The current Constitution of Zimbabwe, adopted in 2013, recognizes sign language as one of the country’s official languages. Yet, the approximately 1.5 million deaf Zimbabweans in the country experience significant challenges in navigating life. As Lydia Chikate described in 2022, an activist who is working to promote the use of Zimbabwean Sign Language, most deaf people in Zimbabwe “are suffering on the streets as beggars or vendors.” Additionally, a 2012 research article published in the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education noted that deaf students in Zimbabwe rarely make it to high school. This article highlights organizations helping the deaf community in Zimbabwe overcome these challenges that force them into poverty.
1. Deaf Zimbabwe Trust
One organization helping the deaf community in Zimbabwe is Deaf Zimbabwe Trust. Founded in 2012 and based in Harare, Zimbabwe, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust initially originated to promote human rights for deaf Zimbabwean children. Deaf Zimbabwe Trust still supports equal educational opportunities for deaf children in Zimbabwe, but in the 10 years since its establishment, the organization has experienced substantial transformation and expanded to offer services to the entire deaf community in Zimbabwe.
Deaf Zimbabwe Trust now works to promote human rights for all deaf Zimbabweans by influencing policy, promoting better health outcomes for deaf Zimbabweans through the use of interpreters, teaching sign language, researching evidence-based interventions and empowering deaf women. Through this work, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust envisions a world where all deaf and hard-of-hearing people can live independent, dignified lives with the same rights and opportunities that are available to hearing people.
2. NZEVE Deaf Centre
Another organization helping the deaf community in Zimbabwe is NZEVE Deaf Centre. Founded in 2000 and based in Mutare, Zimbabwe, NZEVE Deaf Centre caters to the needs of deaf Zimbabwean children and youth, as well as their families. The organization’s work includes running a preschool for deaf children, providing early detection and intervention services, improving deaf Zimbabweans’ access to various forms of health care, encouraging deaf leadership and promoting social justice.
Through this work, NZEVE Deaf Centre has supported 237 deaf Zimbabwean children, provided education to 202 deaf Zimbabwean children, provided training to 99 deaf Zimbabwean youth and trained 157 workers. Additionally, NZEVE Deaf Centre has partnered with Mrs. Kadzora’s Garden Project, which now employs deaf Zimbabweans and other Zimbabweans with disabilities in Zimbabwe’s farming industry. NZEVE Deaf Centre does this work with the goal of creating a world where deaf people are viewed as valued members of society.
3. Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe
An additional organization helping the deaf community in Zimbabwe is Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe. Founded in 2017 and based in Harare, Zimbabwe, Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe specifically focuses on empowering deaf Zimbabwean young women and girls. Alongside hosting an annual Miss Deaf Pride pageant, Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe works to provide education and opportunities to deaf women and girls.
Other work that Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe carries out includes sign language education, self-advocacy training, disability rights training and entrepreneurship and career development training. Within the organization’s entrepreneurship and career development training, Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe teaches deaf women and girls how to make jewelry so that they can embark on lucrative careers in jewelry making. Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe does this work with the goal of enabling deaf women and girls to feel more confident in themselves.
4. Sunrise Sign Language Academy
A final organization helping the deaf community in Zimbabwe is Sunrise Sign Language Academy. Based in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sunrise Sign Language Academy focuses specifically on Zimbabwean Sign Language education to make all aspects of life more accessible to deaf Zimbabweans. It is currently hard for deaf Zimbabweans to access equal health care, equal opportunities and equal recognition in society due to a lack of people who know sign language and, therefore, a lack of people able to communicate with deaf people. In teaching sign language to influential members of society, including but not limited to clergy, education professionals, medical professionals and legal professionals, Sunrise Sign Language Academy hopes to bridge that gap.
Sunrise Sign Language Academy also has the goal of making Zimbabwean Sign Language something that all households in Zimbabwe know. This is an important endeavor, as many deaf people worldwide currently end up suffering from Language Deprivation Syndrome, a result of a lack of language input from an early age.
Looking Ahead
While there is still a long way to go before the deaf community in Zimbabwe achieves full equality, these organizations have helped them take strides in that direction. It is thanks to their tireless efforts that many deaf Zimbabweans have been able to access educational opportunities, career development opportunities and more.
– Natalie Coyne
Photo: Flickr
4 Organizations Helping the Deaf Community in Zimbabwe
1. Deaf Zimbabwe Trust
One organization helping the deaf community in Zimbabwe is Deaf Zimbabwe Trust. Founded in 2012 and based in Harare, Zimbabwe, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust initially originated to promote human rights for deaf Zimbabwean children. Deaf Zimbabwe Trust still supports equal educational opportunities for deaf children in Zimbabwe, but in the 10 years since its establishment, the organization has experienced substantial transformation and expanded to offer services to the entire deaf community in Zimbabwe.
Deaf Zimbabwe Trust now works to promote human rights for all deaf Zimbabweans by influencing policy, promoting better health outcomes for deaf Zimbabweans through the use of interpreters, teaching sign language, researching evidence-based interventions and empowering deaf women. Through this work, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust envisions a world where all deaf and hard-of-hearing people can live independent, dignified lives with the same rights and opportunities that are available to hearing people.
2. NZEVE Deaf Centre
Another organization helping the deaf community in Zimbabwe is NZEVE Deaf Centre. Founded in 2000 and based in Mutare, Zimbabwe, NZEVE Deaf Centre caters to the needs of deaf Zimbabwean children and youth, as well as their families. The organization’s work includes running a preschool for deaf children, providing early detection and intervention services, improving deaf Zimbabweans’ access to various forms of health care, encouraging deaf leadership and promoting social justice.
Through this work, NZEVE Deaf Centre has supported 237 deaf Zimbabwean children, provided education to 202 deaf Zimbabwean children, provided training to 99 deaf Zimbabwean youth and trained 157 workers. Additionally, NZEVE Deaf Centre has partnered with Mrs. Kadzora’s Garden Project, which now employs deaf Zimbabweans and other Zimbabweans with disabilities in Zimbabwe’s farming industry. NZEVE Deaf Centre does this work with the goal of creating a world where deaf people are viewed as valued members of society.
3. Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe
An additional organization helping the deaf community in Zimbabwe is Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe. Founded in 2017 and based in Harare, Zimbabwe, Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe specifically focuses on empowering deaf Zimbabwean young women and girls. Alongside hosting an annual Miss Deaf Pride pageant, Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe works to provide education and opportunities to deaf women and girls.
Other work that Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe carries out includes sign language education, self-advocacy training, disability rights training and entrepreneurship and career development training. Within the organization’s entrepreneurship and career development training, Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe teaches deaf women and girls how to make jewelry so that they can embark on lucrative careers in jewelry making. Miss Deaf Pride Zimbabwe does this work with the goal of enabling deaf women and girls to feel more confident in themselves.
4. Sunrise Sign Language Academy
A final organization helping the deaf community in Zimbabwe is Sunrise Sign Language Academy. Based in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sunrise Sign Language Academy focuses specifically on Zimbabwean Sign Language education to make all aspects of life more accessible to deaf Zimbabweans. It is currently hard for deaf Zimbabweans to access equal health care, equal opportunities and equal recognition in society due to a lack of people who know sign language and, therefore, a lack of people able to communicate with deaf people. In teaching sign language to influential members of society, including but not limited to clergy, education professionals, medical professionals and legal professionals, Sunrise Sign Language Academy hopes to bridge that gap.
Sunrise Sign Language Academy also has the goal of making Zimbabwean Sign Language something that all households in Zimbabwe know. This is an important endeavor, as many deaf people worldwide currently end up suffering from Language Deprivation Syndrome, a result of a lack of language input from an early age.
Looking Ahead
While there is still a long way to go before the deaf community in Zimbabwe achieves full equality, these organizations have helped them take strides in that direction. It is thanks to their tireless efforts that many deaf Zimbabweans have been able to access educational opportunities, career development opportunities and more.
– Natalie Coyne
Photo: Flickr
Aprende Leyendo Aims to Improve Children’s Literacy in Colombia
Literacy in Numbers
Colombia and the rest of South America have been fighting to increase children’s literacy for a while, yet the pandemic posed unprecedented obstacles. According to UNICEF, “four in five sixth graders within Latin America are expected to lack basic reading comprehension proficiency.” This number has increased since the start of the Pandemic as school closures and lack of funding hit many communities. These same studies estimate that the region’s learning goals have been set back by more than a decade. This impacts current and future students. These findings are likely because children in Latin America faced some of the longest school interruptions globally- on average, “students in the region lost, fully or partially, two-thirds of all in-person school days since the start of the pandemic, with an estimated loss of 1.5 years of learning.”
These learning disparities not only limit the personal growth and knowledge individuals can acquire, it also compromise the country’s future development and class disparities within the nation. According to Jean Gough, UNICEF’s Latin America regional director, “turning a blind eye to the most severe learning crisis ever faced by the region will hurt children now and all of us in the long run.” Increasing children’s literacy is a necessary fight against poverty.
Governments across the continent have implemented various programs to support children’s literacy and increase learning resources, yet the world of organizations like Aprende Leyendo is crucial, especially within rural communities with limited resources. Focused primarily on Colombia, the group works to fight the connection between poverty and illiteracy. In Colombia, poverty is the leading cause of illiteracy. Within the most impoverished communities and families in Colombia, at least 80% are currently illiterate.
Aprende Leyendo
The World Literacy Foundation implemented Aprende Leyendo in 2014 and focuses on children aged 4 to 14 years living in marginalized communities. The group believes in focusing on younger populations as an early intervention tactic to decrease illiteracy before adulthood and increase opportunities available to children as adults. In these communities, war has impacted 41,411 children and teenagers. In 2020-2021, the literacy programs by Aprende Leyendo impacted more than 3,000 children across five communities. As of last year, it distributed 3,550 books.
Providing Books and Educational Resources
The group focuses on increasing children’s literacy through three means: providing books and educational resources, providing literacy support to struggling children and involving parents in the program to encourage more reading at home, and bringing literary technology and digital e-books to children in remote communities. The technology also encourages games focused on literacy for children to practice reading skills. It distributed paper books every six months so children continue to have new material to learn from.
A Weekly Reading Group
Further, children join a weekly reading group to encourage communal learning and make learning fun with activities and a shared meal. Parents are receive encouragement to join workshops during these times to learn how parents can support reading at home.
In addition to promoting Spanish literacy and reading comprehension, the group focuses on English as a second language course. It welcomes international volunteers to teach English classes and use the distribution of learning technology to include English learning games and programs.
Literacy can change a child’s life and support the prosperity of an entire community.
– Nikki Bayat
Photo: Flickr
School Meals Eating Away at Child Hunger in Madagascar
The World Food Programme (WFP) has partnered with the Malagasy government for over 30 years to deliver a school feeding program that provides primary school children with lunch and snacks. In 2022, this program supported 325,300 children in 937 schools.
Nutrition
Food shortages have led to high levels of child hunger in Madagascar, causing 40% of children to be stunted and 7.7% of children under 5 to suffer from wasting, which leads to higher mortality and morbidity risks.
The school feeding program addresses this by ensuring children get at least one nutritious meal daily. These consist of micronutrient-rich foods otherwise missing from their diets, such as fruits, vegetables, fish and fortified oil to provide much-needed vitamin A. It also gives children micronutrient supplements and biofortified rice for extra protein.
The WFP also promotes the Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSF) to diversify children’s diets, which links school meals with smallholder farmers. This program makes children’s diets more varied and nutritious while stimulating the local economy. Children also receive nutrition education to instill long-term dietary behavioral changes and promote better health.
In addition, some schools participate in the School Gardens Project, which promotes school canteens to use fresh vegetables grown in urban micro-vegetable gardens. This program encourages the practice of urban agriculture among the general population while increasing nutrition and food security for children.
The Economy
School feeding is a social safety net that relieves parents of part of their food costs and saves them around 10% of their income, allowing them to spend money on other necessities, further stimulating the economy.
Furthermore, HGSF gives smallholder farmers a stable market for their products by connecting them with schools. Farmers can then invest this income in better agricultural practices, which, in turn, increases productivity.
As well as being detrimental to peoples’ lives, child hunger in Madagascar is a significant burden on the economy, with the associated health costs totaling 14.5% of GDP. The government can spend its money on other well-needed projects by reducing child undernutrition.
School feeding also has long-term impacts, allowing children to get an education, find work and contribute to the economy. The WFP School Feeding Programme costs only $26 per student per year, yet it creates $935 throughout the recipient’s life.
Education
High rates of malnutrition not only affect children’s physical development but also impede their cognitive development. Chronically malnourished children have greater problems understanding and engaging with school material than their well-nourished classmates and have lower learning outcomes in reading and mathematics. They also drop out of school at a higher rate.
Schools where children receive meals have improved learning outcomes, reducing absenteeism and the dropout rate. They also have 14% higher attendance; on average, students stay in school for one year more. Incentivizing children to attend school regularly and for longer gives them access to a better education and a more promising future.
Many children in Madagascar cannot attend school because they must work to support their families. Such a lack of access to education promotes the cycle of poverty by robbing children of their future job prospects. School feeding incentivizes parents to send their children to school as they are guaranteed a nutritious meal and an education.
Looking Ahead
The importance of school feeding in the fight against poverty cannot be understated. WFP has pulled out all the stops to reduce child hunger in Madagascar by providing them with the nutrition they need to develop physically and cognitively while incentivizing them to get an education and escape poverty.
– Marcos Caro
Photo: Flickr
UNICEF’s Plan to Address Poverty in Suriname
About Poverty in Suriname
The COVID-19 pandemic made an already difficult economic situation much worse and as a result about one of every four people is living in poverty in Suriname. There have been small signs of hope over the last few years, but inflation has made continued progress difficult to achieve.
As is the case in many developing nations, children and teenagers feel poverty in Suriname extremely hard. According to Humanium.org, the youth throughout the nation are facing a wide variety of challenges as a result of poverty. Exploitation of child labor and poor education systems have contributed to a low quality of life for young people throughout Suriname.
Another serious issue in the area is the poor health of children. Malnutrition has become a challenge that is very common in Suriname and as a result, a large number of young children are contracting anemia and other diseases. In some of the less densely populated areas of Suriname, access to health care services is very limited. A study occurred in these areas and more than six out of every 10 children in the study were anemic.
UNICEF’s Efforts
Luckily, in 2022, UNICEF laid out an elaborate plan for the nations of Suriname and Guyana on how to improve the unfortunate circumstances facing these nations, specifically for children. The plan that UNICEF assembled is elaborate and will tackle several aspects of poverty in Suriname through numerous channels. UNICEF has several partnerships in place with various organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and many others to improve access to health care, quality education and other services to help young children move out of poverty. UNICEF has been able to allocate $18.3 million for its objectives in Suriname.
Another very critical aspect of the plan that UNICEF put out in 2022 is the agreements it has with organizations that will be able to gather updated and accurate data in regards to poverty in Suriname. UNICEF has developed different data analysis tools to measure the progress in each issue area laid out in the plan. These tools will allow UNICEF to accurately measure the success of each part of the plan. The various surveys conducted and data collected will be shared with leaders and government agencies.
The goal that UNICEF has outlined is for the government to use this information to develop policies that address the current state of the nation and not an outdated perspective which UNICEF will also analyze to make sure they are robust enough to make a significant impact. This plan has outlined a bright future for Suriname due to the fact that it outlines how to keep its citizens, especially children, healthy, educated and safe.
Looking Ahead
Suriname is clearly struggling, but the plan that UNICEF has implemented coupled with the partnerships they have developed is a massive step in the right direction. The measures that UNICEF is taking as described in the plan address so many issues and the hope is that each problem can be overcome. If the plan undergoes proper execution, Suriname will be on a path toward a better future and away from poverty.
– Dylan Lyons
Photo: Flickr
Maternal Mortality in Afghanistan
Sociopolitical Factors
Britannica’s profile on Afghanistan describes how the country takes the impact in political and commerce disputes. These conflicts have led to warfare and various changes in the regime within Afghanistan. These recurrent periods of transitional leadership followed and brought with them uncertainty and civil unrest.
Britannica also reported that “Afghanistan has one of the least-developed health care systems in the world,” with only a small number of Afghans having access to health care. Britannica also highlighted that government-issued medical services are minimal, as “medical training is nonexistent” within the country.
In “Maternal Mortality in Afghanistan: Challenges, Efforts and Recommendations,” an academic paper by a group of medical scholars on maternal death in Afghanistan, it was revealed that political instability and violence have harmed the health care system. These scholars also found that female health care staff trained in assisting during child labor are often “not allowed to report to their posting by the Taliban” and that there has been an increase in violence against midwives in the country.
According to reports, the Taliban seized power, international donors withdrew funds that the health care system in Afghanistan previously relied upon. These are just some of the aspects of Afghanistan’s unstable sociopolitical state currently contributing to maternal death in the country.
VOANews reported that “despite the country’s improved maternal mortality rates between 2001 and 2021,” the resurgence of the Taliban following this period has derailed that hard-won progress. This is both due to the Taliban’s restriction of midwives attending to their posts and the fact that nearly 90% of Afghans “suspended or decided not to seek medical care in 2022 mostly because of Taliban restrictions and poverty.”
The Impact of a Lack of Resources
UNICEF has highlighted that maternal death in Afghanistan as a result of preventable causes due to poverty is an urgent humanitarian crisis as this Middle Eastern country remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for mothers during child labor. “UNICEF explained, ‘Thousands of Afghan women die every year from pregnancy-related causes,’ a majority of which can be easily preventable.”
The organization described how one of the most common contemporary factors contributing to this crisis is access to a hospital or health facility being beyond the reach of most pregnant mothers in the country. UNICEF concluded that the majority of maternal deaths in Afghanistan are preventable. In the article “Social Determinants of Maternal Health in Afghanistan,” public health scholars reviewed the state of the country’s maternal death crisis. These scholars found that the most common medical conditions contributing to this crisis were “hemorrhage, obstructed labor, infection, high blood pressure” and other medical conditions that could be prevented or better treated with secure access to professional medical care.
Registered Nurse First Assistant Kinshasha Johnson, with more than a decade of labor and delivery experience, discussed the importance of access to medical care during childbirth in her interview with The Borgen Project. Johnson highlighted that medical professionals have access to resources like fetal monitoring, supplemental oxygen, IV fluid hydration, methods to stop contractions and even surgical intervention if necessary. These and other resources that medical professionals provide during child labor can treat many of the conditions listed as contributing heavily to maternal death in Afghanistan.
When asked whether she had something she wanted the world to know about poverty and maternal mortality, RNFA Johnson highlighted that pregnant women living in poverty without access to medical resources “often have to live with things that can be easily avoided.” She added that the women also often go “undiagnosed for medical conditions that could lead to maternal emergencies.”
Midwifery in Afghanistan
Midwives throughout the Middle Eastern country are working to improve the reality of maternal death in Afghanistan. In their article “Midwives on the Front Lines Working to Reverse Afghanistan’s High Maternal Death Rate,” The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) highlighted the Community Midwifery Program and their work in training “midwives to provide essential basic maternal health services and other midwifery care.”
The UNPFA plays a crucial role in these efforts and “supports Afghanistan’s Community Midwifery Education Programme ” in various ways. Midwives educated through the program operate out of “UNFPA-established family health houses,” which the UNFPA founded to provide medical resources for Afghanistan’s most vulnerable populations.
Takeaway
Maternal mortality in Afghanistan is an ongoing humanitarian public health crisis with many contributing factors. Most prominently, civil unrest and conflict within the country and its unstable sociopolitical state have hindered the country’s ability to establish a reliable infrastructure. As a result, insecure access to professional medical assistance is a concern for a majority of the population, including pregnant women. Because of this, there has been an establishment of community education in midwifery in some regions of the country as a means of alleviating the high rate of maternal death in Afghanistan.
– Rosemary Wright
Photo: Flickr
Addressing Period Poverty in Italy
Efforts to Lower the VAT
In fact, in Italy, the normal VAT for tampons has increased tremendously, growing from 12% in 1973 to a staggering 22% in 2013. Efforts have since been made to lower the VAT to 5%, helping reduce period poverty. This tax rate often was for for luxurious goods such as wine or beauty treatments. As a result, the prices of period products could be up to €6 and would consist of traditional cellulose-based sanitary pads and tampons. This high tampon tax rate would be a significant expense since women use roughly 11,000 period products in their lifetime, using around 22 products every cycle.
By treating period products as a luxury good, Italy would be in stark contrast to other European countries, as Poland, the U.K., France and the Czech Republic have all lowered their tampon tax to 5%. Overall, Italy ranks six out of the 28 member states for the highest tax rate on feminine hygiene products.
Italy’s lack of access to menstrual products is dubbed ‘period poverty.’ This is due to economic vulnerability due to the financial burden of having to spend great sums of money on these medically necessary hygiene products.
Efforts to Eliminate Period Poverty in Italy
As a solution, Non una di meno was a feminist movement that brought light to period poverty in Italy in 2016. The feminist activists involved protested against the tampon tax by claiming that it was obscenely higher than the VAT applied to male hygiene products in Italy, which was around 4% to 10%.
This motivated a political member in the same year, the representative of the Democratic Party Giuseppe Civati, to fight for legislation that would reduce the value-added tax from 22% to 5% in an attempt to weaken period poverty in Italy. Politicians scrutinized the proposal, demonstrating how the Italian government did not see period poverty as a serious issue despite how it critically restricts and disables more than half of the population.
Another feminist movement tackling period poverty took place in 2019, as the association Onde Rosa campaigned to have tax reduced to 4%, collecting more than 600,000 signatures for their petition.
The First Italian Menstrual Cycle Festival
With the government’s inactivity, the city of Milan held the first Italian Menstrual Cycle Festival, a three-day-long crowdfunding campaign that aimed to address the stigmatization surrounding periods, claiming that period hygiene products were not seen as basic necessities by the government. By raising awareness about period poverty, they were able to raise money, sending one pack of sanitary pads per donation to Ukraine.
The Italian Budget Law
The approval of the Italian Budget Law in early 2019 created enormous tension between feminist activists and the government since it had one clause that lowered truffle mushrooms’ VAT to a mere 5%, therefore becoming a primary good. This was, in fact, the second VAT reduction for this product, which previously reduced from 22% to 10% in 2014. At that point in time, period hygiene products still had a VAT of 22%. This drew a lot of criticism that the government has not properly prioritized period poverty, despite it being fatal for many.
However, Italy reached two significant milestones. In 2019, an amendment signed with Women Intergroup for the Budget session lowered the VAT on compostable and washable hygiene products by 5%. In addition, VAT on sanitary pads and tampons reduced by 10% in 2022, an action that the Giorgia Meloni government reaffirmed in 2023, led by the first woman to hold the office of Prime Minister in Italy.
Looking Ahead
Despite Italy’s attempts at reducing period poverty, when compared to other European countries much more work remains. For instance, Ireland completely abolished the tampon tax, meaning it now has a zero rate of VAT. By implementing more reforms that tackle period poverty, Italy can take a step closer to improving women’s health across the country.
– Anna Mc Donald
Photo: Flickr
Addressing the Decline in the Madagascar Economy
Political Instability and Economic Consequences
Madagascar has faced several political crises over the past few decades, leading to a lack of stable governance and consistent economic policies. From 2008-to 2013, the Malagasy government experienced the most extended period of political uncertainty. Consequently, this led to a lack of recognition from the global community. Since then, it has faced ongoing battles which have deterred foreign investors. Hence, the Madagascar economy has struggled to attract the foreign capital essential for development, causing a detrimental impact on GDP.
Agriculture
The country’s unique biodiversity and rich ecosystems have also suffered from economic decline. Madagascar is no stranger to environmental challenges, including deforestation and soil erosion. In 2022, Madagascar suffered from extreme droughts, which led to mass food insecurity for 1.6 million people. Since then, subsequent flooding and clones have left agriculture heavily impacted.
The decline in agricultural output, a critical component of Madagascar’s economy, has exacerbated natural disasters and environmental challenges. Reduced crop yields and disrupted farming practices have hit hard, leading to food scarcity and an increase in the cost of living for Malagasy citizens.
The Global Economic Impact of COVID-19
The pandemic’s global reach has not spared Madagascar. The country’s economy relies heavily on exports, particularly in the textile and mining sectors. The slowdown of international trade and economic uncertainty stemming from the pandemic severely curtailed Madagascar’s economic growth. Reduced demand for exports and disruptions in supply chains resulted in a GDP of 7.1% and 9.8% income per capita. Approximately 1.8 million people in 2020 fell below the international poverty line.
Consequences of the Economic Downturn
The steep decline in Madagascar’s GDP has triggered a host of consequences. A rise in poverty rates is one of the most pressing concerns, as livelihoods are threatened and access to basic necessities becomes increasingly challenging for the population. Social unrest is also rising due to economic desperation and political frustration. Furthermore, Madagascar is facing a growing humanitarian crisis as food insecurity deepens and access to health care becomes more limited.
Going Forward
The Madagascar economy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being enriched with abundant rare minerals, precious stones, fishing resources and extensive fertile land, the nation struggles with poverty. Even though Madagascar has great potential, it has not experienced substantial economic growth since gaining independence from France.
The Madagascar Development Fund (MDF), which formally began in 2008, is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the everyday lives of people in Madagascar. As of 2017, the organization has funded 225 projects that helped improve health care and sanitation, education access, clean water and more.
With support and assistance from non-governmental organizations such as the MDF, the country can make gradual strides toward positive economic development.
– Sophie Higham
Photo: Flickr
Cardiovascular Disease in Cambodia
The Facts
Cardiovascular disease in Cambodia is the country’s leading cause of death. This is likely due to the fact that risk factors, such as habitual smoking, are very loosely controlled. Of Cambodians over the age of 40, 12% suffer from hypertension, while 32% of Cambodian men smoke cigarettes. Given that only 60% of Cambodians with diabetes have access to treatment, it is likely that those suffering from cardiovascular disease likewise have limited resources to help.
However, the main reason cardiovascular disease plagues Cambodia is due to lack of access to preventative care. In U.S. schools, for instance, children are educated from an early age on the dangers of nicotine and tobacco usage, which contributes to the fact that only 13.1% of U.S. adult men smoke cigarettes. The low levels of diagnosed hypertension and diabetes in Cambodia indicates that clinics in Cambodia are not thoroughly conducting preventative treatments and diagnosis. Health care providers may not be following provided guidelines for patient care, indicating a “know-do” gap.
A study that the U.S. National Library of Medicine did discovered three major reasons for the high rates of cardiovascular disease in Cambodia. The study found that only 4.7% of Cambodian practitioners actually measured blood glucose levels, which could explain how diabetes so frequently goes undiagnosed. Additionally, only 18% of practitioners asked patients about their smoking habits, and only 33.8% knew to ask about this. Lastly, guidelines state that health care providers should measure blood pressure twice in a visit, and only 8% of doctors in the study did so. This suggests that rates of hypertension may be significantly higher than known studies imply.
Improvements to Cambodian Health Care
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) works through the “One Health Workforce-Next Generation” regional network that supports Cambodia by training health professionals on how to properly respond to human disease threats, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past five years, USAID has made numerous advancements within the Cambodian health care system, including:
Hospitals and Health Facilities in Cambodia
In Cambodia, hospitals are concentrated in urban areas, with a lack of health facilities in rural areas. Those living in rural areas lack access to health care, but also lack access to education about dietary and lifestyle choices that may prevent cardiovascular disease. Additionally, due to limited funding and resources dedicated to hospital services, there are many indications that health care providers are also not receiving sufficient training.
Due to lack of health care access in Cambodia and the shortcomings of many health care providers, cardiovascular disease in Cambodia is an extremely pressing issue. Education about preventative measures for the entire population is critical to reducing rates of cardiovascular disease in Cambodia.
– Aubrey Acord
Photo: Flickr
Tackling Technology Poverty: Placing Internet in India
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi champions the utility of equitable internet access in what he dubs “the war against poverty,” celebrating the increase in the opportunity afforded to children (providing low-data costs for online lessons when the 2020 pandemic shut down physical education for two years) and vaccination campaigns which were run online that helped to curtail the spread of the virus; both examples demonstrate the importance of expanding internet adoption as far as possible. Fortunately, a handful of initiatives and organizations are already making ground in their efforts to bring the internet to India.
Establishing Infrastructure
Of the 700 million still offline, a large portion comprises 64% of India’s population designated as “rural.” In such areas, barriers to internet adoption lie not just in affordability for lower-income households but in inadequate infrastructure for the Indian power sector, which is often incapable of maintaining a consistent power supply to the various villages outside the reach of the main grids. This situation is why the efforts of companies such as Sterlite Technologies Ltd. (STL) can be so transformative. As specialists in optical networking, STL endeavors to expand high-speed internet to over 300,000 villages by 2024. STL has made strides with MIT to study methods of increasing internet coverage and is helping to develop 5G infrastructure that should strengthen connectivity in even the most remote corners.
The Digital India Campaign
Sometimes, the barrier to technological adoption is familiarity and utility, which requires convincing prospective users of the viability of new technologies and their potential “use cases” in daily life. To this end, the government-led “Digital India Campaign” was devised to bridge the digital literacy and adoption gap through various initiatives. The platform “e-Pathshala” is one such initiative launched as an app-based learning resource for schools. Another is the digitation service “Digilocker,” which provides a digital version of official documents such as Driver’s Licenses and Car Registration certificates. This distinct convenience measure alleviates some of the stresses of document maintenance.
Teaching Internet Literacy
Bringing rural complications and digital literacy deficits together is “Internet Saathi,” a program that Google and Tata Trust run in partnership. Focused on teaching tech literacy to women living in rural parts of India, environments where women are often discouraged from engaging with technology, “Internet Saathi” trains up women as “Saathis,” the Hindu word for “Friend,” who are then paid a stipend to travel to nearby villages with smart devices and lessons on internet literacy. These Saathis instruct local women on how such tools can benefit their daily lives and why the types of opportunities they provide, be that educational opportunities or even just simple nutritional advice, all while economically supporting the tutors with a revenue stream. Today, “Internet Saathi” reported helping more than 20 million women with resources and education provided by more than 60,000 Saathis.
Bringing the internet to India has been an expansive and multifaceted project juggling the interests of private companies and government programs, all collaborating to improve public infrastructure, and it is starting to pay dividends. Since 2007, the Internet adoption rate across India has shot up 44% from the relatively modest 4%. Still, there is a long way to go and many difficult branches of the country left to reach, both societally and geometrically, before India can consider itself sufficiently digitally saturated. Then, Prime Minister Modi’s plan to “Democratize technology” as a “Weapon in the war against poverty” can start to make a seismic and course-changing impact.
– Brandon Murphy
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Fight for Access to Education in Syria
How the Earthquakes Impacted Education in Syria
Of the 8,800,000 people that the earthquakes affected, 3.7 million were children. The earthquakes damaged a total of 2,947 schools, and it is estimated that 200,000 children do not have access to education due to the mandatory closure of schools for health and safety concerns. This not only has an immediate impact on children, but is a major disruption in the country’s future success, as the completion of secondary education reduces global poverty and infant mortality rates. The importance of returning to school as soon as possible is at the forefront of government concern. Attending school gives children a sense of safety and normality, as well as giving them access to necessary services such as counseling.
GPE and ILO
Global Partnership for Education (GPE) immediately mobilized funding to set up temporary learning spaces, repair the damage to schools, deliver school meals and provide humanitarian aid to children, their families and teachers.
The International Labour Organization (ILO), which works to create and promote employment, focuses on improving employability by offering job training for citizens who lost their jobs in the disaster. The project aims to address immediate concerns by offering training for local contractors and other labor-based industries.
The ILO is also working to rebuild three schools in Aleppo that the earthquakes significantly damaged. In addition to enabling children to attend school again, rebuilding schools creates more jobs for people in Aleppo. The ILO hopes to continue creating job opportunities for residents in Aleppo whilst improving the livelihood of the community.
UNICEF’s Efforts
The United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is helping 101,975 children gain access to education in Syria through both formal school settings and independent learning. Self-learning programs help families in areas where schools are still closed, or families are displaced. UNICEF provides essential learning materials to children in need and to schools that lack educational resources. The organization has a pre-existing program called Curriculum B, which enables children to catch up on missed education. This accelerated learning program fits two years’ worth of learning content into a single year, and reached more than 2 million children in 2018.
– Eadaoin O’Leary
Photo: Flickr