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What Causes Hunger in Africa

What causes hunger in Africa? To be certain, Africa is by no means a single entity. The second largest continent on Earth, Africa is an enormous landmass that is home to a wide variety of landscapes, cultures and people.

That said, the continent is also home to much of the world’s hunger, spread across several of the world’s poorest countries. Approximately 30 million people in Africa face the effects of severe food insecurity, including malnutrition, starvation and poverty.

Ending hunger not just in Africa but wherever it occurs is crucial to solving impoverishment and, accordingly, is a leading priority for many humanitarian organizations.

 

Causes of Hunger in Africa

 

1. Lack of Infrastructure

Many of the African countries in which there is widespread hunger are countries in which there is also plenty of food. Agriculture is the leading economic industry in several of the hungriest African nations including Niger, Ethiopia and Somalia.

The issue is not that there is a lack of food, the issue is that there are are often no reliable pathways for getting that food from the fields into that hands of the people who need it the most. Many hungry countries lack accessible rural roads on which food could be transported into the countryside.

Where it does not already exist, building the infrastructure necessary for distributing food is essential to ending hunger in Africa.

2. Poverty

Poverty is a cause of hunger in Africa as well as an effect. Nearly a third of individuals living in sub-Saharan Africa are “undernourished,” and 41 percent of people in that same area live on less than U.S. $1 daily. That’s no coincidence; high rates of poverty are correlated with high rates of hunger because acquiring adequate food provisions requires ample resources, not only financial but social as practical as well.

3. Gender Inequality

According to one of the most successful hunger-focused humanitarian organizations, The Hunger Project, gender inequality is a major driving force behind hunger because food tends to go further in the hands of women. When women have adequate food supplies, they as well as their families experience better health and social outcomes than when men have sole control of food rations.

However, in many African nations experiencing hunger crises, though women do the majority of agricultural work, they do not control their own access to food. Addressing gender inequality where it occurs in Africa will be central to eradicating hunger.

4. AIDS

AIDS is especially prevalent in southern Africa (Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe), where approximately six million people are estimated to live with the condition. Not only does AIDS render these individuals too sick to do any sort of agricultural work (which, if farming is their livelihood, can throw them into poverty), it can also render them to sick to leave their homes to acquire food for themselves and their families.

– Elise L. Riley

Sources: Save the Children, The Hunger Project, World Food Programme
Photo: Ceasefire Magazine

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Promoting Education for Girls in Pakistan

In many developing countries, like Pakistan, education for girls is not a primary objective. The schools in these countries are often of poor quality. Consequently, many girls drop out during their elementary level school years, to help support their families.

When attending school does not necessarily guarantee learning, parents would rather have their children—especially girls—stay home to help the family.

The quality of Pakistan’s education stems from the country’s poverty.  Currently, measures are being taken in Pakistan to promote higher quality education that is accessible .

Khadim Hussain, an Echidna Global Scholar, founded Grace Association and has been working to develop Community School Networks (CSN). Over the last two years, the organization has been working to train local leaders to make a difference and improve the quality of education throughout the country for girls. The organization focuses on the importance of “the family, community, and the economy in the education of youth, and the core values of social justice, equity, and democracy in the design and implementation of educational programs.”

While Hussain tackles the issue of the quality education, Malala Yousafszai works to change social ideologies regarding women and the right to an education. Malala,  who fought for improved education and subsequently suffered a Taliban attack in October 2012 with two other friends for her culturally extreme ideas of equal education for girls in Pakistan, acts as a symbol of bravery and wisdom for the movement. On Dec. 10, 2014,  she was honored as the youngest to ever receive a Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous actions and words.

With the help of Malala and Hussain, education for girls in Pakistan is improving. Malala will continue to fight for what she believes to expand the opportunities for girls across the country. The friends of Malala continue to fight as well, saying “when you are educated, you are able to do everything. If you are not educated, you can’t do anything.”

– Erin Coughlin

Sources: Brookings, Education Innovations, WKYT
Photo: Flickr

G20 Leaders Tackle Gender Employment Gap

Gender Employment Equality
At the G20 Summit 2014, leaders have agreed to tackle the persisting gender employment gap in their respective countries. The final agreement is to decrease the gap by 25 percent by 2025.

The gender employment gap varies from region to region. Developed regions generally have a lower gap, while developing regions have a higher gap. Currently in OECD countries, where the gap is one of the lowest, there is a 12 percent difference between the sustained, legal employment of men and women. In North Africa and the Middle East, where the gap is the one of the highest, there is a 50 percent difference in employment between men and women.

Ways of tackling the gap also vary region-to-region and country-to-country. Approaches include increasing access to education and childcare and making maternity leave options more attractive and widely available. More innovative approaches include things like fostering women in business and finance, creating opportunities for women in the public sector and encouraging investment in higher education for women.

Reaching the goal of decreasing the gap by 25 percent will add 100 million jobs for women across the world and add $1 trillion to the global economy.

In 2015, Turkey will take over leadership of the Summit. As the G20 country with one of the highest gender employment gaps, as well as its position at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Turkey and its leadership will be in the spotlight on this issue. For them especially, tackling the gap will mean pulling a large number of people into the workforce, which will create opportunities for households in poverty to have another income-generator.

The G20, in an official statement, said that this agreement “will significantly increase global growth and reduce poverty and inequality.” The G20 acts, in some ways, as an agenda-setter for the rest of the world. Effects on the gender employment gap could be seen in much more impoverished areas of the world simply because it is being addressed by the biggest economies in the world market. Employing women and expanding the workforce increases generated income, possibly creating drastic, positive outcomes for poorer, smaller economies.

– Caitlin Huber

Sources: The Australian, Work Place Information, University of Toronto
Photo: Employer Rights Blog

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Violence Against Women in Papua New Guinea


Papua New Guinea is an island in the South Pacific located just north of Australia, with a population of around 7 million. It is a developing country, ranking 156 out of 187 countries on the UN Human Development Index. 

Papua New Guinea suffers—like most developing nations—from high levels of poverty and corruption within the government due to vast oil and gas reserves.

But Papua New Guinea doesn’t simply have to deal with the normal problems of a developing country. Sadly, in recent years this island nation has become known for rampant and increasing violence against women.

It has been reported that 68 percent of PNG women suffer from violence. What is worse is that one in three women have reportedly been raped. As with most rape statistics, that number is often low, as many women who have been raped do not report it.

Violence against women in Papua New Guinea is not always of a sexual nature. Women are often accused of sorcery, and violence is used as retribution. In February 2013, there was a highly publicized case of a 20-year old woman accused of sorcery. As punishment, she was burned alive. 

Domestic violence seems to be the most prevalent form. It is often the result of the male’s desire to assert authority over his female partner because he may perceive that she is acting insubordinate or lazy. 

Amnesty International states that this type of violence “includes rape, being burnt with hot irons, broken bones and fractures, kicking and punching and cutting with bush knives.”

There have been some attempts by the government to deal with this issue. In April of last year, the 1971 Sorcery Act, which criminalized sorcery, was repealed.

In September 2013, the parliament in PNG passed the Family Protection Bill, which made domestic violence illegal. 

However, many women still do not know of the existence of this law, and implementation has been difficult and not very far reaching. The same is true of the sorcery law, which is in the appeals process and does not change the pervasive cultural view of the existence of sorcery.

Women’s groups from within and outside PNG continue to try and spread awareness of this issue and work on programs that attempt to eradicate these grave human rights violations.

Statistics and research on this subject are hard to find though. Women’s rights groups have a difficult time funding further research because no raw data exists. Papua New Guinea is low on the international radar.

Awareness and further research on this issue is needed in order to help the women of Papua New Guinea escape this terrible cycle of violence.

– Eleni Marino

Sources: Child Fund, Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, Islands Business, Human Development Report, United Nations,
Photo: ABCNews

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USAID’s Project to ‘Empower’ Girls in Malawi

The United States Agency for International Development will spend between $4.5 million and $10.4 million to encourage girls in Malawi to use birth control.

This plan intends to prevent pregnancy and STDs, especially HIV.

Part of USAID’s “Girls’ Empowerment through Education and Health Activity” plan, this grant will endow sexual and reproductive health and family planning education for young girls in Malawi. It seeks to combat the lack of HIV and sexual and reproductive health education and services.

The grant explains that “sexual acts that resulted in a pregnancy also place girls at risk for leaving school and/or contracting HIV.” Females, especially young girls, are disproportionately affected by HIV compared to men. In 2010, the HIV occurrence rate for girls between the ages of 15 and 19 was 4.2 percent as opposed to 1.3 percent for males.

The grant calls for more resources to teach about sexual reproductive health, HIV and family planning. USAID has stated it is important for young women to know correct information about these topics.

However, the 2010 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey exposed that even though there has been an increase in the use of modern family planning in Malawi, the HIV rate has remained.

Access to birth control and other methods does not appear to be a problem for women in Malawi.  However, Malawi ranks tenth in the world for the number living with HIV/AIDS, and ninth worldwide for the number of fatalities from HIV/AIDS.

The grant also aims to improve literacy skills for girls and access to schooling. The grant states that this will lead to more achievement for girls in school.

This initiative in Malawi is one more step in encouraging Family Planning 2020’s aim to provide 120 million more women and girls with contraceptives by 2020.

– Colleen Moore

Sources: CNS News, Life Site
Photo: USAID

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Microsoft YouthSpark Empowers Women

While Bill Gates’ name is as synonymous with Microsoft as it is with his philanthropic endeavors, Microsoft has unveiled its latest giving back investment: Microsoft YouthSpark. Though only a few years old, the program has helped over 103 million people all across the world.

The program gives grants to boys and girls from all over the world and hopes that the computer skills and training received can create better lives for these adolescents. On the YouthSpark main Web site are some of the people who were able to take advantage of the grants and use the skills to jump start them out of poverty.

From around the world, Yutiao Wang from China and Mary Mwende from Kenya are among the bevy of girls who benefit. Both come from traditionally poor towns where the cycle of poverty is repeated over many generations. Wang’s parents were unable to send her to school and Mwende was postponed from entering university. Though many women are forced back into the cycle of poverty, Wang and Mwende persevered.  Even though they faced setbacks, they were able to get in contact with Microsoft YouthSpark.

Microsoft YouthSpark works in collaboration with many local organizations. In addition to funding, they add support and resources to help create a global network for adolescents. Through the efforts of YouthSpark and the allied organization, Mwende was able to attend university and Wang was able to get vital employment skills with Microsoft Office.

Though they both faced adversity, they overcame it with the skills to help them for a lifetime. Wang and Mwende’s stories, though, are just a few of the testimonials of the success of YouthSpark. Investing in the education of the future generation of leaders helps to end the cycle in many of these rural poor areas.

Many of the innovations that have come from these grants are promising for the future of technology. With examples of Wang and Mwende’s success, hope for the future classes of YouthSpark is to help break the cycles of poverty with opportunity.

– Kristin Ronzi

Sources: Microsoft 1, Microsoft 2, Neowin
Photo: Microsoft

Africa’s Farming Gender Gap

From the work place to politics to the home, movements from every corner of the globe are working to address the continued disparities in gender equality.

In a recent joint World Bank and O.N.E. Campaign report called “Leveling the Field, Improving Opportunities for Women Farmers in Africa,” it appears that addressing the gender gap in agriculture in Africa is not as straight-forward as it may seem.

The general argument goes that if female farmers have the same access to productive resources as men, then they will be able to reach similar yields in their crop outputs. However, despite this well documented and well-argued position, it seems that this is not enough to address the gender gap between men and women farmers.

For example, in Ethiopia women produce 23 percent less per hectare than men; in Malawi 25 percent less; in Tanzania 14 percent less. In Niger (19 percent less), even when women use the same amount of labor for their plots, men still hold an advantage in yield rates.

There are a number of reasons that female farmers are producing consistently less than their male counterparts, including the fact that there is a continued gap in access to farming inputs (labor, better seeds, fertilizers etc.). In addition, many women often have to split their time farming with childcare duties, reducing the amount of energy and focus they are able to give to producing high crop yields.

There are also cultural norms in place, which influence male laborers to work harder for a male farmer than a female. This means that the females are not able to command as much authority on their hired labor, which impacts the production rates during planting and harvesting seasons.

In order to overcome these barriers, African governments and partners must work to put in place more effective and targeted policies that will enhance gender equality among African female farmers. The report listed several possible policies including: strengthening women’s land rights, improving women’s access to hired labor – as well as tools and equipment– and finally promoting women’s cultivation of high-value or cash crops, to help them reap better and more profitable yields.

Addressing gender gaps around the world requires the same type of targeted policies as the World Bank and O.N.E. Campaign report suggests for African female farmers. Making women a priority for economic growth, in all sectors of society, is not just good social policy, but also a good policy for long-term economic development.

– Andrea Blinkhorn 

Sources: The World Bank 1, The Guardian, The World Bank 2, The World Bank 3
Photo: Africa Green Media

Indian Leaders Order Minor’s Revenge Rape

When a man in India was accused of assaulting a neighbor’s wife, the village leaders ordered a horrendous punishment: the rape of that man’s 14-year-old sister. The neighbor was instructed to carry out the rape, which occurred sometime after midnight on Sunday and daytime on Monday. The punishment–called revenge rape–is not uncommon in rural India.

In January, another council of village elders ordered the gang rape of a 20-year-old in West Bengal for being involved with a man from another community. She was beaten, raped and later died from injuries, as they had also raped her with a metal pole. And a year ago, a 24-year-old woman in northern India was forced to marry a man and was then gang raped as punishment for her brother’s elopement.

In most of rural India, women are still viewed as the property of their families and even their communities. Though rape outside of marriage is illegal in India, eye-for-an-eye revenge rape is still part of the tradition.

“If you want to hurt the husband, hurt the father or hurt the community, then you rape the woman to say, ‘All right, I’m soiling your goods,'” explains secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association Kavita Krishnan.

The rapist’s wife defends his actions. Her father was reportedly one of the village elders that ordered the revenge rape.

The mother of the 14-year-old victim told CNN that she had begged the council members and fellow villagers to stop the rape of her child, but no one did anything.

“We begged with folded hands but they would not listen. They dragged her away to the forest,” the mother recalled.

The young teen’s parents found their daughter bleeding an hour after the violent rape and took her to the police station. According to the police spokesperson, her clothes were smeared with blood. Later, she was admitted to the hospital because of renewed bleeding and difficulty walking.

The Indian police have arrested the rapist, his father-in-law and the attempted rapist from the week prior. However, securing a conviction and then keeping that conviction from being overturned is difficult in India. Only 1 out of 635 rape cases reported in India in 2011 have resulted in conviction. Though the Delhi attack has begun a reformation of women’s rights, the laws are not well enforced in rural India, and marital rape is still legal.

– Kimmi Ligh

Sources: NPR,  Daily Mail, The Wall Street Journal 1, The Wall Street Journal 2, RYOT, NY Daily News, USA Today, National Post
Photo: NY Daily News

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5 Violations Against Women’s Rights

women's rights
Despite enormous strides made toward gender equality, the world today is still riddled with gender disparities. Below are a list of five reasons why fighting for women’s rights is so important, and why it’s still an ongoing battle.

1. Workplace Inequalities Around the World…Including the United States

For most Americans, it isn’t a secret that women still face extreme disadvantages in the workplace. Despite putting in equally long hours and given identical responsibilities as their male counterparts, women still only make 77 cents for every man’s dollar in the United States, and it’s even worse in other countries. Not only do women make less, but their responsibilities at home are often more rigorous; according to Harvard studies, men still put in a significantly less amount of time in household chores as their female partners.

2. Skewed Gender Ratios

In some countries, where population control laws were put into a much stricter affect, gender ratio disparities are skyrocketing. A favorable push of male-to-female in these countries has resulted in unbalanced gender ratio problems, where some female babies can be killed or left abandoned. In China, the gender ratio of male to female was 108:100 based on a 2013 data consensus; in India, it was 107:100.

3. Violence

According to a statement made by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2008, one in every three women is likely to be “beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime.” In fact, violence against women is so common in developing countries that oftentimes it doesn’t even make the news cycle. And while many countries fail to protect their rape victims, other countries such as Morocco and Saudi Arabia have much stricter punishments. Rape victims in these countries can be charged with crimes for being “alone with an unrelated man, or for getting pregnant afterwards,” only further perpetuating the damaging notion of rape culture.

4. Marriage and Divorce

According to UNICEF, more than one-third of women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married before they turned 18, which is considered below the minimum age for marriage in most countries. Nevertheless, these child brides risk greater chances of giving birth at earlier ages and suffer from risks of complications in childbirth and a greater chance of contracting HIV/AIDS. Courts do little to help the problem; in Yemen, it is against the law for a woman to leave the house without her husband’s permission. This results in a high percentage of women, who are afraid of the legal ramifications, to stay in abusive relationships.

5. Education

Women currently make up two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adults. Whether they are kept from school in order to keep up with household chores or their father deems it time for them to marry, women are consistently being denied their right to education; a right hardly ever denied to their male counterparts. While numerous studies have been proven to show that educating women is key to eliminating poverty and aiding development, the gender gap in education in many of these developing countries is only continuing to increase.

– Nick Magnanti

Sources: The Washington Post, Harvard Summer School, Discovery, United Nations Population Fund
Photo: Act 4 Entertainment

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Expiration Date for Gender Inequality

Nearly 20 years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, U.N. Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is ready to tackle the remaining gender discrimination issues ahead.

Adopted in 1995 by 189 Member States at the Fourth World Women’s Conference in China, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action signified a major turning point for global support of women’s rights and empowerment. While the Beijing Conference declaration is still considered the “most effective and comprehensive policy framework for achieving gender equality,” its 20th anniversary celebration campaign, known as “Beijing 20+,” has been largely focused on the many issues that have seen little improvement.

However, the focus of “Beijing 20+,” the campaign created by U.N. Women, did not detract from mood of the event.

“The tone of the event, however, was not one of defiance, but of action and unbridled optimism,” wrote Pieter Colparet, journalist for the Daily Beast. ““Let’s get to work!” was the message that echoed through each and every speech and performance.”

During the event, Mlambo-Ngcucka boldly gave gender inequality an expiration date of 2030.

“For the first time gender inequality will have an expiration date! This is going to be a big part of our work plan,” said Mlambo-Ngcucka. “We want to emphasize that the Beijing agenda is not a women’s agenda. It is an agenda for humanity.”

The Beijing Conference declaration laid out 12 main areas of concern in 1995, many of which, Mlambo-Ngucka argued, are still issues today. The concerns Mlambo-Ngucka outlined, included:

  • Reducing the effects of armed conflict on women and girls as well as increasing women’s participation in peace and security;
  • Increasing women’s leadership and decision-making;
  • Removing gender stereotypes and increasing women’s role in the media;
  • Eliminating all forms of discrimination against the girl children;
  • And protecting the human rights of all women and girls.

U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson’s remarks at the event echoed the concerns of Mlambo-Ngucka, pointing out how only 21.8 percent of parliamentarians worldwide are women. While many of the women spoke on moving gender equality to a top priority on the global agenda, the United Nations as a whole recently committed itself to gender equality in an ambitious way.

While the U.N. has been slow to fill peacekeeping positions with female employees, the organization has now to hire women for at least 20 percent of the police officer positions by the end of this year.

According to the U.N., women only made up three percent of military personal and 10 percent of police personnel in U.N. Peacekeeping missions in 2012. However, it should be noted that the deployment of women in uniformed employment positions is decided by the Member States themselves.

“Nearly 20 years on from the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, we must recognize the significant progress that was made possible thanks to the commitment of international organizations, States and civil society,” Chilean President Michelle Bachelet wrote, in an U.N. Women article on the Beijing 20+ campaign. “Only once we make this dream a reality will we have fully accomplished the Platform for Action’s mission.”

– Blythe Riggan

Sources: Devex, SmartBrief, UN Women 1, UN Women 2, U.N., Huffington Post
Photo: CNN