Having the internet makes life easier and possibly even more livable. Search engines put the world at your fingertips and participating in virtual communities like Facebook, Youtube, and Reddit unites billions of people under a common thread.
Yet, 4 billion people have never been online.
Facebook hopes to change that by creating Internet.org, an informational platform delivering free Internet access to the two-thirds of the world without it. This set of simple and data efficient sites will introduce the large majority of the world to the value of the Internet.
In the May 4, 2015 video announcement, Mark Zuckerberg said that Internet.org works for the common fisherman, the man the majority of the world relates to. He, like the “chicken farmer in Zambia,” can research ways to better sells their products. Likewise, an expected mother in a rural village can use Internet.org to find the best ways to raise her children. And, when her kids get older, they too can use the open web to help study for exams. Further, research shows that for every billion people with Internet access, more than one hundred million are lifted out of poverty.
Net neutrality is at the core of this argument. Net neutrality is the principle that all data should be distributed equally. This requires the fair distribution of charges, content, sites, applications, necessary equipment, and modes of communication. Zuckerberg supports net neutrality, but also believes that preventing is not enough. There remains the need to actively support underprivileged, minority, and women and children groups, which require access. “Access equals opportunity. Net neutrality should not prevent access. We need both.”
In its inception, Internet.org had an exclusive partnership between Facebook and certain partners. Now, Facebook maintains that Internet.org is free for anyone to join, free of charge. The business model follows that the more people linking through free Internet.org, the more people will end up purchasing affordable access to the broader Internet. Facebook is even going one step further. Internet.org will let anyone build free basic services.
The bottom-line is to give everyone the opportunity to connect. Internet.org will run free resources like Wikipedia, job listings, local news, HIV education, and maternal health services. As the platform grows, it will offer more and more free services
Already, the Internet.org app is available in India, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya, Colombia, Tanzania, Indonesia, and many other countries. In less than a year, it brought more than 9 million people online.
“As we are having this debate” concludes Zuckerberg, “remember that the people this affects most, the 4 billion unconnected have no voice on the Internet.”
– Lin Sabones
Sources: Facebook, Internet.org, Investopedia
Photo: ITProPortal
What’s Driving People to Terrorist Groups?
Instability, lack of resources and political corruption are driving everyday people into the “security” of terrorist groups. Most people have a specific understanding of a certain classification of terrorists. These are people in the third world or corrupt countries clinging to radical ideas and concepts of violence and revolution. These individuals are often unable to participate politically in their countries and therefore turn to drastic means in order to have their opinions voiced, which eventually leads to violence.
However, many people are unaware of the influx of people in western countries that are continuing to join such organizations. These include affluent European and American men and women, seeking acceptance in radical terrorist organizations around the world.
In recent years, there has been a particular increase in European women joining terrorist organizations that are established in the Middle East, such as ISIS. What could possibly motivate someone from the western world to join such groups?
In the last year, there have been a number of instances in which Americans were found to be supporting ISIS, both financially and otherwise. While this in itself is frightening, the biggest concern here is that of national security, especially in the United States. What is it that draws people into the group?
What people want is a sense of identity and purpose. As is the case with terrorist recruits in developing nations, individuals in the United States and other Western nations join groups like ISIS as a means for significance and a political voice.
Issues of unemployment and economic insecurity contribute to these motives. As people feel the brunt of economic tensions, they blame the government and often feel helpless when it comes to making a difference politically. Thus, joining a radical group, whose name is seen throughout various modes of information and social media, seems to be a surefire way to be heard.
It is the struggle and disparity that draws people to radical means for change. As examples of Americans and Europeans showing interest in terrorist groups such as ISIS have shown, radicalization can happen under any type of government or societal structure, and in any country. To protect national and international security, and to prevent individuals from radicalizing and seeking a voice elsewhere, it seems that people need a voice that is going to be heard in their home country.
– Alexandrea Jacinto
Sources: CNN, BBC
Photo: The Dark Room
Child Malnutrition in Malawi
The economy of Malawi is largely agriculturally based and has resulted in over 90 percent of the national population living under two dollars per day. The sustainability of the Malawian diet has proven highly volatile, as both natural phenomenon and human activities have resulted in a persistent track record of food insecurity
With two major food-scarcity crises occurring in the past decade, researchers have noted that the level of dietary energy supply within Malawi does not meet the level of demand for population dietary energy requirements. Additionally, agricultural practices within this region have contributed to a lack of dietary diversification and insufficiencies in the provisioning of micronutrient food resources.
The statistical rates of children experiencing the effects of malnutrition within Malawi have remained unaltered since 1992. With 46 percent of children under the age of 5 experiencing variations of growth stunts and 21 percent of children underweight, researchers have noted that these adverse defects are most commonly influenced by micronutrient deficiencies.
A recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Health determined that 60 percent of children under the age of 5 and 57 percent of non-pregnant women were experiencing sub-clinical Vitamin A deficiencies. Low levels of Vitamin A are responsible for significantly weakening the immune systems of developing children and contributing to lower life expectancy rates correlated to the contraction of major illnesses.
The leading causes of child malnutrition in Malawi commonly include inadequate access to adequate pediatric care systems, dismal sanitary infrastructure and resources, and increased regional prevalence of infectious diseases, and the malnourishment of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. Efforts to improve micronutrient deficiency rates through food-based strategies have proven widely ineffective and must be redesigned to offer adequate micronutrient resources to at-risk population groupings such as children under 5 and pregnant women.
Despite levels of child malnutrition remaining unacceptably high, the Malawian government has attained notable success in meeting certain child-oriented Millennium Development Goals (MDG). MDG 4 outlines the necessity for developing nations to reduce child mortality rates by two-thirds by the year 2015 and has largely focused on the development of medical and sanitary infrastructures, increasing the prevalence of field vaccination programs and the provisioning of community-based educational programs.
Realizing significant reductions in children under 5 and infant mortality rates during the past two decades, Malawi’s measurable progress in combatting malnutrition indicates the potential for the achievement of MDG 4 in the coming years. Efforts to reduce the frequency of malnutrition within Malawi have included increased sustainable immunization practices, more effective micronutrient supplementation and distribution, increased access to sanitary water resources and efforts to eradicate neonatal tetanus.
Despite the use of such development programs to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition, only 61 percent of the nation’s population exercises consistent access to enhanced sanitation methods. With an estimated 25 percent of government education institutions within Malawi lacking access to sanitary water resources, it is imperative to note the dire circumstances consistently faced by many Malawian children. The nation of Malawi will continue to face significant challenges in fully realizing MDG 4, as a climate of widespread poverty, weak institutional regulation and infrastructure, and limited resources due to human conflict and competition are responsible for adversely effecting these efforts.
With one in eight children dying each year in Malawi from preventable conditions including neonatal defects, malaria and HIV-related diseases, attention to the nutritional status of Malawian children is essential. The strengthening of short-term methodologies such as dietary supplementation coupled with investments in long-term food-based strategies will allow for continued success in reducing national malnutrition rates.
– James Miller Thornton
Sources: FAO, UNICEF
Photo: Flickr
Scientists’ Crucial Role in Poverty Reduction in South Africa
The President of the Academy of Science in South Africa, Daya Reddy, claims that scientists play a key role in global poverty reduction. The problem is that the number of scientists in Africa is significantly less than anywhere else in the world. In other parts of the world, for every 1 million people, there are 1,000 scientists. In Africa, this number is 80. The second problem is what Reddy calls “the brain drain,” where one-third of Africa’s scientists leave the continent to practice their research.
Because of this, Africa’s success in poverty reduction is significantly lower than elsewhere. While worldwide poverty has been reduced by 50 percent, in Africa it has only been reduced by 8 percent.
Scientists hold the key to unlocking great mysteries, which is why Reddy teamed up with the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the South African Research and Innovation Management Association at the Research and Innovation for Global Challenge conference in May to encourage students to pursue their interests in science. In his speech, he highlights the importance of interdisciplinary studies, encouraging a “healthy collaboration”.
Reddy encourages scientists to use their knowledge of research and apply it to the world at large. “Complex problems require broad transdisciplinary approaches for their solution,” said Reddy, explaining later that this is the business of bringing together scientists with the movers and shakers of the world—the decision-makers and policy-creators, the educators and the innovators.
Scientific advancements can help in many ways, from improving the daily lives of individuals to large-scale changes. From medicine to sanitation, to agriculture and transportation, science is a unifying factor with the potential to make big changes in the world.
Great advancements have already been made, thanks to interdisciplinary work. Since the Millennium Development Goals established in 2000, now 90 percent of children globally are going to primary school, more girls are getting an education than ever before, and the odds of a child dying before the age of 5 has been cut in half. Worldwide, poverty has improved since the goals were established.
Reddy spoke at a conference in May to inspire students to pursue science. He encouraged the next generation to collaborate and create an interdisciplinary culture in order to end global poverty.
– Hannah Resnick
Sources: African Business Review, United Nations Development Programme University World News
Photo: Flickr
Expansion of Carbon Pricing Promises to Alleviate Poverty
There are two ways in which these efforts will be working to lighten the burden of poverty across the globe.
The first focuses on the role that a stable climate and healthy ecosystems have in providing a solid footing for economic development. Clean air and water, fire, flood and erosion control, mitigation from tsunamis and prevention of landslides are all services that intact ecosystems provide. These protect human populations and provide the foundation of productive agricultural systems.
Excessive use of carbon is leading to rising sea levels, increased desertification, stronger storms and less predictable weather, which will subvert the progress made on ending poverty and may create large groups of climate refugees, up to 200 million by 2050. In short, robust ecosystems offer goods and services and climate change undermines the provision of these goods and endangers massive economic, social and political costs.
The second way in which the expanding carbon market may reduce poverty depends on the design of the regulation. Currently, the two main strategies that reign supreme are cap and trade schemes and carbon taxes. The first sets a limit, the cap, on the amount of carbon that can be emitted and allows firms to trade permits to pollute. If one firm does not need to pollute, they may sell their permit to a polluter. Over time the cap is lowered and so are the emissions. Carbon taxes simply add a tax to carbon to make it more expensive and less attractive to use, though how the tax is applied and what is to be done with the revenue is flexible.
While both forms work to end poverty through protecting the environment, the cap and trade scheme contains an added component, termed carbon offsetting, which funds emissions-reduction projects in the developing world. Rather than buying permits to pollute, a firm can invest in an emissions-reduction project that otherwise would not have been financially feasible. These projects introduce clean technology and increase the level of investment in the developing world while protecting the environment.
Examples of U.N. certified emissions-reduction projects range from a soil conservation project in Moldova to reforestation of degraded croplands in Paraguay and generating power from rice husks in India. In 2013, total investment from certified projects was estimated to be over $315 billion. As carbon pricing expands, poverty reduction and sustainable development will follow.
– John Wachter
Sources: National Geographic, Oakridge National Laboratory, The Nature Conservancy, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, World Bank
Photo: Eco Talk
Malnutrition in Samoa
Malnutrition has widespread impacts and widespread consequences. As a worldwide problem, malnutrition impacts one in five children. Within Samoa, the problem is a growing health concern, particularly for children.
Malnutrition in Samoa occurs in a variety of forms. In Samoa, the most common form of malnutrition is Protein-Energy Malnutrition or P.E.M. Because P.E.M. is caused by inadequate protein intake, it has its greatest impact on children, due to the low intake of protein in their diet. In 2013, Samoa also saw 72 hospital admissions for acute, severe malnutrition. Two children died of these cases.
As it does in the rest of the world, malnutrition leads to many health problems in Samoa. In 2014, four children died and 19 were hospitalized as a result of diarrhea outbreaks. A ministry of health report connected poor dietary practices, and the use of Devondale milk as a substitute for both adequate baby formula and poor nutritional practices, to pediatric ward visits during the outbreak.
A lack of proper breastfeeding is a major contributing factor to malnutrition. A study in the city of Apia found that 17 percent of bottle-fed infants were malnourished, compared to only five percent of breastfed infants. Perhaps this is why a ministry of health report, in response to the diarrhea outbreak, listed advocating for proper breastfeeding as a “priority area of concern,” and listed giving pregnant mothers food supplements such as folic acid and iron tablets as an “area for vigilance.”
Diarrhea caused by malnutrition is also difficult for health professionals in that diarrhea leads malnourished patients to become further malnourished.
The impact of malnutrition on Samoa, and particularly on the children of Samoa, is shocking. The reality of facing the situation is challenging, as the issue also connects with dietary changes in the region that have occurred over the past few decades, along with urbanization. That being said, supporting education on these issues for all along with supplemental nutrition problems will be highly important in preparing for the challenges of the present, while building a better future.
– Andrew Michaels
Sources: Samoa Observer, Radio New Zealand International, Radio New Zealand International, UN University, Samoa News
Photo:Flickr
Ten Poverty Statistics You Should Know
1. Globally, there are over 1 billion children living in poverty.
2. 1/4 of all humans live without electricity — approximately 1.6 billion people.
3. The World Food Programme says, “The poor are hungry and their hunger traps them in poverty.” Hunger is the number one cause of death in the world, killing more than HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined.
4. Gender discrimination is widely recognized as a major contributor to children living in poverty and creating disparities in how resources are earned, valued and distributed based on power relationships between men and women. These poverty-induced relationships lead to tens of millions of children becoming victims of exploitation, violence and abuse.
5. Global poverty leads to global hunger, as people living in poverty cannot afford nutritious food for themselves and their families. This creates a vicious cycle where a lack of food makes people weaker and less able to earn money, preventing them from escaping poverty and hunger.
6. Poverty is closely linked to the inability to access clean water and proper sanitation. More than 750 million people lack adequate access to clean drinking water.
7. The disadvantages of poverty are closely linked to an increased risk of disease. For example, diarrhea, which is caused by inadequate drinking water, sanitation and hand hygiene, kills an estimated 842,000 people every year globally, or approximately 2,300 people per day. With the increased risk of disease, those under the poverty line have little access to basic medical attention, causing preventable diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia to take the lives of 2-3 million people a year.
8. 80 percent of the world’s population lives on less than $10 a day, well below the standard of the Quality of Life Index.
9. A quarter of all people live without electricity — approximately 1.6 billion people.
10. The cost of eradicating world poverty is estimated at 1 percent of global income, whereas other financial endeavors such as military spending in the U.S. alone can reach over $691.22 billion.
– Alysha Biemolt
Sources: 11 Facts About Global Poverty, Global Issues, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme
Photo: Flickr
Maternal Mortality in the Philippines
Maternal deaths are still a huge concern for the Philippines. By 2006, the maternal mortality rate decreased to a rate of 162 per 100,000 live births and currently, the MMR is 120 deaths per 100,000 live births—still nowhere near the target that the MDGs established.
Various factors are responsible for the high rate of maternal mortality that the Philippines face. According to the IRIN, some of the main causes of maternal deaths are hemorrhages, sepsis, obstructed labor, hypertensive disorders during pregnancy and complications associated with unsafe abortions. Having a physician, nurse or midwife who has had formal training present during the birth can decrease the maternal mortality rate, but currently, these skilled birthing attendants supervise only 60 percent of births in the Philippines. Others rely on traditional birthing attendants who do not have formal training and therefore are often unable to deal with complications.
Poor women and women in rural areas are at a disadvantage. Around 75 percent of the poorest quintile do not have a skilled birth attendant to help them through their pregnancy. Rural areas also have higher maternal mortality rates because many women in rural areas begin having children at a young age. Since adolescent women are normally not developed enough for childbirth, these young mothers face many complications during and after pregnancy and contribute to the high maternal mortality rate.
Another problem that adds to the high maternal mortality rate in the Philippines is the low level of contraceptive use. The Philippines is 80 percent Catholic, so birth control pills, condoms and other forms are contraceptive use are considered to be similar to abortion. This has led to limited access to contraceptives, since contraceptives were previously not widely available at health care clinics.
This limited access to contraceptives has negative effects. In 2006, there were three million pregnancies in the Philippines. Half of those pregnancies were unplanned, and one third of the unplanned pregnancies resulted in abortions. A higher rate of contraceptive use will prevent this from happening and will consequently decrease the maternal mortality rate.
While rates of contraceptive use have not risen much from 2006 to 2014, there is hope that contraceptive use will now increase dramatically due to a birth control law that the Philippine Supreme court approved in April 2014. The law requires the government’s health centers to have free condoms and contraceptive pills. It may be too soon to tell whether that law has a significant effect on maternal mortality. However, the law will hopefully help the Philippines to reach its MDG by the end of 2015. Other ways to help reduce maternal mortality are providing more antenatal care and more widespread access to health facilities.
– Ashrita Rau
Sources: UNDP, IRIN News, Philstar, WHO, Huffington Post, United Nations, BBC
Photo: Flickr
Indonesia’s Fight Against Stunted Growth
Over the past decade, Indonesia’s economy has grown steadily and over 50 percent of the population is now living above the poverty line. However, the wealth gap has further widened. With most of the population living in rural areas and relying on agriculture as a main source of income, it is hard for Indonesians below the poverty line to have access to nutritious food and clean water. This has caused problems such as stunted growth in children.
According to the Millennium Challenge Corporation, “a lack in critical vitamins and minerals during early childhood puts children at higher risk for chronic disease [and] delayed cognitive development” which causes a reduction in academic success and future earnings. Because of the lack of vitamins and minerals, about one-third of all Indonesian children under the age of 5 experience stunted growth—that’s seven million infants and children.
The Indonesia Compact is a five-year, $600 million agreement. The goal is to increase household income in the project areas by increasing productivity, reducing energy costs and increasing provisions of goods and services.
Part of the Compact is the $135 million Community-Based Health and Nutrition to Reduce Stunting Project. This effort is two-sided: raise awareness about feeding practices and supply access to proper nutrition and health care services.
Through this project, the people of Indonesia are being educated on how the lack of essential nutrients, such as vitamin A, iron and zinc, can impact health and affect growth. The government of Indonesia is helping by training local governments on health and sanitation services as well as nutrition, in order to have a highly aware population.
The theory is that a healthier young generation will bring economic growth to the country. The next generation will be healthy and knowledgeable, which leads to a stronger working-class and eventually an improved economy. The Indonesia Compact still has a long way to go before any change can be seen, but Indonesia is headed in the right direction.
– Hannah Resnick
Sources: Millenium Challenge Corporation, Rural Poverty Portal
Photo: Flickr
Facebook: the Humanitarian
Having the internet makes life easier and possibly even more livable. Search engines put the world at your fingertips and participating in virtual communities like Facebook, Youtube, and Reddit unites billions of people under a common thread.
Yet, 4 billion people have never been online.
Facebook hopes to change that by creating Internet.org, an informational platform delivering free Internet access to the two-thirds of the world without it. This set of simple and data efficient sites will introduce the large majority of the world to the value of the Internet.
In the May 4, 2015 video announcement, Mark Zuckerberg said that Internet.org works for the common fisherman, the man the majority of the world relates to. He, like the “chicken farmer in Zambia,” can research ways to better sells their products. Likewise, an expected mother in a rural village can use Internet.org to find the best ways to raise her children. And, when her kids get older, they too can use the open web to help study for exams. Further, research shows that for every billion people with Internet access, more than one hundred million are lifted out of poverty.
Net neutrality is at the core of this argument. Net neutrality is the principle that all data should be distributed equally. This requires the fair distribution of charges, content, sites, applications, necessary equipment, and modes of communication. Zuckerberg supports net neutrality, but also believes that preventing is not enough. There remains the need to actively support underprivileged, minority, and women and children groups, which require access. “Access equals opportunity. Net neutrality should not prevent access. We need both.”
In its inception, Internet.org had an exclusive partnership between Facebook and certain partners. Now, Facebook maintains that Internet.org is free for anyone to join, free of charge. The business model follows that the more people linking through free Internet.org, the more people will end up purchasing affordable access to the broader Internet. Facebook is even going one step further. Internet.org will let anyone build free basic services.
The bottom-line is to give everyone the opportunity to connect. Internet.org will run free resources like Wikipedia, job listings, local news, HIV education, and maternal health services. As the platform grows, it will offer more and more free services
Already, the Internet.org app is available in India, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya, Colombia, Tanzania, Indonesia, and many other countries. In less than a year, it brought more than 9 million people online.
“As we are having this debate” concludes Zuckerberg, “remember that the people this affects most, the 4 billion unconnected have no voice on the Internet.”
– Lin Sabones
Sources: Facebook, Internet.org, Investopedia
Photo: ITProPortal
The Blockchain and Poverty
Satoshi Nakamoto was the pseudonym under which a person or persons released the invention of the Bitcoin, and more importantly, the Blockchain. Bitcoin has proved to be influential and has a fervent user-base that believes it holds the keys to upending the banking and finance world through decentralized cryptocurrency. The power behind Bitcoin, however, lies with the Blockchain. And the power of the Blockchain has the potential to spawn new technologies and help the poor.
The Blockchain technology developed by “Satoshi Nakamoto” has been hailed as a practical solution to the “Byzantine General’s Problem.” It does not completely solve the Byzantine General’s Problem, but it does enough to bypass the issue to the extent that it should pose no issue in reality. The Byzantine General’s Problem proposes the flaw of sharing information between, say, two Generals. If one wants to tell the other to “attack point A,” he or she may send a message, but then he will never be sure if the other General got the message. The Blockchain is important because it solves the problem of “double spending” by providing a practical solution to the Byzantine General’s Problem. This means that there is no risk of a Bitcoin being spent twice, which would be similar to counterfeiting money. The Blockchain does this by creating a public ledger that records every transaction that ever took place with Bitcoin. Essentially, the Blockchain enables trust without the need for identity.
Blockchain technology could be used in wide-ranging applications. For example, NASDAQ recently announced that it will be testing Blockchain technology to record transactions of share trades for privately-held companies. Brian Singer explained in an interview with Forbes that he believes that Bitcoin and the Blockchain can substantially reduce poverty around the globe. Singer argues that the ability to have undeniable, transparent ownership of something that everyone can trust is imperative. Ownership of, say, a Bitcoin is ownership overvalue. This undeniable ownership of value that is recognized in a system no matter what anyone says is what causes Singer to believe that the Blockchain technology behind Bitcoin can have a profound impact on the poor. Bitcoin has already caused disruption in the remittance business; immigrants have been using Bitcoin to send money back home. Bitcoin does not demand costly extra fees like Western Union.
The Blockchain also removes the need for a third party, such as a computer server. One purpose of a bank is to store value safely and efficiently and also manage exchanges of value at high rates using credit card and debit card systems, which are centralized. The Blockchain can safely and effectively protect your value from “double spending” and digital theft – only by mistake of the user can it be stolen – and at the same time avoid the pesky fees and rules that banks impose.
Because of the Blockchain’s ability to essentially create trust without identity in a system, it lends itself to secondary innovations such as being used for other distributed systems that are without a central point, such as one server that contains all necessary information. Although distributed systems are not new, the Blockchain could help facilitate the creation of even more. These systems are in many ways more powerful than a centralized system. They rely on much less digital and physical infrastructure, such as a server run by a third party. These systems can run independently of authority. Distributed systems of all sorts have many advantages that lend themselves to the poor. By curtailing the need for a trusted authority or more infrastructures, it makes it easier for the poor to use and access these technologies from their respective countries and makes them more reliable.
It is possible that new innovations will emerge that are of particular use to the poor, as seen when people use the Blockchain and Bitcoin to bypass traditional remittance markets. The possibilities are endless; new companies are popping up and attempting to leverage this new technology. Like the Internet or other technologies, it can be difficult at first to see where the end of the tunnel leads, and the Blockchain may be no different. With smartphones becoming more and more common even amongst the poor, innovations on the Blockchain may hold hidden solutions.
– Martin Yim
Sources: Brookings, Marketplace, Forbes, The Guardian
Photo: The Cointelegraph