Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

,

NAFTA Renegotiation Could Mean Increase for Mexican Wages

Mexican WagesThe U.S., Canada and Mexico began renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on August 16. An updated agreement could result in higher wages for struggling Mexican workers.

One of the main topics of renegotiation is expected to be workers’ rights. Then presidential candidate Donald Trump stated that he desired a new NAFTA for Americans in the Rust Belt – one way to do so is to close the gap between American and Mexican wages.

Signed into law in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, NAFTA lowered trading barriers between North American neighbors and opened the gates to free trade. Many businesses migrated to Mexico as a result.

Soon after, North American consumers experienced increases in their standards of living. Prices of consumer goods depressed due to businesses cutting labor costs via lower Mexican wages.

Lower prices do not paint a complete picture, though, as many blue-collar workers in the U.S. were left without jobs. At the same time, keeping Mexican wages low was in the interest of many manufacturers.

Now, over 20 years later, NAFTA will be renegotiated and the U.S. will have manufacturing on its mind. One way to entice businesses to stay in the U.S. is to impose new labor restrictions in Mexico.

The average wage in Mexico is not even a fifth that of that in the U.S. New labor restrictions could mean higher wages for the average Mexican laborer, who currently lives on $4.50 a day – sometimes less, depending on the area.

There is also the fear that the talks will lead nowhere because what the U.S. wants might not align with the interests of Mexico. Ildefonso Guajardo, a Mexican representative who will be present at the talks, has suggested that, if they are treated unfairly by the U.S., they will return the treatment.

Labor economists have said that the labor reforms that Mexico had previously agreed on during the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) should be the starting point for the U.S. This is the same partnership from which President Trump just pulled the United States.

Officials believe that NAFTA discussions should be finished by the end of the year if all goes smoothly. Labor reforms would certainly mean good news for Mexican laborers but not-so-good news for consumers who will feel the burden of higher prices.

– Thomas James Anania

Photo: Google

, ,

Evolving Human Rights in Peru

Human Rights in PeruPeru is a country with a tumultuous past. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, insurgent guerilla organizations battled the government – a conflict that resulted in the death of nearly 70,000 people. By 2000, the conflict slowed down and since then the government has focused on integrating human rights in Peru into national law.

The Constitution of Peru protects human rights, claiming that humans have the right to respect, dignity, life and equality. Even so, there is still conflict over human rights in Peru.

According to Human Rights Watch, security forces in Peru have occasionally responded to protests over large development projects with gunfire, which has killed or injured protestors. There are also significant threats to freedom of expression and violence against women.

Journalists who publish pieces critical of the government can face intimidation, assault and even murder at the hands of individuals supporting or hired by the government.

Unfortunately, even a well-intentioned policy can fail to ensure the universal human rights. For example, the Peruvian Constitution promises free education to children ages six through 16. In reality, parents are faced with administrative and educational material fees that prevent less wealthy children from receiving a quality education. Students in rural areas receive lower quality education than those in urban areas. Gender and ethnicity can also factor into the quality of education that children receive.

However, there are some positive outcomes in terms of human rights in Peru. Health services are provided for free by the Peruvian government and workers are free to unionize. The Peruvian Constitution also promises a healthy environment for its citizens. Successive administrations have focused on eliminating violence against women, and political parties are now required to include a minimum of 30 percent of female candidates.

While human rights in Peru can be messy and complicated, the government is eager to put the violent history of the country firmly in the past and continue expanding human rights and ensuring those rights are upheld.

– Brock Hall

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Closing the Gap on Education During Crisis

Education During CrisisIt seems that every day, a new crisis emerges in some area of the world. Whether it is a natural disaster, war or a political upheaval, there is a common theme: humanitarian aid organizations are quick to respond, while education during crisis falls by the wayside.

In impoverished countries, education is typically lacking, as the need for food and shelter come first. Conflict is a leading cause of both poverty and the suspension of education.

According to An International Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE), conflict-affected countries have 20 percent of the world’s primary-school-aged children. Unfortunately, these nations also host 50 percent of the world’s out-of-school children.

Access to a quality education is the United Nation’s fourth sustainable development goal. According to the U.N., “When people can get quality education, they can break from the cycle of poverty… Education is also crucial to fostering tolerance between people and contributes to more peaceful societies.”

Many organizations are working to make education during crisis a top priority. One such organization, Education Cannot Wait, is thinking of innovative ways to give children in poor situations a quality education.

In alliance with the U.N.’s sustainable development goal, Education Cannot Wait cites five challenges that need to get conquered for all of the world’s children to receive adequate education by the year 2030. They are as follows:

  1. Lack of prioritization (during emergencies)
    Only two percent of humanitarian aid during a crisis gets given to educational programs.
  2. Poor coordination between humanitarian and development groups
  3. Preparedness in the educational sector is a problem during emergencies.
    According to the INEE, individual sectors should create contingency plans that will help in creating a cohesive procedure for education during a crisis.
  4. Insufficient humanitarian funding
    Currently, $8.5 billion is needed annually to close the education gap. Humanitarian and development efforts have not matched the frequency of crisis.
  5. Lack of real-time data
    As the problem of inadequate education during crisis is often unrecognized, the data collected on the issue is not enough to promote change.

Many people are simply unaware that there is a problem of a lack of education during a crisis. One of the most important tools in counteracting the problem is knowledge and awareness. This is why the U.N. is also working to inform people and give clear ways to help. Here are a few ways to help today:

  • Ask your government leaders to make education a priority in policy and practice.
  • Lobby the government to commit to free, primary school education for all.
  • Encourage the private sector to invest in education.
  • Urge non-governmental organizations to foster the growth of education at the local level.

– Madeline Boeding

Photo: Google

Papua New Guinea’s Poverty Rate

Papua New Guinea's Poverty RatePapua New Guinea is located just north of Australia. Approximately 39.9 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line. Papua New Guinea is considered to be one of the poorest countries in the Pacific. Rural poverty is especially prevalent, causing agriculture to suffer. The run-down health system exemplifies years of a less-than-successful governmental approach. Papua New Guinea’s poverty rate can be largely attributed to a lack of knowledge of effective farming methods and an uncommitted government.

Most of the citizens in Papua New Guinea rely on small-scale agriculture for their livelihoods. Around 75 percent of natives practice subsistence farming. Coffee production is one of the country’s main sources of revenue, and thus, when this cash crop fails to produce, the regional economy suffers. Productivity has been low because farmers lack sufficient training in techniques, and yields are averaging 30 to 50 percent of their potential. The same thing is happening with the country’s cocoa production.

The health system in Papua New Guinea is deteriorating quickly. Often times medical facilities will not have enough staff or resources to help sick citizens at a successful rate, especially in rural areas. Everything depends on supply, vaccines, surgical instruments, staff, pain management drugs and a suitable treatment area. Studies have found that only 36 percent of facilities have running water year-round, 29 percent did not have clinical supervision and 13 percent were deemed unsanitary.

Papua New Guinea’s poverty rate stems from sick citizens. When there is a health crisis in a country, foreign aid is taken from other necessary means to give towards helping the sick, which means there is no development out of poverty. Sick people prolong poverty because they are unable to contribute to the labor force. For the country of Papua New Guinea to advance successfully, its health care system must develop.

The problems afflicting citizens of Papua New Guinea are reversible. More effective farming methods and a sufficient health system are entirely achievable if the government proceeds with a committed approach.

– Lucy Voegeli

Photo: Flickr

Urbanization One of the Main Causes of Poverty in China

Causes of Poverty in ChinaIronically, China’s urbanization, which initially was seen as an improvement for the country’s economy, is now known to be one of the leading causes of poverty in China. The urbanization initiative, which began back in 2012, was pushed by the Chinese government to prompt new forms of growth for the country. Moreover, although the country experienced a slight improvement in poverty, there remain more than 252 million people living on less than $2 per day.

Looking for better-paying work, many farmers moved out of rural areas to urban centers. Due to their low skill level and lack of education, many of these workers are stuck taking low-level jobs. Moreover, with an increased cost of living, these workers are just swapping one low-paid job for another, causing an increase in urban poverty.

Furthermore, the Hukou system is set up so that these migrant workers can no longer receive government aid. The Hukou system is China’s household registration system that monitors and distributes government-provided services such as healthcare, education and pension.

However, the system is designed so that, if a person moves from their original region, then they forfeit their rights to these benefits. Consequently, rural workers who move to cities can no longer receive government-funded healthcare or retirement aid. Moreover, their children, if they move with them, no longer have access to education.

The most severe effects of the urbanization trend are found in rural areas. Often, it is the adults in rural families who leave to find work in cities, leaving behind children and the elderly. One-third of China’s rural students under the age of 16 have at least one parent who is a migrant worker, meaning many children get left behind.

Nearly 60 percent of children living in the countryside of China see their parents less than twice each year. These children are often left with grandparents who are either too busy with farm work or else too incapacitated to properly care for the children.

Though urbanization may be beneficial for some Chinese and is giving the economy a boost, it has been detrimental to many others. Migrant workers and those left behind in rural areas are struggling the most from the massive national migration. Because of this, urbanization is now one of the leading causes of poverty in China.

– Hannah Kaiser

Photo: Flickr

Why is Tunisia Poor?

Why is Tunisia Poor

Tunisia is a country of around 11 million people in North Africa. In the past decade, it has emerged as the only success story of the Arab Spring, a revolutionary and democratically-minded movement that swept the Arab world in the early 2010s. So why is Tunisia poor?

In the decade before 2010, Tunisia managed to halve its poverty rate, dropping from 35 percent to 16 percent. This success came from certain important social achievements. Universal access to electricity, high enrollment in primary education and reductions in child malnutrition were significant factors. However, these trends seemed to stall after 2010, and the poverty rate has remained fairly stagnant.

Despite the poverty reduction and economic growth, inequality has also increased. Many investments in the early 2000s moved from high-skill jobs to low-skill ones. Tunisia also lacks a significant social security system and unemployment insurance. Investments typically happen in coastal regions, which increases regional wealth disparities.

In central Tunisia, poverty and and unemployment rates are several times higher than the national average. Some experts worry that the lack of infrastructure and jobs will create a breeding ground for extremism that could threaten Tunisia’s progress.

But why is Tunisia poor in certain areas? Several factors contribute to overall unequal opportunity in Tunisia. Where you live and the circumstances you were born into can determine how long you attend school and whether you have access to water. Additionally, Tunisia falls behind most other Middle Eastern and North African countries when it comes to sanitation.

Certain facts about an individual household in Tunisia can determine whether the family is impoverished. The educational attainment of the head of the household and the ratio of male to female employees are some indicators. Additionally, the ratio of the food budget spent on inexpensive cereal products can also indicate a level of poverty. Finally, households with fewer children are also less likely to be impoverished.

Thankfully, with successes both in reducing poverty in the past and in the Arab Spring, the people of Tunisia have proved that they can achieve incredible social victories. The International Monetary Fund has also recently lent Tunisia $2.9 billion to help address the issue of poverty.

– Brock Hall

Photo: Flickr

,

A Continued Water Shortage In Antigua & Barbuda

Water Shortage In Antigua & Barbuda

Caribbean countries have suffered in recent years from a prolonged drought, forcing them to implement new methods to control the use of water in their nations. One country in the Caribbean that has suffered from this prolonged drought is Antigua & Barbuda (A&B).

Despite the current situation, the future is starting to look up for the citizens of this country, as new programs have been started to address the issue of the continued water shortage in A&B.

The Plan:
One program the A&B government has implemented in the past few years has been the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA). The goal of APUA is to act as a water rationing program to ensure that all citizens receive adequate amounts of water until the drought begins to go away.

However, as the drought continues, authorities involved with the APUA have struggled to find a solution to the water shortage in A&B. One authority stated in an interview that “as Antigua and Barbuda enter further into a drought, the APUA has seen a depletion of the surface water resources that it relies heavily on.”

The rate of water consumption in A&B has continued to put pressure on the APUA and their ability to provide adequate amounts of water for its citizens. A statement by the APUA reported that authorities told the public that they only had enough water left in their largest containment unit to get the country through the month of February, if they did not see an increase in rainfall.

The APUA has since tried to deal with the issue of the continued water shortage by only providing water at certain times during the day. Although APUA can provide its citizens with enough water to sustain themselves by using this strategy, this work cannot continue for much longer.

The Takeaway:
The issue of a water shortage in A&B is a matter that appears to have no clear solution. The drought continues to be problematic, and the APUA’s task of providing adequate water to all its citizens has not been so simple. The best thing one can do at this moment in time for the people of A&B would be to donate money to organizations or volunteer time to NGOs – which are working alongside APUA to address the issue of the water shortage.

Although the circumstances for those in A&B have been grim, there is hope for the future of these people. Continued effort from the APUA and NGOs should provide increasing relief to the citizens suffering from the effects of the drought.

– Nick Beauchamp
Photo: Flickr

Indian Government Approves Bullet Train Project

Bullet TrainIndia’s first-ever high-speed rail (HSR) network, the bullet train project, has been approved by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi, along with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will be laying the foundation stone for the first track between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

The train will reach top speeds between 320 and 350 kilometers per hour, making the 508-kilometer route between Ahmedabad and Mumbai five hours shorter than the usual seven-hour trip. The bullet train’s first route will contain 12 stations, four being in Maharashtra and eight in Gujarat, with about 92 percent running on an elevated track.

The bullet train will start underground with a station at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, which will then run 27 kilometers through a tunnel in the sea until it pulls into the over ground station in Thane.

India has received about 85 percent of its funding for the bullet train project from Japan, according to Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu. In return, the Japanese E5 Series Shinkansen train will serve as the bullet train in India.

Prabhu and his ministry have drawn extensive maps for high-speed corridors on various routes between Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Mysuru and Bengaluru. These trains will also have the potential to reach a maximum of 350 kilometers per hour. Other routes – including Chennai-Hyderabad and Chennai-Mysuru – will have trains traveling at around 160 to 250 kilometers per hour.

Although the bullet train project has been undergoing feasibility testing since 2009, the project is just now in the soil-testing stage. The foundation stone is expected to be laid by both Indian and Japanese Prime Ministers in September of this year. Construction will follow in early 2018, and the launch of the first section’s operations is scheduled for 2023.

Once the track is completed, the bullet train will have the capacity to seat 731 passengers – 698 standard class and 55 business class. In addition, the train has an extended long nose to prevent damaging tunnel boom – the loud noise made when the train exits a tunnel at high speeds – which is due to uneven air pressure.

With luxury leather seating, adjustable reading lamps and foldable dining tables, the trains were designed with passenger comfort in mind. Additionally, the trains are fully accessible and equipped to serve any passengers with disabilities.

In the next six years, the bullet train system will make India a lot more manageable to get around for locals, business professionals and other travelers. The Indian government is also hopeful that the bullet train will lead to more opportunities to form deeper ties with Japan and eventually China, too.

– Kassidy Tarala
Photo: Flickr

,

9 Bipartisan Measures Pass House Foreign Affairs Committee

Bipartisan measuresOn July 27, 2017, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed nine new bipartisan measures, including the Protecting Girls’ Access to Education in Vulnerable Settings Act. This bill recognizes the need for comprehensive primary and secondary education for refugee children, especially women and girls, as they systematically face greater obstacles in obtaining an education. If passed, this bill would ensure Congress works with both private and multilateral organizations to implement educational programs abroad.

Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly, a co-sponsor of the bill along with Republican Rep. Steve Chabot, spoke for the bill in a markup. Kelly pointed out that 65 million people, half of whom are under 18, have been displaced since the beginning of 2017, and four million displaced children lack access to elementary education.

Kelly claimed that displaced children are more vulnerable to abduction, poverty, and early marriage when they cannot attend school and that school can help displaced children cope with trauma and overcome feelings of isolation by providing a community.

Related measures passed include the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2017, which supports North Korean refugees and advocates for radio broadcasting in North Korea, as well as the resolution entitled “Supporting respect for human rights and encouraging inclusive governance in Ethiopia.” All of the measures passed received bipartisan support, and several have bipartisan sponsorship.

During markups, Congressional committees discuss, amend and rewrite proposed legislation. In this markup, seven of the nine measures discussed were amended, but all passed at the end of the session. Rep. Ed Royce, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, reported the measures favorably and was authorized to seek House consideration of the measures under suspension of the rules.

“Suspension of the rules” is a procedure used to save time when discussing relatively uncontroversial bills. Rep. Royce likely ordered a suspension of the rules based on the bipartisan nature of the measures discussed. This fact means that when the measures are discussed next in the House, they will be unamendable and debate will be limited to forty minutes.

As these bipartisan measures all passed without much dispute, they will likely continue to move quickly through the House of Representatives.

– Caroline Meyers

Photo: Flickr

,

10 Facts About the Poverty Rate in Kosovo

Poverty Rate in KosovoKosovo, also known as the Republic of Kosovo, is located in the central Balkan Peninsula. According to the CIA, Kosovo has a population of 1,882,018. Kosovo is the second-poorest country in Europe. Due to a high level of corruption and little contract enforcement, poverty is a huge problem in Kosovo. Here are 10 facts about the poverty rate in Kosovo:

  1. The unemployment rate in Kosovo was 34.8 percent in 2016, which means almost one-third of the labor force in Kosovo does not have jobs. The rate increased 0.2 percent, from 34.6 percent in 2015 to 34.8 percent in 2016. Kosovo is ranked 197th on a list of unemployment rates worldwide.
  2. Thirty percent of the population in Kosovo fall below the poverty line, which means more than 550,000 people in Kosovo live in poverty.
  3. Kosovo’s GDP was $18.49 billion in 2016, which places it at 149th in the world.
  4. Kosovo’s GDP per capita in 2016 is $9,600, which makes it the second-poorest country in Europe. Kosovo’s GDP per capita is ranked 140th in the world overall.
  5. Youth unemployment is also a problem in Kosovo. The youth unemployment rate is near 60 percent in Kosovo.
  6. Kosovo’s official currency is the euro. However, Serb majority communities are illegally using the Serbian dinar as an official currency.
  7. The inflation rate in Kosovo is 0.2 percent, which is ranked 43rd compared to all the other countries in the world.
  8. According to research data, the majority of Kosovo’s citizens live with a monthly income of fewer than 500 euros. Most of this income is spent on food and daily supplies, which leaves little for medical care and entrainment.
  9. Kosovo’s citizens lack affordable health services. The government’s budget for health care can only cover 60 percent of medications considered essential. Treating serious diseases like cancer is unaffordable for most families in Kosovo.
  10. Kosovo’s economy has shown progress as it transforms into a market-based system. However, Kosovo’s economy also depends heavily on the international community for financial and technical assistance.

Although Kosovo’s economy is facing many problems and the poverty rate in Kosovo is still relativity high, Kosovo’s economy is making progress. Reducing the unemployment rate and raising living standards are the two major things Kosovo should be focusing on to improve the economy and reduce the poverty rate.

– Mike Liu