Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

,

10 Interesting Facts About Somali Refugees

Somali Refugees

According to the U.N., there are more displaced persons now than there were after World War II. Somalia is one country suffering from a refugee crisis. It is a country of 10.8 million people, but as the country continues to experience political and economic instability, its people are fleeing to find life outside of Somalia.

With 1.1 million Somali refugees, the country has become the largest refugee-producing country in Sub-Saharan Africa. Here are 10 facts about Somali refugees:

  1. The Somali refugee situation has lasted three decades. In 1991, Somalia’s President Siad Barre was overthrown, which led to an era of conflict that has never been resolved. When the state collapsed, Somalia became known as a “failed state,” one that became the empire of pirates, kidnappers and Al-Qaeda bombers.
  2. Between 1990 and 2015, the share of Somali migrants living abroad grew 136 percent. In 1990, the total number of people born in Somalia but living outside the country was 850,000. By 2015, that number more than doubled to two million.
  3. In April 2016, Somalia’s government reported that between 200 and 300 Somalis drowned in the Mediterranean Sea while trying to illegally cross into Europe. Somali Information Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir said that a boat may have been carrying about 500 people, but “there is no clear number since they are not traveling legally.”
  4. Refugee camps are meant to be temporary, but most Somali refugees have lived in camps located in neighboring countries for decades. Families live in cramped quarters under tents meant for temporary residence.
  5. Two-thirds of the Somali migrants live in neighboring countries. Kenya hosts the largest number, nearly half a million, of Somali migrants of any other country. Ethiopia hosts the second largest number, 440,000, while Djibouti and Yemen fall close behind.
  6. Kenya is closing Dadaab camp, its largest refugee camp, which is home to 350,000 Somalis. The camp has become recruiting grounds for al-Shabaab terrorists, who have carried out several attacks in Kenya; however, Somalian Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke said the refugees are being unfairly blamed for terror incidents.
  7. The U.S. is home to about 7 percent of the world’s Somali migrant population. In 1990, the total number of migrants living in the U.S. was around 2,500, but the number had grown to 150,000 by 2015. Between 2001 and 2015, the U.S. admitted more than 90,00 refugees from Somalia. In 2014, the U.S. approved 1,645 green cards for Somalis.
  8. In 2013, a tripartite agreement was signed between UNHCR, Kenya and Somalia to help Somali refugees voluntarily return home. Since 2014, only 14,000 have returned and another 8,000 are on a waiting list to do so.
  9. Kenya identified nine areas in Somalia to resettle Somali refugees. Kenya Interior Ministry Representative said that this is the time for Somali refugees to safely return home. The U.S. has asked Kenya to ensure the return is voluntary and humane.
  10. The U.N. is providing returnees with transportation, basic household items and three months of food rations, which the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi hopes to increase to 12-month supplies. Grandi said, “We don’t want to help people go back and then they become internally displaced.”

– Jacqueline Venuti

Photo: All Africa

, ,

Cormack Family Funds New Children International Center

Cormack FamilyDave Cormack, president and chief executive officer of the healthcare software provider Brightree, along with his family, are funding a new Children International Cormack Family Community Center. The Cormack family is helping to benefit nearly 12,000 children in Cartagena, Colombia.

In Colombia, 11% of the country is unemployed and 37% of the country lives below the poverty line.

Children International has been working with Colombia for over 25 years to help children break the cycle of poverty. It has 10 community centers in Colombia serving more than 40,000 children.

“After having the opportunity to visit other Children International community centers, my family and I recognized the importance of these safe spaces,” said Dave Cormack. “We knew we wanted to help fund a center so that more kids have the opportunity to utilize Children International’s services.”

The new community center will include the Brightree Youth Computer Center, where children can do research, homework and learn valuable skills such as English as a second language. It will also have medical and dental clinics, a library, pharmacy and other meeting spaces.

The new youth center will have an outdoor multi-sport court, an art studio and other multi-use spaces. The centers give families a place to escape the negative influences of their poor communities.

Children in the program have access to a team of doctors, dentists, tutors and sponsors. The Children International Cormack Family Community Center is a safe place in the community and a path out of poverty.

The organization provides health benefits, including annual medical exams and health care during illness, providing nutritional support, counseling for children and families, dental care, clothing, school supplies and fees and items for the home.

The programs are focused on health, education, empowerment and employment. Through early intervention, Children International addresses children’s critical needs through daily interaction in community centers. The centers are unique facilities that enable Children International to reach its goal of eliminating poverty from children’s lives.

– Jacqueline Venuti

Photo: Children International

10 Facts About Yemeni Refugees

Facts about Yemeni refugees

Though it has not drawn as much international attention as the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, the ongoing civil war in Yemen has devastated an already struggling country.

One reason for the lack of attention is because the Yemen conflict has produced a smaller number of international refugees. Yet, almost 200,000 people have fled the country and more than 2 million have been internally displaced. Below are ten facts about Yemeni refugees and the volatile situation that has led to a protracted civil war.

  1. Most Yemeni refugees are foreigners themselves. Yemen has long been viewed as the entry point to the Middle East.  This is the case for many people coming from poorer countries in Africa since Yemen borders Saudi Arabia, a wealthier country home to huge numbers of guest workers.
  2. A large number of Yemeni refugees are internally displaced. As of December 2015, there were an estimated 2.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Yemen. This is almost 10 percent of the population.
  3. Even prior to the war, Yemen was the poorest country in the Middle East. This means that Yemeni refugees have scarcer resources to draw upon than refugees from other war-torn countries in the region.
  4. Many of the refugees from Yemen are now living in other poor countries. Of note, 33,000 Yemeni refugees now live in Djibouti and 32,000 in Somalia, two countries that are highly unstable and major producers of refugees themselves.
  5. Yemen’s geographic position makes it difficult for displaced persons to leave the country. Yemen is located at the corner of the Arabian Peninsula and its land borders include one of the most inhospitable desert terrains in the world. Several of the closest countries by sea are themselves highly unstable and violent.
  6. Historically, Yemen has been a generous acceptor of refugees. It is the only country in the Arabian Peninsula to be party to the 1951 U.N. Convention and the 1967 Protocol on Refugees. Yemen has welcomed refugees from countries in the Horn of Africa that suffer from persistent civil strife and repressive governments, like Somalia and Eritrea.
  7. Yemen’s civil war is locked in a stalemate. This means that the number of Yemeni refugees may increase  as the nation’s infrastructure continues to be destroyed by war.
  8. Yemen’s internal divisions have deep historical roots. During the colonial era, the north was controlled by the Ottoman Empire and the south by Great Britain. During the Cold War, North Yemen was capitalist while South Yemen was communist.
  9. Water scarcity has reached crisis levels in Yemen. This is one of the most important facts about Yemeni refugees and it also affects the entire population. According to The Guardian, 50 percent of Yemenis struggle to obtain clean water and the capital city of Sanaa may run out of water in the near future. As is the case for many conflicts around the world, water scarcity and control of water supplies are key issues.
  10. Yemen’s population has a high percentage of young people. Over 40 percent of the population is 14 years old or younger, and more than 20 percent falls in the 15 -24 age range.

Raising awareness of these facts about Yemeni refugees is important. Refugees all over the world flee from war and civil strife to seek refuge and find a better life, not just from Syria and Iraq. The facts here may not be an exhaustive list of the Yemeni refugee situation, but they provide insight into the issues this country faces on a daily basis.

– Jonathan Hall-Eastman

Photo: Flickr

, ,

How USAID is Improving Access to Education in Niger

Education in NigerWith a stable democracy and no civil war, it would seem that Niger is ripe for progress compared to many other African nations. Yet Niger struggles with extreme poverty and ranks last on the U.N.’s Education Development Index. In 2003, the government instated a 10-year plan for education reform, but little progress in both quality of and access to education in Niger was made.

Niger’s history as an independent republic is very brief and rather bleak. According to the BBC, after gaining independence from France in 1960, Niger faced political instability, drought and widespread poverty. Slavery was only just outlawed in 2003 but remains a problem to this day.

Fortunately, in a peaceful 2010 election, Mahamadou Issoufou became president of Niger and since then the nation has been relatively stable politically. However, the nation remains one of the “poorest peaceful [countries] in the world.”

Limited access to education in Niger is a significant contributor to widespread and ongoing poverty in the nation. According to the U.N., average expected years of schooling in Niger is 5.4, compared to 16.9 in the U.S.

Niger’s adult literacy rate is a staggering 15.5% and only 5.2% of the population have at least some secondary education. These figures, among others, cause Niger’s education system to rank 187/187 nations ranked in the 2013 U.N. Human Development Report.

2013 also marked the 10 year anniversary of the plan for education reform; in the same year, USAID became involved in the effort to increase access to education in Niger.

A 2007 evaluation of the PDDE (from the French “Programme Décennal pour le Développement de l’Éducation”), revealed that Niger’s education system had improved quantitatively, but not qualitatively. That is to say, access to education improved — access to primary education increased nationally from 51% to 65% – but quality remained sub-par.

USAID aims to increase access to quality education in Niger. Higher quality education in Niger would mean a safer and more welcoming environment for female students, which currently have a 44 percent enrollment rate after sixth grade, increased parental involvement, and strengthened community links to education.

According to their website, the objectives of USAID are “to increase access to quality education in schools through an improved physical and social environment; and to increase early grade reading achievement by promoting a culture of reading.”

USAID calls their program “Niger Education and Community Strengthening.” By addressing the low education rates through the lens of community, USAID will have a sense of the cultural aspects that contribute to Niger’s struggling education system.

Working with the community as well as the Millennium Challenge Corporation will fortify USAID efforts to decrease the 18% gender gap in education and increase the 5.2% education rate.

– Sabrina Yates

Photo: Flickr

Seven Facts About Poverty in the Bahamas

poverty in the bahamas

While many Americans flock to the Bahamas for relaxing beach vacations, these tourists may not think about the economic hardships faced by their island hosts. Here are seven facts about the condition of poverty in the Bahamas:

  1. The poverty rate in the Bahamas currently sits at 12.5 percent. In 2001, the poverty rate was 9.3 percent. In 2014, the poverty line in the Bahamas stood at $4,247 compared to $2,863 as recorded in 2001.
  2. The current poverty rate is the highest for those in the under-20 demographic. Chairman of Citizens for Justice Bishop Walter Hanchell explained this statistic to The Freeport News, saying many recent high school graduates have trouble finding work as they lack the necessary skills.
  3. Unemployment contributes a great deal to poverty in the Bahamas. In 2013, unemployment was recorded at 16.2 percent and has gone down to 15.4 percent according to the 2014 Labor Force Survey. Bahamian scholar Rochelle R. Dean shared her thoughts on unemployment with Tribune242, saying, “the Bahamas has the resources, tools and labour force to reduce the unemployment rate, but lacks the vision and ambition to do so.”
  4. According to the Household Expenditure Survey, larger families are more likely to be in poverty, with 32 percent of households with seven or more members living below the poverty line.
  5. Haitians living in the Bahamas have the highest rate of poverty at 37.69 percent, although Haitians represent only 7.48 percent of the Bahamian population. The poverty rates among the islands in the Bahamas vary greatly: poverty rates are the highest within the Family Islands and lowest in Grand Bahama.
  6. Households led by women are more likely to face poverty in the Bahamas (9.7 percent) than households led by men (7.9 percent). According to the Nassau Guardian, women represent slightly more of the poor population at 51.83 percent.
  7. In 2012, 10,000 people received financial aid from the Bahamian government, an astounding increase from the 3,000 people in 2004.

Although multiple leaders in the Bahamas are at odds about how to improve the economy, all agree that something must be done, soon. With increasing poverty and unemployment rates, the citizens and leaders of the Bahamas must find a way to come together to improve these conditions.

– Carrie Robinson

Photo: Flickr

,

6 Facts About Poverty in Indonesia

Poverty in Indonesia
Indonesia is the world’s third most populous democracy, and its people are spread out among thousands of islands in the Indian ocean. The country’s unique geography and turbulent history have made poverty reduction a challenge. However, Indonesia has made strides in addressing poverty thanks to strong economic growth and concentrated poverty alleviation legislation.

6 Facts About Poverty in Indonesia

  1. Poverty in Indonesia is both urban and rural, which makes reduction efforts by the government and international groups a uniquely challenging problem. Furthermore, due to Indonesia’s geography, natural disasters are a much more costly threat than in other nations, and they disproportionally affect poor people.
  2. Poverty reduction in Indonesia has been very effective in the 21st century. Approximately 11 percent of the population lives in poverty, a more than 50 percent reduction since 1999. Between 2006 and 2013, 10 million people climbed out of poverty in Indonesia.
  3. Despite the clear downward trend in poverty numbers, according to Indonesia Investments, “the Indonesian government applies rather easy terms and conditions regarding the definition of the poverty line, resulting in a more positive picture than reality.” As a result, Indonesia has a high population of people who are “near poor,” or in danger of falling into extreme poverty in an economic downturn.
  4. In recent years, however, the economy of Indonesia has been performing very well. Indonesia has the largest economy in Southeast Asia and the 16th largest in the world. The Indonesian economy has seen steady annual growth rates of between four and six percent annually since 2004. Furthermore, the unemployment rate is very low, recorded at just 5.5 percent in 2015.
  5. There has been a recent uptick in public spending by the government to improve public services in the country. The Indonesian government now invests about $30 million every year in its five major poverty reduction programs. The government has also been increasing its loan allocations in order to help small businesses.
  6. The country has a positive growth outlook for coming years. The Indonesian government has shown its commitment to fiscal reforms to increase foreign investment, and economic growth is expected to increase in coming years.

Despite the challenges that Indonesia faces, the last 15 years of economic growth and poverty reduction are encouraging for the future.

– John English

Photo: Pixabay

, ,

Landesa’s Fight for Female Land Rights in India

women's land rights

The nonprofit organization Landesa is taking an important step in the battle against global poverty. Its goal is to increase female land rights in rural areas.

Though women make up about 43 percent of the agricultural labor force in the poorest regions of the world, they are often denied rights to own, control or inherit land. The lack of land rights can cause difficulties for women living in poverty who are “dispossessed,” meaning unmarried, widowed, divorced or disabled. These women are often forced to rely on extended family members for shelter, food and other necessities.

In Odisha, India alone, an estimated 500,000 single and landless women live in rural areas. Without access to land, they have few methods to adequately support themselves or lift themselves out of poverty.

Programs that aim to alleviate poverty by distributing land often fall into the trap of ignoring the ways in which experiences of land ownership and poverty are gendered. Odisha launched a government program called Vasundhara in 2005. The program allocated plots of government land to landless, rural families. However, due to government policies that overlooked the needs of rural, dispossessed women, many women were ineligible for the program.

Landesa, with support from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is working to rectify these oversights with a new woman-centric program that will help identify women in need through local health workers. They are working to create an inventory of single women in need of government land and social security entitlements. They are then served through Women Support Centers that help them apply for government services.

Over 5,000 dispossessed  women have been the beneficiaries of homestead land, and another 15,000 cases are currently being verified. The land rights project, though relatively new, is experiencing much success and is set to establish female land rights for thousands worldwide.

– Jordan Little

Photo: Flickr

,

New Ministry of Happiness in India Focuses on Well-Being

Ministry of happiness

In April, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan of India’s central state, Madhya Pradesh, announced plans to create a Ministry of Happiness. This new ministry will oversee the growth of the state in terms of Gross National Happiness, an alternative national development index.

In contrast to GDP, GNH measures the well-being of a nation in terms of “community, culture, governance, knowledge and wisdom, health, spirituality and psychological welfare, a balanced use of time, and harmony with the environment.”

Proposing the Ministry of Happiness

Chief Minister Chauhan, a yoga enthusiast and a Master of Philosophy, hopes that the ministry of happiness will improve citizens’ mental and physical health.

The ministry of happiness is also set to run over 70 social programs such as yoga, meditation, spirituality, arts, and religious pilgrimages for seniors.

Building on existing programs, such as the state’s “Girl Child” program, the ministry of happiness will continue to financially reward families of female students for remaining in education. The funding will also be used to employ a team of psychologists dedicated to improving the well-being of citizens.

The ministry of happiness was proposed amid a severe drought that has left many citizens of Madhya Pradesh, a largely agrarian state, without income and has increased the rate of suicide among farmers.

In addition, Madhya Pradesh has seen 27 suicides of school-age children in the last year due to exam-related stress. The state also suffers from high rates of malnutrition, infant mortality and the highest rate of rape in the country.

Tracking Happiness for Economic Growth

Some citizens of Madhya Pradesh are skeptical of the need for a ministry of happiness, citing a lack of basic rights and resources as the main causes of suffering.

This has sparked questions about the legitimacy of government psychological and spiritual intervention. However, India is not the first government to try to track happiness.

Along similar lines, the United Nations World Happiness Report measures the well-being of populations using GDP per capita, as well as markers for social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and perceptions of corruption.

In Bhutan, the birthplace of the GNH index, the commitment to a holistic measure of well-being rather than solely financial measures one has led to positive results. By prioritizing well-being over material growth, Bhutan has become an example of alternative economic growth for the rest of the world.

Hope for an Equitable Society in India

“GNH is an aspiration,” said Thakur Singh Powdyel, Bhutan’s minister of education, “a set of guiding principles through which we are navigating our path toward a sustainable and equitable society. We believe the world needs to do the same before it is too late.”

The idea for a ministry of happiness demonstrates Madhya Pradesh’s commitment to these guiding principles. Heading the charge, Shivraj Singh Chauhan hopes that a new emphasis on the ideals of equality and community will improve the well-being of the state’s citizens.

– Lia Jean Ferguson

Photo: Pixabay

9 Facts About Poverty in Swaziland

Poverty in SwazilandIn conjunction with its quickly growing population, Swaziland has experienced continuous economic difficulties, especially in its rural areas. Here are nine interesting facts about poverty in Swaziland.

9 Facts About Poverty in Swaziland

  1. Ten percent of the population is responsible for about half of the nation’s consumption, while 84 percent of those living in poverty in Swaziland reside in rural areas. These figures point to a disproportion in the flow of resources between urban and rural areas in Swaziland.
  2. According to the Rural Poverty Portal, roughly 47 percent of the population is less than 15 years old. The unemployment rate of Swaziland is expected to rise unless working opportunities are found for these children.
  3. Life expectancy has actually dropped from a peak of 59 years in 1990 to 49 years in 2014.
  4.  In 2013, Swaziland had the highest rate of HIV in the world, at 27 percent according to AVERT. During 2013, 11,000 people contracted HIV, and 4,500 people died as a result of HIV.
  5. The data shared by AVERT shows that 31 percent of women have HIV as opposed to only 20 percent of men. This difference is likely tied to gender inequality in Swaziland, as women are often not in control of their own reproductive and sexual health.
  6. Nevertheless, Swaziland has seen improvements in its HIV problem during the 2000s through increased rates of antiretroviral treatment and investments in HIV response. AVERT’s statistics demonstrate such improvement. In 2012, only three percent of children born to HIV-positive mothers were HIV positive, as opposed to 12 percent in the prior year.
  7. Drought has been a major factor in restricting growth and contributing to poverty in Swaziland. According to All Africa, a drought last year was partially responsible for a 31 percent decline in maize production in 2015 and left 300,000 people (one-quarter of the population) targeted for aid.
  8. Other impacts of drought are seen in education, where water is needed for plumbing. The lack of water also increases the potential for water contamination, with 197,157 students, teachers, and workers being put at risk of water-borne disease.
  9. Since 2000, the Kingdom of Swaziland has been implementing a plan to reduce poverty. Some goals include providing all rural households with access to water as well as giving women the same rights over their land that men have.

Foreign support in dealing with problems such as HIV and water shortage would certainly help improve the economic disparity found in Swaziland, in conjunction with the nation’s own efforts.

– Edmond Kim

Photo: Flickr

,

5 Things You Should Know About World Breastfeeding Week

World Breastfeeding Week

Breastmilk is a baby’s best protection against illness and disease, but data has shown that the number of newborns breastfed within the first hour of life has not improved over the past 15 years. World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated annually from August 1–7 in over 170 countries, and global organizations are sharing how early breastfeeding can make the difference between life and death.

5 Things to Know About Breastfeeding

  1. Delayed breastfeeding, even only 24 hours after birth, increases the child’s risk of dying within the first 28 days of life by 80 percent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Several factors contribute to this issue—from inadequate healthcare during delivery to babies being fed less nutritious alternatives, such as formula, cow’s milk or sugar water. These alternatives all decrease a newborn’s chance of survival. As such, government policymakers and organizations are targeting this issue by raising awareness and encouraging others to protect and promote exclusive breastfeeding.
  2. Research has found a clear connection between breastfeeding and higher IQ scores and educational achievement. Giving children the proper nutrition at the start of life supports optimal development and leads to higher earnings later in life–specifically, 12 percent higher per hour in high-income countries, and 16 percent in low to middle-income countries.
  3. The Global Breastfeeding Advocacy Initiative led by UNICEF and WHO is working with international partners to help build a healthy society. Lawmakers can show their support by ensuring a minimum of four months paid maternity leave, requiring employers to provide protection for mothers to pump milk at work and preventing discrimination against women and mothers in the workplace.
  4. Approximately 200 million children alive today will fail to reach their full physical, mental and social potential. Why? Negative factors inhibiting early childhood development–not being breastfed is among those factors. For this reason, WHO is working with countries to increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months up to, at least, 50 percent by 2025, in order to turn things around and save millions of lives.
  5. Breastfeeding produces long-term health benefits for both the mother and the child. The act of breastfeeding produces oxytocin, protects against diarrhea and common illnesses like pneumonia, and reduces the risk of obesity in childhood and adolescence. It is crucial that people are knowledgeable on the subject of breastfeeding and the effects it has on a child’s life.

Though some of the statistics given might seem shocking, World Breastfeeding Week takes the initial steps necessary to create change by raising awareness of the problem and producing individuals that can implement solutions.

– Mikaela Frigillana

Photo: Flickr