The rural highlands are remarkably colorful in agriculturally rich Guatemala, providing a stunning view from afar. The visible beauty of pastoral Guatemala is undeniable, but a closer look into the Mayan communities that reside in the mountainous countryside reveals the equally undeniable issue of poverty, and the visible malnourishment of its inhabitants.
Despite the abundance of surrounding vegetation, up to 80 percent of children residing in the countryside are extremely undernourished and around half of all children in Guatemala fall into this category. Many of the families effected are farmers, but find it more beneficial to sell their harvest than eat it themselves. In this agricultural paradox, the vegetables grown in rural Guatemala hardly reach the plates of the natives. Instead, they are exported to the United States, Europe and other parts of Central America for a higher sale price that still manages to provide meager wages for the produce growers. For instance, the farmers in the farming village of Pammus live on only $3.42 per day.
Lack of funds makes it difficult for villagers to provide their family with nutrient-rich foods. “The fundamental diet here is basically corn and coffee. Maybe once, twice or three times a week beans,” said Arnulfo Alvarez, a local doctor in Pammus. “There is a shortage of proteins and vitamins and a shortage of some minerals that are fundamental in the development of a child’s growth, especially in the first five years of its life.”
Many children in Guatemala will benefit from adopting a rich, diverse diet, but will not be able to undo the lifelong effects of malnourishment from an early age. New developments focus on children 1,000 days old or younger, which is a make-or-break period in childhood development. The repercussions of malnourishment in Guatemalan children have been shown to include lower IQ scores, and increased likelihood for heart disease, diabetes, kidney damage and anemia into adulthood.
The most notable symptom of prolonged malnourishment in rural Guatemala is the significantly shorter average height of the Mayans. What has been chalked up to genetics until recently is now understood, at least partially, as the result of insufficient nutrients consumed during early stages of childhood development. Stunting is a clear indicator of malnutrition in Guatemala, indicated by the fact that Mayans over the border in Mexico are taller than their southern cousins.
The problem is also saturated by a lack of education; two years ago, most rural parents did not even understand the concept of malnutrition. New educational programs enlist mothers of small children in classes that teach about food health and track the health of infant children.
Guatemala ranks the highest gross domestic product in all of Central America, but lands in sixth place among chronic malnourishment rates worldwide. While Guatemala is rich enough to tackle the issue on its own, less fortunate Latin American countries such as Bolivia, Peru and Brazil have successfully reduced child malnutrition rates with fewer resources. The government and aid donors are currently sending supplies to around 300,000 people in Guatemala but an additional 400,000 people require assistance as well.
The government has taken creative steps to humanize the issue and gain a better understanding of the lifestyles of those most in need. Efforts include community outreach and visits to rural villages. One instance even involved numerous government officials spending the night in a rural hut, an event that is still discussed today, two years later.
The Guatemalan government has adopted a zero-hunger policy but has been long criticized for its failure to provide for all of its citizens. The response has been slow, but the issue is complicated by factors stemming back to the country’s mid-century civil unrest. Democracy came to the nation over time as well as a booming economy. However, improved social conditions remained mostly limited to expanding urban scenes while citizens on the country’s fringe were left behind.
There is extreme inequality in Guatemala and the government fails to collect enough taxes from wealthy citizens to provide for the poor. Reformed policies are coming into effect, but they are slow. The government only plans to reduce malnourishment by 10 percent by the end of 2015.
– Edward Heinrich
Sources: DW, The Economist, PBS
Photo: PBS
Syrian Crisis Making UN Rethink Refugee Camps
Since the start of the Syrian conflict, 2.8 million registered refugees have fled the country and over four million have been displaced internally. With no end in sight, the United Nations has begun to rethink how to handle mass influxes of refugees in host countries.
Refugee camps have long been the main way international aid groups have sheltered people fleeing from conflicts around the world. However, this practice is being reconsidered by the UN, which hopes to place refugees in local communities as opposed to camps.
In camps, refugees often do not have the opportunity to work and are usually confined to restricted areas. However, when refugees are integrated into local communities, they are able to become more self-reliant and contribute to the local economy. This also allows the UN to utilize their funding on already existing communities, as opposed to building and maintaining brand new camps.
Although integration into local communities is preferred for refugees it is ultimately up to the host country–and many have been reluctant. Host countries often experience a drain in resources due to increases in refugee populations, fueling an increase in tensions between the two groups.
The UN hopes to convince host countries that they can benefit economically by allowing refugees to integrate. In addition to basic market advantages, host countries will also be eligible for Targeted Development Assistance (TDA).
TDA allows the UN as well as donor states (such as the United States) to specifically allocate monies to countries that host large refugee populations. The goal is to help host countries provide better security, medical assistance and supplies, as well as educational and vocational training within their existing communities. These services will not only benefit the refugees, but also the lives of the local populations.
A host country cannot be expected to bear the brunt of the refugee influx on its own. Furthermore, camp situations are often unable to provide anything beyond basic necessities, and do not allow refugees enough economic freedom to become more self-reliant. Because of this, international aid is used at a faster rate. As the world experiences a surge in refugees, rethinking how to provide a safe place for refugees while also considering the effects on local populations is essential in order to avoid the development of further conflict.
– Andrea Blinkhorn
Sources: IRIN, U.S. Department of State, The New York Times, UNHCR
Photo: IRIN
World Learning: Connecting Minds Across the Globe
World Learning, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to empowering youth and advancing leadership in 60 countries worldwide. With three specific and unique programs—in education, development and exchange—World Learning’s initiatives cover a broad range of issues to comprehensively address critical needs in the global education sector.
The Experiment in International Learning program offers high school students opportunities to take part in “immersive, life-transforming” experiences in more than 20 countries through three-week or five-week summer abroad programs.
At the graduate and undergraduate levels, World Learning’s School for International Training (SIT) is an accredited higher education institution that provides undergraduates with semester-long programs in 30 countries, each with a focus on critical global issues.
Additionally, SIT aims to offer deep cultural immersion through fieldwork, language courses and urban and rural home-stays with locals. SIT’s graduate institute offers masters degrees in conflict transformation, international education, sustainable education, and teaching English as a second language.
International Exchange programs enable World Learning to address larger worldwide issues in education such as teacher professional development, community and school enrichment, and English language/literacy improvement. Additionally, these programs work with policymakers and education reform programs, working to achieve the support and resources necessary to promoting sustainable development in education.
In addition to education programs, World Learning brings together emerging leaders from 140 countries around the world to the United States. on exchanges. These exchange programs are unique in that they are short-term, but offer high-value learning experiences for leaders who are eager to gain professional development by connecting with U.S. and international colleagues to gain a broader view of U.S. culture and values. This program provides people of all ages with the opportunity to learn together about leadership, current issues and peace building.
World Learning’s International Development programs work to educate communities worldwide to address issues relating to poverty, such as education access and disease prevention. Working with local partners, World Learning’s grassroots programs identify specific needs, challenges and resources within communities, customizing development plans.
One example of these projects is the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Grants Solicitation and Management program. World Learning’s development goal is to ensure that partners invest deeply in projects and provide the necessary support for successful, long-term improvements.
World Learning’s work is essential to global policy and affairs because, in essence, it pulls back the curtain from many cultures and communities and allows people to examine not only their own cultures and communities, but others as well. Education is key not only in breaking the cycle of poverty, but it’s crucial in the preserving of peace and in the building of understanding, trust, and respect across communities worldwide.
World Learning’s promotion of global communication through education, development and exchange programs and higher education opportunities are making strides in the effort to eliminate conflict and achieve equality across the board when it comes to worldwide education.
– Elizabeth Nutt
Sources: World Bank, World Learning, Inc.
Photo: World Learning
USAID Takes Over Production of Medika Mamba
In an effort to combat malnutrition among Haitian infants and youth (about 22 percent of Haitian children under five years of age are malnourished), the nonprofit Meds and Food for Kids distributes medika mamba, otherwise known as Plumpy’Nut, a peanut butter-based food that helps provide nutrition for malnourished children.
Medika mamba will soon be distributed in Guatemala as a result of UNICEF programming. However, the good news comes to a halt there.
The World Food Program has announced that they will no longer be buying products from Meds and Food for kids because they are now able to obtain a soy-corn based product from USAID free of charge. This change will cause Meds and Food for Kids to lose half of their yearly income.
Moreover, this decision is having a negative impact on the Haitian community. Ten years ago a factory was opened (spearheaded by pediatrician Patricia Wolff) to produce medika mamba in order to help treat malnourishment through local products. If the budget cuts force the factory to close, about 42 people will lose their jobs and hundreds of peanut farmers will lose one of their main buyers.
The factory had recently been doing very well, increasing the amount of peanuts they were buying from farmers by 50 percent. Wollf claims “that with assured international aid buyers for medika mamba, the factory could boost production year on year, creating economies of scale and a sustainable local loop of supply and demand.”
WFP asserts that while they understand the value in having Haiti use local products to help their own community, because their nutrition related activities are now secured by USAID’s Kore Lavi Food Voucher Program, they are unable to continue purchasing goods from the Meds and Food for Kids organization. While the Kore Lavi program will still provide aid, it will not give Haitain individuals the same ability to provide for themselves like the medika mamba factory has.
– Jordyn Horowitz
Sources: The Guardian, Nutriset, Meds & Food for Kids, WFP
Photo: Drake
Saudi Activist Faces Jail Time for Inciting Freedom
Walid abu al-Khair, a well-known human rights lawyer and Saudi activist, has received a jail sentence for 15 years for undermining the state of Saudi Arabia and insulting its political system.
The Saudi activist’s charge stems from the apparent violation of a recent anti-terrorism law which prohibits any civil act that, “disturbs public order, shakes the security of society, or subjects its national unity to danger, or obstructs the primary system of rule or harms the reputation of the state.”
This is not the first time al-Khair has faced the threat of jail time. On multiple occasions, the Saudi activist has been sentenced to varying amounts of time, though it has never reached a degree as intense as that of this most recent conviction. In his statement, al-Khair declares that he will not appeal the sentence because he does not see the legitimacy of the claim, and therefore believes it will fall apart when it comes time to book him.
The international reaction to the jailing of such a prominent voice has been negative thus far, with the Saudi researcher for Human Rights Watch saying, “Walid Abu al-Khair’s harsh sentence shows that Saudi Arabia has no tolerance for those who speak out about human rights and political reform and it will go to any length to silence them.” Saudi Arabia’s reaction simply shows the rest of the closely watching world that freedom of speech is less than valued.
By showing dissent from the Saudi king, al-Khair put himself in the crosshairs of the government. The Saudi activist has brought international attention to Saudi Arabia and this action has upset the government to the point that they believe he has represented them falsely and in a harsh light.
This incarceration demonstrates Saudi Arabia’s fear of the people, and the movement they could start if enough voices show disagreement. Countries that strive for a democratic state should allow the citizens to voice concerns; however, it appears this is not the case in Saudi Arabia. With reason, multiple countries, including the United States, have shown concern for the blatant disregard of human rights in this ongoing debacle with al-Khair, and begin to question the stability of the country.
– Elena Lopez
Sources:
Sources: CNN, Reuters, Aljazeera
Photo: Gulf Center for Human Rights
The Relationship of Hunger & Poverty
The world currently produces enough food to sustain the entire global population, yet nearly a billion people around the world still suffer every day from hunger. The U.S. alone could end global hunger with only $30 billion a year — a mere fraction of the $530 billion the U.S. spends annually on the military.
If we have the power to feed the world, it begs the question — why is hunger still such a monumental problem?
The primary and most obvious cause of hunger is poverty. While enough food exists to feed the world, a significant portion of the population still live in such abject poverty that they cannot afford even the most basic food items.
This creates an incessant poverty trap. The global poor can’t feed themselves or their families, so they become weak and malnourished which makes them unable to work. In turn, they fall deeper into poverty. This phenomenon is affecting millions of people around the world. Any solution to hunger must also be in part a solution to poverty.
Another major cause of hunger is natural disasters and climate change. Storms and droughts — both of which are on the rise — damage crops and lead to massive food shortages. Often, the poorest countries are the ones least equipped to deal with these disasters, and the greenhouse gases that lead to climate change originate from the richest countries.
One way to remedy this problem is to increase foreign investment in agriculture. By establishing adequate infrastructure, cultivating the land properly, managing water usage and ensuring storage facilities are used effectively, the fallout from natural disasters can be handled much more easily.
Unfortunately, most poor countries lack the resources and the knowledge to shore up their agricultural sector by themselves. However, foreign investment in the agricultural sector of developing countries would go a long way towards helping them becoming self-sustainable. A U.N. study found that investments in agriculture reduce hunger five times more than investments in any other sector.
Finally, war represents another major cause of hunger. The most war-torn areas in the world also tend to suffer the most from hunger. In war, food is often used as a weapon. Farms and livestock are ravaged in an effort to starve the opposition into submission. In Africa, countries with the most conflict — like Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo — are often the hungriest. On the other hand, in more peaceful countries — like Ghana and Rwanda — hunger is on the decline.
There are a number of insidious causes to the problem of global hunger, but the good news is that all of them are preventable. First and foremost, the problem of hunger must be tackled by facing poverty head-on. From there, we should turn our attention away from feeding impoverished peoples through aid, and towards helping them become self-sustainable.
– Samuel Hillestad
Sources: WFP, Global Concerns Classroom, DoSomething, FAO
Photo: OoCities
The Special Olympics: Helping the Poor
Rhoda Kaittany knew something more needed to be done to help her son. They lived in Nandi, a county in Kenya where children dealing with intellectual disabilities, including her child, lacked the resources to overcome their handicaps.
Working alone, she set out to organize everything required to bring a Special Olympics program to her county. During this process, she discovered children with intellectual disabilities growing up isolated from the world. In one case, a boy had been kept rope-tethered in a sheep’s pen to keep him from straying into danger.
Kenya’s situation is typical for poor countries. In fact, the majority of people dealing with developmental disabilities reside in developing countries. As Kaittany’s discoveries show, these people are often excluded from societies which lack the means to accommodate their special needs. The governments of developing countries are often too poor to devote the necessary social, health and educational resources to assisting the intellectually disabled. Moreover, few eligible families with disabled children receive government benefits in low-income countries. Lacking these resources, the disabled get stuck in poverty more often than those without disabilities.
Kaittany saw how desperate the problem had become in Kenya, one of the world’s poorest countries and home to an estimated 3.9 million people living with intellectual disabilities. She knew that the Special Olympics were part of the solution.
The Special Olympics is defined as a “global, grassroots movement dedicated to empowering the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.” The movement empowers lives first by promoting fitness through sports. A study conducted in The Netherlands found that children with intellectual disabilities tend to have less aerobic endurance and physical strength than other children. Since other research papers have suggested that improved physical fitness leads to improved cognitive and physical development in all children, it is imperative that the intellectually disabled find more opportunities to improve their fitness.
But the Special Olympics does more that just promote exercise. The organization provides health screenings, youth programs and public awareness campaigns for a population typically marginalized. It also believes in the potential of sports to educate in addition to promoting fitness. For example, in Botswana, the organization taught its athletes, who as a group were at a greater risk for contracting infectious diseases, about HIV/AIDS.
Globally, about 190 Special Olympics competitions take place every day—or 70,000 per year. The number is impressive, yet the movement strives to do more. The goal? Reach 200 million disabled people around the world through Special Olympics programs. For example, a relatively new program, the Global Football Initiative, is using the world’s most popular sport—soccer—to bring the organization closer to its goal. Through this program, Special Olympics athletes train with the support of professional clubs: the Italian Inter-Milan and the English Manchester United, for example.
So whether it is developing the bodies and minds of people living with disabilities or teaching communities how to help these individuals, the Special Olympics can play a crucial role in developing countries—as Rhoda Kaittany’s efforts have shown.
– Ryan Yanke
Sources:
Sources: USAID, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research 1, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research 2, Special Olympics, World Bank, KAIH
Photo: Special Olympics
Neeti Kailas: Preventing Newborn Hearing Loss
Indian entrepreneur Neeti Kailas has developed a new device for detecting hearing loss in early stages of a baby’s life. Kailas states that her ultimate goal with the new technology is to “prevent late detection of hearing loss” that has already resulted in speech problems for countless Indian youth.
Hearing is crucial to the cognitive, language and speech development of a child, and early detection is the key to preventing speech loss in adolescents. There is currently no standard screening system in the Indian healthcare system that exists, and hearing impairment goes undetected for anywhere between 100,000 to 150,000 Indian babies each year.
“At age 3, people realize ‘Oh my god, she’s not saying anything. By the time the parents go to the pediatrician and get sent to someone else and then finally she gets a hearing screening, she’s already lost speech,” Kailas said. “Speech loss is preventable if a baby is diagnosed early enough and given the right rehabilitation.”
Kailas is the director and co-founder of Sohum Innovation Lab with Nitin Sisodia, her husband, an engineer. Sisodia won the Stanford-India Biodesign fellowship in 2010, funded by the Union government’s department of biotechnology, in partnership with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum and American University.
Four years ago, Sisodia’s fellowship fueled this power couple’s journey to health centers in Delhi and surrounding areas to study needs. Kailas and Sisodia recognized infant hearing loss as a relevant problem with a feasible solution, so they made it their organization’s focus. The new auditory screening device is the Sohum Innovation Lab’s first product, currently in its prototype stage, but developing quickly.
Sohum Innovation Lab is exactly what it purports itself to be: innovative. Their new technology addresses cost, usability and environmental factors that currently limit reliable testing in India and other developing nations. Domestic manufacturing and the lack of disposable parts will severely reduce production costs and drive the price down. The instrument will cost as little as one fifth the price of instruments in use now, which range between $12,000 and $29,000. It is also battery powered, portable and designed to be intuitively operated by untrained users.
The instrument is impressively non-invasive and fits easily over the patient’s cranium, like a headband. Non-stick electrodes on the scalp measure the auditory brain-stem response (ABR) to auditory stimuli. If the patient’s brain shows no response, there is indication that the child suffers from a hearing disorder.
One of the most innovative additions to Kailas’ device addresses the typically noisy setting of an Indian hospital. Sohum’s new testing system incorporates noise-cancelling technology that foreign-designed systems, which often result in false positives, lack.
Kailas was one of the five winners globally of the 2014 Rolex Awards for Enterprise, prized 50,000 Swiss Francs ($56,000). The prize money will propel the device into clinical trials for sensitive fine-tuning before it hits the market. The Sohum Innovation Lab hopes to have its product on the market by 2016, giving thousands of Indian children a chance at a brighter (and louder) future.
– Edward Heinrich
Sources: Washington Post, Live Mint, Daiji World
Photo: Rolex
Poverty in India, Redefined
India is redefining poverty. In the latest update from the Former Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council, Chakravarthi Rangarajan, an urban family living on under 47 rupees (78 cents) a day, or a rural family living under 32 rupees (53 cents) a day, would be deemed poor. These values are up from 27 and 33 rupees, respectively, on the definition of poverty in India, and would deem 94 million more Indians as poor. However, the new poverty level is still low compared to the World Bank’s cutoff for extreme poverty: $1.25 a day. The line in India has been criticized many times before, and people have even challenged previous prime ministers to live on less than a dollar a day.
According to the new definition of poverty, 29.5 percent of the Indian population was poor in 2011-2012. The cutoff for poverty in India has never been so high before, but, when applied to past years, it reveals a decrease in the number of Indians living in poverty. In 2010, under the current standard, 38.2 percent of Indians were poor.
In coming up with the new poverty line, Rangarajan’s committee studied government statistics on the ability of households to pay for food that provides the minimum nutrition an individual needs, as well as the ability of individuals to obtain education, health care, housing, electricity, transportation and clothing.
The poverty line is significant because social sector programs are directed toward those who fall below it. But, that might change too. The Rangarajan panel suggested that entitlement to social security programs should be disconnected from poverty ratios. Instead, entitlement to the programs may be better linked to social and caste census. Either way, the new definition will factor into Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s budget-making.
India’s government released a new budget focused on curbing, borrowing and reviving growth this week. This seems like good news, but critics are not sure how the new spending will reduce the fiscal deficit plaguing the country.
Different parts of the country have dealt with finances differently and to varying results. Recently elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi bragged frequently about the way he ran the state of Gujarat as Chief Minister since 2001 – its per capita income was among India’s highest. But he neglects to include the fact that the state’s poverty rate in 2011-12 was only a little below the national average, and its rural poverty rate was actually higher than the national average. While Gujarat focused on industrialization and ignored welfare programs, the state’s income inequality continued to grow.
Meanwhile, in southern state Kerala, industrialization has fallen by the wayside. But, social indicators are highest in the nation because of the state’s practice of investing heavily in social welfare. Under the new definition of poverty in India, Kerala’s poverty rate in 2011-12 was only 11.3 percent, and only 7.3 percent of the rural population would be considered poor. Because Kerala chose to invest mainly in education and health care, everyone, including the poor, has increased an access to opportunities.
– Rachel Reed
Sources: New York Times, Slate
Photo: Owni
Malnutrition in Agriculturally Rich Guatemala
The rural highlands are remarkably colorful in agriculturally rich Guatemala, providing a stunning view from afar. The visible beauty of pastoral Guatemala is undeniable, but a closer look into the Mayan communities that reside in the mountainous countryside reveals the equally undeniable issue of poverty, and the visible malnourishment of its inhabitants.
Despite the abundance of surrounding vegetation, up to 80 percent of children residing in the countryside are extremely undernourished and around half of all children in Guatemala fall into this category. Many of the families effected are farmers, but find it more beneficial to sell their harvest than eat it themselves. In this agricultural paradox, the vegetables grown in rural Guatemala hardly reach the plates of the natives. Instead, they are exported to the United States, Europe and other parts of Central America for a higher sale price that still manages to provide meager wages for the produce growers. For instance, the farmers in the farming village of Pammus live on only $3.42 per day.
Lack of funds makes it difficult for villagers to provide their family with nutrient-rich foods. “The fundamental diet here is basically corn and coffee. Maybe once, twice or three times a week beans,” said Arnulfo Alvarez, a local doctor in Pammus. “There is a shortage of proteins and vitamins and a shortage of some minerals that are fundamental in the development of a child’s growth, especially in the first five years of its life.”
Many children in Guatemala will benefit from adopting a rich, diverse diet, but will not be able to undo the lifelong effects of malnourishment from an early age. New developments focus on children 1,000 days old or younger, which is a make-or-break period in childhood development. The repercussions of malnourishment in Guatemalan children have been shown to include lower IQ scores, and increased likelihood for heart disease, diabetes, kidney damage and anemia into adulthood.
The most notable symptom of prolonged malnourishment in rural Guatemala is the significantly shorter average height of the Mayans. What has been chalked up to genetics until recently is now understood, at least partially, as the result of insufficient nutrients consumed during early stages of childhood development. Stunting is a clear indicator of malnutrition in Guatemala, indicated by the fact that Mayans over the border in Mexico are taller than their southern cousins.
The problem is also saturated by a lack of education; two years ago, most rural parents did not even understand the concept of malnutrition. New educational programs enlist mothers of small children in classes that teach about food health and track the health of infant children.
Guatemala ranks the highest gross domestic product in all of Central America, but lands in sixth place among chronic malnourishment rates worldwide. While Guatemala is rich enough to tackle the issue on its own, less fortunate Latin American countries such as Bolivia, Peru and Brazil have successfully reduced child malnutrition rates with fewer resources. The government and aid donors are currently sending supplies to around 300,000 people in Guatemala but an additional 400,000 people require assistance as well.
The government has taken creative steps to humanize the issue and gain a better understanding of the lifestyles of those most in need. Efforts include community outreach and visits to rural villages. One instance even involved numerous government officials spending the night in a rural hut, an event that is still discussed today, two years later.
The Guatemalan government has adopted a zero-hunger policy but has been long criticized for its failure to provide for all of its citizens. The response has been slow, but the issue is complicated by factors stemming back to the country’s mid-century civil unrest. Democracy came to the nation over time as well as a booming economy. However, improved social conditions remained mostly limited to expanding urban scenes while citizens on the country’s fringe were left behind.
There is extreme inequality in Guatemala and the government fails to collect enough taxes from wealthy citizens to provide for the poor. Reformed policies are coming into effect, but they are slow. The government only plans to reduce malnourishment by 10 percent by the end of 2015.
– Edward Heinrich
Sources: DW, The Economist, PBS
Photo: PBS
Seven Questions to Ask About Foreign Aid
1. Why does the U.S. give foreign aid?
The U.S. gives aid for several reasons: economic interests, national security and American values. Economically, aid builds trading partners and supports the demand for U.S. goods. For national security, U.S. aid can sustain efforts to reduce injustice and poverty, which can contribute to instability and social tensions. Providing aid can also validate the kindness of the American people, advance democracy and human rights and build a better world.
2. What types of U.S. assistance does it include?
Foreign aid is a very comprehensive term. It incorporates several types of assistance, from the international affairs budget to poverty-focused assistance. The international affairs budget includes the resources to finance U.S. endeavors abroad. For example, it provides funds for USAID and the Department of State’s diplomatic costs and expenses that are sustained in protecting the interests of U.S. citizens and businesses abroad. In addition to helping people in poor countries, this aid provides money to allies for strategic purposes. Poverty-focused assistance concentrates on promoting economic growth and providing services like education and health care.
3. How much does the U.S. government spend on poverty-reducing foreign aid?
The U.S. government spends around $80 per taxpayer on foreign aid. To put that into perspective, compare that number to what Americans spend on other items: $204 per person on soft drinks, the $126 per person on lawn care and $101 per person on candy.
4. What is Americans’ understanding of how much the U.S. spends on this aid?
Americans think the U.S. spends more money on foreign aid than Medicare and Social Security – as much as 30 percent. However, only 0.7 percent of the U.S. federal budget is spent on poverty-focused foreign aid.
5. How can we ensure development aid is not wasted by corrupt governments?
Most poverty-reducing foreign aid is not actually provided directly to foreign governments. Around 85 percent goes through NGOs and U.S.-based government contractors. It may actually force governments to increase transparency and accountability.
6. What is the U.S. doing to make this kind of aid more effective?
The U.S. is doing many things to make foreign aid more efficient, such as defining aid’s purpose, modernizing USAID, developing new models of providing aid and making it more transparent. In 2010, President Obama put forth the first U.S. Global Development Policy which clarifies that the main purpose of U.S. development aid is to pursue global economic growth to fight global poverty. For modernizing USAID, USAID Forward is a new reform agenda that is working to make USAID more efficient, transparent and accountable. President Bush introduced the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) during his presidency. MCC is a “United States foreign aid agency that is applying a new philosophy towards foreign aid.” The MCC model demands that countries to meet criteria in three areas: investments in people, economic freedom and good governance.
7. How can the U.S. improve it to better fight poverty?
There are a few ways. The United States could focus aid more on combating poverty worldwide, provide more transparent information about their foreign aid and give more aid to effective local leaders.
– Colleen Moore
Sources: Alliance for Peace Building, Oxfam America, The Borgen Project
Photo: The Spectator