Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

, , , ,

The Global Burden of Disease: Bringing Data to the People

Global Burden of DiseaseChris Murray, a professor of global health at the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, wanted to understand one simple question, “Why do people get sick and die?” To get the answer, he created a comprehensive database known as the Global Burden of Disease (GBD).

The tool is incredibly useful to policymakers and health care providers whose mission is to keep people healthy. Health is affected by a variety of factors including one’s demographics. Where someone lives play a role in his or her vulnerability to certain health risks; some countries experience higher rates of heart disease due to cultural dietary influences while others lose children at early ages because they do not have access to necessary vaccinations.

In order to effectively address health issues in a given country, there needs to be a clear picture of what the biggest health culprits are. While data that could help paint that picture has existed for years, it has been scattered among researchers, hospitals and governments, making it inaccessible and consequently less useful.

Murray created the GBD data collection to provide information to health workers, policymakers and the general public. It is the largest effort to measure epidemiological levels and health trends globally and contains the collected and analyzed data of more than 1,000 researchers in more than 100 countries.

The GBD is open to everyone and contains a visualization of data that allows for greater contextualization of what has been collected and observed. Experts from around the world have collaborated and continue to update the database to ensure it stays as accurate as possible.

In the 2013 systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease, researchers found that since 1990 the global life expectancy for both sexes has increased from 65.3 years to 71.5 years. However, an individual’s life expectancy and the likely cause of death differs based on where he or she lives and the economic status of his or her home country, which understandably plays a considerable role in the individual’s health.

For instance, while there have been reductions in the number of child deaths attributed to diarrhea, lower respiratory tract infections and neonatal causes in low-income regions, these health complications are still the leading cause of death in children younger than 5 years and are more prominent in poor countries compared to wealthy countries.

The GBD delivers information to the hands of people who can provide solutions. It allows health care workers to pinpoint the problem in order to begin addressing it. If governments know their citizens are vulnerable to certain health risks they can work toward identifying the causes and implementing solutions. There has always been power in knowledge, and the GBD allows for the consolidation of knowledge, thereby increasing its untapped power.

– Brittney Dimond

Sources: WHO, The Gates Notes, IHME

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Commissioner Mimica Announced Support Package for Peru

support package for PeruCommissioner Mimica of EU Aid began a voyage to Peru earlier this month on Oct. 9 to announce a support package for the development and health of young adults and children.

The support package for Peru is intended to accelerate the plans of the National Development and Social Inclusion Strategy, which aims to help five regions most affected by poverty in the Peruvian Amazon.

The finalized package suggests 40 million euros ($45.5 million), with a total 66 million euros ($75.1 million) being allocated to Peru between 2014 and 2017. This money will advance the already growing economy of Peru and assist the permanent reduction of poverty that has been reflected since this growth.

However, the solidarity of development has not been established, as about 54 percent still live in poverty and 19 percent live in absolute poverty (less than a dollar a day).

Social Inclusion Strategy will address this unequal growth, favoring those who have not benefited, despite the country’s economic boom. The stratagem prioritizes people into groups based off five core topics:

  1. Childhood Nutrition – focusing on fighting those who lack access to food and water
  2. Early Childhood Development – focusing on the development of infants and young children who do not live in stable conditions
  3. Development of Children and Teenagers – focusing on older children and teens who do not live with a stable family
  4. Economic Inclusion – focusing on incorporating those who have not benefitted from the economy into a better society
  5. Protection of Elders – focusing on poverty-stricken elders who are no longer able to provide for themselves

Furthermore, the developmental gap in the region is ensured to decrease by a three-part approach that focuses on three-time horizons – short, medium and long term.

Temporary relief will bring short term relief to those in extreme poverty while medium term relief promises capacity building such as providing services, and the long-term approach will aid with the creation of opportunities.

In this way, Peru will see a reduction of extreme poverty that substantiates and perpetuates the developmental growth of all priority groups.

MIDIS, the organization overseeing the National Development and Social Inclusion Strategy, defines people who are already in the process of social inclusion as PEPI; PEPI households must meet three of four focal points in order to be given PEPI status:

  1. Rural household
  2. Female-headed Household with less than primary education
  3. Head of house speaks indigenous language
  4. Located in the first quintile of national per capita income distribution

Of these dwellings, 60 percent live between walls of adobe, 84 percent have dirt floors in their homes, 60 percent use wood to cook and 57 percent go without access to sanitation services.

The total number of people living in PEPI households (4.8 million) calculates to about 16 percent of the population. It is estimated by 2030 for the developmental gap to be significantly reduced by the support package for Peru with financial investment to be concluded for Peru in 2017.

– Emilio Rivera

Sources: European Commission, GOB, Nations Encyclopedia
Photo: Flickr

,

A Nobel Prize in Medicine to Change the Fate of a Continent

nobel_prize_in_medicineFor the past 43 years, a lifesaving treatment for malaria, perfected by pharmacologist Tu YouYou, has received little recognition until winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday, Oct. 5. This long-known remedy has already demonstrated its efficacy through its use in southern Asia; however, the issue still remains as a staggering 90 percent of deaths caused by malaria occur in sub-Saharan Africa.

In 1967, Mao Zedong established a secret project dubbed “Project 523” in order to develop a cure for the widespread disease that disabled thousands of soldiers and civilians. Tu Youyou was selected to work on the cure after the group failed to create a synthetic medicine that proved effective.

Tu Youyou, then a student at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, began her search in 1969 for any herbal cure to the issue. She collected 2,000 possible remedies before cutting her list to 380 and testing her compounds on mice.

It wasn’t until 1972 that Tu Youyou successfully produced chemically pure artemisinin, which was then assessed by a group of scientists; despite their efforts, the artemisinin weakened as the chemists’ trials continued. After discovering a method in “Emergency Prescriptions to Keep Up One’s Sleeve,” an ancient text on Chinese medicine, Tu Youyou procured another solution that worked 100 percent of the time on primates and rodents.

Tu Youyou tested the medicine herself and human trials began; artemisinin treatments became the fastest-acting antimalarial medicine. Despite this, it wasn’t until 2011 that Tu Youyou’s discovery earned a Lasker prize as its first award.

Tu Youyou’s find has held promise for the eradication of malaria since its discovery, being rewarded with a Nobel Prize in Medicine on Oct. 5, 2015. New drug-resisting malaria vectors, however, have drastically altered the reception of antimalarial therapy across the world. A prominent example is that of sub-Saharan Africa.

The most recent number calculated by the WHO records that in 2013 there were an estimated 198 million cases of malaria worldwide. Malaria is the cause of about 450,000 deaths per year and 90 percent of these occur in sub-Saharan Africa, with 77 percent being children at the age of 5 and younger.

Despite the drug-resisting vectors, mortality rates have fallen 47 percent globally since 2000, with a drop of 54 percent in the WHO’s African region. The WHO also suggests halting production and marketing of artemisinin-based monotherapies until variations of the treatment are developed.

Although no specificity is provided on when other alternatives will be available, the WHO launched an emergency response in April 2013 with the hopes of containing and managing any known outbreaks, continuing today as the WHO emphasizes that “urgent actions now will deliver significant savings in the long run.” It has since received aid from the leaders of the East Asia Summit and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

For now, we must enjoy “[the] gift for the world’s people from traditional Chinese medicine,” Youyou said after winning the Lasker prize in 2011.

– Emilio Rivera

Sources: CNN, Columbia, Vox, WHO                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Photo: Flickr

, ,

The Indonesian Family Hope Program Ends Poverty Cycle

Indonesia_Family

In 2013, 28 million Indonesians lived below the poverty line. Impoverished families throughout the nation were often too poor to afford healthcare and education for their children, leading to illness and injury that trapped them in generational poverty.

In an effort to break this generational cycle, the World Bank, in combination with the Ministry of Social Affairs, has created the Family Hope Program.

Financial and Developmental Aid

The Indonesian Family Hope Program works through a series of cash transfers. The money is given to parents who agree to participate in health and nutrition training, take their children to clinics when they’re ill and keep their children in school.

The program also provides startup money and skills training to parents. These micro-investments give families the means to become entrepreneurs and run their own family businesses, ensuring economic growth and generational development.

Health

Mothers participating in the program are encouraged to give their children the best possible start to life — beginning in the womb. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that women have four antenatal check-ups throughout the course of their pregnancy, thus lowering the risk of complications, infections and other life-threatening incidents through screenings. Yet, few women receive all four visits.

The Family Hope Program has increased the number of antenatal checkups by more than 7 percent. This establishes a precedent of continued family health. As mothers are healthier during and after pregnancy, children are healthier and receive better healthcare as a result. The 7 percent increase in antenatal care resulted in a mirrored raise in child immunizations by 7 percent.

The nutritional aspect of the program has also positively impacted childhood development, decreasing the number of children suffering from stunting by 5 percent. As a result of children being healthier, they are able to focus better and attend school.

Education

Along with the cash grants, more than 11,000 facilitators trained in education and nutrition hold seminars teaching mothers how to manage finances, improve the health of their families and aid their children in their studies.

The program has resulted in increased enrollment and school participation.

Many children from poor families stop attending school after completing their primary education, though not due to a lack of desire to attend. The program has removed financial barriers keeping children from continuing their education for the more than 3 million families that the program has reached.

Children now are 8 percent more likely to go on to secondary education and 10 percent more likely to enroll in junior secondary school. According to the United Nations, more education equals higher earning potential and better health, which are essential to end the generational poverty cycle.

– Claire Colby

Sources: NCBI, United Nations, World Bank, World Health Organization
Photo: PBase

,

Bringing Sanitation to the Impoverished Nile Delta

Nile Delta
In rural Egypt, the freshwater of the Nile River is a life-giving resource and the main supplier of drinking water; but, due to pollution from human and animal waste, the river is also deadly.

Annually, 5 percent of Egyptian deaths are the result of water contamination and lack of sanitation, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Currently, there are as few as 500 rural waste treatment plants in operation throughout more than 5,500 rural villages, with only 37 percent of rural households being covered by a public sewage line.

This lack of sanitation infrastructure is a serious health risk to rural residents because of water contamination. Diarrhea, typhoid fever and E. coli are just a few of the life-threatening illnesses that result from inadequate waste treatment and storage.

In order to fight back against the mounting problem of untreated wastewater seeping or being dumped into the Nile, the World Bank has pledged $550 million to improve existing sanitation facilities in the rural Delta as well as create new sanitation systems throughout Daqahliya, Sharqiya and Beheira in Lower Egypt.

The Sustainable Rural Sanitation Services Program for Results, approved in July 2015 and set to end in October 2020, is designed to restructure the existing centralized system to create a decentralized system, giving local water and sanitation companies (WSCs) within the Nile Delta the ability to expand and cover larger areas while improving their service.

Through this decentralized approach, WSCs are able to generate more local jobs, improving not only the health of poor rural residents but also their economic standing.

Using a bottom-up business model, WSCs are held responsible through a performance-based capital grant (PBCGs) from the Central Government, ensuring empowered employment and quality service to their communities.

The Sustainable Rural Sanitation Services Program for Results is set to serve 769 villages in seven governorates that have a history of releasing untreated wastewater into tributaries of the Nile.

The program will benefit the health and socio-economic status of rural villages as well as aid in preserving the Nile, the largest source of Egyptian freshwater, constituting 98 percent of drinking water.

The program also protects against untreated human waste seeping into the groundwater, leaving impoverished Egyptians with contaminated drinking water. By the end of the five-year period, an estimated 800,000 poor Egyptians will have benefitted from the program.

– Claire Colby

Sources: American Institute of Science, World Bank 1, World Bank 2, WHO, International Water and Technology Conference
Photo: The Chronicle Herald

,

Kenya-South Sudan Highway Alleviates Regional Poverty

Kenya-South Sudan Highway
With support from the World Bank Group, the governments of Kenya and South Sudan, as well as other stakeholders, recently inaugurated a new project that will upgrade a critical trade route connecting the two countries.

The updated route will make trade easier between the two countries, improve livelihoods for people living in the northwest region and alleviate regional poverty.

Currently, the Kenya-South Sudan highway, which runs through Trans Nzoia, Turkana and West Pokot counties, is a rugged track. It’s hard for vehicles to pass the deteriorated area.

Travelers run the risk of encountering bandits along the route and also pay fares that are an average of six times the price for a comparable distance on good roads.

The East Africa Transport, Trade and Development Facilitation Project will rehabilitate a 309-kilometer trek of land to create a safe route for goods and people along the Lokichar, Nadapal/Nakodoc road in the northwest region of Kenya.

The World Bank Group launched $500 million to support other activities designed to improve the livelihoods for those living in the region and to improve regional competitiveness.

Diarietou Gaye, World Bank country director for Kenya, says, “This new project is unique in its own right, because of its size, geographical coverage, and the range of activities it will undertake, targeting the specific needs of the vulnerable communities in Trans Nzoia, Turkana and West Pokot counties.”

Including 1.5 million people, those counties are home to some of the country’s poorest and most vulnerable people.

The rehabilitation of this section will cost $676 million, among which the Kenya government will contribute $176 million. Other development partners, such as the African Development Bank, German Development Bank and the European Union have shown interest in financing the reconstruction of the remaining sections.

The World Bank Group, with other development partners such as the African Development Bank and China, will support $80 million for the other 400-kilometer section in South Sudan, from its capital Juba to the border with Kenya.

In addition to rehabilitating the trade and transport corridor, the project will facilitate the construction of a 1,000-kilometer fiber optic connection between Kenya and South Sudan, as well as a one-stop border post to facilitate cross-border transport and trade between the two countries.

When the corridor is upgraded, traveling and sending goods from Kenya’s Port of Mombasa to Juba will be much faster.

Moreover, the project will also offer water and sanitation services, build domestic and export markets for livestock, agricultural produce, fisheries and mineral products, and facilitate extraction of petroleum resources in the recently discovered oil fields in Turkana and neighboring counties.

In addition, the project will create jobs and income opportunities for members of the local communities.

– Shengyu Wang

Sources: The World Bank, Chr. Michelsen Institute
Photo: Flickr

, , ,

Clinton Global Initiative Launches Health Plan

Clinton Global InitiativeA lack of access to adequate health care is often a risk factor or symptom of poverty, as the inability to prevent or treat illnesses in a timely, affordable manner can devastate communities.

Following the aftermath of the Ebola crisis, USAID, the Clinton Global Initiative and other organizations have teamed up to create the Aspen Management Partnership for Health.

The Aspen Management Partnership for Health (AMP Health) is the first multi-sectoral partnership in the community health sector to focus on the leadership driving community health systems in developing nations.

Specifically, AMP Health hopes to strengthen the leadership and management of community health organizations. AMP Health combines the power of several different organizations in order to facilitate effective change.

This multi-sectoral partnership utilizes the power of USAID, the Aspen Institute, MDG Health Alliance, Born Free Africa, Margaret A. Cardill Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline, Partners in Health, the Harvard School of Public Health and McCann Health.

The partnership was announced at the Clinton Foundation’s 2015 Annual Meeting as one of their Commitments to Action for the Clinton Global Initiative.

“In addition to establishing mentor networks and cross-country convenings, the partners will recruit, train, and deploy in-country management professionals to work side-by-side with Ministries of Health on high-priority community health projects, ultimately strengthening health systems,” Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton said at the meeting.

The networks of trained, values-oriented health care professionals will be critical in advancing community health systems in developing nations.
Initially, the partnership will be utilized in sub-Saharan Africa, where community health interventions could save up to three million lives per year.

It will prove particularly relevant to reducing child and maternal mortality rates.

AMP Health incorporates businesses, governments, educational institutions, think tanks, multilateral organizations, and philanthropic foundations in order to affect change for community health systems.

While this may be just one of the Clinton Foundation’s 3,200 Commitments to Action, it carries much power and support from myriad organizations.

As a result of the multi-sectoral partnership, AMP Health can support sub-Saharan Africa as it works to prevent future epidemics, lower child and maternal mortality rates, and manage the treatment of chronic, non-communicable diseases.

– Priscilla McCelvey

Sources: Aspen Institute, Market Watch
Photo: Flickr

, , ,

Health Poverty Action: Combating Poverty and Poor Health

health_poverty_action
Extreme poverty and poor health conditions are inextricably linked. According to the World Health Organization, about 1.2 billion people worldwide are currently living on less than $1 a day, which places them in the extreme poverty category.

This is why it is important to tackle the causes of poor health, which will in turn help to drastically improve poverty levels and vice versa.

In developing areas of the world, poverty increases people’s chances of getting sick due to poor nutrition, overcrowding and a lack of clean water. Some people are forced to put themselves into dangerous, health-hazardous situations in order to provide for and keep their families safe.

On the flip side, poor health causes an increase in poverty when a family loses a source of income due to an inability to work, perhaps causing them to sell assets such as livestock or equipment and tools essential to their work.

This will significantly decrease a family’s ability to fight poverty, especially during times of extreme political, economic or natural shocks.

In order to combat and tackle both issues at once, which will significantly reduce the prevalence of both extreme poverty and poor health conditions, Health Poverty Action, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting both poverty and poor health, suggests several things:

1. Aid should be more long term and have a stable, predictable structure. When tackling health concerns, the focus should be on improving the country’s health system and not just on one specific disease.

2. There is a need for more health workers to be trained in their own countries and to stay where they are most needed. Wealthier countries should avoid taking away sorely needed health professionals.

3. Emphasis needs to be placed on prioritizing health and reasonable global health coverage.

4. Issues such as nutrition, education, clean water and sanitation much be addressed.

5. It is important that there be affordable, easy access to a variety of medicine for the poor.

All around the world, organizations like Health Poverty Action are already enacting change.

Along the border between China and Burma, there is a high risk of malaria infection. Health Poverty Action is giving communities their access to treatments and prevention. A similar story is true of TB in Cambodia and HIV in South Omo, Ethiopia.

The poverty rate has been steadily decreasing but it is time for the world to take the next big steps as one. By implementing initiatives to address the points above, we have a true shot at ending global poverty and poor health conditions.

– Drusilla Gibbs

Sources: Health Poverty Action 1, Health Poverty Action 2, World Health Organization, Inequality Watch
Photo: Pixabay

,

UK Students Sign Up to “Send My Friend to School”

send_my_friend_to_school
Since the United Nations’ decision to focus on education in 2000, approximately 58 million more children have been able to attend school thanks to various governments and organizations like Send My Friend to School banding together.

While this number seems large, that still leaves 58 million children out of school. And that doesn’t account for all of the dropouts that have taken place since.

In developing countries, there are still many obstacles getting in the way of a primary education for all children. Disability, cost, work, distance, conflict and a lack of teachers are only a few of the struggles that are still being addressed.

In the United Kingdom, the Global Campaign for Education began a program entitled “Send My Friend to School” in order to help the remaining 58 million children that are currently unable to receive a primary education.

This campaign focuses on allowing the children of the U.K. to participate in the solution. According to the campaign website, “over 10,000 schools and youth groups, and millions of children, have been involved so far in the U.K.”

The focus for these children is to band together and speak out for everyone’s right to an education. By speaking with and reminding leaders about their promise to get every child in school, they are able to keep education a priority.

According to Oxfam, an educational resource site, “Send My Friend to School is asking UK pupils to imagine that they were a world leader and tell politicians what crucial decisions they would make to get every child worldwide into school now.”

Since the campaign’s start in 2005, success stories have built up showing how much these children are capable of.

After the Southfield School campaign targeting MP Philip Hollobone and David Cameron, the two leaders expressed, “I am very impressed by the concern you have shown for the education of children in developing countries. Your colourful drawings demonstrate this as well as your enthusiasm for the campaign.”

Other such success stories have flooded the U.K. news.

The Send My Friend to School campaign has consistently shown that children are excellent advocates for global education needs. When organizations and direction are in place, children are able to accomplish much good.

– Katherine Martin

Sources: Send My Friend, Oxfam, Southfield School
Photo: Flickr

, ,

Why We Need More Activists

Why We Need More Activists
When the world’s problems seem too big, too complicated and too terrifying to even try and solve, the words of Margret Meade always seem to provide much-needed perspective, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Activism, as defined by the Cambridge Dictionary, is “the use of direct and noticeable action to achieve a result, usually a political or social one.” By this definition, an activist is someone who does an action on behalf of a cause.

The traditional method of activism usually involved a picket and a protest. However, with the introduction of the Internet and the expanding access to information and connectivity, activism has begun presenting itself in diverse, and arguably more effective, ways.

Activism has played a role in ending slavery, protecting civil rights, promoting equality for women and many other issues, but as the way activism works begins to change, the need for activists grows.

Before globalization and the hyper interconnectivity of our world through trade and online access, problems were handled generally at a local level. Communities pushed against government policies they disagreed with or pushed for social change they deemed fit.

As issues expand to a global level, so must activism. But unlike the past, those most affected by certain life debilitating issues do not have the access needed to have their voices heard.

activistsNearly half of the world’s population — a staggering 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.

While the international poverty line has been drawn at living on a $1.25 or less a day, which more than 1.3 billion people do, it is important to acknowledge that a significant portion of the people living on earth today is barely getting by. Poverty is especially rampant in undeveloped nations.

So in addition to dealing with economic insecurity, citizens of poor countries have few avenues for social, political or economic change. They cannot simply sign a petition for their government to implement better social programs.

Many of them live in rural communities far removed from their governments, and most of the governments in developing countries are unable or unwilling to help their citizens break the bonds of poverty.

This is why we need more activists. Half of our world is essentially voiceless. They cannot adequately act on behalf of their own cause, but that does not mean they should not be heard. If the portion of our population, who has enough, did enough, then couldn’t we all have enough?

We need to use activism to scream that global poverty must be eradicated.

There is what seems like endless ways to become a voice for someone who needs to have their needs heard.

Join organizations who have made it their mission to address global poverty in one way or another, volunteer at their events, rally your friends to become involved, contact your local and federal governing representatives to encourage them to join the fight.

It does not matter how you choose to be an activist, it only matters that you act.

– Brittney Dimond

Sources: Do Something, BMartin, Cambridge Dictionary, One, Permanent Culture Now, Activists Handbook
Photo: Pixabay, Wikipedia