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Poverty Rates in Mexico Threaten American Security

Poverty Rates in MexicoA few weeks ago, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) boarded a commercial flight with constituents on his way to meet President Donald Trump. Many viewed it as a rare presidential moment, considering the poverty rates in Mexico of 52.4 million people living in poverty. However, AMLO has justified his unique transportation method as a small gesture to those in poverty by saving government money.

Cause of Rising Poverty Rates

Unfortunately, COVID-19 continues to ravage Mexico’s globally-dependent economy and unequipped health system. Simultaneously, this massive group of people living in poverty is only going to expand. Addressing this growing crisis is not only our humanitarian duty as one of its major allies. Rising poverty rates in Mexico will also inevitably threaten the American people in two key ways.

A Persisting Opioid Epidemic

In 2017, President Trump declared the Opioid Epidemic as a national emergency, citing the rising cases of fentanyl overdose deaths. Despite the domestic focus on the problem, it has become more evident that a solution to save the tens of thousands of Americans dying in this crisis requires us to look to the source of the epidemic– Mexico. According to the acting Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) director, Mexican cartels have been responsible for the vast majority of synthetic drugs entering the U.S., including fentanyl.

Problematically, these cartels have been fueled by rising poverty rates in Mexico. In many places, economic hardship has allowed cartels to thrive. They have used protection and basic necessities as a powerful incentive to recruit historically poor populations. Also, vulnerability within many communities has allowed cartels to grow their influence through hollow gestures of aid. This turns cities towards helping their cause; because of this, despite growing civilian casualties in cartel wars, Mexican cartels have seen massive growth in influence and prowess, allowing for them to grow their opioid trade on the US-Mexican border. In order to minimize the cartel’s fueling of the Opioid Epidemic, the American government needs to do more to fight poverty within Mexico. It also needs to find a long term solution to curb the rooted influence most of these cartels have found.

Growing Human Trafficking Concern

Additionally, rising poverty rates in Mexico have pushed many Mexicans towards other illicit industries. According to the London School of Economics, sex trafficking and exploitation is incredibly profitable. As a result, rising economic inequality has pushed many Mexicans towards this industry.

Many people within Mexico have had no choice but to turn to these alternate industries to survive. This is due to a lack of opportunity. As a result, human trafficking has grown within Mexico, with 21,000 minors falling victim to this horrid industry. This problem is not an isolated one. According to the Human Rights Watch, as a result of this industry, Mexico has become one of the largest sources of human trafficking in cases in the U.S. Simply put, rising poverty rates are only fueling a major threat to the U.S. They hurt women and children alike in one of the world’s most horrid illicit industries. Action needs to be taken in order to curb the rising poverty rates in Mexico that have been paramount in causing this crisis.

Mexico has always been a critical economic and geopolitical ally to the U.S. However, as it falls into a growing poverty crisis, the U.S. cannot turn a blind eye. Luckily, positive progress is being seen. Countless organizations such as Freedom from Hunger, Un Techo para mi País (TECHO) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) have all been working to mitigate the crisis. In 2018, the U.S. also pledged $4.6 billion to bolster development in Southern Mexico. By continuing on this path and pushing for even more developmental assistance in the future, we cannot only effectively curb the growing poverty crisis. Instead, we can also provide a more secure America for generations to come.

 

– Andy Shufer

Photo: Flickr

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Solving Food Insecurity and Hunger in Australia

Hunger in Australia
Australia’s reputation as a wealthy country often shields underlying issues within the nation. A strikingly large portion of the population experiences hunger on a daily basis, while the federal government falls behind other affluent nations in helping its poor and starving citizens.

Food Insecurity in Australia

Although Australia reduced its poverty rate over the last few years — declining from 16.9% in 2017 to 13.2% in 2019 — the percentage of Australians experiencing hunger has not decreased. This is because food insecurity, rather than insufficient funds, lies at the root of hunger in Australia.

Kathy Radimer, a former CDC epidemiologist, defines food insecurity as the state occurring “whenever the availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or the ability to acquire acceptable food in socially acceptable ways is limited or uncertain.” In Australia, sustenance is not necessarily unattainable; rather, food is unsafe and inadequately healthy for much of the nation’s underserved.

In 2019, Foodbank Australia’s hunger report revealed that 21% of Australians experienced food insecurity in the year prior to its survey. In other words, everyone within that 21% had at least one experience running out of food without the means to buy more, due to either circumstantial or financial restraints. More often than not, these are not standalone occurrences: the report also revealed that 30% of food-insecure people go at least one day per week with no food whatsoever.

For women, the numbers are even worse. A staggering 27% of Australian women experienced food insecurity throughout 2019 in comparison with only 18% of men. This difference may arise partly because men experiencing food insecurity typically blame their inability to find work; women, on the other hand, often cite domestic violence, financial abuse and having to raise their children on their own for their food insecurity. Brianna Casey, the CEO of Foodbank Australia, explains: “We hear so many heart-breaking stories from mothers skipping meals so their children can eat to elderly women left on their own feeling isolated because they can’t offer their neighbors or friends so much as a cup of tea or coffee.”

The Impact of COVID-19

Food insecurity was a problem in Australia even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the virus began to spread, Foodbank Australia reports that an unprecedented number of Australians — over 1 million — need emergency food. Many of these people now experiencing food insecurity are migrant workers and international students who have recently lost jobs in hospitality and retail.

The federal government has not matched countries of similar prominence and wealth in terms of supporting this upsurge in hunger and food insecurity. International students are not eligible for JobKeeper payments or federal welfare, contrary to a leaked government report that claimed countries like Great Britain, New Zealand and Ireland have given international students access to government resources during the pandemic.

Practical implications of the pandemic have brought other new challenges for food-insecure Australians. Approximately one-fifth of the charities that normally distribute food, such as Shepparton Foodshare and Footprints in the Park, have either closed or significantly decreased aid, thanks to stay-at-home orders and a lack of volunteers. This makes it even more difficult for Australians to receive food in a time of urgent need.

Charity and Aid

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted many organizations that address food insecurity and hunger in Australia, many continue to help. For example, the Friends of Nepal Organization in partnership with the Non-Resident Nepali Association currently provides food for more than 1,000 Nepalese students in Australia, who would currently be food insecure without their intervention.

Large-scale corporations have taken note of the problem as well, with brands such as Arnott’s and PepsiCo donating $350,000 and $400,000, respectively, as well as their products, to Foodbank Australia. The Australian federal government recently began to provide relief, announcing a $16 million bundle to support food relief charities in April 2020. The Australian Defence Force has even been helping pack food at a Foodbank Australia warehouse in Sydney, aiming to combat the upsurge of hunger in Australia.

Despite Australia’s status as a wealthy nation, food insecurity remains rampant. Women suffer the brunt of the problem, sacrificing their small shares of sustenance for their families. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened hunger in Australia overall, increasing unemployment and weakening food-related charities. Still, many Australian organizations recognize the need to end food insecurity, and they give time and money to try to combat the hardships that food-insecure Australians face.

–  Ava Roberts
Photo: Flickr

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Barron Segar on Navigating a Global Crisis

Navigating a Global Crisis
The Borgen Project has published this article and podcast episode, ““Everything Changed Overnight.” WFP USA CEO Barron Segar on Navigating a Global Crisis,” with permission from The World Food Program (WFP) USA. “Hacking Hunger” is the organization’s podcast that features stories of people around the world who are struggling with hunger and thought-provoking conversations with humanitarians who are working to solve it.

 

Three months after Barron Segar joined WFP USA as president and CEO, disaster struck. COVID-19 hit and uprooted life as we knew, forcing Barron and WFP USA leadership to reimagine many of their plans. Barron is no stranger to crisis – he has decades of experience navigating uncertain times, including fundraising during the Great Recession. His experience has shown through as he leads WFP USA through this current crisis, so we wanted to ask him just a little bit more on how he does it. We sat down with Barron to ask about his background, goals and leading in the time of COVID-19.

Click below to listen to Barron Segar give his thoughts about navigating a global crisis.

 

 

Photo: Flickr

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Digitization in Sub-Saharan Africa Supports the Economy

Digitization in Sub-Saharan AfricaThe COVID-19 pandemic has shoved decades of progress in mitigating poverty at risk and has already led to a great loss of life and long-term socio-economic damage in sub-Saharan Africa. The U.N. Secretary-General states that the global poverty rate is predicted to increase for the first time in 30 years, which will thrust 500 million people back into poverty. Implementing further broad-based digitization in sub-Saharan Africa can jump-start its economy and fight back against the plunging poverty rate.

The Roots of Digitization in Africa

Kenya has effectively implemented mobile money solutions and established a digital finance ecosystem. This is due to ethnic-based violence that took place in 2008. This turbulence curbed many people’s ability to travel safely, forcing them to adapt to a new way of transferring money without cash: Safaricom’s M-PESA. Swahili for mobile money, M-PESA is a service that enables its users to store and exchange monetary values through a mobile phone. It is a convenient resource that allows users to pay bills. It also allows them to access merchant accounts and create savings and digital credit accounts.

By 2014, M-PESA had more than 120,000 agents who offered guidance for customers unfamiliar with the process. Over 25 million Kenyans weathered the financial uncertainties exacerbated by poverty. Ghana is another country that has successfully developed digitization in sub-Saharan Africa. The use of mobile accounts in Ghana increased access to formal financial services from 41% to 58% in just three years.

Ability to Decrease Poverty

Tavneet Suri is an Associate Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. William Jack is a Professor at Georgetown University. They both collected 1,600 surveys of Kenyan households between 2008 and 2014. The surveys examined the effect of increasing numbers of services. The study showed that an increase in the number of mobile services, or agents, incited a rise in consumption and market participation.

Interestingly, the study also noted that female-headed households are utilizing these agents in a more enthusiastic manner. These households experienced a 22% increase in savings and improved ability to manage finances. Furthermore, 3% of women were driven to choose occupations in business or retail rather than farming, which is not as complementary to mobile transfers. Mobile money services are estimated to have the potential to lift 194,000 Kenyan households out of extreme poverty. They are also estimated to initiate 185,000 into the workforce.

The Impact of Expanding Access to Mobile Money Networks

Mobile money networks have spurred a financial technology revolution. It has led to a more modernized financial system for those living in sub-Saharan nations.  This comes with the bona fides of many developed economies such as access to healthcare. Furthermore, digitization in sub-Saharan Africa has led to increased access to pension schemes such as the People’s Pension Trust.

However, even though nearly 46% of global mobile money accounts are based in Africa, only 10 percent of all payments and transactions are done using technology, leaving substantial room for growth. Furthermore, digital infrastructure is often weak in remote or rural areas. This is due to the insufficient returns on capital along with firm regulatory barriers and expensive deployment costs.

Mobile Money Networks Can Elicit Economic Recovery from COVID-19

Small and medium enterprises that were able to digitally diversify have comparatively been far more resilient during the COVID-19 crisis. Therefore, the disaster caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has severely limited the movement of people and cash. This can serve as a launch base for furthered digitization in sub-Saharan Africa. The Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has already slashed additional fees for mobile transactions and urged people to steer clear of using cash.  This is part of a plan to “accelerate migration” towards more widespread digital banking platforms. Sonatel, the main provider for telecommunication services in Senegal, is offering no fees for 30 days for digital payments. Meanwhile, MTN Zambia has generated a “no cash, no germs, go MoMo” campaign to encourage people to go cashless and transition to mobile money services.

According to the International Telecommunications Union, augmenting digitization in sub-Saharan Africa by 10% would cause a 2.5% increase in GDP per capita. The U.N. Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development approximates that a $109 billion investment is needed to achieve internet access in Africa by 2030. COVID-19 poses a threat to this estimate. The virus has provoked a $100 billion outflow from emerging markets. It is also important to avoid hastening the existing 34% gender gap in access to digitization in sub-Saharan Africa. Nonetheless, there are governments and companies that remain motivated. They are currently working to propel digital growth in sub-Saharan Africa in order to ensure equal access to connectivity and to mold more vivacious and thriving societies in those that are developing.

– Natasha Nath
Photo: Flickr

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Code for Venezuela: Solving the Crises

Code for VenezuelaAmid the outbreak of intense political, economic and humanitarian crises in Venezuela, one group of Silicon Valley-based Venezuelan expatriates came together to create the nonprofit Code for Venezuela. This organization looks to funnel Venezuelan expatriates’ professional skills and talent back into the country, helping from abroad to solve the challenges facing Venezuela. With team members in design, art, marketing and technology, the organization codes and creates bots, engines and other tech-based interfaces. They are created to tackle issues in Venezuela while connecting Venezuelan professionals around the globe through the organization’s projects.

About the Organization

Code for Venezuela collects essential information and provides it to those who need it. Among this organization’s projects is Angostura. This is a platform for collecting, sharing and analyzing data with NGOs. It also does this with other organizations combatting the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. The organization designs and provides messenger-app based bots, google forms, and other types of user-friendly and easily-accessible surveys for organizations looking to generate data on the ground. Additionally, the service organizes and stores the data for future use. Simultaneously, they also offering analytics to demonstrate trends in the data. This assures that organizations that need the information can access a clear picture of the data whenever needed.

Medicine to Electricity

From medicine to electricity, Code for Venezuela works to track and solve shortages. An additional project belonging to the organization is a blackout tracker, which collects incident reports of power shortages, documents the reports and maps out the extent of the blackout. Additionally, the service also helps the organization tackle the issue of accessibility to its digitally-based services.

Another project of the organization is MediTweet, a Twitter bot that connects Venezuelans in need of certain medicines with those who possess and can distribute it. Beyond their own work, the organization connects with and supports other expatriate efforts. For example, the organization came in contact with Dr. Julio Castro. He is an organizer of Medicos por la Salud, a group that collects data points in Venezuela’s health system. Upon contacting him, the organization created a system of crowd-sourcing from Twitter to help collect more robust data for Medicos pro la Salud.

Bringing Back the Talent

Looking further into the future, Code for Venezuela aims to funnel professional skill back into Venezuela and foster upcoming talent. Nearly 10% of Venezuela’s population has relocated in recent years as a product of the ongoing economic and political crisis in the country. For the young tech-based professionals behind the nonprofit organization, one of its central goals is to ultimately use the knowledge and experience gained abroad to help foster local skills and talent within Venezuela itself. Additionally, the organization uses its base in technology to connect expatriates in other fields and industries to organizations on the grounds of Venezuela. This provides other organizations with the necessary technological tools to communicate and pursue projects in Venezuela.

More Action

Code for Venezuela is tackling the pressing fight of containing COVID-19. As Latin America became one of the fastest-growing regions for COVID-19 cases, The organization created a message-app based chatbot to help citizens assess their own potential illness. The chatbot would also help compensate for low levels of testing in Venezuela. Users can text an algorithm-based chatbot for a “virtual checkup” where the user is asked questions about symptoms and exposure. This eventually gives the user a possible diagnosis. Although not a proper medical diagnosis, the chatbot aims to provide further information to civilians. It also helps to slow the spread of the disease. To the users that prove to have a “medium” or “high” risk, the chatbot recommends seeking medical treatment. In addition to helping individuals, the chatbot collects data and can help to illuminate trends in the outbreak within Venezuela.

 

– Alexandra Black

Photo: Flickr

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Financial Literacy in Costa Rica to Reduce Poverty

Financial Literacy in Costa Rica to Reduce Poverty
Costa Rica is a country in Central America with a population of roughly 5 million. Although Costa Rica is the Central American country with the lowest poverty rate, that does not mean there is no cause for concern. The poverty rate in Costa Rica was 21% as of April 2020 and is only anticipated to worsen in the coming year due to the devastating economic impacts of COVID-19. Because of the global economic slowdown, inequality in Costa Rica can exacerbate as industries contract and unemployment rises.

Financial Literacy and Poverty

In the face of this global economic catastrophe, it is vital to educate the population on financial matters to prevent higher poverty rates. Personal financial literacy is an effective and fundamental tool used to lower national poverty rates. It also helps individuals better manage their finances and business dealings to maximize fiscal stability and growth.

Financial literacy programs have also assisted women in rising out of poverty. Women have a systemic relegation to domestic duties and patriarchal repression in many developing nations. As a result, they are a demographic that have historically been the most vulnerable to global poverty. Financial literacy programs teach women how to manage their own money in order to manage their own businesses. Women can also become more financially independent as opposed to being indebted to others in their family or industry.

Costa Rica’s Position

Costa Rica and Latin America as a region is considered one of the most unequal regions in the world according to the United Nations. One of the most effective strategies to reduce wealth inequality is by implementing education strategies that inhibit intergenerational wealth retention within families. Keeping money in the family and investing in future generations helps children escape the cycle of poverty. It also decreases their likelihood of experiencing marginalization and oppression in society, particularly among women. These tactics justify the use of financial education and programs about financial literacy in Costa Rica.

Solutions

One prominent organization focusing on education regarding financial literacy in Costa Rica is Coopenae. It began as a cooperative of educators in 1966 to give aid to schools and teachers. Now, Coopenae has grown into one of the country’s leading financial institutions to focus on service and education.

Individuals in Costa Rica have had very little education in financial instruments such as mutual funds, pensions and various other commonplace financial strategies. The ability of Costa Ricans to make better financial decisions is a simple matter of informing individuals about how they can access these instruments. Costa Ricans can then begin on the path out of poverty towards financial independence and prosperity. Coopenae plans to assist upwards of 12,000 people within the next two years. It aims at people from primarily low-income and disadvantaged communities.

 

Overall, financial literacy and education programs are extremely effective at reducing poverty rates. They are also effective at giving citizens the ability to properly manage their finances. They also open up the opportunity to start businesses or save for retirement. Therefore, financial literacy in Costa Rica is a smart and effective strategy to diminish poverty and foster a culture of financial responsibility and security.

 

– Ian Hawthorne

Photo: Enchanting Costa Rica

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Key Takeaways About Poverty in Timor-Leste

Poverty in Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, is an island country in Southeast Asia. Portugal colonized the territory in the 16th century under the name of Portuguese Timor, retaining control until the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor declared independence on November 28, 1975. Nine days later, however, the Indonesian military invaded and occupied East Timor, leading to decades of devastating violent conflict between separatist groups and Indonesian officials.

After a referendum in which 78.5% of Timorese voted for independence, Indonesia renounced control of the region in 1999, and it obtained official sovereign state status on May 20, 2002, under the name of Timor-Leste. Yet years following independence, Timor-Leste remains one of the world’s poorest countries. Here is some information that illuminates some of the causes, realities and potential solutions to poverty in Timor-Leste.

Legacy of Violence

Timor-Leste’s history comprises poverty and inequality. Estimates determine that more than 100,000 Timorese perished during the Indonesian occupation due to starvation, disease and deadly conflict. This turmoil continued after Timor-Leste declared its independence; the Indonesian military responded violently, killing upwards of 2,000 pro-independence Timorese. As a result, many Timorese sought refuge in the mountains or in neighboring countries. The Indonesians’ brutality left the country traumatized and weak, with destroyed roads and ports, poor water and sanitation systems and little to no government facilities. Timor-Leste is still recovering from this devastation.

Poverty levels remain high. In 2014, an estimated 42% of Timorese lived in poverty — an overwhelmingly high proportion of the population. Though Timor-Leste only has a 4.6% unemployment rate, 21.8% of the population lives on less than $1.90 a day. As a result, 24.9% of Timorese are malnourished, 51.7% of children under 5-years-old have stunted growth and 46 out of every 1,000 children die before the age of 5. Almost 40% of the population is illiterate, and the average age is 17.5 years.

Despite these facts, the country is making progress. Though a 42% poverty rate is high, this is a marked improvement over Timor-Leste’s 50.4% rate in 2007. Data demonstrates that Timor-Leste improved in various key poverty indicators between 2007 and 2014, including a reduction in the population living without electricity (64% to 28%), with poor sanitation (58% to 40%) and without access to clean drinking water (40% to 25%).

Aid for Timor-Leste

The international community has helped Timor-Leste develop and stabilize since its independence. The U.S. assists Timor-Leste via the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and a burgeoning Peace Corps program. Additionally, the U.S.’s Millennium Challenge Corporation selected Timor-Leste for a five-year grant program in December 2017 to address the main contributors to poverty and stimulate economic growth. The U.S. then furthered its aid in 2018 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture selected Timor-Leste as a recipient of its $26 million, five-year McGovern-Dole nutrition and education program. Though there is little direct trade between Timor-Leste and the United States, the U.S. helped establish the coffee industry in East Timor in the 1990s, and Starbucks Coffee Company remains a loyal purchaser of Timorese coffee.

Timor-Leste also receives assistance from developed nations such as Australia, which has claimed the title of Timor-Leste’s largest development partner since the country gained independence. Australia allocated an estimated $100.7 million to Timor-Leste aid between 2019 and 2020.

There are a number of international nongovernmental organizations working to improve conditions in Timor-Leste. For example, Care International Timor-Leste works to improve disadvantaged families’ quality of education, the safety of childbirth and resilience against natural disasters. Meanwhile, Water Aid aims to make clean water, reliable toilets and good hygiene universal, and Marie Stopes Timor-Leste offers Timorese family planning methods and sexual and reproductive health services.

COVID-19 is Hindering Progress

COVID-19 is a tragic setback to improvement. Due to early intervention and a mandatory quarantine, Timor-Leste has proved successful in preventing the spread of COVID-19. As of June 3, 2020, there were no active cases of COVID-19 in Timor-Leste since May 15, 2020, with an overall total of 24 cases and zero deaths. However, the strict lockdown has had wide-reaching political and social consequences for a country that was already in an economic recession prior to the pandemic. Many businesses either downsized or closed, resulting in a surge in unemployment rates. Though the government’s robust stimulus package has prevented catastrophe in the short term, its plans for long-term recovery remain uncertain.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic is a substantial setback to Timor-Leste’s development, the nation’s declining unemployment and poverty rates and improving living conditions are nonetheless promising. According to the World Bank, the next step in Timor-Leste’s fight against poverty is restructuring its spending. If Timor-Leste redirects investments into the development of sustainable agriculture and tourism, better transportation and improved preservation of its natural resources, it has the potential to avoid the devastating financial consequences of COVID-19 and eradicate extreme poverty.

– Abby Tarwater
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Women’s SHGs Combating COVID-19 in India

Combating COVID-19 in India
Women’s self-help groups have empowered women across rural villages in India to become self-reliant by building their skills and providing access to financial assistance, enabling them to increase their income. However, due to the COVID-19 crisis, there is a predicament of bleak income opportunities due to a lack of transport and marketing facilities to sell their produce and non-availability of credit. It has forced millions of migrants to move back to their villages from big cities due to the lack of income opportunities. With the movement of people to rural areas, there is a need to ensure proper health care, spread awareness about COVID-19 and maintain a supply of essential commodities for the people. Women’s self-help groups (SHGs) in rural areas are combating COVID-19 in India.

SHGs are informal groups of people that come together to address problems by mutually supporting and helping each other. They have been able to uplift and empower individuals by facilitating health care, education, rehabilitation, credit and campaigning. In India, there are 67 million women members of six million SHGs. The SHGs fall under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, a policy that the World Bank has aided. Here are five ways women’s self-help groups are combating COVID-19 in India.

5 Ways Women’s Self-Help Groups Are Combating COVID-19 in India

  1. Making PPE Kits and Face Masks: The women’s self-help groups in Mahabubnagar district, Telangana, were facing a slowdown in work due to the 40-day lockdown in India in March and April 2020. To revive their earning capabilities, they received the responsibility of stitching facemasks and personal protective equipment (PPE). To date, they have stitched over 550,000 masks. Similarly, many other SHGs across the country have engaged themselves in stitching PPE kits to meet the shortfall. Female members in Odisha who previously stitched school uniforms are using their skills to produce face masks. Meanwhile, in Assam, women received training to stitch facemasks using a traditional Assamese cotton towel.
  2. Producing Sanitizers and Disinfectants: In Jorhat, Assam, Rural Women Technology Park under CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology collaborated with female members of SHGs to produce hand sanitizers and liquid disinfectants for their families and poor people in nearby villages to control the spread of the infection. At a time of scarce job opportunities, women’s self-help groups across districts in India are training women to produce sanitizers and disinfectants using raw materials such as Dettol, ethanol, glycerin and essential oils.
  3. Delivering Essential Commodities: Women’s self-help groups have taken various initiatives to ensure the delivery of essential commodities to abide by the mandated social distancing norms. Their service includes doorstep delivery of food kits, fresh vegetables, dry rations and cooking oil as well as personal hygiene products like washing soaps and sanitary napkins. Many states have used the concept of ‘floating supermarkets’ and ‘vegetables of wheels,’ and provided women with electric vehicles. Members also support children, pregnant women and lactating mothers. Women’s self-help groups are also supporting frontline health workers in the delivery of essential child, adolescent and maternal health and nutrition-related entitlements.
  4. Feeding Poverty-Stricken People Through Community Kitchens: In Kerala, the SHGs in collaboration with the local government prepared food for the poverty-stricken families in community kitchens. The beneficiaries of these small packages of food were the migrant workers, daily wage workers and people under home quarantine. Meanwhile, in Tripura, SHGs that engaged in the catering business earlier received contracts to support the community kitchens. Additionally, women’s self-help groups in Arunachal Pradesh provided food throughout the day to the police personnel. Women’s SHGs across the country have taken various initiatives to feed those in need with the support of their local government.
  5. Spreading Information About COVID-19: Along with the spread of COVID-19, there was also a spread of misinformation concerning it across rural areas. SHGs prepared posters to create awareness about COVID-19 and the precautionary measures that people should take during the pandemic.

Women’s self-help groups have taken up various responsibilities such as spreading awareness about COVID-19, preparing sanitizers and stitching facemasks, running community kitchens as well as delivering essential food supplies. At the time of the COVID-19 crisis, women in the rural areas of India have participated meaningfully to ameliorate the predicament.

– Anandita Bardia
Photo: Flickr

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5 Facts about Healthcare in Algeria

Healthcare in Algeria
Algeria is located on the Northern coast of Africa and is home to 42.2 million people. The nation adopted a universal single-payer healthcare system in 1984, which allows anyone to access healthcare at no cost to themselves. The nation’s economy is largely reliant on oil prices and sales, but these have proven to be volatile in the past several decades. Due to this economic instability, 23% of the population lives below the poverty line, even though the nation has some of the largest oil and gas reserves in the world. What is even more startling is the 29% youth unemployment rate. Given that such a large segment of the population falls below the poverty line and cannot find work, many Algerians are reliant on their publicly funded healthcare system to provide for them in times of need. Here are five facts about healthcare in Algeria in light of the country’s economic hardship.

5 Facts About Healthcare in Algeria

  1. The Public Healthcare Network has Struggled Recently: In 2019, Algeria’s public healthcare network ranked as the 173rd most secure healthcare network out of 195 nations. This stems from the chronic economic insecurity that dominated the nation due to drops in oil prices. The “breakeven” price for oil in Algeria was $157 per barrel in 2020. However, the price fell to just $20 a barrel, leaving the nation to stumble upon hard times. Yahia Zoubir notes that many Algerian medical professionals have chosen to take their practices out of the nation due to the “chronically insufficient healthcare system.”
  2. A Private Healthcare Sector Exists within Algeria: In 2015, there were 250 operational private clinics, and the government approved plans for the construction of the first private hospital in the nation. Many questioned the utility of the private sector because it fills in the gaps of the public sector, but it can only serve those who could afford it. Essentially, the presence of the private sector heightens disparity in the quality of care that the healthcare system provides to Algerians in different socio-economic classes.
  3. COVID-19 has Highlighted Major Issues with the Public Healthcare Network: As noted before, the national economy took major hits in 2019, and the nation announced a 50% cut in public spending as a result. Due to an inability to provide physicians with the necessary equipment and a general lack of human capital, there were 17 beds per 10,000 Algerians, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015. Because of this limited hospital capacity, COVID-19 patients easily overran public healthcare in Algeria.
  4. Where Health Officials Fail, the People Provide: Throughout the pandemic, government officials were notorious for failing to communicate with the public to slow the spread of the virus. Villages located further away from urban centers encountered these issues most prominently. Despite this, the Algerian people demonstrated resilient and innovative capabilities. The United Nations Development Program notes two distinct ways Algerians are reacting to the pandemic. First, in urban centers, many merchants are turning away from their cash-based system and moving toward e-commerce. E-commerce limits the amount of person-to-person contact involved in economic transitions of all sorts. Meanwhile, villages are working together to limit the spread of the virus themselves. Notably, a village called Tifilkout went into self-confinement to protect its citizens and other villages in the area. This plan originated from the tradition of “wise men” leading the village. These solutions demonstrate that while healthcare in Algeria may be unstable, the people will still assist one another regardless.
  5. The Algerian Struggle has Incited a Global Response: Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have also stepped up to assist in COVID-19 relief. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged to donate $20 million to fight COVID-19 in Africa. The money will go towards ensuring that PPE and treatments are available to all who need them, not just those who can pay the most. While these efforts going towards Africa generally, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has demonstrated its commitment to Algeria in the past. In 2002, it joined groups working to fight the spread of malaria, and through its assistance, Algeria was the second nation in Africa to become malaria-free.

Healthcare in Algeria has struggled for years, and the COVID-19 pandemic exposed many of its weaknesses. However, the pandemic has also allowed communities to respond to such weaknesses in full force. While Algerians are working to protect one another through e-commerce and social distancing, the international community is banding together to support the nation as well.

– Allison Moss
Photo: Flickr

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COVID-19 Stays Under Control in Zambia

COVID-19 in Zambia

Covid-19 cases in Zambia reached more than 1,000 as of June 3, according to worldometers.info.

With a population of more than 17.35 million, the percentage of total cases is only 0.005%. In addition to this impressively low total case number, a total of 912 individuals have recovered, a 90% recovery rate. Here are three reasons for the high recovery and lack of cases in Zambia.

Testing, Testing, Testing!

On March 18, Zambia reported its first two cases of coronavirus in the nation’s capital, Lusaka. Two residents tested positive after traveling to France. Before those cases, Zambia’s government prepared by increasing testing and screening. A 14-day self-quarantine was put into place to make sure potential positive cases of COVID-19 in Zambia would not spread.

Presidential Response

On March 25, Zambia’s president Edgar Lungu addressed the nation after 12 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Lungu made headway by addressing those citizens who hadn’t taken the virus seriously. “Let me say this; if your lifestyle has not changed in the past few weeks, then you are doing something wrong and endangering both yourself, your neighbor, and your loved ones,” Lungu said.

Also during the speech, Lungu made commitments to ensure funding from the public sector would go into testing. Lungu has called this his COVID-19 contingency plan, which is “including its budget and directed the ministry of finance to mobilize resources to enable lune ministries, private sector, and other key stakeholders to contain and combat the spread of the coronavirus disease.” Though, Lungu didn’t stop there. He halted non-essential travel and restricted dine-in service for restaurants. Bars, night clubs, cinemas, gyms, and casinos had to close immediately. Lungu described the coronavirus as a war against his people. His analogy created an extra layer of importance for following his guidelines for fighting COVID-19 in Zambia.

Healthcare Funding

One group critical to the backbone of medical care and funding for the coronavirus pandemic has been the Zambian International Health Alliance (ZIHA). ZIHA has focused on funding HIV/AIDS treatment, medical personnel and research of new diseases that could affect the people of Zambia, like the coronavirus. This funding has allowed for an increase in testing.

Another key player in medical relief is the U.S., specifically the United States Agency for International Development. The Agency granted Zambia $6.77 billion, which has funded healthcare in Zambia. President Lungu made an announcement on April 1, saying that he’s “welcoming the government’s plans to recruit more health workers in the wake of COVID-19.” The Medical Association of Zambia agreed with Lungu’s statement. They think this will not only increase the number of medical professionals in Zambia but will also ease the pain of COVID-19 in terms of outreach. 

Because of the efforts to battle COVID-19 in Zambia, the virus has a relatively small presence compared to the country’s total population. Recently, an excellen maize harvest helped quell food shortage worries. The extra grain will be used as an emergency food supply, protected by Zambia’s Food Reserve Agency (FRA).

COVID-19 has put economically impoverished communities at risk, but it has also helped reveal the willpower of the Zambian people and the power of a community coming together to fight a common enemy – hunger.

– Grant Ritchey
Photo: Flickr