Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

,

Mobility for Disabled Persons in Developing Countries

Disabled
Innovations like SafariSeat are about to revolutionize mobility for disabled persons in developing countries.

It is no secret that poverty and disability are correlated. According to the World Health Organization, about 15% of the world population—over a billion people—have a disability. Of this population, 80% live in developing countries, specifically in isolated rural areas where medical services are few and far between.

When it comes to physical disability, studies have shown that there is another correlation between access to wheelchair and GDP per capita. In developed countries, there are about 30 wheelchairs per 10,000 people. In developing countries, however, this figure decreases to only two or three wheelchairs per 10,000 people. But a severe difference between these cultures lies in the amount of walking done: in countries like the U.S., those aged 65 and older walk eight percent of daily trips. In Sub-Saharan Africa, walking comprises 50 percent of all daily trips. Mobility for disabled persons in developing countries is also the area where such access lies farthest beyond reach.

But Janna Deeble, creator of SafariSeat, could very well be the solution. SafariSeat is an off-road, hand-powered redesign of the wheelchair purposed to travel on all-terrain.

When growing up in Kenya, he had befriended Letu, a man immobilized by polio and thus trapped in the confines of his home. Ten years later, when Deeble had left Kenya and Letu, he suffered an accident that caused him to be wheelchair-bound for months. His tough experience surfaced memories of Letu’s lifelong hardship—and SafariSeat sparked in his mind.

SafariSeat uses an easy mechanism that “mimics car suspension ensuring all wheels remain on the ground at all times”. The wheelchair itself is intentionally low-cost, with the idea that local workshops can use even materials like bike parts to repair them. Deeble also called for the designs to be open-sourced, meaning that the blueprints are free to all people in all nations. This enables workshops to make SafariSeat for their residents, create “local, sustainable employment” and provide access to mobility for disabled persons in developing countries.

When finished, Deeble hopes to take this design to those in the remotest areas of East Africa and revolutionize the lives of all like Letu.

– Brenna Yowell

Photo: Flickr

, ,

What’s Next for Aleppo Residents?

Aleppo Residents
As civil war rages on in Syria, residents of the country’s largest city have been forced to flee to surrounding areas. For former Aleppo residents, these evacuations present a new series of challenges and dangers.

Many of these evacuees have fled to the Syrian countryside, Lebanon, or the Turkish border town of Idlib. Lebanon hosts more than 1 million Syrian refugees, yet most evacuees from Aleppo have been transferred to Idlib, inundating the already war-weary area with traumatized and often severely injured evacuees.

Idlib, which is one of the few remaining rebel-held areas in the country, is likely to become the next target as the regime attempts to recapture the country. Rebel fighters from Aleppo are moving to Idlib along with civilians as the regime recaptures large swaths of the country.

For former Aleppo residents in Idlib, however, simply securing housing has been an immense challenge. Evacuees describe exorbitant rent prices and a cold reception from Idlib residents. For former Aleppo residents who lost most of their belongings in the siege and face unemployment, rent prices that can reach $187 a month are often far out of reach. Some evacuees describe conditions where several families are cramped into one house, and those who still cannot afford rent are forced to move to nearby border camps.

As Aleppo residents settle into Idlib and its surrounding camps, the extent of their trauma is becoming quickly evident. Surgeon Mounir Hakimi described children from Aleppo who face amputation or who have shrapnel lodged in their spines. Some have lost vision from the bombing and doctors in Idlib are seeing many patients with seriously infected wounds. In addition, many are suffering from hypothermia and malnutrition.

Even those who escaped Aleppo without serious injury face psychological trauma. In one case, a three-year-old boy was unable to speak due to the shock of the airstrikes. Idlib has seen serious bombing in the past few years, and as a result, its medical infrastructure is sadly reminiscent of Aleppo’s. Many aid workers who left with Aleppo residents intend to continue their work in Idlib. For groups like the Syrian Defence Force who rescued civilians in Aleppo, Idlib is simply a place to continue their work. One Defence Force member expressed the group’s commitment to the residents of Idlib, pointing out that the city had been bombed for the past five years and was unlikely to see a respite in the near future.

Many see Idlib as the next target for the regime now that Aleppo has been recaptured. Airstrikes have inundated Idlib in recent weeks, and dozens of deaths have been reported in the region. In addition, experts believe that as the regime recaptures more territory, the city will be forced to take in further waves of evacuees. This will further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Idlib, and for many former Aleppo residents, the town will provide a continuation of their suffering instead of a much-needed respite.

– Eva Kennedy

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Toy Inspires Low-Cost Lab Aid to Detect Malaria

Toy Inspires Low-Cost Lab Aid to Detect Malaria
Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. In 2015 alone, there were 212 million cases of malaria and 429 thousand deaths. Suffice it to say that malaria is a global health problem.

Even worse is that Sub-Saharan Africa continues to carry a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2015, the region was home to 90 percent of malaria cases and 92 percent of malaria deaths.

The good thing is that malaria is preventable and curable, given the proper tools to do so. A device called a centrifuge that spins a blood sample very quickly and separates different cells can detect malaria. Centrifuges, though, are expensive, bulky and require electricity – which makes it inefficient in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa.

A low-cost lab aid to detect malaria is in dire demand, which is exactly what Manu Prakash, a professor of bioengineering at Stanford University, realized on a trip to Uganda. On his trip, Prakash says he found centrifuges used as doorstops because there was no electricity.

Back in California, Prakash experimented with spinning toys in his search for a model for a low-cost lab aid to detect malaria. Though toys are not the conventional approach to developing a lab aid, Prakesh argues that toys hide profound physical phenomena we take for granted.

After experimenting with several spinning toys, including a yo-yo, they stumbled upon the children’s toy known as the whirligig or buzzer. The toy is made of a disk that spins when the strings that go through it are pulled.

This new low-cost lab aid to detect malaria dubbed the paperfuse, can separate pure plasma from whole blood in less than 1.5 minutes, and isolate malaria parasites in 15 minutes. The paperfuse has an ultra-low-cost of fewer than 20 cents, weighs only two grams and is, therefore, field-portable. The paper fuse could be the tool that helps detect and end malaria in low-income countries in the near future.

– Mayan Derhy

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Top Diseases in Kazakhstan

Top Diseases in Kazakhstan
Nestled between Russia, China and other regions of the former Soviet Union, lies the nation of Kazakhstan. As is the case in many other middle-income countries, ischemic heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death. However, cirrhosis of the liver has overtaken chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as one of the top diseases in Kazakhstan. Together, the top diseases in Kazakhstan claim the lives of approximately 85,000 individuals annually.

Ischemic Heart Disease

Often referred to as Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), Ischemic Heart Disease is a condition characterized by insufficient blood flow to the heart. CAD develops when plaque composed of cholesterol and other substances accumulates in blood vessels. As in much of the developed world, the increasing incidence of heart disease in Kazakhstan is correlated with increased body mass index (BMI). More than half the population is overweight. The most common symptom associated with ischemic heart disease is angina or chest pain. Eventually, CAD can lead to heart attacks, heart failure, or arrhythmia.

Cardiovascular Disease is associated with significant direct (e.g. medical) and indirect (e.g. lost productivity) costs. The good news is, there are simple but effective interventions that can reduce the burden of this disease. One study demonstrated a 460% return on investment for community-based initiatives that promoted better lifestyle choices, such as increased physical activity, smoking cessation and healthy eating.

Stroke

Like ischemic heart disease, stroke is a condition with numerous modifiable risk factors. Most strokes occur when there is insufficient blood flow to the brain. About 20% of strokes are hemorrhagic (due to bleeding). Strokes can result in serious neurological damage and is a leading cause of long-term disability. Community empowerment and education initiatives can help the incidences and severity of strokes. The lifestyle modifications that mitigate the effects of coronary artery disease are also effective in reducing the risk of stroke. In Kazakhstan, sodium intake is one of the most obvious targets for intervention. The average Kazakh consumes over 6,000 mg of sodium daily or three times the maximum recommended by WHO. In addition, limiting alcohol consumption to one drink for women and two for men per day can help lower stroke risk.

Cirrhosis

Reducing alcoholism in Kazakhstan has proven difficult as evidenced by the increasing prevalence of Cirrhosis. Cirrhosis, or end-stage liver disease, is most commonly caused by hepatitis B or C and alcoholism. According to WHO, the average Kazakh over 15 years of age consumes 10.3 liters of pure alcohol, more than in any other Central Asian country. Since the harmful use of alcohol is also tied to socioeconomic development, organized efforts should be targeted toward this problem. Over time, the incidence of liver Cirrhosis would decrease. There would also be the immediate benefit of reduced motor vehicle accidents, due to intoxication.

In many parts of the world, the leading causes of death have shifted from being acute and communicable to being chronic and noncommunicable. Through medical innovations and effective public policy, those former causes of morbidity and mortality have been dramatically reduced. Sustained passion for social change could also help overcome health problems that now plague the modern world.

– Rebecca Yu

Photo: Flickr

Industrial Parks in Ethiopia: Constructing Seventeen Objects

Industrial Parks in Ethiopia
The African country Ethiopia, one of the world’s oldest civilizations, is also one of the world’s poorest countries. On top of that, the nation suffered its most sluggish period of growth in 2015 due to ongoing social unrest and a devastating drought. And so, to enable the nation to become a middle-income country by 2025, an ambitious plan has been set to construct 17 agro-industrial parks in Ethiopia.

The main challenges for Ethiopia are sustaining the economic growth it achieved and accelerating poverty reduction, which can best be done by creating more jobs and therefore expanding the work sector. The industrial parks in Ethiopia plan to do just that. The parks are a part of the second phase of the government’s Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II), which will run from the 2015/16 year until 2019/20.

In the first year of GTP II, the government constructed two parks, both of which have created a much-needed influx of jobs. The first, Bole Lemi I Industrial Park, has created over 11,000 job opportunities and has exported products that have a value of 20 million USD. The other, Hawassa Industrial Park, also created jobs for over 60,000 citizens and is expected to export products valued at one billion USD per year. The government is expected to build an additional three parks in Mekele, Combolcha and Adama this fiscal year.

Industrial parks are known to have a great role in expanding a region’s manufacturing sector and tapping into their local talent. The idea to develop industrial parks in Ethiopia was modeled after those in Asia and Eastern Asian countries such as China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The hope is for the parks to create an influx of jobs for the youth in Ethiopia as they did in other countries, which is an objective of utmost importance in GTP II. Luckily, among the total job opportunities created in the parks, 85% are covered by women and youth, and disabled citizens also have an opportunity to find work. By the time the parks are completed, Ethiopia’s working class will include the full range of the population.

These 17 agro-industrial parks in Ethiopia could be the first step to promoting investment, tapping into the country’s potential and laying the groundwork for a sustainable economy.

– Mayan Derhy

Photo: Flickr

,

French Aid to Ease Poverty in Martinique

French Aid to Ease Poverty In Martinique
Martinique is a small island in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. This insular region of France has a population of 385,551. The official language is French, but the local Antillean Creole dialect is still widely spoken. Despite Martinique’s Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.946, which is the 24th highest HDI in the world according to the United Nations, the country has fallen victim to a series of economic and environmental misfortunes in recent years.

Partly to blame for the rise in poverty in Martinique is the global drop in fuel prices from 2008 to the present. Martinique’s petroleum drilling and refining infrastructures have been unable to keep up with the global market price. Martinique’s petroleum export value has suffered an unprecedented drop from 28% to minus 7% profitability between 2014 and 2015, putting a major burden on their economy.

Another problem facing Martinique and neighboring islands like Guadeloupe is the pollution of Chlordecone, an endocrine-disrupting pesticide that was used on banana farms in the Basse-Terre area of Guadeloupe which lies 105 miles north of Fort-de-France, Martinique’s capital city. “The chlordecone is trapped in the mud on the estuary and is released every time there’s a storm. It will go on for generations,” says Nicolas Diaz, a biologist working for Guadeloupe regional council.

France gave $33 million between 2008 and 2010 to access the scope of the pollution, and conduct research. Scientists of the report concluded that the pesticide has entered into many aspects of Martinique’s food and drinking supply, as well as the environment; introducing a lot of serious health problems onto the island, including a rise in prostate cancer. The poor are the ones that are affected most by chlordecone pollution. “About 80,000 people live in areas where the soil is contaminated and 13,000 absorb more chlordecone than the reference dose per day, simply by eating their own vegetables,” according to professor William Dab, head of the Science Committee for the Martinique and Guadeloupe Chlordecone Plan.

Fishermen have also taken a toll from the pollution as the local lobster and fish populations contain unsafe levels of the pesticide. In response, French overseas minister to Martinique, Victorin Lorel, a native of Guadeloupe, has been instrumental in advocating for a $2.66 million aid package to Martinique’s fishermen to ease the industry loss now and into the future. Lorel also has promised a new “ambitious plan” for fisheries in France’s lesser Antilles overseas departments.

The European Union, as a part of its goal to bring all EU members up to Europe 2020 targets for smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth has allocated €520,951,695 between 2014-2020 to Martinique. The aim is to rebuild infrastructure, increase renewable energy production, improve the skills of the impoverished population and generally raise the quality of life, by lowering poverty.

In addition to the incredible contributions from the EU and the French government, there has been a large effort in France to provide humanitarian aid to help with poverty in Martinique. There are numerous organizations that are involved in providing human services/sending volunteers to the satellite territory, as well as setting up food drives and clothing drives to try to lower risks of poverty in Martinique. It is encouraging to see different entities join together to provide this French outer department hope for their future.

– Joshua Ward

Photo: Flickr

,

Why Foreign Aid is Hurting Africa? It’s Not

foreign aid hurting africa

Why is foreign aid hurting Africa? Is foreign aid hurting Africa? Relax it’s not. While there are certainly examples of aid done right and aid done wrong, the reality is when done correctly (which it usually is) aid is extremely effective.

Why do people say aid is hurting Africa? Let’s be honest, it bothers us to see human suffering and we feel guilty that we’re not doing something about it. In the end, we’re more than happy to buy into an excuse to do nothing. You’ll see this play out in every country. Talk to the “have’s” in any country and they’ll usually tell you why the “have not’s” can’t be helped. Regardless of whether you visit South Africa or India, as an outsider it’s usually quite disturbing hearing a person driving a Mercedes explain to you why the starving child living on the streets outside his mansion can’t be helped. In our never-ending pursuit to be at peace with ourselves, it’s far easier to maintain our lifestyle and buy into doing nothing is better than something.

Four of the ten fastest-growing economies are African countries that have received foreign aid.

    1. Ethiopia 9.7
    2. Turkmenistan 9.1
    3. Democratic Republic of the Congo 8.6
    4. Myanmar 8.3
    5. Uzbekistan 7.9
    6. Cote d’Ivoire 7.8
    7. Papua New Guinea 7.6
    8. India 7.6
    9. Bhutan 7.6
    10. Mozambique 7.3
      Annual average GDP growth % (2014-2017)
      (Business Insider)

 

Good News in the War on Poverty

In 2015 The United Nations completed The Millennium Development Goals which began in 1990. Over that period, remarkable results have been achieved.

  • In 1990, nearly half of the population in developing regions lived on less than $1.25 a day. This rate dropped to 14% in 2015.
  • The total number of people living in extreme poverty has declined by more than half from 1.9 billion to 836 million.
  • The number of underfed people has been almost cut in half from 23.3% to 12.9%
  • Primary school enrollment has risen to 91% from 83%.
  • Sub-Saharan Africa achieved a 20% increase in primary school enrollment from 2000 to 2015.
  • The number of primary school-aged children who were out of school dropped from 100 million to 57 million over the past 15 years.
  • The literacy rate of those between 15 and 24 years old has risen from 83% to 91%.
  • The proportion of girls in school in Southern Asia has risen from 74 girls for every 100 boys to 103 girls for every 100 boys
  • Women now make up 41% of paid non-agricultural employments, an increase from 35%
  • The under-five mortality rate dropped from 90 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births and the number of under-five deaths dropped from 12.7 million to almost 6 million despite the boom in global population
  • The number of globally reported measles cases declined by 67% since 2000 and measles vaccinations helped prevent nearly 15.6 million deaths
  • Maternal mortality declined by almost half
  • New infections of HIV decreased by approximately 40% since 2000
  • The use of Antiretroviral Therapy by AIDS patients increased from 800,000 in 2003 to 13.6 million which has averted 7.6 million deaths between 1995 and 2003
  • Over 6.2 million malaria deaths have been averted since 2000
  • The tuberculosis mortality rate fell by 45% saving an estimated 37 million lives
  • Official development assistance from developed countries increased by 66% in real terms since 2000 and 5 countries (Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, and the UK) exceeded the 0.7% Gross National Income UN assistance target
  • Internet usage is up from 6% in 2000 to 43% in 2015 connecting 3.2 billion people worldwide

(USAID)

 

aid hurting africa

 

,

Food Crisis in Venezuela: Starvation, Corruption and Exodus

Food Crisis in Venezuela
As the food crisis in Venezuela continues to worsen, the country is suffering from issues ranging from starvation to corruption and mass migration to surrounding countries.

Venezuelans lack access to common goods ranging from food to medicine. The country has triple-digit inflation and the currency collapsed nearly 80 percent last year, leading to millions of citizens suffering from food insecurity. Food riots caused violence and even death in several Venezuelan cities last year, and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has responded by attempting to control the increasingly black market distribution of food and goods within the country. The government hopes that by placing limits on how much individuals can buy at a time, it will be able to put an end to the black market operation of buying and reselling food for higher prices.

As children and families suffer from starvation in the country, many parents are attempting to give their children to families who will be able to provide food for them. Reuters reports that at a social services center in Carirubana more than a dozen parents seek help providing care for their children each day. This is a dramatic uptick from last year when the center averaged one parent per day.

A survey released by a children’s rights group reported that two-thirds of 1,099 households with children were not eating enough in the region of Caracas, Venezuela. The average wages in the country are the equivalent of $50 per month. This has created a desperate situation where parents fear that their children will be forced into prostitution or the drug trade in order to survive.

As the food crisis in Venezuela grows increasingly desperate, food trafficking has become one of the largest businesses in the country. The military controls the distribution of food, and documents and interviews reveal that corruption runs rampant at every level from generals to soldiers.

Tens of thousands of Venezuelans cross the borders into Brazil and Columbia each month, some to buy food and return home and others to find a permanent home in a country where food is more readily available. Along border towns, Venezuelans account for 60 percent of all hospital visits, and as more Venezuelan sex workers arrive, the rates of sexually transmitted diseases have skyrocketed in these regions.

As the food crisis in Venezuela continues, it is important that the international community condemns human rights violations and corruption in the country. It is important that global powers like the United States focus on helping partner countries in South America put pressure on the Venezuelan government to promote democracy and end corruption and food insecurity.

– Eva Kennedy

Photo: Flickr

,

Five Efforts to Fight Hunger in Spain

Hunger in Spain
Shaken up by the global economic crisis and with one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe, Spain has many vulnerable people struggling with poverty and hunger. Fortunately, numerous efforts in the towns of Galdakao, El Prat and toward the nation as a whole have helped significantly in the fight against hunger in Spain.

  1. In 2013, the regional government distributed breakfast and snacks to more than 50,000 children at risk of nutritional deficiencies in Andalusia.
  2. In the town of Galdakao, locals installed a community fridge in 2015 where citizens, restaurants and supermarkets can leave leftover food, and anyone who wants it can get it. Paid for by the city, the fridge has helped to feed the hungry and also cut down on waste.
  3. Working closely with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Spain supports the Zero Hunger objective under the Hunger-Free Latin America and the Caribbean 2025 Initiative. A number of projects have been applied to food security governance, deepening the country’s commitment to eradicating hunger within a generation.
  4. Spain is listed as one of the five headquarters that make up Action Against Hunger International, a world leader in the fight against hunger for more than three decades, combating hunger in emergencies, conflicts, natural disasters and vulnerable areas where there is chronic food insecurity.
  5. The adoption of a new “gleaning” movement, which involves the harvesting of farmers’ unwanted crops, has assisted the disadvantaged, sending recovered foods to food banks. The El Punti Solidari food bank in the town of El Prat partnered up with Red Cross, Caritas and opened to 500 local users this year, making a big difference in the lives of families in need.

Despite the recent financial struggles and the growing problem of hunger in Spain, the country has found various methods to improve conditions for health and nutrition for its citizens.

– Mikaela Frigillana

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Mexico’s Oportunidades Program

Mexico's Oportunidades
Although parents in Mexico generally are aware of the long-term benefits of education, they sometimes pull their children out of school and send them to work. This is indicative of the vicious intergenerational cycle of poverty that afflicts many Mexican families.

The goal of the Oportunidades Program — Mexico’s primary anti-poverty program — is to put an end to this cycle by improving the health and education of the children. It represents 46.5% of the country’s federal annual anti-poverty budget and has so far benefitted 6 million people since its beginning in 1997.

The program conditionally supplements the families’ incomes and provides monetary educational grants so that parents can afford to send their children to school. Families are chosen by socio-economic evaluation and payments are given to the female head of the family.

The chief components of the program are as follows:

  • Education: Grants are provided for primary school students all the way through high school. As students progress in their educations, the grants become slightly higher for girls than for boys. This has resulted in an enrollment increase of 20 percent for girls and 10 percent for boys in secondary school.
  • Health: Government public health institutions provide basic health care for families with particular emphasis on preventative health care. As a result, children between the ages of one and five have a 12 percent lower incidence of illness. There has also been an 11.8% drop in anemia among children under age two.
  • Nutrition: Families receive about 155 pesos monthly in order to increase the quality of the children’s food consumption. Nutritional supplements are also provided for small children and pregnant women.

Up to a third of the decrease in poverty in rural areas can be attributed to the Oportunidades Program, according to a 2014 world bank report. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) also evaluated the program’s effectiveness and found that after three years, children in rural areas have increased their school enrollment, have improved diets and have received better medical attention.

Recently the Oportunidades Program, now called Prospera, has spread to urban areas and extended high school education grants. The program has also been successfully replicated in 52 countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

Oportunidades’ resounding success proves that conditional cash transfer programs, even on a large scale, do in fact reduce poverty and prepare the country for long-term economic growth. This investment in human capital — primarily the children’s well-being and education — is an exemplary way to not only reduce poverty but eliminate it.

– Liliana Rehorn

Photo: Flickr