Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Finding Hope in Syria: A Statement from the UN

Statement
On March 11, humanitarian leaders from the United Nations and the World Food Programme issued a press statement updating the world about the continuous danger created by the conflict in Syria.

Both organizations have led efforts to provide relief to the Syrian communities under the most duress because of the occupation of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). While these operations have been successful, the basic supplies have “yet to reach one in every five besieged Syrians who urgently need help and protection.”

Most of the unreachable people live in the areas of Homs and Aleppo where ISIS occupation makes it challenging to reach the individuals who don’t have access to basic necessities. The United Nations estimates that “500,000 people are caught behind active frontiers” and “two million are in areas controlled by ISIL.”

The statement was released just four days before the start of the conflict’s sixth year. Brutal military tactics and urban fighting has caused the deaths of “over a quarter of a million Syrians” and counting. The large Syrian population has been fragmented by the conflict with “4.6 million people…in places that few can leave and aid cannot reach” and about “4.8 million people” who have emigrated due to the violence.

The message left its depressing tone for a global call to action directed at all parties involved in the war and organizations seeking the opportunity to move in and help those in need. “However, until all parties to this conflict stop attacking civilians, schools, markets and hospitals, we will continue to press them on their obligations and hold them to account,” said the UN humanitarian leaders, condemning the hindrance of aid as “unacceptable.”

Their undertones of hope quickly turned to a stubborn sense of defiance. The authors of the statement were clearly frustrated by the length and severity of the Syrian civil war and feel troubled by their blocked attempts to provide supplies. To sidestep the problem, organizations are “trying new delivery methods” despite the added “danger and uncertainty.”

On the political side, the United States and Russia have begun new campaigns to establish a ceasefire between the warring parties before the sixth year of the conflict commences. Western countries have increasing relied on the power of the Russian government in Moscow to reach a Syrian delegation in Damascus. Despite new diplomatic pressure, the third parties have yet to convince the belligerents of a “direct” meeting reported the Wall Street Journal.

A gridlocked diplomatic landscape, though, does not deter the relief efforts of non-governmental organizations and the World Food Programme. The Wall Street Journal also reports that a senior adviser to the UN’s convoy to Syria has approved “deliveries to 15 new hard-to-reach areas.” Delayed or denied shipments have created a new urgency for these fresh aid packages to arrive in areas with the most destruction.

With all of the negative updates behind, the statement retains an optimistic tone to the end. The United Nations cites that 6 million individuals have been reached in the first three and a half months of 2016. In order to increase that number, crusaders for relief are willing to “negotiate” for access to the most deprived people.

By accessing these hard-to-reach communities, UN leaders hope to inspire the young population of Syria to “believe that their future lies in their homeland.” This resilient generation has to repel violence and poverty in their country if they choose to fight for relief and believe.

– Jacob Hess

Sources: World Food Programme, WSJ

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Progress For Child Malnutrition Treatment

Child Malnutrition
Child malnutrition is the leading cause of death in children under five years old. Some 2.7 million children die annually due to undernourishment. However, promising research coming from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is raising hopes to change that.

Two studies led by Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD and Dr. Robert J. Glaser demonstrate potentially life-saving progress in the treatment of child malnutrition.

Gordon and Glaser have been studying the connection between gut microbes and the development of children. Child malnutrition is often diagnosed in children with stunted growth and they have found that the gut microbes in these malnourished children resemble microbes of a much younger child.

These findings suggest that the microbes themselves have become stunted. Healthy gut microbes are extremely important to the development of a child’s health. Such microbes contribute to the child’s ability to properly extract the necessary nourishment from their food. Without them, this inability means that even children who have received treatment for malnutrition can continue to have problems in the future.

The first study published in Science and carried out by Laura V. Blanton found that “that malnourished children have defects in this developmental scenario, leaving them with gut microbial communities that look younger than what would be expected based on their chronological ages.”

Blanton took samples from healthy and malnourished children from Malawi and implanted them in germ free mice. Knowing that mice eat each others feces, Blanton hoped that when caged together the healthy microbes would transfer to the mice implanted with the microbes from the malnourished children. She found just that, meaning that a process for implanting healthy microbes into malnourished children could be in the works.

The second study, done by graduate student Mark R. Charbonneau and published in Cell, targeted the effects of the mother’s breast milk on child malnutrition. Research shows that these mothers breast milk often contain low levels sialic acid, which is linked to healthy brain development.

Charbonneau, again using germ free mice, implanted healthy and malnourished microbes with differing levels of sialic acid. He found that the mice that received sialic acid at comparable levels to healthy mothers breast milk, grew much larger then the mice without it, even though each group of mice received the same diet.

Mice in both studies experienced “improvements in skeletal development and a better metabolic profile in the blood, brain and liver.” The researchers were also able to reproduce these results in germ free piglets, which more accurately reflect the metabolism of a human.

While the conditions of the two studies may not exactly represent natural conditions, microbial interventions in combination with more research could lead to improved treatments and perhaps even a cure. With millions of children and families relieved from the stress of finding their next meal, the globe moves one step closer to eliminating poverty.

– Michael Clark

Sources: The New York Times, The Source, The Washington Post

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Differences Between Senators and Congressmen

Legislature
Within the legislature of the federal government, there are two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Senators and Congressman work within these two lawmaking bodies. Both are representative voices for their constituents, but their roles differ in terms of  length, power and apportionment. Here are some key facts on the differences between Senators and Congressmen.

House of Representatives

  1. Each state represented in Congress is entitled to at least one representative, but the number per state is determined according to population. Under the constitutional rule regarding the size of the House, “the number of Representatives shall not exceed one of every thirty Thousand.”
  2. There are currently 435 Congressional seats.
  3. A Congressperson’s term lasts two years.
  4. The minimum age for a member of the House is 25 and the elected official must have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years.
  5. The six non-voting members in Congress are the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. Although these districts are unable to vote, they may vote in a House committee and introduce legislation.
  6. In the legislature, only the House of Representatives can introduce spending bills.

Senate

  1. Each state has a total of two senators, regardless of the state’s size. For this reason, there are always 100 senators during a given period.
  2. A senator’s term lasts six years. Only one-third of the Senate seats are elected every two years. That way, only 33 or 34 seats are up for election at a given time.
  3. The minimum age for a senator is 30, and that person must be a U.S. citizen for at least nine years.
  4. The Senate has sole power of approval for foreign treatises and cabinet and judicial nominations, including appointments to the Supreme Court.
  5. The Senate is headed by the Vice President, who only votes in case of a tie.

– Nora Harless

Sources: Diffen.com, USGovInfo
Photo: Flickr

WHO: Maternal Mortality Realities Worldwide

Maternity_health_Africa
According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), maternal mortality is a prominent issue in many developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Deaths from childbirth disproportionately impact the poor as well as women living in rural areas. According to the WHO, “99 percent of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries.”

In addition, more than 50 percent of deaths during childbirth occur in sub-Saharan Africa.

The WHO also asserts that many complications that arise during pregnancy are treatable. The organization states that complications that present before birth may worsen during pregnancy and consequently become fatal.

Common complications accounting for deaths during pregnancy include severe bleeding (mostly after childbirth), infection, high blood pressure while pregnant, problems with the delivery and unsafe abortion.

According to the U.N., girls aged 15-19 are especially likely to experience fatal births.

The WHO explains that only 51 percent of women can afford skilled care by “a midwife, a doctor, or a trained nurse”. Therefore, millions of women face risks from unmonitored pregnancies. The WHO goes on to say that women need access to skilled care, not only during pregnancy, but also during childbirth and afterward.

A report from the U.N. shows that significant progress has been made in addressing the issue of maternal mortality. The organization states that Equatorial Guinea has achieved its Millennium Development Goals, reducing death during childbirth by 81 percent. Additionally, Eritrea reduced maternal mortality by 77 percent; Ethiopia saw a 69 percent decline and Rwanda reduced maternal mortality by 76 percent.

Moreover, U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-moon has launched a program named the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, 2016-2030. The strategy “seeks to end all preventable death of women, children and adolescents and create an environment in which these groups not only survive, but thrive and see their environments, health and wellbeing transformed”.

– Mayra Vega

Sources: World Health Organization, United Nations 1, United Nations 2, Central Intelligence Agency
Photo: Flickr

The World Bank Funds The Philippine Anti-Poverty Program

Philippine Anti-Poverty
On Feb. 20, 2016, the World Bank approved a $450 million conditional cash transfer (CCT) to the Philippine anti-poverty program, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4PS).

Five months earlier at a conference held in Cebu entitled “Global Economic and Financial Outlook, Growing Inequality and Regional Connectivity,” the World Bank’s Vice President Axel van Trotsenburg advocated for the bolstering of the region’s CTT program to set higher education, health and nutrition standards.

“Primary and secondary education systems should increasingly focus on quality teaching and better learning outcomes, by strengthening the autonomy and accountability of educational institutions,” he said, according to a World Bank press release. He called for dramatic government attention towards Filipinos currently living below the minimum wage, almost 800 million people.

Since it was founded in 2008, 4PS has worked to provide poor Filipinos with greater access to healthcare, adequate nutrition and education. In partnership with the Commission on Higher Education, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges, 4PS allocates funds into two types of cash grants: health and education.

The grants are distributed to beneficiaries—pending a family’s qualification—through the Land Bank of the Philippines. The cash grants can reach up to a maximum of P1,400.00 (1,400 pesos) per household, or roughly 18 percent of a family’s expenses, depending on size and need. For this reason, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) assures that these benefit amounts effectively boost community development without fostering dependency.

The role of 4PS has been tenuous, but ultimately effective. In 2012, The Philippine Institute for Development Studies published a research discussion paper, written by Celia M. Reyes and Aubrey D. Tabuga, detailing the history, implementation and progress of the program since its rollout four years earlier. The study brought to light several key issues in the program’s early stages and the ways in which the CTT would best serve a population of both transient and chronically impoverished benefactors.

Four years later, necessary considerations have been taken to ensure a multi-dimensional approach in decreasing the nation’s poor populations.

The number of beneficiaries, for example, have increased nearly every year since the CTT’s inception, from 2.3 million in 2011 to 3.93 million in 2013, to over 4 million in August 2015. This is largely due to consideration of supply-side allocations—improving health facilities and providing jobs—and a more detailed process of beneficiary selection.

Ultimately, 4PS is an influential program because of its long-term payoff. Its specific focus on health and education in children provides a spectrum of disadvantaged citizens with subsistence aid, while also undoing a poverty cycle present in the country’s chronically poor.

In 2013, AusAID consultant Dr. Tarcisio Castaneda surveyed the program’s progress, both in its hard data and on-the-ground effects. In an interview with Southeast Asian news source, Rappler, he commented that the program could prove to be an example for other countries.

With 82 percent of its benefits going to the bottom 40 percent of the population, according to the World Bank, 4PS is a strong Philippine anti-poverty measure. One worthy, the World Bank confirms, of its generous funding.

— Nora Harless

Sources: GovPH Official Gazette, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Philippine Statistics Authority, Rappler, Reuters, USAID, The World Bank
Photo: Thomson Reuters Foundation

Oxfam Fights Poverty Around the World

oxfamOxfam is an organization that aims to fight global poverty. According to the organization, “We will always act, we will speak out and we won’t live with poverty.”

Oxfam works with its local partners from about 90 countries to tackle causes of poverty. Some of these countries include Afghanistan, Kenya, Somalia, South Africa and Liberia.

Among the issues addressed are food poverty, climate change, health and education, money for aid development, women’s rights, water resources, conflict and disasters.

What makes Oxfam unique is its ability to work on a plethora of projects such as:

  • Providing low-income families with the skills to adapt to increasingly extreme weather in Bangladesh.
  • Improving the health and living conditions of the indigenous communities in Colombia.
  • Helping women farmers grow, sell more and provide a better future for their children in Ethiopia.
  • Tackling malnutrition in Niger.
  • Supporting poor urban communities to improve their health in Pakistan.

Aside working on projects at the grassroots level, Oxfam encourages ordinary citizens to donate to charity and take part in the fight against global poverty. Here, this allows for ordinary people to feel as though they are being stewards of the world.

Some of the successes of the organization include (1) a rice growing revolution in Liberia; (2) seeds of change in Nepal, which allowed vegetable seed farmer Kalpana Oli create income through smart farming and finding a gap in the market; (3) a lift-off for girls’ education in Pakistan and (4) a water project in Zimbabwe, which creates an irrigation system to provide clean water in Zimabwean communities.

Oxfam has helped improve many impoverished lives around the world and is expected to further its influence in the future.

– Vanessa Awanyo

Sources: Oxfam, Key One
Photo: Flickr

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Ban Ki-moon’s Career as UN Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon
Like all jobs, the role of Secretary-General of the U.N. comes with its own challenges and rewards, especially when you’re following in the footsteps of someone like Kofi Annon. Ban Ki-moon has served in this position since January 2007.

Ban Ki-moon’s agenda has been all encompassing — promoting sustainable development, empowering women, supporting countries facing crisis and instability, dealing with arms control and non-proliferation, all while strengthening the U.N.

“Be a global citizen. Act with passion and compassion,” said Ban Ki-moon at Our World, Our Dignity, Our Planet: the Post-2015 Agenda and the Role of Youth. “Help us make this world safer and more sustainable today and for the generations that will follow us. That is our moral responsibility.”

In his first year as secretary-general, he called attention to the genocide in Darfur and made it a top priority. Under Ban Ki-moon’s leadership, a hybrid force, part African-Union and part U.N., was established for peacekeeping, according to the BBC.

“He worked doggedly on agreements between the government of Sudan and the African Union that led to a UN Security Council resolution last summer authorizing a hybrid UN force made up largely of African Union soldiers,” said Howard LaFranchi in a March 2008 Christian Science Monitor article.

Not only has Ban Ki-moon worked to address humanitarian issues like global poverty through the use of the Millennium Development Goals but he has also made it his mission to tackle climate change through the Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

“The Goals are universal; they apply to all countries, since we know that even the wealthiest have yet to conquer poverty or achieve full gender equality,” said Ban Ki-moon in an op-ed for the Huffington Post in 2015.

According to his U.N. priorities, he also sought to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation along with increasing monies for the Green Climate Fund and putting them to good use.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel applauded Ban Ki-moon’s efforts to address climate change, global humanitarian issues and the refugee crisis. “With sound preparations, and when the many partners involved pull together, the international community can accept shared responsibility,” said Merkel at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris. “To a very great extent we have you to thank for this achievement. And I would like to thank you most warmly.”

Although Ban Ki-moon’s term as secretary-general concludes at the end of this year, he can leave knowing he had a positive impact on the global community.

— Summer Jackson

Sources: Bundesregierung , BBC, Huffington Post, UN 1, UN 2, UN 3

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What Gender Means for World Peace

World Peace
The evidence clearly suggests that world peace and gender equality go hand-in-hand. According to Foreign Policy, “there is a strong and highly significant link between the state’s and women’s security…the best predictor of a state’s peacefulness is not its level of wealth, its level of democracy, or its ethno-religious identity; the best predictor of a state’s peacefulness is how well its women are treated.”

In their investigative book “Sex and World Peace,” four scholars found out that the larger the gender gap with respect to the treatment of men and women in a population, the more probable it is for a country to get involved in interstate issues as well as have higher levels of violence.

Regarding economic growth, national wealth, corruption and social welfare, the best prognosticators are those which manifest the situation of women. According to Foreign Policy, “what happens to women affects the stability, prosperity, bellicosity, corruption, health, regime type and power of state.”

The empirical results are abundant. WomanStats database rated countries based on numerous sections respecting women’s security from 0 (best) to 4 (worst). In this categorical system, no country received a 0, in regards to the physical security of women.

The world average was 3.04, “attesting to the widespread and persistent violence perpetrated against women worldwide, even among the most developed countries,” announced Foreign Policy. The United States received a 2.0 due to the predominance of rape and domestic violence.

Gender-based assault is sadly intrinsic in many cultures and it remains rooted in the countries associated with underdevelopment.

The fundamental objective facing the 21st century is to eradicate violence against women and remove barriers that prevent them from development and empowerment.

“The countries of the world must try a different path, one that we have every empirical reason to believe will lead to greater well-being, prosperity and security for the entire international system. Sex and world peace, then, with no question mark,” said Foreign Policy.

– Isabella Rölz

Sources: Foreign Policy, Woman Stats, Columbia University Press (2016) Sex and World Peace,

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Four Reasons to be Excited About Nanosatellites

Nanosatellites
Recently, there has been a lot of hype surrounding nanosatellites. These satellites are an emerging technology in space development and offer the potential for more developing countries to reap the benefits of traditional satellites without the hefty costs associated with them.

Nanosatellites are small satellites weighing between 1kg and 10kg. CubeSats are box-shaped versions of nanosatellites and are currently one of the most widely-used forms. They are very light compared to traditional satellites, which can weigh up to several tons.

Why are nanosatellites so exciting? The reasons range from their cost and convenience to unique benefits that they can bring to the table. Here are four of the main reasons:

1. They are cheap and convenient. Compared to traditional satellites, nanosatellites retain the same or similar capabilities, while costing significantly less. According to the online publication The Conversation, while the cost of traditional satellites can be hundreds of millions of dollars, a CubeSat can be built for around $100,000 and can be launched for many of the same missions that their traditional counterparts can. “Including the launch, a nanosat of CubeSat dimensions might cost $150,000-1m, rather than $200m-1 billion for a full-sized one,” an article in the Economist corroborates.

Furthermore, nanosatellites are more convenient to build. According to the Economist, due to their low cost and less stringent standards of regulation, they can be built faster. Nanosatellites also have a relatively short lifespan of perhaps no more than a year or two in low-Earth orbit before re-entering the atmosphere and burning up. This allows for less risk-management during the building and launch phases.

2. They will help the space programs of developing countries. Funding is often a big problem for these programs; they are constrained by the high cost of traditional satellites and supporting infrastructure. The low costs of nanosatellites, however, offer a solution.

“From being cheaper to build and launch into space, they provide a cost-effective platform for training and research, especially for countries where heavy investment in a space industry has to be weighed against more immediate needs such as health and welfare,” the article on The Conversation says.

In addition, nanosatellites will encourage more youth to enter the space industry. Speaking about Africa, the Conversation notes that young people are entering careers in STEM at low rates. Nanosatellites, though, can be integrated into training at a lower cost and will thus give young people more first-hand exposure to the technology. They also have a “cool” factor: “Combining the vibrant ingenuity and creativity of this generation with an equally ingenious and cool space technology can no doubt have a profoundly positive socioeconomic impact on Africa,” says the Conversation.

3. They are closely integrated with modern, advanced technology. According to the Economist, small satellites benefit from the constant improvements in price and performance being achieved by the consumer-electronics industry, particularly in smartphone technology.

A modern phone is equipped with technologies such as an accelerometer to measure how fast it is moving, a magnetometer to detect magnetic fields and provide a compass reading, a gyroscope to measure its position, a barometer to detect pressure and much more. These technologies provide nanosatellites with a wealth of resources to work with.

4. They provide unique benefits. Though traditional satellites are able to certain complex tasks that nanosatellites cannot, nanosats have their own unique advantages.

According to the Conversation, because they are low cost, multiple nanosatellites can be launched into low-Earth orbit. The satellites in these constellations pass over a specific geographic area more frequently than single, big-satellite missions. This allows nanosatellites to be used for rapid responses to disasters or to gather timely information relating to telemedicine, environmental management and asset tracking.

The unique potential of nanosatellites is also being seen in other projects. According to the online publication Inverse, the company SkyFi is working on creating a nanosatellite network to provide the entire world with free internet access. The cheap costs and flexibility of nanosatellites would allow them to circumvent the problems preventing traditional satellites from providing reliable wifi.

“The high flexibility of our nanosatellites and the ability to provide multiple services to different customers enables us to offer free internet access to the whole planet in the same manner as GPS services are free. We think this has the potential to bridge great divides and give everyone worldwide a part in the great global connected community,” Raz Itzhaki Tamir, Co-Founder and CEO of SkyFi, said in a press release.

– Anton Li

Sources: The Conversation, The Economist, Inverse, PRWeb
Photo: Kirtland Air Force Base

Why the Global Food Security Act of 2016 is Important

Global Food Security Act
Global poverty touches the lives of millions of people. Currently, close to 3 billion people lack access to toilets and 1 billion lack access to clean drinking water. In addition, 2.7 million newborns worldwide die within their first month of life.

Seven countries are home to 58 percent of the world’s hungry: India, China, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Tanzania.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization states that 795 million people suffer from chronic hunger. It is clear that there is much work to do in confronting the problems associated with ending global poverty.

The Global Food Security Act aims to address these problems head-on. The bill is a “comprehensive strategic approach for U.S. foreign assistance to developing countries” according to the text of the bill and hopes ‘to reduce global poverty and hunger, achieve food and nutrition security, promote inclusive, sustainable, agricultural-led economic growth, improve nutritional outcomes” among other objectives.

First introduced in March of last year, The Global Food Security Act has carried much bipartisan support due to its proposed benefits. According to InternAction, a group of non-governmental agencies in Washington D.C, a program launched due to the Act, Feed the Future, Initiative, “improved the nutrition of 12.5 million children and assisted nearly 7 million farmers and producers in improving their use of technology and land management practices.”

On March 10, 2016, the Global Food Security Act (S.1252) moved from the Senate floor to committee. The bill, which was introduced by Senator Robert “Bob” Casey Jr. from Pennsylvania, gained three new cosponsors in February, Senator Benjamin Cardin [D-MD], Senator Bob Corker [R-TN] and Senator Daniel Coats [R-IN]. The new additions bring the total number of cosponsors to 13, seven republicans and six democrats.

The House version of the bill (H.R.1567) that has been in committee since April of last year, also has three recent cosponsors, consisting of Congressman Steve Womack [R-AR3], Congressman Lacy Clay [D-MO1] and Congressman Lee Zeldin [R-NY1] which brings the total number to 123, 82 democrats and 42 republicans.

The Global Food Security Act can have huge potential benefits. The World Bank indicates, “that growth in agriculture is on average at least twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth outside agriculture… Agricultural growth reduces poverty directly, by raising farm incomes, and indirectly, through generating employment and reducing food prices.” By passing the Global Food Security Act, the United States can take decisive action in reducing global poverty.

– Michael Clark

Sources: The Borgen Project, GovTrack 1, GovTrack 2, GovTrack 3, InterAction, Bread for the World, World Bank
Photo: Flickr