Recent implementation of government programs and grants of foreign aid seek to address infrastructure inefficiency and improve conditions for those still living in poverty in Jordan.
Jordan is a chronically arid country, with less than five percent of land available for farming. For citizens in rural areas, prospects of self-sustainability through farming are limited by the little or no rainfall. Not only do poor farmers have fewer products to sell, they also have less to eat.
Approximately 20 percent of Jordanians live in rural areas where poverty is more prevalent than in urban areas. Approximately 19 percent of the rural population is considered “poor.”
These trends are also compounded by gender inequalities in Jordan. Families headed by women tend to have fewer economic assets than households headed by men. For example, 43 percent of male heads of households receive loans for agricultural development and 14 percent for income-generating activities, while 21 and nine percent of female heads of households receive loans.
According to the 2011-2020 National Employment Strategy, Jordan must overcome several barriers to youth and female employment, including transportation, in order to improve economic conditions for all. Inefficient transport creates disparities between economic city centers like Amman and more rural regions.
These issues reflect some of the obstacles the government’s development program, referred to as Jordan 2025, seeks to address. This initiative began in early 2016 with the Executive Development Plan dedicating nearly $2.5 billion to developmental programs, with almost $300 million devoted to road and transportation development. This focus on improving transportation infrastructure ultimately provides rural citizens with more employment options in major cities.
Beyond rural poverty, one-third of Jordan’s population lives in poverty during at least a quarter of the year. While a 2010 World Bank study found that 14.4 percent of the population lived in poverty, the same study indicated that 18.6 percent of the country’s population experienced transient poverty, including some typically lower-middle and middle-income households.
To help mitigate these issues and boost the slowing economy, the Jordanian government has accepted two loans from the World Bank within the past year. The first, introduced in September 2016, comprised a $300 million package to improve economic opportunities for Jordanians and Syrian refugees.
The second, approved in December 2016, consists of a $25 million contribution from the Global Concessional Financing Facility combined with a $225 million loan to improve energy and water spending as well as improve public service delivery.
“Improving the efficiency of the water and energy sectors, and the consequent savings, will provide the government with the fiscal space needed to invest more in economic development projects and improve the living conditions of citizens,” Jordan’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury said in an interview with the World Bank.
While these initiatives and international loans have yet to be fully implemented and their impact analyzed, these investments could potentially help diminish poverty in Jordan.
– Casie Wilson
Photo: Flickr
Water Conservation in Kenya – There’s an App for That!
The unpredictable weather conditions in central Kenya create challenges for many small farmers. The country is categorized as a water-scarce nation, as most of its landmass is considered arid or semi-arid. To compensate, growers traditionally water their crops with cans or buckets, creating inefficient and uneven irrigation. This system resulted in irregular and costly harvests — until scientists from Kenya’s Meru University of Science and Technology (MUST) stepped in to advance water conservation in Kenya.
Daniel Maitethia and a team of scientists from MUST discovered a solution: a “sensor-based automatic irrigation system” app. Launched last year at MUST’s own test farm, the system uses sensors strategically placed throughout fields. Drip lines are installed into subdivided portions and water is automatically channeled. When the soil is dry, the system then uses solar panels to open a water tank. The sensors then alert the system when enough water has been supplied, and then the irrigation shuts off — saving valuable water.
Water Conservation via an App
The secret to the system’s success lies in the user interface of the app. Farmers can operate the system remotely through text messages to the app. Some of the controls available at the push of a button consist of turning on water pumps, opening specified water valves, closing open valves and re-channeling irrigation.
There’s little doubt about the wide-reaching benefits of MUST’s system, especially regarding water conservation in Kenya. Additionally, labor costs can also be reduced. On-site farm attendants are no longer needed to oversee and implement irrigation daily. Any alerts in the system are sent to the farmer via text.
Cost Savings and Maintenance
Farmers like John Njeru are already realizing the benefits. He used to hire other farmers to help water his land, but with the system in place, he no longer needs the extra hands. He reports that his labor costs are reduced by 20,000 Kenyan shillings or $192 per month. Further, Njeru is seeing less food loss: “I used to lose up to 70% of my produce as a result of dry weather and inefficient irrigation, compared to only 10% now.”
Maitethia understands the need for potential troubleshooting and technical support. He advised that if there is a “glitch” in the system, the farmer will receive a text explaining the problem. He promised support, saying “a technician employed by the university will then help the farmer remotely with instructions, or physically come to the farm if needed.”
Maitethia remains hopeful for future expansion. He advised that the system received one million Kenyan shillings ($9,600) by the Water Services Trust Fund in November 2016 as the best innovation in the country in water resource management. He hopes that the award, coupled with other potential partnerships, will increase the availability of this system to benefit water conservation in Kenya.
– Gisele Dunn
Photo: Flickr
4,000 More Illegal Israeli Settlements Announced
Israeli encroachment on Palestinian territory began in 1967 and has since established frameworks for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s statement on the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. Since the Trump administration has transitioned to the White House, Israel has announced the expansion of 4,000 new illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory.
Legislation to build the new settlements would violate international law, especially considering that Palestinians possess title deeds to prove ownership of occupied land. U.N. Security Council resolution 2334 (2016) defines that Palestinian territory settled upon by Israelis would constitute “flagrant violation” of international law.
The bill to facilitate illegal settlements in the West Bank is highly controversial. Israel’s attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, is in opposition to its passage and promised to fight against it in the Supreme Court.
Netanyahu also perceives that the Trump administration will facilitate “significant opportunities” succeeding Obama’s policies in the Middle East that he cites as “huge pressures.” The creation of new illegal Israeli settlements in the region would be the first in 25 years.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) cites that there are almost 775,000 registered Palestinian refugees in the West Bank. A quarter of these refugees live across 19 camps and the rest in towns and villages. At least 270 Palestinians have been displaced and forced from their homes since the beginning of 2017.
U.S. foreign aid to Palestine began in the mid-1990s following the onset of “limited Palestinian self-rule” in Gaza and the West Bank. The U.S. is the largest single-state donor to the UNRWA and has committed more than $5 billion in bilateral aid to assist in decreasing terrorism against Israel, promote efficient governing infrastructures that could lead to regional peace and to provide humanitarian aid.
– Amber Bailey
Photo: Flickr
6 Facts About Poverty in Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis is a twin-island nation located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is known for its lush landscapes and beautiful beaches. The nation’s economy relies heavily on tourism, agriculture and offshore financial services.
In the past few years, poverty in Saint Kitts and Nevis has been significantly reduced and other grand achievements have been made on a wider scale. However, certain events have left the two-island country vulnerable, particularly in areas of health, the environment and economic situations. Below are a few facts about poverty in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Saint Kitts and Nevis has had its share of events with negative impacts, physically, socially and economically. However, with the nation continually making plans for improvement, poverty in Saint Kitts and Nevis in all its forms can hopefully be eradicated.
– Mikaela Frigillana
Photo: Flickr
Updated: June 03, 2024
Top Diseases in Russia
Geographically the largest nation in the world, Russia is known as a formidable global power. However, in terms of medical care, only 7% of GDP is spent on health, lagging significantly behind the world average of 10%. With that, the impact of this policy is seen in the prevalence of several disease outbreaks throughout the country.
Here are the top diseases in Russia:
Combined with shortages of medical supplies and inadequate standards, this list highlights a number of public health challenges for the country. While not exhaustive, many of the top diseases in Russia are treatable or preventable. Therefore, many solutions could be as easy as allocating proper funding and taking reasonable precautions in risk-prone areas.
– Zack Machuga
Photo: Flickr
Transcendental Meditation is Improving Global Education
More and more schools around the world are employing Transcendental Meditation techniques to improve student performance and well-being.
What is Transcendental Meditation?
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi brought Transcendental Meditation to the U.S. in the 1960s. The technique involves sitting comfortably, twice a day for 20 minutes, with the eyes closed in a relaxed state of consciousness.
Transcendental Meditation is not a religion. It is a daily practice that helps students develop naturally and remain alert during the school day.
Benefits of Transcendental Meditation
Harvard Medical School, Stanford Medical School, and Yale Medical School have researched the technique’s effects. Benefits of Transcendental Meditation include improved intelligence and creativity, improved academic performance, improved memory and lower stress levels.
Students who practiced meditation were also healthier and more confident. They showed greater appreciation for reflective and academic activities, as well as improved mathematical skills.
The David Lynch Foundation
The David Lynch Foundation was founded in 2005 to ensure that any child in the world who wanted to meditate could do so. The foundation focuses its efforts on underserved inner-city students, veterans with PTSD and their families as well as women and children who are survivors of violence and abuse.
Thanks to the foundation, students in more than 700 public and private schools around the world have been able to learn the Transcendental Meditation technique. In the U.S alone, there are more than 1,000 schools waiting to implement the program.
Success Stories
The Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment (MSAE), a small school in Iowa, is one of the most successful examples of an institution using the Transcendental Meditation technique. MSAE students rank on average in the top one percent of standardized academic tests in the U.S. Ninety-five percent of these students also enroll in a university.
Similarly, university students in Cambodia that practiced Transcendental Meditation showed improved general health after three months. A separate statistic shows that secondary school students who practiced the technique also demonstrated increased creativity after 14 weeks, in comparison to control students.
Education is one of the most powerful tools in reducing global poverty and inequality. Thanks to Transcendental Meditation, both teachers and students are enjoying lower stress levels and increased efficiency in the classroom. As the technique continues to proliferate, the quality of global education will also rise, ultimately laying the foundation for sustained economic growth and social cohesion.
– Liliana Rehorn
Photo: Flickr
USAID: Increasing Food Aid Through a Simple Bag
Before getting into the solution, it is imperative to diagnose the problem first.
The world currently faces six qualified food emergencies, as stated by the World Food Program. Between civil wars and the environmental effects of the recent El Nino, civilians in Syria, Iraq, southern Africa, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen are all in dire need of food assistance. If lives are to be saved, agencies like USAID must increase food aid.
USAID is considered to be one of the world’s most significant food aid donors. Yearly, it donates around $1.5 billion in rice, sorghum and wheat to countries in need all around the world. These shipments are ordered to port in one of three chosen locations: Djibouti, Ethiopia or South Africa. However, under law, this food aid must be bought within the U.S. and half of all aid must be transported via U.S. ships. Realistically, this process takes around four to six months to ship. This donation process can be tedious and, in emergency situations when food is needed in less than a week (like the Haitian earthquake), deadly.
Not only this, but it is estimated that one percent of food donation cargo spoils along the way. While the percentage appears insignificant, the repercussions are fierce. One percent of USAID’s food donation is equivalent to 10,000 tons of food, costing up to $15 million. And so, when one percent spoils, an estimated 200,000 families will go hungry for an entire month. For some, one percent is the difference between life and death.
Alongside the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USAID sought out the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to tackle this mission last year. MIT researchers will assess how food aid is packaged in present-day and then research alternative packaging systems that will both delay the food aid’s expiration and decrease the cost of making the package. Should they find an alternative, USAID and MIT could be responsible for increasing food aid around the world.
MIT is currently testing bags that will avoid water damage and slow insect infestation, two leading causes of food aid spoiling. Currently, these newly design bags are carrying $1.7 million worth of food aid to Djibouti and South Africa. Only time will tell if USAID and MIT have found success in the redesigns. Regardless, for 200,000 families, the world of food aid is growing a little brighter.
– Brenna Yowell
Photo: Flickr
Power of Coding Workshop in Cape Town: Empowering Girls
As computers proliferate, an estimated 1.4 million jobs in computer sciences will be available in the next 10 years. However, there are only 400,000 graduates available to fill them. This is why it is becoming increasingly important for young people — particularly young women — to learn to code.
Code for Cape Town has partnered with the U.S. Consulate to offer a two-day Power of Coding Workshop for high school girls. The coding workshop is valued at 300 rand (USD$22.44) but learners are invited to attend for free.
The workshop will be located in one of the city’s libraries. Space will offer a coffee bar, free Wi-Fi, a laptop bank, an editing suite and green screen technology at no cost to the public. The Power of Coding Workshop in Cape Town will last three hours and will introduce learners to what coding is. It will also teach learners how coding may apply to their interests and potential career paths.
Learners will have the opportunity to code their first project. At the end of the session, they will take a test to determine if they qualify for Code for Cape Town’s full learning program. This program includes code classes, visits to tech companies, and the chance to meet inspiring women in tech.
What is Coding, and why is it important?
According to Linda Liukas, the co-founder of a coding workshop called Rail Girls, “coding is the literacy of the 21st century.”
Essentially, coding is telling a computer what to do. The process involves typing in step-by-step instructions for the computer to follow.
Computational thinking is the collection of diverse problem-solving skills related to writing software. It is important because it teaches learners to efficiently tackle large problems by breaking them down into a sequence of smaller, more manageable problems. Even fields as diverse as mechanical engineering, fluid mechanics, physics, biology, archaeology and music are applicable to this computational approach.
“Our world is increasingly run by software and we need more diversity in the people who are building it,” says Liukas. “More importantly, writing software is about expression, creativity, and practical application.”
This is why the Power of Coding workshop in Cape Town will be instrumental in empowering young women in South Africa. Not only will it teach young women the basics of coding, but it will teach them to apply this knowledge to any number of future career paths — knowledge that is indispensable in light of the growing digital economy.
– Liliana Rehorn
Photo: Flickr
Students Turn Coffee Grounds into Fuel for Refugees
The Hult Prize is one of the largest and most competitive student contests in the world. The competition focuses on improving social good, specifically reinstating the rights and dignity of communities affected by social injustice, politics, economic, climate change and war. The winners of the contest receive $1 million in start-up funds and mentorship from international business and humanitarian leaders.
The competition is run by the Hult Prize Foundation. The foundation has stated that it believes the number of refugees worldwide far exceeds the number estimated by the United Nations, which is partially what inspired this year’s theme. “Rather than focus on aid and charitable approaches to refugee migration, we focus this challenge on the reawakening of human aid,” says the foundation’s website.
In Canada, the government resettled more than 25,000 Syrian refugees between November 2015 and February 2016, so the theme of the competition is relevant for UoT students. Canada’s private sponsorship program continues to facilitate the relocation of even more refugee families from Syria.
Five students from UoT, Lucy Yang, Matthew Frehlich, Gotham Rakmachandran, Sam Bennett and Lucas Siow, have advanced to the regional semi-finals of the competition. They have designed a substitute for firewood, called Moto, made from coffee grounds, sugar and paraffin wax. The mixture is put into a loaf pan and baked. The product is easily produced and gets rid of waste from used coffee grounds.
A 2014 survey from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees found that 90 percent of refugees in Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda rely on firewood to cook and keep themselves warm. Moto will prevent the dangers that come along with searching for firewood outside of the camps.
The creators of Moto have used the log substitute to boil water and cook lentils, successfully turning the coffee grounds into fuel. The log can burn for up to 90 minutes.
The goal for Moto is to connect the idea with businesses in Africa and refugees living in Toronto in order to tweak the design to best meet the needs of refugees living in camps across the world.
The design is simple so that people living in developing countries can eventually learn to utilize the technique themselves. The idea of turning coffee grounds into fuel is a revolutionary one that has the potential to make lives easier for refugees all over the world.
– Peyton Jacobsen
Photo: Flickr
Know Your Cause: The Natives in the Amazonian Rainforests
ACEER’s work to decrease deforestation helps the natives in the Amazonian rainforests keep their homes. Deforestation destroys the habitats of many animal and plant species which also destroys indigenous peoples’ home as the forests serve as their main source of food and shelter.
The organization’s AMIGOS! program strives to give the children in Amazonian areas a quality education. The AMIGOS! program does a lot to help the Peruvian schools in cities such as Puerto Maldonado and Iquitos and rural areas. The program has been around since 1995, teaching hundreds of children about rainforest ecology, history and conservation every year. AMIGOS! uses creative ways to teach those subjects, such as their Puppet House which feature characters like Yoqui the Brave Pirate who teaches children about protecting the rainforest’s ecosystems.
There is also a school-village partnership program to participate in community service projects such as installing solar pasteurization systems for clean drinking water and offering workshops for medicinal plant gardening. Since these Peruvian schools are one-roomed schools with almost no textbooks and few supplies, teachers lack resources to give children a quality education. American schools provide supplies such as pencils, chalkboards, and exercise books to these schools in need.
The organization also provides programs to study the water quality in the rainforests to ensure there is drinking water for the natives in the Amazonian rainforests as well as the wildlife. One such program is the Leaf Pack Program which has a network of teachers, students, and others studying the water quality in streams by using an experimental kit. The Leaf Pack experimental kit collects samples from a local stream and shares the data to determine if the water is safe enough to drink.
In 2012, ACEER received a major grant from the Blue Moon Fund to conduct ecosystem assessment along the Transoceanic Highway in Peru to make sure the water is drinkable. This organization has also worked with TriVita Inc. to bring safe drinking water to the Amazonian village by installing new surface water systems in 2014.
ACEER’s work does a lot to save the rainforest, but helping the environment has also helped the locals who live there. After all, global poverty and environmental issues are closely linked, so the efforts of this organization work with both issues to make the world better.
– Emma Majewski
Photo: Flickr
Development Plans Fight Rural and Transient Poverty in Jordan
Jordan is a chronically arid country, with less than five percent of land available for farming. For citizens in rural areas, prospects of self-sustainability through farming are limited by the little or no rainfall. Not only do poor farmers have fewer products to sell, they also have less to eat.
Approximately 20 percent of Jordanians live in rural areas where poverty is more prevalent than in urban areas. Approximately 19 percent of the rural population is considered “poor.”
These trends are also compounded by gender inequalities in Jordan. Families headed by women tend to have fewer economic assets than households headed by men. For example, 43 percent of male heads of households receive loans for agricultural development and 14 percent for income-generating activities, while 21 and nine percent of female heads of households receive loans.
According to the 2011-2020 National Employment Strategy, Jordan must overcome several barriers to youth and female employment, including transportation, in order to improve economic conditions for all. Inefficient transport creates disparities between economic city centers like Amman and more rural regions.
These issues reflect some of the obstacles the government’s development program, referred to as Jordan 2025, seeks to address. This initiative began in early 2016 with the Executive Development Plan dedicating nearly $2.5 billion to developmental programs, with almost $300 million devoted to road and transportation development. This focus on improving transportation infrastructure ultimately provides rural citizens with more employment options in major cities.
Beyond rural poverty, one-third of Jordan’s population lives in poverty during at least a quarter of the year. While a 2010 World Bank study found that 14.4 percent of the population lived in poverty, the same study indicated that 18.6 percent of the country’s population experienced transient poverty, including some typically lower-middle and middle-income households.
To help mitigate these issues and boost the slowing economy, the Jordanian government has accepted two loans from the World Bank within the past year. The first, introduced in September 2016, comprised a $300 million package to improve economic opportunities for Jordanians and Syrian refugees.
The second, approved in December 2016, consists of a $25 million contribution from the Global Concessional Financing Facility combined with a $225 million loan to improve energy and water spending as well as improve public service delivery.
“Improving the efficiency of the water and energy sectors, and the consequent savings, will provide the government with the fiscal space needed to invest more in economic development projects and improve the living conditions of citizens,” Jordan’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury said in an interview with the World Bank.
While these initiatives and international loans have yet to be fully implemented and their impact analyzed, these investments could potentially help diminish poverty in Jordan.
– Casie Wilson
Photo: Flickr