Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Hunger in Kazakhstan: Past, Present and Future

hunger in kazakhstan

Kazakhstan has made great strides in reducing hunger within its borders. Once vulnerable to famine, the country has demonstrated significant progress in increasing its agricultural productivity and curbing food shortages within the past two decades. However, despite notable improvements to food insecurity and malnutrition levels, Kazakhstan remains steady in its efforts to reduce persistent risk factors. In the coming years, the nation hopes to achieve food self-sufficiency by maximizing the use of state programs and international aid. 

The Past: Devastating Famines

Despite its relative stability today, Kazakhstan has historically been vulnerable to famine. Between 1920 and 1939, more than 8.5 million Kazakhs starved to death as a result of Soviet-induced famines. Asharshylyk, one of the most devastating famines in Kazakh history, directly contributed to the eradication of over a third of the country’s population in the early 1930s – a crisis perpetuated not only by climate change but also by the forced collectivization of previously nomadic Kazakhs under Soviet rule. 

Agricultural collectivization had particularly debilitating effects on Kazakhstan’s overall food security. During the famine, approximately 90% of the nation’s herds perished as a result of the Kazakh people selling or slaughtering their livestock in order to meet grain quotas set by the Soviet regime. This rapid depletion of livestock – namely, cattle – resulted in significant income loss and widespread starvation amongst nomadic herders. Amongst escalating violence and competition for food, several communities were reported to have turned to extreme methods of survival such as cannibalism to avoid succumbing to hunger. 

Ethnic Kazakhs disproportionately suffered the highest percentage of deaths of any group at the time, estimated to be as high as 42% of their total population. Many fled the country to seek relief in surrounding countries such as China and Turkmenistan. As a result, ethnic Kazakhs were a minority within their own country for decades up until the Soviet collapse in 1991. 

Hunger Today: A Stark Improvement

Significant progress has been made within the past century to reduce food insecurity in Kazakhstan, primarily through the country’s expansion of its oil sector. Over the span of 30 years, Kazakhstan has increased its oil production by nearly 3.8 times its pre-independence levels, reaching an annual output of 84.2 million tons. As such, oil has provided most of the country’s export earnings, playing an instrumental role in driving productivity and development. 

Rapid and sustained economic growth has thus allowed hunger in Kazakhstan to decline below rates of global concern. According to the 2024 Global Hunger Index, Kazakhstan has successfully achieved a low level of hunger. Less than 2.5% of the total population is undernourished, and the country’s vulnerability to food security based on its food sector capabilities is lower than the world average, standing at a score of 0.42 as of 2022. Composed today of an upper middle income population and a wealth of domestically produced crops, the country instead focuses on supplying the world with the means to combat food insecurity and malnutrition.

Looking Forward: More Solutions

Moving forward, Kazakhstan intends to continue making strides toward reducing hunger both within and beyond its borders. In 2023, the Kazakh government allocated $2.5 billion to the agricultural sector for subsidies, loans and investment projects. One of these initiatives plans to introduce a unified state information system for subsidies that will be free and easily accessible for farmers. Another aims to allow farmer greenhouses to apply for subsidies in order to cover electricity, gas and coal expenses during their crop off-season. If such state programs are effectively implemented, Kazakhstan is expected to enhance its food security rate from 127% to 143%. 

Kazakhstan is predicted to become a leading producer of food surpluses by 2035. The state plans to expand to additional agricultural markets, particularly targeting China, the Middle East and Africa in an effort to double its exports by 2029. By maximizing its current state of growth and cooperation,  Kazakhstan may serve to provide the world with the resources needed to reduce global hunger, establishing the country as a paragon of success within a post-Soviet space.

– Julia Canzano, Moon Jung Kim
Photo: Pixabay

Updated: November 7, 2024

Healthcare in Grenada: Improving Coverage

Healthcare in Grenada
Located off of the coast of Venezuela, the island of Grenada is a Caribbean nation with over 110,000 citizens. Grenada gained its independence from Britain in 1974 and emerged from Marxist rule by the early 1980s. As a relatively young constitutional monarchy, Grenada has endured political strife, natural crises and extreme poverty. The consequences of such factors have left many Grenadians in challenging conditions.

Healthcare in Grenada has improved dramatically in recent years but still has a critical need for expansion. Comprehensive healthcare in Grenada, a political and humanitarian dilemma for decades, has emerged as one of the nation’s key goals. Its government and nonprofits have made progress in recent years providing care for hundreds of thousands.

Developing Goals

Healthcare funding and goals are dynamic: Grenada’s public healthcare system, overseen by its Ministry of Health, includes 36 primary care facilities, 30 satellite care facilities, three hospitals and one psychiatric hospital. Primarily funded through general taxation, healthcare in Grenada also receives support through grants from the E.U. through the Primary Health care and Caribbean Development Bank Basic Need Program (BNTF) and by The Caribbean Public Health Agency.

These government and humanitarian entities have collaborated to bolster Grenada’s preventative healthcare, laboratory diagnosing and testing capacity. In 2015, the Ministry of Health released a healthcare action plan. By 2017, the WHO pledged its support for the plan by releasing a Grenadian Cooperation Strategic Agenda for 2018-2024 with bolstered resources for the nation. Grants also target specific public health goals, such as the current objective to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Within communities, NGOs have translated much of that funding into tangible community health improvements. For example, Grenada National Organization of Women educates women about sexual and reproductive health and provides HIV prevention resources.

A Dynamic System

The public and private healthcare sectors support each other: In 2014, healthcare in Grenada made up 6.1% of the total GDP, yet 53.6% of that was from the private sector. With a total GDP of $911.5 million in 2014, roughly $55.6 million of that derived from the public healthcare sector and over half of that amount from the private sector. Based on the population of over 108,000 that year, less than 20 cents per capita was dedicated to public healthcare in Grenada in 2014.

The healthcare system in Grenada, mimicking a universal healthcare system, leverages those who can afford private sector healthcare to help keep costs low for its public expenditure, allocating 10%-12% of its total budget on healthcare between 2008 and 2014. The gaps in Grenada’s current healthcare systems leave both the wealthy without luxury services and the vulnerable without basic care. Without these gaps, the lucrative private sector could not thrive.

The Work that Remains

Health has improved but some populations remain vulnerable: a history of poor children’s health outcomes has led Grenada’s healthcare system to intervene earlier in the population. Grenada now has a relatively low infant mortality rate of 10.3 deaths per 1,000 births. It also has a 95%-100% essential vaccination coverage rate in its primary schools, with more healthcare in primary and secondary schools. Additionally, wasting rates in children dropped from 7.9% in 2011 to 3.4% by 2014.

Now, chronic and non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, have emerged as the main cause of death and morbidity in Grenada. Risk factors for these diseases include overconsumption of alcohol, poor nutrition, obesity, lack of physical activity and hypertension. In rural areas, risk factors for chronic and non-communicable diseases are more prevalent than in urban Grenada. As of 2019, upwards of 71,000 Grenadians lived in rural areas, predominantly below the poverty line.

Despite healthcare in Grenada otherwise improving, medically vulnerable rural Grenadians essentially exist outside the mainstream economy. They lack access to efficient and consistent medical treatment and consequently have worse health outcomes than their wealthier urban counterparts.

Socioeconomic factors within and medical outcomes derived from systems of healthcare in Grenada have undoubtedly improved. Still, the Grenadian government grapples with implementing a universal healthcare system. Life-saving preventative and emergency treatments remain inaccessible for the most vulnerable populations. Grenada continues to receive essential support from NGOs and humanitarian and public health organizations implement action plans. A shift in healthcare equity will alleviate the financial and medical conditions that negatively impact hundreds of thousands of Grenadians.

– Caledonia Strelow
Photo: DVIDS

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Hunger in Turkmenistan

hunger in turkmenistanThis time last year, the London-based Foreign Policy Centre reported that Turkmenistan was “a country teetering on the edge of catastrophe.” An economic crisis has exacerbated hunger in Turkmenistan. Additionally, Human Rights Watch calls Turkmenistan “an isolated and repressive country.” Without freedom of speech or information, the authoritarian government leaves no room for economic autonomy, thus resulting in hunger among citizens.

Economic Crisis and Hunger in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan sits on 9.9% of the world’s gas reserves, with 19.5 trillion cubic meters. Statistics like these attract foreign investors, which in theory should boost the nation’s economy. However, in 2019 Turkmenistan entered its worst economic crisis since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The state heavily controls the economy, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) lists Turkmenistan as the “least competitive economy among the EBRDS’s countries of operations,” meaning that economic autonomy is essentially nonexistent. The Foreign Policy Centre’s report labeled Turkmenistan’s economy as a “Potemkin economy,” meaning its public record of ordinary, satisfactory GDP figures — a result of strictly regulated state companies — hides a crumbling economy.

In 2018, a video of a Turkmen student cutting up his debit card, salting it and cooking it for dinner circulated around media sites. The student, who was studying abroad in Ukraine, spoke on the matter, saying that “the [bank] cards stopped working and, as a result, I’ve lost 15 kilograms.” While the banks never released explanations, economists suggest that the debit card failures may be a result of Turkmenistan’s active black market. Officially, the exchange rate is three and a half Turkmen manats to one U.S. dollar. But the black-market rate is closer to 22 manats to one U.S. dollar. The government would lose large sums of money with students trying to withdraw from their banks in foreign countries.

The Turkmen government lacks transparency about its crop supply as well; in 2018, Deputy Chairman Esenmyrat Orazgeldiev released data stating that Turkmenistan had overshot its yearly harvest goal, and had harvested 1.099 million tons of cotton. However, reports from the Agriculture and Water Resources Ministry and the International Cotton Advisory Committee said that the country had harvested between 300 and 450 thousand tons. A similar inconsistency in reports occurred for the wheat harvest. These economic and agricultural struggles have led to widespread hunger in Turkmenistan, particularly in the form of major food shortages across the country.

Food Shortages

For the past three years, hunger in Turkmenistan has resulted from dire food shortages. The Diplomat conducted an interview with Turkmen “activist-in-exile” Fareed Tukhbatullin in 2018, and Tukhbatullin recalled fights breaking out among citizens waiting to purchase necessities such as bread, flour, vegetable oil and eggs, all of which are in short supply despite being government-regulated foods. Inflation and the disparity between the official manat’s value and the black-market manat’s value have made importing ingredients and farming equipment nearly impossible. In the interview, Tukhbatullin emphasized that there are no official news coverings or statistics released in Turkmenistan about this crisis, but he estimated that 60% of the population is unemployed and living with food insecurity. Last month, Turkmenistan increased its regulation of subsidized foods by enforcing the use of registration books by individual households. Families are instructed to bring their books, which have a certificate containing their address and the number of people in their household, to food stores, where their purchases will be documented.

Foreign Aid Reducing Hunger in Turkmenistan

Currently, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is working to stabilize Turkmenistan’s economy and strengthen its international connection around Central and South Asia. USAID also provides assistance to dairy and meat-producing livestock farmers to keep their livestock healthy, and it works to connect the farmers to local and international markets. In July 2020, USAID announced the launch of its hotline for Turkmen farmers. The hotline is accessible over email and telephone, and it offers necessary advice on the exportation of goods to foreign markets. USAID claims that this extra support will help the Turkmen farmers “maximize their revenues, stabilize seasonal sales, and expand the markets for quality Turkmen products.” USAID also worked between 2010 and 2019 to introduce Turkmenistan into the International Financial Reporting Standards, which allows the country more access to the global economy.

Turkmenistan has not known peace or stability since its independence in 1991. Inflation, food shortages and disconnect from the rest of the world have plagued the country for almost 30 years, and government officials worry that this instability will soon lead to catastrophe. Helping the citizens of a highly isolated country is extremely difficult, but organizations like USAID are doing what they can to end hunger in Turkmenistan.

— Anya Chung
Photo: Flickr

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Water Insecurity in Kosovo & COVID-19

Water Insecurity in KosovoThe World Bank has secured aid for Kosovo to help the country’s water security efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 10, 2020, the World Bank approved a budget of $27.4 million to invest in aid to address water insecurity in Kosovo. The new “Kosovo Fostering and Leveraging Opportunities for Water Security Program,” implemented nationwide, will reach struggling regions within the country, such as Morava e Binces — the driest area of all.

COVID-19 and Water Security

In a statement from the World Bank, the manager for Kosovo, Marco Mantovanelli, stated that addressing Kosovo’s water crisis is even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic. Access (or lack thereof) to clean water for drinking and sanitation has a direct impact on the COVID-19 crisis. The World Bank representative described clean water as an “essential barrier to preventing virus spread and protecting human health from COVID-19 and similar diseases.”

The World Resources Institute (WRI) reports that hand washing is one of the primary combatants against a disease like COVID-19. Additionally, both water management and security impact the spread of a disease like COVID-19. Without proper storage, water shortages occur and people have limited access to water for sanitation. Water management (pollution control and distribution) directly impacts the quality and quantity of water accessible  to the population. WRI reports that improving both domestic and industrial water waste treatments improves water quality and helps improve issues related to water use for sanitation and health.

Water in Kosovo

Kosovo’s water crisis is only worsened by the virus as the crisis existed before the COVID-19 pandemic. The issues of water pollution are rooted in Kosovo even from when it was a province in the former Yugoslavia. It was the most polluted province then and now, a majority of the Kosovo municipalities have no form of treatment plants for wastewater. Additionally, the World Bank reports that Kosovo has the lowest water storage level in the region — as well as high pollution levels.

The new water security plan will address some key issues in water security. These issues include management of resources, water storage, addressing natural disasters and their impacts, dam safety, updating equipment and facilities and general emergency preparedness.

The Impact on Struggling Regions in Kosovo

While the entire country will benefit from the plan, the strategy will specifically benefit the driest region in Kosovo — Morava e Binces. Morava e Binces has had significant problems with water access for its civilian population. The region has suffered greatly with water access interruptions. Some of these interruptions last hundreds of days. However, with the implementation of the new plan, the World Bank estimates 190,000 people will be positively impacted in the Morava e Binces region alone.

The World Bank’s approved aid will begin work on installing new and updated equipment, replan the water storage processes, and make additional renovations to dam maintenance and safety. This aid program is an essential step in ending water insecurity in Kosovo. While the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated an already existing, water security problem within Kosovo, government initiatives are a good, forward step.

– Kiahna Stephens
Photo: Pixabay

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5 Innovations Fighting Poverty in Developing Countries

Innovations Fighting Poverty
Many citizens of developing countries struggle with poor living conditions and a low quality of life. They often do not have access to what they need to stay healthy, and are no stranger to the issues of malnourishment, disease and high infant mortality rates. Luckily, people around the world have begun to take notice, developing innovations designed specially to combat these issues. These innovations are being produced and delivered across the globe, saving countless lives. Here are five of the leading innovations fighting poverty.

NIFTY Cup

Some infants are unable to breastfeed due to medical conditions, premature birth or the death of their mother. Unable to get the nourishment they need, these babies are at risk of malnourishment and death. The NIFTY Cup is designed to help infants receive breastmilk without the risk of choking and other complications. The cup is made of soft silicone that holds a small amount of breastmilk, which flows into a small reservoir at the edge, allowing the baby to drink easily. This simple invention is helping to save the lives of children in Malawi and Tanzania, especially premature babies, who are less able to breastfeed safely.

Embrace Warmer

The Embrace Warmer is another among many innovations fighting poverty by treating hypothermia in infants. It is a portable warmer specifically designed for infants, and is much less costly than other warmers and incubators. Many hospitals in developing countries are ill-equipped to save the lives of hypothermic babies due to underfunding and overcrowding. The cost-effective Embrace Warmer, therefore, is just what hospitals and mothers need to keep their children safe and warm. So far, it has reached over 200,000 infants in 20 developing countries.

Jet Injector

Developing countries often have issues with sanitation, and diseases can run rampant. Vaccination is important to keep the population of a developing nation safe, but ensuring the cleanliness of the needles can prove to be a challenge. The Jet Injector reduces the risk of using improperly sterilized needles by using “a high-pressure, narrow stream of fluid to penetrate the skin.” It offers the same protection as a vaccine given through a traditional needle while reducing the risk of infections due to improper sterilization.

Lucky Iron Fish

Iron is an essential nutrient especially important to pregnant women and infants. Unfortunately, it is easy to develop a deficiency, particularly in developing countries. Lack of a sufficient amount of iron can lead to the development of anemia, a condition in which one’s body weakens from the inability to get enough oxygen. The Lucky Iron Fish is an easy-to-use supplement that combats this issue, and it is much more affordable and long-lasting than typical iron pills. When left in water or other liquid-based meals, it releases iron that enriches the food. One fish costs less than $50 and can be reused for up to five years.

Life Saving Dot

Iodine is another important nutrient commonly found in seafood and vegetables. It can be a challenge for those in developing countries to obtain iodine if they do not have access to either of these food groups. Iodine deficiencies are especially widespread in India, where the soil is notoriously iodine-poor and many citizens are vegetarians. The Life Saving Dot, another among many innovations fighting poverty, fuses culture and innovation to solve this problem. While a bindi is a traditional dot Hindu women wear on their foreheads, the Life Saving Dot is a bindi adhesive with added iodine that absorbs into the skin, providing wearers with the dose of nutrients they need. It is extremely affordable, simple to make and easily incorporated into these women’s lifestyles.

These innovations fighting poverty are saving lives and keeping people healthy in developing countries, showing just how powerful technology can be in the fight against poverty. Through current and future innovations, conditions will hopefully continue to improve for the impoverished.

– Alison Ding
Photo: Needpix

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3 Lessons the World Can Learn From Mexico’s Feminist Foreign Policy

3 Lessons the World Can Learn From Mexico’s New Feminist Foreign PolicyIn January 2020, Mexico shattered barriers by announcing its adoption of a feminist foreign policy aimed at reducing “structural differences, gender gaps and inequalities” at home and abroad. This commitment made Mexico the first country in Latin America and the Global South to require that “gender equality be at the core” of all foreign policy decisions. Mexico’s new policy initiatives intend to help foster the reduction of women’s economic and social issues through representation and the elimination of structural differences. Here are three lessons that every country can learn from Mexico’s groundbreaking feminist foreign policy initiatives.

Representation Matters

Developing foreign policy necessitates introspection within a government. How can a nation help foster gender equality abroad when it fails to do so within its borders?

In establishing its new feminist foreign policy, Mexico saw the potential hypocrisy of sponsoring gender equality worldwide while failing to address inequalities present in some of its governmental organizations. For this reason, many of Mexico’s feminist foreign policy initiatives focus on the creation of “a foreign ministry with gender parity.” The Mexican government believes that to ensure equitable feminist foreign policy gets passed into law, the ministry which creates such law must have “visible equality of women” within its ranks. This part of Mexico’s feminist foreign policy entails hiring even more women into positions of leadership in the foreign ministry. This hiring shift aims to create an influx of female voices in the Foreign Ministry to instill the opinions of women in policy areas ranging from foreign aid to defense.

Already, the Mexican government has become one of the most gender-equal in the world. As of 2018, Mexico had 246 women in congress occupying 48% of congressional seats. This places it at fourth in the world for its number of women in congress. By committing to include more women in the process of drafting foreign policy legislation, the Mexican government seeks to amplify the voices of women in the legislation process even further. This means increased advocacy for women worldwide, especially those living in poverty.

Mexico’s commitment to include women in the process of foreign policy creation demonstrates to the world that equitable foreign policy requires equal representation of men and women in the lawmaking process. 

Equality and Economics Are Inextricable

Globally, women earn 24% less than men and are more likely to live in poverty than men. High poverty rates among women signal a disparity between the wages of men and women. Any attempts by a government to ensure the equality of women on a global scale must be focused on reducing the number of women in poverty. Mexico recognizes this fact, and many of its groundbreaking feminist foreign policy initiatives involve tackling structural inequalities like the gender pay gap.

The Mexican government has committed to joining with the HeForShe organization, which champions social and economic equality between the sexes throughout the world. By orienting its foreign policy goals toward fulfilling the promises of women’s rights on a global scale, Mexico commits itself to economic initiatives like “microfinancing and small loans for women,” as well as the dismantling of antiquated trade laws and tariffs that put women at an economic disadvantage to men.

Through these initiatives, Mexico aims to reduce the number of women in poverty by helping to dismantle systemic inequalities and by giving women the resources needed in order to create economic equality. Microfinancing creates limitless economic opportunities for women all over the globe and allows them to independently develop their own businesses. Global communities lose around $9 trillion a year due to the gender pay gap. By committing to reduce this inequality, even the poorest of nations can decrease their poverty rates and bring tangible economic benefits to communities in need.

Mexico’s commitment to reducing the number of women in poverty makes it evident that if the systemic economic barriers to equality are to be dismantled, women must be given the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty and to earn wages and jobs at equal rates to men. Equality cannot simply be declared. Rather, social and political equality arises from equal economic opportunity.

Anyone Can Try It

Before Mexico announced its adoption of a feminist foreign policy aimed at reducing women’s poverty and encouraging a “feminist agenda abroad,” the only other countries to have oriented their foreign policies toward feminist initiatives were Sweden, Canada and France. These other three nations have an average poverty rate of 9.7 % and an average GDP per capita of $49,907. Comparatively, Mexico has a poverty rate of around 17% and a GDP per capita of $10,065. Although Mexico’s peers in the field of feminist foreign policy have more national wealth than it does, this did not prevent the nation from adopting and maintaining policy objectives with women’s rights at their core.

Mexico’s new foreign policies demonstrate that it does not take an extreme amount of national wealth to launch feminist initiatives at home and abroad. Regardless of GDP, any government can make commitments to ensuring tangible gender equality. 

Overall, although Mexico still has progress to make with respect to ensuring women’s equality at home and abroad, its commitment to a feminist foreign policy sets a strong example for other Latin American countries. With any luck, other Latin American countries will soon follow Mexico’s lead and begin to implement similar feminist foreign policies that not only work to lift women out of poverty and assure social and economic equality but that also recognize that “women’s rights are human rights.”

 – Nolan McMahon
Photo: Flickr

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Ending Child Labor in Pakistan

Child LaborChild labor in Pakistan continues to be a reality faced by many Pakistani children. Deprived of the opportunity to study like most other children, many are forced into work from an early age. Although Pakistan’s Employment of Children Act 1991 addresses this issue, the country continues to have difficulties implementing the legislation.

Child Labor in Pakistan

According to a 2018 report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Pakistan has a big problem with child labor: an estimated 12 million children work in the country. Many of these children have limited educational opportunities. One of the most common jobs that these children are forced to do is domestic servitude, which requires children to serve the owners of the house. These child laborers may be forced to work from dawn to dusk, fed with leftovers and allowed to be punished in different ways. As a result of this form of labor, children are deprived of healthcare and education.

Since 2016, a project called Pakistan Decent Work Country Programme has operated in Pakistan. The organization assists the Pakistani government in eliminating the worst forms of forced labor for children. However, a new campaign is targeting attention on domestic child labor in Pakistan.

End Child Domestic Labor Campaign

In Pakistan, it is illegal to employ children under the age of 18 in factories. Until recently, the country lacked a law prohibiting children from working at home in most states. However, in June, a campaign was launched by Idare-e-Taleem-o-Asgahi (ITA) called End Child Domestic Labor. The campaign consists of 20 rights-based Pakistani organizations and suggests that children between 10 and 18 years of age belonging to any economic stratum be treated the same. In short, it argues that child abuse occurring through domestic labor must end. Accordingly, the campaign proposed a constitutional amendment that would prohibit all children under the age of 16 from engaging in any type of work.

Along with the campaign, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has developed the following strategies to address child labor in Pakistan:

  1. Strengthen the capacity of tripartite constituents to address child and bonded labor in the rural economy.
  2. Raise awareness in rural communities about the importance of ending child labor and bonded labor.
  3. Support federal and provincial authorities to improve their capacities in data collection and analysis.
  4. Promote inter-agency cooperation, partnership and learning to improve knowledge sharing and advocacy.
  5. Support ILO constituents to develop a community system for monitoring children and bonded labor.

New Law Bans Child Labor in Pakistan

On Aug. 6, 2020, Pakistan banned child domestic labor for the first time, passing an amendment that makes it illegal for children to participate in domestic labor. The government recognized the consequences of this labor, such as trauma and abuse, among young domestic workers.

The new law was implemented in response to the death of Zohra Shah, an 8-year-old girl and domestic worker who was brutally beaten and died. At the same time, Shah is not the only victim of abuse as a result of child labor in Pakistan. Among the other victims is 16-year-old Uzma Bibi, who was beaten. In addition, 10-year-old Tayyaba Quein was abused, making this a serious problem for the country. Accordingly, the Federal Minister of Human Rights announced that the cabinet’s decision will now include child domestic labor under the Employment of Children Act 1991.

The new law marks a change in Pakistan, where children will have access to education and a better life, without mistreatment or abuse. At the same time, it takes a step toward a better quality of life for all minors who are forced to work. This is and will be a great step for children’s rights and an example for other countries.

– Juliet Quintero
Photo: Flickr

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Latter-day Saint Charities Saves Lives Through Global Relief

latter-day saint charitiesLeprosy is a disease that plagues India. More than 1,000 leprosy colonies throughout the country house hundreds of thousands of its most vulnerable citizens, often unable to provide for their basic daily needs. The nation-wide shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened this, forcing the leprosy colonies into a state of emergency. Fortunately, the support of Latter-day Saint Charities has helped lessen this dire situation.

The organization has provided food, soap and basic necessary medical supplies to more than 9,000 families in 228 of the most vulnerable colonies. Shawn Johnson, the vice president and director of operations for Latter-day Saint Charities, said, “It is our hope that this assistance helps these individuals and families to maintain their dignity as human beings and their divine value as children of God.”

A Global Religion with Global Reach

Latter-day Saint Charities is the humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Headquartered in Utah, the global religion has more than 16 million members. The charity operates solely with donations from the church’s members and others around the world. Since the organization began in 1985, Latter-day Saints Charities has contributed more than $2 billion in assistance to 197 countries around the world.

“We seek to work with some incredible global partners in providing assistance, love and support to those in the greatest of need irrespective of their religion, ethnicity, background, etc.,” Johnson said. “This work includes critical emergency response efforts, longer-term development initiatives and signature programs, and community engagement and volunteerism efforts. All of these things work in harmony to help bless the lives of others.” 

The organization sponsors relief and development projects in countries and territories around the globe and operates “both independently and in cooperation with other charitable organizations and governments.” Latter-day Saint Charities’ various global projects include food security, clean water initiatives, vision care and refugee response. Johnson noted that the organization also has programs that provide wheelchairs and other mobility devices to individuals in need. Additionally, he said that Latter-day Saint Charities has helped provide immunizations to millions of children and has helped save thousands of babies and mothers through its “helping babies breathe” program.

COVID-19: The Largest Ever Humanitarian Project

In 2019 alone, Latter-day Saint Charities worked in 142 countries and territories on 3,221 projects. With more than 2,000 partners, the organization aided millions of people worldwide. But according to the church’s leader, President Russell M. Nelson, this year’s COVID-19 pandemic has become “the largest-ever humanitarian project of the church.”

“In 2020, just for the COVID-19 responses alone, we have completed (more than) 500+ projects in 130+ countries all over the world. The overall number of projects for 2020 will likely greatly exceed the number from 2019,” Johnson said. “These emergency relief efforts have included providing personal protective equipment, food, water and shelter to some of the most vulnerable populations.”

“We also had a volunteer effort where members of the church and local communities provided close to a million hours of volunteer service to produce more than five million masks for front-line caregivers. We also worked to transition a portion of a Church-owned textile factory to produce medical gowns for front-line healthcare workers as well,” he added.

Volunteers Around The World

Along with the church’s more than 60,000 full-time volunteer missionaries and more than 30,000 church service missionaries, the organization also has more than 10,000 volunteer humanitarian missionaries around the world.

Over the past 35 years, Latter-day Saint Charities has been providing humanitarian relief for hundreds of countries worldwide and surely will continue to make a global impact this year — especially with their COVID-19 relief projects — and in years to come.

– Emma Benson

Photo: Flickr

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Life Expectancy in Rwanda and Its Connection to Poverty

 

Life Expectancy in RwandaAs life expectancy in Rwanda has doubled in the past 20 years, the efforts that helped to achieve this goal are closely tied with efforts to combat poverty. If people are sick but cannot access healthcare, they cannot contribute to the economy. Conversely, if people are living in poverty, they often cannot afford to access healthcare. Ending poverty and providing medical care are closely tied, and Rwanda has made excellent progress on both fronts.

Life Expectancy in Rwanda

In the early 1990s, Rwanda was the site of a 100-day genocide, during which a million Tutsis and Hutus were killed. The genocide decimated the country, destroyed infrastructure and cast millions into poverty. Life expectancy in Rwanda reached a low of 26.2 years in 1993 at the height of the genocide, but by 2018, it had risen to 68.7 years. Furthermore, life expectancy is projected to increase to 71.4 years by 2032.

Many factors have contributed to the dramatic increase in life expectancy and overall social welfare. The Rwandan constitution secured citizens’ right to health in 2003. Accordingly, the government has invested in healthcare systems including primary healthcare systems, HIV/AIDS healthcare systems, oncology services, community-based health insurance and medical education. A dramatic increase in vaccination rates has been crucial in improving Rwandans’ health. After the genocide, fewer than 25% of children had been vaccinated against measles and polio, but today, 97% of Rwandan infants have received vaccinations against 10 diseases.

There have also been declines in deaths from tuberculosis and malaria. There has been a similar decline in maternal and child mortality: after the genocide, Rwanda had the world’s highest rate of child mortality, but today, Rwanda has caught up with the global average. Furthermore, the HIV/AIDS case and death rates have decreased. In 1996, antiretroviral therapy became available, and in the last 10 years, Rwanda’s death rate from AIDS fell faster than it did in the U.S. and Western Europe.

External investment and an increase in foreign aid have also improved Rwandans’ health. In 1995, Rwanda received only $0.50 per person for health, less than any other country in Africa. NGOs like Partners In Health (PIH) have helped increase the population’s access to healthcare and have supported efforts to rebuild public and community health systems.

Poverty in Rwanda

The percentage of people living in poverty declined by 5.8%, from 44.9% to 39.1%, between 2011 and 2014 alone. Factors contributing to the decrease in poverty include:

  • The improved health of the people of Rwanda. Strong healthcare systems can work to combat poverty, because when people are in good health and can access medical care, they are able to work and be more economically productive.
  • The government’s Vision 2020 anti-poverty objective, which fosters privatization and liberalization with the goal of promoting economic growth.
  • A thriving banking system.
  • The expansion of the service sector.
  • Entry into the East African Community, an economic bloc whose other members are Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi.

Poverty and Life Expectancy in Rwanda

There is a substantial intersection between Rwanda’s efforts to increase its citizens’ life expectancy and its efforts to pull them out of poverty. The efforts to ameliorate both problems of poverty and life expectancy in Rwanda are linked through public health, and each is improving because the other is. In the words of one public health expert, Rwanda demonstrates that “a nation’s most precious resource is its people.”

– Isabelle Breier
Photo: Wikimedia

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5 Facts About Hunger in Poland

hunger in PolandHunger and malnutrition continue to pose a huge threat to millions of individuals across the globe. Many do not think of Poland when it comes to hunger, but that doesn’t mean hunger doesn’t exist in the country. While thankfully the percent of individuals who suffer from hunger is rather low, a majority of those who do suffer from hunger and malnutrition are children. Here are five facts about hunger in Poland.

5 Facts About Hunger in Poland

  1. The percent of individuals in Poland living in hunger has been stagnant since 2000. As of 2017, Poland has seen 2.5% of its population living in hunger. While this is a huge feat on its own, this percent has not increased since 2000–Poland has had only 2.5% of its population live in hunger for almost two decades. This ranks Poland among countries with the lowest hunger rates.
  2.  Almost 120,000 children in Poland go to school hungry, according to a Polish foundation called A Piece of Heaven. By not having proper nourishment, students’ ability to perform well in both educational and extracurricular activities can be affected. Luckily, organizations such as A Piece of Heaven are dedicated to help improve the nutrition of Polish children. Most specifically, the organizations help children dealing with sickness and or living in poverty. Through their work, A Piece of Heaven has helped 150,000 individuals.
  3. 170,000 children in Poland suffer from malnutrition. While hunger may not be a large risk, malnutrition has affected Polish children at a higher rate. Malnutrition often poses a problem in rural areas of Poland, where poverty levels are higher. Because their families face financial afflictions, oftentimes nutritious food and resources are more difficult to acquire. Malnutrition in childhood can cause developmental irregularities in the central nervous system, struggles with mental health and underweight body mass.
  4. Much of the hunger in Poland is due to poverty. While of course poverty and hunger are not directly connected, Warsaw’s Department of Nutrition and Dietetic with Clinic of Metabolic Diseases and Gastroenterology has estimated that much of Poland’s hunger is due to poverty. They also suggest that poverty not only affects rates of hunger, but also malnutrition. Those living below the poverty line have limited access to more nutritionally balanced food with a higher price tag.
  5. 23,000 children living in Warsaw suffer from starvation. While Poland does have one of the lowest rates of hunger in the world, A Piece of Heaven estimates that tens of thousands of children go hungry each day in the nation’s capital. Because hunger in Poland does not pose a large issue in a global light, many are unaware of this tragic reality. Many of these children are living in poverty, though, and have little to no food with nutritional value.

While Poland has made great efforts to keep the percentage of individuals living in hunger down, there is more to be done. This is especially true for children living in poor, rural areas. Through help from organizations bringing food to malnourished and hungry children, hopefully Poland’s hunger rate that has stayed stagnant for so long can now begin to decrease even more.

– Olivia Eaker
Photo: Flickr