Two years ago, Myanmar (also known as Burma) was the runt of Southeast Asia. For decades, it had suffered under autocratic military rule, entrenched human rights violations, and, at a 26% poverty rate, one of the region’s worst economies. But all that is starting to change.
In 2008, Cyclone Nargis devastated the seaside nation, prompting a flood of international aid. Despite skepticism about aid impact, the global attention kickstarted major national reform in Myanmar. Jim Della-Giacoma, the director of the International Crisis Group in Asia, recently applauded the nation for handling the abrupt largesse transparently and efficiently—tendencies not often reflected in emerging governments.
In 2011, the decades-long civil war between the government and the Kachin rebels in Myanmar came to a ceasefire. The unprecedented peace has opened the gates wide for fostering economic growth and forging new global connections. The sprawling country is making visible strides out of almost 30 years of internal conflict and isolation and has become a harbor for international development work.
Not only is the nation poised for amplified development efforts, however—Myanmar has launched itself to the head of its league. In 2014, it will assume chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a bloc it joined in 1997. Its leadership will, among many things, be key to improved environmental policy in the region.
“I never thought I’d be talking about Myanmar’s influence in Southeast Asia,” said Carter Roberts, CEO of the World Wildlife Fund. “Sometimes there are moments when countries change governments and things happen, then shame on us if we don’t provide the right technical assistance at the right time.”
His words could almost be the roadmap for USAID, the US bilateral development agency that has been providing technical assistance in Myanmar since the country first opened international relations a few years ago. Under the “U.S.-Burma Partnership for Democracy, Peace and Prosperity” launched by President Obama last November, USAID is unfolding a three-pronged strategy to end health insecurity, boost the hi-tech industry, and encourage participatory governance in Myanmar.
The nation still faces serious human rights challenges, such as military persecution of its Muslim minority. Still, its ascent from hopeless destitution and obscurity to growing prosperity and leadership is staggering and offers hope to its many poor neighbors.
“There’s a real dialogue and engagement with government at a broad range of levels,” said Rajiv Shah, a USAID administrator in Myanmar. “There’s real progress.”
— John Mahon
Sources: Reuters, World Bank, Devex
Photo: Times Live
USAID Helps Myanmar Become a Global Leader
Two years ago, Myanmar (also known as Burma) was the runt of Southeast Asia. For decades, it had suffered under autocratic military rule, entrenched human rights violations, and, at a 26% poverty rate, one of the region’s worst economies. But all that is starting to change.
In 2008, Cyclone Nargis devastated the seaside nation, prompting a flood of international aid. Despite skepticism about aid impact, the global attention kickstarted major national reform in Myanmar. Jim Della-Giacoma, the director of the International Crisis Group in Asia, recently applauded the nation for handling the abrupt largesse transparently and efficiently—tendencies not often reflected in emerging governments.
In 2011, the decades-long civil war between the government and the Kachin rebels in Myanmar came to a ceasefire. The unprecedented peace has opened the gates wide for fostering economic growth and forging new global connections. The sprawling country is making visible strides out of almost 30 years of internal conflict and isolation and has become a harbor for international development work.
Not only is the nation poised for amplified development efforts, however—Myanmar has launched itself to the head of its league. In 2014, it will assume chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a bloc it joined in 1997. Its leadership will, among many things, be key to improved environmental policy in the region.
“I never thought I’d be talking about Myanmar’s influence in Southeast Asia,” said Carter Roberts, CEO of the World Wildlife Fund. “Sometimes there are moments when countries change governments and things happen, then shame on us if we don’t provide the right technical assistance at the right time.”
His words could almost be the roadmap for USAID, the US bilateral development agency that has been providing technical assistance in Myanmar since the country first opened international relations a few years ago. Under the “U.S.-Burma Partnership for Democracy, Peace and Prosperity” launched by President Obama last November, USAID is unfolding a three-pronged strategy to end health insecurity, boost the hi-tech industry, and encourage participatory governance in Myanmar.
The nation still faces serious human rights challenges, such as military persecution of its Muslim minority. Still, its ascent from hopeless destitution and obscurity to growing prosperity and leadership is staggering and offers hope to its many poor neighbors.
“There’s a real dialogue and engagement with government at a broad range of levels,” said Rajiv Shah, a USAID administrator in Myanmar. “There’s real progress.”
— John Mahon
Sources: Reuters, World Bank, Devex
Photo: Times Live
Empathy for the Poor in Religious Practice
With the lunar calendar entering its ninth month, marked by the crescent moon, Muslims around the world begin fasting rituals in reverence of the holy month of Ramadan. For an entire month—this year Monday July 8th through Wednesday August 7th—the Muslim world spend the daylight hours abstaining from food, water, smoking, swearing, and sex. As part of the Islamic tradition, and one of the five pillars of Islam, the month is reserved as a time for spiritual introspection, self-improvement, and greater devotion to the teachings of Mohammad. Notably, the holiday urges the believer into pursuing the Zakat, or, providing alms for the poor.
A principal tenet of the Ramadan fasting practice, or Sawm, is to inspire empathy for the poor. The ascetic practice of not eating food allows the faster to be able to internalize the plight of those who do not have access to basic foodstuffs.
In the Islamic tradition, the tenet of the Zakat requires all Muslims that are able to give alms to the poor and do their part in eliminating poverty. Simply put, the practice of fasting compels the Muslim world to become philanthropists. The Qu’ran at [17:26-29] instructs, “You shall give the due alms to the relatives, the needy, the poor, and the traveling alien, but do not be excessive, extravagant.”
Hamzi Wanis, an Egyptian Businessman addressed the philanthropic properties of the holiday saying, “the concept of abstaining from eating from sunrise to sunset makes us feel the daily suffering of poor people who really cannot afford food to eat every day as they are poor. It’s the time when we should stand hand-in-hand with poor people and make them smile by offering them food and donating money to them,” The Gulf Times reported.
Despite intense heat and even hotter political turmoil in parts of the Muslim world, the Islamic tradition continues undisturbed.
– Thomas van der List
Sources: Global Times, Gulf Today, Progressive Muslim, Just Zakat
Photo: Denver Post
What is The Hunger Project?
The Hunger Project is an international nonprofit devoted to ending hunger sustainably by giving those in need the tools and power to ensure their own wellbeing and a healthy future for their children. The Hunger Project operates in 11 countries and is backed by Partner Countries in the developed world who fundraise and support developing country programs. The Hunger Project was established in 1977 in response to the new awareness raised about hunger by the Rome World Food Conference.
The Hunger Project was designed to be a ‘strategic’ organization that evolved in response to the changing battle against hunger. Three key concepts reinforce The Hunger Project’s fight to end poverty and hunger.
These elements support initiatives such as building community centers, creating a microfinance program, focusing on maternal and childhood nutrition, and battling HIV/AIDS.
Included in its key concepts is a focus on empowering women. The Hunger Project proudly espouses the belief that women effect positive and sustainable change. For instance, The Hunger Project’s branch in Australia leads numerous initiatives to provide women in villages in Africa, India, and Bangladesh with the ability to join together to successfully run businesses and become involved in local politics. As women develop leadership skills and develop a voice in the community, larger scale change becomes possible.
The Hunger Project not only leads anti-poverty and anti-hunger initiatives but also evaluates the results of these programs to provide involved organizations with useful data for better project implementation. The organization has a participatory monitoring and evaluation program and also hires external evaluators on occasion. The Hunger Project believes it is an integral part of fighting poverty and hunger to help communities assess their own programs to end hunger and evolve as necessary.
– Zoë Meroney
Sources: The Hunger Project, Daily Life
Photo: The Wild
What is Dining for Women?
That is what Dining for Women is an organization that hopes to end poverty and empower the women of the world simply by getting together once a month in each other’s homes. It is just as easy as baking a pie, literally.
In 2002 Marsha Wallace, a former nurse from Greenville, SC, saw an episode of Oprah where an Iraqi woman was interviewed about her experience as the daughter of Saddam Hussein’s personal pilot. The woman, Zainab Salbi, went on to start the Women for Women International organization with the goal of helping women on a global scale.
Marsha knew that she wanted to help women, but was not sure how she would go about doing this. The idea came to her suddenly after reading an article about hosting a potluck birthday dinner to raise money for charity. She said in an interview with Philanthropy journal, “I was meditating one day when the idea hit me like a thunderbolt. I had a birthday coming up and I decided to give this a try to raise money for Women to Women.”
The potluck dinner was a huge success and her friends wanted to continue the practice of getting together and helping people. After formally making Dining for Women in a 501(c)3, a non-profit organization, Marsha was ready to roll with her idea. There are now over 400 chapters throughout the world, including Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany as well as over 9,000 current active members. Once a month women from all walks of life in all parts of the globe get together with their chapter and bring fresh food to share with the group. The money they save from dining in as opposed to going out that night is then collected and sent to various good will groups who focus on the well-being and empowerment of women.
In the last 10 years DFW has raised an astounding $2.6 million for their supported causes and has helped to lift numerous women and their families out of the grip of poverty. With their donations Dining for Women has supported the launch of 60 female-led businesses, boosting the incomes and livelihoods of 300 women and about 1,500 children in Kenya, and sent 75 women in India to school for a literacy education with books and supplies. And that is just the beginning of it. Every year since 2007 members of the organization have taken part in trips to various places around the world to meet with the groups they have helped fund and see the impact they made in person.
What started out as a simple birthday dinner gathering has turned into a multi-national campaign to empower, educate, assist, and change women. Now women are flocking to join the organization and Marsha Wallace was even included in Women for Women International’s cookbook. Their mission is to provide women around the world with better lives by funding programs that promote health, education, and economic self-sufficiency for women and girls living in extreme poverty.
– Chelsea Evans
Sources: Dining for Women, Philanthropy Journal
Photo: Dining for Women
USAID Summer Start in Liberia to Educate 480 Students
In Liberia, adults have received an average of only 2.5 years of schooling in their lifetime. According to the CIA World Factbook, approximately 85% of Liberian citizens are unemployed, and 80% live below the poverty line. In 2012, GDP per capita was only $700, making Liberia ranked 224 of 229 nations for GDP. But since the country held peaceful elections in 2005 the economic situation has been slowly improving with the help of private overseas investors in the mining and agriculture industries. More than ever, Liberia needs successful students who can run these industries to help pull the nation out of its extreme poverty. That’s why the USAID Excellence in Higher Education for Liberian Development Project (EHELD) was created in 2011.
The project aims specifically at helping faculty at Cuttington University and the University of Liberia to develop high quality agriculture and engineering programs for its students, attracting students to the programs, and working with local business leaders to create employer linkages for the students.
Currently the EHELD team is holding its yearly USAID Summer Start program for high school students that runs from July 15 – 26. The programs, which will focus on experiential learning, are being held at 6 different high schools, accommodating 80 students each. The programs, which will be taught by a team from the University of Michigan, Peace Corps Volunteers, and faculty of Cuttington University and the University of Liberia, will teach important life skills such as computer science and math, while also providing career counseling in agriculture and engineering.
In addition, the EHELD summer programs are partnering with the Cuttington University Upward Bound program to run at the same time under the same leadership. The Upward Bound program will specifically focus on educating 10th -12th graders, while the summer start program will focus on incoming engineering and agriculture students at Cuttington University and the University of Liberia and returning summer start students.
Superintendent of Bomi County (where the high schools are located) Samuel Browne spoke during the camps opening ceremonies, urging the students to appreciate the opportunity and take full advantage of it and telling them the “sky is the limit” when it comes to education.
USAID-EHELD is also currently providing scholarships for over 100 talented engineering and agriculture students at the two universities.
– Emma McKay
Sources: Nation Master, All Africa, Nation Master
Photo: Harvard News
The Truth Behind Poverty in Japan
According to The Economist, poverty in Japan is rarely visible. There is little begging and little evidence that the homeless exist. The poor are quietly hidden in shadows away from what appears of economic homogeneity in Japan. They are hidden from sight and very difficult to measure.
However, the truth of the matter is that poverty is increasing at alarming rates in Japan. After years of economic stagnation, now statistics show that nearly one in six Japanese lived in poverty in 2007. This accounts for nearly 20 million people within the population.
Poverty in Japan
Yet the popular perception of Japan is one of a nation of prosperity and centenarians. Even many Japanese themselves were horrified to find out that Japan’s poverty rate was in recent years as high as 15.7%, nearly as high as the figure for the United States. The Japanese government has admitted that it had been keeping poverty statistics hidden since 1998. Aya Abe, a researcher at the National Institute of Population and Social Security in Tokyo has stated, “it is very unpopular for the Japanese media to say anything about Japanese poverty.” By denying the existence of increasing poverty, Japan has failed to support its growing impoverished population.
The results of this lack of support are visible in the plight of single parents in Japan. The poverty rate of single parents is now the highest of the all of the nations that are part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Furthermore, statistics show that now one in seven children in Japan lives in poverty. According to Japan Times, more and more children are now unable to afford schoolbooks and basic materials for education.
Despite these grim facts, few impoverished Japanese are even willing to admit that they are poor. Poverty experts in Japan say that 80% of the poor in Japan are “working poor.” That is to say that these poor may be working temporary jobs with few benefits but they unable to or even unwilling to reveal the true condition of their financial or living situation.
Furthermore, years of deregulated labor and competition with China have created a wide market of low paying jobs. For a nation that is accustomed to lifetime jobs, there are few social safety nets for the unemployed. Thus, while the poor in Japan may fair considerably better than those in developing nations, they face a social taboo that attempts to cover up poverty. Thus the climb upwards is a difficult and lonely challenge.
– Grace Zhao
Sources: New York Times, Japan Times, The Economist
How is Farming in Developing Countries Different?
The story of farming in the developing world is a completely different one. In the US, agricultural workers make up a very small portion of the population, but agriculture employs anywhere between 50 percent and 90 percent of the population for farming in developing countries. Of this percentage, small farmers are the most prevalent form of producers, making up 70-90 percent of those working in agriculture. According to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s website “Three-quarters of the world’s poorest people get their food and income by farming small plots of land about the size of a football field.”
Improving Farming in Developing Countries
As such, helping these small farmers in developing countries increase production and sell more crops is the best way to combat global hunger and poverty. The difficulties in increasing production for these farmers include unproductive soil, plant diseases, pests, and drought. In many cases these small farmers trek miles to the nearest water source and are only able to bring enough water back to produce small amounts of crops. Lack of access to improved seeds or fertilizers and pesticides further add to their hardships, in addition to a lack of reliable markets and little available pricing information.
One important aspect of furthering agricultural production in developing countries is pushing for empowerment and equality of women in these nations. In Asia, women produce 60 percent of agricultural products, and in Africa that figure is 80 percent. However, these same women also are not given equal access to credit which could enable them to afford quality seeds, fertilzers, and water pumps, increasing their production and providing more food to their communities. If women farmers were given equal access to resources, developing countries would see significant increases in agricultural productivity.
Other ways to aid these small farmers include investment in technological innovations, such as cheap solar-powered water pumps, and giving farmers better access to information about the markets they are selling to. Thanks to new information technologies, farming knowledge can now be transferred across regions through radio, internet, and mobile phones.
The important thing to note about farming in developing countries is that such a large portion—up to 90 percent—of the economy is made up of agriculture workers. If innovations and policies can improve their standard of living then the majority of the poor in many developing countries would be lifted out of poverty. Out of their rise from poverty comes new consumers and contributors to the global economy, benefitting not just developing countries, but developed ones as well.
– Martin Drake
Sources: Gates Foundation, Canadian Federation of Agriculture
Photo: World Crunch
Keith Klugman Named Director of Gates Foundation Pneumonia Program
Worldwide, pneumonia is the leading cause of death among children under five. In 2011 alone, pneumonia caused the deaths of 1.3 million children and accounted for 18% of child deaths – mostly in developing regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
According to the Gates Foundation, “if properly diagnosed, childhood pneumonia can be effectively treated in a three-day course of antibiotics at a cost of only .21 to .42 US cents.” The Gates Foundation Pneumonia Program’s priority is “to promote full-scale delivery of currently available pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccines” in order to save 2.9 million children and prevent 52 million cases of pneumonia.
On July 11, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation named Keith Klugman as Director of the Gates Foundation Pneumonia Program beginning August 5.
As an accomplished professor and researcher, Klugman’s resume is very impressive. Formerly the William H. Foege’s Chair and Professor in the Hubert Department of Global Health at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta, Klugman’s research has centered around “antibiotics, antimicrobial resistance, and vaccines for bacterial pathogens – particularly the pneumococci.”
Klugman was also the Co-Director of the Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit of the University of Witwatersrand, the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in Johannesburg, South Africa, according to the American Society for Microbiology. After assuming his new leadership position at the Gates Foundation, he will remain an Honorary Professor in the Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit.
During the course of his career, “Klugman has chaired or served on numerous expert committees for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, the Wellcome Trust in London, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
He is also the Chair of the International Board of the American Society for Microbiology, “the largest single life science Society with over 40,000 members worldwide”, and the Treasurer of the Executive Committee of the International Society for Infectious Diseases.
Trained in South Africa and a postdoctoral graduate of the Rockefeller University in New York, Klugman stands out as one of the leading figures in the field of Microbiology.
– Lauren Yeh
Sources: The Gates Foundation, mBio, The Gates Foundation
Photo: Emory University
Wheelchairs & The Developing World
The earliest depiction of a wheelchair can be found on an ancient Chinese engraving from 535 A.D. However wheelbarrow like chairs were used as early as the third century. These early wheelchairs were often used tote around people who were too rich or important to walk on their own. One of the most famous early wheelchair users was Philip II of Spain who suffered from gout, other wise known as the “rich man’s disease.” The wheelchair began to take on its modern form in the 18th century. Belgium-born inventor John Joseph Merlin, inventor of roller skates, created a maneuverable, sedan-like wheelchair for people with gout.
Improvements were made upon the sedan wheelchair and the predecessor of modern upright, self-propelled chair came to be. This early modern wheelchair was known as the Bath Chair. It was invented by John Dawson of Bath, England. The chair was constructed with two large wheels and one small one. The chair was used to move immobile people to spa waters. This wheel chair was much more maneuverable and outsold all other models even into the early 19th century.
Yet despite the progress that the Bath chair made, it was still not very comfortable for people to sit in for many hours, and it was still extremely large and bulky. In 1869, a patent was developed for wheelchairs with rear push wheels and small front casters. During this time, hollow rubber wheels were added to metal rims on the chairs. By 1881, pushrims were invented so that users of wheelchairs could push themselves. By 1916, a motorized wheel chair had already been invented. By then, the wheelchair was much more compact with the lightweight models weighing only 58 pounds.
In 1933, Herbert A. Everest, a paraplegic, sought a wheelchair that could be placed in a car. Everest’s friend and engineer Harry Jennings would work to design the first metal foldable wheelchair. Furthermore, Jennings and Everest would go on to found Everest & Jennings, a wheelchair company that would dominate the market for many years. The wheelchair would undergo many modifications during the course of history. The rise of the automobile led to the creation of compact wheelchairs. Improved medical services and better understanding of disabilities would also prompt further innovation.
Most importantly the wheelchair would develop from a rich man’s luxury to a vital device for countless people with disabilities. Today the wheelchair is one of the most commonly used devices for aiding in personal mobility. According to the World Health Organization, 1% of the world’s population requires the use of a wheelchair. However those needing wheelchairs in developing countries are often unable to obtain wheelchairs due to the lack of production facilities. Furthermore, wheelchairs donated are often insufficiently equipped or ill fitting for the poor in developing nations. Thus today the wheelchair still needs significant innovation to reach the poor. Improvements can be made upon the structure and material so that the wheelchair can be easily built in developing nations. By providing better mobility, the wheelchair can open up doors to better education, work and social lives for people in developing nations.
– Grace Zhao
Sources: History Extra, Inventors, Wheelchair Net, World Health Organization
New Vaccine Protects Against Multiple Strains of Malaria
A team of international researchers has recently developed a new vaccine that demonstrates great progress made in the fight against malaria. The vaccine effectively protects against multiple strains of the deadly disease, creating better protection for the immunized.
The investigators have not yet started trials of the newly developed vaccine in humans, but research on how the vaccine works in the red blood cells of mice is promising. Vaccinated mice that were exposed to malaria showed low levels of parasites in their blood. Researchers even say that the vaccine was so effective that “some of the mice had so few parasites that we were unable to see them when we looked at the blood under a microscope.”
The investigators also found that their vaccine was effective in protecting against malaria regardless of the specific strain of the disease that the mice were exposed to. They stated that, “even though mice were immunized with only one strain of malaria and infected with a different strain, they were also protected by our vaccine. That means that our vaccine protects against all strains of malaria.”
The new vaccine was developed after researchers considered modifying the way that previous malaria vaccines were made. In previous research, investigators used low doses of the dead parasite in vaccines, which proved effective in protecting against malaria. In development of the new vaccine, researchers decided to use whole parasites to immunize against the disease. To produce the vaccine, the malaria parasite is treated with a drug that “binds to the parasite’s DNA and prevents it from multiplying.” After immunization, the vaccine works by turning on an immune response in white blood cells, which can recognize proteins hidden in the malaria parasite. Researchers believe that immune recognition of hidden proteins in the various strains of malaria may be what is making the vaccine effective across all strains of the disease.
Each year, malaria infects nearly 250 million people across the globe and is responsible for one million deaths. The developers of the new vaccine hope that their new findings will help reduce the suffering that is caused by the disease in the future. In the next few months, the team will begin trial testing of their vaccine in humans. If the vaccine proves to be as effective as anticipated, use of the vaccine will be expanded to areas where malaria is present.
– Jordan Kline
Sources: The Conversation, Journal of Clinical Investigation