A month ago, Utrecht, the second largest city in the Netherlands, announced it would implement a state funded Universal Benefit Income (UBI) program, which allocates a certain monthly sum to every resident who wishes to partake in the scheme, no strings attached.
The program, which will begin after the summer holidays, aims to provide a basic income that can cover living costs to residents; with the goal of enabling people to work more flexible hours and to devote more time to care, volunteering, and education.
While UBI programs have never been implemented nationwide, various localized UBI programs have been attempted in the past; such as in the small Canadian town of Dauphin, where the city’s poorest citizens received cash sums from 1974 to 1979.
Utrecht’s decision to utilize UBI has also caused the movement to gain traction within the Netherlands, with seven other towns in the Netherlands currently considering similar schemes.
In Utrecht, the exact value of the cash disbursements has yet to be settled, but officials say it will range between 900 and 1,300 euros per month, depending upon the size of household. Most crucially, UBI also follows an income, or resident ‘blind’ selection process; meaning that all residents–even non-Dutch citizens, such as migrants–are entitled to receive the sum.
The take-off of the UBI idea in the Netherlands marks a seismic shift in the nation’s historic location on the fringes of Europe’s political agenda.
Traditionally, the UBI concept has only found support among left-wing and uber-liberal parties such as the Finnish Greens in Finland, which focuses its political policy primarily on climate change, or the Podemos, a radical party in Spain which supports a communist solution to the country’s economic ills.
Growing support for UBI within the Netherlands and among political parties has thus thrust the idea into the mainstream political agenda for the first time.
UBI’s sudden shift into the political centerfold also marks an interesting move away from the reaction that many welfare-state and socialist countries (such as Scandinavian countries) have had to increase levels of immigration: which has been to tighten and restrict welfare benefits for non-natives.
In light of this, the fact that UBI would be granted and money disbursed to migrants marks a surprising shift away from the anti-immigrant sentiment which is currently sweeping across Europe–and towards more inclusive notions of society and community.
While Utrecht prepares to implement UBI in the coming weeks, and other Dutch cities mull over the idea, Utrecht says it has paired up with University College Utrecht to see how effective UBI will be in a welfare state constituted by an ever-increasing multicultural population.
The team also hopes to discover whether UBI, granted to all residents who wish to receive it–including migrants–will help to produce a more effective, creative, and inspiring society in Utrecht, and whether the idea could take off within the Netherlands (and possibly, within the European Union) as a positive way to counter the threat of increasing anti-immigrant sentiment and increasing social exclusivity, throughout the region.
– Ana Powell
Sources: Al Jazeera, The Independent, The Guardian, Vihreat
Photo: Flickr
500,000 Refugee Children Return to School
When we reminisce about our childhood afternoons spent in school, they usually include fond memories immersed in boundless creativity and new learning experiences.
Although we likely did not realize it at the time, these crucial hours of education contributed to our empowerment to become smart and driven citizens within our communities.
Imagine what missing just a year of schooling would mean for a child.
This year, 500,000 Palestinian refugee children will start school on time due to last-minute donations which secured funding for the upcoming school year.
“There had been warnings that the school year in 685 UN-run schools would be delayed for months because the agency was short of $101 million to fund the 2015-16 academic year. Protests against the potential move were held by Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip and by staff at the agency’s headquarters in Amman,” states an article by A World at School.
The Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl of the United Nations Work and Relief Agency (UNRWA) an agency for Palestinian refugees, announced that $80 million had come in allowing students to return to school within the countries of Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
According to A World at School, for students, this means schools will reopen in Palestine on August 24, in Jordan on September 1, in Lebanon on September 7 and in Syria on September 13.
The UNRWA recognizes the importance of education and was disheartened by the potential risk of schools not opening due to a funding shortfall. With the danger of millions of children being robbed of their education in a time of great conflict caused by war zones and migration, the ability of so many children to stay in school is a tremendous achievement.
Currently, the UNRWA describes themselves as a human development and humanitarian service, which “encompass primary and vocational education, primary health care, relief and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement, microfinance and emergency response, including in situations of armed conflict.”
Today, the UNRWA has contributed to 479, 519 student’s educations, awarded 344,493 loans to those in financial need and supported 301,015 refugees through the Social Safety Net.
It is only through the support and patronage of others that schools have the hope of thriving and remaining open for students.
– Nikki Schaffer
Sources: UNRWA, A World at School
Photo: Pixabay
From Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Goals
The final report of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) says it has been the most successful anti-poverty effort in history. But despite significant gains, there are many global poverty issues that still need to be addressed. These include sanitation, gender equality, maternal and children’s health, and access to family planning, among others.
After 15 years, the transition from MDGs to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) begins. The new goals will be adopted this September at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, which will provide a guideline for policy and funding for the next 15 years. There are set to be 17 goals and 169 indicators to measure the progress of these goals.
Among the proposed goals are the following:
The goals were conceived through a collaboration of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Development Group (UNDG), which undertook an unprecedented global conversation among a diverse group of stakeholders over the last three years. Stakeholders included women, young people, people with disabilities, the private sector and all levels of government.
For example, the UN’s online My World Survey, which asked participants to rank their six highest priority issues, gathered the ranked priorities for the future of 7.3 million people.
In addition, the UNDG collected the perspectives from over one million people on “the world we want,” eliciting 88 national consultations and input on 11 thematic dialogues.
“As member states consult on the shape and content of a successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) beyond 2015, it is hoped that the opportunity to listen to these voices will contribute to reaching consensus on what is needed to move towards a common sustainable future,” states the World We Want website.
Partnerships will be key to realizing the proposed goals. Some of the important players that will assist in partnerships and collaboration between different entities are the Department of State’s Office of Global Partnerships, which will work with public and private sectors. The U.S. Agency for International Development will work with corporations, foundations, NGOs and others in developing countries through the Global Development Alliance.
Looking ahead, the need to work together across stakeholder groups is paramount. “World leaders have an unprecedented opportunity this year to shift the world onto a path of inclusive, sustainable and resilient development,” said Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator. And the message from the global conversation was clear: People want to be involved in the process of accomplishing these goals and to hold governments and businesses accountable for their promises and commitments.
– Paula Acevedo
Sources: Millennium Development Goals Final Report, Devex, United Nations Development Programme
Photo: Flickr
PATH’s 30 Key Global Health Innovations
PATH, the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, headquartered in Seattle, WA, is an international nonprofit organization and leader of global health innovation. For 40 years, PATH has improved health and saved lives.
PATH recently released the Innovation Count Down 2030 report, which identifies 30 key global health innovations. With support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, PATH assembled a group of experts and innovators from around the world “to identify, evaluate, and showcase health technologies and interventions with great promise to accelerate progress toward solving the world’s most urgent health issues,” according to the report.
The report features innovations that could hasten the pace of progress towards the health targets in the proposed United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Those targets include reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births and ending preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years old; ending the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases; reducing by one-third premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases; and ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services.
The global health innovations listed below, are presented in four categories that align with the SDGs proposed health targets. To read the summary of each goal, visit path.org and click the IC2030 report.
Innovations for maternal, newborn and child health:
Innovations for combating infectious diseases:
Innovations for reproductive health:
Innovations addressing non-communicable diseases:
“On the eve of launching the SDGs, the global community now knows what we can accomplish by coming together around a common set of goals and throwing our collective weight behind health solutions with the most potential for impact,” the report states. “As world leaders consider how to finance and scale up those solutions, we know that coordinated investment and financing will be essential in our efforts to reach the 2030 health targets—and to ensure we can financially sustain those gains into the future.”
– Kelsey Parrotte
Sources: IC2030 Report, PATH
Photo: Flickr
Eva Longoria and LG Raise Money For No Kid Hungry
Last week, Eva Longoria hosted an LG Electronics USA product launch in Hollywood for the company’s new ranges with ProBake Convection technology to benefit the No Kid Hungry Campaign.
A-list celebrities and VIP guests like actress Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, chef Angel Estrada and actor Jesse Metcalfe, gathered for a family oriented event sponsored by LG. The occasion featured cooking activities and games, as well as interactive culinary demonstrations highlighting the new cooking technology.
The fun-filled afternoon also served to raise awareness and support for the No Kid Hungry campaign that is sponsored by Share Our Strength, an organization that helps to provide food for children and families in need. Fittingly, the charity also empowers families to cook healthy meals together.
The Desperate Housewives star said that she really values the importance of family and passing down recipes to loved ones.
“I come from a tight-knit family where we value the importance of gathering for meals and celebrations, and I’m thrilled to join LG to encourage families to do the same, all while benefitting such a fantastic cause,” Longoria said.
Longoria supports a worthy cause — malnutrition is a continuing problem. According to Action Against Hunger, 3.5 million children die each year from malnutrition.
To help eradicate this problem, the No Kid Hungry campaign asks for donations for hungry children and lists ways for people to improve the lives of the impoverished. The campaign’s website focuses on using food as a tool to create a better value of life, stating that “another kid falls behind and never catches up” without proper nourishment.
The campaign also seeks to provide parents the tools to create and offer nutritious meals to their children. Supporting No Kid Hungry, LG encouraged the community to start their own “PostBake sales” in their neighborhoods using kits gifted by the event to all attendees.
Longoria hosted her own bake sale at the LG event. The award-winning cookbook author and co-restaurateur shared her cooking expertise during her live demonstrations. Her culinary creations were all recipes from her New York Times bestselling cookbook, “Eva’s Kitchen: Cooking with Love for Family and Friends.”
In addition, she helped organize pizza and flatbread baking, cake and cookie decorating, a themed photo booth and more.
Since the event, LG and Longoria have helped connect struggling kids with more than 345 million meals. The benefit also helped to launch school breakfast programs, recruit summer meals sites, and helped to provide grants to the most effective hunger-fighting organizations to help end child hunger in their communities, according to the No Kid Hungry website.
Not only is the campaign feeding kids, but it is also making their dreams come true.
Straight-A students and sisters, Jeane and Jahnique love to run, dance and cheerlead, and with the help of No Kid Hungry, they are able to do these activities with more energy.
“When I eat, it makes me run faster,” one sister said.
No Kid Hungry has helped many more kids in different areas. The operation’s website shows several more stories like this one. To read these stories and to learn how to support these kids, visit the No Kid Hungry website.
– Fallon Lineberger
Sources: Action Against Hunger, Look to the Stars, No Kid Hungry 1, No Kid Hungry 2, Vimeo
Photo: Homemade Mimi
Odisha Rural Livelihoods Project Improves Lives
For those who have lost everything, self-help groups may provide a shoulder to cry on. Unfortunately, these groups ultimately offer little relief in providing jobs on a daily basis for many who remain unemployed. Sometimes it is only through financial assistance from outside projects that hope for the future can begin.
The Odisha Rural Livelihoods Project, or Tripti, was launched with the goal of improving the socio-economic status of the poor, especially disadvantaged groups such as women. The project began in 2009 throughout 32 blocks in 10 coastal districts of Odisha.
A $70 million loan from the World Bank started the implementation of the Odisha Poverty Reduction Mission. Its aim, however, had more than just one objective.
“The Project was designed to improve livelihoods of deprived women by building and mobilizing community institutions, creating community investment funds, and providing specific livelihood funds,” states an article by the World Bank.
With this in mind, the process for eligibility within this program was ultimately carried out by examining income levels and assigning individuals to different categories such as good, average, poor and the destitute.
By providing financial assistance through loan relief, many women would have the opportunity to provide in new ways for their families.
Currently, the project has seen five successful years and over time has supported over 929,000 households covering around 78,460 self-help groups. More than 60 percent of these benefitting the most vulnerable, rural poor communities.
Recognizing that the livelihood of the people is based on agriculture, Tripti aims to implement their program through an executed partnership with the local NGO and agricultural department.
Through this program, “community members are directly involved in seed production, processing and marketing. The seeds produced are then marketed locally among the SHG members to ensure easy and affordable access to quality seeds for the farmers.
The Project has initiated a program under which 1,800 farmers have been mobilized into Producer Groups to develop five different varieties of paddy seeds, which have a high demand in the local area. The seeds are then certified by the Odisha State Seed 3 Certification Agency. In 2014, 1,900 metric tons of quality seeds were produced,” reports the World Bank.
Tripti supports the promotion of agriculture through a program, which encourages households to create kitchen gardens by utilizing patches of grass and growing vegetables and other herbs. This will help communities meet the nutritional needs of their families.
Ultimately, this project has lifted women and their families out of poverty and sparked an economic recovery within regions devastated by natural disaster. This project is helping to give regions a chance for success.
– Nikki Schaffer
Sources: World Bank, Odisha
Photo: Irri Org
St. George’s Crypt Makes Progress to Help those in Need
Founded in the 1930s, St. George’s Crypt became a charitable group that has helped local people for generations. In its beginnings, the small church began charitable functions and fundraising from local people, run by Reverend Percy Donald, known as the Don.
Throughout its existence the function of the organization has shifted to satisfy the needs of the people and the events occurring around the neighborhood, such as assistance for those affected by war, illness, and the impact of a devastating economic downturn.
As the group’s website states, one of the objectives of the organization is to assist in “the relief of poverty, hardship, sickness and distress among needy and destitute persons,” and recently St. George’s Crypt has taken their efforts to help people even further.
In 2011, The Crypt set up purchase shops that would benefit more people in the area. More recently, the organization has done even more as it has invested more money into building homes for struggling families in the area.
A development project recently gave the group £1.5 million to spend on infrastructure, and the building of 20 new homes for those in need. These properties will act as “halfway houses” to help individuals as well as families get back on their feet, and create more sustainable lifestyles, and smarter economic practices.
The outreach of support for those in need knows no limits, helping those that are homeless, ill, suffering the vulnerabilities of recent catastrophes, and even those suffering from addiction. One of these housing developments will include a hostel in Hyde Park, which will house a larger number of people at a time for a shorter period of time.
When small organizations such as these expand over the years, even over 85 years such as the St. George’s Crypt, it gives hope that there is potential for anyone to make a difference in their communities. To learn more about St. George’s Crypt and the work they continue to do for those in need in their community, go to their website.
– Alexandrea Jacinto
Sources: St. George’s Crypt, BBC
Photo: Flickr
The Netherlands to Experiment with Universal Cash Benefits
A month ago, Utrecht, the second largest city in the Netherlands, announced it would implement a state funded Universal Benefit Income (UBI) program, which allocates a certain monthly sum to every resident who wishes to partake in the scheme, no strings attached.
The program, which will begin after the summer holidays, aims to provide a basic income that can cover living costs to residents; with the goal of enabling people to work more flexible hours and to devote more time to care, volunteering, and education.
While UBI programs have never been implemented nationwide, various localized UBI programs have been attempted in the past; such as in the small Canadian town of Dauphin, where the city’s poorest citizens received cash sums from 1974 to 1979.
Utrecht’s decision to utilize UBI has also caused the movement to gain traction within the Netherlands, with seven other towns in the Netherlands currently considering similar schemes.
In Utrecht, the exact value of the cash disbursements has yet to be settled, but officials say it will range between 900 and 1,300 euros per month, depending upon the size of household. Most crucially, UBI also follows an income, or resident ‘blind’ selection process; meaning that all residents–even non-Dutch citizens, such as migrants–are entitled to receive the sum.
The take-off of the UBI idea in the Netherlands marks a seismic shift in the nation’s historic location on the fringes of Europe’s political agenda.
Traditionally, the UBI concept has only found support among left-wing and uber-liberal parties such as the Finnish Greens in Finland, which focuses its political policy primarily on climate change, or the Podemos, a radical party in Spain which supports a communist solution to the country’s economic ills.
Growing support for UBI within the Netherlands and among political parties has thus thrust the idea into the mainstream political agenda for the first time.
UBI’s sudden shift into the political centerfold also marks an interesting move away from the reaction that many welfare-state and socialist countries (such as Scandinavian countries) have had to increase levels of immigration: which has been to tighten and restrict welfare benefits for non-natives.
In light of this, the fact that UBI would be granted and money disbursed to migrants marks a surprising shift away from the anti-immigrant sentiment which is currently sweeping across Europe–and towards more inclusive notions of society and community.
While Utrecht prepares to implement UBI in the coming weeks, and other Dutch cities mull over the idea, Utrecht says it has paired up with University College Utrecht to see how effective UBI will be in a welfare state constituted by an ever-increasing multicultural population.
The team also hopes to discover whether UBI, granted to all residents who wish to receive it–including migrants–will help to produce a more effective, creative, and inspiring society in Utrecht, and whether the idea could take off within the Netherlands (and possibly, within the European Union) as a positive way to counter the threat of increasing anti-immigrant sentiment and increasing social exclusivity, throughout the region.
– Ana Powell
Sources: Al Jazeera, The Independent, The Guardian, Vihreat
Photo: Flickr
She Leads Africa: Supporting African Women in Business
South Africa has the highest rate of female entrepreneurship in the world; however, the majority of the female-led startups are small-sized, individual-owned business. In order to foster female-led high-growth startups, She Leads Africa (SLA) provides African female entrepreneurs with the knowledge, financing and networks.
In Africa, female entrepreneurs face four major barriers to their success in entrepreneurship: unequal access to education, limited access to financing, constricted traditional stereotypes, and limited access to networks. SLA supports female entrepreneurs through hosting annual business pitch competition and building a community for female entrepreneurs.
Women in Africa don’t have equal chances to get an education since the primary level, which makes them lack business knowledge and work experience to create high-profit companies. Since 2014, SLA has hosted an annual pitch competition to identify the most promising African female entrepreneurs.
The finalists can get six-week training and business plan development with experienced mentors, who are from premier consulting, finance and venture capital companies. Moreover, SLA also creates an online platform for potential female entrepreneurs to share their business knowledge.
The unequal treatment does not only show in education but also in financial access. According to the report by SLA, women face fewer options, higher interest rates, and shorter terms when they look for loans. Thus, SLA’s pitch competition offers winners more than $55,000 in cash and kind prizes, including legal services and office supplies.
Besides the support in financing, SLA creates valuable networking chances for female entrepreneurs. By now, more than 380 entrepreneurs from more than 27 countries apply for a coveted finalist spot. The pitch competition has been a platform for African female entrepreneurs to network with other entrepreneurs and look for investors and mentors.
In a male-dominated society, women are always valued by their domestic contributions. However, with the popularity of SLA pitch competition, people raise the awareness of female entrepreneurship. In the 2015 Entrepreneur Showcase, six finalists were selected. On the final pitch competition, they will compete for a $10,000 prize and access directly to investors and international media attention.
“We are excited about our second cohort of young African female entrepreneurs for mentoring, training and investment and if I must say so myself, they are quite dope,” said Afua Osel, co-founder of SLA.
SLA emphasizes the role of the female in economic development. According to its Press kit, SLA is “a social enterprise dedicated to ensuring that women are not left out of Africa’s Growth Story.” Starting from a feminist concept, by offering them training and business development, providing financial support, enlarging their social network and rise social approval, SLA is the forefront of supporting African women in business.
– Shengyu Wang
Sources: Black Enterprise, SLA 1, SLA 2, SLA 3
Photo: Flickr
The Millennium Development Goals Results Show Success
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) laid out eight specific targets to reduce extreme poverty and improve the living conditions of billions of people worldwide, from 2000-2015. The anticipated deadline has arrived and the results are positive, with a final report calling this “the most successful anti-poverty movement in history.”
Since 1990, the number of people living in extreme poverty has declined by more than half, falling from 1.9 billion to 836 million. In addition, according to the report the proportion of undernourished people in developing regions fell by almost half, from 23.3 percent in 1990-1992 to 12.9 percent in 2014-2016.
Below are more updated figures of the success of the MDGs:
Despite significant gains, there are still issues to be addressed. The report indicates that gender equality, maternal health and extreme poverty and hunger remain problems in the effort to improve lives across the world.
Coming up this month, the global community will convene at the United Nations for a summit to establish a new development agenda and to adopt a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will provide a blueprint for policy and funding for the next 15 years.
– Paula Acevedo
Sources: United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Foundation Blog,
Photo: Flickr
UNLV’s New Research on HIV
UNLV has already earned several financial grants for the research, including one from the National Institutes of Health.
The researchers are looking at genetic codes called minimotifs that direct cellular function. Their goal is to understand how the codes can help cells fight off HIV by blocking the virus from interacting with the cells.
“We chose HIV as our model system because we know viruses depend solely on cells to live,” said Kiran Mathew, a researcher at UNLV, in an interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal. “It’s a great model system we can use to test out the effects of (the codes) in the cell.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1.2 million Americans were infected with HIV as of 2012, with roughly 50,000 new cases each year.
By the end of 2014, close to 37 million people were living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and about 15 million people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy. The World Health Organization cites sub-Saharan Africa as the most affected region by HIV/AIDS globally with 26 million people infected in 2014. The region also accounts for almost 70 percent of the global total of new HIV infections.
There is currently no cure for HIV. The Food and Drug Administration has approved more than 25 antiretroviral drugs to help fight infections and improve quality of life for patients. With successful treatment, HIV infection can become a chronic, manageable disease. But therapy must be life long and there are limitations to diagnosis, treatment and care in geographical areas that are most heavily affected.
The promising new research coming out of UNLV might help develop new HIV drugs, code for other diseases and make personalized drugs specific for a patient’s genetic makeup. But first the findings must be published and patented before pharmaceutical companies could begin the process of bringing it to market where patients can benefit.
– Megan Ivy
Sources: Review Journal, CDC, WHO
Photo: Flickr