Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Top Facts About Human Rights in Taiwan

facts about human rights in Taiwan

In August 2018, Taiwan was selected to host the Human Rights Forum. The Forum, according to the New York Times, is run by the New York-based Human Rights Foundation and has been held in Oslo every year since 2009. The Human Rights Foundation’s chief strategy officer Alex Gladstein explained that the forum’s goal is to inform activists around the world about Taiwan’s transition to democracy, which is an example of democracy in a Chinese society. As international human rights organizations recognize Taiwan’s unique position in Asia as an advocate for human rights and democracy, it is important to highlight several key facts about human rights in Taiwan.

Judiciary reform

According to the Taiwan 2017 Human Rights Report, there are no acknowledged instances of torture carried out against accused persons. Furthermore, to address issues of overcrowding in prisons, in June 2017, Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice gave prison inmates the right to maintain jobs outside the prison. The report indicated that 19 inmates had minimum monthly salaries of 690 U.S. dollars of which 60 percent was used as restitution to crime victims. Even more encouraging is that detention centers allowed both government and non-governmental inspections of the prisons. It is also important to note that prisoners have rights to legal counseling.

Also, arrests of individuals require warrants or summons. The report emphasized that all defendants are innocent until proven guilty. Regarding civil issues, an “impartial judiciary” is provided.

Freedom of speech

Freedom of speech and the press are observed in Taiwan, especially involving internet access. Taiwan also does not restrict academic freedom or cultural events.

In April 2018, the New York Times noted that Reporters Without Borders are going to open their first Asian bureau in Taipei, the Taiwanese capital. They decided to do so after considering, but rejecting Hong Kong. Taiwan’s selection over Hong Kong is tied with increasing pressure from the Government of China to Hong Kong, allowing Taiwan to surpass Hong Kong as the synonym for free speech in Asia.

Voting rights and protection of sexual assault victims

While Taiwan currently does not offer refugees protection, it does allow its citizens to migrate within its borders, emigrate from, and travel internationally. Such policies are not necessarily permanent, however, as Taiwan offers citizens the rights to elect government leaders through “secret ballot.” Suffrage is given to all citizens, including women.

Taiwan law prohibits rape, especially spousal rape, and domestic violence, but it is important to note that these crimes are often not reported. In addition, rape survivors are given protection in a way that they can endure their trials away from the public eye and the law permits a charge of rape even if the victim chooses not to press charges. This provision is one of the key facts about human rights in Taiwan, as charges for sexual assault can still be carried out, regardless of the social pressures that discourage victims to report. Also, the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act allows the use of one-way mirrors, video conferencing, or other practices to protect victims during questioning and trial.

In recent years, Taiwan became the front-runner of human rights in Asia, as seen through its shift toward judiciary reform, freedom of expression and increased protections for sexual assault victims. These key facts about human rights in Taiwan merit activists’ decision to host the upcoming Human Rights Forum and showcase Taiwan’s accomplishments and the path towards achieving even better results in the future

– Christine Leung
Photo: Google

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11 Facts About Poverty in Nepal

10 Facts About Poverty in Nepal

Of the 31 million people living in Nepal, 20.27% or more than six million are living below the poverty line. This makes Nepal one of the poorest countries in the world. Rates of disease, malnutrition and child mortality are high. Fortunately, Nepal has experienced slight economic growth in the past few years. Here are 10 facts about poverty in Nepal:

  1. Displacement has had a significant impact on living conditions in the country. According to Relief Web, “Between 1996 and 2006, the civil war between government armed forces of Nepal and Maoists left thousands of people dead and many more displaced.”
  2. Approximately five million people in Nepal are undernourished, with about one million children aged less than 5 suffering from stunting. This is in part caused by high food prices and limited access in rural areas to farming. High prices of food make it unaffordable for people in poverty, which drives hunger.
  3. Nepal has been the victim of numerous natural disasters. With an already struggling economy and low political stability level, earthquakes in Nepal are another factor in the country’s instability. People lose their homes and their jobs and are forced to find other ways to make a living. Women often become more vulnerable to trafficking in the post-natural disaster.
  4. Nepal’s government is known for being corrupt. According to the Transparency International 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, the country ranks 108 out of 180 countries, signifying the massive level of corruption in Nepal’s public sector. Abuse of authority leads to a biased economic system and unfair distribution of resources, perpetuating the issue of poverty in Nepal.
  5. Poverty in Nepal contributes to high child mortality rates. In 2021, for every 1,000 children born in Nepal, 27 died before their fifth birthday. This can be attributed to the lack of health care and education access in impoverished regions and there are many such regions in Nepal.
  6. The geography of Nepal influences the country’s ability to mitigate poverty. Nepal is a landlocked and mountainous region, which makes development and transportation of resources difficult.
  7. A lack of advanced farming methods makes it hard for progress against poverty in Nepal to be made. More than 85% of Nepal’s population relies on agriculture as the primary form of sustenance. However, outdated methods are slowing the farming pace.
  8. Unemployment and underemployment are significant factors that contribute to the high poverty rates in Nepal. As of 2023, the rate of unemployment in Nepal was approximately 11%, highlighting the large number of citizens who are without jobs. The lack of well-paying job opportunities is a major factor that contributes to poverty in the country.
  9. Surging housing prices have made it difficult for the impoverished people of Nepal to afford a house. About 10% of urban inhabitants are living in informal settlements. Rates of rural-urban migration have also soared in recent years, further pushing up the price of houses in cities.
  10. There are many nonprofit organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, that are working to help the people of Nepal. Habitat for Humanity has specifically focused on the problem mentioned above — the housing crisis in Nepal. Working alongside its partners, the initiative is building 2.3 houses per hour. Further, since its inception in 1977, the organization has served more than 200,000 families in Nepal’s Eastern and Western Regions.
  11. Save the Children is another nonprofit that has been working in Nepal since 1976. The organization has implemented various programs to improve the lives of Nepalese children. One of these programs is the Adolescents’ Skills for Successful Transitioning (ASST) initiative, which aims to help Nepalese adolescents transition into adulthood with the necessary skills and opportunities required to break out of transgenerational poverty.

Although Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, all hope is not lost. Efforts of volunteers and nonprofit organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, have the potential to make a big difference.

– Amelia Merchant

Photo: Unsplash
Updated: May 30, 2024

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Three Challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals

Three Challenges of the Sustainable Development GoalsProposed in 2012 and officially adopted in January 2016, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) replaced the Millennium Development Goals to set the priorities of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and to lead concrete actions on the ground. The goals call for the elimination of poverty and hunger by 2030, along with fifteen other targets concerning health, education, gender equality, sanitation, economic equality and climate change.

Some of the challenges encountered while trying to implement the 17 goals by 2030 include slower economic growth, long-lasting corruption and inequality, unfavorable demographics in various forms and widespread epidemics, but there are three surprising challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals that could be easily overlooked, yet require immediate attention.

Data Deprivation

Big data could only be of use if they are collected intelligently and interpreted meaningfully. If it is not known how many people are impoverished or which groups are the most vulnerable to economic adversity, it is not possible to act effectively against poverty. Furthermore, it would not be possible to know how much progress is made over time and, more importantly, which policies worked. This is not the most obvious challenge of the Sustainable Development Goals, yet a surprisingly large one. Proof for this is the statement of the director of the World Bank’s Innovation Labs, Aleem Walji, wrote in 2015 that out of the 155 countries that the World Bank observed and monitored, half of the countries lacked recent poverty estimates.

According to the IMF’s General Data Dissemination System, at least two data points are required within a decade-long interval to give poverty estimates every 3 to 5 years. A World Bank study conducted in 2015 noted that 57 countries out of 155 had less than two data points from 2002 to 2011, another 20 had two data points within one decade that are separated by more than five years, rendering the data inadequate for poverty estimates.

The lack of reliable poverty data makes it impossible for countries to design and implement appropriate policies. Nigeria, among other African countries severely deprived of timely data, represents the dramatic case, since this country was pronounced as the largest economy of the continent only by calculating its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with inadequate information, revealing that decades of policy-making was based on outdated data.

What to prioritize?

The SDGs contain as many as 17 main issues to be addressed, and which ones should governments respectively prioritize could be a tough question. While prioritizing certain SDGs help with other SDGs as well- for example, decreasing poverty could have a positive impact on the good health and well-being of citizens- certain SDGs could be conflicted by their nature. The most notable potential trade-off exists between the second goal, which is ending world hunger, and the 15th goal, which calls for sustainable management of forest land and other terrestrial resources.

As Africa’s population continues to grow, the continent will be in need of safe food sources, wood, and other natural resources more than ever. Agricultural expansion, however, with its high demand for water and land, could potentially invade forest areas and lead to soil degradation, posing significant challenges to the SDGs.

Fortunately, there are strategies that governments could adapt to at least curb the potentially harmful aspects of agriculture: looking for and employing advanced agricultural technology that increases sustainability, ensuring funding as well as sound legal frames to protect small-scale farmers and to ward off harmful agricultural practices, utilizing agricultural growth by ensuring that it not only produces food but also job opportunities as well.

Who is held accountable?

This is perhaps the most significant among the three challenges of the SDGs. All UN member states agreed in August of 2015 to endorse the SDGs, but many may have left the negotiations unsure of where accountability lies. The issues of accountability also have a complicated history, with many developing countries feeling the burden of meeting the given goals, unlike richer countries who are not obliged to support developing countries by providing needed resources or aid.

The “follow-up and review” section of the SDGs agenda is vague since the document itself does not actually contain indicators necessary for measuring progress, nor is there a systematic mechanism for tracking accountability.

Not only should governments be responsible for building the vision of development. The private sector should be accountable as well, especially since Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) are becoming an increasingly popular way of managing public resources via private means in developing countries. The private sector should aware of the impacts of their actions and policies on the planet and on global poverty.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals should not be mere talking points summoned at will. Instead, they need to lead concrete and intelligent actions that are actually impactful. Challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals are numerous, but acquiring reliable data, choosing reasonable and enforceable goals to prioritize and holding the most relevant parties accountable are challenges that the global community needs to address in the most urgent manner.

– Feng Ye
Photo: Flickr

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Five Ways The World Bank is Helping Lebanon

World Bank Helps Lebanon

Lebanon is a country located in the Middle East, facing the Mediterranean Sea and bordering Syria, Jordan and Israel. Lebanon’s biggest obstacle is its proximity to the Syrian Conflict, which has economically hindered Lebanon. According to The World Bank, poverty is predicted to worsen; approximately 200,000 Lebanese were forced into poverty due to the Syrian Crisis. Fortunately, The World Bank is helping Lebanon progress as a sovereign state.

Five Ways the World Bank Helps Lebanon

1. The World Bank financially supports the implementation of the Greater Beirut Water Supply Project.

The World Bank is helping Lebanon by advancing its infrastructure. Due to the high volume of refugees in Beirut, there have been many problems with accessing clean water. Several areas surrounding Beirut do not have safe, drinkable water. This project provides clean water to low-income neighborhoods in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The initiative was approved on June 15, 2018, and the project will end on November 30, 2020.

2. The World Bank is leading a $400 million project to increase employment opportunities.

The World Bank is helping Lebanon with their economy, which came to a standstill after the displacement of Syrian refugees. About 1.1 million Syrian refugees are living in Lebanon currently, which is 25 percent of its population. This project is called “Creating Economic Opportunities in Support of the Lebanon National Jobs Program” and will create 52,000 permanent jobs and 12,000 temporary jobs. This will definitely increase career opportunities throughout the country as well as increase employment so that individuals can improve their livelihoods.

3. The World Bank is one of the main creators of the “Lebanon Youth Advisory Group”.

The World Bank is helping Lebanon by empowering and engaging its youth. The Youth Advisory Group (YAG) acts as a liaison between the younger population of Lebanon and The World Bank. Young adults between the ages of 20-25 join YAG and discuss how The World Bank’s influence affecting the youth. YAG participates in the decision-making process for new initiatives spearheaded by The World Bank, who actively converses with the organization to start new projects. YAG provides students and young adults a voice within the education and political systems.

4. The World Bank funds The Greater Beirut Public Transport Project.

The Greater Beirut Public Transport Project will “improve the speed, quality and accessibility of public transportation for passengers in the Greater Beirut Area”. The World Bank continues to support Lebanon’s infrastructure. Access to the city allows individuals to travel to work. It also permits individuals to move from place to place at an inexpensive cost; this will increase accessibility to the city, which could potentially have economic benefits. Safety is also a priority within this initiative, therefore, it will also fund pedestrian bridges and crossings. Overall, the project will offer a more secure and accessible urban environment for the people of Beirut.

5. The World Bank approved the Land Administration System Modernization Project in Lebanon.

The Land Administration System Modernization Project costs about $43 million and it will make the retrieval of property rights data and land use information much easier to attain. The objective of this project is to facilitate processes related to Property Valuation and State Land Management. Ultimately, this intelligence will provide insight for all “planning and value-adding services in the nation”. This project is a victory for institutional transparency and development.

The World Bank is helping Lebanon improve their infrastructure, employment rates, political systems and beyond. It continues to better Lebanon so that it can thrive economically. Lebanon is currently facing a multitude of issues, yet The World Bank has been an important ally in their struggles. They have been a crucial ally to Lebanon in this time, as the projects above reflect.

– Diana Hallisey
Photo: Flickr

Top 10 Facts About Poverty in Serbia

Free Birds Eye View of Zemun Stock Photo

Serbia officially became an independent nation in 2006, following the split of the country known as Serbia and Montenegro. Being a newly independent country, it faces the challenges of poverty and unemployment. Nonetheless, progress is being made, as these top 10 facts about poverty in Serbia are showing:

  1. Approximately 25% of Serbians are impoverished, which translates to close to 1.8 million people. Absolute poverty, a more severe condition of poverty, has been slowly decreasing, from 7.6% in 2010 to 7.3% in 2016.
  2. The levels of poverty vary significantly across different regions of Serbia. Generally, the southern region has a higher rate of people at risk of poverty compared to the northern region. Additionally, rural areas, where almost half of the population resides, have double the poverty rate of urban areas.
  3. Households are more likely to be impoverished if the head of the house has not completed primary school. The risk of poverty directly correlates with the level of education of the head of the household.
  4. Serbia is vulnerable to floods and earthquakes. Earthquakes affect 60,000 people a year and result in losses of $300 million. Floods are even more frequent and also more impactful, affecting 200,000 people and causing a loss of $1 billion yearly.
  5. The primary school completion rate is 95%. Enrollment rates have been above 90% for both boys and cards for more than two decades. Additionally, approximately 100% of the population aged 15 and above can read and write.
  6. The overall unemployment rate is 8.68%. Youth unemployment rate is 30.4%. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the reason for these high rates is the disparity between workforce needs and the Serbian education system. However, in 2021, Serbia adopted an employment-focused Action Plan, among other plans, in an attempt to decrease unemployment.
  7. The YF Innovation Serbia project, completed in 2016, is another way Serbia has made progress toward improving unemployment rates. One of the project’s goals was to encourage entrepreneurship in Serbia by assisting startups, funding projects and opening research institutions. It ultimately helped improve Serbia’s economic growth and create more job opportunities for its citizens.
  8. Serbia is working on becoming a member of the European Union (EU). To achieve this goal, the country must go through a pre-ascension phase that includes economic development, increased human rights and an improved government system.
  9. Serbia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to grow at about 3% to 4% annually. In 2017, however, drought and energy production issues slowed Serbia’s economic growth temporarily. Other sectors, such as industry and services, did show growth despite these problems.
  10. Serbia’s Human Development Index score was 0.805 in 2022, ranking 65th out of 193 countries. This score reflects Serbia’s high level of human development.

While poverty remains an issue in Serbia, action is certainly being taken to counter it, especially through joining the EU. The standards that the EU holds for its members encourage a better economy and quality of life for its citizens. In the past, most countries have seen economic growth as a result of this same process. Evidently, in these top facts about poverty in Serbia, Serbian poverty shows promise of slowing down.

– Massarath Fatima

Photo: Pexels
Updated: May 29, 2024

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US Benefits From Foreign Aid to Micronesia

U.S. Benefits From Foreign Aid to Micronesia

The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Micronesia in many ways, including an increase in trade as well as domestic and global security.

There are four basic income levels. Level 1 is extreme poverty described as the situation in which the family can barely afford to eat and must get water from wells. Level 2 is lower-middle income meaning the family can afford decent food and shoes. Level 3 is upper-middle income that means the family can afford running water and basic appliances. Level 4 is high income- family can afford a nice house and cars.

Micronesia is a Level 2 country, whereas the U.S. is a Level 4 country. The U.S. is in a position to help Micronesia’s economy grow and has been doing so since the Compact Free Association between the two countries was signed on July 18, 1947. Under the Compact, the two governments agreed to cooperate in mutual interest. Micronesia has been benefiting from this aid immensely and from the other side, the U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Micronesia have been equally impressive, including trade and security.

Increased trade between two countries

Whether an individual or country, the more money someone has, the more goods that someone can afford to buy. Furthermore, richer countries are more willing to trade with other countries. This trade lifts people out of poverty by letting the citizens of the poorer country gain access to more markets and sell more goods to richer customers. The newly-enriched people can then buy more expensive products. Thus, people in both countries continue buying from each other and both make money in the process.

The U.S. spent $49.9 million on foreign aid to Micronesia in 2016. This money enabled Micronesians to trade with the U.S. and other countries as well. Micronesia currently exports 26.6 percent of its GDP and has a total merchandise trade value (both imports and exports) of 74.3 percent of its GDP. The export rate is stable and the increase in the merchandise trade rate shows no sign of stopping.

Increased security for both countries

As one of the key features of the Compact Free Association, the U.S. provides defensive forces to help protect Micronesia. In return, Micronesians are free to join the U.S. military. This arrangement allows the U.S. to station military personnel near the East and South China Seas, where the majority of Asian trade and one-third of global trade takes place. As a result, the U.S. has a constant military presence in the area and can keep an eye on Chinese trade transactions, as well as 50 percent of the planet’s energy commerce.

Unfortunately, Micronesia wishes to end the Compact Free Association this year, stating that it heavily favors the U.S. If the Compact were to end, Micronesia could fall under the growing influence of China. This could make Micronesia a pawn in China’s plan to secure the China Seas and keep the U.S. out of these waters, ensuring that China can accomplish its military and national goals. In addition to undoing the U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Micronesia, this would leave nearby U.S. territories, such as Guam and American Samoa, exposed and vulnerable.

Additionally, the U.S. would be cut out of a crucial trade route to Euroasia. This means that the U.S. would have to find other and possibly longer trade routes. The fact that U.S. goods would take longer to get to their trade partners would result in a higher price of those goods. The final recipients of the goods would be unwilling to pay such prices since they were used to getting these goods at lower prices. This would lead them to reconsider their overall trade relationship with the U.S.

Ways in which the U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Micronesia cannot be overstated. Giving Micronesia more money means that Micronesians can afford to buy more American goods, resulting in the increased trade. Furthermore, it increases security for both countries by strengthening Micronesia’s overall relationship with the U.S. Both of these factors motivate the U.S. to continue helping Micronesia and, ultimately, both countries are better off with it.

– Cassie Parvaz

Photo: Flickr

Girls’ Education in Guinea: Breaking Barriers

In 2012, the female completion rate for primary education in Guinea was only 61.5 percent. In some rural areas, this number was as low as 34 percent. Furthermore, the secondary school participation rate was around 40 percent for male students, compared to less than 26 percent for their female peers.

UNICEF, USAID, and other humanitarian organizations have introduced grassroots programs promoting girls’ education in Guinea. Programs include COMEF, which encourages mothers to become advocates for their daughters’ schooling. UNICEF championed the Accelerated Girls Education Initiative, which sought to increase enrollment rates but also the quality of girls’ education in Guinea. Many of these initiatives have made great strides with gender equity since Guinea is second in the region only to Ghana in terms of gender equity in the schooling system. Yet, large disparities still exist, and many young girls face hurdles in the effort to obtain an education.

Barriers to girls’ education

Perhaps the largest barrier to girls’ education in Guinea is the deep-rooted sense of tradition and culture. In the type of cultured place as Guniea is, women are often viewed as solely mothers and housemakers. Such values often outweigh the perceived benefits for girls’ educational attainment, particularly in rural regions. It is a common belief that if a girl is educated, she will leave the home and lose her morals, making marriage and reproduction more difficult. Teen marriage in Guinea is very common- between 2008 and 2012, nearly 36 percent of teen girls were married. Thus, many girls drop out of school in favor of household chores that include watching younger siblings, cooking, marriage, and childbearing.

These traditional views create a dangerous cycle of illiteracy. Illiterate mothers are less likely to become advocates of their own daughter’s schooling. Programs have been established that encourage mothers to learn more about the importance of their daughter’s schooling and help them to become champions of girls’ education in Guinea. Through this participation and self-growth, mothers can become better role models for other mothers and their daughters.

Boys’ education is viewed more favorably by local communities, often being described as a “better investment.” This deep, systemic gender bias is very difficult to overcome. Parents that face limited resources and may only send one child to school will undoubtedly choose a son. Not only is boys’ education prioritized, but boys also face fewer challenges at school, such as exploitation, violence, and sexual assault.

Problems in schools

Female students in Guinea are often subject to sexual assault, abuse, and exploitation. Instances of teachers demanding sexual favors in return for passing marks, even if previously merited by student’s academic work, are way too common. Often there are no repercussions for the guilty teacher save a slap on the wrist. To ensure that girls have a safe learning environment, there must be codes of conduct for all teachers and strict ramifications for such behaviors, including loss of job and inability to be hired at any other institution.

Girls also face a risk to security due to lack of proper sanitation facilities. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, an estimated 10 percent of school-aged girls in Africa skip school during women’s period or drop out due to lack of adequate facilities. With a slight improvement in sanitation in Guinean schools from 1997 to 2002, enrollment rates for girls increased 17 percent. Many schools still lack proper bathrooms with many lacking separate toilets for boys and girls and others missing complete privacy measures including cracked windows and broken doors.

There is a strong correlation between the number of female students in schools and the number of female teachers at that school. In 2017, less than half of the primary school teachers and only 30 percent of secondary teachers were female. Having a female teacher not only makes young girls feel safe in the classroom but also gives them a positive role model, making them empowered and motivated to finish their own schooling.

Effects of education

Education is a powerful weapon and shield for young girls. It protects them against child labor, increases participation in the workforce, increases earning capacity, decreases early marriage, and reduces infant and child mortality while also having positive effects on child nutrition. Educated women are more likely to understand their rights and how to exercise them socially, politically and economically. Finally, girls’ education can create a positive cycle meaning that educated mothers are more likely to enroll their own daughters in school and promote higher levels of educational attainment.

While Guinea has made significant progress in terms of girls’ educational availability, improvement is still needed. Support from government officials, religious leaders, and local community leaders may help to eradicate the traditional and apathetic view of girls’ education. Protecting girls against gender-based violence and sexual abuse and securing adequate sanitation facilities will create a safe learning environment. Increased representation of female teachers will promote female empowerment. If these main barriers to girls’ education in Guinea are eradicated then enrollment and completion rates will skyrocket.

– Jessie Serody

Photo: Flickr

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Amber Heard Is Helping Syrian Refugees

Amber HeardAmber Heard is a model and actress who has dedicated her career to being more than just a “pretty face.” She is best known for her roles in Zombieland (2009), The Stepfather (2009) and The Danish Girl (2015). Heard was also featured in The Justice League (2017) as Mera, a role which she will be reprising in the upcoming Aquaman film.

The actress has always been a strong advocate for the importance of charity work and helping those who are in need. Now, through a lot of time and dedication, Amber Heard is helping Syrian refugees that need medical attention by partnering with The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS).

The Syrian American Medical Society

SAMS is an organization that provides medical relief to Syrian refugees by working on the front lines. The non-governmental organization (NGO) prides itself on being one of the most active and trusted organizations on the ground in Syria. Its main goal is to provide medical care to every patient who needs it.

SAMS is dedicated to providing these medical services all while promoting medical education in Syria with the assistance of hard-working humanitarians from around the globe. Its vision is to strengthen the medical community for Syria’s future. In 2017 alone, SAMS worked to provide more than 3.5 million health services to vulnerable populations, serving patients regardless of religious affiliation, race, ethnicity or political affiliation.

SAMS primarily operates in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey where it has provided support to 110 medical facilities and over 3,000 personnel. Now, its programs are quickly expanding to other countries that are facing extreme poverty. For example, in 2016, it launched SAMS Global Response (SGR) to address the medical needs of vulnerable populations in Greece.

In 2017, SAMS expanded its operation to Egypt and Bangladesh where it set up to meet the increasing medical needs of those who have no access to health care. SAMS does what is called “medical missions” where it brings in skilled health professionals from around the world to provide life-saving care free of charge.    

SAMS is a leader for advocacy and works closely with policymakers both within the United States and on the global level. It advocates increasing political action to help end the crisis in Syria and allow for the voices of its workers on the ground who continue to risk their safety to save the lives of the vulnerable. It advocates for:

  • Protection of medical facilities, healthcare workers and civilians
  • Provisions for access to trapped civilians
  • Increasing involvement of NGOs in decision-making
  • Support for both Syrian refugees and host communities

Amber Heard Is Helping Syrian Refugees

SAMS asked Amber Heard to join its crew on a medical mission to help assist with the 660,000 displaced Syrians in a camp. “My biggest takeaway from this trip is the indelible mark left on my soul after spending a week on the ground here…” Heard spent a week in Jordan with SAMS to visit one of the largest camps for Syrian refugees, which also doubles as a rehabilitation center for those who have been injured.  

Amber Heard is helping Syrian refugees by starting a fundraising campaign. During her trip to Jordan, Heard met a 12-year-old girl named Weam, who is in desperate need of medical assistance. She suffers from a disease called thalassemia, which means she needs blood transfusions every 20 days. This is an expense her family simply cannot afford. Weam had been receiving treatments from an NGO; unfortunately, due to budget cuts, the treatment had to stop. There are 12 more children that have to live with this disease who also need help.  

Amber Heard is helping Syrian refugees by partnering with SAMS to offer a trip to the Aquaman premiere as well as a meet and greet with Heard and her co-star Jason Momoa. The money raised will be used to help treat the 12 children suffering from thalassemia in Jordan.

Amber Heard is using her influence to raise awareness of the important work being done by SAMS. With her fundraiser, 12 children will get the blood transfusions they need to fight thalassemia. Medical attention for Syrian refugees is an important cause, and thanks to people like Amber Heard and organization like SAMS, some of the suffering that these refugees are experiencing can be lessened.

– Olivia Hodges

Photo: Flickr

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Fintech Startups in The Middle East

This is where the financial technology sectors (Fintech for short) come in. The financial technology sector is comprised of tech startups that exist in the financial services industry. These startups are disrupting the private sector ecosystem in The Middle East. In just the past five years, fintech startups have raised over $100 million.

Fintech and The Middle East

Fintech startups aim to provide a large range of financial solutions using technology. Therefore, financial technology does not aim to replace banking systems; rather, financial technology startups aim to improve the customer experience surrounding banking and other financial services.

Often times, fintech startups address a diverse range of customer needs, whether it be educating them on the process of setting up a bank account or making investing easier to handle. While fintech startups provide differing services, one thing remains the same: fintech is using technology to make financial services more accessible to the general public.

In The Middle East, fintech startups are a new driving force to increase accessibility to the general public. With over fifty startups, fintech companies aim to foster greater financial inclusion. For example, one of the main obstacles for small business owners in The Middle East is gaining financial inclusion.

Startups, such as Ambareen Musa’s Souqalmal.com, address this need by connecting investors with small business owners. This refined database and algorithm allow small business owners to raise capital for a cheaper price while also allowing investors to gain better returns on their deals. Another fintech startup that has raised 20 million dollars in funding is PayTabs, which is an online payment processing solution that allows small businesses to add payment services to their sites.

Funding for Fintech

Funding for fintech startups is done through a combination of crowdsourcing (84 percent), allowing people with startup ideas to get funding from anywhere around the world, and government and industry support. Through crowdsourcing, startup founders can receive money faster than they would be able to from investors; as a result, their businesses can grow faster and have an impact on the public faster.

There is a 380 billion dollar market that is comprised of the world’s financially underserved consumers and businesses. Not only are there economic gains to be made through the rise of fintech but there are also large social gains. Furthermore, governments in The Middle East are contributing to the thriving fintech ecosystem by supporting regulations and initiatives such as accelerator programs.

For instance, The Bahrain Economic Development Board launched Fintech Hive in 2017, a fintech startup accelerator that funds and provides instrumental resources for fintech startups. Banks in The Middle East, particularly the UAE, have also started to adopt some of the digital solutions put forth by fintech startups.

With the public sectors of the government working together with the private sectors in the fintech industry, there is a powerful combination of forces working together to foster greater financial inclusion to those in The Middle East.

– Shefali Kumar

Photo: Flickr

Who Are the Roma: Past, Present and Future

Roma

Who are the Roma? While believed to have originated from Egypt (hence the slang term ‘gypsy’), the Roma people can actually trace their origins back to northern India. From around 700AD onward, they migrated across Europe, working as entertainers, artisans and farmworkers. For a long time, they managed to get by in this fashion without issue.

Moving Through Europe

As time went on, cracks began to appear in their initial acceptance. It seemed that everywhere the Romani people went, the ruling class wanted to tie them down or expel them. If they went to places such as Wallachia and Moldova, for example, they would find themselves enslaved. Moving to western European countries like Spain meant death or forced assimilation.

After the last emancipation of the enslaved Romani people in 1864, it seemed as though the Roma group had begun to make some progress. In the years after the first World War, the Roma began to make moves towards social and political lobbying. The first Romani organization, The General Association of Romanian Roma, appeared and The World Roma Congress had its first meeting in 1933.

Then, the Nazi regime began to target the Romani people along with the Jews. During World War II they faced the stripping of their nationality, deportation to labor camps and even mass executions. It is estimated by historians that at least 220,000 Roma were killed in Europe during World War II, but the exact numbers are unknown.

Who Are the Roma?

Now, ask the question today: who are the Roma? One would assume that, in a modern-day society that focuses on social inclusion, the Romani people would fare better today. Yet, even in the present day, the Roma remain the group the most discriminated against in Europe.

The Romani people today find themselves the victims of hate crimes such as having their homes burned or physical assault. In many of these cases, the local police fail to provide them with the protection or justice that they need. The police are also known to discriminate against the Roma and treat them with less dignity than non-Roma.

They also struggle in everyday society due to the disadvantages of prejudice. Despite regulations, situations such as segregated schooling for Romani children and lower wages for Romani workers still exist in Europe. Some Romani people even have trouble purchasing land on which they could build homes. This means that even those who want to work for a better life might have trouble achieving it.

Thus, the Romani people could remain trapped in their current disadvantaged situation. Consider the fact that 70 percent of the Roma population throughout the world lives in poverty. Many of them live in slums without electricity or running water.

Where Can the Roma Turn to in Search of Hope?

Government intervention seems the only possible way to provide the Roma with the assistance that they need to rise out of their current situation. And indeed, the governments of multiple countries have created programs of varying success, such as the Phare programs of the early 2000’s.

Yet, a 2013 Brigham Young University Paper indicates what might prevent the success of Roma assistance. The paper stated that at least in Romania, the local governments focus upon the integration of the Roma into society. They do not focus on integrating Romani people in a way that will not kill their culture.

Indeed, many Romani people still live traditional, nomadic lives and are unwilling to leave them even if it means living in poverty. This culture, however, clashes with the current sedentary European culture. Unless these two cultures can find a compromise in the future, some Roma might still live on the fringes of society.

There are groups like The Minority Rights Group International and Amnesty International that are working to educate people about the Romani people by working with the Roma communities and governments. The U.N. has been working with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to address providing business opportunities and social services to the Romani people in the country through enacting a two-year “Action Plan for the National Roma Strategy.” They hope to find solutions to many of the problems the Romani face every day.

Ask the question again: who are the Roma? They are a people who have faced countless tragedies in the past and now face an uncertain future. Yet, when given the assistance and understanding that they need, they may be able to find their own place in society where they can thrive.

– Elizabeth Frerking

Photo: Flickr