It’s commonly thought that the bigger the natural disaster, the greater the death and destruction, but that’s hardly the case. The 2010 Haiti earthquake that killed 160,000 people registered at 7.0 while the Japan earthquake that occurred a year later and registered at 9.0 killed only 15,893 people.
Why did the much larger quake have a significantly lower death toll? The answer is preparation. Japan is a rich, modernized country with advanced infrastructure and a stable economy.
It predicted and planned for the quake. Haiti was caught off guard and lacked sufficient medical supplies, shelter and clean water. The country’s poor infrastructure led to a mass collapse of buildings, trapping and injuring more people than a 7.0 earthquake would normally achieve.
How can countries around the world participate in global earthquake preparedness?
After Japan experienced its largest earthquake in 2011, known today as the Great East Japan Earthquake, it has taken great measures to make the country resilient to quakes. 90 percent of housing is earthquake resistant, and companies are encouraged to keep enough food and water onsite to sustain employees for at least three days.
Earthquakes are especially dangerous because they often trigger other natural disasters. Fires, floods, landslides and tsunamis are common earthquake side effects. Countries can minimize these risks by recognizing and avoiding faultlines, unstable terrain, highly flammable building materials and dangerously-fluctuating water levels.
“The world has already shown great progress in saving lives by improving weather forecasting, setting up early warning systems and organizing evacuations,” Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary-General, told the Yomiuri Shimbun.
Earthquake Preparedness for Rural Areas
The most devastating effect of earthquakes occurs when they strike under-developed rural areas. In the aftermath of disaster, victims are cut off from communication, water, medical attention and proper nutrition.
Water and Sanitation Kits, also known as WatSan-Kits, buy time for people in rural areas as they wait for emergency assistance. Depending on the type of WatSan-Kit, it may include basic hygiene, water tanks, water testing equipment, water purification units, latrine materials and a diesel pump.
One Kit can help as many as 10,000 people. The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement train countries to use WatSan-Kits.
Communication
A key factor in global earthquake preparedness is effective and thorough communication between emergency personnel and affected areas. Because organizations are usually more prepared and knowledgeable than the countries they’re helping, resentment and lack of understanding can severely impair progress.
Organizations should include their host country in every step of the process and explain the ins and outs of the operation, suggests Earthzine.
Earthquake Preparedness at Home
Preparation can occur at even the most basic level. Families can create personal earthquake emergency plans, such as teaching children where to go in the event of a quake and maintaining a full-stocked food storage.
Clean water, especially, is a must-have. Great Shakeout Earthquake Drills, established around the world by the Southern California Earthquake Center, provide training on earthquake preparedness.
Funding for Earthquake Preparedness
Finally, proper funding is vital to global earthquake preparedness. Many countries are too poor to afford proper building materials and emergency supplies, making donations very appreciated. One donation to Red Cross or another nonprofit relief aide can make a family’s house earthquake-resilient.
– Sarah Prellwitz
Sources: Earthzine, Time, The Diplomat, CNN, Shakeout
Photo: Social Worker, Flickr
How to Fight Global Poverty in 20 Minutes Or Less
Each state contains two senators and a population-based number of representatives. Simply check out websites such as Congress Merge or The Borgen Project to find the names of congressional leaders in each district.
The first and easiest way to reach your congressional leaders is by phone and email. Senators and Representatives act as the congressional voice of the people in their districts, which means their actions reflect the desires of the citizens.
Calling and emailing congressional leaders about specific issues helps them to better serve the public. Offices record each call or email regarding issues, and then pass the data on to the congressional leader.
Weekly calls and emails significantly increase a bill’s chances of gaining congressional support. A call takes about 30 seconds and an email takes just a few minutes.
You may also wish to take your advocacy a step further by meeting with your congressional leaders in person. Meeting face-to-face with a member of Congress can be intimidating. Not surprisingly, congressional leaders have packed schedules and may be busy, but the task is not impossible.
Most congressional leaders specify their preferred method of contact on their websites. Maintain vigilance with calls, emails or faxes until the Congressional leader agrees to a meeting.
Before meeting with a member of Congress, research him or her. Learn his or her interests, which committees he or she belongs to and his or her stance on previous bills. Form an idea of where the member stands with the bill you are lobbying.
Finally, word of mouth is an excellent technique to raise awareness. Teach your friends, classmates, family members or coworkers how to call and email congress to bring poverty reduction bills to the forefront of congressional leaders’ agendas.
The Borgen Project is currently building support for the following bills:
The Electrify Africa Act: Only 5 percent of sub-Saharan Africans have access to electricity. That means roughly 1.3 billion people still resort to open cook fires for food, warmth and light. The Electrify Africa Act will “encourage African countries to provide first-time access to electricity and power services for at least 50,000,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020.”
The Food for Peace Reform Act: This act consists of amending the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and reforming the Food for Peace Program to increase funding and more efficiently transport food to disaster-stricken areas.
The Global Food Security Act: One in nine people goes hungry every day. Children make up the majority of this statistic. The Global Food Security Act will “reduce global poverty and hunger, achieve food and nutrition security, promote inclusive, sustainable, agricultural-led economic growth, improve nutritional outcomes, especially for women and children, [and] build resilience among vulnerable populations.”
The Reach Every Mother and Child Act: Hundreds of mothers, infants and toddlers die each day from pregnancy complications and other preventable causes. The Reach Every Mother and Child Act is designed to “implement policies to end preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths globally” by designing more effective programs in high-risk areas and funding innovative tools and research.
– Sarah Prellwitz
Sources: Borgen Project 1, Borgen Project 2, Think Progress, Borgen Project 3, Borgen Project 4, Congress, Congress Merge, PreservationNation
Photo: Pinterest
Cooking Up a Solution to Poverty and Malnutrition in Haiti
A chef connects solutions to poverty and malnutrition in Haiti with cooking.
Chef José Andrés has discovered a new approach to solving poverty in Haiti, and it starts in the kitchen.
In Huffington Post’s recent feature on Andrés, Lifestyle Blog Editor Zoë Lintzeris details Andrés’ love affair with Haiti, describing his innovative ideas to improve the country’s cooking conditions and, subsequently, save it from poverty.
Andrés’ solution focuses on improving cooking apparatus to decrease safety hazards in the cooking process with his “clean cook stoves.”
Cooking safety hazards in the region include the use of “dirty” firewood and coal, two fuel sources that are unsustainable and not very profitable.
These dangerous methods have gone hand in hand with deforestation and pollution in the region. Erosion of soil, extreme and frequent flooding, degradation of water resources and habitat destruction are some forces linked to socioeconomic turmoil.
“Haiti has the highest rates of deforestation of any country in the world — a mere 2 percent of Haiti’s original forests remain,” says TriplePundit.
In turn, deforestation is responsible for a large portion of Haiti’s increasing poverty rate. Haiti’s real GDP growth has slowed down in the past two years, going from 4.2 percent in 2013 to a forecasted 1.7 percent in 2015, according to the World Bank.
GOOD Magazine suggests that “efficient stoves can help in the meantime, according to Jean Kim Chaix, the founder of the Charcoal Project, which aims to become a clearinghouse on charcoal alternatives and a consultant for green entrepreneurs.”
The Charcoal Project has undertaken a project to provide an energy efficiency program for schools, to teach them to produce fuel for cooking and lighting.
The project utilizes wood and stoves that reduce smoke and save fuel, which is just what Andrés is shooting for with his clean cookstoves.
The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, hosted by the UN foundation, is Andrés’ initiative to save lives and protect the environment by creating a global market for “clean and efficient household cooking solutions.”
The Alliance has set out a 10-year goal to foster the adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels in 100 million households by 2020.
Andrés also discussed Haitian cuisine in his PBS special, “Undiscovered Haiti with José Andrés.” In the video, he describes the deep ties between the food and the country’s history and culture.
Andrés’ relationship with Haiti has led him to uncover a revolutionary solution to a problem that has a long history. Perhaps economic prosperity really can start in the kitchen.
– Ashley Tressel
Sources: Huffington Post, Good.is, TriplePundit, World Bank, Charcoal Project, Clean Cook Stoves
Photo: SCINet
How Can We Achieve Global Earthquake Preparedness?
It’s commonly thought that the bigger the natural disaster, the greater the death and destruction, but that’s hardly the case. The 2010 Haiti earthquake that killed 160,000 people registered at 7.0 while the Japan earthquake that occurred a year later and registered at 9.0 killed only 15,893 people.
Why did the much larger quake have a significantly lower death toll? The answer is preparation. Japan is a rich, modernized country with advanced infrastructure and a stable economy.
It predicted and planned for the quake. Haiti was caught off guard and lacked sufficient medical supplies, shelter and clean water. The country’s poor infrastructure led to a mass collapse of buildings, trapping and injuring more people than a 7.0 earthquake would normally achieve.
How can countries around the world participate in global earthquake preparedness?
After Japan experienced its largest earthquake in 2011, known today as the Great East Japan Earthquake, it has taken great measures to make the country resilient to quakes. 90 percent of housing is earthquake resistant, and companies are encouraged to keep enough food and water onsite to sustain employees for at least three days.
Earthquakes are especially dangerous because they often trigger other natural disasters. Fires, floods, landslides and tsunamis are common earthquake side effects. Countries can minimize these risks by recognizing and avoiding faultlines, unstable terrain, highly flammable building materials and dangerously-fluctuating water levels.
“The world has already shown great progress in saving lives by improving weather forecasting, setting up early warning systems and organizing evacuations,” Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary-General, told the Yomiuri Shimbun.
Earthquake Preparedness for Rural Areas
The most devastating effect of earthquakes occurs when they strike under-developed rural areas. In the aftermath of disaster, victims are cut off from communication, water, medical attention and proper nutrition.
Water and Sanitation Kits, also known as WatSan-Kits, buy time for people in rural areas as they wait for emergency assistance. Depending on the type of WatSan-Kit, it may include basic hygiene, water tanks, water testing equipment, water purification units, latrine materials and a diesel pump.
One Kit can help as many as 10,000 people. The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement train countries to use WatSan-Kits.
Communication
A key factor in global earthquake preparedness is effective and thorough communication between emergency personnel and affected areas. Because organizations are usually more prepared and knowledgeable than the countries they’re helping, resentment and lack of understanding can severely impair progress.
Organizations should include their host country in every step of the process and explain the ins and outs of the operation, suggests Earthzine.
Earthquake Preparedness at Home
Preparation can occur at even the most basic level. Families can create personal earthquake emergency plans, such as teaching children where to go in the event of a quake and maintaining a full-stocked food storage.
Clean water, especially, is a must-have. Great Shakeout Earthquake Drills, established around the world by the Southern California Earthquake Center, provide training on earthquake preparedness.
Funding for Earthquake Preparedness
Finally, proper funding is vital to global earthquake preparedness. Many countries are too poor to afford proper building materials and emergency supplies, making donations very appreciated. One donation to Red Cross or another nonprofit relief aide can make a family’s house earthquake-resilient.
– Sarah Prellwitz
Sources: Earthzine, Time, The Diplomat, CNN, Shakeout
Photo: Social Worker, Flickr
Myths about Foreign Aid
The fact is that some 795 million people in the world do not get enough food to lead healthy, productive lives, and the vast majority of the world’s hungry live in developing countries. The following are three myths about foreign aid:
1. We shouldn’t bother. Our small contributions won’t make a difference in such an enormous problem as global poverty. When it comes to world hunger, the “one person can’t make a difference” myth can be easily dispelled.
Here in the U.S., mosquitoes are aggravating little pests; however, in Africa, mosquitoes are deadly. In 2005, the Against Malaria foundation was founded; it implements practical, cost-efficient, insecticide-treated bed nets to fight this preventable disease.
Over the past 15 years, approximately 663 million cases have been prevented in Africa — roughly 68 percent of that reduction is contributed to the distribution of a billion bed nets. Each bed net costs around $5, lasts for three to four years and protects two people. So, yes, as little as five bucks can make a difference in a global problem, and this, of course, is just one example.
2. We have no idea where our money really goes. Those fundraisers are scams. Unfortunately, the existence of corruption persists all over the world, and that isn’t a myth. Along with the endless benefits the internet provides there are also the ceaseless hoaxes, which are often in the disguise of charitable organizations.
To some extent, it seems as if charities and even the word “donate” tend to act as repellents, triggering apprehension and uneasiness. Fortunately, programs, such as the Millennium Challenge Account, and laws, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, monitor and help safeguard aid. And when in doubt, research the organization before providing any type of aid. Consumer Affairs is one helpful website.
3. Taking care of others in developing countries implies that we are failing to “take care of ourselves.” On the contrary, the more independent others become, the more consumers we acquire. Actually, our nation’s safety strengthens as we lift others out of poverty.
Three major myths about foreign aid busted and many more to be exposed. The following are three ways we can effectively help eradicate global poverty and hunger:
– Dana McLemore
Sources: Against Malaria, DTIC, FAO, KFF
Photo: Flickr
Determining What Causes Droughts
In the last century, droughts have killed 11 million people and affected 2 billion more through crop failure and reduced drinking water. The U.S. has lost a total of $195 billion to related economic recovery.
The most well-known drought occurred in the 1930s. Due to overpopulation and poor soil conservation, much of the Southwest in the U.S. became nothing but plowed fields.
When the drought dried out the dirt, the wind picked it up and whipped it into a colossal dust devil that darkened the sun. The severe conditions forced 400,000 people to relocate out of harm’s way. This period became known as the Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties.
Decades of study have lent scientists some insight into what causes droughts, such as disrupted weather patterns and our own human impact.
First, droughts commonly occur when disrupted weather patterns significantly alter water cycles. This year’s El Niño will disrupt storm patterns by increasing ocean temperatures, causing droughts in Australia, Indonesia and northeastern parts of South America.
Wind patterns sometimes block much-needed precipitation from certain areas for a time. Some experts speculate that global warming is the cause of many recent droughts.
The effects of a drought can impact areas that are a good distance away from the drought itself. If the mouth of a river doesn’t receive sufficient moisture from rain or melting snow, communities that reside downstream will suffer from the lack of water.
This is especially crucial in developing countries that still rely on rivers and streams for their water supply.
Secondly, humans can play a large part in drought development. Deforestation inhibits the soil’s ability to retain moisture. Trees pull water into the ground and anchor the soil, preventing soil erosion.
Dam construction, while a good method for retaining water, restricts the flow of water to downstream areas, which can severely impact vegetation, wildlife and people if not closely monitored.
As was the case with the Dust Bowl, mistreatment of crop soil can lead to desertification, in which soil becomes too compacted to absorb water and takes on an arid quality.
Though scientists are still conducting research on what causes droughts, they have developed several techniques that will reduce drought risk. Improved meteorology technology predicts approaching droughts, giving communities time to prepare.
Economically developed countries prevent and fight droughts by cutting back on water usage, replacing lawns with drought-friendly turf and installing water-saving toilets.
Farmers in any country can combat drought by rotating crops, allowing the soil to rest and reabsorb water. Emergency water kits, which are staples of almost any emergency aid organization, provide relief to drought-ridden areas as they wait for the next rainfall.
– Sarah Prellwitz
Sources: UNL, National Geographic, BBC, LOC, Water
Photo: Pixabay
Active Involvement in Global Poverty Efforts Equals Happiness
The goal to eradicate global poverty continues to be a growing challenge facing the world today. This year, an estimated 700 million people worldwide still live below the poverty line.
In a survey conducted by the charity Action For Happiness, they identified ten everyday habits that make people happier.
On a scale of 1-10, each habit was ranked based on how frequently people performed each habit.
The number 1 ranked habit, at 7.41, was giving.
“Practicing these habits really can boost our happiness. It’s great to see so many people regularly doing things to help others — and when we make others happy we tend to feel good ourselves too,” said Professor Karen Pine, a psychologist involved in the study.
Here are three simple ways people can become involved in the fight to eradicate poverty:
Through global poverty efforts, everyone can play a role in ending poverty while simultaneously feeling better about their well-being.
“Extreme poverty has been cut in half in the last 20 years, and the facts show that we can get it to virtually zero within a generation – but only if we act,” said Bono, musician and global activist.
– Alexandra Korman
Sources: Global Citizen, PSY Blog, The Borgen Project
Photo: Flickr
Virtual Reality Films Provide Powerful Insights
It is unlikely that the average American will experience poverty firsthand in Africa, South America or elsewhere. However, with the adoption of virtual reality (VR) technology, citizens across the globe can gain insight into what it is like to live in poverty, deal with life-threatening diseases or survive without basic necessities.
In a change from traditional advocacy campaigns, the United Nations collaborated with VR Director and Pioneer Chris Milk to release two virtual reality films in 2015.
The first, “Clouds Over Sidra,” follows a 12-year-old Syrian refugee through her day at a bustling camp of 84,000 in Jordan. The film captures a 360-degree view, a navigable window into the young refugee’s world.
“Waves of Grace,” the second VR film for the UN Millennium Campaign, is narrated by a Liberian Ebola survivor confronting a still fragile community. Scenes of life, illness and death with unimaginable detail document the scale and impact of the Ebola crisis in a country with more than 10,000 cases.
Gabo Arora, co-creator of “Waves of Grace” and senior advisor for the UN Millennium Campaign, thinks incorporating VR experiences into the campaign against Ebola “will promote greater understanding of the socio-economic impact of the disease and empathy for those who continue to overcome it.”
Strong responses to the films upon release indicate the powerful emotions virtual reality films inspire. In addition to spotlighting an issue, VR conveys an experience many viewers react to with increased empathy and compassion.
Organizations utilizing virtual reality films noted a higher contribution rate after individuals viewed the film and an increase in monthly contributions. The films demonstrate the potential of VR to immerse viewers and ignite empathy. In turn, this drives fundraising and advocacy.
In March of 2015, the Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria added a screening of “Clouds Over Sidra” in the hope of increasing support for displaced Syrians. The conference raised $3.8 billion in funds, $1.5 billion more than projected. Other organizations have also turned to VR to convey refugee experiences.
The Clinton Global Initiative also released the short VR film “Inside Impact: East Africa” following President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton’s trip to visit CGI sponsored programs in East Africa.
The featured programs, called commitment sites by the organization, include rural solar power use, malaria prevention education and supplying hearing aids to people in need.
According to The Clinton Foundation, when speaking at CGI’s annual meeting, President Clinton emphasized the effectiveness of the VR experience. “I think that the film will give people the opportunity to understand the difference CGI members can make in a whole different way,” he says.
In November 2015, the New York Times debuted NYT VR, a virtual reality application for storytelling. The inaugural story, titled “The Displaced,” follows three children displaced from their homes in Lebanon, South Sudan and Ukraine.
According to the New York Times, Editor of the New York Times Magazine Jake Silverstein echoes Arora about VR’s potential for impact and says, “This new filmmaking technology enables an uncanny feeling of connection with people whose lives are far from our own.”
Although still an expensive medium for storytelling, VR offers an intensified and comprehensive experience. Viewers see the multi-faceted world of poverty and the solutions that they can support.
– Cara Kuhlman
Sources: The Clinton Foundation, Fast Company, The New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, UN Millennium Campaign, Vrse.works, The Wall Street Journal
Photo: Flickr
The Beginning of the End for Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) has reportedly fallen by almost half (47 percent) since 1990 through early diagnosis and treatment. However, TB is still a leading cause of death today, with approximately 4,000 individuals succumbing to its effects daily, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2015 Global tuberculosis report.
TB affects all walks of life around the world; however, there is a link between this disease and poverty, as 95 percent of all cases occur in low- or middle-income countries.
These figures are not surprising because many individuals living in developing countries are more likely to lack accessible or affordable health care and, therefore, are unable to seek treatment.
It is the failure to treat tuberculosis that has contributed to the alarming number of infections the world saw last year, with 9.6 million people being infected by the disease and 1.5 million dying from it.
Fortunately, the WHO has been working hard to address the number of cases globally and has saved the lives of an estimated 43 million individuals across the world from 2000 – 2014 alone.
About one-third of the entire world’s population is infected with latent TB, a condition of TB in which an individual carries the bacterium but has not yet fallen ill.
With latent TB, the symptoms often last months before worsening into a bloody cough that most notably characterizes the disease. As a result, many individuals infected with latent TB often delay getting early treatment.
In order to combat this, the WHO recommends a six-month treatment of four separate antimicrobial medications that deal with drug-susceptible TB which has proven to work with a majority of cases so long as the instructions and precautions are strictly adhered to.
Another form of TB (MDR-TB) has emerged after decades of successful treatments; this version is resistant to the two most powerful forms of anti-tuberculosis medicines.
This form of TB is a growing threat to the battle to end the disease that could undo the work of the past few decades. A new method, however, ushers in a new era for the diagnosis of TB by providing definitive results in less than two hours.
According to the National Institutes of Health, Dr. David Alland of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey led a group of researchers and invented the Xpert MTB/RIF test to aid in the diagnosis of not only TB but also drug resistance in TB to discern viable options available for patients.
Hopefully, this will be the beginning of the end for tuberculosis.
– Emilio Rivera
Sources: UNAIDS, WHO, NIH
Photo: Google Images
Ten Thousand Abroad: Nigerian Students Receive Foreign Scholarships
Imagine being too poor to attend your local school, too poor to go to college. Imagine your entire community and many others are in this predicament. Now imagine that you are offered the chance to travel to a new country, study, earn a degree and learn skills that will help you build a career.
Would you take it?
Nigeria failed to complete the global education goals it set for 2015, according to The Guardian. These goals included expanding early childhood education and care, achieving universal primary education and adult literacy.
Corruption and lack of investment have earned Nigeria one of the worst education systems in the world. Over ten million Nigerian children are not receiving a proper education.
The Mike Omotosho Foundation is trying to make a dent in the number of uneducated children by offering 10,000 Nigerian students the opportunity to study abroad. Because so many Nigerians struggle to afford even local education, scholarships are available for each student.
The purpose of the program is “to gain quality education abroad and hopefully bring this knowledge, expertise and quality back to Nigeria.”
To earn a scholarship, students need at least four credits in their O Level Examination, an international exam distributed by the British Council, and an eligibility date no later than June 2016. The process is simple, but competitive enough that students are required to put forth reasonable effort.
The scholarship offers a tuition waiver of up to 50 percent, but those who demonstrate outstanding scholarly abilities may receive a complete waiver from some universities. The nature of the waiver encourages students to put forth their best effort to achieve good grades even before they set foot abroad.
Countries participating in the program are Malaysia, United Kingdom, Cyprus, Russia and India. Nigerian students will have their pick of foreign cultures to learn from.
One benefit of studying abroad is a unique education. Each country offers its own education style. International students have the opportunity to experience more than one learning method, expanding their minds and providing them with a wider range of effective techniques.
Graduate schools look favorably upon former international students because they know these individuals are dedicated to their studies.
Another benefit to studying abroad is that it creates more career opportunities. Students who study abroad gain new perspectives, language skills and confidence, all of which help them stand out to potential employers.
The students who participate in the Mike Omotosho Foundation scholarship program will be better equipped to find work upon their return to Nigeria, keeping them out of poverty. Furthermore, they will bring back new skills and knowledge, which they can use to improve Nigeria’s education system and its overall quality of life.
Perhaps, in time, Nigeria will no longer have 10 million education-less children, but rather millions of youth educated, informed and ready to help their country.
– Sarah Prellwitz
Sources: Mike Omotosho Foundation 1, Mike Omotosho Foundation 2, British Council, International Student, NGR Guardian News, Student.com.ng
Photo: Wikimedia
How War Impacts the Poor
The introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) marked a deadline: the world has 15 years to eradicate global poverty. However, in order to achieve this goal, the causes of global poverty must be carefully analyzed. One such factor is how war impacts those who are living in poverty.
Afghanistan, Iran, Sub-Saharan Africa, Syria and others continue to be plagued with war and violence, and many individuals fall into what is known as a “poverty trap.” While peaceful countries are escaping poverty and violence, corrupt government leadership often leads to war which pushes societies into poverty.
Researchers from Stanford University studied the correlation between war and poverty and found four criteria that explain how war affects the poor.
Low GDP
Statistical research on poverty and conflict suggests that countries within the 50th percentile for income have a 7-11 percent risk of experiencing civil conflict. On the other hand, countries within the 10th percentile have a risk that rises to 15-18 percent.
For example, according to the World Bank, the Middle East has experienced a 30 percent decrease in GDP per capita since 1999. According to Stanford’s research, a 1 percent increase in GDP growth could reduce the risk of internal conflict by roughly 1 percent.
Large Youth Population
Almost 60 percent of the world’s poor are under the age of 25. With high youth populations, research shows that parents have more children in developing countries to cope with the lack of environmental resources in impoverished areas.
“[Long-term] demographic and economic data indicate that high fertility raises absolute levels of poverty by slowing economic growth, reducing the poverty reduction that growth would have helped deliver, and skewing the distribution of consumption against the poor,” The UN Population Fund reports.
Poor Education Systems
Compared to the national secondary school net enrollment of 92 percent between 2000 and 2004, developing countries had a mere 30 percent secondary school enrollment. By increasing schools’ enrollment by 10 percent, the average risk of conflict can drop 3 percent.
Dependence on Natural Resources
Natural resource dependence has been linked to both rebellion and a weak government. Previous research by Stanford University showed that only high-value, easily extracted resources including agriculture and diamonds further increase the likelihood of war.
Thus, from understanding these four criteria, it is clear that global leaders will have to collaborate and find solutions for people who are trapped in poverty due to war.
– Alexandra Korman
Sources: The Brookings Institution, The Economist
Photo: Rescue.Org