Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

The Difference Between a Famine and a Drought?

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Famine and drought are often considered one and the same. It is easy to think that where there is drought, there is certainly famine or that where there is famine, there must be drought. The truth of the matter is that the difference between a famine and a drought is huge. Famines and droughts are caused by various conditions and factors that sometimes have nothing to do with the other.

Drought may be defined in three ways. That is to say, there are three kinds of drought. Meteorological drought is a reduction in rainfall below a certain level that is scientifically considered to be a drought. This kind of drought may occur in the course of a season, month, or even day. If it rains less than a specific amount, over the specified amount of time, you have meteorological drought.

Hydrological drought may be caused by meteorological drought, but it need not necessarily be so. This kind of drought occurs when a body of water, such as a stream or lake, falls below a certain amount. For example, in a dry year, meteorological drought may lead to hydrological drought in a stream, when the stream runs much lower than it usually does. Likewise, hydrological drought may exist when the source of a stream is blocked or severed.

Agricultural drought occurs when there is a significant reduction in crop yield, such that it may fall to a certain level considered to be a drought. This kind of drought may be caused by meteorological and/or hydrological drought, but may just as easily stem from insufficient access to fertilizer or some other necessary ingredient to produce yield.

Famine, on the other hand, is caused by a decline in availability of and/or access to food often caused by one of the three kinds of drought. Where there is insufficient water to produce a staple crop, for example, or where there is insufficient fertilizer to produce the standard yield for a crop, drought may lead to and certainly cause famine. Yet, it is not necessarily the drought that causes such a famine.

For famine to occur, there must be insufficient availability of or access to food. Though there may be some kind of drought one year, adequate food management of the available crops may effectively prevent famine. This point highlights the importance of access to food. On that note, inadequate management of a drought may lead to famine because families with less purchasing power, say, are unable to gain access to the available foodstuffs.

Though famine often does follow drought, it is not necessarily a cause and effect relationship. Rather the difference between famine and drought lies in the complexity of this relationship and the conditions and factors that surround local circumstances, as well as government and community responses to drought. The difference between famine and drought is therefore dependent on what causes the drought and how communities handle their food supplies.

– Herman Watson

Sources: Preserve Articles, The Borgen Project, World Vision, Edward Carr
Photo: Business Insider

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McDonald’s as a Poverty Indicator?

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Today the fast food giant McDonald’s is so ubiquitous in the United States that it is hard to imagine a world where it doesn’t exist. McDonald’s has 34,480 restaurants in 119 countries. The fast food chain even has restaurants in Cuba. Despite vast numbers, 105 nations still do not have a McDonalds. These McDonald’s free nations include Ghana, Jamaica, Yemen and Tajikistan.

What is the significance of the spread of McDonald’s? The spread of McDonald’s Big Macs and French fries across the world is a clear  indicator of globalization. What started off as an American fast food restaurant has slowly but surely reached every continent. In a study by Princeton University, entitled “The Fries that Bind Us”, globalization is mapped by the concentration of McDonald’s restaurants in various countries. The map clearly reveals McDonald’s restaurants congregated around the U.S, Europe and part of China.

Most importantly, the distribution of McDonald’s restaurants can work as an indicator of the relative wealth of a nation. Michael Centeno, sociologist at Princeton University has stated “If you want a definition of what the rich world and the poor world are, well, if you can get a McDonald’s, you are in the rich world.” According to Centeno wealth and the number of McDonalds are directly correlated. Thus poorer nations in sub-Saharan African and poor and central Asia have far fewer opened McDonalds restaurants.

Additionally, the presence of McDonald’s restaurants is correlated with a nation’s economic development and stability. Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam is about to open its first McDonald’s in the next year. What this mean is that Vietnamese consumers now have enough disposable income to indulge in American fast food. At the same time, nations may lose their McDonald’s due to declining economic situations. For example, Iceland has shut down all of its three McDonald’s chains following severe economic down turn and a currency crisis.

Some people may insist that the growth or decline of McDonalds in any region may be mostly related to the culture of the area. While culture does play a role in the spread of fast food, the growth of McDonald’s overseas can truly be a sign of wealth and development. That is to say, as poor or developing countries expand economically, they are able to take part in the luxuries of developed nations. Furthermore, economists have even developed what is known as the Big Mac Index, an informal way to compare currencies across nations. Whether or not more French fries or burgers are truly beneficial for the global poor, the spread of McDonald’s definitely indicates where wealth and poverty tend to linger.

– Grace Zhao

Sources: Princeton University, NPR, The Economist
Photo: 1-800-Politics

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Indigenous Peoples: Poverty and Foreign Aid

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On August 9th, the world celebrated the UN’s International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, an annual event that has been held since 1995. This year’s theme, “honoring treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements,” struck a chord with aboriginal peoples around the globe. With many suffering from poverty and marginalization at the hands of states in power, the indigenous peoples of today are finding a dead end at the intersection of state interests and modern culture. The United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007 and has been advocating for indigenous peoples’ rights ever since. In a report released in 2009, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs described the state of the world’s indigenous peoples, particularly the impoverishment that most have found themselves in.  The report points out that globalization has given governments a reason to take indigenous lands for use in profitable industries like mineral extraction. Either seized or heavily polluted, these lands and territories of indigenous people have increasingly become their heaviest losses. With unsettling histories marked by colonization, dispossession, and injustice, indigenous peoples have been forced into the lowest echelons of society where they often remain. Research conducted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has produced statistical figures that characterize the overwhelming poverty felt by these peoples. There are about 370 million indigenous peoples around the globe today, or about 5% of the world population. They make up 15% of the world’s poor and 1/3 of the world’s “extremely poor rural people.” Disparities between countries’ indigenous and nonindigenous populations in education, healthcare, and other basic sectors are substantial. On August 9th, several indigenous populations spoke out against their marginalization.  In the Philippines, the people of Cordillera called on their government to “honor their commitments to [the people of Cordillera].” In the past three years, these people have seen the rise of the state’s mining industry, which has ultimately violated their rights. Given their circumstances, indigenous peoples’ voices are rarely heard. Where foreign aid could be the key to a better world for these peoples, countries continue to allot funds to secure state interests, often leaving aboriginal peoples behind. In a collective effort to shift the tides, indigenous peoples everywhere are calling on donors to consider sending direct donations in support of their development.
– Lina Saud
Sources: Indigenous Day, What Indigenous Peoples Need from Foreign Aid Photo: Indian Country

Attacks on Women in Afghanistan Inhibit Campaign

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A police commander in Afghanistan’s central Ghazni province recently reported that Taliban fighters kidnapped Fariba Ahmadi Kakar, a female parliamentarian, and her three daughters as they traveled by car through the province. This kidnapping marks the latest in a series of highly publicized, violent attacks against women in the country.

Violent and frequently deadly attacks on women in Afghanistan working for state institutions have increased in recent months, raising concerns that U.S. efforts to promote women’s rights are failing. Human rights activists and diplomats alike worry that Afghan women will continue to suffer, especially as the United States plans to withdraw in 2014.

While Kakar’s three daughters were released, her kidnappers demanded that four Taliban prisoners be released before they would let her go.

A member of the lower house, Kakar was the second parliamentarian to be attacked in the province of Ghazni in less than one week. Though her husband insisted the attack had never taken place, the Kakar tribe’s elder Samad Khan admitted that she had been taken and said the tribe was attempting to reach an agreement with the Taliban.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, reported that he did not know who carried out the kidnapping but that the group is currently investigating it.

During the Taliban’s reign from 1996 to 2001, women were required to wear the burqa, which concealed them completely. They were also restricted from attending school and were prohibited from leaving the house without a male companion.

The western-supported government of President Hamid Karzai has restored women’s right to work and schooling, but these reforms have been met with much resistance. Women who survive Taliban attacks usually flee the country, which is classified as “one of the worst places in the world to be born female,” according to Reuters.

Muzhgan Masoomi, a former government worker who was stabbed 14 times in an attack last year, said she had to leave Afghanistan in order receive treatment for her wounds and proper protection from the Taliban. Though the attack occurred more than a year ago, Masoomi received no assistance from media or humanitarian organizations.

Last week a female senator named Rooh Gul was shot along with her husband and eight-year old daughter. Gul and her husband survived the attack, but their daughter died along with the driver of their car.

In July, Lieutenant Islam Bibi, the highest-ranking policewoman in the southern province of Helmand, was shot to death on her way to work in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah. Bibi herself reported frequent death threats from people inside and outside her family. These high profile attacks of senior female government officials are making headlines, yet honor killings by conservative relatives have occurred for years in Afghanistan.

Human rights groups remain concerned that rules instituted by the Taliban have not yet been defeated in certain areas of the country. Clerics in a region of the Baghlan province banned women from leaving the house without a male chaperone in June and closed all beauty parlors in the area.

According to NBC, Afghanistan’s parliament also voted to strike down a statute requiring females to make up a quarter of all provincial elected officials. Human Rights Watch calls these recent attacks along with parliament’s recent vote “a broad-based attack on women’s rights,” calling for the international community to stand up for Afghan women.

– Katie Bandera

Sources: The Star, NBC
Photo: Indian Express

China’s Increasing Investment in Africa

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Over the last two decades, China has gradually invested in Africa, gaining ownership of more and more resources and growing industries. Recently, China has sharply increased these investments, taking on a much larger role in Africa’s future. China’s increasing investment in Africa may signal that the U.S. needs to similarly increase their investment in the region.

Africa’s biggest creditor is the China Import-Export Bank. Officials are in the process of creating the China-Africa Development Fund, which will pump over $2 billion into the developing continent over the next three years. China has replaced the United Sates as Africa’s largest trading partner, as its trade levels with Africa have shot up from $10 billion to $200 billion, over just thirteen years.

There are mixed feelings over China’s growing presence in Africa. To its credit, China has provided much-needed support, providing funding for expensive infrastructure projects and other developmental plans. Such projects have included building schools and roads, creating opportunities for many people in Africa. Similarly, China’s huge economic growth rates have helped boost Africa’s pace of growth as well. China also aids Africa’s growing consumerism by providing cheap products that improve quality of life for many people across the continent.

Conversely, many critics criticize China for overreaching in regards to Africa and taking advantage of their disorganization and lack of regulations. Others emphasize China’s exploitation of Africa’s natural resources. This has left Africa with very little profit compared with what China has made off of these resources, causing many to draw an eerie comparison to the days of European imperialism and exploitation of the continent. China’s mass manufacturing and distribution network, which makes cheap consumer products available, also has a huge advantage over Africa’s smaller upcoming production facilities. China’s ability to distribute cheap products on a wide scale discourages competition and drives many local start-ups out of business.

More alarming still is China’s focus on acquiring Africa’s natural resources. Raw materials comprise approximately 85 percent of Africa’s exports to China, largely consisting of oil and various minerals. The African Development Bank has voiced complaints over this mass export of natural resources, calling for the resources to be processed and developed within Africa in order to create jobs and profit.

Many African governments have started demanding China offer up a greater number of jobs to the African population. As Africa’s population continues to grow, the need for more jobs simultaneously increases. However, China’s established investment patterns tend to bring in their own Chinese workforce, leading to an influx of an estimated one million Chinese migrants to Africa throughout the last twenty years.

China’s soft power investment in Africa will surely lead to greatly increased Chinese influence throughout the developing continent. The question remains whether this will propel Africa to new levels or simply act as a crutch for Africa’s struggle for healthy development and economic growth.

– Allison Meade

Sources: Forbes, Reuters, International Business Times
Photo: USC Dornsife

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5 Global Poverty Solutions

Global poverty solutions
You’ve heard about the problems, but what are global poverty solutions? In fact, there are many:

1. Clean Water and Sanitation

A lot of people in the developed world take clean water and sanitation for granted. We do not realize at times how lucky we are that we don’t have to travel miles to get access to clean water, or drink seemingly safe water only to later find out it was contaminated. Improving water quality and overall sanitation are steps already being taken by non-profit and non-governmental organizations like UNICEF, etc. In fact, UNICEF’s Clean Water Campaign is attempting to do just this: help bring clean and safe tap water to people in developing and third world nations. The potential for a high impact is definitely present: just 5 U.S. dollars can provide clean tap water for one child for 200 days. Cleaner water and safer sanitation lead to healthy and fit children who are able to learn and go to school.

2. Healthcare and the Elimination and Prevention of Diseases

Similar to clean water and sanitation, proper healthcare can also help children and adults be vigorous enough to better take care of their families and work, or pursue education. Many potentially deadly diseases can be averted very simply: for example, one can greatly increase one’s chances of avoiding malaria simply by sleeping inside a mosquito net. Many charities are actively trying to save lives simply by sending nets to poverty stricken families in Africa. Vaccinations and inoculations prevent children from getting easily treatable diseases. Some very treatable diseases go unnoticed and/or untreated in families living in extreme poverty because they are often ignored, not recognized as illnesses, or treatments can’t be afforded. By eliminating and preventing easily treatable diseases, we give a chance to millions of children who otherwise might die of easily treatable maladies.

3. Education

Again, access to basic education is also perhaps something those in developed nations take for granted. Young children living in extreme poverty often have no choice but to seek employment when they reach a certain age in order to help the family financially. They often forgo an education for many reasons: for some, it’s a lack of nearby schools, for others, it’s simple economic necessity, and then there are some who cannot attend school because a lack of proper sanitation and clean water has left them with health problems; these children are unable to learn and perform well in school. Education is a positive feedback cycle in which children who receive an education are able to bring more money home for their families, thereby allowing other children to go to school rather than work. Education empowers people not only economically, but also spiritually and intellectually, potentially leading to a cyclical liberation of the poor.

4. Encouraging Local Innovation

Encouraging local innovation is a great solution to poverty because it stimulates the economy of poverty struck areas as well as supporting self-sufficiency. Some great inventions are currently coming out of Africa; some of them are simple solutions to problems only those living in extreme poverty face. Regardless, this is an eventual result of education, and if encouraged and fostered, it will result in a brighter future for those actively fighting poverty. Organizations like the African Innovation Foundation take it upon themselves to release the potential of individuals in poor African nations who would otherwise go unnoticed.

5. Eliminate Corruption

Eliminating corruption is an extremely significant move in the fight against global poverty. If it’s the higher up officials who hoard money, and prevent aid from going where it is most needed, it will hold back individual countries from eliminating diseases, educating the young, and making clean water accessible to the general population. Additionally, corruption can often result in lax law enforcement, which allows poor nations to become breeding grounds for extremist, sometimes terrorist groups. Eliminating corruption, therefore, would be taking a very big step towards eliminating poverty in general.

– Aalekhya Malladi

Sources: Clean Water Campaign, Netting Nations, Nets for Life Africa, Nothing But Nets, African Innovation Foundation
Photo: The Guardian

African Growth and Opportunity Act’s Importance

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The Economist once labeled Africa “The Hopeless Continent.” The magazine determined that the widespread effects of disease, poverty, conflict and corruption rendered the continent economically unfavorable. That was in 2000, the same year that President Clinton signed into law the African Growth and Opportunity Act (“AGOA”). Today, the continent—and particularly sub-Saharan Africa—is home to several of the world’s fastest growing economies. In 2011, The Economist revised its moniker, referring to Africa as the “The Rising Continent.”

Many economists view AGOA as an integral element of growth in sub-Saharan Africa. The primary objective of AGOA is to expand the volume and variety of trade and investment between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. According to government sources, AGOA’s trade provisions are responsible for 350,000 direct and 1 million indirect jobs in Africa as well as 100,000 jobs in the United States. Since the program’s inception, exports from AGOA nations to the U.S. have risen more than 300 percent.

AGOA is scheduled to expire in 2015, but President Obama has initiated an early campaign to extend the trade agreement. While praising the success of the program the President explained that, “The economies of sub-Saharan Africa are among the world’s fastest-growing, and this economic expansion, partly a result of our long-standing investment in Africa, provides an opportunity to lift millions out of poverty and foster long-term stability.”

Though oil and gas exports comprise more than 90 percent of African exports under the program, leaders hope to expand investment in other industries such as textile and apparel exports. Economists have stressed the importance of diversifying exports in trying to achieve long-term development and sustainable growth.

This month, leaders from the United States and participating African nations will meet in Ethiopia for the AGOA Forum. The theme of the event is Sustainable Transformation Through Trade and Technology. African representatives are hoping for a long-term extension of the trade agreement. Jas Bedi, chairman of the African Cotton and Textile Industries Federation, explained it simply, “You can’t do a $200 million deal if you don’t know what’s going to happen in three year’s time.”

Renewal of AGOA is crucial if the United States hopes to keep pace with China, which has recently overtaken the United States as sub-Saharan Africa’s largest trading partner. A recent report from the Brookings Institute criticizes the American business community for failing to capitalize on the continent’s emerging markets. As the region continues to grow, the United States hopes to accelerate trade and investment with its African partners. The renewal of AGOA will certainly be a good start.

– Daniel Bonasso

Sources: Financial Times, AGOA, Brookings Institute
Photo: It News Africa

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Definition of Poverty: What Is It, Exactly?

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In the vaguest sense of the word, Merriam-Webster will tell you that general poverty is “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.” This is just about as much as anyone with a context clue for the word poverty could define it as. But what is it really? What does it mean to live in poverty? There are different types and levels, in a sense, of poverty. Each country tends to have different cut off points that determine whether they are truly impoverished or not. But it is generally accepted that those living in such a way that it is difficult to make ends meet, are impoverished. So what are the different levels?

There are several million people living at or nearby the poverty line just in the United States, but even our poverty line is higher than that of the world’s poorest countries. A person living alone and unmarried is allotted just over $11,000 or less to meet the poverty requirements set by the government. And while survival in our country would be absolutely difficult on this meager income, many people are living on even less. In fact, there are 2.4 billion people living at the poverty line of $2 a day, this comes to less than $3,000 income in an entire year. That is two dollars every day to feed themselves and their families. All that money to have a place to live and water to drink and clothes to wear. Defining poverty means looking at the fact that people are going without the full education or access to good jobs that they so desperately need to pull themselves out of this way of life. People living this way often have to choose one necessity over another in order to make sure that at least some of the needs are met and taking any government assistance when possible, like food stamps and welfare. And it gets even worse than that.

What about extreme poverty? This is recognized as living on less that $1.25 a day as defined by the World bank in 2008 and there are over 1 billion people living in this state. This level is decided by a lack of clean water, housing, food, health care and education. Some of the countries most beset by this issue include Africa, Afghanistan, and Haiti. Most things that other people take for granted, those living in extreme poverty must go without. People living in extreme poverty suffer much higher rates of infant and maternal mortality. 22,000 children around the world die every day in the poorest countries due to unchecked illness and succumbing to malnourishment. In fact 1 billion out of 2.2 billion children in the world are living in poverty conditions such as these. At this point every aspect of survival becomes a struggle. It is not simply a matter of going without health care to ensure that there is enough food in the house. It is instead going without reasonable amounts of anything at all and living a day by day existence.

What about social poverty, or social exclusion? Poverty is not only defined in a monetary fashion. Income poverty is the most commonly looked at, but there is such a thing as social poverty. This is defined as lacking cultural inclusion due to the inability to conform to society’s ideal norms due to a lack of education, skills, money, health care, child care, and a certain type of living condition. This multidimensional measurement of poverty brings all these into consideration to define itself as the inability to participate in the community socially whether on that national, local, or even familial level. While it is much more difficult to measure than what is called absolute poverty, it is still considered to be an important aspect of poverty by many in the world. It is thought that a quality of life should also be applied to standards of living.

All in all, while poverty is defined much in the same way that any word is, it is a constantly adjusting thing as it is an active part of life itself. It fluctuates regularly and changes to meet the times. Hopefully, with the right amount of work and education, it will also become a part of our past as opposed an all too realistic part of our present.

– Chelsea Evans

Sources: Merriam-Webster, Families USA, Global Issues, UNESCO, One Day’s Wages
Photo: Photo Brazil

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How to Prevent Poverty

How to Prevent Poverty
Understanding how to prevent poverty has been an issue of great concern both in the United States and across the globe. Countries like the U.S., in a position to prevent poverty in less developed nations, are particularly interested in determining the causes of poverty in order to effectively alleviate poverty at home and abroad. By understanding what it is that leads to impoverishment in specific communities and countries, poverty reduction efforts are more likely to prevent poverty all over the world.

Though poverty and extreme poverty, as terms, have been defined as living under a certain dollar amount per day, what causes poverty is often much more complicated. The World Bank defines global poverty as a pronounced and multidimensional deprivation in wellbeing. That is, what it is to be considered poor or impoverished depends on a number of different conditions and factors that vary from community to community. For example, one family may have the dollar amount sufficient to feed itself but lack adequate access to education or water.

Because poverty represents such a wide variety of conditions, how to prevent poverty is an issue that requires a complex understanding of the circumstances in which one is working. Not only that, effective poverty prevention and reduction strategies will necessarily include either a multidimensional approach or take place in a network of projects that strive to prevent or reduce poverty on various levels. For instance, Plan Canada, a Canadian-based charity organization founded in 1937, takes a five-step approach in its strategy to prevent poverty worldwide.

 

Plan Canada’s Tools for How to Prevent Poverty

 

  • Education – Providing a quality education to children will create positive change in a child’s life.
  • Healthcare – Adequate access to healthcare is essential to ensuring health and wellness.
  • Water and Sanitation – Prevention of disease in communities is largely dependent on adequate facilities.
  • Economic Security – Though economic growth is not required, economic security provides families with sufficient stability to count on a consistent family income.
  • Child Participation – Helping children learn their rights and engage in civic duties sets the foundation for a strong community.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that slower population growth and investments in reproductive health and HIV prevention, as well as women’s empowerment and gender equality are also important steps toward preventing poverty. In fact, the UNFPA considers universal access to reproductive health information and services to be an “essential” condition to achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

How to end poverty is a complicated question, but significant research like that taken to synthesize the reports discussed above suggests that it is not an impossible question to answer. Quite the contrary, there are thousands of organizations across the globe working on just that question every day. Collaborative and coordinated efforts, in recognition of the diverse causes of poverty, will no doubt win the day. In the meantime, these strategies continue to develop in scope and sophistication.

– Herman Watson

Sources: The Borgen Project, Plan Canada, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Population Fund
Photo: Soda Head

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The UMCOR Organization Makes a Difference

UMCOR
The United Methodist Committee on Relief, also know as UMCOR, is a humanitarian relief and development organization which aims transform and strengthen individual’s lives and their communities by providing humanitarian relief in the United States and abroad.

UMCOR helps communities which have been effected by natural disasters, war, or conflict. Although UMCOR is not a first response organization, its volunteers are always on high alert to help those in need. The United Methodist Committee on Relief aims to establish a “new normal” for the communities they are helping, and help each individual return to their everyday lives.

The organization empowers local businesses, hospitals, schools, and churches in Third world countries. UMCOR travels to different areas of the world visiting communities and addressing health, sanitation, poverty, sustainable agriculture, and food security issues.

UMCOR has helped millions around the world and believes that each and every individual has God given worth and dignity, which is why the organization does not discriminate against race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

The organization helps communities recover from disaster and sustain their improvement. Volunteers remain in the communities after recovery has occurred to provide individuals with an education, training, and support. UMCOR also works towards preventing the spread of malaria and other health issues such as HIV/AIDS, maternal and child survival, water and sanitation, congressional health, and hospital strengthening.

UMCOR also partners with other organizations to address issues, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.N. Foundation. A representative from the U.N. Foundation stated that UMCOR is making a big difference in numerous individual’s lives by not wishing for a difference, but instead is going out there and is making a difference.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief is an organization which is making great strides in global development and international aid. By working in over 80 countries, and providing individuals with an education, training, and support, UMCOR has become a leading organization in humanitarian relief.

– Grace Elizabeth Beal

Sources: UMCOR, Imagine No Malaria, UN Foundation