At the intersection of an assortment of key poverty-related issues lies the struggle for clean water. Roughly 80 percent of illnesses in developing nations are linked to limited access to clean water and proper sanitation. This spread of illnesses impacts child mortality rates, and reduces the competency of a nation’s workforce.
Children, particularly girls, are impacted disproportionately by reduced access to clean water. Girls under the age of 15 are twice as likely as boys to be responsible for fetching water in rural environments. This halves a population’s access to education, as the girls are too busy trekking for water to participate in school. Thus without clean water access, developing nations are hindered in multiple ways and pushed back to square one.
The United Nations’ Aid Efforts
In 2015, the U.N. convened to reestablish a series of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By design, these goals were created to be met by 2030. In response to the global clean water crisis, global access to clean water was established as a primary goal for this initiative.
The U.N.’s commitment to channeling resources and attention towards the global clean water crisis serves as a reminder that this issue remains at the forefront of humanitarian work. Clearly, the challenge of clean water access is not commitment, awareness or resources; rather, it is the effective implementation of filtration systems and stations.
How to Establish Clean Water Access
The mainstay approach to establishing clean water access, the deployment of filtration stations or wells, is rife with challenges. These stations are typically deployed in low-income areas, and are not supported by an effective contingency plan that extends past their build date. They are oftentimes left in unforgiving environments without technicians or significant financial support. Due to this, 30 percent to 60 percent of clean water stations fail within the first three years of existence.
Safe Water Network, a clean water focused NGO founded in 2006 by philanthropist Paul Newman, employs a unique model that responds to these challenges. Much like any clean water NGO, Safe Water Network deploys water stations across both India and Ghana with the aid of philanthropic capital. Rather than leaving these stations alone, though, the organization diverts funding into the community to train local technicians and operators. With the help of these technicians and operators, the station remains in good condition.
Station By Station
The station then produces affordably priced clean water that is typically much cheaper than the bottled water in the area. The majority of the stations penetrate 80 percent of the local populace, meaning that the revenue funnels back into the clean water station to ensure long-term, high-quality maintenance. By tapping into the local economic ecosystem, these stations become sewn into the community fabric of the respective regions.
In fact, Poonam Sewak, the Vice President of India programs for Safe Water Network, stated: “I would like to say whoever comes to work in clean water should come with a vision that it has to be sustainable. If you are not creating and leaving behind two things: technicians with access to spare parts, and second, training to the people to own and manage their own product then you have done a disservice to the money which you had.”
Sewak also emphasized the program’s goal to instill autonomy, entrepreneurship and confidence in the communities in addition to providing essential & sustainable clean water access.
Clean Water Toolkit
Global long-term cooperative efforts are another component of the organization’s strategy. Safe Water Network aims to build a database platform of their collective clean water knowledge derived from each of their stations. This database draws on digital monitoring systems installed at a majority of the sites. By monitoring water outputs and other technical details, Safe Water Network is better able to understand which approaches are most effective in conjunction with their market-based methodology.
In India, Safe Water Network has already provided this collective knowledge to the Ministry of Clean Water and the Ministry of Urban Planning so that they are better able to respond to the challenge of managing sanitation in urban environments. In the future, the organization hopes to expand this database so that it can be accessed by other initiatives and NGOs who aim to create their own sustainable safe water stations. Essentially, Safe Water Network is building a new clean water toolkit for the future.
Global Goals
While the challenge of creating global clean water access by 2030 per the U.N.’s SDGs still looms ahead, Safe Water Network serves as an example of the effectiveness of innovation in the face of adversity.
Safe Water Network has already reached 300 communities, providing long-term clean water access to about one million people. As their network of governments, charities and NGOs expands with the aid of the clean water toolkit, their positive impact will surely be multiplied.
– Ian Greenwood
Photo: Flickr
Improving the Water Supply in Karakalpakstan
The autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan occupies the entire northwestern end of the country of Uzbekistan. With a poverty rate of 32 percent, this region is considered one of the poorest in Uzbekistan.
The Necessity of Water
Because most of this nation’s produce comes from agricultural production, water is an essential resource for the people of Karakalpakstan. The economy is supported through the production of cotton, melons and livestock, making extensive irrigation systems critical for the smooth execution of farming practices and water management.
Water is essential to life in Karakalpakstan; more than 30,000 hectares of land have been abandoned because of the lack of water. Since the shortage of water in the region often results from farmers using water inefficiently, new and effective water-saving technologies are in high demand.
Improving irrigation systems would help these impoverished farmers move out of poverty. Effective water management can reduce the cost of supplying and storing water, which would inevitably increase the farmers’ yields and enable them to cultivate more crops. With a steady and reliable source of water supply in Karakalpakstan, the region’s farmers can be assured that they will be able to tend to their crops and rely on them for financial support.
The Project to Improve Water Supply in Karakalpakstan
In response to the ongoing water crisis, the World Bank initiated a project that aims to help 1,500 private farms and 40,000 small farming households secure access to water in Karakalpakstan.
The South Karakalpakstan Water Resources Management Improvement Project (SKWRMIP) for Uzbekistan focuses on the restoration of irrigation systems and improvements in water management. With 80 percent of its resources aimed at irrigation and drainage, the project aims to build a sustainable water distribution system and a financially stable community of farmers.
“Better water management and irrigation will lead to increased farm productivity, and thus help farmers in South Karakalpakstan build their assets and improve their living standards,” said Saroj Kumar Jha, the World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia. “We estimate that 41,000 water users will be provided with new or improved irrigation and drainage services under this project.”
Financial Benefits of the Project
This project would replace the 1950s water infrastructure in Uzbekistan, which is experiencing many complications due to age. The deteriorating infrastructure and poor water management of the 1950s system is estimated to cost Uzbekistani government $1.7 billion USD annually. However, the SKWRMIP proposal comes with a total annual energy cost of $2.4 million USD, saving the government a significant amount. It also relieves much of the burden on rural farmers paying operation and distribution fees, allowing them the freedom to save the money for themselves.
“Our firm is planning to complete the civil works along the Buston channel this year. Thousands of farmers in several districts of South Karakalpakstan will be able to receive water for the irrigation of their lands,” said Islombek Ismatov, a SKWRMIP construction manager. “Lack of water in this region makes it more valuable than gold.”
In regions like Karakalpakstan, water is extremely valuable for livelihood. Water supply has been erratic and fleeting over the past few decades in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, but the SKWRMIP works to build and maintain a functional and accessible source of water supply in the region.
– Jenny S Park
Photo: Google
Safe Water Network & Innovative Clean Water Solutions
At the intersection of an assortment of key poverty-related issues lies the struggle for clean water. Roughly 80 percent of illnesses in developing nations are linked to limited access to clean water and proper sanitation. This spread of illnesses impacts child mortality rates, and reduces the competency of a nation’s workforce.
Children, particularly girls, are impacted disproportionately by reduced access to clean water. Girls under the age of 15 are twice as likely as boys to be responsible for fetching water in rural environments. This halves a population’s access to education, as the girls are too busy trekking for water to participate in school. Thus without clean water access, developing nations are hindered in multiple ways and pushed back to square one.
The United Nations’ Aid Efforts
In 2015, the U.N. convened to reestablish a series of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By design, these goals were created to be met by 2030. In response to the global clean water crisis, global access to clean water was established as a primary goal for this initiative.
The U.N.’s commitment to channeling resources and attention towards the global clean water crisis serves as a reminder that this issue remains at the forefront of humanitarian work. Clearly, the challenge of clean water access is not commitment, awareness or resources; rather, it is the effective implementation of filtration systems and stations.
How to Establish Clean Water Access
The mainstay approach to establishing clean water access, the deployment of filtration stations or wells, is rife with challenges. These stations are typically deployed in low-income areas, and are not supported by an effective contingency plan that extends past their build date. They are oftentimes left in unforgiving environments without technicians or significant financial support. Due to this, 30 percent to 60 percent of clean water stations fail within the first three years of existence.
Safe Water Network, a clean water focused NGO founded in 2006 by philanthropist Paul Newman, employs a unique model that responds to these challenges. Much like any clean water NGO, Safe Water Network deploys water stations across both India and Ghana with the aid of philanthropic capital. Rather than leaving these stations alone, though, the organization diverts funding into the community to train local technicians and operators. With the help of these technicians and operators, the station remains in good condition.
Station By Station
The station then produces affordably priced clean water that is typically much cheaper than the bottled water in the area. The majority of the stations penetrate 80 percent of the local populace, meaning that the revenue funnels back into the clean water station to ensure long-term, high-quality maintenance. By tapping into the local economic ecosystem, these stations become sewn into the community fabric of the respective regions.
In fact, Poonam Sewak, the Vice President of India programs for Safe Water Network, stated: “I would like to say whoever comes to work in clean water should come with a vision that it has to be sustainable. If you are not creating and leaving behind two things: technicians with access to spare parts, and second, training to the people to own and manage their own product then you have done a disservice to the money which you had.”
Sewak also emphasized the program’s goal to instill autonomy, entrepreneurship and confidence in the communities in addition to providing essential & sustainable clean water access.
Clean Water Toolkit
Global long-term cooperative efforts are another component of the organization’s strategy. Safe Water Network aims to build a database platform of their collective clean water knowledge derived from each of their stations. This database draws on digital monitoring systems installed at a majority of the sites. By monitoring water outputs and other technical details, Safe Water Network is better able to understand which approaches are most effective in conjunction with their market-based methodology.
In India, Safe Water Network has already provided this collective knowledge to the Ministry of Clean Water and the Ministry of Urban Planning so that they are better able to respond to the challenge of managing sanitation in urban environments. In the future, the organization hopes to expand this database so that it can be accessed by other initiatives and NGOs who aim to create their own sustainable safe water stations. Essentially, Safe Water Network is building a new clean water toolkit for the future.
Global Goals
While the challenge of creating global clean water access by 2030 per the U.N.’s SDGs still looms ahead, Safe Water Network serves as an example of the effectiveness of innovation in the face of adversity.
Safe Water Network has already reached 300 communities, providing long-term clean water access to about one million people. As their network of governments, charities and NGOs expands with the aid of the clean water toolkit, their positive impact will surely be multiplied.
– Ian Greenwood
Photo: Flickr
Efforts Combating Negative Effects of the Rwandan Genocide
Rwanda has made great strides in combating poverty. The country boasts one of the fastest growing economies in Central Africa, with an average GDP growth of 8 percent per year between 2001 and 2014. However, 60 percent of the population still lives in extreme poverty — on less than $1.25 a day — as just one of the negative effects of the Rwandan genocide.
GDP per capita would most likely be about 25 to 30 percent higher if the 100-day civil war and genocide had not occurred from April to July of 1994. More than 800,000 civilians were killed, and current Rwandans still experience the negative effects of the Rwandan genocide via the country’s collective poverty and mental health statuses of individuals today.
What was the Rwandan Genocide?
The Rwandan genocide resulted from centuries of conflict between two ethnic groups in Rwanda — the Hutu and the Tutsi peoples. Hutu extremists systematically murdered Tutsi and moderate Hutu and targeted politicians in particular so as to form a political vacuum and an interim, extremist government.
Only extreme violence and brutality could lead to the murder of so many in only 100 days. Beyond murder, another tactic used to traumatize victims was the deliberate infection of many Tutsi women with HIV/AIDS through rape. These devastating methods are why Lauren Suitt so strongly believes in “raising up the local counselors to help alleviate the trauma that still exists from the genocide.”
The Africa Healing Exchange
Lauren Suitt is a recent University of North Carolina Asheville graduate who traveled to Rwanda this May for three weeks as part of her internship with Africa Healing Exchange (AHE). The AHE is an Asheville-based non-profit with the mission of helping people overcome trauma associated with the Rwandan genocide.
Sara Stender founded AHE after being transformed by her experiences with Rwandans in 2009. The nonprofit uses its own Restoring Resiliency Program to assist individuals and groups in both the U.S. and Rwanda in their attempts to overcome trauma by particularly focusing on Rwandan mothers and children.
Suitt emphasizes forming connections as an integral part of the nonprofit’s work, telling The Borgen Project: “It is AHE’s goal to help facilitate the growth of mutually beneficial relationships/ skills exchange between people in Rwanda and the United States.”
Scars of the Rwandan Genocide
The work Suitt did in her internship highlights the way AHE attempts to address two different negative effects of the Rwandan genocide. She focused her three weeks in the country on training local Rwandans as part of a workshop for local trauma counselors in Kigali and delivering business development workshops for women’s cooperatives in the rural districts of Rubavo and Rulindo.
She advocates that of the negative effects of the Rwandan genocide, trauma should be addressed first. Suitt says, “Since the genocide occurred in 1994, only 24 years ago, the majority Rwandans were directly affected. It was very eye-opening for me to realize that this occurred only a year before I was born and that most people only a year older than I am witnessed this tragedy first hand (I was born in 1995).”
Survivor Stories
The resilient Rwandans that Suitt met during her three-week stay deepened her awareness of the negative effects of the Rwandan genocide. She explained that she was overwhelmed by the people that referred to themselves as an “orphan” or “orphan of the genocide” because so many Rwandans lost close family members.
One day at her hotel, she met Emmanuel — a man who was eight years old during the genocide. He lost every immediate family member, and only survived because he was out playing in a banana field and was able to hide when extremists attacked his family.
She also met John, whose family remains intact because they fled Rwanda to the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) when the genocide began. John’s story highlights another type of trauma that resulted from the genocide — that plights of a refugee and a returnee. As many as two million Rwandans fled during or after the genocide, mostly to the country now called the DRC, and the majority returned in 1996 or 1997. Fleeing for their lives and reintegrating to a ravaged country also created deep, emotional wounds.
Trauma, Healing and Beyond
However, Suitt does not believe the work needed in our post-Rwandan genocide world stops at addressing trauma. She believes that combating multiple negative effects of the Rwandan genocide at the same time is possible and beneficial. Teaching handicraft skills like sewing and putting quality goods in a global market to generate a fair wage will go far to alleviate poverty in Rwanda. In fact, Suitt believes that “lack of resources is the main cause of poverty in Rwanda and around the world.”
Foreign aid has been significant to Rwanda following the genocide, as 30 to 40 percent of government revenue comes from aid. Hopefully, this money and continued efforts like those of AHE will establish American markets for Rwandan goods and allow Rwanda’s economy to continue recovering. Such development would help the majority of the population currently living in extreme poverty, and pave the way to recovery.
– Charlotte Preston
Photo: Google
The Growing Importance of Credit Access in Mali
Mali is a landlocked country located in West Africa with a population of approximately 18 million people. While the national poverty fell from 55.6 percent in 2001 to 43.6 percent in 2010, Mali remains 175th out of 188 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index.
Diagnosing the Problem
Credit access in Mali stands out as one the leading impediments to economic growth. A smallholder farmer is refused a loan seven times out of ten because of the high risk and unpredictable nature associated with the agricultural sector. This difficulty accessing credit is only further compounded by the fact that about 80 percent of the entire labor force actively participates in farming.
Credit serves an important role in the growth of developing countries’ economies. Increased credit access in Mali is essential for allowing farmers, businesses and consumers across Mali to utilize investment capital and thus help expand economic activity. If 70 percent of farmers are refused loans from the start in a country where 80 percent of the workforce is engaged in farming, significant economic growth becomes nearly impossible.
Moussa Sylvain Diakite, a mango producer and exporter in Bamako, explains this discrepancy noting that “Malian banks have a commercial focus and not an agricultural one which is why they struggle to accompany agricultural activities.”
Improving Credit Access in Mali
One of the leading initiatives to improve credit access in Mali is the Agricultural Competitiveness and Diversification Project. Led by the Malian government and the World Bank, the program hopes to provide financial support to both individual Mali farmers seeking credit and commercial banks. By enfranchising Mali farmers and reducing risk for commercial banks that offer them loans, the Agricultural Competitiveness and Diversification Project will help scale agricultural production and the number of small and medium enterprises throughout Mali.
Above all, the Project works to “reduce the risk of investing in agriculture endeavors through technical assistance, new technologies, and greater knowledge of the supply chain and key actors,” according to World Bank Agribusiness Specialist Yeyande Kasse Sangho.
Benefits of Greater Credit Access in Mali
Researchers who partnered with Soro Yiriwaso, a microfinance institution in Mali, conducted a two-stage randomized evaluation in 198 villages in rural Mali. The findings point to agricultural lending as an effective means of increasing investments in the agricultural sector, as well as increasing profits and yields.
Village households which were offered loans spent about $10.35 more on fertilizer and $5.08 more on herbicides and insecticides than the households in villages that did not get loans. These loans also contributed to an increase in the value of agricultural output by $32. Many of these households also received grants invested 14 percent more on inputs than households that did not receive grants. Those households also saw output and farm profits increase by 13 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
As the relationships between farmers and commercial banks strengthen, credit access will only continue to spread in Mali and enable further economic growth. With continued efforts and projects as the ones mentioned above, there’s significant hope that the focus on credit access in Mali will serve as an example for the economic development of other impoverished regions.
– McAfee Sheehan
Photo: Flickr
Beyonce, Jay-Z To Headline Global Citizen Mandela 100 Festival
Singer Beyonce and her spouse, rapper Jay-Z, will be among several major artists to perform at Global Citizen’s Mandela 100 Festival in December 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Other artists scheduled to perform are Ed Sheeran, Chris Martin, Pharrell Williams, D’banj, Femi Kuti, Sho Madjozi, Tiwa Savage and Wizkid. This latest concert campaign is said to be Global Citizen’s ”biggest campaign on the Global Goals to end extreme poverty ever.”
According to Global Citizen, the festival is to represent a celebration of Mandela’s legacy as an exemplary leader, his fight against apartheid, and his methods of non-violent protest that shaped the future of South Africa, setting an example worldwide. The Mandela 100 festival will be the first-ever musical event organized by Global Citizen in Africa
A Global Initiative
As an organization that is composed of members worldwide, Global Citizen is a model example of a successful nongovernmental organization (NGO), a true grassroots movement. The organization has projected some major numbers for 2018: an estimated 2.25 billion people worldwide are expected to receive some form of poverty relief from Global Citizen, ranging from a year of free education for children to clean water for an entire community.
Global Citizen divides its goals into nine separate categories, each representing a broad set of issues that need to be resolved. They are:
Global Citizen’s goal is to eliminate extreme poverty worldwide by 2030—just 12 years from now. And it seems that the organization may accomplish its goals, having secured a whopping $2.9 billion in funding from government organizations worldwide for 2018 alone.
How Everyone Can Help
But besides relying on funding from government bodies, Global Citizen asks that individuals take action as well, through twitter, email or petition. Global Citizen’s website offers a streamlined way for its constituents to influence representatives not only in their own country but in countries worldwide.
Some of the most recent and significant contributions to Global Citizen have come from the U.K., Norway and the E.U. These nations gave £225 million, Kr.2.07 billion and €337.5 million to Global Citizen’s Global Partnership for Education project, respectively.
Mandela 100 Festival: A Festival For The People
The Mandela 100 Festival begins on December 2, 2018, and besides the proceeds going toward Global Citizen’s international fight against poverty, the other goal of the festival experience is to ignite a passion in young people to feel empowered to make changes in the world. Global Citizen wants to involve youth, on an international level, in the fight against extreme poverty.
Global Citizen’s website states it wishes to “galvanize young, passionate people across Africa to pressure their leaders to make important strides.” In fact, the motto for the festival is “Be The Generation.” Considering that Global Citizen is expecting to end abject poverty worldwide in little over a decade, millennials may just become the generation to tip the scales in the ongoing fight to elevate all members of our global community.
– Jason Crosby
Photo: Google
10 Important Facts About Girls’ Education in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a country known for its dedication to its diverse environment. But less known is its dedication to educating its youth, predominantly girls. The range of resources offered throughout the country, whether institutional or grassroots oriented, are just as diverse as its environment. The following are ten facts that help illuminate the successes and improvements of girls’ education in Costa Rica.
10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Costa Rica
Costa Rica has taken strides to ensure that its population consists of well-educated, globally-minded citizens. These 10 facts about girls’ education in Costa Rica exemplify how an already progressive state will continue to work hard to maintain this standard well into the future.
– Taylor Jennings
Photo: Flickr
Persistence and Prevention: Zika in Mexico
The zika virus is a mosquito-borne infection that — although relatively harmless to adults who catch it — can irreparably damage unborn children and cause microcephaly. A pregnant woman who contracts zika will show minimal signs of sickness, such as a fever or rash; her child, however, will be born with microcephaly — a disease that causes abnormal brain development. The child will most likely never lead a normal life.
What is the Zika Virus?
Zika has often been referred to as a ‘disease of poverty,’ because it falls under the sect of disease that are significantly more widespread among impoverished communities. An epidemic is also costly for the country affected. The total cost of the Zika epidemic in Latin American countries is estimated to be around $7 billion.
Zika in Mexico
The first reported cases of zika in Mexico occurred in November of 2015. When a mother contracts Zika and gives birth to a child with microcephaly, it puts a great financial and emotional strain on the family. With a zika-impaired child, the parents are unable to go back to work as soon as they would with a healthy baby, or continue to work as much as they were able to in the past.
Poor households in Mexico have the greatest likelihood of exposure to the virus and they generally tend to be the least able to handle the effects. Women in impoverished communities are not likely to have access to healthcare services that can protect them from contracting zika. In addition, the female populations in these areas are also not likely to have the resources to take care of a child with microcephaly.
Zika also has the potential to widen gender gaps in Latin American countries such as Mexico, as it creates a higher demand for women to stay home to care for impaired children. In cases like this, women may choose to give up working in order to become full-time caregivers for their children with microcephaly.
Access to proper housing and sanitation can also influence the risk of getting zika in Mexico. Low-income areas also do not typically have quality healthcare systems, and due to such factors numerous impoverished people bear the brunt of disease epidemics like zika. For pregnant women between 2015 and 2016, over 5,000 cases of Zika in Mexico were reported, although it is likely that thousands of cases in rural areas went unreported.
The Fight Against Zika in Mexico
Before zika spread to Mexico, the incidence of microcephaly in infants was 3.7 per 100,000 births; after zika was introduced, that number rose to 11.7 per 100,000. Women were weighed down more and more by the pressures of pregnancy and childcare — specifically in low-income communities — and the lack of resources available for improvement only worsened matters.
The epidemic of zika in Mexico has ameliorated significantly since the days of 2015. As of 2017, Mexico’s Secretariat of Health reported only 602 confirmed cases of zika in pregnant women. Now, thanks to a greater awareness of the dangers and effects of the disease, the people of Mexico can better protect themselves and their children from life-changing viruses such as zika. But as with any health concern, preventative measures and proactive efforts domestically in Mexico and abroad to keep zika in Mexico at bay.
– Amelia Merchant
Photo: Google
US Benefits from Foreign Aid to Guinea
Guinea is one of the world’s most impoverished countries. More than half of its population lives below the poverty line and 17.5 percent struggle for food security. In 2010, Guinea established its first elected, civilian government. The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Guinea and its strong economic potential. Assistance with Guinea’s health, stability and effective governance is not only deeply needed by Guinea, but also something from which the U.S. ultimately gains.
Strong Economic Potential
Guinea has rich mineral resources, possessing over half of the world’s bauxite (aluminum ore) reserves. The country is also abundant in high-grade iron ore, diamonds, gold and uranium. The mining sector in Guinea is thus a major part of its economy: about 80 percent of Guinea’s foreign exchanges consist of joint-venture bauxite mining and alumina operations. Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee (CBG), one of the major two routes for exporting Guinea’s bauxite, is a venture jointly owned by the Government of Guinea, a U.S. company called Alcoa, and an Anglo-Australian company Rio Tinto Group. The other major export force is Chinese conglomerates as well as small and midsize business.
Guinea is also blessed with reliable rainfall, abundant sunshine and natural geography that are favorable for renewable energy. The 240MW Kaleta Dam project, constructed and financed by China, began operating in 2015 and has since more than doubled Guinea’s electricity supply. The country’s climate means that it has great potential for commercial agriculture as well.
Investment Friendly
Pressed to improve development, Guinea has been increasingly open to foreign investment. The country’s government has been depleted of financial resources to improve the economy, especially since the Ebola outbreak in 2014-2015. Meanwhile, enterprises in Guinea are in need of more credit than is available.
In 2016, the government launched a new website via the Investment Promotion Agency of Guinea (APIP). The website is meant to promote transparency and help make investments more smooth. The APIP also offers services to foreign investors, including creating and registering businesses, helping with access to benefits of the new investment code, providing information and research studies to interested investors, etc.
The Guinea government does not allow any foreign investor to own media in the country, but besides that, there are no restrictions discriminating against foreign investors. The U.S. also helped a group of foreign investors in Guinea and the government of Guinea form a liaison in 2015.
Barriers to Overcome
While Guinea has extremely investment-friendly laws, the enforcement of those laws needs a stable political environment and a reliable legal system. It is worth noting the country had its first democratically-elected government in 2010 after the country’s independence in 1958, but state institutions are still recovering from two years of rule by the military junta. It’s also faced a number of security and socio-economic vulnerabilities.
Guinea has a disproportionately large military with serious, deep corruption and human rights abuses. It is also feared by law enforcement because of the potential for military revolt. Even though a panel was formed in 2010 to investigate the violent crushing of tens of thousands of peaceful democracy protesters in 2009, two military commanders that the U.N. revealed to be guilty were able to keep their government positions.
Aid for Stability and Development
U.S. foreign aid would directly address barriers to private sector growth as well as improvement of economic life in Guinea in general. For one thing, the U.S. supported the 2010 election process significantly, which has greatly improved the country’s development prospects.
U.S. foreign aid was restricted in 2008 and 2009 due to the rise of the military coup at the time, but restrictions were lifted after the country’s political transformation. Aid from the U.S. helps improve democratic practices, governance, security sector reform, regional peace and stability, etc. These aspects of society are essential for the alleviation of poverty and the establishment of a solid economic infrastructure. A peaceful Guinea is also viewed as significant for restraining conflict in a region already plagued by political tension and armed struggles.
The Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening, supervised by the USAID, supported the 2015 presidential election and 2018 communal elections. It strengthened Guinea’s Independent National Electoral Commission as well as civil society organizations in monitoring the domestic election.
Ultimately, U.S. foreign aid will assist with areas of life in Guinea that in turn presents a great economic potential for the U.S. In other words, the U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Guinea.
– Feng Ye
Photo: Google
Top 5 Mandela Quotes on Poverty
Nelson Mandela, the former first black president of South Africa and anti-apartheid revolutionary, had constantly implored the world to re-open its dulled senses to the tribulations of poverty. From his years as a lawyer and human rights activist, he successfully overturned apartheid in South Africa and ventured beyond the borders to end the injustice of poverty in all nations.
“He proved that equal respect and treatment of every person is and must continue to be an achievable reality everywhere in the world,” Ruth Messinger, president of American Jewish World Service, said in a statement. “Nelson Mandela was a modern-day prophet for human dignity whose voice was heard around the world.” Below are the top five Nelson Mandela quotes on poverty that invite a renewed and clearer understanding of how his views on poverty can inspire the world.
Top 5 Mandela Quotes on Poverty
These five quotes depict a powerful image of poverty that scrutinizes aspects of status beyond just its basic definition. Mandela chose to focus on an optimistic possibility of overcoming poverty as opposed to becoming overwhelmed by the tragedy of it. The attitude of those who witness poverty can be a force large enough to reinvigorate the world to push for the change it needs.
– Alice Lieu
Photo: Flickr
Reducing the Brain Drain
These professionals have attained high levels of education at home and abroad, but utilize their innovative potential in developed countries, where their opportunities are better. Developed countries reap the majority of the rewards from the innovation of foreign workers while the countries of origin for these professionals merely receive the occasional remittance.
The Economic Dangers of Brain Drain
This trend of skilled and educated citizens living in developed countries is being exacerbated by the growing inequality between the world’s wealthy and poor. Many developing countries have experienced a shortage of high-skilled laborers, taxpayer dollars from would-be members of their upper class and technological innovation. Among the doctoral graduates in science and engineering in the USA, 79 percent of those from India and 88 percent from China remained in the United States.
Overall, there are almost one million immigrants in the United States from South Asia who have achieved above a tertiary level of education. The skills these students acquire in the United States and in other developed nations don’t migrate back to their host countries, which makes reducing the brain drain seem impossible.
Additionally, many of these students become high earning professionals in some of the highest tax brackets; however, their countries of origin do not receive the tax dollars on these high earnings. Some South Asian countries are some of the poorest in the world and could desperately use the funding towards poverty-reducing measures.
More Than Just The Money
Besides higher wages and a better standard of living, professionals leave their origin countries for more developed ones because of a lack of research funding, poor facilities and limited career structures. These issues are extremely important to consider when evaluating how to combat the brain drain. Fortunately, these infrastructural deficiencies have more reasonable solutions that can over time reduce global inequality.
Research has shown that an increase in wages does not provide the sole incentive for educated professionals and students to remain in their origin country. A study in Pakistan revealed that a small portion of people funded for a doctorate faced many disincentives that did not stem from the wage gap.
Although, wage inequalities between the source and destination countries are so significant that a small increase in wages in origin countries will not be enough to reduce the brain drain. The focus then must turn to solving the infrastructural deficiencies that are driving young professionals toward developed nations.
Supercourse
Currently, foreign scientists in developed nations produce 4.5 more publications and 10 times more patents than those in their origin countries. This is mainly due to the infrastructural inequality between developed and developing nations. The solution to bridging the patent and publication gap is to increase the connectivity between professionals in developed and developing countries. One revolutionary network has already been developed to do just that at the University of Pittsburgh; it is called Supercourse.
Supercourse provides free online lectures to all and has already connected over 20,000 scientists to share their knowledge. This network continues to grow and make information less exclusive and contained only in the institutions of developed countries. Scientists around the world will have the materials necessary to create change in their origin countries. Supercourse has the potential to spearhead research and innovation in developing nations that will hopefully reduce brain drain.
Professionals will continue to migrate in search of better opportunities, but increasing access to information and support could be a long-term solution reducing the brain drain effects on developing countries.
– Anand Tayal
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