Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Creating Sustainability: Four Organizations Building Homes Abroad

Four Organizations Building Homes Abroad
One of the most sizable problems surrounding poverty in vulnerable countries is the lack of clean, sustainable and sturdy homes. When communities are provided with little to no housing, it can cause an abundance of other problems such as unsanitary facilities, streets and a lack of clean water. However, there are different organizations actively combating this problem by volunteering their time and effort to building homes abroad.

All Out Africa

All Out Africa is a volunteer organization that exclusively concentrates on African countries, such as Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana and Zimbabwe. In Swaziland, All Out Africa’s main focus is structural building through the Build a Future Project.

This program employs the use of local goods and methods such as mud bricks to aid in building different infrastructure, homes and water systems for orphaned and vulnerable children. All Out Africa changes lives through their volunteer programs and allows those looking for opportunities to gain hands-on experience in building homes abroad.

Build Abroad

Build Abroad was founded by two architects, Pat McLoughlin and Chad Johnson. Build Abroad’s first trip was to Costa Rica, where they refurbished a women’s shelter and made easily accessible handicap ramps. As Build Abroad has branched out, it now takes volunteers to travel to Costa Rica, Haiti, Guatemala, Nepal and Peru.

In Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Peru, their main focus is on community renovation. In Haiti, Build Abroad concentrates on building affordable homes for low-income families in the Pignon community. Build Abroad’s Haiti program allows volunteers to build full, sustainable homes in just one week.

The volunteers and builders learn how to build a foundation, install windows and construct a roof, along with paint and trim. Most of these homes are built for farmers who already own land, but need extra help in building lasting homes.

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity is one of the most well-known organizations that builds homes for those who are struggling or in difficult situations, such as homelessness and poverty. But what many don’t know is that Habitat for Humanity works in many underdeveloped countries as well.

The organization’s humanitarian work ranges from countries such as Brazil and Columbia, all the way to the Philippines, India, China, Australia and New Zealand; Habitat for Humanity is truly a global organization.

The Habitat for Humanity Thrivent Builds Worldwide program concentrates on helping women and children in building clean, structurally sound homes, anywhere from Africa to Hawaii. Most of their work building homes abroad, however, is done through their Global Village program.

In this program, volunteers can choose to build as many homes as they like, as well as advocate for policy change, energy efficient projects and populations such as children, women and the disabled. Habitat for Humanity not only concentrates on building homes abroad, but it also contributes disaster relief, shelters and community rehabilitation through the Disaster Response project. 

Projects Abroad

Projects Abroad is a volunteer program that provides scholarships, university credit and internships in major fields such as journalism, medicine and healthcare and International Development to those who wish to volunteer in building homes abroad. This group focuses on building homes in countries such as Ghana, Jamaica, the Philippines, Senegal and Tanzania.

Projects Abroad teaches its volunteers how to build bricks from mud and water for assembling quality homes and classrooms; how to fix and rebuild toilet facilities and homes for school children or those who have faced disaster; and how to create sanitation facilities for households, infrastructure and construction.

Brick By Brick

By building clean, safe and sustainable homes, these organizations aid in creating a better way of life for victims of poverty, helping areas recover from natural disasters and supporting those who feel defenseless and stuck in their situations.

Volunteer travel programs and disaster relief give hope, and volunteers building homes abroad are providing a wonderful global service.

– Rebecca Lee
Photo: Flickr

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Lesser-Known Humanitarian Organizations You Should Know About

Lesser
When thinking about the growing issue of poverty, classic humanitarian organizations come to mind like the Red Cross, UNICEF and Oxfam. However, there are many other deserving and impassioned groups who do not receive the same media time as these large organizations, but who should be noticed for their work and compassion. Here are five lesser-known humanitarian organizations working to reduce global poverty.

Hunger Plus, Inc.

Hunger Plus focuses its efforts on reducing global hunger and deaths caused by it. It is Hunger Plus’ goal to find a way to reduce global poverty by promoting access to a simple, yet very necessary thing: food. The organization also spends time and effort bringing medication to those in need to provide care against preventable and communicable diseases. Hunger Plus focuses its outreach both domestically and internationally and recently aided victims from Hurricane Harvey.

Save the Children

Save the Children is an aptly named organization as it focuses on just that – saving the children and bringing a future to every child born. The group works in 120 countries, providing access to education, food and safety from violence. The majority of donations within the organization go directly to children in need and Save the Children is quick to mobilize their funds. The organization works in times of crisis and in everyday life as a first responder to protecting children in harm’s way. During a crisis, Save the Children ensures children and their families are protected and have the resources necessary to survive the emergency.

Action Against Hunger

While Action Against Hunger works internationally, it is still one of the lesser-known humanitarian organizations. It works to reduce hunger by providing hands-on assistance and by shifting the focus from groups to individuals. Action Against Hunger believes that world hunger can be reduced by focusing efforts on mothers in developing countries. One of its goals is to educate women to accurately diagnose hunger needs and assist in reducing malnutrition. Action Against Hunger has won numerous awards and has been the leading force against hunger for approximately forty years.

Relief International

Relief International is an international organization that works in 19 countries to prevent human suffering. It is one of the lesser known humanitarian organizations and focuses on implementing the RI Way, a method used by the organization to encourage communities to discuss solutions for current situations. The group then assists in implementing the solutions. Its method is to deliver immediate access to basic resources like money, food, water and medication. Relief International also remains until a long-term solution has been established as a success. The aim is community-based, so individuals within the community are thinking of the best solutions for their group instead of accepting existing solutions that may not work.

Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders is a volunteer-based humanitarian organization that focuses on delivering medical care where necessary around the world. While it is a large organization, Doctors Without Borders is one of the lesser-known humanitarian organizations because it rarely uses the media as a means of promoting itself. The organization does not receive funding from the U.S. government in an effort to remain impartial and independent in times of crisis. Doctors Without Borders treats many medical issues from stitching up a cut to providing emergency services to treat HIV/AIDS, malaria, meningitis and more. The group also teaches medical education to ensure safety standards are maintained when it leaves.

There are many lesser-known humanitarian organizations outside the media’s influence that are worthy of donations and assistance. More widespread focus on certain issues and attacking the same problem from different angles may just be the way to reduce global poverty.

– Kayleigh Mattoon
Photo: Flickr

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Women’s Empowerment in India: The Fight for Gender Equality

Women's Empowerment in India
We live in a world of gender inequality. Every country experiences it, and India is no exception. India is a country dominated by men, where women have significantly less opportunities; as a result of this disparity, Global Vision International created a campaign called the Women’s Empowerment Project to work with disadvantaged women to close the gender inequality gap.

By supporting these women gain access to employment, education and health care, GVI hopes to eliminate women’s oppression in a country so focused on men.

Women in India

In India, women are born into a society that is designed to have less opportunity for women. Although this population faces many challenges, there have been numerous changes to their situation over the past few decades. While the country has grown in aspects, there are certain areas where women are still lacking support. One of these is education.

Education in India

Around 82 percent of adult men in India are educated, and only 65 percent of women are known to be literate. This creates even more gender inequality — if a woman is married, and hasn’t had the opportunity to access any sort of education, she must rely on her husband. This doesn’t leave very much room for independence. Thankfully, there are a few organizations fighting for women’s empowerment in India.

Progress for Women

Along with Global Vision International’s Women’s Empowerment Project, The United Nations Development Program has created eight Millennium Development Goals, the third of which is directly related to women’s empowerment in India. The goal is to eliminate gender inequality in education on both the primary and secondary levels.

The government of India has made many changes over the past several decades. Since 1956, many laws have been passed that provide women with increased opportunities and independence. India recognizes that when women are empowered, the whole of society benefits. Some recent government acts include the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005, and the Hindu Succession Amendment, ensuring that women get an equal share in ancestral property.

Women’s empowerment in India has come a long way, with the support of many organizations, and the passing of laws that protect women. Women’s empowerment starts with eradicating poverty at the core, protecting women from violence and domestic abuse, and providing adequate education and job opportunities.

Organizational Support

Working alongside of the aforementioned organizations is a department of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, called The Ministry for Women and Child Development. This department was established specifically to formulate plans and provide health and safety for the women of India.

With so many organizations fighting for gender equality and women’s empowerment in India, the country has grown leaps and bounds from its former ways. Women are no longer oppressed and forced to live in the shadow of the men around them as often. Women are now able to work where they want, access higher education and thrive in their independence.

For a country that has given men opportunities for so long, India is now making long overdue strides towards eliminating gender inequality. A cohesive society starts with providing the same opportunities to everyone regardless of gender, and India is showing that change is possible.

– Allisa Rumreich
Photo: Flickr

Sustainable Economic Growth in India in the Face of Climate Change

Sustainable Economic Growth in India in the Face of Climate Change
Hotter temperatures, more frequent monsoons, droughts and climate refugees: these are all predicted to occur in the years to come in India because of climate change. Luckily, it remains possible for sustainable economic growth in India to occur.

India and Climate Change

India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. In many ways, however, it is unsustainable and promotes the use of fossil fuels. The research that the Binzagr Institute on Sustainable Prosperity carries out is trying to change this model, and promotes sustainable economic growth which could help local communities in India grow and thrive! Their motto — People, Planet and Prosperity — aims to expand the world to think about more than the bottom line and GDP.

Check out the list below to see three ways that economic growth in India can happen while saving the planet:

  1. Locally-oriented economies could revolutionize the way capitalism operates throughout the globe. The goal is to move from a global-centric, export-oriented model to a more local way of encouraging communities to thrive especially when many members of the labor market depend on agriculture in rural areas. Instead of building foreign factories and paying employees lower than a living wage, focusing on community development is key to ensuring that development, prosperity and sustainable economic growth are promoted in India.
  2. Aquaponics is an agricultural model that combines plant and fish production to create a symbiotic relationship through fish waste and water so as to provide plants with nutrients. The plants use these ingredients to grow and flourish, then release clean water back to the fish. The process is completely sustainable, and provides food for local communities without requiring any soil. By instating this technology, India will fight climate change and spur sustainable economic growth and development in India. This method would also also enable the allocation of fertile land. Just as leafy greens can be grown using the aquaponics system, fertile land can be used to prioritize agricultural products, such as livestock, fruits and grains.
  3. In addition to the above solutions, we must change the world’s mindset about how to measure prosperity. Currently, we use the standard GDP model, but GDP growth does not always mean positive growth. An oil spill will increase GDP because more work is being done to fix the problem — people and businesses are indeed hired, but is this really a positive contribution to citizens’ quality of life? The Binzagr Institute is working on a new way to define growth that takes out negative impacts on people’s quality of life as a contribution to ‘growth.’  This will encourage and support the ideas proposed above.

Hopeful Solutions

As we can see, while there are a lot of problems facing this world, there are solutions developing that can rectify the situation of poverty in India and hopefully prevent the disastrous effects of climate change that could have dire consequences for India’s impoverished. Sustainable economic growth in India can be promoted through the implementation of these strategies.

– Jilly Fox
Photo: Flickr

Initiatives Against Drug Cartels in Latin America

Initiatives Against Drug Cartels in Latin America
Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia’s president, says that a global problem requires a global solution. One problem in need of a solution for more than 40 years is drug cartels in Latin America.

The Problem of Drug Cartels in Latin America

Because of drug cartels in Latin America, especially around South America, thousands have been killed in Colombia, Mexico and other areas where cartels are deep-rooted in society. Santos is urging countries to rethink their strategies because the human cost is too high, despite current efforts. The drug business also hurts consumers and the environment as land is deforested in order to plant cocoa, which supplies cocaine.

The largest drug cartels in Mexico — the Zetas and Sinaloa cartels — control most illegal drug trades from South America to the U.S. Usually, cocaine is imported from South America then smuggled to the U.S. Some groups also traffic marijuana and methamphetamines. Cartels are also involved with extorting local businesses, kidnapping for ransom, prostitution rings, intimidation and murder.

There is a shared responsibility among the international community to reduce both supply and demand for drugs. Some substantial initiatives have been employed to combat drug cartels in Latin America by Mexico, Guatemala and the European Union.

Cutting Drug Demand with Social Programs

Pena Nieto, the President of Mexico, promised in 2013 that $9.2 billion would be invested in social programs to alleviate crime by tackling its root causes, instead of following a policy of force. These initiatives consist of improving health and social services, roads, parks, lighting, and job opportunities for mothers. School hours also increased in an effort to keep the youth occupied and away from gang activity.

Waging War on Drugs

Mexico’s army has been deployed to arrest members of cartel kingpins. The Institutional Revolutionary Party is the ruling party, headed by Pena Nieto, and has rebranded itself into a modern force focusing on economic growth, poverty reduction and tackling drug-related violence. Under the current governance, crime and violence are usually dealt with at a local level. Exceptional cases include the severe violence occurring in Michoacán, where the President resorted to sending troops to back up the federal police forces. Vigilante groups are allowed to keep their own weapons when they agree to integrate into the official security forces.

Decriminalizing Drugs

Otto Pérez Molina, Guatemala’s president, proposed the method of regional decriminalization on growing drug trades. This effort could slim down profits obtained by the cartels from illegal drug trades in the black market, therefore crippling the drug business for brutal cartels.

Colombia adopted a similar approach by switching from the usual hard-line policies to the softer decriminalization method. Colombia hosted the 2012 Cartagena Summit of the Americas, which focused on decriminalizing drugs and expanded coordination between countries in combating drug calamity.

International Cooperation on Crime

Crimjust, a joint initiative implemented by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, is funded by the European Union. It was established to counter organized crime and drug trafficking through international cooperation. In 2016, Central American and South American countries like Panama and Colombia became one of the first few countries to join Crimjust in order to enhance their own national capacities to counter drug and illicit trafficking. The 2016-2020 program is expected to specifically strengthen investigations and criminal justice cooperation along the cocaine route in Latin America, the Caribbean and West Africa. Through Crimjust, the international efficacy in combating drug cartels in Latin America has been amplified.

– Heulwen Leung
Photo: Google

Top 10 Facts About Poverty in Guangzhou, Guangdong

Poverty in Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Guangdong province’s capital and the third largest city in China, is known as the factory of the world. Skyscrapers and trade fairs bring beauty to the city as Guangzhou edges out competitive cities and sets itself up to become China’s technology leader by 2020.

Guangzhou wasn’t always this successful; in fact, it was once a rural area of China where poverty hit hard. As a matter of fact, all of China was once recognized as one of the poorest countries in the world to live in, and the city of Guangzhou wasn’t exempt to this status. To understand the evolution of poverty in Guangzhou, one should examine poverty in China as a whole. Let’s discuss the top 10 facts about poverty in Guangzhou.

Top 10 Facts about Poverty in Guangzhou

  1. The majority of the empty-nest senior citizens live in poverty in Guangzhou. Seventy percent of them are females between the ages of 50 and 60 as well as over the age 70.
  2. Homelessness is a byproduct of poverty; 2.41 million people are homeless in Guangzhou, with a majority of them being male.
  3. There are an estimated 138 “urban villages” (slums) in Guangzhou where a large majority of the poor reside. Most of the residents are migrants, farmers who’ve lost their land and other impoverished groups. Guangzhou has garnered the nickname ‘Slum City’ due to these populations.
  4. There are currently one million children fending for themselves in China. According to a study done by the Guangzhou Children Protection Center, 48 percent of the children living alone on the streets are children running away from poverty-related family problems and abuse.
  5. Poverty plays a large part in the education gap between rural and urban children. In fact, 60 percent of students in rural China fail to continue their education past high school. Guangzhou made attempts at education reform, but the impact has not been sustainable for kids in rural areas. There are still more than 60 million children left behind in rural schools.
  6. In 2016, parasitic diseases of poverty hit mainland China, with a high rate of infections occurring in expectant mothers and children. Cancer patients and individuals who possessed compromised immune systems were infected by water-borne diseases like toxoplasmosis and giardiasis. In Guangzhou, people are encouraged to drink bottled water to protect themselves from health risks such as these.
  7. Of the 1.37 billion people living in China, 56 million are people living in poverty in rural areas; 2.8 million people live in rural areas of Guangzhou.
  8. Guangzhou called for a limit to its population growth by 2020 as overpopulation is one of the leading causes of poverty in rural areas. In the late 1980s, China instituted the one-child policy to regulate population growth in the country with hopes of stabilizing the economy. Due to this legislation, 400 million births were claimed to have been averted.
  9. Since the 1980s, 800 million people have risen from poverty in China. This decrease in impoverished individuals is due to the country investing in its economy by training its people for skill and knowledge-based sectors. Despite its growing population, Guangzhou currently has one of the fastest growing economies with labor demands supplying jobs to impoverished people in rural areas as well as migrants.
  10. The extreme poverty rate in China is set to fall below one percent by the close of 2018 through sustainable development efforts. Guangzhou is on track to do its part, as it is considered a unique economic development area in China, specializing in transportation, industrialism and trade.

Steps Towards Poverty Alleviation

China as a whole has made significant strides in ending poverty. Once one of the poorest countries on the globe, with more than 500 million people living in poverty, China has found ways to eradicate this debilitating occurrence.

With Guangzhou as the epicenter of trade and economic development, China is now on track to meet its target—less than one percent living in impoverishment. A decrease in poverty in Guangzhou should follow suit, but only will time will tell.

– Naomi C. Kellogg
Photo: Flickr

UNICEF Innovation Fund: Frontier Technology for Education

UNICEF Innovation Fund
UNICEF’s Innovation Fund is a newly established, non-thematic, pooled fund which has been specifically designed to finance early stage, open-source technology that benefits children. When companies are considered for funding, three core areas are the focus:

  • Products for Youth
  • Real-Time Information
  • Infrastructure

UNICEF’s Innovation Fund

UNICEF started its Innovation Fund back in 2016, and raised millions of dollars in the hopes of expanding technology for education for children of poverty across the globe. The Fund offers innovators in developing countries a pooled funding mechanism to help them take their tested projects to the next stage.

The Innovation Fund allows UNICEF to quickly assess, fund and grow open-source solutions that can improve children’s lives. Financial and technological support is available for companies using technology for education in innovative ways to improve the world. The Fund has made 57 investments in 33 countries, totaling $3.9 million in investments. UNICEF has set a goal to invest in 30 more start-ups in 2018. To date, the Innovation Fund has already invested in twelve companies since the start of 2018, with six in April alone.

Pixframe

The first three newest companies under the Products for Youth are Pixframe, Teliportme and Suzhou Crenovator Lab Corp. The last three newest companies funded under Real-time Information are Datawheel Chile, Thinking Machines and Dymaxion Labs.

Pixframe is a Mexico-based company developing a software platform leveraging games-based learning technology for education called Towi. This software strengthens children’s cognitive skills across different areas including memory and attention. The system evaluates children’s skills through a series of activities, which are then analyzed to develop personalized training paths.

Children with disabilities in countries like Mexico face particular challenges as schools’ capacities to diagnose and treat learning disabilities are limited. Towi test can be applied to a group of students simultaneously, without specialized supervision and in just one session, paving the way for a greater scale of disability care.

Teliportme and Suzhou Crenovator Lab Corp

Teliportme, based in India, uses WebVR technology for education by creating immersive and enhanced experiences for children. Immersive education has proven to help children understand concepts faster, while learning about and experiencing things what would not have been otherwise achieved. VR experiences can provide a new way of learning topics and making them more exciting and immersive.

Suzhou Crenovator Lab Corp is a Chinese company that uses a mobile application, called VRMaker, for Android-based phones which enables children to think, design and create content for VR devices.

The visual programming technology for education is specifically designed with a variety of digital assets that can be used to create everything from stories to education content and games. Children can express themselves with pictures and sound in a virtual world, with links to creating virtual reality stories.

Datawheel Chile

Datawheel Chile is developing a country-wide fully integrated solutions and data visualization engine that merges, optimizes and integrates multiple data sets and streams from multiple official sources, to empower decision makers to make better informed decisions. This technology for educations expands past the classroom and into the community.

Traditional data distribution efforts fail to visualize and deliver data in an integrated manner. Datawheel provides useful insights for the design and evaluation of education, childhood and youth policies. It will also help local governments make informed decisions and monitor key indicators.

Thinking Machines and Dymaxion Labs

Thinking Machines is a Philippines-based company that encompasses a software framework that leverages Natural Language Processing techniques. The software accurately matches huge numbers of records across data silos. In 2016, Thinking Machines was able to link three different Philippine government databases and accurately match records in a fraction of the manual time.

Dymaxion Labs in Argentina addresses the growth of informal settlements in Latin America. These settlements often do not have critical public services such as sanitation and thus result in health and environmental hazards, especially for children.

Census data collection makes it difficult to monitor the growth of such settlements since it is conducted every 10 years (on average).Dymaxion Labs’ solution is also useful for rapid response when strong climate events and humanitarian crises occur in risky zones. It could also be used to monitor population spread and changes as a result.

Through its investments, the Innovation Fund generates value by strengthening communities of problem-solvers, increasing open source intellectual property and growing technology for education to bring results for children.

– Richard Zarrilli
Photo: Flickr

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8 Global Issue Topics for Essays and Research Papers

8 Global Issue Topics for Essays and Research Papers
Today, people are starting to become active participants in the fight against global issues and as a result, progress is being made. However, there are still individuals unaware of pressing issues around them. One way of bringing these people up-to-date would be through the use of essays or research. Here are 10 global issue topics for essays and research papers.

10 Global Issue Topics for Essays and Research

  1. Water Contamination and Shortage: 2.1 billion people in countries undergoing urbanization have inaccessibility to clean drinking water as a result of pollution, poverty and poor management of resources. Water resources are depleted by agriculture and industry energy production. To put into perspective, agriculture accounts for 70 percent of the reduction of water around the world, with 75 percent of a given countries’ water used for this purpose and depleted by contamination. Fortunately, there has been a recent increase in efforts to develop technology to combat contamination and reduce the rate of water depletion.
  2. The Relationship between Education and Child Labor: Despite a surge in funding for some countries and increasing attention through social media, education continues to be a luxury around the globe. Reasons include gender preferences and poverty, and child labor — the use of children in industry. According to UNICEF, 150 million children participate in laborious activities dangerous to their health. As one can imagine, this work hinders a child’s ability to fully invest in education. Therefore it’s most challenging to bring education to sub-Saharan Africa, where the rates of children enrolled in primary education continue to stagger. In addition, fewer students successfully complete secondary education here.
  3. Violence: Violence is a global issue that exists in all shapes and sizes. Violence can be done towards a particular group like women or LGBTQ+ members, or it is an act that can be a result of a mentally disturbed mind. There is also violence in response to economic stress. All these varying forms of violence lead to attention on the safety and prevention of such acts. However, there isn’t much consideration on how an everyday person can help. In discussions about violence, the biggest questions to answer are: How is this violence used? How is it achieved/accessed? Does the media have a role? How much is the foundation for a particular act of violence is personal? What is the overall goal?
  4. Poverty: In 2015, the International Poverty Line was set to $1.90. This number means that a person is living in extreme poverty if they live below this line. According to this set line, more than 1.3 billion people are living in this extreme worldwide. This fact suggests that 1.3 billion people have difficulty obtaining food and shelter, regardless of the availability of homeless shelters and organizations. Current questions or topics to explore in an essay or research would be the cause of variation in wages on the international level, and the nature and initiatives that can be taken to solve this global issue at large.
  5. Inequality: On a global scale, the focus on inequality tends to be in terms of the distribution of wealth. According to a Global Wealth Report, 44 percent of global net worth is held by only 0.7 percent of adults. This suggests that there is a significant division between economic classes around the world. Recently, research has shown the effects that this economic divide has on communities particularly in health, social relationships, development and stability. For example, in a society where there’s a large gap between the rich and the poor, life expectancy tends to be shorter and mental illness and obesity rates are 2 to 4 times higher. In terms of social relationships, inequality on a larger level introduces more violence and crime.
  6. Terrorism: Terrorism like the bombing incidents of the last few years continue to claim the lives of innocents. It is a threat to the peace, security and stability of the world, so terrorism prevention methods have been implemented to illustrate what is wrong and should be/could be done to uphold justice. However, the basis of the threats, mindsets and the successes/failures of response efforts still need to be evaluated.
  7. Child Marriages: Child marriages are defined as the union between one or two individuals under the age of 18. One in five girls are married before the age of 18, and child marriages prevent children from becoming educated, can lead to severe health consequences and increased risk of violence. Legislation and programs were established in order to educate and employ children in these situations as child marriages do not have enough awareness on individual involvement or emphasis on the common causes for these marriages.
  8. Food: Poverty, economic inequality and water contamination mean inability to produce sufficient amounts of food to sustain a population. This can, in turn, lead to poorer health and decreased energy to carry out physical and mental functions, leading to more poverty. By 2050, the world would need to find food for approximately nine billion people as cost of production for food will rise in response to the increased amount of individuals. Thus, the United Nations established programs to ensure food security and technology companies make efforts to reduce food production costs.

The Role of Essays and Research

There has been increasing progress towards solving the global issues; however, for some, this progress is too slow due to lack of understanding of preventative methods, diffusion of responsibility and unanswered questions. These global issue topics for essays and research papers can be used as a starting point to give more insight to others into the issues and how to get involved.

– Stephanie Singh
Photo: Flickr

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Understanding What UNICEF Stands for and Why

What UNICEF Stands For
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is a program dedicated to providing developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries as well as supporting humanitarian efforts globally. UNICEF operates in over 190 countries in an effort to protect and save children’s lives.

How UNICEF Works

UNICEF receives its funding through donations from government entities around the globe as well as private donors. Of these funds, government entities are responsible for two-thirds of the organization’s resources. UNICEF stands for transparency. It reports that of the donations it receives, nearly 92 percent is distributed to relief programs.

UNICEF was founded in 1946 in an effort to help war-torn children in the many countries affected by World War II. In 1953, UNICEF dropped the words International and Emergency from its title in an effort to extend its reach to children in need in developing countries.

What UNICEF Stands For

Today, in cooperation with governments and NGOs, UNICEF stands for providing health care to children, promoting children’s rights and providing immunizations, adequate nutrition, safe food and water as well as basic education. UNICEF’s ultimate goal is to ensure that no child ever goes hungry, thirsty, dies prematurely or is bought, sold or otherwise victimized. In order to achieve this, UNICEF works with families in need and helps ensure adoption policies are in accordance with the best and most ethical practices today.

UNICEF stands for transparency in the nonprofit sector. It receives high praises from many watchdogs for its monetary transparency policies. Of every dollar spent, 90 cents go to children’s efforts, seven cents go toward fundraising efforts and three cents go toward overhead and administrative costs. As well as being transparent, UNICEF excels at working with other agencies and private businesses to fight for children’s rights.

UNICEF’s Partnership with Google

UNICEF works with companies like Google to respond to emergencies such as earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters. Most recently, UNICEF has worked with Google to help aid children and families affected by hurricanes in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

As well as emergency aid, UNICEF and Google collaborate to support the annual flu shot campaign provided by UNICEF. This collaboration has raised over $600,000 toward UNICEF’s immunization program.

In 2016, Google helped UNICEF by donating $1 million to help fight the spread of the Zika virus. Google worked with UNICEF to build a program which tracked the anticipated outbreak of the virus and developed technology that is applicable to not only the Zika virus but other virus outbreaks in the future. With Google’s help, UNICEF helped prevent the spread of the Zika virus and saved the lives of many children and families around the world.

UNICEF is a program with the noble intentions of promoting children’s health and happiness around the globe. Many of the programs provided by UNICEF have helped greatly in reducing the abuse of children in over 190 countries. With its clear mission of transparency, UNICEF succeeds in providing aid to children and families in need. With the help of NGOs and companies like Google, UNICEF is set to continue its story of success in the future.

– Dalton Westfall

Photo: Flickr

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How Japan’s Foreign Policy Solves Global Poverty Problems

Japan’s foreign policy
Japan has an advanced transportation system, outstanding outcomes in the field of technology research and a matured business development model. As the world’s third-largest economy, Japan has been expanding its foreign policies to aid developing countries and boosts the global economy.

From Japan’s international cooperation on Pandemic Influenza to NERICA (New Rice For Africa), Japan plays an essential role in solving urgent and consistent poverty issues. Its foreign policies promote the progress of eliminating poverty worldwide. There are three cases of how Japan’s foreign policy solves global poverty problems.

Examples of Japan’s Foreign Policy

  1. NERICA: Food shortage is a continuous problem in Africa. The main reason is low production field. NERICA stands for New Rice for Africa. The Japanese government cooperated with the Africa Rice Center to introduce this program in 1992. This program is applied extensively in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).The Africa Rice Center cooperated with its partners to produce interspecific hybridization, which can combine advantages of two species to increase the yield of rice. In the meantime, the interspecific grains have better ability to tolerate drought, pest and disease. These grains have higher nutrition as well. Japan has adopted various plans to apply different irrigated rice production technology in Tanzania since the 1970s, which has boosted the yield of rice to three times larger than the national average.In 2014, the total production of milled rice in Uganda was 154,050 metric tonnes, but the consumption rate was 215,707 metric tonnes. NERICA plays a vital role to ameliorate the Ugandan food shortage problem by increasing rice varieties. Most farmers are planting NERICA rice because its mature time is shorter, the yield is higher and it is more tolerant to drought and viruses. For example, NERICA 6 is immune to Yellow Mortal Virus and NERICA 1 only takes 100 days to mature.NERICA is a typical example of how Japan’s foreign policy solves global poverty problems. It ameliorates African food shortage problems efficiently and provides an alternative way for people in SSA to access higher-nutrition and larger-yielding grains.
  2. STI: In September 2015, the U.N. Sustainable Development Summit adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 2030 Agenda lists 17 goals to eliminate global poverty issues in sustainable ways. Japan continuously contributes itself to achieve the 2030 Agenda.Japan has abundant human resources and advanced technology. It can help reach the agenda through STI, which stands for science, technology and innovation. STI can contribute to boosting development by using limited sources.Japan will contribute its extensive database, which covers from the ocean up to space, to facilitate the efficiency of international cooperation. In addition, Japan will facilitate people-centered development by offering consistent assistance in areas of information and communications technology, research and development, industrial human resources development and vocational training.In 2015, the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation was established to solve social issues and boost economic growth. The Japanese government will spend $1.8 billion on STI in the next three years mainly on high technology development which has international benefits.For example, outbreak alert innovation can reinforce surveillance of infectious diseases, and mobile innovation can facilitate the urban transportation system by using wireless communication for extension of green light. STI acts as a “bridging force” to connect Japan with the globe by assisting technology training processes and sharing developing STI experiences.
  3. Infrastructure Aid: Japan has consistently been sharing its sources on infrastructure building with other countries. For example, in September 2017, Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail was launched when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited India. This high-speed railway corridor stretches from Ahmedabad to Mumbai, which is a total of 508.17 km.This project is the symbol of cooperation between Japan and India. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered $12 billion in loans to build India’s first bullet train. In the meantime, the Japanese government agreed to bear 80 percent of the total project cost when Prime Minister Abe visited India in September of 2017. Assisting in building infrastructure is another way Japan’s foreign policy solves global poverty problems.

Overall, Japan’s foreign policy helps solve global poverty by sharing resources and advanced technology. For Latin America, Japan will promote its development by improving trade and investment to create a more comprehensive environment for economic growth. For the Middle East, Japan works on overcoming peace-building and human resources development, as well as a sustainable and stable energy supply. Japan’s foreign policy solves global poverty problems through science, technology and innovation.

– Judy Lu
Photo: Flickr