In September 2000, the United Nations released a list of eight Millennium Development Goals that aimed to enhance gender equality, literacy, education and health in developing nations. Goals four through six specifically target the need to improve child mortality rates, maternal health and disease prevention in underdeveloped regions. Achieving these goals requires information distribution among populations, thus equipping individuals with the resources necessary to practice safe self-care. Two healthcare apps called MedAfrica and the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA) are providing these resources to the most remote parts of Africa. The apps give life-saving health advice via voice calls, SMS and the web, and are working to eradicate healthcare inadequacies in Africa.
Poverty and Health Linked
The experiences of many developing countries showcase correlations between low poverty rates and the success of healthcare systems. Low-income regions face high child mortality, low economic and educational development and increased disease transmission. Overcrowded living conditions common in low-income areas aid in the rapid spread of disease. In many African nations, the lack of available medical practitioners increases infection rates, places a financial strain on families and reduces the availability of educational health resources. Kenya, for example, has more than 40 million residents but only 7,000 medical professionals, which presents a clear disparity in access to care compared to higher-income countries.
Pregnant mothers often suffer the most from poverty. In low-income countries, more than 500,000 women die every year either during or after pregnancy. According to Dr. Charles P. Larson, improper prenatal care not only affects mothers, but it also threatens children’s growth and overall health. Children may face impaired cognition, causing intense behavioral problems and hindering school performance. The primary reason for these problems is a severe lack of access to healthcare information, which highlights a dire need to deliver accessible healthcare to underserved populations. Healthcare apps are helping many regions of Africa do just that.
MedAfrica
Shimba Technology launched MedAfrica in 2011 with the hope of providing health information and connectivity resources to people in Kenya and Uganda. The company’s primary goal was to increase interaction between practitioners and their patients through different communication systems available on the app. However, like other healthcare apps, MedAfrica does far more than create conversation. While in-person consultations often monopolize a doctor’s time, MedAfrica relieves pressure on overworked practitioners. The app’s audio calls, SMS and online instructions give individuals the tools they need to deal with general problems while allowing immediate medical issues to have a doctor’s time and attention.
MedAfrica users simply input their symptoms to receive diagnoses, basic information about medicine and a suggested treatment routine. If a patient needs to visit a doctor, the app provides a detailed registry, so the patient can choose who will monitor their care. The registry also defends against fraudulent providers, as every physician listed must undergo vetting and receive approval.
The app stands out from other healthcare apps for its success. MedAfrica won €15,000 in the 2012 Ericsson Application Awards, an annual competition that recognizes international app excellence. The app was also named one of the Top 10 Favorite Startups at Silicon Valley’s DEMO Conference due to its “hit factor” and “Technology for Good” assessment. In the future, Shimba Technology plans to expand MedAfrica’s reach in Africa before venturing into Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia.
MAMA
Limited access to medical counsel is particularly alarming for impoverished pregnant women who are at a greater risk for preterm birth, restricted intrauterine growth and maternal death. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA) in 2011 to address this issue. MAMA now provides innovative solutions for health information deprivation in Bangladesh, India, Nigeria and South Africa. Since its inception, the app has collected $4.5 million in public and private investments.
Because communication channels differ in each country, MAMA alters its program based on phone and internet access, literacy rates and channel cost. For example, when literacy is low, MAMA uses audio messages instead of SMS. If internet access is widely available, the app relies on web connection. Local dialects in the app also help customize user experiences and increase usage rates. In these ways and more, MAMA is constantly changing to accommodate its users’ locations and situations.
Additional functions of the app include peer support, knowledge sharing, and the option to turn on notifications. Some of the most significant MAMA app features are birth plan distributions, childcare and breastfeeding tips and the option for mothers to record their due dates in order to learn more about their pregnancy stages.
In just eight years, MAMA has gained almost 3.5 million subscribers in four countries alone, making it a success among a plethora of healthcare apps. MAMA recently invested $10 million into building its programs in Bangladesh, India and South Africa, three countries where the app has been largely successful.
One Step Closer
As MedAfrica and MAMA continue their work, the countries in which they operate will become one step closer to achieving at least three of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. Increased access to proper healthcare and self-care information reduces poverty by increasing self-sufficiency and allowing families to focus on education, entrepreneurship and other means of national development. Healthcare apps are one proven way to accomplish this goal.
– Natalie Clark
Photo: Flickr
The Secret to Success: Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness
Over the last two decades, Bhutan has made remarkable progress towards reducing national rates of poverty. The key to its success? Happiness. At the core of its development philosophy is Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) — the idea that sustainable development requires a holistic approach and needs to take into consideration all aspects of well-being.
The Origin of GNH
The phrase was first coined by King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, the fourth king of Bhutan, in 1972. He declared that “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross Domestic Product.” Bhutan created the GNH Index, a measurement of well-being, to use in policymaking. The GNH Index does not measure happiness alone, but also the overall well-being of Bhutanese citizens. It includes nine domains:
Each domain falls under one of four pillars: (1) good governance, (2) sustainable socio-economic development, (3) cultural preservation and (4) environmental conservation. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, aimed to be accomplished by 2030, fit well together with the GNI. Out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, 16 of them fall under one of the GNH pillars.
Developments in the GNH
In 1990, Bhutan had roughly the same levels of poverty as other South Asian countries, with more than 50% of the population living in poverty. By 2010, Bhutan reduced its rate of poverty to just 4%, while poverty for South Asia, on the whole, dropped to 30%. Although people are falling back into poverty, Bhutan has made tremendous progress towards poverty reduction through its holistic developmental approach.
Reforms that helped to improve the standard of living through various five-year-plans and programs include the commercialization of agriculture, development of infrastructure and increased amount of hydropower projects. The commercialization of agriculture led to about 8% annual growth in crop production per hectare. Moreover, the creation of more roads and highways increased access to education. Notably, much of the poverty reduction has taken place in rural areas, while in urban areas there is a danger of poverty increases.
Hydropower and Carbon Emissions in Bhutan
The main driver of wealth in rural areas is hydropower projects. Almost all of Bhutan’s energy comes from hydropower and the country even sells hydro electricity to neighboring nations. This is a major reason why Bhutan is the only country in the world that is actually carbon negative. This means that it absorbs more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than it produces. The small population size, larger forest cover, relative underdevelopment and use of clean energy make Bhutan a carbon sink rather than a source. This is a remarkable achievement; Luxembourg, which is even smaller than Bhutan, emits four times the amount of carbon. The nation’s (Bhutan’s) lack of carbon emissions falls under the environmental conservation pillar of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness. Yet, it also contributes to economic prosperity and development through hydropower projects.
Bhutan takes a wholly unique approach to govern its citizens by focusing on their happiness. The 1629 legal code of Bhutan states that “If the government cannot create happiness for its people, there is no purpose for the government to exist.” For hundreds of years, concern for the well-being of its people has informed policymaking. It is the reason why poverty has been drastically reduced, why annual GDP growth is 7.5% and why the country is carbon negative. Countries around the world can draw significant conclusions from Bhutan’s focus on gross national happiness.
– Fiona Price
Photo: Pixabay
Coldfront: Energy Poverty in Portugal
One of the latest trends in the development of anti-poverty measures in the EU is the focus on “energy poverty” or “fuel poverty.” It encompasses two dimensions. The first is the incidence with which a household provides adequate environmental conditions (heating and cooling) for its residents. The second relates to the ability of individual members to get fuel for their vehicles. Perhaps surprisingly, Portugal is one of the worst-affected states in the European Union despite its relatively mild climate in comparison to EU states further north. This article will examine details from the type of housing prone to energy poverty to the adverse health conditions. It will then offer potential means to address the sources of energy poverty in Portugal.
On the Ground
Unsurprisingly, energy poverty in Portugal does not comprise a neat package. Factors ranging from local climate, homeownership and the home’s architecture influence energy poverty. The methods a household employs to sustain its environment also impact whether it experiences energy poverty. Additionally, researchers show that these factors can influence whether a home is energy-poor:
Similarly, there is also a general profile that tends to fit the people that live in this type of housing, such as:
Yet, all of this merely helps to describe the problem, not substantiate it. What are the practical consequences of energy poverty for the people who have to struggle with it? And what are its implications for broader society?
It All Starts at Home
Studies that researchers have conducted worldwide demonstrate that members of energy-poor homes tend to suffer higher rates of diseases and higher rates of mortality. A study from 2014 found that Portugal had nearly twice the EU average of excess deaths in winter. Disputes have emerged as to how much excess morbidity one can ascribe to just cold housing. However, one cannot deny that the high prevalence of insufficiently-heated homes exacerbates other causes of excess death in the winter.
Moreover, homes that struggle with energy poverty tend to shelter people who are more vulnerable to these illnesses in the first place. For example, the elderly have more vulnerability due to having weaker immune systems in comparison to the young and the poor possessing fewer resources to advocate for themselves. Under international law, adequate housing is a human right that the state has an obligation to secure for its citizens. Therefore, this is a social problem that requires a societal response.
How to Respond?
Among social scientists who study energy poverty, a disagreement exists on whether the solution to this problem lies with addressing household income or through renovating and/or replacing existing structures. In contrast, the main reason people shelter themselves in energy-poor houses is that they are affordable. Providing people with additional income to go towards rehousing could be an easy solution to this problem. Another solution could be augmenting people’s current living space.
In fact, the Portuguese government passed social tariffs on electricity and natural gas in 2010 and 2011. Respectively, the income passed on to populations the government deemed to be vulnerable to energy poverty in Portugal. While the extra income was marginally beneficial for the recipient populations, many consider it an inefficient answer to the problem of energy poverty.
On the other hand, the issue of housing itself also exists. Many of the homes these studies discuss are old public housing units that have not undergone renovations to meet the present standards. Retrofitting these structures with modern designs that incorporate better insulation and repairing existing heating and piping systems are labor-intensive and expensive. Yet the results of a successful renovation could lift more people from energy poverty than simply hoping that the markets will provide an adequate answer.
One can see the practical effects of this in nearby Barcelona, where a 2016 study found that there was a significant decline in cold-related mortality rates for public housing unit residents when housing interventions (i.e renovations) occurred on the building they lived in. Renovations are not a cure and they do not address privately-owned energy-poor homes, but they could mean a world of difference for public housing residents’ quality of life.
The Upshot
Energy poverty is an emerging field of study that has yet to experience full contextualization between its environmental, economical and socio-psychological aspects. Nevertheless, it is the new frontline in the war on poverty in Europe. Even in sunny Portugal, cold indifference costs lives yearly. Better is possible, so long as Portugal puts in the effort.
– Aidan King
Photo: Flickr
Tackling Homelessness in Burkina Faso
Homelessness in Burkina Faso is a crisis in a long list of crises. Aside from the ongoing challenges that confront the landlocked West African nation, housing shortages have escalated for over 18 million inhabitants. The woes of the former French colony are plentiful, but Burkina Faso’s U.N. advisor, Miriame Fofaso, sees hope in Burkina Faso’s future.
A Brief History
Islamic State of the Greater Sahara (Sunni Islamists) have increased by several hundred since 2015.
The needs of the Burkinabé are growing, according to Jerry-Jonas Mbasha, the health cluster coordinator for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Burkina Faso. The landlocked nation had 1,929 COVID-19 cases as of September 27, 2020.
Within the homeless population, there is also susceptibility to disease due to a lack of basic needs like clean water, health care, basic hygiene and sanitation. This includes diseases that were already present before the pandemic, like cholera, dengue fever and yellow fever to name a few.
COVID-19 Relief
In an unfortunate, but not unforeseen turn of events, COVID-19 has ravaged the countryside in almost apocalyptic fashion. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations entity that appeals to public and private partners, raised $37.8 million to aid 480,000 people in June 2020. The organization has provided health kits, community and IDP camps awareness campaigns regarding the virus, providing temporary housing and more.
The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, an arm of the European Union, has also added to the relief funding, earmarking €22.5 million to aiding the country’s humanitarian aid needs. But the economic impact has already disrupted economic viability for families, whether it be lockdown measures or children’s school cancellations.
A New Hope
Homelessness in Burkina Faso seems hopeless and endless, with the coronavirus adding to the stresses of a county already on the brink. That is unless Mariame Fofana is involved. Fofana serves as the Burkinabé Ambassador Deputy Permanent Representative at the U.N. Social Development Commission. The commission is devoted to developing housing relief in the impoverished nations of the U.N.
Under her tenure, she has successfully lobbied for the funding of 35,000 new government housing units from the U.N. In a session from earlier this year, she drew attention to the opportunity for solutions, saying that “2020 provides a chance for the international community and the Commission to take stock of its work in social development [….] underlining the need to prioritize poor and vulnerable people.”
Fofana has advocated for anti-poverty investments for several years. Fofana serves on the Group of 77, an international organization of developing nations within the U.N. that advocates for the needs of developing countries.
At a 2019 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty meeting, through her French-accented English, she conveyed sympathy for her people. Noting the terrorist attacks that had ravaged the Burkinabé countryside, she called on younger generations to fend off discouragement and depression. ‘Young people? Who better than you, through your innocent eyes, can make us better aware of a need to build a world of solidarity, prosperity, and security? Where all children, without exception, will benefit from the full enjoyment of their right[s].”
Fofana represents a light for homelessness in Burkina Faso and an international hope for the Burkinabé population. Perhaps in the future, that hope will prevail.
– Christopher Millard
Photo: Flickr
Homelessness in Eswatini
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is an enclaved country within Southern Africa. The nation faces a massive problem of homelessness caused by a broken system of human rights and poverty. The country’s land governance system has unfairly sent many people out of their homes. King Mswati III owns much of the land that the people live on — leaving the Swazi people powerless when evictions occur. These evictions hit women and other marginalized groups especially hard, as they do not have protection under the law. AIDS, HIV and the eradication of agriculture for land development have also played a role in worsening homelessness in Eswatini.
Land Insecurity
Farming is a vital part of the Swazi peoples’ livelihood. Yet, recent land development disputes have begun to hurt farming practices with evictions leaving hundreds of people homeless. These evictions have occurred at the hands of police and bulldozers, which destroyed many homes. To make matters worse, many newly-evicted people have no alternative or even temporary shelter. In April 2018, dozens of people and more than 30 children became homeless — forced to live in inhumane conditions. Some people slept at a local school, some slept outside of their now-demolished home and some slept in a chicken shed.
As more people increasingly fall victim to homelessness in Eswatini, fewer places exist for families to purchase goods for themselves. It has been difficult to fight these evictions due to the country’s government being an absolute monarchy. As a result, people cannot overturn the policies that the king has put in place. These forced evictions come from not only Mswati III owning the land, but also private entities and/or the government owning some as well. This leaves the Swazi people at a high risk of eviction without preparation, warning or recompense.
Connections to HIV
The contraction of HIV has also contributed to the problem of homelessness in Eswatini. Almost 40% of sexually active Swazi adults are positive of the virus. As adults suffer or die as a result of HIV contraction, their children and other members of their households are left without a breadwinner. Sometimes, these homes become children-led. This makes it easier for the government to remove the homes with no plan or adequate place for the family to live afterward.
What is Being Done?
Amnesty International, a non-government organization focused on human rights, reported human rights violations causing homelessness in Eswatini. Moreover, Amnesty International assessed that the violations were caused by the country’s government. The organization has recommended and pushed the prime minister, attorney general and the minister of justice to address this problem. It has urged the prime minister to prohibit all evictions due to violations of legal protections and lack of adequate housing. Specifically, in the regions of Malkerns and Nokwane, the prime minister is to protect the people and provide them with safe places to live until they find a home. The attorney general is to put into law the stoppage of all forced evictions regardless of the circumstance. Relevant institutions would have to go through the proper procedures, before evicting someone.
Upon converting these policies into law, the attorney general is to make sure their new land policy is in line with international human rights involving housing. In this way, the government is taking action to reduce the problem of homelessness in Eswatini.
– Dorian Ducre
Photo: Flickr
UNRWA Struggles after the US Pulls Funding
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was specifically created to help Palestinian refugees after the 1948 Israeli-Arab war. The Palestinian refugee problem has only grown since its formation, so the U.N. has allowed the agency to continue operating.
Palestinian refugees are unique. Every person who was a resident or a resident’s descendant of what is now Israel all have a legal designation as ‘refugees.’ UNRWA now serves four generations of Palestinian refugees, having grown from serving 750,000 to 5.6 million.
The United States Pulls Funding
The United States pulled its funding from UNRWA in 2018. President Trump cited the reason behind the defunding as the agency’s incompetency. The United States had previously been contributing about $355,000 million of UNWRA’s budget.
The United States’ decision affected refugees who rely on UNRWA’s aid for education, health care, protection and basic human needs like food security. In 2017, reports determined that 39% of Palestinian refugees lived in poverty, and very little effort has occurred to assimilate Palestinians into host communities.
Palestine, Israel and the international community, in general, see the United States’ choice as an effort to delegitimize UNRWA and the 5.6 billion Palestinian refugees it serves. Revoking these generations of Palestinians’ refugee status would take away their right to return to their homeland.
Aftermath of Funding Removal
In 2020, the U.N. extended UNRWA’s mandate to the year 2023. However, UNRWA is still struggling financially. Not only did it appeal to the international community to donate a minimum of $1.4 billion for the yearly budget, but it requested another $14 million for COVID-19 emergency aid.
The UNRWA reported that it can only sustain operations until May 2020 with the added health crisis that COVID-19 brought on. It has only raised one-third of its budget. UNRWA’s director stated that the UNRWA must run on a “month to month basis” enduring the biggest financial instability since its creation.
Pleas for Help
The United States made the suggestion to transition the UNRWA’s responsibilities into the hands of the Arab countries that host Palestinian refugees. However, these nations are struggling to fill their own funding gap. Arab countries are suffering from high poverty rates and an influx of refugees from the ongoing conflict in Syria.
UNRWA has also sought the help of NGOs, such as Islamic Relief USA, to fill the funding gap. This is a faith-based organization that works to raise funds and mobilize volunteers for a range of initiatives including UNRWA. It has been helping Palestinian refugees since 1994. Islamic Relief USA has served 1,077,000 people from 2017 to 2019.
The United States government might have cut off funding to UNRWA as a result of flaws within the agency. It might have hoped to delegitimize the Palestinian right of return. Either way, Palestine’s impoverished people need UNRWA’s support. If UNRWA is not successful in gaining new donors, they will lose their access to education, health care and other necessary securities that are human rights.
– Olivia Welsh
Photo: Flickr
4 Updates on SDG 11 in Luxembourg
Luxembourg is a small European country sandwiched between Belgium, France and Germany. Around 630,000 people live in the nation, which has a landmass smaller than the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As a member of the United Nations, Luxembourg is subject to an annual Sustainable Development Report. The report encompasses goals ranging from zero hunger to gender equality. Sustainable Cities and Communities is number 11 on the list of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 11 is an attempt to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” Rent overburden in Luxembourg contributes to the significant challenges the nation faces, but progress toward achieving SDG 11 is moderately improving. Here are four updates on SDG 11 in Luxembourg.
4 Updates on SDG 11 in Luxembourg
Looking Forward
While rent overburden in Luxembourg is a significant roadblock for achieving SDG 11 in Luxembourg, free public transportation is a critical building block for sustainable cities and communities. Workers commuting to Luxembourg from abroad (it is just a 30-minute drive from Luxembourg City to Germany, France or Belgium) contribute to air pollution, but air quality is improving, albeit slowly. One can partially link this to more Luxembourgers opting for public transportation as opposed to their personal vehicles.
NGOs like the Luxembourg Anti-Poverty Network are working to reduce rent overburden, although a more concerted effort in conjunction with the government is necessary. Though challenges remain for Luxembourg to develop sustainable cities and communities, steps like providing country-wide free public transportation are positive signs that Luxembourgers have committed themselves to the achievement of SDG 11.
– Spencer Jacobs
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
How Young Creatives Are Revolutionizing Activism
Without a doubt, the surge of the internet has created many waves in the way that people live their everyday lives. From ride-sharing apps to Instagram stories to trendy Tiktok dances, it seems like social media has overwhelmed every aspect of modern life, working particularly hard to keep people connected through an unprecedented time of social distancing. However, it is not just the mundane that has changed with the dawn of the online age; young creatives have used the internet to completely reimagine modern activism.
The Age of Digital Activism
Digital activism, defined as the use of digital tools (i.e. the internet, mobile phones, social media, etc.) for bringing about social and/or political change, is hardly a new phenomenon. As of 2018, the Pew Research Center found that around half of all Americans had engaged in some form of political or social activism via social media over the past year. They also found the majority of Americans believed that social media was a good tool for bringing important global issues to the attention of lawmakers. It is more than likely that these statistics have grown over the past several years, particularly in the culmination of movements such as the March for our Lives, #MeToo and Black Lives Matter. It does not take very long to come up with countless examples of online activism.
More recently, however, a new trend has grown popular among young creatives on Instagram: zines. Zines are self-published, non-commercial print works that are typically produced and distributed in small batches by artists looking to share their work. While they have been a part of youth pop culture for many years now, a group of young women have taken it into their own hands to shift that paradigm.
The Birth of More Color Media
In early June of 2020, Aissata Sall, a recent high school graduate, single-handedly launched her independent publication, More Color Media. From the very beginning, Sall wanted this project to be different from what had been done already; she wanted to tell the stories that were not already being told. Within just 10 short weeks, the small project gained nearly 5,000 followers across multiple platforms and exploded into a team of nearly 100 creatives, all using their talents from photography to poetry to bring global issues of poverty, education and inequality to light in a new, innovative way.
“We have team members from Estonia, France, North Africa — everywhere!” Sall said in an interview with The Borgen Project on August 14th of 2020. “It’s just been amazing to see how many people we’ve reached and how many people have reached out to us to tell us how happy they are with the space and the platform we’ve created. That’s the biggest accomplishment in our eyes.”
This new platform has created a unique way for young creatives to share information, with eye-catching graphics and stunning photography all utilized to draw attention to global issues from Venezuela to Lebanon to Serbia. Many of these posts include thorough factsheets and sources, allowing viewers to digest news from around the world and quickly find resources to help. By just sharing informational posts, fund pages and petitions to lawmakers regarding specific issues, More Color Media has reportedly reached over 30,000 individual audience members across all of their platforms.
“We want to provide more platforms for us to be able to support people in our communities and in the global community,” explained Diana Sinclair, the co-Editor-in-Chief of More Color Media. “We’ve already been using our platform to highlight individual funds to help reach people’s needs. We’ve also talked a lot about opening up other platforms like a podcast to help give a greater voice to the communities we want to support.”
A New Generation of Activists
While they continue to grow, More Color Media may very well represent the future of digital activism, serving to show that there is no limit on who can make a difference. According to RESET, an organization working to help advance the next generation into the digital age, one of the biggest benefits of digital activism is the ability to connect with a large community and globalize a campaign’s goals. More Color Media is doing just that. More Color Media’s first print issue is fast approaching, with a release date tentatively in late September, and both Sall and Sinclair are waiting eagerly with bated breath.
To learn more about More Color Media, visit their website, www.morecolormedia.com, or check them out on Instagram at @MoreColorMedia.
– Angie Bittar
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Raising the Roof and Keeping It There: Analysis of the Power Holding Company in Nigeria
Development programs often emphasize distributing a needed resource to as many people as possible. Once a program or company finishes with an area, it moves onto the next one. However, that strategy risks leaving people in poor, especially rural areas with infrastructure they may not know how to keep up. One such infrastructure is power production.
Electric Supply in Nigeria
Take the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) as an example. It was owned by the government, was the only centralized electric company there and contributed to less than 1% of the country’s GDP. In the U.S., electricity production and movement accounts for five times that GDP percentage. As the country with the second-most total economic activity in Africa, PHCN is a significant player and has the potential to be a leader for the rest of the continent. The inefficiency of power production and the deterioration of existing lines and plants, however, seriously hurt growth. Most Nigerians, if they have power at all, can only use it erratically. If they want a steadier supply, they must rely on fossil fuel generators, which is simply unattainable for many low-income families and groups.
Proposed Solutions for Reliable Electricity
The lack of consistency in power production hurts far more than it may initially seem. If the industry cannot produce with regularity, other countries will outcompete Nigerians in most cases, compounding the issue of growth already present. Even when the industry does get power, it is more expensive because so much of it is lost – the system is currently working at 1/3 capacity, producing less than 3,900 MW for the whole country. With all these issues, it’s obvious that there needs to be a change. Some solutions that the government and other groups proposed are:
Improving access to electricity in developing countries like Nigeria is no easy feat. However, teaching proper maintenance techniques is essential no matter what path the country decides to take. That’s how power will get to the last 50% of Nigerians and be stable for everyone in the nation.
– Michael Straus
Photo: Flickr
“Nobody Knows”: Poverty in Present-Day Japan
The film titled, “Nobody Knows” or “Dare Mo Shiranai” in Japanese, shows the issues of poverty in present-day Japan — even though the film was made in 2004. The film, based on a child abandonment case, takes off when the single-mother, Keiko, leaves her boyfriend’s apartment. The oldest child, who is just 12 years old, had to care for his younger siblings (whose existence is hidden from neighbors and the landlord). The film depicts the struggle of poor children as well as a poor, single mother in a Japanese society where people are not willing to take decisive action to help others. Although Japan is one of the most developed countries in the world, 14% of children experienced poverty in 2018.
The Struggle of Single-Parent Households
About 56% of children raised by a single-parent live in poverty. In the film, the mother struggles financially. She explains that she has difficulties finding an apartment because of her status as a single parent of four kids. Finding a stable job can be difficult in current Japanese society because of the common perception that single mothers are unreliable.
Employers are hesitant to hire single-mothers because they may not be able to work when a child gets sick, for example. They end up working as irregular or part-time workers — a status that garners a lower income and less stability when compared with full-time. Irregular workers make up 40% of the workforce in Japan. Many single mothers have to work at two or more places in order to feed their children. In the film, the mother has no financial support from the fathers of her children. The reality of a single mother is often the same and due to current laws in Japan — single-mothers are often unable to obtain financial support from the fathers of their children. These factors all lead to the existence of subtle poverty in present-day Japan.
Ramifications for the Children
Although the children in the film cannot go to school, children from single-parent households who do go to school tend to struggle academically. The percentage of children who perform below average at school is higher for children who have single-parents when compared with those who have both parents. These children are more likely to be unable to attend “cram school” — where many Japanese students study for exams, after regular school. These factors regarding academic performance affect the earnings and job potential of these children’s future. In this way, the poverty of the current generation is passed on to the next generation. Furthermore, it is difficult to distinguish which children are struggling with poverty. This makes the issue of child poverty in present-day Japan even more elusive.
COVID-19’s Effects on Single Mothers and Children
Because of the current economic situation due to COVID-19, non-regular employees are at risk. The law does not protect them from getting fired and unemployment insurance may not be available for some. The request to stay home from the government has affected certain teenagers who have nowhere to go due to poverty or other family issues. Moreover, the closing of school negatively affected the children who rely on school meals.
Actions of Nonprofit Organizations
Several nonprofit organizations and volunteers have worked to help the people in need. Colabo, an organization helping girls in need, has provided food and shelter to teenage girls who have nowhere to turn — due to poverty, abusive parents or other personal reasons. Colabo reaches out to these girls in the city at night to let them know of its free service. In 2019, more than 500 girls used its bus café, where it provides free food and counseling services. Also, Colabo rents apartments at cheap prices for the girls’ use.
Kodomo Shokudo is a cafeteria that provides children with food — either for free or at a cheap price. In 2018, there were more than 2,200 locations across the country. These locations each have different programs to help children in need and many also provide a place where children can study and play. One of these locations even helps children learn how to cook. Kodomo Shokudo unfortunately cannot open presently due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Some locations recently started delivering food to people in need and children who came to the cafeteria often. These initiatives by nonprofit organizations and their volunteers help poor children and spread awareness of child poverty in present-day Japan.
Addressing the Problem
The film “Nobody Knows” is more than 10 years old. However, the invisibility of poverty in present-day Japan and the struggle of single mothers are still prevalent in Japanese society. Raising awareness around poverty in present-day Japan is crucial to effectively address and solve the issue.
– Sayaka Ojima
Photo: Pixabay
Healthcare Apps Help Remote Populations in Africa
In September 2000, the United Nations released a list of eight Millennium Development Goals that aimed to enhance gender equality, literacy, education and health in developing nations. Goals four through six specifically target the need to improve child mortality rates, maternal health and disease prevention in underdeveloped regions. Achieving these goals requires information distribution among populations, thus equipping individuals with the resources necessary to practice safe self-care. Two healthcare apps called MedAfrica and the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA) are providing these resources to the most remote parts of Africa. The apps give life-saving health advice via voice calls, SMS and the web, and are working to eradicate healthcare inadequacies in Africa.
Poverty and Health Linked
The experiences of many developing countries showcase correlations between low poverty rates and the success of healthcare systems. Low-income regions face high child mortality, low economic and educational development and increased disease transmission. Overcrowded living conditions common in low-income areas aid in the rapid spread of disease. In many African nations, the lack of available medical practitioners increases infection rates, places a financial strain on families and reduces the availability of educational health resources. Kenya, for example, has more than 40 million residents but only 7,000 medical professionals, which presents a clear disparity in access to care compared to higher-income countries.
Pregnant mothers often suffer the most from poverty. In low-income countries, more than 500,000 women die every year either during or after pregnancy. According to Dr. Charles P. Larson, improper prenatal care not only affects mothers, but it also threatens children’s growth and overall health. Children may face impaired cognition, causing intense behavioral problems and hindering school performance. The primary reason for these problems is a severe lack of access to healthcare information, which highlights a dire need to deliver accessible healthcare to underserved populations. Healthcare apps are helping many regions of Africa do just that.
MedAfrica
Shimba Technology launched MedAfrica in 2011 with the hope of providing health information and connectivity resources to people in Kenya and Uganda. The company’s primary goal was to increase interaction between practitioners and their patients through different communication systems available on the app. However, like other healthcare apps, MedAfrica does far more than create conversation. While in-person consultations often monopolize a doctor’s time, MedAfrica relieves pressure on overworked practitioners. The app’s audio calls, SMS and online instructions give individuals the tools they need to deal with general problems while allowing immediate medical issues to have a doctor’s time and attention.
MedAfrica users simply input their symptoms to receive diagnoses, basic information about medicine and a suggested treatment routine. If a patient needs to visit a doctor, the app provides a detailed registry, so the patient can choose who will monitor their care. The registry also defends against fraudulent providers, as every physician listed must undergo vetting and receive approval.
The app stands out from other healthcare apps for its success. MedAfrica won €15,000 in the 2012 Ericsson Application Awards, an annual competition that recognizes international app excellence. The app was also named one of the Top 10 Favorite Startups at Silicon Valley’s DEMO Conference due to its “hit factor” and “Technology for Good” assessment. In the future, Shimba Technology plans to expand MedAfrica’s reach in Africa before venturing into Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia.
MAMA
Limited access to medical counsel is particularly alarming for impoverished pregnant women who are at a greater risk for preterm birth, restricted intrauterine growth and maternal death. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA) in 2011 to address this issue. MAMA now provides innovative solutions for health information deprivation in Bangladesh, India, Nigeria and South Africa. Since its inception, the app has collected $4.5 million in public and private investments.
Because communication channels differ in each country, MAMA alters its program based on phone and internet access, literacy rates and channel cost. For example, when literacy is low, MAMA uses audio messages instead of SMS. If internet access is widely available, the app relies on web connection. Local dialects in the app also help customize user experiences and increase usage rates. In these ways and more, MAMA is constantly changing to accommodate its users’ locations and situations.
Additional functions of the app include peer support, knowledge sharing, and the option to turn on notifications. Some of the most significant MAMA app features are birth plan distributions, childcare and breastfeeding tips and the option for mothers to record their due dates in order to learn more about their pregnancy stages.
In just eight years, MAMA has gained almost 3.5 million subscribers in four countries alone, making it a success among a plethora of healthcare apps. MAMA recently invested $10 million into building its programs in Bangladesh, India and South Africa, three countries where the app has been largely successful.
One Step Closer
As MedAfrica and MAMA continue their work, the countries in which they operate will become one step closer to achieving at least three of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. Increased access to proper healthcare and self-care information reduces poverty by increasing self-sufficiency and allowing families to focus on education, entrepreneurship and other means of national development. Healthcare apps are one proven way to accomplish this goal.
– Natalie Clark
Photo: Flickr