Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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The Limitations of U.S. Government on the Economy

Bloomberg recently posted an article on how the unemployment rate has held steady at 6.7 percent while U.S. payrolls have increased, despite more Americans entering the labor force. This means that Americans who had stopped trying to find work are now renewing their job hunt. The limitations of U.S. government have had little to do with this hopeful sign. Here’s why:

1. People Assume The President Has Too Much Power

When it comes to economic policy, aside from tariffs or taxes, the Federal Reserve has the more relevant hand in the interest rates banks charge for loans, savings accounts, capital accounts and stocks.

The Federal Reserve controls the money supply by tinkering with bank reserve ratios or how much currency a bank can hold. The President can affect inflation through drastic action, such as removing the gold standard (see Richard Nixon).

2. People Assume The President Has Too Little Power

The economy is not some ethereal being who lords over all controlling prices and jobs. The economy is the public. It is a market, in which people trade and consume, and income and prices fluctuate accordingly. The Federal Reserve simply reacts to the behavior of people, not the other way around.

It all hinges on something called aggregate demand, or how much the general population wants to consume and buy. The government does best when it does not interfere in markets at all. The Great Recession occurred because too many people put all their eggs in the housing bubble basket. The Great Depression occurred because people stopped consuming, lowering the money supply, and demanded money from banks with insufficient supply. Even now, as the unemployed population rejoins the workforce, they do so because of choice.

3. It all Runs in Cycles

Businesses and the markets they operate in run on cycles. There are booms, recessions and recoveries, and eventually this cycle repeats. It’s the ebb and flow of economics. If anticipated correctly, the cycles could pass through without any serious repercussions. However, the length between these cycles vary so widely, the public, the Federal Reserve, and the government often seem to forget about them. As a result, policies and behaviors are enacted that can prove detrimental once the cycle restarts.

This view of economics not only applies to the United States, but to the world as a whole. The power of the markets should lie with the people, and in a way, always has. Unless the government is linked directly to markets or totalitarianism, its economic power is somewhat limited. The government can guide and suggest movements for businesses, but at the end of the day, its not the government, the Federal Reserve, or the President that determines the one’s livelihood: it’s the individual.

– Matthew Price

Sources: Bloomberg, Daily Infographic
Photo: Housing Works

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Coca Cola Leading the Way for Sustainability

Coca-Cola has continued to be a responsible citizen in the global community through empowering women around the world along with aspiring to conserve the world’s natural resources. Coca-Cola has pushed for better agriculture over the past few years along with providing better agricultural principles and clean water for Africa.

Coca-Cola believes that women are the key to economic growth and reducing global poverty. In fact, The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that if women and girls have just as much access as men and boys do to agricultural resources like farming this could increase production by 20 to 30 percent. This could tremendously aid in farm production in developing countries.

In addition, Coca-Cola South Africa has teamed up with UN women to ensure growth in women entrepreneurship. Women in South Africa are receive training in areas of business and marketing to help prepare them for the current job market. In turn, many of these women will be opening small retail stores selling Coca-Cola products and with the help of Hand in Hand, the partner in the program, estimates predict to have over 25,000 South Africa women running their own businesses by 2015. This is not only expanding Coca-Cola, but the overall business in South Africa.

All the same, Coca-Cola is making use of new technology for their products and services to invest in these developing countries’ futures by creating new business models which can improve the lives of millions and reduce global poverty. Nevertheless, Coca-Cola strives to improve the quality of life for low-income families by providing opportunities which were among the least in these areas, while conserving the environment.

Coca-Cola demonstrates the qualities of a caring citizen for the world with the development of Ekocenters, which provide basic human needs such as clean water, vaccines, food and electricity in developing countries. The developing nation’s biggest issue is the need for basic human necessities in order to continue to develop and reduce global poverty. Therefore, these technological advancements can aid as well, by providing the necessary tools to move beyond poverty.

Coca-Cola is aiming to give back by creating a goal for the year 2020 to improve the company’s water-use efficiency. Also, Coca-Cola has created programs to help get water back to the communities through watershed efforts like the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation’s Replenish Africa Initiative and helping to bring safer water to communities around the globe. Accordingly, the Replenish Africa Initiative works by improving access to water and sanitation. This then promotes better hygiene and the reduction of illness and disease. In turn, this helps the community at large by improving health, the environment and helping to promote sustainable water for the environment.

Coca-Cola is transforming communities by empowering women and investing in the future of these small businesses. This will in turn bring more opportunities to the development of the community, along with improving the environment by conserving natural resources that are valuable to all countries, and bringing basic human needs to these areas’ doorsteps.

– Rachel Cannon 

Sources: Coca Cola, Harvard Kennedy School
Photo: Flickr

Chile to Host the 2014 Homeless World Cup

Mel Young and Harald Schmied, from Scotland and Austria, respectively, created the Homeless World Cup in 2001 after visiting Cape Town, South Africa for a homelessness conference.

In 2003, Young and Schmied had organized their first Homeless World Cup tournament, which was played in Graz, Austria; to them football (or soccer) is not only a sport, but also a way to “change the lives of homeless people.”

They understand the effects of homelessness, which can make homeless people feel alone and unable to voice their thoughts, causing their lives to be constant chaos.

Football is a release from their usual lifestyle, creates a safe space to build trusting relationships and enables them to be a part of something fun.

By being able to trust others and build skills, the homeless will be able to succeed and learn that they can also apply these lessons to their everyday life and thus change the path they are on.

The ambition of the Cup is to use football as a catalyst to make positive changes in their lives. In order to do so, the organization brings together partners to help give support and teach the homeless soccer skills. During the Cup, homeless people from all around the world will be able to meet and talk to other homeless people from other countries.

This year, the Homeless World Cup will be taking place in Santiago, Chile. The news was made public during a rematch of the 2012 Homeless World Cup Finalists Mexico and Chile.

The Homeless World Cup is partnered up the Futbol Calle, an organization formed by Accion Total, a sports company who specialize in the creation of sports facilities and helping people alter the direction of their lives. Currently, there are 2,000 participants involved in Futbol Calle.

The other partners also contribute to helping the homeless make progress professionally. They provide the access to education, jobs, and if needed, legal advice.

There are also many ways every day people can get involved in helping the Homeless World Cup gain publicity and funds, their website contains a complete packet of fundraising ideas and templates for posters, flyers, and logos. You can find the packets and templates, as well as read several stories from past players on the website and like their Facebook page.

–Becka Felcon

Sources: Homeless World Cup, Homeless World Cup, I Love Chile
Photo: Homeless World Cup

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Project Hope Preserves the Legacy of the U.S. Navy

In the world of global development, Project Hope honors the legacy of the U.S. Navy and its service during World War II. Impassioned and committed to serving others, Dr. William Walsh returned to the U.S. from the South Pacific. Across the region, countless children died too young from preventable diseases. He then envisioned a “floating medical center” to provide health education and advanced care. In 1958, it became a reality.

Dr. Walsh directly lobbied U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, persuading him to donate a U.S. Navy ship. As a hospital ship, the USS Consolation developed to serve the most at-risk countries. For two years, these partnerships “refitted and equipped” the ship it became the SS Hope. With $150, Dr. Walsh and the Navy converted this war-time ship into a peace-time ship. Individuals and corporations partnered to improve the care offered to those in need.

The Navy recruited doctors, nurses, and technologists throughout the country. For every U.S. citizen on-board, he or she had a counterpart in the country served. This counterpart received the necessary training, sustaining U.S. efforts to reduce the burden of disease.

On September 22, 1960 the SS Hope began its initial journey from San Francisco to Indonesia. The ship provided training and direct treatment to the following countries: Vietnam, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Columbia, Brazil, Jamaica, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Guinea, and Tunisia. Fourteen years and eleven voyages, and the its spirit endures today through the work of Project Hope.

The ship retired in 1974, but Project Hope continues to honor its partnership with the U.S. Navy. Medical volunteers from the Navy provide land-based support, learning from the testimonies of HOPE alumni.

Project Hope advances the health care in developing regions by offering “training, technical assistance, and expert mentoring.” To build the capacity of local healthcare systems, this program must partner with local governments and private corporations. This ensures sustainable improvement, as opposed to immediate relief. Currently, the program aligns with traditional “train the trainer model.”

In times of crisis, its mission to enact lasting change persists. Those serving the region care for those in immediate need but instruct locals throughout the process and restores health facilities.

In addition to promoting health training, this program rehabilitate health facilities. Donations allow Project Hope to improve the distribution of medication and vaccines. Every year, it ships commodities worth 200 million dollars. The U.S. State Department serves as one of the largest donors, and Project Hope ensures this funding arrives safely to the necessary site.

Charity Navigator rates it 67 out of 70 in transparency and accountability. 95.1 percent of its total expenses directly fund services in developing regions, with an estimated three percent contributing to fundraising and two percent to administrative costs. This low overhead cost indicates a commitment to the service.

The SS Hope voyaged the world and today, its destination remains in the hands of those it served. Rather than passively providing resources, it empowers local men and women to steer the program.

– Ellery Spahr

Sources: Project Hope, Charity Navigator
Photo: Wikimedia

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USAID and Clinton Launch Global Development Lab

On April 3, the U.S. Agency for International Development and Hillary Clinton announced the launch of the U.S. Global Development Lab, with the goal to end extreme poverty by 2030.

Dr. Rajiv Shah, USAID Administrator, said at the launch that, “To solve our most intractable development challenges, USAID has established a new way of working, bringing on board the best and brightest staff and new partners, all working in concert to help end extreme poverty.”

In the new program, USAID is partnering with 31 universities, corporations, and foundations in the hope to use science and technology to help find methods of alleviating poverty. These partners are being called the Cornerstone Partners, as they come from a number of different fields.

The Cornerstone Partners include corporations like Cargill, Cisco, Coca-Cola, DuPont, GlaxoSmithKline, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Nike, Syngenta and Walmart as well as foundations and organizations like CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Plan, Save the Children, World Vision, the Global Impact Investing Network, the Skoll Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences, the Smithsonian Foundation, and the Gates Foundation.

In addition, many universities have decided to be part of the Global Development Lab, including the University of California at Berkeley, Duke University, Johns Hopkins Univesrity, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michigan State University, Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute, Texas A&M University, and the College of William and Mary. Sweden has also decided to donate to the creation of the lab.

Together all of these groups have contributed over $30 billion in investments and have also provided technology, experts on the subject, and the capabilities to conduct necessary research and development.

Shah went on to explain the lab by saying that, “The Lab will engage a global community of inventors, academics, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate leaders in science and technology to invent, test, and scale the most promising and cost effective solutions to end extreme poverty.”

Shah believes that Americans can lead the effort to eliminate poverty, but admits that it will take time. He hopes that by forming these partnerships and creating the Global Development Lab, USAID will be able to help construct the best solutions to worldwide problems.

Prior to being the USAID administrator, Shah served as the undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and has worked with Clinton before. One example of their work together was when Shah was applying scientific techniques to improve agriculture in conjunction with Clinton’s work on a global food initiative. Shah hoped to combine these efforts, and his operations in USAID work towards that goal.

The Global Development Lab will work on developing cost-effective products that incorporate the newest discoveries in science, but will also work on solving other problems, such as hunger, disease, and literacy. By bringing together the greatest minds from several different fields, the Global Development Lab will have all the necessary resources to reach its goals.

In light of the announcement, Lana Stoll of USAID said, “By tapping into things that really make America what it is, which is our entrepreneurial spirit, our scientific expertise, and our real commitment to help people, you have a real ability to accelerate our impact.”

– Julie Guacci

Sources: TIME, The Skoll Foundation
Photo: Still4Hill

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5 Guinness World Records in Developing Countries

Guinness World Records in Developing Countries
Established in 1951, Guinness World Records has documented more than 40,000 records from around the world, ranging from the longest DJ marathon to the oldest person in the world. Guinness World Records is the international authority on record-breaking activity. The organization’s mission is to inspire ordinary people to do extraordinary things and to celebrate the world’s best. Record-breaking happens all over the world, even in developing countries.

1. Syria: World’s Largest Mural Made of Recycled Materials.
A group of Syrian artists in Damascus creates the world’s biggest mural made from recycled materials. The mural stretches 720 square meters and is constructed of aluminum cans, broken mirrors, bicycles wheels and other scrap objects. The lead artist, Moaffak Mahoul, had the idea for the mural because he wanted to give ordinary people a chance to experience art and relieve some of the daily stresses of living in a conflicted area. Syria’s civil war has killed more than 140,000 people and forced millions to leave their homes. Many Syrians, including artists, have left the country but a group of artists who remained wanted to give Syrian citizens something to smile about. The mural took six months to complete; it was finished in January.

2. India: World’s Largest App Development Marathon
A total of 2,567 participated in a marathon to develop the new Windows operating system, Windows 8. The 18-hour marathon was held in Bangalore, India in September 2013. The large group was organized into groups of four, each building and developing apps to harness the power of Windows 8. App ideas were accepted into 20 categories including business, education, finance, games and productivity.

3. South Korea: World’s Fastest Internet Connection
South Korea grew from war ravaged into a major tech hub. With an average download throughput of 33.5 megabits per second, South Korea has the world’s best broadband service.

4. South Africa – Most People Washing Clothes Simultaneously
In Johannesburg, South Africa, 1,009 participants took part in a hand-washing gathering as part of Procter & Gamble’s flagship laundry brand, Ariel™, being launched in South Africa. Participants had to beat a benchmark of 496 people washing clothes simultaneously, set in Mumbai, India, in 2011. The clothes used during the record-breaking attempt were donated to the Red Cross.

5. Libya – World’s Largest Irrigation Project
In 1983, the Great Man-Made River Project was created to supply water to Libya’s people and to expand agricultural production through irrigation. The project now extracts 2.5 million cubic meters of water per day from 1,100 wells and 4,000 kilometers of pipelines. Muammar Gaddafi dreamed of providing fresh water to all Libyans and making Libya self-sufficient in food production.

World records happen all over the globe but all Guinness World Records must fulfill four main criteria. The record must be measurable, based on a single variable, verifiable and breakable. Guinness World Records publishes a book of records each year and it is the best-selling copyrighted title of all time.

–Haley Sklut

Sources: Reuters,  The Next Web, The Marketing Site, Global Research, Property and Environment Research Center, Guinness World Records
Photo: The World Post 

Top Humanitarian Quotes

It’s important that we remember and memorialize the great humanitarians that have left their marks. Here are some great humanitarian quotes: 

  • “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity, it is an act of justice.” – Nelson Mandela
  • “Do your little bit of good where you are.  It’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” – Desmond Tutu
  • “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi
  • “I think we all want justice and equality, a chance for a life with meaning. All of us would like to believe that if we were in a bad situation, someone would help us.” – Angelina Jolie
  • “True Heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic.  It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” – Arthur Ashe
  • “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction.” – Bill Gates
  • “Everyone needs to be valued. Everyone has the potential to give something back. – Princess Diana
  • Don’t look for big things, just do small things with great love….The smaller the thing, the greater must be our love.” – Mother Teresa
  • “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
  • “Therefore I feel that the aforementioned guiding principle must be modified to read: If you desire peace, cultivate justice, but at the same time cultivate the fields to produce more bread; otherwise there will be no peace.” – Norman Borlaug

These humanitarian quotes will hopefully inspire you to become a more active member of society while always staying mindful of those less fortunate. If each of us plays our part, our journey toward harmonious peace will be accelerated.

– Sunny Bhatt

Sources: Brainy Quote, Brainy Quote The Givers
Photo: ZA News Network

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India’s Sanitary Pad Revolution

Arunachalam Muruganantham is leading a sanitary pad revolution in rural India, changing women and girls’ sanitary practices. Out of 355 million females in India who menstruate, only 12 percent of them use sanitary napkins. The others use ash, newspapers, old fabric or sand. In India, women are considered untouchables at the time of their menstruation, and they face stigma and ostracism during their periods. They are banned from public places during menstruation, so they stay indoors, oftentimes reusing their dirty rags. Poor menstrual hygiene not only causes 70 percent of all reproductive diseases in India, but also can lead to maternal mortality, a lower rate of females enrolled in schools and fewer women in the workforce.

In 1998, Muruganantham discovered that his wife, Shanthi, chose to use dirty menstruation rages, rather than sanitary napkins, because sanitary napkins were too expensive. He decided to make a sanitary napkin that his wife and other women in rural India could afford to buy.

He surveyed female medical students, studied used sanitary napkins, and fashioned a fake uterus from a soccer ball filled with goat’s blood. Tucking the soccer ball under his clothing with a tube feeding the blood into his underwear, he ran and walked around to experience having a period. During his mission to create a low cost sanitary napkin, his wife, his mother and his village would abandon him. Due to his unique experiments, he was labeled a mad pervert, but Muruganatham did not give up.

By contacting multiple large sanitary pad manufacturing companies, he discovered what sanitary napkins were made of: cellulose from tree bark. However, the machines needed to break the cellulose down and make the cellulose into sanitary pads were extremely expensive.

After years of hard work, Muruganatham invented a low-cost wooden machine that could break down the hard cellulose to make sanitary napkins, increase sanitary napkin use and create thousands of jobs for rural women. One of his manual machines costs 75,000 rupees, and provides employment for approximately 10 individuals. They can produce 200-250 pads a day, selling for around 2.5 rupees each. Although his invention could have brought him enormous profits, he chose not to sell the machines to big companies. He continues to sell the machines mainly to NGOs and women’s self-help groups.

Muruganatham’s family and community are now supporting his endeavors. He is currently expanding his machines to 106 other countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, and the Philippines. His low cost, locally produced sanitary napkins are empowering women and girls in developing countries while giving them the opportunity to contribute to their local economy. These sanitary napkins reduce unsanitary menstruation practices and are beginning to chip away at the cultural taboo of menstruation that forces women to feel unclean and untouchable because of a completely natural bodily function.

–Sarah Yan

Sources: Business Week, BBC
Photo: The Globe And Mail

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The Climb Out of Rural Poverty in Sri Lanka

Even before the devastating tsunami on December 2004 in Sri Lanka, over 25 percent of the population – 5 million people – were living below the poverty line. Sri Lanka‘s definition of poverty is slightly different from the common scale, they define the poverty line as an individual living with the equivalent of $12 a month.

There are an additional 3 million people living on less than $15 a month. According to the World Bank, the rural parts of the country are home to over 4 million people, which is nearly one third of the entire population. After the tsunami hit, over 38,000 people were immediately killed and hundreds of thousands more were put in danger of entering the growing levels of poverty in Sri Lanka after having their entire livelihoods wiped out. The tsunami reminded Sri Lanka, and the world, how vulnerable the rural poor are to natural disasters.

Today, Sri Lanka has largely improved in quality of life and reducing poverty. There are 1.8 million identified as impoverished, but the majority, 84.7 percent, live in rural areas. The amount of people living in poverty has more than halved in both rural and urban Sri Lanka, with a reduction from 16.3 percent in 1990 to 5.3 percent today in urban areas and from 29.4 to 9.4 percent in rural areas. Poverty has even reduced in the estate sector as well, going from 20.5 to 11.4 percent. This decline in poverty indicates that up to 2.6 million people have been rescued from poverty over upwards of 20 years.

Currently, nine out of ten people in Sri Lanka live in extremely rural areas and after a 20-year civil war, in the northern part of the country, 800,000 people were displaced from their houses and as a result their means of life have been jeopardized. Thousands of children were orphaned and there has been a drastic increase in the total amount of households headed by single mothers, which experience significantly more hardship earning money than dual-parent households. Over 40 percent of these rural poor are small farmers who are mostly concentrated in the Uva, Central, Sabaragamuwa, and Southern provinces.

Malnutrition is common among children in these regions because of slow-moving agricultural growth. There is a substantial lack of infrastructure such as electricity, roads, communication and irrigation facilities which limit opportunities for people to produce more of an income.

Fortunately, Sri Lanka, as a whole, has an opportunity to bring in foreign aid and investment to further build the economy up for the future. The government has the current goal 8 percent growth per year, which would involve the present 29 percent investment to increase to 35 percent of the GDP and even more in the years to come. Raising foreign direct investment (FDI) is critical because Sri Lanka will be more likely to receive foreign aid if it is a more attractive investment location. In order to get more foreign aid, the government needs to build better institutions as well as strengthen law enforcement so it can create a more business-friendly environment. The country has recently taken the right steps toward improvement and is on the right track to a better economy and removing the presence of poverty.

– Kenneth W. Kliesner

Sources: Daily Mirror, The Island, Rural Poverty Portal
Photo: The Great Generation

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Japan and Australia Sign Free Trade Agreement

japan_australia_free_trade_opt
Negotiations for a trade such as this has been in the works for seven years, though only now are the extensive efforts coming to fruition. Concluding with a deal on April 7, Japan and Australia finally reached an accord on a free trade agreement between the two countries.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott express mutual respect for one another, citing security and neoliberal economic agendas as important ties that have connected the two men and their respective nations for some time. A Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation, renewed in 2010, was initially signed between Japan and Australia in 2007 as a formal recognition of their devotion to the defense and support of one another. The Declaration came after years of informal cooperation, in such contexts as United Nations peacekeeping operations in the 1990s. More recently, Abbott has praised Japan’s democratic values and presence in international security activity.

Japan’s agriculture lobby, however, expressed concerns of an internationally aggressive competition and was opposed to easing access to food imports. Though Abe clearly favored opening Japan’s economy to increased competition, Australia was understandably concerned that the rigorous final round of negotiations would fall through as a result of the Japanese lobbying group’s hold on the ruling party that it elected. Yet the signed agreement builds on a trade treaty of 1957 that contributed heavily to the positive sentiment between the two nations. The new free trade agreement, then, is expected to build on the great business and cultural relations, and is consequently considered by many trade officials to be the best deal the Japanese economy has ever granted to another country.

The final version of the free trade agreement calls for joint compromise in both economies. While Japan is now required to phase out its current 38.5 percent tariff on Australian beef exports, Japan will end tariffs on Japanese vehicles, electronics and household appliances. Within 15 years, the Japanese beef tariff is expected to reach only 23.5 percent, with a subsequent decrease to 19.5 percent in 18 years. The Australian Trade Ministry also reported that Japan would increase cheese imports and simultaneously phase out tariffs on fruits, honey, vegetables, nuts and wine. Prime Minister Abbot has thus declared that Japan is “Australia’s best friend in Asia.”

Some argue that the free trade agreement between Australia and Japan, in bringing both nations closer to the United States as a result, could risk a free trade agreement with China, Australia’s number one trade partner. However, Japan is Australia’s number two partner, and the political and security ties could make a difference in the long run. After seven years of intense negotiations, one can only hope that Australia and Japan have made the correct decision.

– Jaclyn Stutz

Sources: The Conversation, Sydney Morning Herald
Photo: The Sydney Morning Herald