Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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The Success of Humanitarian Aid to Swaziland

Humanitarian Aid to SwazilandSwaziland currently suffers from food insecurity, inaccessibility to hygienic water and from an abundance of orphans. Many organizations are working with the government to bring the success of humanitarian aid to Swaziland.

Agriculture

There is a high dependence on agricultural farming, with 77 percent of Swazis relying on it, to bring food and income to their families. As a response to droughts, among other things, there has been a decline in agricultural performance, leading to a reduction in income and a spike in the price of food. The Annual Vulnerability Analysis Assessment of 2017 recorded around 159,000 Swazis experiencing food insecurity.

The World Food Programme (WFP) responded by initiating the Food by Prescription project, providing 11,000 malnourished people with a monthly balanced diet. The project also includes monthly household rations for families. WFP is also addressing long-term nutrition solutions by working with the Swaziland government to monitor food insecurity, integrate nutrition awareness and include underrepresented minorities into the analysis.

Since 2013, the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement also contributes to the success of humanitarian aid to Swaziland. The movement implements a number of programs like the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition which aims to improve nutrition on a national level.

The Government of Swaziland has taken the issue into their own hands by creating the Swaziland National Nutrition Council (SNNC) and teaming up with the Food Security and Nutrition Forum, Child Health and Nutrition Forum, Micronutrient Alliance and the Water and Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Forum.

Water

While drought hinders agriculture, it also limits the availability of clean drinking water. UNICEF aided with Swaziland’s implementation of the WASH in Schools (WinS) program, which is a piece of the Child Friendly School framework that aims to achieve quality education throughout Swaziland.

Through hygiene training and through the improvement of hygienic resources, 95 percent of the 757 targeted schools gained access to sanitation facilities by 2010. Although there is more room for improvement, 64 percent of these schools progressed in the overall access to quality water.

Children

Swaziland has a significant number of orphans, due to a high rate of parental deaths and other families’ inability to take in more mouths to feed. A 2010 study recorded around 10-15 percent of Swazi head of households being children, rather than parents. Swaziland has created social service centers called Kagogo centers to aid children in need, in response to the limited number of orphanages.

WFP stepped in, providing 52,000 orphans with monthly meals through other daycare type centers within neighborhoods. The project also implements access to basic education, psychosocial support and health services. Additionally, Swaziland made all primary schools free for students in 2011, which led to orphans gaining access to education, school meals and quality water and sanitation.

Through WASH and nutritional means, one can witness the success of humanitarian aid to Swaziland.

–Brianna White

Photo: Flickr

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On the Success of Humanitarian Aid to Mexico

Humanitarian Aid to MexicoMexico is a country that has been ravaged by poverty for centuries. About 44 million of its total population live in poverty, while 14 million Mexicans live in extreme poverty on less than $1.90 a day.

Despite the rampant destitution, there have been several noteworthy efforts that highlight the success of humanitarian aid to Mexico. One example is CHOICE Humanitarian. This organization has worked in Mexico for over twenty years, partnering with countless rural villages in Mexico. They have left an indelible mark on nine Mexican states, teaching vital skills such as cheese making, blacksmithing and livestock micro enterprises, among others. Other useful programs have been implemented as well, such as savings programs for women, healthcare training and constructing classrooms.

One of the goals of CHOICE Humanitarian is to establish self-sustaining projects that allow villages to thrive on their own. This typically takes about three to five years, but Mexico has seen tremendous success in this particular humanitarian endeavor. It is a shining example of humanitarian aid to Mexico.

That being said, there is still much work to be done. Thousands of villages in Mexico are still in dire need of help and have not reached this level of sustainability and economic independence.

The earthquakes that devastated Mexico only a few months ago resulted in an influx of aid from the international community. No amount of aid could fully efface the tragedy of the event, but other nations such as Bolivia donated generously in the aftermath. The Bolivian government sent a cargo plane full of 11 tons of humanitarian aid. The aid consisted of sanitary equipment, non-perishable food and two thousand blankets. In addition, the Bolivian President Evo Morales tweeted his country’s solidarity with Mexico. Bolivia has continued to pledge more aid to Mexico, making the future of humanitarian aid to Mexico more promising.

In a country like Mexico, where poverty is rampant, the amount of aid it receives is vital for its future success. While the country has seen a string of tragedies as of late, mostly in the form of natural disasters, many countries have stepped up to help in its time of need. While humanitarian aid in Mexico is not without its merit, more work certainly needs to be done.

– Mohammad Hasan Javed

Photo: Flickr

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Addressing Five Current Development Projects in Iran

Development Projects in IranIran has the second largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa, after Saudi Arabia. However, since the country’s nuclear program became public in 2002, the United Nations, the European Union and several individual countries and organizations have imposed sanctions on Iran in order to prevent the development of military nuclear capability. These sanctions made it difficult, and in some cases impossible, for international aid to reach impoverished parts of the country. For instance, the World Bank has not approved a Country Assistance Strategy for Iran and has not approved new lending to the country since 2005. Some international organizations, though, are funding programs to aid in providing health care and increasing environmental sustainability.

Here is a look at five development projects in Iran:

  1. Malaria Control (United Nations Development Programme)
    In partnership with national and international partners such as the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Programme has implemented the Intensified Malaria Control in High Burden Provinces towards Falciparum Elimination project in Iran to eliminate the disease. The project, started in October 2011, includes distributing insect nests to protect against infected mosquito bites, training volunteers to engage in early case findings and collaborating with local women as a symbol of community participation.
  2. Stanford Iran 2040 Project (Stanford University)
    Established in 2006, the Stanford Iran 2040 Project allows researchers all around the world to study issues related to the future of the Iranian economy. The core research centers on economy, population, energy, water, agriculture and the financial system. From this research, experts will be better equipped to aid in Iran’s future development by evaluating how these issues affect the country.
  3. Carbon Sequestration Project (United Nations Development Programme)
    The Carbon Sequestration Project aims to capture and control atmospheric carbon in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran and to improve the socioeconomic status of local communities. So far, the project has created 577 permanent jobs, held 400 training programs, established microcredit systems with 63 Village Development Groups, rehabilitated over 30,000 hectares of land and empowered women to play an active role in all of the project’s initiatives.
  4. Iran Transport Projects (Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development)
    The Ministry of Roads and Urban Development in Iran has signed 13 contracts worth $12 billion since March 2015 with investors from the Iranian private sector and foreign companies. These investments fund development projects in Iran across air, road, marine and rail transportations. Some of the notable plans include a 230-mile freeway connecting the city of Kerman to the Persian Gulf Port of Bandar Abbas, as well as a high-speed railroad connecting Tehran to Isfahan, a central tourism hub.
  5. Country Coordinating Mechanism Funding (United Nations Development Programme)
    Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCMs) develop and submit grant proposals to the Global Fund based on national needs. The Global Fund is a partnership organization designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. CCMs allow for local ownership and participation in decision-making processes.

These development projects in Iran provide hope for the nation to move toward a more stable and sustainable future.

– Richa Bijlani

Photo: Flickr

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Droneports in Rwanda Deliver Life-Saving Medical Supplies

Droneports in RwandaAdvances in drone technology have had a profound influence on military surveillance and combat. Commercial industries and companies such as Amazon have also invested in drones for fast and easy deliveries. However, perhaps the most innovative use of drones is taking place in the developing world. The development of droneports in Rwanda is leading to drone-facilitated medical deliveries in hard-to-reach regions of the country.

Healthcare in Rwanda

In recent years, Rwanda has exhibited impressive improvement in rural healthcare. Partners in Health (PIH), an organization that seeks to improve medical access in impoverished countries, initiated many of the healthcare advances that have been made in Rwanda. In 2008, PIH resuscitated the healthcare structures of Kayonza and Kirehe, two districts in rural Rwanda. Two hospitals and seven health centers were built, providing nearly 100,000 individuals with access to healthcare.

In the following years, Rwanda’s government took inspiration from PIH’s assistance and continued improving rural healthcare on its own. Today, approximately 90 percent of Rwandans are provided healthcare by the government.

Overcoming Poor Infrastructure

Despite Rwanda’s effective healthcare system, the country’s subpar infrastructure often inhibits medical care. As is the case with many African nations, Rwanda’s population is growing at a tremendous rate. The existing roads are inadequate for gaining access to so many people scattered across the country, especially in remote areas. Using roads, medical supplies such as blood and medicine are not delivered as quickly as necessary.

Drones literally rise above the restrictions of substandard infrastructure.

In September 2015, Rwanda was chosen to be the first African nation to be outfitted with droneports. Drones are capable of quickly delivering up to 22 pounds of supplies for distances up to 60 miles. It is estimated that by installing just three droneports, up to half of Rwanda’s remote countryside will gain access to easy medical deliveries.

A New Trend in Aid Delivery

In 2016, Redline, the company that initially proposed building droneports in Rwanda, began work on the project, which is to be completed in 2020. Renowned British architect, Norman Foster, unveiled his design for the droneports at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2016. The prototype droneport, constructed entirely of earthen bricks that fit together in the shape of a tortoiseshell, was lauded as a work of art as well as a feat of philanthropic engineering.

But Redline is not the only drone company working to bring drones to Rwanda. The efficiency and cost-effectiveness of drones make them an appealing tool for medical and other aid organizations. This year, the drone company, Zipline, has already facilitated 1,400 deliveries of medical supplies in Rwanda. Another company, Mobisol, uses drones to distribute parts for solar energy machines.

If the implementation of medical delivery droneports in Rwanda goes well, more droneports will be built throughout Africa. Drones will take to the skies to provide life-saving supplies and revolutionize the distribution of emergency medicine.

– Mary Efird

Photo: Flickr

Post-Genocide Reconstruction in Rwanda

Post-Genocide Reconstruction in RwandaAfter the three-month-long genocide in 1994 that claimed the lives of approximately 800,000 predominantly Tutsi and moderate-Hutu citizens, Rwanda has been working to rebuild, reconstruct and promote lasting peace and stability.

Poverty in the post-genocide years is still a prevalent issue, even after 23 years of reconstruction in Rwanda. More than 60 percent of the population lives on less than $1.25 a day, and the nation failed to meet the U.N. Millennium Development Goal of halving the 1990 poverty rate by 2015. However, the current state of poverty must be considered in the context of the conflict and upheaval Rwanda has experienced and the progress it has made since its brutal setback.

Between 2000 and 2010, there was a 23.8 percent reduction in poverty. Rwanda has also become one of the fastest-growing economies in Central Africa. It had four straight years, between 2011 and 2014, of GDP growth at eight percent. These are all positive signs for Rwanda’s future.

Since the genocide and the preceding civil war, under the leadership of former-RPF leader Paul Kagame, the government, local NGOs and the international community have worked toward reconstruction in Rwanda.

On the federal level, economic reform has led to rapid and sustainable economic growth which has lifted many people out of poverty. Privatization and liberalization have been the core tenets of this economic growth. More specifically, it has been achieved by increasing opportunities for employment outside of the agricultural sector, increasing agricultural productivity and increasing entrepreneurship and small business ownership.

Women have been central to reconstruction in Rwanda. Women make up 57 percent of the adult working population and they produce nearly 70 percent of the country’s overall agricultural output. Women have also organized themselves into socio-professional associations, development associations and cooperative groups, thereby taking control of and exercising agency over the reconstruction process.

Outside of the economy, gender equality has still been a focus, especially in politics. Women make up 64 percent of the Rwandan parliament, which is three times the worldwide average of 22 percent.

Interpersonal social reconstruction has also been a necessity, since the conflict exploited ethnic divides and hatreds. On the federal level, Rwanda adopted a policy of de-ethnicization wherein they “erased” ethnicity, stating that there were no longer Hutu and Tutsis, only unified Rwandans. On the local level, communities implemented Gacaca community courts to relieve the judicial burden of the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda and foster accountability and reconciliation.

Local organizations and initiatives have had a crucial role to play in reform and reconstruction. These groups have worked on both the community empowerment and economic empowerment levels, as well as on many other fronts.

The Pro-Femmes Twese Hamwe’s Action Peace Campaign works to empower women to realize the need to live in peace, give them the tools to live together peacefully and organize “dialogue clubs” to address underlying tensions. Another initiative, TO THE MARKET, is an online sales platform where genocide survivors can sell homemade goods globally. This harnesses local entrepreneurship and economically empowers the artisans.

Regarding the government, Kagame’s leadership has been strong and authoritative. While this has allowed him to mandate many economic reforms, it has also squashed political dissidence and limited freedom of the press.

The needs of women continually need to be met. The Rwandan Genocide was the first time in which mass rape was recognized as a tool of genocide. The prevalence of rape during the conflict means that today there are thousands of survivors who need unique support from the government and from society.

Finally, Rwanda is still very dependent on foreign aid. Approximately 35 percent of its budget comes from foreign aid. The next step in reconstruction should be to increase independence and make sustainable economic advancements so Rwanda can support itself with less support from the international community.

– Olivia Bradley

Photo: Flickr

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Five Active Development Projects in India

Development Projects in IndiaIndia is the second-most populous nation, and the eighth largest nation by area in the world, and yet the nation is still lacking many of the necessities of a developed country. Thanks to the World Bank Group, and other investors, India is in the process of becoming a developed country by improving the full range of infrastructural and cultural problems that persist today. Here are five active development projects in India which you should know about.

  1. National Agricultural Higher Education Project. One of the major development projects in India began in August of 2017 and was made possible by $165 million of funding from the World Bank and other organizations. The goal of the project is to improve the current agricultural industry in India through the betterment of the country’s agricultural universities. The idea behind the project is that by improving the quality of agricultural education, farming practices will become more efficient, sustainable and will yield a greater volume of food to feed the nation’s high population.
  2. India Ecosystems Service Improvement Project. The goal of the Ecosystems Service Improvement Project, put broadly, is to try and ensure that interactions between humans and the ecosystem are not overtly harmful to the environment. More specifically, the project will hopefully improve land management and the overall health of the ecosystems of India through increasing and promoting biodiversity and sustainable resource use.
  3. Andhra Pradesh 24x seven Power for All Project. This development project in India focuses on delivering sustainable, reliable and more readily available electricity to citizens living in the Andhra Pradesh region of the country. This region encompasses both urban, and rural communities, with all sharing a common issue of having unreliable access to electricity. The Power for All Project will cost a whopping $570 million, $240 million of which has been pledged as a loan from the World Bank.
  4. Nagaland Health Project. The aim of this development project in India is to increase the availability and quality of healthcare services in the Nagaland region. The project began in 2016 and is expected to conclude in 2023, with a total cost of $60 million.
  5. Shared Infrastructure for Solar Parks Project. This project aims to equip India with the necessary infrastructure to implement solar energy systems across the country. This is being accomplished via the construction of many large scale solar parks throughout the country. These parks will harness solar energy via solar panels and then distribute the collected energy to the larger public power grid. The project will make the nation more efficient in its consumption of power and will make electricity more available to the Indian population.

These are just five of the 121 active development projects in India which are being organized by the World Bank Group. Projects like these are bringing India closer to becoming a fully developed nation and improving the quality of life for all of the Indian people.

– Tyler Troped

Photo: Flickr

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Humanitarian Aid to Sierra Leone Helping Mothers and Children

Sierra LeoneSierra Leone has been trying to heal multiple wounds over the past few decades. The civil war from 1991-2002 left the nation with an especially deep cut. Many people fled their rural communities for growing urban areas; cities like Freetown quickly became overcrowded, leading to the appearance of slums almost overnight. According to the World Health Organization’s research, urban overpopulation, lack of sanitation and inadequate health services are key reasons as to why disease and death are so prominent in these locations. This holds especially true for mothers as well as for children under five. Humanitarian aid to Sierra Leone is vital in order to improve the lives of the country’s citizens.

Luckily, nongovernmental organizations like Concern Worldwide have implemented aid programs in Sierra Leone. From October 2011 to June 2017, Concern Worldwide implemented a USAID- and Irish Aid-funded Child Survival Project (CSP), also known as “Al Pikin fo Liv” (Life for Children). This program was designed to reduce maternal, infant and child deaths through the building of key foundations at 10 urban sites in the Freetown Western Urban Area District.

The main concern for completing the program was how to put into operation the national Community Health Worker Policy (CHWP). USAID and Concern Worldwide did this by working with individual health facilities to improve the quality of healthcare worker training, apply clinical protocols and providing on-the-job supervision and mentorship. Essentially, the CSP aimed to increase the number of healthcare workers per facility and improve the quality of care that is provided.

This might seem like it doesn’t have a solid correlation to solving maternal, infant, and child mortality. However, while it might be a simpler task to prevent death and offer treatment to an individual, it’s another matter to treat disease and prevent future deaths on a national level. The CSP and the implementation of the CHWP are strategies that are meant to carry on into the future.

It will take a number of years in order to determine the overall success of the humanitarian aid to Sierra Leone on maternal, infant and child health. But, in interviews completed after the program’s end date, many healthcare workers believed they were given the right training and resources in order to continue running efficient facilities and to improve care for patients. The community in general also felt more connected, because households were given increased knowledge about the importance of treatment and the health facilities were partnered with the Freetown City Council, Health Management Committees and Ward Development Committees at each project site.

This sense of unity and a more focused understanding of community-based health in urban settings is a powerful tool to have. It is important that humanitarian aid to Sierra Leone continues to be funded and implemented on the ground, in order to ensure an improved way of life and better futures for all citizens.

– Caysi Simpson

Photo: Flickr

Ten Facts About the Genocide of the Punic People

10 Facts About the Genocide of the Punic PeopleGenocide is a term that defines deliberate violence against national, ethnical, racial or religious groups with the intent to eradicate the entire population. This term did not come into use until after WWII; however, it is possible to trace the earliest recorded genocide to 149 B.C. in the Punic Wars. Three Punic Wars were fought over almost a century between Rome and Carthage that resulted in the complete destruction of Carthage and the genocide of its people, known now as the genocide of the Punic people.

Below are 10 little-known facts about the genocide of the Punic people:

  1. The Punic Wars are thought to be the first-ever recorded genocide.
  2. The Punic Wars first began because of a conflict of territory and the expansion of Rome into Carthage; however, after the First Punic War, the conflict was more deep-rooted for Rome in their hatred of the Punic people.
  3. Marcus Porcius Cato, member of the Roman Senate, believed that Rome was superior to Carthage and he concluded each of his speeches with three hateful words, “Delenda est Carthaago,” which means, “Carthage must be destroyed.”
  4. Carthage was the dominant power at the start of the First Punic War. Rome quickly rose above Carthage, destabilizing it, seizing its territory and its people.
  5. The Third Punic War was extremely controversial. As a result of the First and Second Punic Wars, Carthage was virtually powerless. Yet, because of the efforts of Cato and other Roman Senators to persuade Romans that Carthage “must be destroyed,” the Romans began to initiate the Third Punic War.
  6. Rome demanded Carthaginians as hostages, among other difficult conditions. Carthage fulfilled all of the demands. Still, Rome ordered even further unreasonable demands.
  7. When Carthage refused to destroy its own city and rebuild elsewhere, the Roman Republic set fire to all of Carthage, devastating the city and killing many remaining Carthaginians. The flames took 17 days to die out.
  8. The very few surviving Carthaginians were sold into slavery.
  9. The Romans also destroyed five allied African cities of Punic culture. This speaks to the very nature of the genocide. It is clear that the Punic people were deliberately targeted with the intent to eradicate them.
  10. The remains of ancient Carthage are few. Some Punic cemeteries, shrines and fortifications have been discovered, but a majority of the ruins that remain in the area were rebuilt in the Roman period after Carthage’s destruction.

There are several aspects of the genocide of the Punic people that differ greatly from modern genocide. There are also aspects of the tragedy that resemble the thinking in the Holocaust and other genocides such as in Cambodia and Rwanda. In all of these instances, leaders were preoccupied with militaristic expansionism, the idealization of cultivation, notions of social hierarchy and racial or cultural prejudices.

– Jamie Enright

Photo: Flickr

Solar Power in Malawi Aids Health Facilities

Solar Power in MalawiMalawi’s Ministry of Health has several ongoing efforts in developing its healthcare system and facilities. After experiencing continuous long-term power outages which interrupted the healthcare systems, the Ministry decided to start a solar power project to solve the issues in the healthcare facilities. Solar power in Malawi can change the future for the country’s hospitals and the overall healthcare system.

Not only have the power outages affected Malawi’s healthcare facilities throughout the years, but they have also affected many businesses and factories. For manufacturing companies, most of the production has stopped due to the lack of electricity. This interruption of work has threatened the growth of these businesses. Further, the generators that some businesses and buildings use are expensive to run, which has resulted in an increase in the retail price of goods and has hurt the economy in Malawi.

The power outages have been reported to last up to 8 hours at a time. As such, many of the machines required to save lives in hospitals, such as oxygen machines, are unable to run. These machines require constant power and with an unstable power source, it can have detrimental effects on many lives of the Malawi people.

The Ministry of Health, along with the Global Fund Project Implementation Unit, has decided to ensure solar power in Malawi. With a focus on the health facilities, the Ministry is installing solar power units at 85 health facilities throughout the nation. Its goal is to save lives with solar power by preventing disruptions, especially in important areas of hospitals such as the maternity wing, intensive care unit and the area for children under five. The solar panels being installed will provide 100kW of power for the hospitals.

Healthcare centers in remote areas have been affected by power outages the worst. While being affected less by power outages, the hospitals in the larger cities have still had to rely on generators to keep the hospital running, which tends to be expensive.

Malawi’s power outages have cost the country a lot of money as a result of relying on generators to keep many hospitals working. With the installation of solar panels, the country hopes to use the saved money to develop its healthcare system and facilities in other ways.

– Chloe Turner

Photo: Flickr

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Pneumonia Vaccine Saving Half a Million Lives

Pneumonia VaccineAccording to Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, within the last 10 years, the pneumonia vaccine has saved the lives of more than 500,000 children in developing countries. More than 109 million children have been given the PCV (pneumococcal conjugate vaccine) with Gavi’s support.

Although the numbers have now reached 41 percent from 2015’s 35 percent of receiver rates, millions of children are still not receiving the pneumonia vaccine. This is an issue because the disease is both treatable and preventable, but remains the leading cause of death in children throughout the world.

The pneumococcal vaccination protects the body against different types of the pneumococcal bacteria itself. The pneumonia disease is most common in children, and therefore the CDC recommends that all children be vaccinated. Although there are many different types of pneumococcal bacteria, there are only two types of the vaccination itself. The first vaccination to fight pneumonia is called Prevnar 13. This vaccination protects against 13 different types of the pneumococcal bacteria. The second type, Pneumovax 23, protects against 23 different types of the bacteria. Although this vaccine can save lives and prevent the disease, children in developing countries are nine times more likely to get the disease than people in developed countries.

Normally, children in developing countries receive vaccinations 10 years after children in wealthy countries do, but with the Advance Market Commitment, funded by Italy, Canada, Russia, Norway and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, they were able to get the PCV vaccine as soon as a year after it was developed. The market legally binds commitment purchases of the vaccinations through preset terms. This concept has been around for a long time, but the Advanced Market Commitment’s tactics seem to be very effective. Gavi has reached 58 countries throughout Africa and Asia with their immunization programs. The continued push to immunize all children in developing countries will greatly affect these nations’ outcomes in the future.

– Chloe Turner

Photo: Flickr