As of March 29, 2023, the World Health Organization declared the country of Azerbaijan malaria-free. This result comes after a century of efforts to eradicate the disease from the nation using a range of methods and policies. Azerbaijan joins 41 other countries that have eliminated malaria. The elimination of malaria in Azerbaijan can be used as a case study for other nations when it comes to enacting effective policy.
How Was Malaria Eradicated in Azerbaijan?
The government and local authorities implemented a range of policies and innovative solutions to work toward eliminating malaria in Azerbaijan. Three strains of the disease were prevalent in the country in the 20th century, however after a significant interruption to the spread of two of these strains, Plasmodium Vivax remained the only prominent strain of malaria in the country.
Since then, the country has made significant progress toward controlling and measuring this strain of malaria. Some of these policies and methods included:
- Effective specimen collection
- Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System implementation
- Extensive public funding and investment in health care facilities and preventative measures
Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System (EIDSS)
The Ministry of Health adopted the Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System in 2010. The system provides accurate and real-time reporting of infections within the country. The data collected can be measured, analyzed and shared between different agencies for the most effective targeting and control of diseases, including malaria. The platform is an open-source system that allows medical clinics and centers for hygiene and epidemiology to input live data and react accordingly.
The use of this electronic data system vastly improved the recording and notification of the prevalence of malaria in the country. Traditional paper methods in 2010 had a timeliness notification rate for dangerous diseases of 37% until this increased to 98% once the government established EIDSS. The accuracy and completeness of data were also improved after the development of EIDSS.
The Impact of Malaria Reduction on Poverty
Eliminating malaria in Azerbaijan creates a ripple effect across all areas of society, improving individual lives dynamically.
Initially, reducing malaria transmission greatly improves the health of citizens and health outcomes for the region as a whole, such as increasing life expectancy. On the other hand, research indicates that reducing malaria has impacts beyond health.
Reducing malaria mortality creates better opportunities for people. With better health and less disease transmission, individuals will see less expenditure on anti-malaria drugs, treatment, funeral expenses and other associated costs. Dealing with malaria is expensive and costs the continent of Africa $12 billion in GDP per year, significantly slowing down economic growth. With a larger workforce unaffected by malaria, a country’s overall productivity and GDP can grow. For children especially, better health can improve school attendance and education, providing them with better career opportunities in the future that may have been hindered if they were exposed to the disease.
On the other hand, research also considers the monetary factors associated with effective malaria eradication and current aid levels are not deemed to be sufficient to eliminate malaria and reverse the disease-poverty trap. The disease-poverty trap is the concept that without sufficient investment, poorer communities lack the resources to be able to overcome dangerous diseases and get locked in a cycle of sickness and poverty.
The Economy and Malaria
While eliminating malaria in Azerbaijan reinforces that it is possible to wipe out the disease, there is also a notable intersection between malaria eradication and economic prosperity.
Many have concluded that without the economic advantages that were available to the Azerbaijan government, it is uncertain whether the country would have eradicated the disease so soon. The country’s Parliamentary Health Committee commits almost $700,000 annually to be put toward malaria prevention activities. These investments included the Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System and vast improvements in medical centers, antiviral drugs and laboratories.
Without sufficient aid and investment, it may be harder for less developed countries that suffer from malaria outbreaks to adequately fight the disease. An interview between Dr. Keith Carter and the WHO concluded that economic prosperity aided in preventing malaria transmission in Azerbaijan.
With adequate monetary investment and aid intervention, it is possible to eliminate malaria and subsequently pull thousands of people out of the disease-poverty trap. By providing the correct resources and investing in effective malaria prevention methods, malaria can be eradicated across the globe, as demonstrated in the case of eliminating malaria in Azerbaijan.
– Ariana Mortazavi
Photo: Flickr
Smileawi: Fixing Dental Care in Malawi
On the bright side, dental care in Malawi is improving as dental associations and charities from the United Kingdom (U.K.) increasingly fund dental programs in the country. One of these organizations is Smileawi, a Scottish charity founded by two dentists, Vicky and Nigel Milne, in 2012 after witnessing the nation’s lack of dental resources during a visit.
Smileawi’s Work
Smileawi runs a portable dental clinic in rural areas of Malawi, providing dental care to those who are less likely to have access to dentists. The charity also funds Malawian dental students and conducts dental conferences to empower and support local dentists in improving dental care in Malawi.
Although Smileawi prefers to send qualified dental practitioners to Malawi, many volunteers have no background in dental care and receive training from the organization. These volunteers self-fund a 16-day trip to Malawi to work in the charity’s “pain clinics,” which provide free tooth extraction services for diseased teeth. The clinics have also helped thousands of individuals suffering from toothache in the nation.
Smileawi’s services are available to vast numbers of people due to their portable clinics that are set up in public spaces such as classrooms and churches. Using money from donations, Smileawi invested in an eight-chair portable clinic that has served patients all over the rural areas of Malawi. Furthermore, Smileawi is developing a dental van that will help them travel around the entire nation and continue providing dental care to those in remote locations.
Smileawi Funding: Empowering Malawian Health Professionals
Smileawi aims to improve oral health in Malawi by directly providing dental services and empowering local health professionals. In 2017, Smileawi founders, the Milne family, assessed the equipment and facilities of dental therapists in Malawi and spent several months in the U.K. purchasing high-quality, second-hand dental chairs and equipment to send to Malawi. The charity was able to provide eight working dental chairs in six locations, and staff received training on how to maintain new equipment.
Since 2017, Smileawi has funded 21 dental therapy students, including Lusekero Kyumba, who studied at the College of Health Sciences in Malawi. The charity covers tuition fees, accommodation and general maintenance, which is vital because many academically gifted students cannot afford tuition fees and drop out as a result. Smileawi enables prospective Malawian dentists to focus on their studies and graduates are offered jobs at pain clinics following the completion of their studies.
Smileawi Conferences: Connecting Malawian Dentists
To ensure Malawian dentists are at the forefront of improving dental care, Smileawi hosts conferences twice a year in Mzuzu, where dental professionals can exchange information and discuss how to improve their practices. The conferences regularly see the attendance of international speakers, representatives of the Malawian government and medical professionals. Smileawi volunteers, partners and Malawian dental therapists agree that the conferences are highly beneficial because they create a space for dentists to build connections and share ideas on how to make accessible dental care in Malawi a reality.
Looking Ahead
Although there is still a long way to go before quality dental care is accessible to everyone in Malawi, Smileawi is making significant progress in improving oral health among the rural population. The charity’s work directly helps the Malawian people and encourages the improvement of dental care nationally.
– Mohsina Alam
Photo: Flickr
Dalit Women: Health care Access and Health Outcomes
Access to Care
Dalit women’s health outcomes largely depend on their access to health care. This access, however, is limited considering Dalit women’s low socioeconomic status. For example, in the southwest Indian state of Karnataka, which is home to over 61 million people and is the eighth-largest state in India by population, about 74.4% of Dalit women reported having issues regarding health care access. This number is about 70% at the national level, according to 2018 India’s National Family Health Survey. Partially due to this struggle in accessing health care, Dalit women have a 15-year shorter lifespan on average than upper caste women.
When they do have access to care, it can be very costly. Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health revealed that some unlicensed private doctors exploit Dalit women and other lower-caste women by charging them high fees, forcing many of them to take out loans for treatment. This practice contributes to the cycle of poverty among Dalit women and can make access for many extremely difficult. These issues with health care access often lead to negative health outcomes considering women’s greater vulnerability to diseases such as malnutrition and anemia, as well as maternal mortality.
Mental Health Disparities
Two main issues face Dalit women in terms of mental health: firstly, mental health issues are more prevalent in their caste than for those in higher-ranking castes, and secondly, these women have less access to care. In 2020, the Journal of Global Health Reports conducted a study in which 12 Dalit participants from Nepal talked about their experiences with mental health. From the outset, the researchers made it known that Dalits in Nepal “face the greatest discrimination and have a greater prevalence of depression and anxiety when compared with high castes.”
In terms of the actual results of the study, a number of the participants stated they believe that gender-based discrimination in Nepal makes issues of mental health for Dalit women more difficult, as it causes them to “receive more stigma for mental health conditions.” The stigmas that these women receive can lead to dangerous outcomes for them. Two participants in the study stated that Dalit women are at considerable risk when they are cast out from their families, as they become homeless and therefore are more vulnerable to exploitation, rape and abuse.
Some research also indicates that Dalit and other low-caste women may have experienced worsening mental health outcomes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a 2022 study, lower-caste women tended to have a greater fear of COVID-19 than higher-caste women. The study also found that Dalit women and women of other backward castes (OBCs) suffered from more severe anxiety and stress symptoms than higher-caste women.
Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO)
In light of the continuing discrimination against Dalit women, several organizations are taking action to create better opportunities for this underprivileged community. Perhaps one of the most prominent is the Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO), which is a nonprofit organization that was founded by a group of Dalit women in 1994. The organization works to address and fight back against the various inequalities experienced by affected women in Nepal.
FEDO is present in 56 of Nepal’s 75 districts, seeking to improve the lives of Dalit women by advocating for human rights and economic empowerment initiatives. This includes helping Dalit women become financially literate so that they can have opportunities to own small businesses and break the cycles of poverty found in Dalit communities throughout Asia. The work of organizations like FEDO could bring about upwards social mobility for Dalit women, therefore giving them greater access to health care services and improving their overall quality of life.
– Adam Cvik
Photo: Flickr
Heart Disease Among Syrian Refugees
Prevalence of CVDs
Although CVDs are a real threat to all people globally, they can tend to affect certain demographics more than others. Heart disease in Syrian refugees is a cause for concern for a number of reasons. According to Wasim Maziak and others, the morbidity rate for CVD among Syrians is about 4.8%, with the mortality rate being 179 per 100,000.
The impacts of CVD in Syrian refugee communities are greater due to increased risk factors. These include but are not limited to hypertension, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, firsthand and secondhand smoking and unhealthy eating habits. A 2019 study by the Boston College medical journal Annals of Global Health found strong correlations between cases of CVD and these risk factors in Syrian refugees living in Jordan. Of the nearly 1,000 patients they surveyed at Jordan University Hospital, about 60% had high blood pressure and 31% suffered from diabetes. Additionally, 24% were chronic smokers.
Lack of treatment was also a significant issue for these patients. According to the study, “treatment was offered to 489 patients (49.5%), but only 322 (65.8% of treatment offered and 33.2% of referrals) of them received the intended treatment.” Partly due to the lack of care for over half the Syrian refugee patients, 3% of them died and about half never had follow-up appointments during the timeframe of the study. The study also found that about 13% of the patients who were referred to specialists “were denied any funding,” which primarily came from the Jordanian government and the UN, as well as other charity groups and NGOs.
Risk Factor Causes
One of the possible explanations for why CVD risk factors are so high for Syrian refugees is because of their repeated exposure to conflict and trauma. For over a decade, Syrians have struggled with a violent civil war that has forced over 14 million people to flee the country since 2011. These refugees have been confronted with many traumatic events, including the loss of loved ones. Such trauma can greatly increase risk factors for CVD. As the American Heart Association (AHA) reveals that stress, especially chronic stress, “may lead to high blood pressure, which can pose a risk for heart attack and stroke. Stress also may contribute to such cardiovascular disease risks as smoking, overeating and lack of physical activity.”
This stress comes at even higher levels for Syrian refugees, who have to deal not only with the traumas of the past but also the great challenges they face in starting a new life in a foreign country. The challenges involve not only the struggles of assimilating into another society but also the struggles of overcoming poverty. For example, the U.N. reports that in Lebanon, 90% of the Syrian refugees in the country are “reliant on humanitarian assistance to survive.” Syrian refugees in Turkey also face challenges in meeting their basic needs, as about 90% are reportedly unable to do so.
Preventative Measures
Clearly, heart disease affects Syrian refugees at high rates due to a variety of risk factors such as trauma, displacement and poverty. In responding to this public health crisis, organizations such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have prioritized providing free health care to thousands of Syrian refugees in need. MSF’s chronic disease treatment program has provided consultations and treatment for nearly 4,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan over the span of nearly a decade. This includes “treatment for hypertension, diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.”
Looking Ahead
The work of humanitarian organizations such as MSF can play a significant role in reducing the rates of CVD among Syrian refugees. Poverty not only leads to increased stress and, therefore, increased risk of CVD but also inhibits access to health care. By providing free medical services to these vulnerable communities, MSF and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are actively alleviating one of the most significant public health crises facing Syrian refugees.
– Adam Cvik
Photo: Flickr
Young People and Mental Health in Brunei
7,000 Mental Health Cases
Statistics have shown that depression, anxiety and stress are common mental health issues. The psychiatry services in Brunei face an increase in young patients who report high levels of stress and fatigue, with an estimated 7,000 cases. Young people in Brunei, most of them in their early 20s, are the most vulnerable to mental health problems. Children and adolescents are also among those struggling with mental health issues. Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital Psychiatry Services head Dr. Hilda Ho stated that “We are getting an increasing number of referrals. The trend is we are seeing more and more young people.” But, according to the Ministry of Health of Brunei, this figure may not be accurate as it does not accurately reflect the extent of the situation among Brunei’s youth population.
Young People are Hindered by Stigma
At the Brunei Darussalam Youth Open Space in October 2020, a discussion by its participants on navigating the mental health problem concluded that Brunei’s young people face the challenge of stigma. It is most particularly within family circles where mental health problems are seen as shameful. At the meeting, none of the participants identified their parental figures as a source of help for mental health issues.
Brunei Launches Its Mental Health Action Plan
The Brunei Darussalam Mental Health Action Plan 2022-2025 aims to address mental health through a comprehensive strategy that involves promotion, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. Taking account of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brunei’s action plan also aims to address the challenges that the health workforce faces. With the action plan signed by Brunei’s Ministry of Health and five non-governmental organizations, the opportunity to increase public knowledge and awareness could be a step forward to improving mental health in Brunei.
Tackling Stigma
There are ongoing efforts to tackle the taboo around mental health in Brunei. The opening up of safe spaces facilitates open discussions about mental health. Services that provide counseling support, therapy and psychiatric consultations are becoming easily accessible. Community-based organizations such as Mind Your Mind and Cope for Hope promote mental health and well-being through their public service campaigns.
In addition, Brunei’s recent launch of the hotline service Talian Harapan 145 provides a safe and confidential space for those who are struggling with mental health. Trained mental health professionals from the Ministry of Health are responsible for operating the hotline.
Mental Health Programs
The program “Mental Health in Children” focuses on raising mental health awareness among parents and guardians. Run by the Mawar Association, the program helps to maintain children’s well-being. This initiative places a particular emphasis on the importance of parental figures in understanding and addressing mental health issues. Collaborating with the Ministry of Health, the first 2021 online session garnered 100 participants. The second 2022 session had 47 participants in attendance. The third session is scheduled to take place in October 2023.
Another recent event is the “Mental Health Awareness in Religious Perspective”, a mental health program for Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science College students. With 200 students in attendance, the program educates students and school faculty members on the importance of mental health. By utilizing a holistic approach, the program also actively works to combat stigma and encourage the discussion of mental health.
Looking Ahead
With mental health in Brunei undergoing a period of development, the country continues to expand its mental health services. The Ministry of Health recognizes the importance of public education, alongside the promotion of services that cater to mental health and well-being, in addressing the stigma around the matter. The country’s consistent efforts to improve mental health could result in positive impacts on the mental health of Brunei’s young people.
– Grace Clay
Photo: Flickr
Human Trafficking in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Human trafficking in St Vincent and the Grenadines involves forced labor in farming and cannabis production, sexual exploitation of women, arms trafficking and child trafficking by caregivers. Victims usually comprise Vincentians and foreigners from other Caribbean islands, South America and Asia. The Global Organized Crime Index also recognizes that people who work for foreign/international companies that have set up shop in St Vincent may be vulnerable to exploitation.
Although the country has not totally resolved the human trafficking problem, it has made progress in punishing criminals and protecting women and children. The government has taken several steps to combat human trafficking, including the following:
The Punishment
The government of St Vincent and the Grenadines has taken measures to combat trafficking by implementing training programs for law enforcement. The programs aim to give out stricter punishments to traffickers in order to make the consequences proportionate to the seriousness of the crime. This training also covers tips on identifying victims and providing resources for them.
The national police force has an Anti-Trafficking In Persons Unit (ATIPU), and it has been active since 2012. This unit monitors high-risk areas such as bars, airports, restaurants and seaports to swiftly detect signs of trafficking or smuggling of people from overseas.
For border control, the police force has a Special Services Unit that watches people entering and exiting the country. In addition, St Vincent has collaborated with international organizations such as the Regional Security System to control immigration and prevent smuggling within its borders and around neighboring countries. These actions highlight the nation’s willingness to accept external help in its fight against trafficking.
Raising Public Awareness
In St Vincent and the Grenadines, the fight against trafficking extends beyond the police force to include nurses, teachers, students and members of the wider society who have received training from ATIPU’s summer camps. So far, the unit has trained 426 students and 400 nurses and teachers to identify trafficking and prevent it. The government has also launched printed and digital advertisements as well as radio campaigns to raise awareness of trafficking among the citizens and help them recognize the signs of it. To encourage reporting, the government set up a hotline for individuals to report any suspicions of trafficking, enabling everyone to play a role in combating the problem.
Looking Ahead
The government of St Vincent and the Grenadines continues to combat trafficking by not only enacting laws to prosecute traffickers but also helping and supporting victims, as well as training law enforcement and educating the public to be more alert for signs of trafficking. These efforts show promise in eradicating trafficking and creating a future where it is no longer a concern for the inhabitants of the country.
Photo: Wikimedia
Tackling Malnutrition in Guatemala With Digital Tools
Barriers to Food Security
A 2023 report identified numerous barriers to improving nutrition among women and girls. These include:
Globally, COVID-19 heightened such barriers. However, in Guatemala, the pandemic’s outbreak also revitalized political interest in reducing malnutrition, leading to a new wave of policymaking focused on using digital tools to improve the nutrition of women and children and strengthen the physical, social and economic health of communities at large. Ranking seventh in the world for chronic malnutrition, the country exemplifies how progress can begin with better policymaking and unlocking the full potential of digital technology.
DIGITARO Project
A World Bank pilot initiative, Guatemala’s DIGITARO project offers an innovative solution to acute malnutrition. DIGITARO harnesses digital tools to advance women’s participation in agriculture and incorporate female farmers into Guatemala’s national School Feeding Program (SFP). The project seeks to resolve the lack of female agency within agriculture and the home while reducing the country’s malnutrition rates.
DIGITARO points to research revealing that women’s lacking economic agency and decision-making power in Guatemalan households directly impacts the produce bought for their homes. This has led to higher rates of malnutrition, especially among children. Recognizing this intersection between female agency and malnutrition is vital for improving food security across the country.
DIGITARO seeks to increase both female smallholder farmers’ market access and children’s and families’ access to healthy, responsibly produced food. Through digital tools, it improves women’s understanding of the SFP, connects female farmers to schools and supports them in supplying the SFP sustainably. The three main digital tools it engages are:
Impacts on Female Empowerment
Pilot data indicate that DIGITARO raised women’s awareness that the SFP purchases food from local farmers by more than 60% and increased their understanding of how to register as an SFP provider almost twofold. The initiative also improved women’s selling decisions and business productivity. It sparked a 20% increase in female farmers’ overall sales of commonly-demanded SFP animal products.
Impacts on Malnutrition
Furthermore, DIGITARO has improved the effectiveness and reliability of the SFP for thousands of Guatemalan children. By identifying and remedying the issues undermining the program, the project provided them access to a more reliable supply of nutritious, high-quality foods and produce.
The e-commerce platform has now connected nearly 25,000 schools across the country with some 45,000 sellers. However, more must be done to encourage schools and female farmers to connect through such initiatives. Nonetheless, DIGITARO’s promising results demonstrate that, in combination with strategic policymaking, digital technology can help tackle the growing issue of malnutrition among women and children everywhere and pave the way for a brighter global future.
– Ariana Mortazavi
Photo: Flickr
Poverty and Hunger in Ghana and Africa
Malnutrition in Ghana
Many countries that experience high levels of hunger also experience malnutrition. Malnutrition occurs when the body is missing the required nutrients or when it has more than it needs. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that malnutrition accounts for nearly half of all deaths among children under 5 years old. This is true in the case of Ghana where, in 2019, an estimated one in every ten children under 5 years old were underweight, with many not having access to diverse food groups that contain vital nutrients for physical development.
The Impact of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
While Ghana is already a historically impoverished nation, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has had a very negative economic impact on the country and the entire continent of Africa. One way in which the war has negatively impacted the continent is the rising price of food. These food prices are the result of African communities being dependent on imported goods from Russia and Ukraine, specifically wheat and sunflower products. In many regions of West Africa from 2019 to 2022, the percentage of people struggling with food insecurity rose from 10.7 million to 40.7 million.
The issue of an increasing number of individuals experiencing crisis is only expected to get worse as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues. This is due to agricultural activities being on hold, thereby stopping the exportation of goods that Ghana depends on. Beyond the Russia-Ukraine conflict impacting hunger in Ghana, there is also the issue of climate change that impacts the rain-fed crops which the country relies on.
Ongoing Efforts
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) uses food assistance to save lives during emergencies. Since its establishment in 1961, the organization has helped millions of people across different countries to achieve greater levels of food security. In Ghana, WFP focuses on preventing a specific form of malnutrition known as stunting. Stunting occurs when growth is hindered due to poor nutrition. To address this issue, WFP in Ghana provides aid to pregnant women and children aged 6 months to 2 years, recognizing the first 1,000 days of life as the most critical period for establishing proper nutrition and laying a foundation for healthy growth.
The organization offers assistance to those in need by providing vouchers to mothers, enabling them to purchase nutritious food that might otherwise be inaccessible. Moreover, they collaborate with private organizations and government agencies to establish food supply chains and connect small farmers with larger processing firms. In addition, they have implemented a nationwide school feeding program that connects children with nutritious food at school, linking it directly to local agriculture.
Looking Ahead
The WFP, through its efforts, is working to combat malnutrition and promote food security in Ghana. While food insecurity is still a problem in the country, every step toward progress in the fight against it represents hope for Ghanaians.
– Kellyjohana Ahumada
Photo: Flickr
Eliminating Malaria in Azerbaijan
How Was Malaria Eradicated in Azerbaijan?
The government and local authorities implemented a range of policies and innovative solutions to work toward eliminating malaria in Azerbaijan. Three strains of the disease were prevalent in the country in the 20th century, however after a significant interruption to the spread of two of these strains, Plasmodium Vivax remained the only prominent strain of malaria in the country.
Since then, the country has made significant progress toward controlling and measuring this strain of malaria. Some of these policies and methods included:
Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System (EIDSS)
The Ministry of Health adopted the Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System in 2010. The system provides accurate and real-time reporting of infections within the country. The data collected can be measured, analyzed and shared between different agencies for the most effective targeting and control of diseases, including malaria. The platform is an open-source system that allows medical clinics and centers for hygiene and epidemiology to input live data and react accordingly.
The use of this electronic data system vastly improved the recording and notification of the prevalence of malaria in the country. Traditional paper methods in 2010 had a timeliness notification rate for dangerous diseases of 37% until this increased to 98% once the government established EIDSS. The accuracy and completeness of data were also improved after the development of EIDSS.
The Impact of Malaria Reduction on Poverty
Eliminating malaria in Azerbaijan creates a ripple effect across all areas of society, improving individual lives dynamically.
Initially, reducing malaria transmission greatly improves the health of citizens and health outcomes for the region as a whole, such as increasing life expectancy. On the other hand, research indicates that reducing malaria has impacts beyond health.
Reducing malaria mortality creates better opportunities for people. With better health and less disease transmission, individuals will see less expenditure on anti-malaria drugs, treatment, funeral expenses and other associated costs. Dealing with malaria is expensive and costs the continent of Africa $12 billion in GDP per year, significantly slowing down economic growth. With a larger workforce unaffected by malaria, a country’s overall productivity and GDP can grow. For children especially, better health can improve school attendance and education, providing them with better career opportunities in the future that may have been hindered if they were exposed to the disease.
On the other hand, research also considers the monetary factors associated with effective malaria eradication and current aid levels are not deemed to be sufficient to eliminate malaria and reverse the disease-poverty trap. The disease-poverty trap is the concept that without sufficient investment, poorer communities lack the resources to be able to overcome dangerous diseases and get locked in a cycle of sickness and poverty.
The Economy and Malaria
While eliminating malaria in Azerbaijan reinforces that it is possible to wipe out the disease, there is also a notable intersection between malaria eradication and economic prosperity.
Many have concluded that without the economic advantages that were available to the Azerbaijan government, it is uncertain whether the country would have eradicated the disease so soon. The country’s Parliamentary Health Committee commits almost $700,000 annually to be put toward malaria prevention activities. These investments included the Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System and vast improvements in medical centers, antiviral drugs and laboratories.
Without sufficient aid and investment, it may be harder for less developed countries that suffer from malaria outbreaks to adequately fight the disease. An interview between Dr. Keith Carter and the WHO concluded that economic prosperity aided in preventing malaria transmission in Azerbaijan.
With adequate monetary investment and aid intervention, it is possible to eliminate malaria and subsequently pull thousands of people out of the disease-poverty trap. By providing the correct resources and investing in effective malaria prevention methods, malaria can be eradicated across the globe, as demonstrated in the case of eliminating malaria in Azerbaijan.
– Ariana Mortazavi
Photo: Flickr
Start Up Tackles Maternal Mortality in Uganda
The Issue: Maternal Mortality in Uganda
Approximately 16 women die during childbirth every day in Uganda. According to UNICEF, this equates to an estimated 368 deaths per 100,000 live births. On average, seven of these 16 women die due to “scannable risk factors of maternal mortality”.
Mortality due to conditions such as deficiency in amniotic fluid or umbilical cord problems can be prevented through early detection with ultrasound, throughout the course of the pregnancy. However, traditional ultrasound machines are a rarity in rural Uganda and other low-resource settings across Africa.
In 2017, Prosper Ahimbisibwe, Menyo Innocent, Phyllis Kyomuhendo and Ivan Nasasira identified a possible solution and began developing the M-SCAN device.
A Solution: The M-SCAN Ultrasound Device
The M-SCAN ultrasound device is a portable, lightweight and energy-efficient ultrasound scanner. The device is not dissimilar from a traditional ultrasound probe. The cable, however, facilitates connection to a laptop, tablet or smartphone, compared to the bulky ultrasound machines traditionally used. The device is therefore affordable and is being targeted at low- and middle-income countries. The portative qualities of the device mean it has real-time easy application across a range of specialties and locations. It is accessible in urgent situations, as well as easily shared between multiple patients at any one time.
It stores ultrasound images directly to the device it is connected to (laptop, tablet, mobile). Images are easily visualized and can continue to be visualized and even shared after the M-SCAN ultrasound is finished. The device can work for an entire day when connected to a fully charged laptop, and the laptop will not need to be charged during this time either.
The Impact: The Use of M-SCAN Across Uganda
M-SCAN ultrasound devices are currently being used in five medical clinics in Uganda, reaching more than 300 pregnant women. The portability of the device means that M-SCAN sonographers can even scan mothers in their own homes or community clinics. This saves mothers from journeys that may be costly, time-consuming, or otherwise challenging, particularly while pregnant.
The Future: Using M-SCAN Across Africa
Moving forward, M-SCAN plans to train frontline health care workers in the skills necessary for basic obstetric ultrasound. This is in an effort to establish the M-SCAN ultrasound device as an effective tool for obstetric care across all of rural East Arica.
The M-SCAN device provides an effective solution to the lack of access to ultrasound scans in rural Uganda. With time, the success of the device in reducing maternal mortality in Uganda may be replicated across many low-resource settings in Africa.
– Jess Steward
Photo: Flickr
Diseases Impacting South Africa
Diseases Impacting South Africa
Through the commitment of the government and organizations, the prevalence of diseases impacting South Africa can reduce and the well-being of South Africans can improve.
– Anna Konovalenko
Photo: Flickr