Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

MacArthur Foundation Quietly Leads Way

macarthur foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is one of the largest independent foundations in the U.S. With $6.3 billion in total assets as of Dec, 31, 2013, the MacArthur Foundation had authorized more than $228.4 million in grants with operations in the U.S. and more than 50 countries worldwide in 2013 alone. Since 1978, the Foundation has made grants totaling an astounding $5 billion.

The Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions that are committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. The foundation also “selects the MacArthur Fellows, works to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology is affecting children and society.”

Founders and quiet philanthropists John D. (1897-1978) and wife, Catherine T. (1909-1981) MacArthur spent the majority their lives in Chicago and Palm Beach. Both of the MacArthur’s were extremely successful in their business and philanthropic endeavors. John MacArthur developed and owned Bankers Life and Casualty Company among other businesses and considerable amounts of property in Florida and New York. Catherine MacArthur held positions in many of his companies and served as the director of the Foundation.

The first decade of the Foundation posed many challenges. There were many debates over assets, good value responsibility, grant-making strategies, staff assembly and relationship establishment. The second decade saw a rapid expansion and held a lot of experimentation. Assets grew and John MacArthur’s real estate holdings were liquidated to fund new projects and ventures— mostly geared towards the Chicago area. During the third decade, the Foundation made their values clear, established a mission: committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world, as well as deepening many other investments and holding many successes.

MacArthur’s Four Programs

Through the support it provides, the Foundation makes grants and loans through four programs. According to their website, “The Foundation fosters the development of knowledge, nurtures individual creativity, strengthens institutions, helps improve public policy, and provides information to the public, primarily through support for public interest media.”

The first of the programs focuses on international issues including human rights, international peace, justice, security, conservation, sustainable development, and many more. MacArthur grantees work in more than 60 countries and have offices in India, Mexico, Nigeria and Russia.

The second program addresses issues inside of U.S. borders including community and economic development, housing, juvenile justice reform, education and many more. This program also focuses a great deal on policy research.

MacArthur’s third program, Media, Culture, and Special Initiative, supports public interest journalism, including analytical and investigative news reporting and documentary films. Through this program, the Foundation awards grants to more than 300 theaters, museums, and music organizations in Chicago. The program also works to strengthen American democracy through “discovery grants” in an effort to advance innovative approaches to important social problems in various fields.

The final program, The MacArthur Fellows Program awards unrestricted $625,000 fellowships to talented individuals who have displayed an immense amount of originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.

2015 Recipients Announced

Recently, nine nonprofit organizations received the MacArthur Award for Creative & Effective Institutions grants for 2015. The grants ranged from $350,000 to $1 million. These awards have been given out since 2006 and are aimed at organizations that previously received help from the MacArthur Foundation. An interesting fact about this great organization is that the MacArthur Foundation does not seek or accept nominations for the awards.

– Eastin Shipman

Sources: MacArthur Foundation 1, MacArthur Foundation 2, MacArthur Foundation 3, ABC News
Photo: Mac Found

Senate Subcommittee on Immigration Renamed

senate subcommittee
As the 114th Congress settles into a regular routine, committee and subcommittee chairs are being announced. Notably, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) was announced as the chairman for the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security.

Sen. Sessions expressed his desire for stricter immigration control in the past, saying that immigration reform is a term “reserved for proposals which benefit everyone but actual American citizens.” He also pushed back against President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

The Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, renamed the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest after Sen. Sessions took over, is a subset of Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Its jurisdiction encompasses immigration, citizenship and refugee laws and the immigration functions of the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

On Jan. 26, 2015, Sen. Sessions released a 25-page guide entitled the “Immigration Handbook for the New Republican Majority.” The handbook covers executive amnesty, immigration economics and effects on welfare, concluding with questions about the immigration debate in the U.S.

The subcommittee handles refugee policy in the U.S., which is a foreign policy issue that receives little floor time in the House and Senate and even less funding and support. Refugee programs run through a complex system of departments and offices, including USAID, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs. The sheer number of hoops to jump through for funding, visas or support can be daunting for both advocates and refugees themselves.

Immigration debate in the U.S. took a rare humanitarian turn last year when reports revealed the staggering number of minors crossing over the Mexican/U.S. border out of Central America. Many of these minors are fleeing extreme poverty, violence and illegal economic activities.

Sen. Sessions’ subcommittee will likely decide the outcome of the dangerous journey many take to flee poverty and violence.

– Caitlin Huber 

Sources: Politico, U.S. Senate 1, U.S. Senate 2, Breitbart
Photo: ProPublica

Manifestations of Poverty in Surat, India

poverty in surat
The city of Surat, located in the state of Gujarat near the western coast of India, has seen rapid population growth and development in recent years. Although India has also gradually seen a significant drop in poverty, overpopulation in regions like Surat contributes to the perpetuation of poverty.

According to reports from The Guardian, Surat ranks fourth in the world in terms of speed of development. A 2011 census placed Surat’s population at approximately 4.5 million, up from 2.8 million in 2001. As a result of the quick spike in population, many of Surat’s inhabitants now  live in unsanitary conditions and face a dire economic situation.

Aside from the issues that arise from overpopulation, Surat may soon face harrowing consequences as a result of global climate change. Due to its proximity to India’s western coast, Surat is expected to face recurrent flooding sometime in the next few decades. Rapid urbanization has compounded the risks of flooding, blocking outlets for runoff. Higher temperatures associated with global climate change are expected to further exacerbate monsoon rains and flooding. With stagnant water and higher temperatures, conditions would be ripe for mosquitos, increasing the risk of malaria and other diseases.

The city has begun to implement proactive measures such as creating flood plans, building weather stations and hiring new “resilience” staff in order to better prepare for disaster. Along with increased urbanization, Surat faces high rates of unemployment and poverty.

Across India, unemployment disproportionately affects women. In 2013, only 27 percent of the female population aged 15 and over was active in the labor force, whereas 80 percent of the male population 15-years-old and over was working during that same period.

In Surat, financial instability prompts some women to turn to non-traditional methods of income, including surrogacy. According to a study carried out by the Centre for Social Research, 88.6 percent of surrogate mothers interviewed in Surat reported that poverty drove them to surrogacy. Another 94.1 percent of respondents cited unemployment as the main reason.

The study notes that cheap medical services coupled with lax regulations make Surat and other regions in India a popular destination for those seeking surrogate mothers. Whereas surrogacy costs can range between $59,000 and $80,000 in the U.S., these rates can be as low as $10,000  to $35,000 in India.

While non-traditional work provides some financial stability. Changes in climate and a growing population are causes of concern when considering sustainable poverty reduction methods.

– Katrina Beedy

Sources: Census 2011, The Guardian, Counterview.org

Photo: BBC News

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Over Half of Russian Population at Poverty Line

poverty_in_russia

According to a recent survey from the Moscow-based Financial University, more than half of the Russian population suffers from economic deprivation.

The study was not based on income. Rather, respondents were asked how far their earnings tend to go, on a scale from “just barely enough for food” to “enough for everything, including real estate.” Fifty-four percent of those surveyed said that they could not afford more than basic necessities.

According to the survey, which spanned 35 cities, the poorest respondents were concentrated in the central Volga region. Tolyatti, a city of 720,000 on the Volga River, was identified as the poorest of the 35 cities studied.

Tolyatti, home of Russia’s leading car maker AvtoVAZ, is a particularly interesting case because of its high proportion of ‘critically poor’ young men. The study argues that Tolyatti’s demographics puts the city at high risk for social upheavals, citing the link between unemployment in young men and uprisings in the Arab Spring.

Left reeling from nose-diving oil prices and combined U.S. and EU sanctions, Russia is heading into its biggest economic downturn since 2011, when economic contraction prompted the biggest protests of Putin’s 15-year-rule.

“The question of poverty has a major socio-political significance because of the risk of social unrest if citizens’ living standards decline,” said the report.

It is also important to note that while the survey identified cities in the central Volga region as the poorest of the 35 cities surveyed, Russia’s most impoverished people live predominately in small villages and towns that were not included in the study.

However, economic geographer and Moscow State University Professor Natalia Zubarevich believes that rural-dwelling Russians will be among the most resilient in the face of economic recession.

“People from villages and small towns survive on the land, so they will plant more potatoes and tomatoes,” Zubarevich said. “They will not have to change their way of life [as much].”

Conversely, Zubarevich believes that the rugged individualism of urban life will be conducive to social unrest in Russia’s major metropolises. “As a rule, people there [in big cities] always look individually for an exit strategy from their problems. They don’t tend to find cohesion the way that residents of smaller cities do,” explained Zubarevich.

– Parker Carroll

Sources: The Moscow Times,  Russia and India Report,  Toronto Star

Photo: Flickr

Poverty in Ankara, Turkey

poverty in ankara
Ankara is Turkey’s capital and its second-largest city, second only to Istanbul. As more refugees from Syria seek refuge in Turkey, poverty rates increase.

Ankara’s skyscrapers and views make it a popular tourist destination, yet, evidence of poverty is littered throughout the city. The poverty line for Turkey is $4 USD per day. The number of individuals and families living below the poverty line is increasing as more and more Syrians cross into Turkey. Food is scarce among the poor and sanitary living conditions are growing increasingly rare. Approximately 20 percent of people in Ankara are living in poverty.

Poverty is connected with the level of education a person has, and in Ankara, education is a rare opportunity for many, particularly girls and women. Women do not usually work in Ankara, and if they do, they are limited to low-paying jobs such as babysitting or housecleaning. Women’s duties are primarily childcare and taking care of sick or elderly family members. In many cases, mothers pass duties down to their young daughters, who are then forced to quit school in order to maintain the household. Poverty has become cyclical in Ankara.

In Ankara, 13.1 percent of women are illiterate, while 5.1 percent of men are illiterate. In nearly all cases of poverty and migration, the reasons why women migrated from rural to urban areas are due to marriage or husband’s job, while men mostly migrate because they are searching for a job.

The a lack of adequate shelters and sanitary environments in Ankara further contribute to the dire circumstances of the urban poor. Health is also a growing concern in poor neighborhoods, which are often overcrowded, allowing diseases spread easily among individuals.

For Ankara, Turkey, the key to reducing and eliminating poverty may lie in education. As children are educated, a stronger foundation for Turkey is laid, and the road out of poverty begins to be paved.

– Alaina Grote

Sources: NCBI, SESRIC
Photo: UNICEF

Cause for Economic Optimism in Latin America

Latin_America
According to the U.N., poverty-reduction in Latin America has hit a snag.

The U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, or ECLAC, recently put out an annual report, showing that 28 percent of the region’s population was living in poverty in 2014. Of those 167 million people, 12 percent were living in extreme poverty.

Economic growth in Latin America has slowed recently. The region registered 1.1 percent growth in 2014—its smallest growth rate since 2009. Alicia Barcena, head of the ECLAC, blamed ineffective policy for much of the region’s woes.

“It seems the recovery from the international financial crisis was not taken advantage of sufficiently to strengthen social protection policies that reduce vulnerability from economic cycles,” said Barcena.

ECLAC has called on regional governments to put mechanisms in place that would improve the region’s resilience in the face of global economic downturns.

“Now, in a scenario of a possible reduction in available fiscal resources, more efforts are needed to fortify these policies, establishing solid foundations with the aim of fulfilling the commitments of the post-2015 development agenda,” said Barcena.

While the regional poverty rate has stagnated, some countries, such as Paraguay (from 49.6 percent in 2011 to 40.7 percent in 2013) and Chile (10.9 percent to 7.8 percent), have made significant progress in reducing their poverty rates. Peru (25.8 percent to 23.9 percent), Colombia (32.9 percent to 30.7 percent) and El Salvador (45.3 percent to 40.9 percent) also made positive progress.

ECLAC’s latest report also showed that while the income-based poverty rate has languished in recent years, multidimensional poverty has indeed fallen significantly since 2005.

According to the report, the percentage of the Latin American population living in multidimensional poverty dropped from 39 percent in 2005 to 28 percent in 2012.

Despite the current state of relative economic stagnation, preliminary ECLAC projections for 2015 suggest that there is cause for optimism, forecasting a 2.2 percent regional increase.

The ECLAC’s Third Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States will be held in Costa Rica, January 28-29.

– Parker Carroll

Sources: Andina, El Universal, Mercopress, Reuters, Telesur 1, Telesur 2,
Photo: Huffington Post

Bill and Melinda Gates’ ‘Big Bet’ for Future of Poverty

Bill_and_Melinda_Gates
It has been 15 years since Bill and Melinda Gates started the Gates Foundation, and the couple has made a big bet for the next decade-and-a-half: the lives of people in poor countries will improve faster in the next 15 years than any other time in history.

The Gates’ annual letter was released on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, on the foundation’s blog. The Gates’ are focusing on wiping out diseases, reducing poverty, and improving education. The letter is broken down into four sub-categories of the overall “bet.”

Child Deaths Will Be Cut In Half

The leading cause of death for children under 5 is disease. Unsanitary living conditions and a lack of vaccines kill one in 20 children, and the Gates hope to see a decrease by at least 50 percent by 2030. All countries will add vaccines for pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and measles to their individual immunization programs. Better sanitation will also contribute to the decrease in disease. In addition to providing vaccinations, the Gates Foundation plans to help mothers adopt new practices, such as proper breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact with newborns.

Africa Will Be Able to Feed Itself

Although seven out of 10 people in sub-Saharan Africa are farmers, many farms do not yield the benefits of their counterparts in the developed world. Many parts of Africa currently rely on food aid and imports from outside sources to feed their people. Innovations in farming can provide farmers with better fertilizers and a surplus in crops, allowing farmers to farm more food. As technology expands and becomes more easily available, communications with farmers in remote areas will become possible and business will increase. In the next 15 years, Africa will be able to export more than it receives in imports, creating a balanced economy.

Mobile Banking Will Transform Banking

Digital banking can give the poor easy access and control of their assets. Approximately 2.5 billion people don’t have access to cheap and easy financial services, and for many people, their savings is in the form of jewelry or livestock; it is very difficult to cover daily expenses. To be able to use a mobile phone to take care of finances makes it much easier to purchase and save money. Mobile banking is expected to expand and cover a wide range of financial services, such as interest-bearing savings accounts to credit and insurance.

Online Education

Smartphones and software will become more available to African families that can provide more access to education. In remote areas where schools are hours away or students must be of a certain age to attend, it is essential to provide education as early as possible. As more children are exposed to education earlier in life, they are set down a path that leads to success in all areas of life. Online education can be crucial in countries where gender gaps are wide and girls can’t go to school or start a business. Countries that stay behind in education will eventually be left behind.

– Alaina Grote

Sources: CNN, NPR, Youtube
Photo: Computer Business Review

Poverty in Istanbul

poverty_in_Istanbul
In the sprawling metropolis of Istanbul, which over 14 million people call home, there is a sense of progress and modernity. The city, the largest in Turkey, sits at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and claims thousands of years of history.

Istanbul is one of the more diverse cities in Turkey. It is home to not only Turks, but also Kurds, the Romani people and immigrants from Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the Americas and Africa. While the tourist and central areas seem modern, safe and progressive, there is another side of the city.

Poverty in Istanbul is pocketed. About an hour bus ride out of the central city, there are two neighborhoods that are some of Istanbul’s poorest and most violent: Gazi Mahallesi and Karayollari. The first, Gazi Mahallesi, is a multiethnic neighborhood. The neighborhood sports anti-government vandalism and leftover destruction from riots by anarchist, Kurdish and leftist groups that reside there.

Karayollari, separated from Gazi Mahallesi by a highway overpass, is a primarily Kurdish neighborhood. Many of the Kurds who call the neighborhood home have been displaced by the violence in southeastern Turkey, where Turkey’s Kurds are the most populous. Karayollari seems to be stuck in a cycle of violence, encouraged by poverty and unemployment. Residents say the police no longer even venture near the neighborhood unless to break up riots.

Because of rapid and unplanned migration to the city, 70 percent of housing in Istanbul was built in 30 years. At first, housing was built wherever land could be found. These settlements are Istanbul’s version of shantytowns or squatter towns and are called gacekondu. The gacekondu originally were accepted by the city because they passed the costs of urbanization from the government to the migrants. The gecekondus were the homes of the poorest migrants who found work in the industrial parts of Istanbul.

The make-shift neighborhoods were accepted as a solution to urbanization through 1980s, but are now being razed in an attempt modernize the city. Forced evictions have occurred, putting already poor families into the streets of sometimes violent, dangerous parts of Istanbul. Early last year, a group of 30 Roma families, previously evicted from their homes, was in danger of being forcibly evicted again, this time from their makeshift shack camp. The group included children and elderly persons. Amnesty International reported that the group was “living in conditions of extreme poverty since their forced eviction” and was “without access to…electricity, clean water and basic sanitation.”

Overall poverty in Turkey is a diminishing problem. Over the last ten years, the number of people living on less than $4.30 per day decreased from 20 million to 1.7 million. In Istanbul, the percent of people living in poverty has decreased 2.2 percent over the last eight years. The government claims that this reduction is due to government support programs to poorer citizens.

There is some contest as the whether the government’s attitude towards poverty and the poor can really lead to effective policy. Dr. Ebru Soytemel, of the Oxford Program for the Future of Cities, says that the “current government regards poverty as a temporary, individual problem that can be fixed, not a structural problem.They say that your religion or your family should provide you with help.”

Distribution of poverty is a problem for Turkey. While overall inequality has diminished, the distribution of poverty is a stark reminder of the discrepancies among living standards within the country. When looking at a map of regional poverty rates in Turkey, eastern regions, where most of Turkey’s ethnic minority groups live, are severely disadvantaged. Istanbul, which is the most western region of Turkey, is the most well off. Istanbul is a microcosm of this map: minority neighborhoods are generally far worse off than primarily Turkish neighborhoods.

– Caitlin Huber

Sources: Oxford, Today’s Zaman, Daily Sabah, Hurriyet Daily News Non-Descrimination Time Pulitzer Center LSE Cities
Photo: Telegraph U.K.

State of the Union Addresses Economic Inequality

State_of_the_Union
Social mobility in the U.S. played an extremely crucial role in President Barack Obama’s most recent State of the Union Address. He took the opportunity to comment on the furthering economic divide occuring between the lower middle and upper middle and upper classes in America.

“Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well,” the president asked, appealing to lower class Americans.

One of the stories he told pertained to a young couple who was negatively affected by the economic crisis of 2008. The story represents that of resilience and the couple was able to rebuild their lives.

In addition, Mr. Obama is sending a bill to Congress that would lower the cost of a community college education to zero. President Obama said that the measure will provide students without the means to go to college, an opportunity to attend without taking on large amounts of debt.

“Forty percent of our college students choose community college. Some are young and starting out. Some are older and looking for a better job. Some are veterans and single parents trying to transition back into the job market. Whoever you are, this plan is your chance to graduate ready for the new economy, without a load of debt,” Mr. Obama said.

College tuition is on the rise and inhibiting many from receiving graduate degrees that would allow them to get higher paying jobs. In addition he requested that companies start providing more benefits for their employees including higher wages even without a bachelors or masters degree. In general, Obama solicited companies to provide more benefits because currently 43 million workers in the U.S. do not get paid sick leave.

Smoothing over the vast inequality that is present in America is pertinent to developing a better life for many citizens. Another subject he focused on was that congress needs to impose higher taxes on wealthy Americans who can afford to take higher cuts. This is likely to fail especially in a full GOP congress.

Some have called President Obama’s economic approach “populist” as he is appealing to ordinary Americans, many of whom are still suffering from the 2008 economic crisis.

Bipartisanship in congress was another focal point of the address. He focused on issues that in the past had garnered bipartisan support such as creating jobs. Although job growth in the private sector has been relatively successful, there are other parts of the economy where job growth has been limited.

Although President Obama is faced with a GOP congress he seemed to try to appeal to Republicans on a number of issues. With a majority Republican congress, Obama has no other option if he wants to make headway on a number of issues in his agenda.

– Maxine Gordon

Sources: Bloomberg, NPR, The Washington Post
Photo: TIME

Development Gateway

development gateway
Development Gateway is an organization committed to international development. This nonprofit advises and provides consulting services for non governmental organizations and organizations operating oversees.

They apply effective methods of collaboration and cooperation in order to find solutions for how to utilize scarce resources or distribute aid workers to regions in humanitarian crisis. The Development Gateway is there as a tool for organizations and professionals involved in international development.

Development Gateway has offices in the United States, Europe and two locations in Africa. However, they work in 20 countries on five continents. The main tool they use to help professionals and organizations is called Results Management. Results management uses data analyses to track results in order to employ policies that reflect the findings of the data. The Development Gateway team uses custom data management applications and information management consulting to solve problems.

To show results of the data they gather and analyze, Development Gateway uses graphics, databases, dashboards and maps as ways to show the material and advise their partners and employers.

Many of Development Gateway’s projects are done in cooperation with other partners including public, private and non-governmental agencies and organizations. They work in tandem with other organizations in order to provide solutions that are well-rounded and dynamic. Gateway Development works with the United Nations, Virtual Statistical Systems and the Kellogg Foundation among many others to provide the most recent and up-to-date information.

The organization employs highly skilled and experienced Technical Project Specialists, Regional Managers, Business Analysts, Aid Coordinator Specialists, Policy Advisors and Financial Analysts among other roles. These highly skilled professionals contribute to solving the vast number of problems that arise in international development. Together, they work toward solving issues and forming solutions to better the world.

– Maxine Gordon

Sources: Development Gateway, Glassdoor
Photo: Development Gateway