Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Poverty Reduction in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Poverty Reduction in the Democratic Republic of Congo
The largest country in Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is “among the five poorest nations in the world.” Political instability, humanitarian crises, and conflict have aided the fact that 64% of all Congolese lived under the poverty line in 2021. With the population growing, along with unemployment, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government, joined with international aid, has been making efforts toward poverty reduction in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Socioeconomic Issues

According to data from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government and the International Monetary Fund’s country reports, unemployment impacts 30% of young citizens, which the COVID-19 crisis has only impacted more. Within the workforce, there is a gap between genders. In 2021, Congolese women only made up 23% of the government, 14% of the parliament and 24% of communal councils. Unemployment is higher among women, at 10.2% juxtaposed to 9% for men.

The country is one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa in levels of morbidity and mortality, along with having a maternity mortality ratio of 378 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy for the Republic of Congo report. When it comes to education, the Democratic Republic of Congo has seen a shortage of qualified teachers, a high student-to-teacher ratio and poor school infrastructure.

Poverty is the main issue within the country, as estimates have stated that the poverty rate rose between the years 2019 and 2020 by 4%, according to IMF. This is in large part due to the outbreak of COVID-19, which aggravated an economic recession and made it hard for Congolese people to afford rent, electricity and water bills, food and health care.

National Development Plan

The IMF report outlines the country’s National Development Plan 2022-2026. The goal of the plan is to “build a strong, diversified and resilient economy.” To do so, the government plans on focusing on agriculture, industry, tourism, real estate, technology and economic zones. This plan to regrow the economy comes with the prospect of an agreement with the IMF that could provide monetary aid.

Agriculture is an essential employer within the DRC, making it the first priority in the plan. By focusing on it, the country believes it can “fight effectively against unemployment, poverty, uncontrolled urbanization, the disarticulation of the national territory, food insecurity, and the foreign aid deficit.” The development of industry could bring modernization to the country and create jobs. In a similar vein, developing economic zones can create a “new national economy” and open them up to globalization. Tourism is a potential new market for the country to open up to, along with digitalization.

Following a visit to the DRC on February 15, 2023, the IMF released a statement reviewing the country’s recent economic data, saying that the agency “looks forward to continuing engagement in support of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

The World Bank

In 2022, the World Bank endorsed a Country Partnership Framework for the DRC that “promotes the stabilization and development of DRC, supporting strategic priorities and critical reforms to improve governance and deepen stabilization efforts.” The World Bank focuses on supporting the country’s developments in education, health and social protection.

As of June 2022, the World Bank aided poverty reduction in the Democratic Republic of Congo with $7.27 billion that financially supported 21 national projects and four regional projects. One of these projects is the Emergency Equity and System Strengthening in Education, which supports the country’s free primary education and lessens the burden of education costs on Congolese families. This project saw 2.5 million additional students enroll in school within 2021-2022 and allowed for around 60,000 teachers to receive regular salaries, the World Bank reports. The World Bank Urban Drinking Water Supply Project saw the installation of more than 450 community waterpoints, and the STEP-KIN project, launched in March 2021, is targeted to help 250,000 in its next phase.

The Human Rights Council

Recently, the United Nations Human Rights Council has been holding hearings with the Presidents of nations such as the DRC regarding peace plans. The speakers at this panel said that “human rights were at the centre of all global issues the world confronted today” and that “international financial institutions needed to undertake special measures to support developing countries in protecting basic rights to food, livelihood and a decent living.”

Félix-Antione Tshisekedi Tshilombo, the president of the DRC, spoke about political and military conflict within the country, a factor that can worsen poverty. The Human Rights Council and the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights recently addressed this conflict, reiterating a call for peace in Africa, along with assuring that “the U.N. Human Rights Office stands ready to continue our work to support the country in its efforts to overcome the human rights challenges that remain.”

As poverty reduction in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues, it is important to keep in mind how valuable foreign aid is to the rebuilding and restructuring of communities and countries.

– Audrey Gaines
Photo: Flickr

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The Women Fighting for Water in India

Water in India
According to UNICEF “785 million people today do not have basic access to water.” To relieve this burden in India, Jal Sahelis, or women water warriors, are committed to reviving dried sources of water in Bundelkhand in what is now becoming a nationwide initiative to provide more access to clean water in India.

India’s Water Issues

In India, 91 million people lack access to clean water. Even though India has “18% of the world’s population, but only 4% of its water resources,” making it among the most water-stressed in the world.

Jah Salehi’s formed a volunteer network of more than 1,000 women to restore lost water sources throughout Bundelkhand. They can help with this by collecting rainwater during the June monsoon season and distributing it through dried-up water bodies around their village. As India’s water shortages increase, the women’s efforts provide.

The involvement of Jal Sahelis in many projects also highlights the importance of community-led efforts for sustainable development. The Jal Sahelis program empowers women to take leadership roles in managing and conserving water resources, which not only benefits the environment but also promotes gender equality and women’s empowerment in rural areas.

Improvements

Welthungerlife and Parmarth Samaj Sevi Sansthan helped these women with the organization and training necessary for “water resource planning, management and conservation.” There are currently close to 500 Jal Sahelis who completed the training and are now working. They are always available to help their communities with water issues and are identifiable by their blue saris.

As well as this, they have implemented “shramdan,” which are community donations to help restore ancient ponds and hand pumps, even using government funding to build check dams. The way in which they construct the ponds and dams is by moving boulders and then mixing concrete to form such structures, according to India Times. The Jal Shakti (Water Resources) Ministry of India has commended them for their successful efforts in resolving challenges pertaining to access to water in India.

Addressing Social Issues and Access to Water in India

Not only are Jal Sahelis helping with water issues, but many social changes as well, such as the promotion of human rights and the reduction of inequality. Jal Sahelis are also helping villages of India rediscover knowledge they lost decades earlier when water transformed from a community-managed resource to one administered by India’s government.

By working closely with communities, Jal Sahelis are helping to rediscover and revive traditional practices, which can be more sustainable and effective than modern systems. This can also contribute to the preservation of cultural heritage and identity. Overall, Jal Sahelis are playing a vital role in promoting sustainable water management and empowering communities, while also addressing social issues and reviving traditional knowledge.

– Lauryn Defreitas
Photo: Flickr

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Aid for Syrian Earthquake Victims

Syrian Earthquake Victims
BetterShelter is a Swedish nonprofit organization that provides temporary shelter for people that armed conflict, natural disasters or homelessness displace. Founded in 2010, the organization claims to have improved the lives of 400,000 people suffering from displacement in more than 80 countries. It is currently one of many organizations providing humanitarian aid for Turkish and Syrian earthquake victims.

Challenges of Providing Aid to Syria

Providing humanitarian aid in Syria is not an easy feat. According to USAID, the situation in Syria is the “largest and most complex humanitarian crisis of our time.” In Syria, 15.3 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance this year, with many people needing aid as a direct result of the Syrian Civil War.

Parties to the Syrian conflict also prevent humanitarian aid from reaching those who need it, whether it be diverting, blocking or other means of preventing aid from getting through. Aid workers have been victims of violent attacks in the past, which hampers relief efforts. Politics further affect aid, with nations like Russia and China, who hold permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council, vetoing renewals of cross-border aid operations to Syria in the past. Therefore, it came as no surprise that efforts at providing humanitarian aid for Syrian earthquake victims faced challenges.

Initially, the U.N. did not send trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Syria en masse. The U.N. only scaled up humanitarian aid for Syrian earthquake victims after an agreement between them and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that saw two additional border crossings open. With aid often facing hurdles like these, Dame Barbara Woodward, the British Ambassador to the U.N., stated that the earthquakes “brought into sharp focus the importance of unhindered and predictable access, without conditions, into north-west Syria.” While the U.N. and other organizations ramp up their aid operations, so is BetterShelter.

BetterShelter’s Impact

BetterShelter is no stranger to working in Syria. In fact, it has had a footprint there for quite some time. In partnership with the U.N. in 2020, it provided Relief Housing Unit (RHU) shelters to numerous refugee camps in Syria. RHUs were also “medical support shelters” when the COVID-19 pandemic first struck the country. In 2021, the organization sent RHUs to Syria, assisting another nonprofit organization in providing shelter to displaced families in the country.

The earthquakes have had a massive negative impact on the well-being of Syrians. The World Bank estimates that nearly $5.1 billion in “direct physical damage” took place in Syria and that the four governorates with “widespread damage” are home to around 10 million Syrians. Half of the total damage was direct damage to residential buildings, making the need for BetterShelter technology even direr.

With €10 million in funding from fellow Swedes at the IKEA Foundation, BetterShelter ramped up its operations in the country, as well as neighboring Turkey. The funds from the IKEA Foundation will provide 5,000 RHUs to those who the earthquakes impacted. For those in Syria, where BetterShelter says “delivery of critical aid has been delayed by the decades-long war that has already displaced 13 million people,” humanitarian aid for Syrian earthquake victims by companies like BetterShelter is a sign of hope for their recovery from the devastating quakes.

– Mohammad Samhouri
Photo: Flickr

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The Importance of Funding for Disease Control in Nigeria

Disease Control in Nigeria
Managing disease control in Nigeria is a challenging task, given the country’s population of over 200 million people. Outbreaks of infectious diseases and emerging infectious diseases pose significant threats to public health, and addressing these challenges requires robust disease control measures. However, several factors, including inadequate funding, weak health care infrastructure and a high disease burden further complicate managing disease control in Nigeria.

Inadequate Funding

Unfortunately, inadequate funding often hampers disease control in Nigeria and prevention efforts. In the 2022 budget, the Nigerian government allocated only 4.34% of the national budget to health, resulting in insufficient funding for disease control and prevention.

Although there has been an increase in the recent allocation of funds to the health sector, the 2023 proposed Nigerian budget falls short of meeting the African Union’s commitment to allocate at least 15% of the total budget to the health sector. Only 5.75% of the total budget went to the health sector, indicating a significant funding gap that may negatively impact the country’s health care system. This has resulted in insufficient funding for disease control in Nigeria and prevention initiatives, leading to a lack of essential drugs, medical equipment and personnel in health care facilities.

Inadequate funding could have dire consequences, including increased mortality rates, a burden on health care systems and the spread of infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Nigeria has one of the highest malaria cases globally, accounting for 31.9% of malaria mortality cases worldwide. Malaria is a prevalent disease in Nigeria and a leading cause of death, particularly among young children and pregnant women.

Initiatives and Programs

Other infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, continue to pose a significant public health challenge. The spread of these diseases is exacerbated by inadequate funding, leading to increased mortality rates and a burden on healthcare systems.

However, several initiatives and programs aimed at addressing the funding gap have been implemented. International aid programs such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have provided significant funding for disease control and prevention initiatives in Nigeria.

Additionally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) aims to address the funding gap in health care systems, including Nigeria and meet the International Health Regulations requirements. CDC works closely with the Nigerian government and other stakeholders to achieve GHSA goals by “strengthening workforce development, surveillance, emergency response and laboratory capacity.”

CDC has implemented various initiatives and programs aimed at addressing the funding gap for disease control and prevention efforts in Nigeria. These programs include international aid programs, private sector investment and the role of the government in providing adequate funding. The CDC Nigeria has provided technical assistance, training and support to strengthen Nigeria’s public health system and preparedness for infectious disease threats.

However, continued efforts to secure funding for disease control in Nigeria and prevention initiatives are crucial for reducing the spread of diseases, improving healthcare outcomes and safeguarding public health in Nigeria. This requires a collaborative effort between the government, international organizations, the private sector and other stakeholders to address the funding gap and ensure that health care services are accessible to all Nigerians.

– Nkechi First
Photo: Flickr

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Everything to know about poverty in Cambodia

About Poverty in Cambodia
In the 1970s, the Khmer Rouge conducted one of the largest genocides known in history, killing an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians, although the exact number remains unknown. The extreme communist beliefs of the Khmer Rouge caused the death of approximately 21% of Cambodia’s population. The rebuilding and reopening of the country to the international market revealed the depth of the effects of the regime on the country’s poverty levels. Despite various poverty reduction measures being taken that have had drastic impacts on the poverty present within Cambodia, poverty is still rife in the country with almost 13% of the population living below the poverty line. Here is everything to know about poverty in Cambodia.

Housing 

Because of poverty, 62% of the Cambodian population lives in inadequate, one-bedroom housing. Cambodia’s population is growing increasingly urban with more than 25% of citizens living in cities. Meanwhile, in the capital of Phnom Penh, one in five people live in the slums or informal settlements, with limited access to basic needs and hygiene. There are an estimated 4,000 homeless children across seven Cambodian cities. 

Water and Sanitation 

Although 50% of Cambodians have access to a basic water supply, only a quarter of its population can access water that is safely managed. According to Lifewater, 2 million Cambodian citizens are without clean water, with a further 6 million without safe sanitation. Rural Cambodians face much more challenging hygiene problems than those in urban areas with a high rate of 80% of rural Cambodians openly defecating, as opposed to only 11% of those in the cities. The same is true of handwashing facilities, to which only 60% of those in rural Cambodia have access compared to 88% of urban Cambodians. 

Hunger 

Often, a country’s hunger rate is an indicator of poverty. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), 15% of Cambodia’s population suffers from undernourishment. Meanwhile, Cambodia’s children bear the heaviest burden, with 32% of young children facing stunted growth from malnourishment and 10% suffering from wasting. Floods and droughts threaten the rural Cambodian food system, putting the future of Cambodian nourishment at risk. 

Cambodian Children’s Fund 

Founded in 2004, the Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF) focuses on providing hands-on care to the children that need it the most in the Cambodian slums of Steung Meanchey. CCF focuses on covering four main solutions: basic needs, family and community, education and leadership. CCF has helped more than 3,500 children and their families find a route out of poverty. One of these children is Sophy, who was living in the garbage dump of Steung Meanchey when CCF encountered her and is now on a full scholarship at the University of Melbourne.

Looking Ahead 

Despite the steady progress, poverty in Cambodia is still rife and its population is still one in need. When looking to help those in poverty, people must not forget countries that have faced detrimental conflicts with impacts that last many years later, such as the Khmer Rouge’s genocide of Cambodia. Nonetheless, in order to continue to lower Cambodian poverty rates, the first step is to raise awareness of everything there is to know about poverty in Cambodia.

– Genevieve Lewis
Photo: Flickr

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African Social Enterprises Addressing Poverty

African Social Enterprises
All over sub-Saharan Africa, many initiatives are seeking to address poverty and improve people’s lives amid fears of escalating hunger and extreme poverty. The World Bank reported that sub-Saharan Africa would note a decrease in economic growth from 4.1% in 2021 to 3.3% in 2022 due to sluggish global economic growth, the war in Ukraine and extreme weather conditions. Social enterprises keep hope alive by stepping up to address the effects of poverty on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people. A social enterprise is a business with social objectives. While these businesses do seek to make profits, the enterprises maximize benefits to society and the environment by bringing relief to the most vulnerable sections of the communities. In particular, several African social enterprises look to address poverty in the region.

Pad-Up Creations

Olivia Onyemaobi founded Pad-Up Creations in May 2016 in Minna in Niger State of Nigeria. This Nigerian social enterprise aims to address period poverty in Nigeria. Period poverty refers to girls’ and women’s lack of access to menstrual products and hygiene facilities to properly manage menstruation. Onyemaobi launched a campaign in 2015 to provide female victims of sexual abuse with counseling and rehabilitation. Onyemaobi also noted a link between period poverty and sexual abuse.

Out of the 1,500 girls who received counseling, 68% had infections from using unsanitary alternatives to manage their menstruation and 79% typically did not attend school when menstruating due to a lack of access to menstrual supplies. Furthermore, 70% regret being female due to their menstruation and 95% reported engaging in sexual encounters to enable them to buy menstrual products.

Pad-Up Creations manufactures affordable washable and reusable sanitary pads that last up to a year, saving females from the monthly costs of menstrual supplies and ensuring girls stay in school. According to Onyemaobi, Pad-Up Creations reached more than 100,000 girls in Nigeria by 2017 but now has outlets in 18 African countries reaching millions of women and girls. Aside from reducing poverty, the social enterprise is also empowering other women economically. More than 300 females work in the factory in Minna while others are distributors of the products earning minimal profits.

Solar Sister

Solar Sister is another one of the African social enterprises empowering and helping women across sub-Saharan Africa. It invests in women and “clean energy businesses in off-grid Africa.” It is a movement of women, men, allies and partners with a mission to eradicate energy poverty by “empowering women with economic opportunity.”

Solar Sister initially came about in 2010 through the efforts of two women, a Ugandan banker, Katherine Lucey, and an Indian energy economist, Neha Misra, whose visits to remote areas in their different localities inspired them to build social enterprises around women, focusing on affordable clean energy. Three other women, Evelyn Namara of Uganda, Fatma Muzo of Tanzania and Olasimbo Sojinrin of Nigeria, boosted these efforts by launching operations in their respective countries.

According to the World Bank, just 48% of people in sub-Saharan Africa had access to electricity in 2020. Furthermore, just 18% of people in this region had “access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking” in the same year. The detrimental effects of household air pollution led to about 500,000 premature deaths in sub-Saharan Africa in 2018.

Against this backdrop, Solar Sister produces and provides clean stoves for cooking and solar solutions for lighting and charging batteries. So far, across three African countries, Solar Sister has reached more than 3.5 million people and has sold more than 700,000 clean energy products. Furthermore, the enterprise has helped 8,500 people become entrepreneurs by selling its solar products, 87% of whom are women.

Farm On Wheels

Farm On Wheels is a Nigerian social enterprise whose vision is to help smallholder farmers in hard-to-reach locations in Niger State, Nigeria. Its mission is to take knowledge, skills, improved seeds and agrochemicals to farmers in remote locations in order to assist them in increasing their yields and accessing markets for their products, making them gainfully employed and financially empowered. Jocelyne Agbo founded the enterprise in 2017 as an alumnus of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Because smallholder farmers in Nigeria live and work in remote locations with little knowledge of or access to advancements, they tend to stick to traditional agricultural practices at the subsistence level. Farm On Wheels brings advancements to rural farmers in leaps by helping to increase their yields and giving them access to bigger markets, making their farming endeavors more economically viable.

Between May 2021 to April 2022, Farm On Wheels partnered with the Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment Activity, a USAID-funded activity implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA). To improve yields and production, Farm on Wheels distributed “input loans” totaling 24 million nairas ($58,151 USD) to 500 farmers, including 100 youth farmers in Niger State.

These three African social enterprises fill the gap between government action and the hard-to-reach, vulnerable people living in sub-Saharan Africa, thereby, lifting many out of poverty.

– Friday Okai
Photo: Flickr

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Child Poverty in Jordan

Child Poverty in Jordan
According to UNICEF Jordan, one in five out of Jordan’s 3.16 million children endure multidimensional poverty. Children living in poverty suffer from a lack of health care options, inaccessible education, shortages of clean drinking water and nutritious food and lack of knowledge on proper hygiene practices. With the help of nonprofit organizations, child poverty in Jordan can reduce.

Children Face the Harshest Impacts of Poverty

In Jordan, refugee and stateless children suffer the greatest from extreme poverty. This is because, in Jordan, a child only receives citizenship based on the status of their father’s citizenship. This leaves children of single mothers or of multi-nationality households without rights. Public education and government-funded programs are not accessible to these children. A lack of access to education also keeps children rooted in cycles of poverty.

With 63% of Jordan’s population aged 30 years and younger, the impacts of poverty have hit Jordan’s younger population the hardest. In developing countries such as Jordan, with a national poverty rate of 15.7% in 2019, poverty also impacts the quality of health care services provided by medical centers as these centers typically lack essential resources and skilled professionals. Without adequate health care and nutrition, child mortality rates rise.

According to the World Bank, Jordan’s under-5 child mortality rate stood at 15 per 1,000 births in 2020. For reference, the global under-5 child mortality rate stood at about 37 deaths per every 1,000 births in the same year. Jordan’s child mortality rate has reduced significantly from 27 deaths in 2000, likely due to increased health care provisions.

Save the Children Takes Action

Save the Children has worked in Jordan since 1974, aiding more than 1.5 million children and families annually. Save the Children says every one out of 63 children in Jordan does not live to celebrate their fifth birthday, which is nine times higher than the rate in the United States. The organization provides resources to support the protection, health and education of vulnerable children in Jordan, regardless of their citizenship status.

For instance, from 2012 to 2022, Save the Children ran Early Childhood Care and Development Centers in the governates and refugee camps Azraq, Zaatari and Irbid. “These centers accommodate children aged 3 to 5 years, including children with disabilities, and work on preparing them for basic education by providing them with psychological, social and emotional support. The children also receive classes in writing, reading and mathematics, the organization’s website says. The organization also works on providing training for parents and caregivers to enhance their ability to contribute to the development of their children and improve children’s academic performance.

Looking Ahead in the Fight Against Child Poverty in Jordan

While child poverty in Jordan is prevalent, Save the Children is making a significant difference to improve health and education among children in Jordan. Through its continued work, as well as international aid, vulnerable children in Jordan should continue to receive the help they need.

– Leah Smith
Photo: Flickr

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What to Know about Child Poverty in Bangladesh

Child Poverty in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a South Asian country with a history of economic troubles and high poverty rates. The World Bank ranked Bangladesh the 61st weakest economy in the world in 2021, with a GDP per capita of just $6,493. As one of the more impoverished countries in the world, and with children aged 0 to 14 accounting for around 26% of the country’s total population of 169.4 million in 2021, it is unsurprising that child poverty remains an area of focus for Bangladesh.

Education in Bangladesh

Education is one of the most pivotal factors affecting poverty and living conditions in any country, and there are multiple reasons for this. Implementing efficient and successful education systems can create a path to political participation. Another benefit of sufficient education is that it is possible to improve the overall health of a nation by teaching about good health practices and topics such as nutrition.

Improving the education system would not only reduce child poverty in Bangladesh but would also help prevent poverty from continuing into adulthood by increasing job opportunities. Increased jobs, driven by education, can stimulate the incomes of poor families and boost national economic growth by breaking the cycle of extreme poverty and underdevelopment.

Bangladesh has seen development in the rates of child education over recent years, with nine out of 10 children in school at the age of six, according to an education fact sheet from 2020. However, there are still some issues with education rates, particularly among children living in poverty. For example:

  • About 52% of children who lack foundational reading skills are within the bottom two wealth quintiles, demonstrating the undisputable link between poverty and education rates.
  • Completion of primary education stood at 83% but completion of higher secondary education declined to 29%.
  • Only 12% of children in the lowest wealth quintile complete higher secondary education compared to 50% from the wealthiest quintile.

Children’s Health

World Bank data records in 2020 place the infant mortality rate in Bangladesh at 24 per 1,000 births, a relatively high figure when compared to a rate of four per 1,000 births for the U.K. (a considerably more wealthy country) in the same year.

Children in Bangladesh are vulnerable to illness and disease with pneumonia standing as one of the most deadly conditions for infants. Pneumonia accounts for 19% of deaths in children under 5 annually, a 2021 research article by Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman and others says.

Malnutrition is another indicator of child poverty in Bangladesh and massively affects overall health by increasing the risk of disease, stunting growth and raising the risk of infant mortality. One way to measure malnutrition among children is stunting, which refers to children who fail to reach their expected height for their age due to various factors of poor health. According to the Global Nutrition Report, stunting impacted 28% of children under 5 in Bangladesh in 2019.

Access to Water and Sanitation

In 2020, only 58% of Bangladesh’s total population had access to a sufficient handwashing facility with soap and clean water. The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, made poor sanitation provisions much more concerning. The World Bank reports that, in 2020, only 59% of the population had access to “safely managed clean drinking water services.”

The provision of sanitation also impacts education. Across Bangladesh, in 2018, just 50% of primary schools provided gender-segregated toilets for girls to use, which has contributed to 25% of girls skipping school during their menstrual cycles.

In 2018, E. coli bacteria appeared in about 80% of water samples from “private piped water taps,” which is comparable to the rate of contamination in pond water. Poor water quality is particularly dangerous for children as they can easily contract diseases. This emphasizes the importance of ensuring high-quality water provision. WaterAid reports that 3.79 million people in Bangladesh lack access to clean water, 75.4 million people lack access to proper toilet facilities and more than 1,000 children under 5 face diarrhea-related deaths annually as a consequence of unclean water and poor sanitation in the country.

Taking Action

The World Bank launched a Multipurpose Disaster Shelter Project (MDSP) in 2022, which will run until June 2023, focused on providing safe havens for more than 14 million people in coastal regions of Bangladesh that are susceptible to cyclones and floods. The project involved the construction of 552 new shelters in Bangladesh, which will function as primary schools during normal weather conditions. The project also constructed more than 550 kilometers of evacuation roads and renovated 450 already established shelters.

The BRAC, a non-governmental organization based in Bangladesh, initiated its BRAC Education Programme (BEP) more than 30 years ago. The program works to build and operate schools, establish libraries and educational programs and implement a variety of other structural reforms to the education system in Bangladesh. In 2019, the BEP provided education to 3.17 million students in 35,957 schools set up as part of the program. The BRAC partners with charities from across the world to implement its programs in Bangladesh and beyond.

The World Bank approved $200 million in September 2020 for a project to improve access to safe water and sanitation in rural areas of Bangladesh through piped water schemes. The aims of the project look to improve overall access to water, sanitation and hygiene in Bangladesh.

In Dhaka, a Bangladesh city where only 20% of the population has access to a safe sewage system, Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) launched SWEEP, a service that provides residents with safe and sanitary disposal of human waste. The program reduces the spread of disease among the urban poor by abiding by proper health and hygiene measures during the waste removal process.

Through the efforts of several organizations working to combat poverty-related conditions and hold children at the forefront of initiatives, the nation has made strides regarding child poverty in Bangladesh. With continued progress, children in Bangladesh can live an improved quality of life with full access to basic necessities.

– Sophie Sadera
Photo: Flickr

6 Facts About Health Care in the Central African Republic

Health Care in the Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR) is a sub-Saharan nation comprising a population of approximately 5.5 million. Its capital is Bangui. Similar to many regions of Africa, the country has poor health care with limited access to clean water and sanitary spaces. Health care in the Central African Republic is in an extremely poor state with the country having a life expectancy of just 55 in 2020. Here are six facts about health and health care in the Central African Republic. 

1. Diseases

Common diseases in Africa such as malaria, yellow fever and diarrheal-related diseases exist in CAR. Tropical diseases spread easily through the country with insufficient medical resources. The National Library of Medicine shows that malaria accounts for 40% of all illnesses in the country.

Yellow fever is also prominent in the country, as with much of north and central Africa. Although some action has occurred in the roll-outs of vaccines, with a 2021 UNICEF statistic illustrating that 41% of the population is vaccinated, the country is still far from reaching the 80% threshold which indicates a country’s immunity.

Diarrheal-related illnesses are similarly frequent, particularly in children. Although organizations such as WaterAid have taken action in the construction of clean water pumps, water insecurity provides a constant risk for the country’s majority. A statistic from the National Library of Medicine shows an average of seven episodes per child per year.

2. Children’s Health Care

Life is especially tough for children living in the Central African Republic. Conflict within the region has left many children homeless and without an education. A 2021 UNICEF statistic illustrates that 370,000 children are internally displaced across the country as a result of widespread violence. Civil unrest in the country has forced children to join armed groups or flee their homes. To aid children’s well-being, UNICEF is introducing community-based interventions to support children’s mental health.

3. Malnutrition

UNICEF also helps children formerly a part of armed groups through programs that reunite them with their families. Malnutrition is also very common among children due to a low intake of healthy food. A statistic from UNICEF predicts that a minimum of 24,000 children under the age of 5 will suffer from acute malnutrition. The Central African Republic has one of the least funded childcare health care programs in the world and continues to struggle with this issue.

4. Access to Sanitation and Clean Water

Similarly to much of Africa, access to clean water remains a serious problem in the present day. Despite charitable efforts to introduce water pumps and sanitary spaces, much of the country, especially rural communities, go without the human right of access to clean water.

A statistic from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) shows that only 37% of Central Africans have access to clean water. As a result, the majority of its population have exposure to dirty and germ-infected water for their everyday needs including drinking, washing and cooking. As a result of this frequent intake of dirty water, the country suffers from a high rate of water-borne diseases such as typhoid disease and diarrhea.

5. COVID-19

COVID-19 had severe impacts on underdeveloped countries. With a lack of medical knowledge, the virus spread rapidly across CAR with 15,367 cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).

As a result of the lockdown and school closures, COVID-19 also increased the frequency of gender-based and child abuse. This has resulted in many people suffering mental health issues and requiring psychosocial help.

6. Hospitals

A key reason for the country’s failing health care system is the extreme lack of hospitals and medical facilities. There is one major hospital located in the capital Bangui and a few more around the country. However, these hospitals are low-staffed and poorly equipped to deal with the high number of patients requiring medical attention. Health care in the Central African Republic lacks so much funding that humanitarian organizations provide 70% of health services within the country. 

Solutions

Although the current health care system is failing, with help from charities, hope exists for significantly better health care in the Central African Republic. UNICEF has put projects in place for 2023 to improve the quality of health in the country through a humanitarian approach. UNICEF’s programs prioritize children’s protection and set out to provide 140,000 with psychosocial care. In regard to combatting malnutrition, UNICEF plans to provide 60,000 children with medical treatment for this preventable condition.

In response to the low accessibility of drinking water, Concern Worldwide is conducting a project which plans to construct five water well boreholes in Mobaye town to provide people with safe and germ-free drinking water. Combined with the restoration of five damaged water wells, this project will increase the number of people who have access to clean water in Mobaye town by 50%.

Despite the challenges that the health care system is facing in CAR, several organizations are making a difference regarding its population’s health. Through their continued work, hopefully, health and health care will continue to improve in the Central African Republic.

– Freddie Trevanion
Photo: Flickr

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Diseases Impacting the Central African Republic

Diseases Impacting the Central African Republic
The Central African Republic is one of the poorest nations in Africa, with a GDP of just $2,516.50 in 2021. The nation has a history of engulfment in humanitarian crises and political instability. The ongoing civil war, which began in 2012, detrimentally affected the health care system and increased the prevalence of transmittable diseases impacting the Central African Republic. About 33% of its health facilities are partially damaged and just 22% are operational, according to assessments from 2021. However, organizations are working to strengthen health systems and provide critical health care to the country’s people, particularly in rural areas.

Malaria

Malaria is a life-threatening, tropical disease transmitted to humans via female mosquitoes. It is one of many endemic diseases impacting the Central African Republic, infecting a vast number of people annually. In 2020, malaria impacted 336 people per 1,000.

The civil war between Christian militias and Muslim rebels contributed to the rapid increase in malaria cases and deaths. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) states that malaria cases in Bossangoa increased by more than threefold to 6,507 in May 2014, with children under 5 accounting for close to 66% of infections.

The war displaced thousands of civilians as militias burned and looted villages, leaving villagers without shelter and protection from mosquito-borne infections. A 2012 report by the MSF said approximately 12,000 displaced individuals resided nearby MSF health care projects in Kabo and Batangafo. The CAR government had established an initiative to provide free malaria treatment to children under 5 but it lacked the capacity and resources to properly function.

The MSF is tackling diseases impacting the Central African Republic, like malaria. In 2020, it launched a “mass drug administration” to prevent malaria infections. The organization broadcasted its campaign via local radios and then visited households to distribute anti-malaria treatment to avoid crowded areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. MSF and other international medical humanitarian organizations had provided treatment to 39,631 people in Batangafo.

HIV/AIDS

HIV is one of the most widespread diseases impacting the Central African Republic. In 2021, approximately 83,000 adults and children lived with HIV, UNAIDS says. The disease is controlled using antiretroviral therapy (ART), which involves taking a combination of HIV medicines to stop the virus from replicating.

Marie Charlotte Bantah Sana, the head of the program against communicable diseases at the CAR’s Health and Population Ministry, told MSF in 2020 that 30% of patients who test positive for HIV do not come back to undergo treatment due to financial constraints.

Since 2019, MSF has provided “free medical care and psychological support for patients” with advanced HIV and tuberculosis problems. MSF prioritized advanced care in Bangui, CAR’s capital, where the HIV incidence is double the national average. Outside of Bangui, MSF is prioritizing the treatment of individuals with advanced stages of HIV in Paoua, Carnot, Kabo and Batangafo.

MSF also established community antiretroviral (ARV) groups in several areas, which involve designated community members supplying HIV patients with ARV drug refills. This decreased transport expenditure and allowed people to avoid hospitals where stigma and discrimination are common. By the close of 2020, MSF had established 276 community ARV groups to represent 2,300 HIV-infected individuals.

HIV/AIDS incidence rates in the Central African Republic have declined as more patients received antiretroviral therapy. Between 2016 and 2019, the number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy rose from fewer than 25,000 to more than 47,000.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a highly infectious airborne bacterial disease that affects the lungs and is easily transmitted in crowded areas. It is one of many common diseases impacting the Central African Republic. In 2000, the Central African Republic reported 540 tuberculosis cases per 100,000 individuals. This value has remained unchanged from 2000 to 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the CAR’s ability to detect tuberculosis as the country suffered shortages of skilled staff in labs. Fortunately, the World Health Organization (WHO) provided financial and technical support to strengthen the country’s laboratory network.

The WHO helped with the purchase of 11 out of the total 23 GeneXpert machines the Central African Republic received between 2020 and 2021. GeneXpert machines are utilized for instant diagnostic testing and can detect the presence of tuberculosis bacteria in less than two hours. The WHO trained staff on how to install, utilize and maintain the machines. The addition of GeneXpert machines helped laboratories conduct 4,690 tuberculosis tests in 2021 compared to 1,345 tests before the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the efforts of organizations such as MSF and the WHO, the prevalence of diseases impacting the Central African Republic is reducing.

– Dami Kalejaiye
Photo: Flickr