Efforts to reduce global poverty have been largely successful over the past few years. However one of the highest costs is that poverty hinders economic growth. It is a preventable burden that has solutions.
Here are five facts from around the world on how poverty hinders economic growth and what you can do to help reduce global poverty:
1. The effects of poverty cost U.K. citizens about 1,200 pounds per person every year.
According to the Guardian, 25 percent of health care spending is associated with treating conditions related to poverty; 20 percent of the U.K.’s education budget is spent on initiatives, like free school meals, to reduce the impact of poverty.
2. Child poverty reduces U.S. productivity and economic output by 1.3 percent of GDP each year, which costs the U.S. about $500 billion per year.
Economic hardship disproportionately affects children more than any other age group. The Center for American Progress believes impoverished children are more likely to have low earnings as adults and are somewhat more likely to engage in crime.
This “reduced productive activity” generates a direct loss of goods and services to the U.S. economy.
3. Children living in poverty have higher dropout rates and absenteeism, which limits their employability.
The Council of State Governments Knowledge Center found that nearly 30 percent of poor children do not complete high school, which limits future economic success.
A more educated individual is more likely to participate in the job market, to have a job, to work more hours, to be paid more and less likely to be unemployed according to an Economic Policy Institute report from August 2013.
Countries may see a rise in economic productivity by ensuring that children from low-income backgrounds have equitable access and are motivated to stay in school.
4. Poverty increases the risk of poor health; it is a $7.6 billion burden on the Canadian health care system.
The link between poor health and poverty is undeniable; the World Health Organization (WHO) declares poverty as the single largest determinant of health.
Poverty increases the likelihood of developing conditions that are expensive to treat such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, reducing poverty not only cultivates a healthy economy but it can also create a physically healthier society.
5. Billions of people — especially women — remain offline.
Developing countries are paying the cost of poverty while missing out on the economic benefits of increased internet access.
Women and the Web, a study sponsored by Intel, reveals that bringing an additional 600 million women online would contribute at least $13-18 billion to annual GDP across the developing world.
Increasing internet access in developing countries would also increase participation in e-commerce and increase access to educational resources and health services.
Want to help in the global fight to end poverty?
Mobilizing your congressional leaders to endorse poverty-reducing legislation has a widespread impact on reducing the high cost of poverty. For example, the Digital GAP Act aims to bring affordable, first-time internet access for at least 1.5 billion people in developing countries by 2020 and would help to bridge the digital divide. This will greatly facilitate change and decrease the way that poverty hinders economic growth.
Please visit The Borgen Project’s action center for more information on how you can contact your congressional leaders and voice your support for innovative, poverty-reducing legislation.
– Daniela Sarabia
Photo: Pixabay
Advancing Peace Talks: Where are the Female Peacekeepers?
Nearly 16 years ago, in response to the disproportionate amount of violence against women in countries enduring post-war conflicts, the U.N. adopted resolution 1325. The resolution targets the issue that when countries that have achieved reform, the post-war conflicts frequently bring more violence, specifically more violence toward women.
The U.N. Security Council resolution 1325 calls for the inclusion of women in all efforts maintaining and promoting peace and security. Even though the likelihood of achieving peace increases when female peacekeepers are included in the discussion, women living in countries that are at war often remain ignored.
Research has confirmed that women are a significant influence in promoting peace. Also, humanitarian efforts are more effective with women’s participation. The inclusion of female peacekeepers yields stronger protection efforts for U.N. peacekeepers, contributes to the implementation of peace talks, and accelerates economic recovery.
Experience has shown the inclusion of women in U.N. peacekeeping missions elicits more trust in communities and result in peace operations that are more customarily fit to a communities’ protection needs. Peace negotiations recommended by women are more likely to be accepted and retained.
However, women in countries where terrorism and extremism are prevalent face disparity, and the fragile state contexts affect their rights. Women often are forced into marriage, forced to engage in sexually based crimes prohibited to get an education or get a job or even engage in public life.
Despite the strides made by the U.N. to integrate women into the peace-building agenda to combat these problems, there has not been much progress since the resolution was first adopted by countries in 2000. There have been reports of incidents wherein U.N. peacekeepers preserved sexual violence and stood by as women were raped. The inclusion of women in peacekeeping operations could diminish the chances of this occurring.
In order to better serve women, the individuals most affected by post-war conflicts, there must be women within the peacekeeping force. Having female peacekeepers who can understand the difficulties and threats women face will better enable the effort to ensure safety. Thus, enforcing a concrete number of women to be included in peace operations is a way to hold U.N. peacekeeping operations accountable.
Although war impacts all, women can address this issue and improve conditions for women more so than men, yet women continue to be excluded from peace talks. 55 countries have adopted national strategies to implement the resolution, and an additional 10 have pledged to do so.
It is still up in the air whether these countries’ political wills for the inclusion of women in peace talks be translated into political action. In order for U.N. peacekeepers to actually fulfill their political wills, it would be accommodating for them to provide a target number of female peacekeepers to include in their peacekeeping operations.
– Kayla Mehl
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About Poverty in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan, formally known as the Republic of Uzbekistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. It is widely recognized for its beautiful mosques, stunning historical architecture and vibrant cultural heritage. The country has a rich history as a key stop along the ancient Silk Road, which has left a lasting legacy in its cities, such as Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva.
Poverty in Uzbekistan is dropping. Though rarely making headlines, the country has seen sustained economic growth in the past several years. This progress is attributed to various reforms and investments aimed at modernizing the economy and improving living standards. If trends continue, Uzbekistan is expected to become a successful, developed country free from extreme poverty in the near future. Below are 10 facts about poverty in Uzbekistan and the progress made to alleviate it.
With steady growth and economic improvements, Uzbekistan has positioned itself to become a successful, developed nation in the near future. As these improvements continue, poverty in Uzbekistan is anticipated to decline and living standards will significantly improve across the country.
– Sara Christensen
Photo: Flickr
Updated: June 06, 2024
Top 5 Facts About Poverty in Haiti
In 2010, Haiti was struck by what has been called the strongest earthquake since 1770. The 7.0 mW quake with aftershocks ranging from 4.2 to 5.9 affected at least three million people and increased poverty in Haiti. But in the last three years, the world at large has turned away from the struggle of the Haitian people to focus on newer problems. The fact remains, though, that aid is still needed. Below are leading facts you should know about poverty in Haiti.
Top 5 Facts About Poverty in Haiti
It is easy to put the continued suffering of Haiti out of one’s mind when other world disasters have since risen to the forefront, but that does not mean that Haiti stopped warranting the world’s attention. The earthquake may have happened almost four years ago, but the people there are still greatly in need of assistance and guidance.
– Chelsea Evans
Sources: Fox News, P81 Haiti Relief, Fox Business
Photo: Flickr
New Deal Promotes Peace Necessary for Development
One way that governments have attempted to address these issues is through the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, signed by over 40 countries at the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Korea in 2011. The New Deal promotes peace in the hopes that increased societal stability will lead to development.
In 2014, then-UN General Assembly President John Ashe said that “stability and peace are essential enablers of sustainable development, just as violence is one of its greatest obstacles.”
In accordance with the idea that peace and development are inextricably linked, the New Deal established Five Peacebuilding and Statebuilding Goals (PSGs) that both strong and fragile states committed to pursuing in states with weak institutions: legitimate and inclusive politics, justice, security, revenue and services and economic foundations.
The project was based upon the notion that civil society, development partners and government can work together for development. For the last five years, the New Deal worked on how to better integrate civil society into the peace-building process as a central actor, rather than one on the periphery. As a framework, the New Deal promotes peace and can be used by countries as a means to effectively implement sustainable development.
Unfortunately, while lofty in ideals, the implementation of the PSGs and the New Deal has had mixed levels of success. As each country faces different types and levels of fragility, integrating New Deal policies with existing frameworks can be difficult; and, assessing that fragility requires comprehensive engagement with the population.
Additionally, the technocratic tendencies of the New Deal could oftentimes hamper dialogue and meaningful participation of civil society.
While yet imperfect, commitment to the New Deal remains strong, as countries realize the necessity to address peace and development in conjunction with one another. Therefore, societies cannot experience growth and development without a responsive and resilient state.
For the 1.4 billion people who live in fragile states today, there is still much work that remains to be done. The building of stable institutions requires time, political capital, prolonged commitment and country leadership. In the context of the New Deal, peace and development must be pursued, in conjunction with one another, in order to establish stable institutions and resilient growth.
– Adam Gonzalez
Photo: Flickr
Hunger in Turkey Remains Prevalent in Rural Areas
However, Turkey still has a long way to go to reduce poverty and hunger domestically — malnutrition is prevalent in its rural regions.
The rural poverty rate in Turkey is 35% compared to the urban poverty rate of 22%. The extreme poverty rate in rural households is at the root of growing hunger in Turkey.
Living in poverty impacts food security, secure employment, education and healthcare — all of which are easier to attain in urban regions of Turkey.
The recent influx of Syrian refugees also placed pressure on food security in Turkey. Turkish communities hosting Syrian refugees have expanded by up to 30%, which increased competition for employment and increased rent prices.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) implemented a plan in 2006 that focused on job-creation to bolster economic prosperity and improve living standards in rural areas to address hunger in Turkey.
The IFAD plan aims to increase participation in Turkey’s labor force by supporting small businesses and encouraging self-employment that generates incremental income.
This strategy also works to improve agricultural initiatives in remote areas of Turkey through the spread of farm mechanization and processing plants.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the Ardahan-Kars-Artvin Development Project (AKADP) to further reduce poverty in Turkey.
By working with local farmers from rural, eastern provinces of Turkey, the AKADP would introduce and encourage sustainable agricultural practices to reduce rural poverty and hunger in Turkey.
The AKADP claims to benefit those living in rural Turkey by increasing livestock and crop productivity, improving knowledge of farm management and strengthening both economic and social infrastructure.
Turkey is making remarkable advances toward reducing hunger because of the UNDP and IFAD projects. The WFP recently acknowledged Turkey for reducing its total undernourished population by half.
The IFAD also recognized Turkey as one of the 79 developing countries that achieved their hunger target of reducing malnutrition and the proportion of underweight children under five years old.
The Turkish government and humanitarian organizations have made it a priority to continue to uplift those in rural areas out of poverty. It is possible to reduce hunger in Turkey by investing in rural areas, which will help its inhabitants forge brighter futures.
– Mariana Camacho
Photo: Flickr
Five Ways Poverty Hinders Economic Growth
Efforts to reduce global poverty have been largely successful over the past few years. However one of the highest costs is that poverty hinders economic growth. It is a preventable burden that has solutions.
Here are five facts from around the world on how poverty hinders economic growth and what you can do to help reduce global poverty:
1. The effects of poverty cost U.K. citizens about 1,200 pounds per person every year.
According to the Guardian, 25 percent of health care spending is associated with treating conditions related to poverty; 20 percent of the U.K.’s education budget is spent on initiatives, like free school meals, to reduce the impact of poverty.
2. Child poverty reduces U.S. productivity and economic output by 1.3 percent of GDP each year, which costs the U.S. about $500 billion per year.
Economic hardship disproportionately affects children more than any other age group. The Center for American Progress believes impoverished children are more likely to have low earnings as adults and are somewhat more likely to engage in crime.
This “reduced productive activity” generates a direct loss of goods and services to the U.S. economy.
3. Children living in poverty have higher dropout rates and absenteeism, which limits their employability.
The Council of State Governments Knowledge Center found that nearly 30 percent of poor children do not complete high school, which limits future economic success.
A more educated individual is more likely to participate in the job market, to have a job, to work more hours, to be paid more and less likely to be unemployed according to an Economic Policy Institute report from August 2013.
Countries may see a rise in economic productivity by ensuring that children from low-income backgrounds have equitable access and are motivated to stay in school.
4. Poverty increases the risk of poor health; it is a $7.6 billion burden on the Canadian health care system.
The link between poor health and poverty is undeniable; the World Health Organization (WHO) declares poverty as the single largest determinant of health.
Poverty increases the likelihood of developing conditions that are expensive to treat such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, reducing poverty not only cultivates a healthy economy but it can also create a physically healthier society.
5. Billions of people — especially women — remain offline.
Developing countries are paying the cost of poverty while missing out on the economic benefits of increased internet access.
Women and the Web, a study sponsored by Intel, reveals that bringing an additional 600 million women online would contribute at least $13-18 billion to annual GDP across the developing world.
Increasing internet access in developing countries would also increase participation in e-commerce and increase access to educational resources and health services.
Want to help in the global fight to end poverty?
Mobilizing your congressional leaders to endorse poverty-reducing legislation has a widespread impact on reducing the high cost of poverty. For example, the Digital GAP Act aims to bring affordable, first-time internet access for at least 1.5 billion people in developing countries by 2020 and would help to bridge the digital divide. This will greatly facilitate change and decrease the way that poverty hinders economic growth.
Please visit The Borgen Project’s action center for more information on how you can contact your congressional leaders and voice your support for innovative, poverty-reducing legislation.
– Daniela Sarabia
Photo: Pixabay
10 Facts About Pakistani Refugees and Asylum in Pakistan
The media’s focus has centered on the Syrian refugee crisis but other people from other nations, including Pakistani refugees, are fleeing their homelands for a better future in America or Europe.
Because it shares its borders with both Iran and Afghanistan, Pakistan has been embroiled in the Iran and Afghanistan wars with the United States. Many refugees have fled to and from Pakistan due to the ongoing conflict.
Here are 10 facts about Pakistani refugees and asylum in Pakistan:
The refugee system in Pakistan is still in flux and requires more strict legislation be passed to help asylum seekers.
Advocates like Malala Yousafzai are doing great work to bring attention to the plight of Pakistanis fleeing Pakistan but there is still work to do.
You can help by contacting your Congress representatives and letting them know you support increasing the International Affairs Budget that goes to help the world’s poor, which often includes struggling Pakistani refugees.
– Bayley McComb
Photo: Flickr
New Global Education Fund Aims to Increase Schooling Projects
Sunny Varkey, an entrepreneur from India who lives in Dubai, launched the Varkey Foundation Challenge Fund in March 2016. The $200,000 global education fund was created to support education projects across the globe.
Varkey set up the Challenge Fund to help accomplish the goals of his non-profit, the Varkey Foundation, which works to ensure every child in the world has access to quality teachers.
The fund strives to provide good teachers and quality education to all children, no matter their circumstances.
“The Challenge Fund looks to support early-stage initiatives which build the capacity of teachers and to strengthen the status of the teaching profession,” Varkey said.
Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab States and South Asia are facing massive teacher shortages. This has put efforts to provide quality teachers and education for children at risk.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) found that sub-Saharan Africa must raise its current stock of teachers by 68 percent in less than a decade to provide its students with enough teachers.
However, simply hiring teachers will not solve the problem. Educators will need adequate training and support in order to provide quality instruction.
The minimum qualification to become a teacher is approximately nine years of schooling. Unfortunately, 43 percent of teachers in the Congo and 55 percent of teachers in Lao People’s Democratic Republic do not meet this requirement.
The countries that need the most new teachers are also the countries with the least-qualified teachers — this issue is one the Varkey Foundation Challenge Fund hopes to fix.
Varkey’s first projects have already been chosen but non-profit organizations from any country may apply for a portion of the global education fund.
The company will start with organizations in China, Ghana, the Middle East and Ukraine according to The Economic Times. Partner organizations that offer innovative solutions that support the fund’s mission are also offered grants of up to $50,000.
– Alice Gottesman
Photo: Pixabay
Defeat of ISIS Could Mean Better Healthcare for Libyan Citizens
The United States declared it carried out a series of airstrikes on the Libyan city of Sirte, an ISIS stronghold, at the request of the Libyan government in August 2016.
The strikes came after nearly two years of concentrated efforts by the U.S. and Libyan governments to remove ISIS from Sirte; a strategically important city located directly between two of Libya’s largest cities, Benghazi and Tripoli.
The erasure of ISIS’s presence from Sirte means the city’s residents will be able to enjoy a higher standard of living, increased access to food and fuel and control of their incomes. Reclaiming the city from ISIS also means that healthcare in Libya will be one step closer to returning to pre-2011 standards.
Regaining control of Sirte will allow the Libyan government and certain NGOs, such as Doctors Without Borders, to begin safely providing much-needed healthcare services to the city’s residents.
Healthcare providers in Libya will be able to distribute resources across the country more evenly as they are needed, especially between Benghazi and Tripoli.
On a more significant level, overcoming the ISIS presence in Libya will remove one of the larger issues that the country has had to contend with during its rebuilding process, which has been ongoing since the country experienced a wave of revolutionary action during the Arab Spring in 2011.
Currently, the country lacks a central government as numerous opposing factions emerged after the fall of the Gaddafi regime.
A U.N.-backed entity known as the Government of National Accord recently made the most significant strides in uniting the country. They will undoubtedly find the task easier with ISIS’s removal.
A successfully unified government would likely see the return of a functioning and well-equipped healthcare system; something that the country has been sorely lacking since 2011.
According to Doctors Without Borders, many hospitals have been forced to close in recent years due to lack of funds, lack of staff members and concerns about security.
A fully functioning government would be able to solve the coordination problems currently preventing the distribution of funds and supplies.
They would be also able to effectively provide secure environments for hospitals and healthcare providers to safely operate.
More funds, supplies and increased security would allow for the return of foreign-born healthcare workers, many of whom left in the wake of 2011 upheaval.
– Will Clifft
Photo: Flickr
Alleviating Elderly Hunger in South Korea
A quick economic recovery after the end of World War II and the signing of the Korean War Armistice in 1953 has mitigated growing rates of poverty and hunger in South Korea. Poverty, however, is a particular threat to the elderly population in South Korea, which has been aptly named the “forgotten” generation.
According to a 2011 report by the government-funded Korea Labor Institute, 48.6% of the country’s elderly — individuals aged 65 and over — struggled with relative poverty. Relative poverty, as opposed to absolute poverty, is defined as earning 50% or less of the median household income.
More recently, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that approximately half of the country’s elderly were living in poverty in 2015. This poverty rate has been considered the highest among the 34 nations studied by the OECD.
Pastor Choi Seong-Won has been an organizer of a weekly mobile-kitchen for 18 years. He has helped to alleviate the economic hardships of the elderly homeless by providing lunches over the weekends. Seong-Won told CNN that the reason for this emergence of elderly poverty and hunger in South Korea “is the more than two years of serious economic crisis in Korea, along with the global economic downturn. Wealthy people will be fine no matter the situation, but people going through economic struggles say now is a really difficult time.”
Other local churches in Korea have fed 300 to 500 seniors as they lined up for food. However, charitable meals will not solve the problem of elderly poverty and hunger in South Korea alone.
Bernard Rowan, professor of political science at Chicago State University, also discussed the causes of poverty in the Korea Times. Rowan cites population growth among the elderly in Korea shifts in cultural traditions as causal factors. Traditionally, Korean culture has placed great emphasis on respecting seniors. The present-day lifestyle, however, has left many parents and grandparents to find work for themselves.
“That may include their emotional lives too,” Rowan explains. “A great many live incredibly alone.”
A Rise in Suicide Rates
Yet, these rates in poverty among the elderly have not only affected hunger in South Korea but have also contributed to higher rates of suicide. According to Statistics Korea, 50.3 out of every 100,000 Seoul citizens 60 years or older took their lives in 2014, the highest rate among all Korean age groups.
Seventy-year-old Seong Young-sook expressed her struggles to a CNN reporter saying, “I feel that my generation is being forgotten.” She continued, “I tried to kill myself next to my husband’s grave. Someone discovered me and I survived.”
Given that elderly poverty and hunger in South Korea are both affecting suicide rates, strategy and swift action are key to alleviating the problem.
Brainstorming and Enacting Solutions
In order to relieve elderly hunger in South Korea, the government recently updated its 1988 national pension system, now offering a “basic pension” retirement program. This expansion targets the poorest seniors and provides them with less than $200 a month.
The government plans to reach 90% of the population over the age of 64 by 2060.
Rowan also shared strategies to help reduce poverty among the elderly. The author suggests increasing the number of employment and volunteer opportunities for Korean elders in order to tap their knowledge and experience as well as continue to engage the demographic.
Kim Bok-soon, author of the Korea Labor Institute report, also offered a similar solution that goes beyond the pension program. He believes that the government’s labor market policy should be revised to accommodate elderly workers.
Public officials must continue to take action to alleviate elderly hunger in South Korea as well as high suicide rates.
– Priscilla Son
Photo: Flickr