GPS data was then entered into Google Earth.
This was a part of a USAID-led volunteer program. Members of the national anti-violence youth movement, Movimiento Jovenes contra la Violencia, took part in mapping fifteen of the busiest and most risky bus routes in their area, according to USAID.
The Kyrgyz Republic found USAID support when they experienced significant political and social conflict in 2010. Protests and violence, subsequently, gave way to a cynical youth population.
USAID partnered with Youth of Osh, a nongovernmental, secular organization from Osh, Kyrgyzstan. Youth of Osh leads community development projects in the city. In the October 2011 presidential election, USAID and Youth of Osh applied SMS technology to monitor the elections in more than 70 voting stations. They located approximately 1,300 violations via text. This was a groundbreaking accomplishment in political transparency in the Kyrgyz Republic’s election processes.
USAID continued to support the youth bulge in Haiti. Similarly to Honduras, USAID helped construct a mapping device for the urban St. Marc region. The maps pinpointed post-earthquake refugee spots. Thirty local Haitian youth roamed their streets to draw the blueprints.
USAID’s Frontlines also followed Sri Lanka’s diverse social communities. USAID funded a project that taught Sri Lankan youth how to create and broadcast documentaries about Sri Lanka’s people. Eighteen young reporters practiced in journalism, camera and audio equipment, and production and editing, according to USAID’s Frontlines: Youth & Mobile Technology–September/October 2012 issue. The team developed 45 stories that they called “Development Diaries.” USAID continued to support a second season covering minority voices and post-war issues.
Liberian students enrolled at the Kwame Nkruman University of Science and Technology in Ghana pursued master’s degrees thanks to a USAID program. The program follows a development plan sponsored by the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation Threshold Program, and looks to establish better management of land rights and access.
USAID’s LAUNCH energy forum on November 10-13, 2011, starred Gram Power, an energy tech company based in the United States but servicing India’s poor electricity market. The self-described “micro solution to India’s major energy woes” was co-founded by Yashraj Khaitan and Jacob Dickinson. The men both graduated from UC Berkeley in 2011 with Bachelors in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
The highly selective LAUNCH event led to Gram Power building its first micro-grid installation and electrification in the Khareda Lakshmipura village. They soon brought electricity to 200,000 homes in five years. Gram Power hopes to bring power to 1.4 million people by the end of 2016.
USAID also works in the Philippines, teaching young people at the University of Cebu the prospect of “technopreneurship.” USAID’s Innovative Development through Entrepreneurship Acceleration (IDEA) works with higher education engineering and science programs to engage students on the possibility of bringing their ideas to life.
IDEA offers the Global Entrepreneurship Symposium and Workshop, which teaches young students how to create products, research, understand the global market and work with venture capital, according to Frontlines.
By 2016, IDEA will have garnered more than $2 million, which more than matches the U.S. Government’s $1.5 million investment.
In addition to IDEA, USAID invested $34 million to help higher education in the Philippines. The programs offer study abroad opportunities in the United States and funds for many students to obtain master’s degrees in science and technology.
– Lin Sabones
Sources: USAID 1, USAID 2, USAID 3, USAID 4, USAID 5, United Nations Population Fund
Photo: Creative
Charitable Footwear: Is One for One Enough?
Charitable footwear brand TOMS has become a sort of gold standard for companies working toward being ethical. On their website, they boast of having improved maternal health, education and a variety of other areas in life through their “one for one” giving model, which supports these programs for each pair of shoes purchased.
But is this model followed by TOMS and a variety of other companies enough to break the cycle of generational poverty?
Although the model provides aid to those in need, it also does nothing to deal with issues of widespread unemployment and unfair wages. In an interview with GOOD Magazine, international aid expert Saundra Schimmelpfennig described TOMS as “quintessential whites in shining armor.” Critics have accused the one for one model of enforcing stereotypes of the developing world—portraying them as helpless—and as a part of a marketing ploy with a deeper focus on pity than active empowerment.
It is why many top brands, such as Warby Parker and soleRebels, have transitioned to a model of social enterprise, focusing on empowering local businesses and providing fair wages to workers. These brands focus on the idea that breaking the cycle of generational poverty must include the creation of well-paying jobs and greater opportunity for the next generation.
This is not to entirely dismiss the one for one model. This Bar Saves Lives, for instance, is a brand that provides life saving plumpy’nut to children suffering from malnutrition. There is an importance in education that requires similar levels of action.
Still, despite the need for certain programs, the increase of brands focusing on social enterprise perhaps represents a new attitude toward the nature of the charitable business, focusing on empowering as a quintessential part of one’s business model, and not a later effort.
– Andrew Michaels
Sources: TOMS, GOOD, SoleRebels, This Bar Saves Lives, Warby Parker
Photo: Huffington Post
A New Chapter Continues for Hydeia Broadbent
Growing up in the ’90s, it is not easy to forget those who mustered up the courage to appear on nationally syndicated talk programs, where they detailed impactful incidents while addressing how they managed to not let it interfere with their lives. Hydeia Broadbent embodied that example, and years later she is still addressing an issue: smiling in the face of AIDS.
Since her birth on June 14, 1984, Broadbent, a Las Vegas native, has been HIV positive. Abandoned by her drug-abusing biological mother and raised by adoptive parents, the young Broadbent sought medical treatment throughout her early life, traveling from state to state in a desperate attempt to find an answer to the life-threatening disease.
The time would come when Broadbent, at five-years-old, was enrolled at the Maryland-based National Institutes of Health (NIH). There, Broadbent garnered attention from famous AIDS activist Elizabeth Glaser, who branded Broadbent her hero and willingly asked Broadbent’s mother, shortly before her death, if the young AIDS sufferer could speak publicly of her experience.
Her mother agreed, and what soon followed were iconic visuals featuring Broadbent advocating for increased awareness of the misconceptions concerning HIV/AIDS.
Among those pieces included the 1992 Nickelodeon televised special featuring famed basketball player Magic Johnson. The televised event presented a group of kids whose lives had been altered by the contraction of AIDS, and also featured a weeping Broadbent who cried and yearned for the comfort of former playmates that lost their lives to AIDS.
The awareness statement soon accumulated not only news coverage, but also assorted views from several activists and entertainers, including Broadbent’s favorite singer, Janet Jackson.
Just two years following the child-targeted special, Broadbent already possessed various experiences and accolades under her belt. The young activist toured with the likes of Billy Ray Cyrus at AIDS-benefit concerts, established the Hydeia L. Broadbent Foundation and soon attained her first honorific recognition from the Black Achievers Awards, as documented in the March 1994 issue of JET Magazine.
The philanthropic win would open the door to more opportunities for Broadbent to voice the adjustments she had to make as means to survive with an AIDS infection.
From guest college lectures to documentary segments, Hydeia Broadbent earned eligibility as a guest attendant on a 1996 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
During her televised appearance, Broadbent disclosed the horrors of how AIDS altered her immunity and health. The tiny advocate shared that fungus was growing on her brain and that blood infections increased her chance of dying, but among the most difficult for Broadbent to fathom was the reality that AIDS-infected friends of her own had died.
Her emotional plea was not the only massive reception-generator of 1996; an esteemed hearing at a Californian Republican rally would position Broadbent for popular philanthropic stardom.
“I am the future, and I have AIDS” served as vital words that emphasized Broadbent’s command upon the political stage and would go on to captivate a nation, placing pressure on politicians to up the ante on awareness of and medical tactics towards combating the harrowing sexual disease.
With high achievements and laudable recognition channeling from coast to coast, Broadbent felt inner torment eating away at her as she struggled with the overwhelming responsibilities of being a humanitarian success, all while battling a deep depression. By the late ’90s, it became all too much for the young AIDS sufferer.
From 1998 to 2011, Broadbent kept a low profile to explore what she had left of her youthful years. But during her public absence, Broadbent’s name still managed to surface in scarce reports and rare public television appearances.
The Broadbent family’s book, “You Get Past the Tears,” published in 2002, and their 2004 feature on ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” were close enough to what the nation would get as far as Hydeia Broadbent’s health progress was concerned.
However, she would not be missing from the public eye for long. In May 2012, Broadbent’s name reemerged when she was tapped for commentary in a CNN article detailing her involvement with the ESPN documentary “The Announcement,” a visual featuring AIDS sufferer Magic Johnson, who had previously met Broadbent in his Nickelodeon-sponsored special decades prior.
Within the news report, Broadbent was deemed a “life changer” by Johnson for her courage in sharing her turbulent struggles of living with AIDS at such a young age.
Further media buzz skyrocketed when Broadbent was highly requested by audiences to be featured in a 2014 “Where Are They Now” special on The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), catching viewers up on how her personal life has progressed, specifically concerning romantic relationships and steady donative work.
Broadbent, now 31-years-old, is still vowing to remain a pivotal voice in the HIV/AIDS community to convey her message that AIDS is neither something to play around with nor something that should be viewed as an easy way of living.
Broadbent feels the burden day-in and day-out of taking a handful of medications each day to prevent potential AIDS-induced infections, citing the responsibility as a “life sentence” rather than a “death sentence,” especially when dealing with financial hardships relating to medical insurance.
Nevertheless, the series of frustrations stemming from medical visits has not interrupted her diligent work ethic as a key speaker for AIDS awareness programs.
As recently as February 2015, Broadbent has added another endorsement to her extensive list of accolades: she was chosen as a partner for “Ampro Pro Style” beauty line to raise awareness of the National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This was part of a campaign to increase efforts to educate black communities on the basics of how to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
Yet it is not only endorsements that Broadbent continues to accumulate on her shelf of awards. Known for the lectures and speeches she gives yearly in college and academic settings, in early June 2015, she secured a keynote speaker role at Louisiana-based Southern University’s annual O.M.G. Youth Conference, to elaborate on the AIDS crisis with young women in a “girl talk-style outlet.”
With further academic orations and pending documentary plans still going strong, Broadbent works effortlessly to remind the unaware of the dangers that await them if protection is not fully recognized when engaging in sexual activity.
Broadbent, whose hometown of Las Vegas has commemorated a holiday in her honor, believes that with time and the right medical innovations, HIV/AIDS will eventually be fully eradicated. She concedes, however, that it is going to take time and full knowledge from the public to understand that this is not a disease to joke around with.
As the optimistic Broadbent proclaimed to CNN reporting staff: “[The current generation] thinks [they] can pop a pill and be OK, [but] they don’t know the seriousness of the disease, [let alone medicated] side effects and financial realities of the situation. They really don’t know that you can die.”
– Jefferson Varner IV
Sources: CNN, People, Las Vegas Sun, The Advocate, Huffington Post, PR Newswire, POZ
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Debilitating Effects of Schistosomiasis
Among neglected tropical diseases, few are harder to pronounce than Schistosomiasis, a parasitic infection spread through fresh water. Fewer still are more deadly. According to the Center for Disease Control, “In terms of impact, this disease is second only to malaria as the most devastating parasitic disease.” Currently, Schistosomiasis infects more than 200 million people worldwide.
Found mostly in Africa and parts of South America and Asia, Schistosomiasis, or bilharzia, is quite an unpleasant disease. It spreads through parasitic blood flukes, also known as schistosomes, which live in certain types of fresh water snails. These schistosomes are tricky creatures and infect their victims with their larvae simply through skin contact in contaminated fresh water.
Once inside the victim’s body, the larval schistosomes mature over the course of several weeks into adult flatworms. These worms then make their way to the victim’s blood vessels where they reach full maturity and mate, producing eggs. The eggs then exit the body through the victim’s urine and stools. From there, the cycle begins again.
Oddly enough, it is not the worms themselves that cause problems but the body’s reaction to the eggs. On their way out of the body, many of the eggs become stuck in the intestine and bladder, which leads to inflammation and scarring of vital organs.
While the short-term symptoms of bilharzia are similar to that of the flu, its long term effects cause much more damage. Chronic bilharzia can cause bladder cancer, infertility and the enlargement of the liver and abdomen. It remains unknown as to how many die annually from the disease but estimates range between 20,000 and 200,000 people.
However, most victims of this neglected tropical disease continue to live for years with it. For chronic sufferers, life becomes increasingly difficult. In fact, the economic consequences of bilharzia rival its health complications. Sufferers often are too debilitated to support themselves and essentially become disabled. It has the greatest impact on children. Youth that suffer from chronic bilharzia experience stunted growth and learning difficulties, which can lead many to drop out of school. Unsurprisingly, due to its economic burden, researchers have linked instances of Schistosomiasis with poverty.
Fortunately, an effective treatment called praziquantel can rid the body of the parasite and cure the disease. Best of all, it is cheap. One treatment of praziquantel costs about 20 to 30 cents and is often available free of charge in some heavily afflicted regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2012, 35 million people were treated for bilharzia with this drug.
With such a cheap and effective drug, the primary strategy of the World Health Organization (WHO) is that of mass treatment without even an individual diagnosis. These mass treatments focus on vulnerable communities like those that live and work near fresh water sources and also school children. In some areas with lower levels of transmission, many officials believe that they can eradicate this disease.
Other methods of prevention involve stopping bilharzia at its source: its freshwater snail hosts. Some efforts have aimed to focus on killing the host snails by using chemical treatments on fresh water sources. However, this has negative effects on surrounding animals and also must be continued to prevent snails from returning. Beyond medicine, the best form of prevention is simply adequate hygiene and sanitation.
While the victims of bilharzia have begun to receive more treatment, a large amount of work still remains. According to a recent WHO epidemiological record, about 40 million people received treatment for Schistosomiasis, which represents only 12.7% of the population requiring preventative treatment measures for Schistosomiasis globally. With medicine so effective, it is tragic that so many should go untreated.
– Andrew Logan
Sources: CDC, The End Fund, NCBI, WHO 1, WHO 2
Photo: Carter Center
The Concept Behind $300 Housing
The concept of building cheap houses for the poor to improve their living standards is hardly a new one. However, a house that is sustainable, affordable, part of an “ecosystem” of services of electricity, water and sanitation, and, perhaps most importantly, maintains people’s dignity. Sounds far-fetched, especially with a price tag of just $300. Vijay Govindarajan and Christian Sarkar, the brains behind the idea, believe that it can be done.
Govindarajan and Sarkar first outlined their concept in a Harvard Business review blog a few years ago. Since then, architects, companies and other students have all tried to take up the challenge of building such a house. Some have had limited success, while others introduced ideas that make the concept even more inspiring.
The solution to the problem of affordable housing, Govindarajan and Sarkar argue, comes about when companies start treating the poor as valued customers. Once they are, innovation and efficiency will fill the gap governments and NGOs have not been able to satisfy. The market for affordable housing amounts to more than $5 trillion.
More than 1.5 billion people in the world lack houses that are sustainable and able to cater to their needs. More than 330 million of them live in slums, where poor quality housing compounds the problems of unsanitary practices and overcrowding. This number is projected to rise by another million by 2025.
Govindarajan and Sarkar believe that the secret to affordable and sustainable homes lies in three “D’s”: dignity, durability and delight. Building homes out of waste material furthers inequality and the segregation of poor communities from the richer. The house must be built of out materials that would maintain the dignity of the poor.
The house should also be durable because a house that constantly falls into disrepair will end up being more expensive to the owners. It should also be appealing to the eye and enjoyable to live in. When owners regard their house as more of a home rather than just their living quarters, they will be more inclined to look after it.
Harvey Lacey, an engineer from Texas, took these ideas even further. He calls his concept Ubuntublox, where people build their houses themselves. This helps create an attachment to the house and teaches them the skills they would need to maintain it.
— Radhika Singh
Sources: The Guardian, Harvard Business Review 1, Harvard Business Review 2, Harvard Business Review 3, Harvard Business Review 4
Photo: Flickr
With Successes Come Education Struggles
There have been many successes for girl’s education in the developing world. Challenges remain, however, creating a puzzle for problem solvers around the world.
Girls face many more education struggles than boys do. This is especially the case during puberty. For one girl living in Uganda who wants to be a doctor, lack of proper toilets causes embarrassment and results in missed days at school. “Some toilets don’t have doors and so we fear to enter as people can see or enter the toilets at any time. At the toilets, they don’t have water to flush or wash, and so it’s complicated to attend school when I have my period.”
While some might think this is a minor issue in the grand scheme of things, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO has found differently. One in 10 girls across Africa miss school during their period. Half of girls attending school in Ethiopia miss between one and four days of school a month because of menstruation.
In India, the problem is even worse. Sixty-six percent of schools there do not have functioning toilets. Without private toilets, girls’ health is put at risk. Coupled with the stigma and taboos associated with menstruation and periods, and the result is often that girls drop out of school in the developing world.
Another issue that also affects girls’ education in Africa is child marriage. Every year, 15 million girls 18 or under marry. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 40 percent are married before 18, and 12 percent before they are even 15. In Chad, the number of girls married under age 15 jumps to 29 percent. Even with minimum age laws, marriages still go ahead with parental consent.
This has implications for young women’s education. Once they are married, they are expected to fulfill duties at home which leaves them with them no time to pursue their studies. This begins a vicious circle: without education girls are not informed of their rights and are able to act on them.
Despite these challenges, there have been huge gains in education for girls around the developing world. By 2012, most countries had reached the Millennium Development Goal target of girls primary education parity with boys. For many countries this meant that for every 100 boys, 97 girls also attended primary school.
However, even in this victory lies a caveat – not all countries have actually reached full parity. Sub-Saharan Africa enrollment rate for primary school-aged girls was still languishing at 75 percent in 2010. “Three-quarters of the countries that have not achieved parity at the primary level enroll more boys than girls at the start of the school cycle.” To equalize enrollment at the beginnings of school years would be to achieve parity.
Afghanistan stands out as a beacon of success when it comes to girls’ education, especially with the Taliban influence in the area that discourages girls in school. Girls enrollment in 2014 reached 3.75 million girls. In 2002, only 191,000 were enrolled.
While there are still big problems girls face around the developing world when it comes to attending school, it is important to acknowledge the victories. More work is needed but if progress continues, more successes will come.
– Gregory Baker
Sources: The Guardian 1, The Guardian 2, The Guardian 3, The Guardian 4, The Guardian 5, UN Women
Photo: The Better India
The Big Lip Sync Unites People to Fight Poverty
Oxfam’s newest project, focusing on the world leader’s goals to tackle extreme poverty and to spread the world with awareness, unites people across the U.K. by encouraging them to create a lip sync video, which will call for the goals to be met.
The “Big Lip Sync” was launched at the Glastonbury Festival, a music festival in Somerset, England, and it is asking festivalgoers to take part in action to support the goals to eradicate extreme poverty.
During the summer, Oxfam will be inviting people and festivalgoers to paint their lips with the color green, a metaphor that refers to the idea that everyone has poverty issues and global goals in their mouth and on their mind. Participants can then share their picture with the hash tag #biglipsync on their social media websites and profiles or upload a lip singing video to their social media.
These pictures and videos will be used as a way to prove that poverty is on everyone’s lips and that it is an important issue to the larger community. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram users can share their green-painted-lip pictures to raise awareness and spread the word about the campaign in social media. Festivalgoers take many of these pictures while attending music festivals.
In the U.K., Oxfam is also spreading the word about “The Big Lip Sync” by being present in music festivals with a booth that promotes the cause. In these stands, Oxfam counts the banners, picture frames and slogans that festivalgoers use to show their support for the cause.
Famous U.K. journalists, fashion stylists, presenters and producers have also joined the movement. Gemma Cairney, Cherry Healey and DJ Goldierocks are some of the stars that participated in the promotional video for “The Big Lip Sync” project. The video shows them, with green lips, dancing and lip singing to a song in order to promote that they “stand against poverty” and to invite people to be part of “The Big Lip Sync.”
As an extra, Oxfam is offering the chance for a “The Big Lip Sync” participant to win tow tickets to go check out Bestival, a four-day music festival held in Isle of Wight, England. U.K. residents can enter this contest by texting the word LIPS to 700066.
Oxfam has shown a way to create awareness in a colorful, social and fun way. “The Big Lip Sync” represents a way for people and festivalgoers to spread the word and raise awareness about the importance of meeting global goals aimed at ending extreme poverty.
– Diana Fernanda Leon
Sources: Oxfam, Glastonbury Festival, YouTube
Photo: Oxfam
Green WiFi Provides WiFi to Developing Nations
Green WiFi, a nonprofit organization based in California, uses solar power to create WiFi to help fix the gap between the digitally literate and people who do not have access to digital educational materials. Formed in 2010, the organization has successfully helped many people living in poverty gain control of their education and advance toward the digital world.
There are about three billion people under the age of 15 living in developing nations, which amounts to 42 percent of the world’s population living in developing nations. Green WiFi was created on the idea that the welfare of our future is dependent on providing these children with access to the internet, or, in other words, access to the world’s information.
The organization challenges the high costs of supplying people with WiFi by relying on natural energy. Combining low-cost components, solar power technologies, Java and open-source software, Green WiFi has been able to create a WiFi grid network that is self-sustaining and easy to set up. The biggest issue with deploying free WiFi in developing nations has been electricity, an obstacle that the organization overcomes with solar energy. Green WiFi requires no power or system integrations.
To create a solar powered WiFi grid, Green WiFi puts together a 10-watt solar power grid, router, solar charge controller and communication links, plus a solar gel battery for each grid.
Green WiFi has completed global projects in Haiti, Hawaii, Senegal and multiple regions in Latin America. The organization is formed entirely by volunteers, including CEO and founder Bruce Baikie, vice president of engineering Parag Mody and a group of advisors who come together to help increase education around the world. Along with providing impoverished communities with WiFi, these volunteers also work toward providing them with computers and other technology.
In 2011, Green WiFi worked together with a group of students from the Illinois Institute of Technology to provide children in Haiti with WiFi and computers. They were able to successfully get 500 laptops up and running at a school in Lascahobas, Haiti.
Green Wi-Fi also participates with One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), a collaboration project involving the UN and Massachusetts Institute of Technology that is dedicated to raising money and providing affordable computer technologies to those in need. It works by providing children with low-cost, low-powered and rugged connected laptops. These laptops are designed by members of OLPC with the hopes of giving children the power to enhance their education in a joyful and self-empowered way. Another initiative Green WiFi collaborates with is Intel’s World Ahead Program. Similar to OLPC, this program works to donate computers to developing regions.
An article in the Chicago Tribune details the need for WiFi and computers in developing nations. Green WiFi is currently tackling that need and is working on projects in Africa and Latin America.
– Julia Hettiger
Sources: Chicago Tribune, One Laptop per Child, Green WiFi
Photo: Facts and Details