Guatemala has one of the highest rates of child marriages, with over 30 percent of girls getting married by age 18 and 7 percent of girls getting married by age 15. It is also one of the only countries in which the rate of childbirths to girls under the age of 15 rose from 1990 to 2011.
In Guatemala, it is legal for girls to marry at age 14 as long as they have parental consent. However, many girls younger than 14 are forced to marry, resulting in early childbirth. In the village of Almolonga, a 13 year old’s childbirth caused a national scandal because her wedding—which took place when she was only 12—had been officiated by the mayor of the village.
Marriage at such a young age results in many complications because the girls’ bodies are not ready for childbirth. As the Council on Foreign Relations states, one of the most common problems girls face is an obstetric fistula, which can lead to chronic incontinence. Maternal mortality is also extremely prevalent, and childbirth is the leading cause of death for girls between the ages of 15 to 19 in low to middle income countries. In addition, babies born to younger mothers are more likely to die at a young age because they tend to have higher risks of malnutrition and weaker immune systems.
Child marriage is also problematic because many girls are forced to rely on their spouses economically. Therefore, even if they are trapped in an abusive relationship, many girls are not able to leave their husbands. Also, many of those who enter into child marriages drop out of school once they are married, and therefore do not have the education to get a job, which would allow them to support themselves.
Child marriage has been prevalent for a long time, and in Guatemala it is rooted in indigenous cultures and a patriarchal idea that states that women are normally confined to housekeeping and childbirth. However, this idea is slowly changing. At Wings, a nonprofit that works for family planning and reporductive health in Guatemala, director Shilpa Kothari states that ‘at the local level, parents, teachers, and even young women are saying that 14 is a bit too young to become pregnant’.
There is also a societal movement for child marriages to be counted and no longer regarded as normal. Organizations like The Reproductive Health Observatory in Guatemala (OSAR) have helped to enforce that the government trains state employees to identify child mothers. In 2014, there were 5,119 documented cases of mothers under the age of 15.
This identification of child mothers has led to more criminal complaints being filed, since child mothers are rape victims in the eyes of the law. In 2013, 608 formal criminal complaints were filed, and in 2014, 921 were filed.
There is still a stigma surrounding rape, which has led to few of these criminal complaints resulting in convictions. Moreover, many girls are scared to testify because they rely on their husbands for economic dependence.
The Guatemalan congress is sitting on a bill that will change the legal marriage age to 16, but whether this bill will pass is debatable.
Guatemala is making strides regarding child marriage, but it still has a ways to go. Luckily, there is work being done through the UN that will help Guatemala reduce its rate of child marriage. In 2013, the HRC adopted its first resolution on child, early and forced marriage, recognizing them as human rights violations. This resolution was co-sponsored by over 100 countries, including Guatemala, and aims to help define the development agenda for after 2015, when the Millennium Development Goals expire.
There are steps being taken to help reduce child marriages—changing patriarchal ideas on the local level, helping to encourage the reporting of childbirths and enforcing that child, early and forced marriages are human rights violations—but there is still room for improvement. As Dr. Montenegro of OSAR states, even if the law changes regarding child marriages, this change in law has to be accompanied by public policies that will empower girls and help them have a plan for their lives.
There are many organizations one can donate to which work to empower girls and reduce child marriages. Some of the organizations that work directly with residents of Guatemala are the Population Council, which works to connect girls with mentors and support, and the Fundación Nueva Esperanza, which gives girls scholarships to attend school.
— Ashrita Rau
Sources: The New York Times, Council on Foreign Relations, Girls Not Brides, Girls Not Brides, MSN, UN Popluation Fund,
PBS
Photo: Girls Not Brides
Solar Sister Brings Light to Rural Africa
At a time when only 24 percent of sub-Saharan Africa has access to electricity, the grassroots organization Solar Sister is taking a woman-centered approach to ending energy poverty in the region.
Solar Sister works at the community level to provide access to clean energy sources such as solar lanterns. By training and supporting women as they build their own businesses, the organization helps families in rural East Africa become more self-sufficient.
For $500, Solar Sister can provide a woman with a full lamp inventory, called a “business in a bag.” Using an Avon distribution model, the entrepreneur goes door to door, selling solar lights and other green technologies to neighbors and family members. She earns a commission on all products sold, which she can use to supplement her family’s income and expand her business.
Katherine Lucey, founder of Solar Sister, says that energy access is necessary for economic growth. With light, people can continue to work after dark and increase their productivity; children can study for longer and do better in school. Those without electricity are therefore at a disadvantage, trapped in poverty.
For this reason, Solar Sister focuses its work in places like rural Uganda, where close to 95 percent of the population lacks access to electricity. In communities that are far from the electrical grid, people depend on kerosene lamps for light. Using kerosene is not only expensive, but also dangerous, since lamps can emit toxic fumes.
Before founding Solar Sister in 2009, Lucey worked for a nonprofit on large-scale solar power projects. When she realized that these projects were doing little to help those living in poverty, she decided to try a new approach.
“The technology that we were using – the solar panel, the PVC, etc., was very ‘techie,’” Lucey explains. “And we were in homes where there was no technology. So, the women didn’t have a comfort zone with the technology.”
Solar Sister’s products, on the other hand, are simple to use: the solar lanterns charge outside during the day, then provide light at night with the flip of a switch. The lights, which have 10-year lifespans, cost between $15 and $50. Compared to the price of kerosene, which costs around $2 a week, the light pays for itself in a matter of months.
The money a woman earns from selling these products provides her and her family with more economic freedom. Mityana, a Solar Sister entrepreneur from central Uganda, says “It makes me feel proud to see that I’m bringing an income to my family.” So far, the organization has partnered with over 1,000 women entrepreneurs to bring clean energy to more than 180,000 people in East Africa.
Lucey notes that in almost all cases, the women use their earnings to provide education for their children. She hopes that this new, educated generation will help lift rural communities out of poverty.
– Caitlin Harrison
Sources: CNN, CS Monitor, USAID, World Bank
Photo: World Bank
Mine Sniffing Rats, the Future of Detection?
An unlikely candidate to saving lives comes to mind when looking at the Gambian pouched rat. Almost blind, but with an extraordinarily strong sense of smell, these rats can detect the most minute odors that can lead to saving human lives.
With this unique sense of smell, these rats in rural Africa are being trained to detect land mines in Africa that are remnants of civil war. Being light enough to not trigger the mines, these rats can sweep over a minefield quicker and more effectively in two hours than the traditional 2-3 days through the human method of metal detectors.
Mine-laying became a common military practice in the late 1970s, and while thousands of mines may have been laid, very few were actually detonated during wars. In countries like Cambodia, mines that have been unaccounted for have have lead to 64,00 casualties since 1979, as well as 25,000 people living with amputations.
As land mines are a hidden threat, they pose a danger to unsuspecting passersby; children on their way to school, and men and women just doing their daily tasks, can all be susceptible to this realistic terror. This is why training the Gambian rats is so useful and important to these rural areas.
With this keen sense of smell, researchers have found that they can not only detect the minute smells of land mines, but can also detect diseases like tuberculosis faster and cheaper than with a laboratory microscope. The rats are able to do this by smelling the bacteria that lives within an infected person.
This amazing realization has saved thousands of dollars for developing countries as the World Health Organization’s current endorsed detection machinery, which costs $17,000 with each individual test requiring $17 for equipment.
Studies have recently suggested that the Gambian pouched rat can do even better. With its keen, sensitive sense of smell and ability to be trained, the future possibilities for the functionality of this amazing animal are astounding.
– Alysha Biemolt
Sources: NYTimes, NYTimes, Child Fund
Photo: Mirror
Humanitarian Aid and How to Help
With all that happens in today’s philanthropic world, definitions can get muddled. Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to promote human welfare, often after natural or man-made disasters. The World Health Organization defines it as “aid that seeks to save lives and alleviate suffering of a crisis affected population.”
In essence, humanitarian aid is humans helping other humans.
There are countless examples of humanitarian aid, from large organizations to small-scale philanthropy events that benefit a larger cause. One of the goals of the United Nations is to provide humanitarian aid.
An example of a large humanitarian aid organization is Doctors Without Borders. Every year, Doctors Without Borders provides emergency medical care to millions in crisis after a disaster. It has operated in over 70 countries around the world over crisis such as armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition and natural disasters. According to their website, every day over 30,000 people are helping others through Doctors Without Borders.
On a smaller scale, humanitarian aid can be found locally. A local fundraiser for a cause, such as a charity walk to raise money, can support a humanitarian aid organization. For example, nearly 1,000 GoFundMe campaigns were made to raise money after the earthquake in Nepal, raising a total of over $5 million.
There are plenty of ways to get involved in humanitarian aid! Keep it simple and think locally. How can your community help others in need? Here are 5 easy ideas for you to try:
1. Organize a dinner with your friends and ask each person to donate a little to the charity of your choice.
2. Attend a charity walk or ride. You’ll get some exercise while raising money and awareness for a greater cause.
3. Clean out your closet and donate your old clothes.
4. Join an organization like Habitat for Humanity and help build a home for those who have lost their own.
5. Help out at a local food pantry. Make a difference right in your own neighborhood.
Before getting involved with the humanitarian aid of your choice, make sure to do your homework. Understand the issue–the problem at hand, the potential solutions, the dilemmas–before launching yourself into the organization. That way you will understand the complexity of the problem and be able to get a lot out of your experience.
– Hannah Resnick
Sources: GoFundMe, World Health Organization
Photo: Flickr
Hangzhou: The Defilement of a Paradise
Hangzhou is widely regarded as the poster child for the Chinese economic model. The city is growing at nine percent annually and is six times larger than it was in 2000, thanks to the break-neck speed at which its industries are diversifying and expanding. Residents enjoy a GDP per capita of 9,300 dollars, the ninth highest of all cities in China. But the frenzied rate of development has also precipitated rain on Hangzhou’s parade – the rain being showers of coal dust.
On March 10, 2013, residents woke up to a film of black powder that coated their homes and roads. The trees and flowers of the nearby Bashan National Forest Park were not spared either. Paradoxically, Hangzhou is a city whose name translates to “heaven of the earth.” It is legendary for its natural beauty; an ancient saying declares, “just as there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth.” In 2009, the city was voted the “National Garden City” and given the “China Habitat Environmental Prize.”
However, authorities were not able provide an explanation, much less a solution, for the shower of coal dust that came down on Hangzhou. It was an incident that both literally and figuratively besmirched the city and pointed to a larger nation-wide problem. China burns 3.5 billion tons of coal each year, largely for energy purposes, which generates 60 percent of the nitric oxide, 40 percent of the carbon dioxide and 25 percent of the dust pollutants in China’s notorious pollution.
Many residents of Hangzhou have refused to turn a blind eye to the environmental strains caused by the city’s rapid development. In May of 2014, people in Hangzhou demonstrated against a proposed garbage incinerator they believed would contaminate the air with toxic dioxin and mercury. More than 20,000 signatures were gathered from concerned residents who called for the project to be halted.
The authorities demanded calm, claiming that the incinerator was necessary given that the rapid expansion of the city had led to mounting levels of residential waste. After facing months of continued criticism, they promised that the project would not go ahead if public resistance remained high. At the same time, however, they arrested dozens of protesters. But even if authorities did pledge a shutdown, they could easily withdraw it. In 2011, a paraxylene plant that had sparked multiple protests in the city of Dalian was later quietly reopened in 2012, one year later.
The Chinese government is taking some steps to address the environmental problem in Hangzhou. It promised to build a coal-free zone by 2017, and assured Hangzhou’s residents that they would be able to enjoy more than 300 days of second-grade or better air quality by then. The government established the aptly named Project Blue Sky, Project Green Water, Project Greenness and Project Quietness.
While not being entirely inert, the rate at which progress is being made to ensure clean air might not be fast enough to keep up with the city’s rate of growth. In spite of implementing a metro system in 2012 and other public transportation initiatives that were aimed at decreasing people’s dependence on automobiles, CO2 emissions due to transportation are projected to increase by 59.6 percent by 2020. As long as the city develops at its current rate, demand for cars and other forms of motorization will continue to surge.
In 2013, China released 29 percent of the world’s CO2, or 10.3 billion tons. It was the largest emission from any single country. The U.S. released the second highest amount of CO2, accounting for 15 percent of global emissions with 5.3 billion tons. There is cause for hope, however, with the carbon reduction deal President Barack Obama and President Xi Jingping signed last November. China agreed to cap emissions and increase its use of zero-emission energy sources by 20 percent by 2030. But even with this initiative, it seems that Hangzhou will continue to suffer increasing environmental degradation for at least the next fifteen years.
– Radhika Singh
Sources: China Briefing, Chicago Policy Review, NYTimes, The Epoch Times, Xinhua, IKPMG, Hangzhou Weekly, Hangzhou Government, Hangzhou Government, UN Habitat, The Guardian, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and the European Commission
Photo: Fortune
The Impact of Malnutrition in Guinea-Bissau
According to the World Food Programme, almost 15,000 children living in Guinea-Bissau are plagued by acute malnutrition. As of 2013, a mere seven percent of the country’s population is food-secure. Rural communities suffer especially—as many as 93 percent of Guinea-Bissau’s rural population is living with food insecurity and the consequential threat of malnutrition.
So, what is malnutrition, and what impact does it actually have? According to the World Health Organization, malnutrition is “a deficiency of nutrition” caused by factors related to poor diet and disease. Malnutrition hinders physical development, leading to stunted growth and underweight children.
Malnutrition also negatively impacts brain anatomy, physiology and biochemistry, potentially leading to irreversible brain damage. Additionally, an analysis of child mortality data from 10 countries, including Guinea-Bissau, found that due to “the vicious cycle between malnutrition and infection,” children who suffer growth restriction due to malnutrition are more likely to become ill and have a higher rate of severe illness, leading in turn, to further developmental stunting.
The World Factbook, a publication by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, identifies Guinea-Bissau as having the fifth greatest death rate out of 225 countries. Life expectancy at birth, a mere 49.87 years, is also the third shortest, ranking above only South Africa and Chad.
With 18 percent of children less than five years of age underweight and the high risk of disease, Guinea-Bissau is certainly impacted by that “vicious cycle” of malnutrition and illness.
The same analysis that notes this cycle also observes the importance of the “context of poverty” that malnutrition and its ill effects occur within. This poverty, the authors assert, “leads to diminished access to health care, exposure to contaminated environments, poor child care practices, and food insecurity that ultimately affects patterns of intake and illness.”
Poverty rates in Guinea-Bissau have increased notably over the past few years. Now, 75 percent of the country’s population experiences poverty.
Several contributing factors, including socio-political fluctuations and the declining market value of cashews, the country’s primary cash crop, have caused the increased poverty and subsequent malnutrition in Guinea-Bissau. The country’s economy is predominately supported by agriculture with more than 80 percent of the labor force employed in farming. This portion of the population is also the most vulnerable when it comes to food-insecurity.
Experts estimate that in order to end world hunger, alleviating food-insecurity in places like Guinea-Bissau, $30 billion per year is needed over the course of a decade. While it seems like a staggering sum, when compared to U.S. military spending, $30 billion is a drop in the foreign policy bucket.
The U.S. Department of Defense base budget for 2015 is $495.6 billion, nearly 17 times the $30 billion needed to alleviate world hunger. However, the U.S. spends less than one percent of its foreign policy budget on international aid.
An increased contribution to the fight against global poverty and hunger need not be drastic. In fact, by fulfilling their 1970 promise to give 0.7 percent of gross national income as official international development aid, the U.S. and other wealthy member countries of The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development could end global poverty.
This foreign aid investment would help people struggling with food insecurity in places like Guinea-Bissau, preventing malnutrition and all its ill effects.
– Emma-Claire LaSaine
Sources: World Food Programme, MDGIF, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, CIA, Nutrition Reviews, WHO, Los Angeles Times, U.S. Department of Defense, OECD
Photo: World Food Progamme
Bangladesh Launches Immunization Campaign
The introduction of the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) and pneumococcal vaccine (PCV) has benefited over three million children in Bangladesh. These additional immunizations in Bangladesh are now given regularly to children in accordance with the country’s national immunization program.
In 1979, Bangladesh started the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) to reduce child deaths from vaccine preventable deaths. The first six vaccines administered against infectious diseases included tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and measles.
Currently, Bangladesh is administering vaccines against nine diseases to children under the age of 1. More than 85 percent of children are vaccinated, an achievement that helped Bangladesh to become one of the six countries in the world that achieved Millennium Development Goals (MDG) on child mortality before the 2015 deadline.
WHO, UNICEF, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners support the addition of these novel vaccines to the country’s national immunization program. In 2013, the government of Bangladesh doubled its vaccine storage capacity to allow the storage of the PCV.
Seth Berkley, the CEO of Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, says “Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of child mortality in Bangladesh, accounting for 22 percent of deaths of children under the age of 5, so the introduction of pneumococcal vaccine will have a major positive impact on child survival”.
By adding the IPV into Bangladesh’s national immunization campaign, it is fulfilling the Polio Eradication & Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018.
To ensure that the IPV and the PCV are added to every child’s immunization card, over 45,000 community health workers play the key role to ensure that parents bring their children in for their immunization sessions.
In order for these new immunizations to become a success, the community health workers had to complete extensive training in order to administer the vaccines, and to also be knowledgeable to answer any of the parents’ questions.
Aside from the necessary training, health workers in Bangladesh faced other challenges in the course of administering the new vaccines. The equipment that keeps the vaccines cold and vital, the national cold chain, had to be modified in order to adjust to the varying temperatures during the monsoon season. In addition to the varying temperatures, rickshaws had to be used for transportation through the crowded cities in order to deliver the vaccines in time for immunization sessions.
There have been many obstacles for the vaccines to be administered to the three million children in Bangladesh. From extreme temperatures, extensive training and implementation, the PCV and IPV have had a difficult undertaking to make it to the immunization sessions.
However, these vaccines will lower the mortality rate for children under five dying from pneumonia. Pneumonia, a bacterial or viral infection, has been an illness prevented in many countries. With the immunization in Bangladesh, more children will build immunity against the illness and survive the infection if contracted.
– Kerri Szulak
Sources: Bdnews24, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, Vaccine News Daily
Photo: UNICEF New Zealand
Can the Measles Vaccine Ward Off ‘Immune Amnesia’?
Scientists are speculating that the measles vaccine does more than prevent measles. A new study published in the journal “Science” found that children that were vaccinated did not just avoid the measles, they also eluded infectious illnesses such as pneumonia, influenza and tuberculosis.
Historically, each time the measles vaccine was introduced, childhood mortality dramatically went down by 30 to 50 percent in some countries and by 90 percent in severely destitute nations.
Today the vaccine is hailed as one of the most effective operations in public health in recent history.
The World Health Organization has asserted that the vaccine is linked to a hefty decrease in child mortality no matter what the infectious illness is. Following widespread vaccination, childhood deaths due to infectious disease fall by 50 percent.
Michael Mina is a post-doctorate at Princeton University and a medical student at Emory University. He and his team performed a recent study using computer models to predict the mortality rate for infectious diseases in the next few years.
The team looked at figures collected from the U.S, Denmark, England and Wales. Numbers dated back to the 1940s.
In every location, the presence of measles was linked by some degree to the rate of mortality. The magnitude of the affect was different for each country because, most likely, health care underwent changes during the 70-year stretch.
From the evidence, Mina and his colleagues concluded that being infected with measles leaves children susceptible to other infectious diseases for an average time span of 28.3 months, or about two or three years.
Measles is a severe immunosuppressor, increases a host’s likelihood of contracting other diseases. Most viruses have this effect, but measles takes it even further. It actually obliterates any immunity the host once had.
After going through a measles infection, “the immune system kind of comes back. The only problem is that it has forgotten what it once knew,” Mina explains.
For example, if a child gets sick with pneumonia, they build up antibodies which prevent the child from contracting the disease again. But if that child then catches the measles, their immune system loses that protection and they could contract pneumonia once more.
Persuasive evidence from the new study contributes to the belief that measles affects a person’s immunity and, therefore, their overall mortality. Thus, the measles vaccine could decrease mortality to a much larger degree than originally thought.
Still, scientists still have not been able to supply enough evidence as to why this phenomenon happens. They have only come up with “immune amnesia” as a theory. There is still more testing to be done.
Even so, no one can ignore the overwhelming evidence that eliminating measles lessens the risk of contracting other infectious diseases. It is just another incentive for people, especially children, to be vaccinated.
Reductions in mortality have been observed in the U.S., England and other parts of Europe and are still seen in developing countries each time the vaccine is instituted.
– Lillian Sickler
Sources: NPR, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Research Gate, Online Post, ARS Technical
Photo: Flickr
What it Means to Educate the World
Teach the world. Fix its problems. Seems like pretty simple logic.
However, advocacy for education around the world may seem like a broad scope, and many times the necessity of “spreading education” comes across so vague that it gets lost in the web of international aid “talk”. In order to understand the importance of education and creating more opportunities for education around the world, everyone should know some of the educational programs being created around the world. Here are a few just to start the long list!
Health Education: Rampant spread of disease is a significant concern in many developing nations around the globe. Many illnesses in poorer regions of the world are preventable and treatable, yet people in said communities continue to suffer. Health education is instilled in many countries, teaching many about general health and sexual health. HIV/AIDS in particular, remains a main focus for many international aid organizations, and by teaching safe sex practices and overall safer health practices, there will hopefully be an end to the spread of these deadly illnesses. To learn more about these kinds of organizations, go to www.planusa.org.
Economic Education: Instead of simply giving money to poor communities, it is important to also teach sustainable and smarter economic practices in order to assure more long-term effects from international aid efforts. Certain education advocacy groups go into poor communities in other countries, teaching small business owners and families more efficient strategies of economics and savings. This not only builds up said business, but also puts more money in the homes and to the families of the small communities, and moreover stimulates the overall economy. To learn more about these types of programs, go to www.trickleup.org.
Women’s Education: Educating and empowering women around the world is a huge objective in many international education programs. Many women in developing nations experience extreme oppression, and in many cases, abuse. By educating women, in particular skills and safer health practices, they are given more of ability to be independent, and are less likely to stay in circumstances in which they are abused. To see more about these types of programs go to www.learningpartnership.org.
Education covers a number of interests and fields, especially when dealing with international aid and relief organizations. By educating the world, we do more than teach people how to read and write. Education is matter of sustainable living, health, success and happiness.
– Alexandrea Jacinto
Sources: Learning Partnership, Plan USA, Trickle Up Organization
Photo: World Vision
How Guatemala is Trying to Decrease Child Marriage
Guatemala has one of the highest rates of child marriages, with over 30 percent of girls getting married by age 18 and 7 percent of girls getting married by age 15. It is also one of the only countries in which the rate of childbirths to girls under the age of 15 rose from 1990 to 2011.
In Guatemala, it is legal for girls to marry at age 14 as long as they have parental consent. However, many girls younger than 14 are forced to marry, resulting in early childbirth. In the village of Almolonga, a 13 year old’s childbirth caused a national scandal because her wedding—which took place when she was only 12—had been officiated by the mayor of the village.
Marriage at such a young age results in many complications because the girls’ bodies are not ready for childbirth. As the Council on Foreign Relations states, one of the most common problems girls face is an obstetric fistula, which can lead to chronic incontinence. Maternal mortality is also extremely prevalent, and childbirth is the leading cause of death for girls between the ages of 15 to 19 in low to middle income countries. In addition, babies born to younger mothers are more likely to die at a young age because they tend to have higher risks of malnutrition and weaker immune systems.
Child marriage is also problematic because many girls are forced to rely on their spouses economically. Therefore, even if they are trapped in an abusive relationship, many girls are not able to leave their husbands. Also, many of those who enter into child marriages drop out of school once they are married, and therefore do not have the education to get a job, which would allow them to support themselves.
Child marriage has been prevalent for a long time, and in Guatemala it is rooted in indigenous cultures and a patriarchal idea that states that women are normally confined to housekeeping and childbirth. However, this idea is slowly changing. At Wings, a nonprofit that works for family planning and reporductive health in Guatemala, director Shilpa Kothari states that ‘at the local level, parents, teachers, and even young women are saying that 14 is a bit too young to become pregnant’.
There is also a societal movement for child marriages to be counted and no longer regarded as normal. Organizations like The Reproductive Health Observatory in Guatemala (OSAR) have helped to enforce that the government trains state employees to identify child mothers. In 2014, there were 5,119 documented cases of mothers under the age of 15.
This identification of child mothers has led to more criminal complaints being filed, since child mothers are rape victims in the eyes of the law. In 2013, 608 formal criminal complaints were filed, and in 2014, 921 were filed.
There is still a stigma surrounding rape, which has led to few of these criminal complaints resulting in convictions. Moreover, many girls are scared to testify because they rely on their husbands for economic dependence.
The Guatemalan congress is sitting on a bill that will change the legal marriage age to 16, but whether this bill will pass is debatable.
Guatemala is making strides regarding child marriage, but it still has a ways to go. Luckily, there is work being done through the UN that will help Guatemala reduce its rate of child marriage. In 2013, the HRC adopted its first resolution on child, early and forced marriage, recognizing them as human rights violations. This resolution was co-sponsored by over 100 countries, including Guatemala, and aims to help define the development agenda for after 2015, when the Millennium Development Goals expire.
There are steps being taken to help reduce child marriages—changing patriarchal ideas on the local level, helping to encourage the reporting of childbirths and enforcing that child, early and forced marriages are human rights violations—but there is still room for improvement. As Dr. Montenegro of OSAR states, even if the law changes regarding child marriages, this change in law has to be accompanied by public policies that will empower girls and help them have a plan for their lives.
There are many organizations one can donate to which work to empower girls and reduce child marriages. Some of the organizations that work directly with residents of Guatemala are the Population Council, which works to connect girls with mentors and support, and the Fundación Nueva Esperanza, which gives girls scholarships to attend school.
— Ashrita Rau
Sources: The New York Times, Council on Foreign Relations, Girls Not Brides, Girls Not Brides, MSN, UN Popluation Fund,
PBS
Photo: Girls Not Brides
Hope for the Rainbow Nation?
It has been 21 years since the end of apartheid in South Africa. While the Rainbow Nation has made progress on many fronts, the education system is struggling.
While schools do not aim to disadvantage minorities as they did during apartheid, the quality of education some provide is still severely lacking. The glow of democracy has not spread to the education system, which ranks 140th out of 144 according to a report done by the World Economic Forum. The worst being math and science specifically, ranking dead last at 144th.
Schools are failing for a number of reasons. For one, basic infrastructure is a problem and many schools are without running water or fully equipped bathrooms. Some are built of mud or are otherwise not structurally strong, leading to safety concerns.
Teachers are often absent, leaving classrooms full students with no teachers to educate them. This has been found to be more prevalent in schools located in less social-economically privileged areas. Often, these schools are smaller and have access to fewer resources, disadvantaging learners even more.
In the final year of secondary school, learners must pass their matriculation exam. About 75 percent of students passed the matric exams in 2014, a decrease from the 2013 mark of 78.2 percent. However, to pass matric, students need only 40 percent in three of their classes, and 30 percent in their other four classes.
Most students pass with better marks, however, the standard is low and half of the 18 percent of “matrics” that make it to universities, will never graduate. Couple this with the fact that despite progress in racial equality, Indians and whites possess many more matric and tertiary education certificates than blacks, and you have an education system that is struggling.
What is causing the education system to fail? It is not a lack of funding. In the 2013/14 fiscal year, 232.5 billion Rand, or $21.8 billion, was spent on education. However, money and resources often do not reach schools, instead falling into the hands of corrupt officials or middlemen involved in the purchasing of items such as computers or textbooks.
Corruption is a big problem in South Africa, and within the education sector it is no different. A recent study found that 20 percent of corruption cases reported by the public were related to education, and included things like mismanagement of funds, theft of funds, and tender corruption. Pair this corruption with a general lack of resources, infrastructure and teachers absent from work, and it makes more sense why schools are struggling.
What is the outcome of a poor education system? South Africa’s Minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene made the connection between high unemployment in the country and a lack of properly educated individuals. Unemployment hovers at 26.4 percent, but rises to 37.8 percent when those who have given up looking for work are taken into account. To combat this, jobs obviously must be created and if the education system is improved, more people will be able to find work and continue the Rainbow Nation’s progress forward as a country.
– Greg Baker
Sources: National Department of Basic Education, South African Government News Agency, Mail and Guardian, Mail and Guardian, Brookings, World Economic Forum,BBC
Photo: Africa Check