15. Geography: Human Well-being Flashcards
- Geography concept and skills - Introducing environmental change and management - Inland water change and management - Coastal change and management - Marine environments change and management - Urban change and management - measuring and improving well being - global responses to human wellbeing
Understanding Poverty and Sustainable Development Goals
Defining Poverty
* Absolute poverty, a living condition hard to measure, affects approximately 1.3 billion people daily in sub-Saharan Africa.
* Relative poverty, a benchmark in developed countries, is compared to the poverty line.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s Poverty
* The Human Development Index (HDI) scores in most sub-Saharan African countries have worsened since 1990, making it the world’s poorest region.
* Poverty is more common in young families with fewer assets and higher dependency ratios.
* Chronic poverty is experienced for most of one’s life and is often passed on to children, creating a generational cycle.
* Chronically poor individuals experience hunger, undernutrition, illiteracy, lack of access to safe drinking water and basic health services, social discrimination, physical insecurity, and political exclusion.
World Hunger
* World hunger is a pressing issue of poverty, characterized by scarcity of food.
* Malnutrition, a general term indicating a lack of some or all nutritional elements necessary for human health, includes world hunger, micronutrient deficiency, and obesity.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
* The SDGs were established on 25 September 2015 to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for everyone from the 15 years to 2030.
* The United Nations provides an annual report on progress towards 2030.
SDG Targets for Health and Wellbeing
* Goal 3 of the SDGs aims to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all ages.
* Key 2030 targets include eradicating tuberculosis, AIDS, and malaria epidemics.
* Developing nations, with low living standards and healthcare services, are more susceptible to these epidemics due to lack of resources.
Malaria and its Impact
* Malaria is a preventable and curable disease caused by plasmodium parasites transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito.
* Four species of these parasites are found in tropical and subtropical places, with Africa being particularly severe.
* In 2020, about 3.75 billion people were at risk of malaria, with around 241 million cases in 87 countries.
* The most at-risk group are children under five, with 80% of malaria deaths in Africa in 2021.
* Malaria costs Africa approximately $12 billion per year, affecting both individuals and countries’ income.
* Government and non-government organizations are involved in combating malaria.
Malaria Control and Elimination: WHO’s Global Technical Strategy 2016–2030
- The WHO developed the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030, aiming to reduce global malaria cases and mortality rates by 40% by 2020 and 90% by 2030.
- Prior to this, the Millennium Development Goals action led to a 37% reduction in global malaria incidence and a 60% fall in malaria mortality.
- Progress has been inconsistent, with only India showing significant progress with a 24% reduction in cases since 2016.
- Government and non-government organizations have been involved in malaria combat, focusing on insecticide-treated nets, insecticide sprays, and improved access to diagnostic testing and treatment.
- The world’s first malaria vaccine pilot program began in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi in 2019, with nearly 1.5 million children receiving their first dose.
- Insufficient funding and drug resistance pose challenges to malaria control efforts.
- The WHO launched a global plan to address drug resistance in 2010, and launched a new program in 2022 to target African countries with increasing malaria rates.
Growing Bush Tucker and Bush Foods in Australia
- Current crop species in Australia require irrigation and fertilisers, which are not suitable for Australia’s dry and nutrient-poor soils.
- Indigenous Australians have used plants like Quandongs and Kakadu plum trees as food sources for thousands of years.
- Increased interest in bush foods could lead to more indigenous natives being cultivated into viable economic enterprises.
- CSIRO’s research report in 2009 found that ‘bush foods’ are rich in antioxidants, folate, iron, and vitamins C and E.
- Bushfires were used as a land management tool and a way to drive animals out of hiding places.
- Some eucalypt species have adaptations that enable them to survive bushfires, such as thick bark, epicormic buds, and woody undergound stems.
- Some trees, like Banksia, survive bushfires but their seeds do, with Banksia seeds protected by woody cone-like structures.
- Aboriginals used fire to hunt kangaroos, potentially disrupting malaria treatment.
HIV and AIDS Overview
- HIV was initially seen as a death sentence, but advances in treatments and drug combinations have made it less inevitable.
- AIDS is caused by HIV, which reduces the body’s ability to fight infections.
- Since 1981, over 79 million people have been infected and approximately 36 million have been killed.
- As of 2021, 38.4 million people were living with HIV, with 1.7 million children aged 0-14 years.
- The virus is spread via infected bodily fluids entering the bloodstream, with women and girls making up 50% of new infections.
- The prevalence of HIV infections in children aged 0–14 years is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, with Swaziland, Botswana, and South Africa being the most affected countries.
- New infections fell by 10% in western and central Africa and 43% in eastern and southern Africa between 2010 and 2020.
- In 2021, 81% of pregnant women had access to medications to prevent HIV transmission to their unborn babies.
- AIDS-related deaths have reduced by 64% since the peak in 2004 and 47% since 2010.
- HIV has major impacts on communities affected, reversing decades of improvements in living conditions.
- Loss of adults to AIDS has devastating effects on children, with an estimated 5.4 million children in 2020 losing at least one parent to the disease.
Japan’s Ageing Population and Economic Challenges
- Japan’s high life expectancy and low fertility rate have led to an ageing population, with one-third of the population in the 60s or above.
- Fertility in Japan has been below replacement level since the 1970s.
- High living standards, increased women’s workforce participation, high childcare costs, and lack of childcare facilities contribute to this.
- Japan’s population is expected to decline from 126.5 million in 2020 to 120 million in 2030, 105.8 million in 2050, and 83 million by 2100.
- The workforce is expected to fall 15% over the next 20 years and halve in the next 50 years.
- Rising pension and healthcare costs have led to the implementation of measures like the Angel Plan and the ‘plus one’ policy.
- The government has been reluctant to use immigration to fill labour shortages, but improving female workforce participation rates may be a viable option.
HIV and AIDS Successes and Challenges
* HIV and AIDS have no cure or vaccination, but antiretroviral treatment (ART) has been available since the mid-1990s.
* In June 2021, around 28.2 million people living with AIDS had access to ART.
* The number of AIDS-related deaths and new infections is declining.
* Approximately US$22-24 billion is needed annually to meet the UNAIDS vision.
* An estimated US$29.3 billion will be needed annually by 2030.
AusAID Work in Papua New Guinea
* The Australian government committed $588 million in the 2021–22 development aid budget to support Papua New Guinea.
* Response activities include education, condom promotion and distribution, STI and HIV testing, and treatment.
* Over 2700 people with sexually transmitted diseases, such as AIDS, accessed antiretroviral medication.
Kenya’s Response to a Young Population
* Despite a decrease in fertility rate, Kenya has a high rate of population growth.
* The country’s population structure has a high proportion of young people, putting pressure on resources.
* The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has provided financial aid to facilitate services to promote wellbeing, including family planning, maternal and newborn health services, and education for girls.
Improving Wellbeing for First Nations Australians Living in Remote Areas
Remote Communities and Inequalities
* Eighty percent of First Nations Australians live in urban or regional centres, while the remaining 20% live in remote areas.
* Inequalities experienced by First Nations Australians are linked to land dispossession, displacement of people, and discrimination.
* First Nations Australians have historically been denied or unable to access the same services and opportunities as other Australians, leading to social, economic, and health-related negative consequences.
Issues for First Nations Australians
* Most issues relate to health, education, and employment.
* They are not exposed to the same social and economic opportunities as other Australians.
* Economic insecurity prevails, including lack of access to infrastructure to support the development of business ventures.
Demographic Profiles
* Younger First Nations Australians have lower life expectancy compared to non-First Nations Australians.
* Lower levels of life expectancy related to health considerations, participation in the workforce related to unemployment, and achievement in education related to levels of education.
Government Programs
* National Agreement on Closing the Gap: Identifies socioeconomic outcomes to improve wellbeing, involving partnerships between First Nations Australians and governments.
* Remote Area Health Corps: Funds health professionals to work in remote communities.
* Indigenous Skills and Employment Program (ISEP): Funds health professionals to work in remote communities.
* The Community Development Program (CDP): Supports remote employment and community development service.
* 2022 Remote Jobs Program: Aims to foster self-employment and develop small businesses.
* 2018–2022 Indigenous Business Sector Strategy: Helps build sustainable businesses that support families and their communities.
2013-2021 National Food Plan for First Nations Australian Communities
* Aimed to improve food security and affordability for remote First Nations Australian communities.
* Funded measures include improving food supply chain, establishing community stores, and promoting healthy food choices.
* Small grants were provided to support community food initiatives like farmers’ markets, food cooperatives, food hubs, community gardens, and city farms.
* Food subsidy funds were used to improve health and nutrition for First Nations Australian children.
* Funding was also provided for the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden National Program to develop gardens in schools.
Case Study 2: Engagement with Country — The Fish River Station
* The Fish River Station, a park and ranch owned by First Nations Australians, is managed using traditional ecological knowledge for large-scale conservation and biodiversity protection.
* The 2019 Management Plan aims to generate income through programs like fencing, cultural site protection, weed eradication, plant and animal surveys, feral animal eradication, soil conservation, and regeneration of threatened flora and fauna species.
* The development is connected to the National Workforce Strategy Action Plan, the Community Development Program, the Remote Engagement Program, and the Indigenous Business Sector Strategy.
Understanding Human Rights and the Role of the United Nations
The Basis of Human Rights
* Human rights stem from the instinctive human ability to distinguish right from wrong.
* Definitions of human rights vary across societies, from law and legislation to community values.
* The Australian Human Rights Commission defines human rights as the recognition and respect of people’s dignity, moral and legal guidelines, identity, and basic standards for identifying and measuring inequality and fairness.
The Role of the United Nations
* The UN was formed post-World War II to promote respect for human rights.
* The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed in 1948, sets out basic rights and freedoms for all.
* These rights are legally binding through two International Covenants, which form the International Bill of Human Rights.
Who Protects Human Rights in Australia
* Australia is bound by major international human rights treaties, but they do not form part of its domestic law unless specifically written into Australian law.
* The Australian Human Rights Commission advocates for the promotion and protection of human rights.
* Amnesty International works to uphold human rights, with a focus on the death penalty, a contentious issue on the global political stage.
Child Rights and Vulnerability in Conflict
- Over 70% of 142 countries worldwide are against capital punishment, according to Amnesty International.
- Vietnam, North Korea, and Syria have unknown execution and death sentencing totals.
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recognizes children’s special human rights due to their vulnerability to exploitation and abuse.
- Rights and protections for children include the right to life, a name and nationality, living with parents, freedom of thought, conscience, religion, privacy, protection from abuse and neglect, education, participation in leisure, recreation, and cultural activities, protection from economic exploitation, and prevention of abduction, sale, or trafficking.
- Child soldiers and child labour are key areas of focus for rights.
- Child soldiers have been involved in conflicts in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
- Child labour declined from 2012 to 2016, but the rate is slowing. Sub-Saharan Africa has seen an increase in child labour.
- Global estimates indicate 160 million children were in child labour globally at the beginning of 2020, accounting for almost 1 in 10 of all children worldwide.
- Poor girls are often put to work as domestic servants for richer families, and children perform unpaid work for their families.
Food Insecurity in Syria
* Daily food insecurity in war-torn areas.
* Long-term outdoor tending of plants unsafe.
* Food transport inaccessible to besieged cities.
* 2016 malnourishment reports in Madaya, where 40,000 people trapped.
* Aid organizations negotiated with Assad government for food transport, but only short-term solution.
* Food remains a major issue for people trapped in conflict zones.
Impact on Syrian People and Housing
- The Syrian civil war began in 2011 as part of the Arab Awakening uprising.
- The war affected everyone living in the country, affecting their lives and wellbeing.
- The Syrian people had four choices: join the army, join the rebels, leave the fighting zones, or stay in their homes.
- By 2018, 7.8 million Syrians, especially women, children, and young men, had fled conflict areas, becoming internally displaced persons (IDPs).
- In 2013, the Assad-led government declared’surrender or starve’ to its people and began sieges on key cities.
- Between 390000 and 1.9 million people were trapped in cities in early 2016.
- Many IDPs have fled again, often at night to avoid detection.
- Some IDPs have crossed the border into surrounding countries to become refugees, massing in ‘tent cities’ on the border with Turkey.
- The level of liveability for the Syrian people has declined.
- Street-to-street fighting has destroyed buildings, public services, and transport systems.
- War continues to injure and kill local people who have remained in their homes.
Impact on Children and Adapting to Life in War-Torn Areas
* Children in war-torn areas experience significant changes, including disruptions in education, fear, and deafness.
* Families are torn apart, with some fleeing and others staying.
* Children miss their friends and young men are recruited for the fight.
Adapting to Life in Besieged Cities
* People adapt to basic lifestyles and innovations, such as using static bicycles for power, producing medicines from home remedies, and using rooftop gardens for vegetables.
Costs to the Syrian Arab Republic
* The Syrian armed forces continue to retake cities and push terrorist cells out, leading to immense costs.
* Over 5.6 million refugees and 7 million IDPs have fled, with nearly 3 million in besieged cities or hard-to-reach locations.
* Families have been forever changed, cities will take years to rebuild, services and food supplies will need to be re-established, and children will have years of schooling to catch up on.
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
* Refugees flee conflict and cross borders to seek relief from war trauma.
* Not all asylum seekers are refugees, as they either don’t meet UNHCR criteria or have gone outside the formal process.
Movement of People to Europe
* Most people arriving in Europe are fleeing the civil war in the Syrian Arab Republic, with other significant numbers arriving from the ongoing conflict in northern Africa.
Syrian Refugee Movement to Europe
- Majority of refugees in Europe are fleeing the Syrian Arab Republic’s civil war and northern African conflict.
- Syrians flee through Turkey to reach the Aegean Sea, where they are fingerprinted, photographed, and given a legal residency document.
- Greece’s islands are the first point of arrival, but the country does not accommodate the mass of people arriving.
- Refugees crossing from Africa reach Italy or Spain as the closest landfall places.
- 90% of refugees’ journeys are organized by criminal gangs, including people smugglers and migrant-smuggling networks.
- Thousands of dollars are extorted for sea crossings and train travel within Europe.
- Refugees are often instructed to destroy boats or dinghy when a coastguard ship is in sight to ensure rescue, a meal, and health checks before arriving on European soil.
- Syrian refugees are primarily entering Europe through Greece, although some enter via Bulgaria and spread through neighboring countries.
