Archive for category: Developing Countries

Information and stories about developing countries.

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Causes of Poverty in Mali

Causes of Poverty in Mali
As growth programs in Africa transition from aid to investment, the quality of life for its inhabitants improves. The effects of poverty vary from place to place. For example, let’s examine the causes of poverty in Mali.

The World Bank Group (WBG) strives to promote risk management in its development policy operations and its understanding of the adverse factors that could affect its operations in Africa. As a result, its strategies could help alleviate some of the causes of poverty in Mali.

The WBG uses Standardized Operations Risk-Rating Tools to evaluate the success of its Country Partnership Framework. These tools are significant in the coordination and execution of development programs. They set the tone for what is achievable in the WBG’s operations. As a technique for risk management, the WBG employs different factors to determine the key impediments to development plans and the success of poverty reduction programs in Africa. Consequently, in the WBG’s assessment of its multilateral investment framework in 2016, the bank outlines certain risk factors that impede growth and are the causes of poverty in Mali.

The process for improvements in Africa must consider political stability as a condition for allowing investment plans to flourish. For the development intentions such as providing education, electricity, infrastructure, food security and regional integration in Africa, there must be peace and an environment where violence does not frighten investors. In Mali, high poverty in densely populated areas, increasing youth unemployment, unfavorable climate and environmental disasters worsen living conditions. More causes include:

  1. Conflict Risk: Conflicts in the west of Mali have had a ripple effect on other parts of the country. For example, there has been an increase in violence in the country’s southern region. The longer the instability in the north persists, the longer impact it will have on stability in the rest of the country.
  2. Lack of Progress on Key Governance Reforms: The Systemic Country Diagnostic for Mali indicates that poor infrastructure has worsened the government’s ability to tackle physical security issues and create an environment for economic growth.
  3. Economic risks: As increased violence raises concern for foreign investments, development partners are expected to reevaluate supporting development plans.
  4. Lack of Key Sector Reforms: As reforms in key sectors such as agriculture and energy should contribute to the reduction of poverty, these growths are unlikely if the terms of peace agreements are not met.
  5. Security Challenges for WBG-Funded Activities: A solution is to simplify the implementation arrangements and close cooperation with partners on the ground, as there is a low institutional capacity to implement these programs.

As an important contributor to development in Africa, the World Bank Group is committed to programs that have the potential of achieving the poverty reduction goals for 2030. These causes of poverty in Mali are similar to the causes of poverty in other parts of the globe. Thus, success and peace are mutually inclusive as they are significant factors for growth in Mali and other parts of Africa. As a result, stability in Mali is necessary for growth to continue.

– Ebuka Okoye

Photo: Flickr

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The Long Haul: Decreasing the Rate of Poverty in Pakistan

Poverty in Pakistan
In 2016, Pakistan produced its first report on multidimensional poverty from its Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform. According to this report, almost 39% of Pakistan’s population lives in poverty. This figure is Pakistan’s official Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which was compiled by UNDP Pakistan and the University of Oxford.

Initially, this figure shows a sign of progress, as the rate of poverty in Pakistan has decreased from 55% in 2004 to 39% in 2016. However, this progress has not occurred evenly throughout the country. In urban areas, the poverty rate can be as low as 9.3% while in rural areas the poverty rate rises to 54.6%.

The MPI does not define poverty merely as an extreme lack of wealth. It also takes health, education and standard of living into consideration, hence a multidimensional definition of poverty. The idea is that with a multifaceted approach, poverty in Pakistan can be more understandable and easier to alleviate.

As of 2015, 29.5% of Pakistan’s population was below the national poverty line. In this way of thinking, poverty simply means that one’s income is not enough to purchase a certain standard of goods, mainly food. It is true that poverty in Pakistan is decreasing in that more people have moved out of a situation where they cannot afford food, and this is definitely a sign of progress. However, inequality remains.

Inequality between the upper and middle and lower classes continues to grow, both in income and region, though the gender pay gap has decreased. Dawn, Pakistan’s oldest English writing newspaper, writes, “With the rich getting richer, and the middle class expanding, with political control in the hands of both under the despotism of capital in the neoliberal present, inequality is only going to grow in Pakistan.”

The Minister for Planning, Development and Reform has a plan. The MPI is a tool that will be used for inclusive and balanced growth in an attempt to produce an equal and harmonious society. It “provides useful analysis and information for targeting poverty, and reducing regional inequalities.” Within the next years, it is hoped that poverty in Pakistan will continue to decrease.

– Ellen Ray
Photo: Flickr

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The Current Level and Causes of the Poverty Rate in Russia

Russia Poverty Rate
According to The Guardian, the poverty rate in Russia in 2016 was 13.4%, the highest it’s been since 2006. In spite of this, the poverty rate in Russia has decreased significantly since Vladimir Putin took office in 2000.

 

Factors Contributing to the Poverty Rate in Russia

 

One of the largest contributors to Russian poverty is the sanctions put on the country in 2014 by Western countries, as discussed in Radio Free Europe/Radio Library. These sanctions were condemnations for some of Russia’s recent actions, including the annexation of Crimea.

Another factor in the increase in the poverty rate in Russia is the shrinking economy. Much of this deals with the diminished prices of oil, on which the Russian economy heavily depends.

Debt is another contributor to the poverty rate. According to MarketWatch, many of Russia’s 85 regions are in debt due to the local governments relying heavily on commercial loans from Russian banks: “[M]ore than 25 Russian regions had debt-to-revenue ratios of over 85%.”

Local governments also have to pay high taxes to the national government, which many struggle to do. Several of the regions have even defaulted on national loans, causing both frustration and government instability on both sides.

These factors coincide with the rising cost of Russian goods and the decrease of Russian wages. Because of this, Russians are less inclined or able to spend much money, which is reflected by the 5.9% decrease in retail.

Regardless, by the first quarter of 2017, Russia has decreased its poverty rate by nearly 7%. According to Tatiana Golikova, chief of Russia’s Audit Chamber, “[There are] 1.4 million people less [living in poverty] than in the first quarter of last year.”

Moreover, according to MarketWatch, Russia is expected to end its regression in 2017. Reasons for this include a stricter budget and more realistic market expectations.

– Cortney Rowe

 

Photo: Flickr

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Inarguable Link: Child Mortality and Maternal Education

Child Mortality and Maternal Education
The link between child mortality and maternal education is clear: educating mothers directly impacts the health of their babies. Even small improvements in maternal education help to fight child mortality that causes 16,000 deaths each day, primarily in developing countries. This stresses the global need for equality in education- particularly in accounting for the needs of women and mothers who are disproportionately denied educational opportunities around the world.

In 2011, 6.1 million children under the age of five died of preventable causes in low- and middle-income countries. An estimated 49% of those deaths were preventable had the mothers of the children received a secondary school education. Even when mothers only acquire a primary school education, they reduce the chances of their children dying from diarrhea by eight percent and malaria by 22%. UNESCO explains that when a baby is born to a literate mother, he or she is 50% more likely to live past five years old.

Many similar figures are available, all with the same key findings: as maternal education increases, child mortality decreases. Malnutrition, lack of immunization, preventable illnesses and birth complications–responsible for millions of premature child deaths around the world every year–are significantly reduced by redirecting the relationship between child mortality and maternal education.

Literacy and education provide mothers with knowledge of sanitation, nutrition, health and safety to better care for their children. For example, literate mothers are more likely to purify water and seek out healthcare if they notice their child getting sick. Mothers who can read and write are 23% more likely than illiterate mothers to acquire the help of a birth attendant, avoiding birthing complications that perpetuate heightened rates of child mortality.

The relationship between child mortality and maternal education represents a global health inequity. Women make up an estimated two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adult population, and 60% of countries do not provide equal access to education for males and females. Child mortality is most common in low income and developing nations.

The World Health Organization explains that there are eleven times more child deaths under the age of five in low-income countries than in high-income countries as of 2015.

This means that equality for all people in access to education is viable as a way to fight poverty and combat child mortality. UNESCO emphasizes that “there are few more dramatic illustrations of the power of education” than its ability to save lives when gender equality is enhanced. The United Nations summarizes that gender equality in education “raises economic productivity, reduces poverty, lowers infant and maternal mortality and helps improve nutritional status and health” emphasizing equality as a necessity for sustainable development.

Improving maternal education remains both a key obstacle and a prospect for fighting these global inequities. The 53% global drop in deaths under the age of five from 1990 to 2015 reiterates that recent advancements successfully decreased child mortality and related issues.

This reaffirms that redirecting the link between child mortality and maternal education to a poverty reduction force is possible. Education is key to such a necessary development for mothers and their children.

– Cleo Krejci

Photo: Flickr

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Three Causes of Poverty in Pakistan

Causes of Poverty in Pakistan
Pakistan’s economy fluctuates daily, and the nation’s progress is slow. The causes of poverty in Pakistan are innumerable, inhibiting economic growth and development, as well as preventing the poor from escaping poverty. The following are the three main causes of poverty in Pakistan.

Population growth
At 1.86%, Pakistan has the highest population growth rate in the world. By 2050, the country will surpass 350 million people. According to Commissioner Multan, division, the main reason for such high growth is the lack of family planning. Consequently, a large population has caused unemployment, poverty and lawlessness.

The annual abortion rate in Pakistan is 50 per 100 women, and nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended and more than half end in abortion. Pakistan’s maternal mortality rate (178 per hundred thousand live births) and infant mortality rate (66 per 1000 live births) are the highest in the world. These numbers show that Pakistani women would greatly benefit from improved health services, as well as greater educational and employment opportunities.

Largely uneducated populace
About half of Pakistan’s population is illiterate, and 7.26 million children are out of school due to poverty. According to an Institute of Social and Policy Sciences report, “Pakistan has the second-highest number of out-of-school children in the world after Nigeria because Pakistan spends the lowest GDP on education in South Asian countries.” The report claims this lack of spending is detrimentally affecting the nation’s school system.

Since many children are not in school and are impoverished, child labor is a major issue in Pakistan. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimated in 2005 that there would be 10 to 12 million child workers in Pakistan by 2010-11. In reality, according to an All-Pakistan Labor Force Survey, this number almost doubled to about 21 million child workers.

Without education and job skills training, young people cannot adopt the skills needed for employment. Existing systems fail to address the skills demanded by employers, and this hinders economic growth and societal development. Without adequate education, people remain unemployed and do not have the opportunity to rise out of poverty.

Imbalanced Taxes
Pakistan’s tax system shows unfortunate proof of the government’s corruption. The system does not differentiate between varying levels of income, but instead focuses significantly on the poor. In fact, 80% of the tax revenue comes from the poor for services including utilities, petrol and mobile communication. Meanwhile, the taxes collected from the rich do not exceed five percent.

Obed Pasha, lecturer in public policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told the Asia Times, “What we have is a completely broken system [in Pakistan], where the entire burden is on the poor and large businesses do not pay taxes at all.” Without income and employment opportunities, the poor cannot afford to pay high taxes, hindering their hope to rise out of poverty in Pakistan.

Out of every 10 Pakistanis, four are without the basic needs of life, which include food, shelter, education and healthcare. In order for Pakistan’s poor to rise out of poverty, they must have adequate resources. Only improved health and education services for the poor and just taxes can increase Pakistan’s economic mobility and development.

– Sarah Dunlap

Photo: Flickr

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Causes of Poverty in the Dominican Republic

Causes of Poverty in the Dominican Republic
According to the World Bank, the Dominican Republic has experienced one of the most remarkable growth seasons in the Caribbean in the last 25 years. Official estimates say that the number of Dominicans living in poverty dropped by almost six percent from 2014 to 2016. Although the country has made strides in the business front, they still have much to accomplish to stay competitive with other nations in the region.

A country is not just poor randomly, meaning factors contribute to the poverty rates in the country. Below are some of the causes of poverty in the Dominican Republic.

Increasing Population
The population of the country has been steadily increasing for decades.  It has risen by two million people since 2000 and is currently over 10.6 million inhabitants. A rising population also raises living standards, can make jobs harder to find, and, in some cases, can keep young women from finishing their education.

Improper Documentation
Dominicans of Haitian descent are the poorest in the country and usually live close to the Haiti-Dominican Republic border. Low incomes and poor living conditions keep them in a cycle of poverty, and social exclusion does not help the most vulnerable families. Dominicans of Haitian descent are usually undocumented or migrant sugar cane plantation workers, which means they do not receive aid from social assistance programs.

Ignored Agricultural Sector
In the past decade, the Dominican Republic government has focused on building the tourism and service industries, virtually ignoring the agriculture sector of the economy. Without government investment in the small farms so that they can provide for their families, many farmers have to look for jobs elsewhere. Farming technologies have begun to make their way to rural communities, which will potentially increase productivity.

Natural Disasters
Recent research has found that natural disasters (such as drought, extreme rainfall and flooding) are and will be the biggest factors in keeping people in poverty.

Because most developing governments invest money in responding to disasters as opposed to protecting citizens from the inevitable, the poorest citizens lose more when that disaster hits. Having policies that highlight disaster prevention can potentially save the country millions of dollars and give the poor more of a chance to survive.

These are just some of the causes of poverty in the Dominican Republic. Understanding the poverty of a country is an ongoing process, so staying updated is a way to ensure you know how to help a country when it needs it. The causes of poverty in the Dominican Republic can change with the economy, and hopefully, this beautiful country will continue moving toward stability.

– Emily Arnold

Photo: Flickr

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Six Things to Know About Poverty in Pakistan

Poverty in Pakistan
Poverty is a global affliction affecting numerous countries in the developing world. Pakistan, a country in South Asia, is home to millions of people who live in extreme poverty. Poverty in Pakistan is on track to decrease, but there is still work to be done.

With approximately 185 million citizens, Pakistan ranks 147th out of 188 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI). Reports on poverty in Pakistan show that as much as 40% of the population–roughly the size of the population of Florida, California and New York combined–live beneath the poverty line.

The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report by the Pakistan Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform in June 2016 shows that 39% of Pakistanis live in multidimensional poverty. The MPI methodology, developed by UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative in 2010, uses a broader concept of poverty by reflecting people’s deprivations related to health, education and standard of living in addition to income and wealth.

 

1.  Regional and Provincial Disparities in Poverty in Pakistan

The report states that national poverty rates in Pakistan fell from 55% to 39% from 2004 to 2015. This is a strong decline; however, development across different regions of the country is uneven. Poverty in urban areas is at 9.3% as compared to 54.6% in rural areas. Similarly, great disparities exist across provinces, with the highest rates of poverty in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Balochistan. The MPI report states that “over two-thirds of people in FATA (73%) and Balochistan (71%) live in multidimensional poverty. Poverty in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stands at 49%, Gilgit-Baltistan and Sindh at 43%, Punjab at 31% and Azad Jammu and Kashmir at 25%.”

Some districts such as Qilla Abdullah, Harnai and Barkhan in Balochistan have more than 90% poverty compared to Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore, in which less than 10% of residents live in multidimensional poverty. The report also found that the decrease in multidimensional poverty in Balochistan was the slowest while poverty levels had actually increased there and in Sindh province in the past decade.

 

2. Corruption in Pakistan

Despite being the second-largest economy in South Asia, development is limited by entrenched poverty in Pakistan, social inequality, lack of access to social services and extreme corruption. The 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International ranks Pakistan 116th globally. Corruption in Pakistan is not a new phenomenon. Recent Panama leaks involving the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s three children are just one example: they owned offshore companies and assets not shown on his family’s wealth statement. This and other cases of corruption by political and military elites have made it impossible to alleviate widespread poverty.

 

3. Population Boom

Burgeoning population growth is another major issue that weighs down Pakistan’s socio-economic development. According to some reports, in the past 10 to15 years, the population of Pakistan has grown by more than 40 million, making it the sixth most populous country in the world. Another report found that Pakistan’s population increases by 1.8% per year. By that rate, it is feared that, if the nightmarish growth goes unchecked, the country’s population will be 245 million by 2030.

 

4. Development and Conflict

Pakistan is caught between the United States’ War on Terrorism in Afghanistan and an increasingly unstable relationship with India. Tackling poverty is important because economic instability and a lack of development can only lead to conflict and violence, domestically and regionally. In the past two decades, Pakistan has seen increasing violence at the hands of militant jihadists and Baloch insurgents. Rather than bettering the lives of common people by introducing broad-based socio-economic reforms, the Pakistani state uses excessive military force to “resolve” issues in the country’s northern and southwestern regions. Unending conflicts are another reason why it is difficult for development to take place.

 

5. Disproportionate Defense Spending

Most importantly, instead of allocating sufficient funds to address both acute and long-standing poverty, the country spends the largest amount of national expenditures on defense. A May 2017 report showed that “Pakistan’s defense expenditure in the next financial year (2017-18) will be around seven percent higher than it was in the outgoing year to Rs920.2 billion (USD$8.65 billion).” It was Rs841 billion (USD$7.9 billion) for the year 2016-2017. In contrast, Pakistan spends only 2.6% of its GDP on education, which is the lowest in South Asia.

 

6. Consequences of Poverty in Pakistan

Grinding poverty and lack of development fuel child labor, illiteracy, religious extremism and endless conflicts on massive scales. The Gross National Income per capita is only $5,031. Life expectancy in Pakistanis at 66.4 years and the expected years of schooling is miserably low at 8.1 years. These figures are among the lowest in the world.

The good news is that poverty in Pakistan decreased by 15 percent in the past decade, but, given the grim lows overall, this figure is less than encouraging. In order to alleviate poverty, policymakers need to focus on achieving the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Although it is a big challenge for an underdeveloped country like Pakistan, meeting the SDGs is important since they provide the best possible integrated way for inclusive growth, peace and development.

Finally, policymakers should also focus on addressing the poverty of opportunity. The poverty of income is a result of the poverty of opportunity. Poverty in Pakistan is a multidimensional problem requiring multidimensional solutions.

– Aslam Kakar

Photo: Google

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Fair Trade and its Impacts in Developing Communities

Fair Trade
Fair Trade is a global movement committed to paying fair prices in trade, impacting producers in developing countries. The concept came as a response to global poverty levels and focuses on the marketing of products and development trade. It also raises awareness of trade injustice in trade structures and advocates changes to favor equitable trade. Overall, the movement organizes producers and production and provides services to the producers.

From the 1970s to the 1980s, Fair Trade products were only sold to consumers in specified shops. In 1997, Fairtrade Labelling International was created, which expanded the movement into other countries including North America.

Fairtrade Labelling International set international standards for products in certifying production trade. When a product meets these standards, the company identifies the product with a label. Purchasing products with the Fair Trade label can improve a community. The funds from Fair Trade impact communities with social, economic and environmental development projects.

Fair Trade impacts the building of sustainable businesses by demanding fair wages and treatment. Workers can socialize with buyers while gaining a living wage. Both the employed and farmers may work efficiently with this system. More companies are investing in this movement, while it also ensures safe working conditions and prevents forced child labor.

Investing companies include Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Rishi Tea in China. Ben & Jerry’s was the first ice cream company to join the movement. With its popularity, it set an example for many other businesses to follow. Rishi Tea is based in China and makes organic teas out of some of the oldest gardens in the world. The company supports education, provides scholarship programs and builds hospitals and roads in secluded areas.

Fair Trade uses the money that may have been put toward high-priced goods to build schools instead. Since fair trade helps stabilize incomes, many families can keep their children in school. It provides supplies, scholarship programs and healthy meals. Fair Trade enables education for even the most outlying communities.

Fair Trade impacts workers, farmers and families. Farmers can receive market-based tools to prevent them from falling into poverty and may learn environmentally sustainable practices. Workers and families gain access to doctors, treatments and nutrition. These benefits enable people to help themselves as well as others in their communities.

Fair Trade is a model for alleviating global poverty. Many companies and markets are investing, impacting developing communities. From building sustainable businesses to providing education, the movement is life-changing for those living in poor communities around the world.

– Brandi Gomez

Photo: Flickr

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The Top 3 Barriers to Education

Barriers to Education
Much of the world is completely unaware of the current global education crisis. Although education is an inalienable right according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDH), there are currently 263 million children out of school. There are multiple barriers to education that need to be addressed to end this crisis.

Here are the three top barriers to education:

Affordability

The most apparent barrier to education is affordability, even though the UDH states that free basic education is every child’s right. Many developing nations have abolished formal school fees, but informal fees continue to prevent children from receiving an education. Informal fees include required uniforms, textbooks and additional school materials. In developing countries, “children from the poorest 20 percent of households are four times less likely to attend school than the wealthiest 20%.” The inability to afford formal and informal fees perpetuates a cycle of poverty amongst the poor, as children remain home to support their families.

Lack of Trained Teachers

Lack of trained teachers is a barrier to education that affects even those in developing countries that can afford schooling. Not only are there not enough teachers worldwide to achieve universal education, but their training is either poor or nonexistent. In 2016, the U.N. reported that 69 million trained teachers are necessary to achieve global universal education by 2030. With many teachers in developing nations failing to meet national standards, children lack basic education.

Gender Inequality

The UDH states that every child has the right to education, but unfortunately, being the ‘wrong’ gender is a barrier to education. In developing countries, girls are significantly less likely to receive an education than boys. This is due to entrenched gender norms that maintain that households should not educate their daughters. Many impoverished families must make a choice of which of their children to send to school. In this case, households are much more likely to send their sons to school than their daughters because of social norms. Instead of attending school, many girls are sent to work or kept at home to provide and care for the family.

Addressing barriers to education is critical in obtaining universal education by 2030. Towards this goal, many organizations concentrate on establishing specific barriers. Such organizations include CARE, 60 Million Girls, the Global Partnership for Education and Educate a Child. These organizations and others like them work to educate people about the crisis and propose potential solutions. Possible solutions include additional and proper use of funding for education; strengthening educational systems and recruiting and providing training for teachers.

Knowing the barriers to education is the first step to providing every child with their inalienable right to education. The next step is to work together and tackle each barrier one by one.

– Haley Hurtt

Photo: Flickr

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Google’s Education Expands the World, Shrinks Our Brains

Google's education
Google, one of the world’s most prominent and well-known companies, has massively impacted the world. People can have any piece of information desired at our fingertips, and Google’s education has drastically changed the way children learn.

Google’s education has become so pertinent that the corporation has launched its own app to help teachers in the classroom make assignments, known as Google Classroom. More than 30 million children use Google educational apps such as Google Classroom or Google Docs. The corporation has become so important in schools that Chromebooks (Google-powered laptops) are used by thousands of students and teachers in the classroom. A child in the state of Nebraska has the same access to information as a child in New York, Florida or California. Google’s education has made the world smaller, but it comes at the price of shrinking our brains.

The connectivity of the internet is useful, but some see the internet as a drawback to education as well. Google’s education has made the world smaller, but it comes at the price of shrinking our brains. Having constant access to almost limitless information is not only bad for human discourse; it’s reportedly making us worse at remembering things. And even if we aren’t conscious of it, our brains are primed to think about the Internet as soon as we start trying to recall the answer to a tough trivia question.

Google’s education has transformed education from learning over time into a faster process, one that can easily become a mental-crutch. “Google established itself as a fact in schools,” said Hal Friedlander, former chief information officer for the New York City Department of Education, the U.S.’s largest school district. Before Google established itself in school systems, children would have to research information in textbooks and have to talk to specific adults or mentors about certain topics. Now, the first place students conduct research is on Google.

While students are capable of having research at the touch of a button, teachers are concerned about the newfound capabilities of students’ almost unlimited information resources. Teachers feel that students may be overconfident with their research methods and capabilities. Some teachers believe that students are missing out on the true and somewhat old-fashioned research experience of looking through textbooks and talking to librarians. There’s also the risk of credibility with internet sources. Not every piece of information found on Google is a reliable source of information, and without accurately researching, students are blind to false information versus the truth.

Google’s education has helped expand informational resources to every person with internet access, but there is also the possibility that this access is making our minds less powerful. There has not been much extensive research on this topic yet, and more will need to be done in the future to better understand how Google’s education affects developing minds.

– Mary Waller

Photo: Flickr