Top 10 Facts About Living Conditions in Somalia

Somalia, located at the Horn of Africa, is a country with colorful and diverse traditions, but harsh conditions. Life is not only affected by the climate, but also the treacherous political environment. In this article, the top 10 facts about living conditions in Somalia are presented.

Top 10 Facts About Living Conditions in Somalia

  1. Somalia has four seasons, two rainy and two dry ones. These seasons are combined with some of the highest mean temperatures worldwide. These conditions make farming incredibly difficult, in fact, only 0.05 percent of the land is inhabited by permanent crops. Most agricultural employment takes place through livestock. Somalia is also a large exporter of bananas, sorghum, corn, coconuts and rice. However, without consistent trade, much of this has gone to waste and has created a famine.
  2. There is virtually no infrastructure in many parts of the country due to the ongoing civil war. This affects the ability of a community to access clean water. Only 34 percent of individuals have access to sanitation services and, because plumbing is uncommon in many rural areas, 50 percent of individuals in these areas practice open defecation. Currently, progress on this issue is created through building wells, as well as implementing community programs to improve sanitation. Mercy USA has built over 580 wells in order to improve water access in Somalia. The WASH program is implementing underground wells that are attached to solar-powered sanitation systems.
  3. Another one of the top 10 facts about living conditions in Somalia relates to clean water access and adequate health care facilities. In 2017, there were over 79,000 cases of acute watery diarrhea or cholera alone. Only 6 percent of Somali residents have access to antenatal doctor’s appointments. The transmission of infectious diseases is amplified by the nomadic tendencies of pastoral clans, and the presence of large refugee camps. The WHO and UNICEF have been able to decrease measles outbreaks by administering vaccines to over 45,000 children in these camps. Nearly 50 percent of children under the age of 1 have been vaccinated for this disease.
  4. Women and children face danger on a daily basis. Armed men often take sexually violent acts against women and girls without prosecution. Children are recruited and indoctrinated by the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab. Somalia is ranked as one of the worst five places to be a woman in the world due to the widespread practice of Sharia law and restriction of gender-based freedoms. There is also limited access to health care and the prevalence of human trafficking. The Somali federal government did implement an incredibly comprehensive Sexual Offences Bill in May 2018, the bill that criminalizes sexual offenses.
  5. According to the WHO, the average life expectancy of a Somali individual is 53 years. The average expectancy of an individual to live a healthy life is only 45 years. Due to a lack of access to health care services and adequate sanitation, most adults die of infectious disease. Upon birth, only 9 percent of women are attended by a health professional. Maternal, neonatal and nutritional deaths account for approximately 18,000 deaths across both genders.
  6. The federal government only controls part of the country and formal economic activity is limited to the urban areas. Businesses are scarce due to the probability of looting and high inflation. It is 137 percent more expensive to live in Mogadishu, country’s capital, than in Tokyo. The main income of the country is international trade, but constant civil discourse prohibits this sector from experiencing significant growth. The new Public Financial Management bill should increase the government’s revenue security and control of expenses.
  7. There are two seceded states in the north: Somaliland and Puntland created after the civil war. Constant border disputes between the three regions have created unrest and violence. Around 2.1 million individuals have been displaced by federal government evictions, random acts of violence and climatic conditions. Foreign aid has made efforts to provide assistance to displaced peoples, but Al-Shabaab placed sanction prohibiting humanitarian organizations.
  8. The split between Puntland, Somaliland and the Somali Republic causes constant border disputes. There is no judiciary system to solve these issues and these disputes devolve into violent attacks. The influx of pastoral clans and refugees into major cities and ports during the dry season cause looting and disease.
  9. The government provides exponentially less health assistance than nongovernmental organizations. Regions within WHO jurisdiction have nearly twice the utilization of health services than regions without it. Maternal and child mortality rates are also much lower in these areas. Less than 50 out of 1,000 children die versus approximately 150 out of 1,000 in regions without aid. The Somali federal government has increased spending on health care services and has had 88 percent of the population for tuberculosis tested in regions without organizations’ assistance.
  10. Around 2.1 million people have been displaced internally in refugee camps. The surrounding countries have placed sanctions on incoming peoples seeking asylum due to limited resources. Those seeking asylum are also unable to travel across the disputed borders of Somaliland and Puntland because of convoys along them. With large numbers of people moving around so sporadically, it is also hard to create a consistent source of nutrition.

Poverty and civil war are rampant issues that result in many consequences for Somalia. Humanitarian aid is the main source of help in improving living conditions for over 5.4 million people that are in desperate need. Between the assistance of these organizations and the growing effectiveness of the federal government, the people of Somalia may have a decent chance to live in a comfortable environment.

– Emily Triolet

Photo: Flickr

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Drought in Afghanistan

Drought in Afghanistan
Afghanistan, a landlocked Asian country, is experiencing the worst drought in the past five decades. The United Nations has estimated that 2 million people have been affected by the drought and that 1.4 million people are in need of urgent food assistance. Several years of low rainfall and snowfall have led to the seriousness of the drought in Afghanistan.

The Drought in Afghanistan

The drought has affected 20 provinces in the country. Almost 1.5 million people rely on agriculture products for food in these affected regions. It has majorly affected the planting of wheat and livestock pastures. The Famine Early Warning System Network has placed many regions in Afghanistan in a crisis state and some regions are even considered to be in emergency phases. Due to the drought in Afghanistan, the number of households in the crisis to emergency phases are expected to rise even more.

The Effect on Refugee Crisis

The recent drought in Afghanistan has added more pressure to the refugee and displaced person population in the region. Water levels are so low that, in some areas, dry wells are driving even more people to leave the country.

Continuous conflict and unemployment have been a typical factor of migration in Afghanistan, but now the drought adds to the problem. During the recent refugee crisis, Afghans were the second largest group of refugees. Countries like Iran and Pakistan are no longer welcoming Afghanistan refugees and are even encouraging refugees to return home. Those who are unable to leave the country move into urban cities in order to find work to provide for their family.

International Response to Drought in Afghanistan

The European Union has recently added $22.7 million in emergency aid to the region in response to the severeness of the drought in Afghanistan. The recent funding will help to provide assistance to projects on the ground. These ground projects include food assistance, water, sanitation and health care.

A portion of this help will come from the EU’s own Emergency Response Mechanism that provides assistance to vulnerable regions. The Humanitarian Country Team also plans to revise their Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) to ask for $177 million in aid to assist people affected by the drought. The revision of the HRP plans to reach 4.2 million people across the country in various aspects, especially agriculture, sanitation and nutrition. These programs aim to ensure food security in the region as the number of households in need of emergency assistance increases.

There is hope for the region to somewhat sustain itself. The coming of Fall and El Nino, routine climate pattern, are promising to planters in Afghanistan. El Nino is expected to provide more than average precipitation in the coming season. The areas planted for wheat are expected to be higher than average due to the prediction of high precipitation.

This prediction, however, is one of many and there are other outcomes for the spread of rainfall. Hopefully, rainfall will return to the region and provide farmers with the resources to plant and harvest. As long as the people in urgent need of humanitarian aid are assisted, there is hope to ensure food security for those most affected by the drought in Afghanistan.

– Olivia Halliburton
Photo: Flickr

Top 10 Facts About Living Conditions in Tanzania

Top Ten Facts About Living Conditions in Tanzania Tanzania is an East African country best known for its safaris, the Serengeti National Park and the “big five” game, or the elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and rhino. But what does it feel like to live and work in this country? How do natives of Tanzania go about everyday life? In the article below, top 10 facts about living conditions in Tanzania that will try to answer these and other questions, are presented.

Top 10 Facts About Living Conditions in Tanzania

  1. The land is a very important asset in safeguarding food security. The nine main food crops in Tanzania are maize, sorghum, millet, rice, wheat, beans, cassava, potatoes and bananas. The Tanzanian government encourages 25 million young people to choose agricultural industry as their line of work. Tanzania’s agricultural industry makes more than $1 billion in crop export per year and contributes to nearly 30 percent of the country’s GDP.
  2. Self-employment is very popular in the country. One out of every three Tanzanians runs a small business such as a restaurant, shop or a consulting company that employs less than nine employees. Entrepreneurship is a major stepping stone for the citizens of the country as it allows them to be self-sustainable.
  3. Tanzania’s urban population is mostly concentrated in Dar-es-Salaam, the biggest city, who has 4.3 million people and Zanzibar with 1.3 million. Both cities have metro areas and a port of entry. Even though these two cities are urban meccas, 80 percent of Tanzanians still live in rural areas.
  4. Tanzania has a fast population growth and a high fertility rate. In 2012, Tanzania had a population of 49 million and today the population is around 60 million. Tanzanian women have five children on average. In addition, the death rate is falling, and citizens are living well into their late 60’s. It is projected that Tanzania will have 100 million citizens by 2035.
  5. The Government of Tanzania pays some of its deficits thanks to its minerals industry. Gold is a major commodity with $1.46 billion being exported in 2017 and around one million people being employed by the mining industry, making Tanzania the third largest African nation to produce this mineral. The Minerals minister wants at least 10 percent of the mineral company’s earnings to go to the country’s GDP by the year 2025. This stemmed from a tax issue with Acacia Mining Plc, one of the largest gold mines in the country. 
  6. Thirty percent of Tanzania land is a national park and the country is surrounded by three of the largest lakes in the world. However, Tanzania is struggling with water scarcity in rural areas. Only half of the population has access to clean drinking water. There are organizations who aim to fix this problem. The Water Project raises money to build new wells, fix neglected wells, build rain tanks and protect springs. They work with the communities and locals to determine what are the best options and solutions.
  7. Tanzania’s climate ranges from tropical to temperate. Farms and livestock depend on the rain, but years of drought have brought famine to the country. Tanzania has had a drought period since 2017 and is suffering from less than 30 percent of its normal rainfall. Due to the lack of water, almost 4,000 livestock have been killed, With the dying animals and lack of crops, there is a fear this will lead to food shortages in an already poverty-stricken country.
  8. Over 35 percent of Tanzania’s population lives in extreme poverty. A major cause of this is the country’s low pace of urbanization. Around 34 percent of the population lacks basic amenities such as electricity, sanitation and education.
  9. Former president and father of Tanzanian independence Julius Nyerere was a teacher. Today, the country ranks at the bottom in terms of education. While 94 percent of children enroll in school at the primary level, 20 percent of students drop out before finishing, and only 15 percent complete secondary school. Some reasons for this are lack of trained teachers, lack of money and not lack of space in schools. In 2015, Tanzania abolished school fees and tuition in hope that more children would be able to attend school. But even though official school fees are no longer required many students still can not afford to attend lessons due to other costs such as uniforms, transportation and books.
  10. In Tanzania, psychology does not represent a discipline. Psychological services are not yet regulated and universities do not even have a department named for it. Bloom Consultancy is a local organization that is hoping to educate Tanzanians on how to be mentally healthy and keep maintaining good mental well-being. Most natives would compare mental health with having a mental illness. Recently, with technology development, there has been an increase in awareness of this issue. Tanzanian Psychological Association has been founded in 2009 and Muhumbili National Hospital in Dar has also started providing support groups and psychology educational seminars for Tanzanians.

Some of the top 10 facts about living conditions in Tanzania are hard to comprehend while others show signs of hope for the country. Even though Tanzania has areas that need improvement, like education and universal access to clean water, it has made strides in improving mental health acceptance, self-employment and usage of natural resources. The country is improving with help from the government and the people who call Tanzania home.

– Jennifer O’Brien

Photo: Unsplash

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Global Food Insecurity Has a Common Solution

Crop fields Nigeria
Food insecurity is outlawed by international rule of law. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, as a minimum standard of treatment and quality of life for all people in all nations. Article 25, section 1 of the declaration states: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food.”

Causes of Food Insecurity

Often times, countries that are a part of the U.N. fall short on this promise to provide adequate nutritious food to everyone, including the United States of America. Malnutrition and food insecurity can be attributed to many causes worldwide, from political turmoil, environmental struggles and calamities, lack of financial resources and lack of infrastructure to distribute food equally within a country.

It is widely known that the poorest nations often lack the means or the will to sufficiently supply food to the people and their most vulnerable population, ethnic minority groups, women, and children often suffer the most.

In 2006, the Center for Disease Control reported that widespread media attention in 2005 brought global awareness to a food crisis in the West African country of Niger. According to the report, with a population of 11.5 million in 2002, 2.5 million people living in farming or grazing areas in Niger were vulnerable to food insecurity.

Food Supply Chains

In the United States, conventional food supply chains are used in the mass distribution of food. This method starts with produced raw goods. These products are transferred to distribution centers that may offload goods to wholesalers or sell them directly to food retailers, where these goods are finally purchased by consumers at grocery stores and markets. Food may travel long distances throughout this process, to be consumed by people who may have purchased comparable foods grown closer to home.

In her article entitled Food Distribution in America, Monica Johnson writes, “With each step added between the farm and the consumer, money is taken away from the farmer. Typically, farmers are paid 20 cents on the dollar. So even if the small-scale or medium sized farmer is able to work with big food distributors, they are typically not paid enough to survive.”

Hunts Food Distribution Center is one of the largest food distributors in the United States with over $2 billion in annual sales. According to the New York Economic Development Commission, it sits on 329 acres of land in the Bronx, New York and supplies over 50 percent of food consumed by people in the area, and also supplies food to about 20 percent of people in the region. Still, the Food Bank of New York City reported a meal gap of 242 million in 2014 and food insecurity of 22.3 percent, with 399,000 of people affected being children.

Solution to the Problem

About 13 years after the Niger food crisis the country is still one of the poorest in the world. The World Food Program (WFP), headquartered in Rome, Italy, continues to focus on fixing the problem of food insecurity in countries like Niger. Through helping those like Nigeriens build sustainable livelihoods and ecosystems for crop cultivation, the WFP hopes to lessen the high levels of food insecurity and issues related to it, such as malnutrition and high mortality rates among children under the age of 5.

Assisting locals to manage sustainable local food resources through soil conservation, water harvesting, rehabilitating irrigation systems and reducing the loss of biodiversity among other efforts, the organization focuses on local measures to solve food insecurity issues.

The same is happening in the United States. The country plans to upgrade agricultural facilities and operations, a plan that includes working with other food distributors at the state level to increase integration with upstate and regional food distributors, supporting local farms, and providing growth opportunities for emerging regional food distribution models.

Food insecurity is a big problem in developing, but in developed countries as well. Countries need to make sure to promote local agriculture development in order to achieve food production that will suffice each country needs.

– Matrinna Woods

Photo: Flickr

The World Bank is Combatting Energy Poverty

The World Bank Allocates Funds to Combat World Energy Poverty
Energy poverty continues to be one of the most pressing matters facing our world today. The International Energy Agency estimates that 1.3 billion people still have no access to any kind of energy and another 1 billion have access, but it is unreliable. Luckily, there are organizations all around the world that are mobilizing time and money to attempt to cut these numbers down and provide energy to all. One such organization is the World Bank.

About the World Bank

The World Bank was founded in 1994 in Washington D.C. It is a global initiative that helps fund projects worldwide to end poverty. It is not a bank in the traditional sense, but rather a partnership to help reduce poverty and support development. It is comprised of five organizations:

These institutions are located all around the world and are run as separate entities, but they are all united under one organization. With the knowledge and resources of these five organizations, the World Bank is able to offer help in the form of money, but also in the form of technical know-how, policy advice and research analysis.

World Bank In Action

An estimated 2 billion people were able to gain access to electricity between 1990 and 2008. However, along with those statistics, there remain more than 2.7 billion people lacking access to modern fuels for cooking, leaving them to prepare their meals over open fires, having dangerous repercussions on their health and the environment. In fact, it is believed that these pollutants cause millions of premature deaths each year with most of the deaths occurring before even reaching adulthood.

To prevent issues like these that stem from energy poverty, the World Bank has allocated $1 billion to an initiative involving battery storage in order to “ramp up” the use of renewable energy in countries where energy poverty strikes hardest, with the hope that this money will bring in even more funds to help this cause.

In a press release last month, World Bank president Jim Yong Kim said “For developing countries, this can be a game changer. Battery storage can help countries leapfrog to the next generation of power generation technology, expand energy access, and set the stage for much cleaner, more stable, energy systems.” This project will help mitigate the risk involved in technological advancements surrounding energy and battery initiatives in developing countries and educate those countries on what moves to make in terms of bringing energy to its citizens.

World Bank’s Plans for Fighting Energy Poverty

The Borgen Project was able to conduct an interview with Anita Rozowska, the communications officer for the Energy and Extractives division of the World Bank. During an interview, she gave a synopsis of these plans. Rozowska echoes President Kim, “This is truly a game changer for developing countries” adding that it “will have a positive impact on the climate.” This truly is a large step, not just for developing countries but for the world at large. If we can provide energy to energy-starved countries while also having it be eco-friendly, this is when we can truly say that we are making a difference, and the World Bank hopes to do just that.

Rozowska then explained the financing. “The World Bank will be raising another $1 billion in concessional climate financing, and we expect to mobilize, over the next 5-6 years, a further $3 billion in private investments and public funds to support this.” This is an addition to the initial $1 billion that World Bank was able to raise for its battery storage initiative. That is a grand total of $5 billion that will be raised in order to combat world energy poverty and the impact will be on a global scale.

It is important to note that this is not just a singular project in one or two countries; this initiative will help to bolster battery storage and increase energy access for people in Africa, South Asia and island nations in the Pacific. The World Bank is already responsible for 15 percent of battery storage initiatives in these areas.

And the future is bright. Rozowska concluded by adding, “By 2025, we expect that this new program will have financed 17.5-gigawatt hours of battery storage – more than triple the current installed capacity in all developing countries.” This means that by 2025, these nations will have triple the amount of energy potential for their citizens, which will put a huge dent in the issue of energy poverty. This truly is, a game-changer.

– Zachary Farrin

Photo: Flickr

Ethiopia Turns to Privatization to Further Economic Growth

Ethiopian PM Turns to Privatization to Further Economic Growth

In a move atypical of his political alignment with the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced in June 2018 that the government will begin procedures to implement privatization in Ethiopia of various state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in telecommunications, energy and transportation.

Already one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Ethiopia hopes to continue this trend by selling shares in some of the country’s most profitable and promising industries. In this announcement, Ahmed proposed that privatization of these booming enterprises will aim to increase foreign direct investment (FDI), lessen the unemployment rate and reduce poverty.

Ethiopia’s Recent Improvements

The second largest country in Africa and home to more than 100 million people, Ethiopia has been experiencing tremendous economic growth in recent years. Unemployment has dropped from more than 26 percent in 1999 to less than 17 percent in 2015. The poverty rate has decreased from nearly 46 percent in 1995 to less than 30 percent in 2010.

While Ahmed has only been in office since April of 2018, his vows to reform Ethiopia economically and socially have surprised many. Since their coming to power in 1991, the EPRDF’s has had a history of complete state-ownership of the majority of the industry. The state, however, will remain in control of the majority of shares in the industries being opened up to foreign investment.

His promises of calming social tension and revamping the economy have been met with some skepticism, but Ahmed fervently retains that his intentions are to restore Ethiopia to a place of social stability, economic prosperity and peace. Ahmed has even gone as far as to reach out to Ethiopia’s long-term enemy, Eritrea, to find common ground.

The Prime Minister’s Plans

Although the government has yet to release detailed plans as to how they intend to implement privatization in Ethiopia, they have been working with consulting agencies abroad such as PwC and McKinsey to determine a practical and sustainable way to carry out an economic overhaul of such magnitude.

Among the SOEs the government plans to privatize, the introduction of Ethiopian Airlines to the private sector, in particular, represents a key component in Ahmed’s economic plan; Ethiopia will experience a shift from an agrarian society to a modern, competitive, industrial society. As the country’s national flag carrier and a symbol of state pride, Ethiopian Airlines has garnered an intake of hard currency (currency unlikely to be affected by inflation) three times that of coffee, a long-standing staple of Ethiopia’s economy.

Increasing Foreign Investment

The privatization of Ethiopian Airlines also indicates Ahmed’s desire to transform Ethiopia into a major air travel hub, similar to Emirates’ position in the United Arab Emirates. This will serve as a way to bring in foreign investors and to present Ethiopia as a modern contender in the world economy. By selling shares of Ethiopian Airlines and other rapidly-growing SOEs such as Ethio Telecom, Ethiopian Electric Power and Railway Corporation, Ahmed hopes to draw foreign investment since Ethiopia has experienced an alarming shortage of foreign exchange in recent years.

While privatization in Ethiopia is sure to be a slow transition, and the government will most likely remain majority shareholders in the enterprises they are selling, the country appears to be heading in a positive direction. Between 2004 and 2014, Ethiopia averaged annual economic growth of 10.9 percent and is projected to grow another 8.7 percent in the next two years.

With a goal of reaching lower-middle income national status by 2025 and a government promising major social and economic reform, Ethiopia has established itself as a nation in the midst of a true revival. Hopefully, Ahmed’s plan of privatization in Ethiopia will prove to be a positive step for the country’s future economic growth.

– Rob Lee

Photo: Flickr

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Hope for Reducing Poverty in Nigeria

Reducing Poverty in Nigeria
Nigeria has recently overtaken India as the poverty capital of the world. Ranking lists like the Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index (CRI) and the Human Capital Index (HCI) place Nigeria at the bottom or very close to the bottom. The country has the highest number of people in extreme poverty in the world, at 86.9 million people. However, poverty in Nigeria has not stopped its population from growing. According to the most recent estimates, predictions have determined that Nigeria will become the third-largest populated country in the world by 2050. Additionally, the poverty rate could increase exponentially if something does not change soon. Fortunately enough, the causes of Nigeria’s high poverty rate have undergone identification. If changed, the improvement in the following categories can bring hope for reducing poverty in Nigeria.

Improving Education

Data from October 2018, Nigeria has the greatest number of children that are out of school. The number increased from 10.5 million to 13.2 million. There was an attempt by the government to increase school attendance, but the children had to return to the streets because they could not survive while in school.

The high number of children out of school accompanies a high fertility rate in the country. In 2016, estimates determined that the birth rate would be around six children for each mother and usually, these mothers first started having children around the age of 18. Having so many children, it is hard to put them all in school because of the education costs. It is no surprise that many children go without education and many families prefer that they do things that can bring money to the family, or help gather food. To make things even worse, the children who go out in the streets to make a living are have exposure to sex trafficking, drug trafficking and other violent activities.

The Nigerian government is reluctant to start more education funding in the hope of reducing poverty in Nigeria. The big problem is that there is a lack of data that shows them what to do and how to fix the system. Punch Newspapers, a Nigerian newsletter, urges the wealthy in the country, and elsewhere, to help fund the program that will focus on collecting data, a program that will receive joint funding from different organizations and the government.

Cash Transfers’ Role in Reducing Poverty in Nigeria

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) released a report in 2016 that showed that cash transfers, direct transfer payments of money to eligible people, can show direct growth in the economy, school attendance, health care and dietary diversity. The ODI determined that cash transfers, when invested correctly, can lead to an increased amount of income in the future. For example, if families invest money they receive from the government into agriculture, education or beginning a new business, they would have the confidence to continue their prospects once the cash transfers end.

However, once the cash transfers end, the progress typically stops too. As Quartz Africa stated, cash transfers are great for temporary benefits and giving citizens hope, but with the loss of transfers from the government, some families revert to the way they were before. Therefore, this should be a good example for the government to see how important it is for their intervention.

Development of Agriculture

Nigeria faced an economic decline due to the decline in oil and natural gas prices, the country’s main export products. However, due to the big dependence on oil and gas, agriculture growth in the country is out of great importance. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is conducting research on how to renew agricultural success. In its report on growing the agricultural sector, CSIS claimed that this is a very important sector to grow because of its potential to feed the country as well as provide jobs and stability to the extremely impoverished.

The agriculture sector already employs 70% of the country’s population, but by expanding it, the country can provide even more specialized jobs that will allow people to move through the job ladders. One of the main reasons this has not flourished as many expected is because the farmers have a hard time accessing loans to get the right machines to run a successful farm. The other issue stems from a lukewarm commitment from the government that also leads to a lack of research into the potential for agriculture. CSIS plans to put the work and money into Nigeria to help this sector grow.

Cash transfers feed into the ability to pursue education, which will further the growth of the economy and society. Not only that, but the bigger step in cash transfers will be long-term loans to farmers so that the agricultural sector can further develop.

There are also other steps and means that can eliminate extreme poverty in Nigeria, but the development of agriculture and education with the help of the government seems to be three pillars of success. As long as people recognize the steps that are necessary to improve the situation, hope for reducing poverty in Nigeria remains.

– Miranda Garbaciak
Photo: Flickr

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Maternal Health Program for Low-Income Families

Maternal Health Program for Low-Income Families
Since 2001, the province of Manitoba, Canada, has provided 63,000 pregnant and low-income women with cash supplements to help them take care of themselves and their families. The program is called the Healthy Baby Prenatal Benefit.

The supplements are “financial cushions” meant to provide women with the money they need to get health care, healthy food and nutritional supplements. Researchers who have worked with the program say that it has provided a blueprint for other provinces in Canada to follow. If this maternal health program for low-income families works well on a cross-country scale, it could possibly be further developed to help other countries as well.

Maternal Health Program

The money is not the most important part of this project, though. Because the cash supplement was only around $62 per month, the mothers cannot afford many things with it. However, the financial cushion encouraged women to seek healthier food, better transportation options and other things they might not splurge on.

Also, this was a gateway for ensuring that women get into prenatal care as soon as possible. Along with the stipend comes a community. There are approximately 70 prenatal and postnatal support groups across Manitoba that educate women about their future children, what they need to know during pregnancy, and other tips and tricks they may not have received otherwise. All in all, it has been a successful maternal health program for low-income families.

Impact of the Program

Women who have participated in the Healthy Baby Prenatal Benefit program said they felt like confident mothers after going to support groups and using their supplements to better their lives. The program drew inspiration from France, the country that is touted as one of the best countries in the world to raise children. Programs like the Healthy Baby Prenatal Benefit are inspiring others around the world as well.

Cambodia has set up a UNICEF funded pilot project that gives stipends to women if they follow up on their prenatal checks. It was relatively successful, which gives hope to the government and other nongovernmental organizations that funding projects like this are important in the long term. Taking care of the mother’s body while pregnant not only helps the future child but also helps the mother. It decreases the death rate among pregnant women, which can drastically change a child’s future.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 830 women die every day from preventable issues related to pregnancy and childbirth and 99 percent of those women come from developing countries. Women in rural areas are affected the most because they do not have access to adequate health care. The most interesting thing that can be concluded from these facts is that skilled care before, during and after childbirth can save the lives of women and newborn babies. This directly relates to the cash programs in countries like Canada, France and Cambodia.

Other Countries That Need Similar Programs

There are a lot of countries that could benefit from the programs such as the Healthy Baby Prenatal Benefit program and that can develop their own maternal health programs. In this article, three of such countries are listed.

Sierra Leone is the first country on the list that could improve maternal health care. There are around 1,360 deaths per every 100,000 live births in the country, which makes the situation urgent. The second on the list is Chad, a country that has approximately 856 deaths per every 100,00 live births. Children make up for 57 percent of Chad’s population and this dangerous trend could potentially leave many of them without mothers. In Nigeria, there are approximately 814 deaths per every 100,000 live births. Nigeria has looked into cash supplement programs before, but creating one specifically for pregnant women would create a great and much-needed change.

Developing countries can and should follow Canada’s example and success with a maternal health program dedicated specifically to low-income families. There is a successful blueprint in the world and it just needs to be adapted to each country that needs it.

– Miranda Garbaciak
Photo: Flickr

Top 10 Facts Living Conditions In Kenya

Top 10 Facts Living conditions In Kenya
Kenya is a culturally rich country located in Eastern Africa along the equator and is one of the most significant places for paleontological discoveries about human’s ancestors. The presence of ethnic diversity within a population of 48.5 million people has amplified its cultural and linguistic wealth but, sadly, it has also been a source of conflict.

Despite the reoccurring security issues, including terrorist attacks by Al-Shabaab, Kenya has been achieving some tremendous changes in the political, structural and economic spheres through various reforms. These reforms were a result of a change in the constitution that took place in 2010 and has overall played a key role in the sustained economic growth and social development. The nation continues the deal with some pertinent issues such as poverty, inequality and climate change.

These top 10 facts living conditions in Kenya portray the living conditions in Kenya through the positive changes occurring as well as the challenges the country faces.

Top 10 Facts Living Conditions in Kenya

  1. The 2010 constitutional changes meant a significant part of changing the gears toward development for Kenya as it addressed historically rooted issues such as geographic, demographic and human rights issues that have been an obstacle for the progress of the nation.
  2. As a result of the changes, three years after the constitutional improvements took place, Kenya had a peaceful election for the offices of the National and County Government with demands for fair resource allocation and accountable service delivery.
  3. Kenya has made some commendable achievements including the fulfillment of some of the Millenium Development Goals such as the decrease in child mortality, universal primary school enrollment and the lessened gender gap in education.
  4. Kenya is considered to be one of the fastest growing economies in Africa with a growth rate near 5.8 percent, despite the setbacks caused by the 2008 global economic recession.
  5. Although the overall economy in the country is increasing, the gap between the rich and poor have been growing immensely. Almost 42 percent of the country’s population continues to live below the poverty line.
  6. Due to this great gap between the rich and poor the achievement of Millenium Development Goals, social security, in particular, have been a point of debate as the large part of the society still does not have sufficient access to basic services such as health care, education and clean water.
  7. The Kenya 2030 Vision development programme has the potential to change the lack of access for the larger part of the population through devolved health care as well as free maternal care that could greatly improve health care outcomes.
  8. In December 2017, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced what he called the “Big Four”, four pillars that will be most important in his last term as president and that are: manufacturing, universal health care, affordable housing and food security.
  9. There have been some security issues in recent years with a growing number of attacks due to the Islamist militant Al-Shabaab movement that has set camp in the neighboring country, Somalia. Some of the most infamous ones include the devastating attack in 2013 Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi and the attack on Garissa University in 2015.
  10. In recent years, Kenya has been dealing with a humanitarian issue as a result of the influx of refugees coming from Somalia that have reached over 500,000 people, while refugees immigrating from South Sudan amount to over 30,000 people.

As a country with a tremendous number of young people, skilled labor, a revised constitution and infrastructural resources, Kenya has the potential to be one of the leading nations in the Eastern African. In order to reach such heights, however, it is essential that the country produces and implements sustainable solutions for its security, social and political problems while putting efforts to alleviate poverty.

– Bilen Kassie
Photo: Flickr

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Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Eritrea

Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Eritrea
Eritrea is located at the Horn of Africa in the Sahel Desert that is dominated by arid and semi-arid climatic conditions. The country is, therefore, vulnerable to adverse effects of climate variability, recurring droughts and environmental degradation. The World Bank estimates that 69 percent of Eritrea’s population lives below the poverty line. The economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80 percent of the population depending on farming and pastoralism.

Eritrea has no free press and political repression of the opposition is rampant. After a severe drought in the Horn of Africa in 2015, president of the country, Isaias Afwerki, polemicized that the country had magically evaded the drought, denying a food crisis. A 2016 U.N. report documents that the president rejected U.N. food aid during the 2015 drought.

The proceeding 10 facts about hunger in Eritrea provide a snapshot of the political climate in the country that ousted humanitarian aid agencies over the last decade, while hunger persisted. The facts also highlight advances in sustainable agriculture and projects that have increased food security.

Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Eritrea

  1. Since gaining independence in 1993, Eritrea has had tense relations with humanitarian agencies. In July 2005, the country asked the USAID to terminate its operations and leave the country. It continued expelling other international organizations from working within the country in 2006.
  2. Beginning in 2000, Mercy Corps carried out more than $40 million worth of assistance that alleviated hunger until they closed their operations at the request of the Government of Eritrea in June 2006.
  3. According to the BBC report in 2011, emaciated Eritreans were crossing the heavily militarised border at the rate of almost 900 people a month, despite official denial of food crisis by President Afwerki.
  4. In 2013, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), over 60 percent of the Eritrean population was reported to be undernourished in the period between 2011 and 2013.
  5. Eritrea currently meets only a third of its estimated food and the other two-third needs are being met by international food aid programs.
  6. Data from the Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance system indicate an increase in malnutrition rates since 2015 in four out of six regions of the country, and projections estimate that 23,000 children under the age of 5 will need treatment for severe acute malnutrition in 2018.
  7. In May 2018, the Government of Eritrea donated 40,000 tons of food to South Sudan. The country has already pledged 50,000 tons of food aid for the people of South Sudan in 2017.
  8. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) aimed to increase collaboration with Eritrea to promote sustainability and food security. There has been a success with projects that aim to increase sustainable agriculture in Eritrea, specifically in the small village of Keih-Kor. With the help of the UNDP, the village was able to regain the use of 45 hectares of farmland.
  9. In the Central Region, UNDP helped build three micro-dams in the Gala-Hefhi sub-region. Over 1,200 villagers benefitted from the dam constructed in Lamza Village, with improved food security and stronger productivity.
  10. In 2018, UNICEF treated 15,000 children under the age of 5 that had severe acute malnutrition and 40,000 children under the age of 5 with minor acute malnutrition, provided 477,000 children aged 6 to 59 months with vitamin A supplementation and 70,000 children aged 6 to 59 months. Pregnant and lactating women also benefited from supplementary feeding.

Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Five years later, the war between the two countries broke out and lasted from May 1998 to June 2000. The conflict saw hundreds of millions of dollars diverted from development aid to arms procurement.

In July 2018, Eritrea signed a historic peace agreement with Ethiopia. Four months following these good measures of social reunification in the Horn of Africa, the United Nations Security Council unanimously lifted international sanctions against Eritrea that have been imposed continuously since 2009. The measures were based on concerns that the Eritrean government was funding and arming the Somali extremist group, Al-Shabaab.

The 10 facts about hunger in Eritrea provide hope that hunger may turn around in the Horn of Africa due to Eritrea’s reconciliation with its neighbors, as the reconciliation could also mean a more open attitude towards humanitarian agencies. There is evidence that suggests that Eritrea could also be a friend in alleviating hunger in the future, across other nations in the Horn of Africa.

– Sasha Kramer
Photo: Flickr