Ireland’s poverty reduction has been impressive, coming from the times of the political and religious troubles of 30 years ago. In 1987, at a poverty line of $5.50 a day, poverty in Ireland was at 3.7%, but in the 21st century, the poverty rate has never been above 1.5%. However, as with the U.S., the recession of 2008 greatly affected the Irish economy. Following the recession, the consistent poverty rate was still 2.5% higher in 2017 than it was in 2008. At the national poverty line, the World Bank suggested the poverty level was at 13.9% in 2019. To make matters worse, 25% of those living in poverty currently are children.

GDP

In 2021 Ireland’s GDP per capita growth rate was 16%. This measurement can be misleading. Despite Ireland having one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, it still faces the issue of poverty. The GDP per capita figure is distorted due to over 1,500 multinational corps being located here and the small population size. As GDP per capita is a measurement of average income across a whole population, extremely rich individuals or companies and small populations can easily distort it.

Despite this, the presence of these large pharmaceuticals and tech firms also have some benefits for Ireland. For example, Apple provides 6,000 jobs in Ireland alone. This proves to be a major contributor to the economy, which in turn provides the government with more funding.

The Irish government reinvests this back into public services. For example, during the pandemic homelessness decreased, dropping below 9,000 for the first time since 2017. On top of this, it is estimated that without Ireland’s welfare system a huge four in every ten of the population would be in poverty. If the country reduces child poverty, this could continue at an even greater rate, as Social Justice Ireland advocates for.

Impact of the Recession

The recession hit Ireland in 2008, resulting in a housing market crash similar to the U.S. This was followed by an economic depression in Ireland in 2009- with GNP decreasing by 12% in the first quarter of that year. The housing crisis also affected many other industries as the population lost confidence in the economy. Unemployment increased by almost 8% between 2008 and 2012.

However, Ireland appears to be crawling out of this “lost decade” of economic turmoil with reduced unemployment, homelessness and high levels of growth. But there are still lasting effects of poverty that Ireland still hasn’t addressed.

Social Justice Ireland outlines the serious problem of in-work poverty in Ireland. In-work poverty was at 6.2% in 2020 and has not shown any signs of decreasing over recent years. COVID-19 appears to have affected these lowest earners as well- with income tax receipts only decreasing by 1% in 2020. Social Justice Ireland believes the country needs to do more in achieving governmental targets, implement more policies to support the ‘working poor’ and provide more support for the poor such as greater enforcement of a wide living wage.

Focus Ireland

Focus Ireland is a prime example of the foundations that helped to foster Ireland’s development post-recession. The organization supports homeless people in Ireland. In 2020, it successfully helped 1,829 households stay out of homelessness or helped them to move to a secure home. Projects like this are helping to contribute to Ireland’s reducing level of homelessness.

Ireland’s poverty reduction is succeeding as it stands, but more help needs to be provided for a large number of working poor and children in poverty.

–Reuben Cochrane
Photo: Flickr

South Africa beat Morocco 2-1 in the Women’s African Cup of Nations final on July 23, 2022, in Rabat, taking home the country’s first-ever trophy from WAFCON and first continental title. The team’s accomplishment also highlighted the staggering difference between female and male earnings. The WAFCON win supports income equality efforts by sparking more concern for equal pay.

Income Inequality in South Africa

Income inequality is an unsavory reality for female athletes in South Africa. Nicknamed Banyana Banyana (Girls Girls), the women’s team players earn far less: R4,000 for a competitive match draw and R5,700 for a win, about $238 and $340, respectively, compared to the men’s R30,000 and R60,000, $1790 and $3580. Bafana Bafana, the men’s team, also receive regular salaries from their clubs. Female players, like Andile Dlamini and others on Banyana, receive only an R500 monthly stipend.

The gender pay gap extends beyond the sports arena. South Africa has a median gender pay gap between 23% and 35%, which exceeds the global average of 20%. Unequal earnings persist in households as well: 38% of homes are managed by women, and such households are 40% poorer than ones managed by men. In addition, 48% of women-led households support extended family members compared to 23% of their male counterparts. In this regard, unequal earnings plus proportionally higher economic demands on women call further attention to South Africa’s income inequality.

Since the 90s, the gender wage gap median decreased from 40% to 16%. UNU-WIDER, a United Nations research institute, emphasizes that the closing gap stalled at 16% in 2007 and has not changed. The lowest pay for female workers increased to match their male counterparts in middle-paying positions, but women earners still disproportionally earn less.

UNU-WIDER calls this the “sticky floor” effect, where socio-economic conditions constrain a specific demographic to the bottom of the job scale. Today, South African female workers still occupy the highest proportion of the lowest earners and rarely occupy the highest-paying jobs.

A Way Forward to Equal Pay in South Africa

A few days after South Africa’s WAFCON win, President Cyril Ramaphosa promised equal pay for the women’s national team through funding from the country’s ministers of finance and sports. Danny Jordaan, president of the South African Football Association, echoed the need to follow in Sierra Leone’s footsteps and remedy the pay disparity between men and women in sports. Ultimately, Banyana received an extra R5.8 million from the sports ministry to supplement the R9.2 million bonus from SAFA, $345,320 and $547,788, respectively.

Ramaphosa also highlighted how the WAFCON win supports income equality by using it as an opportunity to tackle the gender pay gap in all of South Africa. The president stated that in addition to awarding Banyana the pay they deserved, the country must eliminate unequal pay in all other sectors of the economy.

The WAFCON win shows how female success helps combat gender inequality. While bringing pride to South Africa, the women’s national team also used the spotlight to highlight unequal treatment and generate support for bridging the pay gap. With leaders in politics and sports now backing efforts to eliminate pay discrimination, there is continuing hope for progress.

– Emily Xin
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

After little to no rain since 2020, the Horn of Africa drought is plaguing several countries, causing displacement in Ethiopia. The UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations have been working with local disaster prevention centers to provide food, water and shelter to the thousands who find themselves within the affected areas.

Horn of Africa Drought: Zero Rainfall

Ethiopia is experiencing one of the worst droughts that have occurred in the last 40 years. “We have never seen a drought like this, it has affected everyone, we have named it ‘the unseen,” said Ardo who lives in the Eastern Somali region of Ethiopia.

The UNHCR has been working with local communities impacted by the drought by providing water, shelter and clothing. The U.N. agency and other regional disaster management organizations assisted more than 7,000 drought-affected households. However, despite the humanitarian assistance, the needs of the communities are steadily growing. “The most pressing issue here is a lack of water, as well as effective water management,” said Abdullahi Sheik Barrie, a field associate in the UNHCR office in the capital of the Somali region.

Following the deterioration of water sources, livestock is dying which removes people’s ability to provide for themselves. While the drought is predicted to continue during the next couple of months, Shabia Mantoo, the UNHCR spokesperson announced the estimated cost to adequately address the crisis. “To deliver life-saving assistance and protection to some 1.5 million refugees, internally displaced people, and local host communities…UNHCR is appealing for $42.6 million,” said Mantoo during a press briefing.

Problem Solving

USAID is also providing assistance to people in the Somali region. The agency has declared a $488 million budget for providing humanitarian aid to Ethiopia. USAID’s funding will cover, “food supplies, including sorghum, peas and vegetable oil.”

Although almost 1 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes in the hopes of finding food and water, humanitarian organizations claim that this number will continue to rise and there is an approaching risk of a fifth failed rainy season. As such, the World Health Organization (WHO) has labeled the drought affecting the Horn of Africa a grade three health emergency which is its highest rating. “We don’t know where the bottom is yet for this crisis…the fact is that we are in a devastating situation already and the likelihood is that it’s going to continue,” said Michael Dunford, the head of the WHO in Eastern Africa in an interview with the Telegraph.

Lives At Stake

Abdul Risac, mayor of a small city in the Somali region called Buaro, told the Telegraph that his communities have no other form of income and lack proper methods to deal with this drought. Selma, a 20-year-old mother of two who recently arrived at a displacement camp once had 100 goats and sheep but now has none. “We realized we couldn’t survive so we came to this place, ” she said to the Telegraph.

Selma also added that her family, like many others, can only return to their homes if they acquire livestock. “It’s my dream to return, but now we’re goatless and have no way of breeding more animals. It’s hard to know what our options are. All I know is being a pastoralist,” she concluded.

While the Horn of Africa drought is expected to persist, the UNHCR and USAID are providing their support in the form of life-saving funding for internally displaced persons in Ethiopia.

– Henry Hyman
Photo: Flickr