Paraguay is a small country in South America, bordering Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia. Landlocked and still trying to find its bearings after a draining 35-year dictatorship under Alfredo Stroessner from 1954 to 1989, the Paraguayan economy struggles to grow. Its agriculture sector, which makes up 26 percent of its labor force, and 20 percent of the country’s GDP, has been hindered by out-of-date land reforms implemented by the previous regime and contemporary political corruption.
Roughly 45 percent of Paraguay’s population relies upon subsistence farming. The three most profitable agricultural exports in Paraguay are soy, cotton and beef. Soy is the most controversial of the three products, and is touted by some to be the best product for sustainable agriculture in Paraguay.
With a reputation for government corruption, private foreign investment is considered rare and risky in Paraguay. Until recently, poor infrastructure has hindered the growth of the industrial sector in Paraguay, but low labor costs have attracted Brazilian companies to move factories from Brazil to Paraguay. In 2016, a report by the European Union indicated that the trading bloc saw that the risk was both necessary and advantageous, and funds for projects focusing on sustainable agriculture in Paraguay were issued soon after. The six objectives of these funds are:
- Improvement of agricultural competitiveness
- Development of family agriculture and food security
- Sustainable forestry development and provision of environmental services
- Livestock and farming development
- Management of risks associated with climate variability and change
- Social integration, employability and rural entrepreneurship
Much of the EU funding focuses on improving the sustainability of cattle farming, the most important sector being the exportation of beef. Currently, the cattle population of Paraguay is about 14 million. It is estimated that by 2020 Paraguay will be home to 20 million head of cattle. Only 20 percent of this cattle is consumed in Paraguay. Chile, Russia, and Brazil are Paraguay’s largest beef importers, but the European Union is a growing market. Paraguay also seeks to increase exports to Asia and the Middle East.
Cotton has been an important export in Paraguay since its introduction. Initially, raw cotton was exported to Brazil and Italy, where it was processed and spun. After the fall of the Stroessner regime, Brazilian and Italian companies decided to invest in cotton factories in Paraguay. Processing and spinning the cotton in Paraguay increased the profit margin for both the companies and the Paraguayan farmers while creating jobs in Paraguay. Unfortunately, increased use of modern mechanized farming equipment may put many farmers out of a job. This is but one of many issues that are debated in the battle for soy in Paraguay.
In Paraguay, approximately 1 percent of the population owns 77 percent of the land. Much of this land is being sold to foreign companies, many of which are Brazilian and European, to produce soy, which is becoming a booming industry in Paraguay. These companies argue that their farms are the way forward for sustainable agriculture in Paraguay. Highly mechanized, these farms efficiently use the land and resources to grow soy, in turn boosting the economic value of Paraguay’s agriculture industry. But it comes at a high social cost.
Reports from the early 2000s suggest that assassinations and false arrests were used to intimidate farmers and indigenous communities into giving up their land to these companies. Environmental diversity in Paraguay has also been hurt by the growing soy fields. Forests once covered 85 percent of eastern Paraguay, but it is estimated that less than 8 percent of the forest is left. The forest has become a green desert of soy.
Sustainable agriculture in Paraguay is both increasing and under threat. The beef industry grows safely due to the guiding hand of the European Union, Paraguay’s expanding cattle markets and many trade partners. Soy threatens to ruin the hard work and way of life of many Paraguayan farmers, along with the environmental and economic impact of mono-cropping. The laissez-faire attitude of the Paraguayan government may have helped to boost the industrial strength of Paraguay, but regulation will be needed to save sustainable agriculture in Paraguay.
– Nick DeMarco
Photo: Flickr
5 Important Facts on Development Projects in Guinea
Located on the western African shore and home to over 12.6 million people, Guinea contains a large amount of potential energy through 12 main rivers. With only 26 percent of Guinea’s population living with electricity, the potential for hydroelectric energy to improve the country’s situation is huge. Many development projects in Guinea work toward creating accessible electricity, thereby strengthening the country’s ability to react to emergencies such as Ebola.
According to USAID, in 2015, when Electricité de Guinée (EDG) began its management of the national grid with funding from the World Bank, one huge accomplishment was the installation of the Kaleta hydropower plant. The hydropower plant approximately doubled the output of electricity in Guinea and is beginning to meet the nation’s demand.
The more access to electricity and communication that Guinea has, the more prepared and reactionary it can be to outbreaks like Ebola. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 11,310 Ebola-related deaths were confirmed in western African countries like Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. With an insufficient number of medical supplies and personnel, patients were reported dying while waiting in line for treatment.
One of several development projects in Guinea was driven by the Chinese government. The Chinese government gave over $4.5 million to West African countries, including Guinea, to fight the recent Ebola outbreak in 2014. China sent medical supplies as well as personnel to assist Guinea in treating patients. All efforts were directly coordinated with WHO as well as with the United Nations.
Another disease that wreaks havoc on Guinea’s population is malaria. As a preventable and curable disease, malaria impacts large amounts of Guineans every year following the rainy season, according to USAID. While the disease is treatable, it can be very costly for poor families.
Garambé, a town in Guinea, was plagued with malaria so frequently that people began accepting it as the norm. USAID’s program, the StopPalu project, aimed to strengthen malaria resistance by 50 percent by 2017, and began distributing 3.3 million insecticide-treated bed nets, proven to have drastically reduced the spreading of malaria, in 2013. According to Assietou Diallo, the head nurse at the Garambé health center, the usual 50 malaria patients per month has been reduced to under 10 patients thanks to preventative measures.
StopPalu also has trained about 1,300 volunteer medical personnel to help identify and treat malaria. This measure helps patients in remote villages who cannot travel to medical centers.
Another issue that plagues Guinea is the severe lack of education for women and children. About 40 percent of children are out of school, and only about 30 percent of young girls are literate.
One of the reasons that attendance in schools is so low in Guinea is because many children are tasked with taking care of domestic issues and tending to crops. Without a proper education, issues such as poor family planning and the spread of HIV/AIDS rise to the surface of Guinean societies.
Girl-friendly school EAF, which lasted from 2014 to 2017, combated these issues by working to improve educational systems in Guinea. This project aimed to improve education in rural areas by training instructors on better methods of teaching as well as on how to remove obstacles that prevent girls from receiving their education. The Turing Foundation contributed €150,000 to this educational development project.
Roughly one out of three children in Guinea are affected by malnutrition and suffer from growth stunts, according to UNICEF. However, several African countries have agreed to a program designed to use micro levies to fund the fight against malnutrition, UNITLIFE, agreeing to use their natural resources to provide nutritious food to hungry children. Adopted in 2015, the levies were predicted to produce $100 million to $200 million in one year.
These development projects in Guinea will pave the way for sustainable prosperity by giving citizens the opportunity to be healthy and well-educated.
– Austin Stoltzfus
Photo: Flickr
How Blood Donation Rates Were Multiplied in Haiti
The NBTC was responsible for the majority of blood collections as well as screening all of Haiti’s blood donations for transfusion-transmissible pathogens. Many of the men, women and children in critical conditions that were waiting for blood transfusions were thus unable to get the treatment necessary to survive. Organizations such as the Haitian Red Cross relied on foreign aid in order to collect a blood supply to help as many patients as possible.
Rapid efforts were put into place to actively repair damages and increase the scale of blood donations following the earthquake. By 2014, blood donation rates had multiplied in Haiti. Before the earthquake, blood collections were 52 percent in Port-au-Prince, which is the largest city in Haiti. As part of the recovery plan, Haiti’s Ministry of Health (MSPP) created the National Blood Safety Program (NBSP) in order to increase blood collections in outer regions of Haiti, hoping to decrease focus on the Port-au-Prince area, as this was where most of the damage was received.
Expanding the blood transfusion posts, where blood donations were completed and blood stored, was also a goal of the NBSP, as this would also encourage more active participation in blood donations throughout the entirety of Haiti. Prior to the 2010 disaster, Haiti was one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere. This was only exacerbated following the destruction. Building blood transfusion posts, recruiting donors and obtaining healthy blood were intense challenges faced by health and humanitarian efforts.
However, with the collaborative efforts of MSPP and the Haitian Red Cross, as well as generous donations from international relief agencies, the NBSP saw their efforts paying off within years. By building a greater geographic area for all participants to access transfusion centers, blood donation rates multiplied in Haiti. By 2012, annual blood collections exceeded pre-earthquake levels and continued to increase. By 2014, collections were 36 percent higher than in 2009. Both the international community and local community within Haiti understood the necessity for blood transfusions in the country, and volunteers rose to the occasion.
Blood donation rates multiplied in Haiti due to other efforts as well, outside of building new facilities. In 2012, Haiti initiated a new plan to continue attracting volunteers for blood donations. The country aimed to increase the percentage of voluntary blood donors to 85 percent and regular donors to 40 percent. It also sent mobile blood drivers around Haiti to network with the community and discuss the importance of blood donations. Incentives were given out, like t-shirts, books and stickers, to attract locals to the idea.
Using technology to network also became an important driver. The Haitian Red Cross Society hosts a biweekly radio show to educate listeners on the subject and encourage life-saving behaviors. Particularly on important dates such as Blood Donor Day, the National Blood Transfusion Center produces messages on the radio and through text for people to donate blood, which can help compensate for limited stocks at different moments in time.
These combined efforts have clearly exemplified the dedication that Haiti has to reaching its goal of 100 percent donation rates in upcoming years. Its work has set an example for nations worldwide that have suffered from similar problems in obtaining efficient blood collections to treat those in need.
– Caysi Simpson
Photo: Flickr
Ten Facts About Refugee Camps, Home to 2.6 Million Worldwide
Here are the top 10 facts about refugee camps.
These facts about refugee camps give people insight into what exactly refugee camps are, how they help and the complications they face. Although refugee camps face extreme difficulties, they help countless numbers of refugees every single day, whether it be temporary or long-term. This is why it is imperative to continue to spread awareness and ensure that forms of assistance like refugee camps continue to be a priority across the globe.
– McCall Robison
Photo: Flickr
The Nation With the World’s Lowest Life Expectancy
The central African country of Chad was estimated to have the lowest life expectancy in the world for 2017. Chad is a country of 12 million people, 40 percent of which live below the poverty line. While the country began oil production in the early 2000s, Chad’s poverty rate is expected to continue its rise. In part, this is due to the country’s high mortality rate and low life expectancy. To gauge the ability of the U.S. and other developed nations to help increase Chadians’ average lifespan of only 50.60 years, it is first necessary to examine the causes of death.
Early Deaths
Children in Chad die from all sorts of illnesses, from malaria and respiratory infections to prematurity and diarrhea. Because so few Chadians have access to birth control, as only approximately five percent use contraception, the birth rate in Chad is growing. 43 percent of the population is aged 14 or younger, and that figure is rising. The risk of dying by this young age is 44 percent for boys and 39 for girls, as of 2012.
Furthermore, Chad has the third highest maternal mortality rate in the world. Extreme poverty, poor to no maternal health care and adolescent pregnancy has contributed greatly to the high maternal death rates. In a country with the lowest life expectancy in the world, the extreme poverty rates must decrease and better access to maternal healthcare is essential if the country is to improve.
Diseases
Chad, like many African nations, is no stranger to disease. Lower respiratory diseases, malaria, HIV/AIDS and diarrhoeal infections are dangerously common. Lower respiratory infections alone killed 24,700 people in 2012. The risk factors for falling prey to these diseases are lack of adequate healthcare, a rarity of potable water and the hot and arid climate. As the largest of Africa’s landlocked countries, Chadians are forced to walk long distances for water.
As only 28 percent of the population lives in urban areas, the vast majority of Chadians do not have quick access to necessities such as water and healthcare. As the country with the world’s lowest life expectancy, it is vital that Chad provide better access to these basic human needs to the entirety of its landscape.
The U.S. is in a unique position to provide monetary and medicinal assistance. Maintaining accountability with the Chadian government regarding these resources would be the most effective way to ensure that taxpayer dollars are going to good use and can be reflected by a rising life expectancy for the people of Chad, and all over Central Africa.
– Eric Paulsen
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About Russian Sanctions
Sanctions are generally an economic tool, though they may also include political or diplomatic measures. Modern economic sanctions have become increasingly sophisticated and are often targeted against narrow groups or even individuals instead of entire nations.
Economic sanctions have a spotty history of effectiveness regardless of how they are applied. They have had an effective political impact in isolated cases, like the heavy sanctions against South Africa’s former apartheid government. However, there are many counter-examples. The U.S. maintained sanctions against Iraq and its ruling Ba’ath party for over a decade after the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Those sanctions appeared to create no significant policy changes from Saddam Hussein’s government, but had a severe effect on the quality of life in Iraq.
10 quick facts about the current sanctions against Russia:
Economic sanctions, despite their occasional success, have gained a reputation for harming the most vulnerable members of a targeted nation while often not having the intended effects on its government. North Korea would perhaps be the best modern example of this situation. It remains to be seen whether the current sanctions against Russia will change the behavior of its government without placing an undue burden on the population.
– Paul Robertson
Photo: Google
Sustainable Agriculture in Paraguay: Growth and Threats
Roughly 45 percent of Paraguay’s population relies upon subsistence farming. The three most profitable agricultural exports in Paraguay are soy, cotton and beef. Soy is the most controversial of the three products, and is touted by some to be the best product for sustainable agriculture in Paraguay.
With a reputation for government corruption, private foreign investment is considered rare and risky in Paraguay. Until recently, poor infrastructure has hindered the growth of the industrial sector in Paraguay, but low labor costs have attracted Brazilian companies to move factories from Brazil to Paraguay. In 2016, a report by the European Union indicated that the trading bloc saw that the risk was both necessary and advantageous, and funds for projects focusing on sustainable agriculture in Paraguay were issued soon after. The six objectives of these funds are:
Much of the EU funding focuses on improving the sustainability of cattle farming, the most important sector being the exportation of beef. Currently, the cattle population of Paraguay is about 14 million. It is estimated that by 2020 Paraguay will be home to 20 million head of cattle. Only 20 percent of this cattle is consumed in Paraguay. Chile, Russia, and Brazil are Paraguay’s largest beef importers, but the European Union is a growing market. Paraguay also seeks to increase exports to Asia and the Middle East.
Cotton has been an important export in Paraguay since its introduction. Initially, raw cotton was exported to Brazil and Italy, where it was processed and spun. After the fall of the Stroessner regime, Brazilian and Italian companies decided to invest in cotton factories in Paraguay. Processing and spinning the cotton in Paraguay increased the profit margin for both the companies and the Paraguayan farmers while creating jobs in Paraguay. Unfortunately, increased use of modern mechanized farming equipment may put many farmers out of a job. This is but one of many issues that are debated in the battle for soy in Paraguay.
In Paraguay, approximately 1 percent of the population owns 77 percent of the land. Much of this land is being sold to foreign companies, many of which are Brazilian and European, to produce soy, which is becoming a booming industry in Paraguay. These companies argue that their farms are the way forward for sustainable agriculture in Paraguay. Highly mechanized, these farms efficiently use the land and resources to grow soy, in turn boosting the economic value of Paraguay’s agriculture industry. But it comes at a high social cost.
Reports from the early 2000s suggest that assassinations and false arrests were used to intimidate farmers and indigenous communities into giving up their land to these companies. Environmental diversity in Paraguay has also been hurt by the growing soy fields. Forests once covered 85 percent of eastern Paraguay, but it is estimated that less than 8 percent of the forest is left. The forest has become a green desert of soy.
Sustainable agriculture in Paraguay is both increasing and under threat. The beef industry grows safely due to the guiding hand of the European Union, Paraguay’s expanding cattle markets and many trade partners. Soy threatens to ruin the hard work and way of life of many Paraguayan farmers, along with the environmental and economic impact of mono-cropping. The laissez-faire attitude of the Paraguayan government may have helped to boost the industrial strength of Paraguay, but regulation will be needed to save sustainable agriculture in Paraguay.
– Nick DeMarco
Photo: Flickr
Women’s Empowerment in the Marshall Islands Needs Improvement
For the past 30 years, the Marshall Islands has had few female senators. In the country’s 2015 elections, three women won seats, taking up 9 percent of the total 33 members in parliament. In January 2016, Hilda Heine won the presidential election to become the first female president of the Marshall Islands.
Though the nation did ratify the U.N.’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 2006, the Marshall Islands has no current legislation on any issues related to domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual harassment or sex tourism. Furthermore, there is no minimum sentence for sexual violence.
Due to the insufficiency of the law, violence against women in this nation is not unusual. A report by Women United Together Marshall Islands has shown that 51 percent of women experience domestic violence, while more than half of the population generally agrees that it is normal to commit violence against women in marital relationships, according to U.N. Women.
On the other hand, as a crucial metric on women’s empowerment in the Marshall Islands, gender parity and equality in education has some good news. Literacy rates among male and female youth are above 98 percent at present. A 2015 national review on education in the Marshall Islands reported that girls perform better than boys on all tests except for science in grade three.
However, the gender pay gap and inequality in employment still call for more attention to women’s empowerment in the Marshall Islands. Statistics have shown that the male and female unemployment rates are, respectively, 28 percent and 37 percent. Annual wages of women are $3000 less than those of men in the same occupations. Potential discrimination in job markets frequently restrict women from earning credits or managing businesses, which affects their economic independence.
Another concern is related to women’s health and environmental issues. Due to a shortage of fruits and vegetables, more than half of women in the Marshall Islands have obesity or risk factors for related diseases. Teenage marriage, adolescent pregnancy and mortality for children under five in this nation still remain high compared to the global average, despite significant decreases in the past few decades.
Founded in 1987, a nonprofit organization named Women Union Together Marshall Islands serves as the leading voice for eradicating violence against women in the nation. Several other U.N. organizations have also dedicated efforts to promoting gender equality in the Marshall Islands.
Significant progress on women’s empowerment in Marshall Island has been achieved. Political leaders play a strong role in promoting gender equality and ending violence against women. However, further efforts to improve the status of women are still challenging and necessary.
– Xin Gao
Photo: Flickr
5 Development Projects in the Central African Republic
At a 2016 global conference, the international community pledged $2.2 billion to help meet CAR’s most urgent needs. Here are five development projects in the Central African Republic that are making a difference.
The Central African Republic has a long way to go to recover from decades of conflict and instability. However, with sustained investment from the international community and a focus on long-term development projects in the Central African Republic, the country can begin to provide a safer and more stable way of life to all living there.
– Aaron Childree
Photo: Flickr
What Are the Qualifications for the House of Representatives?
The House of Representatives is the first line of defense for legislation in the United States. Some may not consider the House to be as elite as the Senate, but there is no denying that it is vital to the legislative process. Nineteen former presidents once served in the House of Representatives, more than the 16 who served in the Senate. But what qualifies someone to be elected to this legislative body?
The House of Representatives includes 435 members, with population size determining the number of representatives a state receives. The qualifications for the House of Representatives are less stringent than those for the Senate and the presidency. This was purposely done to limit the obstacles for ordinary people to become members. There are three formal qualifications, which are outlined in Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution.
The first qualification outlined in the Constitution states that members of the House must be at least 25 years old. Despite this, the youngest member of the House of Representatives, William Charles Cole Claiborne, was only 22 when elected and only 24 when he was elected for a second time. Currently, the youngest member of the House, Elise Stefanik, is 33 years old, exceeding the requirement by eight years.
The second qualification, like that of the Senate, deals with citizenship. The constitution states that members of the House of Representatives must have U.S. citizenship for seven years upon election. This allows citizens who were not born in the United States, which is required for the presidency, to be elected into the House, which is crucial to immigrant representation. However, the number of immigrants serving has decreased significantly since the 1960s.
As of 2015, only 407 past and present members of Congress had been born outside of the United States out of the more than 12,000 who had served. 347 of these members served in the House of Representatives. From 1967 to 1974, no immigrants served in either the House or the Senate.
The last of the qualifications for the House of Representatives concerns residency and is the same for those serving in the Senate. Those elected to the House must be residents of the state which they represent at the time of election. However, this qualification does not require that representatives live in the district they represent.
The same article of the Constitution which outlines these qualifications also includes how members will be elected. Members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years without term limits. In addition to this, the House must confirm members who are elected before they may take the Oath of Office.
The House of Representatives was modeled for the people. It was designed to be accessible as well as an integral part of the legislative process. In addition, the Speaker of the House remains a prominent political figure within the government. Every moving part within our government serves a purpose and without one the system simply could not work. These qualifications for the House of Representatives ensure that these parts continue to work to the absolute best of their ability.
– Megan Burtis
Photo: Google
Maintaining the Rise of Sustainable Agriculture in Tunisia
The recent threat of terrorist attacks has discouraged tourists from traveling to Tunisia, which has led to a painful hit on the country’s economy. Such an economic shift has negatively impacted previously successful efforts toward eliminating poverty. In just 10 years, Tunisia successfully slashed its poverty rate in half, dropping from 32.4 percent in 2000 to 15.5 percent in 2010; but after the 2011 revolution, progress flatlined.
The Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation’s (FAO) priorities for Tunisia include introducing efficient agricultural practices, spreading awareness of climate change and how to navigate it, and helping the government to develop policies and strategies that improve agriculture.
FAO follows its Country Programming Framework (CPF) in assisting the growth of sustainable agriculture in Tunisia. By working together to support sustainable agriculture, FAO and the Tunisian government hope to rebuild the economy and reduce poverty rates. The CPF for 2015 to 2019 lists three pillars to its strategy:
Providing job stability in the growing field of sustainable agriculture in Tunisia should draw in more youth employment, tackling the unemployment issue that has contributed to several recent political protests throughout the region.
Improvements and Future Projects
As of 2008, agriculture already accounts for 16 percent of the total labor force and 27 percent of the rural labor force, according to a report by the World Bank. The Sustainable Agriculture Carbon Project, conceived in 2013, intends to stabilize agricultural work, maximize sustainable usage of the land, and provide stable access to water, infrastructure and basic services.
Various countries have already begun to shift their focus toward sustainable agriculture. In Tunisia, the need for a more stable economic focus has grown since the decline of the tourism industry — advancing agriculture can provide that stability in the economy that Tunisia needs.
– Francesca Colella
Photo: Flickr