Archive for category: Developing Countries

Information and stories about developing countries.

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Strides in the Race for Vaccine Accessibility

vaccine accessibility
Vaccines are second only to clean water in reducing the rate of infectious disease. Vaccines prevent about 6 million deaths every year, and those that have been in use for decades show a 99 percent decrease in the rates of people contracting those diseases. Unfortunately, vaccines are not affordable for many people living in poverty throughout the world, making them much more vulnerable to infectious disease. Several factors contribute to the current lack of vaccine accessibility in many parts of the developing world. However, there are also significant improvements that are being made in decreasing the financial gap between those who receive vaccinations and those who do not, helping make vaccines more accessible to everyone.

The Current Situation

The price of the vaccine doesn’t always reflect the cost: People in developing countries are not only paying for the cost of manufacturing the vaccine, but also for expensive shipping costs, refrigeration, tariffs on imports, and taxes on medical supplies. These additional costs are often much more than the cost of the actual vaccine, and they make what would otherwise be an affordable vaccine inaccessible to a lot of people.

Clinic visits cost money too: In addition to buying the vaccine with all of its fees piled on top, people also have to pay to visit a clinic to receive these vaccines. The hours of health clinics are often inconvenient as well, forcing people to forgo wages from work in order to see a doctor.

Many vaccines require multiple rounds: A lot of vaccines, such as RTSS for malaria, MMR for measles and the HPV vaccine require multiple rounds of vaccination in order to be effective. This simply compounds all of the other barriers to vaccine accessibility; those receiving the vaccine have to pay for treatment again as well as take time off of work to visit a clinic.

Doctors are few and far between: In many parts of the developing world, there are very few doctors, and these doctors are limited in the number of patients they can treat each day. Therefore, even if one can afford to pay for the vaccine and can make it to a clinic, there is no guarantee that they will be able to be seen by a doctor.

Improvements to Vaccine Accessibility

Local health centers’ capacities are being strengthened: Gavi, a non-governmental organization dedicated to providing vaccines to the developing world, is working to strengthen the capacity of existing health centers to deliver immunizations. Gavi is working to increase the proportion of people who are receiving a full cycle of vaccines rather than “dropping out” after the first dose by providing sustainable funding to health clinics across the developing world.

Foreign aid decreases the price of vaccines: Providing foreign aid specifically for vaccines decreases the cost to those receiving treatment, and in turn, spares families from having to pay far more for treatment if someone contracted an infectious disease. Foreign aid for vaccinations has the highest return on investment of any type of aid besides education.

People are going beyond wanting to vaccinate to actually vaccinating: The Poverty Action Lab at MIT is implementing research on how to motivate people from desiring to vaccinate to doing it. This research is increasing the numbers of people receiving preventative immunizations in the developing world and reducing the rates of disease.

Infrastructures to keep vaccines cold for cheaper: The governments of Ethiopia and Gambia have created cold chain infrastructures in order to reduce the cost of transporting vaccines that need to be refrigerated. These infrastructures are far from perfect, as some cold storage facilities in Ethiopia have not been kept as cold as they need to be in order to protect the vaccines.

However, progress is still being made in reducing the cost of vaccines and allowing them to be more accessible to those living in poverty. Gavi is working to implement more cold chain infrastructures in other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Moving Forward

There is clearly still a long way to go in ensuring vaccine accessibility to everyone who needs it, but a lot of progress has been made in breaking down the current barriers to accessibility. Vaccines are much cheaper than the cost of treatment for those who have the diseases vaccines aim to prevent, and investing in vaccinations relieves the world’s poor of the additional burden of treatment costs. Vaccines are one of the greatest assets in our toolbox to fight poverty, and great strides are being made in the effort to make accessibility a reality.

– Macklyn Hutchison
Photo: Flickr

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The Vietnamese Water Crisis

vietnamese water crisis
Vietnam, a southeastern Asian country whose coastline stretches 12 nautical miles, imminently struggles with providing clean water to those living there. The country has over 2360 rivers and about two-thirds of its population resides near one of Vietnam’s three water basins. Even so, most of this aquatic supply is unusable and undrinkable. The ongoing Vietnamese water crisis is so threatening that it is a focal point of national policy and international concern.

Background

Both government and industrial issues exacerbate the Vietnamese water crisis. Poor regulation coupled with irresponsible handling of waste has led Vietnam’s ponds, lakes, and canals to shortages and contamination.

In March of 2018, the Coalition for Clean Water and the Centre for Environment and Community Research released a report detailing how industry has altered the water quality in Vietnam. The report revealed that about 70 percent of waste released from industrial parks is directly released into the environment. These tainted waters carry dangerous chemicals and cause illnesses.

The World Bank’s estimations concerning the crisis show that it is no diminutive issue. The organization notes that rising threats against Vietnam’s water supply could reduce the nation’s GDP by six percent by the year 2035. Pollution presents itself as the biggest hazard to water basins, which drain into water outlets all over the country. In the most highly polluted areas, wastewater has poisoned the air to the point that it has become odorous and toxic.

Impacts of the Crisis

Those living in rural areas suffer the most from water sanitation issues. Only 39 percent of rural individuals have access to clean water. Furthermore, most of these individuals must use water wells that tap into underground aquifers to compensate for the lack of a clean water source at the surface.

The absence of clean water does not only deprive rural Vietnamese of their basic needs, but it also affects their ability to efficiently participate in the economy. Agricultural production is a precious monetary asset that takes up 80 percent of Vietnam’s water supply. The infrastructure needed to transport clean water to farms is unstable.

The Vietnamese water crisis has created national health issues, as well. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment estimates that up to 80 percent of diseases in Vietnam is directly caused by water pollution. Nearly six million citizens have contracted a waterborne illness, the most rampant being cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and malaria.

Impacts on Children

Children are the main concern for the international community as dirty water affects the growth and development of a new generation.

UNICEF reports that more than 9.5 million Vietnamese still release excreta into their surroundings, further contaminating the water supply. Children lack the matured immune system needed to fight off the problems generated by this unhygienic practice, such as diarrhea, pneumonia, and parasitic infection. Diarrhea is responsible for nearly 10 percent of the deaths of children under the age of five.

USAID Intervention in the Ha Lam Commune

USAID has routinely provided donations and grants to the Vietnamese government to solve humanitarian issues. A recent project launched on March 30, 2019, is aimed at assuaging the problems perpetrated by water pollution.

The project, called the Vietnam Local Works for Environmental Health, focuses on the Ha Lam commune in the Thanh Hoa province. Small scale water supply systems are currently being entrenched in the region to provide clean water to kindergarten, primary, and secondary schools. The new infrastructure is estimated to benefit over 20,000 individuals living in this northern province.

The Ha Lam commune, however, is not the only area where children are at risk. Education institutions in other parts of Vietnam are also in need of effective water supply systems, as more than 80 percent of schools around the nation lack fully operating water sanitation facilities.

Looking Ahead

Due to the awareness and concentration on the Vietnamese water crisis, it is possible that this problem will soon be overcome. By 2025, the Vietnamese government hopes to attain the clean water standards needed to revive an unhealthy public and a feeble economic production. Specifically, the government has launched a national plan directed at hindering the open defecation that so commonly contaminates the country’s water supply.

With six years to go until Vietnam’s standard is hopefully achieved, it is imperative that this issue remain persistent in the global mind. The government and participating groups must remain resilient through the growing population and industry in Vietnam that work to destabilize existing plans. Clean water is required if the human and environmental body is to exist comfortably.

– Annie O’Connell
Photo: Flickr

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The Role of STEM in Developing Countries and Potential Benefits

Role of STEM in Developing CountriesScience, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics are important for building and maintaining the development of any successful country. From the medical scientists, who develop treatments for diseases, to the civil engineers, who design and build a nation’s infrastructure, every aspect of human life is based on the discoveries and developments of scientists and engineers. The importance of STEM today should not be underestimated as its role is becoming increasingly significant in the future. The technology produced today is altering people’s lives at a rate faster than ever before. Consequently, it is vital for countries seeking to reduce their poverty levels to adopt new scientific research and technology. In doing so, these countries can improve their economy, health care system and infrastructure. As this impacts all aspects of society, the role of STEM in developing countries is of significant importance.

STEM and Economic Progress

STEM education fosters a skill set that stresses critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. This type of skill set encourages innovation among those who possess it. Similarly, a country’s economic development and stability are dependent on its ability to invent and develop new products. Technological innovation in the modern age is only obtainable through the expertise of specialists with knowledge of recent STEM research. Therefore, the role of STEM in developing countries is important because a country’s economy is completely dependent on new developments from technology and science.

Overall, the economic performance of metropolises with higher STEM-oriented economies is superior to those with lower STEM-oriented economies. Within these metropolises, there is lower unemployment, higher incomes, higher patents per worker (a sign of innovation), and higher imports and exports of gross domestic products. According to many experts, this holds true at a national level as well. The world’s most successful countries tend to efficiently utilize the most recent scientific developments and technologies.

In recent years, there is a major increase in the number of science and engineering degrees earned in India. India now has the largest number of STEM graduates in the world, putting the country on the right track for economic development. This has led to widespread innovation in India and a consistent increase in its gross domestic product. The role of STEM in developing countries can thus improve its economy. As of early 2019, India has seen an increase of 7.7 percent in its total GDP.

STEM and Health Care

Over the past 50 years, the Western world has made remarkable progress in medical science. With new breakthroughs developed through vaccinations and treatment, many serious diseases in developing countries are now curable. Common causes of death for children in developing countries are diseases such as malaria, measles, diarrhea and pneumonia. These diseases cause a large death toll in developing countries, but they have been largely eradicated from developed countries through proper vaccinations. As a result, these diseases take a large toll on the children of developing countries. In developing countries, a high percentage of the population is under 15 years of age. As such, it is important to prevent diseases that affect children under 15.

Lately, Brazil has seen an epidemic level of yellow fever which has resulted in numerous deaths. Brazil has addressed this by implementing a mass immunization campaign. In particular, this program will deliver vaccines to around 23.8 million Brazilian citizens in 69 different municipalities. The role of STEM in developing countries with preventable diseases will be vital to improving health and life expectancy rates.

Engineering and Infrastructure

Engineers build, create and design machines and public works to address needs and improve quality of life. Engineers construct and maintain a nation’s infrastructure, such as its fundamental facilities and systems. This includes roads, waterways, electrical grids, bridges, tunnels and sewers. Infrastructure is vital to a country, as it enables, maintains and enhances societal living conditions.

Subsequently, poor infrastructure can seriously hinder a nation’s economic development. This is the case in many African countries. Africa controls only 1 percent of the global manufacturing market despite accounting for 15 percent of the world’s total population. Ultimately, poor infrastructure, such as transportation, communications and energy, stunts a country’s ability to control a larger share of the national market.

Afghanistan has improved its energy infrastructure, using a large portion of the assistance received from the U.S. Through this effort, they have been able to reduce electricity loss from 60 percent to 35 percent. Consequently, they have improved long term sustainability and created a reliable energy system for their citizens. The role of STEM in developing countries is important on a large scale, improving infrastructure to impact their citizens’ daily lives.

STEM and the Future of the World

Societies seeking new scientific knowledge and encouraging creative and technological innovations will be able to properly utilize new technologies, increase productivity, and experience long term sustained economic growth. The developing societies that succeed will be able to improve the living standards of its population. As our world becomes more interconnected, countries prioritizing STEM education and research will make significant advances in alleviating poverty and sustaining economic, cultural and societal growth. Undoubtedly, the role of STEM in developing countries is of significant importance, just as it is in our modern world.

– Randall Costa
Photo: Flickr

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How Mental Health in Developing Countries is Improving

Mental Health in Developing Countries
Due to conflict, poverty and disease, mental health is a serious issue that might not be addressed in some areas around the globe. However, six different projects in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Vietnam, Pakistan and Haiti are examples of how mental health is improving in developing countries.

Kenya: Africa Mental Health Foundation (AMHF)

In 2004, Professor David Ndetei founded AMHF in hopes to improve the mental health of underprivileged individuals in Kenya. He heavily invested in training psychiatrists in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Nairobi in order to ensure high-quality mental health care for patients. A previous project that AMHF completed was The Kenya Integrated Intervention Model For Dialogue and Screening (KIDS). This program focused on treating mental illnesses in children and adolescents and preventing further mental health problems in adulthood.

Zimbabwe: The Friendship Bench

According to facts and figures supported by The Friendship Bench, one in four Zimbabweans suffers from common mental disorders. Poverty, marital problems and HIV all play a role in rising mental illness in Zimbabwe. The Friendship Bench attempts to combat kufungisisa, kusuwisisa and moyo unorwadza, which are all Shona terms for anxiety and depression, by employing lay health workers. These workers, also known as community grandmothers, speak with patients in casual and comfortable environments, provide home visits and offer support via mobile phones and tablets.

The Friendship Bench also has a key focus in community activation. After patients complete their therapy treatments, they are referred to a post-therapy support group with others who suffer from similar disorders. The effectiveness of The Friendship Bench proves to be successful — an assessment after six months of treatment and therapy groups resulted in the prevalence of depression decreasing by 10 percent in Zimbabwe.

Uganda: Group Support Psychotherapy

Although Uganda has been acknowledged for HIV/AIDS treatment and awareness efforts in recent years, the mental health implications of being diagnosed and the stigmas surrounding these diseases need improvement. Funded by Grand Challenges Canada and conceptualized by Dr. Etheldreda Nakimuli-Mpungu, the Group Support Psychotherapy program helps treat depression in HIV/AIDS patients by implementing positive coping skills and helping patients obtain a liveable income.

The results of this program are impressive. After 6 months it was reported that an astounding 85 percent of patients claimed to have recovered from their depression. They also reported positive changes in terms of self-esteem and their ability to function in social situations.

Vietnam: Frugal Innovations – Promoting Mental Health Among Adults and Children

According to a 2011 study conducted by the World Health Organization, Vietnam ranked last among 144 low and middle-income countries on the basis of access to mental health treatment. The Frugal Innovations project, led by Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences, launched this two-year pilot program to assist low-income adults in Vietnam. Two methods were performed in this project: community health workers were trained to help those suffering from anxiety and depression and coaching via telephone to help families with children who suffer from behavioral difficulties.

The pilot program was deemed a success. With further funding, this program will expand across nine provinces in Vietnam and offer child and family-focused components of treatment. If this program continues to succeed, an estimated 4,250 Vietnamese citizens with depression will have access to treatment.

Pakistan: Family Networks for Kids (FaNS)

Family Networks for Kids, created by The Human Development Research Foundation (HDRF), helps children through mental health treatment and helps families of these children cope with the stigma and other challenges that come along with mental disorders. These treatments are technologically based, through tablets that provide interactive activities for children to complete. This technology is also beneficial for the entire family. Parents or other guardians can answer questions through an Interactive Voice Response (IVR), which helps identify developmental disorders in children. This saves time and money by families not having to visit a doctor.

An assessment of this program showed positive results from participating children. Children that finished treatments reportedly had an increase in engagement with school and societal functions and improved self-care. With further training and funding, HDRF hopes to continue the FaNS program and help an estimated 3,000 more children and adults with mental health treatment.

Haiti: Zanmi Lasante

The biggest health care provider in Haiti, Zanmi Lasante, was founded in 1983. However, mental health treatment was not a key focus of this organization until the catastrophic earthquake that occurred in 2010. Four core issues focused on the most were depression, epilepsy, psychotic disorders and mental illnesses in children and adolescents.

Mental health treatment through Zanmi Lasante is normally offered through primary care services. Traditional healers, community health workers, psychologists, social workers, nurses and physicians are all employed through the organization for mental health treatments towards patients.

Leaps and Bounds

These six projects display how much mental health has improved in developing countries. Thousands of adults and children have been diagnosed and treated with various mental disorders due to these initiatives, benefiting from the expertise of trained professionals and generous amounts of funding. Due to their successes, these projects will continue to expand and help more people in need of treatment.

– Maddison Hines
Photo: Pixabay
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How Peace Talks in Afghanistan Will Affect Poverty?

Peace Talks in Afghanistan
Afghanistan has endured war for decades with very little opportunity to rebuild and address the growing poverty rates and diminishing living conditions of its people.

In recent months, U.S. officials have begun discussions of peace talks in Afghanistan including plans to withdraw U.S. troops. The question is how will the prospects of peace under the terms that are being discussed affect poverty levels and quality of life for the Afghan citizens? Although peace is necessary for the growth of the Afghan economy, a reduction in U.S. support and funding could be detrimental to the lives of the Afghan people.

Effects of Conflict on Population

Years of conflict have had a disastrous effect on poverty in Afghanistan. According to a study from the World Bank, the number of people living below the poverty line has grown from 38.3 percent in 2012 to 55 percent in 2017, an increase of 5 million people. In addition, necessary resources such as education and employment remain inaccessible to the average Afghan citizen.

Secondary education attendance rates have dropped from 37 percent of children in 2013 to 35 percent of children attending in 2016. This decline is largely due to fewer girls attending school. Unemployment is rampant with 25 percent of the population unemployed and 80 percent of jobs qualify as insecure, meaning they consist of self or own account employment, day labor, or unpaid work. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the economy of Afghanistan is dependent upon three main factors: foreign aid, the sale of narcotics and the Taliban.

Peace Talks in Afghanistan

In order for the Afghan economy to successfully recover and improve the quality of life of its citizens, institutional changes must be made. The peace talks in Afghanistan may provide an opportunity to end the cycle of poverty in Afghanistan, but only if it is done carefully and political stability can be ensured. Peace in Afghanistan would be beneficial for the economy, allowing for the opportunity to spend less on war efforts and more on the needs of the poor. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), estimates suggest that a return to the low levels of violence that were recorded in 2004 would result in an increase in annual revenues of around 50 percent, or approximately 6 percent of GDP per year.

However, this is only the case if the peace talks in Afghanistan are successful in creating political stability. For example, in 2014, allegations of election fraud created a highly unstable political atmosphere in Afghanistan resulting in a fall in the country’s revenue and growth. An inability for the Afghan government and the Taliban to find an agreement that is suitable them both in the peace process may result in a similar instability and economic downturn.

US Aid and The Afghanistan Economy

The Afghan economy is reliant upon U.S. aid and when that aid has been cut in the past, the effects have been detrimental for the lives of the Afghan people. In 2013/2014, the U.S. reduced civil aid and withdrew a portion of its forces. In the same year, there was a 3 percent increase in the overall poverty rate, the unemployment rate for Afghan men tripled and 76 percent of rural jobs that were created in 2007/2008 were lost.

Should U.S. aid be cut in a new peace deal, the effects will not be positive for the poverty levels in Afghanistan. Peace is necessary to create substantial economic growth in Afghanistan. However, any peace talks in Afghanistan that fail to address the political instability in the country and that reduce foreign aid to the Afghan people can only result in further suffering for the country.

Success Stories

Despite the bleak realities of war and violence in Afghanistan, there have been several successful aid programs in the country that have been improving the lives of the citizens. For example, the government of Afghanistan has struggled to implement an effective police force. As a result of the UNDP’s Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA) over 150,000 Afghan police officers receive payment on time and accurately. The organization has also taken the initiative to recruit and train female police officers, resulting in 70 Police Women Councils in every province in Afghanistan. The UNDP has also funded a program to create 19  hydroelectric power plants, which are now supplying electricity to 18,606 people in Afghanistan.

Although war has ravaged Afghanistan for decades, the presence of various nongovernmental organizations and their projects to improve the lives of the citizens in combination with peace talks currently ongoing in Afghanistan that can ensure political stability and continued aid to the country have the possibility to break the cycle of poverty.

– Alina Patrick

Photo: Flickr

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Ways the World Can Foster Special Education in Refugee Camps

Special Education in refugee camps
Lack of education is a contributing factor to the cycle of poverty. The 1989 ‘Convention on the Rights of the Child’ and the 1951 ‘Refugee Convention’ emphasizes the fact that access to education is a basic human right. However, approximately half of the world’s refugee children are out of schools. Access to schooling becomes increasingly difficult when countries enter conflicts and develop refugee camps.

The United Nations passed the ‘Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’ in 2006. The declaration clearly stated disabled peoples’ right to an education. This right is only accessible in 28 percent out of 193 states, and although there are many initiatives to support special education in refugee camps, further support is needed to help refugees with disabilities obtain and maintain the education they need.

Classification of Disabilities

Disability can be categorized into two branches: mental disability and physical disability. A mental disability is any mental disorder that affects the everyday life of an individual, and examples include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, intellectual disabilities and schizophrenia. A physical disability is an impairment of the body and/or a person’s motor abilities. These are either acquired at birth or as a result of a traumatic experience and include cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy and amputations.

Obstacles Faced by Refugee Children

Special education in refugee camps is not an easy task to accomplish, and there are many obstacles that refugee children with disabilities must face in order to receive an education. The first obstacle is very simple to notice — the challenge of getting to school. In many large refugee camps, there are typically no more than a few schools that children can go to and children usually walk to school. For people with physical disabilities, transportation can pose a great problem, especially as most infrastructure is not built to accommodate disabilities. For example, an 8-year-old girl named Hayam lives in the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan and suffers from muscular dystrophy. Hayam had to take a quarter-mile walk to her school every day, and her illness made this very difficult.

Another obstacle for people with disabilities is the misunderstanding of physical and mental disabilities in many communities. In many cases, people are taught to fear and look down on people who have disabilities. There are situations in which parents of able-bodied children do not want to have students with disabilities in the same classroom as their child for fear that their child’s education will be harmed.

Furthermore, integration into schools for refugee students can be a difficult task due to political, cultural, religious or linguistic differences. It can be extremely hard for schools to deal with these differences and misconceptions if they lack necessary resources, and such status is incredibly harmful to refugee children with disabilities as it can make it very difficult for them to receive schooling. Refugees are also likely to have PTSD and other related mental disorders due to witnessed trauma, and such effects can harshly affect education if there are no treatments for mental disorders that make it difficult for children to pay attention in class or attend school at all.

Organizational Support

UNICEF and Mercy Corps helped 100 students in the Za’atari refugee camps in Jordan. The two organizations have given wheelchairs to students who have physical disabilities and cannot walk. In another part of the world, the Karen Women Organization (KWO) works in Burma to support special education in refugee camps and rights for the disabled. Not only does KWO aim to ensure increased levels of education, but the organization also aims to support and expand care to children who have disabilities and educate the community.

In 2003, the KWO started the Special Education (SE) Project that runs in every Karen refugee camp. SE Project gives instruction to teachers in the schools and families at home to fully maximize the disabled child’s well-being and reach their goal of integration into society. KWO also helps to combat the misconceptions by creating various activities and workshops for those who are able-bodied and those who are not.

A nongovernmental organization helping refugees receive mental healthcare is the International Medical Corps (IMC). The IMC knows that mental illness is a huge limiting factor for education and they work to make sure there are ways that refugee children can acquire treatment. The group works with local partners in refugee camps to create spaces to talk and provide activities for children and adolescents to develop healthy habits and create relationships. IMC connects children to local youth support and sets up sustainable mental healthcare.

An Unalienable Right

Education is an unalienable right of every person, and special education in refugee camps is crucial for enabling the most endangered people to achieve this right. It is critically important that various organizations and governments continue to build systems that support the abilities of all, especially those most vulnerable.

– Isabella Niemeyer

Photo: Flickr

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How Technology Transforms Agriculture

Technology Transforms Agriculture in Developing Countries
Smallholder farmers and their families make up to almost 75 percent of the world’s poor population. Struggling with access to health care, clean drinking water and education are just some of the daily challenges these people face. A digital technology company called Ricult is striving to improve the productivity and profitability of smallholder farmers in developing countries by solving agricultural problems with technology-based solutions. Ricult has already helped 10,000 farmers across Thailand and Pakistan and continues to prove that technology transforms agriculture in developing countries every day.

Technology Transforms Agriculture

Ricult requires farmers to enter in their geo-coordinates through their app. It then uses geospatial data streams that monitor the environment through weather, satellite, and soil analytics. This provides the farmer with valuable data such as soil conditions to ensure optimal growth.

Some of the basic problems that poor farmers face include inadequate access to weather data, no pest attack forecast, storage issues, low-profit margins and credit access. According to Usman Javaid, the CEO of Ricult, the biggest reason why microfinance institutions haven’t been able to alleviate poverty in developing markets is that they only focus on one part of the problem by providing credit.

The Work of Government of Pakistan

Providing credit is the main way the Government of Pakistan seeks to transform agriculture. The government has adopted a long-term development strategy that aims to remodel the country into an upper middle-income country by 2025. The government developed the Five Year Plan that aims to ensure national food security and reduce rural poverty by increasing productivity, competitiveness and environmental safety. Through this program, the government provides $3 billion in subsidies, grants and loans. They are also providing credit to farmers who own up to 12.5 acres of land and are facing massive irrigation costs.

Ricult as Example how Technology Transforms Agriculture

Javaid says that one of the biggest problems in developing countries is that when farmers receive cash, they will use it for anything and everything but not for agriculture. The country gives an in-kind loan of inputs delivered to the doorstep of the farmers and accompanies this with insightful and actionable agronomic data from optimal sowing times to yield forecasts. This is just one of the examples of how exactly technology transforms agriculture.

Another great component about Ricult is that it allows farmers to get paid within 48 hours. Farmers generally use a middleman who delivers produce from the farm to the markets. Middlemen often stagger payments and cost additional input. Ricult offers five times lower interest rates than middlemen. Ricult has received a $100,000 grant from the Gates Foundation and continues to transform agriculture in developing countries by making a positive impact in the lives of farmers.

A Pakistani farmer named Faraz Shah has said that the current system of informal credit was not working for the farmers. They were very upset, but Ricult has greatly improved their lives by offering credit at much cheaper prices and improving them with high-quality products. Thailand farmer BubpaWorawat said that Ricult dashboard with its color coding system lets him know in which part of his land growth is stunted so he can take immediate action unlike before when he could not personally scout the areas and he would not know about the problem until it was too late.

Ricult is only one example of how does technology transforms agriculture. Since agriculture is a prevalent way of life in less developed countries, in which most of the poor people of the world live, it is very important to develop the new ways and to use technology to help these people to be more effective in their line of work. By doing so, technology can help poor people get out of the cycle of poverty.

– Grace Klein

Photo: Flickr

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Maternal Health Program for Low-Income Families

Maternal Health Program for Low-Income Families
Since 2001, the province of Manitoba, Canada, has provided 63,000 pregnant and low-income women with cash supplements to help them take care of themselves and their families. The program is called the Healthy Baby Prenatal Benefit.

The supplements are “financial cushions” meant to provide women with the money they need to get health care, healthy food and nutritional supplements. Researchers who have worked with the program say that it has provided a blueprint for other provinces in Canada to follow. If this maternal health program for low-income families works well on a cross-country scale, it could possibly be further developed to help other countries as well.

Maternal Health Program

The money is not the most important part of this project, though. Because the cash supplement was only around $62 per month, the mothers cannot afford many things with it. However, the financial cushion encouraged women to seek healthier food, better transportation options and other things they might not splurge on.

Also, this was a gateway for ensuring that women get into prenatal care as soon as possible. Along with the stipend comes a community. There are approximately 70 prenatal and postnatal support groups across Manitoba that educate women about their future children, what they need to know during pregnancy, and other tips and tricks they may not have received otherwise. All in all, it has been a successful maternal health program for low-income families.

Impact of the Program

Women who have participated in the Healthy Baby Prenatal Benefit program said they felt like confident mothers after going to support groups and using their supplements to better their lives. The program drew inspiration from France, the country that is touted as one of the best countries in the world to raise children. Programs like the Healthy Baby Prenatal Benefit are inspiring others around the world as well.

Cambodia has set up a UNICEF funded pilot project that gives stipends to women if they follow up on their prenatal checks. It was relatively successful, which gives hope to the government and other nongovernmental organizations that funding projects like this are important in the long term. Taking care of the mother’s body while pregnant not only helps the future child but also helps the mother. It decreases the death rate among pregnant women, which can drastically change a child’s future.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 830 women die every day from preventable issues related to pregnancy and childbirth and 99 percent of those women come from developing countries. Women in rural areas are affected the most because they do not have access to adequate health care. The most interesting thing that can be concluded from these facts is that skilled care before, during and after childbirth can save the lives of women and newborn babies. This directly relates to the cash programs in countries like Canada, France and Cambodia.

Other Countries That Need Similar Programs

There are a lot of countries that could benefit from the programs such as the Healthy Baby Prenatal Benefit program and that can develop their own maternal health programs. In this article, three of such countries are listed.

Sierra Leone is the first country on the list that could improve maternal health care. There are around 1,360 deaths per every 100,000 live births in the country, which makes the situation urgent. The second on the list is Chad, a country that has approximately 856 deaths per every 100,00 live births. Children make up for 57 percent of Chad’s population and this dangerous trend could potentially leave many of them without mothers. In Nigeria, there are approximately 814 deaths per every 100,000 live births. Nigeria has looked into cash supplement programs before, but creating one specifically for pregnant women would create a great and much-needed change.

Developing countries can and should follow Canada’s example and success with a maternal health program dedicated specifically to low-income families. There is a successful blueprint in the world and it just needs to be adapted to each country that needs it.

– Miranda Garbaciak
Photo: Flickr

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Top 10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Cote d’Ivoire

Top 10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Cote d’Ivoire
When facing the prevalence of gender gap issues in the media today, the increase of eligibility for basic education, especially for young girls, has been a glaring and globally spread issue.

Over the past decade, however, Cote d’Ivoire has made extensive strides in trying to bridge this gap within the country’s borders. This West African country, although not at the forefront of the headlines, has had many successes that have been the model for many more developing girls education programs to come.

All of the top 10 facts about girls’ education in Cote d’Ivoire presented below are the result of such improvement and a true testament to the power of policymaking in the country.

Top 10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Cote d’Ivoire

  1. According to the Journal of Education and Learning, Ivory Coast’s Education for All program, whose goal is to implement compulsory education in the country, has made its focus to invest more resources towards marginalized groups including children of disadvantaged socioeconomic groups and especially girls. The success of the program depends on enabling all groups and communities to participate in education.
  2. In 2017, the gross enrollment of female students in pre-preliminary education was greater than that of male students. However, in all other levels of education, the enrollment for girls is at the lower level. On the flip side, the enrollment of girls is constantly increasing.
  3. The National Development Plan for Cote d’Ivoire (2016-2020) highlights the importance of education to the social wellbeing of the country. This plan included a new law that requires children from the ages of 6 to 16 to receive mandatory education furthering the skills of the country’s overall job force. The Plan would also enforce a greater incentive for female enrollment as they usually make up less than 10 percent of those enrolled in schools.
  4. Remarkably for developing countries, according to UNESCO, 89 percent of girls transition successfully from primary to secondary school. In comparison, percent of boys that transition is 95 percent, and the difference of 6 percent among genders is a truly noteworthy feat for the country.
  5. A recent Global Partnership for Education (GPE) grant focuses on a project that would provide and promote higher rates of girls’ education through in-service teacher training, the dissipation of learning materials and a school program with a focus on health and nutrition.
  6. In 2013, only 83.43 percent of female teachers were certified trained teachers. Today, 100 percent of all female teachers are properly trained for their jobs. Through the training of female teachers, girls are more likely to succeed in having both the trained educators and female role models to look up to.
  7. Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), notes that only about 2 percent of girls from rural areas have hope to complete secondary education. The organization has, in response to this problem, put together a program that focuses on reducing such inequalities. One of the most important goals is to facilitate the travel to school for girls who live in rural areas.
  8. In 2007, UNICEF administered 550,000 pupil kits to the targeted schools. More than 50 percent of the help is going towards girls who have little chance of going to school due to gender discrimination. This project had positive national, local radio and television message that promoted all children’s rights to education. The project has been a model for many ongoing projects today.
  9. According to UNICEF, over 72 percent of female adults are able to read. This surpasses the average for sub-Saharan Africa and has proven to have a huge impact on poverty and health in the country.
  10. Ivory Coast’s Education Sector Plan for 2016-2025 foresees quality education for all children by reducing inequalities in provided resources and opportunity based on gender. This new program promotes training in science and technology while especially increasing literacy rates for women.

Although there are many aspects that can be still be improved, the top 10 facts about girls’ education in Cote d’Ivoire presented above show that the country has made huge efforts to eradicate the gender gap in education and to enable education for everyone.

With the help of several nongovernmental organizations, the country will continue to make positive strides in the future.

– Sarah Chocron

Photo: Flickr

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Cooling in Developing Countries

Cooling in Developing Countries
Cooling in developing countries is a major problem that affects health, disease treatments and hunger.

Many developing countries do not have access to electricity and consequently do not have proper cooling systems either.

Lack of cooling makes it difficult for fresh produce to last, leading to massive food waste. An average of 23 percent of food production in developing countries is lost because of poor refrigeration.

Cooling in India

In India, around 70 percent of people do not have refrigerators. With 43 percent of rural and 13 percent of urban households not receiving enough electricity to maintain a fridge, access to cooling for the public is limited.

This makes it difficult for people to store food for long periods of time and puts more strain on women, who traditionally have to cook for their families.

A lack of refrigeration is present in the food industry as well, where only 4 percent of produce is refrigerated during transport, causing losses of $4.5 billion each year.

This poses a huge risk to India’s growing food sector, especially as it moves towards perishables and limits India’s ability to accommodate its growing food demand.

Although the country has more arable farmland than most countries, India’s domestic production is expected to meet only 59 percent of its demand in 2030.

One of the reasons for this inefficiency is because farmers cannot store their food for long periods of time, leading to around 40 percent of agriculture production to go to waste. With many farmers being considered food insecure, poor access to cooling proves to be a major roadblock in reducing hunger.

The lack of cooling is also dangerous for vaccines since 20 percent of health care products and 25 percent of vaccines are damaged due to poor cooling systems in the country.

Although air conditioning ownership has gone up from 2 million in 2006 to 5 million households in 2011, that number still only represents around 3 percent of Indian households. Restricted energy access prevents many from being able to purchase air conditioners.

Still, the Indian cooling industry is expected to grow up to 25 percent each year, showing that progress is being made for cooling in developing countries.

The government is making changes and has taken an initiative through the National Cooling Action Plan.

A major focus of the 2018 plan is household air conditioners. As more and more people purchase them, energy efficiency and environmental consciousness have become increasingly important.

The action plan discusses ways to reduce the energy intake of air conditioners so that poorer families with lower access to energy can afford to maintain them. Another approach is cool roofs that encourage using certain materials to reduce the amount of heat that gets trapped inside a building.

With cool roofs being cheaper and advantageous for India’s rising temperatures, more cities are implementing them as a viable cooling method.

The Case of Nigeria

Nigeria similarly faces rising temperatures and low access to electricity, both which contribute to unsatisfied demand for cooling devices.

Over 50 million rural and 44 million urban Nigerians do not have adequate access to electricity and, consequently, refrigeration. Restricted cold food storage continues to the agriculture sector, where 36.7 percent of production goes to waste due to a lack of cooling.

With food and vaccines at risk of spoiling, Nigeria’s defense against hunger and disease is impaired. Nigeria’s history of disease outbreaks and high rates of poverty make this issue critical.

In response to these potential and immediate effects of the lack of cooling, the first National Food Safety Policy was adopted in 2013. One of its goals is to reduce food waste, which it addressed through improving cold chain efficiency.

Corresponding to the goals set in the policy, the Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport Program (NEXTT) works towards economic development in Nigeria. In order to expand trade, NEXTT analyzes the inefficiencies in Nigeria’s existing cold chain.

Through projects like these, cooling in developing countries is making progress.

Cooling in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, cooling is especially important for almost 50 percent of the population that are farmers. While many of them farm mainly for their own families, they do sell any surplus.

However, their sales are limited by how long their product lasts without a refrigerator, causing around 50 percent of production to spoil before being sold.

A Bangladeshi food company, Golden Harvest, dealt with this problem firsthand when most of the food they bought from farmers was spoiled. As a result, their own perishable products were unable to sell because of the unreliability of local farmers.

In response, they partnered with USAID to establish the first integrated cold chain system in Bangladesh. USAID helped to provide farmers with education related to maximizing their yields and gave technical assistance with Golden Harvest’s projects.

Golden Harvest has since invested in numerous refrigerated trucks, freezers and cold storage units. As the company grows, it continues to provide a foundation for the cold chain in Bangladesh.

Cooling in developing countries is no doubt urgent issue, especially with rising global temperatures.

Food insecurity, vaccine distribution and poverty are all exacerbated by poor cooling systems.

For many countries, access to refrigeration is vital to the advancement of their respective food industries, especially as the total population constantly increases in those countries.

Still, numerous projects are implemented towards improving the issue of low access to cooling in developing countries, showing hope that the situation will soon be resolved.

– Massarath Fatima
Photo: Pixabay