In a village near the city of Saurimo in Angola, 14 years old Amari lives alone with his two little siblings. When he lost his parents, as the oldest child Amari became head of the family and responsible for their survival. For Amari, life is made even more difficult with no access to basic sanitation such as clean water and soap. Without access to clean water, the children had trouble cooking, bathing, and coping with water-borne illnesses. They would fall sick and suffer from headaches, stomachaches, and diarrhea. Unfortunately, Amari and his family are not the only ones with these kinds of problems, a lot of neighboring countries also lack these basic necessities which makes daily life even harder.
Today only 27% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population has access to basic sanitation and in some countries such as Congo or Zimbabwe, this number is decreasing, as service providers fail to keep pace with population growth.
Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to the transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, and many others. Among them, some might lead to the hospitalization and even the death of the patient. In fact, about 750,000 children in Africa under the age of 5 die every year from diarrheal diseases.
So, who is most affected by this problem? People who live in rural areas are generally more disadvantaged than those who live in urban areas when it comes to having access to basic handwashing facilities making them more at risk of catching infections and other communicable diseases.
Having access to basic sanitation and washing your hands with soap and clean water seems simple enough but it has a huge impact on the lives of millions of people living in Africa. According to UNICEF :
• During childbirth, handwashing with soap, sterile equipment, and antiseptics can be the difference between life and death.
• Up to 50% of cases of malnutrition are caused by inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene.
• Children reduce their risk of getting diarrhea by more than 40% when they wash their hands with soap after going to the toilet or before eating.
As we can see, improving the supply of sanitation products and services, especially in areas where the access to these products is low (for example rural areas) is critical to reducing the spread of viruses and bacteria. This would make life more manageable for Amari and people living in similar conditions. So, it is important to raise awareness so that organizations (such as UNICEF) and NGOs partner with governments of the concerned countries and others in community-led initiatives to help them invest in basic sanitation such as soap and water in order to reduce the number of infections and potentially death related to bad sanitation.
Gender inequality appears when women are not treated equally as men due to their gender. The discriminatory acts lead to the suffering of women in both their private and public life. The number of women in proportion to men in different fields is not equal. Gender inequality in the economy is mainly found at the workplace where women are not paid equally as men, may be subjected to sexual harassment, and are prone to suffering from distinctive behavior that differentiates them from men. Gender inequality also exists in politics given the deficit political participation of women worldwide. The unequal social involvement of women and men in a number of aspects of the society appears in the unequal distribution of power between them and in the disproportionate ownership of assets.
Women have globally less chances of economic participation than men, limited access to higher education, higher health and safety risks, as well as poor political representation. Unfortunately, women are systematically under-represented in the decision-making processes despite the great influence decision making has on their ability to lead independent lives. Women in the Middle East and South Africa suffer from significantly higher discrimination compared to other global regions. For instance, as of 2018, women represented only 5% of the Lebanese parliament. While this reflects a severely deficient representation of women in the political sector, it also reveals the presence of barriers perhaps cultural, social and even legal that women encounter while living in a rather patriarchal society. Such a patriarchal society fosters the perception that women are less qualified and less competent than men and thus women are more prone to gender inequalities than men. The patterns of gender inequality represent a constraint to the society’s progress as they limit the opportunities of growth for a huge portion of the population, and must therefore be treated with uttermost concern. The establishment of women empowerment movements came into place due to the various challenges faced by women and the struggles they suffer from when intending to equally participate as men in the economy, the political life and the social life.
Furthermore, there are a set of barriers that deprive women from equally engaging in different fields. The women empowerment movements in which women strive to share equal opportunities with men represent a major worldwide issue. It is extremely important to highlight the effect of gender equality on the overall well-being of the economy and on the prosperity of the growth in the country.
A pandemic that is targeting the under-privilege, as if the right of living and being protected from such a disease is dependent on one’s status and unfortunate living conditions.
Tuberculosis continues to be a huge peril disease against the human population and according to WHO, TB is the leading cause of death in infectious diseases killing over 1.5 million people around the world in 2020 alone, 95% of which is occurring in developing country.
The below is a reflection of the data from the world data index showing the uneven distribution of TB incidence per 100,000 in 2020 that is occurring. A steady decrease in developed countries , however a remaining major problem in developing countries.
The World Health Organization (WHO), following the guidelines of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), plans to eradicate the pandemic by the year 2030. The goal is to reach a 90% reduction rate in the number of deaths due to TB by the year 2030, and 95% by 2035.
Actions to be taken:
Allocate funding on providing chemoprophylaxis (the number one treatment for TB) to developing countries to increase access for the underprivilege and decrease spreading of TB.
Adjust healthcare policies and increase campaigns for free BCG vaccination in developing countries , making it mandatory as with many developed countries
Mass screening tests to detect dormant or active TB, to decrease spread especially with over-populated settings and among the immunosuppressants.
Increase Awareness campaigns to educate the population on the signs and symptoms and importance of preventive measures to be taken for a better chance of survival.
The key to an end of the pandemic starts with you!
I am a healthcare worker and I urge you after this blog to do the following:
Check your vaccination history on BCG, along with your family.
Educate your self with the signs and symptoms: persistent cough with bloody secretions , severe chest pain and shortness of breath , weight loss and generalized weakness , fever and night sweats
Tuberculosis may be dormant, meaning asymptomatic for years for that if you have never been tested, urgent medical screening is required.
If you experience any of the signs and symptoms , seek immediate medical help
Keep your distance when engaging in a conversation and avoid crowded places!
Suicide is something no one wants to talk about, the majority of people who are feeling down don’t openly talk about it. The highest population that is being affected are countries that are surrounding Russia, and in South Africa. There are 800k people commit suicide each year, this is due to many economical issues in these countries. Imagine Karim a husband and a father of 2 living in a country where the basic human needs are neglected. Now Karim is struggling to find a job due to the high unemployment rate, this means he is not able to feed his wife and kids. Imagine being in his place in a country with a 26% unemployment rate. People that are unemployed have a higher chance of commit suicide due their mental health taking a hit this could spiral own a dark hole which is hard to come out off. Unemployment forced 40% of the population to suffer from severe or moderate food insecurity and this is the disruption of food intake or eating pattern due to the lack of money and other resources. Now Karim can’t just feed his family but also can’t get the basic human needs.
All these problems correlate strongly with the Social protection and Labor Programs when these programs are lacking the result were higher suicide mortality rate. These programs help the population in managing risks and protect them from food insecurities through various methods. Poland has a high social program and the results of the suicide mortality rate is significantly lower compared to Lesotho which is the opposite with high suicide rates and low social program . This indicates to lower suicide rates we must increase the aid to the population by offering labor market, unemployment benefits, and other programs. Now Karim can relax and calm down as help is on its way to assist him and other people who are in need.
“The enemy doesn’t stand a chance when the victim decides to survive.” – Rae Smith
How Is It Justified?
Globally, 1 in 3 women have been subjected to partner violence, and it becomes worst when women consider this violence justifiable. Early marriage is a major reason that women think it’s okay to be beaten up by their spouses, usually, spousal age differences, power inequalities, un-continued education, and a lack of female autonomy are all common features of early age marriages. These factors have been linked to an increased risk of domestic violence and affected women’s awareness of their entitlement, self-esteem, status, and their sense of empowerment.
In most African countries and some Asian countries, women believed spousal violence is justified and that can be linked to high percentages of female adolescents out of school and early marriages in these countries.
Even globally numbers are still worrying, the average number of women who believed a husband is justified in beating up his wife is still Relatively high. With the average number of female adolescents out of school being steady over the past 22 years, marriages at a young age are still taking place and resulting in more domestic violence since spousal age difference can make women more vulnerable to health risks and social Isolation by creating power dynamics. These power dynamics can increase girls’ vulnerability to emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.
According to the WDI (World Development Indicators) data some of the justified reasons for domestic violence were:
When women argue with the husband
When she burns the food
When she goes out without telling him
When she neglects the children
When she refuses sex with him
Taking Action!
So, you might ask, what can be done? Well, a lot actually. To start with, empowering young women are essential. This can be done through:
Enhance girls’ access to a high-quality education
Empower girls with information, skills, and support networks
Provide financial assistance and incentives to young women and their families
Educate and rally parents and the community members
Education is crucial in preventing females from marrying as adolescents. In fact, the longer a girl stays in school, the less likely she is to marry and have children before she toms 18 years old. Furthermore, education ensures that girls have the skills and information they need to find work and support their families. This can aid in breaking the cycle of poverty and preventing child marriages caused by extreme poverty and/or financial gains.
Final Recommendations
Education, economic status, and age gap are the main factors behind early marriages and domestic violence. It’s recommended to Promote education and economic opportunities for girls & Employ behavior change communication and community mobilization techniques to change social norms regarding age and marriage.
According to the Economist newspaper, in many countries where the overall mortality rate is falling, road deaths have gone in the opposite direction. Road traffic deaths disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries that suffer from weakness in their roads’ infrastructure, where 90% of global road deaths occur.
You might think that it is only a matter of a nation’s income and its infrastructure expenditure! But, after harnessing the power of the data provided by World Development Index, it turns out poor infrastructure is only part of the problem. What’s interesting is that although the high income & oil rich Arab Gulf countries have world class roads infrastructure, the data shows that they still suffer from high road deaths. As a result of this insight, it can be deduced that the other reason behind the high road deaths is the rising incomes in many developing countries & cheap petrol prices have led to rapid motorization, while road safety management and regulations have not kept pace. In other words, their relatively weak enforcement of traffic laws, leads to risky driving, eventually higher road deaths.
In a nutshell, sophisticated roads’ infrastructure can’t effectively lower death roads on its own and should go hand in hand with strict traffic law enforcement.
