Archive for category: COVID-19

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Bangladesh Prioritizes Vaccinating Refugees

Vaccinating refugeesVaccine rollout plans around the world often overlook the world’s 26 million refugees. A whole 126 countries have refugee populations of more than 500 people. As refugees make up a significant part of the population, during a global health pandemic, the world will not truly be safe until nations safeguard the health of refugees too. Although many countries are making efforts to protect refugees, barriers remain prevalent. Global inequalities continue to exacerbate the situation. Wealthy countries administered 85% of the world’s vaccines, however, 85% of the world’s refugees live in developing countries that struggle to access vaccines. Bangladesh is prioritizing vaccinating refugees and the rest of the world needs to follow suit by including the most vulnerable populations.

Bangladesh’s Vaccine Campaign for Rohingya Refugees in Cox’s Bazar

In August 2017, spikes of violence in Myanmar forced 745,000 Rohingya citizens to flee into Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Cox’s Bazar is now the world’s largest refugee settlement with more than one million refugees living in the cramped camps.

At the end of July 2021, devastating monsoons in Cox’s Bazar killed about eight refugees and displaced 25,000 people, simultaneously destroying thousands of facilities, including health clinics and latrines. Damaged roads hinder humanitarian access, making Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh more vulnerable than ever.

In addition to the recent natural disasters, Bangladesh is experiencing an upward trend in positive COVID-19 cases. Bangladesh authorities recognize the extreme vulnerability of the refugee population. As such, on August 9, 2021, Bangladesh launched a vaccine drive in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps. With the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Health Organization (WHO) and other humanitarian organizations, Bangladesh plans to vaccinate all refugees in waves. The first cohort includes 65,000 refugees made up of community leaders, health volunteers and anyone older than the age of 55.

The Importance of Vaccinating Refugees

Although refugees seem to be the last group receiving vaccines, the WHO has placed refugees in the second priority group for vaccinations. Refugees fall into the same group as at-risk people and those suffering from serious health conditions because refugees tend to live in crowded communities that lack clean water and basic healthcare, making the spread of COVID-19 cases inevitable. No country can curb the spread of COVID-19 while the virus continues to ravage its way through refugee communities.

Barriers to Refugee Vaccination

Most countries understand how crucial vaccinating refugees is to ending the pandemic, however, these major barriers remain:

  • Language barriers lead to misinformation and vaccine distrust.
  • Online registrations exclude those who lack access to the internet.
  • Volunteers are registering refugees at camps, however, a portion of refugees do not live in camps, they live with relatives or family friends.
  • Many refugees fear arrest or deportation at vaccine sites.
  • Vaccine shortages as some countries like India paused vaccine exports due to rising cases in India.
  • The question of liability — who will take responsibility for refugees that suffer serious side effects from the vaccine?

The world not only needs to make vaccines accessible for refugees but must also make refugees feel safe enough to pursue vaccination. Refugees are among the most vulnerable people on the planet, therefore, it is imperative for the world to join Bangladesh in prioritizing the vaccination of refugees because no one is safe until everyone is safe.

– Ella LeRoy
Photo: Flickr

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Mental Health in Slovenia

Mental Health in SloveniaSlovenia has made notable efforts to alleviate mental health difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially remarkable considering the Slovenian government’s substantial battle in improving mental health in Slovenia over the past two decades.

Mental Health in Slovenia

In 2006, an HBSC survey provided some insight into the extent to which the population was coping with mental health difficulties. Notably, of girls aged 11-15, “only 39% estimated their mental health as excellent” while the percentage among boys of the same age was higher at 53%. Additionally concerning is that 16% of girls and 12% of boys surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with their lives. A more recent WHO-conducted Mental Health Atlas Country Profile report also sparks concerns as the WHO official estimate of Slovenia’s burden of mental disorders in 2014 is noteworthy. Particularly concerning is the fact that the figure of disability-adjusted life years due to mental disorders was 4.3 years and the age-standardized suicide rate was 12.4 suicides per 100,000 people.

Connection to Poverty

Slovenia’s fight to improve its population’s mental health cannot be disconnected from the issue of poverty, especially when it comes to mental health among adolescents. The evidence that best demonstrates this link to poverty comes from a 2014 mental health inequalities study. The principal finding was that adolescents in lower socioeconomic standings display poorer mental health outcomes than those in higher socioeconomic positions.

The study also demonstrates that the connection to poverty goes further, with results showing that the adolescent perception of an impoverished familial financial position will both decrease their “life satisfaction” and increase the risk of the adolescent enduring mental health problems. These extensive facts and figures demonstrate that mental health in Slovenia also constitutes a poverty issue and is representative of the byproducts of wealth inequalities.

Slovenia’s Past Mental Health Efforts

During the past two decades prior to the pandemic, Slovenia’s government progressively increased its commitment to addressing mental health in Slovenia with several services from newly formed institutions and programs. One of the nation’s key initiatives was outlining principal aims to strive for in its Programme for Children and Youth 2006-2016, which included ensuring children and young adults live a healthy life.

This involved not only improving the mental health of those targeted but also improving their financial and nutritional stability. Another massive initiative launched was a significant extension of the Slovene Network of Health Promoting Schools (SNHPS) in 1998 and 2008 to include more than 130 schools. The strategy aimed to promote health at schools in a more holistic manner and place greater emphasis on mental health. In addition, in recent years, the number of mental health-related seminars in school settings has also increased.

But, the country’s most notable act addressing mental health was the establishment in 2002 of health promotion centers (HPCs) within all of the country’s 61 primary healthcare centers. These HPCs function as the first-contact providers of mental health promotion services to the country’s population, especially the most marginalized and vulnerable communities.

Current Services and Solutions

Amid a global health pandemic with devastating effects on mental health in Slovenia, the Slovenian government is doing commendably in weathering the storm. At the height of the pandemic, 43 HPCs reported almost 1,500 telephonic calls between March 16 and May 24, 2020, with 67.4% of these calls stemming from “the psychological impact” of COVID-19. These statistics highlight the extent to which the pandemic exacerbated mental health conditions in the country.

Additionally, as the majority of the calls came from families and individuals with low incomes,  it is clear that the pandemic disproportionately impacts the impoverished. The brilliant work of HPCs, however, proved instrumental in minimizing the damage. Due to their phenomenal support, by the end of May 2020, calls to HPCs declined to a tenth of the number of calls made during the height of the pandemic two months before.

Another group that has done exceptional work in mitigating the country’s mental health difficulties during the pandemic is the Community Health Centre (CHC) Ljubljana. The WHO has praised CHC Ljubljana for its provision of strong primary mental health support during the pandemic, while also conducting research and development to ensure similar quality care is given long-term after the pandemic’s end. The CHC’s efforts include marginalized communities that are often overlooked in emergency relief efforts.

Overall, Slovenia is making significant efforts to address mental health afflictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim of improving mental health in Slovenia as a whole.

– Gabriel Sylvan
Photo: Flickr

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Vaccine Inequality and Variants

Vaccine Inequality and VariantsCOVID-19 has displayed the vast interdependence of the world in 2021. The pandemic disrupted global supply chains, highlighted the impact of migration and travel and prompted international coordination on an unprecedented scale. The distribution and administration of vaccines during the pandemic has varied greatly among continents and countries, with high-income countries in Europe and North America inoculating their populations far faster than middle and low-income countries in Africa and Asia. The rapidly spreading Delta variant revealed that vaccination is not just an issue for each independent country. Expanding vaccine access in lower-income countries with large, dense populations in Africa and Asia is necessary for wealthy and impoverished countries alike. COVID-19 discourse under-represents the relationship between vaccine inequality and variants and highlights the need to expand vaccine access to lower-income countries.

Vaccine Inequality in Africa, Asia and Latin America

Vaccine inequality is no more acute than in Africa. As of September 11, 2021, less than 4% of Africans received full doses of COVID-19 vaccines in comparison to more than half of the population in North America. The leading reason for this is drastic inequality in economic power and state capacity. Not only must countries be able to afford the vaccines but they must also have the infrastructure to administer the vaccines. This task is nearly impossible for countries such as Afghanistan, Mali and Myanmar while embroiled in domestic conflict.

Developing countries are mostly reliant on COVAX, the WHO’s initiative to distribute vaccines equitably, which is struggling to provide the number of vaccines it planned to. This is in part a result of wealthy nations ordering millions of vaccines directly from manufacturers, limiting the supply available to the WHO program before it was up and running. Assistance from and coordination with wealthier countries will be necessary in order to increase global vaccination levels before more variants develop.

Vaccine Inequality and Variants

The Delta variant has been the most important development in the global pandemic in recent months. Originating in India, Delta arose at a time when no one received vaccinations. Since then, it has spread around the world and prompted new lockdowns and countermeasures in countries on every continent. With less than 30% of the world fully vaccinated, there is good reason to believe that Delta will not be the last variant of COVID-19 that the world will see and the Lambda (originating in South Africa) and Mu (from Colombia) variants are already making way across borders.

As long as the majority of the world is unvaccinated, there is a worryingly high chance of the COVID-19 virus continuing to mutate. A sufficiently unique strain could potentially render the vaccine ineffective and reignite the pandemic. The Delta variant’s rapid spread across the globe proves that vaccinating just the domestic population will not bring about a certain end to the pandemic. As the most important factor in determining the rate of mutation is the rate of infection, an international agenda focusing on swiftly expanding vaccine access in order to mitigate the threat of future mutations would also best serve the United States.

US Leadership

The topic prompts the discussion of actions the U.S. is taking to rapidly increase global vaccination rates and whether there is room for more effort on the part of the U.S. In May 2021, the Biden administration voiced its support for abrogating the patents of vaccines in order to facilitate their production in lower-income countries and reduce vaccine inequality.

However, the United States does not have unilateral power to waive patents and the World Trade Organization is unlikely to advance this position. Furthermore, many contend that IP waivers are a poor solution to vaccine inequity. Manufacturing vaccines, especially mRNA vaccines, is a difficult and highly technical process with a small margin for error. Countries must also possess the infrastructure to produce vaccines quickly, safely and in large numbers.

It would be ideal if fixing global vaccine access was as simple as waiving patents, but unfortunately, the matter is more complicated. The United States can safeguard its own interest as well as the world’s interests by addressing the economic inequalities forming the root cause of vaccine inequality. Increasing COVAX funding is likely the most effective way in which wealthy countries can help address the global vaccine shortage while addressing the connection between vaccines and variants in the immediate term.

Donating Surplus Stock

Another way that the United States is helping to increase worldwide vaccination is by donating surplus vaccines. By early September 2021, the U.S. had already donated more than 114 million vaccines, making it the “largest donor of COVID-19 vaccines globally.” The U.S. can continue this trend as the country possesses more than 1 billion surplus vaccines, many of which are destined to expire this summer. Millions of people in Africa and Asia would jump at the opportunity of receiving a vaccination if only their country had the supply to meet the demand.

The most cost-effective way to end the global pandemic is to address the causal relationship between vaccine inequality and variants by providing vaccines to those who would be able to obtain them if not for their country’s economic incapacity. Global vaccination is a non-zero-sum game that demands the whole world’s involvement.

– Will Pease
Photo: Flickr

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6 Facts About COVID-19’s Impact on South Korea

COVID-19's Impact on South KoreaOriginating from Asia, it is no surprise that COVID-19 has affected many Asian countries. However, there is one prominent country that has persevered despite the drastic impacts of the pandemic — South Korea. Shrouded in technology, entertainment and education, South Korea has transformed itself from a lower-developed economy to a high-income leader in innovation. COVID-19 has impacted South Korea for better and for worse. Here are six facts about COVID-19’s impact on South Korea.

6 Facts About COVID-19’s Impact on South Korea

  1. With a strong economic connection to China, South Korea was one of the first countries to report coronavirus cases. Forty days after South Korea’s first case on January 20, 2020, the country confirmed close to 1,000 cases. The cases only increased in number due to inadequate understanding of the severity of the virus. Therefore, after this spike, the country made great efforts to contain the outbreak and educate its citizens. For instance, South Korea successfully implemented mandatory masking and accessible testing as well as advanced contact tracing. Currently, although there were more than 269,000 COVID-19 cases in South Korea as of September 10, 2021, the country has a contrasting number of around 2,300 total deaths.
  2. Multiple countries praise South Korea’s well-executed plan to persist during the pandemic. Korea is notable for these concepts: early plan, speed and awareness. To begin with, there was an immediate and early response to the first case, allowing for fast prevention. Also, the government focused on moving quickly in implementing COVID-19 regulations and notifying the public with information and safety guidelines. Hence, internationally, South Korea became a top model for dealing with the virus.
  3. To prevent the spread of the virus, the world and South Korea limited travel. Travel in and out of South Korea decreased significantly along with tourism. The OECD has stated that these financial risks of limited travel can lead to rising unemployment, which can be detrimental to those in poverty. Korea’s exports have reduced as well, decreasing dramatically as China started shutting down certain systems for safety and health purposes. For instance, in April 2020, 24.3% of exports dropped and caused many losses. In response, South Korea developed a plan called the Korea New Deal in order to invest in advanced technology and the well-being of workers.
  4. South Korea has one of the highest rates of elderly poverty. Most elderly South Koreans sell box scraps, run street food stations and clean unsanitary areas to survive. Thus, the country implemented stronger social protection and stable labor market regulations. South Korea also implemented safe social distancing procedures in 250,000 jobs.
  5. The eruption of COVID-19 negatively impacted many lives but accelerated research efforts. Multiple health authorities collaborated in private laboratories to uncover the efficacy of contact tracing, rapid regulatory tests and screening clinics. The country attempted several data tests and experiments, and in doing so, South Korea discovered more about the actual SARS-CoV-2 and better prevention methods. Scientific and mechanical technology has also improved for the better and advancements have become more rapid. Therefore, seemingly, COVID-19’s impact on South Korea includes more than direct health-related scenarios.
  6. Leaders of South Korea prioritize providing the public with current and up-to-date information and distinct guidelines on how to prevent infection. According to Exemplars in Global Health, South Korea was able to respond fast to COVID-19 due to its experience with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) back in 2015, which presented a similar health crisis. To fight misinformation during the pandemic, authorities are focusing on providing the nation with regular and accurate COVID-19 information.

Concluding Thoughts

COVID-19’s impact on South Korea comes with twists and turns, however, although there are many troubles, the country has solutions. History has seen South Korea rise up from its colonization to a booming economy. This East Asian country is now attempting to prevent an increase in COVID-19 cases through a comprehensive plan.

The virus is mutating and the Delta variant is only worsening countries’ conditions. As a result, the mask mandates that South Korea recently lifted are back in place. However, South Korea’s progress and plans so far indicate that it is well-prepared to mitigate any further consequences of COVID-19.

– Minjae Eum
Photo: Flickr

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Fighting Social Acceptance of Child Marriage in India

Child Marriage in India
Soon after her wedding to a man seven years older than her, 14-year-old Muskaan told Delhi photojournalist Saumya Khandelwal that her marriage “had to happen.” Muskaan, who is from India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, reflected on the region’s social acceptance of child marriage in India.

Child Marriage in India

Despite India’s attempts to curb child marriage through legislation, the damaging practice persists. About 27% of all Indian girls marry before their 18th birthday, with this statistic being higher in rural areas. Meanwhile, the northern states of Bihar and Rajasthan see between 47% and 51% of their young girls married as children.

Still, progress has occurred. While almost 47% of Indian girls 18 and younger married between 2005 and 2006, this rate dropped to 18% between 2015 and 2016. Key influences have been government programs that promote women’s education and empowerment. The improvements were undoubtedly clear and especially impactful in increasing the presence of women in higher education and the workforce, paving the way for a generation of independent and educated young women. However, local developments under COVID-19 have unearthed the social acceptance of child marriage in India and the factors that erode local approval.

COVID-19 in India

India’s official COVID-19 case count stood at a staggering 32.2 million as of August 14, 2021. The country faced a four-phase lockdown in 2020 along with several states instating rigid curfews. The economic impacts of these necessary public health measures have been disastrous as the Indian government estimates that the nation’s GDP shrank by almost 8% since the beginning of the pandemic. Meanwhile, up to 75 million people have slipped into poverty, only earning a meager income of 150 rupees or around $2 per day.

Specifically, the Indian informal economy seems to have taken the hardest hit. Comprising farm workers, construction workers and migrant laborers, this sector has no access to political support or union representation. With meager amounts of government aid reaching these vulnerable workers, many headed back to their homes in rural India hoping for reduced living costs.

Government Aid

Many of the Indian government’s schemes to help lower-income families centered around schools to encourage education. Government-run schools provided breakfast and lunch to their students free of cost prior to the pandemic, but with students learning from home, the program quickly ended. Parents who sent their daughters to school received compensation under one of the “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” campaign’s many programs in 2015.

However, the education programs faced a lack of funding despite being instrumental in balancing the male-female sex ratio in 108 districts. Simply put, the government’s programs have not met their full potential, limiting how well Indian leaders can address child marriage. The pandemic has only worsened access to the Indian welfare system, especially for migrant workers from rural areas who see child marriage as a solution to better their daughters’ financial opportunities.

Families facing dire financial situations often contemplate marrying their young daughters off to men who belong to local, stable families. A daughter’s departure from her home means that her parents no longer have to provide her with food, clothing and education. Provided she is young and healthy, she may marry a groom with plenty of money to provide for her needs. For parents burdened with the pandemic’s economic consequences, the route seems appealing.

Social Pressures

Many parents view marriage as a way to provide stability for their daughters in a country with much gender-based violence. Police reports from investigations into local child marriages show that parents of young girls worry that letting them go to school and work while being unmarried may signal their availability to predatorial men.

This mindset typically prevails in rural areas. Data from Bihar, an Indian state that reports the highest number of child marriages, has shown that 44.5% of women from rural areas married before the age of 18 from 2015 to 2016 compared to 29.1% of women from urban areas. In rural areas, the local community has united and affirmed that marriage provides financial security, respect and safety to young girls.

Solutions

Landmark legislation such as the 2006 Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) has created a jail sentence of up to two years for parents and village elders authorizing illegal child marriages in India. The act also established local committees to intervene in individual cases but left enforcement up to state governments. In many cases, state officials simply did not appoint committee members or assigned committee work to social workers with already high caseloads. While child marriage statistics have been continually dropping, much of this progress is due to similar growth in literacy and access to education instead of PCMA’s impact. Indian legislation is powerful, but it faces setbacks in actualizing its potential.

Currently, local police are instrumental in stopping child marriages by arriving on the scene and arresting elders arranging weddings, but they work through anonymous tips and face resistance from locals. They are unable to stop all child marriages or truly fight the mindset of parents. Specialized teams with social workers will be able to communicate with parents and village elders and prevent future weddings. It is important that these groups receive funding and support from global governments as these solutions stretch beyond simply sending individuals to jail — the true solution to child marriage in India is through changing mindsets.

Looking Ahead

Despite determined attempts by the Indian government to limit child marriage in India through legislation, the destructive practice still continues. The COVID-19 pandemic has unearthed the economic and social motivations that drive child marriage forward in Indian society. Solutions include realizing the potential of legislation and promoting the presence of social workers and NGOs working on the ground to change the social acceptance of child marriage in India.

– Shruti Patankar
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Iran

Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Iran
The impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Iran is severe. The pandemic accelerated the decline of Iran’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the rise of unemployment. Despite the economic crisis, Tehran’s massive natural resources allow the country to effectively recover economically if the newly elected Ebrahim Raisi is willing to end the country’s decades-long hostility with the United States.

The US Sanctions and Economic Crisis Before COVID-19

Before analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Iran, one needs to understand the context in which the pandemic took place. In May 2018, under President Trump, the U.S. withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). As a result of the U.S. withdrawal, a “maximum pressure” campaign that consisted of unilateral sanctions against the Middle Eastern country replaced the Obama-era Iran foreign policy.

The sanctions contributed significantly to the downfall of Iran’s economy. The country’s GDP went down by 11% and average living standards have reduced by 13%. The “maximum pressure” campaign also caused an inflation shock. The sanctions cut oil exports, which reduced the supply of foreign exchange and resulted in hyperinflation. For example, the sanctions were one of the main reasons for prices rising by 41% in 2019.

How COVID-19 Worsened Iran’s Economic Crisis

The pandemic has further accelerated the crisis of the already declining Iranian economy. The mismanagement of the COVID-19 outbreak resulted in Iran being one of the worst impacted countries in the world, with almost 94,603 deaths and more than four million overall cases. Considering how widespread the highly transmissible Delta variant is and the fact that only about 4% of the country’s 83 million citizens are fully vaccinated, the future seems even more pessimistic.

Observing the health effects of the pandemic, it is not surprising how severely COVID-19 damaged Iran’s economy. In 2020, an estimated three to four million Iranians were at risk of losing their jobs, with the potential of increasing the actual (not official) unemployment rate from 20% to more than 35%. The country’s GDP shrunk by 5% in 2020 and inflation nearly doubled from February 2020 to February 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a decline in GDP and an increase in public spending led the government to take extensive debt and sell its assets on the stock market. As a result, the fiscal deficit-to-GDP ratio more than doubled.

The Lives of Impoverished Iranians During the Pandemic

COVID-19 forced working-class, low-income Iranians to choose between their health and earning a basic income necessary for physical survival. In previous decades, the combination of charity work and welfare ministry, which provided financial assistance to economically vulnerable families, managed to maintain poverty below the 10% threshold. However, sanctions and the pandemic have put the survival of millions of Iranians, particularly informal and daily workers, at risk.

Around six million Iranians (a quarter of the overall workforce) work in the informal economy and earn daily wages. They often have no fixed salaries, minimal or no savings and little insurance from the social protection programs. Although these workers face a greater risk of infection, their financial situation does not allow them to stop working. Due to the fragile economic reality of Iranian people, particularly low-income citizens, the government cannot afford strict quarantine measures because these restrictions can push an additional 20% of Iranians into extreme poverty.

Moreover, according to a World Bank report, consumer price inflation stood at 30.6% from April to November 2020 and reached 46.4% in November 2020. The hyperinflation caused drastic price increases in food and housing, which disproportionally harmed working-class families.

The Way Out of the Economic Crisis

Various international and local nongovernmental organizations work tirelessly to alleviate poverty in Iran. One of the most significant NGOs that provides financial and educational resources for Iran’s vulnerable is Relief International. The organization has been particularly active since the outbreak of COVID-19. Relief International has provided multi-purpose cash assistance for 26,000 families who lost their income due to the pandemic.

Although the work of Relief International and other NGOs is significant for mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Iran, NGOs have limited resources. Therefore, the Iranian government should play a greater role in the process of poverty reduction. For easing the short-term economic impact, the government should provide direct income assistance to its vulnerable citizens. More importantly, for a meaningful, long-term change, the Reisi administration should end the four-decade-long animosity with the U.S. and agree to the new nuclear deal. The precedent of the 2015 JCPOA agreement shows that lifting sanctions will reverse the negative economic impact of COVID-19.

– Aleksandre Jgarkava
Photo: Flickr

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Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Iraq

Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Iraq
Iraq has suffered from past wars, a security-challenged and corrupt government and the recent withdrawal of the United States troops. The impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Iraq adds another challenging element to this underdeveloped country. More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s impoverished communities are struggling. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed 4.5 million Iraqis below the poverty line. Job losses and a rise in prices for goods have contributed to the increase in poverty.

The Children

The pandemic has impacted Iraqi children the most. According to a UNICEF Iraq study, one out of five Iraqi children were already impoverished before the crisis. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number has doubled to two out of five children. The study also revealed that the increase in poverty has affected school enrollment, nutrition and children’s development and coping skills.

UNICEF Iraq has recommended that the country needs more social services programs that protect children and that the Iraq government should take prompt action in making these programs more accessible in rural areas. The Iraq government has the funding to promote these programs and health-related public service announcements as well as awareness campaigns on gender-based violence awareness and prevention. However, the government has not always been consistent.

Employment Challenges

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, Iraqis have faced an increase in employment challenges. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Fafo Institute for Labour and Social Research in collaboration with the Cash Consortium for Iraq (CCI), COVID-19 has had a catastrophic impact on vulnerable households’ income and employment. Younger workers and people in informal employment make up 3,265 of the households in the study.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Iraq unemployment rate was at 12.76% and rose to 13.74%, after the pandemic. Research also determined that the majority had no health insurance or social security. One-quarter of citizens that had employment prior to the pandemic lockdown experienced permanent lay-offs, with 36% of those in the age group of 18-24 permanently dismissed from their jobs. Further assessment revealed that those employed under verbal agreements had a 40% reduction in income. Only 16% had savings and 85% only had savings to last less than three months.

The International Labor Country Coordinator for Iraq, Maha Kattaa, stated that COVID-19 has limited the availability of resources to vulnerable households and has affected their ability to cope. It has also created barriers to retaining good jobs.

The Government and Solutions

UNICEF Iraq has recommended that the Iraqi government establish long-term policy measures for impoverished communities to alleviate the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Iraq. It suggested that the government create accessible support packages and provide cash and in-kind support to those who have lost their jobs. UNICEF Iraq also suggested that the Iraqi government make equal social security benefits available for public and private employees.

Despite the fact that the United States has withdrawn troops from Iraq, it is continuing to provide aid to the country’s impoverished communities. In August 2021, it donated 500,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has prepared labs for large-scale testing of COVID-19 and will continue to do so long-term. USAID has also implemented public health emergency plans, provided more than 19,000 food baskets and distributed cash-based transfers to the most vulnerable Iraqi citizens.

The Iraq government has been open to aid from other countries. The government wants to combat the negative effects of COVID-19 but realizes it needs help from outside sources. On the other hand, the government has not led a consistent vaccine awareness campaign and many Iraqis are skeptical about the COVID-19 vaccines. On April 24, 2021, Iraq had more than one million COVID-19 cases.

Looking Ahead

The Iraqi government has made efforts to protect its citizens from COVID-19. However, the inconsistent messaging, limited resources and rise in COVID-19 cases have made it difficult for impoverished communities to thrive. The resources for new jobs, healthcare, education enrollment and coping skills will need to be steady and must align with the current needs of the country. Continued studies on COVID-19 and the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Iraq as well as aid from other countries could help Iraq significantly.

– Dana Smith
Photo: Flickr

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Vaccine Hesitancy and Africa’s Low COVID-19 Vaccination Rate

Vaccine HesitancyAfrican governments have struggled to vaccinate their populations, which has become more imperative with recent surges of COVID-19 in the continent and more variants arising as time passes by. As of September 2021, less than 4% of Africa’s population is completely vaccinated. This strongly contrasts the rate of the United States, equating to about 54% and at least 20% of populations on every other continent. There are two main factors contributing to Africa’s extremely low vaccination rate: vaccine hesitancy and inadequate supply.

Inadequate Supply

Low-income countries around the world have struggled to obtain a sufficient supply of the COVID-19 vaccine while wealthy countries acquired much of what was available. This lack of vaccines is apparent in Africa, home to some of the most impoverished countries in the world. Wealthy countries obtained COVID-19 vaccines because they “cut deals directly with vaccine-makers, securing a disproportionately large share of early supply and undermining a fledgling COVAX.”

In contrast to the actions of wealthy countries, COVAX wanted to distribute the vaccine supply to all countries engaged in the initiative. Countries in Africa are especially dependent on COVAX as most African governments cannot afford to buy vaccines. For example, Burundi, with “the highest poverty rate in Africa at 80%” needs aid from COVAX to obtain various vaccines. These countries rely on Gavi, the global Vaccine Alliance behind COVAX to obtain vaccines not only for COVID-19 but for various other illnesses as well. So far, COVAX has delivered more than 31 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to countries in Africa and plans to supply 520 million doses by the end of 2021. While Africa is receiving more vaccines through COVAX, vaccine hesitancy in Africa presents another barrier to vaccination.

Vaccine Hesitancy

The ONE Campaign, UNICEF and the African Union have partnered to create a TikTok initiative to tackle vaccine hesitancy in Africa by addressing concerns and misinformation about the vaccine. During a COVID-19 surge in May 2021 in Africa, “a survey conducted by Geopoll” indicated that a mere 48% of people in Africa would take the vaccine if it was accessible. This statistic decreased from 62% in November 2020, which “further illustrates the impact of continued negative information about the vaccine.”

The TikTok campaign helps correct social media misinformation about COVID-19, addresses people’s concerns and promotes the vaccine under the hashtag #MythOrVax. The campaign will have two phases. The first phase involves a public quiz on TikTok that tests users’ preexisting knowledge of COVID-19 and the vaccine. The second phase of the campaign starts on September 4, 2021, involves the organizations bringing African celebrities and health experts to discuss people’s concerns about the vaccine and the importance of getting the vaccine. While the slow vaccine rollout in Africa is a result of limited supply due to wealthy countries obtaining masses of vaccines, there is still low vaccine confidence in Africa, which the campaign aims to resolve.

Looking Ahead

The vaccine rollout in Africa is lagging but major international organizations and governments are committing to securing more vaccines for people in Africa in the coming months heading into next year. However, vaccine confidence must grow in order for Africa’s vaccination rate to improve, which should ultimately help to reduce the growing number of infections on the continent. With the TikTok campaign to reduce vaccine hesitancy in Africa, Africa can successfully improve its low vaccination rate.

– Kyle Har
Photo: Flickr

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Rihanna’s Foundation Helps People in Poverty

Rihanna’s foundationSinger and businesswoman Rihanna has taken on many ventures including a music career, a lingerie brand, a makeup brand and more. However, many Rihanna fans do not know about her work to help people in global poverty. Rihanna founded the Clara Lionel Foundation, which helps people in global poverty recover from natural disasters as well as funding education initiatives.

Rihanna, whose birth name is Robyn Fenty, founded the Clara Lionel Foundation in 2012. Rihanna’s Foundation is named after her grandparents, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite. The Clara Lionel Foundation’s work focuses on the Caribbean and Africa. It promotes education and emergency preparedness while responding to natural disasters.

Disaster Response and Emergency Preparedness

Rihanna’s Foundation responds to disasters in the Caribbean and Africa both financially and on the ground. The Foundation has nine active projects related to disaster relief and has committed $10 million over the course of its establishment.

The Foundation’s most recent response occurred when Hurricane Dorian struck The Bahamas, which has a poverty rate of 11.1%. The response included donating $1 million in emergency grants to relief partners on the ground, rebuilding healthcare facilities, mobile medical care, the distribution of food in impoverished areas and providing portable satellite communications systems. This type of support in The Bahamas is a characteristic of the work the Clara Lionel Foundation does to alleviate the effects of natural disasters for those living in poverty. The Foundation recognizes that natural disasters affect those living below the poverty line the most, as the populations lose their shelter, food and water sources, jobs and more. This impact is why much of the work focuses on impoverished and hard-to-reach areas.

The Foundation achieves its mission of emergency preparedness by educating people about what the populations need as well as establishing health clinics. The Clara Lionel Foundation partnered with the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR) and Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA). The partnership is working with health clinics to strengthen the clinics structurally and in scope. The partnership is helping add a focus for reproductive health as many women in poverty do not have anywhere to turn to after a disaster. The clinics become hubs for healthcare following a disaster, making communities more prepared.

Education Efforts

The Clara Lionel Foundation contributed $5 million to education, helping more than 7,000 children get access to schooling. The program financially supports schools in different countries including Rihanna’s home of Barbados, as well as individuals looking to participate in higher education. After Hurricane Maria in Dominica, the Foundation also helped rebuild schools and built the schools to serve as a shelter for incoming disasters.

COVID-19 Relief

The Clara Lionel Foundation contributed over $36 million to COVID-19 relief. It served 30 countries by donating to 45 organizations. Much of this went towards providing relief in the Caribbean and Africa.

Rihanna’s work as a philanthropist helps people in global poverty lift themselves out of natural disasters and prevents the population from falling back into an insecure situation in the chance of another disaster through preparedness and education.

– Sana Mamtaney
Photo: Flickr

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Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Russia

Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in RussiaThe impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Russia is quite significant. Like many other nations worldwide, the pandemic has proven to be a sizable obstacle in the fight against poverty. Measures meant to limit the spread of COVID-19 within Russia have resulted in the Russian economy shrinking overall. With this economic shrinkage, more people within Russia are at the brink of falling into poverty.

Unemployment and Poverty Rates

The economic decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a spike in unemployment within Russia. By October 2020, the unemployment rate had climbed to 6.3% — the highest unemployment rate Russia has seen in eight years. Many of these job losses mainly occurred in the “manufacturing, construction and retail and hospitality” sectors. Additionally, this increase in unemployment led to a spike in poverty. In the first quarter of 2020, the poverty rate stood at 12.65, rising to 13.2% in the second quarter of 2020.

Impact on Minor Cities

Some wealthy Russian cities, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, are better positioned to handle the economic impact of the pandemic. These larger Russian cities had more robust local economies before the pandemic. However, smaller cities have proven less capable of handling the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Russia. These smaller cities were hit hard by the collapse of Soviet industries with the fall of the Soviet Union, struggling to combat unemployment and poverty long before the onset of the pandemic. These impoverished cities also have some of the weakest healthcare systems in all of Russia. The pandemic has compounded this by overwhelming already under-supported healthcare systems.

Furthermore, sectors hit hard by the pandemic, such as construction and service, were previously a lifeline of employment for already impoverished cities. Many Russians within smaller cities face hard decisions of choosing between prioritizing health or income, with some opting to continue to work despite the dangers of COVID-19.

Impact on Migrant workers

The impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Russia is strongly felt among Russia’s sizable population of migrant Central Asian workers. Many of these migrant workers have remained within Russia during the pandemic, without jobs or income.

These Central Asia migrants were targets of discrimination before the onset of the pandemic and were already in a more vulnerable position within Russia before 2020. The pandemic has only compounded this vulnerability as many face unemployment and border closures have made it impossible for most to return to Central Asia to wait out the pandemic.

Statistics from December 2019 indicate that more than 1.6 million migrant workers reside in Moscow. The majority of these migrant workers are from Central Asia. Many work in sectors such as service or construction —  sectors that were especially hard-hit by COVID-19 restrictions in and around Moscow. The fees that migrant workers pay the city of Moscow for their work permits form a significant part of the city’s revenue. In 2016, the mayor stated that these permit payments brought the city “more revenue than oil companies.”

Intervention by NGOs

Throughout the pandemic, Russian NGOs have been providing Russians with varied forms of assistance to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Russia. Marginalized populations are often unintentionally overlooked in aid endeavors.

Nochlezhka is an NGO in St. Petersburg, Russia, focusing efforts on the often marginalized and excluded homeless population. The organization garnered the support of citizens to help distribute informational COVID-19 pamphlets to the homeless and encouraged donations of sanitizer and face masks. Nochlezhka also started the You Are Not Alone initiative, encouraging citizens to “leave plastic bags with food and hygiene products in places where homeless people could find them.”

NGOs have not limited their assistance to Russia’s homeless population though. Organizations have created services that are available to a wider array of people. For instance, the Agora International Human Rights Group is providing legal assistance to Russians on various legal issues during the pandemic, “such as fighting fines issued for breaching lockdown.”

Trends for the Future

Despite these troubling examples of COVID-19’s impact on Russian poverty and predictions indicating that the poverty level in Russia will remain above 10% for some time, there is hope for the future. Government policies meant to combat the economic impacts of the pandemic have had some recent success. With the implementation of these support policies, estimates indicate that by the end of 2021, the Russian poverty level should fall below pre-pandemic levels.

The impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Russia is substantial. The pandemic has witnessed a spike in unemployment and poverty overall. Additionally, the pandemic disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations within Russia, such as already impoverished citizens and migrant workers. Despite these hardships, Russian NGOs have stepped in to assist Russians. Predictions indicate that government support policies will largely reverse COVID-19’s impact on Russian poverty during 2021.

– Coulter Layden
Photo: Flickr