Archive for category: Developing Countries

Information and stories about developing countries.

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Eliminating Poverty in Hong Kong

Poverty in Hong Kong
Hong Kong features one of the world’s largest concentrations of wealth. It includes a thriving economy as well as a large number of billionaires. However, Hong Kong has an underbelly. Its Sham Shui Po District is located within the city and is one of Hong Kong’s underprivileged areas. It is a stark contrast to the severe poverty in Hong Kong and shows the provenance ugly side.

Living Arrangements

Among Hong Kong’s expensive residences and trendy retail complexes are dozens of minuscule, unnoticed dwellings. Old apartment complexes have fragmented rooms so small that some have dubbed them “coffin houses.” These accommodations house up to 24 people, yet many are crowded with their belongings shoved into compact boxes.

People must cook and dine in the same room where they use the bathroom due to their constrained arrangements. The bedrooms fit the size of a twin mattress, with just enough space to sit up. Some people are unable to completely stretch their legs in bed due to their belongings taking up too much room. Poverty in Hong Kong emphasizes the government’s prioritization of commercial aims over human interests.

Issues in Hong Kong

A foundation of socioeconomic issues has fed the emergence of societal dissatisfaction. Throughout 2019 and 2020, several Hong Kong residents flocked to the streets to protest inequality, showing their dissatisfaction with the imbalance and disproportionate concentration of wealth.

Hong Kong’s economic condition, like that of other developed capitalist nations, has become more stratified in recent years. In 2016, it became among the nation’s most inequitable metropolitan areas. Housing prices in Hong Kong continue to be notoriously astronomical. It is extremely difficult to reap the rewards of wealth unless one has the fiscal resources to be a significant participant in the property or financial markets.

The impromptu public uprising illustrates economic disparities in Hong Kong. Existing capitalistic models show how inequity has contributed to increased social discontent for those facing poverty in Hong Kong.

The Work of Oxfam

Though few, some organizations have recognized the crippling poverty in Hong Kong and are trying to help. One of them is Oxfam. This organization aims to aid disadvantaged groups to help them overcome poverty. It feels that structural issues such as unfair policies contribute to poverty in Hong Kong.

To help, Oxfam made an effort to develop street markets as a viable alternative source of income for low-income individuals. It instituted a meal program throughout the pandemic to help provide nutritious foods to those in the coffin houses. It also carried out home maintenance projects in partitioned flats that low-income groups inhabited.

In the 1970s, the nongovernmental organization began with volunteers in Hong Kong and has subsequently extended to assist people in other impoverished areas.

Despite their marginalization, Hong Kong residents have remained resilient. Their demonstrations illustrate their persistence. People relatively overlook poverty in Hong Kong. However, with the help of more nongovernmental organizations and a greater emphasis on poverty in Hong Kong, the people could certainly persevere.

– Tiffany Lewallyn
Photo: Flickr

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Creating Solar Farms on Brownfields

solar farms on brownfields
Brownfields are areas of land that are vacant due to contamination. In recent years, solar firms have built hundreds of solar farms on brownfields to utilize the empty space. Brownfields are often located near low-income communities that lack affordable access to power. Installing solar farms on brownfields promotes environmental sustainability and can provide cheap, clean power access to local communities.

Jobs and Access to Power

Building solar farms on brownfields can create jobs and transform abandoned land into an economic and environmental asset for low-income communities. Both site owners and local communities have saved millions in energy costs from transforming brownfields into hotspots of renewable energy, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Affordable access to electricity can help alleviate “energy poverty” in low-income communities that surround brownfields. Energy poverty is the phenomenon in which people experiencing poverty have the least access to power. Therefore, they are more likely to remain impoverished, according to the World Bank. Installing solar farms in brownfields could help provide electricity to the 1.1 billion people worldwide who lack access to it. Transforming brownfields into solar farms is a sustainable method of providing affordable energy to low-income communities.

Land Reuse and Protection

Installing solar farms on brownfields often involves land restoration, reuse and protection, which all serve nearby communities. For example, solar panels can sit atop a landfill without digging into the ground and damaging the land’s foundation, creating unwanted pathways for stormwater or puncturing the top of the landfill. Solar panels can also have a design that complements the pre-existing materials on the brownfield, like mill tailings, without further damaging or contaminating the land. Additionally, solar firms often avoid disrupting the soil as much as they can by mindfully designing, installing and operating their solar farms. Transforming brownfields into solar farms is a non-disruptive, and often even protective, method of utilizing vacant land while simultaneously providing clean, affordable energy to low-income communities.

Benefits of Sustainable Energy

Brownfields can offer solar power as a main source of energy to low-income communities, and renewable energy has a variety of social benefits. For one, renewable energy can be less expensive than non-renewable energy, especially when it comes from a local source. It can also minimize low-income families’ reliance on public utilities to provide them with energy. Solar energy is a reliable source of power that essentially will not run out. Renewable energy also reduces pollution, which creates a healthier environment, especially in places with brownfields and ample contamination. A healthier environment can often lead to a healthier population, both mentally and physically. Additionally, solar farms require people to build, operate and maintain the equipment. Therefore, building solar farms on brownfields can employ people in surrounding communities and help them support their families while also preserving the environment.

Creating solar farms out of brownfields has social, economic and environmental benefits. Countries around the world can utilize vacant, contaminated land to preserve the environment and help lift low-income communities out of poverty. Turning brownfields into “brightfields” could be the next great step in reducing energy poverty.

– Cleo Hudson
Photo: Flickr

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Decreasing Poverty by Improving Education in Peru

improving Education in PeruPeru is a South American country rich in history and beauty with famous historical places such as the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. However, poverty is also very high, standing at 20.2% in 2019, and greatly stems from the poor education system in the country, which impacts economic growth and development in Peru. The Economics Review explains that, by improving education in Peru, the nation will see “improvements in human capital, enhancements in labor productivity and upsurges in economic diversity and growth.” On top of a poor quality education system, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to disproportionate impacts on the education of low-income Peruvians due to widespread school closures and barriers to remote learning. These barriers can lead to further long-term inequality “in a region already among the most unequal in the world.” Fortunately, organizations are taking action aimed at improving education in Peru.

Barriers to Education in Peru

In 2020, 83.7% of youth in urban parts of Peru had access to high school in comparison to 66.4% of youth in rural areas. The nation’s “main barriers toward high-quality education are poor infrastructure, inadequate learning materials, outdated curricula and a lack of well-trained teachers.” When the COVID-19 pandemic began in Peru, nationwide school closures led to an abrupt halt in education for young Peruvians.

Remote learning came as a possible solution for the continuation of education in many countries. However, in developing countries like Peru, due to a lack of resources such as computers and high-speed internet, many students in rural areas are unable to participate in remote learning. When students are unable to participate in education, they become more vulnerable to both child labor and child marriage as well as early pregnancy. In the long run, these circumstances simply serve to continue the cycles of poverty.

Creating Change

In June 2021, the World Bank granted “a $350 million loan to support the development of social, health and education policies that will contribute to promoting human capital accumulation” and help decrease poverty in Peru. The loan forms part of  “a broad portfolio of World Bank projects with the Peruvian government” that aims to “strengthen investment in human capital and increase the population’s resilience to external shocks.” In terms of education specifically, the objective is to ensure that children participate in school and “receive a quality education” from skilled educators.

“Managing the delivery of quality education for all children” in Peru “is a highly complex operation,” according to the World Bank. Communication and cooperation between government structures on all levels are necessary to ensure that resources and staff reach schools in a timely manner and “in the right numbers.”

Even though COVID-19 heavily impacts the education system of Peru, policy changes and funding from the World Bank seek to provide the necessary resources and reforms for students to access quality education. As a proven pathway out of poverty, quality education will help individuals break cycles of poverty and will also help ignite economic growth in the country overall.

– Robert Moncayo
Photo: Flickr

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Sustainable Agricultural Initiatives in Honduras

Agricultural Initiatives in HondurasNatural disasters heavily impact the livelihoods of people from the Central American country of Honduras. November 2021 marks one year since the disastrous effects of Hurricanes Eta and Iota on the Honduran landscape and people. These hurricanes led to the destruction “of up to 70% of Honduras’ crops and grains,” causing severe financial struggles for small-scale farmers and their families. Over the past year, organizations have come together to rebuild Honduran agriculture. Revitalizing the economy and creating opportunities through agricultural initiatives in Honduras is vital to ensuring sustainability and decreasing poverty in the nation.

Agricultural Initiatives in Honduras Improve Gender Inequality

Honduras has high levels of gender inequality — the World Economic Forum reported “a gender gap of 27.8%” in Honduras. Honduras also ranks as “one of the most unequal countries in Latin America in terms of development.” Inequality particularly affects women and girls. For example, in Honduras, coffee accounts for more than 32% of the nation’s agricultural GDP and women are responsible for “at least 20% of that contribution.” However, “the economic returns of women in agriculture are often lower than those of their male peers.”

The International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) began in 2003 when women from Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the United States formed the group to empower and connect women in the coffee sector. The Honduras chapter of the IWCA, AMUCAFE, seeks for more women to hold “leadership and decision-making positions” in top coffee organizations to “reduce the gender gap while creating better business opportunities” for women.

Currently, there are 391 active women in AMUCAFE who benefit from the networking and education opportunities that the organization allows for. Women face barriers in business loan approvals for their agricultural work “as only a few have land ownership which serves as collateral for loans.” Furthermore, at times, “the returns for the sale of women-produced coffee comes through the male figures in their families: fathers or husbands.” In order to empower women in the coffee industry, AMUCAFE seeks to learn “best practices related to trade and commercial promotion” to ensure “better returns for [AMUCAFE] members and long-term financial sustainability for [the] organization.” In turn, this will contribute to overall poverty reduction in Honduras while reducing gender inequality.

Creating Economically and Environmentally Sustainable Coffee

Coffee production is taxing on the environment of the countries that rely on it as an agricultural commodity. In Honduras, large environmental costs occur from the loss of forest habitats due to deforestation. Woodlands are disappearing in favor of growing crops because small-scale farmers depend on the sale of coffee to markets abroad.

With the support of a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), two environmental experts, Timothy Randhir and David King, will undertake a five-year journey “to make Honduran coffee sustainable across environmental, economic and social fronts.” The project also aims to uncover how environmentally sustainable coffee-growing practices can “yield higher and more stable incomes” for Honduran coffee farmers. The project stands as important work as coffee represents a main source of income “for more than 100,000 Honduran families and provides employment for about a million people.”

Deforestation leads to greater rainfall and flooding which causes soil erosion. Replacing “older, wood-fired dryers” with new “solar-powered industrial coffee dryers” is another key aspect of the project. The experts will study “the environmental and economic sustainability” of this new technology in improving Honduran agricultural practices. Improved practices and technology will help decrease deforestation and minimize the use of carbon-emitting natural resources while ensuring sustainable coffee production and higher incomes.

In the long term, these sustainable and inclusive agricultural initiatives in Honduras should reduce poverty. Additionally, they may be helpful in conserving the environment while improving the lives of the Honduran people.

– Robert Moncayo
Photo: Flickr

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Poverty Reduction Initiatives in Guatemala

Poverty Reduction in Guatemala
Many know Guatemala for its volcanic landscape, Mayan culture and the colonial city of Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, Guatemala has regularly faced high rates of poverty and economic inequality with the effects of the COVID-19 exacerbating it. Fortunately, organizations are coming together to form sustainable poverty reduction initiatives in Guatemala which will protect the environment while creating opportunity within Guatemala. The number of people living in poverty in Guatemala is very high. In fact, according to World Bank data from 2020, 47% of individuals live in poverty. As a result, poverty reduction in Guatemala is very important and the emerging poverty reduction measures are vital to improving public health and improving quality of life.

Reducing Deforestation to Improve Economic Stability

Deforestation is a problem throughout Central America’s rainforests due to the high demand for lumber throughout the world. It has caused negative effects on the agricultural environment leading to challenges for farmers throughout Guatemala. Reaching Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while increasing job opportunities is vital to protecting agricultural commodities and decreasing poverty.

Enrique Samayoa, a farmer from El Jute, told Americas Quarterly that environmental challenges and deforestation have led to greater rainfall and flooding. Deforestation leads to this flooding, which trees and vegetation usually absorb, and causes soil erosion. This means that when a flood occurs, it washes away nutrients in the top layer of soil, creating a poor environment for agricultural workers.

Fortunately, organizations like Utz Che’ Community Forestry Association and Sustainable Harvest are leading the effort to create sustainable poverty reduction initiatives in Guatemala. Utz Che translates from the Mayan K’iche language to “Good Tree.” This organization is responsible for protecting more than 74,000 hectares of forest in the mountains of Guatemala.

It is increasing opportunities for Guatemalans by training thousands of families in better farming practices. As the forest provides livelihoods for villagers, Utz Che’ communities are planting trees to improve their lives. Poverty reduction in Guatemala is a key aspect of this Utz Che’s mission because, with a healthy environment, farmers’ livelihoods will flourish as well.

When soil erosion decreases the number of crops that farmers could produce, employees may lose their job which can lead to an increase in poverty. Sustainable Harvest and an organization called ASPROGUATE worked together in 2021 to help decrease gender inequities by focusing on women-owned and sustainably run farms.

Empowering Guatemala’s Youth

Reactiva Guate is a crowdfunding platform for young entrepreneurs which started in 2020. It creates opportunities for young people with business plans to help their communities after the pandemic greatly impacted the economy. This organization appeals to venture capital to invest in young peoples’ ideas to overcome the economic crisis and has successfully raised thousands of dollars.

According to Statista, “31.3% of the employees in Guatemala were active in the agricultural sector, 18.73% in industry and 49.98% in the service sector.” Providing alternative careers for Guatemalans that focus on decreasing the effects of environmental challenges will help improve the quality of life for people there.

A massive vaccination program began in February 2021. Since then, municipal workers have promoted vaccinations by going house to house to reach unvaccinated people. The Guatemala Ministry of Health said that 88.8% of the eligible residents of Guatemala City have received their first dose. These statistics are good news that could bring tourism back into the country. It could create more job opportunities for youth and impoverished individuals.

Revamping Transportation to Improve Accessibility

UNDP is working with Transmetro, a transportation program that began in 2008. It helps expand the bus system in Guatemala City from one bus line to seven. Improving the transit system is vital to creating accessibility to jobs within Guatemala City. Without an available mode of transportation, many individuals are unable to find work. This initiative will create greater access to jobs and education.

These sustainable poverty reduction initiatives in Guatemala are vital to improving the opportunities available to its citizens and while keeping the environment safe and sustainable. This could improve the situation in Guatemala and lead to poverty reduction in the country.

– Robert Moncayo
Photo: Flickr

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Nonprofit Efforts to Support Iraqi Orphans

Iraqi Orphans
Iraq’s youth stand as one of the most vulnerable yet valuable populations in Iraq’s war-torn nation. The humanitarian crisis in the conflict-ridden country of Iraq has led to a poverty rate of 24.8% as of March 2021. One of the most tragic consequences of the conflict and violence in Iraq is the fact that, in 2012, there were almost “2.5 million Iraqi orphans.” Although these statistics stem from the time of the brutal Saddam Hussein regime, the situation regarding orphans in Iraq remains dire. Currently, Iraqi Children’s Hope indicates that there are 700,000 Iraqi orphans.

Iraqi Orphans

To put the situation in perspective, one must note that in 2020, Iraq’s age 0-14 population stood at 37.02% of the total population in contrast to 7.53% of the population in the age category of 55 and older. Just as a comparison, 18.37% of the U.S. population is in the 0-14 age range, and, in 2014, more than 34% of U.S. citizens were 50 and older. Because Iraq’s youth make up a significant portion of the population, Iraqi children stand as essential human capital amid a dwindling older generation. Yet, millions of Iraqi orphans often have no support system and no shelter, making them susceptible to the lure of trafficking and a life of crime. This fact coupled with the statistic that almost “3.2 million school-aged Iraqi children [are] out of school” means that support to Iraqi children must become a priority.

However, with Iraqi orphans in mind, three nonprofits are working to alleviate the impacts of the last 40 years of conflict.

Iraqi Children’s Hope

Iraqi Children’s Hope works directly with Iraqi orphans, “enabling them to thrive educationally and economically” to ensure a better quality of life and lessen the impacts of poverty and war. The organization “prioritize[s] orphans who cannot afford to attend private schools or pay tutoring fees” through the Children Tutoring for Success program. The program supports “orphan students in grades 1-8 through homework assistance and various other academic needs.” Iraqi Children’s Hope also focuses on food drives for widowed mothers and orphaned children. For example, during Ramadan 2021, an Islamic tradition in which families fast from sunrise to sunset, the Iraq branch distributed more than 700 food packages to orphan families and other families in need.

The Iraqi Orphan Foundation

The United Kingdom-based Iraqi Orphan Foundation emphasizes supporting vulnerable groups through forms of humanitarian aid and advancing the education of Iraqi orphaned youth. The foundation reaches children across several towns and cities in Iraq. Through its Sponsor an Orphan program that prompts individuals to donate a minimum of £20 per month per child, the Iraqi Orphan Foundation has supported more than 6,000 orphans. In 2019, the organization raised more than £560,000 in donations to support Iraqi orphans. The organization also focuses on direct food distribution for children without sponsors. For Ramadan 2021, the organization distributed “more than 400 food parcels to the families of orphans.”

The Iraqi Children Foundation (ICF)

Iraqi Children Foundation (ICF) commits to supporting at-risk Iraqi children “who are vulnerable to abuse, neglect and exploitation by criminals, traffickers and extremists.” Its scope includes orphans. One of its unique programs is the Hope Bus where volunteers transform an old bus into a lively, child-friendly classroom. Each bus provides about 50 orphans and street children “with tutoring, nutrition, [health support], social services and childhood fun.” Each child participates in the Hope Bus program for a year in preparation for a traditional school. More than 500 children have attended the Hope Bus so far. The program has provided more than 36,700 healthy meals to students and all 2020 graduates “now have their legal documents.”

ICF Street Lawyers

The ICF Street Lawyers program provides “legal protection for children” to safeguard them from traffickers, criminals and other forms of exploitation. Street Lawyers also “help children obtain legal documents required to enroll in school and access government benefits.”

Children make up 25% of all human trafficking victims. Orphans, often without protection or security, are the most vulnerable to trafficking. About 168 million children around the world end up as child laborers with 50% coerced into hazardous work that damages physical and mental well-being. Human trafficking is difficult to track as less than 0.5% of cases are reported. From May 2016 to April 2021, ICF provided “legal protection and defense” to 1,469 children.

An example of ICF’s extensive impact is the story of Ahmed. Ahmed and his widowed mother earn an income by selling milk from their cow. One day, instead of selling the milk, he shared the milk with the Hope Bus children. This type of generosity despite poverty is a testament to the impact of ICF’s work.

The impacts of Iraq’s political turmoil affect Iraqi children most severely, especially Iraqi orphans. However, there is hope as nonprofits commit to addressing the void in government efforts by supporting the nation’s children, ensuring a brighter future for the youngest generation.

– Imaan Chaudhry
Photo: Flickr

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5 Organizations Aiding PwDs in Kenya

PwDs in Kenya
The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated countries worldwide with illness, fear and economic instability. However, its impact has not been equal for everyone. The pandemic has affected persons with disabilities (PwDs) disproportionately. More than 15% of the global population are PwDs, 80% of whom live in developing countries. More than 2.2% (0.9 million people) of the population are PwDs in Kenya, according to the 2019 census.

Connection Between Poverty and Disability

There is undoubtedly a strong correlation between poverty and disability. According to The Aga Khan University, approximately 67% of PwDs in Kenya live in poverty. Before COVID-19, Kenyans living with disabilities already faced pre-existing challenges in accessing health care, education and the workforce. Now, these challenges are deeper than ever as a consequence of the measures to control the virus transmission and expansion, and their impact on the socio-economic aspects of life and service delivery.

Organizations and individuals all over the world have racked their brains to find innovative solutions that could make life easier again after COVID-19.  However, most of these organizations and individuals did not have PwDs in mind. This problem is not exclusive to the COVID-19 era. For persons with disabilities, especially in developing countries like Kenya, solutions and innovation itself are limited for most present-day challenges.

Concerned by this situation, UNDP in Kenya decided to launch an innovation challenge. It Is inviting solutions responding to the socio-economic challenges experienced by PwDs during the pandemic. This way, UNDP Kenya seeks to harness the power of innovation for disability inclusion and social cohesion to promote a stable and secure environment for PwDs to thrive.

UNDP invited registered Kenyan organizations or companies in order to provide those with disabilities access to education, employment and other opportunities. UNDP encouraged the applicants to focus on one of five different areas; Access to Technology, Access to Information, Access to Health Care, Access to Education, Access to Opportunities and Access to Financial Products/Services.

Submissions of applications emerged all over the country and after a rigorous evaluation process, UNDP selected five winners. The five winning organizations received a grant of $8,000 to assist in further development and scale-up of the solutions.

5 Innovative Solutions Improving the Lives of PwDs in Kenya

  1. Action for Children with Disabilities (ACD) – Action for Children with Disabilities (ACD) came up with a solution that tests the use of Virtual reality (VR) to support children with intellectual disabilities to learn. The organization aims to develop educational video tutorials for children with Autism Spectrum disorders. It also uses VR to create simulations on the challenges that PwDs face in their daily lives. It will use this to conduct community sensitization and awareness sessions with the community members.
  2. Kytabu – Kytabu began in 2012. Its goal is to enable African learning institutions and students to leverage education technology platforms by providing and integrating education content to PwDs. Kytabu’s innovative solution adds a mobile-based school management system to the institutions supporting deaf learners. It is helping them to track the learner’s progress and needs. It is also producing reports to share with stakeholders and partners. This data would likely lead to better decision-making in Special needs education’s resources.
  3. Riziki Source – Riziki is a social enterprise that seeks to connect PwDs in Kenya to job opportunities. It created an automatic job-seeking database of people with different kinds of disabilities looking for jobs. Users can download the mobile app and easily register to the platform through their website or by text message, in case they don’t have internet access. Thanks to the platform, employers can easily connect with PwDs seeking jobs and understand the best way to interview and work with PwDs.
  4. Signs Media Kenya – In 2011, Signs Media began with the mission to educate, inform and entertain in sign language by enhancing disability and deaf culture. Signs TV developed an app called “Assist All.” It allows deaf people to access sign language interpreters on demand, facilitating communication where it may not be available. The app counts with a sign language interpreters’ database accessible by the touch of a button through a virtual interface.
  5. The Action Foundation (TAF) – TAF is a youth-led organization that began in 2010. It works with communities and governments to help PwDs. It aims to launch the “Somesha Stories project,” a platform that enables accessible child-friendly stories for early literacy and inclusive education. Learners will be able to access educational content specifically designed for all persons at their schools, from the comfort of their homes and via the Somesha Mobile-Based App. The Somesha stories come in audio, visual, print and sign language formats, hence allowing every child to learn.

Looking Ahead

All these great solutions not only validate Kenya as a hub of knowledge and innovation, but they also show technological transformation is about improving each citizen’s experience, leaving no one behind.

Innovation has and definitely will continue to have a great role in Kenya’s response and recovery to the COVID-19 crisis. Investing in building solutions that can improve the lives of PwDs represents a massive opportunity for Kenya to ensure that its growth is genuinely inclusive and transformational, something crucial for the future of the country.

– Alejandra del Carmen Jimeno
Photo: Flickr

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Fighting for Better Education in Nigeria

Education In Nigeria
Education can act as a golden ticket out of poverty for younger generations in Nigeria. Thus, its absence only hinders a fruitful future for Nigerians all around the country. By fighting for better education in Nigeria, Co-Creation Hub is ensuring that Nigerian students have a reliable pathway to pursue their ambitions and goals.

Nigeria’s Absence of Education

Completing the early steps of education is vital to securing basic knowledge of the language and how the world functions. However, an appalling one in three Nigerian children do not complete primary school and 27.2% of children between the ages of 6 to 11 do not attend school at all.

The intrinsic benefits of early education—learning basic life skills, developing a work ethic and establishing connections with teachers and the community—are thus absent during the most moldable years in the lives of Nigerian youth.

Furthermore, 25.8% of children between the age of 12 to 17 have zero access to an education facility of any kind. The teen years are crucial for identity building and socializing. Grade school is an amazing opportunity to tap into these two fundamental aspects of life. The percentage of Nigerian teens who miss out on these opportunities is too high for the 21st century.

COVID-19’s Impact on Education in Nigeria

After the pandemic hit, school closures have affected 73.8% of the world’s school population. Prior to the pandemic, an estimated total of 10.2 million Nigerian children was out of school. That number has only increased after the start of the pandemic.

Remote education in Nigeria is only available to financially privileged students. Rural children are becoming increasingly disconnected from modern-day teaching. The pupil-teacher ratio in Nigeria was 37.55 in 2010.

What is Co-Creation Hub and How Does it Help?

Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) is Nigeria’s first multi-purpose, open-living lab space provider designed to catalyze creativity and STEM-based work. Within the Co-Creation Hub’s laboratories, staff provides accessible and effective education in STEM subjects to Nigerian kids, adolescents and teens.

Bosum Tijani founded CcHUB in 2010 to innovate Nigeria’s education. The rest of its five areas of focus are digital security, startup funding, design for health and innovation support. The Hub’s four education-oriented programs in Nigeria educated more than 11,000 students in 200 schools. One of the programs has also helped 5,000 internet users who relied on remote settings because of COVID-19.

CcHUB trains new and willing teachers in a teaching technique known as inquiry-based learning. This technique actively places the students at the center of their learning, thus fostering critical thinking, cooperation and a genuine desire to learn.

This organization also offers its computer labs as free and safe learning spaces open to any student in Nigeria. These learning spaces provide STEM education via game-based, online computer lessons purposefully engineered to spark an interest in the sciences. CcHUB has received funding from Microsoft, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Facebook, BBC and VISA among several others.

Facebook has collaborated with one of CcHUB’s educational programs called Safe Online with Facebook. This campaign has reached out to students of all ages in 10 different Nigerian cities to teach vital internet browsing safety skills.

The growing trend of incorporating the internet into education has benefited dozens of countries worldwide. Online learning is now opening up a slew of possibilities for young Nigerians. The drastic digital changes in education in Nigeria are keeping the country in the loop of the newest online era of schooling.

– Fidelia Gavrilenko
Photo: Flickr

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Natural Disaster Resilience Policies to Protect the Impoverished

Resilience Policies
Not only do natural disasters cost the global economy $520 billion annually but extreme weather also thrusts 26 million global citizens into poverty annually. People enduring poverty experience the adverse effects of floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters more severely because they often live in “fragile housing in disaster-prone areas” and take up employment in industries, such as “farming and agriculture,” that are more “susceptible to extreme weather events.” In response to extreme weather and the impact it has on vulnerable populations, the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) released a report that puts forth the idea of natural disaster resilience policies to protect the impoverished from natural disasters and help them to cope with the consequences. The suggestions in this report to the 2016 U.N. Climate Change Conference aim to implement early warning systems and improve access to personal banking, social protection systems and other critical investments.

What are Natural Disaster Resilience Policies?

The purpose of a resilience policy is to help those living in developing countries develop resilience, which refers to “the ability of individuals, communities and states and their institutions to absorb and recover from shocks [while] positively adapting and transforming their structures and means for living in the face of long-term changes and uncertainty.”

With calls for a resilience policy package, specific countries can tackle the financial strain that comes after a natural disaster. For instance, in September 2020, Haiti received a payout of about $7 million “on its Excess Rainfall (XSR) parametric insurance policy following the passage of Tropical Cyclone Laura.” By having their own resilience policies, developing countries can help their most impoverished citizens in the aftermath of natural disasters.

The nature of insurance policies introduced under the resilience policy benefits those facing the impacts of natural disasters by paying out automatically when conditions “meet or exceed pre-agreed thresholds” regarding wind speed, rainfall or economic losses through insurance policies called parametric policies.

The Economic Benefits of Resilience Policies

The World Bank and GFDRR’s suggestions for resilience policies propose improving disaster risk management (DRM) in 117 countries. For instance, Angola, a country in Central Africa, could potentially see “$160 million a year in gains” if the country were to implement “scalable safety nets” to support the nation’s most impoverished citizens in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Countries with resilience policies are already noting benefits. Due to “an innovative insurance program, Haiti, Barbados, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines received a payout of $29 million in support of recovery efforts after suffering the effects of Hurricane Matthew.”

Scalable safety nets must consist of flexible systems and procedures, including registration and payment mechanisms that will “enable the safety net [to] increase (and decrease) assistance when appropriate” and provide “good quality risk information to understand when a shock has occurred” to allow contingency planning to provide the disbursement of the fund after a disaster.

How Governments Can Assist

Governments can help end global poverty and support those in developing countries after a natural disaster through investments in infrastructure and developing appropriate land-use policies and building regulations. The U.S. Agency for International Development intends to utilize disaster risk reduction (DRR) programs to achieve resilience in countries experiencing extreme weather conditions. Striving for longer-term prevention, the DRR programs will focus on attaining objectives such as “prioritizing and strengthening early warning, preparedness, mitigation and prevention” and “transitions to foster resilience and [support] diversified livelihood strategies” to help impoverished people withstand extreme weather and the impact of natural disasters.

Natural disaster resilience policies can provide better housing and create better employment opportunities for those living in poverty by diversifying the workforce. For instance, in Uganda, “72% of [Uganda’s] labor force works in agriculture,” which is an area that is “highly climate-sensitive.” This puts one of Uganda’s main exports, coffee, at risk in the face of natural disasters or extreme weather events that could potentially prevent the country from producing and harvesting its export. Droughts in 2020 led to the loss of about 50% “of all coffee yields” in Uganda.

By reducing the impact of natural disasters on communities worldwide through resilience policies, poverty can decrease as countries will be better able to adapt to extreme weather changes “and boost the resilience and prosperity of their most vulnerable citizens.” With the ability “to cope, rebuild and rebound,” millions of people can remain out of poverty.

– Grace Watson
Photo: Flickr

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Expo 2020 Dubai Addresses Global Poverty

Expo 2020 Dubai
Expo 2020 Dubai is a gathering of 192 countries each presenting and offering an opportunity to experience their culture, food and innovations. It is the latest of a World Expo tradition that began in London in 1851 as the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations. Expo 2020 is taking place from October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, showcasing and promoting different solutions and opportunities that may improve the lives of people around the world. Projects aim to accomplish this by “promoting alternative employment and income opportunities, women in the workplace, competitive products and services and improved market access.”

Overview

Expo 2020 Dubai is the latest of the world’s fairs with the official theme of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” plus different sub-theming of sustainability, mobility and opportunity. The Expo 2020 is taking place in the Middle East for the first time. Until construction began at the site of the expo, the Expo occurred in an area of empty desert. The layout of the Expo is a vast 1,000-acre site comprising different zones in the shape of petals focusing on the sub-themes of sustainability, mobility and opportunity.

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place, individuals must comply with strict precautions, including mask and vaccination requirements and occupancy limitations on the number of people present at the Expo. One of the other crucial aspects of the Expo 2020 Dubai is that there is a record 191 countries participating and each nation has its own area or pavilion. The Expo is partnering with the United Nations, which has its own pavilion that focuses on its future goals, including sustainability. Once the expo ends at the close of March 2022, “around 80% of the built Expo will transition into residential, business and commercial developments.”

Expo 2020 Dubai Addresses Global Poverty

At the Kenya pavilion, some innovators show their solutions to the country’s problems of “unemployment, poverty and food shortages” through “home farming” using basic hydroponic systems. Dr. Peter Chege Gichuku established Hydroponics Africa Limited in Kenya in 2015 with the purpose and goals of eliminating “the root cause of poverty and food insecurity.” The company is hoping to “provide cost-effective sustainable farming methods without the use of soil and an 80% reduction in water.”

WaterAid provides an example of social development commitments. In Nepal, WaterAid promotes good hygiene practices by using Nepal’s routine immunization program as a “point of contact” to reach mothers and children. The Nepal Ministry of Health and Population leads the initiative with the “financial and technical support” of WaterAid. The project has a dual purpose of “[strengthening] Nepal’s routine immunization system by improving immunization coverage and people’s trust in immunization services” while simultaneously improving hygiene practices to prevent diseases stemming from poor hygiene practices.

Looking Ahead

Many more organizations are participating in Expo 2020 Dubai. They are promoting their solutions and putting forward ideas to address issues of global poverty. The Expo presents an ideal opportunity to present these new innovations to governments of all nations and their citizens. Global events such as Expo 2020 Dubai unite nations across the world with the understanding that global collaboration is necessary to address concerns of a global scale.

– Julian Smith
Photo: Flickr