In some regions of Pakistan, malnutrition is a major barrier to development. Organizations are working against poverty and a lack of health education or infrastructure that contributes to malnutrition.
The Food and Agriculture Organization reports that 50 percent of Pakistani children under 5 years of age are affected by stunting. In addition, 40 percent of children are underweight, and 9 percent are wasting.
The National Nutrition Survey from 2011 also states that around half of Pakistani mothers are also malnourished.
These numbers vary by region. In Mithi, the district capital of the Sindh province, infant mortality is at 123 out of 1000 births. Nationally, the rate is 75 out of 1000 births.
Each year, 396,000 infants die in Pakistan. Those that survive commonly suffer from deficiencies in iodine, vitamin A, iron, folic acid and zinc.
There are many causes for these deficiencies and the resulting malnutrition.
Many mothers do not breastfeed, nor do they sufficiently space out their pregnancies. The average fertility rate in Pakistan is 4.1 births per woman, and the population is growing at a rate of 1.95 percent each year. This is the highest rate in South Asia.
Many mothers also do not start weaning their children at six months, which is recommended for proper growth.
After early childhood, there is also low consumption of fruit, vegetables, fish and meat. The majority of people’s diets consist of cereals.
This diet is largely a result of what is available for the population; 60 million people in Pakistan live in poverty. These people cannot afford balanced diets or multivitamins and iron supplements to counteract their lack of healthy foods.
There is also little access to health centers, and those that are available are underfunded. These health centers are unable to cope with the medical complications that arise from malnutrition. Malnutrition lowers immunity and the effectiveness of certain vaccinations. It also leads to an increased risk for diarrhea, pneumonia and measles.
The connection between health and poverty is a cyclical problem. Stunted growth has been connected with up to a 46 percent decrease in salaries as adults. These adults can then not afford the healthcare and nutrition to provide for their children.
There are organizations working to counteract this cycle.
The Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) project trains people to educate others on health and education. CMAM is funded by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department, and run by UNICEF.
The project trains Health and Nutrition Educators at its 27 Nutrition Centers. These centers are in Pakistan’s Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, where a large percentage of the country’s malnourished live.
They teach a variety of subjects: hygiene, feeding for young children and infants, treating children and mothers and supplying food for malnourished children.
CMAM also takes in malnourished children and provides them with treatment. It uses the educators to find these children in its own communities.
Malnutrition in Pakistan is identified by mid-upper arm circumference and the proportion of height to weight.
Since the inception of the program in 2011, over 560,000 people have benefited from this education and support. The program would like to expand, treating more than just the severe cases of malnutrition. It also wants to tackle peripheral issues related to malnutrition, like water and sanitation, hygiene, health care infrastructure and livelihoods support.
The World Food Program (WFP) also has a project in place called the Micronutrient Initiative. This initiative is working to provide nutritional food and supplements, with support from UNICEF and Gain.
Read more about Malnutrition in Pakistan
The salt iodization program is the main focus, as the WFP has found that this is the only successful nutrition intervention program in the nation.
Because of these interventions, iodine deficiency in mothers has dropped from 57 percent to 18 percent. In school-aged children, the number has dropped from 40 percent to 12 percent.
The Country Director of the Micronutrient Initiative, Dr. Tausif Akhtar Janjua, stated that he would like to see more access to clean water, nutrition education, access to nutritious food and increased food security, in addition to the work on supplementing nutrients.
He believes there needs to be a focus on women and children, then a focus on poverty reduction in order to keep fighting malnutrition in Pakistan.
– Monica Roth
Sources: IRIN News, UNICEF, FAO, Tribune, The News, The News 2
Photo: IRIN News
Senegalese Women Start Tech Hub
A group of women in Senegal have started their own tech company in Sacre Coeur, a suburb of the capital city, Dakar. These women are working to encourage more women to enter computer engineering.
The number of women in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields is decreasing. Currently, the amount of women with Information Technology (IT) jobs is below 30 percent. In Africa, this number is lower; although, in Senegal, women hold 35 percent of IT jobs.
The founders of the Jjiguene tech hub intend to change this.
A study performed by Development Dimensions International and The Conference Board found that the more willing companies were to put women in leadership, the better the companies did overall. The top 20 percent of companies in any field had 37 percent of their leadership positions filled by women, and had more female positions elsewhere in the company.
Evan Sinar, one scientist who worked on the study, believes the change in success levels arises because companies that promote women are more equitable in other areas of running the business. Their lack of discrimination in any sector helps them become more innovative and creative, and thus more successful.
This proportionally higher number of female leadership positions does not extend to technology fields though. These fields not only had fewer women in leadership positions, but they also had fewer women who were considered to be high-potential leaders.
Sinar believes this has to do with the subjectivity of selecting leaders in these fields, which allows bias to keep women out of leadership.
This is the environment in which Jjiguene’s founders are working.
Senegal has had consistent internet access since 1996, with 13 suppliers by 2000 and 8,500 subscribers. It has one of the best telecommunications and IT sectors in sub-Saharan Africa, with 3.3 percent of its GDP coming from internet-facilitated business. This is the highest of any African nation.
Coudy Binta is one of the founders of Jjiguene who is capitalizing on this high percentage of GDP. Now 24, she discovered her love for computers when she would visit her mother, a computer engineer for the government of Senegal, at work.
She and three other women founded Jjiguene, which means “woman” in Senegal’s most commonly spoken language, Wolof.
Most of the young women are in their early 20s, and they are trying to boost interest in the IT sector for other motivated women.
Jjiguene offers training courses for women. It also extend its reach to local schools, teaching girls in primary and secondary schools. The available courses include a basic introduction to IT, including Microsoft Word and Outlook, as well as coding. Jjiguene teaches HTML and CSS languages.
While an education alone is not enough to break through the issues surrounding women in STEM fields, Jjiguene also provides a space for women to work on their own projects. The company is there to support them and provide a collaborative environment.
In many IT companies, there are problems with glass ceilings, cultural stigmas and lack of child care. Women are often expected to remain at home, meaning they have less experience with global travel and leadership positions.
All of Jjiguene’s services are provided free of charge, sponsored by Microsoft and local businesses.
– Monica Roth
Sources: BBC, Latin Post, US News, IT Business Edge, UNRISD
Photo: US News
Malnutrition in Pakistan Today
In some regions of Pakistan, malnutrition is a major barrier to development. Organizations are working against poverty and a lack of health education or infrastructure that contributes to malnutrition.
The Food and Agriculture Organization reports that 50 percent of Pakistani children under 5 years of age are affected by stunting. In addition, 40 percent of children are underweight, and 9 percent are wasting.
The National Nutrition Survey from 2011 also states that around half of Pakistani mothers are also malnourished.
These numbers vary by region. In Mithi, the district capital of the Sindh province, infant mortality is at 123 out of 1000 births. Nationally, the rate is 75 out of 1000 births.
Each year, 396,000 infants die in Pakistan. Those that survive commonly suffer from deficiencies in iodine, vitamin A, iron, folic acid and zinc.
There are many causes for these deficiencies and the resulting malnutrition.
Many mothers do not breastfeed, nor do they sufficiently space out their pregnancies. The average fertility rate in Pakistan is 4.1 births per woman, and the population is growing at a rate of 1.95 percent each year. This is the highest rate in South Asia.
Many mothers also do not start weaning their children at six months, which is recommended for proper growth.
After early childhood, there is also low consumption of fruit, vegetables, fish and meat. The majority of people’s diets consist of cereals.
This diet is largely a result of what is available for the population; 60 million people in Pakistan live in poverty. These people cannot afford balanced diets or multivitamins and iron supplements to counteract their lack of healthy foods.
There is also little access to health centers, and those that are available are underfunded. These health centers are unable to cope with the medical complications that arise from malnutrition. Malnutrition lowers immunity and the effectiveness of certain vaccinations. It also leads to an increased risk for diarrhea, pneumonia and measles.
The connection between health and poverty is a cyclical problem. Stunted growth has been connected with up to a 46 percent decrease in salaries as adults. These adults can then not afford the healthcare and nutrition to provide for their children.
There are organizations working to counteract this cycle.
The Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) project trains people to educate others on health and education. CMAM is funded by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department, and run by UNICEF.
The project trains Health and Nutrition Educators at its 27 Nutrition Centers. These centers are in Pakistan’s Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, where a large percentage of the country’s malnourished live.
They teach a variety of subjects: hygiene, feeding for young children and infants, treating children and mothers and supplying food for malnourished children.
CMAM also takes in malnourished children and provides them with treatment. It uses the educators to find these children in its own communities.
Malnutrition in Pakistan is identified by mid-upper arm circumference and the proportion of height to weight.
Since the inception of the program in 2011, over 560,000 people have benefited from this education and support. The program would like to expand, treating more than just the severe cases of malnutrition. It also wants to tackle peripheral issues related to malnutrition, like water and sanitation, hygiene, health care infrastructure and livelihoods support.
The World Food Program (WFP) also has a project in place called the Micronutrient Initiative. This initiative is working to provide nutritional food and supplements, with support from UNICEF and Gain.
The salt iodization program is the main focus, as the WFP has found that this is the only successful nutrition intervention program in the nation.
Because of these interventions, iodine deficiency in mothers has dropped from 57 percent to 18 percent. In school-aged children, the number has dropped from 40 percent to 12 percent.
The Country Director of the Micronutrient Initiative, Dr. Tausif Akhtar Janjua, stated that he would like to see more access to clean water, nutrition education, access to nutritious food and increased food security, in addition to the work on supplementing nutrients.
He believes there needs to be a focus on women and children, then a focus on poverty reduction in order to keep fighting malnutrition in Pakistan.
– Monica Roth
Sources: IRIN News, UNICEF, FAO, Tribune, The News, The News 2
Photo: IRIN News
Art Alleviates Poverty
Researchers at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile have found a way to combat some of the negative psychological effects of poverty by using art.
Marianne Daher and Ana María Haz’s study, published in 2011, looked at the impact of artistic activities on the minds of 10 impoverished women living in Chile’s capital, Santiago. The study used art to help these women better understand the impact of poverty on their lives.
The researchers defined poverty as a deprivation both of physical needs and psychosocial needs, the latter of which includes self-knowledge, education and confidence.
Deprivation of both has been shown to arouse anxiety and affective disorders in women who live in poverty.
The study’s participants worked with a variety of materials and in a variety of mediums, including drawing, collage and painting. They worked alone and collaborated with other participants as well. At the end of the study, they invited friends and family to an exhibition of their work.
Researchers collected qualitative data through interviews with the participants. The women answered questions that asked them about their psychological state before, during and after the creation of their art.
Through their work, the scope of the burden of poverty became clear both to researchers and to the women themselves, who noted they rarely had chances to express themselves before. The women felt overwhelmed by their lack of education, their large families, their dangerous neighborhoods, their inadequate access to health services, their unfulfilling and unappreciated role as housewives and their inability to hire others to look after their children.
Art alleviates poverty by combating the stress that threatened to overwhelm these women. Women described the process of painting as relaxing, and they appreciated having time for self-development. Many women also learned about themselves during their artistic experiment.
“I find something absolutely different,” one participant said. She continued, “I find myself and my feelings. More than the painting itself, I find something I have always had, but now I got it: I find myself.”
Researchers discovered that the feeling of well-being nurtured by the artistic process carried over into the women’s daily lives. One participant described the metaphor between the correction of her mistakes while painting and the correction of her mistakes in her daily life:
“Many times I have complained because it [the painting] went wrong, but finally I could fix it! So, why shouldn’t I believe this is possible if I was also capable to correct my mistakes [at home].”
In the study’s conclusion, the researchers noted art’s potential to serve as a defense against the stresses of poverty. However, the study also shows how effective the artistic process can be at digging up the frustrations that impoverished women bury within themselves as a coping mechanism.
Bringing those frustrations into the open is a challenge that has perplexed many who have sought to find a way to measure poverty’s impact on the mental well-being of the poor.
During the past decade, traditional measures of poverty have seemed more and more inadequate—Chile’s CASEN survey, for example. The CASEN survey focuses on economic factors, comparing “homes’ per capita income with a minimum expected income,” but these factors say nothing about the psychological traumas that poverty can inflict on the impoverished.
To uncover those traumas, art may be the answer.
– Ryan Yanke
Sources: Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative 1, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative 2, Psychology Today, American Journal of Community Psychology
Photo: Photography Blogger
Six Female Tech Entrepreneurs in Africa
African women have historically been some of the most disadvantaged people because of social and political norms, but recent developments in the corporate and startup worlds in Africa have allowed women to conceive of unique ideas to combat gender inequality and promote employment for all in the technology industry. Here are six female tech entrepreneurs who are making a difference with their business ideas.
Judith Owigar
Owigar is the co-founder of JuaKali, an online platform similar to LinkedIn that connects blue collar workers in the informal sector to employment opportunities. JuaKali allows users to create online profiles to showcase their expertise and recommendations to find formal employment in Kenya through web and mobile platforms.
Owigar is also the founder of Akirachix, an association that provides professional development services to women interested in technology. The association offers networking, training and mentoring to women with the goal of reducing the gender gap in technology for women in Africa and the world.
Coudy Binta De
This 24-year-old Senegalese entrepreneur is one the rising stars of the Information Technology sector in West Africa. Coudy Binta De and three other women established the first technology hub run by and for women in Sacre Coeur. The hub, named Jijiguene Tech Hub (Jijiguene means women in Woluf), offers elementary training for computer literacy to advanced training like coding in HTML and CSS.
Jijiguene Tech Hub also offers professional development services, and both men and women are welcome to come in with entrepreneurial ideas. Men overwhelmingly dominate the IT sector in Africa, and women like De are working to increase employment opportunities and create favorable social norms for female entrepreneurs.
Jamila Abass, Linda Kwamboka and Susan Oguya
These three Kenyan women created MFarm, a mobile platform that connects farmers with consumers in urban and rural areas. MFarm uses software that provides producers and buyers with the latest retail information, and consumers can purchase produce directly from the farmers and vice versa.
Farmers can find local consumers while buyers can find the lowest price for food amongst farmers; every user connects via SMS. The company began in 2010 after winning the IPO48 competition and is now supported by partners Samsung and Tech for Trade, a U.K.-based charity.
Akaliza Keza Gara
A Kigali native of Rwanda, Akaliza Keza Gara is a 27-year-old entrepreneur in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry of Rwanda’s technology sector. She is the founder of Shaking Sun, a multimedia company that offers website development, graphic design and computer animation services.
Gara believes women should be producers of technology, not just consumers. As such, she actively works to advance the position of women in the Rwandan ICT industry. In 2012, Gara was one of four female Rwandan entrepreneurs honored by the International Telecommunication Union for contributions to the ICT sector.
– Joseph McAdams
Sources: All Africa, BBC, Forbes, M Farm, Juakali
Photo: Africa Style Daily
Ten Thousand Villages Fair Trade Model
Stopping into any Ten Thousand Villages store, there are multicolored products as diverse as the countries they are produced in. The Akron-based company runs on a Fair Trade business plan with craftsmen in over 38 countries. With over 65 years of business, Ten Thousand Villages has become one of the most prominent Fair Trade businesses in the world.
Many of the artisans employed by Ten Thousand Villages are underprivileged and the long-term contracts with the business create opportunities to alleviate their poverty. Many of the people who receive contracts are women who generally have fewer opportunities in their countries.
As a founding member of the World Free Trade Organization, Ten Thousand Villages has formed a business plan that is being used as a template for other companies with business dealings in poorer nations. Fair Trade models enable the craftsmen to be paid reasonable salaries, generally much higher than those they would be paid by businesses in their home country.
The payment is given in two parts: half when the order is placed and the rest after the product is completed. Together, the artists negotiate a deal with the company to cover their costs of production, as well as an adequate fee.
Through the contracts with Ten Thousand Villages, the artists are able to provide health care, education and nourishment to their families which they might have otherwise not had access to. The trickle-down effect of Fair Trade lasts for generations. More children are able to continue their education and then have more opportunities than the previous generation.
The contracts typically last several years, which provides a stable source of income for the artisans, as well as reliable products for the stores. The products are a homage to the unique cultures and materials accessible.
Though Ten Thousand Villages was one of the pioneers of the Fair Trade model, said model has proliferated to over 350 organizations in more than 70 countries united in the WFTO. One of the cornerstones of the Fair Trade model is to eliminate global poverty through raising wages to livable standards; so far, Ten Thousand Villages is helping achieve this goal.
–Kristin Ronzi
Sources: Ten Thousand Villages, WFTO
Photo: Blogto
Center for Civilians in Conflict Helps Violence Victims
From the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan to the lawlessness in Somalia, many of the world’s regions experience violence and warfare. Countless civilians struggle to survive in war zones while terrorist groups, warlords and corrupt governments fight. The Center for Civilians in Conflict, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., seeks to be an ally to the innocent people surrounded by enemies. By helping to establish legal rights for conflict victims, the center holds warring groups responsible for their actions.
The Center for Civilians in Conflict’s founder, Marla Ruzicka, began her efforts to help victims of violence in 2001, when she traveled to Afghanistan after the war began. She found that neither side kept counts of civilian deaths or helped injured noncombatants and formed the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict in response. Ten years later, her organization, now called the Center for Civilians in Conflict, works to get justice for people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Syria, and other locations around the world.
Today’s conflicts have severe human and economic costs. The wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq have caused the deaths of at least 174,000 noncombatants, and several times more have died because of destroyed hospitals and infrastructure, according to the Costs of War Project. Marla Ruzicka herself died in a suicide bombing in Iraq in 2005; her colleagues continued her work.
The Center for Civilians in Conflict uses multiple strategies to ensure human rights for those affected by violence. One way the organization helps is by working with U.S. legislators to design aid policies that protect and provide critical resources to conflict victims. The Marla Ruzicka fund, a USAID branch modeled and named after the founder, has given more than $7 million to help Iraqi families affected by conflict.
The U.S. government is not the only one that receives legislative advice from the Center for Civilians in Conflict. The nonprofit also works with foreign governments to create legal frameworks for giving civilians protection and the right to reparations. Recommendations that the center made to the Pakistani government to improve assistance funding to individual provinces have already been implemented.
Along with advocacy and legislation in the U.S. and abroad, the Center for Civilians in Conflict also works within combat zones to assess civilian damage and better create policies to help those affected. One of the nonprofit’s first actions was to take surveys of victims of the Iraq war in 2003. The center continues these surveys in Syria and Somalia, and it was the first group to publish reports on civilian casualties in Somalia.
To make it easier for governments to track civilian deaths, the Center for Civilians in Conflict trains local military and police forces to record and respond to civilian casualties. The government of Afghanistan is working to implement these strategies and has already created an office to measure civilian harm.
The Center for Civilians in Conflict consistently works to help violence victims get assistance funding from their own governments and from abroad to make up for the damage they suffer in wars. It also make sure governments can properly track civilian casualties and establish legal frameworks that give them rights to protection and reparation.
The damage from war is difficult to undo, but the Center for Civilians in Conflict makes sure innocent people can get the justice they deserve.
– Ted Rappleye
Sources: Civilians in Conflict, Civilians in Conflict 2, Costs of War, Global Communities
Photo: Civilians in Conflict
Latin America Rated on Social Inclusion
Latin America is known for its poor record of income equality, but the 2014 Social Inclusion Index from Americas Quarterly reveals that in terms of civil, women’s and LGBT rights, several Latin American nations outstrip even the United States.
The Index pulls together data on 21 different variables, including GDP growth, enrollment in secondary school, access to housing and formal employment, financial inclusion by gender and political rights, to name a few.
The Social Inclusion Index approaches development from a multidimensional perspective, considering many factors that go beyond the scope of cut-and-dried economic growth. This year’s report is the third in the Americas Quarterly series and it reveals an encouraging amount of poverty reduction and social inclusion in the region.
Uruguay remains at the top of the Index, receiving high scores in women’s rights, civil rights, LGBT rights and formal job access. According to the Index, the U.S. lags behind four Latin American countries on women’s rights, including Uruguay, Costa Rica, Argentina and Peru.
Argentina and Costa Rica are tied in second place, scoring well due to high spending on social programs and women’s rights. The United States falls into fourth place because, although its social spending is the highest in the region, murder rates, particularly femicide, remain high, as well.
The report also points out that some of the region’s larger economic powers like Brazil and Mexico could greatly improve their scores by placing more emphasis on women’s rights, access to education and access to formal jobs. For example, only 37 percent of the working population in Mexico has access to formal employment. Increasing this number has great potential to reduce poverty.
Significant economic growth and increasing stability in Latin America means that more and more people are emerging from poverty and entering the middle class. This trend is allowing for important conversations on social inclusion to take place.
There are still many gaps in security, gender equality and inclusiveness in Latin America. The region remains the planet’s murder capital and violence against women is rampant. Yet the Social Inclusion Index does reveal positive change and provides valuable direction for further progress.
-Kayla Strickland
Sources: Americas Quarterly, VOXXI, Wall Street Journal
Photo: Global Public Square
Human Trafficking in Bangkok
According to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, Thailand is a “top destination for victims of human trafficking.” The majority of Thailand’s trafficking victims are voluntary economic migrants from countries like Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and China. They come only for the promise of a good job.
Without documentation, knowledge of Thailand or understanding of its language, they are vulnerable to traffickers. For the same reasons, it is nearly impossible for them to escape. Many are trapped in Thailand’s bustling capital of Bangkok, famous for its rich history, stunning architecture and thriving sex tourism industry.
Operation Graceland began with a tip-off by an Uzbek woman trafficked into prostitution at Bangkok’s Grace Hotel and desperate to return home. What followed was a police raid, the holding of 19 women and an investigation of all involved. In the end, only two of the detainees admitted to being trafficked. They identified their abusive ‘manager’ amongst the group, but after receiving word that their families had been threatened, they spoke favorably of her in court. She was released.
In 2002, there were an estimated 200,000 sex workers in Bangkok and the trade has grown. It is a lucrative job: women and men from poor families earn money to support their relatives, finance future aspirations or live a life of previously unknown affluence.
Though many are forced by circumstance, involvement in the sex industry is considered voluntary. Because there are so many willing sex workers in Bangkok, it is difficult to identify victims of trafficking. Officers are being trained to recognize trafficked workers. Do they work excessive hours? Do they have documentation? Are they of age?
But even if they manage a rescue, it is difficult to convict the perpetrators. Gangs threaten those rescued and their families, warning them against speaking out. Some victims hope that, by cooperating with their captors, they will be released with a small share of their earnings, all of which typically go to their slavers. Still others are undocumented migrants, who fear legal retribution for involving themselves in any legal affair.
In any case, testifying is risky, since many prosecutors base their arguments entirely on hearsay and the victim’s statements. Slavers are often released and the case against them deemed unsubstantial.
The prevalence of trafficking in Thailand and the legal support for victims have not improved enough for international recognition. In June, the United States dropped Thailand from tier two to tier three on the 2014
Trafficking in Persons report.
But the Thai government is making headway. In 2013, the number of trafficking cases investigated was double that of 2012. Nearly 750 victims received some form of assistance from the Thai government: most were referred to one of nine shelters run by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. Thousands of public officers were trained on new anti-trafficking laws; ideally, they will offer victims the legal support they need and give them hope of a life once again in freedom.
-Olivia Kostreva
Sources: Bangkok Post, Time, UNIAP
Photo: Laura Leigh Parker
INMED Partnerships for Children
Institute for International Medicine Partnerships for Children is an organization dedicated to preventing and combating the harm that comes to children through violence, disease, hunger and neglect.
INMED Partnerships for Children values taking a holistic approach to improve children’s health worldwide through addressing the causes of disease and hunger and attempting to remedy them from the source. INMED is dedicated in implementing long-term solutions to enhance both the quality and longevity of children’s lives.
Founded 27 years ago, INMED has stuck by its original goal of helping to improve the health and safety of children all over the globe. Led by President and CEO Linda Pfeiffer, INMED has been targeting programs and delivering care to help children in both urban and rural areas of the world. INMED also has offices worldwide, in places such as Virginia, Peru, Brazil, South Africa and the Caribbean.
INMED has partnered with a diverse group of companies in order to make sure they best spread their mission. They have partnered with companies such as Macy’s, the Ronald McDonald House Charities, the International Foundation, United States Agency for International Development, Kids in Distressed Situations, Johnson and Johnson and many more.
INMED maps out large areas they want to improve and then tailors specific projects to fall into those categories. These broader categories include health and nutrition, youth development, education and skill building, and adaptive agriculture and aquaponics.
One of INMEDs upcoming events will be the 2015 Harvest the Future International Conference, which is set to take place June 14-17, 2015 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Experts from across the globe will gather at this conference in order to discuss possible solutions to problems such as water scarcity, income generation sustainable livelihoods, nutrition and health, food security and climate change adaptation.
Conference speakers include Christopher Somerville, an Urban Agriculture Consultant at Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States, Denise A. Herbol, Mission Director at US Agency for International Development, and Thad M. Jackson, Executive Vice President of INMED Partnership.
– Jordyn Horowitz
Sources: INMED, INMED 2, INMED 3, Middleburg Women
Photo: Zimbio
International Youth Day 2014
On Aug. 12, the U.N. hosted an International Youth Day event at its headquarters in New York City. The event focused on the importance of addressing the mental health concerns of youth around the world, thus making them less susceptible to homelessness, crime and conflict situations.
The theme of this year’s International Youth Day was “Mental Health Matters.” The half-day event in New York City brought together young people, youth organizations, U.N. Member State representatives, civil society and U.N. entities for a series of presentations including panelists and young artist performances.
This event marked the official launch of the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs publication, Social Inclusion of Youth with Mental Health Conditions.
The report reveals “one-fifth of the young people around the world experience a mental health condition, with risks especially great during the transition from childhood to adulthood.”
The U.N. seeks to banish the stigma that plagues those suffering from mental illness. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned in his opening remarks that failing to address access to mental health services makes affected youth “more vulnerable to poverty, violence, and social exclusion, and negatively impacting society as a whole.”
International Youth Day was marked overseas at a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Somalia, where the mental health of the young is of particular concern. Somali youth face violence and crime on a daily basis, and many are forced to join military groups or survive on the streets.
A traumatic childhood, like that experienced by youth in Somalia, breeds mental illness. According to Philippe Lazzarini, the U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Somalia, “We must be clear that what we need is nothing less than a paradigm shift in policies and attitudes towards the role of youth in order to empower and place them at the core of the development agenda.”
The population of those 25 years of age or younger is growing in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, where young people are 70 percent of the civilian body. It is especially important for countries like the DRC to focus on mental health because the youth “are not only the Congo of tomorrow, but also the Congo of today,” said a U.N. representative from the country.
The World Health Organization recommends a range of specific actions that should be integrated into national development plans in order to break the cycle of debilitating mental illness. These strategies include supporting access to school for children with mental disabilities, integrating mental health issues into broader health policies and creating employment for those suffering from mental illness.
Assembly President John Ashe summed up the objective of this year’s International Youth Day, urging, “We should be especially focused on addressing the needs of youth with mental health conditions, many of whom experience discrimination on a daily basis. We must work together to ensure that young people with mental health conditions can lead full and healthy lives.”
– Grace Flaherty
Sources: World Health Organization, United Nations, UN DESA
Photo: Idealist Careers