Archive for category: Development

Information and stories on development news.

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Global Schools Foundation Set to Build Five Schools in India

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Global Schools Foundation (GSF) is a leading name in global education across South East Asia, Africa, the Middle East and India. The organization, which operates 20 schools in India, South East Asia, Japan, is looking to expand its reach with five new schools in India.

GSF plans to have the five schools up and running in India within the next two years according to the organization’s Chief Operating Officer, Karmal Gupta. The schools will be built in the populous cities of Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Bangalore.

The foundation will introduce the International Baccalaureate program in each school, adding to its offerings of a Central Board of Secondary Education curriculum and the Global Montessori Plus program.

In addition, GSF has created the Global Indian International School (GIIS), an international network of award-winning institutions with 21 campuses in seven different countries. GIIS schools offer holistic personality development and learning opportunities for all students.

The GIIS institutions have been honored with several international and national awards for excellence in education. The schools have also been lauded because they provide a home for students of diverse nationalities.

According to Gupta, the foundation hopes to build the schools in collaboration with property developers in new housing and commercial estates in India who will help to manage the capital investment in assets.

In addition to it’s plans in India, GSF is in the process of completing its goal to build a $100 million dollar campus in Singapore by 2017. The campus will be the foundation’s largest since it began operations in 2002.

– Jordan Connell

Sources: The Economic Times, Global Schools Foundation 1, Global Schools Foundation 2
Photo: Flickr

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Global Partnership for the Global Health Security Agenda

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The U.S. along with 30 countries has announced a commitment to achieving the targets of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). Targets include responding to infectious disease threats and preventing epidemics.

The GHSA “seek[s] to accelerate progress toward a world that is safe and secure from infectious disease threats and to promote global health security as an international security priority,” GlobalHealth.gov said.

The Agenda was created in response to epidemic threats, such as ebola and seeks to promote global health and protect citizens around the world from life-threatening diseases.

The 30 countries that the U.S. has partnered with are: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Laos, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Pakistan, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, and Vietnam, as well as the Caribbean Community.

The commitment includes a five-year country roadmap that will detail practical plans for the GHSA.

“These roadmaps are intended to enable a better understanding across sectors and assistance providers of the specific milestones, next steps, and gaps toward achieving capacity needed to prevent, detect, and respond to biological threats,” the White House said in a press release.

The countries involved seek to collaborate on a global issue that impacts millions of people in developing areas. Infrastructure, equipment and skilled personnel are some of the resources that the GHSA partnership plans to provide.

During this year’s G-7 Summit in Germany, G-7 leaders committed to collectively assisting at least 60 countries, including the countries of West Africa, over the next five years. The G-7 Health Ministers agreed to announce these countries by the end of this year according to the White House.

This collaboration provides a bright spot for the future. Health security is a huge issue today, as infectious diseases kill over 17 million people a year. At least 30 new diseases have emerged in the last 20 years, and they all require attention and research in order for cures to be discovered according to the World Health Organization.

Next year’s GHSA event will be hosted by the Netherlands and will highlight progress and continue to build momentum on these issues.

– Ashley Tressel

Sources: White House, WHO, Global Health
Photo: Flickr

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Bamako School: Improving Education in Mali

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According to UNICEF, the enrollment rate in Mali, Africa is 80 percent. However, the achievement rate stands at 54 percent for boys and 44.8 percent for girls due to a low supply of qualified teachers, high student-to-teacher ratios and poor learning materials. The poor and rural areas of Mali fare worst of all, experiencing a 70 percent dropout rate before sixth grade.

The most qualified teachers accept positions in well-off urban communities, which offer sufficient pay and lodging. Consequently, inner areas traditionally receive the superior education in Bamako.

According to Yahoo News, Youchaou Traore, a former translator for diplomats founded a school in one of the poorest neighborhoods on the edge of Mali’s capital—Bamako. Ten years later, École Privée Youchaou (EPY) is helping its students place first or second in national exams, surpassing the elite private schools.

Traore, who didn’t begin first grade until the age of 13, is very familiar with the struggles and shortcomings of the Malian education system. He designed EPY to confront and rectify the complications that prevent impoverished children from receiving a quality education in Bamako. Bamako.

A 2011 report by Education International revealed that over half of Mali’s 40,000 instructors are unqualified to teach primary levels. Students sit in class day after day and absorb less than a quarter of what they should be learning at their level. Furthermore, bribery for exam scores allows students to graduate without developing basic literacy and mathematical skills.

“It’s possible to reach 9th grade here and barely be able to read,” Traore told Yahoo News.

Instead of pulling competent instructors away from other schools, Traore chose members of his own community and put them through intensive training to learn teaching techniques and management skills.

The community-centered education system helped ease issues of money and trust that plague many Malian parents. The adults in Bamako feel comfortable approaching Traore and his staff to inquire about scholarships and other funding opportunities.

Traore does his best to accommodate families that can’t afford school fees, allowing them to sell snacks to students. There are times when he provides funding from his own personal finances.

For students like Traore who start late or transfer, EPY offers catch-up lessons to ensure that each child who comes through the doors learns to read, write and solve mathematical equations.

EPY incorporates all of the high-risk groups—orphans, girls, extremely poor families—yet its dropout rate is less than one percent because the students feel comfortable there. They realize they have the chance to receive the best education in Bamako.

“If I have a chance to talk to people in the world, I would like them to understand that here in Mali it’s not very easy, but students are serious,” said Bourama Fomba, a 13-year-old student in a Guardian article.

– Sarah Prellwitz

Sources: Education International 1, Yahoo, Education International 2, The Guardian, UNICEF
Photo: Flickr1, Flicker2 

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Women’s World Banking Fights Poverty by Empowering Females

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Women’s World Banking raises money to provide women with the resources and tools needed to become successful entrepreneurs in their respective regions.

The organization operates primarily in Africa, Asia and Latin America, but has left footprints in other regions, such as the Middle East and Western Europe.

Women’s World Banking recognizes that although many women globally use their earnings to give back to their families and communities, the demographic continues to be underserved and underrepresented.

Once the group determines the tools needed to empower successful female entrepreneurs, they network with financial institutions to guide women through the business startup process.

Women’s World Banking consists of an executive team, staff members, fellows and a board of directors, all of whom help keep the organization afloat. These individuals have dedicated themselves to the development of innovated products, micro-insurance programs and enterprises.

The team helps women develop credit, savings and insurance programs that fit their needs. Through research and on-the-job experience, the organization also creates innovative methods that they share with hardworking women throughout the world.

This year, roughly 530,000 women have accessed tools and resources provided by Women’s World Banking, with the total participants each year totaling over one million. Eighty-five percent of people participating in their leadership programs each year are young women looking to make a living for themselves and their families.

For more than 35 years, Women’s World Banking has created and networked with more than 38 organizations dedicated to empowering women throughout these regions, leaving a worldwide impact on the state of poverty found within predominantly female areas.

– Julia Hettiger

Sources: Womens World Banking, Microfinance Gateway, Friends of Women`s World Banking
Photo: Flickr

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Heifer International: Donate a Cow for Economic Stability

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75 percent of the world’s poor make a living in rural areas and most people depend on agriculture for survival. The recently-implemented Sustainable Development Goals aim to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” by 2030.

Alleviating poverty in rural areas is the mission of Heifer International. The organization furthers agriculture by helping small-scale farms achieve empowerment and financial security.

When founder Dan West arrived in Spain to provide relief for refugees of the Spanish Civil War, he found families living off of a single cup of milk per day. West realized that in order for people to recover from the war, they needed more than a cup of milk. They needed the entire cow.

With the help of donors, Heifer International delivers livestock to rural areas, along with a team of volunteers to provide guidance and training. Animals such as cows, chickens and bees do double duty in the fight against global poverty because they provide both food and reliable income through agricultural products.

In less than 70 years, Heifer International has achieved widespread success. Participants give the first female offspring of their livestock to the next family in need, as well as share the training they received. Entire communities transform into thriving, self-sufficient farms within a few seasons.

Furthermore, reducing poverty in rural areas positively impacts education and women’s empowerment, which further reduces hunger. Educated farmers produce twice as many consumer goods as their non-educated counterparts, according to Farming First.

Likewise, if women had equal access to education and resources, malnutrition would decrease by as much as 17 percent.

With the holidays around the corner, now is the perfect time to donate in honor of a friend or loved one. In 2011, 79 percent of Americans reported that they would rather have a charitable donation in their name than receive a gift they probably won’t use. Why not consider donating a cow?

– Sarah Prellwitz

Sources: World Bank, Farming First, Heifer, Red Cross
Photo: Flickr

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Compassion International Brings Experience

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Compassion International, a Christian ministry organization, is highlighting the reality of global poverty through an interactive event hosted in the United States.

The exhibits are free to the public and seek to display true stories of children living in challenged developing countries such as Kenya, Uganda and the Dominican Republic. Through this forum, the organization gives visitors the opportunity to step into the lives of people living in developing countries without getting on a plane.

Visitors are guided through exhibits laid out over 2,000 square feet. Throughout the tour, people have the opportunity to experience the lives of three children who are sponsored by Compassion International. Each of the children featured narrates their own story.

“The tour took us through his life in the streets and eventually to the point where he became involved with Compassion International,” Joseph Hughes, who resonated with the story of Rueben, a child from the Dominican Republic, said. “It was a moving experience. I’ll admit, when Reuben finally became stable, had food and access to an education, I teared up a little.”

According to UNICEF, 1.9 million children are living in poverty today. The interactive tour started when Compassion International teamed up with local churches to provide child development programs and assist children living in poverty.

James Hays, a pastor who helps lead the event, said he wanted to give others the opportunity to experience life in different regions of the world that are impacted by global poverty.

“We thought it would be something not only our church would benefit from, but the community could as well,” he said.

Overall, the response from visitors has been positive. Jillian Kissell, a participant of one event in Searcy, Arkansas described the event as “enlightening”.

“I think it’s important to see how others are living and what their daily lives look like,” she said. “I like experiences that will get me out of my comfort zone and learn something new.”

Hays said this is the first time Compassion International has put on the event. According to information found on Compassion International’s website, the tour will visit 35 cities this year.

– Alyson Atondo

Sources: UNICEF, Harding, Access Atlanta, TCPalm, The Connection
Photo: Flickr

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10 Ways to Prevent Global Health Crises

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The Independent Panel on the Global Response to Ebola recently made recommendations to prevent future global health crises based on the outcomes of the West African Ebola outbreak last year.

The outbreak killed over 11,000 people in 2014, including health workers. Experts blame the slow response, lack of leadership and lack of proper training for a large number of deaths caused by Ebola.

The panel’s report was published online by The Lancet, a medical journal. Here are their recommendations:

  • The global community should come up with a strategy for strengthening health systems, including funding to help developing countries do so.
  • The WHO should publicly commend countries that report disease outbreaks promptly and shame those that delay reporting. Financial incentives to compensate countries for losses linked to transparent disease reporting should be created.
  • The WHO should set up a permanent outbreak response center with a guaranteed budget. It should report directly to the director general.
  • The WHO should name a permanent emergency committee of experts to advise it on the threat posed by outbreaks. The committee should be able to convene itself and should consider adopting a graded system of warnings. Currently, emergency committees can only declare that something is or isn’t a global emergency.
  • The UN should create an independent accountability commission that assesses response to major disease outbreaks.

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Photo: Pixabay

  • Governments, NGOs, the scientific community, and industry should develop rules for conducting research during an outbreak and a program for accelerating research between crises.
  • Research funders should set up a facility to finance development of vaccines, drugs, disease tests, and other medical necessities for diseases which the pharmaceutical industry won’t develop for on its own.
  • A global health committee should be set up as part of the UN Security Council to bring high-level attention to health issues and crises.
  • The WHO should return its focus to its core functions, concentrating on efforts that only the WHO can undertake.
  • The WHO’s executive board should establish a freedom of information policy; countries should stop earmarking the funding they provide the WHO, and countries should demand a WHO director general strong enough to stand up to the most powerful governments.

The proposed changes to responding to global health crises were categorized into five themes: preventing disease outbreaks, responding to outbreaks, monitoring and sharing data, garnering knowledge and technology through research and, lastly, global coordination to prevent and respond to outbreaks.

– Marie Helene Ngom

Sources: STAT, The Lancet, BBC
Photo: World Affairs

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UNDP Broadens Youth Career Opportunities

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In Guatemala, young people are more likely to join a gang than to graduate upper secondary school. According to UNICEF, only 54.2 percent of youth ages 10-19 are enrolled in upper secondary schools.

On the other hand, a World Bank report states there are an estimated 14,000 young gang members. The report goes on to explain that “youth unemployment is associated with a higher probability of youth engaging in risky behavior, including crime and violence. Youth inactivity rates are often much higher than youth unemployment rates.”

To counteract this trend of violence, several organizations are working with youth to help them stay focused on educational opportunities. In fact, USAID found that “Long-term, sustainable development and improved equity in Guatemala will only be possible if [the] education of children and youth continues to improve.”

One of the most successful programs to date has been the United Nations Developing Programme’s (UNDP) Munijoven project. The Municipality of Guatemala City, with the support and funding of the UNDP and the Italian Government, leads the project.

In total, it is estimated that by April 10, 323 youth had taken part in the project’s training opportunities. “The Munijoven project aims to create academic opportunities for those underprivileged youth and to help them into employment,” UNDP said.

With programs focused on English, IT, tourism, gardening, arts, cooking and customer service training, the project hopes to provide job opportunities that these youth would not have under normal circumstances.

“With UNDP’s support, an employment strategy is currently being developed within the city’s youth policy, to create better economic, training, health and recreational opportunities through public-private partnerships,” UNDP said.

Businesses like Pizza Hut, local banks, furniture retailers and bakeries have joined the initiative. These businesses are vital to the project’s goals.

In fact, Ana Gabriela De León, UNDP’s Programme Officer for Poverty Reduction and Social Investment, stated, “Business participation is a key part of this process, since the main goal at the end of the training is to integrate young people into the labor market [as soon as] they have successfully completed the Munijoven programme.”

An estimated 60 percent of the participants, or 6,000 young people, were able to sign employment contracts at the end of the project.

– Katherine Martin

Sources: UNICEF, World Bank, USAID, IZA, UNDP
Photo: Flickr

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Girl Up Campaign Volunteers: Addressing Global Poverty

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Sydney Faler and Molly Foulkes of Dundee-Crown High School in Illinois started the Girl Up Dundee student club at their school with the hope of helping girls in need across the globe.

The club is a member of the U.N.’s Girl Up campaign which aims to help girls have access to education, health care, safe living conditions as well as social and economic opportunities. The U.N.’s program helps girls in Guatemala, India, Malawi, Liberia and Ethiopia, which are among the toughest places for girls to live.

In the beginning, Faler and Foulkes wanted to do something positive, but they were not sure how to make a difference. Inspired by Emma Watson’s U.N. speech on gender equality, they decided to start the club as a way to collect support and resources for girls.

Foulkes said, “It’s a way for me as a high school student, where I don’t really have that voice, to be able to impact something globally.”

Their sentiment proved to be a common one, as the club started with 35 members and has more people joining every week. In the digital age, students seem more aware of problems in the world and they wish to have a positive impact.

Foulkes said that “we’re becoming a more globalized nation and world. It’s important to realize there are so many more people out there than just our community.” With the planet becoming smaller due to everyone connecting through the internet and social media, issues that were previously unknown are now being brought to the forefront.

People everywhere are coming together to help each other, as evidenced by the growing popularity of the Girl Up student club, which is just one of 1,000 registered Girl Up clubs in the United States. The U.N.’s Girl Up club is also represented in 51 countries around the world.

So far this year, the Dundee-Crown chapter of the Girl Up student club has raised over $300 for girls in Guatemala. The funds will provide bicycles for girls in Guatemala, so they can get to school safely. With access to education, the girls will likely be healthier, more financially responsible and better qualified for good jobs.

Most Guatemalan girls in the Girl Up-supported regions only receive about three years of schooling. This lack of education means that most girls never learn to read and write. In addition, without access to education, girls are more at risk for early marriage and childbearing, thus continuing the cycle of poverty.

In order to help break the cycle, Faler and Foulkes also plan to host a gala event with local community members so they can spread their message. Foulkes said that “a lot of people don’t really understand what we’re doing.”

They believe that once they inform others, they will reach their goal of raising $500 to help more girls in need. These two high school students’ actions are having positive impacts for girls who desperately need it.

– Andrew Wildes

Sources: Daily Herald, Girl Up
Photo: Cloud Front

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Eradicating Extreme Poverty: The 10 Percent Mark

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As the world turns its focus toward the home stretch of ending the likes of world hunger and preventable diseases, eradicating extreme poverty also lands on the agenda. According to the World Bank, extreme poverty will reach an all-time low of less than 10 percent by the end of this year.

However, as great as this news is, millions are still suffering, and it is important to remember the end goal of completely eradicating extreme poverty, both through what has been proven to work and new innovations.

Jim Yong Kim of the World Bank said that “this is the best story in the world today, these projections show us that we are the first generation in human history that can end extreme poverty.”

Knowing this, it is so important to take these findings and act on the opportunity; now is not the time to relax. According to the World Bank, 702 million people (or 9.6 percent of the world) will still be living below the poverty line. Most of these people currently live in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

But the progress can be clearly seen when compared with past numbers. In 2012, 902 million people (or 13 percent) still lived in poverty, and that number was higher still at 29 percent in 1999. Since the pledge made by the leaders of the world 15 years ago, more than one billion people have been lifted out of poverty.

Kim believes this steady decline has occurred thanks to a combination of economic growth in developing countries as well as more countries investing in their health and education systems. Resiliency among communities has also been increased through societal safety nets, which help to prevent people from falling back into poverty.

As mentioned above, the work is not over as long as one person still lives in poverty. The world and organizations focused on poverty need to continue to be proactive if they want to be able to completely eradicate extreme poverty.

As Kim says, “This new forecast of poverty falling into the single digits should give us new momentum and help us focus even more clearly on the most effective strategies to end extreme poverty.”

– Drusilla Gibbs

Sources: Al Jazeera 1, Al Jazeera 2, World Bank
Photo: Christianity Today