According to the World Health Organization, approximately 1.24 million people die every year on the world’s roads. As well as 20 to 50 million incur nonfatal injuries as a result of road traffic crashes. The WHO report, ‘Global Status Report on Road Safety 2013: Supporting a Decade of Action,’ attributes road traffic casualties to be the eighth leading cause of death globally with an impact similar to that caused by many communicable diseases, such as malaria.
Current trends suggest that, by 2030, traffic accidents will become the fifth leading cause of death unless urgent action is taken. While the report offers recommendations that focus on legislative reforms, there are also corporate examples, like that of Chevron’s, which help promote awareness of road safety.
Road traffic deaths are the leading cause of death for young people aged 15–29 years, and as a consequence, take a hefty toll on those entering their most productive years. Economically disadvantaged families are hardest hit by both direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost wages that result from these injuries.
At the domestic level, road traffic injuries result in considerable financial expenses, especially to developing economies. “Road traffic injuries are estimated to cost low- and middle-income countries between 1–2 percent of their gross national product, estimated at over US$ 100 billion a year,” which is a serious impediment to poverty eradication.
Only 28 countries, representing 449 million people (7 percent of the world’s population), have adequate laws that tackle all five risk factors for road traffic (speed, drunk driving, helmets, seat-belts and child restraints).
The WHO report recommends that all governments enact legislation to make the roads safer and invest money and human resources to help enforce those traffic laws. Pedestrian safety should also be considered when planning for infrastructure.
The Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) is an organization supporting the WHO report. Its role is to create and support multi-sector road safety partnerships that are engaged with front-line, good practice, road safety interventions in countries and communities throughout the world. The partnerships include businesses. Current business partners with the GRSP include Bridgestone, Michelin, BP, Chevron, Honda, Shell, Nestle and Toyota.
Many businesses support road safety to benefit their corporate image, to develop new markets through demonstration projects, or to brand their products as safe. Also, corporate sponsorships have been used for social marketing campaigns to increase the public’s awareness of road safety. In the end, businesses benefit from the lower costs associated with fewer road crashes and safer driving practices.
One American company, Chevron, has implemented what they call the Arrive Alive program. The program strives to protect people living in high-risk areas from traffic related injuries and fatalities.
Depending on the country’s needs, Chevron will form a coalition between non-profit organizations, other companies and the local government. The Arrive Alive coalitions have made significant strides on two continents and in four countries since its inception in 2004.
A coalition in Nigeria founded in 2006 advocated for stricter regulations on okada (motorcycle) riders. That year, laws went into effect to regulate the operation of okadas.
To address the 12,000 lives lost annually on South Africa’s roadways, Chevron formed another coalition to implement a publicity campaign aimed at the most vulnerable pedestrian population – youth and teens. Extensive use of poetry in print, radio and billboard communication directed messages towards youth about irresponsible road behavior and its consequences.
– Maria Caluag
Sources: WHO, GRSP, Chevron
Photo: My Legal World
Four Facts About India That Will Surprise You
What do you really know about India? Maybe that it just celebrated its 66th year of independence from British rule on August 15th. Or that the famed, and often revered, Mahatma Ghandi was Indian. Here are some more facts about India that may really surprise you.
While none of these facts about India is pleasant, each reveals the reality of what the people are currently facing and what they might have to deal with in the years to come. A lot of work will have to be put in to effectively change these statistics and realities, but the right focus and effort could make all the difference.
– Chelsea Evans
Sources: Business Insider, World Bank, The Hindu, Boston Globe, PBS, Numbeo, Business Standard
International Health Institutions Changing the World
The needs and rights of the world’s poor come in all shapes and sizes. For decades, aid organizations have used their funds, manpower and resources to mobilize corrective programs for these vulnerabilities. Health organizations in particular play a critical role serving the world’s poor by employing a wide range of expertise to aid in mitigating international health concerns. These organizations believe that all people deserve the dignity of regular, healthy meals, and to have access to basic and affordable medical treatment. Here are four top international health institutions that stand out:
World Health Organization
The WHO is probably the best-known health institution in the world. Established in 1948 as the United Nations’ global health authority and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organization leads the world in public health statistics, public health policy, emergency response, and research. The WHO is probably most visible in disaster relief and immunization programs, which reach tens of millions of people. Their experts also publish health and wellness guidelines and work with UN-member states to promote these guidelines for maximum impact. WHO workers also keep close tabs on achieving Millennium Development Goals and other international standards to ensure that progress promised is progress made. Overall, the World Health Organization continues its work as the world’s leading international health coordinating and authoritative body.
Oxfam International
While the World Health Organization’s focus is all-encompassing with regard to international health standards and policy, Oxfam International has a more targeted approach on relief and development. Headquartered in Washington, D.C. with advocacy offices in Brussels, Geneva, New York, Brasilia and Addis Ababa, Oxfam has a much heavier focus on advocacy and emergency response initiatives. Oxfam focuses its development, emergency assistance, campaigning, advocacy and policy research to empower the global poor to exercise their economic rights and right to development. And like many international organizations, they have Hollywood Ambassadors that bring star power to the cause. One of Oxfam’s most notable campaigns is Health & Education for All, which pushes for clinics and schools to be built in post-conflict communities by partnering with local actors and mobilizing the necessary resources. The relief and development agency’s programs aim to empower those living in poverty to exercise their rights so that they can live lives of dignity.
GAIN Alliance
In contrast to Oxfam’s mission of advocacy and emergency response and the World Health Organization’s all-encompassing approach to international health issues, GAIN Alliance has a much more precise mission: provide nutritional foods to malnourished communities all over the world. GAIN operates in more than 30 countries, just over half of them in Africa. Its work centers on healthy aid provisions for more than 667 million people, half of which are women and children. Projects to improve nutrition in poor communities address maternal and infant nutrition, large scale food fortification and supporting local agricultural initiatives to be more market-friendly and nutritious.
UNICEF
While not specifically an international health institution, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) makes critical contributions to improved global health. Its work invariably encompasses investing in improved health outcomes for infants and young children in chaotic environments and emergency situations. The nexus of UNICEF and better health outcomes for children is clearly visible in its efforts to provide adequate, nutritious meals to 180 million children under the age of 5 who suffer physical and mental impairments as a result of malnutrition and stunted growth. Further, UNICEF aligns its health initiatives with many of its focus areas, which include programs focusing on HIV prevention, child protection, promoting gender equality and basic education. UNICEF has made great strides in its health programs, underlining UNICEF’s mission to foster children’s holistic development and protection.
– Zach Crawford
Sources: World Health Organization, Oxfam International Health and Education for All, GAIN Alliance 2011-2012 annual report, TIME Magazine
Photo: United Nations
Home Gardens Grow Developing Countries
Home gardens in developing countries is now being viewed as a key to alleviating hunger and providing a source of nutrition for millions of people in developing countries. The quantity of food that low-income families consume must also be supplemented by adequate nutrition; research conducted by the Lancet earlier this year concluded that malnutrition kills 3.1 million children annually, and caused stunting in 165 million in 2011.
In countries where women are traditionally responsible for providing their families with food, the disparity in access to land between men and women can often cause problems. According to the FAO, women receive only 5% of agricultural extension services globally making it difficult for them to grow food, especially food rich in essential micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron, and zinc. Therefore, several development organizations have taken the step to help women make better use of the space they can control–their home gardens.
In 2009, Care International launched the EU-funded Food Security for the Ultra-Poor (FSUP), which aimed to support 55,000 women living in the northeast region of Bangladesh in providing food. The project addresses the underlying causes of social and economic exclusion and seasonal imbalances in food availability and affordability in order to achieve sustainable improvement in food access and utilization. One element of the program included homestead gardening.
Women were taught to grow crops such as cucumber, gourds, red amaranth, spinach, papaya, carrots, tomatoes, and beans. The program taught women how to use various gardening tools and how to identify space in their houses that could be utilized for growing vegetables. They were then provided with vegetable seed packets to start their own gardens. While these harvests were not huge, they did provide families with crucial nutrients in regions where people would otherwise rely heavily on rice.
For these women, and for their families in Bangladesh, access to vegetables and fruits has not only increased but has also given them a surplus of produce which they are then able to sell to the community. A sample of 1,614 families participating in FSUP showed that between December 2012 and March 2013, households produced an average of 53kg of vegetables and fruits of which they consumed an average of 36kg and sold an average of 18kg.
As women begin to make an income they are able to make financial choices that positively impact their families. Larissa Pelham, food security adviser at Care International UK, said “when women have control over household resources, they are likely to spend it on the wellbeing of the household overall.” Other organizations have built on the success of this program and have included the additional element of combining gardening training with support in maternal health, nutrition, immunization, and financial services to women. This holistic approach is empowering women in developing countries, allowing them to use the land they own to build a better future for themselves and for their families.
– Chloe Isacke
Sources: The Guardian, Care
Will Botswana Be Africa’s Success Story For Long?
For a sparsely populated and landlocked nation in the middle of the Kalahari Desert, Botswana has achieved much in terms of social and economic development. The country has experienced stable economic growth since claiming independence in 1966. Unlike many other African nations, Botswana is not frustrated by political instability and widespread corruption. In addition, the government has long championed environmental stewardship and sustainable tourism. For now, Botswana remains one of Africa’s success stories.
But the nation is confronting a range of near and long-term problems that will require innovative solutions. First, Botswana is struggling to diversify its economy. Diamond exports comprise nearly 50 percent of government revenues and more than 70 percent of the nation’s export earnings. In last year’s State of the Nation address, President Ian Khama said, “Dependency on anything is never healthy.”
Sensing the consequences of this dependency, the government is initiating programs to bolster other industries such as agriculture, tourism and textile manufacturing. They have also created the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency, which provides low-cost financing and mentoring programs for aspiring business owners. To date, there is little evidence that these programs are stimulating Botswana’s economy. Many economists believe that its proximity to South Africa will make it difficult for Botswana to successfully compete in global markets.
For years, Botswana’s unemployment rate has exceeded 15 percent. Even graduates of Botswana University have had trouble finding jobs that are commensurate with their skills and education. Many well-qualified young people are competing for a small pool of jobs. This dilemma contributes to Botswana’s growing poverty rate, which is currently just above 20 percent. To combat the problem, the government has increased expenditures on social programs, which more than doubled between 1997 and 2005.
Increased funding of social programs is the natural result of an expanding government. In 2005, the average wage of government workers exceeded those in the private sector by more than 40 percent. This disparity between the public wage and private wage has created a wage reservation, whereby people in the private sector believe they should be paid the same as public sector employees. For this reason, many Batswana refuse to seek employment and instead rely solely on the government’s social programs.
Botswana has achieved exceptional economic improvement since 1966. But reliance on diamond mining and government social programs is undermining the country’s ability to sustain economic growth. Appropriate policies should be implemented to diversify revenues, increase private participation in the labor force and reduce dependency on social programs. Otherwise, Botswana’s success could be in jeopardy.
– Daniel Bonass
Sources: Council on Foreign Relations, African Economic Outlook, International Monetary Fund
Photo: Telegraph
Top Five Bill Gates Quotes
This past May, Bill Gates made headlines again when he reclaimed the title of “World’s Richest Man.” According to the Bloomsberg Billionaires Index, Gates had a net worth of nearly $73 billion. Gates’ groundbreaking advancement of computer technology has long established him and his company, Microsoft, as household names during the last three decades.
Unlike his contemporaries, Gates is not one to lavishly spend his money. Instead he and his wife, Melinda Gates, are fervent believers of the mantra, “with wealth comes responsibility.” The power couple established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 1997 to address the issues of global poverty and disease, as well as those of domestic education and systemic inequality. For nearly two decades the foundation has worked to eradicate everything from malaria to the recreational use of tobacco. To date, Gates has donated almost $30 billion to the foundation.
Gates, however, is not only a man of great action but also of sound philosophy. His belief in a harmonious balance between philanthropy and capitalism, as well as his faith in government action and public policy as ideal agents for social change, are awe-inspiring. Hopefully, with Gates’ continued success as both a business mogul and humanitarian leader, more elite members of America’s top 1 percent will learn to share the wealth.
1. “I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act.”
2. “People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didn’t they? People feared coal, they feared gas-powered engines. There will always be ignorance, and ignorance leads to fear.”
3. “You know capitalism is this wonderful thing that motivates people, it causes wonderful inventions to be done. But in this area of diseases of the world at large, it’s really let us down.”
4. “The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.”
5. “Governments will always play a huge part in solving big problems. They set public policy and are uniquely able to provide the resources to make sure solutions reach everyone who needs them. They also fund basic research, which is a crucial component of the innovation that improves life for everyone.”
– Melrose Huang
Read quotes about global poverty.
Read humanitarian quotes.
Sources: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USA Today, BrainyQuote
Photo: Techno Crates
LifeStraw Providing Safe Drinking Water
900 million people in the world are without access to safe drinking water. This a serious problem which the world is trying to address in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). A product developed by the Swiss-based company Vestergaard Frandsen is making great progress towards water sanitation. The product is called LifeStraw. It is a 25 cm straw that purifies water by simply sucking on the product, like a straw. LifeStraw uses no chemicals when it purifies water.
LifeStraw comes in two different sizes; the LifeStraw can provide 1000 liters of safe drinking water, and LifeStraw Family can provide 18,000 liters of drinking water. The LifeStraw removes 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria and 99.9% of parasites. However, the LifeStraw does not filter out heavy minerals or desalinate water.
LifeStraw could provide safe drinking water to many impoverished people who would otherwise suffer from the many diseases unsanitary drinking water causes. The most prevalent illness caused by unsanitary drinking water is diarrhea. Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – are due to diarrhea. Diarrhea kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.
LifeStraw uses the point-of-use (POU) approach to bring about effective, and affordable drinking water. The philosophy of POU is that purification of drinking water at the point of consumption is much more cost-effective and disease preventative. By purifying water in the household it reduces the risk of water being contaminated at other points during the purification process. POU empowers people to control the quality of their own drinking water. In the developed world, household water-quality interventions can reduce diarrhea morbidity by more than 40%.
The LifeStraw currently costs $20 in the US, but it is subsidized and made cheaper for those in need. LifeStraw was distributed to those in need during the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2010 Pakistan floods, and the 2011 Thailand floods. LifeStraw won the “Best Invention of 2005 Award” by Time Magazine and the 2008 Saatchi and Saatchi Award for “World Changing Ideas.”
LifeStraw is providing hundreds of thousands with affordable drinking water and is making a tremendous dent in the MDG to provide safe drinking water to all.
– Catherine Ulrich
Sources: PRINKA, The Daily Star
Photo: Cool Material
Crop Price Insurance for Farmers in Ghana
According to Innovations for Poverty Actions (IPA), 50 percent of the rural population in Ghana lives in poverty. “In the Eastern Region, where the Mumuadu Rural Bank (MRB) operates, an estimated 70 percent of households make a living in the agricultural sector, but agricultural loans make up only 2 percent of the bank’s loan portfolio.”
Why? Because farmers are reluctant to take on loans out of fear that fluctuations in crop prices might lead them to default, while banks worry that the risks associated with farming might fall back on them.
Price fluctuations due to factors external to farm-holding directly affect farmers, who often barely have enough to pay for their own family’s survival. Baseline surveys suggest that there is an unexploited market for crop insurance as “farmers in the area served by MRB express that they would be willing to pay to guarantee a certain minimum crop price.”
Nevertheless, in addition to their reluctance to provide loans due to the associated risks, banks also face incomprehension from farmers because “insurance is not a commonly understood concept among farmers in the region.”
In coordination with the MRB, a system of loans, including a crop insurance parameter, was introduced in the region in order to ensure a form of insurance against low crop prices. The system went like this: if the price for eggplant fell below the 10th percentile of historical prices and the price of maize fell below the 7th percentile of historical prices, the bank would forgive 50 percent of the loan and interest payments.
The goal of introducing price insurance for maize and eggplant was to enable farmers to reduce the risk of investing in agricultural input and improve their harvesting capacity and technology. Eggplant and maize were targeted because both plants are widely grown in the region and have had volatile, but well documented prices.
The average loan size is $159, a substantial cash flow for a farmer in Eastern Ghana. The project was conducted at no cost among 84 farmers, and researchers at the MRB have been able to draw conclusions from the crop insurance experiment.
Although the sample size was small, crop insurance tended to be adopted by older people who had a record of borrowing. The reduced success of crop insurance might be explained by a lack of understanding of the risks and benefits associated with loans, or by the fact that price fluctuations might not be as important for investment as had so far been believed.
The MRB experiment conducted in Ghana paves the way toward improving agriculture in poor rural regions. Once the ideal loan and insurance system is established and once farmers are fully able to understand it, there is hope that farmers might invest in long-lasting technologies that will considerably improve their harvesting capacity. But, for farmers to make long-term investments, crop price fluctuation risks must be reduced to the maximum.
– Lauren Yeh
Sources: Innovation for Poverty Action, SOW
Photo: The Guardian
Arrive Alive by Chevron Drives Home Road Safety
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 1.24 million people die every year on the world’s roads. As well as 20 to 50 million incur nonfatal injuries as a result of road traffic crashes. The WHO report, ‘Global Status Report on Road Safety 2013: Supporting a Decade of Action,’ attributes road traffic casualties to be the eighth leading cause of death globally with an impact similar to that caused by many communicable diseases, such as malaria.
Current trends suggest that, by 2030, traffic accidents will become the fifth leading cause of death unless urgent action is taken. While the report offers recommendations that focus on legislative reforms, there are also corporate examples, like that of Chevron’s, which help promote awareness of road safety.
Road traffic deaths are the leading cause of death for young people aged 15–29 years, and as a consequence, take a hefty toll on those entering their most productive years. Economically disadvantaged families are hardest hit by both direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost wages that result from these injuries.
At the domestic level, road traffic injuries result in considerable financial expenses, especially to developing economies. “Road traffic injuries are estimated to cost low- and middle-income countries between 1–2 percent of their gross national product, estimated at over US$ 100 billion a year,” which is a serious impediment to poverty eradication.
Only 28 countries, representing 449 million people (7 percent of the world’s population), have adequate laws that tackle all five risk factors for road traffic (speed, drunk driving, helmets, seat-belts and child restraints).
The WHO report recommends that all governments enact legislation to make the roads safer and invest money and human resources to help enforce those traffic laws. Pedestrian safety should also be considered when planning for infrastructure.
The Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) is an organization supporting the WHO report. Its role is to create and support multi-sector road safety partnerships that are engaged with front-line, good practice, road safety interventions in countries and communities throughout the world. The partnerships include businesses. Current business partners with the GRSP include Bridgestone, Michelin, BP, Chevron, Honda, Shell, Nestle and Toyota.
Many businesses support road safety to benefit their corporate image, to develop new markets through demonstration projects, or to brand their products as safe. Also, corporate sponsorships have been used for social marketing campaigns to increase the public’s awareness of road safety. In the end, businesses benefit from the lower costs associated with fewer road crashes and safer driving practices.
One American company, Chevron, has implemented what they call the Arrive Alive program. The program strives to protect people living in high-risk areas from traffic related injuries and fatalities.
Depending on the country’s needs, Chevron will form a coalition between non-profit organizations, other companies and the local government. The Arrive Alive coalitions have made significant strides on two continents and in four countries since its inception in 2004.
A coalition in Nigeria founded in 2006 advocated for stricter regulations on okada (motorcycle) riders. That year, laws went into effect to regulate the operation of okadas.
To address the 12,000 lives lost annually on South Africa’s roadways, Chevron formed another coalition to implement a publicity campaign aimed at the most vulnerable pedestrian population – youth and teens. Extensive use of poetry in print, radio and billboard communication directed messages towards youth about irresponsible road behavior and its consequences.
– Maria Caluag
Sources: WHO, GRSP, Chevron
Photo: My Legal World
Human Trafficking in Myanmar
Despite recent governmental actions to curb modern day slavery in Myanmar, human trafficking remains a common practice throughout the country.
Human trafficking takes on various forms within Myanmar, including forced labor, the use of child soldiers for the Myanmar government, and sex trafficking and prostitution. The most common countries of trade include Thailand, China, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. China and Thailand stand out as the two countries with the greatest volume of human trafficking with Myanmar, often with people sent to work in fishing villages, mines, and factories or as a prostitute or a bride.
Myanmar has been traced as both a source country for producing modern day slaves and a destination country to receive illegal slaves. Internally, the country has struggled with forced labor and military recruitment of child soldiers. According to 2011 data from the U.S. Department of State, 92 percent of families in Myanmar’s Chin State had at least one family member forced into serving the government without pay. The government recruits thousands of its citizens into forced labor, requiring them to work in infrastructure development, agriculture and, most commonly, the military. While exact numbers are unknown, thousands of these workers and soldiers are reported to be children with the youngest on record being only 11 years. The government forces the Burmese people into these situations with economic and physical threats, often targeting ethnic minorities.
The primary cause of trafficking in Myanmar traces back to the often-criticized military regime government itself. With the government’s blatant abuse of human rights and use of child soldiers, it is only natural for the Burmese people to follow their government’s lead and turn to human trafficking as a means of generating income. Furthermore, the government fails to recognize smaller ethnic minorities as citizens, which leaves them easy targets for traffickers.
Despite these problems, Myanmar officials claim they are committed to fighting this crime. Current governmental plans to address these problems include focusing on victims, building partnerships between government and civil society, and producing results in taking actions against known human traffickers. While the government pledges to increase arrests and prison sentences to address the trafficking problems, widespread government corruption remains an obstacle to progress in putting criminals away.
As of August 1, the United States and Myanmar governments convened to work on a U.S.-Myanmar Trafficking in Persons dialogue to address the issues the country has been facing. While the country faces many challenges in fighting this issue, in particular with regard to government corruption and economic strife, officials remain hopeful that Myanmar is headed in the right direction to curbing the flow of human trafficking within its borders. The test of time will demonstrate how serious the Myanmar government is in creating this change.
– Allison Meade
Sources: Human Trafficking , Republic of the Union of Myanmar , Knoxville Daily Sun
US Foreign Aid to Africa: What We Give and Why
In 2012, the United States provided nearly $12 billion in official development assistance (“ODA”) to African nations. The ODA is allocated to education, health, infrastructure and economic development programs in recipient countries. Currently, the United States allocates foreign aid to 47 African nations and USAID operates 27 missions on the continent.
US Foreign aid to Africa began in the 1960s as many African nations gained independence and the United States sought strategic alliances to counter the influence of the Soviet Union. With the exception of disaster and famine relief, most foreign aid to Africa began to decrease with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In the 2000s, President Bush more than tripled aid to Africa by establishing programs such as the Child Survival and Health Programs Fund as well as the Global HIV/AIDS Initiative.
Though foreign aid programs are designed to assist recipient nations with development, they also benefit the United States in a number of ways.
First, these programs help build strategic alliances and foster support for democratic transitions. It also stimulates Africa’s growth and development, which provides opportunities for increased trade and direct investment in the continent’s emerging markets.
But for all the benefits, foreign aid to Africa has no shortage of detractors. Many critics point out that much of the money allocated to Africa never reaches the people who most need the assistance. “Eighty percent of U.S. aid to Africa is spent right here in America — on American contractors, American suppliers, and so forth,” said George Ayittey, president of the Free Africa Foundation.
In more corrupt nations, politicians and civic leaders are often charged with misappropriating funds designated for the people. Others critics claim that foreign aid to Africa simply does not work—after 50 years of assistance, Africa still confronts the same issues.
But even critics would have to agree on one crucial point: foreign aid is an integral part of U.S. foreign policy. In Africa, aid programs support a large framework of social and economic assistance for developing nations.
Critics are correct that American companies and corrupt politicians siphon a large portion of foreign aid. But aid to Africa has also done much to improve infrastructure, bolster economic development and improve health care conditions for millions of people on the continent.
– Danial Bonasso
Sources: Foreign Policy Initiative, Washington Post, NPR, One.org
Photo: James Bovard