Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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10 Facts About Hunger in the Gambia


The Gambia, officially the Republic of the Gambia, is a country in West Africa almost entirely surrounded by Senegal. The Gambia is the smallest country in mainland Africa, home to just fewer than two million people, about half of whom live in poverty. Here are 10 facts about hunger in the Gambia.

10 Facts About Hunger in the Gambia

  1. Approximately one-tenth of the Gambia’s population is food-insecure, and nearly one in three Gambians are vulnerable to food insecurity.
  2. Food insecurity has led to high malnutrition rates. In 2015, 10.3 percent of the population was malnourished.
  3. Malnutrition in the Gambia has resulted in the stunting of growth in 24.9 percent of children.
  4. The country’s high poverty rate contributes to hunger. Nearly half — 48 percent of the population — live below the national poverty line.
  5. The population is growing exceptionally quickly. Since 2003, the population has grown by 36 percent, to almost two million people.
  6. The Gambia is classified as a food-deficit, low-income country. It ranked 175 out of 188 countries in the UNDP Human Development Index.
  7. Due to the Gambia’s climate, the country’s agriculture is particularly susceptible to damage from climate change, with extreme weather events and rising sea levels harming output.
  8. Food costs in the Gambia are increasing. Since domestic cereal production fulfills just 60 percent of demand, the population relies greatly on food imports. As a result, the retail price of imported rice has almost doubled within the past decade.
  9. Like many other impoverished countries, poverty in the Gambia is worse in rural areas. Approximately three-quarters of the rural population lives in poverty.
  10. Women in the country are also facing higher rates of poverty. Women in the Gambia make up more than 50 percent of the agricultural labor force and 70 percent of unskilled laborers. However, lack of access to new technology and land hurt their incomes.

Climate change and increasingly low agricultural output continue to worsen hunger in the country. However, providing the population with new technology to help them become more resilient to environmental changes could help reduce hunger in the Gambia.

– Alexi Worley

Photo: Flickr

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5 Facts About the State of Hunger in Guam


Guam is a U.S. island territory in Micronesia, with a small population of 162,742 as of 2016. Issues such as unemployment and the high cost of living contribute to hunger in Guam. However, with the aid of organizations like The Salvation Army in Guam and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s distribution of food stamps, conditions are beginning to look up for citizens. The following are five facts on the state of hunger in Guam.

5 Facts About the State of Hunger in Guam

  1. As of 2013, the unemployment rate sits at 8.4 percent. The deep drop only contributes to the issue of hunger in Guam, making it difficult for individuals to work well-paying jobs and earn enough money to provide for their families.
  2. In 2015, the number of Guam residents on food stamp assistance rose 3.7 percent, with a total of 15,779 island households receiving food subsidies, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which funds the national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
  3. In 1994, one in every 8.4 Guam residents received food stamps. Today that number has dropped to one in every 3.4 residents.
  4. The Guam Department of Education wishes to expand the program to give more students free meals in Guam’s 41 public schools. This will cost the government of Guam an additional $3 million to $5 million a year to fund.
  5. The Salvation Army focuses efforts in Guam, providing millions of meals to face the threat of food security, cure hunger and overcome poverty. Donations and various means of volunteering through this outlet help kids in low-income communities thrive.

Ending hunger in Guam, particularly child hunger, is a high priority for Guam. Communities and schools have joined together in fighting the widespread problem. By ensuring that food programs extend to greater groups of people, hunger can hopefully be eliminated as a whole in the near future.

– Mikaela Frigillana

Photo: Flickr

Healthcare System in Bangladesh: Improvements Despite Poverty


Though the country is still considered one of the poorest in the world, a stable economy, declining rates of poverty and involvement with third-parties, has provided the healthcare system in Bangladesh with a significant rise in quality over the years.

In an article published by Reuters, Professor Mushtaque Chowdhury of Dhaka’s BRAC University, and co-leader of a series of published studies for the Lancet medical journal, praised Bangladesh for its positive changes to their economy and their healthcare system.

“Over the past 40 years, Bangladesh has outperformed its Asian neighbors, convincingly defying the expert view that reducing poverty and increasing resources are the key drivers of better population health,” Chowdhury said.

According to a report published by the World Health Organization, the healthcare system in Bangladesh relies on four key components: the government, private sector, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and donor agencies.

In the latest reports from the Bangladesh National Accounts, the Bangladeshi government spends $2.3 billion on healthcare, which constitutes a total of $16.20 per person. These benefits are available to everyone, but many sick people are left untreated under the state-run system.

Though there is an extensive healthcare infrastructure, hospitals and clinics are not adequately provided with drugs, manpower and other supplies. This places limitations on a number of people who can be treated in the region.

Despite all of this, the healthcare system in Bangladesh has shown a marked improvement in maternal, infant and child mortality rates. Targets for the treatment and prevention of HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria are also on course.

Successful outcomes are being achieved through the public sector providing key intervention strategies such as child delivery in healthcare facilities, providing childhood immunizations, and successful treatment rates of TB.

To make up for the limitations of their public services and the inability to reach everyone in the country, the healthcare system in Bangladesh is very flexible when it comes to the private sector and NGOs.

Organizations such as USAID have provided substantial support to government programs and have introduced technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases such as TB.

The healthcare system in Bangladesh has set a great example for other Asian countries. Through the efforts of both the state and various NGO and private sector programs in the region, the country has gained a precedent for providing substantial healthcare at a very low cost.

– Drew Hazzard

Photo: Flickr

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Literacy in India: Room to Read


Literacy in India is distributed unevenly, and in the rural places where it is absent, it has continued to perpetuate poverty. Thirty-six percent of the world’s illiterate live in India, and one in five people were considered poor in 2016.

Room to Read is a program dedicated to using education as a weapon against that imbalance. It launched in 2003 in India and is now the most successful program among the 10 countries where it operates. By encouraging active reading habits and setting a goal to have all girls finish secondary school, literacy in India is improving immensely with the program’s help.

Students involved with the Room to Read Literacy Program read three times as fast as students in nearby schools, and of the 2014 graduates from the Girl’s Education Program, 84 percent went on to pursue post-secondary degrees.

Forty-seven percent of girls in India marry before the age of 18, and therefore do not pursue education. Young marriage perpetuates poverty, as the young women must provide for a family with limited opportunities. Today, female literacy in India is up to nearly 63 percent compared to 45 percent in 2000, and poverty is declining along with it.

For its humanitarian successes, Room to Read was given a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2006. This distinction represents the proven impact of an organization and grants it $1.25 million in support.

The sustainable model of Room to Read works largely with local governments to create a model of education that can be recreated and instated across developing countries even after the organization’s direct involvement has expired.

So far, the state governments of Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh have been the most impressed in India, and have asked Room to Read to implement its educational system in the states for five years. What began as 360 schools in 2015 grew into 1,000 by 2016, and the three million children reached in India so far is expected to grow to a total of four million.

Putting that in the perspective of a campaign in its 14th active year, it is no surprise that Room to Read has benefited 11.5 million children globally, with its campaign in India ranking the most successful. Poverty will continue to become rare as literacy in India becomes the norm.

– Brooke Clayton

Photo: Flickr

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Hunger in Finland


Due to Finland’s high standard of living, based on the nation’s welfare system, poverty rates are low. In such a system, the Finnish enjoy an exceptional education system, strong health standards, and safe, connected communities, all of which combine to limit the presence of hunger in Finland.

Finland is one of the top-performing countries in education, measured in the fields of reading literacy, math and science by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to the National Center on Education and the Economy, education is made publicly available from the primary level through upper secondary level.

Naturally, education has been shown to reduce the likelihood of poverty, which remains especially true for Finland, where both the quality and availability of the system is widespread. The same is true for healthcare, where the standard of treatment in Finland ranks highly among other OECD nations.

The Finnish also live in safe communities, where 86 percent of respondents claim that they “feel safe walking alone at night,” compared to the OECD average of 68 percent. A low crime rate reflects the nation’s lack of poverty, due to the elements provided in Finland’s welfare system.

In more specific terms, Finland has the fourth lowest poverty rate among OECD nations, according to a 2016 report. It is unsurprising, then, that the issue of hunger is practically nonexistent within the country. As the organization Trading Economics reports, undernourishment affected only five percent of the Finnish population in 2008.

Moreover, Finland aims to end hunger worldwide, evident through the nation’s consistent donations to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Such donations have contributed to hunger relief in countries such as Lebanon, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and the Central African Republic.

“Thanks to Finland’s flexible and predictable multi-year commitment of €29 million,” wrote the WFP in a 2014 report, “we are able to respond to the needs of vulnerable people using innovative tools that increase dignity and efficiency.”

Assuming Finland continues to meet the demands of its citizens, let alone providing assistance elsewhere, hunger in Finland will not be a concern anytime soon.

– Genevieve DeLorenzo

Photo: Flickr

Differing Measures of Poverty in Turkey


Amid the political tensions running in Turkey, about 30 million people are in need of assistance out of a population of 79 million. The issues of economic problems, social welfare and governmental pressures on families are only hurting those in need.

In 2015, unemployment in Turkey was 10.8 percent with household debt totaling up to 26.4 percent of disposable income. According to a survey released from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), 22.4 percent of households live below the poverty line. However, the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions claims that 50 percent of Turkey’s population as living under the poverty line.

With financial struggles running throughout the nation, the government has shown little interest in helping families who are struggling to feed and care for their children. The government continues to encourage families to have at least three children.

Child support system is paid for on a monthly basis, adding up to about $206 per family. While the numbers have shot up from 19,735 to 101,561 families receiving help, there are no figures available for those supported by nongovernmental organizations.

Socialist International vice president Umut Oran explains that the Turkish government encourages people to have more children, ultimately making poor families poorer and increasing the number of government dependents.

“Membership in the AKP has become a prerequisite for easy access to assistance, though this assistance comes from the taxes the whole nation pays. Through the indirect taxes — which amount to 60 percent [of total tax revenues] — the state gives out what it takes from the citizens’ pockets to the beneficiaries,” Oran explained in an interview.

The government opposition in Turkey has done little to criticize government policies toward poverty. Because of the poverty plaguing the nation, rises in domestic violence and divorce have taken a toll on families in Turkey as well.

– Mary Waller

Photo: Flickr

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Global Feminism Emerges to Combat Gender Inequality


Over the past few months, countless feminists have taken to the streets to protest gender inequality. On Jan. 21, women’s marches took place everywhere from Canada to Kenya to bring awareness to such issues as women’s healthcare, female representation in government and ignorance of sexual assault. Advocates of gender equality have begun to recognize similarities in gender disparity from nation to nation, and a new brand of global feminism has entered its nascent stages.

Elif Shafak, a Turkish novelist, notes the ways in which outcry from women in the U.S. echoes that of women in the Middle East. She attributes it to Western surges in populism, a type of appeal that often caters more closely to men than it does to women. This development may explain why women’s healthcare has been trivialized under the current U.S. administration while resources for men have remained untouched.

Shafak encourages women to continue the conversation about these issues and warns them against complacency, insisting that “the future is not necessarily more developed than the present, and sometimes countries can go backward.”

Shafak makes a good point. Indeed, feminist efforts have garnered the attention of leaders around the world. At the 54th Africa Day anniversary event last week, Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama called for keener gender equality efforts, highlighting the issue of girls’ education. New French President Emmanuel Macron made headlines earlier this month when he appointed 11 women to his 22-seat cabinet.

Though many advocates of gender equality are eager to band together and create opportunities for women, others have reservations about the movement and about the word “feminist” itself. When German Chancellor Angela Merkel was asked if she is a feminist at a panel last month, she answered that she would opt for a different label altogether, as there are certain aspects of the movement that she rejects.

In addition, Shafak prefers the term “sisterhood” to feminism, as she believes it to be more accessible to Middle Eastern women.

Whether the movement is called global feminism, sisterhood or something else, its supporters are undoubtedly making progress in drawing attention to issues of gender equality. Regardless of varying preferences among leaders and advocates around the world, persistent conversations about widespread injustice can only serve to forge a more equitable world.

– Madeline Forwerck

Photo: Flickr

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What Are Sustainable Development Goals?


The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as “Transforming Our World”, are part of a U.N. initiative adopted in September 2015. The SDGs are designed to build on the Millennium Development Goals.

As former U.N. Development Program (UNDP) administrator Helen Clark explained, the goals “provide us with a common plan and agenda to tackle some of the pressing challenges facing our world such as poverty, climate change and conflict.” The 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals includes 17 global goals, which are as follows.

17 Sustainable Development Goals

  1. No Poverty: An end to global poverty means ensuring a sustainable livelihood for all people.
  2. Zero Hunger: Work to achieve food security, improved nutrition, and the promotion of sustainable agriculture.
  3. Good Health and Wellbeing: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing through universal health coverage, production of safe and affordable medicines and vaccines and funding for research and development.
  4. Quality Education: Ensure that all boys and girls get free primary and secondary education and access to affordable vocational training, without experiencing gender and wealth biases.
  5. Gender Equality: Gender equality and female empowerment is a human right, as well as a necessity for sustainable development.
  6. Clean Water and Sanitation: Universal access to safe and affordable water requires investment by the international community in infrastructure and sanitation facilities, and taking steps to protect and restore forests, mountains, wetlands, and rivers.
  7. Affordable and Clean Energy: Critical to the achievement of many other SDGs, investing in infrastructure and technology to provide clean energy will also cause economic growth in developing countries.
  8. Decent Work and Economic Growth: Promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth and employment for all people.
  9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: Industrialization creates jobs and generates income, reducing poverty and increasing living standards for all people. Technological innovation encourages development and provides new jobs.
  10. Reduced Inequalities: Reducing income inequality, as well as inequalities based on race, sex, age, and other statuses, requires improvement in policies and regulations, promoting economic inclusion.
  11. Sustainable Cities and Communities: Most of those who are living in extreme poverty reside in cities. Achieving sustainable development in cities requires providing access to affordable housing, investing in public transportation, and improving urban planning.
  12. Responsible Consumption and Production: Countries must change the way they produce and consume goods, minimizing the toxic materials used and waste generated in the production and consumption processes.
  13. Climate Action: Climate change affects every country. The international community is working together to develop sustainable low-carbon pathways to the future, and mobilizing $100 billion annually, by 2020, to meet the needs of developing countries.
  14. Life Below Water: Marine pollution has reached critical levels – every square kilometer of the ocean has an average of 13,000 pieces of plastic litter. Sustainable management and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems from pollution and the impact of ocean acidification is extremely important.
  15. Life On Land: Forests make up 30 percent of the Earth’s surface. They provide habitats for millions of animal, insect, and plant species, and are sources for clean air and water. The goal is to conserve and restore forests, wetlands, drylands and mountains by 2020.
  16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.
  17. Partnerships for the Goals: Strengthen the means of implementation, and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

These 17 SDGs are bold and will require continued strong leadership to achieve. Many countries succeeded in achieving their Millennium Development Goals, so while there is a difficult road ahead it is not an impossible task to create a more prosperous and sustainable world for all.

– Mary Barringer

Photo: Flickr

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Top Diseases in Mauritania


Situated off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania lies between the Maghreb and western sub-Saharan Africa. Though it is rich in natural resources, Mauritania is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 151st out of 191 countries in gross domestic product, according to the International Monetary Fund. Weak health infrastructure and poor human development have contributed to a life expectancy of just over 63 years. Here are the top diseases in Mauritania:

Tuberculosis

A dangerous infectious disease spread by coughing and sneezing, tuberculosis is the deadliest disease in Mauritania, accounting for more than 12 percent of the total deaths in 2014. The first studies examining tuberculosis in Mauritania were conducted in 1987. Since then, government-directed anti-tuberculosis programs have had some success, even reducing the incidence of tuberculosis by almost eight percent from 1995 to 2001.

Malaria

Endemic in many regions across the country, malaria is another one of the top diseases in Mauritania. According to the World Health Organization, malaria made up almost seven percent of deaths in 2014. Since 1990, the number of reported cases of malaria have increased, with an average of 181,000 cases per year. Frequent epidemics often overwhelm understaffed health clinics and lead to the spread of the disease.

Through the National Malaria Control Programme, the Mauritanian Ministry of Health has developed a plan to lower malaria-related fatalities. The plan aims to improve methods of detecting and treating malaria.

HIV/AIDS

Like some of its neighbors, Mauritania has been greatly impacted by the spread of HIV. HIV/AIDS accounted for almost three percent of total deaths in 2014. In 2014, as chair of the African Union, Mauritanian President Abdel Aziz pledged to step up efforts across the continent to fight AIDS. A primary component of the renewed efforts will be shifting production of treatment to the continent.

Clearly, Mauritania is committed to financing its health programs without relying on international support. Yet until the country improves its health infrastructure, continued foreign aid will be key in fighting the top diseases in Mauritania.

– Yosef Gross

Photo: Flickr

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The Successes of Education in Trinidad and Tobago


The education system in Trinidad and Tobago is one of the government’s highest priorities, and the country has an outstanding reputation in this regard. As of 2015, the country had a literacy rate of 96.9 percent according to UNESCO statistics and has steadily grown since the early nineties.

Education in Trinidad and Tobago is free and compulsory but accessible from the preschool age of three which is considered non-mandatory. After the completion of secondary school, students are given the option of staying on for an additional two years of high school which can lead to an advanced proficiency certificate and entry into a tertiary institution.

University in Trinidad and Tobago is free at the undergraduate degree and only approved at the University of the West Indies, the University of Trinidad and Tobago and the University of the Southern Caribbean. The government of Trinidad and Tobago also provides subsidies for some master’s programs making education in Trinidad and Tobago the best in the Caribbean.

In 2007, Trinidad and Tobago commenced a pilot study to focus on children with special needs outside of partnering with private preschools to develop four models that address childhood education.

Education in Trinidad and Tobago is considered one of the country’s greatest strengths and is very multi-faceted. Trinidad’s education sector stands out among emerging markets and ranks on the global competitiveness report. According to the OECD PISA score of Trinidad and Tobago, girls perform significantly better than boys statistically. A lot of students has also repeated a grade compared to other countries and economies also participating in PISA.

While education in Trinidad and Tobago has seen great improvement, particularly in curriculum design and strategic policy, the Ministry of Education and major stakeholders continue to be more innovative in their efforts to create a highly skilled, knowledgeable workforce.

Education is Trinidad and Tobago is considered one the most important development tools for the country.

– Rochelle R. Dean

Photo: Flickr