Poverty in Tajikistan remains a problem. Tajikistan is frequently cited as the poorest former Soviet republic, with one of the world’s lowest GDPs per capita (ranked 192). While it is a place that Americans do not hear about often, USAID has been busy in the country of just over eight million inhabitants for more than 20 years, almost as long as Tajikistan has been a sovereign nation.
Poverty in Tajikistan: Key Facts
1. Proportional to GDP, Tajikistan has one of the largest remittance economies in the world.
Due to a scarcity of secure employment opportunities, which contributes greatly to poverty in Tajikistan, more than one million Tajik citizens leave the country searching for work. The money that these Tajiks send home equals more than half of the entire country’s GDP. The vast majority of these migrants—90 percent—travel to Russia.
2. Poor infrastructure stagnates the Tajik economy.
Tajikistan is landlocked and sits in the northwestern Himalayas, one of the most mountainous regions on the planet, making transportation a challenge. Trade with other nations, which is important to the country’s economy, relies on a dilapidated railway system. The diminutive electricity market means energy infrastructure is also lacking. Power shortages and outages are rampant, especially during the winter.
The future for Tajikistan’s infrastructure may, however, be looking up due to foreign investment, which may alleviate some of the poverty in Tajikistan. Recently, Chinese investors funded new road construction in Dushanbe, the capital. Russia and Iran have also invested in hydroelectric plants, including a dam on the Vakhsh River that may become the world’s largest.
3. Tuberculosis is a growing public health problem.
Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is disproportionately high in many central Asian countries, including Tajikistan. The country’s healthcare system is ill equipped to respond to this issue, lacking adequate information systems and human resources. Most funds for fighting TB come from international assistance.
MDR-TB is a complicated public health challenge, however, the World Health Organization (WHO) has partnered with the government and aid groups to improve and monitor Tajikistan’s ability to treat TB and stave off MDR-TB.
4. Most of the population does not have access to clean water.
Nearly 60 percent of Tajik citizens rely on unsanitary water supplies. Many depend on irrigation ditches for drinking water, meaning waterborne diseases are common. Diarrhea is the sixth leading cause of death in children under five.
While these statistics may seem bleak, water quality is a relatively straightforward issue to tackle. USAID has made notable strides in providing better access to clean water, one of its main focuses in Tajikistan. According to its website, USAID has “established 56 community-level water users’ associations,” helping the Tajik weather and water forecasting agency better manage the country’s vast supply of fresh water.
5. The civil war destroyed one out of five schools in the country.
Funding for education decreased drastically after Tajikistan became independent from the Soviet Union in 1992. The following five years of fighting destroyed or damaged a significant portion of the country’s schools. Naturally, such collateral destruction has contributed to the precarious state of the education system.
Since the fighting, the country has either struggled to or failed to revive school systems. According to the latest reports from UNICEF, schools are overcrowded, underfunded and understaffed, with many teachers working triple shifts. Furthermore, dropout rates are high, especially for girls.
The state of Tajikistan’s education system leaves much to be desired. However, organizations like USAID and UNICEF have partnered with the Tajik government. They are determined to nurture this fragile system to a point where it can sustain itself, mainly by focusing on preventing dropouts and improving equity and access.
In many ways, Tajikistan seems to lag behind its neighbors in the Central Asian region. With a strong memory of war and political upheaval, coupled with uncompromising geography, the country has struggled to develop.
But international aid organizations have shown great ambition and, partnered with the Tajik government, achieved tangible successes in reducing poverty in Tajikistan and its burdens. Likewise, international investment from the private sector suggests promise and hope for a society that has much to gain.
– Charlie Tomb
Photo: Pixabay
6 Facts About Refugees in Central African Republic
The recent internal conflict in Central African Republic has prompted many of its citizens to flee to neighboring nations or safer places within the country. After settling into host communities, UNHCR (the United Nations refugee agency) has been able to provide assistance to the refugees and help them acclimate to new areas.
Here are six facts that you should know about refugees in the Central African Republic:
While UNHCR cannot provide the amount of assistance necessary, it has still been successful at helping refugees to acclimate to their host communities. As the internal conflict in the Central African Republic continues, foreign aid will continue to assist those who turn to host communities for refuge.
– Amanda Panella
Photo: Flickr
Eliminating Hunger In The Philippines: More Than Just Food Aid
Despite an increase in the rate of employment (by about 5 percent), poverty in the Philippines has seen relatively no improvement. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) conducted research in order to guide policymakers in their efforts to alleviate hunger in the Philippines.
In 2015, 17.2 percent of the population lived under the poverty threshold.
Amado Parawan is the health and nutrition advisor for an organization called Save the Children. He recently urged Filipino presidential candidates to re-evaluate their methodologies to address hunger in the Philippines.
Parawan stated that feeding programs are really only a “band-aid solution” to solving the infection of hunger and malnutrition. In addition, he encouraged them to seek foreign aid and consult experts on globally accepted intervention policies.
His plea to candidates follows a recent initiative by Save the Children Philippines called the ‘Lahat Dapat’ campaign. This movement highlights the importance of healthcare in the prenatal and early stages of development for Filipino children.
Current foreign initiatives include the World Food Programme (WFP) of the U.N., which began their work in 1968. However, they had to reestablish their presence in 2006, after the government requested more aid in light of increasing armed conflict.
The program focuses on improving food insecurity and helping communities to build resilience in preparing for natural disasters. In addition, the program also emphasizes the importance of providing healthy meals for children in school.
Each school year, over 65,000 children in the areas of Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte and Maguindanao receive crucial nourishment school meals. Good nutrition then increases school retention rates, as well as the quality of the education children receive.
Additionally, Action Against Hunger works to eliminate hunger in the Philippines. Armed conflicts have displaced many Filipinos. One such area is Zamboanga, where efforts have been directed towards providing clean water, sanitation, and nutrition education.
The government of the Philippines is known for its $450-million conditional cash transfer program, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. It also recently received a new financing package from the World Bank. This social safety net program helps to reduce the vulnerability of families to sudden economic difficulties. The money ensures that children receive ample nutrition and access to education. It also gives pregnant mothers access to regular health exams.
By assessing the methodologies that have been successful in other nations and modifying them to fit the Philippines’ unique needs, the partnership of the government and the international community established a successful food aid program.
The most important consideration when working to eliminate hunger in the Philippines is fostering independence. Humanitarian organizations and the governments involved will not only provide food, but they will also help families become self-sufficient.
If aid continues to be this sustainable and organizations continue to educate households about efficient and healthy lifestyles, Filipinos will develop their own economy and reduce hunger in the process.
– Veronica Ung-Kono
Photo: Rappler
The EON Educational Program Improves Developing Countries
EON Reality, which specializes in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), is opening the first interactive digital center (IDC) on the African continent in Tshwane, South Africa.
The project is a collaborative effort between the software developer and Tshwane’s city government. It is part of the latter’s Tshwane Vision 2055, a plan which seeks to “break the cycle of generational poverty, inequality and underdevelopment.”
According to Dave Lockwood, the director of the new IDC, VR and AR remove language and literacy barriers to education because they show rather than tell. VR creates an artificial environment that users can move in. (The Oculus Rift, for example, is a VR headset). AR, on the other hand, modifies the existing environment by adding artificial sensory input, such as images or sound.
Lockwood believes that students would learn better and retain more information with the help of the EON educational program, and more specifically, VR and AR. Furthermore, content and applications can be created for both science education and vocational training, which are crucial for economic growth and development.
VR and AR, it seems, are poised to make a real change in the way in which education is delivered in Africa. The Tshwane IDC is an example of how educational technology can assist with government efforts to promote the development and improve services.
Across the Indian Ocean, a team from Carnegie Mellon University recently completed an experiment in “compassionate engineering” at the Mathru School for the Blind in Bangalore, India. The idea is to use existing technology with a focus on the people, allowing it to evolve to suit their needs.
As part of the project, students received low-cost braille tutors. M. Bernardine Dias, the Carnegie Mellon professor who led the case study, argues that electronic reading and writing aids such as these can go a long way in reducing poverty, because poverty is often concentrated among the disabled population.
A World Trade Organization study that she cited, for example, found that 90 percent of visually impaired people live in low-income households.
By combining virtual and augmented reality, the EON educational program is changing the way the world looks at education, one student at a time. Whether using cutting-edge devices or only putting old tools to new use, educational technology is helping alleviate poverty by catering to the needs of different people and the way they learn best.
– Philip Katz
Photo: Wikipedia
Education in Greece: Building a Foundation
Although the Greek government accepts new refugees it has no choice but to place these individuals in camps that, in many cases, do not meet humanitarian standards. The country strives to create a stable environment for these refugees, as it is estimated that the children have been out of school for an average of 1.5 years. This lack of schooling affects their potential as well as depriving them of a basic right to education, therefore education in Greece must be a priority.
With the help of volunteers, children are receiving an education through refugee schools located on campgrounds. Education in Greece, as well as many other countries besides, remains difficult for refugees to obtain.
Understanding the necessity for a learning system, the United Nations recently created a fund called “Education Cannot Wait.”
This fund aims to reach approximately 20 million refugee children who are currently denied a proper education. The European Union used money from this fund to create a pilot program on May 16, in order to begin language courses for the refugee children in Greece. These courses are currently in session to prepare children for the school year that commences in September.
Teachers will be assigned based on the language of the refugee children, which will include English, Greek and their native tongue. The Greek government plans to unveil this education program beginning in September. The Ministry of Education, responsible for running the education in Greece, began language courses beforehand to bridge the language gap that held some children back. The courses will assign two to three teachers to each 150-student classroom.
“The average length of time spent living as a refugee is now 17 years, meaning that millions of children and young people will miss out on some, it not all, of their education, severely diminishing their own future life chances and that of their families and communities,” said Tanya Steele, interim CEO of Save the Children.
Less than two percent of global humanitarian aid goes to education. Education, as the United Nations is realizing, is crucial in the long-term. Without education, studies show that children are at higher risk of crime and violence.
Schools carry the promise of opportunity and aspiration for the future. Education creates a solid foundation for the rebuilding of society for those displaced.
Education in Greece portrays how many other regions are striving to help refugees. Students here, as with many other refugee schools, are only given two days of schooling per week. With the help of the European Union and the United Nations, teachers hope to push for more educational opportunities, including a 5-day school week.
– AnnMarie Welser
Photo: Flickr
Kenya: Model for African Nations in UN’s Blue Economy
Out of 54 total countries in Africa, 38 are coastal, including the fastest growing economy on the continent, Kenya. Last year, Bloomberg ranked Kenya the third fastest growing economy in the world. The key to its success has been a strong blue exporting economy.
The backbone of Kenya’s private sector is its horticulture and tea industries, which are both export markets. Kenya not only produces the most black tea in the world, but it also exports the most. However, while neighboring nations like Tanzania produce more horticulture than Kenya, Kenya’s well-designed shipping infrastructure makes it a vastly superior exporter.
The economic trend visible in Kenya is that even when production is comparatively low, a streamlined exportation system can cause a big economic boom. The new handbook by the ECA explains how African nations can use their coastal status to promote long-term growth.
As in Kenya, the handbook emphasizes the blue economy involving shipping and other markets. The ECA calls for an update of maritime transportation to make Africa a center for global trade.
An overarching theme of the handbook is sustainability, particularly the use of hydroelectric power over petroleum or coal. As expected, Kenya mirrors the ECA’s suggestion, with 71 percent of national electricity coming from hydroelectric sources.
It will take a lot of work to make the handbook’s blue economy a reality. Countries with big shares of coastline like Eritrea and Somalia nonetheless trail far behind economically due to political instabilities in its region. Furthermore, the other African nation seeing major GDP growth, Nigeria, is heavily reliant on oil exports–the opposite of what the ECA suggests.
While the ECA cannot expect changes overnight, Executive Secretary Carlos Lopes is hopeful that Africa will benefit massively from a well run blue economy. According to Lopes, “If fully exploited and well managed, Africa’s Blue Economy can constitute a major source of wealth and catapult the continent’s fortunes.”
– John English
Photo: Flickr
CEO Fights to End Food Shortages in Venezuela
Oil Profits Plummet
In 2013, following the death of Hugo Chávez, former Vice President and current Head of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro was elected president and promised to continue the policies of his predecessor. According to The Washington Post, Maduro is “discouraging private industry that could have diversified the nation’s economic base” and using revenues from PDVSA, the state oil company, to “pay for generous social welfare benefits that won votes.” This lack of diversification and unruly spending, combined with the harsh drop in oil prices, has left the economy and citizens of Venezuela in turmoil. The International Monetary Fund’s figures show that Venezuela “went from earning $80 billion from oil in 2013 to a projected $20-25 billion in 2016.” This discrepancy of billions of dollars has created food shortages in Venezuela, resulting in riots and violence. Numerous looters have been shot and killed, hundreds have been arrested and lines of hungry families continue to grow.
Uncooperative Government
Political and economic instability has allowed crime to prosper. According to the Los Angeles Times, “gangs on motorcycles have fought over the right to control and distribute food.” Instead of taking responsibility for the lack of revenue, mounting inflation and food shortages, President Maduro has shifted blame onto the U.S. government, as well as Mendoza. Mendoza’s business, a large-scale food processing and brewery corporation, is a unique entity within Venezuela’s socialist society. Empresas Polar is the largest privately owned enterprise in a country whose government controls a substantial portion of businesses.
President Maduro accused Mendoza of withholding goods and slowing production during the crisis. The Wall Street Journal reports that the government views Mendoza as “a traitor responsible for the scarcities.” Mendoza denies all accusations and believes that it is the government’s control of prices, lack of imports and halts in production forced by a lack of federal funds that is fueling the food shortages. In fact, Mendoza is actively fighting to end the overwhelming food shortages in Venezuela. The CEO is urging his government to cooperate with organizations that can offer aid.
Venezuela Refusing Help
In February, The Wall Street Journal reported that Mendoza contacted Harvard economics professor Ricardo Hausmann to speak of “Venezuela’s need for up to $60 billion of loans from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to avoid economic meltdown.” This cry for help will most likely go unheard, as Venezuela’s government has denied foreign aid from most countries, especially the U.S., since the time of Hugo Chávez.
While President Obama and President Maduro did meet for a few moments at the Summit of the Americas in April, Maduro spent most of his time lambasting Obama for his sanctions, which are based on human rights violations by a handful of Venezuelan officials.
Moving Forward
In this time of crisis, Empresas Polar and its charismatic CEO Lorenzo Mendoza are bringing hope to Venezuela. Empresas Polar represents a bright future for Venezuelan business, as it is responsible for the employment of thousands, offers price-conscious products, a provides a profitable business plan and diversification of the Venezuelan market. Moreover, despite attacks on his character and livelihood made by the government, Mendoza will continue to fight for foreign aid to end the food shortages in Venezuela.
– Liam Travers
Photo: Business Insider
5 Things to Know About Poverty in Tajikistan
Poverty in Tajikistan remains a problem. Tajikistan is frequently cited as the poorest former Soviet republic, with one of the world’s lowest GDPs per capita (ranked 192). While it is a place that Americans do not hear about often, USAID has been busy in the country of just over eight million inhabitants for more than 20 years, almost as long as Tajikistan has been a sovereign nation.
Poverty in Tajikistan: Key Facts
1. Proportional to GDP, Tajikistan has one of the largest remittance economies in the world.
Due to a scarcity of secure employment opportunities, which contributes greatly to poverty in Tajikistan, more than one million Tajik citizens leave the country searching for work. The money that these Tajiks send home equals more than half of the entire country’s GDP. The vast majority of these migrants—90 percent—travel to Russia.
2. Poor infrastructure stagnates the Tajik economy.
Tajikistan is landlocked and sits in the northwestern Himalayas, one of the most mountainous regions on the planet, making transportation a challenge. Trade with other nations, which is important to the country’s economy, relies on a dilapidated railway system. The diminutive electricity market means energy infrastructure is also lacking. Power shortages and outages are rampant, especially during the winter.
The future for Tajikistan’s infrastructure may, however, be looking up due to foreign investment, which may alleviate some of the poverty in Tajikistan. Recently, Chinese investors funded new road construction in Dushanbe, the capital. Russia and Iran have also invested in hydroelectric plants, including a dam on the Vakhsh River that may become the world’s largest.
3. Tuberculosis is a growing public health problem.
Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is disproportionately high in many central Asian countries, including Tajikistan. The country’s healthcare system is ill equipped to respond to this issue, lacking adequate information systems and human resources. Most funds for fighting TB come from international assistance.
MDR-TB is a complicated public health challenge, however, the World Health Organization (WHO) has partnered with the government and aid groups to improve and monitor Tajikistan’s ability to treat TB and stave off MDR-TB.
4. Most of the population does not have access to clean water.
Nearly 60 percent of Tajik citizens rely on unsanitary water supplies. Many depend on irrigation ditches for drinking water, meaning waterborne diseases are common. Diarrhea is the sixth leading cause of death in children under five.
While these statistics may seem bleak, water quality is a relatively straightforward issue to tackle. USAID has made notable strides in providing better access to clean water, one of its main focuses in Tajikistan. According to its website, USAID has “established 56 community-level water users’ associations,” helping the Tajik weather and water forecasting agency better manage the country’s vast supply of fresh water.
5. The civil war destroyed one out of five schools in the country.
Funding for education decreased drastically after Tajikistan became independent from the Soviet Union in 1992. The following five years of fighting destroyed or damaged a significant portion of the country’s schools. Naturally, such collateral destruction has contributed to the precarious state of the education system.
Since the fighting, the country has either struggled to or failed to revive school systems. According to the latest reports from UNICEF, schools are overcrowded, underfunded and understaffed, with many teachers working triple shifts. Furthermore, dropout rates are high, especially for girls.
The state of Tajikistan’s education system leaves much to be desired. However, organizations like USAID and UNICEF have partnered with the Tajik government. They are determined to nurture this fragile system to a point where it can sustain itself, mainly by focusing on preventing dropouts and improving equity and access.
In many ways, Tajikistan seems to lag behind its neighbors in the Central Asian region. With a strong memory of war and political upheaval, coupled with uncompromising geography, the country has struggled to develop.
But international aid organizations have shown great ambition and, partnered with the Tajik government, achieved tangible successes in reducing poverty in Tajikistan and its burdens. Likewise, international investment from the private sector suggests promise and hope for a society that has much to gain.
– Charlie Tomb
Photo: Pixabay
UN Unveils New Advertising Initiative: Common Ground
The Common Ground Initiative was unveiled at the Cannes Lions advertising festival on Friday, June 24 to a crowd of some of the industry’s top leaders. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon shared the stage with some of advertising’s most powerful CEOs to make the announcement.
The initiative is a plan to produce and distribute advertising about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nation’s set of 17 goals for improving living conditions around the world. The ads will run in publications such as The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, the Daily Mail and Le Figaro, to name a few.
The collaborative effort between the rival companies is unprecedented, even more so when considering that both the ads and media time were gifted pro-bono for the cause.
However, considering the importance of the SDG’s, the necessity of raising awareness in participating countries cannot be understated. It is especially vital considering that there are no legal mandates pushing countries towards adopting the SDGs.
The Wall Street Journal interviewed Jan Eliasson, the deputy secretary-general of the U.N. In his interview, Eliasson argued that raising awareness of the goals would add pressure on governments to take a stand on some of the issues in question.
A 2013 survey by the European Commission found that only six percent of the European Union was aware of the U.N.’s previous initiative, the Millennium Development Goals, despite their success. The U.N. hopes that Common Ground will inspire more countries to reach the 2030 date for the current goals.
According to the Jamestown Sun, the first set of advertisements will focus on everyday people agreeing that the goals of the SDG’s are more important any rivalries between interested parties, implying that everybody should be a strong supporter of the U.N.’s goals.
In debuting the initiative, the advertising companies issued the following statement: “By working in partnership to support the Sustainable Development Goals, we want to demonstrate that even fierce competitors can set aside their differences in order to serve a wider common interest.”
– Sabrina Santos
Photo: U.N. Multimedia
Why Poverty Exists and What We Can Do About It
A Lack of Resources
The World Health Organization reports that nearly 700 million people in the world lack access to safe water. According to The World Food Programme, nearly 800 million, or one in nine people, lack the food and nutrition necessary to live a healthy and active life.
Water and food are becoming an increasingly large concern as the world population is expected to reach between nine and 11 billion by the end of the century. However, the world already produces enough food to feed 10 billion people. Furthermore, with desalination and water recycling technology, supplying safe drinking water to even the driest areas of the world is possible with enough energy and money.
Despite the rising population, there are currently more than enough resources to nourish everyone, and there exists a significant incentive to disperse these resources. Every U.S. dollar spent on water and sanitation returns $4 to the global economy. Likewise, every dollar spent on proven nutrition interventions returns $16, as adequately nourished children go on to have higher IQs, increased education and better salaries.
On the right track, Congress recently passed the Global Food Security Act, which provides a platform and allocated funding to develop a global nutrition security strategy. Many developed nations have similar programs, but despite the economic incentive to provide water and food security, not enough funding is provided for these programs. There have been steps taken to end resource poverty but not at the necessary scale.
A Lack of Education
At the heart of many narratives, and perhaps a symptom of the larger issue, individual shortcomings are the reasons why poverty exists. Those who are unable to compete in the market do so because they lack skills relative to the population at large.
For many, disadvantage takes the form of fewer opportunities for education and economic growth. More than 72 million children of school age are not in school, and 759 million adults remain illiterate and unable to better their living conditions.
For others, disadvantage begins with conception. Prenatal malnutrition, drug use, environmental toxins and even stress can lead to poor brain development in the womb. Poor development begets poor performance as well as inadequate skills to compete economically. A lack of skills and education becomes the cause of one generation’s poverty, and a symptom of that of the next.
Many steps in the cycle of why poverty exists are easily preventable. Over 16,000 children under the age of five die of preventable causes, and 800 women die everyday related to childbirth and pregnancy. The Reach Every Mother and Child Act, which has been introduced to the House and Senate, aims to help save the lives of 600,000 women and 15 million children by 2020, and will help to ensure healthy development. Healthy, well-nourished children are much easier to educate.
Social v. Economic Reasons
Institutionalized inequalities create cycles of poverty exacerbated by lack of resources, education and opportunity.
Political systems that favor the wealthy may not have the interests of the working poor at heart. Corrupt governments prevent aid from reaching those in need. Social structures may prevent movement between classes. Historical exploitation of a country’s resources may have long-lasting effects, and oppression of a population leads to large income disparities. One does not have to search far to find documented examples of each of these depravities, and they even point to a larger problem than just a lack of resources or skills.
If we are in fact past our colonial era, then our involvement in developing countries should be in the interest of cultivating a global economy–one that works for all countries involved. Allocating funds to foreign aid and growth is a step in that direction. Domestic and foreign interests need not be mutually exclusive.
Successful poverty reduction exists but could be improved and expanded with more time and resources. The U.S allocates only 0.19 percent of its gross national income to foreign aid. Only six countries have ever met the target laid forth by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which sits at just 0.7 percent of GNI. Not only will aid help improve the global economy, but also many developed countries play a role in creating the political and social inequalities listed above. With economics and ethics on the side of the poverty reduction, is 0.19 percent cutting it?.
In a fair world, choice will be the only reason for why poverty exists, and at that point it can be deemed inevitable, but at present, the suffering of many stems from causes, if not within our control, then within our reach.
– Lia Ferguson
Photo: Pixabay
So You Want to Become a Senator?
How do you become a Senator? For many people in the United States, the steps to becoming a senator may seem mysterious and inaccessible for the common citizen. In reality, there are few requirements insisted on by the Constitution. Being a senator can be challenging and rewarding, especially for one advocating for the world’s poor. During the six-year term after the election, a senator reviews specific bills and votes on whether or not they should become laws. One could even propose global poverty focused bills! Sound fascinating? Here are the requirements and recommendations on how to become a senator, for all of our budding politicians out there who want to help the world.
3 Eligibility Requirements in the Constitution:
How to Become a Senator
Finally, what is the one thing of importance that veterans of the Senate can all agree upon? “What matters… is a willingness to work and learn, to stand up for values, and most important, to earn trust.”
– Caylee Pugh
Sources: NY Times, How Stuff Works, US Senate
Photo: Maid in DC