Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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Global Food Brands Commemorating World Food Day

World Food Day, celebrated on October 16, was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1979 to encourage activism and campaigns to end world hunger. For the first 30 years of the commemoration of World Food Day, the United States hosted an annual World Food Day Teleconference. This event included renowned experts in a wide range of fields including agriculture, economics, environmental science and human rights, and a global hunger-related theme. This year, the chosen theme is “Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition,” and many prominent food and packaging brands, including Dow Chemical Company, Unilever, Beaulieu Vineyard and Nouri, have taken initiative to help ameliorate world hunger.

Dow Chemical Company, the world’s second-largest chemical manufacturer, is investing in packaging practices and materials that allow food to survive its journey better. Diego Donoso, business president of Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, stated that his company is “committed to creating innovative technologies in packaging and collaborating with industry partners to minimize food waste and ensure that more food reaches more kitchen tables around the globe.” Dow has also used its website and social media profiles in order to educate the public about sustainable food packaging.

Unilever, a company that owns Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Hellman’s mayonnaise, Lipton tea and Vaseline lotion, is motivating its employees to partake in the fight against world hunger. Unilever’s CEO, Paul Poman, has worked with other companies to raise awareness about sustainable food supply and global hunger. In addition to this effort, Unilever has created a “meal for meal” program that requires Unilever to donate the cost of a meal to the United Nation’s World Food Programme every time an employee buys lunch.

Beaulieu Vineyard, a Napa Valley wine producer, is using its influence to educate poor families about how to maintain a balance between affordable and nutritious food. Beaulieu Vineyard is hosting a “Give & Give Back Chef Challenge” in which renowned chefs compete to create nutritious and affordable meals with basic ingredients. This contest aims to raise awareness about world hunger and teach needy families how to best use the resources they have. Beaulieu has also partnered with food donation organizations to donate food to families in need.

The efforts made by these food packaging and producing companies give everyday individuals an alternative opportunity to get involved in the fight against global poverty. Companies like Unilever and Dow also educated individuals about the importance of food sustainability. Without methods of maintaining the freshness of donated food, many poor families will become susceptible to food-borne illnesses.

– Lienna Feleke-Eshete

Sources: Food Production Daily, Dow Chemical Company

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New Anti-Torture Law in Tunisia

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On October 11, 2013, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Office welcomed the unanimous adoption of a new anti-torture law in Tunisia which will go about creating a new formal advocacy body dedicated to preventing and eliminating torture. The Office hailed the anti-torture initiative as a step forward in Tunisia’s ongoing transition to democracy since the country’s revolution that sparked the Arab Spring in December 2010.

Officially created by the Tunisian government on October 9, the Anti-Torture Initiative, formerly known as the National Body to Prevent Torture, is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, according to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) spokesman Rupert Colville. Tunisia has been taking steps to eradicate torture since June 2011, when the North African nation ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture.

The Body will be independent from the Tunisian government, but it will have broad jurisdiction, which includes the power to visit and hold accountable all sites of detention in the country. Additionally, the largest UN committee, the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, will also have permission to visit Tunisian detention sites as well as assist Tunisia’s new initiative in the implementation of such a national body.

The OHCHR bureau in Tunisia, which was established there about two years before the start of the Arab Spring, had an important role to play in the creation of the National Body to Prevent Torture in Tunisia through debates and consultation sessions. This collaboration with the international community also helped to bring together Tunisian governmental officials, such as the Ministry for Human Rights and Transitional Justice, as well as vital non-governmental officials such as national and international NGOs.

The president of Tunisia claims that this all-encompassing approach to the transition to democracy post-Arab Spring is necessary to see the “fruition of Arab revolutions.” In his statement to the General Assembly on September 26, President Marzouki advocated for a more stable Tunisia and other Arab Spring countries, as well as the international community’s support to make the transition, as was done with the creation of the National Body to Prevent Torture.

– Elisha-Kim Desmangles
Feature Writer

Sources: UN News Centre: Tunisian law, UN News Centre: General Debae

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Germany’s 4 Policy Priorities to Reduce Global Poverty

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The German Development Cooperation is focused on reducing global poverty, ensuring peace and human security, and preserving the environment in an international framework. Its work is guided by four priority areas in the health sector:

1. Health as a Human Right
The German Development Cooperation’s efforts are guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948:

“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services (…).”

Germany focuses on global poverty reduction through healthcare treatment as a means to ensuring human rights are upheld. This is pursued through strengthening health systems, investing in prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, mainly HIV/AIDS, and by working towards gender equality as a way of addressing maternity and child issues.

2.Working to Respond to HIV/AIDS
Germany is one of the largest donors to HIV response. Its efforts are concentrated on the prevention and further spreading of HIV. Currently, there are an estimated 34 million people with HIV. Most of these people live in sub-Saharan Africa.

Germany is following the internationally agreed upon goal formed through the United Nations to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.

3. Promoting Sexual Health and Making the Most of Population Dynamics
Through various programs, Germany addresses overpopulation concerns by facilitating activities that focus on sex education and HIV prevention, family planning, prenatal and perinatal care, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, prevention of gender-specific violence, and action to eradicate female genital mutilation.

Furthermore, Germany pledged an additional 400 million euros towards maternal and child health at the G8 summit in Muskoka in 2010.

4. Strengthening Health Systems
The priorities of the German Development Cooperation in regard to establishing health systems involves health policy strategies, trainings, and personnel management. It includes public opinion in decision-making and establishing social protection systems such as health insurance.

Through the persistent work guided by these four goals, Germany continues to combat global poverty with its healthcare measures.

– Caressa Kruth

Sources: Healthy Developments, United Nations
Photo: Wikipedia

Jim Yong Kim’s Revolution Against Poverty

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In order to catalyze radical revolution against global poverty, one group that has long championed the bottom 40 percent of the population in developing countries proposed radical changes to their ambitions.

On October 11 2013, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim delivered a speech at the Annual Meetings Plenary in Washington, D.C. stating significant changes in the Group’s bureaucracy. Such changes include cutting annual costs by at least $400 million in the next three years. Kim was also straightforward in the question of staff cutbacks: “You bet. There will be,” he said.

Kim promises that such changes would tighten efficiency and bring the Group’s best talents together to embark on projects that would make the greatest impact on ending world poverty. The World Bank’s clients consist of low-income countries and poor and emerging economies in need of financial assistance and advice in establishing basic infrastructures.

Kim’s speech paid special attention on the reality of 400 million children living in squalor who need the poverty-combating services the Group provides. The image of 400 million children in need, Kim proposes, is more than enough motivation for the Group to strive harder to surpass initial development goals. Kim’s vision for the new World Bank is ambition and innovation in humanitarian efforts.

The current rate of growth of developing countries reveals that world poverty will reduce to 8 percent by 2030. Kim emphasized that the current rate is too slow and is a breeding ground for paralysis and inaction. A faster rate of growth and more demanding goals are at the heart of the World Bank’s future work and projects.

Kim proposed the Group’s new goal of reducing global poverty to 9 percent by 2020 in order to bring the total percentage down to 3 percent by 2030, virtually ending the pandemic within the next two decades.

Kim concluded with a powerful statement: “We are committed to becoming even better, and we will act boldly, without fear. And always we will speak loudly on behalf of the poor and the powerless…Together, we must urgently lift a billion people from extreme poverty…and the whole world’s future for the better.” Other anti-poverty organizations and governmental bodies should use the current mobilizations of the World Bank as inspiration—as a shining example of passionate and bold commitment to ending world poverty.

– Malika Gumpangkum

Sources: World Bank: President Jim Yong Kim Speech, World Bank: Group President Annual Meetings Plenary, Huffington Post
Photo: Foreign Policy

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EU Condemns Caste-Based Discrimination

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On October 1, the European Union (EU) passed a resolution ending caste-based discrimination. Calling for action at multiple levels, the resolution demanded that the governments of the affected countries work to end discrimination towards people in lower castes, as well as limit the dangerous workloads often given to lower-caste employees.

Castes differentiate members of the population into different social groups, so that those in lower castes are often looked upon as “unclean,” and forced to work in unpleasant and dangerous conditions that activists say resemble slavery.

The EU’s statement helps to define caste systems as an issue that affects not only South Asian countries, but the international community as well.  The initiative has the European community, as well as South Asian human rights activists, hoping that talks on the issue of caste will proceed between the EU and caste-based nations such as Nepal, India and Sri Lanka.

According to the International Labor Organization, most of the people put under situations of forced labor in South Asia belong to lower castes. This kind of treacherous work occurs in many different sectors including agriculture, mining and retail production. The companies who subject their employees to this kind of work often supply products to multinational corporations, making caste discrimination an international problem.

Some South Asian nations have taken steps to solve the human rights issues inherent in current caste systems. For example, India has affirmative action initiatives to support Dalits, Indian citizens who belong to the lowest castes and who are subject to bonded labor.

Unfortunately, caste systems are still prevalent throughout Asia. Experts estimate that about 260 million people are affected worldwide.

Despite the EU’s recent attempt to tackle the issue, many government officials do not think the organization is doing enough, citing the high numbers of people still affected by caste discrimination as an indication of the EU’s failure. These officials stress the importance of specifically briefing the European Parliament on caste-based discrimination, so that the EU can take appropriate steps. Such measures would also aid the effectiveness of parliament members visiting South Asian countries on business, economic and development trips.

– Elisha-Kim Desmangles
Feature Writer

Sources: The New York Times, The Guardian
Photo: Live Science

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5 Books about Global Health and Development

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No matter what your political leanings may be, these books cannot help but convince readers of the importance of global development. As you read the anecdotes and arguments presented in these books, remember that only 1 percent of the U.S. budget goes to foreign aid – and change begins with you.

1. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

After traveling and mountain-climbing in the Himalayas, Mortenson launched a mission to bring schools and education to children living in remote regions of central Asia. His moving book outlines the importance of local development projects targeted at education, capacity building and sustainability. Through Mortenson’s activism and writing, the Taliban’s hold has been reduced over previously unprotected and disempowered communities.

2. Partner to the Poor by Dr. Paul Farmer

World-renowned doctor, anthropologist and humanitarian Paul Farmer defines the term “structural violence” and explains its connection to global health in this gripping book. Farmer writes about the structural elements of political and social life that systematically undermine access to healthcare in rural Haitian, Rwandan and Peruvian communities. His arguments on political instability’s effect on population compel readers to see the vast impact of foreign policy and aid.

3. The Practice of International Health by Ananya Roy and Daniel Perlman

This book offers a series of personal accounts from physicians and humanitarians providing healthcare around the world. More so than other anecdotes, these stories provide a detailed picture of the logistical and cultural challenges international development projects face. However, rather than discouraging such projects, “The Practice of International Health” demonstrates how such barriers can be overcome in order to achieve remarkable success.

4. Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Journalists Kristoff and WuDunn cover a lot of ground in this entertaining and heartbreaking collection of stories. Similar to Mortenson’s work, “Half the Sky” emphasizes the importance of grassroots organizations, illuminating the tireless efforts of individuals in India, China, Afghanistan and Ethiopia on the behalf of women. In the book’s epilogue, Kristoff and WuDunn also provide an extensive list of nonprofits doing amazing work around the world, as well as easy steps for getting involved in female empowerment and global development.

5. Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus

Microfinance has both supporters and critics, but after reading this autobiography by the founder of the Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus, readers might find that their opinion has changed. Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work in providing small-value loans to women in rural areas in order to promote economic growth among families and villages.

– Shelly Grimaldi

Sources: GoodReads, Banker to the Poor
Photo: Wishes 4 Life

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Hand Washing Can Save Millions of Lives

A mother’s typical question to a child, “did you wash your hands?” may have seemed like a pesky reminder when growing up, but research shows that hand-washing is one of the most important and live-saving habits that can be instilled in a society. Hand-washing with soap has been shown to reduce the incidence of diarrhea by almost one half and of acute respiratory infections by roughly one third.

Since hand-washing is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce deaths of children under five from diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia – possibly by up to 70% -, the global health soap brand Lifebuoy is teaming up with USAID to create a neonatal program designed to raise awareness of the link between newborn survival and hand washing with soap.

The program targets new mothers and birth attendants through antenatal clinics and health workers. The campaign also uses innovative videos to appeal to the mother’s maternal instinct by communicating the message “hand-washing helps your child survive.” Persuasive advocates such as the Indian actress Kajol also support the cause and help generate awareness of the importance of hand-washing, especially after having used the toilet or before preparing food.

Another initiative which aims to modify everyday behavior is the Global Scaling Up Hand-washing Project, supported by the World Bank in countries such as Peru, Senegal, Tanzania, and Vietnam. These interventions found that while will and motivation to change habits might be present, hand-washing is also dependent on the ease of access to both water and soap. In this way, the program has aimed to make changes in the way soap and water are accessed in households.

The initiative has also found that in countries such as Senegal, men can also play a critical part in the behavior-changing process. Since they are seen as the role-models or leaders of their households, future interventions will also incorporate campaigns that include or are aimed at men.

– Nayomi Chibana
Feature Writer 

Sources: USAID, World Bank
Photo: Old Picture of the Day

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What is an NPO?

NPO
A nonprofit organization is an organization that, pursuant to Section 501(c) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, does not retain its surplus revenue as profit. Instead, any surplus money is used to sustain the organization in its execution of a specific goal or set of goals, as designated by its bylaws and charter. In contrast to for-profit organizations, NPOs are largely project-driven ventures as opposed to product-driven ventures.

Before applying to be a 501(c) organization, a board of trustees must be assembled. The board will be committed to governing the execution of the organization’s goals. Once assembled, the board is responsible for drafting a clear and precise set of bylaws outlining the organization’s goals and the ways in which those goals will be pursued.

The bylaws must be recorded and, along with some necessary accounting paperwork (which varies according to different concessions granted by Section 501(c)), submitted to the IRS and the department of the secretary of state where the organization plans to operate in.

Once this paperwork is filed with the state, it may take up to a year for an organization to get approved as a 501(c). Most NPOs use this interim to prepare for launch immediately upon receipt of approval. Much of this time is spent identifying and communicating with potential donors, writing grants and taking other measures to secure funds for when the organization is approved.

Following state approval, a 501(c) organization must adhere to the bylaws it established in order to maintain its tax-exempt status. Its operation is limited by the bylaws it imposed on itself, and its tax-exempt status is contingent upon adherence to those bylaws. If an organization is not working effectively to accomplish its outlined mission, its tax-exemption will be revoked.

Under 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, an NPO may receive one of 29 different designations according to its mission. These designations determine what kind of tax exemptions the NPO will receive, as well as the kind of economic activity it is permitted to engage in. These designations are determined by an organization’s goals, the parties it engages with economically, and the recipients of any aid the organization is providing.

Most NPOs involved in the fight against poverty are designated as 501(c)(3)s. By law, a 501(c)(3) falls under one of the following categories: religious, scientific, charitable, educational, literary, public safety, the fostering of international or national amateur sports or the prevention of cruelty to children and animals. Organizations that actively fight against poverty can fall under any number of these categories. As well as tax-exemption, 501(c)(3)s receive reduced postage rates, and are permitted to generate receipts to provide donors with tax write-offs. They are, however, prohibited from participating in any political campaigns.

For an  NPO engaged in the campaign against poverty, transparency is of utmost importance. Strict adherence to bylaws and charter are necessary. If the secretary of state perceives that an organization is straying from its mission, its tax-exempt status will be lost. This renders the organization far less effective in the abolition of poverty. Not only does this cost an organization financially, it costs the world’s poor.

– Matt Berg

Sources: 501c3, Cornell Law, IRS, IRS
Photo: GuideStar,

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Graphite Offers Way-Markers to Teachers and Students

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Anyone with Internet access knows there can be temptation to misuse its power. What has the potential to bring understanding across social and geographic divides and make accessible information from every discipline and denomination is often instead used to watch cats behaving quirkily or play video games. Lamentable as that misuse is, it is unlikely to change. Knowing this, Common Sense Media created Graphite.

Graphite is a website that rates games, apps, websites from the Internet, gaming consoles and more, on a tripartite rubric to help teachers and students sort the games with educational content from those which are purely time-wasters. Some games are small and virtually unknown; others are as universally recognized as SimCity.

The idea has earned support ranging from philanthropic dignitaries such as Bill Gates, teachers across the country, and students themselves, who can rate the games on a separate tier from the teachers’ ratings.

Graphite is not alone in this new take on learning. Khan Academy, which has been an unequivocal success, has incorporated game-like elements into its curriculum as well, such as awards and points, which can be used to buy avatars. The old doctrine of repetition and memorization from a black and white textbook is on the way out.

However, there are concerns that making education more about fun is fool’s gold. Numerous studies have linked playing video games and heavy computer usage to temporarily reduced cognitive ability, suggesting that there are benefits to learning by rote. Furthermore, there are social consequences to consider: public school systems are, in part, dedicated to instructing children on the way to be effective workers.

Children learn more than facts in school – they learn a new milieu which home life does not typically comprise. By buckling the complaints of children who find school boring or difficult, parents and teachers may be creating a lenient mentality that could cause issues in the future.

Of course, traditional schooling has its own achilles heel, which leads back to the anecdote that opened this article: the Internet. It is an all too common practice for children to escape from the stresses of school and immediately deluge themselves with cartoons, videos, and games, possibly negating the benefits from earlier in the day. Slumping test scores and the declining ability of Americans to compete globally for top-tier jobs in science, medicine, and technology can be seen as testament to this.

It is in this respect that Graphite and its ilk must be viewed not as the solution to a learning problem, but as a complementary tool which can, if not cultivate further learning, at least lend a hand in retaining what traditional methods are able to instill. Like public school, Graphite’s secondary, and possibly more important function, is social.

It has the power to teach children to recognize and acknowledge the difference between games with value, and those without. Hopefully, what Graphite will one day accomplish is to create a lifestyle among an entire generation in which free time is not spent watching strange cats.

– Alex Pusateri

Sources: Graphite, Forbes, Pulse 2, Pravad.Ru
Photo: Memphis Flyer

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Haiti’s Hunger Crisis

Haiti Hunger Crisis Earthquake Reconstruction
Last June, when reports abounded of the chronic hunger and food insecurity crisis that was ravaging Haiti, the world learned that 1.5 million people were in need of food assistance in the struggling nation, while another 6.7 million people were failing to meet their food needs on a regular basis.

Soon, images of broomstick-thin children with distended stomachs crossed the globe, while international donors and NGOs pledged additional donor dollars to the nation that was devastated by an earthquake in 2010. Despite the international assistance, a staggering 67 percent of the population still has limited access to food, according to the government’s National Coordination of Food Security.

Much of the crisis stems from extreme weather conditions such as floods and droughts which destroyed key crops last year. Worse still, scientists predict that more natural disasters are on their way due to climate change.

Klaus Eberwein, general director of the government’s Economic and Social Assistance Fund believes that the current hunger crisis is due to “decades of bad political decisions,” last year’s storms and drought, and the fact that hunger is not new to Haiti.

The country’s food insecurity issues also have to do with the fact that 80 percent of Haiti’s rice and half of all its food is imported now. With so much depending on imports, meals are becoming harder to obtain on a minimum wage, which is about $4.54 a day.

To make matters worse, Haiti has lost almost all of its forest as poor Haitians continue to chop down trees to make charcoal. Consequently, the loss of trees does not help to contain heavy rainfall or to yield crop-producing soil.

One of the organizations that continues to help stem the widespread hunger is USAID, which has provided over $38 million for emergency and development food assistance in Haiti. This past month, the organization launched a four-year food security program to improve nutrition and access to locally produced foods for the most vulnerable households in Haiti. The project, the Kore Lavi Program, is part of the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiatives Feed the Future and Title II.

The program supports the Haitian government in establishing a voucher-based safety-net system to increase poor household’s access to food and prevent malnutrition in children under 2 years of age. It is expected to reach 250,000 households by providing food vouchers, improving maternal and child health and nutrition knowledge, strengthening links between households and health systems, and improving the quality of health and nutrition services. Additionally, it aims to develop a national database system within the Government of Haiti’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor to target vulnerable households.

The goal is to change the harsh reality of the statistic that two in three Haitians currently face hunger as the country’s woes continue to mount.

– Nayomi Chibana
Feature Writer

Sources: USAID AP
Photo: TIME