Posts

, ,

Good News About Access to Hepatitis C Cure

Good News on Access to Hepatitis C CureMore than 300 million people worldwide are infected with Hepatitis C. With recent efforts to increase access to the Hepatitis C cure, elimination of the virus is now possible, according to the World Hepatitis Alliance.

Over the past two years, three million people around the world were treated for Hepatitis C. The biggest deterrent to access to the Hepatitis C cure was funding, with prices for the drug being as much as $1000 for one pill. Fortunately, though, Doctors Without Borders has made access to the drug treatment available at a much more affordable price.

Gilead Sciences released their cure for Hepatitis C, known as sofosbuvir, in 2013 at $1000 per pill. In 2015, Bristol-Myers Squibb released a similar treatment, known as daclatasvir, for $750. Recently, Doctors Without Borders was able to make generic forms of the drug available for as little as $1.40 per day, according to Reuters.

This is a major victory, as a large amount of the Hepatitis C population lives in low and middle-income countries. For them, a $1000 price tag is not affordable. The accomplishment means that more people will be able to access treatment.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has a goal of eliminating viral hepatitis by the year 2030. Because of the increased availability of the Hepatitis C cure, this can become a reality. However, the cure alone is not the only way for the virus to be eliminated.

There are key factors that WHO has outlined as steps necessary to eliminate Hepatitis C, but many countries have failed to implement them. These setbacks include a lack of political will and global funding mechanisms, poor data and surveillance, access to diagnostics and medicines and poor diagnosis rates, according to the World Hepatitis Alliance.

With that being said, there are currently nine countries on track to eliminate Hepatitis C by 2030, and three of them are developing countries. The countries are Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Japan, the Netherlands and Qatar.

Egypt has been innovative in implementing strategies that could eliminate the virus. So far, they have “pledged to test 30 million for hepatitis C by the end of 2018 by implementing mass screening initiatives (including assistance from the military), as well as mass-producing generic copies of DAA drugs for under U.S. $200 per 12-week course.”

By the same token, Brazil has “committed to gradually lift treatment restrictions in 2018, meaning that the country will be able to treat all people infected with hepatitis C.” In the past, the sickest patients have had priority for treatment.

When countries began to make the elimination of Hepatitis C a priority, the world will see results. Mongolia, Gambia and Bangladesh are among the countries that have begun to make progress towards getting on track to eliminate Hepatitis C. As more countries follow their lead, the goal of eradication will be reached sooner.

– Dezanii Lewis

Photo: Flickr

, , ,

The Good News About Bad News: How Optimism Improves Perspective

Optimism Improves PerspectiveEvery news report seems to be about a new political scandal, a terrorist attack or some natural disaster. The world feels like it is getting worse, and the uplifting stories on the news appear insignificant compared to the weight of the other issues.

These positive, hopeful stories may seem trivial, even inconsequential compared to the tragedies, death tolls and what seems to be an ever increasing attitude of fear and hatred. However, the good news about bad news is that statistically, there is less of it than ever before, and the good news continues to silently grow. Remembering the good news and maintaining optimism improves perspective when faced with bad situations.

While 2016 has been deemed a “dumpster fire of a year,” the state of the world as a whole is positive. Even with all the political drama and depressing headlines, recent years are also marked by a significant decrease in death from diseases, wars and poverty. In 1999, about 1.7 billion people lived in poverty, which was 28 percent of the population. In 2013, the number was reduced to 767 million, and that number has continued to fall so that less than 10 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty today. In just more than 15 years, the number of people in poverty has declined by almost two-thirds.

There is a great deal of other good news as well. Child mortality is falling rapidly. The number of humans who have died in wars has decreased dramatically since 1945. The so-called Islamic State is weakening and struggling with recruitment. There are significantly fewer bankruptcies. The global economy is growing, leading to the decrease in poverty mentioned above. Literacy rates are going up, and the gender gap is shrinking. The list of good news goes on and on.

There are still many things to be done to improve the world and people’s lives, but the statistics are encouraging. With this good news in mind, why do people tend to focus on the negative headlines? One possible reason is that bad news happens all at once, making it easier to focus on. It is sudden, dramatic and gripping, whereas good news usually happens slowly, working quietly while disasters occupy the public consciousness.

There is also a tendency for people to weigh bad news more heavily than good news. In other words, negative emotions and events feel as though they have more of an effect than positive or neutral emotions and events. Good news seems feeble and meaningless compared to the negative feelings that come with bad news of all sorts. Psychologists call this a negativity bias. Just as optimism improves perspective, this negative, pessimistic attitude can cause a great deal of stress, anxiety and other health issues.

This focus on the negative may have been an evolutionary advantage in the past. As human ancestors fought for survival, bad news in the form of dangers and threats were the focus. Good news was welcome, but it was hardly a priority compared to threatening animals or diseases. These remnants of humanity’s past remain today, and negative events take priority.

Bad news could act as a sort of warning against worse news in the future. It could be an indication that people or societies need to change to avoid further negative events. It is important to draw attention to what is broken in the world so that people can begin to fix it.

Though bad news can be good in the long run, the obsession with bad news is still something to address. Optimism improves perspective, and it has many positive effects. For example, a more optimistic attitude is linked to a longer, more fulfilled life. A positive outlook also decreases stress and helps people cope with difficult situations and bad news.

Optimism has physical, psychological and social benefits, yet an optimistic attitude is easier said than done. Often times a pessimistic attitude can result from existing stress and anxiety, so it is not as simple a matter as suddenly deciding to become an optimist. Studies do support that, while it may not be easy, it is possible for pessimists to become more optimistic. It is likely that children and adults can both become more optimistic and benefit from a more positive attitude.

Bad news seems to be all around us, but it is important to remember the good news as well. Celebrating the victories is just as important as realizing the difficulties that still lay ahead. Everything will not always work out for the better, but optimism improves perspective, especially in depressing and dark situations. Even in difficult times, it is important to remember the good news so that people can continue pushing forward and fight the bad news.

– Rachael Lind

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Find the Good, Tell the People

Find the Good, Tell the People
First person to create a Snapchat story inside The White House. Professional at sixteen. Good News Storyteller. Find the good, tell the people.

These are just a few ways of describing the positive power that is Branden Harvey, a twenty-something-year-old from the Northwest on a mission to find the good in the world and tell it to anyone who will listen. There are plenty of devastating facts and statistics that have their place and often inspire people to action, but what effect, Harvey wondered, will the good news have?

In an interview by Isabel Thottam of Moment, Harvey begged the question, “What if we just didn’t say bad things? What if we went out and created things in the world that are only filled with good?”

This talented, driven professional has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry: Disney, Skype, Paramount, Sony and more. He learned from some of the greatest photographers and turned this passion into his main source of income.

But somewhere along the way, passion started to fade. He realized what was missing when he discovered his desire to be a storyteller. Through a podcast, weekly newsletter, Instagram, Snapchat and global travel, Harvey is accomplishing what he set out to do: find the good, tell the people.

Harvey’s travel has taken him to Africa several times, and here he has worked with a non-profit called These Numbers Have Faces. This organization believes “educated, empowered, and community driven young people are the best vehicles for social change.” They pay for the brightest students of Africa to attend university on the condition that they will stay on the continent after receiving their education.

Harvey told Mashable in an interview that he is thankful for the CEO of These Numbers Have Faces, Justin Zoradi, because “he doesn’t see Africa as full of problems, but full of potential.”

Harvey’s desire to find potential instead of problems is manifested in his weekly newsletter. He works to deliver five relevant pieces of news in the midst of seemingly hopeless situations such as natural disasters and this presidential election.

Tapping even further into his storyteller roots, “Sounds Good with Branden Harvey” is a weekly podcast where Harvey sits down with some of the happiest people in the world to discover “what makes them tick” and where they find the good amongst the bad.

Harvey recently interviewed award-winning Australian photographer Nirrimi Firebrace, conversing about what it means to remain honest while searching for the positive. Firebrace explained that vulnerability in her work has been met with a lot of hate. The good news, though, is that the people who appreciate her genuineness only lean in closer to keep hearing the narratives she has to tell.

In writing his own narrative and traveling to Rwanda, Uganda, the Philippines and beyond, Harvey has seen plenty of the bad. He told Moment when discussing the people he met who had been pushed into crime and women who had lost their children, “these are all terrible situations, yet I see good come from them. Good comes from people who rise out of poverty.”

Harvey connects with the people he meets in these countries by learning their language, pulling out his phone before his camera and only going where he is invited. All of these together allow him to connect with the people he meets and tell their stories from an honest and engaging perspective. He says, “I won’t share a photo if I don’t know their name because I’d be taking from them without knowing anything about them. It’s about adding value.”

Harvey urges those with an eye for the good news to share what they see with others. People are searching for it, explicitly or not, and if we focus on the good, consider how much more there could be. “For the people who can see that, pay attention and share that in a way that feels creative and compelling to you.”

Branden Harvey is working hard to find what is good and shout it from the rooftops. And some of the best news? The world is listening.

– Rebecca Causey

Photo: Flickr

, , ,

7 Resources Focus on Good News Stories

good-news-stories
Sometimes, when one is trying to make a difference in the world, it is all too easy to get caught up in how grim things can seem. We are constantly being bombarded with evidence that the world is in a desolate decline, and it is hard to even know where to start.

When these sort of feelings start to catch up with you, here are several resources to turn to that focus on good news stories and how, in many ways, the world is improving.

1. Don’t Panic
This Hans Rosling documentary challenges some of the biggest misconceptions people have about the direction the world is going in. For example, birthrates are declining as access to family planning increases and people become more educated. This engaging video features specific case studies, polls of a live audience and the continual presentation of surprising data.

2. TED.com
Well-known, this website has several uplifting playlists that exemplify how the world is getting better. For example, the “Freedom Rising” playlists are made up of talks about groups who have overcome oppressive governments. “Social Good, Inc.” is a set of talks about companies that are making progress towards a greater social good. “The Road to Peace” includes 10 talks that talk about the ways in which peace has prevailed in the past and can in the future.

3. 26 “Charts and Maps That Show the World is Getting Much, Much Better”
This article on Vox.com, with a self explanatory title, shows a variety of items, like economic prosperity, rising life expectancy and homicide rates in the U.S. and Europe.

4. “The world looks like it’s getting worse. Here’s why it’s not.”
This article by John Stackhouse includes this calming line: “If the world seems more volatile, it is. If it seems more dangerous, not so much. Welcome to the war of perceptions, in which an ever-improving planet seems ever more at risk largely because of the noise.” It includes information on topics like human rights, poverty and American hegemony.

5. Positive News
A U.K. website, it reports on some of the good that is occurring in the world. On the official “about” page of the website, it says, “we take a solution-focused perspective on the challenges facing society.” This is not a place of wallowing in pity and sorrow, but in seizing opportunities for change.

6. The Good News Network
Attempting to counterbalance the barrage of bad news reported in the mainstream media, this website contributes positive stories that are occurring and aims to help create a balanced, realistic worldview for consumers. It features this reflective quote from editor Norman Cousins: “If news is not really news unless it’s bad news, it may be difficult to claim we are an informed nation.”

7. Flickr
This might seem like a general resource and saying “photography” makes it even more vague, but, as the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Sometimes all it takes to feel inspired or be reminded of all of the beauty in the world is to see a moment of it frozen in time.

Flickr comes up just because it tends to be a more trusted resource for high-quality photos, but even something like Google Images would work. Type in the name of a place you hear about in the news. One ravaged by poverty, war or oppression.

What you see are images of the place at its most beautiful. Its unique landscapes, its strong people, its magnificent architecture. From Africa to Syria to Mexico, there is beauty in the uniqueness of each place, even the ones wracked by turmoil. Rarely is there a news story covering the sheer beauty of a Middle Eastern desert, or a tree silhouetted against the sky in the Congo or the beaming face of a child in Mali.

With the mainstream media so hyper-focused on all that is wrong with the world, it is easy to forget about all that is right. But the wonderful thing is that taking the time to seek out goodness usually leads to finding it, especially in today’s world, where the Internet makes so much available right at our fingertips. These resources should act as a reminder that the world is filled with beautiful people and places and stories, and that we should continually strive to make it a better and better place because such efforts have been proven to pay off.

– Emily Dieckman

Sources: Reuters, Gapminder, Good News Network, Positive News, TED, VOX, Flickr
Photo: Flickr

,

Leprosy Is Almost Eliminated

leprosy
According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) reports, Leprosy still infects almost 200,000 people globally. The disease not only infects a person but also creates an environment where a person is shunned and forced to live away from his or her family. Even though the disease is highly treatable and not very common, it still creates an immediate social stigma whenever it is mentioned. Thankfully, the disease is on its way to being eliminated completely around the globe.

Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s Disease, affects a person’s nerves, skin and mucous membranes (CDC). Lesions appear on a person’s skin and loss of feeling can occur since the nerves are damaged. Because a person loses sensation in the affected areas, burns or other injuries can go unnoticed and lead to further health issues.

The disease spreads through human contact. It is not highly contagious but can be spread through coming into contact with fluid droplets from an infected person.

The United States and other developed countries rarely ever see cases of leprosy, but several developing countries still experience the disease. According to WHO, “the leprosy burden is now concentrated in the five most endemic countries (Brazil, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Nepal), which account for 83% of prevalence and 88% of detection worldwide.” Usually, it is the poorest of the poor who contract the disease because they are the farthest from medical care.

WHO supplies a multi-drug therapy (MDT) free of charge to those with the disease. If the patient takes the prescribed medicine as directed, the disease is curable in as quickly as six months, but it could take up to two years.

Eliminating the disease is of huge importance to global health, but it is also vital to a family unit that has a member suffering. People with the disease are often shunned and pushed out of their social circle. An infected person is made to live with other people who have leprosy regardless of whether the person is a child or an adult. This can cause further strain on a family’s psyche, financial situation and emotional well-being.

Leprosy is well on its way to being eliminated completely from the globe. In 2000, leprosy was considered eliminated because there was less than 1 case per 10,000 people globally. But that number has the potential to be reduced even further. WHO states the following to describe the effectiveness and potential of leprosy elimination:

– There is only one source of infection: untreated, infected human beings.

– Practical and simple diagnostic tools are available: leprosy can be diagnosed on
clinical signs alone.

– Under natural conditions, “incident’ cases” (new cases in which the disease has
recently developed) make up only a small fraction of the prevalence pool. Below a
certain level of prevalence, any resurgence of the disease is very unlikely.

WHO is calling for a “Final Push” to remove leprosy as a health issue around the globe. The biggest factor is the ability to bring the MDTs to every person who has leprosy. This requires the patient’s help in seeking out medical care, despite the stigma that is associated with the disease, as well as integrating leprosy detection into routine medical care in countries where cases are still seen. While this may be easily achievable in more urban areas, the rural areas still need to see higher availability of medical care.

Seeing the end of leprosy for good is an achievable goal. Already the case numbers are dwindling as people are being treated and healed until they are no longer able to pass the disease along. As the “Final Push” is implemented more often, the good news about eliminating leprosy should be heard.

– Megan Ivy

Sources: CDC, NLT, WHO 1, WHO 2, WHO 3
Photo: Asian Correspondent

,

Five Ways Haiti Has Improved

ways haiti has improved
Haiti has recently been highlighted for making strides in the fight against cholera, with the number of new cases this year down 74 percent. Looking beyond this progress in the Haitian health sector, Haiti is experiencing successes in several other areas. According to a report published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) last month, the country reached many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) ahead of the 2015 deadline.

Based on statistics from this U.N. report, here are five ways Haiti has improved and is climbing the ladder of global development.

1. Education

The rate of primary education among Haiti’s youth has increased from 47 percent in 1993 to almost 90 percent today. There is equal participation in education between boys and girls, giving all children an opportunity to learn.

2. Earthquake Recovery

In 2010, a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake left Haiti in shambles, with 200,000 people killed and billions of dollars in damages. After four years of work, the UNDP reports that 97 percent of debris from the hard-hitting earthquake is gone from the streets of Haiti, 11,000 displaced families are back in their homes and more than 4,000 meters of river bank have been protected against flooding.

3. Clean Water

More households are using safe, clean water. The U.N. reports, “Nearly 65 percent of households now have improved access to water, compared to 36.5 percent in 1995.” The increased availability of hygienic water is key to fighting cholera, acute diarrhea and other waterborne diseases. This progress will continue, especially in rural areas, thanks to the country’s newly launched “Total Sanitation Campaign.”

4. Infant Mortality

The health of Haiti’s youth is improving, with infant mortality ranking lower than the global average, down 44 percent since 1990. Additionally, the number of underweight children under the age of 5 has been cut in half, meeting the MDG three years ahead of schedule.

5. Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The Haiti MDG report boasts a rise in per capita GDP from $1,548 in 2009 to $1,602 today. Extreme poverty has stabilized at 24 percent since 2012.

Although Haiti is on the path to success according to MDG indicators, there are undoubtedly aspects of the country that still need attention. More children than ever are attending school, but there are still far too many kids dropping out and repeating grades. Clean water access has improved, but in order to eradicate cholera entirely there needs to be more widespread sanitation reform, especially in rural areas.

But without a doubt, the aforementioned successes are extremely commendable. With a sustained push, a Haiti without extreme poverty could be on the horizon.

– Grace Flaherty 

Sources: New York Times, UN, World Bank
Photo: UN

,

Good News for World Hunger

world_hunger
World hunger is a terrible thing, but in 2014 there seems to be more good news than bad.

The good news is that world hunger and chronic malnourishment have been decreasing in Latin American and Asian countries. It has, however, increased in some of the poorest African nations, but the increase in malnourished peoples was the lowest it has been in several years.

What advocacy groups and volunteers are doing is working; world hunger is completely solvable with just a little effort and a push in the right direction.

Advocacy for world hunger and global poverty began making good headway in reducing chronic malnutrition in the 1980s and the 1990s, but progress began to slow down between 2000 and 2010. Some of the more complicated and impoverished areas have seen growth in malnutrition since 2010, but overall things have either stayed the same or have slowly improved in the past four years.

More good news in world hunger is that the number of hungry people in the world has slowly trickled down from one billion to 870 million from 2009-2012, but has since gone back up to more than one billion.

There have been many advances on the war with hunger, however. There is a smaller percentage of the population in some areas (namely Latin America, Europe, the United States and Asia) of people who go without food.

As populations climb, the number of hungry people climbs with it, but through volunteer work and advocacy a larger percentage of the population has made it out of poverty.

Society has seen more technological advances to deal with world hunger and global poverty, but in recent years man power and monetary aid has declined, leaving the advancements instead of the people to take care of the problems.

According to UNICEF, world hunger will see more good news because in recent years global poverty and chronic malnutrition has become more manageable. It is now easier to donate than it ever has been through cell phone applications like the Spare Change Application or rounding up on purchases to help someone in need.

World hunger is seeing fewer donations, but it is also seeing a decline in the percentage of people living in poverty and with malnutrition. It has also become more manageable and less of an undertaking and many people can now donate and help without even a second thought.

Advocacy and aid is becoming easier in the digital age and because of that, world hunger is considered to be in decline in some countries.

– Cara Morgan

Sources: Grist, Lake Tahoe News, WFP, Yahoo
Photo: Working Abroad

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lifespans Increasing In Poorest Countries

Life expectancy has risen in the past two decades by over nine years. Both wealthy and impoverished nations have managed to raise their citizens’ lifespans. In the wealthier countries, less people are dying from heart diseases by the age of 60. According to the U.N.’s World Health Organization annual statistics, six countries’ babies are healthier, with less dying before the age of 5, explained Margaret Chan, World Health Organization chief, in a statement.

The six poorest countries managed to raise life expectancy by over 10 years between 1990 and 2012. Liberia’s lifespans increased the most by 20 years (42 to 62).

The next few countries that were able to significantly raise their lifespans are Ethiopia (from 45 to 64 years), Maldives (58 to 77), Cambodia (54 to 72), East Timor (50 to 66) and Rwanda (48 to 65).

According to the WHO, a girl who was born in 2012 will most likely live to be approximately 73-years old and a boy up to 68-years old.

More people are starting to live longer because of an increase in food supplies, better nutrition, improvements in medical supplies and technology (immunizations and antibiotics), improved sanitation and hygiene and safer water supplies.

Although the life spans in Africa are the lowest, they have still made a significant increase by about 10 percent . Malaria deaths have decreased by 30 percent and HIV infections have also decreased by 74 percent.

A great contribution to the increasing lifespans is the larger income Africans are making, which has increased by 30 percent.

One of the poorest countries in the world, Mozambique, has made huge improvement due to the discoveries of coal and gas.

Today, this is proof that people are able to make a change in others’ lives — the ones who need it the most. Although the poorest countries still have the shortest lifespans, they have definitely increased. Over the next few decades, one could expect even more growth.

 —  Priscilla Rodarte

Sources: ENCA, SF Gate, Geography, The Independent

, , , ,

How Israel Stopped Human Trafficking

human_trafficking_israel
In the span of about five years Israel has seen monumental changes in its country’s reputation as being sympathetic to human trafficking.

As of 2005 Israel was listed on Tier 3 by the U.S. State Department in its efforts to fight and prevent human trafficking. As the bottom in the scale Tier 3 is reserved for those shame-faced countries whose governments “do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.” Israel at this time was still considered one of the main destinations for the trafficking in woman – primarily those from the former Soviet Union.

The U.S. State Department’s harsh labeling of Israel as being on the same Tier as non-democratic countries such as Sudan and Somalia shamed Israel into action. Knesset member David Tsur of the HaTenua Party and chairman of the Subcommittee on Trafficking in Women and Prostitution stated, “If I were a seasoned and professional politician, I would say that the decision to act was not related to the Americans, but the reality was that without the whip of the State Department, we would not have taken serious steps. We understood that if we didn’t address the problem, aid funds would be stalled, and very quickly we would have a new center of criminal activity on our hands.”

As the law stood, victims of human trafficking were treated as criminals, making it very difficult and unlikely for them to come forward and report their abuse. This was one of the first things to be changed as Israel began to make anti-human-trafficking a priority. Government-funded shelters were set up for trafficked women who’d filed complaints where they received medical treatment and underwent rehabilitation.

Congruent to decriminalizing the victims, starting in 2006 perpetrators were given 20 year sentences for human trafficking violations. As of the U.S. State Department’s 2013 report on Trafficking in Persons, they declared that this still wasn’t a sentence that “Commensurate[d] with the gravity of the offence.”

The addition to Israel’s pre-existing barrier in 2005 was monumental in preventing the trafficking of people from Egypt, which at one time was the post popular through-country and entrance into Israel for traffickers.

Since prostitution is legal in Israel there are still issues of sexual exploitation and cases of trafficking within the country, but Israel has been hugely successful in abolishing human trafficking across its borders. In a statement to Israel’s Daniel Shapiro a U.S. Ambassador said, “I applaud the Government of Israel for continuing to focus on eliminating the scourge of modern day slavery. Israel has taken an all-of-government approach to tackling this global phenomenon, including legislative action in the Knesset, police training, and providing shelters and services for trafficking victims.”

Other countries stand to learn a lot from Israel’s example. Human trafficking has been reported in nearly every Western country, including each state within the U.S. As Israel has demonstrated, governments must recognize trafficking as a threat and allocate a full-on attack to stand a chance in eliminating it.

– Lydia Caswell

Sources: The Times of Israel, Al-Monitor, Atzum, U.S. Department of State
Photo: Jerusalem Post

, , ,

Poverty in Uruguay: A Success Story

poverty_in_Uruguay
The number of Uruguayan citizens living below the poverty line of less than $1.25 a day has halved since 1990. This drastic reduction in poverty in Uruguay means the South American country has successfully achieved the first of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

In 2012, the rate of poverty in Uruguay, defined as those earning less than $1.25 a day, decreased to 12.4 percent of the overall population. Uruguay’s Minister of Social Development, Daniel Olesker, points to labor and health reforms to explain these achievements.

Ever since the 2002 economic collapse of its neighbor, Argentina, Uruguay has slowly struggled its way out of indigence. In 2004, the poverty rate hit a high of 39.9 percent and has steadily decreased since due to efforts on behalf of the government to provide more funds for social inclusion programs.

In early 2005, the then-President of Uruguay, Dr. Tabaré Vasquez, revealed a two-year Emergency Social Program to aid the most vulnerable members of Uruguayan society. The program addressed pressing issues such as food, shelter, health, work and education for the most destitute in Uruguay.

Other programs aimed at reducing poverty in Uruguay include a family allowance program wherein “vulnerable” families are given a subsidy of around 700 pesos per month, a sum equal to about $31. Families in more extreme conditions may receive up to double that amount.

As a result of these reforms, the number of homeless people living in Uruguay fell to .5 percent of the population. Despite the success of these public policies, it continues to elude the segment of the population in the lowest rung of the income distribution.

The current President of Uruguay, José Mujica, is known as a champion of the poor and sets an example for citizens of Uruguay by living modestly. He donates 90 percent of his income as president to charities working on housing for the poor and lives on a small farm outside Montevideo instead of the presidential palace.

– Jeff Meyer

Sources: Presidencia, The Guardian, El Mundo, Xinhuanet, La Republica
Photo: IPS