More than 35 percent of the world’s population lacks access to improved sanitation. Worldwide, millions of people are infected with, or are dying from, water or hygiene-related diseases. The issue of water in Tanzania is critical, especially in relation to sanitation.
Currently, 85 percent of schools do not have hand washing facilities. Children attend school all day without being able to wash their hands, subjecting themselves and their communities to countless illnesses and infections. The need for hygiene education and sanitation facilities in schools is imperative. Hand soap is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to prevent disease; however, the inability to access soap and the limited availability of water in Tanzania makes this modest daily task a commodity. Water scarcity is closely related to sanitation and hygiene complications.
The Full Belly Project, based in Wilmington, North Carolina, developed a hand washing station that is made completely of recycled materials and uses 90 percent less water than other current hand washing systems. Ten of these life-saving systems were built and installed in and around Arusha, Tanzania in the spring of 2016.
This project received additional funding through a Clif Bar Family Foundation grant to build and install more systems in the summer of 2017. The project was executed with the goals of providing three months of soap for each installed station and providing education on the importance of hand washing, sanitation and the conservation of water in Tanzania.
The Full Belly Project’s hand washing station is built from recycled materials that are abundant in most regions. A large part of the Full Belly Project’s mission is to alleviate global poverty by providing tools to those in need, which in turn improves their lives and helps generate income. The organization encourages self-efficacy rather than providing handouts.
The hand washing system only requires an oil drum, half of a truck tire, soda bottles, bits of steel and a pail full of cement. Although the Full Belly Project and volunteers build the systems, the materials are found locally and the systems can be recreated by members of the community. “Our contact in Tanzania had already gathered all of the needed materials when our volunteers arrived,” said Amanda Coulter, Executive Director of the Full Belly Project, “The volunteers built five hand washing stations and taught community members so that they could create an additional five.”
The most significant feature of the hand washing system is its ability to conserve water. This is vital considering the scarcity of water in Tanzania, where most healthcare facilities and schools have no water source within 500 meters.
Soda bottles are filled with water from the nearest water source and by attaching bolts to the lids of the bottles, the openings use only 10 percent of the amount of water that other systems waste. In addition to conserving water, the system reduces the need to revisit the water source, which can be as far as 500 meters from the system.
The Full Belly Project has not only aided in addressing some of the most pressing health needs in Tanzania, it has given local civilians the knowledge and training required to recreate the hand washing stations. The life-saving ability of the Full Belly Project’s hand washing station showed its full potential with the recent widespread outbreaks of Cholera, a water and hygiene-related bacteria.
Full Belly Project volunteers were also able to bring eight rocker water pumps to Tanzania. The rocker water pump is an irrigation device that allows farmers to get more food from two acres of land and more income than ever before. The device draws water from 30 feet and can pump five gallons of water each minute. This kind of productivity is unprecedented because of the scarcity of water in Tanzania. “Our volunteers built them, packed them up as access carry-on luggage – that’s a funny story going through security,” Coulter laughed, “and they were able to deliver them to Massiah Women’s Groups and Orphanages in Tanzania that are pursuing agricultural programs.” The rocker water pumps are also made completely of recycled materials and can be recreated like so many of the Full Belly Project’s devices.
The Full Belly Project has made immense impacts worldwide; however, “our local impacts shouldn’t be forgotten,” Coulter said. “Volunteers come in and we are able to teach them about the problems other people face and how they can help; they get to make contributions and are really able to see their significance in the lives of others.” The Full Belly Project continues to provide help to those in need, through education and sustainable living programs, as seen through the hand washing system and rocker water pump installations in Tanzania.
– Jamie Enright
Photo: Flickr
Addressing Causes of Poverty in Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire, or the Ivory Coast, is a former French colony and is located in North Africa. The country’s economy relies heavily on agriculture and processing, with over half of the country’s population working as laborers and farmers. Côte d’Ivoire’s main exports include cocoa, various nuts and palm oil. This low-income country, with 50.9 percent public debt in 2016, has a population estimated at just over 24 million and has a poverty rate of 46.3 percent.
One most recent cause of poverty in Côte d’Ivoire is the production of cocoa which is “highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices…and to climatic conditions.” Recently, Côte d’Ivoire farmers have been witnessing agricultural diseases among the cocoa plants and trees. Along with decreased crops, around 80 percent of buyers have escaped their contracts with the cocoa farmers, which leaves the farmers with little to no income.
Without payment for the harvested crop, many of these farmers and their families have to survive with nothing. Even if the farmers do receive payment, they earn less than a dollar per day, contributing to the number of people living below the poverty line. Without the proper income, these farmers are facing an inability to buy fertilizers for next year’s production. One farmer states that the soil is old and barren, and without fertilizer, “you can’t grow anything.”
Another cause of poverty in Côte d’Ivoire is the lack of healthcare. Since the civil war in Côte d’Ivoire in 2002, there has been a collapse of resources for people with health issues, including HIV/AIDS. Based on 2016 data, the adult prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS is about 2.7 percent, and about 460,000 people are living with the disease. Côte d’Ivoire is also at high risk of other diseases besides HIV/AIDS.
The absence of sexual education is also to blame for poverty in Côte d’Ivoire. The current rise in population is estimated to continue growing, as about 60 percent of the population is 25 or younger. Furthermore, the fertility rate is approximately 3.5 children per woman, and use of contraception is below 20 percent.
However, there is good news for the country. In June 2012, Côte d’Ivoire received $4.4 billion in debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. Since then, the country’s growth rate has risen to among the highest in the world. To tackle the epidemic of HIV/AIDS and other causes of poverty in the Côte d’Ivoire, several mayors of the nation’s communities joined together with the UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé to establish the Paris Declaration, which plans to eradicate the disease in Côte d’Ivoire by 2030.
As for the cocoa crisis, sustainability of the fields for production is essential, as well as paying the farmers a livable income. The French Development Agency and Barry-Callebaut, the global leading manufacturer of chocolate, have founded a sustainability strategy called Forever Chocolate in hopes of getting the crisis under control and providing a better future for Côte d’Ivoire farmers.
Furthermore, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has selected Côte d’Ivoire “to begin developing a five-year compact,” and the company has committed to helping the country fight its poverty. In conjunction with the MCC, The Borgen Project is advocating the passing of the African Growth and Opportunity Act and Millennium Challenge Act (AGOA and MCA) Modernization Act in Congress. This bill will strengthen and extend programs and aid in Africa if passed. For more information or to contact your Congressperson and show support, visit: https://borgenproject.org/legislation/.
– Jennifer Lightle
Photo: Flickr
How Argentina’s Growing Tech Hub Came About
One reason for Argentina’s growing tech hub is President Mauricio Macri’s new market-friendly policies. President Macri has sought to use the tech sector as a source for both new growth and reduced economic reliance on commodities. Though criticized, the policies Macri has introduced have helped the country reopen access to international debt markets and incentivized entrepreneurship. The Macri administration expects that 1.5 percent of GDP will come from the tech sector because of new policies.
The new law, called Ley de Emprendedores, or the Entrepreneur’s Law, replaces a previous law where approval and financing procedures took nearly a year to complete before entrepreneurs could legally launch their companies. The policy also allocates public funding to co-invest with private funding into businesses, by the means of the Fiduciary Fund for the Development of Venture Capital. This legislation is backed by both the Association of Entrepreneurs in Argentina and the Argentina Association of Private Equity, Venture and Seed Capital.
As such, the startup technological field continues to grow with a new generation of companies. These companies include the Y-Combinater backed Bluesmart, satellite startup Satellogic which raised $20 million last year to build imaging satellites and Affluenta, a peer to peer lending platform, which raised $8 million last year.
The stars of Argentina’s growing tech hub are three internet companies located in Buenos Aires that are worth over a billion dollars: MercadoLibre, OLX and Despegar. MercadoLibre is the only internet company from Latin America that is listed on NASDAQ. As the Huffington Post states, “a startup ecosystem is flourishing” in Argentina.
– Gabriella Paez
Photo: Flickr
New Program for Free High School in Ghana Looks Promising
President Akufo-Addo has followed through on this promise. The equivalent of over $90 million has been set aside by the government with the goal of aiding 424,092 students for the 2017-2018 school year. While the program for free high school in Ghana is for incoming freshman only, it is already a great improvement, as in 2014, only 37 percent of students were enrolled in secondary education.
President Akufo-Addo has been quoted recognizing the importance of education both in general and in terms of developing countries. VOA News reports Akufo-Addo saying that the, “economy for over a century has been depending largely on the production and export of raw materials. This cannot and will not create prosperity for the masses of Ghanaians.”
Though there have been concerns expressed about if free SHS is a sustainable program, if the system will be overburdened or if it will harm the private schooling sector, the worries are thus far unfounded. The beneficiaries of this maiden program will be under the policies of the program until their third year, which gives time for the policies to be further developed and corrected.
The private schooling sector was not affected when free primary school was initiated over a decade ago. In fact, they remain among top performing schools in the nation. Therefore, the same result is more than likely to be expected with the beginning of free high school in Ghana.
As for if the school system will be overburdened with congestion of students and a subsequent drop in the quality of education, the prime minister of education is not concerned. VOA News quotes Minister Matthew Opoku Prempeh claiming, “the government based its calculations on data from headmasters and on the total number of students who passed the entrance exam…We should be able to place everybody.”
With a new and still improving focus on education, the future of Ghana from both an economic standpoint and a more holistic level has room for growth more than ever before.
– Gabriella Paez
Photo: Flickr
How to Help People in Denmark
In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Denmark and other Scandinavian countries gained attention for their extraordinarily equitable economies. Candidate Bernie Sanders often pointed to the Danish education and healthcare systems as models to be followed by the U.S.
Rather than asking how to help people in Denmark, Sanders and other social democrats focused on how the rest of the world could benefit from understanding the ways in which the Danish government already helps its own people.
In addition to free education and healthcare, the Danish government provides all citizens with a minimum income guarantee of about $100 per day. As a result, Denmark has achieved the fourth lowest inequality rate in the world.
Such a world-class safety net is supported by one of the world’s highest tax rates. All sales in Denmark include a 25 percent tax and the highest income earners give upwards of 60 percent of their income to the state.
The high tax rate has motivated some economists like Rasmus Landerso and James Heckman to frame the Danish economy as equitable only insofar as it compresses the range between high and low incomes, not because it has a high index of social mobility.
Indeed, their recent study found that intergenerational social mobility in Denmark mirrors that in the U.S. A child from a lower-class background, for example, whose parents did not finish college in Denmark is just as unlikely to attend college and become middle-class as his or her American counterpart, despite the fact that Danish higher education is free.
The difference, then, between the two countries is that the Danish government compensates for low social mobility by providing significant welfare benefits to the poor.
In the end, while there may still remain a question about how to help people in Denmark ascend out of their generational social classes, it is clear that the Danish people already receive sufficient amounts of help from their own government.
– Nathaniel Sher
Photo: Flickr
Pitch & Flow: Using Music to Promote Development Goals
Pitch & Flow was held on Wednesday, September 13, 2017 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. According to XXL, celebrity guests included Stretch Armstrong, Melissa Bradley, Young Paris and Doug E. Fresh.
The Africa Creative Agency, Unreasonable Group and Lowe’s Innovation Labs paired the rappers and the social entrepreneurs together for the competition. The eight rappers weave the goals of their entrepreneurs into stories that encouraged the audience to vote for them. After three rounds, the winning duo won $7500 for their cause.
The causes championed at Pitch & Flow represented many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Some of the goals illustrated within the causes include uses for solar energy, educating the incarcerated and recyclable material production.
According to CityLab, all of the rappers involved in Pitch & Flow are passionate about social issues themselves. Many of them “double as activists and educators, and are in line with the grassroots vibe of the whole event. One of them even served as a Hip-Hop Cultural Envoy for the U.S. State Department.” The event gives rappers the opportunity to use their skills to promote a good cause.
Pitch & Flow also provides a unique opportunity for the organizations in regards to informing others about what the organization is about. Rap presents the organizations’ values in a creative and concise way that sticks with an audience.
At the end of Pitch & Flow, rapper and Northeastern University math professor Professor Lyrical and Sun Culture entrepreneur Samir Ibrahim won the $7500 prize. Sun Culture is an organization that “provides solar-powered irrigation systems to farmers in East Africa,” according to Essence.
Pitch & Flow illustrates how the creative arts can be used to promote worthwhile global causes.
– Cortney Rowe
Photo: Flickr
Supermodel Lily Donaldson Visits South Sudan
Because of the four-year-long conflict, there are over 20 million people affected by drought and hunger in South Sudan, Nigeria, Yemen and Somalia, with children the most vulnerable. Lily Donaldson saw firsthand the suffering in South Sudan, where 100,000 people are struggling to get just one meal. They do not know when, where and if they are going to eat that day. They need immediate help to get food, shelter and medical supplies.
The International Medical Corps has been working directly in the field since the mid-1990s, but the crisis escalated in 2013, two years after a national referendum in 2011, when South Sudan became independent. Tensions escalated into an armed conflict, and thousands of lives were lost before the formal peace agreement in the summer of 2015. A large number of people are still affected by displacement, hunger and lack of medical care.
Supermodel Lily Donaldson is working with The International Medical Corps to help the most vulnerable populations, mothers and their children, affected by the civil war in South Sudan. The country has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world, and a famine was officially declared in two parts of the country.
During her stay in South Sudan, Lily visited a women’s group that provides help for the survivors of abuse and joined a mother support group. This group brings together mothers to teach them how to prevent their children from becoming malnourished and allows women to connect with each other for support.
In Juba, she spent some time with malnourished and sick children. In the capital’s hospital, the teams of The International Medical Corps are providing day and night care so that every child gets the necessary treatment and can go home to their parents healthy.
Working with The International Medical Corps has become a way of life for a supermodel Lily Donaldson. But she is not the only one. Anna Wintour, Robert Pattinson and Avery Williamson, along with many others, are their global ambassadors. They are all trying to help through healthcare training and development programs in the field, but also by bringing awareness to the people all over the world that every single one of us can and should get involved.
Lily Donaldson’s Twitter page has more about her work with The International Medical Corps, where she has a message to share: “We have the power to save lives!”
There are many ways to help, whether by donating, sharing on social media channels, or even volunteering in the field. There is a way for all of us to help, to bring hope and a message to people affected by war and hunger that they are never alone.
– Edita Jakupovic
Photo: Flickr
Comeback: World Trade and Emerging Markets
Emerging markets are classified generally as countries whose economies are trending toward more liquid and robust markets, similar to those in developed countries, but are not quite there yet. The opportunity for growth in these countries provides a huge opportunity for addressing poverty and development issues. A few concrete examples of emerging markets are India, Russia, China and Brazil.
World trade and emerging markets are closely related. Since declining in 2016, world trade is growing at a faster rate than this time last year, largely on the back of import demand from emerging market economies, especially in places like Brazil and Russia. This is good news as it pertains to poverty in these countries. Between 2014 and 2016 in Brazil, the population living below the poverty line declined by more than 3 percent, or around 6 million people.
Since hitting a low in 2016, the dollar amount of imports has increased drastically in Brazil, with an exceptional bump in July 2017. There is no current data on the poverty level in 2017, but it is safe to assume that it is continuing to decline as Brazil’s economy improves and domestic demand increases, resulting in more trade activity.
General Russian commerce has increased as well, with the EU being the main benefactor of this trend. However, the Russian economy has stagnated and slowed due to a supply glut and subsequent diminishing of prices for fossil fuels. This has actually led to an increase in those living in poverty. However, the upward trend in trade due to demand in this emerging market may spell good news for poor Russians.
The relationship between world trade and emerging markets looked grim in recent years due to a surge in populism and protectionist policies in Europe and the United States. Trade is widely considered to be the reason that certain economies, who otherwise would have experienced stagnant growth and increased poverty, were able to establish more free economies and a consumer-based middle class.
Not only are these economies important in terms of production of consumer goods for developed countries, but are now increasingly becoming destinations for such products themselves. If this trend stays true, not only will poverty in these countries continue to decline, but a middle class will emerge and become vibrant markets for products from developed countries, thus benefiting everyone.
Despite what may look like a grim near-term forecast in terms of global trade resulting from political trends in developed countries, history is on the side of greater integration and raising the standard of living for everyone. World trade and emerging markets will continue to be a catalyst spurring growth and reducing poverty across the globe.
– Daniel Cavins
Photo: Flickr
The Right to Education in Sub-Saharan Africa
“Everyone has the right to education,” stated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 61 years ago. Unfortunately, this statement has not been true for all countries in the world. More than 72 million children are currently out of primary school, with 50 percent living in Sub-Saharan Africa and 11 million of them concentrated in Nigeria alone. According to a ruling from the Economic Community of West African States Community Court of Justice, all Nigerians are entitled to education as a legal and basic right. However, the right to education in Sub-Saharan Africa has not been granted to many children who suffer from marginalization and deprivation of education.
Recent data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report revealed alarming out-of-school rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. The report shows rates reaching 21 percent for primary school-aged children, 34 percent for lower secondary school-aged children and 58 percent for upper secondary school-aged adolescents – the highest percentage worldwide.
UNICEF released a report in 2016 on The State of the World’s Children, showing that even children in school for at least four years are not learning the skills and knowledge that are vital for their intellectual and social development. Because of inaccessibility to quality education, the same report states that about 130 million children of primary school age in Sub-Saharan Africa lack basic literacy and numeracy skills. According to the World Bank, Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest adult literacy rate worldwide, with 60 percent of their population of 15 and over able to read and write, which is far below the 80 percent world rate.
Increases in out-of-school and dropout rates are directly linked to many poverty factors such as health issues, unemployment and have illiterate parents. Some children are forced to quit school for health problems or the need to provide support for their household. Another factor increasing risks of non-schooling concerns the lack of financial resources needed for schooling materials, creating schools and recruiting and training teachers.
By taking a closer look at the data, girls reveal to be the ones majorly disadvantaged by non-schooling. UNESCO data discloses major gender inequity statistics such as 23 percent of out-of-school girls compared to 19 percent of boys in primary school. It also states that the exclusion rate of adolescent girls reaches 36 percent, while the one for adolescent boys is 22 percent.
Now, the question is what needs to be done to achieve the right to education for all in Sub-Saharan Africa? First of all, there needs to be additional investments in educational aid from leading international donors, such as the U.S. Reducing the general costs of schooling for families will also help increase access to education for many children. Gender equality is also a key issue to be considered in education that can be achieved through training teachers and parents to increase gender awareness in the classroom.
According to the UNICEF report, it is also important to make sure all children get quality education by acquiring skills that enable them to participate fully in society and obtain jobs that can help lift them out of poverty. If every child was entitled to education and had the opportunity to build a secure livelihood, it would have major positive effects on the society and economy of Sub-Saharan Africa and around the globe.
– Sarah Soutoul
Photo: Flickr
Full Belly Improves Hygiene, Sanitation and Water in Tanzania
Currently, 85 percent of schools do not have hand washing facilities. Children attend school all day without being able to wash their hands, subjecting themselves and their communities to countless illnesses and infections. The need for hygiene education and sanitation facilities in schools is imperative. Hand soap is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to prevent disease; however, the inability to access soap and the limited availability of water in Tanzania makes this modest daily task a commodity. Water scarcity is closely related to sanitation and hygiene complications.
The Full Belly Project, based in Wilmington, North Carolina, developed a hand washing station that is made completely of recycled materials and uses 90 percent less water than other current hand washing systems. Ten of these life-saving systems were built and installed in and around Arusha, Tanzania in the spring of 2016.
This project received additional funding through a Clif Bar Family Foundation grant to build and install more systems in the summer of 2017. The project was executed with the goals of providing three months of soap for each installed station and providing education on the importance of hand washing, sanitation and the conservation of water in Tanzania.
The Full Belly Project’s hand washing station is built from recycled materials that are abundant in most regions. A large part of the Full Belly Project’s mission is to alleviate global poverty by providing tools to those in need, which in turn improves their lives and helps generate income. The organization encourages self-efficacy rather than providing handouts.
The hand washing system only requires an oil drum, half of a truck tire, soda bottles, bits of steel and a pail full of cement. Although the Full Belly Project and volunteers build the systems, the materials are found locally and the systems can be recreated by members of the community. “Our contact in Tanzania had already gathered all of the needed materials when our volunteers arrived,” said Amanda Coulter, Executive Director of the Full Belly Project, “The volunteers built five hand washing stations and taught community members so that they could create an additional five.”
The most significant feature of the hand washing system is its ability to conserve water. This is vital considering the scarcity of water in Tanzania, where most healthcare facilities and schools have no water source within 500 meters.
Soda bottles are filled with water from the nearest water source and by attaching bolts to the lids of the bottles, the openings use only 10 percent of the amount of water that other systems waste. In addition to conserving water, the system reduces the need to revisit the water source, which can be as far as 500 meters from the system.
The Full Belly Project has not only aided in addressing some of the most pressing health needs in Tanzania, it has given local civilians the knowledge and training required to recreate the hand washing stations. The life-saving ability of the Full Belly Project’s hand washing station showed its full potential with the recent widespread outbreaks of Cholera, a water and hygiene-related bacteria.
Full Belly Project volunteers were also able to bring eight rocker water pumps to Tanzania. The rocker water pump is an irrigation device that allows farmers to get more food from two acres of land and more income than ever before. The device draws water from 30 feet and can pump five gallons of water each minute. This kind of productivity is unprecedented because of the scarcity of water in Tanzania. “Our volunteers built them, packed them up as access carry-on luggage – that’s a funny story going through security,” Coulter laughed, “and they were able to deliver them to Massiah Women’s Groups and Orphanages in Tanzania that are pursuing agricultural programs.” The rocker water pumps are also made completely of recycled materials and can be recreated like so many of the Full Belly Project’s devices.
The Full Belly Project has made immense impacts worldwide; however, “our local impacts shouldn’t be forgotten,” Coulter said. “Volunteers come in and we are able to teach them about the problems other people face and how they can help; they get to make contributions and are really able to see their significance in the lives of others.” The Full Belly Project continues to provide help to those in need, through education and sustainable living programs, as seen through the hand washing system and rocker water pump installations in Tanzania.
– Jamie Enright
Photo: Flickr
Five Ways to Help People in Djibouti
Djibouti, a small country in the region known as the Horn of Africa, has struggled in recent years with the effects of drought, famine and loss of income. As less than .04 percent of the country’s landmass is arable farmland, Djibouti relies heavily on other countries to provide food and other amenities, the prices of which can fluctuate wildly. As a result, Djibouti is in a near-constant food crisis, often finding it difficult to pay for the basic sustenance its citizens need. 23 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty and 39 percent of the population is unemployed. To address these issues, many organizations have already begun to work to improve conditions. Here are five ways to continue this good work and help people in Djibouti:
Djibouti’s economy and people have suffered greatly from factors far out of their control, and it is in other countries’ best interests to help people in Djibouti however they can, whether in small ways, like donating a few dollars to a charitable organization, or through larger ways, like pushing foreign governments to help. Given time and hard work, we can see Djibouti’s luck begin to change.
– Audrey Palzkill
Photo: Flickr