Of the countries in the Arab world, Tunisia has proven itself among the most westernized. Still, it struggles to maintain a steady economy, especially during a time plagued with fear of extremist attacks and civil unrest. Because tourism remains the number one industry in Tunisia, the country’s entire economy has taken a significant hit in recent years.
Now more than ever, efforts toward humanitarian aid to Tunisia have reason to increase. Countries across the globe have stepped forward to provide assistance ever since the people initiated the Arab Spring and overthrew their former president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, in January 2011. While some have provided one-time aid, others continue to help build the country today.
Global Humanitarian Aid Efforts
China responded to the state of emergency by March 2011, offering $2 million in cash to the country along with $4.6 million worth of materials such as food, tents, blankets, medicine and power generators. China delivered these materials in two major shipments, providing relief to thousands of people.
Gruppo di Volontariato Civile (GVC), an organization from Bologna that focuses on international development aid, has continually provided humanitarian aid to Tunisia since 2011.
The organization has focused on responding to the refugee and migration crises, building and expanding rural communities, and empowering Tunisian women to play an active role in civil organizations and the economy.
Recently, GVC has partnered with EU Aid Volunteers in Action, an organization established by the European Union for humanitarian operations. Both have partnered with the MENA Seminar, hosted by the Fibre to the Home Council Middle East and North Africa (FTTH). The conference exists to promote adoption of high-speed networks throughout the Middle East.
“Creating a sustainable future is not just about protecting the environment, but it is also about wider benefits to society and its citizens, and the economic health of communities and nations,” a representative from FTTH said. These sorts of efforts toward quality of life improvement help to build a foundation for long-term growth and relief.
The United States Aid Efforts
In the meantime, the U.S. has also committed itself to humanitarian aid to Tunisia. The United States Agency for International Development, a government agency that directly deals with the fight against global poverty, has provided nearly $300 million to support Tunisia’s economic growth and democracy since 2011.
The U.S. Embassy in Tunisia gives a platform to those who wish to propose funding ideas for projects that help advance the country. Whether in education, economics, national security, or otherwise, it provides financial resources to fund project ideas. However, this funding is “extremely limited,” according to the embassy’s website.
The influx of humanitarian aid to Tunisia remains steady with devoted efforts from both governmental and non-governmental foreign organizations. However, the hopeful and determined attitude of the Tunisian people really makes these efforts successful. The citizens have a true desire to improve their general quality of life, and foreign aid, as well as domestic programs, provide the resources to boost Tunisians out of their economic slump and into a more comfortable state.
– Francesca Colella
Photo: Flickr
Humanitarian Aid to Tunisia Increases Since Arab Spring
Of the countries in the Arab world, Tunisia has proven itself among the most westernized. Still, it struggles to maintain a steady economy, especially during a time plagued with fear of extremist attacks and civil unrest. Because tourism remains the number one industry in Tunisia, the country’s entire economy has taken a significant hit in recent years.
Now more than ever, efforts toward humanitarian aid to Tunisia have reason to increase. Countries across the globe have stepped forward to provide assistance ever since the people initiated the Arab Spring and overthrew their former president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, in January 2011. While some have provided one-time aid, others continue to help build the country today.
Global Humanitarian Aid Efforts
China responded to the state of emergency by March 2011, offering $2 million in cash to the country along with $4.6 million worth of materials such as food, tents, blankets, medicine and power generators. China delivered these materials in two major shipments, providing relief to thousands of people.
Gruppo di Volontariato Civile (GVC), an organization from Bologna that focuses on international development aid, has continually provided humanitarian aid to Tunisia since 2011.
The organization has focused on responding to the refugee and migration crises, building and expanding rural communities, and empowering Tunisian women to play an active role in civil organizations and the economy.
Recently, GVC has partnered with EU Aid Volunteers in Action, an organization established by the European Union for humanitarian operations. Both have partnered with the MENA Seminar, hosted by the Fibre to the Home Council Middle East and North Africa (FTTH). The conference exists to promote adoption of high-speed networks throughout the Middle East.
“Creating a sustainable future is not just about protecting the environment, but it is also about wider benefits to society and its citizens, and the economic health of communities and nations,” a representative from FTTH said. These sorts of efforts toward quality of life improvement help to build a foundation for long-term growth and relief.
The United States Aid Efforts
In the meantime, the U.S. has also committed itself to humanitarian aid to Tunisia. The United States Agency for International Development, a government agency that directly deals with the fight against global poverty, has provided nearly $300 million to support Tunisia’s economic growth and democracy since 2011.
The U.S. Embassy in Tunisia gives a platform to those who wish to propose funding ideas for projects that help advance the country. Whether in education, economics, national security, or otherwise, it provides financial resources to fund project ideas. However, this funding is “extremely limited,” according to the embassy’s website.
The influx of humanitarian aid to Tunisia remains steady with devoted efforts from both governmental and non-governmental foreign organizations. However, the hopeful and determined attitude of the Tunisian people really makes these efforts successful. The citizens have a true desire to improve their general quality of life, and foreign aid, as well as domestic programs, provide the resources to boost Tunisians out of their economic slump and into a more comfortable state.
– Francesca Colella
Photo: Flickr
Women’s Empowerment in China
The legal and social status of women in China has greatly improved since liberty. An official census in 2010 reported that women made up 44.7 percent of the national labor force. However, a variety of current issues for women’s empowerment in China call for global support. Relatively high rates of female illiteracy and gender-selective abortion remain in rural areas. Due to the implementation of the “two-child” policy since 2016, employment has added pressure on Chinese women since they have to balance career development and family affairs.
Further, it was reported in 2016 that one-fourth of women in China had suffered from domestic violence. A few criminal issues such as trafficking, prostitution and arranged marriage also frequently occur in some areas.
Modern advocates of women’s empowerment in China oppose discrimination against females and endeavor to increase the proportion of women in the National People’s Congress and leadership groups at all levels. They also strive to enhance the average income level as well as the family status of women and to create an ideal public environment of equality between men and women.
The ratio of Chinese women in parliament was 24.3 percent in 2013. Many outstanding women have held senior political positions over the past forty years. Qing-Ling Song and Ying-Chao Deng are perhaps two of the greatest Chinese women of the twentieth century.
The goal for women’s empowerment in China is not merely to achieve political and workplace equality, but also achieve complete equality in social and family status towards all individuals.
– Xin Gao
5 of the Major Development Projects in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is a vast, resource-rich country stretched across multiple islands in the western Pacific. Home to 8 million people, Papua New Guinea remains one of the poorest countries in the region, despite its rapidly growing economy. Long dependent on the export of rare minerals, Papua New Guinea is building large infrastructure projects across the country as well as enlisting foreign aid and assistance. Here are five development projects in Papua New Guinea:
Motukea and Lae Port Projects
The government of Papua New Guinea is partnering with ICTSI, a port management company from the Philippines, to build a large port and logistics hub at Motukea island, just outside the capital of Port Moresby in the southeast. The Port of Motukea Project would move container traffic outside of the busy capital, and aims to turn the country into a hub for maritime trade in the region. ICTSI and the government are also collaborating on other development projects in Papua New Guinea including building a flagship new port in the northeast in Lae, the country’s second-largest city.
World Bank’s Urban Youth Employment Project
Papua New Guinea has one of the world’s highest rates of youth unemployment, especially in urban and poorer areas. The World Bank is supporting many development projects in Papua New Guinea, particularly a project designed to provide job training and employment opportunities for jobless young Papua New Guineans in the capital of Port Moresby. The project has trained over 15,000 people — 40 percent of them women — and has placed 35 percent of participants in full-time paid jobs since it began in 2011.
Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Sustainable Highlands Highway Investment Program
Papua New Guinea’s vast highlands region comprises the country’s seven landlocked provinces, home to around 40 percent of the population. The area is poorly connected to the coastal capital and is dominated by small-scale rural agriculture. The ADB is investing in a project to build a modern 2-lane highway crossing the province and connecting over 1,800 km of local feeder roads, providing a link between major urban centers and the hinterlands. The National Highlands Highway is one of the government’s flagship development projects in Papua New Guinea.
The European Commission (EC)’s Millennium Village Development Pilot Project
Papua New Guinea is still a country of subsistence farmers, with over 85 percent of the population depending on it as of 2015. In a pilot project running from 2011 to 2015, the European Commission targeted four communities, seeking to improve rural services and infrastructure in the country’s most rural areas. The EC chose four villages in three of Papua New Guinea’s poorest regions — the landlocked Highlands; Momase in the north, home to the second-largest city of Lae; and the Milne Bay islands in the southeast. The pilot project improved access to healthcare, education and job training, as well as investing in development projects across Papua New Guinea.
Ramazon Hydropower Plant Project in Bougainville
Papua New Guinea is investing in large hydropower plants to increase its share of renewable energy, as well as modernizing and renewing aging plants it already depends on. Norwegian engineering firm Multiconsult is partnering with the government on a new 3-Megawatt hydropower plant in Ramazon on the autonomous island region of Bougainville, as well as several other infrastructure development projects in Papua New Guinea including rehabilitating older hydropower stations at Yonki Dam in the Highlands and Warangoi on the island of New Britain.
Despite its diverse and challenging geography, Papua New Guinea is seeking to build infrastructure and power projects to drive economic development. Development projects in Papua New Guinea span from the capital to the country’s poorest areas, involving foreign firms and international aid groups in a cross-sector approach to development.
– Giacomo Tognini
Photo: Flickr
The Varying Levels of Success of Humanitarian Aid to Botswana
Botswana is celebrated as a stable democracy in the African region and has experienced steady economic growth for a middle-income country. However, its population also struggles with damaging droughts and one of the highest rates of HIV in the world. Since Botswana is considered a middle-income country, the amount of humanitarian aid to Botswana has decreased considerably, especially when compared to other African countries such as Tanzania.
Botswana has made notable success in its mission to reduce the high HIV rates, and such an accomplishment wouldn’t have been possible without the humanitarian aid to Botswana from other countries. For instance, it was the “first African country to promise free antiretroviral to its citizens in partnership with the Merck Company Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.”
Botswana’s antiretroviral program (MASA) launched in 2002, and as of 2016, it;s estimated that about 300,000 HIV-infected adults received treatment; this number corresponded to an increase from 78 percent in 2015 to 84 percent in 2016.
In addition to MASA, since 2004 Botswana has also received over $750 million through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which promotes “sustainable, high-quality, cost-effective HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care interventions.” USAID has helped implement PEPFAR in the country, and that has perhaps contributed to Botswana’s remarkable response to this epidemic. As of 2015, around 92 percent pregnant women with HIV received antiretroviral medication.
Some of the other achievements resulting from humanitarian aid to Botswana include testing and counseling for 272,634 people, and providing care and support for 1008 orphans with HIV.
While these figures demonstrate success in Botswana’s response to this epidemic, it is not clear as to how sustainable these programs are since humanitarian aid to Botswana has decreased significantly over the years. For instance, PEPFAR has made drastic cuts in its funding to Botswana, going from $84 million in 2011 to $39 million in 2015, and $28 million in 2016. So only time will tell if Botswana has reached a point where it can maintain its notable response to HIV with such considerably low funds.
– Mehruba Chowdhury
Photo: Flickr
5 Significantly Important Development Projects in Cote d’Ivoire
Cote d’Ivoire is a sovereign nation in West Africa that originally was a serious coffee and cocoa producer, but in the 1980s went through an economic crisis. After that, the main export is agriculture, and has remained so well into the 21st century.
Here are 5 development projects in Cote d’Ivoire that will vastly improve their economy and national well-being. Hopefully it will bring them closer to a fully-functioning, independent society.
1. Gender-Based Violence Project
In 2001, a political crisis in Cote d’Ivoire severely diminished the role of and respect towards women, leading to a large growth in Gender-Based Violence (GBV); in fact, the GBV affected around 67 percent of all female citizens. Used as a weapon of war, survivors and victims of GBV had to grapple with the harsh affects of trauma and medical conditions without a judicial system that held the criminals accountable.
The Emerging From Conflict-Multisector Support Project started in December 2007 and focuses mainly on filling the aid gap that 17,000 social workers and crucial employees in this sector created by departing. To accomplish such a feat, the nation established many service centers that offered an package of medical, psychological, economic and legal help for GBV survivors. The GBV section of this project used around $3 million, and the nation has felt its impact since: it rehabilitated 8 social protection services, 16 health centers, trained 300 social workers in GBV treatment and care, and created a referral and counter-referral system that created more attention for GBV.
2. Urban Water Supply Project
Approved in June 2016, the Urban Water Supply Project will drastically change the daily life of many citizens. Through 2022, this $50 million program hope to improve water quality, and increase water accessibility in select urban areas. The main focus of the project, the water supply component, will focus on constructing water treatment plants, boreholes and other ways to receive water. It will also work on constructing tanks and water transmission lines.
3. Emergency Urban Infrastructure Project
Specifically in the cities of Abidjan, Bouake and other selected cities one of the 5 development projects in Cote d’Ivoire aims to increase the quality of urban structures and infrastructures. Finished in 2010 with the cost of $50 million, the project focuses on scaling-up basic urban services. It also hopes to strengthen management capacity and and extend network services in cities as well.
4. Electricity Transmission and Access Project
In March 2017, the World Bank approved a $325 million development project in Cote d’Ivoire for the Electricity Transmission and Access Project. The project plans to increase to electricity for the population in 10 regional capital cities and rural areas. The government’s planned “Electricity for All” program will reduce costs from $250 to $2 per household.
5. HKB Bridge
Considered the biggest civil engineering project in Cote d’Ivoire, the HKB bridge plans to cross the Ébrié Lagoon which divides Abidjan in two. Until recently, the city had two bridges, but with this creation, 80,000 vehicles per day can now cross at a much faster rate. Originally, traffic jams would cause the journey to be near 90 minutes on the most routine days, but at 7km long and a price of $270 million, this will become a much quicker journey.
With these five development projects in Cote d’Ivoire, the country will be able to grow and continue its upward progress towards stable economic development.
– Nick McGuire
Photo: Flickr
4 Projects to Improve Infrastructure in Kenya
Mombasa-Nairobi Railway
The Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway Project started in 2013 and began building a new standard gauge railway line for transportation between the cities of Mombasa and Nairobi. The completed railway would accommodate both passengers and cargo. Passengers’ travel time between the two cities would be cut from more than ten hours to just over four hours, while cargo would be transported in less than eight hours.
The project is said to be completed in December 2017. This project will not only decrease travel time but it will cut the costs of travel. With 40 stations to be built between Mombasa and Nairobi, the project offers an opportunity to create 30,000 new jobs with this development of infrastructure in Kenya.
Tatu City Project
Over $500 million is being invested for the creation of Tatu City’s industrial park. This park will include residential developments, businesses, a technology park, parks and playgrounds, hospitals and health facilities, schools and light industrial and warehousing facilities. With the addition of these different forms of infrastructure, thousands of jobs will be created. It will also lead to an approximate five percent decrease in Kenya’s housing deficit through the creation of more affordable homes.
Lamu Port Berths
The goal of the Lamu Port Berths project is to build 32 deep sea berths, which are places where ships will dock, and shipyards for the port at Manda Bay. There have been two berths constructed so far with the third being completed in 2018. The first three are economically covered by Kenya’s government. The rest of the 29 berths will be covered by private sector investors.
In the process of building each berth, there has been supporting infrastructure projects completed to assist in the building. Port headquarters, a police station and an electric power connection and water reticulation network have been constructed.
Lake Turkana Wind Power Project
With a vision of “providing reliable, low-cost energy to Kenya”, the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project has finished the development of a wind farm in the Loiyangalani District of Marsabit County. Since this area has temperature fluctuations daily that change wind forces, it is the optimal place to build a wind farm to generate energy. The wind farm includes 365 wind turbines that cover 40,000 acres. In July 2017, the wind farm was ready to provide 310MW of low-cost energy to Kenya’s national grid. This is the largest wind farm project in Africa and will transmit 428 km from Lake Turkana to Susua.
Infrastructure in Kenya is improving each year as the country works towards the goal of improving the livelihood of its residents. Their efforts have improved railway transportation, public building infrastructure, shipyards and energy farms. Overall, a better Kenya will be the ultimate goal of these projects.
– Brianna Summ
Photo: Flickr
Legal Reforms in Peru Spur Economic Growth
For the last 18 years, Peru has enjoyed an unprecedented streak of positive economic growth. Beginning in the 1990s with the government of Alberto Fujimori, legal reforms in Peru helped revolutionize the economy of the Latin American nation and began this trajectory of growth that continued into the 21st century. The reforms comprised hundreds of legal and policy changes affecting land recording, contracts, access to courts and identity records, among other topics.
Peruvian economist, Hernando de Soto, then a top adviser to President Fujimori, was the pioneer of these reforms. Because their effect was limited to within Peru, and due to the staggered timing of when and where they were implemented, the reforms operated as something of a natural experiment for de Soto’s academic theories on economic growth.
The guiding principle behind the legal reforms in Peru was the idea that the poor hold vast amounts of assets in an untapped and unproductive form. By the year 2000, estimates of this unproductive store of wealth exceeded $10 trillion worldwide in terms of land, tangible real estate and other assets held by the world’s poor. Supporters of the reforms believe that providing the owners with access to modern legal regimes creates opportunities to invest the assets in productive ventures. The result will be increased wealth and overall economic growth.
The effects of the legal reforms in Peru are difficult to measure directly, but a number of results appear to indicate some success. By 2007, 13 million residents received legal title to 3,200,000 pieces of property because of the new systems. In Lima, the capital and largest city, proper legal titles were granted for 98 percent of the city’s land. In addition to increasing the opportunity for mortgage-based credit, these new systems of record keeping had impressive effects on public infrastructure and utilities. With identifiable owners and responsible parties, public electricity is now available in the entire city.
One independent researcher also noted a significant increase in labor availability in areas of Peru where the land reforms went into effect. By 2016, Peru was ranked second among Latin American countries in the World Bank’s Doing Business report. The Economist and the Cato Institute even credited reforms to land titles in the Peruvian countryside with helping to undermine the violent rebellion of the Shining Path guerrilla movement.
Improved market conditions have attracted international attention. The Center for International Private Enterprise partnered with the Jordanian Youth Entrepreneurs Association in 2008 to assist young entrepreneurs in Peru with leadership and business training, and this initiative has continued in the years since. Due to the perceived success in his home nation, De Soto’s institution, the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, has since consulted leaders of dozens of other countries on how to institute similar initiatives.
– Paul Robertson
Photo: Flickr
The Success of Humanitarian Aid to Serbia
Due to poor leadership and an increase in nationalism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Federation of Yugoslavia began to disintegrate. Member states began to declare independence, and by 1992, conflicts began to break out all over Yugoslavia. For the next 15 years, the Balkans would be associated with political and cultural strife, creating a need for international assistance and eventually leading to the success of humanitarian aid to Serbia.
In 1992, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) began work in Serbia. The modern goal of the IRC is to provide humanitarian assistance to those affected by conflict. The IRC assisted the people of Serbia though conflict until 2004 and has been a major indication of the success of humanitarian aid to Serbia.
In response to the migrant crisis that affected the Balkan region in March 2016, the Serbian government, European Commission, the IRC and other international and Serbian-based charities initiated a response to provide those stranded with humanitarian aid. The European Commission allocated €25 million in funding for the Serbian government to assist refugees and fund other humanitarian aid projects. Much of the money allocated for refugees has been spent on government-run reception centers. The goal of these centers is to track and assist the over 4,000 refugees in Serbia.
Refugee Aid to Serbia (RAS) is a charity located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. This local charity works in conjunction with international charities such as NGO North Start and the International Women’s Club, to provide food, education, clothing and legal aid to those stranded throughout the country.
While the number of refugees in Serbia may seem small in comparison to other European nations, the impact on the local economy of Serbia has been significant. This is due to its smaller national economy and population.
– Nick DeMarco
Photo: Flickr
How Female Entrepreneurship Drives the Economy in Africa
Companies such as Mastercard are traveling to Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa to partner with nonprofit organizations aimed at teaching young girls why they should enter the workforce and how they can make an impact. With these partnerships, organizations, such as the Mini Enterprise Programme, hope that girls and women will take the initiative to enter the workforce in the near future.
In Ghana, women make up more than half of the labor force; if maximally utilized, the additional personnel could lead to increased production of good services by 2.5 percent within one year. One of the benefits of being able to export more products in a year is the increased revenue it brings in to the country. Female entrepreneurship drives the economy in Ghana by helping to build more jobs and providing more opportunities for other women to enter the force.
Female entrepreneurship also drives the economy by using education to teach youth. Companies work with organizations to empower young girls, as they have recognized the potential young girls have to drive the economy in the future. Many women in the field have stepped up as role models and proven that they can start businesses just as successfully as a man.
Furthermore, women are working faster than men to start businesses in many African countries. According to the World Bank, the time required to start a business for women and men increased about a day between 2015 and 2016, however, women were still, overall, faster than men by one day.
The opportunity to involve women is a positive step forward not only for the economy but for the alleviation of poverty experienced by many around the world. Approximately six out of 10 of the world’s poorest people are women. They are usually the primary caretakers of the family, yet are often denied the opportunity to earn an adequate living.
The initiatives set out by Mastercard and other organizations give hope to women suffering from poverty and promote the continued empowerment of women. Empowering young girls has led to more African countries seeing the benefits of having female entrepreneurship drive their economies.
– Seriah Sargenton
Photo: Flickr
Women’s Empowerment in Liberia
Liberia experienced 14 years of civil war between the years 1989 to 2003, which totaled in more than 250,000 casualties. After 2003, the country spent several years undergoing reconstruction and since then, progress has been made in achieving women’s empowerment in Liberia.
In 2006, Liberia became the first country in Africa to democratically elect a woman president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Along with Leymah Gbowee, the leader of the women’s peace movement, President Sirleaf quickly became a symbol for women’s empowerment in Liberia.
In an interview she gave in April 2017, Leymah Gbowee explains that the real beauty of the fight for women’s empowerment in the country is “in the number of young women who have seen a future beyond what they had” and in particular before the end of the war in 2003. She highlighted President Sirleaf’s role in raising an entire generation of young women to look themselves in a mirror and believe that they can achieve anything. Gbowee views President Sirleaf as the female version of Nelson Mandela, a real trailblazer for women’s empowerment in Liberia.
Through her organization, Gbowee Peace Foundation USA, Leymah Gbowee is working on promoting peace, security and reconciliation in the country, as well as lobbying for girl’s and women’s rights and leadership.
Women in Liberia are aiming to achieve equal political and economic rights. Despite having the right to vote since 1946, it is still a predominantly patriarchal society in Liberia. As such, most positions of authority are occupied by men. The disproportionate number of men in these positions can be explained by the lack of education girls and women receive in Liberia, as well as the high rate of child marriage, all which impact future opportunities for women.
As a result of efforts made to increase access to education and the personal development of girls and women, women represent half of the country’s workforce. The poverty level dropped by 10 percent between 2007 and 2010: according to the United Nations Development Programme, empowering women is central to fighting extreme poverty.
Many associations have been created by women, for women, in an effort to continue the progress for women’s empowerment in Liberia. One example is the Association of Women in Cross Border Trade, created in 2010, which teaches women how to manage their financial resources.
With continuous efforts by these organizations, the progress made for women’s empowerment in Liberia is sure to continue. In the words of Karin Landgren, the Coordinator of United Nations Operations in Liberia, “When women are empowered, nations are transformed.”
– Lea Gorius
Photo: Flickr