Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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China’s Environmental Crisis

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China is one of the fastest growing countries in the world. With that being said, it can be safe to say that it has one of the fastest growing industries in the world. These industries require a lot more labor and resources. Recently, it has been reported that in order to “meet its growing energy needs, China is planning to build hundreds of coal fired power plants in the next few years.” However, developing the coal industry could have a devastating effect on China’s freshwater resources. The development of these plants threatens other areas such as drinking water supplies, industry, farming, and the environment.

In 2011, the Associated Press reported that around 68.4 percent of China’s energy came from coal. China’s coal industry is the fastest and most dominant in the country. Other nations such as the United States and Germany reported that around 30-37 percent of their energy came from coal. Moreover, China is the world’s largest consumer of coal. Around 50 percent of the world’s coal is consumed by China. This number is expected to grow.

According to the Washington Times, the Chinese government recently announced its plans to build 363 new coal-fired plants. The new power plants would increase the country’s coal-powered generating capacity from 68.4 percent to 75 percent. As a result, China’s coal consumption would significantly increase.

Although China’s industries depend on cheap, easy-to-use resources to keep the economy going, the cheap energy sources are considered dangerous and detrimental to society. One example is coal. Coal is considered to be the less costly and more effective way to address China’s energy problem. However, coal is extremely labor and water intensive. This creates a problem for people and for areas where water is scarce. In these areas, water resources can diminish further. The problem is that China does have enough water resources, however, these resources are not evenly distributed between communities. According to the Washington Times, “demographics, population, geography and politics make water a complicated issue.”

– Stephanie Olaya

Sources: Washington Times, Reuters

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Cancer Crisis in Iraq

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The war in Iraq is finally over – new leadership is in place and the country has begun to rebuild. But the effects of the Iraq War continue to have a deadly impact. Contamination from depleted uranium used in U.S. munitions has resulted in an increase of cancer and birth complications throughout the region.

Toxic waste, as well as radiation from U.S. bombings, still linger in the war-ravaged nation.  Chris Busby, author of “Cancer, Infant Mortality and Birth Sex-Ration in Fallujah, Iraq 2005-2009,” says Iraq’s medical records show “the highest rate of genetic damage in any population ever studied.”

There has been a startlingly rise in premature births, infertility and congenital birth defects. Doctors report children born with tumors, deformities, multiple limbs and underdeveloped nervous systems.  Mothers sometimes do not survive through the delivery process due to unexpected complications.  Most babies born with these extreme abnormalities do not survive. Dr. Alani, who has been studying the effects of radiation in Iraq, reports that 14.7 percent of all babies born in Fallujah have birth defects.  In post-atomic bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the birth defect rate was about 2 percent.

Exposure to lead and mercury during the 1991 bombings and the 2003 invasion have also led to increased cancer rates.  Busby reports that childhood cancer in Fallujah, Iraq is 12 times higher since the heavy bombing started around 2004.  Basra University reports that leukemia in children has increased by 22 percent, and the number of patients with breast cancer has increased 19 percent since the 2004 invasion.  Cancer is now the leading cause of death in southern Iraq, according to a report published by the Basra University Medical College.

So far, the United States has refused to acknowledge the damage caused by its chemical weapons. No compensation or assistance has been provided for Iraq, similar to refusals to clean up Agent Orange after the Vietnam War.

The medical impact of war will not go away any time soon.  When depleted uranium bombs explode, they produce a fine dust containing uranium.  The uranium is absorbed by plants, contaminating the food and water supply. To make matters worse, Iraq’s infamous sandstorms can also  stir up the uranium, making the contaminants airborne. It will be 4,000 years before the depleted uranium will decay to a safe level.

– Stephanie Lamm

Sources: Al Jazeera, Fire Dog Lake
Photo: Inter Press Service

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Surge: Pioneer of Clean Water Around the World

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Surge is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that focuses on providing people with clean and safe drinking water. According to Chicagonow.com, Surge has given around 67,000 people access to clean water in countries such as Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Cambodia.

In addition, Surge focuses on improving people’s health in countries where fatal waterborne diseases such as cholera are common. In order to fund further projects, the organization has decided to host a nationwide event that focuses on collecting funds for the cause.

In addition, Surge provides other ways people can get involved with clean water initiatives. People as young as eight years old can get involved in Surge’s educational awareness program. According to surgeforwater.org, these educational programs reach up to thousands of people each year. Additionally, the “Just for Kids Initiative partners with local organizations in order to educate and empower youth” involved in the program.

In places such as Bangladesh, Surge has provided new water sanitation systems. In the district of Gazipur, more than half of the households were given access to clean water. Today, more than 56,000 households depend on Surge’s aid.

Additionally, the nonprofit has provided Cambodian people with a new water tank to people living in remote villages near the Mekong river. Due to Surge’s efforts more than 1,000 Cambodian children now have access to clean water.

This year, the Water Falls Gala will raise funds for clean water projects in places such as Haiti and the Dominican Republic. According to the official website, the event will be held at the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago’s West Loop.

All the proceeds will work towards building clean water systems in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The projects in these countries will bring clean water to thousands of people.

– Stephanie Olaya

Sources: Surge of Water, Chicago Now

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Walk Free Foundation Says Nearly 30 Million Trapped in Slavery

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A report released by the Walk Free Foundation has revealed that approximately 29.6 million people are kept in various forms of slavery. Among these are sexual exploitation, debt bondage, and forced marriage.

China, India, and Pakistan are among the worst offenders, with an estimated 18 million slaves combined. Although there are fewer slaves, Mauritania and Haiti have the highest proportion of slaves, with approximately 3 and 2 percent of their respective populations being held in slavery.

“Today some people are still being born into hereditary slavery, a staggering but harsh reality, particularly in parts of West Africa and South Asia,” the report states.

“Other victims are captured or kidnapped before being sold or kept for exploitation, whether through ‘marriage,’ unpaid labor on fishing boats, or as domestic workers…Others are tricked and lured into situations they cannot escape, with false promises of a good job or an education.”

 

Facts on Modern Slavery

 

Many of the slaves in Haiti are children, which stems from the cultural practice called “restavek,” where poor families send their children to work for richer families in exchange for room and board. This arrangement often leads to abuse, as well as the children running away. These runaways can end up being trafficked into prostitution or forced begging.

Servile marriages make up a large portion of the problem in India. With an inefficient legal system, victims are discouraged from seeking help from law enforcement. Those without identification papers are especially vulnerable, with no means of proving their identity.

The report also shows that no country is free from slavery, with 59,000 people enslaved in the United States, 6,000 in Canada, and 4,500 in the United Kingdom. Iceland is at the bottom of the list in both absolute and per capita, with less than 100 slaves.

– David Smith

Sources: Al Jazeera, Global Slavery Index
Photo: The CNN Freedom Project

Ending Global Hunger

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Ending global hunger, to many, seems like an impossible goal. The thought of every human on earth going to bed with a full stomach is preposterous. But why should it be? For every child that goes to bed hungry, there is some food being thrown away in another part of the world. We live in a world of excess, yet 1.4 billion people live under the poverty line. It is entirely possible to address the issue of global hunger.

One organization that is bringing awareness to the causes and the solutions to global hunger is Millennium Villages co-founded by the Earth Institute at Columbia University. They focus on helping individual villages increase the production of food; this would not only help feed all the villagers, but would also stimulate the economy. They also provide villagers with essentials that will maximize crop yield: seeds, fertilizers, wells, and other essentials. While they seem like small additions, such things can significantly affect villages in the long term.

Seeds and fertilizers will help ensure the crops that have the most potential are the ones that are planted. The importance of wells cannot be stressed enough. Especially in extremely hot areas, wells can provide access to water to help take care of crops. A good crop yield will feed not only the populations of the villages, but would also decrease the rates of infant mortality, if pregnant women and children receive appropriate care. Also, allowing schools access to safe meals will ensure that students stay healthy and in school.

With more educated children, families have the opportunity to rise out of poverty, as well. In addition to helping villages with crop production to deal with global hunger, Millennium Villages also provides health care for pregnant women and children, makes sure that education and gender equality receive great importance, and creates access to technology and funds for small businesses. All of these measures will invigorate the environment, helping those living in poverty rise from it, while simultaneously addressing global hunger.

– Aalekhya Malladi

Sources: Earth Institute, Millennium Villages, The Borgen Project
Photo: Women Thrive

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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