Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Top Five Projects for GlobalGiving

GlobalGiving is a charity fundraising website that has helped nonprofits and social entrepreneurs organize donors and raise money to improve their communities.

Since 2002, GlobalGiving has raised over $164 million to support around 11,000 projects, fulfilling their mission to catalyze a global market for ideas, information and money that democratizes aid and philanthropy.

GlobalGiving allows people to choose where they want their money to go, enabling funds to support any creative idea that might never have been funded through traditional approaches.

Here are the most popular projects:

1. “Send 8 Children to High School – Kibera, Kenya”

This project will provide one year of scholarship support for eight children (three girls, five boys) from Kibera to attend secondary school. Scholarships will cover school fees and supplies. In a country where only half of school-age children are enrolled in secondary school – and rates are even lower in Kibera where the population lives on less than $2 per day and few secondary schools exist in the community – support will give children an opportunity to achieve a unique goal.

2. “Help Baltimore Youth Achieve Their Business Dreams”

Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s students come alive when they have the chance to develop the mindset of an entrepreneur. NFTE Baltimore will use these funds to launch its program in a new classroom next year, bringing entrepreneurship education to 30 additional local youth in underserved communities.

3. “Christmas Gift – Donate For An Animal”

Even though the holidays are over, you can still make a donation to an orphaned wild animal on behalf of a loved one. With DAKTARI, you can choose the animal you want to spoil. This cherished animal will send you a personalized thank you photo, a certificate, and for more than $500 donated, a video.

4. “Provide New Clothes For Unfortunate Children”

This micro-project provides new dresses to underprivileged children. 40 abandoned orphan children between 5 to 15 years old can benefit from just two pairs of new dresses donated to them, helping them feel confident and more independent.

5. “Fund Vania’s Journey From A Shelter To Success”

Vania is extremely vulnerable to the pressures of trying to help raise her little sister who lives with her in a shelter. Vania also feels the pressures of knowing that her mother and brothers are living in Santa Cruz under difficult circumstances. There is no room or money to be part of her mother’s home. Next year, Vania will be homeless when she turns 18 because the shelter cannot house adults. Vania has a dream to live a better life for her and her family, but needs your help. This micro-project will help supply her living expenses.

In addition, each project states the issue at hand and how the project will help solve that issue with a potential long-term impact. Funding information is also included.

– Chelsee Yee

Sources: Global Giving, Fundraising UK
Photo: 3BL Media

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Seven Helpful Sites for Policy Jobs

So, you’ve got your education, you finally finished that internship during your undergrad, you have participated in a thousand mock interviews, and your resume has been polished at least 100 times. Now you just have to find that job you’ve been working toward your entire career. Here are seven websites to help you find policy jobs:

1. USAJOBS

USAJobs.gov is a helpful resource when it comes to finding a policy or federal job. According to USAJOBS, “The Pathways Programs offer clear paths to Federal internships for students from high school through post-graduate school and to careers for recent graduates, and provide meaningful training and career development opportunities for individuals who are at the beginning of their Federal service.” Programs include the Pathways Internship Program, Recent Graduates Program and the Presidential Management Fellows Program.

The site also has additional helpful resources that allow users to search federal occupations by college major, look through a comprehensive A-Z list of federal agencies, find an internship, or recent graduate job by a keyword, salary, pay grade, category, location, department or agency.

2. Going Global

Going Global is committed to providing “grassroots intelligence” through their team of in country researchers. They monitor and update the career information and resources that are delivered to users. GoinGlobal.com allows the user to easily find international jobs and policy jobs. Their website provides country specific career and employment information for 30 countries and its database search allows users to search by country, profession or topic.

3. International Organization Careers

According to International Organization Careers, “International Organization Careers is brought to you by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs (IO). IO is the U.S. government’s primary interlocutor with the United Nations and a host of other international agencies and organizations.”

IO Careers allows users to register for job alerts online, search international organization jobs database and filter the search by organizations, grades, professional fields, and locations, subscribe to jobs, assists students and young professionals, lists federal agencies, provides other employment possibilities.

4. Partnership for Public Service

According to their website, “The Partnership is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that believes good government starts with good people. By strengthening the civil service, and the systems that are supposed to support them, we help government serve the needs of all Americans.”

The Partnership goes above and beyond by actually getting involved and challenging policymakers and our government to have quality employees. Their website provides users with ample amounts of resources for programs and services for Federal Management, Federal HR, Political Appointees, Higher Education, Private Sector and Congress.

5. House of Representatives

The U.S. House of Representatives can be a great resource for those seeking policy jobs online. This website allows users to see how to apply for various positions within the House as well as employment positions with members and committees and positions with other House organizations. The site also provides information for new employees and information for former employees.

6. United States Senate

Like the House, the U.S. Senate holds various resources and information about employment and policy positions. According to senate.org, “The Placement Office assists Senators and Senate Committees with filling entry-level through professional staff vacancies by providing resumes of qualified candidates. The Office is nonpartisan and administered by the United States Senate Office of the Sergeant at Arms. Read the Placement Brochure and complete the required Applicant Referral Form to begin registration in the Resume Bank.”

The Senate Employment Bulletin is published as a service to Senate offices that choose to advertise staff vacancies. The listing is posted online and revised throughout the week.

7. State and Local Government on the Net

State employment websites include agencies that conduct studies, publish labor market statistics, and often enforce occupational safety regulations. These agencies process unemployment claims, administer workmen’s compensation programs, handle workplace discrimination complaints, and sometimes sponsor job fairs.

This site states that it is “The Official State, County, & City Government Website Locator.” All 50 states are listed on this page with various websites of departments, divisions, industries and employment opportunities, allowing users to skim through a variety of helpful links that correspond with the state of their choice.

– Eastin Shipman

Sources: USAJOBS, Going Global, International Organization Careers 1, International Organization Careers 2, Partnership for Public Service 1, Partnership for Public Service 2, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate 1, U.S. Senate 2, State and Local Government
Photo: Business Marketing Blog

How Falling Oil Prices Affect the Poor

oil prices
Decreasing oil prices directly correlates with the price of food. Fuel transports food and with lowered oil prices, the cost of food is dropping. The price of fuel is important to the global market, because it dictates how imports and exports are priced.

The cost of petroleum determines the cost of agricultural products, like corn and wheat. The price of these crops includes the cost of transportation, chemicals and pesticides – all of which are made from petroleum.

Impoverished citizens will often spend over 50 percent of their budget on food. For instance, in Vietnam, parents will spend 65 percent of their budget on food for themselves and their families. With decreased prices in food, families living in developing countries will be able to purchase larger quantities.

While many living in developing countries are benefiting from the fall in oil prices, there is a population who is not benefiting from lowered oil prices. The fall in oil prices negatively affects independent farmers and crop growers.

These farmers do not use large amounts of pesticides or fuel to transport their goods. Therefore, the decreasing price in oil does not affect their cost in production and distribution. These farmers transport their food only a short distance. Disconnected from the global market, these small-holder farmers are at a disadvantage.

Overall, developing countries are benefiting from the decrease in oil prices, with the exception of small-holder farmers.

Lower oil prices can potentially benefit developing countries in another way, through investment. With lower oil prices, investment is possible because high oil importing countries have the opportunity to invest increased amounts into improving rural infrastructure and social services.

– Maxine Gordon

Sources: Yahoo, New York Times, Reuters
Photo: Inquisiter

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The Future of Food Security

food security
According to the World Bank, the world’s population is set to reach over 9 billion by 2050. With food security already a challenge, how will agriculture meet the food security needs of a much larger population?

According to Chris Brett, global head of sustainability at Olam International, food security success will depend on what he calls the ‘four A’s’—availability, accessibility, affordability and adequacy.

Availability, says Brett, will depend on smallholders’ access to land rights and financial support. Brett believes that policy-makers should look at ways to encourage lending, and increase the extent to which farmers legally own the lands that they cultivate.

As over 2 billion people depend on smallholder farms for their livelihoods, augmenting the smallholders’ ability to prosper could potentially go a long way to reduce poverty.

Banks, however, are unlikely to lend to farmers in disaster-prone areas. Farmers in such areas face the difficult choice between investing in safe but unprofitable crops, or riskier though potentially more lucrative alternatives.

According to a recent article by Gaby Ramm and Roland Steinmann, agriculture insurance presents a potential solution to the conundrum faced by farmers in risk-prone regions. Pilot study results suggest that insurance can indeed play a role in encouraging farmers to engage in more lucrative practices. In India, farmers with rainfall insurance displayed a tendency to gravitate toward cash crops, which—though vulnerable to rainfall deficits—produce much greater returns.

Furthermore, insurance can also indirectly allow farmers access to more credit, by encouraging lenders to lend with more frequency and confidence. This, in turn, leads to further capital investments.

Smallholders can also benefit from cooperation with large-scale agriculture. According to Brett, cooperation between large-scale and small-scale agriculture can be mutually beneficial, and can increase yields through pre-financing and training in skills such as inter-cropping.

Brett also notes that, while Africa’s agricultural potential is enormous, investments in infrastructure will be necessary for that potential to be fully realized. It is estimated that Africa needs $55 million in agricultural investment to guarantee self-sufficiency.

– Parker Carroll

Sources: Poverty Action, The Guardian 1, The Guardian 2
Photo: WSJ

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Poverty in Singapore

Singapore has a population of almost 6 million people with a $297.9 billion GDP which is growing at the average rate of 3.9 percent every year. Singapore is one of the richest Asian countries per capita. In 2012, Singapore city was ranked as the sixth most expensive city to live in the world—after cities including Tokyo, Sydney and Oslo. Despite these statistics, one-tenth of Singapore’s population is currently living in poverty.

Today, the income inequalities have become more noticeable than ever. Unlike large countries such as China or India where there is a distinct difference between urban towns and rural villages, Singapore is a small island where both the wealthy and poor live in proximity to each other.

Out of 136 countries considered, Singapore currently ranks the 26th most income disparate. This makes them the second most income unequal country in Asia. According to the Singapore government, over 105,000 families live in poverty. This translates to about one in 10 family homes, or 378,000 people.

While Singapore has the highest concentration of millionaires in the world and has an average per capita income of over $52,000, there are 105,000 families left with $5 to spend per day and 114,000 individual residents making less than $805 per month.

Furthermore, the purchasing power of the poor has significantly dropped. It has been determined that the top 10 percent wager-earning households earn as much as 25 times more than the bottom 10 percent. While the top earners saw their real wages increase, those on the bottom saw their real wages decrease. It is further distressing to realize that the price of goods and services rose by 13.1 percent since 2012.

Poverty in Singapore Today

Singapore had never had an official poverty line to measure the rates of poverty in their country. However, the Singaporean Parliament chose to establish a rough definition after neighboring Hong Kong created guidelines to better identify and take strides towards relieving the financial stress those particular citizens.

Currently, while Singapore has no acceptable measure of poverty, they consider any four person household that makes less than $1,250 per month as somewhat struggling. The $1,250 figure is considered the average a four person household would typically spend on food, clothing and shelter per month.

Much of the country’s poverty is created by the influx of foreign workers taking blue collar jobs that were once held by native Singaporeans. Foreign workers unfortunately mean cheaper labor. There is always a cost to globalization, and this time it has affected Singaporeans in their own home.

Despite the large, wealthy buildings in Singapore, many are often struggling to find affordable housing. Those that cannot make it live in tiny government-owned apartments that are barely bigger than 13 square feet. In those cases, rent is paid to the government according to how much they can afford to pay, children from impoverished backgrounds attend school on fees subsidized by the government and food is provided not by the wages earned but by charitable donations.

While Singapore does not have abject poverty like one would find in various parts of Africa, being unable to afford living in your country is an issue that any government should address and find solutions.

– Christina Cho

Sources: BBC, Singaporeans Against Poverty, Al Jazeera, World Bank
Photo: SMU

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What Causes Hunger in Africa

What causes hunger in Africa? To be certain, Africa is by no means a single entity. The second largest continent on Earth, Africa is an enormous landmass that is home to a wide variety of landscapes, cultures and people.

That said, the continent is also home to much of the world’s hunger, spread across several of the world’s poorest countries. Approximately 30 million people in Africa face the effects of severe food insecurity, including malnutrition, starvation and poverty.

Ending hunger not just in Africa but wherever it occurs is crucial to solving impoverishment and, accordingly, is a leading priority for many humanitarian organizations.

 

Causes of Hunger in Africa

 

1. Lack of Infrastructure

Many of the African countries in which there is widespread hunger are countries in which there is also plenty of food. Agriculture is the leading economic industry in several of the hungriest African nations including Niger, Ethiopia and Somalia.

The issue is not that there is a lack of food, the issue is that there are are often no reliable pathways for getting that food from the fields into that hands of the people who need it the most. Many hungry countries lack accessible rural roads on which food could be transported into the countryside.

Where it does not already exist, building the infrastructure necessary for distributing food is essential to ending hunger in Africa.

2. Poverty

Poverty is a cause of hunger in Africa as well as an effect. Nearly a third of individuals living in sub-Saharan Africa are “undernourished,” and 41 percent of people in that same area live on less than U.S. $1 daily. That’s no coincidence; high rates of poverty are correlated with high rates of hunger because acquiring adequate food provisions requires ample resources, not only financial but social as practical as well.

3. Gender Inequality

According to one of the most successful hunger-focused humanitarian organizations, The Hunger Project, gender inequality is a major driving force behind hunger because food tends to go further in the hands of women. When women have adequate food supplies, they as well as their families experience better health and social outcomes than when men have sole control of food rations.

However, in many African nations experiencing hunger crises, though women do the majority of agricultural work, they do not control their own access to food. Addressing gender inequality where it occurs in Africa will be central to eradicating hunger.

4. AIDS

AIDS is especially prevalent in southern Africa (Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe), where approximately six million people are estimated to live with the condition. Not only does AIDS render these individuals too sick to do any sort of agricultural work (which, if farming is their livelihood, can throw them into poverty), it can also render them to sick to leave their homes to acquire food for themselves and their families.

– Elise L. Riley

Sources: Save the Children, The Hunger Project, World Food Programme
Photo: Ceasefire Magazine

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Millennium Challenge Corps Helps Philippines

child poverty
The Millennium Challenge Corps, or MCC, recently announced that the Philippines is eligible to receive another five-year extension on funding. The MCC is funded by the U.S. Congress and is meant to be an incentive for countries who actively reform policies to improve government functions.

This new five-year plan is intended to continue funding poverty alleviation projects within the Philippines. Washington recently announced the Philippines’ eligibility to continue the program.

“The selection of the Philippines for a second compact is a recognition of President Aquino’s commitment to good governance. I believe a smooth transition to a second compact will help the Philippines in further institutionalizing good governance policies and reforms,” said Ambassador Jose Cuisia, Jr.

The compact will aid the country in further deterrence of corruption. The Philippines’ government has operated under these regulations and is looking forward to reaping the benefits of continued funding.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation was founded in January 2004 by U.S. Congress. The MCC is an independent agency is committed to intelligently funding U.S. aid to countries in need of support. A part of its mission focuses on country-lead solutions that enable the countries to prioritize the areas of concern they find to be the most pertinent.

In addition, the chosen countries set up local MCC headquarters in order to monitor progress and work closely with the people and programs they are implementing. The MCC works in the world’s most severely impoverished countries in order to strengthen infrastructure to help lift people out of poverty.

The MCC operates on three main principles that are prerequisites for countries to be considered as eligible to receive funds: good governance, economic freedom and investments in their citizens. Although these requirements are loosely worded and give room to numerous interpretations, the MCC goes through a strict identification process to identify candidates for the long-term funds.

This will be the Philippines second compact. The first compact, awarded in 2010, comprised of $214.4 million to repair infrastructure and roads and another $120 million for poverty alleviation projects and community affairs.

In addition to the Philippines, Nepal and Mongolia were also selected by the Board of Directors to be eligible for funding and investment.

For the MCC to continue funding a country the country must show gradual improvement. One of methods of measurement the board uses to evaluate is per capita income level. The countries who receive compacts from the MCC have to show an increase from a Low Income Category to Low Middle Income Category.

Overall, the MCC was founded on principles that support international development through direct funding to areas the countries they decide to be the most pertinent to overcoming poverty. The MCC allows the countries to choose how they believe their country should best spend the money it has been given.

– Maxine Gordon

Sources: Yahoo News, MCC
Photo: Wall Street Journal

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Paying Out-of-pocket for Healthcare Contributes to Poverty

The UN recently announced that paying out-of-pocket for healthcare leads to “deep impoverishment” in many nations. It is estimated that 80 percent of people throughout 44 countries do not have healthcare due to the high cost.

“It is the poorest with the highest needs who suffer the most from having to pay out-of-pocket healthcare expenses,” says ILO Health Policy Coordinator, Xenia Scheil-Adlung.

According to the World Health Organization, over 100 million people fall into poverty every year due to medical expenses. An additional 150 million are required to contribute almost half of their incomes on medical bills. The majority of these countries lack social healthcare programs, affordable insurance options or government-funded healthcare.

Remarkably, a great deal of those living in impoverished areas devote relatively more money to health services than people living in wealthy, developed countries. For instance, in Germany where almost every citizen has social healthcare, residents pay only 10 percent of national medical expenses.

On the other hand, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo very few residents have access to healthcare and they pay approximately 70 percent of national medical care costs. Similarly, in Seirra Leone, citizens pay over 75 percent of total healthcare expenses out-of-pocket. This has resulted in deep impoverishment in Seirra Leone and other similar nations.

“At least 1.3 billion people worldwide lack access to the most basic healthcare,” said Dr. Rüdiger Krech, Head of Social Protection in the Division Health, Education and Social Protection at GTZ. “Often it is because they cannot afford it. As a result, millions become very sick or die every year from preventable or curable medical conditions. For example, the toll from treatable infections and preventable complications of pregnancy and delivery is more than 10 million deaths each year,” Krech added.

Since 2010, national economic consolidation policies have delayed and adversely affected efforts toward universal healthcare. Recent policies have cut back health services and reduced wages for healthcare workers, augmenting the financial hardship on private households.

Officials state that universal healthcare access is a key element in the global initiative to end poverty. Director-General of the International Labor Organization, Guy Ryder, emphasizes that universal healthcare diminishes inequality and promotes economic growth.

“Social health protection is not only a key tool to make health care accessible to all and to free millions of people from poverty. It is also an investment in health, productivity and development—an investment that is a prerequisite for international competitiveness,” said Assane Diop, Executive Director of the ILO.

Experts agree that investments in healthcare systems create economic growth for all parties involved as well as raises in productivity and wellbeing for residents. Many urge that in order to overcome the global health crisis, policies for universal healthcare must be initiated.

– Meagan Douches

Sources: United Natons, World Bank, World Health Organization
Photo: Empower Magazine

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Child Poverty Rate Increases in the US

Increasing economic inequality between middle and upper economic classes has grown since the ’90s. Children living in urban centers remain the most affected by poverty and low income.

Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health released a statement based on a study showing that poverty increased dramatically after the recession in 2007. The report states, “Years after the end of the Great Recession, child poverty remains widespread in America’s largest cities. Nearly three children in five living in Detroit are poor, according to the most recent Census figures, a rate that has grown by 10 percentage points since the onset of the Great Recession in 2007. Most children in Cleveland and Buffalo also live in poverty, as do nearly half the children in Fresno, Cincinnati and Memphis.”

The way the U.S. defines poverty is different from the way many other countries define the issue. Most other countries measure poverty after a person has received the social service benefits. However, the U.S. Census measures a person who is below the poverty line before they receive government funded social services that could technically keep them out of poverty.

Children in poverty then, are measured without the benefits that have otherwise kept them out of poverty. Contributing writer, Tim Worstall, of Forbes Magazine writes, “It’s the number of children who would be in poverty if there wasn’t this system of government alleviation of poverty. When we do actually take into account what is done to alleviate child poverty we find that it’s really some two to three percent of U.S. children who live in poverty. Yes, that low: the U.S. welfare state is very much child orientated.”

The Center for American Progress Fund reported that over 45 million Americans are living in poverty. For a family of four this would mean making a combined income of $23,834 or less in a year. Poverty is concentrated disproportionally in the South. Mississippi, for example, is currently at the top of the list with an overwhelming 24.1 percent of the population living below the poverty line.

Some aspects that affect the structural reasons for poverty consist of low economic mobility, federal minimum wage and little to no healthcare coverage. Because children born into poverty start out with a smaller pool of resources to draw from, the cyclic nature of poverty continues generation after generation. Minimum wage is another factor in the conversation as states such as Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina adhere to federal minimum wage of $7.25.

Healthcare is nearly impossible for families living below the poverty line to afford especially if they have jobs that do not provide benefits.

The concentrated collective poverty of certain demographics is reinforced by state and local governments. Concentrated collective poverty refers to a relatively affluent country that has destitute segments of the population living in long-term poverty. Although the rate of child poverty in the U.S. is skewed, there are still large demographics underserved with a lack of resources.

– Maxine Gordon

Sources: Forbes, Salon, Britannica
Photo: Century Times