Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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The Importance of Data Collection in Global Health

data_collection

Data collection is essential to address public health concerns in the developing world. If a nonprofit or government institution cannot identify risk factors, outbreaks, health trends and vulnerable populations, aid cannot be targeted effectively at the people who need it the most. As Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization puts it, “without these data, countries and their development partners are working in the dark – throwing money into a black hole.”

That is why the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced the Roadmap for Health Measurement and Accountability and a Five-Point Call to Action. These initiatives are meant to encourage the governments of developing countries to strengthen their public health registration systems, with the goal of making health aid more effective while avoiding some of the data-collection pitfalls of the past.

While previous data-collection initiatives, many motivated by the Millennium Development Goals, led to dramatic improvements in public health knowledge gaps, they also had some negative consequences. These were mainly a result of the programs’ tendencies to fragment as well as detract from country-led approaches to data collection.

Jimmy Kolker, assistant secretary for global health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, points out that data collection should not be an “end in itself.” To be effective, governments need to have the political capacity to support, and act on, the data that they collect. In contrast to previous initiatives, the Roadmap and Call to Action are intended to empower countries to develop their own integrated health systems, which should be more sustainable and robust in the long-term.

The Five-Point Call to Action includes some very specific public health monitoring goals. For example, the third point emphasizes a need for adequate civil registration systems, with the goal of registering all births by 2030, as well as registering 80% of deaths and their causes. The reasoning behind being so specific in establishing broad standards is that in the past, data collection efforts were hampered by a lack of coordination; a poor focus on specific health issues also failed to reveal broad trends and strengthen public health systems. Thus, these initiatives emphasize establishing accurate measurements of a few basic indicators, such as births and deaths, as well as having basic reporting and public access mechanisms in place.

The Call to Action calls for adequate data collection and interpretation through modern technology, not just traditional registration systems. Point four emphasizes that by 2020 all countries should have “real-time disease surveillance systems in place, including the capacity to analyze and link data using interoperable, interconnected electronic reporting systems within the country.”

As technology has developed, aid agencies and governments have an ever-growing list of resources that can help them monitor, collect, and interpret health-related data. Up to two-thirds of the world’s population in 100 countries is absent from public registration systems, a gap that must be filled by modern data-gathering and reporting solutions. Mobile technology is an enormous boon to governments trying to build data collection and dissemination systems.

For example, since 2008 Bangladesh, with relatively little funding and prior to the aforementioned initiatives, has managed to strengthen programs for establishing electronic medical records, centralized databases, accessible online resources for data-entry and reporting, and citizen feedback mechanisms. Bangladesh is a great example of how a low-income country can rapidly modernize its public health data resources cheaply and efficiently, a model from which other developing countries might learn, spurred on by the recent initiatives by USAID, the WHO, and the World Bank. Perhaps, with some financial and technical support from these institutions, developing nations can create their own path toward improved public health.

– Derek Marion

Sources: MA4Health, World Bank, Devex
Photo: Leaning Forward

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What Have the Millennium Development Goals Achieved?

What Have the Millennium Development Goals Achieved?

What Have the Millennium Development Goals Achieved? In 2000, the United Nations set out on a clearly defined mission to end global poverty by means of tackling eight core areas of need. Now we are looking back, 15 years later, and seeing how successful the UN was in meeting their goals-and where the new Sustainability Goals will need to take up the slack.

The Millennium Development Goals were designed as a framework for developing impoverished nations by addressing the most critical needs of the society, like reliable food sources, access to education, and adequate health care.
Each goal had specific targets which the United Nations hoped they would meet by 2015. Some goals had more success than others.

The UN’s goal of halving global poverty was met with resounding success, as the number of people living on less than one dollar and 25 cents a day dropped from one point nine billion in 1990, to 836 million in 2015. An estimated 14 percent of the global population are living in extreme poverty today, down from nearly half in 1990.

The reduction in the proportion of undernourished people globally narrowly missed its target, coming within two percent of the 50 percent reduction goal. Though narrowly missing their target, given the exponential human population growth over the last three two decades, it is still a considerable success.

The goals suffered two more near misses in their attempts to increase educational opportunities for all, including establishing gender equality in schools. An estimated 10 percent of children are not receiving any formal education, and only about two -thirds of developing countries have achieved gender equality in the classroom.

Goals four and five of the Millennium Goals, which addressed child and maternal mortality, respectively, both failed to meet their targets. While both the mortality rate of children under five and maternal deaths were reduced by over half, both failed to reach the two-thirds reduction target.

Goal six, stop and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDs, malaria, and other diseases was similarly not met in the given 15 year time frame. Although the rate of new HIV/AIDS infections has fallen by around 40 percent, an estimated two point one million people are still being infected annually. The fight against malaria and other diseases prevalent in developing areas has seen more success however, with an estimated six point two million malaria deaths averted between 2000 and 2015.

The final two goals of the 2000 Millennium Development Goals tackled strengthening infrastructure, sustainable development, and international partnership. While both goals are still on-going endeavors, over the last decade, two point six billion people have gained access to improved drinking water and official development assistance to developing nations has risen by nearly seven percent.

Overall, the United Nations has experienced great success in their struggle to address the needs of the poor around the world, but they are the first to admit that more work is needed. In the official Millennium Development Goals report, released earlier this month, Wu Hongbo Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs admitted that success has been uneven across developing nations. “Millions of people are being left behind, especially the poorest and those disadvantaged because of their sex, age, disability, ethnicity or geographic location. Targeted efforts will be needed to reach the most vulnerable people,” said Hongbo.

The Quick and Dirty of Hits and Misses:
Goal #1: Target goal met and exceeded
Goal #2: Target goal nearly achieved
Goal #3: Not met
Goal #4: Not met
Goal #5: Not met
Goal #6: Not met
Goal #7: Target achieved ahead of schedule
Goal #8: No target specified, on-going action

The Sustainable Development Goals of 2015 will pick up where the Millennium Goals left off and continue to guide the United Nations as they work to eradicate global poverty.

– Gina Lehner

Sources: The Guardian, UN
Photo: Global Classrooms

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How Coca-Cola Is Helping Deliver Medicines

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Coca-Cola products reach every corner of the world while essential medicines do not. ColaLife, a UK charity, noticed this and decided to make a change. ColaLife uses Coca-Cola to open up the private sector supply chain to deliver affordable and effective medicines.

ColaLife produced the Kit Yamoyo, an anti-diarrhea kit. Diarrheal diseases cause life-threatening dehydration, which is the second leading cause of death in children under the age of 5 in developing nations. Each year, it takes the lives of 760,000 children, even though it’s curable.

The problem is that these children do not have access to the cure, which is what ColaLife sought to solve. The Kit Yamoyo contains Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS), soap, and zinc, which act as a cure. The package itself acts as a measuring device for water needed to mix up the ORS and zinc, and can also be used as a storage device as well as a cup.

The Kit Yamoyo has a v-shaped cup to easily fit into the Coca-Cola delivery crates. As a compact, low-cost product, the Kit Yamoyo piggybacks Coca-Cola’s supply chain to reach remote areas. It is a symbiotic relationship: Coca-Cola products continue to reach and get sold in remote areas, while the consumers gain access to more medicines than ever before.

The kits themselves are sold with Coca-Cola products. As the kits make their way out to the remote areas, the demand for them becomes greater. It’s a positive situation for everyone involved: Coca-Cola products are sold, the retailer makes a profit, and the consumer gets the medicine they need to help their children.

With enough funding, the Kit Yamoyo will have a big impact. It will widen vaccine coverage in remote areas and reduce death rates caused by dehydration and malnutrition. It will also encourage an increased investment in training and help health workers reduce child mortality rates. ColaLife has proven that the supply chain is just as important as the medicine itself.

– Hannah Resnick

Sources: ColaLife, University of Delaware, WHO, Zambia Daily Mail
Photo: Just Giving

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Global Hunger Affects Fewer than 800 Million People

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Currently, the number of people who face hunger is around 750 million people. The number of people living in hunger has been reduced by about 167 million people in the past 10 years. In the past year alone, the number of hungry people dropped by 10 million people.

This is incredible progress!

One of the main focuses of the Millennium Development Goals is to eradicate global hunger. Global hunger has dropped considerably, and this is a moment to recognize all that has been accomplished.

In South America, less than five percent of the population faces hunger. The number of hungry people has dropped by 50% in the past 25 years. Central and South East Asia, as well as Northern Africa, have seen a drop in the number of hungry individuals.

However, 44 percent of countries did not accomplish the Millennium Development Goal of reducing hunger by 50 percent in the last 15 years. South Asia still has 281 million people who suffer from hunger. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 23 percent of people do not get enough food.

Political instability in Sub-Saharan Africa may contribute to why hunger is still a problem. Twenty-four countries in Africa are currently experiencing food crises. This number is up from the 12 countries who were experiencing food crises in 1990.

Recently, bountiful food harvests and low oil prices have made the price of food drop considerably. These factors could have played a role in why hunger has been dropping.

Beyond economic growth, countries also have to focus on inclusive growth. For example, social investments, such as cash transfer programs, employment projects, food distribution schemes, healthcare and education could all reduce the number of hungry people.

Food is a basic necessity. It is extraordinary news that global hunger has dropped below 800 million. We need to continue to prioritize eradicating world hunger. If we continue progressing in this way, it is conceivable that world hunger could be eliminated.

– Ella Cady

Sources: Reuters, Deseret News,
Photo: Flickr

Disappearing “Poverty” in Britain

Poverty-in-Britain

Poverty in Britain is quickly being removed from the country’s list of social reforms. Instead of new policies or legal changes sweeping the United Kingdom, poverty is being struck from Great Britain’s dictionary and being substituted with a much more stern response from the government. The very definition of “poverty” in Britain has become the focal point in this new era of British government.

An article published on July 2, by Britain’s flagship newspaper The Guardian, highlighted this new outlook by British Prime Minister, David Cameron. An excerpt from the article reads, “As an issue, poverty is to vanish, no longer a target or a word in the Conservative lexicon. Other things will be targeted instead – worklessness, family breakdown, addictions, debt and educational success. In doublespeak, the very meaning of the word poverty disappears when to be poor no longer means to lack money. To be poor will from now on mean to fail, to be poor apologies for human beings, people in error, in need of correction not cash.” Essentially, those in poverty are there because of a lack of work ethic to rise above the country’s poverty line.

The shift in attitude stems from the British government’s decision to focus primarily on attacking low national income to combat widespread poverty. While initially seen as a government abandoning a particular demographic, British officials maintain that this new direction will benefit the country the most in the foreseeable future.

An article by the Belfast Telegraph reported on the new approach to Britain’s economic issues. The article says, “the plan is to replace Labour’s Child Poverty Act, which established a duty for governments to eradicate the problem by 2020, with new legislation that will instead require ministers to report regularly on measures affecting a child’s life chances.” This reform aims to analyze data more carefully and make changes based on external factors affecting child poverty in Britain.

By making it a priority to target things such as unemployment, drug use and family breakdown, Britain’s government can effectively coordinate an appropriate response to nationwide poverty.

– Diego Alejandro Catala

Sources: The Guardian, Belfast Telegraph
Photo: The Independent

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UK Government Set to Scrap Child Poverty Act as Rates Stay Consistent

UK Child Poverty-TBP

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, announced this past week that the U.K. government will be scrapping its Child Poverty Act. The act, which promised to end child poverty in the United Kingdom by 2020, is being terminated after a recent report stated that current child poverty levels are “unacceptably high.”

Smith has stated that the government will be replacing the act with new perspectives on how to view child poverty, chiefly by changing its definition altogether.

The original act defined child poverty as a child living in a household with an income below 60% of the country’s average. Smith has spoken out against this definition, calling it “deeply flawed” as well as “a poor test of whether children’s lives are genuinely improving.”

Duncan’s new plan defines child poverty by “levels of educational attainment, worklessness and addiction,” as opposed to “relative material disadvantage,” according to The Guardian.

This news prefaces a large cut in tax credits to be introduced in the July 8, 2015 budget as a means to reduce the welfare budget. These cuts make the original 2020 goal all the more unobtainable.

The commission that oversaw the act, the Child Poverty and Social Mobility Commission, will be renamed to simply the Social Mobility Commission.

“We want to eradicate child poverty. This is not a departure from that proposal,” Smith said. “What we want to do is to ensure, however, that we do this by changing the long-term life chances of those who live in the poorest families.”

– Alexander Jones

Sources: BBC, The Guardian 1, The Guardian 2
Photo: The Guardian

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The Youth of Yemen Promote Peace

The Youth of Yemen Promoting Peace

Yemen has been through a whole lot in the past few years. While political unrest has plagued the nation for years, in the recent months, the country has been dealing with ongoing airstrikes.

“Some days it’s calm, and some days it’s not. It’s so unpredictable. Right now, we’re on day four with no electricity. When it does come on, it will only be one for an hour,” Hana reports. At 26-year-old, Hana is a youth assistant project manager for the Foundation for Peace project.

The project was founded in 2012 by the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE), with the goal of teaching members of the community to effectively prevent and resolve conflicts. They focus on women and youth that typically do not have the opportunity to be influential or participate in dialogue.

So far, 560 youth, women, and local community leaders have received training. In addition, CARE has provided 15 water tanks for poor neighborhoods.

Many people in the country do not have nearby access to water sources and have to walk for miles every day. The limited amount of water sometimes results in clashes within communities.

In the past, wealthy business owners and merchants have paid for trucks to bring water to the poor. However, the trucks wasted a lot of water since they did not offer an effective method of collection. To rectify this inefficiency, the water tanks that CARE installed are permanent. They allow for people to obtain water with ease and less conflict.

Airstrikes and a naval blockade, however, have been preventing essential supplies, such as fuel and food, from reaching Yemen. Because of the lack of fuel, prices have soared and the cost to ride the bus has doubled. Service has also become undependable and people have switched to riding bikes for transportation.

The closure of many Yemeni schools poses another issue. Yemen has a very large population of young people and the majority of them are unemployed and out of school. This leaves them susceptible to recruitment into dangerous militant groups.

Yet, Yemen’s youth are finding ways to stay out of trouble and bring about dramatic change. For example, they initiate groups that spread awareness about issues like women’s rights. Women are fighting for the right to ride bicycles, which is traditionally not allowed in Yemen.

They turn destroyed buildings and windows into art and paint messages of peace all over their cities. Young people are passionate about promoting peace and developing their nation.

The United Nations Development Program gives out a yearly National Award for the Best Innovative Small Business Plan to Yemeni youth. Young people are able to submit smart business ideas for a chance to make their ideas into an entrepreneurship opportunity.

The goal of the award is to kick start the motivation and genius of Yemen’s youth, as well as generate new opportunities for employment. With the award, young people start their own businesses to contribute to their community and the nation’s developing economy.

The youth’s ability to take their lives and future into their own hands also grants them a hearty amount of satisfaction and self-esteem. There are five winners chosen who each are given $20,000 and support from the UNDP while executing their idea.

At the moment, Yemen receives funding from organizations like CARE. But even without aid in the future, the youth hope to keep inspiring progress and peace.

– Lillian Sickler

Sources: CARE, Yemen Innovation And Creativity Award, The Globalist
Photo: Care

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How to Become an International Aid Worker

How_to_Become_an_International_Aid_Worker
Thinking of becoming an international aid worker? Concerned about world issues like human rights, sustainability, agriculture, industrial development and natural disasters? Want to help people around the globe who need healthcare, housing, sanitation, education and relief from natural disasters?

Thousands of people with such noble ideals and ambitions are at work in developing countries. Their paths to working abroad were probably quite varied and more horizontal than vertical for a number of years before they headed overseas. Here is some other essential information to consider before planning a career as an international aid, development or humanitarian worker.

The first step is earning a degree. Like any other job, it should be in a field of strong interest that builds knowledge and develops talents and skills. The subjects most relevant to international aid work are sociology, social policy, human rights, languages, economics, sanitation and logistics. Workers with degrees in medicine, nursing, healthcare and water engineering are currently in high demand.

After earning a degree (in fact, more importantly than having a degree), one must acquire relevant experience. In reality, it is the most viable entry path to these highly competitive jobs. Because it is a catch 22—needing experience to acquire a job but needing a job to acquire experience—many beginners start as volunteers or interns in charities, nonprofits, and volunteer or nongovernmental organizations. Obviously, self-funding is necessary at this stage.

These experiences provide the training needed to move up because most organizations do not have the funding to provide extensive training programs. However, Oxfam International and the United Nations are two organizations that do provide structured internships and graduate development programs.

Once some experience has been acquired, next steps vary greatly. It is necessary to be open to changing career paths, as development needs change. Some typical work activities at this phase include hands-on project management, conducting needs assessments and organizing fundraising.

It may be that an advanced degree or some short courses will provide the necessary skills to progressing on the path to a desired position. For example, engineers, health care workers and disaster relief workers require advanced degrees and special skills. The same is true for people in microfinance and logistics. It is equally necessary to change organizations often in a horizontal or zigzag path in order to gain varied and relevant experiences.

After 10 to 15 years, it becomes possible to work in a higher level capacity. In this phase, consulting, general leadership development, policy and strategy development, or budget control are some of the possible responsibilities. These positions, whether domestic or international, are highly competitive, but they usually allow longer commitments and require less mobility.

No matter the degree, skills or experiences needed to become an international aid worker, it is also essential to begin with certain personality traits. These characteristics include: willingness to work more than 40 hours a week on a somewhat unpredictable schedule, ability to communicate with a variety of people, capacity to work under pressure and willingness to travel and live in basic conditions.

Working in the international aid field has its ups and downs like any other field. However, the entry and career paths are very different. International aid workers are among the most intelligent, skilled, resourceful and hardworking people in the world. They also have the satisfaction of knowing that the world is a better place because of the work that they do.

– Janet Quinn

Sources: All About Careers 1, Prospects 1, All About Careers 2, Prospects 2, All About Careers 3, Prospects 3, Humanitarian Jobs
Photo: One

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How Malawi’s Male Champion Model Program is Fighting HIV

Male Champion Model
Worldwide, 34 million people are living with HIV, including 3.3 million children. In the African nation of Malawi, 910,000 citizens out of a population of 15.9 million have HIV. Around 170,000 are children, and children account for 16,000 new infections annually. It is the leading cause of death among adults in Malawi and contributes to the country’s low life expectancy of 54.8 years.

Each year, thousands of babies in Malawi contract HIV through mother-child transmission. This can occur during pregnancy, labor, delivery or breastfeeding. Children with HIV get sick more often and more severely than children without HIV, and they struggle to fight common pediatric infections. In developing countries, they have a higher risk for tuberculosis, diarrhea and respiratory illnesses, all of which can be a death sentence if they lack access to effective healthcare.

A baby born to a mother who is HIV positive has a 15% to 45% chance of contracting HIV if there is no medical intervention. However, this rate drops to 5% with intervention. Malawi’s Ministry of Health must encourage expecting parents to get tested before the mother gives birth in order to provide appropriate care and prevent the baby from contracting HIV.

In 2012, the Ministry of Health worked with UNICEF to launch the Male Champion Model (MCM) program. Before the MCM, it was incredibly rare for men to be involved in their wives’ healthcare, even if she was pregnant. Furthermore, many women avoided being tested for HIV out of fear of being abandoned by their husbands or discriminated against in society if the results were positive. The MCM trains “male motivators” to reach out to other men in their communities to encourage them to accompany their wives to get tested.

So far, the program has trained 3,400 “motivators” in six districts of Malawi. They visit households in their villages each day to discuss the importance of HIV testing with couples. Now it is increasingly common for couples to get tested together, and in one year, the country has seen a huge jump, from 0% to 86%, in men participating in antenatal services. When women know their status, their healthcare providers can give them anti-retroviral drugs to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to their child.

Over the past decade, Malawi’s government has focused on decreasing the nation’s HIV rates, and the MCM is just one part of these efforts. They have expanded voluntary HIV testing and counseling, promoted condom use, increased the distribution of condoms, started a mass media campaign to raise awareness about prevention and educating young people about HIV.

These initiatives have led to some progress. In 2003, 14% of the population had HIV, and by 2011 that number had dropped to 10%. Also in 2003, 100,000 new infections were occurring annually, but that number had dropped to 46,000 new infections by 2010. Clearly, there is still a long way to go toward stamping out HIV in Malawi, but the MCM program has spared many children from the struggles of surviving with HIV.

– Jane Harkness

Sources: Avert, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatrics Foundation, Huffington Post, NAM, UNICEF, WHO
Photo: UNICEF

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How Foreign Aid Wins Hearts, Reduces Extremism

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On June 2, 2015, Iraqi Prime Minister Heider Al-Abadi spoke to an international coalition of over 20 countries in Paris in a bid to refresh the coalition’s strategy on combating violent extremists such as the self-proclaimed Islamic State, or ISIS.

The Iraqi leader requested more foreign aid, specifically intelligence and weapons, and blamed Western nations for not doing enough to stop foreign fighters from joining ISIS.

The next day, at a United Nations forum discussing the role of the media in combating terrorism, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman said, “Groups like ISIS succeed because they offer young people opportunities to engage with their peers and provide a space where they can bond over their grievances, hopes and deeply held desire for a world that is just and fair.”

The fighting that has raged throughout Iraq has left many families desolute and has taken a tremendous toll on children. According to the UNICEF, violations against children has increased by 75% over the last year. This includes abduction and the recruitment of child soldiers.

Missing amidst the talks of military and media foreign aid strategies to combat ISIS is the lack of humanitarian aid investments for displaced Iraqis. U.N. officials warn that millions of Iraqis caught between ISIS and the Iraqi Army could be without food or shelter over the next six months unless $497 million is raised in emergency funds.

As if the current demands are not hard-pressing, on June 23, the World Health Organization has asked for an additional $60 million to prevent 77 healthcare clinics from shutting down. The lack of water and soaring temperatures have led to a rise in dehydration among displaced Iraqis. With desperation mounting, Iraqis are looking for alternatives to extremist groups to find support. However, these alternatives often do not exist.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) has shown that when the Iraqi government provides service provisions across the socioeconomic spectrum, there is a reduction in violent insurgency. According to the NBER, a 10% increase in labor-related spending generated a 15% to 20% decline in labor-intensive violence in Iraq. As the violence decreases, social and economic stability ensues.

Unfortunately, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, official development assistance to the poorest countries fell by 8% between 2013 and 2014, excluding debt relief nations where the figures are higher at 16%. Iraq oversaw a spike in violence over that same period of time.

Providing intelligence and weapons may help to slow down ISIS. However, continued foreign aid investments into social and economic programs in Iraq and Syria are needed to ultimately reduce global threats.

If the international community does not supply the necessary foreign aid to Iraq, if people are not fed and do not have their basic health needs met, they will have no choice but to turn to ISIS, a group ready to supply them with work and food. This outcome would be catastrophic for the Iraqi government as well as the United States and our allies.

– Adnan Khalid

Sources: National Bureau of Economic Research 1, National Bureau of Economic Research 2, The Guardian, The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, UN 1, UN 2, UNICEF, Wall Street Journal
Photo: NY Post