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How Desert Locusts Impact Global Poverty

How Desert Locusts Impact Global Poverty
With the rainy season falling upon Africa, a number of countries are rushing to take action against a catastrophic swarm of desert locusts currently in several regions. This swarm might be the most destructive of its kind in 25 years for Ethiopia and Somalia and the worst that has hit Kenya in over 70 years. People can predominantly find the insects in regions across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. They have the ability to eat their own weight in food, which poses a challenge to crop production in arid climates. Rain and planting seasons begin in March, meaning that efforts to contain infestation must happen quickly before the situation becomes too drastic and the locusts impact global poverty too severely.

Read more below for information on what desert locusts are, their impact on global poverty and the preventative measures that affected countries must take in order to address the destruction that will cut across these regions in 2020.

Desert Locusts

Desert locusts are the oldest and most dangerous migratory pests. They are short-horned insects that are part of the grasshopper species, but they differ in that they have the ability to alter their behavior in order to migrate across large distances. These migrations can easily become highly concentrated and mobile.

These locusts usually travel in swarms, containing up to 40 million insects that can consume enough food for 34 million people in a short period of time. They are able to stay in the air for a long time, meaning that they can regularly cross the Red Sea at a distance of 300 kilometers.

These swarms have already crossed into areas like Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan. They typically form under heavy rain conditions, where they travel in search of food. Desert locusts are among the most destructive migratory pests because they not only threaten food security but economic and environmental development as well.

People can spray them with pesticides as a control measure, but it is not always preventative. Both humans and birds regularly eat them, but not enough to reduce swarms of a large size. Current environmental conditions that cause frequent droughts, cyclones in the Indian Ocean and floods have created the perfect atmosphere for locusts to breed.

Locusts’ Contribution to Global Poverty

Desert locusts primarily reside in the arid deserts of Africa and near east and southwest Asia and the Middle East. This poses a severe challenge to herders and may potentially cause communal conflict as herders move in search of pastures and other grazing lands.

Desert locusts consume as much food as 20 camels, six elephants or 350,000 people in a day. It is in this way that locusts impact global poverty because with large invasions in east Africa, where 2.5 million people are already facing severe hunger, there is a clear challenge in regards to the global poverty epidemic. The food crisis will deepen and grazing lands will no longer be able to sustain sufficient crop production, which will lead to an even more economic downturn for several African countries.

Solutions

The quickest vehicle for prevention is spraying pesticides or biopesticides in the air. Natural predators exist, but desert locusts can escape pretty quickly due to their mobility.

The United Nations (U.N.) has publicly called for international aid in alleviating the destruction that will inevitably arise from these swarms. Desert locusts will compromise food security all over Africa, which will, in turn, lead to higher poverty rates as people scramble for food. Its office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has allocated about $10 million from its Central Emergency Relief Fund. This will help fund aerial operations that can enforce infestation control better.

The Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO) is currently calling to raise about $76 million from donors and other organizations in order to limit how desert locusts impact global poverty. So far, it has raised approximately $20 million, which is largely from the U.N.’s emergency fund. The numbers should increase as the locusts travel larger distances and spread to more areas.

Desert locust swarms are growing at an exponential rate. Projections determine that they will increase by 500 times in East Africa by June 2020, which invokes even more of a humanitarian crisis as food shortage will impact millions of people.

– Brittany Adames
Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts about Healthcare in Mongolia

Healthcare in MongoliaMongolia is 19 in the largest countries in the world. During the 1990s, Mongolia transitioned from a socialist country to a market economy. This resulted in a drop in funding to healthcare, education and social security. The country has experienced economic growth since the early 2000s and is likely to see future economic development. However, Mongolia is still reliant on agriculture. Stable growth, poverty and unemployment are still prevalent struggles for the country. Below are 10 facts about health care in Mongolia.

10 Facts about Healthcare in Mongolia

  1. Mongolia provides free and universal healthcare to its citizens. Despite this, free access does not mean ensured access. The availability of basic healthcare services within certain facilities is not sufficient. Readiness is stunted by a lack of diagnostic capacity and a lack of medicine.
  2. All healthcare service centers offer preventive and curative care services for children five and under. Service readiness is only at 44.5 percent and medical supplies only at 18.9 percent. Access to essential medicines, such as cotrimoxazole syrup, paracetamol suspension and albendazole capsules, has fluctuated between 6.5 to 12.9 percent.
  3. Routine immunization occurred at 23 percent of facilities. Despite the fact that these facilities housed well-trained staff, vaccines were not always available.
  4. Family planning is offered at 30.8 percent of healthcare facilities. Counseling and family planning tool readiness only occurs at 44 percent of family health centers. There is a lack of oral and injectable contraceptives as well as condoms at many of these facilities.
  5. The Mongolian Red Cross sent teams to factories and herding communities to educate them on sanitation and disease prevention. They set up infant and elderly care workshops. These efforts helped in the reduction of smallpox, typhus, plague, poliomyelitis and diphtheria by 1981.
  6. The 2008 financial crisis caused the government to drop its healthcare expenditure from 10.7 percent to 8.6 percent where it has stayed as of the last World Health Organization recording in 2013. Total healthcare expenditure from GDP has remained around 5.7 percent since 2008.
  7. The Health Sector Strategic Master Plans services are offered at three different levels. Primary health is provided by family health centers, soum (district) health centers and inter-soum (inter-district) hospitals. Secondary health is served by the district, aimag (tribe) general, rural hospitals and private clinics. Tertiary healthcare is served by multispecialty central hospitals as well as specialized centers in Ulaanbaatar.
  8.  Life expectancy increased by five years over several decades. In 2010, the average life span was estimated at 68.1 years. This placed Mongolia at 116 among 193 World Health Organization measured member countries. So far, this number has only increased to almost 70 years.
  9. Respiratory system, digestive, genitourinary and circulatory disease are among the leading causes of death in Mongolia. The death rate of respiratory system diseases dropped from 5.77 per 1000 in 2000 to 2.72 per 1000 in 2010. The death rate of digestive system disease, however, has been steadily increasing. In 2000, it was 4.68 percent; by 2010 it was at 5.30 percent.
  10. The national maternal mortality rate between 1990-2000 was 170 per 100,000. This was considered high compared to the average of developed countries. However, this rate has since fallen to 45.5 as of 2010.

These facts about healthcare in Mongolia show that the country has a history of putting effort into improving the health of its citizenry. However, it has a way to go until it is ranked up to first-world nation status. With time, and as more nations show interest in trading for Mongolia’s resources in exchange for medicine and healthcare devices, Mongolia’s health status in the world is likely to change for the better.

– Robert Forsyth
Photo: Unsplash

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8 Facts About Sanitation in Ghana

Facts About Sanitation in GhanaGhana is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa and has an increasing population of 29 million people. Despite its urbanization effort, there is still a lack of access to basic sanitation services in many areas. A significant portion of the people in Kumasi depend on public restroom facilities, and in low-income areas, there is little to no access to water. This is a large drawback of Ghana’s rapid urbanization. Here are eight facts about sanitation in Ghana.

8 Facts About Sanitation in Ghana

  1. WSUP Water Utilities: The Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) has been working with the Ghana Water Company to help advise and facilitate ways to provide water to low-income districts. WSUP has encouraged local communities to contribute to the success of the service so that the result ends in proper water access to the residents. WSUP’s initiative attempts to close the gap between poor water and sanitation access and the socio-economic development and political position of women. The support of WSUP has resulted in more than 100,000 residents in low-income communities gaining access to water services.
  2. Clean Team: A project called “Clean Team” was set up by WSUP in Ghana in 2012, and works using container-based toilet systems. Residents who use Clean Team are charged a low monthly fee to access the system. Clean Team won USAID’s Digital Innovation Award in 2017 following the success of this program. WSUP was able to achieve this win after partnering with MTN to allow customers to use mobile banking to pay their fees instead of cash.
  3. UNICEF Rural and Urban Sanitation: Ghana’s open defecation rate was reported at 18.06 percent in 2017. UNICEF has been encouraging and promoting behavior changes through the Rural Sanitation Model and Strategy in Ghana to tackle this problem. The main aim is ending open defecation and advocating for the construction of household waste facilities. UNICEF has also partnered with charities that provide loans to help community members build toilets and practice cleaner and safer habits. At the end of 2018, UNICEF launched the Basic Sanitation Fund together with Apex Bank, the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and the Embassy of the Netherlands. The loan program is targeted at developing more products to improve sanitation conditions in households.
  4. Water.org WaterCredit: Water.org has partnered with three Ghanaian micro-finance institutions for its WaterCredit program. So far it has succeeded in reaching more than 380,000 people and provided more than $2.4 million in loans. The program is aimed at providing communities with credit to invest in the construction of wells, latrines and rainwater harvesting equipment, all in an effort to reduce the cost and restrictions of clean water.
  5. School Toilet Blocks: More than 7,000 public schools in Ghana are without basic toilet facilities. WSUP is working with the Ghanaian Ministry of Education to provide schools in Accra and Kumasi with toilet facilities for children specifically, as well as hand washing blocks extensively available for both students and teachers. Of note, the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has received support from WSUP and managed to provide toilet facilities in seven schools. The KMA hopes that this initiative acts as a model for other schools to improve their sanitation positions.
  6. Urban Sanitation Research Initiative Ghana: This initiative is a 2017 to 2020 program aimed at extensive research work around sanitation in three countries including Ghana. Led by WSUP, the program’s goal is to encourage sector changes surrounding sanitation and gather evidence that will allow the country to receive aid and funding to improve its conditions. The research exercises are only the first but very vital step in achieving success to improve Ghana’s sanitation plight.
  7. Sanitation Surcharges: Effective January 2017, a sanitation surcharge was introduced in Ga West Municipal Assembly. WSUP supported this innovation to be included with property tax in an effort to remove any heavy dependence Ghana has on donor funds to help solve its sanitation problem. The surcharge policy has been successful in that the revenue generated at the end of 2018 was over 30,000 GHS. Several similar approaches are being conceived in the country with the same aim.
  8. Health Rank: In 2015, Ghana was ranked the seventh dirtiest country by sanitation standards by the WHO with over 7,000 children dying every year from conditions such as cholera and diarrhea. Today WSUP has managed to extend hygiene training to over 2 million people. These types of approaches are ongoing to battle the links between poor sanitation and poor health.

These eight facts about sanitation in Ghana show that the country remains in disparity while experiencing progress. With the help of global institutions and non-governmental organizations, the country can be set in a position to experience a safe and sanitary future.

– Regina-Lee Dowden
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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7 Facts About the Locust Swarm Crisis in Ethiopia

Locust Swarms in Ethiopia
Brutal locust swarms have been decimating the food supply of Ethiopia and other African nations. Over 40 percent of Ethiopia’s GDP comes from agriculture, specifically the cultivation of grains like wheat and barley. Locust swarms attack the food supply of the livestock as well, of which Ethiopians consume at a much higher standard than most developing countries. Ethiopia consumes 15 kilograms of meat annually, 50 percent of which is beef. Locust swarms plaguing East Africa have the potential to create a famine that threatens to starve the people of Ethiopia. Here are some facts regarding the locust swarm crisis in Ethiopia recently.

7 Facts About the Locust Swarm Crisis in Ethiopia

  1. The locust swarm crisis in Ethiopia threatens to plunge several Eastern countries into famine. The United Nations (U.N.) has released a call to action, asking other nations around the world to provide $76 million for relief efforts in order to spray the affected areas with insecticide. This is one of the only ways to quell this impending famine.
  2. Ethiopia is no stranger to this kind of epidemic, as a similar influx of locust swarms preyed upon nearly 100 percent of green plant cover in Northern Ethiopia back in 1954. This locust swarm, along with extreme drought that year, plunged Ethiopia into a year-long famine.
  3. The locust’s ability to fly over 150 kilometers in one day makes it a traveling crop reaper. A single locust swarm, containing 40 million locusts, can consume the amount of food required to feed 35,000 people in a single day. This is the largest locust swarm Ethiopia has faced in 25 years.
  4. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supports the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in order to monitor prime breeding locations of locusts to effectively eradicate them before a full-blown infestation comes to fruition. USAID also backs the research of naturally-occurring pest control agents over harmful chemicals.
  5. USAID aids in coordination with national authorities in order to quickly locate swarm locations so every party has the preparation to eliminate the swarms. Local farmhands and herdsmen often alert locust control staff when people have spotted locusts in a particular area, playing a primary role in the prevention of locust swarms. Locusts tend to destroy crops very quickly, so it is important for locust control staff to know whether it is necessary to intervene with the local sightings and data they collect.
  6. Biologist Arianne Cease believes that the practice of overgrazing livestock creates more severe locust swarms. The land management that farmers implement creates a humid climate that is perfect for spawning locusts. Cease says that farmers should feed crops to their livestock that are optimal for that specific animal and not for locusts. For example, locusts thrive on a high carbohydrate crop, such as the grain that farmers grow in Ethiopia, while a sheep thrives on a high protein crop. Therefore, selecting the right crop and not overgrazing can decrease the severity of swarms, according to Arianne Cease.
  7. Dr. Cease has begun working with over 1,000 Mongolian farmers at a university for agriculture in order to implement these farming strategies, all with the hope of decreasing locust swarm sizes, such as the city-sized swarm currently plaguing Ethiopia.

One locust swarm can threaten Ethiopia’s entire food security. With the right precautionary measures like selective crop growing, moderate grazing and reporting locust sightings to international and local authorities, Ethiopia and the rest of the East African nations that these swarms plague can work together to mitigate the destruction that these pesky insect swarms caused.

– William Mendez
Photo: Flickr

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News on the Keeping Girls in School Act

Keeping Girls in School ActThe House of Representatives passed the Keeping Girls in School Act in January 2020. The main focus of the Keeping Girls in School Act is to make sure that girls around the world are supported in staying in school despite the numerous hurdles they face. There are young girls around the world who are still being forced to leave school due to early marriages and pregnancies. This bill guarantees that the U.S. will ensure foreign assistance to break the barriers that are keeping almost 130 million girls worldwide from getting an education. 

The Keeping Girls in School Act

By focusing on their education, girls are not only gaining academic knowledge but they are also growing up with the right resources and knowledge to lead prosperous and successful lives. If countries could definitively end child marriages, they could save 5 percent or more on their budgets for education by the year 2030. The following four facts describe how the Keeping Girls in School Act will help girls stay in the classroom instead of having to stop their education to go take care of a household:

  1. Result-based financing– The Act authorizes USAID to create grant-based programs that are designed to reduce the obstacles that interfere with young girls and inhibit them from completing school. Programs like Cash on Delivery Aid and Development Impact Bonds directly link the funds obtained to deliver the specified outcomes.
  2. Ending gender-bias stigma– Sexism still exists and it is still a major factor affecting young girls. In some cultures, girls are expected to be housewives while the men go out and work. In India, students are becoming aware of gender equality and by discussing it in classrooms. These discussions are improving girls’ attitudes and behaviors on education and gender equality. 
  3. Ensuring safety for all children– At least 25 percent of students in Liberia have reported sexual abuse by teachers. In India, 21 percent of students have experienced abuse in an academic setting. One of the top priorities of this bill is to ensure that all children feel safe and comfortable while learning. 
  4. Making education affordable– In many countries, higher education is a privilege for the rich. The Keeping Girls in School Act highlights the role of USAID in supporting an education system that is affordably financed by governments domestically. The key is to focus on improving the affordability of primary and secondary schooling to promote higher learning.

Supporting Girls’ Education and Rights

More importantly, the purpose of this bill is to ensure that girls are allowed to be children and not become mothers and wives at young ages. According to recent data by UNICEF, 12 million girls are becoming wives at a young age. By marrying young, their childhoods come to a screeching halt and they are forced to grow up. In sub-Saharan Africa, 66 percent of girls who have not received an education become wives at an early age. However, for girls who have a secondary or higher education, that number drops to 13 percent.

The Keeping Girls in School Act supports the U.S. Global Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls. Its main purpose is to focus on girls’ rights, education, health and safety. The House passed the Act. Senator Jeanne Shaheen introduced a version in the Senate in April of 2019. With enough support, the Act will pass in the Senate.

– Paola Quezada
Photo: Flickr

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Global Poverty Reduction from 2000 to 2020

Global Poverty Reduction
The United Nations (U.N.) defines “extreme poverty” as living on $1.90 a day or less. In 2018, roughly 9 percent of the world’s population lived in extreme poverty. However, global poverty reduction efforts are implementing successfully in some of the world’s poorest countries. By 2030, projections determine that extreme poverty should decrease to 6 percent. Here are some basic facts about global poverty levels today and examples of successful NGO projects that are achieving widespread global poverty reduction.

Facts About Global Poverty Levels

  1. Basic Needs: In 2017, three-quarters of the global population had safe sanitation facilities and 90 percent had access to potable water. Still, 2 billion people live in “high water stress.” This means that the demand for water exceeds the available amount. A U.N. survey of 172 countries found that 138 had some form of legal measure in place to provide equitable access to water. Additionally, around 70 percent of all states surveyed currently have procedures that supply rural areas with more water.
  2. Electricity: Ninety percent of the world is now supplied with electricity due to significant expansion to rural regions. Yet, rural rates still remain disparate at 78 percent compared to urban centers’ rate of 97 percent. Several countries remain below 20 percent electrification, most of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa. On the other hand, Kenya, Bangladesh, Myanmar and India have substantially increased electric services. India, for example, supplied 30 million households with power from 2010 to 2016.
  3. Unemployment: The global unemployment rate is now at 5 percent, returning to pre-2008 financial crisis levels. However, youth unemployment rates are three times that of adults (12 percent for youth vs. 4 percent for adults). In addition, rural communities experience three times as much poverty as urban centers. The employment sex ratio remains asymmetric, but the female labor market participation rose to 48 percent worldwide. On average, gender equality in the workplace is now at 1 percent.
  4. Social Services: In 2019, 45 percent of the global population benefited from at least one social service. Net school enrollment increased by half over the past 10 years, and over 90 percent of those aged 15 to 24 are literate. Still, gender equality in educational attainment has decreased. Additionally, primary school enrollment rates are four times higher in Europe and North America, where social services cover about 92 percent of all children. This is seven times higher than in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia.

NGO Initiatives

  1. Burkina Faso Cash Transfer Project: The International Development Association started the Burkina Faso Cash Transfer project in 2014. The project is an infrastructure development initiative that addresses three key areas: private-sector job growth, the improvement of the social safety net and vocational training. The cash assistance program is a need-based system. Additionally, the program provides the poorest groups with social services and three years of financial aid. So far, half a million people are in their respective national social safety nets, and 100,000 individuals received cash assistance. Approximately 35,000 recipients received additional funds for food, keeping many citizens from returning to poverty. Around a million people will benefit from the program by 2024.
  2. Sahel Women Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Project (SWEDD): SWEDD launched in countries like Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali in 2015. SWEDD addresses the ramifications of gender inequality on multiple fronts and informs and empowers women of all ages. Labor market preparedness, access to reproductive health care services and increased school attendance are the project’s primary objectives, even though it works a little differently in each country. For example, by subsidizing schooling for 13,000 girls in Chad, the dropout rate has been lowered by 50 percent.
  3. The Urban Youth Employment Project (UYEP): The World Bank and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade fund UYEP. UYEP focuses on youth employment in Papua New Guinea. In 2010, three-quarters of those under the age of 24 had no bank account, did not attend high school and never had a paying job. The program has provided 18,500 youth with work-specific training, subsequent job placement and financial subsidies throughout the process.

Power of NGOs in Global Poverty Reduction

NGO funds are vital for global poverty reduction because they help low-income countries achieve durable change. In December 2019, the World Bank Group and the International Development Association committed $80 billion of funding for existing and proposed projects in the 76 poorest countries. Since 2000, there is notable progress in these fragile areas. Nonetheless, substantial challenges remain to alleviate poverty and achieve global poverty reduction.

– Annabel Fay
Photo: Flickr

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Empowering Coffee Farmers in Ethiopia

Coffee Farmers in Ethiopia
Coffee production in Ethiopia accounts for about 3 percent of the global market with around 20 million people relying on it for livelihood in the region. These 20 million workers only see about 15 percent of the profits from the purchase of a bag of beans. Bext360, as well as several other companies, are using blockchain and AI technology to empower farmers through fair and immediate pay, awareness of the market value and direct communication with buyers. By simplifying the coffee production industry and creating transparency through a traceable digital footprint, coffee farmers in Ethiopia can reap the benefits of their harvest in a more efficient and innovative way.

Bext360

Daniel Jones launched Bext360 in Denver in 2017. Bext360 is a Software-as-a-Service platform that allows consumers to trace products from the point of origin, providing a measurable means of accountability.

This provides transparency and efficiency, ensuring fairness to all sides. Through the use of blockchain and AI, Bext360 is revolutionizing traceability in the coffee industry, doing away with the middle-man that takes most of the gains that rightly belong to the farmers.

The Solution

Stellar is a financial tech startup that can handle a high volume of micropayments across borders that allows Bext360—in partnership with Moyee Coffee Company (that sources and roasts its beans in Ethiopia)—to produce crypto tokens that immediately and directly transfers to farmers. Moyee also adds a 20 percent premium payment to all small-holder farmers.

Coffee berry harvesters take the cherries they pick and load them into a special bin (the bextmachine) that appraises the haul while simultaneously sifting and sorting the crop. Farmers have the power to accept or deny the offer for their coffee crop through the use of mobile devices, allowing them to have more freedom and bargaining power.

Bext360 has also created a platform where photos of the coffee bean farmers are available online. This profile also shows how much they are receiving for pay and what the current market value price is. Consumers can view this online profile by scanning a QR code that pulls up the exact location of the farm, and traces the journey and price of the bean to their cup.

How Does this Help Farmers?

The machine that Bext360 created allows farmers to know the value of their crop, and avoid exploitation from coffee companies. It also gives them the knowledge and incentive to take control of the market and harvest at the right time, maximizing return profit.

Coffee farmers in Ethiopia can also have a more direct relationship with buyers. Estimates determine that farmers can have about a 40 percent increase in revenue by using the bextmachine as opposed to other typical washing stations.

Going Forward — Other Companies Involved

Other companies such as IOHK are going beyond supply chain transparency. It is pursuing development in a blockchain training course for local developers who, once graduated, will go on to create their own projects in cryptocurrency in Africa using Cardano technology. This should create even more potential for improvements in all economic sectors, not just the coffee industry.

Through the innovation and scope that blockchain allows, Moyee Coffee Company is able to leave over 300 percent more value in Ethiopia compared to other coffee companies. In May 2018, Moyee also hosted a One Million Cups Campaign in Ireland that sent over $63,448 to Ethiopia. In the future, Moyee hopes to be able to use its blockchain tech to crowd-fund upgrading equipment or building new infrastructure to ultimately improve yields and sever Ethiopia’s reliance on foreign aid in the region.

The benefits of more transparency are twofold: creating greater awareness and participation in consumers, as well as improving living conditions. Living conditions may improve through more equal pay for farmers and ultimately allowing the hard-working growers to reap the benefits of their work and be able to support themselves. It gives coffee farmers in Ethiopia more empowerment over their craft, all the way to the cup of coffee that one buys at the store.

– Laurel Sonneby
Photo: Flickr

Successful Development Projects in Honduras

Development Projects in Honduras
Poverty remains an issue in Honduras, but it is making progress in rural infrastructure development, education improvement and agriculture income growth. As reported in 2017, Honduras has a poverty rate of about 52 percent, partly due to slow economic development, extreme violence and political corruption. Those in poverty rely heavily on outside aid from the World Bank, the U.S. and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Thanks to the World Bank and its partners, major development projects in Honduras were successful, such as the Social Protection Project and the Rural Infrastructure Project. Progress is currently ongoing to reduce poverty, develop the Honduran economy and improve life for those in poor rural areas.

Social Protection Project

The Social Protection Project cost $77 million, began in 2010 and ended in 2018. Although poverty reduced from 65 percent in 2005 to 52 percent in 2017, poverty remains an issue and is one of the main reasons for Hondurans fleeing the country. One major effect of Honduras’ poverty is parents taking their children out of school and having them work to help the household earn a sufficient income. Since income is low, poor Hondurans often cannot afford quality health care.

Malnutrition in children under 5 was 43 percent for those in poverty and school enrollment for ages 12 to 14 was 65 percent. To combat this, the World Bank and Honduras worked together to improve education and health care. At the end of the project, school attendance increased by 5 percent for 6 to 17-year-olds and school enrollment increased by 5 percent. Child labor reduced by 2.6 percent and about 50 percent of the recipients from 0 to 23 months of age received vaccinations. More than 300,000 families benefited from the Social Protection Project. Conditional cash transfers helped reduce poverty for those who participated in the project, which granted monthly income to the extreme poor.

Rural Infrastructure Project

The Rural Infrastructure Project began in 2005 and ended in 2016. Most roads in Honduras are unpaved and about 16 percent of people in rural areas lack a clean drinking water source, which increases the risk of contracting diseases. Also, about 22 percent of sanitation facilities remain unimproved and 30 percent of those in rural areas lack electricity. The Government of Honduras worked with the World Bank to improve its lagging infrastructure because of this. The project benefited more than 300,000 households.

Among many other infrastructure improvements, the project resulted in installing 4,893 latrines and constructing 113 water and sanitation projects. The project improved more than 413 miles of roadways and financed more than 8,550 rural electrification projects, with most of the electricity powered from solar photovoltaic energy. The project also improved more than 500 miles of power lines, which made it easier to develop remote areas of Honduras such as the slums in the western part of the country.

U.S. Involvement

The U.S. is one of the main donors to Honduras. Through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the U.S. grants aid to those in need of foreign assistance. The U.S. Congress created the MCC in 2004 with strong bipartisan support. The MCC spent more than $200 million in infrastructure and agriculture improvements through four major projects in Honduras from 2005 to 2010. Some of the results include more than 350 miles of rural roads improved and paved. The biggest result was increasing monthly agriculture income by $3.50. The increase in income might seem small, but not for those in poverty, especially Hondurans who live in extreme poverty, off of less than $2 a day. For reference, the middle-income country poverty rate is around $5.50.

Poverty is slow to decline in Honduras, yet successful development projects in Honduras show improvement in other areas. Infrastructure is improving through the help of the U.S. and the World Bank. Poverty declined gradually from about 65 percent in 2005 to 52 percent in 2017. Development projects in Honduras in rural areas, such as through electrification, education and health care improvements and road construction shows promise for improving livelihoods for Hondurans in poverty.

– Lucas Schmidt
Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Dominica 

10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Dominica 
Dominica, a 290-square-mile piece of paradise, is picturesque and surprisingly untouched. This small island has a population of 73,286 and has supported itself on its own agriculture rather than tourism. Its life expectancy is high and a record number of residents live well into their 100s. Here are 10 facts about life expectancy in Dominica.

1o Facts About Life Expectancy in Dominica

  1. Dominica boasts the sixth-highest life expectancy in the Americas, which stood at 77.4 years for the total population in 2018. The average male lives 74.4 years and the average female lives for 80.5 years.
  2. Historically, Dominica has had low mortality rates although those numbers have been fluctuating over the years. In 2000, mortality rates were 7.3 per 1,000 in the population. This number rose in 2007 to 8.44 and came back down to 7.9 in 2018.
  3. From 1990 to 2017, the mortality rate of children under age 5 has increased from 18.8 to 30.3. In addition, the mortality rate rose from 15.7 to 26.4 for children under age 1. These numbers seem high, but when one considers the island’s small population, the combined number of deaths is surprisingly low. For instance, the three leading causes of death for children and infants under 5-years-old from 2006 and 2010 were respiratory disorders specific to the perinatal period, congenital malformations and bacterial sepsis of the newborn. This resulted in only 99 deaths amongst this age group in those four years.
  4. Since 2000, trained health personnel has seen all pregnant women. No cases of vaccine-preventable diseases in children occurred between 2006 and 2010. Immunization coverage in 2009 remained at 100 percent for MMR, 99.4 percent for polio and 98.6 percent for BCG. In 2009, 96.8 percent of women visited public health facilities. In addition, around 3.4 percent visited private medical practitioners for prenatal care. Around 99 percent of births took place in a hospital. Moreover, mothers exclusively breastfed around 26 percent of babies for six months.
  5. From 2007 to 2009, there were 296 adult deaths between ages 20 and 59 and there were 40 deaths of young adults ages 15-24 from 2005 to 2009. Fifty percent of these deaths were from external causes like car accidents and homicides.
  6. Thirteen percent of Dominica’s total population was reportedly elderly in 2010 and the number is steadily increasing. The Yes We Care program launched in 2009. It provides relief to the members of the elderly population that need it the most. This program offers income-tax-free pensions, free hospitalization and a minimum pension for all non-pensionable persons retiring from the public service.
  7. People have cited Dominica’s pristine, unspoiled environment as the main reason for longevity on the island. Dominica’s waters are unpolluted and its vegetation is pesticide-free. A healthy diet also contributes to a high life expectancy. Traditionally, Dominicans’ diets include natural products from the forest, herbs and herbal medicines.
  8. Dominica holds the record for the highest number of centenarians in the world. Some call this island the home of the fountain of youth. At one point there were four centenarians on the same street. Surprisingly, there were 27 centenarians on the island. That is nearly four people per 10,000, 50 percent higher than Japan, and three times as many as in Britain. Moreover, the U.S. Dominica was the home of the oldest documented person, Ma Pampo who died in 2003 at age 128.
  9. Most of the physical fitness that some attribute to the people of Dominica is due to the mountainous nature of the island with its interior covered in thick rainforest. The islanders worked the land for years and today’s elderly had to walk long distances on rough terrain in their youth because there were few roads until well into the 1960s. Walking was a necessity of everyday life, along with hard physical work.
  10. Some fear that the story of Dominica’s remarkable centenarians will come to an end in another decade. This is because of the lifestyle changes of the island’s younger generation including American-style fast-food restaurants popping up and televisions in even the poorest households. One in four of the population owns a car and toiling on the land is a last choice job for the young. Benefiting from better medical care and improved public health, while living a pre-modern lifestyle is coming to an end. The new generation is becoming obese. In contrast, Dominica still has a large number of the older generation who have not known bad habits.

Dominica is the perfect example of how lifestyle affects longevity. The fact that Dominicans have found ways to sustain themselves without giving into large scale tourism has preserved their way of life and extended many of their lives. These 10 facts about life expectancy in Dominica highlight and support the importance of a healthy diet and proper exercise.

– Janice Athill
Photo: Flickr

The Investment Zones in Africa

Investment Zones in Africa
Although populous, rich in natural resources and blessed with an abundance of arable land, many countries in the African continent continue to contend with poverty and food insecurity. That said, the status quo in Africa is far from all doom-and-gloom. More than 400 African companies boast annual revenues of $1 billion or greater, and the continent’s average GDP increased at an annual rate of 5.4 percent from 2000-2010. Meanwhile, a 2018 report from the World Bank noted that six of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies were in Africa, with Ghana claiming the top spot. New markets and investment zones in Africa offer entrepreneurs a host of business opportunities.

Competition for African Business

Africa’s economic revolution and ongoing population boom are an enticing prospect for international companies and foreign investors. China, Russia and India are just three of the nations competing for African business. In 2019, Chinese-African trade accrued $170 billion in profits, more than 20 times what it was in the early days of the current millennium. Foreign powers import Nigerian crude oil and cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo or establish utility contracts in West Africa and this is only the beginning – Africa’s fast-growing economies promise even greater profits down the road.

Agriculture

Africa owns more arable land than any other region on earth, but most of that land is unutilized. African agricultural imports account for only 10 percent of the world market, while 60 percent of the world’s uncultivated land lies in African borders. Agribusiness has the potential to become one of the most profitable investment zones in Africa, as cash crops like sugar, tobacco and coffee have already yielded dividends for exporters even at less than optimal production.

Industry and Infrastructure

Given Africa’s generally outdated energy grids and telecommunications networks, infrastructure projects should prove a lucrative investment sector. Egypt initiated a full-scale infrastructure overhaul in 2015, while the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA) financed a number of ventures across the continent, including the North-South Power Transmission Corridor project. Some people project Africa’s domestic gas markets to grow 9 percent annually through 2025. African manufacturers are on track to double their production to roughly $1 trillion by 2030, giving the region the capability to undercut traditional (and more costly) manufacturing exporters like China.

Profit for a Purpose

Continued industrialization and population growth in Africa should lead to an influx of new markets and future generations of consumers. Importantly, the locals also stand to benefit from new revenue streams and investment zones in Africa, not just multinationals. African investors are increasingly trying their hand in the international stock exchange, contributing $13.39 billion to global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects, and $10.2 billion to FDI funds in Africa itself. Africa, it seems, should become the next big player at the international economic table.

– Dan Zamarelli
Photo: Flickr