Over the last three decades, poverty in Vietnam has been reduced by 75 percent. While there is no question that this progress is a great success for Vietnam, there are still issues associated with this poverty that widely persist today.
According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), racial disparities, notably among Vietnamese minorities, continue to exist. New kinds of poverty are starting to form. While success has been seen, it should not serve as a foundation on which Vietnam can rest and avoid its other systemic issues. Rather, this development should act as an indicator for the great potential that exists when a country actively seeks to address its internal issues.
With the Vietnamese poverty line resting at about $2 per day, many people residing above this threshold face the possibility of economic, social and political fluctuations that could quickly force them back into a state of poverty.
Although “poverty” has been significantly reduced, there is still great necessity to commit to sustainable and continued development for the Vietnamese people and their economic stature. In addition, the benefits of poverty reduction have been skewed among racial regional and gendered lines.
Where Vietnam Poverty Exists
Nearly half of the Vietnamese minorities still live in poverty, and those in mountainous regions live in additional fear of natural disasters and tough living conditions. While poverty reduction in urban areas is evident, the state of rural populations is consistently unnoticed and unaddressed.
However, one does not need to look to rural areas to see the alleviation disparity surrounding the poverty in Vietnam. Gender still serves as an indicator of poverty levels, with women suffering some of the largest economic injustices. Pay gaps, lack of female leadership roles and poor conditions for existing female sectors are just a few of the sources that fuel gendered poverty levels in Vietnam as a whole.
In combating poverty in Vietnam, the country has implemented programs to promote the empowerment of women and has instituted comprehensive education opportunities. By increasing the level of education throughout the country, Vietnam hopes to create a lasting solution rather than a temporary fix to national poverty. Along with this, creating new images for women in the workplace aims to limit the gender gap and thus provide universal equality for all citizens. Through these policies, among others, poverty in Vietnam is recognized as an important area of concern and is being addressed in new ways for future national health.
– Ryan Montbleau
Photo: Flickr
Water Quality in North Korea
Water quality in North Korea continues to deteriorate. The country’s water system and sanitation systems are both in a state of disrepair. Even though the country invested in an extensive piped water supply system in the early ’80s, due to natural disasters and low levels of investments the water system in compromised.
As a result of inadequate water quality, North Korea has had poor sanitation and unhygienic behavior from its citizens, resulting in an increased rate of under-five mortality.
Due to the condition of water quality in North Korea, UNICEF’s WASH program has focused on contributing to improved access and utilization of safe drinking water, sanitation services and good hygiene practices in communities and schools in the country.
In 2015, North Korea was impacted by a drought that lasted 18 months, resulting in the lack of drinking water and a further worsening of the country’s water supply system — resulting in an increase in the prevalence of water-borne diseases.
The water quality in North Korea is further threatened by limited sewerage networks and low water levels.
Access to potable water in the country is almost always inadequate and organizations like Concern Worldwide continue to work with local authorities and communities to provide alternative energy and pumping systems to provide North Koreans with water and also build latrines.
Water quality in North Korea continues to negatively impact the country’s food supply and without proper development will continue to result in malnutrition and disease.
While the country’s water issues seem grim, the country has developed a five-year economic plan which focuses primarily on the simultaneous development of nuclear weapons and the economy as a means to improve living conditions in the country.
Although water quality in North Korea continues to worsen, there remains a glimmer of hope in sight for the people of North Korea.
– Rochelle R. Dean
Photo: Flickr
Ten Facts About United Arab Emirates Refugees
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation consisting of seven states that has grown into the most important economic center in the Middle East. The UAE is heavily dependent on oil and was dependent on the fishing and pearl industries prior to 1950. The UAE is very diverse and has become a trading and tourism hub for the region and heavily controls its media content — which includes foreign publications — before distribution. Here are ten facts about United Arab Emirates refugees.
Ten Facts About United Arab Emirates Refugees
There continues to be an open conflict with UAE refugees and how the Gulf States will continue to handle these efforts without the aid of the U.N. However, the UAE maintains that it is offering the best aid to the millions of refugees that seek asylum in the federation.
– Rochelle R. Dean
Fighting Global Hunger in Sweden
Sweden is a very fortunate country. Globally, Sweden ranks sixth, behind other Western European nations in keeping its citizens fed. There is virtually no hunger in Sweden, meaning it has very low levels of malnutrition and undernourishment as well as high access to safe, clean drinking water. Sweden, being so fortunate in its ability to maintain healthy citizens, has started The Hunger Project — a project designed to achieve a sustainable end to global hunger.
The Hunger Project was founded in 1977 in Sweden. It has become a global nonprofit dedicated to ending world hunger and poverty, declaring “our vision is a world where every woman, man and child leads a healthy, fulfilling life of self-reliance and dignity.” The Hunger Project now has many global allies, including in the United States. Some allied partners are Citi, the Ford Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) and the World Bank, to name a few.
Starting to fight global hunger in Sweden quickly moved the project to the areas of the world that needed the most help. The Hunger Project works in three main large areas: Africa, South Asia and Latin America. The Hunger Project uses three essential activities in order to carry out its mission. The first is mobilizing village clusters at the grassroots level to build self-reliance. The second is to empower women as key change agents. The third is to forge effective partnerships with local government.
The Hunger Project works in partnership with people in Africa, South Asia and Latin America in an effort to build “bottom-up” strategies. “At the heart of [their] methodology is our fundamental belief in people as the author of their own development.” The Hunger Project works with people fighting against hunger and poverty in an effort to create a self-sustainable lifestyle outside the hardships of hunger.
The Hunger Project programs reach 17.3 million people in 16,000 communities. The Hunger Project encourages local solutions and community-led results.
While there is not much hunger in Sweden, there is hunger worldwide, and Sweden is working with many other countries globally to help those in need. The Hunger Project believes that the end to world hunger can be achieved by 2030. By working hard and efficiently this goal can be realized.
– Karyn Adams
Photo: Flickr
Education in Paraguay
Paraguay is a landlocked country in the heart of South America. Located between Bolivia, Brazil, and Argentina, the country has a population of nearly seven million people. Although poverty is on the decline, the country’s economic level is not where it should be. The current issues surrounding education in Paraguay go hand in hand with poverty.
In 2012, five percent of Paraguay’s GDP went towards educational needs. The structure of education in Paraguay is similar to those found in other countries around the world. Primary school begins at the age of six and consists of six grades. After primary school, children proceed into secondary school. The secondary school has two parts; lower secondary, which is seventh through ninth grade, and upper secondary, which is grades 10 through 12.
These twelve years of education are mandatory and free. Students are around 17 years of age once they finish their required schooling. Nearly all youth and adults are literate in Paraguay.
Despite these statistics, more complicated issues are involved in education in Paraguay, considering that only 45 percent of students end up completing sixth grade, and adults have an average of six years of education in total. Fifteen percent of the population is living on one euro or less a day, and ten percent of children don’t have any access to schooling. Schools that are run by the government are often crowded and lack adequate resources.
According to Generation Rising, the reason for the lack of attendance in Paraguay is due to a variety of reasons such as, “[the children’s] families need them to bring in extra income, there are no schools in their area or the cost of uniforms, textbooks and supplies is simply too much.”
Providing children with accessible, affordable, worthwhile education is an essential to providing them their human rights. While the overall situation in Paraguay has been seemingly increasing in recent years, there is still progress to be made.
– Shannon Elder
Photo: Flickr
5 Facts About Top Diseases in Lithuania
Lithuania is a fairly small European country with a population of about 2.8 million as of 2016. Despite its size, Lithuania still subject to several major infectious diseases. Since its 2008 financial crisis, Lithuania has recovered significantly and has become one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union. However, despite such impressive development in recent years, finding adequate treatments and solutions to the top diseases in Lithuania remains a challenge.
What are the top diseases in Lithuania?
– 54 percent cardiovascular diseases;
– 20 percent cancers;
– 12 percent other NCDs;
– Eight percent injuries;
– Three percent communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions;
– Two percent chronic respiratory diseases;
– One percent diabetes.
Recognizing and understanding the state of people and society in Lithuania in regards to their health and well-being provides key insight into public health successes, as well as areas where additional assistance and improved conditions and resources are needed.
– Mikaela Frigillana
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About Poverty in Zambia
Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is home to approximately 20.8 people and ranks among the nations with the highest poverty and inequality rates globally.
Despite improvements in recent years, economic growth in the country is unable to support the high rate of population growth and the burden of HIV-related issues. Here are the top facts about poverty in Zambia:
While the burdens of disease and geographical restraints have made it difficult for Zambia to pull itself out of poverty, improvements in both qualities of life and the economy will hopefully lead to shrinking poverty in Zambia in the coming years.
– Alexi Worley
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Updated: June 01, 2024
5 Facts About Hunger in Hungary
While Hungary is a thriving country, the nation still struggles with feeding its people. Here are five facts about Hunger in Hungary.
5 Facts About Hunger in Hungary
Hungary is working to solve its hunger problem through schools, community programs and government involvement. The hunger in Hungary is making slow continuous progress, and the improvement shows considerable hope that the problem will be eradicated.
– Rilee Pickle
Photo: Flickr
Poverty in Somalia
Twenty years of conflict have led to conditions of abject poverty in Somalia, with the destruction of infrastructure, economy and institutions.
In 1991, the government collapsed, leaving the country fragmented. Even with the establishment of a new government, conflict continues in Southern Somalia, leaving the country in the midst of poverty, famine and recurring violence.
Due to independent governing bodies, two areas, Somaliland and Puntland, experience more stability with regard to socioeconomic conditions.
Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the world, with the 2012 Human Development Index putting it among the five least-developed of 170 countries. The poverty rate is currently 73 percent. Seventy percent of the population in Somalia is under the age of 30 and the life expectancy is as low as 55 percent. Unemployment among youth is widespread, as 67 percent of youth are unemployed.
Development is low due to the challenges posed by Somalia’s humanitarian situation and the high level of insecurity, which is another factor contributing to poverty in Somalia. The region is home to more than one million refugees, many of whom are living in conditions of abject poverty. Food prices went up by 300 percent, making it hard for most of the population to buy food. Food insecurity has affected more than two million people. One in eight children under the age of five suffers from malnutrition. Only 42 percent of children go to school. Livestock management is the main source of livelihood.
Poverty in Somalia and Child Mortality
In Somalia, 857,000 people require assistance. In 2014, Somalia was at the bottom of global health rankings in terms of maternal health, child mortality, education and women’s income and political status.
Poverty in Somalia is rooted in civil conflict and limited resources, natural disasters and lack of an active central government. The conflict has emerged between clans for the two basic resources: food and water. The situation has come to political power; whoever is able to claim leadership of a clan can have a share of the limited resources and political power.
Poverty in Somalia has intensified and there exists no easy answer to ending the spiral of conflict and insecurity, which are the roots of the poverty.
– Aishwarya Bansal
Photo: Flickr
Why Foreign Aid Budget Cuts Don’t Save Money
Among the many controversial changes to the U.S. federal budget proposed by President Trump, reductions in spending on health in foreign countries may prove the most costly. Contrary to popular opinion, the amount of money spent by the U.S. on assisting foreign countries to stay healthy is extremely small, and foreign aid budget cuts will not save the country any significant amount of money.
“It is very troubling,” said Georgetown University global health expert Lawrence Gostin. “Especially when you think of the pivotal role the U.S. has played over the years in global health. The world is lost without U.S. leadership.”
For reasons unknown, one of the most persistent myths Americans believe about the federal budget is that the government spends nearly 20 percent of it on foreign aid. In reality, even before Trump’s proposal can take effect in 2018, less than one penny of every dollar goes to foreign assistance of all types. When factoring in the gross national income, the U.S. spends a shockingly low 0.16 percent of its budget on helping improve the lives of those in developing countries.
Cutting back on foreign aid spending may actually end up costing the U.S. The outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, which occurred between 2014 and 2016, proved that there is no such thing as an isolated national health crisis in the current global economy. In order to protect American citizens from infection, the U.S. government had to spend $2.3 billion to help contain the spread of the epidemic.
Spending on foreign aid helps to prevent catastrophic outbreaks like Ebola from happening, which consequently results in financial savings. Perhaps most importantly, foreign aid budget cuts may not save money because foreign assistance spending is not so much a charitable donation as it is an investment in the future. According to the Lancet Commission, spending on global health can provide returns of a whopping nine times the initial investment.
The good news is the proposed budget cuts remain just that: a proposal. Congress must approve the full budget before the changes take place, and representatives rely on feedback from their constituents when making decisions on important matters such as these. Securing the future of foreign aid investment may be a phone call away, and our guide to contacting local representatives is a great place to start.
– Dan Krajewski
Photo: Flickr
Poverty in Vietnam
Over the last three decades, poverty in Vietnam has been reduced by 75 percent. While there is no question that this progress is a great success for Vietnam, there are still issues associated with this poverty that widely persist today.
According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), racial disparities, notably among Vietnamese minorities, continue to exist. New kinds of poverty are starting to form. While success has been seen, it should not serve as a foundation on which Vietnam can rest and avoid its other systemic issues. Rather, this development should act as an indicator for the great potential that exists when a country actively seeks to address its internal issues.
With the Vietnamese poverty line resting at about $2 per day, many people residing above this threshold face the possibility of economic, social and political fluctuations that could quickly force them back into a state of poverty.
Although “poverty” has been significantly reduced, there is still great necessity to commit to sustainable and continued development for the Vietnamese people and their economic stature. In addition, the benefits of poverty reduction have been skewed among racial regional and gendered lines.
Where Vietnam Poverty Exists
Nearly half of the Vietnamese minorities still live in poverty, and those in mountainous regions live in additional fear of natural disasters and tough living conditions. While poverty reduction in urban areas is evident, the state of rural populations is consistently unnoticed and unaddressed.
However, one does not need to look to rural areas to see the alleviation disparity surrounding the poverty in Vietnam. Gender still serves as an indicator of poverty levels, with women suffering some of the largest economic injustices. Pay gaps, lack of female leadership roles and poor conditions for existing female sectors are just a few of the sources that fuel gendered poverty levels in Vietnam as a whole.
In combating poverty in Vietnam, the country has implemented programs to promote the empowerment of women and has instituted comprehensive education opportunities. By increasing the level of education throughout the country, Vietnam hopes to create a lasting solution rather than a temporary fix to national poverty. Along with this, creating new images for women in the workplace aims to limit the gender gap and thus provide universal equality for all citizens. Through these policies, among others, poverty in Vietnam is recognized as an important area of concern and is being addressed in new ways for future national health.
– Ryan Montbleau
Photo: Flickr