Women in the U.S. have been dealing with gender inequality and the lack of parity for decades, but people rarely discuss the gender wage gap in Venezuela. The gap has reduced since the 1990s, but the wages of men in Venezuela (and Latin America in general) still average around 25 percentage points higher than women. Here is more information about the gender wage gap in Venezuela.
About the Gender Wage Gap in Venezuela
As of 2021, in Venezuela, women have a labor participation rate of 40%, while males have a rate of 65%. According to the NGO Centre for Justice and Peace (CEPAZ), 70%+ of Venezuelan women live in poverty. The gender wage gap in the U.S. has been stable for the past 20 years, while the gender wage gap in Venezuela has been slowly growing. The different reward systems for the worker’s characteristics, the tendency for men to have more education compared to women, and the state of the Venezuelan economy are suspected to be the main reasons for the wealth disparity.
Early education greatly influences Venezuelan men and women. In 2020, Venezuela scored 0.71 on the Gender Gap Index, meaning that women are approximately 29% less likely than men to have equal opportunities in education, the economy and politics. With the correlation between education and higher incomes being strong, it is evident why women tend to suffer from the gender wage gap in Venezuela.
The Gender Wage Gap and Poverty
Women in the country are shortchanged in other ways, especially regarding policy decision-making. With the Venezuelan crisis of corruption, uber-inflation, disease and high crime and mortality rates, the fact that 54% more women than men between the ages of 20 and 59 do not participate in the labor market for family reasons reveals how the gender wage gap in Venezuela is not only aiding in harmful gender stereotypes but also poverty for females in the country.
The lack of opportunities for decent work and foreign aid are key variables to the problem, which are complicated to fix overnight. Female poverty in Venezuela is so prevalent that people deemed it a crisis in 2020, with the pandemic exacerbating it. Venezuela’s decaying public health system has resulted in a lack of sexual and reproductive health services, which indirectly leads to large families with very little money to support them.
US Aid to Venezuela
The U.S. may have donated roughly $2.8 billion to the country since 2017, yet Venezuela is suffering one of the worst humanitarian crises in the history of the Western Hemisphere. On the surface, the gender wage gap in Venezuela is about the unrelenting problem of unequal incomes between females and males, in general, after all this time. But in a broad context, it proves how little foreign assistance and a poor economy can impact gender inequality. Many Americans say that the U.S. is doing enough when 4.5% of the budget for military affairs is allotted for foreign aid. Therefore, more can be done.
CEDAW’s Efforts
On fixing the gender wage gap in Venezuela, organizations like CEDAW (The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) are overlooking the country’s progress in gender equality overall. The group originated in 1979 as a voice of advocacy for women’s rights worldwide. Its job is to ensure that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women undergoes implementation. It checks that countries regularly instill human rights treaties. So far, the group has adopted a law on gender equality in Mongolia, a law in Rwanda prohibiting sex-based discrimination in access to land and much more.
In May 2023, the committee completed an in-depth review of Venezuela’s status. While it commended Venezuela for having more girls studying science subjects (which is a giant step for improving the gender wage gap there), it observed that more work is necessary in the country regarding gender equality. The Commission against Gender-based Violence of Universidad de Los Andes’s letter to CEDAW confirmed that the Venezuelan regime had not secured the human rights of women in different sectors such as politics, education and health care. The Committee focused on the lack of parity; only 19% of Venezuelan women are mayors of municipalities. Since then, CEDAW has advised civil society organizations to improve gender-based discrimination.
The Women’s Development
In 2001, the Women’s Development emerged to provide economic and non-economic relief to women in Venezuela. The bank, designed to serve women in poverty, has given more than 40,000 “microcredit” loans to groups of women aspiring to be entrepreneurs. It also offers training and workshops to women to become more self-sufficient.
– Bridelle Toumani
Photo: Flickr
iSchoolAfrica: Improving Education in Rural South Africa
Rural communities get fewer opportunities to learn and grow than larger schools in more populated areas. According to Teach With Africa, children in the top 200 schools in South Africa have better grades in math than the next 6,000 combined. Only 27% of students in school for six years can read. However, an organization known as iSchoolAfrica is trying to close this gap by focusing on tools for rural education in South Africa.
Who Are They?
iSchoolAfrica came into existence in 2009. The main goal of iSchoolAfrica is to help poverty-stricken communities by giving them access to technology that will provide a chance to become better educated and increase their prospects of lifting themselves out of poverty. The organization’s website lists its goals to “increase motivation, enthusiasm, and excitement around learning” and “level the playing fields between resourced and under-resourced schools,” among other purposes. iSchoolAfrica accepts used iPads that have been donated to iStores. The iPads are then distributed to those in communities that need them.
What Programs Do They Run?
iSchoolAfrica has several programs designed to help impoverished students get the education they need. One program iSchoolAfrica has implemented is the #MyFuture Program. This program is designed to help students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic by giving them access to iPads and teaching and leadership skills to still participate in school activities if COVID-19 dictates that they need to move online.
Another program designed to give impoverished communities better education through technology is the Numeracy Programme. This program uses iPads to help South African youth increase their math skills and get the best math education possible. They use mobile iPad labs to ensure that children have access to this technology and take time to ensure they understand the material. This program is designed to be personal to each student and to ensure that learning is taking place. Since 2011, this program has helped students in schools increase their numeracy grades by 15%, with over 100 schools having been aided in that time as well. Being properly educated in school subjects goes a long way to helping alleviate poverty and helping out struggling communities.
An additional program the iSchoolAfrica uses to educate focuses on literacy is called the Digital Libraries Programme. iSchoolAfrica uses digital libraries to give students access to a vast array of different digital books and education tools that they can use to increase their literacy levels. This program uses iPads and makes sure that people with disabilities can participate. Implementing digital libraries like this will go a long way in alleviating illiteracy among rural communities. Poor literacy levels are a massive issue in South Africa. According to a study by the South African Department of Basic Education in coordination with UNICEF, 43% of households reported that they did not have access to any books at all earlier this year. Being able to read is a skill that is required to be a member of everyday life and hold down most jobs. By increasing the number of people who can read in rural communities, they have a skill that can help them get better jobs and climb out of poverty.
The Impact of iSchoolAfrica on Rural Education in South Africa
Since the start of the organization back in 2009, iSchoolAfrica has helped over 100,000 people with their education, trained over 3,000 teachers and trained over 200 young people as iSchoolAfrica facilitators. They have had a significant impact on poverty-stricken areas. As an organization, they have also received multiple awards for their charitable work.
iSchoolAfrica has had a powerful impact on rural education in South Africa. The people who live in these communities are better educated, have more access to learning tools and overall have better prospects for their lives than they otherwise would have had. As the years go on, this organization can only go on to have an even more significant impact on poverty and give people suffering from it a chance to be a part of positive change.
– Calder Miller
Photo: Flickr
Efforts to Address Child Poverty in Slovenia
Government Initiatives to Address Child Poverty in Slovenia
In 2021 each member of the European Union vowed to implement initiatives that would drive down the rate of poverty among its citizens. Slovenia, like every other EU nation, came up with its own strategies to help alleviate the child poverty rate in their country. Despite the significant number of people in Slovenia and Europe who have access to good health care, a stable food source and places to live, the EU still values Child Poverty as a pressing issue that must be eliminated.
One of the initiatives taken by the Slovenian government is implementing more accessible health services for children who may not otherwise have access to them. In particular, there has been a steady effort since 2018 to make mental health care a priority among Slovenian youth. Studies show that 50% of mental health disorders develop by age 15 in teenagers. By the age of 25, that number has increased to 75%. With the implementation of a National Mental Health Program, Slovenia hopes to build 25 mental health centers by 2028. Nineteen of these have already been constructed. The plan underscores suicide prevention and the prevention of all mental illness in children as a critical component of their overall strategy to fight child poverty in Slovenia.
Another initiative that aims to help curtail child poverty in Slovenia is the availability of beds specifically for marginalized groups who are left homeless due to forces outside their control. All in all, 1,280 beds are available to those who need them most. These houses give people a place to live when they otherwise would have been turned away for a litany of reasons. Whether they come from an abusive household or came to Slovenia from another country, this program aims to temporarily resolve housing issues and help children have one less thing to worry about.
Food Aid for Children in Slovenia
In 2021, 20.14% of all the people in Slovenia who required food aid were children 15 years and younger. The “Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived” is one such program that deals with this exact issue. In 2019 the EU conducted a mid-term evaluation of what their FEAD program had done since 2014. They had assisted over 1.2 million people with aid for food, clothing and other essentials. Thirty percent of the recipients of aid were children. That equates to close to 360,00 children who received aid from this program in the years of 2014-2017. This program’s goal is “to eliminate the most severe forms of poverty by providing non-financial assistance to the most deprived in the form of food” and to “eliminate the most severe forms of poverty by providing non-financial assistance to the most deprived.” As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, additional food was made available via the EU, giving the commission more money to get this program off the ground. All these goals that the Slovenian Government has put forward aim to reduce child poverty by the year 2030.
Final Thoughts
Despite the vast majority of people in Slovenia having access to necessities, there is still a minority that needs assistance from their government. Whether through housing provided until they find their footing, mental health facilities designed to help diagnose and treat mental illness in children, or food aid programs that make it so people don’t have to worry about their next meal. The Slovenian government has shown that it is ready and committed to ending child poverty in Slovenia.
– Calder Miller
Photo: Flickr
Implementing Renewable Energy in Nigeria
Nigeria has the largest GDP in Africa and a population of more than 200 million. At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari announced that his country aims to be carbon neutral by 2060. In August 2022, it established an Energy Transition Plan (ETP), an Energy Transition Implementation working group (ETWG) and an Energy Transition Office (ETO) to achieve net-zero emissions. Renewable energy in Nigeria will help the country by strengthening the economy and combating the effects of changing weather patterns.
Changing Weather Patterns in Nigeria
Sequences of weather changes have increased the demand for plans toward clean energy. The floods from October to November of 2022 are an example of the devastation it has caused, with more than 600 deaths, thousands injured and 1.3 million people displaced from their homes. Green energy policies work to limit the effects of weather changes by working toward the goal of carbon neutrality by 2060.
Transitioning to Renewable Energy
The ETP website highlights that “the next couple of decades present a unique opportunity to merge these two priorities: economic development and climate action, and to achieve in Africa’s largest economy, one of the world’s first true just transitions.” The website claims that renewable energy in Nigeria will lift 100 million people out of poverty and create up to 340,000 jobs by 2030 and 840,000 jobs by 2060. The transition creates opportunities for economic growth in new industries such as hydrogen, solar energy and electric vehicles.
The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), the Energy Transition Academy (ETA) and the Africa Energy Program strive to educate workers on the switch to renewable energy. They collaborate with the Global Fellowship Program, which provides Nigerians with “a demand-driven curriculum to underpin the deployment and scaling of distributed energy resources that could unlock jobs and electricity access.” The program provides knowledge through on-site examples, leadership development and capstone projects. Dismantling the fossil fuel industry creates unemployment, but training the local workers fills the jobs needed to transition to clean energy.
Another way to involve the local community is by including them in the economic benefits of the clean energy movement. Community-led projects can implement new management strategies and tailor the projects to local needs. For example, the Sharing the Power project allows locals to be a part of an ownership structure, motivating more of the community to get involved in energy initiatives. Another example is the Energizing Agriculture Program, which connects clean energy technologies to the agricultural industry, the third largest economic contributor in Nigeria.
Promoting Gender Equality
Transitioning to renewable energy in Nigeria will promote gender equality and economic growth. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) found that “only 32 percent of renewable energy jobs are held by women, who are among the most vulnerable to climate change.” In 2016, The Clinton Climate Initiative created the Women in Renewable Energy (WIRE) Network to combat the gender imbalance in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs. WIRE believes in educating women who desire personal and professional growth through mentorships and building connections in the energy sector.
Conclusion
Since 2021, Nigeria has made great progress toward achieving carbon neutrality. In those years, the country promoted community-led projects, initiatives for diverse populations and training for workers in transition. To meet its goal, Nigeria needs to continue investing in programs that direct the country away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy. Renewable energy technologies and countrywide economic growth are the answer to Nigeria’s growing socioeconomic needs.
– Diana Grant
Photo: Flickr
How Heart for Lebanon is Addressing the Economic Crisis in Lebanon
Since 2019, Lebanon has been in an ongoing struggle as a nation. What started as an economic crisis in Lebanon has now pushed more than 80% of the population into poverty. Of this population, poverty has most significantly impacted marginalized groups including migrant workers, children and the elderly. One of the many organizations fighting for the citizens living in poverty in Lebanon is Heart for Lebanon. Post-COVID-19, Heart for Lebanon continues to fight for its home country as its economic crisis continues.
Heart for Lebanon
Following the elections of new government officials, when the prime minister could not agree on the cabinet mandate, this, in turn, led to obstruction. They continued to obstruct the domestic investigation into the Beirut blast in 2020, which took 220 lives and injured more than 7,000. This blast disrupted electricity and these issues have continued to spiral as the country dealt with the COVID-19 virus.
The country is in a humanitarian crisis, deemed “the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II,” and organizations such as Heart for Lebanon have offered their aid. Heart for Lebanon’s new center is designed to lower these numbers of poverty, providing aid for families and children as well as Christian education. Located in the heart of Bekka Valley, their facility features a warehouse for packaging aid items, a chapel room, a clinic, a cafeteria and dormitories.
Hope on Wheels
One thing it has provided to the community is its mobile ministry truck, called “Hope on Wheels.” The truck travels to different parts of Lebanon, spreading biblical messages in the form of skits, games, songs and puppets. Hundreds of children gather around every week to stay for a few hours and distract themselves from the everyday terrors they face in their current situation; it lets them enjoy being children again. The Hope Ministry is equipped to handle and educate more than 12,000 refugees each year, and as it continues its efforts, it is helping children working through the current poverty crisis in Lebanon.
The H.O.P.E Program
The H.O.P.E program, Helping Overcome Poverty Through Education, provides a proper education to children in multiple communities in Lebanon struggling from poverty. Due to the poverty that has affected the majority of the population during the economic crisis in Lebanon, children have not had access to formal education, but the H.O.P.E program has offered informal education for children during this time. Children not only learn about biblical content, but the curriculum covers the essentials they need such as math, English, Arabic and art.
Looking Ahead
Though a few other reputable organizations are helping with the poverty crisis in Lebanon, Heart for Lebanon is actively helping to serve the vulnerable demographics of the population. From donations to offering educational material/lessons, it is helping many children across Lebanon to escape from the stress of their day-to-day lives.
More than one in 10 families have had to send their children to work to help with the inflation that has taken place in Lebanon. Alongside this fact, 15% of families have had to halt their children’s education as many can no longer afford it. With these facts in mind, it can be difficult to see a child undergoing these huge life changes but having something to look forward to whether it be school or fun puppet shows, is one of the simple ways to care for the children of Lebanon.
– Isabella Polo
Photo: Flickr
3 Innovations Utilizing Locally Available Resources to Fight Poverty
Across the globe, people live without access to electricity, sanitation and manufacturing resources. In turn, their households lack strong infrastructure and protection against extreme heat and environmental health concerns. Resourceful innovations are working to tackle these elements of poverty by utilizing readily available products and local capabilities. Here are three innovations using locally available resources to fight poverty.
1. Eco-Cooler
Bangladesh has one of the wettest climates in the world due to its summer monsoon season. To accommodate for the rain, more than 60% of Bangladesh’s population lives in tin huts rather than more vulnerable mud huts. Although tin provides protection from the rain, it exacerbates the extreme summer heat. Without access to electricity and, therefore, air conditioning, this heat is unbearable for those living in rural, low-income areas.
Through resourceful innovation, Ashis Paul created a cooling system that does not need electricity and utilizes commonly found items. The Eco-cooler comprises locally available resources like plastic bottles that are cut in half and mounted on a sheet of cardboard. The cardboard is then fitted to a window with the wider part of the bottles facing outward. The bottles catch passing wind, cool the air as it experiences a change in pressure, and then funnel the air into the building’s interior. It is estimated that this affordable and easy-to-build solution is able to reduce temperatures up to 5 degrees Celsius depending on the conditions.
2. Gjenge Makers
Nairobi, Kenya generates around 500 tons of plastic waste every day. Without proper decomposition methods, a majority of this waste ends up in garbage dumps located around low-income communities, further impacting the health and living conditions of impoverished people in Nairobi.
Nzambi Matee, founder of Gjenge Makers, discovered how to transform this plastic waste into a valuable resource: bricks that are seven times stronger than concrete. The bricks are formed with a mix of sand and polyethylene or polypropylene, which could otherwise not be recycled. Gjenge Maker bricks are half the weight of concrete, making transportation and building more efficient and affordable. Gjenge Makers’ aims to use its resourceful innovation to solve Kenya’s pollution problem, provide new job opportunities, produce healthier livelihoods and introduce young women to entrepreneurship and engineering.
3. White Roofs
The Mahila Housing Trust (MHT) originated to educate and strengthen impoverished women to improve their living conditions. One aim is to build resilience against unbearable temperatures. Temperatures in western India can reach up to 47.8C (118F) in the summer. This heat diminishes women’s ability to be productive and healthy in their homes. MHT is increasing women’s ability to tackle extreme temperatures without the need for hard-to-access resources such as electricity.
Mahila Housing Trust has distributed white solar-reflective paint to low-income communities in western India. Women living in these areas are able to apply the paint at no cost, reflecting sunlight away from their houses and reducing the internal temperature. This simple and resourceful innovation is estimated to reduce temperatures by 1 to 2 degrees Celsius. Even the slightest drop in temperature reduces women’s vulnerability to heat stroke, exhaustion and pregnancy complications, and allows women to remain productive in the summer.
Nzambi Matee, Ashis Paul and the Mahila Housing Trust are demonstrating how resourceful innovations using locally available resources can help battle the barrier of access to commodities, such as electricity and manufacturing tools. Determining the materials a community lacks and utilizing the resources they do have is creating unique inventions and fighting poverty.
– Aliya French
Photo: Flickr
WHO and UNICEF Respond to Hunger in the Horn of Africa
For the last 40 years, the greater Horn of Africa has borne the brunt of changing weather patterns and its knock-on effects. Extended periods of extreme heat and poor rainfall have led to conditions of drought in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. This has affected crop growth and grazing land for animals, destabilizing already fragile subsistence farms and causing widespread hunger, thirst and desperation. Here is some information about what some are doing to address hunger in the Horn of Africa.
The Situation
Despite heavier rainfall during the wet season of 2023, the soil has become parched, damaged by severe and long-term drought and no longer able to absorb water. Floods have destroyed roads, washed away livestock and forced the closure of schools and medical facilities, on top of famine and water insecurity. More than 11 million people have become climate refugees, forced to leave their homes to seek pasture, food, water and medical treatment.
These factors have increased the risk of illness and disease. Contaminated water sources from flooding spread cholera, measles and other waterborne diseases. The nature of changing weather patterns means that extreme weather events such as these may occur more frequently and with more intensity. The resilience of these communities is reducing; many households are unable to bounce back before another onslaught of sickness, famine and financial loss.
Food Insecurity in the Horn of Africa
The number of people experiencing acute food insecurity has reached 45.8 million, with children among the most at risk. Four consecutive dry periods have killed crops and livestock, reducing the nutritious food available and food prices have inflated due to scarcity. The number of children under 5 years old suffering from malnutrition has skyrocketed to more than 7 million, with 1.9 million children at risk of death across seven countries.
UNICEF
UNICEF issued an appeal in 2022, calling for funding to provide critical, life-saving treatment such as ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). Supported by donors, the organization addressed hunger in the Horn of Africa by assisting 30 million children and mothers at risk of malnutrition through education, nutrition, immunization and child protection services. Immediate actions also included addressing the water insecurity crisis by drilling water boreholes to improve community resilience to future climate emergencies. Investments in government child social schemes, in addition to nutrition and health systems, address the need for longer-term resilience.
The World Health Organization (WHO)
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been instrumental in coordinating efforts to treat diseases and provide food, water and sanitation. In Kenya, a rapid response team at county and sub-county levels was established to detect, report on and respond to drought early on. The government food and health emergency plan was revised in Ethiopia, as were the drought response activities. In Somalia, the WHO collaborated with UNICEF and 53 health partners to address the needs of internally displaced people. International cooperation between Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya will combat the cholera outbreak. In Uganda, the WHO is responding to the measles outbreak by assisting with vaccinations and donating equipment to manage the number of cases. Along with the Ministry of Health, the WHO is training health workers, including nutrition leads, to manage health complications in Djibouti.
Prompt responses to the effects of drought are crucial to the reduction of hunger in the Horn of Africa. Long-term damage to children’s well-being and devastation to livelihoods and the economy can be averted through a timely and well-coordinated course of action.
– Lydia Greene
Photo: Flickr
5 Active NGOs in Myanmar
Numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) fight against injustices including poverty, changing weather patterns and hunger all around the world. Human rights violations have increased dramatically in Myanmar, and homelessness is now becoming the standard. Around 40% of Myanmar’s population lives below the poverty line and is in desperate need of help. Here are five NGOs Active in Myanmar helping fight these horrific issues.
5 Active NGOs in Myanmar
Even though Myanmar is experiencing significant poverty, these five NGOs are making a difference. Through their continued aid, the quality of life in the country should only improve moving forward.
– Jake Marks
Photo: Flickr
Reducing The Gender Wage Gap in Venezuela
About the Gender Wage Gap in Venezuela
As of 2021, in Venezuela, women have a labor participation rate of 40%, while males have a rate of 65%. According to the NGO Centre for Justice and Peace (CEPAZ), 70%+ of Venezuelan women live in poverty. The gender wage gap in the U.S. has been stable for the past 20 years, while the gender wage gap in Venezuela has been slowly growing. The different reward systems for the worker’s characteristics, the tendency for men to have more education compared to women, and the state of the Venezuelan economy are suspected to be the main reasons for the wealth disparity.
Early education greatly influences Venezuelan men and women. In 2020, Venezuela scored 0.71 on the Gender Gap Index, meaning that women are approximately 29% less likely than men to have equal opportunities in education, the economy and politics. With the correlation between education and higher incomes being strong, it is evident why women tend to suffer from the gender wage gap in Venezuela.
The Gender Wage Gap and Poverty
Women in the country are shortchanged in other ways, especially regarding policy decision-making. With the Venezuelan crisis of corruption, uber-inflation, disease and high crime and mortality rates, the fact that 54% more women than men between the ages of 20 and 59 do not participate in the labor market for family reasons reveals how the gender wage gap in Venezuela is not only aiding in harmful gender stereotypes but also poverty for females in the country.
The lack of opportunities for decent work and foreign aid are key variables to the problem, which are complicated to fix overnight. Female poverty in Venezuela is so prevalent that people deemed it a crisis in 2020, with the pandemic exacerbating it. Venezuela’s decaying public health system has resulted in a lack of sexual and reproductive health services, which indirectly leads to large families with very little money to support them.
US Aid to Venezuela
The U.S. may have donated roughly $2.8 billion to the country since 2017, yet Venezuela is suffering one of the worst humanitarian crises in the history of the Western Hemisphere. On the surface, the gender wage gap in Venezuela is about the unrelenting problem of unequal incomes between females and males, in general, after all this time. But in a broad context, it proves how little foreign assistance and a poor economy can impact gender inequality. Many Americans say that the U.S. is doing enough when 4.5% of the budget for military affairs is allotted for foreign aid. Therefore, more can be done.
CEDAW’s Efforts
On fixing the gender wage gap in Venezuela, organizations like CEDAW (The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) are overlooking the country’s progress in gender equality overall. The group originated in 1979 as a voice of advocacy for women’s rights worldwide. Its job is to ensure that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women undergoes implementation. It checks that countries regularly instill human rights treaties. So far, the group has adopted a law on gender equality in Mongolia, a law in Rwanda prohibiting sex-based discrimination in access to land and much more.
In May 2023, the committee completed an in-depth review of Venezuela’s status. While it commended Venezuela for having more girls studying science subjects (which is a giant step for improving the gender wage gap there), it observed that more work is necessary in the country regarding gender equality. The Commission against Gender-based Violence of Universidad de Los Andes’s letter to CEDAW confirmed that the Venezuelan regime had not secured the human rights of women in different sectors such as politics, education and health care. The Committee focused on the lack of parity; only 19% of Venezuelan women are mayors of municipalities. Since then, CEDAW has advised civil society organizations to improve gender-based discrimination.
The Women’s Development
In 2001, the Women’s Development emerged to provide economic and non-economic relief to women in Venezuela. The bank, designed to serve women in poverty, has given more than 40,000 “microcredit” loans to groups of women aspiring to be entrepreneurs. It also offers training and workshops to women to become more self-sufficient.
– Bridelle Toumani
Photo: Flickr
Regenerative Solutions for Coffee in Colombia
With the perfect tropical climate and high mountain terrains, Colombia has the ideal soil for coffee to flourish and grow in. However, more than five decades of conflict and changing weather patterns have proven to be obstacles for Colombia’s coffee industry, and this has hurt the livelihoods and businesses of local farmers. Despite the many obstacles, regenerative coffee farming in Colombia protects, restores and enhances soil health, helping to alleviate poverty among coffee farmers.
Conflict in Colombia and Poverty Among Coffee Farmers
According to the Economist, the conflict in Colombia was “the longest-running domestic conflict in the western hemisphere, killing more than 200,000 people and displacing around 7 million.” This internal conflict has destabilized many regions all over the country, especially heavily forested regions in south Colombia, forcing coffee farmers to abandon their farms or switch to different crops.
In 2021, the poverty rate in Colombia reached 39.3%. The overall increase in poverty in Colombia has mostly affected rural areas, where agricultural practices like farming are essential in supporting the livelihoods of families and communities. For instance, less than 40% of coffee farmers earn a sustainable wage making them more susceptible to falling below the poverty line, being unable to make ends meet and in turn, failing to provide for their families.
Benefits of Regenerative Coffee Farming in Colombia
Regenerative coffee farming in Colombia has risen since the end of 2016. There have been several initiatives including regenerative solutions for coffee in the country to help the coffee industry become more sustainable and eco-friendly. Regenerative coffee farming benefits local farmers and lowers carbon emissions, in turn, benefitting local Colombian communities, saving money and strengthening the livelihoods of farmers across rural areas.
Helping Local Communities
To help coffee farmers revive their industry sustainably, the Colombian Coffee Grower’s Federation partnered with Nespresso and its AAA Sustainable Quality Programme to help and support farmers in producing quality coffee and gaining access to the global marketplace.
Moreover, to improve the economic and social lives of Indigenous and rural women living in Colombia, Mercedes Ruiz, a coffee planter, alongside another 600 other Indigenous and rural women founded the Association of Rural Women Almaguereñas (AMURA). The organization works to strengthen women’s access to economic resources, raise awareness amongst communities about women’s rights and combat gender-based violence. They plan to market their own coffee products to contribute to their communities.
Nespresso has also expanded its coffee sourcing operations to areas in Colombia that were once affected by conflict. It made a substantial investment of $50 million to support the cultivation of sustainable, high-quality coffee in these regions. This initiative aims to promote economic development and sustainable practices in Colombia’s coffee industry.
Looking Ahead
These solutions, projects and initiatives provide a sense of community to Colombian coffee farmers and local Indigenous communities to expand their coffee industry globally and support communities affected by internal conflict and increasing poverty rates. Hence, increased funding and support for regenerative coffee farming in Colombia are essential to address the challenges of shifting weather patterns and to alleviate poverty. In addition, more support can potentially contribute to sustaining the well-being of coffee farmers and the broader local communities throughout Colombia.
– Amber Hamed
Photo: Flickr
5 Facts About Global Access to Higher Education
Current Picture
Enrollment in higher education doubled between 2000 and 2018. This means that, though many aren’t actually graduating from college or trade school, they are gaining skill sets that will allow them to break the cycle. However, it is important to note that there still exists a large gap in access between the rich and poor, and many of the poorest countries have extremely limited access to higher education.
Sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia have the lowest access to higher education. Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are also the two poorest regions in the world, accounting for five of every six people in poverty around the world. These two facts are closely linked, as access to higher education is closely linked to poverty. Increasing access to higher education in those regions would help reduce the levels of poverty there as well.
Access to higher education is lower among the world’s refugees. In 2023, while rates of primary and secondary school education are 68% and 34%, higher education only has an enrollment of 5% among refugees. Because the world’s refugees have such low access to education compared to the global average, it can be difficult for refugees to escape poverty in the countries they move to.
Women have higher enrollment rates than men. Around the world, women have rates of enrollment in higher education 5% higher than men. While men only increased 17% over the last 20 years, women’s enrollment has increased 22%. However, there are many fields, specifically in the sciences and engineering, where women are still behind men. Increasing access in those fields will allow more women to contribute to other important parts of the world’s economy.
Global Learning Poverty
Global learning poverty increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to school closings, many students learned remotely or not at all throughout the pandemic. Poorer countries have been hit the hardest, and learning poverty jumped from 57% to 70% in those countries. While this has reversed many years of work to increase education access and literacy rates, as the world returns to normal, that rate will begin to drop again.
– John Rooney
Photo: Flickr