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10 Facts About the International Affairs Budget

 

International Affairs Budget

The Trump Administration recently released its federal budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18), proposing deep cuts for the International Affairs Budget. The proposal includes plans to cut State Department and USAID funding by 31 percent and the Treasury International Programs budget by 35 percent. The proposed $37.6 billion total budget cut for the State Department and USAID starkly contrasts the $54 billion increase proposed for the Department of Defense.

There has already been pushback to the proposal, including a letter signed by more than 120 retired generals and admirals against the cuts, and another opposition letter signed by more than 100 faith leaders.

Top 10 things you need to know about the International Affairs Budget

  1. It’s tiny. The International Affairs Budget accounts for less than one percent of the federal budget. The amount spent on foreign aid is often overestimated by the general public. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll published in 2015 asked respondents: “What percentage of the federal budget is spent on foreign aid?” — the average response was 28 percent.
  2. The International Affairs Budget is also referred to as the “150 account.” Foreign aid can be split into two functions: economic and development assistance (151), and security assistance (152). For FY17, the State Department requested $25.6 billion for the 151 account and $16.8 billion for the 152 account.
  3. Seven out of the top 10 recipients of economic and development assistance are African nations. Afghanistan is the largest recipient of economic and development assistance, as part of the ongoing reconstruction of the country after the U.S. military invasion in 2001.
  4. Money allocated to help alleviate global poverty is mutually exclusive from money allocated to help fund domestic poverty-reducing programs. In the overall federal budget, the International Affairs Budget is a completely separate account from the domestic expenditure. Therefore, spending money on global poverty does not have to compete with spending money on poverty here at home. Mattis Foreign Aid Quote
  5. The U.N. suggests that developed countries put 0.7 percent of their Gross National Income (GNI) toward overseas development and assistance. According to 2015 OECD statistics, the U.S. spends just 0.17 percent on overseas development and assistance — missing the U.N. target by 76 percent.
  6. The International Affairs Budget funds vital programs that have profound impacts on major global health threats. USAID assistance helped stall the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa and continues to partner with local governments and organizations to ensure any further outbreaks are mitigated.
  7. USAID is the largest provider of food assistance in the world. Nearly 800 million people worldwide suffer from chronic hunger. Since its inception, around three billion people have benefited from USAID’s assistance programs.
  8. The International Affairs Budget has bipartisan support in Congress. U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) led three of his bipartisan Foreign Relations Committee members in proclaiming that funding for the budget is “every bit as essential to ensuring America’s national security as funding for the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community and law enforcement.”
  9. The soft power of foreign assistance and development is supplementary to the hard power of the military. In 2013, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, as Commander of U.S. Central Command, remarked to Congress, “If you don’t fully fund the State Department, then I need to buy more ammunition.” Foreign aid and development can undoubtedly play a role in fostering positive growth and warm feelings toward the U.S. in societies that are at risk of succumbing to terrorist groups.
  10. Spending money on international development is not just a moral decision. In an ever-connected world, funding the International Affairs Budget creates jobs for American workers and boosts the American economy. In 1996, 39 percent of exports went to developing countries. Now, more than half of U.S. exports go to developing economies. Through aid and development, people living in developing economies are becoming more wealthy and more capable of affording American products.

The International Affairs Budget is a tiny component of the overall federal budget, but its impact in myriad areas is enormous. American jobs, economic growth, national security, and global health are just a few areas that will be affected if the proposed cuts by the Trump Administration are implemented.

 

– Michael Farquharson

Photo: Oxfam

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How Foreign Aid Works

Foreign aid
Angus Deaton won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Economics for his research on the effects of foreign aid on economic development in developing countries. The most important message to be taken from his work is that foreign aid is only one small piece of the equation. To say that foreign aid directly translates into economic growth is an oversimplification. Without transparent and effective governmental institutions and sound economic policies, research shows that aid is not always effective.

Foreign aid works when all of these different variables come together. It’s a simple equation. It has become popular sentiment to denounce aid as ineffective, based on specific case studies where all of these variables were not in place and results fell short of their targets. While not all aid is effective, this rhetoric flies in the face of all of the progress that has been made because of aid. The truth is that foreign aid works when all of the variables — effective institutions, policies, and transparency — are in place.

Aid has been especially effective in improving health in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Malaria rates dropped by 51 percent between 2000 and 2012 after 300 million bed nets were given out by the World Health Organization (WHO). Ten million HIV-infected individuals are now receiving life-saving medicine. Tuberculosis rates have dropped by 45 percent since 1990, and 122 million children’s lives have been saved since 1990. This progress is largely due to the work of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), which has immunized 580 million children around the world. Extreme poverty has been cut in half since 1990, and African poverty rates have dropped by 10 percent since 1999.

These are huge success stories that deserve recognition. Foreign aid works. Not only does it work, but it is also in the interest of U.S. national security. Former Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge said, “The programs supported by the International Affairs Budget are as essential to our national security as defense programs. Development and diplomacy protect our nation by addressing the root causes of terrorism and conflict.”

The questions asked in U.S. policymaking circles today shouldn’t be whether to cut aid or not; the question that needs to be asked is how to increase the efficacy of aid and to grow upon our successes. Cutting the International Affairs Budget would discredit all of the hard work and successes that have come out of these operations in recent decades.

– Josh Ward

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Hunger in Libya

Hunger in Libya
Located in northern Africa, the arid country of Libya is known for its large oil reserves and sweeping desert. However, conflict has left the country with a largely displaced population and economic troubles that have fostered food scarcity. Here are 10 facts about hunger in Libya.

10 Facts About Hunger in Libya

  1. Poverty is a key cause of hunger in Libya. Of Libya’s 6.4 million people, 40 percent live below the poverty line.
  2. Economists say Libya is affected by a resource curse. Libya is home to vast quantities of oil, but also to high rates of poverty. This disparity between resource wealth and citizen poverty can be caused by conflict or government control of resources.
  3. Conflict is one of the leading causes of hunger. Approximately 21 percent of the world’s undernourished people are affected by conflict. This is especially relevant in Libya, where roughly 90 percent of the population is affected by violence.
  4. The conflict has cut income per capita in Libya by half in the past two years. It has decreased food availability and increased prices.
  5. Internally displaced people (IDPs) are especially vulnerable to hunger. Due to the conflict, the number of IDPs in Libya has increased. Around 17 percent of IDPs are food insecure, an 11 percent increase since 2015. Overall, 60 percent of IDPs are vulnerable to food shortage.
  6. Many social programs have been shut down due to instability. As a result, families who relied on them are suffering even more.
  7. Hunger in Libya is worsened by a healthcare shortage, as there are fewer than 1500 primary healthcare facilities in the country. This makes it difficult for families suffering from hunger-related diseases to receive the care they need. The shortage also results in higher health care prices, which puts futher financial strain on families.
  8. In order to combat hunger, many families in Libya practice negative coping strategies. These include reducing the number of meals they have each day and cutting back on other necessary expenses such as healthcare.
  9. Hunger in Libya has an impact on child development. Stunting (low height for age) and wasting (low weight for height) affects 21 and four percent of children under five, respectively.
  10. The World Food Programme and the rest of the U.N. run an emergency operation in order to help combat hunger in Libya. Due to conflict, however, the organization runs the program from Tunisia and coordinates with local groups to deliver food to people in Libya.

While food insecurity remains a problem in Libya, increasing food aid to the country and continuing talks to improve the political climate may help reduce hunger in Libya.

– Alexi Worley

Photo: Flickr

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Women’s Education Center in Madagascar Signals Hope

Madagascar_Woman
During a presidential tour of Madagascar on Jan. 25, 2017, Turkish first lady Emine Erdoğan addressed the need for increased educational opportunities for women and girls. Erdoğan’s inauguration of the Women’s Education Center in Madagascar was just one of the facets of her visit to the country. Erdoğan and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Madagascar as part of a campaign to strengthen ties between the two countries and encourage Turkish investment in Madagascar’s economy.

More than half of the 17 million people living in Madagascar are children. What’s more, half of Madagascar’s population subsists on less than $1 a day. This makes the subject of education all the more critical to the country’s development. While Madagascar’s education system has steadily improved over the past 10 years, some regions must work hard to ensure gender parity for their students, particularly in lower secondary education.

Following a coup d’état in 2009, much of Madagascar’s foreign aid was withdrawn, and the economy has since been slow to recover. Poverty increased sharply, infrastructure deteriorated and educational funding was slashed. The Turkish first lady’s inauguration of the Women’s Education Center in Madagascar comes at a time when increased focus on education is a necessity: UNICEF estimates that while 75 percent of children at the primary level are enrolled, roughly 1.5 million are still out of school, and gender parity remains a concern.

The goal of the Women’s Education Center in Madagascar is to empower women and support African development. It offers courses to roughly 100 women in fields such as horticulture, technology, cooking and textile work. In addition, the African Handicrafts Market and Culture House in Ankara, Turkey, will sell crafts produced by women at the center. All proceeds will go back to Madagascar.

The center is a highlight of the work done by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA). TIKA provided $3.9 billion in development aid in 2015, and is active in 140 countries. Further, during his tour, President Erdoğan encouraged his country’s investors and entrepreneurs to become involved with Madagascar’s National Development Project. The project aims to increase funding and revenue from areas such as tourism, agriculture and construction.

The Turkish first lady’s inauguration of the Women’s Education Center in Madagascar illustrates a step forward for education in the country. It is especially important for women who support struggling communities. The school serves as a symbol of resilience and stimulation for the minds of young women, the economy and society.

– Emily Marshall

Photo: Flickr

 

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Global Benefits of the Trade Facilitation Agreement

Global Benefits of the Trade Facilitation Agreement
The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) came into effect on Feb. 22, 2017, after ratification by the World Trade Organization (WTO). According to the WTO, the TFA contains provisions allowing for “expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit.” The agreement was created to benefit both wealthy, developing and underdeveloped countries that wish to engage in trade and commerce.

According to an article in The Economist, the TFA is designed to cut trading costs in developing countries by implementing more efficient processes and eliminating unnecessary obstacles prior to export clearance.

For example, individuals in sub-Saharan Africa must go through an excessive amount of barriers to get an item exported, including going through up to 200 hours of regulations and inspections. In comparison, wealthier countries may face up to only 15 hours of regulations and inspections.

According to the WTO, full implementation of the TFA “could reduce trade costs by an average of 14.3 percent and boost global trade by up to $1 trillion per year, with the biggest gains in the poorest countries.”

The TFA is divided into different sections and categories, each made up of substantive provisions. For example, section one of the agreement contains provisions necessary for expediting the movement and clearance of goods. Section two, however, consists of special provisions that would allow for developing and underdeveloped countries to benefit from trade facilitation upon receiving special assistance from member organizations that are involved in its implementation.

The member organizations that are involved in assisting developing and underdeveloped countries include the WTO, World Customs Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

The TFA will result in a heightened level of exports taking place out of developing and underdeveloped countries. Furthermore, a rise in trading expenditures will have a positive global effect on countries such as the U.S.

– Lael Pierce

Photo: Flickr

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El Nino And Hunger In Papua New Guinea

El Nino And The Hunger In Papua New Guinea
Since the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon in mid-2015, Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been struggling through frost, drought and widespread food and water shortages. The ENSO — a period of unpredictable fluctuations in temperatures and currents of the wind and sea — disrupted food production and ruined the livelihoods of the many who live there. Food prices had already sharply increased by the end of 2015. The limited availability of food supplies in the markets makes for an even higher risk of starvation and suffering, in addition to the regular problem of hunger in Papua New Guinea.

As one of the poorest countries in Asia, PNG has 37 percent of its population living below the poverty line. Diseases like malaria are taking an increased toll. People are already weakened by the hunger in PNG, making it difficult to fight off sickness. The weather phenomenon also devastated the crops last year due to frost and drought, leaving farmers with nothing to eat.

According to the World Food Programme, as many as 700,000 people in PNG are in need of food assistance. Hunger in Papua New Guinea has also been overlooked, as the government has not issued any requests for assistance or declarations of emergency, even though staples like sweet potatoes were destroyed by low rainfall throughout 2015. Frosts from July through October continued to damage crops the following year. In October, there were several local villagers who said they walked through red dust– something that is unseen in the area.

Although the government began investigating reports of deaths, especially due to hunger, many badly affected communities have yet to receive aid. The slow response is due to the fact that PNG has a rugged terrain. Many villages and communities are only accessible by a multi-day trek from the next town over, or by aircraft that is flown by a pilot trained to land on small strips in the middle of the jungle.

Several World Food Programme groups have been offering food aid since the ENSO hit in 2015. With the world working together as a whole, charity organizations have raised enough money and helped grow enough food to feed more than one million people in PNG. At this rate, PNG is expected to be out of its ENSO drought by 2020 and back to standard living rates, although those are well under the national poverty lines as well.

PNG’s villagers are starting to witness more green fields, running children, happy families and liveliness being restored into the country. They will soon be back to where they were, fighting the usual hunger in Papua New Guinea, and pushing for better lifestyles.

– Rilee Pickle

Photo: Flickr

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Top 10 Facts About the Kosovo War

Kosovo War
The Kosovo War was a quick and highly destructive conflict that displaced 90 percent of the population. The severity of the unrest in Kosovo and the involvement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) brought the Kosovo conflict to international attention in the late 1990’s. The conflict led to the displacement of thousands and lasting tension between Serbs and Albanians. The brutality of the war is largely credited with launching The Borgen Project, a humanitarian organization that has helped hundreds of thousands of people.

10 Facts about the Kosovo War

    1. The Kosovo War was waged in the Serbian province of Kosovo from 1998 to 1999. Ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo faced the pressure of Serbs fighting for control of the region. Albanians also opposed the government of Yugoslavia, which was made up of modern day Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia and Macedonia.
    2. Muslim Albanians were the ethnic majority in Kosovo. The president of Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic, refused to recognize the rights of the majority because Kosovo was an area sacred to the Serbs. He planned to replace Albanian language and culture with Serbian institutions.
    3. The international community failed to address the escalation of tension between the Albanians and the Serbs. In doing so, they inadvertently supported radicals in the region. Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo formed the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the early 1990s. The militant group began attacks on Serbian police and politicians and were engaged in an all-out uprising by 1998.
    4. Serbian and Yugoslav forces tried to fight growing KLA support through oppressive tactics and violence. The government destroyed villages and forced people to leave their homes. They massacred entire villages. Many people fled their homes.
    5. As the conflict grew worse, international intervention rose. The Contact Group (consisting of the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Russia) demanded a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Yugoslav and Serbian forces from Kosovo and the return of refugees. Yugoslavia at first agreed but ultimately failed to implement the terms of the agreement.
    6. Yugoslav and Serbian forces engaged in an ethnic cleansing campaign throughout the duration of the war. By the end of May 1999, 1.5 million people had fled their homes. At the time, that constituted approximately 90 percent of Kosovo’s population.
    7. Diplomatic negotiations between Kosovar and Serbian delegations began in France in 1999, but Serbian officials refused to cooperate. In response, NATO began a campaign of airstrikes against Serbian targets, focusing mainly on destroying Serbian government buildings and infrastructure. The bombings caused further flows of refugees into neighboring countries and the deaths of several civilians.
    8. In June 1999, NATO and Yugoslavia signed a peace accord to end the Kosovo War. The Yugoslav government agreed to troop withdrawal and the return of almost one million ethnic Albanians and half a million general displaced persons. Unfortunately, tensions between Albanians and Serbs continued into the 21st century. Anti-Serb riots broke out in March 2004 throughout the Kosovo region. Twenty people were killed and over 4,000 Serbs and other minorities were displaced.
    9. In February 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Subsequently, Yugoslavia ceased to exist in 2003 and became the individual countries of Serbia and Montenegro. Serbia, along with numerous other countries, refused to recognize Kosovo’s independence.
    10. At the end of 2016, a tribunal was established in the International Criminal Court to try Kosovars for committing war crimes against ethnic minorities and political opponents. Additionally, an EU taskforce set up in 2011 found evidence that members of the KLA committed these crimes after the war ended. Previously, the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia tried several the KLA members.

Overall, the Kosovo War was one of Europe’s most chaotic conflicts, leaving lasting impressions on all those living in the region. Not only has the conflict been coined with the terms genocide and crimes against humanity, but the involvement and bombings from NATO also caused widespread controversy.

– Lindsay Harris

Photo: Flickr

 

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20 Facts about Hunger

20 facts about hunger
Hunger is an issue affecting all nations. Nearly 43 million Americans faced food insecurity in 2015, and feeding the American homeless, poverty-plagued families and undernourished children are matters the U.S. government takes seriously. The following 20 facts about hunger shine a specific light on the plight of the most malnourished nations. From these 20 facts about hunger, it is clear that people all over the world are afflicted by the issue of hunger.

20 Facts about Hunger

  1. Poverty is the principal cause of hunger. In 2012, the World Bank estimated that there were 896 million people in developing countries living at or below $1.90 a day.
  2. The world produces enough food to feed everyone. The world produced 2,790 kilocalories per person per day between 2006 and 2008.
  3. Malnutrition can lead to growth failure. Principal types of growth failure are ‘stunting’ and ‘wasting.’ Stunting is a slow process caused by a lack of nutrients and wasting is caused by insufficient protein.
  4. Around 794 million people were undernourished between 2014 and 2016 — 10.9 percent of the global population.
  5. In Angola, an African country with the highest under-five mortality rate in the world, more than 15 percent of the population is underweight and nearly 30 percent suffer from stunting.
  6. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that 161 million children worldwide are affected by stunting. Suffering from nutrient-poor diets or ongoing infections, stunted children may have normal body proportions but look younger than they actually are.
  7. Iodine deficiencies during pregnancy can lead to severe mental retardation or stillbirth. Though iodized salt is common in the developed world, more than 50 countries report a serious iodine deficiency problem.
  8. With more than 30 percent of people underweight, Pakistan ranked last on the 2012 Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index for its public spending on agriculture as a share of total public spending.
  9. More than 232 million people living in Africa were undernourished between 2014 and 2016 — 20 percent of the African population.
  10. In 2013, Myanmar ranked last on the Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index for access to agricultural research and extension services.
  11. Undernourished children are more likely to underperform in school and on tests of intelligence and reading.
  12. Malnutrition during pregnancy increases the risk of mental illness. Studies investigating famines reported increases in the rate of schizophrenia during periods of prolonged prenatal exposure to hunger, or “nutritional inadequacy.”
  13. The World Food Programme calculated that it would cost $3.2 billion annually to feed the 66 million hungry school-age kids around the world.
  14. There are many scientific theories of why humans get hungry. Some of them are the stomach contraction theory, the glucose theory, the insulin theory, the fatty acid theory, and the heat-production theory.
  15. Almost 780 million people living in developing regions were undernourished between 2014 and 2016 –12.9 percent of the developing nations population.
  16. Over the course of two decades, the amount of undernourished Latin Americans has shrunk by more than 30 million.
  17. The availability of water is crucial to farming and food production. Climate change may affect crops and hundreds of millions of “water-stressed” people in the coming decade.
  18. The World Food Programme calculated that it costs $0.25 daily to give a child the vitamins and nutrients necessary for healthy growth.
  19. Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries defines hunger as “the state of not having enough food to eat, especially when this causes illness or death.”
  20. In 2011, undernutrition was estimated to be the cause of more than three million child deaths — 45 percent of all child deaths.

These 20 facts about hunger only highlight the issue on a universal level, but they can act as a guide unveiling the true lives of those who live in poverty stricken conditions on a daily basis. Knowledge can prevent many in the position to help alleviate the problem to act. With combined knowledge and aid, terminating world hunger remains hopeful.

– Shaun Savarese

Photo: Flickr

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Global Education and Skills Forum: Technology in Global Education

Technology in Global Education
The fifth annual Global Education and Skills Forum (GESF) 2017 held in Dubai on March 18 and 19 addressed the question of how to create ‘real’ global citizens. The forum is a Varkey Foundation initiative where leading figures from public, private and social sectors around the world convene to discuss the future of education.

A number of discussions centered around educational advancements in the digital age and how technology in global education could affect students.

In his speech on March 18, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) education and skills director, Andreas Schleicher, emphasized the need for new and creative ways to prepare future generations to become global citizens.

“The more diverse our children’s interests and experiences, the more they are encouraged to work with their peers to address problems in new ways, the better prepared they will be for the new digital age,” he explained.

Schleicher listed the most pertinent areas for growth as student inclusion, curriculum, teacher quality, school organization and accountability.

“We are very good at ranking human talent but not very good at developing it,” he said. “We need to focus on all students, all the time and move away from constantly testing to find the best. We should be developing everyone, not looking for those already doing well.”

Schleicher went on to say that while today’s digital age can be prosperous for those who know how to capitalize on it, those without the right education are more susceptible to vulnerable working situations.

Speaking at the GESF to Xinhua in an exclusive interview, Ms. Yang Boya, a former fellow at Harvard SEED for Social Innovation, headed multiple master classes at the forum.

She asserted that the spread of computer devices among children globally bears both positive and negative consequences. While promotion of technology in global education allows students to recognize technological progress, Yang emphasized the need for human interactions within the classroom.

“An IT device can never replace the human teacher, but support his work,” she declared in an interview with Xinhua.

GESF concluded with what is regarded as the Nobel Prize for teaching, the third annual Global Teacher Prize 2017. Maggie MacDonnell, an educator residing and teaching in Salluit, an Inuit village deep in the Canadian Arctic, was awarded the title and one million dollars.

– Casie Wilson

 

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The Success of Midwives in Sri Lanka


Public health midwives have been a part of Sri Lankan culture for nearly a century, but their role has recently evolved into a prominent one in the community. Midwives in Sri Lanka not only attend births, but now they also cover preventive health community services. Since approximately 72 percent of Sri Lankans live in rural areas, over 90 percent of public health midwives serve in rural communities, ensuring that typically neglected areas prone to high poverty rates still receive adequate health coverage.

Sri Lanka has committed itself to promoting gender equality. Absolute poverty rates, typically affecting females and children more than males, have been on the decline. As of 2013, 90 percent of Sri Lankan adult females are literate. One of the most impressive efforts to both alleviate poverty and promote the role of women in the community is the central role of midwives in Sri Lanka. The free provision of healthcare at all stages of life, coupled with the usage of traditional cultural practices, has allowed midwives to become respected, sought-after figures in communities. Midwives are viewed as trusted healthcare providers and provide medical guidance to both men and women. Midwives in Sri Lanka have also played a huge role in the high rate of attended births (98 percent) and the incredibly low maternal mortality rate (32 per 100,000 live births).

Improving maternal health has far-reaching effects due to the improvement of the quality of life for women. Access to education is improved. Girls now make up 50 percent of students in secondary education and have the opportunity to attend higher levels of education. Additionally, the focus on rural health by midwives in Sri Lanka is coupled with rural development efforts that have resulted in absolute poverty rates of less than 10 percent and improved access to safe drinking water and electricity.

New challenges are arising, such as a rise in noncommunicable diseases and low midwife recruitment numbers. However, adaptations are being made. Providing more educational opportunities for midwives, increasing their role in addressing public health issues like domestic violence, and offering more public sector employment incentives will be important moving forward. Midwives in Sri Lanka are not only an integral part of the healthcare system but also play an important part in promoting gender equality and opportunities for women.

– Nicole Toomey

Photo: Flickr