Africa, the second largest continent in the world, is a land caught in the claws of poverty. The impoverished areas of Africa are generally located in rural settings. Seventy percent of Africans live in rural areas, relying on agriculture for food and livelihood. However, the situation in Africa has shown improvements in recent years. While improvements to the quality of life have been made, many areas still require extreme attention and work.
Many of Africa’s problems stem from a massive hunger and thirst epidemic; these vitals have been hard to come by for many years. Not only do the hunger and clean water problems still ravage the continent, the HIV/AIDS virus is also still prominent. In 2009, about two-thirds of the thirty-four million people living with the HIV virus resided in Africa.
Detailed above, there are several reasons why poverty has become an epidemic in Africa. A major reason is certainly the hunger problem. Despite its natural resources, Africa is the world’s poorest continent, and one-third of the population suffers from starvation. Despite the food shortage, programs and organizations worldwide are fighting to help balance out the hunger epidemic.
10 Facts about poverty in Africa.
Dan Church Aid, an organization founded to alleviate food shortages worldwide, is just one program among many that combats this problem. The Dan Church Aid has been especially active in Ethiopia. The organization has teamed up with local farmers throughout the country to educate them about the land and how to cultivate it themselves. The food shortage is not a problem that will be solved by outside aid; it must improve from within. Starting in Ethiopia, farmers will be taught how to use the expansive natural resources the African land offers to produce food. The food epidemic is far from over, but with programs teaching farmers across the continent how to cultivate their own land, progress can be assured, slowly perhaps but certainly steadily.
Another cause of African poverty is water shortage. The Water Project has been working in Africa for years, building wells, rehabilitating wells, catching rain water, protecting springs, and building dams. In the communities where these projects have been established, progress is seen almost immediately. Having a fresh source of water is crucial to survival. One in nearly five deaths of children under five years, comes from a lack of sanitary water. Programs such as The Water Project are doing what they can to help reverse this trend, and with a steady flow of outside aid, the African people will have more fresh water.
While food and water are certainly vital components to life, the HIV virus has certainly added to the African poverty epidemic. However, the trends towards preventing this disease from widespread infection have been made. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been hard at work in African countries, doing all it can to prevent the spread.
Every day, one thousand children are infected with the disease, and only 23 percent are receiving proper care. However, by reducing mother-child transmission, limiting the spread to new-born children and adolescents, and providing worldwide treatments, UNICEF has assisted in a 15 percent reduction in new infections, and a 22 percent decline in AIDS related deaths.
Poverty in Africa comes from several fronts; disease, food, and water tell only part of the story. However, every day progress is being made somewhere. Africa’s poverty is widespread, but certainly not incurable. Beneficial programs are fighting worldwide to reverse the fortunes of the citizens of Africa.
– Zachary Wright
Sources: UNICEF, Dan Church Aid, Rural Poverty Portal, The Water Project
Photo: Brett Beadle
Is the MPI a Better Measure of Poverty?
Experts from the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) are urging members of the United Nations to adopt a multidimensional poverty index (MPI) that could present a more distinctive picture of global poverty. For each individual or family, the MPI collates economic data along with information related to health, education, and living standards. This information is then used to assess where people are experiencing deprivation of basic needs, which determines their overall level of poverty.
Director of OPHI, Sabina Alkire, says that the MPI provides a measure of poverty that will answer not only who is poor but also why they are poor. “The real value of multidimensional measures is not having one number,” Alkire told The Guardian, “but it is that we can bring that number to bear…in different ways to understand poverty and trends in reduction over time.”
The current extreme poverty threshold—developed by the World Bank and used by the United Nations—is $1.25 per person per day. This number is thought to reflect an amount that each person needs to maintain his or her basic needs. But many activists believe that $1.25 per day is hardly enough to address basic needs. A report released by Action Aid suggests that $10 per day is a more realistic threshold and also points out that the number of people living on less than $10 per day has actually increased by 25% since 1990.
Though countries may be making progress with regard to the Millennium Development Goals, questions remain whether $1.25 per day reflects a proper poverty threshold. While some individuals may earn more than that amount, they may not have access to healthcare, education, or shelter. Failing to account for these factors creates an inaccurate portrait of global poverty.
There also appears to be a disparity between the UN’s threshold for extreme poverty and the perception of people actually living in poverty. In a meeting with UN officials, OPHI researchers reported that nearly 60 percent of Nigerians are in poverty, using the $1.25 per day threshold. But when asked their opinions, an astounding 95 percent of Nigerians said they were living in poverty. Such disconnects reveal that certain elements of poverty are not being accounted for with current measurements.
Eradicating extreme $1.25-per-day-poverty is a fair goal and developing countries should continue striving to achieve the MDGs. But with 2015 quickly approaching, the United Nations and the World Bank will be exploring new ways to define poverty and refine their stated development goals. That being said, the MPI is a likely candidate to replace the current poverty threshold.
– Daniel Bonasso
Sources: The Guardian, OPHI
Photo: Photopin
The Location of Syria and Its Importance
The conflict that has ravaged Syria since March 15, 2011 has had worldwide ramifications. The civil war started as a response to the Arab Spring, government corruption, and the abuse of human rights. The government responded to this uprising with lethal force, and as of June 2013 the death toll has been suspected to surpass 100,000 casualties. By late April 2013, President Bashar al-Assad began launching full-scale military operations upon city enclosures, officially opening the country for civil war. The Middle Eastern country’s conflict could potentially rock the entire world, and for one seriously misunderstood fact: the location of the country.
The location of Syria holds significance not because of the country’s resources, but of the countries located around it. The Middle East is the oil production giant of the world, and is a sensitive spot for intervention. The location of Syria brings out legitimate reasons to be wary of intervention, as the civil war must be contained at all costs. The addition of a foreign power may allow the war to spill over into neighboring countries, inciting a deadly Middle Eastern war that would be devastating.
Not only is Syria close to the Middle Eastern oil titans, but the continent of Africa lays not far away. Africa is one of the most vulnerable places on earth, one rocked by poverty, hunger, and disease. The feeble economies of the poverty-stricken Africa could not take the outcome of a war spilling into its borders. Containing the war to the country of Syria is a precaution that must be taken carefully. If the conflict somehow spreads to Africa, the continent and its emerging countries will face the fallout of a war they had no stake in.
The majority of citizens in the United States do not support military intervention in Syria. Citizens do not want another drawn-out affair like the wars of the previous Bush administration. Whether military intervention is agreed upon or not, the effects of the decision upon Syria could be monumental. The civil war has reached a deadly number, as evidenced by the 100,000 casualties already listed. This number could exponentially increase, regardless of intervention. If the United States does intervene, it could potentially lose control of the situation, or allow the other Middle Eastern to beef up their weaponry with Western troops in such cl0se proximity. But by leaving the conflict to fester on its own, the United States takes any convincing power out of its hands. Not having a say in which way the conflict heads could be as potentially dangerous as being directly involved. By not intervening, the neighboring countries and poverty-racked Africa could be left in the fray.
The Syrian situation has become one of great interest. Understanding the location of the country, and what ramifications the location could have, is crucial to fully comprehending the condition. Not only will the war have complications upon the Syrian government, the neighboring countries and Africa could become involved. Stay tuned, because the land is hot with anger and strife, and only time will tell where these emotions will take the warring country.
– Zachary Wright
Sources: dailyprincetonian, Maps of World
Photo: Al Hdhod
China Investing in Aid to Africa: Infrastructure, Communication, Energy Initiatives
Many officials believe China investing in aid to Africa may be unethical, a form of misguided imperialism, or a way of taking advantage of Africa’s natural resources for the primary benefit of improving China’s economy. Regardless as to whether China’s motive behind widespread aid in Africa is good or bad, the collected data sure tells us one thing–Africa is certainly benefiting from China’s contracts, assistance, and investments.
Western cultures, such as the United States, take a different approach than China. China’s approach is very secretive, and it is difficult to track what exactly Chinese workers are doing in Africa. Fortunately, the U.S. is working hard to uncover that information.
AidData, a research organization funded at The College of William and Mary in the United States, is seeking to reveal the culturally hidden inner-workings of China’s International Development strategies. Based on AidData’s findings, 1,673 different international aid projects were launched and implemented in more than fifty African countries from 2000-2011. China has invested approximately $75 billion in these projects.
China’s international aid projects in Africa are heavily weighted in projects concerning infrastructure, communication, and various power projects. Benefiting from China’s infrastructure project aid, Africa now has an increased quality of transportation either within or outside of the continent. China has assisted in higher quality African roads, railways, and ports. Notably, China carried out a project in Angola that repaired a prominent railroad for the country’s citizens.
The quality of communication in Africa has also increased due to China’s efforts. In Tanzania, China undertook a contract to build a fiber-optic transmission backbone network in order to utilize Internet and telecommunication services. The overarching goal of this project is to connect people via communication vehicles in various areas of Tanzania.
China also has made big gains in Africa’s energy growth. In 2010, China began to build The Malabo Gas Plant in Equatorial Guinea. Once completed, Equatorial Guinea will have full service power supply. The project will boost irrigation systems in the country, as well as build ecological attention. Infrastructure projects in Africa will support and drive the African social and economic expansion. That said, China will continue to expedite progress in transportation projects, interaction services, and power systems.
Because China is working in a rather unregulated market, it will be important for Chinese enterprises to act accountably for their actions. By the same token, African government officials will need to take steps to protect the rights of the African people and the community as a whole.
– Laura Reinacher
Sources: China, Global Times, One
Photo: Shared Societies Project Blog
What is the G-20?
G-20 stands for “Group of 20 [nations]” that come together every year in a different place to discuss solutions to global issues, mainly economic issues. The 20 nations included in the G-20 summit are: Australia, Japan, South Africa, France, Turkey, the USA, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Mexico, Korea, China, Canada, Italy, Indonesia, India, the EU, Germany, the UK, Brazil, and Argentina.
At their summit once a year, these nations discuss various problems whose solutions can only be reached with international cooperation. The first G-20 session (conducted in Washington D.C., USA) dealt with the economic crisis of the time. Ever since then, the G20 has taken the responsibility of preventing further economic meltdowns with international cooperative measures. The G20 summit is also a great place to address poverty. Helping stabilize the economy and encouraging growth will result in a better economy even in poorer nations. It would help improve infrastructure, and allow smaller nations to build their nation and economy.
This year, the G20 summit, hosted by Russia, will again tackle financial and economic problems. Russia has organized its main priorities for growth in three main categories: Regulation; Jobs and Investment; and Trust and Transparency. One of the main recommendations to ensure economic growth is to confront corruption. Corruption effectively holds back progress. Especially in smaller nations, or nations where aid is necessary to build infrastructure and economy, corruption prevents funds from reaching their destination. The G-20 committee will address the issue of corruption in October. In a solution to, and an active fight against, corruption, lies the future of the fight against global poverty.
Solving economic problems will directly impact poverty; fighting poverty will result in a stronger global economy. Attempting to address economic issues with this in mind will help the international economy, and the national ones as well. The G-20 summit, which meets mainly to address these economic issues, has the potential to greatly impact the fight against global poverty.
– Aalekhya Malladi
Sources: G20, U.S. Department of State
Photo: Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Sandy River Foundation Aids Nonprofit Efforts
The Sandy River Foundation, founded in 2008, works to bring physical and spiritual wholesomeness to all nations. It achieves this by providing nonprofit organizations with funding in order to focus on their initiatives rather than on fundraising to keep the organization going.
Nonprofits that wish to receive this funding must meet the guidelines of the Sandy River Foundation and complete an application process, but only after being invited by the foundation itself. Some of the organizations that have accepted funding include Heifer International, the Long Island Community Foundation, Oxfam America, and Acción International.
The mission of Heifer International is to end both hunger and poverty by providing families with a cow. This provides a source of food to families from the milk the animal provides. The families can also sell the excess products to gain a reliable source of income, and after saving this income, can start a small business or even join an agricultural cooperative with other families nearby.
By providing small businesses with microfinancing, Acción International hopes to strengthen businesses with both financial and managerial support. Once those microfinance institutions have grown and become financially independent of donors, the economy of the surrounding area will increase and the jobs of those working at the company will be secured. Acción International has provided its support to countries across the globe including India, China, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Colombia.
The Sandy River Foundation donates
to nonprofits in order to create a positive impact across the globe.
– Alessandra Wike
Sources: Accion, Heifer International, Sandy River Foundation
Using CDs to Clean Water
Can old compact discs, better known as CDs, really clean water? If so, how? Scientists at the National Taiwan University are now using old CDs to grow zinc oxide in order to break down the pollutants in water. Recently, Dr. Ping Tsai, a Taiwan University physicist, spearheaded this innovative project. He and his colleagues have now perfected a water treatment device that uses old CDs to clean water.
According to Taiwan University’s research team, the device uses the flat, smooth surface of the CD in order to complete this process. The surface of the CD serves as the “breeding ground” for zinc-oxide nanorods. These nanorods are what help de-pollute the water. The nanorods can break down the presence of organic molecules in the presence of UV light. The researchers have also explained that these nanorods are usually microscopic in size. The research team explained that the nanorods “are extremely small- just a thousandth the width of a human hair- and are an inexpensive conductor that can function as a photocatalyst.”
In short, the research team calls the cleaning method a type of “Photocatalytic Water Decontamination.” This method has been widely used over the years, but this is the first time CDs have been used in order to help the depollution process. Using CDs to clean water has become very popular. It’s believed that “optical discs are very cheap, readily available and commonly used. They are also durable and portable”. The CDs also rotate quickly, which allows them to absorb water faster than light. As a result, water will pass more quickly and easily through the first layer of the disk than light would. During this process, contaminated water drips onto the device, spreads out in a thin film that light can easily pass through, which breaks down pollutants. The CD is spun in the presence of UV light which further breaks down pollutants.
Using zinc oxide to clean water is not a new idea, but using CDs to absorb water has recently grown in popularity. Its accessibility, low price, and absorbency make it a profitable and efficient way to clean water in places where the vital resource is hard to come by.
– Stephanie Olay
Sources: iScience Times, Science Daily
Photo: Phys
What is Swadhaar?
Swadhaar is an organization that provides economic support to urban poor communities. Swadhaar works primarily in India where urban poverty is a major problem. India has an 8.5% unemployment rate and almost 30% of its population lives under the poverty line.
Swadhaar gives financial assistance to people living under the international poverty line of $2 a day. The organization also has a heavy emphasis on women living below the poverty line. Beyond crediting loans to impoverished people, it aims to create economic self-reliance for people they are assisting. The organization provides financial education and opportunities for its clients so that they may eventually be self-reliant.
This is extremely important in India where many people do not feel that the government is adequately providing for them. Most of the people that Swadhaar gives assistance to are people that do not qualify for government assistance. The organization provides loans to its clients that have declining interest rates. The company does still make a profit from the interest rates, but they are not so extreme that they bury clients in debt.
The major issue that many people living in poor communities have is lack of documentation. Swadhaar offers assistance to those who do not have access to government benefits due to lack of documentation. It may not be a non-profit human rights organization, but nevertheless it provides the tools for success to people in India, which can be just as important.
– Zachary Patterson
Sources: Swadhaar, CIA
Photo: Swadhaar
7 Facts about Syrian Refugees
Every day, thousands of men, women and children cross Syria’s border in hopes of escaping their violence-stricken country, and building a brighter future. However, camps and neighboring countries are running out of places to relocate all the refugees, creating a new problem known as the Syrian Refugee Crisis. Because there are not enough accommodations or supplies for all the refugees from Syria, the places that these people are fleeing to have become similar to the devastation and poverty that they left behind.
Since the Civil War began in 2011, more than 2 million people have fled the country. Approximately 97 percent of these refugees are hosted by neighboring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, putting pressure on these nations’ economies, infrastructures and societies.- Many refugees are not counted. The real number of refugees is significantly higher than currently known. The above number refers to the refugees who registered with the United Nations (U.N.) before leaving Syria. Many refugees have fled to countries illegally, and are therefore not counted in the “official total.”
- Half of these refugees are children. As refugee camps continue to overflow, there are now over 1 million child refugees. Children make up more than half the refugees, according to the U.N. This number is more than the combined under-18 population of Los Angeles and Boston. Many of these children have no access to clean water, vaccinations or education, and constantly are constrained by the crisis in their country.
- Rape and sexual abuse are prevalent. In sprawling camps and overloaded host communities, there have been many cases of domestic violence, violence against women, and rape. Because of the conservative nature of the Syrian culture, many of these women do not report or even speak about these crimes.
- Most refugees don’t live in camps. Jordan’s Zaatari camp is now home to more than 100,000 refugees from Syria, far more than the camp is meant to hold. 70 percent of the refugees in Jordan are living in urban communities. In countries like Lebanon, there are no camps in place, so families are scattered among 1,200 different locations, such as abandoned shopping centers and stores.
- Many refugees have to pay rent. Most refugees living in urban areas are forced to pay rent to landlords. Since many of them lack a source of income, they are faced between a choice of homelessness or overwhelming debt. Because there are so many refugees in some countries like Lebanon, there are no available jobs and families are getting evicted.
- Refugee camps are like prisons. When families enter refugee camps, they are registered and confined to a gated space that they are not permitted to exit or re-enter whenever they please. Armed police officers, who are in control of the daily routine, guard the camp. There are no work possibilities or any productive pastimes. Many refugees cannot bear the conditions and instead have decided to return to Syria and face the dangers that occur there.
– Sonia Aviv
Sources: UNICEF, CTV News, The Guardian, Oxfam International, National Geographic
Photo: The Guardian
U.S. Denies Visa for Sudan President
As police cracked down on protests against the slashing of fuel subsidies in Sudan, which have resulted in at least 50 deaths, the country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Ahmed Karti used the nation’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly to protest the U.S. decision to deny a visa to the country’s president, who faces international war crimes and genocide charges.
Despite an outstanding warrant for his arrest from the International Criminal Court, linked to the conflict in the Darfur region in which around 300,000 people have died since 2003, Sudan’s president Omar Hassan al-Bashir planned to attend the U.N. General Assembly this past week and had already booked a hotel in New York.
Ali Ahmed Karti called the alleged visa denial an “unjustified and unacceptable action,” while the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, had called Bashir’s intention to travel to New York “deplorable, cynical and hugely inappropriate.”
The U.S. has never denied a visiting head of state who wants to speak at the United Nations entrance into the country. Under a treaty between the U.S. and the U.N., Washington is obligated to issue the visa as the world body’s host country. Despite this, the country had made it clear that it did not want al-Bashir to arrive in New York. Had he been granted entrance, al-Bashir would have been the first head of state to address the world body while facing international war crimes and genocide charges.
Meanwhile, in Sudan, protests broke out in Khartoum and other Sudanese cities over high fuel prices, while the country’s internet was cut off on the third day of protest. In an effort to turn a wave of popular anger into a full-fledged uprising against the 24-year rule of al-Bashir, 5,000 protesters demonstrated in some of the biggest protests in many years in the Khartoum area.
The country’s economy has worsened in the past few years, especially after southern Sudan seceded and took the country’s main oil-producing territory. Still, al-Bashir has managed to keep a grip on the regime, surviving armed rebellions, U.S. trade sanctions, an economic crisis, and an attempted coup last year. He also continues to enjoy support from the army, his ruling party, and wealthy Sudanese with wide-ranging business interests.
– Nayomi Chibana
Feature Writer
Sources: AP, Reuters, ABC News
Photo: The London Evening Post
Poverty in Africa
Africa, the second largest continent in the world, is a land caught in the claws of poverty. The impoverished areas of Africa are generally located in rural settings. Seventy percent of Africans live in rural areas, relying on agriculture for food and livelihood. However, the situation in Africa has shown improvements in recent years. While improvements to the quality of life have been made, many areas still require extreme attention and work.
Many of Africa’s problems stem from a massive hunger and thirst epidemic; these vitals have been hard to come by for many years. Not only do the hunger and clean water problems still ravage the continent, the HIV/AIDS virus is also still prominent. In 2009, about two-thirds of the thirty-four million people living with the HIV virus resided in Africa.
Detailed above, there are several reasons why poverty has become an epidemic in Africa. A major reason is certainly the hunger problem. Despite its natural resources, Africa is the world’s poorest continent, and one-third of the population suffers from starvation. Despite the food shortage, programs and organizations worldwide are fighting to help balance out the hunger epidemic.
Dan Church Aid, an organization founded to alleviate food shortages worldwide, is just one program among many that combats this problem. The Dan Church Aid has been especially active in Ethiopia. The organization has teamed up with local farmers throughout the country to educate them about the land and how to cultivate it themselves. The food shortage is not a problem that will be solved by outside aid; it must improve from within. Starting in Ethiopia, farmers will be taught how to use the expansive natural resources the African land offers to produce food. The food epidemic is far from over, but with programs teaching farmers across the continent how to cultivate their own land, progress can be assured, slowly perhaps but certainly steadily.
Another cause of African poverty is water shortage. The Water Project has been working in Africa for years, building wells, rehabilitating wells, catching rain water, protecting springs, and building dams. In the communities where these projects have been established, progress is seen almost immediately. Having a fresh source of water is crucial to survival. One in nearly five deaths of children under five years, comes from a lack of sanitary water. Programs such as The Water Project are doing what they can to help reverse this trend, and with a steady flow of outside aid, the African people will have more fresh water.
While food and water are certainly vital components to life, the HIV virus has certainly added to the African poverty epidemic. However, the trends towards preventing this disease from widespread infection have been made. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been hard at work in African countries, doing all it can to prevent the spread.
Every day, one thousand children are infected with the disease, and only 23 percent are receiving proper care. However, by reducing mother-child transmission, limiting the spread to new-born children and adolescents, and providing worldwide treatments, UNICEF has assisted in a 15 percent reduction in new infections, and a 22 percent decline in AIDS related deaths.
Poverty in Africa comes from several fronts; disease, food, and water tell only part of the story. However, every day progress is being made somewhere. Africa’s poverty is widespread, but certainly not incurable. Beneficial programs are fighting worldwide to reverse the fortunes of the citizens of Africa.
– Zachary Wright
Sources: UNICEF, Dan Church Aid, Rural Poverty Portal, The Water Project
Photo: Brett Beadle