Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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World’s First Vaccine for Dengue Fever

Health_vaccine

Over the past several decades, the global health community has taken on the challenge of eradicating diseases such as polio, tuberculosis and malaria.

Dengue fever (pronounced den’gee), a mosquito-borne viral infection, is another agenda item, which the World Health Organization (WHO) notes “has rapidly spread in all regions” putting about half of the world’s population at risk.

Similarly, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls dengue fever a “leading cause of illness and death in the tropics and subtropics.”

The WHO estimates that nearly 400 million people are infected with dengue fever each year. Close to 500,000 individuals who have developed severe dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever will require hospitalization and about “2.5 percent of those affected die.”

Symptoms of severe dengue fever include sharp abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, rapid breathing, bleeding gums, fatigue, restlessness and blood in vomit. The WHO highlights that the first 24-48 hours after initial symptoms begin can be lethal without proper medical attention and care.

Currently, there is no cure for dengue fever. However, the WHO has now approved a vaccination called Dengvaxia, which took 20 years to be developed at a cost of $1.8 billion.

Dengvaxia, developed by Sanofi Pasteur is being released in the Philippines this month in the first ever public immunization program for the virus. The Philippines has had the highest rates of dengue fever in the pacific region with over 200,000 cases reported in 2013.

A report in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer notes that the vaccination “prevents dengue hospitalizations by 80 percent and severe dengue cases by 93 percent.” The program was launched in Manila’s Marikina city to hundreds of public school children and is being administered in three courses, separated by six months.

The Philippines Health Secretary Janette Garin called the program a “historic milestone”. Garin continued, “We are the first country to introduce, adopt and implement the first-ever dengue vaccine through (the) public health system and under a public school setting.”

– Michael A. Clark

Photo: Flickr

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Technology: Linking Advanced & Developing Economies

Developing Economies

Social impact technology company, United Needs, works under the belief that the world is at its healthiest when interconnected. In order to disrupt cycles of poverty for rural farmers while simultaneously strengthening Earth’s food system, the organization is introducing new mobile technology to bring together advanced and developing economies.

In the next 34 years, the world will see an increase of 2.4 billion citizens. To feed this population the global food supply must increase by 69%, which means that finite agricultural resources must be used in the most effective way possible.

At the same time, the increase in population presents an exciting opportunity for smallholder farmers to play a large role in the expanding food economy. The United Needs website calls this “convergence of market forces” a chance for impoverished farmers to “grow their way out of poverty.”

In the current climate, small farmers in developing countries struggle with a variety of challenges. While small farms can be extremely productive, too few selling opportunities exist and farmers often lack access to traditional credit facilities. When market options are available, several levels of middlemen often consume most of the profit.

Research by the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector showed that improving the financial state of the rural poor is one of the most effective ways of reducing poverty at the bottom rung of the financial ladder.

United Needs works on projects that seek to empower rural farmers as a means of alleviating poverty and building a sustainable food economy. Their methods involve breaking down barriers to profit by connecting developing economies directly with advanced ones.

With the motto “high tech with a high purpose,” United Needs keeps technology at the heart of its strategy. In order to “cut out the middleman” preventing smallholders from accessing credit and capital, the company created a mobile app that allows farmers to directly contact microfinance institutions and buyers. Customers interested in buying in bulk can bundle crops from multiple small farmers together to build large orders.

This high tech process is creating a more connected global economy by offering opportunities for advanced and developing economies to support one another through food production and consumption.

– Jen Diamond

Photo: Flickr

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Whole Planet Foundation: Benefits of Microfinance Institutions

Whole Planet Foundation

Whole Planet Foundation, the nonprofit organization founded by Whole Foods Market, seeks to alleviate poverty in communities around the world that supply Whole Foods stores. All of the Foundation’s overhead costs are covered by Whole Foods Market, meaning 100 percent of donations go straight to community micro-lending programs.

According to the Kiva organization, “microfinance is a general term to describe financial services to low-income individuals or to those who do not have access to typical banking services.”

Microfinance encompasses a wide array of services, such as credit, savings and small loans services. Whole Planet Foundation focuses on the credit component of microfinance by supporting microfinance institutions that provide small business loans.

To ensure the efficacy and intentions of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), Whole Planet Foundation conducts careful research. Field teams in each country first identify potential partners. After reviewing relevant information, the list of potential partners is shortened.

Each institution is visited in person by Regional Directors. The field visit allows the Foundation “to see first-hand the approach and practices of an MFI”. Once approved, MFIs are eligible to receive grants from the Whole Planet Foundation to service their clients.

The field visit allows the Foundation “to see first-hand the approach and practices of an MFI”. Once approved, MFIs are eligible to receive grants from the Whole Planet Foundation to service their clients.

The Whole Planet Foundation does not work with government-run MFIs which they have found to be “poorly run and corrupt”. The Foundation states that it has found “great success by working with MFIs with no government affiliation”.

At the same time, the Foundation acknowledges that microcredit is not a “silver bullet” that can address all the factors that contribute to global poverty. As the website notes, one loan doesn’t immediately lift a family out of poverty.

However, MFIs, when run correctly, can help people without jobs start and maintain their own businesses. MFIs give people the opportunity to invest in their own potential and create opportunities for themselves and their families.

Whole Planet Foundation currently supports over 1.3 million micro-entrepreneurs in 70 countries around the world. Of note, 87 percent of those reached globally are women. This investment has been met with success, boasting a repayment rate of 97 percent.

One entrepreneur who is benefitting from the program is a woman named Yajaris from Nicaragua. According to the Foundation, she heard about her local MFI, Pro Mujer Nicaragua, from a neighbor several years ago. She used micro credit loans as a way to expand her kiosk business. Yajaris added a variety of vegetables, drinks and cleaning supplies to her inventory.

Microloans also helped Yajaris to purchase a refrigerator and shelves on which to display the new items. Within just three years, according to Whole Planet Foundation, her kiosk doubled in size. Yajaris used her savings and an additional housing loan from Pro Mujer to build a two-room home. She rents out that property and is currently using the rental income to save up for another floor.

According to Kiva, the benefits of MFIs have been proven to go far beyond supporting small businesses. By providing people with opportunities to become self-sufficient, household economic welfare stabilizes, allowing families to better cope with the challenges they face. The success of female-run businesses, in particular, contributes to the increase in gender equality. As households succeed, communities can grow to become more empowered and educated.

– Taylor Resteghini

Photo: Flickr

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How Extreme Poverty Decreased 80 Percent Since 1980

Poverty_foodIn a recent TED talk, Arthur Brooks, president of the conservative think tank, the American Enterprise Institute, discussed the need for ideology to be put aside when assisting those in destitution.

Originally from Seattle, Brooks dropped out of college early in his life to become a professional French horn player. His curiosity about a 1970’s National Geographic cover led him to research the fight against poverty.

He found that “there’s been an 80 percent decline in the world’s worst poverty,” which can be defined as those living on less than a $1.25 a day. Brooks attributes the improvement of 2 billion lives to the economic power provided by the capitalist system, a “policy” that both conservatives and liberals can get behind.

In his presentation, he highlighted five main reasons why capitalism provides the best environment for growth and prosperity: globalization, free trade, property rights, rule of law and entrepreneurship. All of these aspects of a free market emphasize economic freedom in the lives of the people who live under it.

“Capitalism is not just about accumulation,” he said during his talk. “At its best, it’s about aspiration.” Most important of all, economic freedom is something that both parties can get behind and support. It was, after all, President Obama who uttered the conservative’s favorite quote: “Free markets have created more wealth than any system in history. They have lifted billions out of poverty.”

While studies have shown that liberals and conservatives focus on different political topics, their affinity for free markets should still unite them against poverty and for freedom. Psychologists have identified a phenomenon called “political motive asymmetry” where individuals think their ideology is motivated by love and the opposite is motivated by hate.

Evidence provided by a U.N. study and a Fraser Institute study indicates that poverty decreases when economic freedom increases. More specifically, the U.N. report highlighted a 25 percent decrease in the number of people in extreme poverty between 1981 and 2005. At the same time, the Fraser Institute reported a 29 percent increase in economic freedom from 1980 to 2013.

Brooks continued his speech by challenging both liberals and conservatives to embrace arguments that they might typically be opposed to hearing. “I’m asking you and I’m asking me to be the person specifically who blurs the lines, who is ambiguous, who is hard to classify,” he says. Ending the divisiveness of the party system is only possible with divergent ideological thinking.

The current political environment in the U.S. can often limit the government’s ability to fight global poverty. Bipartisanship means compromise. In order to assist millions of those in extreme poverty, the mobilization of relief must come from both sides with productive dialogue and a collaborative attitude.

– Jacob Hess

Photo: Flickr

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Addressing the Imminent Famine in Yemen

Famine in YemenOngoing conflict has created an imminent threat of famine in Yemen. According to the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), ten of Yemen’s 22 provinces ranked at “emergency” level – one step below famine.

According to the BBC, in September 2014, years of civil and sectarian strife reached a climax in Yemen. Houthi rebel forces took control of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a.

Last year, a coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia began a military campaign to force the Houthis from power and reinstate President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

The ensuing chaos has enabled extremist groups, including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, to infiltrate the country and carry out terrorist attacks.

Long-Standing Food Insecurity
Even before the fighting began, the country was importing over 90 percent of its food. Now, conflict has strained trade and access to goods.

According to the Business Insider, aid groups blame the current food crisis on a lack of access to Houthi-controlled ports caused by obstacles imposed by the Saudi-led coalition. Houthi forces have also been accused of intentionally disrupting supplies from reaching some communities.

The U.N. estimates that 19 million people lack access to clean water and 7.6 million are considered to be food insecure. The looming development of famine in Yemen threatens to increase these numbers.

Fighting Malnutrition 

Malnutrition has made children in particular more vulnerable to illness. Before the conflict, about 40,000 children under age five died from preventable diseases each year, UNICEF reports. However, the organization estimates that 10,000 more have succumbed to disease in the past year because of a lack of access to clean water, health care and acute malnutrition.

In spite of these figures, the U.N. reports that it has been able to provide aid in most areas of the country. Food and millions of vaccinations have been administered but according to the U.N., this has only addressed the “most urgent needs.”

New Voucher Program

Earlier this month, the WFP began distributing vouchers to assist people living in Sana’a. The program is expected to reach 1 million people across the country by the end of 2016 by increasing the speed of delivery for assistance to families as well as by focusing on accountability.

WFP Representative Purnima Kashyap stated, “Vouchers also boost the local economy as we work with local suppliers to provide food.” Each voucher provides a family of six with a month’s supply of wheat grain, vegetable oil, salt and sugar, as well as protein-rich Wheat Soya Blend.

The WFP is partnered with 13 other organizations in Yemen, including CARE International and Save the Children. CARE International has not only focused on providing food security but also in establishing community self-help and women’s empowerment. Save the Children has additionally advocated for the care and protection of children, mainly through education efforts.

UNICEF’s representative in Yemen, Julien Harneis, says the organization has appealed for $180 million to finance its programs in Yemen in 2016. So far UNICEF has received just 18 percent of that amount. As the U.N. pushes for another round of peace negotiations, additional attention and aid are required to prevent famine in Yemen and assist the estimated 80 percent of people in need of humanitarian aid.

– Taylor Resteghini

Photo: Flickr

Heat Wave in India to Cause Massive Crop Loss


Approximately 300 people have died in the past month as a result of the deadly drought and heat wave in India. A large portion of the nation is undergoing extreme droughts and record-breaking temperatures, with the two hottest months of the year yet to ensue.

India is experiencing one of the worst water crisis it has had in years. A quarter of the population currently suffers from drought due to the failure of the past two monsoons to provide adequate water supply.

Armed guards now protect any water available from desperate farmers who constantly attempt to steal the valuable resource. As Purshotam Sirohi states, “water is more precious than gold in this area.”

Last month, authorities in India had to prohibit large gatherings at water collection sites in order to dispel the water riots. Gates were placed outside of water tankers and the police continually deal with skirmishes over the water supply.

For the past six to eight months, the poorer population has waited outside of water tankers overnight to fill up containers of water. After the water sites began to dry up, this extended to the rest of India as well.

To prevent the situation from worsening, authorities have begun to haul in trucks packed with water to provide for the citizens. However, this cannot alleviate the effect that the drought has on many citizens’ livelihood.

The farmers throughout India rely on the yearly monsoons to produce enough water to satisfy their crops, since the country lacks a highly functional irrigation system. Water shortages for the past two years have caused many farmers’ crops to dry up and the land to become far less arable for future seasons.

The drought and heat wave in India have eliminated many of the key resources that the country is largely dependent on. Those who live in the poorer areas of rural India have taken a significant hit from the rising temperatures and water crisis which has worsened the pre-existing social and economic conditions that these citizens suffer from.

A sizable portion of India’s population of poor rural workers is now migrating toward cities and populated towns to find water and to make up for their financial losses. Although many are able to find work in cities, migration leaves a lack of resources flowing from the rural areas which has a negative impact on the everyday functioning of the country.

However, this drought and heat wave in India has done more than eradicate the crops. The temperatures of over 113 degrees Fahrenheit have caused deaths across the nation. Schools have been forced to close as a result of dangerous conditions and outdoor activities have been temporarily stopped.

Though the citizens have felt the consequences of the extreme heat wave, the hottest months of May and June are still to ensue. There is hope on the horizon, though, as experts in India claim that the coming rainy season is expected to be significantly greater than those in the past.

– Amanda Panella

Photo: Youtube

How You Can Help Ecuador’s Earthquake Victims

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On April 16, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated Ecuador, with an epicenter in the coastal town of Esmeraldas. Since the initial impact, Ecuador’s earthquake victims have experienced 23 small aftershocks, including a 6.1 level quake the following Thursday, April 21.

According to CNN, the fatality count, as of April 23 had reached 654, though the number continues to climb as rubble is removed and missing bodies are found. In addition, Ecuador’s Risk Management Office reported that 56 people remain missing, close to 12,500 have been injured and 26,100 people are currently housed in shelters.

In response, dozens of aid teams—including the USAID, UNICEF, UNHCR and other international relief organizations—are providing assistance to the afflicted regions.

This kind of on-the-ground work is not only praised but necessary. However, how can individuals globally contribute to helping Ecuador’s earthquake victims?

Hundreds of philanthropists, confined to home countries and time restrictions, have created grassroots pages, including Gofundme and Kickstarter campaigns for the cause.

Below are several organizations to research and support, whether it be monetarily or through advocacy. They supply healthcare, food, water and protection for Ecuador’s earthquake victims.

UNICEF Ecuador Earthquake Relief Fund – With a focus on the safety and well-being of children, UNICEF’s relief fund allocates money towards necessity improvements—food, shelter, clean water—in conjunction with its mission toward the safety and well-being of affected youth.

UNHR Ecuador Emergency Fund – The response team details how specific monetary donations can benefit those in need:

  • $200 can provide sleeping mats to 100 people.
  • $600 can provide tarps to help shelter 40 families.
  • $1,000 can provide 33 emergency rescue kits

The Catholic Relief Services Fund – In coordination with other humanitarian organizations, the Catholic Relief Services is raising money for emergency resources and efforts to improved communication.

The American Red Cross and Apple Partnership Fund – In a partnership between Apple and the American Red Cross, the former has created a donations page via iTunes to support relief efforts in Ecuador and Japan. The company specifies that donations are accepted via iTunes and the App Store on both iOS devices and computers. Apple announced that 100 percent of donations goes to the American Red Cross.

Global Giving Ecuador Relief Fund – In tandem with local organizations, Global Giving pledges to aid emergency response teams and survivor aftermath relief, in addition to funding longer-term, reconstructive projects. Their mission is as follows, “By funding the relief efforts of local organizations, donations to this fund have the potential to build stronger disaster-response capacity so that these organizations are better equipped to face future disasters. GlobalGiving will post reports about how funds have been used and will email these reports to donors and subscribers.”

These are a few ways in which individuals can assist Ecuador’s earthquake victims as the country focuses on rebuilding and restoration efforts.

— Nora Harless

Photo: Flickr

 

A Timely Response: Relief After the Earthquake in Ecuador

Ecuador_Aid

On April 16, 2016, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Ecuador left many citizens displaced and without access to clean water.

According to The New York Times, at least 410 people died and over 2,000 were injured. As more long-term solutions are being sought and developed, temporary relief efforts are being made by international organizations and local communities alike.

The United Nations refugee agency sent supplies to help those displaced by the earthquake in Ecuador. The first supply plane was loaded in Copenhagen, with 900 tents, 15,000 sleeping mats, kitchen utensils and, with the threat of the Zika virus still looming, 18,000 repellent-soaked mosquito nets.

“The aim is to provide essential shelter and other aid material over the next days for some 40,000 people…in earthquake-affected communities,” the organization said in a statement, just after the natural disaster took place.

Soon after the disaster, UNICEF delivered 20,000 water purification tablets to the survivors of the earthquake. Water contamination after an earthquake greatly increases the rate at which diseases and illnesses spread.

Of note, stagnant water increases the number of breeding sites for mosquitoes. This means that the Zika virus and dengue fever, another mosquito-borne virus, pose immediate threats to Ecuador.

Portoviejo, the provincial capital of Manabi Province, was one of the cities that was affected the most by the earthquake. The city, with a population of 300,000, has a death toll of approximately 100 and 370 buildings were destroyed. With no homes to go back to, many are sleeping on the streets.

“Clean water is one of the biggest needs. People have made signs everywhere asking for water,” said Lucy Harman, CARE Emergency Team Leader. CARE is a humanitarian organization that provides disaster relief and fights poverty across the globe.

“Everything is destroyed, so everyone is sleeping outside in makeshift shelters and the smell of death permeates the air,” Harman reported from Jama, another one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake. According to a report by Reuters, CARE is also distributing temporary water tanks as well as purification tablets.

– Michelle Simon

Photo: Flickr

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The World Bank Confronts Crisis in a Globalized World

World_crisis The World BankOn April 5, 2016, the World Bank Group’s President Jim Yong Kim gave a speech titled “Development in a Time of Crisis” addressing the need for world powers to step in and address the obstacles that keep developing economies from flourishing.

Kim began his speech addressing the Syrian refugee crisis that has caused political polarization in a lot of developed countries.

He insists that the only way to combat the risk of future refugee crises is ameliorating poverty in displaced nations. “If fragile states still have 47 percent of their people living on less than two euros (about $2.27) a day by 2030, while the developed world prospers, the flow of migrants will not stop,” Kim noted.

In the speech, the World Bank President mentions Europe and Germany specifically lauding them for their efforts to settle the displaced Syrians. Part of the strategy to counter the risk of further displacement is increasing the amount of foreign aid that gets circulated to the developing economies.

Earlier this year, a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recorded a 13 percent increase in the amount of Foreign Direct Aid circulated.

Expanding this kind of aid will lead to the poverty relief that can reduce the size of migratory crises. With this in mind, Kim began a discussion on how the World Bank can best mitigate these problems. In particular, he made reference to a recent loan to the country of Jordan.

The “groundbreaking” loan seeks to reward the Middle Eastern country for their efforts in easing the migratory crisis in neighboring Syria.

The loan, accepted in late March 2016, will provide $100 million to support the Jordanian education system as refugees enter the country. While funds provided to middle-income nations like Jordan typically come with a particular interest rate, this   concessionary loan will be provided with a longer payback period and less interest.

These types of new lending schemes are part of a New Financing Initiative which is expected to roll out programs worth $20 billion over 5 years.

The Jordanian loan and the financing initiative behind it led Kim to discuss three of the broader changes in the objectives of the World Bank:

  • “First, addressing the challenge of global threats that cross boundaries and regions will become ever more central to achieving our mission.” Kim asserts this as necessary in a globalized world where problems can quickly spread across the world.
  • “Second, we must focus much more effectively on managing risk and uncertainty.” Protecting those rising out of poverty from falling back prevents the damage caused by sudden crises.
  • “The third major change for us is that we must do much more to address the deep pockets of poverty and rising inequality in countries at every income level.”

The top World Bank official closed the speech by acknowledging the threat of global pandemic. In fact, Kim cites studies saying diseases like Ebola and the Zika virus could “lead to tens of millions of deaths and a loss of as much as five percent of global GDP – or roughly $4 trillion.”

Ebola and Zika outbreaks over the past two years have shown the health risks that are prevalent in an interconnected world. The CDC has reported transmission of the Zika virus in over 35 nations and the Ebola outbreak caused over 11,000 deaths across various African countries.

In response, the World Bank plans to design and fund the Pandemic Emergency Financing which hopes to create “creating a response system that will cost millions of dollars per year that could save hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives – and save billions, if not trillions, of dollars.”

These issues are just a few that Kim hopes that the World Bank can address in the near future. He reminds the world that fighting poverty and global issues is a careful process focused on “one region, one country and one person at a time.”

– Jacob Hess

Photo: Flickr

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What the UN MDGs Have Achieved

UN Millenium Development MDGsThe United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted in September 2000. World leaders and members of the United Nations (UN) gathered at the Millennium Summit to set goals for eradicating world poverty focusing on eight specific aspects of poverty and how it affects people globally.

The campaign concluded in 2015 and at that time data was released to show the progress achieved. The eight UN MDGs are listed below, along with what was achieved in each category, per the results of the 2015 report:

    • Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty. The target of this goal was to halve, between 1990 and 2015, both the number of people whose income falls below $1 per day and the number of people suffering from hunger. These goals were largely achieved. The number of people living in extreme poverty was reduced by more than half. The proportion of undernourished people in developing countries fell by nearly half.
    • Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education. This goal began with the ambitious target of assuring that both boys and girls everywhere would have access to a full primary education by 2015. Significant strides have been made in this area. The number of out of school children of primary age, globally, dropped from 100 million to 57 million over the course of the MDG campaign.
    • Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women. The goal, specifically, was to achieve gender parity in both primary and secondary education no later than 2015. This was achieved in roughly two-thirds of developing countries.
    • Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality. The goal was specifically to reduce the mortality rate of children under 5 by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015. The rate was not reduced by two-thirds by 2015 but it was more than halved. The 12.7 million deaths in 1990 were reduced to 6 million by 2015.
  • Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health. The target of this goal was to reduce maternal mortality by three-quarters between 1990 and 2015. The result was that maternal mortality declined by 45 percent, largely after the year 2000.
  • Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases. The primary target named for this goal was to have halted the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015, and to have begun its reversal. Cases of new HIV infections fell by 40 percent between 2000 and 2013, and there was an immense increase in the number of people who had access to the drugs that combat HIV. Additionally, the mortality rate due to malaria dropped by 58 percent, and 900 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets were distributed in affected areas.
  • Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Stability. This goal was to “Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reverse the loss of environmental resources.” Results included 1.9 billion people gaining access to piped drinking water between 1990 and 2015 and 90 percent of ozone-depleting materials being eliminated in countries included in the campaign.
  • Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development. Financial assistance by developed countries increased from $81 billion in 2000 to $135 billion in 2014. This is a 66 percent increase.

In many cases, the UN MDGs were achieved. Where they were not, great strides were still made towards achieving the goals. Some have criticized the campaign for falling short of its stated goals. But the data shows significant progress made for each one.

– Katherine Hamblen

Photo: Flickr