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The Global Poverty Project is deeply saddened by the news today that five polio vaccinators have been killed in Karachi, Pakistan and condemn the multiple attacks responsible for this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the vaccinators' families, as well as to the children who are right now being denied access to basic health services and interventions, to which they should be entitled to.
The vaccinators had been working to protect children in their community against polio as part of a three-day vaccination round. It follows a similar incident yesterday, in which a male polio vaccinator, also in Karachi, was killed.
It is important to note that no one has yet come forward to claim responsibility for the attack. Investigations continue and the vaccination round has been suspended in Karachi.
The loss of these polio heroes serves as a reminder of the bravery and dedication of the men and women who work under such insecurity, many as volunteers, to ensure that Pakistan’s children can be safe from this debilitating disease.
The best way we can honour their sacrifice is to ensure that all children in Pakistan receive basic health services and that polio is finally eradicated from Pakistan. To that end, the Global Poverty Project is committed to supporting global polio eradication efforts wherever it can.
Please direct enquiries through to Michael Sheldrick at michael.sheldrick (at) globalpovertyproject.com or on +61 411 513 931. |
Posted by Michael Sheldrick in Polio for column Issue Analysis on Dec 18th 2012, 15:36 |
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On Wednesday 5th December, against a backdrop of prolonged austerity, Chancellor George Osborne MP presented the UK government’s Autumn Statement. The bleak economic outlook across the Eurozone heightened apprehension, with lower-than-expected growth figures and the battle to reduce public debts plaguing critics’ minds.
The statement did, however, provide positive news for International Development. The government reaffirmed its much-needed contribution to spend 0.7% of national income on overseas development assistance, adding pressure on other donor countries to meet this 40-year old UN commitment.
 It should be noted that the 0.7% target is not an arbitrary figure, but has been in use since the 1970s, and found in 2002 by the United Nations Millennium Project to be the level required from all rich nations to meet the Millennium Development Goals (or MDGs) by 2015. As such, the Autumn Statement marks the first time in history the UK will have met this 40-year old promise.
Meeting the 0.7% target will secure the UK’s foreign aid budget and crucially means that the Department for International Development (DfID) will have the resources to continue its important work in social advancement across the globe. This is extremely good news both globally and nationally for a number of reasons:
Firstly, it fuels momentum towards the achievement of the MDGs by 2015- for example the charity Save the Children, in a recent report, indicated that UK development assistance has drastically helped to reduced child mortality, with the number of deaths of under-fives falling from 12 million in 1990 to 6.9 million in 2011. Our aid has also contributed to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, helping to save at least 4,000 lives every day, and has saved an estimated 7.7 million lives in 150 countries.
Secondly, improved funding for DfID is also of extreme importance in the fight to finally eradicate polio. In the last 20 years polio cases have been reduced by 99%, from 123 endemic countries to just 3. However, with an almost $1bn shortfall in funding for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (the public-private partnership which leads eradication efforts) without securing development assistance from donor countries, there is a serious risk that polio may continue to disproportionately affect the most vulnerable.
In addition to these clear moral reasons to improve the livelihoods of the 1.3 billion people who live in extreme poverty, there are also strategic benefits from the increase in the UK’s overseas development commitment. By investing in developing structurally stronger, healthier and more productive economies abroad, we simultaneously improve the UK’s ability to engage with these nations in international trade.
 This is increasingly important given that the proportion of total exports fell to the EU, in the three months to May 2012 to 49.6%, whilst there was a growth of non-EU exports to 50.4%. Moreover, a recent Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) report predicted UK export growth over the next five years of 30% to Asia, over 40% to Latin America and at least 60% to Africa.
Aside from these intrinsic benefits, perhaps what this year’s Autumn Statement has most lucidly shown is that collective political action can yield tangible change.
Despite the austerity we continue to face in the UK, it is a testament to the work of the Global Poverty Project and the commitment shown by our Ambassadors on the ‘Protecting 0.7’ campaign, as well as other organisations, that has resulted in the UK government committing to raise its overseas development contribution to 0.7%.
Of course there is still much to be done. Whilst today we have honoured a 40-year old promise to those most vulnerable, tomorrow our work resumes- advocating, campaigning and working towards a vision for a global society without extreme suffering.
Sameer Gulati is an intern at the Global Poverty Project. |
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Diane is a supporter of the Global Poverty Project. After watching the live stream of the Global Citizen Festival, Diane decided to take action in her community to bring an end to extreme poverty.
What would $1.50 buy me today? A loaf of white bread, 1 and 1/2 pounds of apples, a soda from a convenience store or a cheeseburger. What if this is all you had to spend each day for not only food, but your entire livelihood including shelter, clothes and medicine? 1.4 billion people are faced with this reality each day.
At the age of 44, I am back in college and see where life has taken me. One day I was doing some research and I ran across an article that stated the Foo Fighters would be playing a concert benefitting the Global Poverty Project. Being an avid fan, I tuned in. I streamed the concert on my laptop and enjoyed the show. I heard the stories of current GPP partners and what they have accomplished with so little funding. Adam Braun, CEO of Pencils of Promise, said that he used to not be sure how he, as one of billions on this earth, could ever make a difference. One day, he started his journey with $25 and is now opening his 100th school. WOW! One person can make a significant difference! First, even if something we do is significant to one person, it was worth the effort. Second, if we all work together, we can accomplish much.
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I looked further into GPP and found more information pertaining to living on less than $1.50 a day. I thought to myself,”I can’t even get a decent sandwich for less than $5.00 “. This started me thinking of how my existence on this earth could benefit someone else. Wristbands, everyone loves wristbands. Color? Several internet sites agree orange is the color of hunger and poverty, so orange it is. What should it say? Simply, $1.50 a day. This would not only remind the wearer of how fortunate they are, but provoke conversation. I also added the GPP web address to remind the wearer to continue to follow the GPP’s progress.
I found a company that would make the Silicone (latex free) bands in the US and use the scraps to make children’s playground bedding. Perfect! Great for allergies, great for the environment, and made in the US!
I have had these wristbands for a week and have had a great response! I get asked about mine several times a day. Will I save the world with these wristbands? No, but all of us together will make a difference in so many lives.
The Global Poverty Project is so wonderful at pulling resources together, that I decided I wanted to be a part of their mission. Orders can be emailed to 1.50adaywristbands@gmail.com. They are $5 each. $3 from each wrist band goes to Global Poverty Project, $1.50 goes to local non-profit charities in the US, such as food banks purchasing bulk food ( 25 cents buys one pound of bulk food! ) and non-profits dedicated to promoting volunteerism, $.50 will purchase another wristband to pay it forward!
Wristband, anyone?
After discussions with Diane, the Global Poverty Project has decided to devote the money that is donated through the purchase of wristbands to help fund our Spring Tour. In Spring 2013 GPP will send a team of skilled presenters on a tour across the United States. The team will give presentations to 100 community groups, universities, and schools. Are you interested in booking a presentation for your group of 150+? Email gpp_usa@globalpovertyproject.com. |
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It is the most wonderful time of the year. We are running from event to event, rushing to get packages to the post office, and hoping that we didn’t leave anyone off our lists. At the very time that we are supposed to be feeling the love of family and friends, we are stomping over each other to get the last flat screen television on Black Friday. This season should be a time for spreading joy and love.
The holidays have become an industry valued at over $435 billion each year in the United States. To put this figure into perspective, Bill Gates recently explained that, since efforts to end polio have thus far reduced cases by 99.9%, only $5.5 billion more would be needed to eradicate polio forever by 2018. It sounds like a lot, but we could wipe polio off the face of the earth for less than 2% of the money we’re spending on the holidays.
The average household spends around $1,500 on holiday gifts. As we pass our shopping baskets across the cash register we are voting on the world in which we want to live. Fair trade or child labor? Eco-friendly or toxic? Labor laws or slavery? The choices that we make at the point of sale shape the way that businesses operate. For example, the Fair Trade Foundation has grown exponentially since its start in 1992 by providing customers with quality products and making social consciousness a key priority for many shoppers. Consumers have said that they want the things they purchase to make a huge difference in the lives of others and businesses are responding.
Many organizations offer products that allow you to give a gift while fighting extreme poverty. The Somaly Mam Foundation’s Empowerment Store offers jewellery, scarves, and cards that have been made by survivors of sex trafficking. Each purchase provides increased educational and vocational opportunities for young women. Made By Survivors sells jewellry and clothing that have been made by landmine victims. Global Goods Partners sells fair trade products made by artisan groups in 20 different countries.
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This best gift this holiday season is the gift of knowing that, in some small way, you helped bring an end to poverty. Heifer International allows you to purchase livestock such as goats or chickens for a family in need. Adopt a Minefield accepts donations to help clear minefields in countries like Cambodia. The options for socially conscious gifts abound.
In his story of how the holiday spirit transformed the life of one individual, Dr. Seuss explains, “He puzzled and puzzed till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. Maybe Christmas, he thought... doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps... means a little bit more!”
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You never hear anyone talking about scurvy any more unless they’re telling a bad pirate joke. Scurvy, usually associated with long sea journeys of centuries past, has gone by the way side because we now know that sufficient vitamin C can prevent it. But the history of its disappearance is a storied tale that has important lessons for public health today.
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During the era of the great naval explorations, literally boatloads of sailors would die of scurvy during those long periods at sea. When Vasco de Gama sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in 1497, he lost 100 of his 167 sailors to scurvy. They knew they had scurvy by a sense of malaise and lethargy followed by spots on the skin, jaundice, losing teeth and eventually death. As the story goes, in 1601, the British Navy Captain James Lancaster ran a study between his ships that were sailing from England to India. The crew members on one of the four ships got lemon juice every day. I’m sure you know the ending of this story—40% of the crew members on the other three ships without the lemon juice died of scurvy, but none of the crew getting the lemon juice got scurvy.
Captain Lancaster had discovered a miracle! A simple intervention that can save lives. And what happened with this new found knowledge? Besides its early adoption by James Cook, one of history’s greatest explorers, unfortunately, it sat on a shelf for almost 150 years until a Navy physician, James Lind, did the experiment again– public health’s first randomized controlled trial. And yes, with the same result.
Did this irrefutable evidence then lead to the immediate adoption of lemon juice by all sailors of the high seas? Well, it took another 48 years until the British Navy finally decided to make citrus part of the diet on ships, and then another 70 years to be brought to merchant marine vessels and actually become part of the British preventive policy.
All said and done, it took 264 years to get lemons, limes and oranges to sailors. It is mind boggling to think about the lost time, health and lives simply because of the disconnect between evidence generation, knowledge sharing, and behavior adoption.
I would like to say that we have learned from the great British navy how not to introduce a new health intervention. But, unfortunately, health care is still notoriously slow to gain new knowledge and actually put it to use.
One example is Kangaroo Mother Care, when a mother wraps her baby to her chest, skin-to-skin, to provide warmth, love and breast milk. It’s a very simple method that has been proven time and again to save premature newborns, those born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Holding a baby skin-to-skin promotes breastfeeding, reduces neonatal infection, and significantly improves the odds of survival. Recent estimates suggest that if we could scale up this behavior worldwide, the lives of 450,000 preterm infants would be saved each year.
The benefits of Kangaroo Mother Care have been recognized since it was first introduced in 1978. That was 34 yearsago, and doctors, nurses, midwives, frontline workers, and moms around the world still do not know about this lifesaving method. It’s only practiced with any consistency in a few countries (South Africa, Malawi, Brazil and Colombia). And there are no clear indicators to even measure the coverage and quality of care.
Why is this great intervention so underutilized? Some doctors prefer complicated technology, calling Kangaroo Mother Care inferior and not appropriate for hospitals. Some health administrators don’t even know it exists. Family members may not believe it works or are nervous to be holding such a tiny baby so closely. It is also a major commitment—most babies should be continuously held, making it difficult for the caregiver to carry on with other life activities.
But the evidence is clear: preterm babies have a better chance of survival if held skin-to-skin.
Which boat would you rather be on? If we go back to scurvy and Captain Lancaster’s experiment, I bet the crew members on the ship that got the lemon juice were really happy to be on that ship where their chance of survival was much higher than the others.
Shouldn’t a baby born too soon have that same chance to be on the right boat?
This blog was originally posted on Impatient Optimists, the blog of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
*Picture: Simon Tong
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