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Tackling HIV/AIDs in Botswana

Botswana’s Interior Conflict
Botswana is a country that people know for its relatively peaceful and politically stable environment; however, it also has a high prevalence of HIV. It has some of the highest HIV rates of any country in the world, which particularly affects Botswana’s women and children. This reality affects several factors contributing to Botswana’s society and economy, including a drastically fallen life expectancy, the death rate, the effects of the virus on the body and the age of those most affected. For more than 40 years, HIV/AIDs in Botswana has been prevalent resulting in a conflict between HIV/AIDs and economic success. Here is some information about it as well as how the country is tackling HIV/AIDs in Botswana.

HIV/AIDs in Botswana

In its article on the economic impact of AIDs in Botswana, the POLICY Project writes that the virus is “different from most other diseases because it strikes people in the most productive age groups and is essentially 100 percent fatal.” This directly impacts the economy by essentially removing people who would be productively contributing. The economic output then plummets because the loss of young, formerly able-bodied adults limits the workforce. The shortage of skilled, trained laborers impacts income distribution across economic sectors as well.

The life expectancy in Botswana has fallen drastically. Some estimates place it at 60 years in 1990, then 40 years in 2001 and about a projected 30 years as of 2010. In his memoir “When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa,” Peter Godwin explained that AIDs impacts the younger generation in particular. Due to the low life expectancy that the virus creates, there are villages where the oldest members of the community are teenagers. Projections estimated that two out of every five children would become orphans by 2010, subsequently requiring state aid.

The Effects of the Virus

There are several principal costs that many people associate with having AIDs. Direct costs or physical, financial losses include medical care, treatment drugs and funeral expenses. Indirect costs, or more long-term, possibly unforeseen financial losses include lost work time, care of children who have lost their families due to AIDs and time spent searching for and hiring new workers to replace those lost to the virus. These are costs to Botswana’s economy in general, as well as to individuals and their households.

The effects of AIDs on the economy are particularly apparent in Botswana, a country that many otherwise applaud for being a lower-middle-income country that has avoided several other economic downfalls in recent years. Nevertheless, on a microeconomic level, households with AIDs in Botswana struggle to acquire basic necessities such as healthcare, education, food and shelter. Loss of employment and particularly the loss of a family’s breadwinner can begin a downward slope into extreme poverty. This then expands outwards to include the macroeconomy where businesses and firms are understaffed and have to close. Botswana’s conflict between HIV/AIDs and economic success is clearly one of the country’s greatest to date.

Solutions

Botswana has made leaps in tackling its HIV/AIDs in Botswana; however, a “one-size-fits-all approach” does not target specific high-risk groups and means reaching far fewer people. Those most at-risk –men who have sex with men, sex workers, young people and women– require individual strategies to deal with the prevalence of AIDS.

The use of condoms and sex education have played major roles in attempts to control the epidemic. The Ministry of Health and UNDP educate teachers first, who then spread their awareness to their young students. Peace Corps volunteers to Botswana work with the government and with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to better respond to the AIDs epidemic. Volunteers work in small communities addressing and educating on AIDs, with a focus on the youth.

Though no one solution exists regarding tackling HIV/AIDs in Botswana, global and regional efforts work to weaken and reverse a painful national slide. Botswana stands to gain much from meaningful efforts focused on health and the economy.

– Grace Manning
Photo: Flickr

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5 Strategies to Progress Poverty Reduction in Brazil

Poverty Reduction in Brazil
The COVID-19 pandemic placed a lot of countries in difficult positions regarding their economies and poverty rates. Those already struggling were unable to make progress, and in some cases, poverty rates even increased due to the stress the pandemic placed on society. Brazil is just one of the many countries facing an increase in poverty today. However, five strategies exist to progress poverty reduction in Brazil.

About Poverty in Brazil

Before the pandemic, Brazil already faced difficulties in the country with many lower-class citizens facing extreme poverty. Since 2014, the poverty rate grew steadily, and by the beginning of 2020, almost 11% of the population of Brazil was living on a statistically meager amount every day. Because of the pandemic, about an estimated 13% of Brazil finds itself in poverty as of March 2021. In order to combat the rising poverty rates throughout Brazil, there are certain steps that the country can take. Here are five strategies to progress poverty reduction in Brazil after the COVID-19 pandemic.

5 Strategies to Progress Poverty Reduction in Brazil

  1. A Rise in Vaccination Rates: So far, the vaccination rates in Brazil have remained quite low in comparison to other advanced countries across the globe. Though infection rates in Brazil have not returned to their pandemic peak, cases still tend to rise after they are brought down and the country opens up again. This has proven to be hard on the economy because communities have to continuously lockdown and then reopen time and time again. With a rise in vaccination rates, however, this would no longer have to be the case. As Deloitte Insights pointed out, “Evidence from the United States, for example, shows that consumer sentiment and willingness to spend has gone up with rising vaccinations.”
  2. American Involvement Can Help: The United States is equipped with resources to aid other countries with global poverty relief. Over the past century, other efforts have proved the U.S.’s ability to deliver effective assistance. Kate Schecter wrote for New Security Beat, saying, “There have been notable successes, such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which started in 2003.” As the U.S. appears to be recovering financially from the pandemic, it could utilize aid resources to assist other countries’ recoveries as well, including Brazil’s.
  3. A Commitment to Investments Within Local Communities: In order for poverty-stricken communities within Brazil to build themselves up financially, an effort to helping communities create jobs and access to resources remains essential. “These investments can both reduce poverty and mitigate out-migration by reducing ‘push factors,’ such as lack of jobs and food scarcity which force people to leave their homes and seek basic subsistence in other countries,” wrote Schecter.
  4. Open the Economy: Brazil has some of the lowest import and export rates among countries with major economies. In 2017, it recorded a less than 30% GDP sum in terms of imports and exports. International Money Fund (IMF) states that “opening up to more trade is essential to improve competitiveness and could give a much-needed fillip to investment.”
  5. Increased COVID-19 Aid from the Government: During the initial economic blow from the pandemic, the government implemented an emergency aid program to help families in need of financial support. Consequently, poverty levels throughout the country took a dramatic decline. This positively impacted the country, but “the aid program is not sustainable and the positive trend in terms of poverty reduction is likely to reverse once the benefit ends,” based on a study from the think-tank Fundação Getúlio Vargas. A better-supported and considered aid program to mitigate the effects of the pandemic could still reduce the poverty rate with careful planning.

Looking Ahead

The recovery process is still ongoing, but as Brazil continues to improve, it can now look forward to poverty reduction throughout the country. Effectively considering and enacting policies throughout Brazil could alleviate the difficulties of the nation’s poor and reduce poverty broadly.

– Riley Prillwitz
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Why are More People Trying to Cross the Border?

Why are More People Trying to Cross the Border?
With America’s current politicians, U.S. border security is tighter than it has been in decades. In the spring of 2018, the Trump Administration introduced the zero-tolerance immigration policy to discourage migration into the U.S. The policy required detention of all individuals who crossed the border illegally, with or without children.  This resulted in the separation of children from their parents and their placement in shelters around the country. The U.S., however, halted the policy on June 20, 2018, due to widespread backlash.  The government has been letting thousands of held migrants go free because it lacks enough beds to hold them in detention facilities. However, these implementations have not been successful in deterring people from attempting to illegally enter the country. With the heightened security, why are more people trying to cross the border?

The Decrease in Mexican Immigration

The important thing to note with the changing migration patterns is the demographics of the people. Undocumented immigrants are no longer mainly coming out of Mexico, which is how it has been in the past. In fact, the number of people fleeing Mexico is on the decline.  Since 2007, the number of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. declined by 2 million. They now make up less than half of illegal immigrants in the U.S. This is due partially to the increasing militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border and the increase in price for human smugglers, but there are other factors too.

  • The economy in Mexico has improved and Mexican employment opportunities are rising.
  • Fertility rates in Mexico have dropped significantly in the last 60 years, from seven births in 1960 to only 2.1 in 2019.
  • Not only are there fewer immigrants, but the Mexican immigrants that are crossing the border have higher education and are more fluent in English than the U.S. has seen in the past.  Mexico is undergoing a demographic shift and a technological transformation that is making it more habitable for its population.

With the decrease in Mexican immigration due to an increase in Mexico’s living conditions, why are more people trying to cross the border? As Mexico increases opportunities, immigration statistics are shifting to the impoverished Central Americans.

Increase in Central American Immigration

In Central American countries, over half of the population lives below the poverty line. The Northern Triangle of Central America, or NTCA, which includes Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, has one of the highest homicide rates on earth and many consider this area to have some of the most dangerous countries. America is not the only country seeing a huge influx of these immigrants as well. Mexico, Belize, Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica have seen a 432 percent increase in asylum applications, the majority coming from the NTCA.

Over 90 percent of the new illegal immigrants entering the U.S. is coming out of Guatemala specifically. Why are more people trying to cross the border? It is because of the challenges of poverty and violence in Guatemala.

  • About two-thirds of Guatemalan children live in poverty.
  • Over two-thirds of the indigenous population live in poverty.
  • The wealth distribution in the country is one of the most uneven distributions in the world. In fact, the top 1 percent control 65 percent of the wealth, and the top 5 percent control 85 percent. The economic elite is not indigenous either as most members have European heritage.
  • Guatemalans are itching to flee areas ridden with conflicts over land rights, environmental issues, official forced labor policies, gang violence, prostitution and human trafficking, and depressing crop prices that destroy farmers’ ability to make profits.

What the US is Doing to Help Guatemala

Fortunately, the U.S. is working to help improve conditions in Guatemala.  Traditionally, Guatemala and the U.S. have had a good relationship with a few disagreements over human rights and military issues. Guatemala has a strong trade system in place and the U.S. benefits by working to improve conditions there regarding security, governance, food security, civil rights, education, crime reduction and health service access for the people.

The U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America put in multiple initiatives including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Central American Regional Security Initiative and Food for Peace. The U.S.’s goal is to spur development in Guatemala and reduce the desire for illegal immigration into the U.S. The Trump Administration proposed to substantially cut funds for the country and to completely eliminate food aid. Congress shot down much of these cuts in the Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2018 and 2019. However, in March 2019, the Trump Administration did suspend all U.S. military aid in the country when the Guatemalan government misused armored vehicles that the Department of Defense provided to combat drug trafficking. The Trump Administration is still actively trying to cut or eliminate all U.S. aid to Guatemala and the NTCA, but Congress remains actively invested in the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America.

– Gentry Hale
Photo: Flickr