The United States has always prided itself on being a leader in the push for global development, yet, the United States still ranks close to the bottom in aid donations with only point two percent of the federal budget allocated to foreign aid.
Sometimes, passing bills intended to increase this percentage can be hard to swing with voters. From the U.S. perspective, foreign aid can appear to be a one way street.
This is a common misconception. The benefits to increasing the quality of life of the other 95% of the world’s population have numerous economic, altruistic and security benefits. But there is an even more tangible way to measure to returns on our aid pledges: when the United States finds itself in a situation, the world often tries to return the favor.
Here are just five examples of how foreign aid made a difference here at home:
1. Hurricane Katrina Response
When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, both allies and non-allies of the United States pledged over $850 million in aid, and numerous offers of in-kind assistance such as helicopters, medical teams and first aid equipment. Singapore alone, a country that is slotted to receive $240,000 from USAID, send three Chinook helicopters that were used to transport nearly 100 air force personnel to aid with evacuation.
“I’m not expecting much from foreign nations because we hadn’t asked for it,” said President Bush after Katrina devastated New Orleans. Yet the international community responded en masse.
2. Joplin, MI Laptops from the UAE
In 2011, a series of massive tornadoes swept through Joplin, Missouri, which lies on the border between Missouri and Oklahoma. An already struggling town with nearly 62% of children living below the federal poverty line, the tornadoes destroyed Joplin’s public school system, as well as the local hospital.
In 2013, the United Arab Emirates pledged to accelerate the rebuilding process by removing the burden of textbook replacement costs on public schools. Instead, they eliminated the need for books entirely by providing all of the 2,200 students with a MacBook laptop. Additionally, the UAE donated five million dollars to rebuild a neonatal intensive care unite at local Mercy Hospital.
3. Turkey Gives Clean Water to Oregon Reservation
In 2013, Turkey’s agency for Cooperation and Collaboration (TIKA) provided $200,000 in aid to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation Oregon. The funds were used to build a water tower in confederation with a local elementary school. The tower was predicted to meet the reservation’s water needs for the next 10 years.
This was the first foreign aid donation to a private entity in the United States, according to the Washington Post.
4. China Sends Aid During the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire
As early as 1906, the Chinese governments sent “one hundred thousand Taels” to aid in the relief effort for the earthquake and devastating fire in San Francisco. The amount was donated as “a mark of friendship between the two countries.”
The aid was instrumental in the reconstruction San Francisco, and is remembered in a special exhibition displaying telegraph correspondences between the Chinese Empress and the United States in the San Francisco museum.
5. Equipment for BP Oil Spill Containment
After the explosion of the deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20th, 2010, the United States received 13 unrequested offers of assistance from over 17 countries.
According to the Washington Post, “the Administration accepted Mexico’s offer of two skimmers and 13,779 feet of boom; a Dutch offer of three sets of Koseq sweeping arms, which attach to the sides of ships and gather oil; and eight skimming systems offered by Norway.”
This equipment helped to speed up the slow process of oil containment and cleanup, preventing further damage to the gulf ecosystem.
– Emma Betuel
Sources: The Heritage Foundation, The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco, The Washington Post
Photo: The Washington Post
10 Beauty Products That Donate to Charity
Fundraising activities, partnering with nonprofit organizations for projects or giving donations through sales of their products are some examples that these companies use to support and advocate for good causes.
Brands like The Body Shop, Kiehl’s, LUSH, Philosophy, Mama Sopa, Balanced Guru, UNE Natural Beauty, Murad, MAC Cosmetics, GIVESCENT and Ten Thousand Villages use some, if not many, of their products to collect donations through their purchases.
Each brand supports different humanitarian causes such as AIDS reduction, poverty, hunger, water conservation and animal and environment protection, among other things.
Here are 10 beauty products that contribute to charity when purchased:
According to an article published by The Dieline, every Mama Sopa product sold gives hygienic trainings by The Dutch Simavi Foundation to vulnerable mothers in East India.
– Diana Fernanda Leon
Sources: Philosophy, The Body Shop Foundation, Ten Thousand Villages, LUSH 1, LUSH 2, Mac Cosmetics, Give Scent, UNE Make up, Murad, The Dieline
Photo: The Dieline
The Silver Standard for Eradicating Malaria
Malaria has long been established as a poverty-related disease. Poverty is both a cause and effect of this potentially lethal disease: poorer people can often not afford preventive measures, and the contraction of disease leads to further economic loss. Consequentially, a substantial investment of time and resources into finding a solution is necessary to interrupt this vicious cycle.
The most successful method to combat the problem has been vector control- that is, to eradicate the mosquito transfer agent. Traditionally, the efforts have been to implement better preventative measures, primarily through insecticides, which are both expensive as well as environmentally harmful.
A more modern approach to the problem is to employ biotechnology to eliminate the mosquito vector more economically and effectively. This encompasses targeting the mosquito at a subcellular level by using a cytotoxic agent- that is a chemical that disrupts the mosquito’s cellular machinery.
Of these methods, the use of silver nanoparticles is becoming increasingly popular as nanotechnology advances. Silver nanoparticles are miniscule, nanoscale pieces of silver, which is highly toxic at cellular levels. This toxicity is being explored in its usages as antimicrobial and pesticidal agent.
Silver nanoparticles are traditionally synthesized using laboratory-grade reagents, which tend to be expensive and not readily available. Many researchers are now looking to phytosynthesis as an answer. The process of phyto-synthesis manipulates the ability of plants to carry out reactions to use in chemical synthesis. For instance, the phytosynthesis reaction of plants can be alternatively used to reduce silver ions to silver atoms.
Recent endeavors to utilize the phytosynthesis capabilities of plants have centered on the use of plant waste products to maximize productivity and minimize cost. In a recent study, researchers used the husk of coconut plant- abundant in the tropical regions plagued by malaria. They used the husk of coconut, which is a waste product from the fruit, to synthesize silver nanoparticles from silver nitrate. The synthesis eliminated the use of a synthetic reagent, and achieved successful results.
The nanoparticles produced were then used by the researchers to treat larval Culex quinquefasciatus, a species of mosquitos found in sub-tropical regions which is similar to the malaria mosquito in its transmission mechanism. The nanoparticles were observed to have significant larvicidal effect on the mosquito.
The study indicates the great potential of phytosynthetic methods to produce cheap and effective insecticides. By using plants indigenous to the tropical areas where malaria is most prevalent, the insecticidal measures of prevention can be made more accessible to the people. The use of waste products of coconut in the process is considerably cost-effective and eco-friendly.
Although the implementation of these innovative techniques may be some way in the future, ingenuity in research offers promising new horizons for a better, healthier world. To borrow Einstein’s words, it is time our technology caught up with our humanity.
– Atifah Safi
Sources: WHO 1, WHO 2, Science Direct
Photo: Flickr
How Ethiopia Reduced Poverty
Ethiopia’s economy has been thriving in the recent past. Between 2004 and 2011, the economy grew at a rate of 10.6 percent per year. Ethiopia increased exports in order to help it account for this economic growth, and that has led to more prosperity throughout the country.
This decrease in poverty can also be attributed to strides in agriculture. In 2005, Ethiopia introduced new agricultural practices which resulted in increased production. As The World Bank states, this agricultural growth has allowed for a 4 percent reduction in poverty each year. The use of fertilizer, along with high food prices and good weather, has given poor farmers with access to markets a higher income.
Ethiopia also instituted the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP). The World Food Program writes that there are 7.4 million people participating in the PSNP. The program works to end chronic food insecurity through transfers of food or cash (or a combination of both).The PNSP asks that those who are able-bodied in the households who receive their help participate in activities which will help them have more resilient livelihoods and less chance of food insecurity. These activities include building community infrastructure, such as building schools, roads, and hospitals, and rehabilitating land and water resources. The PSNP has helped 1.5 million people who were in poverty to be lifted out of poverty.
Economic growth, an increase in agricultural production, and programs such as the Productive Safety Net Program have paid off. From 2000 to 2011, poverty in Ethiopia declined from 44 percent to 30 percent. As the World Bank says, this “translates to a 33 percent reduction in the share of people living in poverty”.
This decrease in poverty has helped the health of Ethiopians as well. From 2010 to 2015, the level of child mortality has been lowered by two-thirds. The average lifespan has also increased by about an year annually from 2005 to 2011, making an Ethiopian’s lifespan 63. Malnutrition rates have come down as well. 75 percent of the population was malnourished in Ethiopia in 1990, while today it has fallen to 35 percent.
Since 2004, four million Ethiopians have been able to rise above the poverty line. However, there is still work to be done. 25 million people in Ethiopia are still suffering from poverty. The World Bank suggests that in order for the trend of a decrease in poverty to remain, ongoing efforts to promote self-employment have to continue. Firms have to enter Ethiopia, and urban migration has to be encouraged.
– Ashrita Rau
Sources: The WFP, World Bank 1, World Bank 2, The Sudan Tribune, Voice of America, BBC
Photo: Needpix.com
E-Voucher Program in Zambia to Bolster Agriculture
The e-voucher program, just recently approved by the Zambian government, will cover seeds, fertilizers and herbicides, offering subsidized agricultural products to small-scale farmers. Access to farming products and services, it is hoped, will also become more speedy and efficient through use of the new system.
The Zambian government and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) jointly facilitate the e-voucher project. The system will also benefit from US $6.5 million and US $9.7 million in funding from the Norwegian government and European Union respectively.
Functioning on a mobile phone network, the e-voucher initiative is an update on previous paper voucher systems. The digital nature of the e-voucher platform makes the process more secure and expedites trade through automatic payments to suppliers upon successful e-voucher redemption, keeping with the rising trend of mobile phone banking throughout Africa.
Many have high hopes for the e-voucher program, believing that it will empower farmers, whose crops make up 12 percent of Zambia’s exports.
“It gives farmers a choice in where they want to spend their money,” stated Zambia’s FAO representative, Noureddin Mona. “A farmer can use their voucher at any participating agro-dealer.”
Roger Phiri, president of the National Association for Peasant and Small-Scale Farmers, also holds this belief, stating that the use of e-vouchers will serve to prevent monopolies by agro-distributors.
It is important to note, however, that the e-voucher system will only empower farmers so far as their suppliers are in the system as well. In order for farmers to buy from a diverse range of suppliers, said range of agro-dealers must be e-voucher network members.
“The e-voucher system will only be appropriate if the voucher pack provides for diversity of inputs and services for a farmer to choose from,” said Agnes Yawe of Participatory Ecological Land Use Management. Yawe added that, while strong urban networks of major agro-dealers exist, rural networks remain subpar.
After initial tests in twelve districts yielded promising results, Zambia recently decided to expand its e-voucher system through a 28-district follow up test. The program also builds on successes of similar e-voucher initiatives in Rwanda, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
The partners hope to attract participants by offering farmers who register pre-paid e-vouchers worth US$53. Ideally, the e-voucher system will not only expedite agricultural deals, but also empower small-scale farmers.
– Emma-Claire LaSaine
Sources: Sci Dev Net, IT Web Africa, World Trade Organization
Photo: PxHere
Safeway Becomes First US Supermarket to Offer Fair Trade Fish
Earlier this year, Safeway, in a partnership with the nonprofit organization Fair Trade USA, became the first U.S. supermarket to offer Fair Trade seafood. The initiative is part of a program aimed at expanding the social and environmental considerations of the Fair Trade movement into the world seafood market, which currently employs over 120 million people across the world.
The supermarket chain began its Fair Trade seafood program in March with the distribution of wild-capture tuna from small-scale fishing operations in Indonesia. Those products are being supplied by four Fair Trade associations representing 120 fishermen in Indonesia’s Maluku province.
In order for seafood to become Fair Trade certified, suppliers must source and trade in compliance with standards established by Fair Trade USA’s Capture Fisheries Program. Those criteria include standards for empowerment and community development, which prioritize the well-being of communities in trade activities; fundamental human rights, which protect workers from forced labor and ensure their right to organize; and wages, working conditions and access to services, which aim to improve wages and benefits as well as working hours.
The Capture Fisheries Program is especially significant given an Associated Press investigation conducted in March, which found that hundreds of men in the Indonesian island village of Benjina were being forced to catch seafood against their will. Most of those interviewed were found to have been Burmese immigrants who were taken to Indonesia and forced to fish. A number of workers were deemed by employers to be “flight risks,” and were consequently forced into cages to prevent their running away.
“All I did was tell my captain I couldn’t take it anymore, that I wanted to go home,” said Kyaw Naing to an Associated Press (AP) video camera snuck into the work site by a fellow worker. “The next time we docked, I was locked up.”
These labor conditions are not limited to the Indonesian market. Although the waters encompassing the Maluku province are Indonesian territory, it sees a large amount of illegal fishing activity, including from Thailand, one of the United States’ foremost seafood providers. While the United States purchases 20% of the country’s $7 billion in seafood exports, the State Department blacklisted Thailand for failing to address human trafficking and labor abuses.
The Indonesian supply-chain is such that tainted and ethically caught fish are generally processed side-by-side. AP found that the two products were mixed and very well could end up being sold in American supermarkets including Walmart, Safeway and Albertsons.
Though American and Indonesian officials have decried the labor conditions that define much of the region’s seafood industry, the most immediately effective method of combating this race to the bottom is to popularize Fair Trade initiatives like the Capture Fisheries Program. However, until supermarkets prioritize Fair Trade products and eliminate ethically tainted ones from the market, these human rights abuses will continue to have moral implications for both suppliers and consumers.
– Zach VeShancey
Sources: SFChronicle, Fair Trade USA, New York Times, Food Tank
Photo: Fair Trade USA
France Could Make it Illegal to Discriminate Against the Poor
Legislation has been proposed in France that would make it illegal to discriminate or “insult the poor” by refusing to offer those living in poverty housing, employment and healthcare.
The legislation proposes that those who discriminate against the poor, or those experiencing “vulnerability resulting from an apparent or known economic situation” could face up to three years in prison along with a fine of €45,000, or roughly $50,000.
With laws already in place across the globe not allowing people to discriminate against race, sex, and disability, this legislation could be another step in the fight for global equality. According to a report published in the Times, 32 percent of dentists, 33 percent of opticians and nine percent of GPs in Paris refused to treat clients without medical insurance.
Europe’s attitude toward its poor has been diminishing over the years, with authorities in Britain monitoring alcohol and cigarette purchases before offering emergency housing payments and landlords refusing apartments for those receiving benefits.
The Times has reported that the legislation has been approved by the French parliament’s upper house and is forecasted to also be passed by the lower house.
“People think that because we are poor, we must be stupid,” Oréane Chapelle, 31, an unemployed French woman, told the Guardian.
This legislation could potentially help curb prevailing negative attitudes toward Europe’s poor, and the threat of jail time and massive fines could offer plenty of new opportunities for those desperately searching for any available.
– Alexander Jones
Sources: The Guardian 1, The Guardian 2, The Times
Photo: The Times
5 Times Foreign Aid Helped the United States
The United States has always prided itself on being a leader in the push for global development, yet, the United States still ranks close to the bottom in aid donations with only point two percent of the federal budget allocated to foreign aid.
Sometimes, passing bills intended to increase this percentage can be hard to swing with voters. From the U.S. perspective, foreign aid can appear to be a one way street.
This is a common misconception. The benefits to increasing the quality of life of the other 95% of the world’s population have numerous economic, altruistic and security benefits. But there is an even more tangible way to measure to returns on our aid pledges: when the United States finds itself in a situation, the world often tries to return the favor.
Here are just five examples of how foreign aid made a difference here at home:
1. Hurricane Katrina Response
When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, both allies and non-allies of the United States pledged over $850 million in aid, and numerous offers of in-kind assistance such as helicopters, medical teams and first aid equipment. Singapore alone, a country that is slotted to receive $240,000 from USAID, send three Chinook helicopters that were used to transport nearly 100 air force personnel to aid with evacuation.
“I’m not expecting much from foreign nations because we hadn’t asked for it,” said President Bush after Katrina devastated New Orleans. Yet the international community responded en masse.
2. Joplin, MI Laptops from the UAE
In 2011, a series of massive tornadoes swept through Joplin, Missouri, which lies on the border between Missouri and Oklahoma. An already struggling town with nearly 62% of children living below the federal poverty line, the tornadoes destroyed Joplin’s public school system, as well as the local hospital.
In 2013, the United Arab Emirates pledged to accelerate the rebuilding process by removing the burden of textbook replacement costs on public schools. Instead, they eliminated the need for books entirely by providing all of the 2,200 students with a MacBook laptop. Additionally, the UAE donated five million dollars to rebuild a neonatal intensive care unite at local Mercy Hospital.
3. Turkey Gives Clean Water to Oregon Reservation
In 2013, Turkey’s agency for Cooperation and Collaboration (TIKA) provided $200,000 in aid to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation Oregon. The funds were used to build a water tower in confederation with a local elementary school. The tower was predicted to meet the reservation’s water needs for the next 10 years.
This was the first foreign aid donation to a private entity in the United States, according to the Washington Post.
4. China Sends Aid During the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire
As early as 1906, the Chinese governments sent “one hundred thousand Taels” to aid in the relief effort for the earthquake and devastating fire in San Francisco. The amount was donated as “a mark of friendship between the two countries.”
The aid was instrumental in the reconstruction San Francisco, and is remembered in a special exhibition displaying telegraph correspondences between the Chinese Empress and the United States in the San Francisco museum.
5. Equipment for BP Oil Spill Containment
After the explosion of the deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20th, 2010, the United States received 13 unrequested offers of assistance from over 17 countries.
According to the Washington Post, “the Administration accepted Mexico’s offer of two skimmers and 13,779 feet of boom; a Dutch offer of three sets of Koseq sweeping arms, which attach to the sides of ships and gather oil; and eight skimming systems offered by Norway.”
This equipment helped to speed up the slow process of oil containment and cleanup, preventing further damage to the gulf ecosystem.
– Emma Betuel
Sources: The Heritage Foundation, The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco, The Washington Post
Photo: The Washington Post
Ho Chi Minh City Creates Innovative Development Projects
Outside of the United States, Ho Chi Minh City is one of the largest urban cities in the world. For the last 10 to 15 years, the city has been growing rapidly. The gross domestic product is now USD $3000. Thanks to the vast development of its infrastructure and improved access to community devices, the city’s resiliency is slowly bringing civilians out of poverty.
Urban poverty had been on the rise since the start of the 21st century. The city has dealt with flooding and lack of sanitation, leading to serious problems for many residents. In some cases, alleyways had no drainage. They flooded, accumulated garbage and gave mosquitoes a place to thrive.
Back in 2010, 54 percent of residents in Ho Chi Minh City did not have access to social security systems or educational, health-related and social services. Basic needs such as tap water and the instillation of drainage systems were not available; neither was proper housing.
A 2012 report showed improvement. With a population of 9 million, Ho Chi Minh City’s GDP of USD $3000 is one fifth of Vietnam’s total GDP. Its market has expanded and so has its resiliency. Though the center’s population growth is stable, urban and suburban areas are expected to increase steadily.
There has been economic growth. However, inequality and access to services have kept people in poverty; income had little to nothing to do with their status. Those who were unregistered had it worse. Struggles with population compression was congesting traffic and minimizing expansion efforts.
In 2014, Nguyen Xe of the Steering Committee for Poverty Reduction designed a plan to use data collected from multidimensional poverty (MDP) research to alleviate the problem. Because urban poverty is caused by the incompatibility of public services, the MDP report gathered from 2013 helped the city focus its development on certain targets.
A program known as The Vietnam Urban Upgrading Project has been implementing changes in Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho. It has benefited 7.5 million people total in Vietnam. This project also handed out 95,000 loans to the bottom 40 percent in poverty. Nearly 100 percent of these loans are paid back.
Supported by the World Bank, this project has helped 200 low-income regions and changed the lives of 2.5 million people in the city. It paved wider and cleaner streets; now, vehicles like ambulances and firetrucks can pass through quickly. According to statistics, 360 miles of roads have been upgraded.
Canals, lakes, sewers and bridges were reconstructed and have managed to benefit five million residents. Canals up to 18 miles long have been redone. Seventeen acres of lakes are now in contact with drainage. Three hundred and ten miles of these drain systems have been improved.
This has taken away the possibility of flooding hazards, increased environmental safety and made it more secure for children to run and play. Kindergartens, schools, health clinics and community centers have been improved in poor regions with the project’s help.
The World Bank is actively involved in financing changes for the city, having sent $382 million to improve the economy. An amount of $140 million was provided by the Vietnamese government to help change the lives of many.
Keiko Sato, the World Bank County Director from Vietnam, hopes to alleviate poverty by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. The World Bank is committed to improving the infrastructure of Ho Chi Minh City; it provided the city with $124 million in May 2015.
The goal is to upgrade public transportation and turn it into a sustainable system. The places affected by the change include the Bus Rapid Transit between An Lac and Rach Chiec. This will benefit 14 miles of urban transportation and 28 stations. At least 28,300 people will be given improved transportation in metro, rail and bus lines.
Busses will be running on natural gas that is cleaner than what is currently being used, and pollution is expected to decrease as a result. Additions will also help those who are disabled and women with strollers to access the system. This new foundation will let Ho Chi Minh City develop institutions that manage public transportation more efficiently.
The city has a long way to go. Increasing infrastructure is one way to benefit the economy and reach out to all livelihoods. Many are still out of touch and pollution is a problem. But with these development projects and funding from communities, governments and the World Bank, Ho Chi Minh City and the rest of Vietnam are on their way to solving some of their toughest problems with poverty.
– Katie Groe
Sources: World Bank 1, World Bank 2, New Geography, UNDP 1, UNDP 2
Photo: New Geography
10 Inspiring Celebrity Quotes About Charity
Many celebrities have participated in charities for all sorts of causes. Here are ten celebrity quotes that will inspire you to give back, too.
“The truth of the matter is: you can create a great legacy, and inspire others, by giving to philanthropic organizations.”
– Michael Bloomberg, entrepreneur, politician and philanthropist
“I choose to rise up out of that storm and see that in moments of desperation, fear and helplessness, each of us can be a rainbow of hope, doing what we can to extend ourselves in kindness and grace to one another. And I know for sure that there is no them – there’s only us.”
– Oprah Winfrey, talk show host, actress and founder of Oprah’s Angel Network
“If you think of life as like a big pie, you can try to hold the whole pie and kill yourself trying to keep it, or you can slice it up and give some to the people around you, and you still have plenty left for yourself.”
– Jay Leno, television host and humanitarian
“No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.”
– Taylor Swift, professional singer and the 2014 Most Charitable Celebrity
“With a generation of younger folks who have thrived on the success of their companies, there is a big opportunity for many of us to give back earlier in our lifetime and see the impact of our philanthropic efforts.”
– Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, investor and patron
“One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.”
– Malala Yousafzai, women’s rights activist and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
“Is the rich world aware of how four billion of the six billion live? If we were aware, we would want to help out, we’d want to get involved.”
– Bill Gates, business magnate, computer programmer and co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
“It’s about giving the gift of life to a stranger.”
– Leighton Meester, actress, professional singer and philanthropist
“If you’re in the luckiest one percent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 percent.”
– Warren Buffet, investor, businessman and member of The Giving Pledge
“We’re all in this together. Each and every one of us can make a difference by giving back.”
– Beyoncé, professional singer, musician and founder of BeyGood
– Fallon Lineberger
Sources: Cause Cast, Daily Mail, Ecorazzi, Giving What We Can, Inspire More, Michael Bloomberg, National Philanthropic Trust, Oprah.com, The Giving Pledge, The Quotations Page, Twitter
Photo: Flickr
International Education Through the HCED Benefits Iraq
Higher education in Iraq has suffered greatly over the past two decades.
Iraq once had a secular, inclusive education system that was both open to women and globally connected. But the university system has effectively collapsed since the international sanctions regime of the 1990s and the US invasion of 2003. The war has left universities stripped of important resources, and the De-Baathification process removed many influential leaders from academia. Countless cultural artifacts and documents have been stolen from universities and often destroyed, and professors have been killed or abducted. Female students have been targeted by extremist groups, keeping them from accessing education. It is estimated that Iraq would need between 1.2 to two billion dollars to restore their higher education system.
To help Iraqi students continue their education in the face of conflict and remain competitive with the rest of the world, Prime Minister Noori Al Malki launched the Initiative in Iraq. The goal of this program was to send 10,000 Iraqi students to foreign universities over five years. To accomplish this, former secretary general of Iraq’s council of ministers Zuhair Humadi formed the Higher Committee for Education Development in Iraq. Since 2009, the program has sent 4,000 students abroad to study for their master’s and doctorates in the US, UK, and Australia. Funding has been secured for thousands more.
So far, the students admitted to the program have excelled. Forty-two were recognized for publishing work in UK science journals, and many have been offered tenure after completing their degrees. Furthermore, Iraq has not experienced a “brain drain” because of the HCED: only 10 of the 300 graduates did not return to Iraq upon graduation.
Some are concerned that the funding for HCED should be redistributed to other areas in which Iraq is struggling, such as the healthcare system. But, education is the key to progress and hope for future generations, and Humadi believes the program’s funding is entirely justified. Other flaws in the program include the fact that women only account for 25 percent of scholars, and students from rural areas are largely underrepresented. HCED can work on expanding their outreach so that young adults from marginalized groups have access to the same opportunities.
Currently, about $200 million in scholarships is available for Iraqi students studying abroad through various programs, from the Fulbright Scholar Program to Holland’s Middle East and North Africa Scholarship Program. With a strong effort towards reviving Iraq’s university system, Iraqi students can continue to better themselves and their country by accessing higher education.
– Jane Harkness
Sources: Brown University, The Guardian, HCED, ICEF Monitor
Photo: UNCG