How Does Bhutan Run its Government and Healthcare System?
Bhutan, a Buddhist nation of just over 750,000 people, is between China and India. After a long period of underdevelopment, with legalized slavery until 1958, Bhutan has dramatically progressed through the course of 12 Five Year Plans (FYPs), currently scheduled through 2023. In 2008, the nation adopted a constitutional monarchy.
Bhutan is famous for its use of the Gross National Happiness Index. Every Five Year Plan discusses what changes the nation must make, as well as what priorities it should adopt, in order to maximize the GNH index. Bhutan’s entire government, along with its healthcare system, runs with the goal of promoting nationwide happiness and well-being. Bhutan utilizes a system of universal free healthcare, which it finances with approximately 3.5% of its GDP. There have been many significant health breakthroughs in Bhutan, between the near-eradication of vaccine-preventable diseases and the provision of an equitable healthcare supply. However, the system has encountered and continues to face several difficulties.
Issues Regarding Healthcare in Bhutan
Modern health struggles have accompanied Bhutan’s modernization; instead of malaria and polio, Bhutan now faces addiction, mental illnesses, HIV/AIDs and other serious problems. Specifically, the three most pressing concerns are systemic healthcare problems, noncommunicable diseases and mental health issues. Bhutan’s healthcare system faces challenges itself. Most prominent is a lack of proper recordkeeping, unequal access to care (despite having equal supply) and inadequate providers.
First, Bhutan does not properly record most of its health difficulties. This lack of data leads to increased difficulty in making progress. The Five Year Plans cannot satisfactorily address problems that the Bhutanese government does not know are occurring. Second, facilities face large discrepancies in their quality of care and certain settlement areas do not receive enough information about the nation’s healthcare options. Just because there is equitable supply does not mean that all in the nation have access to or know to utilize the care that Bhutan’s government provides.
Third, Bhutan employs underqualified healthcare workers. While a lack of reports means that the international community is unaware of the exact problems the Bhutanese population encounters, as well as how many in Bhutan die due to dangerous healthcare, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that millions die globally because of unsafe medical care and that around half of these deaths are preventable. A study that the British Medical Journal Open (BMJ) published found that Bhutan’s healthcare system’s most prominent failings have been due to inadequate skills, training and attitudes among providers.
Health Problems in Bhutan
Furthermore, non-communicable diseases account for 53% of all deaths, and they are the leading cause of death across all age groups. Cancer, diabetes and traffic injuries have replaced the falling number of deaths from STIs. Despite working out of a framework dedicated to happiness, Bhutan ranks 20th on a list of countries regarding their rate of suicide. Combined with addiction and other mental health struggles, this is an area where Bhutanese healthcare faces an extreme care deficiency.
Bhutan did not employ its first psychiatrist until 1999 when Bhutan-born and Sri Lanka-trained Dr. Chencho Dorji returned to the nation. As of 2013, the majority of more than 5,300 Bhutanese psychiatric patients have fallen onto the shoulders of Dr. Chencho. As of the 2020 survey, Bhutan only employs 116 in the department of therapy — that is, barely more than 0.015% of its population. To put this number in context, 0.03% of the United State’s population are licensed therapists. Nevertheless, plenty of reasons exist for one to be optimistic about Bhutan’s healthcare system.
Optimism About Bhutan’s Future
Bhutan has multiple ways to resolve the healthcare problems it is currently facing. For example, the BMJ study focused on collaboration, resources and governance, but a better way of looking for optimism could be to investigate what the Five Year Plan prioritizes. Prioritization in the FYPs produced all of Bhutan’s historical healthcare successes, and there is no reason to predict otherwise for current crises. The 12th Five Year Plan, in effect from 2018 to 2023, provides solutions to the struggles of healthcare in Bhutan.
About the 12th Five Year Plan
First, the 12th Five Year Plan addresses problems in data recording as discussed at the 11th FYP’s mid-term review, prioritizing proper data collection for the new term to accurately perceive what problems need attention. Bhutan’s excellent COVID-19 response showcased success in this area. Second, the fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worked its way into the forefront of Bhutan’s healthcare policy and is clearly a priority in the 12th Five Year Plan. Bhutan shares the international goal of eradicating tuberculosis by 2035 and recognizes both cures and treatments of NCDs as a dire need. Third, the FYP expanded from its four pillars of a just society to nine domains. The new domains include living standards, education, health, psychological well-being, cultural resilience, ecological diversity, among others.
The plan accounts for other systemic issues in the Bhutan healthcare system as well. One of the central means of progress that the FYP outlined is decentralization. By allocating funding to local governments to more comprehensively provide care throughout the nation, Bhutan will see a rise in equitable access to care — not just supply. Additionally, the 12th FYP details increased provider training.
Some of the new domains, including creating a charitable culture and regulating time allocation between work, sleep and other activities, work directly to combat mental illness. Psychological well-being places focus on providing adequate treatment to those who are still struggling despite those domains. New policies and priorities outlined in the 12th FYP provide hope for one of the fastest developing healthcare ministries globally.
Looking Ahead
There are certainly kinks in healthcare in Bhutan that the country must work out. However, with the changes in the Five Year Plan, the system of healthcare seems to be leading the way to a very bright future.
The only factor holding back this optimism is Bhutan’s limited resources. But, Bhutan underwent a great economic change, raising its GDP at an annual average of 7.5% just two decades after emancipation. As one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, its health services have seen great progress and continued to grow with time.
If a small, underdeveloped country with a great resource shortage can successfully implement a healthcare system that specifically focuses on its citizens’ happiness, perhaps this system could inspire a seismic shift in the way government runs. Bhutan has set a precedent for designing a world where the population’s happiness is the government’s main priority and, with adequate funding, it could more thoroughly achieve these goals. Now, it is time for the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K. and other global democratic superpowers to step up and do the same.
The Gender Wage Gap in Brazil
Despite having the same legal rights as men, Brazilian women continue to fight for equality in the workplace. The gender wage gap in Brazil is one of the largest in Latin America, and women earn an average of 30% less than men.
Today, societal norms and the lack of gender representation in Congress contribute to this gap. As a result, the pay gap affects minority women the most and they earn approximately half the wage of the average white man. Despite the pay gap between women and men, Brazil has made advances toward gender equality in the past few decades.
Gender Inequality in Brazil
According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), 78% of men hold jobs in comparison to 56% of women in Brazil. Yet, the majority of women in the survey said that they would prefer a paid job to staying at home.
In Brazil, most women have access to the same educational opportunities as men. However, their degree does not necessarily translate into a higher salary. For example, women account for more than 60% of the workforce with college degrees. However, they receive 36% less pay than men with college degrees. Therefore, the gender wage gap in Brazil impacts women of all educational and economic backgrounds.
The Issue
Traditionally, Brazilian culture expects women to stay at home while men support the family. As a result, women who break cultural norms by working outside the home find it difficult to establish successful careers. Though women make up roughly half of the workforce in Brazil, only 16% of companies have a female CEO and less than 20% of women hold middle management positions. These statistics illustrate Brazil’s well-established social hierarchy where women rank second to men.
Women’s underrepresentation in Congress also allows men to hold the majority of political power within the Brazilian government. Women held fewer than 15% of Congressional seats until 2018. The male-dominated Congress failed to pass legislation that would address the gender wage gap in Brazil. Even though women have held 30% of Congressional seats following the 2018 election, women still experience stigma for challenging cultural norms.
How the Gender Wage Gap Affects Minorities
Afro-Brazilian women suffer the most from the lack of female representation in Congress. There are few government officials to represent their best interests. The average income for Afro-Brazilian women is $2.50 per hour. The average income for white women is $4.02 per hour. These salaries compare to the average for white men, which is $5 per hour.
The gender wage gap in Brazil affects women of all socio-economic backgrounds. In 2015, Afro-Brazilians made up 76% of the lower class, and only 17% was among the country’s richest 1%. Even more, minority women with secondary education earn less than their white counterparts with the same qualifications, showing how the wage gap adversely affects minority women.
The Progress
Local organizations are actively working within the Brazilian community to bridge the gender wage gap. For example, the Associação the Comunitária dos Moradores de Mandassaia (Community Association of Residents of Mandassaia) promotes gender equality by empowering women in the small town of Mandassaia, Brazil.
Mandassaia is a rural town where job opportunities are scarce. Typically, Mandassaia women work in sugar cane fields or stay home to raise their children. In 2017, the Community Association of Residents of Mandassaia partnered with the National School Feeding Program to help a small group of women profit off of Mandassaia’s sugar cane production. The Program teaches women cake baking and jam production so they can make money selling baked goods. Through the Community Association of Residents of Mandassaia, these women were able to increase their income by 425% and earn a livable wage.
Mandassaia’s bakers now have a community farming seal, which allows them to expand their business and provide more job opportunities for women. By helping women become financially independent in local communities, the Community Association of Residents of Mandassaia is reducing the wage gap in Brazil.
Looking Ahead
The pay gap has decreased over the last few decades, and the Brazilian government is participating in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to achieve equal pay by 2030. The Brazilian government has also agreed to work toward reducing gender inequality in the workforce by 25% by 2025. Although Brazil continues to struggle with bridging the wage gap in the workplace, the efforts of the Brazilian government and community to eliminate gender inequality represent an encouraging step forward.
– Abby Adu
Photo: Flickr
5 Ways to Combat Human Trafficking in Azerbaijan
An Azerbaijani woman called Gulnara took a job in Turkey to support her daughter and her sick father. Upon her arrival, Gulnara’s contact in Turkey took her passport and forced her into prostitution. After a year, Gulnara was able to escape and return to Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani Government Department on Combating Trafficking in Persons referred her to a shelter for human trafficking survivors. The IOM-implemented shelter is part of an initiative that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funds. Azerbaijan has been working tirelessly to combat human trafficking to ensure vulnerable people like Gulnara receive protection.
5 Ways to Combat Human Trafficking in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan’s Progress
In 2020, Azerbaijan remained on the Tier 2 Watch List of the U.S. Department of State. This designation means the country “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.” From 2020 through 2024, the government of Azerbaijan’s National Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings will target and address the root causes of human trafficking while improving support services for victims.
USAID Assistance
Since 2015, USAID has supported three shelters in Azerbaijan. These shelters “provided direct assistance to more than 100 confirmed and presumed victims of trafficking” between 2015 and 2018. The shelters also helped more than 1,000 people who were vulnerable to trafficking. The shelters provide “psychological, medical and legal support” services.
Azerbaijan created a human trafficking hotline center to provide information on services and relay necessary information to law enforcement officials. As of 2021, the hotline aims to incorporate an online system to allow workers to screen calls in a more efficient and detailed manner.
Human trafficking in Azerbaijan is progressing in the right direction. With commitment and continuity, Azerbaijan can improve its human trafficking tier ranking, protecting thousands of vulnerable people in the process.
– Alessandra Heitmann
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Generation Equality Forum: Working Toward Gender Equality Around The World
What is the Generation Equality Forum?
The global meeting brought together the U.N. Women, the governments of Mexico and France and a total of 50,000 people in order to create an action plan for the immediate progress for global gender equality. The forum had some target areas that the representatives wanted to focus on discussing. These areas included gender violence, economic justice, autonomy, reproductive health, climate justice action taken by feminists and feminist leadership.
The Beijing Women’s Conference 1995
According to U.N. Women, the World Conference on Women in Beijing 25 years ago marked a “turning point for the global agenda for women’s equality,” as it resulted in the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. This declaration set out goals for the advancement of women and gender equality and included a plan to meet again in 25 years to reassess. As a result, the main goal of the forum this year was to look at how far the world had come since 1995.
The 25-year review showed further global progress can be made to advance gender equality, especially amid COVID-19. In fact, studies found that countries will need to implement significant action to meet their gender equality goals by the target year of 2030. The main reason for this lack of progress: a corresponding lack of funding.
Why Decreasing the Gender Gap is Important
The COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting women. This has affected their education, employment and health. As a result, decreasing the gender gap is more important than ever today. By making women a focal point of economic recovery plans, the world can rebuild the economy equitably.
Additionally, women become affected by poverty at much higher rates than men. For example, women do almost three times the amount of unpaid work than men do, which usually involves childcare and housework. Moreover, 62% of women worldwide are active in the workforce compared to 93% of men. As a result, women from the age range 25-34 are 25% more likely to live in extreme poverty. If the world were to close this gap, the global GDP could increase by 35% on average. Helping women around the world and improving gender equality works to help all people around the world.
Looking to the Future
The Generation Equality Forum created a five-year action plan to stimulate change going forward at a quicker rate than before. This involved $40 billion of investments and commitments from various governments and organizations. Some of these commitments include:
The Generation Equality Forum helped countries, agencies and organizational renew global commitments to gender equality goals. While there is still a long way to go to achieve gender equality around the world, the forum has made progress in setting specific, concrete goals for countries to strive toward.
Closing the gender gap will help to raise women around the world above the poverty line and stimulate economies around the globe. It is pertinent that the world continues to fight for equality and make progress as they have with this forum.
– Alessandra Heitmann
Photo: Flickr
Lockdowns Reduce COVID-19’s Impact on China
Strict Lockdowns
On January 23, 2020, Beijing imposed strict lockdown measures in Wuhan. For 76 days, the city remained in quarantine, and the lockdown eventually expanded to include large swaths of the country. Although some experts greeted these efforts with skepticism, the world eventually enacted similar lockdowns.
However, few lockdowns were able to match the aggressiveness of China. In the United States, lockdowns were met with skepticism and protest, allowing the virus to rage through the country unhindered. But, on the other side of the Pacific, COVID-19’s impact on China was effectively curtailed. Despite the virus originating from Wuhan, China recorded no official daily deaths for multiple months in 2020.
Yet, experts remained doubtful of China’s COVID-19 performance. The CIA questioned the validity of Chinese COVID-19 statistics, seeing the data as a vast undercount of the actual total. But, the issue of undercounting was widespread outside of China as well, presenting itself in countries all over the world. Despite discrepancies in the official counts, a general narrative had taken shape by the end of 2020 that China successfully contained COVID-19.
COVID-19’s Economic Impact
The COVID-19 lockdown slowed the virus around the world but created new issues. Businesses shuttered, and the economy contracted without consumer spending. As a result, the world found itself in the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression. China was hardly immune to these economic impacts. Output took a historic blow during the first few months of 2020, adding to Beijing’s larger concerns about its economic health. Despite its position as the world’s second-largest economy, China faces major obstacles to growth, from an aging population to ballooning levels of debt. COVID-19 lockdowns exacerbated these pressures, with the potential to curtail China’s decades of growth.
Positive Economic Growth in China
The speedy enactment of lockdowns allowed Beijing to repudiate its critics once again. While other great powers, including the United States, saw their economies contract, China was the “only major economy” in 2020 to register positive GDP growth. Far from leading to broader economic collapse, COVID-19’s impact on China appears to be a net positive geopolitically, accelerating the shift in power from the West to the East. China’s economy is now slated to be the world’s largest economy by the end of 2028, five years ahead of schedule.
China’s continued efforts to combat extreme poverty are notable. Before COVID-19, the government had laid out an ambitious pledge to completely eliminate extreme poverty, defined as $600 or less in yearly per capita income, by 2020. In 2019, decades of sustained economic growth led to less than 1% of Chinese people living in extreme poverty.
COVID-19 threatened to derail poverty reduction plans. But, instead of adversely impacting China’s stated objective, the rapid lockdowns engineered by Beijing allowed for a fast economic recovery and the completion of the original objective. By the end of 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping proudly reported that the country had officially eliminated extreme poverty.
COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts
China initially lagged in the area of COVID-19 vaccinations. Pharmaceutical companies in the United States pushed out highly effective COVID-19 vaccines in record-breaking time, quickly inoculating sizable swaths of the population. With this aggressive drive, a return to normal reopening seemed to be within reach.
China initially encountered struggles in vaccinating the population. Its early vaccination program was slow and vaccine hesitancy presented a barrier to inoculation. However, this changed recently as China’s state apparatus manufactured hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccinations for rapid distribution. Now, China is taking the lead in vaccinations as the U.S. lags behind. To date, China has administered more than one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses.
This does not mean that China is out of the woods though. The efficacy of Beijing’s vaccines compare poorly to other vaccines, and many nations that received Chinese vaccines have still seen COVID-19 cases skyrocket. Nonetheless, China’s vaccine efforts are certainly commendable.
As the only economy with positive economic growth in 2020, China’s efforts to curb COVID-19 have proven effective. Aside from its COVID-19 response, China’s efforts to combat poverty have also positively contributed to increased prosperity and stability within the nation.
– Zachary Lee
Photo: Unsplash
Solving the Food Insecurity Crisis in Somalia
Causes of the Food Insecurity Crisis in Somalia
Typically, heavy rains strike Somalia between April and June and again between October and December. During the two rainy seasons, extreme rainfall and flooding regularly displace Somalis across the country. However, in 2021, the rainy season ended in May instead of June. This early end caused intense droughts in Somalia.
Rainfall in some areas of Somalia has amounted to only half of the year-to-date average. As a result, deficit farmers in the south and northwest of Somalia have not been able to access water supplies adequate to plant Somalia’s staple crops. Moreover, pastoral households’ inadequate access to water has decreased the size and productivity of livestock herds. The subsequent meat, milk and crop shortage might surge food prices in Somalia.
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network projected that the Somali yield of cereal crops in 2021 will be up to 40% less than the yearly average. The drought has already decreased the food and water intake for farmers and pastoralists across Somalia, and low crop and livestock yields in the late summer harvest will lead to lower incomes for farmers and pastoralists. This will limit the purchasing power of Somalis employed in the agriculture sector. Altogether, the drought and subsequent low-yield harvests could extend the risk of a food insecurity crisis in Somalia past the summer.
The State of the Somali Food Insecurity Crisis
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) scale is a system that governments, non-governmental organizations and the U.N. uses to analyze the severity of food insecurity situations. The IPC scale ranges from minimal (IPC Phase 1) to famine (IPC Phase 5). By the middle of 2021, the IPC expects 2.7 million Somalis to encounter at least the crisis level of food insecurity (IPC Phase 3). Specifically, the analysis expects 2.25 million Somalis to be at the crisis level of food insecurity while another 400,100 will be at the emergency level of food insecurity (IPC Phase 4).
COVID-19 in Somalia
While the COVAX initiative and the Somali Federal Government have started the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in Somalia, the virus continues to devastate the fragile economy. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the poverty rate (percent of the population below $1.90/day, 2011 PPP) in Somalia was at 69%. The poverty rate among Somalis in rural areas was at 72%.
Further, the worldwide COVID-19 induced lockdowns have limited employment opportunities for Somalis working in foreign countries. Consequently, Somalis working internationally are not able to send much money back to their families in Somalia, which heavily supports consumption in the country. Moreover, Somali businesses have reduced their full-time staff by an average of 31% since the pandemic first struck Somalia.
Lastly, a global reduction in demand for Somali livestock has decreased Somali livestock exports by 50% since the beginning of the pandemic, which further weakens the income of already impoverished Somali pastoralists. Thus, the global economic downturn resulting from COVID-19 threatens to intensify the food insecurity crisis in Somalia.
US Aid to Somalia
On June 24, 2021, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a pledge of $20 million in assistance to Somalia. USAID’s aid pledge to Somalia was part of a larger USAID plan to provide a total of $97 million to African countries to combat the health and socioeconomic ramifications of the pandemic. The U.S. aid plan will focus on tackling the food insecurity crisis in Somalia and will supply the country with staple crops like sorghum and yellow split peas. The funding also aims to limit the malnutrition of children and pregnant women.
The aid package builds on a U.S. commitment of $14.7 million in June 2021 to provide drinking water, fight malnutrition and support victims of gender-based violence.
While Somalia’s struggle with poverty and malnutrition is a longstanding and complicated issue, assistance from the U.S. and the rest of the global community could prevent a famine in the short term and boost the country’s economic development in the long term.
– Zachary Fesen
Photo: Flickr
Optimism Regarding Healthcare in Bhutan
The Bhutan healthcare system worked wonders during the COVID-19 pandemic, only experiencing one death by January 2021. Its rapid-fire contact tracing, reliance on science and trust in government led to one of the best pandemic responses the world has ever seen. The success of healthcare in Bhutan indicates great progress in a healthcare system that has seen more than its fair share of struggles.
How Does Bhutan Run its Government and Healthcare System?
Bhutan, a Buddhist nation of just over 750,000 people, is between China and India. After a long period of underdevelopment, with legalized slavery until 1958, Bhutan has dramatically progressed through the course of 12 Five Year Plans (FYPs), currently scheduled through 2023. In 2008, the nation adopted a constitutional monarchy.
Bhutan is famous for its use of the Gross National Happiness Index. Every Five Year Plan discusses what changes the nation must make, as well as what priorities it should adopt, in order to maximize the GNH index. Bhutan’s entire government, along with its healthcare system, runs with the goal of promoting nationwide happiness and well-being. Bhutan utilizes a system of universal free healthcare, which it finances with approximately 3.5% of its GDP. There have been many significant health breakthroughs in Bhutan, between the near-eradication of vaccine-preventable diseases and the provision of an equitable healthcare supply. However, the system has encountered and continues to face several difficulties.
Issues Regarding Healthcare in Bhutan
Modern health struggles have accompanied Bhutan’s modernization; instead of malaria and polio, Bhutan now faces addiction, mental illnesses, HIV/AIDs and other serious problems. Specifically, the three most pressing concerns are systemic healthcare problems, noncommunicable diseases and mental health issues. Bhutan’s healthcare system faces challenges itself. Most prominent is a lack of proper recordkeeping, unequal access to care (despite having equal supply) and inadequate providers.
First, Bhutan does not properly record most of its health difficulties. This lack of data leads to increased difficulty in making progress. The Five Year Plans cannot satisfactorily address problems that the Bhutanese government does not know are occurring. Second, facilities face large discrepancies in their quality of care and certain settlement areas do not receive enough information about the nation’s healthcare options. Just because there is equitable supply does not mean that all in the nation have access to or know to utilize the care that Bhutan’s government provides.
Third, Bhutan employs underqualified healthcare workers. While a lack of reports means that the international community is unaware of the exact problems the Bhutanese population encounters, as well as how many in Bhutan die due to dangerous healthcare, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that millions die globally because of unsafe medical care and that around half of these deaths are preventable. A study that the British Medical Journal Open (BMJ) published found that Bhutan’s healthcare system’s most prominent failings have been due to inadequate skills, training and attitudes among providers.
Health Problems in Bhutan
Furthermore, non-communicable diseases account for 53% of all deaths, and they are the leading cause of death across all age groups. Cancer, diabetes and traffic injuries have replaced the falling number of deaths from STIs. Despite working out of a framework dedicated to happiness, Bhutan ranks 20th on a list of countries regarding their rate of suicide. Combined with addiction and other mental health struggles, this is an area where Bhutanese healthcare faces an extreme care deficiency.
Bhutan did not employ its first psychiatrist until 1999 when Bhutan-born and Sri Lanka-trained Dr. Chencho Dorji returned to the nation. As of 2013, the majority of more than 5,300 Bhutanese psychiatric patients have fallen onto the shoulders of Dr. Chencho. As of the 2020 survey, Bhutan only employs 116 in the department of therapy — that is, barely more than 0.015% of its population. To put this number in context, 0.03% of the United State’s population are licensed therapists. Nevertheless, plenty of reasons exist for one to be optimistic about Bhutan’s healthcare system.
Optimism About Bhutan’s Future
Bhutan has multiple ways to resolve the healthcare problems it is currently facing. For example, the BMJ study focused on collaboration, resources and governance, but a better way of looking for optimism could be to investigate what the Five Year Plan prioritizes. Prioritization in the FYPs produced all of Bhutan’s historical healthcare successes, and there is no reason to predict otherwise for current crises. The 12th Five Year Plan, in effect from 2018 to 2023, provides solutions to the struggles of healthcare in Bhutan.
About the 12th Five Year Plan
First, the 12th Five Year Plan addresses problems in data recording as discussed at the 11th FYP’s mid-term review, prioritizing proper data collection for the new term to accurately perceive what problems need attention. Bhutan’s excellent COVID-19 response showcased success in this area. Second, the fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worked its way into the forefront of Bhutan’s healthcare policy and is clearly a priority in the 12th Five Year Plan. Bhutan shares the international goal of eradicating tuberculosis by 2035 and recognizes both cures and treatments of NCDs as a dire need. Third, the FYP expanded from its four pillars of a just society to nine domains. The new domains include living standards, education, health, psychological well-being, cultural resilience, ecological diversity, among others.
The plan accounts for other systemic issues in the Bhutan healthcare system as well. One of the central means of progress that the FYP outlined is decentralization. By allocating funding to local governments to more comprehensively provide care throughout the nation, Bhutan will see a rise in equitable access to care — not just supply. Additionally, the 12th FYP details increased provider training.
Some of the new domains, including creating a charitable culture and regulating time allocation between work, sleep and other activities, work directly to combat mental illness. Psychological well-being places focus on providing adequate treatment to those who are still struggling despite those domains. New policies and priorities outlined in the 12th FYP provide hope for one of the fastest developing healthcare ministries globally.
Looking Ahead
There are certainly kinks in healthcare in Bhutan that the country must work out. However, with the changes in the Five Year Plan, the system of healthcare seems to be leading the way to a very bright future.
The only factor holding back this optimism is Bhutan’s limited resources. But, Bhutan underwent a great economic change, raising its GDP at an annual average of 7.5% just two decades after emancipation. As one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, its health services have seen great progress and continued to grow with time.
If a small, underdeveloped country with a great resource shortage can successfully implement a healthcare system that specifically focuses on its citizens’ happiness, perhaps this system could inspire a seismic shift in the way government runs. Bhutan has set a precedent for designing a world where the population’s happiness is the government’s main priority and, with adequate funding, it could more thoroughly achieve these goals. Now, it is time for the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K. and other global democratic superpowers to step up and do the same.
Child Poverty in Guinea Persists
Guinea is a country located on Africa’s west coast. While it is small, Guinea has some of the largest deposits of iron in the world and has a valuable amount of agricultural and natural resources. However, the country continues to have high poverty rates, with 43.7% of Guineans living below the poverty line in 2018. This situation is primarily due to political unrest and a lack of investment in the country’s infrastructure. Child poverty in Guinea also became exacerbated by poor healthcare and a lack of protection against labor and trafficking.
Health in Guinea
Health in Guinea has been a constant issue that contributes to poverty. The average life expectancy for men is 53 and the average life expectancy for women is 56. Moreover, the infant and maternal mortality rates are high because there is a lack of medical resources in Guinea. Numerous children die from curable and preventable diseases, such as yellow fever, polio, measles and malaria.
Furthermore, the Ebola outbreak in 2014 shed light on other healthcare issues in Guinea. Guinea was one of the Ebola epicenters and, unfortunately, there were not enough doctors, nurses, beds or equipment to aid those in need. With every available resource needed to fight the outbreak, treatments for preventable medical conditions were often not available. Additionally, child malnutrition rose because of the Ebola epidemic, as food prices went up and many families could not afford to eat. Roughly 320,000 children under the age of 5 need medical treatment for malnutrition.
Child Labor and Trafficking
It is estimated that there are about 5.6 million children under the age of 18 in Guinea. Roughly 670,000 of them are growing up without their parents. Many of these children have lost their parents because of AIDS. The significant number of orphans has forced children to work, which is a violation of human rights. There is a lack of oversight for mining activities, so children often end up working in the dangerous conditions of the mines. The harmful substances in mines are dangerous and unsuitable for adults, let alone children. Additionally, children who work in the mines generally drop out of school because they are not able to work and receive an education at the same time.
Child poverty in Guinea has also resulted in child trafficking and sex trafficking. However, there is a concerning lack of data on this topic. Child trafficking remains a big concern in Guinea. In court cases, many of the alleged perpetrators go unpunished. Furthermore, the victims of trafficking are not given the support they need to reintegrate into society.
SOS Children’s Villages
To improve the lives of children in Guinea, it is imperative that support, healthcare and education are provided at an early age. SOS Children’s Villages is an organization that supports children who do not have parental care. With the help of donors, governments, communities and other organizations, it assists impoverished communities and disadvantaged children. SOS Children’s Village’s strategy is solely geared toward sustainable development goals in areas such as child protection, poverty, education, health, inequality and proper work hours. The organization works with locals to aid families that are vulnerable to poverty, so young children can grow up with their families
– Candice Lewis
Photo: Flickr
8 Facts About Elderly Poverty in Greece
Elderly poverty in Greece is growing at an alarming rate. The government has been unable to address this issue. As a result, nonprofits are stepping up to alleviate some of the burdens carried by the elderly. Here are eight facts about elderly poverty in Greece.
8 Facts About Elderly Poverty in Greece
The Way Forward
Only after substantive institutional changes have been made will the issue of elderly poverty in Greece decrease. Government officials should work in collaboration with nonprofits in order to address the needs of the elderly and set up long-lasting systems of support and aid to reduce the number of those suffering from poverty.
– Manasi Singh
Photo: Flickr
The Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Afghanistan
Since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Afghanistan in February 2020, the total number of confirmed cases rose to 93,288, with deaths reaching a toll of 4,871 on July 1, 2021. Low government capacity and limited public health resources have hampered Afghanistan’s ability to contain the virus, amounting to only 0.9% of the population becoming fully vaccinated. The impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Afghanistan has been a domino effect across the country as many have fallen below the poverty line.
COVID-19 and Afghanistan
As COVID-19 continues to spread, Afghan citizens grapple with increased instability in the form of Taliban attacks on national security. The reduction of U.S. troops and decreased NATO assistance resulted in a 29% increase in civilian casualties and heightened corruption.
One of the most extreme effects of the pandemic is the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Afghanistan. In 2020, the economy contracted by 1.9%, and poverty levels rose from 41.6% to 45.5%, with more than half of the population living under the poverty line. These higher levels correspond with a significant rise in food insecurity, as suppliers raised prices in response to trade restrictions. However, the World Bank and USAID initiatives promise enhanced development of humanitarian aid efforts for Afghan citizens.
The Domino Effect: How Poverty Affects Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is part of a domino effect. As COVID-19 in Afghanistan continues to spread throughout, poverty levels climb as more civilians fall into unemployment, resulting in them being unable to purchase sufficient amounts of food because of a rise in prices.
According to the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the combination of COVID-19 and rising urban poverty levels are resulting in 16.9 million Afghans facing crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity. Of these 16.9 million, 5.5 million are experiencing emergency levels of food insecurity, severely threatening their health.
The surge and impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Afghanistan, along with food insecurity, is partly due to the early closing of borders. In March 2020, one of Afghanistan’s primary food import and export sources––Pakistan––closed its routes to and from suppliers to prevent the spread of COVID-19, resulting in a food shortage.
Relief Efforts
To combat the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Afghanistan, various organizations implemented insecurity-reduction measures. In July 2020, the United States government designated more than $36.7 million to support COVID-19 relief efforts in Afghanistan through USAID. The United States allocated these funds primarily toward refugee assistance, health and disaster assistance and support for the Afghan government. This contribution proved helpful, as Afghanistan’s domestic revenues increased by 1.4% in the first quarter of 2021.
Additionally, the World Bank approved and issued a grant of $97.50 million in February 2021 to support Afghan civilians suffering the effects of droughts and COVID-19. By extension, a portion of this sum will go toward improving nutritional and food insecurity, which worsened as a result of widespread droughts and disease. This grant will also finance the Early Warning, Early Finance and Early Action Project (ENETAWF). The project aims to aid approximately 2.2 million impoverished Afghans and 78 districts struggling with poverty, drought and food insecurity.
Individuals in and outside of the United States can also support COVID-19 humanitarian aid efforts in Afghanistan by supporting Afghan businesses. Greater demand for goods will result in the creation of companies and jobs and the economy’s growth, so more funds go toward alleviating the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Afghanistan.
– Riya Sharma
Photo: Flickr
5 Facts About Rheumatic Fever
Every year there are nearly 470,000 new cases of rheumatic fever across the globe. Approximately 305,000 people die every year from rheumatic heart disease, which rises from rheumatic fever. The U.S. and other developed countries have been able to provide access to medicine to prevent and treat rheumatic fever. However, many people living around the world don’t have access to the medicine they need. This leaves them and their children vulnerable to rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. Here are five facts about rheumatic fever and how it affects communities across the globe.
5 Facts About Rheumatic Fever
Looking Ahead
These five facts about rheumatic fever highlight that through widespread access to quality healthcare and overall better living conditions, communities can stop the spread. This will help save children the pain of replacing heart valves, blood clots, severe joint pain and other effects of rheumatic heart disease.
While doctors currently have no cure for rheumatic heart disease or the complications that come from rheumatic fever, the preventative treatments are plenty. Right now, there may be 470,000 new cases of rheumatic fever every year, but that can change with education, healthcare and access to a better quality of life.
– Holly Dorman
Photo: Flickr