Top 10 Facts about Living Conditions In Mexico

Top 10 Facts about Living Conditions In Mexico
The Pew Research Center reported that the number of unauthorized immigrants coming into the U.S. has stabilized at the number around 11 million, with 55 percent of immigrants coming from Mexico. In recent months, several news outlets have reported on numerous deportations and cases of illegal immigration throughout the U.S. What kind of living conditions do the Mexican people endure in Mexico if they feel that their only chance for a better life is to flee to the U.S.? More than 400,000 people were deported back to Mexico in 2016 alone. These top 10 facts about living conditions in Mexico shed light on the conditions that those returning encounter.

Top 10 Facts about Living Conditions in Mexico

  1. There have been major strides to reduce Mexico’s poverty rate over the years. One contributing factor to the reduction of poverty has been the program Prospera that gives struggling mothers an incentive to send their children to school and provide their children with regular health screenings. However, even with programs like this one, 43.6 percent of Mexico’s population still lives in poverty.
  2. Many Mexican households resort to meals consisting of rice and beans. They are cheap, easily accessible and don’t have a short shelf-life. The National Health and Nutrition Survey conducted in 2012 revealed that as a result of poor diet, Mexican families suffer a nutritional imbalance that leads to a risk of obesity and malnutrition.
  3. Mexico has various food assistance programs for families in need. One such program is Liconsa that provides milk to families with children and to those living under the national poverty line. A study conducted comparing food assistance programs in Mexico to those in the U.S. found that food stamps can comprise half of a household’s income in the U.S., while urban programs in Mexico make up only for 3.8 percent of a family’s income.
  4. Mexico is home to some of the worlds’ most active and dangerous drug cartels. Mexico’s war on drugs has claimed the lives of 245,999 citizens from 2007 through March 2018. The year 2017 saw the highest homicide number with over 29,000 victims.
  5. Sixty-one percent of the working population in Mexico has paying jobs and this number is low considering the national employment average is 67 percent. However, those that have jobs are expected to work longer hours to afford the costs of living. Thirty percent of Mexico’s workforce has to work 50 hours or more per week to survive, and this is the reason why it is more convenient for many to work elsewhere and send money back home.
  6. Mexico’s average household income peaked at $4,169 per year in 2008. Over the last ten years, there has been a sharp decline in yearly income per household in Mexico. In 2016, Mexican households were averaging a mere $2,718 per year. In order to afford the bare minimum costs of living in Mexico, one would need to be making at least $3,193 a year.
  7. Mexico was once home to one of the world’s worst slums, Ciudad Neza, home to 1.2 million people in 2016. Ciudad Neza has been transformed into a working community that now has access to clean water and sewage systems. It is a vast improvement from the make-shift squabbles with no electricity that people used to live in. It is by no means perfect and still draws in a great deal of crime, but progress has been made giving hope to many that still live without basic necessities.
  8. At less than $4 a day, Mexico holds one of Latin America’s lowest minimum wages. Income inequality can be credited to Mexico’s wage restriction policies that attracted foreign businesses to use Mexican workers as a cheap form of labor. State taxes have also played a significant role in keeping families in poverty by not taxing its citizens based on their income level.
  9. As of 2004, Mexico has ensured that a majority of its citizens receive health care through a universal health care plan. Before its establishment, only half of the working population were covered under their employers’ health insurance. Since its formation, Seguro Popular (health coverage for all in Mexico) has gone from supporting 3.1 million people to supporting 55.6 million people.
  10. Many changes have been made to Mexico’s water supply and access to proper sanitation facilities. Ninety-six percent of people in Mexico had access to clean drinking water in 2015, a vast improvement from 82.3 percent in 1990. From 1998 to 2005, the Mexican government oversaw the expansion of its Water and Sanitation for Rural Communities program aiding 4.8 million people with clean water and sanitation.

While there is still more to accomplish, Mexico has set forth legislation and policies that have greatly improved the quality of life for many of its citizens.

In July 2018, the Mexican people elected Andrés Manuel López Obrador as their next president. In addressing the problem of poverty in Mexico, Obrador has promised to cut the salaries of higher paid government workers to support education for the children of Mexico and pensions for the elderly. With new leadership and fresh ideas comes promised change, and stable living conditions for all of Mexico might be on the horizon.

– Catherine Wilson
Photo: Flickr

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5 Facts About the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women

Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women
People often think of slavery as a thing of the past. They think of cotton plantations and the transatlantic slave trade, the Abolitionist movement and the Civil War. Yet, slavery remains present all over the world today in the form of human trafficking. In 2016, more than 40 million people were victims of human trafficking. Of this number, 25 percent were children and 75 percent were women or girls. These people are subjected to inhumane conditions, forced labor and sexual exploitation. Many organizations and movements are fighting to end this modern slavery. The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) is one of those organizations.

5 Things to Know about the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women

  1. The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women is a group of more than 100 non-governmental organizations from countries all over the world that promotes human rights and fights human trafficking, specifically trafficking of women and girls, as they account for a great majority of human trafficking victims.
  2. The network was founded in 1994 at an international conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand, by a group of women mainly from the Global South, many of whom had personally experienced migration, displacement and/or trafficking. The alliance, now based in Bangkok, revolutionized the way human trafficking is perceived as it was one of the first entities to apply a human-rights approach to the issue. This involves recognizing that human trafficking is both a “consequence and cause of human rights violations” and emphasizing the need to protect victims’ rights.
  3. Member organizations include anti-trafficking groups as well as human rights, women’s rights and migrants’ rights organizations from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Though member organizations work independently, they must adhere to the GAATW’s basic principles and abide the certain conditions. Collaboration among members is crucial to the network’s success and is coordinated by the International Secretariat.
  4. Every three years the GAATW’s member organizations and other relevant actors meet at an International Members Congress and Conference, where the network’s strategy to fight the trafficking is refined and updated. The alliance’s strategy has three central themes: increasing accountability of different actors to implement anti-trafficking plans, access to justice and the protection of victims’ human rights and power in migration and work, which involves analyzing how labor and migration policies affect women and empowering women in these areas.
  5. Raising awareness of human trafficking, conducting research and advocating for victims’ rights are a central part of GAATW’s operations. In 2012, the GAATW began publishing the Anti-Trafficking Review, the first peer-reviewed open-access journal centered on human trafficking. Through these processes, the Global Alliance in Traffic Against Women has made remarkable progress. The GAATW helped establish an internationally recognized definition of trafficking. It also created the Human Rights Standard for the Treatment of Trafficked Persons, a system of standards that are used around the world to protect the rights of those who have been trafficked.

Human trafficking is modern slavery and represents a severe violation of people’s rights. The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women is an incredible network that is raising awareness of this problem and pushing governments and other parties to do more to end it. As history has taught us, eliminating any form of slavery is a long and difficult process, but with the GAATW and many other important organizations working tirelessly, ending human trafficking is achievable.

– Laura Turner
Photo: Flickr

Sustaining Graduation: Impoverished Women in India

Impoverished Women in India
The impoverished women in India can receive a new lease of life through the CGAP-Ford Foundation Program — an opportunity that gives women with little means the chance to become self-sustainable. This program was conducted in 2009 to elevate impoverished women in India to a standard livelihood.

Graduating to Sustainable and Sustained Living

Ultra-poor women are identified by the village community and are often given an asset such as running a grocery store or being in charge of a tailoring machine to live a sustained life. The Graduation Program aims to graduate impoverished women out of poverty into a sustained living.

The program was called ‘Targeting the Hard Core Poor’ (THP) which was piloted by Bandhan-Konnagar for 300 women in the districts of West Bengal, India. The program provided sustainable entrepreneurship opportunities through a sequenced support — a productive asset such as livestock or supplies for trade, technical skills training, savings support, temporary cash or in-kind support to tide over immediate consumption needs, and regular mentoring and coaching over 18-24 months.

These resources helped elevate the impoverished women in India to be engaged in sustainable livelihoods and ultimately graduate out of extreme poverty.

This program was initially used by BRAC in Bangladesh. Ten pilots were implemented in eight countries from 2006 to 2009 to capture lessons of best practice in the fields of social protection and microfinance. The graduation program is designed to understand how livelihoods, microfinance and safety nets can be linked to elevating poor women out of poverty.

Models for Elevation Out of Poverty

In the standard model of elevating people from below poverty line, the state provides a poor woman with employment for 58 days a year, under the 100-day job guarantee scheme at a daily wage of Rs169. The cost of this model is about Rs 20,00o over two years.

The alternative model is when the state provides a woman with an asset and monitors her progress while simultaneously giving her a daily stipend for her consumption needs and ensuring basic health care for the family. Such alternative programs help women come out of poverty much more equipped than rural job schemes suggests.

The researchers assessed the effectiveness of the graduation program for 21,000 impoverished women in India, Pakistan, Ghana and Peru, and compared it to the impacts of standard livelihood schemes.

Standard vs. Alternative

“Unlike the standard approach of handing the benefits, credit or cash, the attempt to set up entrepreneurial abilities among impoverished women in India leads to welfare,” stated Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, chairman of Bandhan, to a publication. Beneficiaries of the standard program tend to get government assistance whereas the alternative approach’s beneficiaries are not required to repay the cost of the asset.

The program report suggested that after five and a half years from the program’s end in West Bengal, beneficiaries who participated in the program saw a 46 percent increase in consumption as compared with households that did not receive the program.

“Indicators like total savings, the perception of economic security, and time spent productively for program beneficiaries also increased relative to the households that did not receive the programme. They also had improved food security, accumulated more assets, and had better access to credit,” states the report.

A Four-Fold Improvement

THP also demonstrated that for every rupee spent on the program, impoverished households saw Rs 4.33 in benefits — a four-fold improvement. The program is in its tenth year of implementation in India, and has been scaled up by Bandhan-Konnagar to nine states in India. Now, the program reaches over 61,000 beneficiaries with funding support from state governments, multilateral and CSR foundations.

Tangible Results

Bandhan distributed livestock worth Rs 4500 to 300 families below the poverty line and paid a daily stipend of Rs 21 a day so that they did not sell off their capital asset. At the end of the program, 94 percent of families could generate enough income to be eligible for credit through the microfinance wing.

The impoverished women in India have benefitted from the “Graduation Program” where these women monitor their progress through their entrepreneurial capabilities. This program has helped the impoverished women of India move up the ladder and become more independent.

– Preethi Ravi
Photo: Flickr

Difficulties Faced by Syrian Refugees in Germany

Syrian refugees in Germany
Between 2015 and 2016, Germany accepted over one million refugees, many of whom came from Syria. Some Syrian refugees in Germany, however, have found themselves unsatisfied with their lives in the European nation. The main reasons for this are:

  • Social isolation and discrimination
  • Lack of education and employment opportunities
  • Policies in regard to how long asylum seekers are approved to stay and where they can live
  • Germany’s Family Reunification Policy, which has left many Syrian families unable to reunite.

These conditions have prompted some refugees to risk the illegal and dangerous journey back to Turkey in the hopes of reuniting with their loved ones.

In the text below four above mentioned reasons for the dissatisfaction of refugees will be discussed.

Social Isolation and Discrimination

Syrian refugees sometimes arrive in Germany after an arduous journey only to find that the opportunities for them are severely limited by discrimination. Germany’s decision to allow such a large number of refugees enter the nation has been met with disapproval and resistance, as some Germans do not want refugees in the nation. One German volunteer who worked with refugee families stated that many people were not nice to the refugees she worked with and that they treated her with contempt for helping them.

This discrimination causes a lack of social connections, which exacerbates the poor mental health of refugees, many of whom suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Suicides among refugee youth in Germany have increased due to their failure to create new social ties.

Lack of Opportunities

Syrian refugees in Germany often have difficulties to find employment and to access educational opportunities, as a result of prejudices. In the Atlantic Council article, Yassir, a Syrian refugee who arrived in Germany in 2015, explained that he has been unable to find work for over two years. He learned to speak German quickly after his arrival, but, according to him temp agencies, restaurants, cafes, workshops, all “shut their doors in his face”. According to the Federal Labor Agency, only 17 percent of refugees in Germany are employed.

Education is also an issue, with only 45 percent of Syrian refugees in Germany possessing a school certificate. Shortly after coming to Germany, 20-year-old Mahmoud realized that his educational endeavors could not be achieved in the European nation due to “systematic hurdles imposed by the authorities”, according to The Atlantic Council. He made the decision to resettle in Turkey, where he was able to receive an academic scholarship from the engineering department of Aydin University in Istanbul.

Policies on Refugee Status and the Integration Law

German practices in regards to who is granted full refugee status have also been stressful for many refugees. Initially, almost all Syrian refugees taken in by Germany were granted full refugee status, however, beginning in March 2016, Germany began granting more and more Syrian refugees subsidiary protection instead, which needs to be renewed annually. In 2016, 41 percent of Syrian refugees were given subsidiary protection, and in 2017 this number increased to 55 percent. Syrians with subsidiary protection, many of whom may be happy living in Germany, live in fear of not being accepted when they apply for renewal.

Additionally, German policies on choosing where refugees are placed in the nation cause instability and uncertainty for many refugee families. Germany’s 2016 Integration Law forces refugees to live in states assigned by the government, often without consideration of where the rest of their family is located.

According to U.N. Discussion paper, Zein lived in Germany from 2014, and though her husband arrived in the country in 2015, it was six months before he was granted permission to settle in the same location as her. Similarly, Siwar came to Germany a year and a half after her husband and was sent to a shelter located 100 kilometers away from where he lived, rather than with him.

Germany’s Family Reunification Policy

Arguably the most significant problem for Syrian refugees in Germany, as well as the main reason some have made the decision to illegally return to Turkey, is Germany’s Family Reunification Policy. In March 2016, Germany stopped allowing refugees with subsidiary protection to apply for family reunification. Originally they stated that this would be in effect until March 2018, but then further extended it to July 2018.

According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, as of April 2018, approximately 4,000 Syrian refugees had been reported missing, many of whom could have traveled to Turkey. It is likely that this number is significantly higher. Many Syrians in Germany have family members stuck in Turkey and are willing to risk the dangerous and illegal journey back to Turkey in order to be reunited with them. According to Deutsche Welle, refugees have stated that they would “rather die together than live apart”.

Although family reunification applications are being accepted as of July 2018, a 1,000 person limit on entries per month has been added to prevent an extreme influx of refugees. As of early August, 34,000 family reunification requests had already been submitted, with hundreds of thousands expected.

The future of Syrian refugees in Germany, as well as in other parts of the world, is still undetermined. Countries, including Germany, have made an incredible impact by accepting such a large number of refugees over the past few years. Germany’s reinstatement of family reunification, even with the monthly limit, will begin to bring Syrian families back together and hopefully improve the status of refugees in the nation.

– Sara Olk
Photo: Flickr

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Top 10 Facts about Hunger in Indonesia

Top 10 Facts about Hunger in Indonesia
Indonesia is a country that has made great strides in combating hunger. This Southeast Asian country consists of hundreds of volcanic islands, making it prone to natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes. Government programs have given resources to those who need help, and there are many positives in the list of top 10 facts about hunger in Indonesia.

Top 10 Facts about Hunger in Indonesia

  1. Although the percentage of people enrolled in primary schools has increased to nearly 100 percent in urban areas, this number remained below 60 percent in rural areas of Indonesia. Food programs are offered in some primary schools, and in 2017, Indonesia established the Indonesia School Meals Programme (Pro-GAS) to provide healthy breakfasts to 100,000 children in 11 districts in the country.
  2. The rate of poverty in Indonesia has been steadily decreasing, from 24 percent of the population experiencing poverty, down to 11.3 percent in 2014. However, 43.5 percent of the population still lives on less than $2 per day.
  3. The rate of proper nutrition has somewhat stagnated since 2007, with stunting rates of 37 percent nationally, according to UNICEF. Stunting is the impaired development and growth of children resulting from malnutrition. The Government of Indonesia is well aware of the health concerns associated with stunting, as the vice president of the country enacted a National Strategy to Accelerate Stunting Prevention in 2017. The strategy will pledge $14.6 billion to converge priority nutrition interventions that include food insecurity measurements, dietary diversity and basic immunization.
  4. Despite this, the availability of fruits and vegetables almost doubled from 1990 to 2013. This jump in production can partly be accredited by the government program known as Good Agricultural Practices or Indo-GAP. The program gives farmers better education on safe and effective agricultural methods, while also providing resources like land and fertilizer.
  5. Stunting caused by malnutrition also has an impact on Indonesia’s GDP, resulting in a 2-3 percent loss on the economy. Children who grow up with stunting are less likely to be properly educated, less likely to work in skilled labor, as well as having lower income attainment. These factors of undernutrition affect the economy because of the overall loss in productivity.
  6. Fluctuating food prices have also contributed to hunger in Indonesia. It is estimated that the food inflation rate increased by 12.77 percent from 1997 to 2018. This can be attributed to rising energy costs, with energy prices rising 28 percent between 2008 and 2011. Agriculture commodity prices rose 17 percent from 2008 to 2011 as well. While higher food prices allow farmers to make more profits, it negatively affects people living in poverty who rely on low food prices.
  7. Indonesia’s Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), pledged at the United Nations summit in 2000, were a committed global partnership in fighting global poverty and hunger with a deadline of 2015. Indonesia achieved its number one goal of halving the number of people living in hunger between 1990-2015. The prevalence of undernourishment decreased from 19.7 percent in 1990-1992, to 7.6 percent in 2014-2016.
  8. Indonesia is prone to natural disasters as it is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Earthquakes are common due to a high degree of tectonic activity. Volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and floods also affect the country. A 6.9 magnitude earthquake in the city of Lombok in August 2018 resulted in 565 casualties. Calamities like this lead to hunger as food security and land are destroyed in the process.
  9. Indonesia’s government National Medium-Term Development Plan was established in 2015, with the goal of improving nutrition and the quality of food, as well as reducing the negative effects natural disasters have on food security. The long-term goal of the program is to help 9 million people achieve food security by 2020.
  10. One of the government subsidy programs that has been beneficial in addressing hunger is Raskin, a program established in 1998 that allows low-income families to purchase 15kg of rice at 20 percent of the market price. In 2012, the budget for Raskin was $1.5 billion with a targeted population of 17.5 million households.

While there is still room for improvement, Indonesia has taken the necessary steps to address and take action in reducing county in the country. The Government of Indonesia has been a great supporter of the country’s efforts.

– Casey Geier
Photo: Flickr

Chanje Movement: Addressing 5 Symptoms of Poverty in Haiti

Poverty in Haiti
From the devastation of the 2010 earthquake, and the Haitian Creole word meaning “change” and “transformation,” hope for Haitians has emerged in the form of the Chanje Movement.

According to the movement’s website, “If you can say, ‘Yes, I want to experience change and I want to share it with my community and my world,’ then you can consider yourself part of the Chanje Movement!”

Addressing Five Symptoms of Poverty in Haiti

Yet beyond such motivating and inclusive statements, the Chanje Movement tangibly combats poverty in Haiti by transforming the lives of the next generation through addressing basic needs, creating healthy communities and providing leadership training.

The Chanje Movement believes that young people in Haiti have the power to reconstruct a nation where more than 50 percent of the population is poor and 2.5 million people need humanitarian aid eight years after the earthquake that took 316,000 lives.

Five of the projects the Chanje Movement promotes on its website highlight five symptoms caused by poverty in Haiti.

The Dream Center

This Dream Center is intended to be a community center where Haitians can gather for a variety of physical and social needs.

In Croix de Bouqets, they are working on building in stages a space for a church with a local pastor, a medical clinic, an education center, a trade school, a home for orphans and an auditorium for special events. Specifically, the Chanje Movement desires for this type of space to be replicable throughout Haiti, so they can equip the Haitians of Croix de Bouqets and, in turn, spread similar positive change throughout Haiti.

The World Bank claims that one of the key needs for eliminating poverty in Haiti is an investment in people — both in their individual futures and access to basic services, and collectively as a community. The Dream Center aims to accomplish both of these endeavors.

Clean Water

Numerous places in Haiti require clean water and to address this need, the Chanje Movement usually has a waitlist for when they receive donations.

Less than 50 percent of the rural population has access to clean water as rural areas often depend on hand-pumped, piped water systems. These systems require maintenance funds and, as a result, are often neglected.

The lack of clean water unsurprisingly leads to health problems, such as the cholera epidemic after the 2010 earthquake that claimed 8,700 lives. The whole system is tenuous, as exemplified by the resurgence in cholera in early 2015 following heavy rains.

Build a Home

Tens of thousands of Haitians lost their homes in the earthquake eight years ago, and about 55,000 people still live in tents and makeshift homes today. These abodes do not offer safety, shelter from tropical storms, insulation or hygienic conditions.

The Chanje Movement’s efforts to build real homes benefits individuals and the Haitian economy, as Haitian workers are employed to construct them.

Micro Loans

With donated funds, the Chanje Movement loans out $200-$500 to Haitians be paid back in six months to two years, which increases economic stability and allows Haitians a chance to start businesses. When the loans are paid back, funds are immediately reinvested in a new entrepreneur.

The World Bank claims that helping Haitians use their skills to start their own businesses will be crucial to ending poverty in Haiti, as the income of a business will allow assets to accumulate and protect the next generation of Haitians from the devastating consequences of a natural disaster like the earthquake with increased savings.

Additionally, helping Haitians generate a more steady income through their own businesses could address the orphan crisis that is hugely related to poverty in Haiti.

Currently, 500,000 children are considered orphans in Haiti, but 80 percent of these orphans have at least one living parent. This discrepancy is predominantly caused by the homelessness following the earthquake. Due to lack of shelter, food and resources, many parents decided their children would be better provided for in orphanages. Fortunately, providing job opportunities through microloans, in addition to the Chanje Movement’s homes, has the potential to reverse this cycle and keep children and parents together.

Backpacks for Kids

Meanwhile, backpacks full of supplies help provide for some of the country’s orphans within the Chanje Movement’s homes for children in Croix de Bouqets.

The Borgen Project had the opportunity to interview Daniel DiGrazia, who is from Crossline Church, one of The Global Mission’s partner churches. He has been to Haiti four times in the past three years, and explains that a key part of distributing these supplies is playing with the kids that live in these orphanages.

Since he makes frequent return trips, DiGrazia has “grown in relationship with a multitude of the people there.” While DiGrazia’s team helped the Chanje Movement administer relief during his trips, the main reason he keeps going back is to show love to the Haitians and invest in the people and relationships.

He explains, “I’d love to go again next year…It’s a really good experience and I really love the people there. And I really don’t want to just be there and gone. I want to build relationships and keep coming back and see how they’re doing.”

DiGrazia has also personally benefitted from going to Haiti, growing in his faith, relationships, understanding and generosity.

Chanje Movement

For those that cannot immediately travel to Haiti, supporting the Chanje Movement has the capability to combat poverty in Haiti. In the past year, thousands of Haitians had basic needs met with clean water and food provided by the Chanje Movement.

The organization also trained 500 future leaders and helped 75 children access education — tangible efforts that take the necessary steps towards a Haiti without poverty and the need for humanitarian aid.

– Charlotte Preston
Photo: Flickr

5 Things to Know about Human Rights in Nagorno-Karabakh

Human Rights in Nagorno-Karabakh
In 1994, the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a ceasefire agreement that many politicians hoped would put a stop to years of conflict between the two states. When the Russian tsarist regime collapsed in 1917, Azerbaijan and Armenia fought over control of the landlocked mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh, a region in the Caucasus the size of Connecticut. After the Red Army annexed the Caucasian republics to the Soviet Union, the Armenian-majority territory of Nagorno-Karabakh became an autonomous region of Azerbaijan.

Seven decades later, when the Soviet Union began disintegrating in the late 1980s, Armenian secessionists and Azerbaijani troops launched a war over Nagorno-Karabakh. The outbreak of violence claimed around 20,000 lives and created one million refugees. After the 1994 ceasefire, Nagorno-Karabakh declared its independence, but the international community continues to recognize the war-torn territory as a part of Azerbaijan.

Five Facts About Human Rights in Nagorno-Karabakh

The “Four Day War” in April 2016—an outbreak between the two warring parties that killed at least 200 people—ended more than two decades of ceasefire and put the human rights records of Azerbaijan and Armenia into the spotlight. Here are five facts about human rights in Nagorno-Karabakh:

  1. High-ranking Azerbaijani officials have spread hate speech and incited violence against the country’s Armenian minority, according to a 2016 Ombudsman Report. In November 2012, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev took to Twitter to declare that Armenia “is actually a colony, an outpost run from abroad, a territory artificially created on ancient Azerbaijani land.” Public statements like Aliyev’s violate Article 4 (c) of the U.N. International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, which bars authorities from promoting racial discrimination.  
  2. Azerbaijani forces ruthlessly murdered civilians when they invaded Nagorno-Karabakh on April 2, 2016. Soldiers shot the elderly, infirm and young, and the targeted shelling of residential buildings killed or wounded more than two dozen civilians, many of whom were minors. The Ombudsman found Azerbaijan in violation of the Geneva Convention of 1949, which delineates special protections for the sick, wounded and pregnant during war.
  3. While Armenia has instituted civil and political liberties since its independence in 1991, Amnesty International has called out the Armenian government for silencing journalists investigating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. According to the report, Armenians show little tolerance for “unarmenian” views of the conflict, with individuals disagreeing with mainstream opinion labeled as traitors. In 2017, the European Court of Human Rights delivered 12 judgments concerning Armenia, 11 of which found the country in violation of the European Convention of Human Rights.
  4. With the exception of The HALO Trust and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which helps reunite family members who have gone missing in combat, the international community provides little support for human rights in Nagorno-Karabakh. Many NGOs know that entering Nagorno-Karabakh would make them ‘persona non grata’ in Azerbaijan, preventing them from returning in the future.
  5. Despite Azerbaijan’s threats, the Lady Cox Rehabilitation Center—an organization that helps individuals with disabilities—has made substantial progress for human rights in Nagorno-Karabakh. Wars in the early 1990s and, more recently, in April 2016 injured many civilians, leaving some with physical disabilities; infrastructure for wheelchairs and medical facilities for treatment, however, were scarce. The Lady Cox Rehabilitation Center provides treatment for 1000 patients annually and supports therapists that travel to individuals who cannot travel to Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, to receive care. In 2017, the Center opened a department for children with autism.

Human rights in Nagorno-Karabakh will improve with increased stability. In July 2018, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that he was ready to talk peace in Nagorno-Karabakh. A month later, Russia and Germany proactively offered to facilitate a settlement that would secure long-lasting peace. Once Armenia and Azerbaijan come to terms with the fate of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it is hoped that humanitarian organizations will step in to monitor conditions on the ground and heal old wounds.

– Mark Blekherman
Photo: Flickr

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Religious Freedom Boosts Economic Growth

Religious Freedoms Boost Economic Growth
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, specifically mentions religious freedom in Articles 2, 16 and 18. Article 18 states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” explicitly establishing religious freedom as a basic human right.

When working in developing nations, aid organizations often focus their aid toward expanding human rights and freedoms, such as ensuring healthy living conditions or equal education for girls. Since religious freedom is a human right, it is important that aid organizations work against religious persecution and intolerance. There is also a significant link to show that religious freedom boosts economic growth, suggesting that assuring religious freedom will help developing nations prosper overall.

4 Ways Religious Freedom Boosts Economic Growth

  1. Encourages peace – Religious persecution often leads to violence and conflict, disrupting normal economic activities. Conflict especially discourages foreign investment, which is necessary for economic growth, especially in developing nations. For example, many developing nations depend on tourism, which decreases significantly during a conflict. Religious freedom is also a key to stability, which encourages local business.
  2. Reduces corruption – The Pew Research Center has found that nations with laws and policies that restrict religious liberty have higher levels of corruption. In fact, “Nine of the 10 most corrupt countries have high or very high governmental restrictions on religious liberty” according to the World Economic Forum.
  3. Reduces harmful regulation – Certain religious regulations can create legal barriers and directly affect economic activity. For example, restrictions concerning headscarves have been used to discriminate against women in the workplace and anti-blasphemy laws have been used to attack business rivals.
  4. Promotes diversity – Freedom of religion encourages diversity – religious pluralism – in all areas of society, and diversity has been shown to boost economic growth. For example, the inclusion and participation of minorities can boost economic innovation. According to the World Economic Forum, “the world’s 12 most religiously diverse countries each outpaced the world’s economic growth between 2008 and 2012,” showing that religious freedom boosts economic growth.

U.S. Aid and Religious Freedom

Initially passed 20 years ago, the bipartisan International Religious Freedom Act officially made religious freedom a priority in U.S. foreign policy. According to The U.S. Department of State, “Protecting religious freedom and religious minorities is an American ideal” and supporting victims of persecution and repression remains a priority.

Putting policy into practice, The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is assembling new metrics to measure religious intolerance in developing nations. USAID also works extensively with local faith-based organizations to actually deliver assistance and relief. Working with local faith-based organizations helps USAID maintain cultural sensitivity and reach community members, who often uniquely trust their faith-based organizations.

At The Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom conference, USAID Administrator Mark Greene said, “We believe that religious pluralism, which is part of a cultural mosaic, we believe it is worth preserving as a matter of development.” Religious freedom boosts economic growth and is essential for development, which is ultimately the goal of any foreign aid.

– Kathryn Quelle
Photo: Flickr

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HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
“We all deserve a quality life with HIV and without it,” declared Russian activist Maria Godlevskaya at the International AIDS Conference. Godlevskaya is a loving mother and dedicated peer counselor who has been living with HIV for 18 years. Advances in the prevention and treatment of HIV mean that the number of new HIV infections is decreasing globally. Only two regions lag behind; in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, new cases of HIV are on the rise.

The State of the AIDS Crisis

To combat the global epidemic, UNAIDS has issued “90-90-90 targets” to be reached globally by 2020. The goal is that of all of the people living with HIV, 90 percent should be aware of their status. Of these people, 90 percent should receive treatment. And of those receiving treatment, 90 percent should achieve viral suppression.

Eastern Europe and Central Asia are currently the furthest from reaching this goal. In these regions, 73 percent of people infected with HIV are aware of their status, 36 percent of those people are receiving treatment and 26 percent have achieved viral suppression.

There is no indication that the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia has even reached its peak. There is, however, hope. By understanding the key populations affected by the epidemic and funding prevention, testing and treatment methods, transmission can be slowed and even stopped altogether.

Advances Against AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Currently, only about three percent of HIV/AIDS funding in the region is targeted toward key vulnerable populations, including men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, and people who use intravenous drugs. The stigma against these populations often makes them invisible to the government and to the healthcare system.

About one-third of new HIV infections in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are in people who use intravenous drugs. Fortunately, strategies to reduce the risk of spreading the disease have been helping. Needle-syringe programs are an example of effective harm reduction strategies. They distribute free, sterile needles to drug users.

Additionally, opioid substitution therapy allows drug users to stay away from needle use. The therapy provides methadone, which is taken orally and eases drug withdrawal symptoms. Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine have significantly ramped up such harm-reduction programs; as a result, they have seen a decrease in HIV infections among people using intravenous drugs.

Mother-to-child transmission of HIV  has accounted for only one percent of all incidences in 2017. In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that mother-to-child transmission was stopped altogether in Armenia and Belarus.

In the fight against AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Saint Petersburg has become a model city. As a result of increased funding for prevention initiatives and harm-reduction programs for drug users, the number of new HIV infections has decreased. On a national level, however, the Russian Federation has neglected to fund effective prevention and treatment services.

Grassroots Nonprofits Helping Their Communities

When the government turns a blind eye, ordinary people step up. Maria Godlevskaya founded E.V.A, a nonprofit that advocates for women affected by HIV. From providing peer counseling to helping women communicate with medical officials, E.V.A gives marginalized women hope. The organization is about building bridges from woman to woman and from this network of women to their government.

The fight against HIV/AIDS knows no gender, no race and no age. Adolescents are coming together to fight HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Across the region, 80 adolescents are part of a nonprofit called Teenergizer. They visit local HIV clinics and record any roadblocks to testing they experience. The teenagers then use this information to create an interactive map of testing and treatment facilities for other youth in their region. Teenergizer reduces stigma and empowers youth to take their health into their own hands: as a result of the initiative, nearly two thousand adolescents from Eastern Europe and Central Asia have been tested for HIV.

The crisis of AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia has been bleak, and the future is uncertain. But, the leadership of several countries, nonprofit organizations and dedicated citizens has the potential to crush social stigmas and the associated legislative obstacles to funding prevention and treatment. Armen Agadjanov of Teenergizer affirms that a brighter future is on the horizon. “I’m convinced that the future is in the hands of adolescents—they are the people who will change and build a new world.”

– Ivana Bozic
Photo: Flickr

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ASU’s International Development Team: Combatting Poverty

ASU Global
In the modern, globalized world, public research institutions are essential to innovation, knowledge creation and international development. With these functions at the forefront, research institutions can assist The U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goal 1, which is to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030.

Currently, 11 percent of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty, defined by The World Bank as living on less than $1.90 per day. Despite its persistence, poverty has decreased drastically since 1990, when 35 percent of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty. Global poverty reduction has been aided by the efforts of higher educational institutions like Arizona State University’s International Development team.

ASU’s International Development Team

Arizona State University (ASU), a public research university, is one of the only U.S. universities that actively pursues funding opportunities in the international aid landscape. As part of the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development, ASU’s International Development team works to identify and provide solutions for complex challenges facing the developing world.

Stephen Feinson, associate vice president for ASU’s International Development team, told The Borgen Project that the primary objective of ASU’s International Development team is to, “[advance] a new model for university engagement with the developing world that collaboratively drives solutions to great development challenges through partnerships with local universities, governments, the private sector, and non-governmental entities.”

ASU International Development team is able to support and advance international development efforts with the assistance of its funding partners. Donors include USAID, U.S. Department of State, Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank. ASU also partners with implementing firms, such as Chemonics, Creative Associates, DAI, and IESC, and collaborates with over 100 universities worldwide to advance innovative solutions for the developing world.

ASU’s International Development team is currently involved in four development projects worldwide. These projects are:

  1. The US-Pakistan Centers for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E) project was launched in 2015 and received an $18 million investment from USAID. In partnership with Pakistan’s National University for Science and Technology (NUST) and University of Engineering and Technology (UET), USPCAS-E works to create an energy research agenda for energy needs in Pakistan. Feinson told The Borgen Project, “to date, more than 136 students and faculty researchers […] have participated in the exchange program at ASU and subcontractor Oregon State University’s research labs working on energy-related projects.” Furthermore, “Over 30 master’s students have graduated from the center and have entered the energy workforce equipped to make an impact in Pakistan’s energy sector,” Feinson added.
  2. The Holistic Water Solutions project in Jordan and Lebanon received $2 million from USAID and serves refugee host communities by providing potable water to communities and household. “The project’s multifaceted approach includes community water desalination and purification kiosks equipped with on-grid/off-grid capacity, household air-to-water technology, entrepreneurial training for women and water demand management,” said Feinson.
  3. The Building University-Industry Learning and Development Through Innovation and Technology (BUILD-IT) project in Vietnam is the third major ASU project in Vietnam. Feinson told The Borgen Project that BUILD-IT is supported by USAID and aims to identify and respond to gaps in Vietnam’s technical workforce as well as build female empowerment.
  4. The Global Development Research (GDR) Scholars project allows ASU to support additional Research and Innovation Fellows through fundraising and cost sharing. Through The GDR Scholars Program, ASU provides fellowships to graduate students, encouraging collaboration and use-inspired research to improve conditions regarding The U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Feinson told The Borgen Project, “since its inception in 2015, the program has placed 70 scholars in 25 USAID priority countries [where they] worked to identify and conduct projects in USAID-defined sectors related to health, education, economic security, biodiversity, human trafficking, gender, supply chain, energy, water, innovation and entrepreneurship.”

The Goal of ASU’s International Development Team

According to Feinson, “ASU aims to become a global center for interdisciplinary research, discovery and development by 2025.” To reach this goal, ASU International Development team serves to establish ASU as a trusted partner for USAID, other funding agencies and donors, implementing firms and university partners.

The goals of ASU’s International Development team are to advance the New American University Model in the context of international development. Feinson said this model “offers ideas distinctly suited to the developing world, advancing use-inspired research that addresses epochal development challenges and scalable solutions tailored to the needs of developing countries.”

The efforts of ASU’s International Development team have already begun to make a difference in developing countries. For instance, their past successes include projects such as the Vocational Training and Education for Clean Energy (VOCTEC) in Vietnam, Liberia, Guyana, Kenya and South Pacific Island Nations; the India Support for Teacher Education Program (In-STEP) in India; the Higher Engineering Education Alliance Program (HEEAP) in Vietnam; and the Solucion El Salvador (SolucionES) in El Salvador.

The United Nations Development Programme is working hard to eradicate poverty. With an increasing number of U.S. higher educational institutions taking note of and emulating the successes of ASU’s International Development team, The U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goal 1 of eradicating extreme poverty can become reality.

– Kara Roberts

Photo: Flickr