Archive for category: Developing Countries

Information and stories about developing countries.

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Find the Good, Tell the People

Find the Good, Tell the People
First person to create a Snapchat story inside The White House. Professional at sixteen. Good News Storyteller. Find the good, tell the people.

These are just a few ways of describing the positive power that is Branden Harvey, a twenty-something-year-old from the Northwest on a mission to find the good in the world and tell it to anyone who will listen. There are plenty of devastating facts and statistics that have their place and often inspire people to action, but what effect, Harvey wondered, will the good news have?

In an interview by Isabel Thottam of Moment, Harvey begged the question, “What if we just didn’t say bad things? What if we went out and created things in the world that are only filled with good?”

This talented, driven professional has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry: Disney, Skype, Paramount, Sony and more. He learned from some of the greatest photographers and turned this passion into his main source of income.

But somewhere along the way, passion started to fade. He realized what was missing when he discovered his desire to be a storyteller. Through a podcast, weekly newsletter, Instagram, Snapchat and global travel, Harvey is accomplishing what he set out to do: find the good, tell the people.

Harvey’s travel has taken him to Africa several times, and here he has worked with a non-profit called These Numbers Have Faces. This organization believes “educated, empowered, and community driven young people are the best vehicles for social change.” They pay for the brightest students of Africa to attend university on the condition that they will stay on the continent after receiving their education.

Harvey told Mashable in an interview that he is thankful for the CEO of These Numbers Have Faces, Justin Zoradi, because “he doesn’t see Africa as full of problems, but full of potential.”

Harvey’s desire to find potential instead of problems is manifested in his weekly newsletter. He works to deliver five relevant pieces of news in the midst of seemingly hopeless situations such as natural disasters and this presidential election.

Tapping even further into his storyteller roots, “Sounds Good with Branden Harvey” is a weekly podcast where Harvey sits down with some of the happiest people in the world to discover “what makes them tick” and where they find the good amongst the bad.

Harvey recently interviewed award-winning Australian photographer Nirrimi Firebrace, conversing about what it means to remain honest while searching for the positive. Firebrace explained that vulnerability in her work has been met with a lot of hate. The good news, though, is that the people who appreciate her genuineness only lean in closer to keep hearing the narratives she has to tell.

In writing his own narrative and traveling to Rwanda, Uganda, the Philippines and beyond, Harvey has seen plenty of the bad. He told Moment when discussing the people he met who had been pushed into crime and women who had lost their children, “these are all terrible situations, yet I see good come from them. Good comes from people who rise out of poverty.”

Harvey connects with the people he meets in these countries by learning their language, pulling out his phone before his camera and only going where he is invited. All of these together allow him to connect with the people he meets and tell their stories from an honest and engaging perspective. He says, “I won’t share a photo if I don’t know their name because I’d be taking from them without knowing anything about them. It’s about adding value.”

Harvey urges those with an eye for the good news to share what they see with others. People are searching for it, explicitly or not, and if we focus on the good, consider how much more there could be. “For the people who can see that, pay attention and share that in a way that feels creative and compelling to you.”

Branden Harvey is working hard to find what is good and shout it from the rooftops. And some of the best news? The world is listening.

– Rebecca Causey

Photo: Flickr

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African Development Bank: Youth and Women Support in Sahel

African Development Bank Embarks on Youth and Women Support in Sahel
The African Development Bank has been ardent in their commitment to support women’s empowerment and employment opportunities for youth in Sahel. Alberic Kacou, vice president for Corporate Services and Human Resources at the African Development Bank, noted that the prevailing global economic challenges were a harbinger for African countries to diversify their economies and reduce poverty during a recent speech.

Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA)

The African Development Bank launched the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA). This program will invest $300 million in funded support for women. There is also an additional $3 billion to support African countries with women involved in business. Women will have an opportunity to empower themselves and create an independent path for other young African girls to pursue.

Jobs for Youth in Africa

In collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the African Development Bank launched the Jobs for Youth in Africa program to put an end to youth unemployment by creating 8 million agribusiness jobs within a five-year span.

The program will stimulate the creation of 25 million jobs within the next ten years. A total of $3 billion will be used to fund young entrepreneurs in Africa and facilitate the enhancement of skills to better network youths with industrial development.

Program Offers Youth Training

The training centers and facilities provided by the African Development Bank and the IITA will assist African youths to tackle work in the agricultural sector. The initiative also seeks to encourage unemployed African youths to become involved in agriculture in order to make it a catalyst for development in Africa.

Second Strategy in Effect

Akinwumi Adesina presented five development priorities for the institution in September 2015. The “Feed Africa” initiative is aimed to amplify job creation and make the agriculture sector a lucrative industry. The African Development Bank plans to reduce Africa’s imported food dependency by 2025.

The Benefit of Farmers

Another solution to improve the agricultural sector in Africa is to support local farmers by forming partnerships in the production of goods and reduce the amount of food being imported. This will enable the country to “feed itself” and decrease the high levels of youth unemployment. The removal of regional trade barriers will help to maximize Africa’s agricultural potential in food production.

These dynamic programs created by the African Development Bank will prove influential towards the welfare and positive development of African communities for youth and women.

– Shanique Wright

Photo: Flickr

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What is Food Aid Reform?

Food Aid Reform
In February 2015, the Food for Peace Reform Act was reintroduced and pitched as something that could “free up as much as $440 million annually” by making the delivery of aid to foreign nations much more efficient. While this is impressive and exciting news, it prompted many to ask the question: “What is food aid reform?”

To answer this question, it’s important to first understand the way U.S. food aid functions. Following World War II, the U.S. launched a food aid program intended to combat world hunger by taking any surplus in U.S. grain and shipping it overseas.

This program had very good intentions, and it has made an incredible impact for many people living in areas rife with humanitarian or natural crises. However, many agree that it is now time for this program to be modernized.

One of the main problems with the current food aid program is that the current law requires the government to purchase its donated food from American producers and ship food aid out on American ships. This law prevents food aid programs from cutting out the middlemen and simply purchasing food from the regions that it would be delivered to.

In the vast majority of cases, that means that the country receiving aid is given less food. Not only is this hitch in the food aid program bad for the people receiving aid, but it also adds an unnecessary extra cost to the program. A study done in 2009 by the Government Accountability Office discovered that it costs 34 percent less to buy food in Sub-Saharan Africa than to have it shipped there.

Additionally, an estimate given by the U.S. Agency for International Development states that purchasing food within the region could provide starving populations with food 11 to 14 weeks sooner than they would otherwise receive it.

So, what is food aid reform? Food aid reform is an initiative to fix some of the most pertinent problems regarding how U.S. foreign aid functions. By changing some of the laws that hinder food aid reform, this program can become timelier, more efficient and more beneficial to those who depend on it.

– Jordan Little

Photo: Flickr

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Masood Ahmed Named as the New CGD President

Masood Ahmed Named as the New CGD President
Representatives confirmed on Sept. 6, 2016, that Masood Ahmed would begin serving as the new Center for Global Development (CGD) president in early 2017. Current President Nancy Birdstall announced the end of her 15-year tenure with the organization last November. Now that the CGD has found an equally accomplished replacement, she is thrilled to welcome a leader of Ahmed’s caliber to the team.

The CGD works to change practice and policy in wealthy nations in a way that alleviates global poverty. Per the organization’s website, “We are a policy crucible where world-class scholars use independent, rigorous research to develop new knowledge and practical solutions.”

Because the organization has a proven track record of influencing developmental policy worldwide, finding a new CGD president with global reach was paramount. After conducting an intensive search, the selection committee chose Ahmed for his impressive record of service for the world’s poor.

Here are five facts about Masood Ahmed’s career that will position him for success as the new CGD president:

  1. Ahmed has multiple degrees from the London School of Economics (LSE).
    LSE is one of the world’s leading universities. Students and faculty alike regularly produce groundbreaking research in social sciences, economics, politics, sociology, anthropology, accounting and finance. The institution boasts a roster of top researchers and Nobel Prize winners. Ahmed excelled to such a degree that he took a position as lecturer at LSE after completing his postgraduate work.
  2. He has held senior positions within the World Bank.
    In 1983, Ahmed began working with the World Bank, which provides low-interest loans to aid programs in developing nations. Over the course of his career with the organization, he carried out emergency response, water management, flood protection and hydropower projects in nations across the globe. He also led the HIPC Debt Initiative, which provided 36 developing nations with $76 billion in funding since its inception in 1996.
  3. He redefined International Monetary Fund policies.
    Most notable of all, perhaps, is Ahmed’s extensive work with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The organization is a collaborative effort among 189 member countries. Like the World Bank, IMF focuses on poverty reduction by way of strategic funding and the creation of financial stability in developing nations.
    Ahmed joined IMF in 2000 to serve as deputy director of the Strategy, Policy and Review Department. In that seat, which he held for three years, he oversaw the organization’s conditionality guidelines. In 2005, he played an instrumental role in redrafting those guidelines for the first time in 32 years. Such guidelines focus on internal evaluations of how funds are appropriated. These principles also set up safeguards that ensure all IMF funds are repaid once recipient nations reach financial stability.
  4. Ahmed took on global poverty from a government seat.
    Between 2003 and 2006, Ahmed served as director general for Policy and International Development of the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID). This branch of the British government is the driving force behind the United Kingdom’s global development efforts.
    DFID directors are tasked with ensuring that the U.K. cooperates to the fullest extent with U.N. development goals, enhancing the efficacy of British foreign aid by increasing transparency and improving international development policy.
  5. He led developmental efforts in the Middle East and Central Asia as an IMF director.
    Ahmed’s current position, which he has held since November 2008, is IMF director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department. Christine Lagarde, IMF managing director, said that Ahmed has been a “visionary leader” in overseeing operations in the region. He will vacate this post in 2017.

Over the course of a brilliant career, the new CGD president has helped create meaningful, sustainable change in the developing world by working with some of the most influential agencies on Earth. The upward mobility of his career is indicative of a mind people trust and a voice those working for the world’s poor want to hear.

“CGD occupies a prime position in the development, policy and research worlds; in my career these have also been my worlds,” Ahmed said. While serving as the new CGD president, Ahmed will flex strategic muscles built by a lifetime of outstanding global service.

– Madeline Distasio

Photo: Flickr

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OpenMRS: Open Source Health Database for sub-Saharan Africa

Health DatabaseIn Sub-Saharan Africa, nearly one in every 25 people lives with HIV. With a population of around 1 billion people, this number is astounding. In fact, according to the WHO, those living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa account for nearly 70 percent of the population of HIV carriers around the entire world. There is no question that a health database would be invaluable for tracking HIV and other diseases in this region.

HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa

Although the prevalence of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa has been declining since 2000 due to prevention education and treatment programs, but it is a slow process. And where these programs are lacking, infection rates tend to rise.

Without the proper information regarding how to protect oneself, HIV can be spread easily throughout a population. Unfortunately, HIV prevalence can only currently be reduced through prevention education and treatment programs due to the nature of the virus.

HIV or Human Immunodeficiency Virus gradually attacks the body’s ability to fight infections and diseases. With this symptom comes a serious need for medical assistance. Regrettably, medical assistance in Sub-Saharan Africa is limited in terms of accessibility and effectiveness.

One doctor, Judy Gichoya, saw how difficult it was for medical personnel to treat patients in Sub-Saharan Africa, mostly due to a lack of proper patient information. When patients come for medical help, doctors had very little idea of what the patient had received in terms of previous medical assistance and what they currently needed.

Essentially, without an efficient system for storing patient information, doctors have to dedicate more time to diagnosis and learning clerical information about the patient rather than giving treatment.

OpenMRS

As a result, Gichoya joined a group of others who noticed the same issue and were working to fix it. From here, OpenMRS was born. OpenMRS is a software platform for an open source health database well as a reference application that allows users to create a system of medical records to fit the specific needs of a hospital or health center.

According to the OpenMRS website, no knowledge of programming is necessary to use the software successfully. It is secure, easy to use, summarizes information without difficulty and allows many computers to access a server at the same time. This accessibility allows an ease of adoption and hopefully a reduction in unnecessary effort, allowing more time to be focused on patient treatment.

Aiding a Variety of Groups

Currently, OpenMRS is being used in developing countries including South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and others. The software is currently used by non-profits, government aid groups, for-profit groups and NGO’s. This is where OpenMRS’s open source origins shine. Its ability to be modified allows it to be changed for every specific need of each user and could even potentially allow it to be used in a variety of fields.

So far, the wide adoption of the health database created with OpenMRS shows that it is not only usable but also effective. Open source technology is becoming very prevalent and it seems to be the perfect format for technology destined to help those in poverty around the world. Hopefully, this trend continues and great minds keep working on technology, improving it and making it more accessible to those in need like those who struggle with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa.

– Weston Northrop

Photo: Flickr

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Education and Improving Sanitation in Developing Countries

Sanitation in Developing Countries
Sanitation in developing countries is a very pressing issue. Globally, almost 2.5 billion people live without proper sanitation and almost 1 billion of these people practice open defecation. Poor sanitation not only leads to the rapid spread of disease, but can also affect education and the environment.

Though improper sanitation affects both rural and urban communities, open defecation is more common in rural communities, often resulting from traditional beliefs or a lack of education.

While traditional beliefs are important, some beliefs can be damaging in terms of sanitation. For instance, some communities in Madagascar believe that using an outhouse can cause an expecting mother to lose her child. There is also a common belief that defecating in the ground is disrespectful to those who have died and been buried.

These myths create an environment where poor sanitation practices like open defecation are commonplace. Unfortunately, these practices can lead to contaminated food and water sources. Consuming contaminated food or water causes high rates of bacterial diarrhea, which is the second largest killer of children under the age of five in the world.

To fight the effects of beliefs that lead to poor sanitation in developing countries, education programs must be implemented. In fact, in addition to avoiding deaths due to diarrhea, communities benefit in multiple ways from hygiene and sanitation education.

According to the World Health Organization, when educated about the link between sanitation, hygiene, health and economic development, communities have a higher demand for improved sanitation facilities. Additionally, when children are not sick from consuming contaminated food or water, they are able to attend school more often and focus on their studies.

For children in developing countries, every moment of schooling can have a large impact. It has even been found that one additional year of schooling can increase a woman’s income potential by up to 20 percent in developing countries.

Yet in order for education effectively improve sanitation in developing countries, it must be implemented correctly. Education has the largest impact on children, and they can take hygiene practices home and show them to their family members. When children eventually grow up to be parents, they can raise their children with the hygiene practices instilled in them.

Education is even possible in illiterate communities. One organization offers sanitation education in the form of puppet shows.

Global sanitation has a lot of room for improvement, but by implementing simple yet effective hygiene and sanitation education programs, the world could take an important step forward in the fight against not only poor sanitation in developing countries, but global poverty as a whole as well.

– Weston Northrop

Photo: Flickr

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The Top 10 Diseases in Afghanistan and their Treatment

Diseases _AfghanistanAfghanistan is the 15th least developed country in the world, where thousands of people die each year from preventable diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) uses age-adjusted rates to compare these diseases and see which ones cause the most deaths. Age-adjusted rates are the rates/dates that would have existed if the population under study had the same age distribution as the “standard” population. Based upon this data, the following are the top 10 diseases in Afghanistan:

  1. Coronary Heart Disease: A disease in which a plaque builds up in the coronary artery and blocks oxygen-rich blood from reaching the heart muscle.
    Based on an age-standardized death rate taken in 2014, coronary heart disease ranks number one of the top diseases in Afghanistan taking thousands of lives each year. Of all the deaths in Afghanistan according to the 2014 data, coronary heart disease accounted for a little more than 9 percent. The age adjusted death rate for this disease calculates to 193.21 per 100,000 people ranking Afghanistan twentieth in the world.
  2. Pneumonia: Lung inflammation caused by bacterial or viral infection.
    Influenza: Also known as the “common flu.”
    According to data recorded in 2014, deaths caused by influenza or pneumonia totaled 28,841 people. The age-adjusted death rate is 97.78 per 100,000 people making it the second most prominent disease in Afghanistan. Unfortunately 72 percent of children who suffer from pneumonia are unable to reach the necessary care of a doctor.
  3. Tuberculosis: a bacterial disease caused by growth of nodules in the tissues.
    The age-adjusted death rate for tuberculosis as of 2014 is 70.41 per 100,000 people. This ranks Afghanistan number 13 in the world regarding mortalities from tuberculosis. Early treatment and proper diagnosis needed to cure tuberculosis and therefore upwards of 13,000 Afghans die each year from the preventable diseases in Afghanistan.
  4. Diarrheal Diseases: Loose bowel movements that often cause dehydration.
    In 2014, 15,977 people or 7.10 percent of the population died because of diarrhoeal diseases. This often can be prevented by drinking safe, clean water and access to adequate sanitation which many Afghans cannot accomplish. Only 48 percent of those with a diarrhoeal disease receive the proper rehydration needed to survive. With many diseases causing early childhood deaths, diarrheal diseases account for 25 percent of them.
  5. Diabetes Mellitus: The most common form of diabetes.
    In 2015 there were 935,800 cases of diabetes in Afghanistan and 19,698 deaths. The age adjusted death rate for tuberculosis as of 2014 ranks diabetes mellitus in Afghanistan number 71 in the world regarding mortalities.
  6. Lung Disease: A problem with the lungs that prevents the lungs from working properly.
    Lung disease caused 2,874 deaths according to data recorded in 2014. The age adjusted death rate is recorded as 27.77 per 100,00 people ranking Afghanistan number 43 in the world regarding lung disease mortalities.
  7. Rheumatic Heart Disease: The age adjusted death rate for this heart disease is 27.57 per 100,000 people as published by data in 2014. Rheumatic heart disease is a condition in which heart valves are damaged (caused by the rheumatic fever). The rheumatic fever is a disease caused by untreated strep throat or scarlet fever.
  8. Hypertension: Abnormally high blood pressure.
    The age adjusted death rate ranks hypertension in Afghanistan at 25th in the world for deaths from hypertension. Without the proper access to professionals and doctors, diagnosing then implementing a way to fix hypertension is extremely difficult.
  9. Breast Cancer: A group of cancer cells that begin in the breast and often spread to other parts of the body.
    One in eight Afghan women are affected by breast cancer. According to the Minister of Public Health Affairs, “[Breast cancer] is not a fatal disease if we seek treatments.” However, the age adjusted death rate of breast cancer ranks Afghanistan number 20 in the world.
  10. Liver Disease: Some type of damage or disease to the liver.
    One of the most serious liver diseases in Afghanistan is hepatitis or inflammation of the liver. In 2013, almost 30,000 cases of viral hepatitis were diagnosed. The WHO is dedicated to fighting the “silent killer” by raising awareness and providing cures.

While deadly, the top 10 diseases in Afghanistan are treatable with the proper awareness and care.

– Casey Marx

Photo: Flickr

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UK Makes Girls’ Education a Priority

Education for Girls in Developing Countries
The U.K. has recently pledged to put £100 million towards education for girls in developing countries.

The initiative was announced at the Girls Education Forum in London, with a particular focus on the role that technology will play in reducing the number of girls unable to attend schools around the world. According to the BBC, the initiative will be dispersed mainly across sub-Saharan Africa and will provide for smartcards (to monitor attendance and incentivize families) and satellite broadband (for internet connectivity in more rural areas).

Education’s Effects

The chair of the Global Partnership for Education, Julia Gillard, praised the initiative to the BBC and said, “When we educate girls, we see reduced child deaths, healthier children and mothers, fewer child marriages and faster economic growth.”

The pledge comes as a follow-up to Britain’s Girls Education Challenge. The challenge, launched in 2012, aims to give £300 million to 37 projects in 18 countries to ensure that girls in developing countries have access to the education they need to rise up out of poverty.

Education for girls in developing countries is important for a variety of reasons. Aside from the moral obligation to give girls the opportunity to take advantage of their right to an education, educating women and girls has proven economic and sociological impacts.

Female Empowerment

According to UNICEF, gross domestic product per capita increases with the enrollment of girls in primary school. Educated girls also learn the skills they need to make healthier life decisions, both for themselves and for their future families. Mothers are also much more likely to send their daughters to school if they too received an education, so providing girls with schooling increases the prospects of future generations.

This pledge comes on the heels of a similar initiative to increase access to education for girls: the iMlango program. Since its inception, the program has provided Android tablets, broadband internet, and interactive learning tools to 195 schools in Kenya.

IMlango has been touted as a success, increasing attendance in schools by 15%, and officials hope that the new initiative will create similar results. Girls across the world depend on organizations and programs such as these to boost not only their education, but their quality of life as well; thankfully, it seems that these females are in very capable hands.

– Sabrina Santos

Photo: Pixabay

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Educating Women in Developing Countries

Education Women in Poverty

Educating women is a powerful weapon in fighting global poverty. But those living in developing countries may not reach their full potential because they often do not receive a proper education.

Currently, females are underrepresented both in school enrollment and attendance in developing countries.

According to the book “Deprived Devis: Women’s Unequal Status in Society,” “The evidence is overwhelming that education improves health and productivity and that the poorest people gain most. When schools open their doors wider to girls and women, the benefits multiply.”

There are several indicators that reveal important patterns and trends in women’s education in developing countries, such as measures of literacy, enrollment status and years spent in school. The World Bank says, “Each of these indicators leads to the same conclusions: the level of female education is low in the poorest countries, with just a handful of exceptions, and by any measure, the gender gap is the largest in these countries.”

Literacy Rates
Literacy is one of the dominant objectives of education around the world. The ability to read and write is a human right; nonetheless, the literacy rates remain low among women, especially in developing countries.

Primary School Enrollment
UNICEF says that low adult literacy rates are a result of past under-investment in the education of women, specifically referring to primary school.

Dropout Rates and Years of Schooling
According to the World Bank, “Gross enrollment rates, which are usually reported for all primary and secondary classes, tend to mask some other important measures of educational progress. These include how many of the students remain in school, how many are promoted to the next grade, and how many complete each cycle.”

Secondary School Enrollment
Female enrollment at the secondary level has remained low in the developing world. Many women drop out during primary school or do not have access to the resources they need in order to attend secondary school.

Teachers Training
The lack of access to education in developing countries can also be blamed on the decline in teacher training. This diminution is due to the shortage of teachers in low-income countries. There are not enough resources to train individuals for this role.

Poverty
Poverty is also considered a major contributor. “If a family has limited funds and has to be selective on whom to send to school, more often than not, it is going to be the men,” according to UNICEF.

Cultural Practices
The machismo ideology still prevails in some developing countries — and adverse cultural practices also contribute to the lack of access to education. Females are more likely to stay home and learn how to be housewives and mothers.

Recently, a UNICEF spokesperson emphasized that “females are often shackled by gender roles and outdated traditions, with male privilege and entitlement ensuring that when educational opportunities are limited, men will take available classroom space. Gender roles and traditions that keep girls from school contribute an additional barrier to universal education: illiterate mothers.”

The speaker also added that UNICEF ensures children have access to a rights-based, quality education that is rooted in gender equality because it creates a ripple effect of opportunity that impacts future generations.

The United Nations identified the importance of universal education during the establishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In order to meet the goals, the World Bank said that “developing countries need to focus more on improving female enrollment and attendance of secondary and tertiary education as well as continuing efforts to improve women’s access to primary education.”

The U.N. recognizes three social benefits of providing females with education: better health care for women and their families, better maternal and infant health and outcomes, and finally, access to better jobs that help families and countries prosper. UNICEF adds that “All of these occurrences are imperative to global development, and they can be accomplished by educating females in developing countries.”

– Isabella Rölz

Sources: Google Books, The World Bank, UNGEI, UNICEF, United Nations
Photo: Women Thrive

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American Academy of Pediatrics: Remember the Children

American Academy of Pediatrics Asks UN to Remember The Children
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) wrote an open letter to the U.N. last month to ensure that all children be counted in the post-2015 global development agenda.

The letter, entitled “All Children Count But Not All Children Are Counted,” was addressed to the U.N. Statistical Commission and Inter-Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Indicators. It included two recommendations in response to the “leave no one behind” item of the post-2015 agenda:

  1. Ensure that children living outside of households and/or without parental care are represented in disaggregated data.
  2. Improve and expand data collection methodologies to ensure all children are represented.

The AAP argues that there is limited data on the number of children living in developing countries and that they should be represented in all data and estimates.

Today, many children in developing countries are born into conditions that pose many risks to their health and well-being, giving them a small chance for survival. About 29,000 children under the age of five die every day (that’s 21 each minute), mainly from preventable causes, according to UNICEF.

Lack of representation in data and estimates of hard-to-reach areas could further complicate the situations of vulnerable children as it would prevent them from getting the solutions they need.

According to the AAP, the children that are most at risk are those without parental care because of trafficking, conflict, disaster or armed group recruitment. Given the current state of international conflict and disaster, the risk of children not being counted has increased especially with the Syrian refugees.

UNICEF has also taken notice of the elevated risk and has requested $624 million to give water and school supplies for almost 500,000 children (2.6 million people total) that have been affected by the Syrian refugee crisis.

With its letter, the AAP addresses a critical issue that we are being faced with now: protecting children around the world. Children in suffering countries, who are incapable of protecting themselves, deserve our attention.

“Indeed, all children count, but not all children are counted,” AAP said.

– Ashley Tressel

Sources: AAP Publications, Lumos, UNICEF 1, UNICEF 2
Photo: Flickr