Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

10 Key Facts About Poverty in Algeria

Facts About Poverty in Algeria
Despite its rich oil resources, Algeria faces long-term challenges from a lack of diversity in the economy, a relatively high unemployment rate — especially among youth and women — and regional inequalities. These 10 facts about poverty in Algeria will recount the recent ups and downs of the upper middle income country.

Top 10 Facts About Poverty in Algeria

  1. According to a World Bank estimation published this year, unemployment rate in Algeria has been on the rise  from 10.5 percent in September 2016 to 11.7 percent in September 2017. Unemployment among women and youth is disproportionately high: the first half of 2016 saw a 16.6 percent female unemployment rate and a 29.9 percent for young people.
  2. Even though official data given in 2011 reported a 5.5 percent poverty rate with a 0.5 percent extreme poverty rate, about one tenth of the population are thought to be susceptible to re-entering poverty. Other sources, however, report much higher rates in more recent years. Al Jazeera, the state-funded broadcaster in Doha, Qatar, wrote in April 2014 that the country has a 23 percent poverty rate.
  3. Regional differences in poverty are significant in Algeria. The World Bank points out that poverty level is the national average doubled for people residing in Sahara, and tripled for people of the Steppe.
  4. Algeria has high economic inequality; the consumption rates of the rich and poor are separated by as much as 27.7 percent.
  5. According to the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights, the country has 400,000 children drop out of schools annually. Rural areas bear most of these dropouts due to poverty and poor maintenance of local schools.
  6. The Algerian currency has been devalued throughout the past five decades, from 4.94 dinars per U.S. dollar in 1970, to 116 dinars per U.S. dollar in May of this year. This discrepancy exists predominantly due to the government’s efforts to artificially lower its budget deficit and keep up oil taxes. At the same time, the government is heavily subsidising imports to make them more affordable, which ultimately increases the country’s dependency on imports as the country should be striving to construct a productive economy to provide employment opportunities.
  7. Algeria is extremely dependent on its oil resources for economic growth. The hydrocarbonic sector makes up 95 percent of Algeria’s exports, occupying 60 percent of the governmental budget. This area of production doubled the state’s fiscal deficit in 2015, as oil prices plummeted and affected the already unprivileged.
  8. Medical care is limited due to low population density and poverty in rural areas. Thus, some regions in Nigeria still face high maternal and under-five mortality rates.
  9. The government of Algeria has been criticized for corruption, especially in areas of infrastructure construction and oil. A national commission was enacted to battle such corruption in 2006, but not until four years later did seven members get appointed. In 2012, 2,000 cases of corruption were under investigation, but rarely resulted in convictions.
  10. Algeria faces potential instability if oil prices remain low. People, especially the youth in Algeria, are discontent with the government, believing that the government has no concern for its citizens. Some are also concerned that another “Black Decade,” referring to the country’s civil war in the 1990s, lies ahead.

A New Direction

Algeria is in need of economic transformations, and has to figure out how to address its low domestic productivity effectively. An economic blueprint that is more community-based and under public supervision should be adopted in place of the currently stagnating attempts at adjustment.

– Feng Ye

Photo: Flickr

Younger Generation Helps Save the World by Planting Trees

Younger Generation Helps
Felix Finkbeiner, a German 19-year-old, has created a global youth movement, Plant For The Planet, in hopes of saving communities all over the world and eventually building a suitable place for everyone to live. Younger generation helps protect the world with the ambitious Finkbeiner, and they show how little actions can make huge differences for the better.

The Younger Generation Cares About the World

At nine years old, Felix Finkbeiner had the goal of protecting land by increasing the number of trees. Finkbeiner successfully motivated 75,000 children to become climate ambassadors with Plant For The Planet, and over 15 billion saplings have been planted.

Finkbeiner spoke at the United Nations and European Parliament. Due to his hard work, Finkbeiner has gained traction for Plant for the Planet from the World Wildlife Fund. Since 2006, about 15.2 billion trees were planted by individual people, governments and businesses.

The movement’s founder is prepared to reach his goal of helping save the world by being knowledgeable about what matters. Through research, he found that there is enough land in the world to plant 589 billion mature trees harmlessly.

Finkbeiner explains, “We need to plant at least a trillion trees to get 600 billion, since many will not survive. Additionally, we must protect the 170 billion trees in imminent risk of destruction.” Younger generation helps contribute to positive changes in the world following the example of Finkbeiner.

The Positive Impact of Planting More Trees

Plant for the Planet has planted trees in 200 countries including:

  • China with 2,859,664,407 trees planted
  • Mexico with 789,303,868 trees planted
  • Afghanistan with 34,019,233 trees planted
  • Nicaragua with 6,425,810 trees planted

Plant for the Planet bought a 33,359-acre ranch near Cancun, Mexico in 2014 that employs 78 people. The ranch strives to plant ten million trees on the land by 2020 because its land was deforested. 

More Trees, Less Global Issues

The following countries are supportive of planting more trees to help with the reforestation of saving land all over the world: Ethiopia, Niger, Mali many other African countries and Latin American countries. Plant for The Planet has planted more than 14 billion trees in more than 130 nations and set the goal of planting one trillion trees in the next thirty years, with the Trillion Tree Campaign.

More trees can help solve many global issues by providing a healthier living environment for people. In fact, the planting of one trillion trees can collect an extra ten billion tons of carbon dioxide yearly.

The younger generation helps to make the world a better place by involving themselves in solving global issues. This population knows that there is not much time to stop these global problems from getting worse for their children, so Finkbeiner and the younger generation are taking action-oriented steps to help alleviate global poverty — one tree at a time.

– Kelly Kipfer
Photo: Flickr

,

Four Important Facts to Know About Infrastructure in the Philippines

Infrastructure in the Philippines
Amidst the 7,107 western Pacific islands known as the Philippines, poverty is uniquely endemic. A country of scattered landmass, the Philippines is ranked the third most disaster-prone country in the world, as its close proximity to the equator encourages destructive weather such as earthquakes and storms. Natural disasters disproportionately and recurrently hit the poorest regions of the country, coursing them into higher levels of poverty.

This, along with uncontrolled population growth, exacerbates the reality of poverty within this collection of islands. Fortunately, there are significant plans in the works that focus on kicking such insufficiency to the curb, solutions that include the advancement of infrastructure in the Philippines.

Historically, insufficient infrastructure development has stunted both economic growth and poverty reduction, but there is an active movement toward improvement. Within the past couple of years, proposals have been met with action to pave the way for a change. The following are four important facts regarding infrastructure in the Philippines.

Four Facts About Infrastructure in the Philippines

  1. $7.6 billion has recently been approved to establish new infrastructure in the Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte has plans for robust projects such as bridges, roads and the Metro Manila Subway. Under the national “Build, Build, Build” initiative, the country is looking to spend $180 billion to renovate and build airports, railways, roads and ports over a six-year period.
  2. Additional financing for the Rural Development Project for the Philippines was approved January 11, 2018. Costing over $2 million, this project aims to promote job creation, especially within rural development. It seeks to boost rural incomes and enrich both farm and fishery productivity in specified regions, as well as to establish essential pieces of infrastructure, like a network of roads, that allow farmers to sell products at market and connect to the urban areas.
  3. The Mindanao Trust Fund-Reconstruction and Development Project Phase II (MTF-RDP2) was approved April 4, 2018. Costing over $3 million, this project focuses on post-conflict reconstruction, improving labor market policy and programs, promoting social inclusion for ethnic minorities and appeasing forced displacement. The objective of the MTF Facility is to advance development in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao by assisting in social and economic recovery within these communities.The MTF-RDP2’s objective focuses on improved access for conflict-affected communities to basic socioeconomic structure and alternative learning systems. According to Xubei Luo, Senior Economist at the World Bank’s Poverty and Equity Global Practice, “Making a difference in Mindanao makes a big difference to the Philippines. Increasing public investment in Mindanao to boost development there would expand opportunities for conflict-affected communities, broaden access to services and create more and better jobs.”
  4. From 2006 to 2015, poverty in the Philippines took a dive. A recent report by the World Bank states that economic growth is responsible for poverty levels dropping by five percent. From 26.6 percent in 2006 to 21.6 percent in 2015, such a decrease in numbers is also a result of the expansion of job opportunities outside the agriculture sector.The Filipino government has a goal to reduce poverty from 13 to 15 percent by 2022. According to the World Bank, plans include the Philippine Development Plan 2017–2022 and AmBisyon 2040, a long-term vision to reduce poverty and recover the lives and wellbeing of the most marginalized regions and communities of the nation.The World Bank’s Poverty Assessment report recommends the following policy directions to achieve the proposed targets: “Create more and better jobs; improve productivity in all sectors, especially agriculture; equip Filipinos with skills needed for the 21st century economy; invest in health and nutrition; focus poverty reduction efforts on Mindanao; and manage disaster risks and protect the vulnerable.”

The sizeable collection of Filipino islands has an undying potential to continue reducing poverty through its infrastructure advancement efforts. Although an extremely complex process, both the booming Filipino economy and government project initiatives are projected to gradually alleviate cyclical Filipino poverty. The future of infrastructure in the Philippines is looking bright.

– Mary Grace Miller
Photo: Flickr

,

Impacting Tomorrow: Poverty Reduction in Southeast Asia

Poverty Reduction in Southeast Asia
With all the global news that flies around day-to-day, progress in the fight against poverty can get lost in the shuffle. Poverty reduction in Southeast Asia has been a major goal for years. With over 230 million people — or 11 percent of its total population — undernourished, the nation still has major food security issues. Additionally, 15.1 percent of all people in the region experience poverty, living on less than $2 a day.

Combatting Extreme Poverty in Southeast Asia

So, one may ask: what is being done to combat these issues? There are several different ways that this kind of extreme poverty is being combatted, with efforts stemming from individuals, organizations and governments.

One company doing great work in Malaysia is Epic Homes, which builds houses for indigenous people, the Orang Asli. Taking donations from both private donors and corporate clients, the company has built more than 100 houses worth around $12,500 apiece. Founded by John-Son Oei, Epic Homes trains community members and builds homes with a combination of residents and volunteers.

John-son Oei is proud of the work his company does, stating how “the community is involved in the building of their own homes, so there is a sense of ownership, a sense that this is not just an act of charity.”

Creating a Home in Southeast Asia

Oei’s company is not the only one doing good work on poverty reduction in Southeast Asia. Social venture Doh Eain, which means ‘Our Home’ is based out of Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon. Using crowdfunding and donations, the company has restored over a dozen colonial homes and cleaned up half a dozen back alleys. These alleys — which are usually used for dumping trash — have been converted into green spaces where residents and children gather.

According to Doh Eain’s founder, Emilie Roell, “Yangon has very few public spaces that people can use. Having access to their own back alleys and safe spaces has led to greater social cohesion, and a change in behavior.”

Government Involvement

Moving past individuals, governments are also doing their part in poverty reduction in Southeast Asia. The multi-government association called First China-South Asia Cooperation Forum (CSACF) concluded successfully in mid-June this year. The CSACF, according to Chinese official Li Jiming, Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Office of Yunnan Provincial People’s Government, bred interconnectivity and opened a dialogue between nations that haven’t interacted much in the past. According to Li, the forum fostered the “cooperation atmosphere of candid exchange, mutual assistance, and shared development has been created.”

China has been the regional leader for awhile, with the 12th ASEAN-China Forum on Social Development and Poverty Reduction held in Manila through Friday. Conferences like these demonstrate how poverty reduction in Southeast Asia is at work, as 25.2 percent of the population in the Philippines below the poverty line in 2012 decreased to 21.6 percent in 2015 — a reduction of 21.9 million.

Reducing the world’s poverty takes time, especially in places such as Southeast Asia. However, thanks to the work of individuals and governments, people in a variety of countries are gaining an increasingly higher standard of living. 

– Dylan Redman
Photo: Flickr

,

Organizations Work Towards Post-Genocide Poverty Reduction

Post-Genocide Poverty Reduction
Genocides have occurred for decades; however, the aftermath of genocide lasts longer than the length of the genocide itself. One common problem for survivors is trying to deal with post-genocide poverty reduction. Many Jewish immigrants of the Holocaust experienced mass poverty that continues to be reported into this decade. In fact, he Telegraph reported in 2015 that more than one half million survivors are living in poverty.

After the Rwandan Genocide, Tutsis and Hutus alike had to deal with the ruins of their communities; many other populations across the world have experienced genocide and needed to focus on development and poverty reduction efforts in one way or another. The following three communities received significant organizational aid in poverty reduction methods after their respective genocides.

The Holocaust: Restitution and Aid

During the Holocaust, Jewish people were typically looted by Nazis or other community members. In 2009, the European Shoah Legacy Institute developed a two-day conference with 47 countries and the EU to urge restitution for the assets stolen from Jews during World War II, and also made efforts to ascertain social aid for poor Holocaust survivors.

France and Germany sold “heirless Jewish properties” to raise funds for social benefits; Germany established a $1 billion home care program for survivors; Austria and Poland pay pensions to survivors who suffered in their country yet live abroad. Efforts like this made the European Shoah Legacy Institute’s goals of poverty reduction and restitution in Holocaust survivors  realized.

The Rwandan Genocide: Empowerment

Inclusive Security is a noteworthy organization related to poverty reduction and female empowerment. After the Rwandan genocide, this organization empowered women to recognize their place at the table and to take initiative in rebuilding their communities.

Since the genocide, the country experienced 8 percent economic growth each year, is projected for further progress and millions of Rwandan citizens have been lifted out of poverty. Also, women have been motivated to take leadership positions and now 64 percent of elected parliamentary seats are held by women.

Inclusive Security states, “Women help create peace that lasts. When women are included in negotiations, the agreement is 35 percent more likely to endure for at least fifteen years.” Female empowerment has one of the driving factors of Rwanda’s successful transition out of genocide.

The Darfur Genocide: Education

In 2012, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) started a project in Soudan called “The Youth Volunteers Rebuilding Darfur Project.” This project’s objectives are to:

  • Improve the environment for sustainable peace in Sudan through increased respect for rights and human security
  • Reduce poverty and increase equitable economic growth.

The approach is to train and equip youth and women to expand Sudan’s economy through businesses. This program also supports the future by educating on environmental sustainability. The UNDP’s future-oriented approach allows youth and women to gain tools to build a successful community.

Post-Genocide Poverty Reduction

These three case studies of the Holocaust in the 1940s, the Rwandan genocide during the 1990s and the Darfur genocide in the early 2000s illuminate various strategies for post-genocide poverty reduction. Restitution and aid provides a short-term solution to a long-term goal, as it allows survivors to immediately gain the assistance they need to reestablish themselves in society.

However, further steps are crucial to sustaining a life without poverty after a genocide. Empowerment and education are key steps to reducing poverty in the long-term. Overall, a combination of these three approaches is key to poverty reduction in the aftermath of a genocide.

– Jenna Walmer
Photo: Flickr

, ,

Dwindling UN Funds Threaten Millions of Palestinians

Threatens Millions of Palestinians
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was established in 1949, after the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, in order to offer relief and works programs for Palestinian refugees. Since its inception, UNRWA has gone from helping some 750,000 Palestinian refugees to approximately 5 million Palestinians today.

Funding

Funded entirely by the contributions of U.N. member nations, UNRWA directs its efforts towards services ranging from education to healthcare to microfinance. Their budget is divided into 54 percent to education, 17 percent to health, 16 percent to support services, 9 percent to relief and social services, and 4 percent to infrastructure and camp improvement.

Unfortunately, these services are at risk due to a potential $250 million shortfall. A significant decline in the United States’ contribution, from $364 million last year to $60 million this year is said to be responsible for the shortage of funds.

Impact in Syria

Amidst the destructive conflict in Syria, 560,000 Palestinian refugees are among the worst affected. Through the Syria Crisis Response Plan, UNRWA provides vital humanitarian assistance through emergency healthcare, education, food and household items. In Syria alone, $411 million is necessary to maintain these crucial provisions.

The UNRWA has provided 44,000 young Palestinian refugees with the opportunity to pursue primary and secondary education. However, if the funding shortage cannot be met, their safety, as well as their education, is at risk.

Impact in Gaza

Through 22 health centers, UNRWA provides healthcare services to over 1.2 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza. Due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and limited resources available, UNRWA also offers emergency food assistance to 830,000 Palestinian refugees living below the poverty line as well as 45,870 cash-for-work opportunities and counseling for upwards of 25,000 refugee children. Funding shortages place all of these essential services at risk.

UNRWA has 252 schools in Gaza that educate more than 240,400 students. These schools now face a similar, bleak fate to their Syrian counterparts should this massive funding gap fail to be filled. Aside from providing students a basic education, many of these schools include a dedicated human rights curriculum that promotes conflict resolution.

Impact in the West Bank

Palestinian refugees living in the West Bank are also at significant risk should the UNRWA not be able to resolve its funding shortage. UNRWA provides emergency food assistance to almost 36,000 households, in addition to working to improve camp environments for female and youth refugees. In 2012, for example, UNRWA assisted 113,374 food-insecure Palestinian refugees.

Significance of UNRWA Funding

According to Pierre Krahenbuhl, the commissioner general of the UNRWA, the most urgent threat the funding shortage poses is to emergency food aid to Palestinians in Gaza and Syria. However, the UNRWA has also been instrumental in offering high-quality education throughout the region, promoting gender equality, providing near-universal immunization, investing in small businesses, and providing food assistance to 1.7 million refugees.

What do all of these services have in common? They have been integral to raising Palestinian refugees out of poverty and ensuring basic human rights. We cannot allow UNRWA’s efforts to disappear. Failure to offer these resources threatens millions of Palestinians and only guarantees continued hardship for their communities and the region. 

– McAfee Sheehan
Photo: Flickr

Costa Rica Bans Single-Use Plastics

Costa Rica bans single use plastics

Costa Rica will become the first country to ban single-use plastics in an effort to meet its goal of eliminating them from the country by 2021. The ban will include straws, cutlery, bags, bottles and cups made from plastic.

Costa Rica has already been a world leader for environmental protection. The country has reversed its deforestation and doubled its forest cover from 26 percent in 1984 to 52 percent in 2017. However, one-fifth of the country’s 4,000 tonnes of solid waste produced daily is not disposed of correctly and ends up in the Costa Rican landscape and shoreline.

Costa Rica is not alone in its issue with plastic waste. According to the findings by the World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2016, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050 if current consumption and disposal trends continue.

More Than Just an Environmental Impact

This waste harms not only the environment but also Costa Rica’s economy. Tourism and ecotourism are staples in the Costa Rican economy. The country cannot afford the environmental decay not only because they care for the environment but also because a large number of Costa Ricans rely on ecotourism for income.

Costa Rica plans to change how the country uses and disposes of plastics in an effort to help its environment and its people. Because the country’s economy depends largely on tourism, the move to ban single-use plastics will help with job creation and stability in the country as the landscape are improved and more ecotourism opportunities are produced. Citizens will be able to work at national parks, as well as in businesses that have an ecotourism model.

By ensuring the health and stability of its environment, Costa Rica is ensuring that jobs remain and grow. In addition to job security, the health of the country’s people will improve in conjunction with the health of the land. With less air and water pollution there will be fewer harmful chemicals posing a risk to Costa Ricans.

Sustainable Development

The Costa Rican government has made it clear that they believe this single-use plastic ban to be for the benefit of all people, not only for the environment. As a part of their larger Sustainable Development Goals, Costa Rica believes it is necessary to bring balance to all sectors — social, economic and environmental — in order to be a more egalitarian country.

In order to accomplish this, the country will establish a plan to accompany the new legislation. As Costa Rica phases out single-use plastics, the government will have measures in place that protect the people affected by the ban in social and economic ways as well.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, the plan Costa Rica is establishing for the ban of single-use plastics will be one “that cares for people’s health, ensures fair wages and equal opportunities for women and men, while taking care of forests and wetlands.” These are important steps in creating the sustainable balance that Costa Rica strives to achieve.

While this plan is yet to be released, Costa Rica will continue to be caring for impoverished people, providing equality in work between men and women as well as working to significantly better the environment in which its citizens live.

Once Costa Rica bans single-use plastics, they will be an example to the rest of the world for how environmental change can benefit not only the land in which people live but also the people living on the land.

– Savannah Hawley
Photo: Flickr

10 Highly Important Facts About Poverty in Somalia

Located in one of the most poverty-stricken regions in the world, Somalia is one of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Poverty in Somalia has been an enormous issue for more than a century but has recently been slightly alleviated due to increased foreign aid and government stability. Here are ten key facts about poverty in Somalia.

10 Facts About Poverty in Somalia

  1. Severe droughts and extreme weather make life for people living in poverty in Somalia even more difficult. Historically, food security in the country has been an issue due to limited rainfall and extreme drought. In 2017, nearly six million people in the country were considered acutely food insecure. Around a quarter of a million people have been displaced due to the most recent drought.
  2. Somalia is one of the least developed countries in Africa. Somalia lags behind the rest of Africa when it comes to the availability of basic infrastructure. Only around half of the country’s population has access to fresh drinking water and this number is significantly lower in rural areas.
  3. Poor people who live in rural areas of the country are relatively left behind when it comes to education compared to urban areas. The literacy rate in rural areas drops around 10 percent compared to urban areas. Less access to education in rural areas means a more challenging path out of poverty for poor people.
  4. Four out of five children in Somalia are lacking at least one basic necessity. Around 85 percent of youth in Somalia do not have access to at least one dimension. The more common of which is lack of access to clean drinking water. Another dimension that a substantial amount of children lack is access to information.
  5. Children in Somalia are likely not attending school. Experts believe education is fundamental in giving children a path to escaping poverty. Without education, it is near impossible for children to improve their future. Currently, only half of the country’s youth are receiving and education. This number increases dramatically in rural areas.
  6. The country’s per capita income is around $400. This number is one of the lowest in the region and is a huge reason for poverty in Somalia. Lacking infrastructure in the country affects the number of good jobs and means that most people work on agricultural land.
  7. Somalia’s parliament recently adopted the National Development Plan. The NDP aims to build up the county’s infrastructure and begin to reduce the amount of poverty in Somalia. It also aims to make the country more secure and oust remaining terrorist cells.
  8. Donor grants doubled in 2017 compared to 2016. In 2016, the country received nearly $55.3 million in grants while in 2017 that number grew to over $103.6 million.
  9. About 73 percent of the country lives on less than $2 a day. The percentage of people living on less than $1 a day is around 24 percent, but this number increases to 53 percent in rural areas.
  10. Somalia is one of the worst countries in the world to be a woman. Not only does the country have a terribly high child mortality rate, Somalian women also have limited access to maternal health resources and education.

Although Somalia is still one of the poorest countries in the world, progress is being made to help change the status quo. Increased government stability is leading to improved infrastructure and security. The government is already pushing initiatives that will help mitigate some of these facts about poverty in Somalia. This coupled with an increase in foreign aid dollars flowing into Somalia should bring a brighter future for the struggling country.

– Thomas Fernandez
Photo: Flickr

A Deal to Finally End Poverty in Greece

Poverty in Greece
In 2010, Europe fell into a deep financial crisis that brought Greece to the edge of bankruptcy and “triggered a surge in unemployment [and] poverty.” For the past eight years, the situation has remained bleak. However, a new Eurozone debt-relief deal reached on June 22, 2018, offers the potential to reduce poverty in Greece.

The Crisis Explained

The financial crisis in Greece began after the global recession of 2007 to 2009; a recession that was sparked by the United States’ housing market crisis and which affected countries around the world. A few months after the end of the recession, the Greek government announced that for years it had been underreporting its budget deficit. This created a loss of confidence in the Greek economy and led the country to be shut out of financial markets. As a result, Greece was unable to pay its increasing debts.

With the threat of Greek bankruptcy and another European-wide financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank and the European Commission began an international bailout program for Greece.

Greece received international bailouts three times, in 2010, 2012 and 2015. However, these bailouts came with conditions: Greece was required to overhaul its economy and implement harsh austerity measures including severe budget cuts and steep tax increases. Pensions were cut and public assets were sold. Though these measures kept Greece from descending into bankruptcy, its economy continued to suffer and unemployment and poverty rates surged.

The Crisis’ Effect on Poverty in Greece

Only 2.2 percent of the population lived in extreme poverty in 2009. By 2013, this number reached 17.1 percent. Between 2008 and 2016, the rate of unemployment increased dramatically, from 7.8 percent of the population to 23.6 percent. Hundreds of thousands who are employed hold low-paying, temporary jobs.

In addition, household incomes have dropped by one-third since the beginning of the financial crisis, and the number of people who are homeless leaped from 11,000 in 2008 to 40,000 in 2016. The dire financial situation has greatly impacted a majority of Greeks: in 2014, 95 percent of Greece’s population stated it had difficulty coping financially.

Over the past eight years, many local and national organizations have formed to aid poor people and provide them with food and shelter. However, these organizations do not have the resources to aid everyone and are unable to create the large-scale economic change that is required to improve Greek lives. The Eurozone debt-relief deal reached on June 22, 2018, has this ability.

The New Debt Relief Deal

Greece’s third international bailout program is set to end in August 2018. In preparation for the end of this program, Eurozone finance ministers met to discuss possibilities to address the continuing crisis. During talks in Luxembourg on June 21 through 22, 2018, 19 Eurozone nations reached an agreement that the European Union Economic Affairs Commissioner, Pierre Moscovici, signify the end of the Greek crisis.

The new debt-relief package has been hailed as both “historic” and “momentous.” The deal will provide Greece with an extra 15 billion euros in loans during July and August 2018. In addition, the Greek government will receive a 10-year extension to pay back its loans from the three international bailouts, which includes low-interest rates. The deal will ultimately reduce the country’s dependence on the IMF and other European countries. There is also hope that it will reduce poverty in Greece.

Though Greece’s debt is still 180 percent of its GDP and progress will take time, the new deal can positively impact the country’s financial situation. The broad improvements in Greece’s economy can stimulate job growth and ultimately reduce the number of people in poverty.

– Laura Turner
Photo: Flickr

Top 3 Recent Genocides and Their Sweeping Consequences

Recent Genocides
Genocide has been a part of the human experience for as long as humans have been around. As the world looks forward to solving issues like poverty and disease, recent genocides still threaten the developing world.

The “Third World War” in the Democratic Republic of Congo

One of the most recent genocides happened in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Genocide Watch reports that genocide continues to take place. Moreover, a report by the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights states there has been evidence of recent genocides in the DRC as early as 1993.

Much of the recent genocide is involves two factions: the Raia Mutomboki militia, which seeks to kill or expel anyone speaking Rwandan or Congolese, and the rival Hutu militia called the FDLR, which attacks anyone associated with the Raia Mutomboki. Both sides have slaughtered civilians and combatants along ethnic grounds in hopes of annihilating their rival ethnic groups from the greater Congo area.

Considered the bloodiest conflict since World War II, reports estimate that almost six million people have died since fighting started in 1996. Poverty, famine, disease and sexual violence continue to devastate the DRC. In 2010, a U.N. representative called the DRC the rape capital of the world. Additionally, civil unrest stemming from the postponement of the 2016 presidential elections displaced approximately 3.9 million people by the end of 2017.

Humanitarian organizations have provided aid, but the problems within the DRC are far from fixed. The International Rescue Committee expects to reach 8.4 million Congolese by 2020, focusing on improving the health and safety of women, children and the vulnerable.

The Darfur Genocide: First Genocide of the 21st Century

Darfur is a region in Western Sudan with a population of around seven million people. Since 2003, the Sudanese government-backed militia called the Janjaweed have laid waste to many villages in Darfur. The violence and recent genocide began as a series of reprisals for a 2003 attack on a Sudanese Air Force Base, and it was claimed that the residents of Darfur were responsible for the attack. The Janjaweed target civilians, committing mass murder and rape and looting economic resources. The U.N. estimates 4.7 million people have been affected by the fighting since 2004–half of them children. A 2016 report indicated that more than 600,000 people have died directly or indirectly because of the conflict.

Humanitarian access has been historically restricted and inhibited by the Sudanese government. The Sudanese government has been accused of intimidating and arresting aid workers. For example, in May 2005, two aid workers from Médecins sans Frontières were arrested at gunpoint under suspicion of “publishing false information” after a report by the organization was released on rape in Darfur.

The Yazidi Genocide

Most of the world’s Yazidi’s live in the Sinjar province of northern Iraq and have practiced their distinct traditions for thousands of years. However, the Yazidis are a religious and ethnic minority publicly reviled by ISIS. As a result, in August 2014, ISIS launched a genocide on the Yazidi communities of Sinjar. The ISIS fighters surged through the region, finding little military resistance. The local Peshmerga, a Kurdish security force, quickly abandoned their checkpoints and the Yazidi communities who depended on them for defense. The defenseless Yazidi villages offered little in the way of a military objective, so ISIS entered the region with one goal: the total extermination and subjugation of the Yazidi population. According to U.N. reports, Yazidi girls and women, as young as nine years old, were sold into sex slavery and trafficked across the Syrian border. Men and young boys were separated from their families–the men executed and the boys forced into ISIS training camps. Hundreds were summarily executed upon capture. All evidence points to an intentional and highly organized scheme by ISIS to end the Yazidi presence in Iraq, and potentially the world.

Access to the Sinjar region has been difficult for both humanitarian organizations and displaced Yazidis trying to return to their homeland. However, the Yazidis are not alone. Nadia’s Initiative, an advocacy organization founded by Nadia Murad, a 24-year-old Yazidi woman and survivor of the genocide, has gathered support for the Yazidi people by releasing a recent report on the current status of Sinjar. It has generated a unified humanitarian effort through the Sinjar Action Fund and has partnered with the French government to de-mine the explosives left behind by ISIS fighters in the region.

In the horrific wake of recent genocides, it can be easy to lose hope that genocide will be eradicated. However, organizations like the Sinjar Action Fund and the International Rescue Committee have and continue to work to produce a world without genocide. As solutions are being presented, it is up to everyone to implement them.

– Peter Buffo

Photo: Flickr