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Education in Mali

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The United Nations Seeks Greater Aid for Afghanistan

In recent days, the United Nations has sought greater aid for Afghanistan’s most vulnerable population.

Those who qualify for humanitarian assistance in 2017 number at least 9.3 million—13 percent higher than last year and almost a third of its population. As Afghani people are displaced daily by the fighting between the Taliban and military groups, and thousands of refugees return from Pakistan and Iran, the government struggles to provide routine necessities for its people. A record of 8,397 civilians lost their lives due to the fighting in the first nine months of 2016, while another half a million people were displaced by last November. And so far, this trend is predicted to only grow.

But this wasn’t always the case. In fact, in 2014, it was believed that Afghanistan’s GDP would grow around 12 percent per year. This was prior to the international military force withdrawing from the country before it realized how fully Afghanistan’s economics depended on the foreign troops. Since 2002, foreign troops filled 800 bases, brought in hundreds of millions of dollars into their economy, and thus stood as Afghanistan’s single largest source of revenue. Their departure, then, was devastating. Annual GDP growth is now around one percent.

Afghan analyst Helena Malikyar wrote on the matter, “Projects attached to international aid – one of the largest sources of employment in the past decade – have for the most part shut down or placed in hibernation.”

The U.N.’s aid for Afghanistan, should it be received, will number 500 million dollars and will be given to the country’s 5.7 million most vulnerable population. Afghanistan currently carries malnutrition rates of about 15 percent in over a quarter of its provinces. Of the total 1.8 million people this affects, 1.3 million are children under the age of 5. Of the 9.3 million people in need of general aid, more than half are children. Not only facing malnutrition, the U.N. has reported abuse and exploitation, specifically through “forced marriage, sexual abuse and harmful child labor”.

While the U.N.’s aid for Afghanistan will assist a select group, it still will not be enough to end their plight. Until the Taliban’s insurgency ends and the economy is able to stand on its own, Afghanistan’s crisis must be watched carefully and tended to fervently.

– Brenna Yowell

Photo: Flickr

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The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations

Preparedness InnovationsWhen the Ebola virus broke out in 2014, the world was ill-prepared to respond. In all, there were more than 15,000 confirmed cases and 11,000 deaths. Although the outbreak was concentrated in West Africa, a handful of cases reached the United States and Europe. With the rise of globalization and intercontinental travel, the next epidemic could easily become a pandemic.

To combat this danger, a multinational coalition is needed. The formation of such a group — the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) — was announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations is backed by the governments of Norway, India, Japan and Germany. These countries are partnering with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust to invest in vaccines to prevent diseases that have the potential to cause the next great epidemic.

Given the cost-efficiency of immunization programs, the development of vaccines is an effective component of epidemic preparation. With an initial fund of $460 million, CEPI will be well worth the investment. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Lione lost approximately $1.6 billion in GDP in 2015 alone. A worldwide pandemic would be drastically more costly; the World Bank estimates a flu pandemic would cost $3 trillion globally.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations will initially focus on three viruses: MERS-CoV, Lassa and Nipah. These viruses are among the diseases identified by the World Health Organization that warrant prioritization. For each virus, CEPI hopes to develop at least two vaccines. This head start is critical, as vaccine development is a long, arduous process. On average, a vaccine takes about 10 years to reach the market, and epidemics take far less time to spread.

Although CEPI is a major step in the right direction, a more comprehensive strategy is necessary to control a potential pandemic. As shown by the Ebola outbreak, a global surveillance system is needed. In addition, vaccines cannot prevent all cases of disease; treatment development is also needed. The current members of CEPI have demonstrated admirable initiative in showing the world that everyone is a stakeholder concerning global health.

– Rebecca Yu

Photo: Flickr

Seven Surprising Stats About Poverty in Canada

Poverty in Canada

As a wealthy country with an abundance of natural resources, it may come as a shock that Canada suffers greatly from poverty. Women and children are the two major groups affected by poverty in Canada, as a result of unemployment and other barriers that stand in the way of financial stability.

Poverty in Canada Facts

    1. According to the national report “Let’s End Child Poverty for Good,” the rate of child poverty in Canada increased from 15.8% in 1989 to 19% in 2013. Campaign 2000, a nonpartisan network of 120 organizations against child and family poverty, works with the federal government on the Canada Child Benefit, which will hopefully reduce child poverty by 50% in the next few years.
    2. Child poverty rates are nearly double for indigenous children and new immigrant families, at 40%.
    3. One in seven Canadian children resides in a homeless shelter, which are environments that can lead to higher rates of mental and physical health issues.
    4. Compared to other developed countries, Canada’s poverty rate is higher than most, ranking 23 out of 34 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.
    5. More than 1.5 million women live on a low income, and 21 percent of single mothers raise their children in poverty. The Canadian Women’s Foundation works to advance women’s conditions by finding ways out of poverty and helping them build a solid foundation that includes stable housing, childcare and employment skills.
    6. The child poverty rate is highest in Toronto at 27%, according to the 2014 report, “Divided City: Life in Canada’s Child Poverty Capital.” Montreal follows with 25%.
    7. Two hundred thousand people are homeless in a year, costing the Canadian economy $7 billion each year.

Poverty in Canada is a significant issue, but not one that is impossible to solve. Various organizations dedicated to addressing the problem have helped those who have experienced major setbacks return to normalcy, to the point where they can live sustainable lives and provide for their families.

– Mikaela Frigillana

Photo: Flickr

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Camions of Care for Women and Education

Women and EducationWomen are estimated to menstruate for an average of 3,000 days throughout their lifetimes. This highlights the necessity for adequate access to sanitation and health services for women’s hygiene. A project called Camions of Care, founded by 18-year-old Nadya Okamoto from Portland, has made a monumental impact on relieving incidence of disease and social exclusion among women worldwide.

Since the establishment of Camions of Care, the organization has facilitated the transmission of more than 27,000 period care packages to women globally. A 2013 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) case study of menstrual hygiene in Burkina Faso and Niger emphasized challenges such as inadequate sanitation facilities, lack of knowledge regarding periods and the cultural impact of stigma regarding menstruation. Addressing these challenges is pivotal in establishing better practices for women’s hygiene. The study also cites that empowering women through education and personal support is imperative to improving local sanitation practices.

A journal published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS) also attributes poor knowledge of healthy menstruation practices to decreased school attendance among girls in Uganda.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) reinforces evidence that women and girls without access to satisfactory female hygiene facilities are more likely to miss school and work, and can be subject to higher rates of sexual assault. USAID also attributes improved sanitation facilities to promoting economic development, while also affording women “dignity, privacy and security.”

The non-profit organization also aids partners such as New Avenues for Youth, Central City Concern, Rose Haven, Free Hot Soup and Self Enhancement, Inc. and has impacted women across 19 states within the U.S. through foundations of “advocacy, youth leadership and service”. The Hasbro Community Action Hero Awards program has also recognized Okamoto’s homeless relief organization for exceptional commitment to advancing women’s health.

– Amber Bailey

Photo: Flickr

Kenya’s Energy Access: Speaking About Improvements

Kenya's Energy AccessIn the 12 months prior to June 2016, nearly 1.3 million Kenyan households were connected to the grid for the first time. This remarkable achievement raised Kenya’s national connectivity rate to 55 percent from a mere 27 percent in 2013.

The recent push for Kenya’s energy access is part of the government’s goal to achieve universal energy access by 2020, a project known as the Last Mile Connectivity Project.
Development experts say that electricity plays a major role in improving many facets of life. Everything from education and agricultural productivity to employment opportunities can improve. Across the African continent, nearly 600 million people, or 70 percent of the population, do not have access to electricity. By reaching its goal, Kenya would become the first African country to achieve universal access to electricity.

To reach its goal, Kenya aims to move from 55 percent to a near universal access rate of 95 percent in just four more years. Such a leap took the U.S. nearly 26 years to accomplish.

Recent feats in energy access prove that Kenya is determined to fulfill its commitment, despite the far-fetched implications of the mission. The jump from 27 percent to 55 percent took Kenya a little more than three years; in the U.S., it took about eight years to increase access by a similar amount.

The next step in Kenya’s energy access plan is to ensure that 70 percent of Kenyans have electricity by the end of this year, hopefully translating to more productivity and an expansion in the job sector. The government’s strategy involves investing heavily, which has proved extremely effective as the government has already secured over $600 million from various international donors.

Kenya’s energy access initiative also acknowledges outside constraints that are keeping people from accessing electricity. The government reduced the connection charge by over 50 percent in the past year.  Paying bills in installments is also now an available option. The adjustments in utility finances allow more citizens to realistically include paying for electricity in their budgets.

The Kenyan government’s commitment to achieving universal energy access by 2020 is looking more practical and obtainable than ever. Hopefully, the country will soon make history by achieving its intended goal.

– Mayan Derhy

Photo: Flickr

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Three Reasons to Welcome Refugees

Welcome RefugeesThe current refugee situation has been called the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. In 2015, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there were more than 65 million forcibly displaced people worldwide. More than half of all refugees come from three countries: Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. For the countries to which these refugees have fled, the massive influx of displaced persons is often viewed as a burden. However, with the right policies and integration services, host countries can benefit from them. Here are three reasons to welcome refugees:

  1. Successful integration can lead to significant economic benefits. Economic growth is strongly correlated with the available workforce. Over the past decade, immigrants have constituted 47 percent and 70 percent of the workforce increase in the United States and Europe, respectively. According to a study by McKinsey Global Institute, the refugee population has the potential to increase the GDP of European countries by more than 60 billion euros annually (USD$65 billion). As productive members of their new communities, refugees would place less of a burden on social welfare programs.
  2. Successful integration decreases the risk of social conflict and radicalization. Approximately half of the 21.3 million refugees worldwide are children. Coordinated efforts should be made to incorporate these children into education systems, as education boosts their future economic prospects and decreases the risk of radicalization. Language programs for adults and children would help refugees build relationships with native speakers in their communities.
  3. It’s a moral imperative. Though this is the least tangible of the three reasons to welcome refugees, it is perhaps the most compelling. A refugee is defined as “someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.” According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, refugees are entitled to access to courts, education, work, and documentation as part of their basic rights. As such, refugees are not threats– they are fellow human beings seeking life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

– Rebecca Yu

Photo: Flickr

Ways to Remove a President from Office

Ways to Remove a President from Office: Articles of Impeachment

Only a few times in U.S. history has an attempt been made to remove a president from office. It is an uncommon act for Congress to undertake due to the extraordinary burden of proof necessary to prove wrongdoing. Article 2.4 of the Constitution of the United States spells out the circumstances for the articles of impeachment to be issued as: “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

These terms are rather broad and unspecific. To clarify, legal scholar Ronald Arthur Lowry states four interpretations that lead to ways to remove a president from office.

Congressional Interpretation

Articles 1.2 and 1.3 of the Constitution grant powers to the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively, to issues articles of impeachment. Congress has the ability to interpret the evidence and collectively decide if impeachment proceedings are necessary.

“The only honest answer is that an impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given time in history; conviction results from whatever offense or offenses two-thirds of the body considers to be sufficiently serious to require removal of the accused from office…” said Congressman Gerald Ford in 1970.

The last time this occurred was the attempted impeachment of John Tyler in 1842. He vetoed a bill and angered lawmakers who then attempted impeachment as retribution. The attempt failed.

In exploring ways to remove a president from office, this is the least common application of Article 2.4. The application of this interpretation would mean that the president is serving at the pleasure of Congress.

An Indictable Crime

The second view is based on the interpretation that Article 2.4 relates to an indictable crime that must be present. Article 3.2 section 3 confirms the idea that the Constitution views impeachment as a criminal offense and “the trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by a jury.”

President Richard Nixon fell into this category and it is believed by U.S. politics expert Tom Murse that if it was not for Nixon’s resignation, he certainly would have been impeached because of indictable crimes relating to the Watergate scandal.

Misdemeanor

The third perspective is what many legal scholars deem the most applicable. The perspective is that when exploring ways to impeach, only a misdemeanor offense is necessary to initiate proceedings. The original wording of Article 2.4 was “treason, bribery, or corruption.”

Corruption was eventually removed and replaced with “high crimes and misdemeanors.” When the Constitution was ratified, the term misdemeanor had no criminal connotation. According to Lowry, that is what makes this the most popular application of Article 2.4.

Relating to the President’s Official Duties

The last interpretation states that no indictable crime needs to be present. The impeachable offense can be a “bad act or may not be a crime but it would be more serious than simple maladministration.”

A successful impeachment has never occurred in the U.S., and Murse believes the reason for this is that it is a huge political undertaking for Congress. It needs to consider both the extraordinary burden of proof and the consequences that will come as a result of removing a democratically elected president.

However, it is through the above four interpretations that Congress can identify the ways to remove a president from office.

– Brian Faust

Photo: Flickr

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Water Quality in Lebanon

Quality in LebanonLocated along the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea and sandwiched between Syria and Jordan, the country of Lebanon seems to thrive in an otherwise dry and arid region of the world. In the Middle East where neighboring countries are strapped for sufficient and renewable water resources, Lebanon is fortunate to have the benefit of a coastal border as well as above adequate rainfall. The greatest strength for the country’s water supply stems not from the water itself, but from the efforts that are being made to improve the water quality in Lebanon.

According to the CIA World Factbook, Lebanon has a population of 6.2 million. The majority of this number lives along the Mediterranean coast, with approximately one-third of the population concentrated in the capital city of Beirut and its immediate surrounding areas. Although the area may be rich in the plenitude of beaches, the water quality in Lebanon is impacted by pollution that greatly restricts use and supply.

Most of the country’s water is used for agriculture, which necessitates the use of pesticides and other harsh elements. These toxins seep back into the underground supply through irrigation, causing more pollution to the measure of water quality in Lebanon. Open dumps where sewage and industry waste are deposited into the Mediterranean exist along the entirety of the country’s western sea border. The water that is collected from the sea and river basins is often contaminated with the sewage deposits, while poor filtration can lead to high amounts of sodium and chloride intrusions.

The population concentration in Beirut further erodes the water quality in Lebanon. Water is rationed throughout the country, while inadequate water transportation systems corrode existing pipelines. Many have access to water for only a few hours a day. Those who can afford to buy bottled water do. Those not financially capable of this luxury resort to digging their own wells for water, causing them to consume water from the underground water supply that has been poisoned by agricultural irrigation.

Water-related infections and diseases are common across the country. Diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid and hepatitis have all been reported. Public outrage over the inferior water quality in Lebanon has led to public debate and advocacy work, causing encouraging responses from both the local and international communities.

The World Bank created the Greater Beirut Water Supply Project in 2010 to address the sparse water supply for the high population concentration. The project is planned for completion in 2019 with the goal to provide poor households in south Beirut with water pipeline connectivity. The country’s parliament also passed the National Water Sector Strategy in 2012, a plan to invest in the infrastructure to ensure better water quality in Lebanon and more reliable delivery.

The United States is also involved in the efforts to improve the water quality in Lebanon. In 2013, the Lebanon Water Project was started with the help of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This five-year project’s goal is to address infection and diseases caused by poor water quality in 1,200 schools across the country. So far, the project has installed new water tanks and updated filtration systems in more than 400 schools. These organizations and projects are helping to ensure that the Lebanese population, regardless of location, will have better access to clean and affordable water.

– Jeffery Silvey

Photo: Flickr

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Seven Ways #GivingTuesday 2016 Succeeded

#GivingTuesday CharityThe results of #GivingTuesday show that 2016 turned out to be a successful year in giving back to charity. In contrast with the high spending that occurs on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday offers a chance for the public to give back to charitable causes. According to the statistics, #GivingTuesday has demonstrated “double-digit growth,” projecting much hope for future years. Below are seven ways in which #GivingTuesday exceeded expectations this past year.

  1. iDonate is a popular giving platform that participated in funding for this year’s #GivingTuesday. It was revealed that this fifth consecutive year of the campaign accrued more support than other years. In fact, since 2012 when the campaign began, #GivingTuesday surpassed the initial first-year earnings from $12 million to $168 million for 2016. In addition, $50 million has been donated since 2015, which shows a 44 percent increase in total proceeds.
  2. Early data shows that the campaign received around 1.56 million donations.  The average contribution was over $100, and online donations increased by 20 percent.
  3. #GivingTuesday has gained momentum partially due to the increased utilization of mobile phones and advocacy from celebrities and major companies. The top five issues advocated for this year were education, environment, animals, health care and international affairs.
  4. The use of infographics this year have illustrated the impact #GivingTuesday has had. Similarly, funding platform CrowdRise used a virtual reality app to construct a building in which each brick represented a donation. Final donations ended up constructing a “Giving Tower,” virtually rising 6,853 feet tall which realistically surpasses the world’s current tallest tower in Dubai.
  5. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation started off #GivingTuesday 2016 by agreeing to match one million dollars worth of donations given on www.globalgiving.com at 50 percent. The Foundation’s initial goal of reaching 50 percent was achieved within the first few hours. The Foundation then raised its match point from $500,000 to $900,000. Ultimately, they succeeded in giving back to 9,800 charities.
  6. #GivingTuesday’s founding organization, 92y, compiled a report that revealed increased participation compared to previous years. In 2016, 98 countries participated in #GivingTuesday. Participation from 82 percent of the world’s largest companies, such as AOL and Macy’s, also increased.
  7. Other online funding platforms such as Blackbaud, Network for Good, CrowdRise, Razoo, GoFundMe and IndieGogo added to the advanced momentum. Blackbaud saw a 33 percent increase in nonprofit donations, Network for Good raised $7,654,954, CrowdRise raised over three million dollars from an accumulation of 26,018 donations, Razoo reached 2,556 charities, GoFundMe increased earnings by 46 percent from 2015, and IndieGogo hosted 132 campaigns, gaining 8,400 backers.

The Borgen Project participates yearly in #GivingTuesday and encourages readers to help give back to the world’s poor. Given the consistent growth seen over the past five years, Nov. 28, 2017, projects to be another prosperous year for giving back.

– Amy Williams

Photo: Flickr