The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a tiny country in West Africa that borders Senegal, Guinea, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its population is estimated at 1,600,000 people.
Guinea-Bissau is regarded as one of the poorest countries in the world as it has one of the lowest GDP per capitas compared to other nations. In 1998 alone, the GDP per-capita of Guinea-Bissau was only $173 compared to the per-capita GDP of the US at $29,683.
Today, the GDP per-capita of Guinea-Bissau has risen to $625.55. However, this level is still amongst the lowest in the world. Consequently, the population of Guinea-Bissau is suffering with a life expectancy of only 48 years in 2012.
Furthermore, Guinea-Bissau has one of the lowest Human Development Index scores. The poor nation ranks 176th out of 185 countries in 2013.
The economy of Guinea-Bissau relies primarily on agriculture, fish, and groundnuts as exports. In particular, the cashew nut exports have been vital to Guinea-Bissau. Yet in recent days, the exports have been on the decline. Cashew nut farmers have been unable to sell their produce as India, the prime importer of the nuts, has slashed its import size. Farmers are left holding tons of unsold cashews.
Guinea-Bissau’s economic depression is largely the result of a long period of political instability. The nation was a Portuguese colony until its declaration of independence on September 24, 1973. Guinea-Bissau was officially recognized as a country the following year following a socialist-inspired military coup in Portugal. From then on the country would be embroiled in civil unrest and several uprisings. Even now, the coup-prone country is severely embattled. In November 2008, the President of Guinea-Bissau was assassinated, following the death of the head of Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 2012, President Raimundo Pereira was deposed in yet another coup d’état.
Guinea-Bissau has yet to recover complete stability and its political chaos has severely affected its economic situation. Due to this very recent coup d’état, the country’s GDP has contracted 1.5% according to the African Development Bank Group.
However, projections for the future of Guinea-Bissau are not as grim as real GDP growth is expected to recover to 4.2%. Inflation, which had previously been at 5%, is expected to ease to 2.1%. Food imports are expected to decline with a rise in production and export of cashews for 2013.
– Grace Zhao
Sources: IRIN, African Development Bank Group, Info Please, Encyclopedia of the Nations
Photo: Wiki Spaces
New World Bank Program and Renewable Resources
Currently, about one-third of Pakistan’s population does not have access to electricity, yet Pakistan has abundant renewable resources including solar energy, wind, hydropower and biomass. These renewable resources are not being fully utilized because of the lack of credible data. The existing maps are not complete and do not identify specific sites for resource development. This new program will identify the areas that have the greatest potential for resource development.
“The importance of this resource mapping [for Pakistan] cannot be overstated,” says Arif Alauddin, former CEO of Pakistan’s Alternative Energy Development Board. “There is a need to shift to domestic renewable energy resources.”
According to the SE4ALL Global Tracking Framework report, renewable energy made up only 1.6 percent of total final energy consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 1.8 percent in Southern Asia as of 2010. In addition to their environmental benefits, renewable resources will create new jobs, improve the country’s energy security and access, and allow the country to transition to a more sustainable energy sector. This new program will provide governments and private companies the foundation they need to develop resources such as solar, wind and hydropower.
– Catherine Ulrich
Sources: AllAfrica, World Bank
Photo: Energy Advisor
The Widening Gap of Global Inequality
Rising inequality has impeded efforts to eliminate global poverty. With a greater share of wealth being captured by those in the highest income bracket, the amount reaching the lowest is continually decreasing. Two nations with equivalent GDP growth rates could have drastically different levels of poverty depending on income equality. For example, in India, the net worth of 46 billionaires is $176 billion. This number represents 12% of the GDP of India, as opposed to 1% fifteen years ago. Half of that amount would be enough to eliminate absolute poverty in India.
The irony of this unchecked growth of the upper classes is that eventually it can result in a restriction of growth. Extreme inequality slows the development of markets and limits investment opportunities for the poor. Inequality also diminishes the political power of the poor. This skewing of power can reduce government efficiency and allow for tax evasion by the wealthy, limiting the government’s ability to invest in necessary infrastructure to sustain growth.
If we’re to see success in the fight against global poverty, then rising equality must be allowed to play its part.
– David Wilson
Source: The Guardian
Photo: Global Post
Poverty in Algeria
Algeria, a French-speaking country in the north of America, enjoyed relative prosperity until around the 1980s. After independence, the economy was buoyed by booming oil prices. However, a blow to the oil market and inept management saw conditions in the country decline after the 1980s, and Algeria’s poverty has continued to rise since.
Today, nearly a quarter of Algerians are living close to or below the poverty line. The majority live in rural areas, though the urban centres are also suffering from unemployment rates, the most affected being unskilled youth.
Algeria suffers from major inequality in the distribution of wealth. A select minority control a large amount of the resources and live in relative affluence, able to enjoy modern conveniences, private school educations, and trips abroad. Yet the majority of the population lives in squalor and struggles for access to healthcare, clean water, education, and food.
The poorest in Algeria are the landless farmers who live in the mountainous regions to the north or near the south Saharan region. Working on the production of crops, and unable to procure their own land, they have been particularly affected by soil erosion and degradation, droughts, poor irrigation, and drainage.
Algeria’s problems are not unsolvable and could be improved by improvements in agricultural practices or providing support services or education. Yet internal conflicts have worsened the problem in recent years, and a lack of political stability has prevented governments from implementing the necessary long term structural reforms that are needed to provide resources to lift the nation out of poverty.
– Farahnaz Mohammed
Source: World Bank, Nation’s Encyclopedia, Rural Poverty Portal
Photo: Brookings
Toy Philanthropist Invents a Super Truck for Africa
To Sir Torquil Norman, an 80-year-old toy entrepreneur in the UK, this problem has an easy solution: when roads are bad, just get better vehicles. The long-time philanthropist, who is the creator behind toy sensations like Polly Pockets and Yellow Teapot Dollhouses, recently turned his attention to inventing a cheap vehicle that could provide reliable transportation in the world’s least developed areas, like Africa.
The OX, a 1.5-ton all-terrain truck, is his answer. Designed to withstand potholes and dirt roads, the oddly toy-like truck is an impressive feat of engineering. Six OX’s can pack into a standard vehicle shipment (which usually holds only two) and each one takes three men eleven hours to assemble. Norman has tailored every aspect of the truck for rough terrain, heavy loads, and cheap repair—like interchangeable doors, seats that become ramps, and an engine that doubles as a generator.
Norman’s claim is that the OX, unlike its flat-bed counterparts, uniquely fits a market niche undiscovered by major car manufacturers. While the wealthiest parts of the world demand increasingly heavier and more expensive trucks, he claims that the developing world craves a cheap, lightweight, and durable transport vehicle—an unmet demand that not only offers a lucrative opportunity, but also a philanthropic one.
“A village with an OX would suddenly be independent and could conceivably prevent its young people being forced to move to some terrible slum in a huge city,” Norman says. “I think we might just have the tiger by the tail. It seems to me we may be opening a door to making a lot of people’s lives better.”
– John Mahon
Sources: The Independent, Devex, Global Vehicle Trust
Photo: Needpix
Poverty in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau is regarded as one of the poorest countries in the world as it has one of the lowest GDP per capitas compared to other nations. In 1998 alone, the GDP per-capita of Guinea-Bissau was only $173 compared to the per-capita GDP of the US at $29,683.
Today, the GDP per-capita of Guinea-Bissau has risen to $625.55. However, this level is still amongst the lowest in the world. Consequently, the population of Guinea-Bissau is suffering with a life expectancy of only 48 years in 2012.
Furthermore, Guinea-Bissau has one of the lowest Human Development Index scores. The poor nation ranks 176th out of 185 countries in 2013.
The economy of Guinea-Bissau relies primarily on agriculture, fish, and groundnuts as exports. In particular, the cashew nut exports have been vital to Guinea-Bissau. Yet in recent days, the exports have been on the decline. Cashew nut farmers have been unable to sell their produce as India, the prime importer of the nuts, has slashed its import size. Farmers are left holding tons of unsold cashews.
Guinea-Bissau’s economic depression is largely the result of a long period of political instability. The nation was a Portuguese colony until its declaration of independence on September 24, 1973. Guinea-Bissau was officially recognized as a country the following year following a socialist-inspired military coup in Portugal. From then on the country would be embroiled in civil unrest and several uprisings. Even now, the coup-prone country is severely embattled. In November 2008, the President of Guinea-Bissau was assassinated, following the death of the head of Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 2012, President Raimundo Pereira was deposed in yet another coup d’état.
Guinea-Bissau has yet to recover complete stability and its political chaos has severely affected its economic situation. Due to this very recent coup d’état, the country’s GDP has contracted 1.5% according to the African Development Bank Group.
However, projections for the future of Guinea-Bissau are not as grim as real GDP growth is expected to recover to 4.2%. Inflation, which had previously been at 5%, is expected to ease to 2.1%. Food imports are expected to decline with a rise in production and export of cashews for 2013.
– Grace Zhao
Sources: IRIN, African Development Bank Group, Info Please, Encyclopedia of the Nations
Photo: Wiki Spaces
Israel Has the Highest Poverty Rate in the Developed World
The OECD speculates that these struggling economic times have greatly contributed an increase in poverty rates as well as a greater gap between the rich and poor. The organization notes that the inequality gap grew more in the past three years than in the twelve years before then.
As expressed in OECD’s report, “With higher unemployment and lower returns from capital, the crisis not only weighted heavily on incomes from work and capital but also made their distribution more unequal.” There are only a few other countries that are rated higher than Israel in income inequality: Chile, Mexico, Turkey, and the United States.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently been under scrutiny over his prodigal spending habits with taxpayer money. Among his expenses have been an 80% pay raise for himself and a $127,000 cabin for a trip to London. The struggling Israeli population heavily criticized his actions. The Prime Minister also plans to cut funding for benefits and child allowance, which is likely to put even more families below the poverty line.
Israel is among those developed countries that are particularly struggling with a massive inequality gap. The Israeli government must step in and create policies that will bring these people out of poverty and shorten the gap between the rich and poor.
– Mary Penn
Source: Huffington Post
Photo: Christoin
African Perspective on Foreign Aid
According to Thompson Ayodele and other experts, Africans are for the most part skeptical about many of the initiatives put forward by western donors and international organizations. This skepticism is founded in the fact that many multibillion-dollar initiatives put in place by the United Nations have “fizzled” and left the African continent with small percentages of economic growth. In 2005, after $500 billion in foreign aid from 1960-1997 had been funneled into Africa, the budgets of some countries like Ghana and Uganda had been more than 50% aid-dependent.
It is interesting to note, however, that now in 2013, Ghana is among those countries that have met targets of the Millennium Development Goal before the 2015 deadline. The country as a whole has cut the number of hungry people by half as well as reduced to half the number of undernourished people between 1990-92 and 2010-2012. The GDP per capita has nearly doubled since 2005.
Still, there are other problems to consider other than the economic goals being achieved. David Karanja, a former Kenyan member of parliament, for example, has said that “Foreign aid has done more harm to Africa than we care to admit. It has led to a situation where Africa has failed to set its own pace and direction of development free of external interference.” The truth is that the majority of those giving aid or lobbying for aid have no experience with the reality of life in Africa or how this aid is really being put to use. Those who possess such experience should be brought to the forefront of the discussion.
A big problem that foreign assistance often encounters is corruption and the lack of transparency from governments, organizations, and corporations. This is why a commitment to transparency must be made in order to work around those who would funnel aid money away from where it is sorely needed. The important thing to take away from this differing perspective is the focus on making aid as effective as possible by creating strategies to circumvent corruption and commit to transparency in trade, taxation, and government processes. In order to assist in the most efficient way, it is imperative that we take into account the real needs and desires of those we are attempting to aid, rather than competing to see who can donate the most to the cause.
President Alpha Conde of Guinea weighs in on the topic commenting that they “do not want to live in dependence on the generosity of others when our resources can make us prosperous and strong.”
Impact of Foreign Aid on Africa and the World
– Sarah Rybak
Source: Ghana Business News, Nation of Kenya, CATO, United Nations
Photo: The Wall Street Journal
Violence Against Women is Global Health Epidemic
The report, “Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner and non-partner sexual violence,” was released in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the South African Medical Research Council. According to the report, more than 1 in 3 women globally are impacted by physical or sexual violence. The perpetrator of such violence is usually an intimate partner: it affects an estimated 30 percent of women worldwide.
The new study compared this violence in high-income countries with that in other countries. The study found that 23.2 percent of women living in high-income countries experience intimate partner violence, as compared with 36.6 percent in Africa, 37 percent in the Eastern Mediterranean region, and 37.7 percent in South-East Asia.
“These findings send a powerful message,” said Margaret Chan, director-general of WHO. “We also see that the world’s health systems can and must do more for women who experience violence.”
The report looked at the impact of violence on both the physical and mental health of girls and women, including broken bones, pregnancy-related complications, impaired social functioning, and mental problems.
Other findings on the health impacts of intimate partner violence were staggering. The report found that 38 percent of all women who were murdered were killed by their intimate partners. Women who experienced this were twice as likely to have alcohol-use problems and were 1.5 times more likely to acquire syphilis, chlamydia or gonorrhea. In some regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, those women were also 1.5 times more likely to acquire HIV.
The report called for a major scaling up of violence-prevention efforts by addressing social and cultural factors that could be impacting the prevalence of violence. It also called for better health care for women experiencing it. Simply teaching health workers how to respond to violence could be helpful, the report noted.
The report pulled data from dozens of regional and national studies for the first time. By using regional data it was also able to highlight regional patterns. For example, women in Africa are almost twice as likely to experience violence as women living in lower and middle-income countries in Europe.
– Liza Casabona
Source: World Health Organization, The Guardian
Photo: The Guardian
The Nowhere Children: Global Child Labor
Below the boom of Asian economies are millions of child workers. These children are working in dangerous, unsanitary and often times degrading conditions. They are the “Nowhere” children. Neither enrolled in school nor officially employed, these children live in the in-between space as children in a very adult world. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that there may be around 48 million of these Nowhere children.
South Asia has the largest population of children in any region. Consequently, it is also home to some of the largest numbers of children involved in underage labor and exploitation. The ILO has also estimated that there are 21.6 million children, out of a population of 300 million between the ages of 5 and 14, who are working in South Asia.
Children who do not attend any form of schooling are more likely to wind up in child labor for more than 12 hours a day, seven days a week, with very little pay. Children in these conditions are also in harm’s way as they can be easily exploited and become the victims of violence.
What causes child labor is complex and multifaceted causes. Poverty and income inequality along with the lack of education and social protection are among the key causes. Many children are also trafficked into bonded labor. Additionally, culture in South Asia often dictates that children are often perceived as adults much earlier in their lives. Thus, Children are expected to work as hard as adults when they are as young as ten years old.
For this year’s International Day Against Child Labor, the humanitarian agency World Vision has called upon governments, businesses and civil society to take action to end child labor in the Asia Pacific.
Abid Gulzar, World Vision’s Advocacy and Justice for Children Associate Director in Asia and Pacific have stated that “Child labor doesn’t just take away childhood from children, it also triggers a vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation.” Thus he calls for increased access for these “Nowhere” children to education, proper nutrition and health services. World Vision is the Co-Chair of the South Asia Coordinating Group on Action against Violence towards children (SACG). World Vision has worked and continues to coordinate with the United Nation agencies and international Non-profit organizations for children’s rights in South Asia.
– Grace Zhao
Source: Thomas Reuters Foundation, International Labor Organization
Photo: Sunset Blogging
Why Are People in India Earning More and Eating Less?
Dubbed by academics as India’s “calorie consumption puzzle,” the average person in India is making more money now than three decades ago yet the average person’s caloric intake has dropped dramatically. These results have most academics, sociologists and economists stumped. However, a handful of experts have ventured guesses as to why people in one of the world’s most populated nations are eating so much less.
One possibility is that people in India are spending their money on more expensive foods which are lower in calories instead of buying traditional dishes which are high in calories. These more expensive foods may be more appealing than the hum-drum everyday dishes that the people are accustomed to eating.
Another possibility is that India’s economy is becoming less focused on labor-intensive agricultural jobs which require many calories and gearing itself to low-intensity white-collar jobs which require fewer calories.
The final idea posited is by far the most chilling. Some academics believe that impoverished communities in India are consuming fewer calories because they simply do not have the money to spend on food. The Indian government does not provide much public assistance for impoverished Indian households for things such as schooling and healthcare. With a growing economy, India has a need for skilled labor. Since the schooling for this type of labor is expensive and left unprovisioned for by the government, it could be crippling many Indian families – the majority of which have not benefitted from the rising economy.
In their recent study “The Calorie Consumption Puzzle in India: An Empirical Investigation,” Deepanker Basu and Amit Basole propose that this last explanation to the puzzle is the most likely. If this is in fact the case, this type of malnutrition will work to perpetuate poverty in India.
The poverty that affects communities today leaves a lasting impact on future generations. The effects of malnutrition in children last throughout their lives and can be manifested as lower weight and height, a greater vulnerability to disease and infection, as well as mood swings and depression later on in life. Being raised malnourished is a key factor in prolonging poverty. An increased propensity for sickness and disease means fewer workdays. Emotional instability can mean a whole host of problems that will only add to the already difficult task of pulling a family out of poverty.
Although this task seems as difficult as it is complex, helping to resolve India’s “calorie consumption puzzle” may a huge step toward eliminating poverty in one of the most populated countries on Earth.
– Pete Grapentien
Source: International Business Times, Eatocracy, AAE
Photo: Chris Kemper