In Africa, women entrepreneurs are rare. They struggle to obtain loans from banks and do not receive the same educational opportunities as their male counterparts because of traditional views that the role of women is in the home.
A disproportionate percentage of women applied to the Anzisha Prize this year— only 27%. The Anzisha prize provides young entrepreneurs with funding.
However, Rwanda defied this norm in 2015 as 60% of applicants to the Anzisha prize in Rwanda were women this year.
This reflects Rwanda’s recent efforts to empower women. In 1994, Rwanda experienced a devastating genocide; 70% of the population was female. Today, Rwanda still has a higher percentage of women in their population. For this reason, President Paul Kagame has implemented initiatives to support women in business, education and politics.
Of note, Rwanda’s parliament has more women than men. “It is exciting to see Rwanda take such progressive steps. Women empowerment has considerable benefits for any economy’s growth and development, and we hope that other African countries follow Rwanda’s example,” explained Grace Kalisha, senior program manager at the African Leadership Academy to How We Made it In Africa.
Four outstanding female Rwandan applicants to the Anzisha Prize, including Gisele Iradukunda, Henriette Dukunde, Alice Igiraneza and Nancy Sibo are featured below.
Radio Stations in Bus Stops
Twenty-year-old Gisele Iradukunda founded Radio Gare Project, a company that installs radio speakers in bus stations to communicate important messages to commuters.
Iradukunda realized bus companies would pay to have a radio system installed so they can provide information to bus users. Other companies can advertise their products to a large group of people waiting at a bus stop.
Her first sound system was installed in Nyamata, a town in southeast Rwanda. She obtained a bank loan, then placed speakers in four corners of the bus station. Today people can hear the sound in a 500-meter radius around the speakers.
Since then, Iradukunda has installed speakers at two more bus stations and hopes to put them in every station in Rwanda in the future.
Iradukunda also uses the bus station radios to notify the public about HIV prevention and healthcare issues. “The District also uses our radio to pass on information about events, meetings and all other affairs that they would like the public to attend,” said Iradukunda.
Rice Cooperative to Support Women
In 2013, Henriette Dukunde, a twenty-one-year-old biology student, co-founded the Rice Project. It is located in Huye, southern Rwanda, and supports over fifty women in a farming cooperative.
The Rice Project places the women farmers into four groups. Each group receives a piece of land, seeds, fertilizer, and other farming materials so they can grow and harvest rice in Nyanza marshlands.
65% of profits goes to the cooperative, and the rest supports the sustainability of the Project.
“The Rice Project has improved the lives of poor vulnerable women. It has both created jobs for them and enabled them to afford their basic daily needs,” explained Dukunde.
Health and Nutrition Promotion at University of Rwanda
Alice Igiraneza, a twenty-one-year-old medical student at the University of Rwanda, started the restaurant Kiza. The restaurant promotes healthy eating at her university by providing a section of healthy options for students and staff at the University of Rwanda.
The restaurant’s goal is to educate the public about diet and nutrition and to fight diseases like diabetes. The restaurant currently serves food to around three hundred people, and provides twenty medical students from impoverished families with employment.
“We pay them a salary of $60 a month and provide them with food so that they can continue their studies and become good doctors for the future well-being of the population,” said Igiraneza.
Along with her restaurant, Igiraneza is the head of a consultation center that teaches students and staff about health and nutrition.
Accessories from Recycled Drinking Straws
In 2013, twenty-one-year-old Nancy Sibo founded Miheha Straw Bags. The company is a social enterprise that manufactures purses, earrings, and belts from recycled plastic drinking straws.
“In developing countries like Rwanda, garbage collection and recycling services are often not available or are inadequate. We have decided to turn waste into opportunity for the enterprise, the environment and for the women,” explained Sibo.
Sibo provides training for women so they can make a living through the company. “Suzanne is a young mother who joined Miheha in 2013 when she was extremely poor with no access to some basics of life. But, through the trainings she received from our initiative, she has changed her life and is now training other women at our enterprise,” said Sibo.
– Margaret Anderson
Sources: Anzisha Prize, How We Made It in Africa
Photo: Venture Burn
Millions of Dollars Toward Fighting AIDS and TB in Sudan
Sudan is an African Country in the Nile Valley of North Africa bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west and Libya to the northwest.
Although recent years have seen improvements in the response to HIV/AIDS and TB, the illnesses maintain their death grip on the population.
The UNDP, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health in Sudan and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, has created two new partnership agreements totaling $41 million for the country to continue fighting the deadly diseases.
The funding is broken into two grants. The first grant worth $20.4 million will be used to manage and track the decrease in TB cases from now until 2017, as well as to commit to identifying more new cases.
By identifying more cases of TB, the disease can be better controlled and spread less. The grant will also go toward improving treatment for 90 percent of newly infected patients as well as for 75 percent of those undergoing a relapse.
The second grant amounting to $20.8 million will go toward halting the spread of HIV among communities most at risk between now and 2017. The grant will also work at keeping the HIV prevalence rate below 2.5 percent among key populations and below 0.3 percent among the general population.
The UNDP, since 2005, has been a key organization assisting Sudan with its ongoing health care challenges. It’s played an important role in decreasing the transmission and morbidity rate of HIV and TB plaguing the Sudanese.
In the past few years, the UNDP has assisted the government with containing the epidemic, increasing service coverage and strengthening the national health system.
The UNDP website reported that the number of people accessing HIV counseling and testing increased from 14,000 in 2007 to more than 250,000 in 2014. In the same period, the number of health facilities providing antiretroviral treatment increased from 21 to 36.
Also, as of 2014, the number of people receiving antiretroviral treatment has increased to 3,937 from only 319 back in 2007.
UNDP Sudan Country Director Mr. Selva Ramachandran was quoted in the press release to say, “UNDP’s goal is to strengthen the response at the national, state and local level by supporting the development of local expertise and backstopping program performance.
To get TB under control, the authorities are planning to provide social support to patients and develop a national campaign to fight the stigma and discrimination that severely hinders TB efforts. Regarding HIV, testing is essential to bend the curve of the epidemic and we remain committed to supporting the provision of HIV testing, counseling and treatment to those in need.”
In nations like Sudan, poverty grips the population and health care can be almost nonexistent. With the help of the UNDP and the extra funding given, the fight to help the poor in Sudan has again gained momentum, and another dent in ridding these ugly diseases has been made.
– Jason Zimmerman
Sources: United Nations Development Programme, The Global Fund,
Photo: Flickr
Feeding Children in Egypt to Boost Attendance Rates
In June 2015, the European Union funded a project for the World Food Programme (WFP) that encourages 100,000 children in Egypt to attend school.
The four-year project, called Enhancing Access of Children to Education and Fighting Child Labour aims to offer children, especially girls, incentives to pursue education.
Fifteen percent of children in Egypt eventually end up working to help support their families. The WFP’s goal of feeding children in Egypt to boost attendance rates involves providing snacks and take-home rations for children who maintain an 80 percent school attendance rate.
The daily in-school snack, date bars, offers valuable vitamins and minerals for students. For most children, the bars are their first meal of the day. The take-home rations of rice and oil equal the value of what children could earn from a month of work.
By using food incentives, WFP hopes to encourage parents to send children to school instead of out to work. In addition, they hope to break the patriarchal idea where young girls are solely expected to stay home and be married.
“The concept they have is the girl is going to get married and stay home, so if they need to get one of their children educated, they’re going to focus on the boys. With our project, we focus on the girls because we feel we are their chance to get an education,” says Amina Al Korey, communications officer for WFP in Egypt.
The girls get first priority registering for the community schools supported by the WFP and supervised by the Egyptian Ministry of Education. Boys can be admitted but only if spots still remain.
Larry Summers, former World Bank chief economist says, “Investment in girls’ education may well be the highest-return investment available in the developing world.”
Girls who attend school will make up to 25 percent more in wages in the future, be healthier and more capable of supporting a family, and could even save malnourished children, simply by being given a secondary education.
Al Korey says, “Whenever I speak to the girls, they’re always just so enthusiastic about actually going to school. They don’t just feel good about getting an education and getting a chance to take a different path.”
WFP also plans to support mothers with income-generating projects, such as breeding goats, making soaps and selling and growing vegetables.
Lubna Alaman, WFP’s representative and county director in Egypt, says, “Through partnerships like this, WFP hopes to make a child’s simplest dream come true.”
At the conclusion of the four-year project, WFP hopes to see more girls excited about pursuing an education and bettering their future.
– Kelsey Parrotte
Sources: Takepart, WFP
Photo: Flickr
Philanthropy University Works to Empower Social Workers
Education has always been heralded as a champion of peace and understanding. Worldwide, people from all walks of life understand that education is one of the best ways to provide better opportunities for their children, socially and economically.
A new nonprofit organization named Philanthropy University has attempted to combine both like no other has before. The organization offers leaders opportunities to strengthen their skills and grow their network of peers and mentors, ultimately gaining skills that will help them make a more meaningful and lasting impact in the world today.
Amr Al-Dabbagh, the founder of Philanthropy U shared his excitement for the project.
“Imagine a workforce of social change professionals who are primed, positioned and skilled to impact the lives of millions of people and effectively change the world with their work. This is the vision of Philanthropy University.”
The program offers free, dynamic courses online in leadership and management. Currently, courses on essential nonprofit strategies and global social entrepreneurship are starting late September.
Courses last 5-8 weeks and require a commitment of 2-3 hours watching videos, reading articles, participating in class discussion, and completing individual and/or team assignments.
The courses are taught by renowned instructors and reviewed by Philanthropy U’s curriculum and advisory committees—which contains educators from prominent schools such as Stanford and UC Berkeley.
The university is the first institution of its kind, providing free non-credit online education. Although the courses are not considered college or academic credit, learners can receive a Statement of Accomplishment upon the completion of any course.
Complete all seven courses to earn a certificate in social sector leadership from Berkeley Haas—the second-oldest business school in the United States nestled on the campus of the University of California Berkeley.
Such programs demonstrate the beauty of humanity, as free education drives social work and the selfless qualities needed to effect positive change in today’s volatile world. More than 10,000 learners have already registered to be in Philanthropy University’s inaugural session: will you be one of them?
– Adnan Khalid
Sources: Jakarta Post, Philanthropy University 1, Philanthropy University 2, Philanthropy University 3
Photo: Google Images
DEBUT Challenge Produces Innovative Medical Technology
Every year the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) hosts a challenge for teams of undergraduate students to create cost-effective solutions to clinical needs that have yet to be met.
The winning design of the 2015 DEBUT challenge was the Viral Diagnostic Technology designed by a group of students from Lehigh University. This device was designed to help meet the World Health Organization’s recommendation that everyone diagnosed with HIV take a yearly viral load test to monitor the effectiveness of treatment. The viral load test is important in diagnosing and monitoring HIV.
The design addresses the issue of the lack of HIV treatment monitoring devices in impoverished areas where the majority of HIV-infected patients live, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa. The technology used allows for a simpler, faster and more affordable option of the viral load test with results coming out within the hour.
This design comes at a critical time as 35 million people in the world are living with HIV. Seventy-one percent of those are living in sub-Saharan Africa.
One of the runner-ups of the challenge was the FreePulse. The FreePulse was designed by a group of undergraduate students from the University of Texas at Austin. The patient monitor was decided upon when the team realized the unbalanced ratio of patient monitors to patient beds.
Thus, FreePulse was created. It is a low-cost patient monitor designed with the developing world in mind. It is durable, simple, and more affordable than conventional patient monitors. The average patient monitor costs between $1,000-$10,000. FreePulse has an estimated manufacturing price of $72, making it much more affordable for small hospitals in impoverished countries.
The NIBIB’s DEBUT Challenge is just one example of how biomedical technology has advanced society’s ability to improve global health and make it affordable. Global health is one step closer to reality through the advanced technology of biomedical engineering.
– Iona Brannon
Sources: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, NIH 1, NIH 2
Photo: Wikipedia
Heat-Mapping for D.C. Food Insecurity
The federal capital of one of the most powerful nations in the world is unfortunately also home to some of the worst food insecurity in the nation.
According to D.C. Hunger solutions — an initiative of the Food Research and Action Center — one in eight households, or 13.4 percent, in the District of Columbia struggles with hunger. In the surrounding suburban areas — one of the richest in the country — the number of people facing food insecurities has risen considerably in the past 8 years. Almost 346,000 residents in the DMV suburban area now live in suburban poverty.
These statistics have fed an exigent need to find new and improved methods to document, plan and combat hunger in the Greater Washington metropolitan area. The Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) serves the food security needs of this area, including the District of Columbia as well as counties in neighboring Maryland and Virginia. One of the largest obstacles in allocation of resources in this area is the disparity within the regions, as well as the undocumented presence of poverty and food insecurity.
In the midst of one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the country is what has been labelled as pockets of hunger. Establishment of food banks and food distribution programs in one part of the county or city is not enough to reach out to the entire population in need of assistance, particularly children.
The solution to this problem has been the heat mapping technology for hunger in the Washington metro area. Designed by Michael Hollister for the CAFB, the technology maps the amount of food distributed in every part of the Greater Washington region; the amount of food needed is layered on the map as well.
The data is obtained through census statistics, USDA records, Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap and food assistance programs’ inventories. The hunger map then shows the areas in greatest need with calculated food insecurity rates. The layered statistical data is color-coded, as in a heat map, for easier visual interpretation.
The meticulously worked out data and the subsequent mapping technology have allowed for more uniform distribution of food resources. In the District of Columbia, the heat map has allowed for a partnership between the CAFB and another D.C. nonprofit, Martha’s Table, to prioritize school locations in the area for provision of healthy lunches.
In Virginia, the heat mapping visualization has helped the CAFB’s northern Virginia branch to access mobile home parks. These mobile home parks, like Marumsco in Woodbridge, had been long overlooked by the food distributors as they are not very visible or well-known, in-need areas.
The map of the region with visually obvious red zones brought the needs of this community to the attention of CAFB. Thanks to the heat map, there is now a food bus at Marumsco distributing nutritious lunches to kids in need.
The objective of the heat mapping method is to effectively visualize the areas with unmet food needs. The misled perceptions of affluence — in the suburban areas especially — have in the past hindered the efficient distribution of food to areas in actual need. But with the contrivance of heat mapping, the food banks in the capital area will be able to extend a helping hand to everyone in need.
– Atifah Safi
Sources: Washington Post, Capital Area Foodbank, WAMU, Huffington Post, FRAC
Photo: Flickr
Nigerian Philanthropist Fights Against Africa’s Energy Poverty
West Africa has the highest levels of energy poverty in the world. The shortage of electricity has been a big barrier to the economic development and people’s wellbeing in Africa.
Tony Elumelu, a Nigerian-born business leader and philanthropist, makes the call for ending energy poverty in Africa and takes action to alleviate it.
Ranking 26th on the Forbes Lists of Africa’s 50 Richest in 2014, Tony Elumelu is one of Africa’s most revered business leaders. As the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), Elumelu fortune’s is estimated at $1 billion.
Approaching the latter period of his business career, Elumelu makes more effort on philanthropy. After retiring from UBA in July 2010, he founded the Tony Elumelu Foundation, intending to foster Africa’s economy by enhancing the competitiveness of the African private sector.
At the same time, Tony Elumelu has also been a significant member of many non-profit organizations, such as World Economic Forum’s Regional Agenda Council on Africa, the Nigeria Leadership Initiative and the Infant Jesus Academy in Delta State, Nigeria.
On 30 June 2015, Elumelu participated in African Energy Leaders Group (AELG) Summit. It was launched by Côte d’Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan with top-level political and business leaders, intended to make concrete plans for sustainable energy access in Africa.
According to Ivorian Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan, in order to expedite the implementation of sustainable projects, the West African sub-group of the AELG intends to gather public and private sectors to mobilize finance. As a co-founder of AELG, Elumelu pledged to donate $150,000 over the next three years for its secretarial work.
Elumelu previously contributed to the fight against energy poverty before the Summit. In 2013, Tony Elumelu pledged to contribute $2.5 billion in President Barack Obama’s Power Africa Initiative to support Africa’s power sector.
During the same year, Transcorp, where Elumelu served as Chairman, acquired the 600 MW Ughelli plant in Delta State. It is one of Nigeria’s largest gas-powered generating plants and will generate 1,000 MW by the end of 2015.
The discussion between Transcorp and General Electric has been ongoing, and Transcorp is likely to add another 1,000 MW soon after they reach the first quota.
“Providing access to electricity for schools, hospitals, businesses and industries is the single most impactful intervention that can be made to transform the continent,” said Elumelu during the Summit. “It has tremendous implications for job creation, health, food security, education, technological advancement and overall economic development.”
– Shengyu Wang
Sources: Forbes, Sustainable Energy for All
Photo: Forbes
Young Tech Entrepreneurs Challenging the Status Quo
The word “entrepreneur“ seems to carry a certain gravitas. Names like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates often come to mind when thinking about the most well known entrepreneurs. One might think of Silicon Valley as the hotbed of tech entrepreneurs, but a new wave of young, technologically inclined entrepreneurs is spreading in the developing world.
Long have been the days of governments and large non-government organizations (NGOs) dictating development in poorer countries. The age-old stereotype that the young are more technologically savvy than older ones holds true today. While better might not be the right word, younger people around the world are very connected into the technology world.
Because of this, some young entrepreneurs are combining technology and small business solutions to take the lead in changing the lives of fellow countrymen. Instead of a nation’s path being decided by outside investors, young entrepreneurs are putting their own country in the driving seat.
Many of these young entrepreneurs are tired with the status quo, and want improvements quicker than they are coming. So, instead of waiting for an NGO to fix a problem, they are taking issues by the scruff of the neck themselves. “Youth in Egypt want change and they’re not going to wait for it,” according to Waleed Abd el Rahman, a Cairo resident who runs a tech business forum there.
Rahman is working with a number of start-ups. One is developing an app that aims to help users navigate Cairo’s famously traffic-clogged streets. Another is working towards making private tutoring less expensive by providing online alternatives. Fed up with nuisances of their daily life, young Egyptians are taking charge, hoping to make a positive social impact and change the world.
Importantly, the spread of mobile phones throughout the developing world is only making tech entrepreneurs’ lives easier. More than a luxury item, the cell phone is a productive tool in Africa. Small businesses can track their finances and solve problems or inefficiencies. Africa is not the only place that tech entrepreneurs and mobile phones are making an impact. Both are blooming in India as well.
Shivani Siroya, from northern India, began a small company that developed InSight, a way for people to better keep track of their finances by staying up to date via text messages. They can keep track of their income and expenses through the service.
Even expats and foreigners are jumping on the entrepreneur train. Sean Blagsvedt, who lives in Bangalore, India, started Babajob. The platform helps informal workers look for better jobs by texting or calling from their mobile phone.
Gregory Rockson, originally from Ghana but living in San Francisco, started a tech company called mPharma when he heard that people back home were dying of treatable diseases, simply because they could not get medicine fast enough. By the time someone had found medicine for one heart disease patient, he was already dead.
To fix this, mPharma shows which pharmacies have which medicines in an online database. Pharmacies log what drugs they have so that doctors can see exactly where they can get them, cutting down precious time wasted going pharmacy to pharmacy looking for the right medicine. This is a perfect example of a young entrepreneur trying to make change in his country for the better.
– Greg Baker
Sources: Washington Post, PBS, NPR
Photo: PBS
Women Entrepreneurs in Rwanda: Overcoming Gender Barriers
In Africa, women entrepreneurs are rare. They struggle to obtain loans from banks and do not receive the same educational opportunities as their male counterparts because of traditional views that the role of women is in the home.
A disproportionate percentage of women applied to the Anzisha Prize this year— only 27%. The Anzisha prize provides young entrepreneurs with funding.
However, Rwanda defied this norm in 2015 as 60% of applicants to the Anzisha prize in Rwanda were women this year.
This reflects Rwanda’s recent efforts to empower women. In 1994, Rwanda experienced a devastating genocide; 70% of the population was female. Today, Rwanda still has a higher percentage of women in their population. For this reason, President Paul Kagame has implemented initiatives to support women in business, education and politics.
Of note, Rwanda’s parliament has more women than men. “It is exciting to see Rwanda take such progressive steps. Women empowerment has considerable benefits for any economy’s growth and development, and we hope that other African countries follow Rwanda’s example,” explained Grace Kalisha, senior program manager at the African Leadership Academy to How We Made it In Africa.
Four outstanding female Rwandan applicants to the Anzisha Prize, including Gisele Iradukunda, Henriette Dukunde, Alice Igiraneza and Nancy Sibo are featured below.
Radio Stations in Bus Stops
Twenty-year-old Gisele Iradukunda founded Radio Gare Project, a company that installs radio speakers in bus stations to communicate important messages to commuters.
Iradukunda realized bus companies would pay to have a radio system installed so they can provide information to bus users. Other companies can advertise their products to a large group of people waiting at a bus stop.
Her first sound system was installed in Nyamata, a town in southeast Rwanda. She obtained a bank loan, then placed speakers in four corners of the bus station. Today people can hear the sound in a 500-meter radius around the speakers.
Since then, Iradukunda has installed speakers at two more bus stations and hopes to put them in every station in Rwanda in the future.
Iradukunda also uses the bus station radios to notify the public about HIV prevention and healthcare issues. “The District also uses our radio to pass on information about events, meetings and all other affairs that they would like the public to attend,” said Iradukunda.
Rice Cooperative to Support Women
In 2013, Henriette Dukunde, a twenty-one-year-old biology student, co-founded the Rice Project. It is located in Huye, southern Rwanda, and supports over fifty women in a farming cooperative.
The Rice Project places the women farmers into four groups. Each group receives a piece of land, seeds, fertilizer, and other farming materials so they can grow and harvest rice in Nyanza marshlands.
65% of profits goes to the cooperative, and the rest supports the sustainability of the Project.
“The Rice Project has improved the lives of poor vulnerable women. It has both created jobs for them and enabled them to afford their basic daily needs,” explained Dukunde.
Health and Nutrition Promotion at University of Rwanda
Alice Igiraneza, a twenty-one-year-old medical student at the University of Rwanda, started the restaurant Kiza. The restaurant promotes healthy eating at her university by providing a section of healthy options for students and staff at the University of Rwanda.
The restaurant’s goal is to educate the public about diet and nutrition and to fight diseases like diabetes. The restaurant currently serves food to around three hundred people, and provides twenty medical students from impoverished families with employment.
“We pay them a salary of $60 a month and provide them with food so that they can continue their studies and become good doctors for the future well-being of the population,” said Igiraneza.
Along with her restaurant, Igiraneza is the head of a consultation center that teaches students and staff about health and nutrition.
Accessories from Recycled Drinking Straws
In 2013, twenty-one-year-old Nancy Sibo founded Miheha Straw Bags. The company is a social enterprise that manufactures purses, earrings, and belts from recycled plastic drinking straws.
“In developing countries like Rwanda, garbage collection and recycling services are often not available or are inadequate. We have decided to turn waste into opportunity for the enterprise, the environment and for the women,” explained Sibo.
Sibo provides training for women so they can make a living through the company. “Suzanne is a young mother who joined Miheha in 2013 when she was extremely poor with no access to some basics of life. But, through the trainings she received from our initiative, she has changed her life and is now training other women at our enterprise,” said Sibo.
– Margaret Anderson
Sources: Anzisha Prize, How We Made It in Africa
Photo: Venture Burn
NGOs are Becoming More Effective Thanks to ICT
Information and Communications Technology, or ICT for short, is the way of the future for non-government organizations (NGOs). By effectively using new ICT, all types of NGOs are becoming more efficient in how they track and record data, as well as plan for future projects.
This new technology breaks down the complexity of information that NGOs handle on a daily basis and helps format it in a way that makes it simpler for these groups to utilize in their future endeavors.
Information and Communications Technology encompasses all sorts of specific fields. It covers things such as radio, television, cellular phones, and computer technology.
By using ICT, NGOs can spread their messages more efficiently through a wider array of platforms, develop better on-site technologies in third-world countries, and establish long-term methods to record information on poverty levels around the world.
An article by the Dhaka Tribune delved into the many benefits that ICT brings with it for non-government organizations. An excerpt from this article, published on July 31, 2015, reads, “Using ICT for social development helps NGOs to have accessible, timely, relevant, and updated information to make on-time decisions and improve social policy.”
The article goes on to pose a scenario in which an NGO makes monthly visits to an area to provide villagers with resources and other aid.
The scenario focuses on two children who received inadequate amounts of milk based on their growth in between visits from the NGO. When ICT is instituted into this scenario, the NGO workers can enter into their phones the exact height, weight, and age of the children each visit in order to chart growth and provide the necessary amount of food and aid.
Today’s society is all about maximizing efficiency. Technology has evolved faster in this period of time than at any other point in history. With this evolution comes the betterment of all mankind. By using technology as a means to maximize the eradication of poverty, people all over the world can begin to feel hopeful that their lives are about to change.
– Diego Catala
Sources: Dhaka Tribune, Tech Target
Photo: Dhaka Tribune
Breastfeeding Practices in Rural India
It has been proven that the first 6 months of a child’s life are amongst the most crucial for establishing their longstanding health immunities and development of antibodies. However, in the rural areas of northern India, UNICEF estimates that only 46 percent of infants are exclusively breastfed during this time. Furthermore, it is believed that approximately 2 million Indian children die each year before the age of 5.
A 2009 study was conducted at the Pravara Rural Hospital in Loni, Uttar Pradesh. Three hundred mothers of children between ages 0 and 5 were surveyed regarding socio-demographics, religious affiliations and breastfeeding practices. In like manner, the children themselves were clinically examined to determine the severity, if any, of their malnutrition.
These data sets were examined, compared and analyzed to determine any patterns or similarities. Male and female children surveyed were split approximately 60 percent to 40 percent, respectively, but there were no indications implying the biological sex was a factor in nourishment.
The data did not reveal a correlation regarding religion, which would imply that the various faith teachings did not object to breastfeeding. It was found that socio-economic and educational status were the primary indicators of malnourishment. Ninety-seven percent of the mothers surveyed were under the age of 30. Additionally, of the 300 mothers, 147 had completed high school or less and had malnourished children.
While the sample size is very small, it is certainly representative of rural breastfeeding habits and conditions during the first few months. Children of young, uneducated mothers in rural areas appear to be at most risk. Initially, this would indicate a lack of understanding regarding the benefits of breastfeeding. Although there appeared to be a common understanding of necessary benefits, the prevalence of this knowledge does not correlate to perfect practice in reality.
Responses revealed an absence of any scheduled patterns for breastfeeding other than as a means to stop the child’s crying. The lack of an organized routine and the late start for breastfeeding practices are central contributors to malnutrition in rural India.
In rural communities, there is also a belief that colostrum, the nutrient milk produced directly after delivery, is unhealthy for children. In many communities, goat’s milk is traditionally provided as a substitute. For these reasons, 80 percent of the mothers surveyed began periodically breastfeeding their children between 4 and 8 months old.
In an effort to encourage earlier, more consistent breastfeeding habits, UNICEF has partnered with local organizations in the northern states to provide home visits to encourage earlier breastfeeding and to dispel any false notions. Durowpadi Bedia, a health worker in the Northern state of Assam says, “Whenever we go on home visits, we talk to all members of the family – the parents, the grandparents, adolescent girls…They have faith in what I am saying.”
“When they come and talk in our own language, I understand better. I feel comfortable with them,” said Monika Bedi, a young mother. Home visits are scheduled with expectant mothers 3 to 4 times per month in the third trimester of their pregnancy. Jeroo Master, UNICEF’s Chief of Field Officer in Assam states, “Now mothers understand how vital breast milk is to the health of their babies…having health and nutrition workers actively promoting breastfeeding at the village level will ensure each child has the best start possible in life.”
Dr. Victor Aguayo, UNICEF India’s Chief of Child Nutrition and Development states, “Unquestionable global evidence demonstrates that breastfeeding counseling and support is the most important child-survival intervention.”
– The Borgen Project
Sources: Research Gate, UNICEF, NIC
Photo: Baby Center