Australia’s foreign aid program has seen many changes since it first became a single government agency in the 1970s. Besides the name, changes have taken place within the program’s administration, its focus, the countries that receive aid and the type of aid provided.
Australia provided aid to other countries well before there was an official government program. In the 1950s, Australia granted aid to Papua New Guinea in the form of grants and to South and Southeast Asia by way of educational scholarships and assistance with employment.
In 1974, under Prime Minister Whitlam, Australia established the Australian Development Assistance Agency (ADAA) as a single government entity that would administer the country’s aid. Since that time, the name of the program has changed several times, first to the Australian Development Assistance Bureau (ADAB), then to the Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (AIDAB), then to the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and finally to its current name, Australian Aid.
In 2010, Australia established AusAID as an executive agency within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In Australia, an executive agency is separate from its department for staffing, accountability and reporting purposes. However, the 2013 change to the country’s current program, Australian Aid, integrated the executive agency into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade so that it was no longer a stand-alone agency.
In a 2014 press release, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, introduced Australian Aid: “The Australian Government’s new approach to overseas development assistance will focus on ways to drive economic growth in developing nations and create pathways out of poverty. Strict performance benchmarks will ensure aid spending is accountable to taxpayers and achieve results.”
The program incorporated a new development policy that focused on promoting prosperity, reducing poverty and enhancing stability. A new performance framework, Making Performance Count, enhanced the accountability and effectiveness of Australian aid by establishing performance benchmarks and impact assessments in targeted aid areas.
Australia’s foreign aid program will also have a new focus on the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific regions. In 2014, Minister Bishop gave a speech in which she further explained the reason for the change in focus. “In the past, [our aid program] has been spread far too thinly across the globe…We must direct our aid to where we can make the biggest difference and align it with our national interest.”
According to preliminary data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Australia’s official development assistance (ODA) was $3.22 billion in 2015, which was 0.27 percent of their gross national income (GNI). The United Nations adopted a resolution in 1970 stating that ODA spending in developed countries should be at least 0.7 percent of GNI. Preliminary data from the OECD shows that only Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, Denmark and the United Kingdom met that target in 2015.
– Kristin Westad
Photo: Flickr
Ten Facts About the Gulf War
This January marks the 26th anniversary of the beginning of the Persian Gulf War, a conflict that displaced millions and would go on to set the pace of Middle Eastern dynamics in the twenty-first century. Here are 10 important things to know about the Gulf War.
Although brief, the Persian Gulf War in 1991 impacted the lives of millions throughout the region and cost billions in aid. The conflict went on to set the stage for Middle Eastern relations in the new millennium, acting as a precursor to the War in Iraq that began in 2003.
– Emily Marshall
Photo: Flickr
What is the House of Representatives?
What is the House of Representatives? The House of Representatives is one of two chambers that make up the United States Congress (the other is the Senate). The House consists of 435 representatives who serve the people of all 50 states. Five delegates represent the District of Columbia and four of the U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands), and a resident commissioner represents Puerto Rico. The number of representatives per state depends on the state’s population size, allowing each state to be proportionately represented in Congress. Alaska, for example, has only one state representative, while California has 53. This is because California’s population is close to 53 times that of Alaska. This population-to-representative ratio does not apply to the District of Columbia or the five U.S. territories; rather, they are allowed one delegate each.
To find out how many representatives there are in any state, visit the United States House of Representatives directory. The United States House of Representatives website assists citizens in finding their district and representative.
Representatives are referred to as congressmen, congresswomen or simply representatives. Constituents, often divided by district, elect representatives to two-year terms. Districts are used to allow the state’s population to be more accurately represented in Congress. The state of Alaska is not split into different congressional districts; therefore, the state only has one representative. California’s 53 representatives each represent one district within the state.
So what exactly does the House of Representatives do? Powers exclusive to the House of Representatives include initiating tax bills, impeaching federal officials and choosing the President in the case of a tie in the electoral college. The House has several other powers; however, these can only be carried out with the inclusion of the Senate. Congress introduces or passes new laws and changes existing laws. Congress can also override a president’s veto under specific conditions.
The House of Representatives is a chamber of Congress made up of representatives who act on behalf of their constituents. Remember that these representatives are in place to serve the people. Asking a member of Congress to support bills that fight global poverty or fund the international affairs budget is as easy as sending an email or making a phone call.
– Catherine Ticzon
Photo: Flickr
A History of Australia’s Foreign Aid Program
Australia’s foreign aid program has seen many changes since it first became a single government agency in the 1970s. Besides the name, changes have taken place within the program’s administration, its focus, the countries that receive aid and the type of aid provided.
Australia provided aid to other countries well before there was an official government program. In the 1950s, Australia granted aid to Papua New Guinea in the form of grants and to South and Southeast Asia by way of educational scholarships and assistance with employment.
In 1974, under Prime Minister Whitlam, Australia established the Australian Development Assistance Agency (ADAA) as a single government entity that would administer the country’s aid. Since that time, the name of the program has changed several times, first to the Australian Development Assistance Bureau (ADAB), then to the Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (AIDAB), then to the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and finally to its current name, Australian Aid.
In 2010, Australia established AusAID as an executive agency within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In Australia, an executive agency is separate from its department for staffing, accountability and reporting purposes. However, the 2013 change to the country’s current program, Australian Aid, integrated the executive agency into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade so that it was no longer a stand-alone agency.
In a 2014 press release, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop, introduced Australian Aid: “The Australian Government’s new approach to overseas development assistance will focus on ways to drive economic growth in developing nations and create pathways out of poverty. Strict performance benchmarks will ensure aid spending is accountable to taxpayers and achieve results.”
The program incorporated a new development policy that focused on promoting prosperity, reducing poverty and enhancing stability. A new performance framework, Making Performance Count, enhanced the accountability and effectiveness of Australian aid by establishing performance benchmarks and impact assessments in targeted aid areas.
Australia’s foreign aid program will also have a new focus on the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific regions. In 2014, Minister Bishop gave a speech in which she further explained the reason for the change in focus. “In the past, [our aid program] has been spread far too thinly across the globe…We must direct our aid to where we can make the biggest difference and align it with our national interest.”
According to preliminary data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Australia’s official development assistance (ODA) was $3.22 billion in 2015, which was 0.27 percent of their gross national income (GNI). The United Nations adopted a resolution in 1970 stating that ODA spending in developed countries should be at least 0.7 percent of GNI. Preliminary data from the OECD shows that only Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, Denmark and the United Kingdom met that target in 2015.
– Kristin Westad
Photo: Flickr
Kashmiri Students: Refocusing Attention on Education
Kashmir is the only Indian state to guarantee free education to citizens at all levels. However, the legal promises have not translated on the ground, leaving literacy below the national average at only 54 percent. The lagging figure can be attributed to the ongoing insurgency and violence that has become almost characteristic of Kashmir.
The last few months of 2016 saw 25 schools burnt to the ground without any party to blame directly. Strikes and unrest over the statehood of Kashmir led to constant disruption in education as schools were closed and curfews prevented Kashmiri students from attending classes. The closure of educational institutions due to civil unrest is not a new phenomenon; insurgency and military uprisings leading to the burning of schools started as early as the 1990s. As recently as 2010, educational institutions in Kashmir valley closed for over two months, forcing students to leave Kashmir, just another instance of education being impacted by an insurgency.
In a region so rife with unrest and violence, education is all the more important in providing a healthy outlet for dissent and frustration. Without this avenue to channel their energy, the youth in Kashmir is pouring out their frustration with the lack of employment opportunities, governmental apathy and political stagnancy through far more violent means. The lack of access to education is a big factor in the stone-pelting incidents fueled by despair in the valley.
Thankfully, there are many organizations attempting to fill the gaps in education in Kashmir. Local initiatives have played a large role in keeping students in school even when classes are canceled or curfew is imposed. Community-run schools are springing up in the wake of torched institutions. Local teachers are giving unofficial classes in run-down classrooms. There is an atmosphere of hope even when opportunities for education seem few and far between.
The government too is attempting to alleviate the problem of education by partnering with NGOs to rebuild schools. In addition, international NGOs like Mother Helpage are supporting local students while simultaneously contributing to reconstruction efforts. These initiatives are powerful and important, however, they are not enough. Kashmir today is largely viewed as a region of political stability. As a result, the international focus remains on the issue of India and Pakistan, leaving the vast majority of Kashmiri people to fend for themselves. It is only with significantly greater international awareness of the struggles of Kashmiri students and the inadequacy of educational institutions that education in the region can be revived.
– Mallika Khanna
Photo: Flickr
Politics and Poverty in The Gambia
The Islamic Republic of Gambia is a small West African nation of fewer than two million people and surrounded on almost all sides by Senegal. With an economy built on a small patch of tourism, peanuts, and money sent home from abroad, poverty in the Gambia has had a period of stability for the past two decades.
The authoritarian government of outgoing president Yahya Jammeh has been in power since 1994. As recently as 2006, President Jammeh’s campaign claimed that government aid and continued development would only go to its supporters, while those who supported others should expect nothing.
Hope for Reducing Poverty in The Gambia
Today, more than a third of The Gambia’s population lives below the U.N. poverty line of $1.25 per day. The nation’s poor are mostly in rural areas, and 60 percent of The Gambia relies on agriculture to make a living. Irregular rainfall, economic instability and fluctuating food pricing all contribute to the plight of the Gambian proletariat.
Low productivity persists in the staple area of rice farming, where inefficient technologies and practices lead to less yield during harvests and contribute to worsening soil fertility. Few rural institutions are able to provide basic social services and credit.
In a surprise turn of events, President Jammeh lost this year’s election to a candidate who ran on issues of economic revival, ending human rights violations, and establishing a more earnest democracy. With the end of Jammeh’s presidency comes a potential for The Gambia to begin receiving increased funding from the U.N. and E.U. Ban Ki-moon and Federica Mogherini have stated, on behalf of the U.N. and E.U. respectively, that their institutions are prepared to support The Gambia.
The President-elect, Adama Barrow, is already promising to strengthen relations with Europe and other potential partners in development. Many relationships had been strained by the Jammeh administration, and after 22 years, The Gambia may be in a position to put its most vulnerable at the forefront of its government.
– Aaron Walsh
Photo: Flickr
Education in Ireland
Education in Ireland is incredibly competitive and important for the future of students. Students are tested on a variety of subjects, including the Irish language, and their scores on one test determines their entire career path.
Education in Ireland mandates that children attend school from ages six to 16. But, most children attend free childcare/pre-school services between the ages of four and five. Then students move on to primary school and then secondary school.
Secondary schools are privately run and therefore are expensive or have a religious affiliation, typically. The secondary school system includes three years in the junior cycle during ages 12 to 14 and the senior cycle of two or three years for 15 to 18-year-old students. In order to move on from the junior cycle and into the senior cycle, students must pass a test that includes all of their coursework from their three years in secondary school.
Once in the senior cycle, students must choose three tracks and at the end of their schooling, they take a test corresponding to the track they chose. There is the Traditional Leaving Certificate, which is for students who plan to continue their education at a university, and the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme, which applies to technical jobs and the Leaving Certificate Applied.
Students who take the Traditional Leaving Certificate have their future laid out for them from those tests. Students are tested on six subjects and students must score 90% or higher in each subject if they hope to pursue any medical, or law degrees, and so on. Students must get a 70% in order to study history or English literature in university. This test determines what subject students are allowed to study and if students are allowed to even go to college. Students who do not make the correct scores for their dream jobs simply cannot practice that profession anymore.
Because of the recent recession, education in Ireland has changed trends. More and more students are attempting to go to university after secondary school because of the poor job market. And because it is so difficult for students to get into the major of study they desire in universities, there is a gap left that welcomes foreigners to enter and take the jobs that Ireland needs such as doctors and lawyers. Education in Ireland is intimidating for students and encourages others to work in Ireland, but leaves the Irish to fend for themselves.
– Meagan Foy
Photo: Flickr
Millennium Challenge Corporation Invests in Indonesia
The U.S. foreign aid organization, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), invested $600 million in economic stimulus to reduce poverty in Indonesia that entered into force in 2013. The MCC forms five-year compact grants for countries that meet eligibility criteria and displays “good governance, economic freedom and investment in their citizens”.
According to the MCC, the Indonesia Compact consists of three projects, which aim to facilitate the increased quality of “health and nutrition, sustainable land and energy management, and modernizing the system of government procurement of public goods and services.”
To assist with the goal of “sustainable land and energy management,” part of the Indonesia Compact is the Green Prosperity project. This project accounts for $332.5 million of the Indonesia Compact investment funding, encapsulating efforts to expand economic conduits while decreasing emissions of greenhouse gases. Indonesia’s elimination of fuel subsidies has been positive and growth is expected to reach 5.5 percent in 2017. The regime’s ability to set fuel prices, however, is still a point of concern, as cited in a June 2016 report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Another part of the Indonesia Compact is the Community-Based Health and Nutrition to Reduce Stunting Project, which is a child and youth-based initiative aiming to decrease incidents of malnutrition that impact Indonesians across 5,400 villages. The World Food Programme cites that the nation loses more than $5 billion per year due to lost productivity as a result of malnutrition. An investment of $134.2 million of the $600 million is going towards the Community-Based Health and Nutrition to Reduce Stunting Project.
The World Bank notes that 37.2 percent of children under the age of five experience stunting. These developmental hindrances are pivotal to providing transparency into the double burden of malnutrition. Paired with an increased risk of developing non-communicable diseases like heart disease, stunting at a young age can reduce productivity beginning in adolescence.
The MCC has allocated $65 million of the Indonesia Compact investment to the Procurement Modernization Project. The goal of this project is to strengthen the country’s public procurement system. The OECD reported that provinces and districts in Indonesia are spending 40 percent of total public funds, a rate of fiscal decentralization higher than any other East Asian country apart from China.
The compact also accounts for inequality by the implementation of the Social and Gender Integration Plan (SGIP) that ensures equal opportunity across genders and social structures for those participating in compact programs.
– Amber Bailey
Photo: Flickr
Rehabilitation for Children Affected by Chernobyl
“SOS appeal. For god’s sake, help us to get the children out.” This was the fax received by Chernobyl Children International founder Adi Roche in 1991.
Around 70 percent of radiation from the Chernobyl disaster fell on the country of Belarus. Thirty years later, 1.7 million people in Belarus live in poverty. Children in Belarus are 1.5 times more likely than the average citizen in the country to experience poverty and represent the poorest sector of the impoverished population. Chernobyl Children International was founded to close this poverty gap and assist the children in Belarus and other affected countries.
Because of CCI, children affected by Chernobyl are able to benefit from multiple advocacy programs. The Homes of Hope program offers adolescents a chance to find placement in homes that free them from institutionalized living. It is not uncommon for a teen to be moved to an adult mental asylum upon reaching 18 as a result of psychological disorders caused by radiation poisoning. Homes of Hope equips young adults with life training skills and vocational education.
Another program supported by CCI sets up volunteer families in Ireland to care for children affected by Chernobyl, allowing the children to live temporarily in an environmentally safe area. The initiative provides children with the opportunity to take a few weeks to escape the living conditions of a toxic environment.
Another organization, the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline, works to provide healthcare support to children in Belarus and Ukraine and provides recuperative breaks in the U.K. for affected children. It is estimated that breaks such as these can prolong a child’s life for up to two years and lower physical radiation contamination levels by 30 to 50 percent. Perhaps most importantly, the children return home with the reminder that the rest of the world cares about them.
Water contamination and radioactive elements in soil continue to wreak havoc on living conditions and are poised to affect generations to come. In addition to radioactive contamination, people in Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine experience poverty, displacement and insufficient healthcare.
Foundations such as CCI and CCLL provide valuable assistance to rehabilitation efforts in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster. These efforts are important reminders to Chernobyl victims that they are not forgotten.
– Amy Williams
Rising Middle Class in Emerging Countries Promotes Global Air Traffic
One sign of the rising middle class in emerging countries is the optimistic projection for the global airline industry. An industry study conducted by analyst DKMA indicates that airline passenger traffic should double by 2035. More than half of the eight billion additional passengers will come from the Asia-Pacific, and 70 percent of future traffic growth will come from the new middle class in emerging countries as more people leave poverty.
The airline industry will be the latest to catch the rising wave of the global middle class. Other “connection” industries that are riding this wave include the cell phone industry, with seven billion devices in use around the world, and the internet, with 3.2 billion people connected to it and each other, according to the Wall Street Daily. In fact, internet users in developing nations outnumber those in developed nations two to one.
Middle class growth drives economic change as people leave poverty. Just 25 years ago, one-quarter of the population of emerging countries lived in extreme poverty, getting by on less than $1.25 per day. Today, that number has been more than halved. Just 10 percent live in extreme poverty. In the last two years alone, 100 million households in emerging countries moved from poverty to the middle class, according to a report by Credit Suisse.
The global middle class now numbers more than 1.8 billion. If current trends of falling poverty continue, the middle class will reach 3.2 billion by 2020 and 4.9 billion by 2030, according to the OECD Observer.
Consistent with the airline study projections, most of this growth is projected to take place in Asia. Asia is anticipated to be responsible for 66 percent of the global middle class population by the end of the next decade, up from 28 percent at the end of the last decade, and the continent will account for 59 percent of all consumption by the middle class, up from 23 percent.
The OECD reports that over the next 20 years, the Asia-Pacific market is projected to grow at a 5.3 percent rate; the Middle East, at a 5.2 percent rate, and Latin America and the Caribbean at a 4.7 percent rate. Further, there will eventually be more passengers on planes from emerging countries such as India and Indonesia than from long-time market leaders Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom, according to DKMA.
The booming air traffic economy in emerging countries could have positive economic effects on the ground. Airports will need to invest in new construction or renovations and increase staff and services to keep up with the greater demand. This economic trend has the potential to further influence global poverty rates in the future, demonstrating the way positive progress toward ending global poverty continues to impact the world.
– Robert Cornet
Photo: Flickr
Simple Ways to Reduce Waste and Stop Climate Change
Simple ways to reduce waste can also help those that are forced even deeper into poverty by climate change.
Increasing levels of greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide raise temperatures on Earth and cause myriad problems such as rising sea levels, melting snow and ice, extreme heat, fires, drought, floods and extreme storms.
These hazards have displaced 21.5 million people per year since 2008. Scientists predict that the amount of people displaced due to climate change will increase in the future.
Regions with large populations that are at high risk for natural hazards and lack the resources to adequately prepare for natural disasters are at the highest risk for displacement. Asia and Pacific Island nations are most at risk for displacement.
Although most people aren’t scientists trained to research methods to stop climate change, there are simple ways to reduce waste in an effort to slow the effects of climate change. Here are some everyday examples:
Each year Americans use 100 billion plastic shopping bags. It takes 12 million barrels of oil to produce all these bags. This comes at a great cost to the environment, with emissions from petroleum production polluting the air and water.
There is an area in the Pacific Ocean twice the size of Texas full of plastic waste. Pack your lunch and pour drinks in reusable containers, and be sure to recycle plastic bottles. Women can try a menstrual cup instead of other feminine hygiene products that have plastic wrappers or applicators.
Shop thrift stores for items such as clothing, housewares, holiday decorations and more and buy used books and music rather than new. All these simple ways to reduce waste add up!
Take the bus, streetcar or subway instead of driving. Or, get fit by riding your bike or walking.
For example, do grocery shopping after work before going home rather than making separate trips. Sites like Zimride can help connect with others from the same company or university looking to carpool.
Agriculture emits more greenhouse gasses than transportation. As the increasing global population increases the demand for food, experts predict there will be a global food shortage by 2050 because there is not enough land or water to fulfill this demand. Help reduce this demand by planting a small garden. Homegrown tomatoes, lettuce, berries and herbs are easy for beginners. Food that isn’t homegrown should be bought in season and from local farmers, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Vegan diets are more eco-friendly because food produced on farms can be consumed directly by humans rather than being used as animal feed. A vegan diet saves 1,100 gallons of water, 20 pounds of CO2 equivalent, 30 square feet of forested land and 45 pounds of grain, according to Esquire Middle East.
If it’s impossible to go vegetarian or vegan, at least reduce the amount of meat and other animal products in your diet. Try having a Meatless Monday like American families during World War I and II who rationed their consumption for the war effort.
Though they may seem small, simple ways to reduce waste help those displaced by climate change if everyone does their part to help.
– Cassie Lipp
Photo: Flickr