Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

Efforts to Address Cholera in Africa

Cholera in Africa
Cholera, a disease that has prevailed since the 19th century, is more dominant in some parts of the world than in others. As of 2022, the casualties as a result of cholera in Africa continue. A stronger global response is necessary to properly address cholera in Africa.

7 Facts About Cholera in Africa

  1. Lack of access to sanitation and clean water in Africa exacerbates cholera. According to UNICEF, as of March 2022, in Africa, 418 million people are without basic drinking water services, 779 million are without basic sanitation and 839 million Africans live without access to basic hygiene facilities.
  2. Africa has the highest number of cholera casualties. The African region reports higher numbers of cholera deaths than any other region. A lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation as well as inadequate access to timely health care services contributes to the high burden of cholera cases in Africa. In 2022, Somalia, Cameroon and Malawi noted the highest cases of cholera in Africa. According to The Conversation, “between 2014 and 2021 Africa accounted for 21% of cholera cases and 80% of deaths reported globally.”
  3. Shortages of the oral cholera vaccines impact cholera in Africa. Currently, the world faces a global shortage of oral cholera vaccines as facilities only produce about 2.5 million doses a month, the maximum capacity for production. To resolve this issue, global cholera vaccine production must significantly expand. Since 2013, mass treatment campaigns have administered more than 50 million doses of the vaccine. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2022, “Of the total 36 million doses forecast to be produced in 2022, 24 million have already been shipped for preventive (17%) and reactive (83%) campaigns and an additional 8 million doses were approved by the [International Crisis Group] for the second round [of] emergency vaccination in [four] countries, illustrating the dire shortage of the vaccine.”
  4. Displaced populations in Africa are vulnerable to cholera. Displacement in Africa is common due to several outbreaks of conflicts and violence in several African nations, such as Somalia, Ethiopia and Nigeria. Displaced persons are more susceptible to food and water contamination and typically lack access to clean water and proper sanitation.
  5. Cholera in Africa comes at a high economic cost. In 2015, estimates indicated that more than 1 million cholera incidents in 44 African nations led to an economic cost of $130 million as a result of cholera-related illness and the necessary treatments.
  6. The DOVE Project. The DOVE (Delivering Oral Vaccine Effectively) project, which ran from 2012 to 2019, aimed to ensure that people worldwide with the highest risks of contracting cholera received an oral cholera vaccine. Over five years, a cholera vaccine can decrease one’s risk of cholera infection by between 65% and 75%. The project received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and its main implementing partner was the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
  7. Recent efforts to address cholera in Africa. In January 2023, Red Cross Kenya launched a three-month-long initiative to support the Kenyan government’s efforts to control and manage cholera outbreaks considering the rising number of cholera-related deaths in Kenya. The Red Cross “will strengthen surveillance at the community level as a report from the department shows that the disease is spreading to the outskirts of Bura town,” according to the Kenya News Agency. The Red Cross will also provide training to more than 160 volunteers on cholera prevention and management and will “conduct door-to-door and community-wide sensitization on cholera prevention.” Furthermore, the Red Cross will utilize radio broadcasts to raise awareness and will also educate chiefs and authorities in villages about cholera. The Red Cross will secure the supplies necessary to manage the outbreak and will employ the services of medical personnel to help with the initiative.

Looking Ahead

Addressing cholera in Africa requires greater political commitment and more significant funding. Furthermore, global production of the oral cholera vaccine must be ramped up. It is critical for countries to secure proper water and sanitation systems for communities and establish a disease-preparedness response before outbreaks occur. As communities living in conditions of poverty face higher risks of cholera, leaders must address poverty in order to curb the spread of this disease and others.

– Robin Kalellis
Photo: Flickr

The Persecution of the Baha’i in Iran

Persecution of the Baha'i
The Baha’i faith, Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority, has long been the target of persecution and systematic oppression by the country’s authorities. The Iranian government’s official policy, approved by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has been to impede the advancement and growth of the Baha’i community through various measures, including expulsion from universities and exclusion from influential positions, particularly in the education sector. Human rights activists, however, are strategizing against the persecution of Baha’i in Iran.

The Glory of God

Baha’u’llah, whose name means, “the Glory of God,” was born in Tehran in 1817. He was a member of Iran’s nobility and could have pursued a government career. However, he chose to follow a newly-formed religious Babi movement led by a prophet known as “the Bab.” This movement called for social reform and advocated for women’s rights. The Bab declared his teachings a divine revelation. He also claimed they foretold the arrival of a new manifestation of God, a belief that caused controversy. In 1850, a firing squad executed the Bab for heresy. Mobs also attacked and killed many of his followers. Despite these dangers, Baha’u’llah continued to follow the teachings of the Bab and eventually became the leader of the Baha’i faith.

Baha’u’llah endured imprisonment and exile throughout his life due to his religious beliefs. When he joined the Babi movement, the government responded by detaining him in an unclean subterranean jail. When they released him, they exiled him to Baghdad where he declared himself as the manifestation of God that the Bab prophesized. Because Baha’u’llah’ gained a significant number of followers, the Ottoman officials banished him to the prison city of Akka in Palestine, where he lived until his death in 1892. Today, Baha’u’llah’s shrine in Israel is a major pilgrimage site for members of the Baha’i faith.

Why the Islamic Republic Persecutes the Baha’i

In Iran, the constitution designates Twelver Shia as the country’s official religion, making it unique among Muslim nations. Despite acknowledging Islam’s legitimacy, the Baha’i feel that their faith supersedes Islam’s doctrines regarding the Twelver Shia messiah. Since the Baha’i believe it is their duty to propagate their religion, that is a fundamental tenet that the Twelver Shia strongly opposes. Persecution of the Baha’i stems from this opposition.

The Iranian regime actively rejects the legitimacy of the Baha’i faith. Khamenei’s official website refers to Baha’i followers as “impure” non-believers and “enemies” of the Shia faith. Khamenei urges his followers to avoid social interaction with the Baha’i and emphasizes the importance of confronting the deceptions of the Baha’i faith. Furthermore, the regime’s efforts to suppress the Baha’i religion go beyond just rhetoric. It prohibits Baha’i from pursuing higher education and excludes them from government employment. In recent years, the Baha’i face more arbitrary arrests as well as increased instances of torture and other forms of mistreatment from authorities and state media.

Continued Persecution of Baha’i

The Iranian regime’s ultimate aim is to force Baha’i followers to leave the country in large numbers. Negative propaganda about the Bahai faith is widely disseminated through Iran’s educational system and media. Additionally, Baha’i followers are not allowed to publicly mourn their dead or establish their own cemeteries.

One recent example of the persecution of Baha’i in Iran is the August 2022 attack on the village of Roshankouh. Government agents raided the village and destroyed six homes that Baha’i residents owned. Reports indicate that the agents confiscated the villagers’ mobile phones to prevent them from documenting the incident. Despite this, some footage of the attack has emerged online, revealing the emotional distress that the villagers experienced, including children and the elderly. Human rights organizations have condemned this attack and called on the Iranian government to end its persecution of the Baha’i community.

Activists Push Back Against the Persecution

Recent social media posts have condemned the destruction of Baha’i homes in a village near Sari, Iran. Iranians have used the platform to argue that the regime’s official reasons for the destruction of homes, such as “encroachment on public land,” are just excuses for the persecution of Baha’i. They have also shared images of fatwas and rulings by Shia jurists, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, against the Baha’i faith and the Baha’is, describing them as “inhumane” and “fascistic.”

According to Iranian human rights activist, Musa Barzin Khalifelou, there may be little recourse through the legal system. However, Khalifelou has suggested that Iranians living abroad can play a significant role in stopping the oppression of the Baha’i community in Iran. One way to do this is by informing international organizations and filing complaints with them. Additionally, Khalifelou believes that the principle of “Universal Jurisdiction” could be effective in prosecuting those responsible for the persecution of Baha’i. This principle allows for certain crimes such as torture, crimes against humanity and war crimes to be prosecuted in other countries. Since the Iranian government aims to eliminate the Baha’i community, this principle could lead to the arrest and trial of those responsible for giving the orders and their agents. Through such actions, Khalifelou argues that Iranians abroad can help bring an end to the persecution of Baha’i in Iran.

– Noura Matalqa
Photo: Flickr

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5 Organizations Empowering DRC Women

Empowering DRC Women
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a country in Central Africa that is rich in resources but still remains incredibly poor. A severe food crisis stems from government instability. In addition, violent armed groups often launch attacks and assaults on women and children. Luckily, there are several organizations empowering DRC women. This article takes a look at five of those organizations.

Severe Conditions for DRC Women

In 2018, more than 35% of women between the ages of 15-49 years reported being sexually or physically abused by an intimate partner. Further, almost 30% of girls under the age of 18 have been married or forced into a union. Finally, 70% of both women and men face food insecurity as well.

Here are five organizations that are combating these severe conditions and are actively empowering DRC women.

Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation

The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation is an international organization that has been empowering DRC women since 2009. It calculates that 60% of women in the DRC live below the poverty line and have extremely low levels of political participation. The organization works to gain respect for women’s rights and end discriminatory gender practices. Kvinna till Kvinna helps women participate in learning exchanges that provide education and economic empowerment. It also helps finance certain activities of the Rien Sans les Femmes (Nothing Without Women) movement, a collaboration of Congolese women’s rights activists.

By supporting smaller partner organizations in the DRC, Kvinna till Kvinna has definitively lowered gender-based violence against women and has boosted political participation for DRC women. For example, the partner organization AFEM (Association des Femmes des Médias du Sud Kivu) is a collaboration of female journalists. It uses a radio station, Mama Radio, as its platform to empower DRC women.  Mama Radio caught on and AFEM was able to report reduced violence against women.

AFEM coordinator Julienne Baseke noted, “Thanks to Mama Radio, we have been able to break the silence on sexual violence, people are better informed and sexual and reproductive health issues are no longer taboo. The authorities are also held accountable on sexual violence issues and the media are mobilized on violence issues.”

Women for Women International

Women for Women International empowers DRC women in numerous ways. Since 2004 it has supported more than 106,000 Congolese women. Its most recent impact evaluation reports increased access to credit, savings and assets.  Second, it reports an increase in women’s ability to pursue entrepreneurship. Finally, it shares that women are benefitting from improved diets and mental health access. In 2022, 256 women received advocacy training in land titling. It also expanded upon its health insurance projects which were able to reduce fees for women and their families by around 50%.

Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF)

WPHF is an international organization that helps empower grassroots organizations to help women become more involved in political affairs. In the DRC, it works with Spotlight Initiative, another women’s rights organization to fund 30 projects that 51 women’s organizations in the DRC spearheaded. These organizations seek to eliminate violence against women and encourage political mobility for women. For example, WPHF supports our GRACE, which seeks to promote gender-based equality and peace in North Kivu. It also supports CAUSE RURALE, which focuses on providing humanitarian aid to reinforce stronger institutions for women.  Finally, WPHF supports AFPDE, in South Kivu and promotes the strength of women’s organizations.

Women Concern (WOCO)

This Congolese nonprofit has been empowering women in the DRC by focusing on women and girls in rural areas. It focuses on helping women and girls see their own potential and provide them with development opportunities. Its unique approach is to utilize men and boys to be partners and co-agents to ensure change. It believes that promoting positive masculinity will in turn create a safe environment for women and girls to seek out opportunities. Its ultimate goal is to end the ongoing cycle of violence against women in the DRC.

Women, Cradle of Abundance

Women, Cradle of Abundance is a DRC organization. It has been empowering women in the DRC by attempting the eliminate systemic poverty for women. The organization provides physical safety, medical care, counseling and community services for women. It also helps improve education for women and girls by supporting schools for disadvantaged children. Women, Cradle of Abundance provides women with micro-savings and microloans. For example, it has provided 199 microloans to Kinshasha women. This helped them start or expand their businesses.

Moving Forward

Between international organizations such as Kvinna till Kvinna, Women for Women International and WPHF as well as DRC organizations such as WOCO and Women, Cradle of Abundance, a lot has been accomplished to empower DRC women. Past and current successes pave the way for more positive change.

– Anna Richardson
Photo: Flickr

Planning The Future of Ukraine

Future of Ukraine
The future is often war’s largest casualty. For some 8,000 Ukrainian civilians and 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers who have fought to preserve their homeland, the future no longer exists. Nearly 14 million civilians are now disconnected from their homes. The future of Ukraine stands on a knife’s edge; however, a year after Russia’s invasion, there is at least a future to discuss. Moreover, there is a growing consensus that Ukraine’s recovery requires planning right now.

Economic Devastation

On February 23, 2023, the United Nations called for an immediate withdrawal of all Russian forces from Ukrainian territory. Although Putin, known for his violations of international law, will almost certainly ignore the resolution, it does beg the question of what a post-war Ukraine would look like. As a result of the war, a third of the country lives in poverty, with another 60% at risk of falling into poverty should the conflict continue. The war has destroyed $100 billion of infrastructure and forced 50% of businesses to close.

Marshall Plan for Ukraine?

Given this financial and physical devastation, one may wonder exactly what the future of Ukraine is. Participants during the Davos 2023 Summit discussed that rebuilding the country would require a recovery program comparable only to the Marshall Plan after World War II. With that plan, the United States contributed the equivalent of almost $200 billion to western Europe in aid. A Marshall Plan for Ukraine would cost three times as much as the original and would have to overcome the hesitancy of nations like the U.S. to further involve themselves in the country.

Estimates for Recovery

In September 2022, the World Bank, the European Commission and the Ukrainian government place the recovery estimate at $349 billion, of which around $100 billion is needed for short-term recovery. This includes financing the rebuilding of hospitals, schools, roads and bridges. It also consists of the clearing mines that prevent the cultivation of Ukraine’s fertile soil. In a separate communication a few months earlier, Ukrainian President Zelensky declared the target figure at $750 billion, citing the need for repatriation, humanitarian assistance and modernization.

Commitment to Providing Aid

Although allies are shying away from direct military assistance, international aid is crucial in keeping Ukraine afloat. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) leads the charge, which provided $12 billion in 2022 and plans to augment that support in 2023. This aid goes primarily to health care workers and educators, protecting the future of Ukraine in the short and long term. Additionally, the World Bank provided more than $18 billion in grants and loans for Ukraine as of February 2023, the vast majority of which comes from the United States.

Supporting Ukraine: In the Best Interest for Europe and Beyond

The future of Ukraine remains incredibly uncertain. However, a consensus is emerging that the situation cannot remain fraught when the war comes to an end. A weakened or failed Ukraine is a security threat to Europe and would create a refugee crisis because Ukrainian refugees would have no need to return to their country. As the Financial Times wrote in December 2022, “The potential geopolitical cost of failure is high…The fighting continues, but the time to plan for peace is now.”

– Samuel Bowles
Photo: Flickr

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Efforts to Prevent the Spread of Diseases

Prevent the Spread of Diseases
The recent global health crisis, triggered by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, has brought to the forefront the importance of efforts to prevent the spread of diseases. While treatment is crucial, proactive steps to reduce the risk of disease transmission are equally important. Disease prevention plays a critical role in promoting public health, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Gavi’s Work to Prevent the Spread of Diseases

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is a public-private partnership that is committed to improving access to life-saving vaccines in low-income countries with the aim to prevent the spread of diseases. The partnership has played a critical role in reducing the incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases worldwide by providing funding, technical support and vaccines to increase access to immunization programs in the world’s poorest countries.

Gavi has assisted in the vaccination of more than 981 million children, which will prevent at least 16.2 million disease-related child mortalities at minimum. Its efforts have also resulted in the successful introduction of new vaccines in low-income countries, including the pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines.

The Global Fund’s Efforts

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is another public-private partnership committed to reducing the incidence of these three deadly diseases, increasing access to treatment and care and improving health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. It has played a critical role in preventing the spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDS by providing funding to support HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care services.

In 2021 alone, the Global Fund provided HIV-preventative services to 12.5 million at-risk individuals and helped to provide about 670,000 HIV-positive mothers with treatment to sustain themselves and prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. These efforts have led to a significant reduction in HIV/AIDS-related deaths worldwide.

The Global Fund has also played a crucial role in expanding access to TB prevention, diagnosis and treatment services, contributing to a decline in TB-related deaths worldwide. In addition, the Global Fund has supported the distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, indoor spraying and other preventative measures to reduce the incidence of malaria, resulting in a significant reduction in malaria-related deaths worldwide.

Positive Impacts

The impact of these global health initiatives in preventing the spread of diseases worldwide is reflected in the significant progress made in reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. These partnerships have saved more than 50 million lives and significantly reduced the number of new infections and deaths linked to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Contributions to the fight against these deadly diseases have not only significantly reduced the number of new infections and deaths but also strengthened the health systems of low and middle-income countries to better cope with disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies.

Prevention is Key

Disease transmission is a significant public health challenge, with prevention being the key, and everyone from individuals to communities and governments has an important role to play in proactively addressing the issue.

Practicing good hygiene, obtaining vaccinations and accessing health care for the early detection and treatment of illnesses are all essential strategies in preventing the spread of disease. Good hygiene, such as hand washing and avoiding contact with sick individuals, is a basic yet effective way to reduce the risk of infection. Vaccination is critical in building immunity against various diseases and protecting vulnerable populations. Early detection and treatment of illnesses can reduce the severity of the illness and the risk of transmission to others.

It is also important to ensure that vulnerable and marginalized communities have access to prevention, treatment and care services. Strengthening the leadership, engagement and capacity of community-led organizations and networks can improve service continuity between community-led activities and formal health care provision. The Global Fund’s Community Engagement Strategic Initiative and community-led monitoring efforts work toward achieving these goals.

In conclusion, investing in preventative measures and global partnerships is critical in reducing the incidence of preventable diseases and saving lives.

– Nkechi First
Photo: Flickr

The Devastating Impact of the Turkey-Syria Earthquake

The Turkey-Syria Earthquake
On February 6, 2023, a devastating earthquake struck parts of Turkey and Syria that left more than 47,000 dead and more than 80,000 injured, with numbers still expected to keep rising. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake greatly impacted the town of Gaziantep in south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria. An aftershock followed that caused almost as much damage as the first and the Middle East region felt it throughout. With a fault line of around 62 miles, the earthquake is one of the deadliest of the last 20 years, thus causing serious damage to buildings and maximum casualties with the Turkey-Syria earthquake occurring early in the morning, when people were still asleep.

The Impact of the Turkey-Syria Earthquake

In Turkey, reports have indicated that more than 41,000 died as of early February, with more than 5,800 in Syria. Rescue teams continued searching through the ruins of the nearly 7,000 buildings that have collapsed for survivors more than a week after the earthquake took place in Turkey. Almost no buildings in the cities remained intact, due to the large scale of the impact, with as many as 5.3 million people in Syria losing their homes and experiencing displacement. About 3,000 people managed to find temporary accommodation, with 380,000 seeking shelter in schools and education facilities. The region had not faced a major earthquake in more than 200 years and was vastly unprepared for the disaster.

The biggest worry, however, is for northwestern Syria, where 12 years of conflict has already left 4 million people displaced and heavily reliant on aid and humanitarian assistance. The earthquake caused damage to the Hatay airport in Syria, as well as Bab al-Hawa, the road used to transport aid at the border, which the Turkish government controls. This, among other damaged roads and infrastructure in Southern Turkey, has caused significant delays for shipments and has stalled aid reaching impacted parts of Syria. These delays have already cost thousands of lives, with aid unable to reach survivors pulled out of the rubble, and a lack of resources for those displaced and without basic necessities.

Syrians Displaced and Land Restrictions for Aid

As a country divided due to the 2011 civil war, providing aid for the 5 million already displaced Syrians who live in the opposition-held northern areas has been a complicated matter for the international community. The United States and European nations have refused to send aid to Bashar Assad’s government in Damascus due to sanctions, despite the earthquake. While the majority of Syria is under government control as the conflicting opposition groups hold the north, with Turkey and rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham holding the northwest and the northeast held by U.S.-backed Kurdish-led groups. Naturally, this area of Syria has become heavily reliant on aid.

However, it is very difficult for aid to reach this corner of land due to restrictions that the Syrian government imposed, which also keeps aid from international organizations from reaching there. NGOs outside Syria have been helping these areas, including Idlib, for years, however, since the United Nations coined the term ‘Syria fatigue,’ the level of donations has decreased and the focus of people’s attention has shifted elsewhere, particularly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Caesar Act, a set of U.S. sanctions that originated due to the belief that war profiteers and Syrian officials would keep aid, aimed to discourage human rights abuses in areas of Syria, although some have claimed that it does not target humanitarian assistance. The Syrian government, however, challenged this claim, saying Syrians had to dig “through the rubble by hand, because tools for removing rubble are prohibited for them, and they’re using the simplest, old tools … because they are punished by the Americans, who are blocking them from the needed supplies and equipment.”

Solutions for the Destruction of the Turkey-Syria Earthquake

Aid for Syria by the international community following the earthquake in Turkey has been minimal, with the Syrian humanitarian response for the year already being “severely underfunded,” according to The International Rescue Committee. The organization requested that the global community promptly boost funding in order to provide the necessary assistance to those impacted by this crisis within a crisis.

According to the American Red Cross, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent in Turkey and Syria are furnishing hot meals and beverages, transporting necessary blood and plasma to affected areas, and rendering psychosocial assistance to survivors. The Turkish Red Crescent has put into action 77 catering vehicles, five mobile kitchens and nearly 2,000 tents. Additionally, it has dispatched mobile kitchens, more than 1,000 tents and almost 20,000 blankets. Turkey’s Islamic Relief aid organization initiated a $20 million fundraising campaign, cautioning that their inventory of mattresses, blankets and other bedding items was at risk of depleting in a matter of hours.

In a press conference last week, Syrian Arab Red Crescent head Khaled Hboubati urged the U.S. and EU to lift the sanctions in place following the disaster of the Turkey-Syria earthquake as Aid convoys and rescuers from many countries including ally Russia and United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq and Algeria, have touched down into government-held Syria airports. Hboubati claims his group is prepared to provide relief to all areas, including the northern regions that the government in Damascus does not control.

Looking Ahead

Currently, considering the circumstances, Syrians rely heavily on donations and aid from local charities and NGOs. One such charity, Basmeh & Zeitooneh, has been tirelessly working on the ground to provide food, blankets, mattresses and shelter for the people who have lost everything, with further efforts to help actors deal with the debris and rubble littering the areas. While they have successfully managed to help hundreds of people in this dire situation, more work is necessary as the death toll continues to rise. 

– Noura Matalqa
Photo: Flickr

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Waterborne Diseases Impacting Pakistan

Waterborne Diseases impacting Pakistan
The country of Pakistan is currently the fifth most populous nation in the world, with almost 225 million inhabitants. Due to the number of people living in the country, Pakistan is at a greater risk of experiencing devastation from the effects of changing weather patterns. Events such as the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the floods of 2010 and 2022 have had disastrous effects on the nation’s health policies. The country is also experiencing economic and food crises. This further exasperates the effects of diseases impacting Pakistan. Currently, many organizations, such as the British Red Cross, are categorizing waterborne diseases as a health emergency in Pakistan. These include cholera, typhoid, dysentery and hepatitis A, which are largely spread due to unsafe water and poor sanitation conditions.

The 2022 Floods of Pakistan

The recent floods in the summer of 2022 were disastrous for Pakistan. The floods have severely affected Pakistan’s agriculture, which makes up a big chunk of their exports and food supply, thereby threatening to cause a major public health disaster. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 8 million people are currently in need of health assistance as they are at grave risk from the many diseases impacting Pakistan. WHO also estimates that almost 10% of health facilities experienced damage, hindering the public health system’s ability to target the health crises. This is a grave issue as before the floods, Pakistan was already suffering from health crises. It had the second-highest amount of Hepatitis C cases. More than 35% of children under five are stunted.

In the areas that the floods affected the most, such as Sindh and Baluchistan, there has been a spike in disease outbreaks. In certain areas, the cases of malaria doubled. There was also a rise in outbreaks of dengue and acute water diarrhea. Another issue of concern is the cases of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), which already had a calamitous number before the floods in both Sindh and Baluchistan. Cases of SAM are on the rise to alarming numbers.

Immunization Disrupted

Another major issue that the floods caused is the effect it has had on the public health system’s ability to effectively tackle some of these disease outbreaks. The floods have disrupted many immunization programs, such as the nationwide polio vaccination program. Pakistan is currently one of the only two remaining polio-endemic countries in the world. Furthermore, the flood has also had major ramifications for the programme on immunization (EPI) surveillance efforts and the treatment of chronic diseases, such as tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV).

Organizations Working Toward a Better Future

Although the health crises in the country are a concern, global organizations are helping to lead the fight against many of these waterborne diseases. The Pakistan Red Cross has mobile health facilities in many of the affected areas as they attempt to treat flood victims. Furthermore, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are also working alongside the WHO to increase the surveillance of some of the major diseases impacting Pakistan, such as acute diarrhea and cholera.

– Saad Haque
Photo: Flickr

Supporting Orphanages in Afghanistan

Orphanages in Afghanistan
Even though the number of orphaned/abandoned children in Pakistan is rising, in February 2022, just nine of 68 public orphanages in Afghanistan were operational in addition to 36 privately-run orphanages. Due to the economic crisis in Afghanistan, orphanages have faced funding challenges, rendering them unable to meet the basic needs of children. For this reason, orphanages had to resort to sending thousands of children to live with relatives. Even children with relatives may have nowhere to go because their relatives are incapable of providing for them. Financial difficulties across the board have led to fewer adoptions and a decrease in foster family applications. With funding and support, orphanages in Afghanistan can continue to care for the country’s most vulnerable children.

Hayat Orphanage

Hayat Orphanage, located in the middle of Laghman Province, came about in March 2013. Giving orphans shelter, food, clothing, medication and quality education services, Hayat Orphanage is devoted not only to protecting children from abuse but equipping them with adequate skills and knowledge to enable them to achieve self-sufficiency and independence.

The children from Hayat Orphanage attend local private schools to receive quality education and receive after-school tutoring in mathematics, English and computer technology. The students also participate in extra-curricular activities.

Moreover, Hayat Orphanage is involved with various community projects. This includes meeting local leaders to “raise awareness for female education,” addressing obstacles that are preventing girls’ education, recruiting volunteers from the U.K. to teach children English, preventing child marriage, fighting discrimination against several minorities, supporting female health care and combating domestic violence, among other causes.

Hayat Orphanage’s Sabar Afghan Online School provides free classes on YouTube for boys and girls from grades 1-12. For girls who cannot attend school due to the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education, the Sabar Afghan Online School is a lifeline. According to its website, the school “employ[s] women teachers to show [its] support for gender equality and to facilitate a more equitable Afghani society in the long term.”

As of now, Hayat Orphanage assists more than 100 orphans, but its mission is to support 2,000 orphans across Afghanistan.

Afghan Child Education and Care Organization

Fully registered since 2008, Afghan Child Education and Care Organization (AFCECO) is a nonprofit organization based in Kabul. Andeisha Farid, the founding director, gained inspiration to help Afghan children after facing the consequences of war and displacement as a child. She created a place of refugee for children in Pakistan in 2004. With AFCECO, Andeisha endeavors to provide a nurturing environment for children.

CharityHelp International, a U.S. organization that “funds programs through a child sponsorship program,” works with AFCECO. This partnership “allows individuals from around the world to form bonds with the child of their choice and participate in sustaining the orphanage by paying some or all of the cost of providing that child with her or his needs.”

AFCECO runs 11 orphanages, nine in Afghanistan and two in Pakistan for refugees, which overall tend to about 700 children. The orphanages consist of rented houses. Anywhere from 30 to 80 children live in each one, depending on the size of the house. Along with regular meals, the children are given a range of responsibilities, including household chores.

In addition, AFCECO carries out a variety of services for the children including a Leadership Academy for older girls, a New Learning Center and health clinics. AFCECO also sends ill children to the U.S. for specific treatment and brings children to Europe and the U.S. for temporary scholarship programs.

The Impact of the Taliban Takeover

In 2021, AFCECO faced setbacks when the Taliban seized control of Kabul and attempted to dismantle the organization. The Mehan home, a refuge for many AFCECO children, had to shut down. AFCECO continued operating but in a not-so-visible manner. It set up six safe houses in Afghanistan with up to 10 children and “house parents from the same region” so each safe house “appears to be an ordinary home for an extended family” and does not raise suspicion from neighbors or the Taliban.

As of now, approximately 80 children live in the safe houses. When the Taliban shut down schools, these homes led education classes in secret, often taught by house parents and female teachers whom the Taliban prohibited from working. Currently, children in grades 1 to 9 attend hidden private schools, including girls older than 12 who cannot attend school due to the Taliban’s ban.

Kankor prep classes are available to older children to prepare them for university entrance exams and a scholarship program is available to AFCECO graduates to help with higher education tuition and living expenses. AFCECO, with its multiple orphanages in Afghanistan, seeks not only to assist each child in living a prosperous life but to motivate them to positively impact their country.

Looking Ahead

Afghanistan has about 2 million orphans, with thousands more living on the streets, unable to meet their basic needs. By protecting children and giving them the tools to become self-reliant, these orphanages in Afghanistan provide hope to children in a country ravaged by war and poverty. With continued funding and support, the Hayat Orphanage and AFCECO can continue their critical work.

– Megan Roush
Photo: Flickr

The Kashf Foundation’s Microcredit Program in Pakistan

Microcredit Program in Pakistan
Microcredit, or micro-financing, is a financial system that provides small loans to individuals who lack access to traditional banking services. The concept of microcredit began in 1983 in Bangladesh when Muhammad Yunus created the Grameen Bank. The Grameen Bank offered loans to poverty-stricken individuals trying to start small businesses. Bigger banks often exclude this subset of the population from financial assistance because institutions consider them high-risk in terms of defaulting on repayments. Thus, the poor often resort to taking loans from informal lenders and remaining within the bounds of the informal sectors of the economy. Since the invention of the Grameen Bank, the microcredit model steadily gained popularity around the world, especially in underdeveloped nations. Microcredit in Pakistan has proven to be an effective tool in promoting economic development among impoverished populations. The Kashf Foundation’s microcredit program in Pakistan aims to increase financial inclusivity while empowering the impoverished.

The Kashf Foundation

The Kashf Foundation, a nonprofit micro-finance institution based in Lahore, Pakistan, has been a leader in the microcredit movement in Pakistan. The Kashf Foundation, since its founding in 1996, has made it a priority to provide financial services to individuals, especially women, who are excluded from the formal banking sector due to high fees, strict documentation requirements, proof of creditworthiness and a lack of suitable financial products for the lower-income.

Through its microcredit program, the foundation provides small loans to individuals who need financial support to start or expand a business. One of the main benefits of the microcredit model, made evident through the Kashf Foundation’s microcredit program in Pakistan, is that borrowers receive all the profits of their businesses. This prevents the loss of revenue that workers often experience when the middleman takes a chunk of the profits from his laborers. Ultimately, over time, the poor become financially self-sufficient and are able to contribute to the local economy.

Empowering Women in Pakistan

“Women-centric and pro-poor access to financial services can promote economic growth, reduce income inequality, improve access to health and nutrition and empower women,” the Kashf Foundation’s Focus Notes Series says. According to the World Bank, in 2021, women made up just 20% of the workforce in Pakistan.

Gender-discriminating social norms contribute to this low participation rate along with safety concerns while traveling, low education levels and the burden of household responsibilities. According to Arab News in March 2022, about 82% of women in Pakistan are unbanked, meaning they do not have access to bank accounts or formal banking services.

The Kashf Foundation’s microcredit program in Pakistan makes it a priority to have a mostly female board and to serve as many women as possible. In 2022, women-led businesses accounted for 75% of Kashf Foundation’s microcredit program recipients. Additionally, in 2022, females accounted for 70% of the Kashf Foundation’s board. The Kashf Foundation’s microcredit program has helped more than 1.2 million women over the past 20 years.

Dissolving Limiting Social Norms

The Kashf Foundation is also the first microcredit institution in Pakistan to produce multiple critically acclaimed and popular television series that emphasize the “positive spillover effect of women’s economic empowerment” and raise awareness of social issues impacting women through broadcasts based on real-life stories.

By using the media to dissolve misconceptions and break social norms, the Foundation aims to reduce gender inequality and empower women in Pakistan. Over the years, the Kashf Foundation has also effectively used the art of theater by holding short performances on critical social issues impacting girls and women in the communities it serves to raise awareness and inspire change.

The Kashf Foundation’s pioneering microcredit program and social advocacy programs have had a significant impact in Lahore and beyond. The Foundation’s commitment to improving the lives of those it serves, especially women and girls, will continue to be a trailblazing force in its efforts to promote financial inclusion, gender equality and economic prosperity in Pakistan.

– Aemal Nafis
Photo: Flickr

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Facts About Human Trafficking in Suriname

Human Trafficking in Suriname
Located on the northeastern coast of South America, Suriname is the least populated country on the continent. The Globalized Crime Index lists Suriname as both a “waypoint and destination market” for human trafficking. The U.S. Department of State’s 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report gave Suriname a Tier 2 grade for its current standard of trafficking elimination efforts. This means that it does not meet the minimum expectations for the eradication of human trafficking. While many have acknowledges its attempts, further anti-trafficking action is necessary.

4 Facts About Human Trafficking in Suriname

  1. The Victims: Most victims of human trafficking in Suriname are migrants. Traffickers ship them from the Caribbean and transport them across the border from the poor, northern regions of neighboring Brazil or from Venezuela. Venezuela is a hotbed for trafficking due to its poor track record for prosecuting the offense. Once inside Suriname, victims end up in the capital where traffickers sell them to club owners who provide them with food and lodging in return for forced labor and prostitution.
  2. Gold Mining: About 90% of Suriname’s 620,000 population live in the capital, Paramaribo or on its coast. With just more than three people per square kilometer, Suriname is the seventh least densely populated country in the world. Moreover, with the thick cover of its unchartered jungle, Suriname’s rainforests is the optimum habitat for inconspicuous and illegal mining operations. Many victims of human trafficking in Suriname end up working in these mines with little to no pay. Furthermore, these mines have serious environmental consequences. Deforestation to clear land for illegal operations threatens indigenous populations. The use of mercury in gold mining pollutes rivers and contaminates fish which are a vital food source for many impoverished communities.
  3. Women and Girls: Reports show that those at the highest risk of being trafficked are young women and girls for sex work. This includes brothels and massage parlors in Paramaribo, which has an active sex tourism industry. There are also mining camps located deep within the rainforest where the possibility of escape from captors is even more unlikely due to the isolation of these secret locations.
  4. Legality: Prison sentences for traffickers have recently increased. The new laws mean sentences range between 9-12 years depending on the age of the victims. Suriname has also introduced a new fine of 100,000 Surinamese dollars ($5,120). Despite these government efforts to reduce human trafficking in Suriname, reports state that there were no convictions for trafficking in 2021 or 2020, compared with 18 in 2019 and seven in 2018.

The Future of Human Trafficking in Suriname

Ultimately, the issue of human trafficking in Suriname is difficult to precisely quantify, owing to the lack of data and the inherent corruption. There also surrounds the underground world of people trafficking and its clandestine practices. Many migrants do not have any documentation which makes it easier for traffickers to move people around like possessions. However, following Suriname’s uncontested election in 2020, its new president, Chan Santokhi promised to reform the judicial system. The enormity of this task amid such entrenched government corruption is evident.

Yet, Santokhi has pledged to tackle the issue head-on. He aims to strengthen the country’s judiciary by “granting it its own budget, improving prosecution services and appointing special prosecutors to focus on high-level corruption cases,” according to the Organised Crime Index. Within 6 months of taking office, Santokhi appointed 12 High Court judges and 15 prosecutors to the Attorney General’s office. As of November 2022, Santokhi announced his intentions to create an Anti-Corruption Commission with the purpose of monitoring the assets of more than 4,000 of Suriname’s top political officials. These pragmatic efforts demonstrate his genuine desire to make real changes in Suriname and create a brighter future for its inhabitants.

– Max Edmund
Photo: Flickr