Combating poverty drives innovation. In order to reduce the suffering from poverty, countries investigate cost effective methods of preventing poverty and reducing the negative effects of poverty, such as disease or malnutrition. Confronting public health concerns, like malaria, in developing countries inspires scientific innovations to end the problem in an efficient yet inexpensive way. In this way, controlling malaria outbreaks improves health care worldwide.
Malaria is preventable and treatable, yet the disease killed over 600,000 people in 2012. The Center for Disease Control reported that malaria outbreaks are the leading cause of death in many developing countries and disproportionately affects young children, pregnant women and travelers.
Malaria is both a symptom and cause of poverty. Impoverished people struggle to take preventative measures against malaria, and if individuals contract malaria, the cost of treatment and the inability to work burden them. Furthermore, countries must create and manage health facilities and treatments. The Center for Disease Control estimated the direct cost at $12 billion per year. This creates a cycle of poverty in which both people and nations are unable to escape.
Some of the solutions, though, destroy too many mosquitoes, which affects the environment. Many predators depend on mosquitoes as their primary food source, so the ecological effect of eliminating all mosquitoes would be significant.
Because of this, researchers are investigating effective preventive measures to target a specific type of mosquito. The Economist reports that Dr. Nikolai Windbichler and Dr. Andrea Crisanti found a method of killing only the mosquitoes of the Anopheles genus, or the ones that carry malaria. By ensuring that the mosquitoes no longer produce female mosquitoes, Dr. Windbichler and Dr. Crisanti ensure that the mosquitoes cannot reproduce or draw blood and spread the malaria parasite.
The researchers designed a protein called endonuclease, which erodes the X chromosome of the mosquitoes. Producing female offspring requires two X chromosomes, and the egg only holds X chromosomes. As a result, if the protein limits the production of X chromosomes in male mosquitoes, it will limit the amount of female mosquitoes produced. A male dominated species of mosquitoes would lower the population as a whole and limit the transmission of malaria.
However, the Economist notes that natural selection will eventually allow the mosquitoes to evolve past the protein, so this solution depends on the elimination of the parasite within the species.
Ecologist Phil Lounibos expresses some skepticism of this type of solution. He believes that eliminating or decreasing the population of one species will not affect the spread of the disease. In a study he led, multiple genus of mosquitoes would cross inseminate and spread the parasite to other types of mosquitoes.
Stalling the disease, though, could allow countries to divert funds from malaria treatment to increasing economic productivity and improving the lives of the country’s impoverished. Developing new methods of malaria control presents exciting possibilities for controlling and combating malaria.
Between 2000 and 2012, malaria interventions saved over 3 million lives, and scientific innovation could drastically increase this number.
– Tara Wilson
Sources: The Economist, Center for Disease Control, WHO, Nature
Photo: The Health Site
Somali Food Crisis to Intensify
The United States government recently acknowledged the presence of over 100 military advisors who have been secretly operating in Somalia since 2007. While they are not engaged in combat missions, they have routinely assisted the Somali government by providing their tactical expertise in the Somali effort to combat Islamist militants. Those militants comprise al Shabaab, the al Qaeda-linked terrorist organization which most notably claimed responsibility for the September 2013 attack on a mall in Nairobi, Kenya which resulted in 67 deaths.
The African Union Mission in Somalia currently has 22,000 troops stationed in Somalia from various African countries and the United States has stated its intent to aid soldiers of the Somali National Army. However, Somalia is far from a stable country. On July 8 al Shabaab militants attacked Somali’s presidential palace in Mogadishu. They used a car bomb to blast open the gates and then proceeded onto the grounds. Their attack was eventually thwarted by Somali and AMISOM troops but the threat of violence in the nation’s capital still looms.
Despite the various armed conflicts taking place throughout the country, Somalia is faced with another pressing issue: the Somali food crisis. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recently disclosed the possibility of a worsening food crisis in Somalia. This crisis would be the result of a predicted water shortage following a lackluster rain season earlier this year, rising food prices in urban areas and dwindling humanitarian assistance in the country.
The food agency also acknowledged the presence of acute malnutrition in Mogadishu which requires intensified humanitarian aid over the coming months. The displaced populace in areas like Mogadishu where armed violence has become regular has served to exacerbate the food crisis. While it is clear that the Somali government is finally receiving the military aid it needs, the food aid it also requires has not yet occurred.
— Taylor Dow
Sources: HORSEED Media, Daily Times, Fox news, CNN, Reuters
Photo: World Vision
10 Facts About Global Health
Global health issues are being addressed now more than ever, here is a list of 10 facts about global health that show how far the world has come and how much more progress needs to be made.
1.
Around the world, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death. They account for approximately 30 percent of all deaths. At least 80 percent of these deaths that occur prematurely could be prevented by adhering to a healthy diet, getting regular physical activity and avoiding use of tobacco products.
2.
Improving sanitation, water supply, personal hygiene and management of water resources could prevent nearly 10 percent of diseases and 6.3 percent of all deaths around the world.
3.
Currently, approximately 6.6 million children under the age of 5 die annually. By the year 2025, it is estimated that there will still be five million deaths among this age group. Ninety-seven percent of these deaths will occur in developing countries, and most will be a result of infectious diseases like pneumonia and diarrhea or malnutrition.
4.
Sixty-five percent of people around the world live in a country where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight.
5.
It is estimated that 39.5 million people worldwide are living with HIV or AIDS. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for about 70 percent of the cases.
6.
There are about 200 million women around the world who do not have access to effective family planning methods, like reproductive information and care services, despite the desire to use these resources. If these resources can be more widely accessed, unplanned pregnancy rates would drop, unsafe abortions would become less frequent and maternal and infant deaths would be reduced significantly.
7.
Preterm birth, birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy, is the most common cause of infant mortality globally. Fifteen million babies are born preterm every year and more than one million of them will die.
8.
The global average life expectancy has increased significantly over the past 20 years. The overall average is now 70 years; in low-income countries it is 62 and in high-income countries it is 79.
9.
Eight hundred women die everyday due to complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.
10.
The global population today is made up of 613 million children under age five, 1.7 billion children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 19, 3.1 billion adults between the ages of 20 and 64, and 390 million elderly over the age of 65.
— Hannah Cleveland
Sources: WHO 1, WHO 2, Facing the Future, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Photo: WHOIAA
Rats Detecting Tuberculosis
Rats are commonly thought to carry disease, but what if they diagnosed disease instead? In fact, they do. Contrary to popular belief, rats are highly intelligent creatures that can be trained to sniff out specific odors with incredible accuracy. They have already been used in warzones to sniff out landmines; now, a research center in Tanzania has rats detecting tuberculosis in patients’ saliva.
The giant rats being trained are especially successful at distinguishing an affected person’s saliva because they can smell “in stereo,” meaning that with one sniff they can differentiate two different odors. One out of every 100 rat genes is dedicated to their olfactory abilities – in humans, only one of every 1000 genes has to do with our capacity to smell. Rats’ superior noses allow them to diagnose a TB patient in only seven minutes. Diagnosis by human physicians can take all day.
Working to make TB diagnosis easier and more accurate is especially important for low- and middle-income countries, where 95 percent of all TB-related deaths occur. If caught early, TB can be treated with a course of antibiotics. Because TB is a bacterial disease, its symptoms may not present for long periods of time; the bacteria, which are spread through the air when affected individuals cough or sneeze, can lie dormant in the body before they begin to cause more severe symptoms. Because rats use the smell of the bacteria rather than a patient’s symptoms to diagnose TB, they can diagnose patients much earlier than doctors can.
Though the equipment and expertise necessary to train these rats can be somewhat expensive, this method has the potential to save over a million lives and prevent illness in nearly nine million more every year. Foreign aid could be useful in providing trained rats to health centers in developing countries or assisting in the training of rats abroad.
Seeing rats as agents of health rather than disease is the first step to eliminating TB altogether. By bringing these intelligent animals into our health centers and our hearts, we can prevent the transmission of one of the world’s deadliest diseases.
– Elise L. Riley
Sources: World Health Organization, BBC
Photo: Flickr
The Hard Knock Life of Syrian Children
Try to imagine back to when you were in elementary school. Most children are happy living without major troubles, or at least children in the United States. Many do not have much to worry about. Most American children are going to school and are living stress-free lives. They are enjoying themselves, playing outside with their friends or playing video games, but the same could not be said for the children of Syria.
Millions on children have been affected by the conflict going on Syria for past three years, 6.5 million, to be exact. Over 2.8 million children are no longer attending school and more then one million are refugees in nearby countries. They no longer live their normal stress-free lives; they do not have “normal” childhoods.
Many Syrian children have endured horrible health issues due to poor sanitation and many are also malnourished. Many also face diseases such as measles and polio due to lack of proper immunizations.
Parents often turn to marrying their daughters off at early ages, as early as 13 years old, so that they do not get molested. Syrian refugee children are more vulnerable to rape and other acts of sexual violence.
In Syria, three million children no longer attend school, mostly because their schools have been destroyed, teachers have left and families are now using schools as homes. Other children quit school to work so that they could help make income to support their families.
The Lebanese government has been trying to help by setting up schools for child refugees but there have been problems such as overcrowding, language barriers and cost of transportation.
UNICEF has been helping since day one and partnering up with others to help. The organization has also immunized more than 20 million children when there was a polio breakout, supplied safe drinking water and provided psychological support.
Save The Children is another organization that has been getting involved and helping child refugees. Anyone could help through UNICEF or Save the Children. Just remember that you would not your children having to go through such horrible living conditions on a day-to-day basis.
– Priscilla Rodarte
Sources: Save the Children, World Vision, UNICEF
Photo: World Vision
Controlling Malaria Outbreaks
Combating poverty drives innovation. In order to reduce the suffering from poverty, countries investigate cost effective methods of preventing poverty and reducing the negative effects of poverty, such as disease or malnutrition. Confronting public health concerns, like malaria, in developing countries inspires scientific innovations to end the problem in an efficient yet inexpensive way. In this way, controlling malaria outbreaks improves health care worldwide.
Malaria is preventable and treatable, yet the disease killed over 600,000 people in 2012. The Center for Disease Control reported that malaria outbreaks are the leading cause of death in many developing countries and disproportionately affects young children, pregnant women and travelers.
Malaria is both a symptom and cause of poverty. Impoverished people struggle to take preventative measures against malaria, and if individuals contract malaria, the cost of treatment and the inability to work burden them. Furthermore, countries must create and manage health facilities and treatments. The Center for Disease Control estimated the direct cost at $12 billion per year. This creates a cycle of poverty in which both people and nations are unable to escape.
Some of the solutions, though, destroy too many mosquitoes, which affects the environment. Many predators depend on mosquitoes as their primary food source, so the ecological effect of eliminating all mosquitoes would be significant.
Because of this, researchers are investigating effective preventive measures to target a specific type of mosquito. The Economist reports that Dr. Nikolai Windbichler and Dr. Andrea Crisanti found a method of killing only the mosquitoes of the Anopheles genus, or the ones that carry malaria. By ensuring that the mosquitoes no longer produce female mosquitoes, Dr. Windbichler and Dr. Crisanti ensure that the mosquitoes cannot reproduce or draw blood and spread the malaria parasite.
The researchers designed a protein called endonuclease, which erodes the X chromosome of the mosquitoes. Producing female offspring requires two X chromosomes, and the egg only holds X chromosomes. As a result, if the protein limits the production of X chromosomes in male mosquitoes, it will limit the amount of female mosquitoes produced. A male dominated species of mosquitoes would lower the population as a whole and limit the transmission of malaria.
However, the Economist notes that natural selection will eventually allow the mosquitoes to evolve past the protein, so this solution depends on the elimination of the parasite within the species.
Ecologist Phil Lounibos expresses some skepticism of this type of solution. He believes that eliminating or decreasing the population of one species will not affect the spread of the disease. In a study he led, multiple genus of mosquitoes would cross inseminate and spread the parasite to other types of mosquitoes.
Stalling the disease, though, could allow countries to divert funds from malaria treatment to increasing economic productivity and improving the lives of the country’s impoverished. Developing new methods of malaria control presents exciting possibilities for controlling and combating malaria.
Between 2000 and 2012, malaria interventions saved over 3 million lives, and scientific innovation could drastically increase this number.
– Tara Wilson
Sources: The Economist, Center for Disease Control, WHO, Nature
Photo: The Health Site
Five of the Most Common Killer Diseases
The Global Post has drawn up a list of the world’s biggest killers by using information from the World Health Organization. Below are a list of some of our most common killer diseases per country.
5. Cirrhosis of the Liver
Caused by excessive drinking, the disease is unique to Mexico as the only place in the world where it is the primary cause of death. Yet the disease is nothing to roll your eyes at: caused by healthy liver tissue being replaced by scar tissue, the scar tissue blocks the flow of blood, nutrients and other important proteins through the liver. Cirrhosis of the liver is the 12th leading cause of death by disease in the world — except for in Mexico, where it’s number one.
4. Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is often thought of as a disease of the past, but it is still affecting millions of people around the world. In fact, it’s on the rise — the World Health Organization reports around 500,000 new TB cases each year, and it is second only to AIDS as an infectious killer worldwide. A bacterial infection that can spread through the lymph nodes and blood stream to any other part of the body, TB is the leading cause of death in areas such as Pakistan and North and South Africa.
3. HIV/AIDS
Despite the enormous progress made at slowing down the spread of HIV/AIDS, it is still the leading cause of death throughout most of Africa. Just two years ago, around 25 million people — roughly 70 percent of the global total — were living with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa, and an estimated 1.6 million new HIV infections and 1.2-million AIDS related deaths were reported that same year. In areas such as South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland, the percentage of HIV-prevalence is as high as 26.5 percent.
2. Cancer
It would be hard to find someone not somehow directly affected by cancer. As the second-leading cause of death in the world, cancer has certainly taken its toll — especially in areas such as France, the Iberian peninsula, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark, where cancer (primarily lung and throat) is the leading cause of death. Classified as the rapid growth of cells, there are more than 100 types of cancer that we currently know about.
1. Heart Disease
It’s no surprise that heart disease tops the list as the world’s deadliest killer, but it is a little shocking to see the massive list of countries where heart disease outranks all other diseases. These countries include Canada, the United States, Russia, Australia, most of South America and part of Africa, to name a few. From first- to third-world countries, heart disease continues to remain the deadliest disease in the world.
– Nick Magnanti
Sources: International Business Times, WebMD 1, WebMD 2, The New York Times, Medical News Today, AVERT, CDC
Photo: Diseases-Causes-Cure blog
Germany Battles Over Minimum Wage Law
Ending months of negotiations, Germany’s legislature voted on a minimum wage law mandating $11.61 an hour. The vote passed despite opposition from both trade unions and businesses calling out the program’s potential flaws.
The vote is considered to be a piece of landmark legislation for Germany, as in the past wages were set via agreements between employers and employees. Before this vote, Germany was one of a group of seven countries in the European Union who did not have a national minimum wage.
Opponents of the legislation, however, are outraged over some changes to the legislation in the eleventh-hour before the vote. Citizens under the age of 18 do not fall under the protection of the new law. Opponents claim that having a minimum wage would prevent younger citizens from being able to hold an apprenticeship.
For the first six months after the law is enacted, those who have been without employment for a long period of time will also fail to be covered by the law. Supporters of this restriction claim that if the long-term unemployed were paid $11.61 from the point of the law’s enactment, it would just make it more difficult for the unemployed to find jobs.
Compulsory work placement, something which mainly affects students, will also not be covered by the new minimum wage law, along with newspaper publishers for two years.
According to the Federal Association of German Newspaper Publishers, around 160,000 newspaper sellers will be affected by the lack of pay and the total number of people who won’t be covered by the new law is approximately 3 million.
There are around 7.1 million people in part-time employment in Germany, according to a 2012 report. The report also stated that around 4.8 million people were unemployed.
“These exemptions hit the most vulnerable in the labor market, of all people,” said Frank Bsirske, the head of the white-collar trade union Ver.di. “Millions of people will continue to be exposed to the arbitrariness of starvation wages.”
The bill has also drawn criticism from the European Union executive body. According to László Andor, the European Social Affairs Commissioner, the European Commission requires that countries who are members of the E.U. have a minimum wage that includes everyone in order to prevent citizens from falling into poverty even though they may be employed.
German economists and lobbyists for many of Germany’s businesses have argued against the minimum wage bill as well; stating that a rise in the minimum wage may run the risk of driving prices up for consumers and could potentially end thousands of jobs in the weaker regions of Germany.
Supporter of the bill argue, however, that having a period of time to allow businesses to adapt is necessary.
“This has dominated the political debate in our country for ten years,” said Labor Minister Andrea Nahles, one of the supporters for the bill. “It’s coming now and that’s reason to celebrate. Millions of employees in this country will finally get a fair wage.”
– Monica Newell
Sources: World Socialist Web Site, The Wall Street Journal
Photo: Arab News
Adopt-A-Camp
Raising a family of 53,000 can’t be easy, but someone has to do it. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE,) the woman who does so is Saher Shaikh, the head of the Dubai-based charity Adopt-A-Camp. Directed to help some of the 5 million migrant laborers in the UAE, Adopt-A-Camp teaches laborers English lessons as well as teaches them their rights as migrant workers.
Shaikh started this organization after multiple interactions with humble and hardworking migrant workers, and realizing her possible role. Now with 52 camps across the UAE, her standards are still high, as she tells CNN, “Every camp we adopt we make bed bug-free, cockroach-free and lice-free. We physically shampoo the men’s hair ourselves,” proving to them they are just as worthy of healthy living as every other citizen of the UAE.
Over time, Shaikh has picked up some high-ranking supporters in the government, including the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Labor. Using this support, she helps ensure payment for the men’s work, something often lacking. Shaikh says, “It was a common problem during the recession, but it still happens now and again. We’d hear from the men that they hadn’t been paid for months, or even a year, and that their families were starving and they were starving. We worked with the Ministry of Labor to help them get home, or find a better job.” This allowed hopeful futures and stability for a group of men who once could barely afford bread rolls for their families.
While standards are on the rise, there are still levels of discrepancy that affect the lives of laborers. Employers are required to pay them once a month for their work, and there is a plan of action laborers can take should they not receive payment.
Nicholas McGeehan, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, looked into this and found that the laws aren’t always enforced, saying, “Theoretically, workers can take complaints to the labor courts. Theoretically, they should be able to get their salaries back, but justice is dispensed in a very ad hoc manner, if it is dispensed at all,” showing the lack of separation between government and migrant employers.
Shaikh demonstrates an unfortunately underrepresented population of compassionate people. There is an unlikely hope that Saudi businessmen will support similar initiatives that show concern for migrant workers and offer opportunities for justice.
After eight years of ongoing dedication to Adopt-a-Camp, Shaikh has managed this flourishing organization by herself, gathering members of her growing family and helping them see what they can fight for.
– Elena Lopez
Sources: CNN, Adopt-a-Camp, Saudi Gazette, Gulf News
Photo: Adopt-a-Camp
Universal Primary Education by 2015
The Millennium Development Goal of having universal primary education worldwide by 2015 is under examination. UNESCO put out a statement saying that achieving this goal is no longer possible, but European Union development commissioner Andris Piebalgs says otherwise.
UNESCO claims that the goal of having all children in schools is unattainable because of insufficient financing available for education.
The goal of Education For All was instituted in 2000, and 2015 was its target for completion. However, as of 2014, 58 million children around the world are still not attending school.
The report put out by UNESCO stated that governments have to be the ones to fix the problems, and called on them to be the leaders of the movement. The problem comes mostly from the inability to provide education to people who are living with disadvantages, including poverty, gender, location or other factors. Governments must reevaluate their efforts and concentrate on these groups of people.
Piebalgs believes that education must start with the government as well, claiming, “Education is the first sign of equality; [it shows] that each child has access to the education system free of charge and that a state is taking care of its citizens.”
If governments can reach out to these marginalized children, then there is a possibility to still reach the Millennium Development Goal by the end of next year. Simply getting children enrolled in school is easy to do and costs very little.
Piebalgs, however, has expressed concern about what is to follow. He said, “We’ve looked on education in a rather shallow way: we set the target of getting kids into school and that was it – we were just hoping that they would get something out of school.” Continuing, the former headmaster explained, “But for me, what is crucial is the quality of education you get: the quality is not less important than enrollment. [sic]”
The difficulty now is to determine whether simply putting these 58 million children in school over the next year is worth potentially losing the quality of the education that they may receive. Despite what may have to happen after 2015, getting these children enrolled in school and emphasizing the importance of education to them could be life-changing for them.
– Hannah Cleveland
Sources: The Guardian, The Daily Star
Photo: The Guardian
Donated Books Promote Global Reading
For millions of American students, July marks the beginning of summer and the completion of another year of school. Despite the grade level or location, many American students share one thing in common: stacks of books they will likely never open again. Stacks of already-read novels, or subject-and-grade-specific textbooks, will sit and collect dust for the remainder of their shelf lives.
There is a much smarter option for used books: donation. Taking five minutes to donate a pile of used books could change the life of a child or adolescent forever.
Today, 250 million children worldwide cannot read. Most of these children live in developing countries, and education affords them with one of the only opportunities to break the cycle of poverty: employment. But many children simply cannot acquire the necessary literacy skills because they lack access to libraries and an appropriate selection of books, not to mention physical classrooms and quality teachers.
Donating used books is an incredibly simple, powerful way in which we as a nation can help alleviate the global education crisis. Not sure where to start? Here are three organizations that can help you place your books into the hands of children who need them most:
1. Books for Africa (BFA) has shipped over 28 million books to 49 countries since 1988. BFA believes that a culture of literacy is truly the most empowering asset a community can have. The organization currently accepts: fiction and non-fiction books that are 15 years old or newer; primary, secondary and college textbooks; reference books (such as encyclopedias) published in 2003 or later; and medical, nursing and law books published in 1998 or later. A team of BFA volunteers sorts and packs these books, ensuring that each box of books is donated to the appropriate classroom or organization. For information on where to ship donations, please visit Books for Africa.
2. Better World Books (BWB) collects and donates books to support and fund literacy initiatives worldwide and also sells new books. Not only does the organization accept funds and book donations, but for every book purchased on BWB’s website, another book is donated to literacy programs worldwide. The organization boasts 10 million donated books to partner programs — including Books for Africa — around the world since its 2002 beginning. For information on how to donate books and what books are accepted, as well as directions for printing a shipping label for your donation, please visit Better World Books.
3. Room to Read began in Nepal in 2000, when the organization began bringing donated books to rural communities in need. Today, the organization works globally and is dedicated to promoting and enabling education through programs focused on literacy and gender equality in education. Room to Read has thus far reached 7.8 million children by establishing school libraries, donating and publishing local-language children books and training teachers on literacy education. The organization has distributed 14,588,494 books worldwide since 2000. Though it’s not currently accepting book donations, Room to Read partners with Better World Books, a partnership that ensures that books are being placed where they’re needed most. The organization does accept monetary donations online at Room to Read.
If every child received an education, 170 million people would escape the chains of poverty. In a nation where education resources and tools are a given, we have a great responsibility — and opportunity — to contribute to the fight against the global achievement gap. Donating books or funds that support global literacy programs helps equip children in impoverished communities with the tools necessary not only to learn and succeed as students, but also to establish a better life for themselves, for their families and for generations to follow.
– Elizabeth Nutt
Sources: Global News, Better World Books, Room to Read, Books For Africa
Photo: All Things SD