Of the 127 million people in Mexico, 44% or 56 million live below the poverty line. Poverty often means a lack of shelter and food and not having the necessary resources to manage monthly menstruation. Without proper sanitation to manage menstruation, girls miss school and women miss work, along with other opportunities to overcome poverty. Period poverty in Mexico needs to be addressed to ensure that women and girls have the opportunity to progress in their lives.
About Period Poverty
Period poverty is the umbrella term for lack of access to sanitary products or the infrastructure to clean oneself during menstruation due to this economic, social and political issue. According to Global Citizen, “When people can’t manage their periods safely and with dignity, they miss out on school, [work] and opportunities to overcome poverty.” Menstrual poverty is an issue that COVID-19 exacerbated. An additional 3.8 million people in Mexico fell into poverty between 2018 and 2021 due, in part, to the pandemic. This rise in poverty is likely to have increased menstrual poverty.
Period Poverty in Mexico Schools
The lower chamber in Mexico approved a law in March 2021 to make female sanitary products, such as tampons, pads and menstrual cups, free in schools. The law still requires the Mexican Senate’s approval. If passed, the intention is to reinforce menstrual education to fight misinformation and bullying targeting menstruating girls.
There remains a lack of sexual and reproductive education, taboos about menstruation and the absence of the sanitary infrastructure for girls to maintain menstrual hygiene practices and dispose of sanitary products, adding to the obstacles around period poverty in Mexico. For women and girls, menstrual poverty perpetuates more poverty. Without menstrual products, water or pain medication, girls may miss school rather than risk humiliation at school.
Mental Health and Period Poverty
Beyond the lack of available menstrual products, missing school, work and other opportunities, girls who live with period poverty may also experience poor mental health. A limited ability to obtain menstrual products due to poverty can lead to anxiety, depression and feelings of embarrassment.
Period, a global nonprofit, and Thinx, a company that sells period underwear, recently implemented a study showing that two-thirds of teen girls experience stress due to limited menstrual supplies, along with feelings of shame and self-consciousness. In fact, UNICEF reports that half of school-aged girls would rather miss school than risk embarrassment of stained clothing from their periods. The fact that girls miss school has links to poverty, domestic violence, health complications and child marriage.
Menstrual products are necessary items that are often unattainable for girls and women facing poverty. This is partly due to the Value Added Tax (VAT) in Mexico that includes a 16% tax on sanitary pads and tampons and all items related to the management of menstruation.
In September 2020, Deputy of Movimiento Ciudadano Martha Tagle approached the Chamber of Deputies in Mexico with a proposal to eliminate VAT on sanitary products. Congress threw the proposal out after a vote with 218 voicing disapproval, 185 votes of approval and 11 abstaining from the vote. Congress stated that eliminating the VAT was not possible during the health crisis of the pandemic. However, groups such as Movimiento Cuidadano are making strides to reduce the cost of menstrual products.
Menstruación Digna Law
While Mexico is yet to remove the tax successfully, one state has made some headway. On March 3, 2021, Michoacán, Mexico, located in Western Mexico along the Pacific coastline and the ninth largest state in Mexico, passed the Menstruación Digna Law that incorporates menstrual education into health education in schools. Advocacy groups see this as a step forward for those experiencing menstrual poverty in Mexico and another positive move toward making sanitary products and menstrual education accessible to all girls and women in Mexico.
Impacts of Childhood Marriage on Period Poverty in Mexico
UNICEF has reported that girls who miss school or do not receive an education are more at risk of entering child marriage, experience pregnancy, malnourishment and domestic violence. Marriage as a child and teen pregnancies can exacerbate the cycle of poverty. Without powerful remedial measures, the World Bank estimates that the learning loss that has already occurred is going to cost girls in Mexico an average of 8% of their future income.
According to the World Bank, ending childhood marriage and educating girls can be powerful agents of socioeconomic change. Upon completion of school, girls are less likely to experience child marriage, face domestic abuse and suffer from long-term health complications. As a result, females who have education are more likely to have fewer and healthier children. These children then, in turn, are more likely to obtain an education and pull themselves out of poverty, thereby breaking the cycle of poverty. Educating girls around the world and in Mexico could shift the socioeconomic status and infrastructure of countries.
Ban on Plastic Applicators
In January 2021, a ban on plastic applicators in Mexico further exacerbated the issue of period poverty for girls and women. With a lack of access to tampons, women and girls are more at risk of missing more school. Experts have said that the ban could increase period poverty in a country where 43% of the population lives under the poverty line. For those in the lowest income level in Mexico, menstrual health accounts for up to 5% of their monthly expenses. A significant group of women in Mexico City also say that they cannot purchase tampons on e-commerce sites.
Eradicating period poverty in Mexico will support the world effort to end poverty by 2030. As Global Citizen states, “The world must act to end period poverty and guarantee clean water and sanitation for all by 2030. Promoting menstrual equity is key to supporting women and young girls.”
Advocating to end period poverty in Mexico is advantageous. Research shows that when girls receive education, gross domestic product (GDP) grows. A one percentage point increase in female education raises the average GDP by 0.3 percentage points and raises annual GDP growth rates by 0.2 percentage points.
– Sarah Mackay
Photo: Flickr
Poverty, COVID-19 Sanctions and Opiate Addiction in Iran
A Three-Headed Monster in the Era of COVID-19
Poverty, sanctions, and opiate addiction in Iran are thriving with and, in some instances, because of each other. In an interview The Borgen Project held with a spokesperson for the Iranian Embassy to the U.N., they commented that “COVID-19 has spread over all provinces of Iran, leading to about 90,000 death toll so far. It has also been under the most devastating sanctions imposed by the U.S. Therefore, it’s extremely difficult to cope with different challenges, particularly economic ones, posed by both the pandemic and sanctions.”
Further, in regards to how the opioid crisis interacts with those aforementioned issues, this individual told The Borgen Project that “when sanctions have put our economy in trouble, and when we need to address, inter alia, economic problems associated with containing the pandemic, we do not have enough financial resources to fight the drug dealers as hard as before.”
Many of the statistics and information available from outside of Iran seems to confirm this. While sanctions cut off Iran from the international aid community and maximum pressure campaigns only further sour relations and trust between Tehran and the United States, internal resources become even more scarce. Unfortunately, these resources have never been more necessary for Iran in its fight against poverty, pandemic, domestic addiction, drug production and trafficking from neighboring Afghanistan.
Opiate Addiction in Iran
According to award-winning author Maziyar Ghiabi, Iran could very well be considered to have “one of the world’s highest rates of drug addiction.” With an estimated two to seven percent of the nation’s population falling into this category, further support can be found for this conclusion in the statistical evidence recorded by many professionals over the years. According to one such 2014 study, about two million people could be considered daily drug users. This amounted to nearly three percent of the entire population. While not all of those two million suffer addiction to opiates in one form or another, eight out of every ten individuals questioned use opium and six out of every ten people potentially use heroin. Since then, usage has only increased, with Iranians using opium three times the global average in 2020.
When one combines this destructive hardship with the COVID-19 pandemic, one would likely be left with the impression that Iran is enduring a supreme domestic crisis. After adding the burdens of sanctions and extreme poverty, the conclusion that Iran needs international empathy, assistance and reconciliation is simply inescapable.
Iranian Poverty
Poverty is a pervasive and increasingly debilitating force in Iran. The aforementioned factors have coalesced to put real, tremendous strain on its government, society and people. According to internal studies, as well as individuals like Faramarz Tofighi, head of the wages committee of the Islamic Labour Council, “More than 60% of Iranians live in relative poverty because the workers’ wages are enough for about a third of their costs of living. Half of those who live below the poverty line struggle with extreme poverty.” That first percentage works out to close to 60 million Iranians, a truly sickening number. Between 2011 and 2019, poverty in Iran nearly doubled.
Fighting for Iran
Relief International is a global non-profit that focuses on aiding the poor in Iran, both citizens and refugees. Particularly at risk are the estimated three million Afghan refugees who crossed the eastern border over the last four decades. By providing cash assistance and rehabilitated facilities for education and economic training, Relief International does its part towards making a better Iran in the midst of historical traumas and issues inflicting the country. The United States Institute of Peace, alongside the Woodrow Wilson Center, has also offered greater insight and knowledge into Iran and its relationship with the United States.
The U.N. also helps where and how it can. It previously sent help in the form of materials and experts to assist Iran during this time of crisis. The millions of dollars pledged by the likes of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the EU as a collective has also helped in the fight, despite the greater EU and Iran’s squabble over sanctions.
While the United States has the most and best resources to act positively towards Iran, relations between both nations remain estranged and full of mutual distrust. For the United States to play its best global role, it may have to work on reconciling itself with Iran through mutual understanding and empathy for the nation’s people.
A Call to Action
Iran has a rich, sprawling history, going back thousands of years and spanning entire eras of human existence. With just over 85 million souls within its borders, its people are as richly diverse as its environment is. The beautiful capital city of Tehran has seen Shahs, Presidents, Ayatollahs and Prime Ministers throughout its centuries; yet, it has also seen war, trauma, hard times and true hardships. Not least of these hardships are the issues of poverty, COVID-19 sanctions and opiate addiction in Iran. Overcoming these issues will take the cooperation of not only global non-profits, European nations and international collectives, but also the United States.
– Trent R. Nelson
Photo: Flickr
The Situation Regarding Child Soldiers in Iraq
The use of child soldiers in Iraq is pervasive, with the practice going as far back as 1975, manifested in Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath party initiative that strove to create a paramilitary organization for children as young as 14 years of age. Thousands of child soldiers volunteered by 1988, many of them wishing to fight against Iran between 1983 and 1985. Drafting became relatively unpopular due to labor shortages, a ramification of child deaths. As ISIS paraded through countries like Iraq and Syria in the coming years, it also learned of the idea of recruiting children to become soldiers.
The Nearer Past
The 1969 Military Service Act, coupled with resolutions that the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) engendered, determined that the pickings for conscription during times of war were up to the RCC’s discretion. According to Human Rights Watch, conscripting children younger than the age of 15 is a war crime and the age that constitutes a violation under international law is 18. Human Rights Watch has censured the People’s Defense Forces (HPG), operating as the armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as PKK, and the Shingal Resistance Units (YBS), also with ties to PKK, following an investigation uncovering 29 documented cases of child conscription.
“The PKK should categorically denounce the recruitment and use of child soldiers and commanders in affiliated armed groups should know that the recruitment and use of children younger than 15 constitute war crimes,” says Zama Coursen-Neff, children’s rights director at Human Rights Watch.
The Influence of Poverty
COVID-19 briefly exacerbated poverty in Iraq, with children and adolescents in Iraq bearing much of the burden. An additional 4.5 million Iraqis who moved below the poverty line increased the percentage of impoverished people in Iraq by 11.7% from the 20% mark in 2018. However, the 20% statistic has since fallen to 24.8% due to the governmental decision to attenuate health regulations, somewhat stimulating the economy.
Eliminating child soldiers in Iraq and beyond requires, among other things, a focus on ending poverty. NGOs like the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the Iraq Child Rights Network are taking a crucial step in the fight by succoring Iraqi and Syrian refugees and empowering them to rebuild their lives. These NGOs also champion healthy childhood development by working in tandem with official bodies like UNICEF to enable laws that bode well for children in Iraq respectively.
Many factors, including poverty, abduction, threat, manipulation, survival and protection, compel children to prematurely engage or aid armed combatants, although poverty and manipulation tend to be especially pervasive. A suffusing of refugee camps, an answer to conflict, especially explosive ones, presents an abundance of children who are devoid of proper guidance through loss of family or legal guardianship, leaving them at mercy of manipulative and despotic fighters to fill the void. Whatever the reasons, child involvement in armed conflict is a solemn breach of child rights and international humanitarian law.
A Ramification of the Past
The power vacuum that resulted from the deposition of Saddam Hussein left many combatants struggling for power in the region, eventually giving birth to ISIS, a Sunni-insurgency from Iraq, which caused devastation that the world came to know. As ISIS annexed parts of Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate in 2014, the group began to envision a lasting caliphate that could not and would not last, except with an incoming generation of properly indoctrinated subjects. The recent conquests of ISIS, which displaced approximately 700,000 students from proper education, left the terrorist group with a sea of students susceptible to recruitment.
The Child Soldier’s Prevention Act of 2008
Remedying the issue of child soldiers in Iraq and elsewhere is perplexing. Military action risks both a moral dilemma and the potential for intra-conflict for any given military that may otherwise intervene. One can attribute some progress in the battle against the conscription of child soldiers in Iraq to the enactment of the Child Soldier’s Prevention Act of 2008, which has employed the method of engagement of publicly identifying countries involved with child soldiers and restricting security assistance to such countries under the condition that the call to cease child involvement in war goes unheeded.
Prohibition of licenses for direct commercial sales of military paraphernalia, foreign military financing, international military schooling, peacekeeping operations and superfluous military equipment have undergone implementation in order to target countries, albeit said countries may receive a full or partial waiver under the condition that the response to active restrictions brings forth a favorable response. Although Iraq remains a designated country under CSPA ruling, it received a full waiver of restrictions from the Trump administration in 2020, indicating that the country took steps to demobilize, reintegrate and rehabilitate child soldiers.
Geneva Call
Although states largely experience penalties for child conscription, non-state organizations are the usual perpetrators. The restrictions push these states to fight against the issue at home, though this has not kept non-state actors out of earshot of organizations like Geneva Call, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that began in March 2000. Geneva Call tasks itself with enlightening conflict actors on their responsibility as soldiers and informing an inflicted population of their rights.
The HPG and YBS came under close scrutiny by Geneva Call following a Human Rights Watch report noting their involvement in recruiting child soldiers in Iraq. In November 2016, 31 leaders, commanders and advisers of armed movements from several countries, including Iraq, partook in workshops and discussions regarding child protection in armed conflict. The opportunity aimed to educate groups on international norms while seeking pragmatic means of achieving and maintaining adherence to these guidelines.
Using children for military gain branches out of poverty, itself a progenitor of war. Legislation, advocation, education and its complements are not without merit, but eradicating the use of child soldiers once and for all is only possible if countries commit to reducing abject poverty within their borders.
– Mohamed Makalou
Photo: Flickr
COVID-19 Vaccination in MENA
About COVID-19 Vaccination in MENA
Health Policy Advisor Anna Marriott told Middle East Eye that “Those promises that were made at the outset of this pandemic that the vaccine would be a global public good, you know our leaders have failed. We know that 17.9 million people lack access to health care in Yemen and only half the facilities are fully functional.” Marriott referred to the pandemic as vaccine apartheid. In other words, nations are experiencing discrimination solely because of wealth and vaccine diplomacy.
Here are a few other ways inequality has been prominent in MENA locations. On January 24, 2021, in Egypt, Hala Zayed, Minister of Health and Population, announced that citizens would have to pay $12 to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
The only MENA citizens eligible for a free shot are the lower class. The MENA region has received vaccines from India and the United Arabs Emirates. Meanwhile, Tunisia and Iraq received vaccine donations from China due to the lack of access. Tunisia garnered 100,000 doses and China was able to provide Iraq’s first batch of vaccines after 13,428 deaths, on March 1, 2020. These donations helped prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
GAVI and COVAX
Organizations have also taken steps to help improve COVID-19 vaccination in MENA. GAVI is one of the many organizations focusing on improving vaccine access. It founded COVAX, which delivers vaccines to underprivileged nations, including those in the MENA region. For example, Iran, one of the first countries to battle the pandemic, had 18 million vaccines available, 1 million of the vaccines being CovIran Barekat, which Shifa Pharmed Industrial group developed in Tehran. Iran’s vaccine development resulted from experiencing 40,000 cases a day, leading to more hospitalizations than it could handle. China developed its Sinopharm vaccine, donating 12 million to Iran and other MENA countries. Meanwhile, Oxford founded its Astrazenca vaccine, donating 4 million to Iran.
Iran continues developing other vaccines overcoming obstacles regarding access to materials and equipment. When asked why the answer was simple, Iranian scientists said that “We can’t rely on help from the international community with the pandemic. We are living imposed by the United States….” The scientist cements their reasoning, “The United States says that sanctions don’t affect humanitarian activities, but when your money is restricted, it is difficult to buy drugs and medicine. And we have the technology to produce vaccines, so why not.”
MENA countries are not oblivious to the unequal distribution of vaccines. They realize they can not rely on outside lands to provide for them, so they have taken advantage of their resources and provided for themselves and other struggling nations.
– Alexis Jones
Photo: Flickr
6 Facts About COVID-19’s Impact on South Korea
6 Facts About COVID-19’s Impact on South Korea
Concluding Thoughts
COVID-19’s impact on South Korea comes with twists and turns, however, although there are many troubles, the country has solutions. History has seen South Korea rise up from its colonization to a booming economy. This East Asian country is now attempting to prevent an increase in COVID-19 cases through a comprehensive plan.
The virus is mutating and the Delta variant is only worsening countries’ conditions. As a result, the mask mandates that South Korea recently lifted are back in place. However, South Korea’s progress and plans so far indicate that it is well-prepared to mitigate any further consequences of COVID-19.
– Minjae Eum
Photo: Flickr
David Beckham and UNICEF Soccer Aid 2021
Who is David Beckham?
David Beckham is a retired English soccer player who has won league titles in four countries including England, Spain, the United States and France. He played for 20 years winning more than 15 trophies. He tallied six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, one European Cup, and one Intercontinental Cup within 12 years. He’s worth $450 million and is donating his time and money to programs within UNICEF that help vulnerable children. He has specifically been involved as a Goodwill Ambassador.
He has worked and led efforts with The David Beckham UNICEF Fund, the #EndViolence campaign, and has been helping with UNICEF since 2005. Each of these efforts focuses on child survival, violence, education and bullying. The David Beckham UNICEF Fund, more commonly known as the 7 Fund, is a major effort he works on. This partnership focuses on children, especially girls, who are subject to bullying, violence, child marriage and miseducation. Beckham travels to different countries to apply the 7 Fund and put it into action.
What is being done?
One of Beckham’s most recent projects was helping with Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2021. UNICEF Soccer Aid is set up between England and its opponents once a year. The soccer match is organized as a charity event that raises money for impoverished children. The proceeds will go toward child wasting, which is an extreme form of malnutrition. Beckham awarded the trophy to the winning team. He also announced that the Children’s Investment Fund will match each donation made during the event. In 2020, 9.3 million euros were raised for the fund.
How did it go?
The game took place on September 4 at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium. The game was broadcasted live on ITV and STV. Tickets could be purchased online.
Even those who couldn’t attend the game could still donate. In 2021, Soccer Aid raised more than it ever had before, racking up donations worth a little more than 13 million pounds. UNICEF already works with children’s education, malnutrition and health care. Donations made to the fundraiser will help UNICEF distribute vaccines around the world and continue various projects.
– Maddie Rhodes
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
MacKenzie Scott’s Philanthropy
Vast Reach
The goal behind Mackenzie Scott’s philanthropy is to maximize her impact by donating to charities that other philanthropists often overlook. A $1.68 billion donation in 2020 went toward addressing various social issues. The largest portion ($587 million) of the donation went to racial equity, but a significant amount also went toward economic mobility ($399.5 million), global development ($130 million), functional democracy ($72 million), LGBTQ+ equity ($46 million), empathy and bridging divides ($55 billion), among other issues.
As a result, not only is Mackenzie Scott’s philanthropy generous but it also focuses on making the largest impact across a variety of social issues. In particular, in her latest donation of $2.7 billion, she emphasizes giving to more than 700 million people that live in extreme poverty across the globe. The objective was to find solutions with “on-the-ground engagement and diverse engagement.” Therefore, local teams with female leaders and people of color held priority positions.
To name a few, these organizations include Dream a Dream, GiveDirectly and Muso. Specifically, Dream a Dream focuses on empowering children from destitute backgrounds to receive an education and garner skills that will help them thrive in today’s world. GiveDirectly is a platform that provides direct cash transfers to people in need, primarily in African countries, with most people spending the aid on medicine, food, education and entrepreneurial projects. Last but not least, Muso focuses on preventing global deaths that arise from extreme poverty with frequent home visits to patients and access to care clinics. All of these organizations have different strategies on how to battle poverty and alleviate the issues that stem from it, employing diverse teams to enable more creative and effective solutions.
COVID-19 Funds
In addition to donating to poverty-related causes, the focus of Scott’s giving in 2020 was the COVID-19 pandemic. Estimates indicate that $4 billion out of the $6 billion that Scott gave away last year went directly to COVID-related causes. Scott’s donation accounts for about three-quarters of billionaire and high-net-worth individual pandemic-related philanthropy. Scott expresses that the pandemic fostered fresh inequalities in the world’s systems and that she feels compelled to do her part in improving an unjust and often unstable world. Therefore, Scott is not only staying true to her promise but has also become one of the most generous givers in recent years.
A Worthy Cause
MacKenzie Scott’s pledge to give away “until the safe was empty” represents a fresh and positive force to solve social problems that other philanthropists frequently overlook. Mackenzie Scott’s philanthropy is not only generous but also strategic with a focus on on-the-ground strategies and organizations with diverse teams to maximize the impact of her donations. Scott’s donations address racial inequality as well as global poverty and the consequent problems arising from it.
– Max Sidorovitch
Photo: Flickr
Ending Female Genital Mutilation in Guinea-Bissau
FGM is supposed to “guarantee” a female’s virginity and fidelity after marriage. Certain communities conduct FGM to elevate the sexual pleasure of men. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), communities view FGM as “a necessary part of raising a girl and a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage.” The unnecessary procedure of FGM violates women and can impact their entire lives.
About FGM in Guinea-Bissau
Women in Guinea-Bissau have experienced torture and mistreatment for decades. If a female refuses to undergo FGM in Guinea-Bissau, those within her town may harass her and she will most likely have trouble finding a husband. The percentage of FGM procedures in Guinea-Bissau during the year 2014 was 44.9%. However, from the year 2014 to 2018-2019, the percentage increased to 52.1%. Due to the fact that many cases of FGM occur in girls from infancy to age 15, Guinea-Bissau has seen an increase in sexual and reproductive services.
Types of FGM in Guinea-Bissau
Furthermore, female genital mutilation in Guinea-Bissau consists of four different types of procedures. Additionally, many of the procedures occur with no anesthesia whatsoever. The main two that practitioners use in Guinea-Bissau are Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 involves the partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce, whereas Type 2 comprises partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora.
After females experience FGM, they have to remain immobilized from hip to ankle for 40 days to allow for healing after the surgery. According to the Journal of Medical Ethics, “Several studies have indicated that many girls are subjected to FGM several times, particularly if the members of the family or their social network are not satisfied with the result of the first procedure.”
An uproar has occurred due to the fact that unnecessary FGM procedures are happening across rural and eastern parts of Guinea-Bissau. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), “In several countries, harmful practices meant to control women’s sexuality have led to great suffering. Among them is the practice of female genital cutting, which is a violation of basic rights and a major lifelong risk to women’s health.” Several long-term risks of FGM are difficulty during childbirth, sexual dysfunction and psychological effects.
Plan International
Since about 52% of females have undergone Type 1 or Type 2 FGM, more than a handful of people are speaking about FGM’s harm. For instance, some sections of Guinea-Bissau are addressing and doing public proclamations to stop FGM. In addition, the girls and women who have endured the procedure are encouraged to use their experience to educate others on the dangers of FGM so that the practice can come to a complete end.
An organization that seeks to advocate for those who have undergone FGM is called Plan International. This organization is fighting for women’s rights and has partnered with Nickelodeon and The Body Shop to raise awareness and take action about the FGM issue. A 52-year-old woman named Siren from Guinea-Bissau shared her story with Plan International to inform and educate others about her experience and how she overcame FGM.
Plan International is working with community leaders in Guinea-Bissau like Sawandim Sawo, who performed FGM for 18 years before Plan International informed her of the dangers of the practice. As a result, Sawo joined Plan International to raise awareness by speaking to men, women and children. Plan International encourages girls to raise awareness about FGM in their communities by performing songs and creating poetry and drawings.
Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP)
In addition, Tostan is a human rights organization that emerged in 1991 to educate African-Americans who had little to no schooling. Tostan began advocating for an end to FGM through the Community Empowerment Program (CEP) in Guinea-Bissau in 2008. CEP allows people to share human rights knowledge and connect with others through the program. More than 8,000 communities, including some in Guinea-Bissau, have decided to abandon the FGM practice as a result of CEP’s efforts.
Often, practitioners use unsterilized scissors, razors or even a piece of glass to perform FGM procedures. Additionally, they frequently use the same tools on dozens of girls on the same day. Due to this course of action, a significant percentage of HIV transmission occurs as a result of FGM surgeries. Approximately 5.3% of the women’s population in Guinea-Bissau are living with HIV.
The practice of FGM is a violation of women’s rights and human rights. However, organizations such as Plan International and Tostan are raising awareness and speaking to communities about female genital mutilation in Guinea-Bissau. Such efforts can educate and inform people in Guinea-Bissau about FGM and how to eradicate it.
– Carolina Reyes
Photo: Flickr
Period Poverty in Mexico
Of the 127 million people in Mexico, 44% or 56 million live below the poverty line. Poverty often means a lack of shelter and food and not having the necessary resources to manage monthly menstruation. Without proper sanitation to manage menstruation, girls miss school and women miss work, along with other opportunities to overcome poverty. Period poverty in Mexico needs to be addressed to ensure that women and girls have the opportunity to progress in their lives.
About Period Poverty
Period poverty is the umbrella term for lack of access to sanitary products or the infrastructure to clean oneself during menstruation due to this economic, social and political issue. According to Global Citizen, “When people can’t manage their periods safely and with dignity, they miss out on school, [work] and opportunities to overcome poverty.” Menstrual poverty is an issue that COVID-19 exacerbated. An additional 3.8 million people in Mexico fell into poverty between 2018 and 2021 due, in part, to the pandemic. This rise in poverty is likely to have increased menstrual poverty.
Period Poverty in Mexico Schools
The lower chamber in Mexico approved a law in March 2021 to make female sanitary products, such as tampons, pads and menstrual cups, free in schools. The law still requires the Mexican Senate’s approval. If passed, the intention is to reinforce menstrual education to fight misinformation and bullying targeting menstruating girls.
There remains a lack of sexual and reproductive education, taboos about menstruation and the absence of the sanitary infrastructure for girls to maintain menstrual hygiene practices and dispose of sanitary products, adding to the obstacles around period poverty in Mexico. For women and girls, menstrual poverty perpetuates more poverty. Without menstrual products, water or pain medication, girls may miss school rather than risk humiliation at school.
Mental Health and Period Poverty
Beyond the lack of available menstrual products, missing school, work and other opportunities, girls who live with period poverty may also experience poor mental health. A limited ability to obtain menstrual products due to poverty can lead to anxiety, depression and feelings of embarrassment.
Period, a global nonprofit, and Thinx, a company that sells period underwear, recently implemented a study showing that two-thirds of teen girls experience stress due to limited menstrual supplies, along with feelings of shame and self-consciousness. In fact, UNICEF reports that half of school-aged girls would rather miss school than risk embarrassment of stained clothing from their periods. The fact that girls miss school has links to poverty, domestic violence, health complications and child marriage.
Menstrual products are necessary items that are often unattainable for girls and women facing poverty. This is partly due to the Value Added Tax (VAT) in Mexico that includes a 16% tax on sanitary pads and tampons and all items related to the management of menstruation.
In September 2020, Deputy of Movimiento Ciudadano Martha Tagle approached the Chamber of Deputies in Mexico with a proposal to eliminate VAT on sanitary products. Congress threw the proposal out after a vote with 218 voicing disapproval, 185 votes of approval and 11 abstaining from the vote. Congress stated that eliminating the VAT was not possible during the health crisis of the pandemic. However, groups such as Movimiento Cuidadano are making strides to reduce the cost of menstrual products.
Menstruación Digna Law
While Mexico is yet to remove the tax successfully, one state has made some headway. On March 3, 2021, Michoacán, Mexico, located in Western Mexico along the Pacific coastline and the ninth largest state in Mexico, passed the Menstruación Digna Law that incorporates menstrual education into health education in schools. Advocacy groups see this as a step forward for those experiencing menstrual poverty in Mexico and another positive move toward making sanitary products and menstrual education accessible to all girls and women in Mexico.
Impacts of Childhood Marriage on Period Poverty in Mexico
UNICEF has reported that girls who miss school or do not receive an education are more at risk of entering child marriage, experience pregnancy, malnourishment and domestic violence. Marriage as a child and teen pregnancies can exacerbate the cycle of poverty. Without powerful remedial measures, the World Bank estimates that the learning loss that has already occurred is going to cost girls in Mexico an average of 8% of their future income.
According to the World Bank, ending childhood marriage and educating girls can be powerful agents of socioeconomic change. Upon completion of school, girls are less likely to experience child marriage, face domestic abuse and suffer from long-term health complications. As a result, females who have education are more likely to have fewer and healthier children. These children then, in turn, are more likely to obtain an education and pull themselves out of poverty, thereby breaking the cycle of poverty. Educating girls around the world and in Mexico could shift the socioeconomic status and infrastructure of countries.
Ban on Plastic Applicators
In January 2021, a ban on plastic applicators in Mexico further exacerbated the issue of period poverty for girls and women. With a lack of access to tampons, women and girls are more at risk of missing more school. Experts have said that the ban could increase period poverty in a country where 43% of the population lives under the poverty line. For those in the lowest income level in Mexico, menstrual health accounts for up to 5% of their monthly expenses. A significant group of women in Mexico City also say that they cannot purchase tampons on e-commerce sites.
Eradicating period poverty in Mexico will support the world effort to end poverty by 2030. As Global Citizen states, “The world must act to end period poverty and guarantee clean water and sanitation for all by 2030. Promoting menstrual equity is key to supporting women and young girls.”
Advocating to end period poverty in Mexico is advantageous. Research shows that when girls receive education, gross domestic product (GDP) grows. A one percentage point increase in female education raises the average GDP by 0.3 percentage points and raises annual GDP growth rates by 0.2 percentage points.
– Sarah Mackay
Photo: Flickr
Human Trafficking in Hungary
Root Causes of Human Trafficking in Hungary
One can trace human trafficking back to three root causes. These include significant unemployment rates, inequity in employment opportunities and poverty. These persisting issues leave people vulnerable to human trafficking ploys as people are often desperate to improve their economic situations.
Hungary is a major source country, which means it provides a supply of traffic victims. Traffickers then transport these victims to other countries, typically located in Western Europe. One out of every five human trafficking victims in Europe is Hungarian. Oftentimes, young girls and women are the victims of sex trafficking in Hungary.
Traffickers sometimes offer victims promises of a relationship with an improved lifestyle. This, however, can turn out to be a marriage scam resulting in traffickers forcing the girls into sex work. Additionally, traffickers exploit men and women alike for cheap labor. This includes construction, agriculture and factory work.
Adults who lack proper education and live in poverty or previously resided in youth detention centers are more prone to become victims of trafficking. Traffickers consider individuals with these backgrounds as “easy pickings.” Traffickers “recruit” their victims based upon an individual’s economic or personal situation and capitalize on those who are vulnerable.
The Role of Social Media
Social media draws many Hungarians into human trafficking via social media. Traffickers post jobs or other opportunities on Facebook and lure at-risk Hungarians into responding to these adverts in hope of a better life. An example of labor exploitation through social media is the story of a Hungarian man named Mahai. He noticed an advert on Facebook for a job in a factory. In reality, this seemingly legitimate factory job involved harvesting vegetables for incredibly low pay and insufficient housing while facing intimidation through threats of murder.
Fighting Human Trafficking in Hungary
More recently, Hungary implemented various measures with the intention of eradicating human trafficking. For example, Hungary is taking action by increasing the number of traffickers indicted and sentencing convicted traffickers to longer terms of imprisonment. Furthermore, the National Police is calling on the expertise of investigators specializing in trafficking.
Along with these improvements, the Hungarian national government created a “national anti-trafficking strategy for 2020-2023” to fight the issue. It distributed $1.8 million toward this plan in 2021 in order to set the strategy into motion. This initiative aims to introduce improved legislation regarding human trafficking in order to make it a more serious crime for perpetrators and to eliminate the criminal repercussions for the victims. Because this strategy is new, however, it is difficult to measure its success at this point.
Hungary is also making efforts to raise awareness for human trafficking and inform the population on how to avoid such situations. For example, several NGOs are launching a “prevention program” exemplifying the harsh realities for the victims of human trafficking in order to make others aware of this crisis.
Hungary still falls short of the United States requirements for the elimination of human trafficking. However, the country is working toward safeguarding Hungarians from becoming victims of this crime. If this trend continues, Hungary will improve its ranking and continue to reduce cases of human trafficking occurring within the country.
– River Simpson
Photo: Flickr
A Look at HIV/AIDS in Vietnam
The Role of Foreign Aid
Over the years, foreign aid has advanced efforts to control HIV/AIDS in Vietnam. The United States has long been the largest donor, bilaterally through its President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and multilaterally through its contributions to the United Nations.
The U.S. began PEPFAR in 2003 when the global HIV/AIDS epidemic was near its peak severity. PEPFAR initially focused on 15 countries in which the HIV/AIDS epidemic was most out of control, including Vietnam. Vietnam received $288.7 million in assistance from the program between 2004 and 2008. This aggressive funding went a long way in helping Vietnam educate high-risk populations about HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment; providing antiretroviral treatment (ART) for infected persons and addiction treatment for people who inject drugs (the highest risk population).
UNAIDS 90-90-90 Goals and Beyond
In October 2014, Vietnam became the first nation in Asia to adopt the UNAIDS’ 90-90-90 initiative, which set the following aggressive goals to be reached by 2020:
“90% of all people living with HIV will” have a diagnosis.
“90% of all people diagnosed with HIV” will obtain antiretroviral treatment.
“90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.”
A 2020 UNAIDS report shows that Vietnam had incomplete data for the first two goals and a 95% score for the third. The data also indicates that 66% of all people in Vietnam living with HIV were virally suppressed. UNAIDS has set new goals to reach 95% in all three areas by 2025.
The Positive Impact of Poverty Reduction
A few years before Vietnam discovered its first HIV infections in 1990, its government implemented economic reforms known as Doi Moi. These changes made the Vietnamese economy more market-oriented, which in turn, attracted foreign investments and allowed the nation to tap into globalization. The economic results were so dramatic that the IMF says Vietnam’s per capita growth of 5.6% between 1990 and 2017 was “second only to China.” More than 40 million people rose out of poverty from 1993 to 2014. According to the World Bank, Vietnam’s poverty rate now stands at less than 6% based on the purchasing power parity of $3.2 a day.
This vast reduction in poverty has no doubt helped in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Vietnam. The American Psychological Association says that risky health behaviors, such as substance abuse and transactional sex work, are more likely in areas with a low socioeconomic status (SES). It also notes that HIV-infected people with low SES are less likely to receive treatment early on, and that, once treatment begins, the demands and costs of their medical care often hurt their SES even further.
The Impact of a Change in Economic Status
Efforts to control HIV/AIDS in Vietnam have been affected by the change in 2009 of Vietnam’s economic status from a low-income country to a lower-middle-income country. Foreign donors have since demanded that Vietnam cover an increasingly high share of the costs to run its HIV/AIDS programs, which Vietnam has agreed to. Today, the nation covers approximately 40% of the total costs of HIV/AIDS treatment.
Going forward, it is imperative that Vietnam and foreign donors work closely together to help ensure a smooth transition for critical HIV/AIDS programs as Vietnam takes on more autonomy.
– Jeramiah Jordan
Photo: Flickr