The aftermath of the long-lasting Burundian Civil War manifests as poverty, trauma and inequality in Burundi. These factors devastate the mental health of people in Burundi; depression, anxiety and PTSD are common in adults and children alike.
An Overview of Burundi
From 1993 to 2005, the Republic of Burundi, a country located in East Africa, endured a violent civil war stemming from ethnic conflicts between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority. Although the civil war officially came to an end 17 years ago, ethnic violence and injustice persist, causing many to live in fear or flee as refugees. Furthermore, the long-term impacts of the civil war linger in the form of poverty and mental illness.
According to the World Food Program U.S.A, Burundi ranks as one of the most impoverished nations globally, with a staggering poverty rate of 65%. Furthermore, on the 2019 Human Development Index (HDI), Burundi ranks 185th out of 189 nations. “The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.” Burundi’s ranking places the nation “in the low human development category.”
With 12.2 million citizens crammed into 9,920 square miles, overpopulation and food insecurity are major problems. Malaria, measles, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis are common causes of death in Burundi. COVID-19 and a lack of adequate medical care exacerbate poor living conditions within the country. These factors push mental health treatment to the back burner.
Case Study
The aftermath of the war created a ripple of trauma for many citizens. A 2018 study by Nkengurutse and Bitangumutwenzi illuminates the severity of mental health in Burundi. The study included 120 subjects from ages 15 to 55. The results were frighteningly dire: 100% of patients had some form of moderate to severe mental illness. About 57% suffered depression, 20% had “psychotic features,” 13% had bipolar disorder, 8% received a schizophrenia diagnosis and 65% were victims of trauma.
Subjects remained as inpatients for about 20 days. Mental health stigma (60%) and “poor economic insertion” (90%) stood as barriers to full recovery. After a year, 30% of treated patients reported a full recovery while 42% went into relapse. This study illustrates the sheer volume of Burundians that struggle with mental illness and the factors presenting barriers in mental health recovery.
The Good News
Sports unite warring factions of Burundi, reducing the ethnic tensions prevalent across the nation. Burundi recognizes sports as an outlet, never missing a Summer Olympic Game since its first debut in the Olympics in 1996. Athletes from Burundi also compete in the African Wrestling Championship, winning gold and silver medals. Among women, soccer offers many females a source of income, providing a way to use their talents to make a living, the Guardian explains. Soccer also grants these girls and women independence and freedom, a rare commodity for many Burundian females who often face parental pressures to marry as teenagers. Athletes provide role models for young Burundians and boost morale throughout the country, directly improving mental health and confidence.
Why Mental Health Matters
Poor mental health directly correlates with poverty. The Psychiatric Times observed that childhood poverty may lead to depression and anxiety, a decline in school performance and an increased rate of “psychiatric disorders in adulthood.” This impact on education is evident in Burundi as the nation’s literacy rate stood at about 68% in 2017, well below the world average of 86%.
In addition, poverty has direct links to depression, anxiety, psychological distress and suicidality. This causal relationship between poverty and mental illness creates a constant loop that is especially dangerous in Burundi where it is extremely difficult to escape the cycle of poverty. Poverty leads to poor mental health, which impedes the ability of individuals to pull themselves out of the depths of poverty, thus worsening their mental states. In 2019, the Mental Health Innovation Network stated that “90% of people with mental illnesses have no access to treatment, especially in [impoverished] and rural areas.”
Organizations Assist
While UNICEF’s mental health services in 2020 gave 160,000 Burundian children access to mental health resources, partially alleviating the issue, there are still millions of Burundians in need of mental health treatment.
Human Health Aid–Burundi (HHA Burundi) is a nonprofit that “medical students, psychologists and social workers” established in 2005. The organization works with Burundian communities, “especially children and women who suffer from anxiety, depression, trauma and other psychosocial consequences of their war experiences,” to improve “access to mental health care and psychosocial support.” HHA Burundi also provides direct aid to refugees by sending clothing, food and other necessities. Through programs such as Health School and Sanitation Training in Burundi, HHA Burundi transforms lives.
In addition, UNICEF secured $9.8 million worth of funds for Burundi in 2020 for the provision of education, food, medicine and other humanitarian needs. Aid lessens the economic and emotional strain in Burundi, therefore, contributing to positive mental health.
While addressing mental health in Burundi is a matter of urgency, several organizations are stepping in to assist. Furthermore, sport provides citizens an outlet for trauma, giving Burundians a source of hope in a war-torn country. As organizations strive to push mental health to the forefront of foreign aid, the hope is for Burundians to receive the mental health assistance they require to thrive.
– Mariam Abaza
Photo: Flickr
5 Facts About The Weeknd’s Charitable Work
Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd to R&B fanatics, is one of the world’s most well-known musicians. However, his passion extends far beyond his love songs. The Weeknd’s charitable work positions him as a humanitarian celebrity as he uses his celebrity platform to help those in need.
The Weeknd’s Biography
The Weeknd was born in Toronto, Canada, to parents who are immigrants from Ethiopia. The musician grew up in Scarborough, Canada, where “the working poverty rate” stands at roughly 10% and 13% of the population is non-working poor. These circumstances of poverty prompted The Weeknd to take action to reduce poverty in the area and beyond.
5 Facts About The Weeknd’s Charitable Work
Descending from parents who immigrated from Ethiopia to Canada jumpstarted The Weeknd’s strong passion for helping people in Ethiopia, Canada and beyond. His desire to provide people with entertaining music has made him into a household name throughout the United States, but his ability to influence does not end with just that. Through donations and a commitment to use social media to raise awareness of global issues, The Weeknd’s charitable work makes him a rockstar, both on and off stage.
– Nia Hinson
Photo: Flickr
How Tramadol is Fueling the Global Opioid Crisis
Political pundits and policymakers have acknowledged the severity of the U.S. opioid crisis. However, there is also a drug that is quietly wreaking havoc on developing nations. Many have touted tramadol as a safer alternative to other opioids. However, it has instead fostered addiction in the poorest nations and bankrolled terrorists. Authorities fear that the drug’s growing popularity may even destabilize entire regions, causing the global opioid crisis.
Is Tramadol Safe?
At first glance, it is not clear how tramadol is fueling the global opioid crisis. In 2021, the National Institute of Health (NIH) released a study declaring that tramadol has “a low potential for abuse” and has a significantly lower rate of nonmedical use than comparator opioids.
In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Drug Dependence has reviewed the drug several times. It recommended against regulation in its most recent report. The main reasons are its concerns that regulation may hinder access to the drug in developing nations.
However, a closer look at the drug and its effect on the developing world demonstrates clearly how tramadol is fueling the global opioid crisis. Tramadol is an opioid that medical professionals use to treat moderate to severe pain. It may cause nausea, dizziness, constipation, headaches, respiratory depression and even death.
Tramadol and the Global Opioid Crisis
Despite its presentation as a safe alternative to opioids such as Vicodin, there are plentiful examples of how tramadol is fueling the global opioid crisis:
Tramadol Trouble Shooting
Despite the growing problem, many have paid attention. For instance, UNODC met in July 2019 to discuss its West Africa report. Representatives from West Africa, India, the European Union (EU), Interpol and WHO were a few of the guests that attended the meeting to discuss how tramadol is fueling the global opioid crisis.
Not only are organizations, nations and individuals paying attention, but they are also actively strategizing to mitigate the crisis. The meeting highlighted the need for international cooperation and increased law enforcement. Lastly, there was great emphasis on the need for uniform regulation of the pharmaceuticals, in hopes that cooperation would crush the illicit market while meeting demand.
– Richard Vieira
Photo: Unsplash
Fighting for Better Education in Nigeria
Education can act as a golden ticket out of poverty for younger generations in Nigeria. Thus, its absence only hinders a fruitful future for Nigerians all around the country. By fighting for better education in Nigeria, Co-Creation Hub is ensuring that Nigerian students have a reliable pathway to pursue their ambitions and goals.
Nigeria’s Absence of Education
Completing the early steps of education is vital to securing basic knowledge of the language and how the world functions. However, an appalling one in three Nigerian children do not complete primary school and 27.2% of children between the ages of 6 to 11 do not attend school at all.
The intrinsic benefits of early education—learning basic life skills, developing a work ethic and establishing connections with teachers and the community—are thus absent during the most moldable years in the lives of Nigerian youth.
Furthermore, 25.8% of children between the age of 12 to 17 have zero access to an education facility of any kind. The teen years are crucial for identity building and socializing. Grade school is an amazing opportunity to tap into these two fundamental aspects of life. The percentage of Nigerian teens who miss out on these opportunities is too high for the 21st century.
COVID-19’s Impact on Education in Nigeria
After the pandemic hit, school closures have affected 73.8% of the world’s school population. Prior to the pandemic, an estimated total of 10.2 million Nigerian children was out of school. That number has only increased after the start of the pandemic.
Remote education in Nigeria is only available to financially privileged students. Rural children are becoming increasingly disconnected from modern-day teaching. The pupil-teacher ratio in Nigeria was 37.55 in 2010.
What is Co-Creation Hub and How Does it Help?
Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) is Nigeria’s first multi-purpose, open-living lab space provider designed to catalyze creativity and STEM-based work. Within the Co-Creation Hub’s laboratories, staff provides accessible and effective education in STEM subjects to Nigerian kids, adolescents and teens.
Bosum Tijani founded CcHUB in 2010 to innovate Nigeria’s education. The rest of its five areas of focus are digital security, startup funding, design for health and innovation support. The Hub’s four education-oriented programs in Nigeria educated more than 11,000 students in 200 schools. One of the programs has also helped 5,000 internet users who relied on remote settings because of COVID-19.
CcHUB trains new and willing teachers in a teaching technique known as inquiry-based learning. This technique actively places the students at the center of their learning, thus fostering critical thinking, cooperation and a genuine desire to learn.
This organization also offers its computer labs as free and safe learning spaces open to any student in Nigeria. These learning spaces provide STEM education via game-based, online computer lessons purposefully engineered to spark an interest in the sciences. CcHUB has received funding from Microsoft, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Facebook, BBC and VISA among several others.
Facebook has collaborated with one of CcHUB’s educational programs called Safe Online with Facebook. This campaign has reached out to students of all ages in 10 different Nigerian cities to teach vital internet browsing safety skills.
The growing trend of incorporating the internet into education has benefited dozens of countries worldwide. Online learning is now opening up a slew of possibilities for young Nigerians. The drastic digital changes in education in Nigeria are keeping the country in the loop of the newest online era of schooling.
– Fidelia Gavrilenko
Photo: Flickr
Aiding Refugees in the Polish Border Crisis
In recent months, thousands of men, women and children have attempted crossing the freezing wooded border between Poland and Belarus leading to the Polish border crisis. The migrants are hailing from the Middle East and North Africa. One Syrian family paid upwards of $16,000 to travel to Belarus with the promise of entry into the EU. Once they arrived at the EU border in western Belarus, however, Polish authorities were unwilling to allow undocumented migrants into their borders. They are leaving people in limbo between the two countries and in danger of succumbing to the elements.
A New Refugee Crisis for Europe?
Poland and the EU have pointed fingers at Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, for manufacturing this crisis by luring migrants and flooding the EU borders. The Polish border crisis reached significant levels and threatened the EU with another influx of migrants like the continent saw in 2015.
The crisis has calmed down in the last weeks, as the first snowfall arrived in the area. Flights from the Middle East to Belarus remained on the ground and the repatriation of migrants took place. However, about 7,000 migrants remain on the Belarusian side of the border in makeshift tent camps.
Blocking the Border
Belarus has refused aid from Polish humanitarian organizations for the migrants. In September 2021, the Polish government established a state of emergency that prohibited media, medics and NGOs from entering the border zone. Anna Dąbrowska told The Borgen Project in an interview that this is a strategy for the government to “block free media from informing the public” about the situation.
The Missing Migrants Project, an initiative that records disappearances and deaths of refugees, has recorded 16 missing or dead migrants at the Belarus-EU border so far. However, these numbers may be higher on the Belarusian side due to a lack of information from the Belarusian authorities.
The Border Group: A Grassroots Initiative
Poland’s refusal to allow media into the border zone has forced journalists and activists to work quietly. They often work during the night to bring light to this humanitarian crisis. Grupa Granica (The Border Group) is a grassroots network of 14 Polish NGOs monitoring the situation and assisting migrants on the ground by providing supplies and legal aid. One of the most important tasks it faces is finding refugees and getting to them before Polish authorities do.
Dąbrowska said that with time there have been “more and more brutal actions by the border guards and the army.” Activists set up a hotline number that refugees can call when lost or in need of help. Once volunteers reach the migrants, they provide them with food, water, sleeping bags, shoes and other supplies collected as donations from good samaritans. As winter approaches, Dąbrowska said that aid workers and volunteers “rarely meet people in good physical and mental condition,” and that they often have not eaten or drank anything in days.
Homo Faber, an organization within The Border Group to which Anna Dąbrowska belongs, provides legal help to the refugees so they can claim asylum and continue their journeys. Homo Faber works in detention centers in Poland, providing further assistance there. For example, it partners with psychologists across Poland that give free services to refugees who have experienced trauma or abuse on their journeys.
Many refugees have made it into Poland and even Germany, but some have not been so lucky. Often, Polish border guards push migrants back over the border into Belarus instead of taking them to processing centers.
While the Polish border crisis has alleviated, Dąbrowska told The Borgen Project that there is still work to do. “Regardless of the length of the crisis we will carry out aid activities,” she said. However, she is worried about keeping the crisis at the forefront of public discourse as the plight of refugees becomes a “common occurrence” and one that is “less interesting” to citizens detached from the situation.
The Ways People Can Help
While the Polish border crisis is taking place out of the view of many, there are many ways people can help out. People can stay up to date with the work of The Border Group and learn more about migration and refugees. “It will be important to support us in the long term as organizations and individual activists,” said Dąbrowska, who hopes that the initiative continues to flourish.
Another way individuals can help is by talking to friends and family about the crisis. It is especially important to reach people who might approach this topic with indifference.
Individuals can also support leaders at home. The refugee emergency in Poland and Belarus has the potential to disrupt U.S. politics as well and our leaders must stay involved. One can communicate their concerns to their members of Congress.
– Emma Tkacz
Photo: Flickr
5 Programs Supporting Refugees in France
Over the past decade, Europe has become a hub for migrants and refugees fleeing conflict and unrest. Selling most if not all of their personal belongings, families leave their homes behind with eyes set on safer borders in Europe. France is among the most popular nations to settle in — during 2020 alone, 87,659 people applied for asylum in France. For those who do survive the journey, which includes walking, hitchhiking and overcrowded boats, new challenges await. Although the poverty rate in France stood at 14.8% in 2018, refugees and asylum seekers face disproportionately higher rates of poverty. When they first arrive in France, many of these families end up in tents and shanty settlements with little access to clean water and food. However, several programs aim to support refugees in France.
5 Programs Supporting Refugees in France
Journeying thousands of miles in unsafe conditions in search of a better life, refugees find new challenges waiting for them when they arrive in Europe. These five organizations try to address the many facets of integrating and starting a life in a new society.
– Owen Mutiganda
Photo: Flickr
Natural Disaster Resilience Policies to Protect the Impoverished
Not only do natural disasters cost the global economy $520 billion annually but extreme weather also thrusts 26 million global citizens into poverty annually. People enduring poverty experience the adverse effects of floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters more severely because they often live in “fragile housing in disaster-prone areas” and take up employment in industries, such as “farming and agriculture,” that are more “susceptible to extreme weather events.” In response to extreme weather and the impact it has on vulnerable populations, the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) released a report that puts forth the idea of natural disaster resilience policies to protect the impoverished from natural disasters and help them to cope with the consequences. The suggestions in this report to the 2016 U.N. Climate Change Conference aim to implement early warning systems and improve access to personal banking, social protection systems and other critical investments.
What are Natural Disaster Resilience Policies?
The purpose of a resilience policy is to help those living in developing countries develop resilience, which refers to “the ability of individuals, communities and states and their institutions to absorb and recover from shocks [while] positively adapting and transforming their structures and means for living in the face of long-term changes and uncertainty.”
With calls for a resilience policy package, specific countries can tackle the financial strain that comes after a natural disaster. For instance, in September 2020, Haiti received a payout of about $7 million “on its Excess Rainfall (XSR) parametric insurance policy following the passage of Tropical Cyclone Laura.” By having their own resilience policies, developing countries can help their most impoverished citizens in the aftermath of natural disasters.
The nature of insurance policies introduced under the resilience policy benefits those facing the impacts of natural disasters by paying out automatically when conditions “meet or exceed pre-agreed thresholds” regarding wind speed, rainfall or economic losses through insurance policies called parametric policies.
The Economic Benefits of Resilience Policies
The World Bank and GFDRR’s suggestions for resilience policies propose improving disaster risk management (DRM) in 117 countries. For instance, Angola, a country in Central Africa, could potentially see “$160 million a year in gains” if the country were to implement “scalable safety nets” to support the nation’s most impoverished citizens in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Countries with resilience policies are already noting benefits. Due to “an innovative insurance program, Haiti, Barbados, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines received a payout of $29 million in support of recovery efforts after suffering the effects of Hurricane Matthew.”
Scalable safety nets must consist of flexible systems and procedures, including registration and payment mechanisms that will “enable the safety net [to] increase (and decrease) assistance when appropriate” and provide “good quality risk information to understand when a shock has occurred” to allow contingency planning to provide the disbursement of the fund after a disaster.
How Governments Can Assist
Governments can help end global poverty and support those in developing countries after a natural disaster through investments in infrastructure and developing appropriate land-use policies and building regulations. The U.S. Agency for International Development intends to utilize disaster risk reduction (DRR) programs to achieve resilience in countries experiencing extreme weather conditions. Striving for longer-term prevention, the DRR programs will focus on attaining objectives such as “prioritizing and strengthening early warning, preparedness, mitigation and prevention” and “transitions to foster resilience and [support] diversified livelihood strategies” to help impoverished people withstand extreme weather and the impact of natural disasters.
Natural disaster resilience policies can provide better housing and create better employment opportunities for those living in poverty by diversifying the workforce. For instance, in Uganda, “72% of [Uganda’s] labor force works in agriculture,” which is an area that is “highly climate-sensitive.” This puts one of Uganda’s main exports, coffee, at risk in the face of natural disasters or extreme weather events that could potentially prevent the country from producing and harvesting its export. Droughts in 2020 led to the loss of about 50% “of all coffee yields” in Uganda.
By reducing the impact of natural disasters on communities worldwide through resilience policies, poverty can decrease as countries will be better able to adapt to extreme weather changes “and boost the resilience and prosperity of their most vulnerable citizens.” With the ability “to cope, rebuild and rebound,” millions of people can remain out of poverty.
– Grace Watson
Photo: Flickr
The Million Dollar Vegan Reduces Global Hunger
The Million Dollar Vegan is famous for challenging “big names” to “go vegan” in exchange for $1 million in charity donations. However, the organization also aims to improve global health, feed the world’s hungry, reduce animal suffering and protect the planet for future generations. By promoting a vegan diet and raising awareness about the consequences of animal-sourced foods, the Million Dollar Vegan is providing a healthful and ethical solution to a global conundrum: hunger.
4 Ways the Million Dollar Vegan Reduces World Hunger
In the world today, roughly 811 million people go hungry and 690 million people suffer from undernourishment despite the fact that the world produces sufficient food to feed every person on Earth — all 7.8 billion global citizens. The Million Dollar Vegan offers a possible solution to global hunger through veganism while providing vegan meals to ensure that no person goes hungry in a world brimming with food sources.
– Jenny Rice
Photo: Flickr
Air Pollution in Sub-Saharan Africa
Air pollution is the release of pollutants into the air that are harmful to human health and the environment. Such pollutants could be gases, particles or biological molecules. The slightest increase or decrease in the structure of gases could lower the survival chances of any living thing. Air pollution in sub-Saharan Africa is a particular challenge that requires attention.
Why Air Pollution is Prevalent in Low-Income Nations
“Air pollution is a threat to health in all countries, but it hits people in low-and middle-income countries the hardest,” said World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a September 2021 news release.
The relationship between poverty and air pollution in sub-Saharan African countries is evident because impoverished people are more likely to have greater exposure to higher concentrations of air pollutants. In contrast, high-income countries seem to have a lower rate of exposure to air pollution.
Environmental experts Paul Mohai and Robin Saha conducted a study in 2015. The study examined U.S. communities before and after hazardous waste facilities were present. The study found that facilities between 1966 and 1995 chose to locate in areas with low-income family populations.
Mohai and Saha believe that facilities move into low-income areas because of the cheap land cost, low cost of labor and minimum community resistance. The presence of these facilities and the air pollution that comes with their activities leave low-income countries facing detrimental health consequences.
The Health Effects of Air Pollution
Air pollution holds the largest environmental impact on human health. It can cause a reduction in lung growth and function and lead to respiratory infections and aggravated asthma in any child exposed. More specifically, cardiovascular disease is an ailment that plagues sub-Saharan Africa due to household air pollution. Solid fuels for cooking, heating and lighting are the main perpetrators of this disease.
According to the WHO, household air pollution (HAP) was responsible for 4.3 million premature deaths in 2012 due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Research proves that the level of HAP surpasses the recommended WHO guidelines and the number of people exposed to pollutants has increased from 333 million to 646 million.
Respiratory ailments are very common among children in cities with high concentrations of pollutants. According to the Open Knowledge Repository, this impairs their learning and development capabilities. Unfortunately, as adults, they end up with minimum qualifications and skills. With little education and experience, they struggle economically and live life in poverty.
Treatments are available for many of the ill-health issues that occur with air pollution. However, living in low-income countries makes access to affordable health care scarce. The relationship between ill-health and poverty seems inevitable because of this fact.
Disadvantaged people are unable to afford health care, making poverty an obstacle to overcome before receiving adequate care. As a result, families have to deal with the loss of income from out-of-pocket health care fees. To care for relatives, some family members may have to quit school or their jobs. These circumstances only exacerbate situations of poverty.
Air Pollution Monitoring
Air pollution stands as a significant global issue. However, the exact extent of the issue is unknown and immeasurable due to the lack of monitoring. Aware of this situation, in 2019, Dan Westervelt, an associate researcher at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory received funding to install an air-pollution monitoring network in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); Kampala, Uganda and Nairobi, Kenya. Westervelt believes that the issue of air pollution cannot reach a resolution without quantifiable data.
Monitoring provided data in Kinshasa in the DRC, depicting the average fine particulate matter level to be five times greater than the normal level. Like Kinshasa, the monitoring will provide similar data on the other two megacities for analysis in order to address the air pollution epidemic.
Updated WHO Air Quality Guidelines
Fortunately, the World Health Organization provides guidelines to ensure good health. After 15 years, WHO updated its guidelines to improve air quality. The new guidelines detail the damage that air pollution causes the human body. The WHO’s solution to revitalize human health is to reduce levels of key air pollutants and emissions.
Six pollutants could have major impacts on health upon exposure. These pollutants are “particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide.” Fossil fuels, wildfires and agriculture produce particulate matter.
Ground-level ozone comes from the emissions of cars, factories, plants and even some solvents. Burning fossil fuel produces nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide pollutants. Incomplete combustion containing fuel creates carbon monoxide pollutants.
If countries stay below suggested air quality guideline levels, significant health risks could decrease. Although this may have a small impact on communities with low rates of air pollution, it would immensely impact those suffering from higher rates. Air pollution dominates areas with people who are unable to afford higher quality living, exacerbating their poverty further with health issues. With lower rates of air pollution, disadvantaged communities could have a higher survival rate and fewer health challenges.
WHO’s updated air quality guidelines strive to eliminate future problems of air pollution and save millions of lives. With these guidelines, air pollution in sub-Saharan Africa should reduce and sub-Saharan African countries could inevitably see improvement in their quality of life.
– Destiny Jackson
Photo: Flickr
A Closer Look at HIV/AIDS in Kenya
HIV/AIDS in Kenya
According to Avert, in 2019, Kenya reported “1.5 million people living with HIV” and 21,000 deaths stemming from AIDS. While this mortality rate is high, “the death rate has declined steadily from 64,000 in 2010.” Young people account for a significant number of infections — in 2015, young people between the ages of 15 and 24 made up more than 50% “of all new HIV infections in Kenya.”
Since the rise of HIV/AIDS in the 1990s, many sub-Saharan countries still grapple to control the spread of the virus. However, today, Kenya stands as “one of sub-Saharan Africa’s HIV prevention success stories.” In 2019, yearly new HIV infections stood at “less than a third of what they were at the peak of the country’s epidemic in 1993.”
The efforts of the NACC and several local and international organizations are responsible for these successes. In 2013, the NACC began the Prevention Revolution Roadmap to End New HIV Infections by 2030, a strategy for combating HIV/AIDs in Kenya.
The Kenyan government distributes condoms each year as an HIV prevention method. In 2013, the government distributed “180 million free condoms.” Furthermore, the government mandates the inclusion of HIV education in school curriculums to ensure citizens are well-educated on the HIV epidemic and specific guidelines for prevention and treatment. Kenya also utilizes events and the media to raise awareness of HIV/AIDs, which has proven successful. One particular community mobilizer with Lodwar Vocational Training Centre (LVTC) in Kenya distributes 5,000 condoms per day to communities while disseminating information on the current HIV/AIDS epidemic in Kenya and testing processes.
The Maisha Reporting Tool
Kenya’s Government Ministries, Counties, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) use the NACC’s Maisha Reporting Tool to monitor HIV/AIDS in Kenya. This allows MDAs to become effective AIDS control units. Policy-makers inform their intervention using localized data pulled from the tool. The Maisha Reporting tool ultimately aims to encourage the active engagement of MDAs “in developing and implementing policies to tackle the prevention and management of HIV and AIDS in Kenya.”
MDAs’ participation in the certification system involves documenting and tracking their efforts to reduce new cases of HIV/AIDS in Kenya. These recorded undertakings on the part of MDAs include efforts for counseling and testing, distribution of condoms and baseline surveys to help control the spread of the disease.
MDAs strive to manage HIV/AIDS in Kenya, and with the help of the NACC and government funding, MDAs are shifting the narrative of implementation. Through targeted outreach, conferencing, programming and advocacy, Kenya is able to make strides in the battle against HIV/AIDS. The NACC’s Maisha Reporting Tool aims to equip all government agencies with a platform that facilitates understanding and encourages action in order to one day establish an HIV-free Kenya.
– Joy Maina
Photo: Flickr
Addressing Mental Health in Burundi
The aftermath of the long-lasting Burundian Civil War manifests as poverty, trauma and inequality in Burundi. These factors devastate the mental health of people in Burundi; depression, anxiety and PTSD are common in adults and children alike.
An Overview of Burundi
From 1993 to 2005, the Republic of Burundi, a country located in East Africa, endured a violent civil war stemming from ethnic conflicts between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority. Although the civil war officially came to an end 17 years ago, ethnic violence and injustice persist, causing many to live in fear or flee as refugees. Furthermore, the long-term impacts of the civil war linger in the form of poverty and mental illness.
According to the World Food Program U.S.A, Burundi ranks as one of the most impoverished nations globally, with a staggering poverty rate of 65%. Furthermore, on the 2019 Human Development Index (HDI), Burundi ranks 185th out of 189 nations. “The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living.” Burundi’s ranking places the nation “in the low human development category.”
With 12.2 million citizens crammed into 9,920 square miles, overpopulation and food insecurity are major problems. Malaria, measles, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis are common causes of death in Burundi. COVID-19 and a lack of adequate medical care exacerbate poor living conditions within the country. These factors push mental health treatment to the back burner.
Case Study
The aftermath of the war created a ripple of trauma for many citizens. A 2018 study by Nkengurutse and Bitangumutwenzi illuminates the severity of mental health in Burundi. The study included 120 subjects from ages 15 to 55. The results were frighteningly dire: 100% of patients had some form of moderate to severe mental illness. About 57% suffered depression, 20% had “psychotic features,” 13% had bipolar disorder, 8% received a schizophrenia diagnosis and 65% were victims of trauma.
Subjects remained as inpatients for about 20 days. Mental health stigma (60%) and “poor economic insertion” (90%) stood as barriers to full recovery. After a year, 30% of treated patients reported a full recovery while 42% went into relapse. This study illustrates the sheer volume of Burundians that struggle with mental illness and the factors presenting barriers in mental health recovery.
The Good News
Sports unite warring factions of Burundi, reducing the ethnic tensions prevalent across the nation. Burundi recognizes sports as an outlet, never missing a Summer Olympic Game since its first debut in the Olympics in 1996. Athletes from Burundi also compete in the African Wrestling Championship, winning gold and silver medals. Among women, soccer offers many females a source of income, providing a way to use their talents to make a living, the Guardian explains. Soccer also grants these girls and women independence and freedom, a rare commodity for many Burundian females who often face parental pressures to marry as teenagers. Athletes provide role models for young Burundians and boost morale throughout the country, directly improving mental health and confidence.
Why Mental Health Matters
Poor mental health directly correlates with poverty. The Psychiatric Times observed that childhood poverty may lead to depression and anxiety, a decline in school performance and an increased rate of “psychiatric disorders in adulthood.” This impact on education is evident in Burundi as the nation’s literacy rate stood at about 68% in 2017, well below the world average of 86%.
In addition, poverty has direct links to depression, anxiety, psychological distress and suicidality. This causal relationship between poverty and mental illness creates a constant loop that is especially dangerous in Burundi where it is extremely difficult to escape the cycle of poverty. Poverty leads to poor mental health, which impedes the ability of individuals to pull themselves out of the depths of poverty, thus worsening their mental states. In 2019, the Mental Health Innovation Network stated that “90% of people with mental illnesses have no access to treatment, especially in [impoverished] and rural areas.”
Organizations Assist
While UNICEF’s mental health services in 2020 gave 160,000 Burundian children access to mental health resources, partially alleviating the issue, there are still millions of Burundians in need of mental health treatment.
Human Health Aid–Burundi (HHA Burundi) is a nonprofit that “medical students, psychologists and social workers” established in 2005. The organization works with Burundian communities, “especially children and women who suffer from anxiety, depression, trauma and other psychosocial consequences of their war experiences,” to improve “access to mental health care and psychosocial support.” HHA Burundi also provides direct aid to refugees by sending clothing, food and other necessities. Through programs such as Health School and Sanitation Training in Burundi, HHA Burundi transforms lives.
In addition, UNICEF secured $9.8 million worth of funds for Burundi in 2020 for the provision of education, food, medicine and other humanitarian needs. Aid lessens the economic and emotional strain in Burundi, therefore, contributing to positive mental health.
While addressing mental health in Burundi is a matter of urgency, several organizations are stepping in to assist. Furthermore, sport provides citizens an outlet for trauma, giving Burundians a source of hope in a war-torn country. As organizations strive to push mental health to the forefront of foreign aid, the hope is for Burundians to receive the mental health assistance they require to thrive.
– Mariam Abaza
Photo: Flickr