Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

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COVID-19’s Impact on Fiji

COVID-19’s Impact on Fiji
Over the last three years, COVID-19’s impact on Fiji has been devastating. The pandemic’s effects hit Fiji’s thriving tourism industry particularly hard, which in 2020 accounted for 38% of Fiji’s gross domestic product (GDP). As a result, Fijian leaders acted quickly to implement recovery efforts, aimed at supporting sustainable economic growth and adapting to the “new normal” that the pandemic imposed. While the general public met some of these measures with opposition, these measures remained necessary in the face of new unprecedented challenges.

The 2020 Initial Response

The COVID-19 pandemic sent shockwaves through Fiji in 2020, with businesses closing and international travel restrictions put in place to keep the country safe from outbreaks. During this time, the focus was on adapting to the short-term new market realities brought by the pandemic, which resulted in these business closures. By July 2020, 50% of tourism-focused businesses had either temporarily or fully closed and 20% of non-tourism-focused businesses “indicated a need to defer loans,” according to an International Finance Corporation (IFC) report.

In 2019, 24% of the population lived below the national poverty line, a number that has slowly grown since 2013. Unemployment figures also rose from 4.3% in 2018 to 4.9% in 2021.

The IFC conducted a survey to better assess the situation. The survey received 3,596 responses from businesses, with 17% of those primarily servicing the tourism industry. This survey’s findings helped establish strategies for moving forward, with the long-term goal of reducing COVID-19’s impact on Fiji.

The 2021 Outbreak

After a year of minimal COVID-19 cases, an outbreak occurred in April 2021. By July 2021, COVID-19’s impact on Fiji worsened, with the nation averaging more than 900 new COVID-19 cases daily. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services led Fiji’s response effort to this outbreak and successfully implemented quarantine and lockdown measures, provided COVID-19 vaccinations and utilized contact tracing and cluster investigations to surveil infection trends. By that same month, more than 31% of the target population had received their first doses of the vaccine and Fiji had already fully vaccinated many frontline workers.

International partners also showed their support during this critical time. Countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom assisted by providing life-saving medical supplies and pledging donations. Multilateral organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the EU assisted by ensuring better accessibility to COVID-19 vaccines and equipment, including testing machines and miscellaneous medical supplies totaling more than $2.6 million in value.

Curbing Concerns in 2022

Despite controversies and civil unrest surrounding hard-line regulations, such as Fiji’s “no jab, no job” policy, the country achieved a significant milestone by the end of 2021. Approximately 90% of the target population had received second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Although the country’s health care efforts saw success in curbing the spread of the virus, the pandemic’s impact on Fiji’s economy continued, with significant public debt-to-GDP ratios resulting from the persisting 2020 deficits. In addition, the global economy witnessed some of the highest surges of inflation in the past 20 years. These inflated prices include shipping, import, energy and food costs.

To revive its tourism industry, Fiji re-opened its borders to travel with modified guidelines. However, despite these efforts, economic growth did not rebound as expected due to the lingering civil unrest from the previous year and the emergence of an Omicron variant outbreak.

Current Concerns and Trends

As of March 2023, Fiji has made significant progress in its vaccination campaign, with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services reporting a 95% full vaccination rate for the target population. Infection trends are continually decreasing as well, and over the past month, Fiji reported only one new case. One can attribute this positive development to the general public adhering to effective health measures.

The tourism industry is also gradually recovering, with international travel to Fiji fully resuming after a long hiatus. As of February 2023, travelers to Fiji no longer need to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or travel insurance. Initial figures from 2022 show that tourist arrivals sat at around 45% of pre-pandemic figures.

However, even with progress in the medical and tourism industries, economic figures are still hurting. David Gould, the World Bank’s lead economist for the Pacific, estimated that while economic output is growing, levels may not exceed pre-pandemic levels until 2024. One contributing factor may be the record-breaking 30% unemployment rate in 2022, according to the Fiji Times.

The World Bank’s Pacific Economic Update advises Fijian leaders to be cautious when accepting fiscal support. Concerns include global economic uncertainty, debt servicing and rising inflation rates. To address these concerns, re-budgeting and public spending cuts can help to maximize the efficiency of taxpayer dollars and to prevent future public debt. Once Fiji’s economic output recovers to pre-pandemic levels, policymakers can invest in fiscal buffers to allow for economic leeway during future economic disasters.

Solutions

In 2021, the World Bank swiftly approved a $50 million credit for Fiji as vigorous support for unemployment assistance, strengthening the Fijian social protection system and ensuring equitable access to social protection services. While this relief is not a permanent solution to Fiji’s rising poverty levels, it did push GDP growth from -15.2% in 2020 to -4.1% in 2021 and then from 6.3% in 2022 to 7.7% in 2023.

To this day, the World Bank continues its support to lessen COVID-19’s impact on Fiji. After discussions held with the Fijian government and other civil and private organizations, the World Bank Group developed a Country Partnership Framework for Fiji with the primary goal of reducing poverty emphasized by the pandemic and increasing sustainable wealth from 2020 to 2024. To do this, officials prioritize fostering inclusive and private sector-led economic growth, building fiscal and climate-based resilience and increasing gender equality.

The framework paints a picture of a bright future for Fiji. However, humanitarian efforts from the broader international community must continue in order for Fiji to return to its once-booming economic self.

– Anthony Lee
Photo: Flickr

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4 Charities Aiding Children in Sierra Leone

Charities Aiding Children in Sierra Leone
Life has been extraordinarily difficult for children living in Sierra Leone. An 11-year civil war, Ebola outbreak and poor quality of education have severely impacted children across the country. However, despite the hardship that children in the country have faced over the past 20 years, charities are working to improve education and health care for children in Sierra Leone.

4 Charities Aiding Children in Sierra Leone

  1. Save the Children. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Save the Children provides children with education and health support in more than 100 countries. Since 1999, it has worked in Sierra Leone to improve the health, education and protection of children in the country. In terms of learning, the organization provides children with educational tools and facilities to set them up for future employment. The children’s rights charity focuses on increasing school attendance and retention. Due to widespread poverty, Sierra Leone suffers from very low school attendance rates with a UNICEF statistic illustrating that only 22% of students complete upper secondary school. Absence from school prevents children from gaining employable skills that allow for an economically independent future. Save the Children puts focus on aiding the most marginalized children, such as those living in slums or in kinship care, to improve their future prospects and avoid contributing to already high unemployment and illiteracy rates.
  2. Sierra Leone War Trust for Children. Throughout Sierra Leone’s 11-year civil war, many children experienced both physical and mental trauma. The Sierra Leone War Trust For Children is a trust that promotes “education, health, rehabilitation and self-sufficiency” among children impacted by the nation’s history of violence so that they can live economically independent and prosperous lives as adults. The trust not only focuses on the harms of the civil war; it also aids children suffering from more recent issues in the country such as the Ebola outbreak of 2014. Ebola orphans have received school supplies from the trust’s projects to improve education and ensure future employability. The Sierra Leone War Trust For Children has aided 5,000 impoverished children in the country and has raised more than $1 million through donations.
  3. Lilomi. Lilomi is a children’s charity based in the U.K. that ensures better health care and educational facilities/resources for children in Sierra Leone. It works at the Jonathan’s Child Care school and orphanage in the city of Bo providing safe sanitary spaces and higher-quality school equipment, among other efforts. Inadequate access to hygiene and sanitation facilities remains a prevalent issue in Sierra Leone. The Lilomi team built a new set of hygienic toilet blocks in the school/orphanage in 2021 with the aim of protecting children against preventable illnesses. Schools across Sierra Leone are severely underequipped making it difficult for educational facilities to teach practical skills. In order to prevent this from limiting the horizons of children in Bo, in 2019, Lilomi provided the school/orphanage with funds for science equipment, now expanding the scope of learning in science and mathematics. Following this success, the charity has made plans to go one step further and build a science lab for the school.
  4. SOS Children’s Villages. SOS Children’s Villages is a nonprofit organization that has delivered support for children and young adults in Sierra Leone since 1974. The nonprofit organization provides children lacking parental care with a safe home. As a result of the civil war ending in 2002, a third of Sierra Leone became internally displaced and many children lost their families. SOS Children’s Villages helps children to find lost relatives so they can grow up with their families. In the case where a child has no relatives, the organization provides an SOS parent who supports them through difficult periods of adjustment. The organization also runs community schools and kindergartens that have given 3,000 children access to education.

Children-focused charities in Sierra Leone have made monumental efforts in combating the consequences of civil war, Ebola and widespread poverty. By prioritizing the safety of children across the country, charitable organizations can ensure a future generation of healthy and prosperous adults.

– Freddie Trevanion
Photo: Flickr

The Gender Wage Gap in Morocco

Gender Gap Wage in MoroccoIn 2015, the women’s labor force participation rate in Morocco stood at 26%, among the lowest in the world. This percentage had not evolved since 1990, and in 2020, it had decreased to a low point of 23.1%. This data confirms the findings of the 2022 report from the High Commission for Planning (HCP), the body responsible for producing official statistics in Morocco, showing that “[eight] out of 10 women in the country remain outside the labor market.” The HCP also published a report on multidimensional women’s poverty in Morocco measuring four dimensions: education, health, economic activity and living conditions. It showed an improvement in the incidence of multidimensional poverty among women aged 18 and over with a 2021 national level of 16.5% versus 18.1% in 2014. However, it also found that COVID-19 had set the country back six years in terms of efforts to fight female poverty. On top of this, the gender wage gap in Morocco is still significant.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Society Norms

The conditions for working women indeed worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic as women held most of the jobs in impacted sectors and the informal economy, leading to a loss of income and employment.

Societal gender norms dictate that females shoulder the burden of childcare and housework. For women who do develop ambitions, the lack of childcare support facilities and traditional societal norms often stop them from following these ambitions, expecting them to sustain the bulk of the domestic burden. U.N. Women data indeed shows that women and girls aged 15+ spend on average 20.8% of their time on unpaid domestic chores and care work compared to less than 3% for men.

Marital-Status Gap

The World Bank’s 2015 report on the societal benefits of empowering women revealed a stark “marital-status gap” — the “relative difference in labor force participation between married and never-married women.” This gap goes up to 70% in Morocco, suggesting that most women who enter the workforce, exit it after marriage. This is primarily a result of the profoundly entrenched gender roles in Moroccan society as married women shoulder even more of the domestic burden than unmarried women.

Women are overrepresented in informal employment with 65% of women working in precarious labor or unpaid employment compared to 37% of men, according to USAID. Women also reap lower returns for their work with a gender wage gap of up to 77%. In rural areas, 96% of women with low levels of education work in basic-level farming while in urban areas women with secondary education seldom join the labor force as their access to “suitable jobs” is limited, according to the World Bank.

Steps Forward

Though data to monitor a positive evolution is lacking, Morocco has shown a willingness to follow “various conventions, declarations, recommendations and resolutions concerning women’s rights” that the U.N. introduced. In the early 2000s, the U.N. pointed out that Morocco has strengthened its gender equality-related legal framework, institutionalizing equality and parity as constitutional values and adopting a set of laws and reforms as well as an integrated public policy for equality and programs for the promotion of women’s rights. However, these reform efforts have often taken place in a complex political climate that sometimes opposes a reform agenda to support women’s economic empowerment.

For these gender equality and women empowerment initiatives to be effective, Morocco will need to implement them in a systemic way. Since 1985, the Democratic Association of Moroccan Women (ADFM) has made significant achievements by partnering with other women’s associations to advance women’s rights in the region. ADFM has among else campaigned to reform the Moroccan social security system, promoting debates aimed at protecting vulnerable women workers by ensuring systemic gender equality, which will reduce the gender wage gap in Morocco, among other benefits.

The Future

In the 2021 World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, Morocco ranked 140th out of 149 countries. Due to tradition and social norms, only a very small share of Moroccan women work and those who do work face high inequalities when it comes to employment access and remuneration. However, initiatives implemented over the past decade look to evolve the societal mindset and align the Moroccan legal framework with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically gender equality.

It is worth noting that empowering women, encouraging them to join the workforce and reducing the gender wage gap in Morocco is not only just but also economically wise. The OECD found in 2020 that if women played an “identical role in labor markets as men,” the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions could see substantial macroeconomic gains with a boost of up to 47% to their gross domestic product (GDP).

– Hanna Bernard
Photo: Flickr

Fragility and Rule of Law in Bahrain

Fragility and Rule of Law in BahrainThe 2011 protests in the capital of Bahrain, Manama, threatened to divide an already divisive nation. Questioning the state’s fragility and rule of law in Bahrain, the 2011 Bahraini uprising as many now call it, was a historic day in the nation of Bahrain. The majority of the Shia population in Bahrain initiated the protests that became so untenable for the kingdom that around 1,000 Saudi troops deployed in the nation at the ruling Al Khalifa family’s request.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators who protested all across Bahrain disputed the Al Khalifa family’s strong control of power and alleged discrimination against the nation’s majority Shia population. Clearly questioning the fragility and rule of law in Bahrain, the protesters appeared fed up with the continuing human rights crisis in the country and the lack of democratic reforms that the government promised back in the 2001 referendum for the National Action Charter.

A Propped-Up Government

A small archipelago, Bahrain has a small GDP of almost $39 billion in 2021 in comparison to its neighbors. The GDP of Saudi Arabia equaled $833 billion in 2021 whereas the UAE’s GDP sat at $415 billion in 2021.

The Middle East has a variety of governments varying in nature and function. However, unlike other areas of the world, nations such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait have royal families who still control most of the power in their respective nations, all of whom are Sunni Muslims. Bahrain is no different — the House of Khalifa is the ruling family of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The only major difference between Bahrain and the other kingdoms or emirates is that Bahrain has a majority Shia population.

For the Al Khalifa’s neighboring royal families, the main source of income is oil exportation. Nations such as the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia largely nationalized oil. Therefore, tax revenue is only a small percentage of the nations’ overall revenue. This allows for the ruling royal families to significantly lower the tax burden for their populations. Having income tax is not popular in the Gulf region. This largely explains how undemocratic regimes have held onto power for so long. The trade-off is that the population is able to prosper due to the low tax, keeping the population happy and the undemocratic royal family keeps power.

Oil-Dependent Economy

Unfortunately for the Bahraini royal family, Bahrain has been unable to diversify its economy. Bahrain’s dependence on selling oil has resulted in a shaky economy, meaning that when the oil prices dip, the Bahraini deficit grows at an alarming rate.

Unlike its neighbors, Bahrain has a significant deficit. The experts expected the Bahraini economy to contract in 2020 due to lower-than-expected oil prices. According to Reuters, Bahrain’s public debt climbed to 133% of its GDP in 2020.

The problem with this is, unlike other ruling royal families, the Al Khalifa family cannot continue to offer its population big benefits and low taxes to keep the population happy and keep themselves in power as Bahrain’s economy could eventually collapse. But, Bahrain has received significant financial backing from neighboring countries. Gulf nations such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have sent aid packages in the region of $10 billion to facilitate Bahrain’s growing expenses in 2018.

Without the support of Bahrain’s neighbors, both financially and militarily, the royal family of Bahrain may have been unable to cling to power for so long.

Human Rights in Bahrain

Desperate to keep power in Bahrain, the Al Khalifa family has continued to commit many serious human rights violations in the nation. These violations include torture, suppression of expression and denying the right to assembly. According to Amnesty International, reports note many cases of torture in state detention centers. Authorities commonly use torture methods such as sleep deprivation, threats of execution and beatings.

Bahrain has allowed impunity. Though the Bahraini Special Investigation Unit has received reports of torture, it has failed to report on the number of incidents and did not fully report the outcomes of such cases. After the 2011 protests, authorities detained many peaceful protesters and tried and sentenced them to life in prison in some cases.

Health and hygiene conditions in Bahraini prisons have remained a serious cause for concern. Human Rights Watch (HRW) states that up to three detainees have died in Bahraini prisons amid claims of medical negligence.

Freedom of expression and assembly remain limited, authorities often arrest protesters and independent media and prominent opposition groups remain outlawed. Authorities arrested at least 58 people for online activities that go against Bahrain’s restricted online content laws.

Looking Ahead

As it stands, the backing from other Gulf countries means it is unlikely that the Al Khalifa Royal family will be leaving positions of power within the government despite large portions of the population questioning the fragility and rule of law in Bahrain. This becomes unfortunate for the Shia majority population who wish to see more equality in positions of power between Shia and Sunni groups. With the Bahraini royal family continuing to get support from its neighbors, the human rights crisis in the nation may take longer to reach a resolution.

Fortunately, a number of nonprofit organizations aim to make a difference in Bahrain. The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) is a nonprofit focusing on advocacy, education and awareness for the calls for democracy and human rights in Bahrain. BIRD has worked “by engaging with victims of human rights abuse in Bahrain and providing them recourse to aid and justice.” The organization also “engages with key international actors and governments to advocate for policies that encourage human rights in Bahrain.” Its mission is to “promote human rights and effective accountability in Bahrain.”

The efforts of organizations ensure that human rights are upheld amid fragility in Bahrain.

– Josef Whitehead
Photo: Flickr

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Aid for Victims of the Earthquake in Ecuador

Earthquake in EcuadorOn March 18, 2023, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Ecuador shook the coastal city of Machala, killing at least 15 people and injuring nearly 460 others. The death toll is expected to continue to rise with search and rescue efforts underway. The earthquake in Ecuador destroyed homes and buildings along the coastline and had an impact as far as the Ecuadorian highlands and some areas of Peru.

Ecuador’s Risk of Natural Disasters

Ecuador is located on the west coast of the South American continent with Colombia neighboring to the north and Peru to the south. Though the country is prone to many natural disasters, the top three most common natural disasters are earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions. According to the World Bank’s Climate Change Knowledge Portal, between 1980 and 2020, Ecuador saw an average of 12 earthquakes per year.

The U.K. government’s advice on foreign travel indicates that Ecuador’s propensity for earthquakes is due to its location in an area of extreme seismic activity. The advice states, “Seismologists assess the risk of earthquakes in the province of Esmeraldas on the north-western coast as particularly high because of its proximity to the convergence of the Nazca and South American plates.”

Recent Earthquake Impact on a Struggling Economy

The recent earthquake in Ecuador originated off the Pacific Coast about 50 miles south of Guayaquil, the country’s second-largest city and is the most destructive since the devastating earthquake in April 2016. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), after striking Ecuador’s northern coast, the 2016 earthquake left reconstruction costs estimated at almost 3% of the GDP.

The nation does not quickly recover from the loss of livelihoods and infrastructure due to the struggling Ecuadorian economy and high poverty rates. According to a World Bank 2020 report, in 2019, about a quarter of the population lived under the national poverty line, equal to more than 4 million people, due to rising unemployment rates and a 2% real labor income decrease for the second consecutive year.

The WFP reports that 40% of Ecuador’s rural population now lives below the poverty line. While Ecuador has seen some growth in its GDP due to a decline in poverty through investments in health, education, infrastructure and social policies, plummeting oil prices and other factors are driving an economic decline.

GlobalGiving Initiative

A struggling economy and devastating natural disasters make it difficult for a country to flourish. For this reason, initiatives like the GlobalGiving’s Ecuador and Peru Earthquake Relief Fund are crucial to building up developing nations. GlobalGiving is a nonprofit whose mission is to connect various nonprofit organizations to donors and companies. The organization states that “All donations to this fund will support relief and recovery efforts in Ecuador and Peru. Initially, the fund helps first responders meet survivors’ immediate needs for food, fuel, clean water, medicine and shelter.” GlobalGiving states further, “As needs emerge, we will support longer-term recovery efforts run by local, vetted organizations in the impacted areas.” The goal is to raise $500,000 to support relief for the earthquake in Ecuador and Peru.

Government Initiatives

After President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency, Ecuador’s Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that it will provide financial resources so the government can assist citizens impacted by the devastation of the earthquake. President Lasso has toured the impacted areas and has committed to mobilizing teams to provide needed support. In addition, the government announced in March 2023 the creation of a housing lease program to temporarily house families who lost their homes during the earthquake.

With government assistance and nonprofit support, there is hope that impacted families will find relief. The Ecuadorian government’s efforts in terms of addressing poverty and establishing disaster resilience are essential to minimize the impact of future natural disasters.

– Stella Tirone
Photo: Flickr

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The Green Cities Initiative: Building Urban Resilience

Green Cities InitiativeIn September 2020, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched the Green Cities Initiative, a program that aims to build more resilient urban and peri-urban communities throughout the world. The FAO is aiming for this initiative to improve social, economic and environmental resilience in 1,000 cities by 2030.

The Urban Boom

The World Bank reports that 4.4 billion people, more than half of the world’s population, currently live in cities, a number on track to more than double by 2050. In the coming years, urban and peri-urban areas will need to respond to increased pressures on infrastructure, affordable housing and transportation systems. These areas will also need to create employment opportunities for a broadening pool of job seekers. With conscious investments in green infrastructure, reforestation and sustainable food systems, cities can increase their resilience in the face of extreme weather while also creating jobs in the process.

An Airborne Warning

The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the already grim relationship between health and poverty in urban areas. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (U.N.-Habitat) reports that health risks are already high for urban populations without access to basic necessities like clean air and water, adequate housing and waste management. These conditions aggravate existing inequalities, resulting in inequitable health and economic outcomes.

Globally, the pandemic and its associated economic devastation are increasing inequality and eroding the progress made on numerous Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to the FAO, supply chain disruptions, particularly in food systems, and unprecedented demands on hygiene-related resources and services expose the need for city stakeholders to reimagine and rethink the future of their urban systems.

Building Urban Resilience

The Green Cities Initiative is a unique opportunity to take action on hard lessons learned from these ongoing health and environmental crises. Through site-specific strategies that ensure access to green spaces and nutritious foods, strengthen urban and rural connectivity and provide investments in green infrastructure, the Green Cities Initiative takes a holistic approach to human and planetary wellness.

As of November 2022, 80 cities are participating in the Initiative, including Tunisia’s capital of Tunis, Italy’s Bologna, Kenya’s Nairobi and Sri Lanka’s Colombo city. Here are three examples of programs FAO implemented alongside non-governmental and governmental groups in partnership with the Green Cities Initiative:

  • The Initiative helped reforest at least 1.6 hectares of mangrove forests in Quelimane, Mozambique, a project that mitigated flooding risk in the coastal city.
  • In Nairobi, Kenya, an initiative tackled the city’s prevalent food waste, lowering the amount of rotten and unsold produce that vendors leave behind or that people otherwise lose between production and consumption. Some measures included introducing technology and techniques for composting and “biogas digesters,” which turn produce into fuel.
  • Training for women working as street food vendors in Kisumu, Kenya, gave participants business-generating skills and created a ripple effect of positive hygiene and business practices in the city.

A Focus on Poverty

While the Green Cities Initiative is most obviously environmentally focused, the Initiative works to address poverty in a few unique ways, including:

  • Strengthening urban and rural connectivity. Though most of the world’s impoverished populations reside in rural areas, the FAO focuses on the fact that the majority do not live far from a city. By strengthening connections between rural and urban communities, (particularly via food processing and distribution industries) the FAO aims to create jobs and bolster the overall economy of a given region, thereby reducing poverty and poverty-induced migration.
  • Mitigating environmental catastrophe. Environmental risks associated with extreme weather are elevated in high-density urban areas, manifesting in loss of life and economic shocks. Creating resiliency through green spaces and green infrastructure mitigates such risks and their disproportionate impacts on impoverished residents.
  • Building healthy, sustainable food systems. Impoverished residents of urban areas, particularly those living in congested areas or informal settlements, often lack access to clean air, running water and healthy, affordable food. To curb the resulting prevalence of “nutrition-related and non-communicable diseases,” the Initiative aims to increase the availability and affordability of nutritious and urban-grown foods. Tackling food, water and agricultural waste is also a focus, with the Initiative pushing for circular economies overall.

Supporting Local Governments

In February 2020, the World Economic Forum reported that Africa was home to the 15 fastest-growing cities in the world. Across many regions of the continent, the climate crisis already applies particular pressure, namely in the form of an influx of climate migrants in search of stable incomes. In the coming years, urban communities of all sizes will need systems in place to adapt to, prepare for and respond to economic, social and environmental shocks. The Green Cities Initiative, by supporting “local governments in mainstreaming agriculture, food systems and green spaces in local policy, planning and actions,” offers one pathway toward global stability and sustainability.

– Hannah Carrigan
Photo: Flickr

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Saving Afghanistan’s Health Care System

Afghanistan’s Failing Health Care System
Despite the constitutional promise from the state to provide health care to its citizens, Afghanistan remains unable to fulfill its pledge, leaving millions of its citizens struggling with poverty and poor health. Extreme poverty and falling income rates further stress the failing health care system. The UNDP reported in September 2021 that 97% of the population faced a risk of falling into poverty by the middle of 2022. Thankfully, despite the poor state of Afghanistan’s health care system, the medical community is receiving international financial and medical aid from organizations, including the United Nations and Doctors Without Borders.

Afghanistan’s Health Care System

The Afghan government implemented a new constitution in 2004, with Article 52 stating, “The state shall provide free preventative health care and treatment of diseases as well as medical facilities to all citizens in accordance with the provisions of the law.” With the assistance of international and domestic donors, Afghanistan created a health care system intending to take the burden of medical care and costs off its citizens regardless of financial status. The progress made over 17 years led to health improvements nationwide and costs minimizing exponentially.

Before the Taliban assumed full control of Afghanistan in 2021, the Afghan government passed countless measures to expand the country’s health care system. Slowly but surely, Afghanistan had begun broadening how much the government’s health care system could do for its people and expanding operations into the rural regions. Under the health care system, Afghanistan had more than 3,000 state-run hospitals and clinics, meaning each district and region at least had access to some form of health care.

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, donors paused or fully stopped their funding of the Afghan health care system. Afghanistan’s failing health care system must deal with and navigate the resurgence of rising poverty rates in conjunction with devastating issues, such as increasing malnutrition, rising maternal mortality rates and the continued spread of polio.

The Shortcomings of Afghanistan’s Health Care System

After the Taliban assumed power in 2021, all previous improvements made by the health care system fell apart. Less than 10 years after the constitutional commitments to improve health, Afghanistan’s maternal mortality rate reduced to around 300 maternal deaths per 100,000 births. However, by the end of 2021, mere months after the system’s collapse, the maternal mortality rate rose to around 630 deaths per 100,000 births.

What remains of Afghanistan’s failing health care system is minimal and centralized in the largest cities as the country could not keep the rural hospitals and clinics open when international donors pulled their funding.

In 2020, 47% of Afghanistan’s population lived in poverty, but by 2021, 97% became susceptible to falling into conditions of poverty by mid-2022. The pulling of financial assistance from all international partners and allies sent Afghanistan into a humanitarian crisis with soaring poverty rates and limited access to basic resources. These inadequacies contribute to worsening health as lacking food causes malnutrition and poor access to water and sanitation causes illnesses including diarrhea, dysentery and typhoid. To make matters worse, the inflated prices of goods in the country, especially medical resources, deter people from seeking medical assistance as they cannot afford these costs.

Organizations Improving Afghan Health Care

Afghanistan’s failing health care system has garnered international attention. As the underfunded health care system faces daily struggles, international organizations are trying to bring relief to Afghans without bringing power to the Taliban. The greatest source of income for Afghanistan’s health care system is the United Nations. In September 2022, the U.N. promised its first batch of emergency funds for Afghanistan. The U.N. released $45 million to various non-government organizations (NGOs) that will bring immediate and long-term assistance to Afghans in need of health care.

Doctors Without Borders brings medical personnel and resources to hospitals throughout Afghanistan and even opened new trauma centers to help Afghans needing immediate assistance. The work of Doctors Without Borders brings help to the regions most impacted by a lack of water and sanitation access, where the risk of waterborne diseases and other illnesses is high.

The NGOs supporting Afghanistan are easing the economic and poverty challenges that Afghans face daily while supporting Afghanistan’s collapsing health care system. The health care system is finding support from international organizations as the health of citizens and the humanitarian crisis worsen. Afghanistan’s citizenry will find relief through international assistance.

– Clara Mulvihill
Photo: Flickr

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5 Big Businesses that Give to Charity

Big Businesses That Give To CharityPhilanthropy among businesses and successful individuals has been seen since the rise of “big business” itself. In the late 1800s, business leader Andrew Carnegie owned a multi-million dollar steel enterprise and donated the majority of his fortune to philanthropic causes, such as the founding of 2,509 libraries. One of the key philanthropists of the modern world includes business magnate Bill Gates, who founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fight world poverty and inequality. Below are five big businesses that give to charity and use their profitability to support philanthropic causes.

5 Big Businesses that Give to Charity

  1. Rolex. This watch company began business in 1905 as a brand that is now a widely recognized symbol of wealth, luxury and sophistication, with watches costing anything within the range of $5,000 to $75,000. While Rolex is, technically speaking, a for-profit company, it is owned by a nonprofit charity organization, the Wilsdorf Foundation. Rolex founder and altruist, Hans Wilsdorf, had hoped that his business would be a “perpetual force for good.” One avenue for the donation of Rolex’s profits is the initiative Perpetual Planet, which supports expeditions and data collection to tackle climate change and protect oceans. Funding from Rolex has supported Felix Brooks-church’s project to tackle malnutrition in Tanzania by fortifying flour with essential nutrients to benefit 2 million people daily. Rolex’s financial contributions have also supported Andrew Bastawrous’ Peek Vision project, which utilizes mobile technology to provide accessible eye care through smartphones in poorer countries such as rural Kenya, where Peek Vision provided more than 250,000 eye tests.
  2. Disney. Disney is another one of the big businesses that give to charity, with a total of $233 million worth of donations in 2022 through various channels. It invested in the organization Chicas en Tecnologia, which works to provide tech-focused education for girls in Argentina to help reduce the gender gap in technology. Disney partners with UNICEF to support programs such as a two-year initiative to prevent child labor in Vietnam and the P.L.A.Y initiative that provides mobile playgrounds in Haiti and Bangladesh. There is also a Disney Employee Matching Gifts initiative where the company pledges to match the charitable financial donations made by employees.
  3. BP. Founded by the BP oil company, the BP Foundation received its charitable status in 1953 and has since supported philanthropic efforts around the world. The foundation partakes in employee-led philanthropy through the Employee Matching Fund. The foundation gave more than $2 million in 2021 to match employee donations to nonprofit organizations. This fund encourages BP employees to commit their time and effort to charitable causes with the knowledge that the BP Foundation will make an equal contribution. The foundation also provides humanitarian relief, such as the $2 million it donated to the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 response program.
  4. Goldman Sachs. The global financial services company Goldman Sachs began its journey in 1869 in New York City and made a significant $62.8 billion in revenue in 2022 alone. As part of its commitment to community engagement, the company runs a Goldman Sachs Gives initiative, which partners with nonprofit organizations and contributes financial grants toward philanthropic initiatives. To date, the Goldman Sachs Gives initiative has granted more than $2 billion to 9,000 nonprofit organizations across 140 countries. Recent philanthropic efforts include $8.8 million in 2022 donated to various organizations across the globe providing relief for Ukrainian refugees fleeing war in their home country. Since 2000, Goldman Sachs Gives has supported the South African nonprofit Ubuntu Pathways with grants funding the provision of vaccines for more than 40,000 people in South Africa and a center that helps 2,000 children receive a quality education.
  5. Microsoft. Bill Gates, one of the wealthiest men today, co-founded a leading, multinational technology company — the Microsoft Corporation. In line with Gates’ personal commitment to philanthropy, Microsoft as a company recognizes a corporate social responsibility that involves supporting fundamental human rights and protecting the planet. Microsoft also operates an employee donation matching program. In 2022, Microsoft and its employees donated a total of $255 million to nonprofits through this initiative. Through the Microsoft Tech for Social Impact scheme, in 2021, Microsoft allocated $2.5 billion in technology grants to nonprofits, and in 2022, Microsoft expanded this scheme to include access to cloud technology. By equipping nonprofits with technical equipment and knowledge of how to use it, Microsoft is helping to diversify and modernize the help given to the world’s poor.

Looking Ahead

Although some view big businesses as pioneers of capitalism acting only in the interest of individual shareholders, there are in fact many big businesses that give to charity. Rolex, Disney, BP, Goldman Sachs and Microsoft are key examples of large corporations contributing to philanthropic causes to aid communities that require support.

– Sophie Sadera
Photo: Flickr

US Department of Labor Grant Promotes Farmworker Rights Abroad

farmworker rightsIn February 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a $2.5 million grant to promote farmworker rights abroad. The funding will go toward evaluating and expanding the Fair Food Program (FFP) model. Specifically, the funds will support a pilot project in cut flower farms in three countries — Chile, Mexico and South Africa. In an industry rife with issues like human trafficking, poor and risky working conditions and sexual violence and harassment, the FFP offers a promising model for ensuring the health and safety of farmworkers worldwide.

What is the Fair Food Program?

The FFP is a legally-binding agreement between workers, growers and buyers. As a Worker-Driven Social Responsibility (WSR) initiative, the FFP “is designed, monitored and enforced by the very workers whose rights it is intended to protect.” Participating growers and buyers commit to respecting the rights outlined in the FFP worker-crafted “Code of Conduct” and other measures ensuring the health and safety of farmworkers.

Growers enjoy purchasing preferences from some of the world’s largest retail buyers, including Whole Foods and Walmart. Further, both growers and buyers benefit from the use of the FFP certification mark on qualifying goods. That is because the certificate attracts consumers in search of ethically-sourced food. Finally, increased worker retention, decreased worker compensation claims and decreased administrative and legal fees incentivize growers to participate.

The program emerged from years of grassroots labor organizing by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a worker-based human rights organization representing tomato industry workers in Immokalee, Florida. What began in 1993 as a small group fighting for fair pay grew into a nationally and internationally lauded organization. The CIW played a crucial role in freeing more than 1,000 enslaved farmworkers in the Southeastern United States.  Significantly, it created the FFP in 2001 as a framework for preventing the abuses its anti-slavery and fair food campaigns continuously work to address.

Historic Success of the Program

Overseen by the Fair Food Standards Council (FFSC), the FFP has proved itself as an extremely successful and scalable model for protecting farmworker rights. In addition to partnering with retailers as buyers, the FFP partners with growers who employ farmworkers across 11 states. Within the past year, the FFP has expanded into consumer packaged goods. This opens the door to a wide range of food products. Finally, the program has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the MacArthur Genius Award, the U.S. Presidential Medal and a James Beard Foundation Award.

Building on the success of FFP, the FFSC’s grant from the U.S. Department of Labor will enable further international growth. By identifying barriers and opportunities, the pilot will determine the feasibility of expanding the FFP model.

The Importance of Protecting Farmworker Rights

Just as labor rights are inextricable from human rights, fair compensation and safe working conditions are tied to poverty reduction efforts. Though the International Labour Organization (ILO) reports a decline in the proportion of working people living in extreme and moderate poverty since the turn of the century,  21% of the world’s workers fell into one of these two categories in 2018.  Extremely poor people live in households with a per capita income of less than $1.90 a day and moderately poor people live in households with a per capita income between $1.90 and $3.30 a day. Protecting worker rights, particularly through WSR programs like the FFP, presents a powerful opportunity to reduce poverty.

Promoting farmworker rights also results in meaningful commercial benefits. Because employee retention dramatically increases when workers are treated fairly and have a voice in their workplace, it follows that failure to protect the rights of workers can lead to lower levels of high-skilled employees, reducing business stability. Studies show that “in their criteria for choosing countries in which to invest, foreign investors rank workforce quality and political and social stability above low labor costs,” the ILO notes.

Initiatives such as the FFP also emerge as important components of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) given farmworkers’ on-the-ground, intimate knowledge of agricultural practices. A joint report by the ILO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Union of Food and Allied Workers’ Associations makes this connection abundantly clear.  The report urges governments and organizations to acknowledge the crucial role of agricultural workers and their unions in sustainable development and sustainable agriculture goal-setting and decision-making.

Global Coalition to Protect Labor Rights

This $2.5 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor underscores the department’s push to protect labor rights, including farmworker rights in the U.S. and abroad. By promoting initiatives like the FFP, the department joins a broad team of organizations and government agencies across the world working to eradicate human rights abuses in global supply chains; create pathways out of poverty and ultimately build a stronger, more sustainable world economy.

– Hannah Carrigan
Photo: Flickr

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Cholera Outbreak in Mozambique

cholera outbreak in MozambiqueOn Feb. 24, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report documenting the current cholera outbreak in Mozambique. Since the first cholera case in this particular outbreak on Sept. 14, 2022, concerns have grown as the WHO fears the outbreak will worsen due to recent heavy rainfalls, which increase the risk of cholera. The number of cases started to pick up in December 2022. All provinces affected by the cholera outbreak in Mozambique are areas susceptible to flooding. As of Feb. 19, Mozambique records 5,237 possible cases of cholera and 37 deaths in six of 11 provinces.

Concerns Over the Situation

Mozambique is currently in its rainy season and the WHO’s report expresses concern over the possibility of heavy rainfalls only worsening the situation. The peak of the rainy season typically occurs in February, but the rainy season still continues through April.

Mozambique reports cholera cases during the rainy season (October through April) every year, but the WHO reports that the current cholera outbreak in Mozambique has impacted more geographical locations than in recent years. In the past few years, cholera impacted up to three provinces yearly; however, this season, the geographical locations impacted have doubled. The Niassa province is reporting its first cases in more than five years.

Heavy rainfalls and flooding increase the risk of cholera because flooding can lead to inadequate access to clean water and sewage treatments, causing bacteria to spread.

Another concern is that one of Mozambique’s neighboring countries, Malawi, is grappling with the most fatal outbreak ever experienced. Even with the outbreak in Malawi, there continues to be a lot of movement across the borders of the two countries.

Cholera and How it Spreads

Cholera is an infectious disease caused by ingesting food or water infected by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae. After exposure to contaminated food or water, cholera incubates between 12 hours and five days. The most common symptoms include diarrhea, dehydration and vomiting.

According to the WHO, the bacteria remains in a person’s feces for one to 10 days. The stool produced by sick individuals can affect others if not disposed of properly. Others can ingest the bacteria if the patient or caretaker does not thoroughly wash their hands. Both children and adults can get cholera. Though it is a preventable disease, it can be fatal if untreated.

Response to the Outbreak

The government and the WHO are working together to address the cholera outbreak in Mozambique efficiently. When the outbreak first began, a national cholera task force formed. The WHO and national cholera task force are combining forces to create preventive and remedial responses, such as handing out brochures in local languages to residences and placing educational posters all over towns and treatment centers in affected districts. If communities do not understand the risks associated with treating patients and ingesting unsanitary food or water, the spread of the disease will only continue. Education and communication of potential contamination are necessary to control an outbreak.

The response also included distributing rapid test kits in areas most impacted. National Rapid Response Teams (RRT) are overseeing the investigation of cases in affected provinces. The teams aim to record data and track family members or friends of patients who are exposed or vulnerable to exposure.

The International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision responded to a request for 700,000 doses of Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) to address the cholera outbreak in Mozambique. Health workers began administering the oral vaccines on February 27, 2023.

Mozambique’s government along with support from the WHO and other global communities is working toward administering vaccines, treatment and contamination protocols while also educating locals on how the disease spreads. A critical preventative measure that the WHO mentions in its report is the establishment of lasting infrastructure for safe drinking water. It is not likely that rainy seasons will cease in Mozambique and neighboring nations, but ensuring sanitary water for citizens can prevent further outbreaks.

– Maya Steele
Photo: Flickr