Once known around the world as the finish line of the famous Paris-Dakar Rally, the small West African country of Senegal stands out in from its neighbors. Unlike many of other West African countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, Senegal has never experienced any notable conflicts or civil war in the last century.
This distinction has helped to garner the country a deserved reputation for high political stability in an often war-torn continent. However, Senegal also lacks the natural resources of many of its African peers and consequentially ranks as one of the poorest nations on earth. According to UNICEF, 22 percent of its population lives on less than a dollar per day.
For the youth of Senegal and for girls in particular, this has hindered the effectiveness of Senegal’s education system. However, the country has experienced a significant improvement in recent years. In 2009, 92.5 percent of Senegalese children attended primary school. This represents a dramatic improvement from 82 percent in 2005 and only 54 percent in 1994.
Yet, this overall progress belies a residual and significant flaw in education in Senegal; in the long run, girls are far more likely than boys to drop out and to receive less education. At a casual glance, however, it might not seem this way. In 2012, primary school enrollment was actually higher for girls than it was for boys at 74 percent and 72 percent respectively.
While the data for primary school enrollment suggests gender parity, this is not actually the case. As the children progress through their schooling, girls experience noticeably lower rates of attendance. This first becomes apparent upon the transition to secondary school. In contrast to 62 percent of their male peers, 57 percent of girls begin secondary school.
The disparity only widens as their education continues. Secondary school enrollment for boys was 34 percent for boys and 27 percent for girls. Ultimately, one can see the results of gender inequality in Senegal’s adult literacy rate; 62 percent of males and only 39 percent of females were literate. For every 10 literate men in Senegal, only 6 women have attained literacy.
These severe and disparate dropout rates reflect the economic challenges that affect poorer families in Senegal. Children frequently must quit their schooling in order to provide more money for their families by working.
This burden falls harder on girls. Often families will marry off daughters at a young age to lessen their economic burden or they will employ them around the house conducting domestic duties. Many will expect to do domestic work for the rest of their lives. This career choice puts girls and women at greater risk of sexual abuse and financial exploitation.
For families of higher economic standing, education in Senegal is less of an issue and more of an expectation. Girls from wealthier households have twice the attendance rate in primary school.
In the city of Dakar, one of the economic pillars of the Senegalese economy, private schools are becoming even more common. In fact, most schools in Dakar are private rather than public. This has created an even greater educational disparity for those without the money to pay for education.
The wealth and gender inequality in secondary education also carries over to higher education.
UNESCO reported that an increasing amount of private institutions has hindered accessibility for many college students. Additionally, more men were enrolled than women as college students. According to the World Bank, for every 10 male college students, there were only 6 female students.
With the help of foreign aid from USAID and The World Bank, Senegal is attempting to develop and expand its education system. Already, funds from USAID have greatly improved education in the nation.
In total, it has allowed for 500,000 children to enroll in school of which 300,000 were girls. USAID has also helped to expand the educational infrastructure of Senegal through the construction of over 100 middle schools. It has donated more than 3 million textbooks and provided 20,000 schoolchildren with internet access.
The World Bank initiated an ongoing project called “Tertiary Education Governance and Financing for Results Project for Senegal” which is aimed at “[enhancing] the efficiency and quality of the higher education system” in Senegal. While the project is not expected to end until 2016, it has already posted impressive results. It found that 88 percent of academic programs fit quality standards in June 2015 with the target set at 90 percent in September 2016.
To lessen gender inequality, UNESCO and the Senegalese government have teamed up to initiate the “Girls and Women’s Literacy in Senegal” program. It aims to provide 40,000 women and girls with high-quality education and more professional opportunities.
More still needs to be done, and with only 750,000 dollars of funding, this initiative cannot single-handedly solve the issue of inequality in Senegal’s education system. With the help of more foreign aid, Senegal can expect further progress.
– Andrew Logan
Sources: The Guardian, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UNESCO 1, UNICEF, UNESCO 2, USAID, The World Bank
Photo: Open Equal Free
#Donate
#Donate: If the single most characteristic feature of the 21st century was chosen, social media would definitely be among the forerunners for the title. In the past decade especially, the advent of social media has taken over our lives. From MySpace to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram et cetera, the world of social media has become grown exceptionally.
The takeover by social networking sites and apps is generally taken in a negative context. There is always a never-ending stream of criticisms directed at the virtual world. The critics often propagate the notion of social media desensitizing people to the real world problems. These arguments, while not entirely untrue, completely disregard social media’s potential for positive impact, if used wisely.
Recently, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge campaign received much media frenzy. It was also successful in raising awareness as well as donations for its cause. The “tagging” process, such as #Donate, through social media websites led to a massive campaign, which also involved many celebrities.
Popular Facebook page “Humans of New York” managed to raise $1.2 million in a campaign for an inner-city school. The catalyst-a viral photograph of an inspiring middle school boy.
A photograph of a Filipino boy doing his homework under the light of a McDonald’s restaurant posted on Facebook went viral, as it was shared almost 7,000 times. The significant number of people interested in contributing to the boy’s education led to the establishment of an online fundraising campaign. The campaign generated enough funds to cover nine-year old Daniel up till college.
These stories, and many more like these, establish the significance of social media in modern world activism. The creation of social media websites has enabled an unprecedented platform to create awareness for the issues in the world. Pages like GoFundMe or Network For Good allow for anyone and everyone to start fundraising campaigns for a cause they hold near and dear.
In the fast world of social media however, fundraising can sometimes become a challenge as well. The campaigns like the ALS fundraiser require the donor to go to a separate website and then donate. As easy as it is to type a web address and make a few simple clicks, it is still somewhat of a hassle for social media users. Mostly attuned to “liking” or commenting on statuses, the process of redirecting to other websites can be annoying for the users.
This has given rise to “slacktivism”—where “activists” on social networking websites become slackers in actual donation process. In the ALS campaign, for example, the donors were far outnumbered by the people who shared the videos.
To assist the users in donating quickly and efficiently, a Washington DC-based startup Good World has come up with an innovative idea. They partner with a network of nonprofit charities. Users need a one-time signup for Good World to contribute to any charity of their choice within their network. To donate, the users simply need a hashtag of donation and their choice of amount of contribution typed into the comments section.
The system of commenting also simplifies the process of further promoting the campaign. Instead of having to “share” their donation through separate websites, the comment can be directly viewed by the user’s friends. This also gives them a faster way to make a contribution by simply commenting on the thread. The web service also forwards tax-deductible receipts to the registered email address.
The service has certain caveats: almost five percent of the donated amount is automatically deducted to fund the technology itself. There is also a 2.2 percent processing fee associated with the service. The additional charges may serve to distance some users.
In spite of the challenges, Good World is a valuable innovation in ensuring our technology remains up to speed with our generosity.
– Atifah Safi
Sources: Good World, Wall Street Journal, Daily Mail, PBS, Washington Business Journal
Photo: The Guardian
The Zero Hunger Challenge Revisited
This belief launched the Zero Hunger Challenge in 2012, a program that challenged individuals and organizations to recognize and assist the 800 million hungry people around the world.
Started by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the challenge strives to achieve five outcomes: zero stunted children less than two years, 100% access to adequate food all year round, making all food systems sustainable, a 100% increase in smallholder productivity and income, and zero loss or waste of food.
Ki-moon believes that combining these five elements will create a world with no hunger. The Zero Hunger Challenge encourages participation from a wide range of people and organizations.
Now three years after Ki-moon launched his Zero Hunger Challenge, countries around the world are declaring their own “end hunger” plans.
In May 2015, the United Nations assisted the government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in launching the National Zero Hunger Challenge, which joined with other countries to eliminate hunger and malnutrition while also increasing food resources. Also in May, the Royal Government of Cambodia started a National Zero Hunger Challenge to end hunger in their country by 2025.
As more countries join the National Zero Hunger Challenge, the goal to end hunger becomes more and more realistic. The United Nations estimates that ending world hunger will require investments in rural and urban areas so that poorer people can have access to food and can improve their lives.
Recently, the Zero Hunger Challenge has gained more support from church organizations.
The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, a global network of church organizations, asks all uninvolved individuals and churches to join the initiative.
Dr. Manoj Jurian, World Council of Churches coordinator, said, “No one should be hungry, especially in a world that already produces more than enough food to feed everyone. We can build sustainable and waste-free food systems that nourish and support all people and empower the smallholder and family farms that produce that vast majority of the world’s food.”
Dr. Jurian also notes that as religious people, churches are committed to ensuring that no person is hungry. The Bible contains many stories about hunger, the most notable being Matthew 1:25, in which Jesus tells his followers, “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.” In these lines, caring individuals aid someone in need of food and water; like so, Dr. Jurian claims it is part of religious duty to help those in need.
With active participants around the world, world hunger can end in our lifetime. To join the challenge, visit: www.un.org/en/zerohunger/.
– Kelsey Parrotte
Sources: AllAfrica, Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, United Nations
Photo: United Nations
Asian Investment Bank to Complement Anti-Poverty Efforts
As of April 2015, nearly every Asian country and most major non-regional countries joined the AIIB except for the United States, Japan and Canada. Instituted as a response to the Chinese government’s frustration with slow-paced development and a perceived lack of input in global institutions like the International Monetary Fund, the bank will invest in infrastructural development like roads and communication networks that generally precede economic growth. Those investments will come in the form of project loans to countries across Asia, which will commence once the AIIB begins operations at the end of the year.
“With the rights environment, labour and procurement standards, the AIIB and the New Development Bank, established by [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa], have the potential to become great new forces in the economic development of poor countries and emerging markets,” said World Bank President Jim Yong Kim in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
The AIIB’s declared goal is to use its anticipated $100 billion to focus on improving regional infrastructure, upgrading industrial output and increasing the competitiveness of regional supply chains. Much of the effort in establishing the AIIB came from China, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, India, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, which have vastly increased their influence in the humanitarian and global development sectors over the last five years. Those countries’ $1.2 billion of investment in the multilateral aid system in 2013 marked a 51% increase from 2009 levels.
A number of economists have endorsed the AIIB as wielding massive anti-poverty potential, including Columbia Professor of Economics and former World Bank Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz.
“China itself is a testament to the extent to which infrastructure investment can contribute to development,” he wrote in an article for The Guardian in April. “Last month, I visited formerly remote areas of the country that are now prosperous as a result of the connectivity–and thus the freer flow of people, goods, and ideas–that such investments have delivered.”
Sound infrastructure is a crucial prerequisite for communities in the early stages of economic development and can deliver greater access to education and health services, water and sanitation, and increased opportunities for employment and trade. Indeed, in a 2003 study of the relationship between infrastructure and poverty reduction, the Asian Development Bank reported a positive correlation between the extent of provincial road development and associated wages. According to the study, conducted in Indonesia over a five-year period, a 1 percent increase in road investment was associated with a 0.3 percent drop in poverty incidence.
Despite the increasingly complex multilateral aid system and persistent drivers of poverty such as climate change, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are prepared to work with the AIIB to continue to increase the extent and efficacy of global development projects.
“I will do everything in my power to find innovative ways to work with these banks,” Kim added. “The decisions we make this year, and the alliances we form in the years ahead, will help determine whether we have a chance to reach our goal of ending extreme poverty in just 15 years.”
– Zach VeShancey
Sources: The Guardian 1, The Guardian 2, The Guardian 3, ADB
Photo: Flickr
Poverty and Engagement in Arts, Culture and Leisure
The first object of research was measuring how much poverty impacts people’s participation in sports. It found that adults who lived under the poverty line played fewer sports for far less time. These findings replicated those in similar studies in Canada and Australia. The lack of involvement in sports is believed to increase health risks such as obesity that are already present in lower income groups.
Some people blamed the lack of sports facilities provided in their neighborhoods. Financial and logistical barriers are a constraint. Sports equipment and transportation to and from facilities may cost extra money that the family cannot afford to spend. Moreover, parents who work more than one job find it difficult to take the time out to supervise their children, especially if their neighborhood is perceived as unsafe.
Another reason for poorer people’s reluctance to take part in sports is that they are simply not interested in them, as a study in Ireland concluded. Research in Australia demonstrated that even with ease of access to facilities and training, lower income children and adults were still less likely to play sports than their middle and upper income counterparts.
The second objective of the research was to determine how poverty impacts people’s engagement with arts, libraries and museums. Unsurprisingly, people living under the poverty line were less likely to be interested in or involved in their community’s culture. Even libraries, which are free and open to the public, see lower levels of engagement from poorer people. Children living in poverty are more likely to use the computer or TV for entertainment.
In addition to the obvious barriers of transportation costs and time constraints (for adults), poorer people frequently voiced the view that arts were for “other people and not for them.” They reported feeling out of place and uninterested. In their daily lives, art was perceived as being completely irrelevant.
To fight the main barriers to engagement in sports and culture — a dearth of facilities, extra costs and a lack of interest — the literature review recommends a few solutions: community-based solutions, personal and trusting relationships between mentors and participants, and lower costs.
– Radhika Singh
Sources: UK Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Art Council of Wales
Photo: PxHere
Malala Fund Aims to Secure Free Education for Children
Goal 4 of the proposed SDGs is to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all.” By 2030, the U.N. hopes to ensure that primary and secondary education is free and easily accessible, as well as more equal for boys and girls.
Malala spoke at the Oslo education summit in July, urging leaders to invest in SDG 4 in order to reduce gender disparities and the negative outcomes of non-enrolled children. If the world can meet the goal by 2030, and every girl attends primary and secondary education, child marriage rates would decrease 64 percent and under 5-year-old child deaths would decrease 49 percent.
“In fact, and unfortunately, $39 billion is spent on [the] military in only eight days,” she said.
There are many challenges to providing universally free primary and secondary education, even if the $39 billion annual investment goal is reached. Many families send their children to the labor force because they live in extreme poverty, conflict plagues the ability to send children to school, and other countries lack infrastructure and resources to provide effective education.
Currently, the cost of 12 years of free education is $340 billion per year, which means lower-income countries need to invest 20 percent of their budget to education. Right now, the average budget spent on education is 15 percent.
In May 2015, more than 100 countries promised to provide free education to their children by signing the Incheon Declaration in Korea. The agreement will coincide with the SDGs to reach this goal by 2030.
Enrollment in primary education reached 90 percent by 2010, an increase from 82 percent in 1999, but 61 million children remained unenrolled in school. 31 million primary-aged school children dropped out worldwide and 32 million more repeated a grade. The Millennium Development Goals and the World Food Program provided support for the increase but more educational investments are needed to make a significant impact.
The Malala Fund pushes for the empowerment of education for girls. About two-thirds of the women in the world are illiterate. Also, education helps reduce population growth. For example, educated women in Mali have three children on average compared to the average of seven for uneducated women.
Despite the progress made through the MDGs, there are significant gaps between countries and regions.
“Conflicts remain the biggest threat to human development, with fragile and conflict-affected countries typically experiencing the highest poverty rates,” the U.N. said in a statement.
– Donald Gering
Sources: Do Something, Huffington Post, IB Times, Malala Fund, UN 1, UN 2, Yahoo News
Photo: Flickr
South Sudanese Refugees Warmly Welcomed by Uganda
Refugees who travel to Uganda for asylum are met with an abundance of economic and social opportunities upon their arrival. Unlike many other nations currently experiencing heightened influxes of refugees due to the persistence of several regional conflicts, Uganda does not place newly arrived migrants into refugee camps operated by the UN and other foreign aid organizations.
Instead, refugees who successfully escape their conflict-ravaged homelands for the peace and security of Uganda are presented with the opportunity to move into permanent settlements where they are provided with their own plot of land. Additionally, various UN agencies provide access to food, water, and home construction resources for newly arrived refugees. Localized primary schools and health clinics are commonly accessible in these areas of Uganda, and are responsible for providing valuable resources to newly settled migrant populations.
Titus Jogo, Refugee Desk Officer for the Adjumani District in Northern Uganda, stated in a recent interview regarding the legal statuses of South Sudanese refugees seeking asylum, “They have all the rights that are attributed to any human being, irrespective of their status as refugees.”
The conflict within South Sudan, the newest nation in the world after its founding in 2012, was initially caused by political disputes between President Salva Kiir and his former Deputy Minister Riek Machar. The conflict is largely consistent of multiple tribal factions which include the Neur Tribe, loyal to Machar, and the Dinka group, loyal to President Kiir; both of these tribal groups have been accused by international monitoring groups of committing war crimes and human rights violations, including ethnically targeted massacres and sexual assaults.
The most recent report provided by the UNHCR estimates that over 730,000 people have fled the conflict in South Sudan to neighboring nations such as Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. This report also estimates that an additional 1.5 million South Sudanese civilians are currently suffering from internal displacement due to the escalation in ethnic violence. Many of these displaced civilians experience frequent relocations to areas known as ‘protection-of-civilians’ sites, which are coordinated by the UN Mission in South Sudan and provide secure refugee camps for civilians who have fled their homes.
Secretary General of the UN Ban Ki-moon recently explained in a statement regarding conditions within South Sudan, “The violence that has ravaged South Sudan over the past 18 months proves that there can never be a military solution to this conflict. I therefore call on all leaders of South Sudan – particularly President Kiir and former Vice-President Riek Machar – to prove their leadership by investing in a political solution and immediately concluding a comprehensive peace agreement. At the same time, the international community must take decisive steps to help end the fighting.”
The UNHCR recently released an international appeal for increased foreign aid designated for the current mission within South Sudan, noting the mounting number of refugees traveling to neighboring countries has depleted financial resources. While the organization estimates that $99 million US is necessary to continue funding this operation, only 9% of this goal has been raised to date.
The report explained that “Current resources remain insufficient to provide vital life- saving assistance and services, particularly in the areas of health, education and livelihoods and environment. Many South Sudanese refugee children, their country’s hope for the future, face key barriers to education including overcrowding in classrooms, a lack of teachers, and a lack of recreational activities to support constructive social engagement.”
– James Miller Thornton
Sources: The Guardian, Shanghai Daily, UN
Photo: UNHCR
Equal Education in Senegal
This distinction has helped to garner the country a deserved reputation for high political stability in an often war-torn continent. However, Senegal also lacks the natural resources of many of its African peers and consequentially ranks as one of the poorest nations on earth. According to UNICEF, 22 percent of its population lives on less than a dollar per day.
For the youth of Senegal and for girls in particular, this has hindered the effectiveness of Senegal’s education system. However, the country has experienced a significant improvement in recent years. In 2009, 92.5 percent of Senegalese children attended primary school. This represents a dramatic improvement from 82 percent in 2005 and only 54 percent in 1994.
Yet, this overall progress belies a residual and significant flaw in education in Senegal; in the long run, girls are far more likely than boys to drop out and to receive less education. At a casual glance, however, it might not seem this way. In 2012, primary school enrollment was actually higher for girls than it was for boys at 74 percent and 72 percent respectively.
While the data for primary school enrollment suggests gender parity, this is not actually the case. As the children progress through their schooling, girls experience noticeably lower rates of attendance. This first becomes apparent upon the transition to secondary school. In contrast to 62 percent of their male peers, 57 percent of girls begin secondary school.
The disparity only widens as their education continues. Secondary school enrollment for boys was 34 percent for boys and 27 percent for girls. Ultimately, one can see the results of gender inequality in Senegal’s adult literacy rate; 62 percent of males and only 39 percent of females were literate. For every 10 literate men in Senegal, only 6 women have attained literacy.
These severe and disparate dropout rates reflect the economic challenges that affect poorer families in Senegal. Children frequently must quit their schooling in order to provide more money for their families by working.
This burden falls harder on girls. Often families will marry off daughters at a young age to lessen their economic burden or they will employ them around the house conducting domestic duties. Many will expect to do domestic work for the rest of their lives. This career choice puts girls and women at greater risk of sexual abuse and financial exploitation.
For families of higher economic standing, education in Senegal is less of an issue and more of an expectation. Girls from wealthier households have twice the attendance rate in primary school.
In the city of Dakar, one of the economic pillars of the Senegalese economy, private schools are becoming even more common. In fact, most schools in Dakar are private rather than public. This has created an even greater educational disparity for those without the money to pay for education.
The wealth and gender inequality in secondary education also carries over to higher education.
UNESCO reported that an increasing amount of private institutions has hindered accessibility for many college students. Additionally, more men were enrolled than women as college students. According to the World Bank, for every 10 male college students, there were only 6 female students.
With the help of foreign aid from USAID and The World Bank, Senegal is attempting to develop and expand its education system. Already, funds from USAID have greatly improved education in the nation.
In total, it has allowed for 500,000 children to enroll in school of which 300,000 were girls. USAID has also helped to expand the educational infrastructure of Senegal through the construction of over 100 middle schools. It has donated more than 3 million textbooks and provided 20,000 schoolchildren with internet access.
The World Bank initiated an ongoing project called “Tertiary Education Governance and Financing for Results Project for Senegal” which is aimed at “[enhancing] the efficiency and quality of the higher education system” in Senegal. While the project is not expected to end until 2016, it has already posted impressive results. It found that 88 percent of academic programs fit quality standards in June 2015 with the target set at 90 percent in September 2016.
To lessen gender inequality, UNESCO and the Senegalese government have teamed up to initiate the “Girls and Women’s Literacy in Senegal” program. It aims to provide 40,000 women and girls with high-quality education and more professional opportunities.
More still needs to be done, and with only 750,000 dollars of funding, this initiative cannot single-handedly solve the issue of inequality in Senegal’s education system. With the help of more foreign aid, Senegal can expect further progress.
– Andrew Logan
Sources: The Guardian, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UNESCO 1, UNICEF, UNESCO 2, USAID, The World Bank
Photo: Open Equal Free
Need to Prevent Malaria in Pregnancy
The presence of the malaria epidemic in the developing world has decreased significantly. However, for specific populations, malaria is still a life-threatening disease. There is a strong demand and need to prevent and treat malaria in pregnancy.
Malaria poses a threat to pregnant women and contributes to both maternal and infant mortality. In addition, malaria during pregnancy can result in maternal anemia and low birth weight of children. Stillbirths, miscarriages and preterm births are associated with malaria in pregnant women.
Given these facts, malaria poses a risk to communities and families, particularly when pregnant women contract the disease.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, malaria in pregnancy is associated with Plasmodium falciparum infection, but can also result from Plasmodium vivax.
Current strategies to address malaria in pregnancy include intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, use of insecticide-treated nets and treatment if malaria is contracted.
Pregnant women in the developing world have had difficulty receiving necessary health care due to inefficiencies within health care systems and lack of awareness about specialized treatment.
Local staff may not have the training or resources to offer pregnant women. In addition, preventive sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and insecticide-treated nets are not widely available. There is a lack of skill and the ability to scale up the resources that are available.
Moving forward, malaria treatment for pregnant women would likely be more successful if policies and programs could work with other maternal and reproductive health programs.
Clara Menéndez, a medical researcher at ISGlobal, and her colleagues emphasize that a multidisciplinary approach will be required to fully address malaria and how it impacts the lives of pregnant women and their families.
– Iliana Lang
Sources: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, The Lancet Global Health The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Photo: 100X Development Foundation
With Food Needs Set to Triple, African Farmers Need Investment
Recent progress in Africa’s agriculture sector faces a number of potential threats according to Dr. Agnes Kalibata, the president of Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). Kalibata, formerly the Rwandan Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, cites global climate change as African agriculture’s biggest threat if it’s not met with increases in further investment.
Thanks to recent financing in the form of development aid, agriculture insurance and foreign direct investment (FDI), many African farmers have developed the means to overcome the formidable climatic and economic conditions that threaten food access for hundreds of millions of people. But Kalibata says that without sustained investment, Africa’s food needs, which are set to triple by 2050, could prove unattainable.
“[Climate change] is eroding the momentum we had gained in terms of getting farmers to use improved seeds and buy fertilizers,” said Kalibata. “If a farmer puts his small savings into seeds and fertilizers and loses the whole crop, that’s the end of his whole career … Farmers are getting less rain, it’s more irregular and it’s beginning to affect their production and undermine the investment they are making.”
In a policy paper presented at the development finance summit in Addis Ababa earlier this month, AGRA estimated that the value of African agricultural output could increase from $280 billion to $800 billion by 2030. In order for the sector that employs around two-thirds of Africa’s population to realize this possibility, potential investment needs to be substantially increased and diversified.
One such opportunity for American investment comes in the form of agriculture insurance, which people and countries are increasingly relying upon to withstand conditions out of their control, such as natural hazards and climate-related disasters. Because agriculture is a high-variable venture, particularly in the harsh environments of sub-Saharan Africa, farmers are often left without the means of recovering lost investments or repaying debts associated with past loans. Insurance coverage enables those farmers to participate in riskier but more lucrative activities, like diversified harvests or mechanization.
Investment in African agriculture comes with economic and moral implications that reach deeper than the immediacy of food insecurity. Access to reliable sources of food is essential for countries in the early stages of economic development and, once established, can empower people and countries to achieve previously unattainable levels of security and self-determination.
“Agriculture is everyone’s business: national independence depends on its development because it enables us to escape the scourge of food insecurity that undermines our sovereignty and fosters sedition,” writes The New Partnership for Africa’s Development CEO Ibrahim Assane Mayaki in the United Nations’ Africa outlook. “[It] is the sector offering the greatest potential for poverty and inequality reduction, as it provides sources of productivity from which the most disadvantaged people working in the sector should benefit.”
The Food for Peace Reform and Electrify Africa Acts introduced earlier this year mark a number of Congressmen’s sustained efforts to make African development a focus of U.S. foreign policy. But in order for Africa to meet its future agricultural needs, investors and donor organizations will need to take further steps to establish infrastructure, mechanization and resistance to climate-related challenges. Those investments in food security could help to deliver increased opportunities for the African and American economies alike.
– Zach VeShancey
Sources: The Guardian, AGRA, United Nations
Photo: Flickr
FoPo Food Powder and World Hunger
1.76 billion tons of food is wasted globally each year. Food waste is caused by buying or preparing more food than necessary, and not cooking or eating food purchases at all.
To solve this problem and to alleviate world hunger, a group of Swedish master students created FoPo Food Powder. The product is created by turning cheap, nearly expired produce into powder form. By freeze-drying the food, pressure is lowered and water is removed, which results in longer-lasting nutrition in powder form.
Team members Kent Ngo, Gerald Marin, Vita Jarolimkova, Lizzie Cabisidan and Ada Balazy hope that their discovery can help end world hunger and minimize food waste.
The team has three objectives: reduce food waste by turning it into an innovative food product that can be used by people all over the world; extend shelf life while preserving all the nutritional properties and taste; give ugly and expiring food a chance.
“We are not into using a new product or new technology, but creating value out of the inefficiency of the food system,” Marian says.
So far, the powder comes in three flavors: banana, raspberry and mango. The powder retains 30-80% of its nutritional value and can be topped on yogurt and ice cream, baked into recipes, and blended into smoothies.
FoPo Food Powder also offers benefits for food producers and retailers. They can donate or sell their unsellable food, buy FoPo and incorporate it into their recipes, and sell FoPo for a source of good nutrition without additives.
Even further, FoPo offers hope for disaster relief, military and space needs, and providing nutrition to impoverished locations.
Since beginning their project in December 2014, the team has discovered that powdered food is becoming more accepted by consumers, and freeze-drying preserves nutritional value better than other techniques.
FoPo won the Ben & Jerry’s Join Our Core crowd-funding and placed runner-up for Thought For Food Summit, a challenge that helps students with projects to make the world a better place. Currently, FoPo is a finalist for MassChallenge, a community that helps early-stage entrepreneurs with their projects.
FoPo also receives support from both the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Philippines. They are currently launching a test run in natural disaster areas of the Philippines. Local farmers near the test sights will also be donating fruits such as pineapples and mangoes to the trial run.
The team continues to raise awareness and money about their product. With funds, they can find a manufacturer, acquire legal advice and perform further safety testing.
The team hopes to sell to grocery stores and online to big manufacturers in the near future. They also hope to create more flavors of FoPo, see more consumers interested in their product, and feed 9 billion people healthy and nutritious food produced from wasted food.
– Kelsey Parrotte
Sources: FoPo Food Powder, Mashable, Mother Jones
Photo: FoPo Food Powder