On July 31, 2013, elections in Zimbabwe took place for both the parliament and presidency. The election was the first under the southern African country’s new constitution. The current 89-year-old leader, Robert Mugabe, transformed the country once known as the breadbasket of Africa into an African basket case. He hopes to extend his 33-year-long reign of power, but he has serious competition from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
But Tsvangirai may not be the answer to the country’s problems. He has committed many strategic errors, fracturing the opposition movement in the struggle against his opponent. He is a man who has survived multiple alleged assassination attempts in defense of freedom and democracy, and has suffered jail time and torture. Tsvangirai also understands the country’s need for economic freedom. He is aware that in order for Zimbabwe to prosper, the government needs to restore respect for property rights, shut down inefficient state-run enterprises, and significantly improve the business environment.
Zimbabwe experienced extreme economic hardship between 1998 and 2008. Its economy contracted at an annual rate of -6.09%. However, the countries next door, Botswana and Mozambique, were growing at annual rates of 3.95% and 4.94%, respectively. Zimbabwe’s per capita income fell dramatically from $1,640 to $661 while incomes in the neighboring countries continued to increase. As a result of economic contraction, Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate rose to nearly 94% in 2008.
Though the country rebounded slightly from the low point in 2008, its economy was still 36% smaller in 2012 than it had been in 1998. The UN’s Human Development Index (HDI) – an approximate measure of a standard of living that is calculated on a scale from 0 to 1 – saw Zimbabwe fall from 0.376 in 2000 to 0.345 in 2008. The cholera outbreak that left hundreds dead was merely a confirmation that Zimbabwe was a failed country.
In 2010, Zimbabwe ranked 142nd out of 144 countries surveyed in the Fraser Institute’s Economics Freedom of the World report; this year, it came in 172nd out of 185 countries surveyed in the World Bank’s Doing Business report; and 132nd out of 144 countries surveyed by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report.
The underlying cause of the country’s economic turmoil, past and present, is political action. Robert Mugabe became prime minister and then president in 1980. He was a professed communist who was committed to turning Zimbabwe into a one-party Marxist state. After defeating the white-minority rule in the country that was once called Rhodesia, Mugabe saw himself as the supreme leader, and his party, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), as the only legitimate political authority in the country.
Joshua Nkomo and his African People’s Union party (ZAPU) were Mugabe’s opposition. During the 1983 elections, Mugabe released the Zimbabwean military on Nkomo’s supporters. Over 20,000 people perished in that conflict. Eventually ZAPU was forced to merge with ZANU, and Nkomo became Mugabe’s powerless Vice President.
According to Foreign Policy Magazine, what Zimbabwe desperately needs are structural reforms including tax simplifications, labor and product market deregulation, and privatization of money-losing state-owned enterprises. Above all else, Zimbabweans must find a way to restore the rule of law and respect for property rights. For decades, Zimbabwe’s multiple communist regimes have benefitted from government monopolies, sale of permits and licenses, and outright fraud and theft. And the majority of Zimbabweans have been suffering. Only a clean break from the past will put the country on the right track to a sustained rate of high economic growth.
The election took place on Wednesday and the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission has 5 days to release the results. Already Mugabe’s party is claiming a victory for their side and Tsvangirai’s party is claiming that there has been election fraud.
– Scarlet Shelton
Sources: Sky News, Fraser Institute, Doing Business, World Economic Forum
MDG 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
The Millennium Development Goals are a set of eight targets agreed upon by almost all countries around the world. (For a more in-depth description of the MDGs, review this excellent post by Delice Williams: https://borgenproject.org/what-are-the-un-millennium-development-goals) Overseen by the United Nations, these goals are to be reached by 2015. Two years out from this deadline, it’s important to recognize how much progress we have made, and how far we have to go. This is the first in a series of posts that will do just that, focusing on each MDG individually in order to better understand the intricacies of each one.
The first MDG states that we will eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. This goal consists of three facets:
The first of these goals, to halve the proportion of people living in extreme poverty, was met five years ahead of schedule. This represents 700 million less people facing extreme poverty in 2010 than in 1990. Extreme poverty is falling in every region. It is incredibly encouraging to know that progress is possible everywhere, especially considering that 1.2 billion people around the world are still living in extreme poverty.
In regards to the second goal, 294 million workers have been raised out of extreme poverty as of 2011. However, this still leaves 384 million workers living on less than $1.25 per day. Progress in this area has been made in part through UN partnerships with governments that provide job training for unemployed youth in developing countries. One such program, The Youth Employment Fund, was instated in Serbia, where over 2000 young Serbs were given job training and opportunities for work.
Despite significant progress towards the second goal, a significant gender gap remains. The employment percentage was still almost 25% higher for men than for women in 2012. UN Women, a women’s rights group sponsored by the United Nations, has been working towards this goal by empowering women in the workplace, especially when it comes to food production. Women all over the world are benefiting from their programs, such as those in Timor-Leste and Rwanda. These programs include self-help groups and agricultural training, as well as financial education that gives women more sway when it comes to family financial decisions.
According the UN’s progress report, the goal of halving the proportion of hungry people around the world is within reach by 2015. In fact, 38 countries have already met this target. However, roughly 1 in 8 people worldwide still go to sleep hungry each night, and about 870 million people are still undernourished. While undernutrition is a significant problem, malnutrition affects many more people worldwide, with two billion people suffering from one or more micronutrient deficiencies.
With advancements in each of the three facets of the first MDG, we should celebrate our success. And yet, with billions of people still facing extreme poverty and hunger every day, we must continue to make progress.
This series will continue by considering the significant advancements made and work to be done in regards to the second MDG, the achievement of universal primary education.
– Katie Fullerton
Sources: UN Women, UN NewsCentre, UN MDGs
Photo: Mwebantu,
The Adverse Effects of Counter terrorism Laws
In the last decade, following the attacks on September 11th, 2001, there has been a proliferation of counter terrorism legislation. Most notably the Patriot Act, but many such others have been drafted and passed. A large focus of these laws is to reduce the effectiveness of terrorist organizations by cutting them off from international aid.
There is a side effect though to this crackdown on organizations designated as terrorist, especially in regions where those organizations have control. In Gaza for example, where a rift in the Palestinian government has led to Hamas control of the region, international funding has all but evaporated, due to the labeling of Hamas as a terrorist organization. This isn’t due to the money not being available or no one being willing to assist with humanitarian issues in the region, but rather because a large number of counter-terrorism measures have attached strings to donations.
Examples include an NGO that was prohibited from distributing food because the ministry of social affairs required it to share its beneficiary list, and, as this would constitute a connection to Hamas, the donor wouldn’t authorize it. Similarly, a school project was blocked because the headmaster at the school was viewed to be too senior in the Hamas administration. By placing conditions on the distribution of aid, or prohibiting any connection to a terrorist organization, in a region dominated by that organization, these counter-terrorism laws are preventing many NGOs from securing funding. The first concern for them now is to avoid association with the terrorist organization, and only then can humanitarian action be taken. Or, as more often happens, local NGOs simply refuse funding from external donors, as conditions can’t be met.
Somalia has seen a similar decline in aid, for similar reasons. Kate Mackintosh, co-author of a report commissioned by the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, says, ‘We did find negative impacts on humanitarian activities, as restriction of funding, blocking of projects and self-censorship by International Organizations and NGOs. After 2008, for example, when the US listed al-Shabaab as a terrorist group, we saw an 88% decrease in aid to Somalia, between 2008 and 2010.’
While counter-terrorism measures are a sad reality of our time, what needs to be reviewed is their impact on humanitarian aid. These laws need to make exceptions to avoid having a negative impact on aid organizations and allow them to operate with the needs of beneficiaries foremost.
– David M Wilson
Sources: The Guardian, IRIN
Photo: LA Times
Global Hunger Statistics in 2013
For those involved in the fight against global hunger, it is important to remain up-to-date on the numbers of people who are affected by hunger and malnutrition every year. Although global hunger still plagues a large portion of the world, the number of those affected decreases annually. Here are a few current global hunger statistics:
The good news: the amount needed to provide a child with a healthy diet of vitamins and nutrients is merely 25 cents per day. World hunger is 100% solvable.
– Mary Penn
Sources: World Food Programme, Stop Hunger Now
Update on Elections in Zimbabwe
On July 31, 2013, elections in Zimbabwe took place for both the parliament and presidency. The election was the first under the southern African country’s new constitution. The current 89-year-old leader, Robert Mugabe, transformed the country once known as the breadbasket of Africa into an African basket case. He hopes to extend his 33-year-long reign of power, but he has serious competition from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
But Tsvangirai may not be the answer to the country’s problems. He has committed many strategic errors, fracturing the opposition movement in the struggle against his opponent. He is a man who has survived multiple alleged assassination attempts in defense of freedom and democracy, and has suffered jail time and torture. Tsvangirai also understands the country’s need for economic freedom. He is aware that in order for Zimbabwe to prosper, the government needs to restore respect for property rights, shut down inefficient state-run enterprises, and significantly improve the business environment.
Zimbabwe experienced extreme economic hardship between 1998 and 2008. Its economy contracted at an annual rate of -6.09%. However, the countries next door, Botswana and Mozambique, were growing at annual rates of 3.95% and 4.94%, respectively. Zimbabwe’s per capita income fell dramatically from $1,640 to $661 while incomes in the neighboring countries continued to increase. As a result of economic contraction, Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate rose to nearly 94% in 2008.
Though the country rebounded slightly from the low point in 2008, its economy was still 36% smaller in 2012 than it had been in 1998. The UN’s Human Development Index (HDI) – an approximate measure of a standard of living that is calculated on a scale from 0 to 1 – saw Zimbabwe fall from 0.376 in 2000 to 0.345 in 2008. The cholera outbreak that left hundreds dead was merely a confirmation that Zimbabwe was a failed country.
In 2010, Zimbabwe ranked 142nd out of 144 countries surveyed in the Fraser Institute’s Economics Freedom of the World report; this year, it came in 172nd out of 185 countries surveyed in the World Bank’s Doing Business report; and 132nd out of 144 countries surveyed by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report.
The underlying cause of the country’s economic turmoil, past and present, is political action. Robert Mugabe became prime minister and then president in 1980. He was a professed communist who was committed to turning Zimbabwe into a one-party Marxist state. After defeating the white-minority rule in the country that was once called Rhodesia, Mugabe saw himself as the supreme leader, and his party, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), as the only legitimate political authority in the country.
Joshua Nkomo and his African People’s Union party (ZAPU) were Mugabe’s opposition. During the 1983 elections, Mugabe released the Zimbabwean military on Nkomo’s supporters. Over 20,000 people perished in that conflict. Eventually ZAPU was forced to merge with ZANU, and Nkomo became Mugabe’s powerless Vice President.
According to Foreign Policy Magazine, what Zimbabwe desperately needs are structural reforms including tax simplifications, labor and product market deregulation, and privatization of money-losing state-owned enterprises. Above all else, Zimbabweans must find a way to restore the rule of law and respect for property rights. For decades, Zimbabwe’s multiple communist regimes have benefitted from government monopolies, sale of permits and licenses, and outright fraud and theft. And the majority of Zimbabweans have been suffering. Only a clean break from the past will put the country on the right track to a sustained rate of high economic growth.
The election took place on Wednesday and the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission has 5 days to release the results. Already Mugabe’s party is claiming a victory for their side and Tsvangirai’s party is claiming that there has been election fraud.
– Scarlet Shelton
Sources: Sky News, Fraser Institute, Doing Business, World Economic Forum
Phones Increasing Contraceptive Care in India
In India, a country with a constantly growing population currently at 1.3 billion, the use of contraceptives is rare and often considered socially unacceptable. While the contraceptive prevalence rate is at 56 percent, 38 percent use female sterilization, leaving a very small amount of women who are using reversible birth control methods. It’s no wonder, when the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in India has been using the same family welfare program since 1952, that they are showing no signs of modern innovation.
Even with the use of sterilization, too many women in India are left completely unprotected. Childbirth kills approximately 67,000 women in India every year, and 1 in 13 children dies before the age of five. 42.5 percent of children under the age of five are underweight, and 20 percent of the total population is undernourished. India is unable to support so many unplanned births, making contraception more important than ever.
That’s where Project Vikalp comes in. One of the nine winners of the Millennium Alliance Awards (co-funded by USAID), the project, which is run by the U-Respect Foundation, is a family planning-health care model that will educate the public and help women obtain contraceptives throughout India.
The secret is in the use of cell phones, which are becoming more and more attainable in India, even for the nation’s poorest. If a couple wants contraceptive counseling in India, it is hard to find. Most health workers claim that they are too busy to discuss family planning, and if they do, they usually suggest sterilization. India’s government has been trying to push the norm toward reversible contraceptives, but sterilization is still by far the most used method.
If the couple is unmarried it is nearly impossible to receive counseling. Most couples don’t even try to find counseling because of the barriers, and because they are intimidated by the social norms.
Project Vikalp is using cell phones to reach couples using a three tiered approach. First couples can reach the project through a toll-free helpline. Then, they can receive contraceptives and support from local health care providers and consultants associated with the project. Couples can use their phones to record when they have started using, switched, or stopped using contraceptives to help planners know when they should tweak the program’s methods.
Through this project, couples don’t have to feel intimidated when searching out contraceptives, and they are affordable for everyone. The project hopes to fill the gaps of knowledge in rural communities and change attitudes about contraceptives so that they are more widely accepted in the region.
– Emma McKay
Sources: Devex, Millennium Alliance
Friends of the Global Fight
Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, better known as “Friends”, is an advocacy organization that is working to expand and sustain U.S. support for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The Global Fund was created in 2002 to support countries and programs in the fight against the three pandemics. From those distributing mosquito nets to protect families from malaria in Honduras, to those training peer counselors of teenagers diagnosed with HIV in South Africa, partners in tackling the deadly infectious diseases get support from the Global Fund. Friends has grown to become the leading source of information about the Global Fund in the United States, becoming its much needed voice in Washington, D.C.
Friends shares information with policy leaders and decision makers on the direction the Global Fund takes and the achievements it makes. Friends also ties together the two organizations’ communications and education goals by providing the Global Fund’s Secretariat, based in Geneva, Switzerland, with legislative counsel and strategic direction. Through these efforts, Friends is able to foster collaboration and mutual support between the Global Fund and the U.S. government’s AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria efforts.
As of December 2012, the Global Fund had approved about $23 billion in grant funding. These resources are provided to in-country partners that have donated HIV/AIDS treatment to 4.2 million people, detected and treated 9.7 million cases of tuberculosis, distributed over 310 million insecticide-treated nets, and reached 1.7 million HIV-positive mothers with services to prevent transmission to their children. Overall, efforts around the globe have reduced tuberculosis deaths by more than 40%, HIV incidence by more than 20%, and malaria deaths in Africa by 33%. In turn, communities have stabilized, human rights have improved, economic productivity has increased, and partnerships have been built.
Friends of the Global Fight was founded in 2004 to help advocate on behalf of the world’s largest public health financier. Since its founding, Friends has played a significant role in helping the Global Fund to increase funding from the U.S. government over the past few years. U.S. support for lifesaving programs increased from $345 million in FY2005 to $1.65 billion in FY2013. The following are just a few of the milestones that have led to Friends’ success:
– Ali Warlich
Sources: Friends of the Global Fight, The Global Fund
Top 10 International Poverty Statistics
– Martin Drake
Sources: Global Issues, DoSomething.org, Compassion.com, Convio.net, Face the Facts USA
Photo: Press TV
Zambian President & Social Networks
President Michael Sata’s parallel intelligence system is moving to block the social networks Facebook and Twitter after realizing that stories on the blocked websites, Zambian Watchdog and Zambia Reports, are now filtering through the two social media sites for public view.
The Xavier Chungu-led parallel intelligence is also targeting a third internet based media channel, Crossfire Blogtalk Radio, for potential blocking after it continued airing guests critical of the Sata administration. Chungu, a forgery-convict and corruption suspect, is President Sata’s permanent secretary and former director general of the Zambia Security Intelligence Service.
Regular access to Zambian Watchdog and Zambia Reports for the domestic market was blocked earlier this month. Both sites were blocked after deciding to activate their Facebook pages and making public the stories that President Sata did not want Zambians to have access to. Some locals are still able to access the sites through advanced devices or proxy websites.
A team independent of the Zambian government, including Chungu, the mastermind behind the trusted intelligence system Zamtrop, traveled to Russia last week for a “consultation” on the possibilities of blocking Facebook and Twitter.
President Sata is reportedly very angry that the critical stories are now all over the highly popular social media sites. The stories are gaining a following that could potentially threaten his hold on power. In addition, the blocking of Zambian Watchdog and Zambian Reports is reportedly being used as a pilot project to block all social media sites during the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections.
The plan is expected to be in full swing during the 2016 general elections. Mobile communication and radio signal will be used to facilitate the installation of President Sata or his General Secretary Wynter Kabimba back into office by falsified elections.
Intelligence sources are equally frustrated that they are being forced to carry out excessive monitoring of citizens as well as breaching the fundamental human right of free speech. There is total disagreement within the ranks with regards to the ongoing assault on the media, and those that have questioned the development are facing possible firing. The intelligence officers who spoke up anonymously are warning citizens that they should brace for tough times ahead because the cooperation between Sata and Zimbabwe’s leader Robert Mugabe is unhealthy for the country.
– Scarlet Shelton
Sources: AllAfrica, The Promota Africa Magazine, Zambia Post
Photo: Naij
What if the Royal Baby was Born in Afghanistan?
On the afternoon of July 22nd, the British commonwealth grew excited in anticipation for the arrival of the Royal baby, but what if baby George, the Prince of Cambridge, never arrived? What if complications had severed his chances of survival? Despite the joy the Royal baby received on his safe arrival, what would this baby and his mother would have done if they lived in a Third World country?
In the developing world, childbirth complications contribute to high maternal and infant mortality rates. The highest infant mortality rate comes from Afghanistan with more than 1 in every 10 newborns dying during childbirth. Around the world, nearly 3 million newborn infants die, with an additional 2.6 million born stillborn every year.
Yet, we must remember that such high figure does not take into account the mother in these events. An estimated 800 women die each day from pregnancy related causes. As it stands, 99% of these maternal deaths come from developing countries.
The greatest causes of maternal mortality include severe bleeding, infections, contaminated delivery rooms, high blood pressure, high risk abortions, and harmful diseases. Fortunately, these deaths are preventable. Unfortunately, there is much to be done in order to reduce these numbers.
Along with health issues, other challenges include “delays in seeking care, inability to act on medical advice, and failure of the health system to provide adequate or timely care” according to the WHO’s 2005 World Health Report.
However, there is a bright side; maternal deaths have been nearly halved since 1990. This improvement is due, in large part to an increase in social acceptance of midwives, adequate training of attendants, and proper implementation of health expert strategies. With a 2.4% annual rate of decline in maternal mortality, many experts agree that it proves the success of strategies and more resources must be committed.
Health experts point to success stories, such as in Rwanda. Despite genocide and destroyed infrastructure, maternal mortality has been reduced by more than half since 1990. Even more, women in Rwanda have doubled their access to skilled attendants, up to 52%. Many attribute this success to the government’s commitment to women’s health with proper planning.
But Rwanda is not the only country cutting their maternal mortality rate. Progress is being made around the world. However, more must be done in order to continue this progress. Although current strategies are proving successful, the developing and developed countries must continue committing themselves to the development of international health sectors.
– Michael Carney
Sources: AlertNet Climate, CIA World Factbook, UNFPA, WHO
Photo: US Weekly
4 Books About Poverty That Should Top Your Summer Reading List
With summer underway it is becoming necessary to have a backup list of summer reading books to save you from the boredom of long flights and the inevitable bickering of family car trips. So why not use that free time to brush up on your knowledge of global poverty? The following books each provide a different way of looking at poverty’s history and the current issues facing us today.
A Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa – Deborah Brautigam
It has been often said that China is only helping Africa with their poverty situation for self-serving, greedy purposes. But is this true? China has pulled hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty themselves and they could just want to spread the wealth and aid with another poverty-stricken country. Deborah Brautigam, a leading expert on China and poverty, pulls from her three decades of experience in China and Africa, and hundreds of interviews in Africa, China, Europe and the US, to discusses the myths and realities, explaining what the Chinese are doing, how they do it, how much aid they give, and how it all fits into their “going global” strategy.
Getting Better: Why Global Development Is Succeeding – And How We Can Improve the World Even More – Charles Kenny
All too frequently we focus on the bad news, how many are dying or starving or suffering repression. And while these things are important to remember, it can be good sometimes to realize that what we are doing really is making a difference in the lives of others. While many people argue that global aid has ultimately failed, economist Charles Kenny believe otherwise. In this books he brings up evidence of widespread improvements in health, education, peace, and liberty. He claims that this is all thanks to innovations in cheap technologies like vaccines and bed nets, as well as ideas like political rights. While he understands that there is still much to be done, he argues that so much has been accomplished already and it only makes sense to continue to help in every way that we can.
Wine to Water: A Bartenders Quest to Bring Clean Water to the World – Doc Hendley
What started out as a series of wine tastings to raise money for global aid turned into a trip into one of the most dangerous places in the world: Darfur, Sudan. Doc Hendley was a regular, small-town bartender looking for a way to help bring clean water to those in need. But he never dreamed that he would end up witnessing mass genocide through the deprivation of water. He knew he could never afford to build new wells in these places, so he came up with a plan to fix old wells. This is a story about his journey into some of the outer-most reaches of the world and how one person really can make a difference.
Clean Water for Elirose – Ariah Fine
It is never too early to learn about water poverty and how we can help pull people from that plight. Clean Water for Elirose is an illustrated children’s book about a group of kids who set out to help their classmate gain access to sustainable, clean water. It also provides a number of activities, discussion questions, and websites where you and your family can learn more about clean water organizations. The book may be ordered at full price or at cost for those who are short on cash, but still want their child to learn about water poverty. The best part, aside from keeping your child entertained and educated? All the proceeds from purchasing the book go to clean water projects!
– Chelsea Evans
Sources: Foreign Affairs, Amazon, Penguin, Clean Water for Elirose
Photo: Interpretations of Dreams