In recent years, the typical media portrayal of Haiti has consistently conjured up a static image of a beleaguered nation where visible indicators of natural disaster, political instability and extreme poverty abound. Though this representation is not entirely false, it is incomplete. Haiti is well-deserving of a more fitting image that conveys its dynamism and development.
Withstanding trial and tribulation, Haiti is among the most resilient nations in the world. Like any other developing country today, Haiti is continuing to make progress despite setbacks along its way. The media misrepresents Haiti to be a place that is completely devoid of progress, forever stifled by unfortunate issues of circumstance. To the contrary, Haiti enjoys a stunningly beautiful landscape and is inhabited by hardworking, happy people with the resolve to pursue better lives for themselves and a better legacy for their country.
Education Reforms
Ensuring that children have access to quality education is an important investment in the development of any nation. Elizabeth King, former Director of Education for the World Bank, said it best: “The human mind makes possible all development achievements from health advances and agricultural innovations to efficient public administration and private sector growth. For countries to reap these benefits fully, they need to unleash the potential of the human mind. And there is no better tool for doing so than education.”
To this end, Haiti has made quality education a top policy priority over the last decade. The Global Partnership for Education granted $24.1 million in funding to improve primary education access, school performance and enrollment in Haiti.
In the last four years, Haiti has enrolled more than 73,000 students in primary education, built six additional classrooms, developed and employed more than 3,500 qualified teachers at the primary level and implemented a learning assessment system for primary education. Furthermore, the grant has helped increase student attendance to 83.5 percent in disadvantaged areas and made nutrition and health programs accessible to more than 100,000 children.
Agriculture
Suggesting that there is a dearth of economic stimulus is a particularly damaging way that the media misrepresents Haiti. It is true that many Haitians live on less than $2 a day, but economic opportunity continues to develop in the country to counteract extreme poverty.
With a climate that supports the cultivation of important cash crops like cacao and mango, as well as several staple crops, Haiti has a promising agricultural sector. USAID has worked with the country to develop sustainable agricultural techniques that increase production, improve food security and strengthen agricultural markets, ultimately increasing agricultural incomes and helping to develop and support small and medium enterprises to spur investment opportunity in the country.
Tech
Much of the media misrepresents Haiti by failing to cover recent tech advancements at work within the country. Surtab, Haiti’s answer to Apple and Samsung, has become a shining example of successful tech innovation in the country. Surtab develops and delivers a range of electronic mobile devices throughout the Caribbean and the African continent. The company employs a highly-skilled workforce, many of whom are women, and is helping to drive private sector development.
In June, Haiti will host its second annual Haiti Tech Summit, which will be attended by local and international industry leaders, digital marketers and innovators. Keynote speakers include lead developers from Facebook and Google as well as several notable figures from around the world. Aggregating some of the best tech thinkers and creators in the industry, the Haiti Tech Summit aims to accelerate local entrepreneurship and to bring global attention to Haiti’s emerging markets.
Tourism
The media misrepresents Haiti by suggesting that the country is too poor and too battered by earthquakes and hurricanes to be beautiful. The Dominican Republic and Haiti are co-located on the island of Hispaniola. They both boast beautiful beaches with glittering turquoise waters, rolling mountains and temperate, tropical weather, but only the Dominican Republic is celebrated as a place that’s worth visiting.
Despite unfair media portrayals, Haiti has been gaining traction over the last five years as a tourist destination. Haiti offers potential travelers breathtaking landscapes, complicated history and rich culture. Resort towns like Jacmel and Cap Haitien boast scenic coastal views, opulent dining and luxe accommodations that rival those of top beach communities around the world.
According to MSN, expatriate designer Victor Glemaud recently returned to Haiti after having left more than a decade ago. The country he came back to shattered his expectations: “What I was expecting from the media, and all the perceptions around the world about Haiti, were nonexistent. I saw the same vibrancy, the same resilience I remember from growing up. . . I was expecting devastation, and I didn’t see that.” Contrary to popular portrayals of the Caribbean nation, Haiti is a beautiful, thriving country.
– Chantel Baul
Photo: Flickr
The Causes of Uganda’s Recent Cholera Outbreak
Cholera, an acute infectious disease, is not new to the east African country of Uganda. For 47 years, epidemics of cholera have occurred frequently in the country, and cases of the disease in Ugandan communities are still reported annually. Uganda’s recent cholera outbreak was reported Feb. 22, 2018.
Refugee Overcrowding
The announcement came after 668 cholera cases had been identified in the refugee settlements in Hoima District. Hoima District is a Western Ugandan district home to thousands of Congolese refugees escaping ongoing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s northeastern Ituri province.
More than 4.4 million people have been forced out of their homes in Democratic Republic of Congo amid a surge in severe violence. The aggression stemmed from President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to step down at the end of his mandate in 2016. As a result of the humanitarian disaster, it is estimated that about 43,000 Congolese refugees have settled into Ugandan areas this year. This brings the total of Congolese refugees in Uganda to more than a quarter of a million.
Increased Violence
Although Uganda welcomes all those fleeing violence and seeking refuge into the country, government-funded health facilities have been overwhelmed by the sharp rise in the refugee population. Since the initial outbreak announcement in February, at least 1,747 people have become sick and at least 36 have died from the worsening situation. Most of the deaths were recent evacuees from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In addition to plaguing the refugee resettlements in Hoima District, Uganda’s recent cholera outbreak has also now spread to two additional sub-counties. It is estimated that drinking unsafe water from Lake Albert, poor sanitation and a lack of handwashing facilities in the area have contributed to the dehydration, diarrhea, vomiting and fatality rates.
Response Efforts
Uganda’s recent cholera outbreak has proven an urgent demand for additional resources and funds to prevent the spread and deaths from the bacterial disease. However, some response efforts and services are currently in place. Thanks to a fast-acting response plan by the U.N. Refugee Agency and The Ministry of Health, health actors and community leaders are working to provide medical supplies, health personnel and other essential support. This includes demonstrations on proper food and hand hygiene and water safety to reduce transmission of the illness. Many technical teams are working to conduct medical screenings, provide treatments and produce water purification tablets near Western Uganda’s Lake Albert and Kyangwali refugee settlement.
Additionally, international agencies like the World Health Organization and UNICEF have provided two different cholera kits with vital supplies for cholera case management. Uganda Red Cross Society has actively supported social mobilization to prevent and regulate the outbreak.
Because of these life-saving efforts enforced by health workers and technical teams, there has been a significant decrease in the number of new cholera cases within the western Lake Albert region. As of Feb. 28, health care workers were detecting approximately 100 new cases of cholera a day. By March 12, the daily case number had decreased to 20. The medical assistance provided helped decrease the mortality rate by two percent. However, Uganda’s recent cholera outbreak is not over and the work in cholera-suffering hotspots is far from resolved.
– Natalie Shaw
Photo: Google
10 Facts About Poverty in Jordan
Jordan is a country of key interest to the United States, as both share mutual goals of bringing a comprehensive and lasting peace to the conflict-ridden Middle East. As proof of its investment in maintaining diplomatic relations, the United States has contributed vastly to Jordan’s growth and development over the past decade, providing billions in aid to improve the conditions of the military, economy and health care for citizens.
Much of this aid aims to address the overarching issue of poverty in Jordan, which affects an estimated 35% of the total population. Today, there are several factors that characterize poverty in Jordan, which is anticipated to increase over the next couple of years without critical state reform. These 10 facts about poverty in Jordan seek to break down major components of the issue and supply possible solutions going forward.
10 Facts About Poverty in Jordan
Despite having a naturally harsh desert landscape, the mean temperature of the country has exponentially increased over the past half-century, resulting in frequent and lasting droughts that have contributed to water scarcity. Low water availability forces residents to rely upon contaminated water sources, exacerbating the spread of vector-borne diseases. Water-scarce regions also suffer from low agricultural production, creating rifts in the local economy and leading to food insecurity. Such risks are anticipated to grow in size and scale without careful management. According to the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), 40% of Jordan’s groundwater basins are expected to be severely depleted by 2030.
The minimum wage in Jordan is currently set at USD 366.87 per month for 2023 and 2024. In comparison, the poverty line for a Jordanian household stands at USD 677.80 per month. This minimum wage amount has been largely acknowledged as insufficient to support approximately 500,000 Jordanians in the formal or informal labor force, and as encouraging high unemployment rates. It has also been denounced for not complying with the Jordanian labor rights law, which mandates raising the minimum wage concurrent with increases in the inflation rate and cost of living.
Despite the country’s history of macroeconomic stability, Jordan is subject to frequent spikes in inflation. In 2023, the index for fuel and lighting increased by 6.76% compared to 2022, while that of dairy products and eggs increased by 5.95%. In February 2024, food prices in the country increased by 1.8%, characteristic of the recent trend of increasing food prices observed in 2023. Despite affecting the livelihood of all Jordanians, low-income residents have especially been impacted by the fluctuating inflation rate, and have experienced a greater eroding of their purchasing power. Many report an inability to purchase essential expenses as a result of attempting to cover their basic needs.
Today, poverty is highest in rural areas and is constantly amplified by chronic water shortages and a lack of critical infrastructure. Animal husbandry, the traditional economic pillar for many rural communities, has experienced a sharp increase in livestock feed costs in recent years, which has pressured households to sell their animals to offset their losses. Failed state projects to alleviate low agricultural production rates have exacerbated the marginalization of rural communities, inciting protests by impoverished workers and local youths demanding better economic opportunities since 2011.
In 2023, intended beneficiaries of an automated cash transfer program initially known as Takaful reported crippling failures to address poverty. Many households were incorrectly rejected from financial support because they did not fit the algorithm’s model of stereotypical poverty, depriving them of their right to social security. Programmed indicators intended to capture economic complexity were markedly insufficient and depended on inaccurate and unreliable data to form profiles. This program was also largely available to those with access to technology, which excluded residents unfamiliar with digital technology and rural communities, exacerbating existing disparities instead of resolving them.
In November 2023, Jordan recorded an all-time high national debt of $46 billion. This rate is anticipated to increase by $5.2 billion between 2024 and 2029 and has been attributed to costly infrastructure projects commissioned by China over the past decade. High rates of debt have devalued money for low-income residents and have discouraged savings and long-term investments, crippling citizens looking to escape poverty.
Economic growth in Jordan came to a standstill during the COVID-19 pandemic. National GDP was estimated to have decreased by 23%, and food systems experienced a reduction in output by nearly 40%. Employment losses were also estimated at over 20%, devastating the services sector and the agricultural sector. Following the pandemic, small businesses were still subject to a drop in revenues, resulting in financial burdens that saw many unable to afford costs of rent, energy and utilities. Although the state has attempted to resolve these labor market structural challenges by promoting tailored support to informal daily wage workers, numerous businesses still report financial burdens that reflect a long road to recovery.
Jordan hosts more than 643,000 Syrians as a result of the civil war in neighboring Syria.. Thousands of civilians have poured into the country in search of solace from the conflict. Over 85% live in rented facilities outside of refugee camps and are forced to resort to child labor and reduced food intake to offset unemployment and illnesses. Approximately 66% of Syrian refugees live below the poverty line and are expected to continue to suffer from harsh living conditions without access to social services, better health care and economic opportunities.
Repressive government measures in Jordan have resulted in increasingly violent protests in recent years. IMF-mandated austerity measures have led fuel prices to nearly double, inciting demonstrations throughout the country consisting of professional drivers, youths and shop owners. Many demonstrations have vandalized public property and blocked roads, and have been concentrated in the cities of central and southern Jordan. Despite the government’s acquiescence to lower fuel prices in December 2022, the recurring cycle of insufficient structural adjustment amid chronic socioeconomic crises will inevitably create another wave of unrest unless effective reform is implemented.
Poverty in Jordan is not without viable solutions. Further increasing foreign aid to the country in the form of monetary funds to assist in economic development can help the nation cope with prominent issues such as low water supply and food insecurity. New and continued partnerships with global humanitarian organizations can provide residents with vital resources and personnel to improve health conditions and support disadvantaged populations. One such agency, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has helped facilitate a 40% reduction in infant mortality over the last twenty years, supported better access to education for Jordanians and refugees alike, increased the availability of safe drinking water and administered the Jordan-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. With the right support and resources, Jordan can have the leverage it needs to push back against current socioeconomic detriments and start on a road to recovery and success.
These 10 facts about poverty in Jordan have outlined several key political and socioeconomic problems in Jordan that have led to high rates of poverty, and have provided viable solutions to rectify these issues. It is vital that the United States continues its investment in allied countries in the region and prevents further political instability to secure a peaceful future for Jordan in the years to come.
– Shane Summers, Moon Jung Kim
Photo: Flickr
Understanding the Age Requirements to be a Senator
The United States Congress is made up of two chambers: an upper chamber known as the Senate and a lower chamber known as the House of Representatives. This is modeled after the British Parliament bicameral (two chamber) system. In England, this system is composed of a House of Lords and a House of Commons.
Today, the United States Congress is made up of 100 senators and 435 representatives. That is two senators from each state and one representative from each of the 435 recognized congressional districts in the United States. Members of Congress are voted in by the public and serve a six-year term if elected to Senate and a two-year term if elected to the House of Representatives.
When one considers the history, size and power of the United States Congress, there are many questions that may come to mind. One common question asked is: how old do you have to be to be a senator? To answer this question, one can look to the United States Constitution for the answer.
The Constitution reads, “No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.” From this, one can see that the answer to the question of how old one must be to be a senator in the United States is a minimum of 30 years old.
Answering this question often leads to another question: why did the writers of the United States Constitution choose this age as opposed to other ages? In addition to the structure of the two chamber congress system, the framers of the Constitution also looked to England when trying to determine the details for what the requirements to be a member of Congress would be.
At the time of the writing of the United States Constitution, England’s law required members of Parliament to be a minimum of 21 years old. Though the United States did not adopt the same age requirement, the adoption of an age requirement at all was significant.
Ultimately, it was determined that one must be 25 years of age to be a representative in the House of Representatives, a number similar to England’s, and 30 years of age to be a senator. The answer to the question of why 30 is the age that was determined by the writers of the Constitution is addressed by James Madison in The Federalist, No. 62. Madison explained that because of Senate’s deliberative nature, the “senatorial trust,” called for a “greater extent of information and stability of character,” than would be needed in the more democratic House of Representatives.
The United States Congress is a complex and integral part of the United States government. When determining the requirements to be a member of Congress, the framers of the Constitution had many factors to consider. Ultimately, they determined that as far as the requirement of age went, 30 was the appropriate age for a member of the Senate.
– Nicole Stout
Photo: Flickr
Poverty and Peril: How the Media Misrepresents Haiti
In recent years, the typical media portrayal of Haiti has consistently conjured up a static image of a beleaguered nation where visible indicators of natural disaster, political instability and extreme poverty abound. Though this representation is not entirely false, it is incomplete. Haiti is well-deserving of a more fitting image that conveys its dynamism and development.
Withstanding trial and tribulation, Haiti is among the most resilient nations in the world. Like any other developing country today, Haiti is continuing to make progress despite setbacks along its way. The media misrepresents Haiti to be a place that is completely devoid of progress, forever stifled by unfortunate issues of circumstance. To the contrary, Haiti enjoys a stunningly beautiful landscape and is inhabited by hardworking, happy people with the resolve to pursue better lives for themselves and a better legacy for their country.
Education Reforms
Ensuring that children have access to quality education is an important investment in the development of any nation. Elizabeth King, former Director of Education for the World Bank, said it best: “The human mind makes possible all development achievements from health advances and agricultural innovations to efficient public administration and private sector growth. For countries to reap these benefits fully, they need to unleash the potential of the human mind. And there is no better tool for doing so than education.”
To this end, Haiti has made quality education a top policy priority over the last decade. The Global Partnership for Education granted $24.1 million in funding to improve primary education access, school performance and enrollment in Haiti.
In the last four years, Haiti has enrolled more than 73,000 students in primary education, built six additional classrooms, developed and employed more than 3,500 qualified teachers at the primary level and implemented a learning assessment system for primary education. Furthermore, the grant has helped increase student attendance to 83.5 percent in disadvantaged areas and made nutrition and health programs accessible to more than 100,000 children.
Agriculture
Suggesting that there is a dearth of economic stimulus is a particularly damaging way that the media misrepresents Haiti. It is true that many Haitians live on less than $2 a day, but economic opportunity continues to develop in the country to counteract extreme poverty.
With a climate that supports the cultivation of important cash crops like cacao and mango, as well as several staple crops, Haiti has a promising agricultural sector. USAID has worked with the country to develop sustainable agricultural techniques that increase production, improve food security and strengthen agricultural markets, ultimately increasing agricultural incomes and helping to develop and support small and medium enterprises to spur investment opportunity in the country.
Tech
Much of the media misrepresents Haiti by failing to cover recent tech advancements at work within the country. Surtab, Haiti’s answer to Apple and Samsung, has become a shining example of successful tech innovation in the country. Surtab develops and delivers a range of electronic mobile devices throughout the Caribbean and the African continent. The company employs a highly-skilled workforce, many of whom are women, and is helping to drive private sector development.
In June, Haiti will host its second annual Haiti Tech Summit, which will be attended by local and international industry leaders, digital marketers and innovators. Keynote speakers include lead developers from Facebook and Google as well as several notable figures from around the world. Aggregating some of the best tech thinkers and creators in the industry, the Haiti Tech Summit aims to accelerate local entrepreneurship and to bring global attention to Haiti’s emerging markets.
Tourism
The media misrepresents Haiti by suggesting that the country is too poor and too battered by earthquakes and hurricanes to be beautiful. The Dominican Republic and Haiti are co-located on the island of Hispaniola. They both boast beautiful beaches with glittering turquoise waters, rolling mountains and temperate, tropical weather, but only the Dominican Republic is celebrated as a place that’s worth visiting.
Despite unfair media portrayals, Haiti has been gaining traction over the last five years as a tourist destination. Haiti offers potential travelers breathtaking landscapes, complicated history and rich culture. Resort towns like Jacmel and Cap Haitien boast scenic coastal views, opulent dining and luxe accommodations that rival those of top beach communities around the world.
According to MSN, expatriate designer Victor Glemaud recently returned to Haiti after having left more than a decade ago. The country he came back to shattered his expectations: “What I was expecting from the media, and all the perceptions around the world about Haiti, were nonexistent. I saw the same vibrancy, the same resilience I remember from growing up. . . I was expecting devastation, and I didn’t see that.” Contrary to popular portrayals of the Caribbean nation, Haiti is a beautiful, thriving country.
– Chantel Baul
Photo: Flickr
World TB Day 2018: The Global Fight Against Tuberculosis
Every year on March 24, World Tuberculosis (TB) Day is observed all around the world. World TB Day is an official global health campaign marked by the World Health Organization (WHO). The day is meant to bring awareness and response to Tuberculosis around the world.
The event commemorates the date that Dr. Robert Koch discovered Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in 1882. This is the bacteria that causes Tuberculosis. Thanks to modern medicine, Tuberculosis is now treatable and even curable, though it remains widespread through most of the world.
History of World TB Day
In 1982, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) proposed that March 24 should be World TB Day. This was in honor of the hundredth anniversary of Dr. Koch’s discovery. However, World TB Day was not officially recognized by the World Health Organization and United Nations until 1995.
Meetings, conferences and programs are being conducted around the world in support of the day. The goal of World TB Day is to not only spread awareness about what the disease does but also about how to prevent, treat and cure Tuberculosis. Many global health organizations have supported and promoted World TB Day since its installment, including the World Health Organization, the National Association of Country and City Health Officials and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The Goals of 2018
On March 24, 2018, the world observed its twenty-fourth World TB Day. The day outlined the international medical goals for this year and beyond. This year’s theme was, “Wanted: Leaders For a TB-Free World.” The World Health Organization is planning to completely eradicate Tuberculosis all over the world. However, that means putting a heavier stance on treatment and prevention methods, both of which will be a heavy influence in this year’s campaign.
The goal is to mobilize political and social movements about Tuberculosis and make further commitments toward eliminating the disease. A full set of campaign material and content about the 2018 day became available March 1 on the website for the Stop TB Partnership.
The Global Goal
As of 2018, Tuberculosis is still the world’s leading infectious killer. It is the cause of over one million deaths worldwide every year. The Stop TB Partnership has three main goals associated with World TB Day:
The partnership hopes to create a healthy future for the next and continued generations. By raising awareness about Tuberculosis, many global health organizations can increase funding for proper medical treatments in impoverished areas. Leaders and medical professionals still have a long way to go before people will be able to live in a completely Tuberculosis free world.
As medical advancements are escalated, diseases also escalate. Tuberculosis has mutated into many multi-drug-resistant strains, making prevention harder. In impoverished countries, where they have little to no advanced medicine, prevention and treatment are nearly impossible.
However, advancements toward the Stop TB Partnership’s goals have already started and will continue. The awareness and knowledge spread by World TB Day can slowly help move the world toward a disease-free future.
– Courtney Wallace
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About Poverty in Russia
1. Poverty is on the Rise in Russia
2. Oil is Partly to Blame
3. Agriculture is Also at Fault
4. Wealth Inequality is Common
5. President Putin has Vowed to Help
6. Rural Areas can Offer Relief
7. The Future Remains Unclear
8. Slow Economic Conditions Inspire Change
9. Russia Needs Political Advocacy
10. The Road to Poverty Reduction Could be Long
– Robert Stephen
Photo: Google
How the Media Misrepresents Lebanon to be Unsafe
Lebanon is a sovereign state that lies on the western coast of the Mediterranean sea. With over six million inhabitants, this small country shares a long border with Syria, a country that is currently facing a multi-year civil war that has been the cause of hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and intense human suffering.
Due to Lebanon’s close proximity to Syria, it naturally has faced some conflict in recent years with the overflow of refugees and military conflict on Lebanese soil. The Syrian war has already rendered and continues to produce much devastation for Syrian people, mainly through a lack of human rights.
Because of this, the media has associated countries in the surrounding area with this chaotic state. There has been a very distinct picture painted of Lebanon, characterized as unsafe and disorganized. However, everything the public is being told is not exactly true, and the way the media misrepresents Lebanon has a major impact on how we categorize and make assumptions about this beautiful, culturally-rich state.
The main implication behind the way the media misrepresents Lebanon is the fact that the media industry survives off public opinion, meaning that headlines and article content are often edited and revised to fit a style that will capture a reader’s attention. Due to this, it is not uncommon for the media to misrepresent situations and give inflated facts to attract more coverage. This is one of the biggest factors of how the media misrepresents Lebanon and, more specifically, the country’s stability.
While certain parts of Lebanon have faced overflow from the Syrian war–for instance, there have been minor security incidents that have occurred in smaller cities like Baalbek and Sidon–these incidents have been both sporadic and uncommon. The way in which the media covers these topics often paints Lebanon as an unsafe environment for travelers, which is not entirely true.
While there are places to avoid, such as the smaller cities that lie on the Lebanon-Syrian border, larger cities like Beirut have remained nearly untouched and are still safe for tourism. In fact, sources like the New York Times and ABC News have published pro-Beirut pieces that highlight the beauty of Beirut culture. Specifically, the New York Times article touched on the Beirut art scene and the various cultures weaved throughout the city’s architecture and cuisine.
In addition to Beirut, other Lebanese cities like Byblos and Zahlé have also been marked safe for tourism in recent years, with standard travel-safety procedures. The truth is that these Lebanese cities are very similar to any other major city; it is simply a large metropolitan area with general security issues like pickpocketing, scamming and robbery. These problems exist in all major cities throughout the globe.
However, when visiting Lebanon, it is important not to ignore the struggle the country faces with border safety and its ongoing rubbish crisis, in which large amounts of trash continue to cover the state’s shoreline. While tourism helps the Lebanese economy, it is vital that tourists do not contribute to the country’s main issues such as littering.
Although it faces a few security concerns, Lebanon is a beautiful country. Cities like Beirut, Byblos and Zahle have enriching cultures and histories alike, and it is important not to let the way the media misrepresents Lebanon take away from the nation’s true colors.
– Alexandra Dennis
Photo: Flickr
Practical Methods: How Floating Gardens Can Tackle Poverty
One of the most innovative technologies used to combat poverty, particularly in places where climatic conditions and rising sea levels impair local agriculture, are floating gardens. Areas such as Bangladesh, which are now below sea level in many places, do not have the land to grow crops; thus, floating gardens allow farmers to grow crops in the absence of arable land. Here is how floating gardens can tackle poverty.
Floating Gardens
Floating gardens were first used by the Aztecs in Tenochtitlan, and consisted of a raft woven from water hyacinth on top of which soil and manure were placed. From this structural orientation, farmers have been able to grow crops without the need for adequate farming land.
Today, farmers in many countries, such as Bangladesh, suffer from poor growing conditions due to flooding from monsoons and rising sea levels. It was reported in the New York Times that “the country’s climate scientists and politicians have come to agree that by 2050, rising sea levels will inundate some 17 percent of the land and displace about 18 million people.”
When water saturates soil and air — which plants need for nutrient uptake — growing and cell division are restricted; this process is referred to as waterlogging and is a major concern for farmers in Bangladesh.
Mitigating Obstacles
Farmer productivity is also weakened by lengthy dry periods. According to Practical Action, an organization that fights to mitigate these obstacles for farmers, “Growing conditions are already challenging as the clay soil becomes hard during the dry season (November to March) while prolonged rain during the monsoon (June to October) causes flooding.”
Floating gardens are a way for farmers to adapt to climate conditions and gain control over the production of crops for selling for both their productivity and for their own families. In this way, floating gardens can tackle poverty because they are economically beneficial to farmers who would otherwise have great difficulty doing their jobs.
Practical Action
Practical Action works on aqua-geoponics — special contraptions that combine floating gardens and fish farming — to help secure income for poor families in Bangladesh.
These contraptions increase efficiency and raise income levels for farmers. In addition to raising household incomes, floating gardens also save households money by reducing amounts spent on vegetables as households can now grow their own. According to the Horticulture Innovation Lab at UC-Davis, one floating garden provides a family with pesticide-free vegetables for a year.
Food Security
Another benefit of floating gardens is food security. According to the Independent, thanks to the efforts of the Practical Action residents of rural villages in Bangladesh now get at least 1,800 calories per day. In this way, floating gardens have reduced hunger and by growing their own crops, households now have pesticide-free vegetables.
A flyer published by Penn State asserted that potential effects of long-term exposure to pesticides include birth defects, tumors and blood or nerve disorders; in mitigating these effects, there are also health benefits to growing a floating garden.
Floating Gardens Tackle Poverty
There are numerous ways in which floating gardens can tackle poverty, including increased income and efficiency for farmers, and improved health for consumers of the crops. According to the World Bank, agriculture has been a key step in fighting poverty in Bangladesh. Poverty dropped from 48.9 percent to 31.5 percent between 2000 and 2010.
Additionally, over 87 percent of rural people receive some income from agricultural activities. In this way, finding a dependable method of crop production will be key in fighting poverty in countries such as Bangladesh.
– Olivia Booth
Photo: Flickr
The Elimination 8: Ways of Shrinking Malaria in Africa
The Elimination 8 was created in 2007 by eight African countries with an initiative of abolishing malaria in Africa by 2030. By 2020, the E8 hopes to terminate malaria in the four low transmission countries of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland. By 2030, the E8 aims to terminate malaria in the four middle to high transmission countries of Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The E8 created a strategic plan to focus on strengthening efforts at cross-border and regional levels. The five core objectives of the plan are:
E8’s Five Core Objectives
The Back-and-Forth
The E8 countries experienced a 50 percent decrease in malaria cases over a five year period, from 14 million cases in 2007 to eight million cases in 2012. One particular country, Swaziland, experienced a drastic decline in malaria cases. In 2010-11, Swaziland reported 478 malaria cases during the transmission season with only three malaria-related deaths.
However, in the 2016-2017 malaria season, seven out of the eight countries reported an increase in malaria cases with outbreaks reported in Botswana and Namibia. Through the E8, health ministries held a meeting to determine the source of the alarming rates.
Two main factors were found in the cause of the increase. First, mosquitos were becoming resistant to insecticides and countries were not meeting their spraying targets; and second, insufficient use of surveillance systems caused late responses and a lack of epidemic identification.
Hope for the Future
In spite of the increase of malaria rates, the E8 is continuing to better their efforts to continue shrinking malaria in Africa. “I’m still optimistic and looking at 2025-2030,” says Richard Nchabi Kamwi, former Namibian Health Minister and now the E8 Ambassador for Malaria Elimination.
“Swaziland, for example, is far ahead– for the past five years it did not record a single malaria death. Botswana unfortunately during the last season experienced some local deaths, but I was impressed with the aggressive way in which they responded to the epidemic and how they persevered with their plan. Now it’s 2017, so maybe eradication by 2020 will not happen, but I am looking at 2025, with the final four countries following suit by 2030.”
The countries have modified their action plans for the next malaria season and have prepared epidemic response plans — hopeful omens for the future.
– Anne-Marie Maher
Photo: Flickr
Promoting Equality and Increasing Employment for Zambia’s Youth
Zambia’s youth have continued to face not only high unemployment rates, but also poor quality education, teenage pregnancies and early marriages. Fackson Shamenda (Zambia’s labour and social security minister) says the country’s young people are critical for development objectives; however, work is being done to increase employment for Zambia’s youth.
Promoting Equality Among Zambia’s Employed Youth
Launched in 2013, Impact Enterprises was Zambia’s first digital outsourcing company with a mission to provide the country’s youth with digital jobs. The company soon found that in group settings, young Zambian women were afraid to share their opinions among male coworkers. In June 2015, Impact Enterprises launched Ladies of Victory and Encouragement (LOVE), a support group for its female employees.
By July 2015, LOVE helped the company’s female employees become more confident in participating amongst male workers. One of the employees, Debra, said that LOVE restored the energy she used to have in secondary school. In January 2016, Dimitri Zakharov (CEO of Impact Enterprises) said the LOVE support group significantly strengthened the company’s employees and services.
Zambia’s Action Plan For Unemployed Youth
In March 2016, Zambia’s government developed an action plan to increase employment for Zambia’s youth. These are some of the action plan’s objectives:
Jerry Sakala (patron of Zambia’s U.N. Youth Association) said that for strides of addressing unemployed youth to be meaningful, strong and coordinated responses will be required from both Zambia’s stakeholders and its youth. “This multi-sectoral approach will ensure that programmes and activities to empower and create employment opportunities for the youth are mainstreamed across all sectors,” said Sakala.
A Young Zambian Entrepreneur Employs 50 People
For young Zambians who have achieved stable employment, they now work to give back to their fellow unemployed residents. In February 2017, Jessie Chipindo (a young entrepreneur and founder of Zambia’s Dulce & Banana restaurant) employed 50 specialized staff to work for her business. Zambia’s government was greatly pleased with Chipindo’s work. Chipindo thanked the government for creating an environment where the country’s young entrepreneurs could flourish.
Agriculture as a Profitable Investment For Zambia’s Youth
In January 2018, Dr. Kaunda (cofounder of Billionaire Farmer Agric Solutions) said that Zambia’s youth could generate great profit from agricultural work; however, the challenge lies in attracting the youth to this job in the first place.
“We need to change the outdated perception that agriculture is back-breaking, unprofitable work for an old, tired generation,” said Kaunda. Kaunda also says that while agricultural work yields financial benefits, it still requires a firm commitment to hard work.
Establishing a Positive Change
On March 26, 2018, the Innovative Zambian Youths Organization (IZYO) institution planned to an entrepreneurship summit for Zambia’s youth. Joseph Maimba (the institution’s CEO) said this is part of the Zambian government’s effort to close the unemployment gap among the country’s young people. The summit will be begin on April 5, 2018 and focus on helping Zambia’s young entrepreneurs develop new skills.
Zambia’s government sees the potential of its young people to develop the country’s economic standing, and many entities will continue to focus on creating employment for Zambia’s youth.
– Rhondjé Singh Tanwar
Photo: Flickr