Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Water Pollution in the Philippines

Water Pollution in the Philippines

Water is often equated with life itself. But for an archipelagic region in Southeast Asia sandwiched between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, water pollution in the Philippines has caused this precious resource to be anything but life’s sustenance. According to a report released by the Asian Development Bank, “heavy inorganic pollutants have made water increasingly a threat to life.”

A Threat to Life

The Philippines is a developing country that is also undergoing rapid urbanization and industrialization. Out of more than one hundred million Filipinos, nine million rely on unsafe water supplies. In fact, water pollution in the Philippines and a lack of proper sewage kills 55 people every day.

Katrina Arianne Ebora, part of UNICEF’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene program in the Philippines, notes that access to adequate sanitation facilities is a problem for more than 30 million Filipinos.

This portion of the population is forced to spend considerable time, effort and energy in procuring water. Families without a sanitary toilet often face the embarrassment of venturing outside to relieve themselves. Some resort to asking their neighbors to utilize their sanitary toilet facilities.

Environmental group Greenpeace has previously warned that Filipinos in key agricultural areas are drinking water contaminated with nitrates. After conducting a study on important farming areas, Greenpeace warned that nitrate levels were alarmingly above the safety limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The group also noted that “drinking water from 30 percent of all groundwater wells sampled in [the Philippines and Thailand] showed nitrates levels above the WHO safety limit of 50 mg l-1 of nitrate.”

 

Water Shortage

Due to water pollution in the Philippines, the country is likely to face a shortage of water for sanitation, drinking, agriculture and industrial purposes in the next ten years.

In an Asia Development Bank report, the Philippines’ regional group – which includes Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – has made gains in improving water security. However, the region is home to a sixth of the global population and the poorest people in the world. With agriculture consuming a staggering 80 percent of the region’s water, the region is a global hotspot for water insecurity.

Water conservation efforts in the Philippines by many local and international companies have protected the water supplies for future use. Coca-Cola has pledged nearly $1.4 million for a five-year project with the World Wildlife Fund to protect the capital’s drinking water source, the Ipo Watershed. The Cement Manufacturers’ Association of the Philippines, an industry that heavily uses water, has started initiatives to capture and utilize rainwater for many production needs.

Investing in Clean Water

In 2014, Water.org began providing philanthropic and technical support to offset water pollution in the Philippines by expanding its WaterCredit program. Water.org’s statistics show that 75 percent of Filipinos are willing to invest in water and sanitation loans. Between 2015 to 2017, the organization and its partners worked with eight different microfinance institutions to conduct research and training in fulfilling the high demand for clean water and sanitation access.

Experts have a consensus on the water improvement efforts in the country: the Philippines government, environmental action groups, industries and locals need to work together on more initiatives to avert the impending water crisis that may beset the region in the not-so-distant future.

– Mohammed Khalid

Photo: Flickr

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Ethiopian Airlines Promotes Women’s Empowerment in Africa

Ethiopian Airlines Promotes Women’s Empowerment in Africa

During the month of March, as the world observed Women’s History Month, advocates for women’s empowerment in Ethiopia held a celebration of their own. On March 8, Ethiopian Airlines sent an all-female flight crew from the country’s capital, Addis Ababa, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in observation of International Women’s Day.

This was a historical feat, as the group became the first all-female flight crew to fly from Ethiopia to the South American city. However, this event was not the first time Ethiopian Airlines made history by dispatching an all-female crew to another city.

As the premier airline of Africa, Ethiopian Airlines has the largest share of revenue in Africa’s airline industry and operates flights to 50 cities in Africa and 95 countries worldwide. The airline is also home to the continent’s largest aviation academy, which trains students from all over Africa to fulfill careers as pilots, cabin crew members, ground staff and maintenance technicians, among other positions. As of 2016, the airline’s academy enrolled 1,300 students in training and the number of enrolled students is expected to grow to 4,000 in the near future.

History in the Making

Ethiopian Airlines first made headlines in 2015 after it dispatched its first all-female flight crew from Addis Ababa to Bangkok, Thailand. Not only were the pilots and cabin crew members women, but so were the baggage handlers, ramp operators, ticket officers and air traffic controllers.

Furthermore, in 2017, the airline dispatched another all-female flight crew in a flight from Addis Ababa to Lagos, Nigeria, the first flight of its kind in Africa. President and CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Tewolde GebreMariam stated that the historical flights made to different cities are part of its efforts to promote women’s empowerment in Africa and that the historic flight on International Women’s Day reflects the airline’s values to mainstream gender into its business.

Educational Challenges for Women in Ethiopia

Due to cultural traditions in Ethiopia, women are not encouraged as much as men to pursue a secondary education of their choice and many have struggled to pursue professional careers. UNESCO reported that as of 2009, only 30 percent of Ethiopian women were enrolled in a secondary education program, compared to 39 percent of Ethiopian men. Furthermore, the literacy rate among Ethiopian adults was only 18 percent for women, compared to 42 percent for men.

A Time for Change in the Aviation Industry

This gesture by GebreMariam to promote women’s empowerment in Africa comes at a significant time, while the number of males to females in the aviation industry is still largely disproportionate. According to the Royal Aeronautical Society, “only 3 percent, or 4,000, of the world’s 130,000 pilots are women, and only 450 are captains.” GebreMariam is hoping to change this statistic by inspiring young girls in school to be optimistic about their futures with the opportunity to pursue a career in the aviation industry.

Besides establishing a platform to promote women’s empowerment in Africa, the historical flights are also helping bring attention to Africa’s aviation industry. GebreMariam stated that airlines in Africa only receive about a 20 percent share of the global airline market. He hopes that more efforts made to promote Africa’s airlines in distinct ways will help educate youth throughout Africa and, over time, create a greater market share for Africa in the airline industry.

– Lois Charm

Photo: Flickr

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What are the Top 5 Global Issues Blogs?

Global Issues Blogs

Many blogs focus on global issues that major news outlets do not cover. Such blogs are run by organizations, professionals and groups of people who care about informing the public about global poverty, climate change and more. Below are the top five global issues blogs:

Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All

This blog is focused on a variety of global topics. The aim of the site is to cover and discuss issues of climate change, poverty, foreign aid, racism and more while also showing how they are all interconnected. Additionally, it strives to give visibility to issues of poverty and hunger that rarely make the headlines of major news outlets.

The Borgen Project

The Borgen Project ranks in the top global issues blogs because it works with members of Congress to further legislation regarding issues of extreme poverty abroad. The blog covers various topics, including developments in technology, natural disasters and U.S. foreign policy to build awareness about global issues.

Business Fights Poverty

Business Fights Poverty is a community of professionals who are committed to fighting poverty through their business practices and reaching sustainable development goals. The blog focuses on issues of economic development as well as on collaboration to make a social impact. Business Fights Poverty also brings visibility to entrepreneurs in global communities of poverty and to potential ways for improving these economies through business.

TheDATABlog

The World Bank runs a blog called TheDATABlog that covers the activity of the World Bank as well as other news regarding global issues. Coverage focuses on development data issues and making that information more accessible to the public in an effort to improve people’s lives. The blog is updated fairly regularly, with posts at least once a week about recent news regarding development data and statistics.

DipNote

The U.S. Department of State has an official blog called DipNote. This blog covers a plethora of international issues such as global health care, gender equality and disease. Additionally, it has “This Week at State” posts that update readers about the week’s highlights regarding global issues, initiatives and events.

Reading any of these top global issues blogs is a great way to get information about news and events related to global issues. They provide regular and wide coverage on global poverty, the environment, the economy and other problems facing our world today.

– Liyanga de Silva

Photo: Flickr

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The 10 Most Innovative Countries in Africa

most innovative countries in Africa

Innovation seems impossible to quantify, but the business world has found a way to rank countries based on various forms of data considered to indicate innovation. Innovation indexes can vary, but the 2017 Cornell University Global Innovation Index takes a unique approach to calculating innovation, based on 81 indicators with a focus on human welfare, technological or creative outputs, infrastructure and business sophistication.

10 Most Innovative Countries in Africa

  1. Burkina Faso
    Burkina Faso has focused its innovation on agriculture, with farmers learning how to organize themselves and share new farming practices. The country’s farming innovation has been channeled into poverty reduction.
  2. Malawi
    Malawi has had some interesting innovators, such as William Kankwamba, who created a windmill for power out of locally collected supplies. Malawi’s government still accepts help from varying organizations, including UNICEF, to improve innovations in mobile phone technology and medical care.
  3. Mozambique
    Mozambique has struggled with giving all its citizens access to clean water, as well as with HIV infection and infant mortality rates. However, these struggles have caused the country to look to business opportunities for solutions, leading to innovations in sectors such as tourism, health, education, and natural resources.
  4. Rwanda
    A country known for its civil war and genocide in the past has become one of the most improved countries in innovation index rankings. Rwanda is becoming a central point for information technology and has launched a 4G LTE network, helping to facilitate job growth and economic improvement.
  5. Kenya
    It is no wonder Kenya made the list, as it is becoming well known for its information technology development, thus acquiring the nickname “Africa’s Silicon Valley”. Also prominent are some of its innovators’ more interesting inventions, such as putting a charger in your shoes to charge your phone on the run or connecting an alarm to a TV to deter burglars.
  6. Botswana
    With one of the continent’s most stable governments and economies, and its support of startups, research and even global corporations, it is no surprise that Botswana makes the list of the 10 most innovative countries in Africa. This support and encouragement of growth has created an atmosphere for technology innovation to grow.
  7. Senegal
    Senegal has been known for its business practices and innovation in agriculture, paper and research. However, its growth has not been as substantial as some would have liked, leading to Plan Sénégal Emergent, a plan put in place by the government to bring the country to the forefront of West African economies by 2035 and putting it in the world’s sights.
  8. Seychelles
    Seychelles is one of the newer countries on the list of the 10 most innovative countries in Africa, appearing for the first time in 2014. This is significant because it is the third sub-Saharan African country to rank in the upper half of the Global Innovation Index.
  9. South Africa
    Of these countries on this list, South Africa makes the news the most in regards to its innovative capacity. The main limiting factor for the country has been its inability to maintain and grow innovative thinkers, many of whom are lost to emigration to the U.S. and the U.K. If this trend can be reversed, the country would see a strong change in the tide as it moves up the innovation list.
  10. Mauritius
    Mauritius tops the list of the 10 most innovative countries in Africa and has been in the top half of the index since 2011. It has the advantages of being a tourist destination and maintaining stability. The government has also put a focus on innovation by investing in research into job and wealth creation.

These countries utilize their stability and market-oriented economy to foster innovation. Many find that democratic countries have a higher likelihood of increasing and maintaining their innovation. While Africa still has work to do in comparison to other regions, it is making headway and moving forward.

– Natasha Komen

Photo: Flickr

Roots and Shoots Million Tree Project Slows Desertification in China

Million Tree Project
Desertification has been a prolonged, aggravating problem in northern and northwestern China. The Roots and Shoots (R&S) Shanghai branch has achieved significant success in slowing desertification with its Million Tree Project.

Founded by renowned primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall, Roots & Shoots is an influential international non-governmental organization aiming to inspire people of all ages, especially youths, to take part in making the world a better place.

The Roots & Shoots branches around the world maintain only loose connections with each other so that each individual branch can carry out unique projects tailored to its regional needs. One of the main missions of R&S Shanghai is to have a positive impact on China’s natural environment.

Desertification in China poses a great challenge to environmental protection as well as the development of those desertified regions. In recent decades, growing deserts have devoured 3,600 square kilometers of grassland each year and forced nearly 200,000 residents from the desertified areas to relocate.

To fight the consequences of desertification, including powerful sandstorms, the loss of arable land and people being driven out of their hometowns, R&S Shanghai initiated its Million Tree Project in 2007. It is also the inaugural project of the organization.

Led by Tori Zwisler, Chairman of R&S Shanghai, and Executive Director Zhong Zhenxi, the Million Tree Project aims to reduce the combined effects of land exploitation and climate change, which eventually leads to desertification, by planting one million trees in Inner Mongolia.

The project began its work in Tongliao Municipality, Inner Mongolia. By cooperating with local and foreign forestry and agricultural experts and mobilizing tens of thousands of volunteers across the globe, the Million Tree Project achieved its first million tree milestone in 2012 and passed the second million mark in 2016.

In consideration of local soil and climate conditions in order to achieve long-term reforestation success, local and Oregon State University forestry experts have carefully chosen specific species to plant in the area.

The majority of the trees planted are hybrid poplars, chosen specifically because it needs little water. In 2009 and 2011, yellowhorn and Scots pine trees were added to the planting list and proved to be beneficial to the region not only ecologically but also economically.

Working with the Baijitan tree farm, the experts have developed an integrative sand control method by planting a combination of different shrubs along with an expansive straw grid. While the straw grid can increase the roughness of the terrain as well as reduce water evaporation, which can give the shrubs better soil conditions to grow in, the matured shrubs can benefit soil development and the restoration of vegetation diversity.

Apart from the standard procedures of planting trees like many previous forestation projects, the Million Tree Project worked closely with local farmers and tree planters on post-planting maintenance. Licensed farmers can harvest trees but are required to replant new trees on the same spot, making the planted forest a sustainable environment.

More than 50 companies have purchased forests in increments of 2000 trees, and more than 20,000 volunteers have helped plant two million trees between 2007 and 2016. Additional tree planting projects have been started in Ningxia Province, adding more land to the reforestation project portfolio.

The 2016 Rio Olympics opening ceremony featured R&S Shanghai’s Million Tree Project as a significant achievement of humans fighting against the great odds of mother nature.

The Million Tree Project is a great example of a small environmental NGO having a huge impact on the natural world as well as a successful collaboration between the experts and volunteers. It demonstrates that everybody has the ability to change the world. The project, with the collective efforts of people coming from every corner of the world, will generate greater momentum to eventually eliminate desertification in China.

– Chaorong Wang

Photo: Flickr

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U.S. Signals Possible Change in Foreign Assistance Programs

In a recent internal memo titled “America First Foreign Assistance Policy,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley outlines possible aid cuts to nations that vote against U.S. initiatives within the U.N. It is suggested that foreign assistance programs should be partially contingent upon voting with the U.S. at the U.N. The memo comes in the wake of the United States’ motion to move its embassy to Jerusalem, a move that recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Although the motion passed, it was also met with widespread condemnation; 128 countries in total condemned the move. In response, the United States threatened to cut foreign aid programs. Commenting on the vote at a recent AIPAC conference, Haley stated, “We’re not forgetting that vote. As I said at the time: On that vote, we were taking names.”

As of today, only Palestine has received cuts in foreign aid assistance. This is largely due to the Palestinian Authority’s refusal to enter into peace negotiations with Israel. In the view of the Palestinian government, the United States has lost its position as the neutral-party at the negotiating table.

A major element of Haley’s “America First Foreign Assistance Policy” is the direct link between foreign assistance programs and American security interests. For example, Iraq and Egypt remain exempt from cuts in foreign aid even though both countries have voted against the United States in the past on multiple resolutions. It is argued that continued aid to Iraq and Egypt is vital in protecting U.S. security interests in the Middle East.

Countries not exempted from cuts who offer the U.S. little economic or security benefit could see major shifts in aid assistance. Specifically, American foreign assistance programs in Ghana, Vietnam and Zimbabwe are under fire. $4.9 million to aid in Ghana’s construction of schools, Vietnam’s $6.6 million climate change program and a $3.1 million job training initiative in Zimbabwe are highlighted in the document. Currently, aid programs for roughly 40 countries who have voted against the U.S. in the past are under review.

In addition to the details of the “America First Foreign Assistance Policy” document, the State Department has put more than $100 million on hold in funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Another $100 million requested by the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration has also been denied. It is unclear as to why the funds have been denied or when they may be approved.

With the recent release of U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s proposal for major changes to American foreign assistance programs, there is much concern for countries that receive U.S. aid, most notably for nations viewed as nonessential to U.S. economic and security interests. Furthermore, countries that lack a track record of voting with the U.S. on U.N. resolutions could face serious cuts.

It is unknown whether these policy changes will be formally adopted in Washington, D.C. The proposed changes have seen much backlash from both the Department of Defense and intelligence community. Ultimately, the American mission to eradicate international poverty and obtain global security is at risk.

– Colby McCoy

Photo: Flickr

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15 Facts About Poverty in Africa

facts about poverty in Africa

Many people are aware that Africa suffers from widespread poverty, but many do not know what that poverty consists of or why it exists. Understanding the facts and seeing the statistics can result in change. Here are 15 facts about poverty in Africa.

Facts and Stats about Africa Poverty

  1. Africa is by far the poorest continent on the planet. 28 of the world’s poorest countries are African.
  2. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the second largest population of hungry people. The largest is in Asia.
  3. Half of the African population lives in poverty. These people do not have access to basic human needs, such as nutrition, clean water, shelter and more. 47 percent of the African population is living on $1.90 or less a day.
  4. Two in five African adults are illiterate. While the continent’s number of schools are increasing, the quality of learning and general attendance is still down due to local violence and gender oppression.
  5. It is projected that the global poor will become more concentrated in Africa. With the population rising at such a high rate on the continent, and having such a large number of poverty-stricken countries, it becomes very difficult to prevent increasing poverty.
  6. One in four people in the sub-Saharan region are malnourished. This is the highest amount of hungry people in the world.
  7. The causes for African hunger are poverty, conflict, the environment and overpopulation. These causes create issues such as disease, floods, genocide and many other resulting crises that result in a lack of food and health within many communities.
  8. Corruption on the continent makes it very difficult to conquer the poverty numbers. With governments confiscating donations from abroad, local militias slaughtering villagers and cultural leaders denying women the right and safety to attend school, poverty perpetuates.
  9. While worldwide poverty is declining — it has been divided in half in the last 30 years — in Africa the progress has been much slower. This is largely due to the rising population and the young age of its government systems, stemming from a history of colonization.
  10. Most of the perpetuation of poverty involves social issues. It is less a matter of wealth, as it is with how the wealth is distributed and shared.
  11. The African governments have not existed for very long. Even in 1950, only four of the 55 African countries had independent governments. Studies state that a government requires several decades at least to stabilize.
  12. The economic gap is huge and still growing. The class system contains huge gaps between the rich and poor, with little mobility due to gender inequality and corruption.
  13. Those living in regions affected by violence are 50 percent more likely to become impoverished. This makes them twice as likely to be affected by hunger. Much of Africa is war-torn and experiencing conflict.
  14. The average woman living in sub-Saharan Africa will give birth to 5.2 kids in her lifetime. While Africa is globally the poorest continent, it is also home to the highest birth rate. With a growing population, this is causing unemployment, disease and hunger.
  15. While the decline of the number of poor in Africa is slower than the global rate, it has recently decreased. It fell from 56 percent in 1990 to 43 percent in 2012.

Knowing the facts about poverty in Africa can illustrate not only the work that needs to be done but also the progress that has been implemented. Africa is a struggling continent, and these facts about poverty in Africa point to a complex problem of young governments, few resources and a growing population. There is plenty of work still to be done.

– Emily Degn

Photo: Flickr

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Cities That Will Run Out of Water Soon Without Proper Attention

Cities That Will Run Out of Water

Over 70 percent of the world’s surface area is covered in water. However, the majority of the world’s poor, who number about three billion, live in areas absent of clean water. Most of the earth’s water is saltwater, but there are still means to purify it for drinking and cooking purposes.

According to UNICEF, women may spend between 30 minutes to eight hours a day searching for water. The average walking distance for women in Africa and Asia is 6.0 km (3.7 miles) to walk and carry the water for their families. The following are all cities that will run out of water soon without proper attention.

  1. Cape Town, South Africa: There might be a large-scale shutdown of tap water this summer. Mayor Patricia de Lille laments that residents have not heeded to advice to reduce consumption. If national consumption exceeds the dam capacity, there will be a total shutdown this April. This is referred to as “Day Zero.”Solution: Large-scale desalination plants along the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
  2. Sao Paolo, Brazil: Brazil’s largest city was recently devastated by droughts. The Cantareira Reservoir is now a cracked and parched dirt field. This is a result of reduced rainfall and increased demand for water by the unauthorized settling of residents in nearby areas.Solution: Restoring degraded forests; this will prevent soil erosion, floods and allow for plants to store the water naturally and recycle it as a watershed.
  3. Bangalore, India: This city cannot ignore the water shortage any longer. The local demand far exceeds the available cubic meters of safe water. Bangalore has a reputation of possessing the most inefficient water pumping and distribution network in all of Asia.Solution: Repair the rampant leakage in the corroded, 100- to 200-year-old piping system, and improve the efficiency of the distribution system. Water is plentiful in Bangalore, but a modern distribution mechanism will ensure it evades being among the cities that will run out of water soon.
  4. Beijing, China: China is home to nearly 20 percent of the world’s population, but only has seven percent of the world’s freshwater. To make matters worse, what little water it has is unsafe for drinking due to pollution. Furthermore, the Chinese government has authorized the construction of oil refineries in areas where water is scarce, such as the Xinjiang province.Solution: Recycle more than half of its water, which would be on the same standard as developed European nations. With this development, Beijing can strive for a living standard of cleaner water instead of being among the first cities that will run out of water.
  5. Cairo, Egypt: The Nile is almost all of the country’s source of water. A city of 20 million people, and rapidly growing, does not fare well with a fixed water share. Some farmers have even been forced to irrigate using sewage water.Solution: Currently, the Egyptian government is urging people to move to surrounding cities whose water sources are detached from Cairo. This will reduce the water stress on the city and prevent further stress on new desalination plants exclusively for the city of Cairo.

Better planning and management of water sources are only possible once wealth increases and corruption is eradicated. Eliminating undue bureaucracy is a difficult step, so it is important to approach each of these cities’ challenges on a needs basis. It is necessary to understand that water is not only a basic human need but also a basic human right.

– Awad Bin-Jawed

Photo: Flickr

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Combating Statelessness for Rohingya Refugees Continues

combating statelessness for Rohingya refugees
The Muslim Rohingya minority found in Myanmar have been systematically stripped of citizenship in bureaucratic ways, which has led to combating statelessness for Rohingya refugees.

In 1982, the ruling military junta put in place discriminatory citizenship laws in Myanmar. The law favors the country’s “national races” and excludes the Muslim Rohingya and several other ethnic minorities, automatically granting full citizenship to these “national races.” The national races include groups that were present in Myanmar before the British conquest in 1824.

Removing Rohingya Rights

Throughout past years in Myanmar, each form of ID was declared invalid and then taken from the Rohingya, replaced with a card that indicated fewer rights. The “white cards,” created in 1982, were temporary documents that left the Rohingya in legal limbo.

Currently, the authorities urge the Rohingya to apply for a “national verification card.” The new identification card is highly criticized because of the multistep citizenship process associated with the cards. Many Rohingya, in addition, don’t feel confident that they would have “full” citizenship or basic rights with the new cards.

Nurul Hoque and his family are Rohingya refugees that are fearful of these new cards. He holds on to his grandfather’s old and frail identity card from Myanmar from before the implementation of the discriminatory citizenship laws. This old document is a reminder of a life that he and his family had left behind in Myanmar.

Nick Cheesman, a political scientist at Australian International University, describes to DW that the deprivation of citizenship among Rohingya was not a result of the 1982 law but more an inaccurate implementation of the law.

United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees and Combating Statelessness

In combating statelessness for Rohingya refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) has declared a worldwide effort to end statelessness by 2024. Around 10 million people in the world are denied citizenship, which causes many obstacles in obtaining basic rights.

To overcome statelessness, the UNHCR works with many other organizations to assemble and endorse more compelling solutions. It collaborates with other international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, civil society groups, national human rights institutions and academic and legal associations. The United Nations General Assembly granted, through a series of resolutions in 1995, the UNHCR the formal approval to combat statelessness through identification, prevention, reduction and protection of stateless individuals.

The UNHCR believes that citizenship, or some structure of documented status within a state, is required for basic rights to be achieved. This statelessness determination status, though, is to give individuals an interim way to attain basic rights. The final goal is to end statelessness altogether.

United States Assistance to Myanmar

The United States humanitarian policy in Myanmar has been guided by the importance of protection of basic rights for refugees and asylum seekers. On September 20, 2017, the State Department allocated $28 million in humanitarian aid for displaced people in Bangladesh.

The overall objective for United States policy in Myanmar is to establish a democratically elected civilian government that recognizes human rights and civil liberties of all Myanmar citizens and residents, revealing another effort in combating statelessness for Rohingya refugees.

– Andrea Quade

Photo: Flickr

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Inequality in South Africa is Still Being Perpetuated Today

Inequality in South Africa
South Africa has long been known as one of the most unequal societies in the world. In the 1990s, South Africa’s Gini coefficient–a measure that reflects inequality, where zero is absolute equality and one is absolute inequality–was, at 0.66, the highest in all the 57 countries for which this data was available. That measure, as of 2015, has remained the same. The top 10 percent of South Africans earn roughly 60 percent of all income and own 95 percent of all the country’s assets, whereas 80 percent own no wealth at all. Inequality in South Africa continues to be a major issue as the country moves to distance itself from its apartheid- era exclusionary style.

The root causes of South Africa’s severe inequality can be traced back to the establishment of Cape Town, a Dutch shipping port in the 1650s. Over the next two centuries, “military conquest and political exclusion, which took a colonial and racial form,” expanded into the interior.

After the British took over in the early nineteenth century, the defeated indigenous groups were never fully incorporated into the economic and political model. The twentieth century brought the neighboring counties under British rule, culminating in a peace settlement which “inscribed racial discrimination in the foundations of the new South African state.” The framework for inequality in South Africa had already been laid by the time the National Party came to power in 1948 and enforced its apartheid legislation.

South Africa continues a system of socioeconomic exclusion. However, whereas historically the exclusionary practices were racially-based, today the extent and depth of inequality in South Africa is increasingly intersectional. Although it continues to impact black South Africans the most, it strikes at race, gender, class and age. Over 55 percent of South Africans continue to live in poverty and unemployment sits at 25 percent.

All hope is not lost, however. The University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg has founded a new center, the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, that will drive a five-year-long, interdisciplinary project. It will include approximately 80 researchers from across the country: economists, historians, legal academics, healthcare experts, sociologist and other disciplines.

The most promising hope yet for combating inequality in South Africa comes from the implementation of the National Development Plan. The plan seeks to reduce inequality and eliminate poverty by 2030 by “drawing on the energies of the country’s people.” Some of the key points include: increasing employment to 24 million, ensuring all children can read and write by the third grade and providing affordable healthcare and a public transit system. It also aims to strengthen the criminal justice system, including governmental accountability. “Progress over the next two decades means doing things differently,” the plan states.

In detail, the plan calls for:

  • infrastructure investment set at 10 percent of the country’s global domestic product (GDP).
  • raising rural incomes.
  • strengthening social wages.
  • professional public service.
  • private investment to boost labor.
  • housing market gaps to be closed.
  • informal settlements to be upgraded.

After handing over the plan to President Jacob Zuma, Minister Trevor Manuel stated that “social cohesion needs to anchor the strategy.”

South Africa’s apartheid era formally came to an end in April of 1994. Less than a month later, in May of 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first black, democratically elected president. The exclusionary system that Mandela grew up in is still widely overreaching within the country, but as the nine provinces continue to work together, there will be hope. Inequality in South Africa does not have to be a perpetuation.

– Aaron Stein

Photo: Flickr