On May 12, 2022, the president of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un, made a public appearance. For the first time, he was wearing a mask. The world took even greater surprise when he declared that North Korea was under its first lockdown. This calls into question: what is COVID-19’s impact on North Korea?
Isolated From the Rest of the Globe
Prior to this announcement, North Korean officials claimed that not a single case of Coronavirus had entered their country. The nation, isolated from the rest of the globe, has previously endured life-threatening conditions. Recently, after a severe flood, North Korea has faced its most intense food shortage in the past decade. What’s more, its already limited healthcare system has deteriorated and left millions of people without adequate care.
Many question the accuracy of disease data. As a closed-off country, journalists find it very difficult to paint the full picture of North Korea. For instance, researchers were unaware of the 1990s North Korean famine until its aftermath, when survivors told their famine stories.
Draconian Lockdowns
Professor Park Won-gon, from the Department of North Korean Studies at Ewha Woman University predicted that North Korea could “institute draconian measures to those of its biggest ally, China,” according to VOA News. This meant strict lockdowns confining people to their homes, workplaces and dorms. Unlike China, though, North Korea doesn’t have the basic food supplies that China has to enforce such extreme restrictions. Consequently, thousands of people in North Korea are starving to death under this new lockdown protocol. Citizens could not access new harvests or markets which further strangled the economy.
The lockdown also stymied other solutions proposed by organizations. Particularly, the lack of mobility severed communication with international agencies. COVID-19’s impact on North Korea has, thus, proved massive. Medical resources and help have been inaccessible due to such stringent lockdowns.
Herbal Medicine: Fix or Fallacy?
Without vaccines, North Korea has resorted to herbal solutions. KCNA recently reported that “Thousands of tonnes of salt were urgently transported to Pyongyang city.” North Korea will use salt to produce an antiseptic remedy — in place of vaccines. Shanghai also transported millions of traditional medicines like herbal remedies and flu capsules to address COVID-19 in North Korea.
Unfortunately, these have no scientific grounding. Citizens have been drinking teas, salt water and even taking antibiotics. However, due to mass famines, many North Koreans have weak immune systems.
It’s unclear if this has worked. The treatments are approved by the DPRK, which develops methods for “scientifically controlling the spread of the…virus.”
Before these herbal treatments, North Korea reached around 400,000 cases daily. Recently, it reported “about 17,000 to 30,000 new fever cases.” Many experts believe North Korea is manipulating health data to shield itself against geopolitical consequences. Yet if it isn’t manipulating data, these herbal remedies may help mitigate COVID-19’s impact on North Korea.
Necessary Compromises
So far, North Korea has rejected most international help. Aid agencies have opened their doors to provide the nation with the necessary medical resources. Kim Jong-Un twice denied vaccines from Covax, according to The Washington Post. South Korea and the U.S., too, have asserted that they are open to providing aid. Nonetheless, North Korean elites continue to prioritize geopolitical leverage over the health of their constituents. It remains unclear whether North Korea will accept aid and scientifically proven disease resources from other countries.
Looking Forward: The Broader Picture
North Korea’s sudden outbreak demonstrates that the COVID-19 pandemic is not nearing an end. While the U.S. and other major nations are equipped with a “vaccine arsenal,” other countries are not as fortunate.
As of May 18, 2022, one report found that fewer than 13% of people in low-income countries are vaccinated. With such low rates, COVID-19’s impact on North Korea and developing countries is disproportionately larger than developed nations.
These concerns are urgent. Officials in Geneva told reporters that “uncontrolled transmission of the virus” in developing countries could give rise to new COVID-19 variants, The New York Times reports. North Korea, for example, could be a new variant’s breeding base.
Although North Korea hasn’t accepted aid from many countries, it seems to be getting health resources from China as of May 30, 2022. However, if the outbreak becomes too severe, North Korea will always have the open arms of the U.S. and U.N. to provide assistance.
– Ashwin Telang
Photo: Flickr
COVID-19’s impact on North Korea
Isolated From the Rest of the Globe
Prior to this announcement, North Korean officials claimed that not a single case of Coronavirus had entered their country. The nation, isolated from the rest of the globe, has previously endured life-threatening conditions. Recently, after a severe flood, North Korea has faced its most intense food shortage in the past decade. What’s more, its already limited healthcare system has deteriorated and left millions of people without adequate care.
Many question the accuracy of disease data. As a closed-off country, journalists find it very difficult to paint the full picture of North Korea. For instance, researchers were unaware of the 1990s North Korean famine until its aftermath, when survivors told their famine stories.
Draconian Lockdowns
Professor Park Won-gon, from the Department of North Korean Studies at Ewha Woman University predicted that North Korea could “institute draconian measures to those of its biggest ally, China,” according to VOA News. This meant strict lockdowns confining people to their homes, workplaces and dorms. Unlike China, though, North Korea doesn’t have the basic food supplies that China has to enforce such extreme restrictions. Consequently, thousands of people in North Korea are starving to death under this new lockdown protocol. Citizens could not access new harvests or markets which further strangled the economy.
The lockdown also stymied other solutions proposed by organizations. Particularly, the lack of mobility severed communication with international agencies. COVID-19’s impact on North Korea has, thus, proved massive. Medical resources and help have been inaccessible due to such stringent lockdowns.
Herbal Medicine: Fix or Fallacy?
Without vaccines, North Korea has resorted to herbal solutions. KCNA recently reported that “Thousands of tonnes of salt were urgently transported to Pyongyang city.” North Korea will use salt to produce an antiseptic remedy — in place of vaccines. Shanghai also transported millions of traditional medicines like herbal remedies and flu capsules to address COVID-19 in North Korea.
Unfortunately, these have no scientific grounding. Citizens have been drinking teas, salt water and even taking antibiotics. However, due to mass famines, many North Koreans have weak immune systems.
It’s unclear if this has worked. The treatments are approved by the DPRK, which develops methods for “scientifically controlling the spread of the…virus.”
Before these herbal treatments, North Korea reached around 400,000 cases daily. Recently, it reported “about 17,000 to 30,000 new fever cases.” Many experts believe North Korea is manipulating health data to shield itself against geopolitical consequences. Yet if it isn’t manipulating data, these herbal remedies may help mitigate COVID-19’s impact on North Korea.
Necessary Compromises
So far, North Korea has rejected most international help. Aid agencies have opened their doors to provide the nation with the necessary medical resources. Kim Jong-Un twice denied vaccines from Covax, according to The Washington Post. South Korea and the U.S., too, have asserted that they are open to providing aid. Nonetheless, North Korean elites continue to prioritize geopolitical leverage over the health of their constituents. It remains unclear whether North Korea will accept aid and scientifically proven disease resources from other countries.
Looking Forward: The Broader Picture
North Korea’s sudden outbreak demonstrates that the COVID-19 pandemic is not nearing an end. While the U.S. and other major nations are equipped with a “vaccine arsenal,” other countries are not as fortunate.
As of May 18, 2022, one report found that fewer than 13% of people in low-income countries are vaccinated. With such low rates, COVID-19’s impact on North Korea and developing countries is disproportionately larger than developed nations.
These concerns are urgent. Officials in Geneva told reporters that “uncontrolled transmission of the virus” in developing countries could give rise to new COVID-19 variants, The New York Times reports. North Korea, for example, could be a new variant’s breeding base.
Although North Korea hasn’t accepted aid from many countries, it seems to be getting health resources from China as of May 30, 2022. However, if the outbreak becomes too severe, North Korea will always have the open arms of the U.S. and U.N. to provide assistance.
– Ashwin Telang
Photo: Flickr
Forests and Families: USAID Programs in Brazil
Having existed for more than 60 years, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has close and successful ties with the Brazilian government. The cooperation between the two institutions has taken on a variety of forms, including health, poverty and emergency relief. In particular, its focus on combating deforestation in the Amazon and its effort in fighting COVID-19 are noteworthy as lasting successes. These efforts speak to the dynamic nature of USAID programs in Brazil and the multiple roles they can embody.
Preserving the Amazon Rainforest
One of the primary roles of USAID in Brazil is working to preserve the Amazon rainforest. Although it is the largest source of biodiversity in the world, it is under threat from groups looking to extract its abundant natural resources. The organization works closely with the Brazilian government to give those living near the Amazon the tools to sustainably use its materials and prevent incidents like forest fires.
A possible concern of the project is that it harms local businesses. However, USAID works to combine environmental and economic sustainability. Critics of these conservation efforts in the Amazon include Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, who has said that the environmental regulations are “biased against agriculture and economic development.” However, USAID programs in Brazil show that both goals can coexist. These programs look to “ensure the integrity and conservation of the Brazilian Amazon ecosystem over the next 20 years” while also protecting economic viability, according to USAID. USAID does this by providing grants to sustainable local businesses and promoting private sector involvement in conservation. By focusing on sustainable economic growth, USAID lifts many in Brazil’s poorest region out of poverty while ensuring that their businesses are viable in the long term.
Mitigating the Impacts of the Pandemic
In addition, USAID programs in Brazil played an important part in mitigating the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. In February 2021, USAID spent upwards of $2.1 million on relief, garnering an additional $3.5 million from the private sector. The program also distributed hundreds of thousands of masks, trained health professionals and worked to mitigate the economic impacts of the virus. Given that Brazil is the third country based on the case fatality ratio cases and has the largest death rate per 100,000 people, USAID’s relief spending targeted one of the most Coronavirus-afflicted countries in the world.
An essential part of the USAID’s COVID-19 relief plan for Brazil involves providing long-term medical assistance. Focusing primarily on the poorest region of the country, the northeast, USAID shipped more than 200 ventilators to Brazil at a time when ventilators were still highly scarce. Supplements to the ventilators included a field hospital in Bacanal, Maranhão as well as stretchers, beds and supplies. In doing so, USAID ensured that its operation would be effective in the short term, but equipped health officials in the region with the tools to combat future coronavirus surges.
Mitigating the Impact of Heavy Rainfall
USAID programs in Brazil also work to mitigate the impact of sudden crises. In February 2022, heavy rainfall affected nearly 800,000 people, displacing more than 73,000 in the state of Bahia. USAID responded by sending $100,000 in relief to the affected areas and providing temporary shelter and emergency supplies to the region. Given Bahia is one of the country’s largest and poorest states, the emergency aid prevents thousands of permanent displacements and economic upheaval.
Other forms of emergency aid include food, financial and job opportunities for Venezuelans migrating following the country’s economic collapse in 2014. This aid ensures that Venezuelans entering Brazil do not stay in poverty, while also alleviating the strain that such a massive migration places on the local economy.
In this light, the various forms of aid provided by the United States encompass a changing approach to international assistance and soft power. Through ecological, economic and emergency relief, USAID programs in Brazil have shown how to gradually adapt to the needs of a developing nation as well as immediate issues. It also shows how the successful implementation of aid is possible at both a large regional level and the smaller local level.
– Samuel Bowles
Photo: Flickr
Fighting Human Trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago
As of the 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report, Trinidad and Tobago remains on the Tier 2 watch list for human trafficking. Refugees from Venezuela and other migrants from South America are the primary victims of human trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago, facilitated by members of the Trinidadian coast guard and customs office. The crisis in Venezuela has caused a large number of Venezuelan refugees to seek shelter, whether permanent or temporary, in Trinidad.
Cultural and language barriers make finding employment or housing incredibly difficult for refugees. This is making them prime victims of human trafficking schemes. Most commonly, traffickers sell these victims into sex slavery, “or forced labor in domestic service and the retail sector,” according to the U.S. Department of State.
Fortunately, the government is increasing its efforts to fight human trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago. Between 2017 and 2020, the Counter Trafficking Unit in Trinidad has investigated 125 cases of human trafficking in total, with the majority of these being sex trafficking. Simultaneously, United Nations Agency IOM is aiding the government of Trinidad and Tobago in improving the lives of victims.
Government’s Efforts
The U.S. Department of State has identified Trinidad and Tobago as a Tier 2 watchlist country for human trafficking. Tier 2 watchlist countries are countries that, while not fully meeting the standards of the Trafficking Violence Protection Act to eliminate trafficking, are making significant efforts to do so.
In 2011, the government of Trinidad and Tobago passed the Trafficking in Persons Act. The act is criminalizing labor and sex trafficking with minimum sentences of 15 years, the U.S. Department of State reported. The government has prosecuted 14 traffickers since 2011, though the courts have not convicted a single trafficker under the law in that timespan. The government underwent legal system reforms in 2019 to address the backlog of cases. It opened five new courts with divisions specializing in human trafficking cases to make the system more efficient, according to the U.S. Department of State.
Trinidad and Tobago also created the Counter Trafficking Unit or CTU. It solely dedicates its time to investigating, stopping and prosecuting human trafficking in Trinidad. While this unit suffers from budget and personnel constraints, it still demonstrates a commitment to ending human trafficking.
Trinidad and Tobago improved its training and education for officers dealing with human trafficking. “The CTU produced a Pocket Guide for Frontline Officers” to aid in identifying victims of human trafficking, the U.S. Department of State reports. The government also implemented important, though limited, screening procedures for immigrants to identify those at high risk of human trafficking. By undergoing this screening, immigrants also gain access to programs such as translation services and English as a Second Language class.
United Nations Agency Efforts
The International Organization for Migrants, or IOM, is a United Nations Agency that provides services and advice to the government and migrants alike concerning migration. The IOM has been advocating and providing services to victims of human trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago for multiple years.
The IOM provides services including “accommodation, emergency assistance, medical health services, vocational training and psychosocial support.” In one case, the IOM even advocated for the release of a victim of human trafficking who was arrested after fleeing her captors.
Additionally, the IOM provides specialized help to foreigners who become victims of human trafficking. It is working to break down cultural and language barriers that prevent victims from receiving the help they need. The IOM has urged the government of Trinidad and Tobago to continue ramping up its efforts to fight human trafficking. It has also pledged its support and cooperation if needed.
Next Steps
In 2021, the U.S. Department of State published recommendations to the Trinidadian government in the fight against human trafficking in Trinidad, including:
In implementing these reforms, the government can adequately protect both foreigners and nationals and prove it is serious about fighting human trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago.
Human trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago is a serious issue. Vulnerable refugees from Venezuela continue to come into the country in large numbers and traffickers continue to prey on them. Fortunately, with the help of the IOM, Trinidad and Tobago is working to fight this issue. There is no sign that the government will relax its response to trafficking, continuing to implement best practices and work to solve the problem.
– Benjamin Brown
Photo: Flickr
Addressing Child Poverty in Afghanistan
According to UNICEF, more than 50% of Afghanistan’s people (24.4 million) require humanitarian aid, including 12.9 million Afghan children. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Taliban takeover following the U.S. withdrawal from the country have only aggravated child poverty in Afghanistan.
An Overview of Child Poverty in Afghanistan
In August 2021, UNICEF Afghanistan representative, Hervé Ludovic De Lys, described the situation of child poverty in Afghanistan as “A child protection crisis in a country already one of the worst places on earth to be a child.” Child poverty in Afghanistan has been prevalent for decades, as a result of conflicts, violence and instability.
Child poverty can have lifelong consequences for children, including a loss of opportunities. Considering that more than 50% of Afghanistan’s population is younger than 18, it is imperative to measure child poverty. In particular, measuring multidimensional poverty is important because it takes into account monetary poverty along with the “other aspects of well-being and the fulfillment of human rights and child rights.”
Based on data from 2016-2017, the Afghanistan Multidimensional Poverty Index (A-MPI) indicated that more than 56% of Afghan children between the ages of 0 and 17 endured multidimensional poverty. Additionally, according to Al Jazeera, by November 2021, 3 million Afghan children under the age of 5 faced the risk of starvation.
Economic Impacts After US Withdrawal
According to statistics from World Bank in 2020, Afghanistan stood as the sixth most impoverished country in the world based on its gross national income per capita of $500. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the power transition to the Taliban, the Afghanistan economy began to collapse drastically in August 2021.
After the Taliban took over the Afghanistan government in 2021, countries, including the United States, cut off foreign aid to the nation. Because the economy of Afghanistan primarily revolved around foreign aid (75%), the country could not manage to maintain economic stability without any financial support.
Effects of Child Labor
A survey published in February 2022 by Save the Children analyzed “1,400 households across seven provinces of Afghanistan.” The survey shows that 82% of Afghans endured losses of income after the Taliban came into power. As a result of these financial difficulties, 18% of households had to push their children into child labor — an estimated 1 million children are now in child labor in Afghanistan.
Afghan child laborers work “in the home-based carpet industry; as bonded labor in brick kilns; in the metal industry as tinsmiths and welders; in mines; in agriculture and on the streets as vendors, shoe shiners and beggars.” Poor working conditions jeopardize both the health and safety of these children. The consequences of child labor have lifelong impacts that affect children mentally and physically, restricting their fundamental rights and threatening their futures.
Education
Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children, highlighted the risk of the absence of child education in September 2020: “Children who lose out on education are more likely to be forced into child labor or early marriage and be trapped in a cycle of poverty for years to come.”
A 2018 UNICEF report indicates that an estimated 3.7 million Afghan children are out of school. However, since the Taliban takeover, in particular, tens of thousands of Afghan girls have lost their educational opportunities. Despite the Taliban’s promise at the beginning of its rule of allowing education for women and girls, on March 22, 2022, Afghan girls older than 12 had to return home — the Taliban shut down these girls’ schools until further notice.
Humanitarian Aid to Reduce Child Poverty in Afghanistan
In December 2021, UNICEF launched its largest single-country appeal of $2 billion for aid to Afghanistan. The aid aims to supply “water, sanitation, nutrition, education, health and protection services” to about 12.9 million Afghan children in desperate need of help.
UNICEF has provided assistance to Afghanistan for more than 70 years and recently scaled up its programs for women and children. UNICEF has also scaled up its child protection response by “providing child-friendly spaces and psychosocial support to children and their caregivers or parents.”
Considering the humanitarian crisis since the Taliban takeover, many countries reinstituted aid to Afghanistan. In March 2022, the United States government announced $204 million of further humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, “bringing the total amount [to] more than $720 million since August 2021.” This funding will support scaled-up humanitarian initiatives of organizations such as UNICEF.
Although the issue of child poverty in Afghanistan is longstanding, with adequate foreign humanitarian aid and the help of international communities, the prospect of reducing child poverty in Afghanistan is optimistic.
– Youngwook Chun
Photo: Unsplash
The Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Albania
The 2020 pandemic lockdowns hit Albania, a nation still struggling to cope with the effects of a once-in-a-century earthquake from just the year before, extremely hard. The impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Albania resulted in acute economic and social challenges but targeted fiscal policies and international aid suggest a hopeful future for the Balkan state.
Impact on the Most Vulnerable Sectors
Albania’s economy relies heavily on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which comprise more than 85% of the private sector’s formal employment. Its reduced size increased its fragility in the face of the earthquake and the pandemic made it difficult for MSMEs to access loans and use insurance policies. MSMEs’ hardships meant a significant drop in tax returns for the government and increased unemployment in the lower socio-economic sectors.
In 2019, one-third of the Albanian population lived on less than $5.50 a day, making it the nation with the highest rate of poverty out of all the Western Balkan states. COVID-19 ended up increasing the poverty rate by 4%, which is equivalent to additional 112,000 people living in poverty.
The impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Albania is especially hard for women. Not only did more women face an increase in unpaid domestic labor compared to men, but 97.5% of women-led firms are in the MSME category, Financial Protection Forum reports. In addition, a 2020 U.N. Women report found that women between 25-44 years old living in urban areas were at the highest risk of unemployment.
International Response
This dual economic and social blow to women’s livelihoods required urgent action to prevent this vulnerable group from falling into long-term unemployment. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) addressed the issue of the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Albania through a series of small projects for women in Tirana and other municipalities. The projects also targeted the promotion of equal family gender roles along with measures to combat domestic violence and offer psychological support to victims.
The UNDP aided other at-risk groups as well. From teletherapy services for disabled persons to employment promotion for ethnic minorities, the UNDP provided localized efforts to address problems raised by the pandemic.
The French Agency for Development (AFD) also continued its projects to increase Albanian women’s access to economic opportunities and further the fight for gender equality. The AFD’s foreign aid is part of an initiative to lead Albania towards fulfilling the social criteria needed for entry into the EU.
Albania’s cultural sector also needs help to recover from the impact of COVID-19. Lockdowns and travel restrictions gravely damaged the industry as it relies heavily on events and tourism. Along with MSMEs, the cultural sector plays a significant role in the economy, generating 2.95% of Albania’s GDP.
Wide-Reaching Solutions
These severe impacts on two of Albania’s most lucrative sectors, MSMEs and culture, needed to be curbed as soon as possible while addressing the state’s high pre-pandemic poverty rate. The Albanian government thus implemented a fiscal stimulus of about 3.5% of its gross domestic product (GDP). Through welfare support, tax relief and credit schemes the government alleviated the burden on the private sector and policies on credit installments curtailed impacts on new businesses.
Only 18% of Albanian firms reported using digital platforms to adapt to the pandemic, suggesting that the government efforts were the primary aid to alleviate the pandemic’s impact. The cultural sector, however, stands out. The Ministry of Culture founded the National Digitalization Center. Apart from that, 87.5% of institutions and enterprises in the cultural sector reported moving part of their business to virtual platforms, UNESCO reported.
The government also alleviated the impacts of the fall of the euro. The Bank of Albania promoted the lek’s stability and increased transparency in transactions involving foreign currencies. The European Commission and European Central Bank contributed financial aid to stabilize the banking system and provide euro support, LSE reported.
These sweeping measures were effective in helping the nation bounce back in the post-pandemic period. Despite rising inflation levels and supply chain disruptions, both the real wage and the minimum wage increased in 2021. Most significantly, the poverty rate dropped to 22% in 2021.
Looking Ahead
In 2021, the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) agreed to loan Albania €60 million to “mitigate the effects of COVID-19.” The loan aims to aid individuals especially vulnerable to the pandemic and help close the €570 million gap created in 2020. The loan and government measures may thus offset the impacts of COVID-19 on poverty in Albania through sustainable growth.
The impacts of COVID-19 on poverty in Albania were challenging, touching the most vulnerable sectors of the economy and exacerbating social challenges for women. However, the government’s wide-reaching economic reforms successfully curbed the pandemic’s economic impact on the industries and continued decreasing the nation’s poverty rate. International aid from the UNDP, EU and CEP was crucial in helping complement the government efforts by addressing the pandemic’s social impacts. This continued aid can continue to help Albania lower its poverty rate.
– Elena Sofia Massacesi
Photo: Unsplash
Beekeeping in Africa
Bees are vital insects due to their role as pollinators. Researchers at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) found that “three out of four crops across the globe producing fruits or seeds for human use as food depend, at least in part, on pollinators.” In Africa, bees take on the additional role of defending crops from an unexpected threat: elephants. Beekeeping in Africa holds multiple benefits for communities.
Human-Elephant Conflicts
In many African countries, free-roaming elephants bring the risk of damage to farmland and trees. For farmers living near the edges of forests, elephants can be a detrimental force that cripples crop yields and income. Because of this, farmers will often confront migrating families of elephants with aggression if the herds come too close.
In South Africa, elephants often target marula trees for feeding. Because locals hold these iconic fruit-bearing trees in high regard due to their cultural significance and economic value, damage to marula trees by elephants is a root cause of their conflict with humans. As the elephant population continues to dwindle due to poaching and habitat loss, many farmers feel the need for a more reliable system of protecting crops while subduing the need for hostility. Over the past decade, the Save the Elephants organization has studied the ability of bees to mediate human-elephant conflicts by preventing the large mammals from encroaching onto farmland, and the results have been surprisingly successful.
How Bees Can Help
The Elephants and Bees Research Project, an initiative of Save the Elephants, aims to “explore the natural world for solutions to human-elephant conflicts.” This initially Kenya-based program aims to supply farmers with beehive fences, a unique bee-based system to repel wild elephants. The system employs multiple beehives that are along the perimeters of farms and connected with wires.
If a wandering elephant trips the wire by walking in between the hives, the hives will open and release the bees. Elephants have mostly durable, two-inch-thick skin around their body, but the soft skin around their eyes, mouth and trunk makes them vulnerable to bee stings, and thus, overly afraid of the small pollinators. A 2007 study by Lucy E. King et al. found that elephants will even run from the mere sound of bees buzzing.
In 2015, the Elephants and Bees organization experimented with its beehive fences near groups of marula trees in Jejane Private Nature Reserve, South Africa. A research team led by Robin Cook from the University of the Witwatersrand found that the marula trees surrounded by beehive fences faced less impact from elephants than the unprotected trees in the control group. The success of Cook’s tests motivated Save the Elephants to train locals in beehive manufacturing and beekeeping skills.
Bees for Business
The most obvious way that the Bees and Elephants program improves business for African farmers is through the ability to protect crops. According to the program, the beehive fences cost about $1,000 for a one-acre farm. Depending on how successfully the beehive fences prevent crop raids, beehive fences can increase yields. Additionally, owners who introduce bees to their farms can expect increased levels of pollination, which leads to the production of higher-quality crops.
Beyond protecting crops from wild elephants, the Bees and Elephants program aims to promote beekeeping in Africa as a business in itself. The organization purchases raw honey from farmers who use their beehive fences, ensuring that the participants have an alternate source of income. Save the Elephants’ “elephant-friendly honey” program encourages more farmers to get on board with this natural, inexpensive and income-generating solution to human-elephant conflicts.
Expanding the Bees and Elephants Program
Save the Elephants has introduced beehive fences to 14 countries in Africa and three countries in Asia. In some counties like Meru, Kenya, the government is recognizing the benefits beehive fences bring to farmers. In May 2022, Meru’s Governor Kiraitu Murungi approved the distribution of 3 million Kenyan shillings ($25,581) worth of beehives and beekeeping equipment for the construction of a 5-kilometer fence that will border the Lower Imenti Forest. Murungi plans to allocate additional funding in the following financial year for “more beehives [that] will ring-fence the entire forest.”
The Elephants and Bees program highlights the significant abilities of bees to act as both pollinators and protectors. As the program’s leaders discuss expanding their work to countries like Angola and Indonesia, it is worth considering that more than 3,500 species of bees play a role in expanding farmers’ crop yields, thereby reducing hunger and increasing income.
Overall, beekeeping in Africa holds benefits that span far beyond honey production. By protecting crops and increasing crop yields, bees play a significant role in improving food security and reducing poverty.
– Evan Lemole
Photo: Unsplash
HIV/AIDS in Pakistan
In 2004, an outbreak of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan caused a skyrocketing number of cases in the country. As of 2020, there are an estimated 180,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Pakistan. However, the vast majority of HIV-registered Pakistanis are receiving treatment and local organizations are making progress to expand treatment to the most vulnerable and stop the progression of the outbreak altogether.
The HIV Outbreak in Pakistan
The 2004 HIV outbreak in the country followed a pattern common in Asian countries, in which the disease grows exponentially within networks of people who inject drugs, before reaching a plateau. Once the disease reaches a plateau, the disease begins to spread to the general population.
About 38% of Pakistani people who inject drugs are HIV positive as of 2017. The common practice of sharing and reusing needles and other drug-injection equipment can explain this. Needles contaminated with HIV-positive blood easily spread the virus among communities struggling with substance use disorder in Pakistan.
There is also an interesting local phenomenon in Pakistan where injection drug users are not able to inject their own drugs. Instead, these individuals utilize “street injectors” who inject the drugs for them. The injectors use a method of injection known as double-pumping, in which blood goes into the needle. As payment for their services, after injecting the individual, injectors keep a portion of the drug solution mixed with blood. The injector then pools it for their own use or for sale to others.
The Spread of HIV Throughout Pakistan
Through practices like these, HIV became extremely prevalent within this highly marginalized group. Once the percentage of HIV-infected injection drug users plateaued, the virus spread throughout Pakistan through bridging populations — people in close proximity to those in the high-risk group, such as the spouses of men who inject drugs. A study published in 2021 in the Harm Reduction journal estimated that, in Pakistan, 8.5% of female spouses of men who inject drugs are HIV positive.
Another population key to the progression of the outbreak is truck drivers. Many truck drivers frequently engage in purchasing sex, which puts them at higher risk of contracting HIV. Due to their mobility across the country, truck drivers who contract HIV/AIDS in Pakistan present a risk of a far-reaching and fast spread of the virus.
Progress and Solutions
Identifying at-risk populations and HIV-positive individuals is an important part of stemming the tide of an outbreak. However, the organization Nai Zindagi believes that society should not blame or stigmatize these individuals, but should help them instead. The organization started in 1989 as a small residential drug treatment center in Lahore, Pakistan.
Over the years Nai Zindagi shifted to focusing on street-based people who inject drugs across the whole of Pakistan and came to have a reputation for working with these populations. In 1999, UNAIDS and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime contracted Nai Zindagi to study “Hepatitis C and HIV among the growing numbers of street-based persons injecting drugs in Lahore.” Through the study, Nai Zindagi became aware of the increasing use of drugs via injections. At the time, the study noted no positive cases of HIV, but it was clear that HIV would spread rapidly once the first case came about within this group. This created a shift in the organization’s response to drug use, with a new emphasis on harm reduction, including reducing the spread of HIV.
Nai Zindagi’s Services
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to address an HIV outbreak, a country must diagnose, treat, prevent and respond quickly to each case of the disease. Nai Zindagi provides services in each of these aspects, focusing on marginalized, impoverished people who use drugs and those close to them, such as spouses.
Nai Zindagi specializes in assisting street-based individuals, utilizing mobile treatment vans and testing machines to accommodate those who are experiencing homelessness in Pakistan. The organization provides testing services, counseling, treatment and referrals to clinics that specialize in HIV/AIDS in Pakistan.
It also provides outreach services and training to spread the word about dangerous behaviors such as the use of used or dirty needles. Nai Zindagi even provides syringe exchange services, with the aim of distributing clean needles to those most at risk of contracting HIV. Harm reduction services like these are clinically proven to reduce the risk of diseases spread through injectable drugs.
With the work of organizations like Nai Zindagi, those at risk of HIV are less likely to contract it and those living with HIV/AIDS in Pakistan will have access to treatment that lengthens and improves their lives.
– Grace Ramsey
Photo: Flickr
The WFP’s Humanitarian Partnership with Uber
On June 8, 2022, Uber donated a customized version of its “Uber Direct” software app to the U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) to help distribute food in Ukraine. Some urban areas in Ukraine are hard to reach with conventional large delivery trucks because the areas are densely populated. Therefore, the WFP’s humanitarian partnership with Uber allows the WFP to use a customized version of the Uber Direct app so the WFP can easily reach food insecure Ukrainians in urban areas. In addition, with the Uber Direct app, the WFP will be able to “coordinate a fleet of vehicles and track deliveries in real time.”
Innovative Approaches to Delivering Aid
The WFP’s partnership with Uber highlights the potential of modern technology to solve modern-day global humanitarian issues. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia makes it difficult for international humanitarian organizations to deliver food and other essential items due to ongoing military operations.
Russia is blockading Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, which are important for the transportation of food to developing countries struggling with food insecurity. However, innovative approaches to delivering aid, such as the customized version of the Uber Direct software app, give humanitarian organizations opportunities to efficiently tackle food insecurity in war-torn countries. Thus, WFP’s partnership with Uber in Ukraine illustrates how technology can stand as an important tool in the reduction of global poverty.
The Food Insecurity Situation in Ukraine
As of May 21, 2022, one in three Ukrainian households faced food insecurity due to the war, according to the WFP. Furthermore, these Ukrainians have lost their jobs, which means they have no income to support themselves and many have had to abandon their homes.
Russian forces are destroying farms and croplands in Ukraine. Additionally, the Guardian reported on June 13, 2022, that “Ukraine’s national seed bank has been partly destroyed amid fighting in Kharkiv in the north-east, where almost 2,000 crop samples rest in underground vaults.” The situation further exacerbates food insecurity in Ukraine. Therefore, the WFP’s humanitarian partnership with Uber is necessary in order to easily deliver emergency food to Ukrainians at risk of food insecurity.
How Uber Can Assist in Tackling Food Insecurity in Ukraine
The WFP “is already using the [Uber Direct] app in Dnipro,” but because food insecurity is widespread in Ukraine, the WFP intends to also send deliveries of food aid to Lviv, Vinnytsia, Kyiv and Chernivtsi. The customized Uber Direct app allows the WFP to “schedule, dispatch, track and manage deliveries by a network of cars and small vans to final distribution points within a 100km radius of WFP warehouses across the country.” Additionally, the WFP’s humanitarian partnership with Uber also includes a $250,000 donation from Uber to the WFP USA “to support the emergency response in Ukraine.”
Private Sector Support
Although the WFP’s humanitarian partnership with Uber is innovative and transformative, Uber is not the only private company providing support to the WFP to help Ukrainians. The John Deere Foundation, the charitable arm of John Deere, announced on May 18, 2022, a donation of $1 million to the WFP U.S.A so it can “combat global food insecurity” and tackle rising hunger in Ukraine. The John Deere Foundation also said that 50% of the donation will go to the WFP’s Innovation Accelerator, which “sources, supports and scales high-impact innovations to achieve zero hunger.” The support from Uber and the John Deere Foundation to the WFP illustrates the commitment of the private sector to humanitarian work, which is instrumental to ending global poverty.
Looking Ahead
International organizations have been documenting the steady decline in global poverty over the past decades before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However, some may wonder how global poverty can be declining, given the wars and conflicts ongoing in many countries around the world. To find the answer is to look at how humanitarian organizations are leveraging their relationships with the private sector to discover creative ways to solve poverty and hunger. The WFP’s use of the customized Uber Direct app in Ukraine to deliver food to densely populated areas is a shining and, perhaps, enduring example.
– Abdullah Dowaihy
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Organizations Strengthening Health Care in Developing Countries
Nearly 6 million deaths occur each year in developing countries due to the lack of quality health care and nearly 2.9 million deaths occur due to the lack of access to health care. This shows that more people pass away by receiving medical care rather than none and the care is such low-quality that it results in fatalities anyway. Health care is a major issue in underdeveloped countries and organizations are strengthening health care in developing countries to save lives and benefit countries worldwide.
Health Care in Low-Income Countries
Many people living in developing countries are suffering from poverty and may not be able to afford medical treatment. Even if someone is in a severe medical emergency, there often is no “911” number to call and no ambulances that can help in an extreme health crisis. Local health care is what people have to rely on and people sometimes have to travel for days to find a village with any medical care. Clinics and hospitals can have good physicians and equipment, but the lack of infrastructure is the most significant concern.
“Sometimes needles are reused, spreading disease and infection, and vaccines are given even though their effectiveness has been compromised by lack of refrigeration,” said Facts and Details. Hospitals can lose electricity on a regular basis, and run out of essential medical supplies quickly and the actual buildings where clinics and hospitals are located sometimes have no windows or fans and are flat-out unsanitary. In addition, some countries have “fake medicine” where 25% of drugs sold to consumers are counterfeit.
Health Care in Low-Income Countries
In some areas, health care workers have comprised of village midwives, who represent a significant amount of health work. There are doctors and nurses, but they are constantly absent from work. Harvard and the World Bank conducted research showing “an absentee rate of as high 80 percent in single-doctor clinics” in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, “Similar research in Indonesia found [that] 40 percent of health workers [were frequently] absent from clinics.” In many cases, village healers are actually the main source of medical help people seek. The healers sell herbs, use divine stones for diagnoses and treat patients using folk medicine, massages, rituals and prayers. The healers take place of doctors when there are not enough available.
“When you are middle class and you get sick, you first think of a doctor, when you are a poor person, the first thing you think of is a miracle,” a Baptist minister said to Newsweek. Quality health care is necessary for underdeveloped countries because millions die each year due to a lack of access to health care and lack of resources to improve the health care systems in the countries. Here are three organizations strengthening health care in developing countries.
SIGN Fracture Care International
SIGN Fracture Care International is a humanitarian organization that Dr. Lewis Zirkle founded in 1999 with the vision of creating quality fracture care worldwide. This organization works to educate surgeons, then provide donated implants and needed instruments in which the surgeon then completes the necessary treatment for the injury. SIGN has worked to make sure that doctors are educated and prepared to treat their patients and once that reaches completion, it provides the essential tools for the doctors to carry out their procedures. “The SIGN System is designed for use in low-resource hospitals and does not require the use of expensive x-ray machines, or even electricity,” SIGN stated on its website. Since its founding, nearly 382,000 patients have been healed and 409 hospitals are using the SIGN program in 55 countries around the world.
Bridge of Life
Bridge of Life is an international nonprofit organization that DaVita Inc. founded in 2006 with the goal of improving health care around the world through various programs, as well as treating long-term diseases. There are three main programs that make up Bridge of Life: Kidney Care, Kids’ Camp and Chronic Disease Prevention. Its approach is building successful partnerships, training health workers, connecting patients to quality medical treatment, educating on the prevention of long-lasting diseases and engaging health professionals and program volunteers. In 2021, more than 390 health workers received training and more than 1,200 “high-risk patients received medication, health testing and education,” the 2021 impact report said. Since the organization’s founding, more than 118,000 lives have been impacted in 30 countries globally.
WellShare International
WellShare International is an organization that began in 1979 that promotes positive health and well-being and provides medical services to communities. It has a long list of programs that provide education and health services to children, adults and elders. The programs include Caafimaadkaaga – Your Health, East African Smoke, Eliminating Health Disparities Initiative, Family Home Visiting, Minnesota Community Health Worker Peer Network, Somali Health Youth Initiative, SPEAK, Survive and Thrive Groups Help Young Single Mothers and Together for Health. In the organization’s 41 years of existence, it has trained more than 6,000 health workers, creating more educated and equipped health workers. “We envision communities with equitable health care and resources where all individuals live healthy and fulfilling lives,” the organization’s website states.
Around the world, 14% of patients experience harm from the medical care they receive at a hospital. The organizations are working to change that and provide excellent health care to countries globally. Strengthening health care in developing countries will save lives, improve poverty rates and build stronger communities.
– Dylan Olive
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The Business of Poultry Farming in Nigeria
Estimates have determined that Nigeria will reach 95 million people living in poverty in 2022. In order to lift people out of poverty, poultry farming in Nigeria is a lucrative business with a promising prospect; the country has the most significant number of chickens in Africa and the largest annual egg production. In 2019, poultry farming contributed 25% of Nigeria’s agricultural GDP. Additionally, its business provides a major source of protein from ducks, turkey and quails to broiler chickens.
The Importance of Poultry Farming in Nigeria
Poultry farming in Nigeria produces essential food sources as well as the industry uses. Poultry products are rich in minerals, protein, carbohydrates and vitamins. With an expanding middle class and an improvement in the rural economy, the demand for meat and nutrition is increasing each year.
The poultry industry intertwines with human lives and people’s livings. The poultry industry can aid in the production of vaccines and fertilizers for industrial uses, and provide preservatives for semen storage as therapeutic uses, ink for printers and adhesives and feathers for pillows, mattresses and cushions.
In addition, the business of poultry farming in Nigeria opens up job opportunities for locals and improves its economy and living conditions. The jobs provided have a wide range of responsibilities from workers to supervisors and security guards to managers.
Saliu Rasheed is a poultry farmer who transitioned from professional accounting to poultry farming in Nigeria. It is a job that requires patience and challenges such as low stocks and high costs. However, Rasheed said that his poultry was “a very large one and contributed to the development of Lagos State and in turn, the government has been receiving our contributions” which also improves Nigerian Gross Domestic Profit (GDP).
A study that the Nigerian Agricultural Journal published conducted a questionnaire to examine the importance of poultry to farmers and economic development. Respondents acknowledged that poultry farming has contributed significantly to poverty alleviation (M=3.86) and helped reduce the unemployment rate (M=4.42). It also improves the standard of living of farmers (M=4.02) as well as the level of income of farmers (M=3.99).
Youth Empowerment in Poultry Farming
With a youth unemployment rate that was 53% in 2020 in Nigeria, poultry farming is a resource that could generate millions of youth employment in the country. Youth entrepreneurship programs and consistent investments are also a way to use its potential.
Agricorp International, a fast-growing food processing and export company invested 4 billion Nigerian nairas into the poultry industry in Nigeria in 2021. According to the Vanguard, the investment could “provide direct and indirect employment for an estimated 100,000 Nigerian youths by 2025.”
Besides its investment, the company also established its poultry developmental program “Project Eclipse 2025.” Its aim is to assist Nigerian youth in developing skills and management for poultry farming.
Poultry farming in Nigeria expands job opportunities for locals including youth across the nation. It provides different types of uses in food, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing. This business paves the way to a better future for Nigerians by improving the economy and living conditions.
– Jiaying Guo
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