Archive for category: Development

Information and stories on development news.

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3 Strategies for Reducing Corruption in Developing Countries

Reducing CorruptionIn 2013, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim declared corruption as “public enemy number one” in developing countries. And this isn’t hyperbole, as corruption slows or stalls development. Public money allocated for healthcare or education ends up in the pockets of already wealthy officials. Corruption is also an excuse to justify not spending more on international aid. Here are three strategies for reducing corruption developing countries can employ:

  1. Make Bureaucracies More Efficient
    Corruption thrives when government officials can take advantage of inefficient bureaucracies. Poorly managed public sectors with complex regulations make sidestepping rules easy for these officials. Reducing corruption means, above all, streamlining bureaucracy. This can be done in multiple ways.Some studies suggest that simply condensing agencies reduces corruption. Smaller agencies with smaller amounts of personnel reduces the opportunity for them to collect bribes. Another strategy is to make tax codes easy to understand and computerize simple procedures. In Senegal, these two measures alone reduced fraud within the public sector by 85 percent.
  2. Make Elections More Transparent
    Corrupt government officials can usually find ways to stay in office. And citizens can vote for re-election without realizing how corrupt their representatives are. Making elections more transparent can have an impact on this trend.In Delhi, India, a randomly selected pool of citizens was given ‘report cards’ of officials running for office. These ‘report cards’ had information on the qualifications and past performance of candidates. In the areas where citizens had the report cards, the quality of governance increased. Delhi is a perfect case study in the power of transparent elections. When citizens understand who they’re voting for, they can make better decisions. That leads to better government, with less corruption.
  3. Increase Civic Education
    Voters don’t just need to understand who people they’re electing to office. They also need to have a broad understanding of what that official is doing while in office. Civic education is vital to this goal. Giving citizens of developing countries the tools to understand their political rights is key to reducing corruption.Researchers confirmed this in Uganda. In their study, citizens were provided with information about the hijacking of public funds by local officials. Due to this information campaign, public officials stopped redirecting public funds to their private bank accounts. Consequently, there was an increase in money that reached schools. This led to more children attending school. Giving citizens access to information they deserve gives them a voice. And when it comes to reducing corruption, their voices are the most important.

Corruption is prevalent in a majority of developing countries, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Reducing corruption is an achievable goal. To jumpstart the process, developing countries must examine and streamline their government agencies. Citizens in these countries must have the information they need to make informed decisions. And after they make the decision, they must hold their elected officials accountable.

This is work that’s easier said than done. But organizations like the World Bank have already begun work on these problems, and U.S. citizens can call their representatives and ask for the U.S. to take a bigger role in tackling these issues. Corruption is one of the last barriers preventing developing countries to become developed. But with these strategies, soon it could be a thing of the past.

– Adesuwa Agbonile
Photo: Flickr

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Cash on Delivery Could Be the Future of Foreign Aid

Cash on DeliveryCash on Delivery is a new approach to foreign aid that incentivizes turning laws and legislation into action. It works to strengthen government accountability to its citizens rather than the donor. It is a way that donors can pay for progress rather than set the platform for it.

Cash on Delivery works to provide funding for measurable development so that foreign aid can be more focused on results rather than disbursements. It is this type of results-based aid that is arising from the wonder of why money is being spent overseas rather than on local hospitals if results aren’t the main goal.

In the case of health funding, many developing countries such as Rwanda and Burundi are adopting this type of approach by setting a health standard and receiving, for example, $100 for every child at or above that standard.

Cash on Delivery aid (COD), named after a mail delivery option where you pay for the package upon delivery, is being crowned as the most refined form of results-based aid. It fosters a hands-off approach to development, providing the incentive to progress where the country can use all tools at it needs as long as results are generated.

As many believe foreign aid has long been plagued by micromanagement and transparent contracts, this hands-off approach encourages countries to make their own process decisions and remain independent both culturally and politically.

No more is the time when countries are forced to take fees for basic health services or resources for schools. By giving the decision-making power to the country, aid will be in service of the citizens rather than the donors.

The criticisms of this program lie in the potential risk and short-term feel, but the advantages lie with a more self-sustaining approach to progress. Providing the incentive and the tools to progress may prove just as valuable as the funding itself. Cash on Delivery may just be the future of aid.

– Tucker Hallowell

Photo: Flickr

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NAFTA Renegotiation Could Mean Increase for Mexican Wages

Mexican WagesThe U.S., Canada and Mexico began renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on August 16. An updated agreement could result in higher wages for struggling Mexican workers.

One of the main topics of renegotiation is expected to be workers’ rights. Then presidential candidate Donald Trump stated that he desired a new NAFTA for Americans in the Rust Belt – one way to do so is to close the gap between American and Mexican wages.

Signed into law in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, NAFTA lowered trading barriers between North American neighbors and opened the gates to free trade. Many businesses migrated to Mexico as a result.

Soon after, North American consumers experienced increases in their standards of living. Prices of consumer goods depressed due to businesses cutting labor costs via lower Mexican wages.

Lower prices do not paint a complete picture, though, as many blue-collar workers in the U.S. were left without jobs. At the same time, keeping Mexican wages low was in the interest of many manufacturers.

Now, over 20 years later, NAFTA will be renegotiated and the U.S. will have manufacturing on its mind. One way to entice businesses to stay in the U.S. is to impose new labor restrictions in Mexico.

The average wage in Mexico is not even a fifth that of that in the U.S. New labor restrictions could mean higher wages for the average Mexican laborer, who currently lives on $4.50 a day – sometimes less, depending on the area.

There is also the fear that the talks will lead nowhere because what the U.S. wants might not align with the interests of Mexico. Ildefonso Guajardo, a Mexican representative who will be present at the talks, has suggested that, if they are treated unfairly by the U.S., they will return the treatment.

Labor economists have said that the labor reforms that Mexico had previously agreed on during the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) should be the starting point for the U.S. This is the same partnership from which President Trump just pulled the United States.

Officials believe that NAFTA discussions should be finished by the end of the year if all goes smoothly. Labor reforms would certainly mean good news for Mexican laborers but not-so-good news for consumers who will feel the burden of higher prices.

– Thomas James Anania

Photo: Google

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Joint Effort to Address the Famine in the Horn of Africa

Famine in the Horn of AfricaA senior United Nations official claimed earlier in the year that the world faced the worst humanitarian crisis since 1945. The crisis he was referring to is the devastating famine which threatens to affect over 20 million people — 1.4 million of those being children — in the Horn of Africa and neighboring regions. Populations in South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Nigeria are at tremendous risk of starvation. A mixture of catastrophic circumstances including drought and war-fueled conflict have pushed the region to the brink of devastation; the situation could potentially reverse gains in economic development and destroy the livelihoods and future of a large swathe of the population. However, in spite of this calamitous situation, few people in the United States are aware of what is going on, and the situation gets little coverage in the press. Eight international relief organizations based in the U.S have decided to take action and have created a joint effort to address the famine in the Horn of Africa: the Global Emergency Response Coalition (GERC).

Earlier in the year, when senior U.N. official Stephen O’Brien claimed this was the worst humanitarian crisis in decades, he stated that an immediate injection of funds was necessary to avert the situation. “To be precise,” he said, “we need $4.4 billion.” This goal, however, has not been attained, and the international community has done little to reach that number. The Global Emergency Response Coalition, the first of its kind in the United States, has not established a concrete goal for its fundraising; however, the organization admits that it is far short of raising enough to fully solve the crisis. A big part of the joint effort to address the famine in the Horn of Africa is to create a campaign of awareness throughout the press and social media to bring attention to the issue.

The Global Emergency Response Coalition is formed by CARE, International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, Plan International, Save the Children and World Vision. Several companies have also committed to the joint effort to address the famine in the Horn of Africa; Pepsico and Blackrock have promised to match up to $1 million each for every dollar donated.

The situation is most dire in Yemen, where 18.8 million people — two-thirds of the country’s population — need desperate aid, and more than 7 million people do not know where their next meal will come from. In South Sudan, more than 7.5 million people need aid, up by almost 2 million since last year.

You can help the joint effort to address the famine in the Horn of Africa by donating to the Global Emergency Response Coalition or by following the GERC on all social media channels and sharing their causes to help raise awareness.

– Alan Garcia-Ramos

Photo: Flickr

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The Long Road to Ending Extreme Poverty

Extreme PovertyLooking at the World Bank’s records, the proportion of households in developing countries below the extreme poverty line has declined sharply, from 52 percent in 1980 to 43 percent in 1990 to 34 percent in 1999, and finally to 21 percent in 2010. Though the figures look optimistic, the United Nations’ number one Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to end poverty in all its manifestations everywhere by 2030 will only become more difficult to achieve as time progresses.

The World Bank defines “extreme poverty” as living on less than $1.90 per person per day. The multidimensional aspects of poverty are captured to measure extreme poverty through data collection encompassing climate variations, caloric intake, clothing, shelter, health and other variables.

For the past two decades, East Asia has held the largest population of impoverished individuals. According to the Economist, in 1981, roughly 88 percent of China’s citizens lived below the poverty line. Since that time, China has eradicated a large amount of poverty in cities and reduced the number of rural people living below its poverty line of 2,300 yuan or a little over $340 per year. In 2013, due to continual infrastructural and economic growth, and the cultivation of private businesses and corporations, only 2 percent of Chinese citizens fell under the World Bank’s definition of extreme poverty.

Due to the changing landscape in East Asia, much of the world’s remaining poverty is in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Weeding poverty out of these areas will prove to be more difficult due to the lack of available welfare programs and support systems.

Although free markets, trade and economic growth will remain vital to meeting the U.N. SDG, continued progress will depend heavily on infrastructural and health investments by the government, including in water, electricity and healthcare. According to the New York Times and the Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, decreases in mortality rate as well as public funds to finance scientific and technological breakthroughs such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria have made massive contributions to fighting global poverty to date.

As organizations and nations worldwide move towards eliminating extreme poverty, new challenges will undoubtedly arise. The Brookings Institute reminds global citizens that “as global poverty approaches zero, it becomes increasingly concentrated in countries where the record of and prospects for poverty reduction are weakest.” Despite the fact, the possibility still exists to improve quality of life worldwide, and the opportunity still remains to progress the elimination of poverty through further investment and advocacy efforts across all national barriers.

– Katherine Wang

Photo: Pixabay

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How to Eliminate Global Poverty in Three Ways

How to Eliminate Global PovertyGlobal poverty is a complex social issue that has numerous causes and implications. The causes of global poverty are numerous, but it is clear that they stem from the effects of colonization, war and political instability and the national debt of impoverished countries. The consequences of poverty on citizens are numerous and include effects such as lack of education, the transmission of diseases and even alcohol and substance abuse on the personal scale. When viewing the large picture, poverty is a primary cause of social tension. To be able to take action in addressing this issue, society must figure out how to eliminate global poverty. Below are a few ways to work toward the end of global poverty:

Combat Homelessness
A stable life is almost impossible to achieve without a home, and it is society’s job to help the homeless find a more permanent residence. Many people think of the homeless as people suffering from addiction and poor health. The reality of the homelessness problem is that a large percentage of the 1.6 billion individuals lacking adequate housing in the world are suffering from the results of political instability and chronic poverty. Eliminating the environment which makes people homeless also helps create a solution to global poverty.

One way to fight against homelessness is to support shelters that house the homeless until they can find a job and more permanent residence. Numerous foundations have this goal in mind: for example, The United Way has done the work required for any citizen to get involved in fighting global homelessness.

Combat Hunger
According to The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, of the 7.3 billion people in the world, 795 million of them suffer from chronic undernourishment. This means at about one in eight people do not have access to the most fundamental quantities of food. The majority of citizens experiencing hunger reside in developing countries. Hunger makes working at one’s full potential difficult, and children who are hungry do worse academically in school. Being hungry is a key reason people are classified as impoverished. Thus, addressing this issues helps eliminate global poverty.

One method to fight against hunger is through food donations to groups fighting global hunger. Organizations such as The American Red Cross fund $33.2 million per year to fight hunger around the world. By investing in these agencies through volunteering and donations (money or non-perishable food stock), global citizens facing undernourishment can be supported.

Invest In Education
A high school diploma is one of the fastest routes impoverished people can use to escape their circumstances. Education allows people to find better jobs, pursue higher education, and learn the skills necessary to eliminate global poverty.

One way to encourage youth to remain in school and receive a high school diploma is to invest in organizations which support public schools struggling to get their students to graduate. For example, the group Robin Hood donates more funds towards education than any of their other initiatives. The organization hosts interventions with families helping children finish high school and provides extra support services on the elementary-school level (tutoring and therapy). Donating to groups such as Robin Hood helps to ensure that more children who struggle with poverty finish high school.

Poverty is an issue that remains prevalent in our society. However, much can be done to combat this problem. This includes donating and volunteering at organizations such as Robin Hood or The Red Cross or supporting groups such as The Borgen Project that advocate for anti-poverty acts from Congress. The Borgen Project works alongside Congress and advocates for them to pass laws and legislation which have the potential to address how to eliminate global poverty. Last year, The Borgen Project built support for the Global Food Security Act. This act later became law and helped address food insecurity by teaching small-scale farmers sustainable techniques which produce more food. Overall, society can avoid the issues that stem from poverty by continuing to support these organizations.

– Nicholas Beauchamp

Photo: Pixabay

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Developing Countries Are Changing Education

Changing EducationThere are many organizations and companies that are investing in developing countries to better the lives of people that live in them and to also decrease the global rates of poverty and hunger. With all of the focus on helping developing countries, new advancements in these nations often slip under the radar.

One such achievement is the way developing countries are changing education. Experts are now looking at developing countries’ new initiatives and technology and investigating how these advancements can be applied to schools in developed countries.

There are several ways schools in developing countries are changing education. One way is the use of technology in classrooms. With tech companies such as Dell, which has recently created the initiative Youth Learning that gives students access to laptops for their studies, students in developing countries are learning and using more technology.

William Altman, who is a tech industry analyst at CB insights, says that schools in developing countries are more likely to use online tools in order to stay up to date. Schools in developed countries tend to continue to use traditional techniques because they have enough funding to do so.

For students in developing countries, technology is creating new ways to learn while also providing more opportunities. Jamil Salmi, an education economist and coordinator of higher education professionals at World Bank, discusses the importance of technology for developing countries in an interview for Voices.

He says, “Today, technological innovations are revolutionizing again the capacity to store, transmit, access and use information.” Salmi goes on to say that low cost for technology access is another reason why using technology is beneficial for students.

Another difference in schools from developing countries compared to those in developed countries is the teaching techniques themselves. Since there are such large student populations, some schools in developing countries had to develop ways to teach larger class sizes.

In 2015, the United Nations’ World Population Prospects reported that African countries such as Niger, Uganda and Chad account for all top 10 positions in world’s youngest populations. The result of a large number of students is to find solutions by trying new things and thus finding new ways to teach students.

Educators are now looking at how developing countries are changing education to see what is next for schools. Schools in developed countries are seeing what ways technology can be used in schools and what techniques work to teach the most students. It seems that the more new techniques that schools in developing countries try, the more advanced school systems get.

– Deanna Wetmore

Photo: Flickr

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The Good News That Poverty is Declining

Poverty is DecliningEradicating world poverty is a noble goal. Obtaining zero poverty levels by 2030 is one on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, and there are many indicators that the target could be within reach. Poverty is declining in most parts of the world, but in some countries, poverty reduction is not keeping up with the global pace.

The overall trend is positive. In 1820, when only 1.1 billion people populated the planet, one billion of these people lived in poverty. As recently as 1981, 41 percent of the world’s population was extremely poor or living on $1.90 per day. By 2013, the percentage was down to 10.7 percent.

In raw numbers, the largest number of people in extreme poverty peaked in 1970 when there were 3.7 billion people in the world. Of those, 2.2 billion people were living below the poverty line.

The economic growth of China and Asia has had a significant impact on global poverty decreasing. China began economic reform in the late 1970s and grew at 10 percent a year until 2010. This translated to 800 million people moving out of poverty, and those that benefitted lived in the city and rural sections of the country. The peasants were able to improve their living conditions by making their small farms highly productive.

In Bangladesh, poorly educated women found work in the textile factories and pulled themselves out of poverty. Economic growth is one factor that influences why poverty is declining. International aid through such organizations as USAID invests in water quality, medicine, schools and infrastructure that improve the quality of life for those trying to increase their standard of living. And global trade has improved living conditions for people in some of the poorest countries.

Sub-Saharan Africa is moving in a positive direction, but there is a caveat. Its poverty rate in 2013 was 41 percent, which dropped from 54 percent in 1990. However, its population is growing at a very fast pace of about 2.5 percent a year, making the total number of Africans living in absolute poverty higher. In fact, more than half the world’s extremely poor now live in sub-Saharan Africa.

Poverty reduction has moved at a fast pace over the last quarter of a century. When the members of the United Nations agreed to cut poverty by 50 percent from 1990 to 2015, they reached their goal five years early. New goals were set to reduce poverty to three percent by 2030. Poverty is declining, but the issue may move from a global problem to one focused on certain parts of the world. Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, will have to focus on how to balance its population growth with poverty reduction.

– Jene Cates

Photo: Flickr

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STEM Programs in Kazakhstan Invest in Young Engineers

STEM Programs in Kazakhstan
Robot battles, solar trackers and a laser that shoots for the moon — these are the inventions of western Kazakhstan’s youngest engineers. As part of their experience with the Zangar Initiative, which runs several STEM programs in Kazakhstan, these students combined the math and science they learn in school with the technological skills and hands-on experience that the initiative provides. The results seem almost like science fiction.

The results seem almost like science fiction. Although supported by Chevron and the International Youth Foundation, the community propels the initiative. The young people and their families chose the name “Zanger,” which is Kazakh for “mighty.”
The participating students are taught to use the engineering design process, a step-by-step guide for how to turn a brilliant idea into a concrete model. The process gives students a straightforward way to address a problem. They also learn skills like C programming and 3D design, which are not in the school curriculum, and have access to high-tech equipment.

The teens who participate in the STEM Capstone after-school clubs learn more than just technical skills. They often work in groups and learn both teamwork and stress management. One of the key tasks of a teammate, besides helping with design, is to steer his or her fellow engineers away from the temptation to give up should the early prototypes fail.

Perseverance is always rewarded. Many of these students go on to win regional and even national competitions. One student who created a laser designed to beam Helium-3, a potential clean energy source, from the moon to the earth, received a scholarship to the university of her choice in Kazakhstan.

The students of these STEM programs in Kazakhstan gain confidence in themselves and have high motivation to continue learning. Many of them gain the courage to become entrepreneurs. The program also opens their eyes to the needs of the community, inspiring service work and volunteering.

In December 2016, the city of Atyrau hosted its first STEM and English fair, featuring games and activities provided by the Zangar Initiative. Government officials hope that STEM programs in Kazakhstan will inspire a new generation of scientists and entrepreneurs, promoting economic and technological development within the country.

– Emilia Otte

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Why Global Dropout Rates Aren’t Improving

Global Dropout Rates
Even as the world prioritizes improving the accessibility and quality of education, global dropout rates continue to increase. In most developing countries, very few children graduate from secondary school or even finish primary school. Sub-Saharan Africa sees 42% of its pupils leaving school early, and 33% of southern and western Asian students also drop out. While free universal education for all children is an important goal, the way policies and organizations approach the goal should keep global dropout rates in mind.

Why don’t impoverished children stay in school? An obvious reason is the cost of schooling in general. Many schools offer free tuition, but expenses for lunch, uniforms and examinations all add up to a high cost. If local education doesn’t prepare students to meet local and national standards, parents are forced to pay for additional tutoring for their children. Also, educational opportunity comes at a cost if the children who typically produce an income for their families become full-time students. Since impoverished families are often large, supporting many children in their education becomes almost impossible. When choosing between a tutor and food for the next week, chances are the latter is a higher priority.

Going to school may even be dangerous for students, resulting in high global dropout rates in developing countries. Limited infrastructure forces many students to walk far distances every day. If an area is prone to conflict and hostility, walking students are at a high risk of encountering violence and becoming casualties.

Other factors influencing children to leave school include a lack of basic facilities like water points and latrines, support for disabled children, language barriers and discrimination based on gender, ethnicity or religion. The curriculum might drive children and families away from school if its mastery isn’t relevant to their lives, defeating the purpose of universal education.
Children who don’t go to school are often the most vulnerable and marginalized in a developing society. Of the 121 million children currently out of primary and secondary school worldwide, more than 60% live in impoverished countries.

Establishing universal education is the logical place to begin, but in order for the education system to be effective, it must address global dropout rates and tailor a learning environment that keeps students’ unique situations in mind. A curriculum that values real-life problem-solving and relevant topics, such as health and financial literacy, is more sustainable in impoverished regions than a more American, test score grading approach.

Students need to feel empowered and develop the knowledge and skills necessary for alleviating poverty. While the answer to poverty is already hazy, the world’s youngest minds may find the key that unlocks both a lifetime love of learning and a draw toward critical thinking required to manage their limited resources and create opportunities for themselves.

– Allie Knofczynski

Photo: Flickr