Hurricane Bonnie is the latest of many natural disasters to hit the coasts of Central America. Along with it came heavy rains and flooding that led to widespread damage and deaths in Nicaragua and El Salvador in July 2022. However, this is not an unfamiliar situation. In 2020, Hurricanes Eta and Iota led to $2 billion worth of damage in Honduras while leaving millions of people in Guatemala and Nicaragua facing food insecurity and internal displacement. In 2021, Hurricane Grace caused landslides and fatalities in Mexico alongside millions of dollars in damage. More concerning is the fact that this pattern has only become more frequent. In the past 20 years, climate-related disasters cost Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries a combined “equivalent of 1.7% of a year’s GDP.” By 2030, extreme weather patterns could thrust as many as 5.8 million people into conditions of extreme impoverishment in the LAC region. As such, climate-driven poverty in Central America is a significant concern.
Millions of people in Central America already live in what is known as the “Dry Corridor,” an area that faces alternating bouts of drought and extreme weather events such as hurricanes. These circumstances leave the largely rural population susceptible to climate-driven poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
Agricultural Impact and Food Security
According to the World Bank, in 2019, the agricultural sector accounted for 14% of total employment in the LAC region. However, around 70% of adults enduring extreme poverty in the LAC region work in the agricultural industry, a vulnerable population that faces disproportionate impacts from extreme weather events.
Job reliance on agriculture also varies by country. For instance, close to 40% of Honduras’ population engages in employment in agriculture, says the Global Agriculture & Food Security Program. Severe weather conditions have had a significant effect on agriculture in terms of employment and food output.
Hurricanes Iota and Eta ruined crops from Central America’s second growing season, affecting both small and large-scale farm operations. In the north of Honduras, the hurricanes caused a large spike in unemployment from the losses sustained in the area’s banana plantations. Coffee production, which makes up a large part of Central American exports and sustains low-income households, also saw damage to crops and irrigation systems from the heavy rains.
Beyond employment, agricultural impacts from these weather events also affect food production. The 2020 hurricanes caused an increase in food prices due to crop damage and raised costs of transportation.
The World Meteorological Organization estimates that as many as 7.7 million individuals in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua faced “high levels of food insecurity in 2021” because of the hurricanes and the exacerbating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well.
Infrastructural Damage
July 2022’s Hurricane Bonnie left thousands of people in Nicaragua without power and water while roads in El Salvador flooded or collapsed.
Two years ago, Hurricane Eta and Iota destroyed government buildings, hospitals and thousands of homes in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. In total, ReliefWeb reports that Eta and Iota caused damages equating to $1.86 billion in Honduras, $742 million in Nicaragua and $775 million in Guatemala. Rural areas faced the harshest impacts as floods, heavy rains and landslides hit homes, streets and community centers. The hurricanes also caused water contamination after damaging the sewage systems, threatening the clean water supply.
Migration and Displacement
Both in 2020 and 2022, many families suffered major losses after the destruction of their homes by the hurricanes, pushing them into extreme poverty. Hurricanes Eta and Iota in 2020 displaced 1.5 million people in Central America, as the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center estimated.
Alongside food insecurity, poverty and violence, extreme weather events are a major factor in migration in Central America, driving thousands to the United States every year. According to the Brookings Institution, migration from countries like Guatemala to the United States connects to rural impoverishment and “agricultural stress linked to climate change.” Internally, migration from rural areas to urban centers across Central America is also becoming more common due to employment instability in agriculture.
Globally, the 2022 World Migration Report states that extreme weather events and disasters lead to the displacement of more individuals than conflict and violence, and the number will only grow without prompt intervention.
Policy Implications
The World Food Programme and U.N. Environment Programme-backed initiatives are encouraging climate resilience policies to eliminate climate-driven poverty in Central America. For example, the WFP introduced climate risk management practices, including insurance initiatives meant to protect people living in regions susceptible to extreme weather events. The WFP also introduced “forecast-based finance” techniques in countries such as the Dominican Republic, which will provide aid to 10,000 people in the event of the country anticipating a climate disaster such as floods. As of 2021, the WFP estimates that its “climate risk management solutions” assisted around 441,000 people in the LAC region.
CityAdapt, an organization working with the U.N. Environment Programme and funded by the Global Environment Facility, implements “nature-based solutions” in cities and peri-urban regions in Mexico and El Salvador. It uses natural ecosystems to fight the effects of extreme weather changes, promoting “green and blue infrastructure such as urban parks, green roofs and facades, tree planting, river conservation,” and more, according to its website. CityAdapt also launched an online course in 2020 for 40 cities within 14 Latin American countries to educate people on nature-based solutions to address extreme weather conditions.
While the end goal is to prevent the occurrence of extreme weather events, these innovative and resilient approaches have the power to reduce the impact of climate-driven poverty in Central America and other vulnerable regions.
– Ramona Mukherji
Photo: Flickr
How Entrepreneurship Protects Human Health
According to a 2022 George Washington University School of Business article, an entrepreneurial mindset capable of applying analytical tools is key to innovations in health care and primarily those relevant to technology. The emergence of COVID-19 is one among many instances that highlights the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation in relieving the world from soaring economic costs, especially since the pandemic cost the U.S. economy more than $202 billion alone. Here are some examples of organizations that show how entrepreneurship protects human health.
EarthEnable
Around 75% of Rwanda’s population is unable to access clean floors, which facilitates the prevalence of parasites and bacteria among the general population, and subsequently, undermines public health. In Rwanda, diarrhea claims the lives of 1.8 million people each year as a direct symptom of dirty floors, especially as many households do not assume the financial capability to renovate their floors.
To strengthen Rwanda’s health care system, EarthEnable, a for-profit hybrid organization in Rwanda has adopted earthen floors as an affordable and sustainable solution to dirty floors. Earthen floors consist of domestically sourced natural materials containing water, clay, sand and laterite, collectively forming a durable surface. While some people enjoy free access to the latter, others must pay $63 for the average household of 25 square meters. Payments occur over three installments to tailor for different financial circumstances.
In the first quarter of 2022, EarthEnable installed kempt floors totaling 376,080.85 square meters, demonstrating its impact across approximately more than 14,987 households and paralleling benefits to 62,944 individuals. While the organization currently operates in 20 different Rwandan districts, plans for further expansions are due to take place in 2022-2023. Such entrepreneurship protects human health and allows Rwanda’s population to lead a prosperous life.
Innovations in Health Care
Inclined to support health-related innovations, Innovations in Healthcare devoted its operations to finding solutions to current healthcare challenges since its inception in 2011. Assistance from the World Economic Forum, Duke Medicine and Mckinsey & Company, facilitated research and development before the nonprofit’s launch.
The organization’s 100+ global network of innovator organizations work to supplement access to inexpensive and high-quality health care. Entrepreneurs with competitive innovations undergo selection to join the innovators’ network and benefit from the necessary guidelines to advance their work.
Innovations in Healthcare currently operates in more than 90 different countries, where the organization leads and supports a variety of programs. Accelerating Saving Lives at Birth is one such program, which focuses on empowering maternal and newborn health on the global level. With funding from USAID among five others, the program facilitated more than 50 innovations, seeking to accelerate the sustainability and effectiveness of saving lives as part of its birth portfolio.
The Making More Health Venture4Change is another program that seeks to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas by providing affordable hygiene solutions. By offering entrepreneurial training and utilizing students’ knowledge to develop the latter solutions, the program can implement eminent impact. This is especially important since more than 50% of the global population lack access to safe sanitation according to a UNICEF report.
Moving Mountains Kenya
Health care in Kenya suffers from an array of challenges, including inclined maternal and child deaths, and rampant levels of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis cases. A by-product of such health issues is increased social and economic burdens, evident in the fact that 83% of Kenyans lack the financial strength to meet health care costs, pushing an additional 1.5 million people into poverty per year.
Stimulated by the belief in improved health care for achieving equality, Moving Mountains works to lead and support programs and projects devoted to enhancing Kenya’s health care, in line with what the community and government deem suitable. The nonprofit has been operating in Kenya for 20+ years and its impact has extended across several communities, which their medical camps can demonstrate.
The organization’s medical camps aid the communities of either the highly populated and underprivileged Nyanza Province in western Kenya or rural communities near and within Embu town. In the camps, medical students and professionals work alongside Kenyan and public health staff to provide free-of-charge medical checkups, diagnoses, treatments and referrals to domestic hospitals for Kenyans. Each camp seeks to attain significant and tangible developmental impact, relying on process analysis to verify its influence.
Looking Ahead
Entrepreneurship protects human health through its ability to develop new ideas and solutions that cater to many health care challenges. Entrepreneurship is a significant component of the work of several nonprofits and for-profit organizations such as EarthEnable, Innovations in Healthcare and Moving Mountains.
̶ Noor Al-Zubi
Photo: Flickr
5 Charities Operating in Cameroon
The nation of Cameroon is a Central African country with a population numbering roughly 27 million. Cameroon is categorized as a lower-middle-income country, with the COVID-19 pandemic having a considerable impact on its economy. Cameroon is currently facing a humanitarian crisis, with almost 4 million people in need of humanitarian aid amid continuing violence due to the Boko Haram insurgency in Cameroon and increasing numbers of refugees entering the nation. In specific, five charities operating in Cameroon aim to address the humanitarian crisis.
5 Charities Operating in Cameroon
Looking to the Future
Cameroon’s immediate needs for food, water, sanitation and disease prevention remain the most crucial obstacles to solve for charities operating in Cameroon today. Addressing the current humanitarian crisis amid violence and instability is essential to safeguard the well-being of citizens.
– James Garwood
Photo: Flickr
Book Banning and Censorship Across the Globe
Countries that Practice Book Banning
Ironically, book banning has been a topic discussed in iconic books themselves such as Fahrenheit 451, which tells the story of a sheltered dystopia where books are burned to prevent conflicting opinions and an inharmonious society. While the idea is farfetched, countries across the world still employ book banning to stifle controversial opinions and prevent taboo topics from becoming a point of discussion in their societies. Book banning and censorship have been common practices in countries like China and Hong Kong in order to protect the Chinese Communist Party from criticism. Politically sensitive reading materials as well as those dealing with religion, sexual content, and other taboo topics are consistently avoided by booksellers.
European countries such as Russia and Hungary also have a history of censorship, especially with those relating to LGBTQ+ themed materials. Hungary had legislation passed in June 2021 which excludes LGBT content from school curriculums and sexual education programs and has also censored such material on a wider, more national scale as well. Far-right politicians have banned many books that display homosexuality and Russia has also claimed obscenity for similar literary materials.
Book Banning and Poverty
Though book banning is harmful for educational and political reasons, there are also financial implications which impact vulnerable populations as well. For example, in China, the Communist Party has increased restrictions on books pertaining to independence movements, pro-democracy thematic elements and other subjects. Since the country is at the forefront of the cheap publishing market, if books are banned by the CCP, they may not be published at all. The restrictions and financial burden fall primarily on small publishers and progressive academics who may not have the means to abandon the Chinese printing market and pursue publishing elsewhere, as it is estimated that high-quality printing in China is almost 40% cheaper than other countries.
In the past decade, more and more books discussing poverty and social class have been banned or restricted in the United States, as well as in European countries including the United Kingdom. By stifling authors’ voices and those trying to depict the harsh realities of some underprivileged populations, book banning and censorship limit awareness and the public’s opportunities to provide relief through advocacy and action.
Organizations Against Book Banning
Amnesty International is one organization that encourages people to take action against international book banning and protect the freedom of expression. Through their annual Banned Books Week, which takes place on September 18-24, the organization partners with the American Library Association and others to bring awareness to book censorship attempts in libraries and schools and its harmful impact by uniting book communities consisting of librarians, booksellers, publishers and everyday readers. Through their research with the Office for Intellectual Freedom, it was found that in 2021, there were 729 challenges in libraries, schools and universities that restricted access to at least 1,597 books. The efforts and data being shared with the public increase awareness about the topics that are being filtered and allow people to take action and prevent further book banning and censorship with community efforts.
– Nethya Samarakkodige
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
Purchases that Give Back
As more businesses and companies become aware of their power, influence and resources capable of sparking global change, there are more ways for consumers to make purchases that give back to important causes.
Passive Fundraising Programs
Many search engines and online shopping companies utilize passive fundraising to encourage donations without any extra effort from consumers.
Sustainability and Environmentally-Friendly Programs
Businesses and companies are beginning to realize the importance of promoting sustainability programs considering the impact that large-scale production and consumption have on the environment. Though consumer practices also contribute to changing weather patterns, the majority of emissions come from big businesses, as only 100 companies are responsible for 71% of greenhouse gas emissions. As changing weather patterns continue to worsen, including the drought and severe heat which have characterized the summer of 2022 across many continents, businesses are putting in more effort to reduce their contribution to excessive waste, carbon emission levels, and other practices that put climate stability at risk.
Companies and programs like Amazon Smile make it convenient and easy for consumers to donate to charities and nonprofit organizations that they are passionate about and make purchases that give back.
– Nethya Samarakkodige
Photo: Flickr
Poverty Reduction in Sudan
Sudan is a Northeast African nation that looks to the Red Sea, with a population that now stands at 45 million. Sudan as a nation has faced extreme adversity throughout its past, as the occupation of Sudan by Britain and Egypt until 1956 manifested a series of civil wars that have ravaged the nation. Today sees Sudan in a dire situation, an ongoing humanitarian crisis has now resulted in a state of turmoil – with poverty reduction in Sudan now representing one of the global priorities for humanitarian institutions to tackle.
Poverty in Sudan
Poverty reduction in Sudan today, represents one of the most challenging obstacles for the nation, as well as global aid institutions to tackle. The current situation in Sudan is a multifaceted issue, according to UNICEF: “COVID-19, flooding, rising food prices, conflict and disease outbreaks have left 13.4 million people – more than a quarter of Sudanese – in need of life-saving aid.” As of 2020, roughly 77% of the population of Sudan was living under the poverty line.
Several factors represent the causes of the current situation in Sudan. Firstly, a prominent history of civil war and conflict in the nation has caused untold bloodshed across the span of decades. Secondly, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic would have a detrimental effect on the people of Sudan, as economically, the pandemic would further escalate the outstanding issues of low-wage income across the nation. Thirdly, after South Sudan gained its independence in 2011, a substantial number of Sudanese and South Sudanese were displaced as a result of the conflict.
Efforts to Reduce Poverty in Sudan
Humanitarian efforts in Sudan to tackle the ongoing and escalating crisis have remained one of the leading priorities in recent times. Leading financial global institutions such as The World Bank, have aided Sudan’s situation in setting up initiatives and projects that provide relief. The Sustainable Natural Resources Management Project, for example, which concludes in 2023, has provided invaluable assistance in promoting sustainable agriculture to provide much-needed water access to communities.
UNICEF has also played a vital role in poverty reduction in Sudan. According to data from the 2014 Household Budget and Poverty Survey, child poverty rates rose to 85% in 2020. To combat the extremely high rate of child poverty within Sudan, UNICEF introduced the Mother and Child Cash Transfer Plus initiative. This program helps to provide the most basic necessities to newborns and mothers, providing financial support, “health care, nutrition, water and sanitation, and child protection.”
In 2021, UNICEF released a Humanitarian Relief Statement highlighting the effectiveness of the important assistance provided. Among the most notable successes were increased access to education, improved sanitation and reduction in malnutrition.
The Future
Due to the unstable political situation that has enveloped Sudan over the past couple of years, the means of supplying humanitarian aid to Sudan has intensified. However, with growing hope that the situation has a solution, humanitarian efforts appear to represent the most viable option for poverty reduction in Sudan.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is currently in the process of attaining funds for its Humanitarian Response Plan. As of September 2022, the plan requires a further 68.5% of funding to meet its $1.9 billion total. The plan consists of 233 projects and will aim to reach 10.9 million people in 68 localities. As outlined in the plan, the three primary strategic objectives are to provide life-saving assistance and prevent mortality, to provide a greater service of basic amenities to vulnerable people and through humanitarian action, to lessen protection risks and needs.
– Jamie Garwood
Photo: Flickr
Climate-Driven Poverty in Central America
Hurricane Bonnie is the latest of many natural disasters to hit the coasts of Central America. Along with it came heavy rains and flooding that led to widespread damage and deaths in Nicaragua and El Salvador in July 2022. However, this is not an unfamiliar situation. In 2020, Hurricanes Eta and Iota led to $2 billion worth of damage in Honduras while leaving millions of people in Guatemala and Nicaragua facing food insecurity and internal displacement. In 2021, Hurricane Grace caused landslides and fatalities in Mexico alongside millions of dollars in damage. More concerning is the fact that this pattern has only become more frequent. In the past 20 years, climate-related disasters cost Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries a combined “equivalent of 1.7% of a year’s GDP.” By 2030, extreme weather patterns could thrust as many as 5.8 million people into conditions of extreme impoverishment in the LAC region. As such, climate-driven poverty in Central America is a significant concern.
Millions of people in Central America already live in what is known as the “Dry Corridor,” an area that faces alternating bouts of drought and extreme weather events such as hurricanes. These circumstances leave the largely rural population susceptible to climate-driven poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
Agricultural Impact and Food Security
According to the World Bank, in 2019, the agricultural sector accounted for 14% of total employment in the LAC region. However, around 70% of adults enduring extreme poverty in the LAC region work in the agricultural industry, a vulnerable population that faces disproportionate impacts from extreme weather events.
Job reliance on agriculture also varies by country. For instance, close to 40% of Honduras’ population engages in employment in agriculture, says the Global Agriculture & Food Security Program. Severe weather conditions have had a significant effect on agriculture in terms of employment and food output.
Hurricanes Iota and Eta ruined crops from Central America’s second growing season, affecting both small and large-scale farm operations. In the north of Honduras, the hurricanes caused a large spike in unemployment from the losses sustained in the area’s banana plantations. Coffee production, which makes up a large part of Central American exports and sustains low-income households, also saw damage to crops and irrigation systems from the heavy rains.
Beyond employment, agricultural impacts from these weather events also affect food production. The 2020 hurricanes caused an increase in food prices due to crop damage and raised costs of transportation.
The World Meteorological Organization estimates that as many as 7.7 million individuals in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua faced “high levels of food insecurity in 2021” because of the hurricanes and the exacerbating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well.
Infrastructural Damage
July 2022’s Hurricane Bonnie left thousands of people in Nicaragua without power and water while roads in El Salvador flooded or collapsed.
Two years ago, Hurricane Eta and Iota destroyed government buildings, hospitals and thousands of homes in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. In total, ReliefWeb reports that Eta and Iota caused damages equating to $1.86 billion in Honduras, $742 million in Nicaragua and $775 million in Guatemala. Rural areas faced the harshest impacts as floods, heavy rains and landslides hit homes, streets and community centers. The hurricanes also caused water contamination after damaging the sewage systems, threatening the clean water supply.
Migration and Displacement
Both in 2020 and 2022, many families suffered major losses after the destruction of their homes by the hurricanes, pushing them into extreme poverty. Hurricanes Eta and Iota in 2020 displaced 1.5 million people in Central America, as the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center estimated.
Alongside food insecurity, poverty and violence, extreme weather events are a major factor in migration in Central America, driving thousands to the United States every year. According to the Brookings Institution, migration from countries like Guatemala to the United States connects to rural impoverishment and “agricultural stress linked to climate change.” Internally, migration from rural areas to urban centers across Central America is also becoming more common due to employment instability in agriculture.
Globally, the 2022 World Migration Report states that extreme weather events and disasters lead to the displacement of more individuals than conflict and violence, and the number will only grow without prompt intervention.
Policy Implications
The World Food Programme and U.N. Environment Programme-backed initiatives are encouraging climate resilience policies to eliminate climate-driven poverty in Central America. For example, the WFP introduced climate risk management practices, including insurance initiatives meant to protect people living in regions susceptible to extreme weather events. The WFP also introduced “forecast-based finance” techniques in countries such as the Dominican Republic, which will provide aid to 10,000 people in the event of the country anticipating a climate disaster such as floods. As of 2021, the WFP estimates that its “climate risk management solutions” assisted around 441,000 people in the LAC region.
CityAdapt, an organization working with the U.N. Environment Programme and funded by the Global Environment Facility, implements “nature-based solutions” in cities and peri-urban regions in Mexico and El Salvador. It uses natural ecosystems to fight the effects of extreme weather changes, promoting “green and blue infrastructure such as urban parks, green roofs and facades, tree planting, river conservation,” and more, according to its website. CityAdapt also launched an online course in 2020 for 40 cities within 14 Latin American countries to educate people on nature-based solutions to address extreme weather conditions.
While the end goal is to prevent the occurrence of extreme weather events, these innovative and resilient approaches have the power to reduce the impact of climate-driven poverty in Central America and other vulnerable regions.
– Ramona Mukherji
Photo: Flickr
World Bicycle Relief: Switching Gears on Rural Development
In 2018, sub-Saharan Africa accounted for two-thirds of the global population living in extreme poverty. Although the poverty rate across the region decreased by 1.6% from 2015 to 2018, the benefits of improved infrastructure, education and health care have not reached those living in rural areas without safe and easy transport systems to access essential services and opportunities. World Bicycle Relief works to lessen this disadvantage by providing bicycles to members of rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Founded in 2005 by F.K. Day and Leah Missbach Day, the organization empowers millions to pull themselves out of poverty.
Gender Equality
World Bicycle Relief places priority on women and girls, with the organization striving for females to account for 70% of bicycle beneficiaries. Girls in sub-Saharan Africa often find that traditional gender expectations for them to take long walks for water and firewood daily, journeys that are sometimes unsafe and increase the risk of assault and harassment, stunt their personal agency. Riding bicycles not only cuts down on time taken for domestic chores but also allows girls to travel to school safely and quickly.
Over the last 10 years, World Bicycle Relief has worked in partnership with the Ministry of Education in Zambia to provide almost 37,000 rural girls with bicycles. A controlled trial found that the bicycles reduced the likelihood of girls dropping out of school by 19%, decreased school absenteeism rates by 28% and reduced school commute times by 33%. Furthermore, experiences of sexual harassment while journeying to school decreased by 22%.
In Kenya, health care workers using World Bicycle Relief-provided bicycles served “88% more patients,” highlighting the importance of effective transport in health and well-being in rural communities.
In a USAID-funded project from 2006-2009, World Bicycle Relief partnered with RAPIDS (Reaching HIV/AIDS Affected People with Integrated Development and Support) to tackle the AIDS crisis in Zambia. The organization gave more than 18,000 bicycles to RAPIDS caregivers, allowing RAPIDS to reach more people and deliver higher quality care due to more frequent visits. Since World Bicycle Relief’s participation in RAPIDS, caregiver retention has risen to 66%, a marked increase from earlier stages.
Rural Economic Development
To ensure that users utilize the bicycles to their best potential, World Bicycle Relief gives each community the responsibility to design and adapt its own bicycle program. The organization’s “field team also helps local leaders establish a Bicycle Supervisory Committee,” which selects each individual bicycle recipient based on factors such as commute time and potential for improved service with a bicycle. Each bicycle recipient “enters into a time-bound term agreement” with the Committee and officially owns the bike upon attainment of specific requirements, such as completing their education, helping to further community development or supplying health or financial services.
In October 2021, USAID announced an allocation of funding of $3.5 million to the Bicycles for Growth Initiative, helping J.E Austin Associates and World Bicycle Relief expand mobility in rural sub-Saharan Africa by facilitating transport through bicycles.
The initiative will support research on “access to bicycles in Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia,” giving more people the chance to access education, health care services and opportunities for income generation.
– Imogen Scott
Photo: Flickr
Battery Swapping Policy: Recharging India’s Economy
With a population of more than 1 billion, it is no surprise that India is home to the world’s largest two- and three-wheeler market. Such vehicles traditionally have internal combustion engines that use gasoline to run. However, being the third highest greenhouse gas emitter in the world (contributing about 7% of total emissions), India is desperately trying to reduce its carbon footprint. The sustainable alternative is using electric vehicles (EVs) i.e, cars that have electric motors and are powered by electricity. Not only do EVs have “zero tailpipe emission” so they are beneficial for the environment, but they also have lower maintenance costs. In an incentive to push more people to purchase EVs, NITI Aayog, the Indian government’s think tank, released a draft policy in April 2022 that strongly encourages battery swapping for electric two- and three-wheelers.
Battery Swapping and Its Advantages
Two- and three-wheel vehicles like electric scooters, mopeds or rickshaws most commonly use battery swapping. Logically, it is easier to swap smaller batteries, unlike those batteries for large four-wheelers.
Usually, EVs contain fixed lithium-ion batteries that charge by taking electricity from the grid. This process is both time-consuming and tedious. If India wants more people to purchase EVs and make the momentum towards electrification faster, then the concept of battery swapping or “exchanging discharged batteries for charged ones” is much more preferable.
Detachable batteries “de-link” the vehicle and the battery, meaning that the battery can charge anytime without the vehicle. This eliminates the need to find a charging station. It also lowers range anxiety for drivers. Importantly, battery swapping also reduces the upfront costs of EVs because the batteries are being leased and not owned. This is a significant advantage because high upfront costs have been one of the main reasons that consumers have hesitated to purchase EVs.
The Policy’s Key Features
India’s main issue in making the adoption of EVs mainstream is the lack of proper charging infrastructure. The policy aims to change this by forming a battery swapping and charging network. Through that network swapping and charging will occur at stores, malls, parking spaces, petrol stations, etc.
An important feature of the policy includes interoperability between EVs, batteries and EV supply equipment. That allows different battery models to be compatible with different vehicle models. That, in turn, will increase efficiency. Also, maintaining safety protocols should assure people that their EVs will not burst into flames and increase demand. Finally encouraging private sectors to enter the EV market to fuel competition should also increase both the battery-swapping and EV industries.
The draft policy states that the priority for developing battery swapping will go to cities with a population of more than 4 million. Cities with a population of more than 500,000 get the second priority.
The reason why EVs are so expensive is because of the high cost of lithium-ion batteries. That is why the draft calls for a reduction of the 18% tax on batteries so that it is on par with the five percent tax on EV supply equipment. This will make EVs a more viable option for users.
Economic Benefits
A November 2020 Council on Energy, Environment and Water report underlines the economic benefits of deploying more EVs into the market. Since electricity is cheaper than gasoline, the long-run cost of owning an EV becomes lower for consumers. These savings on fuel (estimated at $14 billion by 2030) become additional disposable income. Consumers then spend that on different goods and services. In addition, more demand leads to more production. Consequently, this generates higher employment across various sectors of the economy. Another way EVs generate employment is through greater investment in the charging infrastructure. More investment means more output from industries and hence a greater demand for labor.
Industry Frontrunners
Many companies already make two- and three-wheelers with swappable batteries. The startup Bounce Infinity is a notable example. It recently launched an e-scooter with a swappable battery. The company is also installing over 2000 battery swapping stations across six cities in the country. Sun Mobility and Amazon India will partner so that swapping stations will be installed at Amazon warehouses in Maharashtra, India.
Looking Ahead
The Indian government aims to have electricity power 70% of all commercial vehicles and 80% of all two and three-wheelers by 2030. As the majority of India’s population uses either of these two modes of transportation, EV usage will prove to be a cheap and environmentally green option. As Bloomberg News suggests, “If policymakers can drive investment and capital towards the startups pushing through swapping, the rising awareness and utilization will ensure consumers are prepped for more electric vehicles in the future and hooked to the longer-term cost efficiencies.”
– Anushka Raychaudhuri
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
The Effects of Japan’s Minimum Wage Increase
In early August 2022, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced an increase of the country’s minimum wage by 3.3%. In addition to fighting the effects of rising inflation, Japan’s minimum wage increase expands Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s “new capitalism” agenda to tackle issues of income inequality.
Push Factors for the Minimum Wage Increase
Japan’s minimum wage rate of ¥930 ($7.07) per hour was low for significant economic power. Australia boasts the highest rate at $14.88 per hour, but Japan also falls behind the United Kingdom (£9.50), France (€10.60) and Germany (€9.80). The Japanese minimum wage now stands at ¥961 ($7.30) per hour and surpasses the United States federal minimum wage of $7.25 (though some states have a higher minimum wage through state laws).
Despite Japan’s low unemployment rate, Japanese workers have barely seen any increases in minimum wages since 2000. This is due to the country’s chronically low inflation rate, which pushed companies to cut labor costs rather than risk driving away consumers by increasing prices.
However, the disruption of global supply chains caused by the Ukraine War has increased import costs. This has, in turn, compelled businesses to raise the price of goods. Real wages adjusted for inflation fell by 1.8% in 2022 compared to the previous year which means the increased inflation is hurting Japanese spending power.
Japan’s minimum wage increase is part of prime minister Kishida’s “new capitalism” agenda to reduce income inequality. The reform aims to relieve the burden of increased living costs on the lower class, while also sheltering the country from losing its post-pandemic economic recovery. Kishida plans to eventually raise the median average minimum wage to ¥1000 ($7.51).
Lifetime Employment System
The delay in Japan’s minimum wage increase also stems from the country’s employment structure. Termed the “lifetime employment system,” it underwent development during the economic growth of the 1950s and 60s. Within the system, companies stress job security rather than increased short-term productivity by following three pillars:
Under the lifetime employment system, Japan’s minimum wage increase was gradual. However, in the early 2000s, Japanese companies struggled to overcome competition from emerging-market economies such as China. Since then, firms have shifted to using more part-time workers by reducing the number of workers in the lifetime employment structure. Though part-time workers’ wages rise faster than regular workers, they still receive significantly less pay.
Moreover, in 2021, only 16.9% of Japanese workers belonged to a labor union, meaning that many workers rely on government reforms to see a pay increase. In Japan, the national minimum wage rate is only a reference point. The Labor Ministry’s subcommittee splits prefectures into four groups and sets guidelines for each. The prefectural governments then set the rate depending on their needs. Therefore, each prefecture’s rate may be lower or higher than the national rate.
The Rising Japanese Lower Class
The Japanese middle class continues to diminish as more and more workers switch to part-time work and fall into the lower class, increasing their exposure to poverty. In 2020, 15.7% of Japanese people lived in poverty, which the OECD defines as having an income that is less than half of the entire population’s median.
Married Japanese women often rely on low-paying part-time jobs or temporary work, meaning they depend financially on their partner. This reliance makes women more likely to stay in a marriage with domestic abuse. If women leave the marriage, they are more susceptible to poverty. Older women, single mothers and young women who end up in the sex industry are especially likely to live in poverty or become homeless.
Along with the traditional gender roles leading married women to work less than their partner, Japan has a tax advantage for married couples when one member earns less than ¥1.03 million ($7,729.64) a year. Hence, many women may limit their working hours to avoid entering the next tax bracket.
A First Step
The 2022 rise in inflation left Japan’s lower classes especially vulnerable to living in poverty. Japan’s minimum wage increase may be the first step in helping shelter the population from a cost-of-living crisis. However, Fumio Kishida’s “new capitalism” may also have to address tax policies as well as the increasing shift to part-time work to fully tackle poverty reduction in Japan.
– Elena Sofia Massacesi
Photo: Flickr
The Future of India’s Development
Striving for Development
Although there is no single metric that defines a country as developed, ways of assessing development include factors ranging from income per capita to electricity usage. Generally, developed countries will have lower rates of unemployment, higher levels of literacy and industrialization, a diverse economy and high gross national income (GNI). With a GNI of $2,170 in 2021, India holds the status of “lower middle income” according to the World Bank. However, that figure once stood at $440 in 2000, showing a clear upward progression of moving toward the GNI of more developed nations.
India also has a broad network of poverty relief and social welfare programs. One example is the Public Distribution System (PDS), which costs close to 1% of India’s GDP and distributes grain to low-income families, according to the World Bank in 2011. Introduced in 2005, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme ( MGNREG) aims to provide up to 100 days of paid work per year for impoverished adults in rural areas. Lastly, through the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) program, India’s impoverished receive health insurance coverage. By 2011, RSBY served more than 70 million Indians, a huge success given the country has very few insurance programs for its labor force.
Program Shortcomings
Unfortunately, India’s development suffers from logistical issues and mismanagement. According to National Sample Survey data from 2004-2005, grain distributed under the PDS reached less than half of the intended recipients. The cause of this problem is “leakage and diversion of grains,” leading experts to suggest cash transfers that directly give families an equivalent value.
Other programs like the MGNREG also struggle with providing benefits, with fewer than 100 days of work being available, particularly in rural areas. Prime Minister Modi addressed these issues during the August 15 celebrations, promising to curb inefficiencies within the government and fight against corruption.
A Vision for India
Modi’s vision for India’s future development also includes achieving “excellence in science and technology” while attaining “food and energy security.” India’s minister of power, R.K. Singh, said on August 5, 2022, that India is ahead of many developed countries in progress toward achieving clean energy.
Furthermore, India’s strong relationship between itself and the United States is touted as a catalyst for growth, with U.S. President Joe Biden stating that the two countries would work together to bring “prosperity and security for our people.”
Transforming India into a developed nation is a massive undertaking, one which will require an incredible mobilization of human and economic resources. With 21.9% of the population living under the national poverty line in 2011, according to the latest available data from the World Bank, substantially reducing this statistic would be a major humanitarian victory. The country’s future 100th anniversary holds massive potential and the opportunity to showcase India’s development.
– Samuel Bowles
Photo: WikiCommons