Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Life Expectancy in Brazil

Life Expectancy in Brazil
From 1940 to 2016, the life expectancy in Brazil had steadily risen to an all-time high of 75 years. This improvement was largely due to efforts by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Environment to strengthen the health and sanitation systems in the country. A continued increase in life expectancy can be achieved by utilizing technology to enhance the capabilities and performance of the healthcare system and by improving sanitation and access to clean water for all Brazilians.

An Improved Healthcare System

In 1988, after the end of Brazil’s military dictatorship, a newly established constitution created the Unified National Health System (UHS), which was expanded to provide free of charge and comprehensive health services with near-universal access. A focus on prenatal care, child nutrition programs, immunization campaigns and other important preventative services have played key roles in the increase of the life expectancy in Brazil.

In 1994, the Family Health Strategy (FHS) was founded. It has been heavily relying on community health workers (CHWs) to provide basic and preventative healthcare. Teams of doctors, nurses and community health workers were deployed throughout the country to cover territories of 3,000 to 4,000 residents. The FHS provides medical resources to underserved areas and allows the health teams to closely monitor the health status of the residents in their region. Currently, there are more than 265,00 active CHWs delivering care to around 67 percent of the population. The FHS was instrumental in increasing the life expectancy in Brazil from 67 years in 1994 to 75 years as of 2016.

The Use of Technology

Although the UHS is vital to improving health and life expectancy, the system still faces challenges caused by rising healthcare and medicine costs, maldistribution of medical professionals and poor access to health services in low-income regions. The Ministry of Health has invested in health technology systems and mobile applications to expand access to health services, improve the quality of care and reduce the overall costs of the UHS.

In 2012, they partnered with the medical journal, BMJ, to create the BMJ Best Practices application. More than 11,400 people now use the mobile app to make more informed diagnostic and treatment decisions for their patients at the point of care. Early diagnosis and treatment help to improve health outcomes, so it is beneficial for Brazil to continue to embrace this kind of technology. It is estimated that the country would spend $336 million on healthcare technology and applications by the end of 2018, but would potentially save $42 billion per year over the next 15 years. Hospitals and clinics with integrated health technology, such as electronic health and medical records, have also been shown to have a 3 to 4 percent lower mortality rate, which improves life expectancy rates in Brazil.

Improve Sanitation and Access to Clean Water

It is estimated that 50 percent of Brazilians do not have access to sewage and sanitation services. In fact, 35 million Brazilians still lack access to clean water. Inequalities exist in the over-concentration of services throughout affluent regions while services are lacking in poor and low-income regions. Between 2010 and 2014, there were almost 14,000 hospitalizations for diseases related to poor sanitation. In the densely populated Porto Alegre region, dengue rates were five times higher from 2001 to 2013.

In order to address the burden of sanitation-related illnesses, the National Public Sanitation Plan was formed in 2007 with the goal of providing clean water and sewage services to 93 percent of households by 2033. Between 2007 and 2015, the percentage of households with access to clean water had only slightly increased from 80.9 to 83.3. Operating with a deficit of $1.9 billion has impeded progress, and the program is currently on pace to meet its goals by 2050. With proper funding, however, the country could meet its original goals, which would go a long way to increase the life expectancy in Brazil.

Substantial investment from the federal government, public-private sources of capital along with investment from foreign aid programs such as UNICEF is still needed if Brazil is going to establish the infrastructure to achieve its original goal by the target deadline of 2033. As the country looks to the future, expanding the FHS, integrating technology into the healthcare system and enhancing sanitation services are key focus areas. These priorities will sustain and further improve the life expectancy in Brazil.

– Chinanu Chi-Ukpai
Photo: Flickr
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Changes in Transcontinental Trade in Africa

Changes in Transcontinental Trade Look to Lift African Economies
Despite being home to many rapidly growing economies and an abundance of essential natural resources, Africa also contains numerous countries with some of the highest poverty and food insecurity rates in the world. However, new legislation and foreign support hope to ease the flow of domestic trade in Africa, allowing broader access to necessities and helping to build a strong continental economy.

The High Cost of Shipping

While Africa regularly exports goods to places such as the U.S. and Europe, only 13 percent of traded goods remain in Africa. Underdeveloped road and highway systems between neighboring countries translate to high costs in transcontinental shipments, ultimately raising the cost of transported goods to the point of unaffordability for most impoverished Africans.

For example, while the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) estimates that East Africa produces enough food to support everyone living in the region, the high cost of transportation has halted trade in the area, resulting in food insecurity for 27 percent of the people living on the continent. However, recent legislative changes and foreign support signal that trade in Africa is beginning to take on a new shape that allows for transcontinental trade and a collective African economy.

The Transcontinental Trade in Africa

The Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), which was proposed at a meeting of the African Union in 2012, set forth goals of enhancing trade among the eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs), made up of geographic subdivisions with interconnected economies, and creating a continental trading system that would encourage foreign investment and a competitive marketplace.

While the CFTA has yet to be fully implemented, ongoing discussions, including the December 2017 meeting in Niger of 54 countries in Africa, emphasize that an economic overhaul of this magnitude is a long-term goal with results that will not be immediately apparent despite the progress being made.

In addition to internal policy changes by African governmental leaders, foreign investors seeking to take early advantage of the promising African markets have expedited growth with contributions to urban development. In Ethiopia alone, Chinese investors funded the construction of the African Union’s headquarters in the capital city of Addis Ababa in the amount of $100 million. Road and highway systems, an airport and various energy and rail transportation programs are underway with the intent of modernizing Africa’s infrastructure and turning its economy into a thriving market with a high return rate.

Improving Agriculture and Trade

USAID has been working to improve trade in Africa through the creation of Trade and Investment hubs. Furthermore, through their Feed the Future initiative, USAID is working to educate various African countries on how to improve agricultural production and how to create trading systems that both improve the economy in the trading region’s while giving others access to goods not ordinarily available in their own region.

To complement the interests from investors abroad, foreign government organizations have worked from afar and on the ground to improve trade in Africa to create a flourishing, self-sufficient set of nations and to improve living conditions for the impoverished and the food insecure people throughout the continent.

Due to the large scale of growing trade in Africa to a place of higher economic security, progress may not be readily apparent or may not appear to be moving quickly enough. However, African government officials are hopeful that, by improving trade and economic conditions at the regional level and working outwards toward an efficient continental market, Africa may soon achieve its ultimate goal and find itself in a competitive position in the world market.

– Rob Lee

Photo: Flickr

Top 10 Facts About Child Soldiers in Uganda

Top 10 Facts About Child Soldiers in Uganda
Uganda is a landlocked country located in East Africa that currently holds a relatively stable political environment and a steadily developing economy; however, before this hard-earned progress, the country had to endure several coups and a seemingly formidable military dictatorship following its independence from Great Britain in 1962. One of the most well-known dictators of that era was Idi Amin Dada, who took the drastic action of expelling all Asians in the nation in the 1980s. In addition, Uganda has a vast political history marked by longstanding effects of continuous instability which includes more than four coups since the nation’s independence.

The article below illuminates the top 10 facts about child soldiers in Uganda and displays how this population interacts with the nation’s historical emergence.

Top 10 Facts About Child Soldiers in Uganda

  1. Uganda’s volatile political atmosphere paved the way for a brutal 20-year rebel insurgency by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) that began in the nation’s northern region. This organization became notorious for child abductions that were done to fill its ranks, in addition to its brutal crimes.
  2. According to a UNICEF report, almost 20,000 children have been forcefully recruited in the 19-year conflict.
  3. The emergence of the LRA rebel group — initially called the Holy Spirit Movement — is one of the major attributes of the country’s instability. This organization is known as one of the world’s most brutal and inhumane terroristic organizations.
  4. Lord’s Resistance Army demands that Uganda is governed according to the Biblical 10 Commandments, and has also directed its forces to fight against President Yoweri’s oppression of Northern Uganda.
  5. The LRA was founded by a member of the Acholi Ethnolinguistic Group, Alice Auma (later known as Alice Lawkena), who declared herself as a messenger of the spirits. She led the first army of rebels against President Yoweri Museveni and was exiled in 1987 after being defeated.
  6. The LRA is currently headed by Joseph Kony who took control of the rebel group after Lawkena, who is rumored to be his cousin and gave the group its current name and tried to sustain the army to no avail.
  7. During this transition period, the LRA lost significant regional support and resources and resorted to a series of lethal rebellious actions that included stealing supplies and abducting children to serve as soldiers. The abductions came to mark the beginning of child soldiers in Uganda when the practice began occurring in earnest in 1994.
  8. Following this strategy shift, the LRA became made up mostly of child soldiers. Ninety percent of the forces abducted into the army disrupted the northern part of the country to the point that the population had to disperse in IDP camps — disease-infested areas that lacked resources and appropriate treatment.
  9. A major part of LRA’ s method of aligning new recruits with the rebel group’s overarching agenda is to reaffirm a notion of hopelessness. Spreading such ideological perspectives included heinous instruction i.e. forcing members to kill their parents and anyone deemed close to the child. If a child refused to perform these tasks, he or she would then face death in front of the other recruits so as to instill fear in other new recruits.
  10. Thirty percent of child soldiers recruited by the LRA are women whose main roles in the army include cooking for soldiers and serving as sex slaves. One of the most infamous abduction incidents occurred in 2005 when 200 girls were abducted from a Catholic school.

Rehabilitation and Reintegration

The LRA seems to be a shadow of what it used to be after being pushed out of the country following a major expedition in the mid-2000s. Governmental and nongovernmental international forces — such as the U.S. — played important roles in creating global awareness of the destruction and inhumane methods of the group. However, Kony and some army members remain elusive and are reported to roam untraced around fragile nations in central Africa.

While efforts to catch the leading forces of this group and bring them to justice remains significant, the rehabilitation and reintegration of those individuals who endured traumas at the hands of the LRA is a pressing issue that requires all hands on deck.

– Bilen Kassie
Photo: Flickr

Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Burkina Faso 

Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Burkina Faso
The history of Western Africa country of Burkina Faso is layered with various conflicts and complicated cultural conduits. The desperation and vulnerability accompanying the Sahel region, a region in Africa between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian Savanna to the south, and the food crisis in the region have affected much of the surrounding area, jeopardizing education, jobs and food security. Being in the middle of the crisis, the people of Burkina Faso have suffered immensely. With developmental assistance and diversification of agricultural exports, the crisis will gradually lessen and the economy will strengthen. In the article below, the top 10 facts about hunger in Burkina Faso are presented.

Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Burkina Faso

  1. As of 2011, chronic malnutrition in Burkina Faso was at 34 percent and acute malnutrition was over 10 percent. Severe and acute malnutrition rates passed the emergency threshold in some parts of the country recently in relation to the Sahel food crisis. More than 10 percent of Burkina Faso children suffer from acute malnutrition. Another 30.2 percent of children experience growth stunting, a symptom corresponding to malnutrition.
  2. External debt increased to $3.6 billion in 2018 from $3.2 billion in 2016. Terrorism rose to 4.52 in 2018, the highest index ever recorded for the nation. Security in the country is frequently linked to limited employment availability, poverty, hunger and desperation.
  3. Though Burkina Faso experienced a boost of gross national income of 95.3 percent between 1990 and 2017 due partly to increased cotton production, it remains among the 10 poorest countries in the world. Around 45 percent of Burkina Faso’s population still lives below the poverty line or has an income lower than $1.25 per day.
  4. Swelling insecurity and sporadic attacks on the borders of Mali and Burkina Faso (and other countries in the Sahel region) plague agro-pastoral regions, forcing families to flee. The conflict and droughts have raged on since 2012 and displaced many, including the 24,000 Malian refugees who fled to Burkina Faso. Levels of violence are proportionate to the levels of child malnutrition and food shortage.
  5. The cost of food in Burkina Faso increased by 2.7 percent between August 2017 and August 2018. At the same time, less money is coming into Burkina Faso as exports fell from 602.2 units in July to 434.8 units in 2019.
  6. Cotton accounts for 70 percent of Burkina Faso’s exports. When Burkina Faso’s government phased out genetically engineered cotton seeds in 2017, cotton production plummeted. Farmers are worried the country will not regain ground unless the agricultural sector modernizes. Mali cotton production surpassed Burkina Faso for the first time in a decade. Studies reported by the Alliance for Science show the introduction of genetically engineered cotton to Burkina Faso led to a 22 percent increase in yield and households gained an average profit of 51 percent. However, the government’s rejection of genetically engineered cotton reversed all this progression, and drought and pasture shortages affected the highly agricultural country as well.
  7. Cotton agriculture employs about 20 percent of the working population, a number that has been challenged due to the struggling production and phasing out of genetically engineered seeds. Seidu Konatey, a local farmer, expressed in early 2018 that if the situation continues through 2019, his farm will abandon cotton production. Refugees and displaced families have very little job security, a number exacerbated by the conflicts in the Sahel region.
  8. Burkina Faso is a great example to show how a lower than the average Human Development Index can affect education. Country’s 1.5 mean years of schooling is well below the low Human Development Index bar of 4.7 years. The average number of school years in sub-Saharan Africa overall is 5.6 years, with Burkina Faso resting at the meager end of the scale.
  9. The World Food Program (WFP) has been helping those impacted by the Sahel food crisis since 2012 by providing treatment for acute malnutrition and dispensing food. WFP also distributes food and assistance to orphans and HIV patients and provides breakfast and school lunches to children in the Sahel region. Supporting farmers’ organizations by linking them with buyers, offering training, and restoring land, WFP combats hunger on many levels.
  10. The number of people from Burkina Faso in need of food quadrupled in 2018. The European Union directed $18.2 million in 2018 to Burkina Faso, ensuring children receive the nutrition and medicines they need. The EU gave treatment to 187,000 children under the age of 5 and launched a new disaster risk reduction program this year. This includes resilience methods such as safety nets and free health care.

Diversification of the agricultural force in Burkina Faso will help strengthen the market and shift the focus from stalling cotton crops toward the production of different products. Projects promoting greater production and technological advances in agricultural work towards lifting the extremely impoverished out of this cycle. Greater exports and modernization of the industry will contribute to less hunger and a more balanced economy that can alleviate food inflation. Humanitarian aid has made a difference, as these top 10 facts about hunger in Burkina Faso show, but millions of people are still in need of food security and medical assistance for acute malnutrition.

– Hannah Peterson
Photo: Flickr

Top 10 Facts about Living Conditions in Moldova

Top 10 Facts about Living Conditions in Moldova
The Republic of Moldova is a landlocked nation, situated between Romania and Ukraine. It is a former satellite nation of the USSR, gaining its independence in 1991. Moldova’s transition to democracy and a market-based economy has been very challenging. The country still remains one of Europe’s poorest countries, heavily dependent on Russian resources. However, poverty is decreasing at a steady rate. In the text below, the top 10 facts about living conditions in Moldova are presented.

Top 10 Facts about Living Conditions in Moldova

  1. Moldova is a relatively small nation and has around 3.5 million residents. One troubling statistic for its long-term outlook is a negative population growth rate of -1.06 percent. This can be attributed to low birth rates, along with economic migration from citizens to more affluent and developed nations.
  2. Moldova suffers from a phenomenon called “brain drain”, which affects many developing nations around the world. Skilled workers in a country with limited employment opportunities emigrate, depriving their home of talented professionals. According to Deutsche-Welle, it is estimated that every fourth Moldovan work abroad, with many taking advantage of having dual Romanian citizenship, entitling them to work throughout the European Union.
  3. In an effort to retain more of its skilled workforce, both the private sector and Moldovan government are investing in the technology startup infrastructure. Tech giants are investing in Moldova’s universities, along with a plan to contribute $112.000 to each of the 10 best Moldovan startups. Although this may be a nascent industry, building a tech-friendly business environment should help Moldova retain skilled workers, as well as integrate with the Western economy.
  4. Around 19 percent of rural Moldovans live in poverty, versus 5 percent in urban areas. Economic opportunities in rural Moldova are mainly limited to agriculture, with higher paying jobs concentrated in cities such as the capital Chisinau.
  5. Moldova vacillates between allying with its more EU friendly neighbors, and Russia. Linguistically, Moldova is more similar to Romania. However, Russia’s status as an energy exporter subordinates Moldova to its influence. Moldova imports 98 percent of its energy, ranking it the ninth riskiest country in the world in terms of short-term energy security.
  6. Moldova’s system of governance has come a long way since independence from the USSR. Indeed, corruption still persists, but Moldova recently achieved a “partly free” rating from Freedom House International. Additionally, the country signed an Association Agreement with the EU, signifying a commitment to economic reforms in hopes of favorable trade deals with the bloc.
  7. Remarkably, the national poverty rate has dropped from 68 percent in 2000 to just 11.4 percent in 2014. These developments, coupled with an increase in tech startups and the potential for economic cooperation with the EU, bodes well for the country’s future.
  8. The education system in Moldova consists of a preschool, primary, secondary and higher education. Primary education is compulsory in Moldova. Primary school consists of grades one through four, and secondary school is divided into lower and upper education grades five through nine, and 10 through 12 respectively. With high school attendance rates, and a near 100 percent literacy rate, Moldova’s education system appears to be a very successful one.
  9. Pollution remains a concern in Moldova. Heavy industrialization during the Soviet regime resulted in improper disposal of waste. Moldova’s traditionally agrarian economy also results in groundwater pollution and fertilizer runoff into waterways.
  10. The country has a major public health issue. According to the Independent, Moldovans are the heaviest drinkers per capita in the world. The average Moldovan consumes 18.22 liters of pure alcohol per year, around three times the global average of 6.1. These rates of alcohol consumption likely contribute to the country’s relatively low life expectancy that are 67.4 years for males, and 75.4 for females.

Moldova is a country that finds itself in a dilemma between Russia and the European Union. This impacts the country’s economy and development. Due to this reason, young people are leaving the country in search of a better life and stable jobs. Government is recognizing this problem and has various initiatives that are intended for improving the living conditions in the country.

– Joseph Banish

Photo: Flickr

Elderly Care in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Elderly Care in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina has been slowly recovering from the conflict that took place in the country during the late 1990s. The war took a toll on the country economically, politically, socially and physically. On top of its high levels of poverty, the country is also becoming a victim of the aging population epidemic and elderly care in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a huge concern. The country is facing issues of a dip in fertility rate and an increase in the rate of the elderly people, leaving a large number of older population with a small population of working-age people to support them. This issue coming from the uneven age distribution grew due to a fall in birth rates, a decrease in population from deaths during the war years and an increase in life expectancy.

The Increase of Elderly Population

Currently, people over the age of 65 make up 17 percent of the total population. Moreover, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs estimated that the number of persons aged 65 and more than 65 will reach 30 percent of the population in 2060, comparative with the 15 percent it sat at in 2010. With a population of only 3.5 million, this is a daunting number.

The older population in Bosnia and Herzegovina is extremely vulnerable for many reasons. Some of the issues they face include low income and increased living expenses. Obtaining employment is difficult as well. Due to the high unemployment rate the country faces, many employers prefer younger workers. This means that many of the elderly face poverty and have been unemployed since before retirement age, leaving them with subsequently less to provide for themselves as they age.

The situation for elderly women is worse than it is for men, as women lose rights with the loss of a husband. They also face higher rates of poverty as they are usually unable to economically provide for themselves alone. The elderly are ailed by illnesses such as cardiovascular and malignant diseases, neurological and mental disorders like Alzheimer’s, as well as sensory and physical disabilities. Many of these diseases and the lack of care for them result in a higher rate of depression amongst the elderly.

The Exodus of Medical Workers

On top of all this, Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing an exodus of its medical workers. Many young doctors and medical professionals are leaving the country after their schooling is complete and migrating toward Germany and other Western countries because these countries offer better job opportunities and more competitive salaries. More than 10,000 nurses, doctors, caregivers have gone to Germany alone. Only about 6,000 doctors work in Bosnia, meaning for every six doctors, one works in Germany. Not only is this leading to a lack of medical professionals, but the country is also losing money as they put millions into medical training facilities that students use and then leave behind as they migrate their services.

Bosnia is being forced to send patients abroad for care, so in the last two years, the country has spent around $37 million on patients that were sent outwards. Not only is this epidemic draining the country’s money, leaving it with less available funding to put towards elderly care in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it also means there are not enough doctors to perform geriatric care. It’s a negative feedback loop that hinders the country’s ability to care for its citizens, especially the elderly ones.

The Solutions for the Problems

The growing number of the elderly population in combination with the exodus of medical workers leaves the country with many people suffering and few resources to help them. Thankfully though, Bosnia and Herzegovina has not turned a blind eye towards these issues and instead has begun to search for solutions. Members of the United Nations adopted the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing that aims to address the issues of aging in the 21st century. The plan focuses on three main aspects: older persons and development, advancing health and well-being into old age and ensuring enabling and supportive environments.

With support from the United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs and the Swiss Cooperation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country has developed its own strategies, inspired by the structure of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing. It plans to improve social and health protections, promote activism and volunteerism in local communities, as well as inter-generational support. The country aims to improve access to public services, especially for those in rural areas and prevent violence, neglect and abuse against older persons. The execution of this initiative will require a great deal of money and resources, but the government is dedicated to the improvement of elderly care in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This plan of action shows that the government is making this issue a focal point in national policy and beginning to address the problems that will address the aging population. Elderly care in Bosnia and Herzegovina has a long way to go before the older population is secure and comfortable. With initiative from the government to care for the elderly, social attention will be turned towards this problem that will encourage the younger generation to aid the older and make room for various organizations to provide help and resources to the country’s older population.

– Mary Spindler
Photo: Flickr

The Perception of Mental Health in Lebanon

Mental Health in Lebanon
In 2011, it was estimated that approximately 17 percent of Lebanon’s population suffered from a mental illness of some kind. Among them, 90 percent of people went untreated. Mental health in Lebanon was not always a priority. However, with rising issues of mental illness, the Lebanese government is finding new ways to combat the misconceptions and stigmas surrounding mental health.

Role of Education in Understanding Mental Health

According to two researchers from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Lebanon, there is a distinct difference in the perception of mental illness depending on education. People who had higher educational attainment, as well as higher socioeconomic status, were more likely to have positive attitudes towards mentally ill patients. On the other hand, people who lacked education due to lower socioeconomic status had a negative outlook towards mental illness.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health and socioeconomic factors cannot be separated from each other. Socioeconomic factors can hinder educational attainment, and this may limit the lack of awareness people have about mental health.

Lack of awareness perpetuates the stigma around mental illness which stops people from receiving treatment. It even prevents them from talking about their feelings as they fail to be validated by others. Another reason why mental illness goes untreated is that many cannot afford it.

New Programmes to Help Improve Mental Health in Lebanon

The perception of mental health in Lebanon is changing and getting better. Historically, mental illness was considered something that could be solved only by the private sector. This meant that mental health care was reserved for those that could afford it.

Over the years, the government has realized that any person in need of help should be able to access mental health care. So, while mental health care will remain in part in the private sector, the health ministry in Lebanon is creating various programmes to help those who cannot afford it.

In 2014, the Lebanese health ministry created the National Mental Health Programme. This programme works with WHO, UNICEF and the International Medical Corps in order to help those with mental illness in Lebanon. It aims to incorporate mental health into general medicine more completely. This will hopefully help eradicate some of the bias that exists. It will help make mental health part of the discourse.

The programme also aims to help vulnerable populations in Lebanon such as refugees, people in prison and survivors of war and torture. This will be a huge help to these communities because it will allow them to have access to mental health care which they did not have before. It will create the perception that mental health deserves to be taken care of.

The National Mental Health Programme organized events such as “Time to Talk” in 2018. It was a way to directly combat incorrect perceptions about mental health by simply talking about mental health under ordinary contexts. Another similar event was “Depression: Let’s Talk About It to Get Out of It”. It was held in 2017 in order to discuss rising depression rates and help people heal. “My Mental Health is My Right” which was organized in 2014 aimed to enforce the fact that mental health in Lebanon is important and that every person has a right to receive treatment.

Thus, with such advanced programmes and new developments, the future of mental health care in Lebanon looks bright. It is important to remove the stigma surrounding mental health to improve people’s well being and foster a healthier and happier society.

– Isabella Niemeyer
 Photo: Unsplash

Recycling Plastic Waste in India to Build Roads

Plastic waste in IndiaPlastic waste in India has collectively reached 8.3 billion tons throughout the past 70 years. This is inclusive of plastic bags, plastic bottles, packaging, straws, spoons and forks and much more. To picture how much 8.3 billion tons would look like, compare it to 1 billion elephants or 822,000 Eiffel Towers.

Plastic Poses a Threat to the Sea Life

This immense amount of plastic waste in India often ends up polluting the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. It acts as entrapments to the natural habitats. When ingested by fishes, the chemicals that compose the plastic poisons them and make them inedible for consumption. In other cases, plastic packaging such as the rings for canned sodas pose as a threat to wildlife like Turtles as it can strangle them. Additionally, the sea creatures view plastic waste as predators that interfere with their natural food consumption. This makes these animals starve as they find it difficult to approach their natural food source.

Plastic Waste in India Affects the Livelihood of Fishermen

Fishing is one of the primary occupations for people living on the coasts of India. For many, that is the only source of income. The problem of plastic waste in the sea is affecting the livelihood of fishermen to a great extent.

Recently, fishermen and women in India have begun to filter through, wash and sort the plastic collected from the sea. Those that are too damaged or far too recycled, are further recycled. While the plastic that is in near-perfect form is shredded and sold to construction companies. It is shredded into a consistency finer than confetti and used to build up the asphalt used to pave roads.

Using Plastic to Construct Roads

There are various benefits to using recycled plastics over regular plastics, especially in terms of constructing roads. By using recycled plastic, one can save approximately 1 ton of asphalt. In addition, cost wise, it provides approximately 8 percent profit. Furthermore, addressing the influx of plastic waste in India paves way for new jobs for many unemployed citizens.

In terms of quality, roads constructed with the help of recycled plastic tends to be more durable against weather conditions such as floods and high temperatures. A variety of smaller plastic shredding businesses have risen in order to support this new form of construction.

The Process of Utilizing Plastic Waste

The process involved in constructing roads from recycled plastic is relatively simple. First, the different kinds of plastic wastes are sorted, cleaned and dried. Then, it is shredded into a fine confetti texture. After that, it is melted at 170 degrees Celcius. To this, hot bitumen, a mixture used to build roads, is added. Once this mixture is complete, it is further mixed with asphalt concrete and laid out into foundations.

This technique of utilizing plastic waste to build roads has been already put to practice in 11 states throughout India. Some of these places include Halls Road, Ethiraj Silai Street and Sardar Patel Street. Currently, 100,000 kilometers of roads have been built.

One of the leading cities to implement this technique is Chennai. So far, 160,000 kilograms of plastic have been reused. In turn, 1.035 kilometers of road has been built. By following the mantra of reduce, reuse and recycle, plastic waste in India is being redirected to better the country.

– Jessica Ramtahal
Photo: Flickr

Top 10 Facts About Living Conditions in Algeria

Top 10Facts about Living Conditions in Algeria
Algeria is the biggest country in Africa and one of the richest in terms of natural resources. The county’s complex history has forged a diverse and vibrant culture. Ever since gaining its independence from France in 1962, the government of the country has fought to improve life for its citizens by rebuilding the economy and improving the political climate. But what is life really like in the country? The article below answers this question by providing the top 10 facts about living conditions in Algeria.

Top 10 Facts About Living Conditions in Algeria

  1. From 2000 to 2016, unemployment in Algeria dropped drastically, from 29.8 to 10.2 percent in 2016. In 2017, the unemployment rate went back up to 11.7 percent. This is due in part to a decline of worldwide oil prices and its adverse consequences on the Algerian economy. In general, unemployment remains more prevalent among women and younger populations.
  2. Algeria cut poverty by 20 percent in the past two decades. This victory comes as a result of a booming economy and effective social policies. Nonetheless, 35 percent of the total population still lives below the poverty line. Around 170,000 people or about 0.5 percent of Algerians, are considered to be in extreme poverty. In addition, 10 percent of the population is at risk of slipping back into poverty.
  3. More than four-fifths of Algeria is covered by the Saharan desert, rendering water a scarce commodity. Nonetheless, 83.6 percent of the population has improved access to a clean water source. In urban areas, access to clean areas is even higher, reaching 84.3 percent, compared to 81.8 percent in rural areas.
  4. The Algerian government boasts a system of universal health care, allocating 7.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to health expenditures in 2014. However, rural areas continue to suffer from inadequate access to quality health care facilities. As of 2009, there were 1.2 physicians for every 1,000 people, a considerably low ratio. To combat this, Algeria plans to introduce 172 public hospitals and 377 private clinics within the coming decade.
  5. Algeria’s economy depends greatly on its hydrocarbon revenue. The country has the 10th largest reserves of natural gas on the planet. The oil sector accounts for 30 percent of GDP and 95 percent of earnings through export. These exports help Algeria keep external debt low and maintain a healthy economy. Recently, the decline of oil prices has forced the government to cut funding of public subsidies and provoked an increase in taxes on some imported goods.
  6. Agriculture is a strong contributor to Algeria’s national economy, boasting 20 percent of the labor force and 10 percent of GDP. Nonetheless, arable land (useful agricultural area) is scarce with only 8.7 million hectares available for use, or just under 3 percent of the total surface area. Sustainable development is threatened greatly by water scarcity. This has serious repercussions on Algeria’s food import dependency, rendering food security unstable.
  7. Huge disparities in wealth exist among Algeria’s rich and poor. A small minority control 42.6 percent of the country’s wealth, benefiting from quality health care and education. The impoverished 20 percent of the population control 7 percent of the wealth, struggling daily to provide food and clean water for themselves and their families.
  8. There are 2.66 children per woman in Algeria today on average, compared to seven children per woman in 1970. The drop in fertility rates is contributed mainly to women’s rising age at first marriage and education. Algeria’s current population is an estimated 40.5 million people.
  9. The Algerian government allocates 4.3 percent of its GDP to education. The overall literacy rate is 79.6 percent, as 86.1 percent of males and 73.9 percent of females are able to read and write. Family revenue plays a monumental role in access to quality education, meaning only a few have resources for private and international schools.
  10. Algerians have a strained relationship with their government, a result of poor management and corruption. In the past, this has been the cause of protests and clashes between police forces and Algerian citizens. Despite this, the government continues prioritizing its resources for enacting policies to improve living conditions. This includes developing regional security, unemployment, poverty and the economy.

These top 10 facts about living conditions in Algeria detail the nation’s complex political climate and social issues. However, a desire to move toward a more positive future is evident in governmental decisions to enact policies for change. Investments into the health and education sectors, as well as drastic improvements in unemployment rates, are clear steps that the country is heading in the right direction.

– Natalie Abdou
Photo: Flickr

10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Denmark

10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Denmark
Despite being in the European Union and a member of the more “modernized” West, Denmark has one of the lowest life expectancy rates compared to other western nations. Despite the seemingly sad news, there is a glimmer of hope where the average Danish life expectancy is concerned; almost all of the factors that have led to the life expectancy rate to decline are from preventable causes and lifestyle choices. Hopefully, these facts about life expectancy in Denmark will inform the reader on the problems facing citizens of Denmark, shed light on ways that poverty contributes to life expectancy and displays some ways the Danes can improve their overall average life expectancy rates.

10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Denmark

  1. Danish women have the lowest life expectancy rates in the European Union (EU); men fare little better, having the second to last lowest life expectancy rates in the EU.
  2. The average life expectancy for Danish women is 82.1 years of age; the average life expectancy for Danish men is 78 years of age.
  3. Most of the life expectancy research identifies lifestyle choices as the primary reason for the decline in the Danish average life expectancy. These choices include alcohol and tobacco use, poor diet choices and lack of exercise (which often leads to obesity).
  4. Recent research by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that Europeans as a whole are using and consuming more alcohol and tobacco. As medical research shows, alcohol and tobacco use can — and often does — lead to numerous and various health and medical issues (including chronic and terminal diseases) which can impact average life expectancy.
  5. According to the WHO, tobacco use in Europe sits around 30 percent, leading to numerous health-related issues for Europeans.
  6. Most of the leading causes of death in Denmark are various types of cancers, as well as coronary heart disease, Alzheimer’s/dementia and diabetes.
  7. An article from June 2000, published in the European Journal of Public Health, argued that most of the leading causes of death in Denmark were from preventable diseases. The article very cryptically stated: “A considerable proportion of the extra deaths in Denmark could be prevented.”
  8. Obesity in Danish children poses an alarming problem, both as an immediate risk and lifelong health risk. The problems associated with obesity are numerous and well-known. If children struggle with obesity, the chances that health-related issues develop sooner is higher. Moreover, children who struggle with obesity are more likely to struggle with weight-related issues for the rest of their lives.
  9. Poverty has also been on the rise in Denmark over the last decade. From 2008 to 2015, the poverty rate increased from 16.3 to 17.7. With the poverty-rate increasing, those affected could — theoretically — have less disposable income for medical check-ups and physicals, as well as less money for preventative care and prescription medicine.
  10. However, not all of the 10 facts about life expectancy in Denmark are dire. Access to medical facilities and services in Denmark remains high, and studies put the average medical spending by the government per Danish citizen at the seventh highest in Europe.

An Optimistic Future

These 10 facts about life expectancy in Denmark should leave one with optimism — most of the medical issues that could lead to a shorter life expectancy are preventable diseases, i.e. these diseases could be prevented with increased exercise, a healthier diet and limited to no alcohol or tobacco use. Furthermore, medical spending and services in Denmark are still well-funded and supplied, providing Danes with adequate health care.

– Raymond Terry
Photo: Flickr