Each year pneumonia and diarrhoea kill 1.4 million children under the age of five, which is an amount greater than the deaths from all other child illnesses combined. Children in poorer nations are more likely to be victims of these illnesses, hindering long-term growth and development in these countries.
UNICEF and WHO Are Trying to Save Children’s Lives
Created by UNICEF and The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2009, The Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD) seeks to reduce the number of children affected and, ultimately, end preventable child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea. Progress has been slow, but over the past few years, UNICEF and WHO have increased their commitment to focus on these illnesses, hoping to significantly reduce deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea by 2025.
Pneumonia is a respiratory infection that primarily affects the lungs and can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi. For those who have pneumonia, the alveoli in their lungs fill with fluid, making breathing both difficult and painful. Infants with HIV have an increased likelihood of dying after contracting pneumonia.
Diarrhoea, often caused by Rotavirus or Escherichia coli (e-coli) bacteria, is a symptom of an infection of the intestinal tract caused by viruses, bacteria or other parasitic organisms. This bacteria spreads easily through water, food or from person to person. According to UNICEF and WHO, diarrhoea causes extreme dehydration, which can lead to death. Poor sanitation and hygiene increase the risk of becoming infected.
Younger children are the most likely to die from pneumonia and diarrhoea, with 80 percent of deaths from pneumonia and 70 percent of deaths from diarrhoea occurring during the first two years of life. Additionally, over 90 percent of child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea occur in low income countries.
Progress Made So Far
Overall, between 2000 and 2015, significant global progress was made with diarrhoea deaths decreasing by 57 percent and pneumonia deaths decreasing by 47 percent. In spite of this progress, there is still much more that needs to be done.
South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are disproportionately affected, as child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea in these regions have been increasing. In 2000, 20 percent of pneumonia deaths and 24 percent of diarrhoea deaths occurred West and Central Africa. In 2015, however, these regions accounted for 32 percent of pneumonia deaths and 34 percent of diarrhoea deaths.
By 2025, UNICEF and WHO would like to reduce mortality from pneumonia to fewer than three per 1000 births, reduce mortality from diarrhoea to fewer than one per 1000 births and reduce the incidence of severe pneumonia and diarrhoea by 75 percent, compared to 2010 levels. Additionally, they are working towards 90 percent full-dose coverage of all relevant vaccines and at least a 50 percent increase of exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life.
What Steps the GAPPD Are Taking to Reach its Goals
To help meet these goals, the GAPPD uses a Protect, Prevent and Treat framework in their efforts to decrease the incidence of these infections. Protection initiatives focus on ensuring that all infants are exclusively breastfed for six months, that all children under the age of five are well nourished and that they receive vitamin A supplementation.
Prevention tactics include improving the quality of drinking water and overall sanitation, encouraging everyone to wash their hands with soap, providing vaccines (specifically for pertussis, measles, hib, PCV and rotavirus), reducing household air pollution and preventing the spread as well as treating HIV-infected and exposed children.
In order to treat children, the number of families who seek medical attention after their child has become ill due to pneumonia or diarrhoea needs to increase. Globally, only three out of every five children are seeking care for pneumonia symptoms. GAPPD hopes to provide medical centers supplies they need to be better equipped, including ORS (oral rehydration salt solution), which prevents the dehydration that occurs with diarrhoea, and oxygen, which is needed for oxygen therapy for children with severe pneumonia.
Technology to Aid in the Efforts
New innovations from the past few years have contributed to efforts to prevent child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea. Gravity-fed water supply schemes, which transport river water through pipes using gravity, help reduce the labor required to carry water long distances and, thereby, increase access to water. UNICEF helps communities in Afghanistan, Madagascar, Timor-Leste and Lao People’s Democratic Republic operate and maintain these systems.
In order to ensure infants and young children have access to breast milk, a small feeding cup has been developed by PATH to help infants with breastfeeding difficulties get the breast milk that they need. There has also been a push for breast milk to be donated to hospitals for premature and sick babies. Brazil now has over 200 milk banks and more than 150,000 Brazilian mothers have arranged to donate their breast milk.
In 2016, the GAPPD developed a Monitoring Visualization Tool that allows them to monitor progress toward 2025 goals both globally and for specific nations. With the knowledge gained from this tool, UNICEF and WHO can more strategically coordinate their efforts
It remains to be seen whether UNICEF and WHO will achieve their 2025 goals. However, with new innovations and continuing progress, the elimination of preventable child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea can be achieved, hopefully in the near future.
– Sara Olk
Photo: Flickr
Poverty in Nigeria and ActionAid
Nigeria is currently experiencing extreme global poverty. According to the World Poverty Clock, the poverty rate in Nigeria is 44.4 percent out of a population of about 198 million.
ActionAid Fights Poverty in Nigeria
As poverty continues to rise in Nigeria, there is definitely hope for a better future. ActionAid, a global humanitarian organization, is trying to eradicate poverty in Nigeria and continuing their service despite the growing statistics.
ActionAid in Nigeria seeks equal rights for all genders, social justice and fight the growing epidemic of poverty. It is hoping to create a world where Nigeria’s population doesn’t have to suffer anymore. They work with communities, social movements and the poor in order to provide aid needed in the country.
ActionAid’s Work in Nigeria
ActionAid’s programs involve health, education, food and agriculture, human security in conflict and emergencies, women’s rights and democratic governments. These projects are needed to ensure a better future in Nigeria.
ActionAid has been continuing their work in Nigeria, including their aid and assistance in 2018. According to Vanguard, in October 2018, ActionAid is finding ways to help displaced persons in Nigeria. It has donated about N3million toward relief materials. This donation will help many of those in the Abagena Internally Displaced Persons camp who have suffered the herdsmen crisis.
According to the ActionAid Nigeria Country Director, Ene Obi, they “‘brought about 380 mattresses, 350 bags of rice, 436 packs of sanitary pads, 341 packs of diapers for babies, five sets of baby bath, five cartons of baby food and 436 packs of bar soaps for washing and personal hygiene use.'” These materials will help many who are currently displaced and are suffering poverty.
Women and Children in Nigeria
ActionAid also focuses on women and children. It has provided start-up kits to about 100 women in Nigeria. This organization provided assistance to many women in the Northeast in order to give them an opportunity to create and begin building small businesses.
According to Obi, the women are being trained to gain skills and knowledge to provide for their families by starting their own microbusinesses. Whether it’s tailoring, producing food or sewing, ActionAid is doing everything it can to make sure these women escape poverty and are able to provide food to their children.
Alleviating Poverty in Nigeria and Nonprofits
There are other organizations that are trying to end poverty in Nigeria. The MacArthur Foundation, for example, has been supporting organizations and work that has been done to eradicate inequality and the lack of education in the country. The foundation has been creating grants with the purpose of supporting higher education for girls.
The Youth Education and Leadership Initiative or YELI is an organization that wants to reduce education-related issues and challenges in Nigeria. Their goal and mission are to provide programs that enhance both primary and secondary education and help build effective leadership. This is to not only reduce poverty but also help build peace among the youth. These projects include providing the poor with small libraries, scholarships, seminars and even workshops.
Conclusion
ActionAid as well as other nonprofits are working to end poverty in Nigeria. Although poverty is becoming an increasing epidemic in the country, there is still hope for the people and the future.
– Charlene Frett
Photo: Flickr
Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Myanmar
Myanmar is the second largest country in Southeast Asia but has one of the least developed economies in the world. Food security in the country is threatened by natural disasters, isolationist policies, conflicts and ethnic violence. Millions of people are living below the poverty line. It is important to know the top 10 facts about hunger in Myanmar to help illustrate food insecurity conditions in the country.
What are the Top 10 Facts About Hunger in Myanmar?
These top 10 facts about poverty in Myanmar may paint a grim picture but the country has developed in many ways from 1990 to 2017. It reached the Millennium Development Goal of reducing hunger by half in 2015 and its HDI value has increased by 61.5 percent,i.e. from 0.358 to 0.578. Life expectancy has increased by 8 years and the mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling increased by 2.5 years and 3.9 years respectively.
Many organizations that work on alleviating poverty and ending hunger help thousands of people each year. However, the above top 10 facts about hunger in Myanmar show that there is still a lot of work to be done.
– Aleksandra Sirakova
Photo: Flickr
Child Poverty in New Zealand
In New Zealand, 27 percent of children live in income poverty. This means that around 290,000 children struggle with a multitude of difficulties including homelessness, missed meals and lack of heating at home.
In addition to both short-term suffering and long-term financial and health issues for the individual, child poverty in New Zealand costs the national economy more than $6 billion per year. While this phenomenon is long withstanding, the government has recently committed to quantifying and systematically addressing this problem.
Education, Employment and Health Impacts
The measure of child poverty in New Zealand is not legally defined but is generally accepted to be the situation in which the child lives in the home where the household income is below 60 percent of the national average. These children suffer from a number of related harms, including lower educational achievement, diminished employment opportunities and poor health.
The inability to afford a uniform, lunch or other school materials can inhibit a child from attending school, and an unstable home life and hunger can decrease performance in class. In the long run, this influences job opportunities and future income, creating a poverty cycle.
Child poverty also has a significant influence on the health of a child. Those living below the poverty line are six times as likely to die of sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), three times as likely to get sick and twice as likely to need a hospital visit, compared to the average child.
As an adult, these kids are predisposed to develop a number of chronic health problems, including heart disease, addiction, obesity and dental complications. Poor physical health and hardships growing up increase the risk of mental health issues as well.
Government Action
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made child poverty in New Zealand a government priority, promising to cut child poverty numbers in half over the next decade. The recently submitted New Zealand Child Poverty Reduction Bill commits the government to make child poverty a priority, sets targets for which the government is directly accountable and requires transparent reporting about national child poverty levels. It currently has cross-party support, as well as endorsements from many organizations and advocacy groups.
Many aspects of the bill rely on recommendations from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC), focusing on children’s rights and well-being with an emphasis on including family and community context. Some of the steps outlined in the bill include housing assistance, energy payment in the winter, restructuring of benefits for newborns and high-level data reporting.
Government Responsibilities
The government does not currently release statistics on child poverty levels. Budget impact and progress reports required by the bill would provide a legal framework for determining these programs and gauging the success of the outcomes.
While government commitment inspires hope, to make a significant decrease in levels of child poverty in New Zealand strong policy solutions must be implemented and the budget must be adapted to support those programs. Adoption of the Child Poverty Reduction Bill would hold the government accountable by law to alleviate child poverty, thereby improving the lives of a significant portion of the population.
Many of the recommendations and programs proposed by the bill have proven to be successful in other countries around the world, offering confidence that the children of New Zealand can have a brighter future if the government continues to take action.
– Georgia Orenstein
Photo: Flickr
Global Organizations Ending Child Deaths from Diseases
Each year pneumonia and diarrhoea kill 1.4 million children under the age of five, which is an amount greater than the deaths from all other child illnesses combined. Children in poorer nations are more likely to be victims of these illnesses, hindering long-term growth and development in these countries.
UNICEF and WHO Are Trying to Save Children’s Lives
Created by UNICEF and The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2009, The Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD) seeks to reduce the number of children affected and, ultimately, end preventable child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea. Progress has been slow, but over the past few years, UNICEF and WHO have increased their commitment to focus on these illnesses, hoping to significantly reduce deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea by 2025.
Pneumonia is a respiratory infection that primarily affects the lungs and can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi. For those who have pneumonia, the alveoli in their lungs fill with fluid, making breathing both difficult and painful. Infants with HIV have an increased likelihood of dying after contracting pneumonia.
Diarrhoea, often caused by Rotavirus or Escherichia coli (e-coli) bacteria, is a symptom of an infection of the intestinal tract caused by viruses, bacteria or other parasitic organisms. This bacteria spreads easily through water, food or from person to person. According to UNICEF and WHO, diarrhoea causes extreme dehydration, which can lead to death. Poor sanitation and hygiene increase the risk of becoming infected.
Younger children are the most likely to die from pneumonia and diarrhoea, with 80 percent of deaths from pneumonia and 70 percent of deaths from diarrhoea occurring during the first two years of life. Additionally, over 90 percent of child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea occur in low income countries.
Progress Made So Far
Overall, between 2000 and 2015, significant global progress was made with diarrhoea deaths decreasing by 57 percent and pneumonia deaths decreasing by 47 percent. In spite of this progress, there is still much more that needs to be done.
South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are disproportionately affected, as child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea in these regions have been increasing. In 2000, 20 percent of pneumonia deaths and 24 percent of diarrhoea deaths occurred West and Central Africa. In 2015, however, these regions accounted for 32 percent of pneumonia deaths and 34 percent of diarrhoea deaths.
By 2025, UNICEF and WHO would like to reduce mortality from pneumonia to fewer than three per 1000 births, reduce mortality from diarrhoea to fewer than one per 1000 births and reduce the incidence of severe pneumonia and diarrhoea by 75 percent, compared to 2010 levels. Additionally, they are working towards 90 percent full-dose coverage of all relevant vaccines and at least a 50 percent increase of exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life.
What Steps the GAPPD Are Taking to Reach its Goals
To help meet these goals, the GAPPD uses a Protect, Prevent and Treat framework in their efforts to decrease the incidence of these infections. Protection initiatives focus on ensuring that all infants are exclusively breastfed for six months, that all children under the age of five are well nourished and that they receive vitamin A supplementation.
Prevention tactics include improving the quality of drinking water and overall sanitation, encouraging everyone to wash their hands with soap, providing vaccines (specifically for pertussis, measles, hib, PCV and rotavirus), reducing household air pollution and preventing the spread as well as treating HIV-infected and exposed children.
In order to treat children, the number of families who seek medical attention after their child has become ill due to pneumonia or diarrhoea needs to increase. Globally, only three out of every five children are seeking care for pneumonia symptoms. GAPPD hopes to provide medical centers supplies they need to be better equipped, including ORS (oral rehydration salt solution), which prevents the dehydration that occurs with diarrhoea, and oxygen, which is needed for oxygen therapy for children with severe pneumonia.
Technology to Aid in the Efforts
New innovations from the past few years have contributed to efforts to prevent child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea. Gravity-fed water supply schemes, which transport river water through pipes using gravity, help reduce the labor required to carry water long distances and, thereby, increase access to water. UNICEF helps communities in Afghanistan, Madagascar, Timor-Leste and Lao People’s Democratic Republic operate and maintain these systems.
In order to ensure infants and young children have access to breast milk, a small feeding cup has been developed by PATH to help infants with breastfeeding difficulties get the breast milk that they need. There has also been a push for breast milk to be donated to hospitals for premature and sick babies. Brazil now has over 200 milk banks and more than 150,000 Brazilian mothers have arranged to donate their breast milk.
In 2016, the GAPPD developed a Monitoring Visualization Tool that allows them to monitor progress toward 2025 goals both globally and for specific nations. With the knowledge gained from this tool, UNICEF and WHO can more strategically coordinate their efforts
It remains to be seen whether UNICEF and WHO will achieve their 2025 goals. However, with new innovations and continuing progress, the elimination of preventable child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea can be achieved, hopefully in the near future.
– Sara Olk
Photo: Flickr
Understanding the Growing Exodus from Puerto Rico
One year ago this September, Hurricane Maria made landfall on the small Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. The Category 4 hurricane left destruction and turmoil in its wake, causing as much as $94 billion in damage to the island and approximately 2,975 fatalities according to the most recent estimates. Since then, there has been an exodus from Puerto Rico to The U.S. mainland of people seeking to escape the economic depression which plagues the island.
The Economic Crisis Leading to an Exodus from Puerto Rico
The damage caused by the Hurricane compounded an already desperate situation for Puerto Rico, which at the time of the storm faced $71 billion in debts and $49 billion in pension liabilities. The financial crisis in Puerto Rico had been in the making since the 1990’s when the island’s government began to borrow billions of dollars in order to pay its bills. The government borrowed from investors and U.S. banks through the sale of bonds until they racked up an enormous debt, which in 2015 surpassed the island’s GDP. The situation went further south in 2013 when bond prices fell and hundreds of millions of dollars in Puerto Rican capital was wiped out.
The faltering economy in Puerto Rico during the early 2000’s incited an early exodus from Puerto Rico by a certain demographic. “Between 2006 and 2013, there was what you could call a brain drain of the island,” explains Jennifer Hinojosa, Data Center Coordinator at the Hunter College Center for Puerto Rican Studies. “Young professionals chose to leave the island in search of education and employment elsewhere. A huge reason for this out-migration was that there were no jobs.”
Hurricane Maria’s Aftermath
When Hurricane Maria came pummeling down upon the island in September of 2017, 44.3 percent of the island’s population was already living in poverty and the unemployment rate was at 10.1 percent. 155 mph winds tore through the island, floodwater more than 30 inches deep ran through neighborhoods, for a long period of time, 100 percent of the island’s population lost electricity and access to food and water was limited for most.
The situation looks dire for many Puerto Ricans who are now trying to rebuild their lives and cope with the severe infrastructural damage caused by the storm. For example, after the storm, some towns had to deal with 80 to 90 percent of their structures destroyed. With long-term damage making recovery efforts slow and difficult, more and more Puerto Ricans are faced with the tough decision of leaving their island to find opportunity elsewhere.
Hinojosa weighed in on this situation explaining that “when Maria hit, everyone was leaving, regardless of socioeconomic status. It was more of a free fall, we’re talking about professionals and low-skilled workers alike. The impact of this was that you had people who couldn’t find jobs in Puerto Rico during the economic crisis period and then you add on top of this another tragedy like Hurricane Maria, the result was that the number of those leaving the island significantly increased and the probability of those who left returning to Puerto Rico became pretty unlikely.” Hinojosa and the Director for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, Edwin Melendez further elaborated on the post-Maria exodus in their report, “Estimates of Post-Hurricane Maria Exodus from Puerto Rico”.
The government of Puerto Rico estimates that by the end of 2018, 200,000 residents will have left the territory for good. In addition, according to Hinojosa’s and Melendez’s predictions, 114,000 to 213,000 Puerto Rican residents will continue to leave the island each year in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. These numbers are disheartening to those who hope to see the economic situation improve in the country.
The primary reason given in the Centro’s report to explain the exodus from Puerto Rico is that there are not enough jobs to found on the island. The Hurricane dealt a heavy blow to infrastructure in key areas like the country’s electrical system, transportation system and communications network, all of which directly impact the commerce and service sector.
What’s Next for Puerto Rico?
Aside from the immediate destruction and crisis brought about by the Hurricane, the impact of the storm is predicted to influence the island’s economic future for years to come. Some reports suggest that the damage done by Maria could lower Puerto Rican incomes by 21 percent over the next 15 years totaling $180 billion in lost economic output.
Looking towards what’s to come in the future, Hinojosa expressed that, “it’s all dependent on what happens in Puerto Rico. If young people are able to find jobs in The U.S. they will pick up and leave. If the government wants to keep their labor force intact they will have to think about creative ways to better the economy. For many Puerto Ricans, if they find a job in the U.S., and achieve some level of stability, they are going to stay in the U.S.”
The future for the tragedy-stricken Puerto Rican people is uncertain, but what is evident is that at the start of hurricane season this June, thousands of people remained without permanent homes, electricity or employment. In order for people to stay on the island and prevent a continuing exodus from Puerto Rico, major reconstruction efforts must be undertaken so that the country has the opportunity and resources to thrive.
– Clarke Hallum
Photo: Flickr
Top 10 Facts about Child Soldiers in Syria
During the Syrian conflict, children, even younger than 10, have been recruited into armed groups. These children are inadequately protected by the government and many are recruited into government and terrorist organizations. The majority of them are untrained but are placed in combat situations. Years of violence and despair have plagued the lives of these children. In the text below, the top 10 facts about child soldiers in Syria are presented.
Top 10 Facts about Child Soldiers in Syria
These top 10 facts about child soldiers in Syria demonstrate the desperate crisis children in this country face every day. These are children who desperately need support in a fractured world, especially child soldiers that are affected most by the violence.
Investing in the future of this region and its children could have a large impact. Rehabilitation programs for child soldiers could help them reintegrate into society and into a normal life. These children could be placed into care centers or mandatory rehab programs to deal with the psychological and physical damage they have suffered.
Programs like these have worked in other conflicts and war situations and could help Syrian child soldiers find a way out of the violence they face every day and help them re-establish relationships with their families and communities as well.
– Olivia Halliburton
Photo: Flickr
Food Insecurity in Colombia
After a 50-year-long civil war, Colombia has entered a newly found period of peace. Decades of conflict and instability, however, severely impacted locals in many ways, one of them being food security. At this point, 43 percent of Colombians live with food insecurity and the majority of those affected reside in rural areas. Rural development is a priority in peacekeeping initiatives and will aid in reducing both poverty and food insecurity in Colombia.
Malnutrition in Colombia
An individual is considered food insecure when they experience hunger daily or are unable to afford consistent meals for themselves or their family. It can lead to a number of physical and mental health issues, with malnutrition as the main concern. In Colombia, more than 13 percent of children under the age of five suffer from malnutrition, which can inhibit proper development at a young age. Internally displaced persons or those from an ethnic minority are more likely to live with food insecurity and to be malnourished.
Government Initiatives
In November 2016, President Juan Manuel Santos signed the peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). With this promise of peace and security came a commitment to developing the agriculture sector and investing in programs aimed at poverty reduction in rural areas. In a comment, President Santos highlighted rural poverty as a result of the war and its impact on the farming industry stating that the country fields were also victims of the armed conflict that stripped the rural sector of its productivity, increased the social gap with the urban areas and deepened inequities in the country.
Of those living in rural regions, 40 percent are impoverished, and this geographic group also makes up the majority of individuals affected by food insecurity in Colombia. By encouraging the development of new farms, the government could reduce poverty, food insecurity and reliance on food imports, while benefiting the economy and employment rates.
Agriculture makes up 6.9 percent of Colombia’s GDP while offering employment to 15.8 percent of the population. Less than 30 percent of its arable land, however, is currently being used. Government initiatives to solve this issues include building road, irrigation systems, seed distribution networks for previously underutilized regions and implementing nutrition security programs and agricultural subsidies.
International Efforts
Groups such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized United Nations agency, are also working towards alleviating food insecurity in Colombia. IFAD supports small-scale agriculture and entrepreneurs in rural areas, with the goal of increasing efficiency and productivity. They work with the government to secure loans and implement public policy. Currently, IFAD has four projects in Colombia with the total funding of $163 million. These programs impact 94,400 families.
Action Against Hunger, a global nonprofit organization, has been active in Colombia since 1998 and continues to shape their efforts according to the political climate. Their services include emergency food distribution, nutritional support for children and training in vulnerable communities. Since the Peace Accords in 2016, they have incorporated peace-building work into their programs. In 2017 alone, their Nutrition and Health programs reached 2,878 people and their Food Security and Livelihood programs reached 10,462 people.
These are just two examples of international efforts to support the government’s goal of rural development and reducing food insecurity in Colombia.
As the country transitions away from conflict, continued work towards poverty reduction and advancement in the agricultural sector is necessary for security and economic growth.
– Georgia Orenstein
Photo: Flickr
Top 10 Facts about Girls’ Education in Gabon
The top 10 facts about girls’ education in Gabon presented in the text below are interesting to consider because of the intersection they suggest between the country’s strengths and weaknesses. Women in Gabon suffer at the hands of domestic abuse and a deficiency of certain instrumental rights. At the same time, literacy rates in the country are relatively high compared to other countries in the region.
The 10 Facts about Girls’ Education in Gabon
These top 10 facts about girls’ education in Gabon indicate that though the system is providing decent literacy rates, education in Gabon is far from perfect. Women still face lower literacy rates than men and early marriages prevent them from having sufficient educational opportunities.
Efforts like those of UNICEF mentioned above will help to ameliorate such problems but the most promising prospects for the future will have to come from the country itself.
– Julia Bloechl
Photo: Flickr
The Causes of Radicalization in Russia
On April 3, 2017, 14 people died and 64 were injured when an explosive device detonated in the St. Petersburg metro. The perpetrator, Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, who also died in the explosion, came to St. Petersburg in 2011 from Osh, Kyrgyzstan to work as a car mechanic. Upon reviewing Dzhalilov’s online record and talking with witnesses, Russia’s Federal Security Services found links to Islamist websites on his social media, as well as evidence that he had become withdrawn and quiet two months before his suicide bombing.
The St. Petersburg attack brought Russia’s approach to counter-extremism to the spotlight. More than 2,000 Russians have gone off to fight for ISIS, making Russia the largest contributor of ISIS fighters. While some of these fighters harbor resentments dating back to ethnic wars in the 1990s, others saw ISIS as an opportunity to escape from poor economic opportunities and blatant discrimination at home.
History of Chaos
When the Soviet Union fell in 1991, Chechnya, a majority Muslim, southern region of Russia, descended into chaos. Boris Yeltsin, the first president of Russia, pushed for a decentralization of government but would not go as far as to legitimize Chechen separatists’ independence movement. Interethnic conflict engulfed the Caucasus region, with hundreds of thousands of Ingush people and Chechens fleeing from the destruction of their communities. This legacy of insurgency and violence is one of the main causes of radicalization in Russia, especially in the Northern Caucasus, which remains Russia’s most radicalized region even today.
Radical Islamists tend to be concentrated in cities with high concentrations of migrant workers, particularly in the oil-producing cities of Tyumen and Khanty-Mansiysk. In fact, close to 200,000 Chechens, Ingush and Dagestanis live in West Siberia.
Disenfranchisement
Labor migrants from Central Asia face xenophobia after arriving in Russia. In August 2016, one poll administered by the Levada Center found that 52 percent of Russians believe in a “Russia for ethnic Russians.” The same poll found that 39 percent of Russians feel that immigrants destroy Russian culture. Feeling out-of-place as a minority, these migrants seek community and protection in local mosques, breeding grounds for recruitment into radical Islamic groups. In fact, mosques are the main sites of recruitment, according to the Search for Common Good Organization.
Law enforcement and security agencies alienate Muslims by promulgating propaganda that belittles their beliefs. A Wilson Center report details how law enforcement officials in Russia plant drugs while searching the homes of Muslims, only to arrest and jail them later. Intimidated by state pressure, these Muslims seek recluse in the ranks of ISIS.
Social Media
In order to target and entice potential recruits, terrorist groups use social media and online forums. VKontakte, a popular Russian social media site, was the go-to for ISIS supporters and recruiters until the company began shutting down content that promoted the terrorist group in September 2014. To work around these restrictions, ISIS now uses its own Furat Media to disseminate propaganda.
Russia has implemented stringent counter-extremism laws, to the point that some critics worry about an invasion of piracy. A 2014 Extremism Law gave authorities the power to ban websites and social media accounts without a court order. In the span of 11 months, between February and December 2015, Russia banned 512 websites. Moreover, the 2016 Yarovaya Law forces digital providers to store clients’ data for a minimum of six months and make these records available to the Federal Security Services.
Financial Woes
Extremist groups recruit financially vulnerable migrants with promises of stable jobs and a network of support. More than 28 percent of interviewees in a survey by the Search for Common Ground organization said that the prospect of stable jobs and salaries attracted them to ISIS recruiters. This issue is compounded for undocumented migrants in Russia, who are much more vulnerable financially.
While the Russian government’s counter-extremism laws are harsh, its official rhetoric against its Muslim population, 11.7 percent according to the Pew Research Center, has the unintended consequence of promoting radicalization.
The time is now for Russia to consider more than just its censorship of extremist content. The country must, first and foremost, eradicate the root causes of radicalization, addressing state-sponsored discrimination, financial insecurity and minority rights.
– Mark Blekherman
Photo: Flickr
The Role of the Private Sector in Poverty Reduction
Poverty and world hunger stand on the docket of extinction, for the first time in human history. Even just one generation ago, this acknowledgment would seem absurd. The United Nations advocates that the world can meet the unimaginable goal of eradicating world hunger by 2030.
To achieve this goal, it would take between $170 and $190 billion a year from the U.S. to take everyone out of extreme poverty in the next two or three decades. Just to put that number in perspective, as the largest bilateral donor, the U.S. allocates roughly $49 billion to foreign funds every year to 96 percent of the globe. This article will look at the role of the private sector in poverty reduction.
Advantages of Private Sector in Poverty Reduction
Directing focus on the magnitude of the nation’s role in poverty reduction must be noted, considering only 1 percent of the federal budget goes to foreign aid, the question arises if there is a cheaper, quicker way to fast-track the eradication of extreme poverty. What about the private sector?
The role of the private sector in poverty reduction is that it naturally brings to the table what governments and nongovernmental organizations do not. Federal funds can only cover so much with a $49 billion a year budget. Some of the most transformative investments in poor regions around the globe come from private lenders.
Most U.S. money goes to direct assistance, like world health programs, providing aid packages and doing the heavy lifting for broad-based long-term economic development. The private sector can help stimulate poor economies. Private business contributes a different model to aid and public resources. They can provide jobs, goods and services sometimes more effectively than agencies can do alone.
Developing Countries Opportunities
Developing countries offer business opportunities unheard of in the developed world. The potential for market growth in underdeveloped regions is monumental. Social entrepreneurs likewise are more flexible in carrying out the demands of poverty because they can develop new cross-sector models out of competition, without being tied to the orthodoxies of foreign aid.
Take for example infrastructure in the developing world. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) estimates that it will take $2 trillion a year to fix the world’s infrastructure needs, especially in the developing world where billions of people lack access to safe water, electricity, roads and other basic services.
While often the domain of governments, poor countries cannot support the immense costs of upgrading infrastructure. Infrastructure is essential to eradicating poverty. To escape low-income agricultural dependency, countries need infrastructure projects to communicate, process and transport quality goods. The private sector can work at a much larger scale enabling investments in energy and transportation infrastructure that administer long-term benefits to the economy for local entrepreneurs to take advantage of.
In theory, by solving insurmountable problems in developing countries economies, the role of the private sector in poverty reduction is improving value chains. The private sector and entrepreneurship play a fundamental role in innovation, improving business standards and job creation without development goals as their primary agenda.
Things to Consider when Investing
Private companies can provide lending to update infrastructure projects as Chinese companies have done in Africa. However, there are negative aspects of foreign funding as well. While the inflow of investments does help locals and spark economic growth, these are debts to be repaid to commercial outsiders. For example, several Chinese infrastructure investments have helped support corrupt and undemocratic regimes and only compounded local problems. Not to mention this activity supports an extractive business model.
Infrastructure and jobs help immensely, but the private sector needs to share its wealth capacity with the developing world. Since 2000, the poorest half of the world has received just 1 percent of the increase in total wealth, while the wealthiest 1 percent of the world received over 50 percent of the total wealth. Wealth tends to stay in the hands of the wealthy people. Businesses need to keep in mind that the most valuable asset for then is their labor force. Better paid skilled jobs are keys to growth anywhere.
Foreign direct investment grew from under $50 billion in 1990 to almost $500 billion in 2011. For the first time in 2013, foreign direct investment in developing countries exceeded investment in developed countries. At the same time, commercial lending and remittances have grown significantly.
GDP growth has been high for the last decade in developing countries. But the growth in jobs has not been enough to transition from an agricultural economy to a high productivity economy. Stimulating these economies to help in that transition is key to transitioning. The role of the private sector is that it must be relevant to the poor. Their intervention can be life-changing in guiding the poor to the path to prosperity, remembering that their labor force may be the main assets they possess.
– Joseph Ventura
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