The electric vehicle market has grown fast. With more people opting to purchase environmentally friendly modes of transport. According to IEA, electric vehicle sales “reached a record high in 2021.” In 2021, around the world, there were up to 6.5 million electric vehicles sold. Sales nearly doubled the numbers set in 2020. J.P. Morgen has estimated that by 2025, “30% of all vehicle sales will be electric vehicles.” The shift from combustion engines to battery-powered vehicles is becoming more of a reality every year. General Motors has announced its plan to “exclusively offer electric vehicles by 2035.” The growing electric vehicle market may appear like a victory for consumers and even car manufacturers. However, the real winner may just be Mexico. This is how Mexico may gain from the exploding electric vehicle market.
How “White Gold” Could Be a Potential Savior
Often referred to as “white gold,” lithium is an essential material for the production of electric vehicle batteries. With the increase in the manufacturing of electric vehicles, Investing News (INN) has stated that lithium has caught the eye of Elon Musk, CEO of the electric car manufacturer Tesla. As lithium becomes an increasing priority for car manufacturers, its prices have hit an all-time high.
Fortunately for Mexico, it has the ninth-largest lithium reserve in the world. The country estimates its Sonora lithium deposits value at more than $600 billion. Mexico’s total national debt amounted to $838 billion in 2022. According to Mexico Business News, the country could benefit from the growing demand for lithium.
With the demand for lithium only growing, Mexico could potentially change its fortune. The revenue gained from extracting lithium and selling it could hugely boost Mexico’s “stagnant economy.”
Potential Problems
Mexico has nationalized lithium. The reform effectively bans “all direct private investment and production in the lithium sector and creates a state-owned entity to extract, process and sell lithium.” The Mexican government was divided over the nationalization of lithium, some believing that the country would be unable to successfully extract and commercialize the metal itself.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has suggested private investment may be necessary due to the huge cost it will take. However, investors seem to show more interest in already established lithium markets, Reuters reports.
Whilst lithium prices have risen to $70,000 per tonne, Reuters understands that the clay deposits have largely trapped lithium in Mexico, making it difficult and expensive to mine. As a result, the lithium in Sonora has yet to see mining on a commercial scale.
Mexico in Crisis
Mexico is a country with high levels of corruption and drug trafficking. Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) states that the drug cartels in Mexico are “fuelling the rampant corruption and violence in Mexico.”
According to a 2023 article, roughly 52% of Mexican citizens live in poverty. This amounts to 57 million people. This largely attributes to a “lack of access to education, health care and well-paying jobs.”
As a result, some of the public in Mexico resort to joining drug cartels or engaging in corruption to improve their lives. Since 2006, CFR believes there to have been more than 360,000 homicides in Mexico, many of which link to cartel activity.
If Mexico can capitalize on its lithium reserves, the financial gain could help fund improved access to education and health care, and improve the availability of well-paying jobs. By doing so, Mexico could start to improve its large poverty issues.
Benefits to Mexico
El Pais suggests the Mexican administration has taken steps to take over control of lithium in the country. By nationalizing lithium, the objective is to make it a strategic resource such as oil.
If the Mexican government can invest and learn how to efficiently mine lithium, the revenue it generates from the sale of lithium would be part of the national revenue. Therefore, benefiting the entire country by being able to redistribute a larger source of income to the areas most important.
The government could use the revenue to improve access to education. There is a clear link between “increased educational provision and decreased poverty.”
There is also a link between poverty and crime. “In Mexico, 27% of people between the age of 25 and 34 had a tertiary qualification in 2021, compared with 47% on average in OECD countries,” OECD reports. In 2019, the country spent a total of “$3,577 per full-time student through primary to tertiary institutions compared to $11,990 on average in OECD countries.” By improving access to education, Mexico may begin to decrease the levels of rampant crime and corruption in the country.
Foreign Investments
Mexico has allowed China’s Ganfeng Lithium to massively increase its lithium mining operation in Mexico. Ganfeng Lithium, a major supplier of Tesla’s lithium, is one of the world’s biggest miners of lithium, accounting for 24% of global output. With this increase in investment in Mexico, there is a chance for long-term sustainable jobs for many in Mexico.
The increased investment could help improve the average wage within Mexico with a larger amount of well-payed jobs on offer. Thus, reducing the desire for many to join illegal drug cartels that fuel the extreme levels of corruption in Mexico. According to Quartz, 5% of Mexico’s GDP is lost to corruption, this amounts to $53 billion. The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness stated that this would cover three times the amount Mexico spends on its Department of Education.
The Future
Whilst it is clear that Mexico’s troubles will not vanish overnight, the discovery of an in-demand material such as lithium in Mexico could be a glimmer of hope. The link between poverty and the ongoing corruption and violent crime in Mexico is apparent. Should Mexico start to exploit the significant amount of lithium the country possesses, the government has the ability to make real change to the lives of many Mexicans who lack access to education, health care and the ability to find a well-payed job. Doing so potentially limits the power of drug cartels who continue to make life in Mexico insufferable for many.
– Josef Whitehead
Photo: Unsplash
Tackling the Crisis in Haiti
Haiti has been engulfed in political, economic and social conflict since the assassination of former president Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. The parliament has been ineffective as it struggles to govern amidst the recent earthquake and the prominence of gang violence. The crisis in Haiti does not only include one issue but rather multiple crises at once. The three most predominant crises are gang violence, the cholera outbreak and the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in August 2021.
Gang Violence
The number of gangs in Haiti has been growing for the past five years. With around 95 gangs occupying large portions of Port-au-Prince bay, the crisis in Haiti has accelerated into deeper chaos.
Organized crime disproportionally affects vulnerable communities, especially children. UNICEF’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean has warned that women and children have become targets of gangs, stating that “more and more incidents of gang violence have involved children and women in the past few weeks and months,” referring to kidnapping, rapes and killings.
Gangs developing strong political and economic footing have only made the crisis in Haiti worse by making gangs “mercenary partners of politicians and administrators,” according to the Global Initiative Report.
Recently, gangs seized Haiti’s fuel terminal, the country’s main source of energy, which sent the country into an economic and health crisis. Many schools and hospitals have no power and small businesses have shut down completely. The Inter-American Foundation (IAF) has increased funding for 22 grassroots organizations focused on helping Haitians adapt to the various political, economic and environmental collapses. The fuel crisis has prevented more than three-quarters of hospitals from operating and the IAF has been able to supply the country with community clinics and ambulances to meet the pressing need for medical care in the midst of the cholera outbreak.
In terms of suppressing gang violence, there is disagreement on which strategy is the best. The U.N. has issued $5 million to help those that the violence affected, as humanitarians try to negotiate with the gangs. Other experts and Haitians suggest that intervention may be a more plausible step as a large portion of money meant for more diplomatic relations has been relatively ineffective.
Cholera Outbreak and Environmental Concerns
Cholera outbreak and environmental shock: “more than a quarter of all suspected cholera cases are children under 9.” Children are much more likely to contract cholera, according to the Health Ministry. Between October and December 2022, there were 13,672 cases of cholera, with 86% of hospitalizations within these cases. From 2010 to 2019, there were 820,000 cholera cases in Haiti.
U.N. agencies and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), along with local organizations, have distributed medicines and treatments throughout the country. They have also established some clean water centers free of cholera, while pushing for the vaccine development for Haiti, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
There are also environmental concerns for Haiti, as a 7.2 magnitude earthquake shook the country in August 2021, leaving around 650,000 people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. The earthquake destroyed 70% of schools. UNICEF is continuing to provide water, food and shelter to vulnerable populations.
As violence extends outwards from the capital and inflation rises, the crisis in Haiti will require more aid and assistance to help rebuild and develop a more resilient political and economic order. Organizations within Haiti and around the world have already begun to provide relief, but more must happen to ensure vulnerable peoples are safe.
– Anna Richardson
Photo: Flickr
India’s only Afghan High School educating Refugee Children
Despite the ban on education for girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime, India’s only Afghan educational institution, Sayed Jamaluddin Afghan High School, is providing quality education to the refugee children of Afghanistan. Located in Delhi’s Jangpura Extension, the Afghan high school runs on a rented building with more than 30 teaching and non-teaching staff members, most of which are women.
Challenging the Taliban ban on girls’ education, the Afghanistan Ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay, said in a tweet, “Young Afghan girls who want to be educated will not be stopped, at least in New Delhi. These girls will one day contribute to a stronger and more prosperous Afghanistan. Women share this planet 50/50 however over the past 15 months harsh and unnecessary restrictions have been put on.”
Sustaining Since 1994
Women’s Federation of World Peace, a women’s nonprofit organization, set up the Sayed Jamaluddin Afghan High School in 1994 for refugee children from Afghanistan living in New Delhi. The then government of Afghanistan, Prime Minister Ashraf Ghani, started funding the school at a request from the center. This educational center expanded to become a primary school in 2008 and then a high school in 2017. The school is a hope for more than 250 students, of which 65% are girls, according to India Narrative.
The medium of instruction comprises three different mediums, namely, Farsi, Pashto and English. The school is culturally rich and provides the students with all necessary extracurricular activities. It has more than 10 clubs that work to enrich the knowledge and intelligence of students with practical skills and experience.
The Taliban Takeover and Pandemic Setback
The Afghan high school struggled with funding when the pandemic hit the nation in 2020 and imposed a country-wide lockdown. The Taliban overtake in Afghanistan affected the high school in Delhi enormously as the newly built government of the Taliban stopped the smooth flow of funds. The school failed to pay rent for the school premises due to which they had to vacate the space and hold classes online. They were out of salaries to pay to the teaching staff, The Indian Express reported.
However, India’s Ministry of External Affairs stepped in and helped the school in times of difficult situations. Afghan Ambassador Mamundzay expressed gratitude towards the Ministry of External Affairs on Twitter.
Looking Forward
Currently, the Afghan school holds offline classes in two shifts as the space does not allow all the students to study at the same time. The school successfully conducted its mid-term exam for the academic year 2022-23 in December 2022. The school is also looking for various private and municipal schools which can provide them with 14 to 15 classrooms to hold evening batches.
– Aanchal Mishra
Photo: Pixabay
Bukayo Saka’s Fight Against Surgical Poverty
At the age of 21, Bukayo Saka is not just the face of Arsenal Football Club, he is the face of every Nigerian who emigrated to North London. He is the face of every black child whose dreams ignite as the Emirates symphony floods the night. Despite his tender years and relaxed demeanor, Bukayo Saka is not ignorant of the significance of his example. He has already inspired generations with his tireless work ethic and mercurial footwork. However, his recent partnership with BigShoe aims to fill a much bigger pair of boots. Bukayo Saka and BigShoe are fighting against surgical poverty, which hampers the prospects of children everywhere.
The Issue of Surgical Poverty Amongst Deprived Children
A Meta-Analysis by Bull World Health Organ found that 1.7 billion children could not access surgical care in 2017. This surgical poverty exists intensely in low-income communities, where less than 3% of children can access life-saving medical care. Surgical poverty has a devastating impact on children under 5 in particular. Treatable birth defects, injuries and diseases cause mass disability and death. In 2019, 5.2 million children under 5 died from treatable causes. Despite meaningful progress in infant mortality rates this century, surgical poverty still wreaks havoc amongst the poorest children.
BigShoe’s Mission to Provide Impoverished Children With Critical Surgery
BigShoe is a charity that funds critical operations for children who cannot afford them. It began with a fundraising campaign for Nourisson, a little girl who was born in Togo with a cleft. Today, BigShoe is a vast NGO that encourages prominent football players around the globe to fork out large sums of money, funding operations for needy children. Mesut Özil, Antonio Rüdiger, Phillip Lahm, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Paul Pogba are some of the high-profile players who partnered with BigShoe over the last two decades. Since the creation of BigShoe during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, BigShoe has facilitated essential operations for 2,398 children in need, as of January 2023.
Bukayo Saka and BigShoe
In November 2022, Bukayo Sako joined a growing community of premier league footballers who dedicate their platform and paychecks to charitable causes. In keeping with the example that his peers set, Bukoyo Saka made a diligent donation. Together, Bukayo Saka and BigShoe facilitated 120 life-changing operations for impoverished children.
Speaking about the new partnership, Bukayo Saka stated: “I feel blessed to be in a position where I can contribute to making the children’s lives easier and better through these surgeries… for me, it is very important to use my abilities to have a positive impact where I can. I want to do more and more and help as many children as I can.”
Whilst not much older than a child himself, Bukayo Saka speaks with wisdom beyond his years. Bukaya Saka seems determined to make a lasting impact with his influence and money. The young cub sets an example for his senior premier league peers who are content to live lavishly. Child poverty remains rife in the modern world, but even one player can make a massive difference. Bukayo Saka and BigShoe play for the most important team of all, as the future of the planet rests in the health of the children.
– David Smith
Photo: Flickr
Poverty Among Farmers in the Philippines
More than one-third of the Philippines’ 50 million citizens living in rural areas are considered poor. Most rural citizens depend on agriculture as the primary or only source of income for their families. These families end up further in poverty as agricultural productivity declines, unsustainable practices continue and economic growth lags. Here is some information about poverty among farmers in the Philippines including what some are doing to eliminate it.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Farmers in the Philippines
COVID-19 exacerbated poverty in the farming community by devastating the Philippean economy. Intense quarantine restrictions and natural disasters in 2020 led to an increase in poverty. The inability to transport goods and items has disrupted the farming sector. It continues to stall the stabilization of the economy. Farmers in rural areas have remained among the poorest group in the Philippines since 2006.
The ACDI/VOCA
The ACDI has attempted to combat the poverty that farmers in the Philippines feel through its Cooperative Development Program. The ADCI/VOCA is a Washington, D.C.-based organization focusing on economic development and growth to raise living standards in poverty-stricken countries. Founded in 1993, the global organization has developed multiple programs in the Philippines to aid the farming community.
Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise
Some of ACDI/VOCA’s past initiatives include the Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise (PhilCAFE), which emphasized supporting farmers in the coffee sector. PhilCAFE aimed to increase the production and exports of coffee by promoting the coffee industry, facilitating the establishment of good agricultural practices, improving technologies and supporting lending.
The initiative has helped 349 individuals access agricultural financing and has also formed partnerships with 50 public-private partnerships as of November 2020.
The MinPact Project
The organization also implemented the Mindanao Productivity in Agricultural Commerce and Trade (MinPACT) Project. The project helped increase the incomes of small farmers in the cocoa, coconut and coffee farming industries of Southern and Western Mindanao, an area with extreme poverty rates in the Philippines.
The project worked to reduce poverty and food insecurity in Mindanao by supporting smaller farmers. The approach included plans to increase production, improve productivity, support improved agricultural practices, provide training to reduce harvest loss, provide grants to improve systems and equipment and promote sustainability in the farming industry.
The initiative assisted 6,360 farmers and trained them in farming planning, improved infrastructure for production in 26 enterprises and gave access to traditional cash loans to 1,248 farmers.
CDP in the Philippines
ACDI’s Cooperative Development Program (CDP) works in multiple countries to support cooperatives and their members by promoting economic growth and bolstering civil society. The CDP launched in the Philippines in September of 2022. Agreements with more than 40 local cooperatives made this possible.
These cooperatives are members of the agricultural sector in areas such as rice, coconut, coffee, cacao and dairy production. The CDP in the Philippines will implement a five-year plan to provide the assistance the agriculture industry needs. The multimillion-dollar effort will “foster broad-based economic growth, raise living standards, and help build dynamic agricultural value chains.”
CDP Philippines hopes to see the positive effects of investing in the next five years through its efforts to “promote inclusion, integration, and innovation to create a more vibrant and sustainable farming community.”
– Brooklynn Rich
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
Everything to Know About Poverty in Greece
Although many generally consider Greece a developed country and it ranks as number 28 for quality of life according to U.S. News, the recent rise in poverty rates is of increasing concern. Here is everything to know about poverty in Greece.
Current Poverty Statistics
The World Bank reported that the most recent poverty headcount ratio for those living below $2.15 a day in Greece was 0.7% in 2019. Moreover, the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) report titled “Poverty Watch 2022 Greece” found that poverty rates in Greece are on the rise. In 2020, the EAPN reported that 17.7% of the population received wages below the poverty line, coined “income poverty” and rose to 19.6% in 2021. The Poverty Watch report listed three indicators of poverty: income deprivation/poverty, access to seven of 13 basic goods and the labor intensity of a household. The report found that 29.5% of the population (3,092,300 people) is at risk of poverty, 14.8% experience material deprivation of basic goods and 13.6% of adults (individuals aged 18 to 64 years old) live in low-employment households.
In the same report, the risk of poverty for children (individuals aged 0-17) was 23.7%, a 2.3 increase since 2020’s finding of 21.4%. Moreover, nearly every one out of four children lives in households at risk of poverty, suggesting that poverty in Greece affects children and is “severe, recurrent and worsening.”
While the pandemic can take the blame for just about any rise in poverty rates since 2020, Greece’s inflation is a recent growing catalyst of dangerous poverty rates. The World Bank estimates that for every single 1% increase in food prices, more than 10 million people end up in “extreme poverty.” In Greece, the EAPN reports that food prices were up by a startling 30% in May 2022. Furthermore, the cost of wheat, a staple grain, rose by 50%. This means that not only do the increasing food prices in Greece imply expensive groceries but with a 30% growth, as many as 30 million people could be facing extreme poverty.
Relief Programs
Here are some influential relief programs currently operating in Greece to reduce poverty.
Conclusion
While Greece may not have the most startling poverty rates, there are still many people at risk of extreme poverty. However, with continued support from organizations like the ones mentioned above, poverty in Greece is on track to reduce.
– Micaella Balderrama
Photo: Flickr
Female Genital Mutilation in Thailand
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the practice of partially cutting or eliminating a female individual’s genitalia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this tradition does not present any beneficial effects for women and can put them in danger due to unsanitary-cutting practices.
Muslim communities in Thailand (5-8% of the total population) consider FGM a ritual practice for female newborns after birth. Thailand’s health ministry turns a blind eye to cutting and relates the practice to culture; thus, it does not emphasize the harm that FGM causes.
Type IV Female Genital Mutilation in Thailand
Female genital mutilation in Thailand falls under type IV of the WHO classifications system. It is the least dangerous invasive process; it still involves cutting, incising and piercing of flesh, but it does not remove the clitoris.
Other types, I and II, involve partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia. Type III involves the vulva being sutured closed, meaning that during intercourse and childbirth, women must be cut open, creating life-threatening scenarios.
Practitioners argue that the consequences of type IV FGM are the least severe and that people should not consider it mutilation. However, Nawal Nour, the director of the Global Women’s Health Center at Harvard Medical School, argues that type IV can still create short and long-term consequences, from excessive bleeding and difficulty urinating to infertility.
Understanding the Risks
An issue Thailand faces is that practitioners believe smaller cuts are less harmful. In reality, they are just as dangerous; even a smaller cut inflicts pain and carries a high risk of infection. Botched jobs can lead to hemorrhage, infection, sepsis and death.
WHO has stated that invasive intervention of the female body violates the human rights of girls and women. Additionally, FGM reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes and the violation of minors. In Southern Thailand’s Yala, hospitals have nurses and doctors who regularly cut the genitals of newborn Muslim girls.
Since no one documents cutting in Thailand and the procedures occur during infancy, some women do not know they have experienced FGM until much later in life. Thus, most women who have undergone the procedure do not see consequences, leading some women to think that it is not harmful and helps reduce sexual desire.
Women and girls remain the most vulnerable populations worldwide, partly due to gender inequity and sexual and gender-based violence. Although the practice is against WHO guidelines, Thailand’s government has not prioritized prosecuting FGM.
Solutions
The Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) is fighting to end female genital mutilation. ARROW’s goal is to engage with religious scholars who can influence communities positively and urge governments, including Thailand’s government, to end FGM. Advocating for change should help stop girls in Thailand and across Asia from undergoing the procedure. The global focus of FGM has ignored Asia; ARROW’s work to eliminate FGM can change this and cause fewer women to be victims of cutting.
People across the globe practice FGM every day, both secretly and openly which results in women suffering painful consequences. Although people have traditionally thought of FGM as a practice that occurs in African countries, women in Asia are subject to the same pain. However, with the help of NGOs like ARROW, female genital mutilation in Thailand should disappear.
– Yv Maciel
Photo: Flickr
How Electric Vehicles Could Save Mexico
The electric vehicle market has grown fast. With more people opting to purchase environmentally friendly modes of transport. According to IEA, electric vehicle sales “reached a record high in 2021.” In 2021, around the world, there were up to 6.5 million electric vehicles sold. Sales nearly doubled the numbers set in 2020. J.P. Morgen has estimated that by 2025, “30% of all vehicle sales will be electric vehicles.” The shift from combustion engines to battery-powered vehicles is becoming more of a reality every year. General Motors has announced its plan to “exclusively offer electric vehicles by 2035.” The growing electric vehicle market may appear like a victory for consumers and even car manufacturers. However, the real winner may just be Mexico. This is how Mexico may gain from the exploding electric vehicle market.
How “White Gold” Could Be a Potential Savior
Often referred to as “white gold,” lithium is an essential material for the production of electric vehicle batteries. With the increase in the manufacturing of electric vehicles, Investing News (INN) has stated that lithium has caught the eye of Elon Musk, CEO of the electric car manufacturer Tesla. As lithium becomes an increasing priority for car manufacturers, its prices have hit an all-time high.
Fortunately for Mexico, it has the ninth-largest lithium reserve in the world. The country estimates its Sonora lithium deposits value at more than $600 billion. Mexico’s total national debt amounted to $838 billion in 2022. According to Mexico Business News, the country could benefit from the growing demand for lithium.
With the demand for lithium only growing, Mexico could potentially change its fortune. The revenue gained from extracting lithium and selling it could hugely boost Mexico’s “stagnant economy.”
Potential Problems
Mexico has nationalized lithium. The reform effectively bans “all direct private investment and production in the lithium sector and creates a state-owned entity to extract, process and sell lithium.” The Mexican government was divided over the nationalization of lithium, some believing that the country would be unable to successfully extract and commercialize the metal itself.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has suggested private investment may be necessary due to the huge cost it will take. However, investors seem to show more interest in already established lithium markets, Reuters reports.
Whilst lithium prices have risen to $70,000 per tonne, Reuters understands that the clay deposits have largely trapped lithium in Mexico, making it difficult and expensive to mine. As a result, the lithium in Sonora has yet to see mining on a commercial scale.
Mexico in Crisis
Mexico is a country with high levels of corruption and drug trafficking. Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) states that the drug cartels in Mexico are “fuelling the rampant corruption and violence in Mexico.”
According to a 2023 article, roughly 52% of Mexican citizens live in poverty. This amounts to 57 million people. This largely attributes to a “lack of access to education, health care and well-paying jobs.”
As a result, some of the public in Mexico resort to joining drug cartels or engaging in corruption to improve their lives. Since 2006, CFR believes there to have been more than 360,000 homicides in Mexico, many of which link to cartel activity.
If Mexico can capitalize on its lithium reserves, the financial gain could help fund improved access to education and health care, and improve the availability of well-paying jobs. By doing so, Mexico could start to improve its large poverty issues.
Benefits to Mexico
El Pais suggests the Mexican administration has taken steps to take over control of lithium in the country. By nationalizing lithium, the objective is to make it a strategic resource such as oil.
If the Mexican government can invest and learn how to efficiently mine lithium, the revenue it generates from the sale of lithium would be part of the national revenue. Therefore, benefiting the entire country by being able to redistribute a larger source of income to the areas most important.
The government could use the revenue to improve access to education. There is a clear link between “increased educational provision and decreased poverty.”
There is also a link between poverty and crime. “In Mexico, 27% of people between the age of 25 and 34 had a tertiary qualification in 2021, compared with 47% on average in OECD countries,” OECD reports. In 2019, the country spent a total of “$3,577 per full-time student through primary to tertiary institutions compared to $11,990 on average in OECD countries.” By improving access to education, Mexico may begin to decrease the levels of rampant crime and corruption in the country.
Foreign Investments
Mexico has allowed China’s Ganfeng Lithium to massively increase its lithium mining operation in Mexico. Ganfeng Lithium, a major supplier of Tesla’s lithium, is one of the world’s biggest miners of lithium, accounting for 24% of global output. With this increase in investment in Mexico, there is a chance for long-term sustainable jobs for many in Mexico.
The increased investment could help improve the average wage within Mexico with a larger amount of well-payed jobs on offer. Thus, reducing the desire for many to join illegal drug cartels that fuel the extreme levels of corruption in Mexico. According to Quartz, 5% of Mexico’s GDP is lost to corruption, this amounts to $53 billion. The Mexican Institute for Competitiveness stated that this would cover three times the amount Mexico spends on its Department of Education.
The Future
Whilst it is clear that Mexico’s troubles will not vanish overnight, the discovery of an in-demand material such as lithium in Mexico could be a glimmer of hope. The link between poverty and the ongoing corruption and violent crime in Mexico is apparent. Should Mexico start to exploit the significant amount of lithium the country possesses, the government has the ability to make real change to the lives of many Mexicans who lack access to education, health care and the ability to find a well-payed job. Doing so potentially limits the power of drug cartels who continue to make life in Mexico insufferable for many.
– Josef Whitehead
Photo: Unsplash
Philanthropists Help Address COVID-19’s Impact on Nigeria
Philanthropists in Nigeria have played a pivotal role in addressing national emergencies, but the scope of their partnership widened beyond expectations during the COVID-19 pandemic. At a time when families increasingly struggle to buy food due to low economic activities during the pandemic, such efforts are significantly crucial. Private sector institutions and wealthy individuals have donated large sums of money in an effort to mitigate COVID-19’s impact on Nigeria. The initiative, named Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) is one such endeavor, which raised well above N25.8 billion (approximately $620,192,307.6 at the time) as additional financial resources to complement the government’s effort.
Furthermore, Nigerians in the diaspora and other international donors contributed considerable money to support the government’s effort to address COVID-19’s impact on Nigeria. They made their contributions noticeable through a nonprofit organization called Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF). The NSSF, created in 2020 as a “multi-donor institutional mechanism” for raising funds for interventions in the health sector, uses its funds to target vulnerable groups and re-skilling the youths for post-COVID-19. The NSSF has been actively involved in vaccine advocacy campaigns and training health care workers in Nigeria.
Motivation
In Nigeria, charitable giving has strong ties to religious and cultural traditions. Both Christian and Islamic beliefs emphasize the importance of helping others. The glaring negative impact of the pandemic on individuals and households has invited the private sector to provide assistance in curbing the large-scale impact of COVID-19. This includes the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 CACOVID Fund, which delivers effective assistance to improving the public and private health sectors. Funds that CACOVID collected totaled $55.7 million, 5.1 million of which have been received via donations from the Central Bank.
According to a World Bank report on COVID-19’s impact on Nigeria, the strict measures adopted by the government to contain the virus, coupled with the declining prices of petroleum products, a significant earner of national income by 60%, brought hardship to most households. The Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2022, also reported that about 133 million Nigerians, or 63%, are multi-dimensionally poor, compared to the pre-COVID period figure of about 80 million before the pandemic.
Implementation and Accountability
The government of Nigeria introduced a regulatory measure titled, Framework for the Management of COVID-19 Funds in Nigeria under the Treasury Single Account. The aim of this framework is to support adequate transparency pertaining to COVID-19 funds. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation containing $1 million, also supported Nigerians rebuilding and addressing the ramifications following COVID-19.
The public-private partnership model to address national emergencies is emerging as a regular pattern in Nigeria. In the second half of 2022, widespread flooding took place across the country, particularly in Benue state. The Dangote Flood Committee, which Mr. Aliko Dangote heads, helps flood victims across the country. During the late 2022 flooding incident, the committee raised a significant amount of money totaling N1.5 billion from philanthropists to provide relief and food resources to flood victims in the country. Such relief efforts are of particular significance, as UNICEF reports the destruction of 82,000 homes. This was in addition to the government’s efforts and the $21.4 million aid from the United States.
Public spiritedness, charity or philanthropy are emerging as extra tiers of solutions to national and global challenges. While citizens expect that governments assume primary responsibility, philanthropist partnerships with the government contribute hugely in relation to financial assistance to address COVID-19’s impact on Nigeria. This intervention brought immense relief to larger sections of the population beyond the scope that the government provided.
– Friday Okai
Photo: Flickr
Upholding the Rights of Fashion Industry Workers
Shopping retail can be overwhelming due to the options available. When making shopping choices, many might forget about fashion industry workers. Many fashion industry workers across the world face exploitation and violations of human rights, which often pushes them into poverty. Several organizations aim to uphold the rights of fashion industry workers through fair pay, safe working environments, reasonable working hours and more.
The Fashion Industry
The fashion industry had a 2019 estimate of $2.5 trillion global value. Yet, many fashion brands exploit and take advantage of fashion industry workers in developing nations.
The “minimum wage” in many manufacturing counties only covers a fraction of living costs. Furthermore, many workers do not receive the inadequate “minimum wage.” Workers have to endure 14 to 16 hours of work seven days a week. Additionally, the actual workplace conditions are unsafe and hazardous. It is common for there to be toxic matter present, fiber dust in the air, no ventilation and unsafe building structure.
These circumstances are not humane and prevent workers from breaking cycles of poverty. In 2018, the majority of the 75 million garment workers are women ages 18 to 35 who already face disadvantages due to gender inequality.
Trade
Global trade can help developing countries improve their economic growth. In 2017, estimates determined that the fast fashion industry would grow by 5.91% and reach $1,652.73 billion by 2020. This billion-dollar industry could make a difference in low-income countries since there is such value for the market. If companies begin to invest in second-hand items and create sustainable clothing designs by 2030, they could make a $192 billion profit. This would impact the global economy and potentially allow fashion industry workers in low-income countries to boost their economies.
Consuming Thoughtfully
Many know the fashion industry for its exploitation of workers through unsafe labor and low wages. One solution to this problem is through purchasing from companies that want to work with people who have historically experienced exploitation by unfair work practices in the fashion industry.
Pura Utz
This fair trade business has an emphasis on empowering women and breaking the cycle of poverty by employing women in Guatemala to create handmade jewelry in safe conditions and with a livable wage. The directors of Pura Utz created the business in 2018 and now have a staff of more than 50 women in Guatemala working full-time. They wanted to empower their employees and pay the women four times the market standard in Guatemala and the women receive bonuses twice a year. The directors also created safe standards by allowing flexibility in how much the women want to work since some employees might have other responsibilities. Furthermore, they can all work from home, which is especially helpful for women with domestic responsibilities. The work week is Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. Pura Utz adopted a business strategy that upholds the rights of fashion industry workers.
Change Starts Now
This company works to create items for the fashion industry while still upholding the rights of fashion industry workers. Through these efforts, the workers receive the empowerment to break cycles of poverty. The workers are able to work with rights and in conditions that are safe while receiving an opportunity to rise out of poverty through fair wages and fair working policies.
– Ann Shick
Photo: Flickr
Countries Show How Stipends Can Reduce Poverty
One of the best ways to aid populations in financial need is using stipends. Niger, the Philippines and Kenya are three countries working to set an example of how stipends can reduce poverty and improve people’s financial status and general well-being.
Niger
The government of Niger has been giving money to those with the most economic need since 2012 and has seen the program change lives. Since the 1990s, researchers have tried to find the most effective way to relieve poverty for those in developing nations. Researchers conducted trials in Niger in which some participants received aid and others did not. The researchers gave benefactors different types of aid in the form of subsidizing materials or direct funds. Through the study, researchers found that stipends can reduce poverty. In the years after the 2012 program, approximately 100,000 households have been given 24 monthly payments of about $16. This money “more than doubled [the citizens’] typical spending power.”
The Philippines
In the Philippines, the government started a program in 2008 called the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, or 4Ps. Only certain groups are eligible for the stipends, but in 2019, more than 4 million households benefited. One of the requirements of the program is that the beneficiary household’s children must be enrolled in school and attend school 85% of the time. The stipends can reduce poverty, but these educational requirements help individuals as well. Although families can only be eligible for the program for seven years, many see it as extremely helpful in the Philippines.
Kenya
Kenya implemented a program similar to the stipend program in Niger and saw visible success. There is often a fear that when people in poverty receive stipends, they will choose not to work or use the increased income to purchase vices like alcohol instead of necessities. The research that occurred in Kenya showed that stipends gave citizens more free time. From 2011 to 2013, groups of 250 people received about $400 in one payment or through nine equal allotments. Economists found that those who had the payment upfront typically used it for durable goods and the smaller payments often went toward food. The economic activity and overall well-being of both groups increased.
Moreover, research that occurred from 2011 to 2013 found that when more than 10,500 households received $1,000 stipends across 653 randomized villages, the economic benefits helped everyone, including those who did not receive the stipend. This research is limited in scale but shows that stipends can also indirectly reduce poverty.
Economic Value
Overall, the economic value of stipends has been very successful. The examples of Niger, the Philippines and Kenya show how the simple concept of stipends opens up the possibility for a better future. Because stipends can reduce poverty, countries can expand these programs through further research and extend accessibility so more people receive benefits. In the Philippines, families are limited to receiving cash transfers for seven years and it can be hard to qualify. In Kenya, research needs to keep happening on larger scales to show the multitude of benefits. Ultimately, these three examples show the success of stipends in helping those struggling amid poverty.
Photo: Flickr