Every two minutes, a child is infected with HIV, and every five minutes, a child loses their life to HIV-related diseases.
Introduction:
Childhood HIV infection remains a global health crisis, with alarming statistics highlighting the urgency of addressing this silent struggle. While progress has been made, particularly in Africa, where the impact is most significant, challenges persist.
Global Overview:
In Africa, the number of children under 14 living with HIV reached its peak in 2007 at 2.1 million, dropping to 1.3 million. However, this reduction, though significant, is not sufficient, especially when considering that the current figure is still ten times higher than the number seen in the rest of the world. The Sub-Saharan region bears the brunt of this crisis, necessitating targeted interventions.
Transmission and Prevention:
Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) remains a primary mode of infection during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a key preventive measure, significantly reducing transmission rates. Advances in ART have transformed the prognosis for HIV-positive individuals, enabling longer and healthier lives and lower transmissions.
Impact of ART on New Infections:
The introduction of ART treatment for HIV+ pregnant women in Africa in 2000 led to a remarkable 74% reduction in the number of children newly infected with HIV, highlighting the efficacy of ART in preventing mother-to-child transmission.
Challenges in Access to Treatment:
Despite progress, access to ART for pregnant women in Africa has stagnated. In the past five years, only marginal improvement, with approximately 30% of pregnant women still untreated throughout their pregnancies. Identifying barriers to treatment access and the need for targeted interventions.
Conclusion:
The strides made in reducing new HIV infections among children through ART are commendable, yet the battle is far from over. Focused efforts are required to address the persistent challenges in ensuring that all HIV-positive pregnant women in Africa have access to life-saving treatments such as:
Scale up access to ART for pregnant women by increasing medication availability and addressing logistical challenges.
Conduct comprehensive community education campaigns to raise awareness about HIV testing, treatment, and prevention, with a focus on dispelling myths and reducing stigma.
Integrate HIV testing and treatment services into routine maternal and child healthcare to ensure consistent and timely care for pregnant women.
The urgency of this mission cannot be overstated, as it directly impacts the innocence and lives of countless children at risk of falling victim to this silent epidemic.
Cyprus’s GDP growth rate has been on a decline, with more recently negative growth rates. My team of reaserchers and I need to find out why, and the potential solutions to improving the GDP in the upcoming years whilst tackling the root cause.
GDP: Downward trend
Evidence for this decline in GDP growth rate is shown through visualising the data. I discovered that the decreasing growth rate is correlated to the increase % dependancy age of old people (65+) in the working force over the years . Hence the working force tend to come from senior workers who have a higher probabilty of retiring, overall affecting productivity and efficiency.
Solution : AUB Mediterraneo
Opening Universities such as AUB campus in Cyprus, to get Lebanese people out of the bad economical state of Lebanon whilst getting their education from Cyprus along with a stronger passport by the end of it. This also allows Cyprus to get a working force coming from the younger more revitalised workers hence improving efficiency and overall GDP.
Validation
The solution is validated by gathering data regarding the average age of the labor force , and noticing if theres a decrease in age range. Also by monitering the GDP, looking for any improvements that is a result of an increase dependancy on our younger labour force.
Further recommendations
Moreover due to the decrease of birth rate seen in the visualisation, I recommend that the government incentivises the locals to reproduce. Through offering assistance allowance for parents with more children.Therefore when old enough to work they can contribute to the GDP. Cyprus’s working age is 15, they can reduce it to 13 to get more efficient workers whilst improving the overall GDP.
In light of recent events, we delved into a pressing issue: the unsettling fluctuations in mortality rates in Lebanon. It was evident that these shifts had deeper roots, impacting lives and reflecting significant historical events.
The data painted a stark picture. Between 1975 and 1990, Lebanon witnessed a devastating surge in mortality rates, reaching a staggering 31.17. The Lebanese Civil War cast a long shadow, leaving behind a legacy of loss and devastation that echoed in the mortality records.
Post-1990, there was a semblance of stability with mortality rates hovering around 4-5, despite intermittent spikes like the one in 2006 during the July War. It seemed like a fragile peace amid lingering echoes of conflict.
Then, at the dawn of 2019, another dramatic shift occurred. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic jolted mortality rates sharply upward once more. It was a distressing reminder of how swiftly external factors could disrupt the delicate balance of life.
Contribution to SDG
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: The significant increase in mortality rates during the Lebanese Civil War, subsequent fluctuations due to regional conflicts like the July 2006 war, and the sharp increase attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the importance of SDG 3. It emphasizes the need for resilient healthcare systems, disease prevention, and access to quality healthcare, especially during periods of conflict and health crises.
SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: The impact of the Lebanese Civil War and regional conflicts on mortality rates underscores the relevance of SDG 16. Ensuring peace, stability, and strong institutions is vital to prevent the adverse effects of conflicts on public health and to establish systems capable of effectively managing crises and their aftermath.
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: The fluctuations in mortality rates due to historical conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic might reveal disparities and inequalities in healthcare access, response, and resilience. Addressing SDG 10 involves reducing these disparities, ensuring equitable access to healthcare services, and mitigating the disproportionate impacts of crises on vulnerable populations.
In an era marked by a rapid exchange of information and digital connectivity, our attention spans have undergone a notable transformation. From an average of 150 seconds in 2004 to a mere 47 seconds in 2020, the ability to sustain focus has become a precious commodity. This shift carries far reaching implications, impacting not just our productivity but various facets of our lives. The ramifications of this decline are many such as decreased productivity, wasted time, disruptions to sleep, effects on mental health, and potential impacts on career opportunities.
In this blog, our focus will be directed towards concentration levels of university students in Lebanon. We will unfold the primary reason behind this decline and recommend a significant solution to address these challenges
Increase of social media users:
In a society dominated by social media and a tendency to immediately check notifications upon waking up, we’re confronted with a plethora of mental health challenges. Based on data from Statista, the percentage of social media users from total population has been gradually increasing since 2017 reaching over 4.59 billion users as of 2023, which accounts for 57% of the entire world’s populationusing various social media applications such as Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, and Discord. Social media penetration, which represents the percentage of social media users per population, seems to be at a high in Lebanon with a value of 89.5% in 2023. This means that the majority of the Lebanese population is using social media. Such a high penetration rate implies that social media has become a significant part of daily life for a large portion of the Lebanese population
Repercussions of social media: High distraction rate
Given the increase in the use of social media apps, and the high social media penetration in Lebanon, we surveyed 280 responses to study the effect of social media on university students in Lebanon.
The survey line chart visualization represents the answers of 3 main questions which are in respect to the number of hours spent on social media:
How often do you get distracted by Social media when you are busy doing something?
How easily distracted are you?
How frequently does your interest in daily activities fluctuate?
The above graph showed a positive correlation between between the amount of time students spend on social media and their likelihood of getting distracted. Those who dedicate more hours to social media tend to encounter increased levels of distraction. This heightened distraction, in turn, leads to fluctuations in their interest levels in various daily activities which includes studying.
Remedies: Pomodoro technique
The Pomodoro technique is a technique involving taking intervals of time to study and rewarding yourself at the end of these intervals (25 minutes, 50 minutes). During the 25 minutes, individuals commit to completing their tasks and maximize their concentration by silencing/ turning off notifications, closing unnecessary tabs, and creating a study-friendly environment.
Rewards for completing a Pomodoro session come in the form of leisure time which is often spent on social media. This technique represents a form of delayed gratification that through routine makes it easier to focus on the task at hand. The technique is supported by the science of evolutionary biology which states that the human brain states in a state of alertness to avoid looming threats. Hence deactivating and reactivating the brain helps restart your body’s internal focus timer.
Pomodoro effectiveness
To prove the effectiveness of this technique, we conducted an experiment on a group of university students were we tracked the number of phone checking in 2 hours before and after using Pomodoro as well as the percentage of tasks they completed.
As we can tell by the bar graphs above , the number of times the students touched their phones without Pomodoro was significantly higher compared to using Pomodoro technique trials. Moreover, the percentage of tasks completed in 2 hours significantly increased after using Pomodoro technique in comparison to without it.
Our Solution: Pomodoro Prime App
A potential remedy for the problems caused by rising social media usage and shortening attention spans is our app’s creative features which utilizes the Pomodoro Technique. The apps features involve tabs to be chosen depending on what type of Pomodoro session a student would like to perform:
Create an individual focus session with customized time intervals in which you can then periodically take breaks in between
Join a Pomodoro session and connect with others studying with predefined time intervals that have periodic breaks in between.
In between these study sessions, there’s an option efficient break in which breaks that are commonly spent on YouTube mindlessly scrolling is now substitutable with options for stretching and meditation exercises during study sessions that will improve focus and calmness for better performance in the next sessions.
In the period from 2019 to 2022, Lebanon faced an unprecedented confluence of crises that tested the resilience of its people and the stability of its economy. This tumultuous period unfolded against the backdrop of the global pandemic, the devastating explosion at the Beirut port, and an already fragile political and economic landscape.
In 2019, Lebanon was already grappling with economic challenges, a weakening currency, and public discontent. Little did the nation know that a series of events would unfold, further exacerbating its struggles.
The Economic Downturn:The year 2019 witnessed a decline in Lebanon’s GDP growth, driven by a combination of economic mismanagement, political instability, and a growing public debt. The situation worsened in 2020 as the global COVID-19 pandemic took hold. The pandemic not only strained healthcare systems but also disrupted global supply chains, affecting trade and exacerbating Lebanon’s economic woes.
The Impact of COVID-19:As COVID-19 spread globally, Lebanon, like many nations, implemented strict lockdowns to curb the virus’s spread. However, these measures had a significant economic toll, particularly on sectors such as tourism, hospitality, and services. Unemployment rates surged as businesses struggled to stay afloat in the face of lockdowns and reduced consumer spending.
The Beirut Port Explosion:August 4, 2020, marked a tragic turning point for Lebanon. The explosion at the Beirut port sent shockwaves through the country, causing widespread devastation and loss of life. Beyond the immediate human toll, the explosion dealt a severe blow to the economy. The port, a vital economic hub, was decimated, disrupting trade and further straining an already fragile economy.
The Unemployment Crisis:As the GDP contracted, the unemployment rates, meticulously depicted in our Tableau visualizations, soared. The economic downturn, compounded by the pandemic and the port explosion, left countless Lebanese citizens without jobs. The barchart vividly illustrates the gender-specific impact, showcasing the challenges faced by both males and females in this turbulent period.
Solutions
Yet, in adversity lies the opportunity for resilience and recovery. As we examine the line chart depicting GDP growth, a glimmer of hope emerges. The chart illustrates a gradual increase in GDP in 2021, signaling a potential comeback.
To foster this recovery and bolster Lebanon’s economy, a multi-faceted approach is essential. Some potential solutions include:
Economic Reforms: Implement comprehensive economic reforms to address fiscal challenges, improve governance, and attract foreign investment.
Infrastructure Investment: Focus on rebuilding and modernizing infrastructure, including the reconstruction of the Beirut port, to stimulate economic activity and enhance trade capabilities.
Support for Small Businesses: Provide targeted support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to encourage entrepreneurship, create jobs, and revitalize local economies.
International Aid and Collaboration: Seek international aid and collaborate with the global community to access financial assistance, technical expertise, and humanitarian support.
Healthcare Investment: Invest in the healthcare sector to strengthen the country’s resilience to health crises, fostering a healthier workforce and more robust economic conditions.
As Lebanon charts its course towards recovery, these solutions offer a roadmap for rebuilding and fostering sustainable development. The line chart becomes a symbol of resilience, capturing not only the challenges faced but also the potential for renewal and progress.
Resilience and Hope:Despite these challenges, the people of Lebanon exhibited remarkable resilience. Communities came together to support one another, and NGOs and international aid played a crucial role in providing relief. The visual representation of GDP decline and rising unemployment underscores the urgency of addressing the socioeconomic impacts of crises.
Lebanon’s journey through these challenging years serves as a testament to the strength of its people. While the road to recovery is long and arduous, the collective spirit and determination of the Lebanese offer a glimmer of hope for a brighter future.
In our narrative, we delve into the internal migration phenomenon within a country, where individuals from rural areas are moving in large numbers to urban centers, driven by the pursuit of education. This trend is significantly impacting the demographics of both rural and urban areas. Rural regions are experiencing a decline in their youth population, leading to a potential loss of local talent and a gap in generational knowledge. Meanwhile, urban educational institutions are becoming overcrowded and overburdened, struggling to accommodate the influx of students. This internal migration highlights the disparities in educational opportunities between rural and urban areas and raises critical questions about the sustainability of such demographic shifts and the future of rural communities.
Thus we visualized the educational institutions in Zahle district including Public and private universities and schools, Demographics of the district (percentage of youth and elderly), and the schools coverage index:
I
It is clear that Zahle has Limited Number of universities which limits the choices for students, also most of the universities are in Zahle district
By analyzing the percentage of youth ( who age between 15 and 24 years) are less than 25% in half of the villages which is a low number and validates the change of demography
As of the percentage of Elderly, it is relatively very high in some villages (30%-40%) and as an average it is above 25% which is high also.
Regarding the Public schools coverage, we can see that half of the villages have no public schools
