From religion to social norms, there are many different reasons why gender inequality and the suppression of women’s voices occurs in various communities; however, none of these reasons account for how gender inequality hurts countries financially, socially and politically.
According to the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap Report, the gender gap in countries across the world has risen to 32 percent — a figure up one percent from last year’s 31 percent. This trend means that the average economic gap between women and men, whether in personal finances or in political representation and commerce, generally results in a substantial difference in the amount of money and support women receive in their communities.
Women in Yemen
For instance, Yemen was ranked the worst country for gender equality since 2006, not only because it’s economic stability is practically nonexistent, but also because they possess significant education issues. Yemen has an overall literacy rate of 96 percent among males, however their female literacy rate of 76 percent leaves a gap that causes a good portion of the female disenfranchisement in the region.
For these women, the lack of educational sustainability is one of the biggest inhibitors of their economic success. It’s evident how gender inequality hurts countries such as Yemen because without academic access and the capability to further learning, women are extremely inhibited in their opportunities for economic independence.
Women and Education
According to a study published by Frontiers in Psychology Journal, women in academic situations have a higher chance of success than men do. When put in learning groups, girls tended to be more capable of task-accomplishing, self-regulation and focusing by deciding on a goal and completing it. Males, on the other hand, tended to focus on avoidance activities in order to make the task seem less daunting.
The female’s method is much more successful in most academic and work-related situations, and is a strong indicator of a woman’s capability in educational settings and the workplace; however, in countries such as Yemen where the academic retention rate is much lower for females, the opportunity to demonstrate these self-regulation skills becomes short-changed when a woman drops out of education.
Social Norms
The reason for dropout rates, and another example of how gender inequality hurts countries in Yemen, refers mainly to the social norms placed on women by their community: most women are expected to be educated enough to read and write, and once this criteria is met, they are taken back to their home to prepare for the household duties that will serve as their main vocation upon marriage and for the rest of their lives. An article published by the World Bank states that even one more year of schooling could benefit a woman’s health, safety and decrease the amount of child marriages in countries across the world.
For places like Yemen, which tend to lean heavily on societal norms to dictate their country’s success, gender inequality hurts the country’s economic stability, limits growth for communities and families and causes women to be more likely to be subjugated to child marriages, dangerously young pregnancies and a more rapid spread of STIs such as HIV/AIDS. Not only does this display exactly how gender inequality hurts countries, it also shows how gender inequality hurts the women who lack financial and social freedoms.
The process made thus far incites hope that countries’ across the globe will continue to work on solutions to stop gender inequality, once and for all.
– Molly Atchison
Photo: Flickr
United States Praises Peaceful Transfer of Power in Liberia
President-elect Weah defeated Vice President Joseph Boakai, 73. Weah, internationally known for earning the African, European and World Player of the Year in 1995, has served as a senator since 2015. Weah, 51, received the most votes in the first round of the presidential election in October 2017.
Liberty Party nominee Charles Brumskine, who received less than 10 percent of the vote, delayed the final round of voting by accusing election fraud in a case that went to the Liberian Supreme Court. Multiple bodies, including the National Election Commission, found the election was fair. The U.N. Security Council and the White House delivered public statements commending the peaceful transfer of power in Liberia and praising the Liberian people and government.
Liberia, a country founded by freed American slaves, has experienced decades of civil war, and the 2014 Ebola epidemic killed more people in Liberia than anywhere else in the world. The West African nation is currently facing extreme poverty and issues stemming from it.
Liberia has the seventh-highest maternal mortality rate, female genital cutting affects more than two-thirds of women and girls and less than 50 percent of the population older than 15 can read and write. Moreover, 60 percent of the population is under 25. Nevertheless, the U.N. reduced its troop presence in Liberia in July 2016, and the country has the highest annual reduction rate in infant and child mortality in Africa.
In his victory speech, Weah applauded the Liberian people and said, “[T]he best way to celebrate Liberians is to improve their lives…through public governance.” He encouraged investors to come to Liberia and stressed the importance of private investment in rebuilding the economy.
Weah also thanked his predecessor, Johnson Sirleaf, who became the first elected female African head of state in 2005. “We promise to follow your footsteps in protecting the rights of Liberians and providing even greater freedoms,” Weah said.
Weah’s Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor sat next to him during his victory speech. Howard- Taylor’s ex-husband is serving a 50-year prison sentence for crimes against humanity. However, she proved to have vastly different policy ideas than her previous partner during her tenure as a senator.
While Weah certainly will face obstacles during his administration, the global community is hopeful that progress will continue in Liberia. Democratic leaders have a renewed sense of optimism for the country after this peaceful transfer of power in Liberia.
– Sean Newhouse
Photo: Flickr
Building a Diverse Economy With Infrastructure in Mozambique
The Estrada Nacional One, or National Highway One (EN1) remains the only road connected to the country’s capital, Maputo, to the north and south. The rest of the country remains largely disconnected, with little to no mode of transport available to the outer regions. There are no rail lines going beyond Maputo to the north, with many of the existing ones in the south being unserviceable and in complete disrepair. Domestic and freight transport mainly serves the center and south of the country through the largest transport company, Transportes Lalgy, which also connects to South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The rising demand for the country’s vast natural resources is its best chance for boosting the economy and spurring the development of infrastructure in Mozambique forward. The main challenge to this development is diversifying the economy, expanding and tapping into the resources centered in Mozambique’s food products, ports, airlines and railways.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) created the Competir com Qualidade, or private sector quality promotion program, in 2012, aiming toward enhancing the country’s development through increasing product competition. According to UNIDO project manager Dominika Dor, this is the first step toward creating a productive and stable economy, saying, “A well-functioning quality infrastructure can have a positive impact on multiple aspects of life, reaching from industrial development to environmental sustainability.” She goes on to explain that this impact is especially essential when it comes to water and other food products, as they are meant to be consumed by humans.
Development of infrastructure in Mozambique is particularly crucial when it comes to the railroads and ports. Malawi and Zimbabwe are entirely dependent on the rail lines that connect them to Mozambique, as they are completely landlocked and cannot reach the ports for their imports and exports any other way.
The Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) plans to invest $750 million in the development of the Port of Maputo, Mozambique’s largest port, so it can transport 48 million tons of goods each year by 2033. This includes the transport of iron-chromium, coal, vehicles and fruit, among other goods. The second and third largest ports, Beira and Nacala respectively, are currently undergoing enhancements to expand their accommodations for larger cargos and ensure Zimbabwe’s entry into the world market.
The rail network, on the other hand, requires private investments to improve railroad safety and ensure the safe passage of cargo and goods. The Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) is currently working on obtaining these investments and bring Mozambique’s railways up to the national standard.
Further development on Mozambique’s roads and transportation services will only serve to increase movement through the nation’s economy. With continued work on the infrastructure in Mozambique, the quality of life will inevitably improve for the African nation’s citizens.
– Kayla Rafkin
Photo: Flickr
A Look Into How Gender Inequality Hurts Countries
From religion to social norms, there are many different reasons why gender inequality and the suppression of women’s voices occurs in various communities; however, none of these reasons account for how gender inequality hurts countries financially, socially and politically.
According to the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap Report, the gender gap in countries across the world has risen to 32 percent — a figure up one percent from last year’s 31 percent. This trend means that the average economic gap between women and men, whether in personal finances or in political representation and commerce, generally results in a substantial difference in the amount of money and support women receive in their communities.
Women in Yemen
For instance, Yemen was ranked the worst country for gender equality since 2006, not only because it’s economic stability is practically nonexistent, but also because they possess significant education issues. Yemen has an overall literacy rate of 96 percent among males, however their female literacy rate of 76 percent leaves a gap that causes a good portion of the female disenfranchisement in the region.
For these women, the lack of educational sustainability is one of the biggest inhibitors of their economic success. It’s evident how gender inequality hurts countries such as Yemen because without academic access and the capability to further learning, women are extremely inhibited in their opportunities for economic independence.
Women and Education
According to a study published by Frontiers in Psychology Journal, women in academic situations have a higher chance of success than men do. When put in learning groups, girls tended to be more capable of task-accomplishing, self-regulation and focusing by deciding on a goal and completing it. Males, on the other hand, tended to focus on avoidance activities in order to make the task seem less daunting.
The female’s method is much more successful in most academic and work-related situations, and is a strong indicator of a woman’s capability in educational settings and the workplace; however, in countries such as Yemen where the academic retention rate is much lower for females, the opportunity to demonstrate these self-regulation skills becomes short-changed when a woman drops out of education.
Social Norms
The reason for dropout rates, and another example of how gender inequality hurts countries in Yemen, refers mainly to the social norms placed on women by their community: most women are expected to be educated enough to read and write, and once this criteria is met, they are taken back to their home to prepare for the household duties that will serve as their main vocation upon marriage and for the rest of their lives. An article published by the World Bank states that even one more year of schooling could benefit a woman’s health, safety and decrease the amount of child marriages in countries across the world.
For places like Yemen, which tend to lean heavily on societal norms to dictate their country’s success, gender inequality hurts the country’s economic stability, limits growth for communities and families and causes women to be more likely to be subjugated to child marriages, dangerously young pregnancies and a more rapid spread of STIs such as HIV/AIDS. Not only does this display exactly how gender inequality hurts countries, it also shows how gender inequality hurts the women who lack financial and social freedoms.
The process made thus far incites hope that countries’ across the globe will continue to work on solutions to stop gender inequality, once and for all.
– Molly Atchison
Photo: Flickr
How Many People Are Starving Around the World?
Despite all these reminders, the U.S. ranks lower than the average developed country in the Commitment to Development Index. Designed by the Center for Global Development (CDG), the Commitment to Development Index measures developed countries’ contributions to providing necessary aid in seven fields: aid, finance, technology, environment, trade, security and migration. Out of the 27 countries measured, the U.S. ranks twenty-third overall.
In the meantime, approximately 793 million people are starving around the world, according to the U.N. That makes up about 11 percent of the population. Of the 793 million, more than 100 million suffer from severe malnutrition and risk starving to death. Of the 793 million, 780 million, or 98 percent, inhabit developing countries. One million children under the age of five die from malnourishment each year, comprising 45 percent of all child deaths up to age five.
A person living comfortably in a developed country may find it difficult to address issues like global poverty or think about how many people are starving around the world. Though not necessarily intentional, this lack of awareness leads to inaction. When local political figures do not hear anything from the people they represent on certain issues, they focus on addressing other topics about which people seem to care more. As a result, bills regarding hunger do not get passed, people do not volunteer their energy and nothing gets done about global poverty.
Considering how many people are starving around the world today, people in developed countries must take action, even just by calling or emailing their political representatives about addressing global poverty. Though it seems like an insurmountable task, enough mobilization beginning at the individual level can help to eradicate poverty once and for all.
– Francesca Colella
Photo: Flickr
Humanitarian Aid to Morocco Contributes to Counterterrorism Efforts
As the U.S. continues to send humanitarian aid to Morocco, the Moroccan government works to protect its country from terrorist threats.
“Morocco has a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy that includes vigilant security measures, regional and international cooperation, and counter-radicalization policies,” the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism reported online. A 2013 report revealed several steps Morocco has taken that have successfully led to the dismantling of terroristic plots.
A founding member of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), Morocco also participates in the U.S. Department of State’s Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program. These preventative efforts and partnership with the U.S. and the U.N. have contributed to the country’s leading role in the fight against terrorism in the Middle East.
“Morocco is number one in its national security, but that’s not the main reason for the safety of our country,” Zakaria Hamzaoui, Moroccan citizen and political advocate, said. “We take great steps to improve the quality of life for all people, especially young people, so that people are satisfied with their freedom.”
Indeed, providing hope and opportunities for the most marginalized population reduces a community’s rates of conversion to extremism. Because a population’s youth remains the most likely demographic to cause unrest, targeting this group through youth programs effectively redirects energy and attention to more positive outlets.
According to the U.S. Department of State’s website, a 2016 study showed that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs have helped to directly improve the lives of more than 12,000 marginalized, at-risk youth since 2012. These programs include a career development system that increases employability and various civil development initiatives that address the roots of unrest.
USAID has also provided humanitarian aid to Morocco in the form of police training, border security, military funding, women’s empowerment and business development.
These initiatives are not limited to U.S.-funded aid; Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have also contributed humanitarian aid to Morocco in the form of a five-year agreement. This deal, totaling $5 billion in aid, will expire at the end of 2017, and its benefactors intend its use for counterterrorism and economy-building through the promotion of new infrastructure and increased tourism.
By combatting the sources of unrest that lead to the growth of extremist ideologies, Morocco and supporting countries have committed to taking preventative actions that help build the country and strengthen its national security. As a result of these efforts, Morocco remains at the forefront of the counterterrorism fight in the Middle East.
– Francesca Colella
Photo: Flickr
Sustainable Agriculture in Ethiopia Needs Improvement
Steps to develop sustainable agriculture in Ethiopia include training farmers in better agricultural practices, giving farmers improved seed and holding activities to manage natural resources such as soil and water. These types of projects also lead to opportunities for off-farm activities, including work opportunities for women, and encourage long-term participation for a sustainable system.
There continues to be efforts toward establishing water and food security in order to allow people to feed themselves and have access to nearby, safe water. According to the organization Rainbow for the Future, irrigation development projects are one of the most innovative and successful methods of bringing water and food security as well as necessary infrastructure to people in remote rural regions.
Rainbow for the Future is a Canadian development agency dedicated to the organization and integration of sustainable development efforts in Ethiopia, aiming to help people help themselves. When pastoral groups have the land and water needed to properly cultivate, they are able to make a consistent living and need not rely on aid.
Rainbow for the Future, Westlock Growing Project, the Canadian Foodgrains Banks and other organizations have participated in around 60 projects over the past 20 years to address various sustainability issues. Examples include:
Because of these types of partnerships and support, projects for sustainable agriculture in Ethiopia are able to be completed successfully and change is able to take place. The nation of Ethiopia is on its way to a more sustainable, brighter future.
– Julia Lee
Photo: Flickr
Five Extremely Important Development Projects in Syria
Like many countries in the world, Syria is fighting extreme poverty. According to the United Nations Development Programme, four out of five Syrians live in poverty and 64.7 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty. The Arab region is the only region in the world where poverty has increased since 2010, rising from 28 percent in 2010 to 83.4 percent in 2015.
Here is a list of five development projects in Syria that may help relieve the nation’s citizens.
Switzerland financed twelve new ambulances to help the people of Syria facing the consequences of the war. Syria was in need of more ambulances as a result of the devastatingly high number of victims caused by the war, including attacks against hospitals. The vehicles were purchased through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Dubai. This project was completed in 2017.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency is one of Switzerland’s key multilateral partners in the Middle East, addressing all kinds of humanitarian aid needs, including medical services, education, emergency assistance, healthcare and more. With more funds contributed to its budget, it has been able to work toward universal access to quality primary health care, basic education, relief and social services to refugees in need. This is an ongoing project expected to be completed by 2020.
Through this completed project, experts from Switzerland were able to provide technical support and advice. The experts accounted for the provision of shelter in camps and noncamp settings for vulnerable displaced persons; for a multisector and multistakeholder strategy for cash-based response for IDPs, refugees and host communities; for the protection of the most vulnerable population, including children and youth; advice and strategic planning on activities in the domain of water; and support to the coordination of humanitarian interventions within the U.N. agencies and national/international actors.
Contributions to UNRWA’s 2016 General Fund allows for the sustaining of the agency’s humanitarian and human development programs, servicing over five million Palestine refugees and contributing to peace and stability in the Middle East. This completed project targeted Palestinian refugees living in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied Palestinian territory. Results included financial support enabling various programs in health and education, and management reforms including resource mobilization, ERP and more.
This completed two-year project worked on restoration interventions in Rural Damascus, Horns, Tartous and Latakia. The project created local economic opportunities and restored critical community infrastructure and services, improving access to hygiene and other basic needs.
These committed development projects in Syria leave marks of improvement and hope in a nation that has been ravaged by violence and poverty for far too long.
– Julia Lee
Photo: Flickr
Addressing the Success of Humanitarian Aid to Romania
The events that occurred after the war had a lasting impact on Romania’s social and economic wealth. It became a communist-ruled country led by the Soviets, leading its society and economy into a crisis that is still taking place today. By exploiting its land and population, the Soviet occupation directly fed Romania’s decline.
Regardless of such a crisis, the country has tried to stay afloat. In 2007, the European Union accepted its request to become part of the E.U. This political move had a great impact on Romania, which became unified with 26 other countries willing to support the nation. The E.U. began taking action for Romania by increasing the number of medical centers and hospitals in the country.
Alongside the E.U., humanitarian aid to Romania has also been a success for the far eastern country’s population. The organization The Family International has been working toward the improvement of Romania, as well as other countries in need, for the past few decades. It has worked to aid Romania by shipping multiple medical sources and equipment to the nation.
The Family International also worked to ship clothes to Romania and provide them to those in need. The success of this NGO was, and is, undeniable. More than a hundred families received attention and care, improving their living situation. The organization has also helped through the distribution of food products, as well as clothes, shoes and other necessities that reached more than 1,500 people.
The organization Charity Baptism Mission has also pushed efforts for humanitarian aid to Romania. It provided the nation with containers full of items meant to help alleviate poverty, such as socks, shoes, blankets, sweaters and more. The same organization has also built the success of humanitarian aid to Romania by helping create 27 homes for homeless children around the world, eight of them in Romania.
The organization Clovek v Tisni has also been a pioneer for humanitarian aid to Romania. Investing in infrastructure, creating job positions and building schools to extend education to more people are just some of the many successful actions taken toward alleviating poverty in the European country.
Romania needs help, undeniably. Despite the various NGOs willing to help the poorest country in the E.U., poverty is still an issue. Thus, donations toward organizations such as Clovek v Tisni can go a long way toward assisting the country. Romania is becoming a better country day by day, and with continued effort, it won’t be long until poverty in the nation is reduced to a thing of the past.
– Paula Gibson
Photo: Flickr
Female Education in Lesotho Highest in the World
The gender gap favoring males in education is largest in low-income countries. But in Lesotho, a small, poor, landlocked country surrounded by South Africa, the gender gap in education favors females. The ratio of female-to-male enrollment rates in secondary education is the highest in the world, with 1.6 females enrolled for every male.
“This is really, really unusual in the developing world,” says Theresa Ulicki, a professor of Gender and Development Studies at Dalhousie University.
Female education in Lesotho is a result of male outmigration to South Africa, which was triggered by high unemployment and poverty. In the late 20th century, over half of the Basotho male population emigrated to South Africa for better wage-earning opportunities. Because cross-border migration to South Africa was almost exclusively male — with most Basotho males staying in South Africa from adolescence to retirement — women outnumbered men in the general population by a ratio of four-to-one.
Employment rates of Basotho men in South Africa have since declined, but the same norms govern gender differences in education and labor force participation. Most males of primary school age are involved in cattle-herding— a practice that requires young boys to withdraw from school and tend cattle for their families — and many male adolescents withdraw from school to find employment in South Africa.
Equal access to education and employment does not necessarily result in gender equality. In Lesotho, the gender gap in education is in some sense evidence of the lower perceived value of women. Women’s literacy rates and other levels of education are higher than those for men, yet most Basotho women work jobs that have lower status and pay.
Other indications of gender inequality in Lesotho include gender‐based violence and related developmental problems. Gender-based violence is a serious problem in Lesotho, where females are marginalized, making them susceptible to HIV/AIDS, abuse and rape. In 2011, the rate of sexual assault in Lesotho was among the highest in the world, with 88.6 rape cases per 100,000 female inhabitants. In 2016, Lesotho had one of the highest numbers of new HIV infections worldwide. Illegal marriages are also prevalent, with 19 percent of Basotho females under age 18 being forced into illegal marriages, often with older men.
Education is a central element in economic development and social progress. However, female education in Lesotho shows that ensuring equal access to education is an important but insufficient step toward social development.
– Gabrielle Doran
Photo: Flickr
Two Current Programs for Sustainable Agriculture in Nigeria
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the seventh largest in the world, and is growing faster than any other nation in the top fifteen of that list. When policy makers address the issue of a growing world and necessary advances in food technology, Nigeria must be a key part of that solution. Below are snapshots of two current programs working to improve sustainable agriculture in Nigeria.
A New Variety of Cassava
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is working with farmers in Nigeria to improve sustainable production of cassava. Cassava is a staple crop in tropical countries worldwide and has a number of advantages that make it a reliable crop in food-stressed areas. The plant is drought-resistant, can grow in marginal soils and has year-round availability.
CRS recently began a four-year project in Nigeria called Sustainable Cassava Seed Systems. The project delivers improved strains of cassava to the participants, along with education on maintaining and marketing the improved crops. According to one local farmer, the variety delivered by the CRS program produces more than three times the harvest compared to local varieties of cassava. This result is turning subsistence farmers in Nigeria into agricultural entrepreneurs, and ones who can return investments to their communities.
Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of cassava, and the crop provides more calories per acre than any other tropical staple. As a key item in feeding a growing world population, increasing the sustainability and efficiency of growing cassava can have an inordinate impact in the elimination of global poverty.
Youth Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture
Besides being one of the largest and fastest growing countries in the world, Nigeria is also one of the youngest. Having such a large proportion of youth in a country can severely impact tax education and other infrastructure, but youth is not always a burden — in Nigeria, the youth are a formidable political presence, and youth organizations often play a major part in other social realms as well.
YISA, the Youth Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture, was founded in 2012 in Abjua and has a cooperative group of young people from 15-40 years old that run several programs to support and encourage sustainable agriculture in Nigeria.
Among YISA’s current programs are the Environmental Sustainability Project, the Youth Agricultural Reorientation Program and the Market Linkage Program. These programs promote education in the realm of environmentally responsible agriculture, introduce urban and unemployed youth to farming skills and productive agricultural pursuits and develop commercial outlets for sustainable agricultural products in Nigerian Markets.
While sustainable agriculture in Nigeria stagnated somewhat in the late twentieth century (in large part because of the nation’s enthusiasm for oil revenues), the Nigerian government and international organizations have returned to focus on Nigeria’s impressive agricultural potential. In a nation of over 180 million people, it comes as no surprise that the programs highlighted here merely scratch the surface of current activity. As these and other projects mature and develop, Nigeria will become an ever-larger presence in sustainable food production in the 21st century.
– Paul Robertson
Photo: Flickr