Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

America Has Strong Advocates for the Global Poor

America Has Strong Advocates for the Global PoorBy virtue of the democratic process in America, the country is one of the most influential allies to the global poor. The U.S. approaches foreign assistance through a multitude of dimensions. A critical body of which is the legislative component of the tripartite government system.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs and the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations possess the constitutional authority and resources to manage national security, international health crises, and address human rights abuses. On a daily basis, congressional members are strong advocates for the global poor.

To address the complexity of the international affairs, the governing bodies established regional subcommittees and assigned specific representatives to create solutions that are tailored to the unique needs of the diverse and multi-polar system.

Rep. Christopher Smith, with Rep. Karen Bass as the Ranking Member, chairs the U.S. House of Representative’s Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Human Rights, and International Organizations. Past actions of the committee include calls for the promotion of good governance in Eritrea; accountability in human rights reports; and cooperation with the U.N. to stabilize South Sudan.

Sen. Jeff Flake, with Sen. Edward J. Markey as its ranking member, chairs the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy. The committee has recently passed legislation highlighting their dedication to being an ally to the global poor. The legislation is called Electrify Africa, which partners with sub-Saharan governments to provide power services for at least 50 million people.

Other responsibilities of the Senate Subcommittee promote good government and identify threats for the intelligence and military community to further evaluate. These elected representatives work diligently to be effective advocates for the global poor.

However, congressional leaders are elected to serve the American people. If you are one of millions of Americans who care about the globally impoverished, then have your voice heard.

By emailing, calling or writing, individual Americans can lobby their representatives to support bills that demonstrate their allegiance to assisting the global poor. Often times, it does not take more than five constituents reaching out to make something become a topic of discussion. It’s amazing to think that individual American citizens can have a big impact by being influential advocates for the global poor.

There has never been a more important time to get involved. The world is at a pivotal point: continue improving the living conditions of those who live on less than a dollar a day or forfeit the hard work of generations. The choice is up to every American to become an ally of the global poor.

– Adam George

Photo: Flickr

DoctHers Strives for Accessible Health Care in Pakistan

Healthcare in Pakistan
The organization DoctHers, is working to provide more accessible health care in Pakistan. DoctHers uses cutting-edge technology to connect female doctors to those in Pakistan who have been historically underserved — namely, other women and children. Female patients in conservative areas often feel uncomfortable working with male doctors, and that is where this life changing organization hopes to step in.

DoctHers works by using a teleconference or video-chat software to put female doctors in touch with clinics in areas in need. Working with the clinic nurse, the doctor is able to check symptoms and prescribe necessary treatment. DoctHers is currently operating eight telemedicine centers across Pakistan. The goal is for the organization to empower Pakistani women in medicine, who often face severe cultural and social backlash. In many cases, these women are forced to stop working after marriage or pregnancy.

This was the case with two of DoctHer’s cofounders, Dr. Sara Khurram and Dr. Iffat Zafar. “My motivation was that I was terminated from my residency as I conceived the baby,” said Khurram in an interview with Al Jazeera.

Health care in developing countries like Pakistan is a serious issue. According to a study prepared for The Annual Review of Economics, 15 million people die of preventable and treatable diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS, many of them in impoverished nations where health care is lacking.

The study added, “In the absence of any proactive health behavior to prevent or treat these diseases, the likelihood of a child in a poor country living to the age of 5 and of an adult living to the age of 50 is significantly lower than in a rich country.” This data is augmented for women and children. The World Health Organization states that women in Pakistan continue to have limited access to reproductive health services and face relatively high-rates of pregnancy related illness.

By using technology to deliver more accessible health care in Pakistan, DoctHers hopes to reduce this number and de-stigmatize women’s reproductive health.

– Sabrina Santos

Photo: Flickr

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Uganda’s Struggling Universal Primary Education Policy

Universal Primary Education Policy
The Ugandan government spends roughly $300 million annually on universal primary education. Despite the government’s devotion to free public education, the universal primary education policy is enduring severe growing pains.

One main issue is that despite the government’s large expenditure, parents still pay for half of their students’ fees. According to Nelson Wanambi, an economist at Uganda’s Ministry of Education, parents now pay 46.9 percent for education whereas the government pays a mere 27.6 percent.

The high cost for families causes many children to drop out of school as education becomes burdensome for parents. This economic strain on families contributes to Uganda’s staggering 75.2 percent primary school dropout rate.

After the universal primary education was introduced in 1997, Ugandan schools grew at such a high rate that not enough teachers could be trained to accommodate the increased enrollment rate. Further, many teachers receive insufficient salaries, resulting in strikes and frequent teacher absenteeism.

Fortunately, the government has recently received financial support from the Global Partnership for Education. The most recent contribution was over $100 million to support Uganda’s Education Sector Strategic Plan (EESP). The ESSP originally ran from 2004-2015, and the Global Partnership for Education has made a pledge to continue the program from 2014-2018.

As in many developing nations, gender-related issues contribute to the high drop out rate. On average, Ugandan boys stay in school for two more years than girls — 6.3 compared to 4.5 years respectively. In Uganda, 30 percent of girls drop out of school when they start menstruating because they cannot afford sanitary pads.

Organizations like Afripads, which is headquartered in Uganda, work to increase accessibility to sanitary pads for young girls and provide job opportunities for Ugandan women. Some schools, such as Katwe primary school, are successfully implementing the universal primary education policy. At Katwe, the school provides sanitary pads for their female students.

In theory, the universal primary education program would relieve the burden for many families to pay tuition for their children and increase graduation rate. However, the program has faced many obstacles. With the help of organizations such as Global Partnership for Education and Afripads, Uganda’s future for education is bright once again.

– Sabrina Yates

Photo: Flickr

Dream Chaser to Bring Space Missions to the Developing World

Dream Chaser to Bring Space Missions to Developing WorldThe United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) has partnered with Sierra Nevada Corporation to bring space missions to the developing world by 2021. The unmanned missions are intended to make space exploration affordable for developing nations while fostering peaceful collaboration between nations with no space program.

Dream Chaser will fly for two weeks in low Earth orbit with 20-25 lab stations containing microgravity experiments from countries around the world. The experiments will remain in orbit for the duration of the trip and will return to Earth intact.

UNOOSA plans to solicit proposals and select winning submissions via scientific panel by early 2018 for inclusion on Dream Chaser in 2021. Any U.N. member country is eligible to apply, but the program is aimed at developing countries.

Dreamer Chaser is 30-feet long and has been called a “mini-shuttle” with the ability to carry up to seven passengers. The aircraft has also been used by NASA for crewless missions such as resupply and trash disposal services for the International Space Station.

Sierra Nevada Corporation refers to Dream Chaser as a Space Utility Vehicle. It is the smaller, updated version of the Space Shuttle intended for smaller loads. It can land at any airport where a 737 can land. The Dream Chaser is not owned by NASA or the U.S. Government, so it can be leased to other countries or agencies interested in space exploration and experimentation.

UNOOSA and Sierra Nevada Corporation are seeking sponsors for the program. Countries submitting an experiment are charged a fee, but the goal is to make this fee affordable so that participation is accessible to countries with limited resources.

The goal is not only to design successful experiments but to also further the development and preparation process as a valuable scientific learning experience. According to Luc St-Pierre, the chief of UNOOSA’s Space Applications, the preparation for such an endeavor will leave a lasting impact on participating countries with the potential to foster an environment of exploration and development.

Programs and research in space can assist with human issues such as climate change, natural disasters, managing resources and global health. However, could investments in space programs also spur new types of development thereby reducing global poverty?

The goal of Dream Chaser is to bring space missions to the developing world. Space technology has the potential to support development in these areas contingent on partnerships rather than aid. Dream Chaser is an exciting project and could represent a new frontier in the developing world.

– Mandy Otis

Photo: Flickr

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6 Facts About Education in Romania

6 Facts About Education in Romania
Romania’s current education system is relatively new. Under communism, education in Romania was politically-fueled. The communist revolution in eastern Europe heavily influenced a nationalistic approach to education in Romania.

This meant that education was tailored to the Romanian majority. In the 1960’s Hungarian schools were merged with Romanian schools and virtually all classes that were once taught in Hungarian were now taught in Romanian.

This politicized education system was abolished in 1990 along with Romania’s communist regime. Today, Romania is a unitary republic with an education system that is constantly under reform. Here are six facts about education in Romania today:

  1. Kindergarten students can start school at three years of age. Although it is uncommon, it is legal to enroll a child into kindergarten as young as age three. Students can remain in kindergarten until they are six or seven, but they must complete at least one year of kindergarten to be eligible for enrollment in elementary school.
  2. Student admission to the high school is based on test scores. The Ministry of Romanian Education and Research administers nation-wide exams that determine where each child will attend high school. Performance on these exams dictates where each student will be able to attend high school. Certain private institutions, typically the more prestigious ones, also include their own attendance criteria on top of the test score requirements.
  3. Students attend specialty high schools. Unlike in the United States where every high school student is expected to gain a certain amount of credits in each subject, eighth-grade students in Romania decide between multiple areas of study in high school. Students can decide between attending an arts or science high school, a military college, economic college or professional school.
  4. High school students take up to 14 subjects at once. Most students take between 12 and 14 classes at once ranging from geography to Romanian literature. Students also take a minimum of two other languages, along with Romanian. Common languages taught include English, French, Spanish, German and Italian. High school teachers rotate between classrooms instead of the students. In most Romanian high schools, it is common that students have all of their lessons in the same classroom with the same classmates for all four or five years that they attend. This is intended to create a sense of community among students.
  5. Romanian women generally attend school longer than men. According to UNICEF, approximately 83 percent of women in Romania were enrolled in secondary education in 2012, compared with 81 percent of men.
  6. Romania’s education system is rapidly advancing. The literacy rate among those over the age of 15 rose from 96.7 percent in 1992 to 97.3 in 2002. Today, 98.8 percent of Romanians are literate.

Although these are major improvements, education in Romania still has room for improvement. Many people in rural communities do not have access to quality education and despite obtaining a higher level of education, there is a severe level of pay inequality between men and women in the workforce.

– Laura Cassin

Photo: Flickr

Cockroach Milk: The Superfood Game-Changer?

Cockroach Milk: The Superfood Game-Changer?You may want to think twice before killing your next cockroach. India’s Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, or InSTEM, has discovered that cockroach milk may be the greatest protein source of them all. Milk being produced by a specific species of cockroach is estimated to contain more than three times the energy of an equivalent mass of dairy milk.

Most cockroaches are oviparous, or egg-laying animals. However, the Pacific beetle cockroach, or Diploptera punctata species, gives birth to live young by carrying them in a fleshy brood sac. Only this certain species of cockroach is viviparous, meaning they are among animals that give birth to young and nourish its offspring with milk protein.

Surprisingly enough, this specific milk protein is the very liquid substance packed with nutritious fats, sugars and proteins that are taking the protein game by storm. The “so-called” milk gets converted into concentrated protein crystals that are stored in the gut of the embryos.

It all began with the curiosity of Nathan Coussens, a young researcher out of the University of Iowa, who noticed shiny crystals pouring out of a roach gut one day in the lab. This discovery took place 10 years ago.

International teams, including InSTEM, have since broken down the structure of these crystallized milk proteins. More often than not, protein crystals obtained from living systems tend to be small and limited in size by the volume of the cell they grow in. This leaves scientists little room for investigation.

Scientists try very hard to obtain pure proteins with which to make crystals for X-ray crystallography studies, a technique employed to elucidate protein structure. Peculiarly enough, the milk crystals within roach guts grow large enough to be used for this type of technique.

“The crystals are like a complete food – they have proteins, fats and sugars. If you look into the protein sequences, they have all the essential amino acids,” said Sanchari Banerjee, one of the postdoctoral fellows at InSTEM, in an interview with the Times of India.

Now equipped with the gene sequences for these milk proteins, InSTEM’s lead biochemist on the project, Subramanian Ramaswamy, and colleagues plan to use a yeast system to produce these crystals. “They’re very stable. They can be a fantastic protein supplement,” says Ramaswamy.

If everything goes according to plan, InSTEM will synthesize the protein-rich milk and market it as a supplemental food. The scaffolding in the milk protein crystals shows compelling characteristics — ones that could be used to design nanoparticles for drug delivery. It’ll be interesting to see if and how cockroach milk is rolled out over the next few years.

– Keaton McCalla
Photo: Flickr

Poverty in Slovakia

Poverty in Slovakia
Slovakia has only been a state for less than three decades; it became independent from Czechoslovakia in 1993. Since then it has struggled to break the cycle of poverty. Having experienced hard economic reforms to join the European Union, the country is known as the eurozone’s second-poorest member. With a population of 5.4 million and a weakening employment rate, poverty in Slovakia continues to rise.

According to the “Phenomenon of Poverty and Economic Inequality in the Slovak Republic,” Slovakia has a poverty rate of 13%, which equates to about 700,000 people.

The Harsh Effects of Poverty in Slovakia

In a study, 32% of respondents said their living standards are lower than they were before 1989. Working-class families with three or four more children, the elderly and the handicapped have felt this burden the most.

Moreover, those at risk of poverty are totaled at 112,200 people, representing 20.6% of Slovakia’s total population. Citizens whose income is below 60% of the median income face a 13% risk of living in poverty.

For the above reasons, citizens have been forced to rely on government programs to get by, putting the state deeper in debt.

Additionally, ethnic poverty is well apparent. Romas are marginalized from the rest of the population, they live the worst off, in shanty settlements grappling with little to no money. Around four percent of the population suffers from “severe housing deprivation.”

Moreover, unemployment continues to increase; the long-term unemployment rate in the Slovak Republic stands at 8.8% compared to the OECD average of only 2.6%. The share of children living in workless households stands at 6.9% and lies below the OCED average.

Studies have shown that the problem arises from economic inequality and an absence of business competitiveness throughout the country. Additionally, a lag in technological development has led to inadequate modern infrastructure — one of the primary ways for generating revenue.

To counteract the rate of poverty in Slovakia, the state established the Institute for Subsistence Law: those whose monthly income is below a minimum fixed amount, are entitled to social assistance benefits.

Furthermore, the EU also recognizes this increase of poverty throughout Europe as seen with the European Commission’s ten-year economic plan called “Europe 2020.”

They plan to raise the employment rate of the population aged 20-64 from the current 69% to 75%. They also aim to reduce the number of Europeans living below the poverty line by 25%, lifting 20 million people out of poverty from the current 80 million in the region; including Slovakia.

– Marcelo Guadiana

Photo: Flickr

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Challenges Plague Education in Papua New Guinea

Education in Papua New Guinea
Endemic problems facing education in Papua New Guinea (PNG) continue nearly unabated despite the passing of the 15-year-long time frame established by the U.N. for securing its ambitious Millennium Development Goals. Included among its eight commitments was dramatic education reform to address systemic gender-based discrimination, a goal that has hardly been realized in the Oceanic nation.

In a 2012 report, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) tallied total enrollment in primary education to be a meager 29.3 percent of all PNG children. The research found that the male-to-female ratio is nearly equal during those early education years, with 16,821 males and 16,120 females enrolled in some level of schooling in the relatively wealthier Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

That seeming equality morphs as children age, however, especially when comparing different regions of the country. Female enrollment rates decline significantly in poorer regions that are also marked by a horrific record of abuse toward women. That state of affairs is attributed by many to the historic degradation toward women found worldwide, and in particular regions of the country like the Eastern Highlands.

Indeed, the literacy rate between men and women in that region was 51 percent and 36.5 percent, respectively. In 2009, grade 12 enrollees were made up of just 180 females to their 494 male colleagues. Much of the blame has been leveled at a lack of will and ability to actually fund initiatives aimed at attaining universal gender equality in spite of such officially professed goals.

Similar to the reality throughout the world, PNG girls and women face an exorbitantly high likelihood of experiencing rape or assault at some point in their lifetime. Human Rights Watch pegs that figure at a staggering 70 percent for PNG, well above the one in three average for much of the majority world.

The World Health Organization notes that this problem is exacerbated in low-income regions with poor social attitudes toward women, like rural PNG, and often increases the risk for physical and mental health problems. As those problems increase, the amount of professional and personal self-improvement women and girls can achieve diminishes, thus perpetuating the problem of gender inequality for education in PNG and elsewhere.

Some progress toward reforming education in Papua New Guinea has been made. AusAID found that total enrollment rates have increased from 52 to 63 percent between 2007 and 2009 among primary-aged students. At that same time, completion rates for students enrolled up to grade eight rose from 45 to 56 percent.

In 2012 the government rolled out a new round of subsidizations for tuition fees, building on the apparent success of similar policies enacted in the early 1990s. The new policies have positively affected enrollment among female children and have promoted retention rates among children who seek to continue on with their education at various levels.

In fact, a unique problem has arisen over the last several years involving a lack of resources to accommodate so many current and prospective students, with the numbers expected to continue climbing. For example, nearly 14,000 high school-aged students are expected to continue their education in Papua New Guinean colleges and universities despite glaring inadequacies in terms of quality of educational infrastructure and low numbers of qualified educators.

Ravinder Rena, who published research in 2011 which studied the causes and challenges facing primary education in Papua New Guinea, laments that the quality of most things associated with the PNG education system is derelict and in need of reforms on nearly every level.

“But, if the government can maintain its financial commitment to education, then Papua New Guinea’s educational system most likely will continue to progress,” writes Rena.

– James Collins
Photo: Flickr

At-Risk Youth in Morocco Given Great Opportunity

At-Risk Youth in MoroccoYouth facing unemployment in Morocco are extremely vulnerable to a life of crime and drugs and USAID refuses to let this continue.

Issues in the education system have led to dismal circumstances for youth in Morocco, and this government agency is striving to help those already affected by the problems while simultaneously working to solve the root of them.

In the country of Morocco, most students enrolled in the first grade are not predicted to graduate. Drop-out rates are high although 97 percent of children are currently enrolled in school. Moroccan students rank as some of the lowest on international test scores.

Change has become necessary in order for the at-risk youth in Morocco to be properly educated and prepared to provide for themselves and their families.

USAID has partnered with government and nonprofit organizations to implement plans for reform. Research in 2015 suggested that poor and limited teacher training along with a minimal amount of additional reading materials for students were the two main causes of the students’ poor test results.

The Reading for Success-Small Experimentation program has the following three main focuses: a different approach to teaching Arabian phonics, new training guides for teachers and instructors and summer reading activities to cut down on the loss students encounter over the summer months when not in school.

The program began in September 2015 and is set to run until March 2018. It will introduce over 9,000 students in the first and second grade to a new approach to reading, have 180 teachers complete the reformed training and develop effective guidebooks as a resource for teachers, coaches and instructors as they navigate this new approach.

Working even harder to affect real and lasting change, the final goal of the program is to have 800 students participate in the summer reading programs. The Washington Post quoted First Lady Michelle Obama when she said, “research shows that if kids take a break from learning all summer, they not only miss out on new information and skills, they can actually lose up to three months’ worth of knowledge from the previous year.”

The new implementations for summer learning in Morocco will not only help students retain knowledge from the previous year but also equip them for another year of prosperous learning.

But what about the kids who have already finished elementary school?

USAID is also working to help the older youth of Morocco, who make up one-third of the country’s population. Of this one-third, 40 percent do not have jobs and/or are not currently enrolled in school.

The government has partnered with USAID in the cities of Tangiers and Tetouan to provide unemployed youth with vocational training. Their activity, the Favorable Opportunities to Reinforce Self-Advancement for Today’s Youth, began in 2012 and works to increase confidence by training youth in professional skills and giving academic support such as tutoring.

It is doing more than teach skills; this program is giving at-risk youth in Morocco purpose. One student participating in a sewing class in Tangiers told a USAID deputy assistant administrator that “if it wasn’t for this program, [I] would most certainly be on the street selling drugs.”

Morocco is making incredible progress as 12,000 youth are being mentored through this program, and those still enrolled in school are given more and more opportunities for success. The education and vocational skills given to one-third of this nation are sure to positively impact the other two-thirds as well.

– Rebecca Causey

Photo: Flickr

Environmentally Responsible Fishing Practices Reduce Poverty?

Environmentally Responsible Fishing
Around the world, the fishing community is particularly vulnerable. Just over 96 percent of fishers live in developing countries and many of them live in substandard conditions of poverty. However, environmentally responsible fishing has the potential to alleviate environmental concerns as well as the poverty of fishermen.

Part of the reason that fishermen face such tenuous financial circumstances is the unstable nature of the profession. The fisherman’s boat and equipment are the most valuable possessions but also their most vulnerable. The unpredictable nature of the sea means equipment may be damaged at any moment and halt the flow of income.

Furthermore, fishermen in Africa, Asia and Central America are at least five times more likely to be infected with HIV due to their mobility. These circumstances often lead to overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions and poor access to education and health services. Over and above these problems, the damaging environmental effects caused by this cycle of poverty has not even been explored.

It is understandable that many fishers are not focused on environmentally responsible fishing practices. People struggling to survive today are less likely to focus on long-term environmental effects. However, depletion of resources will ultimately push them further into poverty.

Therefore, it is imperative that fishermen consider how they can practice environmentally responsible fishing as it will help to alleviate the poverty that they face. Latin American nonprofit company MarViva aims to help fishermen with this objective. As the organization’s co-director said, “we are not dealing only with an environmental problem, but also with significant institutional, social, and economic challenges that require serious attention and integral long-term solutions.”

MarViva is working for these long-term solutions with a two-part initiative. First, they teach fishermen the advantages of responsible fishing practices that may appear as more expensive or labor-intensive in the short-term. For instance, investing in ice may seem like an unnecessary expense, but it ensures that fish stay fresh during transport and money is not lost due to a spoiled product.

They are also encouraged to use smaller hand lines instead of large gill nets. When gill nets are used, the caught fish are already dead and may be damaged. While gill nets seem to catch a larger amount of fish at once, they may sell for a lower price due to damage that may have occurred. Hand lines result in higher quality that will translate to a higher selling price.

The second part of the initiative focuses on the traceability of the product. If fishermen present the source and journey of their fish to the market, they can distinguish their product as one that was caught and handled responsibly. This means that it can sell for a higher price than fish of questionable or unknown origin.

Through its initiative, MarViva has increased the availability of high-quality products and the practice of responsible fishing. Raising awareness of how to protect the ocean’s precious natural resources is a highly important endeavor. Equally important is the fact that fishermen who depend on the ocean’s resources can protect those as well as alleviate the poverty that they face.

– Nathaniel Siegel
Photo: Flickr