How Cholera Has Been a Companion of Poverty<\/p>\n
Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n According to World Health Organization, cholera is one of the leading causes of death among the poor globally. Over the past decade, researchers have developed theoretical models that postulate cholera as a function of a country\u2019s income equality and an individual\u2019s level of income. Unlike other afflictions, cholera may be eliminated through collective actions, such as provision of clean water. However, such joint actions are lacking among the poor.<\/p>\n This paper aims at discussing the question whether cholera has been the companion of poverty by using current examples. The paper will first test this thesis by analyzing relatively poor countries during the period from1990 to 2013. The first section of the analysis will focus on the collective action of offering clean water, aiming at establishing the link with individual income and the country\u2019s income equality. Finally, the paper will illustrate how cholera cases and deaths are strongly correlated with poverty.<\/p>\n Cholera and Poverty<\/strong><\/p>\n The instances of cholera date back to ancient times. It predominantly spreads through contact with contaminated water [1]<\/a>.Therefore, the poor, particularly those who depend on water from rivers and streams, are more susceptible to the disease. According to the report from 2005 records, the majority of poor people in both Asia and Africa rely on water resources from wells that are inadequately protected[2]<\/a>. Unlike the wealthy, such populations lack access to basic sanitation arrangements, which makes them vulnerable to cholera. Rather than settling in one place, tainted water tends to spread to other locations; the very case was in the 1960\u2019s: outbreak of cholera in Asia spread to Europe and then to Africa. The situation became more epidemic in Africa owing to the limited resources and access to collective functions in addressing the disease[3]<\/a>.<\/p>\n The western hemisphere was spared and never witnessed any significant cholera cases. However, the situation changed in 1991 when medical researchers detected the disease in two coastal cities. By the time the disease was detected, over one million cases had been reported and over 3,500 people had lost their lives. Among the most affected by the epidemic countries was Peru, followed by Brazil[4]<\/a>. Poverty and limited access to clean water, as well as squalid living conditions were the main contributors to the spread of the disease. As a result, the most affected parts in Brazil were the country\u2019s improvised northeastern cities.<\/p>\n These cities reported over 87 percent of the total Brazilian cholera cases. The southern cities of Brazil are associated with the wealthy population, and cholera cases accounted only for 18 percent with the probability of death, once contracting the disease, being almost zero owing to the availability of proper healthcare services and collective functions in addressing the disease. The probability of death after contracting cholera in the poorer northern cities was three times that of the national average.<\/p>\n In 2002 Brazil\u2019s Minister of Health reported that cholera had been brought under control. However, the current epidemic in the poor provinces showed no sign of slowing down. Medical researchers have concluded that the most effective remedy for the illness is the provision of clean drinking water. Nevertheless, in 1990 more than 1.5 billion people lacked access to clean water and relied on rivers, ponds or streams. Open water sources are at a higher risk of contamination from sewage and landfills. Similarly, the risk of contamination is increased through the modest wastewater treatment processes, found in poorer countries.<\/p>\n In the third-world countries the wastewater treatment process usually contains soil that causes microorganisms to stay in the treatment area. These microorganisms take a long period of time before they naturally die. The situation is worsened when such soil is saturated, enabling viruses to spread over long distances through floods. According to scientists, the presence of a sewage system offers limited protection, since a minor leak from the system can travel long distances contaminating distant water sources[5]<\/a>. Poverty has a significant impact on the collective functions created in dealing with cholera. Regardless of the availability of clean water, human intervention still remains the main cause in the spread of the illness. This is because cholera can spread among such communities that practice poor household hygiene.<\/p>\n Case Study: Cholera in Poor Countries<\/strong><\/p>\n This section of the paper aims at analyzing how cholera has been the companion of poverty by focusing on the case studies carried out in some of the poorest countries globally. Collective actions in handling cholera involve provision of clean water, social security, and domestic stability. However, all these functions are almost impossible to achieve if a country lacks the much-needed financial resources. Over the past decade, research has showed that these collective functions should be offered through social and economic policies. However, such policies are outside the sphere of action within the medical field, instead they are determined by the living standards. For example, living standards are directly correlated with the income levels and educational status of people, which, in turn, is dictated by a country\u2019s GDP.<\/p>\n Cameroon is one of the poorest countries in Africa, and cholera accounts for 80 percent of the diseases associated with unsafe drinking water. The most recent cholera epidemic in the country, caused by the consumption of contaminated water, dates back to 2010. Strikingly, over 70 percent of the country\u2019s population survive less than by one dollar a day. According to UNICEF, only 15 percent of the population has access to latrines and less than 40 percent have access to clean and safe drinking water[6]<\/a>. Cholera outbreaks in the country only occur in the poorer northern regions, which have the highest concentration of families living in critical conditions. Ironically, hospitals are more concentrated in the wealthier southern parts of the country.<\/p>\n The 1991 outbreak of cholera in Peru spread quickly within the poorer tropical forests regions. The country\u2019s poor water supply and overcrowded shantytowns close to coastal cities significantly contributed to the spread of the disease. According to reports from the country\u2019s ministry of health, the recent increase in population in the coastal cities exceeded the infrastructure required to deal human waste contamination into water supplies[7]<\/a>. Municipal councils lacked the necessary financial resources to keep contamination at proper levels, as well as maintain the water pressure to ensure waste water did not flow into the cracked pipes.<\/p>\n In most poor nations, rapid population growth has overstretched water supplies; hence, more people turn to alternative sources for drinking water, such as rivers. Over 80 percent of Peru\u2019s coastal region is a desert, but the rivers from the Andes Mountains provide water for irrigation. Water from the rivers also creates oases, which are more likely to be contaminated by the neighboring densely populated towns. Most farmers in Peru use sewage as fertilizer when water is scarce. Such farmers grow vegetables with short growing periods; they are often consumed raw, and yield high cash returns.<\/p>\n Cholera is an infection that is highly associated with poverty. The illness has now become common in the poor countries and serves as a stark reminder of how personal hygiene and safe drinking water might continue challenging governments and health agencies. Haiti is among the poorest contries in the western hemisphere. Water supplies were contaminated after the January 2010 earthquake, putting the country at a high risk of epidemics of water borne diseases such as cholera. Before the earthquake, the American Development Bank blocked a set of loans to the Haiti government due to political reasons. Therefore, the risk of cholera outbreaks from poor public water supply system was already present.<\/p>\n After the 2010 earthquake, which destroyed public water supply systems in the country, a series of floods and mudslides ensued worsening the situation. Contaminated water spread over long distances since most of the water supply infrastructure has already been destroyed. The same earthquake also displaced over 1.7 million people[8]<\/a>. They were forced to join already poor relatives or move into overcrowded campsites, which lacked the supply of clean and safe water.<\/p>\n Contributing Factors<\/strong><\/p>\n This section aims at establishing some of the contributing factors that have increased the link between cholera and poverty. As discussed earlier, different environmental, social, and economical conditions among the poor populations increase the risk of exposure to cholera infections. Some of the conditions that hinder recovery among the poor populations include malnutrition and inaccessible healthcare services. Malnutrition accounts for over 54 percent of cholera-related deaths in poor countries. Contaminated water is the main contributor to cholera infections globally[9]<\/a>. Most of the poverty-related diseases are spread as a result of inaccessible safe drinking water.<\/p>\n According to UNICEF, over 3000 children die each day around the globe because of contaminated drinking water [10]<\/a>. The millennium development goal focused on reducing by half the number of people, who lose their lives due to the lack of access to safe drinking water by the year 2015. However, economic recessions have slowed down efforts that aim at achieving this goal. In early 2010, the United Nations declared access to clean water, a human right that is of paramount importance in achieving other rights. This helped in enforcing and justifying permits by poor governments aiming at ensuring that their people had access to safe drinking water.<\/p>\n Over the past decade, access to clean water has significantly increased in the poor countries. However, in some African regions, children and women still have to travel long distances to get the basic commodity. Developed countries, such as the USA, have launched numerous development programs to assist the poorer countries improve their water quality using technology. New technology, such as sewage treatment, disinfects water during collection, as well as during the storage process.<\/p>\n Inadequate sanitation is associated with poverty. Lack of proper household hygiene increases the risk of diseases such as malaria, cholera, and other poverty-related infections. Such infections often act as co-factors that increase the transmission of cholera. To reduce the risk of cholera among the developing countries, governments try to provide standpipes and public educating. However, the death rates are rarely reduced. Developed countries have the financial resources to install standpipes and sanitation within homesteads, unlike in the poor countries.<\/p>\n Poor nutrition is more prevalent among poor nations. Malnutrition affects almost the entire Sub-Saharan Africa with over 37 percent of children below 4 years with visible physical signs of undernourishment. Poor nutrition lowers the strength of the immune system, which later affects the body\u2019s ability to resist infections. Medical research has shown that malnutrition significantly promotes the replication of bacteria and viruses within the human body. Another poverty-related factor that contributes to cholera infection is lack of access to proper healthcare. In Africa the degree of social status is directly linked to health inequalities[11]<\/sup><\/a>. Poor people tend to have ill health, while the wealthy population tends to have better and healthy lifestyles.<\/p>\n Countries that have lower social and economic strata experience the worst health outcomes. This is because health has a strong correlation with education and access to information. In terms of cholera infection, poverty comprises low income, lack of information, and social exclusion. Therefore, the poor populations in most countries are often trapped in a vicious cycle, whereby poverty leads to ill health, which later on breeds poverty. Cholera is also more prevalent among the poor countries mainly because of different socioeconomic status. These statuses have a significant impact on three major areas of health; they include the environmental exposure, health behavior, and healthcare in general.<\/p>\n When evaluating cholera infection among children, it is apparent that the most frequent cases are from households with lower income and little education. Therefore, socioeconomic status increases with the rise of health outcomes among the poor counties. Recent studies have shown that most African regions face geographic disparities. By the year 2025, the rural population of Africa may be expected to grow from 500 to 750 million. These supposed population growth will exert pressure on the already deteriorating water supply systems. Another research found out that over 70 percent of rural populations in Africa have lower life expectancies due to high poverty levels.<\/p>\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n In summary, cholera is a companion of poverty and accounts for over 12 percent of deaths among the poor populations worldwide. Cholera is an intestinal infection and often spread when an individual takes tainted water. Therefore, the illness may be suppressed through provision of safe drinking water and practicing proper hygiene. However, lack of financial resources has hampered efforts to suppress the illness, particularly in the poor countries.\u00a0 This paper has proved that there is a strong link between poverty and cholera outbreaks. Poorer countries are also more devastated by cholera outbreaks as compared to developed countries, such as the US.<\/p>\n This paper recommends that policies should be developed and implemented to increase the economic welfare of affected communities and countries. This would, in turn, limit the influence cholera has on a country, as well as enable the government to provide education and safe drinking water. Policies that aim at improving the economical welfare of a country are more likely to have a positive effect, which may be estimated in the long run.<\/p>\n \u00a0References<\/strong><\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Lima, A. (2004). \u201cCholera: Molecular Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Immunology, Treatment.<\/em><\/p>\n New York: Knopf Publishers.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Organization, W. H. (2000). Report on Global Surveillance of Epidemic-Prone Infectious.<\/em> New<\/p>\n York: McGraw Hill Publisher.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [3]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Roger, G. (2001) report showed that in over 95 percent of cholera cases were as a result of contaminated water. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 lack of safe drinking water in Sub-saharan African led to an increase in death rates among children below 5 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 years.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Organization, W. H. (2000) report on 1990 cholera outbreak showed; Peru was more affected due to the lack of \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 proper public water supply systems and household hygiene as compared to other countries in the region.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Reiff, M. (2005). Safe Water Treatment and Storage in the Home: A Practical New Strategy to <\/em><\/p>\n Prevent Waterborne Disease.<\/em> Boston: Harvard University Press.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Roger, G. (2001). Cholera in Africa: Lessons on Transmission and Control for Latin America.<\/em><\/p>\n Liverpool: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [7]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Morrissey, G. (2005). Cholera and the distribution and Poverty Impacts of Tax Structure in<\/p>\n developing countries. New York: Knopf Publishers.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The number of displaced people after the Haiti earthquake was estimated at 1.7 million, however, there lacked a \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 definite number due to unavailability of proper demographic records by the government.<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Morrissey, G. (2005). Cholera and the distribution and Poverty Impacts of Tax Structure in<\/p>\n developing countries. New York: Knopf Publishers.<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lima, A. (2004). \u201cCholera: Molecular Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Immunology, Treatment.<\/em><\/p>\n New York: Knopf Publishers.<\/p>\n [11]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Roger, G. (2001). Cholera in Africa: Lessons on Transmission and Control for Latin America.<\/em><\/p>\n Liverpool: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How Cholera Has Been a Companion of Poverty Introduction According to World Health Organization, cholera is one of the leading causes of death among the poor globally. Over the past decade, researchers have developed theoretical models that postulate cholera as Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237239\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}