World hunger is affecting a large number of people through malnourishment and general under-nutrition. Malnutrition is something that means a person lacks the elements, in a nutritional sense, that is necessary to be fully healthy. Often, this is either a lack of calories and protein or vitamin and mineral deficiency. In the world today, nearly one in eight people in the world have “chronic undernourishment,” which means they are perpetually in a state of hunger, which often means their children will face that same undernourishment, which creates a vicious cycle much like poverty.
852 million out of the 870 million that are hungry every day are in developing countries, such as in sub-Saharan Africa. Although malnourishment has decreased by 30 percent in Asia, as well as a decrease of 16 million in Latin America, there is still more work to be done to ensure that everyone can have access to the nutrition that they need. The people that are most at risk for hunger are children. Those children that are undernourished can be ill for 160 days or more each year, and it causes five million deaths every year. Diseases like malaria and measles are exemplified in children that are undernourished, and 57% of malaria cases have at least been partially caused by undernourishment.
The saving grace to these harsh facts about world hunger is that the world does, indeed, produce enough food to successfully feed everyone. The only issue is that the food does not actually travel to the developing countries, which means there is food in the world that the undernourished cannot access. Every person in the world could have 2,720 calories per day which is enough for proper nutrition. The issue, then, is the lack of funds to buy food, or the lack of land in order to grow food. Some of the main causes of world hunger are poverty, harmful economic systems, conflict, and climate change. Interestingly, poverty causes hunger, but hunger also leads to poverty, which is a vicious cycle; people stuck in this cycle need help in order to leave the cycle, which requires aid from other countries, in most cases.
So what are the solutions to world hunger? They are more simplistic than one might originally think. One of the main problems is the waste of edible, but “ugly,” vegetables. The food production systems of the world will throw away “unwanted” fruits and vegetables, which is incredibly wasteful. There is a campaign against food waste, partially led by Tristram Stuart, who wrote the book “Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal.” A simple solution is to stop this waste; rather than throw out “ugly” food, give them to those that are undernourished, or charities that can then pass them along to the undernourished. Another solution is to use the leftovers. Food is thrown out every day; perfectly edible food.
Individuals can even help reduce food waste by only buying what they need and saving the leftovers to eat another day. However, this needs to be done on a wider scale, such as in grocery stores or even food production systems as a whole. Finally, preservation is an important issue in regards to world hunger. Consumers and retailers can reduce food waste by stopping impulse-buying, eating food at home, saving leftovers, and reducing trips to restaurants. Of course, never going out is not the solution. Rather, merely being more careful with food is the simplest solution of all, and can be done on all levels, from individuals to large corporations.
– Corina Balsamo
Sources: Africa Review, World Hunger, Rural Spin
Photo: Morgue File
Reducing Food Waste, Feeding the Hungry
World hunger is affecting a large number of people through malnourishment and general under-nutrition. Malnutrition is something that means a person lacks the elements, in a nutritional sense, that is necessary to be fully healthy. Often, this is either a lack of calories and protein or vitamin and mineral deficiency. In the world today, nearly one in eight people in the world have “chronic undernourishment,” which means they are perpetually in a state of hunger, which often means their children will face that same undernourishment, which creates a vicious cycle much like poverty.
852 million out of the 870 million that are hungry every day are in developing countries, such as in sub-Saharan Africa. Although malnourishment has decreased by 30 percent in Asia, as well as a decrease of 16 million in Latin America, there is still more work to be done to ensure that everyone can have access to the nutrition that they need. The people that are most at risk for hunger are children. Those children that are undernourished can be ill for 160 days or more each year, and it causes five million deaths every year. Diseases like malaria and measles are exemplified in children that are undernourished, and 57% of malaria cases have at least been partially caused by undernourishment.
The saving grace to these harsh facts about world hunger is that the world does, indeed, produce enough food to successfully feed everyone. The only issue is that the food does not actually travel to the developing countries, which means there is food in the world that the undernourished cannot access. Every person in the world could have 2,720 calories per day which is enough for proper nutrition. The issue, then, is the lack of funds to buy food, or the lack of land in order to grow food. Some of the main causes of world hunger are poverty, harmful economic systems, conflict, and climate change. Interestingly, poverty causes hunger, but hunger also leads to poverty, which is a vicious cycle; people stuck in this cycle need help in order to leave the cycle, which requires aid from other countries, in most cases.
So what are the solutions to world hunger? They are more simplistic than one might originally think. One of the main problems is the waste of edible, but “ugly,” vegetables. The food production systems of the world will throw away “unwanted” fruits and vegetables, which is incredibly wasteful. There is a campaign against food waste, partially led by Tristram Stuart, who wrote the book “Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal.” A simple solution is to stop this waste; rather than throw out “ugly” food, give them to those that are undernourished, or charities that can then pass them along to the undernourished. Another solution is to use the leftovers. Food is thrown out every day; perfectly edible food.
Individuals can even help reduce food waste by only buying what they need and saving the leftovers to eat another day. However, this needs to be done on a wider scale, such as in grocery stores or even food production systems as a whole. Finally, preservation is an important issue in regards to world hunger. Consumers and retailers can reduce food waste by stopping impulse-buying, eating food at home, saving leftovers, and reducing trips to restaurants. Of course, never going out is not the solution. Rather, merely being more careful with food is the simplest solution of all, and can be done on all levels, from individuals to large corporations.
– Corina Balsamo
Sources: Africa Review, World Hunger, Rural Spin
Photo: Morgue File
The Brookings Institute Analyzes the Post-2015 High Level Panel Report
As the expiration date for the Millennium Development Goals nears there is much discussion and debate surrounding the post-2015 agenda. With the release of the High Level Panel Report there has been commentary galore about the nature of the new framework and the goals it encompasses. The Brookings Institution, a research institution focused on innovative policy solutions, provided a comprehensive analysis of the Report.
In brief the High Level Panel Report established the purpose of the post-2015 agenda being, “to end extreme poverty in all its forms in the context of sustainable development and to have in place the building blocks of sustained prosperity for all.” The Report concludes that the post-2015 agenda must focus on five main issues: Leave no one behind, put sustainable development at the core, transform economies for jobs and inclusive growth, build peace and effective, open and accountable institutions for all, and forge a new global partnership. The Panel believes these five elements are the key to ending poverty sustainably in the very near future.
The Brookings Institution has a cautiously positive and optimistic analysis of the High Level Panel Report. The focus on not only educational access but the substantive learning process is welcomed. Despite not directly articulating a strategy for combating inequality Brookings acknowledges the first prong “Leave no one behind” as a potentially effective method of encompassing this issue.
Brookings Institute also applauds the emphasis on data and measurement as a good lesson learned from the MDGs. Having definite goals and timelines is key to success. As the analysis says there is still a long way to go in defining the post-2015 agenda but the comprehensive and inclusive focus of the High Level Panel Report is a very encouraging step towards a poverty free future.
– Zoë Meroney
Sources: Brookings Institution, post2015hlp
Photo: Interaction
A Small NGO on a Big Mission in Bangladesh
Founded in New York in 1998, the Volunteers Association for Bangladesh is a small NGO on a big mission: to change public education for the poor in Bangladesh. The organization, whose members are mostly expatriate Bangladeshis living in the U.S. and Canada, has devoted itself to providing the funds, technical resources, and training necessary to improve Bangladeshi public schools, particularly those in rural areas where most of the country’s poor people live.
Their task could be seen as a daunting one. Statistics from 2009 put the literacy rate among Bangladeshi males at 54%, and among females at only 32%. According to more recent studies, the literacy rate for people in Bangladesh over age 15 is just under 60%. Dropout rates for high school students are estimated at 42%. Figures like these speak to the great educational need that the Volunteers Association for Bangladesh seeks to address.
The VAB has taken a comprehensive approach to meeting these educational needs and tackling the problem of inadequate schooling. Programs in 60 schools across the country are designed to help students from preschool through university. They provide free preschool with a nutritious meal, tutoring for 6th-grade students to help them pass entrance exams for high schools, and scholarships to help high school students pay for tuition and other necessary materials.
The group has also donated supplies like computers and science equipment in order to help 15 public schools better serve their students. In 2005, VAB started a college scholarship program, which has since helped 201 students pay for tuition and textbooks. In addition, they train local university students to work as tutors in the public schools.
All of these efforts are making headway in helping to open up doors to real opportunity for the poor in Bangladesh. The VAB is working to keep expanding its programs, and most recently they have partnered with Microsoft Southeast Asia to start a computer literacy and training program. To learn more about VAB and all of its efforts, visit www.vabonline.org.
– Délice Williams
Sources: Volunteer Association for Bangladesh, The Financial Express
Photo: Voice of America
Global Displacement by the Numbers
Every day an entire town’s worth of people is rendered homeless.
23,000 persons per day are forced to flee their homes, according to a United Nations report. By the numbers, this is akin to the evacuation of entire American towns. Due to conflict or persecution, these persons must rely on aid provided by various domestic and international organizations, placing strain on already weakened local economies and food supplies. The vast majority of these persons – over 80% – are hosted by developing nations.
Not only are local economies suffering as a result of displacement, the burden is also felt by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which logged some 35.8 million persons of concern in 2012. As a reference point, the population of California, the largest state in the U.S, is approximately 38.1 million people. In Pakistan, the number of refugees in relation to economic capacity is 552 persons to every $1 of GDP per capita, an astonishing statistic by our measurements.
In response to displacement concerns in Syria, a state in which 70% Palestinian refugees are displaced by conflict in addition to the Syrians themselves, the Obama administration has authorized an additional $300 million in humanitarian relief funds. This brings the total amount of aid given to Syria to nearly $815 million, making the U.S. the single-largest contributor of humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people.
These contributions will be used “to help feed, shelter, and provide medical care for children, women, and men affected by the ongoing conflict in Syria,” according to a recent press release from the White House. The move is especially significant for efforts to increase global poverty relief and awareness in U.S. foreign affairs as it represents a clear recognition of an American responsibility to protect people worldwide.
In spite these commendable contributions, there remains a wide discrepancy between the number of refugees being hosted by developing countries and nations more capable of hosting displaced persons. To wit, UNHCR’s recent report shows that more than half of the refugees under UNHCR’s mandate resided in countries where the GDP per capita was below $5,000 in 2012. Pakistan and Iran hosted the largest number of refugees. Clearly, there is a great need for the U.S. and other developed countries to support refugees and the countries that host them.
– Herman Watson
Source: New York Times, UN Refugee Agency, Huffington Post, NBC News, The White House
Photo: NBC News
The Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance
The Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) began in 2007 as a source of quantitative data for African citizens, organizations, and policy makers to refer to when making important decisions. This is just one of five core program areas for the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation works with other institutions to bring results to the African people by connecting citizens, stakeholders, and policy makers together. This organization believes better leadership and governance will provide full implementation of all the developmental progress that has already been made on the African continent.
In addition to the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, the other four core programs under the Mo Ibrahim Foundation are:
Whichever solutions are discovered, or goals are accomplished in the developing nations of Africa, management of these accomplishments is a must. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, as seen in its five core programs, works for just that. It stresses an emphasis on discussion, recognition of achieved rather than ascribed leadership, and paving the way for young, talented individuals who want to make a positive change in Africa.
Mohamed Ibrahim, the founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, is now a billionaire philanthropist after selling his cellphone company, Celtel International. His philosophy is essentially, for Africa, by Africa. Founding Mo Ibrahim Foundation for him was an investment he hopes to see a return on in the future of Africa’s infrastructure. Being extremely passionate about improving African governance and leadership, Ibrahim says that the recognition given to exceptional Africa leaders under The Ibrahim Prize Program is not a façade of success in Africa, but rather a means of bringing unfiltered attention to the issue itself.
– Aysha Rasool
Feature Writer
Source: NPR Mo Ibrahim Foundation
Photo: Nazret
World Bank Admits Poverty and Climate Change Link
Poverty and climate change are related problems, says World Bank president Jim Yong Kim. The World Bank has doubled its spending on researching adaptation to climate change to $4.6 billion, but it is also calling for the world’s wealthier countries to invest in similar research. The organization also recently released a report on the subject, which presents some shocking scenarios that the organization feels are likely to occur if global temperatures continue to increase. The Thai capital of Bangkok, for example, could experience floods in as much as forty percent of the city if temperatures rise by just 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, which is expected to happen within the next three decades. Those who live in slums, the report suggests, will be the most affected by a natural disaster. But this hypothesis has implications not just for the poor or for the people of Thailand, but for the world over. Jim Yong Kim, the president of World Bank has said that it is “impossible to tackle poverty without dealing with the effects of a warmer world” for the following reasons:
1. Access to food. Many crops have a difficult time thriving in extremely hot conditions. While agricultural scientists are working, sometimes controversially, to create versions of popular crops that can adapt to such climates, the World Bank’s report estimates that as many as ninety percent of people in Sub-Saharan Africa could be malnourished by 2050.
2. Access to clean water. The report also suggests that extreme heat may lead to droughts throughout South Asia, reducing the availability of clean drinking water in places like India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
In addition to research, the World Bank spends $7 billion per year (not including the $20 billion received from other banks and partners dedicated to this issue) in helping developing countries cut their greenhouse gas emissions.
– Samantha Mauney
Sources: The Saudi Gazette, Counter Currents
Photo: IFAD
Living Goods: Saving Lives Door-to-Door
For most Americans, there are few things in life more irritating than a door-to-door salesperson. They bypass the bubble we’ve created around ourselves using newfangled technologies like caller ID and appear unannounced at the door with the intent to sell you a vacuum cleaner. In 21st century America, we prefer to buy and we hate to be sold.
For people living in Uganda however, a stranger at your door could save your life.
Living Goods is a social business based in San Francisco that seeks to create a sustainable delivery system of products and services essential for health and well being in the developing world. These products, which include anti-malaria medications, clean burning cook stoves, solar lamps and fortified foods, undoubtedly improve and sometimes save the lives of those living in poverty. But all too often there is no infrastructure in place to ensure those who need these goods have access to them.
Enter the Living Goods Community Health Promoter. CHP’s are the delivery system for Living Goods, going door-to-door in their communities delivering over 70 different products to customers at 20-40% below market prices. A CHP, usually a woman but the program has recently expanded to include a few men, gets his or her start by purchasing a “business in a bag”, a branded duffel bag from Living Goods containing everything they need to start a franchise. They then receive two weeks of intensive training, learning how to diagnose common illnesses like malaria and when to refer a customer to a clinic. Ongoing mentorship and marketing support are also provided. Eve Alituvera, a Community Healthy Promoter in Uganda said of her impact on the community “I offer them good health plus commodities – that’s the business”.
Malaria is a disease that’s particularly problematic in Uganda. It is estimated that Uganda has the highest rate of infection in the world, nearly 478 cases per 1,000 people per year. While this is a highly treatable infection and drugs are free at public hospitals, they are often out of stock or too far from those who need them. What’s worse, nearly 30% of anti-malaria drugs sold at pharmacies are counterfeit. Fortunately, the presence of Living Goods CHP’s has succeeded in reducing the effects of malaria on locals. A 2012 report by the Harvard Kennedy School of Government found that the presence of a Living Goods CHP increased the use of anti-malarial drugs by children believed to be infected with the disease by 40%.
Today, there are over 1000 Community Health Promoters active in Uganda and Living Goods is planning to implement the model in Kenya beginning mid 2013.
– Erin Ponsonby
Source: Living Goods, The Guardian
Photo: Time Magazine
The Rwandan Genocide 101
On April 6, 1994, Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana — an ethnic Hutu — was returning from Tanzania when his plane was shot down over the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Whether his assassination was carried out by the Tutsi-led Rwanda Patriotic Front or Hutus searching for a reason to wipe out the Tutsi minority remains a mystery. In the 100 days following, over 800,000 Tutsis were slaughtered largely at the hands of Hutu extremists.
A History of Ethnic Conflict
For hundreds of years the African country of Rwanda has been composed of three main ethnic groups: the Hutus, who made up a majority of the population; the minority Tutsis; and a very small population of hunter-gathers, the Twa. The Hutus and the Tutsis have had a long history of conflict, beginning with the colonization of Rwanda by European powers. The Germans were the first to colonize the country and believed the minority Tutsi to be superior to the majority Hutu as they were believe to have more “European characteristics” such as lighter skin and taller stature. In 1916, Belgium took control of Rwanda and solidified this divide by issuing identity cards based on ethnicity. For the next 20 years, the Tutsis were privilege to better jobs, better educational opportunities and better all around treatment by the Belgian colonists despite their making up only around 10% of the total population.
By 1959, the Hutus had had enough. Riots ensued and over 20,000 Tutsis were killed while others fled for neighboring Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania. When Rwanda was eventually granted independence from Belgium in 1962, the tables were turned and the Hutus gained control. In the decades to come, the Tutsis would be blamed for every ill facing the country.
The Rwandan Genocide
Fast forward to April 6, 1994. Within twenty-four hours of the attack on president Habyarimana’s plane, Hutu extremists had taken over the Rwandan government, blamed the Tutsis for the attack, and begun the killing campaign. Starting in Kigali and quickly spreading to the rest of the country, Hutu extremists began slaughtering Tutsis in droves. Soldiers and police encouraged civilians to kill their Tutsi neighbors, often offering incentives like food or access to the land of those they killed. No Tutsi was safe from those who wanted them dead. Men, women and children were tortured and killed, mostly with machetes due to the expensive nature of bullets. Thousands of women were raped and tortured before being killed. To make matters worse, the Hutu extremists refused to allow the bodies of those they killed to be buried. Instead, they were left to rot where they were killed or thrown into rivers and streams. In all, over 800,000 Rwandans were brutally murdered between April 7 and mid July 1994. Only when the Rwandan Patriotic Front captured Kigali and declared a ceasefire did the killings end.
Rwanda Today
In 2000, Paul Kigame, former Tutsi leader of the RPF, became president and remains in power today. The Kigame government has invaded the Democratic Republic of the Congo twice with the intention of destroying the some two million Hutus who have lived in hiding there since 1994. While the genocide has ended, tension between the two groups still runs deep and simmers just below the surface.
In 1979, president Jimmy Carter declared, “Out of our memory … of the Holocaust we must forge an unshakeable oath with all civilized people that never again will the world stand silent, never again will the world … fail to act in time to prevent this terrible crime of genocide.” Yet just 15 years later, the Rwandan genocide unfolded on television screens while some of the most powerful nations on earth stood by and watched. What will it take to create a world where “never again” doesn’t so quickly become “never again unless”?
In the words of the philosopher Hannah Arendt: “The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.”
– Erin Ponsonby
Source: BBC, United Human Rights Counsel
Photo: Guardian
Youth Needed to Boost Agriculture in Nigeria
In Nigeria, over 70 percent of the population lives on the equivalent of $0.07 or less. This is a sad and startling fact considering that the country has the third largest economy in all of Africa, that it has plentiful oil resources, and that, in 1980 less than thirty percent of people there were living in poverty. Thus, in a time where we are making such strides toward reducing poverty around the world, it is unsettling when a country with so much potential begins to regress.
Some believe that the government should take a more active role in assuring that such resources are used wisely and to the benefit of the citizens of the country. Concerning agriculture, one of the largest industries in Nigeria, however, many are suggesting that the government take a smaller role. Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the Minister of Agriculture in Nigeria, is trying to get Nigerians to see the industry as a business in which government should have a minimal role. This is an especially welcomed opinion for those who have criticized the government’s handling of the sector.
Innovation is sorely needed. Emmanuel Omole, the CEO of an agricultural development company in Lagos, is insisting that the main way such innovation can take hold is for youth to be attracted to the industry. Youth must feel that the sector is a lucrative one. Negative connotations associated with the industry (that it is “dirty,” for instance) must also die.
Not only are many Nigerians ready to welcome youth input, but their presence is also sorely needed. Present agriculturalists are aging out of the industry, leaving a labor void that, if addressed properly, could help improve the lives of the nation’s young people, or could severely affect the economy if left unfilled.
Despite the fact that food production is such a large part of the Nigerian economy, because most of the farming there is done on a small scale without much large-scale manufacturing, the country still spends a great deal of money to bring international food into the country. From 2007 through 2010, Nigeria spent the equivalent of $628 billion USD importing food alone. Even though it is one of the African countries most blessed with fresh water, the nation spent 97 billion naira on importing fish.
– Samantha Mauney
Sources: NGR Guardian News, All Africa, poverties.org
Photo: WordPress
Women, Pakistan, and Int. Trade
The U.S. Agency for International Development operates a program in Pakistan focused on increasing the participation of women in international trade. The program recently celebrated its second crop of graduates.
According to the agency, the Women in Trade (WIT) program is part of USAID’s PakistanTrade Project, which represents a commitment to Pakistan to help boost economic growth, education and other areas to help ensure a future of stability and prosperity for the country. WIT is a mentorship and management training program that launched in 2011.
Through WIT women trainees (both graduates and post graduates) have access to three months of management training experience in the private sector with companies that are involved in importing and exporting goods to and from Pakistan. WIT gives the women trainees a monthly stipend for the training.
According to USAID research released in March 2011, women represented just 10 percent of the staff hired by private sector, international trade focused firms in Pakistan. Women’s participation rates in Pakistan’s formal economy are low in general. An estimated fewer than one third of the 31 million women in Pakistan who are of working age are considered economically active. And more than half of the women who are part of the workforce are either unpaid family helpers or low-skilled workers.
Through WIT trainee participants have worked with large international firms, including Target and Li $ Fung (a major apparel supplier). One of WIT’s goals is to help more women explore careers in international trade sourcing, marketing, product design, product development and supply chain management.
WIT launched as a one year program in 2011 with 17 graduates. For the second round of the program WIT placed 57 trainees, 48 of whom completed the full three months of their training by the end of 2012. Thirty-three percent of the WIT trainees in the 2012 cohort have also been fully employed as a result of their participation in the program.
– Liza Casabona
Source: USAID Business Recorder
Photo: Gender Concerns