Over the years, Vietnam has made incredible strides against poverty. During the 1990s, the number of people living in poverty in Vietnam was around 60 percent and today that number has dropped to less than 20.7 percent. On July 17, 2014, the nation demonstrated its continued commitment to fighting poverty with the announcement of a joint government and World Bank Group study.
The study will detail policies Vietnam should undertake to continue increasing economic growth. It will also pinpoint the specific obstacles the country needs to overcome in order to ensure sustainable growth, modernization and prosperity for all social classes.
By working with the World Bank Group, the government of Vietnam hopes to increase the country’s economic competitiveness and, in so doing, help its citizens prosper. One way the nation seeks to reduce poverty is by improving the efficiency of the economy in attracting foreign and domestic investments. Increased private sector investments will lead to higher job creation, free flowing capital and innovation, which will be beneficial to everyone.
The study’s aim is to boost Vietnam’s economy to reform policies that widen inequality, and create more opportunities for everyone in the country. Such measures include demanding more transparency from businesses and state-owned enterprises.
Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim plan to have their agencies finish the study within one year. The hope is that, through observations made in the study, Vietnam will be able to guide its economy to reach the marker of a high-income nation within a single generation.
In addition announcing the study, Dung and Kim finalized plans for five new projects which credit Vietnam with over $876 million. The World Bank Group also loaned about $3.8 billion over the next three years to the country through the IDA, a fund used by The World Bank for the world’s poorest nations.
The financing now makes Vietnam the second biggest IDA recipient to date.
The government will use recommendations from the study to apply these funds in a way that increases private sector investment.
The effort comes as a continuation of the World Bank Group’s investment in Vietnam, as IFC, a World Bank Group member that deals only with private sector development, has contributed $5 billion to the nation’s private sector over the past 20 years.
With Vietnam’s growth rate averaging over 6.4 percent per year for over 10 years, it is hoped that renewed investment in the private sector will increase growth and help bring more individuals out of poverty.
The government of Vietnam and the World Bank Group’s efforts aim to lead the country down the path of economic growth and prosperity for all because, despite the nation’s sustained progress over the past 20 years, income inequality has grown. With this new study and loans from the World Bank Group, Vietnam seeks to foster growth that is accessible to all of its citizens and continue reducing the prevalence of poverty throughout the country.
– Kathleen Egan
Sources: World Bank, Thanhnien News, USAID
Photo: World Bank
India Pushes for Stronger Influence in Nepal
India began to push for a stronger influence in Nepal when it urged the country to greatly increase its production of hydroelectric power. This recent development is motivated by the connections China has made in South Asia.
This is not the first time India has wrapped its hands around a smaller neighboring country. According to Nepalese political scientist Professor Rabindra Khanal, India “always prefers to keep countries like Bhutan and Nepal under its security umbrella,” acknowledging the close history shared within the region. India seems to reject the idea of a Nepal-China partnership and is making moves to quickly integrate itself to a more prevalent position in Nepal’s economy .
For the first time in 17 years, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to travel to Nepal after recently visiting Bhutan after questioning the strength of India’s presence in both nations. However, his visit isn’t welcomed by all. Maoists, a Nepalese opposition party, see the threat that India poses to the country. “The draft impinges on the sovereign right of Nepal to allow investors other than India in the development of hydro-power and renewable energy,” said former Nepali water resources minister, Lakshman Ghimire.
The tentative thoughts shown in the members of government stems from the fear of the possibility that India is attempting to trap them in an agreement that hinders the economic growth of Nepal — a reasonable concern due to the abruptness of the visits and offers.
India offers insight into the benefits of the partnership, claiming that “Nepal is estimated to have the potential to generate 40,000 MW of power, but it has installed capacity of just 600 MW and suffers blackouts for up to 18 hours a day.” With the help of India, the country can surpass their neighbor Bhutan in energy production and become a top producer, which would serve as a huge improvement to the national economy.
Bhutan is only more successful because they have already harnessed hydroelectric power and are projected to have 10,000 megawatts of power by 2020. Nepal has the same option, should they seriously consider the interest expressed by India.
The future of Nepal is in their own hands, but if they partner with India, there is real fear that India will go too far. India could become even more involved with Nepal’s economy, taking away the country’s hard-earned independence.
– Elena Lopez
Sources: Reuters, India.com, TelegraphNepal
Photo: Business Insider
Dangerous Roads Create a Bumpy Ride to Development
A recent study by the University of Michigan has found that Africa, Latin America and the Middle East host the world’s most dangerous roads, and that traffic accidents in developing nations claim more victims than in wealthier countries.
Similar conclusions have recently been drawn by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) which specifically examined this year’s mortality rates due to traffic accidents in Latin America. The FIA study reports that Brazil has the worst record, at 20 traffic-related deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
FIA regional representative Leandro Perillo of Argentina observes that “the biggest problem we face [in Latin America] is the lack of enforcement of the rules.”
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) sees dangerous roads as a serious development issue in Latin America, reporting that “at 17 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, this region’s roadway fatality rate is nearly double that of higher income countries.”
Leading reasons for this discrepancy besides lax law enforcement include roadways clogged with bicycles, motorcycles and all around bad driving. Anyone who has traveled throughout Latin America understands that traffic lights, lane markers and warning signs are more like suggestions than rules. Poor infrastructure, including the infamous baches (potholes that many times resemble sinkholes) and lomadas (mountainous, unmarked speed bumps,) can also play a part in driving accidents.
Automobile wrecks take more lives in Latin America each day than does HIV/AIDS, and road incidents kill 100,000 people every year in Latin America and the Caribbean. Additionally, car crashes have become the leading cause of death for individuals between the ages of 15 and 29.
Injuries due to poor roads and bad drivers also have a high social and economic cost. The Inter-American Development Bank estimates that Latin America loses two percent of its GDP to traffic accidents each year.
Speaking on the importance of road safety in Latin America, IDB Transport Division Chief Nestor Roa states that “when it comes to improving road safety, isolated efforts will only get us so far. Curbing our region’s high traffic death rates requires making this issue a priority for our national development agendas and committing everyone to achieve this goal.”
The IDB is becoming more involved in the region’s transportation situation, performing vehicle evaluations and overseeing the design of better roadways. The institution states that successful confrontation of this issue will require “the coordination and collaboration of virtually all sectors of society, from governments to schools, NGOs, motor vehicle manufacturers, drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians.”
Although road safety is not typically seen as a central development concern, addressing this issue will help pave the way to a safer and healthier future for developing nations.
– Kayla Strickland
Sources: Global Post, University of Michigan, Inter-American Development Bank
Photo: GravityBolivia
Five Ways Haiti Has Improved
Haiti has recently been highlighted for making strides in the fight against cholera, with the number of new cases this year down 74 percent. Looking beyond this progress in the Haitian health sector, Haiti is experiencing successes in several other areas. According to a report published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) last month, the country reached many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) ahead of the 2015 deadline.
Based on statistics from this U.N. report, here are five ways Haiti has improved and is climbing the ladder of global development.
1. Education
The rate of primary education among Haiti’s youth has increased from 47 percent in 1993 to almost 90 percent today. There is equal participation in education between boys and girls, giving all children an opportunity to learn.
2. Earthquake Recovery
In 2010, a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake left Haiti in shambles, with 200,000 people killed and billions of dollars in damages. After four years of work, the UNDP reports that 97 percent of debris from the hard-hitting earthquake is gone from the streets of Haiti, 11,000 displaced families are back in their homes and more than 4,000 meters of river bank have been protected against flooding.
3. Clean Water
More households are using safe, clean water. The U.N. reports, “Nearly 65 percent of households now have improved access to water, compared to 36.5 percent in 1995.” The increased availability of hygienic water is key to fighting cholera, acute diarrhea and other waterborne diseases. This progress will continue, especially in rural areas, thanks to the country’s newly launched “Total Sanitation Campaign.”
4. Infant Mortality
The health of Haiti’s youth is improving, with infant mortality ranking lower than the global average, down 44 percent since 1990. Additionally, the number of underweight children under the age of 5 has been cut in half, meeting the MDG three years ahead of schedule.
5. Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
The Haiti MDG report boasts a rise in per capita GDP from $1,548 in 2009 to $1,602 today. Extreme poverty has stabilized at 24 percent since 2012.
Although Haiti is on the path to success according to MDG indicators, there are undoubtedly aspects of the country that still need attention. More children than ever are attending school, but there are still far too many kids dropping out and repeating grades. Clean water access has improved, but in order to eradicate cholera entirely there needs to be more widespread sanitation reform, especially in rural areas.
But without a doubt, the aforementioned successes are extremely commendable. With a sustained push, a Haiti without extreme poverty could be on the horizon.
– Grace Flaherty
Sources: New York Times, UN, World Bank
Photo: UN
UN Provides Refuge in Gaza
The number of displaced persons in Gaza has skyrocketed in the past week, leaving thousands of families without homes, food or protection from the violent conflict. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is utilizing all its available resources to aid Palestinians in dire need of protection and security. For example, U.N. schools provide a much-needed sanctuary for those seeking refuge in Gaza from the rain of missiles and military advances.
According to Christopher Gunness, the spokesman for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, the number of displaced persons has doubled, with the count rising from 22,000 to over 40,000 in merely one day.
Gunness describes the scope of the strife, saying, “This is a watershed moment for UNRWA, now that the number of people seeking refuge with us is more than double the figure we saw in the 2009 Gaza conflict.”
After 10 days of aerial and naval bombardment, the Palestinian Ministry of Health has reported more than 2,260 injuries, and the U.N. Protection Cluster maintains the current death count is at least 312 people, including at least 70 children.
UNRWA is offering asylum in the 44 schools located in Gaza. People staying at these schools receive one meal a day courtesy of UNRWA in conjunction with the World Food Program.
Along with the temporary safety provided by the U.N. schools, the U.N. is working to distribute non-food items to families’ housing relatives who are homeless due to the fighting.
The U.S. recently pledged $47 million in aid to Palestinians affected by the violence. According to the State Department, $15 million of this will be allotted to the UNRWA, and the remainder of it “will be rechanneled to meet immediate needs.”
The U.S. donation will go toward meeting the UNRWA’s $60 million dollar request for international assistance.
Al Jazeera interviewed Robert Turner, the Director of Operations for UNRWA in Gaza, who voiced his concern, saying, “The speed with which this has happened is staggering.”
While the fighting and political tensions rage on in Gaza, the U.N. is focusing its attention on the innocent civilians most in need of assistance: the families and children without a safe place to ride out the storm of missiles.
-Grace Flaherty
Sources: Al Jazeera, UN News Centre
Photo: Aljazeera
Emma Watson: UN Goodwill Ambassador
Emma Watson recently revealed that she has been named the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for Women. The 24-year-old English actress and recent Brown University graduate now joins the ranks of Nicole Kidman, who was named a Goodwill Ambassador in January of 2006. Watson earned her humanitarian stripes advocating for girls’ education in Bangladesh and Zambia. She will now be tasked with promoting gender equality internationally.
U.N. Women was created by the United Nations General Assembly in July 2010 as the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Its creation marked a broad understanding by member countries of the U.N. that gender equality remains a prominent issue of the 21st century. So far, U.N. Women has proved invaluable in terms of advocacy for the marginalized women of the world, helping to organize the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
In an era where globalization seems to have reached its zenith and global scrutiny has extended its reach to all issues, the continued subjugation of women is somewhat an anomaly. U.N. Women seeks to expose and root out this anomaly through advocacy that above all promotes equality. As an organization it is keenly aware of the cultural and socio-economic inroads it stands to make if successful in its mission. Mainly though, it is seeking to shed light on the disproportionate treatment of the sexes while reckoning with the systematic change that must take place to bring balance to society on an international level.
Though Watson might be most well known for her ability to cast spells and navigate the halls of Hogwarts, time-turner and all, her ability to navigate the din of media attention will prove of tremendous value to U.N. Women. Despite the multitude of opinions with which the average listener is constantly inundated, celebrities remain able to convey their message to some of the largest audiences imaginable. Watson’s brand of celebrity is only second to few.
– Taylor Dow
Sources: UN, The Independent, UN Women
Poverty in Vietnam
Over the years, Vietnam has made incredible strides against poverty. During the 1990s, the number of people living in poverty in Vietnam was around 60 percent and today that number has dropped to less than 20.7 percent. On July 17, 2014, the nation demonstrated its continued commitment to fighting poverty with the announcement of a joint government and World Bank Group study.
The study will detail policies Vietnam should undertake to continue increasing economic growth. It will also pinpoint the specific obstacles the country needs to overcome in order to ensure sustainable growth, modernization and prosperity for all social classes.
By working with the World Bank Group, the government of Vietnam hopes to increase the country’s economic competitiveness and, in so doing, help its citizens prosper. One way the nation seeks to reduce poverty is by improving the efficiency of the economy in attracting foreign and domestic investments. Increased private sector investments will lead to higher job creation, free flowing capital and innovation, which will be beneficial to everyone.
The study’s aim is to boost Vietnam’s economy to reform policies that widen inequality, and create more opportunities for everyone in the country. Such measures include demanding more transparency from businesses and state-owned enterprises.
Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim plan to have their agencies finish the study within one year. The hope is that, through observations made in the study, Vietnam will be able to guide its economy to reach the marker of a high-income nation within a single generation.
In addition announcing the study, Dung and Kim finalized plans for five new projects which credit Vietnam with over $876 million. The World Bank Group also loaned about $3.8 billion over the next three years to the country through the IDA, a fund used by The World Bank for the world’s poorest nations.
The financing now makes Vietnam the second biggest IDA recipient to date.
The government will use recommendations from the study to apply these funds in a way that increases private sector investment.
The effort comes as a continuation of the World Bank Group’s investment in Vietnam, as IFC, a World Bank Group member that deals only with private sector development, has contributed $5 billion to the nation’s private sector over the past 20 years.
With Vietnam’s growth rate averaging over 6.4 percent per year for over 10 years, it is hoped that renewed investment in the private sector will increase growth and help bring more individuals out of poverty.
The government of Vietnam and the World Bank Group’s efforts aim to lead the country down the path of economic growth and prosperity for all because, despite the nation’s sustained progress over the past 20 years, income inequality has grown. With this new study and loans from the World Bank Group, Vietnam seeks to foster growth that is accessible to all of its citizens and continue reducing the prevalence of poverty throughout the country.
– Kathleen Egan
Sources: World Bank, Thanhnien News, USAID
Photo: World Bank
Rethinking Humanitarian Aid: Bottom-Up Solutions
What tools and actions are humanitarian organizations overlooking while in developing countries? According to a recent report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs presented at the Humanitarian Innovation Conference at the University of Oxford, aid agencies often do not use the talent and skills of those they are helping to overcome challenges.
The report urges international organizations to give the people who have been affected by conflict a chance to be involved in the process of coming up with ideas and creating products that meet the needs of their community.
The most important way to shift the focus of aid is to change how the international community thinks about administering humanitarian aid to refugees and people affected by conflict. When the mindset that refugees are vulnerable and in need of help is replaced with the fact that they are people with unique skills and ideas who have unfortunately been affected by conflict, then the way aid is approached can be fundamentally changed in a positive and more affordable way.
User-led innovation has already begun in places like Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, where people are using technology in various ways, such as to sharpen tools, make sanitary pads and produce radio shows.
The Oxford conference report is meant to serve as a conversation starter, something to build on as international organizations and countries rethink how they distribute aid as both costs and the amount of people affected by conflict continue to rise. Advocating for more bottom-up solutions from refugee communities, as opposed to top-down ideas from international organizations, can lead to more efficient aid and stable situations for both the refuge and host communities.
– Andrea Blinkhorn
Sources: SciDevNet 1, SciDevNet 2, UN-OCHA
Photo: Global Communities
Health Care and Taxation in Developing Countries
One of the reasons health care in developing nations is ineffective is that governments heavily tax medicines and other health care related products. While the combination of health care and taxation in developing countries is a good revenue generator for the government, it imposes a heavy burden on those who cannot afford to carry it. Those with low incomes and who mostly need these medicines find themselves castigated by high prices that result from government tariffs and taxes.
Developing nations tend to import many, if not all, of the medicines prescribed. In addition, patients usually are the ones paying the full amount for medical services due to the unavailability of health care in their countries. For instance, the average Indian pays for about 70 percent of health care services. After taxes and tariffs, the price of medicines can go up two-thirds, making even generic drugs unaffordable to the lower class.
This story repeats itself in other emerging markets. Countries like Argentina, Russia and Brazil impose tariffs of 10 percent on medicines. Other developing nations like Algeria and Rwanda impose tariffs of 15 percent, and in places like the Republic of Djibouti tariffs can even go up to 26 percent.
In the case of medicine, tariffs are only one part of the problem. Many countries also impose heavy taxes on top of tariffs. For instance, Brazil imposes a 28 percent tax on prescribed medicines, while India levies a variety of taxes that increase the value of medicine by about 8 percent on top of the states’ taxes, which can range from five to 16 percent.
Besides the fact that they place the heaviest economic burden on the poorest sectors of the population — which also tend to have the highest levels of health problems — these tariffs and taxes are economically counterproductive. According to Rod Hunter, senior vice president at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, higher prices on medicines limit people’s use of them. Illnesses go on unabated, in time leading to less productivity and a lower national GDP.
The effects of reducing or eliminating tariffs and taxes on medicines have been dramatic in places like Kenya, Colombia, Colombia, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Tanzania and Uganda. For instance, after the Kenyan government removed tariffs and taxes on anti-malaria medicine, infant mortality and disease rates between 2005 and 2009 declined by almost 44 percent.
The initiative shown by these countries has resonated across the globe. Many African nations in 2011 pledged to lower tariffs and taxes on medicines. However, so far only a handful of nations have followed through.
It is in the best interest of countries like India and China to lower tariffs, especially considering India is the biggest exporter of finished medicines and the China produces 70-80 percent of the active ingredients contained in medicines.
The upcoming 2015 BRICS summit could be a good place to raise this issue again. These large stakeholders and developed nations alike could make it part of the agenda to change the practice of “taxing the sick.” Perhaps they could even form a coalition to press governments worldwide to change these practices and broaden access to health care in many developing nations.
– Sahar Abi Hassan
Sources: Project Syndicate, Voice of America
Photo: Huffington Post
The Effects of Poverty on the Adult Brain
A recent study examined the effects of poverty on the adult brain and how it is influenced by childhood development. Results of the study showed that children from poor families performed more poorly on academic tests later in life. Furthermore, the study found that children who dealt with stress inducing factors, such as poor housing, in addition to poverty performed the worst of all tested subjects.
What does this mean for the future of children that are presently living in extreme poverty? With more than 1 billion children worldwide who lack one or more essential needs critical to survival and development, this can present even more problems in the future.
Most children living in extreme poverty face stress-inducing factors in addition to poverty. According to UNICEF, 101 million children currently do not attend primary school, and 148 million children under the age of 5 are underweight. A total of 270 million children worldwide do not have access to health care, and one out of five do not have access to clean drinking water, according to CARE, a nonprofit aiding in the fight against extreme poverty.
With more than 300 million children worldwide chronically hungry and 90 percent suffering from long-term malnourishment, these stressors can have lasting effects on their intellectual performance, and subsequently their financial stability, as adults.
For every additional year of primary school in developing countries, a girl’s wages are raised by 10 to 20 percent. This shows a direct correlation between education and income.
Children from poorer households are three times more likely to not attend school than those from wealthy homes. The largest population of non-attending school aged children is in sub-Saharan Africa, where 45.5 million children do not attend primary school. Much of this is caused by poverty, as many parents and families cannot afford required school fees and supplies to send their children to school.
Extreme poverty certainly involves several stress inducing factors besides lack of money, and these issues compound the problem of intellectual performance further. According to Professor K. Luan Phan, the author of the study, “the stress-burden of growing up poor may be an underlying mechanism that accounts for the relationship between poverty as a child and how well your brain works as an adult.”
By this same logic, helping these children out of extreme poverty today will lead to more intellectual men and women of tomorrow – men and women who will have the education needed to help other children escape poverty.
– Christopher Kolezynski
Sources: PsyBlog, The Borgen Project, CARE, Compassion
Photo: Flickr
USAID’s Strategies to End Child Marriages
USAID recently renewed its commitment to end child marriages – as well as early and forced marriage – both by allocating U.S. $4.8 million dollars to be spent over the next year on prevention efforts and by announcing a new set of strategies for combating the practice that leaves so many children (mostly girls) devoid of resources, health, and dignity.
With the support of several key U.S. legislators, USAID will implement new prevention programs in seven nations: Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Tanzania, and Yemen. These prevention programs, which have been updated after analyzing the weaknesses of previous prevention programs, are customized to the needs and features of each of the countries USAID is targeting, making their eventual success very probable.
The advent of child marriage is highly correlated not only with increased rates of poverty, but also with increased maternal and infant mortality and increased incidence of HIV/AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases. Ending the practices of forced child marriage, which is “perpetuated by cultural norms, poverty, and lack of access to education,” will re-empower over 10 million girls per year, as well as the families from which they were taken, to make their own choices about their health, education, and futures.
Though child marriage by definition includes all children wed before their 18th birthdays, as many as a third of child marriages occur before the 15th birthday, and some children are married at as young an age as eight years old.
Among USAID’s new strategies for preventing child marriage are improved legislation advocacy measures, increased public awareness of the effects of child marriages and cash incentives to families whose girls have not been married at the age of 18. USAID is setting an influential and inspiring example to other organizations, like The Borgen Project, to continue to promote a change.
USAID’s previous commitment to preventing child marriage was already impressive. Their renewed focus will only serve to keep more children from the bonds of early matrimony.
– Elise L. Riley
Sources: USAID, AllAfrica, The Guardian
Photo: The Guardian