Archive for category: Food & Hunger

Information and stories on food.

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Cash Transfer Programs Provide Food Security

Cash Transfer Programs
For the last 30 years non-government organizations (NGOs) like the Transfer Project and Concern Worldwide have been working with the governments of African nations and conducting trials and experiments with African villages to gauge how simple cash transfer programs will benefit their communities. The idea is to give households a small increase in their spending power through cash transfers. Then, after several months, see if these transfers had a lasting economic benefit on the affected households and villages.

Kenya’s Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (CT-OVC)

Kenya’s Ministry of Home Affairs began a cash transfer program in 2004 with additional aid and funding from UNICEF. This program provides a cash transfer equivalent to $21 for households in Kenya that have a chronically ill caregiver for a child under 17 years of age. Since its implementation, this cash transfer program has aided more than 250,000 households and nearly 1 million people. It provides necessary resources for vulnerable children, such as food security and health care.

Niger’s Temporary Cash Transfer Program

Niger experienced a food and water crisis after a catastrophic drought threatened the agricultural industry in 2009 and 2010. The government of Niger implemented a temporary social program with the help of the NGO Concern Worldwide. This program aimed to provide cash transfers to families in order to prevent malnutrition and resource exhaustion. This program lasted for five months and provided more than 10,000 affected families with $45 each month in order to guarantee food security during the shortage crisis.

Niger’s Childhood Development Cash Transfer Program

After the successful trial of the cash transfer program during the drought and food crisis in 2010, Niger’s government decided to implement Project Filets Sociaux. This is a national cash transfer program dedicated to providing families with the extra help needed for childhood development. Since 2011, this program provided more than 87,000 households with nearly $16 a month for 24 months.

However, this program provided more than just cash transfers to hundreds of thousands of individuals. This program also included a behavioral change component which supplied education for thousands of households on early childhood development practices. Such education practices included breastfeeding, diarrhea rehydration, sleeping under mosquito netting and family planning. Later modules also included school readiness, brain development and discipline. This program experiment turned out to be so successful that many villages that were not receiving cash transfers still benefited from the behavioral modules and learning programs. These educational materials increased the number of affected households to as many as 200,000 with more than 1.5 million people aided.

Cash Benefits

Cash transfer programs have become one of the most popular ways for a government to address poverty within its country. Based on the success of previous cash transfer programs, Niger’s government knew that a cash transfer system would help alleviate poverty. In 2012, Niger began giving its most impoverished citizens about $16 a month for two years. This doubled the spending power of most of these citizens. Despite the fears that these individuals would instead spend this money on luxury items such as alcohol, the opposite was true. The recipients used their extra money productively.

A similar program in Kenya provided around $1,000 to more than 10,000 households in more than 650 random villages. Incredibly, economic activity also increased in nearby villages that had not received the cash transfer, further supporting the idea that cash transfer programs can reduce poverty in African nations.

A Promising Way Forward

A 2021 World Bank report identified nearly 200 similar cash transfer programs across 75 different countries, all providing food security and increasing the quality of life for nearly 92 million people. With such a promising track record, cash transfer programs have firmly established their usefulness in the fight to alleviate global poverty.

– Declan Harkness
Photo: Flickr

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UNDP’s Efforts to Rebuild the Homs Yeast Factory

Homs Yeast FactoryThe war in Syria has resulted in the destruction of important infrastructure including factories that produced yeast essential for making bread. The yeast would then be delivered to bakeries who use it to bake bread to sell to the people. However, because of the war, the only operating yeast factory is the one at Homs but it is producing less yeast than before due to reduced resources. Nevertheless, on June 1, 2022, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced that it will use its resources to rebuild the Homs factory so it can produce as much yeast as before the war. UNDP’s heroic efforts to rebuild the Homs yeast factory are an illustration of a modern-day success story.

This story is more inspiring when looking at the mechanical details of the Homs yeast factory before and after UNDP’s intervention. Before UNDP’s intervention, the yeast factory in Homs produced “only six to 10 tonnes of yeast” every day. This is 5% to 9% of the amount before the war started. But with the intervention, the UNDP is aiming to have the Homs factory produce “24 tonnes of yeast daily” to give to the bakeries in Syria so they can bake and sell bread to Syrians. This is an ambitious goal to achieve especially since the quality of life in Syria has deteriorated sharply in the 12 years since the war started.

Current Poverty Rate and Food Insecurity in Syria

The war in Syria has devastated the lives of ordinary Syrians with the poverty rate increasing and food insecurity worsening. This makes UNDP’s heroic efforts to rebuild the Homs yeast factory more uplifting. The number of Syrians living in poverty has reached nearly 90% of the population in the whole country as of June 1, 2022, according to a press release published on ReliefWeb.

Furthermore, as of June 1, 2022, the percentage of the population struggling with food insecurity is at a “historic highs with an estimated 60%.” Therefore, the UNDP is facing many obstacles in tackling food insecurity in Syria by rebuilding the Homs factory, which requires sophisticated solutions. Nevertheless, the UNDP has the necessary strategies to successfully reconstruct the Homs factory so it can feed more Syrians just like before the war started.

How the UNDP is Rebuilding the Homs Yeast Factory

UNDP’s heroic efforts to rebuild the Homs yeast factory are possible because of the meticulous plan the UNDP formulated within the Syria Humanitarian Response Plan. Technical assessments conducted by the UNDP on June 1, 2022, show that nearly $1 million is needed in order to reconstruct the Homs yeast factory.

UNDP is planning to allocate 80% of the $1 million to “the technical rehabilitation of yeast processing,” according to U.N. News. Twenty percent of that $1 million UNDP plans to spend on “packaging equipment, factory safety and hygiene standards.” The UNDP plan’s intended goal is to be able to feed 3 million more Syrians who cannot afford bread currently.

Nationwide Efforts to Distribute Bread to Syrians

Reducing poverty and food insecurity in Syria is not strictly dependent on UNDP’s heroic efforts to rebuild the Homs yeast factory. The interim government in Syria announced on May 19, 2022, that it “prohibited the export or transport of any of the strategic crops,” such as wheat. The reason is that prohibiting exports of wheat and other strategic crops would “achieve food security in the liberated areas.”

Furthermore, on June 13, 2022, the interim government in Syria has also been “working on a plan to purchase large quantities of grains,” from Syrian local farmers. That way, the interim government can “boost stocks needed to produce bread,” Al-Monitor reported. The efforts of the interim government, if successful, are complementary to UNDP’s work on rebuilding the Homs yeast factory which produces materials necessary for making bread.

Looking Ahead

UNDP’s energetic efforts to rebuild the Homs yeast factory highlight an international determination to help Syrians. It is commonly heard that the world is forgetting about Syria because of the longevity of the war. However, the UNDP’s hard work, planning and investment in rebuilding the factory shows that the world has not only not forgotten about Syrians, but is coming up with clever solutions to save them. International relations analysts usually ask whether the U.N. has lost its credibility because of its inability to end the Syrian war. The UNDP story proves that the U.N. is still credible and capable of saving lives despite the odds.

– Abdullah Dowaihy
Photo: Flickr

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Ending Food Insecurity in Australia

Food insecurity in Australia
Australian adults are the wealthiest in the world, yet food insecurity remains a prevalent issue in the country. One-quarter of adults experience food insecurity in Australia, while one in six people experience disruptions in their eating patterns and reduced food intake. According to Food Bank Australia, ” “These individuals and families are often forced to eat smaller meals and to make the food last longer or skip meals entirely.” Large bills or unexpected costs of living are among the top reasons why people cannot afford food. As a consequence of inadequate nutrition, many Australian adults are unable to achieve an active and healthy lifestyle. To combat the growing problem of food insecurity in Australia, interest groups like the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the Regrarians use lobbying to push for change.

Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance

Meeting different party demands is up to the farmers and civil society organizations like the AFSA. With 700 members, the AFSA represents workers, communities and smallholders to protect their right to nourish and culturally appropriate food grown in their homesteads. Distributing food to the poor requires socially-just management before anyone can receive aid.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) uses scientific infrastructure to fight to end food insecurity. Starting as an advisory board in 1916, its focuses range from changing weather to human welfare. CSIR assists the nation with converting food waste and researching sustainable foods.

One focus is chronic diseases which cost Australian society and government $58 billion in 2008. To reduce their occurrence, CSIR scientists create whole grains with human health benefits. Breakfast cereals, rice mixes, food wraps and bread incorporate the new whole grain. The projected outcome would save the country $17 million a year.

Regrarians

Regrarians, which is a term referring to a neologism of ‘regenerative agrarian’, work to make soil regeneration a precedent for farmers. A study from Ecdysis Foundation found that farms with regenerative practices were 78% more profitable than conventional plots. The Regrarians supply information for farmers to regenerate, restore and rekindle landscapes. The organization aims to notify consumers about the regenerative economy through education programs, media and goods.

Adults who cannot eat regularly rely on the food systems in Australia. Multidisciplinary science and industry export leaders surface when alms count against monetary sales. More than 15,000 people receive information from the Regrarians to create regenerative landscapes, involved societies and industry cures. Getting the country to improve food security requires intelligent leaders in CSIR and experienced farmers in the AFSA.

– Bryant Morisseau
Photo: Flickr

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The WFP’s Humanitarian Partnership with Uber

WFP’s Humanitarian Partnership with Uber
On June 8, 2022, Uber donated a customized version of its “Uber Direct” software app to the U.N.’s World Food Programme (WFP) to help distribute food in Ukraine. Some urban areas in Ukraine are hard to reach with conventional large delivery trucks because the areas are densely populated. Therefore, the WFP’s humanitarian partnership with Uber allows the WFP to use a customized version of the Uber Direct app so the WFP can easily reach food insecure Ukrainians in urban areas. In addition, with the Uber Direct app, the WFP will be able to “coordinate a fleet of vehicles and track deliveries in real time.”

Innovative Approaches to Delivering Aid

The WFP’s partnership with Uber highlights the potential of modern technology to solve modern-day global humanitarian issues. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia makes it difficult for international humanitarian organizations to deliver food and other essential items due to ongoing military operations.

Russia is blockading Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, which are important for the transportation of food to developing countries struggling with food insecurity. However, innovative approaches to delivering aid, such as the customized version of the Uber Direct software app, give humanitarian organizations opportunities to efficiently tackle food insecurity in war-torn countries. Thus, WFP’s partnership with Uber in Ukraine illustrates how technology can stand as an important tool in the reduction of global poverty.

The Food Insecurity Situation in Ukraine

As of May 21, 2022, one in three Ukrainian households faced food insecurity due to the war, according to the WFP. Furthermore, these Ukrainians have lost their jobs, which means they have no income to support themselves and many have had to abandon their homes.

Russian forces are destroying farms and croplands in Ukraine. Additionally, the Guardian reported on June 13, 2022, that “Ukraine’s national seed bank has been partly destroyed amid fighting in Kharkiv in the north-east, where almost 2,000 crop samples rest in underground vaults.” The situation further exacerbates food insecurity in Ukraine. Therefore, the WFP’s humanitarian partnership with Uber is necessary in order to easily deliver emergency food to Ukrainians at risk of food insecurity.

How Uber Can Assist in Tackling Food Insecurity in Ukraine

The WFP “is already using the [Uber Direct] app in Dnipro,” but because food insecurity is widespread in Ukraine, the WFP intends to also send deliveries of food aid to Lviv, Vinnytsia, Kyiv and Chernivtsi. The customized Uber Direct app allows the WFP  to “schedule, dispatch, track and manage deliveries by a network of cars and small vans to final distribution points within a 100km radius of WFP warehouses across the country.” Additionally, the WFP’s humanitarian partnership with Uber also includes a $250,000 donation from Uber to the WFP USA “to support the emergency response in Ukraine.”

Private Sector Support

Although the WFP’s humanitarian partnership with Uber is innovative and transformative, Uber is not the only private company providing support to the WFP to help Ukrainians. The John Deere Foundation, the charitable arm of John Deere, announced on May 18, 2022, a donation of $1 million to the WFP U.S.A so it can “combat global food insecurity” and tackle rising hunger in Ukraine. The John Deere Foundation also said that 50% of the donation will go to the WFP’s Innovation Accelerator, which “sources, supports and scales high-impact innovations to achieve zero hunger.” The support from Uber and the John Deere Foundation to the WFP illustrates the commitment of the private sector to humanitarian work, which is instrumental to ending global poverty.

Looking Ahead

International organizations have been documenting the steady decline in global poverty over the past decades before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However, some may wonder how global poverty can be declining, given the wars and conflicts ongoing in many countries around the world. To find the answer is to look at how humanitarian organizations are leveraging their relationships with the private sector to discover creative ways to solve poverty and hunger. The WFP’s use of the customized Uber Direct app in Ukraine to deliver food to densely populated areas is a shining and, perhaps, enduring example.

– Abdullah Dowaihy
Photo: Flickr

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WFP’s Cash and Food Assistance Programs

WFP’s Cash and Food Assistance Programs
The World Food Programme (WFP) implements cash and food assistance programs that give individuals at risk of falling into poverty money and food to support themselves. The WFP’s cash and food assistance programs’ main goals are to reduce poverty, alleviate food insecurity and boost economic development.

Assisting the DRC

A successful example is the WFP’s cash assistance program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where 26 million people are at risk of facing acute hunger as of May 2022. An article published on May 17, 2022, states that the WFP considers the DRC its “biggest emergency” because conflict and the pandemic compound the nation’s circumstances of poverty.

Benefiting about 100,000 of the most impoverished people in the N’sele municipality, the WFP’s social protection and cash assistance program has occurred in partnership with UNICEF. The cash assistance equates to about $40 a month for beneficiaries to sustain their livelihoods and afford food, which became expensive as a result of the Ukraine-Russia war.

Community members attest that the cash assistance program in the DRC has helped improve the lives of many people. The WFP’s recent success with the cash assistance program in the DRC stands as proof that continuous international financial support for the WFP is necessary to help the developing world tackle poverty.

In recent years, the WFP has been experiencing “funding shortfalls” due to the pandemic’s impact on member states’ abilities to donate. This negatively affected WFP’s ability to reduce poverty further in developing or war-torn countries around the world. Thus, increased financial contribution to the WFP can lead to economic recovery in developing countries.

How Funding Shortfalls are Impacting WFP’s Goals

Although the reduced funding negatively impacted WFP’s cash and food assistance programs, it hurt refugees and vulnerable communities more. For example, in 2021, the WFP had to consider cutting down on food rations for refugees in Cameroon as a result of insufficient funding, potentially impacting 70,000 Nigerians and 100,000 Central African Republic refugees.

In Jordan, the WFP could no longer provide food aid to about 263,000 Syrian refugees by the close of August 2021. In Tanzania, the WFP’s refugee support program had to implement “ration cuts of up to 32[%] of the minimum calorie requirement since December 2020” due to funding inadequacies.

This highlights the necessity of continued funding of the WFP to help developing countries reduce poverty and boost their economies.

WFP Tackles Poverty Despite Funding Issues

Despite its recent financial setbacks, the WFP is still the world leader in tackling food insecurity and poverty. Ukraine stood as the breadbasket of the world until the Russian invasion in February 2022, prompting a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

However, the WFP’s cash and food assistance programs managed to mitigate the impacts of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. For example, in May 2022, the WFP managed to give 1 million Ukrainians cash to support themselves amid the crisis and “injected nearly US$74 million into the Ukrainian economy.” Furthermore, the WFP is delivering essential foods, such as rice and pasta, to approximately 420,000 people a month.

Countries Financially Supporting the WFP

There are still countries around the world that acknowledge the crucial role of the WFP’s cash and food assistance programs in reducing poverty. On May 19, 2022, the United States Congress passed H.R. 7691, which authorizes the government to spend $5 million on humanitarian assistance in Ukraine. This funding authorization will help the WFP “provide life-saving assistance to millions of people around the world.”

On May 30, 2022, the European Union donated €5 million to the WFP so it can deliver food to 1.6 million food-insecure individuals in Burkina Faso.

Looking Ahead

The World Food Programme still stands as the leading global humanitarian organization that saves millions of lives daily, which is why it won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. However, the WFP still needs continuous international support through increased financial contributions from the international community.

Global citizens and anti-poverty advocates must continue to push their governments and representatives to donate more to the WFP to address the impacts of funding shortfalls on the world’s most disadvantaged people.

– Abdullah Dowaihy
Photo: Flickr

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Macron’s Re-election and Poverty in France

Poverty in France
After a two-week campaign against Marine Le Pen, the French people re-elected Emmanuel Macron as their president on April 24, 2022, for another five-year mandate. The man who many often call the “president of the rich” has to deal with a country that is experiencing more and more inequalities today. After a first mandate in which Macron had to deal with the yellow vests or “Gilets Jaunes” movements requesting economic and social justice, France experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Poverty in France has become central to its people, whose main concern is their purchasing power amidst rising inflation. In fact, France’s inflation rate was 4.5% in March 2022.

Poverty in France

Although many know France for how it funds education, health care services and retirement pensions, the pandemic has had an impact on the French people. COVID hit parttime workers and workers in the informal economy especially hard. Additionally, many students were ineligible for state support during the pandemic, and many migrants and clandestine workers were only able to obtain support from NGOs.

The Fight Against Poverty in France Over the Last Five Years

In order to answer the needs and requests of the French people, the French government took different measures to adapt to each crisis the country was going through. Back in 2018, Macron first began with a $9.3 billion plan to fight the poverty in which nine million people in France are living.

Macron’s philosophy has always been to allow people to get out of poverty through work. Hence, Macron’s government decreased income tax and distributed a €100 bonus to low-income workers. The government adopted the “no matter the cost policy” to support businesses that the pandemic affected, thus protecting as many jobs as possible starting with the medical professionals who benefited from a €9 billion salary increase.

What About the Next Five Years?

Despite the fact that the populist class voted for Marine Le Pen, Macron has plans to continue his fight against poverty in France. The first measure Macron promised upon re-election was to provide “food cheques” to the people who cannot afford high-quality, local food.

With the ongoing war in Ukraine and the rise in prices of gas, Macron authorized subsidies for energy bills. However, the main measure of his program is to provide work and employment for people so they can get out of poverty. For that to happen, Macron is encouraging employers to recruit employees by adopting “pro-businesses reforms.”

After efforts to alleviate poverty over the last five years, the country is more in need of more reforms to fight poverty. The recently re-elected president has already started to implement some reforms and has work to do to please the important part of France’s population that is against his policies and is seeing its purchasing power diminish every day.

– Youssef Yazbek
Photo: Flickr

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Fighting Food Insecurity by Decreasing Food Waste

Decreasing Food Waste
Food waste is any food fit for human consumption that one disposes of or uses for a differing purpose either due to choice or circumstances such as food expiry. In a 2014 report, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that food waste compounds the severity of poverty because it negatively impacts hunger, “nutrition, income generation and economic growth.” An essential point of the report is that the need for decreasing food waste is a global issue and food waste occurs at every level of the food supply chain.

The Global Issue of Food Waste

In lower-income countries, the barriers to decreasing food waste include, “managerial or technical limitations in harvesting techniques, storage, transportation, processing, cooling facilities, infrastructure, packaging and marketing systems.” For middle-income to higher-income countries, food waste often occurs on the consumer side, for example, improper meal planning that leads to food wastage. In addition, policies, such as agricultural subsidies, can lead to the excess production of certain crops. Food safety regulations may also lead to the wastage of food that is still fit for human consumption.

To visualize the dizzying scale of food waste, the FAO reported in 2021 that “17% of total global food production” goes to waste. The UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021 confirms this, highlighting further that in 2019 global food waste equated to 931 million tonnes of food waste, 61% of which occurred at the household level. The report finds that “household per capita food waste generation” is similar across all nations, developing and developed. In brief, food waste is an issue that spans across class and country lines — a global crisis that requires a global solution.

How the FAO is Fighting Food Insecurity

The FAO is fighting food insecurity through education and collaboration with other governmental institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private partnerships. Among these educational endeavors, the FAOs’ SAVE FOOD initiative aims to reduce food waste in SAARC countries (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) by educating smallholder farmers on proper post-harvest management practices. Post-harvest loss occurs at high rates of 20%-40%, mainly due to a lack of awareness and knowledge, which can affect “food availability, food security and nutrition.” Especially in countries with “traditional fruit and vegetable supply chains,” namely Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, the SAVE FOOD initiative prioritizes post-harvest management training.

How the Private Sector Fights Food Insecurity

Private sector partners are addressing food waste-created food insecurity at all levels, from the production of food to its consumption. One of these partners, GrainPro, is decreasing food waste through its high-tech “GrainPro Cocoon” in Bangladesh, one of the FAO’s prioritized SAARC countries. The GrainPro Cocoon decreases food waste because it preserves dry grains, spices and seeds “in an airtight and moisture-tight container.” The containers are uniquely suitable for Bangladesh and other countries prone to flooding. GrainPro containers are easily transportable and can protect contents from flooding up to as high as a meter.

Under a Bangladeshi Department of Agriculture Extension project in partnership with the official GrainPro partners of Bangladesh, Allied Agro Industries and ACI Motors, 800 units of the GrainPro Cocoon went out to Bangladeshi farmers. Farmers who used the GrainPro Cocoon to store paddy seeds saw a “20% increase in production” due to improved seed quality, which positively impacted farmers’ income. For a country with about 48% of the population economically relying on agriculture, this continued collaboration will enable people to escape extreme poverty.

10x20x30 Initiative

The World Resources Institute’s (WRI) 10x20x30 Initiative is a compelling development in decreasing food waste. The initiative began in 2019 by the WRI Champions 12.3 coalition, which is a joint team of “executives from governments, businesses, international organizations, research institutions, farmer groups and civil society” all committed to reducing food waste. This coalition aims to reach U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, namely to reduce by 50% “global food waste at retail and consumer levels” while minimizing “food loss during production and supply.”

In 2020, the WRI rallied 12 food retailers and foodservice providers, including “six of the world’s largest food retailers” and secured commitments from these providers to recruit 20 of their own respective suppliers to focus on achieving SDG 12.3. The commitments led to nearly 200 food suppliers globally committing to cutting their food waste in half by 2030.

A remarkable amount of progress is visible in decreasing food waste as a result of the commitments of the international community. Going forward, global participation in decreasing food waste must continue in order to reach the global goals of combating hunger and achieving zero poverty.

– Chester Lankford
Photo: Flickr

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5 Facts About Malnutrition in Latvia

Malnutrition in Latvia
According to the World Bank, in 2018, the poverty rate in Latvia stood at almost 23%. Malnutrition in Latvia is a consequence of high poverty rates and economic instability. Latvia’s government is taking steps to prevent the issue from becoming more severe.

5 Facts About Malnutrition in Latvia

  1. Anemia is prevalent among Latvian women. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “iron deficiency is the most common form of micronutrient malnutrition globally.” This typically leads to anemia, a “condition in which [one] lack[s] enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to [one’s] body tissues,” which can lead to fatigue, heart problems and an increased risk of death. World Bank data from 2019 finds that in Latvia specifically, slightly more than one-fifth of non-pregnant females 15-49 suffered from anemia.
  2. Overweight and obesity impact Latvian people. Overweight and obesity are forms of malnutrition that increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, strokes and many other illnesses. Statistics show that 58% of the total Latvian population was overweight in 2014 and 24% suffered from obesity. The female rate of obesity was higher than men at 25% and 22% respectively. Because “the prevalence of obesity contributes to an increase in health care expenditure,” as with other forms of malnutrition, the economic impact on a nation is clear.
  3. About 5,000 Latvian infants were below the minimum weight standard in 2012. A low-weight infant increases the risk of health issues significantly. Some issues might include trouble breathing, jaundice and infections. When a woman does not gain enough weight during pregnancy or suffers malnutrition, this increases the chance of an underweight newborn baby, endangering the baby’s life. Additionally, underweight babies are at risk of developing other illnesses later in life, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and intellectual or developmental disabilities.
  4. Malnutrition contributes to child mortality. As of 2013, the mortality rate for Latvian children younger than 5 stood at 8.4%. According to WHO, “around 45% of deaths among children under 5 years of age are linked to undernutrition.” These circumstances are especially prevalent in lower-income countries such as Latvia.
  5. Well-balanced diets are lacking in Latvia. A 2021 press release by the Central Statistics Bureau of Latvia states that less than 40% of the population (15 and older) consume fruit or vegetables “once a day or more often.” This statistic indicates that many Latvians do not consume nutritious, well-balanced diets essential for preventing malnutrition. The survey data by the Central Statistics Bureau of Latvia also finds that poverty plays a role in these patterns. Households with higher levels of income, education and employment consumed more fruits and vegetables daily in comparison to those with lower socioeconomic statuses.

Government Solutions

Because adequate nutrition is essential for a high quality of life, it is key to implement strategies to improve malnutrition in Latvia. To address issues of malnutrition in schools, in 2006, Latvia banned schools from selling unhealthy foods and drinks such as sodas. Latvia has also set guiding nutritional standards for meals provided at education facilities and health care facilities. The nation has also introduced a “tax on sugar-sweetened beverages and a reduced value-added tax rate for fresh vegetables, fruit and berries.”

Unfortunately, socioeconomic status continues to determine the types of foods Latvian households purchase. Because those living in poverty are less likely to purchase fruits and vegetables, they are most likely to suffer from malnutrition. With this in mind, addressing the poverty rate in the nation will likely lead to a reduction in malnutrition in Latvia as healthy foods become more accessible to people of all income levels.

– Kler Teran
Photo: Flickr

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Desertification and Farming in the Sahel

Farming in the Sahel
Desertification is a problem that those living in the Sahel Region have faced for many years. Desertification is when areas of viable land for farming dry up and are absorbed or transformed into a more desert-like climate. The Sahel Region spans 10 African countries including Burkina Faso, Chad and Cameroon. The Sahel Region has lost millions of hectares of easily accessible farming land to the desert, thus creating food insecurity and loss of income for thousands, if not millions, in the region.

The Impact of Desertification

Desertification is the official term for the process when fertile land, typically in an arid, semi-arid or sub-humid area, loses enough moisture to receive classification as desertland or drylands. The drylands are 40% of the earth’s land surface. According to the United Nations, the rate of degradation in areas susceptible to desertification has sped up 30 more times than in previous years. Increased human activity and the lack of rainfall for extended periods are the leading causes of dryland desertification. Desertified lands officially are 10% of the Earth’s land surface. Many families in areas at risk of desertification rely on farming for their income. But, as the land dries, farming becomes impossible.

Desertification hits some of the most vulnerable populations as it takes away income sources. Desertified land can neither grow crops nor provide the food or land necessary for livestock. The land that some once coveted for farming now cannot retain water. The income that agriculture and livestock farming on desertified land formerly bought no longer exists.

Farming in the Sahel Region

The Sahel Region is officially a semi-arid climate, making farming difficult. Large companies do not typically organize farming in the Sahel Region. Instead, farming is family or community-run and provides food immediately for the owners and operators of the farms. There is little food or livestock traded elsewhere to earn income. Additionally, there is little to no developed infrastructure for communities to develop commercial farming.

Farming in the Sahel Region does not provide a lot of income, nor is it located in an area with highly-ranked or flourishing economies. It has, however, in many past years, contributed at least 45% of each region’s gross domestic product. Many countries in the Sahel Region employ the majority of their workforce in the agriculture sector. In half of the countries of the Sahel Region, poverty rates are as high as 40%. Therefore, the income of the Sahel Region farmers is vital.

In Chad, farmers earn an average of $253 a month. Mali farmers earn less than Chad farmers, with an average monthly income of $169. Senegal farmers earn around $173 a month. These farmers earn enough to sustain themselves, but there is rarely extra money to circulate into the local economy.

How to Improve Farming in the Sahel Region

Farming in the Sahel Region is a race against the clock as the region faces desertification. Organizations such as Context Global (CGD) invest in small farms to bring about economic growth and improvements to the Sahel Region farming communities. CGD does this by creating international links between the farms. CGD builds commercial links without requiring membership in an overarching organization so the farms can maintain independence and gain more experience to advance their operations and incomes.

In the desertified lands, though, farming is incredibly difficult. To combat desertification, there is a new farming tool called the Delfino Plough. The plough brings the ground back to life. This plow, in particular, can cover a minimum of 10 hectares a day to revitalize the land. As the plow moves along along the farmland, it injects seeds deep into the ground that are rich in vitamins to allow the soil to sustain life. As nutrients seep into the ground, it can revert back to its original state and sustain more and more crops.

Creating Opportunity

The more crops that farms are capable of producing, the more they can earn and provide for their landowners and communities. The land brought back to life saves the farmers money as well. If they can grow hay instead of buying it, farmers save money that they can then spend on other farming necessities. With the efforts of organizations such as CGD and tools such as the Delfino Plough, the farmers will have the opportunity to expand their farming operations and increase their immediate incomes while saving for the future.

– Clara Mulvihill
Photo: Flickr

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The Link Between Food Insecurity and Disability

food insecurity and disability
Food insecurity disproportionately affects people with disabilities because they are often at higher risk of unemployment and lower-paying salaries. Additionally, people with disabilities are more likely to encounter obstacles with transportation and accessibility at work. Economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic make food insecurity an even more widespread issue for people with disabilities, especially in developing countries. Around the world, there is a strong link between disability and food insecurity. Fortunately, solutions exist to help reduce poverty and alleviate food insecurity among people with disabilities.

Social and Economic Disparities

People with disabilities face an array of challenges that make them more susceptible to poverty and food insecurity. For example, stigmatization and discrimination increase the likelihood of people with disabilities facing hunger and malnutrition. This marginalized group is also at increased risk of enduring poor living conditions and limited access to health care.

From a young age, people with disabilities are less likely to have access to education. This makes it more difficult to secure job opportunities and afford basic essentials as an adult. Social services and assistive technologies for disabilities also tend to be scarce in developing countries. A variety of socioeconomic factors, intensified by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, drive the link between food insecurity and disability.

Disability Assistance

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), there are several ways to combat food insecurity among people with disabilities. One way is to provide federal and local disability assistance. Disability assistance programs help people with disabilities obtain the economic means to meet and sustain their basic needs. Disability assistance is designed to compensate for lower earnings and higher living expenses that people with disabilities often face, especially in low-income areas.

However, many disability assistance programs do not provide enough assistance to fully combat poverty or food insecurity. Proper funding and resources are necessary for disability assistance programs to succeed in addressing the link between food insecurity and disability.

Food Assistance

In contrast to disability assistance programs, USDA also advocates food assistance programs that are designed to provide food sources to people with disabilities. However, food assistance programs are only short-term solutions to food insecurity. These types of programs rarely protect people with disabilities from long-term poverty and food insecurity. People with disabilities often have difficulties making their way to food distributors, managing food resources and preparing food on their own. Food assistance programs typically do not address any of these issues. Therefore, in order to fully address the connection between food insecurity and disability, people with disabilities need equal access to long-term economic opportunities. Food assistance programs can help combat food insecurity, but cannot single-handedly address the problem.

Possible Solutions

In the long run, a combination of public and private disability and food assistance programs may be necessary to combat food insecurity among people with disabilities. Additionally, reforming education systems and workplaces to make them more accessible could allow many people with disabilities to pull themselves and their families out of poverty and food insecurity. Removing social and economic barriers is essential in the fight against food insecurity, especially for people with disabilities.

– Cleo Hudson
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