The Pacific Islands are a geographical region that the many small islands scattered across Southeast Asia characterize. It contains 15 countries such as Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Micronesia and more. As such, it is an extremely ecologically diverse area, home to many unique species of plants and animals. However, environmental challenges in the Pacific Islands pose a serious threat to the region, as natural disasters are prevalent. These ongoing natural disasters have destroyed much of the development in the area, leading to the Pacific Island’s long-standing struggle with economic growth as it lags behind its neighboring regions and countries.
Approximately one in four Pacific Islanders live below the poverty line, some of the highest rates of poverty in the world. These pressures have resulted in many people starting local projects to benefit their communities, which end up leading the world in how to adapt to environmental difficulties.
How Natural Disasters Exacerbate Poverty
As environmental challenges in the Pacific Islands continue to worsen, natural disasters have become increasingly common and dangerous. As an island region with some areas just 10 feet above sea level, the Pacific Islands is especially susceptible to the effects of these disasters. Estimates have determined that the region has lost a total of $3.2 billion since the 1950s due to natural disasters alone. As the area must allocate money towards repairing damaged structures and maintaining critical services, less can go to social programs to lift people out of poverty.
Major events like floods, droughts, tropical cyclones and tsunamis plague the region, reversing years of developmental projects like houses, hospitals, schools and more in just a few days. Long-term effects like inconsistent rainfall patterns, rising sea levels and seawater contamination have caused widespread food insecurity, water shortages and forced migration away from flooded or damaged areas. Many of these issues hit those already in poverty the hardest. Impoverished islanders lack the resources necessary for resilience in the face of such natural disasters, perpetuating a cycle of poverty.
Innovations to Deal with Natural Disasters
Native peoples have come up with creative strategies to combat the threat of environmental challenges in the Pacific Islands at the community level. They are driving the world’s innovations to adapt to natural disasters by combining their knowledge of the native flora and fauna with high-tech science to protect their homes and livelihoods. These innovations have taken many forms, ranging from new data models to resilience-building aimed at future-proofing local economies and resources.
Most notably, communities have begun focusing on ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in the Pacific Islands. This form of adaptation builds on the idea that healthy ecosystems are naturally resilient to the impacts of natural disasters. It prioritizes strengthening, restoring and sustainably managing damaged ecosystems.
Many areas have begun allocating resources towards the restoration of habitats resilient to natural disasters, such as mangrove and seagrass biomes. Studies that researchers conducted in Lami Town, Fiji have demonstrated that this method is both cheaper and more effective than man-made alternatives, especially for long-term development. As a result, the UN promotes EbA as the top method for adapting to the effects of natural disasters in the Pacific Islands.
Communities across the Pacific Islands have initiated projects to grow native plants along coastlines for their disaster-resistant properties and implemented laws to protect the many nearby marine ecosystems. They have also begun experimenting with drought-resistant crops. These projects have shown to positively affect local ecosystems, as well as benefiting the people’s sense of culture and identity while strengthening local governments and reducing reliance on outside forces.
Some areas struggling with water scarcity have rehabilitated their traditional water wells by adding a vegetation buffer to prevent sediments and pollution from falling into the well. Landowners are also agreeing to share wells during drought season, a concept that people developed and piloted in Oneisomw, Micronesia.
Work Remains
The Pacific islands have also made huge steps in climate-smart development, using the best science available to them to identify and prevent the devastating effects of natural disasters. The Catastrophe Risk Information System (PacRIS) acts as a huge database on where disasters have hit historically, as well as the damage they instigated. This project has grown to focus on urban development, strengthening building codes and making predictions about future disasters and their severity.
Although the Pacific Islands has made great strides in addressing the many effects of natural disasters and environmental conditions to prevent poverty and destruction in their communities, the region still requires imminent international support. The Pacific Islands account for a negligible amount of carbon emissions causing many of these issues. Yet the effects of environmental challenges in the Pacific islands are some of the most catastrophic, while major countries refuse to take action to reduce emissions and provide aid. Despite the large obstacles the Pacific Islands face, there is still hope that the area will be able to maintain its way of life and a reasonable amount of stability with the right tools and resources.
– Elizabeth Lee
Photo: Flickr
Education for Syrian Refugee Children in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon
The governments of these three nations and other organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Human Rights Watch are working to ensure that each of these 1.5 million children receives the education they deserve. Here are some of the steps providing education for Syrian refugee children in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.
Educating Syrian Children in Turkey
The 2016-2017 academic year was the first year in Turkey in which more Syrian children were in school than out of it. Roughly 490,000 children or 60% of the population received some form of formal education. Upon arrival in Turkey, these children attend a UNICEF-supported program called the TEC (formally Temporary Education Center, now the Transitional Education Center). These centers exist both inside and outside the refugee camps. In addition, it educates 64% of Syrian children in school in Turkey and offers courses in their native language. Sometimes the courses are at low or no cost to the families.
The Turkish Ministry on National Education (MoNE) is slowly integrating children who attend TECs into Turkish state schools. The issue of language barriers continues to be addressed and MoNE plans to fully assimilate Syrian children into Turkish schools by the end of 2020. This is a goal that was established prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Educating Syrian Children in Jordan
Jordan has made great strides in recent years, with only 10% of Syrian children not receiving primary school education. The government and other organizations such as Program Aid, Islamic Relief and Human Rights Watch have worked together to ensure that each child receives formal education in some form.
However, this support ends when the children grow older. The enrollment rate for Syrian students drops significantly, from 90% in primary schools to less than 30% in secondary schools. In June 2020, a 61-page report entitled “I Want to Continue to Study: Barriers to Secondary Education for Syrian Refugee Children in Jordan” came out. It details the struggles of refugee children once they transition out of primary school. Additionally, Human Rights Watch encourages Jordan and other countries to take action to ensure that every Syrian children’s education continues after primary school.
Educating Syrian Children in Lebanon
Roughly 57% of the 448,000 school-aged Syrian refugee children in Lebanon are enrolled in public school. This number is growing each academic year. The Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) has received financial support from UNHCR, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other organizations. As a result, this enables MEHE to provide free education for Syrian refugee children (as well as Lebanese children) through the twelfth grade. This program, entitled Reaching All Children With Education (RACE), initiated a sharp increase in enrollment. In addition, MEHE opened 376 new schools between the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years. UNHCR also provides resources for children not yet enrolled in school, both in the community and in the schools themselves. This is to ensure that children receive the education they need.
Many Syrian refugees still remain out of school. However, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon have all made great strides in making education more accessible for Syrian children. Ensuring education for Syrian refugee children has not been an easy task. Yet, these countries have worked hard to make it possible for these children to receive the education they deserve.
– Daryn Lenahan
Photo: Flickr
COVID-19’s Impact on Nepal’s Rural Communities
COVID-19 Related Challenges in Nepal’s Rural Communities
While quarantine and lockdown have been a vital part of curbing the spread of COVID-19, it created challenges for rural Nepalis. A joint research team of the Yale Research Initiative on Innovation and Scale (Y-RISE) and the Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility in Kathmandu tracked 2,600 households in rural Nepal before and after the COVID-19 lockdown. The main problem that this study identified is as lean seasons arrive and grain stocks from the last harvest are exhausted. In addition, extended lockdowns could lead to more hunger and push families below the poverty line. Krishna Rana, a rural citizen in Nepal shares, “Forget about nutritious food, it has been hard to manage daily food for us.”
In a normal year, during the lean season, workers are able to travel into the cities for temporary work. However, this isn’t possible during the lockdown. This study found that the total hours in income-generating work for men have decreased by 75% since January. These statistics indicate that the COVID-19 lockdown will have profound economic impacts. Additionally, it could exacerbate cycles of poverty. As Rana’s husband Rajendra Rana says, “There’s no work I can do. It’s been tough to feed nine members in the family and I am the sole breadwinner.”
Relief Measures to Face Nepal’s Agricultural Challenges
The country’s local governments take on the responsibility of supporting Nepal’s rural communities through the pandemic. Local governments have been allocating resources like food to its most vulnerable citizens. However, these local governments express the need for additional support. As Dhan Bahadur Thapa, Chairman of Beldandi Rural Municipality says, “We lack proper resources, and the support from the non-government agencies have been very essential; through the help of them we are trying our best to feed our people.”
NGOs That Help Assist The Governmental Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
With the support of NGOs, it is the hope that Nepal’s rural communities will be able to sustain themselves through the COVID-19 pandemic. Consistent food and resource support will ensure that these communities do not face food insecurity and further poverty. It is essential that these rural communities are aided so they can continue to sustain themselves through farming and livestock rearing in the future.
– Antoinette Fang
Photo: Flickr
Pharmaceutical Companies Invest in Indigenous Communities
Berkeley and Samoa
In 2004, the University of California at Berkeley struck a deal with the government of Samoa, a small Pacific Ocean island nation. The university will share royalties from the highly revolutionary and precious compound prostratin, native to the Samoan mamala trees. It was discovered the drug was effective in treating HIV/AIDS by flushing the virus out of reservoirs in the body. The university pledged to equally split all revenues generated from the drug. It was used commonly on the island to treat hepatitis. After isolating the genes responsible for producing the drug in the tree, the researchers were able to carry out microbial production.
National Cancer Institute and Samoa
Three years prior, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) issued a license to the AIDS Research Alliance (ARA) to conduct research on the drug prostratin. The NCI exclusively patented this. The methodology behind the research is significantly different from Berkeley’s, as it does not rely on gene sequencing. The percentage of total royalties returned to the island is 20%. This is much lower than the charitable cut Berkeley would offer in the future.
However, this partnership was highly influential in staging the blueprint for American companies to share their copious wealth with the lands they took from. Much of the revenue returning to Samoa continues to be funneled into villages. In addition, it provides healers on the island with more sophisticated equipment and labs. In congruence with the deal, there will be over $500,000 of combined value to the construct water tanks, a medical clinic, three schools, a trail system and a tourist walkway from which the village would keep all revenue.
Merck & Co. and Costa Rica
In 1991, Merck & Co. is one of the pharmaceutical companies that sought to turn obscure compounds into gainful products in the agriculture and pharmaceutical markets. It extended a two-year deal to the nonprofit biodiversity institute in Costa Rica INBio. This entailed the exchange of plant and insect samples for $1 million. This was a mutually beneficial investment. Costa Rica was looking for donors in the private sector to help preserve its tropical and sub-tropical forests. There are ethical concerns surrounding the usage of said investment in building more commercially viable tourist attractions instead of natural preserves. However, regardless of Costa Rica’s money management, the company’s investment was nothing short of magnanimous.
ICBG and Coiba
The island of Coiba, 12 miles off the coast of Panama, was designated as a national park in 1991. It drew much interest in its coral reefs in 2005 when scientific research suggested that they contained an abundance of new species with medicinal and commercial potential. By far, the most promising discovery was octocoral, from which anti-malarial properties can be extracted. Following these exciting developments, the International Co-Operative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG) invested millions in building scientific infrastructure on the mainland of Panama. For instance, testing and processing sites for potential medicinal compounds.
The collaboration pledged to distill at least half of all profits into trust funds. The trust funds design to protect Coiba from internal and external environmental hazards. The profit will also go to the institutions that aided the project. A biological research station was built on the island. The security systems programmed will eradicate colonists and fisherman that could disrupt the ecosystem. ICBG has been successful in identifying and analyzing medicinal compounds in many other countries including Suriname, Vietnam and Madagascar.
These examples of corporations reconciling past exploitation of resources are certainly worth celebrating. However, there is work left to do. Pharmaceutical companies fund indigenous communities and spurring growth of their medicinal industries is still the minority. There is damage that has been left unrectified. These communities rely heavily on the resources insular to their area and supported by a well-funded and functioning infrastructure. In the fight to end global poverty, one of the first places to start is in the coniferous islands and peninsulas. It was once abundant in medicinal compounds but has since been plundered. It is important that the people in these areas can live healthy lives and benefit from the rich resources native to their land.
– Camden Gilreath
Photo: Flickr
MLB’s Grand Slam Against Poverty
Major League Baseball (MLB) player Adam Wainwright is a two-time World Series champion. Additionally, Wainwright is a three-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glover, and Silver Slugger Award winner. In 2013, the Saint Louis Cardinals’ star found another use for his work ethic, leadership and passion by founding the Big League Impact (BLI) to fight poverty in the global community. He believes, “As an athlete, you only get a few years to have a platform like this. You might as well stand on it.” This article discusses some of the organization’s successes, highlighting why founding the organization was a grand slam against poverty.
The BLI began as a family fantasy football fundraiser. Today, this organization hosts campaigns and collaborates with fellow non-profits, athletes, musicians and other public figures. For example, the organization has taken Kyle Gibson into the ranks; the pitcher for the Texas Rangers who now serves as Vice President.
Teamwork Helps Puerto Rico Recover After Earthquake
Following two devastating earthquakes in 2019 and 2020, the BLI raised $30,000 for communities in Puerto Rico. This money went to two foundations: The Happy Givers and Yadier Molina’s Fundación 4. The Happy Givers has endeavored to improve lives in Peru, Tijuana and Puerto Rico. It used donation proceeds to provide power, clean water, emergency supplies and shelter to earthquake survivors. It gave further support by supplying backpacks packed with essentials for survival: whistles, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, flashlights, towels, water bottles, first aid kits and cereal bars.
Fundación 4, meanwhile, has focused exclusively on helping Puerto Ricans. BLI’s contributions went to children suffering from abuse, neglect, as well as diseases such as cancer. Fundación 4 also distributed necessities including food and water to Puerto Rican communities.
Fundraiser Drives Away Poverty and Hunger
Gateway Bronco (GB) is a company based in St. Louis, MO, that designs and restores Ford Broncos. This organization worked with the BLI and Omaze, an online fundraising platform, to fight against poverty. GB offered a classic Ford Bronco and $20,000 cash to bring in donations. This campaign raised $431,378.09 to benefit four charities:
El Mogote is No Longer Parched for Safe Water
In 2019, Nick Ahmed, a shortstop for the MLB Arizona Diamondbacks, partnered with BLI. He traveled to El Mogote, Dominican Republic to open a water treatment center. With the help of Striking Out Poverty and Food 4 the Hungry, Mr. Ahmed was successful in providing 1,200 people with clean water. While there, Ahmed also played baseball with the children, saying, “their passion and joy for the game was so incredible!” Ahmed donated 31 pairs of New Balance cleats to the kids, allowing them to safely continue playing the game.
Healthy Competition for Global Health
Baseball and Football fans alike are encouraged to join the BLI fantasy football league. Entry requires a donation to the organization, ranging from $250 to $1500. Higher donations unlock additional prizes.
In 2020, Ahmed and starting pitcher Luke Weaver of the Arizona Diamondbacks will compete for the cause. Weaver is looking forward to the competition, “I’m excited to defend my title as the best fantasy footballer ever, but I’m welcome to all challengers in that and I hope somebody tries to take me down.” Ultimately, the winners are those in need around the world.
Looking to the Future
To date, BLI has raised over $5.2 million for charitable causes and foundations. Now, Wainwright is mobilizing and advising his fellow athletes on starting their own charities and nonprofits. He says, “What we want to do at Big League Impact, one of our biggest missions now is empowering other players to go out into their communities and into the world and do what they feel like means something to them. Something that hits home.”
– Heather Babka
Photo: Commons Wikimedia
The Education System in China
How The Education System in China Works
It is mandatory in China that every child has to have at least up to nine years of the required education. In addition, education is state-run. This means it has a very small association with private providers. Education is divided into three main groups: basic education, higher education and adult education. The basic education for children in China includes primary school which starts from age six to around age 11 or 12 for the average Chinese resident. Thanks to the “Law on Nine-Year Compulsory Education,” all basic education is tuition-free. After the nine required years, there is a modest fee for tuition during middle and high school.
Moreover, junior secondary school which starts from age 12 to 15. After junior middle school students have finished their mandatory education requirement, they have the option to continue with senior secondary education which is usually a three-year program. These can be followed by other adult educations such as a university for a bachelor’s degree or master’s/Ph.D. program.
Development of The Education System in China
The Chinese education system is not only rigorous but extremely competitive. It has developed at an alarming speed over the last two decades. In addition, the education system in China offers their children many opportunities to thrive in the future. However, it did not always start this way. In the 1950s, the enrollment rate in Chinese elementary schools was below 20% and only 6% for junior secondary school. The country’s main form of education was similar to the Soviet education system. However, as the Soviet paradigm declined China started to change its education style.
By 1978, there were almost 1.3 million primary and secondary schools, a vast improvement just a mere few decades ago. But the steps toward modernization were not yet completed, there were still only about 600 higher learning organizations with only around 117,000 students. Thus, the education system in China was reorganized yet again to the system the country has today. By 1986, the “Compulsory Education Law of the People’s Republic of China” was born. It began executing laws for mandatory education for nine years of a child’s life.
In 2007, the state passed a law that students who were in rural areas were given free tuition for their mandatory nine-year education life. The following year this law was extended to urban living children as well. As of 2018, China has more than 29 million students enrolled in higher education alone, drastically boosting their economy.
COVID-19 Response
COVID-19 being an extremely widespread pandemic has posed some serious challenges for education everywhere. Being one of the first countries to get hit, China took immediate steps to try and solve the education issue during this pandemic. When China got hit, China immediately released an “epidemic prevention, control and containment” response plan. The goal was to handle the pandemic in the smartest and safest way possible, including how education would be affected.
China shut down schools in late January and started advancing their online virtual classes. Along with the new innovation, China did to its online platforms, the country also delays college entrance exams. It banned teaching a new curriculum until the next semester. The country hopes students who had difficulty in accessing online courses would not be hurt by this dramatic change.
Schools currently are open in China, but that may change depending on the state of COVID-19. Until then, China is taking extra precautions with temperatures taken before children go to school. Once they get to school, masks are required and the desks are all three feet apart.
– Katelyn Mendez
Photo: Flickr
ShopUp Helps with Poverty Eradication in Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s economy has grown exponentially in the past 20 years. This raises its GDP per capita by 344% in total since the year 2000. In the last five years alone, this same figure surged 48%. Despite this progress, a significant portion of the country still lives below the poverty line — roughly 20% of a population of 164 million. Recent innovations in poverty eradication in Bangladesh are working to boost economic prospects and facilitate financial security for all of its citizens.
One of these innovations in poverty eradication in Bangladesh is the digital platform ShopUp. ShopUp is co-founded by Afeef Zaman, Siffat Sarwar and Ataur Chowdhury. It began with the goal to empower owners of Facebook businesses with the technical means to grow. More than 50% of Bangladeshis are self-employed. Many of them are operating e-commerce and social commerce shops through Facebook as their source of income. Also, it quickly became evident that clients’ lack of access to capital was hindering their businesses’ growth. After partnering with BRAC in 2018, a Bangladesh-based international development organization, ShopUp now aims to help small business owners acquire credit and other financials when they cannot afford the high cost of formal services.
How ShopUp Benefits Small Business Owners
Transaction records through sites like Facebook can be difficult to track and formalize for loan purposes. ShopUp automatically collects the relevant data from sales on Facebook Messenger. As a result, the merchant can more easily apply to loans from microfinance institutions. Furthermore, the process is quick. When a seller is ready to apply for a loan through ShopUp, the algorithm analyzes 25 different data points from the business’s profile. Additionally, it estimates an appropriate loan ceiling. It only takes 24 hours after approval for the financier to distribute the funds that the borrower requested.
Moreover, it increases access to capital. The service benefits microfinance enterprises by conducting a thorough and efficient online appraisal of the small business applying for the loan. Also, this allows for a significantly lower appraisal fee. This means a higher number of loans can be approved. Growth in the microfinance sector advances the market economy and creates more employment opportunities. In addition to financial assistance, ShopUp provides promotional assistance. Merchants can purchase advertisements for their shops via the service without needing to connect a bank account or credit card. Curated ad placement grants increased visibility. This results in a larger potential customer pool for emerging businesses.
Gender discrimination in Bangladesh means that women tend to face more barriers than men when it comes to employment. With ShopUp’s low cost and ease of access, it is an effective tool for female entrepreneurs to start their small businesses. Women’s participation in the labor force in Bangladesh rose to 36.2% in 2019, in part, due to the expanding market of e-commerce. Furthermore, that same year, 80% of ShopUp’s users were female.
Continued Growth of ShopUp
Investors recognize the potential for ShopUp to increase innovations in poverty eradication in Bangladesh. The founder of eBay, Pierre Omidyar, led a seed round in 2018 encouraging other major companies to assist in funding ShopUp’s endeavors. Google and Amazon were among the contributors for this round which resulted in a $1.62 million investment in the digital service. Data collected in January 2019 show that the platform served 380 individuals after launching the partner project with BRAC. This means it lends out a total of more than 3.1 million (BDT).
ShopUp is just one example of the innovations in poverty eradication in Bangladesh that are putting the country on track to continue its recent economic growth. Widespread Internet usage facilitates a digital market economy that has already provided new opportunities for financial gain. Having accessible services within the market for lower-income individuals is a crucial step in the process.
– Jennifer Paul
Photo: Flickr
Protesters Defend Women’s Rights in India
India’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is the product of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) effort to formulate strict guidelines on the question of who is is not an Indian citizen. The CAA has damaging effects on women’s rights in India.
In December 2019 this harmful legislation became law. Two days after it passed through the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament, it was approved by the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s parliament. To fulfill a BJP campaign promise, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind swiftly signed the CAA into law.
Protests
The CAA became law on December 12, 2019. Protests began immediately. On December 16, 2019, women gathered at Shaheen Bagh, a neighborhood in South Delhi, to protest the CAA.
These protests continue today, although tactics have shifted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Protesters like Kanchan Yadav have utilized online channels in ongoing protests against the CAA. A highly controversial law, the CAA has devastating implications for India’s Muslim minority, as well as for women’s rights in India.
The Effect of the CAA on Women’s Rights in India
In order to secure one’s status as a citizen, the CAA requires Indians to provide scrupulous documentation proving that he or she has been an Indian citizen since before March 25, 1971, or that one’s family claims citizenship back to that date. Many Indian women lack such documents for various systemic reasons. For example, of the total number of child brides in India, half were married before the age of 15, prior to the age at which they would have begun what Americans think of as secondary education.
Illiteracy disproportionately affects Indian women compared with Indian men. Just over half of all women in India are literate, whereas the literacy rate of Indian men surges to over 80% of the male population. This disparity contributes to circumstances in which Indian women are more susceptible to unemployment, poverty and hunger than their male counterparts.
In rural areas, Indian women are often unemployed or underemployed. Less than 10% of the total number of households in India are headed by women. These factors contribute to the looming reality that when the BJP run government comes looking for proof of citizenship, many women will be unable to provide the required documents. Indian women whose citizenship is revoked as a result of BJP policy will lose their right to property and their right to vote.
Global Solidarity With Protests in India
In India, protests against the CAA are unrelenting. Indian women have rightfully identified the threat that the CAA poses to their already unsteady status in Indian society, and protests continue throughout the country and in the digital sphere. These protests are a big step in defense of women’s rights in India. From Shareen Bagh to San Francisco to South Africa, the call to civil disobedience resounds.
– Taylor Pangman
Photo: Wikimedia
Environmental Challenges in the Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands are a geographical region that the many small islands scattered across Southeast Asia characterize. It contains 15 countries such as Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Micronesia and more. As such, it is an extremely ecologically diverse area, home to many unique species of plants and animals. However, environmental challenges in the Pacific Islands pose a serious threat to the region, as natural disasters are prevalent. These ongoing natural disasters have destroyed much of the development in the area, leading to the Pacific Island’s long-standing struggle with economic growth as it lags behind its neighboring regions and countries.
Approximately one in four Pacific Islanders live below the poverty line, some of the highest rates of poverty in the world. These pressures have resulted in many people starting local projects to benefit their communities, which end up leading the world in how to adapt to environmental difficulties.
How Natural Disasters Exacerbate Poverty
As environmental challenges in the Pacific Islands continue to worsen, natural disasters have become increasingly common and dangerous. As an island region with some areas just 10 feet above sea level, the Pacific Islands is especially susceptible to the effects of these disasters. Estimates have determined that the region has lost a total of $3.2 billion since the 1950s due to natural disasters alone. As the area must allocate money towards repairing damaged structures and maintaining critical services, less can go to social programs to lift people out of poverty.
Major events like floods, droughts, tropical cyclones and tsunamis plague the region, reversing years of developmental projects like houses, hospitals, schools and more in just a few days. Long-term effects like inconsistent rainfall patterns, rising sea levels and seawater contamination have caused widespread food insecurity, water shortages and forced migration away from flooded or damaged areas. Many of these issues hit those already in poverty the hardest. Impoverished islanders lack the resources necessary for resilience in the face of such natural disasters, perpetuating a cycle of poverty.
Innovations to Deal with Natural Disasters
Native peoples have come up with creative strategies to combat the threat of environmental challenges in the Pacific Islands at the community level. They are driving the world’s innovations to adapt to natural disasters by combining their knowledge of the native flora and fauna with high-tech science to protect their homes and livelihoods. These innovations have taken many forms, ranging from new data models to resilience-building aimed at future-proofing local economies and resources.
Most notably, communities have begun focusing on ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in the Pacific Islands. This form of adaptation builds on the idea that healthy ecosystems are naturally resilient to the impacts of natural disasters. It prioritizes strengthening, restoring and sustainably managing damaged ecosystems.
Many areas have begun allocating resources towards the restoration of habitats resilient to natural disasters, such as mangrove and seagrass biomes. Studies that researchers conducted in Lami Town, Fiji have demonstrated that this method is both cheaper and more effective than man-made alternatives, especially for long-term development. As a result, the UN promotes EbA as the top method for adapting to the effects of natural disasters in the Pacific Islands.
Communities across the Pacific Islands have initiated projects to grow native plants along coastlines for their disaster-resistant properties and implemented laws to protect the many nearby marine ecosystems. They have also begun experimenting with drought-resistant crops. These projects have shown to positively affect local ecosystems, as well as benefiting the people’s sense of culture and identity while strengthening local governments and reducing reliance on outside forces.
Some areas struggling with water scarcity have rehabilitated their traditional water wells by adding a vegetation buffer to prevent sediments and pollution from falling into the well. Landowners are also agreeing to share wells during drought season, a concept that people developed and piloted in Oneisomw, Micronesia.
Work Remains
The Pacific islands have also made huge steps in climate-smart development, using the best science available to them to identify and prevent the devastating effects of natural disasters. The Catastrophe Risk Information System (PacRIS) acts as a huge database on where disasters have hit historically, as well as the damage they instigated. This project has grown to focus on urban development, strengthening building codes and making predictions about future disasters and their severity.
Although the Pacific Islands has made great strides in addressing the many effects of natural disasters and environmental conditions to prevent poverty and destruction in their communities, the region still requires imminent international support. The Pacific Islands account for a negligible amount of carbon emissions causing many of these issues. Yet the effects of environmental challenges in the Pacific islands are some of the most catastrophic, while major countries refuse to take action to reduce emissions and provide aid. Despite the large obstacles the Pacific Islands face, there is still hope that the area will be able to maintain its way of life and a reasonable amount of stability with the right tools and resources.
– Elizabeth Lee
Photo: Flickr
Five Brands Fighting Hunger and Malnutrition
Dollar General
In 2018, Dollar General announced a plan to remodel around four hundred stores to include a refrigerated section that includes perishable merchandise. About four hundred and fifty stores also began to include healthier options such as fruits and vegetables in order to promote a healthier lifestyle to their customers at an affordable price point. Many stores have also pushed to include food options that contain less sodium and higher protein. Since the inclusion of refrigerated merchandise and healthier food options, a nearly seven percent increase in sales was seen compared to a couple of years before the new renovations.
Propel
Technology in the twentieth century surrounds everyone’s daily lives, and impoverished communities reap the benefits from tech as well. Propel is a company that focuses on bettering the financial health of low-income people by providing a technology service that easily allows people to budget and makes money. EBT balances can be checked right on the Fresh EBT app created by Propel, as well as countless useable coupons from many stores. Propel also aids people by providing job opportunities that are legit and safe. By creating a technological feature especially for those who are struggling, Propel has reached around forty million Americans and continues to benefit those who need help.
Daily Table
Daily Table was founded in 2012 by Trader Joe’s former president Doug Rauch. The products available from Daily Table are wholesome and healthy, and best of all, affordable to everyone as many of the products are also available through SNAP. Over forty thousand members utilize the two Daily Table stores to provide food for their families, saving around thirty percent on average when they checkout compared to other stores. Whether it is finding ingredients to make your own meal through learning from Daily Table’s cooking classes or grabbing something quick on the go, Daily Table makes it a priority to provide nutritious meals to low-income people.
Aramark
With public school being the most popular option for American families, nutrition in schools often gets forgotten and overlooked as other priorities get in the way. Aramark is a company that specializes in all things school-related, including providing affordable meals during school. All of the meals are sourced in local areas and pass USDA regulations by meeting nutrition goals. School districts that include Aramark’s food programs see an average of around eighteen percent increase of free and reduced meal applications from parents. By bringing awareness to their children’s affordable school meal options, parents are able to ensure their child of a meal during school hours regardless of the price.
Kellogg’s
Cereal is an American breakfast staple, and Kellogg’s is a popular brand that helps Americans get their days started. Better Days is a program founded by Kellogg’s that aims to aid with hunger by providing nearly four hundred and fifty million servings of food a year. Just in the past year, as hunger rates are at an all-time high due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Kellogg has donated over thirteen million U.S. dollars in cash as well as food to help relieve hunger in impoverished communities. In the next decade, Kellogg hopes to benefit three billion people by providing Better Days for those who need it. Kellogg’s is also partners with Feeding America to help provide nourishment to hungry Americans.
As the United States moves forward in providing food security for struggling Americans, these five brands fighting hunger are contributing to healthy and nourishing products to better the lives of many.
— Karina Wong
Photo: Pexels
Will the COVID-19 Vaccine Be Distributed Equally Worldwide?
The World Health Organization (WHO) is making plans for how a life-saving COVID-19 vaccine could be distributed around the globe.
COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
There are concerns about countries “hoarding” stores of vaccines for their own citizens. The countries that have the most money on hand will have the ability to buy a larger portion of available vaccines for citizens. While global leaders have come together to pledge $2 billion towards the creation of a vaccine, there is currently no formal worldwide plan to successfully manage the future COVID-19 vaccine and its distribution.
The public-private partnership that lead to this $2 billion pledge, Gavi, focuses on increasing childhood vaccinations in underdeveloped countries. It has support from WHO, UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill Gates himself has promised $1.6 million towards Gavi, along with $100 million to help countries that will need aid to purchase COVID-19 vaccines.
U.S. Involvement and WHO
The U.S. government has decided to stay out of the recent Gavi-organized funding pledge. The country has also pulled monetary support from WHO. In the past, the U.S. has been a large supporter of the creation of the HPV and pneumococcal vaccines, which has left many experts confused by the recent moves of the U.S. to disassociate itself from the larger global race towards a COVID-19 vaccine.
Beyond hoarding concerns, there are always issues surrounding legal and sharing agreements between countries, quality control, civil uprising and unrest and natural disasters when it comes to vaccine distribution.
A recent example of how the world dealt with vaccine distribution during a pandemic is the 2009-2010 H1N1 swine flu pandemic. With the money they had, wealthier countries purchased most of the vaccine available through early orders, leaving developing countries to scramble for leftover vaccine stores. Eyjafjallajökul’s eruption in Iceland in April of 2010 also created vaccine shipping delays. Many countries, such as the U.S., Australia and Canada would not let vaccine manufacturers ship vaccines outside of their countries without fulfilling their people’s needs first.
Going Forward
To create a successful global vaccination program requires the cooperation from all countries involved, not just a few. Many may die without the equitable sharing of vaccines as this pandemic will flourish in underdeveloped nations. It may be seen by the rest of the global community as selfish to not try and help other countries in their fight against the virus.
Even after a vaccine is created, different strains of COVID-19 could easily return to Australian, Canadian or American shores, wreaking havoc all over again. While there are efforts being made to prevent distribution issues with the future vaccine, without the help of the United States,—one of the wealthiest countries on Earth—it may be long before a COVID-19 vaccine is fairly distributed.
– Tara Suter
Photo: Flickr