The World Health Organization (WHO) wants to draw attention to diseases that have typically been neglected and underreported. Referring to treatment for schistosomiasis, Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, stated, “We can blanket this part of the world [Africa] with medicines that rid every schoolchild of worms and eggs, parasites that interfere with their learning, impair cognitive development, and compromise their nutritional status.” These are ten parasitic diseases WHO classifies as neglected.
1. Chagas Disease is transmitted through a triatomine bug’s sting, or by contact between the bug’s infected feces and open wounds or mucous membranes. In its chronic phase, parasites embed in tissue such as heart or digestive muscle. Symptoms include a purplish bruise, a fever lasting several weeks, headache, abdominal pain, cough, rash, diarrhea, chest pain, heart failure, and less commonly seizures or paralysis. There is no vaccine available, but insecticide treatments, bed nets, and good hygiene practices can prevent contraction.
2. Dracunculiasis, or “Guinea-worm disease” is caused by the ingestion of contaminated water. Over about a year, the parasite painfully migrates through tissues, eventually emerging from a painful blister formed on infected persons’ feet. Often relief is sought by immersing the body in cold pond water. Unfortunately, this causes the female worm to release thousands more larvae into the water. When a person drinks the contaminated water, the larvae migrate through their intestinal wall and the process begins again. There are no drugs available to prevent or heal the disease. Patients frequently remain sick for several months, although it is rarely fatal.
3. Echinococcosis develops in humans by ingestion of Echinococcus granulosus eggs, primarily through contact with infected dogs or by consuming contaminated food or water. If left untreated, Echinococcosis has a high fatality rate in humans.
4. Foodborne Trematodiases are a group of parasitic infections caused by unsanitary food preparation or defecation of infected animals in fresh-water sources. The infections that make up Foodborne Trematodiases are Clonorchiasis, Fascioliasis, Opisthorchiasis and Paragonamiasis. Symptoms include fever, abdominal pain, chest pain, bacterial infections, nausea, skin rashes, and in some cases fatal forms of bile duct cancer.
5. Human African Trypanosomiasis, or “Sleeping Sickness” is transmitted by the bite of a tsetse fly. The disease affects mostly poor populations living in rural areas of Africa. If left untreated, Sleeping Sickness is usually fatal.
6. Lymphatic filariasis, or elephantiasis, is a painful disease that causes disability and disfigurement. Infection usually occurs in childhood, while visible symptoms don’t appear until adulthood. Filarial infection can cause fluid retention, fever, and genital disease. Nearly all infected persons suffer lymphatic damage and nearly half suffer kidney damage.
7. Onchocerciasis, or “River Blindness” is transmitted through the bites of infected blackflies. Infection leads to blindness, skin rashes, lesions, intense itching, and skin discoloration. Insecticide treatment of blackfly breeding sites can prevent the spread of onchocerciasis, and there is a drug available to treat symptoms and reduce transmission potential.
8. Schistosomiasis is transmitted through contact with larvae infested water. It affects nearly 240 million people worldwide in areas without potable water or sanitation, causing chronic sickness. Anthelminthic drugs now offer some control of schistosomiasis in marginalized communities.
9. Soil-transmitted Helminth infections are transmitted by roundworm, whipworm, or hookworm eggs present in soil where sanitation is poor. It is estimated that over 880 million children need treatment for these parasitic infections which can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, weakness, intestinal bleeding, loss of appetite, reduction in absorption of micronutrients, intestinal obstruction, rectal prolapsed, and diarrhea.
10. Cysticercosis is an intestinal infection of adult tapeworms that can develop in a number of tissues. Those located in the central nervous system are known to be the most frequent preventable cause of epilepsy in the developing world.
– Dana Johnson
Source: WHO, WHO Speeches
Photo: ABC News
Vinegar Used in New Cervical Cancer Screening
CHICAGO – Though most people would agree on vinegar’s extraordinary versatility in the kitchen, few would suspect that the liquid could have a powerful influence in the medical field through cervical cancer screening.
New research presented in an early June cancer conference in Chicago has revealed that testing for cancerous cells in the cervix with vinegar swabs could be the key to slashing cervical cancer-related deaths in under-developed countries.
The new screening method is called VIA (visual inspection with acetic acid) and uses sterilized vinegar made from combining acetic acid with water. Since its introduction in 2001, the low-tech visual exam has cut the cervical cancer rate in Indian women who were screened by 31 percent compared to women who did not undergo the cervical cancer screening.
Pap smears and tests that help to find and prevent HPV in women are only successful in reducing death rates in the countries that can afford them. In developing countries with little access to both preventative and treatment-related modern medical technology, a study has shown that these new low-tech cervix tests that use vinegar could save thousands of lives each year.
Whereas a Pap test would normally cost around $15 per test, the vinegar screening only costs $1. Specifically, the tests have proven beneficial in the slums of India, where cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death amongst women.
How does it work? Swabbing the cervix with vinegar causes abnormal cells in the cervix to temporarily change color while healthy tissues remains colorless, thus making cancer cells easily identifiable by medical analysts. Locals can perform the vinegar tests with merely two weeks of training and without expensive lab equipment.
Researchers have found that widespread implementation of the new vinegar screenings could prevent nearly 75,000 deaths in resource-deprived countries around the world. If the studies prove conclusive and the low-tech vinegar-based cancer screening tests become a worldwide phenomenon, vinegar may begin to replace diamonds as a girl’s best friend.
– Alexandra Bruschi
Source: The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Mail
Photo: Global Giving
Hunger Kills Every 10 Seconds: A New Campaign
The UK campaign, Enough Food for Everyone If, knows how to use statistics in a way that emphasizes their message.
The statistic they are currently using is that hunger kills every 10 seconds. This is derived from the fact that three million children died from hunger in 2011. Those three million deaths spread evenly across the year equals ten seconds a death.
Some assert that this statistic is a manipulation of the data, as the real issues surrounding those three million deaths are slightly complicated. It is not as simple as people simply starving to death.
A large portion of the deaths involved in the three million per year statistic are caused by infectious diseases or other things that poor nutrition can be related to. When children aren’t given the proper nutrition in the earliest parts of their lives, their bodies are much more susceptible to infectious diseases that a normal healthy child would simply be able to fight off.
The problem isn’t only involving malnutrition in children, but also malnutrition in mothers. In many societies, women aren’t given the best food in the household, therefore they can end up being malnourished during pregnancy and breast feeding, leading to malnutrition in their children.
Malnutrition is especially prevalent in communities that rely heavily on cereals and starches for their diets. These areas tend to neglect the importance of fruits and vegetables in their diets, and sometimes it is the case that milk or meats are avoided in these areas for cultural reasons.
Despite the complexities revolving around the statistic perpetuated by the IF campaign, the campaigners rely on the ‘hunger kills every 10 seconds’ statistic to give people a concrete way to think about the magnitude of global hunger. When people hear that three million died of hunger in 2011 they tend to block it out, as it is hard to conceptualize such a large number. The Enough Food for Everyone If campaign puts this statistic in an easy to understand way that makes people identify with individuals in poverty.
Enough Food for Everyone If uses its resources to raise awareness about world hunger in order to impact governmental decisions in favor of providing more aid to developing countries. The campaign also has put out helpful ways that people can contribute to ending hunger through their consumer choices, such as buying local, in season vegetables. The campaign is exemplifying how putting data in a certain manner and context can make all the difference in the impact is has.
– Martin Drake
Source: BBC News, Enough Food for Everyone If
Photo: BBC News Images
Neglected Parasitic Diseases
The World Health Organization (WHO) wants to draw attention to diseases that have typically been neglected and underreported. Referring to treatment for schistosomiasis, Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization, stated, “We can blanket this part of the world [Africa] with medicines that rid every schoolchild of worms and eggs, parasites that interfere with their learning, impair cognitive development, and compromise their nutritional status.” These are ten parasitic diseases WHO classifies as neglected.
1. Chagas Disease is transmitted through a triatomine bug’s sting, or by contact between the bug’s infected feces and open wounds or mucous membranes. In its chronic phase, parasites embed in tissue such as heart or digestive muscle. Symptoms include a purplish bruise, a fever lasting several weeks, headache, abdominal pain, cough, rash, diarrhea, chest pain, heart failure, and less commonly seizures or paralysis. There is no vaccine available, but insecticide treatments, bed nets, and good hygiene practices can prevent contraction.
2. Dracunculiasis, or “Guinea-worm disease” is caused by the ingestion of contaminated water. Over about a year, the parasite painfully migrates through tissues, eventually emerging from a painful blister formed on infected persons’ feet. Often relief is sought by immersing the body in cold pond water. Unfortunately, this causes the female worm to release thousands more larvae into the water. When a person drinks the contaminated water, the larvae migrate through their intestinal wall and the process begins again. There are no drugs available to prevent or heal the disease. Patients frequently remain sick for several months, although it is rarely fatal.
3. Echinococcosis develops in humans by ingestion of Echinococcus granulosus eggs, primarily through contact with infected dogs or by consuming contaminated food or water. If left untreated, Echinococcosis has a high fatality rate in humans.
4. Foodborne Trematodiases are a group of parasitic infections caused by unsanitary food preparation or defecation of infected animals in fresh-water sources. The infections that make up Foodborne Trematodiases are Clonorchiasis, Fascioliasis, Opisthorchiasis and Paragonamiasis. Symptoms include fever, abdominal pain, chest pain, bacterial infections, nausea, skin rashes, and in some cases fatal forms of bile duct cancer.
5. Human African Trypanosomiasis, or “Sleeping Sickness” is transmitted by the bite of a tsetse fly. The disease affects mostly poor populations living in rural areas of Africa. If left untreated, Sleeping Sickness is usually fatal.
6. Lymphatic filariasis, or elephantiasis, is a painful disease that causes disability and disfigurement. Infection usually occurs in childhood, while visible symptoms don’t appear until adulthood. Filarial infection can cause fluid retention, fever, and genital disease. Nearly all infected persons suffer lymphatic damage and nearly half suffer kidney damage.
7. Onchocerciasis, or “River Blindness” is transmitted through the bites of infected blackflies. Infection leads to blindness, skin rashes, lesions, intense itching, and skin discoloration. Insecticide treatment of blackfly breeding sites can prevent the spread of onchocerciasis, and there is a drug available to treat symptoms and reduce transmission potential.
8. Schistosomiasis is transmitted through contact with larvae infested water. It affects nearly 240 million people worldwide in areas without potable water or sanitation, causing chronic sickness. Anthelminthic drugs now offer some control of schistosomiasis in marginalized communities.
9. Soil-transmitted Helminth infections are transmitted by roundworm, whipworm, or hookworm eggs present in soil where sanitation is poor. It is estimated that over 880 million children need treatment for these parasitic infections which can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, weakness, intestinal bleeding, loss of appetite, reduction in absorption of micronutrients, intestinal obstruction, rectal prolapsed, and diarrhea.
10. Cysticercosis is an intestinal infection of adult tapeworms that can develop in a number of tissues. Those located in the central nervous system are known to be the most frequent preventable cause of epilepsy in the developing world.
– Dana Johnson
Source: WHO, WHO Speeches
Photo: ABC News
The Trickle-Up Solution to Global Poverty
The Trickle Up aid foundation is turning traditional conceptions of foreign aid on its head, saying that, “investing in individuals at the grassroots level is the most powerful antidote to extreme poverty.”
Attempts to address global poverty have typically originated in large, global corporations whose tactics have been to give foreign aid or to invest in business at the highest level of society in the assumption that benefits from newfound societal organization and prosperity would “eventually trickle down to the rest of the population.”
Glen and Mildred Robbins Leet, the founders of Trickle Up, however, rejected this model as the only way to help the world’s poor, maintaining that the foreign aid money given to developing countries often got lost in corruption at the top societal levels, never quite reaching the country’s poorest members that needed the help most.
Thus, Trickle Up sought a change. Glen and Mildred believed in individuals’ power to create lasting change for themselves, and started a program in which they gave $100 grants to ten people in developing countries, urging them to launch their own microbusinesses.
Along with the small sum of money, the Leets’ model also provided basic business ownership training to their fund recipients, The Trickle Up method relies on the idea that humans feel empowered when they feel trusted and encouraged.
Trickle Up primarily focuses on women as agents of change because they believe that if women have equitable access to and control over resources, a country’s economic development will follow
Trickle Up’s website provides ample information about understanding the program’s ideology, the grant system, and rural poverty itself in an attempt to spread awareness and invite action. By empowering the world’s poor directly, Trickle Up is building a much-needed foundation for a human-rights driven and economically stable developing world.
– Alexandra Bruschi
Source: Trickle Up
Photo: Life
Artists Fight Poverty Through the Global Citizen Ticket Drive
Music fans all over the country are constantly scrounging for those rare ticket opportunities that make the concert-going lifestyle more affordable. Especially for those still in school, ticket prices represent a significant obstacle to enjoying a favorite band or a killer night out with friends. So, whether it’s through a radio contest, ticket lottery, or sponsored corporate giveaway, free tickets are always nice. Now artists are making it possible to score those free tickets and tackle global poverty at the same time.
The Rolling Stones reports that major artists, like Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen, have joined Global Citizen Ticket Drive to donate two tickets from every show they play to inspire social activism. The idea is to place the tickets in a lottery where fans can use points they have gathered as the entry fee. The tickets come from the artists’ personal stash. So, there’s no worry about the shows selling out beforehand.
Fans collect points by setting up an account on Global Citizen’s webpage and posting poverty awareness videos on social media websites, signing petitions, or contacting local politicians among many other ways. Once an account holder has earned points, he or she can search local venues for their favorite artists and dump their easily-earned points into a lottery for the two available tickets. It’s that easy!
Not only are the usual suspects involved in the charity drive – Pearl Jam has a long history of donating to such drives, others were quick to answer the call: Kanye West, My Morning Jacket, and Black Sabbath have agreed to contribute two tickets a piece from their shows. Actually, the list is really impressive. Even major festivals, like Coachella and Bonnaroo, are on board.
For Black Sabbath, the move is a timely one, as they also just released a new album and are already plotting their next world tour. The album features a hit song, “God Is Dead,” which Ozzy notes is a commentary on global terrorism. In line with their general attention to global issues, it’s no wonder that the band is backing Global Citizen Ticket Drive.
The ticket donation drive is only one of Global Citizen’s means to address global poverty; they also put on a concert just last year that netted $1.3 billion for the cause. Headlining the show were Neil Young and Crazy Horse, the Foo Fighters, and the Black Keys.
– Herman Watson
Sources: The Rolling Stone, Global Citizen, Look to the Stars, CBS News, Loudwire
Heifer International: Sustainable Aid
Many foreign aid organizations and donors provide temporary aid in the form of food, supplies, or direct cash donations. Heifer International is a different kind of organization; Heifer works to provide livestock for impoverished and hungry families so that they will be able to sustain themselves rather than depending on temporary aid. In order to help these people to help themselves, cows, goats, chickens, bees, llamas, and plenty of other options are given in terms of livestock to be donated. These animals help to provide both sustenance and stability to families in need. Agricultural products that the family does not put to use, such as milk, eggs, or honey can also be sold at market for extra income.
Heifer’s goal in this is to ultimately create sustainability for families to allow them to then further their opportunities in life such as provide for education and comfortable living. One of their hopes is also that as one family or group advances in the community that they will share their gift with others around them, allowing the community as a whole to become self-sufficient. With gifts of livestock comes training from Heifer employees, ensuring that the families will make the most of their new additions.
The organization’s projects span the globe, from Cambodia to China to India and Honduras. Their goals with specific projects vary, but include empowering and education of women, environmental conservation, and natural disaster response. A major success story involves a Filipino farmer, Rogelio Abes Jr., who took advantage of Heifer’s gifts and knowledge. Not only did he expand his own farm and income, he shared his livestock and farming techniques with others in the community, and inspired others to rise above poverty through hard work and generosity.
In terms of financials and accountability, Charity Navigator gives Heifer three out of four stars. The organization is entirely transparent with their records and policies, and more than 70% of their income goes to program expenses, while 20% goes to fundraising expenses. Only 6.4% goes toward administrative expenses while the CEO earns .03% of expenses. The only financial issue that arises is the disparity between revenue and program expenses in the past few years, where revenue is significantly higher than program expenses.
On the whole, however, Heifer is working hard against hunger and poverty in many different ways, from school education programs to their Read to Feed initiative that encourages children to read in order to fundraise money for the organization. Their goals for sustainability seem to be the right direction for food aid to be headed in – while temporary aid can be helpful, it can also breed dependency, and the most important thing is to get people out of situations of poverty and hunger and allow them to be self-sufficient.
– Sarah Rybak
Sources: Heifer International, Charity Navigator
Photo: Heifer International
Poverty in Iraq
Poverty in Iraq? Many countries in the Middle East are dominated by oil production and exporting, and Iraq is no different. 95% of its exports are from oil. Like other resource-rich countries, however, this abundance of profit potential has not translated to a higher standard of living for the average Iraqi citizen. Furthermore, economic progress and social development has been hindered by ethnosectarian violence, severe setbacks in infrastructure, and poor educational quality. A number of complex challenges face Iraq today.
3 Main Causes of Poverty in Iraq
The situation in Iraq has been discussed by a number of NGOs, focusing on reform of programs already in place. For example, the Public Distribution System (PDS) is a universal ration program, but its main obstacle lies in targeting and distribution. It does not effectively target those who are at greatest risk for slipping into absolute poverty. A number of reports assert that if the Iraqi government used funds available to it from oil exports, these difficulties could be addressed. However, until ethnosectarian violence can be resolved and security restored, steps forward will be accompanied by backward steps as well.
– Naomi Doraisamy
Source: CIA World Factbook, Library of Congress, Oxfam/NCCI, World Bank,
Photo: AlTahreer News
What is the Bilderberg Group?
The Bilderberg Group is an annual conference designed to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group was started in 1954 when the first conference was held at the Bilderberg Hotel in Holland. The conference brings together 120-150 political leaders and experts from a variety of fields each year to discuss megatrends and major issues facing the world.
The Bilderberg conference provides an opportunity for informal, off-the-record conversation that is seldom possible in other venues. No official positions are required in the meetings. The conference provides attendees an agenda free, vote free setting where ideas are encouraged and participants have the opportunity to express their own opinions. No notes are taken, and no policy statements are issued before or after the conference.
Bilderberg is governed by a Steering Committee that elects a chairman who in turn is responsible for making suggestions and preparing the conference program with the Steering Committee.
Bilderberg grew out of the Cold War as a mechanism for European and North American communication, and today it remains a venue to discuss relevant and common problems facing the world. The group discusses matters surrounding trade, jobs, monetary policy, and international security. Dialogue between Europe and the United States is as important today as it was in the 1950’s.
The Bilderberg Group has received significant criticism over the years, however. Members of the media have labeled the conference as a “powerful global cabal” as each event is protected with heavy security and press is not allowed inside. Some conspiracy theorists have claimed the group runs the world. One prominent theory claims the group was responsible for the creation of the Euro, and that the group meets to select the winners and losers in the U.S presidential Elections, or at least the vice presidential pick.
Rumors like these persist in part because Bilderberg attendees are encouraged not to discuss the proceedings. However, to date there is no concrete evidence to suggest that the conference serves as anything more than an informal discussion of important problems and issues facing the world today.
-Caitlin Zusy
Sources Washington Post
Photo Unusual News
Ugandan Teen Fights Poverty
Within Uganda, in a town called Kampala, there is a slum by the name of Kisenyi. There are many languages spoken in this region, and it is a rough place to live. There is poverty abound, and hunger in many of the people. There are piles of garbage and sewage flowing around the houses. The houses are small, wooden shacks that are inhabited by the families of Kisenyi. If a foreigner visited Kisenyi, they would be begged by the children to give them money in order to get sugarcane so they can have lunch. There are many businesses, but the businesses are hard to keep going. The children do whatever drugs they can get their hands on. Despite this, some of the children have large dreams. Indeed, there is a lot of hope in the slums, and Ugandan teen, named Eunice Namugerwa, has provided the inhabitants with even more hope. Poverty may be a thing of the past in Kisenyi in some years, due to people like Eunice.
Eunice decided to start a chicken farm in Kisenyi, out of necessity, and this led to her speaking at TEDx Kampala, which is part of the larger TED Talks. TED has the mission, “ideas worth spreading.” Many experts, or even inspiring people, are invited to talk at TED in order to have a large audience for their brilliant stories or ideas. The idea of TED is to create a dialogue among movers and shakers of the world, to fight issues like poverty, disease, and hunger. This can lead to change on a local level, through those who experience the TED talks. TEDx Kampala was an independently organized TED event, but it was a high honor for Eunice to be invited to tell her story. It occurred on March 10th, 2012. It followed TED’s idea of “Technology, Entertainment, Design,” but focused primarily, of course, on social issues.
In August 2012, Eunice started her chicken farm in the Kisenyi slum in order to support her family and raise some income. The other options she considered were a fashion boutique and a “piggery.” Although she was only 18, little did she know she would soon inspire others and spread her idea into the future. In 2004, her father died of HIV, and in 2012, her mother was suffering too much to work, so Eunice was forced to try to make income for her family. Eunice commented on the issues in Kisenyi, which includes disease, the environment, and child abuse. She did not want to have to beg for money, so she turned to the idea of a chicken farm.
A primary school teacher named Tiarna Elmer donated about $576 so Eunice could start her farm. Eunice started the farm and began selling the eggs. The business grew quickly, and today, Eunice has 200 chickens on her farm. In addition to the farm, they have also started a DVD shop. Soon, Eunice will be earning about $385 a month or more, which is an incredible amount in the Kisenyi slums. Although it seemed like a far-fetched idea at first, with a little starter capital, Eunice now has a budding business and can inspire others with her entrepreneurial spirit. She gives hope to others stuck in poverty to start their own businesses, and hopefully, she also inspires nonprofit charities to donate money for start-up businesses, because they will help lift those in the slums out of poverty.
– Corina Balsamo
Sources: IPS News, All Africa, TED
Photo: RNW
Obama Visits Senegalese Slave Quarters
Four centuries after the first African slaves were shipped from Africa to the Americas, Barack Obama, the first African American U.S. President, visited one of the major slave shipping points of the triangular trade: Goree Island.
Obama started off his week-long trip through Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania with a private tour of the Goree Island Slave House. Built in 1776 by the Dutch on Goree Island off the Senegal coast, it is contested whether the ‘House of Slaves’ (Maison des Esclaves) was really a major slave-trading point; some historians suggest that the island was more of a merchant port, and the slave house a merchant’s home. However, despite the controversy over its effective role in the slave trade, there is no doubt that slaves walked through the “door of no return,” never to come back.
Now turned into a museum and classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, the House of Slaves reminds all its visitors of the brutality and cruelty inflicted upon other human beings during the slave trade.
“It’s a very powerful moment… to be able to come here and to fully appreciate the magnitude of the slave trade, to get a sense in a very intimate way of the incredible inhumanity and hardship that people faced”, stated Obama, who is believed to have at least one enslaved ancestor. First Lady Michelle Obama, a descendant of slaves, did not wish to comment on their visit to the House of Slaves.
More than just diplomatic, Obama’s visit to the Slave House is highly significant for many, both African and American. It is an acknowledgment of the dark history of slavery of the United States, a reminder of the considerable transformation that American society has undergone in the past decades.
The desegregation of American society and the election of the first African American President in the history of the U.S. has made Africans very supportive and proud, although there is some disappointment that the President seems less involved with the continent than his predecessors Georges W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Moved by the living testimony of the slave trade evoked by the Goree Island Slave House, Obama emphasized the importance of the defense of human rights and praised the U.S. Supreme Court for the same-sex marriage ruling. He was accompanied by Senegalese President Macky Sall, who paradoxically declared that Senegal was “still not ready to decriminalize homosexuality”.
Obama’s visit to Goree Island and then to South Africa raises the question of the place of aid to Africa in American foreign policy priorities. That question has yet to be answered.
– Lauren Yeh
Source: Yahoo! News, PolicyMic, LA Times
Photo: Washington Post