This is the second in a series of posts reviewing the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. The MDGs are a set of eight targets agreed upon by almost every country in the world, based on a shared commitment to the improvement of the social, economic, and political lives of all people. They are to be achieved by 2015 and, with two years to go, it’s time to see how far we’ve come and what is left to be done.
The second of these goals is to achieve universal primary education. All children, regardless of gender or socioeconomic background, deserve the opportunity to receive a high quality education. Because of concerted efforts to meet this goal, more children are attending primary school today than ever before, with 570 million children enrolled in school. From 1999 to 2006, the number of out-of-school children fell from 103 million to 73 million, and primary school enrollment in developing countries increased from 83% to 88%. Primary school enrollment continued increasing, reaching 90% by 2010. However, progress is slowing with the number of primary school aged children out of school falling by only 3 million between 2008 and 2011.
Despite significant progress, children in sub-Saharan Africa are the most likely not to attend primary school, with the net primary school enrollment ratio there increasing to only 71%. This leaves roughly 38 million children without a primary school education. On the other hand, 90% of Southern Asian children attend primary school. This represents excellent progress, although it still leaves 18 million children without the basic reading and math skills they would learn in school.
Inequities in access to primary education represent the main barrier to reaching the second MDG. The UN estimates that, without accelerated progress, 58 of the 86 countries that have yet to achieve universal primary education will not do so by the 2015 goal date. Despite progress in many areas, girls are still significantly more likely to drop out of school than boys are. Children from poorer households and from rural areas also have increased dropout rates.
It is important to note that enrollment numbers are not the only indicator of success or failure when it comes to MDG 2. There is no point in getting children to school if there are inadequate teachers or supplies, or if the learning environment is hostile. Therefore, it is vital to consider the quality of the education as well as the number of children attending school. We must ensure that teachers are trained and well equipped, and that children feel safe at school. Students that attend school on a regular basis should graduate with at least basic reading and math skills. They should also graduate on time, giving them a greater chance of attending secondary school.
Many countries have made significant progress using a variety of programs. Nine countries have increased primary school enrollment by eliminating school fees. These include Ghana, where public school enrollment in impoverished areas skyrocketed from 4.2 million to 5.4 million in 2004 alone, and Kenya, where primary school enrollment jumped by over a million students in just one year. However, abolishing school fees inevitably means less school funding, which presents challenges when it comes to providing adequate school buildings and well-trained teachers.
In Haiti, a $70,000 donation from famous soccer players Ronaldo and Zidene allowed for incredible improvements to schools in a severely impoverished area. UN agencies and NGOs partnered with the Haitian government to promote school attendance, conduct training for teachers, and provide 33 schools with necessary supplies. This positively changed the lives of 4,300 children by significantly improving the quality of their education.
Despite significant progress, 123 million youth, aged 15 to 24, still lack basic reading and writing skills. In a reflection of the persisting gender gap in primary education, 61% of these youth are female. Clearly, there is still work to be done. The UN provides several suggestions for continued efforts on this front. More funding, both from governments and from aid organizations, will be needed to achieve universal primary education by 2015. Annual aid dedicated to basic education in developing countries increased from $1.6 billion in 1999 to $5 billion in 2006, representing a step in the right direction. However, it is estimated that $11 billion will be needed annually to achieve universal primary education by 2015. These funds are needed to train teachers and to ensure that they have all the materials they need to do their job well.
In order to prevent unequal access to education based on socioeconomic status, school fees should be eliminated. At the very least, scholarships should be readily available for children from poorer families. Children should also be provided with free transportation to and from school if needed and with free meals and basic health services at school. Proper nutrition and health services will improve children’s overall well being, and these services would help reluctant children and families to see school as a worthwhile investment. An even more drastic step could be to entice low-income families with cash transfers conditional on their children’s school attendance. This could be especially useful in convincing families to educate their daughters, not just their sons.
A high quality primary school education can set children on the right track, giving them necessary skills to succeed in their personal lives and in the workplace. Primary school education has the power to break the cycle of poverty and to empower disenfranchised social groups. This makes the world’s progress towards universal primary education extremely exciting, and compels us to continue working towards this goal.
– Katie Fullerton
Sources: UN Fact Sheet, UN
Photo: Pakistan Today
Can Shea Butter Improve Fair Trade Protections?
Coffee, cocoa, and other major products have become the food faces of the fair trade market. Soon, shea butter may well be added to those ranks. But what does this mean for shea butter workers and farmers?
Grown in the Sahel region, farmers extract shea butter from a small almond like nut which grows on the karite tree. From South Sudan to the western shores of Senegal, shea butter extraction provides major labor employment opportunities for women.
Shea butter, used mostly in the cosmetic field, provides multiple dermatologic benefits. These include healing burns, ulcerated skins, stretch marks, and dryness by moisturizing the skin. Recently, the Shea Butter Trade Industry hosted its first conference in North America. The event allowed African producers to meet with L’Oreal, the Body Shop, and other cosmetic industry players. With an expanding demand for shea butter, the creamy exfoliant has potentially reached a level that allows African producers to negotiate fairer prices for their labor.
Currently, the extraction and production of shea butter employs millions of women on in Africa. To access the butter, the nut is crushed. It is then boiled, cleaned once more, packaged and sold in local markets or exported. Despite the individual preparation of shea nuts, women create cooperatives to sell their product in their local markets.
With a rise in demand for their product, many women have also found an increase in income. Empowering women both in their own household and community has given rise to shared decision-making in family and community structures. This sense of freedom through successful employment is set through a traditional service, and many daughters learn it from their mothers who pass down the craft.
But not only do prices and gender equality rise with demand, fair trade over the production market rises as well. As the popularity of shea butter and other new products have reached new levels, Fair trade organizations such as Fairtrade International, have set their efforts towards promoting fair prices that protect producers. “Fair trade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which too often leave the poorest, weakest producers earning less than it costs them to grow their crops. It’s a bit like a national minimum wage for global trade. Not perfect… but a step in the right direction.” stated Harriet Lamb, CEO of Fairtrade International.
However, there are others that do not believe farmers and laborers benefit from fair trade, citing that there is little evidence of their benefit. Philip Booth, Editorial and Program Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, contends that “no clear evidence has been produced to suggest that farmers themselves actually receive higher prices under fair trade. Fair trade may do some good in some circumstances, but it does not deserve the unique status it claims for itself.”
Despite a difficulty to decipher between marketing and real action, quantifiable claims made by companies such as L’Occitane, allow agencies to verify what companies claim. Unlike your average marketing attempts, L’Occitane’s claims have been analyzed and reported on by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The written report detailed L’Occitane’s collaboration with 15,000 rural women producers, paying $1.23 million in revenue each year to their shea butter laborers.
– Michael Carney
Sources: How We Made it in Africa, Alaffia
Photo: Tree Aid
MDG 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education
This is the second in a series of posts reviewing the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. The MDGs are a set of eight targets agreed upon by almost every country in the world, based on a shared commitment to the improvement of the social, economic, and political lives of all people. They are to be achieved by 2015 and, with two years to go, it’s time to see how far we’ve come and what is left to be done.
The second of these goals is to achieve universal primary education. All children, regardless of gender or socioeconomic background, deserve the opportunity to receive a high quality education. Because of concerted efforts to meet this goal, more children are attending primary school today than ever before, with 570 million children enrolled in school. From 1999 to 2006, the number of out-of-school children fell from 103 million to 73 million, and primary school enrollment in developing countries increased from 83% to 88%. Primary school enrollment continued increasing, reaching 90% by 2010. However, progress is slowing with the number of primary school aged children out of school falling by only 3 million between 2008 and 2011.
Despite significant progress, children in sub-Saharan Africa are the most likely not to attend primary school, with the net primary school enrollment ratio there increasing to only 71%. This leaves roughly 38 million children without a primary school education. On the other hand, 90% of Southern Asian children attend primary school. This represents excellent progress, although it still leaves 18 million children without the basic reading and math skills they would learn in school.
Inequities in access to primary education represent the main barrier to reaching the second MDG. The UN estimates that, without accelerated progress, 58 of the 86 countries that have yet to achieve universal primary education will not do so by the 2015 goal date. Despite progress in many areas, girls are still significantly more likely to drop out of school than boys are. Children from poorer households and from rural areas also have increased dropout rates.
It is important to note that enrollment numbers are not the only indicator of success or failure when it comes to MDG 2. There is no point in getting children to school if there are inadequate teachers or supplies, or if the learning environment is hostile. Therefore, it is vital to consider the quality of the education as well as the number of children attending school. We must ensure that teachers are trained and well equipped, and that children feel safe at school. Students that attend school on a regular basis should graduate with at least basic reading and math skills. They should also graduate on time, giving them a greater chance of attending secondary school.
Many countries have made significant progress using a variety of programs. Nine countries have increased primary school enrollment by eliminating school fees. These include Ghana, where public school enrollment in impoverished areas skyrocketed from 4.2 million to 5.4 million in 2004 alone, and Kenya, where primary school enrollment jumped by over a million students in just one year. However, abolishing school fees inevitably means less school funding, which presents challenges when it comes to providing adequate school buildings and well-trained teachers.
In Haiti, a $70,000 donation from famous soccer players Ronaldo and Zidene allowed for incredible improvements to schools in a severely impoverished area. UN agencies and NGOs partnered with the Haitian government to promote school attendance, conduct training for teachers, and provide 33 schools with necessary supplies. This positively changed the lives of 4,300 children by significantly improving the quality of their education.
Despite significant progress, 123 million youth, aged 15 to 24, still lack basic reading and writing skills. In a reflection of the persisting gender gap in primary education, 61% of these youth are female. Clearly, there is still work to be done. The UN provides several suggestions for continued efforts on this front. More funding, both from governments and from aid organizations, will be needed to achieve universal primary education by 2015. Annual aid dedicated to basic education in developing countries increased from $1.6 billion in 1999 to $5 billion in 2006, representing a step in the right direction. However, it is estimated that $11 billion will be needed annually to achieve universal primary education by 2015. These funds are needed to train teachers and to ensure that they have all the materials they need to do their job well.
In order to prevent unequal access to education based on socioeconomic status, school fees should be eliminated. At the very least, scholarships should be readily available for children from poorer families. Children should also be provided with free transportation to and from school if needed and with free meals and basic health services at school. Proper nutrition and health services will improve children’s overall well being, and these services would help reluctant children and families to see school as a worthwhile investment. An even more drastic step could be to entice low-income families with cash transfers conditional on their children’s school attendance. This could be especially useful in convincing families to educate their daughters, not just their sons.
A high quality primary school education can set children on the right track, giving them necessary skills to succeed in their personal lives and in the workplace. Primary school education has the power to break the cycle of poverty and to empower disenfranchised social groups. This makes the world’s progress towards universal primary education extremely exciting, and compels us to continue working towards this goal.
– Katie Fullerton
Sources: UN Fact Sheet, UN
Photo: Pakistan Today
Thailand’s Trouble with Human Trafficking
Human trafficking has grown into a widespread and horrific issue in Thailand. The country has become a trafficking hub, sending and recruiting people all over the world to work in prostitution, unfair labor situations, forced marriages, sex tourism, and other crimes.
The majority of the human trafficking in Thailand feeds into prostitution. The country has struggled with its treatment of women since it became a country in the 1930s. The country did not grant equal rights to women until 1997 and today is still not enforcing these standards of equal rights consistently. Research conducted by the Ministry of Public Health in Thailand explains that approximately 1.5 million female children report cases of abuse annually. This shocking number does not include the vast number of cases left unreported. Further inquiry into these discoveries by the Ministry of Public Health reveals that females under 15 years old made up nearly one half of all reported rape and abuse cases in Thailand.
Sex trafficking and prostitution have always been a part of Thailand’s history, however, the Vietnam War contributed to an explosion of the issue between 1955 and 1975. With an influx of anxious, homesick, and bored soldiers into the country, spilling over from Vietnam, the demand for prostitution skyrocketed, resulting in the growth of the human trafficking industry which still remains today. The influx in human trafficking during this time, combined with a historical view of women as inferior, has led to the cultural acceptance of prostitution throughout most of Thailand. The World Health Organization estimates that Thailand currently has nearly 2 million sex workers.
Deep poverty and desperation of many Thai citizens have contributed to the human trafficking industry and problems that have derived from it. People who do not hold proper immigration documentation or citizenship are the most vulnerable recruits, as they perceive this path as their only opportunity to make money. Recruiters target many impoverished people, telling them they are being led to a job where they will have an opportunity to make money to send to their family. The hill tribe women in Northern Thailand, who lack citizenship papers, often fall into prostitution, as it is the only job they can perform without needing proof of citizenship.
Victims of human trafficking can be forced into prostitution or the sex trade or other forms of difficult labor, often without any pay or any limitation on the amount of hours they must work. Though exact numbers are currently unknown, trafficked children make up a significant part of the labor force in construction work zones or factory sweatshops. Many of these trafficking victims work in the fishing industry and relayed how it was not uncommon for a boat captain to kill any of the fishermen who fell sick or too weak to work under these harsh conditions.
Some critics have called for the legalization of prostitution in Thailand as a method of curbing the trafficking problem. This could lead to better legal protection for prostitutes and would put many traffickers out of business. Additionally, if the industry were legal the government could tax it, making a profit of it and discouraging people from prostitution, as it would be more expensive to cover the tax. However, Thailand would be taking a step backwards in their push to end trafficking and prostitution. While it may sound economically beneficial to legalize prostitution, one must not forget the basic violation of human rights that prostitution, forced labor, and the slave trade infringes on its victims.
– Allison Meade
Sources: State Department, Human Rights Watch, Human Trafficking
Photo: Sabre
Poverty in Kosovo
Since the end of the war in 1999, the Republic of Kosovo has experienced consistent economic growth. Now a lower-middle-income country, it is one of only four countries in Europe that recorded positive growth rates during the economic crisis between 2008-2012, averaging about 4.5% each year. Despite its rapid growth, Kosovo continues to struggle with high rates of poverty and unemployment.
Joblessness is estimated to be at about 40% and remains a central economic-policy challenge. Youth and women are disproportionately affected by the difficult labor market conditions, creating an environment that undermines the country’s social fabric. Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe with a per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) of about €2,700 and about one-third of the population living below the poverty line and approximately one-eighth living in extreme poverty.
Recent studies by UNICEF Kosovo showed that children are at higher risk of living in poverty in Kosovo compared to the general population. The greatest risk of poverty is for children who live in households with three or more children, children between 0 and 14 years of age, children of unemployed parents, children in households receiving social assistance, and children with low levels of education. Whereas, the risk of poverty is much lower for children in a household with at least one employed parent.
The European Union is mainstreaming an effort to fight child poverty by recognizing the multi-dimensional nature of the issue. Child poverty and exclusion have high social and individual costs. Children in poverty are at high risks of low educational attainment, poor health, and an inability to find work later in life. Investing in children, therefore, is important not only for the well being of current children living in poverty, but also for the health, productivity, and engagement of future adult citizens.
Kosovo declared independence in 2008, however only 98 of a total 193 UN member states have recognized Kosovo’s independence. The lack of agreement remains a central obstacle to achieving the country’s goals for political integration and socio-economic development.
To help reverse joblessness and build a long-term economic growth plan, the World Bank, along with ten other donors, recently awarded Kosove 61 million Euros, mostly in the form of grant money. The Sustainable Employment Development Policy Program (SEDPP) funds were disbursed from the end of 2011 to the middle of 2012. The funds have supported reforms and improved transparency throughout many sectors in the country.
– Ali Warlich
Sources: World Bank, UNICEF, World Bank
Photo: SOS Children’s Villages
Corn: A Cornerstone of Global Food Security
A paper recently published in the Journal for the Society of Risk Analysis, brings attention to the important role corn plays in global food security. Corn’s many uses make it a central commodity and a great influence on prices and global food security. Corn can be found in: starch, oil, food sweeteners, alcohol, as well as livestock feed and biofuel that assists global food security.
Corn’s central role also means that a disruption in corn supply can create a global crisis. This is compounded by reliance on two major export markets: the United States and Argentina. Of the top five import countries, four of them rely on the United States to provide the vast majority of their corn.
Climate change, however, is a growing concern among corn growers world-wide. According to a study done at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom focusing on corn production in France, temperature levels are a significant variable in corn production. When temperatures exceed a certain level, corn yield suffers, according to the study. Already the average number of days over this threshold per year has risen. This is disturbing news as average temperatures are expected to continue to rise during the 21st century. As the study’s leader, Dr. Ed Hawkins of the Natural Environment Research Council’s National Centre for Atmospheric Science, states “It’s a serious risk to food security.”
Scientists estimate corn production will need to increase by 12 percent per acre between 2016 and 2035 in order to maintain current production levels. In order to increase crop yields, additional technology advancements will be necessary.
The importance of global food security has led corn growers from leading export nations to form a collaborative group to address this shared issue as well as biotechnology, stewardship, and trade. This cooperative group formation, dubbed The International Maize Alliance (MAIZALL), is the first of its kind and is significant for the collaboration among trade competitors. The United States, Argentina, and Brazil, the three top corn export markets, are members.
MAIZALL will discuss biotechnology in regards to food security as well. Getting import markets to accept drought-resistant traits is an important component for global food security, stated National Corn Growers Association President, Pam Johnson. MAIZALL members will travel to China and South Korea in October to discuss biotechnology in those markets.
Incorporating technological innovation to boost yields and counteract climate change is important for protecting and increasing future corn yields. A significant drop in these yields will lead to increased food prices and shortages that will endanger global food security. With a world population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, corn producers world-wide are on the alert.
– Callie D. Coleman
Sources: Farm Futures, Corn and Soybean Digest, Food Security
10 Foreign Aid Quotes from Congress
Although Congress is known to disagree amongst itself, there is one issue that many members of the Democratic and Republican Party do agree on: the importance of foreign aid. Here are 10 quotes made by members of Congress stressing the need to continue funding foreign aid.
1. “Foreign aid must be viewed as an investment, not an expense…but when foreign aid is carefully guided and targeted at a specific issue, it can and must be effective.” – U.S. Representative Kay Granger (R-TX), Huffington Post, June 2011
2. “The world we live in takes a multifaceted approach. To the American taxpayer: We need to be investing in improving people’s lives before the terrorists try to take over.” – U.S. Senator, Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Foreign Policy magazine, February 2011
3. “For development to play its full role in our national security structure, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) must be a strong agency with the resources to accomplish the missions we give it. But during the last two decades, decision-makers have not made it easy for USAID to perform its vital function. Even as we have rediscovered the importance of foreign assistance, we find ourselves with a frail foundation to support a robust development strategy. I believe the starting point for any future design of our assistance programs and organization should not be the status quo, but rather the period in which we had a well functioning and well-resourced aid agency.” – U.S. Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN), Statement on Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act, July 2009
4.“The right question to ask is: are we really spending too much on non-defense programs? The answer is clearly no. Non-defense discretionary spending levels are essentially unchanged from 2001. There is no reason we shouldn’t be able to afford them today.” – U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), June 2011
5.”The real problem in America’s spending is not foreign aid, which is a very small part of our budget.” – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Town Hall meeting, July 2011
6. “We face tremendous foreign policy and national security challenges worldwide, from helping countries manage peaceful, democratic transitions in the Middle East, to preventing violence, conflict, and terrorism from engulfing key partners, and to leading humanitarian responses to forestall drought, famine, and natural disasters. We are only able to achieve these aims with a strong State Department and USAID.” – U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Press release, July 2011
7. “Leaders of both parties have affirmed that U.S. power is a three-legged stool of military might, diplomatic skill and development. The foreign aid bill’s diplomatic and development objectives pay dividends by helping avoid military deployments to protect U.S. interests, which are far more costly in both life and treasure. Robust engagement is no less necessary to achieve strategic security imperatives in this belt-tightening atmosphere. Investments in health, education, humanitarian aid for refugees and disaster victims and micro-loans for entrepreneurs are critical to fostering stability around the world. It would be senseless to let our response to a fiscal challenge create a national security crisis.” – U.S. Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY), Op-Ed in Politico, February 2011
8. “Our top military leaders are adamant that International Affairs programs are a critical to our national security. Our top business leaders are adamant that these programs are critical to our economic future. I’ve seen firsthand how these programs work beyond the frontline states and these cuts will seriously restrict our ability to keep Americans safe and advance our economic interests.” – Former U.S. Congressman and Ambassador Mark Green, July 2011
9. “Foreign aid is important. If it’s done right, it spreads America’s influence around the world in a positive way.” – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Town Hall meeting, July 2011
10. (In support of continuing aid to Egypt) “Cut off all aid immediately and you will take an economy that is already floundering and probably drive it into chaos, and that is not in anyone’s national security interests.” – Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J
– Mary Penn
Sources: Huffington Post, InterAction
Photo: Politico
Read Humanitarian Quotes.
Radical Islamism, Jihad, Anti-Terrorism and the Internet
More than a year ago, Mohamed Merah, a French citizen of Algerian origins, shot seven people in three different assaults. Among the victims, three were military personnel shot during two different attacks in a two day span in the French city of Montauban, one was a teacher, and three were children, killed after Merah’s attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse.
Merah claimed to have an affiliation with Al-Qaeda, and was known by the French secret services for his extreme views and was considered a potential threat. Even though he had been under surveillance for some time, police forces were still unable to prevent Mohamed Merah’s attacks.
Since 9/11, radical Islam has become a major security concern for the U.S. and other countries. The World Wide Web and the ease of access to Islam extremists’ thoughts have played a major role in the spread of radical ideologies.
Recent discoveries at Merah’s older brother’s in-law’s house have shown that access to radical Islam propaganda is almost as easy as a simple click. In a hard disk belonging to Merah’s brother, a digital library composed of several thousands of texts was found. These texts are both a guide for newbie jihadist as well as a guide to salafi indoctrination.
The websites visited by the murderer show the role of the Web in the spread of the radicalization of Islam. The websites appear in the headlines of searches of key words such as “Sharia” and “Jihad.” They espouse a more radical Islam centered around a rigorous defense of the Jihad. Translated in many languages, these websites are capable of reaching a larger public and thereby pose a greater threat.
Internet surveillance has become a national security priority in countries all over the world. And even when sites are censored because they are deemed dangerous, they often reappear with a different name.
The Internet, by facilitating access to ideas worldwide, has been greatly beneficial to the public, who can now hope for more transparency and easier access to knowledge. Nevertheless, this facilitated access to ideas has also become the unfortunate tool of many terrorist groups, who use it for both recruitment, financial purposes and as a source for their propaganda.
To this day, no international standard has been established to regulate the content of the internet available to the public. Each country makes its own rules, and there is little to no regulation at an international level. The challenge now is to create an international standard in order to avoid abusive censorship and promote freedom of speech and the spread of ideas in a context of mutual respect.
– Lauren Yeh
Sources: Washington Institute, Islam Et Verite, The Independent, Huffington Post
Photo: AIM
Indigenous Communities in Panama Fight for Land Rights
The National Coordinating Body of Indigenous Peoples in Panama, or COONAPIP, is rallying for support to protect land rights, claiming the national government has failed to do so. “Our government has committed sins of omission as well as commission, showing great lack of concern about the wellbeing of indigenous peoples,” said Betanio Chiquidama, President of COONAPIP.
The UN is also calling on the government to expand and protect land rights. “The development of large investment projects in indigenous territories of Panama has been the subject of numerous allegations of violations of the rights of indigenous peoples, especially in recent years,” said the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya.
Land in Panama has been increasingly used-up by third parties, illegal loggers and miners. The misuse of indigenous land is not only making life difficult for people, but also puts Panama’s rainforests in jeopardy. In the past 5 years, unsustainable harvesting of natural resources has escalated on indigenous territories, which include more than half of Panama’s old-growth forests. The fight for indigenous peoples to hold onto their land has resulted in nine deaths in standoffs with the police in a two year span.
Panama’s indigenous groups comprise 10 percent of the total population, and most remain largely autonomous in the governance of their preserves, called comarcas. However, the strong interest in natural resources on the preserves is weakening the indigenous communities’ ability to protect their land. Some parts of the comarcas are not even on the map, which makes it hard for indigenous peoples to claim the land is theirs. Another problem is that the government has stopped designating comarcas in the 1990s, leaving nearly 20 indigenous communities without rights to their land. They had to lobby hard for the government to recognize just two more preserves, which are smaller than those established two decades ago.
Illegal logging, mining, and dam construction occurs on lands which are not clearly designated. The Program Director of Rainforest Foundation U.S., Christine Halvorson says, “there’s no good state presence, so it’s a little bit of a Wild West.” Indigenous people have even been bribed by companies with gifts of money and food to give their signatures in support of mining operations on land owned by their community, according to a 2011 report on indigenous experiences with mining in Panama.
COONAPIP is fighting for the voices from the comarcas to be heard by the decision makers in government, who continue to sell their land to international investors without including indigenous peoples. “They are making deals for investments on our land and we know nothing about it until the bulldozer arrives,” said Williams Barrigón Dogirama, former president of COONAPIP.
– Jennifer Bills
Sources: Thomson Reuters Foundation, UN News
Photo: Take Part
Poverty in Uruguay
18.6 % of the population is below the poverty line in Uruguay. Although the majority of this poverty in Uruguay is not extreme, it is still problematic. Like many of other South American countries, Uruguay struggles with alleviating extreme poverty for the poorest sections of its population. The country is also trying to prevent those who are only slightly below the poverty line from plummeting further into the category of the extreme poor.
The small South American nation experienced an economic boom in the early 1990’s followed by a damaging recession in 1995. This recession left a lasting impression on the economy, which to this day continues to suffer. The recession caused a widespread loss of jobs across the country and an increasingly wide income gap. The poverty is not debilitating, but it is significant enough to render notice from the international community. According to the World Bank’s 2001 report on Uruguay, “reduction in poverty is highly dependent on growth, and pockets of poverty and unemployment still exist and in recent years have shown some increase.”
Uruguay also struggles with the high number of children who are born into poverty. The World Bank reports that “children have become a significant portion of the poor with about 40% of Uruguay’s children born into poor families, pointing to a potentially serious problem of inter-generational poverty.” This threat of continuing, irreversible poverty is very concerning. The longer poverty continues to ravage Uruguay, the more entrenched it will become as it roots itself in disenfranchised communities.
The poverty problem in Uruguay is not the most dire in the world, but it requires confrontation. In order for the poverty problem in Uruguay to be eradicated, the economy must be fundamentally changed and social welfare programs must be instituted.
– Josh Forgét
Sources: The CIA World Factbook, The World Bank
Photo: Tico Times
Uniject: One Immunization, One Time, One Life
In a given year, USAID immunization programs have been able to save over 3 million lives. The potency of a single injection in preventing life threatening diseases like measles, malaria, hepatitis, and others has been proven time and time again. Yet, with such benefits come some seemingly unavoidable costs, particularly the spread of infection caused by reusing syringes.
That is where Uniject comes to the fore. The product of a 20-year-long effort, Uniject has already been widely embraced as a mechanism of safeguarding the lives of this and coming generations. With funding from the United Agency for International Aid and Development (USAID), PATH, a Seattle based non-profit organization working to better global health through innovation, has developed the innovative “Uniject autodisable injection system.” From contraceptives to vaccines, Uniject has made medicine safer and more accessible to millions. It takes the medicines that save lives and then apportions them into individual sized packages, each carrying the medicine that could save one life.
The genius of this model lies in its one-time use. Indeed, reusing syringes has posed a serious threat in the global fight against preventable disease. In 2009, 20 million immunizations were given using syringes contaminated with the blood of HIV-infected patients. In the developing world, the average person receives an unsafe injection such as this about once a year—with grave consequences. Research has shown that reusing a syringe, even indirectly, can spread HIV from one patient to four others.
Autodisable systems, like Uniject, have done a great deal in alleviating this dilemma. In 2010, the use of autodisable syringes brought down the average hospital stay in Tanzania from seven days to three days. Similar results have been achieved across the developing world where Uniject has been distributed. Learn more at http://www.path.org/projects/uniject.php.
– Lina Saud
Sources: PATH, Safe Point Trust, The Borgen Project