Despite great progress in economic growth and poverty reduction, the gender wage gap in Ghana shows the distribution of these benefits remains unequal. A significant portion of Ghana’s labor market is in the low-paying informal sector, where the most vulnerable people, women and children, find themselves. In fact, women earn less than 30% of what men earn — Ghana is one of just two countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region to experience gaps at that extreme. The wage gap is largely a result of systemic barriers in terms of access to health care and education as well as social norms regarding women’s roles in the workforce and household.
About the Wage Gap in Ghana
More than 23% of the Ghanaian population lives below the poverty line, according to the U.N. Women Data Hub. Most schools lack proper facilities and information on menstrual hygiene for their female students, ultimately contributing to frequent absences and dropouts.
In lower-income households, where financial constraints are prevalent, women often sacrifice their education so they can seek work to support their families. Women and girls spend 14% of their time on unpaid care and domestic work. Due to traditional social norms, some girls in Ghana’s rural areas find themselves in marriage or unions from as young as 18, which typically prevents them from pursuing an education or better-paying jobs. In light of this, there are several initiatives working to reduce the gender wage gap in Ghana and empower women.
The Soronko Academy
The Soronko Academy is an information and communications technology development center in Ghana. Its main focus is equipping women and girls with the technical and soft skills needed to attain better-paying jobs. Women and girls in underprivileged communities learn new modern skills such as branding, graphic design, coding, digital marketing and app development.
The Soronko Academy also helps young entrepreneurs build a technical edge around their website development and social media management. Classes and programs start from as early as 5 years old, even working with schools to integrate coding into their curriculums. Founded in 2017, the Soronko Academy has trained more than 20,000 women in a dozen or so regions across Ghana.
Solidaridad
Solidaridad is a global organization working directly with communities to create fair and sustainable supply chains. In Ghana, small-scale mining employs roughly a million people, with women making up nearly half the workers engaging in informal mining.
With pollution and other unsafe working conditions, Solidaridad’s project aims to improve the financial and social position of women in Ghana’s small gold mining communities. It supports 130 women by introducing village savings and loan associations and external funding for business support while also hosting discussions with women and men on household and business roles for women.
The banking associations receive funding from Solidaridad’s project partner Kering, the owner of fashion brands such as Gucci and Balenciaga, and serve as a means to boost local entrepreneurial endeavors, reducing reliance on bank loans. This project also offers training on responsible mining and leadership skills.
Global Partnership for Education
The Global Partnership for Education is a global fund dedicated to improving education in developing nations. Together since 2004, the partnership has more recently provided the Ghanaian government $1.5 million in grant support for its COVID-19 learning response.
Its active presence in Ghana is an attempt to prevent already-present gender inequalities from continuing into the next generation. It tackles gender barriers in several ways: supporting public awareness campaigns, building schools near communities and also providing for proper menstrual hygiene management.
The partnership also works with the Ghanaian government to identify and address gender barriers in the education system. In fact, its educational programs have boasted considerable success when it comes to the number of young girls completing primary school — now at nearly 95%.
UN Women in Ghana
U.N. Women in Ghana works with the government and its various departments, like the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, to make gender concerns, such as the wage gap, part of the national development process.
The organization also works with non-governmental organizations and other private sector groups to promote gender equality. To execute this, U.N. Women has numerous active programs, including one addressing the link between HIV and the financial effects it has on women and girls, like the cost of treatment. Oftentimes after divorce, women end up without any assets to support themselves and pay for treatment.
The organization also advocates for property and inheritance rights to offer women some form of protection. U.N. Women also works on economically empowering women by introducing small-scale farmers to good agricultural practices in hopes of reducing post-harvest losses. Additionally, the group works in the north and north of the Nkwanta district to enhance the leadership skills of adolescent girls.
Alliance for African Women Initiative
Founded in 2006, the Alliance for African Women Initiative is a grassroots organization fighting to reduce the gender gap by empowering women and children in Ghana. Its livelihood project seeks to enhance the financial independence of women to help families rise above the poverty line. The initiative also provides workshops and training programs intended to help women with all things business and personal finance, teaching bookkeeping and business skills as well as commercial consultancy and management. The initiative provides opportunities for women to connect and share ideas within its network.
Traditionally, the livelihood project creates its own small savings accounts because some women cannot afford to open saving accounts at banks. Then, after the training and workshops, women receive small loans to either expand their businesses or invest in new ones. More than 2,100 women have attended these programs and about 150 have received loans to start up their own businesses.
These five initiatives are attempting to take the steps needed to build an equal system for men and women. They are also showing the many intricacies of solving an issue, such as the gender wage gap, and that the solution is much more than just providing employment opportunities.
– Owen R. Mutiganda
Photo: Flickr
Global Developments in the Fight Against Malaria
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019, malaria infections stood at almost 230 million globally. Of these malaria incidents, 409,000 cases led to fatalities. These are the striking and often overlooked numbers encasing the global fight against malaria. Malaria, a parasitic infection that mosquito varieties ruthlessly spread, is an ancient disease plaguing regions across the globe, particularly within the warmer climates of the tropical and subtropical areas of the world.
The cyclical nature of the disease from uninfected mosquitoes to infected hosts then infected mosquitoes to uninfected hosts, is in part the reason this disease is difficult to counteract outside of preventive measures, such as traditional nets, drugs and various forms of insecticides. However, these methods have limitations. The insidious nature of repeat infections adds insult to injury, with reports indicating up to six malaria infections annually among some children. Now, the dawn of a malaria vaccine hopes to make strides in the fight against malaria.
The Dawn of a Malaria Vaccine
The daunting reality and statistics on malaria illustrate only one side of the story on emerging aid over the last three decades. After years of research and trials by the manufacturer, on October 6, 2021, WHO officially authorized the widespread use of a malaria vaccine that GlaxoSmithKline created called Mosquirix. This is not only a win in the fight against malaria. Mosquirix is “also the first vaccine ever recommended for use by WHO to combat a parasitic disease in humans.”
Dr. Pedro Alonso, director of WHO’s global malaria program, says in a press release that “[i]t’s a huge jump from the science perspective to have a first-generation vaccine against a human parasite.” The vaccine, which targets children, has the potential to prevent “23,000 deaths in children younger than 5 each year.” As it stands, the vaccine manufacturer has “committed to producing 15 million doses of Mosquirix annually” until 2028.
Development in Tandem With the Global Health Order
This trend toward vaccination campaigns, development and authorization does not of course appear in a vacuum. After decades of stalling efforts on malaria prevention, a new global health order has ushered in a recent admiration for the efficacy of vaccine funding, research and implementation on the back of the global struggle against COVID-19. Organizations championing the global vaccine battle against COVID-19, such as GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, “likely play a crucial role in negotiating the financing, procurement and delivery of” the Mosquirix vaccine.
Other major players in the fight against COVID-19 are also entering the ring. BioNTech recently launched a malaria project in July 2021. Its intentions are the use of mRNA technology, which has proven highly effective in COVID-19 vaccines, in the fight against the malaria parasite. Clinical trials of the world’s “first mRNA-based vaccine for malaria prevention” will begin at the close of 2022. These new multilateral and multi-agency relationships in health care, which the pandemic brought about, could be the stepping stones for future breakthroughs in global health.
Looking Ahead
Spurred on by new movements in global health, the malaria vaccine will make strides within infant and youth populations across at-risk regions like Africa and beyond. Mosquirix pilot programs in Kenya, Malawi and Ghana “found that the vaccine is safe. There is community demand for it and it is a cost-effective prevention method.” While perhaps not intrinsically linked to the new global health order, the world is making strides in combating an ancient and sometimes overlooked disease through emerging technologies, monetary funding and intellectual endorsements. It is safe to say that the new malaria vaccine could set new precedents as to the way the world cooperates on matters of global health security so that the international community can develop long-lasting strategies to keep at-risk regions safe, productive and healthy.
– Aidan Swayne
Photo: Flickr
Reducing the Gender Wage Gap in Ghana
Despite great progress in economic growth and poverty reduction, the gender wage gap in Ghana shows the distribution of these benefits remains unequal. A significant portion of Ghana’s labor market is in the low-paying informal sector, where the most vulnerable people, women and children, find themselves. In fact, women earn less than 30% of what men earn — Ghana is one of just two countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region to experience gaps at that extreme. The wage gap is largely a result of systemic barriers in terms of access to health care and education as well as social norms regarding women’s roles in the workforce and household.
About the Wage Gap in Ghana
More than 23% of the Ghanaian population lives below the poverty line, according to the U.N. Women Data Hub. Most schools lack proper facilities and information on menstrual hygiene for their female students, ultimately contributing to frequent absences and dropouts.
In lower-income households, where financial constraints are prevalent, women often sacrifice their education so they can seek work to support their families. Women and girls spend 14% of their time on unpaid care and domestic work. Due to traditional social norms, some girls in Ghana’s rural areas find themselves in marriage or unions from as young as 18, which typically prevents them from pursuing an education or better-paying jobs. In light of this, there are several initiatives working to reduce the gender wage gap in Ghana and empower women.
The Soronko Academy
The Soronko Academy is an information and communications technology development center in Ghana. Its main focus is equipping women and girls with the technical and soft skills needed to attain better-paying jobs. Women and girls in underprivileged communities learn new modern skills such as branding, graphic design, coding, digital marketing and app development.
The Soronko Academy also helps young entrepreneurs build a technical edge around their website development and social media management. Classes and programs start from as early as 5 years old, even working with schools to integrate coding into their curriculums. Founded in 2017, the Soronko Academy has trained more than 20,000 women in a dozen or so regions across Ghana.
Solidaridad
Solidaridad is a global organization working directly with communities to create fair and sustainable supply chains. In Ghana, small-scale mining employs roughly a million people, with women making up nearly half the workers engaging in informal mining.
With pollution and other unsafe working conditions, Solidaridad’s project aims to improve the financial and social position of women in Ghana’s small gold mining communities. It supports 130 women by introducing village savings and loan associations and external funding for business support while also hosting discussions with women and men on household and business roles for women.
The banking associations receive funding from Solidaridad’s project partner Kering, the owner of fashion brands such as Gucci and Balenciaga, and serve as a means to boost local entrepreneurial endeavors, reducing reliance on bank loans. This project also offers training on responsible mining and leadership skills.
Global Partnership for Education
The Global Partnership for Education is a global fund dedicated to improving education in developing nations. Together since 2004, the partnership has more recently provided the Ghanaian government $1.5 million in grant support for its COVID-19 learning response.
Its active presence in Ghana is an attempt to prevent already-present gender inequalities from continuing into the next generation. It tackles gender barriers in several ways: supporting public awareness campaigns, building schools near communities and also providing for proper menstrual hygiene management.
The partnership also works with the Ghanaian government to identify and address gender barriers in the education system. In fact, its educational programs have boasted considerable success when it comes to the number of young girls completing primary school — now at nearly 95%.
UN Women in Ghana
U.N. Women in Ghana works with the government and its various departments, like the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, to make gender concerns, such as the wage gap, part of the national development process.
The organization also works with non-governmental organizations and other private sector groups to promote gender equality. To execute this, U.N. Women has numerous active programs, including one addressing the link between HIV and the financial effects it has on women and girls, like the cost of treatment. Oftentimes after divorce, women end up without any assets to support themselves and pay for treatment.
The organization also advocates for property and inheritance rights to offer women some form of protection. U.N. Women also works on economically empowering women by introducing small-scale farmers to good agricultural practices in hopes of reducing post-harvest losses. Additionally, the group works in the north and north of the Nkwanta district to enhance the leadership skills of adolescent girls.
Alliance for African Women Initiative
Founded in 2006, the Alliance for African Women Initiative is a grassroots organization fighting to reduce the gender gap by empowering women and children in Ghana. Its livelihood project seeks to enhance the financial independence of women to help families rise above the poverty line. The initiative also provides workshops and training programs intended to help women with all things business and personal finance, teaching bookkeeping and business skills as well as commercial consultancy and management. The initiative provides opportunities for women to connect and share ideas within its network.
Traditionally, the livelihood project creates its own small savings accounts because some women cannot afford to open saving accounts at banks. Then, after the training and workshops, women receive small loans to either expand their businesses or invest in new ones. More than 2,100 women have attended these programs and about 150 have received loans to start up their own businesses.
These five initiatives are attempting to take the steps needed to build an equal system for men and women. They are also showing the many intricacies of solving an issue, such as the gender wage gap, and that the solution is much more than just providing employment opportunities.
– Owen R. Mutiganda
Photo: Flickr
The Campaign Addressing Food Waste in China
By November 1, 2021, China reported more than 97,000 COVID-19 cases and 4,636 deaths. Graphic representations of this data seem to show an upward trend as COVID-19 numbers continue rising. Apart from the direct health impacts of COVID-19, the pandemic has also exacerbated existing social strife, such as nationwide hunger. Along with high rates of hunger, China also reports high rates of food waste, with a recent report from July 2021 stating that the nation discards about 350 million tonnes of its farm produce. Addressing the issue of food waste in China provides a solution to growing rates of hunger in the nation. China’s Clean Plate campaign aims to tackle these two issues simultaneously.
Food Waste Globally
With the global population possibly expanding by 2 billion people by 2025, totaling more than 9 billion global citizens, the United Nations stated that “food production must double by 2050 to meet the demand of the world’s growing population.” Yet, about “one-third of the food” the world produces “for human consumption” annually, equating to 1.3 billion tonnes, goes to waste. Fruits and vegetables account for the greatest portion of food waste. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), “if just one-fourth of the food currently lost or wasted globally could be saved, it would be enough to feed 870 million hungry people in the world.”
Food Waste in China
In China, specifically, food waste or loss amounts to “more than 35 million tonnes of food.” This amount of food can “feed 30 to 50 million people.”
In August 2020, President Xi Jinping pressed for the nationwide Clean Plate campaign in response to food waste and the economic and food-centric devastation that COVID-19 caused. At the time of Jinping’s address, the southern end of China had suffered immense flooding, ruining crops and leaving the rest of the nation without a sufficient supply of produce.
In essence, the campaign directs that diners must finish the food on their plates. Encouraging empty plates may lead to less food waste. In response to the Clean Plate campaign, “the Wuhan Catering Industry Association urged restaurants in the city to limit the number of dishes served to diners” to reduce instances of over-ordering, thereby reducing food waste. Culturally, there is a traditional understanding that a clean plate is indicative of “a bad host,” implying that there is “an insufficient amount of food” for diners.
Jinping’s initiative encourages people to be more conscious of food waste in order to address food insecurity in the nation. The Clean Plate initiative has proven to be successful, continuing in an entrepreneurial and consumerist sense. Prior to the Clean Plate initiative, taking leftovers home was unheard of, but has since become a commonality.
Looking Ahead
To avoid past crises of food insecurity, initiatives like Clean Plate encourage consumers to approach food consumption more consciously. Traditionally, in China, ordering more food than necessary is an indicator of power, wealth and status. However, the Clean Plate challenges these traditions in the name of reducing food waste to address hunger in China.
– Maia Nuñez
Photo: Flickr
Infectious Diseases Impacting Malaysia During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has diverted the world’s attention from the spread of other infectious diseases across the globe. However, the battle of the Malaysian government against other infectious diseases has never stopped. According to Health Minister Dr. Adham Baba, despite the pandemic, efforts to prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases in Malaysia are still ongoing. In fact, as of March 2020, the government has updated The Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations to better coordinate the measures it was implementing between controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and the transmission of other infectious diseases in Malaysia. Here is information about three infectious diseases impacting Malaysia as well as how the country is dealing with them.
Dengue Fever
Dengue fever has existed in Malaysia since 1902 when reports of the first case emerged. The bite of infectious mosquitoes spreads dengue fever, resulting in it affecting a large fraction of the population in Malaysia. Most affected are those living in impoverished areas because they have an abundance of stagnant water bodies that are ideal for the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes.
Surprisingly though, from January to August 2021, the Malaysian government reported only a total of 16,565 dengue cases as compared to the 63,988 cases in 2020. With an approximately 94% decrease in the total number of dengue cases across the nation, the government is optimistic about continuing and committing to the current effective measures, maintaining overall cleanliness in residential areas as well as public spaces with frequent mosquito fogging operations.
Tuberculosis (TB)
Tuberculosis (TB) is an air-borne infection affecting the lungs. Like dengue, it is also one of the most common infectious diseases primarily impacting those living under the strain of poverty in Malaysia. Overcrowded and poorly ventilated residential areas facilitate TB in low-cost flats all around Malaysia. On average, the number of cases documented throughout the nation has fluctuated and varied in its trend but up to 2019, around 92 in 100, 000 people have been diagnosed in Malaysia.
In Selangor alone, more than 3,500 cases have also been reported in 2020, making it essential for public awareness programs and governmental allocations to be implemented to mitigate the spread of this infectious disease in Malaysia. At the moment, the Malaysian Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis (MAPTB) is diligent in its efforts to educate the public on TB prevention and provide financial aids to diagnose and treat individuals from higher-risk groups. MAPTB is gradually making progress in educating the public about proper prevention methods and ultimately controlling the spread of TB in the country. Its plan is to do this through various online forums, conferences, newsletters and collaborations with Malaysian NGOs.
Hepatitis B
The Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is most commonly transmitted through infected blood products and unprotected sex. Affecting more than 1 million people nationwide, Hepatitis B causes acute and chronic liver infections particularly in male adults between the age of 30 to 49. In rural areas with little to no access to health care, the adverse environmental conditions and lack of proper treatment among the infected are exacerbating the infection rate of HBV.
With the hopes of eradicating the threat this infectious disease poses to the country, the Malaysian government has been proactively working toward a strategic and sustainable plan to combat the spread of HBV in Malaysia via the National Strategic Plan for Hepatitis B and C (NSPHBC) to strengthen national policies regarding prevention measures, control of transmission and the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with the virus. By 2030, the government hopes to reduce the number of new viral hepatitis cases in Malaysia by 90% with proper diagnoses and treatment methods. This includes encompassing free HBV vaccination programs as well as mandated education for children and teenagers throughout the nation.
Solutions for Infectious Diseases Impacting Malaysia
In partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), Malaysia used to receive generous financial support from countries like Japan, Denmark and Germany up until 1998. However, the country is receiving little to no direct aid to the health sector since 2000. In regards to professional and technical development, WHO remains active in providing medical fellowships and training to health care workers in Malaysia. It is also contributing invaluable advice on disease control and specialized support for disease outbreaks in the country.
Various local NGOs such as the Consumers’ Association of Penang are also supportive in their efforts to fund novel research projects aiming to create new solutions that could mitigate the spread of infectious diseases across the country better than existing strategies.
The Future
All things considered, the Malaysian government is slowly gaining a foothold in the uphill battle of preventing and controlling the spread of infectious diseases in the country. While the future remains unknown, the Ministry of Health is resilient in its implementation of more sustainable health care policies. It is also working on the development of systems to aid in the recovery of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.
With the help of WHO and several significant NGOs across the nation, it is only a matter of time before Malaysia can truly gain control over the spread of infectious diseases. The country should effectively manage diseases’ effects on the country’s politics and the economy as a whole.
– Low Xin Yi
Photo: Unsplash
COVID-19 Vaccine Equity
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge, global calls for achieving COVID-19 vaccine equity are increasing. Vaccine equity is a simple concept: it is the belief that all people should have equal access to vaccines. Inequitable access to COVID-19 vaccines leaves developing nations helpless against the virus. Moreover, inequitable access has allowed new deadlier variants of the virus to emerge and spread globally.
According to the World Bank Group, as of November 15, 2021, 72.8% of the population in high-income countries received a COVID-19 vaccine. This is a harsh difference from the mere 4.2% of the population in low-income countries. Luckily, several global organizations have initiated various efforts to help make COVID-19 vaccine equity a reality.
The World Health Organization (WHO)
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a leader in global health initiatives. Its COVID-19 vaccine equity campaign is a roadmap to achieve vaccine equity. This roadmap sets the goal to administer a COVID-19 vaccine to at least 40% of the residents in every country by the end of 2021. It sets a second goal to vaccinate 70% of the global population by mid-2022. WHO is calling for countries and companies that control vaccine supplies to donate and contract with COVAX and The African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) to get the vaccines where they are most needed.
WHO also believes that individual efforts matter. It launched its GoGiveOne fundraising initiative to allow individual efforts to directly aid the vaccine equity campaign through crowdfunding. A donation of $6 amounts to one vaccine.
Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity
The Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity is a collaborative effort that the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the University of Oxford launched with support across the U.N. It is a part of the SDG 3 Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All.
This initiative works towards global COVID-19 vaccine equity by sharing the latest data on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. It also provides socioeconomic data to demonstrate why the acceleration of global vaccination is critical. The Dashboard shows how a faster rollout not only saves more lives but also supports a speedier pandemic recovery. Moreover, it presents and highlights important vaccine equity policies and uses these to help guide legislative change. Finally, the Dashboard aids in educating the public about COVID-19 vaccine equity through free resources and statistics.
Only organizations can directly participate in the Dashboard. Nevertheless, individuals have a significant part to play. Raising awareness and increasing knowledge about COVID-19 vaccine equity is the Dashboard’s primary goal.
African Vaccine Acquisition Trust
The African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) is a global effort that strives for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines across the African continent. To combat the looming vaccine inequality, in August 2020, a group of 10 people from throughout Africa gathered and became the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team. This team went on to found the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust and gain the endorsement of the African Union. Moreover, AVAT became an integral part of the Africa Vaccine Strategy. AVAT’s primary goal is ensuring the vaccination of at least 60% of the African population against COVID-19. Individuals can help through advocating for increased COVID-19 vaccine donations from their governments and through educating themselves about COVID-19 vaccine equity in Africa.
Realizing COVID-19 Vaccine Equity
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the world, vaccine equity should remain at the forefront of global efforts. Many developed countries are increasingly pledging to donate COVID-19 vaccines due to pressure from the global initiatives mentioned above. Therefore, it remains important for individuals to support the global COVID-19 vaccine equity initiatives to help make vaccine equity a reality.
– Nohad Awada
Photo: Unsplash
Ghana Tech Lab: The Next Generation of Innovators
The Ghana Tech Lab, a collaborative tech-centric company, has now connected 7,000 youths with digital and technical education as part of its Ghana Startup Ecosystem program. The goal is to build the next generation of tech entrepreneurs in Africa.
About the Ghana Tech Lab
The Ghana Tech lab is a company building a launch platform for young tech talent in Ghana. Headquartered in Accra, the lab takes a multi-stage approach to launch startups. First, trainees complete a three-month intensive training program to develop technical and digital skills. The top talents from this program then move to the incubation program, where trainees build a business model and receive mentorship.
Finally, the company connects the new startups with seed funding through grants and a network of venture capitalists. By supporting entrepreneurs, the company hopes to fight poverty through innovation, economic development and job creation. Since its founding in 2018, the base program alone has trained 3,933 Ghanaians and incubated 68 startups.
Once a founder begins a startup, it joins the Ghana Startup Ecosystem, a program and database run by The Ghana Tech Lab. Its goal is to act as a central hub for tracking and supporting Ghanian startup ventures. The Ecosystem tracks human capital, market and financial data across Ghana. The database serves to contextualize ventures and produce market trends to substantiate ventures. This system legitimizes startups and encourages global investment.
In fact, 50% of the startups within the system secure funding. The adjunct of the Startup Ecosystem has led to the launch and funding of 100 startups in Ghana, according to AllAfrica. Data-driven innovation has become a central tenant of the Ghana Tech Lab, as a way to promote long-term success. Rather than focus on the symptoms of poverty in Ghana, the company hopes to use economic revitalization as a way to target poverty at the source.
About the State of Poverty in Ghana
In order to understand why tech plays a role in poverty reduction, it is important to contextualize poverty in Ghana. As of 2021, Ghana has a poverty rate of 11.3%. It means that 3.57 million people live on or under $1.90 a day. The country experienced a decrease in poverty from 52.6% to 21.4% between 1991 and 2012. However, the rate of decline has become stagnant over recent years. At the same time, economic development has steadily improved over the last decade. The combination of economic growth and poverty maintenance has led to an increasing rate of economic inequality.
Because of these conditions, the World Bank in Ghana has determined that developing human capital, growing the job market and improving economic resiliency are the best strategies for decreasing poverty and economic inequality. The Ghana Tech Lab has created a business model that targets all three strategies.
The Way Building Tech Startups Fights Poverty
By directly increasing access to education and skill development, the Ghana Tech Lab removes barriers of entry for skilled work. Sourcing funding for startups benefits job production and improves long-term job security. The innovations that startups spur on also improve economic resilience. Often, the startups that come out of the Ghana Tech Lab target poverty directly. For example, Farminista Africa is a woman-led company that helps smallscale female farmers grow their businesses. By 2030, the Ghana Tech Lab expects to produce 30 million new jobs through technical education and economic development, according to AllAfrica.
By increasing accessibility to digital skills, the Ghana Tech Lab is building a new path forward. The company shows that poverty reduction is a natural byproduct of community empowerment.
– Aiden Smith
Photo: Unsplash
USAID’s Programs to Reduce Poverty and Hunger
In September 2021, the White House introduced two of USAID’s new programs to reduce poverty and hunger. USAID, the U.S.’s international development agency, provides aid to countries to support various sectors such as agriculture, trade and human rights. The latest programs of USAID include the Gender Responsive Agricultural Systems Policy (GRASP) and its latest collaboration with the Eleanor Crook Foundation’s Global Nutrition Financing Alliance. GRASP will provide African female policymakers with a three-and-a-half-year virtual leadership development fellowship to empower women in food systems. USAID’s collaboration with the Eleanor Crook Foundation will mobilize $100 million over five years to reduce COVID-19’s impact on food insecurity and reduce malnutrition worldwide.
GRASP: African Women in Agriculture
According to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), women account for 43% of the world’s agricultural workforce. Although women make up nearly half of all global agricultural workers, they may not receive equitable opportunities in developing countries. In some regions of Africa, women make up 60% of domestic farm labor. Despite their participation, African women hold limited leadership roles in food systems.
Issues regarding legal ownership of land, fair compensation and access to financial resources hinder African women’s leadership in agriculture. According to Feed the Future, “women tend to own less land, have limited ability to hire labor and face impediments to accessing credit, agricultural extension services and other resources.”
GRASP intends to address gender inequality within African agriculture by empowering female policymakers and inciting change in food systems. With help from USAID, GRASP will provide 100 women with mentorships, networking opportunities and virtual leadership programs targeted to create food-secure communities. By empowering African women in leadership, GRASP strives to develop improved and equitable food systems beneficial to all.
USAID and the Global Nutrition Financing Alliance
USAID has also joined the Global Nutrition Financing Alliance in mobilizing $100 million to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition in low- and middle-income countries. The Eleanor Crook Foundation (ECF) and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC0 initially established the Global Nutrition Financing Alliance. The partnership combines public and private sectors to address the pandemic’s effect on malnutrition.
The ECF projects a 50% rise in severe malnutrition due to COVID-19’s economic and existing food programs disruption. USAID’s partnership will help catalyze comprehensive approaches to decrease food insecurity. The alliance will prioritize health and food systems along with food-oriented small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The collaboration seeks to address the financing gap among SMEs, bolster women-led businesses and advance food safety. The alliance also seeks to end malnutrition by 2030.
USAID’s Promising Next Moves to Reduce Poverty and Hunger
USAID’s latest programs will benefit not only those in need but also the rest of the world. GRASP can open new markets by supporting African women in agriculture. The program will also expand leadership and business in African food systems. With accessible development opportunities, African women can create social and economic change to address global poverty and food insecurity.
Additionally, USAID’s alliance with the Global Nutrition Financing Alliance will help reestablish the world’s progress to reduce poverty and hunger. The alliance’s monetary aid will also function as a sustainable investment in global food systems. In helping the world’s poor and hungry through programs like GRASP and the Global Nutrition Financing Alliance, USAID helps the world get back on track.
– Dana Gil
Photo: Flickr
Rising Food Insecurity Rates in Afghanistan
Afghanistan has experienced many crises in recent decades, with several domestic and international conflicts transpiring within the nation’s borders. Afghanistan’s economic crisis as well as conflicts and droughts aggravate rates of food insecurity in Afghanistan. With the recent Taliban takeover in August 2021, the country is seeing a collapse in food security. On October 25, 2021, the World Food Programme (WFP) issued a warning that millions of Afghans may face starvation during Afghanistan’s winter unless the world responds with urgent intervention. Understanding the challenges that Afghanistan and its people face, many international organizations are providing both donations and aid to alleviate food insecurity in the nation.
The Food Insecurity Situation in Afghanistan
According to the WFP in October 2021, more than 50% of Afghans, approximately 22.8 million citizens, are enduring severe food insecurity. Furthermore, about 3.2 million Afghan children younger than 5 years old are at risk of acute malnutrition. In a WFP news release, the executive director of the WFP, David Beasley, says, “Afghanistan is now among the world’s worst humanitarian crises, if not the worst.”
The full Taliban takeover that came to fruition in August 2021 debilitated an “already fragile economy heavily dependant on foreign aid.” In an effort to cut off support to the Taliban, many nations chose to suspend aid to Afghanistan and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) chose to halt payments to Afghanistan. For a country with about 40% of its GDP stemming from international support, vulnerable Afghans are hit heavily with the impacts of aid suspensions as food insecurity rates in Afghanistan continue to rise.
In September 2021, the U.N. warned that just 5% of Afghan families have sufficient daily food supplies, with essential ingredients like cooking oil and wheat drastically rising in prices. In October 2021, the WFP warned that “one million children were at risk of dying from severe acute malnutrition without immediate life-saving treatment.” WFP also predicted that the looming winter would further isolate Afghans depending on humanitarian assistance to survive. With overall food insecurity rates skyrocketing, urban residents are suffering from food insecurity at similar rates to rural communities. The WFP stresses the importance of continuing international aid to Afghanistan so that citizens can survive the coming months.
The Aid Dilemma for Global Economic Powers
“If we do nothing, Afghanistan drifts into state collapse. The economic chokehold is squeezing the air out of the economy,” said Graeme Smith, a consultant for the International Crisis Group (ICG), in an interview with the Christian Science Monitor on November 4, 2021.
The danger of a total state collapse is so concerning that European donors “are trying to expand stopgap emergency measures to find creative ways to alleviate the financial challenge faced by the central Taliban government in Kabul.”
The challenges of providing support remain. The U.N. estimates that as much as 97% of the country’s population could live in poverty by 2022 “in a worst-case scenario.” However, recognizing the severe consequences of aid suspensions, in October 2021, “The Group of 20 major economies” pledged to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. As a global powerhouse, the United States also announced its intention of providing aid to Afghan citizens as the harsh winter season starts. However, these countries are skeptical about providing aid directly to the Taliban government, therefore, aid will likely come through international agencies.
Aid to Afghanistan
Recognizing the need for aid, international organizations worked tirelessly to deliver food, blankets and monetary assistance “to hundreds of displaced families in Kabul” in October 2021. Humanitarian assistance from different global agencies found a way into Afghanistan. Even though the distribution of aid only reached 324 families, a very small percentage of the total needs of the nation, this aid gives hope to many Afghans who are experiencing severe food shortages.
Rising food insecurity rates in Afghanistan highlight the desperate need for aid. With many donors creatively developing ways to help the Afghan people, during a time of crisis, the country is hopeful for a brighter future.
– Tri Truong
Photo: Max Pixel
How Improving Financial Literacy Helps Reduce Poverty
Financial literacy plays a significant role in reducing poverty and improving financial well-being. The low financial literacy rate in developing countries means cycles of poverty continue, often intergenerationally. However, improving financial literacy rates in developing countries through education can help create pathways out of poverty, improving the financial standing and economic stability of low-income individuals.
What is Financial Literacy?
The Asian Development Bank Institute defines financial literacy as “people’s understanding of financial concepts as well as their skills and ability to manage money and make informed financial decisions.” The financial literacy level of an individual typically influences their financial judgment and resulting actions. Thus, the stability of one’s finances is often dependent upon one’s financial literacy level.
Why Financial Literacy Matters
Financial literacy offers many benefits to a consumer regardless of their level of income. For example, if an individual is financially well-informed, the individual is less likely to make decisions that will harm their finances rather than improve them.
Furthermore, financial literacy encourages people to pay bills on time, increases preparedness for economic difficulties and allows people to avert significant debt. Those who are well-educated on financial concepts are also very likely to set aside savings and pass on financial knowledge to their children.
Poverty-stricken individuals may benefit the most from financial literacy as their economic standing makes them less likely to successfully recover from an economic setback without adequate financial knowledge. This makes smart financial decisions especially important for this population in order to proactively combat any avoidable financial crises. However, despite financial knowledge holding more significance for those with a lower economic status, individuals within this group are less likely to be financially literate.
Financial Literacy in Developing Countries
Financial illiteracy disproportionately affects impoverished developing nations, likely due to a lack of adequate education systems in many of these countries. Data indicates that just 54% of people residing in developing nations have the capability or knowledge to open a bank account and also lack access to banking institutions.
Indonesia provides an example of this concern as a developing nation where financial literacy is a scarcity, and therefore, stands as one of the main barriers to financial inclusion. Data from an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) study indicates that most Indonesians with a low socioeconomic status only have enough financial savings to last seven days in the case of an emergency.
Another example of a country with inadequate financial literacy is Zambia, where approximately half of the population does not utilize any financial services. A survey conducted in South Africa suggests that approximately 60% of respondents lack comprehension of important financial terms such as “interest.” From these statistics, it is apparent that financial literacy is insufficient in several developing countries.
Solutions
As developing nations strive for economic growth and financial products become increasingly complicated, it is imperative to equip people with the knowledge to make economic decisions that are in their best interests. Ultimately, a financially literate population will help stabilize economies in developing countries and contribute to reducing poverty.
The improvement of financial literacy in developing countries will require participation from policymakers, stakeholders, organizations and other important figures. Several of these actors are taking action to support financial literacy in developing nations.
For example, in Indonesia, the Indonesian tech company Tokopedia created the “Rabu Nabung” campaign in 2020, which translates to “Savings Wednesdays.” Purchasing mutual funds through Tokopedia on Wednesdays allows people to amass gift cards and even access cashback rewards for investing in gold. This campaign acts as an incentive for Indonesians to save their money and make investments, thus increasing both financial standing and financial literacy. A study by the University of Indonesia (UI) indicates that roughly “78% of all Tokopedia users surveyed said the program helped them understand the importance of investment.”
Other nations are taking action by implementing financial education programs that target groups with high rates of financial illiteracy. The Bank of Uganda created the second Strategy for Financial Literacy in Uganda 2019-2024, focusing on five major groups: women, the working class, youth, those that reside in rural areas and special interest groups. This program will give individuals a better understanding of savings, investments, managing their money and other important financial components.
Moving Forward
A person’s ability to understand and apply financial concepts plays a key role in their economic decisions. Financial literacy benefits the individual while contributing to long-term economic stability. Thus, improving financial literacy in developing nations is crucial to achieving growth in the financial sector. By enacting various programs and campaigns to empower individuals to make financially sound choices, developing nations should see economic advancement in the future.
– River Simpson
Photo: Unsplash
Argentina’s Informal Peso Hit New Low
Argentina’s informal peso, its ”dolar blue,” weakened drastically at the end of October 2021 and hit its all-time inflation high. The country’s risk rating increased by 19 points. The economic downturn arrived weeks before Argentina’s November 2021 elections, and economic improvement is long overdue.
What is the Dolar Blue?
The “Dolar Blue” is the unofficial rate of buying or selling physical United States dollars (USD) in an unofficial financial market in exchange for Argentine pesos. The transactions occur without the assistance of a banking institution or government oversight. Many transactions for Argentina’s informal peso occur right in storefronts or in the street.
In October 2021, the exchange rate hit 195 pesos per one USD. The exchange rate is typically greatly valued because this trade rate results in more pesos to the dollars for tourists and vice versa for those looking to use pesos.
In 2019, the Argentine peso lost value during an economic crisis due to suspending debt payments while the debt continues to climb for Argentina. The government had to act quickly to stabilize the peso. Since then, the Argentine government has slowly placed restrictions on the dolar blue to prevent any weakening of the formal peso.
What is a Country’s Risk Rating?
A risk rating is the measurement of the potential for non-payments on international loans that companies made to companies within the country being rated or to the countries themselves. It is the measurement to see how close a country is to defaulting on loans. Typically, the factors that lead to an increased risk rating are out of a countries’ control. However, the risk rating is the calculated risk that international businesses would undertake when dealing with the measured country. The higher the number, the greater the chances of business deals collapsing.
As Reuters reported, the risk rating for Argentina expanded 19 points when Argentina’s informal peso reached its all-time high of 1,672. It is essentially Argentina’s credit rating, but the higher the number, the lower the chance for foreign investment opportunities. This new risk rating could lead international companies or loan businesses to avoid working in Argentina or setting up loans there.
Without additional investment, the job market could have few opportunities to develop new jobs. There is little chance that unemployment rates could decrease.
Why Did this Economic Crash Happen and What Does this Mean for Argentina?
The two main factors causing the current economic crash are the country’s upcoming elections and growing inflation. The majority of surveyed Argentineans’ stated that their largest concern was the economy. Argentina has a history of economic downturn during periods of change in political leadership and growing economic fears. Argentina’s informal peso and formal peso have fallen in the past during periods similar to what the nation is experiencing now.
The drop in Argentina’s informal peso means economic growth has stagnated once again. Financial experts predicted Argentina’s impending devaluation of its formal currency, which appears to have started with the devaluation of its informal peso. With the devalued informal peso, battling inflation rates, four out of 10 Argentines live in poverty and have few means of escape.
Argentineans in poverty are struggling with the prices of necessities and with inflation. This is impacting both formal and informal pesos and the outlook is dour, according to The New York Times. Argentina’s informal peso brought tourists and new businesses to the country to support local Argentine companies and operations. With a destabilized and devalued the informal peso, more Argentineans are at risk of losing income. The devaluation of Argentina’s informal peso and widening country risk signals a long way to go before returning to a stable economy.
Is the Outlook Truly Grim?
The outlook is not entirely dismal. As grim as things look for Argentina economically, there are ways forward with the devalued informal peso.
In September 2021, Argentina reported economic growth. The poverty rate decreased slightly, which came as a pleasant surprise to many. In the first half of 2021, the poverty rate decreased to 42% and shows signs of continuing to decrease. Many did not expect the growth, given the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the growth signals that there is a chance for improvement despite the downturn of the peso and the risk rating.
In the weeks following the elections, the economy is likely to stabilize again. After the 2019 election, while the pesos’ exchange rates were still higher than average, they stabilized briefly. However, the recovery was short-lived due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the economy has struggled to restabilize. In the days since the COVID-19 pandemic first impacted Argentina, the economy has been slowly stabilizing and working towards recovery.
After the 2021 November elections, there is a good chance for economic recovery and stabilization. Argentina’s informal peso could recover and the risk rating could decrease. The economy could revitalize with new business and partnerships.
Support for Argentina
Argentina has faced economic issues for several years, but they are not alone and receive help from many organizations, including The Working World (TWW). Brendan Martin founded TWW after witnessing the result of the Argentinean economic difficulties. The efforts on the ground that individuals made to start businesses and launch democratically operated businesses boosted the economy, and TWW decided to continue supporting this trend.
TWW works by partnering with businesses interested in furthering their workers’ rights to make decision-making processes more equitable. The organization designs loan packages to give the loans to pre-set projects that are in the hands of workers and repayment requires minimal interest.
TWW is a registered nonprofit organization in both the United States and Argentina. It understands the various currencies in Argentina, the exchange rates and the impacts both have on the Argentine economy.
Around the time TWW formed in Argentina and began democratizing businesses and stabilizing the workforce, the informal and formal peso stabilized in the exchange rates. Since then, TWW has expanded operations to more countries to transplant these business models and provide job security in countries. One example is Nicaragua or areas hit that hurricanes hit in the U.S. while maintaining some operations in Argentina.
TWW’s work has been invaluable in stabilizing the economy and workforce. The economic difficulties that inflation and political instability caused are manageable, largely because of nongovernmental organizations like The Working World.
– Clara Mulvihill
Photo: Unsplash