Archive for category: Health

Information and stories on health topics.

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Top 10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Vietnam

PA Top 10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Vietnam
Although it is true that the life expectancy rates tend to be relatively high in Vietnam, the most common causes of death, although preventable or treatable, have often been somewhat ignored by the country’s health officials and the general public. To get a better understanding of how these health oversights can and are being corrected, the list below states the top 10 facts about life expectancy in Vietnam as well as the efforts being made to enhance rates.

Top 10 Facts about Life Expectancy in Vietnam

  1. Adult Life Expectancy Rates. Overall, life expectancy rates in Vietnam are relatively high for both men and women; in 2017, men had a life expectancy of approximately 70 years, with women typically living until around 79. These numbers are a step up from where life expectancy rates in Vietnam were in 1990. Back then, men were only expected to live until 65 and women until 72. While the current life expectancy rates in Vietnam are impressive, it is still possible to improve them even further by improving the current healthcare system, which as of today, isn’t yet fully equipped to handle the country’s most common causes of death: stroke, heart disease, lung cancer.
  2. Child Mortality. Child mortality rates for children under five-years-old have reached an encouraging low, dropping from 47.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 13 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2017. Children under the age of one were also more likely to survive in 2017, with 10 deaths per 1,000 live births being the modern mortality rate; another exponential shift from the 35 deaths per 1,000 births observed in 1990.
  3. Emerging Economy. The drop in mortality rates and the increase of life expectancy rate in Vietnam may be due in part to the fact that the country is transitioning from an impoverished nation to a lower middle-income nation. The World Bank describes Vietnam as “one of the most dynamic emerging countries in East Asia”, and for good reason. In 2017, Vietnam reached a record-high GDP of $223.86 billion; an incredible jump from its record-low GDP of $6.29 billion in 1989.
  4. Emerging Middle-Class. Vietnam’s middle-class is projected to expand along with the newly emerging market economy. Currently, the middle-class population only makes up 13 percent of the population as most Vietnamese citizens are under 35 years old. Still, as Vietnam ages, the middle-class is expected to grow and eventually encompass 26 percent of the population by 2026.
  5. Childhood Education. In 2011, 66 percent of children in Vietnam had access to full-day preschool education. In 2016, the percentage grew to 84 percent. Programs like Children of Vietnam are hoping to increase that percentage further by providing education to poor and handicapped children. By providing these marginalized children transportation to schools as well as building more schools, Children for Vietnam hopes to break the cycle of poverty by creating opportunities for lower-class children to advance in society.
  6. Hospital Inadequacies. Despite the aforementioned victories in improving life expectancy rates in Vietnam, there is still much work to be done. The Ministry of Health (MOH) estimated that around 40,000 Vietnamese citizens travel abroad annually for health care, spending around $2 billion in the process. This is because most Vietnamese hospitals are outdated, overcrowded and largely understaffed with qualified medical professionals. Public hospitals in Vietnam rely on state budgets to upgrade their services. Although the budget has increased over the years, it is still insufficient.
  7. Automotive Accidents. Automotive accidents remain in the top 10 most common causes of death in Vietnam despite recent legislation that addresses drunk driving and driving without helmets – since many people drive motorcycles to navigate narrow streets. Road accident fatalities have decreased from 12,000 deaths per year prior to 2012 to below 10,000 deaths per year, but the legislation still has a way to go when it comes to road safety. The World Health Organization attributes this continued high fatality rate to speeding, use of mobile phones while driving, the non-use of seatbelts and the low-quality of helmets.
  8. Tobacco. A major cause of stroke and heart disease in Vietnam is the mass consumption of tobacco products. Over 15.6 million Vietnamese adults (over 15 years old) smoke, with 85 percent smoking daily. In an effort to combat this trend, the government has implemented a special consumption tax on tobacco products that is raised by five percent annually. Despite the good intentions behind the tax, it has somewhat backfired. Because of increasing government taxes on goods, smuggling has become a huge problem in the country. The Ho Chi Minh City-based Vietnam Tobacco Association stated that approximately 1 billion packs of smuggled cigarettes are consumed in the country annually. Many tobacco farmers and workers are suffering as a consequence, with 2018 seeing the loss of 1 million jobs in the field.
  9. Project Vietnam Foundation. The Project Vietnam Foundation (PVNF) is a U.S.-based nonprofit that operates in Vietnamese-American communities in the U.S. and on-site in Vietnam. In Vietnam, their primary focus is to provide medical training programs to impoverished rural areas. PVNF has provided reconstructive surgeries for over 2,050 children in need of cleft lip and palate operations, and PVNF’s volunteer mission program has treated over 93,000 patients who may not have otherwise been able to receive treatment.
  10. The Ho Chi Minh Environmental Sanitation Project. The Thi Nghe used to pose a major sanitation and environmental health threat to the city of Ho Chi Minh. With no effective sewage system, the canal was polluted with human waste and garbage, which would often overflow during the raining seasons into the houses and businesses built on top of the canal. In 2002, what was called the Ho Chi Minh Environmental Sanitation Project was implemented with the goal of cleaning the canal and establishing an underground sewage system. The Project finished in 2011, and with its completion came a revitalization of health. Because of the project, 96,000 households benefit from reduced flooding risks, and 1.2 million people (mainly lower-class) now have a centralized wastewater collection. Fish are returning to the canal, which is proof that the water quality is slowly but surely improving. The city is now requesting that phase two of the project begin, with a loan of $450 million from the World Bank and a goal to finish around 2030.

As these top 10 facts about life expectancy in Vietnam show, although progress is being made for healthcare and safety in the country, there is still much work to be done, especially in impoverished rural areas of the country. Educational programs like the Project Vietnam Foundation are truly key in creating sustainable healthcare systems in the nation, so spreading the word about these nonprofits and volunteer opportunities are essential in aiding the further progression of life expectancy of all Vietnamese citizens.

– Haley Hiday
Photo: Flickr

Top Vector-Borne Diseases in the Dominican Republic

Vector-Borne Diseases in the Dominican Republic
With its majestic beaches and year-round tropical climate, the Dominican Republic is certainly a top tourist destination in the Caribbean. However, the hot and humid tropical weather combined with limited access to clean water and sanitation services, constitute an ideal ecosystem for the spread of vector-borne diseases.

These are diseases that are transmitted through living organisms known as vectors. According to the World Health Organization, vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks, flies, among others, transmit infectious diseases between humans or from animals to humans.

The top vector-borne diseases in the Dominican Republic are Malaria, Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika.

In recent years, increased concern about these outbreaks has given rise to an intense national public health response to educate the population about preventative measures. Global initiatives have also been launched to eradicate these diseases as they continue to affect the population.

Top Vector-Borne Diseases in the Dominican Republic

Malaria. In 2018, there were 462 reported cases of Malaria in the Dominican Republic, representing a 22 percent increase compared to 2017. This virus is transmitted by the bites of female Anopheles mosquitoes. Main symptoms include fever, headache and chills. Although curable, it becomes life-threatening if treatment is not received as soon as the symptoms appear.

Global initiatives, such as the one launched in 2018 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation together with the Inter-American Development Bank and the Carlos Slim Foundation, seek to end malaria in Central America and the Dominican Republic by 2022. This initiative will direct funds to close the technical and financial gaps preventing the implementation of Malaria elimination plans, ensuring that malaria remains a top health and development priority.

Dengue. There were three major dengue outbreaks in the Dominican Republic in 1998, 2000 and 2002. In 2018, there were 1,251 reported cases of Dengue, representing a 2 percent decrease compared to 2017. It is transmitted by the bites of female Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. Symptoms include high fevers, shaking chills and flu-like illness.

The Dominican Red Cross together with the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Education, the Prison System Directorate-General and Dominican universities, have been conducting concrete actions to aid dengue-affected individuals in the Dominican Republic. These actions include the deployment of volunteers who assist in the elimination of mosquito breeding sites, distribution of educational materials, larviciding, garbage removal and the cleaning of gutters. These efforts have contributed to a reduction in the risk of contracting Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya in 318 communities nationwide.

Chikungunya. There was a massive Chikungunya outbreak in the Dominican Republic in 2014, with 429,421 confirmed cases reported, which represented 65 percent of all reported cases from the Americas. Chikungunya is transmitted from human to human by the bites of infected female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Symptoms include high fever, joint pain, muscle pain, nausea and fatigue. As of 2018, the virus has been largely contained.

Zika. In 2016, a major Zika outbreak impacted the Dominican Republic, with 5,245 confirmed cases up to 2017. Transmitted by the bite of infected Aedes genus mosquitoes, symptoms include fever, rash, conjunctivitis as well as muscle and joint pain. It can cause microcephaly and other congenital abnormalities during pregnancy, as well as the Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults.

In 2018, with funding from the USAID, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted Zika-related activities in the Dominican Republic, which include emergency response needs assessment, laboratory strengthening, vector control, surveillance capacity building, testing of mobile survey application, and a field epidemiology training program.

As the World Health Organization explains, a crucial element in preventing the outbreak of these vector-borne diseases is behavioral change. Educating the population about preventative measures to decrease the spread of these diseases will empower them to protect themselves.

The government continues to educate citizens about the importance of eliminating breeding sites around homes, schools and work sites. Additionally, the use of physical barriers and insecticide is recommended.

– Claudia Ratti
Photo: Google

Top 10 Facts About the Health Expectancy in Angola

Top 10 Facts About the Health Expectancy in Angola
Sometimes referred to as “healthy life expectancy” or HLE, health expectancy measures more than just the number of years a person remains alive. In fact, it is calculated by “adjusting total life expectancy for the number of years spent in poor health.” As the following list illustrates, there are many improvements yet to be made, but there is also good reason to be hopeful about the health expectancy in Angola.

Top 10 Facts About the Health Expectancy in Angola

  1. The average life expectancy in Angola is approximately 58 years for males and 62 years for women. However, these statistics leave many questions unanswered regarding the health expectancy of the country’s 13 million inhabitants. For example, in Angola, respiratory infections like pneumonia and bronchitis limit mobility and cause years of suffering before proving fatal.
  2. Improved access to clean water across Angolan villages reduces the threat of contracting diarrheal diseases, which is the leading cause of death in Angola. Thanks to a project called Angola Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) — implemented in 2016 by World Vision International — the people in Angola’s Ukuma Municipality now have clean water and far fewer incidents of illness.
  3. The average health expectancy in Angola is dismally affected by the country’s high maternal mortality rate, with 600 out of every 100,000 births resulting in the death of the mother. This statistic is exacerbated by Angola’s high fertility rate of 5.8 births per woman. A woman with a difficult pregnancy or birth outcome, including preeclampsia, preterm labor and fetal growth impairment is more likely to have these issues recur with subsequent births. She is also more vulnerable to seemingly unrelated illnesses like cardiovascular disease.
  4. USAID is working with the Government of Angola to help develop a health care system that serves all citizens of Angola. This includes providing family planning services for Angolan women, implementing health education to empower women with knowledge about their bodies and conducting training for healthcare workers.
  5. In Angola, one in five children dies before reaching the age of five. The odds are worse for children in rural areas with limited access to healthcare facilities. The lives of these children are not only cut short by treatable diseases like malaria, but their few years on earth are filled with pain and suffering.
  6. With the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), USAID is addressing Angola’s fight against malaria. By providing insecticide-treated mosquito nets, preventative treatment of expectant mothers, accurate diagnosis and swift treatment, the goal is to reduce malaria in Angola by 50 percent.
  7. In 2018, the budgetary allocations for the health and education sectors were increased. This allowed an additional 20,000 teachers and 1,700 healthcare personnel to be hired.
  8. It is estimated that an entire generation of Angolans missed the chance to attend school due to the Angolan Civil War. A sense of normalcy is slowly returning to the educational system in Angola, though only four years of primary school are compulsory. This is an important component of the health expectancy in Angola because primary school students are taught the basics of hygiene and the importance of clean drinking water, along with other crucial facts for maintaining good health.
  9. Before the development of retroviral drugs, dying of AIDS was a protracted and usually excruciating process. This remained the case for Angolans suffering from AIDS as recently as 2004. Thanks to initiatives including the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), fewer Angolans are being infected with HIV/AIDS, and those who are living with the virus are receiving treatment in a more timely manner. This extends life expectancy and makes life with the syndrome more comfortable.
  10. UNICEF has played an enormous role in improving the health expectancy in Angola. A 2018 report listed notable accomplishments including 500 latrines being built, 39,352 children being screened for malnutrition and 1,000 healthcare workers being trained for cholera prevention. These efforts are ongoing, and with help from global partners, the outlook is bright.

The Angolan Civil War, which lasted from 1975 until 2002, devastated and impoverished the country. Lack of infrastructure, little to no healthcare services and a widespread lack of clean water were just some of the difficulties the nation faced as it struggled to regroup after the war. However, today, the Angolan government is playing a proactive role in continuing to improve the collective health expectancy in Angola.

– Raquel Ramos
Photo: Flickr

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Seahawks’ K J Wright Supports Clean Water in Kenya

Clean Water in Kenya
Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright is addressing the issue of clean water in Kenya. Currently, 41 percent of Kenyans (19 million people) still lack reliable, safe water sources for drinking water. While on vacation in the Maasai Mara region, Wright witnessed the challenges faced by locals, especially females, when it came to collecting drinking water and decided to start a fundraising campaign with the goal of building two wells in the village he stayed in.

The Global Issue of Clean Water

The availability of clean water has been a major issue across the globe. In July 2010, the United Nations deemed access to clean water and proper sanitation a human right. Yet in 2017, 2.1 billion people still lacked safe drinking water and 4.5 billion did not have sufficient sanitation services. Without safe management of sanitation services and wastewater from cities, businesses and farms, waterways are likely to be polluted. When these water sources are used by community members as drinking water, many health risks arise.

Contaminated water and poor sanitation remain the most common reason for child mortality and are associated with diseases including cholera, dysentery, hepatitis, typhoid and polio. By creating the infrastructure for water services, an impoverished community can significantly reduce the number of preventable health issues.

K.J. Wright’s Fundraiser for Wells in Kenya

Clean water infrastructure, however, can be expensive. To build a single well in the village K.J. Wright visited will cost $20,000. In order to adequately cover the expense of two wells, Wright has set a goal of $50,000 for his fundraising campaign. He will personally be donating $300 for every tackle he makes during the football season, which has added up to $1,500 as of November 2018. He has also created an online donation page through Healing Hands International for individuals wishing to support clean water in Kenya.

Women and girls are particularly affected by this problem because water sources are often miles away, and females are usually the ones expected to collect water for the family. Aside from the health impacts of walking great distances daily, the time invested in this chore also prevents many girls from attending school.

Seeing this had a profound effect on Wright. Commenting on his trip to Kenya, Wright said, “I noticed this young girl had dirty brown water. So, I just wanted to help this community. The young ladies have to walk many miles twice a day just to bring back water, and when they do get the water, it’s not even clean. […] I just want to bless this community that blessed me.” By building these two wells, Wright will be helping these young women not only by reducing the time it will take to collect water but also by giving them access to a clean water source.

Changing Lives

Local access to safe drinking water will drastically alter the lives of residents and improve the overall health of the village. Clean water in Kenya is just one example, but celebrity efforts, such as the steps taken by Wright, can have significant positive impacts on impoverished communities.

Fundraising campaigns and advocacy from public figures affect change quickly and can reach diverse audiences that otherwise would not be educated on issues of poverty, clean water, women’s rights and more. Wright plans on returning to Kenya next year and hopefully will continue supporting the world’s poor and inspiring others to take action as well.

– Georgia Orenstein
Photo: Flickr

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Good Uses of AI and Drones in the Fight Against Poverty

Using ‘evil’ technology in the fight against poverty
Technology is neither inherently good or bad; it is, rather, humanity’s use of technology that can be considered as evil or virtuous. Certain modern tools have the reputation for being capable of carrying out despicable deeds and are, therefore, surrounded by controversy. Artificial intelligence and drones are two of the most widely commentated on and feared applications of modern science. Despite this prevailing negative perception, combatting poverty is happens to be one of the good uses of AI and drones.

Drones Revealing Inequalities

Drones, or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), are often used in violent attacks and warfare, but they, along with their human operators, are also doing wonderful things across the world. Photographer Jonny Miller used drones to capture cities and show the line dividing the rich and the poor.

He captured images of lush, green golf courses directly up against dirt roads and shack neighborhoods. You can see giant mansions with trees and acres of grass next door to brown areas with buildings squished into a small plot. Miller’s project “Unequal Scenes” is raising awareness about poverty and inequality, which would be impossible without drone photography.

Drones Mapping Land

Another way that drones are helping alleviate poverty is through land mapping. More than half the world’s population, usually women, cannot prove they own their land. This is especially problematic in Kosovo where most of the men and boys were murdered during the Balkan wars in the late 90s. The women who remained have worked tirelessly to rebuild their homes and their communities. One enormous roadblock is their inability to use their vast land resources to provide for themselves economically.

These women do not have any sort of documentation for their lands once owned by their husbands. One woman explained that she had applied for loans to build her business, but she was repeatedly turned down because she lacked “property documents to put down as a guarantee.” These communities do not have the means to hire the land surveyors necessary for official registration. Property owners with potentially good, profitable land are powerless without official documentation for their land.

However, drones are helping these women. The World Bank Group’s Global Land and Geospatial unit dispatch drones to map out land plots for a fraction of the cost of traditional land surveyors, giving the Kosovan women the ability to register their lands and ultimately invest in their own property.

AI for Safety and Health

Artificial intelligence (AI), also referred to as “machine learning,” is the “capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior.” It’s often associated with movies about robots destroying humanity that are based on the real fear that one day these machines will become self-aware and grow tired of serving humanity. “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race,” warned Stephen Hawking in 2014. Despite this destructive potential of AI, in the real world, it is currently transforming agriculture and changing businesses in Africa.

One article argues that Africa is amid the “fourth industrial revolution … ushered in by the power of AI.” Many innovative African business leaders have embraced AI to improve productivity and efficiency. One example is the Moroccan company Casky that uses AI to perform analytics on data sent from devices on motorcycle helmets. This has been improving riding habits and providing more accurate insurance premiums, reducing costs and improving safety for riders.

One Algerian firm helps local doctors provide cancer detection and treatment for their patients. The AI creates models that can diagnose those who are unable to visit hospitals for formal examinations. This has the potential to save many lives of those who don’t have the means to get regular checkups and screenings.

AI Helping Businesses

Another instance showing the advantages of AI is the reduction of consumer costs from companies like Niotek in Egypt. This company used AI to improve service quality and reduce the likelihood of human error. AI is also reducing overall costs for farmers and helping to improve their yields in India where RFID tags are being used in dairy cows to provide important information about the cows’ diets and overall health. The information is then stored in a “cow cloud” where it is “AI-analyzed.” The farmers receive alerts about any potential issues or if a cow requires their attention. This can reduce costs and increase efficiency for the farmers.

These are just a few of the many examples of good uses of AI and drones.  They have been especially useful in the fight against poverty. Cases like these prove that technology cannot be inherently evil and that there are good uses of AI and drones. While some individuals may want to use modern equipment to destroy the world, there are plenty of people looking to use the same tools to improve the world.

– Sarah Stanley

Photo: Flickr

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Key to Eliminating Malaria in Cambodia

Private Sector Key to Eliminating Malaria in Cambodia
Having already made substantial progress in the effort to eradicate malaria, Cambodia is one of the 17 countries in Southeast Asia looking to continue finding solutions to this problem and putting an end to this disease by 2025. The strategy of eliminating malaria in Cambodia hinges on a joint effort between the public sector and the private sector. With proposed solutions made by this collaboration, Cambodia is on the road to eliminating the disease by its projected period.

Malaria in Cambodia Numbers

In Cambodia, 1 million people become infected with malaria every year. Despite this high number of infections, there has been substantial progress made in working to find solutions to eradicating malaria. For example, in 2015, Youyou Tu received The Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of artemisinin, a type of anti-malarial medicine that is being used today.

While efforts have been made in eradicating malaria in Cambodia, there is still a lot that needs to be done in order to achieve this goal. Of the 1 million people who become affected by malaria, around 1.5 percent and 10 percent of people that are located in distant provinces die. The parasite responsible for these deaths is the Plasmodium falciparum. To prevent the occurrence and spread of this disease, early intervention with artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is the key. Yet, distribution of antimalarial medicines remains a challenge. While there are immediate and positive effects of ACT therapy, many people are not able to receive this medicine.

PSI/Cambodia

One organization that working on ending malaria in Cambodia is Population Services International/Cambodia (PSI/Cambodia). The purpose of this initiative is to work on health issues caused by HIV/AIDS, malaria and reproductive health of women who are going to give birth. In 2003, a program of PSI/Cambodia started to offer malaria treatment with the help of private clinics, pharmacies and shops in many parts of rural Cambodia. Of total Cambodia’s population, the poor are particularly at risk of getting the disease. As shown by this initiative, the private sector remains crucial for ending malaria in Cambodia.

Solutions to Ending Malaria in Cambodia

To meet the need for antimalarial medicines, the Global Fund, an international partnership organization, has proposed some essential solutions by the public sector working with the private sector for eradicating malaria in Cambodia. The first is to make sure there is access to effective antimalarial medicines that the private sector provides. This proposal also means the dispose of fake antimalarial drugs that are currently in the market. In addition, this means also the disposal of antimalarial drugs that do not meet the national guidelines.

Secondly, the report of the Global Fund urges organizations in the private sector to make sure they provide effective diagnostic testing. Lastly, the Global Fund recommends that there is widespread access to affordable antimalarial medicines for eradicating malaria in Cambodia, in order to allow for those living on less than $1.25 a day to purchase afford this life-saving treatment.

One way to achieve these proposals is subsidizing antimalarial medicines in order to allow consumers to be able to buy them. Another way to increase distribution of antimalarial medicine is through social marketing. In addition to making sure there is an effective treatment at a cost that people can afford, these same two strategies can be used for diagnostic testing.

With much progress having been made to end malaria in Cambodia, there is room for more improvement in order to reach the goal of eradicating the disease by 2025. With more joint effort between the public sector and private sector through subsidizing prices of antimalarial medicine, Cambodia can move one step closer to eradicating malaria.

– Daniel McAndrew-Greiner
Photo: Flickr

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Primary Care in Developing Countries: EC Launches CareAi

Primary Care in Developing Countries
The lives of 6 million children could be saved globally each year through more effective primary care. However, half of the world’s population cannot access essential health services. In fact, 800 million people spend at least 10 percent of their income on health expenses for themselves or a family member which can push them further into poverty.

Blockchain Technology and Primary Care Services

Despite these overwhelming statistics, blockchain technology is beginning to transform the health care sector in Europe and Africa through virtual health assistance. The European Commission has launched CareAi in June 2018, which is a digital computer system that uses a patient’s blood sample to quickly diagnose diseases without the presence of a physical doctor.

Harvard University Chemistry Professor George Whiteside created the machine to feature a small finger prick device. The patient experiences a quick poke from a sterilized needle, then places their fingerprint onto a chip that is inserted into the machine. The intelligent CareAi system has the ability to diagnose diseases like typhoid fever, malaria and tuberculosis in seconds and quickly prints results, which directs ill patients to nearby pharmacies for medicine. The machine’s intelligence is expected to evolve over time and could even surpass human proficiency in 2-3 years.

CareAi ensures that all patient information and results are kept anonymous so it will be able to help undocumented migrants and populations secluded from the health care system who fear deportation. However, if the government wishes to access data for policy purposes, it will pay participating healthcare NGOs and machine maintenance costs. CareAi machines will be placed in public places such as mosques, churches and markets so people who lack primary care in developing countries will be able to benefit.

CareAi Targets the Most Vulnerable Groups

Creators of this new invention are targeting refugee camps in Europe and are giving specific attention to India which only has one doctor for every 921 people as well as Africa. According to the World Health Organization, across the globe, 50 percent of the children under age five who die of pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, HIV, tuberculous and malaria each year, are from Africa. CareAi will allow easy access and accurate diagnoses to these people who are in quick and desperate need of health results.

Looking Forward

AI projects are taking place all over the world and opening up exciting possibilities in the not so distant future. In a piece titled, 10 Promising AI Applications in Health Care, Harvard Business Review highlights an AI-powered nurse avatar called “Molly” which is being used to “interact with patients, ask them questions about their health, assess their symptoms, and direct them to the most effective care setting”.

In addition, the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is using AI processes to predict which patients will be no-shows and to reduce readmission rates. Artificial intelligence will continue to change the way we practice medicine and will open up new diagnostic possibilities for primary care in developing countries.

– Grace Klein
Photo: Pixabay

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HIV/AIDS Treatment Improving Worldwide

Why HIV Treatment Is Becoming A Reality For People Everywhere
Just last year, it was announced that, for the first time in history, 50 percent of those infected with HIV/AIDS were receiving treatment. This landmark achievement is a massive process with different factors worldwide, but it’s all an interconnected humanitarian struggle against this life-threatening disease. As the year moves closer to 2019, it’s important to evaluate the measures being taken to keep the epidemic at bay and to take a closer look at the future of HIV/AIDS treatment worldwide.

A Survey of The World

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, known as UNAIDS, reported in 2017 that, of the 36.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS, 19.5 million are now receiving life-saving treatment in the form of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs).

This trend has risen steadily since 2014 when UNAIDS announced that, if countries could meet the following goals for 2030, the global HIV/AIDS epidemic would be eliminated. Some of these goals are:

  • 90 percent of those with HIV are aware they carry the virus
  • 90 percent of the previous group begins using ARVs for treatment
  • 90 percent of those receiving treatment continue their treatment and reduce the levels of the virus in their system to levels below standard testing baselines.

These goals may seem as though it sets the bar high. However, after calculating the data from 168 countries in 2017, the world was already at 75-79-81. Several countries are doing exceedingly well: Iceland, Singapore, Sweden, Botswana, Cambodia, Denmark and the United Kingdom.

These nations have managed to keep the virus in 73 percent of the carrying population suppressed. This means that, after receiving HIV/AIDS treatment, 73 percent of individuals have such low levels of the virus in their blood that the disease is no longer transferable by them to another person.

An Uncertain Future

Though the world has made tremendous progress in recent years in controlling the number of HIV patients, much of this progress has to do with aid provided by the U.S. In 2018, the Trump Administration has been proposing cuts to the U.S. Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program. As one of America’s major global health initiatives, PEPFAR is responsible for HIV/AIDS treatment to millions of patients around the world.

President Trump’s budget proposal would strip PEPFAR’s funding from $6 billion to $5 billion. This is significant, as this program benefits those living along east and southern Africa. This area contains the highest concentration of those living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. The $1 billion cut would result in 1.8 million deaths over the next ten years in South Africa and The Ivory Coast alone. Those currently receiving ARV treatment will not lose their access to the life-saving medications they need because of the budget cuts.

Though the outcome for the future is uncertain, currently the world has been succeeding in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and HIV/AIDS treatment is becoming a reality worldwide. If countries worldwide can stay on track in meeting UNAIDS guidelines, then the global community may see this notorious virus eliminated by 2030.

– Jason Crosby
Photo: Flickr
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10 Facts about Life Expectancy in Canada

10 Facts about Life Expectancy in Canada
Canada has one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world, but these numbers may be deceiving when the population is broken down further in the detail. The following 10 facts about life expectancy in Canada described in this article will show that despite the high life expectancy rate, there is a stark disparity between the indigenous population and non-indigenous population in the country.

10 Facts about Life Expectancy in Canada

  1. The average life expectancy in Canada was 82.30 years old in 2016. This can be broken down further to male and female genders, with the females life expectancy at 84 years on average and male population life expectancy approximately at 80 years. There is a large discrepancy here, however, between the indigenous and non-indigenous population in the country. According to federal documents, the people that belong to indigenous population live approximately 15 years less than people from the non-indigenous population.
  2. First Nations adults or non-indigenous Canadians are twice as likely to die from preventable health causes than non-aboriginal adults. These preventable causes are ones like pneumonia, breast cancer and tuberculosis. Many of these deaths could be prevented if these people had better access to health care.
  3. People of the indigenous population in Canada are more likely to experience inequalities in health care than people of the non-indigenous population. For example, they are more likely to wait for treatment in emergency rooms or visit several different hospital emergency rooms to get treatment for illnesses. This poor care may be the result of intrinsic discrimination in the health care system.
  4. Mental health problems are also more likely to be the problem of the indigenous population. In Aboriginal communities, the suicide rate is five to six times higher than the national average. Inuit youth population also has a suicide rate that is 11 times higher than the Canadian average, and it is one of the highest suicide rates globally. Mental health is a critical determinant of a healthy person, and due to lack of access to proper health care, the indigenous population may be more at risk for the continuation of these illnesses.
  5. One way that Canadian government and official institutions are targeting this inequality is by recruiting more indigenous doctors to the medical field to improve cultural sensitivity and to draw attention to issues that indigenous population faces. There is also an initiative between the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada and the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada. This initiative aims to devote part of the undergraduate medical study to indigenous health care and problems in the health care industry. While this is a slow process, it represents work being done to ensure better health care and life outcomes.
  6. High life expectancy in Canada is correlated, in part, with education. According to the OECD, Canada’s population is the most educated in the world with 56.27 percent of adults that have completed a two-year, four-year or vocational program. The discrepancies between indigenous and non-indigenous population life expectancy mentioned above may also be due to the differences in education. For example, the Inuit population in the Kativik region of Quebec has a graduation rate of 25.9 percent while the total graduation rate of the Quebec region is 79 percent.
  7. Differences in education are also reflected in job acquisition and earning potential. Due to lower levels of education, people of the indigenous population are less likely to be employed in professional, managerial and technical jobs that typically provide opportunities to earn more money. Indigenous peoples are more likely to be found employed in jobs with less earning potential that do not require a post-secondary degree. These jobs include trades, service industry, or agricultural jobs. Differences in work and earnings may lead to lower income and less access to much-needed services that can ensure survival and prolong life.
  8. In 2012, according to the First Nations Information Governance Centre, the unemployment of the indigenous population was 13.9 percent, 5.8 percent higher than the non-indigenous population unemployment rate of 8.1 percent. Unemployment can negatively affect many aspects of life, including both mental and physical health, as well as increasing poverty levels. This can certainly explain lower life expectancy rates.
  9. Poverty also influences indigenous population more than non-indigenous population. Over 80 percent, or 297 out of 367 Aboriginal reserves, had a median income lower than the national poverty line that Statistics Canada considers to be $22,133. Poverty is directly linked to chronic stress that can drastically influence health outcomes and thus lower life expectancy.
  10. One nongovernmental organization fighting these harmful effects described above is the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC). The NWAC’s goal is to promote and improve the well-being of indigenous populations through policy initiatives, advocacy and projects. Some of the projects are Project PEACE, that aims to advocate for community safety nets and financial literacy programs for women and ASETS (Aboriginal Skills and Employment Strategy), a program that helps women find jobs and gain educational skills.

These 10 facts about life expectancy in Canada show that despite the fact that the country is considered to be one of the most developed in the world, there is still the unequal treatment of indigenous population and more should be done to resolve this question.

While these facts may look bleak, there are organizations that are working to improve indigenous livelihoods and reduce unjust inequalities.

– Isabella Niemeyer
Photo: Pixabay

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The Outlook for Sustainable Development Goals

Outlook for Sustainable Development
In 2015, the United Nations launched the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to expand upon the progress of the Millennium Development Goals that were set from 2000 to 2015.

Comprised of 17 goals, the SDGs address issues such as poverty, education and health with the overall aim of achieving worldwide peace and prosperity by 2030. Three years into the initial reports on the outlook for Sustainable Development Goals express skepticism that these goals can be reached at the current rate of progress. The problems in meeting these goals are described below.

Eliminating Poverty

According to the World Bank, the rate of poverty reduction that more than halved the world population of people living in extreme poverty from 1990 to 2015 is currently in decline. The organization estimates that the annual rate of poverty reduction that was 2.5 percent from 2011 to 2013, will decrease to less than half a percentage point.

The World Bank has also calculated that the bottom 40 percent of people in terms of income would need to see a yearly income increase of eight percent or more for the next 12 years in order to meet the first SDG of reducing the global poverty rate to 3 percent or lower. The report also notes that income growth never reached this height from 2000 to 2015, despite the notable progress in poverty reduction during these years.

Improving Education

Although the information is scarce, the available data suggests that the current rate of progress in education is also too slow to meet designated targets by 2030. In its 2018 report, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) projects that at least 22 million children worldwide will be unable to participate in pre-primary education unless the current rate of progress doubles in countries that lag behind.

Low reading proficiencies among 15-year-old adolescents are of additional concern. According to the same UNICEF report, 26 percent of countries and 36 percent of 15-year-olds need to see faster improvement in reading proficiency in order to meet the target for quality education. This is without accounting the 70 percent of countries and 61 percent of 15-year-olds for which there is little or no data.

Providing Better Health Care

Along with education, health is considered one of the most important factors in fostering economic and other forms of development. The Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers Report provides recent data and future projections for 18 SDG indicators as a way of tracking the overall progress of the initiative, the majority of them pertaining to health. According to the 2018 report, the U.N. estimates that by 2030:

  • Mortality of children under the age of 5 will be reduced from 3,9 percent of live births to 2,6 percent, which is 1,4 higher than the target.
  • The rate of stunting in children under the age of 5 will be reduced from 27 percent to 22 percent, which is 7 percent above the target.
  • Basic vaccines will be available to anywhere from 74 to 90 percent of the world population, falling short of the goal to be accessible to all people.
  • Neglected tropical diseases will see a decrease from 17,000 to 13,000 per 100,000 people, well above the goal of 15,000 cases per 100,000.
  • Universal health coverage will be available to 72 percent of the global population, 3 percentage points higher than in 2017 but well below the goal of achieving universal coverage for everyone.

The Good News in the Outlook for Sustainable Development Goals

While the outlook for sustainable development in each of these reports is not ideal in terms of the time it will take to be achieved, data trends still show progress, not regression, in development. With 12 years remaining, the United Nations is still in the initial stages of its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. If the projections for 2030 fall short of the targets for the SDGs, they at least provide a better understanding of the extent of the resources necessary to improve the outlook for sustainable development goals going forward.

In consideration of the data, the World Bank, UNICEF and the Gates Foundation have all called for increased investment in world development. As a specific example, the World Bank has invested $3.2 billion in education programs for girls between 2016 and 2018, exceeding a commitment of $2.5 billion.

If all actors in the 2030 Agenda follow suit, the current outlook for Sustainable Development Goals does not have to determine the final extent of the world’s progress.

– Ashley Wagner
Photo: Flickr