Recent orders
The following discussion will focus on the poverty alleviation in the country of Niger.
Introduction
Many sociologists tend to think that poverty is part of the society and that it can not be avoided. The pangs of poverty however cause people to look for alternative means of survival to escape the danger of diseases, hunger and illiteracy. Poverty eradication is a word which is used to refer to the process by which governments try to develop policies meant to alleviate the living standards of the people. Africa is said to be one of the continent which harbors the poorest people in the world, with majority subsisting in less than a dollar a day. The following discussion will focus on the poverty alleviation in the country of Niger.
Niger is a country found in West Africa and also happens to be in the South of the Sahara desert. Just like any other country found in the later part, the main challenges faced by the people in this country is the state of illiteracy (Adedoyin, 23). It is said that a significant sixty percent of the population have not been socialized through the formal education. The state of poverty has therefore been attributed to lack of skills and knowledge which are passed through education.
With the above in mind, the government is working tirelessly to ensure that every child gets access to the basic education since this is the only way to eradicate the perpetuating patterns of poverty. This is actually said to be one of the Millennium Development goals which the African countries signed for, in the attempt to achieve better living standards for their members.
With the biggest part of the country under the equatorial kind of climate, the ministry of agriculture in collaboration with the government and international community are working hard to ensure there is food security (Agbamu, 67). In the recent past, the country has been hit with the worst famine where hundreds of people died for lack of food, especially in the northern part of the country which is relatively arid. Irrigation facilities are underway, which is one way the experts say will combat the unpredictable weather conditions and increase food productivity. The storage facilities are also in the processes of upgrading, for the purpose of storing the excess products while at the same time ensuring the stability in prices.
The unemployment rate is also said to be very high especially among the young generation. This has been attributed to the lack of job opportunities and creativity among the people (Agbamu, 32). The later could however be as a result of illiteracy levels which are addressed in the above discussion. To address the issue of unemployment, the government is actively engaging in the development of infrastructures such as the roads, communication networks, social amenities and improvements of the governance. All these are meant to create a conducive environment for business activities. Apart from that, market liberalization is been encouraged to give people freedom of business and attract the foreign investors. The success of all the above has been seen as being one way of creating employment to thousands of the affected young people.
Unequal distribution of the national resources has been observed as one of the main way through which poverty perpetuates in Niger (World Bank, 10). With over fifty percent of the people said to be below the poverty line, the government in the past did little to change the situation. Embezzlement of funds and corruption tainted the government image. The two acts which have been common not only in Niger but in many other developing nations in Africa, are the main causes of poverty.
Resources have in the past been channeled to the minority who hold big positions in the government, while the majority poor continue to languish in sheer poverty. However, with the current call for democracy and human rights respect, it is expected that the situation will change. There are several activists who are proposing for accountability and transparency within the government institutions to ensure that the finances are used for the purpose they were budgeted for. The change of government from dictatorship to democratic one is expected to boost investment by the foreigners, a move that will see the growth of economy.
The other greatest challenge that has been identified in Niger is the malaria epidemic, just like many other countries in the south of Sahara. It is said that thousands of women and children die annually due to lack of treatment and lack of facilities such as mosquito nets which are meant to prevent them from such attacks. Lack of enough funding in the ministry of health, is said to be the greatest challenge in this important social institution. However, with the current developments undertaken by the government, it is said that there would be a double increase in the number of health facilities, with subsidized prices that the majority can afford.
Conclusion
Poverty alleviation is a call by many developing nations, as a way to improve the living standards of the people. The various strategies that have been laid in Niger include the refurbishment of the business sector to create employment, development of the infrastructures, education, health facilities and the improvement of governance. When all that is in place, the experts see the country transform from a developing country to a middle income country with the ability to support her citizens.
Cited works
Agbamu J.U. Poverty reduction strategies for agricultural and rural development in Niger. In: National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy, Abuja Nigeria. 2007.
Adedoyin S.F. (Ed.). Proceedings of the Annual National Conference of the Agricultural Extension Society of Nigeria (AESON) held in Badeggi, Niger State, 2008
World Bank.Niger: poverty in the midst of plenty, growth with inclusion. A World Bank Assessment, Washington, D C. 2006
National Academy of Sciences. Lost Crops in Africa. Grains. Publication announcement March 4, 1996 URL accessed June 11, 2006
Prescription for Americas Health Care System
Prescription for America’s Health Care System
Introduction
For along time now, the medical fraternity in America has been riddled with a lot of challenges. The blame is not on any particular individual but on each one of us. This includes the government, private sector and business on one hand and doctors, patients, physicians and medical students on the other. This was the major subject of Dr. Wilson in his Inaugural speech at AMA annual meeting in Chicago.
Private sector, business and government
Dr. Wilson has a feeling that private sector and business in general has not done enough in their part to reform the medical sector. The private sector is riddled with greed, inefficiency, half-hearted efforts and not targeting to foster healthier lifestyles. This he fills is not the kind of reform we want. To this end Dr. Wilson offers his prescription as follows. The sector needs to be more involved, transparent in its activities and put interests of patients and employees first before anything else. This way they will be able to develop products and services which address the plight of customers as opposed to their own selfish motives of making money (Wilson, 2010)!
To the government, Dr. Wilson cites political bickering, disunity, poor representation and insensitivity to common man’s woes as the major problems. Dr. Wilson’s sentiments are shared by Edwards et al, (2010). He says that whereas citizens are languishing in poverty, poor health and education services, our elected leaders are disunited, bickering and fighting for supremacy. They have ended up being insensitive to real issues like health, education and economic prosperity which affecting the common man. In this regard Dr. Wilson’s prescription to the elected leaders is to move away from partisan politics, end useless debates on differences in opinions and enact sound legislations. They should try to accommodate each other across the political divide and concentrate more of their resources to execute the mandate for which they were elected (Ferrell & Coyle, 2001).
Patients, medical students and physicians
To his fellow physicians Dr. Wilson feels that they have played their role well even though more needs to be done. He feels that the physicians are divided over some small issues. The president’s prescription is for the physician is not to allow their difference of opinions (or anything else for that matter) divide them. They should remain united especially by joining AMA and focus on reforming the medical sector. To the medical students Dr. Wilson starts by congratulating them for choosing a good career in medical since American physicians are respected globally. They should uphold this reputation. His prescription to the students is to genuinely listen to their patients and also join AMA. Wilson feels that this is a good way for them to start off their career (Wilson, 2010).
Now turning to the patients, Dr. Wilson sees the following as possible prescriptions. First they should take responsibility of the kind of health care they receive. Secondly they should take their time to make good health care decisions well in time and lastly patients should strive to lead a healthy life style (Devettere, 2009). He believes that most diseases are preventable and if everyone took responsibility of his health we can achieve a lot. The best health systems, physicians and medicine will be of no use if we lead unhealthy lives which expose us to diseases (Lynch, 2008). This includes smoking, taking poor diets, lack of exercise, unsafe sexual practices and etc.
Conclusion
In conclusion I can confidently say that I fully concur with this prescription and support Dr. Wilson’s sentiments and prescriptions of what we can do to reform the medical sector. This is because all the prescriptions he gave are practical, specific and workable. He admits that no one has all the answers and as such promised to work with all the stakeholders. With such right attitude from the president of AMA himself we can rest assured that our medical sector is headed for serious reforms.
References
Devettere, R.J., (2009). Practical Decision Making in Health Care Ethics: Cases and Concepts. 3rd Ed. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
Dr. Wilson Cecil (AMA President, 2010) Inaugural speech at AMA annual meeting in Chicago. Retrieved on February 22, 2012 at:
HYPERLINK “http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/speeches/wilson-inaugural-speech.page” http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/speeches/wilson-inaugural-speech.page
Edwards, George C., Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry. (2010) Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy (15th Edition). New York pp. 77.
Ferrell, B. & Coyle, N., (2001). Complementary Therapies. Textbook of Palliative Nursing. Oxford University Press.
Lynch, H.F., (2008). Conflicts of Conscience in Health Care: An Institutional Compromise. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
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Prescribing Policies
Prescribing Policies
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Instructor
Date
Prescribing Policies
The federal government of the United States allows every state in the United States of America to set up its own transportation policies in order to coordinate as well as control the transport sector within their jurisdictions. Each state comes up with a transport policy that is feasible to its requirements, as well as one that ensures both efficiency as well as effectiveness in delivery of transport and logistics within its confines. These policies range in a diverse array of policies, from water to air transport, or from rail to road transport. These entire policies target at ensuring all the members of the state enjoy fast, efficient, as well as effective transport services within the right parameters of their pockets, or affordability. In addition, these transportation policies have to consider the costs of logistics and as such, try to minimize them as much as possible in order to reduce the operational costs for both individuals and companies or businesses, hence increase productivity within their regions (United States Department of Transportation, 2000).
This research paper will consider the transportation policies of three different states in the United States, which are the state of New York, the state of California, and the state of Washington D.C. The state of New York has two major government bodies charged with the jurisdiction of handling all matters transportation in the state. These include the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). These two state agencies confirm that the primary challenge facing the transport sector in the state of New York is the improvement as well as maintenance of the current infrastructure of transport. As such, most of the current transportation policies within New York target at the construction of new roads, alongside parkways and expressways, as well as, facilitate the complete transformation of the metropolitan areas found within the state. This a paradigm shift from the previous polices adopted by the state which championed for maintenance and improvement of transport infrastructure, which to some extent led to the issuance of a massive long-term debt that ruined the financial position of the state (Wiener, 2012).
The state of Washington D.C. follows a policy blueprint dubbed the Washington Transportation Plan (WTP 2030). The main developer of this policy was the state organization charged with the duty of overseeing transport infrastructure within the state, i.e. the State Transportation Commission. The main objective of this WTP 2030 is to outline the comprehensive, as well as, balanced transportation plan of the state. As such, the policy establishers a long-term objectives and vision of the state and how the state plans to develop its transportation systems across the entire state within a 20-year period. This includes a complete overhaul of the state highways and ferries, to the general development of county roads, bike paths and sidewalks, as well as, public transit, city streets, rail and air. The State Transportation Commission gets support from the Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) in developing formidable transportation policies with the incorporation of views from the public, through forums such as blog pages (United States Department of Transportation, 2000).
The state of California, on the other hand, also has major transportation policies governing its development of transport infrastructure. This is through the California Transportation Commission, a state agency established in 1978, and charged with the duties of overseeing the goals and objectives in transport within California. The commission holds the sole responsibility of programming, as well as allocation of funds to specific projects within the state, such as construction of a passenger rail, a highway, as well as fiancé other transit improvements within the state. There is also another state agency dealing with transport in California, this is the California State Transportation Agency, which also comes up with feasible policies to keep California connected through quality and advanced infrastructure (Wiener, 2012).
In making a determination of these policies, the policy makers in these states have to consider a number of factors that affect the effectiveness of their policies. The major external factor that affects proper implementation of a transportation policy is the cost constraint, which arises from the amount of capital that each state has to pump into a given transportation project that it is undertaking in order to ensure maximum and effective implementation. The policy makers come up with the policies that use the least amount of cash but deliver the highest possible level of efficiency and productivity. As such, the policy makers can also maximize on the effectiveness that arises from fixed costs which in most cases range from in the estimates of 4 10,000, and achieve a fixed effectiveness level of 6000 units of service at affixed cost of $ 20,000 (United States Department of Transportation, 2000).
The best program to take on when deciding on a quality transportation policy is the second program. This is because the second program provides the users with a number of effectiveness, as well as provides avenues for a few savings on the capital invested, or the total amount of money required by these states to invest into their infrastructural projects. This is also because the second criteria will guarantee greater service delivery and efficiency in productivity due its smooth operational patterns. However, each of the above criterion may become handy given a twist in the situations under observation, for instance, program a will be very good when the policy makers adopt an investment program that requires maximum injection of capital in order to guarantee some substantial amount of output (Wiener, 2012).
There are various assumptions that govern the estimates taken to determine the time lost while driving. These assumptions include the speed of driving. One might drive fast while another drive slowly, and this may lead to a delay or a fast drive through the journey. Another concept that may lead to the change or time lost during driving, such as the efficiency of roads and other transpotational infrastructures used for movement. The speed of movement depended on the efficiency of transport systems installed within each state. The best way to determine the value of time is to estimate the speed taken to move from one point to another. On the other hand, the opportunity cost of time arises from the time that a traveler spends while on their journey. Incidentally, the value of time makes up the amount in price or fare that a traveler is willing to pay for the journey in order to save on time, as well as, estimate the amount of money that they would accept as a formal compensation for the time they lost (United States Department of Transportation, 2000).
The best way to estimate the cost gallon of gasoline is to measure the amount of gallon used in travelling a given distance. The amount of gasoline used from one distance to another shows how much a gallon of gas costs. This is because every distance made through uses a specified amount of gas, especially considering the speeds at which these vehicles will be moving. The reliable method to estimate the speeds of driving and the gallons consumed per miles is to consider the state of the engine of the vehicle. According to the department of energy, certain engines speed lesser amounts of gasoline than others do, whilst others spend copious amounts of fuels even in short distance, such as fuel guzzlers (Wiener, 2012).
The best way to estimate the value of life is by assigning an economic constraint to life, such as attaching the social status of the individual’s life, or the job and career of the individual. All lives are equal in the eyes of law. However, some lives are worth more than others, especially basing on the position that the people hold within the society, such as politicians, managers of multinationals, and those of common citizens. There are a wide range of disciplines used to value the life of a human being, all including healthcare, political economy, economics, and insurance. The best policy to adopt for driving around cities is the 55.mph. this is because this speed is comfortable for a driver to easily break, as well as be in a formidable position to control their vehicle proficiently and avoid causing accidents along the roads (United States Department of Transportation, 2000).
References
Wiener. E. (2012). Urban Transportation Planning in the United States: A Historical View. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Wiener, E. (2012). Urban Transportation Planning in the United States: History, Policy, and Practice. New York; Springer Publishers.
United States Department of Transportation. (2000). Policy Architecture: Transportation Decision Making for The 21st Century. Washington D.C: United States Department of Transportation.