Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

Cannon House Building 101

Cannon House Building 101
The Cannon House Office building is the oldest congressional office building. It is named after Joseph Gurney Cannon who was Speaker of the House of Representatives during the authorization and completion of the building.

Completed in 1908, the Cannon House building provided fresh new space for members of the House of Representatives. Previously, overcrowding was a severe problem in the capital as committees fought over meeting space. Finally, in 1901, the Sundry Civil Appropriation Act authorized plans for a new building near the Capitol to be used as office and storage space.

After the Cannon House Office building’s opening, all US House of Representative members had their own office space for the first time in history. Each representative was given a room 15 feet wide, 23 feet long that contained a desk, chairs, wardrobe and filing cabinets. These modest offices were also supplied with telephones, lavatories, heat and ventilation. The building also contained a barbershop, restaurant and telegraph office.

Architecturally, the Cannon building is characteristic of the Beaux Arts style of architecture.  Covered in limestone and marble, the exterior of the building is similar to the Colonnade du Louvre in Paris. 34 Doric columns line the side of the building facing Independence Avenue while pilasters face the New Jersey Avenue side. The building is built in the shape of a hollow trapezoid. It was designed this way to allow light to reach the inner rooms.  Upon completion, there were 397 and 14 committee rooms offices constructed within to hold each member of the 61st Congress.

The building was immediately used by the 60th congress after it opened in 1908. However, by 1913, the House once again had maxed out on allotted space and more offices were required. Thus, 51 more rooms were added to the structure of the building with the construction of a fifth floor. By 1924, the building was renovated again and an additional building constructed to house the growing number of representatives.

Today the Cannon Building is still being used as office space for current representatives. Since 1908, the Cannon building has been joined by the Longworth and Rayburn buildings on the Representative side of the Capitol.

– Grace Zhao

Sources: House of Representatives Archives, Architect of the Capitol
Photo: Visiting D.C.

New World Bank Program and Renewable Resources

World Bank Renewable ResourcesA new World Bank program has been launched to help developing countries map and collect data of their renewable energy potential. The Renewable Energy Mapping Program is coordinated and financed by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program. A four-year budget of $11.6 million has been allocated to the program. The program will begin helping 9 developing countries, one of those countries being Pakistan.

Currently, about one-third of Pakistan’s population does not have access to electricity, yet Pakistan has abundant renewable resources including solar energy, wind, hydropower and biomass. These renewable resources are not being fully utilized because of the lack of credible data. The existing maps are not complete and do not identify specific sites for resource development. This new program will identify the areas that have the greatest potential for resource development.

“The importance of this resource mapping [for Pakistan] cannot be overstated,” says Arif Alauddin, former CEO of Pakistan’s Alternative Energy Development Board. “There is a need to shift to domestic renewable energy resources.”

According to the SE4ALL Global Tracking Framework report, renewable energy made up only 1.6 percent of total final energy consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 1.8 percent in Southern Asia as of 2010. In addition to their environmental benefits, renewable resources will create new jobs, improve the country’s energy security and access, and allow the country to transition to a more sustainable energy sector. This new program will provide governments and private companies the foundation they need to develop resources such as solar, wind and hydropower.

– Catherine Ulrich

Sources: AllAfrica, World Bank
Photo: Energy Advisor

The Widening Gap of Global Inequality

poverty-reductionThe gap between rich and poor is widening. It takes money to make money, and so inequality is becoming exacerbated as the rich get richer.

Rising inequality has impeded efforts to eliminate global poverty. With a greater share of wealth being captured by those in the highest income bracket, the amount reaching the lowest is continually decreasing. Two nations with equivalent GDP growth rates could have drastically different levels of poverty depending on income equality. For example, in India, the net worth of 46 billionaires is $176 billion. This number represents 12% of the GDP of India, as opposed to 1% fifteen years ago. Half of that amount would be enough to eliminate absolute poverty in India.

The irony of this unchecked growth of the upper classes is that eventually it can result in a restriction of growth. Extreme inequality slows the development of markets and limits investment opportunities for the poor. Inequality also diminishes the political power of the poor. This skewing of power can reduce government efficiency and allow for tax evasion by the wealthy, limiting the government’s ability to invest in necessary infrastructure to sustain growth.

If we’re to see success in the fight against global poverty, then rising equality must be allowed to play its part.

– David Wilson

Source: The Guardian
Photo: Global Post

Poverty in Guinea-Bissau

guinea-bissau-povertyThe Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a tiny country in West Africa that borders Senegal, Guinea, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its population is estimated at 1,600,000 people.

Guinea-Bissau is regarded as one of the poorest countries in the world as it has one of the lowest GDP per capitas compared to other nations. In 1998 alone, the GDP per-capita of Guinea-Bissau was only $173 compared to the per-capita GDP of the US at $29,683.

Today, the GDP per-capita of Guinea-Bissau has risen to $625.55. However, this level is still amongst the lowest in the world. Consequently, the population of Guinea-Bissau is suffering with a life expectancy of only 48 years in 2012.

Furthermore, Guinea-Bissau has one of the lowest Human Development Index scores. The poor nation ranks 176th out of 185 countries in 2013.

The economy of Guinea-Bissau relies primarily on agriculture, fish, and groundnuts as exports. In particular, the cashew nut exports have been vital to Guinea-Bissau. Yet in recent days, the exports have been on the decline. Cashew nut farmers have been unable to sell their produce as India, the prime importer of the nuts, has slashed its import size. Farmers are left holding tons of unsold cashews.

Guinea-Bissau’s economic depression is largely the result of a long period of political instability. The nation was a Portuguese colony until its declaration of independence on September 24, 1973. Guinea-Bissau was officially recognized as a country the following year following a socialist-inspired military coup in Portugal. From then on the country would be embroiled in civil unrest and several uprisings. Even now, the coup-prone country is severely embattled. In November 2008, the President of Guinea-Bissau was assassinated, following the death of the head of Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 2012, President Raimundo Pereira was deposed in yet another coup d’état.

Guinea-Bissau has yet to recover complete stability and its political chaos has severely affected its economic situation. Due to this very recent coup d’état, the country’s GDP has contracted 1.5% according to the African Development Bank Group.

However, projections for the future of Guinea-Bissau are not as grim as real GDP growth is expected to recover to 4.2%. Inflation, which had previously been at 5%, is expected to ease to 2.1%. Food imports are expected to decline with a rise in production and export of cashews for 2013.

– Grace Zhao

Sources: IRIN, African Development Bank Group, Info Please, Encyclopedia of the Nations
Photo: Wiki Spaces

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Israel Has the Highest Poverty Rate in the Developed World

Israel Has the Highest Poverty Rate in the Developed WorldA study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported that out of 34 developed countries, Israel has the highest poverty rate. The newspaper disclosed that 20.9% of Israeli citizens are currently living in poverty. In addition to staggeringly high numbers of impoverished people, Israel also has one of the largest inequality gaps in the developed world.

The OECD speculates that these struggling economic times have greatly contributed an increase in poverty rates as well as a greater gap between the rich and poor. The organization notes that the inequality gap grew more in the past three years than in the twelve years before then.

As expressed in OECD’s report, “With higher unemployment and lower returns from capital, the crisis not only weighted heavily on incomes from work and capital but also made their distribution more unequal.” There are only a few other countries that are rated higher than Israel in income inequality: Chile, Mexico, Turkey, and the United States.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently been under scrutiny over his prodigal spending habits with taxpayer money. Among his expenses have been an 80% pay raise for himself and a $127,000 cabin for a trip to London. The struggling Israeli population heavily criticized his actions. The Prime Minister also plans to cut funding for benefits and child allowance, which is likely to put even more families below the poverty line.

Israel is among those developed countries that are particularly struggling with a massive inequality gap. The Israeli government must step in and create policies that will bring these people out of poverty and shorten the gap between the rich and poor.

– Mary Penn

Source: Huffington Post
Photo: Christoin

African Perspective on Foreign Aid

aid-hurts-africaDoes aid hurt Africa? When considering foreign aid in developing countries, the perspective of those receiving the aid is very often overlooked. The focus tends to be on those developed countries that give aid: why they should give aid, how they should give aid, and where it is most needed. This focus entirely disregards the attitudes and concerns of those receiving aid, government leaders and citizens alike. Discovering more on this perspective could in fact be key to assisting these nations in the most effective way possible.

According to Thompson Ayodele and other experts, Africans are for the most part skeptical about many of the initiatives put forward by western donors and international organizations. This skepticism is founded in the fact that many multibillion-dollar initiatives put in place by the United Nations have “fizzled” and left the African continent with small percentages of economic growth. In 2005, after $500 billion in foreign aid from 1960-1997 had been funneled into Africa, the budgets of some countries like Ghana and Uganda had been more than 50% aid-dependent.

It is interesting to note, however, that now in 2013, Ghana is among those countries that have met targets of the Millennium Development Goal before the 2015 deadline. The country as a whole has cut the number of hungry people by half as well as reduced to half the number of undernourished people between 1990-92 and 2010-2012. The GDP per capita has nearly doubled since 2005.

Still, there are other problems to consider other than the economic goals being achieved. David Karanja, a former Kenyan member of parliament, for example, has said that “Foreign aid has done more harm to Africa than we care to admit. It has led to a situation where Africa has failed to set its own pace and direction of development free of external interference.” The truth is that the majority of those giving aid or lobbying for aid have no experience with the reality of life in Africa or how this aid is really being put to use. Those who possess such experience should be brought to the forefront of the discussion.

A big problem that foreign assistance often encounters is corruption and the lack of transparency from governments, organizations, and corporations. This is why a commitment to transparency must be made in order to work around those who would funnel aid money away from where it is sorely needed. The important thing to take away from this differing perspective is the focus on making aid as effective as possible by creating strategies to circumvent corruption and commit to transparency in trade, taxation, and government processes. In order to assist in the most efficient way, it is imperative that we take into account the real needs and desires of those we are attempting to aid, rather than competing to see who can donate the most to the cause.

President Alpha Conde of Guinea weighs in on the topic commenting that they “do not want to live in dependence on the generosity of others when our resources can make us prosperous and strong.”

Impact of Foreign Aid on Africa and the World

  • In 1990, nearly half of the population in developing regions lived on less than $1.25 a day. This rate dropped to 14% in 2015.
  • The total number of people living in extreme poverty has declined by more than half from 1.9 billion to 836 million.
  • The number of underfed people has been almost cut in half from 23.3% to 12.9%
  • Primary school enrollment has risen to 91% from 83%.
  • Sub-Saharan Africa achieved a 20% increase in primary school enrollment from 2000 to 2015.
  • The number of primary school-aged children who were out of school dropped from 100 million to 57 million over the past 15 years.
  • The literacy rate of those between 15 and 24 years old has risen from 83% to 91%.
  • The proportion of girls in school in Southern Asia has risen from 74 girls for every 100 boys to 103 girls for every 100 boys
  • Women now make up 41% of paid non-agricultural employments, an increase from 35%
  • The under-five mortality rate dropped from 90 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births and the number of under-five deaths dropped from 12.7 million to almost 6 million despite the boom in global population
  • The number of globally reported measles cases declined by 67% since 2000 and measles vaccinations helped prevent nearly 15.6 million deaths
  • Maternal mortality declined by almost half
  • New infections of HIV decreased by approximately 40% since 2000
  • The use of Antiretroviral therapy by AIDS patients increased from 800,000 in 2003 to 13.6 million which has averted 7.6 million deaths between 1995 and 2003
  • Over 6.2 million malaria deaths have been averted since 2000
  • The tuberculosis mortality rate fell by 45% saving an estimated 37 million lives
  • Official development assistance from developed countries increased by 66% in real terms since 2000 and 5 countries (Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, and the UK) exceeded the 0.7% Gross National Income UN assistance target
  • Internet usage is up from 6% in 2000 to 43% in 2015 connecting 3.2 billion people worldwide

– Sarah Rybak
Source: Ghana Business News, Nation of Kenya, CATO, United Nations
Photo: The Wall Street Journal

Poverty in Namibia

Poverty in Namibia

Located on the southernmost part of Africa’s western coast, Namibia is not recognized by most Americans.  Namibia invests heavily in its people’s education and health, possesses a free press, competitive business markets and one of the lowest rates of corruption in Africa.

However, it is marked by an extremely large economic divide among its citizenry.  Although it is technically a middle-income country, there is much poverty in Namibia as a result of income inequalities.  The UNDP rates the income disparity in Namibia as the highest in the world, at 70.7 on a scale of 0 to 100. The top 5 percent of Namibians control 70 percent of the country’s GDP, while the poorest half of the population controls only 3 percent of GDP.  Poverty is most prevalent in rural areas of the country and among women, as is often the case.  Women head around 40 percent of households in Namibia, and these households are the poorest in the country.  Half of the country’s population lives below the poverty line.

The government’s poor land redistribution contributes significantly to Namibian poverty.  During the era in which Namibia was ruled by the apartheid regime in South Africa, large white-owned commercial farms dominated agriculture with cattle production.  The Namibian government has now divided these farms up and given the portions to natives in Namibia, still committing them to cattle production.  Essentially, the government has reproduced the apartheid era farms, but in a weakened form, as they are smaller and no longer subsidized by the South African government.  Experts suggest that a shift towards tropical agriculture and crop cultivation rather than cattle production is the solution to these land distribution issues.

Namibia also faces a severe HIV/AIDS epidemic, in which 19.7 percent of the country is afflicted.  As a result, life expectancy in the country has declined from 61 to 49 years.  Promoting economic growth in the country is difficult due to an under-educated and low-skilled workforce.  The economy is subsisted largely on the export of primary resources for little profit.

USAID uses its “ABCDE’s of development” to combat poverty in Namibia:  AIDS and TB prevention, care, and treatment, basic education, community-based natural resource management, democracy and governance, employment creation/enterprise development.  Through PEPFAR, the US has given $42.8 million in funds for disease management and prevention.  USAID has also provided training to 4,000 teachers in Namibia in the hope of developing human capital to form a more skilled workforce.  USAID also promotes community-based democratic programs to help strengthen the country’s democracy and governance.

Namibia, rich in natural resources such as diamonds, uranium, lead, gold, copper, zinc, bountiful fisheries, natural gas, and some of the most spectacular and varied scenery and wildlife in the world, could greatly benefit the world’s economy. It also benefits from an extremely developed infrastructure and a politically stable government.  If the country can overcome its disease issues, poor land redistribution and income inequalities, it will be an asset to the global economy.

–  Martin Drake

Source: World Bank, USAID, IRIN News
Photo: Steps For Children

Poverty in Russia and the Wealth Gap

Poverty in Russia and the Wealth Gap
Russia is a massive country with a population of 143 million.  With 18 million people living in poverty in Russia, however, the issue of alleviating poverty has become a serious issue for the administration of President Vladimir Putin.  According to the Russian auditing company FBK, the minimum wage in Russia is grossly incompatible with the cost of living. The average monthly living cost is 210 US dollars/month in Moscow.  The average monthly salary for a minimum wage worker there is 155 US dollars.  Statistics from the government of Russia indicate that the wealthier classes have been hoarding wealth at an exponential rate while the abject poor remain stagnant.  There are currently 97 billionaires in Russia, and their wealth is only increasing.  The fall of the Soviet Union was the impetus for this growing income gap, as moguls were able to take advantage of an increasingly more free-market economy.

On a positive note, poverty levels have gone down in Russia since the late 1990s, when over 20% of the population was below the poverty line.  Russian sociologist Natalya Bondarenko notes that “15 to 20 % of Russians (in the late nineties) considered their income enough only to buy food as opposed to just 5 to 6 % of Russians who say the same thing now.”  President Putin has also alluded to a policy in which politicians as well as the heads of companies would be required to make their salaries public.  Hopefully, the government of Russia will take steps to confront the issue of extreme poverty within her borders.  In order for stability to be maintained in post-Soviet Russia, the Motherland must look after her children.

– Josh Forget

Sources: The Telegraph, Forbes
Photo: Guardian

Poverty in Madagascar

Poverty in Madagascar

Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and has a population of over 22 million. It has an incredible amount of biodiversity, a great potential for sustainable tourism, and boasts a deep, rich heritage. However, before the mid-1990s Madagascar was in a downward economic spiral. Poverty in Madagascar is rampant. Even though slow improvements have been made, a 2004 CIA Factbook estimate places 50% of the population below the poverty line — the World Bank’s estimate is that 70% of Malagasy live on less than $1 a day. Some of the biggest obstacles to poverty eradication in Madagascar are as follows.

1. Geography. Its placement in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Eastern Africa exposes it to a large amount of intense tropical cyclones. Floods caused by torrential rains are contributing to humanitarian crises the country faces relatively often. Furthermore, the area that Madagascar takes up is slightly less than twice the size of Arizona with a square kilometrage of approximately 587,000 km. Because of the island’s relatively prohibitive size, deforestation and erosion are grave environmental concerns.

2. Political turmoil both past and present. Deep roots of unrest persisted after French colonial rule ended in 1960; in the early 1970s, the military seized the newly independent government and imposed strict socialist economic practices. By 1982 the country needed external aid through the International Monetary Fund. Improvements were made, especially with Madagascar’s inclusion in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allowed Madagascar duty-free access and access to aid funding. However, in 2009 then-president Marc Ravolomanana was deposed in a coup. Andry Rajoelina replaced Ravolomanana; the coup marked Madagascar’s exclusion from the AGOA due to human rights concerns, and donors all but suspended aid to the country. Today the political turmoil and threat of conflict also have driven many tourists from considering Madagascar a destination, halting the already-stunted tourism sector.

3. Disintegrating infrastructure. According to Euromonitor International, the capital city of Antananarivo is the only city on the entire island to provide good road infrastructure. Most railway transport along the island is on the eastern side, where the principal cargo port city of Toamasina is situated to the northeast of the capital city. The country is therefore heavily isolated even between major cities; the lack of ability to move goods and workers is severely detrimental. Furthermore, even transport out of the country by air is tenuous due to air safety and security concerns, according to Euromonitor International.

4. Severe water safety, sanitation and hygiene concerns. According to WaterAid Madagascar, over 18 million people do not have access to adequate sanitation in the country; 89% of Malagasy do not have access to improved toilets. As a result, Index Mundi asserts that the degree of risk is very high for major infectious diseases; waterborne diseases are common, such as bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever. Ultimately, the biggest obstacle that Madagascar faces now is its political instability. President Rajoelina’s government — and the way he acquired his power — has caused international aid to come to a halt. Until then, the burden for domestic development, strengthening the economy, and addressing public safety issues falls squarely on the shoulders of the already-financially strained government of Madagascar.

– Naomi Doraisamy

Sources: BBC, CIA World Factbook, Euromonitor International, Index Mundi, Water Aid
Photo: Wild Madagascar

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Camel Milk: The Future of Nutrition in Ethiopia?

Camel_milk_USAID

USAID is partnering with Somalia groups to form the Camel Milk Value Chain Development project. This project is part of the U.S. President’s Feed the Future Initiative in Ethiopia. Feed the Future is a project started by the Obama Administration that focuses on helping countries become self-sustainable through agriculture reforms and improvements. The goal of the Camel Milk Development project is to improve the production of camel milk and to make it more marketable and competitive in Ethiopian communities.

The camel milk initiative is projected to benefit 50,000 “targeted households” in the country. Abdifatah Mohamud Hassan, Somali Regional State Vice President, said, “The Camel Milk Value Chain Development project is an innovative project that addresses cultural wealth of the pastoralists and contributes to the Ethiopia Agricultural Growth and Transformation Plan.”

Once the project is underway, local farmers will be educated on camel productivity, which includes breeding, better feed, and improvements to the camels’ health. The last aspect of this strategy to increase productivity will be a main focus as USAID trains more animal health care workers. Another goal of the organization is improved camel milk quality. This will happen through extensive trainings that teach workers about proper sanitation.

Finally, USAID hopes to create a better market for camel milk by connecting local milk markets with larger milk networks. This will generate a more stable market for farmers, negating some of the uncertainty and stress that goes along with the agriculture sector. Along with a stronger market, USAID will improve hygiene, food safety standards, and infrastructure.

Given Somalia’s unpredictable weather patterns that often include drought, camels could prove to be a vital source of nutrients for a majority of the country. The USAID Ethiopia Mission Director, Dennis Weller, has even called camels the “animal of the future.” As camel milk becomes more common, those living in Somalia will experience better food security as well as economic independence.

– Mary Penn

Source: USAID
Photo: Mercy Corps