Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Six Things to Know About Education in Samoa

Education in Samoa
While the Samoan education system has achieved much over the years, the oceanic nation still has room to grow, especially in terms of dropout and retention rates. Here are six facts about education in Samoa.

  1. The Education Sector of Samoa serves a population of approximately 193,000 on a land area of 2,820 square kilometers, comprising the two main islands of Upolu and Savai’i and eight small islands. Samoa is a lower-middle-income country with a GDP of nearly $761 million in 2015, with a life expectancy of 73.4 years and a Gender Development Index (GDI) of 0.956 (in comparison, the U.S. has a GDI of 0.995).
  2. According to a 2012 UNESCO report, 99 percent of adult Samoans are literate, compared to the Pacific average of 71 percent and the global average of 84 percent.
  3. Early childhood education in Samoa is provided mainly by non-governmental organizations. The participation rate remains low, with the actual number assumed to be higher due to community‐run, unregistered pre‐schools. Little is known about how these informal early childhood educations perform or how they compare to federally funded programs.
  4. Primary school enrollment rates are high, and most children go on to complete the full cycle of eight years of primary education. Secondary school participation rates have room for improvement, with 50.6 percent of boys and 69.5 percent of girls of secondary school age attending secondary school. Of those attending secondary school, however, graduation rates were above 90 percent in May 2016.
  5. Recent Samoan national reports highlight education as a critical issue in the perpetuation of rural poverty. The 2013 Samoa Hardship and Poverty Report described a strong correlation between poverty, vulnerability status and the level of education of Samoan citizens. The analysis found that males with no tertiary education in urban areas are more likely to be vulnerable to poverty than other demographics. While only 12 percent of Samoans are formally employed, and most live off of informal wages, low-paid employment opportunities in both formal and informal sectors, which do not require any training beyond a secondary education, tend to be male-dominated and concentrated in urban areas.
  6. Informal educational programs play an important role in the delivery of basic education. These include ‘ā’oga faifeau,’ or religious programs, that supplement regular education and nongovernment organizations that provide second-chance educational programs for dropouts. Samoa’s Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture has recently begun incorporating practical subjects and vocational education and training programs to meet the learning needs of both students and the economy.

Compared to the Pacific community and even a majority of the world population, Samoan schools demonstrate characteristics of effective education programs. However, increased emphasis on secondary school retention and the role of informal and vocational education could possibly improve the quality and effectiveness of education in Samoa.

– Casie Wilson

Photo: Flickr

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Indian Authorities Fight Human Trafficking with New Technology

India_human trafficking
The numbers are startling — in 2015, 9,127 people were reported as victims of human trafficking in India. According to the most recent data gathered by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), this was a 25 percent increase from 2014’s numbers. Fortunately, a new case management system, the Impulse Case Info Centre (ICIC), shows promise in the war against human trafficking.

In early February 2017, authorities in the northern part of India received the ICIC software. Developed by the Impulse NGO Network, an organization created to battle human trafficking, ICIC acts as a clearinghouse to track information on human trafficking cases. A few of the objectives of the ICIC are to maintain information on a victim’s biographical details, their family background, circumstances surrounding their disappearance, suspected trafficker(s) and the investigation’s progress.

Tackling Trafficking with Collaboration

In order to reach these goals, the ICIC connects Indian authorities with their counterparts in the neighboring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar, enabling smoother cross-border investigations.

All governmental entities, law enforcement agencies, civil society organizations and media outlets that partner through the ICIC have access to a database that is shared with Indian Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTU). This increased communication between entities means that there would be no repetition of enforcement efforts, therefore boosting overall efficiency.

“The best feature is the alert mechanism that tells investigators if there are other cases registered involving the same trafficker they are looking for,” said Salomi Thommy of Impulse NGO Network.

ICIC’s Approach

The ICIC software uses a straightforward, yet comprehensive approach. Individual ATHUs have an account in which to report their cases, and the software implements a standardized format for easier use by all contributors. The ICIC then acts as a hub of real-time information and contacts appropriate entities when relevant updates are uploaded.

The ICIC also assists users when trafficking victims are identified and rescued. The software ensures that legal support, victim protection, post-rescue vocational training, counseling and medical care are offered to the individual victim.

Yankeela Bhutia, head of one ATHU, was pleased with the approach: “We have been able to solve many cases by logging into this system. Many traffickers are crisscrossing the borders in the region and this system makes it easy to track them.”

– Gisele Dunn

Photo: Flickr

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One-Cent Microchip Offers Inexpensive Healthcare Option

One-Cent Microchip
What can you buy for a penny nowadays? Not much, until just recently.

A team of Stanford researchers conducted a study and developed a microchip that can perform multiple, minimally-invasive medical tests. Even better, the microchip takes only twenty minutes to make. This development has the potential to make inexpensive healthcare in developing countries a reality.

The study, which was published on Feb. 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, recognizes the need for new diagnostic technology in developing and resource-limited areas. The scientists noted that technologies would need to be inexpensive, easy to use and applicable to a wide range of medical situations. The team advised that their microchip is simple enough to be operated by non-specialists, yet it integrates multiple steps and analyses, creating viable point-of-care diagnostic testing. The combination of inexpensive health care and ease of use is a major advancement for developing countries.

Minimally Invasive — Redefined

Researchers explained that the affected cells must be isolated from healthy cells in order to diagnose common lethal diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, cancer and HIV. Previously, complicated tools like centrifuges, magnets or membranes were necessary to isolate the diseased cells. With the microchip, the process is simple, cheap, portable, reusable and minimally invasive.

The microchip consists of conductive particles printed on flexible plastic. A regular inkjet printer can be used to print the particles using conductive nanoparticle ink. A separate silicone section reserved for storing the sample sits on top of the chip. The chip only requires a sample size barely a millionth of a liter.

Once a sample is placed on the chip, an electric current is applied, forcing the conductive particles to react. The user can then alter the current as needed to sort the cells in the sample and perform a variety of diagnostic tests. Additionally, drug screens can be conducted with this microchip.

A Penny and 20 Minutes

The Stanford team notes in their paper that manufacturing the chip is considerably less expensive and time-consuming over its predecessors, as the process requires only an inkjet printer. Electrical engineer and lead author of the study, Rahim Esfandyarpour, explained, “We designed it to eliminate the need for clean-room facilities and trained personnel to fabricate such a device.” Creating the microchip takes just 20 minutes, versus up to weeks for other diagnostic tools. The best part is the price — just a penny per chip.
Esfandyarpour recognized that the microchip has great potential to provide inexpensive healthcare in developing countries.

“Enabling early detection of diseases is one of the greatest opportunities we have for developing effective treatments,” Esfandyarpour said. “Maybe $1 in the U.S. doesn’t count that much, but somewhere in the developing world, it’s a lot of money.”

– Gisele Dunn

Photo: Flickr

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Four Facts about Poverty in Macedonia

Poverty in Macedonia
The small landlocked European country of Macedonia, located north of Greece, has only been officially declared an independent nation since 1991 after winning independence from Yugoslavia. During this short time, the population of Macedonia has struggled with the spread of poverty and remains among the ten poorest countries in Europe. Here are four facts about poverty in Macedonia:

  1. Nearly one-third of Macedonian citizens are poor. A calculated 30.4 percent of people in Macedonia live below the poverty line. Macedonia’s national population is just over two million people, which means a shocking 600,000 individuals are currently living below the poverty line. This is more than double the rate of poverty in the U.S., which measured at 13.5 percent in 2015.
  2. Political and ethnic tensions are contributing factors to the widespread poverty. Suspected government corruption in elections and ongoing prejudice between the Albanian and Macedonian populations prevent the stability necessary for economic improvement. As one Western diplomat claimed while choosing to remain anonymous, “When people have no money, they try to find someone to blame. In Macedonia’s case, ethnic groups blame each other for their misfortunes.”
  3. Unemployment is a major cause of poverty in Macedonia. The rate of unemployment in Macedonia was 23.4 percent in 2016, rendering one in four people unable to find work. The shift from a Yugoslavian command economy, in which the central government mandated many aspects of the market such as prices, incomes and investments, to the modern democratic economy, subject to volatile influences such as supply and demand, has left many citizens without job opportunities.
  4. Children may suffer the effects of poverty in Macedonia more than the adults. Even as progress is made to reduce the national poverty level, families with young children have far higher rates of poverty compared to the national average. According to a comprehensive study by UNICEF, the rates of poverty in Macedonia among households with children increased from 49.3 percent in 2002 to 66.6 percent in 2007. This is especially true among small-scale farmers in rural areas, who comprise 40 percent of the poor in Macedonia.

Future efforts to improve the economic standing of Macedonia will depend largely on expanding the job market and improving local infrastructure. Foreign investors may be able to solve both problems, especially from the United Kingdom and from Germany, as Macedonia continues to stabilize its new governmental structure and appeal to other European countries for support.

– Dan Krajewski

Photo: Flickr

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Three Ways Blockchain Can Help the Poor

Blockchain
Many people have heard about bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that has more than doubled in value over the past year. However, few are familiar with blockchain, the technology behind bitcoin. Blockchain creates a tamperproof public ledger of transactions, thus removing the need for a trusted third party between strangers. Because it is public and contains multiple nodes, the blockchain is practically impossible to corrupt. The potential applications for blockchain are promising and diverse. Blockchain could revolutionize the financial industry, as well as the healthcare sector. There are at least three ways blockchain can help the poor.

  1. Blockchain can be used to establish identity. According to UNICEF, there are more than 200 million children under the age of 5 that are unregistered. More than 80 million of these belong to the least developed countries. Lack of identification can perpetuate the cycle of poverty and increase the risk of exploitation. Children without birth certificates can be denied access to education and healthcare. Later in life, lack of identity can hinder employment or access to assistance programs. In some countries, failure to register is due to governmental red tape. Thankfully, groups like ID2020, BitNation and OneName are already working to use blockchain to help the unidentified poor.
  2. Blockchain can improve healthcare for the poor. Paper-based medical records are onerous, but especially so in developing countries where people frequently relocate due to economic or political instability. Also, it can be difficult to keep track of vaccination history, particularly during the early years of life. Pediatric vaccines often require multiple administrations along a specified timeline. Blockchain technology would help maintain a more accurate record of which vaccines have been administered and are still due to be administered to a child.
  3. One of the ways blockchain can help the poor is by altering the flow of money. Most of the money pouring into developing nations is not from foreign aid, but rather from remittances. On average, more than eight percent of the more than $400 billion of remittances sent to developing countries each year is lost to fees. Because blockchain removes the middle man, the cost of sending remittances would drop significantly. Since more funds would be reaching their target recipient, senders would be motivated to send even more, thus further increasing the cash flow into developing nations. Just as blockchain would help to ensure that remittances make it to their intended recipient, it would also help to ensure foreign aid is used appropriately. Since donations would be part of a public ledger, they would not be susceptible to diversion by corrupt individuals.

These are just a few of the many ways blockchain can help the poor. The technology also holds promise for improving access to credit and establishing land ownership, among a myriad of other applications. It’s no wonder that more and more people are expressing interest in the blockchain.

– Rebecca Yu

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About Spain Refugees

Spain Refugees
Despite having a history of being a welcoming and friendly culture, Spain does not have a very inviting asylum policy. Citizens are pushing their leaders to make Spain a viable location for refugees escaping war-torn countries. Here are 10 facts about Spain refugees.

  1. There were over one million sea arrivals to Europe for refugees in 2015 but only a few thousand went to Spain. There were 1.3 million asylum applications logged but only 13,000 in Madrid.
  2. In 2015, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy issued a statement agreeing that Spain would take only 2,749 refugees. Rajoy believed that due to Spain’s current economic struggles, they could not support an influx of refugees. This number is “less than half of the quote requested by the EU.”
  3. Spanish citizens protested and pressured local governments to change this decision and Rajoy changed the refugee quota to 14,931 in addition to the 2,749.
  4. Even though Spain claimed to have accepted roughly 15,000 refugees over a six-month period in 2015 and 2016, Spain only accepted 18 people according to Spanish NGOs.
  5. In response to this, big cities like Barcelona and Madrid planned a countrywide network for citizens to register to have refugees to stay in their personal homes.
  6. Other cities have offered to join this network. Valencia, the island of Mallorca and the region of Castilla y Leon also pledged to work with local banks, public buildings and universities to receive housing for Spain’s refugees.
  7. Spain refugees see the country as a stepping stone to getting farther north in Europe. Many want to continue on to Germany.
  8. Spain refugees are placed in reception centers for six months. There they receive food, shelter, clothing, legal aid and counseling. “After six months, you don’t get anything. Spain simply throws you out into the street,” says Bashar Haousheh, a Syrian refugee in Spain.
  9. The percentage of Syrian refugees arriving in Spain was 44.2 percent in 2015, over triple that of the next largest nationality, Guinea (Conakry), at 13.6 percent.
  10. Madrid has pledged 10 million euros towards resettlement services. Madrid’s football team, Real Madrid, has pledged over one million euros and the use of its facilities to incoming refugees.

Even though Spain’s recent attempts at accepting refugees are lower than past years, and regardless of the government putting staunch regulations on incoming refugees, the regular citizens of Spain still want to give their assistance and try to make a difference.

– Karyn Adams

Photo: Flickr

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Rebuilding Education in Liberia

Education in Liberia
From 2014-2015, the Ebola virus swept through Liberia. The disease left nearly 5,000 people dead and thousands orphaned, childless or without access to education. The outbreak, combined with 14 years of civil war, weakened an already crumbling education system. In 2014, the Liberian government closed more than 4,000 schools for six months. The action left 1.5 million children without access to sufficient education. Organizations like UNICEF, USAID and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) developed the following programs to rebuild the education system. Their hope is to provide better access to quality education in Liberia.

  1. USAID — Education Crisis Response program
    The goal: to ensure that children had access to education during school closures and to protect children from the Ebola virus after schools were reopened.
    The methodology: During the Ebola epidemic, USAID broadcast lessons on the radio for students affected by the school closures. After the Liberian government reopened schools in Feb. 2015, the organization trained teachers and administrators in Ebola prevention. USAID also assisted schools in creating response plans in case of another Ebola outbreak.
  2. UNICEF — The Education Programme
    The goal: to make education in Liberia easily accessible for children living in poverty or with disabilities.
    The methodology: UNICEF collaborates with local initiatives to make children’s physical and mental health a part of the curriculum. The program also encourages needs assessments for students and educates parents through PTA programs.
  3. Global Partnership for Education (GPE)
    The goal: to fund student scholarships and rebuilding projects.
    The methodology: After the Ebola crisis, GPE donated $40 million in grants to over 2,500 schools. GPE used the grants to supply students with textbooks, build and furnish classrooms and construct housing units for teachers. The funds were also used for teacher training and scholarships for children whose parents didn’t previously have the means to send their children to school.
    In a GPE video, Elizabeth Toe, a K2 teacher, stressed the role of education in sustaining and building communities, “They are Liberian children, and Liberia needs them. They are important. Whether you are poor or rich, you are a part of this country. And you will make a difference in your country and in your family, especially for the girls.”
  4. USAID — Education Quality and Access in Liberia
    The goal: to supply schools with a quality curriculum.
    The methodology: USAID trains teachers in a curriculum that improves literacy and numeracy in primary schools. It prepares students to continue furthering their education. Two of the programs are mentioned here:
  5. Rural Teacher Training Institute
    The goal: to certify all teachers in primary school education. According to USAID, this will “implement the national plan to ensure all children are reading by the end of Grade 3.”
    The methodology: USAID trains teachers in basic curricula, with a focus on reading and math. This training ensures that students in rural areas are receiving the same education as children in larger communities.
  1. Liberia Teacher Training program
    The goal: to assist schools with developing new administration and operations.
    The methodology: USAID trains administrators in policy-making, monitoring learning and making basic management decisions so that schools can develop sustainable practices and operate without assistance.
  2. USAID — Advancing Youth Project
    The goal: to “provide increased access to […] basic education, social opportunities, leadership development and sustainable livelihood pathways for out-of-school Liberian youth.”
    The methodology: The project is for youth who have been affected by the education crisis, who either did not attend school or had their schooling interrupted. They are able to take skill-building classes to secure an occupation and contribute to their community’s economy.
  3. USAID — Girls’ Opportunities to Access Learning (GOAL) Plus program
    The goal: to increase girls’ enrollment in school.
    The methodology: GOAL Plus grants girls in grades one through six with scholarships to ensure their enrollment and continued success in higher education in Liberia. Educating girls is often the main focus of programs like USAID’s because educated women are able to financially contribute to their communities in nations where men have traditionally been the breadwinners.
  4. USAID — Higher Education for Liberian Development
    The goal: to address Liberia’s development challenges.
    The methodology: In partnership with the University of Liberia and Cuttington University, USAID is building “Centers for Excellence.” There, students with interests in engineering and agriculture can pursue quality higher education in Liberia. Citizens with engineering and agricultural skills are crucial to rebuilding Liberia’s economy.
  5. USAID — Center for Excellence in Health and Life Sciences project
    The goal: to “improve the quality of instruction through faculty and staff strengthening, curriculum development and upgrades in instructional resources.”
    The methodology: In partnership with the University of Liberia and Indiana University, USAID created a new two-year undergraduate program for students pursuing careers in medicine, midwifery, life sciences or public health.

– Rachel Cooper

Photo: Flickr

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Rebuilding Schools in Aleppo: Hope for Syrian Children

Schools In Aleppo
Thousands of individuals and families are returning to eastern Aleppo after months of displacement. The U.N. estimates that since the beginning of February, over 40,000 people have moved back to the area. Despite the joy of being able to return home, the war-torn city remains in ruin.

An estimated 1.8 million people in and around Aleppo lack access to clean water. The supply was cut off in the middle of January. The weather in Syria is extremely cold during this time of year, and most houses have no windows or doors. The U.N. is providing assistance in the form of sleeping mats and plastic sheets to cover open windows. Nonetheless, most remain unable to find the same comfort in their homes as they used to.

There is one beacon of hope that remains despite these horrors: the promise of education. Schools in Aleppo are gradually reopening after being destroyed by bombing. Thousands of children require remedial classes to reintegrate into the schooling system. More importantly, these students need to rebuild their confidence.

Close to half of the schools in eastern Aleppo are damaged in some way. However, the process of rebuilding is ongoing. UNICEF is playing a vital role in ensuring that children have access to education in the area. The organization is working hard to reopen and secure safe access to schools in Aleppo.

UNICEF is assessing which former schools can still be used for educational purposes. Roughly 23 primary schools have reopened since the beginning of 2017, and the number continues to grow. Prefabricated classrooms have also been set up for overflows of students who don’t have access to safe buildings.

In some areas of Aleppo, UNICEF has provided “schools in a box” and recreational kits to 90,000 children. Almost 300 teachers have received special training to help children catch up after long periods of missed education.

Children can supplement their education with classes in 70 child service spaces opened by UNICEF. The spaces allow children to play while also providing education on how to stay safe in a war-torn environment. Clinics in these spaces have taught over 60,000 people life-saving information, including how to recognize explosives.

Despite the cold and often uncomfortable conditions inside these makeshift classrooms, children are extremely excited to be getting back into a familiar routine. It is estimated that 1.7 million children in Syria are still not in school. However, the progress being made thus far provides hope that soon all returning children will have access to schools in Aleppo.

– Lindsay Harris

Photo: Flickr

 

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10 Facts About Hunger in Somalia

Situated on the Horn of Africa and plagued by a history of instability, Somalia has fallen victim to crisis after crisis. The end result has created massive hunger in Somalia. Clan warfare, droughts, famines, and the presence of terror group al-Shabab have left much of the country vulnerable and without food.

10 Facts about Hunger in Somalia:

  1. Most recently, hunger in Somalia has worsened due to a two-year drought. Of the country’s 12.3 million people, 6.2 million are severely food insecure. In addition, almost three million cannot reach their daily food requirements.
  2. This is not the first hunger crisis to occur in the country. In 2011, an estimated quarter-million people died due to a severe famine.
  3. Somalia is not the only country currently suffering from a hunger crisis. Hunger levels worldwide are at their highest in decades. Four countries, Nigeria, South Sudan, Yemen and Somalia, are at risk of famine.
  4. Somalia has been attempting to gain stability since the fall of dictator Siad Barre in 1991. The country has been slowly rebuilding itself, with the establishment of a transitional government in 2012 and the election of a new president on February 8.
  5. Somalia has an infant mortality rate of 13.7 percent, the third-highest in the world. Malnutrition is largely to blame, according to UNICEF.
  1. The situation is worse in rural areas, as poor rainfalls have resulted in failing crops and water shortage. As a result, nearly three-quarters of the country’s livestock has died, which harms pastoralists’ livelihoods.
  2. The drought has reduced maize and sorghum harvests to about 25 percent of past averages. Food prices in Somalia have reached near-record levels.
  3. Hunger in Somalia is also high among internally displaced populations (IDPs). Approximately 638,000 of the 1,200,000 IDPs in Somalia are struggling to feed themselves. IDPs are on the move and suffer from loss of income and reduced access to social services.
  4. Somalia has one of the world’s lowest school enrollment rates. Just 42 percent of children — 36 percent are girls — are in school. The U.N. World Food Program operates a program that provides free school meals as a way to both improve attendance and address hunger in Somalia.
  5. “Humanitarian assistance has saved lives in the drought-affected north over the past year, but as the crisis spreads we have no time to lose,” Laurent Bukera, country director of the U.N. World Food Program told the U.N. News Service. The U.N. issued an appeal for 2017 for $864 million to provide assistance to Somalis. The U.N. World Food Program has also put together a $26 million assistance plan.

Hunger in Somalia has a detrimental impact on communities and future generations. The conflict hinders the country’s progress toward establishing stability. However, understanding the facts and conditions surrounding hunger in Somalia is an essential first step in becoming a part of the solution.

– Alexi Worley

Photo: Flickr