Information and stories on development news.

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Hunger in Botswana

Botswana is undoubtedly one of Africa’s greatest success stories. After the country gained independence in 1966, it experienced robust economic growth and now boasts consistently high gross domestic product growth rates. Indeed, Botswana’s gross national income per capita for 2013 was $7,730, ranking it above South Africa and well above the average for Africa.

Although Botswana’s economic performance is relatively high, it is not without social problems. According to the World Bank, just under a third of the country’s population lives in extreme poverty, and much of the country’s wealth lies disproportionately with the richest 20 percent of the population.

Part of Botswana’s economic success since independence lies in the government’s pro-poor policy making.

“Each and every Batswana [citizen] has a right to land for residential and agricultural purposes,” said the Southern African Regional Poverty Network. “Within customary tenure areas,which comprise 79 percent of all land and which are controlled through a decentralized system of locally elected Land Boards, land is allocated for free.”

Botswana does not face extreme hunger problems due to its equitable land policies and extensive social safety programs.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, undernourishment, the measure of the shortfall of nutrition in the average adult’s diet, is measured from the number of kilocalories missing from the diets of undernourished people in a given country. In Botswana, the depth of hunger, measured by the average dietary energy deficit of undernourished people, is 240 kilocalories.

In other words, the average undernourished individual in Botswana needs an additional 240 kilocalories to maintain a healthy diet. Although Botswana does not suffer the severest form of undernourishment in the world, it ranks below average.

Moving forward, hunger in Botswana may deepen if not properly addressed, as several problems exist. For starters, rapid urbanization in Botswana means domestic food production is likely to decrease, as rural farmers move to urban areas for employment. Fewer domestic farmers mean the country will need to import more food to meet its nutrition demands, increasing the cost of food (the country already imports 90 percent of its food, a disastrous reality susceptible to global food price fluctuations.)

Furthermore, rising energy prices exacerbate the cost of food production, and infrastructure, including roads and power lines, could certainly be improved.

If current trends continue, Botswana’s hunger issues will worsen based on food prices and agricultural developments. However, like many other countries in Africa, Botswana will need to look inward to creative development solutions to propel its population forward out of food insecurity.

– Joseph McAdams

Sources: Aljazeera, BBC, World Bank 1, World Bank 2, UNDP, SARPN, UN, FAO
Photo: Aljazeera

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Fighting Malnutrition with Salmon

Fish farmers and biotech engineers are joining forces with a dream of fighting malnutrition around the world. The Scottish salmon farming company Loch Duart will be supplying salmon waste products to the food biotech company CellsUnited, with the end goal to create a pharmaceutical-grade protein supplement that could help the malnourished everywhere.

The salmon by-products produced by Loch Duart — specifically, by-products which are not sold in supermarkets such as guts, heads and frames — are currently sold for low-value products like fertilizer and pet food. While these products serve a purpose, human nutrition is a more profitable venture and a more pressing humanitarian concern.

Both business and humanity stand to benefit from Loch Duart and CellsUnited’s new deal.

Through a process originally developed to produce nutritional supplements for long-term space flight, CellsUnited plans to create Cellper, a protein supplement available in powder and liquid forms. Salmon, including the waste,  is rich with protein and other nutrients and thus was picked as the ideal source of protein in Cellper.

Farm salmon is also a renewable resource available in large supply with reliability and regularity.

The finished product is intended to treat malnutrition and to provide protein for those who cannot otherwise digest protein. Specifically, it will benefit hospital patients in recovery and malnourished residents of developing nations.

Those suffering from acute malnutrition cannot immediately ingest or process the nutrients their bodies need — not through food, at least. It is intended that the powder and liquid forms of Cellper will remedy this situation.

For the next 18 months, Loch Duart will provide up to 450 tons of salmon by-products to CellsUnited. Pre-fabricated processing equipment for the pilot program will be operational by summer 2015. After this trial period, the two companies will enter into volume production, a process that will demand a minimum of 4,500 tons of salmon by-products.

The end result could be a revolution in fighting malnutrition and in building human medicine.

– Patricia Mackey
Sources: The Fish Site, Food Navigator
Photo: NPR

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Inaccurate Human Development Report

Human development report
The 2014 Human Development Report’s set release date is July 24, 2014. Launched every year by the United Nations, the report includes information on the current state of the world in regards to poverty, health, sustainability and other elements of human progress.  This year, the report’s theme is “Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience,” and it may not be accurate.

Unfortunately, vulnerabilities may not be represented correctly in this year’s Human Development Report on India. The Human Development Report Office pulls statistics from the Multi-dimensional Poverty Index to complete its report, but the MPI gathers its data from somewhere as well. For information on health and nutrition in India, the MPI looks to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the country’s main source of accurate data on mortality rates, effects of malnutrition and reproductive health.

The NFHS is a USAID funded project from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Mumbai-based International Institute for Population Sciences. It is a survey that goes out to households in India to gather information about health and nutrition. The questionnaire varies depending on its recipient in order to classify information effectively.

The NFHS has been conducted three times previously, in 1992 and 1993, in 1998 and 1999 and most recently in 2005 and 2006. Following this pattern, researchers should have started fieldwork for the next survey in 2010. However, disputes about whether the census should handle family health statistics put research at a standstill. In the end, officials agreed to continue using the NFHS through the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, but the disagreements set research back a few years.

The NFHS is preparing to release its next set of results in 2015, meaning that information given to the MPI and, in turn, the 2014 Human Development Report, may not be accurate. The last time that India had accurate, up-to-date information from the NFHS was eight years ago in 2006. Given the amount of change that India has gone through in the last decade, it would be unfair to assume that statistics on nutrition and well-being found in the Human Development Report would be the same today as they were in 2006.

In 2015, the NFHS will have current information on non-communicable diseases, something that it has not reported on in great detail in the past. These results will not be documented in the 2014 Human Development Report.

Though the results may be delayed, the 2014-15 NFHS will reveal the changes in India’s health over the past eight years. A future Human Development Report will have more precise statistics on Indian health and, therefore, will be able to compare its progress to that of other countries.

– Emily Walthouse

Sources: The Hindu, United Nations Development Programme, International Institute for Population Sciences, International Institute for Population Sciences
Photo: The Guardian

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Science and Foreign Aid Reporting

The work of journalists covering science in developing countries is largely about the development of aid-related programs. Most of the time, journalists report on the establishment of research centers and the implementation of science-related projects sponsored by private donors and/or non-profit international organizations.

As explained by Carl-Gustav Lindén, a freelance communications specialist, journalists are usually covering the implementation of new aid programs—or the scandals involved. However, one of the most challenging tasks is to report on issues such as the real impact of foreign aid. “Where does it go? Does it achieve what it set out to? And does it make a tangible difference to the lives of local people?”

Lindén suggests that there are ways for foreign aid reporters to support science and, at the same time, provide more accurate information about the impact of aid. Development aid can be a complex subject to report, especially due to the number of moving pieces involved. Often these are political, such as the role of donor nations and recipient countries or the fact that the bulk of foreign aid comes from taxpayers’ money. Aid can also come from private organizations with specific agendas, such as religious groups or NGOs that work towards supporting democracy promotion.

One of the primary focuses of science-related projects is to build capacity in poor countries and to incentivize economic growth, job expansion and welfare. Beside the typical laboratory research and development setting, many “aid for science” projects involve educational programs that promote learning and knowledge exchange.

When it comes to the topic of the effectiveness of foreign aid, there is no shortage of heated debates. However, science-related programs get the least amount of attention from journalists and editors, who often shift focus toward the stories that contain scandals about the corruption or inefficiency of foreign aid.

In devising how to best report on the outcomes of foreign aid, Lindén suggests that it is useful to stay away from “yes or no” answers, especially when it comes to science development. As such, it is more productive to report on the specific plans and developments within a project, rather than generalized outcomes.

Moreover, other reporting strategies could target the benefits of new donors’ involvement in specific knowledge development projects. This would also involve investigating whether there are other reasons driving funding, beside pure altruism.

While journalists often sell stories by focusing on the bad and ugly within foreign aid or on the excitement of a new project, it is necessary for them to remain committed to reporting knowledge driven initiatives and the slow moving advances generated through foreign aid, as well.

– Sahar Abi Hassan

Sources: SciDev 1, SciDev 2
Photo: SciDev

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SDGs: Future of Development

2015 will mark the target year for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs,) a set of eight development objectives set by world leaders as a commitment to reduce extreme poverty worldwide. The current goals seek to:

The U.N. recently released the 2014 MDG Annual Report, in which it applauds progress toward the Millennium Development Goals, encourages continued effort for the initiative’s remaining year and lays the groundwork for a post-2015 development agenda. The new set of goals, referred to as the Sustainable Development Goals, ambitiously aims to “end poverty everywhere” by 2030. A zero draft was released on June 2, in which the Open Working Group laid out 17 post-2015 goals. Concerns have been raised over the length of the draft and the abstract nature of the objectives, which are listed as follows:

  • End poverty everywhere
  • End hunger, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
  • Attain healthy lives for all
  • Provide quality education and life-long learning opportunities for all
  • Attain gender equality, empower women and girls everywhere
  • Ensure availability and sustainable use of water and sanitation for all
  • Ensure sustainable energy for all
  • Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
  • Promote sustainable infrastructure and industrialization and foster innovation
  • Reduce inequality within and between countries
  • Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe and sustainable
  • Promote sustainable consumption and production patterns
  • Tackle climate change and its impacts
  • Conserve and promote sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources
  • Protect and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, halt desertification, land degradation and biodiversity loss
  • Achieve peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice for all and effective and capable institutions
  • Strengthen the means of implementation and the global partnership for sustainable development

One notable characteristic of the proposed list of SDGs is its emphasis on science and technology. The draft touches on issues of climate change, water sanitation, energy supply, biodiversity preservation and ocean conservation. Where the document falls short, according to voices in the scientific community, is in its implementation section, which fails to explicitly define the strengthening of science and technology in developing countries as a key focus. Yet, besides the arguments between scientific and political pundits, the trajectory of the SDG project is clear. As published in the SDG zero draft, “we recognize that poverty eradication, changing unsustainable and promoting sustainable patterns of consumption and production and protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development are the overarching objectives of and essential requirements for sustainable development.” – Kayla Strickland Sources: United Nations 1, United Nations 2, SciDev.net 1, SciDev.net 2 Photo: Reegle

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“The Drinkable Book”

When Theresa Dankovich began researching the sanitizing potential of silver nanoparticles in 2008, little did she know that her work would contribute to “The Drinkable Book.” The book is actually a filtration kit equipped with a filter box and a book with pages that offer sanitation advice and function as filter sheets.

Designed by researchers at the University of Virginia, Carnegie Mellon University and WATERisLIFE (a nonprofit dedicated to providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene services worldwide,) “The Drinkable Book” operates as a cheap purification kit that eliminates 99.9 percent of bacteria found in water — comparable to the quality of tap water in the U.S. Each page from the book can filter up to 100 liters of water, and each book has 20 sheets of paper. That’s enough clean water to last one person’s needs for four years, WATERisLIFE claims.

But how does it work exactly? The book is printed like any other, except the pages are lined with silver nanoparticles, which costs only a few extra cents. As needed, one can rip out a half-sheet of paper from the book, place it in the filter box, which also serves as the book’s cover, and allow the silver ions to attach to and kill harmful bacteria. The water seeps through the paper, leaving it safe to drink. Tips for clean drinking are also printed on every sheet with food-grade ink.

Dankovich, the chemist who conceived the idea, says the product is one of the cheapest ways to make water safe to drink. “It doesn’t require power and it’s very intuitive,” she said.

Last year, Dankovich field-tested the product in South Africa, and she now plans to take it to Ghana for more tests. “Our main goal is to reduce the spread of diarrheal diseases, which result from drinking water that’s been contaminated with things like E. coli and cholera and typhoid,” Dankovich said.

For the 3.4 million people who die each year from water-related diseases, the innovative product offers renewed hope. It’s cheap to produce, inventive and one of the niftiest products WATERisLIFE has seen in recent years.

“The Drinkable Book” has the potential to enhance the lives of an untold number of individuals worldwide. But the implications don’t stop there. Women spend a collective 200 million hours a day to find and collect water that is safe to drink. If those same women had access to “The Drinkable Book,” millions of hours would be saved — hours that could be used for work, education and social activities to enrich and extend the lives of family members.

– Joseph McAdams

Sources: Wired, NPR, Adweek, Water.org
Photo: Wired

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The Power of 12 Dollars

12 dollars
Before the 1990s, many people disapproved of giving unregulated cash to the poor. People feared that handing out checks would lead to corruption, waste and an increase in drug and alcohol abuse among the impoverished.

However, the increasingly popular cash grant programs that have appeared in countries such as Brazil and Mexico are disproving these stigmas. Those in extreme poverty receive invaluable benefits from cash grants of as little as 12 dollars per month. When desperately needy individuals get small monthly cash transfers, research shows that better health, education and smarter overall life decisions will follow.

Michelle Adato has studied the impact of cash transfers for many years. She reveals, “Cash grants are now being seen as a part of a comprehensive development strategy as opposed to just a safety net.” What was previously thought of as a short-term solution is proving to have longer, more sustainable results.

When individuals and families receive grants, such as South African child support grants and those from The Transfer Project led by UNICEF, they can buy things they really need such as food, clothes and an education for their children. Extended grants to adolescents have proven to decrease risky sexual behavior, thereby reducing the chances of teen pregnancy and HIV, by 63 percent.

John Hoddinott, a deputy director at the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Unit, argues that cash grants not only give the poor a means to buy necessary survival items, but they “give beneficiaries a base from which to make longer term investments.”

“The research shows that in the vast majority of cases, poor people use their money well — the evidence is unambiguous.”

The Transfer Project, which runs programs across Sub-Saharan Africa, operates on the premise that income poverty has highly damaging impacts on human development, and that cash empowers people living in poverty to make their own decisions on how to improve their lives.

Those receiving grants from The Transfer Project in Zambia, Ghana and Malawi “all reported being happier with their lives, and research showed that recipients in these countries were eating better too.”

The child support grant in South Africa has expanded to include 17-year-olds, and now reaches 11 million children. The U.N. reports that a total of 20 African countries have social protection programs like these and both the number of countries and size of the programs are growing, with Kenya, Zambia, Lesotho, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Zimbabwe all expanding their programs.

In many ways, the initial skepticism of cash grant programs have only served to increase scrutiny and research, in turn strengthening them. Handing out cash rather than food and supplies empowers the impoverished to make their own choices and invest the stipends wisely. The widespread success of programs like The Transfer Project and the South African child support grants is a testament to the power of a small amount of money on lifting the poorest of the poor out of dire living conditions and into a brighter future.

– Grace Flaherty

Sources: CPC, IRIN News
Photo: Poke

10 Most Ethical Vacation Destinations

Recently becoming the world’s largest industry, travel is one of the hottest commodities on the market. With a trillion-dollar annual footprint, the travel business has major economic and political power. However, not all destinations are created equal. Where you, as a traveler, choose to journey can either encourage best practice behavior from mindful countries, or support the harmful tourist industries of their irresponsible counterparts.

Ethical Traveler is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that seeks to use tourism to protect human rights and the environment. Every year, Ethical Traveler compiles a list of 10 developing countries with vibrant tourism industries that will put your traveling expenses to good use.

The countries that made the list are those that scored best in the categories of support of human rights, preservation of the environment, social welfare and animal welfare. According to Ethical Traveler, “Each country selected as a Best Ethical Destination also offers the opportunity to experience unspoiled natural beauty, and to interact with local people and cultures in a meaningful, mutually enriching way.”

This year’s winners may surprise you; the majority of these unusual destinations are off the beaten path, but promise an outstanding vacation with values you can feel good about. Here are the 10 most ethical vacation destinations.

The Bahamas

These islands prioritize conservation and sustainability, as shown by the efforts to establish new Marine Protected Areas and the expansion of a number of protected acres in a major National Park. The Bahamas made great strides to combat human trafficking this year, with the first prosecution under human trafficking law.

Barbados

Cited by Ethical Traveler as a “best practice model for the Caribbean,” Barbados promotes sustainable tourism while protecting its coastline. The child mortality rate in Barbados is particularly low, and this nation received the highest possible score in the categories of Political Rights and Civil Liberties –higher even than some developed countries.

Cape Verde

This country has the goal of making energy 100 percent renewable over the next two decades. Cape Verde is also an outstanding example of an African country with stellar attention to political and civil rights, with laws that prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, and holding its first Gay Pride Week this year — the second to take place in all of Africa.

Dominica

This island boasts unspoiled forests and native species. An emphasis on protecting wildlife includes the preservation of native frog and iguana populations, along with a valiant effort to save endemic mountain chickens, which only inhabit two islands in the world. Dominica has expanded solar power across the island, and has the goal of being energy-independent and carbon negative by 2020.

Latvia

Of the winning destinations, Latvia scored the highest in environmental protection. This nation has been acknowledged as one of the top performers in the world in both environmental public health and ecosystem vitality. Not only does this country have a pristine environmental record, it is the highest ranked of the 10 countries in gender equality.

Lithuania

Like Latvia, Lithuania is a leader in environmental and animal protection. Lithuania made strides in social welfare this year by reaching it’s Millennium Development Goal for under 5 mortality rate, which has dropped by a whopping 52 percent since 2000.

Mauritius

This year Mauritius announced an impressive renewable energy goal, aiming for 35 percent renewable use over the next two decades. The U.N. praised Mauritius for having made ‘substantial progress’ in social welfare this year, due to their improvements in property rights and labor freedom.

Palau

In Palau, 28.2 percent of precious marine and terrestrial area is protected – the highest percentage out of all the countries on this list. Press freedom in Palau is impressive; this country prides itself on exemplary freedom of press for a developing country.

Uruguay

Uruguay is in the process of building 21 wind farms, and is working toward the goal of 90 percent renewable electricity by 2015. Uruguay dominates the category of human rights, with laws passed this year allowing marriage equality and the legalization of steps toward ending unsafe abortions. This country’s equality ranking was second only to Chile.

By visiting the destinations on this list, travelers can reward developing countries for their promotion of sustainable tourism and ethical laws. The additional economic support from tourism will allow these nations to continue improving their countries, and protect the valuable natural resources that make them such appealing places to explore.

– Grace Flaherty 

Sources: BBC 1, BBC 2, Ethical Traveler
Photo: BBC

Solar Power in Sierra Leone

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development announced a new loan program that would provide Sierra Leone with Dh 33 million, or about $8.9 million, to construct a new solar power plant near Freetown, the capital and a major urban area. Called Solar Park Freetown, the project would provide an extra six megawatts to Sierra Leone’s already burgeoning solar power networks.

In addition to providing manufacturing jobs to people who need it, Solar Park Freetown will bolster Sierra Leone’s shaky central power supplies. Much of Freetown’s power comes from the Bumbuna Dam, which, according to a 2011 World Bank report, produces less than 20 megawatts of power during the dry season. Sierra Leone’s grid only provides 13 megawatts per million people, about 3.5 times less than nations with similar socio-economic conditions. The weak electrical grid forces many citizens to purchase expensive oil and gas, and electric power remains scarce.

New central solar power initiatives will help solve this problem. Adding to the grid’s capacity with works like Solar Park Freetown will help satisfy energy demands and improve quality of life in Freetown. Dr. Kaifala Mara, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Finance, believes that the project will help people “overcome the difficult economic conditions by improving the performance of the main economic sectors, leading to advancing sustainable development” for the nation.

Centralized power, however, is only part of the story. For the 97 percent of rural Sierra Leoneans who lack access to the grid, individual solar home systems and decentralized generators can provide crucial electric power for a multitude of purposes. In town centers, street lamps run on solar power, and solar radios help citizens communicate and learn about current events. Both homes and community buildings like churches and schools can purchase individual solar energy systems to generate electricity.

The usefulness of solar energy in Sierra Leone creates economic opportunities. Open-air markets selling solar components are common, and installation companies can profit from the demand for new systems. Other entrepreneurs have built solar recharging stations and charge small fees for people to power their smartphones and other mobile devices. Using Sierra Leone’s cell network, which uses solar-powered relay stations, businesses can communicate and share data more easily and optimize earnings.

Despite the explosion of solar technology, obstacles hinder greater national access to electricity. Not all solar panels are created equally, and not all vendors can tell the difference between low-quality and high-quality panels. Moreover, some dishonest manufacturers will claim that their products are better quality than they are or even sell non-functioning parts. Even if everything works, not all Sierra Leoneans have the technical skills to properly install solar systems, making progress slower.

Financing more decentralized solutions can be difficult. Sierra Leone does not offer subsidies to people looking to buy solar home systems, and many people in rural areas are not close enough to banks to get loans. For these reasons, not everyone can afford all of the components needed to generate electricity. Centralized power, especially in urban areas, will need to offset the shortcomings of off-grid systems.

Solar power has the potential to greatly increase energy access in Sierra Leone and accelerate its economic growth. Both internationally financed central power systems like Solar Park Freetown and private solar setups in rural areas will create jobs and provide a stable source of energy for millions.

– Ted Rappleye

Sources: Gulf News, Awareness News Sierra Leone, The World Bank
Photo: Forbes

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Which Countries Do The Most and Why?

Mankind has tendencies for both conflict and generosity. Simon Anholt conducted a study called the Nations Brand Index in 2005, on people’s perception of countries. Sampling and polling over seventy percent of the world’s population, Anholt began his search for the type of self-interest that would motivate countries to act on a global scale.

Anholt found that the image of a country is vitally important to its government’s survival, and that this image greatly affects the economic growth and stability of a country. The results that were collected were utilized to form the Nations Brand Index, that now consists of over 200 billion pieces of data on perceptions of countries across the world.

Anholt found that good countries, not necessarily wealthy or powerful ones, were the most appealing on a global scale. He summarizes his findings with these words, “in order to do well, you need to do good”.

From these findings, Anholt developed a second index called the Good Country Index, which measures how much a country contributes to the populations of other countries. The Good Country Index found that Ireland contributed the most to the world in terms of per head of population and per dollar of GDP. Finland came second in ranking, and the U.S. ranked 21st.

How does the U.S. move up in the rankings? We can start with increasing foreign aid, which is less than 1 percent of the federal budget. Per capita, the United States spends $80.37 towards development aid. The average American spends more per year on candy, alone. Ireland contributes 6.8 percent of income per individual, certainly a larger amount than the average Americans candy budget. This is what makes Ireland “good” and creates an image admired by other countries. In order to do well, America needs to do more good.

– Christopher Kolezynski

Sources: TED, Oxfam, The Borgen Project Nation Master
Photo: Kennedy Adventures