South Sudan is a country located in East-Central Africa with a population of approximately 13 million. The country is rich in fertile agricultural land, as well as precious gems and metals such as diamonds and gold. Yet, South Sudan is one of the world’s poorest countries and ranks low in many socioeconomic categories, due to its brutal history of civil war and current tensions with Sudan.
South Sudan has a history of upheaval and political unrest. Prior to gaining its independence in 2011, the country was part of the large Sudan. Yet citizens from the south were not given the same political rights as those in the north, leading to two prolonged periods of conflict occurring from 1955-1972 and 1983-2005.
During this time, an estimated 2.5 million Sudanese died due to starvation and drought. Finally, in 2005, a Comprehensive Peace Agreement was reached, in which the south was given a six-year period of autonomy to eventually be followed by a referendum to determine the final status of the country. The result of the referendum indicated that 98 percent of the population was in favor of secession.
Despite gaining independence, South Sudan has struggled to control rebel militia groups operating in the region. Following a year of peace, fighting broke out again in July 2016, leaving millions of South Sudanese displaced, as many were forced to flee their country into the neighboring country of Uganda.
The U.N. Refugee Agency estimates that over one million South Sudanese refugees have fled to Uganda over the last year, meaning approximately 1,800 refugees arrive each day. It has become one of the fastest-growing refugee crises in the world, with more than 85 percent of the South Sudanese refugees in Uganda being women and children under the age of 18. One refugee camp, just south of the border called the Adjumani Settlement, has over 210,000 South Sudanese refugees. These settlements often have limited space and resources, including limited water availability, yet thousands of refugees continue to pour into Uganda.
Despite Uganda having its own internal struggles, many experts have applauded the country for maintaining its open borders as well as its progressive approach to asylum. Uganda provides refugees with land to build shelter and grow crops. It allows the South Sudanese refugees the freedom to work, while also giving them access to public services including health care and education.
The Ugandan government is also working to garner additional financial support from other foreign countries including the United States. It hosted a Solidarity Summit in June to raise funds for South Sudanese refugees in Uganda; however, only 21 percent of the $674 million needed was actually received from the countries invited.
Despite the lack of funding, many organizations have provided their assistance to the South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders, has provided tremendous medical assistance to many of the refugee camps. Between January and April 2017, Doctors Without Borders provided over 20,000 medical consultations, and delivered over 250 babies and provided their mothers with adequate health care. Not only does Doctors Without provide basic health care, it also provides mental health care services to refugees who have experienced trauma through their displacement.
The government of Ireland also has airlifted over $500,000 of essential relief items, including blankets, shelter construction materials and mosquito nets, to assist the South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. Over the past year, Ireland has spent over $3.5 million in support of the refugees. The country also pledged solidarity and a willingness to support the refugees in any way it can.
Many organizations and countries have shown their support to the South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. However, the country is still in need of desperate financial resources to provide individuals with basic necessities, including food and water. Greater education on the South Sundanese refugee issue around the globe, coupled with additional financial support to fund the nearly $700 million needed, can provide displaced citizens with basic necessities in order to give them the ability to rebuild their lives in Uganda.
– Sarah Jane Fraser
Photo: Flickr
Important Facts about the South Sudanese Refugees in Uganda
South Sudan has a history of upheaval and political unrest. Prior to gaining its independence in 2011, the country was part of the large Sudan. Yet citizens from the south were not given the same political rights as those in the north, leading to two prolonged periods of conflict occurring from 1955-1972 and 1983-2005.
During this time, an estimated 2.5 million Sudanese died due to starvation and drought. Finally, in 2005, a Comprehensive Peace Agreement was reached, in which the south was given a six-year period of autonomy to eventually be followed by a referendum to determine the final status of the country. The result of the referendum indicated that 98 percent of the population was in favor of secession.
Despite gaining independence, South Sudan has struggled to control rebel militia groups operating in the region. Following a year of peace, fighting broke out again in July 2016, leaving millions of South Sudanese displaced, as many were forced to flee their country into the neighboring country of Uganda.
The U.N. Refugee Agency estimates that over one million South Sudanese refugees have fled to Uganda over the last year, meaning approximately 1,800 refugees arrive each day. It has become one of the fastest-growing refugee crises in the world, with more than 85 percent of the South Sudanese refugees in Uganda being women and children under the age of 18. One refugee camp, just south of the border called the Adjumani Settlement, has over 210,000 South Sudanese refugees. These settlements often have limited space and resources, including limited water availability, yet thousands of refugees continue to pour into Uganda.
Despite Uganda having its own internal struggles, many experts have applauded the country for maintaining its open borders as well as its progressive approach to asylum. Uganda provides refugees with land to build shelter and grow crops. It allows the South Sudanese refugees the freedom to work, while also giving them access to public services including health care and education.
The Ugandan government is also working to garner additional financial support from other foreign countries including the United States. It hosted a Solidarity Summit in June to raise funds for South Sudanese refugees in Uganda; however, only 21 percent of the $674 million needed was actually received from the countries invited.
Despite the lack of funding, many organizations have provided their assistance to the South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders, has provided tremendous medical assistance to many of the refugee camps. Between January and April 2017, Doctors Without Borders provided over 20,000 medical consultations, and delivered over 250 babies and provided their mothers with adequate health care. Not only does Doctors Without provide basic health care, it also provides mental health care services to refugees who have experienced trauma through their displacement.
The government of Ireland also has airlifted over $500,000 of essential relief items, including blankets, shelter construction materials and mosquito nets, to assist the South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. Over the past year, Ireland has spent over $3.5 million in support of the refugees. The country also pledged solidarity and a willingness to support the refugees in any way it can.
Many organizations and countries have shown their support to the South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. However, the country is still in need of desperate financial resources to provide individuals with basic necessities, including food and water. Greater education on the South Sundanese refugee issue around the globe, coupled with additional financial support to fund the nearly $700 million needed, can provide displaced citizens with basic necessities in order to give them the ability to rebuild their lives in Uganda.
– Sarah Jane Fraser
Photo: Flickr
How China Is Leading in Poverty Reduction
These efforts can be attributed to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has led a drive to eradicate the problem of extreme poverty. For the first time in over 30 years, its list of areas suffering from extreme poverty has been reduced. China removed 28 counties from its list of poorest places in the country. The number of Chinese people lifted out of poverty over the last 30 years accounts for more than 70 percent of the world’s total. Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said in a forum that “China is an active advocate and strong force for world poverty alleviation.” This combined with efforts within the country shows how China is leading in poverty reduction.
The government of China hopes to share its experiences and improve collaboration with other countries as part of its plan to follow the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Years of work have led to China closing in on its goals of achieving a moderately prosperous society by 2020, beginning with the baseline task of lifting all people out of poverty. So far, more than 10 million people have been freed from poverty each year since 2012.
In an interview with Xinhuanet, U.N. Resident Coordinator and Development Resident Representative in China Nicholas Rosellini said: “These achievements not only can benefit China but also bring experience to the world and make great contributions to global poverty reduction efforts.” He goes on to stress that without China’s contribution, there is no way to achieve the common goal of reducing global poverty and believes that China can achieve the goal of comprehensively eliminating rural poverty by 2020.
Additionally, the United Nations will provide systematic support for China’s poverty reduction work. Rosellini commends China’s contributions to world peace, as they contribute more troops to U.N. peacekeeping missions than any other permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. China has become the second-largest country to share U.N. peacekeeping costs.
Although the goals may seem somewhat optimistic, it is still significant that China is leading in poverty reduction around the world. There are many reasons for the U.S. to increase support for global poverty reduction. With less poverty comes less overpopulation, as the higher the death rate is for children in a region, the higher the birthrate. This is because when people know their children will survive, they have fewer children. In addition to this, history has shown that when people transition from barely surviving into consumers, it opens new markets and job opportunities for U.S. companies. In the United States, one out of every five jobs are export-based, and 50 percent of U.S. exports go to developing nations.
There are many positive consequences that can come from fighting global poverty and they should incentive other countries, like the U.S., to increase their support for reducing extreme global poverty.
– Drew Fox
Photo: Flickr
Ben & Jerry’s Aid SeriousFun Children’s Network
This global charity community of 30 camps and programs serves children with serious illnesses, such as cancer, blood disorders, neurological disorders, cardiac disorders, genetic disorders and HIV.
Ben & Jerry’s Marshmallow Moon flavor itself is made up of vanilla ice cream with marshmallow and graham cracker swirls and fudge flakes. The delicious dessert is not the first of its kind, however, to go toward a philanthropic cause.
The launch of The Tonight Dough, Fallon’s initial flavor, raised over $1 million in support of SeriousFun Children’s Network. Commenting on the notable achievement, SeriousFun CEO Blake Maher was thrilled by the landmark milestone as a result of the relationship with Jimmy Fallon and Ben & Jerry’s. Maher commented, “They are both fantastic partners whose support helps ensure that we can provide transformative camp experiences to children living with many different types of serious illnesses all around the world, totally free of charge.”
SeriousFun Children’s Network is founded on the belief that all kids deserve to experience the joys of childhood, regardless of their health. All of its programs and facilities are specially adapted to meet the medical needs and different cultural backgrounds of campers, and state-of-the-art onsite medical expertise supports more than 50 different medical conditions.
Since being founded in 1988 by Paul Newman, 864,000 children and family members have been served, 132,000 children and family members have experienced camp and 221,000 individuals have contributed as volunteers. Originally based in Ashford, Connecticut, the SeriousFun Children’s network has continually expanded over the years.
The dedicated organization relies entirely on the support of caring donors, who make its mission of extending the SeriousFun experience to more and more children with serious illnesses possible. In 1994, a 500-acre estate in Ireland, courtesy of a generous donation from the government, became the first camp outside of the U.S.
In 2008, Newman’s global vision bloomed with the launch of the Global Partnership Program (GPP), providing culturally applicable programs that excite and empower children around the world.
Ultimately, it is remarkable to see how the buying and selling of a single product can be transformed into a life-changing experience for children around the world. Fallon’s collaboration with Ben & Jerry’s and SeriousFun Children’s Network is fostering the growth of youth, helping them to see beyond their medical limitations and live a life filled with unforgettably fun moments. Marshmellow Moon can be purchased through Ben & Jerry’s online store or at its scoop shops across the country.
– Mikaela Frigillana
Photo: Google
Education in the Ivory Coast: Challenges and Solutions
Water Quality in Benin: A West African Success Story
Home to almost 11 million people, the West African country of Benin has made great strides in improving access to clean water over the past three decades. The improved water quality in Benin is a leading example of how governments can work with foreign donors and local municipalities to increase water supply and quality to all citizens.
Beginning in the 1990s, the Beninese government expanded water coverage beyond the two largest cities to rural areas, decentralizing and adopting a strategy of responding to local demand in 1992. Rural water coverage in 2006 was at 53 percent and urban coverage at 78 percent, higher than the average for other African countries. Benin reached its 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of 76 percent access to improved drinking water nationwide.
New national water strategies announced in 2005, 2006 and 2007 devolved power over water and sanitation services to local municipalities. A national water utility named SONEB was established in 2007 to coordinate the water supply between the central government, international donors and local authorities.
These efforts attracted the support of foreign donors, with the World Bank pledging $68 million in 2016 to finance water and sanitation services in cities and small towns across Benin. The project will connect almost half a million people to the water network and improve sanitation for over 700,000, an important landmark in a country where water treatment is still severely underdeveloped.
Despite the success in expanding access, water quality in Benin requires further investments to bridge the gap between urban and rural communities. The World Bank project builds on a successful trial of public-private partnerships in three Beninese municipalities in 2014.
The Beninese government is now targeting the quality and treatment of drinking water. Wastewater treatment is not widely practiced in Benin, and authorities plan to establish a new regulatory agency to improve water hygiene and water services.
– Giacomo Tognini
Photo: Flickr
What is the Water Quality in Honduras Like?
However, Honduras’s above-average life expectancy is not necessarily a reliable indicator of superb living or health conditions in the country. A reported 84 percent of Honduras’s population have rural access to clean water, meaning that 16 percent of the country’s people do not.
This rate is higher than the global average of people who do not have access to clean water, which, as reported earlier this year, is 1 in 10 people. Despite the fact that this rate is less than double the global average, this statistic still means that 638,000 people in Honduras do not have access to safe water.
The lack of access to good water quality in Honduras demonstrates a divide between rural populations and the rest of the country’s people. This divide stems from the fact that people in rural communities often rely on small springs to obtain their water and this water is often contaminated and is not always reliable throughout every season.
Additionally, Honduras’s poverty is interfering with which groups of people in the country have access to clean drinking water. As the second poorest country in Central America, around 63 percent of Honduras’s population is reported to be living below the poverty line. Data on financial inclusion reports that families with lower incomes tend to not have as much access to improved water quality in Honduras because of their inability to afford it.
Organizations such as Water for People have been working to remedy the issue of water quality in Honduras, specifically aiming to help people in the country that need the most assistance, such as rural populations.
Water for People started its work in Honduras in 1997 and by 2006, only nine years later, the organization had aided over 90 rural communities in partnership with similar organizations. A year later, Water for People created a strategy specific to this region in order to better provide access to clean water for all of the different populations.
Though Honduras has a higher percentage of people without access to clean water when compared to the global average, the country has made significant progress in this area. Honduras met the Millennium Development Goal to reduce the number of people without access to sanitary water by half by the year 2015. Honduras was one of the only Latin American countries to meet this goal.
– Haley Rogers
Photo: Flickr
Big Four Causes of Poverty in Honduras
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Central America, with an estimated 51.3% of the population living in poverty. Political and socioeconomic vulnerabilities have subjected many residents to food insecurity and violence, putting high-risk groups such as women, children and people living in rural areas in great danger of succumbing to extreme poverty.
Below are the four main causes of poverty in Honduras:
Hunger and Malnutrition
Honduras has a population of over ten million people, yet acute food insecurity affects an estimated 2.3 million of this number every year. Increasing levels of inequality, vulnerability to extreme weather conditions and a lack of access to vital resources have contributed to widespread hunger, especially for residents living in rural and indigenous areas. Chronic malnutrition also causes stunting in 23% of children and can be attributed to low nutrient density in available foods, the prevalence of early childbearing and poor child-feeding practices. Lacking nutrients of concern include zinc, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, niacin, folate and vitamin C.
Natural Disaster and Drought
Honduras is highly vulnerable to natural disasters. Hurricanes, heavy rain, flooding and frequent droughts often destroy crops and hinder agricultural production. Rural populations are especially dependent on agriculture as a source of livelihood and food security. The country’s economy also bases much of its revenue on agriculture, specifically key export crops such as sugarcane, bananas and coffee beans. In times of severe weather conditions or natural disasters, many vulnerable populations are often subject to large-scale crop devastation and significant infrastructure damage, which causes income loss and forced displacement.
High Unemployment
Honduras is heavily reliant upon remittances, which constitute approximately 29% of its GDP. Remittances allow the Honduran government to maintain hard currency reserves and provide families with the ability to afford food, education, health care and housing. However, the success of remittances has removed the government’s incentive to provide basic services to citizens, which has fueled migration and curbed economic growth. Without state intervention to provide better economic opportunities to residents, such as increased job opportunities, many are left to rely on an informal economy that only contributes to around 20% of the country’s GDP. Without the means to enter into a formal labor force, a growing number of Hondurans drawn by the attractiveness of remittances are migrating, often through illegal methods, which puts them at risk of being victims of criminal activity or becoming poor in other nations abroad.
Violence
Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, with a homicide rate of 38.34 as of 2021. The level of crime has cost the country an estimated 6.5% of its annual GDP. Pervasive violence in Honduras – which predominantly consists of theft, extortion, corruption and homicide – has historically dismantled neighborhoods and encouraged mass migration.
The prevalence of violence and homicide is largely related to drug trafficking and gang warfare. Crime and violence in Honduras have negatively impacted its economy, as resources that could be used to provide additional food security or a better educational system are instead allocated to counter criminal activity. Despite the government’s focus on combating crime, police investigative techniques and new citizen security policies have often proved to be ineffective, maintaining the high level of risk attributed to impoverished urban communities. This, in turn, perpetuates poverty in Honduras.
A Brighter Future: World Food Programme
While the causes of poverty in Honduras appear to be rooted in a variety of issues, many organizations such as the World Food Programme (WFP) have provided support and services to people in need by providing well-balanced meals to students and food to disaster-stricken populations. By working alongside the government, the WFP has supported the development of a national pathway for food systems transformation and has donated approximately $1.2 million to school-based programs to support better education. Along with other humanitarian groups, WFP has promoted the resilience of national systems linked to emergency preparedness and response, social protection and support for nutritionally vulnerable groups. These efforts, coupled with a greater sense of awareness, may serve to help to reduce poverty in Honduras.
– Sarah Jane Fraser, Moon Jung Kim
Photo: Flickr
5 Reasons to Donate Money, Not Stuff
– Nick Edinger
Photo: Pixabay
Shell and GravityLight Illuminate Off-Grid Regions in Kenya
In 2015, GravityLight’s inventive engineering earned it the Shell Springboard Award, a grant of nearly $200,000 used to fund innovative businesses with low carbon footprints. Together, Shell and the GravityLight Foundation have successfully put GravityLights into production and introduced them to 50 communities in Kenya.
Kenya, which has one of the largest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, has expended considerable effort to create an impressive power sector. In just four years, Kenya has increased the amount of households with access to electricity from 25 percent to 46 percent. Kenyan companies such as KenGen are working to utilize renewable energy sources, and geothermal energy looks promising.
A capacity of approximately 2,295 MW is available on Kenya’s power grid. However, off the grid, in remote areas of the country, only 11.5 MW are currently available. The Shell and GravityLight partnership intends to provide electric light to those off-grid regions in Kenya.
Electricity is crucial to improving the lives of the world’s poor. Access to light alone improves education and the economy by allowing people to study and work after daylight hours. However, the resources required to produce light can be extremely expensive, especially for those living in poverty. The world’s poor spend an estimated 30 percent of their income on kerosene needed to burn in lamps. GravityLight eliminates the need for kerosene to produce light, which is not only cheaper but also safer. Kerosene fumes are known carcinogens that are toxic for both humans and the environment.
Because the GravityLight Foundation uses local people and businesses to organize the sale of its product, marketing for GravityLight supplies Kenyans with jobs. By providing employment, GravityLight is bringing bright futures as well as bright homes to off-grid regions in Kenya.
Shell and GravityLight are not the only groups seeking to improve energy accessibility in order to aid impoverished populations in Africa. In 2015, the same year GravityLight won the Springboard grant, the U.S. government passed the Electrify Africa Act. The act aims to provide 60 million households and businesses throughout Africa with electricity.
Around the globe, 1.2 billion people lack access to electricity. If GravityLight’s debut in Kenya is successful, the foundation plans to continue spreading light throughout the world.
– Mary Efird
Photo: Flickr
Why is Angola Poor?
According to CountryWatch, income inequality remains high and poverty has been declining only slowly. Angola has attempted to mitigate poverty by placing strenuous efforts in the oil reserve industry in order to boost economic growth. Unfortunately, the income inequality gap is still wide, and infrastructure is in a volatile state due to the country’s insufficient skills that are needed to improve human development. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), an organization that provides support for both developing and developed countries during periods of financial crisis, has warned Angola that they are vulnerable to stay trapped in such a cycle unless they allocate their resources appropriately.
According to a report by AllAfrica, Angola has successfully managed to reduce, by over half, the number of people underfed, thus achieving the first target of the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals. Although it missed the original target by about two years, the current situation in the country is “satisfactory,” according to an official who was speaking on World Food Day, on October 16th, 2017.
An annual report, the Global Hunger Index, could encourage a more optimistic outlook on the country’s future, and could help citizens in answering questions like, “why is Angola Poor?” In the report, it states that hunger has fallen significantly in countries where civil wars have ended in the 1990s and 2000s, such as in Angola in 2002. Additionally, global hunger itself has fallen by 27 percent since 2000.
One of the more obvious explanations that could aim to clarify the poverty rate in Angola may be the lack of education that Angolans receive. According to the C.I.A. World Factbook, over 40 percent of Angolans live below the poverty line, with only 70 percent of them being literate.
People in Need (PiN), a Czech nonprofit focused on development projects, has stepped up in the campaign toward alleviating poverty by improving education for half a million children. With school expectancy hovering at around 10 years of age, and only 60 percent of females who are literate, such initiatives represent hope and prosperity for a country that ranks 146th on the Human Development Index.
PiN has contributed by building schools, engaging in specialized training for teachers and providing necessary teaching materials for students to receive a quality education while reducing illiteracy among adults. Its work has seen tremendous results, with over 450,000 Angolan children and 1,200 adults learning to read, write and do simple math.
Nevertheless, the advancements in the oil production sector should receive some credit, as it has drastically stimulated Angola’s economic growth and improved the standard of living for many. However, other social issues continue to persist in a country that only nine years ago held its first parliamentary election.
Accountability, transparency, focusing on human rights and deterring domestic violence are all setbacks that present peril to a nation striving to become a developed country. To answer the question, “why is Angola poor,” Angola must first make the necessary changes through strong governance programs in order to see positive results. Improved education can lead to reduced income inequality, but without stringent measures to allow for human capital to prosper efficiently, the people will continue to suffer from this vicious poverty cycle.
– Alexandre Dumouza
Photo: Flickr