The Beginning of the End? - Post 13

December 1st marked World AIDS Day - and a little over 30 years of the discovery of the disease in America.  Much has changed over these 30 years.  Regrettably, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS is higher than ever. According to UN AIDS, about 33.3 million people were living with HIV in 2009 (according to this article).  While this world record number is astounding, it does hold some hope.  These are 33.3 million people living with HIV. A diagnosis of HIV or AIDS is no longer a death sentence for most people, which is certainly something to celebrate.  Antiretroviral drugs have been integral in getting to this point.  Many movements and articles suggest that this is the "beginning of the end" of AIDS.  However, unfortunately not everyone has access to these drugs.
One area that does not get the attention and help it needs in relation to HIV/AIDS is sub-Saharan Africa. Take a quick look at the animation on this website, the "AIDS Clock".  It shows pictorially what the data presents.  Sub-Saharan Africa has a disproportionately high of the world's HIV/AIDS burden.   Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 12% of the world’s population; however, 67% of people living with HIV/AIDS live in this region, according the the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation’s November 2009 factsheet. Sub-Saharan Africa also accounts for 70% of the new HIV infections in the world and of AIDS-related deaths, according to the same factsheet.
While progress is being made, not all areas are reaping the benefits.  More still need to be done for this time to truly be the "beginning of the end" of HIV/AIDS, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

Looking Up in Somalia (Post 12)

Main article: With Rainfall and Aid, the Number Facing Starvation in Somalia Drops by Half a Million

The famine in the Horn of Africa, especially in Somalia, has created more than just hunger.  Violence and conflict have also been running rampant.  Several aid workers have been kidnapped (article), close to 60 African Union peacekeepers were killed (article), troops were sent in from Kenya, Ethiopia, and other countries (article), and bomb threats have been made throughout the Horn of Africa (article).
What is necessary to ease the suffering of the people and to put an end to conflicts is rain and aid.  Rain is obviously not in the government's control (even if there were a stable government...).  However, accepting aid is in their control, yet the Shabab has been denying aid and have actually booted out many groups (mainly Western). 
Charities had to get creative.  In some instances, money was sent electronically by cellphone, and people in the areas could buy food from the local markets.  Western aid groups have also partnered with groups that are still allowed in, such as Turkish and Muslim groups. 
And now, the worst seems to be over.  Rain has fallen in several areas, replenishing pastures, and three regions in southern Somalia are no longer declared. "famine zones." Aid groups have helped getting food in the markets and getting the prices low. 
The way this famine has been addressed has been reprehensible.  Thousands of people needlessly died from hunger and malnutrition.  And now, conflicts between Somalia and Kenya are hampering aid relief in certain areas.  Watching from the sidelines during such a catastrophe is difficult, and I applaud the organizations who ingeniously got aid into Somalia.  The people should not have to suffer because of the Shabab.

Conflict Minerals in the DRC (post 11)

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/09/14/vice.guide.to.congo/index.html?iref=allsearch

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country of vast mineral resources, a large population, and an incredible network of rivers that could be used for transportation and power.  However, the DRC is one of the poorest countries of the world.  This status is a result of armed conflicts, corruption, a difficult departure from being under Belgium's rule, and also misguided intervention from the United States.
As the video states, the DRC supplies 80% of the world's coltan.  Coltan is a mineral that is used in many technologies we use: cellphones, laptops, cameras, and the like.  Other mineral also abound in the DRC and have become known as "conflict minerals" because  the scramble for these materials has create mass havoc in the country.  The living situations of most of the people are deplorable and yet their plight goes unnoticed.
In other classes and lectures I have attended, the topic of coltan in the DRC has come up.  One professor went as far to say that even though what is going on in the DRC is reprehensible, the United States needs to push forward or else China will take over the exploitation of coltan and other resources from the DRC.
The DRC is an overlooked example of what happens to the people of a country when the best interest of the people is not looked out for.  Even the United States ignored the needs of the Congolese and focused on the gain to be made from the resources.  The video touches for a moment on how devastating all the conflict is on the health of the people of the nation.
Change must be made.  The DRC needs a way to step up and take control over coltan and mineral distribution.  The country has the potential to be a world power and control the markets with the supplies that can be offered.  The technologies we all rely on today cannot function without what the DRC has to offer.  Resources need to be allocated to the well-being of the citizens.

Link Community Development (post 10)

On Wednesday, I attended a presentation given by Judd Holzman, who was giving an overview of the organization Link Community Development.  Link Community Development is a unique organization that focuses on long-term and sustainable change and growth in order to improve education in rural sub-Saharan Africa.  The organization works in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, South Africa, and Uganda, but also has partner programs in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States.  What makes Link so exceptional is their method.  Instead of just attacking the problems of education from either the treetops method or through grassroots, the organization finds a healthy balance of the two.  Link builds relationships in communities and administers school performance.  Then Link focuses on district capacity building and strives to have the districts themselves prosper and work on getting better school services.  Link also works with community and family members to get them invested in their own as well as their children’s education. Link also trains principles to have stronger leadership and developmental skills.

            What I found fascinating were some other projects that Link is now nurturing and trying to expand slowly.  In South Africa especially, HIV/AIDS education has been worked into planning and school curriculum.  A program designed to target orphans and vulnerable children had also been put into place.  Another recent project is called Solar Connect.  Because these schools are in rural areas, they lack access to power sources.  One solution is installing safe solar panels to produce energy for the schools and also provide the school with a netbook and Internet access so that the principal can effectively communicate with the district without having to travel, so that classes can have more resources, and so that the school can be a center for the towns and villages. 

            Link Community Development is an organization that is doing many good things for international education and health.  Such presentations give me hope that sustainable improvement is possible in education as well as health.  Link also highlights the fact that education and health go hand-in-hand with their stress on HIV/AIDS education.
More information can be found at: http://www.lcdinternational.org/

Forgotten, Untreated, and Stigmatized - Mental Health (Post 9)

http://allafrica.com/stories/201110181046.html

This article from AllAfrica discusses an international health problem that is often overlooked: mental health.  Every part of the world is affected by lack of treatment.  The article states that in developed countries, only one out of three people who need treatment for mental problems actually receive it; in developing countries, the ratio expands to one out of fifty.  These number are outrageous and reprehensible, but several blockades exist that prevent better international mental health.  For one, mental health is not the top priority for many countries.  A disconnect exists between governments and the reality of the mental health gap.
Mental healthcare is also expensive and cost-effective programs are basically non-existent.  Also, if other health concerns are not addressed, such as malnutrition, the mental healthcare is basically useless.
Another factor to consider is how people suffering from mental illnesses are oftentimes ostracized or stigmatized in many areas, whether halfway across the world or in our own home country of the United States.  Many people with mental illnesses are discriminated against, and because their illnesses are not treated, they cannot find work or be productive members of society.  They become burdens to families and can oftentimes be victims of verbal, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. 
Awareness for mental illness needs to be raised so that people who need help can get it.  Awareness is a necessary step so that people can rise in society and become as self-sufficient as possible and even bring in a source of income for their family.  Research needs to look into more cost-effective ways to rectify this diverse and wide-spread issue.

Drink Water to Give Water (Post 7)

http://www.10days.cc/

     October 10th marked the beginning of an event on campus called "10 Days".  For ten days, participants in the event drink only water for ten days.  They keep track on what they would have spent of coffee, sports drinks, pop, and other beverages, and at the end of the ten days, the money that would have gone to personal indulgences is instead donated to Living Water International, which will in turn use the money to build wells in rural areas of Rwanda.
     Living Water International (http://www.water.cc/) is a Christian organization that strives to create sustainable and community based change in water access. They operate in over 20 different countries around the globe, but they also connect people on the state-side to the movement and projects. LWI has ways to donate time and money, from events like 10 Days to trips where volunteers help in the actual drilling of wells.  Living Water was also featured on the site of Sevenly as their third cause (http://sevenly.org/past-causes).
     I decided to take part in this event because it is a simple way to raise money as well as awareness for a serious international health issue.  This event is changing college campuses across the United States and changing lives in places like Rwanda.  This event will change my perspective on how many resources I have at my disposal.  Not only do I have access to water, but it is clean; and water is not my only beverage choice, either.  This type of event is effective because it is not requiring students to donate money that they do not have.  It asks students to make a sacrifice for a mere ten days.  One shortfall is that because the event only lasts until October 19th, the giving will end soon after.  Students will go back to their daily coffees and will forget about how some areas in the world do not even have clean water to drink.  This event is great for short-term progress and awareness, but other methods are necessary for further commitment to the cause of giving everyone access to clean water.

Buy one, give one campaigns. (Post 6)

An easy and effective way to make a difference in world health are "One for One" campaigns.  Especially for people who do not have a lot of money to spend on philanthropy projects, like college students, "buy one and give one" business models are great because not only are people being helped, but the organization and effort are also being advertised, furthering awareness. Here are some examples of effective organizations with similar business models:

1.  TOMS Shoes (http://www.toms.com/)

For evidence of such effectiveness, one just needs to look at how pervasive TOMS shoes are now, even on college campuses. For every pair of shoes purchased, a pair is donated to a child in need.  TOMS is probably the most famous example of the "One for One" campaign, and they recently have expanded into clothing and glasses. 

2.  Roma Boots (http://romaprovisions.com/)

Roma Boots operates in a similar fashion to TOMS, but with rain boots.  This organization is also important because in many areas of the world, the canvas shoes that TOMS produces are not acceptable in colder and wetter areas.  

3. Warby Parker eyewear (http://www.warbyparker.com/)

Warby Parker makes a statement with its bold frames, but also with the affordable pricing.  All prescription eyewear is under $100, compared to the typical $300 plus.  For every pair of glasses, one is given to someone in need.  Warby Parker addresses a problem those in countries as fortunate as the United States do not realize - many people do not realize they need eyeglasses, have access to tests and glasses, or let alone afford them.  

How can t-shirts change the world? - Post 5

http://sevenly.org/

Around the world, there are hundreds of thousands of charities, which support causes from ending hunger to protecting women's rights.  But every year, about 74% of them go out of business because of either lack of funding, awareness, or following (according to http://sevenly.org/our-mission).
Sevenly has a way to end this cycle.  Sevenly is a site that started only a little over 15 weeks ago, but has already raised over $69,726 for various respectable causes, such as companies combatting human trafficking, such as International Justice Mission, Love 146, and Not for Sale Campaign.  Sevenly connects people to interesting and worthwhile causes that they may or may not have known otherwise.
Each week, they have an awesomely designed t-shirt for a different cause and focuses singularily on that cause for the entire week.  For example, this week's t-shirt is raising money for Convoy of Hope, a non-profit focused on feeding the world that I never knew existed until this week.
While Sevenly has only been up for a few months, they have already made big changes in the world, and their following is growing.  People like me find it easier to follow a website that prescreens charities and gathers them in a simple place than to look for them myself.  When buying a t-shirt, $7 goes to that cause.  While the percentage going to the cause may not be the highest of any organization, what the buyer gets in return is incredible.  The t-shirts Sevenly produces are opportunites for conversations and spreading more awareness for causes, which in turn gathers a strong following and increases funding.

Post 4

Article: "Breast ironing tradition targeted in Cameroon"
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/07/27/cameroon.breast.ironing/


This article outlines one drastic way mothers are attacking the threat of teenage pregnancy: "ironing" their daughters' breasts in order to make them less desirable to males. A report in Cameroon reported that one four girls suffer from this tragic abuse. Girls often suffer from physical pain, burns, and deformities, but they are also often traumatized.
Mothers certainly need to do all in their power to keep their daughters in school and to prevent them from becoming pregnant at a young age, but abuse is certainly not the answer. Sex education is the answer, for both mothers and daughters. Mothers need to be educated on the safety and health concerns of breast ironing, and daughters must be exposed to information to prevent teenage pregnancy.
This issue recently came out into the public eye when a German NGO brought it out into the light in 2006. However, this is the first time I had ever heard or read about this atrocity.  The article focuses on educating women and girls about sex; however the males in the community need to be educated as well.  Educating women is empowering and well-intentioned, but without educating the males, only partial headway can be made.  The more men learn about safe sex practices, the less stigmatized the use of condoms and other birth control will become, and perhaps then the rate of teenage pregnancy would go down, and girls would not have to endure the hot searing pain of a rod flattening their breasts. 

Post 3

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/07/officials-trying-to-identify-enslaved-disabled-workers-rescued-from-brick-kiln/


This article outlines a recent struggle the Chinese government is having in identifying 30 workers rescued from a brick kiln where they had been enslaved.  One of the reasons why identifying the victims is so difficult in this case is that many of them have mental illnesses or are disabled, according to the police.  Over the past 3 years, more than 1,500 people have been rescued from illegal brick kilns in China, but reports show that more than 53,000 people still work at these types of kilns.
This article outlines two atrocities in the world: forced labor, and the abuse of people with mental illnesses.  Populations that are weaker tend to be preyed on by traffickers and slave-owners. These populations include the poor, the young, the elderly, and those with mental illnesses. 
Governments need to crack down on all forms of modern-day slavery, whether it is in the brick kilns or on the street corners.  If studies can find 53,000 people working in illegal brick kilns, how many more are actually in China, or even the rest of the world?  Action is needed. 

Different approaches, similar goals. (Post 2)

            According to CNN’s article “The battle against sex trafficking: Sweden vs. Denmark”, these two European countries are taking a stand against sex trafficking and promoting women’s rights, but in opposite fashions.  Denmark is infamous for the red light district.  There, prostitution is legalized in hopes that it would be easier to manage.  Sweden, on the other hand, utilizes a totally different approach.   The act of selling sex is technically legal, however, the act of buying is criminalized in hopes to decrease the demand

            However, the problem seems to be getting worse in Denmark, but improving in Sweden.  Countries are now looking at Sweden as a model of new thinking about how to destroy this modern day slavery of sex trafficking.  Questions have been raised over what countries will adopt this style of combating trafficking as well as if it will be as effective as in Sweden.  Despite these apprehensions, the important thing is that governments are seeing the importance and nefariousness of sex trafficking and taking a stand against it.

For the full article, please visit: http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/30/sex-trafficking-countries-take-different-approaches-to-same-problem/