Archive for category: Developing Countries

Information and stories about developing countries.

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Examining USAID Programs in South Sudan

USAID Programs in South SudanSouth Sudan is an East African nation with a population of more than 11 million people. After decades of civil war, South Sudan declared independence in 2011 and is now a war-torn nation with failing institutions, a corrupt and violent security force and a population in abject poverty. The fledgling nation quickly descended back into civil war, further hindering any efforts at reconstruction. Since South Sudan’s independence, USAID programs in South Sudan have been providing humanitarian aid to alleviate human suffering, foster sustainable economic growth and mitigate conflict.

Food Security in South Sudan

Food security is one of the largest issues plaguing South Sudan, and as of February 2022, 8.3 million South Sudanese out of a population of 11 million are severely food insecure. To address the crisis of food insecurity, USAID launched a program initially to operate between 2017 to 2020, which was then extended to August 2022, called Sustainable Agriculture for Economic Resiliency Program in South Sudan (SAFER). The SAFER project ultimately seeks to increase the productive capacities and sustainability of South Sudan’s agriculture sector.

In 2018, the SAFER program promoted sustainable crop production by conducting “community-based participatory planning” exercises to identify production constraints and propose interventions to remedy those constraints. During the same reporting period, the SAFER also provided technical assistance and training to lead farmers, village facilitators and NGOs in micro-irrigation, water management and seed production.

In addition to providing direct agricultural assistance, this program also trains local farmers in basic financial literacy, bookkeeping and marketing plans. In 2021, the SAFER program helped facilitate 25 agricultural enterprise groups to develop business plans regarding leadership structure, finances and marketing strategies.

Conflict Mitigation in South Sudan

South Sudan is a remarkably diverse nation with 64 different ethnic groups. Since 2013, South Sudan has become a nation embroiled in civil war and violence with different groups of people taking different sides for different goals. With a precedence of violence and civil war, USAID programs in South Sudan need to mitigate communal conflicts and rising tensions in order to promote stability, thereby also reducing South Sudanese poverty.

The active USAID Viable Support to Transition and Stability (VISTAS) program is a conflict mitigation program that started in 2013 “to promote peaceful coexistence,” foster “a more informed community” and facilitate a greater degree of trauma awareness to advance reconciliation between diverse communities. In 2018, the program hosted a conference in Jebel Boma County with traditional authority representatives, women leaders and youth leaders from Jie, Murle, Kachipo and Toposa to converse on key issues plaguing South Sudan regarding child abduction, gender-based violence, cattle raids and road ambushes.

Dissipating Ethnic Conflicts and Misinformation

Despite the remote locations and conflicts between the Jie, Murle, Kachipo and Toposa ethnic groups, the conference did lead to the development of resolutions and action plans to address inter-community conflicts. VISTAS has also provided technical assistance to media outlets to decrease potentially conflict-inducing miscommunication and misinformation while promoting interdependency through livestock and trade and conducting 196 trauma awareness sessions in 2018.

One of the most important facets of VISTAS is promoting a more well-informed society to prevent conflict through decreasing information asymmetry. To this end, VISTAS has assisted the development of independent media outlets, trained local journalists and set up community learning centers. USAID supplied these community centers with laptops, books and internet access to allow people with little formal education to educate themselves. While the independent media environment continues to face setbacks from the government and security forces, VISTAS has enabled the Juba Monitor and Radio Tamazuj to continue operating as the media outlets both represent large independent media networks designed to deliver information in an objective manner.

The Necessity of USAID Programs

With a poverty rate of 82%, according to the World Bank, today, more than 50% of South Sudan “still depends on emergency aid to survive” and millions are now displaced from the ongoing violence. USAID programs in South Sudan, while not enough to address the root causes of South Sudanese poverty, are necessary to alleviate abject poverty, ensure the survival of millions and develop a plan for long-term stability.

– Alexander Richter
Photo: Flickr

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Increases in Food Prices Cause Concern for the Poor

Increases in Food Prices
The pandemic has been a source of economic stress for several industries globally, resulting in mass inflation and government intervention in order to alleviate the harmful effects of such rises in costs. A global index that the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization performed found that food prices in January 2022 were at their highest level since 2011 when Egypt and Libya experienced political uprisings. Former Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Maurice Obstfeld claims that it “wasn’t much of an exaggeration” to say that the world is approaching a significant global food crisis. Developing economies are experiencing some of the most severe increases in prices, which has detrimental effects on populations in poverty. Here is some information about how increases in food prices cause concern for the poor.

About the Food Crisis

Increases in food prices are not limited to one food industry. Foods are experiencing massive increases in prices. Cereal prices have increased 12.5% and dairy has increased 18.7%. From April 2020 to December 2021, the price of soybeans has risen 52% and coffee prices have risen 70% due to the pandemic. Supply chain issues have caused a struggle, especially for economies with high demands that are import-based during the pandemic. Spikes in all costs of goods are related to one another, which is evident in the rising oil prices.

Oil prices have risen to levels comparable to the oil crisis during the 1990s, which has raised food costs due to the energy industry’s involvement in transporting and producing food. Extreme weather conditions could be a factor determining food prices. For example, Brazil has undergone harsh droughts that prevent coffee beans from flourishing. Uncontrollable factors that target the poor have largely driven the food crisis.

How Those in Poverty are Most at Risk

Unfortunately, the nations that the increases in food prices have affected the most are the most vulnerable to economic crises and have large populations in poverty. According to World Vision, food prices rose by an average of 2.9% in the U.K., 3.6% in the U.S. and 4.8% in Japan and Canada between February 2020 and July 2021. On the other hand, prices increased in countries such as Myanmar which had price increases of 54% and Timor-Leste, which experienced increases of 17.7%. The nations have reported high levels of poverty during the pandemic, with more than 3 billion people not having access to healthy foods.

Food insecurity is running rampant in developing countries, while the United States is surviving flawlessly in comparison. One can see such disabilities simply in how the average citizens of each region spend their money. According to the IMF, people in Latin America and Africa are expected to spend 50%-60% of their wages on food while people in the United States spend about one-seventh of their income on food. A rise in food prices means that Latin American and African citizens will have to spend extremely large sums of their income on food.

A Nature food study found that by the end of 2022, more than 283,000 children under the age of 5 years old could perish from malnutrition as a result of this food crisis and 13.6 million children suffer from acute malnutrition. Certain areas in poverty in Asia do not suffer the implications of the increases in food prices because of their plentiful grains. However, Africa, South America and the Middle East region are most likely to feel the effects of food shortages because they are heavily dependent on food imports.

In addition, low-income nations including Brazil, Argentina and Turkey have suffered due to currency depreciation against the dollar, which is the standard for international food commodity prices. In Africa, bad weather and conflicts in the Dominican Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Nigeria and more have disrupted transportation routes and risen food prices. Developing nations are most at risk for increases in food prices, disproportionately affecting poorer global populations rather than populations in high-income countries.

Ways to Drive Down Food Prices

The pandemic is a special case of increases in food prices. However, there are at least two meaningful ways that could prevent massive spikes in food prices in the near future.

  1. Change global rules on food trade. Many governments are not as ambitious as they could be in reforming trade policies to prepare for price spikes. Measures that could reform trade include banning export restrictions on food staples while increasing individual government’s support for farmers domestically through new rules that protect producers in other nations. This would benefit food price stability and increase the predictability of the market to better prepare governments for changing prices.
  2. Increase public investment in farming and agriculture. A study from Cornell University found that if the United States increased public investment by $33 billion, hunger could reach a resolution. If other nations contributed to this effort, global poverty rates could swiftly reduce. Africa is especially in need of such kinds of investment, which is one of the nations that increases in food prices have affected.

The global increases in food prices rightly cause some serious concerns about food insecurity, especially for residents of developing nations that are in poverty. There are ways to create positive change to prevent crises from occurring again. Nations should concentrate on providing food to their citizens in need and high-income countries must prioritize the lives of the hungry abroad and domestically.

– Rachel Reardon
Photo: Flickr

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Using Green Trade to Transform Developing Nations

Green Trade
Following the impacts of COVID-19, many developing countries are attempting to rebuild their economies and alleviate the financial hardships of the people facing these impacts. Prior to the pandemic, the International Energy Agency predicted that renewable energy would expand by 50% between 2019 and 2024. As of 2022, it seems many nations are more focused on economic advancement rather than avoiding environmentally dangerous actions. Many world organizations are advocating for “greening trade” as a new growth strategy that could protect the environment and benefit nations with high poverty levels as a consequence of the onset of COVID-19. Green trade has the potential to transform developing countries.

What Does Greening Trade Mean?

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), greening trade involves promoting sustainable measures to engage in trade that do not pollute land or water. The process focuses mainly on engaging in trade with renewable energy and energy efficiency markets. Greening trade helps the environment while maintaining trade relations for economic prosperity.

Evidence of Success in Greening Trade

In 2019, Palgrave Communications reported that the green trading industry generated $1.3 trillion in the United States economy alone. The industry has created 9.5 million full-time jobs in the U.S. In China, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that a mix of carbon taxes and green investment could have the potential to increase China’s GDP by 0.7% and create more than 12 million jobs by 2027. It is clear that green trade has created success in major economies globally.

How Can Greening Trade Reduce Poverty?

The World Trade Organization (WTO) released a study in January 2022 suggesting that more trade in green technologies could help developing nations transition to a low carbon economy. This is an advantage for nations with impoverished populations because new guidelines by WTO may require green practices in the future. In consideration, implementing green policies could prepare developing countries for future trading markets while preventing the countries from lagging behind.

Greening Trade Begins in Developing Countries

In September 2021, the Brookings Africa Growth Initiative hosted an event to explore opportunities for green trade with Europe’s new Green Deal. The event occurred in hopes of encouraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to do the same. The AfCFTA is projected to bring 30 million Africans out of poverty simply by means of trade and would benefit from engaging in green trade to maintain trade relations with the United Nations. The recent African Green Recovery Action Plan states that “for the COVID-19 recovery to be sustainable, it must link a green recovery with an inclusive recovery.” The plan insinuates that marginalized groups and those in poverty can benefit from green plans.

The World Bank states that Vietnam should use its resources to promote green trade to maintain a competitive edge in international markets and generate new, innovative jobs for the unemployed to combat pandemic-induced poverty levels. Green recovery is crucial in the post-COVID-19 era to improve the conditions of those in poverty, specifically in developing countries that have the opportunity to rebuild.

Ways to Green Trade

UNEP suggests four ways that governments can actively engage in greening trade:

  1. Enforce strong environmental laws and regulations both at a national and international level.
  2. Have governments create trade rules and agreements that promote environmental awareness.
  3. Promote intergovernmental cooperation on green trade through improved monitoring, green trade finance and sustainability impact assessments.
  4. Identify stakeholder initiatives to green trade and supply chains to craft policy that complements such efforts.

Green trading is a relatively new industry and its full economic potential has not yet come to fruition. If developing countries take advantage of engaging in green trade now, these nations could be setting themselves up for the future of trade in general while benefiting their economies.

 

– Rachel Reardon
Photo: Flickr

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 The Introduction of 3D-Printed Housing in Zimbabwe

3D-printed Housing in ZimbabweThe World Bank’s Zimbabwe 2021 Economic Update reports that extreme poverty in Zimbabwe climbed to almost 50% in 2020. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic itself pushed 1.3 million people into extreme poverty due to soaring unemployment rates and income cuts. Poverty rates coupled with highly inflated housing prices make it extremely challenging for hundreds of thousands of families to afford a house, pushing many into slum living situations. However, 3D-printed housing in Zimbabwe may provide a potential solution.

Zimbabwe’s Housing Shortage

In 2005, Zimbabwe’s government cleared slum areas nationwide, leaving 700,000 people homeless. This effort to combat slum living launched the country into a housing crisis that would persist for decades. With a government housing waitlist of 1.25 million households in 2015, Zimbabwe’s history of housing shortages continues to worsen as more of the population falls below the poverty line.

In Zimbabwe, corrupt officials sell housing permits to housing cooperatives at extremely low rates. The cooperatives then construct the houses and sell them to homeless Zimbabweans for outrageously inflated prices. Buyers pay off homes for a minimum of 14 years before even receiving the title deed of ownership. These corrupt officials partnering with housing cooperatives often swindle homeless civilians out of desperation for basic shelter. As the 23rd most corrupt country in the world, without a third party to intervene in this crisis, officials may continue to exploit impoverished Zimbabwean populations.

Lafarge Cement’s 3D Housing Project

Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe is a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, a Swiss construction material manufacturer. The company hopes to change the future of affordable housing in Zimbabwe. By using 3D printing technology, Lafarge Cement’s initial project plans to print the first 10 3D houses in Zimbabwe “under the affordable housing project” in 2022. A joint venture between LafargeHolcim and the CDC Group in the United Kingdom, 14Trees, created the concrete 3D printing technology for the project.

With this new building technology, constructing homes and schools in Zimbabwe will take a fraction of the time in comparison to traditional construction efforts. While traditional construction methods require a minimum of four days to complete a house, Lafarge can print these 3D houses in as little as 12 hours, with a school taking a little longer at 18 hours. The technology can also reduce construction costs by 10-20%.

This housing solution is particularly exciting as it offers a much more affordable option in comparison to homes in the existing housing market. Starting at around $30,000 for a home “in a medium-density area”and skyrocketing up to $80,000, for many low-income families, conventional homeownership is out of reach. However, 3D-printed housing in Zimbabwe offers lower-income communities an affordable housing option starting at $10,000.

The Future is 3D Printing

Following the successful printing of houses and schools in Malawi, the introduction of 3D-printed housing in Zimbabwe has the potential to transform the property landscape in the nation. Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe has no plans of halting the manufacturing of affordable 3D housing in Zimbabwe and across Africa until housing shortages remain an issue of the past.

In April 2021, the company launched a new dry mortars factory in Zimbabwe worth $2.8 million, which is expected to increase manufacturing capabilities significantly. This type of investment in Zimbabwean society suggests Lafarge’s legacy will continue to grow, aiding low-income communities with affordable 3D-printed housing in Zimbabwe and bringing a much-needed housing solution to Zimbabwe’s housing markets.

– Hannah Eliason
Photo: Flickr

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Poverty and the Drug Trade in Myanmar

Drug Trade in Myanmar
The drug trade in Myanmar is a critical contributing factor to poverty in the country. However, the relationship between the drug trade and poverty in Myanmar is very nuanced and complex. Factors such as decades of civil war, the military coup and foreign economic sanctions create complications in addressing the relationship between poverty and narcotics.

The Drug Trade in Myanmar

The drug trade in Myanmar is both a large-scale and persistent problem. Myanmar is central to the narcotics trade throughout Southeast Asia. In fact, Myanmar is one of the largest producers of synthetic drugs in the world. Along with ongoing conflicts, the drug trade is an issue that the country has grappled with for decades.

The lack of development and economic opportunity within the nation is an essential contributing factor to the scale of the drug trade in Myanmar. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recognizes that lack of rural development means few viable economic alternatives for impoverished rural communities other than engaging in the drug trade.

UNODC recognizes that creating jobs and other industries in rural areas stands as a potential solution for mitigating the drug trade. By providing alternative forms of income to Myanmar’s rural impoverished, it would be less necessary for people to rely upon drug production for income.

In an interview with The Borgen Project, the director of Counter-Narcotics Interdiction Partnerships at Rigaku Analytical Devices and former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) attaché to the Myanmar government from 2017 to 2019, Michael Brown, discussed the relationship between narcotics and poverty. Brown noted that the lack of economic development and the prevalence of the drug trade in Myanmar are two of the central pillars of instability and poverty in the country.

Conflict, Coup and the Drug Trade

Decades of conflict in Myanmar play a central role in the prevalence of the widespread drug trade in the country. Brown discusses how many of the armed groups fighting the government of Myanmar have become heavily reliant on the drug trade. Essentially, armed groups utilize the drug trade in Myanmar to support their war efforts against the government.

In addition, much of the country’s most productive regions for drugs are directly under the control of various armed groups. Armed groups view poppy fields and synthetic drug laboratories as a vital economic resource. Brown also told The Borgen Project that some of these armed groups have essentially abandoned their initial political motivations for fighting the government of Myanmar. Instead, the groups have shifted their focus to operating as criminal organizations that focus on drug production and distribution activities.

The coup that occurred in February 2021 has also created complications in addressing poverty and the drug trade in Myanmar. Political instability from the most recent coup significantly compromises the ability of the nation to combat the issue of the drug trade. Additionally, much of the international community has levied sanctions on Myanmar, creating economic upheavals that the U.N. predicts will drive more people into the drug trade to make ends meet. Brown also noted that the military could no longer focus on combating the drug trade as its first priority is maintaining the military government’s rule.

Poverty and the Impact of COVID-19

The pandemic also heavily impacts the relationship between poverty and the drug trade in Myanmar. Much like the economic sanctions stemming from the coup, the pandemic has created economic upheavals that could make the drug trade more appealing to those seeking to make ends meet. Since the onset of the pandemic, more than 80% of families have reported a loss of income. Rising food and fuel prices also undermine food security.

Efforts to Help

Brown explains that the coup and the following economic sanctions against Myanmar make it more difficult for the international community to help the nation combat poverty or the drug trade. Despite this, he discusses that the U.S. DEA, U.S. companies such as Rigaku and law enforcement in Myanmar have worked together successfully in the past to combat the drug trade in Myanmar. For example, several years ago, Operation Viper successfully curtailed the flow of precursor chemicals into the country essential to synthetic drug production.

To address the effects of worsening rates of poverty in the country due to the impacts of both COVID-19 and the military coup, the Myanmar Red Cross stepped in to provide emergency humanitarian assistance. The organization mobilized its volunteers to provide “lifesaving first aid, health care and ambulance services” to citizens amid political unrest. According to the Red Cross website, “since February [2021], 2,000 volunteers have provided first aid services to more than 3,000 people.” The Myanmar Red Cross is also supporting people with both food and cash assistance.

Mercy Corps recognizes that strengthening economic prospects for impoverished citizens helps to both keep them out of the drug trade and raise them out of poverty. By increasing the economic prospects of farmers in Myanmar’s rural and conflict-riddled regions — areas that typically form the centers of the drug trade in Myanmar — Mercy Corps has addressed the issue at its roots. Mercy Corps helps farmers “increase productivity and incomes by accessing new technologies, adopting diversified and environmentally-friendly agricultural practices and accessing financial services like loans and insurance.” Mercy Corps also addresses the instability in Myanmar by working to enhance the agency of individuals and communities with programs designed to increase trust, accountability and conflict resolution.

Looking Ahead

For years, the vibrant drug trade in Myanmar has been a critical component of poverty in the country. Armed groups looked toward narcotics as an economic base. In addition, the lack of economic development in many parts of the country and economic upheavals from the pandemic and foreign economic sanctions make the drug trade a more appealing source of income. Despite efforts to provide direct assistance to the impoverished of Myanmar and to curtail the narcotics industry, much work remains to address the relationship between poverty and the drug trade in Myanmar.

– Coulter Layden
Photo: Flickr

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5 Ways to Support Sustainable Development Goal 2

Sustainable Development Goal 2
In 2015, the United Nations established 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for creating global change in key areas by 2030, especially in lower and middle-income countries. The second of these goals, Zero Hunger, aims to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.” According to Action Against Hunger, in 2021, hunger affects almost 10% of the global population. Furthermore, just between 2019 and 2020, the number of people suffering from undernourishment globally rose by 161 million. To prevent the dire consequences of not reaching Sustainable Development Goal 2, the U.N. has suggested several steps for individuals to take to support this goal.

5 Ways to Achieve Zero Hunger

  1. Shop Local and In-Season. Eating locally-grown foods helps to support smaller-scale farmers in one’s community. Buying in-season foods also helps sustain local, native crops and plants. Preserving native crops helps increase genetic diversity as it increases the number of plant species in a given area. Maintaining genetic diversity in food production across the globe is one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 2 as this allows the plants with favorable traits — those that are resistant to pests or are able to provide higher yields — to proliferate.
  2. Reduce Food Waste. Food waste is one of the greatest barriers to eradicating hunger as food that could serve food insecure populations instead ends up in landfills. According to Feeding America, U.S. citizens waste “108 billion pounds of food” annually, equivalent to 130 billion discarded meals. However, food waste is not an issue unique to high-income countries: the U.N. Environment Programme’s “Food Waste Index Report 2021” has found that lower-middle-income nations annually discard 201 pounds of food per capita at the household level. In comparison, for high-income nations, this amount is 174 pounds per capita per year. To reduce food waste, people can freeze extra produce and save leftovers from meals. They can also buy “ugly” produce from the grocery store, which often ends up going to waste because it is less aesthetically desirable. However, the slightly misshapen produce found in grocery stores is still perfectly good to eat. In addition, staying informed on anti-food waste initiatives in low- and middle-income countries helps to develop global awareness and better understand the progress that these countries are making toward achieving Zero Hunger.
  3. Reduce Meat Consumption. The U.S. imported $216 million worth of beef from Brazil in the first nine months of 2021. Approximately 80% of deforestation in the Amazon is due to cattle ranching. Deforestation can have negative impacts on food production thousands of miles away. For example, deforestation of the Amazon at 40% would significantly decrease rainfall in the Rio de la Plata agricultural basin more than 2,000 miles away. Such droughts lead to decreased crop production, negatively impacting local farmers. To help mitigate the impact of the meat industry on deforestation, the U.N. has suggested that individuals consider vegetarianism for just a day per week. Just one day of vegetarianism could preserve “3 million acres of land.” Even though those who live in North America may be physically far away from local farmers in the Amazon, individual eating habits still impact these farmers.
  4. Support Organizations Focusing on SDG 2. Two organizations working to improve food security worldwide include the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the World Food Program (WFP). GAIN focuses on providing aid to women, children and adolescents. One of its programs is Better Diets for Children, which provides support to small-scale food manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries to make nutritious, safe food more affordable and accessible. The program spans eight countries and aims to help more than 120 million people. The WFP provides food assistance to victims of extreme events, such as those facing natural disasters and conflict. The organization operates in more than 80 countries and provides more than 15 billion life-saving meals each year. One of the WFP’s programs is the food assistance program, which provides “cash-based assistance” so that families can afford nutritious food.
  5. Stay Informed and Spread the Word. Staying updated on global hunger reduction initiatives is important for tracking progress made toward Sustainable Development Goal 2. The U.N. SDG website and social media stand as great resources in this regard. It is also important to educate others about Sustainable Development Goal 2 by sharing ways that others can help and the organizations that people can support in achieving this goal. Social media serves as an essential tool for raising awareness of global issues.

Looking Ahead

Minimizing hunger is an important step in the sustainable development of low- and middle-income countries. By taking action to support Sustainable Development Goal 2, each person can help improve food security and small-scale agriculture worldwide.

– Aimée Eicher
Photo: Flickr

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A Success Story: 10 Impressive Improvements in Rwanda

improvements in RwandaRwanda is the fourth-smallest country in Africa, located in the Great Rift Valley in the central part of the continent. The nation has a population of about 13 million people and is home to two main ethnic groups: the pastoral Hutu and the agricultural Tutsi tribes. In 1990, tensions rose between these two groups and sparked a civil war, resulting in the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The genocide led to the massacre of approximately 800,000 Tutsi civilians by Hutu extremists, marking one of the worst genocides in history. Since then, Rwanda has been in a state of repair and has made great strides in many areas of development. In particular, the Rwandan government notes 10 impressive improvements in Rwanda.

10 Improvements in Rwanda

  1. Poverty is on the Decline. In 2001, the poverty rate in Rwanda was as high as 77%, dropping to 55% in 2017. The introduction of the first five-year Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy in 2008 and a second five-year plan in 2013 largely account for this reduction.
  2. Increasing Life Expectancy. The Rwandan Civil War had a significant impact on life expectancy, which fell to a mere 26 years in 1993. Since then, the government has committed to improving the health and quality of life for its citizens, achieving a life expectancy of 69 as of 2019.
  3. Rwanda is a Leading Country in Gender Equality. In the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap Report, Rwanda ranked as one of the top five leading countries in gender equality alongside Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway. Since the civil war, the nation has pushed for more female leadership in politics — as of November 2021, the Rwandan parliament has a 61% women-led majority, the world’s highest rate of female representation in parliament. Rwanda also has one the highest rates of women participating in the labor force at 84% in 2019.
  4. Unemployment is Decreasing Despite the COVID-19 Pandemic. Before the pandemic, unemployment in Rwanda was steadily declining, dropping to less than 1% in 2019. Like many countries, lockdowns and other preventive measures for COVID-19 originally caused unemployment to skyrocket back up to 1.35% in 2020. However, Rwanda quickly bounced back — employment rates rose from 43% in the second quarter of 2020 to nearly 49% in the third quarter.
  5. Maternal Mortality Rates are Falling. In 2019, the maternal mortality rate in Rwanda decreased by nearly 23% “from 1,270 per 100,000 live births” in the 1990s to 290. This significant decrease is largely due to innovations in the medical field, which allow for better storage and delivery of blood supplies, preventing postpartum hemorrhaging deaths in women.
  6. Inequality is on the decline. Inequality is defined as “disparities between individuals or groups in areas such as income, wealth, education, health, nutrition, space, politics and social identity.” Historically, Rwanda was home to some of the highest rates of inequality in Africa. However, this is changing. Over the past two decades, Rwanda has noted significant improvements in terms of access to utilities. Access to health care is also improving although there are still disparities between urban and rural communities. From 2006 to 2017, inequality declined from 0.52 to 0.43 as measured by the Gini index.
  7. The Rwandan Economy is Growing. Prior to the pandemic, Rwanda was experiencing “an economic boom.” From 2000 to 2019, the economy grew by an average of 7.2% and the country’s GDP rose by about 5% annually. Rwanda has put in place measures to control COVID-19 within its borders, resulting in an unsurprising 3.4% GDP decrease in 2020. However, the nation hopes to resume growth following the distribution of vaccines.
  8. Land Restoration. Rwanda also notes great improvements in terms of the environment. In 2012, the Rwandan government initiated the Green Fund, “the largest investment fund of its kind in Africa.” So far, the project has created more than 10,000 jobs and encourages rural communities to participate in agroforestry and reforestation.
  9. Malaria Progress. Medical improvements in Rwanda have reduced fatal malaria cases significantly in recent years. In 2017, the country experienced upwards of 4.8 million cases, but in 2020, cases dropped to 1.8 million. Malaria-related deaths also reduced from 700 in 2016 to 148 deaths in 2020.
  10. Health care is Universal. Mutual Health is the name of Rwanda’s universal health care system, which was created in 2008. As of 2019, Mutual Health covered close to 96% of the population, lowering medical costs and providing services for even the most impoverished citizens of Rwanda.

Rwanda: A Success Story

The COVID-19 pandemic has created many new obstacles for Rwanda, but the “Land of a Thousand Hills” is advancing nonetheless. Since the civil war and the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the country has committed to recovery and restoration and has certainly exceeded all expectations. These many improvements in Rwanda are due to the great resiliency of the nation’s people, a nation that will continue to rise above all obstacles.

– Hannah Gage
Photo: Flickr

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What to Know About CVD in Sub-Saharan Africa

CVD in Sub-Saharan AfricaThe term CVD, or cardiovascular disease, refers to a variety of disorders related to cardiac muscle and the blood vessels that supply “the heart, brain and other vital organs.” CVD is the leading cause of death worldwide, killing more than 18.56 million people in 2019. Although many people tend to associate CVD prevalence with high-income regions, CVD in sub-Saharan Africa is also quite common. In 2016, CVD overtook HIV/AIDS as the leading cause of death in this region.

Prevalence of CVD in sub-Saharan Africa

There are nine main risk factors for CVD: “smoking, history of hypertension or diabetes, obesity, unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity, excessive alcohol consumption, raised blood lipids and psychosocial factors.” Psychosocial factors are defined as characteristics that impact an individual on a psychological or social level. Negative psychological factors include stress, anxiety and depression.

Several of these risk factors are common in sub-Saharan Africa and are continuing to increase in prevalence with the rise of urbanization. The region is starting to face high rates of hypertension. In 2016, in the African region, 46% of adults 25 and older had hypertension, a figure that experts expect to climb rapidly. As urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa increases, lifestyle choices diversify — diets change and lifestyles often become more sedentary. These factors all increase the risk of CVD among sub-Saharan Africans, which provides a feasible explanation for the steep increase in this health issue over the past decade.

How Does Poverty Increase the Risk of CVD?

The number of sub-Saharan Africans living in extreme poverty face increased exposure to multiple risk factors for CVD. In 2018, 40% of sub-Saharan Africans endured extreme poverty. Poverty exacerbates negative psychological factors. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health found that those struggling with poverty have “more stress-related brain activity,” which leads to inflammation that increases the risk of CVD. These stress levels link to job insecurity, living in crowded environments and the difficulties one may face in providing for oneself and one’s family.

In addition, people living in poverty have reduced access to adequate preventative health care services. In addition, when sub-Saharan Africans begin to develop diseases that increase their risk of CVD, such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes, they often lack the health care resources to promptly and properly treat these issues. As a result, these health problems often spiral into CVD. CVD can also lead to disability and chronic illness, which impacts the human capital of the nation, leading to a loss of productivity that exacerbates negative psychosocial factors and existing economic instability.

ScienceDirect published a research study in 2013 indicating that child poverty may also increase the risk of developing CVD later in life, in part due to the negative psychosocial factors these children face. In 2017, an estimated 64% of children in sub-Saharan Africa lived in multidimensional poverty. Considering the link between child poverty and CVD, the health impacts of impoverished living conditions are of imperative concern.

Preventing CVD

Although CVD in sub-Saharan Africa is highly prevalent, there are solutions to reduce the burden of this disease. One initiative working to reduce CVD is the Healthy Heart Africa (HHA) program run by AstraZeneca. The program aims to reduce CVD risk by providing hypertension care. Since its launch in Kenya in 2014, HHA has given training to more than 7,600 health care workers “to provide education and awareness, screening and treatment services for hypertension.” In addition, HHA has supported more than 900 health centers in Africa in supplying “hypertension services” to the public. The program now serves five additional countries — Ethiopia, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda and Côte d’Ivoire. By 2025, HHA aims to reach 10 million people suffering from high blood pressure across the African continent.

Researchers studying CVD have historically neglected sub-Saharan Africa as an area of interest. Although research in this region is expanding, there is still much to learn about the prevalence and causes of CVD. Increased knowledge of this health issue will aid in developing effective courses of action to reduce the prevalence of CVD in sub-Saharan Africa.

– Aimée Eicher
Photo: Flickr

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7 NGOs Contributing to Global Dental Health

dental healthThere is a strong association between oral diseases and poverty. According to the World Health Organization, oral diseases impact approximately 3.5 billion people. In addition, it is estimated that 3.9 billion people worldwide suffer from dental decay, which can impact their overall “health and well-being” and increase the burden of health care costs for already impoverished people. Many remote and underserved communities lack access to treatment and preventative services, however, several nonprofits are working to increase access to dental health services globally.

7 NGOs Making Strides in Improving Global Dental Health

  1. Academy of Dentistry International Foundation. The Academy of Dentistry International is an honor society “for dentists dedicated to sharing knowledge… to serve dental health needs and to improve the quality of life throughout the world.” Its Academy of Dentistry International Foundation provides grants for missions and projects that assist disadvantaged communities, supporting dental care for people in Honduras, Columbia, Kenya, Jamaica, the Philippines and Belize since 2010. The Foundation funded Bright Smiles Cameroon in 2018, which offers oral health education to school-aged children. Another grant recipient was the Health and Development Society Nepal, which offers oral health training to primary care workers who can then offer health care services to marginalized communities in Nepal.
  2. Dentaid. This organization began its work in 1996, delivering dental treatment to more than 70 countries since then, including the U.K. Dentaid supplies dental equipment and sends volunteers to impoverished and rural communities. Its “DentaidBox,” an innovative portable bin, includes all the equipment necessary to perform dental surgery even when electricity and running water are unavailable. In 2021, the DentaidBox reached seven African countries. In that same year, Dentaid created eight free clinics for people who are homeless in the U.K. and has plans to launch nine more. It also offered services to refugees and asylum seekers in the U.K.
  3. Global Child Dental Fund. This organization aims to serve every child needing dental health services. Currently, the organization is working with Jordanian dental students to aid Syrian refugees in Jordan. About 1,500 children in Jordan’s refugee camps have received “toothbrushes, toothpaste and oral health education.” One of the fund’s projects, SEAL Cambodia, has treated more than “66,000 children with dental sealants.” Global Child Dental Fund also provides “special care dentistry” in poverty-stricken and remote areas. The fund has trained students in Zambia and offered services to children with special needs in Kenya and Cambodia.
  4. Global Dental Relief. Since 2001, Global Dental Relief has offered free dental care to children across the world, serving close to 200,000 children from 2001 to 2020 with its volunteer work in eight countries. In addition to providing dental care, Global Dental Relief is unique in that, in Guatemala and Nepal, it also provides meals to families suffering from food scarcity.
  5. Open Wide Foundation. The Foundation’s mission is “to bring lasting change to the state of oral health in underserved communities worldwide.” The Foundation targets communities that have the greatest need for dental health care, beginning in 2012 and since serving more than 200,000 people. Open Wide Foundation built its first clinic in the Guatemalan city of Peronia, an impoverished community that had little to no access to dental health services. Since then, the Foundation has opened additional dental clinics in Guatemala. The Open Wide Foundation also works with students, offering “mentoring and practicum opportunities” to first-year dental students.
  6. Smiles for Everyone. Smiles for Everyone offers free dental health services in several countries. Since its inception, more than 27,000 individuals have received free dental care. Smiles for Everyone offers basic dental services as well as root canals, dentures and implants. The organization also provides training to Paraguayan dentists on complex dental procedures. Many of the patients at the free dental clinics have never visited a dentist before.
  7. World Health Dental Organization. This organization offers free dental care and education to marginalized communities, primarily in Kenya. Its flagship clinic provides annual dental treatment to around 4,000 Maasai people who have limited access to dental services. One particular Maasai initiative is the Momma Baby Clinic program that offers “preventative oral health and early intervention strategies… to pregnant mothers and mothers of infants and young children,” educating “hundreds of mothers” a year. Another program, I Am Responsible, has led to the oral health education of more than 700 school children. The organization, through its programs, has also distributed 1,500 bamboo toothbrushes to children living in the Mara.

Looking Ahead

While many oral diseases continue to plague impoverished communities, NGOs are committed to addressing the issue by providing free dental care to previously out-of-reach communities. By volunteering services, supplying resources and carrying out skill-based training, these NGOs aim to create global change. Many also aim to offer education to school-aged children on good oral health and hygiene. As people have better access to essential resources for oral disease prevention, such as toothbrushes, toothpaste and running water, the burden to alleviate the public health problem of oral diseases will subside.

– Amy Helmendach
Photo: Flickr

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3 Steps to Ending Cooking Poverty

Cooking povertyWhen the United Nations adopted its Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, the aim was to address poverty, global inequality and climate change simultaneously through 17 different goals. One of these goals is to achieve access to clean energy for all. However, an often overlooked aspect of energy poverty is cooking poverty — the lack of access to modern cooking methods and technologies. According to the World Bank’s 2020 Energy Progress Report, 2.8 billion people across the globe do not have access to clean cooking and instead rely on solid fuels like wood, kerosene, coal or animal dung. The U.N. Sustainable Development Goals clearly outline the importance of clean cooking. However, there remains a lack of awareness about the issue and not much progress has occurred since 2015. The 2020 Energy Progress Report predicts that, by 2030, 2.3 billion people would still lack access to clean cooking technologies.

The Health and Social Impacts of Cooking Poverty

Cooking poverty also impacts other targets of the Sustainable Development Goals, such as good health and gender equality. People enduring cooking poverty depend on pollutant fuels like wood and coal, which result in indoor air pollution. An estimated 4 million people die prematurely every year due to indoor air pollution, which causes respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. The World Bank also finds that non-clean cooking ties to more acute physical ailments, such as burns that occur when cooking with traditional resources.

The financial impact of cooking poverty on public health is significant, costing $1.4 trillion each year, but the social impact is even greater. Cooking poverty disproportionately affects women and girls who serve as the primary cooks in most households. Because the burden of collecting fuel and cooking often falls on women, indoor pollution affects them the most. Furthermore, because outdated methods of cooking are very time-consuming, this often means women and girls cannot spare time to go to work or school — deepening their poverty.

Fortunately, new technologies and initiatives led by national governments, private companies and nonprofit organizations are making clean cooking a reality in low-income countries. There are three main ways that initiatives are targeting cooking poverty.

3 Ways to Address Cooking Poverty

  1. Behavioral Change and Awareness. The simplest step toward clean cooking is increasing awareness of indoor air pollution and promoting change. The World Bank’s Carbon Initiative for Development partnered with the Mind, Behavior and Development Unit in Ghana, Rwanda and Madagascar to identify some behavioral changes that would make clean cooking easier. For example, the initiative found that Rwandans could save time and fuel by soaking beans, a staple food, overnight rather than slow cooking the beans throughout the day. Other simpler practices include leaving the door open while cooking, cooking outdoors and keeping children and other family members away from the kitchen while cooking. While these are important practices to adopt to reduce exposure to air pollutants, most initiatives are going further to introduce new technologies for clean cooking.
  2. Improved Cookstoves. ICS, or improved cookstoves, are more efficient biomass stoves, meaning they rely on wood, coal or other biomaterials like traditional stoves. However, the improved cookstoves burn the fuel more efficiently, which can cut down the time of exposure to pollutants. The World Bank-supported Bangladesh Improved Cookstoves Program helped provide 1.7 million improved cookstoves across Bangladesh by 2019. This resulted in a reduction of 3 million metric tons of CO2 greenhouse gases and cut the use of firewood, the primary fuel source in Bangladesh, by more than half. The ICS program in Bangladesh also had economic impacts, saving each household 375.84 Bangladeshi taka each month, according to the State of Access to Modern Energy Cooking Services. Currently, improved cookstoves do not meet the World Health Organization’s definition of “clean” cooking methods because the stoves do not reduce emissions sufficiently enough to note meaningful health benefits. However, the improved cookstoves are inexpensive and save time that can go toward income-generating activities or education.
  3. Clean Cooking Technologies. The most advanced step to end cooking poverty is the adoption of clean cooking technologies that reduce emissions to a meaningful degree while also saving time and money. Clean cooking includes the use of stoves powered by electricity, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), solar heat and alcohol, among other sources. Electricity now makes up 10% of cooking fuels globally and LPG makes up 37%. At the same time, the share of kerosene and coal is declining. Gas is also overtaking unprocessed biomass as the most popular cooking fuel in low and middle-income countries, thanks to urbanization and younger generations’ openness to clean cooking solutions, according to the 2020 Energy Progress Report. Despite this, the introduction of clean cooking technologies has not caught up with population growth and faces financial and cultural barriers. NGO work, like that of World Central Kitchen, empowers local communities to transition to clean cooking by converting outdated school and community kitchens to LPG-based kitchens. By targeting larger kitchens, World Central Kitchen positively impacts more people. Innovative business models are also proving successful in making clean cooking technology more reliable and affordable. Lastly, grants provided by the World Bank’s Clean Cooking Fund aim to incentivize the private sector to supply modern energy cooking services.

Ending cooking poverty is dependent on many factors and requires a variety of solutions by many actors, among them national governments, nonprofits and public-private partnerships. Overall, the ongoing efforts to provide access to clean cooking help contribute to global poverty reduction.

– Emma Tkacz
Photo: Flickr