Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

The Poverty Rate in Finland: A Success Story

Poverty Rate in FinlandFinland is a country in Europe with a population of 5.5 million. The nation borders Sweden, Norway and Russia. Despite the nation’s small population, Finland is extremely impressive on the global scale. The nation is known for high quality education, equality and a national social welfare system. The poverty rate in Finland is also among the best in the world.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines poverty rate as “the ratio of the number of people (in a given age group) whose income falls below the poverty line; taken as half the median household income of the total population.” As of 2014, Finland’s total poverty rate of .068 is the fourth best in the world, trailing Denmark, the Czech Republic and Iceland. For people under the age of 17 in poverty, Finland does even better, ranking second in the world.

The poverty rate in Finland is not among the world’s best by accident. The nation’s economy is open and transparent. It has well-maintained laws and a very low tolerance for corruption.

The nation’s many successes does not mean that everything is perfect. The economy struggled in recent years, forcing the government to take measures to bring back economic growth and reduce public debt.

 

Maintaining a Low Poverty Rate in Finland

 

Fortunately, things are already starting to turn around. In 2015, the economy grew for the first time since 2011, and that growth continued in 2016. In January of this year, Finland began a new program designed to help the nation’s people and economy. The trial, which will last for two years, will pay 2,000 randomly-selected citizens unemployment benefits of 560 euros every month.

The experiment aims to limit bureaucracy, reduce poverty and increase employment. At the moment, we cannot know for sure how effective this program will be. Critics argue that the program may encourage laziness, since people will be receiving a paycheck without working. However, there is hope that it can accomplish its goals.

Looking forward, Finland must work hard to strengthen its economy, which will include lowering labor costs and increasing demand for its exports. The population of Finland is aging and the nation is experiencing a decrease in productivity in traditional industries. All of this threatens the nation’s economy.

Nevertheless, the poverty rate in Finland is something to be admired. The country has and will continue to face many challenges, economic and otherwise, but its unique actions may be what it needs to stay ahead of the curve.

– Adam Braunstein

Photo: Flickr

3 Problems Facing Education in Bangladesh

Education in BangladeshBangladesh has made remarkable gains over the past two decades in the education sector. In 2016, statistics from Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS) showed great developments in gross enrollment with 112.1 percent of children listed in primary education. The ratio of girls to boys also improved that same year. This allowed Bangladesh to achieve gender equality for educational access in both primary and secondary education. Despite victory in registration and elimination of gender disproportion, challenges continue to keep Bangladesh from advancing further. Here are three problems facing education in Bangladesh.

  1. Literacy
    The UNESCO Institute for Statistics shows Bangladesh literacy rates still need some upgrading. Approximately 30 percent of the population 15 years or older still struggle to successfully read and write. According to the Bangladesh Education for All  (EFA) 2015 National Review, the blame could partially be placed on the obstacles involved with universal access and completion of primary education. Public examination scores for Bangladesh show a gap between grade completers, those sitting for the public completion examination, and those passing the examination.
  2. Assessment Scores
    National Student Assessments from this same EFA report display low test scores at the end of the primary education cycle. Test results show only 25 percent of students successfully obtain reading capabilities by the end of primary school. Similarly, only 33 percent of students master proficiencies in mathematics. The rest of students finish primary education with knowledge that is short of expectations in the reading, writing and math curriculum for Bangladesh. Findings from earlier grades conclude that many students are falling short of achieving relevant competencies because they are not meeting appropriate targets set early on. If students do not consistently meet recommended goals throughout primary education, weak scores will continue to result.
  3. Dropout Rates
    UNICEF suggests the Bangladesh dropout rate remains an issue due to children’s need to help with farming, poor teaching methods, crowded classrooms and unappealing educational surroundings. Though the average dropout rate shows a decrease of more than half during 2005 to 2013, 19.2 percent of students still do not complete primary school. According to BANBEIS Educational Database, 10.5 percent of boys dropped out of Grade 4 in 2016. This contributed to the total dropout rate of almost 10 percent of students in Grade 4 that same year. It is also noted that progress in decreasing dropout rates is beginning to slow. Since 2012, dropout rates have only decreased by about 2 percent. This is sluggish activity compared to the 23.1 percent decline recorded from 2008 through 2012.

By focusing on reducing poverty, education in Bangladesh should continue to improve. Speed bumps are part of the road trip towards Bangladesh accomplishing the most out of their education system. With these three problems facing education in Bangladesh already known to researchers, policies can be made to steer future direction.

– Emilee Wessel

Photo: Flickr

Causes of Poverty in Libya

Causes of Poverty in LibyaLibya has long been home to a bounty of natural resources. Despite the potential these resources have to lift many out of poverty, poverty persists in this North African country. In order to improve the quality of life for many Libyans, it is important to understand the causes of poverty in Libya.

Although exact statistics regarding poverty in Libya remain unavailable, it is estimated that roughly 33 percent of Libyans live at or below the poverty line. Many Libyans live without access to clean drinking water or proper sewer systems and struggle to have their basic needs met.

This is despite the fact that Libya is home to Africa’s largest oil reserves and the tenth largest reserves in the world. The country’s economy has long relied on petroleum production; however, this has recently posed poverty-related issues.

Libya’s economy is almost entirely dependent on oil and gas. Oil reserves account for 50 percent of the country’s GDP and 95 percent of its exports. Outside of petroleum production, there is very little economic opportunity to be found in this country. Libya has long been closed off to tourism and international exchange, which limits job opportunities for many.

This has been especially problematic in recent years. Since 2014, Libya has been embroiled in civil war, and oil prices have hit a seven-year low. Crude oil production has been in decline as a result and many continue to live in poverty due to an economy whose development has been hindered by political turmoil.

This political turmoil is another one of the causes of poverty in Libya. Even after the armed rebellion that led to Muammar Gaddafi’s overthrow in 2011, violence and instability continue to plague Libya. Control of the government has changed hands multiple times as a transitional government handed power over to an elected parliament, which voters chose to replace with another elected parliament.

As of yet, these changes have failed to promote peace in Libya. Living conditions continue to decline as civil war ensues and strains local resources. The causes of poverty in Libya are difficult to combat, yet there is still an opportunity for peace to be found.

– Jennifer Faulkner

Photo: Flickr

Corruption: A Consequence of the High Poverty Rate in Liberia

Liberia is a country in West Africa and is one of the poorest countries in the world. Although Liberia is the oldest republic in Africa and has a long running relationship with the U.S., the alarming poverty rate in Liberia cripples growth and exacerbates other issues.

The World Bank’s most recent information on the poverty rate in Liberia, collected in 2007, indicates that around 63 percent of the country lives on less than $1.90 per day (the daily income rate considered the threshold for extreme poverty). Also, as of 2009 the World Bank reported that a colossal 89.6 percent of the population lives on less than $3.10 a day.

These statistics show that a significant majority of Liberia suffers from the absolute worst poverty possible, and nearly everyone in the country struggles from slightly less severe yet punishing conditions of scarcity and desperation.

Unsurprisingly, the alarming poverty rate in Liberia stymies the country’s overall development. The country lacks the infrastructure to reliably provide water and electricity, and sorely lacks the resources or opportunities for widespread education or employment. Overall, these deficiencies stifle the creation of new institutions as well as human and economic development, contributing to other problems such as corruption and instability.

Like many other poverty-stricken countries in Africa, Liberia also contends with frequent political instability and violence. Following a military coup d’etat in 1980, the government of Liberia has been plagued by corruption, irresponsibility and political persecution. Two civil wars in Liberia claimed the lives of 250,000 people between 1989 and 2003.

The country’s political instability may seem surprising considering that Liberia was founded by freed American and Caribbean slaves and has a democratic system of government modeled after the U.S. Unfortunately, the relationship between poverty and corruption creates a seemingly endless cycle that prevents the Liberian government from functioning effectively when the deprived people need it most.

Fortunately, Liberia’s current president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, seems determined to rid the government of corruption and truly help the country. With a long history of opposing unethical behavior and experience working for the World Bank and U.N. President Sirleaf is particularly well qualified to pull Liberia out of hopelessness.

President Sirleaf possesses the strong negotiation skills and political and financial knowledge to tackle the alarming poverty rate in Liberia as well as the corruption it feeds. If President Sirleaf succeeds in revamping Liberia’s economy and rooting out government-level corruption, Liberia may one day live up to the principles of liberty and opportunity that its founders originally sought.

– Isidro Rafael Santa Maria
Photo: Flickr

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Austerity Among Causes of Poverty in Greece

Causes of Poverty in GreeceIs there poverty in Greece? Yes. Among the countries riding the rising EU economy, Greece finds itself adrift with high unemployment and rampant poverty.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, several countries including Greece, Ireland, Cyprus and Portugal have relied on the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for bailouts. All are rebounding except for Greece, which is now on its third bailout and has yet to see a decrease in its 14 percent poverty rate.

Many Greeks say the bailouts are not enough. With the highest unemployment rate in the EU at 23 percent and youth unemployment at nearly 48 percent, many Greeks believe that the causes of poverty in Greece include the bailouts themselves.

The EU and IMF have been cautious issuing the Mediterranean nation new bailouts, requiring the Greek government to enact several austerity measures. These measures have ranged from increasing taxes and cutting pensions to scaling back all government spending.

Austerity and Poverty in Greece

Many believe that these austerity measures are the causes of poverty in Greece. Increased taxes and pension cuts leave citizens with less disposable income, and in Greece’s case, nearly no disposable income. Being a largely service-oriented economy, consumer spending is the most important economic driver.

As spending falls, businesses tighten the belt and hire fewer or lay off workers. The first to suffer are young and inexperienced Greeks. Due to the inability of the Greece’s youth to find employment, many families subsist on parents’ or grandparents’ pensions, which are to be cut this year as part of the new round of austerity measures.

Many young Greeks have left the nest to head to the cities, where incomes are higher, and poverty is less prevalent. Greece’s rural population has experienced a contraction as a result, and food assistance lines in the city have grown.

There is some good news on Greece’s horizon. As part of a program to incorporate Syrian refugees into mainstream Greek society, the EU is planning on giving Greece 209 million euros. The money will help refugees with rent and living expenses and the new cash infusion could help move the economy forward, only time will tell.

The Greek government has also decided to issue bonds on the market. Finding a buyer for Greece’s risky debt will prove challenging, but if done, will prove to the EU that the economy is turning a corner.

The causes of poverty in Greece are many and systemic. After the global financial crisis of 2008 and the following austerity measures, Greece has had it rough in the last decade, but many can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

– Thomas Anania

Photo: Flickr

The Cost of Living in Israel

Israel, a small country wedged between Africa and Asia, is one that has faced many challenges. The country was created as a Jewish state in 1948, but ever since, it has worked towards developing a strong and stable economy. With this economy, Israel is a country that isn’t the cheapest to live in. Despite the high price tags for things such as housing, transportation and groceries, Israel has easy access and relatively low costs for things such as healthcare and education. Here is a brief rundown on the cost of living in Israel:

What’s Expensive?

The cost of living in Israel can be high, especially in a nice area. For the Israelis, that means living in the center of the country, Jerusalem, which comes at a high price. In order to purchase a two-bedroom apartment in Jerusalem, one must pay a little less than half a million dollars. Additionally, the down payment required in Israel is normally 40 percent. Due to this high price tag, many people in the country find it difficult to afford their ideal home.

After securing the perfect home, Israelis are faced with the challenge of transportation. While the country does have public transit, it is known for being unreliable. The next option is purchasing a car, but this is unrealistic for many people who are living on a budget. The price of cars in Israel are drastically more expensive than other places in the world. For example, in order to buy a Volkswagen Golf, one must be able to pay about $38,000 plus about $7 per gallon of gas. In contrast, the same car would cost about $20,000 in the U.S.

The cost of living in Israel continues to be a challenge when faced with the everyday task of going to the grocery store. Monthly expenses for food and other grocery items cost the average person about $540 in Israel. In comparison, Europeans pay about $427 a month for their groceries. While this amount is a lot in itself, what makes it even more challenging is the low monthly income for most people. The average salary for an Israeli is less than $3,000 per month, making it hard to afford the steep costs of other necessities within the country.

What’s Cheap?

While many commodities within the country come with a hefty cost, the people of Israel are fortunate to have some basic things such as healthcare and education that come at a reasonable price. Israel’s healthcare system is praised by many around the world. The people of Israel have approximately 3-6 percent of their paycheck removed for healthcare, allowing for most of their medical needs to be covered by taxes. Additionally, all citizens receive the same healthcare for the same price, with extra costs for things such as going to the emergency room, remaining low.

Another positive toward the cost of living in Israel is the low expense for education. Parents who send their children to public school only end up paying a couple hundred dollars a year and those who send their kids to private schools, less than a couple thousand. When students then go to college, the annual cost of tuition is less than $3,000, making education accessible to many people throughout the country.

While the cost of living in Israel isn’t cheap all together, the country strives towards making things that are the most vital to their people affordable. When it comes to things such as living in the best part of the city or being able to purchase your own car, many people in Israel find the price to be too high. That being said, the price tag on healthcare and education is made easy for anyone, even those who struggle with finances.

– Olivia Hayes

Photo: Flickr

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How to Help People in North Korea

Help People in North KoreaNorth Korea is in the news often lately—from the comatose American student Otto Warmbier dying after his release from the country, to dictator Kim Jong Un testing missiles capable of reaching the United States. What is less mainstream knowledge, however, is the plight of 25 million North Koreans who face chronic food shortages, poverty and a repressive regime. Focus is not often on how to help people in North Korea.

North Korea’s government spends more than 20 percent of its GDP on defense while more than half of its population lives in extreme poverty. As a result, one-third of children have stunted growth and thousands, if not millions, die of preventable starvation.

North Korea represses its citizens by censoring and restricting any information from outside the closed-off country. State propaganda leads North Koreans to believe the rest of the world is threatening and inferior. For crimes against the regime — real or perceived — an estimated 200,000 people work in abusive prison camps where torture and rape abound.

The vast amount of suffering in North Korea seems daunting, but there is hope. Here is how to help people in North Korea:

  1. Mail in old flash drives
    The North Korean government brainwashes residents to think it is doing a wonderful job protecting it from the outside world, despite struggling to feed, house and employ its people. It is possible to help free North Koreans from this manipulation by sending old flash drives to Flash Drives for Freedom. The nonprofit will erase what is on them and fill them with films, internet content and books. It works with South Korean partners to smuggle the drives into North Korea.According to Wired, these glimpses of outside information have the power to change North Koreans’ view of the U.S. and other nations the dictatorship has labeled as evil. Recognizing the regime’s lies can empower citizens to question the legitimacy of the regime and encourage others to do the same.
  2. Support organizations
    Multiple agencies worked for years to relieve suffering in North Korea. One of them, the Defense Forum Foundation, began working for human rights in the country in 1996. The Defense Forum Foundation helped establish Free North Korea Radio, a radio program broadcast into North Korea with messages from defectors. The organization also rescued hundreds of North Korean refugees and created annual events to spread awareness and encourage people to act.Another organization, Liberty in North Korea, rescued more than 600 refugees by providing safe passage over thousands of miles of China and Southeast Asia. According to its website, $3,000 is all it takes to rescue and resettle one refugee.The North Korea Freedom Coalition could also use donor support. It coordinates with its many partners to get food aid to North Koreans, pressure the government to release abductees and more. It helped establish North Korea Freedom Day in 2004, which garnered public and political support for the North Korea Human Rights Act, signed into law that year.
  3. Contact representatives
    The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives each has a bill reauthorizing and strengthening the North Korean Human Rights Act. Passage of these bills would ensure the U.S. continues working to help people in North Korea — both those who stay and those who flee the country.The Senate bill, for example, wants the U.S. government to expand private broadcasting inside North Korea to disseminate news and information contradictory to what citizens hear from propagandizing, state-controlled broadcasts.Another facet of both bills calls for the United States to urge China to stop returning North Korean defectors where they and their families face several forms of persecution, like sexual abuse and forced labor. They also mention that the United States should cooperate with countries that border North Korea to develop long-term plans of “humanitarian assistance and human rights promotion and to effectively assimilate North Korean defectors.”Also included in the bills is a section for the continuation of supporting North Korean refugees with resettlement in the United States, if that is their choice. Only around 200 North Koreans resettled in the United States. An estimated 100,000 to 300,000 North Koreans have defected since 1953. Several thousand live in China in fear of deportation.

Many people call North Korea the most miserable and repressed society in the world. But there are ways to help people in North Korea.

– Kristen Reesor

Photo: Flickr

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Disparities in Water Quality in Gabon

Water resources in GabonWater quality in Gabon is abundant, but unevenly distributed and strained by high rates of urbanization. Gabon has one of the highest levels of water availability in the world, at 127,825 cubic meters per capita, per year.

Eighty-seven percent of Gabon’s 1.8 million people live in urban areas, such as Libreville and Port-Gentil. As the urban population increases, so does the demand for a fixed water supply. Gabon’s low capacity for drinking water production and lack of storage and maintenance facilities leads to frequent water shortages in Libreville and other urban areas.

Water quality in Gabon is different in urban and rural areas. In 2015, 92 percent of urban areas and 59 percent of rural areas had access to improved water resources. ‘Improved’ drinking sources include piped water on property and other improved sources of drinking water, according to the World Health Organization.

Despite its status as an upper middle-income country, 34 percent of the population lives in poverty. Rural, poverty stricken areas suffer deprivation from drinking water resources in Gabon, and 58 percent of the population does not have access to improved sanitation facilities. In 2015, sanitation rates in urban and rural areas were 43 and 32 percent, respectively.

Access to sanitation facilities is very low in Gabon. Inadequate wastewater and rainwater networks and deficient solid waste management explain the disparity.

Inadequate sewage and waste management led to negative health outcomes. Insufficient sanitation and lack of access to improved water sources are associated with the increased risk of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), a class of infectious bacterial and parasitic diseases. In Gabon, a large proportion of the population is at risk of infection from soil-transmitted helminthiasis, lymphatic filariasis and schistosomiasis.

The infrastructure for drinking water and sanitation were identified as priority areas for reform in the Gabonese government’s 2016–2020 Country Strategy Paper. Long-term success for water and waste management requires understanding how wealth distribution and social gradients affect water quality in Gabon. The CSP addresses social and infrastructural issues and broadened the scope of the development plan. It plans to build a sustainable water and sanitation infrastructure.

– Gabrielle Doran

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Suriname Refugees

Suriname RefugeesSuriname is small country on the northeast coast of South America. The following 10 facts about Suriname refugees only begin to touch upon the country’s history of refugees who fled the country for reasons of civil war, and of people from other countries who sought asylum in Suriname in recent years. Now, the country is adopting new practices to reach an international level of refugee acceptance and security.

  1. In 1991, 4,300 Surinamese found safety in refugee camps in the neighboring country of French Guiana, amid a raging four-year domestic civil war led by guerrilla commander Ronny Brunswijk.
  2. The French offered the refugees some financial aid, and planned to close the camps, sending those inside back to Suriname.
  3. Between 2007 and 2014, Suriname saw the number of refugees and stateless persons significantly decrease to the lowest the country had since the civil war.
  4. In 2014, there were a reported 17 outgoing refugees and people in refugee-like situations in Suriname. Only two cases of concern were documented as incoming asylum-seekers.
  5. In 2016, Suriname received 40 applications from Cuban refugees seeking security in the country.
  6. In the same year, 13 Surinamese applied for asylum in the Netherlands and Belgium, with the most successful acceptance rate in the Netherlands.
  7. Asylum-seekers and migrants found Suriname an attractive place of refuge because of its better wages in agricultural work, ease of border crossing, a perception of an accepting population and the prospect of a promising life working in Suriname’s gold mining industry.
  8. The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) recognized many positive developments in Suriname. In July 2014, the country passed the Draft Law on Nationality and Residency. The new law gives gender equality to both men and women regarding conferring their nationality, and it also protects people by preventing statelessness from loss of nationality.
  9. UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) saw active participation from Suriname in 2013 during the Regional Conference on the Protection of Vulnerable Persons in Mixed Migration Flows: Promoting Cooperation and Identification of Good Practices.
  10. In 2014, the government of Suriname participated in the thirtieth anniversary of the 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, and the Caribbean Sub-Regional Consultation on Mixed Migration and the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons.

Suriname has come a long way since the thousands of refugees seeking shelter elsewhere as the civil war continued. These 10 facts about Suriname refugees show that the country has reduced reason to house stateless persons, and that positive developments and achievements in refugee situations has strengthened its people.

– Olivia Cyr

Photo: Pixabay

Employment Reform Among Causes of Poverty in Germany

Cause of Poverty in GermanyOn March 14, 2003, then-German chancellor Gerhard Schröder announced Agenda 2010, a series of reforms executed by the German government. More than 10 years later Agenda 2010 is seen as one of the leading causes of poverty in Germany.

Agenda 2010 was created to accelerate economic growth, create jobs and ultimately reduce unemployment. Current data on Germany may seem to support the claim that Agenda 2010 has worked well and that perhaps isn’t one of the causes of poverty in Germany. The bureau of labor statistics sites a continual drop in unemployment, reaching a low of 3.9 percent in April 2017, and World Bank figures show a gross domestic product of $3.467 trillion for Germany in 2016.

The way Agenda 2010 achieved those results was by creating a new, flexible, exclusively part-time employment structure. The motivation was that an employed citizen was better than an unemployed one. To create this new type of temporary work, Agenda 2010 deregulated to encourage employers to hire part-time workers.

Agenda 2010 focused on getting the unemployed back to work. It also created what is known in Germany as the mini-job, a part-time employment that pays 450 euros a month tax-free. As the data shows, employers hired, and the unemployment rate dropped, but this system has caused poverty in Germany to reach its highest since reunification.

German news site DW reported a German study that classified 12.5 million Germans as poor. The poor are classified in Germany by earning less than 60 percent of the median household income, which for a single household is around 900 euros a month. Although Germans are employed, those employed in mini-jobs earn 450 euros, half of the median household income of a single household.

The Federal Agency of Statistics for Labor in Germany cites 7.5 million Germans working mini-jobs and two million Germans working two jobs. The causes of poverty in Germany can be directly linked to Agenda 2010, which created more employment opportunity while also creating a new working poor. During an interview with Euronews, Dierk Hirschel, chief economist of Verdi, spoke on the issue, “The problem we face in Germany is that one in five workers are paid less than ten euros an hour, they are the “working poor.”

– Yosef Flowers

Photo: Google