Archive for category: Developing Countries

Information and stories about developing countries.

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Access to Education in Rural Zambia


In the year 2011, Zambia moved up in income status with a reclassification from a low-income country to a middle-income country. The reclassification stems from improvements in Zambia’s economic and social structures. Zambia has made strides in the education realm in particular, with high primary school education completion rates. However, due to geographical barriers and higher rates of poverty, access to education in rural Zambia does not see the same equality as other parts of the country. Acknowledging the role of education in poverty reduction, it is imperative to improve access to education in rural Zambia.

School Completion in Zambia

A point of pride for Zambia is its national primary school completion rate, which stands at 91.8%. However, when comparing the national primary school completion rate with semi-urban or rural regions, regional discrepancies become apparent. In Zambia’s northern region, comprising mostly of rural areas, this rate stands at 81.3%, indicating clear geographic disparities in completion rates.

Despite high national primary school completion rates, just 67% of students go on to attend high school. Barriers to high school attendance include a lack of secondary schools “to accommodate all primary school graduates.” Additionally, school fees are necessary from eighth grade upward, which many impoverished families cannot afford.

Poverty and Access to Education in Rural Zambia

For students living in rural areas, the long distance to educational establishments presents an additional barrier. In fact, rural Zambia faces the most obstacles in keeping children in school because there are few schools, often far from students’ homes. Most rural Zambians cannot afford the costs of transportation to schools because rural areas face a higher rate of poverty.

Furthermore, impoverished families struggle to afford the costs of school fees. According to the World Bank, the poverty rate in rural Zambia stood at 76.7% in 2015 while the urban rate stood at 23.4%. The World Bank also estimates that about 75% of Zambia’s impoverished reside in rural regions.

This has far-reaching impacts. Children who do not go to school often end up in child labor in order to contribute to household income. Furthermore, parents marry off their young girls to ease the economic burden on the family. Access to education in rural Zambia will lower both child labor and child marriage rates while providing a pathway out of poverty.

In order to improve access to education in rural Zambia, the most significant barrier to education, poverty, must stand as a priority in aid efforts. In order to keep more children in school in Zambia, geographical location and financial means must not stand as barriers to education.

CAMFED Zambia Takes Action

CAMFED Zambia began in 2011, initially working in Zambia’s rural areas, such as the northern region. In particular, girls in rural areas face a higher rate of exclusion from education. Thus, CAMFED Zambia “empowers the most marginalized girls in rural Zambia to attain a full secondary school education.” With CAMFED’s efforts, the female students it supports “achieve a completion rate of 96% and a progression rate of 98%.”

CAMFED also supports the education of other marginalized children. Since its beginnings, CAMFED Zambia has helped more than 400,000 children obtain primary and secondary education through donor support. “CAMFED provides holistic support” in the form of “school or exam fees, uniforms, sanitary wear, books, pens, bikes, boarding fees or disability aids” to ensure children remain in school.

Efforts to improve access to education in rural Zambia ensure that children gain the knowledge and skills to rise out of poverty. With an education, these children are able to secure higher-paying, skilled jobs, enabling them to contribute to growing Zambia’s economy overall.

– Hariana Sethi
Photo: Flickr

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Nome Rotary Club Feeds the Maasai Mara

the Maasai Mara
In the first week of November 2021, the Rotary Club of Nome, Alaska, provided a month’s worth of food resources to the Maasai Mara village of Nkorkorri, Kenya. One of Africa’s most recognizable tribes, the Maasai Mara faced devastation due to COVID-19 restrictions on tourism. The project to assist Nkorkorri village stands as part of the Rotary Club of Nome’s 75-year-long commitment to humanitarianism.

Background Story

It all began in 2018 when Nome Rotary member Marcy O’Neil traveled to Kenya in collaboration with the ME to WE Foundation to provide eye care to patients of the Kishon Health Centre in Narok. The ME to WE Foundation is an enterprise of WE Charity, an organization that partners with communities around the world to create sustainable solutions to poverty, such as supporting small farms, funding education and building hospitals.

During her time in Kenya, O’Neil worked alongside several Maasai warriors whom she kept in touch with after returning to Alaska. In an interview with The Borgen Project, O’Neil explained that “once [COVID-19] shut the world down and tourism came to a halt, most Maasai men who supported their families through tour guiding lost their jobs and income.” Compounding the Maasai’s troubles, Kenya is enduring a severe drought, leading to higher food insecurity rates in villages and starving livestock. “Over the past couple months, two of my Maasai friends reached out to our group that worked with them back in 2018 to see if we could find ways to help their villages,” O’Neil said.

O’Neil worked with Benson Leparan Sankuya of Nkorkorri village to calculate the funds needed to feed 450 people for one month. After finalizing the details, O’Neil made a formal proposal to the Rotary Club of Nome at the club’s November 6, 2021 meeting. The club of 25 Rotarians voted unanimously to approve the project, combining a club donation with two individual member donations.

The Maasai Mara

The Maasai Mara people are semi-nomadic cattle herders native to the Maasai Mara region of Narok, Kenya. Historically, cattle husbandry met all of the Maasai Mara’s needs, but in recent years, wildlife conservation, privatization and commercial development have led to the displacement of the Maasai, among other impacts. A drastic reduction in herd sizes means the Masaai can no longer solely rely on “the cattle economy,” but instead, must look to farming practices or economic endeavors in the tourism industry.

The Maasai Mara National Park is a world-famous destination for wildlife enthusiasts. International visits to Kenya totaled 2 million in 2019, however, the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the country’s billion-dollar tourism industry, which endured an estimated loss of at least 80 billion Kenyan shillings (about $752 million). In addition, the livestock industry plummeted when pandemic restrictions called for the closure of cattle markets and slaughterhouses, putting intense strain on traditional livelihoods. The combination of factors left tens of thousands of the Maasai Mara without income or food security.

Assisting the Maasai

A collective of 15 nature conservancies located in and around the Maasai Mara National Park helps nearby communities sustainably manage and protect Kenya’s wildlife. During the pandemic, when income from foreign visitors came to a halt, officials at the Nashulai Masaai Conservancy looked to counteract food insecurity through crowdfunding to provide weekly food rations to at-risk Maasai families.

Aiming to decrease the area’s economic dependency on the tourist industry, the conservancy began training Maasai people in beekeeping and farming to increase both food security and income. The conservancy also trained women to make soaps, sanitizers and sanitary pads to sell as local markets.

Whether an organization is small or large, working on-site or helping from afar, humanitarian service projects provide life-saving support to the most vulnerable people. The Rotary Club of Nome President Adam Lust tells The Borgen Project that his hope is for the club’s service to the Nkorkorri village of Maasai Mara to develop into a long-term endeavor. Nevertheless, as it stands, the club of just 25 people has helped reduce the detriments of poverty by providing sustenance to an entire community.

– Jenny Rice
Photo: Flickr

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Modi’s Infrastructure Plan to Reduce Poverty in India

Reduce Poverty in India
In August 2021, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will spend $1.35 trillion to improve the country’s infrastructure. The infrastructure plan called “Gati Shakti” will create jobs that can potentially reduce poverty in India by increasing household income across the nation and improving the economy at large. The plan also intends to expand the “use of cleaner fuels to achieve the country’s climate goals.”

The Gati Shakti Plan

The specifics of India’s Gati Shakti plan were not immediately announced, but amid the country’s economic decline and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Modi claims the plan will increase India’s economic output, which decreased by more than 7% in 2020. Specifically, “the plan will help local manufacturers compete globally and create new avenues of future economic growth.” In addition, Gati Shakti will help India “become energy independent by 2047,” by transitioning to “a gas-based economy” and developing India into “a hub for hydrogen production.”

How Better Infrastructure Can Reduce Poverty in India

Studies show a clear link between improved infrastructure and poverty reduction. Better infrastructure may help reduce poverty in India in a variety of ways. Improved infrastructure has the ability to increase economic activity in the country by minimizing “production and transaction costs” and increasing “agricultural and industrial productivity.”

Infrastructure leads to job creation due to the demand for labor in both the development process and the ongoing management and maintenance of the infrastructure. Therefore, impoverished and disadvantaged people can participate in an economy that they once had no place in.

Even though income-related aspects of poverty are at the forefront of the issues better infrastructure addresses, better infrastructure also has non-income advantages, including “health, nutrition, education and social cohesion.” These aspects improve the quality of life for people across the nation. Overall, better infrastructure has the potential to contribute to reaching the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

How Infrastructure Improvements Contribute to SDGs

  1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger. Malnutrition and food insecurity are significant problems in India, with more than 200 million citizens lacking “sufficient access to food.” Modern infrastructure can help improve people’s access to food by promoting better productivity (particularly among farmers) and by helping to decrease production costs. Decreased production costs can drive prices of food products down, making them more accessible to the impoverished.
  2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being. Adequate health infrastructure means more people will have access to health care services, especially impoverished people in remote locations. Better health infrastructure will increase the number of in-hospital births, which will reduce both the infant mortality rate and the maternal mortality rate. This reduction will come as a result of the presence of skilled birth attendants and access to hospital equipment in case of emergencies. India’s current infant mortality rate stands at a staggering 28.771 deaths per 1,000 live births.
  3. SDG 4: Quality Education. Road infrastructure influences the attendance and enrollment of students in schools. This also affects the quality of teachers attracted to a school. More school facilities mean education is more accessible to children in remote locations. More than 27% of Indian youth find themselves “excluded from education, employment or training.” Education infrastructure is essential because education helps people acquire the skills and knowledge to obtain higher-paying, skilled jobs that can help them rise out of poverty.
  4. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Due to the economic impacts of COVID-19, according to The Indian Express, almost 200 million more Indian people could face poverty by the close of 2021. Ultimately, this means that more than 50% of the Indian population may live in poverty. Under SDG 8 is target 8.7, eliminating child labor in its entirety by 2025. Families tend to resort to child labor when they need extra income to meet their basic needs. India’s infrastructure plan can potentially help reduce poverty in India by providing adults with more job opportunities and by increasing household income, negating the need for child labor. Similarly, parents marry off their young girls to take the economic burden off the household, hoping that the girls’ husbands will economically provide for the girls. However, with increased household income and more employment opportunities, families can bear the costs of taking care of all their children. Then, marriage will be an option and not an economic necessity.

For all these reasons and more, better infrastructure can reduce poverty in India, improving lives throughout the nation.

– Jared Faircloth
Photo: Flickr

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How Hip-Hop Helps Improve Education in South Africa

Hip-Hop Helps Improve Education
In schools worldwide, mathematics is a leading subject that is necessary for people to progress and complete their education. Although educational systems differ across countries, many still see math as one of the most crucial skills for developing critical thinking building blocks that drive logic and decision-making. While mathematics is held to a high standard in countries within Africa, education in South Africa lags behind its counterparts in terms of performance on international standardized assessments. With a lack of trained math teachers in schools, large class sizes and “deficient and outdated infrastructure, instrumentation and teaching materials,” many students are unable to reach their full potential. As countries seek different methods like technology to better educational outcomes, one specific school in Cape Town has adopted a unique approach: Hip-Hop. Hip-hop helps improve education in South Africa by recognizing the various methodologies of learning.

Hip-Hop Helps Improve Education in South Africa

Kurt Minnaar, a former dancer and current eighth-grade teacher, decided to test a creative approach when he saw his students struggling to grasp concepts in school. Minnaar recognizes that while the current system of education in South Africa may have worked for the older generation, it is failing today’s kids. As a student who once struggled with math himself,  Minnaar believes in recognizing four different types of learning methodologies in education. Acknowledging these different learning styles, Minnaar uses music and dance in the classroom to engage students in their learning and improve math outcomes. With the rise of social media, especially music-focused platforms such as TikTok, engaging students with the activities that appeal to them can help improve their math outcomes.

The Rise of Social Media

Social media is growing in South Africa, with the rate of social media use increasing 19% since 2019. Of the current South African population, roughly 40% are active users on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Young people aged 18-24 account for 40.4% of these users.

Confirming the rise in social media use, a survey of 200 South African university students shows that 88% of students identified as users of social media. This illustrates the large role and the growing influence of social media on the lives of the current generation of students. Although some see the increase in the use of social media as unhealthy, young educators like Minnaar see it as an opportunity to use the current culture and trends to make learning enjoyable for all.

Creative Learning

Since Minnaar began teaching, he has created several rap beats that stimulate the minds of his students while increasing their ability to retain information. Some of his pieces include “Cre-eight,” “Trick-onometry” and “Van Guard,” all of which address multiplication tables through catchy hip-hop beats. To ensure that students are gaining the most out of his classes, Minnaar has students rap the songs to the beat of the music he plays off his laptop and encourages students to dance during class. He sees creative activities like singing and dancing as essential to helping students enter a headspace conducive to learning. Thus far, Minnaar has only created content for multiplication tables. However, the results have been so positive that he is currently working on new material and lesson plans to address different areas of education in South Africa.

While Minnaar enjoys creatively interacting with his students, he also recognizes the importance of scholastic performance and his role as an educator to ensure students’ progress. Thus far, he has seen success in helping his students in their academic achievements. He also recognizes, however, that some students respond best to traditional methods. Minnaar’s only hope is that people remain open-minded to the many approaches to education in South Africa. After all, the approaches of some of the greatest individuals of all time were once met with skepticism. Thus, perhaps mathematics and hip-hop are not the most unusual pair after all.

– Chloe D’Hers
Photo: Flickr

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Vaccine Aids in the Fight Against Malaria in Malawi

Malaria in Malawi
Malaria in Malawi remains a top concern for public health and the safety of the country. On a global scale, Malawi accounts for 2% of all malaria cases, placing it in the leading “20 countries with the highest malaria prevalence and mortality rates.” In 2019, Malawi’s population totaled more than 19 million. That same year, health facilities in the country reported almost 5.2 million cases of malaria. The sheer amount of malaria cases in Malawi is alarming in comparison to the total population number.

Malaria-endemic Regions

Looking at malaria objectively helps explain its high prevalence throughout Africa. As the World Health Organization (WHO) reported in 2019, Africa accounted for 94% of the 229 million malaria cases and 409,000 deaths worldwide. WHO notes that children younger than 5 made up 67% of these deaths. The transmission of the deadly parasite allows it to thrive in many countries throughout Africa, specifically after the spike in annual rains in November. The malaria parasite thrives in very humid, often hot and wet conditions, making Malawi a prime location for the spread of the parasite. While the country has worked to control rates of malaria in Malawi by offering health services, the country still struggles to control the sheer amount of cases present.

The Beginning of the Malaria Vaccine Pilot Program

In 2019, Malawi welcomed the world’s first malaria vaccine pilot program. The vaccine, referred to as RTS,S, targeted children ages two and younger. GlaxoSmithKline is the producer of RTS,S, which underwent clinical trials after 30 years of refining. The vaccine trials found that RTS,S was able to prevent about four out of every 10 cases of malaria. The pilot project in Malawi aimed to gather observations and evidence of actual vaccine implementation to guide WHO in its policy recommendations for the use of RTS,S on a broader scale. The criteria observed included child mortality, vaccine follow-up and vaccine safety. Although the intention of the vaccine is not to replace other preventative measures, WHO hopes to add it to its bundle of malaria prevention recommendations.

The World Health Organization Approves the Vaccine

On October 6, 2021, WHO officially endorsed the use of the RTS,S vaccine worldwide, now called the Mosquirix malaria vaccine. This approval comes after two years of trials in three African countries (including Malawi) where more than 800,000 children received the vaccine. The vaccine can prevent severe and fatal cases of malaria at a rate of 30%. Since the pilot program implementation in 2019, WHO has been able to justify the ability of countries to roll out the vaccine safely. Although the vaccine itself is not 100% effective, it works as a preventative measure, reducing the likelihood of contracting a deadly case of malaria in Malawi. The rollout of this vaccine comes after decades of unsuccessful attempts to find a form of protection against malaria.

Economic Benefits of a Preventative Measure

Access to the Mosquirix vaccine will not only protect public health and safety but will also relieve the stress on Malawi’s economy. For years, programs focused on treating malaria in Malawi reactively. Given that treatment options are more widely available than prevention methods, health system responses have centered on reactivity rather than proactivity. As a result, the first response to malaria cases is often drugs. Drugs are both expensive and difficult to obtain. Furthermore, the malaria parasite adapts over time, becoming resistant to medications and decreasing the efficacy of drugs. Access to a proactive vaccine addresses the issue beforehand, saving costs in both healthcare visits and treatments in the long run.

Moving Forward

Malaria is a unique illness in that it involves a parasite that can strike an individual several times. In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, this reality is concerning. On a yearly basis, children average a total of six malaria infections. The continued attacks on their immune systems leave them susceptible to other diseases. However, with the new vaccine comes new hope in the fight against malaria in Malawi. While the approval of the vaccine is only the first step in widespread change, the next few years present a strong opportunity for progress in some of the most vulnerable communities.

– Chloe D’Hers
Photo: Flickr

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4 Poverty Reduction Programs to End Poverty in India

End Poverty in India
Between 2005 and 2006, there were 640 million people experiencing multidimensional poverty in India. Multidimensional poverty means the people are lacking more than just finances, they are also lacking clean water, electricity, access to healthcare and education. By 2017, that number had dropped to 365 million, a 271 million improvement. Massive strides have occurred in India to improve living conditions. In July 2019, 99.45% of the country had access to basic sanitation, compared to only 40% in previous years, this is all apart of the process to end poverty in India.

About End Poverty

End Poverty in India is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that began in 2009 with the goal of reducing poverty in India. End Poverty currently focuses on helping uneducated girls, struggling women, small farmers, agricultural farmers without land and traditional craftsmen, among others. Currently, its work occurs in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Delhi. The organization develops and implements self-sustaining programs to act as a catalyst for social impact. Its four main areas of program intervention are sustainable livelihood creation, girls’ education, rural development and civil society development.

 4 Poverty Reduction Programs that End Poverty Implemented

  1. Sustainable Livelihood Creation: At End Poverty in India, sustainable livelihood creation provides equal opportunities to those who are less privileged. The organization helps individuals create sustainable, independent livelihoods with limited reliance on external resources. The interventions that End Poverty in India implemented include sustainable farming, dairy farming development, women’s economic empowerment and a skills training and vocational education program. Recent accomplishments include planting 5,759 saplings in India as part of the sustainable farming intervention between 2019 and 2020, bringing the total of planted saplings to 41,579 since the program began.
  2. Girls’ Education: Education is a constitutional right in India, but female literacy often lags behind that of men. For example, in Tijara, Rajasthan the literacy rate among females is only 38.88% in comparison to 75.01% among males. One of the most notable programs that End Poverty started is the Kishori Shiksha Program (KSP), which is a one-year, intensive “catch-up” education program for adolescent girls who are no longer in school. As part of the KSP Program, End Poverty in India helped 304 new students enroll in school and 126 girls were able to complete their literacy classes. KSP trains local women in course delivery, teaching methods and record keeping. The organization then supplies both teachers and students with learning materials.
  3. Rural Development: The 2011 census illustrated that 68.84% of India’s population lived in rural villages. Over the last few decades, various groups have worked to alleviate existing issues in rural communities, including End Poverty in India. Under its rural development program in Tijara, the organization created the Village Development Group (VDG). It will act as coordinators accessing government plans, supporting rural development and making requests based on the needs of their village and tracking the requests through the various levels of government until they reach completion. End Poverty participates in VDG’s meetings and provides help in the preparation and processing of documents and decisions. Accomplishments include opening 147 new bank accounts, installing 45 hand pumps and providing 160 families throughout 19 villages with solar-powered LED light panels.
  4. Civil Society Development Program: In Indian culture, the idea of civil society organization is deeply important and has been a major reason for the increase in NGOs. Civil society organizations have contributed to the well-being of many communities in India. However, End Poverty has found that many of them still struggle with basic issues such as a lack of funding, structured planning and recognition. These issues were the catalyst for End Poverty to create its N/Core program, which helps early-stage nonprofits that focus on poverty reduction. Mentors of the N/Core program work with the heads of the new nonprofits to speed up their progress and help them create adaptable models for economic development.

End Poverty in India’s work is important and has helped significantly to reduce poverty, but it has more work to do. The organization hopes that its four programs will make a significant difference and provide individuals with the opportunity to live better lives.

– Trystin Baker
Photo: Flickr

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The Evolution of Women’s Rights in Liberia

Women’s Rights in Liberia
Although there have been steps toward equal rights for women, some countries are struggling more than others. In Liberia, gender disparities and imbalances are common. To put it another way, there is little appreciation or recognition for the contributions of women to the Liberian community. However, progress has occurred in regard to improving women’s rights in Liberia and gender equality.

The Root of Inequality

In Liberia, traditional and religious insight impacts gender inequality and the neglect of women. This leaves women underrepresented, uneducated and undermined. Gender inequality plays a major role in the rights of women. They have no one to advocate for their rights but themselves. This would not be as unfortunate if women had a right to equal education. While contributing all of their time to family and working, women have less time to focus on education and social life. Furthermore, the stringent roles and responsibilities of women have prevented them from being able to partake in society and benefit development.

The Roles of Women

Women account for more than 50% of the labor in agriculture, cash production and food crop production, along with marketing and trading in Liberia. Despite their heavy role in the workforce, private and public sectors do not even honor the law of allowing pregnant women to go on maternity leave. They are also responsible for taking care of the household and doing additional work on the side, such as gathering wood and water. Despite their roles in agriculture, women own less property and have no other option than to be dependent on male relatives. The discrimination in land ownership is due to biases in the formal legal framework and customary law. Men are also more likely than women to inherit the land, control decision-making, allocation, management and the use of land.

Besides a woman’s role economically, they also experience a high risk of violent behavior against them in Liberia. These acts of violent behavior can include female genital mutilation, wife burning, dowry-related violence, rape, incest, wife battering, female femicide, female infanticide, trafficking, early marriage, teenage pregnancy, execution and prostitution. Any violence against women is a human rights violation according to the Geneva Conventions. The Geneva Conventions and their protocols provide protection against discrimination against women, allowing women to be equal to men under the Humanitarian Law, subsequently improving women’s rights in Liberia.

Aid and Hope

Another aid established is the 2009 National Gender Policy, which fights to abolish all gender issues. The main goal is to form a fair society where girls and boys along with women and men enjoy their human rights equally on a basis of non-discrimination. In other words, where the full potentials of all, regardless of sex, are harassed toward achieving unprejudiced rapid economic growth which includes equal access to social, financial and technological resources.

Inconsistency in the national legislature has delayed the implementation of the National Gender Policy. After President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf became Africa’s first female president, men began to recognize the possibility of a woman in power. As the President of Liberia from 2006 to 2018, she secured millions of dollars in foreign investment. She also formed a Truth and Reconciliation Committee to investigate corruption and heal ethnic tensions.

The history and roles of women in Liberia are what drive the ongoing evolution of women’s rights. The more women who have representation, the better the chances are for their rights. Changes start as small policies and fill bigger shoes such as presidencies. Although improvements are still necessary, any is better than none at all.

– Destiny Jackson
Photo: Flickr

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ARMMAN Improves Maternal and Newborn Health in India 

Newborn Health in India 
Maternal and newborn health in India is a pressing issue. Women die every day before and during childbirth, yet 90% of these maternal deaths are entirely preventable with adequate healthcare. Poverty exacerbates maternal mortality, with about 94% of maternal deaths occurring in lower-income nations. In lower-income nations, the common obstacles in receiving proper healthcare include the inability to afford healthcare services and a “lack of information.” Distance also plays a factor, particularly in rural areas where clinics and hospitals are scant and many women cannot easily travel to these facilities. ARMMAN is an India-based organization that aims to improve maternal and newborn health in India.

Maternal Healthcare in India

Even if a woman makes it to the hospital for childbirth, the services she receives may be subpar, putting her health at risk. Without proper hygiene protocols in place and well-trained medical staff to assist them at health centers, women can die from infections, severe bleeding, “high blood pressure during pregnancy” and delivery complications. These factors account for almost two-thirds of maternal deaths and all of them are avoidable.

Maternal health poses an urgent problem in India. The latest available data indicates that India’s maternal mortality rate (MMR) stands at 113 deaths per 100,000 births in comparison to the world average MMR of 11 deaths per 100,000 births in higher-income countries. In fact, pregnancy complications are the leading “cause of death among girls between 15 and 19 years of age” in India. These statistics also reflect the broader issues with Indian healthcare — it is inaccessible, unaffordable and low quality. Although it will be difficult to reform the entire healthcare system in India, organizations have a commitment to improving maternal and newborn health in India.

ARMMAN

ARMMAN is one such organization working to improve maternal and newborn health in India. This Indian nonprofit dedicates efforts to improving the quality of life for mothers and their newborns. Dr. Aparna Hegde founded ARMMAN in 2008 after witnessing the death of a pregnant woman due to circumstances that were entirely preventable with appropriate guidance. ARMMAN leverages technology to help both women and healthcare workers. So far, the organization has helped more than 26 million women and has trained more than 212,000 health workers across 19 Indian states.

Apps and mobile technology play a central role in ARMMAN’s programs, providing education and monitoring the well-being of pregnant women. The organization’s Mobile Academy is a maternal and child healthcare course that aims to keep health workers up-to-date with “knowledge of life-saving preventative health behaviors and improve the quality of their engagement with new and expecting mothers and their families.” The audio-based training can be accessed via voice call and is available in five of the most common local languages. Another project, mMitra, allows pregnant women and mothers of infants to access “a free mobile voice call service,” which provides “timed and targeted preventive care information weekly/bi-weekly directly to the phones of the enrolled women.” mMitra has reached 2.5 million women so far.

Arogya Sakhi Program

AMMAN’s Arogya Sakhi program is a home-based child and maternal care program. Arogya Sakhi “trains women health entrepreneurs (Arogya Sakhis) from communities in resource-poor rural areas to provide home-based preventive care” and other necessary tests and screenings to “ensure early referral during antenatal and infancy period.” This service is essential because healthcare workers attend only 37.4% of births in rural areas, a gaping difference in comparison to a birth attendance rate of 73.4% in urban areas. Arogya Sakhi helps diminish this gap, giving women the skills to help their communities. Armed with medical kits and an app that guides them through proper procedures, the Arogya Sakhis assist people in their community with care, diagnosis and births. The Arogya Sakhis charge a minimal fee for their services, allowing them to gain financial stability and pull themselves out of poverty.

Maternal health remains a pressing issue in developing countries, but organizations like ARMMAN work to improve access to high-quality healthcare services for women and their children.

– Alison Ding
Photo: Flickr

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Pope Francis’ View on Poverty

Pope Francis' view on Poverty
The Roman Catholic Church has a following of approximately 1.2 billion people around the globe. Pope Francis currently stands as the 266th pope. Pope Francis’ view on poverty emulates the values of his namesake, St. Francis of Assissi, putting poverty relief at the forefront of his mission. Pope Francis has the power to bring together people from all over the world in order to combat global poverty.

Leading by Example

As the figurehead of a major global entity, Pope Francis has a tremendous influence on a significant number of people. Even before his election as pope, as the first pope from Latin America, Pope Francis had been exposed to poverty as a youth in his homeland. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis was born in Buenos Aires to Italian immigrants. Growing up in his native land of Argentina, Pope Francis saw the gap between the wealthy and impoverished widening drastically. This issue, occurring in several areas of the world, is a topic of concern for Pope Francis.

Poverty Reduction Efforts

Speaking on poverty, Pope Francis says, “There is such a large number of people who are on the margins. And we don’t see them because poverty is bashful. They have become part of the landscape; they are things.” As far as religious figures go, Pope Francis is notably unconventional. He calls on world leaders to fight poverty and hunger by readjusting the budgeting of tax dollars and redistribution of immense wealth in order to provide for the most at risk.

He also preaches about remaining true to an ascetic lifestyle, which means possessing the discipline to reject modern luxuries in the name of equality. For example, the title of cardinal is a tremendous honor in the Roman Catholic Church and is often cause for celebration. Practicing what he preaches, Pope Francis requested that those wishing to travel to the Vatican to witness his appointment to the position of cardinal not do so. Rather, Pope Francis suggested donating these travel funds to people most in need.

In March 2021, the Pope donated $350,000 while in Iraq, $250,000 of which went directly to families living in poverty. The Pope has also made significant donations toward the fight against COVID-19, particularly with the purchase of ventilators sent to several countries in need. Additionally, the Pope contributed to funding for medical supplies through donations to Colombia in April 2021 and Brazil in August 2021.

Calls to Action

Regardless of one’s belief system, it is easy to recognize the Pope’s humanitarianism simply by considering Pope Francis’ view on poverty. It is inspiring to have a leader who so valiantly fights for those in poverty. The Pope typically follows the teachings professed in the Gospel of Matthew, verse six, which states, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward…” This means that the Pope does not make public the nature of his charity. The known instances of his charity are only public knowledge because of public statements made out of gratitude by the recipients. The Pope’s empathy and authenticity are notable features that are changing the world for the better.

It is easy to recognize injustice in the world, however, it is not always easy to remain steadfast in ethics and intervene in global poverty with bravery. In his speeches, Pope Francis declares that even the most ordinary individual can play a role in global poverty reduction.

– Michelle Schwab
Photo: Unsplash

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Solar Wells Bring Clean Water to Tharparkar, Pakistan

nba-star-provides-clean-water-in-pakistan
Kyrie Irving has gained much attention in the media for his basketball career, but his greatest accomplishment so far is off the court. In July 2021, the NBA All-Star funded and built a solar water well in Pakistan. The philanthropic effort by Irving intends to bring clean water to a town called Tharparkar in a lower socioeconomic area of Pakistan. Clean water and healthcare stand at the forefront of some of the issues in many areas with poverty. Many of the issues that plague small villages within Tharparkar are preventable and addressable. The poverty rate in Tharparkar stands at a staggering 87%. Not only is Irving providing clean water to Tharparkar but he is also bringing much-needed attention to other issues that afflict impoverished communities.

Bringing Clean Water to Tharparkar

The Brooklyn Nets Point Guard’s KAI Family Foundation funds the solar water project in Pakistan in partnership with the Paani Project. Irving built the solar water plant in the small village of Rohal in Tharpakar within the Sindh Province. Though the Sindh Province in Pakistan is experiencing an economic upturn in most urban areas, people often overlook the rural outskirts.

Tharparkar is one of the most impoverished areas of Pakistan, and thus, the people endure several issues of poverty. A lack of safe drinking water, high unemployment rates, food insecurity, poor health facilities, low educational attainment rates and malnutrition are among the issues plaguing Tharparkar. There are existing manual wells in Tharparkar, “but a lack of rainfall and inadequate maintenance” means existing wells “have either dried up or their contents are unsafe for human consumption.” Where a clean water supply does exist, villagers, mostly women, walk for more than an hour in conditions of extreme heat to access this water.

The Benefits of a Solar Well

Irving’s solar well will bring clean water to more than 1,000 villagers. Solar wells negate the need for ropes and pulleys commonly used in manual wells. Additionally, these solar wells can last up to 25 years. Current wells in Tharparkar almost exclusively necessitate the use of manual labor to pull the water up and livestock and agriculture pollute them. With only the turn of a lever, countless families will enjoy the benefits of clean drinking and bathing water.

Irving is not only bringing clean water to one of Pakistan’s most impoverished areas but is also bringing widespread attention to the other issues the area endures. Bringing attention to some of the issues sometimes forgotten in rural areas is important in order to improve overall living conditions in Tharparkar. These marginalized communities need aid to escape the cyclic effects of poverty. This philanthropic act by Irving is one that is garnering worldwide attention off the court rather than on it. Irving’s humanitarianism assists the many Pakistani families in poverty.

– Carter Haskel
Photo: Flickr