Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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6 Facts About Healthcare in Ethiopia

Healthcare in Ethiopia
Located in the horn of Africa, Ethiopia is a developing country that has struggled to obtain structured and stable healthcare in the past. However, in recent years, the country  has made several attempts to provide healthcare improvements. Here are six facts about the efforts to improve healthcare in Ethiopia.

6 Facts About Healthcare in Ethiopia

  1. The number of healthcare facilities in Ethiopia has increased immensely. Within the last decade, the number of healthcare facilities and small clinics have quadrupled from 4,211 to 14,416. Public hospitals have grown in numbers from 76 to 126. With an increase in healthcare facilities, citizens living in rather rural areas will have easier access to healthcare and assistance. Although the country is still making improvements daily, the increase in statistics regarding healthcare facilities exemplifies the overall improvement of healthcare in Ethiopia.
  2. Installation of Social Accountability (SA) has improved service delivery in healthcare centers. In 2006, Ethiopia’s government introduced Social Accountability (SA) to its citizens as a new initiative to promote healthcare transparency. The Ethiopian government desired a transparent healthcare system in which citizens would receive full awareness of healthcare rights and standards. Before the introduction of SA, healthcare in Ethiopia was not easily accessible for the disabled and exemplified poor sanitation, a lack of certain medical supplies and mediocre facility service. Through SA, citizens are now aware of the service standards that healthcare systems must reach.
  3. Reforms within health finance have changed within the last decade. The government has also created several reforms to direct more attention to healthcare systems. The Health Sector Development Plan emerged in 2003 and desired an efficient way of providing extensive healthcare in Ethiopia. The increased funding allowed the healthcare sector to place more emphasis on healthcare governing, healthcare employment and additional equipment. From 2007 to 2011, Ethiopia increased expenses towards healthcare from 4.5% to 5.2%.
  4. Ethiopia’s development plan towards healthcare focused on extensive organization and management. In 2006, the development plan enforced specific facility governing boards that had overlooked healthcare facilities. Approximately 93% of facility government boards emerged in healthcare centers in 2013 in hopes of providing better management.
  5. The Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) provided assistance in advocating better quality healthcare. IHI partnered with a few organizations, one of them being the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health, to create an initiative plan that emphasized quality. Through the assistance of IHI, Ethiopia’s goals consist of testing and launching a model of a desirable healthcare system that portrays improved healthcare facilities and communities. In all, it hopes to create an efficient and simple strategy that will allow for a sustainable healthcare system in Ethiopia.
  6. Established in 2020, Ethiopia’s Health System Transformation Plan (HSTP) has created several goals to improve healthcare in the future. HSTP is an intricate plan that includes several targets the Ethiopian government is hoping to achieve. These targets include a lower infant mortality rate, a decrease in HIV contraction, a decrease in tuberculosis-related deaths and a depletion of cases regarding malaria deaths. By setting these goals, Ethiopia’s government aims to have a clear and distinct outlook on the future.

These six facts about healthcare in Ethiopia exemplify a few of the effective actions that the Ethiopian government took through the use of development plans and organizations. While there is still plenty of work for the country to do, several actions have taken place in attempts to improve Ethiopia’s overall healthcare.

– Elisabeth Balicanta
Photo: Wikimedia

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Healthcare in Costa Rica

Healthcare in Costa RicaCosta Rica is a Central American country located between Nicaragua and Panama. It has a population of more than five million people. Healthcare in Costa Rica ranks among the best systems in Latin America. The level of medical quality matches even that of more-developed countries, such as the United States. In a 2000 survey by the World Health Organization (WHO), Costa Rica was ranked No. 36 for the best healthcare system in the world, placing it one spot above the U.S. at the time. Other statistics from the WHO show that Costa Rica has a high life expectancy — 77 for men and 82 for women. For comparison, the United States’ life expectancy is 76 for men and 81 for women. There are two Costa Rican healthcare systems — the government-run system and the private system. Both of these healthcare systems are constantly improving, with developments in equipment, clinics and staff training.

Public Healthcare

Costa Rica’s government-run public healthcare system, Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), often called “Caja,” has 30 hospitals and over 250 clinics throughout the country. Though the public sector can have waiting lists, like any other healthcare system, it offers citizens and permanent residents full coverage for all medical procedures and prescription drugs. A small percentage of one’s income funds Caja. It is relatively inexpensive, especially in comparison to the costs of treatments in the United States.

Private Healthcare

Private healthcare in Costa Rica is more expensive than public healthcare, but it is of considerable quality. Doctors in private healthcare facilities generally speak English and have received professional training in the United States, Europe or Canada. CIMA hospital in Escazu, Clínica Bíblica in San Jose and Hospital La Católica in Guadalupe (San Jose) are the three most well-known private hospitals in Costa Rica and they are also internationally accredited.

Medical Tourism

The beautiful scenery and relatively low costs of healthcare in Costa Rica have turned the country into a popular spot for “medical tourism.” Medical tourism is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “traveling to another country for medical care.” Each year, more than 40,000 Americans travel to Costa Rica annually to seek healthcare. In 2016, Costa Rica welcomed 70,000 medical tourists according to the Costa Rican Health Chamber, PROMED. The primary procedures for medical tourists in Costa Rica are dentistry and cosmetic surgery.

Both citizens and medical tourists can attest that healthcare in Costa Rica is of great quality and is low-cost in comparison to other systems. With the constant improvements to the universal and private health sectors, Costa Rica rightfully deserves its ranking as one of the best healthcare systems in Latin America.

– Emma Benson
Photo: Southcom

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Ending Child Labor: 3 UN Solutions

Ending Child LaborDespite a 38% global reduction of child labor between 2000 and 2016, hundreds of millions of children remain in exploitative labor conditions. Work deprives children of their formative childhoods and educational experiences, while potentially harming them physically and psychologically. So, how are people and organizations working to end child labor around the world?

Living in poverty is the main reason children work, whether by circumstance or force. However, child labor creates a cycle of poverty. Some children have to work to survive and help support their families. These children, therefore, do not have the time to receive an education. Education is considered a key to escape poverty; without it, children do not have many options other than continuing to work.

Most child labor is in agriculture; more than 75% of child laborers work the fields, but others work in factories or the service industry. Out of the 170 million child laborers, 6 million children are forced into labor. These children often become child soldiers or are sold into prostitution or slavery. The United Nations calls for an end to child labor in all forms by 2025, a mere five years away. Here are three U.N. solutions to achieve their goal to end child labor:

3 UN Solutions to End Child Labor

  1. 2021 is the International Year for Ending Child Labour. The United Nations General Assembly wants to draw attention to the millions of children working in fields, mines and factories during 2021. Member states of the International Labor Organization (ILO), a specialized agency of the U.N., will raise awareness of the importance of ending child labor and share successful projects. These projects include initiatives to reduce poverty, educate children, offer support services and enforce minimum age requirements, among other solutions. As the steady decrease in child labor tapered off in 2016, the hope is that this effort will renew the global community’s interest in eradicating child labor.
  2. The Clear Cotton Project plans to have sustainable cotton industries without child labor. With the rise of fast fashion, cotton is one of the most valuable supply chain commodities. Because of its high demand, the cotton industry is notorious for its use of child labor, now embedded into the supply chain. Children work long, often excruciating, hours picking cotton, weeding and transferring pollen in the fields. In factories and workshops, child workers spin the cotton and have various tasks, from sewing buttons to embroidering fabric. All of this work is often underpaid if compensated at all. The Clear Cotton Project wants its partner countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, Pakistan and Peru to create sustainable cotton industries without child labor. The program, which started in 2018 and will end in 2022, has two strategies aimed at ending child labor. The first includes editing, strengthening and enforcing policy, legal and regulatory framework against child labor in accordance with ILO standards. The second strategy works to support local governments and public service providers. This strategy aims to increase access to education, create youth and women employment schemes and strengthen worker unions so workers can both recognize their rights and monitor their working conditions
  3. Ending child labor in African supply chains is receiving special attention. While the rest of the world saw a decrease in child labor between 2012 and 2016, Sub-Saharan Africa observed an increase. Child labor is most prevalent in supply chains, especially in cacao, cotton, gold and tea. In the tea industry alone, around 14% of children are working as laborers in Uganda. Even more children work in Malawi—38% of all children from ages 5-17. Producing tea is labor-intensive, from preparing the land for planting to harvesting to preparing the leaves for export. Children are involved at every level. To combat this, ACCEL Africa, a four-year program, began in 2018 to “accelerate action for the elimination of child labor in supply chains.” Partnered with the Netherlands, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Mali, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda, the program aims to address the problems that cause institutionalized child labor in supply chains. These countries will also improve their child labor policies and legal framework and enforce the revisions to stop child labor.

While the U.N. has set a challenging goal, with increased awareness, commitment and cooperation, the global community can succeed in its programs, ending child labor by 2025. With a real childhood, education and a brighter future, these children will have a chance to step out of the vicious cycle of poverty.

– Zoe Padelopoulos
Photo: Unsplash

US Initiatives Help Fight Poverty in Africa

Poverty in Africa
Though the extreme levels of poverty in Africa are what typically define the continent, it has seen rapid economic growth as foreign nations increase investment in sub-Saharan Africa. The U.S. seeks to expand and increase trade with Africa by way of economic development initiatives. The following article describes two U.S. initiatives that create a mutually beneficial relationship between the U.S. and Africa. These initiatives seek to fight poverty in Africa and accomplish the humanitarian and economic goals of both parties involved.

African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)

The African Growth and Opportunity Act increases sub-Saharan Africa’s accessibility to the U.S. market with duty-free access to many U.S. commodities, incentivizing investment in the goods of U.S. companies. Sub-Saharan African countries that wish to attain and keep eligibility for AGOA must be actively working towards improved rule of law, human rights and labor standards. This means that these countries must minimize the poverty levels their citizens face. The desire to be part of these trade acts motivates many countries to improve upon their standards of living.

Through the benefits of AGOA, Kenya has become a top exporter of apparel and macadamia nuts to the U.S. Ethiopia now generates about $20 million in footwear exports. South Africa, the largest AGOA beneficiary by value, has increased exports to the U.S. threefold since 2001, totaling $2.9 billion in 2015, and is developing a booming automobile industry. The agriculture industry in South Africa has also flourished under AGOA. The citrus sector alone has generated 85,000 new jobs in South Africa. Since the implementation of AGOA, sub-Saharan Africa beneficiary countries have increased non-energy exports to the U.S. in total by 57.8%. These economic developments create thousands of new jobs every year which helps eradicate hunger and poverty in Africa.

American companies are also benefiting from AGOA. An example is American Augers Inc., who is adding new jobs to its factory by growing its exports to Africa. By committing to laying the fiber optic infrastructure across all of Africa, American Augers Inc. was able to expand and grow its business. This is but one company’s example of how increasing U.S. export to Africa provides jobs anywhere from factory workers to farmers throughout America.

Prosper Africa

Prosper Africa is a recent extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Due to U.S. foreign direct investment statistics in Africa recently declining, Prosper Africa is the Trump administration’s initiative to double two-way trade between the U.S. and Africa. Making this initiative unique from the original AGOA, Prosper Africa creates a one-stop-shop of U.S. government support services to aid U.S. and African businesses and investors. The initiative also promises to negotiate at least one new bilateral free trade agreement in Africa. This type of agreement can significantly improve the economic activity of a country. For example, the U.S. signed and enforced a free trade agreement with Morocco. Within a decade, U.S. imports from Morocco doubled and U.S. exports to Morocco roughly quadrupled.

Small U.S. businesses in particular are benefiting from the improved, mutually beneficial business climate the initiative creates. An example is the Environmental Chemical Company. While the firm attains economic success through commercial opportunities now made available in Africa, the people of Nairobi, Kenya and the surrounding area are also benefiting from the environmental restoration and social services that the U.S. company is providing. As more U.S. businesses invest, the statistics of poverty in Africa should only see improvement.

Overcoming Poverty in Africa

In a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics from over a decade ago, estimates determined that removing trade barriers and opening up more countries to the global market could help fight poverty in Africa by bringing as many as 500 million people out of poverty and putting $200 billion a year into the economies of those developing nations. AGOA and Prosper Africa’s efforts show that the numbers that the Peterson Institute predicted are an attainable future goal. With increased employment and reliable income, people of sub-Saharan Africa can lift their families above the poverty line. As the fight against poverty in Africa causes poverty rates to decrease, the purchasing power of the region should increase, allowing access to untapped markets.

– Hanna Rowell
Photo: Wikimedia

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Homelessness in Sweden: A Country in a Housing Crisis

homelessness in Sweden
Sweden is known for its generous welfare state; however, homelessness in Sweden is a rising concern. Swedes spend a larger proportion of their disposable income on housing compared to other European countries, and that figure is rising rapidly. The lack of affordable housing and the growing population has led to a housing crisis and an increase in homelessness.

The definition of homelessness in Sweden is divided into four categories:

  • acute homelessness

  • institutional care and category housing

  • long-term housing solutions

  • short-term insecure housing solutions

The Swedish government conducts a national survey every six years to analyze trends in homelessness. The survey reported that 33,269 people were homeless in 2017. Since the last report in 2011, acute homelessness increased from 4,500 to 5,935 people, and those in long-term housing solutions increased from 13,900 to 15,838.

Who Are The Most Vulnerable to Homelessness?

Women are increasingly more susceptible to homelessness, compared to men. More than one-third of the homeless in Sweden have children younger than 18, resulting in at least 24,000 children with parents who are homeless.

The majority of parents struggling with homelessness stated the main cause as having an income too low for them to qualify as tenants in the ordinary housing market. This factor forces them to enter the secondary market and into long-term, but insecure, housing situations.

In recent years, a large influx of migrants including refugees has contributed to rising homelessness in Sweden. Around 43% of people that are homeless were born in a country other than Sweden. Sweden has the highest rate of homelessness per 1,000 inhabitants in Scandanavia.

More people are becoming homeless due to evictions, sudden unemployment, or relationship breakups than due to mental health or substance abuse issues. Since more than 20% of the homeless do not need additional social services besides housing, they do not get support at all. The largest contributor to homelessness in Sweden is the housing crisis.

The Housing Crisis

There is a lack of available and affordable housing in Sweden, especially in cities. In 2017, 88% of municipalities reported a housing shortage. The wait time for an apartment is significantly increasing over time, making it nearly impossible to secure a rental apartment.

A reason for the shortage is that new construction is not keeping up with the growing population. There is low production of new public housing or rental apartments due to the cost of land, workers and materials; the cost is high due to the extremely high demand. There is little space left to build, and architects and city planners are reluctant to build taller to adhere to Swedish building customs. The rentals that are built are directed to upper-class markets with an average rental rate substantially higher than what social services will pay. Rising costs have made it even more difficult for marginalized groups to enter the conventional housing market.

What is the Solution?

To deal with the lack of housing, some have turned to co-housing. Companies such as Colive are remodeling large houses where tenants would pay for a bedroom and shared common spaces. The plan is to create tens of thousands of units within the decade.

Homelessness in Sweden is more of a structural issue than a social one, although the social aspects should not be ignored. While there is no explicit national strategy to address homelessness, there have been calls for an integrated housing provision strategy in which the state, region and municipality are all jointly responsible for providing adequate housing. Policies need to be more proactive to tackle the large proportion of people stuck in the secondary housing market. Measures need to be put in place to incentivize affordable housing builds with specific goals for low-income housing, according to the Stadmissionen report.

Having one’s own home is a fundamental need that also offers safety and security. Housing First, a method for dealing with homelessness in New York City, was implemented in Stockholm and Helsingborg in 2010. This approach eliminates conditions for housing and treats housing as a fundamental human right. Now, 94 municipalities in the country have Housing First strategies; these programs are local and not national.

Overall, the solution to homelessness in Sweden requires solving the housing crisis. The government needs to enact policies that spur affordable constructions while simultaneously moving the responsibility of homelessness prevention to municipalities and the state rather than social services.

– Katie Gagnon
Photo: Pixabay

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6 Facts About Technological Improvements in Ghana

technological improvements in GhanaGhana is a nation located just west of Nigeria, with a population of 31 million people. Of those people, six million are food insecure, most living in rural areas. However, Ghana has been working harder than many of its neighbors to use technology to combat food insecurity. Over the last decade, the country has worked to improve its technologies and sustainable food sources. These are six facts about technological improvements in Ghana.

6 Facts About Technological Improvements in Ghana 

  1. Ghana has made plans to boost economic growth. Ghana aims to achieve low- to middle-income status in the upcoming decade. Agriculture is the ticket to a sustainable living environment. The issues hindering productivity in Ghana are related to inadequate infrastructure, as well as a lack of fundamental training in land management and equipment. Ghana has been investing in this future through eduction; around 6% of Ghana’s gross domestic product goes toward education, one of the highest percentages in the world.
  2. Productivity in Ghana is at a higher rate than neighboring nations. Ghana is a member of the United Nations and is a part of world trade. Gold, cocoa and oil are three of the country’s primary exports, and this keeps profits high enough to continue to educate and train younger citizens to farm and harvest. Ghana is one of the first countries in the region to achieve these milestones, with neighboring countries looking up to them. The GDP of neighbor country Togo is lower than that of Ghana. About 30% of the population in Togo live below the poverty line. In comparison, Ghana’s poverty percentage is 23.4%.
  3. Ghana must shift to incentive-driven economic policies to improve leadership. In order to do this, smaller land rural farmers must be able to identify and voice their needs, such as crop production, needing improvement on harvest and post-harvest procedures and finding the value in their commodities. When farmers feel heard, their incentive to increase productivity will grow. A non-governmental organization (NGO) project was conducted to open sustainability training centers in Ghana to expand knowledge. This project resulted in the improved health and livelihood of everyone involved.
  4. In 2017, there was a breakthrough in the development of a solar-powered vehicle for transportation. The breakthrough, called “aCar”, was developed by students at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. The prototype was developed to further explore the transportation-related needs of the country. This did astronomical things for the environment and farmers alike. The vehicle caters towards the farmers’ local needs. The aCar has become a convenient way to transport goods and trade with other farmers at markets in town. The car is solar powered and does not require fuel, which, in turn, saves farmers money. Furthermore, the vehicle is affordable and has the ability to use local materials to maintain the car.
  5. Accra is becoming a hub for technology advancement and the future of the nation’s development. The capital city of Ghana is the home of many tech firms and startup ideas. The city of Accra boasts companies such as mPedigree, a pharmaceutical company, and Rancard, which provides telecommunication services with other companies in the region. It has helped thousands of students growing up in Ghana find a path and way of learning.
  6. Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology in Accra is providing complete IT training, funding for software startups and even mentorships for all students. Having more young people trained in IT is helpful for the growth of technology and productivity within the nation. These schools and programs give young Ghanian innovators hope and inspiration, ultimately giving hope for the future of their nation. As a result, students in cities are learning skills that they can use internationally or locally to solve environmental and technological problems. Tech companies like hubAccra, Ispace and MEST are a working to hone the skills of those who want to learn to develop their communities.

Technology improvements in Ghana continue to increase today. Ghana is shaping the future by instilling all the skills and foundations into its youngest citizens to continue growing, developing and improving. The median age for Ghana’s capital city is 21 years old. The Ghanaians are young and flourishing, constantly learning new things and adding programs to their hub for technological development.  In the next decade, Ghana hopes to be a self-sustaining, middle-class economy through advanced technological improvements.

– Kimberly Elsey

Photo: Flickr

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Education Development in Burkina Faso

Education in Burkina Faso
Frequent terrorist attacks since 2016 have impacted many sectors in Burkina Faso, especially education. The high cost of education prevents many in poverty from going to school. This is particularly true for girls, as parents are more likely to prioritize the education of their sons. Education remains a challenge for the West African country since Burkina Faso’s education spending relies heavily on aid. Furthermore, violence in the Sahel region displaced more than 765,000 people and caused more than 2,000 schools to close in March 2020. School closures continue to affect about 300,000 students and 11,000 teachers. Although recent violence has impacted education in Burkina Faso, organizations are stepping up to provide aid.

Education to Reduce Poverty

An educated society helps reduce poverty. Burkina Faso has a poverty rate of 40.1% and affordable education could benefit its people. Affordable education could also improve the country’s poor infrastructure and communication. Further benefits include the diversification of knowledge, allowing individuals to better change the world around them. All these benefits encouraged the OPEC to sign a loan of $20 million to Burkina Faso in support of its education development in 2019. A reported 18,500 on-campus University of Ouagadougou students will benefit from expanded facilities.

The loan also helps the government finance its Agricultural Value Chain Support Project, which focuses on poverty reduction and agricultural productivity. Director-General of the OPEC Fund Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said, “Ensuring inclusive and quality education for all – and promoting lifelong learning – is a fundamental ingredient to sustainable development. To see such a project come to life is inspiring and I believe this university will enable many people – young and old – to play a role in advancing the development of Burkina Faso, and more generally, in contributing toward a more equal global society.”

Improvements in Girls’ Education

Education for children continues to improve although the achievement gap between boys and girls still remains large. For females age 15 to 24, the literacy rate is only 33% in contrast to a 47% rate for boys in the same age range. In the Sahel region, girls’ education is particularly grim. Girls are two times more likely to drop out of primary school than their female counterparts nationally. About half of the girls in the Sahel region are married and give birth before the age of 19. This has created a high-drop out rate of around 30% during the final year of lower secondary school. If tests are not taken during this time, girls cannot move up to upper secondary school, both of which are barriers to furthering education for girls.

In response to these conditions, Education Cannot Wait provides emergency aid to countries without access to proper education. Education Cannot Wait, hosted by UNICEF, allocated $6 million in July 2019 to help children in the Sahel region. This came as a response to the widespread violence in the region that affected 2.3 million children. The organization provides emergency education assistance throughout the world, benefiting 187,000 children through its assistance. Its goals in the Sahel region for 2020 include constructing and rehabilitating classrooms for about 41,000 children who are out of school, distributing learning material for 94,000 children and mobilizing 83,000 community members to help support secure learning environments.

The 12-month plan also includes hygiene promotion, which includes menstrual hygiene management for more than 68,000 students. Sexual violence against women, child marriage and exploitation in the region are common, so a safe environment, such as a school, can help provide safety to student girls and female teachers in spite of the recent violence.

Moving Forward

Education remains of vital importance to a country’s wellbeing, both socially and economically. Burkina Faso continues to experience widespread violence, yet aid from outside the country is helping provide education to children and adults. However, more can be done to not only improve education but also increase economic development. Continued efforts are needed to reduce poverty and improve education in Burkina Faso.

– Lucas Schmidt
Photo: Flickr

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8 Facts About Sanitation in Denmark

Sanitation in Denmark
Access to sanitation services is often restricted by socioeconomic status, even in the most developed countries in the world. Fortunately, Denmark is an example of a country that found ways to overcome the struggle for a clean environment among impoverished communities. Denmark uses different teams of environmental experts, new technologies and a preventative approach to pollution. This has led to success in providing sanitation and clean water to its citizens. Here are eight facts about sanitation in Denmark.

8 Facts About Sanitation in Denmark

  1. Poverty and sanitation are directly related. Denmark has a poverty rate of about 0.20%. Poverty can be linked to sanitation because lower-income means fewer options for water sources and hygiene products. A lower-income family living in an area with unclean water may not be able to afford bottled water. However, as described below, Denmark has taken steps to ensure that all of its citizens have access to clean water and sanitation.
  2. It is common to drink tap water in Denmark. Citizens of Denmark have no qualms about drinking straight out of their own sinks because the water is clean and trustworthy. Morten Kabell, Mayor of Technical and Environmental Affairs, even argues that public drinking water in Denmark is considered cleaner than bottled water. This reduces major costs to families who would otherwise need to buy their own water, which can trap someone in the cycle of poverty.
  3. Clean water became a cultural priority in the 1970s. Despite its current successes, Denmark’s history regarding clean water is not perfect. Before the 1970s, citizens of Copenhagen were often exposed to polluted water, which was unsafe for drinking and swimming. In 1971, Denmark established the Environmental Ministry, whose main task was to reduce pollution. The Ministry met with representatives from other countries the following year where they drew up the Stockholm Declaration. It is the first document recognizing access to a clean environment as a fundamental human right. Now, 50 years later, Copenhagen citizens of all socioeconomic statuses have access to clean resources.
  4. Denmark uses a prevention model, rather than a treatment model. When it comes to protecting its citizens from contamination by toxic substances, the Danish EPA’s policy is based on prevention instead of treatment. This means that while Denmark possesses the ability to monitor and decontaminate various forms of matter, its primary goal is to prevent contamination in the first place by reducing emissions of air pollutants and pollution of their water supply. As a result, low income communities are less likely to endure the negative effects of pollution. This allows them a more equal chance to climb the socioeconomic ladder.
  5. A majority of the population in Copenhagen sorts some types of waste. The latest reports on Copenhagen’s biowaste report that about 78% of residents in Copenhagen are willing to sort their biowaste. Beyond just recycling versus trash, the sorting system in Copenhagen often includes more detailed subcategories. The author of The Copenhagen Tales reported that it is typical for apartment buildings to have four categories for waste: paper, plastic, biodegradable and residual. Sorting biowaste is the norm in Copenhagen for citizens of all socioeconomic backgrounds. There is no clear link between income and recycling habits.
  6. Denmark hopes to recycle 70% of all waste by the year 2024. Denmark produces the most municipal waste (everyday trash) per person when compared to other European countries. However, in 2015, Denmark announced its plan to recycle 70% of all waste produced by 2024. While this is ambitious, the country has already begun using waste for more beneficial and sanitary purposes. For example, converting waste into fertilizer alternatives. This is important for the economy because many Danish people work in agriculture. In addition, Danish people who work in agriculture must expose themselves to potentially hazardous substances (like fertilizer) to make a living. Thus, the conversion of waste to fertilizer can decrease pollutant exposure in more vulnerable communities.
  7. All of the Danish population has access to sanitation services. According to a report from 2018, 100% of the people in Denmark use safely-managed sanitation services. This includes access to soap, clean water and a bath or shower. Because of its successes, Denmark’s poorer populations have a better chance of thriving.
  8. Denmark helps other countries with their sanitation problems. As Denmark has a reputation for its clean water access, countries have turned to Denmark for help. South Africa, for example, turned to Denmark during severe water shortages in 2015. Clean water was being wasted in many homes due to burst pipes and other structural issues, especially among lower-income communities. As a result, South Africa’s Water and Sanitation Minister met with Denmark’s Environment and Food Production Minister to solve the problem together. The two countries continue to cooperate in an effort to manage water and sanitation.

The triumphs of sanitation in Denmark are one example of how taking care of basic needs can improve the lives of people across the socioeconomic spectrum. With cleaner water, air and other resources, impoverished people have a better chance of avoiding disease, death, injury and developmental problems that perpetuate the cycle of poverty. The successes of sanitation in Denmark overlap with their economical successes and their hope for the future.

– Levi Reyes
Photo: Flickr

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Creating an Anti-Poverty Movement with Clint Borgen

Anti-Poverty Movement
The Borgen Project has published this article and podcast episode, “Creating an Anti-Poverty Movement with Clint Borgen,” with permission from The World Food Program (WFP) USA. “Hacking Hunger” is the organization’s podcast that features stories of people around the world who are struggling with hunger and thought-provoking conversations with humanitarians who are working to solve it.

 

When you ask nonprofit founders how their organization began, spending months on a fishing boat is rarely the answer. But that’s exactly where Clint Borgen developed his dream for The Borgen Project, an NGO that fights global poverty through advocacy and civic engagement. His ideas weren’t pulled completely from the sea, rather, they were inspired by unique global experiences that made him passionate about garnering more U.S. political attention on the issue of global poverty.

Nearly 20 years later, The Borgen Project has evolved from a sketchbook of plans to a nationwide campaign with volunteers in 931 cities. It advocates, mobilizes and educates to improve the living conditions of people living on less than a dollar a day.

Intrigued by his organization and career, we caught up with Clint at his home in Seattle. We asked him more about that fishing boat and his prior experiences – and how The Borgen Project is currently working to change the world.

Click below to listen to Clint Borgen’s story about The Borgen Project’s foundation and its work in the present day.

 

 

Photo: The Borgen Project

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10 Facts About Sanitation in Côte d’Ivoire

Sanitation in Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire, a tropical destination nestled in the south-western coast of Africa, is home to 22 million people who struggle to access clean water and sanitation facilities. The sanitation practices and systems in Côte d’Ivoire have faced setbacks from political instability and rapid urbanization. With the help of international aid, the country can increase access to clean water and sanitation facilities. By repairing infrastructure and reallocating funds, the sanitation in Côte d’Ivoire is on track to be up to par in the foreseeable future.

10 Facts About Sanitation in Côte d’Ivoire

  1. The sanitation crisis in Côte d’Ivoire is partly due to political unrest. Since the Second Ivorian Civil War in 2011, the country has experienced unrest that has pushed sanitation in Côte d’Ivoire to the bottom of the political agenda. Because of the sociopolitical crisis, large numbers of people have fled to settlements where there is little access to purified water or clean bathrooms. This displacement, paired with immigration from bordering countries like Ghana, caused the sewage systems and water purifying plants in Côte d’Ivoire to become overwhelmed and even harder to fix.
  2. Almost half of the population struggles to access clean water. In Côte d’Ivoire, 35% of individuals living in rural settlements do not have access to clean drinking water. Around 9 million people in the country are unable to reach a sanitation facility that houses bathrooms, showers, and places to purify water. Côte d’Ivoire is working to improve this; in 2010, only 14 million citizens had access to safe drinking water, but in 2015, more than 16 million people had access to basic drinking water.
  3. The sewage and water sanitation systems are outdated and neglected. Because of the ongoing political distress, important maintenance of sanitation systems has fallen by the wayside. In 2016, The World Bank started the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project, providing Côte d’Ivoire with a $50 million credit. Regular upkeep of water purifying plants and sewage pipes is crucial to public health.
  4. Tainted water supplies affect infants. One study found that E.coli fervently contaminates infant formula when areas store municipal water rather than treating it immediately. Around 41% of households in the study appeared to have E.coli present in the water they used for infants’ formula, increasing the infant mortality rate. Fortunately, since 2010, the infant mortality rate in Côte d’Ivoire has decreased from 107.2 per 1,000 births to 80.9 per 1,000 births.
  5. Contaminated drinking water increases water-borne illness. Many people must seek unsafe alternatives in the absence of properly cleaned water. Drinking or using contaminated water to cook can cause cholera, dysentery, typhoid and giardia, to name a few. Public health depends on government action to improve the sanitation in Côte d’Ivoire, which includes providing access to clean drinking water.
  6. The inaccessibility of clean water disproportionately affects women. Women and girls are typically responsible for bringing clean water to their homes. Because they must walk long distances alone to fetch water, they face an increased risk of others abducting or harassing them along their route. Girls also forfeit attending school because 0f this responsibility. According to the UNDP, the school enrollment rate for girls is 33% in comparison to a 45% enrollment rate for boys.
  7. Two of the country’s top 10 leading causes of death are a result of poor sanitation. Malaria and diarrheal diseases are two of the leading causes of death in Côte d’Ivoire. The lack of access to working bathroom facilities has caused many citizens to defecate outside, leaving cesspools for mosquitoes to breed and spread malaria. Drinking contaminated drinking water causes diarrheal infections.
  8. Côte d’Ivoire launched a team to tackle the sanitation issue. In November 2019, the Minister of Hygiene and Sanitation established a brigade of workers to help cities build working sewage systems and accessible sanitation facilities. The country is employing SODECI and other sanitation companies to clean up the community by picking up litter, cleaning gutters and cutting grass; they also encourage people to keep the area around where they live and warn of illegally dumping into water supplies.
  9. Many organizations work to help sanitation in Côte d’Ivoire. Habitat for Humanity has mobilized hundreds of workers to install water pumps and teach locals how to maintain them. USAID researches sustainable technology, develops prototypes and creates working models for new technology such as double pit latrines. Organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) monitor and track the spread of various illnesses related to poor sanitation and provide funding to governments to help with these issues.
  10. Côte d’Ivoire received millions of dollars during COVID-19 to help with the sanitation crisis. In May 2020, The World Bank agreed on a $35 million credit to allow the government of Côte d’Ivoire to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The credit will help the government install water treatment plants, restructure sewage systems and provide access to clean water and other resources needed to maintain proper hygiene.

Although these facts show Côte d’Ivoire’s sanitation challenges, they also indicate some of the initiatives to develop the country’s sanitation. The sanitation in Côte d’Ivoire should improve greatly throughout the next few years and continue beyond if aid from the international community and other organizations persists.

– Danielle Kuzel
Photo: Flickr