With 9% of the world’s population living in poverty, there is going to be an excess of other major issues on account of poverty. Some of the effects linked to poverty include food insecurity, poor health, homelessness, lack of housing and more. As of 2021, nearly 698 million people are undergoing extreme poverty and that means hundreds of millions of people are most likely experiencing at least some of the problems poverty creates. Despite the detrimental impact poverty leaves, Abt Associates is tackling global issues in more than 50 countries around the world to alleviate some of the world’s ongoing difficulties.

What is Abt Associates?

Clark Abt founded Abt Associates in 1965. It is an organization with the goal of achieving his dream: a world no longer suffering from war and poverty. This organization is dedicated to addressing the world’s most drastic issues and implementing action through methods based on extensive research to create growth in those specific areas. “Our mission is to improve the quality of life and economic well-being of people worldwide,” the organization says on its website.

There are nine main areas that Abt Associates focuses on: education, inclusive economic growth and agriculture, equity and inclusion, governance and justice, environment, climate and energy, health, housing and financial capacity building and workforce and economic mobility.

There are five “capabilities” of Abt Associates including digital transformations and advanced analytics, data capture and surveys, research, monitoring and evaluation, technical assistance and implementation. Abt Associates is tackling global issues successfully by strengthening systems and organizations, creating knowledge and inform policy and improving population well-being.

Impacting the Entire World

From maintaining health to food security to economic well-being, Abt works in more than 50 countries to solve the challenges worldwide. Abt works in the following regions including the Middle East & North Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, Australia & Asia-Pacific, United Kingdom & Europe and South & Central Asia. Of the regions, many countries are facing severe poverty rates. The regions include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Burundi and Guatemala, which are all countries in the top 10 highest poverty rates in the world.

Abt is working in other countries with high poverty rates, such as Haiti, with a 58.5% poverty rate, Sierra Leone, with a 56.6% poverty rate and Afghanistan, with a 54.5% poverty rate. The organization is currently working with more than 3,100 partners around the world to enact tangible and sustainable impact.

Life-Changing Projects

Abt Associates has dozens of current programs in place in each focus area to apply new technologies and solutions to improve lives. “Building the Next Generation of Resilient Ugandans” is one of the many programs in focus on food security and agriculture. This project aims to keep Ugandan children enrolled in school, make sure that families are on a healthy and nutritious food diet and are engaging in environmentally harmonious living from agriculture and other endeavors. The results have been a success. Abt Associates stated that in the first 18 months “we linked more than 1,400 community groups to markets, equipped more than 1,000 out-of-school girls with livelihood skills, and worked with 750 cultural leaders.”

The “Improving Nutrition for Tajik Mothers and Children” project works to improve Tajikistan’s health system, provide quality services to mothers, newborns and children and improve nutrition and child health. These are just a few of the many projects improving thousands of lives all over the world including “Building a 21^st Century Road Map to Child Welfare Transformation”.

Abt Associate Awards

Abt Associates is tackling global issues and making real change in countries that are facing extreme issues, many of which are experiencing extreme poverty. For decades, Abt has been doing important research and making active and long-lasting changes in communities to improve quality of life. This organization has even been recognized with multiple awards for its notable work, including the MarCom Gold Award and the 2020 Commuter Connections Incentives Award. This powerful organization is essential in battling world issues and easing the gruesome effects that poverty generates.

– Dylan Olive
Photo: Flickr