Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

How the Media Misrepresents Colombia

ColombiaEver since the rise of drug lord Pablo Escobar in the 1980s, Colombia has been an easy target for negative media portrayals and has been susceptible to misrepresentation. Movies and TV shows provide the best examples of how the media misrepresents Colombia, because they often show the country as a war zone filled with drugs.

Although this may have been true at one time, it is no longer the case, and the media’s depiction of the past should not be mistaken for the present state of the country.

How the Media Misrepresents Colombia: Drug Lords and Cocaine

Hollywood has portrayed the lavish life of Colombian cartel leaders and the danger of Colombian guerrilla groups for many years; however, the Netflix show Narcos, which is a great example of how the media misrepresents Colombia, has recently brought more attention to the country’s dark past and has sparked an interest in Pablo Escobar, along with the Cali and Medellin cartels. The show now attracts more than three million viewers.

Pablo Escobar’s son, Sebastian Marroquin, has spoken out against Narcos for glorying his father’s crimes. “Series about narcos have turned my father into a hero and given young people the idea that it is cool to be a drug trafficker. I am not against telling stories, but I am against glorifying criminals and showing trafficking as glamorous,” he told El Periodico.

When an advertisement for Narcos was displayed in Madrid’s central square, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos spoke out against the show in a radio interview by saying, “we Colombians lived the drama of Pablo Escobar and that suffering still hurts. Escobar should not be held up as a hero and honoring [him] goes against everything that is right.”

In addition to shows about Pablo Escobar, the American media widely covers the activity in drug-producing countries like Colombia; however, the abundant supply of drugs only continues if it is met by a demand for drugs in first world countries. Many of the people producing coca leaves are farmers looking to put food on the table for their families.

It is true that Colombia produces the majority of the world’s cocaine, but if people around the world were not consuming it, the supply may not have continued for this long. For instance, in a Washington Post article that covers cocaine use in the United States, the author places blame on Colombia’s producers and smugglers, yet only speaks of the consumer briefly by stating the rise in consumption and wraps it up by saying, “This surge in consumption can be traced directly to Colombia’s bumper harvest,” instead of further analyzing other factors that could result in an increase in American drug consumption.

The Reality: Peace and Development

A lot of good things are happening in Colombia, but the media ignores these events because they are not as exciting or dramatic as the war on drugs. A new era is here for the Colombian people and it deserves as much coverage as the war.

In 2016, the famous Colombia Peace Treaty put an end to a 52-year war between Colombia’s Armed Revolutionary Forces and the government. Additionally, the government is also carrying out negotiations with ELN, another armed guerrilla group which has caused violence in the country for decades. This led to President Santos being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016.

The newly gained political and economic stability has opened up the country for business. The poverty rate in the country has fallen from 20 percent in 2001 to 4.5 percent in 2016. According to the World Bank’s 2017 ease of doing business report, Colombia ranks 53rd out of 190 countries, ranking only below Mexico in Latin America. Additionally, the country seems to be moving forward with technological development. In 2012, Medellin was named the innovative city of the year.

Safety

This is one of the common themes in how the media misrepresents Colombia. While it would be incorrect to claim there are no drugs or conflicts in Colombia, it is also incorrect to claim that cartels are operating at the same scale as they were in the 1980s and 1990s. The Medellin and Cali cartels were dismantled when the Colombian government, along with the U.S. government and DEA, carried out the assassination or incarceration of their leaders.

Although drug production continues, a violent drug empire that attempts to control the government, such as Pablo Escobar’s, no longer exists. Even though Colombia was considered a fragile state for years after Escobar’s death, ranking 14th in the 2005 Fragile State Index, it has now fallen to 71st in 2018. Colombia’s safety has improved greatly in the past 20 years.

As of January 2018, the U.S. Department of State has upgraded Colombia to a Level 2 country for travel after being considered a Level 3 country for many years. This means that instead of being a country that Americans should reconsider traveling to, it is now considered a country that can be visited with reasonable caution. Additionally, the New York Times has named Colombia as one of the top places to visit in 2018.

The media represents Colombia as it was in the 1980s and fails to report on the many changes that the country has undergone since this tragic time. The Colombian people are ready for a new chapter in their nation’s history and the media should accurately represent their efforts to close the chapter on war and drug trafficking and beginning an era of peace and stability.

– Luz Solano-Flórez

Photo: Flickr

Methods to Combat Credit Access in Benin

Credit Access in BeninCredit access in Benin is a complicated issue that activists, governmental organizations and foreign aid groups have been working to improve for several years. 

Development Credit Authority

There are a few different ways that organizations have approached the issue. One method, incorporated by the U.S. Agency for International Affairs (USAID), involves improving Development Credit Authority (DCA). The program is designed to allow residents to apply their credit to projects for improving health and agriculture.

Through DCA, more than 500 guarantees have been made with USAID by financial institutions. These have resulted in up to $4.8 billion in private financing, creating opportunities for more than 245,000 entrepreneurs worldwide.

The Microcredit Program

Credit access in Benin is an issue that the local government attempted to solve as well. In 2007, the governmental set up the Microcredit Program, which allowed people to take out loans for individual success and enterprises. It was designed to improve credit access across the country.

Credit access can affect poverty rates as well, giving people a chance to start new. Loans majorly affect a person’s ability to be successful and achieve personal goals.

Credit Access in Benin for Women

The World Bank recognizes in an overview of Benin’s finances that poverty in the country has a history of being unequal between genders. Women are more vulnerable and have fewer economic opportunities despite a lower poverty rate. Female-led households in poverty are at 28 percent in the country, while male-headed homes are higher at 38 percent. 

Economic opportunities such as the opportunity to participate in personal economic goals or business endeavors can be improved by credit, increasing the accessibility of economic opportunity for women.

Risks to Credit Institutions

Despite foreign aid efforts and the government working to improve credit access in Benin, the issue is still a complicated one and improvement is difficult due to the way that credit has been established in the country.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), several risk factors are present regarding the way credit institutions have been established and overseen in Benin. Government involvement, government bonds and the shallow financial market are risks to the success of the banking system and credit access in Benin. According to IMF, “The recent government plan not to pay back short-term bank loans, but to issue long-term bonds instead would not only deepen banks’ exposure to sovereign risk but also aggravate liquidity risks due to a sharp change in the maturity structure of the affected banks’ portfolio.”

As the government works to improve the credit system and the management of government loans and bonds, credit access in Benin may change. USAID and other groups will continue to look for ways to improve credit access in Benin. The DCA program is only one way activists are working on improving the issue and financial analysis from organizations such as the World Bank and the IMF will be useful going forward for people looking to make a change.

– Gabriella Evans

Photo: Flickr

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The Merits of a Focus on Children in Extreme Poverty

The Merits of a Focus on Children in Extreme PovertyChildren are the world’s future. This phrase is often uttered, yet across the globe it is rarely enforced. Children in extreme poverty are affected differently than adults. Between inadequate nutrition, exposure to stress and a lack of early stimulation and learning, the disadvantages of growing up in poverty last a lifetime.

Consequences such as stunted development, low levels of skills needed for life and work, limited future productivity as adults and the generational cycle of poverty inhibit change in children living in poverty. These consequences are especially heinous because they debilitate the global human capital needed to grow and sustain economic prosperity.

Report Details Extent of Children in Extreme Poverty

Based on data from 89 countries representing 84 percent of the developing world’s population, UNICEF and The World Bank Group estimated that 385 million children were living in extremely poor households in 2013. Children are more than twice as likely to be living in households in extreme poverty. Roughly 19 percent of children in extreme poverty are estimated to be living on less than $1.90 a day, compared to an estimated 9 percent of adults.

The World Bank Group and UNICEF researchers conducted a comprehensive range of tests to check if changing these assumptions would affect their results. They tested their findings against realistic large and small economies of scale, as well as a range of realistic ratios comparing children’s consumption to adults’. In all cases, children still emerged with higher poverty rates across developing countries.

The World Bank Group is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world as the world’s largest funder of education, the largest external financier of the fight against HIV/AIDS and the largest international financier of biodiversity projects, water supply and sanitation projects.

UNICEF promotes the rights and well-being of every child. With work in 190 countries and territories, UNICEF translates that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children to the benefit of all children in extreme poverty.

Recommendations for Governments to Help Children in Extreme Poverty

Together, UNICEF and The World Bank Group have established partnerships with governments across the globe to address child poverty and to promote a range of cross-sector investments in the early years of life. Their goal is to end extreme poverty by 2030. This vision is central to the work of the World Bank Group and UNICEF. The two organizations are calling on governments to focus on four main areas to combat extreme poverty:

  • Ensure that the number of children in extreme poverty is routinely measured and addressed at the national level as countries work towards both ending extreme poverty by 2030 and improving the well-being of their poorest citizens.
  • Make deliberate policy decisions that ensure a country’s economic growth benefits all of its citizens, including making sure children are fully considered in poverty reduction plans.
  • Strengthen child-sensitive social protection systems, including cash transfer programs that give direct payments to families to help lift children out of poverty and protect them from its impacts.
  • Prioritize investments in education, health, nutrition, clean water, sanitation and infrastructure that benefit the poorest children and prevent people from falling back into poverty after setbacks like droughts, disease or economic instability.

Addressing these multidimensional aspects of children in extreme poverty is crucial. In the face of a global economic slowdown, ending extreme child poverty by 2030 will not be easy. However, change is possible.

– Richard Zarrilli

Photo: Flickr

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What You Might Not Know: Facts About Refugees

The recent use of chemical weapons in Syria has once again brought attention to the country and its citizens, those remaining within Syrian territory and facts about refugees who have been forced to flee. The conflict in Syria has created an unprecedented amount of refugees, the largest number on record. The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees defines a refugee as “any person forced to flee from their country by violence or persecution.”

The journey of the refugee is riddled with uncertainty. The person is forced to leave their home and become an asylum seeker. The asylum seeker enters a foreign state in search of refugee status. For many asylum seekers, the journey is perilous. Traditional and safe forms of transportation across state boundaries are rare. For Syrians hoping to make landfall in Europe or Libya, options were limited and sea voyages were often part of the journey.

The lack of adequate vessels and safety equipment led gave way to unfortunately high mortality rates on the sea. The images emerging from the shores of Greece, Turkey and Libya capture the dire situation under which this journey was made. Major media outlets have published images showing refugees tired, distressed or worse. What is missing from this seemingly hopeless narrative are the rights guaranteed to these people as global citizens.

Refugees are entitled to certain rights. These persons are entitled to security, are not to be involuntarily returned to the country from which they are fleeing and should receive the same rights as other foreign nationals. Often, the influx of large quantities of people into already fragile economies creates an environment that does not allow the refugee the living conditions and opportunities for education, work and healthcare that are called for by human rights standards.

Often the very meaning of the word refugee is misunderstood. Surrounding the issue of displaced persons are numerous misconceptions and the facts are lost in assumptions. In hopes of clarity and dissuading any misconceptions about who refugees are, here are some facts about refugees:

Facts About Refugees

  • Around 65 million people are displaced currently; this number accounts for refugees living inside and outside the country where they are facing persecution.
  • More than half of refugees are produced by only three countries: Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan.
  • More than half of the refugees around the world are under the age of 18. These children are five times less likely to be enrolled in school.
  • Lack of economic opportunity and poverty do not qualify a person as a refugee.
  • Refugee crises are far-reaching and impact almost every continent. The Middle East and North Africa is not the only region impacted by refugees.
  • The average length of displacement is more than 10 years.
  • Being granted asylum in a state does not guarantee resettlement in that state.
  • In 2016, 189,900 refugees were resettled, compared to the 22.5 million refugees that were living outside their home country.
  • African and Middle Eastern countries host more than half of all current refugees. European countries and the Americas account for a little more than 30 percent of refugees.
  • The United States accepted the largest amount of refugees in its modern history in 1980.
  • The United States Refugee Admission Ceiling in FY 2016 was 85,000 persons.

The story of the refugee cannot be easily described through numbers and statistics. The larger narrative is more complex than can be easily summarized into key facts. The numbers neglect the individual experience of the refugee. These facts about refugees not do justice to the larger issue of statelessness but rather offer a snapshot of the problems facing displaced persons and the global community.

As these facts about refugees illustrate, refugees are often subjected to living in extreme poverty due to lack of resources available in camps and the slow, bureaucratic process of resettlement. These individuals lack access to adequate healthcare, education and opportunity for economic growth. Camps intended for emergency shelter become long-term solutions. There are many organizations doing incredible work to provide food, shelter and services to displaced persons.

– Madison Shea Lamanna

Photo: Flickr

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The Story of Poverty Decline in Kenya

The Story of Poverty Decline in KenyaA December 2017 report published by the World Bank indicates that the percentage of Kenyan people living below the international poverty line has dropped significantly over the last decade. In 2005-2006, 43.6 percent of Kenyans were living on less than $1.90 per day. In 2015-2016, that number sank to 35.6 percent, a dramatic improvement.

Despite these findings, researchers maintain that it is doubtful that poverty in Kenya will be eradicated by 2030. So what exactly is behind the poverty decline in Kenya, and why will it not be enough to completely solve the problem in the future?

Infrastructure Contributes to Poverty Decline in Kenya

Since 2013, the public sector’s contribution to GDP growth has jumped from just 1.1 percent to 2.5 percent. This is largely due to ambitious projects undertaken by the Kenyatta administration, including the construction of a $24.5 billion northern trade route, the expansion of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, the creation of the Lamu Port and the modernization of major Kenyan airports. These developments have opened up new opportunities for trade throughout the region.

Beyond that, Kenya has made incredible strides in providing basic needs to its citizens over the past few years. In 2013, only 27 percent of Kenyan households had access to electricity. This number skyrocketed to 55 percent, or 5.7 million households, by the beginning of 2017. The number of Kenyan households with access to improved water sources has also climbed from just 60 percent in 2005 to nearly 72 percent in 2015. In addition, Kenya is leading the way in households with access to adequate sanitation facilities among countries with similar poverty rates. These improvements are crucial to promoting economic growth because they are the cornerstones of basic health and well-being.

Agricultural Growth Promising, But Unstable

Another factor leading to the poverty decline in Kenya is the agricultural sector. According to the report, agriculture accounted for the largest share of poverty reduction in the past decade. The agricultural sector remains the leading contributor to Kenya’s GDP, and provided a sizeable boost to the economy with an average growth of 4.1 percent between 2011 and 2015.

However, this is problematic because farming is an unreliable source of growth. The success of crops is completely controlled by weather conditions, and drought is extremely common in Africa. Kenya witnessed the devastating impacts of relying on agriculture last year when its economy took a hit due to decreased rainfall levels. This instability is one of the reasons why experts say that poverty will not be eradicated by 2030.

Private Sector Investment Needed to Continue Poverty Decline in Kenya

An additional obstacle to the poverty decline in Kenya is the deterioration of the private sector. In recent years, GDP growth from private investments has slid from 1.3 percent in 2013 to negative 0.7 percent in 2017. This is partially due to the political instability that surrounded the presidential election in 2017, which led many to see investments in Kenya as a risk because the government seemed fragile. Another claim made in the report is that the increase in government spending led to “crowding out,” the discouraging of private spending due to a rise in interest rates.

Although poverty may not be completely eradicated by 2030, it is projected to decrease at the rate of one percentage point per year if current trends continue. Though there are some major challenges to overcome in the future, the poverty decline in Kenya is a promising sign for the country’s welfare.

– Maddi Roy

Photo: Flickr

Movies, Music and Tech: How the Media Misrepresents Nigeria

How the Media Misrepresents NigeriaAs Africa’s most populous country, with roughly 186 million people, Nigeria is a driving force in Africa’s overall economy. In recent years, the country has surfaced in the mainstream Western media, mainly relating to reports about multiple terrorist attacks committed by Boko Haram as well as reports on extreme poverty in the nation. 

Due to news reports highlighting Nigeria’s plights, positive news is often overshadowed, news that sheds light on the innovation that is happening in the nation. As a result, what may not be as commonly known is how the media misrepresents Nigeria.

Planned Changes Ahead

The current president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has established a plan to fuel economic growth. The government has established the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, which address and proposes initiatives to resolve economic issues within Nigeria.

According to the plan, which includes the National Industrial Revolution Plan, the government plans to focus “on priority sectors to generate jobs, promote growth and upgrade skills to create 1.5 million jobs by 2020.” It is predicted that President Buhari’s plan is expected “to reduce unemployment from 13.9 percent as of Q3 2016 to 11.23 percent by 2020.”

The rampant reports of violence in the nation often overshadow the president’s plan to reverse economic plights and is an example of how the media misrepresents Nigeria.

The Media Misrepresents Nigeria by Ignoring Its Growing Industries

Civil conflicts have overshadowed Nigeria’s multiple booming industries that are captivating audiences abroad, and this serves as another example of how the media misrepresents Nigeria. The following industries are bringing Nigeria’s domestic talent to the limelight, creating the potential for the nation’s economy to transform dramatically over time. 

Nollywood

As of 2009, Nigeria’s film industry has grown to become the second largest film industry in the world, behind Bollywood, India’s film industry. The industry has a valuation of $3.3 billion and produced 1,844 films in 2013. As the nation continues to develop, the film industry is only expected to grow over time.

Nigeria’s Music Industry

Nigeria has a thriving music industry, with big names in music seeing success abroad. Afrobeats, as it is commonly referred to, is a niche of West African music that has made its artists into stars overseas. Even domestically, Nigeria’s music scene is a promising sector for the nation to continue to improve its economy. In 2015 alone, the nation’s music industry generated an estimated $56 million, and domestic revenues from music are expected to increase over time.

A Booming Tech Industry

Over the past few years, Nigeria has seen growth in its tech industry, with its startups becoming successful and gaining attention from big-time investors. Nigeria’s tech industry is known as Africa’s “most valuable ecosystem” and is the founding place for many notable startups, including Andela, iROKO and Flutterwave. In 2016, the nation attracted more investments than any other startup ecosystem in Africa, with $109.37 million raised from investments.

With the nation being a leader in innovation in Africa, it is expected that in the forthcoming years Nigeria will become more of a global presence, shedding more light on the great things that are happening in the nation.

 – Lois Charm

Photo: Flickr

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How the US Benefits from Foreign Aid to American Samoa

U.S. Benefits from Foreign Aid to American SamoaAmerican Samoa is a small group of islands in the Pacific Ocean south of Hawaii. As a U.S. territory, American Samoa upholds the fundamental rights of the constitution, and its citizens are considered U.S. nationals.  The territory status of American Samoa keeps it from receiving foreign aid from other developed nations as the U.S. is the only nation to send foreign aid. The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to American Samoa in many ways such as:

  1. Dedication to the reduction of carbon emissions
  2. Rebuilding coral reefs
  3. Economic growth through trade

Reduction of Carbon Emissions

The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to American Samoa as the territory works diligently to improve environmental conditions.

In January 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a total of $10.7 million to the American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency. The aid provided will go to strengthening its capacity to protect human health, the environment and vital water infrastructure. American Samoa has many projects to utilize the aid, benefiting and improving the lives of U.S. citizens as well as the U.S. nationals living on the islands.

American Samoa plans on severely reducing its carbon emissions and the emissions from diesel fuels, aiming for 100 percent renewable energy generation for the outer islands’ electric power system by 2040. In an interconnected world, the reduction of one nation’s carbon emissions can improve the air and water quality of the entire world in a global strategy for combatting climate change.

The Paris Agreement, currently supported by 175 countries, highlights the importance of every nation reducing carbon emissions. According to the U.N., carbon emissions from human activities are driving climate change which now affects every nation on the planet through: changing weather patterns, rising sea level, and the increased presence of more extreme weather events.

Health of Coral Reefs

The importance of coral reefs to the ecosystem and every human being’s quality of life cannot be understated. Often overlooked, coral reefs are responsible for protecting coastlines from flooding during tropical storms, providing vital marine life with shelter and assisting in carbon and nitrogen fixing.

The diversity of sea life is essential to the fishing industry in the United States. Many fish spawn in coral reefs. Juvenile fish spend a large portion of their time there before making their way to the open sea. Without coral reefs, the global economy would suffer huge losses of $375 billion annually from Australia to Florida.

Without the presence of thriving coral reefs, it is expected that more than 4,000 species of marine life that call the reef home face extinction. Among the multitude of species at risk are tuna, sea turtles, spiny lobsters and dolphins.

The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to American Samoa as American Samoa plans to use substantial portions of the foreign aid to revitalize these essential marine life and ocean ecosystems directly benefiting the lives of all U.S. citizens.

Economy and Trade

The economy of American Samoa is intricately linked with the U.S. economy. American Samoa conducts most of its commerce with the U.S. through imports and exports. American Samoa today is one of the world’s largest exporters of canned tuna, canned pet food and fish meal.

Home to the Chicken of the Sea and Starkist Samoa tuna canneries, American Samoa faces nearly zero tariffs when importing goods to the United States. This effectively works to keep costs low for consumers. Furthermore, American Samoa is exempt from the federal law prohibiting foreign commercial fishing vessels from offloading tuna at U.S. ports. It is estimated the tuna canning supplied to the U.S. is worth $500 million a year.

The economy of the U.S. benefits from foreign aid to American Samoa in more than just exports. American Samoa is also a consumer of U.S. goods generating $27.9 million in imports for 2016. Including American Samoa, the U.S. accounts for more than 25 percent of Samoan exports, while 10 percent of Samoa and American Samoa’s imports come from the United States.

The benefits of foreign aid are symbiotic. Through providing funds to empower American Samoa to take on environmental initiatives, grow local businesses and create valuable trade partnerships, the U.S. benefits from foreign aid to American Samoa.

– Kelilani Johnson
Photo: Flickr

Credit Access in Honduras is Steadily Improving Lives

A Look at Credit Access in HondurasMicrofinance has become an important tool for increasing credit access in Honduras for low-income people. Microfinance, or microcredit, entails banks lending small amounts of money at low interest rates. It is a great method to get loans to people living in poverty who have no credit history, little to no income, no collateral and often no education. This practice is particularly popular in the developing world.

The Current Situation

Without access to credit, savings or other basic financial services, over two billion people around the world are financially excluded. Increased credit access in Honduras and other developing countries enables poor families to earn a larger income, build their assets and cushion themselves from extra costs from external shocks like natural disasters. Poverty in Honduras is exacerbated by a consistent threat of natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes and land erosion.

In Honduras, 60 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line and the country has one of the lowest per capita incomes in Latin America. Credit access in Honduras is limited, especially in rural areas due to obstacles including high operating costs because of infrastructural deficiencies, a high level of risk due to the threat of natural disasters and a lack of flexible financial products and financial intermediaries that can cater to specific needs.

Improvements to Credit Access in Honduras

In 1989, a non-banking financial institution called FINCA was established in Honduras to provide banking services to people across the country, including loans, savings deposits, money transfer services and insurance. FINCA now has 21 branches and serves over 47,000 people in rural and urban areas of Honduras. The average loan is less than $800 and the institution’s loan portfolio amounts to over $21 million.

In 2014, the Rural Savings and Credit Union was formed in Honduras to provide these financial services in rural areas and offer flexible financial services based on individual negotiations and a deep knowledge of local communities and the businesses within those communities. Rural Savings and Credit Unions have promoted a more gender-inclusive market system, empowering women to participate in the economy to open small businesses and support their families financially. They are also sustainable and easy to replicate, ensuring a stable source of financial services to rural and poor areas in Honduras.

The Multilateral Investment Fund also approved a $200,000 technical assistance grant and a $3 million loan to the José María Covelo Foundation. The funds will allow the organization to pursue a project to improve the economic conditions of productive and entrepreneurial individuals in rural and peri-urban areas by increasing the microcredit supply in Honduras.

Real Life Results

Microcredit services like FINCA have helped increase poor people’s credit access in Honduras, enabling them to start small businesses and increase their incomes without having to go into major debt. For example,  62-year-old Consuelo Esperanza Rueda Aguilar has been able to start several businesses, from running a taxi service to selling a variety of different items ranging from cell phones to clothing to pots and pans. By utilizing FINCA’s services, Consuelo carefully invested her earnings to develop her entrepreneurial endeavors. She was also able to educate all five of her children and to buy a bigger house.

Models like FINCA and Rural Savings and Credit Unions strive to reduce poverty by increasing credit access in Honduras, providing economic opportunity for people in the most vulnerable settings and increasing economic empowerment by giving Hondurans the tools to become more financially stable.

– Sydney Lacey

Photo: Flickr

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How the US Benefits from Foreign Aid to Laos

U.S. Benefits from Foreign Aid to LaosThe United States established full diplomatic relations with Laos in 1955 following its full independence from France in 1954. After a communist government rose to power in 1975 in Laos, U.S. representation was downgraded. Full U.S.-Laos relations were restored in 1992. The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Laos by helping the country meet its development goals and improve governance, the rule of law and the global economy.

The relationship between the two countries has broadened to include cooperation on a range of issues including health, nutrition, education, environmental protection, trade liberalization, legal reform, law enforcement and English training. One of the major U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Laos is in improving health and child nutrition. A 2011 Lao government survey revealed that 44 percent of children under five are stunted due to limited access to nutritious foods and sanitation.

The Lower Mekong Initiative

Cooperation was accelerated since 2009 with the launch of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) which serves as a platform to discuss the complex transnational development and policy changes in the lower Mekong subregion. The U.S. helps to improve trade policy in Laos, promotes sustainable development and biodiversity conservation and works to strengthen the criminal justice system and law enforcement. President Obama became the first U.S. President to visit Laos in September 2016.

U.S. exports to Laos include metals, aircraft, vehicles and agricultural products. U.S. imports from Laos include apparel, inorganic chemicals, agricultural products and precious metals.

Clear Unexploded Ordnance

The U.S. is helping Laos clear unexploded ordnance (UXO) which poses a threat to people and hampers economic development. Annual casualties over the last 20 years have lowered from more than 300 to fewer than 50. The U.S. has provided significant support for the clearance of UXO from the war and in 2016, President Obama announced $90 million in UXO funding over three years during his visit.

This funding will help make sure UXO victims have better access to quality rehabilitation services, including orthotics and prosthetics to improve their lives. Since the end of the Vietnam War, both countries have worked jointly to search for and recover the remains of U.S. soldiers who were unaccounted for. So far, the remains of 273 people have been recovered and identified.

USAID will lead new initiatives including a new five-year early grade reading program that will prepare Lao students for an increasingly competitive and integrated ASEAN community. The United States through the U.S Department of Agriculture has contributed nearly $100 million over 10 years for school meal programs in Laos that allow children to concentrate on education.

The U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Laos by seeking to strengthen people-to-people ties with Laos by multiplying the connections between the young people of the two countries. With 70 percent of Laos population under 30 years old, the U.S is engaging the next generation of young leaders and sponsors the full range of U.S exchange programs for Lao citizens. Lao takes full advantage of these programs and has facilitated exchanges for more than 2,300 emerging Lao leaders.

Both the U.S and Laos are committed to begin discussions on establishing a Peace Corps country agreement. It remains to be seen how relations continue between the United States and Laos.

– Zachary Ott
Photo: Flickr

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Top Poverty in Afghanistan Facts

Poverty in Afghanistan facts
In recent memory, people often think of Afghanistan as the nation of the Taliban, who provided sanctuary to terrorists like Osama bin Laden. However, they do not tend to think about how a country falls into the grip of such extremism. Often, when poverty is widespread, terrorism and instability take hold. Poverty in Afghanistan has been a serious problem for nearly three decades, starting with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

This instability can make poverty alleviation an uphill battle. According to the World Bank’s 2017 Poverty Status Update Report regarding socioeconomic progress in Afghanistan, the 15 years of growth that the country has seen are now jeopardized by a recent rise in insecurity. The World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan, Shubham Chaudhuri, explains that with poverty rising from 36 to 39 percent of the Afghan population, there need to be reinforcements to guarantee that economic growth reaches Afghan families. For further information about the living conditions of the Afghan people, here are 10 facts about poverty in Afghanistan.

Top 10 Facts About Poverty in Afghanistan

  1. According to Aryana Aid, poverty in Afghanistan stems from two factors: “food insecurity and the lack of a social security net.” As a result, 50 percent of Afghan children are stunted and 20 percent of Afghan women of child-bearing age are underweight.
  2. Food is distributed unequally throughout the country, going mainly to areas where there is heavy fighting. This puts more strain on people in other areas and contributes to the ongoing food insecurity,
  3. Furthermore, half of the people living in both rural and urban regions have no access to clean water.
  4. The government’s strategy to address food insecurity has been to focus on adequate calorie intake, but this has left people susceptible to food price shocks, meaning they lower the quality of their diet in order to afford food.
  5. The war in Afghanistan is one of the main contributing factors to poverty; 55 to 75 percent of the Afghan population is living in poverty in the worst-hit regions, whereas as other regions have lower poverty rates.
  6. According to Center for Strategic and Regional Studies, the poverty rate in Afghanistan has remained stagnant since the outbreak of war in 2001, even with increases in foreign aid.
  7. Only 28 percent of the entire Afghan population 15 years and older is literate.
  8. Because of the lack of water and other necessities, Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate in the world.
  9. Approximately 70,792 Afghan families are taking refuge in unclean makeshift camps; 25 percent of those families have been living there for more than ten years.
  10. Unemployment is a significant challenge in relocating these and other internally displaced people, as they are reluctant to return to rural areas where there are no jobs available.

To help bring some relief to these issues, Aryana Aid has been providing food packages to the people of Afghanistan since 2009. In early 2018, USAID’s Office of Food For Peace provided $25 million to the World Food Programme; an estimated 547,000 malnourished Afghan people were provided with emergency aid from local and regional marketplaces.

The World Bank projected economic growth for Afghanistan in 2017, by 2.6 percent compared to 2.2 percent in 2016. The progression is predicted to continue in 2018 with a 3.2 percent growth, which will help cure the many problems listed on the top 10 facts about poverty in Afghanistan.

– Christopher Shipman

Photo: Flickr