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The Falling Rate of Malnutrition in Asia

Malnutrition in Asia
Over the past 50 years, the international battle against malnutrition has raged on every continent. However, the falling malnutrition in Asia has proven the effectiveness of the global intervention in the conflict; with statistics pointing out a 15% decrease in stunting between 2000 and 2017, experts are optimistic that additional action could lead to even more success.

Although this progress comes for a variety of reasons, experts cite the increased involvement of non-governmental organizations and novel government initiatives. After a plethora of meetings among the countries, including the annual Asia Pacific Nutrition Meet & Expo, plans have formulated among every nation. The dedication of all parties involved is a large part of the success.

The Fight Across Borders

Although one cannot understate the impact of government action on the recent success, international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs for short) have taken the fight to every corner of Asia; the variety of methods introduced provided a multipronged attack against malnutrition poised to continue for the foreseeable future.

These organizations battle malnutrition in Asia in multiple ways; some take the fight directly to local communities, while others act as private research groups providing important data for each country’s policymakers. In their own way, every active NGO assists in the process of lowering the rate of malnutrition, contributing to prior decades of success.

Who Leads the Fight

Although every organization deserves credit for the success, distinguished NGOs producing results in the region include Action Against Hunger (AAH) and the World Public Health Nutrition Association (WPHNA). These two groups differ in their courses of action, but both are instrumental in the falling rates of malnutrition in Asia.

The WPHNA specializes in research on the causes of hunger and malnutrition globally, allowing it to effectively produce the evidence necessary to convince policymakers to take action. Although politicians share an interest in alleviating the struggle of their malnourished citizens, taking action can be expensive, and if the initiative fails, it could cost them their jobs. By providing data and reasonable conclusions regarding appropriate methods of fighting malnutrition, WPHNA convinces policymakers that certain actions are safe and worth considering.

Actions Against Hunger fights hunger directly in communities by identifying the needs for infrastructure and resources that leave communities impoverished. The group partners with local towns to provide funding for widely supported initiatives, taking the fight directly to its source.

These two NGOs only comprise a fraction of the currently active organizations in the Asia-Pacific region. However, they have seen their success exemplified in statistics like the aforementioned decrease in stunting – data on wasting before 2018 is not readily available.

A Persisting Battle

Yet, despite all the progress up to this point, more improvement is necessary. When addressing the 821 million people suffering from malnutrition globally, roughly 520 million live in Asia and the Pacific. Moreover, a massive percentage of these citizens still require assistance. Despite the widespread initiatives and successes, NGOs still insist that more can and must occur to resolve the crisis.

The organizations often cite the opportunities available to end malnutrition; recent innovations in studies on the subject can reveal where intervention is optimal along the line for families receiving too much or too little food, and where governments can step in with funding or where NGOs can intervene and create change. For now, progress marches on slowly, but the opportunity for investment offers expedited change.

– Joe Clark
Photo: Flickr

The Process of Reducing Hunger in Cyprus

Hunger in Cyprus
The Republic of Cyprus is an island country that is located in the Mediterranean. The country is between the Middle East on one side and Europe on the other. While The Republic of Cyprus has a rich history and is a beautiful location, the country has had issues with feeding its citizens in the past. Nonetheless, international organizations are making efforts to help reduce hunger in Cyprus. The U.N. is one such organization that is making efforts to help the people of Cyprus through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Hunger in Cyprus

One of the goals is to end hunger in Cyprus by providing food security, improved nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture. The U.N. states that Cyprus is usually able to provide food for its people and that the status of nutrition among its citizens is for the most part good. However, there have been instances in the past where this was not the case. In 2013, for example, there was a financial crisis in the country where 2,500 families had to rely on the charity of food banks to meet their daily needs. Additionally, Cyprus faced difficulties in agriculture because Cyprus has a semi-arid climate and water resources that rely on rainfall to replenish them. To overcome those challenges to effective agriculture, Cyprus must improve its production through investments and innovation.

Improving Agriculture in Cyprus

The E.U. is currently trying to do just that for the agriculture of Cyprus. It has implemented The Farm Advisory Services Programme back in 2017. The E.U. understands how vitally important agriculture is to the economy of Cyprus. There are about 10,000 farms that take up 60% of the land in Cyprus. There are also about 125,000 hectares in the north of Cyprus that have dedicated themselves to agricultural production alone. The Food Advisory Services Programme seeks to provide the farmers of Cyprus with the training and technical support that they need to best improve their production. The E.U. began the Food Advisory Program by reaching out to Cyprus farmers in 723 consultations with them. The goal of these consultations was to make sure that as many farmers as possible would have access to E.U. funding. By providing this type of support, the E.U. hopes to prevent hunger in Cyprus.

Not only will improved agricultural techniques help prevent hunger in Cypress, but it will also help the country compete on a global scale. Since 2018, the agricultural sector of Cyprus has been able to make great strides. About 50% of agricultural exports in Cyprus go to the E.U. with the rest going to European countries not part of the E.U., the Middle East or Asia. While Cyprus cannot put out as many agricultural products as larger countries, it can excel in the quality of its agricultural goods. For example, the Cypriot potato is a well known and vital export that makes up 40% of the country’s agricultural products. This particular product is of great quality in Cyprus.

Such progress in the agricultural sector will help the country alleviate its poverty and prevent the possibility of hunger in Cyprus should there ever be another economic crisis.

– Jacob E. Lee
Photo: Flickr

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Into the Unknown: US-Chinese Relations in the Era of COVID-19

U.S. and ChinaCOVID-19 has brought nearly all facets of normal life and governance to a screeching halt. On all fronts, from the economy to the military, the coronavirus has changed the way this planet runs. One area that has been heavily affected by the pandemic but does not get as much attention is international relations.

Diplomatic relations between countries is one of the toughest areas of government. It has become even more difficult to fully engage in with the onset of COVID-19. With more states turning to domestic engagement, the status quo of international relations has been shaken. In no foreign relationship is this more clear than that between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China.

U.S.-China Diplomatic Relations

Current diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China were established under President Richard Nixon in 1972. Since then, the relationship between the two countries has experienced highs and lows. In 2020, it is nearly at an all-time low. The hostile status of this relationship now mainly stems from the ascension of President Xi Jinping of China to power in 2013, and the election of the U.S. President Donald Trump in 2016.

Under these two leaders, U.S.-Chinese relations have greatly diminished over the last four years. A rise in nationalism and “America First” policies under President Trump’s administration has alienated the Chinese amidst constant public attacks on the ‘authoritarianism’ of Jinping’s government. For example, China’s encroachment on Hong Kong’s autonomy over the last two years has been the subject of extensive international condemnation, particularly from President Trump and the United States. In addition, the two countries have been engaged in a high-profile trade war since the beginning of 2018.

More recently, a dramatic escalation in the deteriorating relationship between the two countries was taken in July 2020, when the U.S. ordered the closing of the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas, on the basis of technological-espionage on China’s part. In retaliation, China ordered the American consulate in the city of Chengdu to close as well. Another significant strain on the diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China is COVID-19.

The Outbreak of the Coronavirus

Since the outbreak of coronavirus began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, more than 4,600 people have died in China, over a period of nearly nine months. In the same amount of time, almost 180,000 people have died in the U.S. The U.S. government has consistently blamed the Chinese for failing to contain the virus. China has firmly denied these accusations. COVID-19 has seriously damaged the economic and healthcare systems of both the U.S. and China. Both systems have lost nearly all economic gains they’ve made since the 2008-2010 recession. While state economies around the globe also suffer, the decline of the economies of these two specific countries has far-reaching implications. Not only is the global economy in danger, but military alliances and foreign aid are as well.

Global Economy

Nearly every nation on earth has some kind of economic partnership with either the U.S., China or both. For example, the United Arab Emirates has been an ally of the U.S. since 1974, but in recent years has engaged in a pivotal economic partnership with China. Continued threats of tariffs and pulling out of trade agreements threaten the balance of these partnerships. These threats could force smaller nations to choose sides between the U.S. and China, should this confrontation escalate.

Military Alliances

While the U.S. enjoys a military advantage over China, China has allied itself with many of America’s adversaries, such as Russia, Iran and North Korea. These alliances have been solidified in recent years, for example, just before the coronavirus broke out in China in December 2019, China, Russia and Iran conducted nearly a week-long military exercise in the Gulf of Oman, a strategic waterway for oil tankers. An American confrontation with any one of these countries could draw China into the conflict, which could spell disaster for the world order.

International Aid

As part of China’s “charm offensive” in the early 2000s, the country began to heavily invest in the reconstruction of the economies and infrastructure in impoverished African states. In exchange, China received rights to natural resources such as oil in these countries. The U.S. also maintains a high level of foreign assistance in Africa. COVID-19 forces the U.S. and China to put more of their respective resources toward rebuilding their own economies. However, the aid they both provide to developing states worldwide diminishes at a time when those states need it most.

It is clear that even before the coronavirus spread to all corners of the globe, the turbulent relationship between the U.S. and China was advancing toward a breaking point. The pandemic has, to some extent, halted the diminishing state of relations between the two countries. However, any further provocations similar to the closing of the consulates in Houston and Chengdu could result in a catastrophe. The impacts of this relationship extend beyond the U.S. and China; they affect nations that heavily depend on the aid they receive from both powers.

– Alexander Poran
Photo: Pixabay

Poverty’s Contribution to Child Marriage in Nepal

Child Marriage in NepalNepal, a landlocked country in South Western Asia, is one of the few places in the world where rates of child marriage are not slowing. In certain areas, they are increasing. Although child marriage in Nepal has been illegal for over fifty years, 40% of Nepalese women between the ages of 20 and 24 were illegally married before their eighteenth birthday. Young boys are equally at risk. The number of child grooms is disproportionately high when compared to the rest of the world.

Contributions to Child Marriage in Nepal

Several factors contribute to child marriage in developing countries. Nepal has a patriarchal society that values girls significantly less than boys. Limited access to education and a negative outlook towards a sexual expression motivates adolescents to marry early. The most massive motivator, however, is poverty. Countries with a higher percentage of the population living on under $1.90 per day, including Nepal, frequently experience higher rates of child marriage. Poverty correlates to the high rates of child marriage in Nepal, including dowries and financial benefits, economic hardship of schooling and “love marriages” to escape poverty.

The Struggle with Poverty

Although rates have decreased over the past few years, Nepal continues to struggle with poverty. While poverty in Nepal has reduced from 15% to 8% in the last decade, the country remains one of the most impoverished in Asia and ranks 147th on the Human Development Index. Nepal is mostly made up of a landscape dominated by mountains. Being rural makes development difficult. The country also struggles with rapid population growth, political instability and a growing wealth gap between the very rich and the very poor. They all contribute to a high poverty rate.

Considering the Financial Reasons

Nepalese families often arrange marriages for their children for financial reasons. Girls who live under the poverty line are more likely to enter a child marriage in Nepal than girls who do not. This dilemma is due to the concept of a dowry. A bride’s family will provide the groom’s family with money or gifts to establish the marriage. Dowries increase the societal value of boys who receive them. They decrease the value of girls whose families must pay. Impoverished families rely on dowries as a source of income, incentivizing them to marry their sons, especially at young ages. In some areas in Southern Nepal, the dowry increases with the age of the bride. This motivates families to arrange marriages for their daughters quickly and early.

Additionally, many married girls stop attending school to care for their husband and start a family. Tuition and materials are costly, and keeping girls in school creates a financial strain on families. This strain is relieved when a match leads to an established marriage.

Escaping Poverty

Child marriage also functions as a means to escape poverty. ‘Love marriages,’ or those not sanctioned by parents, are also common in impoverished Nepal. Young girls and boys often establish ‘love marriages’ as a way to leave their families. This can be done for many reasons, yet a common one is poverty. Matches form quickly to escape impoverished homes and enter a more secure situation.

The Nepalese government has implemented some strategies to decrease the high rates of child marriage in Nepal. The country recently increased their minimum legal marrying age to 20. Families who kept their daughters in school instead of arranging a wedding for them received cash incentives and bicycles in January 2019. Nepal has promised to eradicate child marriage by the year 2030. Although it is a daunting task, it is incredibly crucial for the health and wellbeing of Nepalese girls.

– Daryn Lenahan
Photo: Flickr

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How a 50 Cent Deworming Pill May Help End Global Poverty

How a 50 Cents Deworming Pill May Help End Global PovertyApproximately 24% of the global population, or 1.5 billion people, suffer from intestinal worms. Approximately, 835 million children in need of treatment. These worms, known as soil-transmitted helminths, are most prevalent in middle and low-income countries. Schoolchildren living in areas with high rates of intestinal worms often miss school or cannot focus due to their poor health. As a result, this negatively impacts their ability to effectively learn and thus perpetuating the cycle of disease and poverty. Consequently, treatment for these parasites (as known as deworming) is one of the top priorities in world health. Luckily, a deworming pill is cost-efficient and accessible to people.

The Fifty Cent Treatment

Widely considered the miracle drug of deworming, albendazole is incredibly cost-efficient at the low cost of 50 cents per pill. Additionally, there are no known side effects if uninfected children are treated. This means pills do not need to be administered by medical professionals, further driving down the cost of the treatment. In fact, the medication is far cheaper than testing. This makes mass treatment the most effective way to help those in areas with lots of parasites. As such, both the World Health Organization and scientific consensus encourage giving pills to large numbers of students living in hotspots twice a year.

Economic impacts

A new analysis of this policy has shown that this treatment may have economic impacts on communities and people to a surprising degree. In the mid-1990s, Harvard researcher Michael Kremer visited Kenya and conducted a study analyzing how providing a 50 cent pill twice a year to students in extreme poverty can affect their future income. He returned to the area years later to gauge how treated children and untreated children compared in their later lives. His results were groundbreaking. According to his analysis, the pill increased the treated students’ future income by 13%. On top of this, it reduced dropout and absentee rates by a fourth (28% to 21%). In addition, it increases the number of girls able to attend high school by nearly 10%. These new findings have pushed deworming as a viable and cost-effective strategy to improve global health and global living standards.

Controversy

However, the analysis of deworming policies is incredibly complex, and many scientists are doubtful of the results of the study. Most prominently, an article published in the International Journal of Epidemiology in 2015 called into question the form of aid itself. The article claims that there is evidence that this type of treatment doesn’t have a substantial effect on patients. Thus, it will not economically benefit communities. This study later gained some traction among the scientific community. Additionally, the outcomes of this analysis have since been replicated. Moreover, some cite other factors as potentially causing the impressive numbers from the high temperatures at the time of the study increased the number of parasites and infected children to the fact that this is only one study.

Future Policymaking

Despite these prevailing questions and doubts about the study, the sheer inexpensive nature of the pills makes this form of aid a worthwhile effort. Despite the controversy, this pill would still be one of the most cost-effective policies to boost enrollment in schools. For many governments and organizations, that chance is worth taking. In particular, the Deworm the World Initiative partnered with many governments to provide treatment to over 280 million children in Kenya, India, Ethiopia, Nigeria and more. On top of this, the study’s findings prompted the Kenyan government to expand deworming programs to cover all elementary students in areas with high concentrations of parasites.

These studies and subsequent policy changes have provided evidence to support the impact of deworming pill on impoverished communities. Even with the scientific controversy surrounding the effectiveness of the pill, this form of aid remains one of the most cost-effective ways to help lift people out of poor conditions. In addition, it may help millions of students around the world gain an education and improve their quality of life.

– Elizabeth Lee

Photo: Flickr

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The Value of Small Nonprofits: Maasai American Organization

The Value of Small Nonprofits: Maasai American Organization
Lea Pellet, one of the delegates at the 1996 United Nations Women’s Conference in China, was very interested when nonprofit success was discussed. “One of the issues that came forth there was the recognition that big organizations were doing phenomenal work throughout the world, but there were a lot of pieces that really could only be handled by small groups. A church to a church, a school to a school, a women’s group to another women’s group.” With that thought, the Maasai American Organization (MAO) was born. Starting with domestic needs and then transitioning to international aid in health and education, MAO has flipped the script regarding non-profits.

Founder of MAO

Lea Pellet is a Wisconsin native and holder of multiple sociology and social work degrees from the College of William and Mary, Hampton University, Norfolk State University and Old Dominion University. She has served as a chair of the Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology at Christopher Newport University from 1970 to 2006 and has also spent time as an Anthropology Field School Coordinator. Pellet founded the Maasai American Organization in 2000 and since then, the non-profit has worked with countries around the world. The organization’s name however, comes from their focus on helping the Maasai people of Kenya.

Domestic to International Efforts

The Maasai American Organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit originally run through Christopher Newport University in Virginia. As the program grew, it began to focus on international interests; this began with a grant from the School of Public Health of Mexico. The budding  idea was to find indigenous groups with a handful of educated or skilled people within the community, like teachers and doctors. MAO would then pair these people with groups from the United States in a fashion that values person to person interaction and connection.

On a trip to Kenya with her husband, Pellet met a woman who was once part of a UN program. Pellet asked her to consider setting her sights on the Maasai people by providing them with both aid and education. Pellet went with a team into the most remote areas of the Maasai territory and encountered their incredible pieces of art. Later, it was sold to African American museums in the United States. From there, Pellet got serious about becoming an NGO (instead of remaining university-based) and renamed the organization the Maasai American Organization.

Maasai Communities of Kenya

MAO put 300 Maasai girls through primary and secondary school in a culture that has historically not approved of education for girls. The organization’s focus was on educating girls who would return to the Maasai Mara and help improve their communities. Many of these girls would become nurses, teachers, entrepreneurs and social workers. MAO also helped build 10 preschools in remote areas, allowing some of the 300 graduated girls to be hired there as teachers. Most of the children coming to school have never heard Kiswahili or English. The children are typically taught by teachers from the urban area who have never heard KiMaa, the Maasai language. To eradicate language barriers, MAO teaches teachers to begin in native languages and then bridge to national languages if possible.

Most Maasai women were walking more than two hours to gather water from polluted streams. As a result, MAO put additional focus on the community’s acquisition of clean water. The organization installed deep wells where feasible and taught water purification techniques if wells could not be dug. Those wells made it possible for women to plant crops and even raise small herds of goats. Consequently, these changes improved the nutrition and health of children. MAO also constructed and staffed three family clinics, providing health officials until the educated girls were ready to take over.

Mayan Communities of Guatemala

Alongside her focus on Kenyan communities, Pellet felt the need to bring her work to Guatemala. MAO focused on educating Mayan girls to help build and staff health clinics. It also focused on developing markets for indigenous craft products and teaching women how to operate group craft businesses. The organization has built and supported a preschool and have moved approximately 50 Mayan girls on to successful school careers. One of the most significant contributions has been moving 80-100 women into entrepreneurship as glass bead weavers and jewelry makers.

Pellet personally oversees the most recent projects in Guatemala. She makes yearly trips there with a team to implicate different initiatives and work with the education and healthcare projects there. Her efforts have halted with the pandemic. She hopes to resume in the future when it is safe to do so.

Advantages of Small-Scale Nonprofits

Small nonprofits can have an incredible impact when working with low-resource communities. Here are a few ways that small initiatives like the Maasai American Organization can differentiate themselves from larger organizations:

  • Unique message or incentive
  • Flexibility and innovation
  • Less red tape
  • Cost-effective
  • Personal presence
  • Community-driven
  • Proximity

There are many situations where personal interaction and one-on-one aid is more helpful than sending a dollar amount. Lea Pellet’s Maasai American Organization is a great example of a small nonprofit that has made a world of difference in the past, present and future of the Maasai and Mayan peoples.

– Savannah Gardner
Photo: Flickr

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COVID-19 Affects Zimbabwe and Its Water Supply

COVID-19 affects Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe once had an effective water system. However, a lack of proper infrastructure and government action means a lack of safe water. Water and waste disposal systems suffer ineffective planning, especially in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare. Further, COVID-19 affects Zimbabwe broadly as well as having an impact on its already fragile water supply.

The Issues in Harare

To survive, residents in Harare must dig wells to create a water source. However, the well water is not safe to drink. The sewage system in Harare is another health issue for residents. Young children play in sewage and often fall ill from the lack of sanitation.

Additionally, further issues plague Harare. The Human Rights Watch interviewed a Harare resident named Bonnie who explained that she does not have water to bathe and clean her three children, including one in diapers. The video also featured an interview with a woman called Abigail. She mentioned that the water smells, and she must use a purification tablet before bathing or drinking. Abigail says the government’s negligence has caused these issues within the community.

More than half of Harare’s 4.5 million population could only access running water once a week. This was according to the city’s mayor, Herbert Gomba, back in 2019. Thus, residents must turn to other solutions, such as waiting in long lines at communal wells, streams or boreholes. The water received from these places may not even be safe to drink.

Drought is the cause of the shortage of water in Zimbabwe. In Harare, one-half of the population’s reservoirs are empty because there is no rain. The remaining water, 45% to 60%, is often lost and inaccessible to the population due to leakage or theft.

The Pandemic

As the novel coronavirus plagues the globe, the disease is contributing great distress to Zimbabwe. COVID-19 affects Zimbabwe mainly through its water supply, which hurts the citizens of Harare and the surrounding population.

In Harare, citizens go without water for days. They must wait until water trucks arrive in the city. Once the water is finally available, COVID-19 changes how citizens can access it. Citizens gather in large numbers to wait in line, which makes the concept of social distancing nearly impossible. Then, they push and shove to receive water. Additionally, COVID-19 affects Zimbabwe because many individuals do not wear or cannot access masks.

Organizations like Doctors Without Borders encourage social distancing. Yet, it is not a long-term or time-friendly solution, as they are not sure that it will keep people safe. Furthermore, the people in Harare are desperate for food and water. They may sacrifice their health to be first in line to receive water for themselves and their families.

Dewa Mavhinga, the South Africa director at Human Rights Watch, explains that COVID-19 affects Zimbabwe differently because of their pre-existing lack of water. It takes a toll on the spread of the virus and other infectious diseases, such as typhoid and cholera. Water is necessary for handwashing and hygiene, which can combat the spread of coronavirus. Without an uninterrupted supply of water, residents will struggle to stay safe and healthy.

Aid

Supporters abroad can help aid the people of Zimbabwe by urging U.S. congressional leaders to make the COVID-19 crisis in Zimbabwe a current political and human rights focus. With U.S. backing, the Zimbabwean government can ensure there are water points throughout the country. This will prevent overcrowding and the spread of COVID-19.

Another way to aid Zimbabwe’s public health system is to show support to organizations, such as Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children. These organizations are providing emergency relief and recovery programs for people in Zimbabwe. They are doing everything they can to combat how COVID-19 affects Zimbabwe by implementing humanitarian relief efforts.

– Caitlin Calfo
Photo: Flickr

Maternal Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa

Maternal Mortality
Maternal mortality refers to the death of a woman due to causes related to or aggravated by her pregnancy and/or childbirth. Almost all (99%) of maternal deaths occur in developing countries, and 68% occur in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. The Trends in Maternal Mortality 2000-2017 report is a joint effort by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and the United Nations Population Division. Its statistics showcase huge global health disparities that leave African mothers extremely vulnerable, showing that maternal mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa is a prevalent issue.

Health Inequality in Maternal Healthcare

Almost all maternal deaths are preventable, yet in 2017, Sub-Saharan Africans suffered from the highest maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 533 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, or 200,000 maternal deaths a year. All three countries with the highest MMR globally with over 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births, considered an extremely high rate, are in Sub-Saharan Africa: South Sudan (1,150), Chad (1,140) and Sierra Leone (112). In comparison, the 2017 MMR in North America and Western Europe was 18 and five.

The fact that MMR is under 10 in many countries means that current technology and medical knowledge are already capable of reducing MMR to almost zero. The global imperative is to improve health infrastructure and education in developing nations so that they, too, can access services and resources available to protect mothers in the developed world.

The Importance of Access

Lack of access to health facilities and medical professionals is among the main reasons for maternal deaths. Currently, in Africa, there are 985 people for every nurse/midwife and 3,324 people for every medical doctor. This means that many pregnant women do not receive antenatal, delivery and newborn care, which greatly increases their risk of dying from severe bleeding, infections or other complications. Ensuring that there are accessible and affordable health facilities for all women would eliminate risks of preventable and treatable deaths.

Adolescent Pregnancy

Improving sexual health education is key to eliminating adolescent pregnancies, which account for a significant portion of maternal mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. Adolescent girls, especially those under 15, have a higher risk of maternal mortality compared to older women. In 2014, there were 224 adolescents per 1,000 cases of pregnancy in the Democratic Republic of Congo – the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the world, followed by Liberia (221) and Niger (204). Improvements in sexual health education would inform young girls of contraceptive options, family planning methods and safe abortion facilities.

Progress Tracker

Significant efforts have succeeded in reducing maternal mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. From 2000 to 2017, Sub-Saharan Africa has achieved a substantial reduction of 39% of maternal mortality (from 870 to 533 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births). A significant number of countries in this region have reduced their MMR by more than half, such as Rwanda (79%), Mongolia (71%), Eritrea (63%), Zambia (60%) and Cabo Verde (51%).

WHO has stated that improving maternal health remains one of their key priorities. In 2015, the global health organization launched the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health aimed at ending all preventable deaths of women, children and adolescents. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goal target 3.1, also launched in 2015, aims to reduce global MMR to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. While the current MMR in Africa is still seven times less than the target, promising results from past and current campaigns indicate that a better future is within reach.

– Alice Nguyen
Photo: Flickr

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Homelessness in the Czech Republic

Homelessness in the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic has a population of about 10 million people. About 11,000 of these people experience homelessness. However, due to a lack of data collection, this number is inaccurate. According to the Expert Group, which the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs created, around 100,000 people were homeless or at risk of homelessness as of 2017. The government has stepped in to help prevent homelessness, but the current policies in place are not sufficient to reduce homelessness in the Czech Republic.

Current Policies and Issues

Policies are in place to prevent individuals and families from losing their homes. An act on assistance in material need came into effect in 2007. This act regulates how the government provides assistance and assures basic living conditions to people in homeless situations. Additionally, the system serves as motivation to active effort for ensuring a means to meet basic necessities in life and to prevent social exclusion.

According to the act, municipal authorities are responsible for providing benefits in a few ways. One way is an allowance of living. This covers cases of material need that tackles the insufficient income of a person or family. Furthermore, beneficiaries have an entitlement to an allowance of living if the person or family’s income is less than the amount of living after the deduction of reasonable housing costs.

A second way is the supplement of housing. This tackles cases where the income of the person or family including the allowance is insufficient in covering housing costs. A third way is extraordinary immediate assistance. This goes to low-income persons who find themselves in situations that require immediate solutions. These situations might include a serious threat to health, natural disasters, not having enough resources to cover essential expenditures, not having enough resources to cover basic necessities for dependent children and persons at risk of social exclusion. The act helped about 1.2 million people receive benefits in its first year of implementation.

Services for the Homeless

There are services available to help people manage homelessness. These services include hostels, day centers, halfway houses and outreach programs. Day centers offer people emergency assistance, meals and facilities for personal hygiene. Moreover, they distribute clothes and organize cultural and educational programs. However, hostels have proven to be a problem. Owners of hostels have taken advantage of people by up charging their services. Furthermore, the conditions are also substandard and unsanitary.

Additionally, homelessness in the Czech Republic faces a lack of funding for services. Regional and national authorities co-manage the current system of annual calls for proposals. This means that homeless people are reliant on unstable funding sources. As a result, facilities have shut down over time due to the lack of funding.

How the Czech Republic Plans to Tackle Homelessness

The government plans to tackle homelessness with four sets of goals in 2020. The first set of goals involves access to housing. This includes the standardization of state support for public housing and creating a functioning system of homelessness prevention. The functioning system supports formerly homeless people who obtained housing so they do not lose their homes again.

Furthermore, it supports the implementation of tools to enable the transition of people from being homeless to entering housing. It is also working toward more effective use of the existing instruments of the system’s benefits, the reinforcement of the coordinating and planning role of municipalities within extended powers in relation to people in an adverse housing situation and the creation of supporting instruments for implementing those roles.

The second goal has to do with social services. Social services will better respond to the needs of homeless people and people at risk of losing their house in adverse social situations. The third set of goals relates to access to healthcare. This plan is to increase accessibility, create possibilities and focus on prevention with comprehensive healthcare for homeless people. Additionally, this goal also includes raising awareness to the general public, healthcare workers and social service workers to de-stigmatize homeless people.

The final set of goals involves awareness, involvement and cooperation. This plan is to create a network for retrieving information that is concentrated in municipalities. It has extended powers focused on homelessness among relevant stakeholders working with homeless people. This will fulfill conditions for statistics, records, communication, mobility of homeless people and the use of social services. In addition, the plan is to create an effective system of primary prevention through training, education and awareness-raising.

How NGOs Have Helped the Homeless

Homeless people in the Czech Republic often rely on NGOs for assistance. IQ Roma Servis is an NGO that implemented a project called the Housing First concept that provided housing for more than 400 families in the Czech Republic in 2016. The project had a municipality in Brno provide flats to families who previously lived in a form of a homeless shelter. Moreover, families also received intensive case management and a substantial housing subsidy.

A study occurred to understand the effects of this project. As a result, the study found a decrease in the time families spent homeless and found an improvement in housing security. Other positive outcomes include an improvement in the mental health of mothers, decreased use of emergency health services, decreased sickness in children, better social integration of the parents, improved financial security in households, decreased feelings of social anomaly and improvement in overall quality of life.

The government has a long way to go to prevent homelessness in the Czech Republic. If the government provides additional support and organizations to help the homeless population, it should be able to provide aid to more than 100,000 citizens who are at risk.

– Jackson Lebedun
Photo: Flickr

How the WTO Fights Poverty

WTO Fights Poverty
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is one of the youngest, international economic organizations in the world. However, it plays an important role in the international economy and the global fight against poverty. Originating from the Uruguay Round negotiations which took place from 1986 to 1994, the WTO took over the functions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1995. Since then, it has been the setting for global trade negotiations. The main role of the WTO is to assess trade barriers between countries and solve them through diplomatic negotiation. The goal of the WTO is to achieve full, fair trade and a fully globalized economy. In doing so, the WTO fights poverty around the world.

Global Trade and Global Poverty Reduction

As global trade profits continue to rise, the need for a powerful and well-directed WTO is strong. According to the WTO, merchandise exports have increased by an average of 6% every year since the 1950s. Furthermore, global trade has grown 50% more than the global economy outputs every year and “total exports in 2016 were 250 times the level of 1948.” Global poverty reduction and global trade can play hand-in-hand. The WTO ensures that the two are harmonious as possible. By focusing on developing countries, protecting the most vulnerable populations and giving less powerful countries voices on the international stage, the WTO fights poverty in unique and effective ways.

Building Trade Capacity in Developing Countries

One way in which the WTO fights poverty is through global development. Also, the inclusion of low income in the global trade market. The WTO has a powerful commitment to assist developing countries in maximizing their trade potential. This, in an effort to achieve stable footing on the world stage. The WTO allows developing countries more time to meet certain commitments. Moreover, it plays an active role in building trade infrastructure across the developing world. One of the WTO’s most powerful policies is the Aid for Trade initiative launched in 2005. The initiative works to build developing countries’ trade capacity through investments in infrastructure. More than $340 billion supports growing economies through this initiative.

Creating Jobs and Meeting International Standards

Another key WTO program fighting poverty is the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF). The mission of the program is to assist developing nations “in their use of trade as an engine for growth, sustainable development, and poverty reduction.” EIF has worked in 51 countries, ensuring country ownership of trading ports. Moreover, EIF acts as an “honest broker” in trade negotiations and helps countries fight poverty by creating new trade-related jobs. EIF has invested more than $220 million into supporting the world’s poorest countries, through trade.

The WTO is also working to ensure that developing countries interested in entering into global trade can meet “international standards for food safety, plant and animal health”. This way, they can effectively access global markets. The program is called the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) and it works to ensure that developing economies are prepared for the demands and standards of the global economy.

Increased Participation in Global Trade Leads to Poverty Reduction

The statistics speak for themselves as to how the WTO fights poverty. According to the World Bank, developing countries make nearly 50% of all global trade, an increase “from 33% in 2000.” Coinciding with the increase in developing countries’ role in global trade is a sharp decline in global poverty. Nearly 1 billion people have risen out of extreme poverty since 1990, underscoring the clear linkage between increased trade capacity and poverty reduction. The WTO is ensuring that citizens of all nations can participate in and benefit from global trade by providing a new road, source of employment or new exported goods.

The WTO indirectly affects poverty by facilitating the growth in trade that has brought about significant decreases in poverty. Increased trade brings employment and infrastructure to communities that never would have seen them without their nations’ entry into the global economy. Through its programs, the WTO affects poverty on a large scale by ensuring that the global trade market is just that, truly global.

– Garrett O’Brien
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