According to The Irish Times, energy poverty is “spending more than a tenth of [ones] income on energy.” In Ireland, 29% of households, up from 13% in 2015, meet this “threshold for energy poverty.” This widespread energy poverty in Ireland has resulted from the sudden surges in gas and electricity prices which are partially due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Problem
On average, Irish households are spending €21 more weekly on energy instead of other essential goods. To make matters worse, if motor fuels are included, families are spending €38 more weekly than before the recent inflation, according to The Irish Times.
According to research by the Irish Houses of the Oireachtas, “it is well established that certain groups are more vulnerable to energy poverty and its consequences.” Research by the House discussed that not only do poorer households have limited capacity to support their energy needs due to economic restraints, but they also frequently have increased energy costs. Many of the poorer households in Ireland live in less energy-efficient accommodation, such as mobile homes and trailers, which leads to higher energy costs.
The groups suffering from increased energy costs the most are the Irish Traveller and Roma communities residing in Ireland. These communities frequently face “financial exclusion” and energy-inefficient accommodation. In fact, 40% of Travellers and Romas in Ireland significantly struggle to make ends meet, and 13% live in accommodations in bad condition. “These factors result in significant health and safety risks for Traveller families,” says research by the House.
Specifically, energy poverty affects individuals’ health, social inclusion and housing tenure. Additionally, homes often use cheaper alternatives, such as coal, to meet their energy needs, which has serious effects on air quality and climate change. Thus, it is in everyone’s best interest to reduce energy poverty and ensure all households can safely meet their energy needs.
Possible Solutions
Social Justice Ireland, a think tank and justice advocacy organization, stated that, in theory, the solution to both the financial and environmental costs is as simple as making homes more energy-efficient. This would reduce the carbon emission of individual homes and require less fuel, in return reducing cost. In order to do so, the organization suggests a “state-led retrofitting scheme” to improve the condition of poorer quality homes.
In research by the House, it endorsed the need for grants and programs in order to retrofit homes. However, it also suggested the need for “income supports in the form of transfer payments” and subsidizing energy in order to prevent more homes from falling below the threshold for energy poverty.
National Efforts
Currently, the Irish government aims to alleviate the effects of spiking energy prices by cutting indirect taxes on fuel, such as the carbon tax. However, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has criticized the government’s efforts, as “most of the aggregate gains would go to the highest-income 40% of households while less than a third would go to the lowest-income 40%,” The Irish Times reports. Alternatively, the think tank suggested income supports, such as welfare payments, similar to the recommendation by the Irish Houses of the Oireachtas.
Unfortunately, according to Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, “the Government might already be at the limit” of what it can do, due to the constantly rising levels of energy poverty in Ireland.
Local Actions and NGO Efforts
Considering the government’s limited ability to act, local and NGO actions are even more valuable in alleviating and preventing energy poverty than usual.
Locally, according to a report by the European Commission, the Deep Retrofit Transforms Wexford Sheltered Housing project has helped retrofit 12 one-bedroom homes, including social housing, in Wexford, Ireland. The projects will not only have serious economic and environmental benefits but will also benefit the homeowners’ health and wellbeing.
Furthermore, Energy Action, established in 1988, fights to address energy, specifically fuel poverty in Dublin, Ireland. The NGO, which was “Ireland’s first community-based energy project,” provides free insulation in the homes of the disadvantaged, such as the elderly and poor. Since its founding, Energy Action has insulated 35,000 homes. The remarkable NGO has also helped tackle poverty in Ireland by employing and training the formerly long-time unemployed, “providing them with sustainable and ecologically sound employment opportunities.”
Although Ireland lacks a national program to tackle energy poverty, Energy Action supports multiple “community-based organizations ” fighting energy poverty throughout the country to get started with their own projects.
– Lena Maassen
Photo: Flickr
Bitcoin in Argentina
Economic consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain shortages have ramped up inflation in Argentina to record levels. At its peak, economists estimated that inflation in Argentina reached a 60% increase since the beginning of the pandemic. The rapid deflation of the peso pushed about 37.7% of the population of Argentina below the poverty line by significantly reducing their purchasing power, signaling a serious economic crisis. The adoption of bitcoin in Argentina is helping people to fight against inflation and poverty.
Bitcoin in the Developing World
In recent years, many developing nations have turned to bitcoin for a couple of different reasons. First, bitcoin is decentralized, meaning that international organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) do not regulate it. Second, bitcoin is highly effective at containing inflation and is a relatively steady asset as opposed to standard market investments and savings.
The cryptocurrency penetration rate in Argentina has reached 12%, Cointelegraph reported. This is more than double most other countries in Latin America. Due to the success of bitcoin in Argentina, the central bank motioned to forbid financial institutions from operating with digital assets.
The IMF and the World Bank claimed that cryptocurrency in developing countries is dangerous, because it opens doors for money laundering and economic volatility, according to Politico. Bitcoin is also an environmental hazard. “If Bitcoin were a country, it would be among the top 30 energy users in the world,” Foreign Policy reported. This means that as bitcoin increases in popularity around the world, it could harm the environment and worsen changing weather patterns.
The Key to Sustainable Global Development
Many economists believe that bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency hold the key to sustainable global development. This would be particularly beneficial to the world’s poorest nations and communities. Decentralized finance allows people to build entire financial ecosystems without intervention from world banks, according to Foreign Policy. Because of decentralized financial blockchains, people across the world have broader access to capital and can easily and securely transfer money.
People in the developing world usually experience exclusion from modern cryptocurrency systems due to their technological complexities and the necessity of online financial literacy. Because of this, the expansion of bitcoin in Argentina and other developing nations marks a victory in the fight against global poverty.
One of the greatest advantages that bitcoin offers to a country like Argentina is that it can provide a “financial identity” to people who have not had access to financial institutions like banks. As of 2022, 1.7 billion people across the world lack access to modern financial services, according to Foreign Policy. Therefore, providing access to financial assets is a priority in the fight for global development.
Bitcoin as a Method of Reducing Poverty and Inflation
The success of bitcoin in Argentina and other developing nations is catching attention around the world, particularly from the federal governments of rich countries like the United States and global organizations like the IMF. The IMF and the World Bank are actively working to prevent countries like Argentina from adopting bitcoin as a legitimate form of national currency. However, their efforts are failing because multiple countries in the Central African States, as well as El Salvador, have already motioned to adopt Bitcoin as a national currency, according to Politico.
While Argentina has not yet officially adopted bitcoin, the nation is experiencing significant economic growth and optimism for the reduction of the alarmingly high poverty rate. As economic complications from the pandemic and global conflicts increase, many countries in the developing world are finding significant successes in financial systems that have traditionally only benefitted rich nations.
– Ella DeVries
Photo: Flickr
How Aid Programs in Brazil Fight Poverty
As of 2021, approximately 27 million people make up Brazil’s poor living under the poverty line, which is 12.8% of the country’s populace. This, after the poverty rate dropped to 4.5% in August 2020 with the help of a federal fund transfer program, hit individuals and families hard who had struggled with severe poverty prior to this COVID-19 aid program. The recess that monetary security provided was short-lived. Yet, while unsustainable, the program nevertheless did help those in need. Aid programs in Brazil have helped many families stay afloat amid economic uncertainty.
The Bolsa Família Program
With dilemmas revolving around the economy springing up anew, many of the country’s poor fell back on benefits from the government-funded Bolsa Família program. However, some who ended up back in poverty while trying to provide for their families, complained that the program denied them monthly aid due to ineligibility, Reuters reported.
Increased Welfare with the Auxílio Brasil Program
Also in 2021, the administration of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro (elected to that office in 2018) expanded welfare payments through the Auxílio Brasil program. The current administration promotes the program unabashedly throughout some of Brazil’s poor districts. Indeed, Auxílio Brasil allotted for the poorest Brazilians a payment of R$400 ($85) per month, a 75% increase on what the previous Lula-era Bolsa Família program paid out on average.
However, there are concerns about whether or not the new government program will live up to its lofty expectations. If not, the administration might declare a state of emergency. “This would enable Bolsonaro to avoid fiscal guidelines with a view to improving the Auxílio Brasil handouts” probably as much as R$600, according to Businesslend.
Government aid programs in Brazil, such as the selective Bolsa Família stimulus allowances attest, show varying levels of efficacy, and the country’s poor views them as an irritation at times. Welfare programs, whether backed federally or internationally, have, nevertheless, paid off for certain communities while their stability is not always a given.
IFAD Program Helps Thousands Out of Poverty
At the end of June 2022, a report came that the United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) assisted “around 257,000 rural families to overcome poverty in Brazil from 2016 to 2022.” An invested budget of $453 million allowed IFAD to establish six distinct projects dealing with rural development.
As the fourth largest global food producer, Brazil relies heavily on agricultural goods both for its own population and for exporting internationally. The vast majority of agriculture in the country comes from family-run farms, which produce 70% of the foodstuffs Brazilians eat. Unlike big-time agribusinesses, the family-operated farms of Brazil generate jobs in their local communities. Family farming employs 70% of Brazil’s rural workforce. Conservationists and other analysts frown upon what they perceive to be an overemphasis on industrialized agriculture, citing the benefits of family farming.
Given that family-owned farming is the backbone of the country’s agriculture, IFAD’s aid was all the more impactful since, in order to help Brazil’s poor, it focused on rural farming communities – social hubs known for their regular employment and food production. Rossana Polastri, the relevant regional director at IFAD, said the success of the program “was possible due to the strong commitment of the federal and state authorities to family farming as a way for rural poor populations to lift themselves out of poverty,” IFAD reported on its website.
On the updraft of its recent success, IFAD has also supported the Amazon Sustainable Management Project, a program intended to reduce rural poverty and deforestation in the Amazonian region, according to IFAD’s website. The success enjoyed by several aid programs in Brazil shows that, with proper planning and the right means, these programs can do what they say they can – reduce poverty.
– John Tuttle
Photo: Flickr
Resurgence of Polio in Pakistan
Polio, for many in the United States today, is not much more than a history lesson. Whether it is former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s battle with the disease or the innovations of Dr. Jonas Salk in his creation of a vaccine, the illness tends to only touch most people through books and movies, or when a newborn is vaccinated. Over the last few decades, much of the rest of the world has shared in these triumphs. It is still present in the human population and though outbreaks are diminishing, they do occur. After experiencing significant progress throughout 2021 and for some time into 2022, there are new cases of polio in Pakistan.
What the Outbreak Looks Like
While most people will clear the polio virus without experiencing serious issues, its debilitating symptoms can leave victims with brain and spinal cord injuries. Polio will cause meningitis in around one out of 25 people infected and paralysis in one out of 200. Furthermore, adults who have previously recovered can develop post-polio syndrome which presents itself as new muscle pain or paralysis later in life.
For centuries, people lived with the fear of disability from this disease. Since the advent of vaccinations, the vast majority of nations have eradicated polio. Pakistan, along with its neighbor Afghanistan, has been slower to share in this progress. These two countries are the last where polio is still considered an endemic disease, meaning that it is constantly spreading.
Cases have been diminishing for a long time, however. For example, the incidence of paralysis from polio in Pakistan fell from around 20,000 in the early 1990s to just 84 in 2020. The country recently experienced a hiatus in polio detection that lasted from January 2021 until April 2022 when the diagnosis of polio in a baby boy in the North Waziristan district interrupted the progress, The Guardian reports. Eleven children in Pakistan have been diagnosed with the illness since.
Why is Polio Resurging in Pakistan?
Polio continues to cause outbreaks in Pakistan for much of the same reason that other diseases as many in the population do not have immunity against it. Polio vaccines have proven to be highly effective on the individual level and can create herd immunity when around 80-85% of the population receives a vaccine.
Reaching the level of vaccine coverage that herd immunity from polio requires is difficult because of the misinformation surrounding vaccines in Pakistan. Due to vaccine hesitancy, some parents in Pakistan have obtained fake vaccine markings or simply refused inoculation. Even when they do follow through on receiving a vaccine, mistrust is still high. In 2019, more than 25,000 students asked for hospitalization after unsubstantiated claims of adverse vaccine reactions spread in northwest Pakistan.
Mistrust is not just an endogenous problem. The actions of foreign entities have also caused harm to Pakistan’s health system. In 2011, the CIA ran a fake vaccination program, which collected blood samples of children in an attempt to track down Osama bin Laden by finding his relatives. Oxford University Press article demonstrates that news of the CIA’s campaign not only led to a drop in vaccine uptake between 23% and 39% but also empowered extremist groups.
These groups have engaged in violence against vaccination workers that carry on to this day. Most recently, on June 28, 2022, a gunman killed a polio worker and two policemen involved in vaccination.
What Are the Solutions?
While imperfect, things are far from grim in the fight against polio in Pakistan. As noted earlier, the incidence has plummeted in the last few decades. Much of this is due to vaccine drives from a number of sources including the government and international organizations.
Since the 1990s, the Pakistani government has partnered with the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative (PPEI), a group that a consortium of international organizations funded, to create the annual National Emergency Action Plan (NEAP). These plans have demonstrated success through various initiatives to immunize populations via vaccination programs, disease surveillance and outreach.
Under part of its plan, hundreds of thousands of vaccinators go door-to-door offering immunizations to children below the age of 5. Another method these groups have employed to keep spread in check is regular wastewater inspections. This gives public health officials a better idea of disease prevalence and where it is spreading. Finally, to counter much of the misinformation and hesitancy, the plan calls for partnerships with civil society and religious leaders to mainstream the use of vaccines.
Though most countries technically eradicated polio, Pakistan is not alone in the recurrence of it. In 2022, cases have occurred in 30 countries across Africa, Europe and the Middle East. In June 2022, the United Kingdom detected the disease in London’s wastewater. With a polio vaccination rate of 86% in London, a significant part of the population is susceptible to infection demonstrating the danger that festering diseases, such as polio, pose to people all around the world.
– Joey Harris
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
Malawi Uses Drones to Tackle Malaria
Although it is a country of progress, Malawi faces social issues and is currently dealing with the impact of disease and finding solutions. The use of a technology method, specifically drones to tackle malaria, is helping to identify and eliminate mosquito breeding grounds and it could be the breaking point of innovation used to eradicate malaria throughout the nation.
Impact of Malaria on Malawi’s Health Care
In Malawi, malaria is the leading cause of death in young children. Each year, there are about 5 million cases of malaria. Experts believe that Malaria is responsible for 34% of all outpatient visits and 40% of all hospital admissions among children under the age of 5. Although Malawi strives to improve economically it still remains one of the world’s poorest nations.
More than 70% of the population lives in poverty, with $1.90 per day. According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 epidemic has had a significant impact on the economy of Malawi. This is because COVID-19 has had a negative monetary impact on economic growth and health care. Prior to COVID-19, telemedicine innovations were expanding due to their promise to provide accessible health care to remote populations that lack access to local resources or expertise.
Experts say that the overburdened health care system leads to increased cases of individuals dying from illnesses like malaria before receiving treatment and COVID-19 has slowed down health services. Therefore, lowering the possibility of transmission of malaria could be an essential part of the nation’s malaria control effort.
The Implementation
Malawi is using drones to tackle malaria in order to keep an eye on mosquito breeding sites in Malawi’s central district known as Kasungu. This is the way to assist scientists in mapping the locations of mosquito infestations in water bodies, according to the World Economic Forum. Along with the African Drone Academy and the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust (MLW), researchers set out to track mosquito habitats in Kasungu. Kasungu is abundant in dams and reservoirs, which sustain insect breeding sites during the dry season, The Telegraph reported.
Researchers used drones to map prospective larval homes in an area of 10 kilometers squared by taking in-depth pictures of the area from a height of about 120 meters. With the help of a GPS, the researchers then sampled larvae in order to find out which areas were more prone to mosquito breeding. Following that, they monitored the possibility of exposure within the home, enabling extremely focused malaria disruption activities.
The Aftermath
It is evident that Malawi strives to curb the impact that malaria has on its people. A campaign has started in order to stop malaria by the year 2030 and such efforts have the potential to be achieved. The use of technology to curb issues within a modern world is showing to be progressive. In fact, according to The Telegraph, researchers claim that the investigation of using drones to tackle malaria has improved understanding of how minor dams and reservoirs impact mosquito populations.
The project’s success has encouraged the researchers to modify the technology to track the effects of plastic trash on the ecosystem and human health as well. Malawi’s continued progress and innovation could help the poor fight against malaria, leaving less of a burden on them for health care.
– Frema Mensah
Photo: Unsplash
Child Marriage in the Ivory Coast
Child marriage in the Ivory Coast remains a prevalent issue. The Marriage Act of 1983 states that the legal age for marriage is 18 for women and 21 for men. However, 27% of women marry before the legal age of 18 and 7% marry before the age of 15. The numbers are less extreme on the male side where 4% marry before the age of 18.
Driving Factors
There are a few factors that lead to child marriage in the Ivory Coast. According to Girls Not Brides, poverty and education drive child marriage. Child marriage is often a survival mechanism to escape poverty especially when parents cannot afford to pay for education. Education is limited in the Ivory Coast. Secondary schools are scarce and oftentimes girls must board or find temporary living situations to attend them. As a result, they end up without parental or guardian supervision and are vulnerable to sexual violence and child marriage.
The third factor that can lead to child marriage in the Ivory Coast is adolescent pregnancy. In fact, according to Girls Not Brides, one in four women have their first child before the age of 18 and after pregnancy, many end up in a forced marriage. This attitude towards marriage ties into traditional religious beliefs that many leaders in the Ivory Coast have promoted. Many communities still abide by traditional beliefs regarding child marriage instead of the actual law.
Early Progress
In the early years of combatting child marriage in the Ivory Coast, there was steep progress. The government funded the development of more than 9,000 preschools and primary schools between 2011 and 2013 along with 38 secondary schools. In addition, in 2013, it also passed a law to allow students without birth certificates to attend primary school. In 2017, there was an initiative following the law to allow students in primary schools to acquire birth certificates through their school directors.
Between 2013 and 2015, the national government tried to enforce a plan to engage the community and religious leaders to address the child marriage issue. The President endorsed the plan. However, it fell through due to a lack of resources and budget.
Current Progress
The Ivory Coast government does not have a current plan or strategy to tackle the child marriage issue. However, there are organizations that focus on improving education, especially for girls which could have a direct impact on the child marriage rates. One such organization is Girls Not Brides. Girls Not Brides has a national partnership with the Ivory Coast which includes 17 member organizations working together to end child marriage.
Réseau Ivoirien pour la Défense des Droits de L’Enfant et de la Femme (RIDDEF) is a local non-governmental organization that originated in 2013. It has committed itself to women’s and children’s rights in the Ivory Coast. In partnership with the Embassy to Canada in the Ivory Coast, RIDDEF conducted a project addressing child marriage. RIDDEF brought sexual education campaigns to more than 20 schools and reached more than 6,000 students.
In addition, RIDDEF started a program where older women are partnered with younger girls to talk through sensitive conversations. The project also mobilized community leaders in both religious and education sectors to speak out against child marriage.
Ending child marriage means granting human rights to young people and especially young girls. When progress on the governmental level is slow, tackling issues that have direct impacts on the child marriage rates such as increasing education and shifting traditional attitudes are crucial.
In addition to improving human rights, ending child marriage could lead to more economic and social opportunities. Therefore, there is great potential for both social and economic growth in communities within developing nations such as the Ivory Coast.
– Jordan Oh
Photo: Flickr
Progress in Stopping HIV/AIDS in Argentina
According to UNAIDS, 140,000 adults and children were living with HIV/AIDS in 2020. Additionally, 5,600 new cases of HIV/AIDS emerged that same year. However, since 2015, the incidence rate for HIV/AIDS in Argentina has been on a steady decline. The Argentinan government and various organizations are working to ensure each person has access to treatment and education about HIV/AIDS. These efforts are leading to a safer and more equal society.
Past Efforts in Stopping HIV/AIDS in Argentina
There have been significant efforts to reduce HIV/AIDS in Argentina within the past 30 years. In 1992, the Argentinian National Ministry of Health created the National Control Program of Human Retroviruses to diagnose and treat patients and ensure giving the medication to the population. The program included more research into AIDS prevention and treatment while also providing the public with the necessary medical assistance and education to prevent the disease altogether.
In 1995, the Argentinian government passed another law guaranteeing nationwide access to HIV/AIDS treatment regardless of the patients’ affordability. According to the World Bank, the implementation of efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS saved 4,379 people from HIV/AIDS between 2000 and 2010.
Then, in 2015, Argentina began to adhere to the 90-90-90 target with the aim of achieving it by 2020. The rule targets are diagnosing 90% of people with HIV, treating 90% of people with ART and giving an undetectable viral load to 90% of those on ART. This target progressed Argentina’s goal of stopping HIV/AIDS.
Moving Forward
While Argentina is working to eliminate HIV/AIDS, more recently, its government is also working to improve human rights for those with HIV/AIDS. The Argentinian Congress passed a new law that made mandatory testing illegal, progressing the Argentinian society in the human rights field. This new law protects Argentinians who have HIV/AIDS against discrimination and allows them to remain confidential about their medical diagnoses.
Argentinians are working to end the stigma of HIV and protect the confidentiality of those who have it. Other organizations are also dedicated to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS in Argentina. Established in 1987 in Los Angeles, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has the goal of providing care to HIV/AIDS patients at all times in their life.
In Argentina from 2016 until today, AHF provided 120,000 HIV tests and supported seven clinics with over 120,000 patients across South America. Their efforts allow for more people to get access and treatment to fight HIV/AIDS, and they are just one of the many organizations working toward stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS in Argentina continues to be an issue in society. However, with all the efforts from the Argentinian government and various organizations, more and more people are able to access treatments and health care. More work is necessary to fully eradicate HIV/AIDS from Argentina completely, Argentina is on its way to its goal of becoming fully HIV/AIDS-free.
– Janae O’Connell
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
CHN on the Go: Community Health Nurses in Ghana
On a routine home visit, Barbara Senu, a nurse, was worried about a newborn baby’s umbilical cord stump. The baby’s young mother applied sand and toothpaste and Barbara feared it would lead to an infection that could turn deadly. The nurse, while still in the young mother’s home, pulled out her phone and took a video to post it on the CHN (Community Health Nurse) on the Go WhatsApp group. At that time, she was informed to tell the mother not to do so and gave the mother instructions on umbilical cord care. CHN on the Go has helped nurses in Ghana better serve the community.
Working in Aloneness
Discovered in July 2014, CHN on the Go is a smartphone app that is helping nurses in Ghana bring the necessary needed maternal and child health services in hard-to-reach areas in Ghana. The app is also improving the knowledge and skills of nurses in developing communities to feel less lonely from their relatives that live far from their area, Concern Worldwide U.S. reported.
Regularly nurses would walk for hours or get around by motorcycle or canoe to get to their patients. The nurses would leave their homes early in the morning and return late at night, visiting more than a dozen villages in one month, according to Concern Worldwide U.S. Once the nurses arrive, they have to deal with difficulty in helping young mothers and newborns because of the lack of recognition and potential for career advancement, this has left the nurses unmotivated and shell shocked.
Communication Skills
The most popular feature of the CHN on the Go smartphone app is the app’s e-courses. The app lets the nurses in Ghana get credit for the completed and passed classes, helping them to get credit while also increasing their clinical knowledge and improving their education and careers. More than half of the nurses find it difficult to leave their jobs and return to school.
According to Concern Worldwide U.S., the topics on the app range from family planning to pregnancy issues. The nurses have said they go over the e-learning courses at least once or twice before going to bed at night. The pictures on the CHN on the go smartphone app help the nurses effectively communicate a problem if it arrives. The images help because some clients aren’t literate, and the nurses can’t speak the local dialect. Visuals placed on the smartphone help mothers throughout their pregnancies and even after.
In Closing
CHN has achieved the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MGDs). CHN argues that this app will help improve health service deliveries and positive outcomes such as maternal and child health, guinea worm station coverage and HIV/AIDS treatment. CHNs have faced many challenges, like capacity problems and neglect by the health care system but have no plans of giving up.
In June 2019, more than 80% of CHN had had at least supervision interactions with their clients. There was a total of 215 CHNs using the CHN on the Go app as well as 55 supervisions using the app as well between January and July 2015 across five districts. CHN on the Go hopes to continue helping mothers and their children in hard-to-reach places.
– Alexis King
Photo: Flickr
Empowering Young African Entrepreneurs
Boost Africa is an initiative that partnered with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) in 2017. The initiative seeks to identify and realize new ways of supporting job creation, poverty alleviation and sustainable economic growth in African countries to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Boost Africa currently receives funding support from the European Commission and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States Secretariat to help young Africans and help young African entrepreneurs.
Mission Statement
Africa, with its young population, houses many of the world’s fastest-growing economies. However, graduates choose to work abroad after finishing their studies. This stunts the continent’s great potential for economic progress and people often refer to it as brain drain. Boost Africa seeks to resolve this challenge by creating attractive job opportunities for young Africans and empowering young African entrepreneurs.
In particular, it seeks to tackle the issue of brain drain from the angle of entrepreneurship and innovation. The initiative believes in the possibility of improving living standards by funding affordable access to energy, healthcare, financial services, education and internet connectivity. To do so, the initiative focuses on supporting start-ups, which would further democratize the economy to allow and attract young individuals from all social backgrounds to participate in and benefit from the continent’s growing economy, according to AfDB.
Boost Africa summarizes its mission in the following actionable steps: enabling entrepreneurship and innovation, developing the skills and expertise of young entrepreneurs, creating quality jobs and addressing the financial gap in the early stages of business creation.
The initiative mainly funds sectors where innovation has the greatest potential to improve the quality of life by providing access to affordable services. Such sectors include information technology, agribusiness, financial services, health, education and renewable energy, AfDB stated. Boost Africa has a special interest in start-ups that have youth and women as final beneficiaries.
Program Components
According to AfDB, Boost Africa has three main components: the Investment Programme, the Technical Assistance Pool and the Innovation and Information Lab.
The Investment Programme covers the entire venture segment, from seed funds and incubators to accelerators and business angel funds. More specifically, the Programme targets ecosystem builders that promote the health of the entrepreneurial ecosystem by promoting creativity and innovation. Both the AfDB and the EIB fund the Programme and collectively contribute €50 million. Third-party investors and investors through financial intermediaries are also eligible to co-invest.
The Technical Assistance Pool focuses on instilling best practices in investing. It seeks to do so by improving the investment readiness of fund managers, training entrepreneurs in the technical aspects of investments and creating investors’ networks for business angels.
The Information Lab is Boost Africa’s incubator for innovation and partnerships. In addition to helping individual entrepreneurs develop their ideas, it will work with local governments to put in place best practices for entrepreneurial ecosystem interventions.
The Impact
Four years into the initiative, Boost Africa has contributed significantly to job creation and economic growth across Africa and in particular, rendered entrepreneurial finance more accessible. The initiative has provided more than €300 million to fund start-ups and provide technical assistance to entrepreneurs. To date, more than 1,080 businesses and 3,267 business owners have benefited from the initiative’s resources. Boost Africa has moreover enabled many young African women to enter the entrepreneur field, with more than 50% of the created jobs benefiting women.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Union has pledged to commit €60 million to support the sectors that the unprecedented economic, social and health challenges most affected.
From its wide-ranging impact, Boost Africa has proved to be more than a simple financing opportunity for young African entrepreneurs. The initiative deliberately focuses on African youth and specifically, young African women. This makes Boost Africa as socially motivated as it is economically motivated. In addition to advancing the development of the African economy, Boost Africa is reducing socioeconomic and gender gaps in African employment, thereby contributing greatly to the continent’s social progress.
– Emily Xin
Photo: Pexels
Energy Poverty in Ireland
The Problem
On average, Irish households are spending €21 more weekly on energy instead of other essential goods. To make matters worse, if motor fuels are included, families are spending €38 more weekly than before the recent inflation, according to The Irish Times.
According to research by the Irish Houses of the Oireachtas, “it is well established that certain groups are more vulnerable to energy poverty and its consequences.” Research by the House discussed that not only do poorer households have limited capacity to support their energy needs due to economic restraints, but they also frequently have increased energy costs. Many of the poorer households in Ireland live in less energy-efficient accommodation, such as mobile homes and trailers, which leads to higher energy costs.
The groups suffering from increased energy costs the most are the Irish Traveller and Roma communities residing in Ireland. These communities frequently face “financial exclusion” and energy-inefficient accommodation. In fact, 40% of Travellers and Romas in Ireland significantly struggle to make ends meet, and 13% live in accommodations in bad condition. “These factors result in significant health and safety risks for Traveller families,” says research by the House.
Specifically, energy poverty affects individuals’ health, social inclusion and housing tenure. Additionally, homes often use cheaper alternatives, such as coal, to meet their energy needs, which has serious effects on air quality and climate change. Thus, it is in everyone’s best interest to reduce energy poverty and ensure all households can safely meet their energy needs.
Possible Solutions
Social Justice Ireland, a think tank and justice advocacy organization, stated that, in theory, the solution to both the financial and environmental costs is as simple as making homes more energy-efficient. This would reduce the carbon emission of individual homes and require less fuel, in return reducing cost. In order to do so, the organization suggests a “state-led retrofitting scheme” to improve the condition of poorer quality homes.
In research by the House, it endorsed the need for grants and programs in order to retrofit homes. However, it also suggested the need for “income supports in the form of transfer payments” and subsidizing energy in order to prevent more homes from falling below the threshold for energy poverty.
National Efforts
Currently, the Irish government aims to alleviate the effects of spiking energy prices by cutting indirect taxes on fuel, such as the carbon tax. However, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has criticized the government’s efforts, as “most of the aggregate gains would go to the highest-income 40% of households while less than a third would go to the lowest-income 40%,” The Irish Times reports. Alternatively, the think tank suggested income supports, such as welfare payments, similar to the recommendation by the Irish Houses of the Oireachtas.
Unfortunately, according to Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, “the Government might already be at the limit” of what it can do, due to the constantly rising levels of energy poverty in Ireland.
Local Actions and NGO Efforts
Considering the government’s limited ability to act, local and NGO actions are even more valuable in alleviating and preventing energy poverty than usual.
Locally, according to a report by the European Commission, the Deep Retrofit Transforms Wexford Sheltered Housing project has helped retrofit 12 one-bedroom homes, including social housing, in Wexford, Ireland. The projects will not only have serious economic and environmental benefits but will also benefit the homeowners’ health and wellbeing.
Furthermore, Energy Action, established in 1988, fights to address energy, specifically fuel poverty in Dublin, Ireland. The NGO, which was “Ireland’s first community-based energy project,” provides free insulation in the homes of the disadvantaged, such as the elderly and poor. Since its founding, Energy Action has insulated 35,000 homes. The remarkable NGO has also helped tackle poverty in Ireland by employing and training the formerly long-time unemployed, “providing them with sustainable and ecologically sound employment opportunities.”
Although Ireland lacks a national program to tackle energy poverty, Energy Action supports multiple “community-based organizations ” fighting energy poverty throughout the country to get started with their own projects.
– Lena Maassen
Photo: Flickr
7 Key Points from the USGLC Global Impact Forum 2022
7 Key Discussions of the USGLC Global Impact Forum 2022
The USGLC Global Impact Forum reminds the U.S. about the importance of remaining engaged globally and providing adequate foreign aid for those in need.
– Claudia Efemini
Photo: Flickr