Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Telehealth in Uganda: Redefining Health Services

Telehealth in UgandaRural Uganda is home to nearly 68% of the country’s population, leaving many communities without nearby health care facilities. Although Uganda’s Ministry of Health has expanded the number of centers, a significant divide between the amount of care in urban and rural settings remains. Rural Uganda is home to communities where telehealth is driving improvements in medical services for people living in the country’s more vulnerable environments.

About 20% of the country’s citizens live in poverty. Children make up roughly half of Uganda’s population, meaning many of those living in poverty are minors. Seven out of 10 households rely on agriculture for income, while one in three depend on their own production for food. With rising inflation, food insecurity has increased, while the affordability of health care has not changed. As many villages are far from facilities, many communities opt for more holistic medicinal approaches.

The Rise of Telehealth

Telehealth is the use of technology in health care that allows for care delivery, information and education to be completed remotely. Advances in telecommunication health applications have expanded access to health care for people living in rural and underserved areas, creating better quality and reach of care.

Like many other countries, Uganda adopted telehealth during COVID-19 to educate health care workers and communities on prevention, symptom identification and treatment. These digital platforms provided Community Health Workers (CHW) support in diagnosing patients, while also supplying medicine and other necessary materials needed during the pandemic.

The Importance of Kaaro Health

As telehealth reaches more parts of Uganda, Kaaro Health has been financing health care groups by providing infrastructure changes and medical equipment. According to Kaaro Health, “[They] are committed to ensuring that regardless of whether people live in rural or urban areas, they should be able to access high-quality secondary and tertiary medical care.”

Kaaro Health uses “simple mobile technologies” to combat the challenges of limited access to electricity. The organization has funded and engineered renewable energy solutions like solar-powered lights, generators and incinerators. These resources have allowed Kaaro Health to deploy telehealth clinics to rural and peri-urban villages. Many of these communities are located more than 25 kilometers from medical sites.

To continue its support for sustainable medical care, Kaaro Health has collaborated with local groups to identify those most in need of services, while also working with international partners like GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) to improve quality within the country. Although the organization has driven expansion, it attributes much of its success to the communities and workers who have started and operated Kaaro’s services.

By 2020, Kaaro Health had trained 200 rural nurses and health care workers in mental health services to address challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has established 71 clinics, decreasing the distance these communities have to travel to their nearest medical center.

The Future of Telehealth in Uganda

The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies three objectives for advancing online health: providing digital solutions and standards, enhancing medical knowledge, and supplying countries with solutions specific to their needs. WHO has said, “Digital health can help make health systems more efficient and sustainable, enabling them to deliver good quality, affordable and equitable care.”

As Uganda continues to expand online health care, telehealth providers are funding new technologies that will improve health care and create better efficiency to serve larger numbers of patients. Telehealth in Uganda is an emerging field, and with continued investments, expansion throughout the country will increase affordability and availability of online consultations.

– Jacquelyn Orr

Jacquelyn is based in Philadelphia, PA, USA and focuses on Technology and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Vocational Education in Sri Lanka

Vocational Education in Sri LankaBetween 1983 and 2024, devastation after devastation hit Sri Lanka, disrupting the economy and sky-rocketing the unemployment and poverty rates. During the height of the Sri Lankan Civil War between 1983 and 2009, upwards of 36% of youth, ages 18 to 24, were unemployed and about 23.4% of the population lived on $3 per day. Less than a decade after the war, ISIS bombed the country in 2019, drying up economic boosts tied to tourism and sinking the country into an economic crisis lasting for five years. Recently, the global pandemic and the U.S. and Iran war raised fuel prices, national unemployment and poverty rates remain high. However, both have been on a steady decline, partly due to the vocational education training centers in Sri Lanka, otherwise known as VETs.

Context of Northeast Sri Lanka

While tension between the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamil ethnic groups seems to originate out of cultural disputes, British imperialism certainly provoked it. Experts suggest that the Sinhalese community felt threatened due to the Tamil group’s prosperity growth, which was partly a response to British favoritism. Following imperial rule, the Sinhalese slowly gained power in government, gradually passing laws effectively disenfranchising Tamil people. The Sinhala Only Act, for instance, made Sinhala the only official language of Sri Lanka and created barriers for Tamil people seeking employment or roles within the government.

Discriminatory practices resulted in a proposition for Tamil Eelam, a separate state for Tamils. By the 1980s, Tamils lived almost entirely separate from Sinhalese, occupying the north and east while most Sinhalese lived in southern, western and central Sri Lanka. Following riots targeting Tamils in July 1983, now known as Black July, the Sri Lankan Civil War began. It devastated the country and its economy, lasting until 2009, when the Sri Lankan government announced that it killed the leader of Tamil Eelam.

The end of the war was certainly not the end of discrimination against Tamil people. Sinhalese culture has removed Tamil culture in areas of predominantly Tamil ethnicity, replacing monuments, road signs, street and village names and places of worship. According to a report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the northeast of Sri Lanka, predominantly Tamil, is multi-dimensionally poor. Large tracts of privately owned land are under military occupation, and the World Bank has noted that 500,000 people lost their jobs due to the economic crisis between 2019 and 2024.

What Are VETs?

Vocational education training centers in Sri Lanka, specific types of programs focused on technical skills for individual jobs, are actively working to reduce unemployment rates. These programs differ from typical education in a number of ways, the key one being prioritization of hands-on experiences of learned skills. Implementation of these programs has been linked with economic growth, as it supports both a skilled workforce in the technical industry and enhanced employability for graduates.

The Impact of Vocational Education Training in Sri Lanka

Vocational education training centers in Sri Lanka have existed since 1893 with the formation of the Government Technical School, but following the Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka Act No. 12 of 1995, several new programs were implemented, designed to increase employability. One such program is iLEAD, or the Initiative for Livelihood Education Development, which is part of Action Education. Founded in 2006, iLEAD has since trained more than 12,000 disadvantaged students and built 10 centers across the country, with five centered in northeast districts. Poverty rates have remained high in northeast Sri Lanka, where many still suffer the effects of the civil war, facing marginalization, unemployment and violence. Vocational education training centers in Sri Lanka like programs offered by Action Education have helped those affected receive certification in IT, sales and English, allowing students to obtain nationally and internationally recognized degrees and find employment.

Hope for the Economy of the Future

Focused on bridging the gap between the unemployed and access to education, programs like Action Education are slowly working to reduce poverty rates nationally. Vocational education training centers in Sri Lanka are still limited, and many don’t have proper accreditation, but others are working to increase confidence in young people, teaching them necessary competencies to perform skilled labor. Combating generational poverty that’s the result of a war, a global pandemic and an economic crisis takes time, but these programs are making a difference.

– Madalyn Youngbauer

Madalyn is based in Blaine, MN, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pixabay

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Everything to Know About Hunger in the DRC

Hunger in the DRCThe Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been facing an ongoing hunger crisis for more than 25 years. Today, the issue of hunger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo affects 26.5 million people, leaving them struggling to meet their basic food needs. The country has the third highest score on the Global Hunger Index, just after Somalia and South Sudan. However, there is much more information and coverage out there for those two countries.

Conflict at the Root of Food Insecurity

This is due to both the length and the nature of their famines. The DRC has been dealing with armed conflict on its eastern border since the First Congo War in 1996. This prolonged violence, which is the root cause of hunger in the DRC, is harder to cover than the relatively recent famines in Somalia and South Sudan that are perpetuated by extreme climate events.

Unfortunately, this lack of coverage does not mean the conflict or the famine has ended. Just last year, the M23 rebel group took over the eastern city of Goma, which was a vital international trade hub for the area. All this conflict has caused the displacement of 7.8 million people in the DRC, which further perpetuates issues of food security and sanitation, and helping these people has become more difficult and therefore more important than ever with the capture of Goma.

Humanitarian Response and Immediate Relief

To combat these issues, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme (WFP) are working to address the hunger crisis in the DRC. With the $10 million allocated from the DRC Humanitarian Fund, the FAO and the WFP, through their combined efforts, have provided immediate food relief or cash-based assistance to nearly 1.3 million people. This is no doubt a significant effort, but it falls dramatically short of the $214 million needed to aid the entirety of the affected Congo population.

Building Long-Term Food Security

Along with immediate relief, the two organizations have also prioritized improving the resilience and self-reliance of local communities. The nutrition problems in the area are particularly alarming, with more than 4.18 million children under five suffering from acute malnutrition. To help prevent this in the future, the WFP has set up nutrition-focused cooking classes in dozens of villages across the DRC. These lessons not only promote healthier, well-balanced diets for Congolese children, but the recipes also include only locally grown native ingredients.

Meanwhile, the FAO provides continued support to the area’s agriculture. This includes seeds, tools, livelihood inputs and cash-based assistance, which help families restore food production and reduce overall dependence on food assistance. However, it could not raise adequate funds to provide agricultural support to the entire region. The FAO urgently requires an additional $163 million to scale up its life-saving agricultural support before it misses critical planting windows.

The Funding Gap and the Path Forward

The Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to face a prolonged famine spurred by armed conflict in the region. This famine would have grown to dire proportions with the capture of Goma by M23 if not for the FAO and WFP’s efforts to combat food insecurity in the region. These organizations are committed to a dual-approach solution to the food crisis that combines immediate food relief with longer-term support to agriculture and food security. However, their plans to provide the necessary assistance and stop the famine in the area have encountered an unfortunate $214 million funding shortfall. Reducing hunger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will require donations and a continued commitment to both emergency relief and long-term recovery. With this, the international community can help turn today’s humanitarian crisis into lasting food security for tomorrow.

– Arda Aydogan

Arda is based in Canton, MI, USA and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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3 Facts About the Response to HIV/AIDS in Brunei

HIV/AIDS in BruneiAcross the world, countries are working to slow down the spread of HIV/AIDS through several methods. In Brunei, a small country in Southeast Asia, the goal for the HIV/AIDS epidemic is to end it by 2030. According to the International AIDS Society (IAS), since the country reported its first confirmed HIV case in 1986, the number of cases has remained relatively low.

Yet, new cases of infection have continued to emerge slowly. As of 2020, a total of 289 Bruneians and permanent residents had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in Brunei. Of that total number, 75% are still living with HIV.

Barriers: Stigma and Discrimination

Brunei continues to face stigma and discrimination, which creates barriers for vulnerable communities seeking opportunities and support. These challenges exist among youth with disabilities (YWDs), who often face difficulties entering the workforce due to prejudice and misconceptions about their abilities. These barriers can prevent YWDs from becoming financially independent and fully participating in society.

A similar pattern of exclusion affects people living with HIV/AIDS in Brunei. Discrimination and homophobia can discourage individuals from seeking HIV testing, treatment and support services. For example, under the Infectious Diseases Act, which Brunei introduced in 2003, people diagnosed with HIV face legal restrictions related to transmission and disclosure. HIV advocates argue that these policies may increase stigma and create fear, making individuals less likely to access health care.

Brunei’s HIV/AIDS Response: Access and Awareness

However, HIV/AIDS in Brunei is supported by the healthcare system and local community organizations that work to address barriers faced by vulnerable populations, including marginalized youth affected by social and economic challenges. These efforts focus on increasing awareness, encouraging HIV testing, reducing stigma, and improving access to healthcare. Here are three facts about Brunei’s response to HIV.

1. Access to HIV Testing

In 2020, Brunei expanded access to rapid HIV testing by offering free screenings at seven private clinics. The partnering clinics are: Ammaan Medical Clinic, C.Y. Lim Clinic, Dr. Prema Clinic, Riverview Medical Clinic, Vitaliv Health and Wellness Clinic, Wholistica Clinic, Wellness and Panaga Health Center.

The rapid HIV testing provides results within 15 to 20 minutes. Then, the early diagnosis allows people living with HIV to seek support services at an early stage. The initiative was developed in collaboration with the Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council, which highlighted the importance of creating safe, nonjudgmental spaces for testing while combining medical services with HIV education and awareness programs. In addition, the country conducts approximately 200,000 medical screenings each year, including HIV tests for pregnant women and foreign workers.

2. Self-Testing

The Ministry of Health has approved access to HIV self-test kits. Along with it, institutions like Panaga Health (PH) provide access to these self-test kits at their facility, so anyone and their partners can simply go over the counter at PH and purchase them. The self-test allows individuals to conduct an HIV test in the privacy of their homes, with the results available in about 20 minutes. Also, the self-test does not include needles or blood, only saliva.

PH is a healthcare facility that provides a range of medical services, including primary healthcare, dental care, emergency services and health protection programs. In 2022, PH expanded its services to a wider community; it only supported workers in the oil and gas industry. By increasing access to confidential testing, PH helps reduce fear of discrimination, reduce barriers to care and connect individuals with treatment when needed.

3. Youth Education

In addition to expanding access to testing and treatment, Brunei has also focused on HIV education among younger generations. The HIV Awareness Programme for Peers and Youths (H.A.P.P.Y), which is run by Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council (BDAIDS Council), is a youth-focused initiative that teaches students about HIV transmission, prevention and sexual health. 

In 2026, the program reached around 70 students at Sultan Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien College, where participants learned about how HIV spreads, discussed common misconceptions and explored ways to make informed decisions about their health. In addition, the session emphasized the importance of setting healthy boundaries, understanding sexually transmitted infections and sharing accurate information with peers and families.

Through interactive activities and locally educational materials, H.A.P.P.Y aims to reduce misinformation and encourage young people to become advocates for HIV awareness in their communities.

Addressing HIV/AIDS Conclusion

HIV/AIDS in Brunei has remained relatively low due to the country’s effort in prevention, testing and treatment programs. Continued investment in inclusive health services and public awareness will be essential for Brunei to reach its goal of ending HIV/AIDS by 2030. Also, by addressing these barriers, Brunei’s HIV response helps prevent health challenges from creating further social and economic disadvantages for vulnerable communities. 

– Daniela Escobar

Daniela is based in Huntington Station, NY, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Updates on SDG 3 in Indonesia

SDG 3 in IndonesiaThe United Nations’ third Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 3) focuses on ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for everyone. This includes initiatives like reducing maternal and child mortality, improving disease prevention and providing universal health coverage.

These ambitions are closely connected to the fight against global poverty and have prompted many low and middle-income countries to take action. Among them, Indonesia stands out for its planning, financing and unique ability to overcome population challenges. These updates on SDG 3 in Indonesia demonstrate how the country is expanding equitable healthcare access.

Poverty in Indonesia 

It’s important to first recognize the state of poverty in Indonesia. While significant growth over the past two decades has allowed the country to achieve middle-income status, 5.4% of citizens remain in extreme poverty. While this figure may not sound daunting on its own, it does when one recognizes that Indonesia is home to nearly 286 million people and that means that 5.4% equal more than 15 million Indonesians living in extreme poverty. This manifests into real-world effects, such as:

  • Low wages 
  • Job insecurity
  • Lack of infrastructure (i.e. electricity, roads, clean water and more) 
  • Underfunded education systems
  • Poor health and unequal access to healthcare

That last effect is particularly noteworthy. The intersection of extreme poverty and the world’s fourth-largest population has made expanding healthcare access in Indonesia an uphill battle.

Why Population Matters 

How many people live in a country may determine how well the nation’s government is able to respond to the health needs of its citizens. For example, a large population introduces a daunting logistical strain in developing countries with fewer resources. Such nations often lack the infrastructure necessary to provide equitable access to healthcare for their entire population.

India is a key example of a large population impeding the health progress of a developing country. Despite attempts to improve health services, India continues to lack easily accessible healthcare and remains behind on SDG 3 initiatives. A major reason for these gaps is the nation’s status as the most populated country in the world, with more than 1.4 billion citizens.

While having a large population certainly makes it more difficult to improve healthcare access, it does not make it impossible. Indonesia’s recent successes show that the population problem can be overcome through global partnerships, government planning and strategic financing.

How Indonesia is Working Toward SDG 3

Since the Ministry of Health first launched the Health System Transformation Agenda (HSTA) in 2022, Indonesia has undergone sweeping health reforms. This has included efforts to enhance the resilience, workforce and technology of Indonesia’s healthcare system.

Specifically, Indonesia’s government has partnered with organizations like the World Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank to finance the HSTA’s goals. With these investments, Indonesia has managed to:

  • Bring nearly 90% of the population under national health insurance coverage 
  • Increase the amount of high-quality, low-cost community health centers in Eastern Indonesia by 60% 
  • Invest more than $1 billion in nutrition, early child development, and family planning 
  • Expand access to medical equipment in both urban and rural public health facilities 
  • Foster innovations in medical procurement and development

Through these initiatives, the government has vastly improved the state of public health in Indonesia. Prior to the HSTA, financial barriers prevented many citizens from seeking care, with catastrophic health expenditure rates as high as 4.5%. Now, these rates have dropped to 2%, and the national insurance plan covered more than 260 million people.

Vertical Hospitals 

Aside from blanket reforms, Indonesia has also created specialized medical facilities to target specific problems that the HSTA seeks to address. These hubs are known as “vertical” hospitals, and have been strategically constructed across the country to address the needs of both urban and rural populations. Programs offered at these facilities are expansive, including cancer treatment, infectious diseases and even mental health.

In addition to immediate improvements in quality of life, making healthcare more accessible and effective has had a sizable impact on reducing poverty by: 

  • Decreasing the direct cost of treatment 
  • Limiting transportation costs to receive care from distant facilities 
  • Preventing debilitating illnesses that impede one’s ability to work and earn a living

Looking Ahead

While more work is necessary to improve healthcare access around the world, updates on SDG 3 in Indonesia show that significant progress is being made. By leveraging international investments towards better infrastructure, upgraded technology and national healthcare coverage, Indonesia has improved access to high-quality medicine and treatment. 

As Indonesia continues to expand these initiatives, better health may enable citizens to save funds that would have previously gone towards expensive and ineffective healthcare. Improved wellbeing may also allow individuals to work more frequently, earn higher wages and improve their socioeconomic status.

– Brogan Jones

Brogan Jones is based in Norman, OK, USA and focuses on Technology and Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash

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Access to Higher Education in Ecuador Trends Upwards

Higher Education in EcuadorEcuador is an environmentally diverse and historically rich country in northwestern South America. Ecuador hosts the magnificent Andes Mountains and the Indigenous cultures that call them home, the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Galapagos Islands, where English naturalist Charles Darwin shaped his theory of natural evolution and the dense rainforests of the Amazon. Yet, despite its cultural and environmental richness, many face roadblocks to higher education in Ecuador. 

Poverty and Access to Higher Education in Ecuador

About 21.4% of the population of Ecuador lives below the poverty line. Poverty in Ecuador is higher in rural areas, 46% of Ecuadorians living in rural areas and Indigenous communities live in poverty. Those in poverty in rural and Indigenous communities face unreliable access to water and electricity, limited infrastructure, insufficient healthcare and education and poor sanitation. Young adults in poverty in Ecuador sometimes turn to joining organized crime groups or migration as there are limited options. 

Students pursuing higher education in Ecuador from disadvantaged groups (women, ethnic minorities such as Indigenous peoples from the Pacific coast region and disabled people) are less likely to have access to the best public universities. Among black and Indigenous populations, completed years of education are three to four years lower than the national average and the drop out rates for higher education among these communities are high. 

Poverty is a huge factor in student success and a significant cause in lower quality of education for students pursuing higher education in Ecuador. It affects factors in student’s lives such as their health and wellbeing, literacy, language development, access to physical resources and mobility. Preparation for higher education starts in secondary school, yet a lot of students in Ecuador have to worry about other things besides preparing themselves for higher education.

According to a study that Magali Ramos Jarrin PhD did at the University of Cambridge, “Secondary school conditions are a key element to accessing higher education. Infrastructure, teacher knowledge and student outcomes can hinder or enhance opportunities for students seeking a place at a public university.” 

Though there are still challenges, things are starting to look better for access to higher education for Ecuadorian students. 

Government Efforts

In 2010, President Rafael Correa pushed for education to be a right in Ecuador. Between 2012 and 2014, President Correa’s government closed 14 low quality private universities and replaced them with four new public universities, improving access to higher education for more students.

The Ecuadorian government increased public investment into higher education during the 2010s, making it the country with the second largest increase in higher education funding in the world. Investment into higher education was increased to 1.86% of the national GDP. These investments created scholarships, financial programs and made it so that Ecuadorian colleges under international agreements must allocate at least 25% of state funding towards scholarships and financial aid. In 2025, the “Academic Support 2025” scholarship was implemented that offered a one time grant to cover living expenses for students enrollment period at a public higher education institution.

The government also implemented laws stating that “higher education institutions must implement mandatory quotas to promote access for historically excluded groups.” 

Looking Ahead

Higher education can provide students with skills and knowledge to enter the workforce and increase their future earnings. Higher education can be a key way to help underrepresented groups out of poverty. With access to higher education in Ecuador moving in a positive direction, this trend is like a light at the end of the tunnel for thousands of students suffering from poverty.

– Danica Carmack

Danica is based in Stockton, CA, USA and focuses on Celebs and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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Working Without Pay: Aid Workers in Somalia

aid workers in SomaliaThe Suuqa Xoolaha Center for Mothers and Children in southern Somalia, like many health facilities in the country, faced indefinite closure following the shuttering of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) by the Trump administration in January 2025. Up until that point, the U.S. had been by far the largest international donor to Somalia, donating hundreds of millions each year, which were distributed through United Nations (U.N.) bodies like the World Food Programme (WFP) in addition to other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Much of this financial aid was used to fund health facilities and outposts run by international relief organizations like the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), located predominantly in the south of the country.

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

When word spread of a young woman who had begun to give birth outside the doors of a shuttered health facility—before she was brought in by neighbors—the former employees of the Suuqa Xoolaha Center quickly sprang to action to reopen the hospital, despite now receiving no pay. Many of those interviewed at the hospital speak of protecting a sense of community in the area, one determined to survive notwithstanding the foreign aid system that can cause vital funds to dry up at a moment’s notice.

Pilgrimage in Vain

As the need for humanitarian aid becomes more urgent in Somalia, opportunities for relief continue to diminish. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Abdullahi Abdi Abdirahman states how he and his wife and their seven children walked for nine days from their drought-ravaged home toward Dollow, a town on the Ethiopian border, which until recently was an international relief outpost. When they arrived, they found tents—but no aid. The outpost at Dollow was one of many across Somalia that had not made the cut following the U.N.’s hyper-prioritization of resources in response to global aid cuts.

Yet Abdullahi’s family is just one example of the estimated 3.8 million Somalians who have been internally displaced due to factors including severe drought, floods, forced eviction and the country’s ongoing civil war. For many, these former aid outposts and facilities were a vital lifeline that provided food, water and medical assistance to the country’s most vulnerable people. Without them, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warns that almost 2 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition, with 205 of the former 800 health clinics that helped to treat malnutrition having been closed in the last year.

Aid Workers in Somalia Fighting the ‘Era of Indifference’

Kate Phillips-Barrasso, head of global advocacy at Mercy Corps, an American aid group that organizes global relief programs, states that we are living in the era of indifference. This is marked by the decision of many of the world’s wealthiest nations—principally the U.S., but also France, Germany and the United Kingdom (U.K.)—to backtrack on their former commitments to the world’s neediest. Yet where governments flounder, individuals often step forward. One such example is Abdulnasir Mohamed Farah, a 30-year-old teacher in a school previously operated within a UNICEF camp in Dollow. Despite the loss of funding, he and other aid workers in Somalia have stayed behind, working without pay. Mohamed Farah stays, primarily because his fingerprint unlocks a digital payment card provided by the WFP, which he uses to buy the meager daily meal of rice and beans for his students.

A Further Challenge

It remains to be seen how remaining aid workers in Somalia, already under significant pressure, will be further affected by the global economic consequences of the recent war in the Middle East. As the cost of food, fuel and fertilizer rise due to the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, aid workers will be forced to stretch already scarce resources even further to tend to the needs of the most vulnerable. Speaking from a stabilization center in Dollow, Russell warns of a situation whereby multiple crises continue to converge, with the global economic shock caused by the war in the Middle East further exacerbating the plight of Somalians experiencing displacement due to severe drought and ongoing conflict. Water costs, for example, have more than doubled recently in regions worst affected by drought. Somalia also relies on imports for 70% of its food, and many families who were already on the brink of acute food insecurity may have been pushed further into crisis by this latest shock. The WFP warns that an additional 45 million people globally could be confronting acute hunger as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. While individual heroics are by no means a substitute for a collapsing aid infrastructure, they do illustrate the willingness of ordinary people to spread themselves out and assume the sharpest edges of a burden imposed on them.

– Tomás Quinn

Tomás is based in Glasgow, UK and focuses on Global Health and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

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5 World Cup Soccer Players Who Grew Up in Poverty

Silhouette of a child playing soccer at sunset on a street. World Cup Soccer Players Who Grew Up in PovertySoccer ranks as the most popular sport in the world by a considerable margin, with approximately 3.5 billion fans across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. The FIFA World Cup boasted an estimated audience of 5 billion in 2022, making it the most-watched sports event worldwide. Historically regarded as a working-class sport, soccer has evolved into a multibillion-dollar global industry that continues to use its influence to lift aspiring superstars out of poverty.

The Challenges of Rising From Poverty

The path to sports stardom is difficult, with numerous hurdles facing soccer players who grew up in poverty. These include lack of access to health care and education, proximity to crime and volatile environments, and an overall lack of confidence or motivation. The biggest barrier is often financial, due to the costs of joining youth clubs and paying for kits. However, pathways opened by clubs and foundations exist because the industry understands that a young boy playing on the street in an impoverished neighborhood with a stuffed sock can grow up to become a legend like Pelé.

World Cup Players From Humble Beginnings

Forty-eight countries qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, bringing together hundreds of players from various cultural and economic backgrounds. Here are five World Cup soccer players who grew up in poverty.

  • Luis Díaz (Colombia): Colombian winger Luis Díaz’s story is emblematic of many soccer players who grew up in poverty. An Indigenous Wayuu child from La Guajira, a Colombian region with a poverty rate of 67.4%, Díaz’s soccer destiny was uncertain due to malnutrition and financial instability. Despite his slender appearance, the 17-year-old Díaz impressed at a local soccer tournament, joining the Atlético Junior youth team. This set him on a path leading to a Premier League championship with Liverpool, a Bundesliga championship with Bayern Munich, and the Copa América Golden Boot award. Díaz has used his wealth to set up a family foundation supporting underdeveloped communities in Colombia and serves as the ambassador for The Passage and Centrepoint.
  • Luka Modrić (Croatia): Widely considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Luka Modrić’s childhood was tumultuous. Born in Croatia, he was five years old when the Croatian War of Independence erupted, displacing at least 170,000 Croatian civilians. Modrić recalls seeing his grandfather executed by Serb rebels, living without water and electricity for two years, and practicing soccer in hotel parking lots while bombs exploded. Initially rejected by Hajduk Split for being too skinny, Modrić signed with Dinamo Zagreb at age 16 and later played for Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid. He has won six UEFA Champions League titles, four La Liga titles, the Ballon d’Or, and led Croatia to second place at the FIFA World Cup. He founded the Luka Modrić scholarship program, offering 100 scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
  • Endrick Sousa (Brazil):  A 19-year-old striker from Brazil, Endrick has already made a considerable impression. At age 16, he was signed by Real Madrid in a deal worth €60 million, prompting comparisons with Ronaldo and Neymar, who also came from humble beginnings. Though Brazil has made progress with its poverty rate, reaching a historic low of 3%, it remains an inequitable country. Growing up on the outskirts of Brasília, Endrick’s childhood was marked by financial hardship; when his father abandoned the family, his mother became unemployed and homeless. Endrick and his siblings spent six months in an orphanage. With family support, Endrick joined the Palmeiras youth club and became the youngest player to play for their senior team, scoring 11 goals toward their Brasileirão Serie A victory. He is the youngest player in over 50 years to debut for the Brazil national team and was a natural choice for their 2026 FIFA World Cup squad.
  • Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast):  Although the poverty rate in Côte d’Ivoire has decreased in recent years, it exceeded 50% when Amad Diallo was a child. In 2008, at age 8, Amad emigrated to Italy with his brother Hamed Traorè, gaining access to education and a better living standard. This move allowed Amad to join local club Boca Barco, leading to signings with Serie A club Atalanta and Premier League club Manchester United. An investigation by Italian authorities into soccer player trafficking brought Amad’s story into question, with allegations that he had entered the country using falsified documents. The trafficking of aspiring soccer players from Africa to Europe remains a documented problem, with estimates suggesting the number of cases could reach as high as 15,000 per year. Amad reached a settlement in the case and has not spoken publicly about it. The 23-year-old was chosen to represent Ivory Coast at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
  • Alphonso Davies (Canada):  Alphonso Davies’ parents were Liberians who fled Monrovia during the Second Liberian Civil War, which displaced around half of the country’s population. They fled to a refugee camp in Ghana, where Alphonso was born and lived for five years. His family emigrated to Canada in 2005, and he obtained Canadian citizenship at age 16. He started playing soccer with Free Footie, a free after-school program, and signed with the Whitecaps FC Academy at age 14. His career skyrocketed to Bayern Munich, where he won the UEFA Champions League and the Golden Boy award. Alphonso scored Canada’s first-ever goal in a FIFA World Cup and is a vocal advocate for refugee support, serving as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Looking Ahead

These stories show that soccer is more than a business or entertainment; it can be a means of escape for those without other options. These five soccer players who grew up in poverty have ascended beyond their humble beginnings to play at the largest sporting spectacle in the world. They have used the fame and wealth that soccer has brought them to give back, helping others from disadvantaged backgrounds realize their ambitions. Multiple groups, including the UEFA Foundation for Children and the Professional Footballers’ Association, actively work to make such dreams a reality for more people worldwide, inspiring hope and changing lives through soccer.

– Aled Warren

Aled is based in London, UK and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pixabay

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Organizations Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti

Volunteers sorting food packages for the Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti.Escalated gang violence in Haiti has brought on an unprecedented humanitarian and human rights crisis. Decades of political instability and social unrest in the country culminated with the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. Armed gangs took advantage of the resulting power vacuum to take control of 90% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and continue to expand their reach to rural areas and main roads. Due to the breakdown of central authority, these criminal groups go unchecked as they compete for territory and commit acts of extreme violence.

Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti

In 2025, an estimated 6,000 people were killed by gang violence in Haiti. About 1.4 million people, roughly a tenth of the country’s population, have been internally displaced by gang violence. Many of these people live in displacement sites without access to essential services like food, clean water and health care.

Some of the most effective work to address the ongoing crisis is being done by Haitian-led organizations, whose on-the-ground action responds to the everyday needs of those most affected by violence and displacement. The three local organizations highlighted in this article are just a few of the many Haitian-founded nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) doing crucial work in response to the country’s human rights crisis.

Nègès Mawon

Nègès Mawon is a Haitian feminist organization founded in 2015 with the mission to establish equality and autonomy for women in Haiti while liberating them from violence and oppression. Much of the organization’s work in recent years has involved providing services to survivors of gender-based and sexual violence.

Haiti has experienced an upsurge in sexual violence. The UN verified 1,863 cases of sexual violence in 2025, a 163% increase from 2024. According to Pascale Solages, co-founder of Nègès Mawon, armed gangs employ sexual violence as a “weapon of control” to terrorize and exploit. Women and girls living in displacement settlements, where there is a lack of security, are especially vulnerable to this violence.

Nègès Mawon has responded by offering holistic care to survivors of sexual violence, including medical care, psychological support, legal guidance, economic assistance and educational resources. Survivors of gender-based violence can find temporary accommodation at the organization’s Claire Heureuse House. Nègès Mawon’s mentorship program, which pairs survivors of sexual violence, seeks to create community and reduce the stigma around the topic. In 2024, the organization provided services to 1,800 women and girls, despite the ongoing threats of violence experienced by the entire community, including its staff.

Centre Hospitalier de Fontaine Foundation

For more than 30 years, the Centre Hospitalier de Fontaine in the community of Cité Soleil outside of Port-au-Prince has provided critical medical care to some of Haiti’s most vulnerable populations. The foundation’s work has become even more crucial as 70% of public health facilities in Haiti have been shut down due to gang violence, depriving about 4.4 million people of health care.

The Centre Hospitalier de Fontaine Foundation covers medical expenses and provides life-saving equipment and medication. The hospital safely delivered 1,960 babies and treated 384 NICU patients in 2024. In response to the 5.4 million Haitians experiencing acute hunger, the foundation treated 4,037 malnourished children and provided more than 20,000 with vitamin A. In all, it served more than 50,000 people, many through its mobile health services, which bring care to people unable to travel due to the threat of gang violence.

Kareen Ulysse, head of the foundation, has spoken of the increasing difficulty of ensuring the safe transport of supplies and medical personnel to and from the hospital. Despite the daily threat to their safety, hospital staff continue to provide life-saving care.

Défenseurs Plus

Founded in 2013, Défenseurs Plus is a nonprofit organization based in Port-au-Prince dedicated to the promotion of human rights in Haiti. It was established in response to the state’s failure to implement the human rights policies outlined in the conventions and treaties it ratified. Défenseurs Plus provides human rights and advocacy training to local youth and community organizations, working to raise awareness of the rights entitled to all Haitian citizens. Its Legal Intervention and Assistance Program for Victims helps victims of human rights abuses attain justice. Défenseurs Plus also monitors human rights issues in Haiti and drafts alternative reports to United Nations treaty bodies, holding state authorities accountable.

In a recent example of its advocacy work, Défenseurs Plus published a press release in response to the visit of U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres to Haiti on June 16, 2026. Ulrick Tintin, head of legal affairs for Défenseurs Plus, drew attention to the gravity of what he called the “systemic collapse” in Haiti and the human rights abuses its people suffer daily. He criticized the international response to the crisis as ineffective and called for “concrete action” to reestablish state authority through democratic elections.

Looking Ahead

The ongoing work by these Haitian organizations is cause for hope despite the gravity of the ongoing human rights crisis in the country. Although Haiti requires support from the international community, humanitarian aid and assistance will not succeed without the participation of local actors. Haitian-led organizations demonstrate the valuable expertise of local communities and the importance of involving local leaders and NGOs in decision-making as efforts are made to restore state authority and lessen the humanitarian crisis in Haiti.

– India Kaz

India is based in Seattle, WA, USA and focuses on Good News, Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr

Oil and Poverty in Nigeria

Poverty in NigeriaNigeria is estimated to have a GDP of over $350 billion, making it one of the largest economies in Africa. A significant amount of that wealth is generated by the oil trade; Nigeria is home to one of the richest oil resource centers in the world, and recent statistics confirm it remains the largest oil producer in Africa, making up the overwhelming majority of the country’s exports and generating two-thirds of its total revenue.

Despite the wealth brought in by the oil trade, poverty remains endemic in Nigeria. More than 40% of the country’s population of 210 million is considered to be living in extreme poverty (that is, living below $3 per person per day), giving it the second-largest poor population in the world after India. While this is 10% less than the poverty rate in 1985, that decrease is not proportional to the considerable economic growth Nigeria has experienced in those years, with the country having seen an average of 3.89% in annual growth since 2011. Although the oil trade has elevated Nigeria economically, it may have exacerbated poverty rather than alleviated it.

The Resource Curse

One of the paradoxes of Nigeria’s economy is that the country’s abundance of natural resources has not translated into wealth for most of its citizens. Much of the wealth is generated from the export of oil and the leasing of oil fields to multinational corporations, with relatively little oil extracted for Nigeria’s own direct benefit. Prioritizing the oil trade has been detrimental to agricultural industries that could have capitalized on alternatives such as gold, timber and crops.

Oil spills have made Nigeria one of the worst areas affected by oil pollution, with nearly 500 incidents reported in 2025 alone. The impact has been disastrous for the country’s rainforests and rivers, as well as for communities dependent on natural resources. The Niger Delta has been the most heavily impacted, resulting in infertile farmlands, losses in vegetative biodiversity and declining fish populations, rendering local farmers and fishermen unable to support themselves.

Institutional Corruption

Corruption has been a long-standing issue in Nigeria’s governance and administration, and consequently much of the wealth generated by oil has not been invested into areas where it is most needed, such as public services, infrastructure and job creation. Manifestations of such corruption in the oil industry include fiscal leakages, where large amounts of revenue collected by state-owned entities go unreported; bribery, where government officials accept payments from oil companies in exchange for favorable deals and licenses; and negligence, where insufficient oversight and regulation enable further corruption.

Oil Bunkering

At the heart of the oil trade in Nigeria is a practice known as oil bunkering, which refers to the theft of crude oil from pipelines to be smuggled or illegally refined. This can occur in the form of an amateur operation or a highly organized enterprise practiced by professionals with the cooperation of corrupt officials. Bunkering is regarded as a profitable venture and is estimated to cost the country 200,000-300,000 barrels of oil per day, about 10% of Nigeria’s daily production. In addition to the loss in revenue that could otherwise be invested in alleviating poverty, oil bunkering contributes to greater instability and criminality that make these collective issues harder to address.

Ongoing Efforts

In recent years, several steps have been taken to address the complicated problems surrounding oil and poverty in Nigeria.

  • Economic Diversification: Dwindling oil prices have compelled the Nigerian government to decrease its dependency on oil and prioritize other forms of revenue. Industries identified for investment include agriculture, mining and manufacturing. In line with this objective, President Muhammadu Buhari pledged at COP26 for Nigeria to transition to renewable energy sources and attain carbon neutrality by 2060.
  • Compensation and Remediation: Local communities are seeking reparations and corrective action from entities responsible for environmental damage caused by oil spills. The most high-profile case at the time of writing was launched by residents of Bille and Ogale, near the Niger Delta, against Shell plc. For the 7,000 spills that Shell is alleged to have caused since 1958, the communities are seeking $1 billion in damages, $750 million of which would be used to clean up the environmental damage.
  • Activism and Awareness: Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Amnesty International, ENACT Africa and Oxfam are working to raise awareness about the harms exacerbated by the oil trade in Nigeria and to advocate for urgently needed solutions. The Together Against Poverty (TAP) project, for example, is working to hold the Nigerian government accountable for its commitment toward poverty alleviation and to secure greater contributions from major international donors such as the European Union.

Looking Ahead

Some actions have led to improvements; for example, Nigeria’s investment in solar power has already led to lower living costs and improved quality of life on the local level. However, much more needs to be done to fully address the enormity of the problems surrounding the oil trade in Nigeria and the contributions it has made to poverty.

– Aled Warren

Aled is based in London, UK and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr