Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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What is the Digital GAP Act?

Digital GAP Act
While the developed world sends emails to colleagues, updates friends on Facebook and conducts research using online databases, the 4.2 billion who lack access to the internet linger behind on economic, health and education development. The 60% of the population currently offline is predominantly low-income, rural, female, elderly and illiterate, according to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Seventy-five percent of the 4.2 billion are condensed into only 20 countries.

Rep. Ed Royce, R-CA, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, authored the Digital Global Access Policy Act, better known as the Digital GAP Act, to increase internet access in developing countries using a “build-once” policy. The Digital GAP Act would also require more transparency in the U.S. accomplished through projects to open more possibilities for private firms to invest in internet infrastructure to aid developing economies.

During a $100 million road construction project years ago, Liberian officials decided not to lay cables that would have added $1 million to the project’s cost. The lack of connectivity in Liberia and other developing countries has cost lives and economic growth. The build-once policy would help avoid the need to later add cables for internet connectivity for tens of millions of dollars.

However, history has shown a lack of internet connectivity has repercussions reaching far beyond development as the world suffers the impacts of crises longer and more deeply. In 2014, the outbreak of the Ebola virus infected more than 28,000 people in West Africa, killing more than 8,000. This was due in large part to the lack of reliable internet access that hindered coordination between community health centers.

Those treating Ebola patients did not send patient information to other health facilities at the click of a button, but instead physically transported the information. This was not only less efficient, but also exposed those outside of the quarantined red zones to the virus. Increased internet connectivity during the Ebola outbreak could have cut exposures, improved the tracking of the viruses’ spread and opened the possibility of international analysis anywhere with scanned and uploaded patient documents.

The world faces a similar struggle in containing the Zika virus. The current strategy involves notifying travelers where the virus is, but officials in many developing countries have no way of tracking the effect of the virus in their own communities. Containing the virus and notifying vulnerable populations could be as Recode writes, “as easy as the click of a mouse or a swipe of a mobile application.”

In addition to improving crisis response, the Digital GAP Act’s purpose is to aid developing countries in expanding economies, creating jobs, improving health and education, reducing poverty and gender inequality and promote good governance of a populace. The U.S. is to “promote first-time internet access to mobile or broadband internet for at least 1.5 billion people in developing countries by 2020 in both urban and rural areas,” the House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote in an official press release.

The Digital GAP Act also stresses the importance of U.S. cybersecurity for the U.S. in its provisions. If passed, the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment’s title would change to include “Cyberspace.” The Department of State would be required to designate an Assistant Secretary for Technology, International Communications and Cyberspace to lead diplomatic cyberspace efforts, and the president would include information on internet access, cybersecurity policy and internet freedom in the next White House Cyberspace Strategy session.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) would integrate efforts under the Digital GAP Act to increase internet access and the protection of private information. The Peace Corps Act would include an amendment that would allow the Peace Corps to develop volunteer positions for the purpose of increased internet connectivity. The president would share with Congress plans to promote U.S. partnerships to provide internet infrastructure for increased access in developing countries and direct the House in advocating for these efforts abroad.

The House of Representatives passed the Digital GAP Act and the Senate is expected to vote soon.

– Ashley Leon

Photo: Flickr

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Masood Ahmed Named as the New CGD President

Masood Ahmed Named as the New CGD President
Representatives confirmed on Sept. 6, 2016, that Masood Ahmed would begin serving as the new Center for Global Development (CGD) president in early 2017. Current President Nancy Birdstall announced the end of her 15-year tenure with the organization last November. Now that the CGD has found an equally accomplished replacement, she is thrilled to welcome a leader of Ahmed’s caliber to the team.

The CGD works to change practice and policy in wealthy nations in a way that alleviates global poverty. Per the organization’s website, “We are a policy crucible where world-class scholars use independent, rigorous research to develop new knowledge and practical solutions.”

Because the organization has a proven track record of influencing developmental policy worldwide, finding a new CGD president with global reach was paramount. After conducting an intensive search, the selection committee chose Ahmed for his impressive record of service for the world’s poor.

Here are five facts about Masood Ahmed’s career that will position him for success as the new CGD president:

  1. Ahmed has multiple degrees from the London School of Economics (LSE).
    LSE is one of the world’s leading universities. Students and faculty alike regularly produce groundbreaking research in social sciences, economics, politics, sociology, anthropology, accounting and finance. The institution boasts a roster of top researchers and Nobel Prize winners. Ahmed excelled to such a degree that he took a position as lecturer at LSE after completing his postgraduate work.
  2. He has held senior positions within the World Bank.
    In 1983, Ahmed began working with the World Bank, which provides low-interest loans to aid programs in developing nations. Over the course of his career with the organization, he carried out emergency response, water management, flood protection and hydropower projects in nations across the globe. He also led the HIPC Debt Initiative, which provided 36 developing nations with $76 billion in funding since its inception in 1996.
  3. He redefined International Monetary Fund policies.
    Most notable of all, perhaps, is Ahmed’s extensive work with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The organization is a collaborative effort among 189 member countries. Like the World Bank, IMF focuses on poverty reduction by way of strategic funding and the creation of financial stability in developing nations.
    Ahmed joined IMF in 2000 to serve as deputy director of the Strategy, Policy and Review Department. In that seat, which he held for three years, he oversaw the organization’s conditionality guidelines. In 2005, he played an instrumental role in redrafting those guidelines for the first time in 32 years. Such guidelines focus on internal evaluations of how funds are appropriated. These principles also set up safeguards that ensure all IMF funds are repaid once recipient nations reach financial stability.
  4. Ahmed took on global poverty from a government seat.
    Between 2003 and 2006, Ahmed served as director general for Policy and International Development of the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID). This branch of the British government is the driving force behind the United Kingdom’s global development efforts.
    DFID directors are tasked with ensuring that the U.K. cooperates to the fullest extent with U.N. development goals, enhancing the efficacy of British foreign aid by increasing transparency and improving international development policy.
  5. He led developmental efforts in the Middle East and Central Asia as an IMF director.
    Ahmed’s current position, which he has held since November 2008, is IMF director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department. Christine Lagarde, IMF managing director, said that Ahmed has been a “visionary leader” in overseeing operations in the region. He will vacate this post in 2017.

Over the course of a brilliant career, the new CGD president has helped create meaningful, sustainable change in the developing world by working with some of the most influential agencies on Earth. The upward mobility of his career is indicative of a mind people trust and a voice those working for the world’s poor want to hear.

“CGD occupies a prime position in the development, policy and research worlds; in my career these have also been my worlds,” Ahmed said. While serving as the new CGD president, Ahmed will flex strategic muscles built by a lifetime of outstanding global service.

– Madeline Distasio

Photo: Flickr

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Malaria Box May Hold the Key to Defeating Malaria

Malaria Box May Hold the Key to Defeating Malaria
In order to jump-start research on drug treatments, the Gates Foundation, the Medicines for Malaria Venture and GlaxoSmithKline put together a “Malaria Box” in 2012. The Malaria Box is a collection of 400 different compounds that are known to combat malaria in some way.

More specifically, 200 of the compounds are supposed to act like drugs and would directly be used in developing more effective oral drug treatment. The other 200 act more like biological probes that, if applied correctly in malaria research, could allow researchers to make important observations about the behavior of malaria.

Malaria is a widespread disease to which nearly half the world population is at risk. There were about 214 million cases in 2015, resulting in 438,000 deaths. Of this group, young children were particularly susceptible.

More effective drug treatments for malaria are imperative. Current treatments involve prescribing many drugs to be taken over a number of days. Sometimes patients are not able to receive the full treatment of drugs. Not only does this lead to continuing infection, but an incomplete treatment also contributes to the rise of multi-drug resistant malaria. The fact that malaria parasites continue to evolve poses an obstacle to developing drugs that will consistently work in the future.

The Malaria Box was given as part of a grant to 17 research projects in order to accelerate malaria research. After a few years, these research teams yielded positive results in the battle against malaria. Some researchers have tried to identify weak points to attack in the malaria parasite. For example, Dr. Jacquin Niles of MIT is trying to isolate genes particularly susceptible to attack by conducting tests on genetically modified parasites.

Dr. Jake Baum of the Imperial College of London is studying compounds that could block malaria transmission. He is researching whether molecular compounds that do not remain in the bloodstream for as long as other anti-malaria drugs can still effectively combat malaria.

After the success of the Malaria Box, other projects to distribute sets of compounds have been started. The ReFRAME library at the California Institute for Biomedical Research contains more than 10,000 compounds that are known to combat various diseases. Giving researchers access to these sets of compounds provides them with a strong and focused starting point from which to conduct their studies.

– Edmond Kim

Photo: Flickr

Five Myths about Social Safety Nets Debunked!

Five Myths about Social Safety Nets-Debunked!
When it comes to social safety nets, many myths and half-truths about the efficacy of these programs exist among citizens and political leaders. Social safety nets are programs that aid the poor by increasing their incomes, improve school attendance, provide access to basic health care and implement employment opportunities.

Even though some of these myths are inoffensive, they do have the potential to harm people who rely on governmental assistance programs. The New York Times reports, “One billion people in developing countries participate in a social safety net. At least one type of unconditional cash assistance is used in 119 countries.” Here are some of the top myths about social safety nets debunked:

Myth #1: The economy will do better if social programs are cut.

When governments decide to cut their social safety nets, many sectors within the economy begin to suffer. Governments inadvertently increase the unemployment rates within their countries when social programs are cut.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed the Recovery Act, which cut social programs such as payments for individuals with disabilities and school-lunch programs. As a result, the largest projected deficit in U.S. history occurred leading the U.S. economy to its worst recession since the Great Depression. The American economy struggled to combat the resulting 14% inflation rate as well as the increased interest rates of the Federal Reserve Board.

With fewer citizens being able to afford goods and services, overall manufacturing decreased while layoffs and unpaid taxes increased. It is recorded that in 1982, those unemployed reached a staggering nine million, 17,000 businesses had failed, farmers across the nation began to lose land and the poor, elderly and sick became homeless.

Instead of aiding the economy, social budget cuts on social safety nets result in a decrease in the overall finical health of a country’s economy.

Myth #2: Reducing government assistance benefits will make people get a job.

This myth is usually perpetrated by those who do not understand the demographics of social safety nets. More than half of all people who are enrolled in government assistance programs are those who cannot physically or mentally work such as the elderly and people with disabilities. Even if governments were to reduce benefits for those who can work, it still would not make a significant difference in employment rates.

According to the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, many people who are working and receive housing assistance still live in homeless shelters simply because they still do not make enough currency to afford a place to live. The Wall Street Journal further states that the four largest welfare recipients are those who labor as fast-food workers, home-care workers, child-care workers and part-time college faculty.

Reducing government assistance will not make people get a job simply because those who receive these benefits are either unable to work or are currently working in a low-paying occupation.

Myth #3: Welfare makes people lazy.

Though the majority of persons benefiting from welfare are employed, surveys show that individuals from around the globe believe that social safety nets waste revenue and make people lazy. However, in 2014, The World Bank reported that contrary to public opinion, individuals on financial assistance in countries such as Asia, Latin America and Africa rarely wasted money on alcohol and tobacco.

In addition, Abhijit Banerjee, the director of the Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, released a scholarly paper that tracked and documented the cash-transfer programs in seven countries. The results from this paper determined that out of the seven countries, Mexico, Nicaragua, Morocco, Honduras, Indonesia and the Philippines, these programs did not discourage people from working.

Moreover, people who receive benefits from social safety nets do not become lazy. Rather, people who did receive these benefits continued to work diligently while also not wasting funds on items such as tobacco and alcohol.

Myth #4: People can benefit from social safety nets for as long as they want.

Most government assistance programs have a limited amount of time that someone can use unemployment benefits. For instance, the U.S. used to allow people 99 weeks of unemployment assistance.

In recent years, states have limited the amount of time that citizens can use unemployment benefits to around 26-30 weeks. Currently, the only state that gives citizens 30 weeks of unemployment benefits is Massachusetts.

Myth #5: Certain demographics make social safety nets benefit one group and disadvantage the rest.

A majority of people believe that social safety nets benefit a particular kind of demographic while disadvantaging other groups within a society. Particularly, U.S. citizens feel that groups, comparatively liberals, benefited the most from social assistance programs. Yet, details from a 2012 survey from the Pew Research Center show that in regard to politics, liberals and conservatives used governmental assistance programs almost equally. There are 42% of liberals and 40% of conservatives using at least one governmental assistance program.

Despite these myths being detrimental to those who rely on social safety nets, it is worth noting that the U.S. economy is slowing improving. As of August 2016, unemployment rates in the U.S. are as low as 4.9%. Additionally, average hourly wages have increased between five cents and $25.59, with average weekly wages at around $880.30.

However, the best way to eradicate these myths about social safety nets is to advocate for legislation that protects these programs. Pay attention to laws that pertain to social safety nets and meet with local representatives about how social safety nets benefit society. Information about U.S. elected officials can be found on Common Cause.

– Shannon Warren

Photo: Flickr

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Five Facts About Hunger in Syria

Hunger in Syria
After six years of continuous conflict and civil war, hunger in Syria has become a major crisis. Providing the necessary food aid for Syrians has become increasingly difficult as the danger escalates and the number of refugees multiplies.

Over 11 million Syrians have fled their homes to other Syrian cities or neighboring countries in search of safety. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are over 4.8 million registered Syrian refugees. As the conflict continues, the issue of hunger in Syria intensifies. Despite these difficulties, international organizations are doing everything they can to help Syrians in need. Here are five facts about the triumphs and challenges of hunger in Syria:

  1. According to the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, 8.7 million people in Syria are food insecure.
    Food insecurity refers to the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient amount of affordable and nutritious food. Soaring food prices have only exacerbated the situation. Prices for bread, the cornerstone of the Syrian diet, have increased by more than 100% since 2014.
  2. The ShareTheMeal app has helped feed nearly 25,000 Syrians over the past year.
    The ShareTheMeal app allows participants to donate just $0.50 in order to feed a child for an entire day. Since November 2015, ShareTheMeal has provided Syrian refugee children and mothers with food support for an entire year.
  3. Food production in Syria has dropped by 40% since 2010.
    Nearly half of Syria’s population lives in rural regions. The war has destroyed agricultural infrastructure and irrigation systems, which has, in turn, decreased production. Wheat, in particular, has suffered dramatically from both the conflict and low rainfall.
  4. The World Food Program (WFP) is providing 240,000 Syrian children with nutrient supplements to prevent malnutrition.
    Child malnutrition can lead to stunting, disease and even death. In order to prevent undernutrition, WFP provides ready-to-eat, specialized nutritional products to thousands of Syrian children under the age of 5.
  5. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) has distributed food parcels to over 2.5 million people.
    SARC is one of the only organizations working in the entirety of Syria to provide humanitarian aid. Every month, SARC distributes food parcels and health care items to over three million people in need.

Although it will take $86.5 million this year to assist the nearly three million people in need who remain in the country, hunger in Syria can be diminished. WFP, UNHCR and their partners have taken great strides to accomplish this goal. With an increase in the International Affairs budget, the U.S. can also help save the lives of millions of Syrians suffering from hunger.

– Kristyn Rohrer

Photo: Flickr

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Millennium Villages Project: Empowerment for Africans

Millennium Villages Project
Bollywood printed silks garnished with sequins are exchanged at a West African shop in the Potou market. Shop owner Thiama Diaw is the president of Bokk Jamm, one of 25 women’s business associations in Potou. The village associations collectively pool their profits, so group members can obtain loans. Participants have used the money to cultivate hibiscus, invest in sustainable cookstoves, relinquish owed school fees or make home improvements. These women associations provide training sessions in farming techniques, nutrition and money management.

Throughout the Tibias Canal, members in Mali grow melons for their fund contribution. While Rwandan basket weavers used their loan share for roof replacement and school supplies for their children, a woman in Malawi ran a cassava bakery to pay for her loan cooperative share.

From 1990 to 2001, Sub-Saharan Africans who lived on less than $1 a day increased by 86 million. The poverty rate jumped from 45% to 46%. One-third of the region’s population is below the minimum nourishment level, making it the most undernourished area. Inhabitants are disease-stricken, living in a drought-prone climate that lacks proper irrigation and safe infrastructure.

The Millennium Villages Project (MVP) launched in 2004 as a holistic, science-based approach to global poverty and empowerment for Sub-Saharan Africans. The program has benefited more than 500,000 people. Their development efforts have received generous donations from actress Angelina Jolie and the U.N.’s Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Safe drinking water and firewood require people to travel every day for several miles. The Millennium Villages Project aims to reinvent empowerment for Sub-Saharan Africans through sustainable development of healthcare, education and employment. The project operates with limited aid support and integrates science and technology.

For example, their services have decreased malaria in villages by 72%, access to clean water has tripled and maize productivity has doubled. The budget allots $60 per person for services, according to MVP. “The project’s approach has potential, but little can be said for sure yet about its true impact,” Nature stated.

Researchers of Millennium Villages Project started measuring the villages’ success rate, who had access to full intervention services. They compared the results to villages who didn’t receive aid, but data collection challenges prevented statistically sound results.

While children are dying of malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa every 30 seconds and one in 16 women die during childbirth, the Millennium Villages Project teaches valuable skills to members. They stimulate empowerment for Sub-Saharan Africans, who learn alongside each other in improving their community’s infrastructure, health and economy.

– Rachel Williams

Photo: Flickr

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How Conflict Affects Education in Cote D’Ivoire

Education in Cote D’Ivoire
Primary education in Cote D’Ivoire, from ages 6 to 11, has slowly improved over the past decade. In 2014, enrollment rates were at 96% for boys and 84% for girls, almost 20% higher than in 2006. This positive trend is good news, but secondary education enrollment is under 50% for both sexes. Schools suffer from a shortage of trained teachers, and, while primary education is free, students cannot always afford materials. Two civil conflicts in the twenty-first century introduced additional complications.

After measures to fragment and exclude northerners from politics, ethnic and religious tensions escalated. A civil war broke out from 2002 to 2004 between the government-controlled south and the north. In 2010, a second conflict exploded after the southern government blocked the northern winner from taking office. With international support, the winner Alassane Ouattara took office, but not before 3,000 deaths.

Ouattara was re-elected in 2015 without violence. While Cote D’Ivoire is more stabilized, tensions still lead to skirmishes. These conflicts caused the displacement of almost 400,000 people, a quarter of whom have left the country as refugees.

Educate a Child explains the vulnerable situation of these children, “They become increasingly at risk of forced labor, forced early marriage, domestic violence, sexual exploitation, and recruitment into armed groups.” Combined with areas unable to handle the influx of people, displaced children are often excluded from education. Non-displaced children can also fall victim to these factors. Education in Cote D’Ivoire has a significant gender gap: primary education enrollment is 10% lower and literacy rates are almost 20% lower for girls.

Thirty-five percent of girls marry before 18 and women having an average of five kids are factors blocking girls from continuing education. All children, especially from rural or poor families, can be recruited into labor or armed conflict. Lack of quality education and opportunities can make these appear to be the
only options.

Many of the education and periphery struggles are aggravated by a lack of compulsory education and quality schools. Literacy for 15 to 24-year-olds is shockingly low; last year, boys’ rates were at 60% while girls’ rates were only at 40%. Poor facilities and unqualified teachers do not provide adequate support for children, especially in extreme situations.

This problem has not gone unnoticed. UNICEF was extremely active during the conflicts to keep as many schools operational as possible. Educate a Child and their partners have created three projects to leap the hurdles. Bridging Tomorrow works to reintegrate out of school children, Building a Future targets areas most affected by conflict to rebuild infrastructure and Education First is training teachers and building schools in areas with high displacement and poverty.

There is much to be done for communities and education in Cote D’Ivoire. The recent stability is optimistic, but children must be protected and educated.

– Jeanette I. Burke

Photo: Flickr

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Foreign Aid to Nepal: Managing Challenges

Foreign Aid to Nepal
Nepal is a small landlocked country in the middle of Asia. It is a developing country with small savings and investments. The country relies heavily on foreign aid as one-third of the population lives under the absolute poverty line. For decades, this hindered a smooth path toward economic development due to multiple reasons.

The population in Nepal suffers from mass poverty and inequality. Poverty gap reduction is one of the biggest challenges for the Nepali government. In addition, infrastructure is underdeveloped. Many rural areas are not well integrated and connected with the capital, Kathmandu. The inability to provide services to inaccessible areas hinders development in Nepal. Furthermore, there is considerable unemployment — many youths have to work abroad.

Foreign aid is generally a tool to support development. However, Nepal is more dependent on foreign aid for meeting basic needs for its citizens instead of stimulating development. Generally, aid effectiveness depends on how and where it is used. For instance, aid spent on food programs in a specific region could have a higher impact than other areas. Foreign aid to Nepal is critical to get the country out of its development trap. Overall, there is an improvement in the effectiveness measures. Moreover, there is a growing realization among civil society and development partners regarding the need for collective work. It is very important to continually evaluate and coordinate aid programs.

One of the main changes that could enhance aid effectiveness is fewer projects with larger initiatives, which would stimulate investment. The Nepali government could be selective in aid packages by prioritizing the causes that require the most attention.

A survey was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of foreign aid to Nepal. It will be submitted to the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation in Kenya from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1. The survey was carried out on indicators such as whether development partners have been providing assistance based on the country’s need, the extent to which development partners are following the national system and if development cooperation funding is covered by indicative forward spending plans.

In addition, the survey considers the percent of development cooperation funding scheduled for disbursement recorded in the annual budgets approved by the developing country’s legislature. Pursuant to the survey’s results, aid providers will discuss new ideas for the effective utilization of foreign aid.

– Noman Ahmed

Photo: Flickr

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Education in Morocco: Literacy Rates Continue to Make Strides

Education in Morocco
Education in Morocco has staggered slowly towards greater improvements in their learning infrastructure as illiteracy rates remain high. According to a 2015 statement by the National Agency for the Fight Against Illiteracy (ANLCA), approximately 10 million men and women are still illiterate.

Mounia Benchekroun, a Moroccan consultant in social and educational development stated in The Arab Weekly, “The figure of 10 million illiterate in Morocco should raise a national awareness that would require a much stronger national political engagement in order to fight this scourge.”

Morocco’s High Commissioner for Planning Ahmed Lahlimi also shared his analysis of illiteracy rates in 2014. Lahlimi stated it was more common for adults over 50-years-old to be illiterate, which is approximately 61.1%. In contrast, only 3.7% of children under 15-years-old face illiteracy. There is an evident gender gap as approximately 41.9% of women are illiterate compared to 22.1% of men.

Although the National Education and Training Charter (CNEF) lagged behind in its goal to reduce illiteracy to less than 20% by 2010 with complete eradication by 2015, this issue of high illiteracy rates is accompanied by good news. Literacy rates have made strides throughout the years for education in Morocco, increasing with the implementation of literacy programs by NGOs and with a new 2024 goal to eradicate illiteracy.

Lahlimi states that rates have dropped to 32% compared to 42% of the population 10 years prior. Moreover, Morocco has earned the Confucius Literacy Prize honorable mention for its improvements in literacy rates between 2004 and 2012. A continued emphasis on improving literacy rates for education in Morocco is significant in creating equality and advancing the health and development of the country as a whole.

The Global Education Monitoring Report states that educated mothers are less likely to die in childbirth by two-thirds and that child mortality would be reduced by a sixth. Literacy plays an important role in mortality rates through the ability to read. Literacy provides information to make well-informed decisions, such as utilizing a nurse at birth or understanding nutrition. In addition, according to Alfalit International, research has shown that illiteracy can limit an individual’s ability to understand and process information necessary to take care of oneself.

With the importance of literacy among Moroccan men and women, ANLCA calls on national and international powers “for a new impetus to-wards a literate Morocco.” New improvements for education in Morocco will come in addition to an eradication of illiteracy by 2024.

– Priscilla Son

Photo: Flickr

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Poverty Eradication Through Education in China

Education in China
A white paper released on Oct. 17 reveals China’s progress in poverty eradication as well as governmental measures taken to improve prosperity. According to this document, the main priority of poverty relief measures was the improvement and expansion of quality education in China between 2011 and 2015.

Over the past three decades, China has lifted more than 700 million citizens from poverty, accounting for 70% of the world’s total across that time. Through this experience, China has gained a wealth of knowledge in crafting and implementing development-oriented poverty relief policies. The white paper confirms that from 2011-2015 such measures placed particular emphasis on education.

The government enacted policies to promote compulsory education in China, bridge the education gap between rural and urban areas, grant living subsidies to students and improve education infrastructure in poor and rural regions. These measures were supported by the government’s investment of 189.84 billion yuan ($28.17 billion), and an additional 14 million yuan earmarked for living quarters for teachers in rural areas. In less-developed central China, the efforts resulted in a 30% increase in children enrolled in kindergarten.

As a supplement to the education measures, the government enacted a nutrition improvement program for students receiving compulsory education. In order to promote sustainable nutrition improvement, the program helped popularize nutritional knowledge among parents and students. In 2015 alone, the government invested 500 million yuan toward nutrition improvement for students and families, benefiting 2.11 million children in 341 Chinese counties.

China’s commitment to and success with poverty reduction demonstrates a commitment to the United Nations Millennium Development Goal (U.N. MDG) of eradicating extreme poverty. The U.N. MDG report shows that the proportion of Chinese living in extreme poverty fell from 61% in 1990 to 30%, and again down to 4.2% in 2015.

The Chinese government has made it a top priority to complete poverty eradication by 2020. By addressing needed changes to the education system, the government presents a commitment towards sustainable poverty eradication. Funding education in China will help ensure the prosperity of future generations, and China’s efforts provide a promising model for global poverty reduction.

– McKenna Lux

Photo: Flickr