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Cash-Based Transfers: Food Assistance That Empowers


The cash-based transfer is a form of food assistance that has been supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations since the early 2010s. In contrast to in-kind food assistance, which feeds hungry individuals by way of donations of food, cash-based transfers consist of physical money, debit cards and vouchers distributed to those in need and allow people freedom in selecting their food.

Cash-based transfers are both practical and empowering. Individuals that receive aid of any kind are often viewed as passive recipients. However, the program recognizes that people that receive aid know their nutritional needs best and deserve the agency to choose their own food.

The cash-based transfer is also a more sustainable aid program when compared to in-kind food assistance. The money provided through aid goes into local economies and provides support for a future in which hungry individuals will be able to obtain food from their communities. For example, $1.29 billion USD were introduced into Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey by WFP to revitalize those economies in the wake of the Syrian conflict.

Users of cash-based transfers can redeem them in stores connected to WFP and related U.N. agencies. This allows WFP to track what is bought and informs their future decisions concerning what foods they stock in their stores and what amounts of money are appropriate for cash-based transfers. The program is sustainable in its implementation on the ground and through the feedback that it provides to WFP.

However, the cash-based transfer is not always the most effective form of food assistance. It is inappropriate in areas with severely disrupted markets or untrustworthy banks and is too dependent on the structure to function in times of crisis, such as in the event of a tsunami, during which time direct donations of food are necessary for basic survival. WFP contends that it evaluates areas in need case-by-case and determines what combination of in-kind and cash-based transfer aid is appropriate. One variation on the cash-based transfer allows access to this type of aid conditionally— for instance, if a family’s children stay in school, they receive cash-based transfers. Other cash-based transfers only allow for the purchase of specific items.

It is important to note that cash-based transfers currently comprise less than 10 percent of overall global humanitarian aid. U.S. in-kind aid programs such as the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program and Food for Progress are established and have succeeded in feeding billions of people all over the globe. However, the humanitarian nature and sustainability of cash-based transfers will likely continue to appeal to different governments as they search for long-term solutions to world hunger.

– Caroline Meyers

Photo: Flickr

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Economic Turmoil Brings Back Common Diseases in Venezuela


As Venezuela’s street crime rates rose throughout the Chávez presidency — and as they have continued to do so under President Maduro — its citizens began to fall prey to disease. The spread of common diseases in Venezuela such as hepatitis A and B, typhoid, malaria, rabies and yellow fever echo the rise of corruption in the nation. These diseases are the new normal alongside Venezuela’s crumbling economy.

Over the years, these diseases have waxed and waned in Venezuela. As new vaccinations came out, smaller outbreaks would occur.

Under the Chávez regime — February 2, 1999 to March 5, 2013 — Venezuela suffered a degrading economic collapse. As a result, President Maduro’s administration inherited the damage alongside the leadership.

Venezuela is home to one of the largest oil reserves in the world, and its primary source of export revenue is oil. During Chávez’s presidency, his goal was to use oil revenues to finance a social revolution that would benefit low-income families in Venezuela.

Nevertheless, the country’s corrupt leaders shifted the oil revenue into their personal coffers rather than investing in the poor. Economic chaos rules today’s Venezuela, and a product of this 10-year disarray is the world’s highest rate of inflation. Citizens must line up every morning to obtain such basic goods as rice, beans, cooking oil, toilet paper and toothpaste. These lines mark the streets of Caracas and are known to be the focus of international media.

As of late, the flow of imports has all but stopped. The government, struggling with corruption, cannot pay for imports due to their extreme debt. Venezuela imported everything but oil; now, the country lacks everyday products, including medicines and vaccinations. Consequently, common diseases in Venezuela have returned.

According to the New York Times, the prevalence of malaria in the country is at its highest level in 75 years. Venezuela’s child mortality rate is increasing, presenting a physical manifestation of the nation’s lack of resources.

Diseases once thought to be eliminated (and entirely preventable), such as malaria and diphtheria, are reappearing at alarming rates. These rises in prevalence particularly threaten the health of mothers and newborns during delivery and post-natal care.

There are individuals willing to make a difference in the fight against common diseases in Venezuela. Humanitarian activist Lilian Tintori, for example, has dedicated her life to a revolt against the Chávez regime. She wants to establish a humanitarian channel between the world’s nations and Venezuela to help deliver food, medicine and other necessary products.

Unfortunately, President Nicolas Maduro refuses to address the issue of scarcity and the preventable tropical diseases making a comeback in Venezuela. More emphasis needs to be placed on the government’s assistance in reducing the harm done by the most common diseases in Venezuela.

– Francis Hurtado

Photo: Flickr

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Climate Refugees: Now Necessary for Island Nations to Find New Homes

Climate Refugees: Island Nations to Find New Home

The Maldivian people could soon be forced into refugee status, not by an oppressive government or violence, but by such strong climate change that in its power, will create climate refugees.

The Asian Development Bank reported that the Maldives is “hardest hit by climate change,” even though it is one of the lowest CO2 emitting nations in the world.

At this moment, less ice covers the Arctic than at any other time in history and sea levels are rising at a steady rate. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessed that the world is approaching 10-13 feet of sea level rise by the end of the century. At that kind of level, the Maldives would essentially disappear.

Sea level rise is not unforeseen. Since 1992 the world has seen an average increase of three inches in sea levels, with some areas experiencing up to nine inches. Those responsible have no excuse not to act.

Residents of the Maldive islands have started informal talks of mass migration of climate refugees to Australia, Sri Lanka and India. Additionally, the Maldives established a relocation fund to help its citizens buy land overseas as the government realized that the need to relocate will occur sooner rather than later.

The Maldives is not the only country seeking refuge in Australia. Tuvalu, located in Oceania, requested that Australia prepare for the arrival of 12,000 climate refugees from the island in the near future.

Some of Tuvalu’s people have already left the islands to seek stability elsewhere, making them climate refugees. The Maldives prepare to face this same future.

Already, many villages in the islands of Oceania have been destroyed by natural disasters, displacing communities and halting, sometimes ending, people’s lives.

Those forced to relocate are in danger of losing their national and cultural identities, and many of the Maldivian people want to stay. If those in power do nothing, many will lose their homes and be forced to relocate.

– Ayah Alkhars

Photo: Flickr

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Nine Important Facts About the Highly Fatal Marburg Virus


The Marburg virus disease (MVD) is severe and highly fatal. Albeit rare, MVD is an extremely contagious disease that causes outbreaks with a large number of fatalities. The disease is known have to spread in both in Europe and Africa, affecting a large swathe of different populations. The following nine facts provide details on MVD, one of the most dangerous viruses in the world.

  1. The Marburg virus is named after Marburg, a small town in central Germany, where the disease was first detected in 1967. Traces of the disease were also found in Frankfurt, Germany and Belgrade, in what was formerly Yugoslavia.
  2. However, the disease actually originates from Uganda. German workers at a laboratory in Marburg caught the disease from infected monkeys, which were imported from the African nation.
  3. The virus is transmitted through direct contact with infected blood, bodily fluids or tissue, or the handling of ill or dead infected animals, usually wild.
  4. Fatality rates fluctuate. In the outbreaks between 1998 and 2000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in 2005 in Angola, the fatality rate was as high as 90 percent. The initial outbreak in 1967 had only a 25 percent fatality rate.
  5. The initial symptoms of the illness — mainly severe headaches and malaise — come on very suddenly. Patients can develop eye and nerve problems as well as severe hemorrhages as the illness progresses.
  6. Treatment of the disease is mostly limited to supportive care.
  7. The Marburg virus is classified as a Category A bio-warfare agent by the Center for Disease Control.
  8. The Soviet Union experimented with MVD toward the end of the Cold War, in the 1980s and 1990s, in an attempt to develop a potent biological weapon. Reports claim that Soviet scientists were hoping to load the disease onto a warhead.
  9. Roughly 80 nanometers to 800 nanometers long, the virus can be killed with heat, ultra-violet light and disinfectants such as bleach and Glutaral.

Although there have been no recent outbreaks of the disease, it warrants great caution, particularly in nations with underdeveloped infrastructures for health and treatment. As the statistics of the last outbreaks in Africa evince, fatality rates have proven to be extremely high. The Marburg virus is extremely dangerous and highly contagious, which gives it the potential to do irreparable damage to the population. The international community must be attentive to this disease and ready to help nations who detect the MVD within their borders.

– Alan Garcia-Ramos

Photo: Flickr

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3 Organizations That Support North Korean Refugees

Support North Korean Refugees
North Korea’s government is one of the most restrictive in the world. Unpaid labor is forced upon North Korean civilians, independent press and media are banned and the borders are guarded and monitored closely by both North Korean and Chinese guards. Human Rights Watch reports that North Korea contains prison camps holding hundreds of thousands of North Korean citizens of all ages. Conditions there include torture, sexual abuse and, for those accused of serious crimes, public execution. Discussed below are organizations that support North Korean refugees.

Liberty in North Korea

This organization helps North Koreans escape using calculated courses through China and Southeast Asia. To accomplish this, Liberty in North Korea leverages on-ground relationships and donor funding. The organization also has very systematic resettlement programs available to support North Korean refugees including translation, healthcare, integration and counseling services. Additionally, Liberty in North Korea educates, mobilizes and encourages others to support North Korean refugees via events and fundraisers. The organization has a thorough breakdown of how funds are distributed throughout the escape and resettlement process, and it claims that $3,000 will save and resettle one North Korean refugee.

North Korean Freedom Coalition

This organization partners with political leaders to support North Korean victims of human rights violations. It also hosts the annual North Korean Freedom Week, which raises awareness of the North Korean atrocities and gains support for the freedom of North Korean prisoners being unjustly held. This is a collaboration of several public and private members, including several different independent charities.

Helping Hands Korea (HHK)

This is a non-denominational Christian organization that provides food and basic necessities to North Koreans based on the level of support each requires. HHK also assists with the transport of refugees through Asia to safety. Although the spread of Christianity is not the primary goal of HHK, the organization provides each refugee a Bible and a message of hope.

The level of human rights violations in North Korea has not received the amount of attention it deserves, and further education is necessary to address these issues in a rational and effective way. North Korea continues to develop its weapon systems and actively test nuclear weapons and missiles, in violation of U.N. agreements. The U.S. has hinted that it is willing to use force in dealing with North Korea, but a war would cause an astronomical number of casualties, especially in South Korea. While China has increased its pressure on North Korea to denuclearize, it must take a stronger role in abolishing the inhumane treatment of North Korean citizens and support North Korean refugees.

– Emma Tennyson

Photo: Flickr

The Business of Impact Sourcing, or Socially Responsible Outsourcing

The Business of Impact SourcingOn June 12, 2017, SAP Ariba, a software and information technology company, and Samasource, a nonprofit organization working to fight poverty, announced their partnership. Both organizations hope to fight poverty through collaboration and an innovation known as impact sourcing.

Samasource, founded in 2008, works to fight poverty by using the model also referred to as socially responsible outsourcing. Impact sourcing primarily helps the disadvantaged rather than as a means of saving capital. The model provides impoverished individuals with access to work and training.

Samasource does this by partnering with other organizations interested in increasing the social impact of their companies. Using a business model called “microwork,” Samasource breaks down a company’s large scale data projects into smaller pieces. Then, they outsource the smaller projects to people in need of work in the United States and throughout the world. These new workers are trained in computer (and other necessary) skills.

Samasource helped lift more than 36,000 people out of poverty through this revolutionary model.

But impact sourcing is not limited to Samasoucre. Digital Divide Data is a social enterprise that seeks to deliver high-quality digital content to its customers. The company relies on impact sourcing to assist disadvantaged youth from low-income families secure jobs. Digital Divide Data helped lead numerous individuals out of poverty by doing this since 2001.

ImpactHub is an online platform that seeks to connect businesses with service providers that will match them with “high potential but disadvantaged women and youth.”

Currently, about 1.8 billion people around the world cannot find work and do not have access to higher education. Africa will soon hold one of the largest workforces on the planet, but will not have enough readily available jobs to supply their needs. Impact sourcing is a viable solution to this problem. Today, more than 500,000 people are working because of impact sourcing.

Impact sourcing is a growing business model. Similar to microfinancing, it continues to garner attention and support in the business community.

– Rebeca Ilisoi

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Sima Samar and Her Impact


Sima Samar is one of the most influential people in the world, advocating for other women and minority groups. Her humanitarian pursuits have not come without serious risk to her life, and yet Sima Samar has never deterred her efforts. As quoted in the Afghanistan Foreign Policy and Government Guide, she once stated, “I’ve always been in danger, but I don’t mind. I believe that we will die one day so I said let’s take the risk and help somebody else.” Here are 10 facts about Sima Samar and her lifelong activism.

10 Facts About Sima Samar and Her Impact

  1. Samar grew up as a member of Afghanistan’s Hazara minority with 10 siblings and a polygamist father. Attending school in Lashkargah, Samar began speaking out for women’s rights as early as the seventh grade.
  2. Samar’s father would not let her attend university unless she agreed to an arranged marriage. She accepted a marriage to Abdul Chafoor Sultani on the terms that he let her study medicine. Samar received a medical degree from Kabul University in 1982. She was the first Hazara woman in Afghanistan to do so.
  3. One night in 1978, 10 men broke into Samar’s home and kidnapped her husband and his three brothers. They were among the 500 educated people kidnapped during the Russian invasion never to be seen or heard from again.
  4. In 1984, oppressive Russian forces forced Samar to flee to Pakistan with her young son. She stayed there for the next 17 years, dedicating herself to aiding other Afghan refugees.
  5. By 1987, Samar helped open the first hospital for women, staffed by women in Pakistan. She also set up education programs for girls in the country. She did this despite opposition from conservative leaders in Pakistan and limited funding.
  6. In 1989, Samar established the Shuhada Organization, a nonprofit that strives for a prosperous, democratic and socially just Afghanistan with an emphasis on empowering women and children. Founding the Shuhada Organization was dangerous for Samar because it directly opposed the uncompromising Taliban regime that seized control of Afghanistan in 1994. Samar did not let death threats or public condemnation dishearten or scare her. The organization now runs 55 schools in Afghanistan and three in Pakistan for Afghan refugees.
  7. After the collapse of the Taliban in 2001, Sima Samar was chosen as the first Deputy Chair and Minister of Women’s Affairs during the Interim Administration in Afghanistan. As the first ever Afghan Minister of Women’s Affairs, she oversaw the re-entry of girls into school and women into the workforce.
  8. Samar has since stepped down as the Minister of Women’s Affairs and now heads Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission.
  9. From 2005 to 2009, Samar worked as the U.N. special reporter on the human rights situation in Sudan.
  10. Samar has been recognized and rewarded by numerous human rights and women’s rights organizations internationally and was named Forbes’ 28th most powerful woman in 2006.

While Samar paid a high price for her achievements, these 10 facts reveal her success as a humanitarian and activist. Sima Samar demonstrates the influence, change and progress one person can achieve; she is truly a woman to be celebrated.

– Catherine Fredette

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Refugees in Switzerland

Refugees in Switzerland
In Europe, Switzerland ranks fourth in the number of refugees they accept per capita. Given their leniency, the closure of the Balkan countries’ border has led to a rapid increase of refugees in Switzerland. The sudden rise in the refugee population has led to controversy over the Asylum Act and the Foreign Nationals Act.

Top 10 Facts About Refugees in Switzerland

  1. The closure of the popular migration route via the Balkans border on March 9, 2016, led to a rapid increase in the number of refugees in Switzerland as they immigrated to Germany. Refugees have been entering Switzerland through Ticino, and a report estimates there are 5,760 illegal residents in this region.
  2. Switzerland’s Asylum Act grants “recognized refugees” asylum, temporary protection if needed, public social assistance and the ability to become a permanent resident after having resided in the country for 10 years. Refugees in Switzerland granted the B permit are noted as “recognized refugees,” defined as people who “‘in their native country or in their country of the last residence are subject to serious disadvantages or have a well-founded fear of being exposed to such disadvantages.'”
  3. The Asylum Act imposes required social assistance. Consequently, the council of Rekingen, a municipality in the canton of Aargu, Switzerland, proposed that residents should not rent properties to refugees. The proposal stems from the fear that B permit refugees will rely on social welfare benefits and ruin Rekingen financially.
  4. Refugees in Switzerland who apply for asylum must complete processing at a reception center to be considered legal. However, 20 to 40 percent of refugees assigned to reception centers evade the monitoring system  so that they may migrate to Germany. According to Swiss legislation, they are thus illegal immigrants.
  5. Some parts of Switzerland have reported that the number of refugees who left the reception centers soon after arriving is between 50 to 90 percent. They concluded that refugees are using Switzerland for transit instead of asylum.
  6. On February 9, 2014, Switzerland adopted the Controlling Mass Immigration Initiative. The initiative introduced annual quotas for accepting refugees and amended the social security benefits of immigrants seeking employment.
  7. The annual quotas instilled by the Controlling Mass Immigration Initiative has stirred controversy in the village of Oberwil-Lieli. Oberwil-Lieli’s mayor originally rejected the quota because his residents believe assistance should be done “on the ground,” preferring to lessen the threat in the refugees’ native countries rather than make Switzerland a popular asylum. For example, residents of the village raised 370,000 francs to support Greek refugees.
  8. Eritreans make up the largest portion of refugees in Switzerland. About 34,500 Eritreans have fled their homes as a result of violent conflict with Ethiopia. Switzerland has so far accepted refugees who illegally exited Eritrea given they apply for asylum. However, reports show that many refugees use their allowed 21 days of holiday to visit Eritrea34, undermining their claim to asylum. This revelation led to a discussion about Switzerland’s lax rules for refugees. Subsequently, the appeal to strengthen the rules for Eritrean asylum seeking did not receive approval.
  9. Most refugees immigrating from Italy to Germany pass through Switzerland. However, Federal Border Guards consistently transfer migrants who did not apply for asylum to Italy. In 2016, authorities sent over a thousand refugees seeking asylum back to Italy. The deportees included several hundred unaccompanied minors and many refugees with family in Switzerland.
  10. In September 2015, an amendment to the Asylum Act granted asylum seekers free legal advice and representation in the procedure. It also made a legal duty out of caring for the needs of especially-threatened refugees.

Improvement of immigration laws in Switzerland will mitigate legal problems with refugees. However, addressing the threat and poverty of refugee countries may also make a sizeable impact.

– Haley Hurtt

Photo: Flickr

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Noncommunicable Illnesses Top List of Major Diseases in Grenada


When working to eliminate poverty, understanding public health concerns in regions such as Grenada is critical. Communicable diseases such as measles, polio and smallpox on this Caribbean island are less common today than they once were as a result of vaccinations and other public health strategies. Noncommunicable and preventative diseases, however, have been of more concern to health workers and government officials in the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) have found that the most prevalent diseases in Grenada are, in no particular order:

  • Cancer is a leading cause of death in Grenada. Roughly three percent of Grenadians die from this disease yearly. Prostate cancer is especially deadly, accounting for about 17 percent of those deaths. Local doctors and organizations have strived to raise awareness and money for the Grenada Cancer Society. The annual Walk for the Cure, for example, is hosted by the First Caribbean International Bank and helps give assistance to cancer patients in need.
  • Respiratory diseases and infections are also among the leading causes of death and disability in Grenada. During a 2010 PAHO study of discharge data at St. George’s General Hospital, respiratory illnesses made up 4.9 percent of visits. About 1.5 percent of the population dies yearly from lower respiratory infections, a rate that is significantly higher than that of similar countries. Risk factors include air pollution and tobacco smoke.
  • Cardiovascular diseases are very common in Grenada, and ischemic heart disease is the most common form found in the country. IHME estimates that 2.4 percent of people die yearly from this form of heart disease. And, although fewer people die from it annually, ischemic heart disease still remains a leading cause of death. Those with poor diet or physical inactivity are more at risk of cardiovascular disease. The Grenada Heart Project is critical in raising awareness and helping the sick.
  • Hypertension is among the diseases in Grenada that adults are most commonly diagnosed with. The morbidity rate of hypertension for adults ages 20 to 59 is 7.25 percent and for the elderly is 48.7 percent. In the PAHO hospital study mentioned above, this health problem led to 12.9 percent of hospital visits. Poor diet and physical inactivity are risk factors for hypertension. To reduce the risk of hypertension, the Grenada Food and Nutrition Council recommends better lifestyle choices such as eating healthier, being more physically active and quitting smoking. The Grenada Heart Project also focuses on this issue.
  • Diabetes is another disease that adults are most commonly diagnosed with. Diabetes affects about 9.4 percent of adults ages 20 to 59 and 27 percent of the elderly. About 1.7 percent of Grenadians die from this disease yearly, which is significantly higher than that of similar countries. The PAHO hospital study found that diabetes accounted for 27 percent of doctor’s visits. The risk of this disease has been seen to increase with age and if previously diagnosed in the family. Again, poor diet and physical inactivity are risk factors for diabetes. The Grenada Diabetes Association is a key decision-maker working to decrease the death rates and prevalence of diabetes in the country.
  • Cerebrovascular disease is another leading cause of death and disability in Grenada. Roughly two percent of the population dies every year from this illness, another mortality rate that is significantly higher than that of similar countries. As with many of the above diseases, poor dietary choices and physical inactivity increase chances of cerebrovascular disease.

Many health workers hope that, by addressing obesity, a preventative condition that has become more widespread in the country, they can decrease the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases in Grenada such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. One way to combat these health problems is to focus on eating habits and physical activity, both critical factors that affect obesity.

Fighting these diseases in Grenada and around the world has not and will not be easy, but people and organizations are continuing to work together to raise awareness for prevention, treatments and cures.

– Francesca Montalto

Photo: Flickr

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Water Quality in Mongolia Decreasing at Alarming Rate


Mongolia, a country in central Asia, has some of Earth’s most beautiful mountains and wonders. Despite its abundance of natural resources, lakes and rivers, water quality in Mongolia has begun decreasing at an alarming rate.

Climate change is one of the largest factors in Mongolia’s decreasing supply of drinking water; many lakes and rivers continue to dry up. The land in southern Mongolia around the Gobi desert has had an increase in desertification as climate change emphasizes the unequal distribution of drinkable water between Mongolia’s mountain region and its drier areas.

Mongolia’s economy relies heavily on herding culture, an industry that requires accessible drinking water nationwide. However, the presence of so much livestock also poses a threat to public health, as the lack of infrastructure around water supply often leads to contamination.

An increase of urbanization and an economic reliance on mining have also contributed to the gradual pollution of groundwater resources in Mongolia, the country’s main source of water outside of mountainous regions.

However, multiple organizations have implemented plans to address these growing concerns for water quality in Mongolia. The Water Supply and Sewage Authority (USUG) aims to supply safe drinking water to an estimated 1.2 million people living in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. USUG has a three-year program to maintain sustainability and is a pilot project of a larger organization: the WHO/AusAID Partnership on Water Quality, created in 2012.

The Mongolian government has implemented several revisions in policy, such as an order for the Compulsory Establishment of Centralized Water Supplies, and the Methodological Guidance on Water Safety Plans for Small Communities, established in 2015.

Awareness among water-related government agencies is another crucial part of the process toward higher water quality in Mongolia. Water safety plans (WSPs) advocate for such awareness among water suppliers, health facilities, academic institutions and inspection agencies.

Meanwhile, The Asia Foundation works at the local level to ensure smaller towns and herder communities can protect their water. The process for such awareness spans from the household levels of conservation, city-wide treatment and sanitation, and global climate change-related activity. All of these issues intersect in Mongolia’s water supply, with WSPs ready to take action.

– Ellen Ray

Photo: Flickr