Archive for category: Developing Countries

Information and stories about developing countries.

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Public Health in Africa: Reducing Meningitis

Public Health in AfricaFor many people around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic was an eye-opening event that revealed the dangers and inadequacies of the world’s global health systems. However, for other people, outbreaks of epidemic diseases might be more of a lived reality. On the continent of Africa, many know a certain geographic region in sub-Saharan Africa as the “meningitis belt.” These 26 countries face the dangers of meningitis more than other places around the world, and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the vaccination of the MenAfriVac meningitis vaccine to 50 million children in these countries. African governments collaborated with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and PATH, a nonprofit health organization, to develop the MenAfriVac vaccine and distribute it to more than 350 million people living in areas of high risk. While this scientific effort made an incredible difference in public health in Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic largely disrupted the processes that allowed these successes to continue. The pandemic reduced services aimed at preventing meningitis by 50% from 2019 to 2020. Despite recent setbacks, WHO developed a plan to address meningitis.

Meningitis: The Disease

Meningitis is a complex disease with several variations. It arises in viral or bacterial form with several types of viruses or bacteria causing meningitis. Some meningitis vaccines protect against several forms of meningitis.

The types of meningitis are important to consider because historically, different types of meningitis affected African communities. Prior to 2010, only 10% of meningitis cases were a form other than meningitis type A; however, after the introduction of the MenAfriVac vaccine, the number of cases of meningitis type A decreased significantly. Since 2017, no person has experienced a case of meningitis type A in the region. While deaths due to meningitis still totaled 140,552 people in Africa in 2019, the elimination of meningitis type A means that about 95% of people diagnosed with meningitis survived in 2021. Since 2013, however, meningitis type C led to several outbreaks in the meningitis belt.

At the end of 2021, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reported 2,662 cases of meningitis along with 205 deaths due to meningitis. Local mobile clinics and vaccination drives from WHO helped reduce the outcome of death from 85% of cases to 10% of cases fairly quickly.

The Defeating Meningitis Road Map

WHO assists with suppressing the outbreaks of meningitis such as in the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo in late 2021; however, it also develops long-term plans to improve public health in Africa overall. In November 2020, the World Health Assembly approved the Defeating Meningitis by 2030 roadmap. WHO will implement the $1.5 billion plan in January 2023, which will begin the fight to control meningitis in Africa by 2030. The plan includes a goal to achieve a 90% vaccination rate using a new vaccine that will hopefully protect communities against new outbreaks of the disease. From 2023 to 2030, the plan also hopes to reduce deaths of meningitis by 70% and reduce cases of meningitis by 50%. Several steps to achieving these goals include increased disease surveillance to catch meningitis early and increasing awareness of services to improve overall public health in Africa.

With WHO’s plan to defeat meningitis by 2030, public health in Africa will greatly improve the lives of millions of people within the meningitis belt. Meningitis is mostly a preventable disease with the efforts of vaccinations and other measures of public health. As the rest of the world encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic, collaboration within a community goes a long way to keeping everyone safe.

– Kaylee Messick

Photo: Flickr

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Health in the Pacific Islands: Vanuatu Eliminates Trachoma

Health in the Pacific IslandsHealth in the Pacific Islands recently improved due to the elimination of a disease called trachoma on the island of Vanuatu. This island is located to the north east of Australia in a region called Melanesia. Vanuatu is the first of the Pacific Island countries to eliminate the disease, and the only one of 14 to complete this goal. Health in the Pacific Islands and around the world has improved significantly over time as public health measures reduced the number of people at risk of contracting trachoma by 92% over the past two decades.

Vanuatu

Vanuatu is composed of 83 islands and relies on agriculture. Due to the separation of islands, health in the Pacific Islands, including Vanuatu, is often inadequate. Access to health care remains a challenge to many residents, and there also exists a lack of resources and medical personnel. Though there are six hospitals located throughout the country, many people must rely on health centers due to the rural areas in which they live. The recent success story of the elimination of trachoma follows another success back in 2016 when the country eliminated lymphatic filariasis, a disease that affects the lymphatic system.

Trachoma

The bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis, causes trachoma, which leads to a visual impairment that is, at times, severe enough to cause the patient to become blind. The bacterium has caused visual impairments in about 1.9 million people in the world so far, and 136 million people remain at risk of contracting the disease as of June 2021. The disease spreads through contact with discharge coming from the eyes or nose, whether through direct contact or intermediates such as flies. Trachoma is classified as a neglected tropical disease (NTDs).

People often find these diseases in countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Though there are many NTDs, trachoma is one of the known diseases in this category that can be eliminated from a population through the use of public health measures. Improvements to hygiene and access to clean water help control the spread of the disease, as well as control the spread of possible vectors such as flies. The push to eliminate trachoma began after data from 2014 indicated that trachoma infected 12% of children between the ages of one and nine years old. This means these children were at risk for serious visual impairment that would affect their future. Trachoma also holds a significant economic impact on countries that trachoma impacts, where these countries may lose up to $5.3 billion per year.

A Path Toward Elimination

Other countries can follow the success of Vanuatu by abiding by the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and mobilizing medical professionals and communities in places of at-risk individuals. The acronym for the policy toward eliminating trachoma is SAFE. It stands for “Surgery for trichiasis; Antibiotics to clear infection; and Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement to limit transmission.” Communities pair this process with education on avoiding health risks, proper treatment and providing antibiotics to populations, especially rural individuals. Governments, such as the case in Vanuatu, also often partner with international organizations such as WHO, and with organizations that specifically work with treating diseases related to blindness such as the Fred Hollows Foundation.

The Fred Hollows Foundation is particularly important to the regions in and around Australia because it focuses on diseases related to sight. It helps to reduce poverty by providing medical treatments, education and training. It builds health facilities and works with local communities to end preventable blindness.

Looking Ahead

These ongoing partnerships and procedures that WHO outlines eliminate NTDs such as trachoma, allowing medical professionals to greatly improve health in the Pacific Islands. In 1998, WHO set a goal to eliminate trachoma by the year 2020. As of 2020, the new goal for the NTD elimination plan is now 2030. Trachoma remains a health problem in 43 countries. Hopefully, other countries in the Pacific Islands and around the world can use Vanuatu as a role model in eliminating more NTDs to improve health in the Pacific Islands and abroad.

– Kaylee Messick

Photo: Flickr

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Education in Mexico: Keeping Kids in School

education in MexicoMuch of Mexico’s population faces economic struggles that have only magnified amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, one of which includes the high dropout rate for school-age children, a challenge education in Mexico is facing.

Mexico Faces High Student Drop-Out Rates

Mexico’s enrollment rate is one of the most successful out of the Latin American countries. By the start of the 21st century, almost all of Mexico’s age-eligible population was enrolled in primary and lower secondary school. A study found that the enrollment rate for students in grades one to nine as of 2007 was around 95%. Yet, the country fails to secure a high rate of student enrollment through the end of lower secondary schooling, with the overall drop-out rate being close to 50%

Data shows that less than 60% of students finish upper secondary school (high school level) and of that percentage, a large number of children age-eligible for high school do not even attend, according to a University of Nebraska-Lincoln study. Many students decide to end their educational pursuits around the age 15, due to financial reasons. Additionally, an estimated 5.2 million students, around 14% of Mexico’s school-aged children, had dropped out of school since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, citing financial hardship as the reason for their educational termination.

The Impact of Poverty

Although the government made secondary education mandatory in Mexico, it doesn’t directly enforce it. Additionally, “children marginalized by… poverty experience particularly high risks of dropping out” due to financial burdens, according to an article published in the International Journal of Educational Development. As children age, their school curriculum tends to become more difficult and financial costs tend to increase. Coupled with that fact, as children grow older they become more capable of contributing to their family’s financial status, whether that labor is through household duties or in the formal job market, the same article reports.

Mexico’s high dropout rates for school-aged children during and prior to secondary school therefore can have two reasons: the country’s poverty rates and the dependency on children’s labor to supplement household income, all of which especially escalated following the onset of COVID-19.

The Cancellation of Prospera

In recent news, Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador canceled Prospera, a governmental program intended to keep children in school and improve education in Mexico, according to Social Protection. The government developed the program in 1997 in response to Mexico’s economic crisis during the years 1994-1995, renewed it as Oportunidades in 2002, then renamed it Prospera in 2014. Following its cancellation, a new program, the Benito Juarez Scholarship Fund, replaced the educational components of Prospera.

What was Prospera?

Prospera was a conditional cash transfer program (CCT) that not only focused on child education but health and nutrition; it supplied monthly cash subsidies to poor households, primarily those belonging to single and/or unemployed mothers, under certain conditions, Social Protection reports. These conditions included school enrollment and regular trips to health clinics for children.

The CCT program reached 6.2 million households and researchers found that during its implementation, educational attainment for children increased by about 10%, according to Social Protection. Other short-term positive impacts thanks to the program’s conditional healthcare visits included a decrease in maternal death by 11% and infant mortality by 2% and an average improvement in children’s nutritional health.

Long-term impacts of Mexico’s Prospera are still being studied, but one study found that the program’s beneficiaries were “37% more likely to have a job” than those who did not participate and the World Bank attributes one-third of the decrease in Mexico’s rural poverty rates to the program. The World Bank also notes that over 50 countries have replicated Mexico’s Prospera model, adopting similar CCT programs.

Reasons Behind Cancellation

Despite this, Prospera was not particularly popular among voters and Mexico’s president Lopez Obrador eventually canceled it. Data has shown that the program’s beneficiaries received 30% to 40% less in cash value than what was originally intended.

Additionally, the program failed to include 55% of families living in poverty and with household incomes that should have qualified for program consideration, according to Development Pathways.

The Benito Juarez Scholarship Fund

That being said, President Lopez-Obrador and his administration intend for the Benito Juarez Scholarship Fund, Prospera’s replacement, to serve children’s educational pursuits without Prospera’s past corruption. In an effort to confront Mexico’s low enrollment and high dropout rates in secondary education and beyond, the fund will give monetary grants in the form of scholarships to teenagers attending upper secondary (high) schools, Social Protection reports.

This fund, however, does not account for “the removal of conditional health and nutrition requirements of Prospera,” Social Protection reports. Despite this fact, the Benito Juarez Scholarship Fund aims to “encourage [children’s] school enrollment and graduation” without making subsidies conditional upon parents meeting certain requirements.

The program targets families with school-aged children whose monthly income falls under the extreme poverty line and Mexico’s government claims “priority is given to families that live in areas of indigenous populations, areas with high degrees of marginalization or with high rates of violence,” according to Observatory on Social Development.

Mexico’s government has made efforts to improve education in Mexico and school enrollment through programs such as Prospera and, more recently, the Benito Juarez Scholarship Fund.

– Ashley Kim
Photo: Flickr

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Safaricom’s Job Expansion Is Critical for Combating Poverty

Safaricom’s Job ExpansionIn a move to fight competition, Safaricom in Kenya expanded its technical staff by hiring 400 employees with one new deal. The deal, completed in July 2022, will not only create new jobs for Kenyans and open the door for future employment but also will improve Kenyans’ access to technology. Nationwide access to the internet and reliable technology is critical to fighting poverty in Kenya.

Safaricom and its Role in Kenya

Safaricom is a mobile network and internet company based in Kenya. The company hires directly for countless fields, including tech, cybersecurity, commercial, corporate and more. Indirectly, the company is responsible for sustaining thousands of jobs, almost millions, of jobs. Indirect jobs, like contractors, have connections to the production or maintenance of a company’s products. Indirect jobs are also ones where someone’s business or employment is reliant on the services that the company produced. The jobs are indirect because they result from Safaricom’s internet spread or use of Safaricom’s technology and would not exist without Safaricom. Safaricom operates in at least 10 other countries, with recent expansions and more to come.

Allot, a secondary company that tracks cybersecurity and reliability, described Safaricom stating that “With 29 million connections, they are the largest telecommunications provider in Kenya and one of the most profitable companies in the East and Central African region.” In the fiscal year 2020-2021, Safaricom contributed $4,642,499,981.43 in earnings to Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP). Safaricom’s earnings amount to almost 5% of Kenya’s entire GDP. The economic impact of Safaricom’s work is indisputable, and Safaricom’s job expansion exemplifies its effects on technology usage and poverty reduction in Kenya.

Technology in Kenya

Kenya has the “best e-infrastructure in Africa,” making the country known for its technological development and innovation. Kenya’s information, communications and technology sector (ICT) is at the core of Kenya’s government’s latest projects to strengthen the country’s economy. The World Bank has reported that the ICT sector in Kenya still requires significant work to increase its impact on Kenya’s economy and to completely help its poorer citizens.

In April 2022, Kenya’s government created and began implementing the Digital Master Plan 2022-2032. Safaricom will be one of the companies tracking the Master Plan and its progress, specifically regarding data usage. The plan outlines goals, strategies and necessary steps to have Kenya align with global technological infrastructure advancements, and to strengthen and secure Kenya’s “digital economy.” A digital economy is the economic income and improvements from technology use, online activities and all the businesses that depend on the use of technology to strengthen their work and employee retainment. The Digital Masterplan, while not a direct plan to decrease poverty rates or unemployment rates, is meant to enhance the economy, which will result in reduced rates.

One of the key technological advancements in Kenya is the use of M-Pesa. M-Pesa stands for “mobile pesa” and allows users of M-Pesa to make secure transactions from their phones. Vodacom, a partner of Safaricom, and Safaricom itself produced M-Pesa first in 2007. M-Pesa has become a critical connector between rural and urban Kenya. It pre-dated apps such as Venmo and Paypal and has been a part of daily life with further expansions underway. M-Pesa is one of the primary technological tools in Kenya that have lifted thousands out of extreme poverty. Safaricom’s job expansion will help even more escape poverty once the expansion is underway.

Poverty in Kenya

Extreme poverty is when a person lives on less than $1.90 daily. Kenya’s extreme poverty rates were at their highest at 21% in 2016 but have since dropped to 17% as of 2022. Projections for Kenya’s poverty rate show the percentage of Kenya’s population in extreme poverty decreasing to 14% by 2025.

Poverty in Kenya has many causes including lack of education, poor health, and, as technology becomes a key source of income and infrastructure for Kenya, a digital divide. The World Bank noted that 44% of the urban population has access to the internet, compared to the rural population’s meager 27%. Older Kenyans know there are not enough basic skills for technology usage, especially in rural areas. The lack of skills will result in their being economically disadvantaged as technology becomes Kenya’s dominant source of income. Younger age groups are beginning to participate in courses in technology usage or computer science. However, not enough of the older Kenyan population, who struggle to escape poverty, are learning these skills. This is furthering the poverty rates and the technology divides.

Safaricom’s Work In Kenya and Its Future Impact

Safaricom’s job expansion continues the work of the company’s efforts to fight poverty and reduce unemployment rates. Safaricom has created access to financial services for almost 80% of Kenyans. Before Safaricom began operations, the number of Kenyans with access to financial services was 20%. Safaricom has closed education gaps by providing updated technology to schools or has supported local communities or refugees as they find their footing. The technology demand is growing in Kenya, and Safaricom’s job expansion of 400 new employees for the tech team will help meet these demands.

M-Pesa, a product of the tech team, has become one of Safaricom’s most economically valuable ventures, connecting poor rural Kenyans with financial services and mobile usage. M-Pesa earned Safaricom $896,454,132.48 in 2020-2021.

Safaricom is hiring new employees to meet demand and further the company’s reach with M-Pesa and projects like it. Safaricom’s job expansion might seem small. Safaricom is hiring 400 new workers compared to the 6,230 the company already has working as full-time, part-time or contract workers. However, the new workers are invaluable to the company and its ability to serve those who have become reliant on the company and its technology. Safaricom’s job expansion might not seem like a grand move, but there are now 400 tech developers who will benefit from a steady income. There will also be thousands more Kenyans lifted out of extreme poverty by Safaricom’s projects and technology advancements that rely on these new 400 tech developers.

– Clara Mulvihill
Photo: Flickr

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Period Poverty in the Dominican Republic  

Period Poverty in the Dominican Republic Joining the fight to tackle period poverty in the Dominican Republic, Batey Relief Alliance, a nonprofit organization in the Dominican Republic, worked with Always, a famous American brand of menstrual products, to distribute pads to Dominican women through their #ChicaAyudaChica campaign.

Period Poverty and its Effects

According to UNFPA, “period poverty describes the struggle many low-income women and girls face while trying to afford menstrual products.” Though period poverty is a global issue, it is more prevalent in countries where women are disproportionately impacted by economic hardship. In the Dominican Republic, while the poverty rate is 3% higher for women compared to men, it is also important to note that “40% of women [carry] out unpaid work at home.”

Societal norms limit many Dominican women to domestic work rather than professional occupations. Women in rural Dominican Republic who do work often earn a total of $1 per day when the average package of pads costs $3, making it near impossible for them to afford the products. Thus, the cycle of period poverty persists.

Along with financial difficulties, women also struggled to access menstrual products due to COVID-19, as shown in a survey conducted in 30 countries including the Dominican Republic. Per the survey, 73% of health professionals noted that increased shortages and disrupted supply chains restricted women from buying menstrual products. In addition, 68% of health professionals highlighted that there was limited access to “facilities to change, clean and dispose of period products.”

Without access to sanitary products, most girls fear they will bleed through their clothing and be seen as “unclean” or “dirty” due to the taboo placed around periods and sexual health. In response, some girls trade sexual favors for money to pay for their menstrual products, while others simply stay home from school. These absences lead to lasting negative effects as these girls sometimes miss out on their education or drop out altogether.

How Batey Relief Alliance is Helping Dominican Women

Batey Relief Alliance is a non-political nonprofit founded in 1997 that addresses extreme poverty for women, children and families across the Americas and the Caribbean. In 2021, the organization revealed that 20% of Dominican girls in rural areas missed an average of 2-3 days of school monthly due to lack of access to menstrual products. Overall, a UNICEF report notes that only 56.7% of Dominican girls complete high school.

In response to period poverty in the Dominican Republic, the organization partnered with Always and a famous supermarket chain in the Dominican Republic called La Sirena to launch the ChicaAyudaChica campaign on April 6, 2022. The ChicaAyudaChica, or GirlHelpsGirl campaign is a response to the financial strain the pandemic placed on low-income families. The initiative grew using platforms like Twitter and Facebook to reach a bigger audience. By the end of the month, Always donated 20,000 sanitary pads to girls who lived in the rural province of Monte Plata, the seventh poorest town in the Dominican Republic.

Moving Forward

Even though the campaign is over, Always continues the fight against period poverty through its ongoing #EndPeriodPoverty movement, using social media as a tool to spread the word. As awareness of period poverty and its effects increases, the more young girls and women can gain control over their well-being and future economic opportunities.

– Blanly Rodriguez
Photo: Flickr

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Yemen Uses Rainwater Harvesting to Fight Water Crisis

Yemen uses rainwater harvestingThe ongoing water scarcity crisis in Yemen continues to grow. Currently, the country stands as one of the most water-scarce regions in the world. With conflict and climate change making it increasingly harder to obtain fresh water sources, access to safe drinking water is a major concern for people living in Yemen. The World Bank and its partners started a promising project where Yemen uses rainwater harvesting techniques to provide accessible and clean drinking water to local people.

Yemen’s Water Crisis

Yemen is a water-stressed region, and the ongoing conflict has significantly exacerbated the crisis. A rapidly depleting store of groundwater resources in Yemen is negatively impacting the country’s economy, which mainly relies on irrigated agriculture. The International Committee of the Red Cross reports that Yemen’s groundwater overdraft is twice the recharge rate, resulting in declining and unsustainable water reserves. Moreover, the Yemeni Civil War has significantly disrupted crucial infrastructure. The displacement of 4.2 million people in Yemen and extreme water mismanagement have worsened the water crisis.

The United States Agency for International Development states that about 20.7 million people in Yemen lack clean water and essential health services, leading to several dangerous diseases such as cholera. Outbreaks of cholera and acute watery diarrhea have been major health problems in Yemeni communities since the outbreaks began in October 2016. According to the Red Cross, approximately 2.5 million cases have been reported, with more than 4,000 deaths in the Yemen cholera outbreak.

Rainwater Harvesting Solution

With 60% of Yemenis living in rural areas, the country’s biggest infrastructural challenge is providing water access to remote communities. According to the World Bank, people in Yemen undergo hardship in gathering water for daily use by traveling to far-off wells.  The World Bank and its partners collaborated with Yemeni communities to build rainwater harvesting systems.

Rainwater harvesting is not a complex process. Cisterns are built, usually from stones or other materials easily accessible in Yemeni villages, and placed on roofs to collect rainwater. The collaborative effort constructed numerous cisterns in three towns: Al-Adn, Al-Anin and Hawf. The project resulted in the villages being able to store large quantities of water that was free of contaminants.

Benefits of Rainwater Harvesting

Rainwater harvesting cisterns have provided safe drinking water and resulted in employment opportunities for locals. The World Bank offered cash-for-work programs in villages, allowing locals to build cisterns and gain valuable work experience. Cisterns have also eased the burden on the women and children in the villages. Haliya Al-Jahal, one of the women the World Bank interviewed, said, “We no longer have to go through the struggle of fetching water from remote areas.” The cisterns, as Al-Jahal states, have “put an end to [their] misery.”

The Future of the Program

The Yemen Emergency Crisis Response Project (YECRP) has supported the construction of about 1,279 public and 30,686 household harvesting cisterns across Yemen. This has resulted in providing 900,000 cubic meters of clean water to communities. YECRP has shown more promising results where Yemen uses rainwater harvesting to improve areas such as public health, agricultural production and economic gains.

– Umaima Munir
Photo: Flickr

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5 Things to Know About Food Banks in Africa

food banks in AfricaAccording to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, approximately 702 to 828 million people worldwide suffered from hunger in 2021, and more than 30% of them were on the African continent. While there are many hunger relief efforts on the continent, food banks are the least prominent or known. There are many reasons for this, including bureaucracy in local governments, lack of funding, poor geographical location and poor infrastructure. Nevertheless, food banks in Africa are increasing in number despite the challenges and are making a significant impact on reducing food insecurity. Some things to know about food banks in Africa include:

Food banks are relatively new to Africa.

While there may be many hunger relief initiatives in Africa with long histories, food banks, especially those formed by local initiatives, did not form before the beginning of the 21st century. The earliest African food banks include the Egyptian Food Bank, founded in 2006, and FoodForward South Africa, founded in 2009.

Food is sourced directly from farmers and processing companies.

Most food waste in Africa comes from post-harvest and food processing levels of food distribution. This is unlike established food banking systems in the U.S. and Europe, which mainly source food waste from restaurants, supermarkets, grocery stores and other similar places. Other differences between these established systems and emerging ones in Africa and other parts of the world are challenging what is understood about food banking. As a result, food banking is being reevaluated on its impact on food insecurity.

Food banks expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, the number of people in Africa suffering from hunger increased by 46 million; by 2021, 278 million people on the continent faced hunger. New food banks in Africa stepped up to cope with the increase and served 906,026 people, increasing their reach by 169% compared to their impact in 2019. Through the Africa Food Bank Incubator Conference held annually since 2019, African food banks came together virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic to share advice and strategies contributing to their exponential growth.

In 2019, African food banks joined the Global Food Banking Network for the first time.

The Global Food Banking Network is a nonprofit organization supporting food banks worldwide. Except for its partnership with FoodForward South Africa, the organization had no presence in the African continent. In 2019, the organization partnered with 40 food banks in Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar and Botswana to form the Africa Incubator Program.

Food banks are helping food insecurity.

Food banking systems as a means to combat food insecurity and food waste in Africa will continue to mature as the continent continues to develop alongside the refinement of international interdependence. The present challenges to food banking in Africa can therefore be considered an opportunity to test innovative solutions in the fight against food poverty.

– Kena Irungu
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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5 Facts about Higher Education in South Korea

Higher Education in South KoreaDue to its rigorous entrance processes and societal emphasis on university prestige, South Korea spends a large portion of its annual GDP on higher education and the costs associated with college admissions preparation. Acceptance into one of the nation’s high-ranking “SKY” institutions can help differentiate applicants in an already competitive job market, as 70% of South Koreans have a college education. Here are five facts about the higher education system in South Korea:

5 Facts about Higher Education in South Korea

  1. Education and Industrialization: Rapid growth in literacy and education rates coincided with South Korea’s emergence as a newly industrialized nation. Just after WWII, South Korea’s literacy rate was a meager 22%, with few Koreans attending college. Now, its literacy rate sits at 97.9% and over 70% of high school graduates in South Korea go on to attend university. Once a beneficiary of American aid, South Korea now eclipses the U.S. in spending per capita on research and development, much of which is done at the university level.
  2. SKY Universities: Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University are widely viewed as the most prestigious institutions in Korea and three of the top-ranked universities in all of Asia. In fact, employment at elite firms and entrance into social circles is often contingent upon holding a degree from a SKY university.
  3. College Scholastic Ability Test: The eight-hour College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) is an assessment that determines which universities Korean students can attend. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), CSAT scores make up 70% of admissions criteria at Korean universities. Comparatively, high school grades carry significantly less weight, comprising only 10% of a student’s profile. Overall, higher CSAT scores are highly correlated with better job prospects and higher income potential.
  4. Spending on College Prep Classes: Since CSAT scores are viewed as the most important factor in South Korean college admissions decisions, Korean families often invest large sums of money in private tutoring. For example, the OECD estimates that middle-income parents of high school students in South Korea spend as much as 30% of their income on tutoring, with families spending an average of 3.6 million KRW ($2,600) on tutoring per year.
  5. An Increase in International Students: Since the early 2000s, the number of international students studying in South Korea has steadily risen. According to the Center for Strategy & International Studies, the global student population in South Korea has risen from 17,000 in 2004 to 160,000 in 2019. The South Korean government has also enacted reforms that expanded government tuition assistance to international students and created bilingual courses taught in English.

Admission to Korean universities is a rigorous process that often involves significant amounts of time and money. The expenses involved in preparing for the CSAT — the single most important factor in application decisions — often put low-income families at a disadvantage in the admissions process. However, international aid and education reforms have allowed several Korean universities to climb global university rankings. Moreover, an influx of international applicants is a strong indicator of increased university quality and prestige.

– Salvatore Brancato
Photo: WikkiCommons

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Young Jordanians Who Confront Food Insecurity via Innovation

Young Jordanians Who Confront Food Insecurity via InnovationJordan has been experiencing food insecurity challenges due to multiple factors, such as water scarcity and slow economic growth. As a result, many Jordanians struggle to afford food for themselves. Food insecurity is a pervading problem in Jordan because 63% of its population is under 30 years old, a generational issue. However, young Jordanians have discovered new ways to cleverly tackle food insecurity in their country without successful government policies. The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and The World Food Programme (WFP) have recently established the Youth in Food Security Innovation Programme, which gathers young Jordanians who confront food insecurity via innovation.

Food insecurity has become the central issue amongst citizens in the developing world primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia war and economic decline. This made tackling food insecurity in developing countries more challenging especially given the vulnerability of the governments. Therefore, citizens living in the developing world are compelled to find effective alternative methods to feed themselves, their families and their fellow citizens. The innovations in tackling food insecurity presented by these young Jordanians highlight new ways to reduce hunger quickly. The key is to discover the latest methods and adopt them as official development policy.

The Current Food Insecurity Situation in Jordan

The food insecurity situation in Jordan worsened because of the COVID-19 pandemic as it “has affected sustainable development efforts.” On February 28, A U.N. policy brief on Jordan’s food security strategy stated that 53% “of Jordanians are vulnerable to food insecurity” while 3% of Jordan’s households are struggling with food insecurity. Jordan is also facing water scarcity which can heavily impact its agriculture since it absorbs more than 50% of water in order “to produce 45%” of Jordan’s agriculture. The country relies on young Jordanians who confront food insecurity via innovation to solve the hunger issue.

Aya Kreik: The Soil as a Sustainable Source of Food

One of the young Jordanians confronting food insecurity via innovation is Aya Kreik, an architecture student living in Jordan’s capital city, Amman. Aya is part of a team that “succeeded in converting farm waste into organic fertilizers rich in nutrients.” This innovative method revived the soil and compelled farmers to stop using chemical fertilizers. Furthermore, the soil would “retain water in a large proportion,” reducing water irrigation in a water-scarce country. This method that Aya and her team created produces more organic food for Jordanians, which helps tackle food insecurity while promoting environmental sustainability.

Alaa and Nourhan: Plants that Self-Feed

Alaa (Banking and Finance student) and Nourhan (Business Intelligence student) are also young Jordanians who confront food insecurity via innovation. The students teamed up to build a start-up enterprise that specializes in producing “self-watering and self-feeding plants.” This is done by transforming “moisture in the air into pure water” via a type of hydrogel that is made up “of self-absorbing polymers.” This method allows for the availability of more water that produces more food at a time when Jordanians are struggling to find water and food.

Conclusion

Jordan, as with many other Middle Eastern countries, is experiencing severe food shortages and high prices for food items due to COVID-19 and the Ukraine-Russia war. However, despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, Jordanians have proven that tough challenges can be easily overcome via innovation and creativity. The innovative methods the young Jordanians have presented to the world are helping Jordan solve its food insecurity problem by producing healthy organic food that contributes to environmental sustainability. The creative methods show the world that solving development issues and policies in the developing world requires intelligent solutions. In other words, the world may be closer to ending hunger than before.

– Abdullah Dowaihy
 Photo: Flickr

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Women’s Rights in the Philippines

Women's Rights in the PhilippinesSeveral policies focus on advancing women’s rights in the Philippines to increase women’s empowerment and gender equality. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light gender disparities that make women’s rights progressions as urgent as ever.

Barriers for Women in the Workplace

Women’s rights in the Philippines, particularly in the workforce, are progressing. According to the 2021 Global Gender Gap report, the Philippines ranks 17th globally in gender equality, having closed 78.4% of its gender gap. A major role player in the Philippines’ gender equality advancements is the Philippine Magna Carta for Women, a comprehensive human rights law enacted in 2009 to abolish discrimination against Filipino women.

Despite this progression, female participation in the workforce is low, standing at just 49%—one of the lowest rates in the East Asia and Pacific region (EAP) compared to the regional average of 59%. According to the World Bank, progression in female workforce participation rates has seen minimal improvement since 1990. Since 2015, this gap has reduced by just 0.3%.

The lack of participation of women in the labor force hinders opportunities for the nation’s overall economic growth.  The World Bank says, “An increase of women’s labor supply by a mere 0.5 percentage points per year would increase gross domestic product (GDP) per capita by about 6% by 2040 and almost 10% by 2050.”

Barriers to Workforce Participation

A 2021 World Bank report on women’s economic empowerment explores the barriers to women’s participation in the Philippines’ labor force, including societal norms and beliefs.

The report’s survey on women’s work and childcare reveals that about 75% of Filipino males and 80% of Filipino women believe that men should be the breadwinners and women should bear the responsibility of caretaking and household chores. Further, more than 70% of men and 76% of women believe that a mother’s employment negatively impacts “the emotional and psychosocial development skills of a preschool child.” The World Bank has made policy recommendations to increase women’s participation in the labor force. This includes implementing “alternatives to child-care in the home” programs and promoting flexible work structures, such as remote work and e-commerce platforms.

The Magna Carta of Women

The Magna Carta of Women aims to abolish gender discrimination and protect women’s rights in the Philippines through a comprehensive definition of what constitutes gender discrimination. The law sets out extensive protections for women ranging from protection against violence to representation in male-dominated work sectors.

The Magna Carta of Women protects women from “all forms of violence” and ensures compulsory training on gender sensitivity for government staff  who work in sectors “involved in the protection and defense of women against gender-based violence.”

The law calls for more women representation in male-dominated fields, such as the police and military sectors. Women must also have equal rights regarding “marriage and family relations,” among many other rights such as equal opportunities to participate in sports.

Women’s Empowerment in the Workforce

In March 2022, at The Manila Times Online Business Forum called “Empowered Women Powering Changes,” chairperson and CEO of P&A Grant Thornton, Marivic Españo said the Philippines boasts a high percentage of females in leadership roles.

According to Españo, in 2021, about 48% of Filipino women worked in senior leadership roles; however, this rate declined in 2022 to 39%. Despite the decrease, the Philippines still ranks fourth-highest in the world for rates of women in senior leadership roles.

Abigail Tina del Rosario, Maybank Philippines president and CEO, says women in the Philippines fare better than women in other countries in terms of academics, the professional arena, the political sphere and the legislative sphere.

The Philippines has resources in place to protect women’s rights in the workplace, like the Expanded Maternity Leave Law, the Safe Streets and Public Spaces Law and the Telecommuting Law that allows females to work from home.

Looking Ahead

Despite the challenges women in the Philippines face, policies and laws are in place to advance women’s rights in the country to empower women and eliminate gender inequality.

– Jacara Watkins
Photo: Wikimedia Commons