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Clinics in Bamyan Provide Beacon of Hope

Clinics in BamyanThe United Nations estimates that over 60% of people in Afghanistan will require humanitarian aid to combat the devastating poverty plaguing the Afghani people. With almost 97% of Afghans living at or below the poverty line, rural communities like Bamyan, a mountainous province in Afghanistan, are particularly at risk. This poor and marginalized community had no access to health care for years. But in March 2023, Doctors Without Borders provided a beacon of hope when they opened eight clinics in Bamyan, providing this poverty-stricken community with essential medical care.

Afghanistan in Crisis

Afghanistan has struggled with decades of conflict and political upheaval, leaving many without critical social support systems. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, locals have seen a staggering rise in cost-of-living expenses, resulting in 28.3 million Afghanis needing humanitarian assistance – particularly medical assistance.

In 2022, Doctors Without Borders saw increased traffic to existing medical facilities in Afghanistan. Kabul and Kandahar were hit particularly hard with outbreaks of diarrhea, and medical workers fortified existing medical facilities in response to outbreaks in these areas. However, many communities in Afghanistan do not have access to medical care due to their remote and rural location, including rural communities in the large province of Bamyan.

Hope for the People of Bamyan

Bamyan is home to the Hazara people, a poor ethnic minority who live in rural and remote villages that historically had little access to centralized health care. Naqiba, aged 19, delivered her second child at one of the new clinics in Bamyan supported by Doctors Without Borders. Her previous childbirth experience was much more taxing for her and her family. Naqiba recalls, “When my first son was born, my mother-in-law had to pay 6,000 AFG (about $70) so we could travel to Bamyan’s provincial hospital. Now, we can finally get care closer to home for free.”

Naqiba’s family was able to assist with her travel expenses during her first pregnancy, but over 40% of new mothers in Bamyan delivered children at home without professional medical assistance, likely due to financial restrictions. New medical clinics in Bamyan are already revving up to bring much-needed childbirth and pediatric care to these impoverished communities. Since Doctors Without Borders built these clinics in early 2023, their workers have provided over 1,200 prenatal and postnatal consultations, screened nearly 2,000 children for malnutrition and provided more than 3,400 pediatric consultations.

Prenatal and pediatric care are critical for impoverished communities like Bamyan, but standard medical care and regular check-ups are just as critical for rural communities like this. Standard health care essentials like access to vaccines, nutrition information, family planning services and basic health screenings were previously out of reach for many Afghans living in rural villages scattered across Bamyan’s vast and mountainous region. These new clinics in Bamyan are bridging the health care gap for rural residents like Rohida.

Rohida, a middle-aged woman in Afghanistan’s Bamyan province, visited a clinic close to her hometown in Jalmish to treat her high blood pressure. Rohida commented, “Before, we had no place to go. Sometimes, it feels like women have been forgotten around here. I’m happy that someone remembered us.”

–  Ann-Jinette Hess 
Photo: Unsplash

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Pregnancy Malnutrition is on the rise in developing countries

According to UNICEF, the number of undernourished pregnant women and girls has risen by 25% in the past two years. This is most prevalent in the world’s poorest countries, including Somalia, Ethiopia and Afghanistan. More than one billion women and teenage girls worldwide are undernourished, making it difficult to obtain the food they need due to recent conflicts and global challenges like COVID-19.

UNICEF has urged the international community to promote food security and support ineffective nutrition programs to combat child malnutrition. The organization emphasized the negative impact malnutrition has on children’s health.

UNICEF Report

A recent UNICEF report reveals that one billion undernourished women and adolescent girls worldwide are “underweight and of short stature.” The highest incidence of the nutrition crisis among adolescent girls and women is found in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where 68% of women and teenage girls are underweight and 60% are anemic.

Poverty and its Effect on Pregnancy Malnutrition

In the 12 countries experiencing food crises, the number of pregnant or nursing women suffering from acute malnutrition increased from 5.5 million to 6.9 million between 2020 and 2022. UNICEF urges the enactment of legal measures to expand food fortification and prevent micronutrient deficiencies and anemia. These countries include Afghanistan, Chad, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen 

The CEO of UNICEF, Catherine Russell, warned that the consequences could continue for future generations if the international community does not take quick action to assist in preventing micronutrient deficiencies and anemia in girls and women. “To prevent undernutrition in children, we must also address malnutrition in adolescent girls and women,” she said.

NGO and Government Initiatives to Combat Malnutrition Among Pregnant Women

Several NGOs and governments are making efforts toward resolving the issue of malnutrition among pregnant women worldwide. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has launched the Nutrition Innovation Lab in Bangladesh. This initiative focuses on improving maternal and child nutrition. 

The World Food Programme (WFP) has initiated the Integrated Food Security Project in Ethiopia, which provides food assistance, nutrition education and health services to pregnant and lactating women to significantly reduce malnutrition rates among women and children.

In India, the government has launched the National Nutrition Mission (NNM) to reduce malnutrition among pregnant women and children under 5 years old. The program provides nutritional supplements, health services and other resources to improve the health of the population.

Looking Ahead

Despite the concerning rise in undernourishment among pregnant women and girls, there are promising initiatives underway to address this global issue. Organizations like UNICEF, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Food Programme are taking action to combat malnutrition and improve the health of vulnerable populations. Through programs focusing on food security, nutrition education and access to healthcare, these efforts aim to break the cycle of malnutrition and ensure a healthier future for both women and children worldwide.

– Dalia Hasan
Photo: Pixabay

 

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Tackling Heart Disease in Bolivia with the Nit Occlud Device

Heart Disease in Bolivia
Bolivia is the second poorest country in South America, performing poorly in education, life expectancy, economic strength and overall development. Most alarmingly, it lacks sufficient medical care due to a limited supply of adequate resources. Bolivia’s unique geography advances its tremendous healthcare challenges, causing children to be 10 times more likely to be born with congenital heart defects. These conditions are nearly impossible to treat without trained cardiologists and updated facilities, two things often inaccessible to most Bolivians. Thus, addressing heart disease in Bolivia is quite challenging as a result of these factors. However, Franz Freudenthal, inventor and cardiologist, is improving medical care with a simple technique that utilizes an indigenous hobby to heal holes in hearts.

What is PDA?

Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) is a common congenital heart defect, particularly prevalent in certain parts of Bolivia. The defect is caused by an opening between two major blood vessels traveling away from the heart. The opening is crucial to a baby’s circulatory system before birth, but it should close almost immediately upon exiting the womb. PDA cases, however, present holes in the heart that remain open. Although the exact cause of congenital heart defects like PDA is typically unclear, decreased oxygen levels have a direct impact on fetal heart health. Because La Paz, Bolivia sits at 3,600 meters above sea level, where the atmosphere has lower oxygen levels than most parts of the world. Therefore, Bolivia’s altitude is the likely cause of irregular blood. Also, the mother’s inability to provide appropriate oxygen levels to her child can result in severe complications.

Breathlessness and failure to thrive are the most common symptoms in mild cases, but fatigue and failure to gain weight can also occur because harmed hearts must work three times harder to pump blood than healthy hearts. Children with severe cases of PDA are at a higher risk for pulmonary hypertension, arrhythmias, infective endocarditis, anticoagulation and congestive heart failure. However, each of these symptoms can be relieved by skilled women in the Andes Mountains’ high plains.

Ingenuity to Fight Heart Disease in Bolivia

Aymara women have been knitting clothes and blankets for centuries, but with help from Franz Freudenthal, they are now knitting heart-closure devices to mend PDA. The Nit Occlud is a hi-tech medical advancement modeled after an occluder, an industrially-produced device intended to block holes in babies’ hearts. Unlike a normal occluder, the Nit Occlud’s design cannot be mass-produced due to its intricate design. Therefore, Freudenthal had to search for an alternative production plan. The perfect method, he soon found, was the wonderful weaving skills of the Aymara women.

The Nit Occlud is composed of a super-elastic metal known as nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy capable of memorizing its own shape. After a doctor inserts the device through the body’s natural channels, it travels through blood vessels, expands to its original shape, plugs the heart’s hole and permanently restores basic cardiac functionality.

Typical treatments for PDA include surgical procedures, cardiac catheterizations, or heart transplants, but these are not available Bolivia and are not welcomed by the Aymara people. Even though the Aymara people have recently adopted Catholicism, they still believe in the power of the Andes Mountains spirits and their effects on human souls. Keeping in mind that manipulating a heart – performing open-heart surgery or a transplant – is considered desecration according to the spirits, Freudenthal created a minimally invasive innovation to respect patient beliefs and to “make sure that no child is left behind.”

Making Impact

Although congenital heart defects remain the fourth leading cause of premature deaths in Bolivia, the rate has dropped 36% since 2007. Freudenthal’s Nit Occlud has saved more than 2,500 children in nearly 60 countries after experiencing immense success in Bolivia. The country is also succeeding in its fight against poverty. The number of Bolivians living on less than $3.20 a day is projected to decrease by 35% in the next 10 years. Additionally, more children are being vaccinated and more prenatal care opportunities are becoming available to mothers. With these advancements in healthcare and poverty reduction, the economy will soon flourish and rates of heart disease in Bolivia are sure to drop .

– Natalie Clark
Photo: Flickr

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4 Facts About Maternal Health in Nepal

Maternal health in Nepal Nepal, a landlocked country bordering India and China, has a population of approximately 30 million. In 2015, close to 41 percent of births occurred at home in Nepal. Of those home births, just under half were carried out without a trained professional. Due to the alarming rate of maternal deaths seen in the early 2000s, maternal health in Nepal has been a focal point for many years. Even though complications during births at health centers still occur, the presence of trained professionals during birth remains the best way to avoid preventable deaths. Many organizations have partnered with the Nepalese government and are working hard to bring these numbers down even further every year.

4 Facts About Maternal Health in Nepal

  1. Nepal’s maternal mortality rate decreased about 71 percent between 1990 and 2015. The decline is attributed to free delivery services and transport in rural areas, access to safe delivery services and medicines that prevent hemorrhaging. In rural parts of Nepal, it has historically been much more difficult to receive proper healthcare. Through the combined efforts of various organizations and the Nepalese government, the number of facilities in remote areas has increased. Additionally, the incentive to travel to these facilities has risen. In 2005, the government began giving stipends to pay for transportation costs. Four years later, the government passed the Safe Motherhood Programme, which allowed free delivery services to pregnant women. In 2011, the government continued to promote safe pregnancies by adding another incentive of $5 for attending antenatal checkups. Through these efforts, the government has had an enormous impact on the development of maternal health in Nepal.
  2. Midwifery is one of the most important services for maternal health in Nepal. Fast intervention and postnatal suggestions from a skilled midwife allows for better postnatal care for both mother and child. In Nepal, only about 27 percent of women receive care within 24 hours of giving birth. This increases risk of hemorrhaging and heavy-lifting related injuries shortly after giving birth. It also increases risk of possible complications for the baby during and directly after birth.
  3. Midwifery education ensures that midwives are up to date on the most current practices and procedures for successful pregnancy and birthing. Institutions have partnered with the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) to offer combined education for nursing and midwifery. In 2011, Nepal and the UNFPA committed to training 10,000 birthing attendants. However, in a report about midwifery authored by the UNFPA, midwives do not have specific legislation for their work. Midwives are not completely recognized under the law nor are they regulated, which results in issues with proper training and resources. Therefore, greater recognition and accessibility will allow midwives the resources, training and encouragement that they need for success.
  4. Women of lower socioeconomic status have more complications surrounding maternal health. The National Medical College Teaching Hospital in Nepal published an extensive report of the challenges surrounding maternal health in Nepal. A specific challenge mentioned in this report includes the socioeconomic influencers of maternal health. Due to poor nutritional health in women of lower economic status, issues such as anemia can cause mortalities. Additionally, rural areas record about 280 birth complications per day. Although there has been significant work since then to expand access to cesarean sections and birthing centers in rural areas, there are still around 258 women dying per 100,000 live births.

As maternal health in Nepal becomes more of a focus in the healthcare system, there are certain policies and programs that must be expanded upon. Midwifery education and access to services are the most important programs for successful maternal health in Nepal. Many experts in the field continue to push for individual programs that focus primarily on methods for successful midwifery education and overall increased care for maternal health in Nepal.

– Ashleigh Litcofsky
Photo: Flickr

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The Struggles of Single Parents in Yemen

The Struggles of Single Parents in YemenThe current civil war in Yemen is a bloody one. Since the beginning of the civil war in 2015, the reported casualties reached 100,000 in October 2019. Among this number, about 12,000 were civilian casualties who attackers directly targeted. This ever-mounting amount of civilian casualties has multiple effects on many families in Yemen. On a surface level, these civilian casualties reflect the numerous children who lose their parents during the on-going conflict. Some reports suggested that there are currently more than 1.1 million orphans in Yemen. On the other hand, the casualty number also reflects the single parents in Yemen who are trying to raise their children in a war zone.

Single parents in Yemen are struggling due to many reasons including a lack of access to basic goods, or professional services such as maternal care during and after pregnancy. This struggle of being a single parent in Yemen falls mostly on many Yemeni women who lost their husbands in the on-going conflict.

Struggles of Single Parents in Yemen

Being a single parent, especially a single mother, in Yemen is difficult. Yemen’s female participation in the workforce is extremely low. This means that many women in Yemen rely on their husbands for financial support. However, the conflict in Yemen took many Yemeni men from their families. As casualties rise, both military and civilian, many women lose their husbands. However, because the majority of women do not have much work experience, they lack the experience or qualifications to go out and find employment.

The challenge of single parenting in Yemen begins even before a child is born. This is especially true for mothers, single or otherwise, in Yemen. According to UNICEF, one woman and six newborns die every two hours from complications during pregnancy and childbirth in Yemen. This is the reflection of poor conditions in Yemen where only three out of 10 births take place in regular health facilities. WHO’s 2016 survey of hospitals in Yemen reported that more than half of all health facilities in Yemen are closed or only partially functioning.

For mothers and newborns, this means that they lack essential natal care, immunization services and postpartum/postnatal interventions. This lack of natal care and medical services for newborns resulted in one out of 37 Yemeni newborns dying in the first month of their lives.

Malnutrition is another challenge that single parents in Yemen struggle against. Multiple factors contribute to malnutrition in Yemen. Some reports suggest that the Saudi coalition intentionally targeted Yemeni farms. A report suggested that the Saudi-led coalition launched at least 10,000 strikes against food farms, 800 strikes against local food markets and about 450 airstrikes that hit food storage facilities. This made civilian access to food extremely difficult on a local level. The Saudi-led coalition’s blockade of Yemeni ports and other entry points for food, medicine, fuel and foreign aid worsened this food shortage. Yemen’s impoverished civilians, 79 percent of whom are living under the poverty line, find it difficult to afford the ever-increasing food prices. For single parents in Yemen, this makes feeding their children a difficult challenge. An estimated 2.2 million Yemeni children are acutely malnourished.

Organizations Helping Yemen

Numerous organizations help single parents in Yemen. Doctors Without Borders, between 2015 and 2018, provided natal care for pregnant mothers and delivered 68,702 babies in Yemen. Oxfam provided multiple humanitarian services in Yemen. Since the beginning of the conflict in 2015, Oxfam provided cash to Yemeni families so that they could buy food. On top of this, Oxfam delivered water and repaired water systems in remote regions of Yemen. UNICEF launched the Healthy Start Voucher Scheme in 2019. This program provides coupons for poor and vulnerable pregnant women to help them cover the cost of traveling to hospitals for childbirth. The coupon also gives these women access to newborn care in case of complications.

The Future for Single Parents in Yemen

Single parents in Yemen struggle against the difficult daily conditions in the country. Lack of access to food, water, health care and basic goods makes it extremely difficult for single parents in Yemen to provide for their children. Malnourished children dying of hunger are truly a disheartening image of the current conflict in Yemen. However, there are signs of peace. In November 2019, the combatants of the conflict held behind-the-scenes talks to end the conflict in Yemen. In the meantime, the international community is relying on many relief organizations that work tirelessly to help the people of Yemen.

– YongJin Yi
Photo: Flickr

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5 Organizations Fighting Child Marriage in Nepal

Child Marriage in Nepal Despite becoming illegal in 1963, child marriage remains a common practice in Nepal. Almost 40 percent of girls in Nepal will be wed before the age of 18, and 10 percent of girls will be married before the age of 15. These statistics place Nepal with the 17th highest prevalence rate of child marriage worldwide. As of 2017, there were 587,000 child brides in the country. The vast majority of these marriages are arranged, sometimes with significant age differences. Furthermore, the brides in child marriages are more likely to experience domestic violence and rape.

Activists claim that prevalence rates are increasing in some districts of the country. This is occurring despite the government announcing in 2014 a target to eradicate child marriage by 2030. However, there are a plethora of organizations working to combat child marriage in Nepal. Many of these organizations are working in tandem with the government to ensure that the 2030 goal is achieved. Keep reading to learn more about the top five organizations fighting child marriage in Nepal.

5 Organizations Fighting Child Marriage in Nepal

  1. UNICEF: The humanitarian branch of the United Nations has been instrumental in both raising awareness and tackling the problem of child marriage in Nepal. In 2016, UNICEF launched the Global Program to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage, focusing on Nepal and 11 other countries. This program manifests through training community religious leaders to advise against child marriage. In addition, efforts include building health posts that protect child brides by teaching them about reproductive health, as well as mobilizing adolescent girls.

  1. Girls Not Brides: Girls Not Brides and UNICEF worked in tandem to craft Nepal’s National Strategy to End Child Marriage in 2016. The plan includes six components: implementing laws and policies, empowering girls, providing quality education for girls, engaging men, mobilizing families and communities to change norms and providing services. One tangible action taken thus far includes raising the legal marriage age to 20. Another action includes providing cash incentives for families to support their daughters’ educations. Girls Not Brides also works closely with a variety of grassroots organizations that address the issue on the ground including Sakcham Rural Nepal, Loo Niva Child Concern Group and Janaki Women Awareness Society.

  2. Kapilvastu Integrated Development Services (KIDS): A partner organization of Girls Not Brides, KIDS works in Kapilvastu, a district in Nepal, to improve women’s health services. Some of its projects include Safe Motherhood through WASH. WASH targets recent mothers, including child brides, to promote hygiene mothering practices such as hospital deliveries. Another project is the Women’s Health Program, which informs poor adolescent girls about their reproductive health to protect young brides.

  3. Loo Niva Child Concern Group: Another Nepali organization, Loo Niva specializes in children’s rights. The organization protects vulnerable children from exploitative practices, such as arranged child marriages. In particular, the organization has worked in the southern Lalitpur rural area. There, the organization promotes intervention education programs about the dangers of child marriage and how it contributes to issues such as school dropouts.

  4. Human Rights Watch: Although not involved in grassroots and community efforts, Human Rights Watch plays an instrumental role. The organization’s efforts hold the Nepali government accountable for its goal to end child marriage. Additionally, it has consistently surveyed the Nepali government’s actions and reported when, for example, the Nepali government delayed releasing in its strategic plan in 2016. This exposure is necessary to pressure the Nepali government to achieve its target.

– Chace Pulley
Photo: Flickr

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Top 7 Facts About the Maternity Crisis in Sierra Leone

Maternity Crisis in Sierra Leone
There is a maternity crisis in Sierra Leone. The country has the highest maternal death rate in the world, with one in 17 women dying from pregnancy or birth complications. This number could be even higher, as Sierra Leone’s 2017 Maternal Death and Surveillance Report estimated that seven in 10 maternal deaths go unreported. Below are seven facts about the maternity crisis in Sierra Leone.

Top 7 Facts About the Maternity Crisis in Sierra Leone

  1. The Majority of Maternal Deaths are Preventable: The top causes of maternal death in Sierra Leone are bleeding, pregnancy-induced hypertension, infection and unsafe abortions, all of which are preventable through adequate medical treatment, according to the World Health Organization. Bleeding is a particularly difficult problem for under-served rural areas where mothers do not have access to health care facilities. Another issue facing mothers is infrastructure. People poorly maintain many roads between towns and clinics and these make for a difficult journey for sick and laboring women. Again, road maintenance is a simple problem that can help reduce maternal death in Sierra Leone.
  2. The Majority of Mothers are Under 20: One hundred and twenty-five out of 1,000 mothers in Sierra Leone are under age 20 according to a 2017 United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) study. Maternity in Sierra Leone is particularly dangerous for adolescent mothers and 20 percent of maternal deaths in Sierra Leone were among teenagers. Beyond maternal death, pregnant teenagers in Sierra Leone lose out on life prospects – a 2015 law banned pregnant girls from attending school, and parents describe teenage pregnancy as the “ultimate shame” for a family.
  3. The 2014-2015 Ebola Crisis Halted Progress: Before 2014, Sierra Leone was making progress in reducing maternal death – from 2000 to 2015, maternal deaths dropped by 4.4 percent. However, the Ebola epidemic caused an immediate increase in maternal death through 2015. Sierra Leone planned to meet many Millennium Development Goals by 2015, but the May 2014 Ebola outbreak reversed progress, particularly in maternal health. Not only did Ebola put a strain on general health care in Sierra Leone, but it also dramatically reduced the number of health care workers in the country. A 2016 World Bank report estimated that maternal death could increase by 74 percent due to the extreme shortage of health care workers in the country.
  4. Programs for Maternity Care Still Need Funding: There is a dearth of doctors in Sierra Leone. For example, in the district of Bonthe, there are nine doctors for 220,000 patients and only 44 percent of births receive support from a nurse or midwife. Unfortunately, between the civil war from 1991 to 2001 and the 2014 to 2015 Ebola outbreak Sierra Leone, the burgeoning health care system in Sierra Leone lost momentum. The E.U., the U.N. and UNICEF have all devoted funds to maternity in Sierra Leone in addition to Partners in Health and other nonprofit organizations. Donations are critical to moving forward with maternal health.
  5. Sierra Leone’s Government has Committed Itself: President Julius Maada Bio announced in October 2019 that Sierra Leone increased its health budget from 8.9 percent to 11.5 percent of the country’s national budget to help combat dangerous maternity in Sierra Leone. On October 18, 2019, Sierra Leone opened a $1.6 billion maternity facility in Freetown to better serve the country’s largest city. Sierra Leone also launched a free health initiative in 2010 to help improve pre- and post-partum care. The government’s goal for maternity in Sierra Leone is to meet Millennium Development Goals by 2030, reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.
  6. Nonprofits are Deeply Involved: Multiple nonprofit organizations, including UNICEF, Partners in Health and the Borgen Project have covered issues with maternity in Sierra Leone. Partners in Health has been particularly successful, building a maternal waiting home and opening a health clinic in Kono in 2018. UNICEF provided safer water for mothers to help with illness and sanitation. These nonprofits prove that the crisis is not insurmountable.
  7. Celebrities are also Getting Involved: In October 2019, vlogbrothers, run by Hank and John Green, pledged $6.5 million to Partners in Health as part of his family’s initiative to bring awareness to maternity in Sierra Leone. John Green discussed how he traveled to Sierra Leone and saw first-hand the lack of hospital electricity, medical equipment and transport. He praised the efforts of the Partners in Health in developing a large-scale hospital system and making systematic changes and he asked anyone who can donate to do so. Currently, the vlogbrothers have a goal of $240,000 per month in donations – so far, they have approximately $194,000. The vlogbrothers are also providing updates on their donations and work with Partners in Health in Sierra Leone.

Motherhood should not be a gamble. Families around the world deserve to look forward to pregnancy and birth and not feel distressed. Multiple organizations are pushing for progress, but more is necessary. Support in any form, from awareness to donations, can only help the crisis of maternity in Sierra Leone.

– Melanie Rasmussen
Photo: Flickr

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The Butterfly iQ and Its Impact in Rural Africa

The Butterfly iQ

Two-thirds of the world lacks life-saving access to medical imaging. However, new technology — such as portable ultrasound machines — brings modern medicine where it might not otherwise take root. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 70 percent of technology designed in developed countries does not work in still-developing nations. Fully-equipped hospitals can be hours, or days, away from villages, leaving conditions undiagnosed and untreated.

A Handheld Ultrasound Finds A Wide Variety of Uses in Africa

In recent years, multiple companies have developed portable ultrasound technology, often with these remote areas in mind. The Butterfly Network, a Connecticut-based company, is one such organization, which launched its prototype known as the Butterfly iQ in 2017. The device costs approximately $2,000 and is around the same size as a cell phone. The company’s founder, Jonathan Rothberg, has donated scanners to 13 low-income countries, partnering with organizations like the Canadian Charity Bridge to Health and Uganda-based Kihefo. The organization also has backing from USAID to help further its reach.

Portable ultrasound machines like the Butterfly iQ, are largely being used to test for and treat pneumonia, which causes 15 percent of the deaths of children under 5 years old, killing more than 800,000 children in 2017 alone. The technology has also been used to examine goiters, tumors and other conditions that were otherwise difficult, or impossible, to assess.

In 2014, portable ultrasound machines in Africa took on a new life. Bridge to Health and Kihefo worked to offer women the opportunity to see their unborn children. They brought suitcase-sized ultrasounds to clinics and pulled in six times the normal number of visitors, among them women who had only seen traditional healers before.

In addition to its uses in ruling out tuberculosis and helping to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates, ultrasound technology is also an important diagnostic tool for patients with HIV.

Portable Technology Carries Back Into the Developed World

The Vscan Access from GE Healthcare was originally intended for frontline health care workers in Africa and Southeast Asia. However, the portable ultrasound machine has now found a place in developed countries such as Norway, where it offers an unobtrusive ultrasound in the maternity ward.

Compared to standard ultrasounds, which can not only be uncomfortable but also intimidating to expectant mothers, the Vscan Access is small, deterring worry. Its screen is still large enough to provide a full view of the womb, including the fetal position. Dr. Birgette Kahrs of St. Olav’s Hospital in Norway also notes how easy it is to teach midwives how to operate Vscan’s touchscreen technology.

An App Expands the Reach of the Portable Ultrasound

In 2018, Philips launched Lumify, an app-based portable ultrasound system in Kenya. The new tech was announced at the launch of Beyond Zero Medical Safari, an event hosted by Beyond Zero, an organization founded by the First Lady of the Republic of Kenya that aims at preventing child and maternal deaths.

Lumify unifies portable ultrasounds and mobile devices, creating channels for secure image exchange and processing. It is primarily designed for emergency centers and urgent care centers. The app would, through a subscription service, connect health care professionals around the world. Lumify will additionally offer support, training and IT help.

Lumify is compatible with soft and hard tissue scans. It allows for audio-visual calls, which can connect doctors to remote patients, allowing for diagnosis and treatment across the body and across the globe.

Portable ultrasound technology is still relatively new, so long-term benefits are still unmeasured. Still, portable ultrasounds in Africa, like the Butterfly IQ, already show massive potential in improving the medical status of people without access to first-world medical care. With supporters including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Butterfly iQ and devices like it, are only just getting started.

– Katie Hwang
Photo: Unsplash

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5 Products Tackling Global Poverty

Products Tackling Global Poverty
People who live in poverty-stricken communities typically do not have access to simple products that can be the difference between life and death. Below are five products tackling global poverty.

5 Products Tackling Global Poverty

  1. The Shoe That Grows: The Shoe That Grows produces a shoe for kids living in poverty. It expands up to five sizes and lasts for years. Kenton Lee founded the shoe after he traveled to Nairobi, Kenya. He lived and worked with kids at a small orphanage and noticed that many of the children either had broken, worn shoes or none at all. He came up with the idea of a shoe that expands to prevent soil-transmitted diseases and parasites that can cause children to miss out on their education and even death. As of now, the company has distributed over 200,000 pairs of shoes to 100 different countries. The organization sent 30,000 of those to Ethiopia alone.
  2. NIFTY Cup: The NIFTY Cup is a device that some use to feed premature babies in Malawi and Tanzania who are unable to breastfeed. Unlike the metal cups and spoons that people in poverty-stricken countries often use, the NIFTY Cup contains durable, soft silicone that one can shape to allow all nutrients to reach babies’ mouths without causing them to cough or choke. The cup serves as a life-saving resource for mothers who do not have the necessary medical assistance necessary to keep premature babies healthy. Donors have made it possible to send over 6,000 NIFTY Cups to hospitals in Malawi and Tanzania.
  3. The Lucky Iron Fish: The Lucky Iron Fish is a tool used to fight iron deficiency in developing countries. Families place the iron fish in boiling water before cooking to add proper nutrients to meals. One of these iron fish is equivalent to five years of iron pill bottles. The Lucky Iron Fish company works on a one-to-one donation scale. This means that when people in developed countries buy one of the fish, the company donates another to a family in a developing country. As of 2018, the company impacted 54,000 lives because of the buy-one-give-one system. The impact fund has distributed the fish to Nicaragua, Tanzania, Cambodia, Haiti, Benin and more.
  4. Embrace Warmer: Embrace Warmer is a life-saving tool that developing countries use. In these places, newborn babies often suffer hypothermia due to being premature and low weight. The tool is essentially a sleeping bag that helps regulate the body temperature of newborn babies during their first few days of life. Embrace Warmer began as a class project at Stanford, when students had to design a cost-effective product to help battle neonatal hypothermia. Eventually, the product expanded to rural India and has now helped 200,000 infants in developing countries.
  5. Flo: Flo is a reusable menstrual hygiene kit that Mariko Higaki Iwai designed to provide a solution for women and girls in developing countries to take care of their bodies. The kit allows girls to wash, dry and carry reusable sanitary pads. This kit makes it easier for girls to stay in school, prevent reproductive diseases and illnesses and take care of their menstrual cycle in privacy. Flo is still a prototype but people working in the field in developing countries have been trying to make Flo available for their communities. The team is currently seeking manufacturers to make this possible.

These life-saving products are working at tackling global poverty, while also giving those who live in poverty-stricken communities a better chance at having a healthy lifestyle.

– Juliette Lopez
Photo: Flickr

 

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The Importance of Women’s Rights in Burundi

Women's Rights in Burundi
Located in Africa’s southeastern region, Burundi, a heart-shaped nation bordering Lake Tanganyika and Rwanda, is one of the poorest countries in the world. With a poverty rate of nearly 75 percent, the nation is largely underdeveloped. In terms of women’s rights, life in Burundi could be better, as many of the country’s citizens cling to discriminatory perspectives that hold their women back. Despite this, the country has made great strides toward cultivating a more equal nation, such as in 2005 when it included gender equality in its reformed Constitution.

Pregnancy and Sexual Health

In Burundi, discussing sex is generally viewed as a taboo subject. Without the occurrence of these necessary conversations, sexual education is often replaced by false information, and many of the country’s citizens fail to understand their own bodies; an issue most dangerous when it comes to young women and girls. Without knowing the way their bodies work, many Burundian women experience unplanned extramarital pregnancies, and because of Burundi’s negative prejudice toward non-marital pregnancy, many of these girls are often ostracized from their communities, kicked out of their homes and forced out of their schools.

Pamella Mubeza, a native to Burundi, fell victim to this system at a young age. Though, after seeing the prevalence of her issue among other Burundian women, she began an organization known as l’Association des mamans célibataires (the Organisation for Single Mums). Through the organization, Mubeza travels to some of the most impoverished places in the city of Bujumbura, such as Kinyankonge and Kinama, and works with young single mothers to not only re-enroll them in school but to rebuild the self esteem their homeland formerly shamed out of them. By 2019, Mubeza’s organization was able to re-enroll 40 young women in schooling and instilled 250 with a newfound desire to learn.

CARE Burundi, a non-profit organization that works to improve the impoverished realities of women and young girls, is also working to help solve the issue. In 2016, the organization launched an initiative known as the Joint Programme, a 4-year-long project that provides Burundian girls with comprehensive sexual and reproductive education through a comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) curriculum called “The World Starts with Me” (WSWM). The program educates young women about their rights and their bodies, and after its first year of implementation, it was taught in 76 Burundian schools and educated 6,007 young women.

Access to female hygiene products is another one of Burundi’s sexual health problems. With sanitary napkins costing up to 2,000 Burundian francs and the country regarding menstrual periods as shameful, many of the nation’s women turn to unhygienic sources, such as grass and plastic bags, during their menstrual cycles. However, the Organisation for Single Mums is working to combat the problem, as they hand out 1,500 free sanitary napkins to Burundian women each month.

Gender-Based Violence

Sexual violence against women is a growing problem in Burundi. With nearly 23 percent of Burundian women experiencing sexual abuse, and 50 percent of these victims being under the age of 13, the prevalence of gender-based violence in Burundi is undeniable.

Due to the nation’s connection between shame and sexuality, many sexual abuse cases often go unreported, so the number of women experiencing them is likely much higher.

However, through the help of UNICEF and NGO partner Caritas Burundi, Burundian sexual violence is being challenged. Through an initiative known as the Giriteka project, UNICEF and Caritas Burundi are bringing together the nation’s doctors, psychologists, nurses, community leaders, local authorities and religious leaders and teaching them how to best care for their nation’s sexually abused women. From training psychologists on how to prevent gender-based violence to working with religious leaders on how to direct victims toward help, thanks to these organizations, women’s rights in Burundi are not only being protected but defended.

Economic Opportunity

When it comes to the workforce, Burundian women make up 90 percent of the country’s food and export jobs and  with 55.2 percent of the nation’s workforce being female, Burundian women are making substantial contributions toward the advancement of their national economy.

However, this same level of equality cannot be seen in the country’s distribution of land.

Access to property ownership is the largest barrier Burundian women face when seeking economic equality. While 80.2 percent of the country’s people own land, women make up only 17.7 percent of them since the country lacks proper legislation that prohibits male succession traditions from overriding women’s rights.

Public opinion may be partly responsible for these discriminatory practices since 57 percent of the nation’s people believe women and men should not have equal land rights when it comes to inheritance.

Despite this prejudicial reality, U.N. Women is making women’s pathway to land ownership easier by providing them with monetary loans.

Also, the Zionist Organization of America has created an initiative meant to advocate for female land rights in Burundi by urging the nation’s women who do own land to register it.

By working at the community level, these organizations are advocating for the economic endeavors of Burundian women, and actively challenging the misogynistic gender norms that have been placed upon these their lives.

While women’s rights in Burundi are far from equal, the good news is that great work is being done to better them. Thanks to organizations like U.N. Women and initiatives such as the Giriteka project, women in Burundi are not only being cared for but heard. By advocating for women’s rights, these organizations are not only providing Burundi’s women with the freedom to hope for a better life but also to live one.

– Candace Fernandez
Photo: Flickr