On April 29, the United Nations Security Council renewed the UN mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, MINURSO, until April 2015. The Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, expressed support for human rights monitoring to be added to the resolution renewing the mission. However, Morocco has long rejected the idea of a human rights monitoring mechanism in the North African region and for this resolution, Morocco got what they wanted.
The UN has been involved in the Western Sahara since 1991 when MINURSO was instituted, and Morocco has remained in control of much of the region since Spain ended its occupation. The resolution that renewed the mission included support for contributions to fund “confidence-building measures agreed upon between the parties” including visits between separated family members. Over 20,000 Western Saharan refugees have taken part in family visits through UN coordination since MINURSO’s beginning.
The resolution calls for the Polisario and Morocco to remain vigilant and wary of human rights in coordinating with the international community and the UN. Before its passing, Ban Ki-Moon commended both parties for their willingness to participate with UN human rights bodies. The Secretary General concluded, “The end goal nevertheless remains a sustained, independent and impartial human rights monitoring mechanism, covering both the Territory and the camps.”
The Secretary General, earlier in April, renewed his appeals for “sustained human rights monitoring in Western Sahara and warned against unfair exploitation of the region’s natural resources.” His concern with establishing stronger human rights monitoring mechanisms is in light of previous reports of human rights abuses and poverty in the country.
However, after a phone conversation with Morocco’s king, the word “mechanism” was removed from this sentence of the final report due to Morocco’s concern with a monitoring program that implied a foreign presence. King Mohammed stressed to the Secretary General Morocco’s willingness to uphold human rights, but within Morocco’s sovereignty and without the control of outside forces and occupations.
The U.S. was one of the first to promote increasing human rights monitoring, but backed down after Morocco expressed opposition. Hence, the U.S.-initiated resolution became largely Morocco-drafted before it was passed, excluding Ban Ki-Moon’s appeal.
As a compromise, however, Morocco allowed a few UN rights investigators to visit the area, and this year, the U.S. did not renew the proposal that they had for the previous resolution.
Whereas Morocco’s UN Ambassador, Omar Hilale, expressed concern over appeals of human rights mechanisms regarding the success of MINURSO, the Polisario’s UN Representative, Ahmed Boukhari, expressed regret that MINURSO is the “only UN Peacekeeping Mission established since 1978 that has no mandate to monitor and report on the human rights situation on the ground.”
This argument over human rights monitoring is significant because it marks a continuation of the conflict between Morocco, who wants Western Sahara to be an autonomous part of Morocco, and the Polisario, who is backed by countries such as Algeria. The conflict has affected the Western Saharan people and refugees in Algeria poorly and contributed to poverty.
Western Sahara has also expressed concern over the exploitation of natural resources. The region is rich in phosphates, which are used in fertilizer, and Polisario has complained in the past about Western firms, in conjunction with Morocco, searching for natural resources.
Hence, the lack of a strong human rights mechanism worries the Western Saharan people about Moroccan control and natural resources extraction. Time will tell if this decision regarding the UN Resolution will affect Western Saharan’s poor, but citizens are concerned that it undoubtedly will.
– Cambria Arvizo
Sources: Morocco World News, Reuters, United Nations
Photo: Creative Time Reports
El Río Habla, Radio and Refugees in Ecuador
Fleeing the conflict and violence that has raged in Colombia for over 50 years, nearly 1,000 Colombian refugees cross into Northern Ecuador every year. Ecuador now hosts an estimated 160,000 refugees; 98 percent are Colombian. The government recognizes 54,000.
In 2009, 66 percent of asylum seekers who applied for protection in Ecuador were granted refugee status. It was one of the highest acceptance rates in the world. But three years have wrought significant change in policy. Though there were over 100,000 applications for asylum standing in 2012, recent restrictions have granted true refugee status to a select few.
About 60 percent of Colombians who come to Ecuador settle in poor cities. There they live with a refugee’s lot – discrimination and difficulty finding employment, lack of access to healthcare and lack of government support. The remaining 40 percent are less lucky.
After crossing the Río San Miguel and the Río Putumayo, they settle in small communities on the 353-mile-long border. Isolated and characterized by an utter lack of infrastructure, these villages have little means of communicating with other communities or with their government.
Poverty spurs violence. In one UNHCR study of the Lagros Aros region, 660 of 700 women surveyed reported experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime. There is no employment, healthcare or protection. And only the residents know it.
So they fight ignorance with awareness.
Since 2009, the UNHCR and Radio Sucumbíos have reserved a 15-minute slot for a program called El Río Habla, the river speaks. Well before each broadcast, refugees meet to discuss their experiences. They identify issues requiring public attention and design the radio program accordingly.
The show is not only a cry for help. Colombian and occasionally Ecuadorian guests have a chance to tell their stories. They speak about their lives as refugees and their lives before. They talk about themselves and their families. For thousands of Radio Sucumbíos listeners, they are humanized.
The UNHCR reports no quantitative analysis of the program’s effects. Still, workers and volunteers report a heightened public awareness. As public interests turn toward the disadvantaged in border communities, authorities are forced to provide services to people there.
– Olivia Kostreva
Sources: Asylum Access, UNHCR, Cultural Diplomacy
Photo: UNHCR
Uruguayan President Will House 100 Syrian Orphans
Since the Syrian civil war began to flare in 2011, more than 2 million Syrians have fled the country in order to seek refuge and safety. Most of the refugees — about 1,130,000 of them — have relocated to Turkey, Jordan or Lebanon. Other countries are granting immigration visas, humanitarian visas or loosening up their asylum grants in order to aid the cause.
José Mujica, president of Uruguay, has taken the cause into his own hands. He has decided to not only open up his country, but also his very home to 100 Syrian orphans, all put in their current position by the conflict. Although this appears to be an unusual and bold move, Mujica is the right man to execute it.
José Alberto Mujica Cordano spent the 60’s and 70’s as a member of the Uruguayan guerrilla Tupamaros, where he was shot six times and spent 14 years in jail, only being released when Uruguay returned to a democracy in 1985. He believes his background and time spent in jail has helped form his outlook on life.
Mujica has been President of Uruguay since 2010. He has gained worldwide popularity as “The World’s Poorest President” because of his choice to donate 90 percent of his salary to charities and small entrepreneurs throughout the country, leaving his salary at about $775 a month. He drives a Volkswagon Beetle and lives in a farmhouse right outside of Montevideo with his wife, where they work the land themselves. He says this about his lifestyle:
“I’m called the poorest president, but I don’t feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more,” and “I may appear to be an eccentric old man… But this is a free choice.”
He also stated at the Rio+20 summit in June that if all countries consumed at the same rate as the rich ones, then we would be adding further harm to our planet. Thus, envying their status and wealth does nothing for them.
The plan is for the children to begin arriving around September from refugee camps in the Middle East. The exact number of people is still to be decided, since the Uruguayan government has to work out the expenses, and the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) protocol calls for orphans to be relocated with at least one relative.
Mujica is facing a bit of backlash from the Uruguayan people because he deviated from the original plan to consult his constituents about the issue, but he made the decision without doing so. He is also getting bad reviews for doing this international aid move when there are orphans in Uruguay that need assistance as well.
Lucia Topolansky, Mujica’s wife, says their decision to take in the Syrian orphans is one to “motivate all the countries of the world to take responsibility for this catastrophe.”
The UN is hoping to relocate another 30,000 refugees this year, and if other countries follow José Mucija’s example, they may have success in the relocation process.
– Courtney Prentice
Sources: BBC, SHOAH, Elite Daily
Photo: The Guardian
The State of Education in Peru
A brief description of Peruvian society is important to understanding the current state of education in Peru. Discussed below are key facts about Peruvian society.
It is apparent that Peru has developed in some areas better than others. To see more comprehensive information on Peru, as well as country comparisons, go to the CIA World Factbook.
A Closer Look: Education in Peru
The system of education in Peru is somewhat similar to that of the United States. It has basic education (ages 3 to 5 years old), primary (ages 6 to 11 years old) and secondary (ages 12 to 16 years old), all of which are free. However school is only mandatory from ages 6 to 16 years old. There is higher education, but it is not mandatory or free, however, they do have scholarship programs.
Education in Peru has been expanding. The numbers were not all together low to begin with, but since 2005, enrollment has increased to 72 percent for ages 3 to 5 years old; the 6 to 11-year-old age group is at 97 percent and the 12 to 16-year-old age group is at 91 percent enrollment. However, these numbers do not tell the whole story. As stated earlier, 34 percent of children ages 5 to 17 are in the labor force. How can so many be working and going to school at the same time? It would seem that children may be enrolled at school, but do not actually go. Enrollment rates do not equal attendance rates.
Data taken from the National Institute of Statistics shows that since 1994, spending on education has quadrupled. However, Peru only spends 2.8 percent of the gross domestic product on education, which is one of the lowest in the world. It is hopeful to see the increase in spending over such a short period of time, but it is clear the Peruvian government can spend more on education.
There are problems with educating the indigenous population, as bilingual education is often not funded. Almost 46 percent of indigenous students are not provided education in their native language. Problems also arise when trying to educate the rural population. It is often hard for rural students, especially girls, to get to a school, as they come from isolated areas.
One of the biggest reasons Peru might spend more on education is the quality. In 2009, the Program of International Student Assessment ranked Peru near the bottom of the 65 countries studied for reading comprehension and science, while being second to last in math. Spending money is not enough by itself though. Money can be spent in productive ways. For example, in 2012, the government spent $225 million on 850,000 laptops and gave them to schools all over the country. The American Development Bank found that this laptop program did not increase the students’ levels in math or reading.
For children 7 years of age, only 13 percent reached required math levels and only 30 percent reached required reading levels. The laptops did not increase motivation or time spent reading and completing homework assignments.
Since 2003, the number of students at private universities has doubled and in public universities it has increased by 12 percent. This substantial increase in private education shows that the more privileged students are gaining access to higher education. As public university is not free, it is harder for those without money to access it. This makes sense considering Peru has one of the highest income inequalities in the world.
On the surface, it seems as though education in Peru has improved over the last decade. Literacy and enrollment rates are up as well as educational spending. However, when you look deeper, the quality and equal access to education is another story entirely. Increasing spending on education is a must, but investment in education needs to be done properly by way of researching effective policies, government organization, institutional change and societal support.
– Eleni Marino
Sources: UNESCO, CIA, Iberoamerican Universities Universia, INEI, Peru This Week, World Bank 1, World Bank 2, IPS News, The Economist, ICEF, UNICEF
Photo: Friends of Chimbote
5 Lessons From the Late Dr. Maya Angelou
This past week, Wake Forest University students opened their emails to the following message from the University:
“Today members of the Wake Forest University community mourn the loss of beloved poet, author, actress, civil rights activist and professor Dr. Maya Angelou.”
Angelou passed away in her North Carolina home on Wednesday, May 28, at the age of 86. She served as the University’s Reynolds Professor of American Studies since 1982 and published more than 30 books of fiction and poetry, including her autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”
“Maya Angelou has been a towering figure — at Wake Forest and in American culture. She had a profound influence in civil rights and racial reconciliation. We will miss profoundly her lyrical voice and always keen insights,” said Nathan Hatch, President of Wake Forest University, in a press release.
As a Wake Forest student myself, I have had the honor to be an audience to her melodic voice on a few occasions, feeling as if each syllable shared with the room was a personal invitation to become a part of her world.
But these words were not merely pretty verses, but heartfelt, aching testaments to a life filled with obstacles, grit and determination. With her parents divorcing when she was only 3, Angelou continued to face tumultuous circumstances as she was later raped by her mother’s boyfriend around age 8. At age 17, she gave birth to son, Guy.
“I will always treasure “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” because by revealing the sexual abuse she suffered as a child, Angelou opened the door to emotional healing for a lot of girls,” wrote Mary Mitchell in the article “Young Black Mothers Can Learn A Lot from Maya Angelou’s Life,” in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Through her openness about her own mistakes, Angelou helps others find the courage to confront their own struggles and failings. Below you will find five small lessons, from among many, left behind from one of the most “phenomenal” women of our time.
A remembrance website and guestbook for Maya Angelou can be found here.
— Blythe Riggan
Sources: Maya Angelou, WFU, Old Gold and Black, Sun Times, USA Today
Photo: Oprah
Cuban Economic Growth
For decades, Cuba kept itself off the radar and rarely allowed access to the United States. However, Raul Castro, brother to the infamous Fidel Castro and current leader of Cuba, has recently allowed small changes to make an impact on Cuba.
After years of economic isolation and little internal growth, Castro faces a difficult job in making up for lost time. Small programs like the Cuban Emprende make a world of difference as community leaders learn how to grow their small businesses into larger, more modern companies, leading the way for Cuban economic growth.
The distribution of wealth in Cuba is skewed, with the poor representing a large portion of the population. The average Cuban worker earns around $20 a month, and little has changed in the past 50 years. Cuba has now opened the doors to looking into private investments, a monumental step in the direction of globalization.
In the past, Cuba was mostly affiliated with Latin and South America. By allowing other countries, such as the U.S., into the Cuban system, the people of Cuba are looking at a brighter economic future.
However, members of U.S. Congress seem tentative about whether this Cuban economic growth and reform are benefiting the labor rights as well as human rights of the population. Raul Castro has yet to make clear how the people are being affected by this change in internal government, so outsiders are weary of possible retribution. It is unclear as to how the U.S. will react to these changes and opening up foreign investment. Since the revolution of Cuba in the 1960s, the U.S. has not been allied with Cuba.
Chamber President Thomas Donahue recently visited the island for the first time in 15 years. He reports positive change in the direction of free enterprise, fewer government jobs and increased private hiring. Cubans are seeing a better daily life as companies begin to modernize and improve the impoverished neighborhoods as jobs become more readily available.
Raul Castro has recently implemented programs teaching Cubans how to successfully operate small businesses and create meaningful business relationships. Programs such as this offer the lower class an opportunity to support themselves in the realm of business and become potential business partners as foreign investors start to peer into Cuba’s economy.
Cuba is still in the early stages of change as its people adjust to the government’s new approach, but current conditions are looking promising as people find their new niches in a budding economy.
– Elena Lopez
Sources: Reuters, NY Times, TIME
Photo: InterNations
Rights Monitoring in Western Sahara
On April 29, the United Nations Security Council renewed the UN mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, MINURSO, until April 2015. The Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, expressed support for human rights monitoring to be added to the resolution renewing the mission. However, Morocco has long rejected the idea of a human rights monitoring mechanism in the North African region and for this resolution, Morocco got what they wanted.
The UN has been involved in the Western Sahara since 1991 when MINURSO was instituted, and Morocco has remained in control of much of the region since Spain ended its occupation. The resolution that renewed the mission included support for contributions to fund “confidence-building measures agreed upon between the parties” including visits between separated family members. Over 20,000 Western Saharan refugees have taken part in family visits through UN coordination since MINURSO’s beginning.
The resolution calls for the Polisario and Morocco to remain vigilant and wary of human rights in coordinating with the international community and the UN. Before its passing, Ban Ki-Moon commended both parties for their willingness to participate with UN human rights bodies. The Secretary General concluded, “The end goal nevertheless remains a sustained, independent and impartial human rights monitoring mechanism, covering both the Territory and the camps.”
The Secretary General, earlier in April, renewed his appeals for “sustained human rights monitoring in Western Sahara and warned against unfair exploitation of the region’s natural resources.” His concern with establishing stronger human rights monitoring mechanisms is in light of previous reports of human rights abuses and poverty in the country.
However, after a phone conversation with Morocco’s king, the word “mechanism” was removed from this sentence of the final report due to Morocco’s concern with a monitoring program that implied a foreign presence. King Mohammed stressed to the Secretary General Morocco’s willingness to uphold human rights, but within Morocco’s sovereignty and without the control of outside forces and occupations.
The U.S. was one of the first to promote increasing human rights monitoring, but backed down after Morocco expressed opposition. Hence, the U.S.-initiated resolution became largely Morocco-drafted before it was passed, excluding Ban Ki-Moon’s appeal.
As a compromise, however, Morocco allowed a few UN rights investigators to visit the area, and this year, the U.S. did not renew the proposal that they had for the previous resolution.
Whereas Morocco’s UN Ambassador, Omar Hilale, expressed concern over appeals of human rights mechanisms regarding the success of MINURSO, the Polisario’s UN Representative, Ahmed Boukhari, expressed regret that MINURSO is the “only UN Peacekeeping Mission established since 1978 that has no mandate to monitor and report on the human rights situation on the ground.”
This argument over human rights monitoring is significant because it marks a continuation of the conflict between Morocco, who wants Western Sahara to be an autonomous part of Morocco, and the Polisario, who is backed by countries such as Algeria. The conflict has affected the Western Saharan people and refugees in Algeria poorly and contributed to poverty.
Western Sahara has also expressed concern over the exploitation of natural resources. The region is rich in phosphates, which are used in fertilizer, and Polisario has complained in the past about Western firms, in conjunction with Morocco, searching for natural resources.
Hence, the lack of a strong human rights mechanism worries the Western Saharan people about Moroccan control and natural resources extraction. Time will tell if this decision regarding the UN Resolution will affect Western Saharan’s poor, but citizens are concerned that it undoubtedly will.
– Cambria Arvizo
Sources: Morocco World News, Reuters, United Nations
Photo: Creative Time Reports
Poverty in French Guiana
French Guiana is a small country with an estimated population of 270,000. It is located in South America, bordering Brazil and Suriname. It is a territory of France and therefore follows the French legal system. This means that it follows the French Constitution and is ruled by the French government. Officially, it is called a French Overseas Department.
Poverty in French Guiana is an interesting topic because so little is reported and few people are interested. It can be easy to focus on the largest populations in poverty in Africa or India, so much so that smaller countries are forgotten. This should not be the case, as all people deserve the right to escape poverty.
The lack of awareness for poverty in French Guiana is highlighted by the mere fact that statistics and data on this subject are hard to find. Since it is a French territory and technically considered part of France, global statistics from the United Nations or the World Bank are not often given for French Guiana individually. This signifies the relative unimportance of French Guiana among the international community. From the little information there is come these poverty facts from French Guiana:
These facts may seem disjointed and random, but that is exactly how information relating to poverty in French Guiana is presented. There is little to no comprehensive data on this tiny French overseas territory, at least in the English language. Most of the raw data was taken from the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. The data is only available in French, which makes a global discussion of this issue difficult.
Who is going to care about this small community? With so little international discussion on poverty in French Guiana, it will be difficult to rally people around the cause. Action needs to be taken by the French government to fix the high rates of unemployment, infectious disease endemics, HIV rates and poverty levels. It is the responsibility of the French people to appease their government to do the right thing and help French Guiana out of poverty.
– Eleni Marino
Sources: United Nations, Phrase Base, Conseil National Du Sida, The Guardian, INSEE
Photo: PIB
The Trouble With Conflict Diamonds
In recent years, the issue of conflict diamonds has become a major human rights issue. A conflict diamond is a diamond mined in the war zones throughout Africa to fund the recurring civil wars there. Despite the attention given by the media and the increase in the awareness of this issue, conflict diamonds are still being produced and distributed at an alarming rate.
Since the 1990s, conflict diamonds have funded wars in areas such as Angola, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rebels in these areas typically gain control of necessary natural resources, such as oil, wood, diamonds and other minerals, to attain more weapons and influence over the surrounding communities. These military factions oppose the governments in place, and so they wage violence in their struggle for power. According to Amnesty International, wars in these areas have resulted in the loss of more than 3.7 million lives.
Along with unjust violence, poverty also plays a central role in this issue. According to Brilliant Earth, diamond mining communities are impoverished because the one million diamond miners in Africa earn less than a dollar a day — a wage that is below the extreme poverty level. Since much of this work is unregulated — no labor standards or minimum wage laws are ever enforced — it contributes to the dangerous and unjust nature of this work.
Not only do miners acquire unfair wages, but they also work in dangerous conditions, sometimes without training or the proper tools necessary, and face health problems, such as HIV and malaria. Entire communities are exploited through these mining practices, and as a result, many of these communities lack the ability to develop economically while workers lack fundamental provisions, such as sanitary running water.
Despite the decrease in violence and the recent attention brought to this issue through media coverage and the 2006 film “Blood Diamond,” conflict diamonds are still in existence. These diamonds are sold in the diamond trade to fund rebel militia, and as a result, millions are suffering from both violence and poverty. To help combat this issue, the Kimberly Process was founded in December 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly.
Through the establishment of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), participating countries now have the opportunity to ensure that all imported diamonds are ‘conflict-free’ and do not support the rebels in those parts of Africa. With 54 participants representing 80 countries, the Kimberly Process has been an important element in the struggle to address this human rights issue.
Even though the Kimberly Process works to halt the trade of conflict diamonds, it cannot stop the violence and poverty that result from these unethical mining practices. Those are two issues that can be addressed separately and efficiently. Unfortunately, poverty is such a huge and central element in many of the human rights issues we face today.
– Meghan Orner
Sources: Amnesty international, Brilliant Earth, Kimberly Process
Photo: Al Jazeera
Shot@Life Provides Vaccinations for Impoverished Nations
The United Nations Foundation Shot@Life aims to give everyone the shot they need to live a happy and healthy life.
The Shot@Life campaign is almost exactly like it sounds. This campaign works with volunteers to provide much needed vaccinations to the extremely impoverished nations of the world through advocacy and donations.
Shot@Life educates, connects and empowers the American people to support vaccines, and vaccinations are one of the most cost-effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries.
The campaign is basically a national call to action for a worthy global cause. The foundation rallies the American public and members of Congress to help them understand the fact that together they can save a child’s life every 20 seconds just by expanding access to vaccines.
The global foundation encourages the American public to learn about, advocate for and donate to provide vaccines. Shot@Life aims to noticeably decrease vaccine-preventable childhood deaths and give every child a shot at a healthy life within the next 10 years.
This campaign began in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by philanthropist Ted Turner. The Shot@Life campaign was created in order to build upon the U.N. Foundation’s 13-year legacy in global vaccine efforts as a leading partner in the Measles Initiative and Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
The Shot@Life campaign draws on their core abilities through advocacy, community-building and communications in order to raise awareness for their cause.
There are a few causes in which they already have seen excellent success: the campaigns Nothing But Nets and Girl Up.
The Nothing But Nets campaign is dedicated to providing insecticide treated mosquito nets to impoverished peoples in order to prevent the spread of malaria from mosquito bites.
The Girl Up campaign was started in order to provide aid to young girls in poverty-laden nations. This campaign utilizes the help of teenage leaders in order to raise awareness about how young girls are being treated around the world.
Shot@Life is also partnered with some of the largest names in fundraising, nonprofits and charities. They have received partnerships from UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Lions Club, to name a few.
This U.N. Foundation is uniquely positioned with in-house expertise and leadership to successfully bring Shot@Life to the awareness of an American audience.
The nonprofit also utilizes social media in participation with news companies and webpages to give a portion of its advertising revenue on each company’s behalf for each like or share an article or blog post receives.
Providing vaccinations to the world’s poor is another huge step in the process to end global poverty. Getting vaccinations mean children will not die from diseases that are preventable such as smallpox, measles, polio and tuberculosis.
More children living into adulthood could potentially slow the birthrates and stabilize the life-expectancy of the people living in African nations as well as extremely impoverished parts of India.
The Shot@Life campaign is dedicated to providing peace of mind to all the nations of the world.
– Cara Morgan
Sources: CDC, GirlUp, HuffPost 1, HufFPost 2, NothingButNets, Shot@Life
Photo: Children’s Futures
Malaria Eradication: A Work in Progress
World Malaria Day acted as an opportunity to reflect on the history of the disease as well as look to the present success of its ongoing eradication. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), global efforts toward malaria eradication have resulted in an estimated 3.3 million lives saved since 2000 and mortality rates for children in Africa have dropped by around 54 percent.
Despite these improvements, a child is still killed by malaria every 60 seconds. 3.3 billion people, half the world’s population, are affected by the disease—specifically children, for which 90 percent of all malaria-related deaths occur. The disease, which causes fevers, chills, headaches, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, can result in kidney failure, seizures or death if left untreated.
Most malaria cases are reported in sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease is most prominent. Relatively simple prevention methods, such as bed nets, have helped limit the spread of the disease. Yet despite its decline, public officials claim that less-than-adequate funding is preventing quicker malaria eradication.
“Absolute numbers of malaria cases and deaths are not going down as fast as they could,” says WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan. The effect of malaria does not just harm those in Africa, it negatively affects the Western world as well. Malaria reportedly slows economic growth by 1 percent each year — and the effects of the disease are estimated to cost Africa’s GDP more than 12 billion USD per year — even if it would cost significantly less money to control and prevent the outbreak.
Despite its decline, malaria is still all too prevalent. Only around 70 million nets were delivered to highly-affected nations in 2012; in order to significantly minimize infection, this number would have to be at around 150 million. While still desperate for new tools, their current ones are paying off to an adequate extent. Since just 2000, the global incidence rate fell by 29 percent, and 31 percent in Africa alone, where most cases occur. Declared by USAID as the “greatest success story in global health,” malaria, while still needing room for significant work, may just be said “success story” in the making.
– Nick Magnanti
Sources: Huffington Post, TIME, Mashable
Photo: Flickr