Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Children of the Dump and Education

Many people in poverty find ways to create income for themselves and their families. Some choose to work in a factory or sell fruit at the local market. For others, having income comes from sifting through garbage dumps to find sellable materials. There are some very large garbage dumps located in Sub-saharan Africa, South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Due to waste distribution throughout a dump site, many people can sift through to find sellable items. These items can range from everyday plastic waste to copper byproducts. This type of work can be dangerous due to injury from objects in the dump or burning things that create toxic fumes. For this reason, charities such as Children of the Dump create opportunities for children in these situations to receive an education.

Payatas Dump

Looking more specifically at Manila, the city has a garbage dump that’s named Payatas Dump. The garbage dump allows people in poverty to sift through it to find items to sell. People collect the items, wash them if needed and then sell them for a minimal amount. Some people don’t just work in the dump, but also live near it since transportation can be expensive. The shelters created near the dumps are made from surrounding garbage and house several people in a confined space. In 2017, the Payatas Dump was closed, and many people lost their livelihoods. Some asked garbage truck drivers to dump garbage into the streets to scavenge enough for a small meal. This type of work doesn’t just appeal to adults; many children work in the dump to earn money for their families. As a result, many children of the dump are unable to have an education and some will sift through garbage their entire lives.

Children of the Dump

Children of the Dump is an organization created to aid children and their families who sift through garbage for money. The organization is partnered with another charity located in the Philippines and relies heavily on donations. Due to the lack of opportunities for these families, Children of the Dump provides three different programs:

  1. “Cashew Early Years” – Donations to this program go toward providing a free meal and half a day’s worth of education for 100 kids aged four to six.
  2. “Grapevine Outreach” – Donations to this program are given to families so children can attend local schools. This type of program gives children the opportunity to have an education rather than working in the dump.
  3. “Mango Tree House” – This program provides a place where displaced children can live and go to school to grow up in a nurturing and educational environment.

There are several success stories of children who were a part of Children of the Dump’s program. Two students, Danny and Jamaica, participated in the programs at very young ages. The two went on to become college graduates and are working full time.

Sifting through garbage dumps can be a way for people in poverty to earn income. However, it can prevent children in the dumps from having time to get an education because they are looking through garbage to earn money for their families. Children of the Dump works to ensure kids have access to education, helping students like Danny and Jamacia work toward future economic success.

– Brooke Young
Photo: Flickr

Investing in Energy Storage in Africa Can Help Communities

In 2016, the African Development Bank launched the New Deal on Energy for Africa to accelerate the supply of electricity across the continent. After the African Development Bank launched its bold initiative, the president of the organization, Akinwumi Adesina, made a statement that resonated with countless communities: “Africa is tired of being in the dark.”

Fast forward to today and the vision of the New Deal has faded. All across Africa, communities suffer from frequent blackouts and grid congestion plagues slowly growing businesses. As the world becomes more tech-centered, it is critical that Africa is supported by modern technology rather than, as Adesina feared, being left in the dark.

High Population, High Demand

As the population in Africa steadily rises, so does the demand for reliable electricity to power growing communities. In sub-Saharan Africa, growing populations are overtaking electricity access, and the percentage of people in the region with access to electricity is declining. Additionally, mere access to power does not guarantee a high value in energy service. For instance, in Nigeria, it is estimated that homes and businesses spend $14 billion each year on fuel to power supplemental generators. This is because the current power grid is unable to keep up with the needs of the people.

If energy storage in Africa can be optimized, millions of people and small businesses will experience fewer blackouts. This will, in turn, provide energy, electricity and economic boosts for many struggling, impoverished communities. If executed properly, energy access could be the break in the poverty cycle that Africa has been waiting for.

Renewable Energy in Africa

With a consistently sunny climate, Africa has an incredible potential for solar energy. The cost of solar energy generation in Africa may even be relatively inexpensive compared to the current average prices for electricity. In Liberia, for example, one would have to pay a high average of $490 per megawatt-hour for electricity. However, if investors utilize the expansive supply of sunlight across the continent, the price will drop in the long run and provide more African consumers with stable energy. This could also provide more work opportunities in industry, technology and small businesses that would otherwise be unable to pay an electricity bill.

Overall, the impact of investing in new energy storage technology will be substantial. Impoverished communities will have access to reliable power, the poor can find work and countries’ economies will grow. However, the path to renewable energy integration is not as simple as one may hope.

In recent years, older and more traditional power plants have been attempting to provide stable power to communities with moderate success. It is estimated that 42% of Africans lack access to electricity in their homes because they are not in zones served by an electric grid. Additionally, frequent blackouts and massive regions without power are not uncommon in the continent.

Energy Storage

As Africa aims to integrate affordable solar energy on a large scale, the current grid capacity will not be able to respond to the high levels of demand. Without massive design changes, this issue will continue to worsen in the near future.

Energy storage in Africa allows for the integration of renewable energy on a broad scale and can address the electrical challenges found across the continent. It will also create a buffer between the limited supply and increasingly high demand. Thus, a new grid system concentrated on energy storage and more resilient power systems will be absolutely critical in guaranteeing renewable energy. Such a system will also lower the cost of electricity for Africans. With this progress, millions of families and businesses will have access to stable electricity.

Making Progress

Though there is still a great deal of work to be done, it is impossible to ignore the remarkable advancements in African energy in recent history.

When looking for companies that are investing in the people of Africa, one need look no further than the massive retailer Amazon, one of the largest and most successful businesses today. Amazon recently announced that it is hiring around 3,000 South Africans for customer service positions that are designed to be fully remote. It is a rare case in which Africans prove to have a stable-enough internet connection for the work from home lifestyle to be possible.

The potential impact this will have on the poverty rate in South Africa is outstanding. The ability to work from home opens doors for a number of people who previously did not have the opportunity to work. For example, mothers who were generally expected to be the familial homemaker can now work from home while taking care of their children. Additionally, people all across the region will be able to avoid expensive travel costs altogether.

With more investments in energy storage in Africa, more families and businesses will be able to thrive. Should these massive economic leaps continue in the future, the unemployment rate in the region will gradually decrease. Providing access to electricity also benefits families, businesses and consumers by improving education, healthcare and quality of life. At the same time, it helps to improve the bottom line for utility costs and rates of return for investors, drawing in more business.

It is evident that investing in one region can slowly bleed into the next, giving hope for a more stable future to the whole of the African continent. Through these continued efforts, Africa will no longer be left in the dark but rather will be brought light.

– Daniela Canales
Photo: Flickr

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Examining Homelessness in Barbados

homelessness in barbados
With beautifully clear water, palm trees and blue skies, Barbados is a popular destination for vacationers, with 2.4 million people traveling to the island annually. However, outside of luxury resorts and beaches, about 18% of the native population lives in poverty. Additionally, many experience homelessness in Barbados.

Stigma Regarding Homelessness in Barbados

Vacations and other citizens routinely ostracize homeless Barbadians. Kilvin Cox, a 61-year-old homeless man in Barbados, said, “I have realized society, they can’t do it with me. They don’t show me empathy. I am a living person; I am a quiet man and a lively man; I’m an easygoing man.” Cox says that sometimes when he asks for money at stop signs, doing whatever he can to survive, people yell at him through their car windows because they think he intends to rob them.

Paradoxically, it is often this stigma towards homeless individuals in Barbados that prevents upward mobility. An assessment of the living conditions in Barbados in 2010 reveals that the social ostracization of “vulnerable groups” including homeless people leads to their subsequent exclusion from education, health and other services. This is a vicious cycle that reinforces poverty through the continuation of social and subsequently institutional exclusion.

Causes of Homelessness

The problem of homelessness in Barbados is largely due to the unemployment rate, which reached 10.33% in 2019. Much of Barbados’ homeless population is unemployed, such as 74-year-old Horace Gibson. Gibson receives a pension but notes, “you know how pension goes. You gotta buy food, you gotta buy everything! So, it’s really about how you want to live. I just take it easy, and take it as it comes. I try to survive. I don’t trouble nobody.”

There is no single social or institutional funnel that ushers individuals into homelessness. The Rotary Club of Barbados reported that homelessness in Barbados can come about in a myriad of ways, including drugs and alcohol, mental instability, poor management of finances and lack of familial support.

Solutions

The Barbados government has acknowledged the country’s poverty rate (reported in 2010 at over 19%) which the struggles of people like Cox and Gibson clearly illustrate. In response, Prime Minister Mia Mottley introduced a comprehensive Barbados Economic and Recovery Transformation (BERT) plan in 2018 with the intention of restoring financial sustainability and increasing economic growth. While the program mentions its goal to “protect vulnerable groups through strengthened social safety nets,” it does not specifically define vulnerable groups or mention homelessness in its plan.

Aside from the absence of policies that address homelessness within the BERT plan, the government more broadly does not offer direct support to aid homeless or vagrant populations. Instead, the Welfare Department often refers these individuals to the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) according to its president Kemar Saffrey. However, despite the government’s apparent reliance on referring those in need to the shelter, it has consistently denied BAEH subvention, submitting proposals annually to no avail.

Although it receives no governmental aid, BAEH is still able to provide programs for the homeless people it serves, including rehabilitation programs, breakfast programs, access to social service agencies, medical services, counseling, educational classes, employment preparation and a shelter specifically for women and children. BAEH’s mission focuses on reintegrating vagrants and homeless people into society through a rehabilitative housing program that enables individuals to enter society in a productive manner. The reported success rate is 78%, but Saffrey warns that the homeless population will continue to increase if the Barbadian government continues to ignore these people, their struggles to survive and the socioeconomic inequalities they represent.

– Kate Ciolkowski-Winters
Photo: Flickr

 

Yemen Desert Locust Response Project

Yemen Desert Locust Response ProjectSwarms of locusts travel in groups of at least 80 million; a swarm can routinely eat what 35,000 humans can eat in the same time span. This article will highlight the destructive potential of locust swarms and the Yemen Desert Locust Response Project. The desert landscape of Yemen makes it the perfect breeding ground for locusts. Death could be the result of human beings in major cases of locust devastation (35-60% of crops) due to a lack of available crops.

Purpose of the Yemen Desert Locust Response Project

The purpose behind the creation of the Yemen Desert Locust Response Project was to kill desert locusts so they could not continue to swarm. This project sought to provide financing for activities that promoted food growth and healthy behaviors of citizens. Secondly, this project looked to collect data and archive information for future generations regarding strategies the government used to stop locust outbreaks.

Yemen Desert Locust Response Project led by Sandra Broka and Yashodhan Ghorpade was approved by the World Bank in June of 2020. The project specified remediation efforts of $25 million to take place throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The Republic of Yemen will benefit from this declaration, which is set to end December 29, 2023.

About the World Bank

The vision of the World Bank is to empower third world countries to reach the financial security and maturity of developed nations. Being able to transform dwindling institutions of academia, medicine, business and government is the end goal of the World Bank. Loans have terms that specify repayment barriers and deadlines; grants are met through the embodiment of criteria on a checklist, and countries will not need to pay these amounts back. During an attack of locusts, the World Bank quickly worked to funnel out available funds to citizens and organizations for agricultural revival.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) makes up the World Bank with other agencies like The International Development Association (IDA), corporations and centers. The two main players, IBRD and IDA, have donor countries. The IBRD has 189 donor countries and invests in the market to achieve financial capital benchmarks. The IBRD also has established credit that allows a profit margin between the loans it gives and the amounts it requires for repayment from clients.

International Development Association Financial Procurement

The IDA is overseen by 173 countries that make up the governing body. The governing body has agreed upon a set amount of money that it will donate to the IDA; this amount regenerates every three years. When this cash is dispersed, recipient countries improve the mitigation of environmental catastrophes. They are then able to locate economic interventions that reap the benefits of an enhanced quality of life.

Quick Locust Breeding; Quick Response

For countries to benefit from an increased quality of life, they must adhere to the warnings of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FOA) regarding the growth of locust populations. It is believed that in July, as swarms reach their adulthood, crops will also reach the peak of their growth; this also means they reach their highest risk of being eliminated by locusts. Farmers may be able to save July 2020 harvests. Ultimately, Failure to react will cause further distress to Yemen natives.

Preemptive warnings from the FOA are related to the travel destinations that locust swarms will navigate through during the month of July 2020. The FOA predicted African invasions of locusts in northern Somalia and northeast Ethiopia. With Yemen Desert Locust Response Project funds working in unison with FOA advisories, Yemen can better mitigate locust challenges than if it were acting as a stand-alone country not utilizing outside resources.

– DeAndre’ Robinson
Photo: Flickr

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Solar Electric Light Fund Fights Energy Poverty

Solar Electric Light FundThe Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) advocates that energy access is a human right. Beginning in 1990, founder Neville Williams worked to build solar-powered home systems in regions where families lacked electricity. Expanding from an individualized approach to the “Whole Village Development Model” in 2001, SELF began installing solar-powered electric systems into community infrastructure. SELF combats energy poverty with clean, empowering solutions. These solutions include powering homes, schools, street lamps, healthcare facilities, water pumps and providing education on photovoltaic (PV) technology.

What is Energy Poverty?

SELF defines energy poverty as an inability to acquire modern energy sources. The U.N.’s 2020 Energy Progress Report stated that 789 million people across the world did not have access to a dependable source of electricity in 2018.

An unbalanced percentage of those living without energy access reside in rural areas due to the “last mile” problem. This refers to the difficulty in providing energy access to isolated individuals lacking proximity to a power grid. Approximately 85% of those without energy access live in rural areas, and 16 countries across the developing world recorded 5% or less of their rural populations had access to energy.

What Are its Effects?

Energy access is crucial for a community as it affects food, clean water, medical care, employment and education access. Without electricity, water pumps are unable to provide safe drinking water for consumption and irrigation. Also, without electricity, modern medical machines cannot operate and temperature-controlled vaccines are unavailable.

Lack of access to modern conveniences, such as the internet, also hinders the progress of businesses and educational institutions. Additionally, light is unable to illuminate studying or working activities after dark. Those using kerosene lamps are in danger of a malfunction explosion. For females of all ages, lack of light also heightens the threat of sexual violence when going outdoors. It also compromises maternal health for those who go into labor after dark.

SELF: Blazing The Trail

SELF works to create energy-efficient, cost-efficient, sustainable and replicable solar-powered systems. Utilizing PV technology to transform sunlight into electricity, SELF has operated in 25 countries, building 550 solar-powered energy systems. Currently, the organization is working on the following projects:

  1. Benin: In the Kalalé District, one clean water source might provide for 550-9,500 people. On the other hand, larvae or animal carcasses can infest unclean water sources. SELF recently received a grant to install 24 solar-powered water pumps that rely on energy during daylight and gravity at night to provide clean water for 82,000 people.
  2. Uganda: At the Rape Hurts Foundation (RHF), SELF will install a solar micro-grid. This grid will provide electricity for social, educational, cooking and food refrigeration initiatives. RHF is an organization that grants victims and children of rape the necessary support. Furthermore, SELF built street lamps and water stations in the Bukyerimba area to mitigate sexual assault risks.
  3. Haiti: In the rural Southwest, SELF is rebuilding a solar and diesel hybrid micro-grid that was damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 so that 2,120 homes can have energy access. SELF also founded the National Solar Training Center at Haiti Tec in order to strengthen solar energy installation education. Also, SELF pioneered an “energy harvest device” that is able to store solar energy to power refrigerators for vaccines. Refrigerators with this technology are being observed in Haiti and three other countries with the intention of submitting a progress analysis to the World Health Organization in 2021.

Past, Present and Future Progress

Other highlights in previous years include providing electricity to 62 health facilities in rural Ghana and Uganda, electrifying the indigenous village of Katamsama in Colombia, powering a school in Port au Prince, Haiti and providing electricity to the Xixuaú-Xipariná Ecological Reserve in the Amazon.

In each of these operations, SELF strives to provide income generation strategies to account for the cost of upkeep in the 20-25 year lifespan of solar modules. An article in the Global Citizen emphasized SELF Executive Director Robert Freling’s belief that enabling local inhabitants to care for these installations and empowering newly-electrified communities is a vital component of their work.

Over the past two decades, energy efficiency and the presence of renewable energy sources has increased worldwide. With these developments, the cost of PV solar technology decreased by 66% in the commercial sphere from 2010 to 2018. SELF hopes to capitalize upon these improvements in order to provide sustainable, reliable energy for those facing energy poverty. By providing integrated, innovative solutions, the Solar Electric Light Fund is illuminating a path for a more sustainable, connected world.

– Suzi Quigg
Photo: Flickr

6 Facts about Hunger in Austria

6 Facts about Hunger in AustriaAustria is a European nation with a population of approximately 9.2 million people, with almost 27% of the population having a migration background. It is famous for being one of the most prosperous economies of the nations in the EU. The nation is highly developed with important industries being food and luxury commodities, mechanical engineering and vehicle manufacturing. The capital of Austria, Vienna, is the country’s most famous city and the most popular tourist attraction. Vienna ranked as one of the top cities in the world for global quality of living. Austria has successfully combatted hunger and continues to do so. Here are six interesting facts about hunger in Austria.

6 Facts about Hunger in Austria

  1. Children, single parents and unemployed people are at high risk of poverty. The number of working poor increased to 331,000 (3.6% of the population) in 2023. Elderly women also experience disproportionately high poverty rates., Addressing hunger can indirectly address poverty. 
  2. Europe’s “organic farming country no. 1.” The first organic farm in the world was registered in Austria in 1927, and the country boasts the first national regulations for organic farming. Organic farms comprise 20% of Austria’s farmland and 16% of its agricultural holdings. 
  3. Environmental protection is an extremely important item on the nation’s political agenda. Austria has prioritized the availability of clean drinking water throughout the country and, as a result of implementing the EU Water Framework Directive, the water quality in Austria’s lakes was raised to “excellent levels.” The Ministry of Agriculture has worked with the Federal Provinces on a “national concept” to rehabilitate protective forests. And the country is regarded as a pioneer within the European Union in the management of natural resources.  
  4. Austria has high food security and low undernourishment rates compared to other nations. The nation is the 12th most food-secure ranked country. The Global Food Security Index 2022 reported 2.5% undernourishment for Austria, with the country above the mean average for the 113 countries in the index on almost all of the 30 metrics comprising the score: affordability, availability, quality and safety and sustainability and adaptation. 
  5. Austria and the Food Assistance Convention. Austria joined the Food Assistance Convention (FAC) in 2013. Two federal ministries, along with the Austrian Development Agency, are responsible for international food aid. Austria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management signed a strategic partnership agreement with the U.N.’s World Food Programme for 2023-2025, to focus on increasing the WFP’s budget allocation. 
  6. Austria has been a member of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization since 1947. The FAO reports 4.9% moderate or severe food insecurity in Austria as a three-year average from 2021-2023. FAC-eligible food assistance projects are implemented through FAO (as well as WFP). 

Austria has thus focused on keeping its own citizens fed while trying to help other nations address their rates of hunger as well. 

– Staff Reports
Photo: Flickr
Updated: August 20, 2024

Building Up Women Leaders in Indonesia

Women Leaders in IndonesiaThis summer, the Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA) began its second annual Indonesia Accelerator for Grassroots Women Environmental Leaders. The Accelerator program supports 60 initiatives across 28 regions of Indonesia. It provides resources and training for women leaders in Indonesia to support the environment and their communities through grassroots programs.

Why Focus on Indonesia?

Indonesia is currently the fifth largest producer of greenhouse gases. The country’s emissions rose 3% just last year. WEA finds that “in this moment of environmental crisis, Indonesia is ground zero.” The large and rising greenhouse gas emissions in the country counters progress that other countries are making to limit emissions and prevent global warming.

Global warming has effects on all sectors of society, including agriculture and the economy. This issue especially impacts women, so WEA plans to lift up women leaders in Indonesia who are both the most affected by and the most determined to fix these environmental and societal issues.

What the Accelerator Program Does

The program focuses on the pillars of impact, awareness, and access. Women leaders in Indonesia apply to the program with a project plan to fix a certain issue in their community. Those who are accepted go through a comprehensive training program. This program teaches them to maximize the impact of their efforts, gain awareness and support from the public and strengthen community networks. This knowledge will allow these women to influence others to rise up and implement social projects of their own.

Program participants go through a four-month curriculum that is hands-on, teamwork-oriented and doesn’t interfere with daily life or jobs. They come together over group video calls for webinars or small group discussions and receive mentors, as well as tools and other resources for learning or extending their impact.

The curriculum includes movement-building skills such as networking and campaigning. It also includes economic skills like building a revenue stream, environmental skills and social skills like how to best care for their communities. The program assists them in building a comprehensive Action Plan to grow their proposed initiatives into professional movements. Additionally, they receive guidance through a global network of WEA alumni, mentors, and supporters. The women leaders in Indonesia also receive some funds to implement their initiatives.

Initiatives in Action

This year, Winda Arianti of West Sumater is participating in the Accelerator program in the hopes of using alternative economic development strategies, such as encouraging ecotourism, to support women in Indonesia. She is currently a leader at Wahli Sumbar, an NGO in Padang, Indonesia. Arianti oversees about 500 people who support these economic development projects.

Arianti’s project aims to stimulate her local economy using environmentally-friendly strategies while employing underprivileged women along the way. WEA’s program will help her grow her impact, help more women and move the economy towards sustainability.

Maria Patricia Wata Beribe, a facilitator at Campus Without Walls, hopes to use this opportunity to encourage local youth to be activists and stewards in their own communities. Her experiences as a field officer for the Tananua Flores Foundation and VECO Rikolto Indonesia exposed her to women’s lack of access to education, skill-building and healthcare in agricultural communities. She also gained experience in sustainable development and local government issues.

Beribe currently works to bring college students and village youth together in order to reconnect with their culture and homes. Her initiative aims to assist Indonesian youth in becoming activists who love their communities and work hard to support them using business ventures, sustainable practices and more.

WEA’s Indonesia Accelerator for Grassroots Women Environmental Leaders program amplifies the voices of women leaders in Indonesia.  The initiative provides Indonesian women with the support they need to make large scale positive changes in their communities.

– Kathy Wei
Photo: Wikimedia

Food Insecurity and Permaculture in South Africa

Permaculture in South AfricaIn South Africa, 25% of people are unable to afford enough food supplies to meet their basic physical needs. SEED Social Enterprise is a nonprofit organization based in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. It combats food insecurity in South Africa by decentralizing food systems to local household and neighborhood gardens. Mitchells Plain, a township in South Africa, faces high rates of unemployment and poverty. This is due to post-apartheid socioeconomic disparities. As a result, a majority of the residents in Mitchells Plain lack access to employment opportunities and long-term food security. SEED alleviates the effects of poverty by implementing permaculture in South Africa. Permaculture design programs provide nutritious food and job opportunities.

Benefits of Permaculture

Permaculture uses holistic solutions to harvest and distribute the food, agriculture and energy within a cultivated ecosystem. The main goals of permaculture include restoring natural ecosystems, implementing zero-waste policies and participating in sustainable consumption.

Additionally, localized food systems provide access to nutritious food in impoverished communities. Permaculture design programs also provide economic, ecological and health benefits. The additional benefits of permaculture include reduced food insecurity and undernutrition and long-term environmental sustainability. They also include increased savings from reduced input costs, high agricultural yields and improved human health and well being.

Participation in community permaculture design and cultivation encourages residents to work toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs that address sustainability and poverty, such as responsible consumption and zero hunger, reflect the leading principles of permaculture; care for people, care for Earth and fair share. Resilient and diverse agricultural systems also promote economic and social equity through permaculture redistribution principles.

Nutrition, Human Health and Development

A majority of South Africa’s nutrition burden falls on the under-five population through development complications like child stunting and wasting. South Africa’s child stunting prevalence is 27%. This is approximately 2% above the national average for child stunting in developing countries. The prevalence of child stunting in South Africa indicates poor nutrition and diet during the critical stages of child development.

Improved diet through accessible and diverse food can reduce rates of child stunting and malnutrition nationwide. SEED permaculture in South Africa allows the community of Mitchells Plain to access nutritious foods like broccoli, carrots and turnips. As a result, human health and development improve due to reduced risk of infection, improved immune system function and increased cognitive development.

Investing in the Youth of Mitchells Plain

Furthermore, according to SEED, approximately 400,000 unemployed youth reside in Mitchells Plain. Nearly half of the unemployed youth population lives below the poverty line. As a result, food insecurity and malnutrition pose a threat to young adults. SEED plans to reduce poverty and food insecurity by introducing the township youth to permaculture design, urban regeneration and organic production.

Seeding Futures is a 15-week permaculture resilience program hosted by SEED. It teaches community development through sustainable agricultural practices. The Seeding Futures program covers permaculture design ethics and urban ecosystem regeneration. It also covers communication skills and self-care practices.

Students are encouraged to develop their strengths and explore employment opportunities within the local green community. During the last four weeks of Seeding Futures, students shadow local green businesses to gain valuable insight into the eco-friendly job market. According to SEED, approximately 89% of students who complete the program develop the skill set to grow food long-term. SEED uses permaculture in South Africa to provide sustainable solutions that address the intersection of poverty, unemployment and food insecurity in Mitchells Plain.

– Madeline Zuzevich
Photo: Pixabay

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Hunger in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Hunger in Bosnia and HerzegovinaDuring the Bosnian War, a bloody conflict centered in the Bosnian capital city of Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995 and thousands of people experienced immense hunger in the country. Sarajevo did not have a connection to the rest of the world, resulting in immediate shortages of food, medicine, water and electricity. Lacking these basic necessities and in constant danger of violence, nearly 12,000 civilians died by the end of the war. Unable to survive on what remained in the country, United Nations humanitarian aid efforts saved many by bringing in 160,000 tons of food, medicine and other essential goods.

Postwar Challenges

The end of the war in 1995 brought necessary relief, as well as a new set of challenges as the nation recovered. In 2014, with an unemployment rate of 27.5%, frustrated people in Sarajevo rioted in response to the government insisting that there was no hunger in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This statement angered citizens, and it led to the closure of several factories that had laid off many workers. They responded by setting fire to multiple government buildings, a scene reminiscent of the Bosnian War just years before.

In 2020, the European Union, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program, allocated 20 million euros to the development and modernization of the agri-food sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although the program was positioned to independently assist countries in implementing the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals, strong partnerships with entities such as the European Union were considered to be crucial for the goals’ success.

Nevertheless, by 2021, the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in Bosnia and Herzegovina was 13.4%, the highest it had been in the previous decade and almost 5% higher than its 2017 low point. 

In May of 2021, the Council of Ministers of BiH and the United Nations Country Team signed a four-year Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2021-2025) that included reference to future accession to the European Union. One of the commitment’s four strategic priorities was “quality, accessible and inclusive education, health and social protection,” and one of the many stated related human rights was the right to adequate food, with food safety noted as an intended cooperation outcome.

Targeted Food Insecurity

Then, with the  February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, came a further impact on both income and food security for those who were already vulnerable. 

A UNDP December 2022 Assessment Report for BiH reported sufficient availability of food but also noted that vulnerable groups did not have enough money for a regular diet because of inflation. The majority (80%) of humanitarian organizations managing soup kitchens felt that they had insufficient funds and that the inadequacy of social protection affected their ability to reduce hunger. At that time, BiH was a net importer of foodstuffs and agricultural products. 

A small, 2022-2023 UNDP rapid countrywide assessment, published in May 2023, found a third of those surveyed defined themselves as food insecure, the most insecure being the elderly and single parents. The General Food Insecurity Index labeled almost 78% of those surveyed to be at risk of food insecurity and food deprivation.

The 2023 Global Health Index identified BiH as one of 20 countries with a GHI score in the Low category, but that was because there was insufficient data to calculate a score. Nevertheless, the trend for BiH indicator values has been low since 2000, based on the indicators of the percentage of the population undernourished, and the percentage of children younger than 5 who suffered from child wasting, child stunting and child mortality. 

Early 2023 saw inflation grow to over 14%, causing extreme challenges in the agricultural sector. The price of foodstuffs, for example, was affected by an increase of up to 200% for some raw materials. This reduced those in greatest poverty to being able to buy fruits and vegetables only by the piece.

With an SDG Index Score of 73.99 (out of 100), BiH now ranks 50 of the 166 countries ranked on the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals in the 2024 Sustainable Development Report. This is the country’s overall progress toward meeting the 17 goals. On SDG 2, Zero Hunger, BiH is seen as making moderate improvement, but with significant challenges remaining. Although improvement has been made in tackling undernourishment and wasting in children under 5 years old, the most significant remaining challenge is the prevalence of obesity. 

A Multisectoral Approach

Hunger can also be tackled in a multi-pronged approach that simultaneously addresses other social issues. U.N. Women and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with support from Sweden, have held a series of workshops pairing “gender-sensitive credit solutions” with climate-resilient agriculture. While BiH’s agricultural sector includes women entrepreneurs, only 8% of the country’s agricultural assets are women-owned. In June 2024, 12 workshops were planned across the country, with the ultimate aim being to include a gender perspective in “agricultural and rural development policies, enhancing the resilience and inclusivity of these sectors in light of climate vulnerabilities.” In other words, the plan is to address climate-resilient agriculture, rural economic sustainability, financing and gender equality at the same time. In August 2024, 23 “commitment makers” pledged to focus on gender equality activities.

– Staff Reports
Photo: Flickr
Updated: September 1, 2024

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Hunger in Moldova: What You Need to Know

Hunger in MoldovaThe Republic of Moldova is a small (almost 3.6 million population) landlocked country in Eastern Europe that gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. It is surrounded by Ukraine and Romania. An upper-middle-income economy, Moldova’s average economic growth rate is over 5% annually and it has experienced continued decreases in the rate of poverty since the early 2000s to virtually zero according to the International Poverty Line. 

The Global Hunger Index 2024 ranked Moldova 26 out of the 126 countries ranked. Its score has dropped 68% since its first ranking 20 years ago, moving it from the Moderate to Low hunger category. All of the component indicators for the index were under 10%, with the highest being children under five who are stunted (6.6%). The percent of the population undernourished is less than 2.5%. 

At the same time, food security varies among target groups. As noted by the World Food Programme, the Moldova 2022 Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Survey reported that 43% of women surveyed said that they could not meet household nutritional needs, with 24% saying they didn’t have money for food. This was particularly true for women older than 65, women survivors of domestic abuse, and women in the north of the country. Other at-risk groups included rural citizens, the disabled, those with less education, the unemployed, single-person households and households with five or more children. 

Key Challenges to Food Security in Moldova

  • War and Refugees. The war in Ukraine has had a significant impact on Moldova, which is characterized as the highest per capita host of Ukrainian refugees—almost a million as of February 2024, or the equivalent of 27% of its population. These displaced persons comprise primarily the elderly, women and children, and those with disabilities. In addition, the war has led to a rise in energy and food prices and an increase in poverty.  Interestingly, the 2022 social cohesion survey found that positive attitudes toward refugees increased with food security.
  • Climate and Its Impact on Agriculture. Agriculture contributes about 12% to Moldova’s GNP and employs almost a third of the population—25% of the formal workforce and over 60% of the informal workforce. Approximately 70% of the rural population is dependent upon agriculture; most of these are smallholder farmers who contribute over 62% of agricultural produce. Climate vulnerabilities include increasing droughts, extreme fluctuations in temperature, unpredictable precipitation and flash floods and landslides. Agriculture, including its dependence on infrastructure, is particularly susceptible to global climate change. 
  • Additional Factors. In addition, there are shortcomings including cyclical crop seasons that affect the consistency of supply. In addition, shortcomings in irrigation infrastructure, including threats from Russia; labor shortages; and dependence on foreign remittances.

Three Responses to Moldova’s Food Security Challenges

As of 1993, there has been a legal basis for ensuring “the right to adequate food” enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova.

  1. In 2022, Moldova published a medium-term public policy planning document, the Food Security Strategy, for 2023-2030. Various national ministries and agencies have responsibility for implementing the strategy, along with NGOs and international development partners. The goals of the strategy are to “increase the population’s access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food, improve the quality of food, increase the purchasing power of the population and reduce the gaps related to food access for different categories of people.”  
  2. In 2023, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations developed a Rapid response plan, March – December 2023, to address the impact of both the Ukraine war and climate conditions. The program provided cash, grants, supplies, and technical assistance. This included livestock feed and nutrients, training and “knowledge-sharing opportunities” and subsidies. 
  3. The Government of Japan is financing a half-million 2024-2025 project to increase “agri-food resilience to intensifying external and climate shocks” in at least seven towns in Moldova. The goal is to prepare the country for future food crises. This effort is seen as moving to the achievement of commitments made under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. 

– Staff Reports
Photo: Flickr
Updated: November 2, 2024