Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist who in 2012 survived gunshots during a Taliban assassination attempt, met with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to urge him to meet with the parents of recently kidnapped schoolgirls.
Since the age of 11, Malala has advocated for girls’ education, which led to the Taliban issuing a death threat against her. When they tried to assassinate her in 2012 — when she was just 15 years old — they failed.
As a result, Malala dedicated her life to activism, spreading a message on the importance of education and urging political leaders to help young women in need.
Malala therefore felt deeply concerned about the 276 girls abducted from a secondary school by Boko Haram in Chibok, a region of northeast Nigeria. The girls were abducted on April 14, and 219 of them are still missing.
In a recent video, Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, announced that he would only release the girls if the Nigerian government released imprisoned Boko Haram fighters. In the video, Shekau also greeted Al Qaeda and other prominent terrorist leaders across the Middle East, and denounced democracy and all forms of Western education.
He ended the video by firing an AK-47 rifle into the air in a show of violence.
“Nigerians are saying ‘bring back our girls’ and we are telling [President Jonathan] to bring back our arrested warriors, our army,” Shekau said.
Malala spent July 14, a date designated international “Malala Day” by the United Nations, visiting with the Nigerian President, urging him to do everything in his power to free the girls captured by the Boko Haram militant group.
“As we celebrate Malala Day on July 14, I have both hope and heartbreak,” Malala said. “I did not think that, just one year after my U.N. speech, more than 200 girls would be kidnapped in Nigeria by Boko Haram simply for wanting to go to school. These girls are my sisters.”
During Malala’s meeting, President Jonathan agreed to meet with the parents of the abducted schoolgirls. He also promised scholarships to all of them once they were released.
“The president has expressed his solidarity with those girls and his sadness,” Malala said. “He has assured that these girls will come back home safely.”
She went on to say that the president is currently considering the safest option to bring them home.
Malala cited over 66 million girls lacking access to education worldwide. She blames the lack of education on the large numbers of child brides in her home country of Pakistan. She feels that if young women are allowed to go to school and given more opportunities, they will not so readily relinquish their youth and freedom.
“I know education is what separates a girl who is trapped in a cycle of poverty, fear, and violence from one with a chance at a better future,” Malala said.
In recent weeks, Nigerian officials have hinted at progress in planning a rescue mission for the captured girls. But, according to a recent statement released by President Jonathan, the Nigerian government refuses to make any negotiations with Boko Haram.
Some feel this may be a dangerous tactic, since Shekau has openly taken credit for at least two recent bombings of Nigerian cities.
No matter what the Nigerian government plans to do, Malala has hope that everything will work out for the captive girls.
“We raise our voices so that those without a voice can be heard. We pledge not to forget the voiceless. Not to get tired of calling for the creation of a world that we want to live in,” Malala wrote. “Not to lose hope, and not to stop caring.”
– Paige Fraizer
Sources: Biography.com, LA Times, Liberty Voice, The International News, Washington Post
Photo: CCTV
Malala Yousafzai Meets With Nigerian President
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist who in 2012 survived gunshots during a Taliban assassination attempt, met with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to urge him to meet with the parents of recently kidnapped schoolgirls.
Since the age of 11, Malala has advocated for girls’ education, which led to the Taliban issuing a death threat against her. When they tried to assassinate her in 2012 — when she was just 15 years old — they failed.
As a result, Malala dedicated her life to activism, spreading a message on the importance of education and urging political leaders to help young women in need.
Malala therefore felt deeply concerned about the 276 girls abducted from a secondary school by Boko Haram in Chibok, a region of northeast Nigeria. The girls were abducted on April 14, and 219 of them are still missing.
In a recent video, Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, announced that he would only release the girls if the Nigerian government released imprisoned Boko Haram fighters. In the video, Shekau also greeted Al Qaeda and other prominent terrorist leaders across the Middle East, and denounced democracy and all forms of Western education.
He ended the video by firing an AK-47 rifle into the air in a show of violence.
“Nigerians are saying ‘bring back our girls’ and we are telling [President Jonathan] to bring back our arrested warriors, our army,” Shekau said.
Malala spent July 14, a date designated international “Malala Day” by the United Nations, visiting with the Nigerian President, urging him to do everything in his power to free the girls captured by the Boko Haram militant group.
“As we celebrate Malala Day on July 14, I have both hope and heartbreak,” Malala said. “I did not think that, just one year after my U.N. speech, more than 200 girls would be kidnapped in Nigeria by Boko Haram simply for wanting to go to school. These girls are my sisters.”
During Malala’s meeting, President Jonathan agreed to meet with the parents of the abducted schoolgirls. He also promised scholarships to all of them once they were released.
“The president has expressed his solidarity with those girls and his sadness,” Malala said. “He has assured that these girls will come back home safely.”
She went on to say that the president is currently considering the safest option to bring them home.
Malala cited over 66 million girls lacking access to education worldwide. She blames the lack of education on the large numbers of child brides in her home country of Pakistan. She feels that if young women are allowed to go to school and given more opportunities, they will not so readily relinquish their youth and freedom.
“I know education is what separates a girl who is trapped in a cycle of poverty, fear, and violence from one with a chance at a better future,” Malala said.
In recent weeks, Nigerian officials have hinted at progress in planning a rescue mission for the captured girls. But, according to a recent statement released by President Jonathan, the Nigerian government refuses to make any negotiations with Boko Haram.
Some feel this may be a dangerous tactic, since Shekau has openly taken credit for at least two recent bombings of Nigerian cities.
No matter what the Nigerian government plans to do, Malala has hope that everything will work out for the captive girls.
“We raise our voices so that those without a voice can be heard. We pledge not to forget the voiceless. Not to get tired of calling for the creation of a world that we want to live in,” Malala wrote. “Not to lose hope, and not to stop caring.”
– Paige Fraizer
Sources: Biography.com, LA Times, Liberty Voice, The International News, Washington Post
Photo: CCTV
Extreme Poverty in India Remains
A recent report from the United Nations detailed the fight against child mortality, poor sanitation and poverty in India. According to the report, one-third of the 1.2 billion who live in extreme poverty around the world lived in India in 2010.
Around one-third of India’s population is believed to be living below the poverty line. A prediction from the World Bank states that by 2015, 40 percent of the 970 million people believed to be living on less than $1.25 a day will come from Southeast Asia.
However, the report also stated that the extreme poverty rate in Southeast Asia decreased from 45 percent in 1990 to 14 percent in 2010. There are currently more people living in extreme poverty in India than anywhere else in the world at 32.9 percent.
As a result, India also has the largest child mortality rate out of any country around the world. The report said that 1.4 million children died in India before reaching their fifth birthday.
“We don’t have to be proud of what we have done,” said the Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla. “Poverty is the biggest challenge…I am sure when the next report comes, we will have done much better. Sadly, despite paying lip-service to Mahatma Gandhi, we have been unable to fulfill his aspiration, and this is the challenge that our government has inherited and is committed to fulfilling.”
Eight Millennium Development Goals were established in 2000 by the U.N. They advocated for extreme poverty reduction, and called for improvements in maternal care and education – issues which are very prevalent in India.
The report also said that China currently leads the way in terms of global poverty reduction, and reduced their number of citizens living in extreme poverty from 60 percent in 1990 to 12 percent in 2010.
“India’s role in global development is the most important in the world,” said Lise Grande, the U.N. Resident Coordinator for India. “The MDGs can not be reached globally if they are not reached here. The new post 2015 framework cannot succeed if it does not reflect the aspirations and does not have the commitment and support of India.”
Grande said that India’s commitment to reach the needed goals has inspired other countries.
However, there is some good news for Southeast Asia, and India in general. The region experienced the largest increase in literacy among young citizens, increasing from 60 percent in 1990 to 80 percent in 2011. The literacy rate among girls is growing faster than the literacy rate for boys.
The region has also improved public schooling and increased school enrollment, according to the report.
– Monica Newell
Sources: The Economic Times, NDTV, The Hindu Business Line
Photo: The Economic Times
Hunger in Botswana
Botswana is undoubtedly one of Africa’s greatest success stories. After the country gained independence in 1966, it experienced robust economic growth and now boasts consistently high gross domestic product growth rates. Indeed, Botswana’s gross national income per capita for 2013 was $7,730, ranking it above South Africa and well above the average for Africa.
Although Botswana’s economic performance is relatively high, it is not without social problems. According to the World Bank, just under a third of the country’s population lives in extreme poverty, and much of the country’s wealth lies disproportionately with the richest 20 percent of the population.
Part of Botswana’s economic success since independence lies in the government’s pro-poor policy making.
“Each and every Batswana [citizen] has a right to land for residential and agricultural purposes,” said the Southern African Regional Poverty Network. “Within customary tenure areas,which comprise 79 percent of all land and which are controlled through a decentralized system of locally elected Land Boards, land is allocated for free.”
Botswana does not face extreme hunger problems due to its equitable land policies and extensive social safety programs.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, undernourishment, the measure of the shortfall of nutrition in the average adult’s diet, is measured from the number of kilocalories missing from the diets of undernourished people in a given country. In Botswana, the depth of hunger, measured by the average dietary energy deficit of undernourished people, is 240 kilocalories.
In other words, the average undernourished individual in Botswana needs an additional 240 kilocalories to maintain a healthy diet. Although Botswana does not suffer the severest form of undernourishment in the world, it ranks below average.
Moving forward, hunger in Botswana may deepen if not properly addressed, as several problems exist. For starters, rapid urbanization in Botswana means domestic food production is likely to decrease, as rural farmers move to urban areas for employment. Fewer domestic farmers mean the country will need to import more food to meet its nutrition demands, increasing the cost of food (the country already imports 90 percent of its food, a disastrous reality susceptible to global food price fluctuations.)
Furthermore, rising energy prices exacerbate the cost of food production, and infrastructure, including roads and power lines, could certainly be improved.
If current trends continue, Botswana’s hunger issues will worsen based on food prices and agricultural developments. However, like many other countries in Africa, Botswana will need to look inward to creative development solutions to propel its population forward out of food insecurity.
– Joseph McAdams
Sources: Aljazeera, BBC, World Bank 1, World Bank 2, UNDP, SARPN, UN, FAO
Photo: Aljazeera
Chemical Toilet Troubles in Cape Town
Because of the wealth that circulates throughout Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria, South Africa is technically classified as an upper-middle income nation. However, the very cities that contain much of the country’s money are also surrounded by its most extreme examples of poverty.
The townships scattered around the edges of these cities are home to millions of people (the overwhelming majority of whom are “black Africans”) living in overcrowded shelters with little to no sanitation. It’s a recipe for disease, but some are saying that hasty solutions to the problem are not helping – in fact, the chemical toilets installed in townships outside of Cape Town have been explicitly described as human rights violations.
The city of Cape Town has provided chemical toilets – the type of toilet found inside Porta-Potties – to its townships for over a year. An investigation conducted by the Human Rights Commission has found that not only does the city fail to communicate with each township individually to cater to its specific sanitation needs, but it also equips its townships with the bare minimum sanitation services according to a set of “emergency housing guidelines.” The problem? For the people who live in townships, improper sanitation is no one-time emergency. It is their everyday reality.
Accordingly, the Human Rights Commission recommends that the city of Cape Town implement a new approach to sanitation in informal settlements, one that better serves the “rights to equality, dignity, privacy, basic sanitation, and a healthy environment.” To fulfill these expectations, Cape Town must provide its townships with chemical toilets that can service the needs of their entire populations, undergo periodic maintenance, are sufficiently cleaned on a regular basis – measures that are currently not being taken.
If Cape Town follows through with these recommendations and commits to providing proper sanitation, the residents of its townships will experience reduced risk of contracting the diseases and conditions associated with open sewage systems, including diarrhea, parasites and bacterial infection. In a country of nearly 60 million people, successful public health interventions can be difficult. However, Cape Town has its work laid out for it as far as sanitation goes.
Perhaps future sanitation successes in Cape Town’s townships will inspire further steps to improve the quality of life for South Africa’s poor. Townships, which are largely the result of the forced relocation of millions of black and “coloured” people during South Africa’s infamous period of apartheid, typically lack not just sanitation but also food security, safety and educational outlets. Giving people in informal settlements the sanitation measures necessary to prevent disease and protect human dignity is the first step to giving them a hand up and out of poverty.
– Elise L. Riley
Sources: All Africa, UNICEF, World Bank, Telegraph
Photo: International Budget
Urban Farming Spreads in Latin America
Latin America is the most urban region in the world. But from Cuba to Mexico to Argentina, issues of food insecurity and urban poverty persist. Several factors contribute to agricultural instability in Latin America. Climate change is affecting crop yields, and urban sprawl has pushed farmland further from cities, into areas with low soil fertility. Additionally, many Latin American countries are shifting their production energy from agriculture to tourism ventures, which means that food imports are now exceeding exports.
A recent report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations examines the progress made in cities pursuing urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) policies. The study surveys 23 countries and 110 cities throughout Latin America, revealing the enormous benefits that urban farming has for city-dwelling populations.
UPA gives poor households access to nutritious foods, generates jobs and extra income, provides fresh local food to city populations, creates more green space within urban landscapes and stimulates local economic production.
Poverty in modern-day Latin America has as much to do with hunger as with obesity. Non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and some forms of cancer, have become enormous health threats and financial burdens for Latin America. In fact, these “lifestyle” diseases kill more people than infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV and tuberculosis in every region except sub-Saharan Africa.
The root of this troubling phenomenon lies in the scarcity and high cost of nutritious food options, which denies the poorest segments of society access to a healthy lifestyle. In Latin America, urban farming is breaking down these barriers and bringing fresh, local foods into impoverished homes.
UPA’s potential can be seen in Havana’s 97 organoponic gardens, which use new agricultural technologies involving organic substrates in the face of seed, pesticide and fertilizer shortages. Today, 90,000 residents of Havana practice UPA, bringing sustenance to a population long harassed by food crises and rationing.
Cubans began planting food wherever they could find space after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Economic mayhem ensued, and fertilizer and pesticides were nowhere to be found on the island. Out of necessity, Cubans built small urban gardens and, with strong government support, the practice was transformed from a grassroots response to food insecurity into a concrete national priority.
Although many Latin American countries practice urban agriculture, only half of the 23 countries surveyed in the FAO report have national policies explicitly promoting UPA. Graeme Thomas, author of the report, states, “Where the sector has strong governmental support from national to local level… it has a far greater impact in terms of improving urban food security and contributing to people’s livelihoods and local economic development.”
Leaders in Latin America would do well to invest in the development of UPA initiatives. Urban agriculture has notable health, economic and social benefits as it grants impoverished households access to nutritious, local fruits and vegetables, encourages local economic development and places food sovereignty into the hands of the people who most desperately need nourishment.
– Kayla Strickland
Sources: FAO, Christian Science Monitor
Photo: City Farmer News
Women of Baghdad Versus ISIS
ISIS closes in on Baghdad. Streets and homes are emptied of Iraqi men, who enlist to protect their families, their city and their country. They do so out of a new-found national pride, a sense of duty toward the struggling Iraq or simple necessity. But as the front lines are bolstered, “home” is left to the protection of sisters, wives, mothers and daughters.
ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, was formed late last year by Iraqi Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai. Its estimated 7,000 to 10,000 soldiers have a steady cash flow from captured oilfields and territories. Its goal is to create an Islamic caliphate that governs both Iraq and Syria, but its methods are extreme, so much so that even Al Qaeda has renounced any association with the group. Having taken control of towns, oil refineries and even chemical weapons facilities near Aleppo and beyond, ISIS continues to move closer to Baghdad.
Citizens in Baghdad are responding to calls to action made by political and religious officials alike. Tens of thousands of men have volunteered in the anti-ISIS military effort. Men without military experience remain in Baghdad for training, while men with it are sent to the overrun Mosul, Tikrit, the Green Zone and foreign embassies. Military transport vehicles and personnel carriers have become a common sight in the capital city. Everyone is on high alert.
Baghdad is by no means defenseless. The Iraqi military has a force of nearly one million, and many remain. Iraqi officials are aided by foreign advisers, who hope to strengthen the fledgling military’s operations. President Obama awaits reports on the feasibility of drone strikes. Still, the newborn government and its even newer armed forces are being severely tested by some of the best-resourced insurgents in the modern world. That ISIS intends to take Baghdad is certain. But no one is idly waiting to find out if they can.
More than 450 women of Baghdad have volunteered for military training. Most have lost a loved one to the violence of the past few decades, feeling deeply the price of war. They will not be joining their male counterparts on the front lines, but over the course of a five day training period, female relatives of the Badr Brigade are armed with AK-47s and taught both how to shoot and how to defend themselves. Then they are left to return and defend their homes.
These women are between the ages 14 and 60. Ageel Fadhil, 14 years old, trains at the request of her mother. While her parents work, she alone is responsible for the safety of herself and her younger brother. In the event Baghdad]s security fails, her mother hopes she will have a chance.
This hope for safety, security and freedom is echoed by Iraqis across the nation and the city. While hoping for the best, the women of Baghdad are preparing for the worst.
– Olivia Kostreva
Sources: CNN 1, CNN 2, The Washington Times
Photo: Totally Cool Pix
Africa’s Agricultural Potential
The farming industry makes up 30 to 40 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP and 70 percent of the labor force. Africa’s agricultural potential is so great that the continent could become the new bread basket of the world if properly guided. It has all the makings for a green revolution, such as the ones newly developed regions in Brazil and Asia have experienced. One prediction sets agricultural output of Africa at a worth of $880 billion by 2030.
“Agriculture is a proven driver of transformational change,” says Juergen Voegele, Senior Director of the World Bank’s Agriculture Global Practice. Unlocking the potential in the farming industry would have affects far beyond the industry itself. It could be the catalyst for massive social and economic growth.
However, the industry is currently struggling. One reason for the struggle is the lack of enthusiasm in younger generations for farming. The youth no longer want to take over their parents’ farms and, with the average farmer aged 55, the current generation is running out of time.
Sanoussi Diakite is a young man from Senegal whose innovative invention shows that there is more to agriculture than farming. If youth are not motivated to farm as a career, there are other options. Senegal has a high demand for the cereal fonio. Sanoussi noticed the demand, and he also noticed how laborious and time inefficient the process of husking fonio is. So, he solved the problem by inventing a machine to assist the husking process.
Sanoussi’s machine is widely successful, with 20 operating in West Africa. He also has plans to create a factory to produce his machine on a large scale.
Not every young person will be motivated by the same entrepreneurial spirit, but Dr. Katrin Glatzel, Innovation Officer at Agriculture for Impact, suggests actions donors and governments might make to assist the process. She advises financing farm-related business, education in agricultural science, vocational or business management and economic policies to nurture an environment conducive to entrepreneurship.
Other fruitful techniques for overcoming the obstacles of a struggling agricultural industry are seen in eastern Africa. Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are working with the East African Agricultural Productivity Program (EAAPP) to harness the agricultural industry’s powers to contribute to inclusive growth.
A concrete example of what is being done can be seen in Uganda. Cassava is a staple in the diets of people not just in Uganda, but all over eastern Africa. When brown streak disease threatened to deplete the cassava crop to dangerously low levels, the National Crops Resources Research Institute stepped in. They developed a technique that saved the cassava and, consequently, saved farmers and their families from going under.
EAAPP is financed by The World Bank and partners. Makhtar Diop, The World Bank Vice President for the Africa region, speaks of the achievements in the four countries: “These success stories show how science and technology is enabling African farmers to grow more nutritious food and boost inclusive growth.”
– Julianne O’Connor
Sources: Business Fights Poverty, The World Bank, Ventures
Photo: SNV
Search for Teachers in the Philippines
Since 1985, the Metrobank Foundation has carried out an annual search for the best teachers in the Philippines. Every year, the foundation accepts applications from teachers around the country for its Search for Outstanding Teachers (SOT) program. After multiple rounds in an extensive search process, the Metrobank Foundation selects 10 teachers to honor for their contributions to education in the Philippines.
The Metrobank Foundation states that the program is designed to promote a culture of excellence in the field of education in the Philippines. The award is meant to motivate educators to be the best possible teachers. As a result, students receive a higher quality education and many teachers receive credible reviews.
Teachers of all grade levels from public and private schools can apply for the SOT program. The application comes out in January each year. After all applications are received, the Metrobank Foundation narrows the competition down to about 50 teachers. These 50 teachers undergo a thorough interview process so that by July, a selection committee can pick just 10 teachers to celebrate that year.
The award is quite prestigious, and comes with an enticing prize. Aside from winning a medal, a trophy and a plaque for the teachers to display at their schools, winners also receive 500,000 Philippine Pesos, which translates to just over $11,500. This is extremely enticing for teachers in the Philippines, where the average monthly salary for those in the teaching profession is 33,374 Philippine Pesos, or $767.60. Finalists that do not make it to the final 10 receive a smaller, but noteworthy, cash prize as well.
The 2014 search began in January, as it does every year. This year, however, was particularly special for the Metrobank Foundation because it marked the 30th anniversary of the SOT program. To celebrate 30 years of recognizing outstanding teachers, the theme of this year’s search was “Launching Dreams toward Nation Building.”
Any teacher selected for the prestigious honor of a 30th anniversary SOT winner will be not only an outstanding teacher, but also an educator dedicated to empowering Philippine youth for the betterment of the country’s future.
The Metrobank Foundation has created an honor society comprised of all previous SOT winners. The society is called the Network of Outstanding Teachers and Educators Inc., but is often shortened to “NOTED.” NOTED ensures that SOT winners continue proving their commitment to excellence in education after they have received their awards. NOTED fosters collaboration among the top educators in the Philippines to increase creativity and professionalism in their classrooms. Additionally, NOTED provides a group for these knowledgeable educators to discuss national concerns in the field of education.
The Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education in the Philippines aid the Metrobank Foundation every year in the search for 10 well-deserving teachers. In the past, winners have included Mitchel Rodriguez, who single-handedly organized a reading program in her school to improve students’ reading habits; Rodel Sampang, a teacher that makes lessons relatable by comparing them to real-world situations; Emilyn Espiritu, an environmental scientist and educator that helped her students make environmentally conscious decisions based on her own discoveries.
The point of the SOT program is to generate a desire for all teachers to do something meaningful just like the previous winners of the competition. If every teacher in the Philippines strives to achieve the same level of excellence required to be recognized by the Metrobank Foundation, Philippine students can receive quality education.
– Emily Walthouse
Sources: Inquirer, Metrobank Foundation, Phil Star, Salary Explorer, Sunday Punch
Photo: Inquirer
Medical Crisis in Gaza By Hamas
Since the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers last month by the terrorist organization Hamas, tensions between Israel and Gaza have skyrocketed. Israel retaliated this week by launching missiles into Palestinian territory, killing over 120 Palestinians, including many women and children, and injuring over 800.
Residents are warned before the bombings, but local hospitals in Gaza are still overwhelmed and unable to effectively treat the inundation of patients.
Emergency rooms across the territory are crowded and patients have resorted to sleeping on hospital floors. In Al-Shifa hospital, the central medical center in Gaza, all 12 beds in the intensive care unit are in use.
Gaza launched numerous missiles into Israel this week as well.
“Gaza is completely missing about 30 percent of essential drugs,” said Ashraf al-Qedra, Gaza’s Health Ministry spokesman.
The numbers of medicines, gloves, urine catheters and other medical supplies are dwindling.
Fuel shortages have further limited what medical treatment Palestinians have access to. Only half of the ambulances have enough fuel to run, and hospital lights may fail within the next few days as generators give out. This puts patients who rely on incubators, dialysis machines and other lifesaving equipment at especial risk.
As violence continues to devastate the Israel and Palestine region, there is a beacon of hope, a potential for peace; many injured Palestinians have been treated in Israeli hospitals, despite the airstrikes on both sides. If other Palestinians and Israelis overcome the differences of nationality and religion, the death toll may finally slow.
– Adam Kaminski
Sources: Al Jazeera America, CNN, New York Times
Photo: JFJFP
Charity Vs Investment: The Two Faces of Foreign Aid
The type of foreign aid and methods advocated for by congressional leaders vary. Nonetheless, the impulse of doing something in the face of crises is still there. However, it is not all good news. Of the wealthiest countries, the United States still ranks towards the bottom in terms of the percentage of their national budget allocated to foreign assistance.
Recent studies suggest that foreign aid faces significant challenges, especially due to the mainstream view of it as a charitable act. Following this approach to gather funding or support for foreign aid can indeed be counterproductive, and even harmful.
In a comparison study about what motivates large versus small donors, Economists Dean Karlan and Daniel Wood found that usually large donors are motivated to increase their donation when presented with the broader impact of a foreign aid initiative.
On the other hand, small donors did not pay much attention to the evidence of impact, but actually increased their donation when they were presented with individual stories that appealed to their emotions.
Karlan and Wood’s study illustrates an issue that extends to the entirety of the aid system: “the view of aid as pennies in the box.” Focusing attention on the act of giving, rather than the actual results of foreign aid takes away from the big picture.
A shift towards viewing foreign aid as an investment would be highly beneficial, there is enough evidence to suggest that this kind of investment pays off. In recent years, the flow of foreign assistance in the form of development aid and emergency relief have helped over 500 million people lift themselves out of poverty. What is more, foreign aid sponsored programs have brought basic education to millions of children in poor countries, and reduced child mortality by over 20 percent.
The benefits of foreign aid are not only visible in the results achieved abroad, but they usually find their way back to the donor nations. Industrialized countries greatly benefit from increased global stability, both in economic and security terms. Foreign aid should be taken seriously as an investment opportunity that provides dividend, sometimes in the long term, but dividends nevertheless.
– Sahar Abi Hassan
Sources: Telegraph
Photo: Economist