While the people of Iraq certainly underwent extreme oppression under the former totalitarian leader Saddam Hussein, the United States’ stated mission to spread democracy by overthrowing Hussein and invading the country in 2003 has not proven to be a success by many standards.
While it has indisputably achieved important strategic military objectives, former President George W. Bush’s decision to do this has also cost U.S. taxpayers over $2 trillion thus far, resulted in approximately half a million civilian and combat casualties, devastated the quality of life for millions of Iraqi citizens and unfortunately, it does not appear to be a conflict that will be ending anytime soon.
Perhaps the two most damaging results of this conflict for Iraqi society have been the decline of education and widespread health problems and mental illness, both of which are byproducts of the violence taking place across the nation.
Fortunately, organizations and individuals across the globe have recognized these problems and have become actively involved determining how to help people in Iraq. Listed below are these two problems, the methods in which certain humanitarian organizations are seeking to combat them and also ways in which the average citizen can help to be a part of the solution.
Education
Education is necessary for the stability of any society, and, generally speaking, provides children with a safe and healthy socialization process, which is why it is important to consider the fact that roughly 3.5 million children in Iraq attend school infrequently, if at all.
From 2011 to 2013, the British Council and members of the European Union supported a project called the Support to Improving the Quality of Education in Iraq program, which was intended to improve educational conditions in Iraq. The project cost approximately $10 million and implemented programs designed to provide resources, improve teaching skills and develop high-quality curriculums. Overall, the project was a success, allowing 800,000 students of all ages in southern and central Iraq access to a quality education.
Another organization that fights for the improvement of education in Iraq, among other things, is the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Similarly to the British Council’s approach, the IRC is concerned with finding a long-term solution when trying to solve the problem of how to help people in Iraq get an education. They seek to do so by providing well-trained teachers, safe learning environments and reducing the problem of overcrowded schools. You can donate to their cause here.
Perhaps the largest organization that is making the largest strides for the improvement of Iraqi education is UNICEF. In 2016 alone, the organization helped to allow 682,000 children access to an education and provided over 520,000 children with school supplies such as backpacks and stationery. They have also created new ways of how to help people in Iraq by providing cash to families who are particularly vulnerable, offering summer classes to students who have fallen behind and even operating mobile schools in various parts of the nation. You can donate to their efforts here.
Healthcare
In a country where there an estimated 11 million people are speculated to need some form of humanitarian aid, there is no organization more noticeably devoted to providing adequate healthcare to Iraqi citizens in need than Doctors Without Borders (DWB). The organization currently has ongoing projects in almost the entire country with the exception of the southeastern region and works in five major cities or villages including Baghdad, the nation’s capital.
With many medical facilities and resources destroyed, medical care in Iraq is expensive and hard to come by. Millions of citizens have been displaced from their homes and others find themselves miles away from the nearest medical facility. While their mission is not over, DWB has effectively countered this negativity with tremendous success, providing healthcare and first aid to millions of people across the country, putting their own lives on the line to do so.
Currently, their main agenda is providing aid to those affected by the ongoing crisis in Mosul, the country’s second largest city. On the western side of the city, an estimated 60,000 civilians are trapped by the ongoing fighting, which has consistently produced large numbers of civilian casualties and severe displacement. To help solve this problem of displacement, DWB has created displacement camps in different areas of the country, camps who have seen dramatic influxes of people in the recent months.
In June 2017, DWB opened a project in western Mosul and reported a high number of patients needing life-saving treatments. In their June 2017 update, Jonathan Henry, the Emergency Coordinator for the DWB project in west Mosul, stated that “this influx of wounded patients is yet another example of the horrific suffering and indiscriminate violence suffered by civilians, including women and children, throughout the battle for Mosul.” You can donate to DWB here.
Above all, as an American, when asking the question of how to help people in Iraq, the quickest, easiest and best thing you can do is reach out to your congressional leaders and express to them a desire to increase the U.S. foreign aid budget. In doing so, you help to ensure that the wealthiest nation in the world will do more than it currently is to bring these atrocities to an end and allow the country and its neighboring regions to one day see an era of development and prosperity.
– Hunter Mcferrin
Photo: Google
Cash on Delivery Could Be the Future of Foreign Aid
Cash on Delivery works to provide funding for measurable development so that foreign aid can be more focused on results rather than disbursements. It is this type of results-based aid that is arising from the wonder of why money is being spent overseas rather than on local hospitals if results aren’t the main goal.
In the case of health funding, many developing countries such as Rwanda and Burundi are adopting this type of approach by setting a health standard and receiving, for example, $100 for every child at or above that standard.
Cash on Delivery aid (COD), named after a mail delivery option where you pay for the package upon delivery, is being crowned as the most refined form of results-based aid. It fosters a hands-off approach to development, providing the incentive to progress where the country can use all tools at it needs as long as results are generated.
As many believe foreign aid has long been plagued by micromanagement and transparent contracts, this hands-off approach encourages countries to make their own process decisions and remain independent both culturally and politically.
No more is the time when countries are forced to take fees for basic health services or resources for schools. By giving the decision-making power to the country, aid will be in service of the citizens rather than the donors.
The criticisms of this program lie in the potential risk and short-term feel, but the advantages lie with a more self-sustaining approach to progress. Providing the incentive and the tools to progress may prove just as valuable as the funding itself. Cash on Delivery may just be the future of aid.
– Tucker Hallowell
Photo: Flickr
In Happiness and in Health: Causes of Poverty in Nicaragua
Indeed, as of 2014, the national poverty rate was at 29.6 percent. What’s more, though overall poverty in Nicaragua has dropped significantly in the past 12 years, extreme poverty (earning less than $1 a day) is reported to be on the rise, going from 7.6 to 9.5 percent between 2012 and 2013. What are the causes of poverty in Nicaragua? Why does an already struggling country only seem to be getting worse, according to international studies and statistics?
According to a survey cited by the Tico Times, one reason for recent rises in poverty could be lowered export prices on agricultural goods. Much of the country is dependent on temporary farm work and agricultural products such as coffee, and as prices dip, jobs are lost and people struggle to gain a foothold as labor opportunities become harder to find.
Another reason may be stagnant enrollment in education. UNICEF estimates that around 500,000 children between the ages of three and 17 are not enrolled in any formal education. To add to the problem, the number of school-aged children in Nicaragua is at roughly two million, equal to a third of the country’s total population.
However, the causes of poverty in Nicaragua are beginning to be addressed. According to the Tico Times, “the government earmarked $1.3 billion – more than half its official budget – to finance anti-poverty programs and free health and education services. Venezuelan aid also has helped fund programs for the distribution of roof sheeting, financial credits, low-cost housing and food packages for the poor.”
What’s more, the 2017 World Happiness Report noted that Nicaragua had made the largest gains in overall happiness out of 155 countries analyzed.
To trace all the causes of poverty in Nicaragua is a complicated job. As the government continues to fund anti-poverty programs and foreign aid continues to pour in, it seems Nicaragua is on the precipice of moving away from the abysmal poverty rate it now has.
It will take more than mere happiness to combat poverty, but the groundwork has been laid. As global poverty rates continue to fall and markets continue to rise, Nicaragua just may be able to pull itself out of poverty.
– Joseph Dover
Photo: Google
How to Help People in Iraq from the US
While it has indisputably achieved important strategic military objectives, former President George W. Bush’s decision to do this has also cost U.S. taxpayers over $2 trillion thus far, resulted in approximately half a million civilian and combat casualties, devastated the quality of life for millions of Iraqi citizens and unfortunately, it does not appear to be a conflict that will be ending anytime soon.
Perhaps the two most damaging results of this conflict for Iraqi society have been the decline of education and widespread health problems and mental illness, both of which are byproducts of the violence taking place across the nation.
Fortunately, organizations and individuals across the globe have recognized these problems and have become actively involved determining how to help people in Iraq. Listed below are these two problems, the methods in which certain humanitarian organizations are seeking to combat them and also ways in which the average citizen can help to be a part of the solution.
Education
Education is necessary for the stability of any society, and, generally speaking, provides children with a safe and healthy socialization process, which is why it is important to consider the fact that roughly 3.5 million children in Iraq attend school infrequently, if at all.
From 2011 to 2013, the British Council and members of the European Union supported a project called the Support to Improving the Quality of Education in Iraq program, which was intended to improve educational conditions in Iraq. The project cost approximately $10 million and implemented programs designed to provide resources, improve teaching skills and develop high-quality curriculums. Overall, the project was a success, allowing 800,000 students of all ages in southern and central Iraq access to a quality education.
Another organization that fights for the improvement of education in Iraq, among other things, is the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Similarly to the British Council’s approach, the IRC is concerned with finding a long-term solution when trying to solve the problem of how to help people in Iraq get an education. They seek to do so by providing well-trained teachers, safe learning environments and reducing the problem of overcrowded schools. You can donate to their cause here.
Perhaps the largest organization that is making the largest strides for the improvement of Iraqi education is UNICEF. In 2016 alone, the organization helped to allow 682,000 children access to an education and provided over 520,000 children with school supplies such as backpacks and stationery. They have also created new ways of how to help people in Iraq by providing cash to families who are particularly vulnerable, offering summer classes to students who have fallen behind and even operating mobile schools in various parts of the nation. You can donate to their efforts here.
Healthcare
In a country where there an estimated 11 million people are speculated to need some form of humanitarian aid, there is no organization more noticeably devoted to providing adequate healthcare to Iraqi citizens in need than Doctors Without Borders (DWB). The organization currently has ongoing projects in almost the entire country with the exception of the southeastern region and works in five major cities or villages including Baghdad, the nation’s capital.
With many medical facilities and resources destroyed, medical care in Iraq is expensive and hard to come by. Millions of citizens have been displaced from their homes and others find themselves miles away from the nearest medical facility. While their mission is not over, DWB has effectively countered this negativity with tremendous success, providing healthcare and first aid to millions of people across the country, putting their own lives on the line to do so.
Currently, their main agenda is providing aid to those affected by the ongoing crisis in Mosul, the country’s second largest city. On the western side of the city, an estimated 60,000 civilians are trapped by the ongoing fighting, which has consistently produced large numbers of civilian casualties and severe displacement. To help solve this problem of displacement, DWB has created displacement camps in different areas of the country, camps who have seen dramatic influxes of people in the recent months.
In June 2017, DWB opened a project in western Mosul and reported a high number of patients needing life-saving treatments. In their June 2017 update, Jonathan Henry, the Emergency Coordinator for the DWB project in west Mosul, stated that “this influx of wounded patients is yet another example of the horrific suffering and indiscriminate violence suffered by civilians, including women and children, throughout the battle for Mosul.” You can donate to DWB here.
Above all, as an American, when asking the question of how to help people in Iraq, the quickest, easiest and best thing you can do is reach out to your congressional leaders and express to them a desire to increase the U.S. foreign aid budget. In doing so, you help to ensure that the wealthiest nation in the world will do more than it currently is to bring these atrocities to an end and allow the country and its neighboring regions to one day see an era of development and prosperity.
– Hunter Mcferrin
Photo: Google
Statistical Exploration of the Poverty Rate in Algeria
Currently, unemployment is one of the biggest factors leading to setbacks in improving the poverty rate in Algeria. The World Bank reports that unemployment increased to 11.2 percent in 2015 and has remained that way through population increases in 2016. High levels of unemployment also occur among women and youth at 16.6 percent and 29.9 percent respectively.
Combined with low oil prices and deteriorating living standards, tackling inequality has become increasingly difficult in Algeria. Many disparities exist regionally, with almost 75 percent of Algeria’s poor living in urban areas and working informal jobs. Looking beyond the blanket statistical figures that exist, regional disparities indicate that twice as much poverty exists in Algeria’s Sahara, and three times as much exists among the population living on the Steppe, a Mediterranean forest and woodland region of North Africa.
Moving forward, the United Nations and other organizations such as the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH) are working toward improving early childhood development and nutrition, health coverage, implementing cash transfers and strengthening rural infrastructure to displace inequality and decrease the poverty rate in Algeria. In 2005, Algeria launched the UNICEF Unite for Children Against AIDS global campaign, and other campaigns and movements have progressed alongside those efforts.
A 2017 UNICEF analysis covering 11 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Algeria, Comoros and Egypt among others, has also led efforts to improve education, provide adequate housing, provide access to clean water and improve antenatal care and birth assistance.
Through political advocacy and policy implementation, solutions can be found and goals achieved to leverage inequality, continue moving citizens above the international poverty line and lower the poverty rate in Algeria.
– Katherine Wang
Photo: Pixabay
10 Facts About the Poverty Rate in North Macedonia
Macedonia, also known as the Republic of North Macedonia, is located in the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. Macedonia declared peaceful independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and has a population of 2.058 million people. The country has made progress in improving its economy and business environment; however, corruption and weak rule of law are still problems in Macedonia. Additionally, some businesses in Macedonia have complained about unequal enforcement of the law. Here are 10 facts about the poverty rate in Macedonia:
North Macedonia has been making progress in creating a better business environment. However, due to internal conflicts such as corruption and political problems, Macedonia has consistently missed its fiscal targets in the past few years. As a result, the poverty rate in Macedonia is still high. Reducing the unemployment rate and increasing foreign investment are the two major things that North Macedonia needs to focus on in order to reduce the poverty rate in the coming years.
– Mike Liu
Photo: Flickr
Updated: June 3, 2024
10 Important Facts to Know About Asian H7N9
This is the fifth epidemic outbreak of Asian H7N9 since the first case of the virus was reported in March 2013. The present epidemic cycle is its largest epidemic to date: the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that, as of July 19, 2017, 756 human infections from Asian H7N9 have been reported since the epidemic’s onset in March. The most recent report brings the total number of confirmed Asian H7N9 infections to 1,554, where at least 40 percent of afflicted persons died due to consequent health complications.
While both local and international health authorities refute the idea of an Asian H7N9 pandemic and cite that there is no strong evidence that would constitute a global outbreak, it is wise for citizens to be aware of the evolving situation regarding the virus. Here are ten things to know about the virus:
The WHO advises travelers to countries with known outbreaks of avian influenza to avoid poultry farms, contact with animals in live poultry markets and to refrain from entering areas where poultry is slaughtered whenever possible. It also reminds tourists in these areas to constantly wash their hands with soap and water and to follow good food and hygiene practices.
– Bella Suansing
Photo: Google
Save Millions of Lives: How to Help People in Congo
HIV/AIDS
The poor in Congo experience extreme circumstances. The coastal African nation is affected by the HIV/AIDS virus, with 3.5 percent of the population having the disease. Other diseases plague the population as well, mostly due to poor sanitation and unclean drinking water.
Hunger
Though there are many more problems impacting Congo, none are as well known as the issue of hunger. Around 47 percent of the Congolese population lives below the national poverty line. This means most of the country struggles to provide proper nutrition to their families, especially if unassisted by food aid programs.
However, with food aid programs tackling the problem of hunger around the globe, more Congolese have access to nutritious foods.
Influential Organizations
One such organization is the World Food Programme (WFP). Each year, the WFP helps to reduce hunger in about 80 different countries around the world. As the organization explains, there are over 5,000 trucks, 70 planes and 20 ships delivering food rations “on any given day” to people affected by hunger worldwide.
As for Congo, WFP is there providing school meals, refugee food assistance and even giving specialized foods to people living with HIV/TB.For John and Jane Q. Every person asking how to help people in Congo, WFP is always open to donations, which can be found in the top right corner of their site. WFP also hosts volunteers and has career opportunities for anyone seeking to go a little further with their assistance to the people of Congo. Volunteering is open to anyone aged 18 and over and can be applied for on their website as well, under the “Get Involved” tab.
Another promising organization is amfAR. This organization focuses on research and is dedicated to discovering a cure for the HIV/AIDS virus, investing $480 million in research as well as providing some 3,300 grants to research teams.
As mentioned above, AIDS is a devastating factor in the lives of the Congolese people. Developing a cure to HIV/AIDS would improve the lives of those in Congo as well as millions around the world.
How to Help
One way how to help people in Congo is to support HIV and AIDS research. Like the previous organization, a donation button for amfAR can be found in the top right corner of their page. AmfAR also sells products, like t-shirts and hats, the proceeds of which contribute to AIDS research. These can also be found on their page
But one of the easiest ways how to help people in Congo is to pick up the phone. Calling members of congress is a great way to show them what the important issues are on the minds of their constituency. A simple phone call can also get them to consider foreign aid legislation more seriously.
Finding phone numbers for congressmen and senators is quite simple. On the Borgen Project link, enter your zip code in the “Find Your Leaders” step.
Then, once you have their numbers, you can get them to view a piece of legislation with an easy, 30-second call. This is all you have to say: “Hello, my name is… and I would like you to protect the International Affairs Budget,” or consider whatever piece of legislation you choose (there are several more listed on The Borgen Project page). At most, the intern will ask you for your zip code—and then the call is over.
Getting friends and family to do this can generate a lot of support for an issue, and even gain the support of the leader after as few as seven to ten calls. With funding for bills like the International Affairs Budget held in tact, or even increased, millions of lives can be saved in impoverished places all over the world, like Congo.
– Stephen Praytor
Photo: Flickr
Human Trafficking Facts and Info
Human trafficking is essentially a form of modern-day slavery, where traffickers will use force, fraud or coercion to control victims. The two most common forms of human trafficking are sex trafficking and labor trafficking. Sex trafficking has been found in a multitude of venues within the sex industry, including residential brothels, escort services, fake massage businesses, strip clubs and street prostitution. Labor trafficking is found in a variety of labor settings such as domestic work, small businesses, large farms and factories.
Trafficking exists due to two major factors: low risk and high profits. Human traffickers tend to see little risk in these criminal operations. Although there have been increasing investigations, penalties and prosecutions throughout the years, the high profit potential from committing these crimes makes them worth the risk for many. There is often a lack of government and law enforcement training with these situations, as well as many in a community not being aware of the threat, ineffective laws, scarce resources to help victims recover and even social blaming of victims. Many of these high profits include when individuals are willing to buy commercial sex, whether it be from children or adults, and many consumers are willing to buy services from industries that rely on forced labor.
Top Facts on Human Trafficking:
The Department of Homeland Security has a page that can help one recognize the signs of human trafficking, as well as a page on further identifying a victim with hotlines to call to report suspicious criminal activity to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Being informed on human trafficking as well as the proper steps to take when potentially encountering a trafficking victim could save someone from an unfortunate and disturbing fate.
– Sara Venusti
Photo: Flickr
Sex Trafficking in Peru
According to the Walk Free Foundation – an organization that fights against human trafficking, otherwise known as modern slavery – Peru has the third-highest rate of cases of forced labor in Latin America, after Mexico and Colombia. It is estimated that 0.6 percent of Peru’s population, or 200,000 people, suffer from some form of forced labor in their lifetimes. 80 percent of these people are subjected to trafficking involving prostitution.
Forced labor in Peru occurs in many service areas such as gold mining, logging, unregistered factories, organized street begging and domestic service. Mafia and terrorist organizations such as Sendero Luminoso, or Shining Path, recruit children as young as age 11 through social media with the intent to sexually exploit them. Recruiting often manifests through fake employment offers.
Once in the custody of traffickers, victims often are unable to leave due to being held in remote places such as mining camps, the high cost of transportation, the demand for commercial sex and the need to make money. Attempting to escape often results in murder and public body mutilation to act as a warning to other victims.
Online and offline child “sex tourism” is another way victims are trafficked. Americans will pay thousands of dollars to engage in online sex acts with underage girls. In a 2015 arrest of an online child pornography perpetrator, authorities rescued 36 victims, 11 of which were underage and as young as 4. The American police and the Peruvian National Police worked together on this specific arrest. The Protect Act allows U.S. authorities to charge American perpetrators whether the acts occur in the U.S. or abroad.
Human trafficking for the point of sexual exploitation carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison in Peru, but corruption often undermines the judicial system. While the government is not doing nearly enough to reduce the prevalence of human trafficking for sexual exploitation, they are making some efforts and many NGOs are picking up the slack.
The Peruvian government has worked to establish specialized, anti-trafficking regional prosecutor offices in Callao, Cusco, Lima, Loreto, Puno, Tacna and Tumbes. It has also increased anti-trafficking operations and arrests, increased efforts to identify and assist victims and has been investigating and convicting sex tourists. Anti-trafficking commercials and posters in airports are another way the government is working to raise awareness.
NGOs have been the true heros thus far in the fight against sex trafficking in Peru. Along with safe homes for women, organizations such as PROMSEX are making great efforts to aid survivors of sex trafficking. PROMSEX is a sexual and reproductive rights nonprofit that has launched an awareness and mobilizing campaign against trafficking. They work to provide legal, psychological and material services for survivors; this includes treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and mental health counselling. As part of PROMSEX’s campaign, they are also working on improving the legal rights of victims, such as not treating victims of prostitution as criminals. They also educate the public on ways to avoid sex trafficking.
While there is still much progress to be made, NGOs like PROMSEX are pillars of hope for the sex trafficking victims of Peru.
– Phoebe Cohen
Photo: Pixabay
Understanding the Causes of Poverty in Cameroon
Cameroon is a country of more than 23 million people. Out of the entire population, 24 percent of people live in poverty, and 55 percent of those in poverty live in rural communities.
Two causes of poverty in Cameroon and reasons for the gap between rural and urban poverty are a lack of infrastructure and an education system that fails to develop alongside shifting labor needs.
As the IMF noted in a 2014 survey, “the country’s infrastructure indicators trail those of regional peers. In spite of a slight improvement in the overall quality of infrastructure in 2013, indicators are low by sub-Saharan African standards, especially for roads, air transportation and electricity.”
This lack of infrastructure, which limits transportation, cuts off those who live in rural areas. Rural citizens do not have access to fundamental resources and are marooned from diversified labor opportunities.
Furthermore, the education system has failed to develop alongside market demands. As the World Bank found, “the country’s tertiary education continues to focus on traditional academic disciplines and is not positioned to respond to economic transformation.”
In Cameroon, 43 percent of the population has little or no formal and primary education. What’s more, 67 percent of the population that is of working-age has received no further training in developing job sectors, leading to a significantly higher level of unemployment among youth–especially those living in rural areas.
This double-edged sword hits residents in the countryside. They have higher odds of living in poverty because of struggling infrastructure and inadequate educational opportunities. The country must address these issues to combat the causes of poverty and increasing poverty rates.
Indeed, steps are being taken. People are across the country are calling for performance-based financing for educational institutions to drive up competitiveness and quality of studies. Also, many organizations, including Heifer International, an organization that works to end global hunger and poverty, are working to increase jobs in rural areas. Regarding infrastructure, Cameroon recently launched a 10-year development plan focused on massive public investment in infrastructure, including roads.
By understanding the roles of infrastructure and education in the causes of poverty in Cameroon, the country may be able to improve living conditions for its impoverished people.
– Joseph Dover
Photo: Flickr