Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

Equitable Poverty Reduction for Ecuadoreans

Ecuadoreans

Ending extreme poverty within one’s borders takes time, hard work and commitment. One South American country that has shown such commitment is Ecuador. Thanks to the work of its leaders in making poverty reduction their top priority, 1.9 million Ecuadoreans, about 16.5 percent of the population, were lifted out of poverty from 2009 to 2015.

President Rafael Correa, who was first elected in 2007, made improving the lives of Ecuador’s poor his central theme, with the belief that: “Socioeconomic poverty will be fundamentally solved through changes in the relations of power […] through political processes.”

Before eradicating poverty, however, it must be measured properly. To this end, Ecuador uses a multidimensional index. Most countries and organizations rely solely on income or consumption rates to define a poverty line but Ecuador’s index covers four areas: education, work, health (including access to food and water) and housing. Using this rate, 51.5 percent of Ecuadoreans were poor in December of 2009 compared to 35 percent in 2015.

The World Bank also lauds President Correa for his efforts. They report that from 2006 to 2014, poverty, as measured by income, was reduced from 37.5 to 22.5 percent; extreme poverty was also reduced from 16.9 to 7.7 percent.

Furthermore, they report that Ecuador’s Gini coefficient of inequality was reduced from 54 to 48.7 over the same period. This happened because the poorest Ecuadoreans experienced the fastest wage gains. From 2000 to 2011, the incomes of the lowest 40 percent grew by 8.8 percent compared to a national average of 5.8 percent.

Ecuador’s success can be largely attributed to economic factors and smart decision making. In 2000, they adopted the dollar as their national currency, ending the wild bouts of inflation that could destroy a poor family’s life savings in the blink of an eye.

Then, in 2007, the government set a minimum wage and improved its social security. As labor shifted into more diversified, higher paying sectors, incomes rose for many of Ecuador’s poorest. The minimum wage guaranteed a certain standard of living for employed people, raising wages for many in the agricultural sector.

Next, Correa’s government focused on redistribution. High oil prices throughout the 2000s helped keep export dollars flowing and the government signed contracts giving itself more revenue. This money was spent on health, education and establishing government services in rural communities, significantly benefitting the poor. As a whole, government spending increased from 4.7 percent of GDP when Correa took over in 2007 to 8.3 percent of GDP in 2012.

As Ecuador’s economic situation improved, so too did the welfare of its people. Children received better nutrition, household consumption increased and more families sent their children to school instead of to the field. Domestic demand also increased, leading to new service jobs in a country where, 20 years earlier, they largely did not exist.

In 2016, Ecuador faces a number of challenges. Falling oil prices, a weak Chinese economy and an overreliance on exports mean that Ecuadoreans will have trouble in the near future. Yet their success in poverty reduction through smart development and redistribution cannot be denied. Ending extreme poverty will not happen overnight but through strong leadership, dedication and a national effort, Ecuador has made great strides.

– Dennis Sawyers

Sources: ODI, Telesur, World Bank
Photo: Flickr

, ,

How Small Farmers Connect Without the Internet

Small Farmers WeFarm InternetNowadays, it seems everything can go viral on the Internet in seconds, from a social justice movement to a funny cat video. But what do people in developing countries do to share ideas, ask questions and communicate with their peers who live in remote areas without the Internet as a permanent fixture in their lives?

For small-scale farmers in developing countries, the slightest challenges can quickly become insurmountable. Issues like climate change, access to profitable markets and below-average growing seasons hit small farmers much harder than their larger counterparts.

According to the Huffington Post, there are currently about 500 million smallholder farmers around the globe. On average, these agriculturists live on less than $1 a day.

In order to survive year after year, many small farmers have developed low-cost, effective solutions to the everyday problems they face. Until recently, these solutions could travel no farther than word-of-mouth could take them.

In 2014, WeFarm was founded with the mission of becoming “the internet for people without the internet.” The organization offers peer-to-peer communication amongst farmers in developing countries. Users can ask and answer questions using SMS or text messaging. The service is offered to smallholder farmers free of charge.

The service translates queries and advice so that small farmers from around the world can communicate and share the valuable information they have accumulated through their personal experiences. So far, over 100,000 answers have been provided to the 43,000 farmers registered to the program.

The founders of WeFarm thought strategically about how to make information available to all the small farmers who live without the Internet. Six billion of the world’s seven billion citizens have access to a mobile phone but only 25 percent of the global population has an Internet connection. SMS is a far more trafficked channel of communication for the world’s poor, compared to email or Internet messaging.

WeFarm has big plans for the data collected by the service. The organization sees the questions farmers are asking and answering as an opportunity to address some of the major issues inhibiting food production around the world.

The data gathered by WeFarm’s service is sold to major food producers to give them a sense of the daily struggles faced by small-scale farmers. The buyer companies can use this information to better analyze the issues and develop long-term strategies to address them.

According to Zoë Fairlamb, a spokesperson for WeFarm, “Small scale farmers produce 70 percent of the world’s food globally. Global brands rely on what small scale farmers are producing, yet they have next to no visibility on what is going on at the bottom of the supply chain. A lot of food is wasted in this way through very preventable diseases.”

Though WeFarm has already taken significant strides toward a more sustainable farming system, this is only the beginning for the organization. According to the Huffington Post, WeFarm is currently seeking investments in order to expand and reach one million farmers by the end of 2016.

As a connector of major players in the food industry and small farmers across the globe, WeFarm is in a unique position to change the way the world grows food and transfers information.

As Fairlamb put it, “WeFarm wants to be about changing [the] conversation and giving [farmers] a voice, showing their knowledge is valuable and giving them a way to share that information.”

– Jennifer Diamond

Sources: Huffington Post, WeFarm, Global Citizen, Space Innovation Congress
Photo: National Geographic

, ,

Roll Back Malaria Raises Global Health Awareness

Roll Back MalariaThe Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM) is comprised of more than 500 partners, including malaria endemic countries, bilateral and multilateral development partners, the private sector, nongovernmental community-based organizations and research and academic institutions.

Arguably, the most admirable feature of RBM is its ability to form effective partnerships both globally and nationally.

Partners work together to increase malaria control efforts at a nationwide level, coordinating their activities to avoid duplication and to ensure optimal use of resources.

According to the RBM website: “malaria is a preventable and treatable infectious disease transmitted by mosquitoes that kills more than one million people each year, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria is the leading cause of death for children under five.”

In 2015, there were about 214 million malaria cases worldwide and 3.2 billion people (about half the world’s population) were at risk of contracting the disease. Close to 100 countries and territories across the globe still had ongoing malaria transmission.

Though there is still much to be done, significant progress has been made in the fight to eliminate malaria. RBM reports that between 2000 and 2015, the global malaria mortality rate was reduced by 60 percent overall. Among children under five, the numbers are even higher, with a 65 percent reduction in the last 15 years.

“On the basis of reported cases for 2013, 55 countries are on track to reduce their malaria case incidence rates by 75 percent, in line with World Health Assembly and Roll Back Malaria targets for 2015,” states the RBM website.

In 2014, an increasing number of countries were on the verge of eliminating malaria. 13 countries reported zero cases of the disease and six countries reported fewer than 10 cases. “The fastest decreases were seen in the Caucasus and Central Asia (which reported zero cases of malaria in 2014) and in Eastern Asia,” RBM reports.

RBM has contributed immensely to these victories by helping to forge consensus between partners, mobilizing resources and catalyzing action.

In 2015, RMB went through a transformation in order to adapt its architecture to better meet the needs of countries in this new era of development. The restructuring of RMB has led to the “Action and Investment to defeat Malaria 2016-2030 (AIM).” This initiative seeks to build on the success of the first Global Malaria Action Plan, bringing us one step closer to a malaria-free world.

– Vanessa Awanyo

Sources: WHO
Photo: Roll Back Malaria

, , ,

Five Reasons Educating Women Fights Poverty

Educating WomenGender parity in education around the globe has not yet been achieved but great strides are being made toward that goal.

Regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia remain challenges, as boys in these regions are still more than one-and-a-half times more likely to complete their secondary education than girls. Organizations such as UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank keep track of statistics like these in their quest to provide education to girls and women in need.

Data from these types of organizations also illustrates the greater benefits of educating women. Here are five major reasons that educating women benefits everyone:

1. Educated women tend to have smaller, healthier families. Women who stay in school longer are likely to be older when they marry and when they have their first child. Education provides more access to information about family planning and educated women are more likely to have fewer children. Additionally, women learn about immunizations and general medical care for their children. They may also learn how to treat preventable diseases and learn hygiene practices to keep their children healthy.

2. Educated women are more likely to contribute to the economy. The more women participate in a country’s workforce, the healthier its GDP becomes — and every year of additional education increases a person’s capacity to be productive in the workforce. Families also increase their income when both parents contribute, which leads to more families rising out of poverty. UNESCO data shows that if girls enjoyed the same access to education that boys do, per capita income would increase by 23 percent over 40 years.

3. Education combats the problem of hunger. Women who receive more education are older and have more access to life-saving information by the time they begin having children. They are more likely to recognize the signs of malnutrition and to recognize proper nutrition that will prevent their children from becoming malnourished or stunted.

4. Educating women counters the threat of violence and terrorism. If lacking education, both women and men are more likely to be less tolerant of those who look different, who speak a different language or practice a different religion. Increasing tolerance in communities that were previously under-educated serves to spread that tolerance around the world and women are in a prime position to promote this in further generations as caretakers of their own children.

5. Educated women are more likely to have educated children. Once they have experienced the benefits of education for themselves, women are likely to want their children to have the same benefits. This perpetuates the trends of smaller, healthier families, healthier economies and better-informed world citizens.

Not only is educating women one of the most efficient ways for aid organizations to make an impact on gender equality, it also benefits the greater community in terms of prosperity, health and peace.

– Katie Curlee Hamblen

Sources: Bloomberg, UNGEI, UNESCO, World Bank

,

The Progress of Democracy in Africa

Africa_parliament_democracy_womenAccording to the Economist, only three out of 53 African countries had democracies by the end of the Cold War.

Now countries like the one-party presidential republic Eritrea and the absolute monarchy Swaziland are becoming irregularities on the continent. Indeed, this is because Africa has experienced increasing engagement in the democratic process.

While African countries have made significant progress in regards to the spread of democracy, there is still significant work to be done. For example, according to the Guardian, nine African leaders have been in power for more than 20 years with three of them holding power for more than 30 years.

This is an example of the popular notion that African countries are directed by a group of authoritarian heads called “Big Men,” who dominate and control every aspect of the country.

Although authoritarian heads have not lost complete power, women in Africa have benefited greatly from democratically held elections.

For example, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected president of Liberia in 2011, becoming Africa’s first democratically-elected, female head of state. She was followed by Joyce Banda, who became president of Malawi in 2012 and Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, who was elected president of Mauritius in 2015.

The Guardian labels the notion that the transition of power in government is inherently violent to be “misguided.” There are many factors that could incite violence during the election process aside from transition of power.

These events include voter belief of election fraud, opposition initiated violence as a result of an act being considered unjust, or violence being instigated by leaders threatened by the opposition.

Kenya’s 2007 election proved to be an example of the devastation that can result from the election process when 1,133 people were killed and 600,000 displaced. However, while this kind of violent election gains the most international attention, it is the exception and there are more peaceful elections.

For example, the Guardian cites a recent peaceful election that took place in the Central African Republic, during which voters went to the polls in February in hopes of restoring democracy in Africa and ending years of struggle.

Post-Cold War advancement has been substantial for the African continent in many ways and the foundations that make up democracy in Africa have been overwhelmingly embraced by its citizens.

Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at Chatham House, a London-based think-tank told the Economist, “Progress comes in waves,” and much of West Africa has experienced a huge shift to democratic representation.

Many countries that have experienced devastatingly violent conflicts, such as Sierra Leone and Liberia, now possess, if not perfect, adequate political systems.

– Heidi Grossman

Sources: Economist 1, Economist 2, The Guardian
Photo: Flickr

First U.N. Syria Airdrop Lands Unsuccessfully

AirdropJust after the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, Stephen O’Brien, told the U.N. Security Council that an airdrop would be carrying immediate humanitarian aid to the city of Deir Ezzor in Syria, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced that the airdrop landed unsuccessfully.

The Justice for Life Observatory in Deir Ezzor said that “the cargo was significantly damaged” and that most of the containers fell into remote areas.

The U.N. estimates that more than 480,000 Syrians live in besieged areas, with four million people in areas difficult to reach. “The U.N. is calling on all sides to lift starvation sieges across Syria, where it estimates that 487,000 people live, although some non-governmental organizations say the figure is much higher,” writes AFP.

Additionally, the U.N. confirmed that there are approximately 200,000 Syrians living in Deir Ezzor. A recent U.N. report showed that those in besieged areas suffer from harsh and worsening conditions and that many have died from starvation, according to the BBC.

The WFP had previously ruled out airdrops as a method of delivering aid to Syria due to the difficulties involved in securing flyover rights, locating viable drop zones and arranging distribution on the ground, reports the BBC.

The British government, likewise, has called air drops “high risk” and says that they should only be used as a last resort.

“The operation faced technical difficulties and we are debriefing crew and partners in Deir Ezzor to make necessary adjustments,” the WFP told IRIN. “The team will try again when possible…high altitude drops are extremely challenging to carry out and take more than one trial to develop full accuracy,” commented the WFP spokesperson.

Moreover, the Local Coordination Committees activist network reported that the Syrian army might have seized part of the aid.

Specialists are still skeptical of continuing with airdrops, specifically because, as claimed by IRIN, “between 480,000 and two million Syrians are living under siege (the numbers differ depending on who is counting), and until recent talks led by the US and Russia, aimed at a partial ceasefire and better humanitarian access, aid organizations had effectively ruled them out because aid drops, even at low altitude, are notoriously difficult to carry out.”

Whether or not the operation continues is yet to be seen but reports have confirmed that there are still difficulties with immediate humanitarian aid reaching besieged areas.

– Isabella Rolz

Sources: BBC , IRIN, AFP

,

The First Next Einstein Forum in Africa

Einstein ForumAs leaders in Africa packed up their bags at the conclusion of the first-ever Next Einstein Forum Global Gathering in Dakar, Senegal, there was new hope for the future of science and technology in the region.

The event, which was held from March 8-10, addressed various topics pertinent to the state of African science and technology research, such as gender disparity and the need for more advanced education. These issues brought commentary from local leaders to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon.

The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) was created in 2013 but this year marked the first global gathering, which was focused on promoting “a vibrant and cohesive scientific community.” The focus is on Africa in particular because it believes that the “next Einstein will be African.”

Panelists focused on the mobilization of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sector of Africa. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon showed his support for STEM research as a weapon against poverty when he said, “Science is a force multiplier for advancing progress across all the Sustainable Development Goals.” The Next Einstein Forum supports a number of the Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the United Nations by inspiring change in a continent with the capability to grow rapidly.

However, this growth has been stunted by the need to outsource STEM-based jobs worth almost $4 billion a year. PR Newswire reported that this yearly sum accounts for about 35 percent of the continent’s aid. This expense could easily be reduced with the emergence of STEM-educated Africans that could keep the jobs local.

The 2016 NEF also focused on the barriers African women interested in jobs in the STEM sector face. Many speakers supported the removal of the gender disparity in the industry as a solution to the lack of innovators.

The panel leading the fight, named “Driving the Agenda for African Women in STEM,” featured prominent female scientists such as France Cordova, the director of the U.S. National Science Foundation, and Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s Minister of Science and Technology. But they weren’t alone, as women made up about 40 percent of the NEF Fellows class.

In a culture described as “less progressive than most,” this number shows the group’s recent success in combating the gender gap in employment.

With the 2016 event over, the forum looks forward to its next meeting in Kigali, Rwanda in 2018. Supporters of the cause can still take action now, though, by signing the I Am Einstein petition and staying connected through the forum’s Twitter page with daily updates.

With its international backing and optimistic outlook, the Next Einstein Forum has inspired a new generation of African STEM students. By advancing education and providing more opportunities for growth, it has put itself in a good position to fight poverty in the region.

– Jacob Hess

Sources: NEF, PR Newswire
Photo: Flickr

, , , ,

Hope on the Horizon: Increase in Food Assistance for Iraq

Food Assistance in IraqAn increase in food assistance for Iraq will become a reality thanks to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) in Iraq will receive an additional $20 million in emergency food assistance per an announcement from Stuart E. Jones, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, made on Feb. 29, 2016, according to USAID.

With this new support, provided through USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP), the U.S. government has contributed nearly $623.8 million to support humanitarian activities in Iraq since the 2014 fiscal year, according to USAID’s Iraq-Complex Emergency Fact Sheet.

The new funding will support the distribution of household food parcels, including beans, dry peas, flour, oil and rice — and immediate response rations for vulnerable populations comprising ready-to-eat food items, such as beans, biscuits, canned meat, canned peas and dates according to USAID’s Iraq-Complex Emergency Fact Sheet.

USAID is helping the WFP reach 1.5 million displaced and conflict-affected Iraqis throughout the country according to USAID’s Feb. 29, 2016 press release.

This significant boost in aid has the potential to help Iraqis who were adversely impacted by cuts to the WFP last year. In August 2015, the WFP was forced to cut back food assistance due to a funding shortfall, according to the U.N.

“Unfortunately, lack of funds and the rise in the number of displaced Iraqis forces us to reduce the size of the food rations we provide to tens of thousands of families living outside camps,” said Jane Pearce, WFP representative and country director in Iraq, in an August 2015 press release.

This recent increase in food assistance for Iraq comes at a crucial time. The food and medicine shortage in Iraq resulted in the death of approximately 20 children and older persons in recent weeks according to a report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Between December 2015 and January 2016, the price of some food commodities in Fallujah increased by more than 800 percent, according to the WFP; as of late February, a 110-pound bag of rice cost $400 and a 110-pound sack of wheat flour was priced at $550, reported the IOM.

There is hope that this increase in food assistance for Iraq is a sign of more good to come for internally displaced persons living in the country.

– Summer Jackson

Sources: UN, USAID 1, USAID 2
Photo: Wikipedia

, , ,

One Step at a Time to Help at Home and Abroad

Help the WorldSometimes, the task of making the world a better place can be overwhelming. On top of our daily schedules and expenses, there are so many causes to devote your time or money to. However, a quest to help the world does not have to involve curing cancer or achieving world peace — it can start with a few simple steps to address issues that matter:

Pick an issue area

The most important step to start improving the world is to find an issue you are passionate about. The more passionate you are about a cause, the more likely you are to enjoy working for it and the more inspiration you will find. The issue could be anything from rhino poaching in South Africa or water safety in Flint, MI to school supplies for children in Brazil.

Remember that there are problems both abroad and in your own backyard. Each cause is important and doing something is more effective than doing nothing.

Raise money

Organizations often need both money and manpower to keep their efforts running. How you want to contribute to a cause is up to you.

But if you are interested in donating or fundraising, there are many different options. Whether donations come from your own savings, running a fundraising campaign or asking family members to donate to a cause in lieu of gifts for a special occasion, the money you give to an organization will be very useful for keeping projects running. Donations do not have to be astronomical to make a difference!

Another way to contribute money is by shopping smart. When you are buying products for yourself or as gifts, try to buy products that give back. To start, you could look at this list from the Huffington Post of gifts that give back. Do research and find products that you love that have an added bonus of giving back.

Online websites also provide ways to give back. If you frequently order from Amazon, the company’s Amazon Smile program donates 0.5 percent of the price of eligible purchases to the charity of your choice.

Volunteer your time

You might also choose to work with a local organization on a regular basis or volunteer for a summer to work across the country or across the world. If you are interested in empowering youth, you could volunteer to tutor or become a mentor. You might also try volunteering to prepare food packages at your local Red Cross Food Bank and sort clothing donations at the Salvation Army.

Technology has opened up endless opportunities to volunteer with people around the world. If you are interested in helping teach English, Pax Populi, an online website sponsored by the U.N., allows volunteers to sign up as conversation partners for students in Afghanistan. This website also has opportunities to apply for translation, editing and research volunteer positions.

Another often overlooked but highly important volunteer position is to advocate for your chosen cause or organization. Efforts such as handing out flyers, making donor calls or contacting government representatives can be crucial in spreading the word.

Asking your Senate or Congressional leaders to support specific legislation is not nearly as intimidating as it may seem. Leaders respond well to requests from their constituents and putting pressure on them can spur change at the state or national level. Check out this page to see how we contact government representatives at the Borgen Project.

Stay connected

Lastly, the most important way you can help the world is to be knowledgeable and active in your community. Try to keep up with news reports and research topics of interest to you.

The world changing every day means the challenges it faces are changing as well. The best way we can help the world is to create a population of caring and active citizens.

– Taylor Resteghini

Sources: Amazon Smile, The Borgen Project, The Huffington Post, Pax Populi, UN Online Volunteers
Photo: Voluntariat

,

Human-Centered Designs for Poverty-Related Challenges

Kenya_Africa_health_povertyJocelyn Wyatt is the executive director of IDEO.org, a sister nonprofit to IDEO, a design and innovation firm. Wyatt was recently interviewed by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business on how human-centered designs help lift people out of poverty.

IDEO.org tackles world challenges through design by partnering with nongovernmental organizations, governments, foundations and nonprofits and then going to areas where human-centered designs can solve poverty-related challenges.

Wyatt says in the interview that IDEO.org does a lot of qualitative research by spending time with those who are severely impoverished in order to figure out what they are willing to pay for services that could really improve their lives. The IDEO.org team then brainstorms creative solutions to these problems.

“The way it improves lives is that the solutions we’re creating—instead of being things that are immediately discarded or not sustainable—are solutions that people actually use,” Wyatt says in the interview.

One project that IDEO.org is working on is tackling reproductive health in Zambia and Kenya. They are working with Marie Stopes International, a global nonprofit for sexual and reproductive services, to help adolescent and unmarried girls who are not yet ready to have their first child. Typically, Wyatt says, programs focus more on mothers and birth-spacing and on women stopping having children once they’ve reached the number they want to have.

However, this project has a three-part solution. The first part is a communications campaign, where characters known as the “Divine Divas” educate young girls about different forms of contraceptives. The second part is a peer-to-peer outreach program for girls to share what they know about contraceptives and local clinics. The third part is designing the actual clinic. The purpose of the project is to reduce instances of unplanned pregnancy.

A large part of the human-centered design is learning to have empathy, Wyatt says. The IDEO.org team is trained in connecting to, relating to and asking questions of the girls and making them feel comfortable. IDEO.org also works in a range of different sectors to help alleviate poverty, including agriculture, water, sanitation, health, finances and childhood development.

By shifting the focus to human-centered, practical solutions, organizations can more efficiently and sustainably address issues and bring about change.

– Kerri Whelan

Sources: University of Pennsylvania, IDEO 1, Marie Stopes, IDEO 2

Photo: Flickr