10 Crucial Facts About Human Rights in Thailand

Facts About Human Rights in Thailand
Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia with a population of approximately 68.8 million, is undergoing a human rights crisis. In May 2014, a military coup d`état occurred, signaling additional political instability and human rights violations within the nation. Here are top 10 facts about human rights in Thailand.

10 Facts About Human Rights in Thailand

  1. According to the Human Rights Watch, “The military junta under Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha has banned political activity and public assembly, enforced media censorship, arbitrarily arrested dissidents, and detained citizens in military facilities.”
  2. One of the most recent violations among the top 10 facts about human rights in Thailand involves the treatment of fishing industry workers. In March 2018, the Human Rights Watch released a report titled “Hidden Chains Human Rights Abuses and Forced Labor in Thailand’s Fishing Industry” to raise awareness and promote change at the governmental level. Many fishing industry workers initially join freely but are later held in forced labor and abusive working conditions. The Human Rights Watch urged Thailand’s government to implement legislation against forced labor and provided recommendations for more comprehensive inspections of fishing ships.
  3. As early as 2004, the laws of war were repeatedly violated by insurgents in Thailand. Also known as international humanitarian law, the laws of war prohibit attacks on civilians.
  4. In July 2018, the Human Rights Watch reported insurgents’ use of landmines. Victims included ethnic Thai Buddhists and Malay Muslims along the southern border. In response to insurgent attacks, the Thai government also violated laws of war.
  5. In July 2016, 14 Burmese migrant workers filed a complaint regarding poor working conditions and forced labor at the Thammakaset chicken farm. Following their complaint, the workers faced defamation charges. However, the magistrates’ court acquitted the workers, finding that “the workers had filed their complaint in good faith in order to protect their rights, as guaranteed by the Thai constitution and international conventions.”
  6. As of 2017, approximately 105 people were charged and arrested for lese majeste, in other words, “insulting the monarchy.” Much of the dialogue occurs online, resulting in arrests, convictions and imprisonments. For example, in June 2017, a man was sentenced to prison for 35 years based on ten Facebook posts.
  7. The Thai government reinstated the death penalty after a brief nine halt. On June 18, 2018, a 26-year-old man was executed. According to Brad Adams, the Asia Director of the Human Rights Watch, “Thailand’s resumed use of the death penalty marks a major setback for human rights.”
  8. The Thai government denied claims of torturing Muslims detained in southern Thailand; however, TIME identified the Reconciliation Promotion Centre as the primary camp for the Thai government’s detention and interrogation.
  9. In 2006, an estimated several hundred villagers were forced to leave their lands following the announcement of the creation of a 19,100-acre sugar plantation in Cambodia. The sugar plantation was supported by Thai sugar giant Khon Kaen Sugar Ltd. (KSL) and this land grabbing signaled possible human rights violations. A complaint was issued and the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) confirmed the human rights violation.
  10. Thai companies run coal mines in countries such as Myanmar. Natalie Bugalski, the Legal Director of Inclusive Development International, explained, “Coal mines are known to be among the highest-risk projects in terms of human rights, environmental and social impacts…the companies have completely failed in their duty to consult with local communities and carry out human rights due diligence.” THE NHRCT received a complaint regarding this violation.

Thai Progress in Human Rights

The Thai government agreed to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against torture. This agreement was recorded by the Universal Period Review. The agreement is a step in the right direction.

Although the top 10 facts about human rights in Thailand are of great concern, future improvements can be seen through Thailand’s acknowledgment of recommendations by the Universal Period Review. In addition, Thailand’s poverty headcount ratio has since declined from 42.3 percent in 2000 to 10.5 percent in 2014, a fact geared towards a more optimistic future.

– Christine Leung

Photo: Flickr

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How an Individual’s Impact on Poverty Reduction Can Make a Difference

How an Individual's Impact on Poverty Reduction Can Make a Difference
The Borgen Project was started with one person who wanted to make a difference. Clint Borgen started his endeavor to create The Borgen Project after seeing the poverty and conflict during the genocide in Kosovo. When he returned, he moved to Alaska to join a fishing expedition in order to make money to start his organization. The Borgen Project started with one person’s bold ideas and passionate heart setting to eradicate global poverty. There are many other ambitious individuals, like Clint Borgen, that have started organizations focusing on reducing poverty. The following organizations show how an individual’s impact on poverty reduction can generate a movement leading to organizations that work toward a world with less poverty.

  1. ONE is an international organization that focuses on action and campaigning to end extreme poverty and prevent diseases. The co-founders for ONE are Bono, the lead singer of U2 and Bobby Shriver, son of the founder of The Peace Corps. These two passionate men came together to start ONE, an international campaign and advocacy organization of more than nine million people around the world. This organization prioritizes social justice and equality in the world. ONE utilizes its advocacy power to encourage government programs to make lives better around the world. It is funded almost entirely through foundations and corporations.
  2. Concern Worldwide has focused on working with the world’s most vulnerable people for 50 years. This organization was founded by John and Kay O’Loughlin-Kennedy in response to the famine that occurred when the province of Biafra tried to secede from Nigeria. In 1968, this organization, then called Africa Concern, focused in Africa sending supplies to the people affected in Biafra. In 1970, Africa Concern turned into Concern Worldwide with volunteers encouraged to respond to natural disasters causing poverty in other communities as well. Today, Concern Worldwide focuses on emergencies, health, nutrition, education and livelihoods to reduce poverty. This organization operates on donations and utilizes 90 percent of its funds for relief and development.
  3. Trickle Up envisions a world where no one lives in extreme poverty or vulnerability. In 1979, Mildred Robbins Leet founded this organization with the goal to help people out of poverty. The group’s work aims to help women, people with disabilities, refugees and other economically and socially excluded people. Its goal is to continue lifting millions of people out of extreme poverty and to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030. Instead of giving individuals money, Trickle Up provides people with seed capital grants, skills training and the support to create small businesses in order to help individuals reach economic self-sufficiency. Trickle Up’s approach starts with stabilizing one’s family, planning and building a livelihood, connecting and saving in groups, investing and growing businesses and finding an individual voice to advocate when people need to speak up in their communities. This organization tracks its individual impact on poverty reduction by focusing on the changes people experience in their quality of life. They keep track of data on how the organization helps others combat hunger, build livelihoods, gain access to savings and credit and empower individuals for social involvement.

These organizations, founded by only one or two people, represent how an individual’s impact on poverty reduction by ordinary people can generate change in the world. Clint Borgen, Bono, Bobby Shriver, John and Kay O’Loughlin-Kennedy and Mildred Robbins Leet exemplify the possibility of how one person can make a huge impact. These individuals are a testament to grassroots movements and why each person should feel empowered to make a difference.

– Jenna Walmer
Photo: Flickr

Top 10 Facts about Human Rights in Mexico

Facts About Human Rights in Mexico
Mexico has been in a state of violence for the past couple of years. Since former Mexican president Felipe Calderón initiated Mexico’s war on drugs, there have been considerable violations committed by soldiers and police. Many of these operations involved extrajudicial executions by the military. These 10 facts about human rights in Mexico will be informative about the degree of human rights violations people in Mexico have been experiencing in the past couple of years.

10 Facts About Human Rights in Mexico

  1. When the newly elected president Enrique Peña Nieto began his term, reports stated that, in an attempt to battle crime, law enforcement had begun violating human rights including the use of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and torture. In addition, there had been an increase in homicides since the beginning of his presidential term in 2012, totaling in 42,583.
  2. Mexican security forces have been part of enforced disappearances since 2006. In fact, in August of 2016, the government of Mexico issued a report that stated more than 27 thousand missing people still have not been located since 2006. Police have been declining to investigate those guilty for the enforced disappearances, often leaving it up to the families of the people missing to conduct their own investigations.
  3. In 2016, The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) stated that the federal police killed 22 out of 42 citizens at random in Tanhuato during a confrontation. The CNDH concluded that law enforcement shot thirteen people in the back, fatally injuring them, and burned a man alive.
  4. Since 2014, the Mexican government has failed to arrest the people responsible for the disappearance of 43 students in Guerrero state. Out of these 43 students, it was reported that only one person could be positively identified after being found dead.
  5. Between January and November 2016, over 88,741 non-documented migrants were detained with an additional 74,604 migrants deported. Out of the people who were deported, 94 percent of them were from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, which are countries known for having some of the highest homicide ratings in the world.
  6. It was reported that in 2016, 90 percent of crimes committed against journalists had not been prosecuted. Along with the crimes committed against journalists and human rights defenders in the past, they continue to be consistently threatened and attacked to this day.
  7. In 2009, Mexico received several recommendations from The United Nations regarding international human rights reformation. These subjects that needed to be addressed included torture, acts of aggression against civilians, the investigation of missing people and violence against women.
  8. Violence committed against women is continuous throughout Mexico. Data given in 2016 stated that 2,668 women were thought to be victims of homicide. In addition to that, more than 66.1 percent of girls ages 15 and above have experienced gender-based violence.
  9. In 2014, soldiers killed 22 people in the state of Tlatlya. Information regarding the crime itself continues to be unavailable. Cases like this fall under extrajudicial executions; these executions were never fully investigated. Furthermore, eight of the soldiers involved were absolved of these crimes.
  10. Arbitrary arrests have occurred throughout Mexico leading to additional human rights violations. Most of these arrests were conducted to extract money from detainees or to serve another purpose such as political gain.

These facts about human rights in Mexico serve to give a closer look at the variety of violations committed against its citizens. Besides the facts listed above. The government has made small strides in the prosecution process of holding accountable those responsible for the various crimes that violate human rights. In 2016, the U.S. Secretary of State confirmed that Mexico had made improvements in protecting human rights, earning its Mérida aid of nearly $155 million.

– Alyssa Hannam

Photo: Flickr

Top 10 Facts about Poverty in Greece

top 10 facts about poverty in Greece
Although Greece may be known for its crystal clear blue waters, luxurious islands and fascinating ancient architecture, it is currently going through one of its greatest economic crises in Greek history. Here are the top 10 facts about poverty in Greece:

Top 10 Facts about Poverty in Greece

  1. Europe measures poverty using a metric called “relative poverty”: According to diaNEOsis Research and Policy Institute, people who live in relative poverty “have income that is lower than a set percentage of the economy’s median income. In Europe, the relative poverty threshold is currently set at 60 percent of median income”.
  2. Between 2011 and 2015, the relative poverty population increased by more than 1 percent.
  3. The percentage of the total population living in extreme poverty has rapidly increased in the past decade. Extreme poverty in Greece can range from 182 euros per month for a single member suburban or rural household, to 905 euros per month for parents with two children living in Athens and paying rent. In 2009, the percentage of the population in Greece living in extreme poverty was about 2.2 percent. In 2011, the percentage was 8.9. In 2015, extreme poverty levels stood at about 15 percent.
  4. Jobs are especially difficult to find for young people living in Greece. Half of the people between the ages of 15 and 25 are out of work. In some areas of Western Greece, youth unemployment is over 60 percent.
  5. Between 2008 and 2016, nearly half a million Greeks left the country. A year before Greece’s debt crisis arose, an exodus began. The main motive of the emigres was to find work.
  6. The Prime Minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, wants to raise the minimum wage in Greece. According to a New York Times article, Tsipras “has vowed to reverse some of the harshest austerity after August. He wants to raise the minimum wage and possibly restore unions’ collective bargaining power, which was cut under the terms of the bailouts”.
  7. Greece’s Red Cross provides various services to those in need all over Greece. The Hellenic Red Cross has 75 offices and 42 committees. Their work includes centers for social support and integration of refugees, free vaccinations for infants and children, health services and education programs, housing assistance for the homeless and much more.
  8. One of the nonprofits in Greece called Boroume (which translates to “we can” in Greek) serves over 20,000 meals a day to those in need and helps to reduce food waste while increasing the food supply in over 80 locations in Greece. Boroume has provided those in need over 20 million meals since 2011 and has a team of over 700 volunteers. The organization has also saved and distributed over 100 tons of fresh vegetables and fruits.
  9. By April 2018, there were over 51,000 migrants and refugees in Greece. Many of the Syrian refugees paid smugglers to help them cross the Aegean sea to get to Greece. They arrived on the island of Lesbos in Greece where they were not permitted to leave until their requests for asylum were processed. If granted asylum, the refugees were allowed to go to mainland Greece and live in either subsidized housing or a refugee camp.
  10. The Hellenic Red Cross provides cash assistance to refugees stranded in Greece. They help asylum seekers to buy necessities such as food, clothing and medicine. By December 2017, the Hellenic Red Cross had helped 2,750 people.

These top 10 facts about poverty in Greece are important to know in order to understand the impact economic crises has on its citizens. Although Greece is starting to recover from its crisis, they still have a long way to go.

Photo: Flickr

– Ariane Komyati

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Five Creative Ways to Fight Human Trafficking

Creative Ways to Fight Human Trafficking
When one mentions the word ‘slavery,’ many people think back to the darker days of American history; they lament this tragedy and sigh with relief that slavery is over. But in reality, an estimated 27 million people are still enslaved today — this number surpasses the total number of slaves transported during 400 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Human traffickers today coerce people of all shapes and sizes, men, women, and children, into all different types of slavery. To help end this ever-present problem, here are five creative ways to fight human trafficking.

Get educated with the book “Sold” by Patricia McCormick.

“Sold” by Patricia McCormick is the fictional story of a 13-year-old Nepali girl named Lakshmi who is sold by her family into sex slavery. McCormick captures both Lakshmi’s innocence and the horror of her circumstance in a beautifully written, verse novel. Despite the book’s heavy content, it is considered a children’s novel (recommended for ages 12 and up) as McCormick’s desire was to activate and inspire the next generation to act rather than scar.

Easy to understand, well-researched and heartbreaking, “Sold” is the perfect novel to read to better comprehend and empathize with victims of human trafficking.

Be an advocate for change with your political representatives.

Despite what many Americans believe, reaching out to political leaders is incredibly simple, and representatives really do want to hear from their constituents. Speak up and advocate on behalf of those who cannot for themselves by letting delegates know that they should fight against human trafficking and make it a priority.

Give them a call, send an email or schedule a meeting to show just how important this issue is and why it should be important to them.

Use social media to inform your circle of influence.

One of the simpler creative ways to fight human trafficking is to simply post on social media. Whether it be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or any other myriad of social media outlets, sharing a helpful Ted Talk, graphic or simply reiterating some of the facts can get others involved.

Everyone has a sphere of influence, so utilize one of the best ways to connect with them by taking to social media.

Make a conscious decision to avoid products by some of the biggest companies in America.

Some of America’s biggest brands benefit from and exploit the use of slave labor in making their products. Nestle, Hershey’s, Walmart and H&M are all massive companies and some of the most notorious offenders. What will get the attention of these big businesses?

Stop using their products and frequenting their stores. Hit these companies where it will hurt the most – their profits. In a society that thrives in a competitive marketplace, consumers can demand ethical practices by simply refusing to buy anything from corporations that benefit from human trafficking.

Stay positive.

It is all too easy to become discouraged when fighting a human rights violation as widespread and horrific as human trafficking. Do not give up. As people continue to implement these small changes and make it clear that this kind of unethical behavior will not be tolerated, change will come. Look for the changes that are already happening and focus on what can be controlled and done to create change.

As the battle to end slavery rages on, these five creative ways to fight human trafficking can help make small, constructive changes for the good of others.

– Sarah Dean
Photo: Flickr

10 Facts About Poverty in Laos That Everyone Should Know

Facts About Poverty in Laos
Laos, officially known as the Lao People’s Democratic, is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. Ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International, Laos also suffers from major poverty. To get a better understanding of the daily struggle in Laos, below are 10 facts about poverty in Laos.

10 Facts About Poverty in Laos

  1. According to Vision Launch Discover, 90 percent of Lao people lived off of $1 a day in the 1990s; now, this number is about $1.25. The other 10 percent live in Vientiane, the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane draws in the most wealth as the economic center of Laos.
  2. Laos is the most bombed country in history because of World War II. From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. dropped more than 2 million tons of ordnance over Laos during 580,000 bomb missions. Fifty people a year are killed from unexploded bombs left over from the war. These bombs scattered around the country are usually mistaken for toys and get tossed around before exploding; thus 40 percent of bomb deaths are children. Since 80 percent of people depend on their land to eat and live, people in Laos have no choice but to risk their lives working in fields covered in unexploded bombs.
  3. Forty-four percent, or 363,000, of Lao children under 5 years old are affected by stunting, a highly common condition in Laos. Stunting is usually caused by maternal undernutrition before and during pregnancy.
  4. More than 60 percent of children are malnourished and anemic. These conditions become potentially fatal due to the inadequate nutrition and lack of access to healthcare providers.
  5. Although improving, 23.2 percent or about 1.4 million Laos people are still living at or below the poverty line. Still, this is a major improvement from the 33.5 percent of the past.
  6. Agriculture is a key pillar in life in Laos, accounting for 80 percent of employment. The most important and produced crops are rice, vegetables, beans, sugarcane, starchy roots and tobacco.
  7. Education is scarce; therefore, people are forced to work in agriculture since there is little to no access to established schools and workplaces. According to United Nations Lao PDR, 70 percent of employed people work in agriculture and over a third of them don’t make enough to live sufficiently.
  8. Women receive less schooling but work longer hours than men; however, 70 percent of the illiterate population are women. According to UNESCO, more than 4,000 villages lack access to education.
  9. Two-thirds of people have a short supply of food and living essentials. During May and October of 2010, Laos faced what community leaders called the worst drought in living memory after Typhoon Ketsana in late 2009. This drought left 85,000 people affected with no seeds to harvest and no place to live. While poor climate is not unusual in Laos, this puts more burden onto the people that depend on their land to survive.
  10. For more than 20 years, the United States has donated more than $100 million to support UXO programs. This money is intended to clean up unexploded ordinances and give victims access to rehabilitation centers. Also, in February 2016, the United States and Laos signed to a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which will allow more opportunities and investments between the two nations.

Hardship and Progress

These top 10 facts about poverty in Laos illustrate the struggles and hardships that Laos people face daily. However, despite being one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia and the entire world, about half a million of Laos people have been lifted out of poverty thus far.

Fortunately, the United States and Laos continue to rebuild a relationship with each other with a goal of saving lives and rebuilding a better country for the Laos people.

– Kristen Uedoi
Photo: Flickr

Facts About Advancements in Agriculture in India

Agriculture in India
For decades, agriculture has played a key role in India’s socioeconomic growth. India is the second largest contributor of agriculture in the world with around 50 percent of people in India making their living from farming. But recently, farming has started to become less attractive, and more people are moving to big cities for different job opportunities. A decrease in water levels and poor crop yields have made it difficult to promote the growth of agriculture in India. Several organizations are stepping up to help turn things around and create new advancements in agriculture in India.

Advancements in Agriculture in India

  1. In 2017, India’s Prime Minister Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu signed seven agreements to enhance cooperation in space, agriculture and water management. The two countries hope that one outcome of this program will bring new technology that will help fight water shortages and bring agriculture back to India.
  2. The Prime Minister has also approved the Three-Year Action Plan through the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) that is aimed at the educational aspects surrounding agriculture in India, with more support being provided to the faculty and students in higher agricultural education. The hope is to bring more confident people into the agricultural field, including women.
  3. DuPont India is one of the largest agricultural companies in the country. They work with the farmers in India to find solutions to the ever-changing environment. Along with providing agricultural products, the company also empowers farmers to make their ideas a reality. They work to find sustainable ways of farming and to protect the growth of crops for generations to come. This means finding solutions for insect and disease control, which are two of the problems that are preventing further growth in the agricultural community.
  4. As the largest supplier of hybrid seeds in the country, farmers are dependent on Nuziveedu Seeds Limited (NSL) to provide high yielding seeds for their ever-growing population. The company is doing its part to contribute to the growth of agriculture in India by providing high-quality hybrid seeds. NSL provides seeds for more than 50,000 retailers. Over the years, NSL has become extremely focused on increasing crop yields, due to the water scarcity in India. The company has introduced a new concept that reduces the space between crops, which leads to an increase in overall production. This process has enabled farmers to use their time more effectively, and more than 35 percent of the farming community has started using this innovation.

Because of companies such as DuPont India and NSL, agriculture in India is able to continue to grow and be one of the largest farming contributors in the world. The entirety of India’s population is reliant on having a cohesive system of agriculture, whether it is their source of income or not. In fact, the whole world benefits from the advancements in agriculture in India; therefore, being educated in innovative, new technologies and changes in the field is incredibly important.

– Allisa Rumreich
Photo: Flickr

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How FGM/C and Poverty Are Clearly Connected

FGM/C and Poverty
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) is a practice that has occurred for generations — a female, often in childhood, is subjected to some form of cutting to her genitalia in the promotion of religious following and the detraction of desire for sexual interaction. Its purpose is to reduce sexual desire in women, thereby making them less likely to be interested in intercourse outside of marriage. It is also highly symbolic to many groups of people who practice it as a religious necessity; however, there is no known religion that demands this practice.

FGM/C and Poverty

FGM/C and poverty are connected in developing countries as the girls who undergo FGM/C are often from poor families who are then married as children, never continue their education and subsequently repeat the cycle of poverty. Recently, there has been a decline in FGM/C practitioners, which should lead to lower levels of extreme poverty on an individual basis.

Countries such as Burkina Faso, Egypt, Kenya, Liberia and Togo have experienced a decline in FGM/C prevalence, with Egypt reducing prevalence from 69 percent to 55 percent between ages of 2005 and 2014. As the correlation with lower education becomes more well-known, it can be inferred that the decline in FGM/C victims has led to a higher attendance rate for girls at school, which can, in turn, affect the poverty in the region.

Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a program designed to create social equality throughout the world, works to end poverty in developing countries. A primary focus of the organization is to work to end FGM/C and poverty because the list of side effects and results of the practice leave women often unable to contribute in their society because they are traumatized, physically incapacitated, unable to maintain strength and nutrition, and in some cases, do not survive the procedure.

When injuries or death result, the cost of caring for these women or paying for their funeral causes strain on family members and communities. Such a responsibility can, in turn, increase the poverty issues already at play. Disability due to the trauma from FGM/C can also lead to a woman’s decreased productivity level, thereby bringing in less money for the family and continuing the cycle of poverty.

The Beginning of the End

The decline of the practice is increasing in developing countries, with more people wanting FGM/C to end. In 2010, a Burkina Faso survey determined that 90.6 percent of women wanted FGM/C to end, a staggering increase from 75.1 percent in 1999. With such a trend beginning, countries should encourage education, discourage FGM/C and lower the poverty levels by introducing a new way of thinking.

FGM/C and poverty are both declining, but it can be agreed that the decline is not occurring quickly enough. More must be done to protect young girls from the sexual alterations that are often completed without consent.

By not cutting into perfectly healthy and innocent girls, developing nations can promote a stronger and healthier workforce. FGM/C and poverty are connected, and one cannot be reduced in isolation — it is imperative that both be tackled to end the other.

– Kayleigh Mattoon
Photo: Flickr

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What is Poverty? Difficult and Complex

What Is Poverty
The task of defining poverty, multidimensional and complex, requires an evaluation of factors relating to a person’s access to basic human necessities. ‘Poverty’ is a widely interpreted term, and attempting to create a universal, encompassing definition remains a topic of debate for many leading experts in the field. 

Defining Poverty

What is poverty? Poverty is not knowing where your next meal will come from, or if there will be the next meal. Poverty is a lack of education, not knowing how to read or write. Poverty is being sick and not having access to medical care, or knowing that your child will likely die due to lack of medication and proper treatment. Poverty is being unemployed, fearing what comes next and fearing the future.

Poverty’s many faces rear their heads in every aspect of life. Poverty is something from which one yearns to escape, and the range of experiences with poverty vary by location and place in time.

For these reasons, The Borgen Project’s approach to advocating for the global poor delves into wide-ranging topics from many different angles. Pervasive and convoluted, poverty affects people on more than an economic level. Lack of income and infrastructure in a nation leads to insufficient medical care, education, nutrition and other quality of life deficits. 

The Cycle of Poverty

Poverty also functions as a cycle and continues generationally. Once an individual, family or community falls below a level of resource-access, events continue like dominoes to perpetuate their situation: “progressively lower levels of education and training leading to lack of employment opportunities, leading to criminal activity for survival, leading to addiction, shattered health, early death, and breakup of family, leading to even bleaker future for the next generation…. and so on.” 

Someone, or something, must intervene and structurally change the systems to interrupt the cyclical nature of poverty. The common phrase perpetuated by American Dream ideology of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” is impossible when institutional structures ingrained in many societies prohibit those caught in this cycle from breaking out. 

Poverty and Foreign Aid

Many U.S. citizens criticize provision of foreign aid, arguing that there are impoverished citizens within the U.S. that deserve support more than those abroad. This argument is valid; however, many Americans believe that 20 percent of the U.S. budget goes to foreign aid, which is blatantly false. 

In fact, less than 1 percent goes to help the global poor, which is far less than many countries contribute. In addition, helping the world’s impoverished strengthens global stability and improves trade, which, in turn, benefits Americans. Poverty is relative; an American living in Appalachia who has classified as impoverished lives a much different lifestyle than one living in rural Romania in a hut without running water, electricity or access to nutritious food.

The fact that poverty exists and permeates groups so deeply is a call to action for every single person across the globe.  It is the reason that advocacy organizations like The Borgen Project exist: so that one day, hopefully in the near future, every citizen of this planet will have access to basic necessities like having enough to eat, a roof over their heads, a place to learn, healthcare, protection from violent conflict and a voice that is heard in their communities. 

Fighting Poverty

We can change the world for the better. A few small actions can cause waves of difference that will reshape the lives of many, and this influential process starts by calling on the U.S. government to change their foreign policy and provide more aid to countries with severe poverty. Calling and emailing your representatives may seem intimidating, but it is easier than you think. 

Asking governmental officials to support bills like the International Affairs Budget, the Global Food Security Reauthorization Act, the Build Act and the Food for Peace Modernization Act can have an enormous impact. Phone calls and emails from constituents are simple, small actions that do make a difference. Contact Congress and make a difference to fight poverty today. 

– Jilly Fox
Photo: Unsplash

The Growing Markets in Lagos, Nigeria

Growing Markets in Lagos
Nigeria is often associated with a stagnant economy riddled with corruption; however, Lagos, the country’s largest city, hosts business opportunities that are continually growing, making it one of Africa’s largest rising economies. Lagos is currently Africa’s seventh largest economy, and its rapid rise in GDP and population have the city projected to become the continent’s second largest market by 2035. The growing markets in Lagos have boosted Nigeria’s economy and have set an example in a continent full of market opportunities.

Economy and Population in Lagos

The GDP and population growth of Lagos, Nigeria are the most indicative factors of the rapidly growing market opportunities in the city. Economic growth first began in Lagos after the government moved the capital to Abuja in 1991, and then continued on after the government invested money in the growing oil industry in the area.

In addition to the oil industry, Lagos has also economically benefitted from Nigerian policy reforms that improve privatization of businesses. Many newly privatized companies are centralized in the Yaba district of Lagos, which has been financially supported by the state government, and infrastructure projects are constantly underway to reflect the rapid growth of the city.

This economic growth has led to a state output of $136 billion in 2017, comprising more than a third of Nigeria’s GDP. The strong economy of Lagos is projected to continue growing with a 4.5 percent GDP growth per year in 2035, a figure that rests significantly above the current global average of 2.9 percent.

Lagos’s growing economy and infrastructure largely work to support a rapidly increasing population. By 2035, the population is expected to reach 28.5 million people ­­– significantly higher than the 2012 census population of just over 8 million people. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode claims that the population is a significant factor of the growing markets in Lagos, adding that the city has “the population and rise of an emerging class” and is “a new market, a new frontier to consider.”

New Businesses in Lagos

New business opportunities have shown off the increasingly prosperous markets in Lagos, and many successful Nigerian startups now have their offices in the city. Finance/technology, consulting, retail companies and startups like PayLater and Yellow Brick Road have historically dominated the economic environment of Lagos, and continue to host numerous companies that have caught investors’ attention.

Investment opportunities in Lagos are also important to the city’s markets and are some of the largest in all of Africa. According to the World Bank, an estimated $93 billion in investments in Africa is required annually, and Lagos requires at least a quarter of these investments.

Continued Expansion

Market opportunities in Africa continue to expand with economic growth, and these opportunities are only emphasized in Lagos, Nigeria. The city has become a thriving music, fashion and film hub throughout Africa, and growing markets in Lagos develop along with GDP and population.

Africa has immense economic potential, and Lagos is only one of several cities on the continent that showcases these realized business opportunities. With continued attention and proper investment, both the city and the nation should see a bright fiscal future.

–Matthew Cline
Photo: Flickr