Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Climate Change and Pathogen Ranges

The effects of climate change are numerous: ocean levels are rising, meteorological events are becoming stronger and increasingly unpredictable and the incidence of heat-related illness is increasing across the world. Yet experts are just beginning to understand one effect of a changing climate: the capacity for pathogens to migrate around the globe and infect populations that have previously never been in contact with these microorganisms.

Combined, these effects have the potential to cause extreme poverty. Loss of property and life resulting from rising sea levels and strong storms deprive people of both wealth and other resources.

However, the global health conundrum that is changing pathogen ranges is also a poverty issue in its own right. Poor human health places burdens on individuals and their family members that may cause them to lose employment opportunities and large sums of money. Being ill is no easy fortune, but the impoverishment that often accompanies illness can be worse yet.

As warming weather drives animals toward more hospitable environments, pathogens too are expanding their ranges and at the same time, are finding hosts they’ve never met. While it’s working out well for these pathogens, humans, other animals and plants aren’t faring too well.

A species of sea otters in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Alaska has become ill from a virus that originated in the northern Atlantic Ocean; science writer Chris Solomon suggests that due to declining sea ice levels, “disease is finding new lanes of travel.”

It makes sense – pathogens are highly dependent on temperature for survival, and many bacteria and viruses thrive in the type of warm, wet environments that are becoming more and more prevalent as the climate changes. Not only do rising sea levels give pathogens access to a wider range of space (and accordingly, hosts) but also as animals move around seeking cooler climates, they take pathogens and parasites along with them, allowing them to infect entirely new populations.

What does this mean for humans? Well, the effects of expanding pathogen ranges are manifold. First, like Alaska’s sea otters, humans may soon fall prey to microorganisms not previously seen in their parts of the world. Prevention and treatment of illnesses caused by unfamiliar pathogens will be difficult and costly.

Inevitably, some humans – though it is impossible now to estimate just how many – will die.

Since human health is directly related to poverty outcomes, the expanding pathogen ranges means expanded poverty “ranges;” if more people fall ill due to pathogens, more people will experience poverty.

Secondly, and this is an effect that agricultural communities are already beginning to observe, new pathogens will infect crops and jeopardize the livelihood of the peoples who depend on the harvest for either food or for employment.

According to a study from the Universities of Exeter and Oxford, crop threats include pests and pathogens spreading toward the poles at a rate of 3.2 kilometers per year. A fungus that infects yeast harvests has already wreaked havoc in Brazil, threatening farmers there with impoverishment.

It’s difficult to fathom that such tiny organisms could have such large effects, but pathogens have the potential to cause a lot of harm, in terms of both illness and poverty. Despite that their migration is one of the least publicized effects of climate change; however,  it is one of which humans should be wary.

– Elise L. Riley

Sources: NPR, NASA
Photo: Phys.org

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10 Facts About Global Development

Here are 10 facts about global development you may not be aware of:

1. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die every day from poverty.

2. Water and sanitation problems affect more than half of the world’s population. In developing countries, 1.2 billion people do not have access to clean water, and 1.4 million children die every year from a lack of access to safe drinking water and appropriate sanitation.

3. Infectious diseases are still a significant killer in poor countries around the world. It is estimated that 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. Every year, around 500 million cases of malaria are reported and 1 million end fatally. Malaria is most prevalent in Africa, where 90 percent of malaria deaths occur and 80 percent of child victims worldwide live.

4. About 28 percent of children living in developing countries are considered underweight or stunted. Due to the current situations, the Millennium Development Goals‘ target of decreasing the number of underweight children by 50 percent will be missed by 30 million children. The main regions that are struggling with malnourishment are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

5. School enrollment rates around the world continue to be low. About 115 million children of primary school age are not enrolled, and more than 226 million children do not attend secondary school.

6. Child marriage is a serious problem around the world; approximately 39,000 girls become child brides every day. Ending child marriage is likely to be a priority in the post-2015 goals.

7. Deaths of children under the age of five have decreased significantly over the past 25 years, but high rates still exist in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. According to data from the U.N., India alone accounts for 22 percent of all under-five aged deaths.
8. Approximately 842 million people around the world suffer from chronic hunger. Hunger kills more people annually than malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS combined.

9. Numbers from 2011 indicate that more than 19 million children around the world have not been vaccinated.

10. New research has shown that at least 20 percent of aid money is never delivered to developing countries. In 2011, $100 billion was pledged as official development aid, but at least $22 billion was never transferred to those countries.

– Hannah Cleveland 

Sources: Global Issues, Impatient Optimists, USAID, DoSomething.org, Global Issues
Photo: FungGLobalInstitute

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10 Facts about Hunger in Asia

Hunger is a serious global issue that affects millions in developing countries, and hunger in Asia is particularly devastating. According to the World Food Programme, there are 842 million people suffering from hunger across the world, and 98 percent of that total amount lives in developing areas within Asia, the Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

As the largest and most populous continent, Asia is home to approximately 4.427 billion people. Unfortunately, a large amount of that population suffers from hunger.

 

Top Facts about Hunger in Asia

 

1.  Asia has the largest number of hungry people, with more than 500 million suffering.

2. About 62.4 percent of global hunger exists in both Asia and the South Pacific.

3. More than 20 percent of Asian children are underweight, meaning they are too thin for their age, and more than 70 percent of malnourished children live in Asia.

4. The lack of essential vitamins and minerals in one’s diet is a leading cause of hunger and malnutrition. Both Asia and Africa are iodine deficient areas. Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) greatly impact the mental and cognitive development of children, and if pregnant women do not receive the proper amount of iodine, there is a greater chance the pregnancy will result in abortion, stillbirth and congenital abnormalities.

5. About 75 percent of all those suffering from hunger live in rural areas, and a large majority of them live in the villages of Asia and Africa.

6. Out of the 553 million malnourished people living in Asia, six out of ten live in South Asia and eight out of ten are malnourished children living in those areas.

7. The poor and hungry in Asia face difficulties as the demand for food increases while water and land resources decrease, causing food prices to rise. If these food prices did not rise during the 2000s, approximately 112 million people in Asia could have escaped poverty.

However, there is some good news and socio-economic progress in Asia:

8. The 2013 Global Hunger Index (GHI) score for South Asia decreased by 34 percent when compared to the 1990 score.

9. Although 553 million people are still hungry in Asia, this represents a 30 percent decrease from the previous 739 million hungry people. Malnourishment has also decreased from 23.7 to 13.9 percent.

10. The U.N. launched the Zero Hunger Challenge on April 29, 2013, which has led governments, scientists, businesses, civil societies, farmers and consumers to work together to end poverty and hunger in Asia and the Pacific. To achieve this goal, the Zero Hunger Challenge outlined five objectives: ensure everyone always has access to nutritious foods, end childhood stunting, develop sustainable food systems, increase the productivity and income of small farmers and prevent the loss and wasting of food.

As these facts reveal, too many people across the world still suffer from hunger. Like in any other country, hunger in Asia affects the development of entire societies and communities.

– Meghan Orner

Sources: World Food Programme, International Food Policy Research Institute, Asian Development Bank 1, Asian Development Bank 2, Hunger Notes, UN News Centre
Photo: WSJ

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Rotating Credit and Savings Associations

Seeing as formal financial institutions are hard to come by for the world’s poor, many come together in order to form Rotating Credit and Savings Associations, or ROSCAs. This is an informal group where members implement a group savings system.

While somewhat informal, ROSCA memberships are very popular throughout the developing world. In 1986, estimates were made that ROSCA participation ranged from 50 to 95 percent of the adult population in rural areas in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Togo and Nigeria. Later studies showed no decrease in ROSCA numbers. High ROSCA membership has also been found in Cameroon, Nigeria, Bolivia, Ghana, Taiwan and Argentina.

Members of ROSCA meet up at given intervals, at which time they all give an agreed upon amount of money, with possibly differing amounts per person depending on the group. These meetings can be daily, weekly, monthly or following any set time period the group decides.

During each meeting, one of the members receives a large sum of money. This can be done on a rotating or lottery-type basis. Once each member has had their turn receiving the large sum of money, the ROSCA can disband or begin a new cycle.

Members hold each other accountable, as each payment is made in the presence of the entire group.

After the whole rotation is complete, usually, no member has gained any more money than given in the first place. Why do people decide to form ROSCAs rather than save the money on their own?

ROSCAs provide a savings system in which an individual can have a large sum of money out of their hands to save for a later date, making it easier to have self discipline and not spend the money during less desperate times. Married women have utilized ROSCAs in order to keep money safe from the rest of the household when others want immediate consumption.

When ROSCA participants were asked about their reasons for joining, many stated, “You can’t save alone” and that the system gave them “the strength to save” or a “forced commitment to saving,” which some participants felt they needed.

ROSCAs have also worked as insurance. If a member of a ROSCA goes through an unexpected expense, they may be able to take out the next large sum with the group’s support, making it possible for them to pull themselves back on their feet.

These ROSCAs have shown the power of community bonding and lending, and how even in remote areas of the world, where educational and financial opportunities are rare, people are able to come together and create a financial lending system to raise everyone up.

– Courtney Prentice

Sources: Investopedia, SSCNet, JSTOR, Systems of Exchange
Photo: Keetria

Somaliland Business Fund Promises Better Future

Somaliland is an autonomous region in the north of Somalia that gained independence in 1991. Since then, it has been struggling with high unemployment rates and poverty.

The Somaliland Business Fund provides grants to private sector individuals or companies that have innovative plans for development in agriculture, livestock, fisheries, manufacturing and green energy. It is part of a bigger development plan for Somaliland called the Somalia Private Sector Development Re-engagement Project. The $29 million project is funded by the World Bank State and Peacebuilding Fund.

Since 2012, the SBF has awarded 10.5 million dollars in grants and $10 million in matching funds. Dr. Isail Ali is one recipient of SBF’s matching fund grant. He left his position as an orthopedic surgeon in Somaliland’s capital and purchased land in the countryside. It had been Dr. Ali’s dream to lead a quiet life in the country as a camel farmer.

He won a matching grant of $49,000 because of his inventive techniques for water conservation and food production. In four short years, his original herd of seven camels had transformed into the Saafi Camel Milk Dairy. Dr. Ali now employs fifteen laborers to help during the busy seasons.

Dr. Ali’s story represents the way the fund is not only encouraging entrepreneurs from the private sector to provide for themselves, but to also provide jobs for others.

Qani Abdi Alin started Dheeman Tailoring and Fashions using money from the SBF. Her business has now become an $180,000 company, exporting designs to countries across Africa and the Middle East. She employs six tailors.

“Hard work and determination are especially important for women wanting to succeed in a man’s world,” Alin says, providing an example for other budding female entrepreneurs.

The homepage of the SBF website features the slogan “Building a Better Future.” Since Somaliland broke away from Somalia, the region has been struggling. Somali military dictator, Siad Barre, did not let the region go easily and tens of thousands of people were killed during the secession process.

Somaliland is not internationally recognized as a state, despite having its own government, police force and currency.

The SBF and its promise of a better future might be what the region needs, but only time will tell.

– Julianne O’Connor

Sources: BBC News, Somaliland Business Fund, The World Bank
Photo: BBC News

Radio Smuggling in North Korea

Media in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is tightly controlled. Television stations broadcast government-endorsed news and statements, documentaries affirming the god-like status of the Kim family and politically fueled dramas. Radio subscribers are treated daily to Kim Jong-Un’s schedule and criticism of policies that do not match the country’s own.

As with most technology, radio usage is restricted. Most South Korean broadcasts are jammed so that North Koreans on the receiving end hear little more than ‘jet plane noise.’ All legal radios in North Korea are tuned to specific stations. They are checked and registered with police.

It is radios of the illegal variety that are beginning what some are referring to as a ‘quiet revolution.’ Smuggled in from China or homemade, they access a variety of independent programming. Providing potential listeners with real-time news is the purpose of groups like Radio Free Asia, Voice of America and Radio Free Chosun.

One such group, Free North Korea Radio (FNKR,) was founded by Kim Seong Min. Once a North Korean soldier, Min tuned into a South Korean station “out of curiosity.” The program he listened to debunked myths surrounding Kim Jong Il, particularly regarding the place of the Great Leader’s birth. The more he listened, the more he doubted what he had been taught. Min eventually made his escape to the south.

FNKR, which is based in Seoul, now broadcasts three hours per day. Staffers, most North Korean defectors, report on the outside world. In an effort to protect their families, almost everyone but Min uses a pseudonym.

Radio stations like FNKR reroute the information paths into North Korea. For over half a century, the North Korean government has chosen and embellished its facts in a tactful manner.

Radio distribution has been spurred on by the black markets that have supported North Koreans since the famine of the 1990s. By engaging in private enterprises, these citizens undermine the state distribution system, and consequently break North Korean law. Even so, an estimated 80 percent of North Koreans are involved in the black market today. In 2010, research group InterMedia conducted a study  to see how much of the North had access to foreign media.

Radio remains the most effective means of communicating news to North Koreans. Curiosity, well-intentioned piracy and radios are breaking the government’s attempt at monopolizing the country’s media.

– Olivia Kostreva

Sources: ABC, BBC, The Guardian, InterMedia
Photo: The Guardian

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The Practice of Eating Dogs

Around the world, people are becoming increasingly aware and disgusted by the market for dog meat. While some activists and international companies have deemed the practice as reflecting poorly on a country, it still seems entirely normal to some. Why do those in the United States consider eating dogs unnatural? How has the market for dog meat survived for so long long with the increasing opposition?

French actress and activist Brigitte Bardot discussed the more popular perspective during a Korean radio interview, where she stated: “Cows are grown to be eaten, dogs are not. I accept that many people eat beef, but a cultured country does not allow its people to eat dogs.”

Where the issue arises for most is the thought of eating an animal meant for companionship. While eating dog is taboo in the West, many countries raise dogs for the specific purpose of eating them. Therefore, the market for dog meat is just as natural as other livestock like pigs and cows.

In China, an annual dog meat festival, held each year in Yulin to celebrate the summer solstice, has attracted increasing negative attention. Those defending the practice asked protesters to explain why they ate beef in order to put it in perspective.

In Korean cities, dogs are raised as pets and are bought and sold for companionship. On the other hand, in the country’s rural areas, dogs are raised for their meat. The distinction does not come with breed but rather depends on where the dog is born.

There are also groups of people who do not have the option to eat what Americans consider traditional livestock. In India, cows are sacred and are thus off limits for being farmed and eaten. For Muslims and Jews, eating pig is forbidden.

Jonathan Safran Foer, a novelist and vegetarian, writes in his book Eating Animals, that euthanizing pets “amounts to millions of pounds of meat now being thrown away every year.”

He adds: “The simple disposal of these euthanized dogs is an enormous ecological and economic problem. It would be demented to yank pets from homes. But eating those strays, those runaways, those not-quite-cute-enough-to-take and not-quite well-behaved-enough-to-keep dogs would be like killing a flock of birds with one stone and eating it, too.”

There is still the unarguable fault in the dog meat industry, which is the current treatment of dogs before they are killed and the method of killing. Governments of nations who practice dog-eating are working on legalizing, licensing and regulating the industry so the methods become more humane.

Even this point has been argued by pro-dog meat people. While some facilities are inhumane in the treatment and killing of the dogs, there are plenty of slaughterhouses in the U.S. with horrid treatment and killing methods for the animals kept there.

If the process is legalized and regulated, dog meat can be added as an option for anyone to eat, and for those who have few options to begin with, this can make a difference.

However, even if eating dog becomes widespread and safe, will it be accepted? It is still considered a strange and barbaric idea in some cultures, but if the practice achieves universal acceptance, then it may make the process safe and widespread enough to feed more mouths than previously thought possible.

– Courtney Prentice

Sources: Slate, CNN 1, CNN 2, CNN 3, Wall Street Journal
Photo: CNN

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Food Waste Contributing to Poverty

We all know that wasting food is wrong, but do we ever stop to think how this careless act directly impacts those who are less fortunate? The U.N.’s Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) recently revealed that almost one-third of all the food produced in the world is either lost or wasted in food production and consumption systems—food that could have fed the hungry.

According to the U.N., 842 million people suffer from the effects of hunger globally, and using the UNEP and WRI’s estimates, the one-third of the world’s food wasted could equal up to 1,520 calories for each hungry person in developing countries where malnourishment is widespread.

There is also a moral imperative involved in resolving this issue as the President of the World Bank Group Jim Yong Kim points out, “Millions of people around the world go to bed hungry every night, and yet millions of tons of food end up in trash cans or spoiled on the way to market. We have to tackle this problem in every country in order to improve food security and to end poverty.”

What people may not realize is that food waste unfortunately occurs in both industrialized and developing countries. In industrialized countries, food waste is typically caused by consumers buying too much food and being too concerned with the food’s appearance.

While the problem itself is the same in developing countries, food waste in these countries is caused by the lack of technology, harvesting techniques, post-harvest management and even marketing methods. Insect infestations and high temperatures also affect the quality of food products. For example, at least a quarter of the crops grown are wasted in Africa, where 65 percent of the labor force completes agricultural work.

The environment is also negatively affected by food waste as fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals are wasted while the rotting food creates more methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that is one of the greatest contributors to climate change.

Many are also fearful of the effect the growing population will have on the availability of food after the Pew Research Center revealed that 9.6 billion people are expected to populate the world in 2050, emphasizing the importance of future food security.

As a global issue, many campaigns such as Think.Eat.Save. are now focusing on ensuring food security and reducing the amount of food wasted. A campaign of the Save Food Initiative, Think.Eat.Save works to alleviate the negative humanitarian, environmental and financial effects food waste has on both developed and developing countries.

As the organization’s name suggests, we can all do our part in ensuring that we are not wasting food by following these three simple steps:

1. Think. Planning meals and creating a grocery list before shopping is a great way to ensure that you’re only buying what you will eat.

2. Eat. Be mindful of what you eat, and save time and money by eating food out of the fridge first.

3. Save. Freeze produce so it stays fresh longer and don’t forget to make the most of leftovers.

Food wasting is a serious global issue that affects millions, but through these simple steps we can all do our part in reducing our “foodprint.”

– Meghan Orner

Sources: World Bank, World Bank 2, U.N. Environment Programme, U.N. Regional Information Centre for Western Europe, United Nations, Pew Research Center, Global Issues, Society of St. Andrew, Think. Eat. Save
Photo: World Food Day USA

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Life to Life Building Group

In their own words, the Life to Life Building Group, Inc. (LTLBG) is “in the business of providing for people.” The company has been in this business since 2004, when founders Tim Mooney and Eric Brookhart developed, coordinated and ran a program in which high school students traveled to Uganda.

During the day, Mooney is a high school teacher and Brookheart is a firefighter and builder, so it is no surprise that together, the pair believes LTLBG has a dual effect that mirrors its profession. On a concrete level, the company builds schools and housing in poorer African countries. It also seeks to diversify the experience of American high school students.

While the construction of buildings speak for progress, the students must also prove they are ready to go abroad. Volunteers are required to complete an application that includes an essay portion. They must also launch their own fundraising campaign and are expected to pay for the entirety of their journey.

The program began organically, so it was small. It is also tightly run, so efficiency is quick to increase. In summer 2007, the founders led two groups that saw 50 total students build first a secondary school and then housing units. The company has their eyes on partnering with local businesses in Africa in an attempt to give back even more.

Like so many organizations and services that elect to operate and work in Africa, LTLBG is often asked “Why? Why go to Uganda?” One cheeky response is as follows: “How would our local school district react when, full of excitement, we attend a board meeting and announce we have worked to raise $25,000 to build a school? Perhaps we can add more mulch to the playground.” Wit aside, the founders have plenty of reasons to go.

The truth is that rarely do projects come around as organically as this. Subsequent to earning his degree, Mooney worked in Uganda as a missionary for three years, forming long bonds with educators, doctors and leaders of NGOs in the country. After returning home, an individual reached out to Mooney who brought Brookhart on a home building trip.

After several summers of working in Uganda, a class of Mooney’s students came to him and suggested that they be included on the next trip. The next summer they traveled together under the company name.

Even with all this, LTLBG should not feel the need to answer the question as judgment. The Sub Sahara is home to the most disadvantaged individuals in the world and it is one of the most important places in which to build.

– Andrew Rywak

Sources: Global Building Group, TeleSoft Partners
Photo: Global Building Group

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How Food Security Affects IQ

It has been fairly well documented that a lack of food leads not only to health issues but also to problems in concentration that can affect daily tasks as well as education. What is not always discussed, however, is how a lack of food security affects IQ, a person’s mental bandwidth.

Eldar Shafir, a psychologist at Princeton University, conducted a study while visiting 464 farmers in 54 villages in Tamil Nadu in southern India before and after harvest. The farmers were given two tests to document their cognitive ability.

Due to the nature of farming in the areas studied, farmers often experience a surge of money flow around harvest time and then experience extreme hardship when it runs out prior to the next year’s harvest. The team led by Shafir found that the farmers had a more difficult time being able to pay back loans and pawned more belongings due to lack of money in the period leading up to the harvest than afterwards.

The farmers scored significantly lower on the tests before the harvest when money was tight, demonstrating that worry and stress were most likely affecting their ability to think clearly. This translated into a 13-point drop in IQ. Recognizing that people in general only have a certain amount of “mental bandwidth,””stress can decrease this bandwidth and leave little room for other cognitive abilities. In addition, it can contribute to poor decision-making among those who do not have food security.

When people are constantly worried about how much food they have or how they will afford to pay for the food they need for their families, the ability to think about other things diminishes. It is not that these people are any less smart; poverty takes up so much mental space that people’s abilities to make good long-term decisions for their families decrease dramatically because more fundamental needs take precedence.

Recognition of this is important for poverty initiatives and government programs around the globe. A person who is struggling with adequate food availability may not be able to fill out an outstanding amount of paper work for assistance or even a job application. In addition, hungry students are generally not able to concentrate in class and therefore may experience poor classroom performance. This could create a situation in which a child becomes disheartened by his or her performance and drops out of school as a result. In the long term, that student may be distrustful of education, a mindset they can pass on to their children.

The study concludes that food security must be a top priority for all aid work because it connects to so many other issues. Recognizing the significant impact of food security on a person’s mental capabilities is a first step in helping development agencies better adjust their programs to be more effective in the long run.

– Andrea Blinkhorn 

Sources: Princeton University, New Scientist
Photo: Ideorg