Inflammation and stories on future

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What the 2022 Annual Goalkeepers Reports Says About the Future of Poverty

Future of Poverty
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently released its annual Goalkeepers Report aimed at analyzing data relating to the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and insights on the future of poverty. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a nonprofit with the goals of fighting poverty, disease and inequalities around the world. Bill and Melinda Gates formed it in 1994. As philanthropists, they made it their Foundation’s mission to use their resources to fulfill the U.N.’s SDGs which also aligns with the work of their Foundation.

The SDGs

 The SDGs are 17 economic, social or environmental goals that the U.N. implemented to protect the planet, achieve prosperity and end poverty. The 2022 Goalkeepers Report is ambitious and complex, in that the expectations of enduring a pandemic and multiple wars were non-existent while setting the SDGs. However, the report stated that the magnitude of these events may have had ill effects on the data but a positive one on the actual reality of working towards those goals. The report also stated that there are two things no data point can prove: crisis and innovation.

Major Takeaways and Analyses from the 2022 Goalkeepers Report

Going back to the effects of the pandemic and conflicts such as the Ukraine-Russia war, it is not unusual for these events to negatively affect the data. The pandemic left 114 million people unemployed in 2020, meaning 114 million people lost stable livelihoods. Not only the pandemic left people without jobs, but it also caused severe disruptions in the supply chain due to border closures, a lack of workforce and financial instability. Panic buying and deficiency in stocks were major consequences of the inadequate supply chain, making goods less and less accessible.

Another disruption that hit the supply chain was the Russia-Ukraine War. Many African nations heavily depended on wheat imports from Ukraine. With the emergence of war stopping the shipments, the price of wheat-based products surged to the highest level its been in 40 years. Even though prices have relatively stabilized, the small shock showed how modern famine could present itself and how little the world is prepared for it.

After turbulent times for the world economy, Goalkeepers Report data shows promise not necessarily in the numbers themselves, but in the intangible potential for human ingenuity. Gates commented in the report that “No projection can ever account for the possibility of game-changing innovation” on the data projections on the SDGs for the next 10 years.

Financial Autonomy for Women

A significant step in reducing poverty is firstly making sure all people have access to money. Gender equality is essential in making sure both men and women have the same opportunities and means of accessing their money. Making financial platforms available and secure for women, especially in low-income countries, is necessary for achieving financial autonomy for both genders.

Data shows there has been an upwards trend in the last 5 years in the number of women owning a financial account and mobile money account. Mobile money account ownership of women in low-income countries increase from approximately 12% in 2017 to 24% in 2021. What this dataset indicates is more than the concrete number of women owning bank accounts, but the subject of women taking ownership of their livelihoods.

Tieing this to the initial message of the report, even though data is just data, the human aspect behind it is what makes the future more hopeful and brighter. Another take on the future of poverty from the report is the need for a replanning of the strategy behind food and humanitarian aid.

Strategy for Humanitarian Aid

Gates highlights that “The goal should not simply be giving more food aid. It should be to ensure no aid is needed in the first place.” Numbers on the report show the money spent on food aid keeps getting more and more every year, hitting a high of $57 billion in 2020. Whereas funding for agricultural research which will help developing countries create food security in the long run barely increase in the last 10 years, with only $9 billion in 2020. Comparing the money spent on a temporary solution such as food aid to agricultural research, numbers seem promising yet the truth behind it is that our strategy needs improving.

Taking into account the severe climate stress the agriculture industry will endure in Sub-Saharan Africa, “32 million more people in Africa are projected to be hungry in 2030” the report states. Solving world hunger is key to reducing poverty in the future, as more food on the market means cheaper and more accessible it is for the more disadvantaged. It is a very achievable challenge, as long as people change the strategy in their approach to food crises and look beyond the data.

As Gates states, “That challenge (solving food hunger) can’t be solved with donations. It requires innovation.” This is exactly what the Gatekeepers 2022 report suggests and promotes. A look beyond data and a vision larger than just numbers are what will define the future of poverty.

– Selin Oztuncman
Photo: Flickr

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Educating Children To Become World Citizens

Educating Children to Become World CitizensThere has been generally positive growth in the awareness of global issues for a long time now. Global poverty is one such issue. Cases of successful poverty reduction can be used as inspiration for encouraging global engagement from a young age. Educating children to become world citizens may very well inspire them to become future leaders for positive changes worldwide.

However, the subject of poverty can be a difficult concept for students to grasp. It is especially challenging for those who have no exposure to a world beyond their own. Teachers who feel passionate about exposing children to global poverty must consider the age of their students. Depending on the class’s age, teachers can determine the best methods and approaches for introducing such an important topic.

Potential Curriculums

  • Ages 6-10: For children at such a young age, the concept must be sensitively introduced. One such way to do this is by framing poverty through a story. A storybook allows children to make comparisons between someone their own age living in poverty and their own lives. Afterward, the lesson encourages them to ask questions and relate their own experiences to what they are learning about.
  • Ages 11-13: Children at this age are already more aware of the small differences between themselves and others. This awareness makes 11-13 the perfect age range to introduce children to cultures apart from their own. For the lesson, instructors may assign children a specific country that is facing extreme poverty and ask them to research schools in that country. Students may then compare the resources, teacher’s education and accessibility of the school they are researching to their own school. Documenting these differences in a notebook allows the children to then use the notebook as a reflection of what they have learned.
  • Ages 14-18: As young adults explore their lives and their futures, they are excited to explore different and new concepts. They are also developing their own opinions about their passions and beliefs. Exposing them to different artistic observations of poverty through documentaries and photography helps young adults see impoverished countries as unique and vibrant rather than poor and helpless. Additionally, young adults become more aware of their own finances at this age. Students making their own money for the first time are able to sympathize with lessons on the economy of poor countries, such as microfinancing and budgeting less than $1 a day.

Organizations Educating Children to Become Global Citizens

Exposure is critical when educating children to become world citizens. Introducing pertinent organizations and speakers who have been affected by global poverty or work closely in fighting it makes lessons come to life.

  • Edutopia, founded by George Lucas, this foundation is on a mission to transform education. One of its goals is to provide children with the knowledge that will help them in the real world when they grow up. The website provides teaching strategies including how to diversify what students are taught. The 5 Minute Film Festival is a resource through Edutopia that gives teachers access to various documentaries. The festival also includes the Change Series, published by the creators of the documentary Living on One Dollar. This includes episodes on the challenges developing countries face. Some such challenges include access to clean water, resources for natural disasters, and the prevalence of malnutrition.
  • CARE is an organization that works to make a difference in countries facing extreme poverty. They recognize education as a primary resource in poverty eradication and provide a toolkit for teachers addressing some of the major challenges in making poverty a thing of the past. CARE uses the United Nation’s Millenium Development Goals as guidelines for lessons and activities such as women empowerment, disabilities and diseases. 
  • TV Programs: Journalist David Brancaccio hosts PBS NOW, a program that addresses domestic issues but also goes beyond by looking at the world as a whole. The show addresses foreign affairs, the environment and health. Teachers can use the show’s various topics, such as child brides and climate change, to assist in educating children to become world citizens.

Hope for the Future

Children’s rising interest in international issues from an early age allows them to see the world from a different perspective. There has already been a lot of success in reducing global poverty. Yet, understanding challenges across the globe is often overlooked – even by people in wealthier countries that are given the luxury of education. By exposing children and allowing them to explore the world, teachers are educating children to become world citizens.

– Zoe Schlagel
Photo: Flickr

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The Tony Elumelu Foundation: Fostering Entrepreneurship in Africa

Entrepreneurship in Africa
Africa stands as a continent of nearly 1.3 billion people, with 27 nations having a poverty rate of over 30%. As COVID-19 spreads through the region, falling demand and break down of supply chains threaten to further slow already-sluggish growth rates. Ever the land of great resilience and innovation, hundreds of enterprising individuals have excelled in Africa, enriching themselves and their countries. Increasingly more Africans are seeking out entrepreneurial and small business opportunities to combat poverty. One such businessman helping in this effort, multimillionaire Tony Elumelu, is using his wealth to fuel entrepreneurship in Africa and transform the continent into a booming commercial hub and providing hope for the future.

Roadblocks to Economic Growth in Africa

Africa’s economy has long suffered stubborn development setbacks. Government inaction, fragile infrastructure and widespread instability have hindered the region’s industrialization and economic growth. Many countries grapple with deficient infrastructure, including inadequate means of transportation, limited access to electricity and water and poor telecommunications systems. The World Bank estimates that the resolution of these structural shortcomings would increase the region’s productivity by as much as 40%.

Politicians have been reluctant to bolster manufacturing despite an international consensus on Africa’s need for industrialization. Such apprehension can be partially attributed to Africa’s unique position in the world economy: a pre-industrial continent already aspiring to post-industrialism. This misguided ambition has discouraged lawmakers from implementing protectionist policies. Without tariffs that benefit domestic manufacturing industries, larger international corporations choke out Africa’s budding factories and discourage entrepreneurship in Africa.

Ongoing fiscal and political instability serves to magnify these already difficult issues. Mounting debt levels divert money from investment to reimbursement and waste significant capital on unproductive endeavors. For example, sub-Saharan Africa’s aggregate debt-to-GDP ratio doubled from 2008 to 2017. Additionally, frequent leadership turnover has deterred international companies from entering African countries.

Working to mitigate these hurdles is Tony Elumelu, the founder of Heirs Holdings Ltd, a private investment corporation that operates in the energy sector. Beyond oil and gas, Elumelu is investing in a far more valuable asset: Africa’s future innovators. His nonprofit organization, the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), empowers young entrepreneurs with the resources they need to build meaningful businesses.

How The Tony Elumelu Foundation Advances Entrepreneurship in Africa

The Tony Elumelu Foundation fosters entrepreneurship in Africa to alleviate poverty and spark economic gains. The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme offers grants and mentorship to innovative African businesspeople, allowing them to transform their ideas into profitable corporations. Endowed with a generous $100 million, the program has already assisted 9,000 individuals in creating businesses that invigorate their entire communities.

The broad scope of TEF’s investments cultivates economic diversification, a key tenet of development and stability. Some of the organization’s recent beneficiaries include:

  • Stars From All Nations (SFAN): Headed by Tom-Chris Emewulu, SFAN nourishes young minds through informative programs and workshops. Aimed at augmenting and supplementing children’s schooling, the company is helping to resolve Africa’s undereducation crisis.
  • Doctoora: Jubril Odulana, a Nigerian doctor, created Doctoora as a solution to Africa’s limited healthcare access. The platform collaborates with medical professionals to open private practices and ensures patients receive the care they need. In the face of COVID-19, Doctoora plays an essential role in promoting public health across the region.
  • Ufinix.com: The brainchild of Nnodim Uchenna, Ufinix.com offers aspiring developers comprehensive coding courses and guidance, preparing them for future careers in computer science. By equipping students with technological knowledge, the website is propelling Africa into the digital age.
  • Light Salone: Light Salone founder Mohammed Akamara aims to redress Sierra Leone’s severe energy shortage. In pursuit of this goal, Akamara engineered affordable hybrid solar-wind power sources to electrify rural areas and boost development. Manufactured using recycled supplies, these Sowind Technologies provide a mindful solution to Sierra Leone’s electrical desert.

By supporting young visionaries, the Tony Elumelu Foundation is generating hope, ambition and entrepreneurship in Africa. Its passionate beneficiaries are launching innovative and impactful companies that not only empower their creators but also their communities. The foundation has employed the continent’s most creative, altruistic minds, initiating a cycle of philanthropy that portends Africa’s future prosperity.

– Rosalind Coats
Photo: Flickr

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The Wonderbag: Changing Women’s Lives

the_wonderbagThe Wonderbag is a revolutionary non-electric cooker with the capacity to change the way people cook around the world. The Wonderbag website describes the product as “a simple but revolutionary non-electric heat-retention cooker. It continues to cook food that has been brought to the boil by conventional methods for up to 12 hours without the use of additional fuel.”

The Wonderbag works by allowing the person cooking to heat any pot of food and then place the boiling pot into the bag and seal it. The initial heating can be done in any way whatsoever: on a stove in a modern kitchen, over a campfire or on a charcoal fire in a developing country’s village. The heat from the initial boiling keeps the food cooking inside the Wonderbag for eight to 12 hours.

The Wonderbag is portable and can be used anywhere. In addition to heating food, it can also be used as a cooler. All you have to do is freeze it and it will keep food cold for hours.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, inventor Sarah Collins said “The biggest killer in the world is indoor air pollution related diseases; over 4 million people die annually from cooking related fire diseases,” half of whom are under five years of age. Also, the burning of fuels causes hundreds of thousands of burns every year, according to the Wonderbag website.

Deforestation is a major problem around the world and is happening especially quickly in the developing world where they still use wood and charcoal as fuel and for the purposes of cooking. And by 2025, water shortages may affect up to two-thirds of the world’s population. In an interview with Climate Action, inventor Sarah Collins stated that: “The bag can reduce the amount of fossil fuels that people use for cooking by 90 percent.”

According to the Wonderbag website, the preparation of food can have a particularly damaging effect on the progress of women in developing countries. Preparing food can take hours, including the time spent gathering fuel. The use of the Wonderbag can free up several hours a day, allowing girls time to go to school and women time to do other work.

According to Climate Action, Collins says that through humanitarian work, she aims to get her product to “the people who live on a dollar a day in the developing world.” In the developing world, the bag can be used similarly to a slow cooker in a modern kitchen.

Finally, for each Wonderbag purchased by someone in the developed world, one will be donated to a family in the developing world, linking people all around the world to each other.

– Rhonda Marrone

Sources: Wonderbag, Facebook, Huffington Post, Climat Action Programme
Photo: Flickr

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Google Unveils Project Sunroof

Project_sunroof
In 2008, solar panels were considered to be an enviable luxury. Beginning in 2013, the prices thereof began to lower, and this year the cost of solar technology is at a record low and can actually save thousands of dollars per year on electric bills.

There are still a lot of factors to consider where the installation of solar panels are concerned: how much sunlight hits the roof, the local weather, or if there are any businesses nearby where someone could be hired to install them.

Since so many people have asked Google about solar energy, engineer Carl Elkin came up with the initial idea that has since become Project Sunroof. This online tool takes the data from Google Maps and gives all the necessary information including how much money could be saved by installing solar panels.

In the next few months, the project goal is to expand to more cities, more countries and eventually become accessible worldwide. “Elkin writes that Project Sunroof is part of Google’s wider vision of accelerating the wide-scale adaption of zero-carbon energy.”

Solar panels, also called photovoltaic panels, turn energy from the sun into electricity. That energy is then synchronized to become compatible with the power grid in the home. This process actually saves energy that was formerly reliant on carbon energy and replaces it with something that is actually better for the environment.

A popular myth is that solar energy is unreliable, so people will avoid considering the technology until it improves. In actuality, solar panels generally come with a manufacturer’s warranty of 25 years and also requires little to no maintenance during its lifetime. There are few existing electronics to date with 25-year warranties.

So, with all of the existing benefits of solar energy to the environment and to the people who utilize it, the solar subscription service Bright has decided to bring those benefits to developing countries starting with Mexico.

“Working with local partners, Bright provides the software, financing, and maintenance. Using its software, it monitors installations and deploys partners to fix any errors.” These initiatives make energy more affordable and therefore, more accessible and enjoyable.

Project Loon gives the developing world access to the internet, and Project Sunroof combined with the initiatives of services such as Bright gives the necessary energy for not only the maintaining of devices that connect to the internet but also for everyday activities.

So, not only can the developing world be provided with water mills and food, but can even (for example) be helped with alternative methods of storing them and keeping them fresh for longer periods of time.

– Anna Brailow

Sources: Voice of America, IFL Science, RE-volv, Bright
Photo: CS Monitor

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Higher Grades for Girls, Fewer Enrolled

A recent study by the American Psychological Association found that girls have consistently achieved better grades in school than boys for decades. Despite this revolutionary finding, there is still a disproportionate amount of girls around the world who are not granted equal access to education.

What was thought to be a recent “boy crisis” of boys falling behind girls in school has proven to be false. Girls have consistently done better in school for decades without any significant change.

Data collected between 1914 and 2011 in over 30 countries has shown that girls have persistently achieved better grades in every subject across the board. The regions included range from North America, to Europe, to the Middle East and Africa, with the grades of 538,710 boys and 595,322 girls from 308 studies.

Grades given by teachers and official grade point averages were used from elementary, middle and high school, as well as undergraduate and graduate levels. The largest gap was found to be in languages and the smallest gap in math and science. Although boys tended to score higher in math and science in standardized tests, this is only the test of aptitude for a given moment, whereas school grades require hard work over longer periods of time.

Co-Author of the study, Susan Voyer, notes that this phenomenon of girls out-performing boys appears to be a well-kept secret considering how little global attention it has received.

In 2011, UNICEF found that there were 31 million primary-school-aged girls and 34 million lower-secondary-school-aged girls who were not enrolled in school. That the study took place in countries across the globe, and not exclusively in one country or even one region, proves that there is a great deal of untapped potential. Imagine how much more could be achieved globally if every girl had access to education.

The benefits of allowing girls equal access to education are endless. When girls attend school, they delay marriage and in turn delay the age of child bearing. This saves the lives of both women and their children, because there are fewer risks when girls wait until after adolescence to bear children. UNESCO found that in sub-Saharan Africa alone, maternal deaths could be reduced by 70 percent, and child deaths reduced by 15 percent if all girls completed primary school.

The benefits continue to the next generation, as girls that attended school are far more likely to send their children to school. Girls can also earn higher wages and therefore gain economic independence as a result of receiving an education. When girls complete one year of secondary education, their wages later in life increase by 25 percent.

According to UNESCO, women make up two-thirds of the world’s 774 million illiterate people. This is unfair given the existing research that shows that if given the opportunity, girls will continuously perform better in school than boys. Although girls should not have to prove themselves in order to receive equal access to education, this study is a testament to the mass amount of potential being lost by denying girls this human right.

– Kim Tierney 

Sources: UNICEF, PsyBlog, APA, UNESCO
Photo: She Knows

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10 Photos of US Foreign Aid in Action

In theory, foreign aid is a great concept that many citizens support in the United States. But how often do we actually get to see our heart-felt donations, activism and support of U.S. foreign aid in action? Here’s to all of you who want to see some concrete results of your efforts. All of the work and investment going into U.S. foreign policy is making a difference, and here are some real life examples to prove it!

 

1. U.S. Actor, Matt Damon, and Haitian Singer, Wyclef Jean, Distribute U.S. Food Aid to Haitian Flood Victims

US Foreign Aid

2. USAID’s Nutrition Programs

US Foreign Aid

3. Haitians Waving to a Departing U.S. Helicopter After Delivering Food and Water to Port au Prince

US Foreign Aid

4. USAID’s Decrease in Maternal Mortality Rates

US Foreign Aid

5. USAID Funds’ Replacement of 187 CDA Tubewell Pumps in Islamabad, Pakistan

US Foreign Aid

6. USAID‘s Female Health Workers

US Foreign Aid

7. USAID Delivers Deworming Medication to Kindergartners in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam

US Foreign Aid

8. USAID’s Increases in Life Expectancy and Decreases in Maternal & Child Mortality Rates

US Foreign Aid

9. Emergency Food Distribution by USAID in Agok, Sudan

US Foreign Aid

10. USAID’s  Tropical Disease Treatments

US Foreign Aid

Photo: USAID Flickr Slideshow , U.N. , Flickr

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Will E-Cigarettes Tackle China’s Tobacco Monopoly?

e-cigarettes
Since 1982, the China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC) has grown to be the world’s largest tobacco company, contributing almost 10 percent of total tax revenue to the central government. The state-backed monopoly has remained stubborn to reform in the wake of the roughly one million smoking-related deaths the country sees each year.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently released a statement saying that China needs to take a firmer stance against its giant tobacco industry if it hopes to reduce these numbers.

China has the world’s largest tobacco consumer base, home to more than 300 million smokers. In 2012, the CNTC had an annual net income of $18.6 billion, in contrast to the American-owned company, Phillip Morris International, with an annual net income of $8.57 billion.

So how do we tackle a multi-billion dollar monopoly?

The biggest problem is that the government itself is in the business. This creates a strong conflict of interest, which is proving difficult in weeding out the destructive habit.

In recent months, China has adopted several anti-tobacco measures, including banning government officials from smoking in public areas and banning smoking in schools. However, the tobacco monopoly has managed to continuously oppose reforms such as raising cigarette prices and using stronger health warnings on cigarette packs.

It seems that all hope is not lost.

A pair of tobacco industry manufacturers from southern China launched a joint venture on February 25 aimed at tackling the tobacco monopoly once and for all.

The collaboration between FirstUnion Technology, the world’s largest e-cigarette producer, and Jinjia, China’s biggest maker of cigarette packaging products, is an entrepreneurial match made in heaven. Both companies have achieved massive success in the southern city of Shenzhen and hope to rise among the ranks by manufacturing China’s first mass-market e-cigarettes.

E-cigarettes first entered the Chinese market in 2004 and have since been exported to major markets worldwide.

Their significance?

They have become the new alternative for tobacco smokers who want to avoid inhaling smoke. Also known as electronic cigarettes, or vaporizer cigarettes, they emit doses of vaporized nicotine, or non-nicotine vaporized solution, that is inhaled. E-cigarettes have been found to have comparable rates of success in helping smokers quit as nicotine patches.

Overall, this is good news for China, but bad news for the tobacco monopoly.

The partnership between the two Chinese companies is receiving a start-up investment of just over $16 million, but they might need support from the central government if they hope to succeed.

– Mollie O’Brien

Sources: The Street, Medical News Today
Photo: Carbonated

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Bachelet to Bring Education Reform Back to Chile

Education_Reform_in_Chile
As of next month, Chile will once again call Michelle Bachelet, leader of the popular Socialist Party, its president.

Although she left office with an 84 percent approval rate, Chilean law prohibits presidents from serving consecutive terms. However, in the four years since Bachelet left office, millions of citizens have openly protested for the return of many of her reforms — specifically demanded, are her reforms concerning education, environmental protection and income inequality.

Students are especially excited for Bachelet’s return. Her plan is to raise corporate taxes to 25 percent and use the money to fund the overhaul of secondary and higher education. This is the first step of what Bachelet hopes is a gradual move towards free public universities.

The influence of former president Augusto Pinochet, which ended central control and funding of public schools, left the education system in Chile diminished in quality skewed for the benefit of the elite. The majority of universities there today are private and expensive; and the country has not seen a new public university built in over 20 years.

Bachelet became the first female president of Chile in 2006; she served the traditional four-year term until 2010. She is often considered one of the most admired presidents in modern Chilean history, especially since the end of Pinochet’s 17-year dictatorship in 1990.

Many of the problems facing the Latin American country today are blamed on Pinochet’s abuse of power. Amongst other things, he is most criticized for ending land reform by selling off the nation’s water. This created a small pocket of economic elite and sparked the growing wealth distribution gap, which Bachelet has dedicated her career to fighting.

Education reform was central to the success of Bachelet’s last presidential term, and throughout her campaign she has vowed to continue it. Early in her first term, in April 2006, demonstrations of high school students broke out across the country, voicing frustrations with the quality and price of their education.

It became known as the “Penguin Revolution,” named for the black-and-white uniforms common among Chilean students.

Bachelet addressed this by immediately setting up an educational advisory committee. The committee, comprised of 81 advisory members from an array of political affiliations and socioeconomic backgrounds, functioned as a forum for the proposal of education bills.

Many of them were effective by August 2009 under the signing of the Education Reform Bill, which decentralized the system and created new regulatory government agencies.

When Bachelet’s term ended in 2010, students once again found themselves frustrated by their lack of representation within the education system and began protesting against current president Sebastián Piñera. Throughout 2011 and 2012, the streets of Santiago were filled nearly every Thursday with students demanding the reinstating of certain funding and other reforms for higher education.

She recently ran for office a second time, succeeding long-time political rival Evelyn Matthei. Now Bachelet and her education and economic reforms will return to office in March. Her popularity was proven on December 15, 2013 with reports of applause and tears accompanying her acceptance speech in Santiago.

Although the anticipation is high, there are also concerns regarding Chile’s immediate economic future and skepticism surrounding how Bachelet will handle it.

Chile’s economy has been growing rapidly in recent years, increasing by 5.6 percent last year.

However, there are fears that it will soon begin to slow, since much of its gross domestic product is tied to its primary export copper, which is at risk of declining prices in the global market. Many speculate that copper wealth will be Bachelet’s weapon for the underfunded public schools system, but if the copper market suffers, so will education.

Regardless, Bachelet is still followed by a reputation for charisma, intelligence and understanding of the common citizen. Her constituents widely agree that her future term as the president of Chile will be productive and positive.

As Paolo Bustamente, who admits to voting for Bachelet, said: “Abroad you often hear that this country has been growing and progressing more than others in Latin America, but it can’t just be a matter of growth. We need urgent educational reform, improvements to health and I feel Bachelet can fulfill promises of deep changes this time around.”

 – Stefanie Doucette

Sources: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Time, Forbes, The Guardian, United Nations, CNN, Inter Press Service News Agency, MercoPress

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UN Mission in Burundi will Extend to End of Year

burundi
The Central African region has been receiving a lot of humanitarian attention this new year. Furthermore, while this area has been going through a lot of tumult in the past few months, South Sudan’s instability has been a major concern of the United States and other countries. However, though the situations such as these in larger countries highlight the troubles in the region, the tiny nation of Burundi has gotten a small amount of attention. The UN has, on the other hand, just announced that they will extend their mission in Burundi until the end of the year, the effort being done to guide the nation to safe elections in 2015.

The fact is, Burundi has come a long way in the past 20 years and is an example of the good work that international aid can do for ailing countries. For instance, in the early 1990s there were worries of genocide in Burundi as the violence in Rwanda threatened to spread to Burundi. In 1993, the President of the country was assassinated, resulting in “genocidal acts” taking place against the Tutsi ethnic group. While the violence did not reach the levels seen in Rwanda, ethnic violence was a problem until 2003, even after the ceasefire in 2000 between the government and rebel groups.

After it was clear that the 2000 ceasefire was not having the immediate effect the United Nations hoped, a mission was established in 2004 to bring stability to the nation. As a result, the United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) was established in 2005  to end the violence in the region by sending out disarmament details and providing protection for those felt to be threatened by the violence. In 2006, the UN Office in Burundi (BNUB) was, furthermore, established to continue this work, as well as assisting with democratic administration and setting up the infrastructure for the government.

The mission has been seen as an overall success for the United Nations. Peace has held after a long period of fighting and the Burundi government had felt so confident that they thought the UN should leave by the summer. On the other hand, the UN Security Council felt differently, with the upcoming election serving as the impetus for their extended stay. In fact, a recent changeover in the government prompted some worries, yet Burundi’s ambassador to the United Nations maintained that “[t]he apparent differences between politicians in Burundi… are political exaggerations that are linked to the democratic learning process.”

The bigger worry for Burundi, however, is economic advancement. The nation routinely ranks low in economic development rankings, not a surprise given the disruption that such an extended period of violence brings to a nation. Furthermore, the recent floods in the area don’t look to make the situation much better in Burundi. The nation hopes that with this period of peace, an improved economy will follow.

The United Nations and Burundi both agree that their peacekeeping office should close up shop soon, with the current state of the region being seen as a success for BNUB. However, the troubled economy and the number of hungry citizens is still a major concern to the nation. As it stands, it may only take these conditions to plunge the country back into the violence the nation just got out of. The work that advocacy organizations do should concern emphasizing the need for continued attention in areas like Burundi, and though catastrophe may not be an issue, a further push in the right direction is key.

– Eric Gustafsson

Sources: UN, Reuters, Ref World, The World Bank
Photo: National Geographic