More than 1 billion people in developing countries are sick and require treatment for Neglected Tropical Diseases, or NTDs. These are infectious diseases that have very little attention and donor funding compared to diseases like malaria, HIV and tuberculosis. NTDs can have debilitating results such as malnutrition, blindness, weakening mental development and more. They also tend to go hand in hand with poverty, because less access to clean water and sanitation allows these diseases to thrive. One of these diseases, Chagas disease, also known as “the kissing bug disease,” exists in the areas of Brazil where poverty is prominent.
“NTDs are not prioritized in wealthier, developed countries because they do not experience the same living conditions that affected populations are in, said Jadie Moon, a representative from NGO De-Neglect. “Diseases like HIV and tuberculosis are more prevalent in developed countries and attract more attention. Additionally, the public tends to focus more on diseases that kill such as malaria. However, NTDs are more likely to disfigure and affect [the] daily lives of individuals.”
History of Chagas Disease in Brazil
Chagas disease exists in the Americas, mainly in rural areas of Latin America where poverty is prevalent. It was first reported in Brazil by Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas in 1909. A parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transferred from the waste of triatomine bugs, or kissing bugs, causes the disease. The disease can also be spread through food that has been contaminated by the bug’s feces, infected blood transfusions and organ donations. This disease affects 8 million people today, and 20,000 people die from it every year.
From 2001 to 2018, 5,184 cases of acute Chagas disease were found in Brazil. The rate of infection recorded in Brazil annually was “0.16 per 100,000 inhabitants.” Studies show a rapid increase in records of Chagas disease before 2005. Though there was a drop from 2005 to 2009, there was another increase in infections after 2009.
Symptoms and Warning Signs of Chagas Disease
Though many NTDs are not considered life-threatening, the results of Chagas disease can be. The acute phase of the disease has minor symptoms. They include fever, swelling at the infection site, rash, nausea and enlargement of the liver or spleen. These symptoms will usually go away on their own, but if left untreated the disease can advance to the chronic phase.
The chronic phase is more serious and may occur 10 to 20 years after the infection. The parasites hide in the heart and digestive muscles, leading to cardiac and digestive or neurological disorders. Chronic symptoms include an irregular heartbeat, esophagus enlargement, difficulty swallowing, an enlarged colon and heart failure.
Around 20 to 30% of individuals who are in the chronic phase of Chagas disease eventually develop clinical disease. Usually, the clinical disease that develops is cardiac. Chagas disease is often discovered in an individual years after the infection in late stages, and once established it can cause severe, even deadly cardiac and digestive disorders.
“Because of the commonly asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic acute phase of infection, Chagas disease is difficult to diagnose, and often leads to missing the best time frame of treatment,” said De-Neglect members Jesse Chen and Helen Lee.
Prevention and De-Neglecting Chagas Disease in Brazil
One of the key methods in protecting people from Chagas disease – like any other NTD – is prevention. Methods of prevention in areas that are high-risk include:
- Using bed nets that have been soaked with insecticide
- Avoid sleeping in a mud, thatch or adobe house
- Making home improvements to prevent bug infestation
- Screening pregnant mothers, blood donations and testing organ/tissue/cell donations (as an infected individual can spread the disease to a healthy individual that way)
- Washing, checking and cooking food well so there is no bug feces
De-Neglect
One of the best ways of preventing Chagas disease in Brazil is educating the public that lives in high-risk areas. A social media concentrated NGO in California called De-Neglect has a mission of doing just that. The organization has been around since 2018, formed by a group of UC Berkeley students and alumni. De-Neglect’s mission is to raise awareness and education about NTDs like Chagas disease, and how they affect communities in poverty. De-Neglect works to accomplish this goal through research, educating the public in health and participating in “community-based mobilization.” Their members are in contact with individuals and organizations from around the world and use their media platforms to raise awareness for NTDs like Chagas that affect areas like the rural communities in Brazil.
“I know someone who passed away due to Chagas disease almost 3 years ago in Brazil,” said De-Neglect team member Paula Serpa. “It is suspected that my friend acquired the infection due to his poor living conditions and, while playing a pickup soccer game, he suffered a heart attack and passed away.”
Growing the Organization
De-Neglect Team member Jessica Tin recounts the feat it took to form De-Neglect and build their network of collaborators. They faced certain roadblocks about finding accurate and up-to-date info for some NTDs. “Recently, we reached our next milestone with the release of our “What is scabies?” video and a social media campaign for World NTD Day, said Tin. “This was our first major moment in getting our name and mission out to the NTDs community as well as to our personal circles, where most of our friends and family had never even heard of NTDs before. Seeing our impact has given us extra momentum to continue our mission by expanding our network and educating the community.”
Lessening the Impact of Chagas in the Future
“Given that NTDs are concentrated in developing, poverty-stricken countries, their management often takes up most of a person’s existing and potential wealth,” said De-Neglect Team Member Jessica Yescas. “By providing solutions, such as medication and accessibility to medical care — as well as raising awareness through education — the possibility of alleviating the perpetuation of poverty due to NTDs can become a reality.”
Those infected with Chagas disease in Brazil face additional challenges if they already struggle with poverty. If not provided reliable, affordable medication the results could cost them dearly. They can miss out on work and educational opportunities, pushing them further into poverty. Raising awareness for Chagas disease and other NTDs in areas impacted by poverty and putting them in the spotlight creates more opportunities to instill solutions, not allowing them to be neglected anymore.
– Celia Brocker
Photo: Flickr
Higher Education in Kenya: MasterCard Foundation
Kenya’s Higher Education System
Kenya has both public universities and private universities. Public institutions are established via Acts of Parliaments, while the Commission on Higher Education oversees the operations of the private institutions. Acceptance to bachelor’s degree programs require a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education and typically lasts between four to six years. The higher education system has several similarities to the university system in the United States. It also shares many of the same issues with regard to equitable access and funding.
Beyond issues of government funding, the higher education system in Kenya faces issues of overcrowding, ever-growing demand and poorly equipped libraries and curricular resources. Due to all of these challenges facing the high-demand university system, outside NGOs and investors have worked with students to create a more productive, accessible and equitable system for higher education in Kenya.
Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is one of these outside investors working with students. It wants to ensure students who want to access higher education in Kenya are not barred from doing so strictly because of a lack of financial resources. The Mastercard Foundation partnered with the United States International University-Africa in Kenya to provide 1,000 merit-based scholarships for those seeking an undergraduate degree.
This partnership and subsequent scholarships amount to $63.2 million. The first scholarships began in the 2020-21 academic year. They will ensure students are receiving high-quality university educations and also have access to leadership development opportunities. Further, the scholarships seek to address inequities with regards to who has access to higher education in Kenya. A total of 70% of the scholarships will go to young women, 25% to refugee scholars and at least 10% will go to students with disabilities. The Mastercard Foundation has a history of investing in global youth. It has stated that it is committed to creating a generation of African leaders who will transform not only their own nations and continent but the entire world.
Higher Education Creating African Leaders
This scholarship program not only supports students financially but grants access to internships and post-graduate career services. The program hopes to create graduates who go on to become entrepreneurs, NGO leaders, social workers and changemakers. Overall, the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program has committed $1 billion to support higher education worldwide and creating more equitable access to higher education and working to support leaders of the next generation from every part of the globe.
– Tatiana Nelson
Photo: Flickr
Global Collaboration: The Mayors Migration Council
As the name suggests, the Mayors Migration Council consists of a group of mayors from different corners of the world focused on the global response to migration. The goal of this council is to “empower and enable cities with access, capacity, knowledge, and connections to engage in migration diplomacy and policymaking at the international, regional and national level.” This collaborative effort includes mayors from Zurich, Milan, Montreal, Freetown and Los Angeles and multiple others.
Mayors Migration Council
Recently, the Mayors Migration Council launched a $1 million initiative focused on assisting with needs for internally displaced people (IDPs). This initiative comes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide support for migrant and refugee populations worldwide. It has focused efforts on Barranquilla, Colombia; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Beirut, Lebanon; Mexico City, Mexico and Lima, Peru. These cities with high populations of at-risk migrant peoples are provided direct financial support focused on urban areas. In these urban areas, the World Bank projects that communities may lose 15%-25% of total government revenues through 2021.
As government budgets undergo decimation as a result of the pandemic, this program provides support on projects “related to public health, employment, livelihoods, and social protection to mitigate the health crisis and its socio-economic impacts.” These focus areas are a direct illustration of the goal of this council. They hope to provide access to COVID-19 services as well as work with migrants to have a positive impact on the pandemic situation through direct work opportunities.
UN-Habitat
Through a partnership with UN-Habitat, the Mayors Migration Council has been able to implement groundwork programs that directly affect the lives of these migrant populations. An organization with prior experience with improving urban communities, the UN-Habitat organization takes funds from the Mayors Migration Council and provides direct guidance for these funds. This includes allocating funds to local governments and providing governmental and technological support. In Beirut, UN-Habitat partnered with Mayor Jamal Itani to develop a mobile health clinic to provide free COVID-19. The clinic is available to migrants and refugees as well as the rest of the population.
Cities Working Together for Migrants and Refugees
This new initiative includes commitments from the 2018 Marrakech Mayors Declaration. This declaration established the Cities Working Together for Migrants and Refugees programs. It focuses on the role of the mayors involved and how they can directly impact migration-related issues. Cities Working Together for Migrants and Refugees further supports the mission of the Global Compact for Migration, a U.N. agreement “on a common approach to international migration in all its dimensions.” This important initiative provides mayors in cities across the world a framework on how to handle migration as it happens, a vital framework before COVID-19 but especially amplified throughout the pandemic.
Proven Importance
With a multitude of different nations faced with political corruptness, violence, overall unrest, natural disasters and now the COVID-19 pandemic, large migrations of people will continue to occur. For the majority of nations, the current protocols for handling migration have plenty of room for improvement. These concerns are why a collaborative organization like the Mayors Migration Council is so important. It continues to provide adequate support and opportunities for all persons regardless of migration status. An organization comprised of mayors provides those with the political status to initiate change. Additionally, it offers a platform for meaningful discussion and collaboration between all corners of the world. This most recent million-dollar program further allows for increased national capabilities to handle these migration situations.
– Jackson Thennis
Photo: Flickr
E-Commerce Can End Rural Poverty in China
E-commerce has the power to end rural poverty in China. In 2014, about 100 out of 640 households in Kengshang were on a list for having annual incomes of less than $400. The rural Chinese village in Anhui province had been in poverty for years. This is due to a shortage of farmland and geographical isolation. Most villagers made their living by growing tea but the working population decreased every year as people left to find jobs.
In 2015, the district’s commerce bureau invested $31,000 in Kengshang. This involved setting up a workshop to train the villagers and renovating a school building. The villagers sold dried bamboo shoots in small decorative bags, which the poverty-alleviation team then sold online. All of the profits went directly to the villagers. The annual revenue from the online shops in 2020 was about $123,870, up from $23,226 in 2016. By 2016, the Chinese government deemed the village of Kengshang poverty-free.
E-Commerce in China
Kengshang is one of many success stories in poverty alleviation thanks to e-commerce in China. E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods over the internet. It allows more people to access potential global markets for their products, which can help reduce poverty by opening up a new avenue of income for the impoverished. It has been especially effective for those facing rural poverty.
E-commerce in China is a robust industry for rural communities. All 832 state-level impoverished counties have e-commerce programs to alleviate poverty. In 2019, 13.84 million rural e-commerce shops existed. The shops registered total online sales of about $8.02 billion in the first quarter of 2020, up 5% from 2019.
The Alibaba Group, an e-commerce giant, launched the Rural Taobao Program in 2014 to help give rural citizens better access to the internet and help farmers increase their income by selling agricultural products directly to urban consumers online. It does this by setting up e-commerce service networks in counties and villages and improving logistical connections for villages. It also provides training in e-commerce and entrepreneurship and develops rural financial services through the AntFinancial subsidiary of Alibaba. The Rural Taobao Program has expanded rapidly, from 212 villages in 12 counties in 2014 to more than 30,000 villages in 1,000 counties in 2018.
The Chinese government has invested in improving the existing e-commerce system. In the future, the government plans to improve infrastructure in rural areas to smooth urban-rural trade channels, especially for agricultural products. Third-party delivery services, improved rural logistics systems and the cultivation of local brands will support agricultural products.
Eliminating Poverty in China
E-commerce in rural provinces has helped China eliminate rural poverty nationwide. In November 2020, President Xi Jinping announced that all rural citizens were living above the centrally-defined poverty line of about $400 a year. While this is still below the internationally recognized poverty line of $700 a year, it is an impressive feat thanks to strategies like e-commerce in rural areas. In the future, the growing industry of e-commerce has the potential to bring all rural Chinese people above the international poverty line.
E-Commerce During COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce has become even more important. Online ordering and no-contact delivery give rural communities a source of income that does not risk their health. Despite disruptions due to shutdowns, Taobao, an e-commerce platform, saw merchants sell 160% more products in March 2020 than in 2019. PinDuoDuo, another e-commerce company, has boosted daily orders to 65 million, compared to 50 million before the pandemic.
Looking Forward
With sustained development and investment, e-commerce has the potential to end rural poverty in China. The Chinese government needs to invest in the workers by providing entrepreneurship training, helping them establish an online presence and creating the necessary infrastructure to help them sell their products online. That way, e-commerce can be a long-term solution.
Other countries can learn from China’s e-commerce model. While China’s success comes in part from the extensive government involvement in the lives of individual citizens, other nations can still take note of the booming e-commerce industry. Investments in e-commerce development programs have the power to help end rural poverty in China.
– Brooklyn Quallen
Photo: Flickr
The Process of Eradicating HIV/AIDS in Mozambique
The East African country of Mozambique has struggled to control the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Since its introduction to southern Africa in the late 1980s, the adult prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Mozambique is around 12.10% – the seventh-highest rate in the world. However, there is good news. Infection rates and deaths that relate to AIDS are decreasing and the country is feeling a surge of international support. Here are three ways in which Mozambique is currently fighting against the epidemic.
Grants
In February 2021, the Government of Mozambique, the Global Fund and other medical partners launched six new grants to expand treatment and service options for HIV, TB and malaria. Actions like this are causing HIV/AIDS in Mozambique to experience a downward trend in cases and deaths.
With greater funds, HIV treatment will become more available. In fact, one can attribute greater access to treatment to the “29% decrease in the number of AIDS-related deaths” from 2006 to 2019. These particular grants are significant because they are worth $773,913,131, a figure that is 49% larger than the previous allocation amount.
The financial assistance aims to reach vulnerable populations, especially adolescent girls, and to make testing widespread. Mozambique is working towards creating strong, sustainable health systems. Health officials are hopeful that these grants will put the country on the path to self-sufficiency where external help is no longer necessary.
Medicine
There have also been recent developments in the world of pharmaceuticals. Mozambique launched a new preventative drug for tuberculosis (TB) on March 24, 2021, which is World Tuberculosis Day. Although this drug does not specifically treat people with HIV/AIDS in Mozambique, the two ailments inextricably connect. HIV greatly weakens the body’s immune system and puts people at high risk for diseases like TB.
The Mozambique Health Minister, Armindo Tiago, explicitly stated, “this programme is aimed at people living with HIV/AIDS.” The new system reduces pill intake from nine to three pills a week and the treatment duration from up to 36 months to just three months. According to Unitaid, “up to 3 million patients are expected to be made available for eligible countries this year.” These countries include Mozambique, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
This shorter, less invasive treatment intends to attract more people seeking medical therapy. If proven successful, it is likely that the number of HIV-related deaths will drop. As a result, Mozambique should gain the upper hand in the fight against communicable diseases.
Clinics
The U.S. NGO, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, is helping combat HIV/AIDS in Mozambique. This organization focuses on preventing pediatric HIV and ending pediatric AIDS all over the world. On March 15, 2021, the NGO donated two mobile clinics that will serve the cities of Maputo, Matola and the district of Marracuene.
The organization intends to provide primary care as well as sexual and reproductive health services to 3,000 young people. It chose the areas of Matola, the district of Marracuene and Maputo because of the high number of teenagers who need “more accurate information” about sexual health and sexually transmitted diseases. The mobile clinics have services for HIV/AIDS testing, tuberculosis, cancer screening, counseling and more.
Implementing these three forms of aid furthers the country’s efforts to make healthcare more accessible for those who need it most. Mozambique is a demonstration of how people across the world are still passionately fighting against HIV/AIDS.
– Lucy Gentry
Photo: Flickr
“De-Neglecting” the Impact of Chagas Disease in Brazil
“NTDs are not prioritized in wealthier, developed countries because they do not experience the same living conditions that affected populations are in, said Jadie Moon, a representative from NGO De-Neglect. “Diseases like HIV and tuberculosis are more prevalent in developed countries and attract more attention. Additionally, the public tends to focus more on diseases that kill such as malaria. However, NTDs are more likely to disfigure and affect [the] daily lives of individuals.”
History of Chagas Disease in Brazil
Chagas disease exists in the Americas, mainly in rural areas of Latin America where poverty is prevalent. It was first reported in Brazil by Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas in 1909. A parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transferred from the waste of triatomine bugs, or kissing bugs, causes the disease. The disease can also be spread through food that has been contaminated by the bug’s feces, infected blood transfusions and organ donations. This disease affects 8 million people today, and 20,000 people die from it every year.
From 2001 to 2018, 5,184 cases of acute Chagas disease were found in Brazil. The rate of infection recorded in Brazil annually was “0.16 per 100,000 inhabitants.” Studies show a rapid increase in records of Chagas disease before 2005. Though there was a drop from 2005 to 2009, there was another increase in infections after 2009.
Symptoms and Warning Signs of Chagas Disease
Though many NTDs are not considered life-threatening, the results of Chagas disease can be. The acute phase of the disease has minor symptoms. They include fever, swelling at the infection site, rash, nausea and enlargement of the liver or spleen. These symptoms will usually go away on their own, but if left untreated the disease can advance to the chronic phase.
The chronic phase is more serious and may occur 10 to 20 years after the infection. The parasites hide in the heart and digestive muscles, leading to cardiac and digestive or neurological disorders. Chronic symptoms include an irregular heartbeat, esophagus enlargement, difficulty swallowing, an enlarged colon and heart failure.
Around 20 to 30% of individuals who are in the chronic phase of Chagas disease eventually develop clinical disease. Usually, the clinical disease that develops is cardiac. Chagas disease is often discovered in an individual years after the infection in late stages, and once established it can cause severe, even deadly cardiac and digestive disorders.
“Because of the commonly asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic acute phase of infection, Chagas disease is difficult to diagnose, and often leads to missing the best time frame of treatment,” said De-Neglect members Jesse Chen and Helen Lee.
Prevention and De-Neglecting Chagas Disease in Brazil
One of the key methods in protecting people from Chagas disease – like any other NTD – is prevention. Methods of prevention in areas that are high-risk include:
De-Neglect
One of the best ways of preventing Chagas disease in Brazil is educating the public that lives in high-risk areas. A social media concentrated NGO in California called De-Neglect has a mission of doing just that. The organization has been around since 2018, formed by a group of UC Berkeley students and alumni. De-Neglect’s mission is to raise awareness and education about NTDs like Chagas disease, and how they affect communities in poverty. De-Neglect works to accomplish this goal through research, educating the public in health and participating in “community-based mobilization.” Their members are in contact with individuals and organizations from around the world and use their media platforms to raise awareness for NTDs like Chagas that affect areas like the rural communities in Brazil.
“I know someone who passed away due to Chagas disease almost 3 years ago in Brazil,” said De-Neglect team member Paula Serpa. “It is suspected that my friend acquired the infection due to his poor living conditions and, while playing a pickup soccer game, he suffered a heart attack and passed away.”
Growing the Organization
De-Neglect Team member Jessica Tin recounts the feat it took to form De-Neglect and build their network of collaborators. They faced certain roadblocks about finding accurate and up-to-date info for some NTDs. “Recently, we reached our next milestone with the release of our “What is scabies?” video and a social media campaign for World NTD Day, said Tin. “This was our first major moment in getting our name and mission out to the NTDs community as well as to our personal circles, where most of our friends and family had never even heard of NTDs before. Seeing our impact has given us extra momentum to continue our mission by expanding our network and educating the community.”
Lessening the Impact of Chagas in the Future
“Given that NTDs are concentrated in developing, poverty-stricken countries, their management often takes up most of a person’s existing and potential wealth,” said De-Neglect Team Member Jessica Yescas. “By providing solutions, such as medication and accessibility to medical care — as well as raising awareness through education — the possibility of alleviating the perpetuation of poverty due to NTDs can become a reality.”
Those infected with Chagas disease in Brazil face additional challenges if they already struggle with poverty. If not provided reliable, affordable medication the results could cost them dearly. They can miss out on work and educational opportunities, pushing them further into poverty. Raising awareness for Chagas disease and other NTDs in areas impacted by poverty and putting them in the spotlight creates more opportunities to instill solutions, not allowing them to be neglected anymore.
– Celia Brocker
Photo: Flickr
Natural Disaster Relief in Paraguay
The landlocked Republic of Paraguay is prone to a wide range of natural disasters. Floods and droughts affect the most benighted areas of the country. Fortunately, both national and international agencies are taking action in aiding the local population, working through COVID-19 preventive measures that have delayed the arrival of natural disaster relief packages.
Natural Disasters in Paraguay
Paraguay experienced its worst floods in 2015 and 2019. Since then, the country has confronted subsequent natural disasters in the regions of Boquerón, Presidente Hayes and Alto Paraguay, with more than 2,400 families and 80,000 individuals affected. Even though Paraguay is one of the most humid countries in the region with a fairly high precipitation rate, climate oscillations have been destabilizing already vulnerable communities. As a country relying primarily on crops and cattle raising, fluctuations in climate and natural disasters can prove fatal for the rural population, not only putting the local economy at risk but also increasing the chances of infections through water-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya.
As the South American country that has experienced the steepest exponential economic growth in the last thirty years, Paraguay has taken long strides to increase income per capita and reduce inequality. However, most of its economy is commodity-based, which makes it extremely sensitive to fluctuations in climate. Floods tend to be an especially dire calamity since they directly affect the agriculture, animal husbandry and hydroelectric energy industries.
Increasing Climate Resiliency
According to the World Bank, Paraguay ranks 95 out of 181 countries in the 2019 Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative. This renders the country fairly vulnerable to climate catastrophe, primarily because of a lack of response and strategic planning. Climate indexes such as this one serve to acquire relevant diagnoses and eventually form sector-specific policies that can aid development outcomes.
It is necessary for the national government to take action to increase climate resiliency by adopting adaptation implementation efforts. Policymaking is crucial in this area, prioritizing investments for more efficient climate mitigation techniques in vulnerable rural areas.
A Four-Part Plan
The Paraguayan government has been taking action against these threats. The Ministry for National Emergencies (SEN) alongside the country’s National System of the Environment (SISAM) have devised a comprehensive plan to diminish natural disaster impact in Paraguay. The plan has been included in Paraguay’s Sustainable Development Goals for disaster risk reduction and consists of four parts:
International Assistance
In addition to the government, international aid organizations are also providing natural disaster relief to Paraguay. For example, USAID has been active in Paraguay since 2004, providing aid in the aftermath of 10 disasters. The World Bank has also been focused on helping Paraguay improve disaster preparedness. The organization has identified research gaps within Paraguay’s climate disaster response, including climate variability and water resources. Additionally, the World Bank has led economic-environmental feasibility studies, which are currently lacking. These efforts are all designed to ensure Paraguay has the resources necessary to overcome natural disasters.
Alongside conscientious data-gathering for the prevention of natural disasters and natural disaster relief, international assistance is crucial: it has not only proven helpful during calamitous environmental instances but also during a yellow fever outbreak, the subsequent seasonal dengue epidemic and COVID-19. Moving forward, USAID, the World Bank and other international organizations must continue to prioritize addressing natural disasters in Paraguay.
– Araí Yegros
Photo: Flickr
Renewable Energy in Palestine
The Palestinian territories are in the midst of a devastating energy crisis, leaving millions of people without stable access to electricity. However, the natural features of this region may hold the key to solving this crisis and improve the livelihoods of millions. Unlocking the potential of renewable energy in Palestine will help alleviate the growing carbon footprint of areas like Gaza, as well as fill holes in the already strained power grids that support Gaza and the West Bank.
Energy in Palestine
Palestine has a significant dependence on Israel and neighboring Jordan and Egypt for the majority of its energy demands. However, this system is not viable as a long-term solution. Political instability, population booms, rapid industrialization and increasing demand for higher living standards have put tremendous stress on Palestine’s energy supply. In fact, the cost of energy in Palestine is the highest in the region and the scarcity that growing demand has caused has had a devastating effect on the quality of life and poverty levels in the territories.
Rolling blackouts are now commonplace in both Gaza and the West Bank, denying residents access to essential household appliances, like electric stoves and air conditioning. It also hinders access to means of modernization, such as telecommunications and the internet. According to the United Nations, the average citizen of Gaza has, at best, access to electricity for 12 hours per day when the grid is at its most stable, but political instability can diminish access down to only two hours per day. During the summer and winter, when the strain is higher, residents often experience only three to four hours of electricity per day.
As the population of Palestine grows, especially in dense urban zones along the Gaza strip, the Palestinian authorities will need to find new ways to satisfy rising energy demands. The environment around the Palestinian territories could potentially hold the key to mitigating the existing energy crisis, as well as reduce Palestine’s energy dependency on its neighbors and bolstering the economic viability of Palestine as a more self-sufficient nation. The options for renewable energy in Palestine are plentiful and readily available on the domestic level.
Solar and Geothermal Energy
The two most viable options for renewable energy in Palestine are solar and geothermal energy. With over 300 days of steady sunshine a year, residents of Gaza and the West Bank have increasingly turned towards solar energy as a way to power small, everyday appliances, such as electric fans and other forms of air conditioning. This is especially important during the summer months when temperatures soar. Even relatively simple installations of small solar panels have had an extraordinary effect on living conditions, as residents of Gaza often endure roaming blackouts and inconsistent power access. According to an interview conducted in 2018 by the Reuters news source, one resident of the Nusseirat refugee camp in Gaza reported having no access to electricity in her family’s home until installing solar panels. Now her family is able to keep the air cool in their home with electric fans that solar energy powers.
Organizations and NGOs Helping Provide Solar Energy in Palestine
Several groups and NGOs have already paved the way for the broader use of solar energy in Palestine. Sunshine4Palestine is a great example of how a group can utilize solar energy to help alleviate symptoms of poverty. The project designed and installed a modular plant that provides solar energy to the Jenin Hospital in Gaza, upping its hours of operation from four to 17 hours per day. Sunshine4Palestine has also spearheaded the Tree of Light project, using solar-powered “trees” to harness clean energy and turn it into a way to illuminate public spaces at night, creating safer streets in Gaza.
Comet ME is an Israeli NGO that has been providing solar panels to villages in the West Bank. The village of Shaeb al-Buttim is one such village where panels that Comet installed have supplied electricity to 34 families, who, otherwise, would have no means of accessing the power grid. Such efforts, as in this instance, have revitalized otherwise dying villages, granting them access to television and other forms of media, offering villages such as Shaeb al-Buttim a chance to feel connected to the international community.
Other groups, such as PENGON, Ma’an Development Sector and the Palestinian Hydrology Group have supplied solar panels to over 650 farms and homes in Gaza. They have also helped educate members of the community on ways to participate in creating a sustainable Palestine.
Geothermal Energy
Other methods of harvesting renewable energy in Palestine are also on the horizon. In the last decade, geothermal energy has come to represent an innovative solution for saving on the energy costs of heating homes in the winter and cooling homes in the summer. This method relies on harnessing the natural difference between ground and air temperatures that occur in the summer and winter months.
Despite the conflict and struggles that those advocating for a more energy-independent and sustainable Palestine face, both public and private sectors are actively implementing solutions for the region. The players involved have the determination to push past political boundaries to deliver a more stable Palestine for future populations.
– Jack Thayer
Photo: Flickr
5 Women Leading the Emergence of Women-Led Tech Startups in Africa
Currently, only 28% of women worldwide pursue careers in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. This gap is a result of women dropping out of STEM courses based on social, cultural and gender norms. Around the world, girls face limited educational pathways and resources within STEM subjects. To address the barriers in STEM education and the tech industry, many women-led tech startups in Africa are encouraging women to pursue tech careers.
The Rise in Women-Led Businesses in Africa
According to the United Nations Africa Renewal Magazine, “sub-Saharan Africa boasts the world’s highest rate of women entrepreneurs, at 27%.” As part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) to improve clean water and sanitation, it is expected that 2.5 million engineer and technician jobs will be created in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, women will have opportunities to pursue a career in tech. There will also be a market space for women-led tech startups in Africa.
To encourage women to enter the tech industry in Africa, African women have started initiatives that promote and invest in women interested in the tech field. For Example, African Women in Technology, FirstCheck Africa, #HerFutureAfrica and Women in Tech Africa are all notable initiatives led by African Women. Highlighted below are five inspiring women who have contributed to the rise of women in the male-dominated tech field.
5 Women Leading the Emergence of Women-Led Tech Startups in Africa
These five women are making a significant difference in Africa and paving the way for more female entrepreneurs, especially in the tech industry. With these innovative efforts, the number of women-led startups in Africa will hopefully continue to increase.
– Malala Raharisoa Lin
Photo: United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
The Truth Behind Honor-Based Violence
In 2020, family members murdered two women after a video from the previous year surfaced online of the women kissing a man. This murder is just one of 5,000 “honor-based” killings that happen every year. Girls as young as 15 have died just for helping neighbors elope. Here is some information about honor-based violence.
What is Honor-Based Violence?
Honor killings are one type of honor-based violence. Honor-based violence is any violence that occurs with the purpose of restoring the honor of a family or community, and thus, the victim’s family members or community members usually commit it. Violence, in this case, includes any physical or psychological attack. The most common forms of honor-based violence are acid assaults, genital mutilation, forced marriage and murder. Girls or women typically face the most honor-based violence, but men can be targets as well.
Honor-based violence frequently occurs due to the desire for female purity. The practice stems from cultural ideologies that women belong to men or are a symbol of their family’s honor.
Traditionally, some cultures consider men “guardians of female value,” and therefore, experience dishonor if a woman becomes worthless by destroying her virtue. A woman can experience condemnation for ruining her “value” even if she suffers rape or assault.
History and Statistics of Honor-Based Violence
The practice of honor killings dates back to ancient Babylon, connecting to tribal traditions of burying baby girls alive. Although honor killings have undergone justification in the name of Christianity, Islam and Sikhism, the practice does not have any basis in religion. On the contrary, religious leaders frequently condemn this violence.
Estimates have determined that about 1,100 people die in honor killings per year in Pakistan. This is only slightly more than in India, which is about 1,000 people. While Pakistan and India record the most honor killings, they are not the only places where these murders happen. Records of honor killings exist in the U.K., the U.S., Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, Turkey and Uganda. Many places do not document honor killings or record them under other types of violence. Therefore, it is hard to know exactly how many honor killings occur and where they happen.
Activists and Artists
While thousands of honor killings happen each year, many activists have been working to change the culture. For one, they are trying to end the legal and colloquial use of the phrase “honor killing” and instead make sure people use the word murder.
Activists and artists throughout the world have made documentaries about honor killings. In 2016, journalist and activist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won an Oscar for her film “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness.” The movie follows the story of Saba, a young woman from Pakistan who survived an attempted murder against her after she married without her family’s permission.
The film was so influential that the Pakistani Prime Minister vowed to change the laws surrounding honor killings. In fact, that same year, the government passed the Anti-Honor Killing Bill. The bill states that families can no longer pardon people who murder their family members due to “honor.” Before the enactment of this bill, a family could forgive someone for murdering their family member out of honor. In such a case, the murderer would not receive a charge or penalty.
Obaid-Chinoy is not the only one who has created influential documentaries. In 2021, filmmaker Safyah Usmani worked with MTV and Obaid-Chinoy on her documentary “A Life Too Short,” which follows the life of Pakastani star, Qandeel Baloch, and her death by her brother. While many well-known documentaries have emerged in Pakistan, it is not the only country that features in these films. ITV aired a documentary in 2020 about the murder of a London woman, Banaz Mahmod.
Honour-Based Violence Awareness Network
In addition to films, activists have collected resources to help teach people about the tradition. One such project is the Honour-Based Violence Awareness Network that “intends to advise professionals in how to identify and provide an effective response to these forms of violence, and to provide links to [organizations] with expertise in providing help to people at risk.” Founded by activists Deeyah and Joanne Payton, the website provides training and other informational resources for anyone interested in learning more about honor-based violence.
With films and advocacy groups, awareness about honor-based violence has increased. Increased awareness of the issue, along with an increased pressure to cease such harmful patriarchal practices, will hopefully continue to include policy change.
– Sophie Shippe
Photo: Flickr
Displacement in Mozambique Needs Humanitarian Aid
Violence in Cabo Delgado
The province of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique has the highest population of people suffering from food insecurity in the country. According to The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), 770,000 people in Cabo Delgado are suffering from crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity. The community is desperate for aid, but it has been a struggle to obtain.
The violence in Cabo Delgado has interfered with the ability of humanitarian aid to provide people with food, water and health services. However, community members have stepped up. Displaced people have been able to find support from host communities in neighboring provinces. This decreases displacement issues but exacerbates the food crisis. Taking in extra families may jeopardize the food security of the host communities. It places an increased demand on already limited supply of resources.
Humanitarian Response
The nonprofit organization Doctors Without Borders has been helping Pemba, Cabo Delgado’s capital, since 1984. The nonprofit has seen a growing mental health crisis among the displaced people that come to Pemba. In response, Doctors Without Borders has also utilized games and activities to give people a place to grieve their losses and share their stores. The nonprofit has used conversation circles as a tool to allow people to safely express their emotions, as the experiences of many internally displaced people is traumatic. Doctors Without Borders also has a focus on physical health. The organization has built latrines in Mozambique and provided internally displaced people with clean water. Additionally, the nonprofit has teamed up with Mozambique’s Department of Health to respond to COVID-19, HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis C.
Save the Children is another humanitarian aid organization working in Cabo Delgado. So far, the organization has reached over 70,000 people, 50,000 being children. In Cabo Delgado, more than 27% of children have been displaced by violence and are unable to attend school. Save the Children offers adolescence programs that provide children with nutrition and the support they need to complete their education. There are also programs for younger children to ensure they don’t suffer from malnutrition and can attend pre-school. In terms of mental health, Save the Children provides therapy to help children deal with the trauma of being displaced. The organization also works toward prevention in addition to treatment, specifically through politics. Save the Children collaborates with the local government to mitigate the effects of displacement in Mozambique. The joint effort strives to prevent illness, strengthen agriculture and prepare children to be self-sufficient through formal skill training.
Looking Forward
Mozambique is in a difficult position to combat the persisting violence within the country. It cannot fight this crisis alone. The country needs aid from outside organizations. As the violence continues, displacement in Mozambique becomes a growing issue requiring a stronger humanitarian response. However, there is hope thanks to organizations like Doctors Without Borders and Save The Children. With continued and increased humanitarian aid in conjunction with the local government’s efforts, displacement in Mozambique can be diminished and the country can strive toward an end to its persisting violence.
– Gerardo Valladares
Photo: Flickr