Archive for category: Development

Information and stories on development news.

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The OPEC Fund Fights Poverty in Tanzania

OPEC FundThe OPEC Fund for International Development fights against poverty by funding projects that improve poverty and spur development. On February 19, 2021, it continued this effort by sending a $50 million loan to Tanzania. The funding supports the Fourth Tanzania Poverty Reduction Project. The project intends to focus on boosting the economy through rural development. It will also improve access to social services for more than 900,000 people. Tanzania has certainly made progress in reducing poverty over the past decade, but around 26 million Tanzanians still live on less than $1.90 per day. The efforts of the OPEC Fund intend to address the issue of poverty in Tanzania.

The Goal

The fourth phase of the plan aims to build rural infrastructure for education, health, water, agriculture and transportation. By improving these conditions, employment opportunities will arise for those who are struggling. Additionally, this project will provide people with income opportunities such as growing vegetables and farming animals. The OPEC Fund Director-General Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa states that the organization has committed to improving poverty in Tanzania for years. He explains that the current loan will empower communities to help themselves by strengthening food resilience and household incomes as well as developing social amenities to encourage growth and development.

The Partnership

The partnership between the OPEC Fund and Tanzania has existed for 45 years. During the partnership, the OPEC Fund has given the country more than $370 million for the current project and 37 other public sector operations. The OPEC Fund most recently granted assistance toward transportation. Tanzania received $26 million for the Kazilambwa-Chagu Road Upgrading Project. The road built will connect two of the country’s main ports. Improving the accessibility of these ports will ultimately lead to an increase in both agricultural and tourism-related activities. Additionally, it will enable trade with neighboring countries, therefore spurring economic growth.

Plans for Development

The OPEC Fund’s mission is to stimulate economic growth in low to middle-income countries. The OPEC Fund provides financing to both member and non-member countries. Established by member countries in 1976, it sought to increase development and strengthen communities, all while empowering the people of the country. The OPEC Fund has approved more than $25 billion for 135 countries, showing many that development is possible for everyone. With help from the OPEC Fund, Tanzania has greatly reduced poverty levels over the past 10 years. As the OPEC Fund fights against poverty, the Tanzanian government is implementing programs to eradicate poverty and developmental issues. Exemplary programs include three previous phases of this project co-financed by the OPEC Fund.

Importance of Agriculture

Agriculture is the center of Tanzania’s economy, contributing around a quarter of GDP and employing three-fourths of the country. Increasing droughts and harvest losses, however, present a threat to food security and the agriculture sector. Tanzania’s GDP growth of 6–7% annually over the past decade stems largely from the agriculture sector. A majority of the agricultural success has come from improvements and progress in farming and harvesting.

Tanzania also struggles to expand modern energy access, with two-thirds of the population still without access to modern energy. Similarly, only 9% of Tanzania’s population has access to formal financial services and only 4% has ever received a loan from a bank, factors clearly stagnating economic growth and development in the country.

The assistance provided by the OPEC Fund alongside community members and the Tanzanian government has allowed Tanzania to make great strides toward eradicating poverty and improving developmental growth.

– Jai Phillips
Photo: Flickr

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5 Key Facts about Healthcare in South Sudan

Healthcare in South Sudan
Following the Sudanese civil war, the Republic of South Sudan became an independent nation in July 2011. As of 2020, the Republic of South Sudan has a population of over 11 million people and comprises 10 states and three administrative areas. Due to Sudan’s particularly challenging circumstances, access to healthcare in South Sudan remains dangerously low. Here are some of the challenges that the international effort to provide healthcare in South Sudan faces.

5 Essential Facts About Healthcare in South Sudan

  1. Healthcare in South Sudan is in recovery mode. The Sudanese Civil War created personnel shortages and destroyed infrastructure. South Sudan has just one physician per 65,574 individuals and one midwife per 39,088 population individuals. Overall, South Sudan reports just one-tenth of the number of medical doctors and nurses in comparison to countries such as Kenya.
  2. Inequitable distribution of healthcare workers exists among the states of South Sudan. For example, the state of Central Equatoria has the highest number of healthcare workers out of all of South Sudan’s provinces. There is also an urban-rural divide, with more resources existing in urban areas despite the majority of the population living in rural areas. Meanwhile, the situation in northern regions is particularly difficult due to their widespread devastation during the Sudanese Civil War.
  3. South Sudan lacks a federal retention policy for healthcare professionals. Within the healthcare field, the country suffers from a high turnover of personnel. Poor health, insufficient workforce management, low wages and a general lack of proper supervision all contribute to burnout and rotation of healthcare professionals. Moreover, no formal system for the regulation of healthcare workers exists at the state level. On the federal level, there is no legal framework in place to guide critically important midwifery practices.
  4. South Sudan has an unusually high number of physical disabilities in its population. As the result of both the lingering effects of war and an inadequate healthcare system, an estimated 50,000 individuals suffer from some form of severe physical disability in South Sudan.
  5. Preventable conditions plague South Sudan. Nearly 75% of all child deaths in South Sudan are due to preventable conditions such as diarrhea, malaria and pneumonia. The prevalence of these and other deadly conditions are major factors in South Sudan’s high infant mortality rates, with 96 infant deaths per 1,000 births.

Looking Forward

While South Sudanese healthcare is unable to address the needs of the population, South Sudan is making significant strides to increase access to and quality of healthcare. Despite the aforementioned difficulties, improvements such as the creation of a Health Care Sector Development Plan that emphasizes the creation of jobs in the healthcare professions and gives hope for the future of healthcare in South Sudan.

Moreover, the government in South Sudan has begun to work with private, international organizations to bring aid to its citizens. One example is the government’s partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide healthcare facilities, such as the Malakal Teaching Hospital, and help deliver on-the-job training to hospital staff across the country. While the ICRC began its work in Sudan in 1986, operations have expanded rapidly in recent years. Organizations such as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) are working alongside the Red Cross in South Sudan to expand the scope of medical care. UNICEF alone conducted medical consultations for more than 285,000 people in the early months of 2020.

It appears that both the scope and quality of healthcare in South Sudan are improving, albeit gradually. One can partly attribute this improvement to the international community. War-torn countries like South Sudan are dependent on foreign aid to revitalize critical infrastructural systems, such as healthcare. In February 2020, the United States sent more than $900 million to combat the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan. The continuation of these funds is integral to the successful revitalization of South Sudan’s healthcare system. Without widespread medical care, the possibility of a major humanitarian crisis in South Sudan threatens regional stability.

– Kendall Carll
Photo: Flickr

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Countries that Experienced Economic Growth in 2020

Economic Growth in 2020
“Everyone is growing.” At the end of 2019, this was the World Bank’s outlook of the economic trajectory for the year 2020. The global economy was steadily growing and strengthening, and only a select few countries were facing GDP and economic contractions. Here is a look at the countries that experienced economic growth in 2020.

COVID-19’s Impact on the Economy

At the end of 2020, the World Bank sang a much different tune than what it did at the end of 2019. After the onset of a global pandemic, the majority of the world’s economies have taken a turn for the worst, the year turning out to be one of the worst in terms of economic growth and development. A far cry from the projected global GDP growth of 2.5%, as in June 2020, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that the world would close out the year with a GDP growth rate of -4.9%.

For some countries such as Spain, the U.K. and Tunisia, economic growth in 2020 had already fallen by around 20% by the year’s second quarter compared to the same period of 2019, a record quarterly fall for many countries. In other countries such as Taiwan, Finland, Lithuania and South Korea, the economic impact was much less than 5% contractions in GDP.

However, while the problem of economic recession was common for most nations, there were a select few that were not only able to ward off a negative growth pattern but steadily grew in the face of a global crisis. According to reports from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in October 2020, only 16 countries would sustain economic growth in 2020 of more than 1%, and 11 would grow at a rate between zero and 1%. That leaves a whopping 167 nations facing economic contraction.

5 Countries that Experienced the Highest Economic Growth in 2020

  1. Guyana: Guyana currently has the fastest growing economy globally, with an economic growth rate of approximately 26.21% in 2020. The mainland country serves as home to one of the most promising newly discovered oil basins globally and a vast supply of other natural resources. The recent oil discoveries and new production began in late 2019. Guyana’s economy is expanding fast and expects the GDP to more than double by 2025. Therefore, while it is likely that the Guyanese economy did face setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the explosion of its oil industry has been able to keep the country’s economy heading in the right direction.
    2. South Sudan: After facing stunted economic growth in the 2010s due to civil unrest, the relatively newly independent South Sudan faced harsh humanitarian and food insecurity crises. However, in 2018, the country signed a new peace agreement, followed by the reopening of many of its oil wells, boosting its main revenue source. Between 2018 and 2019, the country gradually maneuvered itself back into a steady growth pattern that maintained a 4.11% growth in GDP in 2020.
    3. Bangladesh: Over the years 2016 to 2020, the Bangladesh economy has recorded a 7.6% growth in GDP. Such rapid expansion has allowed the country to graduate from the U.N.’s list of Least Developed Countries (LDC). Because of its now stable macroeconomic environment, buoyant domestic demand and export-oriented industry-led growth, Bangladesh has been able to maintain an approximate 5.2% growth rate during 2020, with predictions that it will see an increasing growth rate of 6.8% in 2021 and the coming years.
    4. Egypt: Similar to Guyana, the Egyptian economy has recently benefitted greatly from lucrative natural gas discoveries. Though the pandemic and global economic crisis hit the country’s economic growth in 2020 due to a sudden fall in tourism, remittances and exports, its previous main sources of income, the revenue from its oil discoveries, was enough to stabilize growth in the economy. Already, the Egyptian economy is on the path to recovery with a projected 2.76% growth in 2021, before returning to its previous growth levels averaging at 5.28% in the coming years.
    5. Benin: Due to intentional and effective key economic and structural reforms in recent years, Benin reached a growth rate of 6.41% between the years 2017 and 2019. Therefore, while economic activity did slow for the country heavily dependent on re-export and transit trade, it was able to sustain economic growth in 2020 at a rate of approximately 2%. As the world adapts to and moves towards the end of the pandemic and global economic crisis, expectations have determined that Benin’s economy will return to faster growth rates of around 5% to 7% in the upcoming years.

Looking Forward

It was low- and middle-income emerging economies that were better able to sustain a growth trajectory throughout the 2020 global economic crisis. In fact, China, which the COVID-19 pandemic hit first, has been the only trillion-dollar economy that sustained positive economic growth in 2020. Economic growth is crucial for reducing and eradicating poverty and can lead to social improvements in affected countries. Therefore, the hope is that the countries that are not on the above list will return to pre-pandemic growth rates, and the five fastest-growing nations of 2020 keep developing at this level.

– Rebecca Harris
Photo: Flickr

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Going Global: The NBA in Africa

The NBA in AfricaThe National Basketball Association (NBA) is known as one of the best leading professional basketball leagues to ever exist. With 30 franchises across North America, the NBA has a large following and media presence with fans and supporters from all around the globe. The top NBA players have lucrative careers that many young people dream of achieving. However, this dream has always seemed out of reach for young people in Africa. Many who play basketball in Africa are unsure of how to pursue a successful athletic career, may lack the access to adequate training and coaching and may not even be aware of the possibility. The NBA has partnered with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to create the Basketball Africa League (BAL), the first official league outside of North America. The NBA in Africa could be a complete game-changer, opening up possibilities and positively impacting Africa’s economy.

The Basketball Africa League

Though the BAL is the first NBA league in Africa, it is certainly not the NBA’s first interaction with the continent. Basketball Without Borders (BWB), also in collaboration with FIBA, is an international basketball camp that unites youth from Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa in order to promote the sport and encourage social change. The top youth players train under NBA players and coaches. Life skills training is also provided. It focuses on the importance of education, leadership, development and health. The participation of young women is important to NBA Africa, allowing them opportunities that were never an option before. In 2019, BWB hosted its 17th event in Africa. BWB is much more than just basketball, it helps players develop important life skills that they can take forward.

The NBA Academy Africa

The NBA’s activity in Africa does not end at the BWB. The NBA Academy is an elite basketball initiative meant to provide high schoolers outside of the U.S with holistic training development. There are six academies across Australia, China, India, Mexico and Africa (Senegal). The Senegal center opened in 2018 and is the primary training location for NBA Academy Africa prospects. The NBA Academy’s holistic approach includes a focus on education. These young people either attend a local public school or receive a scholarship to a local private school. They also receive additional academic support.

In December 2019, the BAL announced the host cities of Cairo (Egypt), Dakar (Senegal), Lagos (Nigeria), Luanda (Angola), Rabat (Morocco) and Monastir (Tunisia). The NBA will host games in these cities and build infrastructure. Rwanda will also host BAL Finals. These games started in 2020 but COVID-19 postponed further events.

Benefits of the NBA Africa

Dikembe Mutombo, a former Congolese-American NBA player, expressed his gratitude and excitement for the BAL. Mutombo was a rare case of an African making it to the NBA. He knows that for many children in Africa, the prospect is out of reach. Masai Ujiri, a Nigerian-Canadian former professional basketball player who is now president of the Toronto Raptors, expressed that the BAL will also allow for new opportunities of employment and revenue in Africa.

Africa’s population is predicted to double by 2050. Accordingly, the NBA in Africa is an especially important part of the development and dreams of the new generations to come. The NBA in Africa will create jobs, revenue and stimulate the economy. The NBA is thus contributing to the alleviation of poverty in Africa.

– Grace Wang
Photo: Flickr

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African American Investors Support Africa

African American investorsMobile banking has had a dramatic upsurge in Kenya. Nigerian states need innovators for energy companies. Namibia and Ghana require finance reform for corporations. The housing construction market in Africa is booming. These are all opportunities encouraging African American investors to provide capital for the dynamic upsurge in venture capital and profitable markets in Africa. According to Andy Ingraham, president and CEO of the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers, the wealth of Africa lies significantly in the hands of African Americans. He notes that more African Americans are doing more business with the Caribbean and Africa and are also partaking in philanthropic ventures.

African American Investments in Africa

There are two highly effective ways African Americans can boost Africa’s economy and create significant income. Does the potential business seek to export and import goods or seek to open and invest in production manufacturing on African soil? Danladi Verheijen, managing director at Verod Capital, a leading investment firm in Lagos, Nigeria, advises that “the bigger opportunity is being able to set up local businesses in Africa to make and produce locally manufactured products.” Consequently, this action results in increased local employment and self-sufficiency.

Choosing the right African region is also a significant factor in successful business operations. Rosa Whitaker, the first assistant U.S. trade representative for Africa, suggests that “There is much synergy between Africa and African American business because the region is growing in precisely the areas where African American firms are competitive.” Since African American companies made an estimated gross profit of $21.8 billion in the U.S.  industrial service sector in 2013, there is a greater chance a higher profit is obtainable in Africa where consumerism and competitive states are favorable.

Famous Investments

Ethnically from Senegal, Akon migrated at the age of 11 to New Jersey. Today, known as a multimillionaire artist and entrepreneur, Akon has invested $6 billion into Cadastral de Mbodiene park, along Senegal’s coastline. He aims to build a futuristic crypto city for people of all social classes. This investment will drape West Africa with significant economic progress, increasing employment and decreasing poverty.

Mark Anthony Hernandez and his team of African American investors arrived in Uganda with $300 million, seeking to share their business knowledge and boost the country’s health and real estate sectors. The team plans to invest in neurosurgery while expanding residential and commercial estates for the citizens.

As Liberia is seeking to increase its tourism sites, BET founder, Robert L. Johnson, partnered with Liberian officials and other investors to build a four-star hotel in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. Through the project, he hopes to boost the country’s tourism industry and encourage other communities of color to focus their investments on Africa’s rising economy.

Inequality in the US

Due to the issue of African American equality in the United States, many critics argue that reparations on all aspects of Afro-American lives require reconstructive attention before African Americans can further progress elsewhere in the world. Furthermore, African Americans report having no or very little knowledge of the conditions in Africa.

Mass incarceration in communities of color holds a heavier weight against African American business prospects, according to Michelle Alexander, a highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, advocate and legal scholar. In her book “The New Jim Crow,” Alexander highlights the long sequence of racial caste systems placed upon minorities, specifically black and Hispanic men. This has resulted in decreased growth in capital, corporations, family connections and the ability to vote. This reality is clear in many black families whose opportunities to invest shrink when receiving a sentence through unfair prosecutions or arrests.

The Road Ahead

Although it is important to see the hurdles set against the rise of African American businesses in the United States, it is equally important to provide capital to African regions that have opened their borders to African American investors. Large corporations with a high interest in emerging markets are encouraged to send workers abroad and gain experience, supporting growth in the United States and Africa.

– Ayesha Swary
Photo: Flickr

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The Childcare Benefits Scandal in the Netherlands

The Childcare Benefits Scandal
Many regard the Netherlands as a prosperous nation. The majority of its residents live decent lives and can easily access social welfare benefits. However, like many places throughout the world, the country has seen an increase in the number of people who can no longer make ends meet. Even with benefits assistance, 1 million out of 17 million people suffer economically. This crisis has affected all demographics. There is growing evidence of the disproportionality of this economic stratification. Certain government agencies and policies that the Netherlands intended to serve as financial safety nets for people caused more harm for some than good. This resulted in the childcare benefits scandal.

Over the past two years, the country has dealt with de toeslagenaffaire or “the benefits affair.” This is a scandal involving the illegal reclamation of social benefits by the government. It forced many victims into financial ruin. The scandal exposed both the overzealous anti-fraud practices of the Dutch tax services. It also exposed their continued unconstitutional ethnic profiling of fraud suspects. In January 2021, the third cabinet of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, known as Rutte III, resigned over the scandal. This article addresses the causes and consequences of the toeslagenaffaire. It is one of the most recent, dramatic examples of corruption and institutional bias in Dutch history.

De Toeslagenaffaire: What Exactly Happened?

Over the past decade in the Netherlands, tens of thousands of innocent people received social benefits for childcare. The belastingdienst (Tax and Customs Agency) falsely identified the people as having committed welfare fraud. The system declared it the childcare benefits scandal. The case sparked increasing outrage. Moreover, the system flagged the parents as fraud risks due to their nationality.

In 2012, the belastingdienst used people’s second nationality as one of the five so-called “indicators” of potential fraud. This was in addition to four other factors, such as possessing high-deductible items. In 2014 and 2015, the Netherlands amended privacy laws. This prevented access to information regarding a benefit recipient’s nationality from the belastingdienst in an effort to combat institutional discrimination.

However, the belastingdienst retained access to personal records belonging to benefits-receivers created prior to the removal of the person’s nationality. After this came to light, the Adeling Toeslagen (Benefits Department) continued to deny ethnic profiling, arguing that it was only concerned with an individual’s Dutch nationality. Adeling Toeslagen did not single out any nationality. It investigated all Ghanian nationals in 2020 based on evidence. Spokespeople from the belastingdienst claimed discrimination based on nationality was different than discrimination based on race or origin. However, the Adeling Toeslagen later admitted to engaging in ethnic profiling.

Stripped Benefits

Being falsely identified as fraudsters resulted in parents being stripped of their benefits and ordered to repay said benefits in full. When parents protested these false fraud allegations, they could not obtain legal aid, their objections routinely received dismissal and they still had to pay. This often amounted to tens of thousands of Euros. The scandal plunged very low-income families into crisis, resulting in many losing their personal possessions, jobs and marriages.

Justice in Court

The court awarded the parents 30,000 Euros (just over $36,000 USD) eventually. The court distributed the funds over a span of four months. The court expected payment from the parents concerning illegal debt. In fact, one ruling stated that parents must use at least two-thirds of their allotted 30,000 Euros to repay the illegal debt concerning the childcare benefits scandal. However, authorities eventually waved their full debts so that they could keep their full compensation amount. However, many still have not received their compensation.

Who Was Responsible?

There are still cases and inquiries pending. However, little accountability has occurred thus far. The court forced the Rutte III cabinet to resign. The court held no member responsible for the matter. This was based on a high court ruling claiming although the rule of law had been violated, the belastingdienst, as an institution, was immune to prosecution. The court did not prosecute any individual official. The members committed no discrimination “in their own interests.” This was despite the fact employees of the belastingdienst – who had sounded the alarm for years about the issue – had called for the prosecution of their managers themselves.

Cabinet Members Unharmed

Despite the media attention, the resignation of the Rutte III cabinet was of little consequence to the cabinet members. Mark Rutte’s first cabinet, Rutte I, had to resign in 2012. This occurred after his coalition was unable to find a compromise regarding the proposed introduction of controversial austerity measures. The cabinet re-appointed him as Prime Minister twice after his resignation. A statement from 2003 convicted Mark Rutte of racism in 2007 when he was Secretary of State. He subjected Somali residents to extra fraud investigations concerning the childcare benefits scandal.

Even though Rutte III has resigned, each member may serve in their position until elections on March 17, 2021. Continuous elections will allow each member to hold office. Rutte’s party, the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie) appears poised to secure another victory in the upcoming elections. This is based on a current Ipsos poll, even after losing some support in the wake of the resignation of Rutte III.

– Olivia Nelson
Photo: Pixabay

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The Benefits of the AfCFTA for the African Economy

the AfCFTATrading within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) finally took effect on January 1, 2021. The AfCFTA is the world’s largest trading area since the establishment of the World Trade Organization with 54 of the 55 countries of the African Union (AU). The AfCFTA was established by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement signed in March 2018 by 44 AU countries. Over time, other AU countries signed on as the official start of trading under the provisions of the agreement approached. The AfCTFA is projected to create opportunities and boost the African economy. By facilitating this intra-African trade area, the international community expects sustainable growth and increased economic development.

The Implementation and Benefits of the AfCFTA

  1. Creating a Single Market. The main objective is to create a single market for goods and services to increase trading among African nations. The AfCFTA is tasked to implement protocols to eliminate trade barriers and cooperate with member states on investment and competition policies, intellectual property rights, settlement of disputes and other trade-liberating strategies.
  1. Expected Economic Boost and Trade Diversity. UNECA estimates that AfCFTA will boost intra-African trade by 52.3% once import duties and non-tariff barriers are eliminated. The AfCFTA will cover a GDP of $2.5 trillion of the market. The trade initiative will also diversify intra-African trade as it would encourage more industrial goods as opposed to extractive goods and natural resources. Historically, more than 75% of African exports outside of the continent consisted of extractive commodities whereas only 40% of intra-African trade were extractive.
  1. Collaborative Structure and Enforcement. All decisions of the AfCFTA institutions are reached by a simple majority vote. There are several key AfCFTA institutions. The AU Assembly provides oversight, guidance and interpretations of the Agreement. The Council of Ministers is designated by state parties and report to the Assembly. The Council makes the decisions that pertain to the Agreement. The Committee of Senior Trade Officials implements the decisions of the Council and monitors the development of the provisions of the AfCFTA. The Secretariat is established as an autonomous institution whose roles and responsibilities are determined by the Council.
  1. Eliminating Tariffs. State parties will progressively eliminate import duties and apply preferential tariffs to imports from other state parties. If state parties are a part of regional trade arrangements that have preferential tariffs already in place, state parties must maintain and improve on them.
  1. Settling Trade Disputes. Multilateral trading systems can bring about disputes when a state party implements a trade policy that another state party considers a breach of the Agreement. The AfCFTA has the Dispute Settlement Mechanism in place for such occasions which offers mediated consultations between disputing parties. The mechanism is only available to state parties, not private enterprises.
  1. Protecting Women Traders. According to UNECA and the African Trade Policy Centre, women are estimated to account for around 70% of informal cross-border traders. Informal trading can make women vulnerable to harassment and violence. With the reduced tariffs, it will be more affordable for women to trade through formal channels where women traders will not have to put themselves in dangerous situations.
  1. Growing Small and Medium-Sized Businesses. The elimination of import duties also opens up trading activities to small businesses in the regional markets. Small and medium-sized businesses make up 80% of the region’s businesses. Increased trading also facilitates small business products to be traded as inputs for larger enterprises in the region.
  1. Encouraging Industrialization. The AfCFTA fosters competitive manufacturing. With a successful implementation of this new trade initiative, there is potential for Africa’s manufacturing sector to double in size from $500 billion in 2015 to $1 trillion in 2025, creating 14 million stable jobs.
  1. Contributing to Sustainable Growth. The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes goals that the AfCFTA contributes to. For example, Goal 8 of the Agenda is decent work and economic growth and Goal 9 is the promotion of industry. The AfCFTA initiative also contributes to Goal 17 of the Agenda as it reduces the continent’s reliance on external resources, encouraging independent financing and development.

AfCFTA: A Trade Milestone for Reducing Poverty in Africa

The establishment of the AfCFTA marks a key milestone for Africa’s continental trade system. The size of the trade area presents promising economic development and sustainable growth that reaches all market sectors and participants. Additionally, the timing of the initiative launch is expected to contribute to the alleviation of the pandemic’s economic damages.

– Malala Raharisoa Lin
Photo: Flickr

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How the RCEP Will Benefit Asia’s Impoverished

RCEP will benefit Asia's impoverishedOn November 15, 2020, 15 Asia-Pacific countries signed The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The RCEP is a free trade agreement (FTA) establishing new relationships in the global economy. The 15 countries that signed the trade deal account for 30% of all global gross domestic product and impact more than two billion people. The new economic opportunities that will emerge from the RCEP will benefit Asia’s impoverished.

The Introduction of the RCEP

In 2011, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit introduced the RCEP. Simultaneously, another free trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), was undergoing development. The TPP’s existence failed to come to fruition when former U.S. president, Donald Trump, removed the U.S. from negotiations in 2017. Consequently, this led many Asia-Pacific nations to negotiate with each other to make the RCEP become a reality. The ASEAN Secretariat has declared the RCEP as an accelerator for employment and market opportunities. The RCEP has been seen as a response to the absence of U.S. economic involvement and a form of stimulating the economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

RCEP Regulations

The RCEP has a set of new regulations that made it enticing for many nations to join. As much as 90% of tariffs will be eliminated between participating countries. Moreover, the RCEP will institute common rules for e-commerce and intellectual property. The trade deal will also include high-income, middle-income and low-income nations.

RCEP Benefits for the Philippines

Allan Gepty, a lead negotiator from the Philippines, assures that the RCEP will benefit the low-income country in many ways. The RCEP will mean more investments in sectors such as e-commerce, manufacturing, research and development, financial services and information technology. Moreover, the trade secretary, Ramon Lopez, also believes the Philippines will benefit because the RCEP will bring job opportunities. In a country where the poverty rate stood at 23.3% in 2015, the RCEP will benefit Asia’s impoverished.

Supporting Myanmar’s Economic Growth

According to the World Bank, a way to promote the reduction of poverty in Myanmar is supporting the private sector to create job opportunities. Furthermore, vice president of the Asian Investment Bank (AIIB), Joachim von Amsberg, also believes the RCEP will benefit Asia’s impoverished. He sees the RCEP as a way to grant small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) more access to markets, thus creating more job growth and promoting infrastructure development.

Industries Impacted by the RCEP

Many other nations will benefit from the RCEP as well. Textile and apparel (T&A) is a key sector under the RCEP. While countries such as Australia and Japan have high labor and production costs, many others do not. The RCEP will increase investment to lower-cost and less skilled countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. The trade deal will also impact the country of Vietnam. Vietnam will benefit from its exports which include footwear, automobiles and telecommunications. Furthermore, Vietnam is could also benefit from the exporting of agriculture and fisheries products. Malaysia anticipates greater opportunities in travel, tourism and the aviation industry. Malaysia is expected to increase its GDP between 0.8% and 1.7% through the RCEP.

The Potential for Poverty Reduction

The RCEP is the biggest trade deal in Asia-Pacific’s history. The trade deal is predicted to add US$186 billion to the global economy and 0.2% to the gross domestic product of each participating nation. Also, free trade agreements allow emerging economies to become more sustainable. According to the World Bank, poverty is reduced by boosting international trade. Global trade expands the number of quality jobs and encourages economic growth. The RCEP came at a time when there are future uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impacts. Many anticipate that the RCEP will benefit Asia’s impoverished.

– Andy Calderon
Photo: Flickr

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Vanuatu’s Graduation From the LDCs List

Vanuatu's Graduation From the LDCsSince the United Nations created the least developed countries (LDCs) list in the 1970s, only six nations have moved off of the list to a higher ranking of development. Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific, became the sixth country to do so on December 4, 2020, after being designated an LDC in 1985. Vanuatu’s graduation from the LDCs list can serve as a beacon of hope for more LDCs to achieve higher rates of development.

Economic Growth

The U.N. Committee for Development Policy (CDP) identifies LDCs based on their level of human assets, environmental and economic vulnerability and per capita income. Since 1991, Vanuatu has met the CDP’s income per capita threshold and was recommended for graduation in 2012, having more than twice the income per capita threshold and also meeting the threshold for human assets. In an effort to pursue graduation, Vanuatu began shifting its economic policies to decrease reliance on imports, increase exports and create employment and income-generating opportunities. Vanuatu’s rural economy grew after improvements in the livestock sector in addition to the country’s diversification of agricultural activities to include timber, kava, coconut oil and copra. The tourism industry and real estate investments were also an aid to Vanuatu’s economic growth as income per person increased by more than 2.5 times between 2002 and 2017.

Vanuatu’s Setbacks

Throughout Vanuatu’s progress in economically developing the country, the nation has also been stymied by recurring natural disasters. The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development estimates that Vanuatu is affected by an average of two to three natural disasters per year and noted that Vanuatu is uniquely affected by natural disasters as its size causes the entirety of the country to be affected as opposed to just specific regions. In 2015, Vanuatu was hit by Cyclone Pam, a Category 5 cyclone that destroyed 50-90% of the country’s shelters and 95% of crops. Cyclone Pam delayed Vanuatu’s previous progress toward graduation and warranted an extension of the country’s grace period to 2020. Additionally, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a decrease in the country’s tourism industry. While Vanuatu’s first case of COVID-19 was reported only in November 2020, the pandemic has impacted the nation and its economic sectors.

A Pathway for LDCs

While Vanuatu is the third country in the Asia-Pacific region to graduate from LDC status, following Samoa in 2014 and the Maldives in 2011, it is only the sixth country to graduate overall. On track to move up from LDC status are Angola in 2021, Bhutan in 2023 and São Tomé and Príncipe and the Solomon Islands both in 2024. Vanuatu’s graduation can bring hope to the other 46 countries on the LDC list, especially given the global circumstances in which Vanuatu achieved this feat. The COVID-19 pandemic has effectively stalled worldwide markets and further excluded many LDCs from international supply chains. With the encouragement of Vanuatu’s graduation from the LDCs list during a global pandemic, hope for the four countries scheduled for graduation in the near future increases alongside support from the international community to ensure an eventual zero countries on the LDCs list.

– Caroline Mendoza
Photo: Flickr

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Nanoseen: Solutions to Water Access and Pollution

NanoseenIn Sopot, Poland, co-founders Bartosz Kruzska and Mikolaj Granuszewski are leading innovations that could change access to clean, drinkable water forever. Startup firm, Nanoseen, is developing the NanoseenX, a water filter made of recycled metal wafers that can desalinate water. The startup, which was ranked as one of the top “15 Chemical Engineering Startups Positioned to Make it Big in 2021” by the Welp Magazine, aims to revolutionize the use and development of nanotechnology to build the most modern products. “Nanoseen is a team of nanotechnology engineers and scientists who prove remarkable properties of NanoseenX nanomaterials as a core component of the company’s products that will help solve many problems related to climate change such as water shortage and plastic pollution,” Kruszka told THEfirstNEWS. The company plans to begin mass production of its water desalination devices in 2021, making it one of the most highly anticipated startups of the upcoming year.

NanoseenX Water Filter

The filter can desalinate both brackish and seawater, giving it the potential to become essential to both disaster relief and combating global poverty. Worldwide, 780 million people do not have access to an improved water source and one in three people do not have access to safe drinking water, making clean water one of the chief obstacles of under-developed nations. Countries like Papua New Guinea, Mozambique, Tanzania and Somalia struggle with clean water but border the oceans so they can benefit greatly from the filter. The provision of clean water will not only improve sanitation but consequently improve health and infant survival rates, which is fundamental to fighting poverty. The product could also aid natural relief teams in tropical countries that are prone to hurricanes and typhoons. For example, crises like the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which cut off access to clean water in Puerto Rico for months, can be resolved. Removing clean water as a pressing concern will also give destitute communities a better opportunity to develop and escape poverty.

Other Innovative Initiatives by Nanoseen

In addition to the water filter, Kruzska elaborates that Nanoseen is tackling research on a method of damaging micro and nano-plastics in water, with the use of NanopowderX. Such development could help clear pollution in oceans, which contain 25-50 trillion macro and microplastics. Being able to filter such microplastics from the water will be the most effective way to curb this new atmospheric pollutant. The team is also pioneering unique paints that will remove pollutants from the air to fight atmospheric pollution, a phenomenon that disproportionately affects impoverished people.

Innovatively Addressing Global Issues

Nanoseen’s ingenious filter is paradigmatic of innovations in STEM creating solutions to global poverty. The startup also offers other eco-friendly and problem-solving materials. The startup’s website offers viewers more in-depth descriptions and applications of its products and states its goals of creating innovative nanomaterials to build modern products that solve the main problems of today’s world.

– Christine Chang
Photo: Flickr