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Life Expectancy in Antigua and Barbuda

Life Expectancy in Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a small nation in the Caribbean including several islands. Many consider it to be one of the most prosperous countries in the area and it boasts relatively good social indicators. That does not mean that its people have completely escaped the troubles of everyday life that come with residing in a developing country, though. Despite its high standing within the Caribbean it still does not compare well with the rest of the world. These 10 facts about life expectancy in Antigua and Barbuda will shed a light on the country’s struggles as well as the progress it has made and what impact that has on its citizens.

10 Facts about Life Expectancy in Antigua and Barbuda

  1. Life Expectancy is Improving: Life expectancy for the people of Antigua and Barbuda is 72.3 years old. This is one of the strongest indicators of the steady progress that the country is making. Since 1960, there has been an enormous jump from the previous life expectancy of 52.5 according to the World Bank.
  2. Infant Mortality is Improving: Infant mortality rates are improving but still stand at almost double those of many western countries. UNICEF reported that the current infant mortality rate for children under the age of 5 stands at 7.4 deaths per 1,000 births. This shows great improvement considering that the infant mortality rate was over triple that number in 1990 at 26.3 deaths per 1,000 births.
  3. The Country is Susceptible to Natural Disaster: A Caribbean country, Antigua and Barbuda faces the constant threat of hurricanes. A semi-recent hurricane to hit the country was Hurricane Irma which caused mass devastation. While the country did not suffer massive numbers of casualties, injuries and displacement were rampant. The country was still facing the damage years later resulting in Prime Minister Gaston Browne proposing a complete rehaul of the landowning system in an effort to rebuild the country’s destroyed property.
  4. Poverty is Prevalent: There is still a relatively large amount of poverty within the country. The Headcount Index places 18.3 percent of the population of Antigua and Barbuda as being below the poverty line. Around 3.7 percent of the population falls within the indigent population and another 10 percent is vulnerable. Estimates put the poverty line in Antigua and Barbuda at $2,366 puts into perspective the lack of income that such a large portion of the population lives on. Despite these grim numbers, Antigua and Barbuda still ranks among the most well perfuming Caribbean nations with the second-lowest poverty rate. While little new data is available, an optimist might take continued economic growth as a sign that things have been improving.
  5. Unemployment Rates are High: Reports stated that the unemployment rate in 2011 was 10.2 percent with a breakdown of 11.2 percent of men being unemployed and 9.4 percent of women being unemployed. The biggest age bracket falls within the 15-25 range and no doubt contributes to the relatively high aforementioned poverty rates.
  6. Nourishment is Varied:  Antigua and Barbuda does not guarantee nourishment to every citizen. Data collected in different areas of Antigua and Barbuda showed a major discrepancy with nourishment between those areas. When looking at the percentage of children malnourished over 12 months in two different cities, Bendals and Clare Hall, 1.2 percent of children in Bendals were malnourished, while 10.3 percent of children in Clare Hall were malnourished. The country is has continued to address this issue and in 2013, the Zero Hunger Challenge advertised as an advocacy tool for irradiating world hunger by the Food and Agriculture Organization, which is the leading U.N. agency fighting hunger.
  7. Water Shortages are an Issue: As a Caribbean nation, Antigua and Barbuda has not escaped the water shortage that the entire area is facing. As of 2015, the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) made it known that the country did not have consistent access to running water. In 2017, Antigua and Barbuda was among 37 countries predicted to have “extremely high” levels of water stress.
  8. Health Care has Potential: The government of Antigua and Barbuda provides 100 percent of the population with health care with a reported 2.77 percent of the GDP going towards public health. The publicly financed system provides maternal and child health, community mental health and dental care. While the country provides some care, several tourists have expressed dissatisfaction with the public health care system, which highlights that there might still be more room for further improvement.
  9. Educational Trends are Promising: Not only are primary and secondary school completely free, but they are also compulsory. This no doubt plays a part in the adult literacy rate of 98 percent for those above the age of 15. For context, the Caribbean has an overall adult literacy rate of just 71 percent, well below that of Antigua and Barbuda.
  10. Incentives to Eliminate the Top Killers: Antigua and Barbuda has had the same four leading causes of death for over 10 years. Those four are heart disease, stroke, diabetes and respiratory infections. While there is little clear data on the causes of these diseases in Antigua and Barbuda specifically, medical professionals often attribute them to poor diet, air quality, and access. There have been incentives to improve health care as well as education in the country.

A small nation with a small population of 105,000 people, people often overlook Antigua and Barbuda when addressing the global issues of poverty. However, it is important to realize that people should not overlook any nation and these 10 facts about life expectancy in Antigua and Barbuda are just a snapshot into the progress and problems the country is addressing.

– Samira Darwich
Photo: Max Pixel

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10 Facts About Life Expectancy in North Korea

Life Expectancy in North Korea

North Korea formed in 1948. With Japan’s surrender in World War II in 1945, the nation divided in two, with the Soviet Union occupying the north and the United States occupying the south. Efforts at reuniting the nation in 1948 failed, resulting in the formation of two distinct governments: the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the north and the Republic of Korea in the south. Soon after the advent of the nation, Kim Il-sung seized control of the northern government and his family has remained in control for three generations. This rule has had a significant impact on life expectancy in North Korea.

The nations have since grown farther apart, culturally and politically. Though South Korea has improved vastly, North Korea remains elusive with minimal information publicized by an oppressive government. As international policy with North Korea enters a new era, the country comes further and further into the light. Even knowing 10 facts of life expectancy in North Korea may provide insight into the quality and direction of life in the nation.

10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Korea

  1. The life expectancy of North Koreans is 71 years. As a result, North Korea has the 157th longest life expectancy of the 224 nations in the CIA Factbook. The average for men is 67.2 years and 75 years for women. Life expectancy had been gradually rising since the country’s formation until the 1990s when it faced a sharp downturn due to a severe famine. The country’s life expectancy began to improve later in the decade and has since slowly continued to rise.
  2. North Koreans live shorter lives than South Koreans. South Korea has a life expectancy of 82.5 years, standing at 11th longest in the world. Both countries’ expectancies grew at similar rates in the late 1970s to early 80s with the North Korean growth rate slowing before and after due to food shortages. Food shortages continue to be a bane on North Korean health. High infant death rates in North Korea further causes the gap between South and North Korean life expectancy. North Korea suffers an infant mortality rate of 21.4 deaths per thousand births. South Korea’s birth rate averages three deaths per thousand. The South Korean National Statistical Office predicts that North Korea’s infant mortality rate will drop to 7.1 in 40 years.
  3. Forty percent of the 24 million in Korea live in poverty. The average GDP per capita is $1,700, leaving North Korean citizens standing at 214th wealthiest in the world. These civilians have severely restricted access to food and heating, leaving their health at risk. Many use wood fire to heat their homes or live without flushing toilets.
  4. North Korea does not guarantee health. Though North Korea claims to offer free health care, many die due to an inability to pay medical expenses, as patients must pay for their own heating, food and medicine. Though there are a greater number of doctors in North Korea than South Korea, they do not receive payment. Due to food insecurity, digestive issues and anemia are rampant across the country. Additionally, sufferers often cannot obtain the necessary treatment since underfunded hospitals have to ration or reuse medicine.
  5. North Korea suffers regular blackouts. Though coal experts largely support the country’s economy, North Korean power is far from reliable. Hospitals suffer from regular blackouts and loss of heat, limiting working hours to daylight and making for poor recovery conditions.
  6. North Korea has been fighting a tuberculosis epidemic for decades. Medical professionals diagnose 82,000 new tuberculosis cases per year and 15,000 people die from it. While the country had an anti-TB campaign launched in the 1970s, it lost traction with the 1990s famine. The Eugene Bell Foundation has been providing large-scale multi-drug resistant TB treatment throughout North Korea, curing over 70 percent of those it offers treatment to, compared to the world treatment success rate of 50 percent.
  7. North Korea suffers from severe food shortages. This fact about life expectancy in North Korea may be the most defining. On average, North Koreans consume only 2,094 kilocalories per day, well below the Food and Agriculture Organization’s recommended 2,500 kilocalories and the world’s average of 2,870 kilocalories. Meat is a luxury for most of the population, who subsist on kimchi—a fermented lettuce dish—corn, rice and porridge. In 2015, Ghulam Isaczai, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for North Korea, said that two million children, pregnant women and elderly North Koreans suffered from malnourishment.
  8. The North Korean government maintains one of the largest militaries in the world. North Korea has the 52nd largest population and fourth-largest national military in the world. The country spends one-fourth of its $40 billion GDP on its military. Men and women must serve in the military after turning seventeen, with a 10-year minimum for men. During this service, soldiers maintain exhaustive conditions, serving 15-hour days with only 750-800 grams of food.
  9. The North Korean government expresses a desire to improve its quality of life. In 2016, the nation launched a five-year plan to promote growth across all sectors of the nation. North Korea has passed several pieces of human rights legislation, such as the Convention on the Rights of a Child—which eliminates the worst of child labor, among other protections—and has permitted for U.N. supervisors to enter the country. However, the government does not fully oblige to promises made in these treaties.
  10. North Korea continues to be a focus of international rights policy. The Human Rights Council has been in unanimous agreement that North Korea must cease its human rights offenses. In addition to the Convention on the Rights of a Child, North Korea recently passed four other human rights bills to protect women and the disabled, two groups especially affected by North Korean living conditions. These bills will also focus on protecting general citizen rights. While no one can make a clear quantification of progress, as North Korea has not released a state report, Yoon Yoo-sang of South Korea’s Database Centre for North Korean Human Rights says that they have seen improvements in health care and food supply in the last two decades.

The 10 facts about life expectancy in North Korea are distressing, but not hopeless. North Korean life expectancy falls short for a vast array of causes such as natural causes, famine and insufficient medical program funding. Still, life expectancy rises. People should not ignore the gains by the populace—instead, these accomplishments may provide a glimmer of insight to the people behind the heavy veil of government.

– Katie Hwang
Photo: Flickr

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The Impact of Community Gardening Projects

Community Gardening Projects
A community garden is a single piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people. On a rooftop of the United Nations headquarters in New York City, the United Nations began to promote food gardens by setting an example and creating a garden in the heart of the city.

In 2015, cooperation between interested members of U.N. delegations and community organizations officially opened the U.N. Food Gardens. These gardens do not only promote international cooperation among U.N. staff but also help promote United Nations sustainable community gardening projects around the world.

They use similar practices as their international developmental counterparts, such as turning food waste into sustainable fertile soil. They also serve as an outreach program. United Nations programs and international charity programs use a similar tactic. By showing a successful garden in one part of a city, town, or village, maybe the idea will be adopted by other communities and countries.

FAO Role in Community Gardening Projects

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is the biggest promoter and leader of the community gardening projects around the world. To promote and spread this idea the instructions of sustaining a successful community garden are accessible on the FAO website.

The instructions are separated into 12 parts. They cover everything from securing funding, motivating the community, planting the correct fruits and vegetable, instructions on how to properly care for them and selling the extra for profit. The most important step is step number 12 that covers the motivation of participants. For teachers, it is recommended that they suggest special days in a season so that the students can look forward to each season. This aims to create a sense of ownership over the garden by giving the children assignments like watering or weeding the garden. It will also give them the knowledge and tools to begin their own garden later in life.

The Example of Dangerendove

FAO community garden projects can be found all around the world. Not only do they help to provide food and income to communities but they have also been able to break down social barriers. In 2014, an article was written about one of the greatest successes of the FAO’s community garden projects. This story occurred in a small town named Dangarendove in Zimbabwe.

The FAO provided over 40,000 farmers, out of which 90 percent were women, on over 800 farms, with seeds and fertilizers. One of the women interviewed for the article describes that the biggest difficulty is not taking care of the garden but keeping up with the demand for their products. Traders come from villages all around to buy their products by the cratefuls. Approximately 200 cratefuls are produced each week earning the village around $3,000.

Due to the success, the men of the village have begun to take part in the gardening process, taking roles and responsibilities that were once delegated only to women. The success of this program demonstrates that providing food and economic security can do much more than just feed the people and provide money.

Latin America and Community Garden Projects

Many other communities are starting to realize the benefits of community garden projects. In Latin America, rapid urbanization of many Latin American countries in the late 20th and in the early 21st century has caused demand for fresh fruits and vegetables to decline. In Brazilian favelas, in large urban communities sometimes called shantytowns, that often lack access to clean water and sewage and have high crime-rates due to lack of employment, the formation of community gardens has begun.

In 2008, the Formiga Favela in Rio de Janeiro was pacified (a term used to refer to favelas that have been returned to government control) and the Formiga community garden projects have been initiated soon after. These projects have not only helped to provide food in this impoverished area but also to provide employment to the people that live in these communities.

Community garden projects are feeding and employing people, but they also improve social equality. However, their biggest impact is that they put power in the hands of individuals.

– Nicholas Anthony DeMarco
Photo: Flickr

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World Hunger Recently Increased

The State of Food Security as World Hunger IncreasesWorld hunger levels do not merely represent the amount of food a country has available. This level lends to the disparity of class, employment and education levels in a country. For those who find access to food and consume more than others, their energy for sustained work propels them above those with lower levels of caloric distribution. This begins the procession of beneficial livelihoods that are affordable for those who live without hunger.

Not only is hunger a contributing factor to living conditions, but in many cases, living conditions can also cause hunger. In 2010 for example, the number of undernourished people in the world declined for the first time in 15 years. The decline, according to the Food and Agriculture Association, was largely attributed to the “favorable economic environment in 2010—particularly in developing countries—and the fall in both international and domestic food prices since 2008.”

In 2017, the global hunger level rose for the first time in over a decade. In 2016, the world Prevalence of Undernourishment was 10.8 percent, continuing a consistent decline since 2003. The 2017 report published by the UN indicates that the world Prevalence of Undernourishment has risen to 11 percent.

“On September 15th, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the UN World Food Program (WFP), the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) published the first-ever consolidated U.N. report on progress towards eradicating hunger and malnutrition by 2030.”

Under the U.N. Sustainable Development goals (SDG’s) these five U.N. organizations have pronounced to end hunger, promote sustainable development and achieve food security and improved nutrition by 2030.

The 2017 Global Report on The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World illustrates some of the biggest drivers of world hunger: armed conflict and natural disasters. “Of the 815 million chronically food-insecure and malnourished people in the world, the vast majority—489 million—live in countries affected by conflict.”

Armed conflict contributed to the onset of food insecurity in countries like Syria, South Sudan and Lebanon in 2017. In Syria, a six-year civil war has contributed to the onset of a record low agricultural production. An 85 percent poverty rate in 2016, along with the exodus of an estimated 4.8 million refugees since 2011, aggregates the lack of agricultural production and food insecurity in Syria.

South Sudan has seen inflation due to shortages, currency devaluation and high transportation costs as a result of the ongoing conflict. Lebanon is an example of how the spillover effect of conflicts in other countries contributes to an economic slowdown. The conflict in Syria has “disrupted trade routes, and declined confidence among investors and consumers” in Lebanon, which has “absorbed more than 1.5 million refugees.” Political crises thus contribute to increases in world hunger.

Natural disasters such as El-Niño-driven drought and other climate shocks lead to unfavorable agriculture conditions and food scarcity in countries like Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Haiti. In Southern Africa, where countries were experiencing high levels of poverty and structural insecurity, El Niño’s dry conditions induced crop losses and reduced access to food.

The combination of insecurities in these countries prompted critical food insecurity in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Madagascar. In 2015, Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti and coupled with El Niño induced drought to create unfavorable cropping conditions that left “1.6 million…in need of food assistance.” World hunger thus increases due to natural disasters.

The rise of undernourished people in the world in 2017 brings attention to the multi-dimensional effects of conflict in developing nations. Armed conflict coupled with unfavorable weather conditions have risen the rate of Prevalence of Undernourishment and brought multiple nations to critical food insecurity.

The 2017 report looks at Uganda as an example of how resolving conflict can decrease food insecurity. Two decades of conflict lead to reliance on international food assistance in Uganda. Since 2011, after the end of the conflict, Uganda has increased food security and no longer requires assistance. Steps like the ones Uganda has made continue to inspire work towards reducing world hunger.

– Eliza Gresh

Photo: Flickr