Iran has had a long list of sanctions against it since its revolution in 1979 when hostages were held in the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Since then, Iran has had several restrictions imposed by the United Nations, the European Union and some individual countries like Japan and South Korea.
Due to this, the country has had limited access to the outside world, including its financial and banking sector, which has affected credit access in Iran. In January 2016, most of the sanctions were lifted after Iran met the obligations of the nuclear deal signed in April 2015. The prolonged sanctions and recession have affected small-scale domestic businesses, as they could not secure funding from banks and financial institutions due to high-interest rates.
With the lifting of the sanctions, various government organizations and international banks are eager to sign agreements with the country. China, South Korea, Austria and Denmark are among the notable countries that are taking steps to facilitate financial transactions with Iran.
Iran is building relationships with small foreign banks that are not hindered by the restrictions imposed on the country. The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said that about 200 small to medium-sized banks have started correspondence with Iranian banks, helping to revive business with foreign countries.
In August 2017, a $9.4 billion deal was signed by the heads of the Korea Export Import Bank and the Export Development Bank of Iran. The credit access provided is considered an important agreement between the two countries and will be spent on various Iranian projects, both in the government and the private sector.
About 12 Iranian banks acting as agent banks have been chosen to utilize the credit. These banks will help support businesses in various sectors like health, transport and energy. This agreement is an important step in boosting credit access in Iran.
China is Iran’s biggest customer in oil trade and has provided $10 billion to fund water, energy and transport projects, which consist of electrifying a 926 km railroad from Tehran to Mashad. China has also committed another $25 billion, of which $15 billion will be spent on infrastructure and production projects.
In September 2017, Austria’s Oberbank and Denmark’s Danske Bank signed an agreement with Iran. Oberbank had business dealings with Iran long before the sanctions, and they were keen to re-establish a relationship with Iran.
Oberbank will extend its credit line of €1 billion to 14 different Iranian banks, which will help increase business in healthcare, infrastructure and green power. Danske Bank has also signed an agreement for €500 million with 10 different banks in Iran, ensuring no conflict with U.S. and EU-imposed sanctions.
In 2017, CBI cut the interest rate of lending to 18 percent and launched a dedicated finance market known as Iran Fara Bourse, making finance easily available and affordable to small and medium-sized businesses.
The partial removal of sanctions and the investments made by foreign banks will definitely boost the economy, help businesses grow and improve credit access in Iran. This will be of great help to Iranian citizens, both in terms of infrastructure improvements and increased income from businesses.
– Mahua Mitra
Photo: Flickr
Credit Access in Afghanistan
Islamic Investment and Finance Co-operatives (IIFC)
The IIFC is a group of credit unions that aims to help people in rural areas gain better access to capital. Currently, there are 34 IIFCs in Afghanistan. The group provides loans, thus creating thousands of jobs for Afghans. According to Mahir Momand, founder of the IIFC Group, these loans have created 175,012 jobs, assisting more than 700,000 Afghans.
IIFCs also provide job opportunities in areas where it is difficult for the government to create employment. Momand explains that these credit unions not only help decrease poverty but also give Afghans knowledge on democratic principles. IIFCs enable local people to understand how they can have a say in their economic affairs.
Additionally, IIFCs want to tackle other issues with their programs, such as women’s inequality and youth unemployment. IIFCs have empowered women by making 13 percent of their members include women from Afghanistan. They believe it is important to giving women the opportunity to get involved in economic activities.
In addition to providing loans to youth, the IIFC hired 12 class graduates. This internship initiative improves unemployment among youth.
USAID Agricultural Credit Enhancement Phase-II Project (ACE-II)
Another development has been made to increase credit access in Afghanistan through the help of USAID. This project is specifically for female farmers and women operating agriculture-related businesses in Afghanistan. The project seeks to expand agriculture-related credit to improve agriculture business for women and the agricultural economy.
Unfortunately, many women do not understand the benefits of using credit to expand their business. Therefore, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has created the Agricultural Credit Enhancement Phase-II project to create women’s awareness about agricultural credit that could help their businesses.
In November 2017, USAID assembled three events called Women’s Agriculture Credit Shuras in Herat to gather women and raise awareness for the cause. They were one-day events, and they had microfinance institutions from Afghanistan participate along with financial experts to share their economic knowledge with women who came.
The event also provided practical training for women on how to apply for credits and how to properly manage them. Additionally, the event made women aware of their economic rights and the types of credits available to them.
This project aims to increase the growth of Afghanistan’s agricultural sector. Allowing women the opportunity to learn more about credit access in Afghanistan will ensure continued growth for the agricultural sector as well as allow women to increase their business prospects and better their lives in the process.
– McCall Robison
Photo: Flickr
Groups Working Towards Women’s Empowerment in Suriname
Suriname has enacted laws to dismantle inequality. Mostly created during the 21st century, an example is the Penal Code, which, once amended in 2009, penalized rape within marriage. The Law on Combatting Domestic Violence was passed in 2009. It punishes all forms of violence, and has, along with increased awareness, cut instances of domestic violence from 1,769 in 2009 to 1,213 in 2010.
This increased awareness continued in 2015 when Iceland convened with Suriname in January to discuss violence against women. In 2013, the two countries were ranked almost exactly opposite in women’s rights, with Iceland first and Suriname 110th in the world. The conference was the first time the United Nations brought together male leaders of nations to specifically discuss gender equality.
Another program for women’s empowerment in Suriname was an exchange between the South Dakota National Guard and the Suriname Defense Force. In March 2017, there was a three-day conference about Women in Leadership. Four women from Suriname went to South Dakota to learn about support services and the opportunities in which women can serve. By the end of the conference, the women were able to work with foreign partners and share their experiences to gain an understanding of each other’s cultures.
Elsewhere, there is the Ilse Henar Foundation for Women’s Rights in Paramaribo, Suriname. As women tend to have a disadvantageous position in Suriname society, the foundation seeks to eliminate these inequalities. For example, in 2006 they started a project called “Elimination of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace in Suriname.” The NGO helped draft legislation specifically regarding this topic, and it organized vulnerable women’s groups for domestic workers and migrant women workers.
Several agencies and countries are taking a stand for women’s empowerment in Suriname. By addressing gender inequality, it will enable women to improve their social standing while benefiting society as a whole.
– Nick McGuire
Photo: Flickr
Increased Credit Access in Iran Boosting Infrastructure Growth
Due to this, the country has had limited access to the outside world, including its financial and banking sector, which has affected credit access in Iran. In January 2016, most of the sanctions were lifted after Iran met the obligations of the nuclear deal signed in April 2015. The prolonged sanctions and recession have affected small-scale domestic businesses, as they could not secure funding from banks and financial institutions due to high-interest rates.
With the lifting of the sanctions, various government organizations and international banks are eager to sign agreements with the country. China, South Korea, Austria and Denmark are among the notable countries that are taking steps to facilitate financial transactions with Iran.
Iran is building relationships with small foreign banks that are not hindered by the restrictions imposed on the country. The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said that about 200 small to medium-sized banks have started correspondence with Iranian banks, helping to revive business with foreign countries.
In August 2017, a $9.4 billion deal was signed by the heads of the Korea Export Import Bank and the Export Development Bank of Iran. The credit access provided is considered an important agreement between the two countries and will be spent on various Iranian projects, both in the government and the private sector.
About 12 Iranian banks acting as agent banks have been chosen to utilize the credit. These banks will help support businesses in various sectors like health, transport and energy. This agreement is an important step in boosting credit access in Iran.
China is Iran’s biggest customer in oil trade and has provided $10 billion to fund water, energy and transport projects, which consist of electrifying a 926 km railroad from Tehran to Mashad. China has also committed another $25 billion, of which $15 billion will be spent on infrastructure and production projects.
In September 2017, Austria’s Oberbank and Denmark’s Danske Bank signed an agreement with Iran. Oberbank had business dealings with Iran long before the sanctions, and they were keen to re-establish a relationship with Iran.
Oberbank will extend its credit line of €1 billion to 14 different Iranian banks, which will help increase business in healthcare, infrastructure and green power. Danske Bank has also signed an agreement for €500 million with 10 different banks in Iran, ensuring no conflict with U.S. and EU-imposed sanctions.
In 2017, CBI cut the interest rate of lending to 18 percent and launched a dedicated finance market known as Iran Fara Bourse, making finance easily available and affordable to small and medium-sized businesses.
The partial removal of sanctions and the investments made by foreign banks will definitely boost the economy, help businesses grow and improve credit access in Iran. This will be of great help to Iranian citizens, both in terms of infrastructure improvements and increased income from businesses.
– Mahua Mitra
Photo: Flickr
The Success of Sustainable Agriculture in Swaziland
In response to this problem, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Union (EU) started working to broaden sustainable agriculture in Swaziland. Because the majority of the Swazi people rely on subsistence farming for their food, the FAO and the EU banded together to introduce small agricultural practices that will build up over time and created the Swaziland Agricultural Development Project.
Communities throughout Swaziland have had communal and individual gardens constructed for growing food, most of which went directly to the households who planted them. Similar communal fishing areas and poultry farms were also constructed, and communities were educated on how to successfully grow food.
The high burden of HIV and AIDS in the country also prompted the FAO to address food insecurity among people living with chronic illnesses and improve access to community resources.
On a larger scale, local farmers were educated on conservation farming in order to prolong the life of crops and the land. In order to make up for the drought throughout the country, the SADP also involved creating better access to water for farming by constructing and restoring dams and boreholes.
Swaziland is in a rough spot, with over a third of the population struggling with HIV and AIDS as well as chronic malnourishment. However, these practices and the further development of sustainable agriculture in Swaziland not only have the potential to lower starvation rates, but also to take some of the financial burden off the shoulders of people struggling to provide for their families.
Photo: Flickr
Discussing the Success of Humanitarian Aid to Russia
The Russian economy has been something of a roller coaster over the course of the past three decades. The rapid economic transformation after the fall of the Soviet Union is responsible for the economic hardship the country endured in its aftermath, and resulted in many countries providing humanitarian aid to Russia over the past thirty years.
While still not without its problems, Russia has gone from a recipient of foreign aid to a major donor at the international level. Its story is well worth examining, as it demonstrates that humanitarian aid to Russia has been largely successful, that countries do “graduate” from foreign aid and also that former recipients of foreign aid can put themselves in a position to turn around and become donors, benefitting other developing nations while simultaneously advancing their own interests.
The Soviet Union was a major donor of foreign aid, providing it to many countries. After its collapse, however, Russia endured years of economic hardship. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, humanitarian aid to Russia in various forms was regularly provided by the international community. Russia continues to receive small amounts of foreign aid from donors like the United States, although this aid has transitioned in recent years from being mostly humanitarian in nature and development-oriented to supporting governance and international law enforcement efforts.
Just last year, the United Kingdom elected to stop providing humanitarian aid to Russia out of a desire to aid “only the poorest people in the poorest countries.” This indicates that, from the point of view of the U.K., Russia has “graduated” from foreign aid, despite the widespread belief that doing so is impossible for a developing country.
While some would debate whether Russia specifically is no longer in need of aid, it is accepted that the country no longer needs as much as it once did. This would imply that foreign aid played a role in Russia’s return to economic self-sufficiency. Without debating specifics, Russia is an excellent example of how there is a return on investment when providing foreign aid.
Over the past several years, Russia has even begun providing foreign aid to other developing countries. While its foreign aid budget is still the lowest of the G8 countries, it is by no means insignificant, and it seldom decreases.
While Russia prefers to channel most of its aid through multilateral organizations, the Russian government has also indicated that it would like to expand its capacity for foreign aid and create a dedicated agency to oversee distribution in order to enhance Russia’s international image. Most of Russia’s aid money is put toward food security and vaccine distribution programs, which means that humanitarian aid to Russia has indirectly resulted in aid being provided to other countries, meaning that the return on investment far outstrips the amount initially provided.
The story of Russia is an excellent example of humanitarian aid that was a resounding success. Not only has Russia become capable of meeting its basic needs on its own, but it has now become a donor to other countries. While the situation in the nation is not perfect, Russia still serves as an excellent example of why foreign aid is worth every penny.
– Michaela Downey
Photo: Pixabay
Women’s Empowerment in the Solomon Islands Needs Improvement
In 2007, only 67 percent of adult females and 84 percent of adult males were literate in the Solomon Islands. While this sharp contrast has gradually shrunk in the past ten years, women performed poorer than men in gross enrollment at almost all levels of education. In tertiary education, female students took up only 38 percent of total enrollment in 2012, and were concentrated in tourism, hospitality and education.
Another concern for women’s empowerment in the Solomon Islands is related to improving their health conditions. Malaria infections are high in pregnant women and children. There is a shortage of fresh water, fruits and vegetables in women’s diets, and this contributes to a high maternal mortality rate. Huge numbers of sexually transmitted infections come from early marriage, sexual violence and culturally sanctioned male infidelity, all of which contribute to gender inequality in the nation.
Lower levels of education and vulnerability to health issues leads to the poorer status of women in the economy. A large gap in employment rates sees 72.2 percent of men and 60.4 percent of women employed in the Solomon Islands. Land ownership and other traditional property rights still exclude women, despite the fact that 76.2 percent of women are involved in subsistence work, compared to 58.1 percent of men.
Female political leaders in this nation are almost nonexistent. Freda Tuki Soriocomua is the only woman holding one of the 50 seats in parliament, and also serves as minister for women. As claimed by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in June 2017, the Solomon Islands has the sixth-worst representation of women in parliament in the world.
Furthermore, due to the lack of domestic violence legislation, violence towards women in the Solomon Islands is a serious issue. As reported by the Family Health and Safety Study in 2009, among women aged 15 to 49 who had ever had a partner, 64 percent had experienced physical or sexual violence. About one-third of women reported being sexually abused before age 15, while around 10 percent of women reported physical violence during their pregnancy. Actual numbers could be even higher due to incomplete statistics.
Besides the 2012 ratified conventions and other regional commitments, U.N. Women in the Solomon Islands has been running a variety of programs to promote gender equality. These programs include Advancing Gender Justice in the Pacific, Ending Violence Against Women, Increasing Community Resilience through Empowerment of Women to Address Climate Change and Natural Hazards, and Women’s Economic Empowerment.
Women’s empowerment in the Solomon Islands demands increased concern. While previous cultural barriers and the nature of work created restrictions to women’s empowerment in the Solomon Islands, global efforts and collaborative policy development will gradually relieve the inequality-related issues of this nation.
– Xin Gao
Photo: Flickr
Humanitarian Aid to Zambia Saves Mothers and Infants
Zambia has undergone rapid economic growth over the last decade as Africa’s second-largest copper producer, but the country’s dependence on copper has made it prone to falling commodity prices. Zambia’s economy is also unable to keep up with its immense population of 15.972 million. Zambia has one of the world’s fastest-growing populations with an anticipated tripling of its population by 2025.
Its total fertility rate has decreased by less than 1.5 children per woman over the last 30 years. On average, a Zambian woman will give birth to six children. Zambia’s high fertility rate derives from its lack of access to education, employment and family planning services. Its youthful demographic also plays a role in its high fertility rates; 66 percent of Zambians are under the age of 24.
The Mother and Baby Care II Project emphasizes humanitarian aid to Zambia. The project’s duration is January 2015 to December 2017 and is a follow-up to the first Mother and Baby Care Project established in 2013 and 2014. The project focuses on healthcare and improving mother and baby care in the Mongo region of the Western Province.
The Western Province is one of Zambia’s least developed regions. It faces one of the world’s highest mortality rates among mothers, newborns and children under five years old. High mortality rates stem from limited healthcare knowledge, poorly equipped medical facilities and a lack of qualified medical personnel.
Objectives of The Mother and Baby Care II Project include:
The Mother and Baby Care II Project promotes human welfare and provides basic healthcare needs to a poverty-stricken region. Projects that focus on humanitarian aid to Zambia may further the country’s development and reduce mortality rates among women and children.
– Carolyn Gibson
Photo: Flickr
How the Mobile Lending Boom Affects Credit Access in Kenya
Many ordinary citizens have struggled to get credit access in Kenya, but new technologies are narrowing the gap. This points to a better future for finance in the East African nation.
Lack of Credit Access in Kenya
By some measurements, the Republic of Kenya’s economy has the largest GDP in East and Central Africa, owing no small part to its capital city, Nairobi, a regional commercial hub. But the nation suffers from its poor formal credit access for poor rural and urban populations, and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
As recently as 2009, only 39.6 percent of Kenya’s adult population had access to credit. As the costs of living have risen in Kenya, this lack of access can accelerate poverty levels. But the good news is, recently, the growth of new options like mobile lending have boosted credit access in Kenya.
The Mobile Lending Boom
According to Kenyan newspaper Business Daily Africa, lending via mobile phones has boosted credit access in Kenya six times over the past seven years. This conclusion comes from research done by the Standard Investment Bank.
The number of persons or households with loan accounts rose to 7.2 million between 2010 and 2016. The expansion of credit comes as mobile phone banking solutions have reached those who were left out of banking services due to their lack of traditional credit histories.
Warning Signs and Course Corrections
Although increased credit access is in many ways a good development, Business Daily Africa writes that defaults on loans rose 42.4 percent in 2016, likely the result of a softening job market in the country. A second Kenyan paper, the Daily Nation, suggests that the inability of entrepreneurs and SMEs to get loans via traditional banks is playing a role in this issue.
If Kenyan banks can correct their courses and find a way to make the traditional system work in a responsible way for the nation’s rural and urban poor, the loan system will hopefully stabilize, and non-performing loans will shrink as a percentage of total loans in Kenya.
– Chuck Hasenauer
Photo: Flickr
5 Things to Know About Development Projects in Lesotho
There are several development projects in Lesotho dedicated to increasing agricultural production, constructing income-generating activities and improving development effectiveness. Below are five development projects in Lesotho.
The LHWP is a binational infrastructure project between South Africa and Lesotho intended to provide water to an arid region of South Africa and to generate hydroelectricity and income for Lesotho. Phase I of the project was completed in 2003; work on Phase II of the LHWP began in 2013. Phase II involves water transfer and hydropower components that are meant to increase both water transmission to South Africa and the amount of electricity generated in Lesotho by 2020.
The Cultural Heritage Plan was developed and implemented in response to Phase II of the LHWP. Its objective is to preserve and manage Lesotho’s history by protecting cultural heritage and burial sites, rock art and Stone Age occupation sites.
Work began on the SADP in early 2012, as part of the Lesotho government’s National Strategic Development Plan, but the project’s design was restructured in 2016. The project’s development objectives are to increase and improve the marketed portion of agriculture output among project beneficiaries and to generate practical responses to an Eligible Crisis or Emergency.
In 2016, the Lesotho government implemented the Sustainable Energy for All project. Developed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the project’s goal is to improve access to clean energy services in the rural areas of Lesotho by 2021.
The Lesotho Data for Sustainable Development Project was implemented by the Lesotho government in 2016 and is expected to reach its developmental goals by January 2018. The project’s objectives include the collection, analysis and distribution of development data; the construction of institutional and technical capacities for the management and evaluation of development projects; and to improve national and sectoral capacities to generate data and facilitate accountability for resources.
The rate of poverty in Lesotho has declined steadily over the last decade, an achievement credited to economic growth. With these development projects in Lesotho, the nation should continue to improve its capacity to address development challenges and constraints, to sustain growth and to prioritize human welfare progression.
– Gabrielle Doran
Photo: Flickr
The Importance of the U.S. Office of Global Food Security
One of the initiatives of the OGFS is an organization called 1,000 Days, and it shows the importance of providing and achieving global food security. The purpose of 1,000 Days is to ensure the best nutrition during a woman’s pregnancy up until the second birthday of that child, as this “sets the foundation for all the days that follow,” as the organization’s official website states.
According to the organization, nutrition during pregnancy up until the second birthday provides the essentials for brain development, healthy growth and a strong immune system. A person’s predisposition to chronic diseases and obesity are also linked to this thousand-day window. Malnourished daughters who become malnourished mothers can also give birth to malnourished children, continuing the cycle.
Feed the Future serves as an OGFS initiative as well, with its focus being combating hunger and poverty around the world. The areas the initiative seeks to improve upon are inclusive agriculture sector growth, gender integration, improved nutrition, research and capacity building, private sector engagement and resilience.
Some of the key accomplishments of Feed the Future from 2017 include 1.7 million families no longer suffering from hunger and $2.6 billion in crop sales generated by farmers. Furthermore, more than nine million more people now live above the poverty line due to the initiative.
Despite the effectiveness of the Office of Global Food Security’s efforts to reduce hunger, President Trump’s administration said it would withdraw funding to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, or GAFSP. Created during the Obama administration, GAFSP was designed as an integral part of the Feed the Future initiative. GAFSP’s main goals are to raise farmer incomes, increase food security and prevent unrest that results from food shortages.
The United States is the program’s biggest donor, with $653 million to date. In an interview with Foreign Policy, Marie Clarke, a member of the GAFSP steering committee and executive director of the nonprofit ActionAid USA, explained that withdrawing the United States’ funding could be extremely harmful to economic development, security and humanitarian conditions in the world’s most susceptible regions.
Hopefully, withdrawing funding for GAFSP will not set the tone for how much the U.S. Office of Global Food Security will be able to spend on reducing global hunger. The continued vigilance of such organizations, supported by nations like the U.S., is supremely important in the fight against poverty.
– Blake Chambers
Photo: Flickr