Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Women in the Workplace in India: The Secret to Development

Women in the Indian Workplace
India is the world’s second largest populated country with over 1.3 billion people living within its borders. Of these 1.3 billion, 60 percent live in poverty. Indian poverty is further exacerbated by a growing income inequality. According to the British charity, Oxfam, only the top 10 percent of people in India own the majority of the country’s wealth (80 percent). This has real-world consequences; three out of every four Indians still live in small rural villages, and seven out of twenty are illiterate. These statistics present serious challenges for India’s development.

If the majority of India’s population is too poor to buy consumer goods, the economy will not be able to grow as quickly. Complex as the issue of poverty in India may seem, there is one relatively simple and effective solution; fully incorporate women in the workplace in India.

How Women in the Workplace in India Will Help the Economy

According to Catalyst, an international nongovernmental organization (NGO) that works to represent women’s interests in the workplace, women access higher education in India at the same rates as men (27 percent). However, the labor statistics are a different story. Only about 29 percent of Indian women work compared to 82 percent of Indian men. This leaves the Indian economy at a developmental disadvantage. If the rate of women in the workplace in India jumped to a mere 40 percent by 2025, India could add $700 billion to its GDP.

Unfortunately, according to The Economist, instead of increasing, the rate of female participation in India’s labor force has been decreasing in recent years. Since 2005, India’s labor force has dropped at least nine percentage points, despite overall population growth. This leaves India with one of the largest untapped worker populations in the world. If Indian women worked just as often as men, the nation would have over 200 million extra workers. According to The International Monetary Fund, this shift would grow the nation’s economy by 27 percent, effectively making India a developed country.  

Why Women in India Are Not Working

There are several factors influencing the drop in women in the workforce. Firstly and primarily, there is the issue of cultural bias against women working. In India, especially after the marriage, most women are expected to remain in the home. In fact, women working is considered a mark of a lower social status. This is why, as a whole, as Indian households become wealthier, fewer women are participating in the workforce.

Secondly, there is the issue of maternal responsibility. Indian mothers are expected to shoulder the burden of household duties on their own. Employers have to provide 26 weeks of paid maternity leave, but there is have no obligation at all to provide paternity leave. On top of this, employers are deterred by the requirement to provide childcare for women returning to work. When combined with the high expectation of caring for the family, these factors create a “motherhood penalty”  for working women.

Finally, regardless of gender, many traditional Indian jobs are disappearing because of industrialization. Because of Indian law, unlike in other developing countries, they aren’t being replaced by women-friendly factories. This scarcity further reduces the opportunities for women in the Indian workplace. A 2012 poll found that when jobs are harder to come by, 84 percent of Indians believe men are more entitled to have them.

How India Is Working To Include Women in the Workforce

The obstacles created by culture, politics and the economy may seem insurmountable, but various organizations have already been putting forth various solutions. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi launched two programs on the anniversary of former, late, female leader Jayalalithaa. One provides working women with scooters, making their commutes to work easier and safer; the other plants 70 lakh trees to honor the 70 years since Jayalalithaa’s birth.

The Prime Minister also launched Make in India (2014) and Startup in India (2016) in order to not only invest in the people of India by helping to fund small businesses but also to provide jobs that these businesses would bring to India. Both of these initiatives provide opportunities for women to enter the workforce.

Furthermore, another government organization, Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), was launched to encourage women’s participation in business by offering support and collaboration with industry partners while NGOs such as CARE India are mobilizing to support the country’s working women by empowering individuals to be role models for their communities.

In the future, in order to ensure the development of these organizations, India should continue to work to change the social norms that have surrounded women regarding work and maternal responsibilities. The Indian government should look deeply into their development plans and aid working women by changing policies that disproportionately harm them. Only when there is a more balanced amount of women in the workplace in India, can the country develop fully.

– Lydia Cardwell
Photo: Pixabay

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Unlocking Legal Aid in Egypt Changes Lives

UNDP Provides Legal Aid in Egypt for Impoverished and Illiterate
For those who are poor or illiterate, understanding and using legal services is often difficult and preventative from obtaining justice. Since 2008, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has worked with the Ministry of Justice to provide free legal aid in Egypt for the impoverished and illiterate, establishing 35 Legal Aid Offices as of 2016.

Free Legal Aid in Egypt

This project focuses on disputes in family courts and handles cases that do not require an attorney. Without this help, those who are impoverished generally cannot afford legal services and the illiterate do not have the skills to successfully fill out the required paperwork. These two populations often intersect, as the poor are more likely to be illiterate.

Financed by UNDP and Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), over 50,000 cases in Egypt have now been assisted by free Legal Aid Offices.

The project also trains staff, holds roundtables for family court judges and assists with digitizing family court records. Approximately 17 training sessions and workshops for family court judges have been organized, reaching over 500 judges and legal aid employees.

Dispute Settlement offices have been upgraded as well, and employees have received training on dispute settlement skills, child rights and personal status laws. Additionally, efforts have been made to influence lawmakers to amend laws that would make the processing of cases more efficient and lead to cases being resolved more quickly.

New Goals, New Connections

Beginning in 2013, new goals were added to the project after an evaluation by an independent consultant of the free legal aid in Egypt. These goals include:

  • Developing adequate training programming
  • Improving court and case management
  • Modernizing hotlines in order to get feedback
  • Increasing dissemination of legal information
  • Designing outreach programs for both literate and illiterate women

The Ministry of Justice is working to establish a central electronic database of court decisions to link electronically to Egypt’s national bank. This connection would make payments awarded by the courts easier to collect.

In December 2014, UNDP, the Egyptian Ministry of Justice, the National Center for Judicial Studies, and the French Cultural Center in Egypt organized a workshop for legal aid employees. This workshop was “to strengthen participants’ knowledge of French legal framework for family mediation and introduce practical tools for mediation based on international best practices and relevance to local family courts.”

Legal Aid in Egypt Empowers Egyptian Women

Approximately one million cases are filed in Egyptian family courts each year, and 80 percent of those are brought by women. Therefore, the UNDP’s legal aid in Egypt is often for women in desperate need of legal services. In fact, over 70 percent of the 50,000 cases handled by the project were filed by women.

Without this support, women — particularly poor and illiterate women — often do not have the resources to settle marital or family disputes. Male family members or spouses can often get away with violent behavior or criminal acts if the woman they’ve harmed is barred from legal aid by a system not amenable to vulnerable populations.

Incidents of Personal Distress

For example, “Yasmin” is an Egyptian woman who faced legal difficulties after her ex-husband kidnapped her oldest daughter. She went to the court on multiple occasions, unable to find a resolution to this problem. However, with the free legal services provided by UNDP, Yasmin was finally able to file her claim in the family court system.

Another woman, Omaima Abdel Khaleq, utilized free legal aid in Egypt to file a domestic violence case against her husband. She explains, “The legal aid office made me aware of what exactly I should do instead of being lost among lawyers.”

Situations like these are not uncommon for women, and the project’s Legal Aid Offices help women complete the required paperwork, as well as provide legal advice about their rights and claims.

Helping the Impoverished and Illiterate

If an individual is illiterate, they are far less likely to be knowledgeable about the laws that protect them (or the person they wish to file a claim against). Without the help of an oftentimes unaffordable attorney or legal services, these people will not be able to access the information they need to correctly file a claim and obtain justice.

Project manager Gihane El Batouty states, “We are helping people themselves — and women themselves — with their legal rights.” UNDP wants to continue to grow this project, as it has become essential to helping the impoverished and illiterate, many of whom are women, access legal aid in Egypt.

Across the globe, UNDP supports similar initiatives in 54 other countries. This support reflects the organization’s commitment to making legal services available to vulnerable populations.

– Sara Olk
Photo: Flickr

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Poverty in Brazil Can’t Continue

Poverty in Brazil Can't Continue
Brazil is a tropical sought getaway for anyone looking for adventure, fun, and possibly romance. Tourists from all over the world travel to Brazil in order to explore new places and find something new within themselves. For the people of Brazil, however, living in poverty in Brazil can’t continue.

Income inequality

After collecting data, researches have shown that Brazil is a vastly unequal country where inequality affects all corners and areas. Here’s a common example: in terms of ethnicity, or skin color, the people with the lowest rates of income, 78.5 percent, are black or mixed race, while only 20.8 percent are white.

A report by Oxfam International states that in Brazil, the six largest billionaire’s wealth and equity are exactly equal to 100 million poorest Brazilians.

If the labor market were to continue this path as it has for the last twenty years, women and men won’t be earning the same wage until the year 2047, with 2086 being the year where the income of blacks and whites stands equal.

In March 2017 alone, 17 million children under the age of 14, equal to 40.2 percent of the Brazilian population of this age group, live in low-income houses.

In 2017 the number of people living in extreme poverty in Brazil went up by 11.2%, rising from 13.45 million in 2016  to 14.83 million, based on data released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Definition of extreme poverty used in a research was set by the World Bank and is defined as an income per capita below $1.90 a day.

According to IBGE, in 2017, the wealthiest 1% of Brazil’s population earned 36.1 times more than the bottom half of the population, averaging a monthly income of nearly $8,000. The poorest 5% of Brazilians received an average income of around $11 a month comparing to $14 the year before. Income of the wealthiest 1% only dropped 2.3% in the same period.

Even with achievements in poverty reduction beginning to make strides in the past ten years, inequality still sits at a high level. Universal coverage in primary education was one of the biggest accomplishments for Brazil, but Brazil is struggling to improve system outcomes.

Positive trends

A major silver lining is that reducing deforestation in the rainforest and other biomes have made a great deal of impact in terms of progression from ecological damage. Still, Brazil continues to face development challenges such as: finding ways to benefit agricultural growth, environmental protection, and sustainable development.

Brazil played a huge role in formulating climate framework and has ratified the Paris Agreement. In that sense, the country has demonstrated its leadership role in international negotiations on climate change where many other countries came up short. With these significant contributions to climate change within its borders, Brazil has voluntarily committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions between 36.1% and 38.9% by 2020. Chances are big that Brazil will most likely reach projected numbers sooner.

Poverty in Brazil can’t continue, especially having in mind country’s potential for tourism and the amount of beauty and natural resources it has to offer. There is a solution, and as with most things, it rests in the most obvious place: understanding the scope of the problem and seeing it for what it truly is. Knowing nothing is hopeless because even hopelessness can’t exist without hope existing in a first place. This is how poverty is combatted. This is what the people of Brazil deserve: to hope and truly live.

– Gustavo Lomas
Photo: Flickr

Electricity Coverage Rising in Africa

Electricity Coverage Rising in Africa
It is hard to imagine life without electricity. In the American standard of living, electricity pervades every aspect of a person’s life, from food storage to entertainment and everything in between. In Africa, however, only 30 percent of people have access to electricity.

Power Africa

Power Africa is a USAID agency that aims to provide people in Africa with access to electricity. They plan to make 60 new electricity connections and generate 30,000 more megawatts (MW) of electricity across the continent by 2030. The goal is to do this by harnessing the sun, wind, lake water, and natural gas to power rural areas that do not have access to electricity.

Power Africa tracks its progress on various projects by tracking business transactions with African power companies. For example, in 2016, they made a deal with the U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Finance Initiative (ACEF), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and the U.S. Department of State to provide $30 million worth of financing of 32 renewable energy projects in 10 countries in Africa. With Power Africa’s help, 90 business transactions have been completed and 25 of Africa’s 55 countries now have access to some form of electricity. Examples from Power Africa actions are described in a text below.

Mali

Although the demand for electricity in Mali is currently greater than the supply, that does not mean that there is no supply at all. Electricity in Mali currently comes from mostly hydraulic and thermal energy (55 and 44 percent, respectively). Power Africa plans to help Mali produce an additional 80 MW of hydroelectric energy, more than 300 MW from biomass, and unlimited MW from the sun.

Electricity usage has already gone up in Mali. Major mining companies increased their energy consumption by 136 MW (189 percent) between 2008 and 2011. In 2016, the government passed a law mandating partnerships between public and private electric companies in order to increase MW production. The ultimate goal is to make an additional 20,000 MW of energy and distribute it to 50 million people by 2020.

Namibia

Currently, Namibia gets most of its electricity from power grids in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and other nearby countries. However, electricity demand in these countries is way higher than supply, forcing Namibia to find ways to generate its own electricity. As of 2008, Namibia can only generate 393 MW from 3 stations, while the national demand is 533 MW.

One of these stations, the Ruacana power station, is dependent on the flow of water from the Kunene River, which flows out of Angola. Another station, the coal-run Eck power station, is costly to operate and maintain. Eck, along with the oil-based Paratus power station, is only used for short-term peaks in electricity demand.

For the time being, Namibia still needs to have its electricity needs met by its neighbors. The Caprivi link is a transmission line that connects Namibia’s power grid to those in Zambia and Zimbabwe. This provides the country with an additional 600 MW, fulfilling Namibia’s electricity needs. In 2007, Namibia consumed 3.6 TWh of electricity.

Tanzania

Most of Tanzania’s electricity (90 percent) comes from biomass. This has resulted in mass deforestation and, thus, is far from ideal for the ecosystem. Only 18.4 percent of Tanzanian citizens have access to electricity in any form. Currently, the country is financially incapable of extending the power grid into all rural areas.

In 1975, the government founded the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Ltd (TANESCO). TANESCO has a nationwide monopoly on electricity production and distribution. However, the Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM) is trying to end this monopoly by allowing companies to get licenses to generate, transmit and distribute electricity. The Rural Energy Agency (REA) is slowly getting electricity into rural areas. With these services, the government aims to make electricity available to everyone in Tanzania, and one can see electricity coverage rising from their efforts.

Conclusion

In the modern day, electricity seems like a basic ingredient for life that it seems like everyone should have it. The people in Power Africa agree and we can see electricity coverage rising in Africa as a result of their efforts. Mali is making more energy from more sources than ever, Namibia is starting to make its own electricity, and Tanzania is spreading electricity out as far as it can. Africa is becoming more and more electrified, reaching the ultimate goal- provide access to electricity for everyone on the continent.

– Cassie Parvaz
Photo: Flickr

Combatting the Currency Crisis in Argentina

Combatting the Currency Crisis in Argentina
Argentina has experienced quite a few economic struggles in the past decade. The country now faces its fifth recession in the past ten years and its currency, the Argentine peso, has lost a third of its value. Now the lowest performing currency in the world, the currency crisis in Argentina imposes the new challenge to revamp its peso and bypass the friction of its economy.

Who Is Affected?

Virtually everyone in Argentina is affected by this crisis. Business owners who expected to succeed in their business endeavors, due to the nature of Argentine markets and demand, are evidently experiencing a consumer drought.

Moreover, current negotiation details between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Argentina’s government have consequences for the public. Infrastructure projects will be postponed, subsidies cut, transfers to the provinces reduced and the federal payroll shrunk. Social unrest has followed already as the General Confederation of Labour, the greatest trade-union group in Argentina, protested against the government’s economic policies on June of 2018.

How Did the Crisis Commence?

Wolf Richter, a writer who featured on Business Insider, described the origin of the currency crisis in a simple yet concise fashion. Lending money to Argentina’s government is a tricky venture since lending to the government in its own currency devastates their peso and lending in a foreign currency leads to defaulting of the loan.

The currency crisis in Argentina started from reasons outside of the country’s control as well as the institutional reactions to them. Argentina underwent the greatest drought in 50 years at the beginning of this year, specifically affecting the harvesting of two export crops: maize and soybeans. A stronger U.S. dollar and Treasury yields led to the risk aversion of international investors, leaving riskier assets. Thereafter, Argentina’s peso, alongside Mexico’s peso, Brazil’s real, Turkey’s lira and Russia’s ruble, struggled.

Following these uncontrollable forces, the Central Bank of Argentina raised interest rates to a staggering 40 percent in the hope of helping the Argentine peso. The endeavor did not work as planned. Argentina’s president Mauricio Macri and his administration took a $50 billion loan from the IMF. President Macri collaborated with senators, governors and other leaders in order to get the country on board with the plan. Nevertheless, the public is skeptical because of Argentina’s past experiences with the IMF, such as the 1990s Convertibility Plan that fell through and spiraled into one of the greatest economic crises for Argentina.

Possible Solutions

Solutions to this problem that directly involves Argentina and international organizations, proposed by different institutions, are as follows:

  1. Make the IMF more sensitive to political realities
  2. Selectively slash government spending
  3. Avoid overvaluation of the currency
  4. Address fiscal problems in a timely manner
  5. Devaluate the Argentine peso
  6. Revise fiscal and economic policies that tend to disrupt the peso

The currency crisis in Argentina is undergoing a tug and pull from differing sides. The public keeps a retrospective mindset as they remember the past events of the 1990s and early 2000s. On the other hand, President Macri holds onto a prospective plan, trying to help Argentina climb out on top and even willing to take a $50 billion loan from the IMF. There are a number of solutions that have been drawn out. Although Argentina struggles to find a national consensus, the gears are in motion to eradicate this crisis and past mistakes are increasingly considered as citizens politically mobilize.

– Roberto Carlos Ventura
Photo: Flickr

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UN Peacekeeping Mission Celebrates its 70th Anniversary

UN Peacekeeping Mission Celebrates its 70th Anniversary
Raising awareness of human rights is one of the key missions of the United Nations (U.N.), founded in 1945. Part of the mission’s responsibilities is to promote peace in conflict-stricken areas such as the African continent. The U.N. peacekeeping mission plays a crucial role with 14 active operations worldwide, and its 70th anniversary in May 2018 was a just cause for celebration due to its impressively impactful efforts.

U.N. Mission’s Main Functions

One relevant fact about the U.N. peacekeeping mission is that it does not interfere with a country’s authority during a conflict; rather, it works as a peace-promoting partner.

U.N. peacekeepers are members of the local military force who can be distinguished by the use of a blue U.N. helmet or beret, and a badge. These workers also have the role of aiding post-conflict areas with extra support so as to rebuild a safe community.

Reestablishing Peace in Côte d’Ivoire

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire, located in West Africa, is one such example of success. When a second civil war broke out right after the election of President Alassane Ouattara, 2011 became an increasingly intense year for the already-weakened country.

The former president, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to let the newly-elected President Ouattara take office. As a result, numerous conflicts between their supporters caused the exodus of about 200,000 people to Libya. The death of 400 people marked the three-month period after the 2010 election.

The early days of the U.N. peacekeeping mission consisted of ensuring the implementation of a cease-fire agreement after the 2002-2003 conflicts between the religiously-divided northern and southern regions.

The conflicts kept increasing after the first civil war in 2002, but so did the U.N. peacekeepers — their ranks eventually totaled 11,792 in 2011 in Côte d’Ivoire.

The rape of women and torture were some of the human rights violations the mission worked to combat, and in 2011, 1,726 human rights violations were reported. Thankfully, the presence of the U.N. troops reduced them to the impressive number of 88 in 2016.

Due to such consistent efforts, the refugees that fled the region during the long civil war period could finally return and have the chance to live a stable life again. The mission was successfully closed on June 30, 2017, and Côte d’Ivoire now has a promising future as one of the fastest growing economies in Africa.

U.N. Mission Challenges in South Sudan

South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011, but its citizens have struggled with the effects of never-ending conflicts among President Salva Kiir, and his former Vice President Riek Machar.

Tension escalated between the two parties, leading to the formation of a rebel group lead by ex-Vice President Marchar. Ethnic disputes from the Dinka and Nuer groups marked a series of manifestations of violence such as village pillages and the murder of 50,000 people since 2013.   

The U.N. peacekeeping mission has 16,987 members serving in the area while South Sudan has 2 million refugees. The troops have the responsibility to provide a safe environment for the 210,000 displaced citizens who temporarily live in the Protection of Civilian (POC) sites located in the country.   

Peacekeeping Challenges

Peacekeepers face numerous challenges, one of which being that they were implemented for aid on a short-term level, but as the conflicts continue to grow the sites have become a long-term refuge to the citizens. In fact, $50 million has been allocated to the implementation of POC units as of 2014.    

Another problem for the peacekeepers is the violence that sometimes erupts inside their own camps. In 2016, tension between the ethnic groups Dinka and Shilluk caused the damage of a POC unit located in Malakal. Unfortunately, 1,521 shelters were burned, along with clinics and medical schools.

Women’s Role in Peacekeeping Missions

Women serving in U.N. peacekeeping missions have the important role of bridging relations with groups that can not be easily reached due to national cultural norms.

Female victims of violence have a higher probability of reporting cases to women holding peacekeeping positions. A teenage rape victim in Monrovia, Liberia, opens up: “I can be scared to talk to a man; a woman is better. She is like an auntie or mother.”

The recently closed U.N. peacekeeping mission in Liberia is an example of how women can empower each other through service — 125 female officers from India positively influenced and helped foster success for Liberian women between 2007 and 2016.

Their work was so remarkable, in fact, that the country had an increase in the number of women interested in serving as police officers. This new group of officers will continue to ensure that other females can have a voice if future conflicts emerge.

Maintaining Stability

Women also hold a crucial function in maintaining stability in war-torn areas. Armed robberies went down to 65 percent in Monrovia because of the presence of Indian female officers patrolling the city on foot.

Gerard J. DeGroot, a professor from the University of Saint Andrews who studied cases of women in the armed forces, stated: “Any conflict where you have an all-male army, it’s like a holiday from reality. If you inject women into that situation, they do have a civilizing effect.” 

Global Influence of the U.N. Peacekeeping Mission

World leaders can strongly benefit from seeking partnerships with the United Nations peacekeeping missions. Despite the challenges some of these missions faced, the efforts have provided well-structured plans overall to post-war countries.

The restoration of peace in many communities could have taken much longer without the U.N. peacekeepers’ help. The years of service the peacekeepers have dedicated to the world is an example that selfless acts produce the best results when it comes to crisis response.

– Nijessia Cerqueira
Photo: Flickr

Thought-Provoking Facts about Poverty in the UK


Although the United Kingdom (U.K.) is one of the largest economies in the world, the persistent battle with poverty is one that has plagued the nation for decades. Both the need for work and the average income level are nearly stagnant with little room for growth.

Persistent poverty is defined as experiencing low income continually for three or more years. For solutions to become clearer, the general public must become acquainted with the top 10 facts about poverty in the U.K.

Top 10 Facts About Poverty in the U.K.

  1. Britain has a lower proportion of its population living in relative poverty than most other European countries. Relative poverty is defined as a household with a disposable income rate of less than 60 percent, often referred to as “at risk” poverty.
  2. This means that most impoverished people living the in U.K. fall under the term “persistent poverty,” pointing to more households having an even smaller disposable income as well as experiencing poverty for an extended period of time.
  3. There are 13.3 million people in poverty in the U.K., and about 4.1 million of that population are children under the age of 18. Couples with children are five times more likely to raise them in an impoverished household than childless couples.
  4. Children in large families are at a far greater risk of poverty – 42 percent of children living in families with three or more children live in poverty. When accounted for childcare costs, an extra 130,000 children and their parents fall below the poverty line.
  5. Last year, around two-thirds of U.K. citizens took on jobs that paid less than a living wage, which resulted in more part-time work and more citizens needing to take multiple jobs. In recent years, there has been an economic push to increase the rate of pay for low-income workers, but progress is slow. In addition, once a family member is in a low-income job, it can be very difficult to move out.
  6. At least half of the U.K.’s impoverished population is working full-time and another 30 percent take part-time work. In Scotland alone, ten percent of working adults live in severe poverty.
  7. Many of the households on or near the poverty line (making less than £15,000 per year) spend more than a quarter of their income on housing. In fact, the poorest private renters and homeowners spend more than half of their income on housing. Around 5.8 million in the U.K. rent private housing — double since the last decade.
  8. Of the nine million people aged 14-24 living in the U.K., 2.7 million (30 percent) live in poverty — an amount higher than any other collective age group. Part of the reason that the rate among young people is higher is that they are more likely to live in privately-rented housing and spend a greater share of their income on housing costs.
  9. A higher proportion of women were persistently poor when compared to that of men — 8.2 percent compared to 6.3 percent, respectively.
  10. Women are 14 percent more likely to live in households with income levels that fall below the poverty line. As a result, single-parent homes lead by women are less likely to receive better healthcare, education and options to private housing.

A Bright Future

The United Kingdom continues to struggle in the terms of its poverty, but understanding these top 10 facts about poverty in the U.K. creates stepping-stones to a brighter future and helps alleviate people out of poverty.

– Tresa Rentler
Photo: Flickr

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Time for Celebration: Paraguay Successfully Eliminates Malaria

Paraguay Successfully Eliminates Malaria
Paraguay has successfully eliminated malaria, making it the first country in the Americas to accomplish such a feat in nearly 50 years.

Victories Against Malaria

The country’s success has been attributed to its ability to detect malaria cases in a timely manner and discern whether or not the cases had been spread inter or intranationally. Between 1950 and 2011, Paraguay developed and implemented programs and policies meant to both control and eliminate the disease; the country registered its last case of P. Vivax Malaria, the most frequent cause of recurring malaria, in 2011.

After 2011, a five-year program focusing on case management, community engagement and public health education was launched in order to prevent transmission and prepare for official “elimination certification.”

Since the program’s completion in 2016, the Ministry of Health has launched a three-year initiative meant to further train Paraguay’s healthcare workers in regards to malaria. This prioritization will inevitably strengthen the country’s ability to promptly detect, diagnose and treat new malaria cases, as well as address the ongoing threat of “malaria importation.” The country has also prioritized controlling and minimizing mosquito populations within its borders.

New Directions and Prioritizations

The elimination of malaria provides economic leverage for Paraguay’s impoverished population. The significant financial burden of approximately $5 a day per malaria case, according to a study published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, will no longer plague Paraguayan families. Such relief will help enable them to direct their money towards other essentials, such as food and education.

Poverty affects almost 40 percent of Paraguay’s rural population, as opposed to only 22 percent of its urban population. Peak malaria infection often coincides with harvesting season, severely impacting the amount of food rural families are able to produce.

Malaria cases are typically concentrated in said rural areas, where many lack the resources and public health education to adequately detect or treat the virus. The immediate situation of these rural communities is only impacted by instances of extreme flooding, which act as a breeding ground for mosquitos (potential carriers of the virus).

Points of Impact

Malaria primarily occurs in poor, tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world, most of which don’t have adequate access to primary care facilities – in many of the countries it’s present, malaria is the primary cause of death.

The virus is the result of a parasite carried by mosquitos. The most common symptoms of malaria include chills, fever and other flu-like symptoms. Left untreated, the disease can be fatal.

The groups most vulnerable to high levels of malaria transmission include young children and pregnant women. Malaria caused approximately 216 million clinical cases and over 440,000 deaths in 2016 alone.

Future Goals to Successfully Eliminate Malaria

The success of these programs provides a blueprint for other countries to successfully eliminate malaria themselves. Paraguay’s situation contrasts with those of other countries within the Americas, where the increase in malaria cases is greater than in any other region of the world. In fact, nine different countries reported malaria case increases of at least 20 percent between 2015 and 2016.

As a whole, however, Latin America witnessed over a 60 percent decrease in malaria cases between 2000 and 2015. As treatment and surveillance progress, many other countries will follow Paraguay in eliminating the virus. Argentina is expected to be certified later this year, and other malaria-free Latin American countries include Ecuador, El Salvador and Belize.

– Katie Anastas
Photo: Flickr

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War on Want: Targeting the Root Causes of Global Poverty

Poverty
Many organizations that work towards ending global poverty focus on the effects that occur due to poverty, such as housing and food insecurity. However, the organization War on Want targets the causes of poverty such as human rights violations, conflict, and worker’s rights.

Defining The War on Want

The War on Want proclaims “We’re different!” and states, “We are a charity, but we aren’t an aid agency and we don’t impose solutions to poverty.” The organization fosters cooperation between its partners, long-term solutions and combatting the root of poverty: “wealthy elites…governments, wealthy corporations and others.”

This organization has three main objectives in making their goal possible:

  • Global partnerships to target the root causes of global poverty
  • Campaigns against causes of poverty
  • Efforts to raise public awareness about the causes and effects of poverty

Healing Political Turmoil

With War on Want’s multiple focus areas, the organization is constantly in the news for various actions relating to their organization. Staff for the organization writes news articles about grassroots campaigns taking place in the U.K., and the latest article written by War on Want’s executive director focused on the grassroots marches around the United Kingdom.

These marches — and the subsequent article — address xenophobia in the country, and how inequality and injustice need to be addressed because xenophobia and other political concerns “threaten us all.”

Such writings relate to War on Want’s mission of addressing the root causes of global poverty by focusing on political turmoil and human rights violations.

Fighting the Patriarchy

The War on Want’s press officer, Marienna Pope-Weidemann writes how “women are the hardest hit by poverty and human rights abuses.” She addresses how empowering women and noticing how women are taking the charge in social justice movements helps resolve poverty around the world.

By empowering women to take agency in their lives, even in very patriarchal societies, the globe can better work together on the root causes of poverty revolving around underrepresented groups of people.

Addressing Conflict

War on Want Militarism and Security Campaigns officer Ryvka Barnard wrote on Israel’s ban list and the organizations work for justice in Palestine. During the transition of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, there was upheaval, protests and violence.

Due to this, Israel created a ban list of organizations that are not allowed to enter the borders that revolve around human rights violations. As Barnard states, “Banning entry to those who stand up for human rights is a way Israel tries to isolate Palestinians and to keep others from supporting them.”

Combatting Poverty

Poverty has erupted in occupied territories as a result of these measures of Palestinian segregation. Conflict and land isolation led to food insecurity and loss of homes. Now, with this ban list, the Palestinians are even more separated and have little ability of support from charities and solidarity groups that support their needs for basic human rights.

Overall, the War on Want addresses the root causes of global poverty by fighting for the basic needs of the individual, and addressing politics, conflict, land issues, women rights and many other tactics to break down why poverty occurs.

– Jenna Walmer
Photo: Flickr

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Understanding Income Inequality in the Middle East

Income Inequality in the Middle East
Since 1980, the high growth rates in Asia, particularly in China and India, have led to a significant increase in income for the bottom 50 percent of the global population. While this signifies growth and a reduction of poverty levels, it does not signify a decrease in global inequality or in the income inequality in the Middle East.

Income Inequality in the Middle East

There are two types of income inequality: between-country income inequality and within-country inequality. Although the high growth rates of India and China have led to a decrease in between-country average inequality, within-country inequality has only increased. Simply stated, a look into individual countries will show that the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer.

The World Inequality Lab, composed of over 100 researchers and economists, recently published the “World Inequality Report 2018.” The report underscores that collecting macro and microeconomic data on inequality is difficult, especially since many countries do not release or even produce income and inequality data and statistics.

Despite these limitations, the researcher and scientists found a new methodology to source the necessary data. One of the key findings of the report was that income inequality in the Middle East is the highest, while the lowest in Europe. In the Middle East, the top 10 percent take 61 percent of national income.

Causes of the Fiscal Inequalities

Income inequality in the Middle East is a result of multiple factors. On one hand, the disparate urban-rural income gap plays a large role in skewed income distribution, especially in countries like Egypt, Yemen and Tunisia. Because rural communities are further away from commercial ports and main markets, they have less access to imported commodities, such as rice and wheat.

This limited access to basic needs increases malnutrition and poverty rates in these countries, thereby furthering the economic divide. This economic inequality has played a role in the Arab Spring uprisings and demonstrations, polarizing these countries not just economically, but also politically.

The World Inequality Report predicts that if countries continue to operate “business as usual,” then global, within-country inequality will only increase. However, the report suggests that if countries follow the trajectory of Europe over the past decades, then global income inequality can be reduced.

Attainable Solutions

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia advocates for the following proven tools to combat income inequality in the Middle East:

  • Tax progressivity
  • Increased equal access to education
  • Increased fiscal transparency
  • Investment in reducing public debt

The World Inequality Lab has already made attempts to increase fiscal transparency, using national income, wealth accounts, household income and wealth surveys, tax income and inheritance data to estimate figure on inequality and wealth in the Middle East.

International Support

Additionally, UNICEF is working to strengthen the education systems in the Middle East by working closely with both federal and local governments. The Life Skills and Citizenship Education Initiative under UNICEF aims to integrate core life skills, such as critical thinking and problem-solving, into the current education systems.

And finally, having a sense of awareness about global income inequality can also play a role in combating income inequality. Simply knowing that within-country income inequality is increasing despite the reduction in global inequality is important in addressing the issue.

– Shefali Kumar
Photo: Flickr