Archive for category: Developing Countries

Information and stories about developing countries.

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10 Facts About Agriculture in Madagascar

 

Agriculture in MadagascarMadagascar is one of the most bio-diverse nations on the planet and grows a variety of valuable crops. Yet, too often, farmers struggle from poverty and food insecurity. Holly Tapani serves as a Peace Corps agricultural extension agent on Madagascar’s eastern coast, Tapani trains women with young children to cultivate permaculture gardens and promote sustainable agricultural practices. “There is a major gap in the type of knowledge available to farmers,” Tapani told The Borgen Project. “However, Malagasy farmers are eager for solutions and willing to go out of their way to accommodate learning.” These 10 facts about agriculture in Madagascar highlight a predominant way of life and discuss common challenges and emerging solutions.

10 Facts About Agriculture in Madagascar

  1.  Agriculture is vital to life. Agriculture is the leading source of employment for both men and women in Madagascar. Indeed, roughly 64% of the country’s population works on either individually or family-owned farms. In more rural regions, this largely takes the form of subsistence farming.
  2. There is not much land to go around. Because Madagascar’s terrain is mountainous, farmers can only cultivate up to 5% of the country’s total land area. As a result, smallholders make up the majority of farm owners, and the “average farm size is 1.3 hectares.”
  3.  Frequent natural disasters threaten agricultural productivity. Over the past four decades, Madagascar has experienced more than 50 natural disasters, including “cyclones, droughts and locust infestations.” As a consequence, this has eroded land and damaged soil quality. With the prospect of a good harvest now even more difficult to achieve, Madagascar now faces rampant food insecurity.
  4.  Rice has a special place in Malagasy culture. Rice is cultivated on roughly half of all agricultural land in Madagascar. Farmers grow it largely for subsistence, and it is a staple of the Malagasy diet. “Most people eat roughly three packed cups of rice per meal with a small side,” Tapani said. “This is a major part of the culture, and nutrition initiatives from the government have been trying to combat the lack of diversity in a standard Malagasy diet.”
  5. Madagascar is the world’s largest producer of vanilla. Despite being just under one third the size of Mexico, the island nation accounts for 60% of the vanilla supply globally. Thus, to prevent theft and provide protection for vanilla farmers, the Malagasy government has enacted strict regulations on those handling the crop. This means that vanilla pods can now only be transported during the daytime, and “there are harsh penalties for stealing.” In certain cases, some farmers even go the extra mile, tattooing their vanilla beans with distinct features to make it easier to trace their origins.
  6. Nearly 60% of rural families rely on livestock for income. Cattle are especially important in this regard. One subspecies known as the zebu can be found on farms all throughout the island. “Zebu represent wealth to the Malagasy, so many farmers raise them for both work and meat,” Tapani said. Other livestock, including pigs, sheep, goats and turkeys, are also kept by smallholders.
  7. Farmers often supplement their farm produce with fishing. In many cases, families in Madagascar will raise different fish in fish ponds they build on their land. Others catch fish in local freshwater rivers and lakes. As with the cultivation of rice, the majority of this fishing is done for subsistence because of the steep cost of transportation to the capital. This makes the market price of fish much too costly for most local consumers.
  8.  Slash-and-burn agriculture threatens Madagascar’s forests. Known as ‘tavy’ in Malagasy, slash-and-burn agriculture is a traditional farming technique that remains widely practiced in Madagascar. Farmers clear mountainous regions and set fire to the land in order to turn forests into fertile ground. However, this ultimately leads to depletion of the nitrogen in the soil and the loss of fertility. This forces farmers to move on to new land, reinforcing the cycle of land destruction and poverty.
  9. The Food and Agriculture Organization is working to strengthen farmers’ resilience. FAO is helping farmers by collecting data on agro-weather conditions and food security. It is also working with Madagascar’s government to integrate nutritional awareness into school systems and strengthen the sustainability of the country’s natural resources. Ultimately, the goal of these efforts is to pave the way for measures that mitigate the impact of natural disasters on crop production and economic security.
  10.  Peace Corps Madagascar’s Food Security Project is promoting sustainable agriculture and healthy nutrition. Although Madagascar’s economy is largely agricultural, rural communities too often face food shortages and insecurity. Thus, to tackle this dire issue, Peace Corps volunteers work with farmers, schools and nonprofits to train communities on new methods to make sure their basic food needs are met. This includes training on how to grow bio-intensive gardens and holding cooking demonstrations that focus on nutritional education. “As an agriculture volunteer, one of my primary responsibilities involved promoting personal permaculture gardens for mothers with children under the age of five,” Tapani said. Tapani hopes this work will help prevent nutrient deficiencies among the Malagasy population.

These 10 facts about agriculture in Madagascar underscore the importance of farming to economic prosperity and personal wellbeing. Therefore, improvements within the industry remain a major path to reducing poverty in Madagascar.

– Kayleigh Rubin
Photo: Wikimedia

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5 Facts About Healthcare in Guatemala

Healthcare in Guatemala
For far too many citizens living in Guatemala, healthcare is not feasible and the results of this are catastrophic. Guatemala has the fourth-highest rate of malnutrition, and although the Guatemalan constitution guarantees healthcare, many fail to access the care that they need. Here are five facts about healthcare in Guatemala.

5 Facts About Healthcare in Guatemala

  1. The Guatemalan government spends very little money on healthcare. In fact, Guatemala only spends about $97 per person on healthcare. Comparatively, the United States spends $7,825 per person, and healthcare is not even an explicit “right” under the U.S. constitution. This leads to an underfunded, understaffed and underpaid system that oftentimes does not have the resources necessary to deal with complex diseases. According to a 2017 Health Policy Plus report, the Guatemalan government simply does not have the economic ability to fully fund its healthcare system. The report states that “Limited public resources have inhibited the Government of Guatemala’s ability to meet the health needs of the growing population and comply with its constitutional obligation to provide health services as a public good.”
  2. If a person wants specialists, they have to travel. About 80% of doctors in Guatemala work in Guatemala City. As a result, rural and poorer areas of Guatemala lack the resources they need to get the proper care. Subsequently, in order to receive certain tests, people living in rural areas often have to travel long distances, sometimes taking a day or two off of work. In many cases, people live paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford to miss out on a day of pay.
  3. There is a language barrier. Medicine is complex, and trying to explain medical treatment to someone who does not speak the same language is oftentimes impossible. Guatemala possesses a whopping 25 languages. In Guatemala City, where the specialty doctors are located, the primary language is Spanish. As a result, a person who does not speak Spanish and needs special treatment may have serious challenges.
  4. Rural areas are less advanced. As previously mentioned, the overwhelming majority of doctors work in Guatemala City. For those living in rural areas, access to care is often non-existent. This can lead to a slew of medical ailments, but it also means that these people practice a less advanced version of medicine. For example, in 2009 only 46% of rural Guatemalans utilized modern contraceptives.
  5. Maternal mortality is higher among minorities. Despite making up 43% of the population, more indigenous people suffer from maternal mortality than any other group. Of the 452 maternal deaths in 2013, 68% were indigenous women. In addition, the indigenous maternal mortality ratio was 159 per 100,000 and only 70 per 100,000 for non-indigenous women. One possible explanation is the language barrier. Most doctors work in Guatemala City with a primary language of Spanish. In cases where an indigenous person speaks one of the other 24 languages, it can be difficult for doctors and patients to communicate.

Looking Forward

Although the Guatemalan government considers healthcare in Guatemala a right, for a large fraction of the population it is not. People simply do not have the means to travel or take a day off of work just go see a specialist. Thankfully NGOs are stepping up. One NGO, The GOD’S CHILD Project, is currently fundraising to fight malnourishment in Guatemala. This NGO claims to have helped 4,000 orphaned and impoverished children, as well as 7,000 widowed, abandoned and single mothers and their dependents across Guatemala.

Another NGO named Wings fights exclusively for issues relating to Guatemalan healthcare. Wings’ subsidizes things like contraception and education in rural areas with patients who have serious medical conditions. In 2018 alone, this group helped 3,658 adolescents and young adults with contraceptive access and education. With the help of these NGOs, improved healthcare for Guatemala is on the horizon.

– Tyler Piekarski 
Photo: Flickr

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5 Apps Changing Lives in Southeast Asia

apps that are changing lives
Technology continues to march onward, bringing with it exciting new opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others. Indeed, in Southeast Asia, innovative minds are utilizing the power of smartphones to enrich lives in ways previously unthinkable. From health to finance, from the dense forests of Cambodia to the food markets of Vietnam, here are five apps changing lives in Southeast Asia.

5 Apps Changing Lives in Southeast Asia

  1. It’s Our Forest Too: Illegal logging is a dire issue in Cambodia’s Prey Lang Forest, where in some cases up to 80% of villagers’ income derives from the extraction of resin from the forest’s many trees. To help combat this problem, Web Essentials has developed an Android app called It’s Our Forest Too. Its goal: to give activists the tools they need to discreetly monitor and report illegal activity within the Prey Lang. Here is how it works. Villagers use the app to take photos and record audio they deem suspicious. Then, after categorizing the recordings with the aid of a user-friendly pictorial decision-tree, users upload the data and its associated GPS coordinates to an encrypted Dropbox database. Since the entire process is quick and anonymous, activist organizations like the Prey Lang Community Network can then make use of the information they receive from the app without putting at risk any of the villagers who recorded the data. Thus, saving both lives and livelihoods.
  2. Halodoc: Recent years have seen a severe doctor shortage in Southeast Asia. This has led to excruciating wait times for patients and difficult travels for those living outside of the region’s urban areas. Enter Halodoc, the Indonesian app that allows patients to consult their doctors from the convenience of their own homes. The way it works is surprisingly simple. Patients select a doctor from a list, then immediately receive an option to schedule a video call. In many cases, the meeting lasts no more than 10 minutes. Patients can also use the app to purchase medicine, which is then delivered directly to the location of their choosing. This combination of convenience and user-friendly design has made the app a favorite of Southeast Asia’s medical community. As a result, Halodoc is now home to more than 2 million users and a database of 20,000 doctors.
  3. Foody: With a stated goal of being the Yelp! of Vietnam, Foody has more than surpassed expectations. Indeed, aside from serving as a community where users can review, discuss and order from Vietnam’s restaurants, Foody also plays an important role in the country’s struggles with food safety. The World Bank currently estimates that food safety issues cost Vietnam $740 million in productivity losses. The topic also frequently tops the list of the Vietnamese public’s biggest concerns, surpassing even corruption and cost of living. As a result, many have turned to Foody as a vital source of knowing where it is safe to eat. Foody’s user reviewers are careful to detail the food practices of the restaurant they cover, and by reporting incidents of food poisoning, their readers gain the ability to make smart decisions about where they eat.
  4. Spean Luy: Only 27% of the Southeast Asian population currently possesses a bank account, with the number as low as 5% in nations like Cambodia. With so many lacking access to financial services, start-ups like DIGICRO’s Spean Luy are looking to fill the gap by offering smart, technological solutions for Southeast Asia’s disadvantaged. Specifically, Spean Luy tackles two major problems that depress financial service: a lack of bank availability in the region’s remote, rural regions, and a lack of official documentation or collateral to provide for loans. How does it accomplish this? For one, although physical bank branches are hard to come by, more than 60% of Cambodians have internet access, which makes a mobile banking option attractive. Secondly, thanks to the clever application of machine learning techniques, Spean Luy is able to offer microloans to those who would otherwise be turned away by more stringent documentation requirements. So far, the results have been promising. Since its launch in early 2019, Spean Luy has disbursed more than $400,000 to users, with a repayment rate of 97%.
  5. Mind Palace: The growth of Virtual Reality (VR) technology has become a major talking point in recent years. More than just a tool for gaming, however, people are using VR apps like Eugene Soh’s Mind Palace to bring promising new benefits to those not typically thought of as VR consumers. For dementia patients, Mind Palace offers an immersive virtual environment in which they can revisit the familiar sights and sounds of their youths. This helps relieve the social isolation that burdens many with dementia, while also expanding their physical boundaries. Thus far, Mind Palace has seen extensive testing among Singaporean hospitals and nursing homes with very promising results. While not yet available on smartphones, Soh sees a mobile future for the app in the years to come.

These five apps offer a glimpse into the many ways that tech experts are using technology for social good in Southeast Asia. As the world’s brightest minds continue to innovate, the region will likely benefit from even more apps that are changing lives.

– James Roark
Photo: PxHere

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5 Facts About Tuberculosis in Eastern Europe

tuberculosis in Eastern Europe
One of the oldest diseases, tuberculosis is still prevalent in hundreds of countries and nearly every continent. Although many countries have been able to reduce their number of cases through medical intervention and policies, Eastern Europe remains affected by the disease. Despite the rising cases of tuberculosis in Eastern Europe, European and other governments are coming up with new solutions to better treat individuals with TB and potentially eradicate the disease. Here are five facts about tuberculosis in Eastern Europe.

5 Facts About Tuberculosis in Eastern Europe

  1. Most of Europe’s tuberculosis cases are in Eastern Europe. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Europe has the lowest incidence of tuberculosis in the world. However, the cases that do exist concentrate in Eastern Europe. The WHO found that 18 countries in Eastern Europe bear 85% of the tuberculosis burden for the continent. Over the past decade, cases of tuberculosis have halved throughout Europe. Despite this decrease, however, the number of cases in Eastern Europe is almost eight times higher than that of Central and Western Europe.
  2. Eastern Europe has the highest rates of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR tuberculosis) is currently the most prevalent form of TB in Eastern Europe. MDR tuberculosis occurs when the bacteria that causes tuberculosis becomes resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampin, the two most common drugs doctors use to treat tuberculosis patients. Typically, this resistance occurs when patients do not finish their antibiotics or when tuberculosis infects a person more than once. In all of Europe, 99% of MDR tuberculosis cases occur in Eastern Europe. As a result, scientists need to develop new antibiotics or treatments for patients in that region.
  3. Tuberculosis outbreaks are more common in poorer regions. In general, researchers tend to find tuberculosis in poorer and developing countries. Similarly, the levels of TB in Eastern Europe could connect to the overall poverty rates in the region. The poverty rates in Central and Western European countries such as the Czech Republic are as low as 10%. However, in Eastern European countries, such as Romania, the poverty rates are as high as 25%. In poorer countries, access to medical treatment and preventative care decreases. Thus, in Eastern Europe, a common struggle for individuals with tuberculosis is finding health care that is effective and affordable.
  4. Problems with tuberculosis are worsening due to COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has led countries to implement social distancing and stay-at-home policies. As a result, the circumstances for individuals with tuberculosis in Eastern Europe may worsen. A recent modeling study looked at the rate of incidence of tuberculosis and the tuberculosis mortality rate during the lockdown. The study predicted that both the number of cases and the number of deaths will rise as people remain in close quarters. For example, imagine the lockdown in a high-risk country such as Ukraine lasting for 3 months with a 10 month recovery period. The rate of incidence would increase by 10.7% and the mortality rate would increase by 16%. One reason for this increase is the lack of medical care available during the pandemic. As more supplies and medical officials go towards fighting COVID-19, other diseases such as tuberculosis could go unchecked during the lockdown.
  5. Better diagnostic services are currently in progress. This year, in 2020, the European Lab Initiative (ELI) on tuberculosis, HIV and Viral Hepatitis, a regional center that has dedicated itself to the treatment of those three diseases, released its goals for 2020 and 2021. These goals, which include improved drug treatments and better tracking algorithms, hope to allow doctors in Eastern Europe to diagnose patients with tuberculosis faster. By diagnosing people earlier, the transmission of tuberculosis will slow, and those who test positive for tuberculosis will have a higher chance of recovery.

Although the rates of TB continue to drop in Western and Central Europe, wealth inequality and the COVID-19 pandemic are keeping the number of cases up in Eastern Europe. However, if progress on better diagnostic services continues, the occurrence of tuberculosis there will decrease.

– Sarah Licht 
Photo: Flickr

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6 Facts About Sanitation in Chad

facts about sanitation in ChadChad is a country highly dependent on agriculture with two-thirds of the population employed in such a capacity. For agriculture to thrive, water must be plentiful. However, for Chad, ensuring access to adequate water supplies has and continues to be a challenge. Additionally, the citizenry at large suffers from a lack of sanitized water, which increases the danger of disease transmission. Here are 6 facts about sanitation and access to water in Chad.

6 Facts About Sanitation in Chad

  1. Basic water services: In 2019, 61% of Chad’s population lacked access to basic water services. Many had to obtain drinking water from an improved source like a well or piped water.
  2. Open defecation: 69% of Chad’s population practices open defecation, a result of Chad being the country with the largest percentage of its population without access to a toilet. Among the poorest Chadians, access to toilets improved by 7% between 2000 and 2017. However, 88% of them still practice open defecation.
  3. Hand washing: Chad is one of 19 countries where more than 50% of the population does not have a handwashing facility. Additionally, 76% of Chad’s people have no handwashing facility in their home. This is especially salient today since the World Health Organization recommends hand hygiene as “the most effective single measure to reduce the spread of infections”.
  4. Lake Chad: This body of water borders Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad and supports the existence of 30 million people. This economically important source of water, however, has shrunk by 90% since the 1960s. For communities reliant on fishing, farming and herding, a diminishing Lake Chad translates into resource constraints and sometimes conflict.
  5. Refugee crisis: Conflict caused by Boko Haram and other insurgent groups in the region has displaced thousands of Chadians and others. For example, in Kobiteye, a refugee camp bordering the Central African Republic, 24,000 refugees live without adequate access to water.
  6. Lethality: The inability to consume clean water is costly, taking the lives of thousands in Chad. A U.N. report found children under five in conflict-affected states were “more than 20 times more likely to die” from unsafe water or lack of sanitation than from the conflict itself.

Solutions

In response to Chad’s water crisis, some organizations and governments have stepped up assistance. In 2019, World Vision Chad redirected 70% of its funding to providing safe water access. They reached 18,000 displaced refugees with 45 boreholes. A few years ago, USAID dug 113 wells that reached 35,000 people since 2008.

Other organizations are focusing on leveraging technology to improve water access. Chad’s Ministry of Water and Sanitation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation partnered to fund the ResEau project, a 10-year 3D mapping initiative designed to improve borehole drilling. Before ResEau began, boreholes successfully reached water 30 to 40% of the time. Now, boreholes successfully reach water over 60 percent of the time.

Additionally, ResEau also contributed to creating a master’s degree program in Hydrology and GIS at the University of N’Djamena in Chad. This program has benefited more than 100 students so far, many of whom work for Chad’s Ministry of Water and Sanitation. Leapfrog, the 3D technology company that ResEau used for its geological modeling, stated that the project “will enrich the livelihood of all those who live in Chad, by providing the skills and knowledge needed for a robust integrated water management system”. Steps like these represent successes that individual donors and donor governments need to build upon.

– Jonathan Helton 
Photo: Flickr

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9 Facts About Healthcare in Sierra Leone 

Healthcare in Sierra LeoneSierra Leone is a small nation located on the coast of West Africa. While the country boasts an abundance of natural resources, it is also a poor nation, with a healthcare system in dire need of improvement. Here are 9 facts about healthcare in Sierra Leone.

9 Facts About Healthcare in Sierra Leone

  1. Sierra Leone has one of the lowest life expectancies on the globe. In 2018, the average life expectancy in Sierra Leone was 54.3 years. This places the nation among the bottom five in the entire world. In comparison, the average global life expectancy is 72.6 years.

  2. Sierra Leone faces high rates of infant and maternal mortality. Similar to life expectancy, infant and maternal fatality rates help gauge the quality of a nation’s health care system. In 2015, 87.1 infants died per 1,000 births in Sierra Leone, while 1,360 mothers died per 100,000 births. In the U.S., just 5.4 infants died per 1,000 births, and only 14 mothers died for every 100,000 births. Birth-related deaths generally occur when there are delays in women seeking, reaching and receiving care.

  3. All people living in Sierra Leone are at risk of malaria. Malaria is endemic to the nation, and poses a great health risk. In fact, four out of every ten hospital visits in Sierra Leone are due to malaria. Children are at particular risk, and the disease contributes to the nation’s high number of child fatalities. However, rates of the illness are falling across the country due to preventative practices such as sleeping under insecticide treated nets. Earlier diagnoses and treatments also contribute to the lowered rates of illness. By the end of 2020, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone hopes to have decreased cases by 40 percent.

  4. The Ebola outbreak of 2014 hit Sierra Leone particularly hard. Despite its relatively small population, there were more cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone than any other country. To be exact, there were a total of 14,124 cases in the country, including nearly 4,000 deaths. The first case was reported in May 2014, and Sierra Leone was not declared Ebola-free until February 2016. According to the World Health Organization, the virus was able to spread so widely due to the weaknesses of the healthcare in Sierra Leone. These weaknesses included too few healthcare workers, not enough oversight and a lack of resources.

  5. Disabled residents face tough conditions. Approximately 450,000 disabled people live in Sierra Leone, including those who were maimed in the decade-long civil war that ended in 2002. The government does not currently provide any assistance to the disabled. Those with disabilities resort to begging on the streets of Freetown, the nation’s capital. Disabled youth turned away from their families (due to the family’s inability to support the youth) often form their own communities on the streets. Employment can also be hard to achieve due to discrimination. Julius Cuffie, a member of Parliament who suffers from polio, brings awareness to the disabled’s struggles. Hoping to bring the disabled’s issues to the forefront, Cuffie pushes for the Persons with Disabilities Act.

  6. Corruption exists in Sierra Leone’s healthcare system. According to a 2015 survey, 84 percent of Sierra Leoneans have paid a bribe just to use government services. Additionally, about a third of the funds given to fight the Ebola crisis are not accounted for. This translates to roughly 11 million pounds, or almost 14 million dollars. Sierra Leone has a literacy rate of about 40 percent. As a result, many health care services overcharge unknowing residents for basic services. A new initiative, put together by the nation’s Anti-Corruption Commission, advises residents to report cases of bribery.

  7. In 2010, Sierra Leone began offering free health care. The Free Healthcare Initiative (FHCI) aims to decrease the nation’s high maternal, infant and child mortality rate. The government also hopes the initiative improves general health across the country. The ordinance provides a package of free services for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under the age of five. The program has not been without its challenges, however, due to the aforementioned weaknesses of previous systems of health care in Sierra Leone. That said, the initiative has resulted in a number of positive changes. For example, there has been an increase in the number of healthcare staff, a larger willingness for parents to seek care for their children and a reduction in mortality for those under five.

  8. There has been an increase in efforts to strengthen emergency medical response in Sierra Leone. Road accidents kill thousands each year in the country. In response to this, the First Responder Coalition of Sierra Leone (FRCSL) was created in 2019 to improve the state of urgent medical care. Five national and international groups in Makeni, a city in northern Sierra Leone, founded the coalition. The group aims to provide emergency care, treat the high numbers of injuries and resolve the low amount of pre-hospital treatment in Sierra Leone. In its first two months, the FRSCL trained 1,000 Makeni residents, equipping each one with a first aid kit. The coalition hopes to train 3,500 more in the next six months. It also plans on expanding out of the northern province in the next five years. Hopefully, the FRCSL’s efforts will save thousands of lives from vehicle accidents in the coming years.

  9. CARE is working to improve sexual and reproductive health for women and girls in Sierra Leone. The humanitarian agency began working in the country in 1961. Goals of the organization include providing medical supplies and contraceptives, giving training to healthcare workers and working with the community to eliminate attitudes that prevent women from discovering their rights to sexual and reproductive health. CARE is currently present in approximately 30 percent of the country’s communities, particularly in areas that have high rates of HIV infection and teenage pregnancy. One Sierra Leonean mother, named Fanta, credits CARE with educating her about proper breastfeeding and health practices, leading to the survival and continued health of her daughter.

Healthcare in Sierra Leone is an issue that is complicated by the nation’s high rates of poverty, many endemic diseases and tumultuous political history. While shocking statistics, such as the country’s low life expectancy and high maternal and infant mortality rates paint a grim picture, there are signs of progress being made, and there is potential for much more change on the horizon.

– Joshua Roberts

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Sanitation in Ecuador

sanitation in Ecuador
Located at the western top of South America, Ecuador has improved water regulation and overall sanitation within the last couple of decades. Here are 10 facts about sanitation in Ecuador.

10 Facts About Sanitation in Ecuador

  1. Before 2007, organic loads, toxic substances and hydrocarbons contaminated large bodies of water. Ecuador’s government devised a plan to increase overall healthy water flow. The plan consisted of using financial support to create sustainable water management. The lack of healthy water flow led to the exploitation of aquifers on Ecuador’s coast, which melted approximately 33% of the country’s glaciers. Moreover, the lack of water flow led to a reduction of at least 25% of Paramos’ regular water flow, which is a historical area. The improvement of water sustainability allowed Ecuador’s people to access healthy water easily.
  2. In 2019, Ecuador received an $87 million loan from the U.S. to improve water regulation. The loan from the U.S. allowed Ecuador’s government to expand and improve drinking systems. Ecuador has directed the loan towards the achievement of universal access to piped sanitation services.
  3. The country created a National Development Plan in 2007 which prioritized the integration of water management. Many saw Ecuador’s lack of easy access to clean water and sanitation as a detrimental factor that slowed the development of the country’s sustainability. The National Development Plan encouraged a more developed culture for Ecuador’s sanitation. One main goal was to build 1.5 kilometers of sewage networks in Quitumbe and 26 kilometers of interceptors for wastewater management in Checa and la Merced.
  4. Ecuador’s national sectoral strategy established that the country should reach equitable access to potable Water and Sanitation Services by 2030. In the national sectoral strategy, the country strived to divide loans into different sections with regards to water management. As a result, vast improvement has occurred in the country’s economy. In July 2019, approximately 39,197 additional citizens in urban areas obtained new access to improved sanitation services.
  5. The government’s new project hopes to achieve country-wide access to piped sanitation services. The Guayaquil Wastewater Management Project for Ecuador aims to install wastewater catch basins of the urban cities such as Guayaquil. As a result, 2 million citizens will gain access to proper sanitation. Ecuador’s government hopes to ensure that 100% of the wastewater within these basins receive treatment in an environmentally sustainable way.
  6. Currently, 93% of Ecuador has access to basic drinking water. Ever since 2007, there has been more focus on safely managing sanitation services as well as water waste treatment. Due to the implementation of basic sanitation needs in Ecuador’s sustainability plan, improvement is evident within urban and rural areas throughout the country.
  7. Ecuador upgraded and amplified the sewage system and sanitation networks throughout municipalities in Quitumbe, Checa and La Merced. By building several drinking water treatment plants, the government and local workers introduced 39 kilometers of raw water transmission lines from natural reservoirs. Within agricultural systems, Ecuador also installed and put over 400 flow meters for larger consumers. Installing hundreds of flow meters allow farmers and other agricultural workers to maintain and limit the amount of water needed for efficient agriculture.
  8. Ecuador’s improvement within sanitation allowed basic water regulation within schools to improve immensely. Before, numerous schools lacked access to clean sanitation, flushing water and dry toilets. The government’s development plan focused on nationwide sanitation, which involved the implementation of basic water and clean sanitation to just under 7,000 students.
  9. The overall share of people living in poverty in Ecuador has dropped to roughly 4%. Compared to 1998, the poverty line has dropped significantly. Approximately 10% of Ecuador’s population lived in poverty in the late 1900s. Today, only 4% of the population lives in poverty.
  10. Awareness of female sanitation has increased in the last decade. In 2015, the government responded to a higher demand for easier access to female products. Female products such as towels (pads), tampons and pantyliners are more easily accessible in grocery stores within urban and rural areas.

Throughout the last decade, sanitation and easier access to water has increased immensely. While sanitation within the country has improved, with over 90% of the country having access to clean water, the government hopes to close the entire gap and provide accessible water for the country as a whole by 2030.

– Elisabeth Balicanta 
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Combating Homelessness in El Salvador

homelessness in El Salvador
In 2001, a major earthquake struck El Salvador leaving many helpless and on the streets. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America despite having a dense population of 6 million people. Now, homelessness in El Salvador is at an all-time high. Currently, over 40% of the population live in run-down homes with dirt for floors. This roughly translates to upwards of 2 million people living in disheveled and decrepit homes. Luckily, there are organizations working towards rebuilding El Salvador.

3 Organizations Combatting Homelessness in El Salvador

  1. Habitat for Humanity: Through two large-scale community projects, Habitat for Humanity has helped homelessness in El Salvador by building homes and making improvements to current houses. Juntos Construyendo mi Casa (Building my House Together), is a project that primarily focuses on constructing new homes for those who are currently in inadequate living situations. It also helps to improve existing homes by replacing dirt floors with tile or wooden flooring. Its second project, Construyendo Empoderamiento con Mujeres (Building Empowerment with Women), works on building new homes while also teaching women about their rights. This project teaches women to perform in jobs typical for males, thus providing career opportunities as well. Around 97,760 Salvadorans have received help through Habitat for Humanity’s programs.
  2. New Story Charity: In 2018, New Story Charity printed its first 3D house in Austin, Texas in under 24 hours. New Story partnered with the robotics construction company, ICON. Together, they began working to expand this construction to countries that need it most, such as El Salvador. Currently, a 3D house costs around $10,000, but New Story Charity’s goal is to reduce that price to $4,000. New Story is raising $1 million to be able to begin the construction of more homes. Though the introduction of 3D homes is new, New Story Charity has constructed over 850 non-3D homes in Haiti, El Salvador, Mexico and Bolivia. 3D homes in Tabasco, Mexico have already created an entire community of these low-cost homes. In the upcoming years, New Story Charity will begin bringing 3D homes to El Salvador. Through the development of 3D homes, homelessness in El Salvador could drastically reduce.
  3. La Carpa: Tim Ross and Erica Olson founded La Carpa, meaning “The Tent,” in the summer of 2018. Though being a Christian based organization, Ross welcomes any religious backgrounds. La Carpa provides food for many of the homeless in the community. It began with distributing coffee, food and water, but is now expanding to creating hospitality houses with the hopes of building a better and closer community. On average, 30 people visit La Carpa daily to receive coffee and a meal. La Carpa aims at not only provide food and housing to the most vulnerable but also friendship and a sense of belonging.

Though El Salvador faced great destruction in the past, it is working towards rebuilding. Through organizations like Habitat for Humanity, New Story Charity and La Carpa, homelessness in El Salvador is reducing and many of the displaced are moving off the streets and into homes.

– Erin Henderson 
Photo: Flickr

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6 Facts About Poverty in Indonesia

Poverty in Indonesia
Since the devastating impact of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis (AFC), Indonesia has shown profound economic growth. Since 1998, it has boasted a greater than 5% compound annual GDP growth rate, ahead of the global average of below 3%. Indonesia now ranks as the 16th largest economy in the world, up from 36th in 1998. Concomitant with this economic improvement has been a noticeable reduction in poverty in the country. Most recently, poverty in the country is below 5% of the population versus 67% 30 years ago. By comparison, approximately 10% of the global population lives below the international poverty line. Yet despite this promising data, poverty in Indonesia remains a major issue. Here are six facts about poverty in Indonesia.

6 Facts About Poverty in Indonesia

  1. The rate of poverty reduction is slowing, but poverty is low. Indonesia’s efforts to grow its economy showed great results in the years immediately following the AFC. Rapid industrialization, increased global integration and a focus on domestic infrastructure all helped in this regard. This resulted in relatively dramatic improvements in poverty. After an eight-year period of decline, however, the rate of reduction has slowed to 9% in recent years. Despite a slowing in the rate of reduction, the percentage of the Indonesian population living in poverty is at the lowest level since 1984 (4.6%).
  2. CARE, an international humanitarian agency, has been working to assist Indonesia’s poor particularly during emergencies. Indonesia is prone to natural disasters like earthquakes and floods, so CARE has worked to provide Indonesians with food, shelter, water and medical supplies. After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, CARE aided 350,000 Indonesians and helped them rebuild their communities. Non-governmental organizations like CARE are key to assisting the government in protecting Indonesia’s poor after frequent disasters and emergencies.
  3. Income disparity is growing. Indonesia’s economic growth has flowed disproportionately to the wealthy. The country’s Gini coefficient, a measure of a country’s income disparity, has increased from 28.5 in 2000 to 38.1 in 2017 (lower is better). Oxfam reported that in 2014, the richest 1% of Indonesians owned 50% of the nation’s wealth. Not surprisingly, Indonesia’s rural inhabitants are worse off than their urban counterparts, with about 1.5 times more incidences of poverty on an absolute basis. One can also see this in the geographic distribution of poverty. Eastern Indonesia, the more rural part of the country, fares worse. President Joko Widodo has noted that improving income inequality is one of his top priorities. He has taken some steps to decrease income disparity, including providing direct cash transfers through its Program Keluarga Harapan, creating more social assistance programs, investing in infrastructure and creating health and education protections.
  4. The near-poor are a significant group in Indonesia. While Indonesia’s reduction in poverty is impressive when including those who are near-poor, the results are not as positive. Many in Indonesia live precariously close to the poverty line and are at risk of falling back into poverty. The Asian Development Bank highlights that over half of the poor in Indonesia were not poor the year before. Furthermore, a quarter of Indonesians will suffer from poverty at least once every three years. Even though only 5% of Indonesians live below the poverty line today, as many as 25% live just above it.
  5. Indonesia must watch inflation. Since 2016, inflation in Indonesia has been below 4%. The government and the Bank of Indonesia established the range of 3% to 4%. However, with so many living at or close to poverty, changes in prices can have deleterious impacts, disproportionately so on the poor. Statistics Indonesia notes that food represents a 43% weight in Indonesia’s CPI basket, putting a degree of focus on food prices, especially given their historical volatility. The Indonesian government has focused in this area, recognizing that stable rice prices are essential for steady economic prosperity. Nevertheless, food prices remain exposed to exogenous shocks.
  6. COVID-19 is having a huge impact. The Indonesian government did not impose restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic until April 10, 2020, almost six weeks after the identification of the first case in West Java. Unfortunately, the economic fallout from COVID-19 will have material effects on Indonesia’s poor and near-poor, underlining the fragility of the last 30 years of Indonesia’s efforts. In mid-April 2020, Indonesia’s finance minister predicted that Q2 GDP growth could fall to about 1%, after the weakest rate of growth in nearly 20 years in Q1. COVID-19 cases surged rapidly after President Widodo hesitated to implement a nationwide lockdown. In response, he declared a national health emergency and worked to increase the number of test kits, personal protective equipment and ventilators available in the country. Additionally, he passed a stimulus package worth $8 billion to stimulate the economy, with $324 million going towards helping low-income households.

These six facts about poverty in Indonesia have shown that Indonesia’s government has put much effort into improving the conditions for its poor. Against a backdrop of economic growth, President Widodo increased spending on social assistance, health, education and infrastructure. Additionally, CARE’s continual aid has substantially reduced poverty in Indonesia since the AFC.  However, with so many near the poverty line, those results are fragile. With the unprecedented impact of COVID-19, much of that work could become obsolete.

– Harry Yeung
Photo: Flickr

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7 Facts About Overpopulation and Poverty 

Facts about overpopulation and poverty Overpopulation is defined as “the presence of excessive numbers of a species, which are then unable to be sustained by the space and resources available.” While many definitions of poverty exist, the simplest is that it all but guarantees struggle, deprivation and lost opportunity.

Contemporary understandings of poverty are more holistic, rather than just quantitative measures of income. Considering factors such as health care and education helps broaden the view of poverty and its causes. Here are 7 facts about overpopulation and poverty.

7 Facts About Overpopulation and Poverty

  1. Population growth and poverty present the classic “chicken or egg” dilemma. According to Dr. Donella Meadows, “poverty causes population growth causes poverty.” Her eponymous 1986 essay explains why the classic “chicken or the egg” dilemma regarding overpopulation and poverty leads to different conclusions on how best to intervene. Dr. Meadows ultimately concludes that the question itself is less of an “either/or” and more of a “both/and” question.
  2. There is a cycle of poverty and overpopulation. One factor causes the other and vice-versa. For example, when child mortality is high (usually due to living in impoverished conditions), the overall birth rate is also high. Therefore, it is in everyone’s best interest to lower the child mortality rate by reducing poverty.
  3. There is a correlation between declining birth rates and rising living standards. Declining birth rates and rising living standards have occurred simultaneously in the developing world for decades. This relationship between fertility and economic development results in a virtuous circle, meaning “improvements in one reinforce and accelerate improvements in the other.” As a result, this pattern between fertility and economic development helps reduce poverty.
  4. By the end of this century, the population is expected to grow by 3 billion people. Over the next 80 years, the majority of the increasing population will live in Africa.
  5. Although Africa has experienced record economic growth, the much faster rate of fertility still leaves much of the population impoverished. While Africa’s economy continues to grow, the Brookings Institute notes that “Africa’s high fertility and resulting high population growth mean that even high growth translates into less income per person.” The most effective strategy to combat this is to reduce fertility rates.
  6. The number of megacities has more than tripled since 1990. Megacities are cities with more than 10 million people. Although there are currently 33 megacities in the world, that number is expected to increase to 41 by the year 2030. Of those 41 megacities, five will appear in developing countries. Megacities are susceptible to overpopulation and concerns about disease control. Furthermore, some megacities relieve poverty while others exacerbate it.
  7. A sense of taboo surrounds discussions about overpopulation. Is talking about overpopulation still taboo? Some experts believe so, citing the 17 goals and 169 targets of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda that have been silent on the issue. Luckily, philanthropists and voters are leading the way in normalizing frank discussions regarding facts about overpopulation and poverty.

Despite gradually increasing developments, global overpopulation and poverty continue to remain prevalent. Steps such as viewing poverty holistically and working to end the stigmatization and taboo surrounding discussions about overpopulation help further the much-needed improvements for overpopulation and poverty.

– Sarah Wright 
Photo: Flickr