Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Education in Turkmenistan


Forty percent of Turkmenistan’s population is under the age of 15, which according to UNICEF provides the country with an opportunity for growth if this young population is able to receive a good education. However, they also recognize that this growing population could be a problem for the country if the quality of education in Turkmenistan begins to decline. It is important for the school systems to continue to grow over the coming years to prepare for this rising generation of students.

In order to ensure the continuation of this necessary growth, the country’s government has partnered with UNICEF to create an educational review program to monitor the progress of schools. They are working to analyze the needs of schools and make necessary improvements to their programs. These improvements appear to be making an impact in the nation since there is a 97 percent attendance rating in primary schools.

However, secondary schools have a lower attendance rate of 85 percent and for pre-primary schools, this number is even lower. This lack of attendance is due to the lack of school buildings and the deterioration of current ones. A UNICEF report states, that as more buildings become unusable, attendance rates will decrease.

According to UNESCO, the literary rate for ages 15 and up in Turkmenistan is almost 100 percent for both sexes. In addition, data from UNICEF indicates that education in Turkmenistan is in a state of equity, with no enrollment gaps between genders or across social classes. Education in Turkmenistan is now mandatory for students ages six to 17 and this is making a great impact, according to UNESCO.

This is because the rate of illiterate members in the population ages 15 and older have been steadily declining. There are half as many illiterate adults as there were in 1995, according to a UNESCO report on literacy and education in Turkmenistan. Despite many improvements in education over the last few decades, UNICEF warns that the government needs to work to assure that these improvements are not lost due to issues that the country is facing, particularly as it pertains to the lack of facilities that can be turned into schools.

– Helen Barker

Photo: Flickr

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Top Diseases in the Czech Republic


Modern medicine has rapidly developed over the past few years, but even today, diseases are still a major threat to many Europeans. Located in Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic is home to over 10 million people and, although poverty is at an all-time low, diseases in the Czech Republic still threaten its citizens. Data shows that the biggest threats are cardiovascular diseases, which take the lives of thousands every single year. Here is a list of the most threatening diseases in the Czech Republic.

Non-communicable Diseases

When breaking it down, non-communicable diseases make up more than 90 percent of the most harmful and deadliest diseases in the Czech Republic. From here, cardiovascular diseases make up for 48 percent of deadliest diseases, with cancer following second-most deadliest disease at 26 percent. Cancer is on a rise in the Czech Republic. For example, the mortality rate of pancreatic cancer has increased by 41 percent since 1990. Meanwhile, cardiovascular disease is actually decreasing. Ischemic Heart Disease has the highest mortality rate from the list of all diseases in the Czech Republic, but has luckily decreased by 25 percent over the past two decades. According to experts, poor diet, high systolic blood pressure and tobacco smoke are the most significant risk factors for Czech Republic citizens.

Communicable Diseases

Communicable diseases account for only a small percentage of deaths. Diarrhea, lower respiratory, and other common infectious diseases, which make up for 90 percent of communicable diseases, contribute only three percent to the deadliest diseases list. However, there have been sudden spikes in mortality rates for communicable diseases in the Czech Republic. The mortality rate for diarrheal diseases has increased by 307 percent between the years 1990 and 2013. Lower respiratory infections are only becoming more common.

Chronic Diseases and Obesity

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) stated that the Czech Republic needs to work on both preventing and reducing chronic diseases. In particular, there are many chronic diseases in the Czech Republic that are caused by obesity. The rates of adult obesity have risen from 14 to 21 percent between the years 2000 and 2011. Obesity is causing fatal strokes and heart attacks, while also making many people develop diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. The prevalence of diabetes in the Czech Republic is about eight percent, which is higher than the OECD average.

The head of the OECD Health division, Francesca Colombo, stated that “The fact that obesity rates are higher than the OECD average and growing is very alarming.” She continues to explain that “The Czech Republic needs to renew its focus on programs that prevent disease.”

From communicable and non-communicable diseases, there is a lot of work to be done in order to prevent and reduce diseases in the Czech Republic.

– Morgan Leahy

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Angola Refugees


For nearly three decades, Angola struggled with instability fighting for its independence from Portugal and then faced a crippling civil war which left many citizens displaced in and out of the country. Now, Angola faces a new issue on the brink of their reparations for their returning citizens. Refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are flooding into the country. Here are 10 Facts about Angola refugees.

10 Facts About Angola Refugees

  1. The three decades of war left 550,000 Angola refugees primarily fleeing to Zambia, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa.
  2. Since the ceasing of war in 2002, around 70,000 Angola refugees have returned home. Many of the different types of soldiers have also returned. “There are also an estimated 4.1 million IDPs, of which 80,000 are former UNITA soldiers,” according to the Council of Foreign Relations.
  3. Though there are many refugees who have returned, there are still 73,000 people in exile. A lot of these people are scared to return home.
  4. In the end of 2016, South Africa was allowing Angola refugees, living in the country to apply for permanent residency status, for a limited time, ending the application process on the December 15th, 2016.
  5. In 2012, the Democratic Republic of the Congo ended the refugee status of Angola Refugees. This was part of a government plan to get refugees to return to Angola. During this time 23,000 people returned but as of 2014, 47,815 remained, not wanting to leave.
  6. For those who have returned to Angola, they have found the re-integration process hard to adjust to. Luckily the economy in Angola is getting a lot better but still high rates of unemployment and poverty remain. As Reported by Aljazeera.com, “Some even returned to the DRC after discovering little had been done by Angolan authorities to prepare for their arrival.”
  7. Now, refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are flooding into Angola, due to problems back home. More than twenty thousand refugees from the DR Congo have fled to Angola since April 2017. In the second week of March 2017, nearly 3,000 had entered Angola with 70 percent of that population being women and children.
  8. Many of the Democratic Republic of the Congo refugees entering Angola arrive with severe wounds and burns and must be brought to emergency medical treatment immediately. In the second week of May alone, 70 patients were being treated for extreme burns injuries.
  9. The UNHR is helping the Angolan government cope with the current and urgent influx of refugees. The organization provides the government with: food and relief to new arrivals, distributing and pitching up tents for makeshift shelter and finding places that are able to successfully accommodate the refugees.
  10. Children make up one third of the Democratic Republic of the Congo refugees entering Angola. These child refugees are also the most vulnerable group, who are dying because of lack of food, medicine and basic hygiene.

The refugee situation in Angola has come full circle for the government and people of Angola. Luckily with a stable government, Angola is now able to help refugees who are coming from neighboring countries.

– Maria Rodriguez

Photo: Flickr

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USAID is Funding 55 New Health Facilities in Ghana


USAID has funded a project in Ghana that will allow for the construction of 55 new community-based health planning and services (CHPS) compounds in the Northern and Volta Regions, to improve access to health care and reduce preventable maternal and child deaths.

While Ghana already has 155 existing compounds, they are run down and often overused. The health facilities simply cannot handle a number of people coming into the facilities to receive help from the surrounding communities. While USAID is funding the project, Systems for Health Project is implementing it in a collaboration with Ghana Health Services (GHS).

Four of the compounds that USAID is funding are currently under construction, due to be completed by the beginning of September. The new health facilities will be constructed in two different regions, with 28 new health facilities being in the Northern Region of Ghana, and 27 new health facilities in the Volta Region.

As part of the project to be completed by the end of next year, the 155 existing compounds including 78 in the Northern Region, and 77 in the Volta Region, would be renovated. This means that these compounds will be up to date with the new health facilities, and possibly able to handle a higher volume, as they are struggling to keep up now.

The new health facilities will be a big help to Ghana, as they are expected to improve the nutritional status of pregnant women and children, due to the nature of the facilities, watching their overall health as well as maternal. The provision of primary health care in rural areas of Ghana will also be improved by bringing healthcare to the doorstep of the underprivileged communities. The new facilities even have space where the GHS will be supporting interventions that will improve the reproductive health of women.

These classes will benefit the community and are one of the simple yet necessary needs that these communities have been struggling to provide for their population. It will be good for Ghana to continually use and maintain these facilities.

These centers will not only create high in-demand skilled jobs but will aid in lifting Ghana’s communities out of the sickness and hurt they have been experiencing for so long.

– Rilee Pickle

Photo: Flickr

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U.N. and the World Bank: Cooperating to End Global Poverty and Hunger


In May, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Bank announced that they are strengthening their cooperative efforts to end global poverty and hunger. The two organizations are working together in supporting the governments of underdeveloped nations as they work to meet their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The U.N. was founded in 1945 and is comprised of 193 countries around the world, all working to secure peace, end global poverty and hunger, and eliminate terrorism, among other objectives. The World Bank, meanwhile, is an organization with 10,000 employees that provides low-interest loans, credit and grants to developing countries for ventures such as agriculture.

Together, these two groups are working more closely to make sure that the SDGs set by the U.N. are accomplished by 2030. There are 17 goals listed on the U.N.’s website, including the end of global poverty and hunger, quality education and decent work and economic growth, to name a few.

In order to meet these goals by 2030, a framework agreement was signed in Rome on May 10 by Daniel Gustafson, FAO Deputy Director-General, and Hartwig Schafer, Vice President of Operations Policy and Country Services for the World Bank.

Both Gustafson and Schafer agreed that signing this agreement would speed up their goals and help both the U.N. and the World Bank work more efficiently together to end global poverty and hunger. Schafer stated that signing the agreement is an important step in strengthening the organizations’ joint commitment to making project-level assistance faster and more efficient.

The very same day the agreement was signed in Rome, The Ghana News Agency reported a workshop was taking place, organized by the FAO and attended by members of the Coalition for African Rice Development. The workshop afforded members the opportunity to share information on improved rice production practices.

Abebe Haile-Gabriel, the FAO Deputy Regional Representative for Africa, stated that the FAO’s newest operation is an important mechanism for the achievement of their strategic framework.

With the signing of the new agreement and the already-evident action being taken, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development should be on track to reach its goal, and ending global poverty will soon be less of an idea and more of a reality.

– Vicente Vera

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Refugees in Liberia

peope10 Facts About Refugees in Liberia
Bordering the Atlantic Ocean, Liberia is a country located on the continent of Africa and has a population roughly of 4 million people. Liberia is home to thousands of refugees, many of whom originate from Cote d’Ivoire (also known as the Ivory Coast), a country just east of Liberia. Here are 10 facts about refugees in Liberia.

10 Facts About Refugees in Liberia

  1. There are currently over 40,000 persons of concern in Liberia. From this total, 38,000 refugees originate from Cote d’Ivoire. This means that Ivorian refugees in Liberia make up 95 percent of the total refugee population.
  2. Ivorian refugees often flee to Liberia due to civil conflict in their country of origin. Populations in the Ivory Coast are constantly clashing with a rebellion which began shortly after the turn of the 21st century. Since then, there has been a great deal of unrest in the Ivory Coast, forcing many people out of the country. Liberia became a destination for many of the Ivorian asylum-seekers.
  3. A large majority of Ivorian refugees in Liberia live in refugee camps established by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
  4. With the sudden surge of persons of concern, Liberia has requested $34 million in foreign aid. Liberia has only been granted 28 percent of the requested funds.
  5. It is suspected that the reason Liberia is receiving less funding for its refugees is due to the Middle East’s own refugee crisis. People seeking refuge from the Middle East are more likely to gain the attention of nonprofits and global organizations than the Ivorian refugees in Liberia.
  6. In 2016, an Ebola outbreak occurred in Liberia which resulted in thousands of deaths. According to the UNHCR, refugees in Liberia were impacted the most by the outbreak.
  7. Even though it has been over a decade since the war in Cote d’Ivoire, many of the refugees in Liberia feel they cannot return to their country of origin. Instead, many people fleeing from their home countries choose to settle in refugee camps in Liberia.
  8. In 2016, Ivorian authorities, alongside the UNHCR, called for all Ivorian refugees to return home to Cote d’Ivoire. Mariatou Kone, the Ivorian Minister of Solidarity, Social Cohesion and Compensation, stated that Ivorians have conducted two elections without any problems since the election, pleading for the country’s citizens to return home.
  9. Refugee camps in Liberia were never intended or designed to be long-term settlements. As a result, food rations, educational opportunities and medical care are becoming difficult to obtain for people seeking refuge in Liberia.
  10. The majority of people seeking refuge in Liberia are women and children. As a result, UNICEF is working closely in order to ensure proper medical care and child protection for these refugees. For example, in 2012 UNICEF helped more than 20,200 Ivorian and Liberian children through child-friendly education and healthcare programs.

 

The refugee crisis is putting a lot of financial pressure on Liberia. It is absolutely crucial that conditions improve for refugees in Liberia in the near future.

– Morgan Leahy

Photo: Flickr

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Higher Education in St. Lucia has Skyrocketed in the Last 20 Years


Education in St. Lucia, a sovereign island country in the eastern Caribbean, seeks to prepare students for exciting futures in higher education and the workforce. Educators at 75 primary schools and 24 secondary schools have worked for decades to mobilize their youth to succeed.

In response to poor performance by students in grades one to five on a Minimum Standards Test in 1998, the nation enacted the Education Act of 1999. Supported by parliament members, teachers, and students alike, the act clearly outlines students’ rights and actively contributes to curriculum development.

Furthermore, the Education Act of 1999 rests on the idea that citizens ought to pursue higher education in order to serve the community. As a result—and although students over 16 years old may opt-out of attending school under the act—upper secondary institutions boast a 97.2 percent enrollment rate.

In addition to the cultural push for students to attend school as a civic responsibility, perhaps the numerous opportunities for tertiary education compel students to further their studies. The University of the West Indies, which offers online degree programs, frequently awards Rhodes scholarships to residents of St. Lucia and other members of the Commonwealth Caribbean. St. Joseph’s Convent, an all-female secondary school in St. Lucia, also offers scholarships to those with creative skills and potential as leaders.

Sixteen-year-old Kurmysha Harris perfectly exemplifies the standards of education in St. Lucia. A fifth-form student at the St. Joseph’s Convent, she became St. Lucia’s youngest published author when she published her first novel, The Lost Sister, in September 2016.

Harris, who has been writing for most of her life, cites her uncle and parents as major contributors to her book. Sister Rufina, the principal at St. Joseph’s Convent, also reached out upon the book’s release to show support on behalf of the school at large. With such an enthusiastic fan base, Harris has sold more than 600 copies of her novel and has started working on another.

Opportunities for teens like Harris continue to open up far and wide in the country. With governmental attention and widespread support from adults, education in St. Lucia has the nation’s youth bound for success.

– Madeline Forwerck

Photo: Flickr

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Modern Balkans: Hunger in Macedonia is Moving Out


Macedonia is a relatively small country north of Greece with a population of just over two million people. Since gaining its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Macedonia has striven to improve its economic and democratic stability. As international aid and Macedonia’s own efforts to end food insecurity are at an all-time high, hunger in Macedonia has decreased drastically.

In accordance with the last set of Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations, only between 1.3 percent and 2.1 percent of children under the age of five are malnourished. A new set of goals strives to eradicate hunger completely by 2030.

Although this percentage seems small, Macedonia’s history and present state of political unrest have made it difficult to resolve issues of hunger entirely. According to a study completed this year, one-third of the country’s population remains in poverty. This rate is even higher for families with children, an issue explainable by the country’s unemployment rate, which is the highest in Europe. To tackle the looming issue of unemployment and its effect on hunger in Macedonia, the Ministry of Education and Science has worked to improve children’s access to and the quality of education.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has taken a firm stand behind this cause and worked during the past decade to institute programs that enrich student literacy and numerical competency, help disabled students and provide more opportunities for minority individuals. Furthermore, the Macedonian government is pushing its students to study abroad and also welcoming individuals from other countries to attend its universities.

Statistics at the end of 2016 indicate a strong response to this push for better education to eliminate unemployment and poverty in Macedonia. The country’s unemployment rate was reported to be 23.1 percent, compared to its high, in 2005, of 37.27 percent.

Programs put in place have already increased work readiness and lowered unemployment, which will cut off the cycle that has continued sustaining levels of hunger in Macedonia.

– Emily Trosclair

Photo: Flickr

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More Progress Left to be Made on Education in Palau


Considering that it gained sovereignty 23 years ago, there is much work to be done regarding education in Palau. The Republic of Palau, which proclaimed independence from the United States in 1994 (after becoming a post-World War II trust territory), is comprised of 16 states. It lies 722 nautical miles east of Guam in the Pacific and consists of more than 200 islands spread out over 177 miles.

Teacher training greatly impacts education in Palau. In 2013, the Ministry of Education in Palau directed all teachers to take a practice teacher certification test from the Educational Testing Service called the Praxis I Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST). The test contributes to one of the initiatives in the Master Plan for Educational Improvement for 2006–16 established by the Ministry.

The test measured skills in reading, writing and mathematics to determine whether the teachers were qualified to teach. The results were unsatisfactory. The average scores were 29 percent in math, 43 percent in reading and 35 percent in writing. Only 62 percent of the teachers reported having earned a postsecondary degree, and teachers with seven or more years of experience scored lower than their peers. Not only did teachers with less experience score better, but they also reported higher English proficiency, levels of education and tended to teach upper elementary or high school students.

In 2015, 60 percent of elementary teachers claimed high school as their highest level of education. Compare that with Palauan high school teachers: 36 percent earned an associate’s degree and 50 percent earned a bachelor’s degree. While these figures are low, the 2015 figures are higher than those from 2014.

Despite these shortcomings, Palauan census records reveal astonishing improvements in student retention and college education. In 2015, not quite 21 percent of those 25 or older went beyond a high school education. By the time of this report, the percentage of those who attended one to three years of college had also greatly increased, to nearly 64 percent for those 25 or older. This means that college education in Palauan teachers has risen by 45 percent since the year 2000.

While there is much progress left to be made in the arena of Palauan education, it appears to be on the right track, particularly as the country has made its development a priority. Its last plan was not incredibly successful, but it now has a place from which to build. If Palau continues to utilize the PPST, develops additional training for teachers and accepts some of the more highly-educated citizens into its ranks, it is possible for Palau to continue to drastically improve its educational system.

– Emma Tennyson

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Refugees in Taiwan

Taiwan
Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), is not a United Nations member and therefore does have a United Nations High Commission for Refugees office. However, the country has made great strides to provide for refugees all over the world. Here are 10 facts about refugees in Taiwan.

10 Facts About Refugees in Taiwan

  1. Taiwan does not yet accept refugees into the country, but, in July 2016, draft legislation for a refugee law passed its first of three legislative committee reviews. This new law, if passed, would ease the asylum process into Taiwan and allow it to take in more refugees.
  2. However, in 1981, Taiwan was one of the only Asian countries to grant temporary asylum to refugees and offered permanent settlements to all who reach its shores. However, this stopped after several hijackings of planes by Chinese asylum seekers in the 1990s.
  3. In addition, in January 2009, the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment to the National Immigration Act to allow anyone who is persecuted in their country to apply for residency. This really only involved the neighboring those from Myanmar, Tibet, Chinese dissidents or others in a “refugee-like situation,” rather than actual refugees.
  4. Although Taiwan currently does not accept refugees, since 1963, approximately 150,000 illegal Chinese immigrants have entered the country seeking refuge from the communist government.
  5. As a result of this huge annual illegal immigration rate, Taiwan has cracked down on illegal Chinese immigrants since 2003. This crackdown includes the trend of “foreign brides” that has risen in the last two decades.
  6. To compensate for not accepting refugees, two Taiwanese organizations, The Rising People Foundation and a nonprofit organization established by William Hsieh, have launched “Casa di Love,” to build a refugee facility on the Italian island of Lampedusa. The organizations will spend $0.37 million over the next three years to build the facility that will give shelter to refugees all over the world.
  7. In addition, Taiwan donated 10 prefabricated houses to Caritas, an organization in Jordan, to provide housing for 41 Syrian refugees.
  8. In 2013, Taiwan donated 5,000 sets of solar-LED lights to the Azraq Refugee Camp. In 2015, Taiwan signed a $100,000 grant with the International Medical Corps Jordan Country Office to support Syrian and Iraqi refugees.
  9. With the recent movements trying to ban refugees in the United States, Taiwan is now trying to push its own refugee law through the legislative process to allow refugees to seek permanent settlements in the country. Taiwan hopes the acceptance of refugees will stimulate the economy and help the country to become a tech power and be able to further separate itself from China.
  10. Although Taiwan helps refugees all around the world, many of its own citizens have fled the country due to China’s hold on the territory. More than half of all Taiwan refugees reside in the United States, accounting for around 360,000 Taiwanese people.

These 10 facts about refugees in Taiwan show the evolution of Taiwan from a place of solitude to quite the opposite in the 1990s, to once again trying to reinstate the country as a “land of fortune” for both global refugees and its own citizens.

– Amira Wynn