Since 1990, the world has almost cut infant mortality rates in half. Where the number of neonatal deaths in the first 28 days was once 5.1 million in 1990, there were just 2.7 million in 2015. Although this progress is heartening, it does not meet the Millennium Development Goal of a two-thirds decrease in the […]
Knowledge is power. This simple statement is more resonant than ever as the world moves towards a knowledge-based economy. In spite of the tremendous importance of education in building the lives of youth around the world, only a small share of the United States’ foreign aid budget goes to education and social programs. By increasing […]
Namibia is a country in southwestern Africa, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is home to diverse wildlife species. Namibia is one of just nine countries in Africa categorized by the World Bank as “upper middle income.” Poverty in Namibia, however, is still prevalent and the country is rife with extreme wealth […]
Education’s role in improving the lives of the global poor has been well documented. However, researchers have been exploring the reverse — how poverty affects learning and a child’s education. The Ontario Child Health Study concluded in its research that there is a “direct link between lack of income and chronic health problems, psychiatric disorders and […]
Water is a human necessity. The issue of water quality in the developing world is one that affects millions of people daily. More than half of the population of the developing world suffers from a water-related disease and about 6,000 children die from a water-related disease every day. Djibouti, a small country off the eastern […]
On May 24, 2012, the World Bank approved the Women’s Entrepreneurship Development Project (WEDP) to provide business opportunities for Ethiopian women. This simple project has provided over 3,000 women with business loans and an additional 5,000 women with business training. The project’s objective is to “increase earnings and employment of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) owned […]
The Solomon Islands is an archipelago of 992 tropical islands residing between Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. The country has a population of 555,000 predominantly Melanesian citizens. Poverty in the Solomon Islands is a prevailing issue. Factors Exacerbating Poverty in the Solomon Islands UNICEF reports that this country is one of the poorest pacific islands […]
The quality of Fiji’s water is drastically decreasing with the relentless presence of rotting pipes, inadequate wells and improper water treatment plants becoming more frequent. Climate change continues to cause droughts in Rakiraki, Fiji. Throughout history, half the country has needed emergency water supplies of at least four gallons a week per family. Dirty water has led […]
Volunteers spent the day with disabled children and adults at the Matola Children’s Home. In Mozambique, disabled people may be abandoned by family members and are often seen as a financial burden. Currently, the Matola Children’s Home houses 42 children from many local areas and has 67 young children in their daily preschool. The center relies solely on donations […]
Fires pose an extreme threat to slums, especially in South Africa. The City of Cape Town recently reported in a press release that between 2015 and 2016 there were 717 fires in slums, killing 32 people. One of the most devastating fires to strike a slum occurred on Jan. 1, 2013 in the southwestern township […]
