This is the fifth in a series of posts focusing on the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. There are eight interconnected MDGs that were agreed upon by over 180 countries worldwide. These goals are to be achieved by 2015 and are based on a shared pledge to improve the social, economic, and political lives of all people. Two years out from the goal date, it’s time to consider how far we have come, as well as how much work we have left to do.
The fifth MDG is to improve maternal health. This goal comes in two parts:
- Cut the maternal mortality ratio by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015
- Achieve universal access to reproductive health
Significant progress has been made on both fronts. In 2010, the maternal mortality ratio was 47% of the 1990 figure. Three regions (Eastern Asia, Northern Africa, and Southern Asia) have already reached the two-thirds reduction goal, and progress has been made in every region. However, women in sub-Saharan Africa still have a 1 in 39 chance of dying from pregnancy complications, and improvements in many regions will need to accelerate substantially if the MDG is to be met by 2015.
Work towards universal access to reproductive health has made encouraging headway as well. Health care for pregnant women in developing countries is on the rise, with antenatal care increasing by almost 20% between 1990 and 2011. This reflects an admirable commitment to women’s health care in developing regions. In a reflection of changing cultural norms, the number of teenage mothers is decreasing in most developing regions, though progress on this front has slowed in recent years.
Despite the progress that has been made thus far, maternal mortality still bears the highest disparity between developed and developing countries, with 99% of maternal deaths occurring in poorer nations. The maternal mortality ratio in developing areas remains 15 times higher than in developed regions. This severe inequality points to the undeniable connection between poverty and maternal health.
The primary cause of maternal deaths in the world today is the lack of skilled health care before, during, and after delivery. Women in developing areas are seeking maternal care at an increasing rate. It is therefore absolutely vital that the care they receive is of excellent quality. Doctors must be trained, facilities must be built, and supplies must be provided in order to save the lives of these women and their children.
Women and their partners are also seeking family planning services in higher volumes. Meanwhile, the supply of these services is increasing only minimally. Family planning must be prioritized in order to meet this need. It has been estimated that fulfilling the unmet demand for family planning could cause the number of maternal mortalities to plummet by one third. Impressive progress in this area was made in the 1990s when contraceptive use in developing countries increased by almost 10%. However, this level of progress was not matched in the 2000s.
Improvements in contraceptive use, especially in developing areas, would reduce one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related death: unsafe abortions. Approximately 13% of pregnancy-related deaths can be attributed to unsafe abortions, which kill 68,000 women annually. In another example of the disparity between developed and developing nations, 97% of unsafe abortions occur in poorer countries. Preventing unsafe abortions, both by increasing knowledge and use of contraceptives and by providing adequate health care in developing countries, is absolutely necessary as we work towards improving maternal health.
The quality of maternal health care will also rise when women are more empowered. Women worldwide are often constrained by cultural norms that leave them disenfranchised. They suffer physical and sexual violence at alarmingly high rates and are often unable to hold positions of power in society. The appalling state of maternal health in many countries can largely be attributed to societal injustices against women. When such countries work towards gender equality, they will also improve maternal health.
It is important, however, to remember that maternal health isn’t just a women’s issue. Poor sexual and reproductive health is a significant contributing cause to poverty worldwide and can prevent victims and their families from fully participating in society. Furthermore, improving maternal health entails more than just providing skilled birthing assistance. Women are less likely to have pregnancy complications if they do not have sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and if they have not undergone female genital mutilation. Therefore, improving maternal health necessitates the enhancements of society as a whole. These include increasing the general public’s knowledge of and access to sexual and reproductive health care, including contraceptives and treatment for STIs.
There are copious reasons to improve developing nations’ maternal health. Poor maternal health is a human rights violation, killing roughly 250,000 women each year. It harms countries’ economies and social fabric by preventing people from fully participating in society. It contributes significantly to poverty. It contributes to the perpetuation of gender inequality. And, as we have seen, improvements can clearly be made. The world has made so much progress when it comes to maternal health. These achievements should be used as a springboard, inspiring us to keep working towards the fifth MDG up to and beyond 2015.
– Katie Fullerton
Sources: UN UN Economic and Social Affairs WHO MDG5
Photo: Flickr
World Bank Proposals for Improved Land Governance
New and improved land governance policies may give Africa the opportunity to revolutionize agricultural productivity and eradicate poverty. Nearly half of the world’s uncultivated land is found in Africa, with nearly 202 million hectares that have the potential to produce revenue and food security for its people. Despite this fact, Africa has the highest poverty rate in the world.
A new World Bank report released on July 22nd titled “Securing Africa’s Land for Shared Prosperity” proposes that weak land governance, or the way in which land rights are defined and administered, may be the direct cause of the problem. Africa’s development record supports the argument that the continent has not made use of its abundant agricultural land and natural resources for shared and sustained growth.
It is estimated that half of all Africans will have shifted from rural areas to cities by 2050. The current gap between rich and poor communities will become steadily more pronounced as communities and governments face the challenge of growing enough nutritious and affordable food for all families on the continent.
“Despite abundant land and mineral wealth, Africa remains poor,” says Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice-President for Africa. “Improving land governance is vital for achieving rapid economic growth and translating it into significantly less poverty and more opportunity for Africans, including women who make up 70% of Africa’s farmers yet are locked out of land ownership due to customary laws. The status quo is unacceptable and must change so that all Africans can benefit from their land.”
The report lays out reforms in Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Ghana and other countries, and demonstrates how many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa recognize gender equality and customary land rights. These two issues provide a foundation for productive land administration.
10 steps have been produced, some of which are based on lessons learned from agricultural land reforms put in place in China and Brazil, as well as land rights reforms in the slums of Argentina and Indonesia. The steps include:
According to Jamal Saghir, World Bank Director for Sustainable Development, improving Africa’s agricultural sector is necessary for growth, the creation of jobs, investment, and in turn, less poverty. Serious challenges will need to be addressed to pilot the innovative approach to improve land governance. “Land grabs” by investors have already claimed millions of hectares of land, in some instances even pushing established communities off the land.
The report, however, argues now is the right time for land reform. Growing commodity prices and strong foreign investment, established global initiatives for land reform, and new laws that recognize land rights and gender equality have created a platform for large-scale land rights progress.
– Ali Warlich
Sources: World Bank, All Africa
Save the Children and Merlin Join Forces
The international NGO, Save the Children, and U.K.-based global health nonprofit Merlin, have joined together to create one organization.
As of July 16, Merlin’s board of trustees stepped down, and Merlin officially became a part of Save the Children, under a new board. Merlin’s CEO Carolyn Miller claimed that the new organization would be a “global humanitarian health force” that would benefit from Merlin’s expertise and Save the Children’s heritage and reach.
The hope, according to Save the Children’s CEO Justin Forsyth, is that the two will become a stronger entity with each other’s help. While the transition is occurring, Merlin will remain a separate legal entity and a transition team has already been put in place to help phase Merlin’s oversees overseas program and head office into Save the Children. The process is expected to be complete in 18 months.
Some are concerned that with the combination, programs will have to be cut in order to focus on the overall goal of the new organization. However, one nonprofit partnered with Save the Children, the Zone One Tondo Organization (ZOTO), which gives aid to children in the Philippines, says it sees promise in the joining of the two organizations. In addition to giving aid to children, ZOTO also focuses on disaster relief, an area that new resources from Merlin will be able to provide help.
While the news of Save the Children and Merlin teaming up has attracted much attention due to the size of the organizations (Save the Children works in 125 countries, and Merlin has over 5,000 employees) this is certainly not the first time NGOs have partnered up in order to make more of an impact. Save the Children’s press release called the new team an effort for a sustainable future in light of the “tough external environment for NGOs.” The economy is picking up after the latest recession, but it is still tough for nonprofits to survive.
NGO’s are also in competition with each other as they start up and grow in popularity. As a result, many of the smaller ones are being engulfed by the larger ones. The larger ones will also subcontract to the smaller ones, leaving them only doing part of their work, rather than directly helping those they’re trying to help.
However, while this has happened in several cases, Oxfam International’s Chief Executive Winnie Byanyima, is hesitant to call NGO mergers a “trend.” According to Byanyima, nonprofits have been coming together for decades in the form of partnerships and NGO coalitions to work together in order to maximize their voice. Most NGOs are looking to do the same basic thing – to help people – and sometimes the best way to do that is to join forces.
– Emma McKay
Sources: Devex, The Guardian, World Crunch
American Refugee Committee International 101
About
The American Refugee Committee (ARC) is an international nonprofit organization that has provided humanitarian assistance and training to millions of beneficiaries over the past 35 years. The ARC works with refugee communities in eight countries around the world – Haiti, Liberia, Pakistan, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Thailand, and Uganda. The people ARC serve have experienced devastating circumstances leaving many of them with nothing. ARC provides them with a number of resources including shelter, clean water, sanitation, healthcare, skills training, education, protection and whatever additional support needed for new beginning.
The Mission
The ARC works hand in hand with its partners and constituencies to provide unique opportunities to refugees, displaced people, and host communities. The goal is to help these people survive conflict and crisis and rebuild lives of dignity, health, security and self-sufficiency.
Programs and Services
Conflict and disaster have devastated numerous countries throughout the world, forcing many innocent victims to flee for safety, sometimes with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. ARC programs are formed by listening to the people they serve, understanding existing problems, designing practical responses, and training survivors to endure the work even after the peace is restored. The ARC also provides a number of beneficial services including gender-based violence prevention and response, economic opportunity development services, and reproductive healthcare services.
What is ARC Doing?
Recently many of ARC’s aid workers have been helping Syrian refugees who have fled the civil war. The camp, located in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, is currently sheltering more than 100,000 people. The camp only represents a small portion of refugees who have been forced out of their homes by the Syrian conflict that has been taking place for more than two years. ARC officials expect the organization will remain in Jordan for while to help provide water and sanitation for another refugee camp that is being planned there. The new camp will potentially handle as many Syrian refugees as the original camp.
How You Can Help
The smallest act of kindness can make a huge difference. Any amount of effort or support can be helpful to people with nowhere to go. There are a number of ways to get involved:
– Scarlet Shelton
Sources: ARC Relief Twin Cities
Photo: Global Impact
5 Facts About Mogadishu
When most people consider Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, they often associate the city with piracy, terrorism, or instability. However, after a long history of violence and political volatility, Mogadishu is actually on an upswing. This is not to say that all of the problems plaguing Mogadishu in recent years have been solved, but there is slow and steady progress being made since the injection of foreign aid.
– Sagar Desai
Sources: BBC, The Borgen Project
Photo: CNN
MDG 6: HIV/AIDS, Malaria, & other Diseases
This is the sixth in a series of posts focusing on the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. The MDGs are a set of eight interrelated goals that were agreed upon by over 180 countries worldwide. They aim to improve the social, economic, and political lives of all people, and are to be achieved by 2015. Two years out from this deadline, it is important to recognize how far we’ve come and how far we have to go.
The sixth MDG is made up of three targets aimed at combatting HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. Progress has been made on each of the three objectives. These three goals are to:
New HIV infections are declining in most regions. Although, with improved health care resulting in less deaths from AIDS, more people are living with HIV than ever. This makes it even more difficult to contain the disease, resulting in a fairly high and inelastic 2.5 million new infections each year. This phenomenon is not helped by the fact that complete knowledge of HIV transmission and condom use are still low among the younger population.
Over two-thirds of new HIV cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa, presenting an opportunity for redoubled efforts there to increase public awareness and improve access to treatment. It is also important to improve the lives of HIV victims and their families in the short-term. For example, more orphans are attending school thanks to programs to minimize the effects of AIDS.
Availability of treatment for HIV/AIDS increased in all regions between 1990 and 2011, although universal access was not achieved by the goal date of 2010. During 2011, significant progress was made in providing care to the 34 million people living with HIV worldwide. The number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) that year jumped from 6.6 million to 8 million. By the end of 2012, 9.7 million people in developing nations had access to ART. ART is usually a combination of at least three drugs that keep the HIV virus under control. The technique has consistently been shown to reduce mortality and suffering rates among individuals with HIV, and is most effective in the early stages of the disease. This makes it even more important that universal access to treatment is achieved. Roughly 15 million people in developing areas are in need of ART. Currently, 55% of this need is being met and, as of 2011, eleven countries have achieved universal access to ART. Building upon this progress will ensure that all HIV patients receive the treatment they need.
One of the most troublesome things about HIV/AIDS is that it weakens the immune system and makes patients more vulnerable to a wide variety of other diseases. This is harmful to patients already suffering from HIV, and it increases the transmission rates of diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis (TB) to otherwise healthy people. The third facet of MDG 6 is concerned with these other diseases. Exciting progress has been made in regards to malaria and TB in recent years, propelling us towards a future without these diseases.
Between 2000 and 2010, the incidence of malaria fell by 17% and the malaria-specific mortality rate fell by a full quarter. This represents 1.1 million lives saved from this horrifying disease. Malaria is caused by a parasite that is transmitted by the bites of infected mosquitoes. One effective and simple way to prevent the spread of malaria is to sleep under bed nets treated with insecticides. Now, thanks to increased funding, more children in sub-Saharan Africa are sleeping safely under these nets. This type of preventive work with children is especially important, given that the majority of people who die from malaria are children under five in Africa. It also aids in working towards the fourth MDG: a two-thirds reduction of the 1990 child mortality rate by 2015. This is just one example of the numerous intersections of the eight MDGs. When malaria prevention and treatment opportunities improve, child mortality generally falls. In fact, when a country expands the availability of malaria control interventions, child mortality drops by about 20%.
Tuberculosis (TB) is another prevalent infectious disease facing the developing world today. In 2011, it infected an estimated 8.7 million people and killed roughly 1.4 million. TB is caused by a bacterial infection most often occurring in the lungs. It is transmitted by water droplets from the throat and lungs of infected individuals. People with strong immune systems are generally able to fight off the disease without symptoms. However, for people whose immune systems are compromised in any way, including individuals who are HIV-positive, TB becomes a life-threatening illness. Treatment for this disease lasts six-months, and universal access has yet to be achieved. Despite these obstacles, however, 51 million people were successfully treated for TB between 1995 and 2011. Over that time period, the world saw the mortality rate for TB decrease by over 40%. These incredible innovations have been possible by prolonged efforts on many fronts. These include a WHO program aiming to detect TB earlier in Swaziland, the country with the highest rate of TB, and cheaper testing thanks to a partnership between the US government, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Unitaid.
HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB represent some of the greatest causes of poverty in the world today. These debilitating and often fatal diseases dramatically affect the lives of billions of people worldwide, and the progress made so far is astounding. Treatment for HIV is more available than ever before. Incidence of malaria is on the decline, as is the mortality rate for people suffering from it. TB testing and treatment are becoming increasingly available, effective, and efficient. These incredible achievements are just the beginning. They should serve to show us that we can effectively prevent and treat even the most widespread diseases, that we can save millions of lives every year, and that we are capable of much more than we think.
– Katie Fullerton
Sources: WHO Table WHO ART Information WHO MDG UN The Guardian
Photo: The Guardian
Nelson Mandela Quotes – Top 5
Nelson Mandela convey tend to convey the heart of experiences he’s encountered. Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected president and the recipient of a Nobel Peace Price, has inspired generations with his determination for justice. Mandela was instrumental in the anti-apartheid movement, directing a peaceful campaign against the South African government for more than 20 years. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in the movement, allow he refused to adopt armed resistance because of his fierce desire to put an end to apartheid. Elected as South Africa’s first black president in 1994, Mandela became a symbol of fortitude, justice and equality.
Though the former president’s health continues to decline, Nelson Mandela quotes still inspire millions and will be remembered long after his death. Listed below are five of the most thought-provoking and inspirational Nelson Mandela quotes:
– Katie Bandera
Sources: News One, DNA Medium, Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory
Photo: UBM
Read Humanitarian Quotes.
MDG 5: Improve Maternal Health
This is the fifth in a series of posts focusing on the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. There are eight interconnected MDGs that were agreed upon by over 180 countries worldwide. These goals are to be achieved by 2015 and are based on a shared pledge to improve the social, economic, and political lives of all people. Two years out from the goal date, it’s time to consider how far we have come, as well as how much work we have left to do.
The fifth MDG is to improve maternal health. This goal comes in two parts:
Significant progress has been made on both fronts. In 2010, the maternal mortality ratio was 47% of the 1990 figure. Three regions (Eastern Asia, Northern Africa, and Southern Asia) have already reached the two-thirds reduction goal, and progress has been made in every region. However, women in sub-Saharan Africa still have a 1 in 39 chance of dying from pregnancy complications, and improvements in many regions will need to accelerate substantially if the MDG is to be met by 2015.
Work towards universal access to reproductive health has made encouraging headway as well. Health care for pregnant women in developing countries is on the rise, with antenatal care increasing by almost 20% between 1990 and 2011. This reflects an admirable commitment to women’s health care in developing regions. In a reflection of changing cultural norms, the number of teenage mothers is decreasing in most developing regions, though progress on this front has slowed in recent years.
Despite the progress that has been made thus far, maternal mortality still bears the highest disparity between developed and developing countries, with 99% of maternal deaths occurring in poorer nations. The maternal mortality ratio in developing areas remains 15 times higher than in developed regions. This severe inequality points to the undeniable connection between poverty and maternal health.
The primary cause of maternal deaths in the world today is the lack of skilled health care before, during, and after delivery. Women in developing areas are seeking maternal care at an increasing rate. It is therefore absolutely vital that the care they receive is of excellent quality. Doctors must be trained, facilities must be built, and supplies must be provided in order to save the lives of these women and their children.
Women and their partners are also seeking family planning services in higher volumes. Meanwhile, the supply of these services is increasing only minimally. Family planning must be prioritized in order to meet this need. It has been estimated that fulfilling the unmet demand for family planning could cause the number of maternal mortalities to plummet by one third. Impressive progress in this area was made in the 1990s when contraceptive use in developing countries increased by almost 10%. However, this level of progress was not matched in the 2000s.
Improvements in contraceptive use, especially in developing areas, would reduce one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related death: unsafe abortions. Approximately 13% of pregnancy-related deaths can be attributed to unsafe abortions, which kill 68,000 women annually. In another example of the disparity between developed and developing nations, 97% of unsafe abortions occur in poorer countries. Preventing unsafe abortions, both by increasing knowledge and use of contraceptives and by providing adequate health care in developing countries, is absolutely necessary as we work towards improving maternal health.
The quality of maternal health care will also rise when women are more empowered. Women worldwide are often constrained by cultural norms that leave them disenfranchised. They suffer physical and sexual violence at alarmingly high rates and are often unable to hold positions of power in society. The appalling state of maternal health in many countries can largely be attributed to societal injustices against women. When such countries work towards gender equality, they will also improve maternal health.
It is important, however, to remember that maternal health isn’t just a women’s issue. Poor sexual and reproductive health is a significant contributing cause to poverty worldwide and can prevent victims and their families from fully participating in society. Furthermore, improving maternal health entails more than just providing skilled birthing assistance. Women are less likely to have pregnancy complications if they do not have sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and if they have not undergone female genital mutilation. Therefore, improving maternal health necessitates the enhancements of society as a whole. These include increasing the general public’s knowledge of and access to sexual and reproductive health care, including contraceptives and treatment for STIs.
There are copious reasons to improve developing nations’ maternal health. Poor maternal health is a human rights violation, killing roughly 250,000 women each year. It harms countries’ economies and social fabric by preventing people from fully participating in society. It contributes significantly to poverty. It contributes to the perpetuation of gender inequality. And, as we have seen, improvements can clearly be made. The world has made so much progress when it comes to maternal health. These achievements should be used as a springboard, inspiring us to keep working towards the fifth MDG up to and beyond 2015.
– Katie Fullerton
Sources: UN UN Economic and Social Affairs WHO MDG5
Photo: Flickr
Kony’s Elephant Poaching
Poaching elephants is a practice in which people kill elephants in order to sell their tusks, meat, or hide. Poachers tend to target old matriarchs, or the oldest adult females, which is especially problematic for the elephant herds because the adult females are responsible for holding the herd together. In many cases, the structure of the herd was additionally disrupted as many young elephants died alongside their mothers.
Elephants are also known to grieve much as humans do. They visit the carcasses of their dead mates, families, or herd members and are emotionally affected by the loss. Should African elephants be completely killed off, there would be no way to repopulate, which would irreversibly damage the ecosystems of Africa and the environment as a whole. Such a disruption in the environment could affect the societies living near herds of African elephants, and potentially negatively affect Africa’s population and economy.
Unfortunately, elephant poaching still occurs in Africa as of 2013, and one of the people who have been partaking in the act is the well-publicized Joseph Kony. Kony, along with the Lord’s Resistance Army, or the LRA, has been elephant poaching in order to keep itself going. This is rather surprising, but most of all, it reflects the negative energy of the LRA as a whole. Kony and his army are using one atrocity to help fuel further atrocities. Kony is wanted for international crimes due to his crimes against humanity and children, and his war crimes. The Enough Project, along with the Satellite Sentinel Project, has documented evidence that the LRA has been poaching elephants. Kony has asked his army to give him elephant tusks to sell in order to buy food, weapons, and any other number of supplies.
This poaching has led to the support of Kony and the LRA, which is just one more reason that elephant poaching should be stopped. Throughout this elephant poaching, the LRA has also fought with the Garamba park rangers using weapons and has outmaneuvered the rangers using GPS and satellite technology. Unfortunately, the current rates of elephant poaching mean that more elephants are being killed than are reproducing. The U.N. has given an estimate that the African elephant population has declined by at least 50% but possibly up to 90% percent, which is a detrimental loss of an already endangered species. The LRA is poaching elephants and it allows them to continue to spread violence in the region and to continue to evade the international community.
There is not all bad news, though; the LRA can still be stopped. The way to do this is by supporting the Garamba park rangers, in order to give them better equipment to find and fight the LRA. An example of this support was through the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), which has launched an initiative worth over $2 million to combat elephant poaching. If the international community focuses on ending elephant poaching, it could also end Kony’s dangerous reign.
– Corina Balsamo
Sources: Enough Project, CNN, Conservation Biology
Photo: National Geographic
Final Step in Ending Polio is Overcoming Mistrust
The campaign to end polio is the largest and most successful disease-eradication effort the world has ever seen. In 1988, 350,000 people died from polio every year. That number dwindled to 250 last year. With an estimated five years left to eliminate polio completely, the battle is almost over.
In the Middle East, however, it has one massive obstacle left: deep, ingrained mistrust. During the search for Osama bin Laden, the CIA freely used vaccination campaigns as guises for gathering intelligence. As recently as last year, the agency paid a local doctor, under the ruse of vaccination, to collect DNA samples to identify members of Osama’s family—an act of treason for which that doctor now faces a 33-year jail sentence. Many Middle Eastern families, enraged with American covert operations, still believe the campaigns are ploys to mark areas for drone strikes or air raids. For many, the stigma of polio vaccination is greater than any perceived benefit.
In Pakistan, one of the last three countries on earth with circulating strains of polio (the other two are Afghanistan and Nigeria), many children still die every year because of the disease—and it permanently cripples hundreds more. In rural parts of Pakistan, polio eradication efforts often meet violent resistance due to fear and hatred of Western influence. A staggering 300,000 children still live in areas too dangerous for vaccinators to travel. Yet a new political development has given polio fighters in Pakistan new hope: the neighboring country of India just announced the end of polio within its borders.
To Pakistanis, whose rivalry with Indians has deep cultural roots, the humiliation of lagging behind is insufferable. Soon after India declared itself polio-free, the Pakistani government formed an executive polio committee, doubled vaccinator’s pay, launched a massive awareness campaign, and induced religious leaders to support polio eradication. Bill Gates, one of the leading figures in polio resistance, unhesitatingly calls the Pakistan-India rivalry “our biggest asset” for ending polio in Pakistan.
Many groups continue to resist vaccination, of course. In parts of Pakistan under Taliban influence, vaccination teams often travel with armed escorts to protect themselves from a lethal attacks. Some carry around bags of rupees, bribing locals to accept treatment.
Yet even militant opposition to the anti-polio effort is waning. The Taliban in Afghanistan, for example, recently announced that it supports polio eradication programs and encourages people to seek treatment. Although it still does not tolerate foreign workers, the group promises to work with local health workers and “lend a hand to all those programs which work for the health care of the helpless people of our country.”
Aziz Memon, the head of the Rotary Club’s polio eradication program in Pakistan, celebrates the good work being done to end polio in his country. According to him, the only way to undermine doubt and encourage participation is slow, careful work. The final step in ending polio is overcoming mistrust—which, in other words, is overcoming fear with compassion. “We can’t twist arms,” he says. “We want to win them over with love and affection.”
— John Mahon
Sources: NY Times, Gates Foundation, CBC
Photo: Polio5060
Is America Actually Poor?
The answer to the question depends on who you ask. Almost 50 million Americans fall below the poverty line while close to another 100 million are considered “low income.” The gap between rich and poor in America is widening; while many Americans are struggling, CEO and executive pay apparently jumped significantly.
Moira Herbst for The Guardian reports that U.S. GDP figures are down almost 2% in 2013 and says that it’s an issue of demand: people just don’t have enough money to pay for stuff. Low-to-minimum wage positions are being added amid cuts of high-priority, private and government sector positions. Unemployment nationally is at almost 8%.
Despite the economic upheaval in the U.S., those who are poor still enjoy a higher standard of living compared to their counterparts in the developing world. Surprisingly, the bottom 10% in America are better off financially than many people who would be considered wealthy in India.
– David Smith
Sources: Politico, RT, The Guardian, New York Times, Forbes
Photo: Toonari Post