Greece has significant potential when it comes to sustainable energy, with plenty of wind, water and sun to go around. The Greek government is implementing creative solutions to rapidly propel the advancement of renewable energy in Greece.
Green Energy in Greece
For years, Greece has lagged behind other European countries in terms of renewable energy, sticking with coal as a primary source of power. While other nations installed wind and solar farms, Greece’s primary energy producer, the Public Power Corporation (PPC) insisted on burning coal for decades, causing carbon emissions to skyrocket past what they otherwise could have been. Fortunately, in the past few years, Greece and the PPC are taking steps toward renewable energy.
Overcoming Socioeconomic Obstacles
When switching to renewable energy, many nations struggle to balance the tightrope that is the free market, as dramatic sanctions on companies can have very serious economic consequences that personally affect citizens. Generally speaking, the people of Greece have supported the switch to renewable energy, but the issue is not without nuance. There is often a battle between what is affordable and what is environmentally friendly and the stakes are high for low-income families who cannot afford a higher cost of living.
As such, there are obstacles to the implementation of renewable energy in Greece. The coal industry is an enormous employer and shutting down coal energy means thousands of job losses and bankrupt businesses. Residents of the Mesohora village opposed the construction of a hydroelectric dam in the area as the dam would inevitably cause the area to flood, requiring residents to move elsewhere.
Combating Aftereffects
These foreseeable issues are not impossible to overcome and Greece is prepared to deal with them in creative ways that ensure the best outcomes for the citizens, the economy and the climate, giving hope to other nations struggling to strike a similar balance.
Perhaps the best example of this is the auction program that the European Union approved in November 2021. Greece is allotting roughly €2.27 billion to offer as incentives to help renewable energy producers. This idea is not new and often faces criticism because of the way it disrupts market competition.
However, this program solves that issue by awarding money through an auction system. Companies must compete against each other to receive this subsidy and receive judgment based on how efficient and affordable their results are. Therefore, the only companies that receive aid will be the companies that present the best and most well-balanced ideas regarding renewable energy.
At the beginning of the partnerships, the winning companies receive a set “reference price” that is a rough reflection of what the country can afford to pay. If the newly selected companies can keep their costs below that reference price, the government will pay them the difference. If their prices rise above the reference price, the company must compensate the government with the difference between prices.
This way, the government always pays the same price for renewable energy, but the companies have the motivation to keep costs as low as possible, while simultaneously having a stable market to work with.
Additionally, the Greek government has introduced subsidies for low-income families that allow them to receive free electricity from solar power plants. It is also investing money toward minimizing the effects that energy switching will have on citizens’ livelihoods.
Current Energy Situation
The transition to renewable energy in Greece is seeing success. In early April 2022, Greece opened the “largest double-sided solar farm” in all of Europe.
Interestingly, the farm construction stems from the company Hellenic Petroleum, the largest oil refinery corporation in the country, now headed for greener pastures. The solar farm will provide power to about 75,000 households, representing a significant move toward renewable energy.
For years, the PPC was adamant about using coal, but this is no longer the case. The PPC is well on its way toward clean energy. Important to note is the fact that fossil fuels are unequal — different fuels produce different amounts of carbon dioxide. For every megajoule of energy produced, high-caliber coal generates roughly 2.6 times more carbon dioxide than natural gas generates.
Low-quality coal, such as the lignite coal Greece uses, produces at least four times more carbon dioxide than natural gas does. Even though switching from one fossil fuel to another may not sound like an exceptional solution, for Greece, it could significantly reduce carbon emissions.
Therefore, the PPC is using gas as a stepping stone on its path to neutralizing emissions — the corporation plans to primarily use gas by 2025 and completely eliminate its use of coal by 2028.
Looking Ahead
Greece met its 2020 goal of renewable energy use with renewables accounting for around 22% of its total energy use. According to the country’s National Energy and Climate Plan, the nation expects to generate 61% of its energy through renewable sources by 2030. By 2050, Europe has a plan to be carbon-neutral with net-zero emissions. Renewable energy in Greece is certainly on its way to success. Despite the seemingly insurmountable economic challenges that are commonly tangled up in the renewable energy issue, the message is clear: it is possible to implement renewable energy so that everyone can have access to it.
– Mia Sharpe
Photo: Piqsels
Renewable Energy in Greece
Greece has significant potential when it comes to sustainable energy, with plenty of wind, water and sun to go around. The Greek government is implementing creative solutions to rapidly propel the advancement of renewable energy in Greece.
Green Energy in Greece
For years, Greece has lagged behind other European countries in terms of renewable energy, sticking with coal as a primary source of power. While other nations installed wind and solar farms, Greece’s primary energy producer, the Public Power Corporation (PPC) insisted on burning coal for decades, causing carbon emissions to skyrocket past what they otherwise could have been. Fortunately, in the past few years, Greece and the PPC are taking steps toward renewable energy.
Overcoming Socioeconomic Obstacles
When switching to renewable energy, many nations struggle to balance the tightrope that is the free market, as dramatic sanctions on companies can have very serious economic consequences that personally affect citizens. Generally speaking, the people of Greece have supported the switch to renewable energy, but the issue is not without nuance. There is often a battle between what is affordable and what is environmentally friendly and the stakes are high for low-income families who cannot afford a higher cost of living.
As such, there are obstacles to the implementation of renewable energy in Greece. The coal industry is an enormous employer and shutting down coal energy means thousands of job losses and bankrupt businesses. Residents of the Mesohora village opposed the construction of a hydroelectric dam in the area as the dam would inevitably cause the area to flood, requiring residents to move elsewhere.
Combating Aftereffects
These foreseeable issues are not impossible to overcome and Greece is prepared to deal with them in creative ways that ensure the best outcomes for the citizens, the economy and the climate, giving hope to other nations struggling to strike a similar balance.
Perhaps the best example of this is the auction program that the European Union approved in November 2021. Greece is allotting roughly €2.27 billion to offer as incentives to help renewable energy producers. This idea is not new and often faces criticism because of the way it disrupts market competition.
However, this program solves that issue by awarding money through an auction system. Companies must compete against each other to receive this subsidy and receive judgment based on how efficient and affordable their results are. Therefore, the only companies that receive aid will be the companies that present the best and most well-balanced ideas regarding renewable energy.
At the beginning of the partnerships, the winning companies receive a set “reference price” that is a rough reflection of what the country can afford to pay. If the newly selected companies can keep their costs below that reference price, the government will pay them the difference. If their prices rise above the reference price, the company must compensate the government with the difference between prices.
This way, the government always pays the same price for renewable energy, but the companies have the motivation to keep costs as low as possible, while simultaneously having a stable market to work with.
Additionally, the Greek government has introduced subsidies for low-income families that allow them to receive free electricity from solar power plants. It is also investing money toward minimizing the effects that energy switching will have on citizens’ livelihoods.
Current Energy Situation
The transition to renewable energy in Greece is seeing success. In early April 2022, Greece opened the “largest double-sided solar farm” in all of Europe.
Interestingly, the farm construction stems from the company Hellenic Petroleum, the largest oil refinery corporation in the country, now headed for greener pastures. The solar farm will provide power to about 75,000 households, representing a significant move toward renewable energy.
For years, the PPC was adamant about using coal, but this is no longer the case. The PPC is well on its way toward clean energy. Important to note is the fact that fossil fuels are unequal — different fuels produce different amounts of carbon dioxide. For every megajoule of energy produced, high-caliber coal generates roughly 2.6 times more carbon dioxide than natural gas generates.
Low-quality coal, such as the lignite coal Greece uses, produces at least four times more carbon dioxide than natural gas does. Even though switching from one fossil fuel to another may not sound like an exceptional solution, for Greece, it could significantly reduce carbon emissions.
Therefore, the PPC is using gas as a stepping stone on its path to neutralizing emissions — the corporation plans to primarily use gas by 2025 and completely eliminate its use of coal by 2028.
Looking Ahead
Greece met its 2020 goal of renewable energy use with renewables accounting for around 22% of its total energy use. According to the country’s National Energy and Climate Plan, the nation expects to generate 61% of its energy through renewable sources by 2030. By 2050, Europe has a plan to be carbon-neutral with net-zero emissions. Renewable energy in Greece is certainly on its way to success. Despite the seemingly insurmountable economic challenges that are commonly tangled up in the renewable energy issue, the message is clear: it is possible to implement renewable energy so that everyone can have access to it.
– Mia Sharpe
Photo: Piqsels
Macron’s Re-election and Poverty in France
After a two-week campaign against Marine Le Pen, the French people re-elected Emmanuel Macron as their president on April 24, 2022, for another five-year mandate. The man who many often call the “president of the rich” has to deal with a country that is experiencing more and more inequalities today. After a first mandate in which Macron had to deal with the yellow vests or “Gilets Jaunes” movements requesting economic and social justice, France experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Poverty in France has become central to its people, whose main concern is their purchasing power amidst rising inflation. In fact, France’s inflation rate was 4.5% in March 2022.
Poverty in France
Although many know France for how it funds education, health care services and retirement pensions, the pandemic has had an impact on the French people. COVID hit parttime workers and workers in the informal economy especially hard. Additionally, many students were ineligible for state support during the pandemic, and many migrants and clandestine workers were only able to obtain support from NGOs.
The Fight Against Poverty in France Over the Last Five Years
In order to answer the needs and requests of the French people, the French government took different measures to adapt to each crisis the country was going through. Back in 2018, Macron first began with a $9.3 billion plan to fight the poverty in which nine million people in France are living.
Macron’s philosophy has always been to allow people to get out of poverty through work. Hence, Macron’s government decreased income tax and distributed a €100 bonus to low-income workers. The government adopted the “no matter the cost policy” to support businesses that the pandemic affected, thus protecting as many jobs as possible starting with the medical professionals who benefited from a €9 billion salary increase.
What About the Next Five Years?
Despite the fact that the populist class voted for Marine Le Pen, Macron has plans to continue his fight against poverty in France. The first measure Macron promised upon re-election was to provide “food cheques” to the people who cannot afford high-quality, local food.
With the ongoing war in Ukraine and the rise in prices of gas, Macron authorized subsidies for energy bills. However, the main measure of his program is to provide work and employment for people so they can get out of poverty. For that to happen, Macron is encouraging employers to recruit employees by adopting “pro-businesses reforms.”
After efforts to alleviate poverty over the last five years, the country is more in need of more reforms to fight poverty. The recently re-elected president has already started to implement some reforms and has work to do to please the important part of France’s population that is against his policies and is seeing its purchasing power diminish every day.
– Youssef Yazbek
Photo: Flickr
An Overview of the Three Seas Initiative
The Three Seas Initiative, which Polish President Andrzej Duda and former Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitrovic founded in 2015, is an economic forum of 12 Eastern and Central European nations created as a means for Eastern Europe to boost economic development, expand infrastructure and promote cooperation in the energy sector. The Three Seas Initiative works by securing investment for infrastructure, energy and digitization projects to rectify the gap between East-West and North-South infrastructure in Europe. As more investments continue to support digital infrastructure, energy and transportation projects, people in poverty in Eastern Europe are likely to experience greater economic prosperity through the increasing trade opportunities and greater access to markets through economic investment.
Three Seas Initiative Projects
As of July 2021, the Three Seas Initiative has 90 interconnection projects with a total estimated investment value of €180.9 billion. Registered in 2018, the Rail-2-Sea project is a Three Seas Initiative plan to build a railway connecting the port of Gdansk and the port of Constanta across Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. This plan will further link the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea over four different branches of a railway, each with its local plans for modernization.
Another Three Seas Initiative infrastructure plan is the Rail Baltica plan. This plan aims to increase infrastructural integration between Baltic Sea nations. More specifically, in a partnership with Finland, Rail Baltica is creating infrastructure to construct “missing cross-border connections” and “integrate the Baltic States in the European rail network” while dissolving “transport infrastructure bottlenecks.”
These plans are all, in one way or another, increasing economic interconnection and mobility between Eastern European nations. These infrastructural developments will provide more opportunities for people living in Eastern Europe by providing greater access to European markets and more efficient supply chains. The cheapening of consumer goods through trade is especially beneficial to low-income Eastern European citizens who could potentially afford better and more daily necessities.
Impact of the Three Seas Initiative
Nations within the Three Seas Initiative saw greater economic growth and faced less economic shock from the COVID-19 pandemic compared to other European Union (EU) nations. According to a July 2021 speech by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, “During 2015-2019 they [Three Seas Initiative nations] averaged 3.8% GDP growth a year, nearly double the rate of EU-15.” Furthermore, the economies of Three Seas nations only contracted by approximately 4% whereas Western European economies shrunk by approximately double that.
Throughout the initiative, the poverty rates of many nations, especially in Southeast Europe, have declined. For example, Romania had a poverty rate of 25.4% in 2015, the founding year of the Three Seas Initiative. Right before the pandemic in 2019, Romania’s poverty rate declined to 23.8%.
The Three Seas Initiative similarly oversaw a decrease in the risk of poverty in Hungary with 28.2% of people facing the risk of poverty in 2015 in comparison to 17.8% in 2019. Slovenia saw a decrease in poverty as well, albeit relatively minor from 13.9% in 2015 to 12% in 2018, and it only rose .4% in 2019.
The Three Seas Initiative has vast potential to deepen economic ties within Europe, foster sustainable European energy and reduce poverty. As it carries out more projects, the U.S. and the EU can continue to encourage economic investment and development of the Three Seas Initiative countries. Such economic investment and capital inflow have the potential to make Eastern Europe more prosperous while lifting people out of poverty.
– Alexander Richter
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Impact of USAID Programs in Timor-Leste
In 1975, Timor-Leste declared independence from Portugal. In the same year, Indonesia launched a military invasion and annexed the fledgling state. In 1999, 78% of Timor-Leste’s population voted for independence from Indonesia, and in 2002, Timor-Leste finally gained full independence. The nation’s road to independence was anything but smooth, especially considering that anti-independence Indonesian militias conducted a scorched earth campaign in 1999, which led to the deaths of 2,600 civilians and the displacement of 30,000 locals. Despite these setbacks, Timor-Leste has grown into a strong democracy with multiple peaceful transfers of power.
While Timor-Leste has consolidated its political institutions, the Global Hunger Index describes the hunger level in Timor-Leste as “serious” in 2021, ranking the nation 108th out of 116 countries in terms of hunger severity. In addition, Timor-Leste ranks 121st out of 190 countries in nominal GDP per capita at $2,377 as of 2017. USAID programs in Timor-Leste continue to support Timor-Leste’s democratic institutions while also working to address Timor-Leste’s economic and infrastructural setbacks.
USAID’s Tourism for All
Launched in 2018, USAID’s Tourism for All initiative aims to promote Timor-Leste as an internationally competitive tourism destination. The project goal is to “diversify [Timor-Leste’s] economy by promoting eco-friendly tourism based on the country’s rich heritage” and promote sustainable investments from the private sector by locals, international institutions and NGOs.
One accomplishment of the Tourism for All initiative in promoting sustainability and independence from assistance is training local Timor-Leste citizens. USAID gave 611 participants in the private and public sector more than 11,000 hours of job training in hospitality, tourism and food safety. This training aims to foster a new generation of Timor-Leste locals to continue sustaining Timor-Leste’s tourism industry independent of external assistance.
In 2019 and 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to Timor-Leste’s tourism industry. However, the local Timor-Leste “Ha’u Nia Timor-Leste” campaign and USAID’s Tourism for All initiative helped pivot Timor-Leste’s tourism industry from focusing on foreign tourism to placing a greater emphasis on domestic tourism.
This partnership is based on the idea of national love for Timor-Leste and solidarity with the struggling tourism industry in the face of the pandemic. USAID describes one of the objectives of this campaign as “inspiring Timorese people to engage in recreational travel on a more regular basis and to consider taking up leisure activities such as scuba diving.”
USAID Customs Reform Project
To address Timor-Leste’s financial issues, the USAID Customs Reform Project, which began in 2017, seeks to make trade easier with Timor-Leste by implementing standard customs clearance and transit procedures. This initiative has provided Timor-Leste with technical assistance and reformed Timor-Leste’s customs process to better facilitate trade and increase domestic revenues. One way the USAID Customs Reform Project is making transit into Timor-Leste more efficient is through the development of the Inter-Ministerial Despacho in 2019 to standardize and integrate the operating hours between customs authority and other government agencies.
To further facilitate transit into Timor-Leste, the Customs Reform Project has been implementing anti-corruption measures. In 2019, the USAID team began to develop training material for a Code of Conduct. Furthermore, during the same year, the USAID Customs Reform Project developed an Interests, Assets and Liabilities Declaration form that any customs authority staff must complete. These employees must declare their own and their direct family’s financial interests, assets, liabilities and any potential conflicts of interest. These drafted reforms intend to stifle corruption while ensuring the more efficient transit of goods in Timor-Leste.
Looking Ahead
USAID programs in Timor-Leste promote economic investment, anti-corruption measures and the elimination of unnecessary trade barriers. While Timor-Leste has come a long way since its independence from Portugal and Indonesia, economic issues and oil dependency still plague Timor-Leste. USAID programs in Timor-Leste continue to play an important role in addressing and mitigating these issues.
– Alexander Richter
Photo: Flickr
Women’s Rights in Japan
The World Economic Forum ranks countries’ progress toward gender equality by assessing gender gaps across four categories: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival and Political Empowerment. According to its 2021 Global Gender Gap Report, Japan ranks 120th out of the 156 included countries. This lower-end ranking highlights the struggle for the progression of women’s rights in Japan. For example, despite Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe’s intention to implement gender equality reforms, particularly in the workplace, Japan scores very poorly in the Economic Participation and Opportunity index, with only 60.4% of this gap closed as of 2021. A closer look at women’s rights in Japan within the political and workplace environments provides insight into the country’s progress.
Japan’s Political Arena
Women endure significant underrepresentation in Japan’s political environment, with only 45 women elected to the 465-member House of Representatives in 2021. As such, the Inter-Parliamentary Union ranked Japan 165th on its index of women in national parliaments. The 2003 prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, set the missed target of having 30% females in leadership positions by 2020. Since then, Japan has set several other goals for gender equity with little to no action. Yuriko Koike, the governor of Tokyo, referred to the gender inequality barrier for women as an “iron plate” rather than simply a “glass ceiling.” With such underrepresentation in government, women’s rights in Japan remain an issue with limited advocates for aggressive policy changes.
Women in the Workplace
According to the 2021 Global Gender Gap Report, 72% of Japanese women participate in the workforce, however, “the share of women working part-time roles is almost twice that of men.” Although Shinzo Abe, serving from 2012 to 2020, urged companies to bring more women into management positions, his efforts effectively stopped there. While there are laws that ensure equality between men and women and there are courts to hear cases of discrimination, litigation is a long (averaging five years), expensive and inconsistent process. There also remains the cultural shame of pursuing such a case.
Overwhelmingly, parenting in Japan falls on the women to ensure children succeed in a highly competitive educational system. Certain policies have emerged to alleviate some burdens, such as 12 months of parental leave at 50% income. There are also programs in place for the provision of childcare services. However, these changes have proven to be largely ineffective as the demand for childcare services grows significantly faster than the supply and there is a lack of legally binding authority for parental leave policies. Many employers, especially in small organizations, do not have specific policies around parental leave. The societal view of a woman’s place within the household is still visible in the workplace, which shows in the policies surrounding women’s rights.
Women’s Rights Progress
One success for Japanese women is that there is no gender gap in educational opportunity in terms of primary education. In addition, Japan has closed “95.3% of its secondary enrolment education gender gap and 95.2% of its tertiary enrolment education gender gap.”
For other areas of improvement, there are organizations advocating for more women in leadership positions. For example, the Japanese Women’s Leadership Initiative “empowers Japanese women to become leaders and to make positive social change and innovation in Japan.” The initiative started in 2006 in Boston, Massachusetts, with three women, Atsuko Toko Fish, Mary Lassen and Catherine Crone Coburn. The program invited emerging women leaders in Japan to participate in a four-week training during which they would develop action plans to create social change after returning to Japan. After receiving more funding, JWLI expanded to hold public forums in Japan, reaching hundreds of Japanese citizens.
Politically, the new Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, reinforces his predecessor’s commitment to promote gender equality and “become one of U.N. Women’s top contributors.”
The advancement of women’s rights in Japan may entail a long journey of fundamental reform within Japanese society, but with the pressing need for women’s economic contributions to end poverty and the rise of more women wishing to join the workplace, Japan will need to prioritize changes to women’s rights in the workplace. Although slowly, the Japanese government is taking steps toward transforming the nation into a more equitable society. Often, change does not happen linearly, but rather, exponentially. Perhaps it is Japan’s time for exponential change.
– Rachael So
Photo: Unsplash
Ukraine’s Invasion and the Food Crisis in Egypt
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 unleashed numerous consequences on the global economy, the domino effect of some of them still playing out. The increase in fuel prices in the wake of the invasion has received much media attention. However, a more overlooked consequence of the disruption of exports from both Russia and Ukraine is the detrimental effect on global food security, causing a global wheat shortage. The food crisis in Egypt has been a particular challenge.
Invasion and Wheat Exports
In 2019, Russia was the largest exporter of wheat in the world. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, Russia and Ukraine together produced 25.4% of global wheat exports. In addition to wheat, the Russian and Ukrainian markets are vital global sources for other essential food items such as corn, sugar and oil. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, the invasion could reduce wheat exports from Russia and Ukraine by 12%.
“Exports are lowered for Ukraine by four million tonnes to 20 million, as the conflict in that country is expected to disrupt exports from the Black Sea region,” according to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report.
Food Prices Inflation
Global food prices had been already steadily inflating since the beginning of the pandemic due to disruptions to supply chains. The sudden blacklisting of Russian exports and the disruption of the Ukrainian economy have spiked this inflation in recent months, with the stock market value of global agricultural commodities sharply increasing. This sudden wheat shortage in an already inflated economy is beginning to detrimentally affect food security in many developing countries reliant on Russian and Ukraine exports, such as Egypt, Sudan and Kenya.
The Egyptian Wheat Shortage
Egypt, where bread is a staple food with almost every meal, is the world’s largest importer of wheat, spending $5.2 billion in 2020. In 2021, 80% of Egyptian wheat imports came from Russia and Ukraine. The war between the two countries has therefore had a massive effect on the Egyptian economy and food security. The price of wheat has increased by 44%, compounding the price hike to the subsidized cost of bread the government had announced only weeks prior to the start of the conflict.
Subsidizing Dilemma
The subsidizing of bread costs has long been an economic staple of successive Egyptian governments, and its price increase represents an existential shift for Egyptians, resulting in a food crisis in Egypt.
“Keeping bread affordable to the poor has for 60 years been something of an informal social contract between citizens and the political authority,” said Egyptian sociologist Ammar Ali Hassan. “The symbolism associated with the loaf of bread goes well beyond it being just a consumer item. In reality, it defines the bond between people and the state.” Indeed, many analysts point to the rising cost of food, particularly bread, as the breaking factor that sparked the Egyptian revolution of 2011. Therefore, the question of food security is also one of political security for both the Egyptian people and the government – and the global wheat shortage is pushing it into the forefront of Egyptian policy in 2022.
In the aftermath of the invasion, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stated that the government will go ahead with the price raise despite the global wheat shortage’s impact on imports. Madbouly pointed to the five-month worth of strategic wheat reserves as a stopgap measure. However, with the conflict not deescalating since it began, the Egyptian government is beginning to explore new alternatives to, in the short term, brave this global wheat shortage, and in the long term, lessen this dependence on food imports.
The Path to Self Sufficiency
On March 28, the Minister of Agriculture Ali Moselhi announced that the Egyptian government will seek to procure 6 million tonnes of wheat from local farmers during the upcoming wheat season between April and June, offering incentives to sell to the government rather than to the private sector. However, resolving challenges to wheat self-sufficiency in Egypt is not possible overnight.
The main challenge for the domestic agricultural industry to meet Egyptian demand and counter the current global wheat shortage is water scarcity. According to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, 97% of Egypt’s water is sourced from the Nile at 54 billion cubic meters, well below the 114 billion annual demand of the country’s fast-growing population of 100 million.
Therefore, for Egypt to be able to develop the means to domestically produce wheat for its population, it must address its long-standing water scarcity issue – and it is here where international efforts and expertise can aid Egypt in its endeavor to combat food insecurity and poverty. “The water issue is a pivotal issue in the field of achieving sustainable development, which requires increased cooperation and exchange of experiences between different countries of the world in the field of water,” said Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Atti.
The World Food Program (WFP) and the Food Crisis in Egypt
One existing avenue to aid in alleviating the food crisis in Egypt is through the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). Operating in Egypt since 1968, “the U.N. agency’s operations in Egypt are designed to respond to the country’s long-term food and nutrition insecurity.” In recent years, it has been collaborating with the Sisi government in achieving Egypt Vision 2030, a 10-pillar strategy toward sustainable political, economic and social development. Food security is to be a crucial factor to achieve in this 2030 vision and the WFP in Egypt currently collaborates with the Egyptian government to strengthen these public institutions.
The Future
First, the COVID-19 pandemic and now the sudden events in Ukraine have shown that developing countries cannot rely on supply chains for crucial commodities such as basic foodstuffs. In fact, this has long been an issue exacerbating world poverty and food insecurity even before the pandemic. While the Russian invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated food shortages around the world, it also presents an opportunity for countries long reliant on food imports to develop sustainable domestic resources to build new self-sufficient agricultural infrastructure and economic systems.
The United States and other global leaders in the international community must also seize this opportunity, providing financial aid and expertise to nation-building projects such as Egypt Vision 2030. In the short term, the immediate expansion of WFP operations in Egypt and other countries it operates in detrimentally by the Ukrainian conflict can allow these countries to set off on the path of food security while also mitigating the short term poverty and hunger the global wheat shortage could cause in 2022.
– Majeed Malhas
Photo: Flickr
Laos’ Development Into A Digital Economy
Many consider Laos one of the poorest countries in its surrounding region. However, its economy has significantly improved in the last 20 years, slowly connecting to the rest of the world digitally, especially as businesses were forced to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic. While Laos has made progress to develop a digital economy, it is still lagging behind as accessibility, quality and affordability are currently issues for its citizens. Thankfully, the Lao Ministry of Technologies and Communications has recognized the need for Laos to develop digitally. In fact, several sectors of the Lao Government are partnering with USAID to allow businesses to access the SMART UP e-learning platform to help enhance their digital literacy.
The Larger Issue
Laos’ lag in digitalization results in a lack of transparency, increased procedural hurdles for investors, high costs for business and lacking public-service delivery for the government. Laos ranks 154 of 190 in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report as well as 117 of 132 in The World Intellectual Property Organizations 2021 Global Innovation Index. Around 80% of the country works for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in which an estimated 100,000 operate informally due to “time, fees and paperwork associated with registering.”
Much of this is due to the Lao PDR’s processes being inefficient, having higher costs and disincentivizing businesses to be part of the formal economy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 78% of children in urban centers and 87.5% of children in rural areas could not access schooling. Around 48.9% of the population remained offline at the beginning of 2020. With 37.6% of the current population in urban areas and 64.2% in rural areas, Laos needs to increase its digitalization for its own development and to catch up with the rest of the world.
Efforts to Create a Digital Economy
The Lao Minister of Technologies and Communications Boveingkham Vongdara has acknowledged Laos’ need to accelerate and move into digital transformation with sustainable development. He claims the ministry is “promoting local language and creation of digital contents by developing fonts and keyboards that support the Lao language for computers and mobile devices.”
The Department of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion, Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Lao ICT Commerce association partnered with USAID to launch the SMART UP e-learning platform to help SMEs enhance their digital skills. SMART UP has eight modules that aim to help provide skills to businesses to enhance and promote themselves. It should help with digital literacy to help businesses become agile in the current economic environment, as well as to respond to digital development challenges so SMEs can survive as well as create new opportunities. With SMART UP helping SMEs and entrepreneurs, it will also create more jobs and opportunities for Lao citizens.
Within the first month of the launch, 373 users registered to use the SMART UP platform including 109 for Basic Accounting for SMEs, 63 in Digital Marketing for SMEs, 43 for Introduction to Data Analysis for SMEs, 35 in Full Stack Development, 34 in Multimedia for SMEs and 34 for Introduction to Digitalization. As a result, many small business owners have had a stronger foundation of knowledge in a quickly changing business environment.
Looking Ahead
While the COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges, it also presented opportunities for the Lao PDR to participate in the digital age and develop a digital economy. With its government recognizing the necessity for a digital economy and platforms such as SMART UP allowing citizens to become more digitally literate, Laos will elevate itself and create more opportunities for economic growth.
– Jerrett Phinney
Photo: Flickr
How Somali Women Use a Money Lending System
Displaced women in Somalia have been using an age-old money lending system to help each other. The system is known as Ayuuto, which is Somali for “help.” The informal program allows small communities of women experiencing poverty in Somalia to access money for needs and emergencies.
How Ayuuto Works
The concept of Ayuuto exists in different countries across the globe. It is a type of informal money lending system that can help provide people in impoverished communities with money in emergencies. Ayuuto primarily functions in small groups; in this case, small groups of Somali women who live in camping settlements across Somalia. The women meet once a month in their respective camps and add a fixed amount of money to a pot. The manager of the group selects one person to lend money to each month, which is usually whoever is experiencing the direst need for funds. As Al Jazeera sums it up, Ayuuto is “an interest-free rotating savings scheme based on mutual trust.”
Since Ayuuto is an informal system, it is completely separate from any official banking system. This can make it riskier, but also faster and less complex to provide monetary help in an emergency. Aid from formal agencies has decreased and there are very few opportunities for formal work within the cities. Ayuuto allows the women to purchase day-to-day necessities and provides funds for the women to start their own small businesses.
Utilizing the Ayuuto system has also allowed women in these camps to support each other in other ways. The women come together and bond through conversation, listen to each other’s needs and support each other emotionally. Overall, the system helps foster a community of trust and security.
Poverty in Somalia
A 2019 World Bank Group report indicates that about 70% of people in Somalia live in poverty, making the country one of the most impoverished in sub-Saharan Africa. A notable number of people in Somalia are living just above the poverty line. About nine in 10 households in Somalia suffer deprivation in a minimum of one dimension, either “monetary, electricity, education or water and sanitation.” Urban areas experience less extreme poverty than rural communities and displaced people experience the most extreme poverty.
Since 1991, Somalia has experienced extreme levels of famine, political instability and droughts that have caused almost three million people to become displaced. Surveys show that the consequences of drought and the COVID-19 pandemic stand as the most significant difficulties for impoverished communities in Somalia. These conditions have forced families, most of them from rural areas, to abandon their homes and livelihoods and flee to camps that are inside and around cities in the hopes of finding a way to survive. In fact, three-quarters of displaced people live in cities. The camps that displaced Somali people settle in are often overcrowded and do not have sufficient resources of food and water for everyone.
How Poverty Disproportionately Affects Women
Most displaced women in Somalia do not meet the requirements to apply for a formal bank account, such as existing credit history or financial identity. Data also shows that almost twice as many women as men have no source of income.
Since the pandemic began, an increasing number of girls have dropped out of school. Data also shows that only about a quarter of female heads of households has had any type of formal education compared to more than 40% of male heads of households.
Reports show that more than a third of girls living in camps have said that their greatest worry is experiencing sexual violence, followed by difficulty accessing resources and violence in the household. Females head about four in 10 Somali households and only 37% of women are active in the labor market in contrast to 58% of men.
All of these challenges contribute to the fact that poverty in Somalia disproportionately affects women. Ayuuto serves as a safety net for women who are experiencing many barriers to establishing a stable income and livelihood.
– Melissa Hood
Photo: Flickr
What is the Millennium Challenge Corporation?
The United States has many agencies of humanitarian assistance and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) stands as one of them. The MCC is “an innovative and independent U.S. foreign assistance agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty.” Founded by the United States Congress in 2004, the agency focuses on a country’s policies and results. This agency aims to strengthen the institutions and economies of developing nations that already show signs of good governance. The MCC is uniquely selective in delivering aid by choosing to aid nations that have existing yet fragile institutions to promote democracy and competent governance.
Operations
The agency measures a nation’s eligibility to receive aid from the Millennium Challenge Corporation through 20 different indicators based on different political freedoms, civil liberties, economic freedoms and economic conditions. A nation is eligible to receive aid if it passes 10 out of 20 of the indicators, passes the “Control of Corruption Indicator” and/or passes either the “Political Rights Indicator” or the “Civil Liberties Indicator.” A nation passes an indicator if it performs better than the median score in the nation’s income group, a score that a particular third party will measure.
The MCC is diverse in its approach to stabilizing developing nations. It generally delivers three types of aid packages: Compacts, Concurrent Compacts for Regional Investments and Threshold Programs. Compacts are large five-year grants to specific grassroots projects targeted at poverty reduction or economic growth that meet MCC’s eligibility standards.
Concurrent Compacts for Regional Investments are grants designed to promote trade, economic integration and collaboration between nations.
Threshold Programs help nations that are not quite eligible to receive MCC Compact packages by allowing countries a chance to show their dedication to “democratic governance, economic freedom and investments in their people.”
Comparing USAID and MCC
One of the key differences between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation is that USAID grants aid exclusively on the merits of a proposed project toward some form of a democratic goal. USAID also has programs that have “unrestricted ineligibility” where any nation may receive aid for a particular project.
On the other hand, the Millennium Challenge Corporation has strict standards on different aspects of a nation’s governance to determine whether a program receives a grant. It requires that nations meet certain political and economic standards determined by reputable third-party sources in order to receive aid. The Millennium Challenge Corporation grants are also restricted to five years whereas USAID programs can extend the period of a grant or contract.
While USAID and the Millennium Challenge Corporation have various differences, both collaborate closely in delivering and developing aid programs. For example, the USAID administrator holds a role as a permanent member of the Millennium Challenge Corporations Board of Directors.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation learns from USAID’s decades of technical expertise while USAID also benefits from the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s rigorous economic and political analysis to improve the outcomes of aid programs.
USAID and the Millennium Challenge Corporation both serve important roles in delivering aid to struggling nations. USAID has an emphasis on building up new institutions whereas the Millennium Challenge Corporation has more of an emphasis on strengthening already existing institutions in struggling nations. The goals of these agencies often overlap, leading to large amounts of interagency collaboration.
– Alexander Richter
Photo: Flickr
Child Poverty in Colombia
In 2019, World Bank data found that Colombia’s child poverty rate for ages 0-14 stood at 20%. After years of civil unrest, Colombian children are growing up in an era of displacement and poverty. These past conflicts have a way of infiltrating the lives of children as their guardians work to rebuild their own lives. Child poverty in Colombia is an issue that persists as countless families seek to gain stability.
Colombia’s History of Conflict
The prevalence of social injustice issues and the uprising of guerilla groups during the mid to late 20th century, threatened governmental authority in Colombia. Colombia’s 2016 Peace Accord put to rest 50 years of conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), providing Colombia with its first signs of hope in decades.
Colombian children now have the opportunity to grow up in a peaceful country for the first time in more than 50 years. The long-awaited end to the civil conflict brings hope but the legacy of conflict and violence has lasting consequences for Colombia’s people.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Colombia has one of the highest rates of internally displaced persons in the world — a consequence of the decades of war. As of 2022, 8.5 million Colombians suffer internal displacement, which equates to a staggering 74% of the population.
The ripple effect of this displacement plays a large role in child poverty. As conflict and violence force families to flee their homes, many people lose their assets, land and houses and are unable to return to their former lines of work. This leads to a rise in poverty and unemployment, which, in turn, leads to children growing up in impoverished environments due to inadequate sources of income.
Effects of Child Poverty in Colombia
Malnutrition is a serious effect of child poverty in Colombia. According to a 2016 report citing UNICEF, “one in 10 Colombian children suffers from chronic malnutrition.” Further, the consequences of poverty disproportionately impact Indigenous Colombian children — the region of La Guajira accounts for only 7% of Colombia’s population, however, it accounts for more than 20% of malnutrition-related death among children younger than 5. Since the beginning of 2021, 17 Indigenous Wayuu children in La Guajira have died due to malnutrition.
Growth stunting is another consequence of malnutrition. In 2021, the Global Hunger Index showed a 12.7% prevalence of growth stunting among children younger than five in Colombia. As malnourishment increases, the depletion of mental and physiological strength necessary for work and school diminishes, leading to an exacerbation of poverty.
Violence Against Children
Sexual violence is another devastating outcome of child poverty in Colombia. Children who experience this sexual violence often come from low-income households. Poverty increases the risk of child labor, trafficking and sexual exploitation. The perpetrators are typically criminal gangs or even one of the child’s own family members. These victimized children tend to reside in slums or remote, outlying communities where victims rarely acquire justice.
According to a 2019 survey that the Health Ministry and Family Welfare Institute conducted, nearly 42% of Colombia’s youth endured “physical, sexual or psychological abuse as a child.” Unfortunately, Colombian NGOs have said that people report only 30% of these cases. In fact, the Colombian Public Prosecutor estimates that up to 200,000 Colombian children face sexual abuse annually.
Lack of education is another component that goes hand-in-hand with child poverty in Colombia. For these children, education is a doorway to a better life, but is, unfortunately, not as accessible as it should be. Despite the Colombian constitution’s mandate that children between 5 and 15 attend school, a 2019 article from Children Incorporated discloses that about 10% of Colombian children receive no education at all. This 10% equates to about 35,080 Colombian children out of primary school in 2019.
Children International in Colombia
Children International is an organization that acknowledges the severities of child poverty in Colombia. The organization has been working in Colombia for 33 years now, transforming the lives of Colombian children.
With malnutrition being a prominent result of child poverty in Colombia, Children International recognizes a need for check-ups and exams. Health care can be expensive, a fact that is especially true for Colombia’s lower class. To date, more than 74,000 sponsored children have received medical exams from Children International’s clinic.
Children International has implemented the HOPE Scholarship program, which provides funds that give children an avenue to complete tertiary studies after high school in order to obtain skilled jobs and break cycles of poverty. Through Children International’s Into Employment program, children learn skills for jobs in demand within their communities. About 71% of Into Employment program members found placement in jobs requiring the skills they gained during the program.
Child poverty is a persistent problem in the reverberations of Colombia’s civil conflict. Malnutrition, sexual violence and lack of education are a few of the direct effects that contribute to the vicious cycle of child poverty in Colombia. Thankfully, Children International has dedicated itself to improving these lives. With help from organizations such as this one, Colombian children may have the chance to escape the firm grip of poverty.
– Madeline Ehlert
Photo: PxHere