Good Health & Well Being

By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births

By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births

By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases

By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being

Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol

By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents 3.7

By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes

Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all

By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate

Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and noncommunicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines, in accordance with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which affirms the right of developing countries to use to the full the provisions in the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regarding flexibilities to protect public health, and, in particular, provide access to medicines for all

Substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing States

 Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks

Girls & Education

When you visit a local elementary school, you will see little girls and boys playing together, singing  together and educate themselves. There might be change when it comes to high school or university years, but you will still see girls and boys going to schools and trying their best to be successful. It is something very common for us.  But it would be very strange if you saw this in some parts of Africa or Asia. There is higher chance of seeing classes with 28 boys and only 2 girls than seeing classes with equal amount of boys or girls. If you think that it is only because girls don´t want to go to school, you are wrong - the main reason is they are not allowed to do so.

Every child has right to be educated and girls are not the exception. Education is very important for girls, it can help them to get a job or they might learn about all the needs their future families and children will have. The girls who go to school are also less likely to be sold into slavery or get married at very early age. Despite recent success in bringing more girls to schools, the school attendance of girls still goes up and down and many girls drop out after a few years or even months spent at school. Especially the high school is crucial in girls´s growth and they learn how to avoid many sicknesses, such as AIDS/HIV, diarrhea or cholera and take care of themselves and their families. According to statistics, there were still more than 50-60 million girls out of the school all around the world in 2013. 

There are various reasons why girls don´t go to school, while it´s no problem for boys. One of the main reasons is high tuition fees and families can either afford to send only one or two kids or they can´t afford to send any kids at all. Another reason are bad sanitation & sanitation conditions at schools - girls and boys share same toilets or showers - it leads to sicknesses and there are also reported cases or rape or other kinds of abusive behavior towards the girls. Girls can also be bullied at schools more than boys, so they often decide to leave the school on their own after negative experience. Families often sell girls to slavery or they force to marry older man to get money and after this, girls are usually forced to stay at home and take care of the household instead of studying. There are statistics which show that more than 1/3 of girls in developing countries are married before being 18 years old and another 1/3 had a first baby before turning 20 years old. However, these are only a few reasons why girls are not allowed to go to school. 

In following years, we have to make sure that we try the best to make women and men more equal. The situation has been getting better and better recently, but there is still a difference, especially when it comes to school attendance. The girls are more motivated and empowered to attend the lessons and go to school and in case there is any problem, they are asked to talk about it. Education opens new doors and the girls have so many possibilites to do better things in their lives with required knowledge and experience they gain at school. So why not to change it?

Resources: United Nations, Red Cross, UNICEF

Health

Being healthy is one of the biggest priorities in our daily lives. If you ask somebody to name what is the most important in his life, you can be sure that he will probably mention health. Being unhealthy means that you can´t go to school, your work can´t be done at the right time and just feeling sick and dizzy isn´t very comfortable for anyone. Take aspirin and sweat if off is now a normal way how to get rid off any kind of sickness. We are vaccinated against serious diseases and the health care is still getting better and new ways how to cure or fight against various diseases are still being discovered. But even though we feel like fever, pneumonia or diarrhea can´t threaten us anymore, there are still places in the world where people die because of these illnesses.

Imagine that around 800 children under age five die every hour. That is around 18 000 children every day. Wait, you know what? Don´t imagine this, because this is reality. And these kids are usually from developing countries and they die because of very banal sicknesses that you could easily prevent. However, there is a problem. The problem is that people from developing countries usually don´t have such a good access to doctors, medicine, drugs or they simply lack knowledge about health. In the industrialized countries, people are used to be vaccinated against the serious diseases such as whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, measles or infantile paralysis, in the developing countries, there is no such a thing and children are left there to face any of these diseases on their own.

When mothers or families don´t know the basic hygiene practises or they don´t have access to clean drinking water, there is risk of children dying to diarrhea, in the tropical and humid areas can be cause of death malaria. Pregnant women also shouldn´t be forgotten and especially during childbirth, because if there are any complications, it can not only affect, but even kill child and mother. According to statistics, around 300 000 women die every year during childbirth. Therefore, it is very important for families to have access to drinking water, good health care and they know basic hygiene practises. For example for us, washing hands is something so common that sometimes we even forget to do it. But exactly this can prevent us from catching a serious sickness.

One of the most problematic illnesses is still AIDS/HIV. Even though it might seem that this is problem only of the developing countries, well, even children and the youths in countries such as the USA, Germany, Australia or the Czech republic can be affected by this. The most important thing is to be informed and know the ways how to treat yourself well and how to prevent this sickness. More than 17 million children have lost both or one of their parents due to AIDS in last few years. If one of the parents is HIV positive, there is a chance that their baby will be positive too. Thanks to proper health care, people with AIDS/HIV can live normal life and they live longer than it is used to be. 

However, there have been many improvements in last 15-20 years. Let´s remind them. The average annual mortality of children under age five was 9-10 million in 2000. Last year, in 2015, it was only 5-6 million deaths. Around 22% of deaths were caused by diarrhea, now diarrhea cause only 9% of deaths. More than half million women were dying during delivering child 15 years ago, last year, only around 250 000 women died while delivering child. Yes, I know, it is still a lot, but there has been improvement. 

We have only one health and we have to treat ourselves well. Even though we don´t feel threaten by fever, pneumonia or cough anymore, there are still parts of world where these sicknesses can cause one of the most difficult fight with life.

Sources: UNICEF, Red Cross

10 Interesting Facts About Breastfeeding

There was World Breastfeeding Week last week and because I think that breastfeeding is very important not only for babies, but also for their mothers, I decided to write something about it. Human´s milk has many benefits for newborn babies, such as protecting them from various diseases and sicknesses. But did you know that also mothers can benefit from breastfeeding? The mothers who breastfeed their children, are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer and they are also better prevented from heart attack. Apart from keeping people healthy, it can also help to fight obesity, reduce mother´s weight and save money, too. Here is a list of a few very interesting facts which you might not know about this liquid and breastfeeding.

1. Babies who are breast fed are less likely to suffer from various diseases, such as: leukemia, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, eczema or Hodkin´s disease. And if a child is girl, breastfeeding helps her to reduce a possibility of being diagnosed with a breast cancer in the future.

2. Almost three-quarters of moms produce more milk with their right breast. And it has nothing to do with being right-handed or left-handed.

3. Who needs to go to gym? According to scientists, it takes 500-1000 calories a day on average to produce breast milk.

4. Babies never remove 100% of the milk their mothers have available, on average they remove just 60-70% of it.

5. Breastfeeding might boost IQ. Scientists believe that breast fed babies´s IQs may even reach 8 points higher than babies who aren't breast fed.

6. Doctors estimate that each nipple has 15-20 openings to release milk.

7. Breastfeeding can save a family really a huge amount of money which would be invested to food for baby. It is believed that breastfeeding saves a family approximately a few thousand dollars annually (compared to cost of formula). And you can even sell the milk - it is sold on the Internet for $4 per ounce.

8. Breastfed infants are at lower risk for sudden infant death syndrome.

9. You don´t have to notice it, but human milk changes during each feeding and its composition also changes throughout the day.

10. Human milk contains substances which promote sleep and calmness in the babies. Breastfeeding also calms mother and helps her bond to baby.

Resources: UNICEF, Red Cross, Health Foundations

Hygiene + Water

You know that feeling when you come home after long exhausting day, you fill a bathtub with hot water with so many bubbles and then you quickly jump in and just relax. Yes, such a sweet feeling. Or what if you suddenly get thirsty? No problem, just fill your cup with water from the nearest washbasin and drink it. Alright, now imagine that the nearest water source is a few miles far away and you are the chosen one who has to grab a jerry can and go there and bring water to your home. Yes, it might seem fine, it is just a few miles and it may be not really exhausting to get there, but what about walking back home with full jerry can which can suddenly weight a few pounds? And what is even worse is the fact that water is turbid and it´s probably just from some river.

According to the latest statistics, there are around 650 million people who don´t have access to clean drinking and safe water sources. Most of them still use turbid water from rivers or lakes for cooking, drinking, washing up and other hygiene things. It mostly leads to bad hygiene conditions - families tend to be more sick or affected by illnesses which could be easily prevented by using safe water sources. It is known that around 1,5 million people die every year because they simply don´t have access to clean drinking water or basic sanitation. The most vulnerable are children who might suffer from absolutely banal sicknesses, such as diarrhea or stomachache. More than a half a million children die because of lack of drinking water or water sources every year.  

Apart from unsafe water sources, there is another problem - many people simply lack basic hygiene habits. Especially in the remote and poor areas it is not very well known that washing your hands before eating is just a basic things everybody should know and practise. And this is just one of the basic habits which can help them to improve and save their health condition. Many people, especially girls and women suffer from lack of separated bathrooms or toilets. Unfortunately, a sad fact is that if girls don´t have access to separated bathrooms, they are very often mugged and abused, what means that they are then embarrassed by others. Actually this is also one of the reasons why many families, especially mothers, refuse to let their girls go to school. They either worry about their safety or they want their daughters to stay at home and help them to carry water from the nearest water source.

Access to clean drinking water is one of the basic human rights. Clean drinking water should not be only privilege of rich continents or countries, but also people from worse living conditions should have chance to have it. Better hygiene conditions, clean drinking water, better bathrooms - this all can improve living conditions of people all around the world. In the following years, there is a plan to improve access to water sources in the most vulnerable and affected areas. Schools should have new basic separated bathrooms for girls and boys. There has been a huge improvement in last 15 years in this issue and area, so it is expected that the number will have been lower by 2030.

Source - OSN

No Poverty

Targets:

- By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day 1.2 

- By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions

- Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable

- By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of 13 property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance

- By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters

- Ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources, including through enhanced development cooperation, in order to provide adequate and predictable means for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions

- Create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies, to support accelerated investment in poverty eradication actions

Source: Global Goals

Education

Education is a basic human right. It is not any privilege and every child should have a chance to go to school. Education is a key to a better future, more job opportunities and improvement in life standards. The children who can go to school and educate themselves are often the ones who can make a huge development in their society. It is known that these children can live healthier lifestyle and take the lead on various issues of their countries.

Well educated youths (especially from developing countries) have a higher chance of getting out from poverty, because thanks to education, they can receive useful skills and knowledge about health, finances, relationships or literacy in general. The adults with good education are also most likely to have more stable families than the ones who barely went to school. Their children are suppossed to receive better healthcare and education.

Despite the improvement in the last years, there are still around 60 million children who don´t go to school. The worst situation is in Sub-Sahara Africa where you could find more than half of these mentioned children. According to statistics, around 25 million kids will never step inside any school nor classroom.

Apart from these big numbers, there is also another scary fact. It was proven that even though some children can finish at least a few years of school attendance, many of them lack basic knowledges, such as writing, reading or doing basic mathematics. According to statistics from 2011, there were around 250 million of these children even though 130 million children attended school on daily baisis. This is not only issue of poor and development world, but also of countries in Europe or America. There is lack of well skilled teachers and leaders who can not only prepare students for their exams, but who can also motivate pupils to study and get more knowledge.

Boys who have a chance to be educated and go to school are less likely to join streets or drugs gangs, fight with military group or fall for violence. Same applies for girls, who are less likely to be married early, they can take better care of their babies and they are less likely to fall for prostutition.

Everybody has the right to be educated. In some areas are many traditions and habits which prevent girls and women from getting the education and being literate. Early marriage is one of the biggest issue right now. It is known that women with basic education have more stable families with only a few children who are also less likely to die at low age. The women or girls can also search for jobs and fund education and healthcare for their children.

There are still many tasks and goals which should be achieved by 2030, such as reduce children out of school, reduce inequality and improve skills and knowledge of teachers.

More dates and information here