Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Aid Overhaul Changing Refugee Nonprofits

Refugee NonprofitsWhile forced migration is a constant problem, advances in technology have changed the playing field, and aid organizations are struggling to keep up. Today, refugees are using their smartphones for both practical uses and methods of comfort in a difficult situation. For efficient aid distribution, change in refugee behavior must be accompanied by a corresponding change in nongovernment organization (NGO) structure.

“Our phones and power banks are more important for our journey than anything, even more important than food,” a refugee from Syria, Wael, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.

When Hassan, a 28-year-old teacher fleeing the Syrian civil war, found out his rubber dinghy was sinking in the middle of the Aegean Sea, he used WhatsApp to alert his friend in New York of his location. He was found by the Turkish Coast Guard 45 minutes later.

Hala, a refugee from Aleppo, uses her phone as the only means of contact left between her and her husband, who was kidnapped by ISIS prior to her departure. “That’s why I’m always holding it. I’m holding on to it like I’m holding on to an address of my own, my family. This metal device has become my whole world,” said Hala to a Channel 4 film documentary crew.

Smartphones have become such vital tools that it is now standard practice for NGOs to distribute chargers in refugee camps. Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, Google Maps – they’re commonplace applications that have helped refugees quickly navigate their way to safety. Perhaps even a bit too quickly.

“You see their [NGOs] logos, but you don’t see them,” said Hassan.

International aid workers have struggled to keep up with the pace of migrants, often ditching the practice of establishing camps in favor of delivering aid to wherever refugees might happen to be.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) changed their policies in 2014, funding hackathons across Europe so app developers throughout Europe could create new tech-centric solutions to their problem. These hackathons proved themselves instantly effective. Instead of relying on static means of distribution, new projects like Germany’s Refugees Welcome and Comme à la Maison (CALM) created a channel for refugees to find necessary contacts to help them wherever they may be.

In the future, huge aid organizations should back the winners of hackathons like Techfugees, which generates a variety of smaller startups that are more intuitive and problem-specific.

– Regina Park

Photo: Flickr

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Seven Nonprofits Working to Help Women in Afghanistan

7 Non-Profits Working to Help Women in Afghanistan
Poverty and oppression go hand in hand for women in Afghanistan. In a country hosting a crushing degree of poverty, women face a variety of discrimination and violence, in many cases from their own families. Global Rights estimates almost nine out of 10 Afghan women will endure marriage against their will or physical, sexual or psychological abuse.

In response to the abuse of women in Afghanistan, several nonprofits have formed to focus on empowering women and helping them escape the trap of poverty and abuse. Many of these nonprofits are based in Afghanistan and feature Afghan women in prominent leadership roles. All of them face danger operating in rural areas of Afghanistan where the rights of women are routinely trod upon.

    1. Afghan Women’s Educational Center (AWEC): AWEC works to empower women in local Afghan communities while working towards gender equality. Through a series of programs focused on providing income and education opportunities for women, they hope to bring about lasting change in Afghanistan towards equality for all. Also as part of their agenda, the organization works to offer new social services for women in addition to founding community centers in rural areas to promote women’s issues and health.
    2. Afghan Women’s Mission: A small group of Americans founded this organization in 2000 as a way of providing medical assistance to Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan. The Afghan Women’s Mission focuses its support on efforts led by Afghan women such as clinics, schools, orphanages, agricultural programs and demonstrations. The volunteers of this nonprofit are proud to support the political and humanitarian efforts of another organization on this list, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA).
    3. Afghan Women’s Network: Formed by a group of women after participating United Nation’s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, the Afghan Women’s Network seeks to provide a foundation for a movement of women in Afghanistan. Boasting a presence in Kabul, Herat, Balkh, Kandahar, Bamyan, Paktia, Nangarhar and Kunduz the network serves as an umbrella for 125 women’s organizations across Afghanistan. The member organizations are concerned with addressing gender-based violence, the health of children and education for girls.
    4. Afghan Women Welfare Department (AWWD): Founded in the last year of the Soviet war in Afghanistan in 1989, AWWD began as a way to improve the outcomes of Afghan women in refugee camps. Expanding from its original purpose, AWWD now attempts to assist Afghan women entrepreneurs in the Peshawar. In over 19 years, AWWD has educated some 13,000 women in education services, vocational training, general health, reproductive health, gender awareness training, human rights and income-generation.
    5. Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA): Perhaps the oldest women’s rights advocacy organization operating in Afghanistan, several highly-educated Afghan women formed the group in 1977 under the leadership of an Afghan woman named Meena. Surviving the Meena’s assassination in 1987, RAWA continues to struggle for the rights of women in addition to democratic and secular values in Afghanistan. Currently, RAWA provides publications to raise awareness of the plight of Afghan women and works to provide education, healthcare and employment opportunities to women in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
    6. U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council: The only mixed public-private institution on this list, a group of Afghans, university officials and U.S. State Department personnel formed the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council in 2002 at Georgetown University. Like the other nonprofits on this list, programming addresses education, health and economic empowerment of women while also focusing heavily on women’s leadership development. Honorary co-chairs of the organization include First Ladies Laura Bush, Hillary R. Clinton and Rula Ghani.
    7. Women for Afghan Women (WAW): Founded a few months prior to the attacks of September 11th in 2001, WAW is based in New York in the Afghan community in Queens. Responding to abuse directed towards women, its members operate long-term shelters for women and children in 13 Afghan provinces while also providing legal aid to women in need. Their past clients have included women targeted with mutilation, acid attacks, torture, rape and attempted murder.

– Will Sweger

Photo: Flickr

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UK Tops US ODA Spending Target to Fight Global Poverty

Fight Global Poverty ODA Spending
David Cameron will be remembered by history as the Prime Minister who called the “Brexit” referendum, but during his last days in office, Cameron sought to stress a different achievement: lifting Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending to 0.7 percent of national income.

The target was met during a time of economic austerity and in spite of intense criticism from members of Cameron’s own political party. This resolve should inspire other wealthy countries to do their part in fighting global poverty.

Looking at the data, several facts jump out. The UK has a clear lead among G7 countries and is the only one to meet the UN’s recommended 0.7 percent target. The United States, despite being both the wealthiest country in the G7 on a per capita basis and the largest economy in the world, comes in last in ODA spending relative to national income.

If America spent the average 0.35 percent of other G7 countries, it would spend an additional $33 billion a year. Reaching the level of the UK would mean over $90 billion more.

Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have given away over $54 billion total as part of their philanthropic efforts. The Giving Pledge, Gates’ and Buffet’s initiative to encourage the wealthy to give away their fortunes, has so far attracted total pledges of around $360 billion from 139 of the wealthiest individuals in the world.

The yearly contribution America could give by rising to the UK’s level of ODA spending is larger than the total lifetime donations of two of the richest men in world and a third of the total amount pledged by 139 billionaires. This is a powerful reminder that the political process is a central part of the struggle against poverty.

The first of the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals is to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere.” This ambitious goal calls for a concerted effort on the part of wealthier countries. Since the UN adopted the resolution in 1970 which stated ODA spending in developed countries should be at least 0.7 percent of their gross national product, only a handful of countries have risen to that level.

Aid skeptics often point out that waste, fraud and corruption mean that much of the aid meant for poor beneficiaries ends up lining the pockets of kleptocrats. This problem is exaggerated, but it should serve as a call to action for reforming aid distribution practices, rather than a reason to cut off support for those who need it most

– Jonathan Hall-Eastman

Photo: Flickr

Liberian Midwives on the Rise Despite Challenges

Liberian MidwivesAlthough Liberia has been Ebola-free for over a year, the devastation the disease wreaked on the Liberian healthcare system persists. Liberian midwives are increasing in number, but they face many challenges.

Liberia was the center of an Ebola outbreak in 2014 that claimed the lives of roughly 180 healthcare workers. In the midst of the epidemic, maternal death rates rose, and they have been slow to decline.

Hannah Gibson, a trainee in a program designated to teach advanced obstetrics to midwives, recounted the panic that struck the Liberian healthcare system when patients suffering from Ebola first began to surface.

Many Liberian midwives abandoned their positions, leaving hospitals understaffed. Gibson and a few of her coworkers eventually quarantined themselves in their hospital, working around the clock to provide medical care for the women in the maternity unit.

Even before the Ebola outbreak, the number of obstetrician-gynecologists in Liberia was low. According to Liberian minister of health Bernice Dahn, today there may be fewer than five.

During the outbreak, Gibson became one of the first Liberian midwives to be trained by British NGO Maternal and Childhealth Advocacy International (MCAI). The NGO proposed teaching surgical procedures such as caesarean sections to midwives in order to bridge the gap in prenatal care in Liberia. The training empowers midwives to operate, resulting in more positive outcomes in semi-complicated childbirths.

Unfortunately, specialized midwifery like this is not accessible to all expecting mothers. There are currently only 400 trained midwives in the Liberian healthcare system, a number too small to meet the needs of over four million people, and the majority of midwives reside in urbanized sectors.

In Liberia, 44 percent of women give birth with no medical attendant because they live in rural areas where care is too far away to obtain. One in every 138 live births results in a mother’s death due to preventable complications requiring basic medical care.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with the Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to enhance Liberia’s six midwifery schools. But merely training midwives will not end the midwife crisis completely. Because midwifery in Liberia is a low-income profession with few opportunities to advance, retaining Liberian midwives is also a problem. Medical professionals trained in Liberia often take their credentials and move to countries that offer better salaries.

Fortunately, through a new Bachelor of Science midwifery program, midwives will be able to further their careers within the Liberian healthcare system, attending to peoples’ needs in understaffed locations. The Danish Midwives Association is giving program instructors current and advanced training in order to ensure the enterprise’s success.

– Amy Whitman

Photo: Flickr

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Hepatitis A, Dengue Virus Top Diseases in Mexico

Diseases in MexicoSome of the top diseases in Mexico that people contract are Hepatitis A and the dengue virus. Below, each of the diseases will be summarized, including how they are transmitted, their symptoms, prevalence of the diseases in Mexico and how to combat the diseases.

Hepatitis A can be spread via contaminated food or water or spread through person-to-person contact wherein an infected person’s stool is ingested by a non-infected person through poor hygiene practices.

Poor hygiene and sanitation practices are the results of letting half the country’s population live in abject poverty; without clean drinking water or sewage services, Hepatitis A spreads easily and became endemic to the population of Mexico.

If a disease is endemic, that means it is regularly found among a population; for Mexico, Hepatitis A is found throughout the entire country.

Mosquitos transmit the dengue virus. Its symptoms at the beginning of incubation of the virus, includes a sudden, high fever, joint pain, and headaches.

Dengue is endemic to all of Mexico as well, except for the state of Baja California Norte and other areas of higher elevation, as mosquitoes carrying the virus cannot survive at the higher elevations.

Dengue may progress into dengue shock syndrome, a rare complication including a hemorrhagic fever, damage to lymph and blood vessels, bleeding from the nose and gums, enlargement of the liver, and even failure of the circulatory system, which can cause death.

Taking aspirin accelerates the onset of symptoms of dengue shock syndrome, as aspirin thins the blood, so it is important to quickly ascertain that dengue is causing a patient’s symptoms before administering medication.

Protection against contracting the dengue virus is easy: use bug spray, wear layers outdoors, and make sure bug screens in the home have no holes or tears for mosquitoes to fly through, but these are monumental tasks for the poor of Mexico, who struggle to provide food for their families, let alone mosquito repellant.

Diseases transmitted by mosquitoes like dengue are more likely to disproportionately affect those in lower economic classes. The Baker Institute mentions that these diseases, also known as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), are widespread in Mexico’s poorest southern states such as Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Mayan villages on the outskirts of the Yucatan Peninsula.

– Bayley McComb

Photo: Flickr

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The Continued Fight Against Malnutrition in Rwanda

Malnutrition in Rwanda

In July, the Rwanda Biomedical Center and UNICEF ran a health awareness campaign in Rwamagana, which revolved around the continued fight against malnutrition in Rwanda.

Rwanda has made impressive developmental progress since the tragedy in 1994. According to the Ministry of Health, the mortality rate for children under 5 has declined more than 60 percent since the 1990s.

Despite this progress, the stunting of children under 5 remains at 38 percent, due to chronic malnutrition, nutritional imbalance and food insecurity. The recent campaign in Rwamagana reported that this number could be cut in half, as long as parents personally ensured that their children were eating the recommended diet.

Stunting is particularly prevalent in rural areas, for these regions are typically the most impoverished and the least educated – both critical influences on the likelihood of malnutrition.

Stunting hinders physical and psychological growth, permanently affecting a child’s long-term development and capacity. Given these dire consequences, the government has scaled up community health outreach, mobilizing door-to-door nutrition education in the most remote areas.

Malnutrition doesn’t usually take lives directly, instead increasing childhood susceptibility to death from diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea and HIV. Particularly, malnutrition decreases the efficacy of antiretroviral therapy, making this chronic condition a large roadblock in the management of the HIV pandemic in Rwanda.

In rural areas, the availability of nutritious food is scarce, especially during agricultural lean periods. The typical diet of cereals and tubers is completely nutritionally imbalanced, leading to deficiencies in protein, iron, vitamin A and iodine.

The government has been working ceaselessly to reduce malnutrition in Rwanda through community organization, mass media initiatives and investment in a National Nutrition Policy. This policy aims to promote sectoral collaboration, simultaneously reducing poverty through the investment in human health.

The Rwamagana campaign targeted lifestyle changes as essential components of the fight against chronic malnutrition. These grim statistics could be transformed through increased parental responsibility, the promotion of alternative sources of income during agricultural setbacks and the assistance of smallholder farmers.

Food insecurity is a primary element of malnutrition, so linking small farmers to their markets is essential. WFP’s Purchase for Progress does just this, providing strength, support and security to rural Rwandan economies.

The WFP and the government additionally fight malnutrition in Rwanda through grassroots community involvement programs, including home grown school feeding programs, monthly childhood growth monitoring and baby-friendly hospital initiatives to promote breastfeeding.

The government of Rwanda understands that the reduction of malnutrition is a complex feat; requiring support from many sectors, such as health, education, commerce and agriculture. Ensuring equal access to nutritional education and treatment is crucial to countrywide hunger alleviation.

Chronic malnutrition in Rwanda interferes with many of the Millennium Development Goals, as it sustains poverty, obstructs educational progress and facilitates the detrimental impact of preventable diseases. With continued focus and diligence, Rwanda can continue to make progress in the promotion of its children’s health.

– Larkin Smith

Photo: Flickr

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Great Strides for Education in Nigeria

Education in Nigeria

Children walking to school: an image many take for granted and expect as a given in the world today. But in many places, such as Nigeria, not every child has the opportunity to learn.

Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa, comprises 20 percent of the total children not currently attending school in the world. And the problem is far from stagnant as there are 11,000 babies born every day in the country.

Politically insecure and vulnerable to attack, Nigeria’s children are at great risk for not receiving an education. The northern part of the country faces a devastating statistic as two-thirds of the children are illiterate.

An attack in Northern Nigeria forced 2.2 million people to flee their homes, resulting in the displacement of families whose children no longer have a school to attend. In 2015, USAID set out to change the status quo, teaming up with state officials and a number of non-profit organizations to improve education in Nigeria.

They developed the Education Crisis Response Program: a program designed to relieve the local schools of some of their overwhelming demands by providing education for children between the ages of six and 17 in three different Nigerian states.

Two hundred ninety-four learning centers were built for classes three days per week. In-class meals and necessary school supplies were provided. The Education Response Program did not stop there. Recognizing the possible trauma many of these children may have experienced in the rapid displacement of their families from their homes, the program also provides psychological treatment.

Teachers in these learning programs have been trained to approach their classrooms through a psychosocial mindset. They encourage group work, remain aware of the history these children hold and provide open student-teacher interaction to help them feel safe and comfortable back in the classroom.

The Nigerian government supports this program and will be entrusted with the task of carrying its essential goals through when the program is phased out in 2017. The country is also planning financially so that the education response will grow with time.

Furthermore, the World Bank announced in September of 2016 a budget of $500 million for basic education in Nigeria.

Nigeria joined the Global Partnership for Education in 2012, established to increase the amount of people receiving quality, basic education. This partnership has worked with each state to develop a plan “to outline its priorities and objectives.”

In addition, an organization called the Nigerian International Athletes Association (NIAA) will hold a conference in October. The NIAA is a union based in the United States comprised of former Nigerian athletes seeking to improve the future of athletics, education and healthcare in their home country.

According to Premium Times, the NIAA’s president plans to use the conference’s funds “to support kids from disadvantaged homes with their education and help talented young athletes to combine sports and education.”

Perhaps the NIAA’s efforts combined with those of USAID and World Bank will result in not only the maintainence of millions of children’s education, but the advancement as well. With teachers trained to care for them beyond the classroom and former athletes enabling them to chase their dreams, education in Nigeria is surely on the rise.

– Rebecca Causey

Photo: Flickr

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How Can Vocational Training Help Developing Communities

How Can Vocational Training Help Developing Communities
Vocational education aims to provide the skills and training for individuals to pursue industrial and commercial occupations. It works as a method that is taught in professional schools or even job training workshops. The methods gained popularity after the Second World War as an alternative college education concerned with skills and specialized training methods.

In Malawi, the government adopted vocational training to promote self-employment and help vulnerable youth seek better opportunities. The government worked with researchers to evaluate and study how the program will affect development and improve economic conditions. The results indicated increased economic development and improved well-being of youth. The results also indicated that there is an increased likelihood of individuals starting their own businesses. The youth also invested more time on their skills development.

The results of a vocational training session for young women in Delhi showed an increased in employability, increased wages and a higher likelihood of owning a sewing machine. This increased employment could drive the economy and increase the pace of development in India as more women are entering the productive labor force. Even though such training might be costly, their impact on employment as a global issue is important.

Lastly, in Morocco, youth make up about one-third of the population. Unfortunately, 40 percent of these youth are out of school. Hence, vocational training can significantly impact the youth conditions in Morocco. USAID along with other partners locally, work to provide alternative sustainable opportunities.

The training revolves around equipping the youth with skills required to enter the workforce and to connect them to high-level demanding jobs. The training also focuses its attention in underprivileged neighborhoods in the north of Morocco.

– Noman Ahmed

Photo: Flickr

The Apparent Project Saves Children from Orphanages

Orphanages

After Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, an influx of international aid entered the country. This relief funded the construction of many orphanages housing about 32,000 children.

Out of 760 orphanages, roughly 80 percent of these children have living parents who want to take care of them, but lack access to adequate health, education and social services.

Shelley Clay and her husband moved to Port-Au-Prince in 2008. They were looking to adopt a child but quickly discovered the overflow of children whose parents still continued to visit them. On one block, according to Clay, there were 20 orphanages which essentially operated as 24/7 day-care services.

Clay found famished young boys were stealing eggs from their equally impoverished neighbors. Single mothers were looking for work, but the market was limited.

To provide context, here are some more facts on poverty in Haiti:

  • Haiti ranks 168 out of 187 on the 2014 Human Development Index, according to UNDP.
  • The World Bank announced 59 percent of the population lived on less than $2 per day in 2012.
  • Over two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs, according to the World Factbook.

In 2008, there were 380,000 orphaned Haitian children. Clay found many of the missionaries wanting to make a difference by investing in the construction of orphanages fueled a larger problem. With public housing services, feeding programs and food aid, the problem is never corrected, Clay told Deseret News.

She realized creating jobs would start to solve the issue one family at a time, so she launched a non-profit program called the Apparent Project. Clay saves many children from orphanages, keeping families together, by providing them work and a roof over their head.

Over the last couple years, she has helped 220 people gain income by transforming Haiti’s garbage into an object value — jewelry. Clay provides jobs to local women by recycling these natural resources for basic life necessities.

Now the artisanal jewelry is sold in home tupperware-style parties and small partnerships with stores, such as the GAP and Donna Karan. In December of 2011, The Apparent Project sold $100,000 in jewelry. This moved Haitian employees from conditions of poverty to middle class status while saving children from orphanages.

– Rachel Williams

Photo: Flickr

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How South Sudan Is Improving Its Education Sector

South Sudan Education Sector
As the world’s newest country, South Sudan has made strong progress in improving its education sector. In just four years, the enrollment of children in primary school has doubled, and the chance for a child in South Sudan to receive schooling has increased by 20 percent in the past decade. South Sudan’s Alternate Education System is also helping over 200,000 youth and adults catch up on their education.

Unfortunately, education in the country is still considered among the worst in the world. The adult literacy rate is only 27 percent and 70 percent of children ages 6-17 have never set foot in a classroom. The dropout rate for children in their first six years of primary education is 60 percent.

Overcrowded primary schools are extremely common and qualified teachers are few and far between. Only 15 percent of teachers in South Sudan are qualified with just three out of five teachers receiving a salary from the government.

In a World Bank article, the Country Director for South Sudan stated that in order to catch up with the rest of Africa, South Sudan needs consistent investment in classrooms, more schools in rural areas, more trained teachers and an efficient distribution of educational resources.

In order to make those improvements and boost education in South Sudan, USAID has implemented various programs and projects benefiting both students and teachers across the country.

USAID has greatly improved the accessibility of education in South Sudan. The Agency has contributed to the construction and rehabilitation of 140 primary schools and five secondary schools across the country.

In the past five years, the Agency has awarded over 9,000 scholarships to girls and disadvantaged boys who were previously unable to afford secondary education.

USAID’s South Sudan Teacher Education Program is helping to improve teacher qualification through in-service training and the implementation of a curriculum and professional teaching standards.

In 2012, the Agency provided technical assistance for the drafting and passage of South Sudan’s General Education Bill. According to a member of South Sudan’s National Legislative Assembly, “The bill provides for compulsory and free education for all citizens of the country through primary level.”

Although education in South Sudan is improving, there is still a lot of ground to make up. Organizations like USAID, UNICEF and the World Bank are working with the government of South Sudan to develop a stronger, self-sustaining education system.

– Kristyn Rohrer

Photo: Flickr