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Ending AIDS in Africa

Ending AIDS in AfricaAIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a highly stigmatized disease. Throughout history, the AIDS epidemic has brought on severe discrimination toward individuals on the basis of race, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. The epidemic started in the 1980s, and upon arrival, it spread rapidly through marginalized communities – primarily prostitutes, drug addicts and homosexuals. AIDS is defined as the last stage of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). AIDS and HIV are classified as STDs (sexually transmitted diseases); they are highly contagious and can cause severe flu-like symptoms. After acquiring HIV/AIDS, some expensive treatment options range from therapy to surgery to prescription drugs, however, there are currently no effective vaccines for the disease. Despite these complications, ending AIDS in Africa is a global goal.

Background of the AIDS Epidemic

The history of AIDS is controversial and incomplete. There are wide-ranging speculations regarding the origin of the virus in humans, but these are far from confirmed. In America, the AIDS crisis is commonly reported as beginning in the 1980s. The first cases, however, are believed to have occurred almost a decade earlier.

In Africa, AIDS is said to have spread to humans from chimpanzees in the early 1900s. The AIDS epidemic began on the continent in the 1970s, with the first cases being reported in the 1960s. Kinasha, Congo is commonly cited as the birthplace of the epidemic in Africa. A Cameroon traveler is said to have brought the virus to the city and from there, it began to spread rapidly. Within the next decade, AIDS reached the eastern and western parts of Africa. Coupled with diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, sarcoma, meningitis and pneumonia, Africa as a whole was nowhere near ready to deal with a new deadly disease.

The most recent update on the AIDS epidemic in Africa was in 2020. According to UNAIDS, there were 150,000 AIDS-related deaths in the region and 200,000 people were infected with HIV. Every week more than 1,000 adolescent girls and young women become infected with HIV in the region and 1.2 million people in western and central Africa are still waiting to initiate life-saving HIV treatment. Only 35% of children living with HIV in western and central Africa are being treated. Taking a step further, on a global scale, SOS Children’s Villages reports two-thirds of all HIV-infected people worldwide are Africans, which has resulted in significant social and economic consequences.

The Correlation Between AIDS and Poverty

The spread of AIDS and poverty in Africa are closely related; poverty is both the cause and effect of the disease. Due to the high poverty rate in Africa, sanitation and health care facilities are rare. Women are often restricted to the household and remained uneducated about STDs. There is also a high ratio of men in urban areas, widespread labor migration and sex workers – all contributing factors to the spread of AIDS. Overall, AIDS forces families to be ostracized from society and causes unemployment. Without a steady income or assistance from neighbors, entire families – even with only one case of AIDS – fall into poverty. Often, a family with an individual that contracts AIDS finds themselves both out of society and out of a job.

Since its arrival, the HIV/AIDS virus has targeted impoverished urban areas. Factors such as poor income levels and food insufficiency are coupled with transactional sex, which is correlated with the contraction of AIDS. Impoverished individuals are more likely to contract AIDS and because the disease is so highly stigmatized, these affected individuals become disadvantaged when looking for economic opportunities. The virus has perpetuated a cycle of poverty – one that desperately needs to be broken.

The Fight Against AIDS

Despite numerous obstacles, the U.N. and a multitude of nonprofit organizations remain committed to constricting the spread of HIV/AIDS. Recently, a U.N. Millennium Development Goal was created to end the AIDS epidemic worldwide by 2030. So far, the U.N. has stayed true to its word – the number of AIDS deaths in sub-Saharan Africa has declined by roughly 35% in recent years due to proper diagnosis and life-saving therapeutic treatments carried out by experienced U.N. physicians.

The Future of AIDS in Africa

Ending AIDS in Africa is a daunting task, however, the steps taken by leaders around the world have helped in diminishing the presence of the fatal disease. Due to the high correlation between poverty and AIDS, it is imperative that nations and organizations across the world come together to enact poverty-related reform. Through proper funding, the governments of Africa could establish proper health care facilities and set up economic and educational programs. AIDS may not have a vaccine, but there are solutions so long as international organizations remain committed to preventing its spread.

– Sania Patel
Photo: Flickr

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COVID-19 in Malawi

Covid -19 in Malawi
Malawi, a landlocked southeastern nation in Africa, faces hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of October 2021, COVID-19 in Malawi say a rise in over 61,700 COVID-19 cases and over 2,200 deaths. The biggest spike that Malawi experienced began on January 25, 2021, with a seven-week average case count of 994. The cases diminished significantly by September 2021, with most 7-week average counts bordering 40 cases. Already deep in poverty, Malawians certainly did not benefit from imposed lockdowns and a rising unemployment rate.

Effects on Poverty

Malawi continues to be one of the poorest countries in the world. It ranks 222 of 225 countries in terms of the greatest GDP per capita, with 526.93 in December 2020. Additionally, Malawi’s poverty rates can be attributed to its economy, which employs about 80% of the population in the agricultural sector. The COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected most urban areas and forced services and businesses to terminate.

The last demographic statistics of Malawi dates back to 2016 and recorded a poverty rate of 69.2%, which increased from the previous statistic of 62.4% in 1997. This means that this population lives with an income averaging below the extreme poverty line of $1.90 per day. Though no definitive statistics of Malawi’s current poverty rate exist, experts estimate it to be near or greater than the last census of 69.2% due to the unemployment rates caused by COVID-19. The unemployment rate of Malawi increased from 5.6% in 2019 to 6% in 2020, accounting for the jobs terminated by COVID-19.

Economic Development

As mentioned previously, the agriculture business in Malawi accounts for 80% of jobs. However, agricultural production is not necessarily abundant. By September 2020, over 2.6 million Malawians suffered food shortages from a combination of COVID-19 and weather complications.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Malawi experienced economic development with 3.5% economic growth in 2018 and 4.4% in 2019. The Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) was created in 2017 to aid Malawi in several different sectors, including industry, health and poverty. However, the pandemic abruptly paused the project, and some fear that the effects of COVID-19 in Malawi will reverse the progress made in previous years. The Malawi Economic Monitor (MEM) predicts long-term and widespread negative effects from the pandemic, even though measures such as the Emergency Liquidity Assistance should mitigate some of the damage. If the effects do not worsen by the end of COVID-19 in Malawi, the nation will likely be able to reconstruct its economy with the 5-year installment plans within the MGDS.

Social Conditions

One of the greatest worldwide challenges of the pandemic continues to be providing schooling for students at home. With Malawi’s poor standards for education, where only 8% of students finish secondary school, the pandemic posed a great challenge. In a survey of 100 parents of school-attending children, 86% reported that they had no contact with any teachers or the school throughout the lockdown. Additionally, there is a lack of school materials in Malawi, making learning at home even more difficult.

Another social issue due to COVID-19 in Malawi is the rise in suicide rates. The lack of professional services available for mental health in Malawi resulted in drastically increased suicide rates. In 2020, the Malawi police service reported an increase of up to 57% during the pandemic. Additionally, statistics found that 92% of suicides in Malawi during this period were men, with 8% being women. Certain psychologists associate this with the loss of jobs and rising poverty levels in Malawi. These struggles place intense pressure on the men of a household to provide for their family during drastic times.

All Is Not Lost

Though it may seem like the current conditions in Malawi are beyond hope, there is still a chance that Malawi can recover from the pandemic and return to its course of economic improvement. With COVID-19 cases lowering, Malawi may be seeing the end of the pandemic. Also, the implementation of The Malawi Growth and Development Strategy will help with Malawi’s economic reset and assist the country in its recovery.

– Andra Fofuca
Photo: Wikimedia

 

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COVID-19, Poverty and The Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI)

COVID-19, Poverty and The Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI)
In the wake of its continuing devastation, Covid-19 has left, among other things, recessions across the world’s poorest countries. These recessions threaten to push more than 100 million people below the $1.90-a-day threshold that defines extreme poverty. To prevent poverty exacerbation, G20 countries have been called on by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to establish the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). The initiative is designed to redirect funds planned for debt liquidation towards battling the pandemic and helping the most vulnerable populations.

How Does It Work?

Established in April 2020, the DSSI allows the suspension of government-to-government debt payments for 73 eligible countries. Over 60% of these countries accepted the offer as of 2021. The International Development Association and the U.N.’s respective lists of least developed countries encompass all countries cleared for suspension, minus Angola. Qualification for deferment also requires an application for an arrangement with the IMF, along with a commitment to use unfettered money towards social, health, or economic spending designed to remedy the effects of Covid-19.

Including interest and amortization payments, the total sovereign debt servicing payments in 2020 was projected to reach nearly $14 billion. Less than $4 billion of that belongs to the Paris Club group, prompting calls for other creditors like China and Russia to take part. Additionally, the G20 received requests to include entities such as banks and investment funds in the initiative, but this call has yet to receive a favorable response. About $5.7 billion in payments were deferred in 2020, with an additional deferment of $7.3 billion planned for June 2021.

The Unturned Stones

Reservations have been voiced regarding the ability of the temporary cessation of bilateral debt payments to provide adequate relief for the countries concerned. All debt is not the sovereign debt that is accounted for in the DSSI, and the fiscal ability of the approved countries is largely insufficient to weather the inclemency of Covid-19, even with debt deferment. At the vanguard of the call to private-sector creditors to adopt the initiative is the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a global association concerned with the finance industry.

Estimations from the IIF show that participation by private-sector creditors would provide an extra $13 billion in deferment. This would offer significant potential relief from the $35.3 billion owed collectively by the countries eligible for the DSSI. However, the IIF has made its concerns clear, particularly concerning the DSSI’s lack of consideration for the unique situation of each debtor country and the doubt that this causes for private-sector creditors.

The overall narrow eligibility scope of the DSSI has also been called into question. Middle-income countries have over eight times the amount of collective external debt outstanding compared to DSSI eligible countries. With $422.9 billion in debt payments in 2020 alone, these countries also run the risk of being financially incapable of dealing with Covid-19. After foreign investors pulled approximately $100 billion from middle-income countries’ markets in stocks and bonds, capital outflows leveled. The IIF, perhaps because of this observation, projected that the countries in question will encounter difficulties in borrowing money. The IIF also made projections that indicated unparalleled fiscal deficits in 2020.

Possible Solutions

Currently, no mechanism is in place to ensure that deferred debt payments will be used accordingly. One proposal involves the creation of a central credit facility (CCF) at the World Bank. This organization, if allowed, would require countries requesting relief to deposit deferred interest payments to certify that the funds would be used to negate the effects of the pandemic. Although the CCF has gained academic support and press recognition, whether countries will adopt it is uncertain.

Corporate or individual bankruptcy for countries is not an option.  The IMF attempted but failed to establish a sovereign resolution regime with its Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism (SDRM) proposal in 2002, ultimately because of conflicting opinions on how to structure its design. A notable implementation of a debt moratorium occurred in 1931 by Herbert Hoover, then President of the United States. His declaration was followed by a rush of countries defaulting. Although these countries recovered faster than countries that did not default, such countries were hard-pressed to find any foreign lending for more than 20 years after defaulting.

Forging A Way Forward

While COVID-19 inflicted disastrous financial difficulties on nations worldwide, initiatives like the DSSI work to counteract the damage. In April 2021, G20 government-to-government creditors extended the DSSI for the final time by six months, taking its activity through December 2021. Despite concerns about its implementation and consequences, the DSSI represents a positive attempt by creditors nationwide to help the most vulnerable in the wake of COVID-19.

– Mohamed Makalou
Photo: Unsplash

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Healthcare in Peru: An International Perspective

healthcare in peruPeru carries a heavy history of periodic instability that has made the establishment of an accessible healthcare system perilous. The country suffers from an inequitable distribution of healthcare workers. It also struggles with the partition between private and governmentally-sponsored healthcare, the provisions of which skew inequitably toward the wealthy. Peru’s wealth gap shows the richest 20% in the nation controlling nearly half of its income and the poorest 20% earning less than 5%. This inequality is quite literally killing Peruvians. According to the 2007 National Census of Indigenous Peoples conducted by the Peruvian government, over 50% of census-interviewed communities did not have access to any form of health care facility.

Healthcare in Peru by the Numbers

  • The life expectancy in Peru is 74 years, landing the country at 126 out of 224 countries.
  • The probability of a child in Peru dying before the age of five is 1.4%, compared to 0.1% in the United States.
  • Peru spends 5.5% of its GDP on healthcare, compared to the U.S.’s 17.1%, ranking the country at 128 out of 224 countries.
  • In Peru, there are one and a half hospital beds available per 1,000 individuals. This is a number that is especially dire during the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Peru clocks in at just under one and one-quarter of a physician per every 1,000 Peruvians in need of medical care.

Structure of Healthcare in Peru

Due in part to fluctuating governmental structures and rulers, Peru currently operates with a decentralized health care system administered by five entities. Two of these entities provide 90% of the nation’s healthcare services publicly, while three provide 10% of the nation’s healthcare in the private sector. This distribution results in considerable overlap and little coordination, depleting the healthcare system of resources and providers. In fact, many healthcare providers in Peru work an assortment of jobs across different subsectors.

As healthcare is a necessary sector of the economy, Peru’s healthcare worker density is increasing, even as health worker outmigration also increases. But since these workers are not equitably distributed, coastal and urban areas monopolize the majority of these providers. Lima and tourist coasts boast the highest distribution of healthcare workers, while rural and remote areas such as Piura and Loreto are home to few health providers.

Impact of the Healthcare Structure on Women

The detrimental effects of inequitable healthcare distribution are most visible in the country’s astonishing maternal mortality rate. The World Bank’s 2017 data showed that 88 out of 100,000 mothers in Peru die from pregnancy-related causes. However, Peru’s efforts have substantially reduced the number from 10 years before when the maternal mortality rate in Peru was 112 per 100,000 mothers in 2007.

The burden of maternal mortality rests squarely upon the shoulders of poor, rural, and Indigenous women. They are dying from largely preventable causes in a massive breach of human rights. These women disproportionately face countless barriers to pregnancy wellness and birth healthcare, including a dearth of emergency obstetric and neonatal services, language barriers and a lack of information regarding maternal health. Peru has implemented policies in recent years to reduce the rate of maternal mortality, such as the increase of maternal waiting houses for rural pregnant women to reside in as they approach birth.

The only cause of premature death that precedes neonatal disorders as a result of inadequate neonatal obstetrics is lower respiratory infections. This type of infection is the most likely cause of premature death, and it has remained so since 2007. This illness, too, disproportionately impacts women and children. They are the most likely groups to die from household air pollution, a type of pollution caused by the burning of solid fuels for cooking and heating purposes. In Peru, 429 out of an estimated 1,110 yearly childhood deaths are caused by acute lower respiratory infections resulting from household air pollution. Combined, neonatal disorders and lower respiratory infections cause more death and disability than any other factor in Peru. These are shortening the lives of Peruvian women and children by almost 20%.

Moving Forward with Healthcare in Peru

The healthcare system in Peru is one that suffers many flaws. It is straining to support its people, especially in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. While the going is slow, the country is striving to reform its healthcare system. Peru is doing this by reforming its healthcare system in the direction of universal coverage – an achievable but certainly strenuous goal. Since vigorously implementing healthcare reform in the late 90s, Peru reports coverage of 80% of its population with some form of health services. While this number is far from ideal, it is evidence that the Peruvian government is not only cognizant of but concerned about its healthcare failures, and it is striving for a fuller coverage future.

– Annie Iezzi
Photo: NeedPix

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What You Should Know About COVID-19 in Belarus

COVID-19 in Belarus
With a population of nearly 10 million, Belarus is one of the largest countries in Eastern Europe, and its problems with COVID-19 are just as great. Since its first cases were reported, the country has struggled with treating the virus and limiting its spread. Outbreaks of COVID-19 in Belarus have already revealed flaws in the country’s health infrastructure that could cause problems even after the pandemic ends.

What You Should Know About COVID-19 in Belarus

  1. The true scale of the outbreak remains unknown. Although Belarus began testing for COVID-19 in January, the country reported its first case on February 28. As of May 18, there were 30,572 confirmed cases and 171 deaths resulting from the pandemic. The majority of confirmed cases have occurred in the country’s urban areas on account of their high population density, with the Belarusian capital of Minsk reporting over 4,000 cases on April 24. The Ministry of Health has not provided a cumulative total of recovered patients, making it difficult to know the total number of infections.
  2. Belarus’ government has not enacted strict social distancing policies. While many countries adopted shelter-in-place policies in March and April, Belarus’s government has yet to implement a country-wide shutdown of non-essential businesses. So far, individual cities have decided how to protect their citizens, with some canceling social gatherings and extending school vacations. Unfortunately, this approach has led to an inconsistent response that has failed to slow the spread of the virus.
  3. Medical supplies are limited. Despite having 11 hospital beds per 1,000 people – one of the highest ratios in the world – the lack of quarantine protocols quickly overwhelmed Belarus’ healthcare system. Patients treated for COVID-19-related pneumonia observed that nurses and other healthcare officials were uninformed and inadequately equipped to handle the growing number of cases. Due to supply shortages and limited social distancing, epidemiologists predict that between 15,000 and 32,000 people could die of COVID-19.
  4. The pandemic could force the country into a recession. One reason Belarus lacks a comprehensive social distancing policy is that the country may not be able to afford it. Even before the crisis, Belarus’ economy had started to slow down, with GDP growth dropping from 3% to 1.2% between 2018 and 2019. Economists predict that reduced trade with Western Europe and Russia due to the pandemic could push the country into a recession. While the economic impact of COVID-19 is still unclear, it could cause Belarus’ economy to contract by up to 4%. This may require Belarus to cut spending on programs for vulnerable populations such as low-income households.
  5. The international community is stepping up. Due to the shortage of personal protective equipment and medical supplies in Belarus, other countries have begun shipping supplies over. On April 17, 32 tons of medical equipment such as thermometers, goggles, and gloves arrived in Belarus from China. At the same time, the European Union announced a 3 billion euro relief fund for 10 Eastern European countries, including Belarus. Belarus may require more aid in the future, but these contributions will help ease the country’s financial strain.

Although the full implications of the pandemic are still unknown, foreign aid will reduce the impact of COVID-19 in Belarus. Such aid is vitally important for the country’s ability to protect its sick and vulnerable populations.

– Sarah Licht
Photo: Flickr

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Will MERS Become a Worldwide Epidemic?

MERS
The U.S. has seen its third case of the MERS virus this past month. Despite showing no symptoms, an Illinois man was diagnosed with the virus on May 2, his infection proving unique: he is the first person to have contracted the virus in the U.S., which is already prevalent in the Middle East.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has already begun to issue public warnings regarding the virus and its prevention methods. Yet while CDC response team leader, Dr. David Swerdlow, sees no immediate threat as the disease has had “no sustained transmission” in the U.S. like other viruses such as the flu, MERS is proving to spread rapidly overseas. According to Reuters, about 30 percent of those infected with the virus have died.

While we still know little regarding the origin of the MERS virus, it is characterized as a “severe, acute viral respiratory illness caused by MERS-CoV, a beta coronavirus,” meaning that, according to the CDC, most people will at some point in their life contract the virus. Spread person-by-person, the illness — for which there is still no vaccine  — is on the rise, and while it has not yet been characterized by the CDC as a global health emergency, the virus is continuing to result in an increasing number of fatalities.

While cases of the virus have emerged in nations of varying degrees of wealth, including Egypt, the Netherlands and Jordan, by far the worst-hit country has been its originator, Saudi Arabia. Deaths in Saudi Arabia as a result of the MERS virus have hit a whopping 163 as of May 17. Yet while the country — known for its vast oil wealth and a relatively strong GDP placement compared to other nations  — may not be the most prime example of impoverishment, a startling 20 percent of the nation’s population is still, almost secretly, living in poverty. Crippled by impoverished conditions, the world’s poor may be among those most at risk of contracting the severe virus.

While the future for the virus is still relatively unknown, appropriate actions by the CDC are being put into place in order to ensure proper combativeness in case of a pandemic. Forced now to wait and see the true effects of the virus characterized as a “deadlier, less transmissible cousin of the SARS virus,” the CDC ensures that they are prepared for whatever the outcome.

– Nick Magnanti

Sources: CNN, Al Jazeera, TIME 1, Washington Post, Public News Service, AL, Boston, TIME 2
Photo: ICCS