From 1975 to 1979, the uprising of the Khmer Rouge political group upset a previously safe Cambodia where education was not only halted but regressed a devastating amount. Left in ashes over the last decade, education in Cambodia has begun to be re-established, setting in motion a prosperous future.
Cambodia, once considered a safe-haven and “Island of Peace” in the 1950s through 1960s, quickly became a torn country with the rise of the radical political group Khmer Rouge.
The Khmer Rouge’s primary goal was to turn Cambodia into a rural, classless society. To do so, the Khmer Rouge government targeted those most capable of opposing the government. One point seven million of Cambodia’s most culturally intellectual — doctors, teachers, lawyers, accountants, clergy, merchants and engineers — were murdered. As a result, a generation of intellects was eliminated, leaving no one to pass down knowledge to the coming generations.
In an interview with CNN, Khmer Rouge expert Craig Etcheson described how “nearly two generations of young Cambodian men grew up learning little more than how to kill.” So, when the Khmer Rouge was overthrown in 1979, Cambodia had to rebuild from virtually nothing.
Additionally, Cambodia had to reconstruct themselves without approximately 25 percent of its entire population, consisting primarily of its educated class. Though democracy was introduced in the early 1990s, strengthening the country has been a glacial process. However, education in particular has been making strides in providing access to schooling and sex education.
Schooling in Cambodia
In 2003, the nonprofit organization Caring for Cambodia was formed to improve education in Cambodia by raising money and building schools for kindergarten through 12th-grade. Thus far, CFC has built 21 schools in the Siem Reap region of Cambodia.
According to CFC’s website, over the course of five years, schools that participate in the program see a 70 percent enrollment increase. CFC has secured 4,000 financial supporters as well as acquired 250 devoted volunteers to carry out its mission of providing education in Cambodia to an increasing number of children. Students of higher education are also being given more access to opportunities.
The American University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia has partnered with the University of Arizona to offer Cambodian students a first-rate U.S. education. As of September 2016, as reported by Khmer Times, students attending AUPP are now able to take courses from the University of Arizona and earn a dual degree from the two schools in undergraduate and master’s degrees.
Sex Education
From 2010 to 2014, the pregnancy rate for Cambodian girls ages 15 to 19 increased from 8 percent to 12 percent. In 2013 to combat and reduce this pregnancy rate, Cambodia began a test project throughout schools in nine regions of Cambodia.
This pilot project taught students in primary, secondary and high schools about practicing safe sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, sexually transmitted diseases, and gender-based violence and abuse. According to Cambodia Daily, teachers in Cambodia have attributed previously skipping over such subject matter to parent opposition as well as it being a “sensitive issue.”
Despite some believing sex education to be a taboo topic, the Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia has recommended the government make sex education a core subject in grades five to 12.
As advised, the Ministry of Education in Cambodia will be rolling out the pilot program nationwide by 2019 with the goal of decreasing the pregnancy rate in girls ages 15 to 19 by educating and changing the traditional social norms.
Although the Khmer Rouge takeover presented destructive setbacks for Cambodia socially and economically, education in Cambodia has been making meaningful improvements since the turn of the century and optimistically continues to do so.
– Alex Fidler
Photo: Flickr
Obama Administration to Combat Human Trafficking
Established in March 2012, the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF) actively works to alleviate impacts and rates of human trafficking on both domestic and international levels. Initiatives to increase adherence to the rule of law, victim service provisions, analysis of supply and procurement chains and public awareness are central to the mission of the task force.
The task force aims to put an end to human trafficking through coordinated efforts among leaders across the board in dimensions such as academics, religious communities, the private sector and survivors of modern slavery.
In his last address to the PITF during Obama’s administration, Secretary Kerry emphasized the depth of destruction caused by human trafficking’s impact on “every single thing we are trying to accomplish in the field of development.” Kerry also condemned the “multi-billion-dollar criminal enterprise” that is human trafficking, while emphasizing the necessity of mobilizing resources to combat illicit activity.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) resumes responsibility for another anti-human trafficking initiative called the Blue Campaign created during the Obama administration. It acts as a conduit for collaboration between law enforcement, government, non-governmental and private organizations to enhance public awareness and unify investigative efforts.
Created in 2012, the public-private partnership called the Partnership for Freedom is another program developed during the Obama administration. This initiative offers financial support for innovative victim services as well as grants for tech communities to hinder illicit activity.
When the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking was created in 2015, its establishment emboldened invaluable expertise that human trafficking survivors had attained through their experiences. Composed of 11 survivors, these individuals lend policy advice to the PITF, integrating diversity and personal expertise to the future of anti-human trafficking efforts.
– Amber Bailey
Photo: Flickr
Maternal Health in Haiti a Concern for UNFPA
The U.N. Population Fund has expressed concern over the effects that Hurricane Matthew will have on the more than 8,400 pregnant women in the country and those who will need cesarean sections or other maternal care. It has pledged to make maternal health in Haiti a key aspect of its response to Hurricane Matthew.
The organization has pledged to send 252 emergency reproductive health kits to 450,000 people in the next three months. These kits will include resources such as medicine and supplies for safe deliveries, rape treatment and voluntary family planning. The organization also plans to certify local midwives through their own UNFPA supported schools and to open clinics that these midwives will staff. In total, UNFPA hopes to raise $5 million for this project.
UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin explained the necessity for the project, stating, “Hurricane Matthew delivered a severe blow to Haiti’s health facilities, whether by flooding these centers or blowing off their roofs and putting them out of service. Our urgent task is to protect the health and rights of women and girls and to ensure that their basic needs, which are often overlooked in humanitarian situations, are quickly met. We will work to help women give birth and live, despite this tragedy.”
Maternal health in Haiti has been an issue in the country since well before Hurricane Matthew. Haiti has the highest maternal and infant death rates in the western hemisphere and, in light of Matthew’s aftermath, these rates are expected to rise. UNFPA warned in a press release that an estimated 13,650 women are expected to give birth in the next three months, and the storm’s destruction of many healthcare facilities on the island has raised serious concern among human rights groups.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 830 women die each day from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, and 99 percent of these deaths occur in the developing world.
Adolescent pregnancies are very common in Haiti, and since family planning has been interrupted by the storm, such pregnancies are expected to rise in the next few months. According to a 2012 survey, approximately 11 percent of adolescent girls in the country have at least one child.
Magdala Bourdeau, a midwife in Haiti told UNFPA, “Since November 3, we have carried out several deliveries and received several types of pathologies, such as pre-eclampsia, severe anemia, high blood pressure and premature pregnancies.”
Dr. Joanne Liu, the international president of Médecins Sans Frontières, reports that the five main causes of maternal death include hemorrhage, sepsis (infection), complications resulting from unsafe abortion, hypertensive disorders and obstructed labor. Such conditions are usually preventable with access to medical care, but maternal death rates remain high in areas where disaster or conflict has limited access to such care.
The U.N. Population Fund aims to protect maternal health in Haiti and hopes to raise the $5 million that it needs in time to do so.
– Eva Kennedy
Photo: Flickr
Quality of Internet Use is Influenced by Economic Status
Long considered the means by which the democratization of information would be achieved, the internet is increasingly becoming a platform where wealth disparities are made evident. According to a report released in July 2016 by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the quality of internet use among students seems to be influenced by socioeconomic status.
The OECD report, which studied teenage students’ time spent online, highlighted the so-called “digital divide” that exists between their respective, qualitative internet use. In addition to this, the report found that despite having equal access, which theoretically should imply equal opportunity and success, poor students were less likely to know about or take advantage of the myriad benefits internet access affords.
Interestingly, in 21 out of the 42 countries from which data was collected, poor students actually spent more time online than wealthier students. Wealthy students, according to the study, spend their time online reading the news and learning. “But disadvantaged students may not be aware of how technology can offer opportunities to learn about the world, practice new skills or develop [professional plans or internet-based communication opportunities],” according to the OECD report.
The report noted that internet use among rich and poor students is strongly correlated with more general academic performance measures. It appears that the problem of ignorance about internet benefits both perpetuates and is perpetuated by lack of education.
A separate, unrelated study by the London School of Economics, published in February 2016, showed that people of the “higher social status” (wealthier and more educated people) benefited from their time spent online. “To some extent, the findings suggest that access to and use of the internet might exacerbate existing inequalities offline,” the study’s author remarked.
The OECD report noted that work aimed at ending these disparities is underway but that far more needs to be accomplished in order to make a difference.
One related effort attempting to tackle the issue of internet access is the Digital Global Access Policy (GAP) Act, which is currently making its way through Congress. This legislation is designed to bring internet access to the 60 percent of the world that is currently offline.
Though not directly related to efforts to leveling the playing field among people who are already online, the Digital GAP Act should have indirect but related benefits, as its passing will mean wider dissemination of internet education.
– James Collins
Photo: Flickr
Education in Cambodia: A Promising Future on the Horizon
From 1975 to 1979, the uprising of the Khmer Rouge political group upset a previously safe Cambodia where education was not only halted but regressed a devastating amount. Left in ashes over the last decade, education in Cambodia has begun to be re-established, setting in motion a prosperous future.
Cambodia, once considered a safe-haven and “Island of Peace” in the 1950s through 1960s, quickly became a torn country with the rise of the radical political group Khmer Rouge.
The Khmer Rouge’s primary goal was to turn Cambodia into a rural, classless society. To do so, the Khmer Rouge government targeted those most capable of opposing the government. One point seven million of Cambodia’s most culturally intellectual — doctors, teachers, lawyers, accountants, clergy, merchants and engineers — were murdered. As a result, a generation of intellects was eliminated, leaving no one to pass down knowledge to the coming generations.
In an interview with CNN, Khmer Rouge expert Craig Etcheson described how “nearly two generations of young Cambodian men grew up learning little more than how to kill.” So, when the Khmer Rouge was overthrown in 1979, Cambodia had to rebuild from virtually nothing.
Additionally, Cambodia had to reconstruct themselves without approximately 25 percent of its entire population, consisting primarily of its educated class. Though democracy was introduced in the early 1990s, strengthening the country has been a glacial process. However, education in particular has been making strides in providing access to schooling and sex education.
Schooling in Cambodia
In 2003, the nonprofit organization Caring for Cambodia was formed to improve education in Cambodia by raising money and building schools for kindergarten through 12th-grade. Thus far, CFC has built 21 schools in the Siem Reap region of Cambodia.
According to CFC’s website, over the course of five years, schools that participate in the program see a 70 percent enrollment increase. CFC has secured 4,000 financial supporters as well as acquired 250 devoted volunteers to carry out its mission of providing education in Cambodia to an increasing number of children. Students of higher education are also being given more access to opportunities.
The American University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia has partnered with the University of Arizona to offer Cambodian students a first-rate U.S. education. As of September 2016, as reported by Khmer Times, students attending AUPP are now able to take courses from the University of Arizona and earn a dual degree from the two schools in undergraduate and master’s degrees.
Sex Education
From 2010 to 2014, the pregnancy rate for Cambodian girls ages 15 to 19 increased from 8 percent to 12 percent. In 2013 to combat and reduce this pregnancy rate, Cambodia began a test project throughout schools in nine regions of Cambodia.
This pilot project taught students in primary, secondary and high schools about practicing safe sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, sexually transmitted diseases, and gender-based violence and abuse. According to Cambodia Daily, teachers in Cambodia have attributed previously skipping over such subject matter to parent opposition as well as it being a “sensitive issue.”
Despite some believing sex education to be a taboo topic, the Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia has recommended the government make sex education a core subject in grades five to 12.
As advised, the Ministry of Education in Cambodia will be rolling out the pilot program nationwide by 2019 with the goal of decreasing the pregnancy rate in girls ages 15 to 19 by educating and changing the traditional social norms.
Although the Khmer Rouge takeover presented destructive setbacks for Cambodia socially and economically, education in Cambodia has been making meaningful improvements since the turn of the century and optimistically continues to do so.
– Alex Fidler
Photo: Flickr
Digital Otoscope: Can a Smartphone Detect Ear Infections?
Ear infections are very common among young children and can be easily treated. By the age of three, a majority of children would have already experienced at least one ear infection. The problem emerges when ear infections go untreated. It can possibly cause serious medical issues. Researchers from Umea University in Sweden and the University of Pretoria in South Africa wanted to make diagnosis easy and affordable for people in developing countries. They created a software-based smartphone system along with a digital otoscope that can diagnose ear infections.
Claude Laurent, a researcher at the Department of Clinical Sciences at Umea University, says “Because of lack of health personnel in many developing countries, ear infections are often misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all. This may lead to hearing impairments, and even to life-threatening complications.”
A digital otoscope is connected to a smartphone and takes photos of the eardrum. Then it is displayed on the smartphone. Since the software is cloud-based, the image is uploaded to the cloud. It is then analyzed and compared to archived images. The system automatically places it into one of the five diagnostic groups.
The system is completely portable allowing it to be used directly in the homes in villages and small towns.
Laurent says “Using this method, health personnel can diagnose middle ear infections with the same accuracy as general practitioners and pediatricians.” This is extremely important, as there tends to be a shortage of ear specialist in developing areas.
Traditionally, a pneumatic otoscope is used by doctors to view how much fluid is behind the patient’s eardrum. Although this method has been used for a long time, it is not always accurate. Often ear infections are misdiagnosed which may cause harm to the patient.
However, the software could possibly fix the problem of misdiagnosis. The digital otoscope has an 80.6 percent accuracy rate, while traditional otoscopes have an accuracy between 64 to 80 percent.
“This method has great potential to ensure accurate diagnoses of ear infections in countries where such opportunities are not available at present. Since the method is both easy and cheap to use, it enables rapid and reliable diagnoses of a very common childhood illness,” Laurent says.
Once widely available, this software-based smartphone system, with the use of cloud technology and a digital otoscope, will provide relief for children in various parts of the world.
– Karla Umanzor
Photo: Flickr
Power Africa Initiative Has Potential to Generate More Progress
President Obama’s Power Africa Initiative is looking to solve a monster problem in sub-Saharan Africa, where two out of three people lack access to electricity. Power Africa suggests “ambitious but achievable” goals, including the creation of 60 million new electricity connections and 30,000 megawatts of new and cleaner power.
According to President Barack Obama, “Access to electricity is fundamental to opportunity.” With Power Africa, the U.S. is investing in Africa’s potential. Obama has brought together private and public organizations, political leaders and power generation experts with the goal of improving peoples’ quality of life and stimulating economic growth.
USAID’s goal with the Power Africa Initiative has been “to remove barriers that impede sustainable development.” A recent article in Bloomberg, however, claims that after three years, those barriers are still in place.
Writers Toluse Olorunnipa and Tope Alake cite evidence that Power Africa “has fallen well short of its goals, so far producing less than 5 percent of the new power generation it promised.” They highlight political dysfunction, policy bundling and economic hurdles as major obstacles to progress.
USAID, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, is aiming to implement policy and regulatory reforms, and the Department of Energy has partnered with the Clean Energy Solutions Center in the Power Africa Initiative to “help governments design and adopt policies and programs that support the deployment of clean energy technologies.”
With over 120 public and private partners, the Power Africa Initiative has the potential to make an enormous impact in the African continent, despite the bleak progress reported.
In September 2016, President Obama argued that progress is being made, citing successes involving “solar power and natural gas in Nigeria; off-grid energy in Tanzania; people in rural Rwanda gaining electricity.”
Obama went on to say that the global community must continue to invest in Africa’s youth in order to build upon the progress that has already been made. It may be that maximizing investment in Africa’s young people will “spur Africa’s energy revolution.”
As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to assume office, his choice of cabinet members is demonstrating a philosophical shift in foreign policy. It is uncertain at this point whether the incoming U.S. administration will continue to support international development projects such as Power Africa.
As long as funding continues, however, the initiative will continue to make an impact.
– Tim Devine
Photo: Flickr
Camp Hope: A Safe Haven For Thousands
Nepal’s Camp Hope is a privately and publicly funded safe haven for displaced families from the Sindhupalchowk district north of Kathmandu, Nepal. Camp Hope spans one square kilometer and is made up of a series of large tents. The tents, which were provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have enough strength to withstand the annual monsoon season in Nepal. USAID assisted Nepal providing shelter and protection for 310,000 Nepalese people displaced by earthquakes.
Nepal’s Camp Hope was made possible thanks to the combined efforts of USAID and Sangeeta Shrestha. Shrestha is the camp founder and runs a world-class boutique heritage hotel called Dwarika. Shrestha had a great deal of trouble finding a location for Camp Hope because the local government would not relinquish any land to the cause. Thankfully, Shrestha says, “a local youth club came offering their football ground, so here we are.”
In order to make Nepal’s Camp Hope possible, Shrestha has enlisted numerous volunteers and specific members of her hotel staff. Certain volunteers are in charge of checking and registering every individual before they are permitted access to the camp. The engineers and technicians who work in hotel Dwarika are responsible for building the many tent structures that make up Nepal’s Camp Hope.
Shrestha and her hotel supply Camp Hope with food. Camp Hope is striving to meet the emotional and social needs of the thousands of displaced individuals. In order to accomplish this feat, Camp Hope provides spaces for prayer, tents for creating crafts and has built a local school with 83 students currently enrolled. All of these programs help Camp Hope residents slowly recover from the tragic earthquake that changed their lives.
A devastating earthquake ripped through the Sindhupalchowk district on April 25, 2015. Fortunately, 500,000 families managed to survive despite the fact that their villages had been reduced to rubble. Those 500,000 families equated to approximately 88 percent of the dwellings in that district.
The earthquake was the worst natural disaster in Nepal in the last 80 years. Unfortunately, Nepal would suffer a second earthquake only 17 days later, followed by a series of aftershocks. Both of the earthquakes combined resulted in 6,200 deaths in Nepal alone, over 14,000 injuries across the country, and massive landslides that engulfed over 130,000 homes. According to the U.N., 8 million people were said to have been affected.
This is why Nepal’s Camp Hope is viewed as such a pivotal sanctuary for everyone who is a part of it. The overall atmosphere and environment is filled with laughter, conversation, activities and interaction between the residents.
The residents give vitality to Camp Hope, which truly feels like a unified community within a village. Although Camp Hope is a wondrous place for displaced individuals, the main mission is to rebuild the villages that were destroyed by the earthquakes. The U.S. and Nepal’s governments are working together to help rebuild the communities that were affected.
It was decided at the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction that U.S. funding for emergency relief and recovery efforts would be raised to $130 million.
Part of that funding will help establish 1,000 temporary educational centers for misplaced children. Not enough can be said about the valiant efforts put forth by the Nepalese government, the U.S. and Camp Hope. Millions of people have been positively affected and stronger communities will be built in the future.
– Terry J. Halloran
Photo: Flickr
How the Mobile for Development Utilities Program Works
Funded in 2013 by the U.K. Department for International Development, the Mobile for Development Utilities Program (M4D) makes basic utility services in impoverished areas accessible, affordable and reliable.
The M4D Utilities Program currently exists in 24 global markets, 15 of which are in Africa. It addresses Goal 6 (ensuring access to water and sanitation) and Goal 7 (ensuring affordable energy) of the 17 U.N. sustainable development goals.
The program improves access to water, sanitation and energy services through five channels: mobile infrastructure, sales and distribution, machine-to-machine connectivity, mobile payments and mobile services.
Infrastructure such as telecom towers supply service to surrounding communities. The development of these towers will give more people access to mobile networks and enable entrepreneurial phone charging services in remote areas. This ensures convenient, affordable energy to relevant areas, addressing Goal 7 of the U.N. Global Goals.
Focus on sales, distribution and branding can help Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) improve sales and reach underserved communities. Utility service providers and MNOs can work together and co-brand for efficiency, bringing energy, water and sanitation solutions to underserved areas. This addresses Goals 6 and 7 of the U.N. sustainable development goals.
Under the M4D Utilities Program, machine-to-machine connectivity will be more efficiently monitored, increasing technological reliability and allowing service providers and entrepreneurs insight into customer behavior. For example, service providers can collect bills online. However, according to a GSMA Mobile for Development Utilities Program report, machine-to-machine connectivity needs to be more reliable. Improving reliability addresses Goal 6 of the U.N. sustainable development goals, ensuring access to water and sanitation.
Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) is a form of mobile payment that has had great success so far under the M4D Utilities Program. It simplifies payment methods for customers and creates a digital record of payments for those without payment history. So far, 650,000 mobile-connected pay-as-you-go solar home systems have been delivered worldwide. This addresses Global Goal 7, ensuring reliable energy, but according to the GSMA report mobile money will need to be even more accessible in order to help meet the U.N.’s sanitation requirements.
Mobile services such as voice commands, SMS and apps can be used to improve customer service and field operations as well as to optimize supply chains. Communities, agents and service providers alike can use these mobile services to form strong foundations of customer support. However, in order to meet U.N. sanitation goals, mobile services could also make an effort to unite stakeholders and align with the government on its sanitization-improving policies.
The M4D Utilities Program demonstrates that using mobile technology actually works. It has raised more than $58 million in private sector funding and has so far benefited more than 1.9 million people. For example, in 2013 the solar energy company Mobisol used its pay-as-you-go solar business to provide 250,000 people in Rwanda and elsewhere with clean solar energy to power their households.
Improving access to energy, water and sanitation will improve the health and education of people in impoverished places. The Mobile for Development Utilities Program can help bring us closer to the target of universal and equitable access to reliable and safe energy, water and sanitation by 2030.
– Liliana Rehorn
Photo: Flickr
Poverty Reduction Alone: Not a Remedy for Pollution in India
Although poverty in India was reduced by 91.6 million people between 2009 and 2012, 363 million Indians still live below the poverty line according to a 2014 report by the Indian government. Chief government planning commission officer, Amitabh Kant, however, projects that poverty in India can be eliminated by 2032 if gross domestic product growth increases to 10 percent, as it would result in a $10 trillion economy. While India has huge potential to have a booming economy and lower poverty rates, it must grow sustainably, acknowledging the environment’s limitations, specifically, pollution in India.
In the next few decades, India hopes to mimic the massive growth of China. However, India should also look to China’s past and present as an opportunity to learn from its mistakes. Unrestrained growth called for incredible energy demands in China, which burned 3.2 billion tons of coal in 2010 alone.
The pollution has consequently caused the air quality in some areas to be as toxic as smoking 40 cigarettes a day, according to Berkeley scientist, Richard Muller. Purely relying on fossil fuels will counter many of India’s poverty alleviation efforts by simultaneously deteriorating the living environment.
Another key factor for India to consider when structuring its economic growth is the already extremely polluted environment. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guideline, 22 of the 50 most polluted cities in the world are in India. A 2014 WHO report also indicated that between 0.5 and 0.6 million people die from pollution in India.
The country currently burns 150 million tons of biomass annually for cooking and heating. As India works to provide 300 million more people with electricity, its emissions are projected to double, surpassing those of the U.S. and China. While continuing to use fossil fuels and similar energy sources may be cheap in the short run, long-term damage will be incalculable and possibly sabotage the country’s future. As a result, businesses have begun to look to India’s energy demands as an excellent opportunity.
One rising startup is BioLite. The company created a stove that converts electricity from captured smoke and wasted energy from burned biomass, which is then stored in an external battery.
The stove is more energy efficient and nearly eliminates the pollution created from cooking, one of the largest contributors to India’s pollution. With a proper partnership and widespread production of the BioLite stoves, India could equip its poorest with both safer cooking equipment and rudimentary access to electricity.
Given its proximity to the sea, India has also considered utilizing ocean generated electricity, through either wave, tidal, current or thermal energy. One company, Ocean Power Technologies, has recently deployed its buoys, one of the first to do so, off the coast of New Jersey. At $19 million, the company may even be large enough to propel India’s nascent ocean power technology programs.
Other companies that could benefit from the Indian market are solar technology companies and electric car companies. While opening its market to foreign companies may expose Indian companies to harmful competition, the country itself needs to find feasible ways to ease itself into accelerated growth.
The impending energy demands can either launch the country into the future or drag it through lethal pollution levels. With these new business relations, India’s future has the potential to be bright.
– Henry Gao
Photo: Flickr
Population Growth in Nigeria: Looking Forward to 2050
Africa is projected to account for more than 50 percent of the global population increase between 2015 and 2050. Future efforts to tackle poverty on the continent, therefore, will have to take a larger number of people into account. According to a study published by the U.N., Nigeria is expected to be the third most densely populated country in the world by 2050. The projected population growth in Nigeria, combined with its widespread poverty, will have consequences for the entire country.
It may be challenging to create primary and secondary schooling opportunities, health care facilities, clinics and transport at a rate sufficient to keep up with population growth in Nigeria. As a result, poor households may continue in poverty due to insufficient access to facilities that can improve employment and health prospects.
High unemployment rates in Nigeria are also an area of concern, as jobs are projected to become more scarce in the future due to rapid population growth. In 2015, approximately 70 percent of Nigeria’s youth population experienced either unemployment or underemployment. This statistic is unlikely to improve unless a conscious effort is made to create jobs in the country and to improve skills and technical knowledge.
Resources in the country such as food, water, energy and electricity are currently sparse and are likely to become progressively more so as the population increases. Active measures to expand these resources include providing financial incentives for farming and food industries and setting up local clean water supplies and power sources to sustain individual communities.
Nigeria’s growing population could have some positive effects if humanitarian efforts to eradicate poverty are directed toward younger generations. Increasing numbers of working age individuals can enhance economic growth and output if those individuals are equipped with training and education to improve their employability.
The issue of exponential population growth also needs to be targeted at its core. Quality family planning services need to be made readily accessible in rural Nigerian communities in order to ensure that households are well-informed about the responsibilities and costs involved in raising a child.
Population growth in Nigeria may well strain the country’s resources, but if appropriate measures are enacted, Nigeria will be sufficiently prepared for the years to come.
– Tanvi Ambulkar
Photo: Flickr