Bangladesh is a South Asian country with a history of economic troubles and high poverty rates. The World Bank ranked Bangladesh the 61st weakest economy in the world in 2021, with a GDP per capita of just $6,493. As one of the more impoverished countries in the world, and with children aged 0 to 14 accounting for around 26% of the country’s total population of 169.4 million in 2021, it is unsurprising that child poverty remains an area of focus for Bangladesh.
Education in Bangladesh
Education is one of the most pivotal factors affecting poverty and living conditions in any country, and there are multiple reasons for this. Implementing efficient and successful education systems can create a path to political participation. Another benefit of sufficient education is that it is possible to improve the overall health of a nation by teaching about good health practices and topics such as nutrition.
Improving the education system would not only reduce child poverty in Bangladesh but would also help prevent poverty from continuing into adulthood by increasing job opportunities. Increased jobs, driven by education, can stimulate the incomes of poor families and boost national economic growth by breaking the cycle of extreme poverty and underdevelopment.
Bangladesh has seen development in the rates of child education over recent years, with nine out of 10 children in school at the age of six, according to an education fact sheet from 2020. However, there are still some issues with education rates, particularly among children living in poverty. For example:
- About 52% of children who lack foundational reading skills are within the bottom two wealth quintiles, demonstrating the undisputable link between poverty and education rates.
- Completion of primary education stood at 83% but completion of higher secondary education declined to 29%.
- Only 12% of children in the lowest wealth quintile complete higher secondary education compared to 50% from the wealthiest quintile.
Children’s Health
World Bank data records in 2020 place the infant mortality rate in Bangladesh at 24 per 1,000 births, a relatively high figure when compared to a rate of four per 1,000 births for the U.K. (a considerably more wealthy country) in the same year.
Children in Bangladesh are vulnerable to illness and disease with pneumonia standing as one of the most deadly conditions for infants. Pneumonia accounts for 19% of deaths in children under 5 annually, a 2021 research article by Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman and others says.
Malnutrition is another indicator of child poverty in Bangladesh and massively affects overall health by increasing the risk of disease, stunting growth and raising the risk of infant mortality. One way to measure malnutrition among children is stunting, which refers to children who fail to reach their expected height for their age due to various factors of poor health. According to the Global Nutrition Report, stunting impacted 28% of children under 5 in Bangladesh in 2019.
Access to Water and Sanitation
In 2020, only 58% of Bangladesh’s total population had access to a sufficient handwashing facility with soap and clean water. The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, made poor sanitation provisions much more concerning. The World Bank reports that, in 2020, only 59% of the population had access to “safely managed clean drinking water services.”
The provision of sanitation also impacts education. Across Bangladesh, in 2018, just 50% of primary schools provided gender-segregated toilets for girls to use, which has contributed to 25% of girls skipping school during their menstrual cycles.
In 2018, E. coli bacteria appeared in about 80% of water samples from “private piped water taps,” which is comparable to the rate of contamination in pond water. Poor water quality is particularly dangerous for children as they can easily contract diseases. This emphasizes the importance of ensuring high-quality water provision. WaterAid reports that 3.79 million people in Bangladesh lack access to clean water, 75.4 million people lack access to proper toilet facilities and more than 1,000 children under 5 face diarrhea-related deaths annually as a consequence of unclean water and poor sanitation in the country.
Taking Action
The World Bank launched a Multipurpose Disaster Shelter Project (MDSP) in 2022, which will run until June 2023, focused on providing safe havens for more than 14 million people in coastal regions of Bangladesh that are susceptible to cyclones and floods. The project involved the construction of 552 new shelters in Bangladesh, which will function as primary schools during normal weather conditions. The project also constructed more than 550 kilometers of evacuation roads and renovated 450 already established shelters.
The BRAC, a non-governmental organization based in Bangladesh, initiated its BRAC Education Programme (BEP) more than 30 years ago. The program works to build and operate schools, establish libraries and educational programs and implement a variety of other structural reforms to the education system in Bangladesh. In 2019, the BEP provided education to 3.17 million students in 35,957 schools set up as part of the program. The BRAC partners with charities from across the world to implement its programs in Bangladesh and beyond.
The World Bank approved $200 million in September 2020 for a project to improve access to safe water and sanitation in rural areas of Bangladesh through piped water schemes. The aims of the project look to improve overall access to water, sanitation and hygiene in Bangladesh.
In Dhaka, a Bangladesh city where only 20% of the population has access to a safe sewage system, Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) launched SWEEP, a service that provides residents with safe and sanitary disposal of human waste. The program reduces the spread of disease among the urban poor by abiding by proper health and hygiene measures during the waste removal process.
Through the efforts of several organizations working to combat poverty-related conditions and hold children at the forefront of initiatives, the nation has made strides regarding child poverty in Bangladesh. With continued progress, children in Bangladesh can live an improved quality of life with full access to basic necessities.
– Sophie Sadera
Photo: Flickr
What to Know about Child Poverty in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a South Asian country with a history of economic troubles and high poverty rates. The World Bank ranked Bangladesh the 61st weakest economy in the world in 2021, with a GDP per capita of just $6,493. As one of the more impoverished countries in the world, and with children aged 0 to 14 accounting for around 26% of the country’s total population of 169.4 million in 2021, it is unsurprising that child poverty remains an area of focus for Bangladesh.
Education in Bangladesh
Education is one of the most pivotal factors affecting poverty and living conditions in any country, and there are multiple reasons for this. Implementing efficient and successful education systems can create a path to political participation. Another benefit of sufficient education is that it is possible to improve the overall health of a nation by teaching about good health practices and topics such as nutrition.
Improving the education system would not only reduce child poverty in Bangladesh but would also help prevent poverty from continuing into adulthood by increasing job opportunities. Increased jobs, driven by education, can stimulate the incomes of poor families and boost national economic growth by breaking the cycle of extreme poverty and underdevelopment.
Bangladesh has seen development in the rates of child education over recent years, with nine out of 10 children in school at the age of six, according to an education fact sheet from 2020. However, there are still some issues with education rates, particularly among children living in poverty. For example:
Children’s Health
World Bank data records in 2020 place the infant mortality rate in Bangladesh at 24 per 1,000 births, a relatively high figure when compared to a rate of four per 1,000 births for the U.K. (a considerably more wealthy country) in the same year.
Children in Bangladesh are vulnerable to illness and disease with pneumonia standing as one of the most deadly conditions for infants. Pneumonia accounts for 19% of deaths in children under 5 annually, a 2021 research article by Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman and others says.
Malnutrition is another indicator of child poverty in Bangladesh and massively affects overall health by increasing the risk of disease, stunting growth and raising the risk of infant mortality. One way to measure malnutrition among children is stunting, which refers to children who fail to reach their expected height for their age due to various factors of poor health. According to the Global Nutrition Report, stunting impacted 28% of children under 5 in Bangladesh in 2019.
Access to Water and Sanitation
In 2020, only 58% of Bangladesh’s total population had access to a sufficient handwashing facility with soap and clean water. The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, made poor sanitation provisions much more concerning. The World Bank reports that, in 2020, only 59% of the population had access to “safely managed clean drinking water services.”
The provision of sanitation also impacts education. Across Bangladesh, in 2018, just 50% of primary schools provided gender-segregated toilets for girls to use, which has contributed to 25% of girls skipping school during their menstrual cycles.
In 2018, E. coli bacteria appeared in about 80% of water samples from “private piped water taps,” which is comparable to the rate of contamination in pond water. Poor water quality is particularly dangerous for children as they can easily contract diseases. This emphasizes the importance of ensuring high-quality water provision. WaterAid reports that 3.79 million people in Bangladesh lack access to clean water, 75.4 million people lack access to proper toilet facilities and more than 1,000 children under 5 face diarrhea-related deaths annually as a consequence of unclean water and poor sanitation in the country.
Taking Action
The World Bank launched a Multipurpose Disaster Shelter Project (MDSP) in 2022, which will run until June 2023, focused on providing safe havens for more than 14 million people in coastal regions of Bangladesh that are susceptible to cyclones and floods. The project involved the construction of 552 new shelters in Bangladesh, which will function as primary schools during normal weather conditions. The project also constructed more than 550 kilometers of evacuation roads and renovated 450 already established shelters.
The BRAC, a non-governmental organization based in Bangladesh, initiated its BRAC Education Programme (BEP) more than 30 years ago. The program works to build and operate schools, establish libraries and educational programs and implement a variety of other structural reforms to the education system in Bangladesh. In 2019, the BEP provided education to 3.17 million students in 35,957 schools set up as part of the program. The BRAC partners with charities from across the world to implement its programs in Bangladesh and beyond.
The World Bank approved $200 million in September 2020 for a project to improve access to safe water and sanitation in rural areas of Bangladesh through piped water schemes. The aims of the project look to improve overall access to water, sanitation and hygiene in Bangladesh.
In Dhaka, a Bangladesh city where only 20% of the population has access to a safe sewage system, Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) launched SWEEP, a service that provides residents with safe and sanitary disposal of human waste. The program reduces the spread of disease among the urban poor by abiding by proper health and hygiene measures during the waste removal process.
Through the efforts of several organizations working to combat poverty-related conditions and hold children at the forefront of initiatives, the nation has made strides regarding child poverty in Bangladesh. With continued progress, children in Bangladesh can live an improved quality of life with full access to basic necessities.
– Sophie Sadera
Photo: Flickr
6 Facts About Health Care in the Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR) is a sub-Saharan nation comprising a population of approximately 5.5 million. Its capital is Bangui. Similar to many regions of Africa, the country has poor health care with limited access to clean water and sanitary spaces. Health care in the Central African Republic is in an extremely poor state with the country having a life expectancy of just 55 in 2020. Here are six facts about health and health care in the Central African Republic.
1. Diseases
Common diseases in Africa such as malaria, yellow fever and diarrheal-related diseases exist in CAR. Tropical diseases spread easily through the country with insufficient medical resources. The National Library of Medicine shows that malaria accounts for 40% of all illnesses in the country.
Yellow fever is also prominent in the country, as with much of north and central Africa. Although some action has occurred in the roll-outs of vaccines, with a 2021 UNICEF statistic illustrating that 41% of the population is vaccinated, the country is still far from reaching the 80% threshold which indicates a country’s immunity.
Diarrheal-related illnesses are similarly frequent, particularly in children. Although organizations such as WaterAid have taken action in the construction of clean water pumps, water insecurity provides a constant risk for the country’s majority. A statistic from the National Library of Medicine shows an average of seven episodes per child per year.
2. Children’s Health Care
Life is especially tough for children living in the Central African Republic. Conflict within the region has left many children homeless and without an education. A 2021 UNICEF statistic illustrates that 370,000 children are internally displaced across the country as a result of widespread violence. Civil unrest in the country has forced children to join armed groups or flee their homes. To aid children’s well-being, UNICEF is introducing community-based interventions to support children’s mental health.
3. Malnutrition
UNICEF also helps children formerly a part of armed groups through programs that reunite them with their families. Malnutrition is also very common among children due to a low intake of healthy food. A statistic from UNICEF predicts that a minimum of 24,000 children under the age of 5 will suffer from acute malnutrition. The Central African Republic has one of the least funded childcare health care programs in the world and continues to struggle with this issue.
4. Access to Sanitation and Clean Water
Similarly to much of Africa, access to clean water remains a serious problem in the present day. Despite charitable efforts to introduce water pumps and sanitary spaces, much of the country, especially rural communities, go without the human right of access to clean water.
A statistic from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) shows that only 37% of Central Africans have access to clean water. As a result, the majority of its population have exposure to dirty and germ-infected water for their everyday needs including drinking, washing and cooking. As a result of this frequent intake of dirty water, the country suffers from a high rate of water-borne diseases such as typhoid disease and diarrhea.
5. COVID-19
COVID-19 had severe impacts on underdeveloped countries. With a lack of medical knowledge, the virus spread rapidly across CAR with 15,367 cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).
As a result of the lockdown and school closures, COVID-19 also increased the frequency of gender-based and child abuse. This has resulted in many people suffering mental health issues and requiring psychosocial help.
6. Hospitals
A key reason for the country’s failing health care system is the extreme lack of hospitals and medical facilities. There is one major hospital located in the capital Bangui and a few more around the country. However, these hospitals are low-staffed and poorly equipped to deal with the high number of patients requiring medical attention. Health care in the Central African Republic lacks so much funding that humanitarian organizations provide 70% of health services within the country.
Solutions
Although the current health care system is failing, with help from charities, hope exists for significantly better health care in the Central African Republic. UNICEF has put projects in place for 2023 to improve the quality of health in the country through a humanitarian approach. UNICEF’s programs prioritize children’s protection and set out to provide 140,000 with psychosocial care. In regard to combatting malnutrition, UNICEF plans to provide 60,000 children with medical treatment for this preventable condition.
In response to the low accessibility of drinking water, Concern Worldwide is conducting a project which plans to construct five water well boreholes in Mobaye town to provide people with safe and germ-free drinking water. Combined with the restoration of five damaged water wells, this project will increase the number of people who have access to clean water in Mobaye town by 50%.
Despite the challenges that the health care system is facing in CAR, several organizations are making a difference regarding its population’s health. Through their continued work, hopefully, health and health care will continue to improve in the Central African Republic.
– Freddie Trevanion
Photo: Flickr
Diseases Impacting the Central African Republic
The Central African Republic is one of the poorest nations in Africa, with a GDP of just $2,516.50 in 2021. The nation has a history of engulfment in humanitarian crises and political instability. The ongoing civil war, which began in 2012, detrimentally affected the health care system and increased the prevalence of transmittable diseases impacting the Central African Republic. About 33% of its health facilities are partially damaged and just 22% are operational, according to assessments from 2021. However, organizations are working to strengthen health systems and provide critical health care to the country’s people, particularly in rural areas.
Malaria
Malaria is a life-threatening, tropical disease transmitted to humans via female mosquitoes. It is one of many endemic diseases impacting the Central African Republic, infecting a vast number of people annually. In 2020, malaria impacted 336 people per 1,000.
The civil war between Christian militias and Muslim rebels contributed to the rapid increase in malaria cases and deaths. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) states that malaria cases in Bossangoa increased by more than threefold to 6,507 in May 2014, with children under 5 accounting for close to 66% of infections.
The war displaced thousands of civilians as militias burned and looted villages, leaving villagers without shelter and protection from mosquito-borne infections. A 2012 report by the MSF said approximately 12,000 displaced individuals resided nearby MSF health care projects in Kabo and Batangafo. The CAR government had established an initiative to provide free malaria treatment to children under 5 but it lacked the capacity and resources to properly function.
The MSF is tackling diseases impacting the Central African Republic, like malaria. In 2020, it launched a “mass drug administration” to prevent malaria infections. The organization broadcasted its campaign via local radios and then visited households to distribute anti-malaria treatment to avoid crowded areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. MSF and other international medical humanitarian organizations had provided treatment to 39,631 people in Batangafo.
HIV/AIDS
HIV is one of the most widespread diseases impacting the Central African Republic. In 2021, approximately 83,000 adults and children lived with HIV, UNAIDS says. The disease is controlled using antiretroviral therapy (ART), which involves taking a combination of HIV medicines to stop the virus from replicating.
Marie Charlotte Bantah Sana, the head of the program against communicable diseases at the CAR’s Health and Population Ministry, told MSF in 2020 that 30% of patients who test positive for HIV do not come back to undergo treatment due to financial constraints.
Since 2019, MSF has provided “free medical care and psychological support for patients” with advanced HIV and tuberculosis problems. MSF prioritized advanced care in Bangui, CAR’s capital, where the HIV incidence is double the national average. Outside of Bangui, MSF is prioritizing the treatment of individuals with advanced stages of HIV in Paoua, Carnot, Kabo and Batangafo.
MSF also established community antiretroviral (ARV) groups in several areas, which involve designated community members supplying HIV patients with ARV drug refills. This decreased transport expenditure and allowed people to avoid hospitals where stigma and discrimination are common. By the close of 2020, MSF had established 276 community ARV groups to represent 2,300 HIV-infected individuals.
HIV/AIDS incidence rates in the Central African Republic have declined as more patients received antiretroviral therapy. Between 2016 and 2019, the number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy rose from fewer than 25,000 to more than 47,000.
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is a highly infectious airborne bacterial disease that affects the lungs and is easily transmitted in crowded areas. It is one of many common diseases impacting the Central African Republic. In 2000, the Central African Republic reported 540 tuberculosis cases per 100,000 individuals. This value has remained unchanged from 2000 to 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the CAR’s ability to detect tuberculosis as the country suffered shortages of skilled staff in labs. Fortunately, the World Health Organization (WHO) provided financial and technical support to strengthen the country’s laboratory network.
The WHO helped with the purchase of 11 out of the total 23 GeneXpert machines the Central African Republic received between 2020 and 2021. GeneXpert machines are utilized for instant diagnostic testing and can detect the presence of tuberculosis bacteria in less than two hours. The WHO trained staff on how to install, utilize and maintain the machines. The addition of GeneXpert machines helped laboratories conduct 4,690 tuberculosis tests in 2021 compared to 1,345 tests before the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the efforts of organizations such as MSF and the WHO, the prevalence of diseases impacting the Central African Republic is reducing.
– Dami Kalejaiye
Photo: Flickr
Tackling the Double Burden of Malnutrition in South Africa
Because of recent lifestyle transition and urbanization, South Africa has shown an increase in overnutrition (overweight, obesity) at a global population level while undernutrition among children dangerously persists. Here is some information about the double burden of malnutrition in South Africa.
An Introduction to the Double Burden of Malnutrition in South Africa
South Africa is experiencing the impact of the double burden of malnutrition. The term “double burden” characterizes the state of malnutrition in a country where both undernutrition (and associated micronutrient deficiencies) and overnutrition (overweight and obesity) and nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases (NR-NCDs) exist simultaneously in the population.
The double burden of malnutrition typically occurs in middle-income countries that, just like South Africa, are experiencing rapid economic growth, industrialization and urbanization. Those changes often occur with shifts in dietary patterns, such as a preference for a diet high in fats and salts and low in fiber, which often happens alongside demographic and epidemiologic shifts.
Infants and children are at the most immediate risk as their growth and development are dependent on proper alimentation. The most common side effect of undernutrition in children is stunting. Undernutrition can cause impaired development that can result in irreversible cognitive and physical damage later in life. Overnutrition occurs most frequently among adults and correlates with high blood pressure and cholesterol which are both risk factors for NR-NCDs. If no action occurs, the already considerable economic and social tolls that malnutrition and its associated health burdens have will only worsen.
The Current State of Malnutrition in South Africa
Over the past decades, South Africa has invested and adopted a wide range of nutrition policies in order to improve children’s health. Despite global and national efforts, the country is still not on track to meet most of the Global Nutrition Targets by 2025. The country is undergoing a nutrition shift involving overnutrition that leads to obesity and persisting undernutrition among children. The prevalence of stunting (27% of children under 5) has remained constant over the years and is higher than in other poorer neighboring countries.
Scarce progress has occurred in achieving the diet-related NCD targets with the prevalence of overweight and obesity being on the rise in all age groups with a particularly high prevalence of obesity in adult women (40%). A consequence of the rapid development of the country is the widening of economic and social disparities that include poverty and limited access to resources.
Solutions for Malnutrition in South Africa
As part of its motto “Health for all, Hunger for None,” the pharmaceutical company Bayer has expanded one of its sustainability programs: the Nutrient Gap Initiative. The program initially aimed to expand access to vitamins and minerals to underserved communities. The Nutrient Gap Initiative is now receiving an upgrade so it can provide essential sources of foods such as fruits, grains and vegetables. Bayer is partnering with reach52, a tech company that delivers health services to understudied markets, to train health workers in South Africa. The goal is to teach health workers to collect data – through an app that reach52 created – on nutrition factors to better understand where help is necessary. The health workers then analyze the data to provide targeted supplements to the community.
Another example of a positive initiative was from Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA), a nonprofit organization that aims at improving food security and environmental sustainability where it is the most necessary in Africa. During the COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa, FTFA launched the Grow your Own Initiative and encouraged people to grow their own food by providing an estimated 720,000 seedlings throughout the country. This had a positive outcome as the FTFA was able to offer food during hard times to people in need.
Recommendation for Future Improvements
Despite the fact that useful tools and programs are undergoing development and adoption, the double burden of malnutrition remains a significant issue. The multicausal aspect of malnutrition calls for a coordinated intergovernmental action plan that looks into all aspects (economic, agricultural, social…) of the issue. It is crucial to also take into account the lifestyle and nutrition shifts that drive the malnutrition epidemic in South Africa. Policies targeting the supply-demand side of malnutrition are necessary to address the double burden of malnutrition.
– Raphaelle Copin
Photo: Unsplash
Free Money to Decrease Poverty in Africa
In order to combat poverty in Africa in 2012, the government of Niger began giving monthly payments to more than 100,000 families in poverty. A payment of approximately 9880 XOF ($16 USD) went into their bank accounts every month for two years, which more than doubled each household’s usual budget. The government opted to conduct this experiment based on past trials that proved that receiving sums of money was extremely helpful to households in poverty. The outcome of this experiment was that, when individuals in poverty received free money, they had more time and were able to find productive ways to spend it.
Experiments in Universal Basic Income (UBI)
Today, this experiment has become a precursor to more than 200 trials in 75 countries to provide monetary support to those in poverty. These science-backed trials began in the 1990s, where researchers randomly distributed different types of payment (i.e. credit for a textbook or direct cash) in order to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of each type of payment that every household will find most beneficial. This proposal became “universal basic income” (UBI), where households of a given country consistently receive a set amount of money on top of their current wage. Economist Tavneet Suri explains that this extra income “can [allow individuals to] invest in riskier things because they have their basic needs taken care of.”
These experiments are similarly occurring in Kenya, where the charity GiveDirectly is funding a monthly allowance of 2,250 Kenyan shillings to more than 21,000 people. Each individual receives a phone that dings on the first day of the month to alert them that money went into their account–and it will continue to ding for 12 more years.
GiveDirectly
GiveDirectly is a nonprofit organization that began in 2009 with the purpose of sending money directly to those who need it via their phone, focusing on Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. It is working to end the stigma that people in poverty use money that they receive for alcohol, and instead provide evidence that this money creates a more productive society. Since its conception, GiveDirectly has given more than $580 million to 1 million individuals in poverty.
Measurable Outcomes of UBI in Africa
Science has proven that providing a steady income for those in poverty is extremely beneficial. Not only do they become more productive, but they are able to work and enjoy their time without worrying about choosing if they will pay rent or eat. Here are some examples of why this tactic has been extremely beneficial when confronting poverty in Africa.
UBI could be one of the largest stepping stones to ending poverty if more countries take interest in it, already showing its effect on poverty in Africa in multiple different countries. With the implementation of this proposal, countries could find themselves with a healthier, happier and more educated population.
– Aspen Oblewski
Photo: Flickr
Education and Digital Inclusion for Young People in Africa
The LIFE Program (Life Skills, ICT, Financial, Entrepreneurship), which Paradigm Initiative established, seeks to bridge the digital divide by providing young people in Africa with relevant ICT skills, such as coding, programming and digital marketing. Here is some information about Paradigm Initiative and the LIFE Program.
About Paradigm Initiative
Paradigm Initiative is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to empower young people in Africa through digital inclusion and advocacy. The organization originated in Nigeria in 2007 and has since expanded to other African countries including Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.
The Paradigm Initiative’s main focus is on digital rights advocacy, digital inclusion and digital entrepreneurship. They work to promote policies and practices that protect and expand digital rights for individuals and communities, as well as to provide access to digital skills and technology for underprivileged youth. Additionally, the organization runs various programs and initiatives aimed at supporting the growth of digital entrepreneurship and innovation in Africa.
The LIFE Program
The LIFE Program, which Paradigm Initiative founded, equips young people with entrepreneurial and life skills to help them create and manage their own businesses successfully. By doing so, the program aims to empower young people to become self-sufficient and competitive in the job market.
The LIFE Program recognizes the importance of reaching young people where they are and as such, it has developed a range of innovative approaches to training, including mobile classrooms and online training platforms. The program also works closely with local communities and partners to ensure that training is relevant to local needs.
Overall, the LIFE Program is an essential initiative that is contributing to digital inclusion and economic empowerment in Africa. By equipping young people with essential digital, life and business skills, the program is creating a generation of young Africans who are better prepared to take advantage of the opportunities of this new digital age.
The Reasons the LIFE Program is Necessary
According to the United Nations, “Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70% of sub-Saharan Africa under the age of 30.” This presents a significant opportunity for the development of the ICT sector in Africa, as young people are often early adopters of technology. Despite the growth of the ICT sector in Africa, there remains a significant skills gap in the region.
Overall, while there are significant opportunities for the development of the ICT sector in Africa, there are also challenges that need to be addressed, including the skills gap. The goal of the LIFE Program is to empower young Africans to become leaders in their communities and to create a more prosperous and profitable future for themselves and their families. By providing access to education and digital aid, the program is helping to build a more sustainable Africa.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays a significant role in empowering youth in Africa. Here are some ways ICT can benefit young people in Africa.
Ways ICT Can Benefit African Youth
Looking Ahead
In conclusion, ICT plays a crucial role in the lives of African youths. It has an impact on education, employment, entrepreneurship, communication, networking and innovation. Therefore, it is essential to invest in ICT infrastructure and NGOs like the Paradigm Initiative and its LIFE Program to empower African youths and support their development.
– Lauryn Defreitas
Photo: Flickr
Nigeria’s Presidential Election Brings Hope
New Presidency Brings Hope
Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress party and former governor of Lagos State located in Southwestern Nigeria will take leadership of a country overrun with Islamist insurgents, conflict between livestock herders and farmers, armed attacks, kidnappings and shortages of electricity and fuel. Not to mention, the currency crisis that is contributing heavily to poverty and uproar.
According to NBC News, citizens feel that the previous ruling party had failed to handle the aforementioned issues in the past, making this election incredibly important for Nigeria’s governmental and economic systems. Tinubu, hoping to gain votes from his previous successes as governor, ran on the pretense of reducing crime and cleaning up Nigeria overall.
The 2023 Nigerian currency crisis arose when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) “redesigned the higher denomination notes — 200, 500 and 1,000 naira — to replace the dirty cash in circulation, to tackle inflation, curb counterfeiting and promote a cashless society,” the BBC reports.
Additionally, the redesign was meant to redistribute money hoarded by individuals and organizations into Nigeria’s financial system by requiring citizens to hand in old banknotes in exchange for the new currency. This new government-endorsed monetary system precipitated major protests leading up to the already tense election.
Poverty in Nigeria
Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics reported that in 2021, 63% of persons in Nigeria, equating to 133 million people, lived in conditions of multidimensional poverty.
According to a 2022 report from the World Bank, approximately about 40% of Nigerians live under the national poverty line of $381.75 per year. In Northern Nigeria, which has a much lower population density than Southern Nigeria, many people lack access to basic infrastructure like clean water, electricity and access to education.
Amid the uncertainty of what lies ahead with the reign of a new presidency, organizations are working to combat poverty in the nation. The Lagos Food Bank Initiative works to address hunger, food waste and malnutrition in Lagos State by establishing programs. The programs include a school feeding initiative, nutritious food interventions for mothers and children and family farming programs. Since 2015, the nonprofit “has served up to 160 rural and under-served communities in Lagos State and [more than 2 million] beneficiaries, especially, children between the ages of 0-16 years, the youths and vulnerable women in the rural communities.”
Looking Ahead
Tinubu’s plan for Nigeria includes using the previous president’s public infrastructure initiative to create more employment opportunities in the country. Tinubu will also close tax loopholes and lower corporate tax rates to encourage investments. “A popular fuel subsidy, which cost $10 billion last year and is driving up debt, will be phased out and the money channeled to infrastructure, agricultural and social welfare,” Reuters reports.
To address escalating rates of violence and kidnappings in the nation, Tinubu plans to strengthen soldier and police forces by increasing numbers, raising pay and better equipping these groups. He also wants to establish an organized task force to tackle terrorism and armed gangs specifically.
Tinubu, as the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election, has developed plans to strengthen the economy and uplift the impoverished while addressing other critical issues that prevent the nation from flourishing. Despite several issues impacting Nigeria, there is hope that Tinubu’s previous work of 23 years in Lagos State, though at a much smaller scale, will have similar success at a nationwide level.
– Stella Tirone
Photo: Flickr
Eradicating Sleeping Sickness in Ghana
The World Health Organization (WHO) has commended Ghana for its tremendous and successful efforts in eliminating a number of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The country has gotten extremely close to eradicating sleeping sickness, or human African trypanosomosis, a parasitic disease transmitted to humans through tsetse flies. Ghana has been following a global plan to try to eliminate all neglected tropical diseases by 2030 and has found recent success in eliminating three of the 20 most common tropical diseases.
About Sleeping Sickness
Sleeping sickness, which is a parasitic disease that infected tsetse flies carry, is an epidemic in 36 African countries. If not treated, the condition is almost always fatal. Sleeping sickness disproportionately affects those who live in rural areas because the residents of those areas rely heavily on agriculture, fishing and hunting, which exposes them to these infected flies. Once someone has sleeping sickness, those infected experience fevers, headaches, enlarged lymph nodes, pain in their joints and itching during the early stages of infection. If left untreated, sleeping sickness begins to affect the central nervous system. This begins to affect the patient’s neurological condition where they start to lose coordination, see changes in behavior and personality, confusion and the symptom where the disease gets its name, an interrupted sleep cycle.
Ghana’s Success
Many, including the World Health Organization (WHO), have commended the success that Ghana has had in eliminating sleeping sickness. Ghana has eliminated sleeping sickness while also successfully eradicating two other neglected tropical diseases, guinea worm disease and trachoma. The World Health Organization director-general Dr. Tedros Adhomnom Ghebreyesus commended the government and health workers, saying “This is a historic achievement, proving once again that with dedication and teamwork, we can,” on Twitter.
The fight to eliminate these neglected tropical diseases was elevated when more funding was provided after there was a sharp decline in those receiving proper drugs to help prevent these tropical diseases from 2019 to 2020, where they saw a 34% decline. Ghana received around 19 billion units of medicine and more than $1 billion through foundations in order to help eradicate these diseases.
The Importance
The president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, said in a statement in regard to the benefits of investing in programs that help alleviate these diseases that these programs, “leads to better education, health and employment outcomes, an Africa free from neglected tropical diseases is possible.” Making sure that these programs exist to help fund proper medicine to help fight these diseases while also providing proper education and awareness about these illnesses in order to counteract the stigma associated with them. President Akufo-Addo also explained the domino effect that these programs have, saying, “it leads to better education, health, and employment outcomes, and transforms lives and communities.” These programs help alleviate the hardships that these diseases cause on the people while also having everlasting impacts on these areas for the better.
– Olivia MacGregor
Photo: Flickr
The Inventor Who is Improving Food Safety in Ethiopia
SafeDish is an Ethiopian company behind an award-winning, innovative product that inventor Helen Weldemichael created. Targeted toward making it easier for a local Ethiopian banana-esque plant to undergo processing for consumption, the product helps improve food safety in Ethiopia as a way of combating food insecurity and malnutrition. While doing so, Weldemichael is also empowering female entrepreneurship in Ethiopia.
Foodborne Illnesses in Ethiopia
Foodborne illnesses are of very big concern in countries like Ethiopia. As one of the poorest countries in the world, Ethiopia’s citizens are susceptible to foodborne illnesses. With an economy dependent on agriculture, foodborne illnesses are of particular concern in Ethiopia.
According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, foodborne illnesses have a greater impact in lower-income countries like Ethiopia. These types of illnesses in Ethiopia have a strong resistance to antibiotics, making it hard for people to receive treatment for them. This alone makes food safety in Ethiopia a top priority.
Also worsening the problem of food safety in Ethiopia is how food choice for some is dependent on whether or not they perceive their food sources as clean. A study of adolescent food choices in Ethiopia by CGIAR found that unaffordable, unavailable and unsanitary food choices may lead to more children eating packaged food, which is not good for their health.
The Potential of Enset
Enset is one Ethiopian plant that people use in the production of traditional foods. Dubbed the “false banana,” Enset is a solution to food insecurity in Ethiopia and the world. Merely 15 enset plants can feed one person for a year, according to Kew Gardens.
Despite this potential, harvesting enset is particularly challenging, especially in some regions of Ethiopia. USAID reports that women tasked with harvesting the plant often do so with their bare hands and feet, which is a risk factor for foodborne illnesses. Enset must also undergo fermentation to make it edible, a process that usually takes nearly a year.
Weldemichael’s Solution
Weldemichael created an enset fermentation pot and machine via her company SafeDish as a way of making the enset harvesting process easier. The product speeds up the fermentation process to allow the enset to become edible sooner. It also promotes a more hygienic fermentation process since her fermentation method uses peat, as opposed to the ground, where people often leave the enset plant to ferment.
She submitted her invention to USAID’s “Feed the Future EatSafe Innovation Challenge” with the intention of sharing her invention with people beyond her country. Her invention was successful, winning the $10,000 grand prize.
With her prize money, Weldemichael plans on expanding SafeDish and her enset product. USAID says she plans to “scale her business by seeking investors, selling other food products across Africa, and trademarking her innovation in Ethiopia and other African countries.”
Weldemichael also mentioned education as a priority, stating that people can change their communities if they receive an education. As a female inventor herself, Weldemichael emphasizes women’s empowerment in her work. Of the total of four SafeDish employees, two are women. Products like Weldemichael’s invention and companies like SafeDish continue to prove why local businesses can find some solutions to issues relating to poverty.
– Mohammad Samhouri
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
Fighting Poverty in Ethiopia
The nationwide famine in the 1980s and the genocide in the Tigray region have plummeted Ethiopians into extreme poverty and put the country at the center of international media attention only temporarily. In 2015, more than 23 million people lived below the poverty line and the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened the challenging conditions. Civil War, poor health and social services and passive ignorance from the international community have reinforced families’ constant economic struggle and disrupted efforts of fighting poverty in Ethiopia. Despite the efforts to drive record economic growth and industrial advancement, more than 5 million people are still in need of aid in the Tigray region.
How USAID is Dealing With the Issue
To address this problem, USAID funded Livelihoods for Resilience (L4R) through the Feed the Future initiative, a five-year project that helps the government of Ethiopia solve chronic food insecurity through sustainable solutions.
L4R builds on the practices of its predecessor program, Graduation with Resilience to Achieve Sustainable Development (GRAD). This program provides Ethiopian households with agricultural and financial skills, loans and startup capital to fight extreme poverty in the country. The program has reached more than 97,000 households in Ethiopia. Furthermore, L4R encourages families to join the government’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) with the generous support of USAID’s Feed the Future program. PSNP gives access to participants to microfinance, means to improve on – and off–farm productivity, and enhance links to markets. The program also advocates for women’s empowerment and improved nutritional practices, which proved to be important in to fight against poverty.
Village Economic and Social Associations (VESAs), which local villagers established, further support the beneficiaries through diverse strategies, that focus on gender equity issues, financial literacy, nutrition and resilience towards climate change. USAID published a report in 2015 that stated that GRAD is the most cost-effective investment they have prosecuted in Ethiopia, with an 84% increase in family income and a 40% reduction in weather-related crop loss, according to CARE.
Personal Experiences
Feed the Future documented a lot of personal stories during the duration of the program showing the success of L4R. Wondater Agajalew, who joined Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Program years ago, says how much he profited in a short period and went from extreme poverty to making decent revenue from shoat fattening. The skills he acquired from the USAID-funded programs have encouraged him to escape hardship due to recurrent crop loss because of unpredictable weather.
Another inspiring story describes how Menze Gera’s and her family’s life transformed through L4R. Now their children can enjoy a more nutritiotious diet and a fulfilling and secure social life. Similar stories demonstrate how these programs have entirely changed the lives of ordinary people, given hope for the better and subsequently enhanced measures for fighting poverty in Ethiopia.
These people’s participation in the L4R activity for the past couple of years has generated many positive changes. They have received training on the knowledge and skills necessary for financial decisions and improved practices in agriculture, poultry and gender equity.
L4R serves as a model for a successful effort in tackling such a complex issue, such as fighting poverty in Ethiopia and further demonstrates the need for strategic financial foreign aid and thorough media coverage of the matter. By launching the Feed the Future initiative in Ethiopia, the U.S. Government has invested in improving food security, expediting economic growth opportunities and building resilience. It has modernized agriculture and established various national-level development strategies that support Ethiopia’s goal to “become a prosperous, middle-income country by 2025.”
– Nino Basaria
Photo: Flickr