Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

Croatia’s Debt Relief Offers Fresh Start

fresh start
For the past six years Croatia has been struggling to pull itself out of a severe economic downturn, one of the worst in the EU. The country’s unemployment rate stands at close to 20 percent, the average salary is just $852 a month and the country’s credit rating is below investment grade. Economic growth for 2015 is expected to be less than one percent.

In an effort to combat the crisis, the government has instituted a new program, known as “Fresh Start,” cancelling the debts of the country’s poor. The program is available to all Croatians who live below the poverty line of $138 a month and do not owe more than $5,100 in debt. In total it is estimated that 60,000 Croats can expect debt relief, and 20,000 have already applied.

The government hopes and argues that by cancelling the debt of its poorest citizens it will alleviate poverty and boost the country’s economy. Without the burden of debt repayments draining peoples’ finances, supporters of the program argue that it will enable the poor to spend more on basic necessities and that this increase in spending will help to pull the country out of the recession.

But the program is not without critics. Some argue that it will make little difference in the long run and that beneficiaries will simply end up back in debt with very high premiums, assuming they can secure new loans at all. Other critics argue that the program is a short term solution that fails to tackle long term problems contributing to the recession and fails to create jobs or provide other means to lift people out of poverty.

Then there are other critics who argue that the program does not go far enough as it fails to help those who owe more than $5,100 or earn more than $138 a month. Many applicants have been turned away for owing too much money. Many others who earn too much to qualify still live in poverty and struggle with financial hardships caused by the burden of repaying debt to creditors.

Many critics also see this as an effort by the government to win votes in the upcoming elections set for later this year. But whatever the motivations behind Fresh Start, the real question is whether it will work. The government was successful at convincing the country’s top private and public sector creditors to agree to the program, which is expected to wipe out one to seven percent of Croatians’ debts. This in turn is expected to free close to 20 percent of Croatian debtors.

There is an ongoing debate about both the effectiveness and morality of debt relief. There are numerous organizations lobbying for debt relief to the poor both at home and abroad and numerous other groups opposed to it. But in Croatia, the idea is now being put to the test.

– Matt Lesso

Sources: Mic Network, The Financial Times, Washington Post, New York Times, RTE Dublin
Photo: Panteres

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Poverty in Afghanistan: 5 Facts You Might Not Know

Poverty in Afghanistan
When we talk about Afghanistan or hear about it in the news, it can be very easy to forget that the insurgents are people and that a huge portion of them are suffering through extreme poverty. For the average Afghan, life can be very difficult and stricken with economic struggle, food insecurity, and a lack of resources to improve their lives. Discussed below are facts that may come as a surprise about those living in poverty in Afghanistan.

 

Top 5 Facts about Poverty in Afghanistan

 

  1. Only 28.1% of the entire population over the age of 15 is literate, meaning that 71.9% of adults are incapable of even basic reading and writing skills. On average, those who are capable of going to school only complete about 8 years, with females generally completing 4 years less than their male counterparts.
  2. A 2008 estimate of the percentage of children aged 5-14 suggests that at least 25% were involved in child labor. UNICEF made an estimate in 2011 that the number had risen to at least 30%. In either case, around ¼ or more of all young kids in the country were being forced to work, therefore missing out on childhood and, most importantly, a proper education.
  3.  36% of the population, or about 9 million people, lives in absolute, extreme poverty and another 37% lives just above the determined poverty line even though around $35 billion was put into the country from 2002-2009. In fact, the number one killer in Afghanistan is not armed conflict, it is poverty.
  4. Half of the population still lives without access to improved water sources, this accounts for both men and women living in rural and urban areas.
  5. For every 100,000 births, 460 mothers die and for every 1,000 births, 119 infants die. This leaves Afghanistan with the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world and the third highest infant mortality rate. Many of these deaths would be preventable with trained doctors and expedient, affordable care. But, with less than 1 doctor per every 1000 people, 0.21 of a doctor to be precise, proper care is difficult to come by.

Aid programs are doing what they can to help to citizens of Afghanistan rise about the poverty line, but the country has been torn apart by decades of fighting and inequality. The process will be a long and arduous one, but every person should be able to take care of themselves and provide even just the basic tools for survival for their families.

– Chelsea Evans

Sources: CIA World Factbook, Center for Strategic and International Studies

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The Cost to End World Hunger

World hunger and its devastating effects can be eradicated with a fraction of the United States Federal Budget. Discussed below is a breakdown of leading facts and figures about the current state of world hunger, including the cost to end world hunger.

Cost to End World Hunger

The cost to end world hunger…

— $30 billion per year is needed to end world hunger
— $737 billion per year is the amount Congress spends on Defense

cost to end world hunger

How much does it cost to end world hunger?

– Leen Abdallah

World hunger can be eradicated.

A price has been set and estimated by the United Nations to solve this crisis – $30 billion a year. It may seem like a large sum of money, but when compared to the U.S. defense budget – $737 billion in 2012 – $30 billion seems more attainable. The $30 billion expense is manageable, especially when the U.S. would be joined by other investors in global poverty, but the U.S. has the capacity to be the leader on this issue.

An article published in the Los Angeles Times in 2008 states that providing a substantial amount of money directed specifically towards agricultural development could result in high-yields and trigger a second Green Revolution.

Helping the world’s poor is not merely the right and moral thing to do; it also benefits the private sector. Businesses have already thought of a solution: public-private partnerships. The business community works with the U.S. government to sustain agricultural development in poor countries so as to better tackle the problems that businesses face abroad in these underdeveloped and developing nations. These provided funds would not only increase food production but they would ensure that food prices are much more affordable.

Aside from benefits to the private sector and the economy, tackling the global hunger crises presents a better image for the U.S. as a “humanitarian superpower.” Furthermore, the U.S.’ involvement in humanitarian projects would present more American corporations as “respectful partners” within the global community.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has allied with corporate sponsors to support global development. For example, USAID works “with the Schaffer Global Group on a factory in Mali, with Heinz to help Egyptian tomato farmers and with Coca-Cola on clean water projects in a dozen countries.”

Much has been and continues to be done; yet, the U.S. possesses the capacity to do more. There are 870 million people who are under-nourished and the U.S. has the potential to end their hunger.

Source: LA Times, Know Your World:Hunger Facts, USGovSpending

 

Poverty in Russia a Growing Concern

poverty in russia
In 2008, there were approximately 18.5 million people in Russia living below the poverty line.

Moreover, since the economic crisis poverty rose by 1.1 percent leaving about 13 percent of the population living below the poverty line. The income inequality gap is currently the most pervasive issue with economic growth not lifting all socioeconomic classes.

President Vladimir Putin has realized that the Russian government is not doing enough to support the impoverished people living in his country. One problem is that social services are not strong enough to support the growing amount of people living in poverty in Russia.

Concurrently, more billionaires live in Moscow than in either New York City or London. The global crisis in 2008 crippled the Russian economy and shrunk it by 9.5 percent.

“The official poverty rate has gone up by precisely six million people. All of the gains in fighting poverty during the period 2000-2008 have been utterly wiped out,” writer Dmitri Butrin said.

There are immense disparities between the rural poor and the urban elites living in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Yet the Kremlin remains politically unaffected by the increase in economic instability due to the tightly controlled Russian media. The problem is mainly in the integrated global economy.

Rising oil prices in 2010 brought reprieved the Russian economy and boosted economic fortitude. However, oil prices fell steadily for several months which is causing the ruble to collapse; the Russian poor are in a much worse position than before.

Russia also has serious budget problems contributing to the economic slump. One-third of the budget is committed to defense and the military industrial complex. Mr. Putin’s commitment to putting up a strong front to the West over the Ukraine is taking priority to the current economic problems facing the poor.

“For Putin the priority is the army, the secret service and the bureaucracy. And also financing pensioners, the main supporters of the regime,” Boris Nemtsov, an opposition leader and former deputy prime minister.

Mr. Putin is not swaying from his plan of investing 20 trillion rubles into rearmament. Former economic advisor, Alexei Kudrin stated “I have the impression that at all levels of power, including the first person (Putin), there isn’t an objective assessment of the challenges before Russia.”

Vladimir Putin is not assessing his priorities with the poor populations of Russia in mind. In this case, geopolitical concerns are taking precidance and this is hurting the people in the lower socioeconomic classes.

– Maxine Gordon

Sources: The Guardian, Yahoo News
Photo: Motor City Times

Growing Poverty in Hong Kong

poverty in hong kong
According to a study conducted by Professor Maggie Lau of the City University of Hong Kong in the Department of Public Policy research shows that poverty in Hong Kong is vast.

Dr. Lau’s study aims to focus on various socio-economic groups in order to understand how poverty affects these different groups. The groups include lone parents, couples with children, those without children, single adults and the elderly. The research conducted on these different demographics serves to specify which groups in particular are facing the highest levels of poverty.

Recently, Hong Kong fell in the rankings for being a “livable city” due to the high cost of living and large population. With a widening inequality gap, the wealthier are accruing more while the poor are falling more deeply into poverty. Aid in the form of government services is relatively nonexistent.

“Some of the poor are moving from temporary poverty to chronic poverty and intergenerational poverty,” according to Liu Yuanchun, director of the National Academy of Development and Strategy at Renmin University of China.

Chronic poverty is linked to structural poverty meaning that they do not benefit from economic growth. This type of poverty is described as “chronic” because the affected populations are entrenched in poverty for the majority of their lives.

“This means that understanding the manifestations, attributes and social dynamics of chronic poverty to develop additional national and international interventions is crucial.” The underlying cultural and social context of poverty in Hong Kong must be understood in order to develop policies that are effective.

Poverty is becoming institutionalized in the city center where social services and government intervention is lacking. About one out of seven million of the inhabitants of Hong Kong are living in poverty.

The dynamic and rich culture that Hong Kong attracts money and professionals from all over the world. However, it’s falling in terms of its livability standards— there are other city centers that offer many of the same features flike Singapore and Tokyo.

The prices of property were raised to astronomical levels in 2003 when the price of housing went up over 300 percent. Although small government in business is a popular staple of life in Hong Kong, government intervention needs to be more urgent or people will begin moving to other places to do business.

– Maxine Gordon

Sources: Poverty and Social Exclusion in Hong Kong, China Daily 1, China Daily 2, Market Watch, Chronic Poverty Research Center
Photo: Daily Mail UK

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