The education system in Nigeria faces several barriers, however, organizations are working to strengthen these systems, recognizing that education is the pathway out of poverty. Geographical difficulties, gender inequality and circumstances of poverty impact students’ abilities to attend school.
Education in Nigeria
In Nigeria, primary education is “free and compulsory,” yet the primary school net enrollment rate stood at just 64% in 2010, according to the latest available data. In the northern region of Nigeria, net school attendance rates are particularly low at just 53%, according to UNICEF. UNICEF also highlights the gender disparities in school enrollment, with just 58% of girls enrolled in primary school in 2010. These disparities are greater in the north because there are more economic barriers and socio-cultural norms that discourage school attendance, especially that of females.
Secondary education is helpful in bettering the development of the country and securing higher-paying job opportunities for the population. Over the years, Nigeria has made strides in gross secondary school enrollment rates, going from nearly 32% in 2007 to 43% in 2018, which is a significant change although still low. If one analyzes further, gender disparities are still visible in secondary education with 42% of girls enrolled in 2018 in comparison to 44% of males.
Population Increase
The population in Nigeria has increased significantly over the years, standing at 206 million people and making Nigeria the most populated country on the African continent. This population growth, however, means there are not enough schools to adequately serve the entire population. Overcrowded classrooms in Nigeria are not uncommon — UNESCO recommends 30 students per teacher yet many classes contain more than 100 students. Overcrowded classrooms are difficult to manage and are not conducive to both learning and teaching.
Lack of Equipment and Teacher Shortages
Because there is a general shortage of school resources, facilities and equipment, many schools must share laboratories and equipment. This serves as a barrier to learning because learning depends on the accessibility of the laboratory or equipment. Because there is also a shortage of teachers in the secondary education system in Nigeria (less than 50% of the required number of teachers), teachers cannot give students individualized attention because there are so many students in a classroom.
One of the main problems that threaten the education system in Nigeria is “ineffective monitoring of the implementation of educational policy.” In addition, there are disparities in resources allocated to government schools versus public schools, the latter often enduring fewer resources and equipment.
Nigeria Partnership for Education Project (NIPEP)
Beginning in 2015 with a budget of $100 million, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has helped train and improve the quality of teachers in five Nigerian states through the Nigeria Partnership for Education Project (NIPEP). The overall aim of the project was to keep children in school, with a particular focus on girls, and increase the quality of education, even in religious schools.
Each school decides how to use the grants from the advice of the school management committees because schools know their unique needs. Overall, the GPE support in Nigeria has benefited more than 46,000 schools through learning environment improvements. The GPE assistance also allowed for the training of more than 132,000 educators and scholarships for more than 417,000 girls to purchase school attire and supplies.
The program came to a close in 2020 but the GPE continues to help Nigeria to alleviate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the peak of the pandemic in June 2020, the “GPE approved a $15 million COVID-19 emergency grant to support the country’s response to the pandemic in 16 states.” In August 2020, the GPE gave Nigeria a grant of $20 million to support the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, “focusing on girls and internally displaced children, as well as host and marginalized communities who are suffering from lack of access to education.”
Looking Ahead
Education provides skills that increase job opportunities and earnings while helping to protect people from socio-economic vulnerabilities. A more equitable expansion of education would reduce inequality and lift the impoverished from the bottom rung of the ladder. Therefore, improving the education system in Nigeria would help improve inequality and poverty rates in the country.
– Ander Moreno
Photo: Flickr
Gene-edited Crops to Enhance Food Security in China
On January 24, 2022, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs published new guidelines for the approval of gene-edited crops. These guidelines come amid an influx of measures “aimed at overhauling China’s seed industry” and ensuring the nation has the ability to provide enough food for its own people as the world’s largest population. Given the Chinese government’s strong investment in gene-editing, it is important to examine the impact of this technology on food security in China.
Barriers to Food Security in China
What is Gene Editing?
Simply put, gene editing is the altering of a plant’s genes to adjust or enhance its performance. Unlike its counterpart, gene modification, which introduces a foreign gene into a plant’s DNA, gene editing tweaks existing genes in plants to make genes more efficient.
The process involves the use of biological catalysts, such as “transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs) and CRISPR/Cas systems” that can “be engineered to bind to any DNA sequence.” The main advantages of gene editing are affordability, precision and efficiency. With gene editing, plant breeders can achieve results comparable to traditional breeding methods but within a shorter period of time and “with greater precision than ever before.” In addition, gene editing can curb hunger and malnutrition by providing higher-yielding, nutritious crops that are resilient to pests, diseases and environmental changes, thus sustaining the agricultural economies of areas that rely on farming produce for both food security and income. In crop science, genome editing has shown the ability to create less sugary potatoes and “a soybean containing high levels of omega-3.”
China’s Gene Editing Guidelines
Although China has performed more extensive research on gene editing than any other country, none of the gene-altered crops have yet reached commercialization. However, the new guidelines may change that. The guidelines “stipulate that once gene-edited plants have completed pilot trials, a production certificate can be applied for, skipping the lengthy field trials required for the approval of a [genetically modified] plant.” This means that approval for a gene-edited plant could range from one to two years in comparison to about six years for genetically modified plants. The crop must “also pose no danger to the environment and China’s food security.” Researchers are confident that these new trial rules will significantly boost the “yields, taste and resilience” of crops, thereby strengthening food security in China.
Looking Ahead
In light of this, many researchers are actively working to research and develop a successful gene-edited crop. For example, Caixin Gao, a plant biologist and an employee of the Chinese Academy of Science’s Institute of Genetics and Development Biology, worked “on developing a strain of wheat that combats mildew since 2014.” Although Gao’s research team could remove the gene that “makes wheat prone to fungal growth,” the wheat’s post-editing growth faced stunting. However, since realizing that the issue stems from the inadequate repression of the sugar-producing gene, the researchers strongly believe that they have managed to isolate a high-yielding, fungal-resistant wheat strain. Therefore, this crop may be among the first to receive approval for commercialization. Overall, gene-edited crops show potential to enhance food security in China and across the world.
– Divine Adeniyi
Photo: Unsplash
The Rehabilitation 2030 Initiative
The World Health Organization (WHO) has made rehabilitation one of its top priorities over the next several years through the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative. This program strives to increase the availability and accessibility of rehabilitation services around the world. According to WHO, rehabilitation involves “a set of interventions designed to optimize functioning and reduce disability in individuals with health conditions in interaction with their environment.” Treatment can involve a combination of assistive devices, counseling and therapy to achieve this outcome. Unfortunately, “in some low- and middle-income countries, more than 50% of people do not receive the rehabilitation services” necessary to live a better quality of life. The Rehabilitation 2030 initiative seeks to address this.
The Global Need for Rehabilitation
Hundreds of millions of malaria cases occur every year with the large majority happening in developing tropical nations in Africa and Southeast Asia. Around 10% of malaria survivors experience significant cognitive and neurological impairments that can impact their motor function, hearing and sight and their ability to process information. Rehabilitative techniques, such as cognitive therapy, can treat these disorders and give people a chance to improve their health and quality of life. Unfortunately, cognitive exercises and other similar rehab treatments are not widely available in many countries with high rates of malaria.
Over the past decade, the prevalence of diseases associated with severe disabilities has increased by more than 20%. This includes ailments like rheumatoid arthritis and cancer that can take a heavy physical toll on an individual, limiting one’s independence. The technologies and knowledge to rehabilitate many of these symptoms exist, but their availability is inadequate in many parts of the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In fact, the availability of trained rehabilitation specialists is about 10 per one million people.
Even when these services are readily available, cost, lack of transportation and waiting times serve as constraints to accessibility. Individuals with disabilities who go without rehabilitation are likely to remain hospitalized for longer and are at higher risk of developing complications. They are also less likely to achieve the independence required to return to employment and their social roles.
Disabilities and Poverty
Around “50% of disabilities are preventable” and tie closely with poverty. Unmanaged disability can become an obstacle to education, impacting literacy rates. According to a 2000 publication by the Department for International Development (DFID), UNESCO estimates that “1–2% of children with disabilities in developing countries receive an education.” Without access to an adequate education, people with disabilities are unlikely to find gainful employment. In turn, many of those individuals cannot pay for the cost of their own care, placing that burden on other family members.
In addition, families members may have to drop out of school or work to care for the person with a disability, reducing household incomes and closing the doors to future prosperity. These outcomes not only hurt those with disabilities and their families but also the societies that host them. Communities without adequate rehabilitation services bear financial burdens that go beyond direct medical costs, such as the loss of otherwise productive members of society who previously could contribute to the economy.
Rehabilitation 2030 Initiative
In 2017, more than 200 stakeholders met in Geneva to support WHO’s “Rehabilitation 2030: a call for action” conference. From this, the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative was born with an emphasis on three points:
Under this initiative, participating nations accept these three points and agree to commit themselves to 10 areas of action. These areas address the need for rehab financing, the strengthening of networks that connect people and health care services and the need for further research into rehabilitation. In support of these goals, WHO has lent technical assistance to more than 20 countries in the creation of strategic plans. In 2019, representatives from member states and organizations reconvened and shared their strategies and progress with each other, reifying their commitments to increasing the availability of rehabilitation.
There is a growing need for expanding the availability of rehabilitative care around the world. Untreated disability can constrain people’s learning and economic potential. Fortunately, many nations around the world are acknowledging the importance of rehabilitative care through their commitments to the Rehabilitation 2030 initiative and strive to improve services.
– Gonzalo Rodriguez
Photo: Flickr
Strengthening the Education System in Nigeria
The education system in Nigeria faces several barriers, however, organizations are working to strengthen these systems, recognizing that education is the pathway out of poverty. Geographical difficulties, gender inequality and circumstances of poverty impact students’ abilities to attend school.
Education in Nigeria
In Nigeria, primary education is “free and compulsory,” yet the primary school net enrollment rate stood at just 64% in 2010, according to the latest available data. In the northern region of Nigeria, net school attendance rates are particularly low at just 53%, according to UNICEF. UNICEF also highlights the gender disparities in school enrollment, with just 58% of girls enrolled in primary school in 2010. These disparities are greater in the north because there are more economic barriers and socio-cultural norms that discourage school attendance, especially that of females.
Secondary education is helpful in bettering the development of the country and securing higher-paying job opportunities for the population. Over the years, Nigeria has made strides in gross secondary school enrollment rates, going from nearly 32% in 2007 to 43% in 2018, which is a significant change although still low. If one analyzes further, gender disparities are still visible in secondary education with 42% of girls enrolled in 2018 in comparison to 44% of males.
Population Increase
The population in Nigeria has increased significantly over the years, standing at 206 million people and making Nigeria the most populated country on the African continent. This population growth, however, means there are not enough schools to adequately serve the entire population. Overcrowded classrooms in Nigeria are not uncommon — UNESCO recommends 30 students per teacher yet many classes contain more than 100 students. Overcrowded classrooms are difficult to manage and are not conducive to both learning and teaching.
Lack of Equipment and Teacher Shortages
Because there is a general shortage of school resources, facilities and equipment, many schools must share laboratories and equipment. This serves as a barrier to learning because learning depends on the accessibility of the laboratory or equipment. Because there is also a shortage of teachers in the secondary education system in Nigeria (less than 50% of the required number of teachers), teachers cannot give students individualized attention because there are so many students in a classroom.
One of the main problems that threaten the education system in Nigeria is “ineffective monitoring of the implementation of educational policy.” In addition, there are disparities in resources allocated to government schools versus public schools, the latter often enduring fewer resources and equipment.
Nigeria Partnership for Education Project (NIPEP)
Beginning in 2015 with a budget of $100 million, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has helped train and improve the quality of teachers in five Nigerian states through the Nigeria Partnership for Education Project (NIPEP). The overall aim of the project was to keep children in school, with a particular focus on girls, and increase the quality of education, even in religious schools.
Each school decides how to use the grants from the advice of the school management committees because schools know their unique needs. Overall, the GPE support in Nigeria has benefited more than 46,000 schools through learning environment improvements. The GPE assistance also allowed for the training of more than 132,000 educators and scholarships for more than 417,000 girls to purchase school attire and supplies.
The program came to a close in 2020 but the GPE continues to help Nigeria to alleviate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the peak of the pandemic in June 2020, the “GPE approved a $15 million COVID-19 emergency grant to support the country’s response to the pandemic in 16 states.” In August 2020, the GPE gave Nigeria a grant of $20 million to support the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, “focusing on girls and internally displaced children, as well as host and marginalized communities who are suffering from lack of access to education.”
Looking Ahead
Education provides skills that increase job opportunities and earnings while helping to protect people from socio-economic vulnerabilities. A more equitable expansion of education would reduce inequality and lift the impoverished from the bottom rung of the ladder. Therefore, improving the education system in Nigeria would help improve inequality and poverty rates in the country.
– Ander Moreno
Photo: Flickr
The Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Thailand
Exacerbated Economic Ramifications
At a glance, Thailand’s GDP fell by 6.1% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thailand saw an eight-point decline in unemployment in urban areas and based on a 2020 World Bank survey, 50% of respondents reported that the pandemic negatively affected their jobs. Similarly, 70% of respondents reported a decline in household income, with the pandemic hitting rural, low-income households the hardest.
The country’s tourism sector, accounting for 20% of nationwide employment and a fifth of the nation’s GDP, faced stagnant tourism flows amid travel bans. Consequently, Thailand’s tourism slowdown significantly affected low-skilled workers, particularly women and children, in the tourism industry.
Government Initiatives Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
In light of pandemic adversities, the Thai government responded swiftly to mitigate the crisis. A policy package, consisting of a fiscal stimulus equivalent to 10% of GDP helped the nation avoid an economic and social crisis. The World Bank reported that 780,000 additional people would have fallen into poverty without the Thai government’s introduction of financial packages.
The government’s “No One Left Behind” program in 2020 also helped mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Thailand; the government provided 80% of farming households with monthly cash transfers. In addition, the introduction of a farmers’ assistance program reached 63% of the government’s target audience.
The Current Status of Poverty Levels in Thailand
Thailand’s road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic remains promising. The unemployment rate declined by 0.5% in the first quarter of 2022 and estimates indicate that poverty levels should decline to the country’s pre-pandemic levels. Overall, the country’s economy is projected to expand by 2.9% by the end of 2022. Notably, more than 57.3 million people, more than 80% of Thailand’s overall population, have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Nonetheless, while Thailand’s economic and social sectors have improved since 2020, the nation is still facing the impacts of COVID-19 on poverty in Thailand. According to the World Bank, Thai households’ average labor income has declined while household debt has increased by 25%, resulting in increased loans to support lifestyles.
Future Undertakings
Thailand is continuing to increase its vaccination rates and boost its tourism sector to revitalize its economy. As of October 1, 2022, the Tourism of Authority of Thailand has lifted Thailand’s border restrictions, allowing travelers to visit Thailand without proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Additionally, in August 2022, the Thai government extended the previously 30-day tourist stay in Thailand to 45 days.
Amid Thailand’s reintroduction of tourism, future poverty levels remain elusive. Granting visitors extended stay without proof of a COVID-19 test could potentially bring a new wave of cases to the nation. Nonetheless, Thailand’s revitalized tourism sector will surely help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Thailand. Hopefully, increased tourism will reinvigorate Thailand’s slow economy, declining poverty levels and boosting household income for good.
– Emma He
Photo: Unsplash
Benefits of Girls’ Education In Niger
Niger, a country of 25 million people located in landlocked West Africa, is amid a wide-scale education crisis. Extreme poverty, unsafe schools, low-quality education, border conflicts, risk of sexual harassment and conservative gender norms significantly impact girls’ education in Niger. However, investing in the improvement of Nigerien girls’ education could improve the economy, create safer societies, increase women’s literacy rates, reduce child marriage and minimize conflicts, among many more benefits.
Nigerien Education Crisis
Niger currently lies at the bottom of the Girls’ Opportunity Index and is one of the most difficult countries for a girl to receive a full 12 years of education. Girls often have to travel long distances to get to school and face a significant risk of sexual harassment along the way. Another barrier to girls’ education in Niger is strict gender norms, including expectations that women solely participate in childcare, cooking and obtaining water from wells. Only 14% of women are literate in comparison to 42% of men. Improved girls’ education in Niger could have prominent social and economic impacts.
Benefits of Girls’ Education in Niger
Improvements in Girls Education
President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum has made girls’ education a primary focus of his mandate so that the country can reap the abundant benefits of girls’ education in Niger. President Bazoum recognizes that education is critical for the future of Niger and plans to focus on developing the education sector for the well-being of the nation’s young girls. He has committed to increasing Niger’s education budget to 22% by 2024. He has also promised to establish more schools and school dormitories so that fewer girls need to embark on risky journeys to get to their schools. Lastly, Bazoum has implemented a ‘zero straw-hut schools’ initiative, which will facilitate the building of better quality school infrastructure to improve the teaching environment.
Improving girls’ education will provide economic, social and health advantages, which will enhance the quality of life in Niger. The benefits of girls’ education in Niger stand to serve not just women but the entire population and should undergo implementation imminently.
– Isabella Elmasry
Photo: Flickr
How EAA is A Model of Ethical Development
With the ease and opportunity of the globalized market, it is typically advantageous for companies to outsource their production to developing countries where labor is cheap. This incentivizes manufacturers in these countries to cut their production costs as much as possible in order to maintain an edge over their competitors, which they often accomplish by slashing wages and overlooking workplace safety regulations. Described as a “race to the bottom,” this competitive dynamic forces manufacturers to constantly degrade their standards of production and places a crushing burden on workers, which impedes the ethical development of many poor countries globally.
Ethical Apparel Africa
Ethical Apparel Africa (EAA) offers an alternative to this race to the bottom by presenting a responsible model of outsourced production. EAA is an apparel manufacturing and sourcing company that currently partners with five factories in Benin and Ghana. It provides partner factories with expert guidance to improve the quality, capacity and efficiency of their production process. It also connects the partner factories with clients by persuading overseas companies to outsource their manufacturing needs to West Africa.
This operation is lucrative as the EAA facilitated roughly $5 million in exports in 2021 and the EAA expects to hit $7 million in 2022. In return for this boost in output, their partner factories reinvest their profits into the community by creating jobs, paying livable wages and offering generous employee benefits.
Job Creation
As of October 2021, EAA has created more than 1,000 local jobs and aims to create 4,000 more by 2027. On average, workers in the jobs make around four times their prior income and the workers also receive numerous employee benefits ranging from nursing care and subsidized transport to performance bonuses and free lunches. The free lunches are particularly impactful as only 33% of surveyed workers ate three square meals a day before working at EAA.
As part of its approach to ethical development, EAA is also committed to employing women, who make up around 70% of its workforce. Thanks in large part to the “race to the bottom” and its effects on exploitative workplace practices, the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that roughly 25 million people around the world are subject to forced labor. The practices disproportionately affect women and women make up 71% of forced laborers. Beyond the obvious moral objections to this modern slavery, promoting gender equality in employment is key for the region’s sustainable growth. Research shows that it equates with greater productivity, higher levels of economic resilience and more equitable distribution of incomes.
Why Africa?
There are several reasons why West Africa is a solid economic investment, and EAA’s model of ethical development shows how to utilize these advantages rather than exploit them.
These reasons mean that West Africa will likely become a major producer of international goods in the next several decades. EAA’s work in West Africa provides a model of equitable production that can help manage this expected growth in a responsible manner. By guaranteeing satisfactory wages and working conditions, their manufacturers are alleviating poverty and laying the groundwork for the region’s ethical development.
– Jack Leist
Photo: Flickr
How The Awareness Company Can Help Farmers
The Awareness Company develops information technology by using satellites, sensors, trackers, fusion engines and camera traps to improve and structure businesses globally. This technology can also help farmers be successful, subsequently improving food security and reducing food shortages globally.
What is Agritech?
Agritech is the use of technology while farming, most commonly to ensure proper growth and efficient profit for the farmers involved. People mostly use the umbrella term Agritech to refer to agriculture ranging from weather forecasting, photography by satellite, irrigation and heat and light control.
What is The Awareness Company?
The Awareness Company started in 2018 with co-founders Praiaash Ramadeen, Estelle Lubbe and Shazia Vawda in Johannesburg, South Africa. Upon its start, the Awareness Company produces HYDRA Intelligent Places, Smart Mining, Agriculture and Conservation for global use. Ecological employees and businesses can use the programs about local security, safety awareness, maintenance and conservation to inform and educate community members.
The Awareness Company has four projects they are working on with the help of technology to improve agriculture globally including FarmSecurity, FarmAwareness, AgriOne and AgriInsights. The programs give real-time data management about livestock location, water and soil analysis and insights for selling products that are otherwise unavailable for farmers working without Agritech. The technology can ensure a proper harvest and indicate if plants need more attention or focus.
How Agriculture and Technology Can Reduce Global Poverty
Technology can help improve food security and help farmers protect their land, animals and communities. The assistance of satellites, drones and automatic equipment can drastically change the crop yield and sustainability of a farm. The global use of this equipment will provide more food for low-income countries whose communities would benefit from the additional food without the hassle of possible future mistakes that could lead to the destruction of a farm. Reduced prices, higher crop productivity and worker safety are all important parts of building a safe and healthy environment that ensures the growth of a country regarding its food supply for citizens.
Food security is essential for stopping global poverty. With the help of technology, agriculture receives more jobs and a boost in the economy. As a result, fewer people will starve and food shortages both locally and globally will decrease. According to the USDA, positive impacts include poverty reduction, trade and export opportunities, global security and improved citizen health and health care. The help of technology can strengthen and prevent any future disasters that may arise. By alerting the farmer with the knowledge of the new technologies and introducing the machinery/software, the farmer will be able to accomplish more knowing what was unavailable before is now available for the enrichment of their work.
The Future of Agritech with The Awareness Company
The Awareness Company won Microsoft’s AgriChallenge, where Microsoft announced and invited different technology companies to show what the companies could do in August 2020. After the investment from Microsoft in December 2021, The Awareness Company’s Co-Founder and CEO Praiaash Ramadeen said “That’s why Microsoft’s support and investment in helping us as a local, homegrown business to grow and develop solutions that focus on solving real-world problems is so meaningful… we have already done in the agricultural space to promote sustainable agriculture and food security through intelligent data.”
The Awareness Company can help farmers find reliable solutions to arising problems globally through the use of technology. With 2 to 4 million small farmers in South Africa, the use of artificial intelligence can provide a helpful boost in the daily lives of both farmers and consumers.
– Kyle Swingle
Photo: Flickr
3 Organizations Providing Aid to Ukraine
Tensions mounted between the Russian and Ukrainian governments for years following the fall of the Soviet Union. But, in the latter half of 2021, Russia drew immediate international attention to the region when it built up a military presence along the Russia-Ukraine border. The aggressive action received immediate criticism from the international community, and on Feb. 24, 2022, the United Nations Security Council convened to discourage further conflict. Amid the meeting, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Countries, international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are providing aid to Ukraine in response to the invasion.
The Humanitarian Consequences
Since the invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has noted more than 1,500 casualties. As of March 11, 2022, more than 3 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries and experts predict that the conflict will have broader ramifications for international security. Russian military attacks crippled hospitals and residential areas, and against this backdrop of violence, Ukrainians both in and out of the country lack important resources. Vulnerable populations, including women, children and those below the poverty line, particularly need help as they lack basic medical services and necessities like food, water and shelter.
3 Organizations Providing Aid to Ukraine
Amid the protests and violence, several countries and organizations expressed their support for the Ukrainian people by providing aid to Ukraine.
Looking Ahead
Though it may seem difficult to imagine an end to the years-long conflict, individuals, organizations and countries across the world are directing their attention to hurt and displaced Ukrainian populations and there are ways for ordinary citizens to help. As the crisis unfolds, it is more important than ever for ongoing relief efforts to both receive and provide aid to Ukraine to protect vulnerable populations.
– Lauren Sung
Photo: Flickr
Charities Operating in Belize
Belize is the 36th most poverty-stricken country as of 2020. Poverty affects about 42% of Belize’s general population and 58% of children under 18 are multi-dimensionally poor. In 2020, the gross national income per capita in Belize was $3,970, down from $4,700 in 2019. Despite the statistics, there are many organizations and charities operating in Belize to decrease the country’s poverty rate.
Belize Food For The Poor and A Hand to the Needy
Belize Food For The Poor (FFTP) is one of the charities operating in Belize. It began work in 1986 hoping to address poverty in Belize. Since then, one of its main focuses has been on the country’s school feeding program. In Belize, 19% of children experience stunted growth due to malnutrition according to UNICEF. Belize Food For The Poor partners with Belize organization, A Hand to the Needy, to provide help with basic necessities to more than 2,500 families in 44 schools. In 2020, Belize Food For The Poor targeted the COVID-19 crisis by sending 10 trailer loads of food and hygiene products to Belize for those affected by the pandemic. The organization sent 38 trailer loads of essential items ranging from clothing and paper products to food items and household goods to Belize in 2020.
Pack for a Purpose – Belize
Pack for a Purpose is an international organization making efforts to educate individuals on how to supply under-developed countries with basic necessities. The organization works with travelers to supply essentials such as school and medical items to the travelers’ destinations. The supplies go to individuals facing poverty in Belize. Pack for a Purpose initiatives include bettering health care, education, child and animal welfare as well as socioeconomic development. The organization also works with destinations and resorts to bring items to local communities. One partner organization is the Hamanasi Adventure and Dive Resort, which encourages guests to bring any donatable items along for the trip. In 2017, children from the Inspiration Center in Belize City made drawings that were auctioned off at an event to raise funds for the center. This became possible through Pack for a Purpose and its donations of craft and school supplies.
World Pediatric Project – Belize
Latin America’s health care systems are fragmented, making it difficult to ensure health equity for its citizens. Many children in Belize are not registered at birth, meaning that the children have little to no health care options. Because Belize has a population of fewer than 400,00 individuals, it does not have an income tax revenue large enough to fund many public hospitals. The World Pediatric Project of Belize recognizes this issue and works to improve children’s access to medical care. It has been providing Belizean children with care for more than 20 years and has provided 9,096 medical services to 3,274 children. The project has also trained more than 200 health workers in the country.
Belize has historically struggled with widespread poverty and lack of resources. However, the charities operating in Belize have been working closely with the nation to help those in poverty. Their efforts have helped thousands of Belize citizens and continue to do so.
– Katelyn Rogers
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
Central Bank Digital Currencies in Emerging Economies
Financial exclusion remains a challenge in many low-income countries. This is especially true in rural areas, which do not have easy access to banks. Even in areas with bank branches, community members may find themselves excluded because many low-income countries have a small financial sector with few financial institutions. The lack of financial accessibility results in high interest rates and expensive charges for ATM use and other transactions. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are a dynamic tool in providing solutions to improve financial inclusion.
What are Central Bank Digital Currencies?
Central Bank Digital Currencies is digital fiat currency (or national currency, such as the peso or naira) that the central bank regulates. Currently, only nine countries have launched CBDCs. The Bahamas was the first country to do so, in October 2020. However, 16 countries are developing them and 40 countries are researching the possibility of instituting them. The potential of central bank digital currencies in emerging economies is particularly strong.
Why Central Bank Digital Currencies in Emerging Economies?
Central banks across the world are considering launching CBDCs for various reasons. For one, the rising influence of digital currency has created the conditions in which central banks could lose control of currency regulation, as well as increasing preference for digital payments over cash. However, there are several unique reasons why central bank digital currencies in emerging economies are especially relevant because of the ways they can expand financial inclusion.
Looking Ahead
Financial inclusion is vital to social inclusion and combats poverty and income inequality by offering financial opportunities for low-income people and those involuntarily excluded from the financial market. The World Bank’s goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 includes the key component of reducing income inequality. CBDC initiatives provide a dynamic tool in addressing income equality.
More countries are updating their financial framework and promoting digital financial literacy. For example, Aadhaar, India is developing a digital ID system that will encourage undocumented people to join the financial sector. This could ultimately provide secure transactions for those typically excluded from the financial market. Strengthening innovative financial frameworks such as CBDCs encourage a more equitable and inclusive global regulatory system.
– Jennifer Hendricks
Photo: Flickr