Information and stories on development news.

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NGO Opportunities in Boston

While The Borgen Project and many other notable poverty-fighting organizations are situated in Seattle, opportunities to work for NGOs are everywhere. Across the country, Boston provides a metropolitan hub with a perfect atmosphere for encouraging global development. Here are just a few of the numerous NGO opportunities in Boston:

1. Grassroots International

Grassroots International makes its home on Boylston Street in Boston, and its mission is to create a more just and sustainable world by advancing people’s rights to the resources of land, food and water. The organization works in rural areas with small farmers, indigenous peoples and women focusing on human rights, the environment and sustainable agriculture. It accomplishes its goals through grant-making to financially support social movements, advocacy efforts in the U.S. and connecting various movements and organizations.

To become a part of the Grassroots International community, check out the jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities available on its website.

2. ACCION International

Working in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the U.S., ACCION International empowers people by providing them with economic opportunities through microfinance loans. ACCION is the largest micro-finance institution in the U.S. and is seeking to expand to under-served areas in India, China, Brazil and Sub-Saharan Africa. ACCION believes in a “financially inclusive world,” which is the driving force behind its work to improve people’s lives.

If ACCION International sounds like the Boston-based NGO for you, visit its work and volunteer page.

3. BNID

The Boston Network for International Development recognizes Boston’s capacity as a center for fighting global poverty and encouraging international development. Sponsored by Boston University’s Global Development Program and World Education, the BNID connects the city’s various international development institutions, educational facilities and concerned individuals.

There are many ways to get involved with the BNID. Its jobs page lists open positions and internships, and the events page features various events and volunteer opportunities such as the upcoming Bikes Not Bombs bike loading for Ghana on August 10.

As a bonus, the BNID lists the organizations it works with, which you can peruse to discover even more NGO opportunities in Boston.

-Abby DeVeuve

Sources: Grassroots International, BNID, ACCION International
Photo: BostInno

 

View Telecommute and Seattle Internships.

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LGBT Health in Africa

More and more countries around the world are opening their arms to welcome and embrace LGBT pride. Although not everyone in these countries are in complete agreement on LGBT rights, the presence of the LGBT community in mainstream media demonstrates increasing open-mindedness.

However, the opposite seems to be the case in Africa. 36 out of Africa’s 55 states outlaw homosexuality. Homosexuals in Nigeria are locked up for 14 years while their Ugandan counterparts face life sentences. Moreover, the Ugandan government expects its citizens to report suspected gay friends and family.

Incarceration is not the only injustice homosexual Africans face. In South Africa, where same-sex marriage is legal, homosexuals, especially lesbians, still face violence and “corrective” rape. By ostracizing homosexual individuals, communities deny rights to these individuals and inhibit their access to economic opportunities and basic health needs.

Homosexual individuals face difficulties finding jobs, whether they are searching for a willing employer or trying to start their own business. They are mocked, shunned and even assaulted. Due to these injustices, there are high poverty rates in the LGBT community where people suffer from hunger and insecurity.

Also, by denying a large part of health care access to homosexuals, the rate of HIV/AIDS continues to climb among the LGBT community, especially among men who have sex with other men. In South Africa, the rate of HIV/AIDS among gay men is as high as 38 percent. To avoid discrimination, these men avoid seeking medical care and avoid discussing their health issues with health care professionals. This delay in seeking treatment is detrimental and without proper care and education, infected individuals may spread the disease. The incidence of HIV/AIDS has a strong foothold in South Africa, with the overall prevalence being 17.8 percent.

The stringent African laws make it difficult for foreign intervention and reform. Foreign disapproval of Africa’s anti-LGBT legislation is a sensitive subject. When British Prime Minister David Cameron said that British aid should be conditional based on how Africa handled its human rights, there was an outcry that Britain was being colonially oppressive by introducing “western values.”

However, as Chimamanda Achebe, a Nigerian novelist, has stated, love and sexual intercourse are not divided as either “African” or “Western.”  Love does not fall under any political jurisdiction.

There is also a moral question behind using humanitarian aid as a negotiating wager in order to press for LGBT rights in Africa. The humanitarian aid that countries withdraw in protest could be potential funding for African schools and hospitals. Also, the governments in Africa are unfazed by Western countries’ suspension of certain donations, since Africa can turn to China as an economic partner. This approach of coercing African governments has made very little headway.

Even if Africa were to yield their anti-LGBT legislation, it would be based on money. Western countries’ use of bargaining donations and aid to change deeply set morals in Africa is a superficial tactic.

Instead, foreign governments should help local African activist groups gain the attention of their governments. Aid and support from foreign relief agencies should be directed to these local humanitarian groups, to help them lobby their governments and bring social justice. It’s a fight for the people by the people, with international governments to back them up.

There is an LGBT Project in South Africa that aims to understand why unsafe sex occurs among LGBT individuals, so as to better help these individuals. The project also hopes to increase funding for other partner activist projects, and use advocacy campaigns to establish the needs of gay men as a priority in the National AIDS Council.

The Public Health Program’s Sexual Health and Rights Project (SHARP) is also working to advocate for LGBT health rights in Eastern and Southern Africa by looking into the needs of the LGBT community and collecting data and reports.

There are many advocacy groups and projects in Africa and around the world. Western governments should actively engage with these groups in order to understand how supporting these communities can drive social change.

– Carmen Tu

Sources: Bridging the Gaps, Huffington Post, Human Rights First, Open Society Foundaitons, Sida
Photo: Bridging the Gaps,

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10 Facts About Global Development

Here are 10 facts about global development you may not be aware of:

1. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die every day from poverty.

2. Water and sanitation problems affect more than half of the world’s population. In developing countries, 1.2 billion people do not have access to clean water, and 1.4 million children die every year from a lack of access to safe drinking water and appropriate sanitation.

3. Infectious diseases are still a significant killer in poor countries around the world. It is estimated that 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. Every year, around 500 million cases of malaria are reported and 1 million end fatally. Malaria is most prevalent in Africa, where 90 percent of malaria deaths occur and 80 percent of child victims worldwide live.

4. About 28 percent of children living in developing countries are considered underweight or stunted. Due to the current situations, the Millennium Development Goals‘ target of decreasing the number of underweight children by 50 percent will be missed by 30 million children. The main regions that are struggling with malnourishment are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

5. School enrollment rates around the world continue to be low. About 115 million children of primary school age are not enrolled, and more than 226 million children do not attend secondary school.

6. Child marriage is a serious problem around the world; approximately 39,000 girls become child brides every day. Ending child marriage is likely to be a priority in the post-2015 goals.

7. Deaths of children under the age of five have decreased significantly over the past 25 years, but high rates still exist in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. According to data from the U.N., India alone accounts for 22 percent of all under-five aged deaths.
8. Approximately 842 million people around the world suffer from chronic hunger. Hunger kills more people annually than malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS combined.

9. Numbers from 2011 indicate that more than 19 million children around the world have not been vaccinated.

10. New research has shown that at least 20 percent of aid money is never delivered to developing countries. In 2011, $100 billion was pledged as official development aid, but at least $22 billion was never transferred to those countries.

– Hannah Cleveland 

Sources: Global Issues, Impatient Optimists, USAID, DoSomething.org, Global Issues
Photo: FungGLobalInstitute

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Internet.org in Zambia

A new Facebook application is attempting to bring Internet services to the world’s developing countries. While many impoverished areas have been limited by an inability to access certain aspects of modern technology, this new development aims to provide important information, such as weather, search engine capabilities and health and education information to in-need communities.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the beginning of internet.org in Zambia on July 31. The application will provide free data access and basic Internet service.

“Over the past year, we’ve been working with mobile operators around the world to deliver on this goal,” Zuckerberg said on his Facebook page. “We’re starting to see this vision become a reality, and we’ve already helped three million people access the Internet who had no access before.”

Currently, only 15 percent of the Zambian population has access to the Internet. The application, which provides access to sites such as Google Search, Facebook, Wikipedia, Messenger, EZeLibrary and Facts For Life, aims to provide helpful information in a usable format, free of charge.

According to internet.org representative Guy Rosen, approximately 85 percent of people who do not have internet access are in a location that has mobile phone coverage. Despite having phone services, these areas often do not have Internet coverage largely because of expenses and a lack of awareness about the advantages the Internet might provide them.

Many of the web services that internet.org has give people the ability to research job opportunities, stay connected with others and learn more about reproductive health and other aspects of health.

The program is beginning with Airtel, a global phone company, in Zambia. From there, Facebook hopes to spread internet.org to other parts of the world and provide free services to more developing areas.

“This is a big step forward in achieving the mission of Facebook and Internet.org,” Zuckerberg said. “We’re looking forward to bringing free basic services to more countries soon.”

– Julia Thomas 

Sources: BBC News, Airtel, GMA News Online
Photo: Viral Global News

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3 Anti-Trafficking Organizations

Countless organizations around the world, big and small, conduct efforts to combat human trafficking in all of its forms. Here are three anti-trafficking organizations trying to make a difference and give hope to the millions of victims and survivors of this heinous transnational crime.

1) Anti-Slavery International

Based in the United Kingdom, Anti-Slavery International has been working to combat slavery since 1839 and this year is celebrating its 175th anniversary. Originally called the Anti-Slavery Society, it focused on emancipating slaves in the British colonies, Americas and the Caribbean in order to bring an end to the Transatlantic Slave trade.

Anti-Slavery International continues to combat modern slavery through advocacy, public outreach, education and its many campaigns. Some of its current campaigns include projects to combat trafficked labor in the Thai fishing industry, pass legislation that seeks to protect domestic workers around the world, end the chocolate industry’s role in child trafficking in the Ivory Coast and eradicate forced labor in the cotton industry of Uzbekistan.

Successes from its campaign activities include the passage of an International Labor Organization Convention on Domestic Labor, a European Union Human Trafficking Directive and the establishment of legislation criminalizing the use of forced labor as a form of trafficking in the U.K.

2) International Justice Mission

The main purpose of the International Justice Mission is to protect those in poverty from fear of violence which they are disproportionately subjected to due to a lack of legal protections throughout many justice systems in the developing world.

IJM works to protect the poor from violent people through partnerships with local authorities who help carry out four projects: rescuing victims, bringing criminals to justice, restoring survivors and strengthening justice systems. IJM’s method works as a three-phase program called Justice System Transformation.

The first phase focuses on the victims of trafficking: IJM works with local actors to rescue and restore victims of trafficking while at the same time bringing to justice those who perpetrate the crime. The second phase focuses on working with local actors to reform justice institutions so that they better address human trafficking and other forms of violent crime related to slavery. The third and final phase involves monitoring operations to support the continuation of just responses to slavery related crimes in countries with newly reformed justice systems.

3) Love146

The foundation of Love146 begins with a heart-wrenching story about the co-founders’ journey to Thailand and the child slavery they saw undercover in a brothel. The campaign is named after one particular girl they witnessed in the brothel, numbered 146, who refused to give up the fight against the crimes being committed against her.

Love146’s main focus is to combat the trafficking and exploitation of children. Their mission statement explains, “We believe in the power of Love and its ability to affect sustainable change. Love is the foundation of our motivation.” Their love and human compassion approach is composed of four interconnected programs.

The first program, which focuses on caring for survivors, involves the operation of safe houses in regions where child trafficking is prevalent within which victims can fully recover and reintegrate into society as healthy and prosperous adults.

The second program consists of prevention education programs which seek to educate children in at-risk areas about trafficking operations, how to spot traffickers and what to do to avoid being caught up in and how to report human trafficking rings.

The third program revolves around training professionals who frequently work with children, such as teachers, in learning how to spot trafficking victims, how to report these crimes and how to help victims who they may come into contact with.

The last program is an advocacy effort to empower those who fight against human trafficking through greater coordination and organization in order to more effectively combat the highly organized criminal trafficking network.

– Erin Sullivan

Sources: Love146 1, Love146 2, Love146 3, Love146 4, Love146 5, Love146 6, International Justice Mission 1, International Justice Mission 2, International Justice Mission 3, Anti-Slavery International 1, Anti-Slavery International 2, Anti-Slavery International 3, Anti-Slavery International 4
Photo: LoveGreater

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Niger Students Use GPS to Map Country

While the developing world is gaining more and more Internet access, many countries are still without technology.

One African nation, Niger, is utilizing the brainpower of students to help map the country despite its supposed technological inequalities. A landlocked country in Sub-Saharan Africa, Niger maintains a population of over 17.4 million. With a GDP of under $7.5 billion last year, it is considered a low-income level country.

With the help of Hungarian Orsolya Jenei, the project–called Mapping for Niger–allows Nigerien university students to map the country using GPS equipment. The students geo-locate buildings and roads, take photographs and interview local residents about a variety of subjects specific to each area.

Niger students first mapped their university in Niamey. When the students go home or to other parts of the country, some take GPS trackers with them. The information is eventually uploaded onto a collaborative mapping program called OpenStreetMap which maps locations worldwide.

Even though the students only have one computer, four GPS trackers and have to help pay for the Internet subscription, the dedication of the students is unparalleled.

According to Jenei, digital mapping has already been implemented in other African countries. Doctors Without Borders has made use of the technology in the Democratic Republic of Congo to help locate hospitals in remote areas. Yet Jenei says digital mapping could have other uses.

While Google Maps or other similar applications provide users with adequate navigational directions, digital mapping provides a host of other useful information.

“Flooding is a big problem [in Niger], washing away many people’s homes every year,” Jenei said. “Creating maps of flooded areas would be a great way to help figure out who needs to be relocated. Mapping wells could also reveal the distances rural dwellers have to walk to get water, and help figure out how to improve their access.”

Prior to working with the Nigerien students, Jenei worked on the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team. Like the Niger project, OpenStreetMap utilizes open source and open data sharing as a means for direct humanitarian response and economic development.

– Ethan Safran

Sources: France24, World Bank. Openstreetmap.com
Photo: Observers

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Alcohol Abuse in Uganda

Alcohol abuse is a global phenomenon. Alcoholic preferences vary across the globe — vodka is widely considered Russia’s drink of choice, while beer tends to be America’s favorite — but there is something most nations have in common, save many countries in the Middle East where alcohol is strictly forbidden. That is the existence of alcohol related disorders. One of the countries with the highest prevalence is Uganda.

On average, according to data based on official records and representative surveys accumulated in the World Health Organization’s 2014 Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health, Ugandan drinkers drink 23.7 liters of pure alcohol a year per capita. Males typically consume 25.6 liters while females drink 19.6 liters. American drinkers, in comparison, drink 13.3 liters. As a consequence of what’s often excessive drinking in Uganda, 10 percent of males and 1.5 percent of females have an alcohol related disorder. That’s about three in every 50 people.

The high statistics are in part due to alcoholic beverages particular to the region. Many African countries produce their alcohol locally from sorghum, millet and other agricultural products. The alcoholic beverages industrialized countries are fond of, such as beer and vodka, may be scarce in Uganda, but this is no remedy for abuse.

The consequences of alcohol abuse are relentless and strongly correlate with poverty. One must factor not only the money spent on alcohol, but also the low wages and lost employment opportunities due to missed work and decreased efficiency, and the high medical expenses following alcohol-inspired illness — that is, if one is lucky enough to receive legitimate treatment at all. Otherwise, death is the harsh but likely consequence.

Many of the worst alcohol-related illnesses are neurological. One common neurological disease, called Central pontine myelinolysis (also called Osmotic demyelination syndrome,) is characterized by severe damage to the myelin sheath, a protective insulator coating nerve cells that is essential for the nervous system to function properly. This results in difficulty moving (paralysis,) swallowing (dysphagia) and speaking (dysarthria.)

Another area of the brain that is seriously affected by Central pontine myelinolysis is the pons, a small (about 2.5 centimeters) part of the brain stem. Its job is to relay messages from the forebrain, including the cerebral cortex and the limbic system, to the cerebellum. It is also associated with autonomic functions such as with sleep, respiration, swallowing, bladder control, hearing, equilibrium, taste, eye movement, facial expressions, facial sensation and posture.

Damage to the pons affects these automatic functions, making them more difficult for your body to control and produce. This severe consequence of alcohol abuse effectively renders the drinker useless in a developing society. He or she requires medical assistance and constant attention, which drains resources that may not be readily available in places like rural Uganda. Excessive drinking, in this way, is a neurologic roadblock to poverty reduction.

Alcohol, however, not only prolongs poverty but is also promoted by it. Impoverished people without hope for an economic upturn are more likely to spend their money on whimsical, instant pleasures like alcohol and drugs than on investments for a future they don’t think exists. This is why education and hope-giving humanitarian projects are so crucial to long-term development.

– Adam Kaminski 

Sources: WHO, MedlinePlus
Photo: The Promota

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10 Facts About Yemeni Women

Here are some facts about what Yemeni women face on a daily basis:

1. Being (legally) only half a person

In Yemeni courts, the testimony of a woman is not considered as seriously as the testimony of a man. Women are recognized as “half a person” in courts of law and, as witnesses, their testimonies are often dismissed completely. The only exception to this is if a case involves a situation in which no men were present, or if a woman’s story is confirmed by a man. Women aren’t even allowed to act as witnesses in cases concerning certain subjects (like adultery), even though they may have in fact witnessed the crime.

2. Staying at Home

In Yemen, most women are forbidden to leave the house without the explicit permission of their husbands. Though they may leave in emergency circumstances, this societal law prevents many women from seeking educational opportunities, jobs and other resources.

3. Illiteracy

Only 35 percent of Yemeni women can read.

4. Income Inequality

For every dollar a man makes in Yemen, a woman makes only thirty cents. Many women are not allowed to work at all, as their husbands have forbidden it.

5. Being Uneducated

Worldwide, Yemen ranks 134 in terms of how many of its women receive an education.

6. Anonymity

In addition to being discouraged from seeking education and employment, many Yemeni women are discouraged from seeking something as simple as an ID card. A woman must obtain written consent from her husband to even apply for a passport.

7. Poor Health

Women suffer from unequal access to healthcare in Yemen. This especially complicates childbirth, leading to extremely poor maternal and child health in Yemen. One in 40 Yemeni women dies bearing a child – that’s six women every day.

8. Child, Early and Forced Marriage

The practice of child marriage is very common in Yemen. Nearly half of Yemeni women are married by age 18, and some girls are married off as young as eight or nine years old. Even Yemeni women that were not married as children must marry a man chosen for her by her father or she must, at the very least, marry a man her father expressively approves of. Women in Yemen have extremely little agency when it comes to matrimony; essentially, they must do as their fathers–and then as their husbands–say.

9. Violence

Lacking legal protection from domestic and sexual violence, Yemeni women are commonly faced with the dangers of these crimes.

10. Submission

Yemeni women are subject to the very whim of the men in their country, who can go so far as to “arbitrarily arrest” them for a handful of non-criminal acts. It’s not just cops who can do this – it’s any number of powerful men, including ministers and politicians. Female representation in politics is unusual in Yemen. All in all, Yemen is a man’s country.

– Elise L. Riley

Sources: Washington Post, The Borgen Project, Human Rights Watch, World Bank, The Guardian
Photo: Steve McCurry

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Hong Kong Citizens Protest Chinese Control

Chinese Control
Thousands of Hong Kong citizens are protesting the ever-tightening grip of Chinese control over the city. While some of the anger stems from China’s influence regarding Hong Kong’s media and politics, the main issue of the demonstration is in regards to the economic changes and the belief that, in the 17 years since Hong Kong was given back to China, wealth inequality and economic opportunity have not improved.

Currently, around two million people live in public housing, which is about 30 percent of Hong Kong’s population, and one-fifth of the population lives below the poverty line. According to Hong Kong’s government, poverty is only getting worse. The poverty gap increased to $28.8 billion in 2012, compared with $25.4 billion in 2009. Worse, its income inequality is the 12th highest in the world.

“It’s not like the 70’s and 80’s where we know our salary is going up next year or we’ll get a promotion,” said Li Kui-Wai, an economics professor at the City University of Hong Kong. “Our economy is not as good as [it] used to be.”

However, economists and Hong Kong’s government do not agree with the notion that China has anything to do with the economic disparity facing Hong Kong. The government believes that the immigration of low-skilled workers into the city along with an aging population are the reasons for economic woe. The government has pointed out that unemployment has remained low, at around 3.1 percent, which is the lowest it’s been since the late 90’s. Additionally, they argue that their trade relationship with China is vital.

Despite assurances from economists and the government, the citizens of Hong Kong believe that China is the influence behind the economic problems. The sight of well-to-do Chinese people entering the city every day to buy luxury items hasn’t helped the government’s case. Additionally, many Chinese give birth to their children in Hong Kong so that they  will be granted Hong Kong citizenship; consequently, this limits the stock of baby formula available.  In addition, a proposal to turn a plot of northern Hong Kong into luxury and retail space, which would remove 6,000 farmers and villagers from their homes, is not easing tensions, either.

Even the wealthy are drawn into the debate, as the wealthiest man in Asia recently stated that the widening income gap and dissolving trust in the government will become the sentiment of the majority.

Over 700,000 people voted in an unofficial referendum to not allow China to continue to control their elections.

“Part of the reason for the activism in the city is the sense that many of the young people feel that the system is unfair, that it is skewed to helping the rich,” said David Zweig, a political science professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Many Hong Kong citizens have joined a group called Occupy Central, their version of Occupy Wall Street, to speak out against the wealth inequality, pay gap and limited job opportunities.

– Monica Newell

Sources: Quartz, Bloomberg
Photo: Fiji One

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Canada’s Approach to AIDS Prevention

Since its discovery in the early 1980s, HIV/AIDS has been the subject of intense study and extensive prevention efforts, and for good reason. AIDS, the advanced condition that causes the human immune system to shut down, makes people vulnerable to infections that would otherwise not be life-threatening. As a result, the disease has claimed millions of lives in the last several decades and continues to wreak havoc today, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa where 70 percent of AIDS cases now occur.

Significant progress in AIDS prevention has been made since the discovery of the condition in 1981, but Canada has especially contributed to prevention efforts. Though it is often overlooked, Canada is actually a research and technology powerhouse in the fight against AIDS and was among the first countries to understand the urgency of prevention, especially as it relates to development.

What has made Canada so successful? Largely, it’s the country’s varied and unrelenting approach to designing and implementing prevention programs. AIDS first appeared in Canada in 1982, but even before it was detected there, Canadian researchers were hard at work devising prevention strategies.

Canadian research teams were instrumental in the realization that extended periods of breastfeeding dramatically increase an infant’s chances of contracting HIV from its mother. Together with Kenyan researchers, Canadians were responsible for bringing about education and counseling programs for African mothers with HIV in order to prevent both the mothers and their babies from eventually having AIDS.

Other innovations in the AIDS prevention field that were largely funded by or produced by Canada include affordable diagnostic technology, diagnostic education for health care workers in developing countries and the use of anti-retroviral therapy in preventing HIV transmission.

Canada was also one of the first nations to recognize and publicize the link between AIDS and food insecurity. AIDS as a cause of food insecurity is widely understood, but the transmission of HIV/AIDS as a result of food insecurity was an idea that was cutting-edge at the time Canada’s research teams pitched it.

For decades Canada has been committed to using youth education as a tool to prevent AIDS. Its educational programs have been responsible for saving millions from AIDS, as it equips at-risk youth with the knowledge necessary to protect themselves in situations where HIV/AIDS transmission is possible.

Canada’s dedication to fighting AIDS has been particularly commendable. Continued contribution from Canada and other countries alike will only bring closer the day that HIV/AIDS transmission is merely a memory.

– Elise L. Riley

Sources: IDRC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Health
Photo: Wikimedia