Key articles and information on global poverty.

The Success of Healthcare in Malaysia

Healthcare in MalaysiaThe organization of Malaysia’s healthcare system is a two-tier system that is comprised of public universal access for all the country’s citizens and private access for others. The government works closely with the healthcare industry to improve and promote the system of healthcare in Malaysia. As a result, the nation takes pride in being a medical tourism hub and holding the status of the “world’s healthcare marvel.”

Past Healthcare Accomplishments

In October 2018, Malaysia became the first country in the Western Pacific region of the globe to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of the diseases HIV and syphilis. Prior to this accomplishment, about 1,000 Malaysians were born with HIV/AIDS in 2007. According to the World Health Organization, Malaysia began the effort to combat HIV/AIDS transmission in 1998 with antenatal screenings.

Ms. Sherene Azli, Chief Executive Officer, Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council, shared with The Borgen Project that healthcare in Malaysia has three selling points: it is high quality, cheap and the doctors speak English. Not only are most medical staff fluent in English, but some hospitals have translators for over 22 languages. International Living recognized Malaysia as the “best nation in the world for healthcare” from 2015 to 2019 and ranked the nation as the seventh-best place to retire in 2020. Healthcare in Malaysia is highly affordable, said Azli, and therefore, it is very competitive compared to the Western world. Healthcare costs can be anywhere from 40 to 70 percent cheaper compared to the U.S. or U.K.

Further, healthcare in Malaysia adheres to Muslim standards, and therefore it can accommodate any citizen or medical tourist with strict religious restrictions. Azli told The Borgen Project that “Malaysia is a Global Halal Hub, which is good news for Muslim healthcare travelers. Malaysian society is Muslim-friendly. All Malaysian hospitals serve halal food and provide prayer facilities. Porcine-free medical products, such as sutures and vaccines, are also available at medical facilities. Many Malaysian medical professionals and personnel are Muslims too.”

Malaysia is one of two Muslim nations in Southeast Asia; Indonesia is the other Muslim nation in Southeast Asia. Due to the superior accommodations to Muslim populations, Indonesians make up 60 percent of total healthcare arrivals, according to the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC).

Medical Tourism as a Thriving Industry

The MHTC is an initiative under the Malaysian Ministry of Finance that works to grow the healthcare travel industry by building Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) that combine state-run industries with private companies. From a conversation with the MHTC, the organization spoke about a planned campaign for healthcare travel throughout the year 2020. Unfortunately, in March 2020, MHTC announced the program’s deferment to the following year.

“We serve as a driver and catalyst towards positioning the country as the leading global destination for healthcare,” said Sherene Azli. “Malaysia is one of the few countries in the world where healthcare travel is a government-supported industry while being driven by the private sector.” 

Many people from surrounding countries come to Malaysia for healthcare needs. Most of the doctors have Western training and speak English, making healthcare in Malaysia perfect for tourists and expatriates. The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council reported an increase in 2011 from 643,000 medical tourists to over 1 million in 2018. Some in-demand fields are cardiology, oncology and in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

“In 2018, Malaysia Healthcare attained RM1.5 billion [Malaysian ringgit] in hospital receipts which resulted in an economic impact of RM6.4 billion as stated in the Malaysia Healthcare Chronicles,” Azli said.

Healthcare in Malaysia in Response to COVID-19

Much like the shelter-in-place orders in the U.S., Malaysia imposed a Movement Control Order (MCO) after the outbreak of COVID-19. This movement restriction encourages Malaysians to practice social distancing. The nation was the first in the region to impose such restrictions. As a result of these orders, the MHTC reported a 45 percent recovery rate.

The government has scrambled to help its citizens. For example, shelters have been providing protection for the nation’s homeless from the virus. The Malaysian government is also collaborating with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to protect people in Malaysia with refugee status. In addition to these actions, Malaysia passed RM260 billion as a stimulus package for the nation’s people.

The largest glove manufacturer in the world, Top Glove Corporation, resides in Malaysia. It manufactures one in five gloves around the world. Malaysian manufacturers are working to help flatten the curve of COVID-19 by converting facilities and providing more PPE. Top Glove Corporation plans to produce face masks in two months at a facility that retrofitted itself for the new product. Another company, Karex, will convert two lubricant lines into hand sanitizer manufacturing.

Although the MHTC acknowledges the hardships the pandemic has caused and will continue to cause the industry, it should continue to prepare for an economic rebound. “Over the next five years, Malaysia healthcare will focus on three key initiatives namely, the Fertility and Cardiology Hubs, being the Centre of Excellence for Oncology, as well as the Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme,” Azli said.

Going forward, it remains a priority to position healthcare in Malaysia first so that it can prevail as a global medical leader.

– Annie Kate Raglow
Photo: Flickr

Examining 8 Facts About Fuel Poverty 

Facts About Fuel Poverty
Also known as energy poverty, fuel poverty occurs when a family cannot afford to keep their home at a safe and comfortable temperature. Many commonly overlook it as an aspect of living in a low-income situation, so these eight facts about fuel poverty should provide the basic knowledge necessary to understand the concept.

8 Facts About Fuel Poverty

  1. Fuel poverty is a relatively recent concept. Brenda Boardman published the first book about fuel poverty in 1991. The book, entitled “Fuel Poverty,” served as an essential introduction to the topic. Since its publication, there has been an increase in research and awareness about fuel poverty.
  2. The definition changes in warm areas. The majority of discussions about fuel poverty pertain to how people cannot afford to warm their homes. However, in warmer climates, a lack of fuel presents other struggles such as no lighting or cooking methods. Moving forward, most of the facts about fuel poverty will discuss fuel poverty in colder areas.
  3. The British Isles has been at the center of the discussion about fuel poverty. Historically, a lot of the action and research surrounding fuel poverty has occurred in the British Isles. This might be due to a combination of a cold and wet climate and poor housing quality. Although fuel poverty can occur in a lot of places, the British Isles has been very vocal about its citizens’ struggles with fuel poverty and what it is doing to address the problem.
  4. Fuel poverty has multiple causes. When examining why fuel poverty occurs, there are often multiple factors that converge to result in a home lacking proper energy services. The main causes of fuel poverty are low income, high energy prices, poor energy efficiency (i.e. poor insulation or heating systems) and under-occupancy.
  5. Fuel poverty has a clear measurement system. In 2013, England adopted a Low Income High Cost (LIHC) method of determining the criteria for fuel poverty. It considers a household to be in fuel poverty if it has above average fuel costs and that those costs would leave them with a residual income below the official poverty line. Because most fuel poverty research comes out of England, others have widely adopted this system.
  6. A lot of households are at risk. Around 20 percent of households in Europe experienced fuel poverty in 2018. Some characteristics increase a household’s risk of facing fuel poverty, such as possessing a household member with a disability or long-term illness, as some factors increase physiological needs for energy services.
  7. Fuel poverty can have serious consequences. Living in a cold house can worsen pre-existing conditions, causing related morbidity and mortality. In the U.K. in 2016, 3,200 excess winter deaths linked directly to people experiencing fuel poverty.
  8. There are steps to help. A study in the U.K. in 2019 found that making people aware of the risks that occur with living in a cold home and providing thermometers to track temperatures can actually improve people’s living conditions. It can also be beneficial to alert citizens about grants and programs available to them to assist with the costs of energy services.

Hopefully, these facts about fuel poverty have provided some fundamental knowledge about the topic. One can easily overlook fuel poverty, but it forces people to make difficult sacrifices and can sometimes result in negative health consequences. The issue has been coming into the light more in recent years as politicians and organizations work to help those who cannot afford to maintain a safe and comfortable home.

– Lindsey Shinkle
Photo: Pixabay

 

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3 Parts of the World Tackling Poverty Alleviation

Tackling Poverty AlleviationDespite over 700 million people living in extreme poverty, poverty alleviation strategies recently reduced those rates. Poverty is multidimensional, meaning there are more aspects that one should consider than low income and resource shortages. Poverty includes hunger, malnutrition, violence, lack of human rights and little to no health care. According to Our World in Data, the fast rate in economic growth and political support for improved living standards have improved the state of poverty alleviation in various countries. Socio-economic advancement stems from improved access to opportunities where the four common areas of focus are food, education, employment and security. Here are three parts of the world tackling poverty alleviation.

China

China has made considerable progress in tackling poverty alleviation by bringing citizens out of traditional rural lifestyles. In 2018, around 41 percent of China’s rural population was living in impoverished countrysides. In 2013, China set policies to promote socio-economic development. By registering individuals into a database, China implemented rapid strategies and programs to benefit the entire nation. Meanwhile, Beijing launched an anti-poverty campaign to bring these citizens into more urban locations.

Committing to development with infrastructure and improving tourism, the government helped villagers tremendously. The government strengthened financial support by providing proper funding for health, education, industrial development and agricultural modernization and better access to the internet. Specifically, the 2007 health reform addressed poverty alleviation by providing health care centers for men and women and improving the quality of these centers.

Additionally, the Guizhou Province gave millions of dollars to poor students in 2015 to provide meals to children during the day. Feeding the children increases confidence and improves performance in the classroom. China also built schools in rural and mountain areas to accommodate male and female students. Educating the young means future generations should be able to rise out of poverty as well.

Poverty alleviation also occurs from supporting livestock and crop production in regard to trade partners. Improving farming practices also decreases pollution throughout the country. The Ministry of Agriculture has fully invested in increasing sustainability within agricultural and technological development.

Africa

Government resources in Africa have been vital to the 13 percent poverty alleviation from 1990 to 2015. To combat corruption, Uganda created an anti-corruption action plan through the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity. Tanzania even followed these steps with a National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan. Other programs directed toward social welfare have also contributed to economic growth. By providing conditional cash-transfers, African citizens have more financial security. Promoting governmental transparency through the 2003 Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has protected citizens from violence at a political level.

Further, education for youngsters, with a target for girls and women, have slowed economic poverty; gender inequalities have traditionally set back girls and women in society. The Africa Educational Trust (AET) program focuses on self-empowerment and providing education for all, and is breaking the glass ceiling for African women. Improving inclusivity within communities by removing these women and girls from traditional societal roles inevitably protects from violence. Not only do women get the opportunity to progress in society, but fertility and child mortality rates decline through improved prenatal nutrition.

Finally, agricultural investments through governmental incentives have enhanced food production. South Africa’s Expanded Public Works Program (EPWP) launched in 2004 with the aim of expanding job and industrialization practices. Access to clean water through sanitation reforms has drastically improved health status throughout the continent. In Nigeria, the Third National Urban Water Sector Reform Project tackles the water-scarcity issue by investing in water treatment, disease prevention and enhanced water distribution strategies.

El Salvador

El Salvador stands out as one of the more impoverished countries in Latin America. However, in 2013, the poverty rate dropped from 40 percent to 28.9 percent. The government transformed the national debt by addressing historical conflicts that damaged the economy. Tensions between the government and gang warfare affected 16 percent of the country’s annual GDP. Addressing gang violence through the Youth Employability and Opportunities initiative gives children a future involving better education without the pressure of joining a gang to survive.

The Civil War from 1980-1992 also put an enormous strain on the country’s safety. The Safe El Salvador plan addresses poverty alleviation by strengthening community bonds.

Additionally, health care and job investments have aided the country’s endeavors of poverty alleviation. The Strengthening Public Health Care System project invested in health services that have declined mortality rates and have improved disease prevention. Further, the El Salvador government partnered with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in 2014 to focus on the youth by providing infrastructure and skills to stabilize the economy.

The Social Protection Universal System in 2014 assisted in the protection of the country’s citizens regarding human rights. Another danger to the country is natural disasters, which take a massive toll on the environment and safety of the large population. The government created the El Salvador Disaster Risk Management program to prepare for emergencies such as earthquakes and tropical storms, but it also addressed the recovery process after they hit.

Despite slower progress in some regions of the world, these three parts of the world are continuing to make tackling poverty alleviation a main focus. Investing in the wellbeing of people is a common practice in maintaining human dignity and saving countless lives every day. By establishing attainable goals and understanding the nature of poverty, countries can make significant changes for the future of the globe.

– Sydney Stokes
Photo: Pixabay

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7 Facts About Sanitation in Rwanda

Sanitation in Rwanda
Rwanda is a developing country located in central Africa. After a genocide left Rwanda in extreme poverty, the country is fighting to improve living conditions and life expectancy. Here are seven facts about sanitation in Rwanda.

7 Facts About Sanitation in Rwanda

  1. There are not enough wells in rural areas of Rwanda. Millions of women and children choose to walk over three miles a day to collect water for their families in order to sustain themselves. Most nearby water sources have experienced contamination. In the year 2000, 45 percent of the population had access to safely managed and basic drinking water. The number has now risen to 58 percent with the help of organizations like The Water Project and Charity Water to build wells.
  2. Waste management solutions can be simple and effective. Rwanda is turning the fecal waste from latrine pits into fertilizer and selling it to farmers. This is preventing the collection of the waste in ponds that later flood back into the communities during the rainy season.
  3. In 2000, just over 1 percent of the Rwandan population had proper handwashing facilities. Organizations like UNICEF have been working on educating communities about the importance of handwashing with soap. Its tactics include media campaigns and outreach programs. It increased the number of Rwandan’s with proper handwashing facilities to 5 percent of the population in 2017.
  4. Washing hands is one of the most effective ways to fight diseases that poor sanitation causes. One of the leading causes of death in Rwanda is diarrheal diseases, which is responsible for 8 percent of all deaths among those under 5 years old. This is easily preventable in any country when its citizens receive proper WASH education.
  5. Rwanda’s government signed agreements in 2019 with the African Development Bank to receive a loan of $115 million to support water infrastructure within the country. This has been one of the latest steps since the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development called for a focus on water and sanitation. The United Nations adopted this agenda in 2015 with its sixth goal being to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.”
  6. Young girls miss school every month while menstruating. This is due to many Rwandans considering menstruation taboo, leading to a lack of resources and education. The Sustainable Health Enterprise (SHE) is offering programs that distribute eco-friendly pads and Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) training after school. Additionally, SHE’s campaign for menstrual hygiene awareness reached nearly 1,000 students in eight schools in 2013. Moreover, it reached 4.3 million people throughout the country in 2019.
  7. Sanitation in Rwanda is improving. With the recent COVID-19 outbreak, Rwanda continues to provide new ways of sanitation for its people. In March 2020, the country began installing hand-washing stations at bus stops in the capital of Kigali to prevent the spread of the virus.

Proper sanitation is necessary for economic development. Access to clean water and education on basic hygienic practices directly affects the rest of a country’s ability to thrive. Many cost-benefit analysis studies show that poor sanitation leads to a larger economic loss. As a result, developing countries should put preventative measures in place.

– Molly Moline
Photo: Flickr

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4 NGOs Fighting Poverty in Jamaica 

Four NGOs Fighting Poverty in JamaicaAs of 2017, the poverty rate in Jamaica was 19 percent, which was higher than more than half of the United States. Additionally, 8.9 percent of the population suffered from hunger as of 2016. Despite these seemingly discouraging statistics, Jamaica has seen several improvements in both the economy and standards of living. For example, Jamaica’s GDP in 2018 was $15.72 billion, which is a 6.34 percent increase from the previous year. The improvement is a direct result of efforts from the World Bank, the Jamaican government and active nonprofits working to combat the issue of poverty in Jamaica. The World Bank Group has invested $500 million in economic development. The Jamaican government instituted a progressive conditional cash transfer program called the Programme of Advancement and Higher Education (PATH) to help increase school attendance and health visits. Aside from the developments that these two major actors led, here are four NGOs fighting poverty in Jamaica.

4 NGOs Fighting Poverty in Jamaica

  1. U.N. Volunteers Online: U.N. Volunteers Online is a network that provides opportunities for individuals to spend a couple of hours serving worthy causes from the comfort of home. The website includes organizations dedicated to fighting 17 causes ranging from health care and education to sanitation and peace missions. One of the many issues the organization aims to tackle is poverty in Jamaica. The Nathan Ebank Foundation of Jamaica is working with U.N. Volunteers Online to gain traction as it launches a new digital initiative. The Nathan Ebank Foundation is a charitable organization that has dedicated itself to providing better health care access and opportunities for children with disabilities and special needs in Jamaica. The Foundation serves constituents in Jamaica through educating professionals and parents on how best to serve children with disabilities, advocating for reforms that resolve issues of systematic oppression against those with disabilities and providing assistance to families and children with disabilities. The Foundation received the World Cerebral Palsy Medical-Therapeutic Award in 2018 as recognition of the rehabilitation support services that it offers to children with cerebral palsy.
  2. American Friends of Jamaica: American Friends of Jamaica is an organization that partners with Jamaican charities and nonprofits to fund and promote community development in Jamaica. The organization has raised $14 million to support a diverse network of organizations tackling issues in economic development, education and health care. The organization has recently partnered with the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica and the Council of Social Services to start collecting donations for COVID-19 response materials. These materials include protective gear for health workers such as masks and gloves, as well as essentials such as toilet paper and food for the elderly.
  3. Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation: Davis Cup Tennis Athlete Karl Hale founded Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation, a nonprofit that embodies the motto “Participate, Elevate, Educate.” The goal of the organization is to uplift future generations by improving educational infrastructure and resources. Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation has built more than 21 schools all over the island, one of which was a project that Olympic athlete and icon Serena Williams led in 2016. Because the organization builds and supports schools all over the island, serving with them is an excellent opportunity to both help alleviate poverty in Jamaica and tour the island. The next build will begin in July 2020 but until then, the organization is utilizing a free hotline for parents and children struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  4. Food for the Poor: Food for the Poor is an organization that provides housing, aid and relief to those suffering from extreme poverty in Jamaica. The organization has shipped 583 tractors full of aid and sponsored 500 children experiencing poverty in Jamaica. Food for the Poor has built more than 35,000 homes. The organization is currently advocating to support the homeless in light of the current global pandemic. It has also partnered with Amazon to become one of the many nonprofits that individuals can donate to by shopping online at smile.amazon.com.

These four NGOs are all fighting poverty in Jamaica in addition to the World Bank and the Jamaican government. Through these combined efforts, poverty in Jamaica has substantially declined and the economic climate has improved.

– Tiara Wilson
Photo: Pixabay

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10 Facts About Poverty in Syria

Poverty in Syria
With a population of 18.4 million people, Syria ranked as a rapidly developing mid-sized country before the Syrian civil war broke out. Today, 11.7 million Syrian people have experienced displacement from their homes. Schools, health care facilities and small businesses have suffered greatly. As a result, the Syrian economy has collapsed, placing more than half of Syrian people in poverty. Children are at an especially high risk of poverty and displacement. The war has a stranglehold on the Syrian economy. It has caused significant damage to the country’s infrastructure and wreaked havoc on the lives of civilians. However, global aid has significantly improved Syrian peoples’ educational and employment opportunities, as well as access to food, water, shelter and health care. Here are 10 facts about poverty in Syria.

10 Facts About Poverty in Syria

  1. Before the Syrian civil war, the Syrian economy was flourishing. In 2010, right before the start of the Syrian civil war, the World Bank listed Syria as a rapidly-growing middle-income country. In addition, farming, oil, industry and tourism formed the major economic base. Meanwhile, primary and secondary education and health care received state funding. Until 2011, nearly 80 percent of the Syrian economy relied upon small to medium-sized businesses. In 2010, the GDP per capita in Syria was $2,807. Today, the GDP per capita is a mere $870.
  2. Today, the majority of Syrian people live in poverty. Over 80 percent of people in Syria live below the world poverty line, which means that they make less than $1 per day. The economic impact of ongoing conflict has resulted in an unemployment rate of 55 percent or more.
  3. Corruption is prevalent in Syria. Syria ranks fourth on the list of countries with the most corruption in the world. High paying jobs concentrate in Damascus, the country’s capital. It is hard to get a job in the capital without “wasta.” “Wasta” is an Arabic word that translates to “nepotism” or “clout.”
  4. The Syrian civil war interferes with education. The U.N. confirmed 74 strikes on schools and military use of 24 schools from January to June 2019. As a result, fighting has damaged many schools or bombs have demolished them. More than 33 percent of Syria’s children – over 2 million – do not go to school. Around 1.3 million children are at a high chance of withdrawing from school. UNICEF is working to provide education to Syrian children. The organization repairs damaged school buildings, provides at-home learning programs to students in districts where there are no schools and administers teacher-training programs.
  5. The Syrian civil war has impeded health care. Bombing damaged or destroyed many medical facilities. In northwest Syria, 51 medical facilities suffered attacks between January and June 2019. Fifty percent of all health care centers in Syria are only partly operational or are not operating at all. In light of this, many foundations are working in Syria to provide health care. For example, Doctors Without Borders is currently working in Syria, providing outpatient care, assisting with births and administering routine vaccinations.
  6. There is extreme wealth inequality in Syria. Before 2011, Syrian small businesses thrived. However, many shut down in the past decade. A few big business owners have established a monopoly over approximately 75 percent of the economy, though the average Syrian person lives in poverty
  7. Inflation has greatly affected the Syrian population. Syrian currency has depreciated greatly in recent years. The value of the Syrian pound has gone down over 90 percent since 2010. Prices have greatly increased, but salaries have stagnated and jobs are much harder to come by.
  8. Women and children suffer the damages of war. Children must often engage in child labor or marriage, or join the fighting to help their families survive. Additionally, over 60 percent of Syrian refugees are children. Syrian women are at high risk of enduring sexual violence.
  9. Many Syrians flee the country. There are 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, a neighboring country. In Lebanon, around 70 percent of Syrian people live below the poverty line. In Jordan, around 93 percent of Syrian refugees live below the poverty line. Living conditions for Syrian refugees are difficult, but perhaps preferable to the crisis of living in the midst of a civil war.
  10. Foreign aid is helping Syrian citizens. International relief organizations like the IRC, UNICEF and Worldvision provide significant aid to Syria. Currently, the IRC provides support to nearly 1 million people—half of them children. Support includes pop-up health clinics, cash vouchers to obtain food and necessities, child care, job training and psychosocial support for traumatized people. This is often for survivors of violence or sexual assault.

These 10 facts about poverty in Syria show that the current situation in Syria is bleak, as poverty and displacement affect nearly the entire population. However, foreign policy and intervention can help end the war. Additionally, foreign aid can support education, health care and small businesses. Ideally, Syria will stabilize in the years to come.

– Elise Ghitman
Photo: Flickr

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Aiding Women and Girls in Burkina Faso

Women and Girls in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is a landlocked, Sub-Saharan country in West Africa. Of the 20 million people residing there, 50.3 percent are female. Women and girls in Burkina Faso are likely to suffer from sexual or violent assault, experience forced marriage, be sold as property, die from unsafe pregnancy or abortion and/or undergo genitalia mutilation.

More than 85 percent of the population in the area supports the idea that these practices should discontinue. The government reformation of the constitution in 2016 claiming to strengthen women’s and children’s rights reflects this support. Unfortunately, women living in West Africa are still in immediate need of medical aid in order to live safe and healthy lives.

The organization Lighting the Path launched a new Women’s Aid Fund (WAF) to accomplish just that by helping women and girls in the fight for life. To gain further insight into how WAF is changing the lives of those living in Burkina Faso, The Borgen Project interviewed Dawn Malcolm, founder of Lighting the Path.

Life for Females in Burkina Faso

While the country’s government has put a policy into motion that promotes gender equality, the women and girls in Burkina Faso still face many unfair and cruel practices.

According to a Country Gender Profile by Japan International Cooperation Agency, when it comes to education, it is “socially ingrained that girls should be doing household chores rather than going to school.” In 2018, Burkina Faso saw a mere 32 percent of the female population enroll in schools.

Additionally, it is likely that women and girls in Burkina Faso will experience sexual assault from other students or teachers. In 1998, a Medical Research Council Survey found that 37.7 percent of girls in South Africa said that a school teacher or principal had raped them.

Additionally, there is an issue of forced marriage, including underaged young women. Families force more than half of all girls under the legal age of 17 into unregistered marriage.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is also extremely prevalent in Burkina Faso. Specifically, female genital mutilation (FGM) is a common practice for the nation. Despite the fact that Burkina Faso banned this practice in 1996 and the majority of the population is aware of the harmful effects, 76 percent of females between the ages of 15 and 49 have undergone mutilation.

Finally, women’s economic status in the country is far below that of men’s status. This occurs for three main reasons. Firstly, many in the country do not value women’s right to own property. Secondly, the right of succession does not apply to women. Thirdly, women cannot seem to buy or inherit the land. All of these economic issues make women reliable for men for a sustainable way of life, continuing the suppressive cycle.

Behind Lighting the Path

Dawn Malcolm founded Lighting the Path with the main goal of ending extreme poverty. The organization works with outreach programs and finds people in poverty who suffer from a lack of food, health care or education. The organization offers support through teaching business and entrepreneurship skills, which Malcolm believes is the best way to help. “Women and the people in poverty have to be empowered to help with the process of writing them out of poverty,” she says. “It can’t just be hand-outs all the time.” One example of this enterprise production model was teaching the women and girls in Burkina Faso to make soap out of the shea butter readily available to them in the village.

LTP is currently working on five fundraising projects: The Girls for Girls Project, The School for Girls Project, The Giving Hope Project, Empowerment Work in Burkina Faso and Microfinancing projects. For sustainable development, building the school for girls is the main focus of LTP’s future, as of now.

The Women’s Aid Fund

The Women’s Aid Fund is a new project that Lighting the Path has had success with. It formed while Malcolm was in Burkina Faso teaching women to make the shea butter soap. While working there, she recognized that women and girls had untreated medical issues. “Women there are husbands’ property, so they’re not always taken care of. Plus, if there’s any money, [the women] would take care of their children before they would get themselves cared for,” Malcolm told The Borgen Project. She typically saw injuries that occurred from FGM or injuries that occurred from fistulas that had not received treatment. Fistulas develop when the body is not ready for birth; in this case, the underaged girls who entered marriage unwillingly commonly developed fistulas.

Most of the things Malcolm witnessed were widespread, occurring on a daily basis and would likely require more than one group’s intervention for eradication. During her time, Malcolm encountered one woman with an injury she knew she could help with if she had the right amount of resources.

A woman named Elizabeth had lost her arm in a domestic dispute with her husband. “Life is very, very difficult [there]. It’s a lot of work, and it’s very hard there already, so when a woman has an injury, or an illness or wound that compromises her further, it just compounds the difficulty of life,” she said. Malcolm saw that by simply purchasing a prosthetic arm, she and Lighting the Path could change Elizabeth’s life for the better.

The WAF formulated with the goal of buying Elizabeth the prosthetic arm. The arm cost about $1,700 but Lighting the Path decided that was not enough. Not stopping at the prosthetic, WAF is continuing to help other women and girls in Burkina Faso who have disabilities or need medical attention. Malcolm says that even small things—a cut on the finger, for example—can sometimes become septic and lead to death if it does not receive treatment. There will always be ways we can help the women and girls in Burkina Faso. Malcolm said, “There’s always going to be women in need of some support to get some treatment or some care that they can’t otherwise afford.”

 Sadly, things like sexual assault, FGM, illegal marriage and unsafe abortion still happen to women and girls in Burkina Faso. Change may come in the future, but it is likely that everyday women and girls in the country are experiencing harm while waiting for that change to arrive. Thankfully, organizations like Lighting the Path and funds like the WAF are improving the way these women heal.

– Marlee Septak
Photo: Flickr

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The Fight Against Locust Swarms in China

Locust Swarms in China
The beginning of 2020 has definitely been challenging for East Africa and South Asia because sweeping locust swarms struck agricultural production and threatened food security in those areas. China has been suffering from a similar situation, as it loses over 10 million hectares of crops annually from locust swarms. Locust swarms in China have led to it having some expertise in dealing with them, though. In fact, in the nearest decade, China has efficiently lowered the frequency of locust swarms and freed vast acres of land from them. Updated technologies have aided the fight against the locust swarms. Here are some of the hallmarks that make China stand out in the fight against locust swarms.

China’s National Campaign and Societal Engagement

One can trace the modern engagement of prevention and control of the locust swarms in China to land reform in 1950. Before China enacted its government-led afforestation, the local government effectively mobilized farmers to fight the locust swarms with the use of man-powered tools, minimal technology and scientific methods. However, this process clearly expressed that China would not succeed in its fight against locust swarms without massive societal involvement.

Societal engagement seems subtle compared with actual scientific studies about reducing locust swarms. Continuous alerts to the public regarding the seriousness of the locust invasion is the primary form of engagement. The database of the People’s Daily, a Chinese official newspaper, gives at least 270 news headlines mentioning damage or potential risk of the locust swarms in China each year from 1946 to 2019. Public awareness has yet to ease in regards to outbreaks of the locust swarms in China.

Besides the publicity, environmental education opens another gate for nationwide and generationwide involvement. At the state level, the progress of environmental education directly promotes the cultivation of a new generation of professionals who will work in the prevention and control of the locust swarms in the country. At the college level, over 200 universities and 44,000 students prepared to provide support with expertise contributions in 2012.

This nationwide campaign has evolved in the new era. For example, Ant Forest, launched by Ant Financial Service Group, has planted 122 million trees through societal environmental involvement. Ant Forest achieved the massive tree plantation through a 200 million user base and ease of access from users’ smartphones. People who would not touch environmental issues before can involve themselves more easily.

Inter-Agencies Arrangement

In addition to societal involvement, China has also demonstrated a rigid systematic intervention, which should ensure the enforcement and delivery of policies in any local area. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MoA) is not only in charge of the prevention and control of the locust swarms in China but also has to coordinate with agencies such as the General Administration of Customs. One short answer to such a setup of complex agencies is the need to implement continuously improved strategies against the locust swarms. 

Some researchers have suggested that gaining knowledge about locusts in addition to the implementation of more efficient control techniques would decrease the destruction of locust swarms in China. Another research group found that human activities, such as deforestation and desertification, highly synchronize with the outbreak of the locust swarms in China. Overexploitation of the arable lands and grasslands in Northwest China used to cause the degradation of the land and therefore make them habitable for locusts. Due to such a phenomenon, working with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) is one of MoA’s immediate priorities.

One of the successful examples is the Three-North Shelter Forest Program. Despite the program not specifically aiming to reduce locust swarm damage, the program contributed to the total coverage of forest from less than 17 percent to nearly 23 percent. This increase tightened the space for the reproduction of the locust swarms and blocked the invading path. Other projects in flood control or grazing management also support the prevention of the locust swarms in China.

Conclusion

In short, massive social involvement makes the prevention and control of locust swarms a different game in China. Successful publicity mobilized a vast number of the people and the form of the national campaign injected enough attention to resolving the issue with maximized resources. The younger generation has a better understanding of the issue via intensive environmental education. Also, the environmental concept has deeply penetrated ordinary people’s perception because of the broad coverage of easy access, such as smartphones and online services. 

The benefit of these methods to decrease locust swarms in China is clear. On one hand, individuals have taken on the task of protecting and restoring the environment. On the other hand, this allows China to push new policies in environmental protection more easily, especially when the policy is in conflict with the fundamental way of living for people like farmers and nomads. 

A strong institutional arrangement also backs up the enforcement of the policy. It provides China with alternative tools in disaster management and has ultimately reduced the vulnerability of a sole emergency management strategy. By consolidating the collaboration of multiple systems, China is capable of stepping far beyond the boundary of passive defense to engage issues in advance. Therefore, for the African and other locust suffering countries, the key to the reduction of locust swarms may be in a different direction than relying on technology alone.

– Dingnan Zhang
Photo: Flickr

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5 Facts About the Refugee Crisis in Uganda

refugee crisis in Uganda
The refugee crisis in Uganda is due to its central location to several countries that have been in civil war in recent years. In fact, some have characterized Uganda as an underground railroad of differing proportions. Uganda has borders with South Sudan, which has been in a civil war since late December 2013, while Rwanda, which experienced one of the worst genocides in history in 1994, is still feeling the ripple effects among certain areas and individuals in the country. Meanwhile, violence has plagued the Democratic Republic of the Congo in certain eastern areas near Uganda’s border. Burundi and Somalia, though not bordering countries, are nearby and both have experienced civil wars and other conflicts in the recent millennium. Here are five facts about the refugee crisis in Uganda.

5 Facts About the Refugee Crisis in Uganda

  1. Uganda has over 1.423 million refugees, with the majority coming from South Sudan through its northern border. However, the refugees also enter through the country’s southern border, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. The Tanzanian border area, known as Isingro, hosts the Nakivale refugee settlement which was one of the only settlements that did not have South Sudanese or Sudanese refugees. In fact, this settlement mostly consists of Congolese refugees.
  2. The refugees currently in Uganda come from eight prominent countries in Africa including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Somalia, Rwanda, Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia. Each of these countries has experienced a civil war in the past 30 years and most have suffered one in the past two decades. That being said, many of the individuals who experienced those trying times are still alive. When new violence occurs, many decide to leave earlier versus later because they remember the atrocities from just 20 to 30 years prior.
  3. The largest refugee group by origin is from South Sudan, accounting for roughly 62 percent of refugees and over 880,000 individuals in Uganda. South Sudan is the closest country and its most recent civil war halted in 2019.
  4. One of the largest settlements that South Sudanese refugees primarily use is Bidi Bidi in northern Uganda. It is roughly 234 square kilometers and people use the land for both residential and agricultural needs. To put it in context, 234 square kilometers is roughly the size of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.
  5. The United Nations Refugee Agency’s 2020 budget for Uganda is $333 million. This is about $50 million lower than its 2019 budget, even though the refugee crisis is once again ramping up after the steep decline in 2018. In fact, the total number of refugees per month has been steadily increasing by about 10,000 to 20,000 since October 2018.

While the influx of refugees to Uganda has been mostly due to conflicts in surrounding countries, it is also because of Ugandan generosity. In fact, the policies Uganda has instituted and the funds it has generated to support refugees indicate that Uganda does not believe they are a problem. Rather, it treats refugees as humans who have a want and need to cultivate, provide for their families and move around freely. Uganda also grants refugees government aid, similar to most of its citizens, through health care and educational opportunities.

While experts expect the refugee crisis in Uganda to continue, funding from The United Nations Refugee Agency as well as Uganda’s generosity should help the refugees substantially. Hopefully, the refugee numbers will start to reduce in the upcoming years.

– Cassiday Moriarity
Photo: Pixabay

The Economic Crisis in Lebanon

Economic Crisis in Lebanon
Lebanon is a small country in the Middle East that Syria and Israel borders. Once known as a prosperous leading regional center for finance and trade, the nation’s civil war crippled the economy. This traumatic event in Lebanese history eventually led to an economic crisis in Lebanon.

Economic Crisis in Lebanon

In 1975, civil war, Syrian occupation and clashes between Israel and Hezbollah destabilized Lebanon. Although Lebanon remains steady in economic freedom, it has encountered rough patches regarding politics. The economic crisis in Lebanon eerily compares to the current Syrian crisis. Both Lebanon and Syria have endured hardships of civil war and faced a surge in refugee intake.

Nearly 1.5 million Syrians have taken refuge in Lebanon as a result of the nation’s own civil war. The refugee intake has negatively impacted Lebanon’s finances, service industry and environment. The crisis has also driven 200,000 people into poverty and left nearly 300,000 unemployed. The environmental effects have slowed down the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to nearly nothing, worsening the economic crisis in Lebanon. In 2018, the Lebanese growth rate was just 0.2 percent. As of 2020, Lebanon carries a $90 billion debt, which is about 170 percent of the nation’s GDP.

The second leading age group in Lebanon is the youth group. This makes it difficult for those in impoverished families to maintain a steady income or complete their education due to the demand in the workforce. The demand has also forced women who would normally take on household responsibilities to work low wage jobs for additional income. Due to the enormous refugee intake, Lebanese workers face much higher competition for jobs. The 1975 Civil War severely damaged the nation’s economy. Because of the war, Lebanon’s national output reduced by half and the nation lost recognition as a Middle Eastern banking hub.

The Fight Against the Crisis

In the fight for better living conditions for those living in poverty, Lebanon’s government launched the National Poverty Targeting Program (NPTP) in October 2011, implemented by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The goal is to establish a national targeting system for the government. The system aims to improve the living conditions of the people, particularly those struggling in extreme poverty. The total cost of the NPTP was $9.34 million.

Habitat for Humanity has also been working to improve and provide housing for those in poverty in Lebanon since 2001. Habitat for Humanity builds, rebuilds, renovates and rehabilitates houses through partnership models to reach families in need of housing services across Lebanon.

The World Bank called for the formation of a new cabinet and said that it expected Lebanon to hit a recession by 2019. The World Bank comprises of many foreign donors who have pledged billions of dollars towards the aid that Lebanon desperately needs.

Lebanon has one of the world’s highest debts at 170 percent of GDP. Political conflict in the nation, as well as regional disputes, have impacted economic growth. With aid in place, it is hopeful that the economy can reboot despite the high poverty and unemployment rates that plague the nation. For now, thanks to the organizations that offer aid to the nation, the Lebanese people are maintaining a good and steady quality of life.

– Sarah Mobarak
Photo: Flickr