Islamic Microfinance in Sudan Helping to Reduce Poverty

Innovation: Islamic Microfinance in Sudan Helping to Reduce PovertyMicrofinance has become a crucial poverty-alleviating tool over the years, as it provides small loans to impoverished people lacking access to traditional financial services. Across the globe, microfinance institutions work towards tackling poverty and aiding poor people to develop their small businesses, which later can provide them with a regular income and give them the ability to sustain themselves. Those financial services are meant to target poor borrowers who have no collateral and would not otherwise qualify for a standard bank loan.

However, one of the challenges faced by Microfinance institutions is providing Microfinance services to Muslim countries under sharia or Islamic law, which limits the amount of interest that can be charged on loans. Therefore, a vast majority of Muslims refuse using traditional microfinance services because they are not sharia-compliant, meaning they are not in line with sharia law. This has led to the creation of Islamic microfinance, which is slowly gaining recognition among Muslim communities for reducing poverty and promoting business development.

Islamic microfinance in Sudan has become a government-mandated rule, due to their banking system being fully Islamic. Some of the applied sharia principles include risk-sharing, leasing and interest-free “loans.” Since 2006, the Sudanese banking sector has experienced the implementation of 10 microfinance institutions, the establishment of microfinance “windows” in 12 banks and the creation of “micro” products available for poor clients in five insurance companies. All of these new innovations have led to positive outcomes within the Islamic economy.

One of the positive effects of Islamic microfinance is improving financial inclusion for small farmers in Sudan. In 2010, the World Food Program partnered with microfinance institutions to launch an initiative that linked 3,000 farmers to markets and sources of financing in three Sudanese states. Two years later, this program has increased its influence to nine states, which has helped a total of 150,000 farmers.

Islamic microfinance in Sudan has led to many successes for the Sudanese community and Muslim states in general. Some of the benefits include economic growth, poverty reduction and better financial inclusion for those deprived of financial services. Not only does it enable the development of small businesses for the poor, but it also helps meet the needs of Muslim communities who refuse to use conventional financial services for religious reasons. Islamic microfinance still has a long way to go, as it has not yet reached enough Muslim communities. For example, in Sudan, only eight percent of the total population – estimated at 7.2 million – is benefiting from sharia-compliant financial services. However, since it increased its reach dramatically in such a short span of time, this brings hope for the improved success of Islamic microfinance in the near future.

– Sarah Soutoul

Photo: Flickr

10 Facts About the Bosnian Genocide

10 Facts About the Bosnian GenocideThe Bosnian Genocide shocked the world. Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence from the former Yugoslavia in the spring of 1992. A census taken at this time recorded a population of 4 million, with 44 percent Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), 31 percent Serbs (Bosnian Orthodox Christians), 17 percent Croats (Bosnian Catholics) and 8 percent Yugoslavian.

Beyond the desire for independence, Bosnian Serbs wanted to forge a separate Serbian state within the bounds of this nation. This illegitimate state would be known as “Greater Serbia”. In order to attain this vision, the Serbs took brutal and violent action against both the Bosniaks and the Croats, with the intention to formally expel both ethnicities from the region they sought to control. The Serbs went so far as to displace, torture, rape and murder these two groups over the course of a three-year civil war—executing, at the war’s low point, what is known today as the Bosnian genocide. Here are 10 facts about the Bosnian genocide, and everything you should know about this atrocity.

Top Bosnian Genocide Facts:

  1. Before the breakup of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Balkans were controlled by President Josip Broz Tito. Though many ethnic groups existed within his domain, he kept tensions at ease by dictating with an “Iron Fist” approach. He was described by many as a “benevolent dictator”; however, he left little room for cultural expression outside of Yugoslav nationalism. It was not until after his death in 1980 that this Yugoslav identity began to disperse into numerous ethnic factions.
  2. The intent of Serb brutality against the Bosniaks and the Croats during this civil war is termed “ethnic cleansing“. The Serbs’ motive was to remove a specific group from a geographical area, not for the sole purpose of ethnic destruction. This does not apply to the attack, or rather “shelling”, of Srebrenica in 1995, which was classified by the United Nations as a genocide in 2007.
  3. In 1993, the U.N. declared that three eastern Bosnian towns, Srebrenica, Zepa, and Gorazde would be safe havens, meaning that all three would be disarmed and under the protection of international peacekeepers.
  4. The Bosnian genocide refers to a low point of this civil war in July 1995, where the systemic extermination of a specific group of people did occur. In Srebrenica, one of the small mountain towns protected by the U.N. in Eastern Bosnia, Bosnian Serbs launched an invasion on July 11, overthrowing the Dutch peacekeeping forces meant to protect the region.
  5. Over the course of four days, 15,000 men were hunted by Serbian forces, ending in 8,000 men and boys being methodically killed and buried in hidden mass graves. Examination of these bodies after the fact showed signs of mutilation, as well as the binding of arms and feet prior to execution.
  6. During these same four days, an estimated 20,000 women and children were subject to forced evacuations out of their homes and sent to Serbian-controlled regions or camps where their Serbian aggressors used sexual violence as a weapon against them. Female victims of the Bosnian genocide varied in age, some being as young as 12 years old, and most have lived in silence regarding their experience over the past two decades.
  7. Over the course of three years, the civilian death toll reached 200,000. On top of this, another 2 million Bosnians were displaced from their homes and placed in dangerous environments.
  8. Despite its peacekeeping efforts, the international community has been criticized for its apathy towards the diabolical violence against the Bosniaks and Croats. However, in 1993 the U.N. Security Council set up an International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. This was the first tribunal established since the Nuremberg Trials, and its intention was to prosecute the leaders of genocide, mass murder and the various other war crimes that occurred during the breakup of Yugoslavia.
  9. The leader of the Bosnian Serbs was a man named Radovan Karadzic, a native of Sarajevo. He was declared the president of the illegitimate nation Greater Serbia. Karadzic was found guilty by the U.N. for 10 out of 11 counts of crimes against humanity. Though little proof exists that he was a war criminal by his own hand, by taking this leadership role he accepted total moral responsibility for any violent act committed by his people. His conviction included the slaughter of thousands of Bosniaks and Croats. The trial lasted five years, and he was sentenced to 40 years in prison starting in March 2016.
  10. In order to prevent future atrocities like the Bosnian genocide, it is up to the international community and our own efforts to make genocide prevention a core value. The organization United to End Genocide emphasizes three main points in genocide prevention: demanding action, stopping the enablers and placing human rights at the forefront of foreign policy. One of the most disheartening aspects of the Bosnian genocide was that awareness was overwrought by ambivalence. The world knew the Bosniaks and Croats were vulnerable, and yet did little to stop the Serbs. In the future, the world must go beyond being aware and act on this awareness.

– Briana Fernald

Photo: Flickr

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A Few Successes: Education in Mauritania

Education in MauritaniaTerrorism, corruption, slavery and poverty. These are some of the significant issues that plague most of the African continent. Some of the lowest education and literacy rates can be found in Africa. One of the primary ways a country can help its citizens and begin to climb out of poverty is by providing education. Despite enormous political and economic challenges, one nation is doing this: Mauritania.

Mauritania is a country of about 3.7 million people in the northwest corner of the continent, sharing borders with places such as Mali and Algeria. Given its geographical location and proximity to unstable countries, Mauritania faces egregious challenges both outside its borders and within them. This has undoubtedly made the pursuit of education expansion and overall poverty alleviation measures difficult to implement effectively.

The overall literacy rate in the country suffered a decline between 2000 and 2015. This is clearly a result of failed policies by the government to provide education for its people. When compared to its neighbors, Mauritania spends the least amount of GDP per pupil. The fact that its neighbors suffer from similar if not worse conditions than Mauritania makes this even more absurd.

However, in 2014, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), a nonprofit fund dedicated to improving education systems in developing countries, began funding a new program in Mauritania. This new program is designated the Mauritania Basic Education Sector Support Project.

There has been a myriad of successes since implementation, most notably the 101 teachers certified under the Teacher Training Initiative curricula and the construction of 10 middle schools in rural areas. This project is continuing to provide training for administrative support staff as well as distributing pedagogical kits to students and schools.

In 2017, The Underrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization teamed up with the Association of Volunteers Against Illiteracy to improve education in Mauritania. This partnership sought to target specifically the Haratin minority by constructing two schools in the city of Nouakchott.

The project was a success, having provided education to over 70 women and children in just under four months. In addition to the school buildings themselves, the Education Spells Freedom project provided a bathroom facility, rugs and school supplies in order to improve the experience of attendees.

The challenges facing Mauritania will not be overcome quickly or easily. Education in Mauritania is a key starting point in the process of improving the lives of Mauritanians. The Education Spells Freedom project and the GPE program in the country should serve as a guide for future nonprofit organization initiatives regarding education in Mauritania and beyond.

– Daniel Cavins

Photo: Flickr

U.S. Response to the Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar

Rohingya CrisisThe Rohingya are a Muslim minority in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Many Rohingya trace their roots in Myanmar back to the 15th century, yet they have been denied citizenship since 1982. For decades, the Rohingya have also been denied some of the most basic human rights that are “reserved for citizens only” such as access to secondary education and freedom of movement. Additionally, the Rohingya are constantly subjected to arbitrary confiscation of property and forced labor. Tension has long fomented between the Rohingya and their Buddhist neighbors; however, the current Rohingya crisis has seen tensions escalate into deadly violence.

The long-persecuted Rohingya civilians are bearing the brunt of death and destruction caused by this conflict. Hundreds of Rohingya villages have been burned to the ground, leaving more than a thousand civilians dead. The violence has caused more than half a million Rohingya to seek refuge in Bangladesh since August 25, 2017, and has emptied at least 175 Rohingya villages in Myanmar.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee convened a hearing on October 5, 2017, to discuss the U.S.’ response to Myanmar’s escalating violence against the Rohingya and how to best address the multifaceted crisis.

The goal of the U.S. is to address the unprecedented magnitude of suffering and urgent humanitarian needs of the Rohingya crisis. Yet, there is a major obstacle in the way of the U.S. response: “Our main challenge in responding to the humanitarian crisis is not due to a lack of resources, but a lack of access,” Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for the USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, Kate Somvongsiri announced at the hearing.

Although the White House, State Department, and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations have all issued statements calling for immediate unfettered humanitarian access to all affected populations, relief agencies remain severely limited and even suspended in some regions.

“In Myanmar, there is no coverage of [the ethnic cleansing] so people do not actually know what is happening. The generals that run the country have a different narrative and so there is very little recognition of the reality,” Chairman Royce (R-CA) said, “In order to get to that reality it is important to get reporters and [relief agencies] on the ground. As long as that presence is there, it is a check on these types of atrocities.”

The honest and forthright assessment of the Rohingya crisis at the hearing was crucial. Leaders are not complacent and there is a common understanding that increased humanitarian action is desperately needed.

The United States is providing $32 million in additional humanitarian assistance to address the urgent needs of the Rohingya, bringing the U.S. 2017 fiscal year total to $104 million. Additionally, the hearing on October 5, 2017, solidified the opinion of the U.S. that the Rohingya crisis is, in fact, ethnic cleansing. Immediate action is required to stop the violence, deliver humanitarian assistance and hold accountable those who have perpetuated abuses and violations of international standards.

– Jamie Enright

Photo: Flickr

A Look Back: The Marshall Plan and Investment in New Markets

Investment in New Markets70 years ago, President Harry Truman’s Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, gave a speech to announce the Marshall Plan, an initiative giving $13 billion in foreign aid to help rebuild Western European economies after World War II. The administration knew it would be a heavy lift, convincing Americans to accept the probability of higher taxes in place of tax cuts they had been promised. Now, it is just as important for leaders to make their case for foreign aid and investment in new markets to the American people, highlighting the twin benefits of security and sustainability for all parties involved.

The Pitch

So how did Secretary Marshall sell his plan?

“Your Eighty Dollars” is one of many short videos designed to explain how the funds spent on the plan, equaling $80 per American taxpayer, would bring positive returns to taxpayers themselves. Marshall had the political savvy to appeal to the self-interest of his countrymen, recognizing that a nation weary from the costs of war would not automatically be eager to shell out more money. The administration also understood the value in emphasizing the relatively small sum—$80—each individual taxpayer would be paying, rather than the much larger $13 billion ($132 billion in 2017 dollars) the United States would spend in total.

The video emphasizes the United States’ myriad strategic advantages in helping rebuild Europe as well as the dire consequences of failing to do so. It asserts the debt of cultural heritage the U.S. owed to Europe, the benefit of having allies in the most populated and pivotal theatre when it came to waging war and the danger of debtor democracies in the West becoming easy prey for dictators and demagogues, both foreign and home-grown.

“Your Eighty Dollars” succeeded in part because it showcased results, not just fuzzy goals, far off in the distance. The narrator introduces the video’s purpose as “presenting documentary evidence of the progress the free world is making toward strength through mutual security,” and evidence of what U.S. dollars had already accomplished would prove to be a powerful motivator.

The video included scenes of the United States helping clear Sardinia, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea, of malaria so its fields could be ready for farming. Other scenes which showed Europeans rebuilding and improving their factories with U.S. assistance and techniques, helped make the humanitarian and economic case.

Europe’s Gains — America’s Returns

The Marshall Plan’s greatest success was its stimulation of private investment in new markets. The plan itself was not large in scope: the $13 billion spread across Western Europe did not amount to a huge investment in new markets. Much of that money was spent on imports of American industrial materials, semi-finished products and agricultural goods. American investment had started to pay dividends.

More importantly for Europe, the plan encouraged European governments and privately-held companies to invest more. Research by De Long and Eichengreen shows that countries receiving aid under the Marshall Plan saw more national investment and grew far faster than other wealthy economies (e.g., Argentina) that benefitted from the new post-war economic order under Bretton Woods but did not receive aid. Those examples of powerhouse growth became even more reliable markets for American products—as well as American allies. These countries avoided the fate of much of Europe after the First World War: plagued by crushing debt without relief and, thus, vulnerable to voices of prejudice and division.

Global Poverty and the Road Ahead

In the quest for security and sustainability in the developing world, many themes from post-World War II repeat themselves. As was true in the 1940s and 50s, other world powers—some of which do not share the U.S.’ values of freedom, democracy and open markets—are looking to assert their influence and control over poverty-stricken countries in the developing world.

– Chuck Hasenauer

Photo: Flickr

2017’s Worst Countries for Human Trafficking

2017's Worst Countries for Human Trafficking
In June 2017, the U.S. Department of State released its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report indicating the worst countries for human trafficking. The Department ranks countries on a three-tier scale.

Tier 1 governments are those which acknowledge the trafficking problem and are making efforts to curb it. Contrarily, Tier 3 countries rank among the worst countries for human trafficking; they make little or no effort of bringing trafficking issues to justice.

 

The 10 Worst Countries for Human Trafficking

 

1. Belarus
Belarusian trafficking victims mostly remain in Belarus or Russia. Criminals smuggle other victims to Poland, Turkey and various countries in Eurasia and the Middle East. Belarusian women seeking foreign employment in the adult entertainment and hotel industries often fall prey to sex traffickers.

A 2006 Belarusian presidential decree condemns mothers and fathers (who have had their parental rights revoked) to compulsory labor; the government retains 70 percent of their wages.

2. Central African Republic (CAR)
Most human trafficking victims in the Central African Republic (CAR) are citizens exploited within the country. Young women in urban centers are at great risk of being entered into the commercial sex trade. Traffickers coerce girls into marriages and force them into domestic servitude, sexual slavery and international sex trafficking.

The International Office of Migration has developed a community awareness campaign for at-risk communities and individuals to improve awareness of human trafficking. This program especially targets internally displaced people (IDPs), returnees and host populations in the Central African Republic (CAR).

3. China
China reemerges on this year’s worst countries for human trafficking list, slipping from Tier 2 to Tier 3 in the 2017 TIP Report. In China, traffickers subject men, women and children to forced labor and the sex trade. Traffickers target individuals with developmental disabilities as well as children whose parents have migrated to the cities and left them with relatives. There are also instances of the abduction of African and Asian men to work under state-sponsored forced labor conditions on fishing vessels.

4. Eritrea
Eritrea is no newcomer to the Tier 3 rating. Many Eritrean young women and girls travel to Gulf States, Israel, Sudan or South Sudan for domestic work but instead find themselves victims of sex trafficking rings. International criminal groups kidnap vulnerable Eritreans living in or near refugee camps, particularly in Sudan.

Members of these crime syndicates then transport their captives to Libya and detain them for ransom. Eritrean military and police officers often abet trafficking crimes along the Sudanese border, thus maintaining Eritrea’s status as one of the worst countries for human trafficking.

5. Iran
Iranian criminal organizations reportedly subject women and children to sex trafficking, not only inside Iran but also in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR), Afghanistan, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Europe.

Traffickers target Iranian girls between the ages of 13 and 17 for trade abroad. Captors press the youngest girls into domestic service until their kidnappers deem them old enough for use in child sex trafficking.

6. North Korea
North Korea holds an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 prisoners in camps, many charged with no crime. Without medical care and food, the detainees often die, their bodies incinerated in furnaces and dumped in mass graves.

Government oppression prompts North Koreans to flee the country, making them vulnerable to human trafficking in destination countries. North Korea’s forced labor camps and the death penalty fuel trafficking in neighboring China. Ironically, captured refugees returned to North Korea to experience punitive action – labor camps or death.

7. Russia
Between 5 and 12 million migrants are working in Russia in conditions of slavery, in positions at garment factories, as public transport drivers, and in construction and agriculture. Russian officials facilitate the entry of migrants into the country for exploitation. Other officials receive bribes not to investigate human trafficking crimes. Overall, the government has not undertaken efforts to protect human trafficking victims.

8. Sudan
Sudanese law enforcement agents are often involved in, and profit from, child sex trafficking rings. Sudanese law prohibits the recruitment of children. However, youth remain vulnerable to recruitment and use as combatants by Sudanese non-governmental armed groups and militias.

Darfur is a favored route to Libya, as the porous border and lax security allow traffickers to operate with impunity across the region. Sudanese police and border patrol purportedly facilitate abductions of Eritrean nationals and permit the transport of potential victims across borders without intervention.

9. Syria
The circumstances in Syria have deteriorated throughout the ongoing civil war with sub-state armed groups of varying ideologies exerting control over vast geographic areas of the country’s territory.

In December 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) released public guidelines on how to seize, forcibly hold, and sexually abuse female slaves. ISIS soldiers routinely subject women and girls from minority groups to forced marriage, domestic servitude, systematic rape and sexual violence.

ISIS requires Syrian girls to submit to virginity tests before selling them in “slave bazaars” and transferring them to various Syrian provinces and other countries for sexual slavery. Throughout 2016, displaced Syrians continued to utilize smugglers to provide illegal passage to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, putting the Syrians at risk of being trafficked.

10. Venezuela
Among those trafficked out of Venezuela, 55 percent are adults, 26 percent are young girls and 19 percent are young boys. Lured by promises of high paying jobs, they instead are sent to countries in the Caribbean, where traffickers force them into the sex trade or domestic servitude.

Venezuela continuously ranks as one of the worst countries for human trafficking as they do little to prevent or punish trafficking. They have strict laws surrounding it, but the prosecution of the crime is rare. Since 2013, Venezuela has convicted only three people under human trafficking laws.

 

The Good News

 

Overall, the 2017 TIP Report listed 23 Tier 3 nations as the worst countries for human trafficking. However, the governments of Haiti, Gambia, Grenadines, Djibouti, Cote d’Ivoire, Costa Rica, Burma, Algeria, Malaysia, Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea and Qatar moved up in the rankings. St. Lucia, Saint Vincent, Seychelles, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Ukraine and Zambia also deserve recognition for demonstrated improvement.

Perhaps the most encouraging data is that the 2017 report assigned 36 countries, including the United States, to the Tier 1 category. Guyana deserves special praise, as its ranking rose from Tier 2 to Tier 1.

– Heather Hopkins

Photo: Flickr

World Leaders Pledge to Boost Investments in Education

At the UN, World Leaders Pledge to Boost Investments in EducationFinancing and investments in education promote economic development, reduce gender disparities and are potentially the most effective way to accomplish all of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed by the U.N. Member States in 2015 and to prevent conflict and sustain peace.

At the event titled “Financing the Future: Education 2030,” world leaders, advocates, children and students gathered in New York to underscore the importance of unreservedly financing global education. According to the U.N. News Centre, the event was co-organized by governments, the private sector, civil society and U.N. agencies to encourage greater investments and political commitments in quality education. This included education at all levels: early childhood, primary and secondary.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres delivered the opening remarks by speaking of his background as a teacher in his native Portugal, where he began to see education as “a basic human right, a transformational force for poverty eradication, an engine for sustainability and a force for peace.”

Guterres underlined four areas of focus where he urged world leaders to boost investments in education. Noting that about 260 million young children, most of whom are girls, are deprived of school education, he urged for greater investments by governments and donors in education funding. He also advocated for the reduction of gender-based disparities, adoption of lifelong learning habits and a particular focus on children, notably refugees, affected by wars and conflicts.

Guterres also envisioned the launch of an International Finance Facility for Education as early as next year through the G-20 Education Commission. Speaking of the wide range of barriers faced by girls in obtaining primary and secondary education, he noted that only 1 percent of poor rural women in developing countries completed their secondary education studies.

This means that half of any low-income country’s assets–women and girls–can not currently play a role in a country’s economic development simply because they lack proper access to education or suffer disproportionately in poor and vulnerable households. As Guterres reiterated, each year of secondary education can boost a girl’s future earning power by as much as 25 percent.

U.N. Messenger of Peace Malala Yousafzai, the youngest laureate of the Noble Peace Prize, built on this theme and urged world leaders to boost investments in education, especially for girls. She said that girls worldwide desire greater opportunities and are actively pushing back against poverty, war and child poverty.

“We have big goals,” said Malala, referring to the SDGs, “but we will not reach any of them unless we educate girls.”

The U.N. Special Envoy for Global Education, Gordon Brown, stressed the need to widen the circle of beneficiaries of quality education and labeled it as “the civil rights struggle of our time.”

“Confronted by the largest refugee crisis since the close of the Second World War, and with education receiving less than 2 percent of humanitarian aid, it is vital we marshal the funds to provide an education for all children–especially those left out and left behind: refugee children,” he said.

A recently released report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) further breaks down the extent of the problem. More than half a billion children and adolescents worldwide are unable to meet the minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics and are headed towards a “learning crisis.”

Many of the global goals are dependent on SDG 4, which directs “inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities.” But lack of access to school, failure to maintain children’s attendance and the poor quality of education are among the three common problems hampering progress in quality education.

Speaking about the UNESCO report, Silvia Montoya, director of the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, stated that “[t]he figures are staggering both in terms of the waste of human potential and for the prospects of achieving sustainable development.”

The UNESCO report and the U.N. event show that tackling the global education crisis requires far greater investments in education than have been previously allocated. Greater resources are needed to promote equitable opportunities for children around the world seeking quality education.

Governments, the private sector and citizens can all play a critical role in ensuring that our most precious resources–our young population–are not deprived of the resources they themselves need to succeed and become tomorrow’s leaders. As Guterres concluded, “[f]inancing education is indeed the best investment we can make for a better world and a better future.”

– Mohammed Khalid

Photo: Flickr

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US President’s Malaria Initiative Adds Four New Countries

U.S. President's Malaria Initiative Expands to Include Four New CountriesOn September 21, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that its President’s Malaria Initiative would expand to include four new countries: Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger and Sierra Leone.

The President’s Malaria Initiative, which was initially launched in 2005 by USAID, works diligently to decrease the incidence of malaria-related deaths and increase malaria prevention and treatment programs predominately in Sub-Saharan Africa. With the addition of the newly developed programs, the initiative currently works in 24 different countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to USAID, the initiative’s expansion will help approximately 332 million people in order to fight the spread of malaria.

The Center for Disease Control reported in 2015 that the initiative works with other agencies such as the World Bank, UNICEF and non-governmental organizations in order to combat malaria more efficiently.

The initiative is dedicated to providing malaria prevention programs to those at the greatest risk for suffering from malaria-related deaths such as pregnant women and young children. Such interventions include “intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women” and “indoor residual spraying with an approved insecticide.”

Also, the initiative works closely with the Sub-Saharan African countries in order to address other factors that increase one’s risk of contracting malaria. For instance, the initiative helps with reinforcing infrastructure in developing countries; political instability is oftentimes linked to negative health outcomes.

USAID reported in 2016 that more than six million lives have been saved through the initiative; however, the initiative still has a vast amount of work to do. Malaria spreads quickly in Sub-Saharan African countries, and there is a large number of susceptible pregnant women and children in such countries that need immediate care. The inclusion of four new countries is promising, but President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget seems to tell a different story.

The Council on Foreign Relations stated in April 2017 that President Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget “calls for deep cuts to foreign assistance programs,” which is immensely troublesome.

Programs like the President’s Malaria Initiative are able to thrive and help more people with necessary funds, so it is imperative that the United States government stays on track to further developing this initiative.

– Emily Santora

Photo: Flickr

Nathan Fillion Supports the Sawla Children’s Home

Nathan Fillion Supports the Sawla Children's Home

Actor Nathan Fillion spent much of July 17 on Twitter personally thanking donors to the Sawla Children’s Home. In May, he announced the chance to “Win A Shiny Birthday Lunch” through a special Prizeo sweepstake. Everyone who donated $10 or more was entered to win a ticket to Los Angeles and Facetime with Fillion on his birthday.

With true fundraising prowess, Fillion offered a slew of services to his donors, including thank you videos, voicemail messages, merchandise and personal tweets. Close to 1200 donors left comments on Prizeo thanking Fillion for supporting Sawla Children’s Home.

The International Assistance Program

The Sawla Children’s Home is one of the six main projects of the International Assistance Program, also known as iAssist. iAssist is a faith-based nonprofit which seeks to meet the needs of impoverished communities. In addition to the Children’s Home in Ghana, they sponsor a school for indigenous Guatemalans, a loan agency in Ethiopia, family services in Costa Rica and international sustainable water solutions.

Problems Facing Children’s Homes in Ghana

According to a report by the Department of Social Welfare, child care across Ghana suffers from institutional failures. Many children’s homes are unauthorized by the government, under-trained and use unreliable sources of income. They also have unreliable strategies for transitioning residents out of foster care. This is partly because Ghana lacks quality training programs and the government has an overall lack of political will to institute changes. As a result, the local communities are disinterested in supporting children’s homes. The DSW also reports cases of neglect within existing facilities.

Sawla Children’s Sustainable Practices

The Sawla Children’s Home began in 2007. Ten years later, they report well-fed, healthy residents who are excelling in school and impacting their local community. As a successful facility, the Sawla Children’s Home models unique strategies that help to overcome the institutional failures common in Ghana.

This success is largely due to its sustainability initiatives. Three main projects support the Children’s Home: farming, a tractor business and a van business.

  • Van business: The Sawla Children’s Home owns a 15-passenger van. The van becomes a sort of taxi for local points of interest. In particular, the van regularly takes tourists to the region’s national parks.
  • Tractor business: In addition to selling surplus crops at the local market, Sawla Children’s Home contributes to food security in the region by leasing their tractor. When it is not in use, the tractor travels to local farms as a method of generating revenue. The secondary consequence is that all farms in the region are able to produce more crops.
  • Farming: The Sawla Children’s Home uses a 20-acre farm to grow maize, yams, cashews and mangoes. They use these crops to feed residents and sell the surplus. This also teaches residences basic agricultural principles that can be used when they exit the program.

How Sustainability Overcomes Institutional Failures

These sustainable initiatives are an important tactic for overcoming institutional failures common throughout Ghana. First, they provide reliable sources of income. Second, they teach residents practical life skills like farming and business. Third, they foster respect for the local community.

In turn, this means that the Sawla Children’s Home can afford trained staff members. Access to quality nutrition gives students an advantage in school. That advantage, along with the skills they learn from these initiatives, aides in transitioning into the community. Finally, as residents leave the Children’s Home successfully, they will place a higher value on their experiences. This means that when they become community members, they are more likely to promote the interests of the foster care sector and overcome stigmas preventing the community from caring for its orphans.

– Brandon J. White

Photo: Flickr

Design Thinking – A Powerful New Way to End Poverty

ZambiaA famous quote about problem-solving goes, “If I had 60 minutes to solve a problem and my life depended on it, I’d spend 55 minutes determining the right question to ask.” When addressing poverty, organizations tend to answer the question of how poverty can be eliminated.

Design thinking demands to ask about the causes of poverty and targeting the root problem rather than its symptoms. Some causes of poverty that design thinkers consider include slavery, colonialism, resource plundering, structural adjustment programs and financial crises.

Unequal power structures are a common theme in the causes of poverty. Many nonprofits seeking to mitigate poverty do not address this fact, which limits their ability to provide sustainable solutions.

Poverty cannot be solved using the same logic that established it in the first place. A study of the language used on Twitter by antipoverty organizations revealed that poverty is commonly referred to as a disease, trap or enemy.

Each of these metaphors suggests that poverty is inevitable, and some imply that the poor are somewhat responsible for their condition. These misleading ways of thinking about poverty are not conducive to developing the best solutions.

The Millennium Development Goals rely on GDP growth to eradicate poverty. Even if a generous growth rate is assumed, 207 years will pass before everyone lives on more than $5 per day, which is the minimum income needed to reach normal human life expectancy.

Design thinking is a promising new way of approaching development issues, and IDEO is a global design company committed to using this approach to create a positive impact.

One of IDEO’s projects focuses on educating girls in Zambia about reproductive health. Aiming to shift the uneven power structure by providing women with access to information about their health, this project illustrates the power of addressing the root causes of poverty.

In Zambia, more than one-third of girls give birth before they are 18 years old. Access to safe, comprehensive health education provides the information girls need to finish school and be able to choose when to become mothers.

IDEO’s solution is the creation of Diva Centres, space for girls to do their nails and have casual conversations about boys and sex. When a girl is ready to receive more information on the topic, she receives counseling and access to several birth control methods.

In this friendly environment, girls learn about the importance of family planning for securing control over their life. IDEO’s human-centered approach allowed them to design a multi-touch system that effectively reaches teens and provides powerful information.

Marie Stopes Zambia, a traditional clinic that provides reproductive healthcare, rarely reached teenagers before IDEO’s help. Since adopting Diva Centres, 5,000 girls have received health education and 82 percent of them have started using some form of birth control.

Design thinking is a powerful new way of thinking about development issues. The movement towards addressing root causes and balancing unequal power structures will make great strides in eradicating poverty.

– Kristen Nixon

Photo: Flickr