The capital of Ethiopia is the base for multiple development efforts in the country. Ethiopia has become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with 11 percent average growth since 2005. The development projects in Ethiopia are a product of foreign aid, government goals and foreign direct investments.
Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populated and oldest independent country. Although it has the fastest growing economy in the region, it is also the third poorest country in the world with a Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) of 87.33 percent. To address the growing capacity issues related to the large population and poverty rate, the Ethiopian government has focused on advancing development.
These five development projects in Ethiopia are examined based on the organizations that implement them.
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
The Ethiopian government is focused on addressing developmental concerns in multiple areas. Past development projects in Ethiopia include the Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program and the Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty. Now, Ethiopia is in its second of two, four-year Growth and Transformation Plans (GTP I, II). GTP I focused on advancing industrial development to relieve fiscal and capacity deficits in Urban Local Governments (ULG). The GTP II goals address specific challenges the GTP I goals met.
Within Ethiopia’s twin GTP’s, the country’s Agricultural Transformation Industry (ATI) and Industrial Park Development Corporation (IDPC) achieve specific goals. The corporation “nurtures manufacturing industries to accelerate economic transformation and attract both domestic and foreign investors.” IDPC is currently working on four major industrial parks, three of which are in the capital, Addis Ababa.
The ATI is focused on impacting the smallholder farmer level. In alignment with GTP I, the ATI focused on agricultural productivity, production, marketing, research and natural resource conservation. With GTP II, the ATI continues the GTP I pillars to enhance food security and adds additional pillars to address agri-business and implementation capacity.
Since the inception of the Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program in 2001, Ethiopia’s GDP rose by close to $62 billion, the largest growth recorded in the country. In the past 15 years, Ethiopia’s population also rose by 64 million. Ethiopia has experienced immense growth since these programs were initiated and its ability to track and maintain the growth indicates the effect of these development projects in Ethiopia.
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
The IFAD is a specialized agency of the U.N. that “finances agricultural development projects for food production in developing countries.” In 2010, the IFAD established a country office in Addis Ababa to further relations with Ethiopia and oversee the development and expansion of rural finance.
Agriculture is an important asset to Ethiopia’s economy, as a majority of their exports are agriculture commodities and agriculture consists of about 45 percent of Ethiopia’s GDP. The significance of the agriculture industry for Ethiopia’s economy is a large reason the IFAD has invested a total of $398 million in agriculture development programs in Ethiopia. The IFAD’s programs focus on improving poor rural people’s access to natural resources, agriculture and livestock production technologies.
World Bank
The World Bank is a strong supporter of Ethiopia’s development, primarily through its International Development Assistance (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest. The IDA is Ethiopia’s largest provider of official development assistance. Since 1991, the IDA has committed over $17 billion to Ethiopia’s development primarily to “protect basic services, productive safety nets and roads.”
The World Bank and IDA recently provided Ethiopia with $200 million to fund the expansion of access to energy and has committed $380 million to Ethiopia’s GTP II. The World Bank has implemented development projects in Ethiopia to address education, water and sanitation and road quality and is a large contributor to Ethiopia’s poverty rate reduction from 55.3 percent in 2000 to 33.5 percent in 2011.
United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
The UNDP Ethiopia works with the Ethiopian Government and funding partners to forward a “developed and democratic nation with empowered citizens.” The UNDP in Ethiopia strengthens the relationship between the U.N. and Ethiopia by advocating for Ethiopia’s development and poverty reduction on a global platform and providing support for locating funds.
The UNDP set up the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) to provide innovative technological productivity solutions to the industry that constitutes 80 percent of the employment base in Ethiopia. The UNDP focuses additional efforts on elevating the transparency, accountability and responsiveness of the Ethiopian government. With the support of the UNDP, Ethiopia was able to formulate and adopt Grant Sharing Formula, addressing the balance of resource flow in various regions and bringing equitable development throughout the country.
China
Formal relations between The People’s Republic of China and Ethiopia began in 1970. Now, China is one of Ethiopia’s largest trading partners with the volume of trade estimated to be over $6.3 billion. The China Communications Construction Company is currently contracted to build two industrial parks in Addis Ababa in partnership with the IPDC. These newly built industrial parks will house factories such as the TAL apparel factory, a Chinese company providing new jobs in Ethiopia already.
China is Ethiopia’s key foreign investor, primarily in infrastructure. In 2014, China-funded a $475 million urban rail project in Addis Ababa. China has also invested heavily in dams and roads and even built Ethiopia’s African Union headquarters in the capital. The investments from China have advanced Ethiopia’s development and provided employment opportunities for Ethiopia’s estimated 450 million workforce.
Arkebe Oqubay, from the prime minister’s office driving the industrialization policy, says Ethiopia is “focused on economic performance… the ultimate goal of any nation aspiring to develop, aspiring to catch up, is to improve the livelihoods of the people.”
With support from the Ethiopian government, multiple partners have assisted in growing the economy through development projects in Ethiopia. Today, Ethiopia has surpassed Kenya’s economy and taken the title of “East Africa’s Economic Giant.”
Ethiopia has many challenges to surpass that are associated with growth, such as job creation and capacity, but their alliances across the globe and governmental backing are a strong indicator of Ethiopia’s developmental success.
– Eliza Gresh
Photo: Flickr
Addressing Nine Important Facts about Poverty in Georgia
Here are nine facts about poverty in Georgia.
In order to combat the growing effects of poverty in Georgia, it is necessary that the country’s citizens receive help in the form of both domestic and foreign aid. With hope, Georgians can be lifted out of their joblessness and set out on a path to a brighter future.
– Andrew Revord
Photo: Flickr
Working Toward Women’s Empowerment in Malaysia
Malaysia is a diverse and multiracial country where the status of women’s empowerment is complex and may depend on their religion and ethnic background. About 60 percent of Malaysians are Muslim Malays, 23 percent are Chinese, 7 percent are Indian and the rest hail from various indigenous groups. The country’s major religions include Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism.
Within Malaysia’s large Muslim community, over 90 percent of women reported undergoing female genital mutilation (FGM), making the country one of the worst offenders in the world for the practice. FGM is spreading in popularity in Malaysia, especially in more conservative Muslim states dominated by religious parties.
While non-Muslim women have equal parenting rights across the country, Muslim women only enjoy those rights in four out of thirteen states. Child marriage is still permitted in Malaysia, and efforts to raise the age of marriage for girls to 18 were defeated in parliament last year.
Despite these challenges, a greater focus has been placed on women’s empowerment in Malaysia, particularly in regard to women entrepreneurs, journalists and politicians. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the wife of imprisoned former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, is the leader of the country’s opposition and may become Malaysia’s first female prime minister at the next elections in 2018.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has a project that supports women’s empowerment in Malaysia by aiding low-income women entrepreneurs in the conservative states of Terengganu and Kelantan, enabling them to succeed in the cottage food industry. Women now outnumber men in universities despite constituting a minority of the total population and participation in the labor force has steadily increased in the last two decades.
– Giacomo Tognini
Photo: Flickr
Five Development Projects in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populated and oldest independent country. Although it has the fastest growing economy in the region, it is also the third poorest country in the world with a Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) of 87.33 percent. To address the growing capacity issues related to the large population and poverty rate, the Ethiopian government has focused on advancing development.
These five development projects in Ethiopia are examined based on the organizations that implement them.
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
The Ethiopian government is focused on addressing developmental concerns in multiple areas. Past development projects in Ethiopia include the Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program and the Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty. Now, Ethiopia is in its second of two, four-year Growth and Transformation Plans (GTP I, II). GTP I focused on advancing industrial development to relieve fiscal and capacity deficits in Urban Local Governments (ULG). The GTP II goals address specific challenges the GTP I goals met.
Within Ethiopia’s twin GTP’s, the country’s Agricultural Transformation Industry (ATI) and Industrial Park Development Corporation (IDPC) achieve specific goals. The corporation “nurtures manufacturing industries to accelerate economic transformation and attract both domestic and foreign investors.” IDPC is currently working on four major industrial parks, three of which are in the capital, Addis Ababa.
The ATI is focused on impacting the smallholder farmer level. In alignment with GTP I, the ATI focused on agricultural productivity, production, marketing, research and natural resource conservation. With GTP II, the ATI continues the GTP I pillars to enhance food security and adds additional pillars to address agri-business and implementation capacity.
Since the inception of the Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program in 2001, Ethiopia’s GDP rose by close to $62 billion, the largest growth recorded in the country. In the past 15 years, Ethiopia’s population also rose by 64 million. Ethiopia has experienced immense growth since these programs were initiated and its ability to track and maintain the growth indicates the effect of these development projects in Ethiopia.
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
The IFAD is a specialized agency of the U.N. that “finances agricultural development projects for food production in developing countries.” In 2010, the IFAD established a country office in Addis Ababa to further relations with Ethiopia and oversee the development and expansion of rural finance.
Agriculture is an important asset to Ethiopia’s economy, as a majority of their exports are agriculture commodities and agriculture consists of about 45 percent of Ethiopia’s GDP. The significance of the agriculture industry for Ethiopia’s economy is a large reason the IFAD has invested a total of $398 million in agriculture development programs in Ethiopia. The IFAD’s programs focus on improving poor rural people’s access to natural resources, agriculture and livestock production technologies.
World Bank
The World Bank is a strong supporter of Ethiopia’s development, primarily through its International Development Assistance (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest. The IDA is Ethiopia’s largest provider of official development assistance. Since 1991, the IDA has committed over $17 billion to Ethiopia’s development primarily to “protect basic services, productive safety nets and roads.”
The World Bank and IDA recently provided Ethiopia with $200 million to fund the expansion of access to energy and has committed $380 million to Ethiopia’s GTP II. The World Bank has implemented development projects in Ethiopia to address education, water and sanitation and road quality and is a large contributor to Ethiopia’s poverty rate reduction from 55.3 percent in 2000 to 33.5 percent in 2011.
United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
The UNDP Ethiopia works with the Ethiopian Government and funding partners to forward a “developed and democratic nation with empowered citizens.” The UNDP in Ethiopia strengthens the relationship between the U.N. and Ethiopia by advocating for Ethiopia’s development and poverty reduction on a global platform and providing support for locating funds.
The UNDP set up the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) to provide innovative technological productivity solutions to the industry that constitutes 80 percent of the employment base in Ethiopia. The UNDP focuses additional efforts on elevating the transparency, accountability and responsiveness of the Ethiopian government. With the support of the UNDP, Ethiopia was able to formulate and adopt Grant Sharing Formula, addressing the balance of resource flow in various regions and bringing equitable development throughout the country.
China
Formal relations between The People’s Republic of China and Ethiopia began in 1970. Now, China is one of Ethiopia’s largest trading partners with the volume of trade estimated to be over $6.3 billion. The China Communications Construction Company is currently contracted to build two industrial parks in Addis Ababa in partnership with the IPDC. These newly built industrial parks will house factories such as the TAL apparel factory, a Chinese company providing new jobs in Ethiopia already.
China is Ethiopia’s key foreign investor, primarily in infrastructure. In 2014, China-funded a $475 million urban rail project in Addis Ababa. China has also invested heavily in dams and roads and even built Ethiopia’s African Union headquarters in the capital. The investments from China have advanced Ethiopia’s development and provided employment opportunities for Ethiopia’s estimated 450 million workforce.
Arkebe Oqubay, from the prime minister’s office driving the industrialization policy, says Ethiopia is “focused on economic performance… the ultimate goal of any nation aspiring to develop, aspiring to catch up, is to improve the livelihoods of the people.”
With support from the Ethiopian government, multiple partners have assisted in growing the economy through development projects in Ethiopia. Today, Ethiopia has surpassed Kenya’s economy and taken the title of “East Africa’s Economic Giant.”
Ethiopia has many challenges to surpass that are associated with growth, such as job creation and capacity, but their alliances across the globe and governmental backing are a strong indicator of Ethiopia’s developmental success.
– Eliza Gresh
Photo: Flickr
Incremental Progress: Women’s Empowerment in Pakistan
In addition, Balochistan’s Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2016 was also passed. The province of Sindh adopted a Home-Based Workers’ Policy to ensure fair wages, social security and basic rights for the informal workforce that comprises of millions of women.
However, Pakistan’s ranking for gender equality (130th) is still one of the lowest in the world. Only 22.7 percent of women are part of the workforce, and most of them are in the informal sector with low wages and no legal protection. Women who have been to secondary school make up less than a fifth of its female population. Even though women have about a fifth of parliamentary seats, considerable progress is required for women’s empowerment in Pakistan.
Focus Areas:
As per the Women’s Economic Participation and Empowerment in Pakistan Status Report of 2016, the three components of participation, resources and agency need to be addressed through political commitment. Pakistan requires an institutional and legal framework such as labor regulations and economic decision making that removes barriers to owning and accessing resources, including inheritance and property.
The Social Action Program was launched to improve basic conditions like primary education, health, sanitation and population welfare. Unfortunately, it has not yielded the desired impact. The health indicators of women in Pakistan are among the worst in the world, with a high female infant mortality rate. 40 percent of women are anemic and the fertility rate is 5.4 per woman. One woman out of 38 dies from pregnancy-related causes.
Several discriminatory laws exist and women have unequal rights to inheritance, termination of marriage, natural guardianship of children and minimum age of marriage. Even polygamy has not been outlawed.
The Hudood law promulgated in 1979 that equated rape with adultery is a black mark on the status of women in Pakistan. This created a situation where women who reported a rape but were unable to prove it are charged with adultery. As per the Law of Evidence 1984, the value of a woman’s testimony is only half as good as a man’s. Women’s empowerment in Pakistan is meaningless in light of the gross violations of their basic human rights.
Last year, the chairman of Council of Islamic Ideology made a proposal that allows Pakistani husbands to “lightly beat” their wives if she disobeys him or refuses to have sex with him. This tells us the real standing of women in the country.
But there is a silver lining here, as this has finally brought about a reaction from the women themselves. Many Pakistani political leaders and journalists came forward and shamed the proposal. The powerful #TryBeatingMeLightly social network campaign has shown that women are ready to fight back against oppression.
To bring about any real change towards women’s empowerment in Pakistan, it is crucial to disassemble the patriarchal values embedded in the societal value system. A low level of resource investment combined with negative social biases that relate a family’s honor to a woman’s sexuality, and more importantly the internalization of patriarchy by women themselves are the obstacles that have to be tackled to bring about gender parity.
– Tripti Sinha
Photo: Flickr
Infrastructure in Angola: Focusing on Landmines and Roadwork
In 2014, infrastructure was examined and ranked among 148 different countries. Angola was ranked 148th. That means that out of all the countries that were evaluated, Angola was ranked the worst in infrastructure.
War is a major factor as to why infrastructure is so poor in Angola. During the war, millions of landmines were planted across the country. These landmines damaged roads and made it extremely dangerous, even fatal, to travel in the country. Even after the war ended, there were countless of unaccounted landmines that posed a grave threat to the citizens of Angola. There is currently a major effort to remove all the landmines in the country by 2040. With landmine extraction underway, infrastructure in Angola is looking to improve.
There are a number of projects that Angola is implementing to better their infrastructure. One of the biggest projects is the Laúca dam, that is near completion. The dam is the biggest in the country and will produce enough electricity to be able to provide eight million citizens electricity to their homes. This dam will also improve the economy, as businesses will increase within the region.
Roadwork is also underway in Angola. With the current situation of roads, they are not used to their potential capacity. To help fix this problem, 22.6 billion dollars will be put aside during 2013 to 2025 to help not only build new roads, but to repair older roads as well. As roads are built and repaired, people and goods will become more connected, increasing the flow of trade, and therefore money spent in the country.
The continuous wars caused the infrastructure in Angola to suffer. Now that the war has ceased, Angola can begin rebuilding its infrastructure. There are many promising projects that not only help to rebuild the infrastructure within the country, but bring in GDP for Angola.
– Daniel Borjas
Photo: Flickr
Women’s Empowerment in the Philippines Needs Improvement
The MCW’s agenda includes:
The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) is the oversight body on women’s concerns and acts as the catalyst for gender mainstreaming and the lead advocate of women’s empowerment in the Philippines. It works around focus areas such as Women’s Priority Legislative Agenda, gender-responsive governance, leadership and political participation, violence against women and women’s economic empowerment.
However, challenges still exist for the Philippines. Poverty and vulnerability of rural and indigenous women remain a pressing issue. Each day, 11 women die due to complications from pregnancy and childbirth, and many women still lack access to productive employment.
The Philippines is the only country in the world which does not allow for a divorce. Other than the death of one’s partner, getting an annulment is the only option for dissolving a marriage. According to the Philippine Commission on Women, this can be done on grounds of “lack of parental consent; insanity/psychological incapacity; fraud, force, intimidation or undue influence; impotence; and sexually transmissible diseases.” The burden of a failed marriage often falls on the woman due to cultural stereotypes. Adopting divorce in the Philippines’ Family Code is essential to uplift the plight of women trapped in a marriage ridden with violence, abuse, oppression and deprivation, and to achieve women’s empowerment in the Philippines.
The Philippines also considers adultery and concubinage as criminal offenses against chastity and are drafted as well as implemented in a manner prejudicial to women. Many provisions of the Family Code give men more decision-making powers than women. Another blatant violation of human rights, Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code, exempts a husband or a parent who causes serious physical harm or death upon his wife or minor daughter if she has been caught portraying “unacceptable sexual behavior.”
Structural sexism remains the biggest obstacle to women’s empowerment in the Philippines. Even though there are many laws in place that score well on international measures, the implementation of these policies is slow and has not translated into gender parity in the largely patriarchal society.
-Tripti Sinha
Photo: Flickr
Assessing Women’s Empowerment in Bhutan
While Bhutan regularly ranks among the top happiest countries in all of Asia, happiness is not equally distributed among its residents: it is found that while 49 percent of men are happy, only one-third of women are happy.
In the past few decades, Bhutan has seen major socio-economic transformation and a rapidly growing per capita income. Yet despite progress in achieving gender equality in education and participation in the labor force, cultural restrictions have not allowed women to fully bridge the gap. The 2010 GNH survey findings have shown that the gender differences are greatest in negative emotions, work, leisure time, schooling, literacy, political participation, safety from human harm and wildlife damage, all to the disadvantage of Bhutanese women.
Due to matrilineal inheritance practiced in Bhutan, nearly 60 percent of rural women and about 45 percent of urban women have land and property titles registered in their name. However, these titles do not translate into economic advantages for these women. Land cannot be used as collateral for access to finance. Additionally, land-ownership makes it difficult for women to migrate and acquire better opportunities for work and acquire skills.
A report prepared by the World Bank in collaboration with the National Commission for Women and Children recognized the need for closing the gender gap in happiness in Bhutan. The report maintains that a greater voice for women in the management of land and access to an effective secondary as well as higher education, along with training in practical skills can help address this gap. Most importantly though, underlying social norms about gender roles in households should be addressed. Men should offer a greater role in sharing housework and raising children. Additionally, basic literacy among women should be improved to encourage more accepting attitudes and achieve great participation within the community.
While Bhutan still must work toward closing the gender gap in happiness, it has continued to improve in recent years. The country has the potential to become a leading nation in regards to gender equality.
– Richa Bijlani
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About Poverty in India
A young nation with a long history, India has the second-largest population in the world. India is also a regional power with a stable democratic government and an economy that is growing quickly. Despite this, poverty in India is high. This is often portrayed throughout history as “growing pains”. To mitigate these pains, the government is working to diminish poverty in India.
Top 10 Facts about Poverty in India
Poverty in India is slowly but surely being diminished. Careful planning by the government will continue to benefit those stricken by poverty. Proof of this can be seen in the success of the government’s use of invested funds from the ADB. With a growing economy and responsible government, poverty in India will surely continue to decrease.
– Nick DeMarco
Photo: Flickr
Fighting for Women’s Empowerment in Jamaica
While encouragement for women’s participation in politics is present, many view the opportunity with angst. Verbal abuse, discrimination by male colleagues, and lack of support from their counterparts are some experiences many women have faced. According to the fifth periodic report submitted to the United Nations the word “sex” is absent from the Jamaican Constitution, preventing a person from utilizing their constitutional rights where such discrimination is present. Currently, parts of legislation are being reviewed which include the Domestic Violence Act and the Sexual Offenses Act to bring attention to these areas.
Appointed in December 2009, and re-appointed in January 2012 Kamina Johnson Smith is the Senator and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. As a believer in a better Jamaica, Smith states that the government is committed to the achievement of gender equality, equity and women’s empowerment in Jamaica.
The Women’s Empowerment Principals (WEPs) is a list created by the United Nations stating several ways to encourage women to be apart of the workforce in an influential and enriching manner. At a recent consultation representatives of Jamaican companies who had signed onto the WEPs partnership were Island Grill, Sandals, RUBiS, Facey and Facey Law, JMMB and Women Entrepreneur Network (WEN Caribbean)/Zinergy International.
With the government’s backing, women’s empowerment in Jamaica is spreading throughout the island. In 2008, Jamaica reported 59 percent of its managers being female, one of the highest rank in the world. Increasing the growth of women workers and merging into other lanes of women’s empowerment will occur as long as the political transformation continues.
– Tara Jackson
Photo: Flickr
Foreign Interest Sparks Growth of Infrastructure in Iran
The 2015 nuclear deal that was reached between Iran, the U.S., and several European nations including Britain, France and Germany lifted crippling economic sanctions against Iran. In return, Iran has agreed to reduce its centrifuges and enriched uranium and render its nuclear program useless for producing weapons. The lifting of sanctions has sparked the interest of foreign investors and companies looking to do business in Iran. In turn, this has also presented new challenges and opportunities for infrastructure in Iran.
China, in particular, has designs on Iran. Chinese workers have been working in eastern Iran to build up its rail infrastructure, modernizing railroads and standardizing track gauges. This will connect Iran by rail to Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. To the west, Iran is doing the same thing to its railroads, which will be connected to Turkey, and ultimately Europe. China has also been busy building factories, mines, and highways in Iran as part of its increasing investment in the country.
The government of reformist president Hassan Rouhani has been just as involved in ramping up infrastructure in Iran. In addition to the rail projects linking Iran to its eastern and western neighbors, Iran is also in the process of building railways linking its five provincial capitals and its southern port cities to the national capital, Tehran. The Iranian private sector has spent 11 billion dollars in domestic development projects, while the government has spent 9.6 billion dollars on infrastructure in Iran since Rouhani took office in 2013.
Infrastructure in Iran will still need to be developed further to meet the increased foreign investment demands that have been brought on. Yet overall, things are looking bright for Iran, a country known as an ancient crossroads of trade.
– Andrew Revord
Photo: Flickr