Archive for category: Developing Countries

Information and stories about developing countries.

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The Listening Project

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The Listening Project began as an attempt to capture the side of international developmental aid that we don’t often get to hear. It’s conductors, Mary B. Anderson, Dayna Brown and Isabella Jean, wanted to collect the experiences of those who receive aid, so as to better outline their expectations and understand their realities.

The project’s main objective is to highlight the importance of critical feedback from those whose lives it affects most deeply. They discovered that there was an overwhelmingly popular opinion among the 6,000 people interviewed that the notion of aid is good, but its implementation is increasingly bad.

They found that those receiving international assistance generally held expectations that it would contribute not only to the economic betterment of their country but also to its increased political and social conditions. Ultimately, they hoped that the support they received would garner a relationship with the international community based on solidarity.

Almost every interview began along the lines of: “We very much appreciate the assistance… but…” The “but” was nearly always followed by a personal example of a negative externality produced by their country’s growing dependence on foreign aid. The interviewees agreed that their reality does not meet their expectations. While the stories concerning aid were all very cheerful in the short-term, they grew to be disheartening in the long-term.

The chief negative effect identified in the interviews typically involved an increase in the general sentiment of powerlessness and dependency. Those interviewed said that, at times, international actors bring projects that wind up perpetuating the need for more projects and more assistance. Additionally, the influx of public funds often leads actors within the country to create policies and projects that assume these funds will always be available. These practices establish an endless cycle of dependency.

Interviewees also noted how aid can increase tension between groups. Often this is brought on by a sense of relative deprivation caused by specific targeting of aid of one group and not of another. Because foreign agencies sometimes assign aid along ethnic or religious lines- divisions that may have caused violent conflict in the past- there runs a danger of reigniting long-standing prejudices.

Finally, interviewees say that the solidarity they hoped would come from aid has instead lead to a sense of mistrust toward aid agencies. The main suggestion of a great number of those interviewed was that there should be an increase in consultation. Aid agencies need to observe more closely the local social dynamics that play out in different cultural contexts before administering to the people.

On a more uplifting note, many observed an increasingly positive impact on the status of women. Many international programs focus on the improvement of the lives of women, and a great number have been successful at helping women become empowered. These programs often serve two purposes: to increase the capabilities of women and to force men to realize how this increase can contribute to the betterment of their community as a whole.

Before the project, the researchers wanted to emphasize that they in no way disagreed with the potential foreign assistance holds to bring positive impacts to the billions of people living in poverty worldwide. Their take on the issues of aid revolves around problems of implementation, not motivation.

They state in their book Time to Listen: Hearing People on the Receiving End of International Aid that the main problems stem from the historical focus on disaster response instead of prevention. They suggest that a proactive approach to humanitarian issues is the most helpful in the long-term. They also cite certain aid agencies’ adoption of business principles and mechanisms as a prevalent issue. Aid agencies sometimes adhere too closely to the interests of their profit-seeking donors while failing to respond appropriately to the needs of aid recipients.

Additionally, when local partners are used as “middle men,” it creates a wider disconnect between donor and recipient. This can provide an opportunity for the diversion of funds and most certainly breeds “competition instead of collaboration.”

The Listening Project aims to bring these contradictions between expectations and realities to light. Since its beginnings in 2005, the project has influenced multiple aid agencies to adopt policies that can better address the issues raised by the aid recipients. As the voices of these people are heard, the awareness of the need for changes in the way foreign assistance is provided also increases.

– Kathryn Cassibry

Source: The Listening Project
Photo: Global Humanitarian Assistance

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Focusing on the Living, Not the Dying

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So much of the emphasis in judging the quality of life of a country, or its progress, focuses on death. The numbers tell how many people die; how many of the dead were mothers, how many were children, the most fatal diseases, the most deaths by violence, etc. Christopher Murray, a Harvard researcher, took issue with this standard of measurement. While he agreed that death was a powerful indicator of a country’s welfare, he also saw a major oversight in using it as a yardstick. To Murray, it was important not solely to focus on the dead, who we can do nothing for, but also examine the quality of life of the living. Not only to think of how to keep people alive but also to ensure they are living well. Murray’s viewpoint was to revolutionize metrics. He spearheaded the shift from measuring mortality to the implementation of the DALY measure – Disability-Adjusted Life Year.

In simplest terms, the DALY measures the number of years a population lives with a disability, adjusting its productivity accordingly (as a major psychological or health problem will undoubtedly decrease a worker’s effectiveness), as well as measuring the impact of shorter life expectancy (often which is related to the disabilities in the DALY). ‘Disability’ in the term covers a wide arrange of conditions, among them pain, arthritis, mental illness such as depression and PTSD, disfigurement and major diseases. A highly sophisticated system, the DALY is weighted to measure the impact of conditions on younger members of a population more than older members to give a more accurate measure of impact on the economic potential of a given population (as the young are seen to have more potential than the aged because of longevity, energy, new skills, etc.).

Measuring the global burden of disease this way has yielded surprising – and often controversial – results. Yet this data is promising and exciting in that it shakes our current system and demands attention to issues that have so far been neglected. For example, depression and suicide are found to be more damaging than tuberculosis or cirrhosis, and one of the fastest-growing diseases is glaucoma. The DALY’s results have not been welcomed by all, however. When first introduced after measuring international statistics, many countries were graded much lower than on an objective mortality scale and hotly contested the results.

The importance of metric systems in foreign aid is steadily increasing: in a world where every dollar could be used in many different ways, expenditure on aid and social programs needs to be well justified, with potential for results from investment. When asked about the use of DALYs to give an accurate picture of the state of global health, Murray stated, “People walk around with a mental map that’s different for every one of us. A real map has got to be a better guide.”

– Farahnaz Mohammed

Source: Discover Magazine
Photo: Change

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Polio 101

Polio 101
Poliomyelitis, commonly referred to as polio, is a highly contagious viral disease that, despite being deemed as a problem of the past by the Western world, remains a very current problem in other parts of the world. Though its remnants are seen in the stunted limbs of the survivors, polio’s worst effect is no disfigurement.

Polio is a potentially fatal disease of the nervous system that causes paralysis. After infection, the organs can stop functioning within a matter of hours. Fatalities normally occur if the virus affects the respiratory system, preventing the victim from breathing. In some cases, polio leaves an individual with permanent paralysis, typically in the lower body.

In the majority of cases, polio shows no symptoms. Although anyone can contract the disease when they come in contact with it, the disease mainly affects children under five. Currently, there is no cure for polio once it has been contracted. Programs to eradicate polio work solely through prevention by vaccinating children at a young age.

As a result of a huge global effort to eradicate the disease, it has largely disappeared and has become one of the global health’s success stories. Only 223 cases were reported in 2012 (down from an estimated 350,000 in 1988). According to the World Health Organization, only three countries in the world still report polio as a problem: Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan.

At the Global Vaccine Summit in the United Arab Emirates in April 2013, a five-year plan was presented to ensure the eradication of all forms of polio, backed by contributions of 75% of the 5.5 billion necessaries for implementation.

– Farahnaz Mohammed
Source: WHO
Photo: Cyrusdurant

Deciphering the Human Development Index

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s The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite measure of health, education, and income which was introduced by the United Nations Development Programme in 1990 as an alternative to purely economic assessments of national progress, such as Gross Domestic Product growth. In the field of international development, the HDI soon became the most widely accepted and cited measure of its kind.

Many developing countries in the 1980s faced strict structural adjustment conditions imposed by financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.  To avoid a financial crisis and get the loans they needed, these countries had to undergo massive economic restructuring that involved currency devaluation, government spending cuts, business deregulation, and reducing taxes for the wealthy. Not surprisingly, the social impact was harsh for the average citizen and the human condition worsened. Do you remember the images of people burning money to keep warm? It was in light of this situation that the United Nations advocated for a human development approach, as opposed to a business development approach.

1990 was the beginning of a campaign by the UNDP for a people-focused strategy towards development, and hence the birth of the Human Development Index. The HDI emphasized that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone. The HDI was designed to reflect average achievements in three basic aspects of human development – leading a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and enjoying a decent standard of living.

The main components used to calculate a country’s HDI are Life Expectancy at Birth, Gross National Income per Capita, Mean Years of Schooling and Expected Years of Schooling. From these, a number between 0 and 1 is produced – with 1 being the best possible HDI and 0 being the worst possible HDI. As of 2012, Norway ranked number 1 out of 187 countries with an HDI of 0.955.  Niger and the Democratic Republic of the Congo tied for last place with an HDI of 0.304.

The HDI can be revealing in other ways as well. For example, how is it that two countries with the same level of GNI per capita can end up with such different human development outcomes? The Bahamas’ GNI per capita is higher than New Zealand’s (by 17%) but because life expectancy at birth is about 5 years shorter, mean years of schooling is 4 years shorter and expected years of schooling differ greatly between the two countries; New Zealand has a much higher HDI value than the Bahamas.

Although the Human Development Index is a more holistic measure of human development in a country when compared to GDP per capita, the HDI is still not all-inclusive. The HDI, for example, does not reflect political participation or gender inequalities. The Inequality-adjusted HDI, Gender Inequality Index and Multidimensional Poverty Index offer other insights into a country’s development status.

According to the 2012 HDI, the top ten countries with the best human development are:

1.    Norway

2.    Australia

3.    USA

4.    Netherlands

5.    Germany

6.    New Zealand

7.    Ireland (tied for 7/8 spot)

8.    Sweden (tied for 7/8 spot)

9.    Switzerland

10.   Japan

Out of the 187 countries counted in the 2012 HDI, the bottom ten countries with the least human development are:

177.  Sierra Leone

178.  Burundi

179.  Guinea

180.  Central African Republic

181.  Eritrea

182.  Mali

183.  Burkina Faso

184.  Chad

185.  Mozambique

186.  Democratic Republic of the Congo (tied for last place)

186.  Niger (tied for last place)

– Maria Caluag

Source: UNDP
Photo: Guardian

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Colin Brannen to Cycle for World’s Poor

Colin Brannen to Cycle for World's Poor

Age is but a number for Colin Brannen, a 76-year old from London who plans to ride his bike from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne to London and back to raise awareness to end global hunger. The former teacher does not own a car and will take time along his route to stop and talk to people about global hunger and the IF Campaign.  This campaign tackles the idea that the world makes enough food for everyone, and yet not everyone has enough food.

Brannen’s goal is to get to London to take part in the IF campaign’s rally in Hyde Park on June 8.  The rally and campaign is being supported by Christian Aid and over 200 different development organizations.  Brannen has been a Christian Aid organizer for over 30 years.  Throughout his ride he will discuss with people what Christian Aid is doing to support the IF campaign.

According to Brannen, campaigning is increasingly important in current times.  Poverty reduction is not all about raising money, although that is important, it is equally about raising awareness and inspiring action.  Brannan hopes to bring change and encourage the government to be more supportive of the fight against poverty.

As an avid cyclist, Brannen has cycled to raise awareness for social and justice issues throughout his life.  In 1998, he cycled to Birmingham for the G8 conference and part of the way to Cologne, Germany in 1999 for another G8 rally. In 2004, he cycled to Brighton for a trade justice event.  Christian Aid is asking people to show their support for ending global hunger by attending the rally.  In a world where we produce enough food for everyone, it is inexcusable that one in eight people still go hungry.

The IF campaign is calling for G8 leaders to take action at the meeting in Northern Ireland later in June and continue to fight hunger.  For more details go to the Christian Aid website at www.christianaid.org.uk/if.

– Amanda Kloeppel

Source: Christian Today

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Neglecting Environment Prolongs Global Poverty

Neglecting Environment Prolongs Global Poverty

The actions and decisions of humans have had negative effects on the environment and the world’s natural resources. However, research suggests not all humans deplete resources unnecessarily; the poor are often best at sustaining the environment because they recognize its direct connection to their survival. According to The Centre for Science and Environment, wealthier nations are to blame. The Centre speculates that if impoverished nations developed and consumed at the rate of the West, two more planet Earths would be needed to produce enough resources and absorb the waste.

So, if wealthy nations are consuming at an alarming rate while poorer nations excel at sustaining their environment, why is the latter suffering economically?

The answer is simple, but sad; industry frequently exploits less developed countries. They send their most environmentally unfriendly ventures to the Third World to circumvent the high cost of doing such work in the developed world. As a result, large-scale deforestation occurs to make land available for lease to international companies. Prime agricultural land is damaged by harsh pesticides and fertilizers to produce cash crops for wealthier countries and ten times the amount of water a typical Indian family should consume in one day, if they get water at all, is used for meat breeding for richer nations.

Disregarding the environment when addressing poverty leads to an incomplete solution because the two are directly related. The natural resources needed to lift people out of poverty, though sustainable, are not unlimited. Thus the environment can only sustain us for as long as we sustain it.

– Dana Johnson

Source: Global Issues
Photo: UN

ACDI/VOCA Eradicates Economic Endangerment

ACDI/VOCA Eradicates Economic Endangerment

ACDI/ VOCA is an organization dedicated to making financial stability accessible to individuals across the globe, regardless of their socio-economic status. One look at its name doesn’t tell a reader much, but the name of this organization is just as peculiar in appearance as it is rich in meaning.

The name dates back to 1977, referring to the merger of the Agricultural Cooperative Development International (ACDI) and the Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (VOCA).

ACDI, as its own entity, sought to develop joint ventures around the world that indicate the values present in sustainable dual ownership, democratic leadership, and economic sustainability. Some of ACDI’s most notable accomplishments include the founding of the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO), re-institutionalizing collective banking in Poland, contributing to food aid monetization in several countries, and creating business-oriented farming practices in Ethiopia and Malawi.

Migrating from an exclusively “co-op” focus, ACDI began to pay greater attention to economic developments in agriculture, food security, enterprise development, poverty alleviation, and inside-out community development.

In VOCA’s circles, before the two organizations merged, the implementation of the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer program was at the cornerstone of their advocacy. Over 11,00 assignments were carried out in 130 countries under this program, providing a short-term experience as building blocks for long-term development.

Once 1977 rolled around, these two international economic organizations saw it fit to join forces.

This new partnership allowed for a unique mix of ACDI’s long-term development initiatives and VOCA’s close attention to individual experience. Together, they cultivated healthy economic communities that valued each citizen—and created a system to last. For the sake of ease (and thankfully), the two organizations decided to shorten their name to an acronym and became ACDI/VOCA (pronounced A-C-D-I- Vōca.)

ACDI/VOCA describes themselves as follows:

“[We blend] business and technical acumen with humanitarian concern. Having worked in 145 countries, [we have] established a reputation for implementing successful, large-scale projects addressing the most pressing and intractable development challenges. [Our] approach does not rely on short-term interventions or supply-driven technology transfer directed at single problems in isolation. Rather it looks at problems holistically and taps an array of resources to provide lasting results.”

Funding for ACDI/VOCA comes mostly from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and private sector firms, among others.

– Kali Faulwetter

Source: ACDI/VOCA
Photo: ACDI/VOCA

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Middle School Students Fight Global Hunger

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Middle school can be an unforgiving time for young people, but one group of students at St. Francis Episcopal Day School in Texas are using their middle school years to fight global hunger. Under the direction of faculty Debbie Harris, the St. Francis Wolves Against Hunger are making a global difference. The group consists of 7 eighth grade students. They participated in the World Hunger Leadership Challenge, an initiative founded by Lead2Feed with the purpose of promoting leadership among middle school students in the fight against world hunger.  It is important to develop future leaders and foster a spirit of giving back to the community especially during the tough middle school years.

The St. Francis Episcopal Day School was awarded a $25,000 check from the Yum! Brand Foundation for the work the Wolves Against Hunger did in the World Hunger Leadership Challenge.  More than 300,000 students participated from over 1,500 schools and the Yum! Foundation provided close to $250,000 in prize money grants to 140 schools. The grants will support US public charities engaged in hunger relief. The recognition ceremony was shared with another student group located in Utaar Pradesh, India. The students from St. Francis have been in close contact with the students from K.L. International (KLI) in Utaar Pradesh over the last two semesters.  The St. Francis students packed 5,100 sack lunches, collected more than 6,500 cans of food, and packed boxes at a local food back. The KLI students volunteered time at a local orphanage run by Mother Teresa Missionaries of Charity as well as created Project 365 in which at least one hungry person is fed every day of the year.

Harris had heard about the World Hunger Leadership Challenge and entered her students in the hopes of gaining them some recognition for all their hard work. She noted the students participated in events on the weekends in addition to school activities. The program began when Harris organized a campaign for World Water Day in 2012 and came in contact with Jasdeep Lamba, whose father-in-law runs KLI School. They worked together to get a Skype discussion scheduled between the students and faculty of the two schools. The next school year, they arranged for six Skype forums to be held. The forums gave the US students a greater appreciation for hunger and poverty as well as motivated both groups of students to get more involved in their respective communities.

The award money won by St. Francis will be donated to Kids’ Meals Houston, a charity working to feed children under 5. The work done by the KLI students will benefit The Earth Saviours Foundation, a local charity in New Delhi, India.

– Amanda Kloeppel
Source: Indo American News

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Why General Petraeus Supports International Aid

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The United States Military takes a huge piece of the American Federal Budget, with 23% of spending allocated to defence. The armed forces are carrying a heavy responsibility in a time when national security is at the forefront of most citizens’ minds, with threats and responsibilities so numerous that the country has come to merit possessing the world’s most powerful army.

Taking this into consideration, it seems unlikely – and significant – that General David Petraeus, who had an illustrious career within the army – is outspokenly advocating the continued funding of foreign aid.  Petraeus recently wrote an impressive op-ed in Politico outlining the many potential benefits of continuing development work, as well as the moral and strategic importance of doing so. He offers the gentle reminder that America’s influence does not come solely from its military muscle but also from what he calls its ‘softer’ power, i.e. its generosity and ability to contribute to the betterment of other nations.

A strategist at heart, Petraeus’ argument is more sense than sentiment. Seen from a strategic standpoint, General Petraeus expounds on the benefits of past development work. He provides real life examples of how assistance has led to results in the past, such as the stabilization of the Latin American region, which has blossomed into new markets and is less threatened by instability. He points out the need for continued restructuring programs in the countries that have already seen US intervention, namely Afghanistan, where he emphasizes how the subsequent relief work is as important as the initial military intervention.

The US is one of the world’s largest contributors to foreign aid from a purely quantitative standpoint. Yet, in comparison to its economy, the US is somewhat conservative. Currently, the United States spends less than 0.19% of its GDP on foreign aid, less than some of the major European countries and falling significantly short of the UN’s goal of 0.7% of GDP. As Petraeus points out, “The State Department budget is still less than 5 percent of the military’s — and the number of Foreign Service officers worldwide is less than half the number of soldiers in a single Army division.”

In addition, General Petraeus highlights some of the past successes of investment in foreign aid. Not only that, he pinpoints areas that may need the US’s help in coming years, including Egypt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and transitional governments such as Libya, Yemen and Mali.

Citizens and activists have long recognized the need for foreign aid; it is a heartening sign that figures as influential as Petraeus are adding their voice.

– Farahnaz Mohammed

Source: Politico
Photo: IBT

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DRC Ranks Last in Maternal Health

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Happy Mother’s Day?  Well, maybe not in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which was recently named the worst place to be a mom according to a report done by Save the Children. The DRC took the unwanted ranking from Niger and for the first time in the 14 years since the report has been published, sub-Saharan Africa took up the bottom ten places.

The London-based charity’s “State of the World’s Mothers” report compared 176 countries in terms of maternal health, child mortality, education and levels of women’s income and political status.  The results were staggering and showed massive gaps in maternal health. A woman or girl in the DRC has a 1 in 3o chance of dying from maternal causes, including childbirth, whereas a women in Finland faces a 1 in 12,200 risk. The report cited the poor health of mothers as well as low access to health care  as possible causes for the high rates of infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.

Save the Children is calling for an investment to close the gap. They cite the need for nations to invest in mothers and children and to provide better and more accessible maternal care.  Women must have access to education and political standing as well as high quality health and child care.

Much progress is being made in developing countries and sub-Saharan Africa; the study pointed to four life-saving products that could drastically change the current state of affairs. Those four products are:

1. Corticosteroid injections to women in preterm labor.

2. Resuscitation devices to save babies who do not breathe at birth.

3. Chlorhexidine cord cleansing to prevent umbilical cord infections.

4. Injectable antibiotics to treat newborn sepsis and pneumonia.

Simple devices and measures like these have the potential to give mothers and infants in countries like the DRC a better chance at a full, healthy life.  It is time to continue the progress being made and even the odds for mothers in the DRC and all across sub-Saharan Africa.

– Amanda Kloeppel

Source: Global Post