Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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The Hanging Library Tackles Child Illiteracy in Nigeria

Illiteracy in Nigeria
In January 2023, Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Nigeria representative, made a statement highlighting that, in Nigeria, “75% of children aged 7-14 years cannot read a simple sentence or solve a simple math problem.” Education quality, literacy and school attendance is one of the ongoing struggles in Nigeria, preventing many young children from acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills to find employment and lift themselves out of poverty. While primary education is officially free and mandatory for children, the reality vastly differs. Only 61% of children under 11 regularly attend school at the primary level, and in the northern states of Nigeria, the general net school attendance rate is just 53%. Due to low literacy rates in the country, efforts are underway to improve illiteracy in Nigeria.

About Illiteracy in Nigeria

There are a variety of factors that prevent children from receiving quality education. For instance, in the northern states where the education is predominantly Qur’anic, religious educators do not teach foundational literacy and numeracy skills. Additionally, cultural/societal norms discourage girls’ formal education. In addition, in states such as Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, which are experiencing conflict, classrooms have faced destruction and schools remain shut.

At a literacy conference in 2018, Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu highlighted his view that illiteracy in Nigeria is responsible for “rising incidence of drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, examination malpractice, cultism, armed robbery, human trafficking, kidnapping, communal clashes and terrorism.”

In Nigeria, a literacy gap exists between genders and between urban and rural locations, highlighting the socioeconomic norms that prevent access to quality education from being a universal right for children across the nation. Notably, in 2018, the literacy rate for males in urban areas stood at 86.4% whereas the rate for females in rural areas stood at 35.4%, according to a publication by the Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas (FAWCO).

The Hanging Library from the Neo Child Initiative

The Hanging Library, a project started in 2017 by the nonprofit The Neo Child Initiative, is an example of a creative method to facilitate and encourage reading among Nigerian children, helping reduce illiteracy in Nigeria and improve school attendance.

The project entails utilizing unused fabric to create a “handmade library” that looks like a hanging shoe rack nailed to a wall. The rack holds up to 50 books. The materials come from donations from volunteers and a book drive. So far, the initiative has established 50 hanging libraries and provided schools with more than 5,000 books in six states in Nigeria.

The founders of the project understood that, with more than half of the country’s population living on less than $2 per day, there is very little disposable income available for books and educational materials. By increasing children’s access to books, the organization hopes that literacy levels can start to improve across the board and children can gain exposure to a more expansive worldview.

The Benefits of Literacy

Even on a local level, improved literacy and better education quality will have profound effects on the future of Nigerian children. An undeniable necessity for employment, heightened literacy will help youths participate in the global knowledge economy and provide them with the skills to make calculated decisions in their daily life and to lift themselves out of poverty.

Furthermore, encouraging reading and high literacy from a young age will have generational impacts. Children who grow up reading will prioritize education over labor for their own children, creating a positive cycle and also enabling the parents to engage and help their children with schoolwork.

– Eleanor Moseley
Photo: Flickr

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A Look at The Top 7 Diseases in Nepal

Top Diseases in NepalAs of May 2023, 15.1% of Nepal’s population continues to live below the poverty line — less than $1.90 a day. In 2014, this number stood at 30.1%. Despite these drastic improvements, Nepal’s poorest continue to face significant challenges, as levels of malnutrition and air pollution remain critically high, and standards of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) remain critically low. As a result, communicable, maternal, neonation and nutritional (CMNN) diseases alone continue to cause 21% of deaths in Nepal, despite being largely preventable. Listed below are some of the most prominent diseases in Nepal. 

Top 7 Diseases in Nepal

  • Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) – Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), such as coronary heart disease and strokes, are the leading cause of death in Nepal, with 24% of total deaths being attributed to CVDs alone in 2019. Cardiovascular disease is the general term for conditions that affect the heart or blood vessels. CVDs are the leading cause of death globally.
  • Malaria – Malaria poses a “serious and persistent threat to public health” in much of Southeast Asia, according to the World Health Organization, and it is the region with the second-highest estimated malaria burden globally. While Malaria remains the second-highest leading cause of death in Nepal, between 2015 and 2021, the country has seen a more than 40% reduction in the number of cases recorded, a global target set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The mortality rate from malaria has also decreased drastically between 2009 and 2019, a decrease of almost 82 deaths per 100,000 cases. 
  • Diarrheal Disease – Often caused by bacteria, diarrheal diseases are particularly common in countries such as Nepal, where there are poor water, sanitation and hygiene standards (also known as WASH) for the majority of the population. While numbers are improving, diarrheal diseases remain the third highest cause of death and remain one of the most prominent diseases in Nepal. 
  • Lower Respiratory Infection – Often used as a synonym for pneumonia, lower respiratory infections are any infections in the lungs or below the voice box. Largely a result of poor levels of WASH and dangerous levels of air pollution in the country’s capital, Kathmandu, currently standing at 4.9 times higher than recommended by WHO, lower respiratory infections are one of the top diseases in Nepal. 
  • HIV/AIDS – Around 30,000 people in Nepal live with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). If left untreated, HIV can develop into AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), which is often fatal. Since February 2017, the United Nations’ Test and Treat Strategy has aimed to prevent the spread and to administer treatment of HIV and AIDS, with highly positive results. More work, however, needs to be done to ensure the Test and Treat Strategy can be administered effectively and reaches Nepal’s most vulnerable, to ensure that one day it no longer ranks as one of Nepal’s most prominent diseases and leading causes of death. 
  • Tuberculosis (TB) – A serious bacterial infection of the lungs, the prevalence of tuberculosis in Nepal has been on the rise since 2018. Around 117,000 people in Nepal have been diagnosed with TB, and an estimated 69,000 of these developed TB in 2018 alone. WHO surveys estimate that around 40% of people who present with symptoms of tuberculosis do not seek treatment. Malnutrition is one of the main factors leading to the contraction of TB. 
  • Meningitis – A bacterial infection of the lining around the brain and the spinal cord, meningitis is particularly prevalent among Nepal’s youth. 83% of the cases occur among those under 25 years of age, while the highest age-specific attack rate is children under 1 year of age. With a lack of access to public health care services among Nepal’s poorest, the case fatality rate for meningitis in Nepal stands at 11%, making it one of Nepal’s deadliest diseases. 

Conclusion 

For each of Nepal’s most prevalent diseases, their fatality levels have decreased substantially over the last 15 years. This is in large part due to the work of NGOs and nonprofit organizations such as USAID and WHO helping to improve levels of malnutrition and standards of WASH. USAID is currently working with the Government of Nepal to improve the country’s public health services, providing critical care to Nepal’s poorest and most vulnerable. Yet communicable and preventable diseases in Nepal continue to be a leading cause of death, and more work needs to be done to ensure these numbers continue to improve. 

– Eleanor Lomas
Photo: Unsplash

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Strengthening Education in Colombia

Strengthening Education in Colombia
Colombia, located at the northernmost end of South America, has recently become an emerging power among second-world countries. Despite its prominent role in global trade and growing economy, some sectors of Colombia are lagging behind this development. In particular, strengthening education in Colombia is important because the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) suggests that more than 70% of 15-year-olds in Colombia lack basic literacy and numeracy.

Due to Colombia’s lack of emphasis on education, students often redo classes, and some even fail to enroll in school at all. In fact, according to World Education in 2018, the percentage of enrollments stood at only 42.5% for incoming high school students. Additionally, the number of students who had repeated at least one grade increased from 38% to 43% between 2009 and 2015. Out-of-school children are more susceptible to gang recruitment, drugs and teen pregnancies. Additionally, a lack of education ultimately ensures individuals remain stuck in cycles of poverty. In fact, the government statistics agency DANE highlights that about 19.6 million Colombians out of a general population of 50 million endured conditions of poverty by the close of 2021 while extreme poverty affected 6.1 million Colombians.

Strengthening Education in Colombia

In 2016, Andreas Schleicher, the director for Education and Skills at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), presented a report in Barranquilla with Colombia’s Minister of Education about education in Colombia. The report said, “As Colombia enters the global economy, its educational success will be measured by boosting national standards so that Colombian children match up to children around the world.”

The government of Colombia developed the Everyone Learns education program in 2012, targeting “elementary students in public schools in the poorest areas of the country.” This program, led by education minister Maria Fernanda Campo, focuses on math and language and has positively impacted more than 2.4 million students. The whole premise of this program is to hire some of the country’s most renowned teachers to teach in low-income areas of the country. This provides a better quality of teaching in necessary classes, including math, reading and language.

Drawing Inspiration from Others

Many impoverished children in Colombia are unable to attend school because they lack proper uniforms, books and supplies, which diminishes their opportunity to rise out of poverty. Local government funds or loans should be made available to low-income families so they can buy their children the necessary school supplies. Colombia can look to Brazil for inspiration. For example, in Brazil, the program known as Bolsa Família helps provide school supplies, clothing and shoes to lower-income families so their children can regularly attend classes. As a result, the enrollment rate in Brazilian schools increased significantly. In fact, in grades one to four, enrollment rates increased by 2.8% in the initial year and by about 5.5% after three years.

Another initiative Colombia could draw inspiration from is the Programa Nacional de Becas y Crédito Educativo in Peru. This program administers scholarships and education credits to students in poverty. Established in 2016, the program has had a positive impact on students. For the thousands of Colombians who lack the financial means to pursue education, following these programs could prove essential. By increasing the quality of teaching and making schooling affordable to students across the country, Colombia could see enrollment rates spike and tremendous motivation from students. More resources should be allocated to early childhood education to raise education outcomes and ensure that all students have a fair chance of success.

Although strengthening education in Colombia is no easy feat, with strong programs in place, the country can start reversing the negative trends in the education system. To make a real difference, though, Colombia needs to focus future efforts on solving issues that make it challenging for families to enroll their children in schools.

– Neil Chandran
Photo: Flickr

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Ensuring Secure Land Rights for Women Alleviates Poverty

Secure Land Rights for Women
Land ownership plays an important role in the fight against global poverty. Secure land rights for women living in poverty allows them to live a more “healthy, safe and productive life,” according to the World Bank. According to the United Nations (U.N.), more than 380 million women and girls lived in extreme poverty in 2022 with projections of more women living in extreme poverty by 2030 than present-day if current trends continue in sub-Saharan Africa. Women need direct access to land for “gender equality, food security, health, family welfare, protection from sexual violence and other forms of physical abuse,” the World Bank stresses. The risk of women facing domestic violence decreases eight times when women have land ownership rights.

Benefits of Secure Land Rights for Women

As of 2023, according to the U.N., women account for only “one in five landholders” worldwide despite making up 43% of global agricultural workers and producing “80% of food in developing countries.” In some countries where women lack secure land rights, when women become widows, their inlaws may force them off their husband’s property/land, leaving them without arable land from which to derive income and sustenance for themselves and their children, the U.N. explains. More than 100 countries continue to deny the right for women to inherit their husband’s property. Secure land rights for women increase economic empowerment and food security, mitigating multi-dimensional and fiscal poverty in the developing world.

Women’s Land Rights and its Impact on Children

Women’s land rights have a significant impact on children’s quality of life by strengthening food security, health and welfare and education. In developing nations where women cannot be title holders of land, many mothers cannot afford to send their children to school due to low household incomes.

The U.N. highlights that by empowering women through land rights, household nutrition can improve due to access to agricultural produce available for both sustenance and income. In fact, children would face a 33% lower risk of being severely underweight if women had stronger property and inheritance rights. Furthermore, women tend to prioritize the well-being of their families in their choices both nutritionally and generally.

Women’s Land Rights and Productivity

Secure land rights for women also help alleviate global poverty by increasing productivity. This is visible in Tanzania, where as of 2023, more than 80% of women are engaged in the agricultural industry. In Tanzania, women with stronger land rights earn up to 3.8 times more income and are more inclined to have their own personal savings. According to the U.N., global hunger would decrease by 17% (equating to about 150 million people) if “women had the same access to productive resources as men” to rise out of poverty and achieve economic independence.

The U.N. reports that, through traditional knowledge, women are able to “find innovative solutions to address desertification, land degradation and drought.” This is visible in areas such as Jordan, where a women-run plant nursery began with the aim of producing drought-resistant seedlings for land restoration.

Examples of Progress in Securing Women’s Land Rights

In 1956, the government of India created the Hindu Succession Act to give equal inheritance rights to both sons and daughters. Amended in 2005, the act explicitly gives daughters rights to their parents’ land and property. However, a 2013 U.N. Women’s survey found that one in four women did not know they had any right to inherit family land with just one in eight women inheriting parts of their family land. Furthermore, the study also found that fears of creating conflict in the family held women back from claiming their rightful share of land.

The Landesa’s Girl Project, run by Landesa, an organization dedicated to securing land rights for millions of families, collaborated with the Indian government in 2010, in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, to educate children both girls and boys about women’s land rights, helping to close the gap between policy and practice. The initiative has enabled women to improve their socio-economic prospects through better awareness and access to information about their right to ownership of land.

In Sierra Leone, ownership of land for women is an economic resource as women depend on the land for their livelihood and subsistence. Lack of ownership limits their economic opportunities and leaves them vulnerable to displacement, violence and extreme poverty. The introduction of the Customary Land Act and the Land Commission Act in 2022 has helped promote gender equality throughout Sierra Leone. The Customary Land Act has meant that the liquidation of family-owned land requires both the consent of the husband and wife.

Moreover, in Sierra Leone, the National Land Commission Act mandates the formation of a committee to regulate land administration, stipulating that a minimum of 30% of the committee members must be women. This provision aims to empower women and enhance their rights and control over land.

Secure land rights for women help alleviate global poverty, which is why SDG 5 (the goal to reduce gender inequality) and SDG 1 (the aim to eradicate poverty) go hand-in-hand.

– Kishan Patel
Photo: Flickr

Addressing Malnutrition and the Poverty Trap

The Poverty TrapOne of the vicious cycles, or “poverty traps,” people in the developing world find themselves caught in is the mutually reinforcing relationship between illness and poverty. Chronic illness has a way of making sure the extremely poor stay extremely poor, and it can cause massive loss at both the individual and the national level of wealth.

Since 1997, HIV/AIDS has cut five years off the life-expectancy of sub-Saharan Africans, and a 2004 study found that a small-scale farming family in Kenya could expect a 57% drop in crop productivity if the male head of their household died. The burden of illness imposed by tsetse flies (vectors for trypanosomiasis, or “African Sleeping Sickness”) has historically slowed the adoption of animal husbandry practices, and therefore agricultural productivity, in the areas of Africa where they are most abundant. Entire developing nations could expect a 2% to 7% drop in GDP because of iron-deficient anemia in their citizens, according to a 2005 U.N. Millennium Project Report. In 2018, malaria by itself was capable of draining roughly $12 billion from Africa’s GDP.

Malnutrition Fuels the Poverty Trap

Extreme poverty also pushes individuals into the path of multiple illnesses, and the malnutrition that so often attends poverty enthusiastically helps this process along. Malaria, measles or acute respiratory infections kill about 1 million children per year. That is more than one every 30 seconds, and the death rate is much higher among malnourished children. It can significantly impair the immune system’s ability to fight infection, an especially severe burden for those living with chronic parasite infections, which often require immune repair of tissue damage caused by the parasites. Malnourishment can also stunt the growth of fetuses, and make them more vulnerable to neonatal death from sepsis and diarrhea.

Multiple Traps

One can easily grasp this particular trap – the circular progression from poverty to malnutrition to disease and back again. One seems to flow naturally from the other. Interrupting the process is not so intuitive, and unfortunately, it is not as simple as just giving people more food. Even when people start to receive adequate nutrition, they still must deal with some biological ironies. In the case of parasites, better nutrition benefits them as much as it does their hosts, and a better-fed community fosters parasite reproduction as much as it does immunity, the former possibly outpacing the latter. The symptoms of schistosomiasis, a disease of parasitized blood, present as runaway inflammation, an immune overreaction that actually thrives on a well-nourished body.  

The agricultural systems needed for better nourishment also present their own ironies, because they impose new infrastructure upon the natural environment, with repercussions that can restrain the disease-poverty cycle with one hand and unleash it with the other.

A good illustration of this is how agriculture changes the use of freshwater. The conversion of wetlands into orchards helped eradicate schistosomiasis in Japan, and the drainage of wetlands was an integral and successful component of malaria control in turn-of-the-century America. However, Egypt’s construction of the Aswan High Dam and irrigation network between 1960 and 1970 helped incubate a larger population of mosquitoes, mosquitoes capable of spreading lymphatic filariasis, an illness also known as human elephantiasis that disfigures those it infects by inhibiting the drainage of lymphatic fluid. A 1999 study showed Ethiopia experienced seven times as much malaria after the construction of dams and irrigation.

Multiple Solutions

After successfully reaching its Millennium Development Goal of cutting the number of people living in extreme poverty in half by 2015, the U.N. set its sights on achieving “sustainable development,” with significant implications for finally smashing the poverty trap. Sustainable development entails not only investing in agriculture and increasing access to food but also fostering a food infrastructure that both relieves micronutrient deficiencies (the most common variety of malnutrition) and provides the necessary infrastructure for education and sanitation. 

According to a 2019 paper published in the journal Nature Sustainability, there was a 37% difference in child mortality and a 20% difference in malnutrition between the richest and poorest among 43 developing countries that received safe water and sanitation. Some solutions can outsmart the poverty trap at its own game, creating cyclical, mutually reinforcing benefits. For instance, investment in education and health literacy can reduce the occurrence of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), and directly investing in the control of NTDs at $3.50 per child can in effect give them an entire extra year of education.

Fortunately, there are several ways that the developed world can address the challenges associated with poverty and work toward sustainable development. By maintaining a strong commitment to sustainable development goals and keeping the complex issues faced by millions in mind, there is hope for a future where hunger, illness and poverty are not inextricably linked. This collective effort can help break the cycle of poverty and create global conditions that prevent its return.

– John Merino
Photo: Flickr

Nonprofits Creating Change in Sub-Saharan Africa

Nonprofits in Sub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa suffers from several difficulties, including hunger, insufficient schooling programs and a lack of medical resources. Fortunately, there are several nonprofit organizations helping these countries become more prosperous and overall creating positive change in sub-Saharan Africa.

UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was established in 1946. Initially, the organization was created to provide mothers and their children with emergency care during World War II. Now, the nonprofit assists women and children in underdeveloped countries everywhere.

In Eastern Africa, malnutrition and hunger have become very prominent. Due to extreme weather patterns, the region has experienced its worst drought in decades. The devastation has made it nearly impossible for crops to grow and sustain people in the easternmost part of Africa. Approximately 37 million people are suffering the consequences of this drought. Among those, 20 million are children.

UNICEF has been called into action and continues to create several positive impact plans for the future of this region. For example, UNICEF uses its Ready-To-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) as a protein substance for many children lacking in nutrition. RUTF is a peanut paste that is known to be an effective way to increase a malnourished child’s health stability.

Additionally, UNICEF is working to improve East Africa’s access to water and sanitation products through a more efficient delivery process. Its new action plan creates emergency interventions, including immunization processes for children. Overall, UNICEF is striving to create positive change in sub-Saharan Africa.

MIET Africa

The Media in Education Trust Organization was established in 1996 in Durban, South Africa. The program strives to promote schooling and socioeconomic development (as it relates to education) in the Southern region of Africa.

In sub-Saharan Africa, over one-fifth of young children between the ages of 6 and 11 are out of school. This stat increases its numbers to one-third with 12- to 14-year-olds and then drops off to about 60% of 15- to 17-year-olds not in school.

To enhance the quality of education in South Africa, MIET works with Ministries of Education to create better research development programs, meaningful and inclusive partnerships between students and staff and technology-based solutions.

MIET has become so big and impactful that the organization has created regional satellite offices in South Africa and the Southern African Development Community.

MIET offers several projects and programs for children looking for a sufficient education. Programs addressing barriers to learning and development include the Amani Project, the Boys’ Vulnerability Study and the Education: My Right! My Future! program. Programs aimed to enhance the quality of one’s education include Maths 4 All, the Pongola Science and Mathematics Enhancement Programme and the FNB Primary Education Projects. Finally, youth development projects include Future-Life Now!, Bright Futures and Learn to Earn. Each one of these programs has a unique teaching style that will prepare students for their futures in the working world.

The Power of Nonprofits in Sub-Saharan Africa

Both UNICEF and MIET use their power and influence to create change for sub-Saharan Africa and help enhance the lives of many. Fortunately, these are not the only nonprofits to improve underdeveloped countries. Programs such as The Nyagi Project and Tostan are raising money and awareness in Africa for those who do not have as large of a voice in the corporate world. The Nyagi Project is teaching local doctors in Africa how to use more advanced medical technology to get more precise diagnoses on a given patient. Tostan enables young entrepreneurs in Africa to train in more advanced IT-based settings.

By implementing nonprofit programs within the sub-Saharan region of Africa, lower-income countries are given an opportunity to learn, grow and create change that will help provide them extended economic and social opportunities in the future.

– Nina Donlin
Photo: Flickr

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Progress Report on Women’s Rights in Lesotho

Women’s Rights in LesothoThe status of women’s rights in Lesotho has seen slow but gradual improvement. Progress has been made in areas such as domestic abuse, poverty, sexual violence, economic opportunity and access to health care. Government initiatives, paired with NGOs and international institutions, have been the main driver towards achieving equality for women in Lesotho. 

Background on Lesotho

Lesotho is a landlocked country located in South Africa. The former Basutoland won independence in 1966 from the United Kingdom and recognized itself as the Kingdom of Lesotho. A constitutional government was then instituted in 1993 after a brief span of military rule. It acquired a semblance of political stability following the constitutional reforms in the late 1990s. 

Lesotho is classified as a lower-middle-income country. In 2022, 34.7% of the population was experiencing poverty, living on only $2.15 per day.

Definition of Women’s Rights

Women’s rights involve issues such as freedom from sexual violence, the right to vote, to hold public office, to work, to education and to own property. The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (U.N. Women) is the U.N. entity committed to empowering women and promoting gender equality. Their vision of equality involves the following:

  • Elimination of discrimination against women and girls.
  • Empowerment of women.
  • Achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian actions and peace and security. 

The Current Status of Women’s Rights in Lesotho

Internationally, Lesotho ranks very low on women’s rights. According to the Human Development Report 2021/2022, the country ranks 144 out of 191 worldwide on gender equality. As a result, women are more likely to live in poverty than men due to discriminatory practices that limit their employment opportunities.

Women in Lesotho face high rates of domestic abuse and sexual assault. A survey in 2018 reported that 16.5% of women ages 15–49 were victims of physical and/or sexual assault from a current or former partner within the last year. 

A lack of quality health care services is a major issue. With little access to necessary medical procedures, women become susceptible to high infant and maternal mortality rates. An underdeveloped health care sector also weakens the official capacity to mitigate virus outbreaks. Women in particular are disproportionately affected by HIV, as 27.3% live with the virus, compared to 17.4% of men.

Lastly, women are politically underrepresented in local government. Lesotho’s population was measured at 2.3 million as of 2022. Although women make up 50.7% of the population, as of February 2021, women held 23.3% of the seats in parliament. 

The Progress

Despite these ongoing issues, the status of women’s rights in Lesotho has improved. Regarding women’s health, the rate of infant and maternal mortality is decreasing. This is a direct consequence of the 86.6% increase in health care professionals attending live births.

The government has also passed legislation to enhance the status of women’s rights in Lesotho. In the last two decades, the government has passed The Sexual Offenses Act, The Anti-Trafficking Persons Act and the Local Government Elections Act, the latter of which sets a quota for women’s representation in local government.

The recent growth of the garment industry has had a major impact on poverty reduction. Currently, the garment industry produces 20% of the country’s GDP. While many men in Lesotho travel to South Africa to work in mines, it is women who find employment in clothing factories. Women make up 80% of the factory workforce. Such job opportunities mean women no longer have to rely solely on a man’s ability to provide.

To further reduce poverty the World Bank has adopted the Country Partnership Framework 2024–-2028 for Lesotho. This strategy focuses on three long-term outcomes:

  1. Increasing employment via the private sector by improving the enabling environment for micro to medium enterprise growth, fostering private investment and job creation.
  2. Enhance human capital outcomes by raising the quality of education/health/social protection.
  3. Strengthen climate resilience by optimizing natural resource allocation and increasing access to climate-resilient infrastructure.

Conclusion

Lesotho is still struggling with high rates of HIV/AIDS and relatively low gender inequality. Yet clear progress has been made on women’s rights. These improvements serve as a sign of hope that greater swaths of the population in Lesotho are experiencing longer, more stable and more enriching lives.

– Nicholas Jaramillo
Photo: Pixabay

Improving Mental Health in Samoa

Mental Health in SamoaSamoa is a beautiful island in the South Pacific. It is surrounded by deep blue water and covered with lush green trees. Samoans are known for their incredible culture. They value family, service, respect and love. But, underneath the island’s beauty and the people’s culture, Samoa faces a hard truth: A quarter of Samoa’s population is multidimensionally poor. This financial insecurity affects one’s mental well-being. Samoans have suffered in silence for decades because of the lack of education and resources.

The Past

Samoans have faced many challenges regarding mental health. Due to a lack of financial support, Samoans have had little education about mental illness and how to treat it. This confusion has resulted in misconceptions as to what causes poor mental health.

For many years, the Samoan culture relied on the belief that a demon was responsible for mental illness. This “demon” dictated the person’s actions and feelings about themselves. This belief led to feelings of isolation and misunderstanding amongst the Samoan people. That isolation perpetuates the silence.

In the 1970s and the early 80s, Samoa experienced an epidemic of suicide. The suicide rates rose sharply, and the mental health of many Samoans worsened. To combat this, the minister of public works decided they needed to build a space for people struggling with mental illness. However, they did not have the resources or money to care for these patients. Pisaina Tago, a nurse at the time, recalled what happened to one of the violent patients: “One of the patients — he damaged the whole room, and everyone was at risk. We took him to the police, and they agreed to take him to prison, and that’s where he died. He [was found] drowned in the 44-gallon water tank for the toilet and baths.”

By 1981, Samoa had the third-highest suicide rate in the world per capita. The citizens needed help.

The Change Within

Poverty has an extreme effect on one’s mental health. Being at or below the poverty line makes someone twice as likely to suffer from depression. Samoans already experience immense pressure from family and peers. Adding financial insecurity on top of this is detrimental to one’s well-being. The good news is that changes have begun to address mental health and poverty in Samoa.

Rehabilitative measures have started to help Samoans find meaning in life and allow them to open up. First, the Mental Health Unit (MHU) constructed new buildings. These renovations created a safer space for the staff and patients. The MHU also started implementing art therapy. Art allows the patients to express themselves. This form of self-care has spread around the island and reached youth.

The MHU in Samoa altogether is working towards lowering suicide rates. With the awareness rising of the extremities of mental illness, the MHU can target many of its causes now. Alcohol, bullying, prison and family problems are focal points for the MHU and stopping suicide. In a 2014 survey, when 124 Samoans were asked if mental health was important, 77% said it was, and the other 23% said it was not, signifying the need for education.

Fellow Samoans have also started to step in and help their community. The organization Faatua Le Ola (FLO) started offering free counseling sessions for anyone who needs help. FLO spreads awareness about suicide by reaching out to schools and speaking to youth about where to get help. FLO also created a hotline to prevent suicide. It is one of many organizations that realized the dire need for mental health assistance on the island.

Plan of Action

Addressing poverty will improve mental health in Samoa. Money is needed to provide people with the proper education and resources. People can focus on their mental health and getting help by improving financial strain.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is helping fight poverty in Samoa. IFAD focuses on the rural poor by enhancing opportunities and building self-reliance. IFAD improves access for Samoans and allows them better resources and technology. IFAD also focuses on helping governments invest in programs that help places like Samoa.

For mental health in Samoa, the Bridgetown Declaration on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) and Mental Health addressed the world’s deadliest diseases in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Bridgetown launched the declaration to address mental health conditions. The directive aims to raise awareness of SIDS’s challenges, forge possible solutions, increase domestic and international action on NCDs and mental health, and engage society to accelerate proposed ideas.

Although there is room for growth in improving mental health in Samoa, increased awareness and problem-solving have put the island on the right track. The future of Samoan mental health will continue to improve with better action plans to alleviate poverty and help from the community.

– Madison Rogers
Photo: Flickr

StrongMinds Strives to Support Mental Health in Africa

Mental Health in Africa
Mental health in Africa requires significant attention. An integral aspect of a person’s health, mental health encompasses one’s cognitive, behavioral and emotional well-being. Mental health influences how people are able to interact with others, handle stress and make healthy decisions that will benefit them in life. Unsurprisingly, taking care of one’s mental health is incredibly valuable and important when working towards optimal physical health and healthy relationships with others, both of which can contribute to preserving a person’s ability to enjoy life. 

Unfortunately, mental health is a serious issue: 970 million people across the globe experience struggles with some form of mental illness or drug abuse, and approximately 8 million deaths worldwide can be attributed to mental disorders. With mental illness afflicting one in four people across the world at some point in their lives, mental health is a global health issue that is particularly challenging in low- and middle-income countries, with 76% to 85% of the population struggling with receiving proper care or treatment for their mental illnesses. Here is some information about mental health in Africa. 

Mental Health in Africa

Many African countries experience difficulty regarding accessibility to proper mental health care, with fewer than two mental health workers for every 100,00 people and severely inadequate funding for mental health care. The average African government dedicates less than 50 cents per capita to mental health, which is drastically lower than the recommended allocation of $2 per capita for low-income countries. In addition to overall inefficient and inadequate mental health care, high treatment costs can also deter many in Africa from seeking treatment for mental disorders.  

Other prevalent barriers to mental health care include limited education and awareness in addition to the shame and stigma associated with mental illnesses. Some may feel hesitant to acknowledge their own condition, especially when surrounded by the stigma that portrays those living with mental conditions as unfavorable. 

StrongMinds Targeting Depression in Africa

Founded in 2013, StrongMinds is a nonprofit organization concentrated in Uganda that treats African women living with depression through free group talk therapy. Since its founding, StrongMinds has helped approximately 230,000 women with depression in Uganda and Zambia. StrongMinds also supports adolescents through peer-to-peer therapy. 

To treat depression, StrongMinds utilizes group interpersonal psychotherapy, which has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the preferred method when intervening with depression in resource-poor areas. This treatment model employed by StrongMinds highlights the importance of relationships with others as the basis of recovery from depression. Counselors help members over six to 10 sessions through structured discussions, teach them coping mechanisms, and share support structures that the members can utilize even after therapy at StrongMinds. The members are able to practice interpersonal skills and reflect on underlying triggers for their depression while working with each other to form meaningful social bonds in the process. 

Following therapy at StrongMinds, beneficiaries have reported that on average, 80% of the women treated remain depression-free for six months. The results are remarkable, as these women achieve clinically significant reductions in symptoms of depression and report feeling more connected with their surrounding community. According to StrongMinds, 16% of women report an increase in work attendance, 13% report being able to feed their children more regularly and 30% of women say that their children attend school more often. 

StrongMinds is also actively working with advocacy initiatives with the Ministry of Health to improve the Health Management System to ensure that the number of people who receive treatment for mental illnesses is properly recorded, and the organization also conducts research to advance knowledge on mental health. 

Looking Forward

StrongMinds is just one of several leading organizations spearheading the efforts to improve the state of mental health in many African countries. By supporting those who are struggling with finding access to therapy or treatment, organizations like StrongMinds can ensure individuals experiencing mental illness across Africa receive the proper high-quality care they deserve. By empowering women in Africa through investments in mental health services, StrongMinds shows how a society of mentally healthy individuals can reduce poverty, encourage financial independence, and foster positive, social changes. 

– Annie Song
Photo: Flickr

What Catalytic Communities Has to Say About Favelas

Catalytic Communities
In 2019, the João Pinheiro Foundation estimated that Brazil lacked nearly 6 million homes across the country. The deficit was concentrated in the lower-income population and is certainly now higher given the thousands of evictions that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Brazil’s housing crisis cannot just be reduced to numbers. Along with being insufficient, Brazilian social housing has proved to be inadequate, poorly placed and susceptible to crime and violence. 

Catalytic Communities (CatComm), an NGO based in Rio de Janeiro, provides a new way of looking at social housing by refusing to demonize favelas. Instead, it draws out the positives of favelas and explains how people should follow these traits as an example for future social housing developments. First, it is important to properly diagnose Brazil’s social housing crisis. 

The Minha Casa, Minha Vida (MCMV) Program

In 2009, former President Lula created the social housing program dubbed Minha Casa, Minha Vida (MCMV), meaning “My House, My Life.” In 11 years, the program built 6 million housing units. Essentially, the program functioned by giving lodgings to people in need of social housing. These tenants would pay in subsidized installments every month, and eventually, the property would become theirs. This process would usually take 10 years.  

The program has faced several obstacles in its time, often due to political upheaval such as former President Temer’s freezing of the MCMV for budgetary readjustment. In 2020, former President Bolsonaro replaced the program with his own Green and Yellow House Program (PCVA). Critics bemoaned this change with Thalles Vichiato Breda claiming that the new program “only serves as (fake) political propaganda,” for Bolsonaro. While the MCMV provided interest-free payments, PCVA payments had interest rates of 4.5% over a much longer time (35 years). The sum payments were higher too. There were also claims that the PCVA was not meeting MCMV contracts for housing improvements.

Challenges with the MCMV Program

Since President Lula retook power this year, he reinstated the MCMV. Many have praised this change. However, while this is progress, simple praise threatens to obscure the inherent problems of the MCMV. Due to land prices in Brazil, most MCMV developments are very far away from urban centers. This peripheralization has a multitude of drawbacks. First, it places lower-income residents very far away from services and employment opportunities. For men, this means an increase in transport costs, as well as time spent on commutes, especially given that these areas often have poor infrastructural links to urban centers. For women, the lack of infrastructure exacerbates their safety concerns, meaning that they are more likely to stay in urban peripheries, constraining their economic independence. 

Social isolation and the above employment constraints mean that MCMV residents are more likely to turn to informal employment, allowing crime to proliferate. A study in the Journal of Illicit Economies and Development details how some social housing developments are virtually run by local militias, which is often abetted by corruption in the local government and police. Residents who disobey militia rules sometimes experience violent expulsion. 

At the same time, these houses are often of poor quality, such as not being equipped against dry heat. They are also very small, sometimes just designed as places to sleep rather than proper homes which diminishes their functionality. Also, constantly increasing city sizes through peripheralization threatens green spaces and causes environmental degradation.

While MCMV payments are interest-free, repayments toward owning a house are still difficult to fulfill, and as many as 45% of low-income beneficiaries are indebted under this repayment system. Clearly, the MCMV program is far from perfect. Exploring what works in favelas could provide some solutions. 

How Catalytic Communities’ Sustainable Favela Network is Helping?

Catalytic Communities’ Sustainable Favela Network aims to turn consensus from favelas away from being inherent problems towards being “solution factories.” The desired outcome is that favelas undergo sustainable development, rather than being dismantled. Catalytic Communities details many favorable traits of favelas. First, favelas are situated within urban centers, rather than peripheralized like MCMV housing. As a result, they are closer to employment opportunities and public transit services. They also say that the low-rise nature of favelas avoids social isolation, which leads to higher entrepreneurship and collective action through constant knowledge exchanges. In these ways, favelas are the opposite of MCMV developments. 

In favelas, CatComm aims to make more visible already existing initiatives within favelas, to both improve knowledge exchange networks and to promulgate the conversation beyond Rio de Janeiro. For example, the NGO has visually mapped about 111 community initiatives, thereby increasing knowledge of, and access to, them. 

While it would be unwise to declare that favelas should be the target, given the poverty and crime present, CatComm shows that social housing provisions in Brazil need to be more adaptive. Instead of going ahead with the same projects as before, the newly reinstated MCMV program must respond to the problems of peripheralization. While this is certainly easier said than done, President Lula’s government should begin looking at what the favelas do right and what it can learn from them. 

– Ryan Ratnam
Photo: Flickr