Kiribati and Climate Change

Kiribati is a coral atoll containing 33 islands. 100,000 people live there. Half of these people live on one small island that is only 400m in length at most. A lot of people, not much space. The average height above sea level is less than 2m. This is a huge problem with rising sea levels. The governor of the country believes their country will be underwater by 2030.

 

It is hard for them to grow food because of salivation. A small water supply is also worsening the situation.

Erosion, Storm surges, and  Drought is destroying the land.

 

 

They are educating the people so they can be better migrants.

The Australian Government has funded education for nurses.

 

 

8+ goals

In September 2000 Koffi Annan, formal general secretary of the UN, suggested that they could do something to end world poverty. 189 counties meet in New York and agreed that by 2015 they would achieve 8 goals towards ending world poverty. They are;

·         Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty

·         Achieve universal primary education

·         Promote gender equality and empower women

·         Reduce child mortality rate

·         Improving maternal health

·         Combat diseases: HIV/AIDS, malaria etc.

·         Ensure environmental sustainability

·         Develop a global partnership for development

Bhutan

What percentage of income is owned by the least wealthy 20% of households?The income earned by the lowest 20% of Bhutanesse households is 4.6 Ngultrum or Nu is 4.6

What are the recent achievements and challenges of our country?
The recent achievements are: Bhutan is gradually communicating with other countries and improving its economy while still being able to keep its culture intact and keeping the environment healthy. In the 1990s, the lack of political representation (and more focus on Buddhist culture) led to violence, many people in the ethnic Nepali community in the south fled to refugee camps and still have not returned.

How does poverty affect people in our country?
About one third of the population are below the poverty line
Affects: Women are equal to men but less mobile than men, and less active in social and economic life outside of their own villages. The poor people in Bhutan include, farmers, small traders, day labourers and their households.

 

 

 



How old can children expect to live? (What is the life expectancy at birth?
Life expectancy in Bhutan is 66 years.

How many internet users per 1000 people?
66 internet users per 1000 people

 

 

 

 

 

 

What percentage of adults can read (adult literacy rate)?
52.8% of adults are literate

What percentage of people have access to clean water (access to improved drinking water source)?81% of people in Bhutan have access to clean water.

What percentage of people have access to sanitation?52% of people living in Bhutan have access to sanitation and toilets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is the average income [GDP per capita (PPP US$)]?
In 2011 Bhutan's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was estimated at $2,042 (US)

What percentage of people live below the national poverty line?
23.2% is the estimated amount of people living below the national poverty line. That’s approximately 161,781 people

What percentage of children attend primary school?
At the last survey in 2010 approximately 41,000 students attended school to the nearest thousand so that is close to 25.3%

 How many mobile (cellular) phones are available per 1000 people?
There are 405 cellular phones are available per 1000 people

Nurturing Nurses in Kiribati

·       The Kiribati Nurses Initiative is where the nurses are being educated and undertaking a degree at Griffith university in Brisbane

·       This project is funded by Oz Aid

·       The nursing is a response to climate change as they will be able to help in their local community but also to arm them with skills which will help secure employment

·       They are given four months of training in Kiribati and then four months in Brisbane

·       They chose nursing as a study because there is a shortage of nurses worldwide

Targeting Tuberculosis in Kiribati

·       300 per hundred thousand of the population have tuberculosis

·       Tuberculosis is a contagious disease that impacts the lungs

·       Over crowded households is a main reason to why so many have tuberculosis

·       It is an airborne disease and is spread through coughing

·       13 people is the average number per house

·       The houses are very small

·       They have 4 specialist nurses on the atoll

·       The “dots” are funded by the Australian government

·       They help patients once they are out of hospital and also locate people who have the disease. Once someone with tuberculosis is found they are isolated.

·       Australia is helping Kiribati to build a lab and pharmacy

·       They are aiming to reduce the number of infected people by 30%

·       The building that patients were being isolated in was well ventilated and this is thought ideal for the prevention of spreading tuberculosis

·       The beds in the hospital are made of timber and have no mattress. The beds were also very small

Kiribati and Climate Change

·       Kiribis is a coral atoll made up of 33 islands

·       Around 100, 000 people live there

·       Kiribati is 16k by 400m in size

·       The average height above sea level is 2m

·       Kiribati’s president is predicting in the year 2030 that their country will be under sea

·       Crops are dying because there is not much fertile land and rising sea levels are contaminating the soil with salt.

·       Storms are getting worse and washing away the island

·       Lack of water supply will be the first and largest issue for them

·       Erosion, storm surges and drought cause environmental issue and impact their survival

·       Water from aquifers are extremely prone to contamination

·       The government is educating the citizens to make them more appealing to other countries

·       Australian government is funding nurse training

·       Climate change is a focal point in church

The Poverty Cycle

The cycle of poverty has been described as a phenomenon where poor families trapped in poverty for generations because they have no or limited access to critical resources, such as:

           ·          Education

           ·          Financial services,

Subsequent generations are also impoverished.

There are multiple cycles of poverty-based on, among other things,

           ·          Economic,

           ·          Social,

           ·          Spiritual and

           ·          Geographical factors

Many cycles overlap or perpetuate new cycles and therefore any attempt to depict the cycle of poverty will be far more simplistic than realistic.

The Figure below shows-in very simplistic terms- how a cycle of poverty related to hunger keeps a person or household poor in one of the world’s developing countries.

8+ Goals

In September 2000, Koffi Annan, former General Secretary of the United Nations, suggested that we could do something to end world poverty worldwide. 189 countries met in New York City and agreed that by September 2015, we can acheive 8 goals towards ending global poverty. The 8 goals are:

• Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
• Acheive universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat diseases HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development