Archive for category: Developing Countries

Information and stories about developing countries.

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10 World Hunger Statistics


Hunger is a living, breathing thing that seems to be consuming the world one impoverished nation at a time. The numbers keep fluctuating and more of the world falls into malnutrition. Here are 10 world hunger statistics to raise awareness about people struggling with hunger.

1. On a regular basis, 842 million people in the world do not get enough to eat.

While the number of people struggling with hunger has fallen by 17% since 1990, the percentage of people who are hungry has grown by 7% since 2009.

2. The majority of hungry and impoverished peoples live in developing nations.

Nearly 15% of the people in developing nations can be malnourished, while 7% of the people in first world nations and developed countries go hungry.

3. Asia has the most hungry people.

More than 500,000 people in Asian countries are malnourished; half of these people are children under the age of five.

4. Africa had the highest prevalence of hungry people.

Nearly 30% of people in Africa suffer from extreme hunger, meaning more of their population is hungry in comparison to the rest of the world.

5. First world countries spend more on pet food than they do helping the hungry.

Today alone in America and the UK, people have spent 44 million dollars on pet food and only five million on aiding people who are starving.

6. Americans wasted 124,000 tons of food today alone.

Each day Americans can waste up to 150,000 tons of food by throwing it away. Every year Americans alone have the potential to waste well over 1.8 million tons of food.

7. Five million people died of hunger this year.

This year so far, well over five million people have died of starvation or malnutrition. More than half of these deaths were children.

8. One in every 15 children dies from hunger in developing countries.

Children often face the worst parts of starvation or malnutrition. More children will die of starvation than adults each year.

9. Due to hunger, 315,000 women die in childbirth each year.

Women who do not get enough nutrients, most specifically iron, in their diets during pregnancy are at a greater risk of dying in childbirth from hemorrhaging. It is not uncommon for women, even women with child, to be forced to give up nutrient-heavy foods in lieu of their male counterparts.

10. More than half of people suffering from hunger in the world are in Asia and the South Pacific.

Roughly 63% of all the people suffering from starvation and malnutrition can be found in Asia and the South Pacific. This means more people are suffering in these two areas than there is anywhere else in the world.

While starvation is preventable, millions of people will still die each year from not having enough food or enough nutrients to survive. Isn’t it time you did something?

– Cara Morgan

Sources: Do Something, Stop the Hunger, World Hunger, World Food Programme
Photo: Flanboyant Eats

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Defining a Third World Country

The term “third world country” was created during the Cold War and was used to categorize a country’s alignment during the war. There were three categories at this time: those countries whose views aligned with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and capitalism (i.e. the First World); those countries whose views aligned with the Soviet Union and communism, (i.e. the Second World); and all the other countries, aligned with neither view, the “Third World.”

Today, the term “third world” is an antiquated term most commonly used to describe the developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and is a term typically associated with poverty. What classifies a country as part of the “Third World”? Below are four of the indicators that are used to classify third world countries:

1. Low Gross National Income (GNI)

Third world countries experience low economic development, and high rates of poverty. For the 2015 fiscal year, low-income economies—such as those in Tanzania, Haiti and Cambodia—are defined as those with a GNI per capita of less than $1,045 in 2013. The GNI for high-income economies, such as the United States, is $12,746 per capita.

2. Economic Dependence on Other Countries

Developing third world countries, as a result of the state of their economies, rely heavily on more economically and technologically advanced countries. And, third world countries’ economies—which, for the most part, lack modernity and independence—are typically geared towards serving and are controlled by more developed countries. This imbalance of control and dependence widens the gap between the wealthy countries, such as the U.S., and low-income economies such as Cameroon’s.

3. Low Human Development Index (HDI)

The HDI, published annually by the United Nations, measures three basic dimensions of human life: knowledge, a long and healthy life and a decent standard of living. The U.S. is ranked fifth on the HDI scale, while a developing country such as the Democratic Republic of Congo is ranked 186th.

4. Lack of Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Most of the world’s poorest countries are also the countries for which there is a severe lack of political rights and civil liberties. Developing countries such as Sudan are war-torn and civil liberties and rights almost nonexistent in the wake of the violence and war crimes. Citizens of the U.S. experience a life that is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, with basic rights such as the right to an education strongly in place.

There are other indicators when it comes to categorizing a country as “third world,” and certainly not every developing country shares each of the above characteristics. But one thing is clear: millions of people around the world are citizens of countries in which daily life is excruciatingly difficult.

Poverty, limited access to education, low standards of living and lack of civil liberties and political rights are just a few of the realities for the many third world countries that exist alongside wealthy nations such as the U.S. If wealthier nations stepped in and did more to assist third world countries, surely the term would dissipate, following the alleviation of the effects of extreme poverty.

– Elizabeth Nutt

Sources: The World Bank, One World – Nations Online, United Nations Development Programme, Blurtit
Photo: Mental Floss

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5 Facts about Education in Kyrgyzstan

Education in kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan has been transitioning into its own government after the rule of the Soviet Union, which ended in 1991. Throughout the 1990s, Kyrgyzstan struggled economically due to a decline in production output after the termination of its reliance on the USSR’s industrial regulations.

Due to the country’s difficult economic history, there is a high poverty rate among its citizens; 22 percent of the population lives on less than $2 per day and 41 percent live below the poverty line. Due to the difficult economic situation in Kyrgyzstan, education in Kyrgyzstan has not been a priority. Here are five facts about education in Kyrgyzstan:

1. Low Employment Leads to Low Demand for Education

Due to the low employment rates, citizens of Kyrgyzstan saw less of a value for education after 1991. As a result, the government lowered the required education to nine years while changing other educational policies. Recently, the government has been re-investing itself in education, increasing educational spending and increasing access to education.

2. Decreasing Enrollment

The enrollment in Kyrgyzstan’s pre-primary schools is 10 percent; 87 percent for primary schools, 80 percent for secondary schools and 37 percent for tertiary schools. Throughout the past five years, these numbers have decreased. It is possible that this is due to the 2007 decree that a school uniform is mandatory for all students. Many families are unable to afford this uniform.

3. The Urban-Rural Gap

There is not a significant gender gap in education. There is, however, a gap in urban versus rural access to education. For secondary school, there are 6 percent fewer children attending in rural areas than in urban areas.

4. Struggling Academic Performance

In 2006, Kyrgyzstan scored 57 out of 57 countries for educational performance in reading, mathematics and science.

5. Low Teaching Wages

The student to teacher ration in Kyrgyzstan is one student to 24 teachers. In addition, teachers are paid less than 40 percent of the average national earnings.

Although Kyrgyzstan has been reforming its education — such as a $12.7 million grant to improve preschools — the country has many reforms left to be made in order to improve the quality of education offered to its citizens.

— Lily Tyson

Sources: 24 News Agency, UNICEF, Ministry for Education
Photo: Partnerships in Action

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Effects of the Waste Problem in Haiti

Haiti is progressively becoming overrun with mountains of waste in the streets because there is absolutely nowhere to put it.

The trash and waste problem in Haiti is an ongoing nightmare for the people living there, with garbage filling the streets. Haiti has few landfills or dumpsters, and there is no apparent place to dispose of its increasing volume of waste.

The problem peaked in 2012, and imported plastic products were banned. These products were blocking drains and paths and clogging the streets so badly that there was flooding.

This flooding problem subsequently destroyed businesses, homes and other property. Stagnant water posed a serious health issue in the most impoverished areas; it allowed mosquitos to flourish and disease to spread.

The smell of the garbage and the poor overall appearance of Haiti (most specifically the capital, Port-Au-Prince) have destroyed the economy and led to extreme decreases in tourism.

In addition to being odorous and detrimental to tourism, decaying waste produces methane gas. When inhaled, this gas can cause serious long-term lung, heart and brain defects.

Most disturbingly, a report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also predicts that waste-generation rates will more than double over the next 20 years in lower-income countries like Haiti, where trash is already so abundant that people have to climb over or wade through it to get anywhere.

This means that the number of people migrating to urban cities such as Port-au-Prince will increase — a population spike that will manifest itself in the production of a proportionate amount of litter in the streets. This transition will require employment of a vital, comprehensive national management plan.

The most logical step to rid cities like Port-Au-Prince in Haiti of waste is recycling.

Volunteers and organizations in Haiti can gather the waste from the streets and exchange the plastics, papers, etc., for cash to help private businesses overseas. In turn, the waste can also be turned into functional packaging for the future use of Haitian companies.

This means Haitians in impoverished areas can exchange their waste both for profit and cleaner streets that will not flood or draw disease-ridden mosquitoes.

Citizens who take the time to make the streets a little cleaner can often make about $52 a week. This is not a bad wage, considering many of the people in Haiti can live off $1 a day. Their aid in cleaning the city will also help eliminate major disease and illness factors in the area.

A plan has been put in place to get more volunteers to join the fight to rid Haiti of waste before its urban areas become overpopulated. The country’s impoverished people can improve their streets, communities, environment and national economy by simply recycling waste products.

– Cara Morgan

Sources: Aid Volunteers, The Guardian
Photo: Idea Peepshow

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How to End Hunger Around the World

Currently, around 1 billion people live in hunger around the world. That’s the same amount as the total populations of the United States, Canada and the European Union combined.

Nearly 98 percent of hunger around the world exists in developing countries, and 62.4 percent of people living in hunger live in Asia and the South Pacific.

However, the number of people living in hunger is not caused by a lack of food. The world produces enough food to feed the entire global population, but the people living in hunger have neither the land nor the money to acquire food.

Poverty is the main cause of hunger, just as hunger is a cause of poverty. When people go without food, it causes the brain to lose functionality so that they cannot contribute to their economy and allow it to grow. Providing the additional calories needed by the 13 percent of the world’s population living in hunger would require just 1 percent of the current global food supply.

There has been some development in terms of reducing hunger — the governments of Brazil and Ghana have significantly cut the number of people living in hunger by providing aid to their poor, raising their minimum wage and investing in small farms, especially those owned by women.

There are ways that global hunger can be stopped, though. One way is to prevent land grabbing. One of the negative aspects of the uncertainty of future food supply are wealthy yet small nations, like South Korea or the Gulf countries, gaining land from developing countries to use as additional farms.

Another way to prevent global hunger is to block out speculators from the global market. Since the financial crisis of 2008, money from investment funds have flooded the commodities market. The automated trading systems make it difficult for traditional traders to keep the prices of food stable and prevent spikes.

Producing less biofuel allows for sugar, maize and other food crops to be used as food, thus increasing the amount of food available to the global population and reduces the price on those items allowing for more people to access them.

However, those solutions mentioned above are short term and also hard to regulate. The most surefire way to end global hunger is to increase education. Less than 1 percent of what every nation in the world spends on developing weapons could put every child in the world in school.

An increase of education does not just help to put food in the stomach of one person, but also helps to increase the economy of the town or city the educated person is living in.

An educated person from an underdeveloped town would then have the means to open their own business and then employ others in their town who could then use their pay to invest in furthering their own education.

Education also provides children access to a stable food source and is a “strong incentive to send children to school and keep them there.” By sending children to school, it also allows families in underdeveloped countries to increase their food security in times of famine.

– Monica Newell

Sources: The Guardian, Do Something, Millions of Mouths, Huff Post, WFP
Photo: Jewels Fab Life

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Child Labor Facts

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The existence of child labor is a prominent human rights issue in today’s world. The United Nations defines child labor as any work completed by children who have not yet reached the minimum legal age required for either a specific kind of work or any work that is generally viewed as unacceptable for children. Unacceptable work usually involves potential harm, dangerous conditions or physical strain unsuitable for underage youth.

To combat this issue, it is important to understand pertinent child labor facts. This knowledge will allow people to fully realize how many young workers never have the chance to be children:

  • Child labor is incredibly common and internationally practiced, and has affected billions of young lives. During the Industrial Revolution, employers sought out child workers because they could pay them lower wages, use their size as an advantage and benefit from their obedience. For years children made up a large majority of the labor force, and it wasn’t until the Great Depression that labor reforms began.
  • Even though child labor is prohibited in the United States, many other countries still exploit child workers. According to Free the Children, there are approximately 218 million child workers worldwide.
  • Many child workers are forced to work under hazardous conditions. Approximately 115 million children out of the aforementioned 218 million work in unsafe environments according to the International Labor Organization. This type of work is considered to be among the worst forms of child labor, especially since children are at greater risk of injuries and accidents.
  • Many children work out of necessity. In developing countries, it is common practice for kids to find work so that they can help provide for the family. In some cases, children are exposed to slavery, illegal activities and even armed conflict.
  • These children do not receive proper care or education. If there are no child labor laws in place, children work most of the day without receiving necessary nutrients or food and according to Free the Children, approximately 57 million children do not attend school. These limitations hinder children from reaching their full educational potential or advancing in the workforce.

Even though there has been a significant decline in the number of child workers, this is only a moderate decrease compared to the total number of children who are forced to work. As demonstrated by the facts above, this issue is still very present today, and perpetuates the cycle of poverty in developing countries.

– Meghan Orner

Sources: The United Nations, Free the Children, The International Labor Organization, The History Channel
Photo: Flickr

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Malnutrition in Cambodia

After many decades of economic struggle and vicious civil strife Cambodia is slowly working toward becoming an advanced society with a robust economy.

Cambodia is a colorful and richly cultural society that has contributed pricelessly to the Asian and Buddhist realms, among countless others. Despite its encouraging contemporary development, there are still drastically high levels of malnutrition in Cambodia, as in many developing countries.

For those unfamiliar with this nation, some descriptive information may help to place it in perspective. Cambodia is referred to as the Kingdom of Cambodia. It is in Southeast Asia and is located in the southern area of the Indochina Peninsula. It is surrounded by Thailand to the northeast, Laos to the northwest and is largely bordered by Vietnam in its southern and eastern regions. Its national language is Khmer, and its officially recognized religion is Theravada Buddhism.

Cambodia’s incremental progress is and has been significant. Since 2004, its poverty rate has decreased by 5 percent every consecutive three years. Additionally, the population statistics on most “key health indicators” have improved dramatically over recent decades. At the same time, however, sizeable segments of its population still suffer from gross malnutrition, and the population’s average life expectancy is 58 and 64 years for men and women, respectively.

According to the United Nations World Food Programme data, 18 percent of the population lives under the food poverty line. The child population is alarmingly more afflicted; about 40 percent of Cambodian children suffer from chronic malnutrition and stunted development consequent of nutrient deficiency. This is a troublingly high statistic that begs attention and effective, long-term solutions.

Though Cambodia primarily exports high volumes of paddy rice produced at a surplus, the U.N. reports that extremely high poverty rates and inaccessibility to nutritious food are responsible for this widespread malnutrition. Natural disasters such as droughts and occasional flooding additionally contribute unfavorable and sometimes devastating circumstances for residences and agricultural production.

The population’s alarmingly high malnutrition rates are currently being addressed by the U.N., which provides assistance, local food education and attempts to formulate and implement more long-term food security and production infrastructure.

– Ariel Swett

Sources: WFP, UNICEF
Photo: Flickr

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Bringing Clean Energy to Developing Countries

In 2011, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched an initiative called Sustainable Energy for All. There are three primary objectives: (1) universal access to modern energy services, (2) doubling the rate of improvement in global energy efficiency and (3) doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The UN established these goals in the hopes of achieving worldwide sustainable energy access by 2030.

Three billion people currently lack access to affordable energy services for basic uses like cooking and heating. Another one billion people rely on erratic power grids. Sustainable Energy for All is an international effort to decrease the scope of this energy access issue. Introducing clean energy would reduce global emissions, improve the lives of the poor and support ongoing development goals. Additionally, embracing clean energy would help keep the average rise of global temperatures in check.

However, renewable energy has just recently become economically comparable to traditional fuels, and bringing clean energy services to rural and remote communities is a challenge. At the current rate of progress, the UN’s objectives under Sustainable Energy for All will likely not be achieved by the desired date. In fact, the International Energy Agency calculates that around 1 billion people will still not have access to electricity in 2030.

Energy inequality is especially significant for women and girls living in poor or secluded areas. Many risk their safety by spending hours a week collecting firewood far away from home. Conventional kerosene lamps and cooking fires contribute to a number of health issues, such as heart disease and breathing issues. To combat the problem, nations like the United States, China and Vietnam have proposed expanding electricity grids. However, the logistics of doing so would be difficult; it is especially expensive for rural communities with low populations.

Luckily, clean energy technologies are becoming more affordable, making them stronger contenders with conventional power sources. However, reaching universal access to energy services would cost $48 billion. Approximately $37 billion is already spent annually on kerosene and traditional cooking fuels, such as charcoal. On the other hand, the clean energy industry is maturing – now constituting $250 billion of the global economy.

A new wave of clean energy entrepreneurs has emerged as a result. SunFarmer, based in the United States, is one of several non-profit organizations that helps bring reliable and affordable solar electricity to hospitals and schools in remote developing areas. The market for solar-powered products (such as televisions, radios and even water pumps) is growing as well. As part of the Sustainable Energy for All campaign, the UN created the Energy Access Practitioner Network in 2011. The Network facilitates the delivery of energy services to developing countries and supports the implementation of new renewable technologies.

In order to fully integrate clean energy services into the developing world, government subsidies for charcoal and kerosene should first be eliminated or decreased. Additionally, tariffs on imports for clean energy products should be abolished; more than 30 countries currently impose taxes on imported products like solar lanterns and clean stoves. Once these policies are addressed, clean energy technologies could have a much better chance of reaching the developing world.

— Kristy Liao

Sources: Huffington Post, Nature, Sustainable Energy, UN Foundation
Photo: United Nations

 

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IKEA Improves Lives with Global Philanthropy

The IKEA Foundation’s 2013 annual report celebrates a year of exciting achievements and a growing commitment to global development.

Established in 2009, the IKEA Foundation is the philanthropic entity associated with IKEA, the popular Swedish home furnishings company. In the past year, the foundation has gained 12 new partners and donated 101 million euros to those partner organizations, contributing to the continued implementation of innovative children’s programs. With the support of a new Brazilian partner organization, the IKEA Foundation has also been able to reach children in South America for the first time. In addition, a number of partners have also started to develop emergency shelters for displaced refugees.

Compared to the total monetary donation in 2012 (82 million euros), the IKEA Foundation’s 2013 contribution saw a 21 percent overall increase in giving. IKEA’s Soft Toys for Education campaign raised 10.1 million euros and helped 11 million children. Moreover, the foundation’s projects throughout 2013 impacted children in 35 different countries.

The IKEA Foundation focuses on four areas of development: fighting child labor and promoting children’s rights, improving the lives of refugee children and families, empowering women and girls as well as disaster relief. The foundation also funds education projects for children and works to change current social attitudes towards child labor in developing communities. In 2013, the IKEA Foundation helped UNICEF and Save the Children fight child labor in India and Pakistan. By reaching out to farmers, families and other community leaders, the foundation hopes to raise awareness of the dangers that children face in the workplace – specifically, in the cotton, carpet and metalware industries. Additionally, the foundation’s new partnership with Care for Children is helping place orphans into supportive and loving families in Asia.

In conjunction with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the IKEA Foundation is working to develop safer and more durable emergency shelters for refugees. Innovative additions (such as solar lighting) are expected to increase the lifespan of current refugee camps. Last year, UNHCR began experimenting with the reworked shelters in Ethiopia, taking into account the feedback provided by refugee families living in the newly developed camps.

The IKEA Foundation continues to support KickStart, a partner organization that trains women in southern Africa to grow and sell crops, launch their own businesses and establish a reliable income. The foundation also expanded the number of scholarship opportunities for women and girls to get an education. Currently, the IKEA Foundation’s partnership with the Lila Poonawalla Foundation helps 1,900 poor Indian women pursue higher education in fields like engineering, agriculture and healthcare.

By giving cash grants to its partners, the IKEA Foundation strives to help families immediately after disasters and other conflicts. During the past year, partner organizations used IKEA’s grants to provide medical care to Syrian refugees. After Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines, many partners brought emergency supplies to devastated communities. The IKEA Foundation itself has donated IKEA toys and products to around 1.2 million affected children around the world.

The IKEA Foundation has clearly expanded its goals and reached several new milestones in 2013, but CEO Per Heggenes believes that the foundation has more to offer. “The journey continues,” he wrote, “and we still have lots to accomplish.”

– Kristy Liao

Sources: IKEA Foundation
Photo: INiTs

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UNESCO Pushes for Millennial Education Goals

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Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been a major proponent for global education since his tenure ended. He has made a number of announcements and proclamations in favor of increasing global literacy, yet recently his proposals have gained more steam. The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has agreed to follow through with Brown’s mission statement to put 57 million children in school worldwide by next year. This falls short of the Millennium Goals that were meant to be reached by 2015.

A report from January of 2014 brought on this concern towards the Millennial Education Goals. The UNESCO report said that the goals would not be met until 2086 under current projections. While striving towards these goals 70 years in advance may seem a little optimistic, the statistics used from 2011 showed a 50% drop in out-of-school children since the beginning of the new millennium. This gives hope for a renewed commitment to make an immediate impact.

The most recent statistics on the issue come from that 2011 study, but those numbers showed 123 million young adults (15-24) lacked basic reading and writing skills. The most progress for universal primary education has been in Southeast Asia, in South Korea, India and Vietnam. Afghanistan shows the most immediate promise for the future, even with troops potentially leaving the nation at the end of the year.

The nations struggling the most to achieve universal primary education are those of Western Africa. Senegal, Mauritania, Nigeria and a number of other sub-Saharan countries still lag behind most of the developed world. Particularly for women, there remain few options and little hope for advancement. West Africa will likely be where UNESCO efforts have to focus.

Gordon Brown, as the United Nation’s Special envoy for global education, called these struggles unacceptable. He said in a recent interview, “the inequality of opportunity that they face is unfair… we have seen the makings of a civil rights struggle amongst young people.” Brown hopes that drawing on grassroots campaigns for education around the world will help bring the world closer to universal primary education.

The fight to achieve universal primary education will take on multiple fronts and be supported by different leaders. Malala Yousafzai has become a global celebrity thanks to her courage in the face of opponents of this mission. Yousafzai and Brown have begun work in Lebanon to educate the thousands of school-age children living in Syrian refugee camps. Given the ongoing Syrian conflict it is unknown how long those kids will be living in the camps, and the need is there for education to prevent a “lost generation” of kids.

The Millennium education efforts may have missed their goals by a long shot. However, the emphasis that people like Brown and Yousafzai have placed on primary education brings hope for the near future. Organizations like The Borgen Project support this passion and hope it will be shared by more people around the world. The first step toward ending global poverty will be reaching children as early as possible, and universal primary education is a key method of doing so.

– Eric Gustafsson

Photo: Globalization101
Sources: United Nations, PBS, BBC