Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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The Educational Challenges of the Dominican Stateless

Educational Challenges of the Dominican Stateless
The Dominican Republic denies thousands of children access to education due to nationality laws rendering them stateless. The educational challenges of the Dominican stateless, many of them of Haitian descent, are both varied and continuous.

Since the 1990s, many Dominicans of Haitian descent have encountered difficulties proving their citizenship. A court ruling in 2013 exacerbated these struggles by retroactively declaring immigrants and their descendants to be noncitizens from 1929 forward. This left generations of Dominican people unable to receive healthcare, education or employment, most of which require proof of citizenship.

A report from the Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute gathered information about the educational challenges of the Dominican stateless through interviews and analysis of the Dominican Republic’s education policies. According to the report, schools refuse to enroll students or administer state examinations without birth certificates or proof of nationality. Bureaucratic hurdles and arbitrary enforcement of the nationality law stall the efforts to remedy this.

A consequence of the Dominican stateless’ inability to attain an education is a lack of high-quality jobs. The Guardian discusses how many migrant descendants work in menial jobs like domestic work by force. Employers also often subject them to abuse or long hours due to the lack of legal protections.

The educational challenges of the Dominican stateless especially affect young people. Yolanda Alcino, a young Dominican descended from Haitian migrants, told The Guardian how she and other Dominican stateless are “discriminated against, and without education, without work, life is more difficult in almost every way.”

In response to this issue, Dominican stateless have protested for their rights. Young people have met with government officials and developed petitions that implore the government to uphold equal rights.

International governments and organizations have also condemned the Dominican Republic for its actions and inaction. As reported in Refugees Deeply, although the country has adopted the New York Declaration, it has not honored the Declaration’s requirement of providing education to all youth.

The domestic and international response to the educational challenges of the Dominican stateless has helped influence the Dominican Republic to modify nationality laws. According to Refugees Deeply, the country will acknowledge the children of undocumented immigrants as citizens if they have a verified birth certificate or go through the process of naturalization.

Despite this, the processes have the same problems: they require too much time and are arbitrarily applied. With the legal, vocational, economic and educational challenges of the Dominican stateless, the Dominican Republic has a lot to remedy.

– Cortney Rowe

Photo: Pixabay

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How Flooding Leads to the Most Common Diseases in Sri Lanka

Common Diseases in Sri Lanka
As a country that endures two monsoon seasons and is surrounded by several bodies of water, Sri Lanka is particularly vulnerable to floods. The country’s floods do not just damage physical property, but also pose a threat to Sri Lankans’ health. Most of the common diseases in Sri Lanka are so due to the danger the floods pose.

The floods that affect Sri Lanka leave the nation’s people with damaged homes and an excess of unsanitary water. With the contaminated floodwater lingering around, more mosquitoes are likely to come, thus increasing the risk of dengue fever. Due to severe flooding that occurred this past May, affecting more than 600,000 people, many are now concerned that dengue cases will increase.

Based on statistics, they have a valid reason to worry. In the past seven months alone, there were already 80,732 dengue fever cases reported in the nation. This number tremendously exceeds the number of cases the country had seen from 2000-2016. While there are four different types of dengue fever, DENV-2 is the one that is mostly spreading throughout the nation right now.

Besides dengue fever, there are other common diseases in Sri Lanka that pose an increased threat due to flooding. One of these diseases is cholera. With 172,454 reported cases in 2015, cholera remains an issue in today’s world. The abundance of contaminated floodwater increases the risk of Sri Lankans contracting cholera.

In response to the recent flooding crisis, Australia is giving the World Health Organization money to establish programs that focus on dengue fever in Sri Lanka. The World Health Organization is also working with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health to assist with any medical issues related to the flood. The World Health Organization is supplying the nation with more beds in an effort to provide more people with medical assistance.

Although the people of Sri Lanka struggle from the aftermath of monsoons, they, fortunately, receive help from others.

– Raven Rentas

Photo: Flickr

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Fighting the Most Common Diseases in Cambodia

Common Diseases in Cambodia
Since Cambodia is a developing country in Asia, it is prone to the spread of diseases. It is not uncommon for drinking water to be home to bacteria and other parasites. People, of course, rely on water for everything, making Cambodia’s contaminated water sources a major issue. Here are some of the most common diseases in Cambodia:

  1. Malaria
    Cities such as Phnom Penh and Siem Reap are free of the risk of malaria, but the rest of Cambodia is exposed to it. Female Anopheles mosquitos spread the disease in Cambodia at night through their bites. When a person is bitten, “parasites multiply in the liver attacking red blood cells resulting in cycles of fever, chills, and sweats accompanied by anemia.”Malaria can be contracted year-round, especially in the western part of the country, making it one of the most common diseases in Cambodia. Those who contract malaria must be put on an antimalarial drug so that it does not attack major organs and cut off blood flow to the brain.
  2. HIV/AIDS
    AIDS in Cambodia is the most common cause of death for children and female sex workers. For female prostitutes, it is extremely difficult to get the drugs needed to treat HIV because their line of work is illegal. An article in the New York Times states that “sex workers are about 12 times as likely to be infected with HIV as other women in their communities.” Many of these women are mothers and pass the disease onto their children.HIV has become such a major issue in Cambodia because there are not enough drugs accessible to mothers to prevent spreading it to their children. With less discrimination and easier access to needed medications, HIV/AIDS could be lessened.
  3. Dengue Fever
    Dengue fever is a disease that is mainly contracted from mosquitos during the rainy season in Cambodia. The infected mosquitos live wherever there is garbage or standing water which can be found in both rural and urban parts of Cambodia. It takes almost a week for the symptoms of dengue to appear, but when they do, many mistake them for the flu. This is usually followed by vomiting, pain in the abdomen and a high fever if it progresses into dengue hemorrhagic fever. Dengue is a disease in Cambodia that can be fatal but can also lead to immunity from infections.
  4. Tuberculosis
    The risk of contracting tuberculosis in Cambodia is high. It is an airborne infection that attacks the lungs and “the lymphatic system, central nervous system, urogenital area, joints, and bones.” People in Cambodia can contract tuberculosis by being around an infected person or drinking unpasteurized milk. Symptoms include chest pain, fever, lack of appetite and being extremely weak. While tuberculosis is typically treated with antibiotics, there is a growing concern that some people have developed a form of the infection that cannot be treated.

By taking more precautions and providing the tools needed to prevent these common diseases in Cambodia, the country could be looking at a healthier population.

– Mackenzie Fielder

Photo: Flickr

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Improving Mental Health in Poor Communities

Mental Health in Poor Communities
While it is proven that poverty leads to cognitive setbacks, similar studies suggest that there are methods to counter poverty and its psychological effects in both the family unit and schools.

Improving mental health in poor communities became a priority in sustainable development over the last decade. Children from low-income families face psychological challenges that are much less common for higher-income children, including developmental delays, mental disabilities, ADHD, anxiety, depression and attention disorders. Parents’ education levels, race and other critical factors are not shown to have as strong a correlation as family income. Scientists trace statistics concerning mental health in poor communities back to inadequate nutrition, obstacles to proper development and chronic stress.

In response to these findings, more promising studies have shown that efforts to improve mental health in disadvantaged populations can be particularly effective during childhood.

For example, nutrition during and for a year after pregnancy is a critical part of cognitive development. Mothers who prioritize nutrition and a high-protein diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding are far more likely to have children free of mental disability.

The parent-child relationship is also crucial. At least one parent or parental figure’s consistent ability to care for a child leads to “secure attachment,” which encourages brain development, feelings of being worthy of love and the development of positive relationships. Professionals today are using attachment theory to understand and assist disadvantaged families.

The takeaway is that prioritizing pregnancy education and support in addition to positive parental relationships can improve mental health in poor communities.

Outside of the family unit, schools are an additional opportunity to promote psychological health in disadvantaged populations. Encouraging students to set goals in the classroom and giving consistent feedback develops student autonomy and intrinsic motivation. Since impoverished individuals are at greater risk of adopting a “victim mindset,” the thought process that external events alone determine their circumstance, drive and independence are crucial to future success.

According to the self-determination theory, surrounding students having material that suggests they can overcome difficult circumstances lead them to believe that they can succeed. Supplementing this school material with similar cultural stories and values at home increases the chances of internalizing positive values.

Organizing students into cooperative learning groups promotes relaxation, high achievement, positive relationships and improved psychological health, according to a 2000 study. Encouraging children to work together may combat the anxiety and stress that results from living in a low-income family and improve socialization.

While the psychological effects of poverty can be discouraging, these studies suggest that simple changes in the home and classroom are highly effective ways of empowering disadvantaged individuals. As research continues in the areas of cognitive development and psychology, further improvement in mental health in poor communities is expected.

– Kailey Dubinsky

Photo: Flickr

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The Three Most Common Diseases in Iceland

Common Diseases in Iceland
Iceland is a country with a small population of about 338,000, making the nation ideal for medical research. Due to a long period of isolation, natives are genetically similar. This means that identifying common diseases in Iceland is simple.

Below are the three most common diseases in Iceland according to the most current global health statistics.

  1. The number one cause of death in Iceland is Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). CHD is “caused by damage or inflammation of the blood vessels that supply the heart.” The result is a narrowing of the blood vessels that slows or prevents blood from reaching the heart. Per 100,000 people in Iceland, about 139 people die annually from CHD. It also contributes to “1,696 annual years of healthy life lost per 100,000 people.”CHD persists in Iceland due to a poor diet that contributes to 87% of the total deaths caused by the disease. Since 1990, the average years of healthy life lost due to CHD has dropped by 42%. This is most likely due to continued research on CHD and the promotion of a healthier diet.
  2. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the number two cause of death in Iceland. AD is the most common form of dementia, which is the loss of memory and other important cognitive functions. AD is mainly caused by genetic predisposition, though many think of it as a normal part of aging. The disease worsens over time so that memory loss increases gradually over many years. The number of people with AD globally is increasing as more people live past the age of 65. In Iceland, AD-caused fatalities increased by 16.9% between 2005 and 2015. Iceland is more susceptible to AD because of its small population and limited genetic diversity. This population also makes it ideal for genetic study towards curing diseases like this. A genetics firm named deCODE based in Iceland has already sequenced the genomes of 2,636 inhabitants working towards this goal. Utilizing their genetic research, scientists have identified two genes, TM2D3 and ABCA7, that are risk factors for AD. Moving forward this information could be utilized to help end AD worldwide.
  3. After cerebrovascular disease, a cardiovascular disease, lung cancer is the fourth leading cause of death in Iceland. Not just one of the common diseases in Iceland, lung cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. A majority of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking tobacco products. In Iceland, tobacco smoke is the second-ranking risk factor that “drives the most death and disability.”Iceland joined the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on Feb. 27, 2005, in an attempt to combat this. Since then, Iceland has established smoke-free public places, banned most tobacco advertising and required warnings on tobacco products.

The three most common diseases in Iceland are also common to most developed nations, including the United States. Placing more attention on global health will be important in preventing and curing these diseases through collaboration and collective research.

– Haley Hurtt

Photo: Google

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Female Workers in the Philippines

Female Workers in the Philippines
The Philippines has emerged as an equality leader among Asian countries, promoting female workers in the Philippines in recent decades. While many female workers in the Philippines still deal with the same struggles as other female workers worldwide, including unequal income and inequality, much more have entered the workforce than any other Asian country. This marks a distinct shift in culture within Asian countries, which infamously used to prevent women from entering the workforce. This has slowed the ability of many to lift themselves out of poverty.

The Philippines ranked first in the MasterCard Worldwide Women’s Advancement Index among Asian countries with a score of 70.5%. Major Asian powers such as China, Japan and Korea scored 61.5, 48.1 and 49.7 respectively. Access to education appears to be the driving cause for the surge of women in the workforce in the Philippines. The Philippines also ranked ahead of all other Asian countries in the percentage of women with secondary and tertiary education.

While women have gained a substantial place in the Philippines workforce, they face issues regarding advancement to more skilled professions and gaining further statues beyond base level employment. Unfortunately, many overqualified women effectively become trapped in entry-level positions. Like many Asian countries, male workers typically fill managerial roles, mainly due to gender biases ingrained in societal expectations.

Numerous policy initiatives have been put in place to promote women in managerial level roles, including the broad policy statements embodied in the Philippines Constitution of 1973, policy instruments embodied in the Letter of Instructions 974 and 1066, and the U.N. World Plan of Action for the Integration of Women in Development.

Despite these policy efforts, a lot of work still remains to promote female workers in the Philippines; it is an issue that should continue to demand attention.

– Garrett Keyes

Photo: Flickr

Ghana’s Poverty Rate and Inequality

Ghana Poverty Rate
The Ghana poverty rate had a slightly contradictory story since 2005. While economic growth steadily increases by about 7% each year, inequality has increased. Poverty remains a consistent problem in specific areas.

As a result of the discovery of offshore oil reserves in 2007, the economy saw a significant boost in 2010. This boost lifted Ghana into middle-income status. According to UNICEF, the Ghana poverty rate fell from 56.5% to 24.2% between 1992 and 2013. The new millennium took a toll, however, going from a 1.8% decrease in poverty per year in the 1990s to 1.1% since 2006.

Ghana has a huge gap between rural and urban households, which almost doubled since the 1990s. The poverty rate in urban areas at 10.6% is nothing compared to 37.9% in rural areas. Almost four million children continue to live below the poverty line, and poverty reduction is not keeping pace with population growth. A Ghanaian child is about 40% more likely to be impoverished than a Ghanaian adult, a staggering 15% rise from the 1990s.

The World Bank lists Ghana’s significant economic barriers as high youth unemployment, ongoing delays in the resolution of debt incurred by energy state-owned enterprises, the high cost of electricity and the need to better match its capacity and the demand for supply. It predicts the country’s prospects as “good,” providing no unforeseen fiscal problems. Both oil and non-oil sectors will likely improve, allowing economic growth to rise in 2017.

The substantial inequality gap between the richest 10% in the country versus the poorest 10% continues to grow. The wealthiest make up about one-third of national consumption and the poorest consume only 1.7%. By 2006, the richest 20% of the country held more than half of the country’s income. In studies between 2013 and 2016, economic growth for the richest percentile was more than 1.4 times greater than the poorest.

The highest levels of Ghana’s inequality are found in specific regions. According to UNICEF, “national policy needs to recognize this issue and address effectively why the poorest people in these regions are not experiencing as high growth as other groups.” Clearly, something must change before the Ghana poverty rate can truly see an equal decline throughout the country.

– Katherine Gallagher

Photo: Flickr

Poverty Rate in Lebanon

Poverty Rate in Lebanon
The poverty rate in Lebanon is increasing, but so is the GDP, although not to its full potential, according to the World Bank. The influx of refugees has caused some challenges to the country’s GDP and strain public finances. But Lebanon remains one of the wealthiest economies in the South Mediterranean region.

Lebanon is a free market economy that relies on service-oriented businesses such as banking and tourism for its income. A civil war in Lebanon from 1975-1990 slowed economic progress. In the years that followed, Lebanon’s government struggled to maintain its economy which resulted in heavy borrowing in the 1990s. But in the early 2000s, the government made improvements to the economy. Foreign investment still has many restrictions, delays and obstacles, and the main source of income is tourism.

The GDP of Lebanon increased an estimated 1.8% in 2016, improving from the 1.3% increase in 2015. With that said, the influx of Syrian refugees in Lebanon created challenges with the economy. According to independent Lebanese government sources, up to 1.5 million Syrian refugees (equal to a quarter of the population of Lebanon) have taken refuge in Lebanon since 2011.

This influx of people strained public finances, service delivery and the environment in Lebanon. The poverty rate in Lebanon is expected to worsen because of increasing income inequality. About 200,000 Lebanese became impoverished due to the Syrian crisis, adding to the one million already classified as poor. Additionally, another 250,000 to 300,000 people became unemployed.

Even though the Syrian crisis caused the poverty rate in Lebanon to increase, the GDP is also increasing. There need to be some solutions of where and how to take care of refugees, while also distributing money to Lebanese citizens.

– Deanna Wetmore

Photo: Flickr

Rural Poverty in Peru

Poverty in Peru Rural
Peru is home to sections of the Amazon rainforest, the Andes mountains and sites of the former Incan empire, which was the largest empire in pre-Columbus America. Although colonial architecture such as Machu Picchu and the infamous llamas attract tourists, poverty in Peru is devastating. Nearly 1.2 million Peruvians, 3.8 percent of the population, lived in extreme poverty in 2016.

The Peruvian economy continues to suffer from the devastating floods and landslides that have wreaked havoc across the country, and the central bank’s economic activity index fell to its lowest level in eight years. Currently, $1 is equivalent to 3.25 Peruvian Sol. This benefits American tourists seeking cheap food and accommodations but harms the Peruvian people.

 

Poverty in Peru Disproportionately Affects Rural Areas

 

Poverty in Peru runs deepest amongst the indigenous population living in remote rural areas. Peru is divided into 25 sections, and five of these are home to 45% of indigenous Peruvians: Apurimac, Ayacucho, Cuzco, Huancavelica and Puno.

The poorest areas are in the Andean Highlands, where a large majority of the indigenous Quechua and Aymara populations are living below the poverty line. Many of these communities are located in remote and isolated regions, so the quality and quantity of material and human resources are inadequate.

Rural poverty in Peru has led the indigenous populations to suffer disproportionately compared to the populations that live in urbanized areas.

In 2009, UNICEF calculated that 78% of children whose first language was Quechua or Aymara lived in poverty, compared to 40% of those whose mother tongue was Spanish. UNICEF also reported that only 32% of indigenous children between three and five attend school, with the number being 55% for non-indigenous children.

This data shows that the rural poverty in Peru has roots in high rates of illiteracy, particularly in women who make up a majority of the family income, and a lack of essential services such as education and electrical power.

In the last decade, there has been a drop in poverty in Peru, which has led to seven million Peruvians who are no longer poor.

– Stefanie Podosek

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Refugees in Namibia

Refugees in Namibia
Namibia is a country in southern Africa with a population of about 2,514,000. The country was formerly a German colony, and then it became a part of South Africa before gaining independence in 1990. Here are 10 facts about refugees in Namibia:

  1. According to the World Bank, 1,737 refugees officially registered in Namibia in 2015. The official number of refugees in Namibia is lower than neighboring countries; Angola, for example, has 15,555, and Zambia has 26,447. However, according to the Namibian government, the World Bank’s count of the number of these refugees is incorrect. Many asylum seekers have moved from designated refugee camps to other parts of Namibia. The government estimates that there were actually more than 6,000 refugees in 2015.
  2. From 1998 to 2001, the number of documented refugees in Namibia skyrocketed from 3,820 to 30,885. The majority of these refugees came across Namibia’s northern border from Angola, where fighting between the Angolan government and rebel group UNITA was taking place.
  3. The official number of refugees peaked at 30,885 in 2001. Since that time, that number has decreased drastically. Namibia saw a slight uptick in the number of officially stateless people from 2007 to 2010, and again in 2013.
  4. Namibia’s Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana described the current state of refugees in Namibia to New Era, a government-owned media outlet in Namibia. “Roughly 80% of these refugees are Congolese. A few are from Rwanda, Burundi, Zimbabwe and other countries, with about 30 asylum seekers arriving at Namibian borders every month,” she said.
  5. The Congolese refugees in Namibia have left behind a state of constant war. In 1996, Rwanda invaded the DRC in pursuit of the perpetrators of the Rwandan Genocide. This initial conflict destabilized the eastern DRC, and over the last two decades, multiple paramilitaries have warred with each other and the Congolese government for control of the region and its resources. This conflict, sometimes dubbed “Africa’s World War,” is the main source of refugees.
  6. After 23 years, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees ended its campaign to serve refugees in Namibia in 2015. Despite the government’s claim that there were more than 6,000 refugees, the U.N. contends that the number has dropped below 5,000. This, as well as Namibia’s upgrade to a middle-income nation at the time, were the U.N.’s justifications for its pull-out.
  7. Many of the refugees in Namibia live at the Osire camp—a specifically designated area for them. However, there have been mixed accounts of the quality of conditions at the camp. In 2009, a local human rights organization smuggled 41 people out of the camp after they had received death threats. The refugees were denied access at the border of Botswana and remained in “no man’s land” between Botswana and Namibia.
  8. Although the U.N. stopped direct refugee operations, the international union continues to support refugees in Namibia by lending resources from its regional office in Pretoria, South Africa.
  9. Namibia has begun resettling its refugees in other countries that will take them, known as “third countries.” In 2016, Namibia resettled more than 200 refugees to other countries, citing a lack of ability to provide for them.
  10. The U.N. conducted research on refugees at the Osire camp to test for HIV; the organization also provided the refugees with information on how to avoid contracting the virus. The program was a moderate success, as it successfully educated refugees at the camp about HIV/AIDS. However, the data also shows that the percentage of refugees at the Osire camp with HIV/AIDS exceeds the percentage of those from the surrounding areas (38.3% compared to 30.2%).

These facts about refugees in Namibia demonstrate that despite a lack of statistical clarity, the nation is still working to accommodate those in need.

– David Mclellan

Photo: Flickr