Archive for category: COVID-19

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Media Coverage of Global Poverty

Media Coverage of Global Poverty
Many U.S. citizens have misconceptions about the extent of global poverty and how the government is acting to remedy the issue. However, this may not be at the fault of the general public. Media coverage of global poverty largely contributes to the information gaps in the minds of many Americans.

A survey done by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that Americans assume more than 20% of the federal budget is spent on foreign aid. In reality, non-military assistance composes just about 0.2% of the federal budget. This assumption is especially pertinent, as it may give Americans the impression that global poverty is constantly decreasing. For the first time since 1998, that is no longer true. COVID-19 is pushing millions into extreme poverty, counteracting years of progress.

Limited Media Coverage

In 2014, another study found that three major network newscasts devoted just 0.2% of their programming to poverty in 14 months. Recently, with politics and public health consuming the majority of airtime, this number has fallen. Media coverage of global poverty is taking a back seat to other topics. Consequently, it is no surprise that many Americans have warped perceptions of poverty overseas.

General, mainstream media outlets tend to shy away from discussing global poverty in great depth. This is because the topic may not test well with viewers. As a result, when there are reports on these issues, they often take the form of stories or opinion pieces rather than formal news stories. While these pieces still spread awareness, they do not relay to Americans, the facts of what occurs overseas. In turn, this limits the opportunity for readers to develop sufficiently informed opinions of their own.

Mainstream Media Coverage?

Even The New York Times, a reputable news outlet, is not immune to this phenomenon. A Google search for “global poverty New York Times” yields an opinion piece before any formal article on the subject. These results may deter readers from trusting information in the opinion article (first search result) as opinion pieces outwardly inform readers of bias. The second article, titled “Millions Have Risen Out of Poverty. Coronavirus is Pulling them Back” begins with a narrative of a woman in Bangladesh escaping poverty, then falling back into its grasp due to the side effects of COVID-19. Using devices like storytelling to convey facts can be effective, but it does not always present the most detailed information. Just three articles on the Google search results page are from 2020. This represents  only 30% of the initial search results. Any other non-opinion pieces are from 2015 or earlier (at the time of this article’s publication).

However, it may not even be the news outlets that are at fault for the sporadic nature of their reports on poverty. Censorship proves to be its own problem. Many impoverished countries tend to withhold the information for which journalists may be looking. The extra steps or inability to access these kinds of facts may prove difficult for some news outlets.

Other Outlets

The irregular nature of the reports on poverty explains why the issue is not on the radar of many Americans. Yet, still, the information does exist. News outlets such as Borgen Magazine and Global Citizen consistently release articles in the interests of the world’s poor — simultaneously educating Americans on foreign affairs. However, this does not make up for mainstream news outlets’ lack of coverage.

There have been efforts to remedy the lack of media coverage of global poverty, including publications and initiatives dedicated to aiding the world’s poor. For instance, the Global Investigative Journalism Network released tips on covering poverty back in 2014. However, knowledge of poverty and how to combat it cannot spread unless two things occur. First, citizens must take the initiative to seek it out themselves. Alternatively (and arguably more beneficially), mainstream media outlets can find a way to integrate it into their news releases on a more regular basis.

– Ava Roberts
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Innovations in Poverty Eradication in China

Poverty AlleviationFor the past four decades, the Chinese government has viewed poverty alleviation as integral to its economic development. The government’s efforts against poverty have intensified under the leadership of President Xi Jinping who proposed ambitious measures to eliminate poverty by the end of 2020.

China has made tremendous progress in alleviating poverty through the government’s efforts, as the number of people living in poverty in China has fallen from 750 million in 1990 to just 16.6 million in 2019. However, obstacles remain ahead of China’s efforts to completely eradicate poverty and improve the standard of living for its residents.

Poverty Eradication Under Xi Jinping

In 2014, China’s government implemented a strategy of Targeted Poverty Alleviation, which allows the government and local officials to address the needs of individuals and households rather than entire villages. Local officials use data from a local registration system containing information from more than 128,000 villages to identify and provide support to poverty-stricken areas. According to China’s President Xi Jinping, Targeted Poverty Alleviation follows an approach based on policies in five areas:

  • Industrial development
  • Social Security
  • Education
  • Eco-compensation
  • Relocation

 At a local level, the Targeted Poverty Alleviation program employs the pairing-up strategy, which enables impoverished families in western provinces to receive support from the more affluent eastern provinces. Officials who exclusively support rural inhabitants support impoverished households, including those in ethnic minority areas. The government supports the local industry by establishing internet commerce centers in rural areas known as Taobao villages. In Taobao villages, rural residents can support themselves by selling crops and local products online. By 2015, Taobao villages supported 200,000 shop owners and employed one million people.

The Targeted Poverty Alleviation campaign has also implemented nationwide initiatives to facilitate industrial development. In 2019, China spent 19 billion dollars on a variety of infrastructure initiatives. Through these initiatives, China has been able to build or renovate more than 124,000 miles of roads and provide 94% of rural villagers with internet access.

China also uses a resettlement program to help elevate rural residents from poverty. Under this program, the government encourages residents in remote and ecologically vulnerable rural regions to relocate to areas closer to the cities. By one estimate, over nine million people have been resettled by this initiative between 2016 and 2020. Increased economic opportunities in cities and reforms that allow greater internal migration in China have also encouraged resettlement. These migrations have resulted in China’s urbanization rate rising from 17.92% in 1978 to 57.3% in 2016.

Metrics of Success

China’s efforts to alleviate poverty have been judged as tremendously successful by most measures. Between 2014 and 2019, 68 million rural residents have risen from poverty. China’s reforms to its economy has enabled 730 million people to emerge from poverty over the past four decades, accounting for nearly three-fourths of global poverty accomplishments from this time period. According to the UN Millennium Global Development Report, China’s policies have enabled the international community to meet the UN’s goal of reducing extreme global poverty by 50%.

China’s economic success has enabled it to address disparities between its urban and rural populations in healthcare. Urban and rural populations have both witnessed infant mortality rates decline below 1%, and maternal mortality rates for urban and rural mothers have declined and attained parity at the level of two per million in 2019.

Obstacles

Despite China’s progress in eliminating poverty, the nation continues to face obstacles in attaining its ambitious standards and supporting the needs of poor residents. Local officials’ administration of financial support is often arbitrary or impeded by stringent bureaucratic procedures, which has resulted in some poor households being denied or receiving insufficient financial support. The increased funds invested in poverty alleviation efforts has also contributed to significant “corruption and mismanagement.”

China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) reported that 730 yuan (112.21 million USD) in poverty alleviation funds were misappropriated in 2018 through violations, such as embezzlement, fraud and bribery. The government uses the CCDI to maintain oversight on how its funding is used, and officials who fail to accomplish poverty reduction in their region face expulsion from the Communist Party and “career oblivion.”

The government’s poverty alleviation efforts have also been criticized for its emphasis on the rural poor while ignoring those in urban areas who are struggling to meet high living costs. China’s poverty alleviation campaign invited high polluting industries, such as those that have been associated with reduced air and water quality in impoverished regions, causing many to question whether China’s progress is sustainable. The relocation program has also been controversial as many rural residents often relinquish their land for little compensation, only to subsequently struggle to find work in the cities. Government officials have also expressed impatience with residents who were unwilling to relocate.

The progress of the poverty alleviation campaign was also complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the initial four months of 2020, unemployment rose to 6.2% and one expert calculates that 80 million people in China were unemployed when rural villagers and migrant workers were included in the calculation. Despite the economic effects of the pandemic, Beijing has not relented in its endeavor to eliminate poverty, and experts doubt that China will admit to having failed to meet its goal for 2020, regardless of the state of the economy. Regardless of whether China attains its goal for 2020, experts doubt that it will abandon its endeavors to improve its people’s standard of living.

China’s efforts towards eradicating poverty have yielded tremendous success, yet the government and the country’s people will be responsible for ensuring that its progress is sustainable and results in tangible improvements to the standard of living of people in urban and rural areas.

– Bilal Amodu
Photo: Pixabay

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Twiga Foods is Helping Families During COVID-19

Twiga Foods
COVID-19 has caused many issues for poor families around the world. However, Kenyan food distributor Twiga Foods is helping families during COVID-19.

What is Twiga Foods?

Twiga Foods emerged in 2014 as a mobile-based food distribution company. What it does is source produce from local farmers and manufacturers. Suppliers can post their produce online so vendors can order it at an affordable price. Today, Twiga employs about 4,000 suppliers and about 35,000 vendors.

Fast Company has listed Twiga Foods as one of the most innovative companies. Twiga Foods was also listed as one of the World Economic Forum’s “Technology Pioneers.” The company has “reinvented Africa’s approach to retail, making it less time-consuming and more efficient.” The company “presents a convenient and reliable alternative to the current expensive farm and factory-to-market processes.”

The mission for Twiga Foods is simple: “to feed and supply Africa’s growing urban population with traceable, quality and affordable products whose quality, health and safety standards are at one with global conventions and best practice.”

What Twiga is Doing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The spread of COVID-19 created a lot of concern for Twiga Foods. Some of its clients include hotels and restaurants which have run minimally during the pandemic. However, Twiga was listed as an essential business, and the company was able to keep operating and employ thousands of people.

In June 2020, Twiga partnered up with Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) and Jumia to support families during the pandemic. The program these companies created offers a “convenient way for customers who wish to donate during the pandemic period.” Twiga Foods is providing discounted prices of fresh produce up to 50% as an incentive for people to donate to the cause.

How Companies like Twiga Foods Can Help the Market

The success of Twiga Foods matches Kenya’s growing economy and reduction of poverty. Kenya’s GDP went from $61.45 billion in 2014 to $95.5 billion in 2019. However, Kenya’s GDP in 2020 has gone down to about $80 billion.

Not only has the GDP risen over the past few years, but poverty rates in Kenya have gone down. From 2005 to 2006, 46.8% of Kenyans lived below the poverty line. From 2015 to 2016, the amount of Kenyans living under the poverty line dropped to 36.1%. This drop in the poverty rate was due to the increasing importance of non-agricultural income to supplement agricultural income for rural households.

Between 2013 and 2017, about 25% of the nation’s GDP came from agriculture. However, farmers across Kenya find it hard to make a living due to the insufficiency of the African agricultural market. Having companies like Twiga Foods support these farmers can help improve food safety, environmental and social practices.

When Twiga Foods connects rural farmers to informal retail vendors in the cities, it can enhance the agricultural market for both the suppliers and the consumers. Farmers can have guaranteed access to a fairly-priced, transparent and mobile marketplace. Vendors can get high-quality and fresh produce to sell to consumers at a lower price. Having food sold at a lower price is a way that Twiga foods is helping families afford the food they need to survive.

– Jackson Lebedun
Photo: Flickr

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The History of Vaccines and COVID-19

history of Vaccines
The history of vaccines starts centuries ago, with some accounts dating back to 2000 B.C. In the 1500s, smallpox inoculations took place in India and China. In the 17th century, Buddist monks drank snake venom for immunity as an early form of vaccination. Smallpox Inoculation meant cutting up smallpox scabs and blowing them into the nostrils, the left nostril for the girls and right nostril for the boys. Even though Emperor K’ang Hsi had his children inoculated, these practices did not spread to the rest of the country and the smallpox epidemic continued for 200 years.

Most virologists cite 1796 as the history of vaccines’ beginning. Edward Jenner was a country doctor living in England when he performed the first vaccination in history. He took pus from a cowpox wound and injecting it into James Phillips, an 8-year-old boy. Six weeks later Jenner visited the two spots with smallpox on Phillips’s arm to find he was not affected. In addition, Jenner did 12 more experiments and 16 case studies before publishing “Inquiry Into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccines.” Cow-pox protects humans from the infection of smallpox created the foundation for vaccinology.

Advancements in Vaccines

Until 1885 after the invention of a rabies vaccine, the word “ vaccine” had only referred to smallpox inoculation. The history of vaccines continued with French physicians Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin creating the tuberculosis vaccine by weakening the bacteria over 230 versions. Furthermore, the first influenza vaccine emerged in the 1940s, 10 years after the discovery of the virus. The U.S. Army sponsored the flu vaccine and used fertilized chicken eggs, something still used today.

In 1952, the U.S. reached 57,879 polio cases resulting in 3,145 deaths. Survivors ended up in wheelchairs or crutches, severely paralyzed or having to use an iron lung to breathe. Moreover, Jonas Salk created the Polio Virus vaccine in 1955. Consequently, Salk became one of the most celebrated scientists in the world. Between 1955 and 1962, more than 400 million vaccines were distributed under leading drug manufacturers and polio cases were reduced by 90%.

Vaccine Safety Worldwide

In 1901, the U.S. Congress passed The Biologics Control Act which regulated the selling of serums, toxins and analogic products. This was the first legislation in the history of vaccines for managing vaccines and drugs. Additionally, the act established the Hygienic Laboratory of the U.S. Public Health Service, now known as the National Institution of Health.

Since then, other countries have taken many steps to ensure vaccine safety. China currently has a three-level moderating system for monitoring vaccines. The country’s vaccine industry is able to produce over 1 billion doses per year for preventing 30+ diseases. Moreover, vaccine efforts have made significant progress in Bangladesh. The country has established two production facilities for vaccines. In addition, Bangladesh has increased the monitoring of Adverse Events following Immunization (AEFI).

COVID-19 Vaccine

While vaccine development has advanced since Edward Jenner’s invention of vaccinology, citizens all around the world are waiting for a new event in vaccine history: the coronavirus vaccine. With 22.4 million cases worldwide, 778,000 deaths and countries re-entering lockdown, it’s no exaggeration to say a COVID-19 vaccine is necessary to end the pandemic. The good news is that over 165 vaccines have undergone development around the world. About 35 of the vaccines are in the human trial stage and two vaccines have received approval for early or limited use.

The U.S. is running an experimental vaccine, mRNA-1273, in the phase one trial. The Washington Health Research Institute, being led by Lisa Jackson, began the initial trial in March with 45 participants from 18 to 55 years old. In April 2020, the trial expanded to add citizens over the age of 55 and 120 participants. After no serious side effects occurred, phase two began in late May 2020 and Phase 3 launched in early July 2020.

A Chinese company Cansino Biologics partnered with the Academy of Military Medical Sciences to create the Ad5 vaccine. In May, phase one was completed with promise. In July, the company concluded that phase two produced “a strong immune response.” In addition, the military approved the vaccine after just two trial runs on June 25 as a needed drug. The third trial will take place in Saudi Arabia and negotiations with other countries are taking place.

The failures and successes of the coronavirus vaccine all add to the history of vaccines. The quality of life has drastically increased thanks to Jenner’s first vaccine trials in 1796. With the help of vaccines, polio measles and smallpox cases are incredibly rare in the 21st century. Using the history of vaccines and the invention of new technology, a COVID-19 vaccine is right on the horizon.

– Breanna Bonner
Photo: Flickr

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But God Ministries Sustains Haiti

 

BGMIn March 2020, the world entered a time of pause. For some people, the earth seemed to echo a sigh of relief. But stomachs continued to grumble, rain steadily beat down upon roofs made of mud or junkyard scraps and pill bottles drained empty. Galette Chambon and Thoman, two Haitian communities, were no exception to the landslide caused by COVID-19. Thankfully, these two poverty-ridden places’ retaining wall halted the landslide. For nearly ten years, But God Ministries (BGM) has provided Galette Chambon and Thoman with sustainable resources. These resources include water wells, medical and dental clinics, schools, housing and various job opportunities to support the local community. Unfortunately, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these resources have not been readily available.

Food Insecurity in Haiti

One of the major needs plaguing the six million Haitians who live below the poverty line is a lack of food. During the school year, BGM feeds 16,000 children each day. Once schools shut down, food was no longer accessible to these children. Additionally, the country was in a state of civil unrest and facing a drought, worsening the situation. Since 2015, Haiti has faced the onset of economic blows including a decrease in foreign aid, depreciation of the national currency and the natural disaster of Hurricane Matthew. However, the cherry on top was the closure of local markets due to the pandemic, which heightened the crisis. Rather than sit back and watch the nation plummet, BGM took action by conducting a Food For Life campaign. Stan Buckley, the founder of But God Ministries, spoke with The Borgen Project about the campaign’s success. He said, “We raised $90,000 in a week. So far, we have given away $75,000 in food distributions.”

But God Ministries’ Response to the Pandemic

A major source of revenue for But God Ministries came from American teams who partnered with the ministry. Without funding from visiting groups, BGM had to cut back on the salaries of their Haitian employees. A positive outcome, according to Buckley, is the number of houses BGM has the opportunity to build in the community during this time. A portion of the people who planned on spending part of their summer in Haiti chose to donate the money they would have spent on travel to the organization’s housing fund. Buckley said, “We have the funds in place for 16 houses, and we have built around five so far.” He also noted that the civil unrest has died down due to the coronavirus. If this trend continues, the country will be on an uphill climb toward a successful economic and sustainable future.

Haitian Economy

Self-sufficiency is contingent upon the physical state of the nation. Unfortunately, over 96% of Haitians experience natural disasters. In 2010, Haiti’s economic and concrete landscape was shaken to the ground by an earthquake. Many countries forgave Haiti of its debt. However, the country’s clean slate quickly became tainted. By 2017, Haiti had accumulated $2.6 billion in debt. In concordance with the national debt, Haiti’s clothing export rose to new heights. As of 2016, the apparel register accounted for more than 90% of Haiti’s exports, further sustaining the nation.

Sustainability is But God Ministries’ overarching goal. “One of our goals is to have Haitians leading in every area …, and that’s a process. We have a Haitian preacher, Haitian principals and teachers, Haitian builders …, and the list goes on,” said Buckley. Right now, Thoman produces electricity through sustainable solar panels, which happened through a partnership with Georgia Tech. Hopefully, Galette Chambon will follow this precedent. Electricity is a major barrier standing in the way of Haiti’s progression. According to the CIA, investing in Haiti is difficult due to the lack of electrical reliability and weak infrastructure.

Without financial and resourceful investment from neighboring countries, it will be exceedingly difficult for Haiti to enter a state of self-sufficiency. However, the work of organizations like But God Ministries provides an example for others who wish to help the country emerge from the pandemic better than it was before.

– Chatham Rayne Kennedy
Photo: Flickr

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How Somalia Has Converted its Polio Program to Fight COVID-19

Somalia is one of the few countries remaining with a risk of poliovirus transmission. The polio program in Somalia was established as a way to eradicate the virus completely as part of the global immunization effort. However, with the arrival of SARS-CoV-2, the polio program in Somalia has been stifled. Somalia ranks 194 out of 195 on the Global Health Security Index. The international recommendation for healthcare workers is 25 per 100,000 people; however, Somalia only has two per 100,000 people. The country also has only 15 intensive care beds for a population of 15 million. It is considered to be among the least prepared countries in the world to detect and execute a quick response to COVID-19.

Effects of the Pandemic on the Polio Program in Somalia

Many of the workers that are part of the polio program in Somalia have suspended all door-to-door immunization due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. With travel kept to a minimum, polio samples cannot be flown abroad to external medical labs for testing. In addition to this, millions of polio vaccines will expire in a matter of months.

The global polio immunization program paused at the end of March 2020, leaving more than 20 million workers and medical practitioners without work. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the number of unvaccinated children could reach 60 million by June in the Mediterranean region.

The Polio Program Fights COVID-19

Polio surveillance systems are developed disease surveillance systems. This network of disease surveillance has been able to track the poliovirus and deploy medical teams throughout the world. Now, the polio program in Somalia has shifted its efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The system’s infrastructure, its capacity and the experience of its medical staff make it prepared to deal with the novel coronavirus. As of July 2020, Somalia had approximately 3,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 930 recovered cases and 90 deaths. The number of actual cases is likely significantly larger, but many cases go undetected due to a lack of testing.

Thousands of frontline workers for the polio program in Somalia started curbing the spread of the coronavirus. These workers form rapid response teams trained to detect COVID-19 cases as well as to educate and raise awareness about the ongoing pandemic in Somalia. WHO’s national staff and local community healthcare workers have joined theses polio response teams, utilizing their resources and skills to tackle the virus.

WHO Support

These teams have traveled to remote areas in Somalia, providing critical information regarding physical distancing, hand-washing, detection of symptoms and prevention. With WHO’s aid, the program has acquired testing kits and equipment to evaluate potential cases of the virus. The surveillance teams have adopted the same procedures that they used for the polio program in Somalia for COVID-19. After collecting potential COVID-19 samples from suspected cases, the rapid response teams transport the samples to external laboratories for testing. Outside humanitarian agencies use the same protocols and operations that they used for the poliovirus.

Furthermore, the response teams continue polio immunization simultaneously with the COVID-19 response. It is essential for the polio program to continue immunization, as Somalia experienced a polio outbreak earlier this year.

How Other Countries Have Adapted

Other countries in the same region have realized the practicality of the polio network. They have accordingly redeployed their own immunization programs to fight COVID-19. For example, South Sudan has converted approximately 80% of its polio workforce to track coronavirus cases in the country. It has trained polio contact tracers to evaluate people for symptoms of COVID-19. Mali has also been engaging its own polio program in response to the ongoing pandemic.

Even though polio and COVID-19 do not have much in common, the polio program is an important tool to fight the pandemic. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in partnership with the WHO, has been working to equip these polio networks to help countries deal with the pandemic. The suddenness of the pandemic has left no time for countries such as Somalia to prepare. As such, the global polio immunization campaign is a valuable resource for this unprecedented emergency.

– Abbas Raza
Photo: Flickr

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IMF Financing Softens Blow of the Pandemic in Jordan

IMF in JordanJordan, bordered by Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria and Israel, is an Arab country in the Middle East. The country is on the East Bank of the Jordan River yet relatively landlocked. It has accordingly received a massive influx of Palestinian and Syrian refugees. Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Jordan provided two different forms of economic relief to people in light of the ratio of debt to its gross domestic product (GDP) and the current pandemic. Read more about the IMF in Jordan below.

The Effects of the Pandemic on Jordan

Jordan’s economy will experience contraction in 2020 due to the effects of COVID-19. The pandemic-induced lockdown significantly impacted 250,000 daily-wage workers and businesses facing a liquidity crisis. It also delayed foreign investment, trade and tourism. The latter industry generates $5 billion annually for Jordan.

Only 11.3% of respondents in a UNDP survey claimed that their income was unaffected by the pandemic, which has significantly impacted young adults. In the survey, 38.3% of respondents experienced challenges getting clean drinking water, and 69.3% struggled with accessing basic healthcare.

Countries in the Middle East and Central Asia, including Jordan, will experience a 4.7% drop in its constant-price GDP, adjusted for the effects of inflation, in 2020. Additionally, the average size of economic relief programs in the Middle East was smaller than in other regions in the world. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) oil-importing countries’ ratio of debt to income will reach 95% in 2020. Thankfully, the IMF provided $17 billion in aid to the area since the beginning of 2020. It also helped catalyze $5 billion from creditors.

The IMF in Jordan

Jordan’s four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) is a partnership between the Jordanian government and IMF staff, which focuses its $1.3 billion on growth, jobs and social safety nets. The loan program, approved on March 25, 2020, will create more jobs for women and young people. EFF funds finance the general budget, including health, education and social support, while also providing support to Jordan’s Syrian refugees.

Although the IMF in Jordan created the EFF funds before the pandemic, it changed the program to support spending on emergency outlays and medical equipment. The IMF in Jordan also helped secure congressional grants to ease annual debt, as public debt increased in the past decade to an amount equivalent to 97% of its GDP.

In addition, the IMF in Jordan approved $400 million in emergency assistance under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020. Due to the fall of domestic consumption during the outbreak, these funds answer companies’ and consumers’ borrowing needs. The government will spend the RFI funds through the national treasury account, where specific budget lines track and report crisis-related expenditures.

The emergency economic assistance allows for higher healthcare budgets, containment and support to vulnerable households and businesses. Moreover, it will ease external financing constraints and avoid loss in official reserves. The $1.5 billion balance of payment gaps, however, will emerge with increased public debt and a widened fiscal deficit.

Moving Forward

Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, Jordan’s tech start-ups, global supply chains and exporting masks have helped its economy. Tech literacy, in particular, has been especially vital for Jordanian youth to find remote jobs. Moreover, the EFF program can ensure support for the people in Jordan by easing access to basic needs. The program will also help reduce the impacts of poverty by increasing social protection coverage on poor families.

Monetary and fiscal authorities in Jordan have reduced interest rates and delayed bank loan installments and tax payments due to the outbreak, injecting over $700 million in liquidity. Additionally, the country implemented a cash-flow relief program for companies. It also activated the National Aid Fund cash transfer program for daily wage workers.

Jordan has prioritized human safety for its citizens and refugees in the fight against COVID-19. So far, it has only had low to moderate numbers of per capita COVID-19 cases. Thanks to the help of the IMF in Jordan, the country seems to be on track to recover from pandemic.

– Isabella Thorpe
Photo: Flickr

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Rural Boy Fights Coronavirus in Kenya

coronavirus in kenya
Stephen Wamukota wanted to help his community fight the coronavirus in Kenya. The nine-year-old from the western Kenyan county of Bungoma used his ingenuity and what little resources he had to create a semi-automatic hand-washing machine for his community. His hard work has led to the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, to present him with the Presidential Order of Service.

The Coronavirus in Kenya

As of mid-August 2020, there had been more than 30,000 cases of coronavirus in Kenya. Of those, more than 500 patients have died. Currently, there are more than 18,000 Kenyans who have recovered from the virus and are out of the hospital. With a population of 52.5 million, the East African nation needs to act quickly if it wants to stop the coronavirus in its tracks.

However, Kenya’s hospitals lack the equipment required to fight the pandemic. Many hospitals are in desperate need of oxygen, gloves, waste storage and specialists who are familiar with the symptoms of the coronavirus. The situation is especially challenging in rural areas, where there is very little medical care for the people living away from big cities. Kenya’s Bungoma County is no exception, being one of the poorest counties in Kenya. Despite these challenges, Wamukota and his father stepped up in a big way to help out their community fight the coronavirus in Kenya.

The Hand-washing Machine

Held together by some nails and bits of wood lying around the outside his house, Wamukota’s hand-washing machine is a straightforward but smart design. It works by using two foot pedals at the base of the machine. When users step on one, it releases the soap into their hands, and the other pedal releases the water. This design allows those in the community to wash their hands and not have to touch the same surfaces as others to prevent the potential spread of the virus.

Wamukota thought of this design and implemented it with the help of his father. His father had wanted to use the wood to build a window, but that changed when he saw the work his son put into imagining the machine. Wamukota came up with the idea when he saw on the local news station that it was essential to wash your hands to keep safe from the virus. For his efforts, Wamukota received a presidential award, along with many others who have fought to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Kenya. Since receiving the award, Wamukota has expressed interest in going to college to be an engineer. In response, the governor of Bungoma County has offered him an engineering scholarship once he is old enough to attend college.

Moving Forward

With limited resources and a strong drive to help those around him, Wamukota has shown that you don’t need much in order to make a difference in your community. While there is still much to do to fight the coronavirus in Kenya, both in the rural and urban areas, the country is making progress. This comes from the ingenuity of people like Wamukota, who are willing to do their part to keep their communities safe during these hard times.

– Sam Bostwick
Photo: Flickr

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How FREO2 Is Bringing Stable Access to Oxygen To Remote Health Centers

Access to Oxygen
Many often take oxygen for granted but during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become a valuable and sometimes scarce resource. Coronavirus heavily affects the respiratory system; access to oxygen is crucial for doctors to effectively treat their patients. However, medical oxygen tanks often rely on electricity to function. In regions without stable access to power, this can be a dangerous system.

The FREO2 LPOS System

The Fully Renewable Energy Oxygen Foundation, or FREO2 for short, is an Australia-based health technology research group. It developed a suite of technology innovations that can store and dispense medical oxygen without using electricity. FREO2’s work includes the creation, development and deployment of innovative health technologies to underserved hospitals around the world.

FREO2 began developing its oxygen system in 2011. It was spurred by the dire effects that unreliable access to medical oxygen has on children suffering from pneumonia. Pneumonia is the greatest threat to children’s lives in the world, despite the proven effectiveness of medical oxygen as treatment. With the support of the Ugandan government, FREO2’s medical experts and engineers found a solution: they harnessed the power of water.

How Does the FREO2 LPOS System Work?

The FREO2 Low-Pressure Oxygen Store (LPOS) system uses an oxygen concentrator machine to remove most nitrogen from the surrounding air, leaving nearly pure oxygen which is then stored in a large bag. If the hospital experiences a power outage, the LPOS system uses gravity-powered water from above to push oxygen through its pipes at the correct height to ensure the appropriate amount of pressure for the patient. The LPOS system can provide electricity-free medical oxygen for 8 to 10 hours, allowing under-resourced hospitals to treat their patients more effectively.

At the Mbarara Hospital in southeastern Uganda, doctors struggled to provide uninterrupted access to oxygen to children afflicted with pneumonia and other respiratory infections because of unreliable electricity. FREO2 first used the LPOS system on a six-month-old patient in July 2018 at the Mbarara Hospital in Uganda. FREO2’s LPOS system was crucial to treating his pneumonia and his successful recovery.

Inequality in Access to Oxygen

Innovations such as the FREO2 LPOS system have the capability to save lives in remote regions during the coronavirus pandemic. Unequal access to oxygen is an indicator of stark health inequalities between and within countries. Although medical oxygen has been recognized as essential for decades, there are still many health centers without stable access to it.

After its initial success in 2018, FREO2 plans to dispense the LPOS system at scale to 30,000 clinics in regions across Africa and Southeast Asia where the risk of pneumonia is great. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgency of this issue. To aid health centers during the pandemic, FREO2 has donated eight LPOS systems to rural hospitals in Uganda.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, unequal access to oxygen can be a matter of life or death. The ingenious work of organizations like FREO2 is central in the current global health crisis and beyond. Innovations like the LPOS system have the power to narrow the gap in healthcare access across the world. FREO2’s work could mitigate the effects of health crises at underserved health centers in the future.

– Leina Gabra
Photo: Flickr

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3 Countries With Positive COVID-19 Stories

positive covid-19 storiesThe COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly changed the world. While many countries have been devastated, three countries have positive COVID-19 stories: New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam. Here are their positive COVID-19 stories and the lessons they learned from their experiences.

New Zealand

The pacific island nation of around 5 million people had a couple of different strategies in its response to COVID-19. In particular, unity within New Zealand and the nation’s neighboring countries played a big role in the country’s success against the virus. New Zealand offered to help its neighboring countries to prepare for the pandemic. To do so, the country offered health training and made sure that its island neighbors had supplies to fight the virus. Importantly, this unity in New Zealand bridged across political party lines when needed. This resulted in a massive stimulus package passed just weeks after the country’s first case. The stimulus totaled NZ$12.1 billion, around 4% of the country’s GDP. Included in the stimulus package is support for businesses, support for testing and health services and payments to those who couldn’t work because of the virus.

Caution also plays a big part in New Zealand’s success against the virus. The first case of the virus was detected on 28 Feb. 2020. Even before that, however, the government took measures to limit the possible damage of COVID-19. When New Zealand only had 283 cases, the government ordered all non-essential workers to work from home to limit the virus’s spread.

Moreover, the government came up with a four-level alert system to help people know how the virus is spreading. Level one means the disease is contained in New Zealand and level four means community transmission is happening and the disease is not contained. Given how much time the country has spent in the lower levels, its represents one of many positive COVID-19 stories that the whole world can learn from.

Thailand

Thailand is one of the countries that have positive COVID-19 stories. The Asian country of almost 70 million people was designated a success by the WHO. The economy of Thailand is one that is heavily built on tourism, with one-fifth of GDP coming from the tourist sector. However, since the virus has spread, the government of Thailand has had to make economic sacrifices to protect public health. The country had to close its borders to certain travelers, including many Chinese provinces. In addition, Thailand postponed many sporting events and held them without fans to slow the spread of the virus. In particular, Bangkok was in a partial lockdown with only essential services remaining open. Slowing down activity does hurt the economy, but it eases the blow of the virus.

Thailand has also mobilized more than 1 million health volunteers to help respond to the virus. In addition, the government’s health officials have taken the side of precaution throughout the pandemic. This includes rigorous hygiene and wearing face masks at all times. Moreover, Thai people have generally followed the advice of medical professionals, which has contributed to the Thailand’s COVID-19 success story. The Thai government also has one centralized administration, which helped with communication and organization throughout the pandemic.

Vietnam

Vietnam is also among countries with positive COVID-19 stories. Vietnam’s actions to deal with the virus came early and were aggressive, taking place before the virus even entered the country. This early and decisive action is one of the measures that helped Vietnam early on and controlled the virus’s spread. In early January 2020, Vietnam was already preparing for drastic action before there was a recorded case in the country.

Vietnam enacted travel restrictions, closed schools and enacted a rigorous contact and tracing system, while also canceling public events. Governmental communication was upfront and transparent. Consequently, this helped with public compliance to slow the virus outbreak. Vietnam has been one of the best countries in regard to wearing a face mask, which helps slow the spread of the virus. A coordinated media effort throughout Vietnam has also helped the public and government be on the same page in response to the virus.

Another reason Vietnam has been successful in limiting the spread of COVID-19 is its testing. The country tests everyone in quarantine whether they have symptoms or not. This helps slow the spread of the virus, because not everyone who is infected shows symptoms. As a result, younger people who may be infected but don’t have symptoms don’t infect those who may be at higher risk of death to COVID-19. While there was no nationwide lockdown, Vietnam did impose containment on certain areas to reduce the spread of the virus. In February 2020, when a small handful of cases were in the area of Son Loi, the government sealed off the area to prevent the spread of the virus.

What We Can Learn from These Countries

These three countries show positive COVID-19 stories despite a situation that has turned negative in so many countries. A few similarities have emerged between the countries and their success. One is the unity between government and people, which is important to building communication and trust. When citizens trust their government and can easily access clear guidelines, they are more likely to comply with health measures to reduce the spread of the virus. Another similarity between these countries is that it’s better to be cautious rather than reckless. This helps to slow the spread of the virus and make it easier to track. With all the hardship and destruction brought on by COVID-19, these countries with positive COVID-19 stories show how to keep as many people as safe as possible.

– Zachary Laird
Photo: Pexels