Brazil’s booming economic growth is now slowing down, and the rose-tinted glasses have come off, as urban housing problems in Brazil worsen. While the country experienced extraordinary economic growth in the past decade, growing 4 percent per year between 2002 and 2008, these rates have fallen to just 1.3 percent over the past 4 years. If anything, this decline should prompt investigation beyond the pristine beaches and sleek high-rises that have given Brazilian urban life a glamorous aura.
Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the two biggest cities in Brazil, with populations numbering approximately 11 million and 6 million respectively, have, in particular, captivated international travelers with increasing prosperity and abundant cultural amenities. With more perceived opportunities and advantages in urban areas, Brazilians themselves have also flocked to these two metropolises in search of better lives with 80 percent of Brazilians now living in urban areas. While these ascending cities seem to have garnered attention for all the right reasons, they also contain considerable eyesores; ostracized to the outskirts or huddled in the heart of downtown, dense slums, or favelas, stifle Brazilian cities.
As urban areas have grown, these shantytowns of old tin and cinderblock have come to house millions of impoverished Brazilians in dangerous, crowded and dirty conditions. Though synonymous with Brazil’s urban housing crisis, favelas are nothing new.
They first appeared in Rio de Janeiro around the turn of the 20th century as civil war veterans returned home without government assistance. Turning to the steep hills of Rio de Janeiro’s fame, they sought shelter in makeshift housing, but instead only found more strife in unsafe living conditions. The favelas continued to expand in Brazilian cities as migrant workers settled in Sao Paolo and Rio in search of opportunity and failed to find adequate housing. In Rio, favelas concentrated next to affluent communities and followed the impoverished up the sharp slopes, while in Sao Paolo the favelas formed on the margins of the city. Over the years, a lack of public services and precarious sitting has literally eroded communities as mudslides 1966, 1996 and 2001 wiped away favelas.
Today, favelas have become an unfortunate and noticeable part of Brazilian life, indicative of an overwhelming housing crisis. According to the New York Times, in just the past six years housing prices in Sao Paolo have “increased by 208 percent and the cost of rent has increased by 97.5 percent in the metro area.” The price of a 970 square foot apartment in Sao Paolo is 16 times the average annual wage while nearly a third of the city lives in slum-like conditions. Overall, Brazil has a housing deficit of 7 million units and 20 percent of its total population lives in inadequate housing.
Those who have resigned to these slums must essentially live without infrastructure. Most favelas lack effective sewage systems, access to potable water and waste management systems. The communities have become so densely built up, that modern roads and utilities are nearly impossible to install. As areas with little government regulation, favelas also serve as ideal crime havens. Drug dealings and gang violence plague these secluded streets and have proven notoriously hard to snuff out. In the late 90s, the homicide rate in the Diadema favela of Sao Paulo averaged one murder per day.
Obviously, confronting the issue of the favela has become a daunting task. The Brazilians learned early that the most effective strategy was, ironically, to leave them standing. In the 1980s, after years of demolition, the Brazilian government realized that slum upgrading was more humane and cost-efficient than rebuilding them.
In order to transform favelas into safer, and more hygienic communities, the city officials of Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro have employed a surprising set of methods. Despite their squatter’s status, government plans have attempted to provide favela residents with titles to their homes. Not only does this provide the impoverished with dignity, but it also allows the cities greater regulation of the favelas. Along with increased property rights come building safety codes, taxes and public services and utilities that can benefit the community.
These programs have also empowered the communities to assist in the improvement efforts themselves. In Rio de Janeiro’s neighborhood of Providencia Hill, garbage and litter have become pressing issues due to narrow streets that restrict waste management vehicles. A new program has incentivized local trash collection by allowing residents to exchange one bag of trash for a gallon of milk. Not only does this clean up the community, it also provides the residents with better nourishment.
Community engagement also extends to crime prevention. In Sao Paolo, the city government has attempted to attack crime in some of its most dangerous favelas by instituting another form of an exchange program. This time, however, it involves toys. In exchange for toy guns, the program would provide children with comic books in an effort to diminish gun culture and in turn to encourage parents to relinquish their actual firearms. Over the course of three years, 27,000 toy guns have been exchanged along with 1,600 guns in just the first six months of the program.
By employing creative and engaging strategies, government officials from Brazil’s two largest cities have begun to change Brazil’s poor urban housing conditions one comic book at a time. While perhaps eyesores, the favelas have become deeply entrenched communities that are better off upgraded than demolished. Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro hold the hopes of millions of Brazilians within their limits. But the question remains: can they house them?
– Andrew Logan
Sources: Cal Poly, The Economist The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, The New York Times University College London, UN The World Bank
Photo: Wooster Collective
10 Facts About Internet in Africa
1. In October 2007, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) held the first part of its Connect the World series in Kigali, Rwanda to demonstrate its commitment to foster development of telecommunications across Africa, a key aspect of the Millennium Development Goals.
2. As a continent, Africa has seen steady growth in Internet penetration since its rate of .78 percent in 2000. Internet has now reached 20.7 percent of Africa, but there are major disparities in Internet access and use across the continent.
3. The leading countries with the highest Internet penetration rates are Morocco at 56 percent, Egypt at 50 percent and South Africa at 49.8 percent. Meanwhile, various nations throughout the continent are still at rates below 2 percent. Despite these differences, all African nations have experienced Internet growth in recent years.
4. The majority of African countries have Internet penetration rates below 10 percent, which is well below the 20 percent benchmark rate determined for Internet access to benefit countries economically.
5. A total of 10.7 percent of African households have Internet access. Meanwhile, almost half of African Internet users access the Internet via mobile device. Social media usage accounts for about a third of Internet use for these users.
6. Bandwidth is significantly more scarce across Africa than in developing nations, making Internet access much more expensive across the continent. In recent years, increased investment in infrastructure such as national landing stations has allowed some bandwidth expansion, therefore slightly increasing capacity for connectivity.
7. According to Kojo Boakye, policy manager of the Alliance for Affordable Internet, no developing countries have met the ITU’s affordability benchmark of connectivity costing less than 5 percent of monthly income for the world’s potential users that survive on less than two dollars per day. He said that, for many countries in Africa, the cost of fixed broadband comprises almost half of an average citizen’s monthly income.
8. Internet users in Africa pay up to 40 times more for access than users in developed countries. There are many initiatives in place to decrease these rates, but there has been substantial difficulty in implementation. One of these goals involves establishing at least one Internet eXchange Point (IXP) in every African nation in order to promote the construction of infrastructure that makes Internet access cheaper and faster. Another initiative is in place to migrate from analog to digital broadcasting in order to free up unused spectrum, thus increasing access opportunities. However, by June 2014, only 19 countries had begun this transition and only three had completely transitioned. Another initiative is to accelerate adoption of IPv6, which ensures enough availability of IP addresses to allow anything capable of having an IP address to connect to the Internet. South Africa and Egypt account for 97 percent of all of the IPv6 addresses in the continent, which indicates major lagging for the rest of Africa. This development is seen as necessary for long term expansion of Internet.
9. The Internet contributes 1.1 percent to the overall African GDP, which is substantially lower than the global average contribution of over 4 percent. There are large disparities across the continent, with the contribution to GDP being 3.3 percent in Senegal and .8 percent in Nigeria. These rates are measured using iGDP, which evaluates use of networks and services in private consumption, public expenditure, private investment and trade balance.
10. Key players in Africa’s Internet community come together with global members of the industry for the annual Africa Internet Summit. Participants discuss the continent’s challenges and use it as a platform to exchange knowledge. This year’s conference was themed “Beyond connection: Internetworking for African Development,” and took place in Tunisia from May 24 – June 3.
– Arin Kerstein
Sources: All Africa, International Telecommunication Union, Internet Society, Africa Internet Summit, IT Web Africa
Photo: Africa Renewal
How the 1979 Revolution Brought Iran Into Poverty
After the revolution, the new government federalized businesses, which has ended up further hurting the economy. With the new sanctions and laws regarding the businesses, families have experienced a more difficult time to provide for themselves.
To add to the shift in government and adjusting to the new laws, a baby boom occurred in Iran following the 1979 revolution. Following the revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini asked women of the new Iran to have a substantial amount of babies that could one day protect their nation and faith.
After his call for children, the population came close to doubling from 34 million citizens to 62 million, according to The United States Institute of Peace: The Iran Primer.
With such a drastic jump in population, the Islamic Republic soon came to realize that they could not “feed, clothe, house, educate and eventually employ the growing numbers.” Without the ability, space or resources necessary, many families fell into poverty at a significant rate.
As more families sought refuge and aid in any form available, the option of terrorism became more tempting. Not because they desired terroristic actions, but often terrorist groups will travel through impoverished areas promising to pay considerable amounts to those who join their groups.
When in desperate need of money to care for one’s family, the willingness to join radical alternatives becomes a considerable option. With the insecurity of families and nations placed upon them, the feeling of hopelessness only grows.
However, after the dramatic increase in population, a progressive family planning program was enacted in an attempt to slow the population growth and allow the government to provide for those already born.
The program was advanced, especially for the time. Billboards went up across the nation encouraging smaller family sizes, volunteers were sent door-to-door to advocate for why fewer children were the better option, family planning classes were required before marriage and health centers began distributing free birth control and condoms all in an effort to slow the birth rate and end the baby boom.
With the new program in place, birth rates soon began to decline at what was a comforting rate. In 1988, women were averaging 5.5 births. By 2006, the average had decreased to 1.9 births per woman and was continuing to drop.
Though the birth rate had declined like intended, with the continually dropping rate, a new concern arose. There was now an exceedingly large generation of baby boomers being followed by a generation that would not even replace their parents.
The abrupt decline in births has, and still is, causing problems regarding their ability to support the immense aging population.
With this vast difference in situations and problems, the Iranian government and population are continuing to feel a struggle in the prolonged wake of the 1979 revolution.
Between the excessive number of babies and then the sudden drop in births, the population fluctuation is one of Iran’s numerous economic issues that they as a nation and separate communities are having to deal with.
– Katherine Wyant
Sources: Iran Primer, International Affairs Review, Iran Primer
Photo: Iran News Update
Albert Pujols Helping the Poor in the Dominican Republic
But his work is not limited to baseball; he is also giving back to those in need in his native Dominican Republic.
Pujols, who was formerly with the St. Louis Cardinals and is currently playing for the Los Angeles Angels, began the Pujols Family Foundation (PFF) as a way to give back to those around him.
PFF works in two main areas: in the U.S. for those with Down Syndrome, including his daughter, and in the Dominican Republic for those that live in poverty.
The Dominican Republic’s population is over 10 million and the World Bank classifies the country as upper-middle class. Even so, there are millions of people living in slums and “bateys.”
“Bateys” are villages made of shacks and dirt roads. They are near sugar cane plantations, which is where those living in the bateys typically work. Children leave school at a young age to help their parents in the fields cutting sugar cane. The workers get paid by the pound of sugar cane cut, not by the amount of time spent in the field.
PFF works to bring educational opportunities, medical care, and basic necessities to the people living in poverty.
The foundation’s work includes:
How can one help this great organization? PFF is a nonprofit foundation that relies on individual donations for support. Their website lists lots of ways to help out, but two unique ways are directly related to Pujols and his work on the baseball field.
PFF is an active charity on FantasyHub. By playing fantasy sports and linking to PFF, one can donate a portion of any winnings to the foundation and its work.
Alternatively, one can make a Home Run Pledge linking one’s personal giving to the number of home runs Pujols hits. As of the end of June, Pujols has hit 23 home runs for the Angels. A potential donor can look at the stat box and follow a great ball player while pledging to help those in need.
PFF has helped many people at home and abroad. Their work with those with Down Syndrome is exemplary, and the fact that PFF goes back to the Dominican Republic and actively works to improve the lives of those in poverty is inspiring.
So much good can happen when people use their influence and resources to help better the lives of the economically disadvantaged as Albert Pujols does.
– Megan Ivy
Sources: Fox News Latino, Huffington Post, MLB, Pujols Family Foundation, WHO
How Does Ebola Impact Poverty
Ebola, a rare and deadly disease contracted through bodily fluids, still continues to affect parts of West Africa. In March of 2014, Ebola ravished Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, which resulted in 15,065 cases and 11,207 deaths.
So far, the outbreak shows no sign of slowing. The upcoming October election in Guinea has become increasingly concerning, especially because contraction is easier in overcrowded city environments.
Furthermore, Ebola impacts more than just patients; it impacts their families and the lives of others. With the outbreak in West Africa, food prices increased and food supplies dwindled. Sickness resulted in less work and less pay.
So how can the spread of Ebola be reduced? While medical quarantine has been used during the outbreak, many experts say that attacking poverty is the only true solution.
This being said, sanitation and hygiene are key. This includes clean and safe water. When a patient first contracts Ebola, scientists have discovered that replacing the liquids lost can successfully treat the disease. However, without a substantial supply of water for the number of patients, Ebola quickly weakens its victims.
Also necessary are protective and sanitary shelter, as well as greater accessibility to quality health care, even for those with struggling incomes.
Experts have also recently discovered that the disease can remain in semen up to five months after a successful recovery from Ebola. This suggests that education about safe sex and abstinence, as well as access to condoms, is crucial to the decline of patients with Ebola.
As of late, Ebola treatment research may offer hope to reducing the spread of the disease.
In April 2015, members of the Sierra Leone college of health services, sanitation, and centers for disease control teamed up to create a vaccine trial. This study called the Sierra Leone Trial to Introduce a Vaccine against Ebola (STRIVE). The study will assess the safety and effectiveness of the RVSV-ZEBOV vaccine. For more information on the details and successes of this study, visit https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/strive/qa.html.
For the even more good news, on June 24, 2015, researchers reported in MBio that generic heart disease medications might also have the potential to improve the immune systems of patients with Ebola. After a trial in Sierra Leone last fall, researchers were pleased to see improvements in the patients.
While these medications would not prevent or cure the disease, “it could allow individual patients to survive long enough to develop an immune response that eliminates the virus. These agents could be used in combination with anti-virals if they are available,” says David S. Fedson, MD.
Scientists plan to move forward with their research by performing more studies in West Africa. For more details, visit https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/news/2015/06/generic-heart-disease-medications-offer-promise-for-ebola-treatment.aspx.
While these scientific discoveries offer hope, it is important that all people have access to vaccinations. Only then will able-bodied people be equipped to fight off poverty.
– Kelsey Parrotte
Sources: ABC News, CDC 1, CDC 2, Huffington Post, Infection Control Today, Scientific American, WSWS,
Photo: Inhabitat
Three Snack Companies Making a Difference
Kallari Bars
While chocolate is a major part of snacking, the chocolate industry is, unfortunately, somewhat notorious for unethical practices. The divide between wealthy chocolate companies based primarily in the United States or Europe and farmers in the developing world has lead to an industry notorious for abusive labor practices and economic exploitation.
Kallari bars are an important agent in fighting against this exploitation. Based in the Amazon, Kallari chocolate is owned by the Kichwa nation and controlled at every step of production by 850 growers from the nation.
Focusing on maintaining local control of natural resources in a sustainable way, Kallari can break the cycle of exploitation in the chocolate industry while empowering indigenous communities.
This Bar Saves Lives
Plumpy’nut is quite possibly the most important invention in the modern era. A cheap peanut-based concoction that stays fresh after opening and does not need to be refrigerated, cooked or consumed with clean water, this life-saving paste is reaching over 2 million malnourished children yearly.
For every nutrition bar purchased from the food company, This Bar Saves Lives, a packet of plumpy’nut is given to a child in need. And, to top it off, the bars are delicious.
This Bar Saves Lives comes in three flavors: Wild Blueberry Pistachio, Dark Chocolate Cherry & Sea Salt, and Madagascar Vanilla Almond & Honey. Made with all-natural, non-GMO, ethically sourced ingredients, the bars are delicious and nutritious.
The snacks also make a huge difference. Since June of 2013, This Bar Saves Lives has donated 515,546 packets of plumpy’nut. That is a number that speaks for itself. Customers can order packages of bars individually or can subscribe to a monthly shipment for a discount.
Kutoa
Kutoa is a Swahili word meaning “to give.” The food company of the same name does just that.
Like This Bar Saves Lives, Kutoa focuses on the issue of malnutrition by providing plumpy’nut to those in need. The focus has been successful, allowing the snack bars to make a huge difference. Since 2011, Kutoa has sent almost 200,000 meals to those in need.
Kutoa bars have a bit more variety than those offered by This Bar Saves Lives and include Chocolate Espresso Bean and Peanut Butter & Jelly, among others. Unfortunately, Kutoa does not yet offer the subscription service offered by its competitor.
Snacking is great. It’s no secret that everybody loves a little treat. With companies like these three that do good with their snacks, that little treat just got a whole lot bigger.
– Andrew Michaels
Sources: Kutoa, The Independent, This Bar Saves Lives, Kallari Cooperative, PCC Natural Markets, Snacknation,
Photo: Kutoa
Fixing Favelas: Urban Housing Problems in Brazil
Brazil’s booming economic growth is now slowing down, and the rose-tinted glasses have come off, as urban housing problems in Brazil worsen. While the country experienced extraordinary economic growth in the past decade, growing 4 percent per year between 2002 and 2008, these rates have fallen to just 1.3 percent over the past 4 years. If anything, this decline should prompt investigation beyond the pristine beaches and sleek high-rises that have given Brazilian urban life a glamorous aura.
Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the two biggest cities in Brazil, with populations numbering approximately 11 million and 6 million respectively, have, in particular, captivated international travelers with increasing prosperity and abundant cultural amenities. With more perceived opportunities and advantages in urban areas, Brazilians themselves have also flocked to these two metropolises in search of better lives with 80 percent of Brazilians now living in urban areas. While these ascending cities seem to have garnered attention for all the right reasons, they also contain considerable eyesores; ostracized to the outskirts or huddled in the heart of downtown, dense slums, or favelas, stifle Brazilian cities.
As urban areas have grown, these shantytowns of old tin and cinderblock have come to house millions of impoverished Brazilians in dangerous, crowded and dirty conditions. Though synonymous with Brazil’s urban housing crisis, favelas are nothing new.
They first appeared in Rio de Janeiro around the turn of the 20th century as civil war veterans returned home without government assistance. Turning to the steep hills of Rio de Janeiro’s fame, they sought shelter in makeshift housing, but instead only found more strife in unsafe living conditions. The favelas continued to expand in Brazilian cities as migrant workers settled in Sao Paolo and Rio in search of opportunity and failed to find adequate housing. In Rio, favelas concentrated next to affluent communities and followed the impoverished up the sharp slopes, while in Sao Paolo the favelas formed on the margins of the city. Over the years, a lack of public services and precarious sitting has literally eroded communities as mudslides 1966, 1996 and 2001 wiped away favelas.
Today, favelas have become an unfortunate and noticeable part of Brazilian life, indicative of an overwhelming housing crisis. According to the New York Times, in just the past six years housing prices in Sao Paolo have “increased by 208 percent and the cost of rent has increased by 97.5 percent in the metro area.” The price of a 970 square foot apartment in Sao Paolo is 16 times the average annual wage while nearly a third of the city lives in slum-like conditions. Overall, Brazil has a housing deficit of 7 million units and 20 percent of its total population lives in inadequate housing.
Those who have resigned to these slums must essentially live without infrastructure. Most favelas lack effective sewage systems, access to potable water and waste management systems. The communities have become so densely built up, that modern roads and utilities are nearly impossible to install. As areas with little government regulation, favelas also serve as ideal crime havens. Drug dealings and gang violence plague these secluded streets and have proven notoriously hard to snuff out. In the late 90s, the homicide rate in the Diadema favela of Sao Paulo averaged one murder per day.
Obviously, confronting the issue of the favela has become a daunting task. The Brazilians learned early that the most effective strategy was, ironically, to leave them standing. In the 1980s, after years of demolition, the Brazilian government realized that slum upgrading was more humane and cost-efficient than rebuilding them.
In order to transform favelas into safer, and more hygienic communities, the city officials of Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro have employed a surprising set of methods. Despite their squatter’s status, government plans have attempted to provide favela residents with titles to their homes. Not only does this provide the impoverished with dignity, but it also allows the cities greater regulation of the favelas. Along with increased property rights come building safety codes, taxes and public services and utilities that can benefit the community.
These programs have also empowered the communities to assist in the improvement efforts themselves. In Rio de Janeiro’s neighborhood of Providencia Hill, garbage and litter have become pressing issues due to narrow streets that restrict waste management vehicles. A new program has incentivized local trash collection by allowing residents to exchange one bag of trash for a gallon of milk. Not only does this clean up the community, it also provides the residents with better nourishment.
Community engagement also extends to crime prevention. In Sao Paolo, the city government has attempted to attack crime in some of its most dangerous favelas by instituting another form of an exchange program. This time, however, it involves toys. In exchange for toy guns, the program would provide children with comic books in an effort to diminish gun culture and in turn to encourage parents to relinquish their actual firearms. Over the course of three years, 27,000 toy guns have been exchanged along with 1,600 guns in just the first six months of the program.
By employing creative and engaging strategies, government officials from Brazil’s two largest cities have begun to change Brazil’s poor urban housing conditions one comic book at a time. While perhaps eyesores, the favelas have become deeply entrenched communities that are better off upgraded than demolished. Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro hold the hopes of millions of Brazilians within their limits. But the question remains: can they house them?
– Andrew Logan
Sources: Cal Poly, The Economist The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, The New York Times University College London, UN The World Bank
Photo: Wooster Collective
EU/UNICEF Seawater Desalination Efforts in Gaza
This has caused the aquifer to fill with salinated water from the Mediterranean. Estimates show that approximately 90 percent of the water drawn is unsafe to consume. In addition to the seawater influx, the aquifer is contaminated by untreated sewage. Roughly 90,000 cubic meters of sewage flow from Gaza to the coastal waters.
The demand for water has caused many unregulated vendors to begin selling water to make a profit, but roughly 80 percent of the water sold by street vendors is also contaminated. The desperation of Gazans, however, has become increasingly apparent. As many as 4 out of 5 will resort to purchasing potentially unsafe water by these private sellers.
In addition to a possibly serious health risk, this also places an economic strain on many Gazans. “Some families are paying as much as a third of their household income on water,” states June Kunugi, a UNICEF representative for Palestine.
In response to Gaza’s water crisis, UNICEF has worked to complete 18 small desalination taps where residents can draw water free of charge. Also provided, are 3 brackish (mixed fresh & saltwater) plants that are capable of desalinating 50 cubic meters per hour and 10 plants capable of treating 50 cubic meters per day. In total, these plants are estimated to provide water for 95,000 residents.
In 2013, the European Union (EU) announced a collaboration with UNICEF to build a major seawater desalination plant. The project was made possible by a €10 million grant provided by the European Union. The plant is projected to provide 6,000 square meters of water to residents of the two cities.
In an announcement of the project, European Union Representative John Gatt-Rutter stated “The launch of construction work on this seawater desalination plant, offers the prospect of access to clean water for many thousands of families in Khan Younis and Rafah. It forms part of the EU’s wider commitment to improving the lives of Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank, particularly in the area of water, sanitation and solid waste management.”
The 18 km pipeline that divides water between the cities of Rafah and Khan Younis was recently completed, marking the first step towards a monumental solution. Once the plant is completed in late 2015, it is expected to be capable of providing clean water to more than 75,000 Gazans.
– The Borgen Project
Sources: Al Jazeera America, UNICEF, Water Technology
Photo: Flickr
Effects of Open Defecation in India
The government launched the Swachh Bharat Mission last year, which promises 110 million toilets built in the next five years in an effort to make India an “open defecation free country.” In an added bonus, the waste collected would be converted to fertilizer and other forms of energy. Lauded as a “sacred mission” that would coincide with the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth, this mission has gained approval from almost all sections of the government and society.
But most people from rural areas have shown an unwillingness to discontinue their habits of open defecation even if they are given toilets. Many people who already have toilets in their house forgo its use in favor of defecating in the open. In 40 percent of households that had a toilet, at least one member chose not to use it at all. They believe that defecating in the open is more natural and healthy, and that building a latrine in the house brings impurity to it. The two-thousand-year-old Hindu text, called the “Laws of Manu,” encourages open defecation.
Community toilets also have the added problem of being—by nature—shared, and people from different castes, religions and economic status are not willing to use the same toilet, even if they come from the same village.
However, open defecation practices remain a huge health and safety risk, and issues will only increase as India’s population grows. There have been hundreds of cases of women being raped as they leave their homes after dark. In one notorious case, two women from Utter Pradesh were raped, murdered and hung on trees after they were defecating in an open field.
India’s dense population also means that even in rural areas, human feces are not easily kept away from fields, wells and food. Bacteria and worms in feces are often accidentally ingested. This results in a range of health problems from diarrhea to enteropathy, a chronic sickness that prevents the absorption of calories and nutrients. Many specialists believe that the problems open defecation causes are the reason 50 percent of Indian children are malnourished.
A government study comparing Muslim and Hindu households supports these conjectures. The study found that 25 percent fewer Muslim families defecated in the open and also had lower child mortality rates than Hindu families—even though Muslims in India are poorer and less educated than their Hindu counterparts. In the few areas where more Muslims defecated in the open than Hindus, they had higher child mortality rates.
Social norms and habits need to be changed if open defecation is to be successfully fought. Simply building more toilets will not do the job. The government has already taken some steps to educate people about the dangers of open defecation and reward those who use latrines. In Haryana for instance, it launched the “No Toilet, No Bride” campaign that urged women to only marry men whose home had a toilet.
– Radhika Singh
Sources: Scroll, Government of India, The Economist, BBC,
Photo: Flickr
Mobile Technology to Provide Energy in Africa
Developers have strived to solve this problem with solar micro-grid technology. However, in remote areas, it is difficult to keep a system working reliably and keep customers paying regularly. Recognizing Kenya’s utilization of mobile technology, the founders of SteamaCo have created technology that eliminates the necessity for constant outside intervention. SteamaCo’s development allows remote-management capabilities of monitoring, control, and payments for micro-grid owners via mobile technology.
This technology allows micro-grid operators to monitor grid performance via SMS updates on their cell phones and allows customers to manage their payments over mobile payment plans. Over 1,000 households and businesses currently depend on this technology, which is used at 25 sites in East Africa. The company’s software, Steama, facilitates 100 mobile payments and 4,000 messages regarding data per day.
While the company initially focused on the production and installation of renewable energy systems, it strayed to micro-grids in order to increase electricity access on a broader scale. Micro-grid owners buy the hardware and then SteamaCo licenses them the software on a monthly basis.
The company’s hardware switches on and off services remotely, while the operators can watch and control the system remotely in real-time using the cloud software. Steama processes monitoring information and payment notifications from mobile-money providers, updating the hardware accordingly when payments are made.
The software allows operators to view their micro-grids and extract data from the Steama dashboard, which provides them several options to observe and analyze system performance. Steama sends data regarding individual power usage, overall system performance and individual payments. It can also be programmed to send custom alerts. SteamaCo sends data via SMS messages because it is known to be one of the most reliable forms of communication off the grid.
These features allow micro-grids to function much more efficiently. The technology allows micro-grid owners to troubleshoot problems before they grow too serious, therefore saving companies time and money. It also helps them better analyze system capacity to see how they can expand the services they provide.
The technology provides consumers a cheap and reliable energy alternative to diesel, kerosene, and other popular systems. While in-home solar energy platforms are available to provide lighting and charge mobile phones in many locations, it is too expensive for most individual users to manage these off-grid systems. SteamaCo provides flexibility for customers who can prepay using mobile money programs in small amounts. The software also provides free balance checks and reminders when credit is low, all via SMS.
Payment depends on the micro-grid owner, but most customers pay a connection fee of approximately 10 U.S. dollars and then pay between two to four U.S. dollars per kWh used. By enabling customers to provide prepayments for small increments of power using mobile money, SteamaCo is opening up many possibilities for poor people in remote locations.
Along with increasing household convenience, increased access to energy in Africa also opens up many new business opportunities in remote areas. The technology allows high-power equipment to be used, including music systems, televisions, irons, and hair-dryers. The increased access to power has enabled local entrepreneurs to open up hair salons, electrical repair shops, and night clubs, all boosting the economy.
Not only does this technology bring more reliable energy to current users in Africa, but this reliability also provides a solution to a large issue seen by many potential investors in micro-grid technology. Because of this, Ashden International awarded SteamCo the Ashden International Gold and Business Innovation Awards for the company’s success in building technology that helps investment in micro-grids, therefore expanding the potential reach of electricity access significantly.
“SteamaCo’s innovative product is helping to take energy access in off-grid rural areas to the next level,” the Ashden judging panel stated. “By developing hardware and cloud-based software to remotely monitor energy use and payments, it has overcome one of the key barriers to making micro-grids investable.”
In its two years of installing these systems, SteamaCo has partnered with several micro-grid investors to increase grid efficiency. The company designed the hardware to be used with various types of technology, so several SteamaCo management systems are used in many off-grid areas. The company is looking to expand its opportunities in other remote areas to increase its reach and impact.
– Arin Kerstein
Sources: Ashden, Global Energy Network Institute, The Guardian, Reuters, SteamaCo
Photo:The Sunday Times
How Faith is Fighting Ebola in Sierra Leone
In a country that has witnessed Ebola’s devastating effects, religious leaders from all walks of life have come together to work to end the epidemic. Of the 27,479 confirmed cases of Ebola reported by the World Health Organization, over 13,000 have been reported in Sierra Leone.
The Freetown-based NGP, Focus 1000 came up with the idea to use interfaith dialogue to educate citizens about the dangers of Ebola. In a country that is 78 percent Muslim and 21 percent, Christian, it has been one of the most successful means of combating the deadly disease.
One of the main causes of the unprecedented spread of Ebola was the lack of understanding that Ebola spread through bodily fluids even after the victim had died. Muslim and Christian burial rites composed of family members washing the deceased patients. Coupled with mistrust of the government and aid worker’s body disposal protocols, it created a situation where infections were being passed along routinely.
Ramadan Jollah, the chief Imam of the Jam’iyatul Haq Mosque in Freetown explained, “Sierra Leone has a clear understanding of what religion really is — that religion is not there to create problems between people but instead to bring people together.” Together, Muslim and Christian leaders have used their anointed trust to help their communities follow health protocols.
The Imam has used verses of the Qur’an to appeal to Ebola prevention tactics. The Qur’an allows Muslims who are martyred to be buried in their clothing without being washed. He quotes the Prophet of Islam imploring Muslims to wash their hands regularly.
Similarly, Reverend Christiana Sutton-Koroma addresses her congregation in a small church. The Reverend quotes passages from the Bible’s Book of Numbers – prohibiting people from coming into contact with corpses that can infect them.
She dispels myths of burial washing and also avoiding seeking care in case of infection. Members of her congregation take her message very serious and many go home to spread the message to their families, friends, and neighbors.
International NGOs such as World Vision have followed suit, creating venues for Muslim leaders to address Christian congregations and vice versa. It is not uncommon in Sierra Leone to have multi-faith families. Christians pray for their sick Muslim neighbors in churches and Muslims pray for their Christian counterparts in mosques.
The tactics are working. Sierra Leone, while having the most cases of confirmed Ebola, has also the least mortality percentage in comparison to their neighbors in Guinea and Liberia. New cases have begun to rapidly decline. In May 2015, the country declared itself Ebola-free for the first time. Although it did not last long, progress is being made.
USAID has pledged to send the US $126 million to the three countries-Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea- to strengthen their health care systems by providing crucial support such as vaccines and vitamins. The United Nations says US 88.1 million dollars is needed to support the “last mile” of the international response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Foreign Aid, coupled with faith, is fighting Ebola in Sierra Leone, and together they are winning.
– Adnan Khalid
Sources: Al Jazeera, Ebola Deeply, USAID, World Health Organization, World Vision International 1, World Vision International 2
Photo: Caritas