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The Success of Australia’s Humanitarian Aid to Fiji

Humanitarian Aid to FijiIn February of 2016, category five Tropical Cyclone Winston killed 44 people and negatively affected the lives of the 540,000 residents of Fiji. Recorded as the most powerful storm to ever hit the Southern Hemisphere, Fiji was in desperate need of emergency assistance. The Australian government was one of the first to step in to help, as they are economic partners with Fiji, and donated $15 million worth of emergency humanitarian assistance. Australia was able to provide humanitarian aid to Fiji that changed the lives of thousands of people for the better.

The Australian government enacted an aid program to provide assistance to Fiji. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affair and Trade’s aid program focuses heavily on creating a prosperous Fiji through development assistance for the rural poor. The focus is on aspects of education and economic opportunity. The program includes three objectives to be addressed and resolved. The three components are increased private sector development, improved human development and Tropical Cyclone Winston recovery. A total of $65.6 million in the 2017-18 years will be contributed to the resolution of Fiji’s most important issues.

The third objective in Australia’s aid program is of utmost importance as recovery processes are still being made post-cyclone. Altogether, Australia has contributed $35 million in assistance services. Five million dollars was used for lifesaving supplies and support, $10 million was used to send children back to school and provide health services to residents and $20 million was leftover for Fiji’s long-term recovery.

The $20 million is to be used primarily for reconstruction of hospitals and schools, replacing damaged medical equipment and restoring water and sanitation systems back to their original state. The rebuilding of communities is allowing individuals to return to work, whether that be to their farms or to the markets.

Australian non-profit CARE was among the many emergency responders after Cyclone Winston. Their humanitarian aid to Fiji was able to bring relief to more than 25,000 residents across 231 communities.

CARE distributed emergency shelter kits to 2,500 families, hygiene kits to 4,196 families, constructed 17 community water supply systems and 253 toilets, distributed seed kits to 4,290 families and conducted agricultural training for 231 communities.

The Australian Red Cross has also been a large contributor to the recovery efforts. The Red Cross has successfully provided supplies to more than 50,600 families to assist in the repair of their houses and with medical issues. After the cyclone, the Australian Red Cross managed to raise a total of $4.2 million, in just three months, to use towards humanitarian aid.

Every contributor to Fiji after Cyclone Winston helped the country to work towards rehabilitation at a more successful pace. With the year-plus humanitarian efforts, Fijians were able to begin recovery. Australia’s contribution of humanitarian aid to Fiji gave the country the opportunity to find itself again.

– Brianna Summ

Photo: Flickr

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The Success of Humanitarian Aid to Belize

humanitarian aid to BelizeLocated on the eastern coast of Central America, surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and the rainforest, Belize is a diverse and small nation of 366,000 people. The success of humanitarian aid to Belize has been evident.

Belize is subject to chronic instability, due to its vulnerability from climate shocks and a longstanding public debt burden. Policymakers have done much in undertaking adjustments to bring Belize back to a sustainable development trajectory. However, some are still at risk of getting left behind, like the country’s children, who are most vulnerable and affected by these challenges.

Despite these difficulties, Belize has made considerable advances in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for 2015, performing satisfactorily in health-related investments and progressing on a positive track for child and maternal mortality rates, HIV/AIDS and the environment.

Much of the humanitarian aid to Belize comes from UNICEF, who has been committed to Belize dating back to 1954. UNICEF established an office in the country after Belize gained its independence in 1981. It provided aid in the form of environment health, vector control, school feeding and the provision of school textbooks and supplies. Currently, UNICEF is focused primarily on young child survival, education and development, disparity reduction through policy investment, participatory governance and the protection of children against violence.

Another form of successful humanitarian aid to Belize by UNICEF is their response to the Zika Virus outbreak in the region, providing fieldwork support and training at the national and local levels, with the Sustainable and Child Friendly Municipalities Initiative. So far, UNICEF has allocated over BZ$116,000 to Zika relief efforts.

UNICEF also provided humanitarian aid to Belize during the aftermath of Hurricane Earl, which struck Belize on August 4, 2016. They provided aid totaling over BZ$153,000 to help the most vulnerable families. This was done in partnership with the Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation, the Ministry of Labor, Local Government and Rural Development, city mayors, NEMO, Immigration and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The aid provided included the distribution of hygiene kits, the provision of support to shelters and the cleansing of debris and dissemination of emergency messages.

Similarly, Brazil donated provisions to Belize after it was hit by Hurricane Arthur in 2008, which was the worst tropical storm to affect the country in the past four decades. It provided 1,370 boxes of food, containing rice, beans, sugar, powdered milk, soy oil and ham in each box. Brazil also donated provisions valuing approximately $50,000 to assist the victims of Hurricane Dean in 2007.

With the success of humanitarian aid to Belize that has already been provided, the future of the country is looking brighter than ever. Still, there is a need for more aid that will improve the quality of life drastically in Belize.

– Drew Fox

Photo: Flickr

Camp Hope: A Safe Haven For Thousands

Camp Hope
Nepal’s Camp Hope is a privately and publicly funded safe haven for displaced families from the Sindhupalchowk district north of Kathmandu, Nepal. Camp Hope spans one square kilometer and is made up of a series of large tents. The tents, which were provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have enough strength to withstand the annual monsoon season in Nepal. USAID assisted Nepal providing shelter and protection for 310,000 Nepalese people displaced by earthquakes.

Nepal’s Camp Hope was made possible thanks to the combined efforts of USAID and Sangeeta Shrestha. Shrestha is the camp founder and runs a world-class boutique heritage hotel called Dwarika. Shrestha had a great deal of trouble finding a location for Camp Hope because the local government would not relinquish any land to the cause. Thankfully, Shrestha says, “a local youth club came offering their football ground, so here we are.”

In order to make Nepal’s Camp Hope possible, Shrestha has enlisted numerous volunteers and specific members of her hotel staff. Certain volunteers are in charge of checking and registering every individual before they are permitted access to the camp. The engineers and technicians who work in hotel Dwarika are responsible for building the many tent structures that make up Nepal’s Camp Hope.

Shrestha and her hotel supply Camp Hope with food. Camp Hope is striving to meet the emotional and social needs of the thousands of displaced individuals. In order to accomplish this feat, Camp Hope provides spaces for prayer, tents for creating crafts and has built a local school with 83 students currently enrolled. All of these programs help Camp Hope residents slowly recover from the tragic earthquake that changed their lives.

A devastating earthquake ripped through the Sindhupalchowk district on April 25, 2015. Fortunately, 500,000 families managed to survive despite the fact that their villages had been reduced to rubble. Those 500,000 families equated to approximately 88 percent of the dwellings in that district.

The earthquake was the worst natural disaster in Nepal in the last 80 years. Unfortunately, Nepal would suffer a second earthquake only 17 days later, followed by a series of aftershocks. Both of the earthquakes combined resulted in 6,200 deaths in Nepal alone, over 14,000 injuries across the country, and massive landslides that engulfed over 130,000 homes. According to the U.N., 8 million people were said to have been affected.

This is why Nepal’s Camp Hope is viewed as such a pivotal sanctuary for everyone who is a part of it. The overall atmosphere and environment is filled with laughter, conversation, activities and interaction between the residents.

The residents give vitality to Camp Hope, which truly feels like a unified community within a village. Although Camp Hope is a wondrous place for displaced individuals, the main mission is to rebuild the villages that were destroyed by the earthquakes. The U.S. and Nepal’s governments are working together to help rebuild the communities that were affected.

It was decided at the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction that U.S. funding for emergency relief and recovery efforts would be raised to $130 million.

Part of that funding will help establish 1,000 temporary educational centers for misplaced children. Not enough can be said about the valiant efforts put forth by the Nepalese government, the U.S. and Camp Hope. Millions of people have been positively affected and stronger communities will be built in the future.

– Terry J. Halloran

Photo: Flickr

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Hunger in Pakistan: Fighting an Uphill Battle

Hunger in Pakistan: Fighting A Continual Uphill Battle
According to a  2016 report published by the World Food Programme (WFP), Pakistan produces enough food to feed all its citizens, yet, six out of 10 Pakistanis are food insecure. The worst off are women and children under the age of five, nearly half of whom are malnourished.

A tragic manifestation of this statistic is in the Tharpakar district of Pakistan. Within the first fortnight of 2016, 55 children in this region died as a result of malnutrition, pneumonia and other preventable diseases. Further, at least 650 children have died of the same causes over the last three years.These chilling figures bear more than a cursory investigation.

The International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI) food security portal cites the main cause of widespread hunger in Pakistan as “a combination of militant activity, natural disaster[s], and economic instability”. These factors are particularly devastating in a country where the agricultural sector employs almost half the workforce and contributes over a fifth of total GDP.

The destruction caused by the 2010 floods in the Indus river basin bear testament to the catastrophic nature of the aforementioned elements. According to the WFP, the floods left almost 20 million people without access to food, which damaged the country’s agricultural sector. Bloomberg estimates that  sugar, wheat and rice crop worth $2.9 billion were ruined within three months of the flooding. Massive inflation and unemployment caused by militant activities in the region worsened the impact of their destruction.

What can be done for those who suffer the consequences of such devastation? What can be done for the children of Tharpakar, Pakistan?

Government acknowledgment of inaccessibility and insecurity plays a huge role in, at the very least, creating a starting point from which larger policy changes can be affected. Unfortunately, this seems to be a far-fetched goal. According to the Sri Lankan Guardian “Two provincial ministers who visited [Tharpakar] blamed underage marriages and carelessness of mothers for the child deaths…Despite print, electronic and foreign media all reporting the same child death statistics, the government continues to deny the figures.”

Therefore, raising awareness about the problem both in Pakistan as well as on a global level to pressure the government to be more proactive becomes incredibly important. The WFP is playing their part by releasing statistics to be shared on Twitter and other social media sites. In addition, WFP also partners with the Pakistani government in assisting malnourished children, pregnant women and nursing mothers, helping over 3.6 million people as of April 2016 through endeavors such as providing staple foods in schools across Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) agencies.

An early warning system for disasters such as the flood and subsequent earthquakes in the region would be a huge step forward in ensuring that stored crops are protected from their impact, which would help to combat hunger in Pakistan. And, taking a page from neighbor India’s book, passing a food security bill intended at providing vulnerable populations with subsidized grains could also help reduce malnourishment and insecurity, particularly among children and mothers.

While prospects for improving the situation in Pakistan have looked bleak in the past, NGOs such as Thali, Micro Nutrient Initiative and Action Against Hunger in partnership with the WFP, are making strides in reducing hunger in Pakistan. For the children of Tharpakar, even these baby steps are huge leaps into a healthier future.

– Mallika Khanna

Photo: Flickr

The Red Cross Takes The Lead In Providing Aid In Sri Lanka

Sri LankaRecently, many acres of Sri Lanka have been deluged by torrential rains from a slow-moving tropical depression in the Bay of Bengal. 22 of the nation’s 26 districts have suffered heavily from flash flooding and landslides. Officials say this is the worst flood to hit Sri Lanka in over a quarter of a century, and with the monsoon season set to arrive within the next few weeks, there will be no chance of a reprieve. International aid in Sri Lanka is sorely needed to help house and feed displaced persons.

According to Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Center, 82 people have been killed and over 500,000 have been displaced by the flooding and landslides. The death toll could rise even higher as 118 people are still missing, according to the Press Trust of India.

Displaced persons are being housed in 594 temporary camps across Sri Lanka, according to a press release by Sri Lanka’s Red Cross.

The UN’s Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka has met with President Sirisena. Together, they discussed the emergency provisions needed to provide life-saving aid in Sri Lanka.

The UN released a statement, saying: “We met the president this morning for a briefing on emergency response and coordination. We remain committed to assist all the affected people.”

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has deployed 10 medical teams with supplies in the areas of Kolonnawan, and Kaduwels MOH divisions and the Columbo Municipal council area have been given medical supplies, according to the World Health Organization.

However, it seems the Red Cross has taken the lead in the effort to provide aid in Sri Lanka. As soon as the landslide occurred, the Sri Lankan Red Cross Society’s Kegalle Branch deployed its Disaster Response Team to Aranayake.

Shortly after their arrival, Red Cross officials coordinated with government authorities in search and rescue efforts, as well as in creating temporary camps where they have provided food, first aid and psychological support to survivors.

In Gampaha, one of the worst affected districts in Sri Lanka, Red Cross volunteers provided evacuation via boats and first aid support to people stranded in Biyagama.

The predominant presence of the Red Cross is notable since they have been previously denied access to victims of displacement in the region. In 2009, the Sri Lankan government denied the Red Cross and many other NGOs access to civilians in refugee camps following the Tamil Tiger rebels’ final battle.

– Veronica Ung-Kono

Photo: Flickr

US Provides Disaster Relief Grant to Vietnam

Relief_Grant_VietnamThe U.S. government will help Vietnam respond to severe drought and saltwater intrusion by providing a disaster relief grant, USAID announced on April 8. The natural disaster has impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Vietnam’s southern provinces and Central Highlands.

U.S. Ambassador Ted Osius declared the situation as a disaster on March 25, prompting the U.S. to provide assistance to Vietnam through the Vietnam Red Cross. Assistance efforts will continue with the announcement of this relief grant.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta is the country’s largest rice, fruit and fisheries producer. However, the current drought and saltwater intrusion the delta is facing is the worst in 90 years. Since the end of 2015, this natural disaster has also impacted all provinces in the Southern Central and Central highland regions, as 39 provinces have requested support from central government. Roughly 1.75 million people have been affected.

According to a report from Vietnam’s National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, a large number of households are experiencing water shortage from the drought. Schools, health care stations, hotels and factories are also experiencing water shortages.

“With this assistance, VNCR will provide safe drinking water and water storage containers to those most affected and will carry out promotional activities to enhance the awareness of sanitation and hygiene,” Consul General Rena Bitter said, according to a USAID article.

USAID-supported disaster relief efforts directly support and are closely coordinated with the Government of Vietnam’s relief efforts. USAID has also provided the country approximately $12 million in disaster relief response, preparedness and risk reduction assistance since 2002.

– Kerri Whelan

Photo: Flickr

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How to Utilize Big Data in the Fight Against Poverty

Big Data Fight Against Poverty
Big Data, as its name would suggest, refers to large sets of unstructured and structured data generated at high speeds from digital and traditional data sources around the globe. The big data movement has gained momentum over the years, particularly in the business sphere, but experts have also realized that insights derived from big data have implications for the fight against poverty.

In the agricultural space for example, The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa has found that farmers in Africa barely produce what they need to get by.

Food Policy experts have found that helping these farmers in Africa and other parts of the world produce more food is key to lifting millions out of poverty. One of the key ways of attaining this goal, according to the experts, is by providing farmers, scientists and entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector with adequate access to data and information generated at agricultural research centres worldwide.

Ft Magazine highlights how big data is being used to mitigate the harmful effects that accompany natural disasters. It explains that in the aftermath of the devastating Haiti earthquake of 2010, researchers at the Karolinska Institute of Columbia University successfully managed to track the locations of 600,000 displaced people using data mining techniques.

The article in Ft Magazine also illustrates how analyzing data from social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can provide early warning systems for both human and natural disasters. For example, increased references to food or ethnic strife on these sites can serve as indicators of possible famine or civil unrest.

Mark Van Rijmenam, the founder of Datafloq, further empathizes the use of Big data in the disaster response field, saying “Big data offers, for example, the possibility to predict food shortages by combining variables such as drought, weather conditions, migrations, market prices, seasonal variation and previous productions.”

In the area of public health and sanitation, Van Rijmenam talks about harnessing data from call detail records to map variations in the population of low-income dwellers in order to direct efforts at building water pipes and latrine facilities for the slum dwellers. This effort will see improved sanitation in such areas, bringing about better health.

A pilot program by the World Bank in Tanzania called SMS for life has generated major improvements in the distribution of malarial medical stock. By getting clinical workers to send an SMS with their stock count every week, the program has enabled senior coordinating staff to re-stock clinics more accurately.

SMS for life has managed to reduce the number of rural health facilities in Tanzania without medical stock from 78 percent to 26 percent.

World Bank blogger Alla Morrison has likened the transformative potential of big data to the transformative effect that electricity had on industry in the 19th century. She argues that big data is a game changer for business, and notes the unprecedented productivity gains in the second industrial revolution due to businesses in all sectors taking advantage of the new electrical resource.

Likewise, as humanity forges ahead, it is important that organizations, governments and individuals take advantage of big data to address the seemingly intractable challenge of poverty.

— June Samo

Sources: Enterra Solutions 1, Enterra Solutions 2, FT Magazine, IEEE, SAS, Smart Data Collective, UN GLOBAL PULSE, World Bank 1, World Bank 2
Photo: Flickr

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Mobile Phones to Aid Disaster Relief

Tanzania Red Cross Society Uses Mobile Phones to Aid Disaster Relief- BORGEN
Mobile phone technology is sweeping across Africa in the rapid, all-encompassing style of a pandemic. However, mobile phone usage and supporting networks actually offer a solution to treating disease and other disasters.

Using Open Data Kit (ODK), a set of free, open-source tools organizations can use to author, field and manage mobile data collection, the Tanzania Red Cross Society has been able to facilitate data collection through phones.

Red Cross volunteers are able to upload surveys to their mobile phones that they then use to interview beneficiaries of Red Cross relief efforts about the aid they received. After completing each survey, volunteers can remotely upload results to the server. From there, the collected data is analyzed, allowing Red Cross officials to determine the effectiveness of various emergency relief efforts.

Kibari Ramadhan Tawakal, disaster management coordinator at Tanzania Red Cross Society, reports that Volunteers prefer the mobile platform, referencing how easy it is to use in comparison to pen and paper surveys.

“Using the mobile phones is exciting for them, and helps increase their confidence when interviewing beneficiaries. It also enables us to collect more consistent data,” Tawakal said.

It is true that recording and distributing data in the developing world can be a challenge. Without guarantees of a power source or specialized hardware and network access, information is not always current or reliable.

Created by researchers at the University of Washington, ODK was designed to offer an accessible solution to data collection in developing nations.

Cellular service is uniquely reliable even in the developing world. This enables data to be sent and analyzed in real-time. Mobile phones also contain cameras and GPS units, which ease data collection, and are capable of establishing USB and WiFi connections to desktop computers. Smartphone cameras additionally function as a tool for reading barcode information.

With telecom companies investing millions in rural mobile networks, cell phones are accessible even in the most remote areas of countries like Tanzania. The nation’s Communications Regulatory Authority reports that as of 2015 there are approximately 33 million mobile subscribers in the country.

For this reason, ODK software offers an extremely promising solution to data collection challenges. With dependable real-time information about the appropriateness of disaster relief efforts, Red Cross officials will be able to quickly make informed decisions with regards to future aid.

Improved data collection may also feed directly into Red Cross efforts regarding HIV/AIDS. As a part of their project in Tanzania, the organization cites improving knowledge about HIV at a community level and reaching 35,000 people “through community-based educational activities that focus on preventing HIV and reducing the stigma and discrimination associated with this disease.”

Having accurate, region-specific information about HIV/AIDS can only help when it comes to community outreach.

– Emma-Claire LaSaine

Sources: IT Web Africa, IFRC, Ars Technica, Open Data Kit
Photo: Flickr

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Field Ready Uses 3D Printing to Create Disaster Relief Supplies

Field Ready Uses 3D Printing to Create Disaster Relief Supplies
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) calculates that 2.9 billion people have been affected by disasters between 2000 and 2012. According to UNISDR, 1.2 million were killed and $1.7 trillion in damages sustained. Natural disasters and other humanitarian emergencies are a profoundly influential part of the global human experience.

Unfortunately, recovery from disaster can be just as costly, both to governments supplying aid and victims of the disasters themselves. In the aftermath of floods, earthquakes, conflict and other emergencies, access to basic items needed for survival is severely limited and expensive. NGO Field Ready understands this struggle.

“In a humanitarian disaster, simple items can mean the difference between life and death,” the organization’s website explains.

However, the site goes on to state, “A bucket, for instance, essential for health and hygiene, may only cost a few dollars in a capital city but supply chains and support costs mean that in reality this simple item is expensive and can take weeks or even months to arrive in the hands of disaster victims.”

The good news? 3D printing technology may just be the solution. Field Ready specializes in using the technology to meet the needs of disaster victims and provide humanitarian relief.

Following the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti, Field Ready worked with other relief organizations to print products like mosquito-net closures and tools for aid workers, TB patients, newborn babies and maternal care. The organization’s efforts established safer patient areas and workspaces, as well as reducing the risk of mosquito-borne disease.

During their first stint in Haiti, Field Ready’s members were especially struck by the shortage of maternal health equipment. Although nurses and doctors could sometimes improvise makeshift tools such as clamps for newborn children’s umbilical cords, Field Ready sought a better solution.

They were able to print clamps on 3D printing presses, reducing the risk of neonatal umbilical sepsis. Field Ready also trained Haitian staff to use 3D presses to ensure that they would have a permanent alternative to importing costly equipment from more developed areas at additional expense. Instead, health workers are now able to print parts and tools when needed.

Field Ready also printed a prototype for a prosthetic hand, assembled from only five parts, and proved the capacity for 3D presses to produce items needed to maintain and improve the printers themselves.

In total, Field Ready’s efforts in Haiti assisted a dozen aid workers and 60 medical patients. The organization has since set its sights on improving conditions in Nepal.

“In the coming weeks, an assessment will be carried out to determine how Field Ready can best contribute to medium and long-term recovery and reconstruction efforts,” the organization promised.

These efforts, they believe, will likely focus on repair and capacity building, with an eye to help the Nepalese spearhead their own recovery and development.

“Even in crisis situations, people need more than just ‘stuff’ […] they need the skills and knowledge that will empower them to look after themselves and those around them,” the organization asserts.

Field Ready seeks to give disaster victims that tool for empowerment through technology. Through training disaster survivors in developing areas, the organization is able to leave a lasting impact. Trainees learn skills they can use to generate income and continue to develop solutions to supply issues facing marginalized regions.

Field Ready has an eye to expand, with the goal of a worldwide network of 3D printing technicians and kit designers. Linked by the Internet, this network would have the potential to share designs and solutions instantaneously on a global scale.

– Emma-Claire LaSaine

Sources: Sci Dev Net, Field Ready, UNISDR, Relief Web
Photo: 3D

Life Size Lego: Turning Rubble into Homes

rubble_into_homes
One of the largest and most difficult tasks that aid workers face in disaster relief is finding those affected shelters. When disaster strikes, it either forces people out of their homes or reduces residences to piles of rubble. As for the governments of the affected regions, there exists the enormously expensive logistical challenge of clean up. Structural debris and rubble are the largest solid polluter by volume. One Dutch company may have found a single solution to both of these problems.

The Mobile Factory is, as the name suggests, a compact, and portable concrete production facility. It fits into two standard size shipping containers, and can be sent anywhere in the world with relative ease. It is solar powered as well, and thus can be operated in areas with limited or damaged power grids.

Rubble is fed into the factory and it emerges as liquid concrete. This is only the first step. The concrete is then taken and molded into standardized bricks, called Q-Brixx, that resemble large Lego bricks.

Mobile Factory has pledged to instruct users in how to use the life size lego bricks to build, modestly sized, earthquake-proof shelters. The device allows communities to safely and affordably rebuild, while also removing environmentally and physically hazardous debris.

Mobile Factory is currently being tested on a small scale in Haiti. The 2010 earthquake left 1.3 million Haitians without a home and many of its towns decimated. The Mobile Factory is testing its product where it might be needed most.

The test village is being conducted in a town of 30 families. In addition to receiving Mobile Factory homes, the families are also being instructed in the factory’s operation and how to build the homes. Mobile Factory hopes that this instructional program will empower communities to teach each other how to rebuild.

– Joe Kitaj

Sources: IndieGoGo, The Chive, The Mobile Factory
Photo: The Chive